Questions 1 – 5, Passage 1
Read the passage to answer the questions.
………
To be honest, I quite like my deafness. It
wasn't easy the first few years after the car
accident and the stupid exploding airbag, but
now it's become something that makes me
special among my friends. None of my close
friends are hearing impaired, simply because I
wasn't born deaf. By the time I lost my
hearing, I'd already accumulated a fixed circle
of people, and they mostly rushed to
participate in the drama.
You know how when you talk about your
friends, you refer to them as Drew the
Bartender, Carol the Feminist, Greg the Guy
Who Can Knot a Cherry Stem with His Tongue
and so on? I'm Sandy the Deaf Girl. I like it. I
don't have any other particularly outstanding
traits or skills. Never did.
It's more than just standing out, too. I'm
sure a lot of important events in my life
wouldn't have happened or worked out quite
the same way if I weren't wearing pink hearing
aids. For example, the thing with Colin.
………
Taken from Tone, YZ Chin
1. Which one is true about Sandy?
A. Sandy is an honest person.
B. An exploding airbag made Sandy
deaf.*
C. Sandy lost her friends by the time she
lost her hearing.
D. Sandy has long been making people
amazed at her outstanding skills.
E. Drew, Carol, and Greg are the only
friends Sandy has.
2. How does Sandy feel about her
deafness?
A. She thinks it annoying sometimes.
B. It makes her feel embarrassed in front
people.
C. She considers it her special trait.*
D. She’s very happy with it.
E. Being deaf, she finds it difficult to make
friends.
3. The word ‘circle’ in ‘… a fixed circle of
people …’ (Paragraph 1) is closest in
meaning to …
A. cycle.
B. view.
C. friendship.
D. surroundings.
E. group.*
4. In the last paragraph, Chin shows that
Sandy has no regrets about …
A. wearing pink hearing aids.
B. knowing Colin.
C. being deaf.*
D. being standing out.
E. all the important events in her life.
5. What will the paragraph following the last
one probably tell us about?
A. The accident that made Sandy deaf.
B. How Sandy got her pink hearing aids.
C. Sandy’s first meeting with Colin.*
D. Sandy regaining her hearing.
E. Sandy’s friends.
Questions 6 – 10
Each of the following questions presents a
topic and five sentences. Select the
sentence that provides best support for the
topic presented.
6. The kidneys are very effective organs.
A. The body can operate normally with a
30 – 40 per cent decline in kidney
function.*
B. The left kidney is commonly a little
larger than the right.
C. Each day the kidneys will filter between
150 and 180 liters of blood.
D. They work with other organs and
glands across the body.
E. Each kidney has around a million of
nephrons.
7. Lonnie Thompson is called the ‘Ice
Investigator’.
A. He has spent more time above 18,000
feet than anyone alive.
B. He feels he’s living longer because he
climbs mountains.
C. He’s been climbing to mountaintop
glaciers, pulling crucial climate data
from deep inside the ice.*
D. His data show the planet is warming at
a historic rate.
E. A glacier that's hundreds of feet thick
can contain thousands of years of
information.
8. The connections inside a brain are very
similar to the internet.
A. The connections are constantly
exchanging information.*
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 B. If the internet were as complex as our
solar system, then the brain would be
as complex as our galaxy.
C. Yet, the internet is rather simplistic
when compared to neurons.
D. There are ten to 100 neurons, and
each one makes thousands of
connections.
E. This is how the brain processes
information.
9. Elisabeth, Empress of Austria and Queen
of Hungary, was more than just another
royal dignitary.
A. Since the suicide of her only son,
Elisabeth had been a recluse.
B. She commanded a level of affection
only Princess Diana would ever
match.*
C. She was stabbed by a 25-year-old
Italian, Luigi Lucheni.
D. Her ostentatious concern for the
empire’s lower orders set her apart
from most European royals.
E. Elisabeth had been a ghostly figure,
hiding her face with her parasols and
her fans.
10. The nautical mile is used by sea and air
navigators.
A. A nautical mile is based on the
circumference of the Earth.
B. Most nautical charts are constructed on
a scale that varies from the equator to
80° north or south latitude.
C. Being used to working with miles and
kilometres means that this sounds
complicated.
D. A nautical mile is 1.852 kilometres, or
1.1508 miles.
E. It proves very useful as they are
working with charts and maps.*
Questions 11 – 15, Passage 2
Read the passage to answer the questions.
Organic products from ancient life are an
integral part of the Earth’s resources, offering
scientists a more accurate picture of ancient
life-forms. One key to ancient life comes in the
form of petrified matter. Petrifaction is a
process that slowly turns the remains of a
living object into stone. In this process,
minerals seep into a mass of organic matter.
After the organic matter has been replaced, a
mineral version of the living object is left.
Petrifaction often occurs in trees that are
found adjacent to rivers, floodable areas, and
volcanoes, which provide the mud or ash that
initially covers the organic matter. Some
pieces of petrified wood retain the original
cellular structure of the wood and the grain
can be easily seen. Today, it is feasible to
petrify wood in a simple laboratory process.
Fossils are another way that ancient life is
preserved. Most fossils include an animal’s
hard parts, such as teeth and bones. One type
of fossil, called a trace fossil, may also include
eggs, tooth marks, contents of the guts, and
fossil excrement.
Some products from ancient life offer us
more than scientific knowledge. One such
product is coal, a solid fuel of plant origin. It
develops over millions of years, during which
swamp vegetation is submerged in water,
depleted of oxygen, and covered by layers and
layers of sand and mud. These overlapping
layers settle with the Earth’s movements and
are compressed over time.
11. Which sentence best states the essential
information of this passage?
A. Preserved life-forms, including petrified
matter and fossils, teach us about
ancient life.*
B. The primary function for preserved life-
forms is scientific discovery.
C. Scientists try to replicate natural
processes that preserve ancient life-
forms.
D. Ancient organic matter provides the
most concentrated forms of energy
known to humans.
E. Ancient life is crucial to understanding
modern life.
12. Which of the following statements is not
supported by the passage?
A. Fossils are an example of petrifaction
products.
B. Initial covering materials are needed in
most
C. Coal is categorized as non-renewable
as its formation takes millions of years.
D. No modern scientists can replicate
petrifaction.*
E. Volcanic mud or ash serves as initial
cover in petrifaction.
13. Paragraph 3 implies that animal fossils …
A. might contain information about the
animal’s eating habit.*
B. are always in form of trace fossils.
2
 C. could be covered with organic matter.
D. are commonly found near rivers.
E. consist of one type only.
14. In ‘…swamp vegetation is submerged in
water …’ (Paragraph 4), the words
‘submerged in’ are closest in meaning to
… B. the better*
A. made wet by.
B. completely covered by.*
C. adjacent to.
D. depleted of.
E. replaced by.
15. According to the passage, during coal
formation vegetation is …
A. deoxygenated.*
B. surfacing.
C. saturated in oil.
D. regenerating.
E. separated from water.
Questions 16 – 20
Choose the best answer to fill the blank.
What (16)___ cartographers to include
leviathans, sirens, and sea dragons on maps
of yore? "The motivation varied to some
(17)___ depending on the period," says
researcher Chet Van Duzer, author of the
upcoming Sea Monsters on Medieval and
Renaissance Maps.
Early medieval period mapmakers, Van
Duzer says, actually believed in the dangers
they depicted. Their illustrations were
warnings. In the 16th century, cartographic
creatures were made increasingly whimsical
(18)___ to lure map buyers—the more
marvelous the monster, (19)___. By the 17th
century sea monsters were singing their swan
song. Increasing confidence on the high seas
led cartographers to make maps teeming
(20)___ triumphant ships, with far fewer sirens
in sight.
16. A. have compelled
B. to compel
C. compelled*
D. they compelled
E. did
17. A. extend
B. extension
C. extensive
D. extent*
E. extenuation
18. A. in order*
B. so that
C. therefore
D. so
E. then
19. A. more better
C. it’s better
D. better
E. the better to be
20. A. with*
B. on
C. of
D. out
E. over
Questions 21 – 25, Passage 3
Read the passage to answer the questions.
The ironclad notion that obesity leads to
disease and early death is wrong: In a 2005
report published in the Journal of the
American Medical Association, the CDC
showed that people classified as overweight
live longest, with the moderately obese
achieving longevity comparable to that of
people at "normal" weights, and acknowledged
that this finding "is consistent with other
results".
In a 2011 report, the CDC found that
despite increases in obesity, the average life
span of U.S. residents lengthened from 70.8
years in 1970 to 77.9 years in 2007. Study
after study shows that when factors such as
socioeconomic status, activity level, nutrition,
and history of dieting are considered, the
relationship between weight and disease
disappears or is significantly reduced.
………
Alternative approaches to weight loss are
also damaging. Many studies have established
that resorting to surgery and pharmaceuticals
adds new risks like alcoholism, cardiovascular
disease, and even suicide—not to mention
eventual weight regain for many.
21. Which of the following best represents the
content of the passage?
A. Underweight people tend to live
shorter.
B. Most approaches to weight loss are
counterproductive.
C. Being overweight does not make us die
faster.*
3
 D. Anyone who wants to live longer D E
should try to lose their weight.
E. A good diet will probably extend our life 27. A bony snail-shaped structure, the
span.
cochlea receives vibrations from the
22. According to the passage, that obesity A
leads to disease and early death has been ossicles and transforms it into
… B*
A. validated through studies. electrical signals that are transmitted to
B. ignored by scientists for decades. C D
C. a strong, common belief among the brain.
people.* E
D. proved to be wrong since the last
century. 28. Unfortunately, only a few of the examples
E. paid little attention by researchers. A B
in Juniper's book has been worked
23. The word ‘established’ in the last C* D
paragraph can be best replaced with … through in such detail.
A. constructed. E
B. proven.*
C. created. 29. One of the new, more controversial
D. found. A
E. generated. provisions expands depression to include
B C
24. Which of the following is not mentioned as some forms of grieve.
the danger of alternative approaches to D E*
weight loss?
A. Being an alcoholic. 30. Fritz Haber prevented mass starvation
B. Committing suicide. A
C. Suffering from heart problems. but also inventing a new way for humans
D. Regaining weight. B C* D
E. Eating disorder.* to kill each other.
E
25. What will the paragraph between
Paragraph 2 and Paragraph 3 most likely
discuss?
A. Diseases related to obesity.
B. Factors that contribute to obesity.
C. A conventional approach to weight
loss.*
D. Why the average life span of U.S.
residents lengthened.
E. How to regain weight.

Questions 56 – 60
Each sentence has 5 words or phrases
underlined and marked as A, B, C, D and E.
One of these words or phrases contains an
error, a mistake in either the grammar or
the vocabulary. Decide where the error is,
and mark your choice on the answer sheet.

26. For John Julius Norwich, one of the

A
difficulties of to write about Venice was its
B* C
instinctive horror of the cult of personality.