TEXT 1

TEXT A
Berlin (Reuters)–No more Coca-Cola or Budweiser, no Marlboro, no American whiskey
or even American Express cards  a growing number of restaurants in Germany are taking
everything American off their menus to protest the war in Iraq.
Although the protests are mainly symbolic, waiters in dozens of bars and restaurants in
Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Bonn and other German cities are telling patrons, "Sorry, Coca-Cola
is not available any more due to the current political situation."
The boycotts appear to be part of a nascent worldwide movement. One Web site,
www.consumers-against-war.de, calls for boycotts of 27 top American firms from Microsoft to
Kodak while another, www.adbusters.org, urges the "millions of people against the war" to
"Boycott Brand America."
Consumer fury seems to be on the rise. Demonstrators in Paris smashed the windows of a
McDonald's restaurant last week, forcing police in riot gear to move in to protect staff and
customers of the American fast-food outlet. The attackers sprayed obscenities and "boycott" on
the windows.

TEXT B
This economic advantage, in turn, is used to sponsor terror and killing in Islamic
countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq. When product boycott was carried out by consumers in
the Middle East and some in the European countries, sales of these companies is reported to be
decreased by 10% and this amounted to big numbers for giant companies. Thus, it is a rational
for Muslim especially in Malaysia to take similar action. Furthermore, Of late, many other
products are available as an alternative for the boycotted products. For example, we have
Mukmin toothpaste instead of Colgate etc. and Fab or Breeze could be replaced with Daiya,
Puteri Emas etc.
There are a few questions arise in regard to the boycott such as how effective is the
approach and why not boycotting all the products altogether. In answering these questions,
Sabasun has reiterated to look at collapse of the apartheid regime in South Africa as the best
example.
To answer the question in regard to why not boycotting all the products altogether,
Sabasun has taken an approach to do what can be done when one cannot do all. Hence, a few
products that are really needed by consumers are offered on a limited floor space and no
promotion is done for the product. While products that are boycott completely will not even get
space on the shelves let alone floor space. During the early phase after the campaign was in
progress, the effect of the boycott is very obvious when Sabasun suffer a loss of nearly RM
150,000.
1. Both passages are similar in terms of…
A. The problem underlying in both passages
B. The writer’s point of view
C. The effect of the problem discussed
D. The area the problem taking place
E. The reason leading to the problem
2. The difference between the first and the second passage is that the latter…
A. Asserts the economic advantage resulted from boycotting while the former claims the
cause of boycotting
B. Exposes the disserve impact of boycotting for Islamic countries while the former
shows the situation in Germany
C. Affirms the need for boycotting American products while the former depicts the
activity of boycotting in Europe
D. Repudiates the boycott toward American products while the former presents the
reason of boycotting
E. Points out the limitation of the activity while the former clarifies the need to do the
activity
3. From the second passage, it can be inferred that the topic discussed before the text B is…
A. The basic reason for repelling American products
B. The terror for Islamic countries
 C. The motivation for not boycotting all the products altogether
D. The effectiveness in carrying out the program
E. The economic advantage of the American firms
4. The most suitable word to least change the word “nascent” in “The boycotts appear to be
part of a nascent worldwide movement.” in the first passage is…
A. Newly born
B. Rising
C. Perilous
D. Vital
E. Fretting

TEXT 2
Among the environmental specters confronting humanity in the 21st century – global
warming, the destruction of rain forests, overfishing of the oceans – a shortage of fresh water is
at the top of the list, particularly in the developing world. Hardly a month passes without a new
study making another alarming prediction, further deepening concern over what a World Bank
expert calls the “grim arithmetic of water.” Recently the United Nations said that 2.7 billion
people would face severe water shortages by 2025 if consumption continuous at current rates.
Fears about a parched future arise from a projected growth of world population from more than
six billion today to an estimated nine billion in 2050. Yet the amount of fresh water on Earth is
not increasing. Nearly 97 percent of the planet’s water is salt water in seas and oceans. Close to
2 percent of Earth’s water is frozen in polar ice sheets and glaciers, and a fraction of one percent
is available for drinking, irrigation, and industrial use.
Gloomy water news, however, is not just a thing of the future: Today an estimated 1.2
billion people drink unclean water, and about 2.5 billion lack proper toilets or sewerage systems.
More than five million people die each year from water-related diseases such as cholera and
dysentery. All over the globe farmers and municipalities are pumping water out of the ground
faster than it can be replenished. Still, as I discovered on a two-month trip to Africa, India, and
Spain, a host of individuals, organizations, and businesses are working to solve water’s dismal
arithmetic.
5. The subject matter discussed in the passage is…
A. The effect of fresh water shortage
B. Project to provide fresh and clean water
C. Nature disturbance leading to availability of water
D. Alarming condition of the world water shortage
E. The amount of fresh water on earth
6. The part following the passage will likely discuss about…
A. The spread of greater water shortage in Africa, India, and Spain
B. The writer’s discoveries of gloomy water news
C. Techniques taken to obtain maximum efficiency from every drop of water
D. Another environmental specters confronting humanity
E. The solving ideas of individuals, organizations, and businesses problems
7. What inference can undermine the information taken from the passage?
A. Poor sanitation leads to water-related illness
B. The growth of world population is imbalance with the clean water
availability
C. There is always new study making another alarming prediction about fresh
water
D. It is estimated that 1.2 billion people drink unclean water, and about 2.5 billion lack
proper toilets or sewerage systems
E. Only one percent of water is available for drinking, irrigation, and industrial use
8. The followings are the least meaning of the word “parched”…
A. Dried
B. Alight
C. Arid
D. Crispy
E. Droughty
TEXT 3
After rising steadily for almost a century, standards of education in the public schools of
Europe and North America have leveled off, and in the opinion of many parents and employers,
are actually falling. More and more children are leaving school with little more than basic
knowledge of reading, writing, and arithmetic, and illiteracy is becoming a social problem once
again. With dropout rates of twenty-seven percent in high school and fifty percent in colleges,
the American education system is clearly in trouble; European dropout rates, though lower than
those of U.S., are rising too.
Various factors have been blamed for the apparent decline in educational standards.
Some people say that over-crowding and lack of discipline are major factors. Others maintain
that subjects like art and drama have been overemphasized at the expense of more practical
subjects. The negative influence of television is frequently mentioned as a reason for growing
illiteracy. Many teachers and principals, however, insist that the problem is not of falling
standards but of rising expectations on the part of parents and employers.
Whether or not standards in public schools are actually falling, many parents feel that the
only way to secure a good education for their children is to send them to private schools, which
generally have smaller class and stricter discipline. The popularity of such schools is going
steadily, despite the high tuition fees. In the United States, for example, eleven percent of all
school children attend private schools; in France, over sixteen percent do so.
9. These following statements are true, except…
A. Many children quit school.
B. The dropout rate in Europe is lower than in U.S.
C. Parents hire teachers to teach their children at home.
D. Dropout rates are rising.
E. Lack of discipline is one of the factors which lead to the decline of educational
standards.
10. From the second paragraph, it can be inferred that…
A. Many factors are involved in the decline in educational standards in the U.S. and
Europe.
B. Factors which cause the decline in educational standards in the U.S. and
Europe are debatable.
C. The decline in educational standards in the U.S. and Europe is mainly caused by
parents and employers.
D. School needs more practical subjects.
E. Teachers and principals should be responsible to the decline in educational
standards in the U.S. and Europe.
11. “Others maintain that subjects like art and drama have been overemphasized…” the
underlined word has similar meaning with…
A. Affirm
B. Affiliate
C. Absorb
D. Adjust
E. Adore

TEXT 4
Antarctica has lost 3 trillion tons of ice in the past 25 years, and that ice loss has
accelerated rapidly over the last five years. In a new study, the most comprehensive to date of
the continent's icy status, an international group of 84 researchers analyzed data from multiple
satellite surveys, from 1992 to 2017. They discovered that Antarctica is currently losing ice
about three times faster than it did until 2012, climbing to a rate of more than 241 billion tons
(219 billion metric tons) per year. Total ice loss during the 25-year period contributed to sea
level rise of about 0.3 inches (around 8 millimeters), approximately 40 percent of which —
about 0.1 inches (3 mm) — happened in the past five years.
Millimeters of sea level rise may not sound like much, but previous surveys suggested
that Antarctica's massive ice sheets likely wouldn't be affected by climate change at all. The new
findings hint that the continent's ice cover may not be as resistant to warming as once thought,
and present a very different picture of Antarctica's potential contributions to a rising ocean:
Consider that if all of Antarctica's ice melted, the resulting water could elevate sea levels by
about 190 feet (58 meters), the researchers reported.
Their study, published online today (June 13) in the journal Nature Research, is one of
five Antarctica reports released simultaneously. Together, the studies evaluate past and present
conditions in Antarctica to determine the impact of climate change and human activity on the
continent, and to present strategies for the future of its ecology and geology. For the new study,
the scientists combined data from three types of satellite measurements to track changes in ice
over time, study co-author Andrew Shepherd, a professor of Earth observation with the School
of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds in the U.K., told Live Science.
“The satellite measurements tell us that the ice sheet is much more dynamic than we used
to think,” he said. “If you take a look at the first IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change) assessment report — 30 years ago, before we had satellite measurements of the Polar
Regions — you'll see that the ice sheets were not expected to respond to climate change at all.
The general consensus in glaciology was that ice sheets couldn't change rapidly — but that's not
the case,” Shepherd said.
12. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. The ice in Antarctica is decreasing three times faster than before.
B. The general consensus in glaciology is that Antarctic’s ice melts very slowly.
C. Antarctica has been losing tons of its ice in the past 25 years.
D. An international group of researchers published their studies of Antarctic’s
conditions.
E. The real conditions of the Antarctic’s ice are gained from satellite measurements
13. Another way of expressing “They discovered that Antarctica is currently losing ice about
three times faster than it did until 2012” in lines 4-5 is….
A. Antarctica was losing its ice about three times faster until 2012 than what they have
discovered now.
B. They found out that Antarctica is losing its ice about three times faster compared to
what happened before 2012.
C. They had realized that the ice in Antarctica before 2012 was three times larger than it
is
nowadays.
D. The rate of Antarctica losing its ice was discovered accelerating three times faster
than before in 2012.
E. They recently recognized that the ice in Antarctica is three times smaller than it was
before 2012.
14. The author begins paragraph 3 by explaining the purpose of the studies followed by….
A. The conclusions of the data collected from three satellite measurements
B. The exact measurements of the ice changes from three satellites
C. A proposal to get three types satellites for data collecting
D. The information on the materials and method of the latest one
E. A plan to get data about the ice changes from three satellites
15. What does Andrew Shepherd imply by saying “The satellite measurements tell us that
the ice sheet is much more dynamic than we used to think.”?
A. The researchers had never thought that the ice sheet couldn’t change at such a great
rate.
B. The ice sheet has been changing at a great rate as the researchers usually saw with the
satellite.
C. The researchers have just realized the ice sheet’s greater dynamic changes from the
satellite measurements.
D. The researchers have never realized that the ice sheet has been changing much more
dynamically than before.
E. The satellite measures the ice changes much more quickly than the researchers ever
did