Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions
The ballpoint pen
Most of us have at least one, but how did this popular item evolve?
One morning in 1945, a crowd of 5,000 people jammed the entrance of Gimbels Department Store in New York. The day before, Gimbels had placed a full-page advertisement in the New York Times for a wonderful new invention, the ballpoint pen. The advertisement described the pen as 'fantastic' and 'miraculous'. Although they were expensive, $12.50 each, all 10,000 pens in stock were sold on the first day.
In fact, this 'new' pen was not new at all. In 1888, John Loud, a leather manufacturer, had invented a pen with a reservoir of ink and a rolling ball. However, his pen was never produced, and efforts by other people to produce a commercially successful one failed too. The main problem was with the ink. If it was too thin, the ink leaked out of the pen. If it was too thick, it didn't come out of the pen at all.
Almost fifty years later, in 1935, a newspaper editor in Hungary thought he spent too much time filling his pens with ink. He decided to invent a better kind of pen. With the help of his brother, who was a chemist, he produced a ballpoint pen that didn't leak when the pen wasn't being used. The editor was called Ladislas Biro, and it was his name that people would associate more than any other with the ballpoint pen.
By chance, Biro met Augustine Justo, the Argentinian president. Justo was so impressed with Biro's invention that he invited him to set up a factory in Argentina. În 1943, the first Biro pens were produced. Unfortunately, they were not popular, since the pen needed to be held in a vertical position for the ink to come out. Biro redesigned the pen with a better ball, and in 1944 the new product was on sale throughout Argentina.
It was a North American, Milton Reynolds, who introduced the ballpoint pen to the USA. Copying Biro's design, he produced the version that sold so well at Gimbels. Another American, Patrick Frawley, improved the design and in 1950 began producing a pen he called the Papermate. It was an immediate success, and within a few years, Papermates were selling in their millions around the world.
(Adapted from Complete IELTS, Rawdon Wyatt, 2012)
People went to Gimbels to buy a ballpoint pen because ____________.
Why were early ballpoint pens not produced commercially?
Why was Ladislas Biro's pen better than earlier models?
Biro's first commercially-produced pen _________.
Patrick Frawley's pen ________.
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the sentence that best combines each pair of sentences in the following questions
He isn't qualified. He is not given important tasks.
He started working in the World Bank. That was right after he had graduated from university.
Mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the underlined part that needs correction in each of the following questions
Find the mistake: All camp attendants were sent a questionnaire eliciting demographic details, symptoms and possible exposures, including food history and contact with other cases.
Find the mistake: Scientists think there is water on Mars a long time ago.
Find the mistake: Voters and policymakers should hold school districts and its employees accountable for student learning
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions
Choose the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s): We racked our brains but we couldn't come up with a solution.
Choose the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s): Her graceful performance of this traditional art form in the evening session was a real source of pleasure.
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions
The growth in employment and wages gives consumers some spending __________ to absorb the higher cost of energy.
___________ trees around the house on the south and west sides, they can save up to about $300 a year.
_________ to the nearest city, we will have driven for 5 days.
Can I have a glass of water? I have got a ___________ in my throat.
Nothing, even A.I., can replace teachers __________ it will be widely used in classroom.
The 26th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) ________in Hanoi from January 18th to 21st, 2018.
The map of the top ten most densely ________ countries in the world includes Monaco, Singapore, Bahrain, Malta, and Bangladesh.
Much of our knowledge about prehistoric animals comes from the study of ________.
It's the first time she has enjoyed such a ___________ cake.
He was forced to ______________ his pride and asked if he could have his old job back.
The longer Karen waited for the exam result, ________ she became.
You will be brought before the disciplinary panel to ____________ your behavior.
Inspector Moro was determined to get to the __________ of the mystery.
People are worried ___________ losing their jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The journey soon became tedious, __________.
Mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the sentence thar is closest in meaning to each of the following questions
It's possible for us to borrow books from the school library.
"It's me. I broke your vase." Jane said to Ann.
The last time Susan went to school by bike was one year ago.
Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word in each of the following questions
Choosee the word CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word: Ha Long Bay has attracted millions of visitors who come to enjoy its breathtaking views and experience other activities.
Choosee the word CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word: At first, there was a lot of opposition from the parents of the disabled children as they were not under the impression that their children could learn anything at all.
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the word whose underlined part differs from the three in pronunciation in each of the following questions
Choose the word whose underlined part differs from the three in pronunciation: manly, dangeres, capable, ancient
Choose the word whose underlined part differs from the three in pronunciation: foods, strikes, creates, hopes
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions
Perhaps the greatest invention in history is writing. The flexibility of writing is perhaps the key to much of its power. But it may be that writing's very flexibility can be a curse as well as a blessing. A common concern with oral histories is the possibility that the truth will get distorted over time and that rumors will become truth. Written history evidences the same problem.
Throughout the centuries that writing has existed, forged documents have also existed. An ancient letter supposedly written by the Roman emperor Constantine in the 4h century A.D. shows that the duration of a document is not proof of its truth. For many centuries, the Catholic Church relied on this letter to enforce the legitimacy of its rule and its land. The letter from Constantine stated that he had become a Christian and donated a portion of his land to the Pope and to future Popes in the Catholic Church. Although it is true that Constantine converted to Christianity, the letter itself was discovered to be a forgery in the 15th century, and probably originated in the 8th century.
In addition to historical documents, great literature has also been forged. William Shakespeare, who died in 1616, is perhaps the most famous author in the world. Wouldn't someone benefit if a long-lost play was found? In 1796, William Henry Ireland announced that he had indeed found such a play entitled Vortigern. He sold it to a London theater producer, but as soon as he handed over the script, the producer immediately realized it was fake. He decided to produce it anyway as an April Fool's Day joke.
Some fake documents are easily debunked by highly literate people by comparing the suspicious document to writing that was definitely written by the author in question. If the writing style does not correspond to the known sample, it is not hard to declare the writing to be fake. However, it is not always so easy to use writing style, grammatical patterns, and word usage as a basis for identifying the real author of a of William Shakespeare.
In 1989, literature professor Don Foster identified a poem called "A Funeral Elegy" as the work of William Shakespeare. The work was added to collections of Shakespeare’s work, but in 2002 it was re- classified as the work of another writer - and Foster, now aware of his mistake, agreed.
(Adapted from Reading Explorer 5, Nancy Douglas et al., 2012)
The best title for this passage is that ________.
According to the passage, why would the flexibility of writing be a curse as well as a blessing?
What happened as a result of the forged letter from Constantino?
Which of the following statements would the author probably agree with?
The underlined word "debunked” in the passage is closest in meaning to ___________
The underlined word "it" in the passage refers to __________
Based on the passage, it could be suggested that Don Foster's error was __________
Mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the word that differs from the other three in the position of the primary stress in each of the following questions
Choose the word that differs from the other three in the position of the primary stress: maximum, applicant, inflation, character
Choose the word that differs from the other three in the position of the primary stress: travel, suggest, sustain, involve
Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that best completes the following exchanges
Peter and Mary are talking about social networks.
- Peter: "Using social networks may have negative effects on students.
- Mary: “____________It distracts them from their studies."
Two high school students, Jane and John, are talking in the school yard.
- Jane: “ _____________”
- John: Thanks a bunch. Got it from my brother on my birthday
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct word that best fits each of the blanks
For the Japanese, Mount Fuji has long been the ultimate symbol of beauty. It is incredibly beautiful when seen from any (46) __________ at all times of day and in any season. But the mountain does not only play a major part in the landscape - it has also inspired poets and artists for centuries and has come to be (47) ________ with Japan itself. From the top, the sides of the mountain slope away, then flatten out before reaching the ground Here, at ground level the foot of the mountain forms an almost perfect circle.
To the north of Mount Fuji lie the famous 'Five Lakes'. The lakeside area is a sea of colour in spring when the first trees are flowering, and it is a stunning sight in autumn when the leaves turn first brilliant red, then many shades of brown. (48) _________, many of the best views of Mount Fuji are from these lakes, (49) _________ still waters reflect the mountain's beautifully symmetrical outline like a mirror. Both Mount Fuji and its lakes are volcanic (50) _____________ origin, and that is probably why traditional stories say that Mount Fuji appeared overnight; and, for the same reason, it may one day vanish just as suddenly.
(Adapted from FCE 4, Cambridge University Press)
(46) __________
(47) __________
(48) __________
(49) __________
(50) __________
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