Choose the word whose underlined part is pronounced differently from that of the others.
drought
sought
bought
fought
Choose the word which has the underlined part pronounced differently from the others.
exhalation
exuberant
execution
exhibition
Choose the word that differs from the rest in the position of the main stress.
Choose the word whose primary stress is placed differently from that of the others.
Choose the word that differs from the rest in the position of the main stress.
Although she had never used a word processor before, she soon got the ______ of it.
The board proposes that the majority of this year’s profits _____ in the new product development.
_____, the diners settled the bill and left the restaurant.
_____, the balcony chairs will be ruined in this weather.
The art thieves _____ inside knowledge of the museum’s security procedures.
I’m afraid we got our _______crossed – I thought my husband would be picking up the children and he thought I was doing it.
A: Have you told your dad what’s bothering you?
B: I’d ______than my parents.
Read the text and choose the best answer to fill in the blanks.
Early Speech Development
If you're the proud parent of a toddler or preschooler, you are probably aware of the of speech development. It seems almost as though virtually overnight those heart-warming gurgles and coos have into words and later, into coherent sentences. According to recent research, language development begins much sooner than any of us had ever suspected. It is now believed that babies can hear while they are in the womb and this explains why babies that are only hour’s old can distinguish between their own mother's voice and the voices of other women. Language development is grounded in imitation. Babies language by listening to those around them and then copying the sounds and speech that they are exposed to. Most child psychologists are of the that babies respond better to ‘baby talk’ - speech that is pitched and melodious. They stress, however, that baby talk should be spoken in and that a combination of baby talk and normal conversation is the ideal way to promote language development. Some parents worry that their toddler is behind its peers when it comes to speech development. Experts are quick to advise them, however, that these starters will gradually catch up with their more communicative counterparts.
Read the following passage and choose the best answer to the questions.
Genetic engineering - the unimaginable face of the future?
If we now know enough to be able to make changes in the genetic material that we hand on to our children, why not seize this power? Why not control what has been left to chance in the past? Social and environmental influences already control many other aspects of our children's lives and identities. We do not quarrel with the use of orthodontics to straighten teeth, or good nutrition and education to enhance intelligence. Can we really reject positive genetic influences on the next generation's minds and bodies when we accept the rights of parents to benefit their children in every other way?
It seems to me inevitable that genetic engineering will eventually be used. It will probably begin in a way that is most ethically acceptable to the largest portion of society, to prevent babies inheriting conditions that have a severe impact on the quality of life, such as heart or lung conditions. The number of parents needing or desiring this service might be tiny, but their experience would help to ease society's fears, and geneticists could then begin to expand their services to prevent the inheritance of genes leading to other disorders that have a less severe impact, or an impact delayed until adulthood. At the same time, other genes could be added to improve various health characteristics and disease resistance in children who would not otherwise have been born with any particular problem.
The final frontier will be the mind and the senses. Here, genetic engineering could have enormous benefits. Alcohol addiction could be eliminated, along with tendencies toward mental disease and antisocial behaviour like extreme aggression. People's senses of sight and hearing could be improved, allowing for new dimensions in art and music. And when our understanding of brain development has advanced, geneticists will be able to provide parents with the option of enhancing various intellectual attributes as well.
Is there a limit to what can be accomplished with genetic enhancements? Some experts say there are boundaries beyond which we cannot go. But humans have a tendency to prove the experts wrong. One way to identify types of human enhancements that lie in the realm of possibility - no matter how outlandish they may seem today - is to consider what already exists in the living world. If another living creature already has a particular attribute, then we can work out its genetic basis and eventually we should be able to make it available to humans. For example, we could provide humans with a greatly enhanced sense of smell like that of dogs and other mammals, and the ability to 'see' objects in complete darkness through a biological sonar system like the one that allows bats to find their way in the dark.
In the longer term, it might be possible to identify the genetic information which allows creatures to live under extreme conditions here on Earth - like the microscopic bacteria that live in scalding hot water around volcanic vents on the ocean floor, far removed from light and free oxygen, and other creatures that use a biological form of antifreeze to thrive in sub-zero temperatures around Antarctica. One day it may even be possible to incorporate photosynthetic units into human embryos so that humans could receive energy directly from the sun, just like plants. Such genetic gifts could allow these genetically modified humans to survive on other planets in the solar system, where they could in turn use genetic engineering to further enhance the ability of their own children to survive in their chosen worlds.
In the short term, though, most genetic enhancements will surely be much more mundane. They will provide little fixes to all of the naturally occurring genetic defects that shorten the lives of so many people. They will enrich physical and cognitive attributes in small ways. But as the years go by over the next two centuries, the number and variety of possible genetic extensions to the basic human genome* will rise dramatically - like the additions to computer operating systems that occurred during the 1980s and 1990s. Extensions that were once unimaginable will become indispensable - to those parents who are able to afford them.
*The total of all the genes that are found in one living thing.
Genetic engineering may first be applied to disabilities affecting babies because______.
Which of the following is CLOSEST in meaning to the word "thrive" in paragraph 5?
Read the article which discusses whether machines could ever have human qualities.
Seven paragraphs have been removed from the article. Choose from the paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap.
Missing paragraphs:
A. It could be different from the human variety. Take death, for example. A computer with a back-up tape might not see death as a big deal. Think about how different life would be if we had back-up tapes.
B. The story raised the issue of whether or not something manufactured would have a soul – that mysterious entity which is the very essence of humanness, the thing that links us irrevocably to God.
C. For Philip Clayton, a theologian and philosopher, such an idea goes against the grain of much religious thinking. But he agrees that, in the future, as machines become more like humans, the distinction between them could become blurred. ‘On what grounds would we withhold souls from computers when they inhabit humanoid robotic bodies, accept visual input, give output with human voices and function comfortably in many social contexts?’ he asks.
D. Stories such as Frankenstein suggest that the things we humans create are often much more than the sum of their parts. Many people imagine that if we built something, we would know all about it.
E. If it lives up to expectations, it will express emotions. Eventually, they argue, it’s surely going to be able to say, ‘I’m afraid,’ or ‘I’m bored,’ and mean it. And if it does say such things – and mean them – then is it so far-fetched to wonder if it would have a soul?
F. Constant rejection has finally led it to commit murder. Yet when it first became conscious it was not evil. ‘Believe me,’ it says in anguish, ‘I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity.’
G. It is interesting that we are happy to consider the Frankenstein creation in terms of what its thoughts are or the fact that it has self-will. But this is fiction. Whether or not a machine is conscious, and whether we can prove it, is a fascinating philosophical exercise, nothing more, nothing less.
H. Opinions tend to fall between two extremes. Many people want to draw an unbreachable divide between humans and machines, insisting that however smart a computer might become it could never have a soul. On the other hand, some artificial intelligence researchers insist that humans are just complex machines, so why wouldn’t a silicon-based machine also have a soul? For these scientists, a soul would be simply an emergent property of a very complex system.
Note: There is ONE extra paragraph that you do not need to use.
One of the high points in Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein is when the tragic creature cobbled together from cadavers comes face to face with its human creator Victor Frankenstein, the real monster of the story.
This heart-wrenching declaration exposes a paradox about the hapless creature. Frankenstein built his creation from spare parts, so in one sense it is just a machine. Yet the creature instinctively understands himself as human, something more than a machine.
Nearly two centuries later the same question has surfaced again. And today the question is being asked not of some fictional creature but of machines in various states of creation that promise to have human-like senses and to be conscious, at least in some form. Theologians and computer scientists are starting to wonder if any of these machines might ever be said to have a soul. If so, would such a soul be like a human being’s, or something altogether different?
Between these two poles stretches a continuum of opinion. For example, Jennifer Cobb, a theologian and author of a forthcoming book on theology and cyberspace, says that today’s computers are about as alive as viruses – but ‘along with a little bit alive comes a little bit of soul,’ she says. ‘If the day comes when computation becomes so complex as to express emotions, then they will have quite a bit more soul. It’s an infinite resource with infinite potential.’
Artificial intelligence researchers are already dabbling with emotional machines and computers that could become conscious of their surroundings and of themselves. One of the most ambitious of these projects is Cog, a talking robot designed in human form that will be capable of exploring the world through sight, sound, and touch. The project team hopes that Cog will be able to discover the world the way a human baby does, and will thus come to understand things as a child does.
Yet how would we tell if a computer developed a soul? It might not be enough for a computer to look, behave and think like a human. It might also involve a more complex definition, such as the possession of a sense of moral responsibility, or sense of self. Of course, a sense of moral responsibility could be programmed into a computer. But what if a silicon-based being were to develop a morality of its own – its own conscience? What would that be like?
Alternatively, a computer could be ‘cloned’ so many examples of the same ‘being’ could exist. What would that do to the machine’s conception of itself and others? We just don’t know what ethics would be like for a computer – we barely know how to imagine such a thing.
But this is not necessarily so. From Shelley’s nineteenth-century monster to today’s real-life robots, complex entities have a habit of taking on a life of their own.
Supply the correct form of the words given in brackets.
There is an example at the beginning (0). EXAMPLE: 0. Traditional
For decades - for centuries, in fact - students have been listening to lectures, reading books and taking exams. But this (0.TRADITION) traditional mode of instruction is becoming ever more (ADEQUACY) as a method of educating our young people. In a complex world (RUN) with information, there’s one skill above all that the next generation will need: the capacity to engage in (CRITICISM) thinking.
The college would seem to be an ideal time to develop this faculty, but higher education’s often-hidebound ways aren’t doing the job. One widely-cited study found that at least 45 percent of students in its sample did not demonstrate any (STATISTICS) significant improvement in their (REASON) and communication skills during their first two years of college.
Spurred by such findings, educators have sought to engineer new approaches. One that seems to be working: asking undergraduates to conduct actual scientific research. It may seem (PLAUSIBLE) or impractical to expect college students to carry out (AUTHENTICITY) experiments - as (OPPOSITION) to “cookbook” lab exercises with a (ORDAIN) result. But that’s exactly what CUREs are all about. CUREs - course-based undergraduate research experiences - are becoming increasingly popular, (IMPLEMENTATION) at hundreds of colleges and universities across the country.
Read the text below and think of ONE word which best fits each gap.
There is an example at the beginning (0).
Many parents find the fussy eating habits of their children distressing due to the fact that they feel that their offspring may not be obtaining proper nutritional benefits from the food that they eat. In (0) response to these concerns, the University of London has conducted extensive research in an to better understand why some children are more particular what they ingest than others. Their findings and conclusions have proved quite thought-provoking. The university initiated the study by collecting questionnaires from 244 mothers of children between seven and nine years old. In one of these surveys, specific questions were asked regarding: what the child’s food were, the length of time required for the child to consume a normal portion of food, whether there was an avoidance of particular food groups, and finally, whether the child had any control over the portion sizes being served. In a survey, the focus was placed primarily on how the care-giver (normally the mother) reacted to the child’s behavior. Again, the results of the study proved to be quite astounding. Researchers discovered that the more pressure the mother exerted on the child to encourage conformance to a certain eating pattern, the acquiescent the child was in its acceptance of the rigid rules of conduct placed on him during times. Regarding those mothers whose primary concern it was to control portion size, for fear of encouraging in their child, there was strong evidence that these children had a tendency to overreact whenever the opportunity itself.
Read the text below and look carefully at each line. Some of the sentences are correct, and some are incorrect. One sentence may contain up to two mistakes.
- If a sentence is correct, put “v” in the 2 boxes.
- If a sentence is incorrect, write the error and provide correction by the number of the question. If the correction is just removing the redundant word, type "x" in box 2.
(1) We have all heard tales about difficult people at work, usually managers, but the office is also where many people make friends, and friends inspire us to feeling more enthusiastic about the job we do. (2) Research has found that more than half of British workers meet their best friends in the office and more than the third say that they go on holiday with their fellow workers. (3) The changing nature of work – more flexibility, more multi-tasking – means that people seek stability from their workmates. (4) Friendships bring support in a changing world. (5) A collaborative working environment paves a way to make job-sharing and expansion roles more with an option for employers and employees. (6) So fun workplaces, where friendships flourish, attract workers who can handle with changing job roles. (7) This is not entirely surprising although it may be when Elton Mayo conducted experiments in human behavior with workers at the Western Electric Company in Chicago in 1920s. (8) By fiddling with the factory lighting levels, Mayo found that productivity and morale were affected more by cohesion levels among staff as by physical conditions. (9) The conclusion he drew from these experiments was that work is a social affair.
Sentence (1)
Error: => Correct:
Sentence (2)
Error: => Correct:
Sentence (3)
Error: => Correct:
Sentence (4)
Error: => Correct:
Sentence (5)
Error: => Correct:
Error: => Correct:
Sentence (6)
Error: => Correct:
Sentence (7)
Error 1: => Correct:
Error 2: => Correct:
Sentence (8)
Error: => Correct:
Sentence (9)
Error: => Correct:
Complete the second sentence, using the word given so that it has a similar meaning to the sentence printed before it. Write between THREE and EIGHT words, including the word given in brackets, in the space provided on the answer sheet. Do not change the word given in brackets in any way.
Mary felt entirely comfortable when her boss was around. (EASE)
=> Mary felt entirely her boss.
Complete the second sentence, using the word given so that it has a similar meaning to the sentence printed before it. Write between THREE and EIGHT words, including the word given in brackets, in the space provided on the answer sheet. Do not change the word given in brackets in any way.
He said their marriage has been successful as they are tolerant of each other. (PUT)
=> He the fact that they are tolerant of each other.
Complete the second sentence, using the word given so that it has a similar meaning to the sentence printed before it. Write between THREE and EIGHT words, including the word given in brackets, in the space provided on the answer sheet. Do not change the word given in brackets in any way.
It would be impossible for us to redecorate the house at the moment because we don’t have enough money. (QUESTION)
=> Redecorating the house is at the moment because we don’t have enough money.
Complete the second sentence, using the word given so that it has a similar meaning to the sentence printed before it. Write between THREE and EIGHT words, including the word given in brackets, in the space provided on the answer sheet. Do not change the word given in brackets in any way.
These days people regard that kind of behavior as normal. (COME)
=> That kind of behavior as normal.
Complete the second sentence, using the word given so that it has a similar meaning to the sentence printed before it. Write between THREE and EIGHT words, including the word given in brackets, in the space provided on the answer sheet. Do not change the word given in brackets in any way.
I don’t understand one word of this document. (HEAD)
=> I can’t this document.
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first one.
Ann’s work has hardly got any better at all this term.
=> There has ..........
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first one.
I wasn’t brave enough to enter the burning building again.
=> I didn’t have ..........
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first one.
He was so enthusiastic that he apparently ignored any warning signs.
=> Such ..........
Complete the second sentence so that it has the same meaning to the first.
A couple’s happiness depends on the frequency of communication.
=> The more..........
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first one.
As her notes are incomplete, Sharon wasn’t concentrating very hard in the lessons.
=> Sharon can’t ..........
Write a paragraph of about 140 words about the reasons why an increasing number of cafeterias and restaurants are replacing single-use plastic items such as plastic straws and utensils with paper ones.