Read the following passage and choose the correct answer to each of the questions.
A tour marketed as "eco-friendly" is widely assumed to channel a traveller's spending directly into the community it visits, rewarding local guides, family-run lodges, and small businesses for protecting the environment around them. This assumption is central to how ecotourism is sold: the label itself implies that choosing this kind of holiday is an act of support for the destination and its people. Whether that assumption holds, however, depends less on a tour's label than on where the money actually goes.
Consider a traveller who books an all-inclusive package tour marketed as an eco-adventure in a small coastal town. The flight is operated by an international airline, and the fare is paid to that airline's headquarters overseas. The package includes several nights at a resort belonging to a global hotel chain, whose profits are returned to shareholders abroad rather than reinvested locally. Even the guided excursions, arranged through a foreign booking platform, return only a modest commission to the guide who actually leads the tour.
Economists have a term for this outward flow of tourist spending: tourism leakage. According to a widely cited UNEP estimate, for many all-inclusive package tours, around 80 percent of what a traveller spends never remains within the destination country, instead flowing back out through foreign-owned airlines, hotel chains, and travel agencies. This pattern happens again and again in destinations that differ sharply in geography and culture, because it comes not from local conditions but from who owns the businesses involved in the transaction.
From this perspective, an "eco" label reveals very little about where a traveller's money actually ends up. Because leakage depends on business ownership rather than marketing claims, a package can be sold as sustainable while still directing most of its revenue abroad. Genuine ecotourism is better measured by how much spending remains within the community it claims to support than by any label printed on a brochure.
In which paragraph does the writer mention the role of foreign hotel shareholders?
The word "channel" in paragraph 1 is CLOSEST in meaning to _____.
In which paragraph does the writer explain how genuine ecotourism should actually be evaluated?
The word "modest " in paragraph 2 is OPPOSITE in meaning to _____.
considerable
humble
limited
unpredictable
The word "that assumption" in paragraph 1 refers to _____.
the idea that ecotourism requires massive international funding
the idea that ecotourism guarantees superior holiday experiences
the idea that ecotourism directly benefits local communities
the idea that ecotourism relies exclusively on guides
Which of the following best paraphrases the sentence in paragraph 3?
"This pattern happens again and again in destinations that differ sharply in geography and culture, because it comes not from local conditions but from who owns the businesses involved in the transaction."
Local geography and culture primarily determine this financial leakage, regardless of which companies own the involved businesses.
Rather than local circumstances, business ownership is what drives this persistent financial leakage across vastly different destinations.
This financial leakage rarely occurs in geographically distinct destinations because local conditions dictate business transactions.
Although business ownership varies worldwide, local economic conditions consistently cause financial leakage in every destination.
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true about the hypothetical coastal package tour?
The international airline transfers a majority of its ticket sales directly to coastal town authorities.
Overseas shareholders receive profits generated by the global hotel chain operating in the town.
The local guide conducting excursions receives only a small fraction of the total booking fee.
The flight associated with the holiday is managed by an overseas airline operator.
Which of the following can be reasonably inferred from the passage?
Read the following passage and choose the option that best fits each of the blanks.
Supporters of self-driving cars often quote a striking figure: according to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, human error is involved in around 94 per cent of serious crashes. (1) _____. Yet the figure is often misread. It shows that a driver's mistake was the final step before a crash, (2) _____. Poor road design, bad weather or a faulty vehicle may also have played a part.
Machines, meanwhile, bring risks of their own. A self-driving system learns from millions of hours of ordinary traffic, so it performs well in situations it has met before. (3) _____. A child chasing a ball or a police officer waving cars through a red light can confuse software that has no real understanding.
A second danger lies with the people inside. In 2018, a self-driving car in Arizona struck and killed a pedestrian while its safety driver, who should have been watching the road, was looking at a phone. Cases like this point to a worrying pattern: (4) _____.
When such a car crashes, it is also unclear whether the blame should fall on the driver, the carmaker or the programmer. (5) _____. The safest roads will be those on which each partner makes up for the other's weaknesses.
Choose the correct option for (1).
Human drivers, in other words, are rarely to blame for accidents
What worries them most is that machines cause more accidents than drivers
It is not the driver but the car that causes most accidents
Remove the human driver, they argue, and most accidents will disappear
Choose the correct option for (2).
Choose the correct option for (3).
Rare situations, as a result, pose almost no danger to such systems
What it struggles with is the rare situation it has never seen
Only in rare situations does it perform better than a human driver
Having seen so much, it can handle even rare, unexpected situations
Choose the correct option for (4).
Choose the correct option for (5).
Only when humans are removed completely will machines make roads safe
Never again should humans hand control over to machines
Safety, then, will come from humans and machines working together
What makes roads safe is keeping humans and machines strictly apart
Read the following advertisement and choose the best answer for each blank.
Join Green Earth's annual E-waste Collection Campaign this weekend!
Improper disposal of electronic waste can cause serious to the environment. Toxic chemicals can leak into the soil and water. Therefore, device we collect will be safely dismantled and processed by certified professionals.
You are welcome to your old phones, laptops, and broken batteries at our main collection tent in Central Park. By recycling your electronics, you help to valuable natural resources like copper and gold for future generations.
We highly appreciate your active participation in this important green initiative. If your broken appliances are heavy to carry, you can by our volunteer team straight from your home. Call us today to schedule a pickup!
Read the following passage and choose the correct answer to each of the questions.
Few professional decisions are as psychologically taxing as recognising that a long-held career path no longer fits an industry's shifting demands. Although counsellors often encourage workers to reassess their trajectory periodically, many professionals persist in roles that have quietly stopped serving them. This reluctance has less to do with practical necessity than with a well-documented pattern in decision-making psychology: continuing to invest effort in a path simply because so much has already been invested in it.
Consider a magazine editor who joined a small publishing house after graduation. In her first years, the role suited her well: she refined her writing under experienced mentors, built a loyal readership, and steadily earned greater editorial responsibility. The satisfaction this early success brought reinforced her sense that publishing was a calling rather than a job, and she willingly spent long hours mastering the craft, viewing every skill gained as a meaningful investment in her future.
Over time, however, the industry underwent a dramatic digital shift, and much of her work moved toward metrics-driven content that felt disconnected from the editorial judgment she had spent years cultivating. [I] She grew visibly less engaged, often describing her tasks as repetitive rather than creative. [II] Colleagues occasionally suggested she consider a field better suited to her original strengths, yet she dismissed the idea, citing the eight years already spent climbing the editorial ladder. [III] Rather than reassessing her options, she chose to remain, fearing that leaving now would make those years meaningless. [IV] Even so, she kept accepting assignments she privately found unfulfilling, postponing any serious reconsideration of her path.
This pattern illustrates the sunk cost fallacy: the belief that past investment justifies continuing a course of action even when its future outlook no longer supports it. Compounding this bias is identity attachment, whereby a role becomes so entangled with a person's sense of self that abandoning it feels like abandoning part of one's identity. Together, these forces inflate the perceived investment already made, making a career pivot appear riskier than a rational assessment would suggest.
Overcoming this bias does not require ignoring past effort, but rather practising rational reassessment: judging a career path by its future prospects rather than by resources already sunk into it. Professionals who eventually pivot successfully often describe the decision not as wasting prior experience, but as redirecting it toward a direction better aligned with whom they have become. Letting go of a fading path can, in the end, be the most rational investment of all.
According to paragraph 2, what made the magazine editor committed to her career at first?
Hearing from her mentors that she had a rare natural talent for editing.
Receiving a sizeable pay rise in recognition of her strong first-year results.
Finding that growing skills and more responsibility gave her real fulfilment.
Discovering that her readers valued her work more than her employer did.
The word "taxing" in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______.
complicated
rewarding
demanding
beneficial
Which of the following is NOT implied in paragraph 3?
Where does the following sentence best fit in paragraph 3?
"Yet focusing on lost time obscured a bigger threat: every year spent clinging to a fading role is a year no longer invested in building skills the job market increasingly demands."
The word "it" in paragraph 5 refers to ______.
the final decision
a fading path
rational reassessment
prior experience
Which sentence best summarises paragraph 4?
Identity attachment, rather than sunk cost thinking, fully explains why professionals stay.
The sunk cost fallacy and identity attachment operate as separate concepts with unrelated effects.
Rational analysis typically prevents workers from making poor decisions based on emotional biases.
Based on paragraph 5, which of the following professionals is reasoning most sensibly about a fading career?
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
Advice to reassess one's career path does not always lead workers to change course.
Digital shifts in modern industries usually compel most workers to switch roles immediately.
Many professionals quit their roles quietly as soon as daily tasks stop satisfying them.
Successful career pivots require individuals to disregard all skills gained from previous work.
According to the passage, in a career context, the concept of "identity attachment" is ______.
the belief that past financial investments will automatically guarantee future career stability.
a deep bond between one's role and self, making a career shift feel like losing part of identity
a strong connection with colleagues that leads workers to preserve their current corporate standing
the active effort to build a professional image by strictly following changing industry expectations
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
Why Professionals Stay: Overcoming Psychological Biases in Career Choices
How Digital Change Is Reshaping Publishing and the Careers of Its Editors
From Print to Digital: How Magazine Editors Adapt to Industry Trends
Mentors and Early Success: How Young Editors Build a Strong Foundation
Read the following passage and choose the best answer for each blank.
Looking for a productive summer? The National Retail Chain is expanding, and we are hunting for enthusiastic part-time staff!
There are over fifty exciting positions up for at our upcoming Job Fair. Working with us will provide you with experience in customer service and team management. , you will receive attractive weekly bonuses on your actual sales performance. If you wish to step out of your comfort zone, a dynamic and rewarding working environment will await you. Please bring your updated resume to the main hall this Saturday! You will also meet our friendly regional managers, who can answer your questions about future career growth within the company.
Don't miss this amazing chance your professional skills. Secure your spot at the fair today!
Choose the best way to rearrange the following sentences in order to make a meaningful conversation.
a. Phong: Really? That makes sense, but don't forget to get enough rest!
b. Phong: I haven't seen you at the gym recently, Tom. Have you stopped working out?
c. Tom: Not at all. Instead, I started swimming at the community pool three times a week.
Choose the best way to rearrange the following sentences in order to make a meaningful conversation.
a. Receptionist: Thank you, Mr. Green. I have found your reservation; however, your room is currently undergoing a routine safety inspection.
b. Receptionist: Good evening, sir. Welcome to the Grand Palace Hotel. How may I help you?
c. Receptionist: It should take approximately ten minutes. Meanwhile, please enjoy a complimentary beverage at our lounge.
d. Mr. Green: Good evening. I would like to check in, please. My name is Robert Green, and I reserved an executive suite for three nights.
e. Mr. Green: Oh, I see. How long will I have to wait in the lobby?
Choose the best way to rearrange the following sentences in order to make a meaningful letter.
Dear Mr. Jones,
a. A recent inspection found cracks in the tiles, and these must be fixed before guests can safely use the pool again.
b. Our reservations team is available around the clock to answer any further questions.
c. We regret to inform you that our main swimming pool will be closed for repairs during your stay from 12 to 16 July.
d. To make up for the inconvenience, we will provide free daily breakfast and passes to a partner pool nearby.
e. Alternatively, if you would prefer to move your booking to a later date, please let us know by 30 June.
Yours sincerely,
Laura Kent, Resort Manager
Choose the best way to rearrange the following sentences in order to make a meaningful text.
a. As a consequence of this endless stream of information, many individuals struggle to distinguish between verified facts and sensationalized news.
b. To combat this trend, educators strongly advise young adults to cultivate digital literacy skills and cross-check information before sharing it online.
c. Today, the rapid proliferation of social media platforms has made news consumption faster and more accessible than ever before.
d. This continuous exposure to bite-sized content, however, significantly reduces readers' attention spans and critical evaluation abilities.
e. For instance, recent studies indicate that over 60 percent of internet users share articles based solely on catchy headlines without reading the full body text.
Choose the best way to rearrange the following sentences in order to make a meaningful text.
a. Social media is often praised for helping people stay in touch with friends and relatives wherever they live.
b. On the other hand, many critics worry that online contact is gradually replacing real conversations.
c. Their concern seems justified, as surveys suggest that people with hundreds of online friends often have only one or two they could call in a crisis.
d. Overall, social media seems to strengthen relationships only when it adds to face-to-face contact rather than replacing it.
e. This benefit is clear in the case of students abroad, who can share photos and chat with their families every day.