Read the following passage and choose the correct answer to each of the questions.
Along many tropical coastlines, concrete seawalls and breakwaters have traditionally been considered the standard defence against storm surges and rising sea levels. In recent years, however, restoring mangrove forests has emerged as an alternative that researchers increasingly favour, not because it looks impressive, but because it tends to cost far less while still absorbing wave energy effectively.
The reasoning behind this shift is largely financial. Mangrove roots trap sediment and break the force of incoming waves, offering protection comparable to that of concrete structures where waves are relatively small. Such structures, by contrast, require ongoing maintenance and regular repair after storm damage. According to a 2016 study published in PLOS ONE, mangrove projects in Vietnam proved two to five times cheaper per metre of coastline than building a breakwater, depending on water depth.
This apparent advantage, however, conceals a significant obstacle: much of the coastline suited to mangrove restoration is currently occupied by shrimp farms. Several decades ago, large areas of mangrove forest were cleared to make way for shrimp ponds, since farming shrimp offered a more immediate income than the forest itself. As a result, restoring mangroves usually means persuading farmers to give up land that supports their livelihood, in exchange for protection whose benefits are shared collectively rather than earned individually.
Seen this way, mangrove restoration is not simply a matter of planting trees along an empty shore. Because the land in question is often already generating income for someone, any large-scale restoration effort must also address the economic loss faced by the people currently using it. Without support that offsets this loss, a genuinely cheaper form of coastal protection can remain difficult to put into practice, however sound the underlying logic may be.
The writer mentions concrete seawalls and breakwaters in paragraph 1 primarily to _____.
establish the traditional baseline against which a more economical natural alternative is presented
prove that artificial structures offer superior long-term resilience compared to native coastal vegetation
criticize local municipal authorities for investing in completely ineffective marine defense projects
detail the complex engineering requirements necessary for constructing modern concrete wave barriers
The word "ongoing" in paragraph 2 is CLOSEST in meaning to _____.
extensive
occasional
The word "conceals" in paragraph 3 is OPPOSITE in meaning to _____.
covers
overcomes
exposes
removes
The word "it" in paragraph 1 refers to _____.
wave energy
the standard defence
mangrove restoration
storm surge
Which of the following best paraphrases the bold sentence in paragraph 4?
"Without support that offsets this loss, a genuinely cheaper form of coastal protection can remain difficult to put into practice, however sound the underlying logic may be."
Although affected people receive financial help for their losses, a genuinely cheaper form of coastal defense faces severe implementation barriers despite lacking a solid logical basis.
Providing affected people financial help for their losses guarantees that a genuinely cheaper form of coastal defense avoids implementation barriers despite lacking a solid logical basis.
Even with a solid logical basis, a genuinely cheaper form of coastal defense cannot easily be applied unless affected people receive financial help for their losses.
It is the solid logical basis of a genuinely cheaper coastal defense that causes severe implementation barriers, depriving affected people of financial help for their losses.
Which of the following statements would the writer NOT agree with?
Cost is the main reason behind the recent move towards mangroves.
In which paragraph does the writer present a specific cost comparison?
In which paragraph does the writer introduce the obstacle that complicates mangrove restoration?
Read the following passage and choose the option that best fits each of the blanks.
Older generations often complain that young people cannot manage money. In 2017, an Australian property millionaire famously suggested that young adults could afford a home if they stopped buying expensive avocado toast, (1) _____. Many young people pointed out that a lifetime of skipped breakfasts would hardly pay for a single room.
Today, the same criticism has a new name: "doom spending", which describes spending money on travel, concerts or nice meals even while worrying about the economy. (2) _____. Yet this explanation may be too simple.
According to the National Association of Realtors, the typical American buying a first home in 2025 was 40 years old, a record high, compared with people in their late twenties in the 1980s. (3) _____. Spending money on a trip or a concert, by contrast, offers a reward that is certain and immediate. Seen this way, doom spending looks less like laziness and more like (4) _____.
Understanding the cause, however, does not make the habit harmless. (5) _____. Small, regular savings still build a safety net for emergencies, even if a house remains a distant dream.
Choose the correct option for (1).
Choose the correct option for (2).
In the eyes of most critics, such spending is merely evidence of poor self-control
Surprisingly, many critics regard such spending as a sensible way to save money
Critics are still studying whether such spending really reflects poor self-control
What critics find most alarming is that such spending has fallen sharply
Choose the correct option for (3).
Buying a home, therefore, has never been easier for young savers
When a home seems out of reach, small savings can feel pointless
Saving for a home, by contrast, offers a reward that is certain and immediate
It is rising rent, not housing prices, that most discourages young people from saving
Choose the correct option for (4).
Choose the correct option for (5).
The real danger lies not in occasional spending, but in giving up on saving altogether
The best solution requires young adults to stop all occasional spending and prioritize saving altogether
Most experts agree that the real danger should have been eliminated by recent changes in saving habits
The real danger lies nowhere in giving up on saving, but in refusing to enjoy the present at all
Read the following leaflet and choose the best answer for each blank.
Welcome aboard the Sunshine Open-Top Bus!
We showing you the most beautiful sights of our wonderful city today. Please remain seated while the vehicle is moving.
During the trip, you will visit famous landmarks, including the Royal Palace and the National Museum. The tour guide will announce our arrival at each tourist five minutes in advance.
As we drive through the old town, you will notice a building on your left, which used to be the city's first post office. Remember to bring a jacket, because we drive, the windier it gets on the top deck. Also, make sure you do not leave any personal belongings behind when you hop off. Enjoy this journey through our city's past!
Read the following passage and choose the correct answer to each of the questions.
Third Culture Kids, teenagers who spend their formative years outside their parents' home country, grow up straddling two different answers to the same question: how much independence does a young person actually deserve? Constant exposure to shifting social environments tends to produce self-reliance and a fairly individualist sense of identity, one shaped more by personal choice than by inherited convention. Whether that instinct toward independence causes friction at home, however, depends less on the teenager than on how closely a family's expectations still track the culture surrounding it.
In some households, this instinct meets little resistance. Parents who have themselves adapted to an autonomy-supportive style let their children choose friends, navigate unfamiliar social codes, and make everyday decisions with only light supervision. Disagreements still happen, of course, but they tend to resolve through ordinary negotiation rather than open conflict, and household rules are treated more as guidance than as restriction. [I] Over time, this arrangement produces a family life in which independence and closeness reinforce each other instead of competing.
[II] A different pattern emerges in households where parents respond to a liberal host culture by tightening their grip rather than loosening it. The impulse usually begins with a quiet fear that daily exposure to Western norms will hollow out a child's sense of heritage, and that fear soon settles into habit. [III] A curfew is enforced not as caution but as principle; a syllabus is scrutinised not for grades but for the values it might silently teach; a new friendship is greeted less with curiosity than with suspicion. None of this arrives as a single confrontation - it accumulates, one small refusal at a time, until the household itself starts to feel like contested territory. [IV] By the time an argument finally breaks out over something as ordinary as a choice of university major, it is rarely about the major at all.
Why do two families raising children in broadly similar circumstances end up so far apart? The answer lies less in personality than in what supervision is understood to be for. In more collectivist traditions, close parental oversight is framed as an obligation - a way of protecting family standing and passing on values intact. In cultures built around individual choice, the same oversight reads instead as an infringement on decisions that rightfully belong to the person making them. Neither framework is applied deliberately; both simply feel self-evident to the people living inside them.
No single parenting style guarantees peace in these households, and neither is inherently more loving than the other. What tends to matter is the fit between a family's expectations and the world its children actually inhabit. Where that fit breaks down, even well-intentioned control can read as rejection - a reminder that raising a child across cultures is less about choosing the right rules than about choosing them together.
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
Autonomy-Supportive Parenting: A Universal Strategy for Third Culture Kids
Third Culture Kids: Navigating Autonomy, Identity, and Familial Expectations
Autonomy-Supportive Parenting: Fostering Independence Across Diverse Cultural Contexts
The Hidden Risks of Western Influence on Adolescent Identity
According to paragraph 1, whether a teenager's desire for independence causes conflict mainly when ______.
The word "this" in paragraph 3 refers to ______.
the gradual increase in strict rules and distrust
the sudden argument over university majors
the child's attempt to abandon home traditions
the school lesson taught in Western classrooms
Where in the passage does the following sentence best fit?
"However, the consequences reach far beyond simple household disagreements, extending into deeper disputes over identity and belonging."
[I]
[II]
[III]
[IV]
According to paragraph 2, what characterizes households with an autonomy-supportive style?
What can be inferred from paragraph 4?
Parents carefully choose their parenting style after comparing different cultures.
Parents in traditional cultures recognize that strict supervision creates anxiety.
Parents modify their overall approach whenever a major conflict arises.
Parents adopt their parenting style naturally without analyzing it deeply.
The author mentions "curfews", "school syllabuses", and "new friendships" in paragraph 3 in order to _____.
demonstrate typical daily routines of teenagers living in Western host societies
illustrate how parental anxiety transforms into strict control over everyday matters
highlight common academic and social challenges faced by Third Culture Kids
argue that traditional parenting techniques are completely ineffective in host countries
It can be inferred from paragraph 5 that parental control _____.
is easily accepted by teenagers once parents explain their good intentions
creates more severe psychological damage in Third Culture Kids than in non-migrant ones
may be perceived as rejection when it mismatches the child’s reality
should be adjusted to match the dominant values of host societies
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
Collectivist parenting styles are ultimately outdated and harmful to modern family relationships.
Neither parenting approach is presented as inherently more effective at producing family harmony.
Family conflicts in multicultural environments usually begin with major career disagreements rather than daily routines.
Third Culture Kids tend to rely heavily on inherited social traditions when making major life choices.
The word "instinct" in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______.
Read the following passage and choose the best answer for each blank.
Dear residents, electronic waste is growing rapidly and can take a heavy on our local environment. To protect our neighborhood, we are launching a E-waste Collection Campaign this weekend!
Please bring the following items to the central square:
Please note that we do not accept large home appliances like refrigerators or washing machines. We have arranged extra trucks everything is transported safely to the recycling plant. In addition, all the e-waste during the event will be processed by certified professionals. This campaign aims to public awareness about sustainable living and toxic pollution. Bring your old electronics and let's keep our land clean!
Choose the best way to rearrange the following sentences in order to make a meaningful conversation.
a. Diego: I'd say the introduction of that vine has done far more harm than most people realise.
b. Mara: Why is that? It seemed like a fairly harmless plant when it was first brought in for erosion control.
c. Mara: There's growing concern about that invasive vine spreading through the rainforest reserve. What's your take on it?
d. Mara: That does put things in perspective. I'll read up on the native species it's affecting.
e. Diego: Because it grows fast enough to smother entire tree canopies, cutting off sunlight to countless native species below.
Choose the best way to rearrange the following sentences in order to make a meaningful letter.
Dear Mr. Brooks,
a. Given this publicity, we hope Stride Sportswear might donate the shirts or cover part of the cost.
b. In return for your support, your company's logo would appear on every shirt and on all our event posters.
c. Although over three hundred runners have already registered, we still lack the funds to provide shirts and water for them.
d. I would be delighted to visit your office and share our full sponsorship plan whenever suits you.
e. Our student council is organising a charity fun run in October to raise money for families affected by the recent floods.
Yours sincerely,
Tran Quoc Bao, Student Council President
Choose the best way to rearrange the following sentences in order to make a meaningful text.
a. This assumption seems reasonable given that livestock farming is widely reported as a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.
b. Many people assume that switching entirely to a plant-based diet is the most effective way to reduce one's environmental footprint.
c. However, closer analysis reveals that the environmental impact of a diet depends heavily on how and where the food is produced.
d. What ultimately matters, then, is not the category of food consumed but the sustainability of the production methods behind it.
e. Certain plant crops, when grown using intensive irrigation or long-distance transportation, can generate a carbon footprint comparable to that of some animal products.
Choose the best way to rearrange the following sentences in order to make a meaningful text.
a. Sociologists warn that this shift may be eroding a subtle but significant mechanism through which cultural continuity was once sustained.
b. These daily rituals often doubled as opportunities to transmit cultural values and practical wisdom from elders to younger family members.
c. Contemporary urban lifestyles, however, have increasingly fragmented this tradition, as demanding work schedules leave little room for shared meals.
d. In earlier generations, Vietnamese families typically gathered for communal meals prepared collectively, reinforcing close intergenerational bonds.
e. Convenience-driven habits, such as ordering food individually or eating in front of screens, have gradually replaced the communal dining experience.
d - e - a - b - c
b - d - e - c - a
d - b - c - e - a
d - e - b - c - a
Choose the best way to rearrange the following sentences in order to make a meaningful conversation.
a. Driver: Sure, I can be there in about ten minutes. Does that work?
b. Passenger: Perfect, I'll be waiting outside.
c. Passenger: Hi, I'd like to book a ride to the airport from Elm Street, please.
a – c – b
a – b – c
c – b – a
c – a – b