The parcel _____ back to the Post Office, because I was at work when they _____ to deliver it.
_____ for the director must have surprised you.
The solitary scientist _____ by himself has in many instances been replaced by a cooperative scientific team.
Adrian got surprisingly high grades in the final exam. He _____ his lessons very carefully.
I wish he _____ borrowing money from me. He has never paid it back.
_____ traveling is educational, it can also be stressful and expensive.
The jewellery is her own _____. You cannot touch them without her permission.
It was such a _____ day. The wind kept blowing in my face.
When I joined the army, I found it difficult to ______ out orders from my superiors, but I soon got used to it.
On New Year's Eve, he offered a glass of champagne to everyone, on the _____.
You must not _____ any step in the process; otherwise, you would not be able to cook the dish properly.
He behaved like an adult. I think he is more _____ than the other boys in his class.
Megan solved her computer problem quite ______ as she happened to mention it to a friend who had had the same problem and told her what to do.
I’m responsible for cooking dinner as my mother usually works _____.
Read the following passage and choose the correct answer to each of the questions.
Are Human Beings Getting Smarter?
Do you think you are smarter than your parents or grandparents? According to James Flynn, a professor at a New Zealand university, you might be. Over the course of the last century, IQ test scores of people in some countries have got increasingly better - on average, three points better for every decade that has passed. This trend of improving scores is known as “the Flynn effect,” and scientists want to know what is behind it.
IQ tests and other similar tests are designed to measure general intelligence rather than knowledge. Flynn knew that intelligence is partly inherited from our parents and partly the result of our environment and experiences, but the improvement in test scores was happening too quickly to be explained by heredity. So what happened in the 20th century that led to higher test scores?
Scientists have proposed several explanations for the Flynn effect. Some suggest that the improved test scores simply reflect increased exposure to tests in general. Because we take so many tests, we learn test-taking techniques that help us perform better. Others have pointed to better nutrition, which results in babies being born larger, healthier, and more brain development than in the past. Another possible explanation is a change in educational styles - children are encouraged to discover things for themselves rather than just memorizing information. This could prepare people to do the kind of problem-solving that intelligence tests require.
Flynn himself suggested that learning new technologies may have improved people’s problem-solving skills. This may be true for the first decade of his tests when IQ scores in many countries increased. However, in recent years, IQ test scores in some countries have begun to decline. Data from Norway, the Netherlands, Australia, and Great Britain have shown that as these countries become more and more modern, IQ scores have begun to drop.
While scientists aren’t sure what is causing this decline, they think technology is dramatically changing the way that we learn and get information. For example, people are now able to access all kinds of information easily using online resources like Google or Wikipedia. The danger is when they start to rely too much on these sources of information, and not do any thinking for themselves. Lifestyle changes that come with modern technology may also have a negative effect on intelligence, such as video games and television making people less social. So while the world may have got smarter over the 20th century, improving technology and changing lifestyles may soon reverse that trend.
Note: heredity (n) = the process by which features and characteristics are passed on to you from your parents through your genes.
The Flynn effect is probably the result of _____.
IQ test evaluate our _____.
The word "exposure" in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to _____.
Which statement would the writer probably agree with?
Read the passage and choose the correct answer to each of the questions.
Most forms of property are concrete and tangible, such as houses, cars, furniture or anything else that is included in one’s possessions. Other forms of property can be intangible, and copyright deals with intangible forms of property. Copyright is a legal protection extended to authors of creative works, for example, books magazine articles, maps, films, plays, television shows, software, paintings, photographs, music, the choreography in dance and all other forms of intellectual or artistic property.
Although the purpose of artistic property is usually public use and enjoyment, copyright establishes the ownership of the creator. When a person buys a copyrighted magazine, it belongs to this individual as a tangible object. However, the authors of the magazine articles on the research and the writing that went into creating the articles. The right to make and sell or give away copies of books or articles belongs to the authors, publishers, or other individuals or organizations that hold the copyright. To copy an entire book or a part of it, permission must be received from the copyright owner, who will most likely expect to be paid.
Copyright law distinguishes between different types of intellectual property. Music may be played by anyone after it is published. However, if it is performed for profit, the performers need to pay a fee called a royalty. A similar principle applies to performances of songs and plays. On the other hand, names, ideas, and book titles are excepted. Ideas do not become copyrighted property until they have published in a book a painting or a musical work. Almost all artistic work created before the 20th century is not copyrighted because it was created before the copyright law was passed.
The two common ways of infringing upon the copyright are plagiarism and piracy. Plagiarizing the work of another person means passing it off as one’s own. The word plagiarism is derived from the Latin plagiarism, which means “abductor”. Piracy may be an act of one person, but, in many cases, it is a joint effort of several people who reproduce copyrighted material and sell it for profit without paying royalties to the creator. Technological innovations have made piracy easy and anyone can duplicate a motion picture on videotape a computer program, or a book. Videocassette recorders can be used by practically anyone to copy movies and television programs, and copying software has become almost as easy as copying a book. Large companies zealously monitor their copyrights for slogans, advertisements, and brand names, protected by a trademark.
What does the passage mainly discuss?
The word “principle” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to _____.
Which of the following properties is NOT mentioned as protected by copyright?
It can be inferred from the passage that it is legal if ______.
Read the text and use the word given in capitals at each gap to form a word that fits in each gap.
Changing diets
Even in quite traditional societies, eating habits are changing. In the past, people used to prepare good (FILL) meals from fresh ingredients and what was readily available in markets, but now convenience food is becoming (INCREASE) popular. Research shows that eating some types of food too often may cause health problems, so governments and other organizations now offer information about diet and nutrition in the hope that it will (COURAGE) people from eating too much of the same thing and have a generally more (BALANCE) diet.
On the other hand, some people argue that despite the (APPEAR) of many traditional dishes from our menus, in general our diets are not as repetitive as they used to be. There is a much wider choice of products available in supermarkets and other shops than there was 20 years ago.