The executive requires his assistant to run all sorts of _____ for him, including getting his laundry, picking up his children from school, and walking his dog.
Alfred: Her latest album feels completely derivative and uninspired.
Bruce: _____ It heavily relies on the out-of-fashion Euro-pop sound.
The law requires that this factory _____ the machines every week.
_____ a medic present at the scene of the accident, the victim would not have survived.
Sales figures released by the company are suspicious as they do not _____ shipment records.
His manuscript is ruined by a highly _____ style with barely coherent digressions.
The famous movie star looks surprisingly casual today; his only _____ is a plain necklace.
His explanation was so _____ that even the experts were unconvinced.
Children are often described as _____ , easily influenced by their parental and guardian figures.
Grace was praised for her _____ judgement when she reported the scammer pretending to be a police officer on the phone.
Fans are excited at the prospect of a _____ between two beloved anime franchises.
_____ a short self-paced online course, one can receive a certificate.
Refrain from consuming cheese or cream if you are lactose _____ .
For basing their argument on _____ evidence rather than verified documentation, the plaintiff's civil lawsuit was dismissed.
If you _____ with the shares that you have, it might be your ticket to early retirement.
Since the joke never _____ Ricky, we had to explain it to him, which was lame.
It took the panel quite some time to _____ this conclusion.
_____ is comfortable with relocating the fragile fresco.
Harry displays an _____ attitude to religion, often joking about heaven and hell.
With no major releases _____, the media company decided to lay off a portion of its staff.
_____ , the movie was panned by critics as formulaic and lacking in substance.
Jerry's coach _____ for failing to defend his champion title.
Not until the files were declassified decades later _____ the true extent of the criminal operation.
_____ , I would have visited you a month ago.
The journalist refused to disclose her source, even _____ legal action threats.
In preparation for a large incoming shipment, warehouse workers were instructed to _____ it.
Sabrina wrote down "baking soda for mom" on her shopping list, lest in her hurry she _____ .
The boy denied _____ the answer key, but his perfect score makes it hard to believe.
The documentary was criticised not so much for what it said _____ for what it left unsaid.
Surrounded at Dien Bien Phu with their supply lifelines severed, the French forces were _____ .
Realizing that his matcha-flavored dog food venture had completely failed, the entrepreneur chose to _____ .
Only after the committee had reviewed the raw data _____ to publish the preliminary results.
Growing up in a middle class suburban family, Alice is _____ from the hardships of inner-city children.
Nourished by rich silt, the Mekong Delta is a(n) _____ agricultural terrain.
Lowering interest rates is often an economic _____ to encourage spending and investment.
Molly: _____ our meeting to tomorrow afternoon?
Holly: _____ Tomorrow afternoon actually works better for me.
Passed down through generations, 'Quan Ho' singing requires vocal precision that is _____ to the region's identity.
The university is offering grants in astrophysics, _____ have to be women currently pursuing a PhD program.
Our dean announced extra funding for the faculty, only _____ it withdrawn two weeks later.
I would rather you _____ the citations of your essay carefully before submitting it tomorrow.
Choose the answer (A, B, C, or D) which fits best.
Guided cloze 1:
What makes people feel nervous about public speaking? Why do their hands shake, their knees quiver, their stomachs and their voices rise?
Researchers find that public-speaking anxiety is both a trait (a general tendency) and a state (anxiety by a specific audience or setting). Causes include fears of humiliation, failure, making mistakes, or being unprepared, alongside perfectionism and performance pressure.
Communication apprehension may have a biological basis; some individuals inherit a tendency to feel anxious. However, speakers can manage this by focusing on changeable behaviors, like enhancing speaking skills, rather than on their makeup. Conversely, psychology affects biology. A speaker's perception of the assignment, skills, and self-esteem interact to create anxiety. with conflict, the brain triggers a "fight-or-flight" , increasing breathing rates, adrenaline, and blood . These physiological changes cause a rapid heartbeat, shaking, quivering voice, or stomach "butterflies". , speakers may minimize eye contact, use vocalized pauses ("um," "ah"), or speak too rapidly. uncomfortable, the body is simply attempting to assist with the task.
Regardless, apprehension seems to follow a predictable , with people generally feeling most nervous right before presenting, when uncertainty is highest. The second highest anxiety level occurs when the instructor explains the assignment, while the least anxiety is felt during preparation. Understanding this helps speakers manage anxiety when it . Because anxiety decreases once speaking begins and diminishes through positive preparation, starting early ensures both a better speech and greater confidence.
Choose the answer (A, B, C, or D) which fits best.
Guided cloze 2:
In many schools, handwriting has begun to make a modest comeback. For years, it was dismissed as a nostalgic skill, likely to be eclipsed by keyboards. Yet recent classroom experiments suggest that putting pen to paper can memory in ways typing often cannot. The point is not to one tool against the other, but to ask which tool best suits a particular task. When pupils take handwritten notes, they are to compress ideas, deciding what matters before it reaches the page. That act of selection can understanding. By contrast, laptops make it easy to transcribe a lesson word word, a habit that can create the illusion of learning without much processing.
None of this means schools should turn their backs on digital literacy. A child who cannot search responsibly or revise a shared document is at a . But a curriculum that treats handwriting as obsolete may be throwing away a simple for thought.
The best classrooms are not those that to old methods or chase every new device; they teach students to choose deliberately. In that sense, the revival of handwriting is less a reactionary move than a reminder that learning is not always by speed.
Complete each blank with ONE most suitable word.
Open cloze 1:
Every museum tells a story, but the most honest ones admit that their story could have been told otherwise. Objects rarely speak for . They acquire meaning in relation the labels, rooms and routes that surround them. A cracked bowl may be presented evidence of hardship, ingenuity or trade, on the questions curators ask. This does not make museums unreliable; on the , it makes their responsibility clearer. Visitors need to know not only what is on but also what has been left out. In recent years, many museums have begun to invite communities histories were once treated as marginal to help decide how collections should be interpreted. Such collaboration is not always easy. There are arguments over ownership, over painful memories, and over a national institution can ever speak for those it once ignored. Still, the attempt matters. A museum that refuses to revise its story turning heritage into decoration. A museum that listens, by contrast, allows the past to remain alive enough to challenge the present. It asks visitors to see history not as a set of facts over and done with, but as a conversation in which they too have a .
Complete each blank with ONE most suitable word.
Open cloze 2:
The latest AI slop to take the internet by features anthropomorphic fruit, specifically TikTok-based soap videos channeling fruit and their love lives. Created with minimal human input, this low-quality, AI-generated content is as easy to absorb as it is to churn out. While specifics may , the majority of these clips are telenovela or reality TV-styled, featuring cartoony humanoid fruits with strangely mature matter. For instance, viewers might watch a weeping strawberry discover her partner cheating her, or two coconuts struggling to feed their children.
While to adults, the propagation of these fruit videos feels ridiculous on the , there is an insidious underbelly, namely the exploitation of children's media and its subsequent on younger audiences. With bright colors and speedy pacing, these videos mimic the style of marketed at children, such as by Cocomelon, albeit with wildly inappropriate themes. While it is true that children consuming age-inappropriate media is not new, AI has accelerated the output rate, multiplies exposure frequency and normalizes such content. Frankly, tech corporations, specifically AI companies, ought to be accountable for this rampant, uncontrolled spread of harmful AI slop.
Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow.
A librarian reflects on the value of libraries
Unlike many librarians who always dreamed of standing behind a counter and stamping books, I came to the profession by accident. When I left university with a humanities degree in the 1970s, I had no clue about what I wanted to do with my state-funded higher education. I applied for a job as a gas meter reader which seemed suitable for a working-class lad from a council estate, but at the interview I was told that I was over-qualified and so I became a library assistant instead. I quickly discovered that there wasn't much to the library lark, and if I wanted to get on I would have to become a fully qualified librarian.
Armed with my diploma and a burning social conscience, I set out to change the world of public libraries. Nearly 40 years on I have made the smallest of dents in its battleship armour. But on the way I have met some amazing people. My bosses have mostly been of the keep-your-head-down-and-don't-rock-the-boat variety. Colleagues have ranged from shrinking violets to strident activists who share my passion. And the customers whom we endearingly call borrowers, like those little people who live under the floor - have come from every walk of life. Public libraries seem to attract more than their fair share of what might be called "characters".
There is never a dull moment in the life of a public library. We open our doors and anyone can come in, so we never know quite what to expect and every day is very different. One of the most extraordinary things that has happened to me at work was when I was asked to search my central London library for bombs during a terror alert. I had contacted the police when I received a bomb threat but, as they pointed out, "you know what the library looks like, so please have a walk around to see if anything is out of place". Fortunately, it was a false alarm and there were no incendiary devices hidden in the card catalogue. Some of the funniest things that have happened to me at work include the discovery of a piece of streaky bacon stuck between the pages of a detective novel. I pictured the borrower, reading his book at the breakfast table before rushing off to work, and reaching out for whatever was at hand to mark his page.
I love my job so much that work-life balance has never been an issue. Plus, I am very happy to take my work home with me because I never leave the library without a big stack of books, CDs and DVDs. The only regret I have about my long career in public libraries is that I have not been able to convince more librarians that they should be less book-focused and more people-focused; that they should look outward to the community rather than inward to the library; that they should get rid of desks and counters and do more active roving inside the library and outside in the community; that they should put less emphasis on the excellence of the collection and more on providing books that people actually want to read; and, most important of all, that libraries should be community-led and based on the needs of the public they serve.
What I dislike most about the profession is its insistence on standards of excellence and a rule-bound culture which tends to exclude those for whom public libraries were founded in the first place - the deserving poor and, indeed, the undeserving poor as well. For it is a fact that libraries are used most by those who need them the least (the middle class) and used the least by those who need them the most (the working class).
The job has, regrettably, not changed much from when I started out. Libraries have been modernised through technology but their underlying strategies, structures, systems and culture remain the same. We have a plethora of rules and regulations, and the part of my job I dread the most is having to ban someone from the library, because usually they come from the section of society that needs libraries the most. But this is more than balanced out by the many pleasures of the job, which include helping borrowers to improve the quality of their lives and meet their needs, whether that is for books and information, or helping them to find a job or a roof over their head.
Librarians are chronically underpaid but we don't do the job just for the money. [I] More money is always good, but what we really want is recognition from politicians that we are the fourth emergency service. [II] Proving this is difficult, but we are already starting to see what happens when public libraries are closed down. [III] Library closures are low-hanging fruit but the tiny amounts that this saves from the public purse is more than outweighed by the costs of increased crime, and worsening health and education outcomes. [IV] While we cannot demonstrate a direct link, every librarian knows that we are an important ingredient of the glue that sticks communities together.
What was the main reason the writer decided to become a qualified librarian?
What does the writer say about his experiences as a librarian in the second paragraph?
What is the tone of the writer in the third paragraph?
What criticism does the writer have of some librarians in the fourth paragraph?
What is the writer's attitude to the fact that his job has changed very little?
Which can best replace the word 'chronically' in the final paragraph?
What does the writer suggest about library closures?
Where does the following sentence best fit in the final paragraph?
'It brings a great deal of satisfaction helping others who are significantly less fortunate than ourselves.'
Seven paragraphs have been removed from Reading Passage 2. Choose from the texts A-I the one which fits each gap. There are TWO extra paragraphs you do not need.
A. As I pointed out in the book Good News for a Change: Hope for a Troubled Planet, by selective logging at or below the growth rate of the trees in a forest, trees can be profitably "harvested" indefinitely instead of once every hundred years or more. Nor is the diversity that is the key to resilience and regeneration sacrificed when trees are selectively removed.
B. Recent studies on urban forestry indicate that compared to natural wild areas, isolated city parks do not offer the same microclimate stability. There, only invasive species and drought-tolerant shrub species thrive rather than native canopy trees. Because of this, urban planners cannot rely solely on localized tree-planting initiatives to emulate the effects of natural forests.
C. The soil is a living organism made up of tens of thousands of species of microorganisms-viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa-and larger nematodes, worms, insects, and mites. Plants and animals blanket the forest floor, lichens and mosses coat rocks and decaying wood, snags and fallen logs provide nutrition and protection for countless organisms.
D. "You see that tree over there?" he shouted, pointing to a giant that was probably many centuries old. Without waiting for my response, he continued, "It doesn't have any value until it's cut down." I was dumbstruck by the statement, giving him the opening to carry on.
E. Foresters rationalize these practices as "proper silvicultural management," as if they know what it is that creates the original forest that was cut down. Of course, they have no idea. They lack both a proper inventory of all the constituent species that make up the forest and a blueprint that explains how all of the components are interconnected.
F. What had made me speechless was the realization that he was right. In the value system inherent in the form of economics our society has embraced, only when money is exchanged for goods and services is the transaction recognized as having economic worth.
G. Likewise, the roots of the tree cling to soil even under the hardest of rains, thereby inhibiting erosion while siphoning vast quantities of water up into the canopy, where it is released through transpiration, hence ameliorating weather. From roots to tips of branches, the tree offers a habitat for countless forms of life, from lichens and fungi to insects, birds, and mammals.
H. What foresters refer to as a "second-growth forest" is not a forest at all but a tree plantation-an attempt to grow trees like a crop of tomato or corn plants. But of course, such a "managed forest," or "fiber farm," no longer has the resilience, regenerative capacity, or self-protective devices of a natural forest.
I. Consequently, while carbon offset credits offer a lucrative alternative for developing nations to preserve forest areas, local enforcement often fails to prevent illegal logging operations along unmarked borders. This instability makes it difficult for conservation groups to project the long-term financial viability of these corporate partnerships.
Seven paragraphs have been removed from Reading Passage 2. Choose from the texts A-I the one which fits each gap. There are TWO extra paragraphs you do not need.
The True Price of a Tree
By David Suzuki
We were standing in an ancient forest that was threatened with clear-cut logging. He was the CEO of the company that had been allotted the tree farm license that enabled him to drive a road into the valley and begin the industrial extraction of the trees that would destroy what took millennia to evolve. We had engaged in an animated argument about the fate of that forest while standing face to face less than half a meter apart.
"Unless, of course, you tree huggers decide you'll pay money to save it so you can enjoy it. Think your cronies can raise enough money to save the entire forest? Logging is what keeps the economy of this province growing and makes it possible for you preservationists to wear clothes, drive cars, and watch TV."
But the perspective through which I viewed the forest-of which that tree was a part-was radically different. That one tree was a tiny part of a community of organisms thousands of years in the making. That community is made up of trees ("merchantable timber," or "fiber," in the jargon of the industry) that are a tiny minority of the lifeforms that comprise the forest.
This is the community that we recognize as a forest, complex and interlinked beyond comprehension and all held together by the air, water, and sunlight that suffuse them.
Consequently, companies require geneticists to breed fast-growing strains of commercially valuable trees, tree planters, herbicides to clear out "weed" (i.e., commercially worthless) species, insecticides to eliminate pests, fertilizers to restore nutrition to the soil, and firefighters. Large clear-cuts and the use of heavy machinery expose soil flora and fauna to sunlight, wind, and air. This alters water retention in the streams and rivers that are the lifeblood of the forest, radically transforming the remaining species mix.
The entire forest is like the goose that laid golden eggs in the children's fable; as long as the goose is fat and healthy, it will yield golden eggs indefinitely. In the short-term perspective of global economics, as in the children's story, forestry companies attempt to gather all of the eggs at once by killing the goose.
Returning to the CEO's statement that the tree only acquires value when it enters our economy by generating revenue, consider what the tree does before humans define its value. Hundreds of years old, that tree has absorbed carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) from the air, thereby playing a part in life's climate engine, and releases oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis-not a bad byproduct for all animals like us that are completely dependent on that oxygen for survival.
All of these natural services performed by that single standing tree affect human health and survival, yet they are entirely ignored by our economy. It's long past time when we started lifting our horizons and values beyond the extremely limited perspective of conventional economics.
Read the passage below and answer the questions which follow.
British anthropologist Sir Edward Burnett Tylor espoused the classic definition of culture in 1871, describing it as that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, arts, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society." Culture is learned; it is not something that is biologically determined. This is in contrast to our innate ability to acquire language. Regardless, the particular language an individual first learns - their "mother tongue" - can "only be acquired by man as a member of society." Language, therefore, is a part of one's culture, but at the same time, language is used to transmit that culture, to teach that culture. In fact, culture and language are interdependent. No type of human society can be maintained if its members do not share a common language. Moreover, language, the most common way people communicate, could not have developed outside a social setting.
Language both expresses culture and reflects culture. Some linguists and anthropologists argue that different languages produce different ways of thinking. Cultures organize and view the world in diverse ways, and their languages support these differences through grammar and vocabulary. By studying lexical classification in various languages, scientists have been able to show that speakers of different languages perceive and distinguish things differently. The Nuer people of Sudan, for instance, traditionally were cattle herders, and their entire lifestyle centered on cattle, so their language has dozens of words for cattle. Another cultural-dependent concept is time. English speakers divide time into past, present and future, and English grammar has tenses to reflect this view of time. On the other hand, the Hopi, a Native American tribe of the Southwest United States, only make a distinction between events that have existed or exist (English past and present) and those that do not exist or do not yet exist (English future, including the subjunctive case used for possibility). Their language does not differentiate between present and past. Similarly, the complexity of vocabulary in a language to describe family relationships varies depending on the role of kinship in that culture. Color terminology also varies widely by language. Those that involved in areas with a history of using dyes and artificial coloring have the broadest range of color vocabulary.
Living languages, of course, undergo constant but often gradual transformation, as new words and expressions are added to the lexicon and meanings of words are altered. Different cultures can speak the same basic language, but it will have variations reflecting those different cultures. For instance, Koreans share a common language, but after six decades of being separated by a tightly sealed border, the cultures of North and South Korea have diverged along with the Korean language. If a South Korean asks a North Korean how they are doing, the North Korean would likely reply "ilupsopneda", an expression that literally means "not much," which has a sense similar to "I'm fine, thanks." Yet, that same expression would mean "Mind your own business!" to the South Korean. Both North and South Korean use the word "mije," but in the North it means "American imperialist," while in the South it means, "Made in the USA."
Within a culture, language can also play an important role in differentiating occupational groups and social status. Many groups have their own "focal vocabulary," that is, a specialized set of terms that are important to them and what they do. On a Hollywood film set, when the gaffer, head electrician, yells to the crew to "Kill the baby!" he is not talking about child murder. He is instructing the electricians to turn off a small light. Moreover, people who want to improve their social status will try to adopt the habits, attitudes, and behavioural traits of the group to which they aspire. In terms of language, this includes trying to shift how they speak by taking on the speech patterns and vocabulary associated in their culture with the higher social status.
In any culture, language is more than just a means of conveying information. Significant aspects of a culture are embedded in the structure of its language, in its vocabulary, grammar, and usage. The distinctions a language makes between genders, how it refers to time and space, and the different ways language conveys rank, respect, and love are all related to the culture in which it is used.
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage? Write:
Each person is born with specific cultural traits.
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage? Write:
Certain animals can be referred to with different words in Nuer culture.
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage? Write:
The Hopi people's expression of time is more limited compared to English speakers.
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage? Write:
A casual exchange from a North Korean may sound unfriendly to a South Korean.
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage? Write:
Some Hollywood terms are derived from murder mystery films.
Complete the summary below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Language and culture
Although humans possess the to learn languages, they cannot effectively do so without belonging to a shared culture. In a similar fashion, cultures can hardly exist without a shared language between its members. This interdependence is demonstrated in multiple aspects. Firstly, vocabulary and grammar reflect the importance and perception of various domains in a culture. For example, cultures that highly regard might have a richer vocabulary to denote relationships. Secondly, the of any language constantly receives new additions as well as alterations to current words, a process which is tied to historical developments of the culture. Finally, within a society, language can be used to signify social group. This is illustrated by the employed only in certain professions with very different meanings from their literal counterparts, while the words and of desirable social groups are often copied by people who wish to be part of those groups.
Provide the most suitable form of the given words in the brackets to complete each blank in the passage below. Write no more than ONE word for each space.
Even in today's ecologically aware world, a declaration of vegetarianism is often met with expressions of incredulity, cynical smirks, and suspicion. While such intolerant attitudes might have been understandable in the previous century-when vegetarianism was a novel ideology closely linked to the youth (CULTURE) known for challenging social conventions - they are outdated today. Currently, vegetarians span all walks of life, far (NUMBER) the old "tree-hugging" stereotypes. As information becomes more accessible, more people are consciously adopting a (MEAT) diet for a host of different compelling reasons.
In a health-obsessed society, eliminating meat is increasingly common among those looking to avoid its links to chronic (AIL) like heart disease and arthritis. Furthermore, many are (JUST) concerned about the accumulation of chemical treatments and steroids used in intensive industrial farming to make it most (PROFIT) . Calves and lambs grow at prodigious rates thanks to various treatments, administered both orally and intramuscularly. Studies indicate these substances, which travel up the food chain into human consumers, may trigger serious hormonal (BALANCE) and behavioral disorders.
Concurrently, (HIGH) awareness of modern agricultural methods has also led to humanitarian concerns. Many choose to boycott meat because they cannot condone the systemic suffering inflicted upon (LIVE) -such as the severe (CONFINE) of calves to produce veal or the manipulation of avian ovulation cycles through artificial light to induce egg production. Ultimately, modern vegetarians are not setting themselves up as moral ideals. A vegetarian isn't necessarily a crank, an eccentric, a subversive. A vegetarian is someone who doesn't eat meat.
Identify the FIVE errors in the following passage and correct them. Indicate the line at which mistakes are found, and how to correct them.
[content][/content]
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given in the brackets. Do NOT make any changes to the word given. You must write from THREE to EIGHT words, including the given word.
The fraudster was given the maximum prison sentence as a warning to others. (EXAMPLE)
=> The fraudster ............... with the maximum prison sentence.
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given in the brackets. Do NOT make any changes to the word given. You must write from THREE to EIGHT words, including the given word.
The children were so tired that they fell asleep almost immediately. (EXHAUSTION)
=> Such ............... like a light.
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given in the brackets. Do NOT make any changes to the word given. You must write from THREE to EIGHT words, including the given word.
It seemed to me that they already knew each other. (ACQUAINTED)
=> I was under ...............
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given in the brackets. Do NOT make any changes to the word given. You must write from THREE to EIGHT words, including the given word.
Catherine never thought of paying for her medical bills with her children's money. (COVER)
=> It never crossed ............... with her children's money.
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given in the brackets. Do NOT make any changes to the word given. You must write from THREE to EIGHT words, including the given word.
With multiple delays, I fear this project cannot be saved. (LIKELY)
=> Having been ............... in the water.
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given in the brackets. Do NOT make any changes to the word given. You must write from THREE to EIGHT words, including the given word.
It is typical for teenagers to be defiant towards their parents. (REBELLING)
=> Teenagers ............... the course.
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given in the brackets. Do NOT make any changes to the word given. You must write from THREE to EIGHT words, including the given word.
Leon was suspended for one week for breaking the rules repeatedly. (EARNED)
=> Repeatedly running ............... suspension.
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given in the brackets. Do NOT make any changes to the word given. You must write from THREE to EIGHT words, including the given word.
The construction has not seen much progress since the start of the year. (HEADWAY)
=> Little ............... since the start of the year.
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given in the brackets. Do NOT make any changes to the word given. You must write from THREE to EIGHT words, including the given word.
Americans are disappointed with the fact that their taxes are paying for foreign wars. (DISMAY)
=> Much to the Americans' ............... the bill for foreign wars.
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given in the brackets. Do NOT make any changes to the word given. You must write from THREE to EIGHT words, including the given word.
Plastic surgery changed Jim's looks to the point that we do not recognize him anymore. (RECOGNITION)
=> Jim's looks ............... to plastic surgery.