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Read the following passage and choose the answer to each of the questions
Quite different from storm surges are the giant sea waves called tsunamis, which derive their name from the Japanese expression for “high water in a harbor.” These waves are also referred to by the general public as tidal waves, although they have relatively little to do with tides. Scientists often referred to them as seismic sea waves, far more appropriate in that they do result from undersea seismic activity.
Tsunamis are caused when the sea bottom suddenly moves, during an underwater earthquake or volcano for example, and the water above the moving earth is suddenly displaced. This sudden shift of water sets off a series of waves. These waves can travel great distances at speeds close to 700 kilometers per hour. In the open ocean, tsunamis have little noticeable amplitude, often no more than one or two meters. It is when they hit the shallow waters near the coast that they increase in height, possibly up to 40 meters.
Tsunamis often occur in the Pacific because the Pacific is an area of heavy seismic activity. Two areas of the Pacific well accustomed to the threat of tsunamis are Japan and Hawaii. Because the seismic activity that causes tsunamis in Japan often occurs on the ocean bottom quite close to the islands, the tsunamis that hit Japan often come with little warning and can, therefore, prove disastrous. Most of the tsunamis that hit the Hawaiian Islands, however, originate thousands of miles away near the coast of Alaska, so these tsunamis have a much greater distance to travel and the inhabitants of Hawaii generally have time for warning of their imminent arrival.
Tsunamis are certainly not limited to Japan and Hawaii. In 1755, Europe experienced a calamitous tsunami, when movement along the fault lines near the Azores caused a massive tsunami to sweep onto the Portuguese coast and flood the heavily populated area around Lisbon. The greatest tsunami on record occurred on the other side of the world in 1883 when the Krakatoa volcano underwent a massive explosion, sending waves more than 30 meters high onto nearby Indonesian islands; the tsunami from this volcano actually traveled around the world and was witnessed as far away as the English Channel.
The paragraph preceding this passage most probably discusses
Read the following passage and choose the correct answer to each of the questions
The languages spoken by early Europeans are still shrouded in mystery. There is no linguistic continuity between the languages of Old Europe (a term sometimes used for Europe between 7,000 and 3,000 B.C.) and the languages of the modern world, and we cannot yet translate the Old European script. Scholars have deciphered other ancient languages, such as Sumerian, Akkadian, and Babylonian, which used the cuneiform script, because of the fortuitous discovery of bilingual inscriptions. When cuneiform tablets were first discovered in the 18th century, scholars could not decipher them. Then inscriptions found in Iran at the end of the 18th century provided a link: these inscriptions were written in cuneiform and in two other ancient languages, Old Persian and New Elamite – languages that had already been deciphered. It took several decades, but scholars eventually translated the ancient cuneiform script via the more familiar Old Persian language.
Similarly, the hieroglyphic writing of the Egyptians remained a mystery until French troops unearthed the famous Rosetta stone in the late 18th century. The stone carried the same message written in ancient Greek, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Egyptian hieratic, a simplified form of hieroglyphs. The Rosetta stone thwarted scholars’ efforts for several decades until the early 19th century when several key hieroglyphic phrases were decoded using the Greek inscriptions. Unfortunately, we have no Old European Rosetta stone to chart correspondences between Old European script and the languages that replaced it.
The incursions of Indo-European tribes into Old Europe from the late 5th to the early 3rd millennia B.C. caused a linguistic and cultural discontinuity. These incursions disrupted the Old European sedentary farming lifestyle that had existed for 3,000 years. As the Indo-Europeans encroached on Old Europe from the east, the continent underwent upheavals. These severely affected the Balkans, where the Old European cultures abundantly employed script. The Old European way of life deteriorated rapidly, although pockets of Old European cultural remained for several millennia. The new peoples spoke completely different languages belonging to the Indo-European linguistic family. The Old European language or languages, and the script used to write them, declined and eventually vanished.
What is the main topic of the passage?
Read the passage below. Use the word given in bold to form a word that fits in the numbered gap.
BLACK WIDOW SPIDER
The black widow spider’s notoriety is not without foundation. However, an element of exaggeration has led to certain (26. CONCEPT)_______ regarding its evil nature.
Firstly, this spider is not as dangerous as is often thought. While it is indeed one of the most (27. VENOM)_______ species of spider, its venom being fifteen times stronger than that of the prairie rattlesnake, its bite injects such as amount of venom by (28. COMPARE)_______ that it is unlikely to kill humans. In fact, (29. FATAL)_______ are rare.
Black widows bite only if they are touched or their web is threatened. Furthermore, only the adult female is poisonous. Those most at risk from the female are the spider’s natural pray-insects-and male black widow spiders. The latter are vulnerable as the female is (30. SOLITUDE)_______ by nature, and has been known to kill and eat the male after mating. Such (31. OCCUR)_______ are rare, but they explain how the spider got its name – and its reputation.
Nevertheless, the (32. PLEASE)_______ effects of this spider’s bite should not be (33. ESTIMATE)_______, and if you live in a temperate climate and have a fireplace in your home, it is advisable to take (34. CAUTION)_______. Black widow spiders often inhabit wood piles, so you should wear gloves when handling firewood. Furthermore, since black widow spiders are (35. RESIST)_______ to many insecticides, you should regularly clean out likely hiding places.
