Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions.

  It’s often said that we learn things at the wrong time. University students frequently do the minimum of work because they’re crazy about a good social life instead. Children often scream before their piano practice because it’s so boring. They have to be given gold stars and medals to be persuaded to swim, or have to be bribed to take exams. But the story is different when you’re older.

  Over the years, I’ve done my share of adult learning. At 30,1 went to a college and did courses in History and English. It was an amazing experience. For starters, I was paying, so there was no reason to be late - I was the one frowning and drumming my fingers if the tutor was late, not the other way round. Indeed, if I could persuade him to linger for an extra five minutes, it was a bonus, not a nuisance. I wasn’t frightened to ask questions, and homework was a pleasure not a pain. When I passed an exam, I had passed it for me and me alone, not for my parents or my teachers. The satisfaction I got was entirely personal.

  Some people fear going back to school because they worry that their brains have got rusty. But the joy is that, although some parts have rusted up, your brain has learnt all kinds of other things since you were young. It has learnt to think independently and flexibly and is much better at relating one thing to another. What you lose in the rust department, you gain in the maturity department.

  In some ways, age is a positive plus. For instance, when you’re older, you get less frustrated. Experience has told you that, if you’re calm and simply do something carefully again and again, eventually you’ll get the hang of it. The confidence you have in other areas - from being able to drive a car, perhaps - means that if you can’t, say, build a chair instantly, you don’t, like a child, want to destroy your first pathetic attempts. Maturity tells you that you will, with application, eventually get there.

          I hated piano lessons at school, but I was good at music. And coming back to it, with a teacher who could explain why certain exercises were useful and with musical concepts that, at the age of ten, I could never grasp, was magical. Initially, I did feel a bit strange, thumping out a piece that I’d played for my school exams, with just as little comprehension of what the composer intended as I’d had all those years before. But soon, complex emotions that I never knew poured out from my fingers, and suddenly I could understand why practice makes perfect.

While doing some adult learning courses at a college, the writer was surprised _________

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B,C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.

Working mothers

  Because an increasing number of people are opting to work outside the traditional office, notebook PCs are becoming more and more popular. However, you should know that notebook PCs aren't for everyone. As you (27) ___________ up the pros and cons of your desktop PC with a new system, you should bear (28) ____________ mind that you may get better profit for your money by investing in a faster, more powerful desktop PC.

          Portability comes at a price. Leave your laptop unattended for any length of time in any sort of public place and you will quickly discover that it has been stolen. You could even lose it without any intentional neglect on your area; laptops (and all the business and personal information they contain) are easy (29) _____________ for skilled thieves. So, yes, there are definitely serious security issues. Also, if you are prone to tossing your laptop around as you do your purse, workout bag or umbrella, you’ll probably break it before you get your money's worth. Guarantees are getting better and longer, but they still won’t cover a simple slip, let alone (30) _____________ carelessness. So, before you (31) _________        out to get yourself the latest technological appliance, think long and hard as to whether a notebook PC is really suitable for you.

Điền vào ô 27.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B,C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.

Working mothers

  Because an increasing number of people are opting to work outside the traditional office, notebook PCs are becoming more and more popular. However, you should know that notebook PCs aren't for everyone. As you (27) ___________ up the pros and cons of your desktop PC with a new system, you should bear (28) ____________ mind that you may get better profit for your money by investing in a faster, more powerful desktop PC.

          Portability comes at a price. Leave your laptop unattended for any length of time in any sort of public place and you will quickly discover that it has been stolen. You could even lose it without any intentional neglect on your area; laptops (and all the business and personal information they contain) are easy (29) _____________ for skilled thieves. So, yes, there are definitely serious security issues. Also, if you are prone to tossing your laptop around as you do your purse, workout bag or umbrella, you’ll probably break it before you get your money's worth. Guarantees are getting better and longer, but they still won’t cover a simple slip, let alone (30) _____________ carelessness. So, before you (31) _________        out to get yourself the latest technological appliance, think long and hard as to whether a notebook PC is really suitable for you.

Điền vào ô 28.

Leave it in the oven until it __________ brown.

She’s certainly a _________ writer, she has written quite a few bools this year.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, c, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions.

  Scientists have developed a new bionic computer chip that can be mated with human cells to combat disease. The tiny device, smaller and thinner than a strand of hair, combines a healthy human cell with an electronic circuitry chip. Doctors can control the activity of the cell by controlling the chip with a computer.

  It has long been established that cell members become permeable when exposed to electrical impulses. Researchers have conducted genetic research for years with a trial-and-error process of bombarding cells with electricity in an attempt to introduce foreign substances such as new drug treatments or genetic material. They were unable to apply a particular level of voltage for a particular purpose. With the new invention, the computer sends electrical impulses to the chip, which triggers the physicians to open a cell’s pores with control.

          Researchers hope that eventually they will be able to develop more advanced chips whereby they can choose a particular voltage to activate particular tissues, whether they be muscle, bone, brain, or others. They believe that they will be able to implant multiple chips into a person to deal with one problem or more than one problem.

The author implies that scientists are excited about the new technology because _______.

Mark the letter A, B, c or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that is closest in meaning to each of the following questions.

I have learnt never to take sides in any arguments between my close friends.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the underlined part that needs correction in each of the following questions.

If carefully doing, the experiment will be successful.