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 from 26 to 30.

Most people are born with the natural ability to tell stories, but only a rare few have the determination to become professional authors, and even fewer have the joy of seeing their novels top the (26) _____________of bestselling books. Some of the world's famous crime writers have achieved the greatest success of all. Who can deny the appeal of famous detectives like Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot? Even if you haven't read the (27) _____________ books you will have seen them in films or on the TV.

If you have an ambition to become the next Agatha Christie what should you do? The best starting point is to read lots of examples of crime fiction written by good authors. You will need a notebook to carry around with you or, even better, some loose sheets of paper that you can (28) _____________notes on and then file into a folder. After all, the most everyday situation - for example, watching a woman get (29) _____________a train - may be the inspiration for your first bestseller.

Like any good recipe you have to know the main (30) _____________of a successful novel. These are: an original story, strong characters and a memorable setting.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that best combines each pair of sentences in the following questions

She did not study hard. She failed the exam

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 questions from 36 to 42.

The work of the railroad pioneers in America became the basis for a great surge of railroad building halfway through the nineteenth century that linked the nation together as never before. Railroads eventually became the nation's number one transportation system and remained so until the construction of the interstate highway system halfway through the twentieth century. They were of crucial importance in stimulating economic expansion, but their influence reached beyond the economy and was pervasive in American society at large.

By 1804, English, as well as American inventors, had experimented with steam engines for moving land vehicles. In 1920, John Stevens ran a locomotive and cars around in a circular track on his New Jersey estate, which the public saw as an amusing toy. And in 1825, after opening a short length of a track, the Stockton to Darlington Railroad in England became the first line to carry general traffic. American business people, especially those in the Atlantic coastal region who looked for better communication with the West, quickly became interested in the English experiment. The first company in America to begin actual operations was the Baltimore and Ohio, which opened a thirteen mile length of track in 1830. It used a team of horses to pull a train of passenger carriages and freight wagons along the track, steam locomotive power didn't come into regular service until two years later.

However, for the first decade or more, there was not yet a true railroad system. Even the longest of the lines were relatively short in the 1830's, and most of them served simply to connect water routes to each other, not to link one railroad to another. Even when two lines did connect, the tracks often differed in width, so cars from one line couldn't fit onto tracks of the next line. Schedules were unreliable and wrecks were frequent. Significantly, however, some important developments during the 1830's and 1840's included the introduction of heavier iron rails, more flexible and powerful locomotives, and passenger cars were redesigned to become more stable, comfortable, and larger. By the end of 1830 only 23 miles of track had been laid in the country. But by 1936, more than 1,000 miles of track had been laid in eleven States, and within the decade, almost 3,000 miles had been constructed. By that early age, the United States had already surpassed Great Britain in railroad construction, and particularly from the mid-1860's, the late nineteenth century belonged to the railroads.

The author concludes that for the first decade or more, there was not yet a true railroad system because_____________

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 questions from 31 to 35.

Notting Hill Carnival takes place in London every August Bank Holiday, and is the most colourful and largest street event in the UK. The festival celebrates the traditions of the Afro-Caribbean community, who emigrated to England from the West Indies in the 1950s. They brought with them the Caribbean idea of the carnival, with colourful costumes, processions, steel bands and street dancing. Preparations for the carnival start many months in advance. Costumes need to be made, and floats built, ready for the carnival street procession, steel bands practise traditional Caribbean music on instruments built from used oil barrels. Just before the festival, the streets are decorated with yellow, green and red streamers, and amplifying devices are set in place, to carry the rhythmic sounds over the roar of the London traffic. The carnival is celebrated over three days, and is full of music and colour. Processions of steel and brass bands, floats, and dancers in colourful costumes make their way through the narrow London streets, watched by tens of thousands of people. The streets are lined with stalls selling tropical fruits, such as fresh mangoes, watermelons and pineapple. Everyone dances - young and old, black and white - and even the policemen on duty take part in the fun. For these three days in August, a little Caribbean magic touches the streets of London

According to the passage, Notting Hill Carnival_____________.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word that differs from the other three in the position of primary stress in each of the following questions

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 questions from 31 to 35.

Notting Hill Carnival takes place in London every August Bank Holiday, and is the most colourful and largest street event in the UK. The festival celebrates the traditions of the Afro-Caribbean community, who emigrated to England from the West Indies in the 1950s. They brought with them the Caribbean idea of the carnival, with colourful costumes, processions, steel bands and street dancing. Preparations for the carnival start many months in advance. Costumes need to be made, and floats built, ready for the carnival street procession, steel bands practise traditional Caribbean music on instruments built from used oil barrels. Just before the festival, the streets are decorated with yellow, green and red streamers, and amplifying devices are set in place, to carry the rhythmic sounds over the roar of the London traffic. The carnival is celebrated over three days, and is full of music and colour. Processions of steel and brass bands, floats, and dancers in colourful costumes make their way through the narrow London streets, watched by tens of thousands of people. The streets are lined with stalls selling tropical fruits, such as fresh mangoes, watermelons and pineapple. Everyone dances - young and old, black and white - and even the policemen on duty take part in the fun. For these three days in August, a little Caribbean magic touches the streets of London.

The writer claims that_____________.

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 questions from 31 to 35.

Notting Hill Carnival takes place in London every August Bank Holiday, and is the most colourful and largest street event in the UK. The festival celebrates the traditions of the Afro-Caribbean community, who emigrated to England from the West Indies in the 1950s. They brought with them the Caribbean idea of the carnival, with colourful costumes, processions, steel bands and street dancing. Preparations for the carnival start many months in advance. Costumes need to be made, and floats built, ready for the carnival street procession, steel bands practise traditional Caribbean music on instruments built from used oil barrels. Just before the festival, the streets are decorated with yellow, green and red streamers, and amplifying devices are set in place, to carry the rhythmic sounds over the roar of the London traffic. The carnival is celebrated over three days, and is full of music and colour. Processions of steel and brass bands, floats, and dancers in colourful costumes make their way through the narrow London streets, watched by tens of thousands of people. The streets are lined with stalls selling tropical fruits, such as fresh mangoes, watermelons and pineapple. Everyone dances - young and old, black and white - and even the policemen on duty take part in the fun. For these three days in August, a little Caribbean magic touches the streets of London

What is the writer's main aim in writing the passage?

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 questions from 31 to 35.

Notting Hill Carnival takes place in London every August Bank Holiday, and is the most colourful and largest street event in the UK. The festival celebrates the traditions of the Afro-Caribbean community, who emigrated to England from the West Indies in the 1950s. They brought with them the Caribbean idea of the carnival, with colourful costumes, processions, steel bands and street dancing. Preparations for the carnival start many months in advance. Costumes need to be made, and floats built, ready for the carnival street procession, steel bands practise traditional Caribbean music on instruments built from used oil barrels. Just before the festival, the streets are decorated with yellow, green and red streamers, and amplifying devices are set in place, to carry the rhythmic sounds over the roar of the London traffic. The carnival is celebrated over three days, and is full of music and colour. Processions of steel and brass bands, floats, and dancers in colourful costumes make their way through the narrow London streets, watched by tens of thousands of people. The streets are lined with stalls selling tropical fruits, such as fresh mangoes, watermelons and pineapple. Everyone dances - young and old, black and white - and even the policemen on duty take part in the fun. For these three days in August, a little Caribbean magic touches the streets of London

During the Notting Hill Carnival, _____________.