Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the answer to each of the question.

Called the ‘Red Planet,’ Mars is roughly half the size of Earth, and one of our closest neighboring planets. Though Mars is the most Earth-like of any other planet, the two are still worlds apart. Living on Mars has been the stuff of science fiction for decades. However, can humans really live on Mars? Will it ever be possible or safe? NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) hopes to find out. NASA researchers on Earth are conducting several experiments together with the International Space Station (ISS) to study the health and safety issues that may tell us if life on Mars is possible.

Food and oxygen would be the main necessities for travelers living extended periods on Mars. The need to grow plants, which provide both food and oxygen, would be a key. But the decreased gravity and low atmospheric pressure environment of the planet will stress the plants and make them hard to grow. However, space station crews are growing plants in controlled environments in two of the station’s greenhouses. They take care of the plants, photograph them, and collect samples to be sent back to Earth. Researchers then use the data to develop new techniques that will make it possible to grow plants successfully in space.

Another concern for space travelers is the health hazards posed by the effect of space radiation on humans. A spacecraft traveling to Mars would be exposed to large amounts of radiation. Since human exposure to such intense radiation would mean certain death, the spacecraft used for such travel would have to protect the humans on the inside of the craft from exposure. Researchers are using special machines inside the crew areas of the International Space Station to carefully watch radiation levels. NASA scientists, who have maintained radiation data since the beginning of human space flight, continue to learn about the dangers it poses. Researchers use the station to test materials that could be used in making a spacecraft that could successfully travel to Mars.

Will it ever be safe for humans to live on Mars? It is still too early to say. But thanks to the dedicated researchers of NASA and the results of ISS experiments, we are getting closer to knowing every day.

                   (Adapted from “Select Readings –Intermediate Tests” by Linda Lee and Erik Gundersen)

What does the passage mainly discuss?

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the answer to each of the question.

The Trump campaign ran on bringing jobs back to American shores, although mechanization has been the biggest reason for manufacturing jobs’ disappearance. Similar losses have led to populist movements in several other countries. But instead of a pro-job growth future, economists across the board predict further losses as AI, robotics, and other technologies continue to be ushered in. What is up for debate is how quickly this is likely to occur.

 Now, an expert at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania is ringing the alarm bells. According to Art Bilger, venture capitalist and board member at the business school, all the developed nations on earth will see job loss rates of up to 47% within the next 25 years, according to a recent Oxford study. “No government is prepared,” The Economist reports. These include blue and white collar jobs. So far, the loss has been restricted to the blue collar variety, particularly in manufacturing.

To combat “structural unemployment” and the terrible blow, it is bound to deal the American people, Bilger has formed a nonprofit called Working Nation, whose mission it is to warn the public and to help make plans to safeguard them from this worrisome trend. Not only is the entire concept of employment about to change in a dramatic fashion, the trend is irreversible. The venture capitalist called on corporations, academia, government, and nonprofits to cooperate in modernizing our workforce.

To be clear, mechanization has always cost us jobs. The mechanical loom, for instance, put weavers out of business. But it also created jobs. Mechanics had to keep the machines going, machinists had to make parts for them, and workers had to attend to them, and so on. A lot of times those in one profession could pivot to another. At the beginning of the 20th century, for instance, automobiles were putting blacksmiths out of business. Who needed horseshoes anymore? But they soon became mechanics. And who was better suited?

Not so with this new trend. Unemployment today is significant in most developed nations and it’s only going to get worse. By 2034, just a few decades, mid-level jobs will be by and large obsolete. So far the benefits have only gone to the ultra-wealthy, the top 1%. This coming technological revolution is set to wipe out what looks to be the entire middle class. Not only will computers be able to perform tasks more cheaply than people, they’ll be more efficient too.

Accountants, doctors, lawyers, teachers, bureaucrats, and financial analysts beware: your jobs are not safe. According to The Economist, computers will be able to analyze and compare reams of data to make financial decisions or medical ones. There will be less of a chance of fraud or misdiagnosis, and the process will be more efficient. Not only are these folks in trouble, such a trend is likely to freeze salaries for those who remain employed, while income gaps only increase in size. You can imagine what this will do to politics and social stability.

                                                                                                               (Source: https://bigthink.com/)

Which of the following could be the main idea of the passage?

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

By the turn of the century, most of the inventions that were to bring in all the comforts of modern living have already been thought of.

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

Sir Isaac Newton, the English scientist and mathematician, was one of the most important figures of the 17th century scientific revolution. One of his greatest achievement was the (26) _______ of the three laws of motion, which are still used today. But he also had a very unusual personality. Some people would say he was actually insane.

His father died before he was born, and his mother soon remarried. The young Isaac hated his stepfather so much that he once (27) _______ to burn his house down - when his stepfather and mother were still inside! Fortunately he did not, and he went on to graduate from Cambridge without being thrown into prison.

Isaac's first published work was a theory of light and color. When another scientist wrote a paper criticizing this theory, Isaac flew into an uncontrollable rage. The scientist responsible for the criticism was a man called Robert Hooke. He was head of the Royal Society, and one of the most respected scientists in the country. (28) _______, this made no difference to Isaac, (29) _______ refused to speak to him for over a year.

The simple fact was that Isaac found it impossible to have a calm discussion with anyone. As soon as someone said something that he disagreed with, he would lose his temper. For this reason he lived a large part of his life isolated from (30) _______ scientists. It is unlikely that many of them complained.

                                                             (Source: https://www.biography.com/scientist/isaac-newton)