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 RING OF FIRE

     The Ring of Fire is an enormous chain of volcanoes all around the Pacific Ocean. The ring goes from New Zealand up to Asia and across the ocean to Alaska. From Alaska, the ring continues southward along the coast of both North and South America. More than seventy-five percent of the world’s volcanoes are situated in this ring.

      Scientists are interested in studying the Ring of Fire because they can observe plate tectonics at work there. In 1912, a German scientist, Alfred Wegener, came up with the first theory of land movement. Wegener said continents are made up of lighter rocks resting on heavier material. Similar to the way large things move while floating on water, Wegener suggested that the positions of the continents were not fixed, but that they moved slightly. Later, scientists discovered most of Wegener’s ideas were right on the mark. They then developed the theory called plate tectonics.

      According to plate tectonics, the surface of the Earth consists of a number of enormous plates or sections of rock, each about eighty kilometers thick. The plates float and slowly move at speeds between one and ten centimeters every year. That is about the rate your fingernails grow! Within the Ring of Fire, new material for the Earth’s plates is constantly being created as hot liquid rock called magma flows from the center of the Earth up to the ocean floor. All the existing plates on the Earth’s surface have to move slightly to make room for the new material.

      As plates move both away from and toward each other, they run into each other. When they hit each other, one plate might move under another. This process is called subduction. Subduction frequently causes earthquakes. It may also result in the bottom plate melting due to the extreme temperatures under the top plate. The magma created in this process can rise to the Earth’s surface and come out through volcanoes, as can be seen along the Ring of Fire.

What does the passage mainly discuss?

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.

Beatrix is not here. She is the only person who can tell me what to do now.

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.

        Jack Jones took a gap year before starting university, and that was how he caught the bug for travelling.  

       Many teenagers choose to take a year off before starting their degree courses at university, a gap year, to have a break from years of (26) _________ study.

       Jack had saved (27) ________ money after doing various jobs and decided he needed to learn about other cultures by visiting America and Asia. Usually, the way people spend their gap years depends on their personalities. Somebody (28) ________ is very adventurous is likely to do something more challenging than somebody who is quieter. Jack went for extreme adventure and has never looked back.

        As soon as his university course finished, he set off on a three-year trip around the world. (29) ________, he decided only to use transport which was powered by natural energy, which meant relying on bicycles and his legs. When he had to cross water, he decided to work on ships to pay for his passage.

        His reason for this decision was to tell his message about environmental change. He made sure to (30) _______ his message on to all the people he met along the way.

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.

ARE SPORTS BAD FOR KIDS?

       People think children should play sports. Sports are fun, and children stay healthy while playing with others. However, playing sports can have negative effects on children. It may produce feelings of poor self-esteem or aggressive behavior in some children. According to research on kids and sports, 40 million kids play sports in the US. Of these, 18 million say they have been yelled at or called names while playing sports. This leaves many children with a bad impression of sports. They think sports are just too aggressive.

       Many researchers believe adults, especially parents and coaches, are the main cause of too much aggression in children’s sports. They believe children copy aggressive adult behavior. This behavior is then further reinforced through both positive and negative feedback. Parents and coaches are powerful teachers because children usually look up to them. Often these adults behave aggressively themselves, sending children the message that winning is everything. At children’s sporting events, parents may yell insults at other players or cheer when their child behaves aggressively. As well, children may be taught that hurting other players is acceptable, or they may be pushed to continue playing even when they are injured. In addition, the media makes violence seem exciting. Children watch adult sports games and see violent behavior replayed over and over on

television.

       As a society, we really need to face up to this problem and do something about it. Parents and coaches

should act as better examples for children. They also need to teach children better values. They should teach children to enjoy themselves whether they win or not. It is not necessary to knock yourself out to enjoy sports. Winning is not everything. In addition, children should not be allowed to continue to play when they are injured. Sending a child with an injury into a game gives the child the message that health is not as important as winning. If we make some basic changes, children might learn to enjoy sports again.

What is the main idea of the reading?