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.

Earthquakes are the most lethal of all natural disasters. What causes them? Geologists explain them in terms of a theory known as plate tectonics. Continents are floating apart from each other; this is referred to as the continental drift. About sixty miles below the surface of the sea, there is a semi-molten bed of rock over which plates, or slabs, carry continents and sea floors at a rate of several inches a year. As the plates separate from each other, a new sea floor is formed by the molten matter that was formerly beneath. Volcanic islands and large mountain ranges are created by this type of movement. The collision of plates causes geological instability such as that in California called the San Andreas Fault, located between the Pacific and North American plates. The plates there are constantly pushing and pulling adjacent plates, thereby creating constant tremors and a potential for earthquakes in the area

Geologists would like to be able to predict earthquakes accurately. Using laser beams, seismographs, gravity-measuring devices, and radio telescopes, they are presently studying the San Andreas Fault to determine the rate of strain and the amount of ground slippage. Calculations indicate that sometime in the future, California will be struck by a major earthquake. In spite of the geologists' theory of plate tectonics, there are still gaps in man's understanding and knowledge of the causes of earthquakes. Powerful earthquakes have occurred in places where plate boundaries are hundreds of miles away. In the 1800s New Madrid, Missouri, and Charleston, South Carolina, were shaken by earthquakes that no one had foreseen.

Certain areas of the world are quake prone. Italy, Yugoslavia, and Algeria have experienced many quakes. In November 1980, Naples was struck by an especially devastating quake. China and Japan have also been hit by horrendous quakes. In 1923, Tokyo and Yokohama were reduced to rubble by gigantic tremors that were followed by fires, tornadoes, and finally a thirty-four-foot tsunami, or tidal wave, which was caused by the earth's drop into the waters of Tokyo Bay.

What effects have geologists' predictions of earthquakes had? The Chinese in Haicheng in 1974 were warned that an earthquake might occur within the next year or two. With the help of amateur seismologists' observations of animal behavior and the rise and fall of water in wells and measurements of quantities of radioactive gas in water, professional geologists were able, in January 1975, to predict an earthquake within the next six months. On February 4, Haicheng was destroyed, but because its residents had been evacuated, very few people were killed. In California, where earthquake is an ever-present menace, building codes now require quakeproof structures, and Civil Defense units have intensified their training in how to deal with disaster should it strike or, perhaps more accurately, when it strikes.

Continental drift is the concept that_____________.

Thousands of people flocked to the beach this weekend.

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.

Horses and donkeys were (26) _____________comparatively late compared with other animals, probably around 4000 BC in Western Asia. By that time, people in many parts of the world were no longer (27) _____________on hunting and gathering their food, but had become nomadic stockbreeders or settled farmers, raising livestock such as cattle, sheep and goats and, in the static communities, growing and harvesting food plants.

They still hunted wild game, but could now do so with the (28) _____________of domestic dogs, the close animal companions who also helped them to protect and control their flocks and herds. Their needs for meat, milk, skins and wool were being met, and it may not have been immediately obvious to them that the horse had anything more to offer than the occasional (29) _____________of the chase and a different type of meat. The horse did have something more to offer. It had the potential to bring about nothing less than a revolution (30) _____________power and transport, a dramatic development that transformed the ability of humans to wage war.

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.

Tim works (A) as a doctor and he (B) earns(C) twice(D) as much than his brother.

This watch is only made of plastic so it's quite_____________.

No one has sent me that letter.

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.

Psychologists tell us that there are four basic stages that human beings pass through when they enter and live in a new culture. This process, which helps us to deal with culture shock, is the way our brain and our personality reacts to the strange new things we encounter when we move from one culture to another. If our culture involves bowing when we greet someone, we may feel very uncomfortable in a culture that does not involve bowing. If the language we use when talking to someone in our own culture is influenced by levels of formality based on the other person's age and status, it may be difficult for us to feel comfortable communicating with people in the new culture. Culture begins with the "honeymoon stage". This is the period of time when we first arrive in which everything about the new culture is strange and exciting

We may be suffering from "jet lag" but we are thrilled to be in the new environment, seeing new sights, hearing new sounds and language, eating new kinds of food. This honeymoon stage can last for quite a long time because we feel we are involved in some kind of great adventure. Unfortunately, the second stage of culture shock can be more difficult. After we have settled down into our new life, working or studying, buying groceries, doing laundry, or living with a home-stay family, we can become very tired and begin to miss our homeland and our family, girlfriend/ boyfriend, pets. All the little problems that everybody in life has seem to be much bigger and more disturbing when you face them in a foreign culture. This period of cultural adjustment can be very difficult and lead to the new arrival rejecting or pulling away from the new culture. This "rejection stage" can be quite dangerous because the visitor may develop unhealthy habits (smoking and drinking too much, being too concerned over food or contact with people from the new culture). This can, unfortunately lead to the person getting sick or developing skin infections or rashes which then makes the person feel even more scared and confused and helpless. This stage is considered a crisis in the process of cultural adjustment and many people choose to go back to their homeland or spend all their time with people from their own culture speaking their native language.

The third stage of culture shock is called the "adjustment stage". This is when you begin to realize that things are not so bad in the host culture. Your sense of humour usually becomes stronger and you realize that you are becoming stronger by learning to take care of yourself in the new place. Things are still difficult, but you are now a survivor! The fourth stage can be called "at ease at last". Now you feel quite comfortable in your new surroundings. You can cope with most problems that occur. You may still have problems with the language, but you know you are strong enough to deal with them. If you meet someone from your country who has just arrived, you can be the expert on life in the new culture and help them to deal with their culture shock.

(From: http://gzyy. cooco.net.cn)

When does culture shock happen?

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

Although she is my sister, I find it hard to_____________her selfishness.