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 18 to 24
Online social media have gained amazing worldwide growth and popularity. Although with time a generations have come to accept the changes social networking including Twitter, Facebook or Instagram has brought about, teenagers and young adults are the most frequent users of these sites. It has been reported that these sites are affecting the lives of the youth greatly. Social media sites have provided a platform whereby the youth can create groups and pages based on their common discipline and end up building connections and opportunities for their respective careers by updating various topics to discuss. Youth who have been interviewed they say that social media has become their lifestyle and it makes their lives easier and efficient. Social network sites seem to bring people together and connected, but may create social isolation. As the youth tend to spend many hours on these sites, they rarely have face-to-face interaction. According to various studies, scientists' evaluation determined that social isolation can lead to a host of emotional, psychological, physical and mental problems which include anxiety, depression and somatic complaints among many others. Other negative effects of social networking various people suggested included encouraging poor spelling and grammar, allowing spread of misinformation that is perceived as fact. decreasing productivity. The sites also provide a perfect platform for cyber bullying and increase risks of identity theft, whose personal information are asked to add. Social networking clearly portrays both positive and negative effects on the youth. It is decision of an individual to make whether to continue using the sites or not (Text adapted fromhttp://www.speechprosody2012.org/academic-essaysample-social- network-impact-on-youth.asp)
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 35 to 39
Global sea level has been rising over the past century, and the rate has increased in recent decades. In 2014, global sea level was 2.6 inches above the 1993 average - the highest annual average in the satellite record (1993-present). Sea level continues to rise at a rate of about one eighth of an inch per year. Higher sea levels mean that deadly and destructive storm surges push farther inland than they once did, which also means more frequent nuisance flooding. Disruptive and expensive, nuisance flooding is estimated to be from 300 percent to 900 percent more frequent within U.S. coastal communities than it was just 50 years ago. The two major causes of global sea level rise are thermal expansion caused by warming of the ocean since water expands as it warms, and increased melting of land-based ice, such as glaciers and ice sheets. The oceans are absorbing more than 90 percent of the increased atmospheric heat associated with emissions from human activity. With continued ocean and atmospheric warming, sea levels will likely rise for many centuries at rates higher than that of the current century. In the United States, almost 40 percent of the population lives in relatively high-population- density coastal areas, where sea level plays a role in flooding, shoreline erosion, and hazards from storms. Globally, eight of the world's 10 largest cities are near a coast, according to the U.N. Atlas of the Oceans.
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 40 to 44.
Today, many governments are promoting organic or natural farming methods (40) _______ avoid the use of pesticides and other artificial products. The aim is to show that they (41) _______ about the environment and about people's health. But is this the right approach? Europe is now the biggest (42) _______ for organic food in the world, expanding by 25 percent a year over the past 10 years, Eating organic is (43) _______ way of defining oneself as natural, good, caring different from the junk-food-scoffmg masses. As a journalist puts it: "It feels closer to the source, the beginning, the start of things". The organic approach means farming with natural, rather than man-made. Techniques such as crop rotation improve soil quality and help organic farmers compensate for the absence of man-made chemicals (44) _______ , for its ineffective use of land and labour, there are severe limits to how much food can be produced. (Adapted from IELTS by Cambridge)