Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the answer to each of the question.
When he was nine years old, Felix Finkbeiner gave a class presentation on climate change. The young German spoke about deforestation and its effect on the planet. At the end of his talk, he challenged the people of his country to help by planting one million trees. Nobody thought much would come of a nine-year-old’s school project. Before he was 20, however, Finkbeiner’s efforts had resulted in the planting of more than 14 billion trees around the world. Finkbeiner and his classmates began the project - named “Plant-for-the-Planet” - by planting the first tree outside their school. Other schools followed the example, and news of the one-million challenge spread. As a result, Finkbeiner was asked to speak at the European Parliament. Other invitations soon followed, and when he was just 13, he spoke at a United Nations conference in New York. “We cannot trust that adults alone will save our future,” he said in the speech. “We have to take our future in our hands.” Finkbeiner is now in his twenties, and Plant-for-the-Planet is an organization with around 70,000 members. It works to teach people about climate change and to encourage the planting of more trees. Germany’s one millionth tree was planted long ago. The goal now is one trillion - 150 for every person on Earth. (Adapted from Reading Explorer by Becky Tarver Chase and David Bohlke)
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the answer to each of the question.
The Globe Shakespeare's Globe Theatre is a popular topic for people interested in theater and history. However, the Globe Theatre as we know it today is not the same building that was used originally. In fact, the Globe was situated in many different places during its long history. When the rental agreement on the original location ended, one of the actors bought a theater called the Blackfriars, which was located in another part of town. However, many complaints from neighbors and the town council led to the creation of a petition that requested that the acting group move their company out of town. Upset with this news, the actors returned to the original theater, took most of it apart, and then moved the materials across the Thames River to Bankside, where they proceeded to construct the next version of the Globe. This endeavor, though, did not go so smoothly. The owner of the original Globe Theatre, who had rented it to the actors, took the acting group to court. He wanted the actors to pay for the damage they had done to his building. In the end, however, the actors won the case and continued to construct their “newly-acquired” theater. Later, the actors split their plays between the original theater and the new Globe. In 1643, the original Globe Theatre burned to the ground. How did this happen? Historians believe that a cannon that was shot during a performance of the play Henry Vill started a large fire. Yet, the Globe Theatre still survived. A new Globe was later completed on the same site before Shakespeare's death. However, it was shut down by the Puritans in 1642 and later destroyed during the English Civil War of 1643. In May of 1997, Queen Elizabeth II officially opened a newly constructed version of the Globe with a production of Henry V. This is the Globe Theatre that people visit today. The queen wanted the new theater to be much like the old one. The new model is very similar to the original theater. For instance, it is also a three-story building. Also, it has seating for 1,500 people. It also has an area called the “yard” on the lower level. In its first season, the theater attracted 210,000 people. (Adapted from “Developing Skills for the TOEFL iBT intermediate”)
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.
Berrak: A Pianist
A typical day now involves a couple of hours practice in the morning before going into college and attending classes. I spend a lot of time in the library, listening to music, trying to learn and become (34) ______ with new pieces of music. One downside to choosing to study and pursue a career in music is that you end up spending hours and hours by yourself. (35) ______, I also try to spend time at college, meeting other people and networking. The more musicians I know, the more likely I am to be asked to play for (36) ______. The more I play, the better known I become and in the music business it's all about recognition and getting your name out there. Ultimately, if I am asked to play and get given a job it means that someone else loses work and sometimes it feels like a constant battle. You can't help being drawn into an artificial world (37) ______ you are constantly comparing yourself to others and are always worried about what others think of your performances. In the real world outside of college, your (38) ______ is much wider. (Adapted from “FCE Practice Test” by Karen Dyer and Dave Harwood)