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 31 to 35.
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People attitude to money has changed in recent years. When my mother was younger, she never (31)______from anyone and she always paid her bills on time. Things like cars, TVs and washing machines cost a huge amount of money and there weren’t so many different makes to choose from.Nowadays, the number of mobile phones on the market is unbelievable. Some of my friends change their mobile every few months (32)_____the expense. There is also huge choice in clothes and shoes, especially on the Internet. I ordered some jeans once but they were very disappointing because they didn’t fit me very well – they were much too big. I prefer to try things (33)_____before I buy them. I think I know what looks good on me and I quite often get great (34)____in the sales. Some shops charge a fortune but the style of clothes that they sell is awful. They persuade people to buy things (35) _____don’t suit them, just because they have a designer label. I don’t have to pay high prices in shops in order to feel good about the way I look.When my mother was younger, she never (31)______from anyone and she always paid her bills on time.
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 40.
History books recorded that the first film with sound was The Jazz Singer in 1927. But sound films, or talkies, did not suddenly appear after years of silent screenings. From the earliest public performances in 1896, films were accompanied by music and sound effects. These were produced by a single pianist, a small band, or a full-scale orchestra; large movie theatres could buy sound-effect machines. Research into sound that was reproduced at exactly at the same time as the pictures - called "synchronized sound" – began soon after the very first films were shown. With synchronized sound, characters on the movie screen could sing and speak. As early as 1896, the newly invented gramophone, which played a large disc carrying music and dialogue, was used as a sound system. The biggest disadvantage was that the sound and pictures could become unsynchronized if, for example, the gramophone needle jumped or if the speed of the projector changed. This system was only effective for a single song or dialogue sequence.In the "sound-on-film" system, sound was recorded as a series of marks on celluloid which could be read by an optical sensor. These signals would be placed on the film alongside the image, guaranteeing synchronization. Short feature films were produced in this way as early as 1922. This system eventually brought us "talking pictures"