Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word whose underlined part differs from the other three in pronunciation in each of the following questions.
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word that differs from the other three in the position of primary stress in each of the following questions.
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the underlined part that needs correction in the each of following questions.
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions.
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the most suitable response to complete each of the following exchanges.
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that is closest in meaning to each of the following questions.
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.
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.
Any change in one part of an ecosystem can cause changes in other parts. Droughts, storms and fires can change ecosystems. Some changes (31) _______ ecosystems. If there is too little rainfall, plants will not have enough water to live. If a kind of plant dies off, the animals (32) _______ feed on it may also die or move away. Some changes are good for ecosystems. Some pine forests need fires for the pine trees to reproduce. The seeds are sealed inside pinecones. Heat from a forest fire melts the seal and lets the seeds (33) _______. Polluting the air, soil, and water can harm ecosystems. Building dams on rivers for electric power and irrigation can harm ecosystems (34) _______ the rivers. Bulldozing wetlands and cutting down forests destroy ecosystems. Ecologists are working with companies and governments to find better ways of (35) _______ fish, cutting down trees, and building dams. They are looking for ways to get food, lumber, and other products for people without causing harm to ecosystems.
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.
For many people who live in cities, parks are an important part of the landscape. They provide a place for people to relax and play sports, as well as a refuge from the often harsh environment of a city. What people often overlook is that parks also provide considerable environmental benefits.
One benefit of parks is that plants absorb carbon dioxide - a key pollutant - and emit oxygen, which humans need to breathe. According to one study, an acre of trees can absorb the same amount of carbon dioxide that a typical car emits in 11,000 miles of driving. Parks also make cities cooler. Scientists have long noted what is called the Urban Heat Island Effect: building materials such as metal, concrete, and asphalt absorb much more of the sun’s heat and release it much more quickly than organic surfaces like trees and grass. Because city landscapes contain so much of these building materials, cities are usually warmer than surrounding rural areas. Parks and other green spaces help to mitigate the Urban Heat Island Effect.
Unfortunately, many cities cannot easily create more parks because most land is already being used for buildings, roads, parking lots, and other essential parts of the urban environment. However, cities could benefit from many of the positive effects of parks by encouraging citizens to create another type of green space: rooftop gardens. While most people would not think of starting a garden on their roof, human beings have been planting gardens on rooftops for thousands of years. Some rooftop gardens are very complex and require complicated engineering, but others are simple container gardens that anyone can create with the investment of a few hundred dollars and a few hours of work.
Rooftop gardens provide many of the same benefits as other urban park and garden spaces, but without taking up the much-needed land. Like parks, rooftop gardens help to replace carbon dioxide in the air with nourishing oxygen. They also help to lessen the Urban Heat Island Effect, which can save people money.
In the summer, rooftop gardens prevent buildings from absorbing heat from the sun, which can significantly reduce cooling bills. In the winter, gardens help hold in the heat that materials like brick and concrete radiate so quickly, leading to savings on heating bills. Rooftop vegetable and herb gardens can also provide fresh food for city dwellers, saving them money and making their diets healthier. Rooftop gardens are not only something everyone can enjoy, they are also a smart environmental investment.
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 43 to 50.
(1) Not so long ago almost any student who successfully completed a university degree or diploma course could find a good career quite easily. Companies toured the academic institutions, competing with each other to recruit graduates. However, those days are gone, even in Hong Kong, and nowadays graduates often face strong competition in the search for jobs.
(2) Most careers organizations highlight three stages for graduates to follow in the process of securing a suitable career: recognizing abilities, matching these to available vacancies and presenting them well to prospective employers.
(3) Job seekers have to make a careful assessment of their own abilities. One area of assessment should be of their academic qualifications, which would include special skills within their subject area. Graduates should also consider their own personal values and attitudes, or the relative importance to themselves of such matters as money, security, leadership and caring for others. An honest assessment of personal interests and abilities such as creative or scientific skills, or skills acquired from work experience, should also be given careful thought.
(4) The second stage is to study the opportunities available for employment and to think about how the general employment situation is likely to develop in the future. To do this, graduates can study job vacancies and information in newspapers or they can visit a careers office, write to possible employers for information or contact friends or relatives who may already be involved in a particular profession. After studying all the various options, they should be in a position to make informed comparisons between various careers.
(5) Good personal presentation is essential in the search for a good career. Job application forms and letters should, of course, be filled in carefully and correctly, without grammar or spelling errors. Where additional information is asked for, job seekers should describe their abilities and work experience in more depth, with examples if possible. They should try to balance their own abilities with the employer's needs, explain why they are interested in a career with the particular company and try to show that they already know something about the company and its activities.
(6) When graduates are asked to attend for interview, they should prepare properly by finding out all they can about the prospective employer. Dressing suitably and arriving for the interview on time are also obviously important. Interviewees should try to give positive and helpful answers and should not be afraid to ask questions about anything they are unsure about. This is much better than pretending to understand a question and giving an unsuitable answer.
(7) There will always be good career opportunities for people with ability, skills and determination; the secret to securing a good job is to be one of them.
