Samuel Morse, best known today as the inventor of Morse Code and one of the inventors of the telegraph, was originally a prominent painter. While he was always interested in technology and studied electrical engineering in college, Morse went to Paris to learn from famous artists of his day and later painted many pictures that now hang in museums, including a portrait of former President John Adams. In 1825, Morse was in Washington, D.C., painting a portrait of the Marquis de Lafayette when a messenger arrived on horseback to tell him that his wife was gravely ill back at his home in Connecticut. The message had taken several days to reach him because of the distance. Morse rushed to his home as fast as he could, but his wife had already passed away by the time he arrived. Grief-stricken, he gave up painting and devoted the rest of his life to finding ways to transmit messages over long distances faster.Morse left the art world and helped to invent the telegraph:

• . because he was fascinated by science

• . because he was tired of painting

• because of a personal tragedy in his life

• because he wanted to communicate with people far away

Ang mga taong ipinanganak sa Taon ng Dragon ay sinasabing may kakambal na swerte, karaniwang dominante at matataas ang ambisyon. Mas gusto nilang mamuhay ayon sa sarili nilang mga batas at kung sila at hahayaang mag-isa, mas nagiging matagumpay sila sa buhay. Sila ay mga pursigido at hindi natatakot sa mga hamon at laging handang makipagsapalaran, kaya hindi kataka-taka na malapit sa kanila ang tagumpay. Sila ay matulungin sa mga nangangailangan ngunit hindi sila hihingi ng tulong sa iba kung sila naman ang nangangailangan.Hanapin ang mali sa mga sumusunod na paglalarawan sa taong ipinanganak sa Taon ng Dragon.

• hindi natatakot sa mga hamon

• laging handang makipagsapalaran

• gustong mamuhay ayon sa sarili nilang batas

• malakas ang kanilang karisma

Research suggests that there are creatures that do not know what light means at the bottom of the sea. They don't have either eyes or ears; they can only feel. There is no day or night for them. There are no winters, no summers, no sun, no moon, and no stars. It is as if a child spent its life in darkness in bed, with nothing to see or hear. How different our own life is! Sight shows us the ground beneath our feet and the heavens above us - the sun, moon, and stars, shooting stars, lightning, and the sunset. It shows us day and night. We are able to hear voices, the sound of the sea, and music. We feel, we taste, we smell. How fortunate we are!Judging from the passage, we can say that this story is mainly about

• how changes in the seasons are perceived by the deep-sea creatures.

• life of sea creatures at the bottom of the sea.

• the differences among creatures of the earth and those of the sea.

• the superiority of human beings over some creatures in terms of senses.

In the past, consumers would rarely walk into an ice cream store and order low-fat ice cream. But that isn't the case today. An increasing health consciousness combined with a much bigger selection of tasty low-fat foods in all categories has made low-fat ice cream a very profitable item for ice cream store owners.This paragraph best supports the statement that

• low-fat ice cream produces more revenue than other low-fat foods.

• low-fat ice cream is more popular than other kinds of ice cream.

• ice cream store owners would be better off carrying only low-fat ice cream.

• ice cream store owners no longer think that low-fat ice cream is an unpopular item.

Many people have owned, or have heard of, traditional “piggy banks,” coin banks shaped like pigs. A logical theory about how this tradition started might be that because pigs often symbolize greed, the object is to “fatten” one’s piggy bank with as much money as possible. However, while this idea makes sense, it is not the correct origin of the term. The genesis of the piggy bank is the old English word “pygg”, which was a common kind of clay hundreds of years ago in England. People used pots and jars made out of this red “pygg” clay for many different purposes in their homes. Sometimes they kept their money in one of the pots, and this was known as a pygg bank. Over the years, because “pygg” and “pig” sounded the same, glaziers began making novelty banks out of pottery in the shape of a pig as a kind of joke. These banks were given as gifts and exported to countries where people spoke other languages and where no one had ever heard of pygg clay. The tradition caught on all over the world, and today piggy banks come in all colors and are made of all kinds of materials, including plastic.This passage is mainly about:

• how people in England made pottery centuries ago

• how an unusual custom got started

• how a common expression began in a surprising way

• how people in different countries save their money

Huge beasts such as the dinosaur have never really become extinct. Mothra, a giant caterpillar who later becomes a moth, destroys Tokyo, and stars in the 1962 Japanese film named for him. Mothra is born, dies, and reborn regularly on classic movie channels. In Japan, Mothra is one of the most popular films ever made. Mothra has survived the creation of more current scary creatures such as giant apes, extraterrestrial beings and swamp creatures. More than 30 years after his creation, Mothra still lives.The main subject of the passage is

• old models for creatures are still used because making new monsters is expensive.

• the reasons that fads do not endure.

• the lasting appeal of Mothra.

• the difficulty of marketing good horror movies.

The Philippines is experiencing its worst drought in fifteen years. Corn and rice prices are expected to be very high this year.What does the second sentence do?

• It gives an example.

• It states an effect.

• It restates the idea found in the first.

• It analyzes the statement made in the first.

In Feng Shui, clutter is a big no-no. Clutter is consists of old toys, clothes, old magazines and everything old which are no longer used. It hinders the free circulation of the fresh energy inside the house, preventing it to enter every room. It makes the energy inside the house stale and inactive, making the residents of the house sickly and less aggressive. To avoid more unlucky situations in the homes, clutter should be cleared once it starts to pile up. This is good Feng Shui.What conclusion can we make?

• Clutter should be stored in one room of the house for good Feng Shui.

• Clutter is inauspicious in the homes.

• Old books and old magazines should be arranged in one place.

• Old toys should be recycled.

Most researches in needy countries are based on the thinking and approach of the highly developed Western world, and seldom have they been directed toward meeting the countries' own development needs.The sentence best supports the statement that _________.

• highly developed countries offer the best guide for the development of needy countries

• most researches have universal application.

• most researches done in needy countries are missing their objectives

• needy countries need researchers to help them reach the status of the western world.

The advent of cellphone is perhaps the best contribution of modern technology to our communication system. Back then, it would take a week or longer before we can communicate with our loved ones if we are working in other countries. It was through letters that we could communicate with them, and letters really took time to reach their destinations. Today, if we want to talk to our loved ones, even of we are living in another country, we can do so very easily with the use of cellphones. In a matter of minute, we are connected with them.What does the passage say?

• Communication using cellphones is fast and easy.

• Cellphone can reach people in faraway places but letters cannot.

• Letters are useless in our modern time.

• Back then, communication with our loved ones was impossible because there was no cellphones.