Soaring over the city at an impressive 2,716 feet (828 meters) and boasting 200 stories (160 habitable), the $1.5 billion Burj Khalifa project was unveiled by Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in January 2010. At the peak of construction, more than 12,000 international workers were on site per day logging a collective 22 million man-hours during the six years it took to complete. The Burj Khalifa is twice the height of New York's Empire State Building and three times as tall as the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It even surpassed Taiwan's Taipei 101, which at 1,667 feet (508m) had held the world title since it opened in 2004.

Question: How many international workers were on site per day during the Burj Khalifa's construction? (Skill: scanning)

Soaring over the city at an impressive 2,716 feet (828 meters) and boasting 200 stories (160 habitable), the $1.5 billion Burj Khalifa project was unveiled by Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in January 2010. At the peak of construction, more than 12,000 international workers were on site per day logging a collective 22 million man-hours during the six years it took to complete. The Burj Khalifa is twice the height of New York's Empire State Building and three times as tall as the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It even surpassed Taiwan's Taipei 101, which at 1,667 feet (508m) had held the world title since it opened in 2004.

Question: How long did it take to complete the Burj Khalifa? (Skill: Scanning)

Soaring over the city at an impressive 2,716 feet (828 meters) and boasting 200 stories (160 habitable), the $1.5 billion Burj Khalifa project was unveiled by Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in January 2010. At the peak of construction, more than 12,000 international workers were on site per day logging a collective 22 million man-hours during the six years it took to complete. The Burj Khalifa is twice the height of New York's Empire State Building and three times as tall as the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It even surpassed Taiwan's Taipei 101, which at 1,667 feet (508m) had held the world title since it opened in 2004.

Question: Which building was the tallest in the world prior to the completion of the Burj Khalifa? (Skill: scanning)

Soaring over the city at an impressive 2,716 feet (828 meters) and boasting 200 stories (160 habitable), the $1.5 billion Burj Khalifa project was unveiled by Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in January 2010. At the peak of construction, more than 12,000 international workers were on site per day logging a collective 22 million man-hours during the six years it took to complete. The Burj Khalifa is twice the height of New York's Empire State Building and three times as tall as the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It even surpassed Taiwan's Taipei 101, which at 1,667 feet (508m) had held the world title since it opened in 2004.

Question: how much did it cost to construct the Burj Khalifa?

True, False, or Not given

You’ll no doubt recognise this tall grass growing along roadsides and in public areas (or the wild), as it’s an easy, cheap and fast growing grass that can quickly spruce up a vacant spot. It grows up to one metre in height, with long bushy tendrils sprouting upwards from its thick grassy base, which stays green even in summer. Plant several next to each other along an empty fence or wall to add a degree of wabi-sabi wildness to your garden. Native to Africa and the Gulf, it’s a hardy grass with a high drought tolerance and requires little watering and maintenance.

Question: Tall grass grows up to three metres in height

You’ll no doubt recognise this tall grass growing along roadsides and in public areas (or the wild), as it’s an easy, cheap and fast growing grass that can quickly spruce up a vacant spot. It grows up to one metre in height, with long bushy tendrils sprouting upwards from its thick grassy base, which stays green even in summer. Plant several next to each other along an empty fence or wall to add a degree of wabi-sabi wildness to your garden. Native to Africa and the Gulf, it’s a hardy grass with a high drought tolerance and requires little watering and maintenance.

Question: Tall grass can survive the harsh desert heat?

You’ll no doubt recognise this tall grass growing along roadsides and in public areas (or the wild), as it’s an easy, cheap and fast growing grass that can quickly spruce up a vacant spot. It grows up to one metre in height, with long bushy tendrils sprouting upwards from its thick grassy base, which stays green even in summer. Plant several next to each other along an empty fence or wall to add a degree of wabi-sabi wildness to your garden. Native to Africa and the Gulf, it’s a hardy grass with a high drought tolerance and requires little watering and maintenance.

Question: Tall grass is fast growing?

You’ll no doubt recognise this tall grass growing along roadsides and in public areas (or the wild), as it’s an easy, cheap and fast growing grass that can quickly spruce up a vacant spot. It grows up to one metre in height, with long bushy tendrils sprouting upwards from its thick grassy base, which stays green even in summer. Plant several next to each other along an empty fence or wall to add a degree of wabi-sabi wildness to your garden. Native to Africa and the Gulf, it’s a hardy grass with a high drought tolerance and requires little watering and maintenance.

Question: Tall grass is found in many European countries

You’ll no doubt recognise this tall grass growing along roadsides and in public areas (or the wild), as it’s an easy, cheap and fast growing grass that can quickly spruce up a vacant spot. It grows up to one metre in height, with long bushy tendrils sprouting upwards from its thick grassy base, which stays green even in summer. Plant several next to each other along an empty fence or wall to add a degree of wabi-sabi wildness to your garden. Native to Africa and the Gulf, it’s a hardy grass with a high drought tolerance and requires little watering and maintenance.

Question: choose the appropriate title for this passage

Africa is home to many of the world's most famous fauna in human culture such as Lions‚ Rhinos‚ Cheetahs‚ Giraffes‚ Hippos, Leopards, Zebras‚ Elephants among many others. The fauna of Africa, in its broader sense, is all the animals living in Africa and its surrounding seas and islands. The more characteristic African fauna is found in the Afrotropical ecoregion. Lying almost entirely within the tropics, and equally to north and south of the equator creates favourable conditions for rich wildlife.

Question: what is the focus of this passage (Skill: Skimming)

There was another milestone for Lionel Messi in his first game back for Barcelona. Messi's goal in second-half injury time at relegation threatened Mallorca -- with his right foot, not favoured left -- meant the Argentinian became the first player to score at least 20 goals in 12 straight La Liga seasons. He also produced two assists in the 4-0 victory Saturday that sent Barcelona five points clear of arch-rival Real Madrid atop the table before Los Blancos cut the gap to two by downing Eibar 3-1 on Sunday night.

Question: Messi has scored 20 goals in 11 straight seasons in La Liga

The art of henna (called mehndi or mehendi in Hindi & Urdu languages) has been practiced for over 5000 years in Pakistan, India, Africa and the Middle East. Some documentation dates it to over 9000 years old. Because henna has natural cooling properties, people of the desert, for centuries, have been using henna to help control their body temperature. They would make a paste from the crushed dried leaves of the henna plant and soak their palms and soles of the feet in it to get a cooling affect.

Question: pick the appropriate heading for this passage

Opera refers to a dramatic art form, originating in Europe, in which the emotional content is conveyed to the audience as much through music, both vocal and instrumental, as it is through the lyrics. By contrast, in musical theatre an actor's dramatic performance is primary, and the music plays a lesser role. The drama in opera is presented using the primary elements of theatre such as scenery, costumes, and acting. However, the words of the opera, or libretto, are sung rather than spoken. The singers are accompanied by a musical ensemble ranging from a small instrumental ensemble to a full symphonic orchestra.

1. It is pointed out in the reading that opera ----.

IDENTIFY THE MAIN IDEA

Sometime in December of 1891, Dr. James Naismith was teaching gym at the YMCA College in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was raining, and Dr. Naismith was trying to keep his students active. He wanted them playing a rough game that would keep them moving. He didn't like a few ideas that were too rough. Then Naismith had his breakthrough. He wrote out the rules for a game with peach baskets fixed to ten-foot elevated tracks. Naismith's students played against one another, passing the ball around and shooting it into the peach baskets. Dribbling wasn't a part of the original game. Also it took a while to realize that the game would run more smoothly if the bottoms of the baskets were removed. But this game grew to be one of the most popular sports in America today. Can you guess which one?

Situation

Daughter: Mom, I'm going shopping with my friends at Chatuchak Weekend Market.

Mother: Beware of pickpockets. There are a lot of people there.

Daughter: Thank you, mom.

The mother says that because _____?

Weather reporters have to give out a lot of information. That's why they use pictures. The pictures help them tell us about the weather without using so many words. Weather reporters need to know where the cold air is. They need to know where the warm air is. They have to know where it is raining and what types of clouds are in the area. Their reports need to be correct, but they also need to be short. The pictures help weather reporters get the information out in a fast way.

Which sentence best describes the main idea of the paragraph?