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 34 to 38.

Flea Markets

When asked where they prefer to shop, (31) _______ students replied that they are keen on flea markets. You can pick up a large variety of items: clothes, antiques, plants, second-hand furniture, rugs- just about anything you can think of. For example, you can find fabulous vintage clothing at very low prices, so you come away feeling you’ve found a great bargain worth much more than what you paid.

Beware, (32) _______, as you have to pay in cash and you are often not given a receipt for the items you buy. This can be a problem if the item is faulty as you will not have a (33) _______. Of course, you often get great value for money but if you want to return an item for some reason, the (34) _______ are rarely willing to give you a refund. As there is no price tag on the item (35) _______ you buy, the seller can’t be expected to remember how much they sold it to you.

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 s from 39 to 43.

A gift card is a card that is issued by a particular store. It’s worth a certain amount of money. It looks like a credit card, but it actually works like cash. A gift-card holder can spend the amount of money noted on the card in the store that issued it. These cards are big money makers for retail companies. One reason is that when gift-card holders go to the store, they often see other things to buy, and they end up spending more money than the gift card is worth. Unused cards are another big source of revenue. Companies make millions of dollars because large numbers of people never use their cards. They either lose them, forget about them, or decide that it’s not worth the effort.

Gift cards are becoming extremely popular in many countries around the world. In the United States, they are one of the most popular types of gifts. Why? People love the convenience – cards are easy to buy and easy to use, either in the store or online. The recipient can select his or her own gift, and the giver does not have to worry about finding just the right thing.

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 34 to 38.

Reality shows have been around for longer than most of us can remember. TV producers find them cheaper to produce than soap operas or dramas. And the format seems to be as popular as ever. (31) ______ shows are so addictive that people can’t resist tuning in to them week after week. But why? Do viewers know how ‘real’ reality TV actually is? Of course, some shows are better than others. When Romeo Met Juliet, (32)______, was convincing enough for us to believe what went on in the show. But other shows are less real. (33) ______ are more likely to tell contestants what to say and do than you may realize and the sob stories (34) ______ we hear each week are more planned than ‘real’. Nevertheless, it seems that the more we watch reality TV, the more tempted we are to believe it's all true. Is that such a bad thing? Well, one (35)______ could be that there is a lot more gossiping and bullying on some shows than seems good for anybody.

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 s from 31 to 35.

In the past, people tended to classify things as either worth something or worthless. Household, office, and industrial waste, seen as worthless, was usually burned or buried in landfills. However, as landfills fill up, the planet heats up, and energy and raw material prices go up, we are rethinking what we consider" waste" and "pollution." New technologies are making it possible to reuse waste materials, and businesses are finding ways to not only throw away less, but to turn trash into cash.

Recycling is the most widespread form of waste reuse. Not only does it save governments money by reducing spending on landfills, but it also helps companies and individuals lower garbage disposal costs. Another type of waste, organic material, has a clear economic value. Scientists have developed ways to turn vegetables, grains into biofuel. Through creative efforts, other waste materials are being turned into completely new products. An interesting example is EaKo, a UK- based company which makes beautiful bags and wallets from used fire hoses. On the other side of the world, a local government effort in the Philippines to turn old plastic bags and other materials into construction blocks.

Even factories are finding opportunities to increase profits in Earth-friendly ways. As goods are produced, factories often generate large amounts of heat and gas, which are then released into the air. Yet by refitting a plant, it is possible to capture these materials and turn them into energy, which the factory can then reuse. Excess energy can even be sold to power companies for a profit. Recaptured energy from US factories could meet 20% of the country's power needs.

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 34 to 38.

Deserts are not uninhabited places as many people believe. (31) ______ the daytime air temperature may reach an unbearable 58oC and the surface temperature 77oC, many animals live in these conditions. Their survival, however, is dependent on them being able to get water they need. Observation of desert animals has revealed a lot about the strategies they (32) ______ to achieve this. Researchers have found that beetles, for example, get their daily (33) ______ of water after waiting for the moisture from fog to condense on their bodies and drip down into the mouth. Larger desert animals have come up with (34) ______ solution to the problem of finding a source of water. For example, creatures like hares or rats get their supply by eating considerable amounts of desert vegetation, (35) ______ contains the water they require. However extreme the conditions may be, desert animals somehow manage to obtain water.

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 s from 39 to 43.

Leonardo da Vinci began painting the Mona Lisa, one of the most famous paintings of all time, in 1503. He was working on a special painting for a church at the time, but it was not going well. The woman who can be seen in the Mona Lisa is said to be Madonna Lisa del Giocondo. She was the wife of an Italian businessman who asked da Vinci to paint a portrait of her.

After Leonardo da Vinci finished the painting in 1506, he was invited by the French King, Francois I, to visit France, and he took the painting with him. Today, the Mona Lisa is kept in the Louvre, an art museum in Paris, and it is seen by about six million visitors a year.

The painting measures only 77 centimeters by 53 centimeters and is painted with oil on wood. In 1911, it was stolen by a worker at the Louvre, Vincenzo Peruggia, who took it out of the museum by hiding it under his coat. Two years later, police found the painting under Peruggia's bed after he tried to sell it.

In 1962, the Mona Lisa was taken to Washington and New York for an exhibition. For the journey, it was insured for 100 million dollars, making it the most valuable painting ever!