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Question 1 of 41
1. Question
choose the sentence halves.
2. The reason why you weren’t invited
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Question 2 of 41
2. Question
choose the sentence halves.
3. What happened
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Question 3 of 41
3. Question
choose the sentence halves.
4. All I did
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Question 4 of 41
4. Question
choose the sentence halves.
5. The day I moved into my new house
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Question 5 of 41
5. Question
choose the sentence halves.
6. What happens
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Question 6 of 41
6. Question
choose the sentence halves.
7. The thing I admire most about him
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Question 7 of 41
7. Question
Rewrite the sentences to give them extra emphasis, starting with the word(s) given.
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Question:
I spoke to the assistant manager, not the manager.
The person
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Question 8 of 41
8. Question
Rewrite the sentences to give them extra emphasis, starting with the word(s) given.
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Question:
I didn’t buy the bag because it was too expensive.
The reason
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Question 9 of 41
9. Question
Rewrite the sentences to give them extra emphasis, starting with the word(s) given.
-
Question:
Her grandmother taught her how to bake bread.
It
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Question 10 of 41
10. Question
Rewrite the sentences to give them extra emphasis, starting with the word(s) given.
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Question:
Jane shut the door with her keys still inside.
What happened
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Question 11 of 41
11. Question
Rewrite the sentences to give them extra emphasis, starting with the word(s) given.
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Question:
I need a good, long rest.
What
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Question 12 of 41
12. Question
Rewrite the sentences to give them extra emphasis, starting with the word(s) given.
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Question:
I was impressed by how quickly she learnt Italian.
The thing
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Question 13 of 41
13. Question
Rewrite the sentences to give them extra emphasis, starting with the word(s) given.
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Question:
My parents live in a very picturesque village.
The village
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Question 14 of 41
14. Question
Listen and write the sentences.
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Question 15 of 41
15. Question
choose the correct word.
1. The next time my brother asks me for a loan, I’m going to refuse / deny.
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Question 16 of 41
16. Question
choose the correct word.
2. Monica feels a bit dizzy, so she’s gone to lie / lay down for a while.
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Question 17 of 41
17. Question
choose the correct word.
3. I suppose I’ll get married one day, but right now I’m not ready to make a compromise / commitment.
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Question 18 of 41
18. Question
choose the correct word.
4. Some people say that gas is more economic / economical than electricity, but I’m not so sure.
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Question 19 of 41
19. Question
choose the correct word.
5. We were delighted with our suit / suite – it had a balcony with a hot tub.
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Question 20 of 41
20. Question
choose the correct word.
6. Let’s eat out tonight. I’m starving and, beside / besides, I don’t fancy cooking.
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Question 21 of 41
21. Question
choose the correct word.
7. The actress is actually / currently dating her bodyguard after her marriage broke up last year.
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Question 22 of 41
22. Question
choose the correct word.
8. She was extremely ashamed / embarrassed when her trousers ripped as she sat down.
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Question 23 of 41
23. Question
choose the correct word.
9. Global warming affects / effects the world’s weather in many ways.
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Question 24 of 41
24. Question
Complete the sentences with the words you didn’t circle in a.
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Question:
We sat on the grass the river and had a picnic on Saturday — it was idyllic!
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Question 25 of 41
25. Question
Complete the sentences with the words you didn’t circle in a.
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Question:
People are very concerned about the situation in this country.
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Question 26 of 41
26. Question
Complete the sentences with the words you didn’t circle in a.
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Question:
Doctors recommend mothers to their babies on their backs when they put them to bed.
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Question 27 of 41
27. Question
Complete the sentences with the words you didn’t circle in a.
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Question:
You should be of yourself for being so rude to my friends.
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Question 28 of 41
28. Question
Complete the sentences with the words you didn’t circle in a.
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Question:
Being overweight can have serious long-term on your health.
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Question 29 of 41
29. Question
Complete the sentences with the words you didn’t circle in a.
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Question:
It’s miserable weather, but I don’t think you need an umbrella because it isn’t raining.
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Question 30 of 41
30. Question
Complete the sentences with the words you didn’t circle in a.
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Question:
It’s a formal dinner, so all the men will be wearing a
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Question 31 of 41
31. Question
Complete the sentences with the words you didn’t circle in a.
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Question:
I wanted to go to the cinema and my girlfriend wanted to stay at home, but we finally reached a and watched a DVD instead.
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Question 32 of 41
32. Question
Complete the sentences with the words you didn’t circle in a.
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Question:
You can’t you’ve had one of my chocolates – there were three in the box and now there are only two!
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Question 33 of 41
33. Question
Listen again and choose the sentences T (true) or F (false).
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i. Nazneen hadn’t met Chanu before she joined him in England.
ii. Nazneen’s new husband doesn’t live up to her expectations.
iii. Nazneen rebels from the start against her new life in London.
iv. Nazneen’s feelings for her husband remain the same throughout the novel.
v. Nazneen’s sister, Hasina, chose her own husband.
vi. Nazneen doesn’t make any friends while she is in London.
vii. Nazneen’s outlook on life changes as the novel progresses.
viii. It is Nazneen’s lover, Karim, who teaches her how to speak English.
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Question 34 of 41
34. Question
Read an extract from The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. Choose the sentence that best describes Lindo Jong’s feelings about her daughter.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Joy Luck Club is the story of four Chinese mothers and their first-generation Chinese-American daughters; two generations of women struggling to come to terms with their cultural identity. Here Lindo Jong, one of the mothers, talks about her daughter, Waverley.
LINDO JONG Double Face
My daughter wanted to go to China for her second honeymoon, but now she is afraid. ‘What if I blend in so well they think I’m one of them?’ Waverley asked me. ‘What if they don’t let me come back to the United States?’ ‘When you go to China/ I told her, ‘you don’t even need to open your mouth. They already know you are an outsider.’ ‘What are you talking about?’ she asked. My daughter likes to speak back. She likes to question what I say. ‘Aii-ya,’ I said. ‘Even if you put on their clothes, even if you take off your makeup and hide your fancy jewelry, they know. They know just watching you walk, the way you carry your face. They know you do not belong.’
My daughter did not look pleased when I told her this, that she didn’t look Chinese. She had a sour American look on her face. Oh, maybe ten years ago, she would have clapped her hands – hurray! – as if this were good news. But now she wants to be Chinese, it is so fashionable. And I know it is too late. All those years I tried to teach her! She followed my Chinese ways only until she learned to walk out the door by herself and go to school. So now the only Chinese words she can say are sh-sh, houche, chrfan and gumn deng schioeijyau. How can she talk to people with those words only? Pee-pee, choo-choo train, eat, close light sleep. How can she think she can blend in? Only her skin and her hair are Chinese. Inside – she is all American-made.
It’s my fault she is this way. I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these two things do not mix?
I taught her how American circumstances work. If you are born poor here, it’s no lasting shame. You are first in line for a scholarship. If the roof crashes on your head, no need to cry over this bad luck. You can sue anybody, make the landlord fix it. You do not have to sit like a Buddha under a tree letting pigeons drop their dirty business on your head. You can buy an umbrella. Or go inside a Catholic church. In America, nobody says you have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives you.
She learned these things, but I couldn’t teach her about Chinese character. How to obey parents and listen to your mother’s mind. How not to show your own thoughts, to put your feelings behind your face, so you can take advantage of hidden opportunities. Why easy things are not worth pursuing. How to know your own worth and polish it, never flashing it around like a cheap ring. Why Chinese thinking is best.
No, this kind of thinking didn’t stick to her. She was too busy chewing gum, blowing bubbles bigger than her cheeks. Only that kind of thinking stuck.
‘Finish your coffee,’ I told her yesterday. ‘Don’t throw your blessings away.’ ‘Don’t be so old-fashioned,’ she told me, finishing her coffee down the sink. ‘I’m my own person.’ And I think, How can she be her own person? When did I give her up?CorrectIncorrect -
Question 35 of 41
35. Question
Read the extract again and choose a, b, c, or d.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Joy Luck Club is the story of four Chinese mothers and their first-generation Chinese-American daughters; two generations of women struggling to come to terms with their cultural identity. Here Lindo Jong, one of the mothers, talks about her daughter, Waverley.
LINDO JONG Double Face
My daughter wanted to go to China for her second honeymoon, but now she is afraid. ‘What if I blend in so well they think I’m one of them?’ Waverley asked me. ‘What if they don’t let me come back to the United States?’ ‘When you go to China/ I told her, ‘you don’t even need to open your mouth. They already know you are an outsider.’ ‘What are you talking about?’ she asked. My daughter likes to speak back. She likes to question what I say. ‘Aii-ya,’ I said. ‘Even if you put on their clothes, even if you take off your makeup and hide your fancy jewelry, they know. They know just watching you walk, the way you carry your face. They know you do not belong.’
My daughter did not look pleased when I told her this, that she didn’t look Chinese. She had a sour American look on her face. Oh, maybe ten years ago, she would have clapped her hands – hurray! – as if this were good news. But now she wants to be Chinese, it is so fashionable. And I know it is too late. All those years I tried to teach her! She followed my Chinese ways only until she learned to walk out the door by herself and go to school. So now the only Chinese words she can say are sh-sh, houche, chrfan and gumn deng schioeijyau. How can she talk to people with those words only? Pee-pee, choo-choo train, eat, close light sleep. How can she think she can blend in? Only her skin and her hair are Chinese. Inside – she is all American-made.
It’s my fault she is this way. I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these two things do not mix?
I taught her how American circumstances work. If you are born poor here, it’s no lasting shame. You are first in line for a scholarship. If the roof crashes on your head, no need to cry over this bad luck. You can sue anybody, make the landlord fix it. You do not have to sit like a Buddha under a tree letting pigeons drop their dirty business on your head. You can buy an umbrella. Or go inside a Catholic church. In America, nobody says you have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives you.
She learned these things, but I couldn’t teach her about Chinese character. How to obey parents and listen to your mother’s mind. How not to show your own thoughts, to put your feelings behind your face, so you can take advantage of hidden opportunities. Why easy things are not worth pursuing. How to know your own worth and polish it, never flashing it around like a cheap ring. Why Chinese thinking is best.
No, this kind of thinking didn’t stick to her. She was too busy chewing gum, blowing bubbles bigger than her cheeks. Only that kind of thinking stuck.
‘Finish your coffee,’ I told her yesterday. ‘Don’t throw your blessings away.’ ‘Don’t be so old-fashioned,’ she told me, finishing her coffee down the sink. ‘I’m my own person.’ And I think, How can she be her own person? When did I give her up?Question:
Lindo thinks her daughter will not be mistaken for a native-born Chinese mainly because of the way she….
CorrectIncorrect -
Question 36 of 41
36. Question
Read the extract again and choose a, b, c, or d.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Joy Luck Club is the story of four Chinese mothers and their first-generation Chinese-American daughters; two generations of women struggling to come to terms with their cultural identity. Here Lindo Jong, one of the mothers, talks about her daughter, Waverley.
LINDO JONG Double Face
My daughter wanted to go to China for her second honeymoon, but now she is afraid. ‘What if I blend in so well they think I’m one of them?’ Waverley asked me. ‘What if they don’t let me come back to the United States?’ ‘When you go to China/ I told her, ‘you don’t even need to open your mouth. They already know you are an outsider.’ ‘What are you talking about?’ she asked. My daughter likes to speak back. She likes to question what I say. ‘Aii-ya,’ I said. ‘Even if you put on their clothes, even if you take off your makeup and hide your fancy jewelry, they know. They know just watching you walk, the way you carry your face. They know you do not belong.’
My daughter did not look pleased when I told her this, that she didn’t look Chinese. She had a sour American look on her face. Oh, maybe ten years ago, she would have clapped her hands – hurray! – as if this were good news. But now she wants to be Chinese, it is so fashionable. And I know it is too late. All those years I tried to teach her! She followed my Chinese ways only until she learned to walk out the door by herself and go to school. So now the only Chinese words she can say are sh-sh, houche, chrfan and gumn deng schioeijyau. How can she talk to people with those words only? Pee-pee, choo-choo train, eat, close light sleep. How can she think she can blend in? Only her skin and her hair are Chinese. Inside – she is all American-made.
It’s my fault she is this way. I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these two things do not mix?
I taught her how American circumstances work. If you are born poor here, it’s no lasting shame. You are first in line for a scholarship. If the roof crashes on your head, no need to cry over this bad luck. You can sue anybody, make the landlord fix it. You do not have to sit like a Buddha under a tree letting pigeons drop their dirty business on your head. You can buy an umbrella. Or go inside a Catholic church. In America, nobody says you have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives you.
She learned these things, but I couldn’t teach her about Chinese character. How to obey parents and listen to your mother’s mind. How not to show your own thoughts, to put your feelings behind your face, so you can take advantage of hidden opportunities. Why easy things are not worth pursuing. How to know your own worth and polish it, never flashing it around like a cheap ring. Why Chinese thinking is best.
No, this kind of thinking didn’t stick to her. She was too busy chewing gum, blowing bubbles bigger than her cheeks. Only that kind of thinking stuck.
‘Finish your coffee,’ I told her yesterday. ‘Don’t throw your blessings away.’ ‘Don’t be so old-fashioned,’ she told me, finishing her coffee down the sink. ‘I’m my own person.’ And I think, How can she be her own person? When did I give her up?Question:
Lindo’s daughter….
CorrectIncorrect -
Question 37 of 41
37. Question
Read the article again and answer the questions. choose the letter of the paragraph.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Unknown inventors
For most of us, the word “inventor” makes us think of names like Alexander Graham Bell or Guglielmo Marconi the men behind the telephone and the radio. But what about the people whose inventions we use so often that we forget someone had to think them up in the first place? Read on to h’nd out about five of the unknown inventors of our times.
A An American woman called Margaret Knight was working in a paper bag factory when she noticed how difficult it was to put things nto the bags.
So, she decided to invent a machine that folded and glued paper to make a flat-bottomed bag. She made a lot of sketches of her machine, but before she could actually make it, another employee called Charles Annan stole her idea. Knight took Annan to court and eventually won the case. In 1858 Knight set up her own paper bag company and received large sums of royalties for her invention when other companies made her bags under licence.
B In 1910, a Russian-born sweet manufacturer called Sam Born emigrated to the USA and set up a business there. One day, when he was wondering how to make the sweet making process more efficient, he thought up an idea for a new machine. It was called the Born Sucker Machine and its job was to quickly and mechanically insert the sticks into lollipops. The new machine helped make the sweets and Sam’s company into a huge success and in 1916, he was awarded ‘the key to San Francisco’. In 1923, he founded the just Born company, which is still going strong in the USA today.
C In 1959, Ernie Fraze, the owner of a successful American engineering company, was at a picnic when he went to fetch the drinks. In those days, drinks were in sealed cans which were opened witn a can opener. Unfortunately, Ernie had forgotten to bring the opener. This started him thinking, and one night, when he was having trouble sleeping, he solved the can dilemma. His idea was a new can that could be easily opened with a ring pull. Ernie’s company began manufacturing a system of mass producing these cans and by 1980, he was making over $500 million dollars a year from his invention.
D Once the banks had deciaed they wanted to install cash machines, the next p-oblem was how to confirm a customer’s ident ity to allow money to be withdrawn. It was a Scottish man by the name of James Goodfellow who came up with the solution. In 1966, Goodfellow realized he could link a set of numbers, known only to the account owner, to an encoded card. If the two numbers matched, the person would receive their cash. This number hecame known as a Personal Identification Number or PIN. Goodfellow didn’t get a penny for his idea, but he did receive an OBE* from the Queen in 2006.
E When takeaway cups of coffee became popular, the Solo Cup Company, a leading producer of disposable cups, saw a gap in the market for a new container. Jack Clements was the man they asked to design it. In 1985, Clements designed a new lid for the cup in the shape of a dome. The lid rested comfortably between the mouth and nose when the user tooK a sip and it also helped prevent spilling. Since then, the Solo Traveller Lid has been adopted by many of America’s coffeehouses and it has helped Clements’ company earn $2 billion of annual income.Question:
had to take legal action against a colleague?
CorrectIncorrect -
Question 38 of 41
38. Question
Read the extract again and choose a, b, c, or d.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Joy Luck Club is the story of four Chinese mothers and their first-generation Chinese-American daughters; two generations of women struggling to come to terms with their cultural identity. Here Lindo Jong, one of the mothers, talks about her daughter, Waverley.
LINDO JONG Double Face
My daughter wanted to go to China for her second honeymoon, but now she is afraid. ‘What if I blend in so well they think I’m one of them?’ Waverley asked me. ‘What if they don’t let me come back to the United States?’ ‘When you go to China/ I told her, ‘you don’t even need to open your mouth. They already know you are an outsider.’ ‘What are you talking about?’ she asked. My daughter likes to speak back. She likes to question what I say. ‘Aii-ya,’ I said. ‘Even if you put on their clothes, even if you take off your makeup and hide your fancy jewelry, they know. They know just watching you walk, the way you carry your face. They know you do not belong.’
My daughter did not look pleased when I told her this, that she didn’t look Chinese. She had a sour American look on her face. Oh, maybe ten years ago, she would have clapped her hands – hurray! – as if this were good news. But now she wants to be Chinese, it is so fashionable. And I know it is too late. All those years I tried to teach her! She followed my Chinese ways only until she learned to walk out the door by herself and go to school. So now the only Chinese words she can say are sh-sh, houche, chrfan and gumn deng schioeijyau. How can she talk to people with those words only? Pee-pee, choo-choo train, eat, close light sleep. How can she think she can blend in? Only her skin and her hair are Chinese. Inside – she is all American-made.
It’s my fault she is this way. I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these two things do not mix?
I taught her how American circumstances work. If you are born poor here, it’s no lasting shame. You are first in line for a scholarship. If the roof crashes on your head, no need to cry over this bad luck. You can sue anybody, make the landlord fix it. You do not have to sit like a Buddha under a tree letting pigeons drop their dirty business on your head. You can buy an umbrella. Or go inside a Catholic church. In America, nobody says you have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives you.
She learned these things, but I couldn’t teach her about Chinese character. How to obey parents and listen to your mother’s mind. How not to show your own thoughts, to put your feelings behind your face, so you can take advantage of hidden opportunities. Why easy things are not worth pursuing. How to know your own worth and polish it, never flashing it around like a cheap ring. Why Chinese thinking is best.
No, this kind of thinking didn’t stick to her. She was too busy chewing gum, blowing bubbles bigger than her cheeks. Only that kind of thinking stuck.
‘Finish your coffee,’ I told her yesterday. ‘Don’t throw your blessings away.’ ‘Don’t be so old-fashioned,’ she told me, finishing her coffee down the sink. ‘I’m my own person.’ And I think, How can she be her own person? When did I give her up?Question:
What Lindo most likes about the American way of life is that….
CorrectIncorrect -
Question 39 of 41
39. Question
Read the article again and answer the questions. choose the letter of the paragraph.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Unknown inventors
For most of us, the word “inventor” makes us think of names like Alexander Graham Bell or Guglielmo Marconi the men behind the telephone and the radio. But what about the people whose inventions we use so often that we forget someone had to think them up in the first place? Read on to h’nd out about five of the unknown inventors of our times.
A An American woman called Margaret Knight was working in a paper bag factory when she noticed how difficult it was to put things nto the bags.
So, she decided to invent a machine that folded and glued paper to make a flat-bottomed bag. She made a lot of sketches of her machine, but before she could actually make it, another employee called Charles Annan stole her idea. Knight took Annan to court and eventually won the case. In 1858 Knight set up her own paper bag company and received large sums of royalties for her invention when other companies made her bags under licence.
B In 1910, a Russian-born sweet manufacturer called Sam Born emigrated to the USA and set up a business there. One day, when he was wondering how to make the sweet making process more efficient, he thought up an idea for a new machine. It was called the Born Sucker Machine and its job was to quickly and mechanically insert the sticks into lollipops. The new machine helped make the sweets and Sam’s company into a huge success and in 1916, he was awarded ‘the key to San Francisco’. In 1923, he founded the just Born company, which is still going strong in the USA today.
C In 1959, Ernie Fraze, the owner of a successful American engineering company, was at a picnic when he went to fetch the drinks. In those days, drinks were in sealed cans which were opened witn a can opener. Unfortunately, Ernie had forgotten to bring the opener. This started him thinking, and one night, when he was having trouble sleeping, he solved the can dilemma. His idea was a new can that could be easily opened with a ring pull. Ernie’s company began manufacturing a system of mass producing these cans and by 1980, he was making over $500 million dollars a year from his invention.
D Once the banks had deciaed they wanted to install cash machines, the next p-oblem was how to confirm a customer’s ident ity to allow money to be withdrawn. It was a Scottish man by the name of James Goodfellow who came up with the solution. In 1966, Goodfellow realized he could link a set of numbers, known only to the account owner, to an encoded card. If the two numbers matched, the person would receive their cash. This number hecame known as a Personal Identification Number or PIN. Goodfellow didn’t get a penny for his idea, but he did receive an OBE* from the Queen in 2006.
E When takeaway cups of coffee became popular, the Solo Cup Company, a leading producer of disposable cups, saw a gap in the market for a new container. Jack Clements was the man they asked to design it. In 1985, Clements designed a new lid for the cup in the shape of a dome. The lid rested comfortably between the mouth and nose when the user tooK a sip and it also helped prevent spilling. Since then, the Solo Traveller Lid has been adopted by many of America’s coffeehouses and it has helped Clements’ company earn $2 billion of annual income.Question:
designed something that can be fitted onto something else?
CorrectIncorrect -
Question 40 of 41
40. Question
Read the extract again and choose a, b, c, or d.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Joy Luck Club is the story of four Chinese mothers and their first-generation Chinese-American daughters; two generations of women struggling to come to terms with their cultural identity. Here Lindo Jong, one of the mothers, talks about her daughter, Waverley.
LINDO JONG Double Face
My daughter wanted to go to China for her second honeymoon, but now she is afraid. ‘What if I blend in so well they think I’m one of them?’ Waverley asked me. ‘What if they don’t let me come back to the United States?’ ‘When you go to China/ I told her, ‘you don’t even need to open your mouth. They already know you are an outsider.’ ‘What are you talking about?’ she asked. My daughter likes to speak back. She likes to question what I say. ‘Aii-ya,’ I said. ‘Even if you put on their clothes, even if you take off your makeup and hide your fancy jewelry, they know. They know just watching you walk, the way you carry your face. They know you do not belong.’
My daughter did not look pleased when I told her this, that she didn’t look Chinese. She had a sour American look on her face. Oh, maybe ten years ago, she would have clapped her hands – hurray! – as if this were good news. But now she wants to be Chinese, it is so fashionable. And I know it is too late. All those years I tried to teach her! She followed my Chinese ways only until she learned to walk out the door by herself and go to school. So now the only Chinese words she can say are sh-sh, houche, chrfan and gumn deng schioeijyau. How can she talk to people with those words only? Pee-pee, choo-choo train, eat, close light sleep. How can she think she can blend in? Only her skin and her hair are Chinese. Inside – she is all American-made.
It’s my fault she is this way. I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these two things do not mix?
I taught her how American circumstances work. If you are born poor here, it’s no lasting shame. You are first in line for a scholarship. If the roof crashes on your head, no need to cry over this bad luck. You can sue anybody, make the landlord fix it. You do not have to sit like a Buddha under a tree letting pigeons drop their dirty business on your head. You can buy an umbrella. Or go inside a Catholic church. In America, nobody says you have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives you.
She learned these things, but I couldn’t teach her about Chinese character. How to obey parents and listen to your mother’s mind. How not to show your own thoughts, to put your feelings behind your face, so you can take advantage of hidden opportunities. Why easy things are not worth pursuing. How to know your own worth and polish it, never flashing it around like a cheap ring. Why Chinese thinking is best.
No, this kind of thinking didn’t stick to her. She was too busy chewing gum, blowing bubbles bigger than her cheeks. Only that kind of thinking stuck.
‘Finish your coffee,’ I told her yesterday. ‘Don’t throw your blessings away.’ ‘Don’t be so old-fashioned,’ she told me, finishing her coffee down the sink. ‘I’m my own person.’ And I think, How can she be her own person? When did I give her up?Question:
Which of these is not an aspect of Chinese character, according to Lindo?
CorrectIncorrect -
Question 41 of 41
41. Question
Read the extract again and choose a, b, c, or d.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Joy Luck Club is the story of four Chinese mothers and their first-generation Chinese-American daughters; two generations of women struggling to come to terms with their cultural identity. Here Lindo Jong, one of the mothers, talks about her daughter, Waverley.
LINDO JONG Double Face
My daughter wanted to go to China for her second honeymoon, but now she is afraid. ‘What if I blend in so well they think I’m one of them?’ Waverley asked me. ‘What if they don’t let me come back to the United States?’ ‘When you go to China/ I told her, ‘you don’t even need to open your mouth. They already know you are an outsider.’ ‘What are you talking about?’ she asked. My daughter likes to speak back. She likes to question what I say. ‘Aii-ya,’ I said. ‘Even if you put on their clothes, even if you take off your makeup and hide your fancy jewelry, they know. They know just watching you walk, the way you carry your face. They know you do not belong.’
My daughter did not look pleased when I told her this, that she didn’t look Chinese. She had a sour American look on her face. Oh, maybe ten years ago, she would have clapped her hands – hurray! – as if this were good news. But now she wants to be Chinese, it is so fashionable. And I know it is too late. All those years I tried to teach her! She followed my Chinese ways only until she learned to walk out the door by herself and go to school. So now the only Chinese words she can say are sh-sh, houche, chrfan and gumn deng schioeijyau. How can she talk to people with those words only? Pee-pee, choo-choo train, eat, close light sleep. How can she think she can blend in? Only her skin and her hair are Chinese. Inside – she is all American-made.
It’s my fault she is this way. I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these two things do not mix?
I taught her how American circumstances work. If you are born poor here, it’s no lasting shame. You are first in line for a scholarship. If the roof crashes on your head, no need to cry over this bad luck. You can sue anybody, make the landlord fix it. You do not have to sit like a Buddha under a tree letting pigeons drop their dirty business on your head. You can buy an umbrella. Or go inside a Catholic church. In America, nobody says you have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives you.
She learned these things, but I couldn’t teach her about Chinese character. How to obey parents and listen to your mother’s mind. How not to show your own thoughts, to put your feelings behind your face, so you can take advantage of hidden opportunities. Why easy things are not worth pursuing. How to know your own worth and polish it, never flashing it around like a cheap ring. Why Chinese thinking is best.
No, this kind of thinking didn’t stick to her. She was too busy chewing gum, blowing bubbles bigger than her cheeks. Only that kind of thinking stuck.
‘Finish your coffee,’ I told her yesterday. ‘Don’t throw your blessings away.’ ‘Don’t be so old-fashioned,’ she told me, finishing her coffee down the sink. ‘I’m my own person.’ And I think, How can she be her own person? When did I give her up?Question:
Lindo gives the example of the chewing gum to show that….
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