C: READING
Time permitted: 60 minutes
Number of questions: 40
Directions: In this section you will read FOUR different passages. Each one is followed by 10 questions about it. For questions 1-40, you are to choose the best answer A, B, C or D, to each question. Then, on your answer sheet, find the number of the question and fill in the space that corresponds to the letter of the answer you have chosen. Answer all questions following a passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in that passage. You have 60 minutes to answer all the questions, including the time to transfer your answers to the answer sheet.
PASSAGE 1 – Questions 1-10
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is the main political and economic organization for that area. The leaders summit is their last meeting before the launch of the ASEAN Economic Community, or AEC, on December 31.
The AEC will be equivalent to the world's seventh largest economy. It was set up to create a highly competitive single market and production area. Organizers hope it will ease the movement of capital, goods, investment, services and skilled labor across ASEAN countries. The goal is to make the whole area more competitive and economically successful. But, some business leaders have low expectations for the ASEAN summit. Anthony Nelson is a director at the US-ASEAN Business Council in Washington. He believes that security will be an important issue at the meetings, especially after the terrorist attacks in Paris last week.
"The November summit includes the East Asia Summit, which primarily focuses on political and security issues. So that's going to be a big part of what is actually going on around the summit. A lot of the work that business gets really involved in tends to happen around the ASEAN economic ministers' meeting in August." But, the AEC may have only limited influence on business activity when it comes into being next year. Experts expect little to change at first because there is still much to be done.
"The ASEAN single window, which is a customs project, is still very much a work in progress. But beginning next year they will start limited trials with five of the 10 ASEAN countries. And there have been past mutual recognition agreements for credentials of skilled professionals. But there's still a lot of work to be done in terms of actually implementing those agreements." Some critics say the AEC will mainly help businesses, not the majority of people in Southeast Asia. Earlier this year, the ASEAN Civil Society Conference and ASEAN Peoples' Forum expressed concern about regional economic integration. In a statement, the group said such a move would mean unequal and unsustainable economic growth. This, it said, would result "in worsening poverty and inequalities of wealth." Jerald Joseph is co-chair of the ASEAN People's Forum. He says people crossing borders to find employment need more protections. He said: "Cross-border migrant workers don't have the same level of protection or interest in the whole negotiation. So that's a little bit of a pity, a wasted chance, if it's not reflected in the coming document." The 27th ASEAN Summit includes the organization's partners. Nations including China, India, Japan and the United States are to attend.
ASEAN is the main political and economic organization in...........
- A. East Asia
- B. Southeast Asia
- C. West Asia
- D. North Asia
- A. ASEAN
- B. Organizer
- C. AEC
- D. Business Council
- A. Security
- B. Climate change
- C. Business
- D. Economy
- A. Security
- B. Climate change
- C. Business
- D. Economy
- A. Α. 3
- B. 5
- C. 7
- D. 10
- A. letters
- B. salutations
- C. invitations
- D. certificates
- A. carrying out
- B. producing
- C. concentrating
- D. focusing
- A. utilization
- B. contribution
- C. combination
- D. separation
- A. the recession
- B. the poverty
- C. the move
- D. the employment
- A. travellers
- B. immigrants
- C. residents
- D. tourists
PASSAGE 2 – Questions 11-20
In 1969, a key milestone in space travel was reached when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. In 2001, another landmark event took place when the first civilian traveled into space as a paying tourist. As a teenager, Dennis Tito dreamed of visiting outer space. As a young man, he aspired to become an astronaut and earned a bachelor's and a master's degree in aerospace engineering. However, Tito did not have all the qualities necessary to become a professional astronaut; so instead, he went to work as a space engineer in one of NASA's laboratories for five years. Later, Tito set up his own financial investment company and, eventually, he became a multi-millionaire. Later in life, the ex rocket engineer, still passionate about space travel, began looking into ways to make a trip into space.
In the early 1990s, the Soviet Space Agency was offering tickets for a visit to the Mir space station to anyone who could afford it. Tito jumped at the chance for this once-in-a- lifetime experience. Due to political and economic changes in the former Soviet Union, however, Tito's trip was postponed and later, Mir was decommissioned. In 2001, Tito's dream was finally came true when he paid a rumored $20 million and took off aboard a SOYUZ rocket to deliver supplies to the International Space Station, a joint venture between the space agencies of Japan, Canada, Europe, Russia, and the U.S.
In preparation for the trip, Tito trained at the Gagarin Cosmonauts Training Center at Star City in Russia. There, he underwent eight months of physical fitness training, weightless simulations, and a variety of other exercises to prepare him for space travel. Although the Russians believed that Tito was adequately prepared for the trip, NASA thought otherwise. Dennis Tito had to sign an agreement with international space officials taking financial responsibility for any equipment he damaged or broke on his trip. He was also barred from entering any part of the space station owned by the U.S. unless escorted.
Although Tito made history and paved the way for the future of space tourism, factors such as cost, and the amount of training required, stand in the way of space vacations becoming an option for most people in the near future. In spite of this, Japanese and North American market data shows that there is definite public interest in space travel. In a 1993 survey of 3,030 Japanese, 80 percent of those under the age of forty said they would like to visit space at least once. Seventy percent of this group would pay up to three month's salary for the trip. In 1995, 1,020 households in North America were surveyed and of those, 60 percent were interested were under forty years of age. Just over 45 percent said they would pay three month's salary, around 18 percent said they would pay six month's salary, and nearly 11 percent would pay a year's salary. Two - thirds of those who want to visit space would like to do so several times. Since the nature of this type of travel makes it hazardous to humans, it would have to be restricted to those who are physically fit and able to take responsibility for the risks involved.
According to the passage, what was the main event in 1969?
- A. Scientists planned to travel to space.
- B. People started to concern space travel.
- C. The dream of space travel became true.
- D. Neil Armstrong was ready for heading to the moon.
- A. When he was at kindergarten.
- B. When he was at primary school.
- C. When he was at his teen.
- D. When he was at university.
- A. in the late '60s.
- B. in the early '90s.
- C. this century.
- D. in the late '50s.
- A. He has an advanced degree in aerospace engineering.
- B. He is now an astronaut for NASA.
- C. He eventually became a very wealthy man.
- D. He used to dream of travelling to outer space.
- A. the Russian/ the International Space Station.
- B. the Americans/SOYUZ
- C. members of the former Soviet Union/ the Mir space station
- D. the Japanese agency
- A. extremely proud
- B. somewhat eager
- C. very concerned
- D. disappointed
- A. Eighty percent of all those interviewed would be interested in travelling to space.
- B. Some people would pay a quarter of their annual salary to visit space.
- C. Only people under the age of forty are interested in space travel.
- D. Seventy percent of Japanese would pay three quarters of their annual salary to visit space.
- A. Seventy - five percent of those surveyed would be interested in travelling to space.
- B. Most people would pay a year's salary to visit space as a tourist.
- C. Most of the people interested in space travel were under the age of forty.
- D. Nearly sixty percent of those surveyed were interested in a vacation in space travel.
- A. Russian Training Center.
- B. Japanese Training Center.
- C. European Training Center.
- D. NASA
- A. health
- B. wealth
- C. youth
- D. age
