PART B: READING I. Complete the passage by choosing the best option A, B, C or D to fill in each blank. Television is (01)______ form of entertainment in the American household. People of (02)______ ages use this medium to entertain themselves for an average of four hours a day. Thus, television has had a tremendous influence (03)______ its viewers, especially children. Scientists now say that children can be negatively affected by constantly (04)______ television. This is due to the fact that they participate less in physical activities, spend (05)______ time reading and studying, and see a world of violence that can affect their own feelings of security. 01.A. the more popular B. most popular C. more popular D. the most popular 02.A. all B. no C. every D. each 03.A. in B. of C. from D. on 04.A. being watched B. to watch C. watching D. watch 05.A. less B. few C. more D. much II. Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer A, B, C or D to each of the following questions. I was born in Newcastle, a city in the North East of England. Newcastle is on the bank of the River Tyne. It is a quite big city of about 200,000 inhabitants. There is a cathedral and a university. There are five bridges over the River Tyne, which link Newcastle to the next town, Gateshead, where there is one of the biggest shopping centres in the world, the Metro Centre. A few years ago, the main industries were shipbuilding and coalmining, but now the chemical and soap industries are important. I moved from Newcastle ten years ago but I often return. I miss the people, who are so warm and friendly, and I miss the wild, beautiful countryside near the city, where there are so many hills and streams. 01. Newcastle has______. A. one of the biggest shopping centres B. a wild, beautiful countryside C. only one bridge that links it to the next town D. a population of about 200,000 people 02. According to the passage, the writer______. A. has never returned to Newcastle B. has come back to live in Newcastle C. is still living in Newcastle D. doesn't live in Newcastle any more 03. Which of the following is NOT true about Newcastle? A. It is next to Gateshead. B. It has a cathedral and a university. C. Its main industry now is shipbuilding. D. Its people are friendly. 04. Newcastle is______. A. a small town in England B. a city in the North of England C. a city in the North East of England D. a city near the North East of England 05.Gateshead has one of______ in the world. A. the most beautiful countrysides B. the largest rivers C. the most important shipbuilding industries D. the biggest shopping centres III. Complete the passage by filling in each blank with ONE suitable word. Helen is the only child of a farmer. She thinks living in the countryside is better (01)______ living in a big city. Every day she runs about (02)______ the open air. Her parents (03)______ good care of their farm animals. They don’tearn(04)______ money – just about $ 500 per month – butthey feel happy. There is not much noise or pollution. The air here is fresh and clean. How peaceful the country life (05)______! PART C: WRITING I. Rewrite the sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the original one. 1. I haven’t gone to the supermarket for three weeks. The last time______________________________________________. 2. It took Mary two hours to travel to the countryside last week. Mary spent_______________________________________________. 3. Alcohol is bad for us, so are cigarettes. Both____________________________________________________. 4. Staying at home is better than going out in this wet weather. I’d rather________________________________________________. 5. Ha is the shortest girl in my class. No girl __________________________________________________.