• 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.

                                                                                        SMARTPHONES - A NECCESITY

Smartphones have spread beyond the boardroom and keeping a close eye on what's new is Mike Lazaridis, chief executive of RIM, the company that makes the BlackBerry smartphone. His device may no longer be quite as trendy as it once was but it is still (21) .................. − particularly for Argentinian milk farmers. Mr. Lazaridis says: "I like the way it's being used by the farmers so they are always up to date. Milk is a (22) .................. item, so delivery and production standards are incredibly important." He is reminded of the company's early days: "This is where we started in 1987, with a wireless vertical data business for the Swedish lumber (23) .................., and then on to fire brigades, ambulances, and garbage trucks."

    While the BlackBerry was quick to (24) .................. itself as the accessory of choice for business professionals such as Wall Street traders, the cheaper price (25) .................. and new, more colorful handsets now (26) .................. offer have opened it up to a much wider market. Mr. Lazaridis says: "It was obvious that business people and self-employed professionals would buy the BlackBerry, but we were not expecting the (27) .................. we had from ordinary consumers."

    The greatest challenge for RIM, however, could lie in an economic (28) ..................., when individuals and companies alike may see devices like the BlackBerry as luxuries they can (29) .................. without. The company has to make its product indispensable to the lifestyles of consumers or prove that they bring a real (30) .................. on investment for business users.

_{+ ANSWER:}

21, A. constructive     B. functional     C. active     D. operative

22, A. perishable     B. short-lived     C. decaying     D. destructible

23, A. manufacturers     B. enterprise     C. commerce     D. industry

24, A. install     B. establish     C. create     D. demonstrate

25, A. designs     B. programmes     C. plans     D. systems

26, A. at            B. on             C. for            D. under

27, A. return     B. retort     C. reply     D. response

28, A. downturn     B. tall     C. decrease     D. drop

29, A. make      B. carry      C. do      D. stay

30, A. return      B. gain      C. interest      D. profit

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.

     Dear Mr. Thompson,

     I would like to apologize to you (23) …………….. in your class during the exam yesterday. I am so sorry that I looked in my textbook while I was taking the test. I feel terrible about (24) ……………. on the test. I know that this is not an acceptable excuse, but I did not have enough time to study for the test because I had a basketball game the night before it. I was so tired that, (25) …………, I took a shower and went to bed (26) ……………. When I woke up, I remembered the test and tried to study. However, I managed to do that for only fifteen minutes.                                                                 

     Still, there is no justification for cheating, and I will accept (27) …………… you give me without any complaint. I will also do my best to work hard in your class and to be as good a student as possible for the remainder of the semester.

     Sincerely,

     Peter Wilson

23. A. with the action     B. for my actions      C. by my action             D. at the action

24. A. completing          B. researching           C. practicing       D. cheating

25. A. the moment I arrived home            B. momentarily arriving at my home

      C. to arrive in a moment at my home         D. I arrived home in a moment

26. A. apparently           B. decisively          C. immediately           D. dramatically

27. A. whoever punishes                                 B. whatever punishment

      C. whichever punishes                               D. however punished

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.

Question 2

A. media

B. bulletin

C. programme

 D. journalism