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Select the correct answer.

A: A new law has been passed that excludes black people from being appointed to high governmental ranks.
B: But I think there is no …… difference between people of different races and colors.

a) drastic
b) fundamental
c) semantic
d) detrimental

A: There has been alarm at the destruction of greenery resulting in lack of food sources recently.
B: So upsetting! And the new statistics have also revealed a/an …… trend towards deforestation.

a) incriminating
b) riveting
c) disturbing
d) patronizing

A: So, you must have been in severe pain after the truck impacted your car so heavily.
B: You have no idea how horrible it was. I could feel the steering wheel digging into the …… between my ribs.

a) meat
b) chest
c) flesh
d) kidneys

A: But why did you trust your boss and share your secrets with her in the first place?
B: There were a lot of burdens regarding work on my shoulder, so my brother …… me to tell her all my problems.

a) yearned
b) hankered
c) urged
d) longed

A: I think our cars are well equipped to survive accidents.
B: They might be, but weather conditions and technical problems are inevitable. We can’t relax our safety standards or we’d be …… with people’s lives.

a) gambling
b) mumbling
c) rambling
d) crumbling

A: How did the music festival go along?
B: Leonard won the prize for his skillful …… of a piece by Mozart.

a) intervention
b) intimidation
c) interception
d) interpretation

A: Quite a few skilled staff members are leaving our company these days.
B: Yeah, the management board needs to meet employees’ demands because in recent years, it’s increasingly difficult to recruit and …… good staff.

a) remain
b) refrain
c) retain
d) restrain

A: The prices of wheat and rice are really low this year.
B: That’s because last year’s …… harvest was the biggest ever.

a) fertility
b) seed
c) plow
d) grain

A: I heard there was a gas cylinder explosion in the harbor last week.
B: Yes, it was like a burning hell. Hundreds of small wooden fishing boats were set …… and dozens of them were torn into pieces by the blast.

a) blaze
b) afire
c) inferno
d) blitz

A: If we don’t …… the spread of the disease, it will turn into an epidemic.
B: So, the best thing to do is to immunize the entire population.

a) compel
b) oppress
c) nip
d) curb

A: How can we bring the piano in? It’s too big.
B: Maybe we should try bringing it …… through the door.

a) sideways
b) forward
c) lengthways
d) backward

A: Excuse me sir, were people able to read and write in that age?
B: Actually, among the ruins there are inscriptions, …… some degree of literacy even in the 9th century BC.

a) multiplying
b) applying
c) complying
d) implying

A: My son is keen on being independent. Isn’t that a strong trait?
B: Sure it is, but on the other hand, group work helps children learn to share things and …… to each other.

a) relate
b) recast
c) recap
d) relent

A: All flag …… in this yard are rusted.
B: Ok sir, we’ll paint them as soon as possible.

a) girders
b) poles
c) axes
d) pillars

A: Recently, we’ve been struggling to pay staff members’ salaries. We need to come up with a new policy.
B: That’s right, but any policy that creates unemployment is likely to meet with strong …… from the heads of departments. They will surely disagree.

a) insistence
b) resistance
c) persistence
d) assistance

Listen and select the correct answer for questions 15 to 20.

Where had she seen the name “Pierre” before receiving the letter?

a) in a book
b) in another letter
c) on the desk
d) on the back of the picture

Pierre lived in …… .

a) Bucharest
b) Paris
c) London
d) Berlin

She was able to go to Romania because of her …… .

a) mother.
b) father.
c) husband.
d) son.

When she met Pierre, she found out he …… .

a) wasn’t her brother
b) looked exactly like her father
c) had piggybacked her father to the airport
d) was a reincarnation of her father

Her father kept secrets about his life before he …… .

a) immigrated to the United States
b) met her mother
c) was arrested
d) had a son