Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

American jazz is a mixture of sounds borrowed from such varied sources as American and African folk music, European classical music, and Christian gospel songs. One of the recognizable characteristics of jazz is its use of improvisation: certain parts of the music are written out and played the same way by various performers, and other improvised parts are created spontaneously during a performance and vary widely from performer to performer.

The earliest form of jazz was ragtime, lively songs or rags performed on the piano, and the best-known of the ragtime performers and composers was Scott Joplin. Bom in 1868 to former slaves, Scott Joplin earned his living from a very early age playing the piano in bars along the Mississippi. One of his regular jobs was in the Maple Leaf Club in Sedalia, Missouri. It was there that he began writing the more than 500 compositions that he was to produce, the most famous of which was “The Maple Leaf Rag.”

This passage is about _________.

A customer is talking to a shop assistant about the sweater he has chosen.

- Customer: “That's nice. Could I try it on?"

- Shop assistant: " ________ ”

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word whose underlined part differs from the other three in pronunciation in each of the following questions. 

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.

It's the end of the school year and the exam period is approaching. Undoubtedly, exams (34)________pressure on both students and parents alike. (35)_________parents would like to see their children succeeding academically, as they believe a good education gives them an added advantage in life. They want to see their children settled in a rewarding job and be financially well-off. But is that what their children have planned for themselves? Apparently it is not. Most students either can't think that far ahead or have no intention of doing so. They would rather aim low so as not to be disappointed if they get low marks.However, child psychologists, who have been consulted on the matter, stress that students should aim high, but at the same time have a variety of other options. (36)_______, students will not have to worry about grades and in the long term they will have better chances of succeeding. On the whole, there are many practical and invaluable things (37)_________parents can do for their children.Apart from being people their children can turn to, parents can plan a reasonable schedule that both they and their children agree on. According to psychologists' (38)_________, this schedule should include no more than eight hours of studying, three proper meals a day and some exercise. Above all, prior to each exam, parents need to reassure their children that everything will be fine whatever the result.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word whose underlined part differs from the other three in pronunciation in each of the following questions. 

In paragraph 2, water is one of our most precious resources because

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that best combines each pair of sentences in the following questions.