The word “they” in paragraph 3 refers to _______ .

The girl’s phones were confiscated by the substitute teacher and were only returned to themselves the following day.

Mark the letter A , B , C , or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that best completes each of the following exchanges

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 from 34 to 38.

Creating an ideal space for learning is obviously very important. Luckily, you don't have to spend large (34) _______ of money on fancy accessories or furniture to set up a beautiful or comfortable study space for yourself.

One of the first things you should focus on is lighting. Setting the appropriate lighting levels are crucial to the health of our eyes while studying. If there is (35) _______ light during study sessions, your eyes may get tired very quickly. For your study space, natural daylight is the best. However, when there is no sunlight, an LED study lamp with cool white light will (36) _______ .

It is also essential to get rid of distractions. (37) _______ it’s your laptop, phone, or other devices, you should keep them far away when you study unless you absolutely need them. By keeping yourself clear of distractions during each study session, you will improve your concentration.

Finally, investing in a comfortable chair can notably enhance the experience of your study sessions. Office chairs, (38) _______ design offer more comfort over style and are generally cheaper, should be considered before gaming chairs.

(Adapted from collegeunchated.com)

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.

Have your parents ever scolded you for not sitting up straight during family meals or other occasions? This may become extremely annoying at times, but they are not wrong.

Your posture, the way you hold your body when you're sitting or standing, is the foundation of your body movements, and can determine how well your body adapts to the stresses on it. These stresses can be things like carrying weight or sitting in an awkward position. If your posture isn't optimal, your muscles have to work harder to keep you upright and balanced. Some muscles will become tight and inflexible. Others will be inhibited. Over time, these dysfunctional adaptations may negatively affect your body's ability to deal with the forces on it.

Poor posture also puts extra pressure on your joints and ligaments, increases the likelihood of accidents, and makes some internal organs, like your lungs, less efficient. Researchers have linked poor posture to scoliosis, tension headaches, and back pain, although it isn't the only cause of any of them. Bad posture can even influence your emotional state and your sensitivity to pain. So there are a lot of reasons to aim for good posture.

What does good posture look like? When you're standing, you should be able to draw a straight line from a point just in front of your shoulders, to behind your hip, to the front of your knee, to a few inches in front of your ankle. This keeps your centre of gravity directly over your base of support, which allows you to move efficiently with minimal fatigue and muscle strain. If you're sitting, your neck should be vertical and not leaning forward, your shoulders should be relaxed, your knees should be at a right angle, and your feet should be flat on the floor.

(Adapted from ed.ted.com)

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word that differs from the other three in the position of primary stress 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 answer to each of the questions from 44 to 50.

When trying to memorise new things, it’s easy to assume that the more work we put in, the better we will perform. But just try dimming the lights and enjoying 10-15 minutes of silence, and you may find that your memory of what you have learnt is far better.

Although it’s already well known that we should sometimes rest while studying, new research suggests that we should aim for “minimal interference” during these breaks–avoiding any activity that could interrupt memory formation like checking your emails or surfing the Internet. The remarkable memory-boosting benefits of undisturbed rest were first documented in 1900 by the German psychologist Georg Elias Muller. In one experiment, Muller first asked their participants to learn a list of meaningless syllables. Following a short study period, half the group were immediately given a second list to learn while the rest were given a short break before continuing. In the end, the participants given the break remembered nearly 50 percent of the 2 lists, compared to an average of 28 percent for the other group.

More recent research has also replicated Muller's finding in many different contexts. For example, a study found that these short periods of rest can also improve our spatial memory, for instance – helping people better recall the location of different landmarks. Crucially, this advantage lasts for a week after the original learning task, and seems to benefit participants of all ages. And in all cases, they simply let their minds wander in a quiet room without distraction when they rest. However, we should be careful as we daydream. This is because in another experiment, participants were asked to imagine a past or future event during their break, and this appeared to reduce their later recall of new material. So it may be safest to avoid any concerted mental effort as we rest.

How this effect works is still not clearly understood, though some clues come from a growing understanding of memory formation. It is now well accepted that once memories are initially encoded, they pass through a period of consolidation that slowly transfers them into your long-term memory. This was once thought to happen primarily during sleep, with heightened communication between the hippocampus – where memories are first formed – and the cortex, starting a process that quickly builds and strengthens the neural connections needed for later recall. But it seems that comparable brain activity can occur during periods of wakeful rest as well.

The next time you need to study a large amount of information for an exam, it's worth remembering that just like your smartphones, your brain also needs a regular periods of recharging to work properly. After all, even slight improvements in your memory could make the vital difference between a grade or two.

(Adapted from bbc.com)