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 36 to 42.

     Improving girls’ educational levels has been demonstrated to have clear impacts on the health and economic future of young women, which in turn improves the prospects of their entire community. The infant mortality rate of babies whose mothers have received primary education is half that of children whose mothers are illiterate. In the poorest countries of the world, 50% of girls do not attend secondary school. Yet, research shows that every extra year of school for girls increases their lifetime income by 15%. Improving female education, and thus the earning potential of women, improves the standard of living for their own children, as women invest more of their income in their families than men do. Yet, many barriers to education for girls remain. In some African countries, such as Burkina Faso, girls are unlikely to attend school for such basic reasons as a lack of private latrine facilities for girls.

       Higher attendance rates of high schools and university education among women, particularly in developing countries, have helped them make inroads to professional careers with better-paying salaries and wages. Education increases a woman’s (and her partner and the family’s) level of health and health awareness. Furthering women’s levels of education and advanced training also tends to lead to later ages of initiation of sexual activity and first intercourse, later age at first marriage, and later age at first childbirth, as well as an increased likelihood to remain single, have no children, or have no formal marriage and alternatively, have increasing levels of long-term partnerships. It can lead to higher rates of barrier and chemical contraceptive use (and a lower level of sexually transmitted infections among women and their partners and children), and can increase the level of resources available to women who divorce or are in a situation of domestic violence. It has been shown, in addition, to increase women’s communication with their partners and their employers, and to improve rates of civic participation such as voting or the holding of office.

The word “barriers” in the passage is closest in meaning to___________.

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

I regret that you didn’t give me a chance to tell you the truth

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions

Ben’s dreams of a university education went by the board when his father died and he was forced to earn a living

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions

The more polluted air we breathe, _________ we get

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In some communities a husband's ________ over his wife is absolute

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__________ the museum, we decided to have lunch in the park

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Are you satisfied ______ your test result?

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We'd heard so many good things about the new restaurant, but the food didn't _______ our expectations at all, so we were rather disappointed

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__________ Mary has been in Vietnam for 10 months, she knows a little Vietnamese

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He’s a great guide as he knows the town like the back of his ______.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the underlined part that needs correction in each of the following questions

The little child shrunk in fear as the intimate police officer approached him

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I want to express my _________ admiration for the courage and persistence the member has shown in bringing this issue forward

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the un­derlined word(s) in each of the following questions

There was one rule my boss insisted on: promptness. He did not want anybody to be late for the meetings

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the underlined part that needs correction in each of the following questions

The travelers now resumed his walk toward the cottage, which they presently reached.

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

Peter and John, two high school students, are talking about school exams.

- Peter: “I think exams should not be the only way to assess students.”

- John: “_____________. There are various others like presentations and projects.”

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that is closest in meaning to each of the following questions

My father hasn’t smoked cigarettes for a month