The number of the elderly rises because of the following reasons, EXCEPT _____________.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.

A scientist said robots will be more intelligent than humans by 2029. The scientist's name is Ray Kurzweil. He works for Google as Director of Engineering. He is one of the world’s leading experts on (33) ______ intelligence (A.l). Mr Kurzweil believes computers will be able to learn from experiences, just like humans. He also thinks they will be able to tell jokes and stories, and even flirt. Kurzweil‘s 2029 prediction is a lot sooner than many people thought. The scientist said that in 1999, many A.I. experts said it would be hundreds of years (34) ____ a computer was more intelligent than a human. He said that it would not be long before computer (35) ______ is one billion times more powerful than the human brain.

Mr Kurzweil joked that many years ago, people thought he was a little crazy for predicting computers would be as intelligent as humans. His thinking has stayed the same but everyone else has changed the way they think. He said: “My views are not radical any more. I've actually stayed (36) ______. It's the rest of the world that's changing its View.” He highlighted examples of high-tech things we use, see or read about every day. These things make us believe that computers have intelligence. He said people think differently now: "Because the public has seen things like Siri (the iPhone’s voice-recognition technology) (37) ______ you talk to a computer, they've seen the Google self-driving cars."

(Source: https://breakingnewsenglish.com)

Laura is asking Tom for his idea about a vacation at the beach.

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

The river has been polluted with toxic waste from local factories.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the sentence that best completes each of the following exchanges.

Tom is inviting Linda to his birthday party.

Tom: “Would you like to come to my birthday party next week?"

Linda: “__________________’’

When I told my family I wanted to be a professional musician, I faced a______of criticism from my parents, who strongly disapproved of the idea.

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

Accumulations of sand can be formed by the action of waves on coastal beaches.

Don’t get angry with such a thing. It’s only a storm in a teacup.

Because the public has seen things like Siri (the iPhone’s voice-recognition technology) (37) ______ you talk to a computer, they've seen the Google self-driving cars."

My Mum said I had to do all the ironing as a punishment, but I am hoping she will let me off.

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

When we asked the Minister about the strike, he declined to comment.