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 43 to 50.

    Footracing is a popular activity in the United States. It is seen not only as a competitive sport but also as a way to exercise, to enjoy the camaraderie of like-minded people, and to donate money to a good cause. Though serious runners may spend months training to compete, other runners and walkers might not train at all. Those not competing to win might run in an effort to beat their own time or simply to enjoy the fun and exercise. People of all ages, from those of less than one year (who may be pushed in strollers) to those in their eighties, enter into this sport. The races are held on city streets, on college campuses, through parks, and in suburban areas, and they are commonly 5 to 10 kilometers in length.

          The largest footrace in the world is the 12-kilometer Bay to Breakers race that is held in San Francisco every spring. This race begins on the east side of the city near San Francisco Bay and ends on the west side at the Pacific Ocean. There may be 80,000 or more people running in this race through the streets and hills of San Francisco. In the front are the serious runners who compete to win and who might finish in as little as 34 minutes. Behind them are the thousands who take several hours to finish. In the back of the race are those who dress in costumes and come just for fun. One year there was a group of men who dressed like Elvis Presley, and another group consisted of firefighters who were tied together in a long line and who were carrying a firehose. There was even a bridal party, in which the bride was dressed in a long white gown and the groom wore a tuxedo. The bride and groom threw flowers to bystanders, and they were actually married at some point along the route

The main purpose of this passage is to 

Check the bottles carefully to make sure they have not been ________

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

While I ____________ in the street, I saw my old friend

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

Nowadays, it was rather easy to buy a modern TV, and it does pack a punch to bring to life some really awesome visuals

The waiter said, “Would you mind moving to another table?”

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

Mirrors done of shiny metal were used by the Egyptians in ancient times.

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

Lucky will be like a dog with two tails if she gets into the team

Long lost his job _________ no fault of his own

Dinosaurs are thought to ________millions of years ago

Is he guilty or innocent ________ the crime? 

Many Vietnamese families now own household _________ such as refrigerators, microwaves and cookers

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.

          Chester Arthur, the twenty-first President of the United States, was an unlikely holder of the highest office in land. Born in Vermont in 1830, he was the son of an Irish immigrant father and a New Hampshire mother. After becoming a lawyer in New York, he joined the Republican Party and eventually came to hold a number of state offices there, including a position as head of the New York Customs House. Though personally honest, Arthur' s administration was marred by corrupt practices, and he was removed from office in 1878. When James Garfield was elected as the Republican Party's presidential candidate in 1880's, Arthur, who belonged to a faction that had supported the denomination of President Grant, was offered the Vice-presidency as a conciliatory gesture. Arthur accepted, and then, in 1881, was elevated to the Presidency following Garfield's assassination. In view of his far from unblemished record and his lack of strong political support, even within his own party, Arthur's move to the White House was viewed with great concern by many Americans, but, to the astonishment of most, his administration proved to be a competent and honest one. However, he never was elected President in his own right, being defeated for the nomination at his party's convention in 1884, and dying in November two years later of Bright's disease during the presidency of a Democrat, Grover Cleveland

How does the writer describe the fact that Arthur became President ?

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.

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

We had no time. Thus, we didn’t visit the museum

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.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the most suitable response to complete each of the following exchanges

 “A motorbike knocked Ted down” - “ ______________”