Questions 1-7 are about the following letter.

Dear Thomas, 
     I am curious as to whether or not you are still planning to go on that skiing trip with your family this winter vacation. I ask because, if you are not going, you might find this program I heard about today to be interesting. Apparently, Westfield State University, our local college, is going to hold an art seminar for thirty students.

     According to the brochure I have, three of the school's top faculty members are go-ing to teach the seminar. They are planning to focus on painting. But them will also be lessons on sculpture and etching. And here is the best part: It does not cost anything to attend the seminar. However, you have to apply for a position. You can do that by submitting a sample of your work. I know how much you love art, so this could be a great opportunity for you. You probably do not want to give up going skiing, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime event. You might not want to pass up this chance. Let me know if you need any more information. 

Your friend,

Susan 

Questions 8-13 are about the following announcemnet

Students,

     You all need to know that Ms. Melvin, the tenth grade history teacher, is going to be unable to complete the spring semester. Ms. Melvin suffered some serious injuries in a car crash over the weekend. She remains hospitalized and is not expected to be released until sometime during the summer. Fortunately, her doctors believe that she will make a complete recovery. You can feel free to drop by and see how she is do-ing at Memorial Hospital during regular visiting hours. She will surely appreciate the company.

     To replace Ms. Melvin, a new teacher has been hired. His name is Mr. Potter, and he comes from Centerville High School, where he was employed as a substitute teacher. Mr. Potter was highly recommended by the principal of Centerville High School, and we are optimistic that you will enjoy taking classes with him. Please be sure to welcome him to the school. We expect you to be on your best behavior during the final month of the semester and to treat Mr. Potter as you do all of our other faculty members.

Paul Delaney

Principal

Questions 14-19 are about the following passage.

     While Western medicine is common throughout the world, it is not the only type of medicine that people practice. Another kind of medical treatment is known as acupuncture. In general, it is considered to be an alternative type of medicine. It was developed in China well over one thousand years ago, but exactly when and how it was created remain mysteries. Acupuncture involves the inserting of mul-tiple needles into the body. The needles are placed at certain points in the body depending on the type of problem the patient has. According to the theory behind acupuncture, there are places on the skin that are connected to different parts of the body. By pricking the skin with needles at these points, an acupuncturist can help a patient either relieve pain or cure various problems.

     Acupuncture is popular in many parts of Asia. It is also becoming more com-mon and attracting new patients in Europe and North America. But many people believe it is ineffective. The main reason they feel that way is that it is difficult to understand how the entire process works. Research into acupuncture's cap-abilities has yielded varying results. Some studies show that it is quite effective at relieving pain. Other ones, however, claim that it is merely like a placebo. In other words, people believe acupuncture treatment will be effective, so it winds up helping them.

Questions 20-25 are about the following passage.    

     One of the most effective predators among all insects is the praying mantis. This animal is about twelve to fifteen centimeters in length and is either green or brown in color. That enables it to blend in with its natural habitats, which are forests and jungles. The praying mantis has a large triangular-shaped head and five eyes. Two of them are large compound eyes while there are also three smaller simple eyes in the middle. They combine to give the insect an exceptional range of vision. The dis-tinguishing feature of the praying mantis is its two large front legs. They are raised up, which makes the insect appear as if it is praying like a person in a church.

     Its front legs as well as its blinding speed are the keys to the hunting skills of the praying mantis. It eats other insects, especially moths, crickets, grasshoppers, and flies. It typically lies in wait so that it can ambush its prey. When an insect walks, hops, or flies by, it swiftly pounces and grabs the insect with its front legs. The legs have barbs on them, which make it easier for the praying mantis to hold a strug-gling insect. Once it catches an insect, the praying mantis then uses its powerful mandibles to eat its catch.

     A praying mantis has a life span of around twelve months. At some point during its life, the insect mates. On many occasions, right after the male and female mate, the female kills and eats the male. Sometime later, she lays up to 400 eggs at a time. These eggs subsequently hatch into nymphs — immature adults. They are small, have no wings, and cannot reproduce. Gradually, they transform into adult praying mantises.

Question 26-32 are about the following story.

     Last Monday morning, the students in Mr. Morrison's science classes were excited. They were having their annual science fair. All of the students had worked hard to come up with something for the event, and they were ready to display the results of their work.

     The students set up their exhibits inside the school gym. There were more than 100 displays in all. Some of the displays were large and impressive creations made by the students while others showed the outcomes of experiments that students had conducted in laboratories.

     The judges walked around and looked carefully at all of the exhibits. They took notes on all of them. Then, they spoke with several teachers before making their final decisions.

     "May 1 have your attention, please” said Mr. Morrison. "To begin with, I’d like to thank the students for the great work they did this year. This is clearly the best science fair we've ever had.” The students all cheered after hearing Mr. Morrison make that remark.

     “The judges have selected the winners of the science fair. First, I’d like to announce the third-place winner. I know she had a lot of fun doing her experiment in the lab. And the judges loved her work. So let's congratulate Sarah Rafael for the research that she did on bacteria.” Everyone in the audience clapped as Sarah went to the front to receive her prize.

     “The second-place winner” said Mr. Morrison, “made a unique contribution to the science fair. He designed and programmed his own computer game, which I know many of you had fun with. Let's congratulate Tim Simpson, the second-place winner."

     After Tim received his prize, Mr. Morrison spoke one more time. "And now it's the moment we've all been waiting for. The first-place winner's work was breathtaking. In fact, I've never seen a better robot made by anyone. So let's congratulate Molly Smith. She's this year's winner of the science fair."

 Questions 33-42 are about the following passage.

    When two or more different elements or compounds are combined, they often pro-duce a chemical reaction. What kind of reaction takes place depends upon the elements or compounds that are involved. In all cases, however, when there is a chemical reaction, a new compound is formed. There is not merely a physical change like there is during a physical reaction. For instance, when ice melts and becomes water, that is not a chemical change; it is a physical one. The reason is that, chemically speaking, the ice and water are the same thing. They are only in different physical states. There are six main types of chemical reactions. They are combustion, synthesis, decomposition, single-displacement, double-displacement, and acid-base reactions.

     Combustion happens when oxygen combines with another compound. When this occurs, heat and fire are produced. A catalyst, such as a spark, is needed for combustion to take place. One example of this is when gas and oxygen burn in a car's engine. The spark plugs in the engine provide the fire necessary to initiate the chemical reaction.

     As for synthesis, it happens when two elements or compounds combine to form a new compound. For example, hydrogen and oxygen can unite to form water, and sodium and chlorine can come together to form salt. Decomposition is the reverse. When it takes place, a compound breaks down into its basic components. Thus, water transforms into hydrogen and oxygen atoms while salt beanies sodium and chlorine.

     A single-displacement reaction happens when one element replaces another one in a compound. As an example, copper and silver nitrate can undergo a chemical reaction. The copper displaces the silver and forms copper nitrate. And the silver comes to exist as individual crystals. A double-replacement reaction happens when different parts of two compounds swap places to form two new compounds. For in-stance, lead nitrate can combine with potassium iodide. After a chemical reaction, two new compounds — lead iodide and potassium nitrate — are formed. Last of all, acid-base reactions occur when an acid and base are combined. After exchanging protons, the two compounds form water as well as some kind of salt.