Part A
Directions:
Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D.Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.
Text 1
Competition for admission to the country’s top private schools has always been tough, but this year Elisabeth realized it had reached a new level. Her wake-up call came when a man called the Dalton School in Manhattan, where Elisabeth is admissions director, and inquired about the age cutoff for their kindergarten program. After providing the information, she asked about the age of his child. The man paused for an uncomfortably long time before answering. "Well, we don’t have a child yet. We’re trying to figure out when to conceive a child so the birthday is not a problem. "
Worries are spreading from Manhattan to the rest of the country. Precise current data on private schools are unavailable, but interviews with representatives of independent schools all told the same story: an oversupply of applicants, higher rejection rates. "We have people calling us for spots two years down the road," said Marilyn of the Seven Hills School in Cincinnati. "We have grandparents calling for pregnant daughters. " Public opinion polls indicate that Americans’ No. 1 concern is education. Now that the long economic boom has given parents more disposable income, many are turning to private schools, even at price tags of well over $10,000 a year. "We’re getting applicants from a broader area geographically than we ever have in the past," said Betsy of the Latin School of Chicago, which experienced a 20 percent increase in applications this year. The problem for the applicants is that while demand has increased, supply has not. "Every year, there are a few children who do not find places, but this year, for the first time that I know of, there are a significant number without places," said Elisabeth.
So what can parents do to give their 4-year-old an edge Schools know there is no easy way to pick a class when children are so young. Many schools give preference to children of their graduates. Some make the choice by drawing lots. But most rely on a mix of subjective and objective measures: tests that at best identify developmental maturity and cognitive potential, interviews with parents and observation of applicants in classroom settings. They also want a diverse mix. Children may end up on a waiting list simply because their birthdays fall at the wrong time of year, or because too many applicants were boys.
The worst thing a patent can do is to pressure preschoolers to perform--for example, by pushing them to read or do math exercises before they’re ready. Instead, the experts say, parents should take a breath and look for alternatives. Another year in preschool may be all that’s needed.

Part A
Directions:
Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D.Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.
Text 1
Competition for admission to the country’s top private schools has always been tough, but this year Elisabeth realized it had reached a new level. Her wake-up call came when a man called the Dalton School in Manhattan, where Elisabeth is admissions director, and inquired about the age cutoff for their kindergarten program. After providing the information, she asked about the age of his child. The man paused for an uncomfortably long time before answering. "Well, we don’t have a child yet. We’re trying to figure out when to conceive a child so the birthday is not a problem. "
Worries are spreading from Manhattan to the rest of the country. Precise current data on private schools are unavailable, but interviews with representatives of independent schools all told the same story: an oversupply of applicants, higher rejection rates. "We have people calling us for spots two years down the road," said Marilyn of the Seven Hills School in Cincinnati. "We have grandparents calling for pregnant daughters. " Public opinion polls indicate that Americans’ No. 1 concern is education. Now that the long economic boom has given parents more disposable income, many are turning to private schools, even at price tags of well over $10,000 a year. "We’re getting applicants from a broader area geographically than we ever have in the past," said Betsy of the Latin School of Chicago, which experienced a 20 percent increase in applications this year. The problem for the applicants is that while demand has increased, supply has not. "Every year, there are a few children who do not find places, but this year, for the first time that I know of, there are a significant number without places," said Elisabeth.
So what can parents do to give their 4-year-old an edge Schools know there is no easy way to pick a class when children are so young. Many schools give preference to children of their graduates. Some make the choice by drawing lots. But most rely on a mix of subjective and objective measures: tests that at best identify developmental maturity and cognitive potential, interviews with parents and observation of applicants in classroom settings. They also want a diverse mix. Children may end up on a waiting list simply because their birthdays fall at the wrong time of year, or because too many applicants were boys.
The worst thing a patent can do is to pressure preschoolers to perform--for example, by pushing them to read or do math exercises before they’re ready. Instead, the experts say, parents should take a breath and look for alternatives. Another year in preschool may be all that’s needed.

Directions :
Read the following text. Choose the best word or phrase for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C, or D on ANSWER SHEET 1.
In 1942, the HMS Edinburgh was sunk in the Barents Sea. It was on its (21) back to Britain with ninety-one boxes of Russian gold. (22) thirty-nine years it lay there, too deep for divers to (23) . No one was allowed to explode it, either, since the bodies of sixty of the crew also lay in the (24) . Then, in 1981, an ex-diver called Jessop decided to try using new diving techniques. (25) he could not afford to finance the (26) which was going to cost four million pounds, he had to look for people who were (27) to take the risk. (28) , they were not even sure the gold was going to be there! First a Scottish diving company, then a German shipping company agreed to join in the retrieval (29) . Not long after that, Jessop (30) a fourth company to take a (31) . Since the gold was the (32) of the British and the Soviet governments, they both hoped to make a (33) , too! The biggest problem was how to get (34) the gold. Fortunately, they were able to examine the Edinburgh’s sister ship, the HMS Belfast, to (35) out the exact location of the bomb room, (36) the gold was stored.
They knew it was to be an extremely difficult and dangerous undertaking. To reach the gold, they would have to cut a large square (37) the body of the ship, go through the empty fuel tank and down to the bomb room. After twenty-eight dives, they (38) to find the first bar. Everyone worked (39) the clock, helping to clean and stack the gold, (40) as to finish the job as quickly as possible.