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1. Rick decided to quit his job because the pay was not _____. He could not live on just $400 a week.
2. Until last year, the school chess tournament was held _____, but then the principal decided that this was not enough. Now, the tournament is held twice a year.
3. Many different kinds of _____, from motorbikes to huge trucks, took part in the New Year’s parade.
4. The actor got so many messages from fans that he could not _____ to all of them himself. He decided to employ an assistant to help answer them.
5. Beethoven was a famous composer and musician who created several _____. They are believed to be some of the best works of music ever made.
6. Richard Wilson is now a successful businessman, but he grew up in _____. During his childhood, his family had almost no money.
7. Stacy watched a horror movie with her friend at the theater. During the movie, she was so scared that she began to _____, so her friend held her hand.
8. Ben’s roommate always listened to loud music late at night. Ben could not _____ the noise anymore, so he decided to move to another apartment.
11. The girl begged her parents to let her go to the pop concert, but it was in _____. They completely refused to let her go.
12. The reporter spent all day sitting in the courtroom _____ what everyone said in his notebook. He had a lot of notes to read by the end of the trial.
13. A : Are you going to fly directly from Japan to South Africa?
B : No, I have to go _____ of Singapore. I’ll wait in the airport for eight hours before I take the second flight.
14. The government built five new schools in Valley City last year. _____ of cost, it was very expensive, but people think it was necessary for the children’s future.
15. A : When you get to Redville, how will you _____ to the hotel from the bus station? You don’t have a map.
B : I’ll just ask someone for directions. It’s a small town, so I’m sure it won’t be too difficult.
16. Instead of doing his homework, Naoki spent all his time playing with his friends. He did poorly in his classes _____ effort.
17. A : Wow, Amanda. How can you carry such a heavy suitcase?
B : Oh, I’ve been _____ at a gym three times a week.
19. Greg started playing the violin when he was a child. By the time he graduates from high school this spring, he _____ playing it for 15 years.
20. Daniel is a model who appears in many fashion magazines. Many people think that he looks good _____ he wears.
The Cost of Tourism
In many cities around the world, tourism brings money into the local economy, helping to create jobs and improving public facilities. However, sometimes a city ( 21 ). This is the situation now being faced by Amsterdam in the Netherlands, a city well known for its historic and cultural attractions. Amsterdam currently attracts about 18.5 million visitors a year, and this number is rising.
City officials are concerned that the huge number of tourists is negatively affecting the lives of the 850,000 permanent residents of Amsterdam, putting pressure on public facilities. For instance, tour buses cause traffic jams in the city’s old, narrow streets, and people must wait for hours to enter popular museums. Amsterdam’s leaders also worry that tourism will ( 22 ). This problem has already happened in Venice, Italy. In fact, most nontourism jobs have already moved to other areas of Italy, and Venice now has more tourists than residents.
While Amsterdam’s leaders are looking for solutions to these problems, their options are limited. This is because Amsterdam depends so much on tourism that the city cannot survive without it. As a result, city officials are looking for ways to keep the current level of tourism while also reducing the stress that tourism creates. For instance, one idea is to decrease traffic by having tour buses stop at the edge of the city and making tourists travel into the center on public transportation. ( 23 ), Amsterdam may be able to keep the benefits of its tourism industry but avoid many of the negative effects.
Portable Light
Today, around one in ten people in the world do not have access to electricity. Instead, they rely on things like batteries, oil lamps, or wood for energy and light. However, these are often expensive and cause damage to the environment. Now, Sheila Kennedy and Juan Frano Violich have come up with a solution to these problems. They have developed a new device that ( 24 ). It is called the Portable Light and uses solar energy to create light and charge batteries.
Because the device is very flexible, the Portable Light can be rolled or folded into different shapes. This means it can be used to ( 25 ). For instance, Native American women in Mexico attach the device to their traditional bags. When people carry the bags around during the day, sunlight charges batteries that can power their cell phones. In Nicaragua, the Portable Light has been rolled up and made into lights that can help protect sea turtles on beaches, and in South Africa, it has been turned into a blanket that can keep sick patients warm.
The Portable Light Project is part of a growing movement to provide small-scale electricity systems to the developing world. Not only does it allow people in developing countries to access electricity, it could also help solve a global problem. By allowing each person to produce light and electricity through solar power, such new inventions are reducing the amount of fossil fuels being burned around the world. ( 26 ), these inventions could help to reduce global pollution, creating long-term benefits for the whole planet.
From: Jenna Smith ＜help@arpbank.com＞
To: Brett Walters ＜brettwalters9@cmail.com＞
Date: January 24
Subject: Your password
_______________________________________________________________________________
Dear Mr. Walters,
Thank you for contacting ARP Bank. As always, we thank you for your business. You said in your e-mail that you have recently been unable to log in to our online banking system. After checking your account, I found that it has been locked because an incorrect password was entered three times. To fix this, you will have to reset your password. If you did not try to access your account and think that someone else did, please contact our customer support center at 1-800-555-3458.
To gain access to your account, please reset your password by clicking on this link: www.arpbank.com/pwr. From there, you need to get a reset code. To get the code, click “send code,” and it will be sent to you in an e-mail. Then, enter your username and the reset code, and set a new password. Please remember that passwords must be at least eight characters long and include at least one number.
Please keep your password in a safe place. After you change your password, you will need to change your security questions. These can be used to change your password if you forget it. Be sure to choose questions and answers that will not be easy for people to guess. If you still have trouble, you can call our customer support center at the number above.
Sincerely,
Jenna Smith
ARP Bank Online Account Manager
Forever Young
Over the last 200 years, people have begun to live longer and longer. This trend began in the more economically developed countries, and for some time there was a growing gap between the average length of life in rich countries and poor countries. Over the past few decades, however, many poor countries have also made improvements and they are now close to catching up with the wealthier ones. As a result, every year there is a growing number of older people in countries all over the world.
It is a good thing that people are living longer, but it does have some difficult aspects. One of these is that more and more people are suffering from diseases associated with getting older. The number of cases of high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, and other illnesses is increasing. In Australia, for instance, a recent report said that people, on average, live 25 years longer than they did a hundred years ago. Now, there are many more people suffering from serious illnesses. One consequence is that each year countries have to spend more and more on medical care for older people.
Many governments have begun to promote healthier lifestyles for young people, such as losing weight and exercising regularly, as a way to prevent serious illnesses. However, as the body gets older, even people who have lived healthily are likely to become ill. Recently, research has begun to show that this is the result of people’s DNA getting older. When DNA breaks down, important information to control the body’s functions is lost. Eventually, serious illnesses may occur.
However, David Sinclair, a researcher at the University of New South Wales in Australia, is working on a way to keep DNA healthy. He used a chemical called nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) to see if he could reduce the effects of age on mice. Mice that were given NMN became stronger and healthier than they had been, showing that the chemical was effective. He believes that one day this chemical could be used to make a medicine for humans. In this way, old people may be able to live both longer and healthier lives.
Adult Brains and Reading
The human brain is one of the most mysterious organs in the body. In recent years, though, scientists have been learning more and more about it. One aspect they have been studying is the ability of brains to change over time. In the past, researchers used to think that only children’s brains could change easily, but recent research suggests that adult brains are more flexible than originally thought. One study has shown that learning to read can have a surprising effect on adult brains.
The international team of scientists who carried out the study wanted to see if learning something like reading could affect the physical structure of an adult brain. They chose 30 adults in India who had never learned to read or write. Twenty-one of these adults were taught to read for six months, while the other nine were not taught. The scientists scanned the brains of all the participants before they began and after they finished.
While the 21 participants learned to read as expected, the scientists were surprised by their brain scans. These showed that changes occurred not only in the surface part of the brain the part that adults use to learn new facts but also in the parts deep inside. These deep areas of the brain control the body’s physical movements and also sort the information that comes in through the senses. Based on where the changes occurred, the scientists believe that the participants’ brains began to work in a way that helped their eyes focus clearly on the words written on the page and allowed information to be sent to the appropriate parts of the brain easily.
Furthermore, the scientists hope that this research can be used to support people with dyslexia a condition in which people have difficulty learning to read. Dyslexia is often caused by problems with the way the deep area of the brain works, and by gaining a better understanding of the way that part of the brain works, better treatments can be developed. Scientists believe that they will be able to create new techniques to make reading easier for such people.
