We answer some questions this week in our series on getting into an American college or university. The first question is about our recent discussion of English language test. Vo Ngoc from Vietnam would like to know about the TOEIC, which is designed to measure skills of English as spoken in the workplace. The Educational Testing Service administers the TOEIC. It says the test measures the language skills of people working in an international environment. American colleges and universities accept scores from the TOFEL and often the IELTS. If you miss our report on these tests, you can find it at our website www. unsv. com.. Tahir Mahood from Pakistan asks how to improve his English before taking these kinds of tests. Well, you can start by looking for ways to use English as much as you can Watch American movies and TV shows and read books in English Look for English speakers to talk to. The Internet has many free materials for Engiish learners. Visitors to www. unsv. com. for example, can read, listen and watch programmes on many different subjects. The U.S. Department of Education recent launched a free website designed to help immigrants learn English. The site is called USA Learns at www. usalearns, org, like www. chinadaily. cn, intended for English learners in China Next,a question from Turkey:Hasan Eker asks about getting a postdoctoral position in the U. S. This is work generally done by a person who recently earned a PhD. The National Post-doctoral Association in Washington has information about international postdocs on its website www. Nationalpostal.org. And, finally, we have questions from Iran, Afghanistan and Indonesia about how to pay an education through jobs. There're rules that restrict the kinds of jobs that foreign students can have while studying in the U. S. What-s the purpose of the passage? A) To attract more people to the website. B) To introduce the TOEIC to readers. C) To ask questions on entering American universities. D) To help deal with some puzzles on entering American colleges.
D
(Question)
On behalf of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for conserving electricity during this period of continuous hot, dry weather in Texas. At ERCOT, we have been working around the clock to keep the electricity flowing, making sure you have the resources you need to stay productive and well this summer. While we are always charged with making sure you have adequate electricity, this summer has caused a particularly serious challenge to the electric grid . Because the heat has been sustained over the entire state with little or no rain or cloud cover, the strain on the electric grid has been greater than ever before. In Dallas and Austin, we are beating all-time records for triple-digit heat. We have hit three all-time demand peaks in the last two weeks alone, meaning we've used more electricity on three days this summer than on any other day in the history of ERCOT, which covers most of Texas. Additionally, Texas is experiencing economic and population growth while much of the rest of the country is not. All of these factors are contributing to very high energy usage this summer. As you probably read in your newspaper or saw on the news, ERCOT has issued appeals for conservation across the state this August. We have encouraged businesses and residential customers to help us save electricity between the critical hours of 3 and 7 p.m. For instance, turning off unnecessary lights, appliances and electronic equipment can help conditions significantly. Conservation efforts help us avoid statewide rotating outages and keep your lights on and air-conditioners running. Conservation not only keeps power and cool air flowing to every citizen, it ensures that uninterrupted power flows to critical care customers, who are easily harmed in the extreme heat. While ERCOT has not called for rotating outages this summer, it is important to remember that we only carry out these orderly, temporary outages to prevent a catastrophic collapse of the electric grid. As... Serious challenge to the electric grid is due to the following facts Except _ . A) non-stop hot, dry weather B) little or no rainfall all over the state C) rapid growth in energy production D) economic and population growth
(Answer)
C
Ques: Morocco is located at the northwest of Africa and is bordered in the north by the strait of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean Sea. The Atlantic Ocean keeps the west and the north of the country more temperate . The country also offers the broadest plains some of which run along the Atlantic Ocean and the highest mountains in North Africa including the Atlas Mountains. Starting with the symbol of Morocco, Marrakech is a beautiful city that has remained unspoiled by the volume of tourists that flock there each year. One of the finest monuments in Morocco is greatly benefited by this amount of tourism. Actually their high volume contributes in a positive way to preserve one of the greatest monuments of Morocco. Fes is the third largest city in Morocco and is the capital of the Fes-Boulemane Region. It is separated into three parts, Fes el Bali more commonly known as the old walled city, now classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Fes-Jdid and the Ville Nouvelle. Fes el Bali is believed to be the largest car-free urban area in the world. Fes is a splendid place to visit to heighten the senses with the colours, smells and sounds. Casablanca is an enormous city which is near the capital of Morocco and a place where any European would feel at home. Casablanca was made famous by the movie and gives the impression of being a romantic place. Unfortunately like many other popular cities around the world, it is crowded, noisy, and polluted, a far cry from the romantic ideal of the film. Because it has the biggest port, Casablanca being the important city of Morocco, has everything that the tourists need. Asilah is a city situated on the Atlantic Ocean and is one of the most stunning old cities of Morocco. The city is set along the cliffs which make it beautifully presented and an ideal place to continue adding to its economy by the fishermen. The economy is also reliant on the trading of cattle, sheep and cereal. If you are having a holiday in Morocco during August then you will be fortunate enough to experience one... The passage most probably appears _ . A) in a geography book B) in a magazine C) in a history book D) in an atlas
Ans: B
Ques:Remind children that bad things don't last. It may sound simple, but the message is extremely important. "Children often don't have the experience to know that when something bad happens---they lose an important game or their best friend lets them down---it's not the end of the world," explains Nancy Leffert, a senior research scientist with the Research Institute, an American adolescents and children's research group. "They think their bad feelings will last for ever, or that one failure will ruin everything." Unfortunately, that kind of thinking discourages motivation . "If a child believes that the cause of her upset is lasting, or that nothing she does will make a difference, it decreases her ability to keep on trying." says Dorothy Rich, president of the MegaSkills Education Center of the Home and School Institute, based in Washington. Any time you can help your child see that a situation is not lasting, that a result can be changed, or that one opinion does not reflect reality, you give her reason to hope. Case in point: "When my daughter Kathy was eight, art was one of her favorite subjects," says Beth, a mother of two. "Then she got an art teacher who gave a great deal of praise to one student and barely noticed the rest. Kathy was ready to give up until I explained to her, "Never stop doing your best just because one person doesn't give you praise." Beth had to repeat the advice often, and finally her daughter got the message. "Kathy is 12 now, and art is still one of her strongest subjects." Which of the following can a parent say to his children to show that one's opinion does not reflect reality? A) "If you call your friend and apologize, he won't stay mad at you." B) "Go ahead. Don't care what other people think." C) "You have lost today, but you can try again tomorrow." D) "That may be what your teacher thinks, but I see it differently."

Ans:
D