The chairman of the board______on me the unpleasant job of dismissing good workers the firm can no longer afford to employ.

According to the speaker

From the health point of view we are living in a marvelous age. We are immunized from birth against many of the most dangerous diseases. A large number of once fatal illnesses can now be cured by modern drugs and surgery. It is almost certain that one day remedies will be found for the most stubborn remaining diseases. The expectation of life has increased enormously. But though the possibility of living a long and happy life is greater than ever before, every day we witness the incredible slaughter of them, women and children on the roads. Man versus the motor-car! It is a never-ending battle which man is losing. Thousand of people the world over are killed or horribly killed each year and we are quietly sitting back and letting it happen. It has been rightly said that when a man is sitting behind a steering wheel, his car becomes the extension of his personality. There is no doubt that the motor-car often brings out a man's very worst qualities. People who are normally quiet and pleasant may become unrecognizable when they are behind steering wheels. They swear, they are ill-mannered and aggressive, willful as two/year-olds and utterly selfish. All their hidden frustrations, disappointments and jealousies seem to be brought to the surface by the act of driving. The surprising thing is that the society smiles so gently on the motorist and seems to forgive his behavior. Everything is done for his convenience. Cities are allowed to become almost uninhabitable because of heavy traffic; towns are made ugly by huge car parks; the countryside is desecrated by road networks; and the mass annual slaughter becomes nothing more than a statistic, to be conveniently forgotten. It is high time a world code were created to reduce this senseless waste of human life. With regard to driving, the laws of some countries are notoriously lax and even the strictest are not strict enough. A code which was universally accepted could only have a dramatically beneficial effect on the accident rate. Here are a few examples of some of the things that might be done. The driving test should be standardized and made far more difficult than it is; all the drivers should be made to take a test every three years or so; the age at which young people are allowed to drive any vehicle should be raised to at least 21; all vehicles should be put through strict annual tests for safety. Even the smallest amount of alcohol in the blood can impair a person's driving ability. Present drinking and driving laws (where they exist) should be made much stricter. Maximum and minimum speed limits should be imposed on all roads. Governments should lay down safety specifications for manufacturers, as has been done in the USA. All advertising stressing power and performance should be banned. These measures may sound inordinately harsh. But surely nothing should be considered as too severe if it results in reducing the annual toll of human life. After all, the world is for human beings, not for motor-cars. The main idea of this passage is ______.

The federal court has been putting pressure on the state to adhere to the population caps in the decree.

em>Directions: Write an essay of no less than 150 words about your viewpoints to/opinion on the

He was ______ by the noise outside yesterday evening and could not concentrate on his study.

Directions: em>Write an essay of no less than 200 words on the topic given below

In today's rapidly changing economy, opportunities______for those who are motivated and dedicated to achieving their career goals.

According to the passage

His supervisor asked him to ______ his departure for home, because his paper was not so well-done.

To produce the upheaval in the United States that changed and modernized the domain of higher education from the mid-1860's to the mid-1880's, three primary causes interacted. The emergence of a half-dozen leaders in education provided the personal force that was needed. Moreover, an outcry for a fresher, more practical, and more advanced kind of instruction arose among the alumni and friends of nearly all of the old colleges and grew into a movement that overrode all conservative opposition. The aggressive "Young Yale" movement appeared, demanding partial alumni control, a more liberal spirit, and a broader course of study. The graduates of Harvard University simultaneously rallied to relieve the University's poverty and demand new enterprise. Education was pushing toward higher standard in the East by throwing off church leadership everywhere, and in the West by finding a wider range of studies and a new sense of public duty. The old-style classical education received its most crushing blow in the citadel of Harvard University, where Dr. Charles Elliot, a young captain of thirty-five, son of a former treasurer of Harvard led the progressive forces. Five revolutionary advances were made during the five years of Dr. Elliot administration. They were the elevation and amplification of entrance requirements, the enlargement of the curriculum and the development of the elective system, the recognition of graduate study in the liberal arts, the raising of professional training in law, medicine, and engineering to a postgraduate level, and the fostering of greater maturity in student life. Standards of admission were sharply level, and the fostering of greater maturity in student life. Standards of admission were sharply advanced in 1872-1873 and 1876-1877. By the appointment of a dean to take charge of student affairs, and a wise handling of discipline, the undergraduates were led to regard themselves more as young gentlemen and less as young animals. One new course of study or another was opened up—science, music, the history of the fine arts, advanced Spanish, political economy, physics, classical philosophy, and international law. The passage mainly deals with

em>Directions: In this part

The passengers carried on drinking and dancing ______ unaware of the impending disaster.

Little ______ a year ago that I would be studying here today in Britain.

em>Directions: A. Study the following graph carefully and write an essay in 160-200 words. B

During the period of economic recession

The main road through Littlebury was blocked for three hours today after an accident ______ two lorries.

Next to Sir Andrew in the club-room sits Captain Sentry, a gentleman of great courage, good understanding, but invincible modesty. He is one of those that deserve very well, but are very awkward at putting their talents within the observation of such as should take notice of them. He was some years a captain, and behaved himself with great gallantry in several engagements and at several sieges; but having a small estate of his own, and being next heir to Sir Roger, he has quitted a way of life in which no man can rise suitably to his merit, who is not something of a courtier as well as a soldier. I have heard him often lament that in a profession where merit is placed in so conspicuous a view, impudence should get the better of modesty. When he had talked to this purpose; I never heard him make a sour expression, but frankly confess that he left the world because he was not fit for it. A strict honesty, and an even regular behavior, are in themselves obstacles to him that must press through crowds, who endeavour at the same end with himself, the favor of a commander. He will, however, in his way of talk excuse generals for not disposing according to men's desert, or inquiring into it; for, says he, that the great man who has a mind to help me, has as many, to break through to come at me, as I have to come at him: therefore he will conclude that the man who would make a figure, especially in a military way, must get over all false modesty, and assist his patron against the importunity of other pretenders, by a proper assurance in his own vindication. He says it is a civil cowardice to be backward in asserting what you ought to expect, as it is a military fear to be slow in attacking when it is your duty. With this candour does the gentleman speak of himself and others. The same frankness runs through all his conversation. The military part of his life has furnished him with many adventures, in the relation of which he is very agreeable to the company; for he is never overbearing, though accustomed to command men in the utmost degree below him; nor ever too obsequious, from a habit of obeying men highly above him. Captain Sentry, in this passage, demonstrates that he is noteworthy because of his ______.

If human beings want to enjoy the long-lasting peace and happiness, they must avoid falling into war and live in ______ with each other.

Moshe Katzma, 24