Model 24

1-حريق هائل

(1) Over the roar of the fire, Mike heard Ben shout, “Hurry! The fire is almost on us!” Mike’s arms were sore and tired, but he swung his axe even faster. He didn’t even stop to wipe the tears from his stinging eyes. The greedy fire kept coming. The more the fire destroyed, the more it wanted. Mike worked shoulder to shoulder with the other smokejumpers to build a firebreak. His only thought was to stop the flaming monster that was raging through the forest.
(2) At last, the smokejumpers finished the firebreak. If the fire were powerful enough, it would jump over the firebreak that they had worked so hard to make. Then they would have to start all over again. Mike stood motionless, his face black with ash, his shirt wet with sweat. He was too exhausted to move because he had given all of himself to fighting the fire. He turned his head and noticed Ben watching him.
(3) Suddenly all that Ben had taught Mike about proving his bravery was clear. A man was not brave if he did something just to prove his courage. He was brave only when he forgot about himself. Today Mike had showed that he cared very much about the others with whom he was working.

1. According to Paragraph (2), Mike was too exhausted to move because ………

2. According to Paragraph ( 3 ) , Ben taught Mike that being brave involves …………….

3.the pronoun his in paragraph (3) refers to…..

2-الباندا العملاق

1) An American-born giant panda will soon be travelling to China. The Chinese government has an agreement with foreign zoos to lend giant pandas out only for scientific study. After a few years, they, and any cubs they may produce, must all be returned to China. Mei Lan, a three year-old female, is being prepared for her trip to China, where her parents were born. A special FedEx flight from the U.S. is being arranged for her.
2) Chinese Zookeepers are getting ready for her arrival by planning a special diet, and even language lessons for her. They are advertising for a tutor to teach Mei Lan Chinese. The caretakers at her new home, the Chengdu Panda Research Center in Sichuan, want to help her adapt quickly and feel comfortable in her new environment. Mei Lan has lived at a zoo in the city of Atlanta, Georgia, since her birth, and she is unfamiliar with Chinese. The teacher must have a bachelor’s degree or higher and be fluent in both English and Chinese.

4. According to Paragraph (2), why do the Chinese zookeepers want Mei Lan to learn Chinese?

5. According to paragraph ( 2 ) , where has Mei Lan been living ?

3-تقنية النانو

( 1 ) Anybody who doesn’t know much about nanotechnology should begin with geckos . These are the lizards that are probably the world’s best climbers . Watching them climb upside down on a horizontal pane of glass , You realize that Spiderman should really have been called Geckoman . These guys out-climb spiders any day
( 2 ) With perfect case they can hang from a single toe , and they do so by pure adhesion , not by sticking a toe in a hole or by curling it round something they can grip . With all the toes on the glass scientists guess that if the e rest of the body were strong enough it could take the weight of a 100kg person suspended below it . Although each toe is equipped with a tiny hook like claw at the end , these are of no use on the glass . What keeps them up there is the . amazing structure of the skin of the toe .
( 3 ) Seen under the microscope each toe has around two million tiny hairs on its underside . Under the higher magnification of an electron microscope the end of each of these hairs is seen to split into hundreds of even tinier nano- hairs , which scientists have called spatulae . These hairs are so small that they are able to establish contact with the molecularstructure of the surface the gecko is walking on . With that near – perfect contact the hairs are stuck to the surface by electromagnetic forces called Van der Waals forces . The molecules on the feet and on the surface have areas of slight positive or negative charge that attract each other like mini magnets when they get really close .
( 4 ) Scientists have been working for over 15 years now to try to unlock the secrets of the stickiness of gecko toes and find a way to artificially reproduce the same structure of nano – hairs . The hypothesis at the moment is that if any material I can be shaped into nano hairs they will have the same properties as those on gecko toes , so scientists are looking for a different material with which to make the stickiest synthetic surface ever .
( 5 ) This is one example of research in the field now known as nanotechnology . In this field , the technology being created can be measured in a few nanometers ( one nanometer is a millionth of a millimeter ) . Interest in developing technology at this level was largely inspired by Richard Feynman at the beginning of the 1960s , but the ‘ nano catchphrase was coined in the 1990s by Dr. Eric Drexler , who spurred scientists on through a series of speeches and a book with the title ” Engines of Creation : The Coming Era of Nanotechnology “
( 6 ) The scientists working on the geckos see an enormously wide range of possible applications for the kind of adhesive nanotechnology that they will develop The one that will make the biggest splash in the media will be the gloves and the boots that will allow rockclimbers to take their sport to hitherto undreamed of heights . But the technology could also be in surgery to keep the edges of wounds together without the need for stitches . There will also be a huge potential in the manufacturing sector to stick millions of components together tighter than ever before without glue or screws .

6. How many hairs does a gecko have at the bottom of each toe ?

7. What are the forces that  allow geckos to  climb upside down on glass called ?

8. who started using the popular phrase “Nano”?

4-غابات الأمازون

( 1 ) Ultrafine aerosol particles found in polluted urban air can contribute to more intense storms in the Amazon minforest , with potential knock on effects for weather and climate patterns in the region and beyond , researchers have warned .
( 2 ) Particles smaller than 50 nanometers in diameter have a substantial influence on cloud formation in the Amazon . In turn , the rainforest has a strong influence on climate regulation worldwide , and aerosol effects observed in this region could also trigger climate shifts globally .according to a study published in Science .
( 3 ) Until this study , ultrafine particles were thought to be too small to affect the formation of clouds . This has now been overturned , at least in the specific circumstances of the Amazon . ” These tiny particles were thought to be too small to aid droplet formation ” , says meteorologist Luiz Augusto Machado , from the Brazilian Institute for Space Research’s Center for Weather Forecasting and Climate Studies , and one of the study’s authors . ” Now we verified that their presence is one reason why some storms become so strong and produce so much rain in the Amazon region “.
( 4 ) Pérola de Castro Vasconcellos , a chemist at the University of Sao Paulo’s Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry Studies , added : ” this study changes the way clouds are to be represented in models used for weather forecasting , as well as the way researchers understand the workings of tropical rain “
5 ) The research team analyzed the influence of ultrafine particles on cloud cycles in the rainforest during the 2014 rainy season , when there were no forest fires and the only source of pollution was Manaus , the largest city in the Amazon

9. What important information about the research study does the writer mention in Paragraphs ( 4 ) and ( 5 ) ?

10. What is one important idea related to ultrafine particles that the writer mentions in paragraph (3)?

11. What is Manaus an example of ?

12. What is the main topic of the passage ?

5-الجودة العالمية

( 1 ) Different companies have different perceptions of quality . Without a common standard of quality , however , customers may be at the mercy of manufacturers and vendors . As the number of companies competing in the world marketplace has increased , so has the seriousness of this problem . To deal with the problem of standardization , the International Organization for Standardization ( ISO ) , a nongovernmental organization with headquarters in Geneva , Switzerland , was created . The ISO is a network of national standards institutes and similar organizations . from 161 different countries that is charged with( 1 ) Different companies have different perceptions of quality . Without a common standard of quality , however , customers may be at the mercy of manufacturers and vendors . As the number of companies competing in the world market place has increased , so has the seriousness of this problem . To deal with the problem of standardization , the International Organization for Standardization ( ISO ) , a nongovernmental organization with headquarters in Geneva , Switzerland , was created . The ISO is a network of national standards institutes and similar organizations . from 161 different countries that is charged with developing standards for quality products and services that are traded throughout the globe.
( 2 ) Standardization is achieved through consensus agreements between national delegations representing all the economic stakeholders suppliers , customers , and often governments . The member organization for the United States is the American National Standards Institute located in Washington DC .
( 3 ) In 1987 , the panel published ISO 9000 ( iso is Greek for ” equal ” ) , which sets the guidelines for quality procedures that businesses must use to receive certification . Certification by independent auditors and laboratory testing services serves as evidence that a company meets the standards for quality procedures in design , production processes and product testing
( 4 ) Although certification is not a legal requirement to do business globally , the organization’s 161 member countries have approved the ISO standards . In fact . ISO standards are so prevalent around the globe that many customers refuse to do business with noncertified companies . As an added bonus , companies completing the certification process often discover new . cost – efficient ways to improve their existing quality – control programs .

13. What does Paragraph ( 2 ) say about standardization ?

14. How was the problem of different perceptions of quality solved ?

15. Why does the writer use the  phrase in fact in paragraph (4)?

16. Which word can replace the word  Although in  paragraph ( 4 ) ?

6-الاسهم

( 1 ) According to a recent study in The Analyst’s Accounting Observer , 90 percent of companies in the Standard Poor’s 500 – stock index reported nonstandard accounting r results last year , up from 72 percent in 2009.
( 2 ) Regulations still require corporations to report their financial results under accounting rules .But companies often steer investors instead to massaged calculations that produce a better outcome .
( 3 ) Among 380 companies that were in existence both last year and in 2009 , the study showed net income was up 6.6 percent in 2015 compared with the previous year when non – standard accounting was used .
( 4 ) However , under generally accepted accounting principles , net income at the same 380 companies in 2015 actually declined almost 11 percent from 2014
( 5 ) Another striking fact : Thirty companies in the study generated losses under accounting rules in 2015 but magically produced profits when they did the math their own way. Most were in the energy sector , which has been devastated by plummeting oil prices , but health care companies and information technology businesses were also in this group.
( 6 ) How can a company turn losses into profits ?By excluding some of its costs of doing business . Among the more common expenses that companies remove from their calculations are restructuring and acquisition costs , stock based compensation and write – downs of impaired assets .

17. According to the text , what is one important effect of non – standard accounting ?

18. What is the reason for companies hiding some business costs? 

19. The word generally in Paragraph ( 4 ) is closest in meaning to ….

20. The word reported in Paragraph ( 1 ) is closest in meaning to……

7-البرمجيات

( 1 ) Most people know that software can be very expensive . However , many people do not know that even though you pay a lot for software , you do not necessarily own it . What happens , then , when you pay for a piece of software ? Very few developers grant you actual ownership of a program , even liter you ‘ purchased it . Instead of buying the software itsell , you are actually paying for a license that grants you permission to install and use the software .
Why a License ?
( 2 ) Software developers have good reason for licensing software instead of selling it outright : Piracy – software piracy , which costs developers billions of dollars every year , is the act of copying software without the developer’s consent and without paying the developer and then selling or giving away the copies . If you install the program on multiple computers at the same time , that is piracy too . By licensing their products and maintaining some ownership of them , developers can take action against pirates . Modifications – Most license a agreements state that you cannot make modifications to a program’s source code . If developers allowed this , it would be an easy matter for others to make changes to a program and then try to claim the modified program as their own .
( 3 ) But even though the developer keeps most rights to a program , you have some rights , too If the program does not perform as you expected , you have the right to return or exchange it.

21. Which of the following is the writer’s opinion ?

22. What can we understand from the passage about software piracy ?

23. What can we understand from the passage about a lot of people who purchase software? 

8-المحفزات

Catalysts are very important in controlling the rate of reactions . A catalyst is a chemical that increases the speed or rate of a chemical reaction without undergoing permanent chemical change . Many industrial and biological processes need catalysts for efficiency ; the reactions are too slow without them . Catalysts are fascinating chemicals . The reaction between hydrogen and nitrogen gas to form ammonia does not occur at a significant rate , even at high pressures and high temperatures . If some finely divided iron is added to the vessel , however , the rate of the reaction increases dramatically and the reaction becomes productive . The iron is not a reactant and does not chemically change in the reaction . The iron functions as a catalyst .

24. The word undergoing is closest in meaning to ……..

9-الأدلة

Direct Evidence
( 1 ) Evidence is either direct or circumstantial . Direct evidence proves a point . The testimony of an eyewitness is direct evidence . Consider the following statement : I stole Susan’s purse . This would appear to be a criminal confession . This statement is direct evidence . In a civil action , a statement admitting liability by a defendant is direct evidence . For example :I am so sorry that I hit your car . I knocked over my coffee and looked down just for a minute . Is everyone okay ?
Circumstantial Evidence
( 2 ) Circumstantial evidence is more common . This form of evidence is indirect . Circumstantial evidence provides the trier of fact with information from which inferences

25. The word liability in Paragraph ( 1) is closest in meaning to …..

10-الطيور

( 1 ) Giant birds of the past have names that speak for themselves . The Elephant bird , a native of Madagascar and the largest known giant bird , stood at over nine feet tall and weighed in at 1,000 pounds or more , until it went extinct about 1,000 years ago . Australia’s Mthirung , nicknamed ” Thunder bird , ” which disappeared nearly 50,000 years ago , is thought to have been nearly seven feet tall and weighed between 500 and 1,000 pounds . But until now , no one had ever found evidence of these towering avians in Europe
( 2 ) Today , researchers describe the first fossil of a giant bird found in Crimea . Dated at around 1.8 million years old , the specimen makes experts question previous assumptions that giant birds were not part of the region’s fauna during that period
( 3 ) A team of paleontologists dug up the fossil- an unusually large femur bone -in Taurida Cave , located on the Crimean Peninsula in the northern Black Sea . The cave was only discovered last June when the construction of a new highway revealed its entrance .
( 4 ) Based on the femur’s dimensions , the team calculated that the bird would have weighed around 992 pounds as much as an adult polar bear – making it the third largest bird ever recorded. Daniel Field , a scientist at the University of Cambridge , says , ” It raises exciting questions about the factors that gave rise to these giant birds , and the factors that drove them to extinction ” .

26. What two phrases does the writer use to say that the birds were very large ?

27. Which of the following does the writer say is a fact? 

28. How are researchers ‘ views since the new discovery different from the views held before?

29. What can we understand about the  giant bird of crimea from Paragraph ( 3 ) ?

30. What can be understood about Daniel  Field from paragraph ( 4 ) ?

11-تجار في المملكة المتحدة

( 1 ) A sole trader is a business owned by one person . They are usually small in size , Hairdressers , butchers , and electricians often operate as sole traders . Bolo traders often use their own savings , bank loans or loans from friends and family to help them start and finance their business. There are several benefits of being a sole trader They keep all the profit they make for themselves and get to run the business as they see fit , making all the key decisions by themselves. It is also simple to start a business as a sole trader as there are very few rules and regulations to follow
( 2 ) However , sole traders take on all the risks of starting their own business and have the disadvantage of unlimited liability , meaning that sole trader is personally responsible for the organization’s debt . This means that personal assets such as a car or house are at risk of being sold to pay off business debts . Moreover , sola traders tend to work long hours . This is because they have full responsibility for all of their business . To keep labor costs to a minimum they will often avoid delegating tasks such as purchasing or advertising to others , preferring to save money by doing the work themselves . Sole traders can only raise limited finance . They will receive money from family and friends or use.

31. What is one advantage partnerships and private limited companies have over sole traders ?

32. What is one advantage sole traders and partnerships have over private limited companies ? 

33. How is a partnership different from a sole trader and a  private limited company ? 

34.In which business ( es ) do the owners have to use their personal money if the business fails?

12-النحل

(1) The Holy Quran tells us that insects form communities Surat al-An’am, 38) and that they can communicate more than 1,400 years afterwards, has accepted that this information is indeed correct. Now, scientists in the United Kingdom are learning that some of these amazing creatures may also have feelings and emotions similar to those of humans.
(2) At Newcastle University, they are trying to discover how some insects feel. In recent years, honeybee numbers have been declining worldwide at a disturbing rate. Many explanations have been given for this. Some say the bees are dying because of disease and pesticides. Others say it may be due to pollution or microwave towers. At any rate, this is a very serious situation, for humans as well as for the bees. At least one-third of the world’s crops depend on bees. Farmers are worried. What about the bees? How do they feel? Are they scared, sad or depressed?
(3) The researchers trained a group of bees to tell the difference between two smells. After one smell, they were always given a sweet sugar reward. After the other smell, they were given a bitter substance. They quickly learned to choose the smell with the sweet prize and to stick out their tongues to get it. The scientists wanted to see what the bees would do if they were put in a stressful situation. They shook up half of the bees, to make them think they were in danger. These stressed bees refused to put out their tongues for new smells, and only chose the old smell which they knew would be followed by a sweet treat. Even though there was an equal chance that a strange smell would taste good, it seemed they believed it would taste bad and were afraid to try it. These bees had become “pessimists”. The other half-the unstressed bees were much more likely to try tastes from new smells, thus remaining “optimists”.
(4) When humans are stressed, anxious, worried or depressed, they have lower levels of the brain hormone serotonin. So did the stressed bees. This may mean that the feelings of anxious and stressed bees are similar to those of humans with mood disorders. This knowledge, along with further investigations into bee behavior and “feelings” can hopefully be used to understand and remedy their declining numbers, for their sake and for ours.

35. The words these amazing creatures in Paragraph 1) refer to ……

37. Why are bees important to humans ? 

3. Which paragraph describes how the scientists the bees ?