Reading passages

26 -Obviously, during the Greek and Roman eras, there were short periods ---- .
A) when the government members represented the people
B) when people didn't have to give taxes to the government
C) which were completely free from any kind of politics
D) when government members all came from the same, royal family
E) when there was absolutely no government whatsoever


27 -It is clear from the passage that in the 17th century -----.
A) government and politics were always in the hands of kings
B) there was a change in that governments started to rule by force
C) church leaders began to govern countries instead of kings
D) the state of politics was a cause of great concern to most leaders
E) a radical change in the concept of government began to take place

Rubber trees are tapped-that is, cuts are made in the bark so that the latex, a milk -like Juice, containing about 30 -40% rubber, can be obtained. The latex is then processed by exposing it to heat and wood smoke, or by mechanical means, so as to separate the rubber from the 'water, mineral salts, sugars, resins and protein matters. The rubber obtained in this way is known as, 'crude'-latex is extensively used in industry for making foam rubber, products. footwear, dolls etc. Untreated crude rubber is naturally soft and lacks the required strength for making into manufactured articles. To improve its strength and usefulness, it is vulcanised, or heated with sulphur, and the proportion of sulphur used determines the hardness and elasticity of, the rubber.

28 -From its description, we can say that latex ---- .
A) is a hard substance similar to rubber
B) must be a fairly thin, white liquid
C) is almost entirely pure rubber
D) is a by -product of rubber
E) is less useful than crude rubber


29 –It’s stated in the passage that untreated crude rubber is not used in industry, because -
-- .
A) its content of sulphur carries a nasty odour
B) its milky colour is undesirable
C) it lacks any kind of elasticity
D) it's neither hard nor strong enough
E) it contains far too many impurities