Variant 1 You could have come first and won the race if you … faster

21. Olympic Games are held …
A) perennially B) every four years C) biannually D) every decade
22. The first Olympic Games were held ...
A) as an international competition B) as a professional athletes’ competition
C) for political reasons D) as a religious festival
23. Why were the Games discontinued?
A) They had ceased to be sports events B) Winners were getting special privileges
C) The emperors hated athletes D) The Romans did not enjoy them
24. It is stated in the passage that …
A) Over 100 nation participated in the first modern Olympic Games
B) Roman Emperors moved Olympic Games to Athens
C) Baron Pierre de Coubertin organized the modern Olympic Games
D) Only amateurs are allowed to take part in the Olympic Games now


Even if you rarely season your food with salt, you are still likely consuming too much salt, say the people at the Institute of Medicine (IOM). Thanks to the processed foods, most of us eat double upper limit of salt. This may raise the risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney disease and stomach cancer. The IOM has issued new guidelines. Currently, the percent daily value of sodium on nutrition labels is based on an upper limit of 2,400 mg a day. The new recommended amount is 1,500 mg for healthy 9-to-50 year olds, and even less for others. But food labels won`t reflect this change yet. So look for low-sodium eats, and cut back on foods like dressings and canned soups.
25. According to the text, using a lot of salt may lead to …
A) a healthy life. B) a good appetite. C) different diseases. D) overweight problems.
26. What is the newly suggested amount of sodium for healthy people?
A) more than 1,500 mg B) less than 2,400 mg C) 1,500 mg D) 2,400 mg
27. We conclude from the text that …
A) The IOM recommended a new amount for only from 9 to 50 year-old people.
B) Food labels are trying to follow a new recommended amount of salt.
C) It is useful to choose foods which contain not much amount of salt.
D) You should not spice your eating with sodium.


The red phone box has been a traditional symbol of Britain for over 80 years. But now, they are disappearing from the British landscape, mostly because of an increase in the use of mobile phones. At their peak, there were more than 140.000 red phone boxes throughout the country. Today, there are fewer than 60.000 of them in use. Most of these are modern in style and do not look like the traditional box which was first introduced in 1924. The red boxes were owned by British Telecom (BT), the biggest phone company in the UK. BT used to be a government company and had a monopoly. However, in 1984 it became a private company and other phone companies were allowed to compete with it. Now there are a lot of telephone companies operating in the UK, including supermarket chains like Tesco.