Name: _________________________________ ICC Sprinters Mid-Term Exam Instructor: Jhade Pilgrim

Date: _____________________

A. Vocabulary
Fill in the blanks. boutique compulsory sacrifices phase compliments herbal incentive texture curriculum vital

1. The _______________________ of the sandpaper should be rougher if you want to make the wood smooth. 2. Many _______________________ medicines are not accepted by the mainstream medical community. 3. She owned a small ________________________ that sold unique shoes and clothing. 4. My mother is unsatisfied with my school's _______________________. I am not being challenged in any of my classes. 5. That purple tie __________________________ your blue dress shirt nicely. It looks great on you! 6. The government offers an _________________________ for single parent families. Members of those families can ride the subway for free. 7. All employees are required to attend _______________________ training in order to learn how to use the company's new software. 8. His parents didn't have much money. They made many ________________________ so that he could attend college. 9. The heart is a ________________________ part of the body. You cannot live without it. 10. Many teenagers experience an awkward ________________________ as their bodies grow and develop.
Choose the best word for the sentence.

1. The musicians (collaborated/corroborated) often to write new songs to perform together. 2. A (fusion/confusion) of their musical styles always creates very interesting music. 3. They (contributed/inhibited) millions of dollars to the charity. 4. She became (understated/ frustrated) with her students when they continued to be noisy. 5. One good cold (comedy/ remedy) is chicken noodle soup You should feel better after eating it.

Match the word to its meaning. 1. dose 2. fatigue 3. majority 4. allergy 5. enroll 6. critic a. more than half of a total amount b. to enlist c. a person who judges something d. exhaustion from work or stress e. an amount of something taken, such as medicine f. a reaction, such as sneezing, difficulty breathing, or itching, to some substance

Use the context of the selections to choose the correct meanings or synonyms.

1. Connie is never happy when everyone is getting along. She always instigates fights and then acts like little Miss Innocent. When you instigate something, you __________. a. check it out b. protect it c. get it started d. ignore it 2. I like that store. All the employees strive to make the customers feel right at home. Which word is a synonym of strive? a. complain b. try c. fail d. clean 3. This is a clandestine operation. It is extremely important that no one discovers what youre doing! A clandestine operation is supposed to be __________. a. dangerous b. harmful c. exciting d. secret 4. If you dont recover quickly from your condition, it could become chronic. Then you might have to take medicine for the rest of your life. If something is chronic, it __________. a. is very painful b. wont go away c. makes you smell bad d. isnt real

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B. Reading Comprehension

Mines are perhaps the most terrible weapons of modern wars because they kill soldiers during wartime and because they can kill or injure innocent civilians in peacetime. When the war in Bosnia ended in 1996, people were happy but they knew that they were still in danger since there were about six million mines hidden in ex-Yugoslavia. A lot of these mines have now been found and removed; but doing this is very dangerous. A person may be walking along a path through the fields, and suddenly, the ground explodes under his feet. Sometimes mines are found by chance by young children, who start playing with them as if they were toys. The consequences can be fatal. Mine clearing is one of the jobs that the British soldiers of the U.N. are doing in Bosnia. The soldiers also visit schools to show mines to children and warn them about the dangers, which will continue for years. An international convention took place in autumn 1997, but some countries, like the U.S.A. and China refused to sign it Every day, every minute, a person gets killed or injured by a mine in Europe, Africa or Asia.

1. Mines ______________. a. only kill soldiers b. disappear after wars c. kill civilians after wars 2. British soldiers of the U.N. ____________________. a. put more mines in Bosnia b. remove some mines and try to warn about their dangers c. think that nothing can be done 3. The USA and China _________________. a. have banned mines b. continue to use mines c. have never used mines ___________________________________________________________________________________

FoxNews.com reports that Dr. Richard B. Hoover, an astrobiologist at NASA, believes that he has found the fossils of bacteria in meteorites. In other words, he claims to have found traces of life from outer space. Not surprisingly, his claim is controversial; many scientists do not accept that Dr. Hoover has come to the correct conclusion from what he has observed. Therefore, he has invited over 5,000 scientists to review his work and to publish their comments.
1. Bacteria are a _______. a. group of scientists b. place where meteors come from c. kind of restaurant d. form of life 2. When something is controversial, people _______. a. get sick from it b. believe it is ancient and extremely rare c. have strong disagreements about it d. brush their teeth with it 3. Dr. Hoover seems confident that his research will be proven correct because _______. a. he is named after a vacuum cleaner b. he has invited many scientists to look closely at his work c. he works for NASA d. he gets a rash when he touches meteorites 4. Based on the reading selection, which statement is true? a. No one believes that Dr. Hoover has made an important discovery. b. Astrobiologists are smarter than other scientists. c. Dr. Hoover believes he has found fossils of bacteria. d. Dr. Hoover did his work without using a microscope.

Global body parts trade increases

A serious shortage of donated organs in rich countries is leading to a worrying increase in the shady and illegal body parts trade. Wealthy foreigners with life-threatening illnesses are looking to poorer nations like China, Colombia, Egypt, Pakistan and the Philippines to get hold of an organ that will give them a new lease of life. The World Health Organization recently estimated that up to 21,000 liver transplants are carried out annually. Medical experts say this figure is greatly understated and put annual worldwide demand at over 90,000. This means there is a thriving trade in organ trafficking and a booming black market in human body parts. Transplant tourists are finding it easier to find new organs because the number of poor willing to sell their liver or kidney as a short-term escape from poverty increases. The body part trade is banned in many countries around the world but laws are often very confusing and full of loopholes. This makes it difficult for authorities to regulate and to crack down on illegal sales, which increases the number of deaths among donors. Transplant surgery carries high risks, especially with liver transplants, which involve removing part of the donor's liver. In Pakistan booming demand has led to a kidney bazaar - rich patients pay $8,000 for a new kidney, for which donors are paid $300 - $1,000 and often get no medical care after the surgery. China recently banned the sale of human organs and restricted transplants for foreigners. It transplants many organs from executed prisoners after obtaining consent from the convicts or their next of kin.