Vocabulary enrichment :

Purpose of The Text

Loneliness and social isolation in older adults are serious public health risks affecting a significant number of people in 1.
the United States and putting them at risk for dementia and other serious medical conditions. A report from the National
Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) points out that more than one-third of adults aged 45 and older 2.
feel lonely, and nearly one-fourth of adults aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated. Older adults are at
increased risk for loneliness and social isolation because they are more likely to face factors such as living alone, the loss of 4.
family or friends, chronic illness, and hearing loss.
Although it’s hard to measure social isolation and loneliness precisely, there is strong evidence that many adults aged 5.
50 and older are socially isolated or lonely in ways that put their health at risk. Recent studies found that social isolation
significantly increased a person’s risk of premature death from all causes, a risk that may rival those of smoking, obesity, and 6.
physical inactivity. Poor social relationships (characterized by social isolation or loneliness) was also associated with a 29%
increased risk of heart disease. Loneliness among heart failure patients was associated with a nearly 4 times increased risk of
7.
death, 68% increased risk of hospitalization, and 57% increased risk of emergency department visits.
8.
1. The writer’s intention in writing the passage is to…
(A) Disseminate the information about the impacts loneliness and social isolation in the elderly.
9.
(B) Encourage people to be more concerned about the elderly who are lonely and socially isolated.
(C) Prove that the elderly experiencing loneliness and social isolation actually exist in the United States. 10.
(D) Convey the pain and sadness experienced by lonely and socially isolated elderly based on research.
(E) Tell about the loneliness and unhappiness felt by the elderly who are socially isolated, as well as research findings …
TikTok is often applauded for its recommendation system; once it’s finely tuned, the app becomes one of the best
scrolling experiences. My personal theory is that’s why TikTok is so addicting-everything is so perfectly curated to your
specific interests, it’s hard to put the phone down once you’re sucked in. However, TikTok’s recommendation algorithm still
has its own flaws that the company brings up in its new blog post.
“One of the inherent challenges with recommendation engines is that they can inadvertently limit user experience-what
is sometimes referred to as a ‘filter bubble’,” the post reads. It states that by optimizing for personalization and relevance,
there is a risk of presenting an increasingly homogenous stream of videos.
Another issue that TikTok takes seriously is not surfacing dangerous content. This is an issue that YouTube in particular
has faced criticism over for many years. According to TikTok, content that has graphic material like medical procedures or
“legal consumption of regulated goods,” like alcohol, may not be eligible for recommendation because it could come across as
“shocking if surfaced as a recommended video to a general audience”. That’s why many creators on TikTok will upload a
video more than once or talk openly about feeling shadow banned over particular content.
2. The writer of the passage intends to…
(A) Illustrate TikTok users’ concerns about the app’s recommendation system
(B) Oppose the idea that TikTok has a sophisticated recommendation system
(C) Warn the readers about TikTok’s poor recommendation system
(D) Inform about the downsides of TikTok’s recommendation system
(E) Explain how TikTok resolves the recommendation system issue

Do you play video games? If so, you aren’t alone. Video games are becoming more common and are increasingly
enjoyed by adults. The average age of gamers has been increasing. Changing technology also means that more people are
exposed to video games. Many committed gamers play on desktop computers or consoles, but a new breed of casual gamers
has emerged, who play on smartphones and tablets at spare moments throughout the day, like their morning commute. So, we
know that video games are an increasingly common form of entertainment, but do they have any effect on our brains and
behavior?
Over the years, the media have made various sensationalist claims about video games and their effect on our health and
happiness. “Games have sometimes been praised or demonized, often without real data backing up those claims. Moreover,
gaming is a popular activity, so everyone seems to have strong opinions on the topic,” says Marc Palaus, first author on the
review, recently published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
Palaus and his colleagues wanted to see if any trends had emerged from the research to date concerning how video
games affect the structure and activity of our brains. They collected the results from 116 scientific studies, 22 of which looked
at structural changes in the brain and 100 of which looked at changes in brain functionality and/or behavior.
Studies show that playing video games can change how our brains perform, and even their structure. For example,
playing video games affects our attention, and some studies found that gamers show improvements in several types of
attention, such as sustained attention or selective attention. The brain regions involved in attention are also more efficient in
gamers and require less activation to sustain attention on demanding tasks.
3. What can we say about the author’s objective in writing this article?
(A) The writer denies any claims on the negative effects of games.
(B) The writer agrees that games ruin our brain functions.
(C) The writer proves the media’s claims on the negative effects of games.
(D) The writer explains how video games change the brain’s performance.
(E) The writer shows that video games alter the brain’s performance and structure.

4. What is the significance of the expression “…but a new breed of casual gamers has emerged…”?
(A) To illustrate the important role of mobile gamers in the study
(B) To introduce one of the types of gamers examined in the study
(C) To introduce the group that promotes the expansion of video games
(D) To specify which type of gamers is included in the study
(E) To introduce the group of gamers that is on the rise in popularity
 Researchers have debunked the myth that extreme sportsmen and women are adrenalin junkies with a death wish.
According to Professor Brymer from Leeds Beckett University, there had been a gross misunderstanding of what motivates
people to take part in extreme sports. Many write it off as an activity for adrenalin junkies.
His research has shown that people who engage in extreme sports are anything but irresponsible risk-takers with a
death wish. They are highly trained individuals with a deep knowledge of themselves, the activity, and the environment. They
usually do the activity to have a life-enhancing experience. The experience is very hard to describe in the same way that love
is hard to describe. For example, BASE jumpers talk about being able to see all the colours and nooks and crannies of the rock
as they zoom past at 300km/h. Meanwhile, extreme climbers feel like they are floating and dancing with the rock.
Professor Schweitzer said understanding motivations for extreme sports was important to understand human. In fact,
extreme sports participation facilitates more positive psychological experiences and expresses human values. These include
humility, harmony, creativity, spirituality, and a vital sense of self.
He added that extreme sports participants found it hard to put their experiences into words. Thus, the research project
had taken a new approach to understanding the data. His research team did not employ a theory-based approach which may
make judgements that do not reflect the lived experience of extreme sports participants. Instead, they took a phenomenological
approach. By doing so, they were able to conceptualize such experiences. They could also investigate the choices to engage in
activity which may lead to death. However, such experiences have been shown to be affirmative of life and the potential for
transformation. Extreme sports have the potential to induce powerful states of consciousness. … and provide a further glimpse
into what it means to be human
5. From paragraph 1, the author of the passage is trying to convey that ….
(A) Doing extreme sports may cause death
(B) Extreme sports can lead to addiction to adrenalin
(C) Extreme sports can be played by men and women
(D) Extreme sports are only played by adrenalin junkies
(E) the motivations of extreme sports athletes have been mistaken

Exercise is painful. As the cliché goes, “No pain, no gain.” When the body exerts itself, pumping action out of
muscles to tear them down and build their mass, it’s left with a soreness. Doctors, coaches, and mothers all recommend heat
for tense sore muscles—warm baths, moist towels, hot-water bottles, or heated pads as thermotherapy techniques. But how
exactly does applying this heat help the pain and relax the muscles?
While exercising, the body requires more energy than it can produce through aerobic respiration, or the intake of
oxygen. To create enough energy for vigorous movement, the body goes through another process: anaerobic respiration. This
type of energy production burns sugars without oxygen, producing lactic acid within exerted muscles. Overworked muscles
and a buildup of lactic acid are what cause the pain associated with exercising. When heat is applied to a sore area of the body,
blood vessels widen and blood flow increases to transport excess lactic acid and other toxins away from tired muscles. These
muscles are also made more elastic by the heat, and nerve endings are stimulated to block pain signals.
6. What is the purpose of the underlined sentence in paragraph 1?
(A)Highlight the process of muscle building during exercise
(B)Illustrate the cliché related to exercise and pain
(C)Explain the sources of pain while exercising
(D)Show the process of soreness on muscles
(E) Define the cliché “No pain, no gain”

A team led by UC Riverside geologists has discovered the first ancestor on the family tree that contains most
familiar animals today, including humans. The tiny, wormlike creature, named Ikaria wariootia, is the earliest bilaterian, or
organism with a front and back, two symmetrical sides, and openings at either end connected by a gut. The paper is published
today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
For 15 years, scientists agreed that fossilized burrows found in 555 million-year-old Ediacaran Period deposits in
Nilpena, South Australia, were made by bilaterians. However, there was no sign of the creature that made the burrows, leaving
scientists with nothing but speculation. Then, Scott Evans, a recent doctoral graduate from UC Riverside; and Mary Droser, a
professor of geology, noticed miniscule, oval impressions near some of these burrows. With funding from a NASA exobiology
grant, they used a three-dimensional laser scanner that revealed the regular, consistent shape of a cylindrical body with a
distinct head and tail and faintly grooved musculature. The animal ranged between 2-7 millimeters long and about 1-2.5
millimeters wide, with the largest the size and shape of a grain of rice — just the right size to have made the burrows.
“We thought these animals should have existed during this interval, but always understood they would be difficult to
recognize,” Evans said. “Once we had the 3D scans, we knew that we had made an important discovery.”
University of California – Riverside. (2020). Ancestor of all animals identified in Australian fossils: A wormlike
creature that lived more than 555 million years ago is the earliest bilaterian.
7. The purpose of the passage is ….
(A) To announce how great a team of geologists is
(B) To deliver the information about several ancestors
(C) To advertise an ancient animal found in Australia
(D) to inform the readers about the important discovery
(E) to reveal the sophisticated new science technology