1) "Every year, the UN ranks countries according to the quality of life of their citizens. Each country is given a human development index (HDI) score. The score is calculated using criteria such as life expectancy, income and literacy levels. Most of the countries with a high HDI are located in the north of the hemisphere, whereas the countries with a low HDI are located in the south". According to the text, where are most countries with high HDI located?
- Oceania.
- Africa.
- Northern Hemisphere.
- Southern Hemisphere.
2) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaThe Facebook messages written by the Cambridge student Giulio Regeni in the weeks leading up to his murder give the lie to any notion he was a spy or political agitator. Even before he left England, Regeni was concerned about the risks he might face doing his thesis on trade unions in Egypt, a sensitive subject in the country. But the 28-year-old thought the worst that could happen would be for him to be deported before he could finish his research. Instead, he was snatched off the street and tortured and his semi-naked body dumped by the roadside in a brutal killing for which four Egyptian security officials are due to stand trial in Italy in October.Enforced disappearances are a daily occurrence under Egypt's hardline president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. Regeni is unusual because he was a foreigner, an Italian PhD student at Girton College who moved to Cairo in September 2015 to work on a development studies thesis about independent trade unions. Things took a worrying turn when, at a meeting of union activists, Regeni spotted a veiled young woman taking his picture on her phone, which made him fear he was under surveillance. Nine days after that his body was found, dumped on the side of the Cairo-Alexandria highway. He had been tortured; beaten, burned and stabbed before his neck was broken after he was struck from behind with a heavy, blunt object. What followed was an apparent cover-up by the authorities. President Sisi, in an interview with the Italian newspaper, La Repubblica, vowed to track down the culprits. Instead it was then claimed there had been a robbery by a gang, all now dead. But Italian investigators discovered phone records that showed the leader of the gang - all killed in a police shootout - was not even in Cairo at the time Regeni disappeared. They concluded the student's identity documents had been planted at one of their addresses. Since his death, Regeni has become a martyr - or shahid - for the disappeared in Sisi's Egypt. "That's why there's graffiti of him in Cairo," says Regeni's anonymous Facebook friend. "He is a representative figure of that."Read the extract taken from The Guardian and then choose the correct option.In a newspaper interview, President Sisi:
- Asked La Repubblica to find Regeni's murderers.
- Refused to investigate the murder.
- Promised to find the people responsible.
- Claimed that a gang was responsible.
3) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaPresident Biden and fellow Western leaders issued a confrontational declaration about Russian and Chinese government behaviour on Sunday, castigating Beijing over its internal repression, vowing to investigate the pandemic's origins, and excoriating Moscow for using nerve agents and cyberweapons. Concluding the first in-person summit meeting since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the leaders tried to present a unified front against a range of threats. But they disagreed about crucial issues, from timelines for halting the burning of coal to committing tens or hundreds of billions of dollars in aid to challenge Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative, China's overseas investment and lending push.Still, as they left Cornwall, almost all the participants welcomed a new tone as they began to repair the breaches from four years of dealing with Mr. Biden's predecessor, Donald J. Trump. The difference in tone was indeed striking: the last time the Group of 7 met in person, in Biarritz, France in 2019, its final communiqué never mentioned China and the United States dissented from all the commitments to confront the climate crisis. Then Mr. Trump withdrew American support from the gathering's final statement. This year's final communiqué called on China to restore the freedoms guaranteed to Hong Kong when Britain returned it to Chinese control, and condemned Mr. Putin's "destabilizing behavior and malign activities," including interfering with elections and a "systematic crackdown" on dissidents and the media.Even as Mr. Biden successfully pushed his counterparts to embrace a more aggressive posture against autocracies, the group failed to reach agreement on key parts of the president's early foreign policy agenda. It did not settle on a timeline to eliminate the use of coal for generating electric power, and climate activists said that signaled a lack of resolve to confront one of the world's leading causes of global warming. And while the leaders called on China to respect "fundamental freedoms, especially in relation to Xinjiang," there was no agreement on banning Western participation in projects that benefited from forced labour. Instead, the effort to confront Beijing's human rights abuses ended with a vague declaration that the allies were setting up a working group to "identify areas for strengthened cooperation and collective efforts towards eradicating the use of all forms of forced labour in global supply chains."Read the extract taken from the New York Times and then choose the correct option.What is a 'SYSTEMATIC CRACKDOWN'?
- A system that tries to control election results.
- A government department that stops the media from talking to protestors.
- A series of measures to restrict unwanted behaviour.
- A policy that aims to reduce division between groups.
4) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaIn an interview last month with Oprah for their jointly produced docuseries about mental health, The Me You Can't See, Prince Harry made a deeply personal disclosure. Harry said he sought a special therapy program, EMDR, to process the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. He described how living with the trauma of her death makes him feel "helpless", "hunted", and as if "there is no escape".EMDR was developed in 1989 by Francine Shapiro, a California psychotherapist, as a treatment for trauma. It operates on the theory that "emotional, behavioral, and mental health symptoms originate from maladaptively stored life events. As those stored events are triggered, the client experiences disturbances and dysfunction in his or her current life." EMDR aims to help patients with painful memories of trauma to better manage anxiety-provoking stimuli. A typical EMDR session lasts for 60 to 90 minutes, during which the client is asked to visualize a traumatic event. Practitioners use repeated physical stimuli - such as sounds, taps or a pulsing lightbar - to facilitate "information processing" until the client is able to report that the memory is less disturbing. The EMDR International Association (EMDRIA) has more than 10,000 members trained to provide this therapy.EMDR is not without controversy. The Harvard psychologist Richard McNally has argued that "what is effective in EMDR is not new, and what is new is not effective". EMDR training ranges from $445 to $890. And it costs patients up to $200 per session if they don't have insurance or if their insurance does not cover it. That said, the therapy continues to grow in popularity in the US and across the globe and has been increasingly embraced by mainstream psychologists. EMDR may also provide an alternative for those who find talk therapy a challenge. Frontiers in Psychology, the largest peer-reviewed journal in its field, considers EMDR "an evidence-based psychotherapy which has been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a first-choice treatment for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)", and cites "growing interest" in the treatment. Past controversies plaguing the therapy are now considered outdated and said to "stem from misinformation".Read the extract taken from The Guardian and then choose the correct option.What is one of the disadvantages of EMDR?
- It's a mainstream form of therapy.
- It isn't effective.
- It isn't covered by health insurance.
- Professionals must pay over $400 to receive training.
5) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaOver the years, the world has moved closer to achieving gender equality. In many places in the world, women are better represented in politics, economic opportunities are greater, and health care is better. However, the World Economic Forum estimates it will take another century before true gender equality becomes a reality. What drives the gap between genders? Here are some causes of gender inequality: Uneven access to educationAround the world, women still have less access to education than men. 1/4 of young women between 15-24 will not finish primary school. That group makes up 58% of people not completing that basic education. Of all the illiterate people in the world, 2/3 are women. When girls are not educated on the same level as boys, it has a huge effect on their future and the kinds of opportunities they'll have.Lack of employment equalityOnly 6 countries in the world give women the same legal work rights as men. In fact, most economies give women only 3/4 the rights of men. Studies show that if employment became a more even playing field, it has a positive domino effect on other areas prone to gender inequality.Job segregationOne of the causes for gender inequality within employment is the division of jobs. In most societies, there's an inherent belief that men are simply better suited to handle certain jobs. In most cases these are the better paid jobs. This discrimination results in lower income for women. Women also take on the primary responsibility for unpaid labor, so even as they participate in the paid workforce, they have extra work that never gets recognized financially.Lack of legal protectionsAccording to research from the World Bank, over one billion women don't have legal protection against domestic sexual violence or domestic economic violence. Both have a significant impact on women's ability to thrive [1] and live in freedom. In many countries, there's also a lack of legal protections against harassment in the workplace, at school, and in public. These places become unsafe and without protection, women frequently have to make decisions that compromise and limit their goals. Lack of bodily autonomyMany women around the world do not have authority over their own bodies or when they become parents. Accessing birth control is frequently very difficult. According to the World Health Organization, over 200 million women who don't want to get pregnant do not use contraception. There are various reasons for this, such as a lack of options, limited access, and cultural/religious opposition. On a global scale, about 40% of pregnancies are not planned and while 50% of them do end in abortion, 38% result in births. These mothers often become financially dependent on another person or the state, losing their freedom.Poor medical careIn addition to limited access to contraception, women overall receive lower-quality medical care than men. This is linked to other gender inequality reasons such as a lack of education and job opportunities, which results in more women in poverty. They are less likely [2] to be able to afford good healthcare. There's also been less research into diseases that affect women more than men, such as autoimmune disorders and chronic pain conditions. Many women also experience discrimination and dismissal from their doctors, broadening the gender gap in healthcare quality.RacismIt would be impossible to talk about gender inequality without talking about racism. It affects what jobs women of color are able to get and how much they're paid, as well as how they are viewed by legal and healthcare systems. Gender inequality and racism have been closely-linked for a long time. According to Sally Kitch, a professor and author, European settlers in Virginia decided what work could be taxed based on the race of the woman performing the work. African women's work was "labor," so it was taxable, while work performed by English women was "domestic" and not taxable. The pay gaps between white women and women of color continues that legacy [3] of discrimination and contributes to gender inequality.Read the passage. Then answer the question belowThe adverb likely [2] is close to:
- Questionable.
- Allegedly.
- Conceivable.
- Improbable.
6) "Renewable energies are the present and future of the world's electricity production. The term "renewable" expresses the essence of this type of energy, which is available in spontaneously generated, inexhaustible quantities that are continually renewed in nature without any human intervention. Sun, wind and water, the heat of the earth: producing renewable energy means using those widespread and abundant elements of nature to generate electricity. Compared to electricity produced from conventional sources, renewable energy drastically reduces levels of carbon dioxide emissions". According to the text, how can we reduce the levels of carbon dioxide emissions?
- Using renewable energies.
- Trying to stop deforestation.
- Using fossil fuels.
- Generating inexhaustible quantities of energy.
7) "In the late 1950s and 1960s televisions became less expensive and more people were able to buy them. However, the technology was still very basic. Televisions were big and they didn't use to switch on immediately. Instead they'd take about half an hour to heat up before you could see a picture! Families used to enjoy watching TV in the evenings. They would sit around the TV set in their living room together, but there would be lots of arguments about what to watch as they only used to have one TV!" How long did TVs used to take to heat up back in the 50s and 60s?
- Half an hour.
- At least an hour.
- 3 hours.
- A couple of days.
8) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaThe Facebook messages written by the Cambridge student Giulio Regeni in the weeks leading up to his murder give the lie to any notion he was a spy or political agitator. Even before he left England, Regeni was concerned about the risks he might face doing his thesis on trade unions in Egypt, a sensitive subject in the country. But the 28-year-old thought the worst that could happen would be for him to be deported before he could finish his research. Instead, he was snatched off the street and tortured and his semi-naked body dumped by the roadside in a brutal killing for which four Egyptian security officials are due to stand trial in Italy in October.Enforced disappearances are a daily occurrence under Egypt's hardline president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. Regeni is unusual because he was a foreigner, an Italian PhD student at Girton College who moved to Cairo in September 2015 to work on a development studies thesis about independent trade unions. Things took a worrying turn when, at a meeting of union activists, Regeni spotted a veiled young woman taking his picture on her phone, which made him fear he was under surveillance. Nine days after that his body was found, dumped on the side of the Cairo-Alexandria highway. He had been tortured; beaten, burned and stabbed before his neck was broken after he was struck from behind with a heavy, blunt object. What followed was an apparent cover-up by the authorities. President Sisi, in an interview with the Italian newspaper, La Repubblica, vowed to track down the culprits. Instead it was then claimed there had been a robbery by a gang, all now dead. But Italian investigators discovered phone records that showed the leader of the gang - all killed in a police shootout - was not even in Cairo at the time Regeni disappeared. They concluded the student's identity documents had been planted at one of their addresses. Since his death, Regeni has become a martyr - or shahid - for the disappeared in Sisi's Egypt. "That's why there's graffiti of him in Cairo," says Regeni's anonymous Facebook friend. "He is a representative figure of that."Read the extract taken from The Guardian and then choose the correct option.What does 'TO GIVE LIE TO SOMETHING' mean?
- To cover something up.
- To prove something is not true.
- To confirm information about something.
- To give evidence about something.
9) Leggere il brano e rispondere alla seguente domandaThe Facebook messages written by the Cambridge student Giulio Regeni in the weeks leading up to his murder give the lie to any notion he was a spy or political agitator. Even before he left England, Regeni was concerned about the risks he might face doing his thesis on trade unions in Egypt, a sensitive subject in the country. But the 28-year-old thought the worst that could happen would be for him to be deported before he could finish his research. Instead, he was snatched off the street and tortured and his semi-naked body dumped by the roadside in a brutal killing for which four Egyptian security officials are due to stand trial in Italy in October.Enforced disappearances are a daily occurrence under Egypt's hardline president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. Regeni is unusual because he was a foreigner, an Italian PhD student at Girton College who moved to Cairo in September 2015 to work on a development studies thesis about independent trade unions. Things took a worrying turn when, at a meeting of union activists, Regeni spotted a veiled young woman taking his picture on her phone, which made him fear he was under surveillance. Nine days after that his body was found, dumped on the side of the Cairo-Alexandria highway. He had been tortured; beaten, burned and stabbed before his neck was broken after he was struck from behind with a heavy, blunt object. What followed was an apparent cover-up by the authorities. President Sisi, in an interview with the Italian newspaper, La Repubblica, vowed to track down the culprits. Instead it was then claimed there had been a robbery by a gang, all now dead. But Italian investigators discovered phone records that showed the leader of the gang - all killed in a police shootout - was not even in Cairo at the time Regeni disappeared. They concluded the student's identity documents had been planted at one of their addresses. Since his death, Regeni has become a martyr - or shahid - for the disappeared in Sisi's Egypt. "That's why there's graffiti of him in Cairo," says Regeni's anonymous Facebook friend. "He is a representative figure of that."Read the extract taken from The Guardian and then choose the correct option.Italian investigators found:
- That Regeni has become a martyr.
- Regeni's documents were stolen from the gang leader's house.
- That the gang could not have murdered Regeni.
- That there were no police in Cairo when Regeni was murdered.
10) "The incubation period of EVD (Ebola virus disease), that is, the time interval from infection with the virus to onset of symptoms, is from 2 to 21 days. A person infected with Ebola cannot spread the disease until they develop symptoms. Symptoms of EVD can be sudden and include: fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and sore throat." Choose the true statement.
- Symptoms of EVD are quite mild, and can extend to 31 days.
- During the incubation period of EVD people can not spread the disease.
- During the incubation period of EVD people can spread the disease.
- Symptoms of EVD are quite mild, and can extend to 21 days.
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