The following text is for questions 1 to 4.

Indian Jewellery Stolen from Qatari Royal Collection in Venice

The have made off with several items of Indian maharajahs’ treasures owned by a member of
the Qatari royal family after an audacious heist at the Doge’s Palace in Venice, police have said.
Two thieves got away with earrings and a brooch on the final day of a four-month exhibition of
270 items showcasing five centuries of Indian craftsmanship.
The stolen items, part of the Treasures of the Mughals and the Maharajahs exhibition, were not
among the highlights of the item on display but police said they were made of gold, platinum and
diamonds, and news reports estimated their value in the millions of euros.
Investigators said the thieves had managed to take the items from a reinforced display case
early on Wednesday morning after deactivating the alarm system, then melted into the crowd and
escaped.
The alarm was raised only several hours later at the palace, known as the Palazzo Ducale in
Italy, in central Venice at one end of Saint Mark’s Square.
“ We are clearly dealing here with two skilled professionals who managed to pull of their feat
despite all the display rooms being fitted with technologically highly sophisticated ( alarm ) systems, “
said the chief police commissioner, Vito Gagliardi.
The Al Thani Collection comprises 270 pieces of Indian and Indian-inspired jewellery and
precious stones, spanning 400 years from the Mughal period to the present. It was assembled by Sheikh
Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani and now belongs to Qatar’s ruling family.
Venice police said that since the items were unique they would be nearly impossible to sell on
the market.
Adopted fromL https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/03/indian-jewellery-stolen-qatari-venice-doge-palace (Januari
5, 2017)

1. The stolen items are very precious because they are __________________________
A. Interesting
B. Limited editions
C. Highly sophisticated
D. Royal family’s inheritance
E. The highlights of items in the display

2. Why were people not aware of the theft ?

A. The thieves turned off the alarm.
B. The guards were sleeping like a log.
C. The thieves used sophisticated technology.
D. There were few guards on duty at the moment.
E. The thieves were used to steal precious items.

3. What can we learn from the news ?

A. Watch out of any crimes.
B. Be aware of strangers.
C. Protect our environment.
D. Use an alarm system to prevent crimes.
E. Report the police when crimes occur.

4. What do the readers probably feel after reading the news ?

A. Afraid.
B. Bored.
C. Upset.
D. Dissatisfied.
E. Uncomfortable.
The following text is for questions 5 to 8.
Thailand Bans Smoking, Littering at Popular Tourist Beaches
Thailand banned smoking and littering at 24 beachside locations that are popular with tourists
over environmental concerns on Thursday, January 31, the ministry of natural resources and
environment said.
The Southeast Asian country has been a tourist magnet for decades, from its backpacker
heyday in the early 1990s to its current popularity with tourists from mainland China. It expects to
welcome a record 37.55 million tourists in 2018.
Environmental rights groups have urged successive gorvernments to protect Thailand’s palm-
fringed beaches, which are frequently voted among the world’s most beautiful, from unregulated
development and littering, among other things.
A law that came into force on Thursday is aimed at tackling this problem, said Bannaruk
Sermthong, a director at the Office of Marine and Coastal Resources Management.
“Starting today, smoking and cigarette littering are prohibited on beach areas,’ Bannaruk told
Reuters.
“Anyone who wants to smoke must do so in designated smoking areas, not on the beaches.”
The law protects 24 beaches in 15 provinces located along the Andaman coast and the Gulf of
Thailand. Anyone who violates the law will be taken to a criminal court and could face up to one year in
jail, or a fine of up to 100,000 baht ($3,190), or both.
Adopted from: https://en.tempo.co/read/news/2018/02/01/308915370/Thailand-Bans-Smoking-Littering-at-Beaches (February 2, 2018)

5. What is the news about ?

A. Social.
B. Politics.
C. Economy.
D. Education.
E. Environment.

6. Why does Thailand apply the regulation ?

A. To attract more visitors.
B. To avoid Thailand from crimes.
C. To protect beaches in Thailand.
D. To prevent people from smoking.
E. To reduce the effects of smoking.

7. Who is the regulation addressed to ?

A. Travel agents.
B. Smokers.
C. Government.
D. Beach visitors.
E. Environmental groups.

8. According to the regulation, people should ____________________

A. Visit beaches in Thailand
B. Smoke in the beach areas
C. Grow palms at the beachside
D. Report littering at the beach in Thailand
E. Keep the cleanliness of the beaches in Thailand

The following text is for questions 9 to 12

Komodo Dragons not Under Stress: Head of Komondo National Park
The head of East Nusa Tenggara’s (NTT) Komodo National Park, Sudiyono, has denied reports
saying that komodo dragons at the park are under stress as a result of tourists.
 “The komodo dragons are comfortable, so far. There may be a change in attitude, but they’re
not stressed. When the animal is stresses out, they become aggressive and until now there hasn’t been
any aggressive and until now there hans’t been any aggressive behavior,” Sudiyono told Kompas Travel
on Moday.
His remarks came as a response to reports saying that an increase in the number of visitors at
the park caused stress on the lizard species, the largest in the world.
Sudiyono said no special studies were carried out that proved the komodo dragons were more
aggressive if they were disturbed while eating.
“The komodo dragons will be more aggressive when they are eating or being disturbed while
eating. If they have finished eating but they see something moving, their instincts will tell them that
(the moving object) is food,” he said.
Speaking on recent cases in which visitors were attacked by komodo dragons, Sudiyono said the
attacks occurred because the visitors were not with their guide. Visitors must be accompanied by a
guide at all times, according to park rules.
In regard to the rising number of visitors, Sudiyono said the situation was automatically
controlled by the limited number of available guides and the visitors taking part in other activities, such
as diving, snorkeling and island-hopping.
Head of the NTT tourism office, Maurius Ardu Jelamu, previously expressed concerns over the
supposedly stressed-out komodo dragons.
“I’ve received a lot of insight from foreign tourists, some from Singapore and Europe. When
they visited, they saw how visit patterns were not managed well due to the high number of visitors in
the park,” he said.
Adopted from: https//www.thejakartapost.com/travel/2017/11/14/komodo-dragons-not-under-stress-head-of-komodo-national-park.html
(January 5, 2018)

9. According to the previous report, komodo dragons in the park were under stress due to ______
A. Bad weather
B. Visitors’ bad behaviors
C. The lack of food and water
D. The poor management of the park
E. The increasing number of visitors

10. What condition shows that komodo dragons are under stress ?
A. Shy.
B. Lazy.
C. Afraid.
D. Sensitive.
E. Aggressive.

11. What should people do, related to the news ?

A. They feed on the komodo dragons.
B. Thy keep visiting the Komodo National Park.
C. They stay close to the komodo dragons.
D. They avoid moving when seeing the komodo dragons.
E. They avoid taking photographs on the komodo dragons.

12. His remarks came as a response to reports saying that ….” (Paragraph 3)
What is the closest meaning of ‘remark’?
A. Denial.
B. Report.
C. Opinion.
D. Statement.
E. Agreement.
The following text is for questions 13 to 15.
Massive Storm Roars into East Coast; Record Cold to Follow
A massive winter storm roared into the East Coast on Thursday, dumping as much as 17 inches
of snow in some areas and unleashing hurricane-force winds and historic flooding that closed schools
and offices and halted transportation from the Carolinas to Maine.
Four people were killed in North and South Carolina after their vehicles ran off snow-convered
roads, authorities said. Another fatality was reported near Philadelphia when a car could not stop at the
bottom of a steep, snow-convered hill and slammed into a commuter train. A passenger in the vehicle
was killed. No one on the train was hurt.
In New Jersey, Orlando igmat’s car got stuck in a snowbank along the Garden State Parkway in
Tinton Falls as he drove to work at Verizon. He waited a half hour for a tow truck to pull him out.
“I didn’t expect it (the storm) was going to be a heavy one. That’s why I went to work today.
I’m going to stay in a hotel tonight,” he said.
In Boston, icy harbor waters poured into downtown streets near popular tourist and business
areas. The National Weather Service said the waters reached “within a few tenths of an inch” of record
levels and local officials across coastal. Massachusetts braced for further tidal surges.
Mayor Marty Walsh said some of the areas hadn’t seen flooding in 30 years. “If anyone wants
to question global warming, just see where the flood zones are,” the Democrat remarked.
Schools, businesses and ferry services in parts of the Canadian coast were also shut down. Nova
Scotia Power said it had more than 1,000 people at the ready in its biggest-ever pre-storm mobilization
of personnel and resources.
The flight-tracking site FlightAware reported more than 5,000 calceled flights across the United
States. Those included more than two-thirds of flights in and out of New York City and Boston airports.
Adopted from: http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/wireStory/massive-winter-storm-bringer-snow-cold-huge-swath-52138237 (January 5, 2018)

13. What is the news about ?

A. A natural disaster.
B. A weather forecast.
C. A flight-tracking site.
D. Global warming effects.
E. National weather service.

14. From the text we know that the phenomenon _______________________

A. Caused drought
B. Was expectable
C. Was destructive
D. Stroke Asia Countries
E. Occurred during warm season

15. What should people do in such a condition ?

A. Pitch a tent.
B. Stay outside
C. Keep calmed.
D. Stay at lower places.
E. Evacuate to safe places.