• Read the following passage and mark the letter (A, B, C, or D) on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.
SMARTPHONES - A NECCESITY
Smartphones have spread beyond the boardroom and keeping a close eye on what's new is Mike Lazaridis, chief executive of RIM, the company that makes the BlackBerry smartphone. His device may no longer be quite as trendy as it once was but it is still (21) .................. − particularly for Argentinian milk farmers. Mr. Lazaridis says: "I like the way it's being used by the farmers so they are always up to date. Milk is a (22) .................. item, so delivery and production standards are incredibly important." He is reminded of the company's early days: "This is where we started in 1987, with a wireless vertical data business for the Swedish lumber (23) .................., and then on to fire brigades, ambulances, and garbage trucks."
While the BlackBerry was quick to (24) .................. itself as the accessory of choice for business professionals such as Wall Street traders, the cheaper price (25) .................. and new, more colorful handsets now (26) .................. offer have opened it up to a much wider market. Mr. Lazaridis says: "It was obvious that business people and self-employed professionals would buy the BlackBerry, but we were not expecting the (27) .................. we had from ordinary consumers."
The greatest challenge for RIM, however, could lie in an economic (28) ..................., when individuals and companies alike may see devices like the BlackBerry as luxuries they can (29) .................. without. The company has to make its product indispensable to the lifestyles of consumers or prove that they bring a real (30) .................. on investment for business users.
+ ANSWER:
21, A. constructive B. functional C. active D. operative
22, A. perishable B. short-lived C. decaying D. destructible
23, A. manufacturers B. enterprise C. commerce D. industry
24, A. install B. establish C. create D. demonstrate
25, A. designs B. programmes C. plans D. systems
26, A. at B. on C. for D. under
27, A. return B. retort C. reply D. response
28, A. downturn B. tall C. decrease D. drop
29, A. make B. carry C. do D. stay
30, A. return B. gain C. interest D. profit
21B
22A
23C
24A
21. B
22. A
23. C
24. A