（CEB|SHL Talent Measurement） a) After waiting to see the doctor, b) the nurse called my name. I sat c) in the examining room until the d) doctor arrived. He asked me how e) I felt. I told him I felt good. f) He told me to stick out my tongue g) and say, "Ahhh!" So I did. Which line in the paragraph above contains a word that has been misused?

（CEB|SHL Talent Measurement） a) After winter's short, bitter days, I, b) as Persephone, welcome the spring. In the c) garden, bulbs break through the cold earth d) and strain toward the warm sun e) like children reaching for their mother's arms. Which line in the above paragraph contains an error?

（CEB|SHL Talent Measurement） In 1898, the University of Minnesota was looking for a way to increase the fans' excitement during the games, so they created a "pep" squad or team. The first squad was a group of male students who performed acrobatic moves, somersaulted, and used megaphones to project their voices to the crowd and build spectator enthusiasm. Thus cheerleading in America was born. For the next 50 years, the popularity of these squads spread and cheerleading became a familiar sight at many sporting events. Cheerleading evolved into an athletic activity that eventually attracted more girls than boys, and by the 1950s, most high school squads were all girls. Further growth in popularity brought new challenges. Helped along by R.J. Hurkimer, who founded the U.S. National Cheerleaders Association in 1948, cheerleaders began incorporating difficult jumps and more acrobatics and even built various designs of human pyramids. Since the 1950s, the number of high school cheerleaders alone has grown to more than 180,000 participants across the United States. There are local, state, and collegiate competitions from every age group and every town. Many colleges now offer scholarships to attract talented athletes for these competitions. In 1963, the National Football League provided the United States' first professional cheerleaders. Today there are professional cheerleaders for almost every professional sport, including American football, basketball, soccer, and ice hockey. Referring to the above, how many cheerleaders are there in the United States today?

（CEB|SHL Talent Measurement） The Jeffersons had a wonderful time on _________ holiday. Which one of the following words should be used in place of the blank space in the sentence above?

（CEB|SHL Talent Measurement） Over the past three decades, pizza has quickly become one of the most popular foods in the world. The four key factors that have led to the rise in popularity of this Italian speciality are the growth of franchising opportunities, the health food craze, the increase in dual income families, and the recession in the early 1990s. As a result of pizza becoming more widely accepted, there has been a dramatic increase in business opportunities available for pizza franchises, many of which specialise in the traditional Neapolitan pizza. Pizza also appeals to those who are concerned about maintaining their healthy ay of life. To meet their needs, many pizzerias now offer wholemeal crusts with assorted vegetable toppings. In many places, home pizza delivery has grown significantly, especially among busy people such as dual income families, who appreciate the convenience of home-delivered pizza. With both parents working, the time available to prepare meals has decreased, making pizza delivery a more favourable option for a hot family meal. The economic recession of the 1990s positively impacted the pizza market. Many restaurants were forced to re-evaluate their menus to include more variety at a lower cost since their customers were not eating out as often. This has provided a unique challenge for chefs to enhance their culinary abilities and to provide creative options for the pizza speciality. In addition, chefs are using this creativity to offer pizzas in restaurants that would never be found on home delivery menus. In the first paragraph of the passage above, to which one of the following does the word "craze" refer?

（CEB|SHL Talent Measurement） Mary likes to help her mother by cooking dinner ______cleaning the house. Which one of the following words should be used in place of the blank space in the sentence above?

Which one of the following sentences contains an error?

（CEB|SHL Talent Measurement） Social promotion is generally understood to be the practice of allowing pupils who have failed to meet performance standards and academic requirements to continue to the next class year with their peers instead of completing or satisfying the requirements. Promoting pupils in this way is called social promotion because it is often carried out in the presumed interest of a pupil's social and psychological well-being, without regard to achievement. Retention, sometimes viewed as the only alternative to social promotion, is a policy that holds back pupils who have failing marks at the end of a school year. Retention is most often a policy of repetition--pupils are given an additional year at the same level to go over the same academic content, often taught the same way, that they failed to master the previous year. Referring to the above, what is the attitude of the author of this article regarding social promotion and retention?

（CEB|SHL Talent Measurement） One of the animals that was prevalent during the dinosaur age was the mastodon. This mammal closely resembled an elephant and is now an extinct species, along with the sabre-tooth tiger and tyrannosaurus rex. One type of the mastodon species, the mastodon americanus, was as large as the modern Indian elephant. This mammal was common in the United States and became extinct about 8,000 years ago. Mastodons were very similar to elephants in appearance with their immense body structure, large head, and strong legs. In addition, they had long tusks that were arched and a muscular trunk. Mastodons were also covered with long, furry hair, much like the mammoth. However, the differentiating feature of the mastodon from the elephants and mammoths was their tuberculate teeth. These teeth were useful to the mastodons, which were herbivores whose diet was strictly composed of vegetation. Based on the description above, what did a mastodon most resemble?

（CEB|SHL Talent Measurement） The name Halloween derives from the Christian festival of All Hallows' or All Saints' Eve; however, the celebration was pagan in origin. The ancient Celtic calendar recognised October 31 as the last night of the year because it was the end of summer and marked the end of the harvest or fruitful time. Their celebrations were marked by bonfires to inspire the sun throughout the cold of winter. It was also a time for the living to recognise the darkness of winter, and it called to mind the darkness of the grave. So it was not surprising that images and stories of the supernatural and ghosts walking Earth became the theme of the day. And so it happened that in the eighth century, Christians moved their celebration of All Saints' Day from October 31 to November I to "counteract" the pagan celebration, allowing people to commemorate saints and souls rather than the unholiness of witches and evil spirits. It was commonly known at that time as a night of fear, and "wise" people, in order to show respect for goblins and demons, would stay indoors. In the 17th and 18th centuries, it became customary for people to dress in strange costumes and disguises and dance from house to house. This would confuse any evil spirits from distinguishing the other spirits from the living and thus keep evil away from the innocents. It has only been in the last 200 years that Halloween has become a holiday greatly anticipated by children. It has now developed into a festive time of costumes, decorations, and games. It is a masquerade where children go from house to house requesting treats in return for the promise that no tricks will be played on that home. Referring to the above, when is All Saints' Day celebrated in modern times?