Question 31 – 35: Read the passage below and choose A, B, C or D to fill in each blank

Yasuo Takamatsu met Yuko in 1988, quickly falling in love with her gentle, modest nature. On March 11, 2011, after driving her to work at a bank in Onagawa, a powerful earthquake struck, followed by a tsunami warning. Yasuo, who was with his mother at a nearby hospital, received a final text from Yuko: “Are you O.K.? I want to go home.” By 3:20 p.m., the tsunami hit, taking Yuko’s life along with thousands of others. Yuko’s pink phone, found later in the bank’s parking lot, held an unsent message from 3:25 p.m. that read, “So much tsunami.”
From that day on, Yasuo searched for Yuko on land daily, (31) ___ the rubble for any sign of her. Though he resumed work by June, he continued his search on weekends, hoping to find even a trace of her. After two and a half years with no success, Yasuo decided to look in the (32) ___. He learned to dive, partnering with Masayoshi Takahashi, who organized dives to clear tsunami debris. (33) ___, Yasuo, though aware of the risks, was motivated by love and a longing to bring her home.
In 2014, Yasuo also partnered with Masaaki Narita, whose daughter, Emi, had worked with Yuko and also perished in the tsunami. The two men, connected by shared (34) ___, began diving together. Despite the danger and years of searching, Yasuo remains committed, holding on to the hope of finding Yuko and honoring her memory. His journey reflects a profound devotion, resilience, and the unbreakable bonds of (35) ___.

35.

Question 36 – 40: Read the passage below and choose A, B, C or D to answer each question.

The arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) is a water-loving bird that hatches during summer in the Arctic Circle, the northernmost part of the Northern Hemisphere. During the extremely cold, dark arctic winter, the arctic tern flies south, following the summer season all the way to the Antarctic Circle on the other side of Earth.
Because arctic terns do riot fly in a straight line, the distance they fly every year is even longer than the approximately 30,000-kilometer (18,641-mile) from Arctic Circle to Antarctic Circle. This makes the arctic tern’s migration one of the longest of any animal on Earth.
Like a lot of other birds, arctic terns eat fish. They catch fish by gliding over the ocean, then plunging their feet or beaks in the water to skim fish near the surface. Unlike pelicans or ducks, arctic terns are not good swimmers and don’t spend a lot of time in the water. Rarely, arctic terns will snatch flies or other insects out of the air, but they prefer fish and other marine creatures, such as shrimp.
Arctic terns have beaks that are almost the same shade of tomato-red as their webbed feet. They have gray-white bodies and a head of jet-black feathers, which looks almost like a baseball cap. Arctic terns, which mate for life, can live to be more than 30 years old. This is a very long lifespan for such a small bird with such an extreme lifestyle.

36. What does "this" refer to in the passage?

Question 41 – 45: Read the passage below and choose A, B, C or D to answer each question.

Today’s urban cities are practically bursting at the seams. According to research from the United Nations, 54 percent of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a percentage that is expected to increase to over 66 percent by 2050. In fact, India alone is projected to add 404 million urban dwellers to its population by 2050.
This rapid growth of the urban population has caused daunting problems for city planners, such as overcrowded roads, excessive energy consumption and unemployment. Therefore, to build more sustainable cities and accommodate the growing number of residents, many city leaders are turning to the Internet of Things (IoT).
The IoT has forever changed the way urban cities operate. Cities that were once detached and inaccessible are now intelligent and highly connected. From Amsterdam to Seoul, cities are launching smart city projects to help improve quality of life for residents and better support the environment. According to research from HIS Technology, there will be at least 88 smart cities globally by 2025, up from 21 in 2013.
San Francisco, for example, provides more than 100 charging stations in various locations to promote the use of hybrid and electric cars to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions. Copenhagen is also taking advantage of the IoT to improve environmental protection and reduce road traffic by developing smart bikes equipped with sensors that generate data on air contamination and traffic congestion.
The possibilities afforded by the IoT are endless; however, designing smart cities requires comprehensive technology infrastructure that is capable of capturing and processing large amounts of data quickly and securely - which is where 4GLTE comes into play.
The future looks bright for urban cities. Soon they will be able to do things that only sci-fi enthusiasts could dream of before, like monitoring bridge conditions using intelligent sensors and conserving energy by automatically dimming street lights when no one is around.

41. What is the word with the closest meaning to “daunting” as used in the passage?