Read the following article and decide if the statement below is TRUE (A), FALSE (B) or NOT GIVEN (C)

The building company Hong Kong Housing is building a new suburb in Shanghai, a city with a population of more than 15 million people. But this suburb is not like other parts of Shanghai. It is a little piece of England. The name of the new area is "English Town". The manager of Hong Kong Housing, Shi Guangsheng, says many people in this area of China want to buy an English house and live in an English town.

"This town is like Bristol or Chester. There is an English square and there are pigeons to feed like in Trafalgar Square, London. There are four English-style pubs and you can buy English beer to drink. There is a canal and you can row a boat there like in Cambridge."

Are there any cricket fields? "No, there aren't any places to play cricket because nobody in Shanghai can play this game. But there is a football stadium like those in England. And the thing we are very proud of is our shopping street. There are several shops where you can buy traditional English food like fish and chips or Christmas Pudding."

The rich Shanghai businessman can do some gardening too. For with every house in "English Town", there is an English lawn and there are long gardens with ponds and tall hedges.

But there is one problem. The houses in this part of town cost a minimum of $400,000!

Question: Shi Guangsheng feels proud about the English-style shops.

Read the following article and decide if the statement below is TRUE (A), FALSE (B) or NOT GIVEN (C)

The building company Hong Kong Housing is building a new suburb in Shanghai, a city with a population of more than 15 million people. But this suburb is not like other parts of Shanghai. It is a little piece of England. The name of the new area is "English Town". The manager of Hong Kong Housing, Shi Guangsheng, says many people in this area of China want to buy an English house and live in an English town.

"This town is like Bristol or Chester. There is an English square and there are pigeons to feed like in Trafalgar Square, London. There are four English-style pubs and you can buy English beer to drink. There is a canal and you can row a boat there like in Cambridge."

Are there any cricket fields? "No, there aren't any places to play cricket because nobody in Shanghai can play this game. But there is a football stadium like those in England. And the thing we are very proud of is our shopping street. There are several shops where you can buy traditional English food like fish and chips or Christmas Pudding."

The rich Shanghai businessman can do some gardening too. For with every house in "English Town", there is an English lawn and there are long gardens with ponds and tall hedges.

But there is one problem. The houses in this part of town cost a minimum of $400,000!

Question: The English pubs look like pubs in Cambridge.

Read the following article and decide if the statement below is TRUE (A), FALSE (B) or NOT GIVEN (C)

The building company Hong Kong Housing is building a new suburb in Shanghai, a city with a population of more than 15 million people. But this suburb is not like other parts of Shanghai. It is a little piece of England. The name of the new area is "English Town". The manager of Hong Kong Housing, Shi Guangsheng, says many people in this area of China want to buy an English house and live in an English town.

"This town is like Bristol or Chester. There is an English square and there are pigeons to feed like in Trafalgar Square, London. There are four English-style pubs and you can buy English beer to drink. There is a canal and you can row a boat there like in Cambridge."

Are there any cricket fields? "No, there aren't any places to play cricket because nobody in Shanghai can play this game. But there is a football stadium like those in England. And the thing we are very proud of is our shopping street. There are several shops where you can buy traditional English food like fish and chips or Christmas Pudding."

The rich Shanghai businessman can do some gardening too. For with every house in "English Town", there is an English lawn and there are long gardens with ponds and tall hedges.

But there is one problem. The houses in this part of town cost a minimum of $400,000!

Question: There are a variety of birds on the square.

Read the following article and decide if the statement below is TRUE (A), FALSE (B) or NOT GIVEN (C)

The building company Hong Kong Housing is building a new suburb in Shanghai, a city with a population of more than 15 million people. But this suburb is not like other parts of Shanghai. It is a little piece of England. The name of the new area is "English Town". The manager of Hong Kong Housing, Shi Guangsheng, says many people in this area of China want to buy an English house and live in an English town.

"This town is like Bristol or Chester. There is an English square and there are pigeons to feed like in Trafalgar Square, London. There are four English-style pubs and you can buy English beer to drink. There is a canal and you can row a boat there like in Cambridge."

Are there any cricket fields? "No, there aren't any places to play cricket because nobody in Shanghai can play this game. But there is a football stadium like those in England. And the thing we are very proud of is our shopping street. There are several shops where you can buy traditional English food like fish and chips or Christmas Pudding."

The rich Shanghai businessman can do some gardening too. For with every house in "English Town", there is an English lawn and there are long gardens with ponds and tall hedges.

But there is one problem. The houses in this part of town cost a minimum of $400,000!

Question: There aren't any cricket fields in the new development.

Read the following article and decide if the statement below is TRUE (A), FALSE (B) or NOT GIVEN (C)

The building company Hong Kong Housing is building a new suburb in Shanghai, a city with a population of more than 15 million people. But this suburb is not like other parts of Shanghai. It is a little piece of England. The name of the new area is "English Town". The manager of Hong Kong Housing, Shi Guangsheng, says many people in this area of China want to buy an English house and live in an English town.

"This town is like Bristol or Chester. There is an English square and there are pigeons to feed like in Trafalgar Square, London. There are four English-style pubs and you can buy English beer to drink. There is a canal and you can row a boat there like in Cambridge."

Are there any cricket fields? "No, there aren't any places to play cricket because nobody in Shanghai can play this game. But there is a football stadium like those in England. And the thing we are very proud of is our shopping street. There are several shops where you can buy traditional English food like fish and chips or Christmas Pudding."

The rich Shanghai businessman can do some gardening too. For with every house in "English Town", there is an English lawn and there are long gardens with ponds and tall hedges.

But there is one problem. The houses in this part of town cost a minimum of $400,000!

Question: Some houses cost millions of dollars

Read the following article and decide if the statement below is TRUE (A), FALSE (B) or NOT GIVEN (C)

The building company Hong Kong Housing is building a new suburb in Shanghai, a city with a population of more than 15 million people. But this suburb is not like other parts of Shanghai. It is a little piece of England. The name of the new area is "English Town". The manager of Hong Kong Housing, Shi Guangsheng, says many people in this area of China want to buy an English house and live in an English town.

"This town is like Bristol or Chester. There is an English square and there are pigeons to feed like in Trafalgar Square, London. There are four English-style pubs and you can buy English beer to drink. There is a canal and you can row a boat there like in Cambridge."

Are there any cricket fields? "No, there aren't any places to play cricket because nobody in Shanghai can play this game. But there is a football stadium like those in England. And the thing we are very proud of is our shopping street. There are several shops where you can buy traditional English food like fish and chips or Christmas Pudding."

The rich Shanghai businessman can do some gardening too. For with every house in "English Town", there is an English lawn and there are long gardens with ponds and tall hedges.

But there is one problem. The houses in this part of town cost a minimum of $400,000!

Question: These houses are only for English people to buy.

Read the following article and decide if the statement below is TRUE (A), FALSE (B) or NOT GIVEN (C)

Siem Reap is a small town near the world famous temple of Angkor Wat. The town is charming and worth exploring, with some fine examples of Khmer and French colonial architecture set among the more modern developments. Nowadays, visitors are flocking in, using it as a base for visits to the nearby temples.

From the 9th to the 14th centuries, when Europe was still struggling out of the Dark Ages, the Cambodian Empire of Angkor covered most of present-day Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand. The heart of this empire during the 12th century was the ancient capital of Angkor Thom, near present day Siem Reap, the site of the world’s largest temple complexes, which were rediscovered in 1861.This spectacular city was built over 30 years under the reign of King Suryavarman II (1113-1150). The area covers about 400 square kilometres and is full of the finest examples of Khmer art and architecture. Tourists are always amazed at the scale of the place.

In Angkor Wat you will find more than 100 stone monuments and temple buildings, each of which contains countless statues, sculptures and reliefs that have weathered extremely little over the last 800 years. To see the whole thing can take several days. The most important temples to visit in the area are Angkor Wat, especially at sunrise or sunset; Angkor Thom, the remains of the capital; Ta Prohm, a palace overgrown by jungle; and Bayon.

Visas are required to enter Cambodia. You can obtain one on arrival at Siem Reap International Airport for $20, and 1 passport photo is required per person. You will also need another passport photo for the Angkor Temple Entrance Pass. Please ensure you take comfortable walking shoes, light clothing and plenty of water to drink as it is very hot there. The most commonly accepted currency in Cambodia is the US dollar.

Statement: It takes you around 10 days to see the whole stone work.

Read the following article and decide if the statement below is TRUE (A), FALSE (B) or NOT GIVEN (C)

The makers of a controversial computer game about bullying have decided to go ahead and launch it despite calls for it to be banned. In the game, players take on the role of a new students at a school and have to fight the bullies, by punching them or hitting them with a baseball bat.Critics have said that the game encourages violence, but the makers deny this and say that, while there is violence in the game, it is just an amusing look at school life, besides which, the violence in the game is directed against the bullies to protect pupils who are being bullied. The makers also say that players will learn to stand up to bullies.A British politician, a former minister, has called for it to be banned as it might affect the way young people perceive violence.Anti-bullying charities have said that the game might make people respond violently to bullies, which might make things more complicated and result in injuries.

Statement: The politician used to be a minister.

Read the following article and choose the best answer for the following question:

Orbis is an organization which helps blind people everywhere. It has built an eye hospital inside an aeroplane and flown it all over the world with an international medical team. Samantha Graham, a fourteen-year-old schoolgirl from England, went with the plane to Mongolia, Samatha tells the story of Eukhtuul, a young Mongolian girl.

Last year, when Eukhtuul was walking home from school, she was attacked by boys with sticks and her eyes were badly damaged. Dr Duffey, an Orbis doctor, said that without an operation she would never see again, I thought about all the everyday things I do that she couldn’t , things like reading schoolbooks, watching television, seeing friends, and I realized how lucky I am’.

‘The Orbis team agreed to operate on Eukhtuul and I was allowed to watch, together with some Mongolian medical students. I prayed the operation would be successful. The next day I waited nervously with Eukhtuul while Dr Duffey removed her bandages. ‘In six months your sight will be back to normal’, he said. Eukhtuul smiled, her mother cried, and I had to wipe away some tears, too!’

‘Now Eukhtuul wants to study hard to become a doctor. Her whole future has changed, thanks to a simple operation. We should all think more about how much out sight means to us.

Question: What can a reader learn about in this text?

Read the following article and decide if the statement below is TRUE (A), FALSE (B) or NOT GIVEN (C)

Siem Reap is a small town near the world famous temple of Angkor Wat. The town is charming and worth exploring, with some fine examples of Khmer and French colonial architecture set among the more modern developments. Nowadays, visitors are flocking in, using it as a base for visits to the nearby temples.

From the 9th to the 14th centuries, when Europe was still struggling out of the Dark Ages, the Cambodian Empire of Angkor covered most of present-day Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand. The heart of this empire during the 12th century was the ancient capital of Angkor Thom, near present day Siem Reap, the site of the world’s largest temple complexes, which were rediscovered in 1861.This spectacular city was built over 30 years under the reign of King Suryavarman II (1113-1150). The area covers about 400 square kilometres and is full of the finest examples of Khmer art and architecture. Tourists are always amazed at the scale of the place.

In Angkor Wat you will find more than 100 stone monuments and temple buildings, each of which contains countless statues, sculptures and reliefs that have weathered extremely little over the last 800 years. To see the whole thing can take several days. The most important temples to visit in the area are Angkor Wat, especially at sunrise or sunset; Angkor Thom, the remains of the capital; Ta Prohm, a palace overgrown by jungle; and Bayon.

Visas are required to enter Cambodia. You can obtain one on arrival at Siem Reap International Airport for $20, and 1 passport photo is required per person. You will also need another passport photo for the Angkor Temple Entrance Pass. Please ensure you take comfortable walking shoes, light clothing and plenty of water to drink as it is very hot there. The most commonly accepted currency in Cambodia is the US dollar.

Statement: Most people visit Siem Reap because of the temples in the area.

Read the following article and decide if the statement below is TRUE (A), FALSE (B) or NOT GIVEN (C)

Siem Reap is a small town near the world famous temple of Angkor Wat. The town is charming and worth exploring, with some fine examples of Khmer and French colonial architecture set among the more modern developments. Nowadays, visitors are flocking in, using it as a base for visits to the nearby temples.

From the 9th to the 14th centuries, when Europe was still struggling out of the Dark Ages, the Cambodian Empire of Angkor covered most of present-day Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand. The heart of this empire during the 12th century was the ancient capital of Angkor Thom, near present day Siem Reap, the site of the world’s largest temple complexes, which were rediscovered in 1861.This spectacular city was built over 30 years under the reign of King Suryavarman II (1113-1150). The area covers about 400 square kilometres and is full of the finest examples of Khmer art and architecture. Tourists are always amazed at the scale of the place.

In Angkor Wat you will find more than 100 stone monuments and temple buildings, each of which contains countless statues, sculptures and reliefs that have weathered extremely little over the last 800 years. To see the whole thing can take several days. The most important temples to visit in the area are Angkor Wat, especially at sunrise or sunset; Angkor Thom, the remains of the capital; Ta Prohm, a palace overgrown by jungle; and Bayon.

Visas are required to enter Cambodia. You can obtain one on arrival at Siem Reap International Airport for $20, and 1 passport photo is required per person. You will also need another passport photo for the Angkor Temple Entrance Pass. Please ensure you take comfortable walking shoes, light clothing and plenty of water to drink as it is very hot there. The most commonly accepted currency in Cambodia is the US dollar.

Statement: Dawn and dusk are particularly good times to visit Angkor Wat.

Read the following article and choose the best answer for the following question:

Orbis is an organization which helps blind people everywhere. It has built an eye hospital inside an aeroplane and flown it all over the world with an international medical team. Samantha Graham, a fourteen-year-old schoolgirl from England, went with the plane to Mongolia, Samatha tells the story of Eukhtuul, a young Mongolian girl.

Last year, when Eukhtuul was walking home from school, she was attacked by boys with sticks and her eyes were badly damaged. Dr Duffey, an Orbis doctor, said that without an operation she would never see again, I thought about all the everyday things I do that she couldn’t , things like reading schoolbooks, watching television, seeing friends, and I realized how lucky I am’.

‘The Orbis team agreed to operate on Eukhtuul and I was allowed to watch, together with some Mongolian medical students. I prayed the operation would be successful. The next day I waited nervously with Eukhtuul while Dr Duffey removed her bandages. ‘In six months your sight will be back to normal’, he said. Eukhtuul smiled, her mother cried, and I had to wipe away some tears, too!’

‘Now Eukhtuul wants to study hard to become a doctor. Her whole future has changed, thanks to a simple operation. We should all think more about how much out sight means to us.

Question: After meeting Eukhtuul , Samantha felt

.

Read the following article and decide if the statement below is TRUE (A), FALSE (B) or NOT GIVEN (C)

Siem Reap is a small town near the world famous temple of Angkor Wat. The town is charming and worth exploring, with some fine examples of Khmer and French colonial architecture set among the more modern developments. Nowadays, visitors are flocking in, using it as a base for visits to the nearby temples.

From the 9th to the 14th centuries, when Europe was still struggling out of the Dark Ages, the Cambodian Empire of Angkor covered most of present-day Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand. The heart of this empire during the 12th century was the ancient capital of Angkor Thom, near present day Siem Reap, the site of the world’s largest temple complexes, which were rediscovered in 1861.This spectacular city was built over 30 years under the reign of King Suryavarman II (1113-1150). The area covers about 400 square kilometres and is full of the finest examples of Khmer art and architecture. Tourists are always amazed at the scale of the place.

In Angkor Wat you will find more than 100 stone monuments and temple buildings, each of which contains countless statues, sculptures and reliefs that have weathered extremely little over the last 800 years. To see the whole thing can take several days. The most important temples to visit in the area are Angkor Wat, especially at sunrise or sunset; Angkor Thom, the remains of the capital; Ta Prohm, a palace overgrown by jungle; and Bayon.

Visas are required to enter Cambodia. You can obtain one on arrival at Siem Reap International Airport for $20, and 1 passport photo is required per person. You will also need another passport photo for the Angkor Temple Entrance Pass. Please ensure you take comfortable walking shoes, light clothing and plenty of water to drink as it is very hot there. The most commonly accepted currency in Cambodia is the US dollar.

Statement: Angkor Wat was the capital of the Cambodian empire.

Read the following article and decide if the statement below is TRUE (A), FALSE (B) or NOT GIVEN (C)

Siem Reap is a small town near the world famous temple of Angkor Wat. The town is charming and worth exploring, with some fine examples of Khmer and French colonial architecture set among the more modern developments. Nowadays, visitors are flocking in, using it as a base for visits to the nearby temples.

From the 9th to the 14th centuries, when Europe was still struggling out of the Dark Ages, the Cambodian Empire of Angkor covered most of present-day Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand. The heart of this empire during the 12th century was the ancient capital of Angkor Thom, near present day Siem Reap, the site of the world’s largest temple complexes, which were rediscovered in 1861.This spectacular city was built over 30 years under the reign of King Suryavarman II (1113-1150). The area covers about 400 square kilometres and is full of the finest examples of Khmer art and architecture. Tourists are always amazed at the scale of the place.

In Angkor Wat you will find more than 100 stone monuments and temple buildings, each of which contains countless statues, sculptures and reliefs that have weathered extremely little over the last 800 years. To see the whole thing can take several days. The most important temples to visit in the area are Angkor Wat, especially at sunrise or sunset; Angkor Thom, the remains of the capital; Ta Prohm, a palace overgrown by jungle; and Bayon.

Visas are required to enter Cambodia. You can obtain one on arrival at Siem Reap International Airport for $20, and 1 passport photo is required per person. You will also need another passport photo for the Angkor Temple Entrance Pass. Please ensure you take comfortable walking shoes, light clothing and plenty of water to drink as it is very hot there. The most commonly accepted currency in Cambodia is the US dollar.

Statement: The stonework of Angkor Wat is in poor condition today.

Read the following article and choose the best answer for the following question:

Orbis is an organization which helps blind people everywhere. It has built an eye hospital inside an aeroplane and flown it all over the world with an international medical team. Samantha Graham, a fourteen-year-old schoolgirl from England, went with the plane to Mongolia, Samatha tells the story of Eukhtuul, a young Mongolian girl.

Last year, when Eukhtuul was walking home from school, she was attacked by boys with sticks and her eyes were badly damaged. Dr Duffey, an Orbis doctor, said that without an operation she would never see again, I thought about all the everyday things I do that she couldn’t , things like reading schoolbooks, watching television, seeing friends, and I realized how lucky I am’.

‘The Orbis team agreed to operate on Eukhtuul and I was allowed to watch, together with some Mongolian medical students. I prayed the operation would be successful. The next day I waited nervously with Eukhtuul while Dr Duffey removed her bandages. ‘In six months your sight will be back to normal’, he said. Eukhtuul smiled, her mother cried, and I had to wipe away some tears, too!’

‘Now Eukhtuul wants to study hard to become a doctor. Her whole future has changed, thanks to a simple operation. We should all think more about how much out sight means to us.

Question: What is the result of Eukhtuul’s operation?

Read the following article and choose the best answer for the following question:

Orbis is an organization which helps blind people everywhere. It has built an eye hospital inside an aeroplane and flown it all over the world with an international medical team. Samantha Graham, a fourteen-year-old schoolgirl from England, went with the plane to Mongolia, Samatha tells the story of Eukhtuul, a young Mongolian girl.

Last year, when Eukhtuul was walking home from school, she was attacked by boys with sticks and her eyes were badly damaged. Dr Duffey, an Orbis doctor, said that without an operation she would never see again, I thought about all the everyday things I do that she couldn’t , things like reading schoolbooks, watching television, seeing friends, and I realized how lucky I am’.

‘The Orbis team agreed to operate on Eukhtuul and I was allowed to watch, together with some Mongolian medical students. I prayed the operation would be successful. The next day I waited nervously with Eukhtuul while Dr Duffey removed her bandages. ‘In six months your sight will be back to normal’, he said. Eukhtuul smiled, her mother cried, and I had to wipe away some tears, too!’

‘Now Eukhtuul wants to study hard to become a doctor. Her whole future has changed, thanks to a simple operation. We should all think more about how much out sight means to us.

Question: What is the writer’s main purpose in writing this text?

Read the following talks about eating out and answer the question below:

1.The last time I went to a restaurant was about 2 months ago. My wife and I wanted to celebrate our wedding anniversary with a good meal so we went to an expensive Italian restaurant in downtown Lisbon. We both had pasta to start and for the main course my wife ordered a steak and I chose fish. For dessert we both ate chocolate cake topped with fresh cream. Delicious!

2. I went to a restaurant yesterday evening with my sister's children. It wasn't very expensive and the menu was very limited. We all had a burger and French fries, and drank cola. It wasn't very good.

3. My boyfriend loves spicy food so this restaurant was perfect. The waiters were all really friendly and polite, and they played traditional sitar music which was very relaxing. The menu offered vegetarian dishes as well as meat dishes served with rice and a sauce - it depended on how hot you wanted it! I chose a mild beef curry but my boyfriend had a lamb 'vindaloo' - he also drank 2 liters of water!!

4. My class at the university went there last weekend. It's a very popular type of restaurant in my country. It generally offers one type of food (a kind of bread with cheese and tomato sauce) which you then choose what ingredients to add on top of it. I asked for olives and mushrooms on mine and my classmates each had something different so we could taste a piece of each person's meal.

Question: In which text did the person talk about the atmosphere of the restaurant?

Read the following talks about eating out and answer the question below:

1.The last time I went to a restaurant was about 2 months ago. My wife and I wanted to celebrate our wedding anniversary with a good meal so we went to an expensive Italian restaurant in downtown Lisbon. We both had pasta to start and for the main course my wife ordered a steak and I chose fish. For dessert we both ate chocolate cake topped with fresh cream. Delicious!

2. I went to a restaurant yesterday evening with my sister's children. It wasn't very expensive and the menu was very limited. We all had a burger and French fries, and drank cola. It wasn't very good.

3. My boyfriend loves spicy food so this restaurant was perfect. The waiters were all really friendly and polite, and they played traditional sitar music which was very relaxing. The menu offered vegetarian dishes as well as meat dishes served with rice and a sauce - it depended on how hot you wanted it! I chose a mild beef curry but my boyfriend had a lamb 'vindaloo' - he also drank 2 liters of water!!

4. My class at the university went there last weekend. It's a very popular type of restaurant in my country. It generally offers one type of food (a kind of bread with cheese and tomato sauce) which you then choose what ingredients to add on top of it. I asked for olives and mushrooms on mine and my classmates each had something different so we could taste a piece of each person's meal.

Question: In which text did someone eat seafood?

Read the following article and decide if the statement below is TRUE (A), FALSE (B) or NOT GIVEN (C)

Considering their wedding cost over $20,000 and took a year and a half to organize, you would be surprised to hear that Richard and Victoria Hammond now intend to forget it. Well, almost.

"It was a wonderful wedding, an unbelievable day," says Victoria. "But we have so much we want to do together now, we are both looking to the future." Her husband, banker and amateur race driver Richard, agrees. "Both our minds are now fixed firmly on the future. I'll never forget our wedding ceremony or the reception we had at a cliff-side hotel afterwards, but there's so much we want, so many hopes. Our marriage is so much more important than the wedding."

"At the moment, we are still living with my parents," explains Victoria, "so our first wish is to find our own place. We intend to start looking for a new house with all the modern conveniences in the suburbs in the new year." Both Victoria and husband Richard have a lot of siblings. Do they intend to add to the extended Hammond family? "We plan on having two or three children ourselves," Richard tells me. "Victoria is just wonderful with children and I can get 3 years paternity leave from my work, which is just perfect."

The young couple has just returned from a two-week honeymoon spent in an authentic Scottish castle. Both the newly-weds are big travel lovers and Richard hopes this will continue. "I would like to go travelling as much as possible together. Travelling with someone else is such a sharing experience. I think it's sad to experience all the wonderful places in the world and have no-one else there." Victoria also has another great travel ambition that she might have to do alone. "I have always been fascinated by safari and my real wish is to go on safari. Richard has no interest in wildlife though."

And what about the marriage itself? In a world with such a high divorce rate, how do Richard and Victoria hope to avoid all the problems that beset so many other couples? Richard explains thoughtfully that "our ambition is to always talk to each other. If you stop communicating, what chance do you have?" His wife goes along with that completely. "I hope that we can speak about things, but also not expect everything to be easy. I think many people expect the wedding to be the end of getting to know each other. I think it's the start."

Statement: They got married in a dramatic location.

Read the following article and decide if the statement below is TRUE (A), FALSE (B) or NOT GIVEN (C)

Siem Reap is a small town near the world famous temple of Angkor Wat. The town is charming and worth exploring, with some fine examples of Khmer and French colonial architecture set among the more modern developments. Nowadays, visitors are flocking in, using it as a base for visits to the nearby temples.

From the 9th to the 14th centuries, when Europe was still struggling out of the Dark Ages, the Cambodian Empire of Angkor covered most of present-day Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand. The heart of this empire during the 12th century was the ancient capital of Angkor Thom, near present day Siem Reap, the site of the world’s largest temple complexes, which were rediscovered in 1861.This spectacular city was built over 30 years under the reign of King Suryavarman II (1113-1150). The area covers about 400 square kilometres and is full of the finest examples of Khmer art and architecture. Tourists are always amazed at the scale of the place.

In Angkor Wat you will find more than 100 stone monuments and temple buildings, each of which contains countless statues, sculptures and reliefs that have weathered extremely little over the last 800 years. To see the whole thing can take several days. The most important temples to visit in the area are Angkor Wat, especially at sunrise or sunset; Angkor Thom, the remains of the capital; Ta Prohm, a palace overgrown by jungle; and Bayon.

Visas are required to enter Cambodia. You can obtain one on arrival at Siem Reap International Airport for $20, and 1 passport photo is required per person. You will also need another passport photo for the Angkor Temple Entrance Pass. Please ensure you take comfortable walking shoes, light clothing and plenty of water to drink as it is very hot there. The most commonly accepted currency in Cambodia is the US dollar.

Statement: It took few years to build the capital.