Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions.
BRIDE PRICE
The custom of paying a bride price before marriage is still a well-established part of many African cultures. In paying a bride price, the family of the groom must provide payment to the family of the bride before the marriage is allowed. The bride price can vary greatly from culture to culture in Africa. In the Zulu and Swazi tribes of southern Africa, the bride price often takes the form of cattle. In Western African, kola nuts, shells, and other goods are often used for the payment of the bride price. The actual payment of money sometimes takes place, but the payment of goods is more frequent. The amount of paid in a bride price can also vary. In modern times, the bride price is occasionally quite small and its value is mainly symbolic. However, the bride price can still be quite high, especially among prominent or highly traditional families.
There are a number of justifications used to explain the payment of bride price. The first is that the bride price represents an acknowledgement of the expense the bride’s family has gone in order to raise her and bring her up as a suitable bride for the groom. It also represents payment for the loss of a family member, since the bride will officially become a member of her husband’s family and will leave her own. On a deeper level the bride price represents payment for the fact that the bride will bring children into the family of the groom, thereby increasing the wealth of the family. This concept is reinforced by the fact that the bride price must often be returned if the bride fails to bear children.
The payment of the bride price has quite a number of effects on African society. First, the payment of bride price acts to increase the stability of African family structures. Sons are dependent on their fathers and older relatives to help them pay the bride price of their wives, and this generally leads to greater levels of obedience and respect. The negotiations between the two families concerning the bride price allow the parents and other family members to meet and get to know one another before the marriage. Finally, since the bride price must often be repaid in case of divorce, the bride’s family often works to make sure that any marital problems are solved quickly. Bride prices also work as a system of wealth distribution in African cultures. Wealthier families can afford to support the marriage of their son, and thus their wealth is transferred to other families.
Not all of the effects of bride price are so positive, however. One major disadvantage to the system of bride price is that women are often married to men much older than themselves. In many African cultures, the typical age for marriage amongst women is still quite young, lower than in many cases. Yet few men at this age would have the ability to raise the bride price to marry. Thus there is sometimes a significant age gap between husbands and wives. This cuts short the education of many young women. In addition, the husband, being far older, may die whilst the wife is still relatively young, leaving her with the burden of raising the children alone.
Question 1: According to paragraph 1, all of the following are true of the bride price EXCEPT ______.
A. its amount and form can vary
B. its practice is occasionally only symbolic
C. it is a relatively new practice in Africa
D. it is generally higher among traditional families
Question 2: Why does the author mention “the payment of money” in paragraph 1?
A. To stress that the use of goods in the payment of bride price is most common.
B. To demonstrate the differences in how rich and poor families pay the bride price.
C. To illustrate how the practice of bride price has changed over time.
D. To demonstrate how expensive a bride price can be sometimes.
Question 3: The word "prominent” in the passage is closest in meaning to _______.
A. educated B. important
C. religious D. conservative
Question 4: The phrase "The first” in the passage refers to the first _________.
A. marriage B. bride price
C. payment D. justification
Question 5: It can be inferred from the paragraph 2 that African families ________.
A. never see their daughters after marriage
B. pay the bride price on the day of the wedding
C. place more value on men than women
D. place great importance on childbirth
Question 6: The author uses the word "marital” to indicate that the problems are related to ________.
A. money B. laws
C. marriage D. pregnancy
Question 7: According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Sometimes the bride’s family has to return the bride distribution of wealth.
B. The initial negotiations over the bride price provide opportunities for two families to meet each other.
C. Animals are not an acceptable form of payment when it comes to paying the bride price
D. Without having to pay the bride price, African men would not respect their family members
Question 8: Why are women often married to older men, according to the passage?
A. Young men lack the financial ability to marry.
B. The legal age for marriage is lower for women than for men.
C. Families are eager to gain the bride price from their daughter’s marriage.
D. Women live longer than men on average.
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that best combines each pair of sentences in the following questions.
Question 9: The guest on our show has won the Open. He is the youngest professional golfer that has won this award so far.
A. The professional golfer who has won the Open so far is the youngest guest on our show.
B. The youngest professional golfer won the Open so far is the guest on our show.
C. The youngest guest on our show is the professional golfer winning the Open so far.
D. The guest on our show is the youngest professional golfer to win the Open so far.
Question 10: We arrived at the conference. Then we realized that our reports were still at home.
A. No sooner had we realized that our reports were still at home than we arrived at the conference.
B. Only after we arrived at the conference did we realize that our reports were still at home.
C. Not until we arrived at the conference that we realized that our reports were still at home.
D. Hardly had we arrived at the conference than we realized that our reports were still at home.
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that is closest in meaning to each of the following questions.
Question 11: Mr. Brown said to me, “Make good use of your time. You won’t get such an opportunity aga.”
A. Mr. Brown let me make use of my time, knowing that I wouldn’t get an opportunity again.
B. Mr. Brown ordered me to make use of my time, said that I wouldn’t get an opportunity again.
C. Mr. Brown offered me such an opportunity so that I could make use of my time.
D. Mr. Brown advised me to make use of my time as I wouldn’t get such an opportunity again.
Question 12: Perhaps, the violence was provoked by the fans of the visiting team.
A. It can have been the visiting team’s fans that set off the violence.
B. The fans of the visiting team must have been the people who began the violence.
C. There might have been some violence caused by the vistiting team’s fans.
D. The fans of the visiting team should have brought about the violence.
Question 13: People say that Mr. Goldman gave nearly a million pounds to charity last year.
A. Mr. Goldman is said to have given nearly a million pounds to charity last year.
B. Nearly a million pounds is said to be given to charity by Mr. Goldman last year.
C. Mr. Goldman was said to have given nearly a million pounds to charity last year.
D. Nearly a million pounds was said to have been given to charity by Mr. Goldman last year.
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions.
Question 14: Most people indulge ______ harmless fantasies to relieve the boredom of their lives.
A. of B. in
C. to D. for
Question 15: ______ they’ve already made their decision, there’s nothing much we can do.
A. Seeing that
B. On grounds that
C. Assuming that
D. For reason that
Question 16: ______, the town does not get much of an ocean breeze.
A. Locating near the coast
B. Despite location near the coast
C. Though located near the coast
D. In spite having location near the coast
Question 17: We missed the ferry yesterday morning. It ______ by the time we arrived at the pier.
A. has already gone
B. was already going
C. had already gone
D. already went
Question 18: If the prisoners attempt to escape from prison, ______ immediately.
A. they will have caught
B. they will catch
C. they will be caught
D. they would be caught
Question 19: With its thousands of rocks and caves ______ out of the water, Ha Long Bay has won international recognition.
A. being emerged B. emerged
C. emerging D. emerge
Question 20: Is that the man ______?
A. whom you lent the money
B. you lent the money
C. whom did you lend the money
D. you lent the money to
Question 21: His reply was so ______ that I didn’t know how to interpret it.
A. explicable B. assertive
C. explanatory D. ambiguous
Question 22: Shelly disagreed with the board’s decision. She ______ and went to work for another company.
A. pursued B. resigned
C. abandoned D. retained
Question 23: As an ASEAN member, Vietnam has actively participated in the group’s programs and has also created new ______ and cooperation mechanisms.
A. initiatives B. initiators
C. initiations D. initiates
Question 24: Archaeologists think that massive floods could have ______ the dinosaurs.
A. wiped out B. laid off
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C. put aside D. taken down
Question 25: I’m going on business for a week, so I’ll be leaving everything ______.
A. on your guard
B. up to your eyes
C. in your capable hands
D. under the care of you
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 from 26 to 30.
The position of sport in today’s society has changed out of all regconition. People no longer seem to think of sport as “just a game” – to be watched or played for the (26) ___________ of enjoyment. Instead, it has become big business worldwide. It has become accepted practice for loading companies to provide sponsorship. TV companies pay large sums of money to screen important matches or competitions. The result has been huge financial rewards for athletes, some of (27) ___________ are now very wealthy, particularly top footballers, golfers and tennis players. (28) ___________, it is not unusual for some athletes to receive large fees on top of their salary, for advertising products or making personal appearances.
A trend towards shorter working hours means that people generally tend to have more free time, both to watch and to take part in sporting activity; sport has become a significant part of the recreation industry that we now rely (29) ___________ to fill our leisure hours. Professional sport is a vital part of that industry, providing pleasure for millions of (30) ___________ people all over the world.
Question 26:
A. advantage B. good
C. benefit D. sake
Question 27:
A. whose B. whom
C. who D. that
Question 28:
A. In addition B. However
C. In contrast D. Therefore
Question 29:
A. for B. with
C. on D. in
Question 30:
A. ordinary B. mighty
C. extremist D. abnormal
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word that differs from the other three in the position of primary stress in each of the following questions.
Question 31:
A. commerce B. reserve
C. burden D. comment
Question 32:
A. accomplish B. embarrass
C. interpret D. volunteer
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word whose bold and underlined part differs from the other three in pronunciation in each of the following questions.
Question 33:
A. approached B. enforced
C. composed D. embraced
Question 34:
A. sculpture B. result
C. justice D. figure
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the bold and underlined word(s) in each of the following questions
Question 35: The police have concluded tentatively that the explosion was caused by a bomb.
A. differently B. hesitantly
C. certainly D. temporally
Question 36: The palace was badly damaged by fire, but was eventually restored to its original splendor.
A. refurbished B. devastated
C. strengthened D. renovated
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the bold and underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.
Question 37: He was attentive as Betsy and I talked about our charity concert to help the victims of the recent floods.
A. perceptive B. indifferent
C. interested D. negligent
Question 38: My father hit the roof when he found out that I’d damaged the car.
A. was over the moon
B. burst with anger
C. went with the flow
D. kept his shirt on
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the underlined part that needs correction in each of the following questions.
Question 39: Fruit and vegetables should be carefully (A) washed whether (B) eaten fresh (C) or cook.(D)
Question 40: The Netherlands, with much (A) of its land lying (B) lower than the sea level, have (C) a system of dikes and canals for controlling (D) water.
Question 41: The (A) symptoms of diabetes in the early stages are too (B) slight that people do not (C) notice them.(D)
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the most suitable response to complete each of the following exchanges.
Question 42: Two friends are having a conversation in a restaurant.
Mary: “______.”
Jane: “All right. Suit yourself.”
A. What is your favorite starter?
B. I haven’t been to such a nice place with you for a while.
C. Can you help me choose the main course?
D. I don’t want to eat anything. I’m on diet.
Question 43: Two friends are talking about the university entrance examination.
Peter: “ My parents gave me no choice but to study business.”
Danny: “________.”
A. Well, so be it.
B. Of course not.
C. Oh, by all means.
D. No, I can’t get it.
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions
One of the most important social developments that helped to make possible a shift in thinking about the role of public education was the effect of the baby boom of the 1950’s and 1960’s on the schools. In the 1920’s, but especially in the Depression conditions of the 1930’s, the United States experienced a declining birth rate – every thousand women aged fifteen to forty-four gave birth to about 118 live children in 1920, 89.2 in 1930, 75.8 in 1936, and 80 in 1940. With the growing prosperity brought on by the Second WorldWar and the economic boom that followed it, young people married and established households earlier and began to raise larger families than had their predecessors during the Depression. Birth rates rose to 102 per thousand in 1946, 106.2 in 1950, and 118 in 1955. Although economics was probably the most important determinant, it is not the only explanation for the baby boom. The increased value placed on the idea of the family also helps to explain this rise in birth rates. The baby boomers began streaming into the first grade by the mid-1940’s and became a flood by 1950. The public school system suddenly found itself “overtaxed”. While the number of schoolchildren rose because of wartime and postwar conditions, these same conditions made the schools even less prepared to cope with the flood. The wartime economy meant that few new schools were built between 1940 and 1945. Moreover, during the war and in the boom times that followed large numbers of teachers left their profession for better-paying jobs elsewhere in the economy.
Therefore, in the 1950’s and 1960’s, the baby boom hit an antiquated and inadequate school system. Consequently, the "custodial rhetoric” of the 1930’s and early 1940’s no longer made sense; that is, keeping youths aged sixteen and older out of the labor market by keeping them in school could no longer be a high priority for an institution unable to find space and staff to teach younger children aged five to sixteen. With the baby boom, the focus of educators and of laymen interested in education inevitably turned toward the lower grades and back to basic academic skills and discipline. The system no longer had much interest in offering nontraditional, new, and extra services to older youths.
Question 44: What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. Birth rates in the United States in the 1930s and 1940s
B. The impact of the baby boom on public education
C. The role of the family in the 1950’s and 1960’s
D. The teaching profession during the baby boom
Question 45: The word "it” in paragraph 1 refers to____.
A. the economic boom
B. the Second World War
C. the 1930s
D. the United States
Question 46: The word "overtaxed” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to____.
A. charged too much
B. plentifully supplied
C. heavily burdened
D. well prepared
Question 47: The public school of the 1950s and 1960s faced all of the following problems EXCEPT
A. an inadequate number of school buildings
B. old-fashioned facilities
C. a shortage of teachers
D. a declining number of students
Question 48: According to the passage, why did teachers leave the teaching profession after theoutbreak of the war?
A. Teaching positions were scarce.
B. They were dissatisfied with the curriculum.
C. Other jobs provided higher salaries.
D. They needed to be retrained.
Question 49: The word "inevitably” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to____.
A. unavoidably B. impartially
C. irrationally D. unwillingly
Question 50: Which of the following best characterizes the organization of the passage?
A. The second paragraph provides a fictional account to illustrate a problem presented in the firstparagraph.
B. The second paragraph argues against a point made in the first paragraph.
C. The second paragraph introduces a problem not mentioned in the first paragraph
D. The second paragraph presents the effect of circumstances described in the first paragraph.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| C | A | B | D | D |
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| C | B | A | D | B |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| D | C | A | B | A |
| 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| C | C | C | C | D |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| D | B | A | A | C |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| D | B | A | C | A |
| 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 |
| B | D | C | D | C |
| 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 |
| B | C | B | D | C |
| 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 |
| B | D | A | B | B |
| 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 |
| C | D | C | A | D |