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.
The author uses the word "marital" to indicate that the problems are related to ________.
A.money
B.laws
C.marriage
D.pregnancy

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.
The phrase "The first" in the passage refers to the first _________.
A.marriage
B.bride price
C.payment
D.justification

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.
The word "prominent" in the passage is closest in meaning to _______.
A.educated
B.important
C.religious
D.conservative

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.
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.

Identify the one underlined word or phrase that must be changed for the sentence to be correct.
The United States come (A) top of the list (B) of countries ranked (C) by economic (D) performance.
A.come
B.the list
C.ranked
D.economic

Choose the word or phrase (A, B, C or D) that best fits the blank space in the following passage.
SPRING FESTIVALS
From (26) _______ times people have celebrated the end of winter and the new life that spring brings. One of the most important Christian festivals is Easter, (27) _______ Christians remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Easter, however, is not the only spring festival. In Sweden, people celebrate the end of the winter by making (28) _______ bonfires. Fire also plays an important part in the Hindu festival of Holi. In some villages children are carried round bonfires by their mothers to protect them from danger in the coming year. Buddhists in Thailand soak (29) _______ in water when celebrating their New Year, which occurs in the middle of April. In Antigua in Guatemala they carpet the streets with flowers. Chinese spring parades are (30) _______ colourful, but instead of flowers they have large dragon puppets which dance in the streets.
(26) _______
A.earliest
B.latest
C.previous
D.old

Choose the word or phrase (A, B, C or D) that best fits the blank space in the following passage.
SPRING FESTIVALS
From (26) _______ times people have celebrated the end of winter and the new life that spring brings. One of the most important Christian festivals is Easter, (27) _______ Christians remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Easter, however, is not the only spring festival. In Sweden, people celebrate the end of the winter by making (28) _______ bonfires. Fire also plays an important part in the Hindu festival of Holi. In some villages children are carried round bonfires by their mothers to protect them from danger in the coming year. Buddhists in Thailand soak (29) _______ in water when celebrating their New Year, which occurs in the middle of April. In Antigua in Guatemala they carpet the streets with flowers. Chinese spring parades are (30) _______ colourful, but instead of flowers they have large dragon puppets which dance in the streets.
(27) _______
A.which
B.when
C.because
D.by then

Choose the word or phrase (A, B, C or D) that best fits the blank space in the following passage.
SPRING FESTIVALS
From (26) _______ times people have celebrated the end of winter and the new life that spring brings. One of the most important Christian festivals is Easter, (27) _______ Christians remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Easter, however, is not the only spring festival. In Sweden, people celebrate the end of the winter by making (28) _______ bonfires. Fire also plays an important part in the Hindu festival of Holi. In some villages children are carried round bonfires by their mothers to protect them from danger in the coming year. Buddhists in Thailand soak (29) _______ in water when celebrating their New Year, which occurs in the middle of April. In Antigua in Guatemala they carpet the streets with flowers. Chinese spring parades are (30) _______ colourful, but instead of flowers they have large dragon puppets which dance in the streets.
(28) _______
A.giant
B.tremedous
C.extreme
D.huge

Choose the word or phrase (A, B, C or D) that best fits the blank space in the following passage.
SPRING FESTIVALS
From (26) _______ times people have celebrated the end of winter and the new life that spring brings. One of the most important Christian festivals is Easter, (27) _______ Christians remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Easter, however, is not the only spring festival. In Sweden, people celebrate the end of the winter by making (28) _______ bonfires. Fire also plays an important part in the Hindu festival of Holi. In some villages children are carried round bonfires by their mothers to protect them from danger in the coming year. Buddhists in Thailand soak (29) _______ in water when celebrating their New Year, which occurs in the middle of April. In Antigua in Guatemala they carpet the streets with flowers. Chinese spring parades are (30) _______ colourful, but instead of flowers they have large dragon puppets which dance in the streets.
(30) _______
A.the same
B.as
C.not less
D.equally

Read the passge carefully, then choose the correct answer.
THANKSGIVING
Thanksgiving is celebrated in the US on the fourth Thursday in November. For many Americans it is the most important holiday apart from Christmas. Schools, offices and most businesses close for Thanksgiving, and many people make the whole weekend a vacation.
Thanksgiving is associated with the time when Europeans first came to North America. In 1620 the ship the Mayflowers arrived, bringing about 150 people who today are usually called Pilgrims. They arrived at the beginning of a very hard winter and could not find enough to eat, so many of them died. But in the following summer Native Americans showed them what foods were safe to eat, so that they could save food for the next winter. They held a big celebration to thank God and the Native Americans for the fact that they had survived.
Today people celebrate Thanksgiving to remember these early days.
The most important part of the celebration is a traditional dinner with foods that come from North America. The meal includes turkey, sweet potatoes (also called yams) and cranberries, which are made into a kind of sauce or jelly. The turkey is filled with stuffing or dressing, and many families have their own special recipe. Dessert is pumpkin made into a pie.
On Thanksgiving there are special television programs and sports events. In New York there is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, when a long line of people wearing fancy costumes march through the streets with large balloons in- the shape of imaginary characters. Thanksgiving is considered the beginning of the Christmas period, and the next day many people go out to shop for Christmas presents.
According to the passage Pilgrims are ______.
A.people who travelled to America by ships
B.trips that religious people make to a holy place .
C.people who left their home and went to live in North America in the early 17th century;
D.Native Americans who live in North America.