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 questions from 38 to 42.

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 husbands 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.

What is the topic of the passage?

___________5 months for the fridge to be delivered, I decide to cancel the order.

I always get in my stomach before visiting the dentist. ___________

Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions.

Some encyclopedias provide___________on specific fields such as music or philosophy.

The clothes of my sister are more expensive___________of my mother.

Yesterday, John told me that he wished he___________harder in high school then university might not be so difficult for him.

The language centre offers courses of various levels, such as elementary, intermediate and___________.

This time last Friday, we___________to Moscow.

It is___________of businessmen to shake hands in formal meetings.

The word “identity” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to____________

Peter was the last applicant___________by that interviewer.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word for each of the blanks from 33 to 37.

Back in the 1960s and 1970s, the world was becoming more aware of the destructive effects of industry (33) ___________. the environment and people were starting to think seriously about ways of protecting the environment. One man who was particularly affected by this subject was Gerard Morgan-Grenville. As Morgan-Grenville travelled round earning his living as a gardener, he noticed signs of damage that was being done to the countryside around him. It wasn’t long before Morgan-Grenville decided that he had to do something about this situation. He felt that if people could be shown a better way of living then maybe they would be interested enough to try to protect their (34) ___________environment.

Mr. Morgan-Grenville decided to set up a project (35) ___________would prove what was happening

to our surroundings and what could be done about it. So, in 1975, Morgan-Grenville created the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) in a village in Wales.

The main aim of CAT is to search for an ecologically better way of living by using technology which (36) ___________no harm to the environment. One of the most important things CAT did initially was to explore and demonstrate a wide range of techniques and to point out which ones had the least destructive results on the world around us. (37) ___________, CAT provides information and advice to people all over Britain and all over the world. If more and more individuals are informed about how much damage our modern lifestyle is causing to the planet, maybe more of them would be prepared to look for practical solutions to environmental problems.

My boss expects the report___________on time.

Jane has never enjoyed going to the ballet or the opera. They are not really her___________.

The word “downsize” in paragraph 5 most likely means____________.