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.

PERCEPTIONS OF ANIMALS ACROSS CULTURES

When living and working in another country, there are numerous things to consider apart from the more obvious ones of climate, language, religion, currency, etc. Some important considerations are less obvious. For example, do you have a pet or do you enjoy a hobby such as horse riding? Your animal or hobby may be perceived in a completely different light in another culture so it’s important to consider the significance given to specific animals in different parts of the world and general perceptions towards them.

One example which is often mentioned in popular press is the case of dogs. In some cultures, like the US or UK, dogs are loved and considered a great pet to have at home and with the family. In other cultures, such as those where Islam is the majority religion, dogs may be perceived as dirty or dangerous. Muslims treatment of dogs is still a matter of debate amongst Islamic scholars. While these animals are widely considered by many Western cultures to be „man’s best friend’, the Koran describes them as “unhygienic”. Muslims will therefore avoid touching a dog unless he can wash his hands immediately afterwards, and they will almost never keep a dog in their home.

In Iran, for instance, a cleric once denounced „the moral depravity’ of dog owners and even demanded their arrest. If you are an international assignee living and working in Saudi Arabia or another Arabic country, you should remember this when inviting Arab counterparts to your house in case you have a dog as a pet. This is just one example of how Islam and other cultural beliefs can impact on aspects of everyday life that someone else may not even question. A Middle Eastern man might be very surprised when going to Japan, for instance, and seeing dogs being dressed and pampered like humans and carried around in baby prams!

Dogs are not the only animals which are perceived quite differently from one culture to another. In India, for example, cows are sacred and are treated with the utmost respect. Conversely in Argentina, beef is a symbol of national pride because of its tradition and the high quality of its cuts. An Indian working in Argentina who has not done his research or participated in a cross cultural training programme such as Doing Business in Argentina may be surprised at his first welcome dinner with his Argentinean counterparts where a main dish of beef would be served.

It is therefore crucial to be aware of the specific values assigned to objects or animals in different cultures to avoid faux–pas or cultural misunderstandings, particularly when living and working in another culture. Learning how people value animals and other symbols around the world is one of the numerous cultural examples discussed in Communicaid’s intercultural training courses. Understanding how your international colleagues may perceive certain animals can help you ensure you aren’t insensitive and it may even provide you with a good topic for conversation.

Which of the following could be the main idea of the passage?

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By the time their baby arrives, the Johnson hope _______ painting and decorating the new nursery

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Such approaches should be supported and mainstreamed in health interventions in order to _______ positive behavior change

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I won’t be home for _______ dinner this evening. I’m meeting some friends after _______ work and we’re going to _______ cinema

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.

PERCEPTIONS OF ANIMALS ACROSS CULTURES

When living and working in another country, there are numerous things to consider apart from the more obvious ones of climate, language, religion, currency, etc. Some important considerations are less obvious. For example, do you have a pet or do you enjoy a hobby such as horse riding? Your animal or hobby may be perceived in a completely different light in another culture so it’s important to consider the significance given to specific animals in different parts of the world and general perceptions towards them.

One example which is often mentioned in popular press is the case of dogs. In some cultures, like the US or UK, dogs are loved and considered a great pet to have at home and with the family. In other cultures, such as those where Islam is the majority religion, dogs may be perceived as dirty or dangerous. Muslims treatment of dogs is still a matter of debate amongst Islamic scholars. While these animals are widely considered by many Western cultures to be „man’s best friend’, the Koran describes them as “unhygienic”. Muslims will therefore avoid touching a dog unless he can wash his hands immediately afterwards, and they will almost never keep a dog in their home.

In Iran, for instance, a cleric once denounced „the moral depravity’ of dog owners and even demanded their arrest. If you are an international assignee living and working in Saudi Arabia or another Arabic country, you should remember this when inviting Arab counterparts to your house in case you have a dog as a pet. This is just one example of how Islam and other cultural beliefs can impact on aspects of everyday life that someone else may not even question. A Middle Eastern man might be very surprised when going to Japan, for instance, and seeing dogs being dressed and pampered like humans and carried around in baby prams!

Dogs are not the only animals which are perceived quite differently from one culture to another. In India, for example, cows are sacred and are treated with the utmost respect. Conversely in Argentina, beef is a symbol of national pride because of its tradition and the high quality of its cuts. An Indian working in Argentina who has not done his research or participated in a cross cultural training programme such as Doing Business in Argentina may be surprised at his first welcome dinner with his Argentinean counterparts where a main dish of beef would be served.

It is therefore crucial to be aware of the specific values assigned to objects or animals in different cultures to avoid faux–pas or cultural misunderstandings, particularly when living and working in another culture. Learning how people value animals and other symbols around the world is one of the numerous cultural examples discussed in Communicaid’s intercultural training courses. Understanding how your international colleagues may perceive certain animals can help you ensure you aren’t insensitive and it may even provide you with a good topic for conversation.

According to paragraph 2, which sentence is INCORRECT ?

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. 

MODERN SCIENCE

It seems entirely natural to us that there are teams of scientists in universities and (46) _______ institutions around the world, attempting to discover the way the world works. (47) _______, it hasn’t always been that way. Although the scientific method is now four or five hundred years old, the ancient Greeks, for example, believed that they could (48) _________ the cause of natural events just by the power of thought. 

During the 17th century, more and more people began to realize that they could test their scientific ideas by designing a relevant experiment and seeing what happened. A lot of (49) _________ was made in this way by individual scientists. These men and women often worked alone, carrying out research into many different areas of science, and they often received very little (50) _________ for their hard work. At the start of the 20th century, though, it became clear that science was becoming more complicated and more expensive. The individual scientists disappeared, to be replaced by highly qualified teams of experts. Modern science was born.

Điền vào ô 46

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

Most office furniture is bought more on the basis of _______ than comfort

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.

Trees are useful to man in three very important ways: they provide him with wood and other products, they give him shade, and they help to prevent drought and floods.

Unfortunately, in many parts of the world man has not realized that the third of these services is the most important. In his eagerness to draw quick profit from the trees, he has cut them down in large numbers, only to find that without them he has lost the best friends he had.

Two thousand years ago a rich and powerful country cut down its trees to build warships, with which to gain itself an empire. It gained the empire but, without its trees, its soil became hard and poor. When the empire fell to pieces, the country found itself faced by floods and starvation.

Even though a government realizes the importance of a plentiful supply of trees, it is difficult for it to persuade the villager to see this. The villager wants wood to cook his food with, and he can earn money by making charcoal or selling wood to the townsman. He is usually too lazy or too careless to plant and look after trees. So unless the government has a good system of control, or can educate the people, the forests will slowly disappear.

This does not only mean that there will be fewer trees. The results are even more serious. For where there are trees their roots break the soil up, allowing the rain to sink in and also bind the soil, thus preventing it being washed away easily, but where there are no trees, the soil becomes hard and poor. The rain falls on hard ground and flows away on the surface, causing floods and carrying away with it the rich topsoil, in which crops grow so well. When all the topsoil is gone, nothing remains but a worthless desert.

Trees are useful to man mainly in three ways, the most important of which is that they can _______.

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All births, deaths and marriages are entered in the _______ records. Most of these records have been computerized in recent years

Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word or phrase CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.

Hue is the ideal place to enjoy life; it’s a beautiful and hospitable city with its famous cultural heritage.

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

The police are trying to determine the _______ of events that led up to the disappearance of the child

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.

George graduated with a good degree. However, he joined the ranks of the unemployed.

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. 

MODERN SCIENCE

It seems entirely natural to us that there are teams of scientists in universities and (46) _______ institutions around the world, attempting to discover the way the world works. (47) _______, it hasn’t always been that way. Although the scientific method is now four or five hundred years old, the ancient Greeks, for example, believed that they could (48) _________ the cause of natural events just by the power of thought. 

During the 17th century, more and more people began to realize that they could test their scientific ideas by designing a relevant experiment and seeing what happened. A lot of (49) _________ was made in this way by individual scientists. These men and women often worked alone, carrying out research into many different areas of science, and they often received very little (50) _________ for their hard work. At the start of the 20th century, though, it became clear that science was becoming more complicated and more expensive. The individual scientists disappeared, to be replaced by highly qualified teams of experts. Modern science was born.

Điền vào ô 48

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

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

“Do you think that reducing class sizes would _______ standards in our school?”

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My father continued _______ although the doctor advised him _______ the habit several times