TEST – 28
From the beginning of human history every society
has had some way of preparing young people for adult
life. Many communities have regarded education as
training for work. In many traditional societies
children still help the older members of the family
in their work and so grow up to do the same jobs as
their parents. Elsewhere young boys used to be sent
away for several years as apprentices to a craftsman
to learn his trade. In the modern world, however,
the main aim of education is to stimulate the
child's mind and enable him to develop his
personality and abilities to their limits.
1. The passage gives the idea that; in the past,
education .............
a. was offered only to adults
b. was generally understood as a means of learning a
skill
c. was strictly confined to the family environment
d. was not taken seriously by parents
e. didn't relate at all to e person's working life
2. The writer emphasizes that, throughout history,
in some way or another, .............
a. boys have often managed to avoid work that
requires a lot of physical effort
b. parents have been reluctant to improve the
education of their children
c. children have been forced to learn several crafts
d. children have been given an education to equip
them for the future
e. young people have chosen different ways of life
from those of their parents
3. One can conclude from the given passage that
modern education .............
a. is a clear continuation of the practices of
earlier times
b. is more interested in practical skills than in
mental development of any kind
c. gives more importance to the development of a
child's mind and character than it used to
d. does not prepare young people for their future
e. puts too much pressure on a child
When Queen Victoria died in 1901, the world was
entering a new and exciting period of change. For
instance, in that year, for the first time, wireless
signals had crossed the Atlantic and, in the
following year, an airship flew from Europe to
America. Already the motor car had come into use and
was making life much easier. Telephones, also, were
becoming fairly common. Politically and
economically, people looked forward to a time of
peace, wealth and progress. In fact, nothing seemed
to stand in the way of such a future.
4. It is obvious from the passage that the twentieth
century ................
a. opened with a decline in industrial and economic
activity
b. inherited, from the previous century, very many
serious social and political problems
c. began in a spirit of hope and confidence which
was more or less world-wide
d. was ushered in by a wave of despair and
discontent
e. introduced a period of economic and political
unrest.
5. At the beginning of the twentieth century, people
................
a. were still not fully aware of the benefits of the
telephone
b. believed that technological and economic progress
could not be halted
c. preferred to make their long distance journeys by
airship
d. were extremely upset bye the death of Queen
Victoria
e. felt ill at ease in the face of so much change
6. From the passage one can conclude that at the
turn of the new century ................
a. the drawbacks of industrialization became evident
b. it seemed that nothing more could be invented
c. progress and change were to be seen on every side
d. technological progress was hampered by an
economic crisis
e. the main emphasis was on improved communications
There can be few more depressing stories in the
entire history of man's exploitation of nature than
the wide-spread destruction of whales. Whales have
not only suffered untold cruelty but now face total
extermination. Already entire populations have been
wiped out, and the only reason why no species has
yet been finished off is due to the vastness and
inaccessibility of the oceans. Hence, a few have
always managed to escape, but how much longer can
this go on?
7. The author points out that of all the animals in
nature it is probably the whales that
................
a. have aroused most sympathy among ordinary people
b. have attracted the least scientific attention
c. alone can survive man's hunting instincts
d. have suffered most from man's cruelty
e. can finally avoid total extinction
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8. According to the passage, if whales have so far
survived, it is because ................
a. they have taken refuge in the vast expenses of
the oceans
b. they breed fast and are difficult to catch
c. modern man has recognized the need to preserve
them
d. various measures have been taken to save them
from total extermination
e. man has finally realized that nature must not be
exploited
9. In the passage the author expresses his doubts
about whether ................
a. many species of whales ought to be preserved
b. the exploitation of nature can be justified
c. whales can actually survive in the future
d. man really is as cruel to whales as some people
have claimed
e. there is any point in trying to preserve all
species of animals
It is to be expected that, by the year 2050,
people's eating habits will have changed beyond
recognition. With a world-wide growth in population
very many new mechanical and scientific methods will
come into being to step up food production. There
may well be an end to food as we know it today. In
fact, meals as we know them, may become a thing of
the past. Food constituents and vitamins may be
taken in the form of capsules, tablets and pills.
The thought of these highly artificial food
constituents replacing present day foods may not be
very relishing, but they may be the answer to food
shortage and world famine.
10. It is suggested in the passage that, at a not
too distant date, .... .
a. the world will face severe famine
b. the rate of growth in this world population will
have been slowed down
c. the world's food production will decline
tremendously despite the population growth
d. methods of advertising food products will change
drastically
e. our traditional eating habits will have been
completely replaced
11. The author points out that artificial food
................
a. will unfortunately be deficient in vitamins
b. can be economically and easily produced
c. is not practical but it is delicious
d. may provide a solution to the problem of a world
food shortage
e. will appeal greatly to the majority of people
12. The main point emphasized in the passage is that
................
a. present-day eating habits must be preserved
b. in the twenty-first century the wide-spread use
of artificial food will be inevitable
c. famine and food shortage in the world can only be
overcome by reducing the population growth rate
d. artificial goods need not conflict with
traditional eating habits
e. mechanical and scientific methods are
indispensable for the production of vitamins
There is nothing that man fears more than the touch
of the unknown. He wants to know what is reaching
towards him, and to be able to recognize or at least
classify it. Man always tends to avoid physical
contact with anything strange. In the dark, the fear
of an unexpected touch can lead to panic. Even
clothes give insufficient security: it is easy to
tear them and pierce through to the naked, smooth,
defenceless flesh of the victim. All the distances
which men create round themselves are dictated by
this fear. They shut themselves in houses which no
one may enter, and only there they feel some measure
of security. The fear of burglars is not only the
fear of being robbed, but also the fear of something
touching you in the darkness.
13. According to the passage, what frightens people
most is ................
a. the thought of being robbed at night
b. the unexpected contact with something unknown
c. a sense of insecurity
d. being alone in the dark
e. the knowledge that they won't be protected
14. Because people are frightened of the unknown,
................
a. they feel it necessary to put a barrier between
themselves and the unknown
b. it is natural that they should always be in a
state of panic
c. they feel safer in a crowd
d. they try to avoid physical contact of all kinds
e. burglars find it much easier to break into houses
15. This passage is concerned with ................
a. how people can regain a sense of security
b. the measures people are advised to take against
burglars
c. the three main types of fear
d. people's fear of the unknown and how they try to
cope with it
e. how to bring one's fears into the open
England is famous for its gardens, and most people
like gardening. This is possibly one reason why so
many people prefer to live in houses rather than in
flats. Particularly in suburban areas it is possible
to pass row after row of ordinary small houses, each
one with its neatly kept patch of grass surrounded
by a great variety of flowers and shrubs.
Enthusiasts of gardening get a great amount of
helpful advice from the television and magazines.
16. The passage stresses that, as many English
people are fond of gardening, .............
a. they don't want to live in suburban areas
b. houses are more popular than flats
c. they can spare little time for the television
d. the price of land is constantly going up
e. they grow flowers but not grass and fruit trees
17. The passage emphasizes that people interested in
gardening .............
a. find it essential to move out to distant rural
areas
b. need large gardens in order to get satisfaction
c. are in a minority in England
d. get very little encouragement from the media
e. are supplied with information and guidance by
both the television and the press
18. The passage is regarded with .............
a. the increasing demand for new varieties of
flowers and shrubs
b. the problems of gardening in suburban areas
c. the new techniques in gardening
d. the enthusiasm of people in England for gardens
and gardening
e. how to look after the grass in gardens
Public libraries, maintained by the local
authorities, are well developed and progressive, and
everywhere permit people to borrow books without
charge. The books in the lending section are always
kept on open shelves, and library staffs are very
helpful in getting books on request from other
libraries through the exchange system. Most
libraries report an increase in borrowing over the
last few years, so television does not seem to be
stopping people from reading, as it was feared that
it would.
19. It is explained in the passage that any book
that is not available in one library .............
a. won't be available at any library
b. can be brought from another
c. discourages people from using libraries
d. spoils the whole lending system of the public
libraries
e. ought to be reported to the librarian
20. As stressed in the passage, people nowadays
----.
a. prefer entertaining television programs to
reading
b. are using public libraries more than they used to
in the past
c. read a lot but don't use the libraries much
d. complain a great deal about the poor services the
libraries are offering
e. are using the exchange system less and less often
21. The passage gives us the impression that public
libraries .............
a. charge more than is necessary for the services
given
b. are no more receiving any financial support from
local authorities
c. are working tremendously efficiently at present
d. do not cooperate with one another at all
e. are understaffed and poorly equipped
The Falklands are a group of small islands in the
South Atlantic close to Argentina, with a population
of 1,200 British citizens. They have been British
territory ever since 1892. Disputes about who owns
the islands go back to the eighteenth century.
Argentina has long alleged that these islands, which
they call the Malvinas, belong to them. They invaded
the islands in April 1982 and the Falkland War
lasted until July 1982 when British forces won them
back. The Falkland War had an massive impact on
Britain and is still controversial. Some people see
it as a restoration of Britain's old imperial power.
22. It is emphasized in the passage that both
Britain and Argentina ---.
a. were reluctant to start the Falklands War
b. regard the Falklands as their own territory
c. realize that these islands are of no importance
to anyone
d. prefer to use the name 'Malvinas' for these
islands
e. simply laid claim to the islands after 1892
23. According to the passage, the Falklands War
.............
a. was being fought, on and off, between 1892 and
1982
b. was largely ignored by the British public
c. demonstrated how right Argentina was in claiming
the islands
d. was followed by a withdrawal of most British
citizens from the islands
e. broke out after the islands were invaded by
Argentina
24. One may infer from the passage that, even today,
Britain's hold over the Falkland Islands
.............
a. is considered as politically and economically
unnecessary by everyone in Britain
b. could, in all likelihood, lead to another war
between Britain and other powers
c. causes more problems than benefits to the British
public
d. is felt by some people to be a continuation of
the British imperial rule
e. has not been accepted anywhere but in Argentina
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