Part 3: You are going to read a newspaper article by a British student who worked at a summer camp in the US. Seven paragraphs have been removed from the article. Choose from the paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap (124-130). There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use. (7 points)
SUMMER CAMP: A SOAP OPERA
Every June, thousands of British students fly to the United States to spend their holidays working at summer camps. In return, they get a free return flight, full board, pocket money and the chance to travel. Lucy Graham joined a camp and spent eight weeks working with six to sixteen-year-olds.
I applied at the last minute and was so thrilled at the prospect of spending the holidays doing something more exciting than working in the local supermarket that I hastily accepted the only job left - in the camp laundry.
(124) ___ On arrival I was told by the camp director that I would be doing the washing for 200 children - on my own. Any romantic dreams I'd had quickly turned into nightmare reality. For the first week, the party sent out by the jobs agency - nine students, including me - became a full-time cleaning squad, getting the place ready for its grand opening.
(125) ___ The children's arrival also brought 50 American counsellors to look after them, and the opening of the laundry. At first, I had to work from 8.45 in the morning till 10.30 at night to get all my work done. Considering there was no hot water in the laundry and the machines were old, the washing came out remarkably well.
(126) ___ The kitchen workers, maintenance man and myself found that we were on the lowest level of the camp's class system. Our four British counsellor friends had a much better time. They got friendly with their American colleagues and were respected by the children. They were also given tips by parents after the holiday.
(127) ___ As for the camp itself, it had a large lake and excellent sporting facilities. But because organised activities for the children carried on into the evening, we usually didn't get the chance to use them. However, much more annoying were my room-mates, three 18-year-old girls who worked in the dining room.
(128) ___ On top of that, the camp food was poor, with child-size portions; fresh fruit and vegetables were rare. One catering worker even stood over the pineapple rings, checking that you took only one each.
(129) ___ However, I couldn't set off as soon as the children left because we had to stay on for a few days, cleaning and closing down the camp. My last duty was to load up the rubbish bags and take out any clothes the children had thrown away, in case their parents asked about them.
(130) ___ What's more, without the free ticket I got to the US - and the rail ticket from my parents - I would never have seen Niagara Falls, gone up the Empire State Building or had my picture taken with Mickey Mouse at Disney World.
A They had never been away from home before, and spent most of the night screaming with excitement. Sometimes, the only way to get any rest was to pretend to be ill and sleep in the medical centre.
B We weren't so lucky. We were never invited to join in the evening activities. When we did manage to get out of the camp, our evenings tended to consist of eating ice-cream at the local gas station.
C As a result, the standard of the camp you end up in is usually a question of luck. However, the agencies do hold meetings where you can ask representatives from camps about the facilities and the nature of the work you will be expected to do.
D We swept out the bedrooms and scrubbed the lavatories, gymnasium and kitchen. We polished the cooking equipment, put up the sports nets and carried any luggage sent on ahead to the bedrooms.
E On the whole it had been well worth it. Despite the washing, the camp's plus points had been a beautiful setting, meeting a great bunch of travelling companions and doing far more reading for my university course than I would have done at home.
F All these disadvantages meant that Saturdays, our days off, were highly valued. The places we visited then, such as New York City, gave me an appetite for travelling later on. If I hadn't done that, I would have regretted it - there is so much to see and do and I was keen to get on with it.
G But with so many clothes to wash and dry, some did get mixed up. I had six-year-olds marching up and telling me that their parents would be very angry if I didn't find their favourite sweater.
H I started to have my doubts while squashed between the swimming instructor and the sports teacher during the three-hour minibus ride to the camp, which was in a tiny town about 90 miles from New York City.
Your answer:
124. ……….…………… 125. …………………… 126. ……………………
127. ……………………. 128. …………………… 129. ……………………
130. …………………….
Part 4: Read the passage and fill in each gap with ONE suitable word. (10 points)
We have seen photographs of the whole earth taken from great distances in outer space. This is the first time, the (131) ………….. first time, in man's long history that such pictures have been possible. (132) ………….. many years most people have believed that the earth was ball-shaped. A few thought it was round and (133) ………….., like a coin. Now we know, beyond doubt, that those few were (134) …………. The photographs show a ball-shaped (135) …………., bright and beautiful. In colour photographs of the earth, the sky is as (136) …………. as coal. The (137) ………….. looks much bluer than it usually does to us. All our grey (138) ………….. are a perfect white in colour; because, of course, the (139) ………… is for ever shining on them. We are (140) ………….. to live on the beautiful earth.
Giúp mk làm bài này thôi!
Chọn trọng âm khác:
Question 3. A. precede B. offer C. visit D. finish
Question 4. A. charity B. agency C. origin D. disaster
Chọn đáp án đúng:
Today, bicycles are elegantly simple machines that are common around the world. Many people ride bicycles for recreation, whereas others use them as a means of transportation. The first bicycle, called a draisienne, was invented in Germany in 1818 by Baron Karl de Drais de Sauerbrun. Because it was made of wood, the draisienne wasn’t very durable nor did it have pedals. Riders moved it by pushing their feet against the ground.
In 1839, Kirkpatrick Macmillan, a Scottish blacksmith, invented a much better bicycle. Macmillan’s machine had tires with iron rims to keep them from getting worn down. He also used foot- operated cranks, similar to pedals, so his bicycle could be ridden at a quick pace. (It) didn’t look much like the modern bicycle, though, because its back wheel was substantially larger than its front wheel.
Although Macmillan’s bicycles could be ridden easily, they were never produced in large numbers.
In 1861, Frenchman Pierre Michaux and his brother Ernest invented a bicycle with an improved crank mechanism. They called their bicycle a vélocipède, but most people called it a “bone shaker” because of the jarring effect of the wood and iron frame. Despite the unflattering nickname, the vélocipède was a hit. After a few years, the Michaux family was making hundreds of the machines
annually, mostly for fun-seeking young people.
Ten years later, James Starley, an English inventor, made several innovations
that (revolutionized) bicycle design. He made the front wheel many times larger than the back wheel, put a gear on the pedals to make the bicycle more efficient, and lightened the wheels by using wire spokes. Although this bicycle was much lighter and less tiring to ride, it was still clumsy, extremely top-heavy,
and ridden mostly for entertainment.
It wasn’t until 1874 that the first truly modern bicycle appeared on the scene. Invented by another Englishman, H. J. Lawson, the safety bicycle would look familiar to today’s cyclists. The safety bicycle had equal-sized wheels, which made it much less prone to toppling over. Lawson also attached a chain to the pedals to drive the rear wheel. By 1893, the safety bicycle had been further improved with air-filled rubber tires, a diamond-shaped frame, and easy braking. With the improvements provided by Lawson, bicycles became extremely popular and useful for transportation. Today, they are built, used, and enjoyed all over the world.
Question 44: Macmillan added iron rims to the tires of his bicycle to ______.
A. add weight to the bicycle B. make the tires last longer
C. make the ride less bumpy D. make the ride less tiring
Question 45: The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to ______.
A. his bicycle B. quick pace C. back wheel D. front wheel
Question 46: Which of the following would be the most uncomfortable bicycle to ride?
A. Starley’s bicycle B. the vélocipède
C. the modern bicycle D. the safety bicycle
Question 47: The first person to use a gear system on the bicycles was ______.
A. H. J. Lawson B. Kirkpatrick Macmillan
C. Pierre Michaux D. James Starley
Question 48: The underlined word “revolutionized” in the fourth paragraph most nearly means ______.
A. cancelled B. became outdated
C. changed drastically D. exercised control over
Question 49: There is enough information in this passage to show that ______.
A. several people contributed to the development of the modern bicycle
B. only a few vélocipèdes built by the Michaux family are still in existence
C. for most of the nineteenth century, few people rode bicycles just for fun
D. bicycles with wheels of different sizes cannot be ridden easily