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 Belgium is a very old country, with a fascinating mixture of old customs and modern laws. Belgium weddings may be performed as a civil ceremony or as a religious ceremony. Traditionally, when a couple in Belgium wishes to announce their marriage, the wedding invitations are printed on two sheets of paper, one from the bride's family and one sheet from the...
Đọc tiếp
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
Belgium is a very old country, with a fascinating mixture of old customs and modern laws. Belgium weddings may be performed as a civil ceremony or as a religious ceremony.
Traditionally, when a couple in Belgium wishes to announce their marriage, the wedding invitations are printed on two sheets of paper, one from the bride's family and one sheet from the groom's family. These wedding invitations symbolize the union of the two families and the partnership of the new union.
An ancient Belgium custom that is designed to unite the two families calls for the bride to stop as she walks up the isle and to hand her mother a single flower. The two then embrace. Then, during the recessional, the bride and groom walk to the groom's mother and the new bride hands her new mother-in-law a single flower and the two of them embrace, symbolizing the bride's acceptance of her new mother.
One of the most important and enduring traditions of the Belgium wedding is for the bride to carry a specially embroidered handkerchief that has her name embroidered on it. After the wedding this handkerchief is framed and hung on the wall in a place of honor. When the next female member of the bride's family is to be wed, the handkerchief is removed from its frame, the new bride's name is embroidered onto it, and it is passed down. The wedding handkerchief is passed from generation to generation, and is considered an important family heirloom.
During the wedding mass, the bride and the groom are enthroned in two large chairs placed near the altar, symbolizing that on this day and in this place they are the king and the queen. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the groom slips the wedding ring onto the third finger of his bride's left hand. The ring, being an endless circle, symbolizes never-ending love, and the third finger of the left hand is believed to hold the vein that travels to the heart, symbolizing love. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the bride and groom share their first kiss as husband and wife. The kiss is considered a symbolic act of sharing each other's spirit as the couple each breathes in a portion of their new mate's soul.
The bridesmaids traditionally take up a collection of coins and as the bride and groom exit the church, the bridesmaids toss the coins to the poor outside the church. Giving gifts of money to the poor helps to insure prosperity for the new bride and groom.
Following the wedding the bride and groom are off on their honeymoon. In ancient times the honeymoon, which was celebrated by the drinking of mead, or honey wine, would last 28 days, one complete cycle of the moon. This was to make sure that the bride's family did not try to steal their daughter back from her new husband.
The following is true about Belgium's wedding, EXCEPT _______ .
A. The weddings in Belgium are not only a civil event but also a religious one
B. The wedding invitations are the symbol of both the bride's and the groom's families
C. Each mother of the couple is given a single flower in their children's wedding
D. The bride often hugs her mother-in-law before embracing her mother
III. Fill in the gap with "a" or "the" to complete the passage.
(1) _____a___ wedding is the ceremony where (2) ____ a_____ couple gets married. On their wedding day, (3) ____the_______ bride and groom may exchange wedding gifts or rings. Before the wedding, the groom usually asks his brother, best friend or father to be his best man. (4) _the__ ______the_ best man helps the groom get ready for (5) _______the_____ ceremony and makes sure nothing goes wrong at the wedding. The bride may have one or more bridesmaids. The bridesmaid keeps (6) _______the____ bride calm, helps her get ready and looks after her dress. After the wedding ceremony, there is usually (7) ____a_________ reception for the guests. Traditionally, the bride and groom go on their honeymoon immediately after (8) ____the_________ wedding reception. Nowadays, (9) _____the_____ majority of couples wait for a few days before they leave on honeymoon
IV. Fill in the gap with a suitable article.
A man decided to rob (1)_a ___bank in the town where he lived. He walked into (2) _the___bank and handed (3) _a__note to one of (4) ___the__cashiers. (5) __the__cashier read (6)__the____note which told her to give (7) ___the__man some money. Afraid that he might have (8) __a__gun, she did as she was told. (9) _the___man then walked out of (10) _the__building, leaving (11) …the……..note behind. However, he had no time to spend (12) ……the…money because he was arrested (13)…the……same day. He had made (14)…a…..mistake. He had written (15)……the… note on the back of (16)…an… envelope. And on (17)…the…… other side of (18)……the ….envelope was his name and address. This clue was quite enough for (19) ..…the… detective on the case.