EXERCISE 2 YOU WILL HEAR PEOPLE TALKING IN 5 SITUATIONS. FOR QUESTIONS...

10. Which of the following would most likely be the topic of the next paragraph? A. a scientific explanation of acoustics and the nature of sound B. a description of people’s reactions to the newly renovated hall C. a discussion of the coffee shop that once was located in the building D. further discussion about the activities of Isaac Stern in 1960 Question 7. There are 5 blanks in the passage below. From the words given in the box, choose the most suitable for each blank. There are more words than blanks, so you don’t need all of them.(5 points). The Life and Work of J. Tolkein. 0: D Many authors become masters of a particular genre of fiction. But very few can claim to have had such an effect that they virtually have created the genre for themselves. One such author is J R R Tolkein. From his prolific imagination was created not only Middle Earth; the stage for his giant fantasy The Lord of the Rings, but also a whole genre of fantasy fiction which has since become known as "sword and sorcery". 1 Before Tolkein's work was published, fantasy was set in what was very near to the present for the authors. Also, the genre was very close to horror, and authors such as Lovell and Bram Stoker moved easily between the two. The the great American writer Edgar Allen Poe had recently brought out a work of what we would today call horror stories, but he had entitled it Tales of Mystery and Imagination, suggesting that he thought of it as fantasy. 2 Tolkein's distinctive contribution was to create a pseudo-medieval world and to populate it with wise wizards, bold knights, and a massive cast of other characters, including dwarfs, elves, and most of the other creatures of our folk memory. He also created his own contribution, the hobbit. Hobbits were small people, who had distinctive hairy feet. They were characterised by honest common sense and rather complex social lives. In all his works, it is evidently the hobbits with whom Tolkein sympathizes the most. 3 What made Tolkein's work so compelling was that it was a perfectly realized work of fantasy. Every detail in his stories rings true. This is because Tolkein spent so much time working and thinking about Middle Earth that the actual part which we have on paper is only a fraction of his research. His later books show clearly to what extent he had created this entire world, complete with detailed maps and even the languages of the major protagonists. 4 However, although Middle Earth is a towering work of fantasy, it has roots in reality. The Middle Earth of Tolkein is close to his own native Oxfordshire, both in the landscape of the Shire, and above all in the reactions and behaviour of its characters. The ethos is that of pre-war England, possibly because Tolkein could conceive of no other mode of behaviour, but more probably because his book can be read on many levels, and in only the most basic of the levels is the great struggle between light and darkness completely. 5 It must be remembered that Tolkein was writing in a time when one Great War had just finished, and another was about to begin. In his book, he stresses the bravery, and endurance of the small people without whom victory is impossible. This was the lesson that Tolkein felt had to be learned from the horrors of the Great War - the decisions which shape the destiny of nations are taken by an elite group, but they are implemented by the common people of the country. A. How to make fantasy seem real. E. The real Middle Earth B. A new best-seller. F. A new fantasy creature. C. Fantasy before Tolkein G. The experience of war D. The Master of Middle Earth. Example: Paragraph 0- D Question 8. Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to Who’s Taking Care of the Children? Around the world, more and more women are working outside home. In the United States, around 70 percent of women with children under 18 have another job besides that of mother and homemaker. Most are employed in tradionational fields for females such as clerical, sales, education, and service. However, a (1)__________ number choose a career that necessities spending many hours (2)__________home. These women are engineers, politicians, doctors, lawyers, and scientists, and a few have begun to (3)__________ executive positions in business, government, and banking, breaking through the (4) __________glass ceiling.Monetary factors (5)__________ woman to work. Some are employed full-time, some part-time, and some seek creative solutions such as flex-time work schedule and job sharing. But in most cases, one income in the household is simply not enough, so (6)__________ parents must work to support the family. A backward glance from this side of the new millennium (7)__________ that the role of married women in the U.S has changed radically since the 1950s and 1960s, when it was taken (8)__________that they would stay home and raise the children. This is still the image so often portrayed in American movies and advertising. In fact, traditional combination of the husband as exclusive (9)__________ and the wife as a stay-at-home mom caring for one or two children today (10)__________only ten percent of the population in the United States. Who, then, is taking care of the children?