Answer the following questions based on the reading passage.

Discrimination Against Gold Rush Immigrants

Immigrants came to California in the late 1840s and early 1850s for the Gold Rush. Many of them faced awful discrimination. They were not treated fairly by those around them.

Two of the largest immigrant groups were the Chinese and the Irish. Almost 50,000 Chinese came, attracted by the gold. In Ireland, the Potato Famine had killed thousands of Irish people between 1845 and 1849. There was not enough food for the people who lived there to eat. Those who were lucky were sponsored by wealthy patrons. The patrons paid travel expenses for them to start a new life in America.

The United States government gave in to the pressure of citizens and passed some unfair laws during this time. In 1850, immigrant miners were forced to pay a Foreign Miners Tax of $20 per month. That gave the immigrant only the right to look for gold alongside the other miners. Many had to give up their dreams of gold. They were not able to pay the tax.

By the 1870s, the Irish and Chinese populations in California were very large. Many citizens grew worried. They thought the immigrants were trying to take their jobs. They thought they were using resources that belonged to them.

Chinese and Irish immigrants were sometimes forced off their land. Some were told they must live in certain cities or areas. The land where they had lived was taken over by squatters. Squatters are people who settle on land they do not own in the hopes of claiming it after a period of time. The immigrants struggled to find jobs or had to take hard jobs for very little pay. Occasionally, immigrants went on strike to try to improve their working conditions and pay. The strikes were not usually successful.

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 prevented any more Chinese immigrants from coming to the United States. The law was not changed until 1943.

You read that the Chinese and Irish were made to live in certain areas. Do you think this was fair? Why?

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Who were the two immigrant groups that suffered discrimination?

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What did the Foreign Miners Tax of 1850 make immigrants do?

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If you had been an immigrant who went to the Gold Rush, would you have stayed even though there was discrimination? Why?

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

When the Titanic crashed into the iceberg, the crew quickly sent out distress signals to alert nearby ships of the disaster and request their help.

A. amusing 

B. strange 

C. bold 

D. help

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheer to indicate the most suitable response to complete each of the following exchanges.

Nancy and James are talking about their school days.

– Nancy: "I think school days are the best time of our lives."

– James: " ______ . We had sweet memories together then."

A. Absolutely 

B. That's nonsense 

C. I'm afraid so 

D. I doubt it 

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word or phrase that is CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined part in each of the following questions from 1 to 2. 

When the Titanic crashed into the iceberg, the crew quickly sent out distress signals to alert nearby ships of the disaster and request their help. 

A. amusing 

B. strange 

C. bold 

D. help 

11 Americans              the tradition of volunteering and helping one another since the early days of the country.

     A. have had            B. has had                     C. had                    D. to have

12.My brother and I       a white tiger already.

     A. have seen           B. has seen              C. see                    D. are seeing

13.I       blood twice, and       presents to sick children in the hospital recently.

     A. donate - give                                                B. donated — gave

     C. have donated - have given                        D. have donated - gave

14.How many novels       Charles Dickens         ?

     A. does - write       B. have - written          C. did - written            D. did - write

15.We       to Ha Noi several times, but last summer we      there by train.

     A. flew - went                                                   B. has flown - went        

     C. have flown - have gone                              D. have flown - went

The festival of Diwali is one of the most important religious festival in India. It lasts for five days around the end of October. It is the (1)............... of Lakshimi, the Goddest who is in the Hindu religion, bring peace and properity.

Preparations for the festival begin several weeks (2)................... the festival. People clean and decorate their homes, prepare special food and buy new clothes and jewelry to welcome the Goddes in their (3)...................All over India, people light up their homes with oil lamps and colourful lights.

The celebrations (4)................. on the darkest night of the lunar month, Amavasya. In the evening, (5).................. fill the sky to make Diwali a true " Festival of Light "

1. A. festival B. celebration C. ceremory D. anniversary

2. A. during B. after C. before D. in

3. A. villages B. homes C. offices D. schools

4. A. hold B. take part C. go D. take place

A. fireworks B. stars C. lights D. moom

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.

In the past, both men and women were expected to be married at quite young ages. Marriages were generally arranged by parents and family, with their children having little chance to say no in the matter. In the past, it was not surprising to find that a bride and groom had only just met on the day of their engagement or marriage. In modern Vietnam, this has changed completely as people choose their own marriage-partners based on love, and in consideration primarily to their own needs and wants. Moreover early marriage is quite illegal.

The traditional Vietnamese wedding is one of the most important of traditional Vietnamese occasions. Regardless of westernization, many of the age-old customs practiced in a traditional Vietnamese wedding continue to be celebrated by both Vietnamese in Vietnam and overseas, often combining both western and eastern elements. Besides the wedding ceremony, there is also an engagement ceremony which takes place usually half a year or so before the wedding. The number of guests in attendance at these banquets is huge, usually in the hundreds. Several special dishes are served. Guests are expected to bring gifts, often money, which the groom and bride at one point in the banquet will go from table to table collecting.

In former days, the fact that a bride and groom had only first met just on the day of their engagement or marriage was _________.

A. surprising

B. popular

C. uncommon

D. strange

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.

In the past, both men and women were expected to be married at quite young ages. Marriages were generally arranged by parents and family, with their children having little chance to say no in the matter. In the past, it was not surprising to find that a bride and groom had only just met on the day of their engagement or marriage.

In modern Vietnam, this has changed completely as people choose their own marriage-partners based on love, and in consideration primarily to their own needs and wants. Moreover early marriage is quite illegal.

The traditional Vietnamese wedding is one of the most important of traditional Vietnamese occasions. Regardless of westernization, many of the age-old customs practiced in a traditional Vietnamese wedding continue to be celebrated by both Vietnamese in Vietnam and overseas, often combining both western and eastern elements. Besides the wedding ceremony, there is also an engagement ceremony which takes place usually half a year or so before the wedding. The number of guests in attendance at these banquets is huge, usually in the hundreds. Several special dishes are served. Guests are expected to bring gifts, often money, which the groom and bride at one point in the banquet will go from table to table collecting.

In former days, the fact that a bride and groom had only first met just on the day of their engagement or marriage was _________.

A. surprising

B. popular

C. uncommon

D. strange