Unit 1 : A visit from a pen pal

I.      Use the correct form of the word given to complete each sentence.

1.      They were reunited after a __________ of more than 20 years. (separate)

2.      Everyone was very __________ to me. (friend)

3.      He plays an __________ part in politics. (act)

4.      He has been the BBC’s political __________ for many years. (correspond)

5.      We were most __________ by the beauty of the landscape. (impress)

I.        Choose the best answer among a, b, c or d that best completes each sentence.

1.      The Singaporean unit of _____ is dollar.

a. length                        b. height                           c. volume                         d. currency

2.      Buddhism is the official _____ of Thailand.

a. region                        b. religion                         c. language                       d. capital

3.      Lan and Maryam are pen pals. They _____ at least once every two months.

a. write                          b. correspond                   c. exchange                      d. visit

4.      A person with whom one becomes friendly by corresponding is a _____.

a. writer                        b. pen-name                     c. pen-friend                    d. pen-writer

5.      They really enjoy the peaceful _____ in Vietnam.

a. impression                 b. atmosphere                  c. faces                             d. expression

6.      Is physical education _____ in your school?

a. additional                  b. national                        c. traditional                    d. compulsory

7.      Vietnam is one of the countries of the _____ of Southeast Asian Nations.

a. Affection                  b. Association                  c. Federation                    d. Administration

8.      The _____ language of Malaysia is Bahasa Malaysia.

a. national                     b. international                 c. country                         d. continental

9.      Malaysia is divided into two _____, known as West Malaysia and East Malaysia.

a. sections                     b. regions                         c. nations                         d. places

10.  My grandmother is very _____. She goes to pagoda every week.

a. religion                      b. religious                       d. relation                         d. relative

I.       Read the following passage and choose the item (a, b, c, or d) that best answers each of the questions about it.

Of all the natural wonders of the world, few are as spectacular as Niagara Falls. Located on the Niagara River along the border between the United States and Canada, Niagara Falls actually consists of two falls, the American Falls and the Horseshoe Falls. The former is on the US side of the border, in the state of New York, while the latter is on the Canadian side. About 85% of the water in Niagara River flows over the Horseshoe Falls, which is the more impressive of the two falls.

About 10 million people visit the falls each year, most during the summer tourist season. Sightseers can ride steamers up close to the boiling water of the falls, or view them from parks on both sides of the river. Niagara Falls has long been a popular honeymoon destination for newlyweds.

26. Which of the following is entirely on the US side of the border with Canada?

            a. Niagara River           b. American Falls            c. Niagara Falls                d. Horseshoe Falls

27. It can be inferred from the passage that Horseshoe Falls _____.

      a. is the larger of the two falls

      b. is the less impressive fall

      c. has 15% of the Niagara River flowing over its edge

      d. is in the state of New York

28. According to the passage, people prefer to visit Niagara Falls in the _____.

      a. spring                        b. summer                        c. fall                                d. winter

29. Which of the following is not true?

      a. According to the passage, Niagara Falls is the most spectacular wonder of the world.

      b. Niagara Falls is located on the Niagara River.

      c. The American Falls and the Horseshoe Falls compose the Niagara Falls.

      d. American Falls is the less impressive of the two falls.

30. In the author judgement, _____.

      a. Niagara Falls is most beautiful during the summer tourist season.

      b. Niagara Falls is a very popular tourist attraction, especially with honeymooners.

      c. American Falls is more beautiful than Horseshoe Falls.

      d. The waters of the two falls is very hot.

I.      Choose the word (a, b, c or d) that best fits each of the blank spaces.

From a European perspective, the first explores were engaged in the settlement and discovery of the 'new world'. However, the history of the United States is but a recent episode (16) _____ comparison with the history of the North America continent and its (17) _____. Between 54 million and 2 million years ago, the continent evolved into the form we know today. At least 15,000 to 20,000 years ago, nomadic hunters began to migrate from Asia across the Bering Strait.

By the fifteenth century, when the European nations were 'discovering' America, the country (18) _____ by minimum of 2 million natives. Most of the tribes had developed some kind of agriculture or (19) _____ while remaining as hunters and retaining nomadic characteristics. They roamed the high western plains, hunted mountain valleys, and farmed along the river from coast to coast. There was considerable diversity and there (20) _____ several hundred different languages among the wide-ranging tribes. Several tribes, such as Iroquois, were very (21) _____ in achieving political unit and extending their influence.

The native (22) _____ were very well adapted to their environment and without the aid of natives, the first European settlers might not have survived. Many native vegetables, (23) _____ maize and potatoes became important staples. Moreover, native trackers, guided expeditions and taught hunters and explorers the ways of the land. For years, U.S. history began with Columbus, but today the cultures and contributions of the early inhabitants of the Americans (24) _____ studied and acknowledged. The story of the North America begins the true origin of the continent and (25) _____ people

16. a. in                               b. on                                 c. when                            d. Æ

17. a. civil                           b. people                          c. civilian                         d. inhabitant

18. a. was inhabited            b. inhabited                      c. has been inhabited       d. had inhabited

19. a. fish                            b. fishes                           c. fishing                          d. fisher

20. a. was                            b. were                             c. had been                       d. has been

21. a. success                      b. succeed                        c. successful                     d. successfully

22. a. people                       b. peoples                         c. nations                         d. settlers

23. a. so like                        b. example                       c. such as                         d. so as

24. a. had                            b. has                               c. is                                  d. are

25. a. it’s                             b. hers                              c. this                               d. its

I.        Find the one choice that best completes the sentence.

1.      When the road _____, go left.

a. divides                      b. turns                             c. bends                           d. connects

2.      Their future _____ on how well they do in school.

a. depends                    b. decides                        c. denies                           d. determines

3.      The _____ from my family and friends made me very unhappy.

a. separate                     b. separation                    c. separating                     d. separately

4.      Freeman is _____ in the title role, playing a disillusioned cop.

a. impress                      b. impression                    c. impressive                    d. impressing

5.      Most kids love _____ shows.

a. punk                          b. puppet                          c. punch                           d. talk

6.      Egypt is famous _____ ancient pyramids.

a. for                             b. on                                 c. to                                  d. from

7.      Wilson now found himself leading a weak and _____ party.

a. divides                      b. dividing                       c. divided                        d. dividend

8.      ‘I took the TOEFL. It was really hard.’ ~ ‘_____ a lot before you took it?’

a. Have you studied     b. Did you studied           c. Had you studied          d. Do you study

9.      The girl wishes she _____ in Hue for the festival next week.

a. had stayed                 b. could stay                    c. stay                              d. was staying

10.  I _____ on the subways in New York City.

a. haven’t never ridden                                         b. have never ridden

c. haven’t never ride                                             d. have never ride

11.  Did you say that you _____ here only three days ago?

a. came                          b. have come                    c. had came                      d. come

12.  The country’s population consists of three main _____ groups.

a. ethnic                        b. ethic                             c. ethnicity                       d. ethical

13.  A school outfit is no longer _____.

a. compulsory               b. option                          c. comprise                       d. compromise

14.  Many Canadians spend their vacations in warmer _____.

a. air                              b. atmosphere                  c. weather                        d. climate

15.  The plane landed at Heathrow _____.

a. Station                      b. Port                              c. Bay                              d. Airport

I.         Read the following passage and choose the item (a, b, c, or d) that best answers each of the questions about it.

According to the census of 1800, the United States of America contained 5,308,483 persons. In the same year the British Islands contained upwards of fifteen million; the French Republic, more than twenty-seven million. Nearly one-fifth of American people were black slaves; the true political population consisted of four and a half million free whites, or less than one million able-bodied males, on whose shoulders fell the burden of a continent. Even after two centuries of struggle the land still untamed; forests covered every portion, except here and there a strip of cultivated soil; the minerals lay undisturbed in their rocky beds, and more than two-thirds of the people clung to the seaboard within fifty miles of tidewater, where alone the wants of civilized life could be supplied.

26. In the United States of America in 1800 _____.

      a. one out of every twenty-five Americans was a black slave

      b. one out of every four Americans was a black slave

      c. two out of every three Americans were black slaves

      d. one out of every five Americans was a black slave

27. What is the true political population in America in 1800?

      a. About four-fifths of the population.                  b. About one-fifth of the population.

      c. 5,308,483.                                                         d. Less than one million

28. Which of the following is not true?

      a. About one-fifth of American people were black slaves in 1800.

      b. Two-thirds of the American people live on the seaboard.

      c. In 1800, the land was still untamed.

      d. In 1800, strips of cultivated land were everywhere.

29. In the context of the paragraph, the word “untamed” means _____.

      a. calm                          b. dangerous                    c. uncultivable                 d. bad

30. How long had the struggle to tame the American continent been going on in 1800?

      a. About two hundred years.                                 b. A little more than a century.

      c. About fifty years.                                              d. Since 1750.

I.      Choose the word (a, b, c or d) that best fits each of the blank spaces.

Named (16) _____ an ex-Governor of New South Wales, Sydney is the State’s capital (17) _____. Located on the south-east coast of Australia in the temperate zone, it enjoys a mild (18) _____, averaging 14.5 hours of sunshine per day (19) _____ summer and 10.25 hours in winter. It is also the largest, oldest and perhaps the most beautifully situated city in Australia. (20) _____ established by the British as a convict settlement in 1788, it is a modern cosmopolitan city that has developed into one of the nation’s major industrial, business, and (21) _____ centers.

Sydney is (22) _____ to nearly 4.2 million people (as at 1995). The suburbs reach out from the city center and harbor creating a metropolitan area of about 1000 square kilometers. The 57 square kilometer harbor is one of the largest in the world and famous (23) _____ the unmistakable 134 high arch of the Harbour Bridge and the graceful sails (24) _____ the Opera House. It is a busy waterway with ferries, freighters, hydrofoils and (25) _____ craft.

16. a. of                              b. like                               c. as                                  d. after

17. a. area                           b. part                              c. city                               d. role

18. a. wind                          b. atmosphere                  c. degree                          d. climate

19. a. in                               b. at                                  c. on                                 d. when

20. a. First                           b. Firstly                          c. At first                         d. First of all

21. a. manufacture              b. manufacturing             c. manufactory                 d. manufacturer

22. a. root                           b. house                           c. home                            d. hometown

23. a. on                              b. of                                 c. to                                  d. for

24. a. from                          b. of                                 c. to                                  d. in

25. a. please                        b. pleasant                        c. pleased                         d. pleasure

I.      Find the one choice that best completes the sentence.

1.      Coffee will not grow _____ a cold climate.

a. in                               b. on                                 c. at                                  d. with

2.      I know I can _____ on my friends to help me.

a. depend                      b. divide                          c. carry                             d. call

3.      The book is _____ into ten chapters.

a. divided                     b. formed                         c. changed                       d. shared

4.      He made a good _____ on his first day at work.

a. impress                      b. impression                    c. impressive                    d. impressions

5.      I _____ that he was driving a new car.

a. noted                         b. noticed                         c. notion                           c. noticeable

6.      Cut the cake into eight _____ pieces.

a. separated                   b. separation                    c. separate                        d. separately

7.      This island was once French _____.

a. territory                     b. terrorist                        c. terrorism                       d. terror

8.      The house _____ three bedrooms, a kitchen and a living room.

a. includes                     b. consists                        c. combines                      d. comprises

9.      The new country hopes to establish _____ relations with all its neighbors.

a. friend                        b. friendly                        c. friendliness                  d. friendship

10.  The _____ of a murdered dairymaid is said to walk the farmyard at night.

a. ghost                         b. monster                        c. soul                              d. shade

11.  They _____ with leading European scholars.

a. correspond                b. correlate                       c. correct                          d. correspondence

12.  ‘Did you meet Ann here at the university?’ ~ ‘No, we _____ when I started college.’

a. have already met                                               b. had already met

c. had already been meeting                                 d. have already been meeting

13.  ‘Would you like to go to the band concert?’ ~ ‘Thanks, but I _____ it already.’

a. had seen                    b. have been seeing         c. have seen                     d. did see

14.  ‘What did you do last night?’ ~ ‘I watched TV, practiced the violin, and _____ my homework.’

a. made                         b. have made                   c. have done                    d. did

15.  ‘Why is Teddy so sad?’ ~ ‘Because his bird _____ away.’

a. flown                        b. flew                             c. fly                                d. had flown

I.       Read the following passage and choose the item (a, b, c, or d) that best answers each of the questions about it.

Las Vegas, Nevada, is the most famous city for gambling in the United States. It started in 1905 as a small train stop. There were only a few buildings in the desert. In 1946, a famous gangster named Bugsy Siegel built the first casino. He was murdered in 1947. This made him and Las Vegas more famous! In the early 1950s, tourists went to Las Vegas not only to gamble. They went to watch atomic bomb tests in the desert outside the city. In those days, people didn't know it was dangerous. They thought it was exciting.

Las Vegas is also famous for its many wedding chapels. Like all of Las Vegas, they are open twenty-four hours a day. Getting married is easy. A couple just pays a few dollars for a license, and they can get married immediately. They don't have to wait. Many famous movie stars were married in Las Vegas.

26. Nevada _____.

      a. is a famous city for gambling                            b. is another name of Las Vegas

      c. is a state in the United States of America         d. is the capital of Las Vegas

27. The word “this” in the first paragraph refers to _____.

            a. the fact that Bugsy Siegel was murdered         b. Siegel’s first casino

            c. the fact that Siegel built the first casino            d. a famous gangster

28. People used to think that watching atomic bomb tests _____.

      a. was dangerous                                                   b. was thrilling                

      c. might be a quiz show                                        d. should be prohibited

29. In the context of the passage, the word “chapel” in the last paragraph means _____.

      a. room                          b. hotel                             c. big pagoda                   d. small church

30. Which of the following is not true?

      a. Las Vegas is a place for gambling.

      b. In 1905, there were only a few buildings at the place now called Las Vegas.

      c. Bugsy Siegel was a famous gangster.

      d. The only things that make Las Vegas famous are wedding chapels.

I.        Choose the word (a, b, c or d) that best fits each of the blank spaces.

An American professor who has studied the Mayas has come up (16) _____ a new theory about the sudden end of their empire. According to Professor Richard Hansen, an archaeologist (17) _____ the University of California; the collapse of the Mayan (18) _____ in Central America was (19) _____ about by the Mayas (20) _____.

Their object was to display their wealth and power by making their buildings and decoration as beautiful as (21) _____. This involved using large quantities of lime, which they put (22) _____ the walls to make them smooth. Unfortunately, the creation of lime is a process which requires intense heat, and they (23) _____ had to cut down huge numbers (24) _____ trees. This affected the quality of the soil, and it (25) _____ almost impossible to farm.

16. a. with                           b. to                                 c. for                                d. about

17. a. in                               b. at                                  c. on                                 d. belongs to

18. a. civil                           b. civilians                        c. civilize                          d. civilization

19. a. brought                     b. turned                          c. came                             d. made

20. a. themselves       b. themself     c. theirself      d. theyselves

21. a. popular                      b. suitable                        c. possible                        d. available

22. a. in                               b. on                                 c. for                                d. to

23. a. however                    b. therefore                      c. moreover                      d. besides

24. a. on                              b. of                                 c. for                                d. Æ

25. a. become                      b. becomes                       c. has become                  d. became