Passage 1

The cross-cultural spread of English is unprecedented in other ways.  It is more widely used than any of the other colonial languages like French, Portuguese, or Spanish.  It even has  a wider  use than  some  of the  languages  associated  with  international  non-Western religious traditions  like  Sanskrit.  In  countries like  India and Nigeria,  English is  used at all levels of society: in local English-language newspapers and broadcasting, in public administration,  in university  education,  in the  major  industries,  the courts  and  the civil service. Indeed, with nearly 200 languages, India needs English to unify the country. Professor Lal, a champion of Indian English, who runs a well-known writers’ workshop, claims that in simple numerical terms, in a country of over a billion, ‘more Indians speak English and write English than in England itself ….  You know what Malcolm Muggeridge said:  “The last Englishman left will be an Indian.”

1- As stated in the passage, English is very important in India because                    

2 .As inferred from the passage, Malcolm Mugger ridge said that                  .

3. According to the passage, the cross-cultural spread of English is                     .

4. It can be understood from the passage that English is used                     .

5. According  to the  passage,  English  is  more  important  than  other  colonial  languages because  it is….                     .

Passage 2

Desertification is the process in which farmland becomes less productive because the land is degraded. The land becomes more desert-like, that is, dry and unproductive. Desertification is a serious problem because it turns arid and semiarid areas into nonproductive wasteland. In desertification, natural vegetation is removed or destroyed, and soil is exposed to wind. Without shade from the sun, the moisture in the soil evaporates more quickly. The dry top layers of soil particles then blow away. The soil becomes less able to support plant life.

There are different solutions to the growing problem of desertification. Each depends on the underlying cause. Some simple solutions are to build sand fences that interrupt the wind, or to use straw mats to reduce evaporation so young plants can take root. Still another is to use solar ovens in place of open fires that require fire wood. Planting tree fences and grass belts also reduces the spread of sandy areas. This practice is being used in China and Africa today.

1.Paragraph 1 mainly discusses the …………… .

2 The word “exposed” in line 5 is closest in meaning to ………………. .

3. Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?

4. It can be inferred from paragraph 2 that wind ………………. .

5. The word “another” in line It refers to ………………. .

Passage 3

Immigrants have added much richness to American culture. But living in such a diverse country also has its difficulties. For example, immigrants tend to settle in cities where they can find other people from their homeland. As a result, some cities end up with high percentages of immigrants, many of whom do not speak English. These people face limited employment options and are more likely to live in poverty.
Diversity also affects education. Most immigrant children learn to speak and read English, but that learning does not happen overnight. In some places, such as California, teachers have classes in which students speak several different languages. Teaching such a group English-or any other subject-can be a tough job.
Finally, diversity sometimes leads to debate. Many people say that the United States is a melting pot. By that, they mean that over time, people who come to the United States adopt a uniform American culture. In recent times, some people have objected to that idea. They believe that a person does not have to give up his or her language or customs to be an American. Instead, they like to describe the United States as a quilt or a mosaic, in which many individual pieces make up the whole but still remain unique.

1. The passage mainly discusses ………………. .

2. According to paragraph 1, some cities have the highest percentages of immigrants because immigrants tend to settle in areas where ………… .

3. It can be inferred from paragraph 1 that if the newcomers want to gain employment in the U.S., they need to …………….. .

4. The word “overnight” in line 7 is closest in meaning to ………………. .

5. It can be inferred from paragraph 2 that California is one of the states with ………………….. .

6. In paragraph 3, the author ………………. .

7. The author uses the expression “melting pot” in line 11 to refer to the……………. .

8. The word “that” in line 11 refers to………..

9. The word “objected to” in line 13 is closest in meaning to …………. .

10. Those who describe the United States as a quilt believe that immigrants………………. .

Passage 4

Plato in the Timaeus first mentioned a legendary island in the Atlantic Ocean beyond the Pillars of Hercules. Atlantis was a fabulously beautiful and prosperous land, the seat of an empire nine thousand years before Solon. Its inhabitants over ran part of Europe and Africa, Athens alone being able to defy them. Because of the impiety of its people, the island was destroyed by an earthquake and inundation. The legend may have existed before Plato and may have sprung from the concepts of Homer’s Elysium. The possibility that such an island once existed has caused much speculation, resulting in a theory that pre-Columbian civilizations in America were established by colonists from the lost island.

1. Which of the following titles best explains the ideas of this passage?

2. According to the passage, we may safely conclude that the inhabitants of Atlantis ……………… .

3. According to the legend, Atlantis was destroyed because the inhabitants……

4. According the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

5. From the last sentence of the passage it can be inferred that ……….. .