Read the following texts and mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.
[21] Rice is (1) ________ by Vietnamese people every day. It often grows in tropical countries such as Vietnam, Thailand or Malaysia. (2) ________ Chinese have also been growing rice for thousands of years. The seeds are planted in special beds to grow into young rice plants. Then they are taken to fields covered (3) ________ muddy water called paddies. The fields of rice look very (4) ________. After 3 or 5 months, the rice is ready to be picked. People often drain away water before collecting rice.
Eating rice is a special action in the world. They don’t use spoons or forks to enjoy bowls of rice. (5) ________, they use two short sticks known as chopsticks to put rice into their mouths. China and Vietnam are the two countries in which people use chopsticks very well.
| 1. A. used | B. taken | C. eaten | D. boiled |
| 2. A. A | B. Some | C. The | D. Any |
| 3. A. in | B. by | C. with | D. of |
| 4. A. beauty | B. beautiful | C. beautifully | D. beautify |
| 5. A. However | B. Moreover | C. Besides | D. Instead |
[22] When you visit London, one of the first things you will see is Big Ben, the famous clock which can be heard all over the world on the BBC. If the Houses of Parliament hadn’t burned (1) ________ in 1834, the great clock would never have been erected. Big Ben takes its (2) ________ from Sir Benjamin Hall who was responsible for the making of the clock when the new Houses of Parliament were being built. It is not only of immense size, but is extremely accurate as well. Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked (3) ________ a day. On the BBC, you can hear the clock when it is actually striking because microphones (4) ________ to the clock tower. Big Ben has rarely gone wrong. Once, however, it failed to give the correct time. A painter (5) ________ had been working on the tower hung a pot of paint on one of the hands and slowed it down.
| 1. A. up | B. on | C. down | D. off |
| 2. A. place | B. name | C. fame | D. time |
| 3. A. two | B. two time | C. couple | D. twice |
| 4. A. connects | B. are connected | C. is connected | D. connect |
| 5. A. who | B. whom | C. which | D. where |
[23] Garbage is what someone leaves behind that they do not want to use anymore. It can also be called waste or rubbish. (1) ______ definition of garbage is anything left behind at a place where you used to be, but are not anymore. In modern home and businesses, (2) ______, garbage is normally separated and put where it can be collected and taken to a place designed to hold, burn, or recycle garbage.
Smoke is a cloud of very small, solid parts. It is made when (3) ______ something. Smoke can be bad because if it goes into the lungs of a person, it can kill them. (4) ______ people think that they are always (5) ______ to see smoke, but it can also be invisible (a thing that a person is not able to see).
| 1. A. A | B. An | C. The | D. No article |
| 2. A. but | B. however | C. therefore | D. moreover |
| 3. A. burn | B. to burn | C. burning | D. burned |
| 4. A. Almost | B. The most | C. Most of | D. Most |
| 5. A. could | B. possible | C. capable | D. able |
[24] A POWERFUL INFLUENCE
There can be no doubt at all that the Internet has made a huge difference to our lives. Parents are worried that children spend too (1) ______ time playing on the Internet, hardly ever doing anything else in their spare time. Naturally, parents are curious to find out why the Internet is so attractive, and they want to know if it can be (2) ______ for their children. Should parents worry is their children are spending that much time staring at their computers?
Obviously, if children are bent over their computers for hours, absorbed in some games, (3) ______ doing their homework, then something is wrong. Parents and children could decide how much use the children should (4) ______ of the Internet, and the children should give their word that it won’t interfere with homework. If the children are not holding to this arrangement, the parents can take more drastic steps. Dealing with a child’s use of the Internet is not much different from negotiating any other sort of bargain about behaviour.
Any parent who is seriously alarmed about a child’s behaviour should make an appointment to discuss the matter with a teacher. Spending time in front of (5) ______ screen does not necessarily affect a child’s performance at school. Even if a child is absolutely crazy about using the Internet, he or she is probably just going through a phase, and in a few months there will be something else to worry about.
| 1. A. many | B. few | C. much | D. a little |
| 2. A. harm | B. harmless | C. harmlessly | D. harmful |
| 3. A. in spite of | B. instead of | C. because of | D. on account of |
| 4. A. cause | B. take | C. make | D. create |
| 5. A. a | B. an | C. the | D. no article |
[25] Singapore is an island city of about three million people. It’s a beautiful city with (1) ______ of parks and open spaces. It’s also a very clean city.
Most of the people live in high-rise flats in different parts of (2) ______ island. The business district is very modern with lots of high new office buildings. Singapore also has some nice older sections. In Chinatown, there are rows of old shop houses. The government (3) ______ in Singapore are very beautiful and date from the colonial days.
Singapore is (4) ______ for its shops and restaurants. There are many good shopping centers. Most of the goods are duty free. Singapore’s restaurants sell Chinese, Indian, Malay and European food, (5) ______ the prices are quite reasonable.
| 1. A. much | B. many | C. lot | D. lots |
| 2. A. a | B. an | C. the | D. no article |
| 3. A. build | B. builders | C. building | D. buildings |
| 4. A. beautiful | B. famous | C. full | D. crowded |
| 5. A. and | B. but | C. although | D. if |
