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Passage One

 I was born February 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families － second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks, some of whom now reside in Adams, and others in Macon County, Illinois. My paternal grandfather, Abraham Lincoln, emigrated from Rockingham County, Virginia, to Kentucky about 1781 or 1782, where a year or two later he was killed by the Indians, not in battle, but by stealth, when he was laboring to open a farm in the forest. His ancestors, who were Quakers, went to Virginia from Berks County, Pennsylvania. An effort to identify them with the New England family of the same name ended in nothing more definite than a similarity of Christian names in both families, such as Enock, Levi, Moerdecai, Solomon, Abraham, and the like.

    My father, at the death of his father, was but six years of age, and he grew up literally without education. He removed from Kentucky to what is now Spencer County, Indiana, in my eighth year. We reached our new home about the time the state came into the Union. It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods. There I grew up. There were some schools, so called, but no qualification was ever required of a teacher beyond "readin', writin', and cipherin'" to the rule of three. If a straggler supposed to understand Latin happened to sojourn in the neighborhood, he was looked upon as a wizard. There was absolutely nothing to excite ambition for education. Of course, when I came of age I did not know much. Still, somehow, I could read, write, and cipher to the rules of three, but that was all. I have not been to school since. The little advance I now have upon this store of education, I have picked up from time to time under the pressure of necessity.

    I was raised to farm work, which I continued till I was twenty-two. At twenty-one I came to Illinois, Macon County. Then I got to New Salem, at that time in Sangamon, now in Menard County, where I remained a year as a sort of clerk in a store. Then came the Black Hawk War; and I was elected a captain of volunteers, a success which gave me more pleasure than any I have had since. I went to the campaign, was elated, ran for the legislature the same year (1832), and was beaten － the only time I ever have been beaten by the people. The next and three succeeding biennial elections I was elected to the legislature. I was not a candidate afterward. During this legislative period I had studied law, and removed to Springfield to practice it. In 1846 I was once elected to the lower House of Congress. Was not a candidate for re-election. From 1849 to 1854, both inclusive, practiced law more assiduously than ever before. Always a Whig in politics; and generally on the Whig electoral tickets, making active canvasses. I was losing interest in politics when the repeal of the Missouri Compromise aroused me again. What I have done since then is pretty well known.

    If any personal description of me is thought desirable, it may be said I am, in height, six feet four inches, nearly; lean in flesh, weighing on an average one hundred and eighty pounds; dark complexion, with coarse black hair and gray eyes. No other marks or brands recollected.

(594 words)

1. Abraham Lincoln wrote in 1859 the above autobiographical sketch from which we learn that ______ .( D )

(a) his parents were born of distinguished families

(b) his mother died when he was only one year old

(c) his paternal grandfather emigrated from Kentucky

(d) his paternal ancestors were Quakers

2. Which of the following is true? ( B )

(a) Lincoln's father had an elementary schooling.

(b) In his eighth year Lincoln removed to a county in Indiana.

(c) There were no schools where Lincoln grew up.

(d) The children where Lincoln grew up  were highly ambitious.

3. According to Lincoln, _____________.( C )

(a) he had little education when he came of age

(b) he could read and write and knew much when he came of age

(c) he had to teach himself after he came of age

(d) he benefited much from the education he had when he was a child

4. In his political career, Lincoln __________. ( C )

(a) never lost an election

(b) often lost elections

(c) lost only one election

(d) was always against Whigs

5. Absent from the above short prose piece is Lincoln's __________. ( D )

(a) simplicity

(b) modesty

(c) humor

(d) self-advertising skill                                           

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Passage Two

    National traits or habits of thinking and acting are reflected in the language. Americans have sometimes had a reputation for always being in a hurry, perhaps as a result of the fact that one time there was much to be done in a new country and there was a sense of immediacy about doing it. In this modern age this trait may characterize people throughout the world, particularly in big cities. A reflection of it in language is the use of abbreviations. The Englishman has his "telly" (television) and his "fridge" (refrigeration) － American puts "gas" (gasoline) in his car, goes to the "movies" (moving pictures), and drinks a "coke" (Coca-Cola). A student at an American university may study "math" (mathematics) or "trig" (trigonometry), or perhaps specialize in "soc" (sociology) or "edpsych" (educational psychology), and go to the "gym" (gymnasium) for a "PE" (physical education) class. Perhaps the most common American abbreviation is the ubiquitous "OK" known from Berlin to Bangkok, from Manila to Rio. Sometimes it seems to be the one term that a foreign visitor to America feels secure in using. Many sources of its origin have been suggested, the most common of which is that it is a humorous abbreviation for "all correct."

    The informality of Americans is another trait sometimes commented on. There is a freedom in use of language. Americans may be generally less concerned with fine distinctions between terms such as "rather than" as opposed to "instead of" or "lend" as opposed to "loan" than are their British cousins. Yet along with this informality there has been in America a glorification of the commonplace that perhaps reflects a longing for the niceties of European civilization that were not found in the rough, new world. In the past century it was customary for small towns to have an "opera house," though few ever had grand opera performed in them; the local gathering place for the consumption of alcoholic beverages was the "saloon," adapted from the French "salon," or drawing room. A liking for titles is seen in the use of terms "professor" and "doctor" not only on college campuses but in situations less appropriate as well. Occupations take on Latinized names. Thus there are "morticians," "beauticians," "cosmeticians." A refuse collector becomes a "sanitary engineer." There is a yearning to be citified as a mark of refinement. In a society based on farming, the noon meal was the large meal of the day and was called "dinner," while the term "supper" was reserved for a lighter meal in the evening. In the cities, however, dinner was served in the evening, and it was considered countrified or "small town" to speak of dinner in the middle of the day. Though language is often informal in the U.S.A., correctness in grammatical form or in pronunciation and usage has among some people been a matter of great concern, as "good English" is considered a means of moving upward in a socially mobile society.

(494 words)

6. The use of abbreviation is ______ . ( B )

(a) a reflection of modern life in language

(b) widely used because of the quickened pace of modern life

(c) commonly used in the United States

(d) adopted according to the modern way of thinking

7. The word "OK" ______ . ( D )

(a) comes definitely from "all correct"

(b) is first used in as many as four cities

(c) means safe to foreign visitors

(d) is a word foreigners like to use

8. The word "ubiquitous" means ______. ( A)

(a) widely used

(b) ever-right

(c) universal

(d) shortened

9. A refuse collector becomes a "sanitary engineer" because __________. ( D )

(a) "refuse collector" is a job people don't like to do

(b) "refuse collector" is too formal

(c) people enjoy freedom in their choice of words

(d) the elegancy of language is admired by the American people

10. Which of the following is true? ( D )

(a) Correct grammar is never paid attention in the U.S.A.

(b) The Americans tend to be formal in using language.

(c) People in big cities contribute more to language.

(d) Good English is an approach to higher social stations.             

Passage Three

    Culture shock might be called an occupational disease of people who have been suddenly transplanted abroad. Like most ailments, it has its own symptoms and cure.

    Culture shock is precipitated by the anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse. Those signs or cues include the thousand and one ways in which we orient ourselves to the situation of daily life: when to shake hands and what to say when we meet people, when and how to give tips, how to make purchases, when to accept and when to refuse invitations, when to take statements seriously and when not. These cues, which may be words, gestures, facial expressions, customs, or norms, are acquired by all of us in the course of growing up and are as much a part of our culture as the language we speak or the beliefs we accept. All of us depend for our peace of mind and our efficiency on hundreds of these cues, most of which we do not carry on the level of conscious awareness.

    Now when an individual enters a strange culture, all or most of these familiar cues are removed. He or she is like a fish out of water. No matter how broad-minded or full of goodwill you may be, a series of props have been knocked from under you, followed by a feeling of frustration and anxiety. People react to the frustration in much the same way. First they reject the environment which causes the discomfort. "The ways of the host country are bad because they make us feel bad." When foreigners in a strange land get together to grouse about the host country and its people, you can be sure they are suffering from culture shock. Another phase of culture shock is regression. The home environment suddenly assumes a tremendous importance. To the foreigner everything becomes irrationally glorified. All the difficulties and problems are forgotten and only the good things back home are remembered. It usually takes a trip home to bring one back to reality.

    Some of the symptoms of culture shock are excessive washing of the hands, excessive concern over drinking water, food dishes, and bedding; fear of physical contact with attendants, the absent-minded stare; a feeling of helplessness and a desire for dependence on long-term residents of one's own nationality; fits of anger over minor frustrations; great concern over minor pains and eruptions of the skin; and finally, that terrible longing to be back home.

(416 words)

11. Culture shock is a disease _______________ . ( B )

(a) commonly seen among people living in an unfamiliar environment

(b) that happens to people in an alien culture

(c) having something in common with other diseases in symptoms and cures

(d) that has been transplanted from abroad

12. "Thousand and one " means ______ .   ( A )

(a) a multitude of

(b) countable

(c) limitless

(d) what the figure refers to

13. The signs and cues of social intercourse __________ . ( D )

(a) are important to our social life

(b) vary with people

(c) can afford us peace of mind

(d) are never known to us

14. "A trip home" is mentioned because _____ .( C )

(a) east or west, home is the best.

(b) it can relieve you of homesickness

(c) it serves as a reminder of the reality

(d) it will help you pluck up courage to face up to difficulties

15. Symptoms of culture shock include all the following except _______. ( D )

(a) a feeling of helplessness

(b) great concern over food

(c) homesickness

(d) desiring contact with local people