TIếng Anh 12 - Ôn reading giữa kỳ

Nội dung text: TIếng Anh 12 - Ôn reading giữa kỳ

1. IV. Read the following passage carefully and complete the sentences that follow by circling letter A, B, C or D as the correct answers and then mark your choice on the answer sheet. Passage1 A recent study shows that an unequal share of household chores is still the norm in many households, despite the fact that many more women now have jobs. In a survey of 1,256 people ages between 18 and 65, men said they contributed an average of 37% of the total housework, while the women estimated their share to be nearly double that, at 70%. This ratio was not affected by whether the woman was working or not. When they were asked what they thought was a fair division of labour, women with jobs felt that housework should be shared equally between male and female partners. Women who did not work outside the home were satisfied to perform 80% - the majority of the household work - if their husbands did remainder. Research has shown that, if levels increase beyond these percentages, women become unhappy and anxious, and feel they are unimportant. After marriage, a woman is reported to increase her household workload by 14 hours per week, but for men the amount is just 90 minutes. So the division of labor becomes unbalanced, as a man's share increases much less than the woman's. It is the inequality and loss of respect, not the actual number of hours, which leads to anxiety and depression. The research describes housework as thankless and unfulfilling. Activities included in the study were cooking, cleaning, shopping, doing laundry, washing up and childcare. Women who have jobs report that they feel overworked by these chores in addition to their professional duties. In contrast, full-time homemakers frequently anticipate going back to work when the children grow up. Distress for this group is caused by losing the teamwork in the marriage. Question 1: What is this passage mainly about? A. Unbalanced sharing of housework B. The increase in working hours. C. The equality in sharing housework. D. The work of married women Question 2: All activities mentioned in the passage are household chores EXCEPT___. A. shopping B. washing-up C. taking care of old-aged parents D. child-caring Question 3: The word "norm" in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to___. A. unequal thing B. changing thing C. usual thing D. strange thing Question 4: Although women think men should share the housework, those who don't have paid job agree to share___of the chores. A. 14 per cent B. 70 per cent C. 37 per cent D. 80 per cent Question 5: The word "they" in paragraph 2 refers to___. A. men B. women C. jobs D. labor Passage 2 Everyday life today is much more complicated than in the past. Even in our leisure time we have to make so many choices about what to do or even what to watch on TV. We are often spoilt for choice and this can leave us feeling confused and dissatisfied. We all know that it is important to achieve a balance between work and play, but many of us do not succeed. Instead, we put extra pressure on ourselves by trying to be as successful as in our work life as in our personal life. Life in the past was much simpler as many people worked to meet their basic needs. Today, for many of us, our job is not just a way of making a living. For many, work plays an important 1
2. role in our everyday life and gives us a strong sense of personal fulfillment. What’s more, we have become much more materialistic. Many people set themselves goals such as buying a new house or car and so we measure our success by the material things we own. Desiring these luxuries is what motivates us to work much harder than in the past, so in many ways we choose this way of life. We have worked hard to improve our standard of living, but it may have come at a very high price. We need to make some changes in our priorities so that family occasions are as important as business meetings. We should also take every possible opportunity to enjoy our leisure time. Once you have made the decision to do this, you should find that your quality of life also improves. Question 1: What is the passage mainly about? A. Good qualities of life today and in the past B. Ways people today balance their work life and personal life C. Distinction between life today and in the past D. Basic needs for people today and in the past Question 2: According to the passage, people today have to work much harder to meet all the following basic needs EXCEPT ___. A. personal fulfillment B. materialistic life C. luxurious lifestyle D. simpler life Question 3: The word ''this'' in paragraph 3 refers to ___. A. making some changes B. enjoying our leisure time C. working hard D. improving living standards Question 4: Everyday life today is not as easy as in the past because ___. A. people work to make their own living B. people want to live more materialistically C. people work to satisfy their various needs D. people want to buy a new house or car Question 5: The word '' fulfillment '' in paragraph 2 mostly means ___. A. satisfaction B. improvement C. result D. information (Adapted from ''Cambridge Vocabulary for IELTS by Paulin Cullen '' Passage 3 Most weddings in Japan start with a religious ceremony in which usually only family members attend. Afterwards, a banquet is customarily held to which many people, including friends and colleagues, are invited. To celebrate the happy occasion, guests give the bride and groom goshuugi - gift money in special envelopes. Goshuugi from friends is usually 20,000 yen or 30,000 yen. A typical Japanese wedding party starts when the bride and groom enter the banquet hall together, and take their seats on a slightly raised platform facing their guests. Invited guests are seated closer to the bride and groom, with family and relatives seated further in back. The bride's and groom's bosses usually give congratulatory speeches then their friends sing in celebration. Other wedding highlights include a candle ceremony where the couple holds a candle while greeting their guests at each table, and the cutting of the wedding cake. Afterwards, the bride and groom thank their parents with a speech, then leave to end the party. In the past, dishes that supposedly brought good fortune, such as prawns and sea breams, were served in abundance. So much of the food was ordered that guests ended up taking the surplus home. Today, the majority of the weddings serve just enough for everyone. Additionally, before leaving, guests would traditionally receive souvenir gifts called hikidemono. 2
3. Many wedding ceremonies take place at wedding halls or hotels. Rough estimates show that it costs about 3 million yen to host a wedding party for 80 guests. During Japan's economic bubble, overseas weddings and flamboyant receptions with special effects, such as smoke machines and having the bride and groom fly in on gondolas, were very popular. But these days, couples choose to tie the knot in various ways, from not having any ceremony to having a modest affair, or still going all out. (Source: Question 1. What is the main idea of this passage? A. Dishes served at Japan's wedding parties in the past B. Wedding ceremonies in Japan's economic ways. C. Popular wedding gifts in Japan. D. Wedding ceremonies in Japan. Question 2. According to the passage, goshuugi is ___ . A. a kind of gift B. a happy occasion C. a type of food D. an important guest Question 3. The word "their" in paragraph 2 refers to ___. A. the relatives' B. the friends' C. the couple's D. the parents' Question 4. According to paragraph 2, which of the following do the bride and groom do at their wedding party? A. They hold a candle and sing in celebration. B. They give a speech to thank their bosses. C. They deliver a speech to thank their parents. D. They sit on a platform at the back of the stage. Question 5. The word "fortune" in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ___. A. affluence B. benefit C. excitement D. luck Passage 4 Marriage nowadays is a choice people make on their own, but this has not always been the case in society. Thousands of years ago, the average lifespan was shorter than it is today. A man usually lived until he was about 40 years old, while women died even sooner because of childbirth. There were many wars and illnesses, and people had to protect themselves by having more children while they were still young. The parents lived through their children. Marriage was not so much a romantic love story but a business transaction, or deal. Most marriages were arranged between parents while their children were still very young. It was the custom that the fathers made the decision on whom their children were going to marry. The mothers had little say in it since they rarely made any decisions outside the household. The fathers would meet to arrange the wedding date and the money given for the bride on her wedding date. The more money and land a girl had, the more chances she had to marry well. Therefore, it was important that her father choose the bridegroom very well. Usually, it was someone who came from a good family or who was rich too. It was very unlikely that people married outside their social class. A few well-off and rich merchants got to marry poorer noblewomen and became King’s business advisors. In a way, poor peasants had an easier choice as it was less important whom they married. The practice of arranged marriage is still common in some countries in the Middle East, such as India or Pakistan. Here, social classes are still strongly divided and very well-kept. Often, however, arranged marriages are a sign that people do not want to let go of the past, which gives them comfort and security in an ever-changing world. (Adapted from Longman Essence Reading, Vol. 2) Question 1. What does the passage mainly discuss? A. Marriage as a business transaction today. B. Mothers' roles in their children's marriage. 3
4. C. Marriage practices in modern society. D. The practice of arranged marriage. Question 2. The word "it" in paragraph 1 refers to___. A. marriage B. a choice C. society D. the average lifespan Question 3. According to paragraph 1, women died even sooner than men because of___. A. wars B. illnesses C. childbirth D. marriage Question 4. The author mentions all of the following in the passage EXCEPT___. A. People tended to marry outside their social class B. Men made almost all decisions inside the family C. Marriage used to be a deal between two families D. The wedding date was decided by the fathers Question 5. The phrase "let go of" in paragraph 3 mostly means___. A. give up B. turn off C. save up D. give in Passage 5 Education is not an end, but a means to an end. In other words, we do not educate children only for the purpose of educating them. Our purpose is to fit them for life. In some modern countries it has for some time been fashionable to think that by free education all – whether rich or poor, clever or stupid – one can solve all the problems of society and build a perfect nation. But we can already see that free education for all is not enough; we find in such countries a larger number of people with university degree; they refuse to do what they think “low” work: and, in fact, work with hands is thought to be dirty and shameful in such countries. But we have only to think a moment to understand that the work of a completely uneducated farmer is far more important than that of a professor; we can live without education, but we die if we have no food. If no one cleaned our streets and took the rubbish away from our house, we should get terrible diseases in our towns In fact, when we say that all of us must be educated to fit us for life, it means that we must be educated in such a way that, firstly, each of us can do whatever work suited to our brains and ability and, secondly, that we can realize that all jobs are necessary to society, and that is very bad to be ashamed of one’s work. Only such a type of education can be considered valuable to society. 1:The passage tells us about ___of education. A. the value B. the opportunities C. the systems D. the ways 2. The word "rubbish" in paragraph 3 mostly means___. A. garbage B. dirty things C. clean things D. less useful things 3. The writer of the passage thinks that___ A. all the social problems can’t be solved by education. B. free education for all probably leads to a perfect world. C. education can settle most of the world’s problems. D. free education won’t help to solve social problems. 4: According to the passage, what does the writer wants to prove ? A. our society needs all kinds of jobs. B. a farmer is more important than a professor. C. our society needs free education for all. D. people with high education refuse to do what they think “low” work. 5: The word "they" in paragraph 2 refers to___. A. some countries B. universities C. degrees D. people with university degree B. the people with C. to let everyone receive education fit for him. D. to prepare children mainly for their future work. 4