Text 3
" Culture consists of all shared products of human society" ( Robertson, 1981). This means not only such material things as cities, organizations and schools, but also non-material things such as ideas, customs, family patterns, languages. Putting it simply, culture refers to the entire way of life of a society, "the ways of a people".
Language is a part of culture and plays a very important role in it. Some social scientists consider it the keystone of culture. Without language, the maintaining of culture would not be possible. On the other hand, language is influenced and shaped by culture, it reflects culture. In the broadest sense, language is the symbolic representation of a people, and it comprises their historical and cultural backgrounds, as well as their approach to life and their ways of living and thinking.
We should not go further into the relationship between language and culture. What needs to be stressed here is that the two interact, and that understanding of one requires understanding of the other.
Social scientists tell us that cultures differ from one another, that each culture is unique. As cultures are diverse, so languages are diverse. It is only natural then that with differences in cultures and differences in languages, difficulties often arise in communicating between cultures and across cultures. Understanding is not always easy.
Learning a foreign language well means more than merely mastering the pronunciation, grammar, words and idioms. It means learning also to see the world as native speakers of that language see it, learning the ways in which their language reflects the ideas, customs, and behaviors of their society, learning to understand their "language of the mind". Learning a language, in fact, is inseparable from learning its culture.
56. According to the first paragraph, the term "culture" refers to_________.
[ A ] things like cities, organizations and schools
[ B ] ideas, customs, family patterns, and languages
[C] all things produced by human race
[D] the total that constitute a society
57. The second paragraph tells about_________.
[ A j the role language plays in culture
[B] the relationship between language and culture
[ C ] the influence culture has on language
[ D ] the representation of culture
58. There will be no difficulty in communication if_________.
[ A ] people from different countries can speak each other ' s languages
[ B ] people from different countries can know each other ' s cultures
[C] people from different countries can know each other ' s languages and cultures
[ D ] there were no difference between the two cultures
59. Learning a foreign language means_________.
[ A ] learning to express oneself in the way native speakers do
[ B ] getting to know the way native speakers think
[ C ] getting to know the way native speakers behave
[D] mastering the language and learning its culture
60. This passage is probably taken from a book _________.
[ A ] on culture
[ B j on language learning
[C] on learning a language through its culture
[D] on learning a culture through its language
Part B
Directions:
Read the following article in which four people talk about their work and life. For questions 61 to 64, match name of each speaker to one of the statements (A to F) given below. Mark your answers on your ANSWER SHEET.
Joyce Swenson
Joyce is 36 years old and has worked for a publishing company in New York City for II years. Presently, she is working as a Senior Editor in charge of developmental programs. An opening for a vice-presidential position has just opened. Joyce is one of four people applying for the position. The other three applicants are men who have been at the company approximately as long as she has. The requirements for the job include a Master ' s degree and a minimum of ten years experience working as a manager in a publishing company. Historically, the company has hired from within. Joyce has applied for promotions before but she has been passed over each time by a male candidate. When Joyce joined the company, she was single. Now she is married and has two school-age children and one preshooler. Joyce feels she has been discriminated against because of her sex. She feels motherhood is viewed by the company as a negative factor in job promotion.
Ardith Trachsel
Ardith is 39 years old. She is a single mother of three children. She works full time as a marketing manager for a fast-food chain. Ardith works 50 hours a week and carpools her 12-year-old daughter to gymnastics after work three days a week. She also makes sure that she is in the stands to watch her 16-year-old son wrestle or watch her 15-year-old daughter play soccer. Ardith finds herself staying up late nightly in order to catch up on the wash or housecleaning. She also spends many evenings catching up on reports that couldn ' t be finished at work.
Ardith takes her role as mother and employee very seriously. She feels that her children
shouldn ' t have to help out around the house because they are too busy with academics and sports activities. This same attitude carries over to the workplace. She hates to burden her secretary with extra work, so instead, she does a lot of it herself. She feels that she must be everything to everybody she comes in contact with.
It is important to note that Ardith grew up in the 1950s. Her mother was always there for her. There was never a day that Ardith did not come home and find her mother waiting for her( sometimes with milk and cookies). Her mother was involved with the parents' organization at school and was her Girl Scout leader. Although the family was not well-off financially, Ardith always dressed well. Her mother was an excellent dressmaker.
Mary Healy
Ardith ' s friend Mary is 37 years old. She also is a single mother with three as she possibiv can. She has limited her volunteering on committees. The one activity that she does get involved in is !he annual Book Sale at school. Her children are responsible for many of the household chores. She has created a rotation system so that they all learn how to wash, iron, clean and cook.
Caria
Caria received her nursing degree while working part time as a clerk or typist, ")he also ia raising her sons Jeff and Jason. Caria married when she was about 25 years old. Caria met her husband Paul at a friend' s party. It was sort of a fix up. Paul was much older than her; about 40 years old. Caria was anxious to get married. She had been dating on and off but never seriously. Her parents felt time was running out especially if Caria was to begin a family. Paul and Caria never really fought but a silence ran through their marriage. The children were what made Caria come to life. Paul was content to sit at home, watch TV, or work on his hobby carving wooden figures. The marriage seemed to just extinguish itself. Caria ran the house, worked, went to school, and raised her two sons. The household, though hectic, was usually lively and happy.
Now match each of the persons to the appropriate statement.
Note', there are two extra statements.
Statements
61. Joyce Swenson [A] She likes to do everything by herself.
62. Ardith Trachsel [ BJ She had an outstanding mother.
63. Mary Healy [Cj She believes the children should help out with the house chores.
64. Caria [ D] She feels that she is a victim of the sex discrimination.
[ E] It's never too old to learn for her.
[F] Her marriage life is not satisfying.
Section IV Writing
(40 minutes)
You should write your responses to both parts on ANSWER SHEET 2.
Part A
65. You are to write a composition about How to Keep Healthy. You should write an essay of
about 150 words making reference to the following points;
1 ) physical exercises;
2 ) food;
3 ) habit.
Part B
66. Below is a graph showing China's Tourism Ranking in the world. Look at the graph and
write an essay of about 150 words.
China ' s Tourism Ranking in the World
Year Foreign exchange earnings Numbers of visitors
1978 41 51
1991 21 12
1994 10 6
1996 9 6
1997 8 6
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