English 102 Final Mock Exam

Part I: Reading


Passage I:

Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.

"What is a good life?"

I. What is meant by living the good life? Does it mean having lots of money and material possessions, or could it also be achieved in other ways?
The word "good" can have different connotations: Good as moral, and good as pleasant.

II. Can a simple life also be a good life? For some, a good life is the ability to do things with as little dependence on external assistance as possible.

III. _________________________________________.Modern cars include advanced technology, whereas the bicycle is a piece of technology often used to exemplify the simple. The bicycle extends one's own capability and efforts for transportation. It needs no massive outside system beyond that in its operator's control. The automobile, on the other hand, is not only a complex apparatus that requires a complex outside system, but it also requires more work and effort than it produces in transportation. If you take into account all the hours you spend to buy a car, to purchase gas and tires, to maintain and repair it, to pay taxes for the roads to be built or tolls to use them, to insure and license it, and to clean up its pollution, your rate of travel is less than that of a bicycle, and that doesn't count either the hours, the costs, or the frustration spent in traffic jams and accidents.

IV. Using the car when one could easily walk or cycle is not only costly and bad for the environment, but it can also have negative health impacts, such as reduced fitness and even obesity.Obesity leads to diabetes, heart disease, cancer, liver disease, infertility, and many other medical conditions. Obesity is also the underlying cause of sleep apnoea, a condition in which the sufferer snores, and stops breathing for prolonged periods at night, leading to daytime fatigue and drowsiness.

V. If I want a good life, would I choose a mode of transportation that is hundreds of times more expensive, subject to delays on a daily basis, and bad for my health, and the environment?


Answer the following questions:

1. What would be the best topic sentence for paragraph III?
a. Cars are better than bicycles in a number of ways.
b. Bicycles are better than cars in a number of ways.
c. A good life can never be a simple life.
d. A simple life leads to happiness.

2. What are some of the disadvantages or problems of using car?
3. What is sleep apnoea?
4. What does ‘apparatus” (paragraph III) mean?
5. What does ‘impacts” (paragraph IV) mean?
6. What does 'it' (paragraph III) refer to?
7. What does 'it' (paragraph IV) refer to?


B.Complete the summary of the above article using words from the list below.

pollute,obesity, abandon,health problems, the former, bicycles, heart disease, expenses


In this article the author compares cars with bicycles and argues that the latter has a lot of advantages over (1) _______.Unlike cars, bicycles do not require any complex system to operate and they do not(2)______the environment. In addition, using cars involves a lot of (3)_______ and cars also require more work and effort than they produce in transportation. When people drive, they also exercise much less than when they ride a bike and this can lead to a number of(4)__________ such as (5)________ and(6) ________. The author therefore believes that people should(7)_________ cars for(8)___________. This way they can lead a good life that is good for themselves and the environment at the same time.


Passage II:

Read the following passage from The Bangkok Post and answer the questions that follow.


I. _____________________________________. Once you are fascinated by its passions, you never forget it. Rio can be explored in a few days, but it will take months to learn and enjoy life there the Brazilian way.
II. ''How many days you will be here?,'' Giomia Belmonte, my guide in Rio asked when she picked me up at the airport.
''Two,'' I replied softly.
III. ''Two days are nothing here. You need at least five days to know Rio,'' she said, laughing. ''Anyway, you will find life here is much, much easier to enjoy than in Sao Paulo.''
IV. That is true. Compared to Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro is smaller, easier, much more beautiful and full of cultural and natural attractions.
V. However, the most fascinating part is probably its people.
VI. Though I was warned to be cautious when walking the streets, particularly with my camera, I found exploring Rio a worthwhile experience, including meeting the local people who are natural happy, receptive, friendly and light-spirited.
VII. My tour guide was right after all: it takes a few days to get around Rio, but months to learn how to enjoy life the Brazilian way.


A. What would be the best topic sentence for this article?

a. Rio de Janeiro is a dangerous city and tourists need to be careful when visiting the city.
b. Rio de Janeiro is a beautiful, very lively and vibrant city.
c. Rio de Janeiro is not worth visiting because it is just a small city with nothing much for tourists to do.
d. Rio de Janeiro is a city you can easily forget because it has no charms.

B. Check whether the following statements are true or false.

1.It takes less than a day to learn how to enjoy life in Rio de Janeiro.
2.Giomia Belmonte was the writer’s guide.
3.The writer finds Rio de Janeiro a more interesting city than Sao Paulo.
4.The writer had been warned to be careful when walking the streets in Rio with a camera.
5.The writer does not like local people in Rio de Janeiro.
6.The writer feels very positive about Rio de Janeiro.

C. What does the word ‘its’ paragraph V refer to?
its=________________


PASSAGE III

Read the following passage and complete the summary below.


Two shining beacons of hope
(by Sanitsuda Ekachai)

Feeling fed up with the rife misconduct of rogue monks? For a glimmer of hope, meet Phra Maha Supap Buddhaviriyo, abbot of Na Kham forest monastery in Kalasin province.

Losing hope about getting out of suffocating debt? Meet Granny Khai, a farmer with only a Prathom Two education whose debt relief formula has made her a model not only for her village but the whole town.

Don't let the political nightmares of these past few years make you believe that the country is facing a dead end.

Don't let the war of words between the red shirts and yellow shirts over what is more important, good people or good system, dilute your faith in goodness itself.

Phra Supap and Granny Khai are two living examples that there is still hope for Thailand. Not because they believe in goodness, but because they believe in change. More importantly, they believe that in order to effect change, one must start with one's self.

True, the country is plagued with a myriad problems. Apart from the political mess, the clergy, instead of being our spiritual anchor, keeps feeding us with endless scandals. The latest one involves two rogue monks in Chachoengsao who coldbloodedly shot a young woman in the head, poured gasoline on her body, and burned her to death. They were reportedly incensed at her threat to reveal their drug business within the temple and their sexual affairs, to which she was party.

Indebtedness is suffering, teaches the Buddha. Yet, the majority in this predominantly Buddhist country are buried under piles of debt. According to the National Statistics Office, more than 60% of farmers are chained by the vicious debt cycle because chemical rice farming is a losing business.

The situation is worse among government officials. The statistics office reported that more than 80% of government officials are, on average, more than 800,000 baht in debt.

Though a monk, Phra Maha Supap knows what it is like to suffer from debt. His temple serves as a rehabitation centre for patients with drug addiction. The astronomical food bills have left his temple in the red. So he started experimenting with growing banana, vegetables, herbs and a fast-growing tree in one square metre of land. Seeing how different plants offer food all year round, with the long-term promise of valuable timber, he filled the vacant temple land with this all-in-one, one-square-metre planting spot. In no time, the temple's food bill was cut by half.

That started Granny Khai, a debt-ridden rice farmer living adjacent to the temple, thinking. She'd never before thought how much she had to spend on food, not until she joined the temple's household expenses accounting group. She came to realise that by spending 30 baht for each person for each meal every day, she must spend 164,250 baht a year for a family of five.

Shocked to her senses, she adopted Phra Maha Supap's planting model to cut food expenses. Within a few years, she had not only cleared up all her debts, but her family now has over 100 chicks and ducks, and a herd of cattle, in her attempt to ensure food sufficiency.

Through detailed accounting, she has also discovered that one square metre of mixed planting gives her 55 baht of earnings while it is only 7.5 baht for rice farming. Without any hesitation she reduced the size of her paddy fields and increased mixed farming plots. Now the authorities in Kalasin are also using Granny Khai as a model to increase the number of farmers who use household expense accounting and Phra Maha Supap's mixed, organic farming model to free themselves of debt.

As for the monk, he is busy teaching the farmers financial discipline while trying to connect the farmers' network with local and provincial administration bodies to better influence public policies. This is part of democracy, he said enthusiastically.

Politics at the apex of power may be distressing. But on the ground, there is still abundant hope. The lesson from the monk and the granny is that when we begin to change within ourselves, the momentum for change catches on, and hope returns.




Complete the following summary of the above article with the words below.

near
hope
debt
expenses
inspire
cut down
adopted
extra income
suffered

The article is about two extraordinary people whose strength and resilience may help(1)_______ Thai people not to give up (2) _______. The first one is Phra Maha Supap, a monk who successfully(3)_______a planting model that helped (4)_______his temple's bills by half.Previously, the temple, which serves as a rehabitation centre for patients with drug addiction,(5) ________ serious financial problems. By growing various kinds of plants and timber, the monk helped earn(6)________for his temple and reduce its(7)_______.The other success story is that of Grannny Kai, an old lady who lives(8)________Phra Maha Supap's temple and joined the temple's household expenses accounting group . Following the monk's example, she grew various kinds of plants on her plot of land to help reduce her family's expenses on food.She also adopted a financial discipline taught by Phra Maha Supap. Within a few years, she was able to get rid of her family's(9)________.


Passage IV:

Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.

"How To Love Your Job"

I. “If you can't be in the job you love, love the job you're in.”

We have all been advised, at one or the other time, to find the job we love. Sadly, we don’t live in a perfect world and often end up doing something we never dreamt of. More than forty percent of people all over the world are stuck in something they don’t want to do. Getting the job you love is a dream everyone cannot achieve. So what to do if you find yourself with a job that you don’t like? Do you want to quit and start a new life? However, there is no guarantee that after quitting your present job, you would find the job you love. There is no such word as 'workplace heaven'. However, there is a way to love the job you are in. In other words, "If you can’t get a job that you love, love the job that you have got." Here are some ways by which you can convert the job you loath into the job you love. Read on to know how to love your job and make your work fun.

II. Ways To Love Your Job

Self-Motivation
Remember Emily of “The Devil Wears Prada”, how she used to motivate herself by saying “I love my job” constantly? Even though that was sarcastic, she still made a point. You have to constantly search for things to motivate yourself. Pinpoint your energy peaks and work at that time. You will surely work better. Make a list of all your accomplishments and reflect on them when you are feeling low. Allow yourself to be inspired, as that way, you will learn to love your job.

III. Excel In What You Do
Excellence is to do common things, but in an uncommon way. To love what you do, you have to excel in it. Learn everything about what you do and what you are doing wrong. Sometimes, even unknowingly, we start dreading our job simply because we suck at it. Take interest in what you do; find out ways to improve your work. If you got a job and are still continuing there, something must be going right. Nobody hires a person whose work sucks. You may be good at it, but take it as a challenge and try to be the best.

IV. Challenge Yourself
Sometimes, the problem is that we really don’t know where we are heading and that’s why we start dreading the job we are doing. It is very important to challenge yourself constantly. Find out ways to spin change in your direction. Work hard and be ready to take any challenge thrown your way. Praise yourself, if you have been able to finish the job before the deadline.

V. Make Friends
We can make even the most boring place into fun by simply being with people we love. All right, it is not necessary that you will start loving every person ay your workplace. However, if you are in a friendly place, you long to return there. So, do your best to make friends at your office.

VI. Manage Stress
Stress is the main factor that leads you to negative thoughts and makes you dread everything, including your job. Join stress management class, incorporate exercises and yoga in your daily routine and take balanced food. Even when the workload is high, take essential breaks. Don’t be in the habit of mulling over everything, at all times. Give your best and let things come into play!

A. Answer the following question.

What is the article mainly about?
a. Tips about how to find a perfect job for yourself
b. Tips about how to love the job you have
c. Tips about how to earn more income from your current job
d. Tips about how to make friends in your workplace

B. Read the above article and decide whether the following statements are TRUE or FALSE.

1. According to the author, if you don't like what you are doing, you should just quit and try to find a better job.

2.The author believes that 'workplace heaven' does exist and you can find it if you try hard enough.

3. According to the author, even if you try to find inspiration or motivate yourself constantly, it won't make you like your job more if that job does not really suit you.

4. The author suggests that you should try to do your best in whatever you are doing. This is one of the things that help you to like your job in the end.

5. According to the author, challenge is something you should always avoid because it creates stress and anxiety.

6. The author believes that if you have a lot of friends at your workplace, it will make work more enjoyable.

7. The author believes that it is not important to learn how to manage stress. Also, joining yoga class is a waste of time.


C. Guess word meanings from context

1. What does 'convert' (paragraph I) mean?

2. What does 'dread' (paragraph VI) mean?


D. Identify reference terms

1. What does the word 'them' (paragraph II) refer to?

2. What does the word 'it' (paragraph III) refer to?




PART II: Vocabulary

Choose the best word from the list below to fill in each blank.


roasted
originally
mother tongue
socializing
plate
responsible
suffering
roasted
ethnic
competition
emotions


1. Villagers living near the river are now_______from toxic chemicals released from the big sugar factory on the river bank.

2. There is high________among high school students in China because all of them want to go to university but there are limited places available for them.

3. John is the one who should be________for the company's bankruptcy because he was the president of the company just before it went bankrupt.

4. Jill loves____________. She goes out every weekend and loves to throw a party at her apartment.

5. "You shouldn't play with people's_________. Try to be more considerate and thoughtful towards others, okay?"

6. Yukiko's __________ is Japanese although she can also speak English and a bit of Spanish.

7. Peter is__________ from Moscow, Russia. He currently lives in Tokyo and hasn't been back to Russia since he left the country in 1980.

8. "Your_________is empty. Let me give you some more rice and curry. You like my cooking, don't you?"

9.I love__________potatoes with gravy and green vegetables. It is a healthy dish and very easy to prepare.

10. Thailand has a number of__________minorities who mostly live in the mountains in Northern Thailand. These people are peace-loving and friendly, but they do not want to expose themselves too much to the outside world's influence. They try to maintain their unique cultures and lifestyles.


PART III: Grammar


Correct the bolded mistakes in the following paragraph.

Ten years ago, Joy (1)were a student at a school (2)on Japan. Then her father (3)gets a job in China, so the whole family (4)moving from Japan to China. Joy continued (5)their studies at a very large secondary shool near her home. When she (6)arrives in China, Joy could only (7)spoke a few words in Mandarin. She was very lonely because she could not make any friends at first.

(Answers to all questions available from the comment section below.)