Why does the author believe that the Mandans were skilled farmers?

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

    Before the 1500’s, the western plains of North America were dominated by farmers. One group, the Mandans, lived in the upper Missouri River country, primarily in present-day North Dakota. They had large villages of houses built close together. The tight arrangement enabled the Mandans to protect themselves more easily from the attacks of others who might seek to obtain some of the food these highly capable farmers stored from one year to the next.

    The women had primary responsibility for the fields. They had to exercise considerable skill to produce the desired results, for their northern location meant fleeting growing seasons. Winter often lingered; autumn could be ushered in by severe frost. For good measure, during the spring and summer, drought, heat, hail, grasshoppers, and other frustrations might await the wary grower.

    Under such conditions, Mandan women had to grow maize capable of weathering adversity. They began as early as it appeared feasible to do so in the spring, clearing the land, using fire to clear stubble from the fields and then planting. From this point until the first green corn could be harvested, the crop required labor and vigilance.

    In August the Mandans picked a smaller amount of the crop before it had matured fully. This green com was boiled, dried and shelled, with some of the maize slated for immediate consumption and the rest stored in animal-skin bags. Later in the fall, the people picked the rest of the corn. They saved the best of the harvest for seeds or for trade, with the remainder eaten right away or stored for later use in underground reserves. With appropriate banking of the extra food, the Mandans protected themselves against the disaster of crop failure and accompany hunger.

    The woman planted another staple, squash, about the first of June, and harvested it near the time of the green corn harvest. After they picked it, they sliced it, dried it, and strung the slices before they stored them. Once again, they saved the seeds from the best of the year’s crop. The Mandans also grew sunflowers and tobacco; the latter was the particular task of the older men.

The passage implies that Melville stayed in Tahiti because ________

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

    Herman Melville, an American author best known today for his novel Moby Dick, was actually more popular during his lifetime for some of his other works. He traveled extensively and used the knowledge gained during his travels as the basis for his early novels. In 1837, at the age of eighteen, Melville slimed as a cabin boy on a merchant ship that was to sail from his Massachusetts home to Liverpool, England. His experiences on this trip served as a basis for the novel Redburn (1849). In 1841 Melville set out on a whaling ship headed for the South Seas. After jumping ship in Tahiti, he wandered around the islands of Tahiti and Moorea. This South Sea Island sojourn was a backdrop to the novel Omoo (1847). After three years away from home, Melville joined up with a U.S. naval frigate that was returning to the eastern United States around Cape Horn. The novel White-Jacket (1850) describes this lengthy voyage as a navy seaman. With the publication of these early adventure novels, Melville developed a strong and loyal following among readers eager for his tales of exotic places and situations. However, in 1851, with the publication of Moby Dick, Melville's popularity started to diminish. Moby Dick, on one level the saga of the hunt for the great white whale, was also a heavily symbolic allegory of the heroic struggle of humanity against the universe. The public was not ready for Melville’s literary metamorphosis from romantic adventure to philosophical symbolism. It is ironic that the novel that served to diminish Melville's popularity during his lifetime is the one for which he is best known today.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks

          A new job

There are several things to remember if you are applying for a new job. ________ (34) companies advertise their vacancies in the newspapers, and there are normally a lot of applicants for each post. _______(35) , a good letter of application is very important. You should enclose with it your curriculum vitae so that the employer knows about your______ (36) and experience. If you are applying to a large company, address your letter to the personnel manager, _________ (37) deals with appointing new staff. If you are invited to an interview, make _______(38) you are suitably dressed and on time. You may ask about promotion prospects as well as further training, the salary and holiday arrangements.

We arrived at My Khanh tourist village. Then we realized our tickets were not bought.

It isn’t a lovely apartment. Its difficult position spoils it.

Milk and tea compliment each other perfectly.

“Can I borrow your pen please, Sam?”, said Gillian.

We last went to Cai Rang floating market 2 months ago.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that is closest in meaning to each of the following questions.

Who will replace Phat to monitor the class on the days he is on duty next week?

You have to decide when it is helpful to discuss this grey area with your student.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.

Fodla has just arrived at the meeting with her director:

The director: “Thank you for taking the time to come here in person.”

Fodla: “________________________ ”

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the option that best completes each of the following exchanges