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.
In Africa, people celebrate with joy the birth of a new baby. The Pygmies would sing a birth-song to the child. In Kenya, the mother takes the baby strapped to her back into the thorn enclosure where the cattle are kept. There, her husband and the village elders wait to give the child his or her name. In West Africa, after the baby is eight days old, the mother takes the baby for its first walk in the big, wide world, and friends and family are invited to meet the new baby. In various African nations, they hold initiation ceremonies for groups of children instead of birthdays. When children reach a certain designated age, they learn the laws, beliefs, customs, songs and dances of their tribes. Some African tribes consider that children from nine to twelve are ready to be initiated into the grown up world. They may have to carry out several tests. Maasai boys around thirteen years old to seventeen undergo a two-stage initiation. The first stage lasts about three months. The boys leave their parents' homes, paint their bodies white, and are taught how to become young warriors. At the end of this stage, they have their heads shaved and they are also circumcised. At the second stage, the young warriors grow their hair long and live in a camp called a “manyatta” where they practice hunting the wild animals that might attack the Maasai herds. This stage may last a few years. When they are ready, they will marry and become owners of large cattle herds like their fathers. The girls are initiated when they are fourteen or fifteen. They are taught by the older women about the duties of marriage and how to care for babies. Soon after that they are married and lead a life similar to that of their mothers.
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.
The invention of the mobile phone has undoubtedly revolutionized the way people communicate and influenced every aspect of our lives. The issue is whether this technological innovation has (46) ______ more harm than good. In order to answer the question, we must first turn to the types of consumers. Presumably, most parents (47) ______ are always worrying about their children’s safety buy mobile phones for them to track their whereabouts. We can also assume that most teenagers want mobile phones to avoid missing out on social contact. In this context, the advantages are clear. (48) ________, we cannot deny the fact that text messages have been used by bullies to intimidate fellow students. There is also (49) ________ evidence that texting has affected literacy skills. The widespread use of mobile phone has, out of question, affected adult consumers too. What employee, on the way home from work, would be reluctant to answer a call from their boss? Apparently, only 18% of us, according to a survey, are willing to switch off our mobile phones once we've left the office. Admittedly, mobile phones can be intrusive but there are obvious benefits to possessing one. Personally speaking, they are invaluable when it comes to making social or business arrangements at short (50) _______. They also provide their owners with a sense of security in emergency situations.