READING EXERCISE 19

Read the following passage and choose the correct answer to indicate the correct answer
to each of the questions
Most weddings in the United States traditionally follow the white wedding type which
originates from the white color of the bride's wedding dress, but refers to an entire wedding
routine. A wedding ceremony may take place anywhere, but often a church, courthouse, or
outdoor venue. The ceremony is usually brief, and may be dictated by the couple's religious
practices. The most common non-religious form is derived from a simple Anglican ceremony
in the Book of Common Prayer, and can be performed in less than ten minutes, although it is
often extended by inserting music or speeches. Because of its brevity, guests who arrive late
may miss the ceremony entirely.
American brides usually wear a white, off-white, silver, or other very light-colored dress,
particularly at their first marriage. Brides may choose any colour, although black is strongly
discouraged by some as it is the colour of mourning in the west. Uncooked rice is sometimes
thrown at the newly-weds as they leave the ceremony to symbolize fertility. Some individuals,
churches or communities choose birdseed due to a false but widely believed myth that birds
eating the rice will burst. Because of the mess that rice and birdseed make, modern couples often
leave in clouds of bubbles. The wedding party may form a receiving line at this point, or later
at a wedding reception, so that each guest may briefly greet the entire wedding party.
The purpose of inviting guests is to have them witness a couple's marriage ceremony
and vows and to share in their joy and celebration. Gifts for the wedding couple are optional,
although most guests attempt to give at least a token gift of their best wishes. Some couples
and families feel, contrary to proper etiquette, that in return for the expense they put into
entertaining and feeding their guests, the guests should pay them with similarly expensive
gifts or cash. Whether considered appropriate or not, others believe that weddings in are
opportunities to extract funds or specific gifts from as many people as possible, and that even
an invitation carries an expectation of monetary reward rather than merely congratulations.
Question 1. What is the passage mainly about?
A. The history of American traditional weddings
B. The distinctive features in American weddings.
C. The common gifts for American weddings
D. The colour of the wedding dress for American brides
Question 2. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT a popular
place for wedding ceremony?
A. a place of justice B. a place of worship

C. a place of event D. a place of construction

Question 3. The word "entirely" in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to _______?

 A. precisely B. briefly C. sincerely D. completely

Question 4. According to paragraph 2, which of the following is TRUE?

A. All wedding dress colours for brides are acceptable.
B. Throwing uncooked rice is considered a symbol of fertility.
C. It is not falsely believed that birds eating the rice will burst.
D. Rice and birdseed are only thrown in small amount.
Question 5. The word "witness" in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to _______.
A. see B. help C. arrange D. organise

Question 6. The word "their" in paragraph 3 refers to _______.

A. gifts B. the couple C. guests D. families
Question 7. According to paragraph 3, what is the concept behind gifts from guests by some
families and couples?
A. gifts should be equal in value to parties.
B. gifts must be always more expensive than the parties.
C. gift may be less valuable but in large number.
D. gifts can be anything except money.

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
You can usually tell when your friends are happy or angry by the looks on their faces
or by their actions. This is useful because reading their emotional expressions helps you to
know how to respond to them. Emotions have evolved to help us respond to important
situations and to convey our intentions to others. But does raising the eyebrows and rounding
the mouth say the same thing in Minneapolis as it does in Madagascar? Much research on
emotional expressions has centered on such questions.
According to Paul Ekman, the leading researcher in this area, people speak and
understand substantially the same “facial language”. Studies by Ekman’s group have
demonstrated that humans share a set of universal emotional expressions that testify to the
common biological heritage of the human species. Smiles, for example, signal happiness and
frowns indicate sadness on the faces of people in such far- flung places as Argentina, Japan,
Spain, Hungary, Poland , Sumatra ,the United States, Vietnam, the jungles of New Guinea ,
and the Eskimo villages north of Arctic Circle. Ekman and his colleagues claim that people
everywhere can recognize at least seven basic emotions: sadness, fear, anger, disgust,
contempt, happiness, and surprise. There are, however, huge differences across cultures in
both the context and intensity of emotional displays – the so called display rules. In many
Asian cultures, for example, children are taught to control emotional responses – especially
negative ones- while many American children are encouraged to express their feelings more
openly. Regardless of culture, however, emotions usually show themselves, to some degree ,
in people’s behavior. From their first days of life, babies produce facial expressions that
communicate their feelings.
The ability to read facial expressions develops early, too. Very young children pay close
attention to facial expressions, and by age five, they nearly equal adults in their skill at
reading emotions on people’s faces. This evidence all points to a biological underpinning for
our abilities to express and interpret a basic set of human emotions. Moreover, as Charles
Darwin pointed out over a century ago, some emotional expressions seem to appear across
species boundaries. Cross - cultural psychologists tell us that certain emotional responses
carry different meanings in different cultures. For example, what emotion do you suppose
might be conveyed by sticking out your tongue? For Americans, this might indicate disgust,
while in China it can signify surprise. Likewise, a grin on an American face may indicate joy,
while on a Japanese face it may just as easily mean embarrassment. Clearly, culture
influences emotional expressions.
Question 8. According to the passage, we respond to others by _________.
A. observing their looks B. watching their actions
C. observing their emotional expressions D. looking at their faces
Question 9. Many studies on emotional expressions try to answer the question whether
__________.
A. different cultures have similar emotional expressions.
B. eyebrow raising means the same in Minneapolis and Madagascar.
C. raising the eyebrows has similar meaning to rounding the mouth.
D. rounding the mouth has the same meaning in Minneapolis and Madagascar.
Question 10. The word “evolved” in line 3 is closest in meaning to __________.
A. reduced B. increased C. simplified D. developed
Question 11. Paul Ekman is mentioned in the passage as an example of ____________.
A. lacked many main ingredients
B. researchers on universal language
C. researchers who can speak and understand many languages
D. investigators on universal emotional expressions
Question 12. The biggest difference lies in __________.
A. how long negative emotions are displayed
B. how intensive emotions are expressed
 C. how emotional responses are controlled
D. how often positive emotions are shown
Question 13. Unlike American children, Asian children are encouraged to _______.
A. control their emotions B. display their emotions openly
C. conceal their positive emotions D. change their behaviour
Question 14. The phrase “this evidence” in line 21 refers to _________.
A. the fact that children are good at recognizing others’ emotions
B. human facial expressions
C. a biological underpinning for humans to express emotions
D. the fact that children can control their feelings
Question 15. The best title for the passage is ________________.
A. Cultural universals in emotional expressions
B. Ways to control emotional expressions
C. review of research on emotional expressions
D. Human habit of displaying emotions