1.
Short-answer questions
The Peace Corps
On March 1, 1961, President John F. Kennedy issued an order creating the
Peace Corps. Its mission was to promote world peace and friendship by
providing qualified volunteers to interested countries. Today it sends an
average of 6,000 U.S. citizens abroad each year.
Volunteers live at a local level in their host countries. They are paid in local
[Link] month they receive a small sum of money that covers basic
living expenses, and varies with the local economy. ·For example, volunteers
in Micronesia make the equivalent of $300 per month, while those in
Turkmenistan make $75. Most volunteers live with host families. This is a
great chance to learn the language and the culture.
For each month that they spend overseas, volunteers receive a sum of about
$200. This money helps them to get back on their feet in the United States.
Serving countries all over the world, the Peace Corps lives up to its promise
as "the toughest job you'll ever love." Volunteers do everything from teaching
English to sharing tips on growing food to provide preventive health care.
However, the application process to become a Peace Corps volunteer is very
competitive. You must be a U.S. citizen, at least eighteen years old, in good
health, and willing to serve for two years. Nearly all volunteers have a
bachelor's degree in their chosen field, and about 18 percent have their
master's or doctorate degrees. Knowing a language, especially French and
Spanish, helps.
Read the passage The Peace Corps and answer the following questions
with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS taken from the passage.
1. What kind of U.S. citizens does the Peace Corps send abroad to fulfil its
mission?
2. What does the monthly payment in local currency to volunteers cover?
3. Whom do the volunteers stay with in their host countries?
4. What is the shortest time that volunteers can work for the Peace Corps?
5. Which languages are given as an example of what can benefit volunteers?
1. Sentence Completion
Solar collectors absorb heat from the sun's rays. They can be used to effectively
heat and cool buildings. The most common type of collector for space heating is a
flat plate designed to absorb both radiation falling directly on it, as well as radiation
scattered by the [Link] are usually panels of aluminium, copper, or
steel. The panels are usually painted black. The black colouring inhibits reflection
and encourages absorption. Insulation is placed behind the collector to prevent heat
loss.
The collector is covered with glass or plastic. This layer allows short-wave radiation -
or light - to enter the collector. A.5 the radiation passes through the glass or plastic, it
is transformed from short-wave radiation to long-wave radiation- or heat. Long-wave
radiation cannot pass through the glass or plastic back into the atmosphere.
Therefore, the heat is trapped within the collector. Collectors are usually placed at an
angle to maximise the amount of radiation falling on them.
A transfer agent (air or water) is circulated through the collector and becomes
heated. As it leaves the collector and travels through the heating ducts of a house, it
warms the air inside the house or brings hot water to sinks, tubs, and appliances.
With solar collectors, storage is a problem: great amounts of heat must be stored for
nighttime use and for use during cloudy days.
Refer to the passage Solar Collector and choose from the passage NO MORE
THAN THREE WORDS to complete the following sentences.
1. Solar collectors can heat and cool houses with heat absorbed from
……………………….
2. Collectors are coloured black to prevent ……………………………….
3. Glass and plastic are used to cover the collector so that short-wave radiation can
……………….
4. The glass or plastic cover on the collector helps to trap the ………………………
5. For nighttime and cloudy days, heat needs to be ……………………………..
How to Borrow Books
Most libraries require you to register before you are allowed to borrow any of their
materials. This means you will probably be asked to fill out and sign a registration
card. When you do this, you are not only giving the library your name and address
for their files, you are also signing an agreement. The agreement says, basically,
that you will obey the rules of the library. A parent or guardian is sometimes also
required to sign the card.
To be entitled to use your school library, you probably must only be enrolled in that
school. Once you are registered, you will be issued a library or borrower's card. On
this card will be your name and a number. Each time you check out, that is, officially
borrow something from the library, you will have to present this card to the librarian.
If your library is large enough, it may have film equipment that you may borrow. To
do so, however, the library usually requires a separate registration. You may also
have to take and pass a course the library gives on how to operate the different
pieces of equipment.
You usually check out and return borrowed materials at the same desk. The sign on
this desk may read Circulation Desk, Check Out Here, or perhaps Charge Desk.
The library staff member at this desk will take your card and stamp the book card
with a date. This is the date by which you are expected to return the material to the
library, so others can have the chance of borrowing it. Many libraries allow you to
renew the book if it has not been requested by others.
Some libraries charge a fine for each day a library book is overdue, kept out beyond
the date stamped on the book card. There are also often fines for books returned
damaged or written in. Should you lose a library book, you may be required to pay
the library the amount it was worth. Not paying fines could result in your losing all
library privileges.
Complete the summary below by choosing NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS
from the passage
How to Borrow Books for each answer.
Most libraries require you to register before you borrow any books. First of all, you
will need to fill out and sign 1……………………. and while doing so, you are also
2.…………………….with the library. Later each time you check out, you will have to
present a library card to the librarian. In some libraries, you will be required to make
a separate registration if you want to borrow 3.……………………. and at the same
time, you will have to take and 4.…………………….on how to operate the
equipment. When you borrow library books, the librarian will put a 5.
……………………. on the book card so that you know when to return them. If you
want to keep the books longer, you can 6.……………………. it if nobody requests
them.