This question of giving up seats in public transport is much argued about by young men, who say that, since women have claimed equality, they no longer deserve to be treated with courtesy and that those who go out to work should take their turn in the rat race like anyone else. Women have never claimed to be physically as strong as men. Even if it is not agreed, however, that young men should stand up for younger women, the fact remains that courtesy should be shown to the old, the sick and the burdened. Are we really so lost to all ideals of unselfishness that we can sit there indifferently reading the paper or a book, saying to ourselves “First come, first served,” while a grey-haired woman, a mother with a young child or a cripple stands? Yet this is all too often seen.

Conditions in travel are really very hard on everyone, we know, but hardship is surely no excuse. Sometimes one wonders what would have been the behaviour of these stout young men in a packed refugee train or a train on its way to a prison-camp during the War. Would they have considered it only right and their proper due to keep the best places for themselves then?

Older people, tired and irritable from a day’s work, are not angels, either -- far from it. Many a brisk argument or an insulting quarrel breaks out as the weary queues push and shove each other to get on buses and tubes. One cannot commend this, of course, but one does feel there is just a little more excuse.

If cities are to remain pleasant places to live in at all, however, it seems imperative, not only that communications in transport should be improved, but also that communication between human beings should be kept smooth and polite. All over cities, it seems that people are too tired and too rushed to be polite. Shop assistants won’t bother to assist, taxi drivers growl at each other as they dash dangerously round corners, bus conductor pull the bell before their desperate passengers have had time to get on or off the bus, and so on and so on. It seems to us that it is up to the young and strong to do their small part to stop such deterioration.

22.   From what you have read, would you expect manners to improve among people ________?

[A] who are physically weak or crippled

[B] who once lived in a prison-camp during the War

[C] who live in big modern cities

[D] who live only in metropolitan cities

23.   What is the writer’s opinion concerning courteous manners towards women?

[A] Now that women have claimed equality, they no longer need to be treated differently from men.

[B] It is generally considered old-fashioned for young men to give up their seats to young women.

[C] “Lady First” should be universally practiced.

[D] Special consideration ought to be shown them.

24.   According to the author communication between human beings would be smoother if ________.

[A] people were more considerate towards each other

[B] people were not so tired and irritable

[C] women were treated with more courtesy

[D] public transport could be improved

25.   What is the possible meaning of the word “deterioration” in the last paragraph?

[A] worsening of general situation

[B] lowering of moral standards

[C] declining of physical constitution

[D] spreading of evil conduct

Section III: Close Test

For each numbered blank in the following passage there are four choices labeled [A], [B], [C] and [D]. Choose the best one and put your choice in the ANSWER SHEET. Read the whole passage before making your choice. (10 points)

One day drought may be a thing of the past at least in coastal cities. Vast areas of desert throughout the world may for the first time __26__ and provide millions of hectares of land where now nothing grows.

By the end of this century this may not be mere __27__. Scientists are already looking into the possibility of using some of the available ice in the Arctic and Antarctic. In these regions there are vast ice-caps formed by snow that has fallen over the past 50,000 years. Layer __28__ layer of deep snow means that, when melted, the snow water would be pure, not salty as sea-ice would be. There is so much __29__ pure water here that it would need only a fraction of it to turn much of the desert or poorly irrigated parts of the world into rich farmland. And what useful packages it would come in! It should be possible to cut off a bit of ice and transport it! Alternatively perhaps a passing iceberg could be __30__. They are always breaking away from the main caps and floating around, pushed by currents, until they eventually melt and are wasted.

Many icebergs are, of course, far too small to be towed __31__ distance, and would melt before they reached a country that needed them anywhere. It would be necessary to locate one that was __32__ and that was big enough to provide a good supply of ice when it reached us. Engineers think that an iceberg up to seven miles long and one and a half miles wide could be transported if the tug pulling it was as big as a supertanker! Even then they would cover only twenty miles every day. However, __33__ the iceberg was at its destination, more that 7,000 million cubic metres of water could be taken from it! That would probably be more than enough for any medium-sized city even in the hottest summer! But no doubt a use could be found for it. __34__, scientist say, there would not be too much wastage in such a journey. The larger the iceberg, the slower it melts, even if it is towed through the tropics. This is because when the sun has a bigger area to warm __35__, less heat actually gets into the iceberg. The vast frozen centre would be unaffected.

26.   [A] come to life

[B] come into existence

[C] come into activity

[D] come round

27.   [A] speculation

[B] imagination

[C] computation

[D] expectation

28.   [A] above

[B] of

[C] upon

[D] over

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