PASSAGE 3¡¡¡T
Science Fiction

¡¡¡¡Amongst the most popular books being written today are those which are usually classified as science fiction. Hundreds of titles are published every year and are read by all kinds of people. Furthermore, some of the most successful films of recent years have been based on science fiction stories.
¡¡¡¡It is often thought that science fiction is a fairly new development in literature, but its ancestors can be found in books written hundreds of years ago. These books were often concerned with the presentation of some form of ideal society, a theme which is still often found in modern stories.
¡¡¡¡Most of the classics of science fiction, however, have been written within the last hundred years. Books by writers such as Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, to mention just two well-known authors, have been translated into many languages.
¡¡¡¡Modern science fiction writers don't write about men from Mars or space adventure stories. They are more interested in predicting the results of technical developments on society and the human mind; or in imagining future worlds which are a reflection of the world which we live in now. Because of this their writing has obvious political undertones.
¡¡¡¡In an age where science fact frequently overtakes science fiction, the writers may find it difficult to keep ahead of scientific advances. Those who are sufficiently clear-sighted to see the way we are going, however, may provide a valuable lesson on how to deal with the problems which society will inevitably face as it tries to master its new technology.

1. Paragraph 1____________
2. Paragraph 2____________
3. Paragraph 3____________
4. Paragraph 4____________


A. Popularity of Science Fiction
B. A Fairly New Development
C. Classics of Science Fiction
D. Difficulty in Keeping ahead of Scientific Adventure
E. Its Origin
F. Themes of Modern Science Fiction


5. Some form of ideal society is __________
6.Books written by J. Verne are___________
7.People enjoy________________________
8.Works of modern science fiction have___________

A) a recurrent theme
B) concerned with the problems that we have to solve in the future
C) reading books of science fiction
D) political implications
E) a current theme
F) read worldwide

KEY£ºAECFAFCD

PASSAGE 4¡¡¡T
Alaska

¡¡¡¡In 1858 Americans welcomed Alaska into the Union as the 49th state, symbolizing a change of attitude that hold in 1867, when the peninsula was purchased from Russia. Then, most Americans had little interest in 1,500,000 square kilometers "of icebergs and polar bear"-beyond Canada's western borders, far from the settled areas of the United States.
¡¡¡¡In those sections of the state which lie above the Arctic Circle, Alaska still is a land of icebergs and polar bear. Ice buried in the earth, which is permanently frozen to a depth of 90 or more meters, From early May until early August, the midnight sun never sets on this flat, treeless region, but the sun cannot melt the icy soil more than two-thirds of a meter down.
¡¡¡¡Alaska is America's largest state, but only about 325,000 people live there. According to estimates, 800,000 hectares of its land area are fit for plowing but only about 640,000 hectares are being cultivated.
¡¡¡¡Arctic Alaska has been the home of Eskimos for countless centuries. It is believed that the Eskimos moved there from Mongolia or Siberia, probably crossing Bering Strait, named for Vitus Bering, the Danish sea captain who discovered Alaska on his voyage for Russia in 1741. The Eskimos are the state's earliest known inhabitants. Russian fur traders established settlements but, by the time Alaska was sold to the United States, most of the traders had departed.

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