Direction: You have two brief passages with 5 questions following each passage. Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
PASSAGE
The United Nations Fourth World Women ’s Conference had a colourful start at Beijing on September 4th. This is the century’s most crucial conference which aimed at changing the status quo of women’s lives characterised by inequality. In a preliminary session, Ms. Aung Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize winner said that expanding women’s power will bring greater peace and tolerance to the world. “It is not the prerogative of men alone to bring light to this world. Women with their capacity for compassion and self-sacrifice, with their courage and perseverance have done much to dissipate the darkness of intolerance and hate”, said Ms. Suu Kyi. In the afternoon session Ms. Ayako Yamaguchi, a Japanese delegate, launched a petition against beauty pageants. “What right do men have to evaluate women in a few minutes ? All women are beautiful. Beauty is something different for everyone”, Ms. Ayako Yamaguchi said. “Beauty contests are used as trade and exploitation. The training is very vigorous, but it is the organisers, not the women, who get the full benefit”, said Ms. Ranjana Bhargava. “After the competition, the women become trapped and the abuse and the bad things begin. The women are tainted, no one else will accept them”.
SOME IMPORTANT WORDS
crucial : extremely important, because it will affect other things status
quo : the situation as it is now/as it was before a recent change
preliminary : happening before a more important action/event
intolerance : the fact of not being willing to accept ideas that are different from your own
launched : to start an activity
petition : an official document asking a court to take a particular course of action beauty
pageants: beauty contests/competitions vigorous : done with great force and energy
abuse : unfair, cruel/violent treatment of somebody
prerogative : a right/advantage belonging to a particular person or group because of his/its importance or social position.
perseverance : the quality of continuing to try to achieve a particular aim despite difficulties.
dissipate : to gradually make something become weaker until it disappears.
tainted : damaged or spoiled the quality of something or the opinion that people have of somebody/something