Đề Thi Thử Tốt Nghiệp THPT Lần 1 Tiếng Anh 12 THPT Tiên Du - Mã Đề 207

In Africa, people celebrate with joy the birth of a new baby. The Pygmies would sing a birth-song to the child. In Kenya, the mother takes the baby strapped to her back into the thorn enclosure where the cattle are kept. There, her husband and the village elders wait to give the child his or her name.
In West Africa, after the baby is eight days old, the mother takes the baby for its first walk in the big, wide world, and friends and family are invited to meet the new baby. In various African nations, they hold initiation ceremonies for groups of children instead of birthdays. When children reach a certain designated age, they learn the laws, beliefs, customs, songs and dances of their tribes. Some African tribes consider that children from nine to twelve are ready to be initiated into the grown up world. They may have to carry out several tests.
Maasai boys around thirteen years old to seventeen undergo a two-stage initiation. The first stage lasts about three months. The boys leave their parents' homes, paint their bodies white, and are taught how to become young warriors. At the end of this stage, they have their heads shaved and they are also circumcised. At the second stage, the young warriors grow their hair long and live in a camp called a “manyatta” where they practice hunting the wild animals that might attack the Maasai herds. This stage may last a few years. When they are ready, they will marry and become owners of large cattle herds like their fathers. The girls are initiated when they are fourteen or fifteen. They are taught by the older women about the duties of marriage and how to care for babies. Soon after that they are married and lead a life similar to that of their mothers.

Foot racing is a popular activity in the United States. It is seen not only as a competitive sport but also as a way to exercise, to enjoy the camaraderie of like-minded people, and to donate money to a good cause. Though serious runners may spend months training to compete, other runners and walkers might not train at all. Those not competing to win might run in an effort to beat their own time or simply to enjoy the fun and exercise. People of all ages, from those of less than one year (who may be pushed in strollers) to those in their eighties, enter into this sport. The races are held on city streets, on college campuses, through parks, and in suburban areas, and they are commonly 5 to 10 kilometers in length.
The largest foot race in the world is the 12-kilometer Bay to Breakers race that is held in San Francisco every spring. This race begins on the east side of the city near San Francisco Bay and ends on the west side at the Pacific Ocean. There may be 80,000 or more people running in this race through the streets and hills of San Francisco. In the front are the serious runners who compete to win and who might finish in as little as 34 minutes. Behind them are the thousands 20 who take several hours to finish. In the back of the race are those who dress in costumes and come just for fun. One year there was a group of men who dressed like Elvis Presley, and another group consisted of firefighters who were tied together in a long line and who were carrying a fire hose. There was even a bridal party, in which the bride was dressed in a long white gown and the groom wore a tuxedo. The bride and groom threw flowers to bystanders, and they were actually married at some point along the route.

The invention of the mobile phone has undoubtedly revolutionized the way people communicate and influenced every aspect of our lives. The issue is whether this technological innovation has (46) _______ more harm than good. In order to answer the question, we must first turn to the types of consumers. Presumably, most parents (47) _______ are always worrying about their children's safety buy mobile phones for them to track their whereabouts. We can also assume that most teenagers want mobile phones to avoid missing out on social contact. In this context, the advantages are clear. (48) ________, we cannot deny the fact that text messages have been used by bullies to intimidate fellow students. There is also (49) ________ evidence that texting has affected literacy skills.
The widespread use of mobile phone has, out of question, affected adult consumers too. What employee, on the way home from work, would be reluctant to answer a call from their boss? Apparently, only 18% of us, according to a survey, are willing to switch off our mobile phones once we've left the office.
Admittedly, mobile phones can be intrusive but there are obvious benefits to possessing one. Personally speaking, they are invaluable when it comes to making social or business arrangements at short (50) _______. They also provide their owners with a sense of security in emergency situations.