television. Many of these TV dating shows, including The Bachelor and Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire? have proved to be ratings blockbusters, with millions of viewers watching each week to find out which of the contestants will find true love.
Of all these game shows, perhaps the one with the most unexpected ending was Mr. Right, which was shown in England in 2002. On the show, a bachelor, thirty-five-year-old Lance Gerrard-Wright, dated fifteen women to find the one who was his ideal partner. The host of the show was Ulrika Johnson, an English celerity originally from Sweden. For seven weeks on the show, Gerrard-Wright took turns going on dates with each of the women, taking them to expensive restaurants and exotic locations. He even met the women’s families and introduced them to his own. Then at the end of each episode, he would choose between one and three of the contestants with whom he had felt the least compatible, and say goodbye to them.
At one point during the series, one contestant volunteered to leave because she said she didn’t find him attractive. After two dates she said she had had enough, and she couldn’t see it working. ―He wasn’t my cup of tea.‖ In another episode the woman he was on a date with burst into tears when he called her by another contestant’s name. ―You called me by another girl’s name. I can’t believe you did that. I really liked you,‖ she sobbed.
But in the final episode, the woman he eventually chose decided she didn’t want to marry him after all. ―I think you’ve chosen me because you have to choose someone,‖ she said. Maybe this was because she already knew he had fallen in love---with the show’s host!
After leaving the show, Gerrard-Wright and Johnson were seen dining together and attending parties around London more and more often. Finally, on May 1, 2003, Gerrard-Wright proposed to Johnson on the steps of St. Paul’s Cathedral. And she accepted his proposal right away, although it was a conditional acceptance. Johnson has two children from previous relationships—an
eight-year-old son, Cameron, and a two-year-old daughter, Bo. She had to make sure that they agreed to the marriage. Luckily, they did. Gerrard-Wright said, ―In the end the show did work for me. I grabbed an opportunity to get a girlfriend and I did. Ulrika’s gorgeous.‖
Questions 66-68
Complete the following sentences with information given in the passage in a maximum of 2 words for each blank.
66. Lance Gerrard-Wright went to ____ to go on the show Mr. Right in order to find his perfect match.
67. On the show, Lance had the opportunity to date many gorgeous women among whom there might be one that he was almost ____.
68. Ulrika accepted Lance’s proposal ____ that her children agreed to their marriage as well. Questions 69-70
Choose the best answer according to the passage.
69. Which of the following did NOT happen on the show?
A. Lance went on dates with several women.
B. The candidates went to some very good restaurants.
C. Ulrika consulted her parents before she made her decision.
D. The women met Lance’s family.
70. What happened after seven weeks of doing the show?
A. All of the women found their beloved.
B. Lance started to date with the show’s host.
C. One of the women on the show couldn’t help crying.
D. Ulrika asked Lance to marry her.
Section D (10 marks)
Questions 71-75 are based on the following passage.
Alaska is disappearing slowly but surely. Since the 1950s, it is estimated that as much as 15 percent of Alaska’s area has disappeared. But how can a whole state be disappearing?
One reason for Alaska’s gradual disappearance is the melting its glaciers. According to one geologist at the US Geological Survey, about 98 percent of Alaska’s glaciers are either unmoving or diminishing. This diminishing seems mainly due to the increase in global temperatures. Since the 1960s, the average year-round temperature has increased by 5℉. Furthermore, the average winter temperature has increased by 8℉. Presently, an estimated 24 cubic miles of ice is
disappearing from Alaskan glaciers every year. It may be even more in the near future, as some scientists predict that the average world temperature could go up 2.5 to 10℉by the year 2010.
Another problem contributing to Alaska’s gradual disappearance is its permafrost. (74) poles are collapsing. Also, the hard permafrost which originally prevented beaches from eroding during violent storms is now melting. Affected villages are forced to relocate. For villages on small low islands, one terrible storm could wipe out the entire community.
The melting permafrost and increasing temperature are also having a negative impact on the forests of Alaska. As the permafrost under the forests melts, insects that normally don’t turn up
until the warmer seasons are appearing sooner. The spruce-bark beetle, for example, is increasing in numbers as a result of global warming. It usually takes about two years for these beetles to grow and reproduce in a very cold weather. However, due to the increase in temperatures,