Đề thi thử môn Tiếng Anh - Kỳ thi THPT Quốc gia năm học 2015-2016 - Đề 2 - Trường THCS - THPT Phú Quới

SỞ GD&ĐT VÓNH LONG
TRƯỜNG THCS-THPT PHUÙ QUÔÙI
ĐỀ THI THỬ THPT QUỐC GIA NĂM 2016
MÔN THI: TIẾNG ANH 
Thời gian: 90 phút
PHẦN TRẮC NGHIỆM: 
Read the passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word for each of the following blanks.
 The British often (1)____ people by their table manners and, at the table as in other (2)____ of British life, politeness and distance are priced. While it is acceptable to ask an American host for a second (3)____, in England you should absolutely wait (4)____ you are being offered. It is considered impolite not to (5)____ what is on your plate. Also watch what you say: the British are very distant with strangers and while they love (6)____ the weather, even such as their age or whether they have any children may be (7)____ too personal. Beware (8)____ calling Scottish or Irish people “English”. Absolute no-nos are politics and religion, as they are, incidentally, in the United States.  On both sides of the Atlantic, it is never a good idea to engage in arguments about (9)____ while sitting at the table.  You should also eat at roughly the same speed as the others at the table and never start your food before your (10)____ does.
Question 1: 	A. comment	B. value	C. estimate	D. judge
Question 2: 	A. walks	B. ways	C. parts	D. corners
Question 3: 	A. dish	B. amount	C. help	D. serving
Question 4: 	A. before	B. after	C. to	D. until
Question 5: 	A. end	B. finish	C. eat	D. use up
Question 6: 	A. telling	B. talking	C. discussing	D. arguing
Question 7: 	A. believed	B. thought	C. considered	D. regarding
Question 8: 	A. to	B. at	C. for	D. of
Question 9: 	A. neither	B. either	C. each	D. both
Question 10: 	A. host	B. landlord	C. guest	D. house owner
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.
Question 11: As a government official, Benjamin Franklin often traveled abroad.
A. widely 	B. secretly 	C. alone 	D. overseas
Question 12: American poet James Merrily received critical acclaim for his work entitled Jim's Book.
A. advice 	B. disapproval 	 C. praise 	D. attention
Question 13: The lost hikers stayed alive by eating wild berries and drinking spring water.
A. connived 	B. survived 	 C. surprised 	D. revived
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.
Question 14: We offer a speedy and secure service of transferring money in less than 24 hours.
A. uninterested 	 B. unsure 	C. slow 	D. open
Question 15: There is growing concern about the way man has destroyed the environment.
A. ease B. attraction C. consideration D. speculation
Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word that differs from the rest in the position of the main stress in each of the following word.
Question 16: A. eradication 	B. similarity 	C. resolution 	D. contradiction
Question 17: A. appeal 	B. cigarette 	C. irrelevant 	D. machine
Question 18: A. validity 	B. tremendous	C. flexible 	D. commercial
Question 19: A. necessarily 	B. necessary 	C. paradigm 	D. sovereign
Question 20: A. volcanic 	B. secretary 	C. advocate 	D. proposal
Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions.
Question 21: The polar bear is a(n) __________species.
A. endangered 	B. dangerous 	C. imprisoned 	D. preserved
Question 22: I can’t make ________what it says. It’s a very old book.
A. for 	B. up 	C. out 	D. of
Question 23: During the course, you will be given a test __________other week and a final exam at the end.
A. every 	B. some 	C. either 	D. several
Question 24: _______where he tried to hide his favourite jacket, Mogie’s brother always managed to find it.
A. Much as 	B. However 	C. Even though 	D. No matter
Question 25: The maid ___________the beds every morning.
A. has 	B. does 	C. takes 	D. makes
Question 26: ___________the contestant before him, Kirby sang a song he had written especially for this competition.
A. As 	B. Either 	C. Even 	D. Like
Question 27: The _________light lit up the whole garden.
A. flash 	B. flesh	 C. flame 	D. flare
Question 28: Our team was losing but we managed to _________the score.
A. get 	B. noticed 	C. even 	D. have
Question 29: We all hope that the dispute _________by the end of the month.
A. was going to settle 	B. will have been settled C. had been settled	D. is supposed to settle
Question 30: Gold, as well as silver, ________in price, he said.
A. Have fallen 	B. has fallen 	C. fall 	D. are falling
Question 31: “Who should go to see him?” “I suggest that Mary __________to see him”
A. go 	B. goes 	C. would go 	D. went
Question 32: ____migrate long distances is well documented.
 A. That it is birds	 B. That birds	C. Birds that D. It is that birds
Question 33: “Do you want to wait?” - “Two weeks _________too long for me to wait.”
A. is 	B. are C. were D. was
Question 34: We live in the ________on the corner.
A. brick house old large 	 B. large old brick house C. old brick large house 	 D. brick large old house
Question 35: No sooner _________the news than she fainted.
A. she heard 	B. had she heard 	C. as she heard 	D. she had heard
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B , C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions.
	This rapid transcontinental settlement and these new urban industrial circumstances of the last half of the 19th century were accompanied by the development of a national literature of great abundance and variety. New themes, new forms, new subjects, new regions, new authors, new audience all emerged in the literature of this half century. As a result, at the onset of World War I, the spirit and substance of American literature had evolved remarkably, just as its center of production had shifted from Boston to New York in the late 1880s and the sources of its energy to Chicago and the Midwest. No longer was it produced, at least in its popular forms, in the main by solemn, typically moralistic men from New England and the Old South; no longer were polite, well-dressed, grammatically correct, middle class young people the only center characters in its narratives; no longer were these narratives to be set in exotic places and remote times; no longer, indeed, were fiction, poetry, drama, and formal history the chief acceptable forms of literary expression; no longer, finally, was literature read primarily by young, middle class women. In sum, American literature in these years fulfilled in considerable measure the condition Walt Whitman called for in 1867 in describing Leaves of Grass: it treats, he said of his own major work, each state and region as peers "and expands from them, and includes the world ... connection an American citizen with the citizens of all nations" At the same time, these years saw the emergence of what has been designated "the literature of argument," powerful works in sociology, philosophy, psychology, many of them impelled by the spirit of exposure and reform. Just as America learned to play a role in this half century as an autonomous international political, economic, and military power, so did its literature establish itself as a producer of major work.
Question 36: The word "it" in the passage refers to ____.
A. American literature	B. the population	C. the energy	D. the manufacturing
Question 37: The word "exotic" in the passage is closest in meaning to ...
A. old-fashioned	B. unusual	C. urban	D. well-known
Question 38: It can be inferred from lines 1-3 that the previous passage probably discussed ____.
A. the fashions and values of 19th century America B. new developments in industrialization and population shifts
C. the limitations of American literature to this time D. the important of tradition to writers
Question 39: The word "evolved" in the passage is closest in meaning to ____.
A. changed	B. turned back	C. diminished	D. became famous
Question 40: The main idea of this passage is ____.
A. that centers of culture shifted from East to West 
B. that the new American literature was less provincial than the old
C. that World War I caused a dramatic change in America 
D. that most people were wary of the new literature
Question 41: It can be inferred from the passage that Walt Whitman ____.
A. wrote Leaves of Grass	 
B. was disapproving of the new literature
C. was an international diplomat	 
D. disliked urban life
Question 42: All of the following can be inferred from the passage about the new literature EXCEPT ____.
A. It was not highly regarded internationally 
B. It broke with many literature traditions of the past
C. It introduced new American themes, characters, and settings 
D. It spoke to the issue of reform and change
Question 43: This passage would probably be read in which of the following academic courses?
A. American literature	B. Current events	C. European history	D. International affairs
Question 44: The phrase "these years" in the passage refers to ____.
A. the early 1800s	B. 1850-1900	C. the present	D. the 1990s
Question 45: The author uses the word "indeed" in the passage for what purpose?
A. For variety in a lengthy paragraph 	
B. To wind down his argument
C. To emphasize the contrast he is making 
D. To show a favorable attitude to these forms of literature	
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B , C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions.
Alfred Bernhard Nobel, a Swedish inventor and philanthropist, bequeathed most of his vast fortune in trust as a fund from which annual prizes could be awarded to individuals and organizations who had achieved the greatest benefit to humanity in a particular year. Originally, there were six classifications for outstanding contributions designated in Nobel’s will, including chemistry, physics, physiology or medicine, literature and international peace.
The prizes are administered by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm. In 1969, a prize for economics endowed by the Central Bank of Sweden was added. Candidates for the prizes must be nominated in writing a qualified authority in the filed of competition. Recipients in physics, chemistry, and economics are selected by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences; and physiology or medicine by the Caroline Institute; in literature by the Swedish Academy; and in peace by the Norwegian Nobel Committee appointed by Norway’s parliament. The prizes are usually in Stockholm on December 10, with the King of Sweden officiating, an appropriate tribute Alfred Nobel on the anniversary of his death. Each one includes a gold medal, a diploma, and a cash award of about one million dollars.
Question 46: What does this passage mainly discuss? A. The Nobel prizes 	B. Alfred Bernhard Nobel
C. Swedish philanthropy 	D. Great contributions to mankind
Question 47: Why were the prizes named for Alfred Bernhard Nobel?
A. He won the first Nobel prize for his work in philanthropy	B. He is now living in Sweden
C. He left money in his will to establish a fund for the prizes
D. He serves as chairman of the committee to choose the recipients
Question 48: How often are the Nobel prizes awarded?
A. Five times a year 	B. Once every two years 	C. Once a year 	D. Twice a year
Question 49: The word “outstanding” in line 3 most closely means _______.
A. recent 	B. exceptional 	C. unusual 	D. established
Question 50: The word “will” in line 4 could best be replaced by _____.
A. Nobel’s wishes 	B. a legal document 	C. a future intention 	D. a free choice
Question 51: A Nobel prize would NOT be given to _______.
A. an author who wrote a novel 	B. a doctor who discovered a vaccine
C. a diplomat who negotiated a peace 	D. a composer who wrote a symphony
Question 52: The word “one” in paragraph 2 refers to _____.
A. tribute 	B. anniversary 	C. candidate 	D. prize
Question 53: The word “appropriate” in the passage most closely means _______.
A. prestigious 	B. suitable 	C. customary 	D. transitory
Question 54: Which individual or organization serves as administrator for the trust?
A. The King of Sweden 	B. The Nobel Foundation
C. The Central Bank of Sweden 	D. Swedish and Norwegian academies and institutes
Question 55: Why are the awards presented on December 10?
 A. It is a tribute to the King of Sweden. 	
 B. Alfred Bernhard Nobel died on that day.
 C. That date was established in Alfred Nobel’s will. 	
 D. The Central Bank of Sweden administers the trust
Mark the letter A, B , C or D on your answer sheet to show the underlined part that needs correction in each of the following questions.
Question 56:  The lady who had invited us heard me telling my wife the dinner terrible, so I was embarrassed. 
 A B C D
Question 57: After writing it, the essay must be duplicated by the student himself and handed into the department secretary before the end of the month. A B C D
Question 58: They are known that colds can be avoided by eating the right kind of food and taking exercise regularly. A B C D 
Question 59: Before the invention of the printing press, books have been all printed by hand.
 A B C D
Question 60: We educate our children as well as we can, because an educational population is the key to future. A B C D
Mark the letter A, B, C,or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word that is OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined part in each of the following questions.
Question 61: The International Organizations are going to be in a temporary way in the country.
	A. complicated	B. compulsory	C. permanent	D. good
Question 62: My little daughter would spend an inordinate amount of time in the shop, deciding exactly which 4 comics she was going to buy.  A. excessive B. limited 	 C. required	D. abundant
Mark the letter A, B, C,or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word that is CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined part in each of the following questions.
Question 63: Tom had to dip into his savings account to pay for his holiday in Sydney with his girlfriend. 
 A. increase	B. put money into	C. invest money	D. take money from 
Question 64: I think you should remove the last two sentences in the paragraph.
 A. put out 	B. take out 	C. pick out   	D. talk over   
PHẦN TỰ LUẬN: 
I. Rewrite each of the following sentences in such a way that the original meaning is exactly the same as the provided one.
1. Although he had a good salary, he was unhappy in his job.
 In spite of his good salary, he was unhappy in his job.
2. I’m sorry I missed your birthday party
 I wish I had not missed your birthday party
3. They haven’t cleaned the streets this week.
 The streets haven’t been cleaned this week.
4. Apples are usually cheaper than oranges.
 Apples are not as cheap as apples
5. I advice you to put your money in the bank.
 You’d better put your money in the bank.
II. Topic: Should students attend colleges or universities?
------------------THE END--------------------
SỞ GD&ĐT VÓNH LONG
TRƯỜNG THCS-THPT PHUÙ QUÔÙI
ĐỀ THI THỬ THPT QUỐC GIA NĂM 2016
MÔN THI: TIẾNG ANH 
Thời gian: 90 phút
PHẦN TRẮC NGHIỆM: 
Choose the word whose underlined part is pronounced differently from that of the others:
Question 1: A. adventure	 	B. future	C. mature	D. figure
Question 2: A. young 	B. plough 	C. couple 	D. cousin
Choose the word whose stress position is different from that of the others:
Question 3: A. open	B. happen	C. offer	D. begin
Question 4: A. difficulty 	B. simplicity 	C. discovery 	D. commodity 
Question 5: A. obligatory	B. geographical	C. international	D. undergraduate
Choose the best answer among A, B, C, D to complete each sentence below:
Question 6: _________ he is old, he wants to travel around the world.
 A. In spite of	B. Although	C. Despite	D. Because
Question 7: Had I studied harder, I_________________better in the last exam.
 A. would do	B. would have done	C. had done	D. wouldn’t have done
Question 8: The larger the apartment, the __________________ the rent is.
	A. expensive	B. more expensive	C. expensively	 D. most expensive
Question 9: Nam wanted to know what time _______.
 A. the movie began	B. the movie begins C. does the movie begin D. did the movie begin 
Question 10: On attaining maximum size, ______ by drawing itself out and dividing into two daughter amoebas, each receiving identical nuclear materials.
 A. the reproduction of the amoeba 	B. the amoeba, which reproduces
 C. reproducing the amoeba	D. the amoeba reproduces
Question 11: Last week, our class went to Ha Long Bay for a picnic, ________ made us very happy then.
A. which	B. that	C. it	D. of which
Question 12: Lenses, ____________, are used to correct imperfections in eyesight.
 A. are the forms of glasses and contact lenses	B. in the form of glasses and contact lenses
 C. glasses and contact lenses which form	D. glasses and contact lenses may be formed
Question 13:Tim: “____________” – Jeycy: “Certainly”
 A. Welcome back! 	B. What are you doing there? 
C. I’m sorry I am late 	D. May I borrow a pencil , please?
Question 14: Jane:“Would you mind if I use you computer for an hour?” 	Tony:”________”
A. Not at all. I’ve finished my job 	B. Yes, you can use it.
 	C. Of course not. I still need it now 	D. Yes, It’s all right.
Question 15: Thanks to the laser beams, at last, he could get rid of the __________birthmark on his face.
 A. normal	B. abnormal	C. abnormality 	D. abnormally
Question 16: That beautiful girl died of an________ morphine.	
 A. overweight 	B. overhear	C. overdo	D. overdose
Question 17: He is the postman _____ I got this letter.
A. from who	B. to whom	C. from whom	D. with whom
Question 18: We usually do go by train, even though the car _________ is a lot quicker.
A. travel 	B. journey	C. trip 	D. voyage
Question 19: I suggest the room ..before Christmas.
A. be decorated	 B. is decorated	C. were decorated	D. should decorate
Question 20: Many species of plants and animals are in___________ of extinction.
 A. dangerous	B. endangered	C. danger	D. dangerously
Question 21: The last person ______ the room must turn off the lights.
 A. to leave	B. who leave	C. that	leave	D. all are correct
Question 22:	“What’s the matter? You don’t look very well.” – “I feel a little _________________.”
A. out of the blue 	C. out of order 	B. under the weather 	D. under the impression
Question 23: I know we had an arguement, but now I'd quite like to _________.
	A. look down 	B. make up 	C. fall out	D. bring up
Question 24: Nowadays women ___the same wages as men
 A.should pay	B.will be paid	C.will pay	D.should be paid
Mark the letter A,B,C or D on your sheet to indicate the word(s) SIMILAR in meaning to the underlined words in each of the following sentences.
Question 25: As tourism is more developed, people worry about the damage to the flora and fauna of the island.
	A. fruits and vegetables	B. flowers and trees
	C. plants and animals	D. mountains and forests
Question 26: “It is a really difficult matter to decide how to solve now. I will need time to think it over”. 
 A. to sleep on it.	B. to make it better	 C. to make up for it	D. to think out of time
Mark the letter A,B,C or D on your sheet to indicate the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined words in each of the following sentences.
Question 27: “That is a well-behaved boy whose behaviour has nothing to complain about” 
 A. good behavior	B. behaving improprely	 C. behaving nice	D. behaving cleverly
Question 28: After five days on trial, the court found him innocent of the crime and he was released.
	A. benevolent 	B. innovative 	C. naive	D. guilty
Question 29: His creer advancement was slow and he did not gain any promotion until he was 40, when he won the position of the company’s Chief Excutive.
Progress	B. elevation	C. rise	D. decrease
Choose the option among A, B, C, D which needs correcting to make a complete sentence
Question 30: I didn’t feel like to go to church this morning because it was raining hard
 A B C D
Question 31: Tom likes to gossip about other people, so he doesn’t like them to gossip about him.
	A B C D
Question 32: Have a headache, an upset stomach, and a bad case of sunburn did not put me in a good mood 
	 A 	 B C D
for the evening.
Question 33: . Genetic engineering is helping researchers unravel the mysteries of previously incurable diseases 
A B 
so that they get to its root causes and find cures.
 C	 D
Question 34: The novelist Shirley Hazzard is noted for the insight, poetic style, and sensitive she demonstrates 
	A	B	 C	 	D
in her works.
Choose the word or phrase (A, B, C or D)) that best fits the blank space in the following passage:
Environmental Concerns
	Earth is the only place we know of in the universe that can support human life. (35) _____ human activities are making the planet less fit to live on. As the western world (36) _____ on consuming two-thirds of the world's resources while half of the world's population do so just to stay alive we are rapidly destroying the (37) _____ resource we have by which all people can survive and prosper. Everywhere fertile soil is (38) _____ built on or washed into the sea. Renewable resources are exploited so much that they will never be able to recover (39) _____. We discharge pollutants into the atmosphere without any thought of the consequences. As a (40) _____ the planet's ability to support people is being reduced at the very time when rising human numbers and consumption are (41) _____ increasingly heavy demands on it. 
	The Earth's (42) _____ resources are there for us to use. We need food, water, air, energy, medicines, warmth, shelter and minerals to (43) _____ us fed, comfortable, healthy and active. If we are sensible in how we use the resources, they will (44) _____ indefinitely. But if we use them wastefully and excessively, they will soon run out and everyone will suffer.
Question 35: A. Although 	B. Yet 	C. Still 	D. Despite 
Question 36: A. continues 	B. repeats 	C. follows	D. carries 
Question 37: A. individual 	B. alone 	C. very 	D. solitary 
Question 38: A. neither 	B. sooner 	C. rather	D. either 
Question 39: A. utterly 	B. completely	C. quite 	D. greatly
Question 40: A. result 	B. reaction 	C. development 	D. product 
Question 41: A. making 	B. doing 	C. having 	D. taking 
Question 42: A. living 	B. real 	C. natural 	D. genuine 
Question 43: A. maintain	B. stay 	C. hold 	D. keep 
Question 44: A. remain 	B. go 	C. last 	D. stand 
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions 
 Ocean water plays an indispensable role in supporting life. The great ocean basins hold about 300 million cubic miles of water. From this vast amount, about 80,000 cubic miles of water are sucked into the atmosphere each year by evaporation and returned by precipitation and drainage to the ocean. More than 24,000 cubic miles of rain descend annually upon the continents. This vast amount is required to replenish the lakes and streams, springs and water tables on which all flora and fauna are dependent. Thus, the hydrosphere permits organic existence.
 The hydrosphere has strange characteristics because water has properties unlike those of any other liquid. One anomaly is that water upon freezing expands by about 9 percent, whereas most liquids contract on cooling. For this reason, ice floats on water bodies instead of sinking to the bottom. If the ice sank, the hydrosphere would soon be frozen solidly, except for a thin layer of surface melt water during the summer season. Thus, all aquatic life would be destroyed and the interchange of warm and cold currents, which moderates climate, would be notably absent.
 Another outstanding charateristic of water is that water has a heat capacity which is the highest of all liquids and solids except ammonia. This characterisitc enables the oceans to absorb and store vast quantities of heat, thereby often preventing climatic extremes. In addition, water dissolves more substances than any other liquid. It is this characteristic which helps make oceans a great storehouse for minerals which have been washed down from the continents. In several areas of the world these minerals are being commercially exploited. Solar evaporation of salt is widely practised, potash is extracted from the Dead Sea, and magnesium is produced from sea water along the American Gulf Coast.
Question 45: The author’s main purpose in this passage is to ___________.
A. illustrate the importance of conserving water B. describe the properties and uses of water
C. compare water with other liquids D. explain how water is used in commerce and industry
Question 46: The phrase “this vast amount” in line 4 of paragraph 1 refers to __________ .
A. 80,000 million cubic miles of water	B. 24,000 cubic miles of rain
C. 80,000 cubic miles of water	D. 300 million cubic miles of water
Question 47: The word “replenish” in paragraph 1 can best replaced by ________ .
A. fill again	B. replace	C. evaporate	D. form
Question 48: According to the passage, fish can survive in the oceans because ________ .
A. evaporation and condensation create a water cycle B. there are currents in the oceans
C. they do not need oxygen D. ice floats
Question 49: Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a characterisitic of water?
A. Water can absorb heat	B. Water is good solvent.
C. Water contracts on cooling	D. Water expands when it is frozen
Question 50: The word “outstanding” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ________ 
A. exceptionally good	B. special	C. amusing	D. important
Question 51: According the passage, the hydrosphere is NOT ___________ .
A. the part of the earth covered by water	B. responsible for all forms of life
C. in danger of freezing over	D. a source of natural resources
Question 52: The author’s tone in the passage can best be described as ________ .
A. dispassionate	B. speculative	C. biased	D. dogmatic
Question 53: The author organizes the passage by _______.
A. juxtaposition of true and untrue ideas	B. comparison and contrast
C. general statement followed by examples	D. hypothesis and proof
Question 54: Which of the following statements would be the most likely to begin the paragraph immediately following the passage?
A. Water has the ability to erode land
B. Droughts and flooding are two types of disasters associated with water
C. Another remarkably property of ice is its strength
D. Magnesium is widely used in metallurgical processes
Read the following passage and blacken the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer for each of the questions.
Until recently, most American entrepreneurs were men. Discrimination against women in business, the demands of caring for families, and lack of business training had kept the number of women entrepreneurs small. Now, however, businesses owned by women account for more than $40 billion in annual revenues, and this figure is likely to continue rising throughout the 1990s. As Carolyn Doppelt Gray, an official of the Small Business Administration, has noted, "The 1970s was the decade of women entering management, and the 1980s turned out to be the decade of the woman entrepreneur". What are some of the factors behind this trend? For one thing, as more women earn advanced degrees in business and enter the corporate world, they are finding obstacles. Women are still excluded from most executive suites. Charlotte Taylor, a management consultant, had noted, "In the 1970s women believed if they got an MBA and worked hard they could become chairman of the board. Now they've found out that isn't going to happen, so they go out on their own". 
 	In the past, most women entrepreneurs worked in "women's" fields: cosmetics and clothing, for example. But this is changing. Consider ASK Computer Systems, a $22-million-a-year computer software business. It was founded in 1973 by Sandra Kurtzig, who was then a housewife with degrees in math and engineering. When Kurtzig founded the business, her first product was software that let weekly newspapers keep tabs on their newspaper carriers-and her office was a bedroom at home, with a shoebox under the bed to hold the company's cash. After she succeeded with the newspaper software system, she hired several bright computer-science graduates to develop additional programs. When these were marketed and sold, ASK began to grow. It now has 200 employees, and Sandra Kurtzig owns $66.9 million of stock. 
Of course, many women who start their own businesses fail, just as men often do. They still face hurdles in the business world, especially problems in raising money; the banking and finance world is still dominated by men, and old attitudes die hard. Most businesses owned by women are still quite small. But the situation is changing; there are likely to be many more Sandra Kurtzigs in the years ahead.
Question 55: What is the main idea of this passage?
A.Women today are better educated than in the past, making them more attractive to the business world.
B.The computer is especially lucrative for women today.
C. Women are better at small business than men are.
D. Women today are opening more business of their own.
Question 56:The word “excluded” is closest meaning to _________ .
A. not permitted in B. often invited to
C. decorators of D. charged admission to
Question 57: All of the following were mentioned in the passage as detriments to women in the business world EXCEPT _________ .
A.Women were required to stay at home with their families.
B. Women lacked ability to work in business.
C.Women faced discrimination in business.
D.Women were not trained in business.
Question 58: The word “that” refers to _