Document 2
Document 2
Document 2
In the seventeenth century, the Japanese had opened their doors briefly to the Dutch and allowed a trading
station and Christian enclave in Nagasaki. Guns were imported as part of this trade, and they were one of the
reasons for a great upheaval that engulfed Japan for many decades, as a civil war raged between powerful
shoguns, or warlords. Finally, Tokugawa emerged as the victor and claimed the lordship of Japan. During
these upheavals, the emperor and his family had stood by wielding no power and existed merely as a
figurehead. Soon after the civil war, the Japanese abandoned the use of guns and the art of the gun making.
When Admiral Perry and his fleet arrived in 1853, they were defenseless against his awesome firepower.
Perry had three main purposes when he arrived in Japan: open the country to American trade, get an
agreement to use Japan as a coaling and provisioning station for American vessels, and provide guarantees
that Japan would aid shipwrecked American sailors. He wished to deal only with the highest officials and
rebuffed Japanese attempts to foster lower-level emissaries on him. He sailed away to examine further the
coast of Taiwan as a possible coaling station but returned to Japan the following spring in March 1854. This
time, under threat of naval bombardment, the Japanese relented and finally signed the Treaty of Kanagawa
on March 31, 1854. In addition to the three main items, the Japanese agreed to allow an American consulate
to be established. At first, only Nagasaki was open to American trade, but the treaty stipulated that, after five
years, other ports would be opened.
The consequences of these events were far reaching for Japan and the world. Within a few years, foreign
currency began to flow to Japan, which upset its economy and caused rising inflation. This was a precursor
to the fall of the Tokugawa shoguns and the return of the emperor as the leader of Japanese affairs in 1868.
The Emperor Meiji then set a clear path for his nation, not wanting Japan to be under the heel of the
foreigners who now clamored at the heel of the foreigners of his land. Meiji sent sailors to England to learn
how to build ships and fight a modern naval war, invited German army officers to train his soldiers, and
made deals with many companies to modernize Japan's industry, transportation, and communications. In
fact, the efforts were so successful that, by the 1980s, the world began to view Japan as one of the great
powers, more so after it defeated both China and Russia on land and at sea in two local wars. The Russian
defeat was even more astonishing since the Europeans were unused to losing to those they considered their
inferiors.
Japan's rapid industrialized and militarization had dreadful consequences for Asia, as Meiji's grandson
Hirohito led the nation down the path to world war, which ultimately saw the destruction of much of Japan.
The shock of this defeat still echoes through Japanese history, as does the arrival of Perry and his warships
so long ago. His efforts opened Japan to the world. Unknowingly, he unleashed a powerful force, with the
Japanese not willing to be subjugated to foreign domination. In the long run, Japan has become part of the
global culture and has offered more to the world than could have ever been imagined when Perry's ships first
dropped anchor on that fateful day in the past.
1. According to paragraph 1, all of the following are correct about Japan’s dealings with foreigners in the
mid-nineteenth century EXCEPT ______.
A. no ships were allowed to visit Japan
B. ships in need were not helped by Japan
C. shipwrecked sailors were badly treated
D. they had a very limited foreign trade
2. The word secluded in the passage is CLOSEST in meaning to ______.
A. removed B. hidden C. isolated D. reserved
3. According to paragraph 2, during the Tokugawa shogun period, the Japanese emperor ______.
A. was a symbol and not the real ruler of Japan
B. shared power with the shoguns but was secondary
C. did not challenge the power of the shoguns
D. was quite unknown to the Japanese people
4. It can be inferred from paragraph 2 that the Japanese abandoned gun making because guns ______.
A. were the products of foreigners and thus forbidden
B. were blamed for helping cause the long civil war
C. went against the Japanese idea of a warrior
D. were difficult and expensive to make in Japan
5. The word they in the passage refers to ______.
A. powerful shoguns B. the emperor and his family
C. the Japanese D. Admiral Perry and his fleet
6. According to paragraph 3, Admiral Perry’s mission to Japan eventually ______.
A. achieved exactly what he wanted
B. failed to achieve any concrete objectives
C. achieved some but not all of his objectives
D. achieved more than he had expected
7. The word wielding most likely means ______.
A. holding B. exercising C. going after D. suffering from
8. According to paragraph 3, the Treaty of Kanagawa was agreed to by the Japanese ______.
A. because they wanted to have relations with American
B. against wishes under the threat of force of arms
C. in order to gain an advantage over the Americans
D. because the realized they could not be secluded forever
9. According to paragraph 4, in order to modernize Japan, Emperor Meiji relied on ______.
A. the expertise of his own people B. educating his people in new skills
C. experts from outside of Japan D. the capital from trade links
10. The word subjugated is closest in meaning to ______.
A. ethereal B. succumbed
C. unpretentious D. decommissioned
Write your answers here:
1. ___________ 2. ___________ 3. ___________ 4. ___________ 5. ___________
6. ___________ 7. ___________ 8. ___________ 9. ___________ 10. ___________
IX. Fill in each numbered blank with ONE suitable word. Write your answers in the space provided.
(20 points)
In many Western countries, girls are more (1) ______ to smoke than boys. It’s the girls who want to look
“tougn and grown-up”. The result is that although lung cancer in American men has fallen (2) ______ the
first time in 50 years, the disease is increasing in women. The decrease in the disease among men is (3)
______ to a decrease in smoking among men since the government’s first warning of a (4) ______ between
cigarettes and disease in 1964. On the other hand, lung cancer is now expected to overtake breast cancer as
the principal fatal cancer among women. If your son or daughter is a non-smoker, there is another good (5)
______ for rejecting a smoker as a life-long mate. Smokers don’t just ruin their own health by (6) ______
up. They are a menace to (7) ______. Second-hand smoke is lethal. As the 18 th report on smoking by the
United States Surgeon General: IT – “Involuntary smoking is a (8) ______ of disease, including lung cancer,
in healthy non-smokers.” (9) ______ to the report, at home, the children of parents who smoke (10) ______
the effects in their respiratory systems. Smokers make their own kids sick.
Write your answers here:
1. ___________ 2. ___________ 3. ___________ 4. ___________ 5. ___________
6. ___________ 7. ___________ 8. ___________ 9. ___________ 10. ___________
SECTION 5. WRITING (40 points)
X. Finish the second sentence in each pair in such a way that it means the same as the sentence before
it. (10 points)
1. He met Jane, whom he later married, when he was at Cambridge.
He met Jane, _________________________, when he was at Cambridge.
2. It’s nobody’s fault that the meeting was cancelled.
___________________________ the meeting was cancelled.
3. Thanks to her uncle’s legacy of 15,000 dollars, she was able to buy the house she wanted.
_____________________________________, she would not have been able to buy the house she
wanted.
4. I can’t remember the last time I had a day off.
It feels _______________________________.
5. The club owner became a media celebrity, as well as extremely rich.
Not only _______________________________________________.
XI. Complete the second sentence, using the word given in bold. Do not change the word given. You
must use between two and five words, including the word given. (10 points)
1. I think we should increase the pressure on her to resign. UP
I think we should ________________ the pressure on her to resign.
2. It’s pretty certain that we’ll win a gold medal this year in the 100 meters. FOREGONE
It’s a ___________________ that we’ll win a gold medal this year in the 100 meters
3. Everybody made fun of him because he’d his hair cut so short. MICKEY
Everybody _______________ of him because he’d his hair cut so short.
4. Martin cannot go any higher in this career. PINNACLE
Martin __________________________ of his career.
5. I think the board should listen to what we want to say. HEARING
In my opinion, the board ______________________.
XII. Write a paragraph (from 120 to 150 words) to state your own opinion about this topic. (20 points)
Some people perceive the engagement of young people with cultural traditions like folk music, architectural
wonders or traditional arts as a tough nut to crack. What factors contribute to this inclination? Is there a
remedy to promote the integration of cultural heritage into the daily lives of juveniles?
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