II. COMPREHENSION

Directions: There are two passages in this section. Read each of them carefully and answer questions 29 - 46 according to the information given. From the four choices A - D given for each question.

Section One: Reading Passage I

Environmental Protection

1. The preservation of forest areas, wildlife and soil should be of a vital concern to all Ethiopians, since its neglect means a destruction of irreplaceable natural resources, a serious loss of revenue and the gradual desolation of the land until it becomes unfit for cultivation. According to a UNESCO survey in 1963, the consequences will be disastrous unless drastic measures are adopted. An example of this neglect is the present and past treatments of forests. In the good old days, the Ethiopian highlands were covered with virgin forests, which have since been largely used for construction and fuel. Along with the introduction of the eucalyptus tree, this has prevented the country from becoming a desert; however, the few remaining forest areas are not being preserved. The Ethiopian custom grants a man ownership of any land he clears off trees, and he is presented with forested tracts as a reward for his service to the government. The next twenty or thirty years will see the last remnants of virgin forests destroyed unless strong measures are taken.

2. Soil degradation has been aggravated by poor agricultural practices. These include improper terracing, the cultivation of steep and easily eroded hillsides, failure to rotate crops (with the consequent loss of valuable nutrients), and the burning of manure instead of returning it to the soil as fertilizer. The destruction of trees and the lack of modern farming methods are not themselves as bad as the erosion of the soil which may follow them. Several generations may be able to live off the land, but gradually the soil is washed away to Egypt, making the land increasingly poor in quality and yielding less and less. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to reclaim land that has deteriorated beyond a certain point. Trees cannot be planted to suck up water and hold the soil, because the earth is no longer deep enough to support long roots.

(Source: College Writing Skills: A Reference and Practice Book, (2019): pp.61-63)

Section Two: Reading Passage II

1. Homeless people are everywhere-on the street, in public buildings, on the evening news and at the corner parking lot. You can hardly step out of your house these days without meeting some haggard character who asks you for a cigarette or begs for "a little change". The homeless are not just constant symbols of wasted lives and social programs-they have become a danger to public safety.

2. What is the root of the homeless problem? Everyone seems to have a scapegoat. Advocates of the homeless blame government policy; politicians blame the legal system; the courts blame the bureaucratic infrastructure; the Democrats blame the Republicans and the Republicans blame the Democrats. The public also blames the economy, drugs, the "poverty cycle" and "the breakdown of society". With all this finger-pointing, the group most responsible for the homeless being the way they are received the least blame. That group is the homeless themselves.

3. How can I say this? For the past two years I have worked with the homeless, volunteering at the Salvation Army and at a soup kitchen in Austin, Texas. I have led a weekly chapel service, served food, listened, counseled, given time and money, and share1d their struggles. I have seen their response to troubles, and though I would rather report otherwise, many of them seem to have chosen the life styles they lead. They are unwilling to do the things necessary to overcome their circumstances. They must bear the greatest part of the blame for their manifold troubles.

4. Let me qualify what I just said. Not everyone who finds himself out of a job and in the street is there because he/she wants to be. Some are victims of tragic circumstances. I met many dignified, capable people during my time working with Austin's homeless: The single father struggling to earn his high-school equivalency and to be a role model for his children, the woman who fled a good j ob in another city to escape an abusive husband, the well-educated young man who had his world turned upside down by divorce and a layoff. These people deserve every effort to help them back on their feet.

5. But they are not the real problem. They are usually off the streets and resuming normal lives within a period of weeks or months. Even while "down on their luck," they are responsible citizens, working in the shelters and applying for jobs. They are homeless, true but only temporarily, because they are eager to reorganize their lives.

6. For every person temporarily homeless, though, there are many who are chronically so. Whether because of mental illness, alcoholism, poor education, drug addiction, or simply laziness, these homeless are content to remain as they are. In many cases they choose the streets. They enjoy the freedom and consider begging a minor inconvenience. T hey know they can always get a job for a day or two for food, cigarettes and alcohol. The sophisticated among them have learned to use the system for what it1 is worth and figure out that a trip through the welfare line is less trouble than a steady job. In a society that has mastered a dodging responsibility, these homeless prefer a life of no responsibility at all.

(Source: Critical Thinking, Thoughtful Writing: A Rhetoric with Readings by Chaffee, J. U.S.A (1999) (P.374-375))