Question

Text 1. Read the text and answer the questions. A better life? China's expectations are rising, with no end in sight. What's next? By Peter Hessler The beginning of a Chinese factory town is always the same: in the beginning, nearly, everybody is a construction worker. The growing economy means that everything moves fast, and new industrial districts rise in several stages. Those early labourers are men who have migrated from rural villages, and immediately they are joined by small entrepreneurs. These pioneers sell meat, fruit and vegetables on informal stalls, and later, when the first real shops appear, they stock construction materials. After that, cell phone companies arrive: China Mobile, China Unicom. They sell prepaid phonecards to migrants; in the south-eastern province of Zhejiang, one popular product is called the Homesick Card. When the factories start production, you start to see women. Young women have a reputation for being hard-working. After the arrival of the women, the clothes shops appear. An American poet once described an industrial town in the USA as 'springing up, like the enchanted palaces of the Arabian tales, as it were in a single night.' Today it's the factory towns of China that seem to belong to another world. The human energy is amazing: the courageous entrepreneurs, the quick-moving builders, the young migrants. A combination of past problems and present-day opportunities has created an extremely motivated population. Most people in China have seen their standard of living go up in recent years. The size of the population is both a strength and a challenge to China. Of the 1.3 billion people, 72 per cent are between the ages of 16 and 64. The movement of people from the countryside to the cities has transformed China into the world's factory floor. In 1978, there were only 172 million urban residents. Now there are 577 million. Social scientists predict that the urban population will be 60 per cent by 2030. Each year about ten million rural Chinese move to the cities, so the factories have a constant supply of labour. Chinese schools have been very successful. The literacy rate is over 90 per cent. The next step is to develop higher education. Many people are looking for better training. In a Chinese factory town, there are many private courses: English classes, typing classes, technical classes. In Zhejiang, I met Luo Shouyun, who had spent a quarter of his wages on training. Now he is a master machinist, with a salary that makes him 'middle class'. Another young man had learned Arabic in order to translate for Middle Eastern buyers. Clearly, there are environmental costs from China's rapid growth. Collaboration between China and other countries will be crucial in managing environmental problems. Nobody in the developed world should criticise China without taking a look in the mirror. The nation has become successful by making products for overseas consumers. There's nothing foreign about the materialistic dreams of the average Chinese worker. (CENGAGE, 2020)   Questions 1 – 10 Circle the letter which best answers the question 1. What is the starting point for factory towns? A. Money B. Construction C. Commercial D. Residential 2. Where does the initial workforce come from? A. cities B. towns C. villages D. overseas 3. What is the role of early entrepreneurs? A. sell products to support the workforce B. start designer outlets to attract people C. to provide telephonic services D. to encourage the government to provide hospitals 4. What does the writer mean by the Homesick Card? A. It is a card that tells the employer you are sick B. It is a card that you send to your family because you miss them C. It is a card that gives you free phone calls D. It is a card you buy which you use to call home 5. Why do production factories employ young women? A. because there are more women than men B. because older women are not allowed to work C. because they work hard D. because they do not have to pay them big salaries 6. Why does the writer refer to an American poet and Arabian tales? A. He comes from an Arabic country, and he remembers home B. He wants to make a strong mental image for the reader C. He is a poet and likes poetry D. He wants to say that all three countries are similar 7. How many people lived in the city in 1978? A. 72% B. 577 million C. 10 million D. 172 million   8. How many people migrate from the countryside into urban areas? A. 1.3 billion B. 577 million C. 10 million D. 172 million 9. Why are people looking for better training? A. to improve their economic status B. they like to learn C. they want to keep busy D. they have nothing else to do 10. The article mentions one issue that is affecting China. A. relations with other countries B. they dream too much C. environmental costs D. production costs Question 11 – 20 Complete the summary using words from the original text. Chinese factories always start in the same way. First it is mainly ____________________ 1 workers. Things go along quickly due to the expanding economy with staged building taking place to establish these new industrial areas. Migrants _________________2 provide most of the workforce who come from rural villages to seek employment. Alongside this migrant workforce are a few ___________________ 3 who provide essential services to meet the need of the workers such as selling meat, fruit and vegetables. China Mobile and China Unicom represent the ___________________ 4 companies. They provide telecommunication services so that the labour force can keep in touch with people back at home. They normally sell ______________ 5 services such as the Homesick Card. Women join the growing number of people working in these factory cities especially at the time of __________________ 6 . This is because young women work hard. These factory towns make China seem like they are from some other planet. What is remarkable is the human ______________ 7: the brave businesspeople, the fast responding construction workers, and the younger migrants. The past and the present meet to create a highly _______________ 8 group of people. Standards of living in _________________ 9 have gone up in recent years. Although there has been tremendous Economic growth nothing comes without problems and the biggest one clearly is the _____________________ 10 costs from China’s rapid growth.

Answer 1

Questions 1 – 10 Circle the letter which best answers the question (10 marks)

1. What is the starting point for factory towns? B. Construction

2. Where does the initial workforce come from? C. villages

3. What is the role of early entrepreneurs? A. sell products to support the workforce

4. What does the writer mean by the Homesick Card? D. It is a card you buy which you use to call home

5. Why do production factories employ young women? C. because they work hard

6. Why does the writer refer to an American poet and Arabian tales? D.  He wants to say that all three countries are similar

7. How many people lived in the city in 1978? D. 172 million  

8. How many people migrate from the countryside into urban areas? C. 10 million

9. Why are people looking for better training? A. to improve their economic status

10. The article mentions one issue that is affecting China. C. environmental costs

Question 11 – 20 Complete the summary using words from the original text. (10 marks)

Chinese factories always start in the same way. First it is mainly ____________Construction________ 1 workers. Things go along quickly due to the expanding economy with staged building taking place to establish these new industrial areas. Migrants ______Labourers___________2 provide most of the workforce who come from rural villages to seek employment. Alongside this migrant workforce are a few _ small entrepreneurs __________________ 3 who provide essential services to meet the need of the workers such as selling meat, fruit and vegetables. China Mobile and China Unicom represent the ___________cell phone________ 4 companies. They provide telecommunication services so that the labour force can keep in touch with people back at home. They normally sell ____prepaid phonecard__________ 5 services such as the Homesick Card. Women join the growing number of people working in these factory cities especially at the time of ________start of production__________ 6 . This is because young women work hard. These factory towns make China seem like they are from some other planet. What is remarkable is the human __energy____________ 7: the brave businesspeople, the fast responding construction workers, and the younger migrants. The past and the present meet to create a highly ______motivated_________ 8 group of people. Standards of living in ______China___________ 9 have gone up in recent years. Although there has been tremendous Economic growth nothing comes without problems and the biggest one clearly is the _________Environmental____________ 10 costs from China’s rapid growth.