51. Look at the first paragraph， who were right？ The authorities or the pessimists？

[A] The authorities.                      [B] The pessimists.

[C] Both.                                [D] Neither.

52. In what way was the blackout of 1977 not really a repeat performance？

[A] There was much more disorder.       [B] This time the electricity supply failed.

[C] It was quite unexpected.           [D] It did not occur within five years of 1965.

53. As far as maintaining the peace was concerned， conditions in 1977 were comparatively _________.

[ A ] more favourable                      [B] less favourable

[ C ] unchanged                           [ D ] improved

54. What caused the blackout in July 1977？

[A] Excessive heat probably made people switch on too many electrical appliances.

[ B ] Because of unemployment， some machines were not in proper working order.

[C] During a storm， lightning damaged supply cables，

[D] The passage does not mention the cause.

55. Why did many looters manage to escape？

[A] The police could not see them in the dark.

[ B] Many of the looters were armed with guns.

[ C ] There were not enough policemen to catch them all.

[D] They were hidden inside big buildings.

Text 3

" Culture consists of all shared products of human society" （ Robertson， 1981）。 This means not only such material things as cities， organizations and schools， but also non-material things such as ideas， customs， family patterns， languages. Putting it simply， culture refers to the entire way of life of a society， "the ways of a people".

Language is a part of culture and plays a very important role in it. Some social scientists consider it the keystone of culture. Without language， the maintaining of culture would not be possible. On the other hand， language is influenced and shaped by culture， it reflects culture. In the broadest sense， language is the symbolic representation of a people， and it comprises their historical and cultural backgrounds， as well as their approach to life and their ways of living and thinking.

We should not go further into the relationship between language and culture. What needs to be stressed here is that the two interact， and that understanding of one requires understanding of the other.

Social scientists tell us that cultures differ from one another， that each culture is unique. As

cultures are diverse， so languages are diverse. It is only natural then that with differences in cultures and differences in languages， difficulties often arise in communicating between cultures and across cultures. Understanding is not always easy.

Learning a foreign language well means more than merely mastering the pronunciation， grammar， words and idioms. It means learning also to see the world as native speakers of that language see it， learning the ways in which their language reflects the ideas， customs， and behaviors of their society， learning to understand their "language of the mind". Learning a language， in fact， is inseparable from learning its culture.

56. According to the first paragraph， the term "culture" refers to_________.

[ A ] things like cities， organizations and schools

[ B ] ideas， customs， family patterns， and languages

[C] all things produced by human race

[D] the total that constitute a society