BÀI ĐỌC TRONG ĐỀ THI THPT – ĐẠI HỌC

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 from 1 to 7. (Đọc đoạn văn sau và chọn câu trả lời đúng nhất)

There are many African tribes but, for many people, the Masai are the most well-known. They are famous for their bright red clothing and their ceremonies with lots of music and dancing. Probably, one of the most colorful ceremonies is the festival of "Eunoto," when the teenage boys of the Masai become men.

Eunoto lasts for many days and Masai people travel across the region to get to a special place near the border between Kenya and Tanzania. The teenage boys who travel with them are called "warriors." This is a traditional name from the past when young men fought with other tribes.

At the beginning of the ceremony, the teenagers paint their bodies while their mothers start to build a place called the "Osingira," a sacred room in the middle of the celebrations. Later, the senior elders from different tribes will sit inside this place and, at different times, the boys go inside to meet them. Later in the day, the boys run around the Osingira, going faster and faster each time.

The teenagers also have to alter their appearance at Eunoto. Masai boys' hair is very long before the ritual but they have to cut it off. In Masai culture, hair is an important symbol. For example, when a baby grows into an infant, the mother cuts the child's hair and gives the child a name. At a Masai wedding, the hair of the bride is also cut off as she becomes a woman. And so, at Eunoto, the teenage boy's mother cuts his hair off at sunrise.

On the final day, the teenagers meet the senior elders one more time. They get this advice: "Now you are men, use your heads and knowledge." Then, people start to travel back to their homes and lands. The teenagers are no longer warriors. They are adult men and now they will get married and have children. Later in life, they will be the leaders of their communities.        (Adapted from "Life" by John Hughes, Helen Stephenson and Paul Dummett)