a.strain - force
b.surplus - excess
c.distinctive - unique
d.lured - seduced
e.imposing - impressive

PART 2: TRUE-FALSE STATEMENT

c. T
d. T
e. F 
PART 3: COMPREHENSION

a.      China implement the one-child policy because they wanted to reduce population growth in order to feed its people.

b.       The implementation of the one-child policy benefit China by reducing the popular growth in China. Furthermore, this policy is also given credit for China’s fast economic development.

 c.       The main idea of paragraph three is the one-child policy has left China with the most distorted male-to-female ratio in the world.

d.       Chinese couples do to ensure their only child was a boy by abortions, infanticide, and abandoning infant girls. Sex selective abortion escalated in urban areas with the emergence of ultra-sound technology.

 

e.       The Chinese prefer to have a male child is because of cultural preference. Due to traditional beliefs that view boys as investment and carrier of family names, the Chinese people prefer to have a boy as their only child. It is also traditionally believed that male children belong to their father’s lineages, and daughters become part of their husband’s families.

f.       -A recent study of Chinese Academy of Social Services (CASS) predicted that 24 million Chinese men might not be able to find brides in 2020

 -The male-to-female distortion has led to crimes such as forced prostitution, rape and adultery.

 -Women are lured or kidnapped and sold for forced marriages and commercial sex trade.

 

-Worsen the problem of an ageing population in the future because it  is worried that the future China will have fewer youngsters to support the country.

g.       The two steps taken by China to solve the imbalanced male-to-female ratio are by launching a Girl Care Project. It aims to end pre-natal sex selection and to curb criminal activities of drowning and abandoning baby girls. The authorities also focus on educating society to foster more respect and concern for women. Through the project, the Chinese government offers rewards and assists families that plan to give birth to baby girls. In early 2014, China also announced that it will relax its decades long one-child policy. The country will allow couples to have two children if either parent is an only child.

h.       Women empowerment help demographic transition because women are better position to control their fertility when they are free of male dominance.

TEXT 2: READING AND VOCABULARY

 

PART 1: CONTEXTUAL CLUES

 a. afflicted - burden

 b.perpetually - constantly

 c.acute - critical

 d.intractable - uncontrollable

 e.derived - obtained
PART 2: TRUE-FALSE STATEMENT

 

a. T

b. T

c. F

d. T

e. T

PART 3: COMPREHENSION

a.      The advantages of using slash-and-burn techniques in agriculture are it helps to dispose excess vegetation quickly and leave behind a blanket of ash that works as a natural fertilizer for the soil. It is also the cheapest method to clear clogged woodland as the cost of buying or renting machines and hiring additional manpower could be reduced. 

 b.         Mainland and maritime Southeast Asia countries experience haze at different times because it have different dry seasons.

 c.      Small farmers in Southeast Asia continue to practice slash-and burn techniques despite the controls against it because they lack exposure and training in modern agricultural methods. They are lack of incentives and capital to pursue more sustainable land-management practices.

 

d.     Indonesian authorities facing difficulties in curbing illegal burning because many of its territories are simply too remote to monitor. Apathy may also be part of the problem as authorities simply lack the will to enforce the laws, and they even consider haze as a price to be paid for progress.

 

e.      The local authorities in Indonesia be prepared to manage large-scale forest fires by the fires simmer until the monsoon rains come and wash the land and air clean again.

f.      The main idea of paragraph six is haze resulting from slash-and-burn agriculture.

 

g.     -Resembled a post-apocalyptic scene as people only dared go out with face masks.

 

- Schools were closed.

 

-Tourists stayed clear of the area.

 

-Hospitals faced a surge of respiratory illnesses.

 

h.      The word “These” in line 68 refer to forest fires.