University Tips

French flair

By Ajarn Helen Jandamit, Photos courtesy of Bangkok Post

University Tips is here to help you prepare for the English exams and tests that are coming your way. It gives you practise answering questions similar to those you may have at school and also in the university entrance examination.

SECTION 1

Read this profile of France. Then, answer the following multiple-choice questions.

1. How many sub-headings are there in this article?

a. One.
b. Six.
c. Four.
d. Eight.

2. What is the headline for this column?

a. Bourget Airshow 2007: Airbus A380
b. Area.
c. France�s policy.
d. Profile of France.

3. How many of the photographs are concerned with culture and leisure?

a. One.
b. Two.
c. Four.
d. None.

4. How big is the maritime zone of France?

a. 550,000 square kilometres.
b. One fifth of the total area of the European Union.
c. 63.4 million kilometres long
d. 11 million square kilometres.

5. What is Martinique?

a. It is a region.
b. It is a department store.
c. It is an overseas department.
d. An overseas territory.

6. Which country in the European Union had the highest population in 2006?

a. Germany.
b. The United Kingdom.
c. Italy.
d. France.

7. How many countries in the world export more goods than France?

a. One.
b. Two.
c. Three.
d. None.

8. How many types of climate are there in France?

a. One.
b. Three.
c. Four.

9. What kind of climate is found in Western France?

a. Oceanic.
b. Mediterranean.
c. Continental.
d. Tropical.

10. When did the TGV break the world speed record?

a. On January 1, 2007.
b. On April 3, 2007.
c. On July 14, 2007.
d. In 1981.

SECTION 2

Fill in the blanks in the text with the correct words from the choices that follow.

Most cities outside Paris have at least one museum. In addition, more than 1,500 ............. 11 .......... buildings are open to the ......... 12 ......... with the Eiffel Tower being ........... 13 ............ most popular attraction. Moreover, some 38,000 ........... 14 ........... are classified as historic monuments ........... 15 ........... as such are protected by ...........16 ............. Ministry of Culture.

11.
a. history
b. historic
c. histories
d. historically

12.
a. publicity
b. publication
c. public
d. publicly

13.
a. the
b. The
c. this
d. these

14.
a. building
b. buildings
c. builders
d. builds

15.
a. and
b. also
c. plus
d. in addition

16.
a. A
b. an
c. a
d. the

SECTION 3

Scan the text. Then, answer the following true or false questions.

17. France is the largest country in Western Europe.

....................................................................................

18. Guadeloupe is an overseas department of France.

....................................................................................

19. The climate in southern France is continental.

....................................................................................

20. France is the world�s fourth-largest investor after the USA and the UK. ....................................................................................

21. French people spend almost 24 billion Euros a year on audiovisual products and equipment, books and related items.

....................................................................................

22. French households spend 3.5 percent of their budget on culture.

....................................................................................

SECTION 4

Rearrange the following letters from the Population section. Then, match the words with the correct meanings.

	flair (n): a quality showing the ability to do things in an interesting and imaginative way maritime (adj): concerned with the sea; near the sea territory (n): land that is under the control of a particular country or ruler export (v): to sell and send goods to another country attraction (n): an interesting or enjoyable place to go or thing to do investor (n): a person or an organisation that invests money in something household (n): all the people living together in a house