VIII. Exercise 1: (20 points)
Read the following passage, then choose the letter (A, B, C, D) that best fits each of the blanks.

SPRING FESTIVAL

From (91) ______ times people have celebrated the end of winter and the new life that
spring brings. One of the most important Christian festivals is Easter, (92) ______ Christians
remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Easter, however, is not the (93) ______ spring festival. In Sweden, people celebrate
the end of the winter by making (94) ______ bonfires. Fire also plays an important part in the
Hindu festival of Holi. In some villages children are (95) ______ round bonfires by their
mothers to protect them (96) ______ danger in the coming year. Buddhists in Thailand soak
(97) ______ in water when celebrating their New Year, which (98) ______ in the middle of
April. In Antigua in Guatemala they carpet the streets with flowers. Chinese spring parades
are (99) ______ colourful, but (100) ______ flowers they have large dragon puppets which
dance in the streets.
1. A. earliest B. latest C. previous D. old
2. A. which B. when C. because D. by then
3. A. single B. one C. only D. Lonely
4. A. giant B. tremendous C. extreme D. huge
5. A. gone B. carried C. brought D. run
6. A. in B. out of C. against D. from
7. A. through B. one other C. each other D. mutually
8. A. falls B. appears C. happens D. occurs
9. A. the same B. as C. not less D. equally
10. A. instead of B. on behalf of C. in spite of D. place of