Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 23 to 27. Fill in the appropriate word in question 24 What make a good souvenir? On my desk at home, I have a collection of souvenirs; objects that remind me of places I’ve visited and important events in my life. These objects include a model boat that I saw being carved from a piece of wood on a Caribbean island, a piece of ...

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 23 to 27. Fill in the appropriate word in question 24

What make a good souvenir?

On my desk at home, I have a collection of souvenirs; objects that remind me of places I’ve visited and important events in my life. These objects include a model boat that I saw being carved from a piece of wood on a Caribbean island, a piece of lava that emerged hot from a volcano in the year I was bom, and a shell (23) _____________ on my favourite childhood beach.

Unlike everything else, from which memory and detail fades, it is as if the longer you hold on to certain objects, the (24)_____________ their associations with the past become, and the sharper the recollections that gather around them. They are, (25) _____________ , real souvenirs, encapsulations not only of the place, but of your time in the place. But these days, the term “real souvenirs” sounds like a contradiction in terms, and this is because the objects sold to tourists as souvenirs are often cheap mass-produced imports that have nothing to do with the place at all.

It’s often the (26) _____________ that the best souvenirs, like my shell, are found rather than purchased, but browsing for souvenirs can also be a fun holiday activity. But if you are buying souvenirs on holiday this summer, make sure they (27) _____________ the reality test. A good souvenir is not just made in the area where it is bought, it also says something about the culture of that area. It is something made by local people using sustainable local materials, and because you are effectively supporting the local economy, it shouldn’t come too cheap, either.