Nhóm 1

LISTENING PRACTICE TEST

Curiosity: a blessing, or a curse? (1)……………………….was personified for the
ancient Greeks in the mythical figure of Pandora. Pandora was breathed into being
by Hephaestus, God of fire, who enlisted the help of (2)……....................
to make her extraordinary.

Zeus (3) …………………. .Pandora. The first was the trait of curiosity, and the
second was a heavy box, ornately curved, heavy to hold – and screwed tightly shut.
But the contents, Zeus told her, were not for mortal eyes. She was not to (4)
……………………………………. On earth, Pandora met and fell in love with
Epimetheus, who had worked alongside his brother Prometheus, who created the
first humans but was (5) ………………………… .Epimetheus missed his brother
desperately, but in Pandora he found another (6) ……………………………… .

Pandora brimmed with excitement at life on earth. She was also easily distracted
and could be impatient. Her fingers itched to pry it open. Sometimes she was
convinced she heard voices whispering and the contents rattling around inside, as if
straining to be free. (7) …………………………………….. .

One day she could bear it no longer, and the box was finally burst open. (8)
…………………………………………. rushed out in a cloud of smoke and
swirled around her, screeching and cackling. Filled with terror, Pandora clawed
desperately at the air to direct them back into their prison. But the creatures surged
out in a gruesome cloud. Zeus had used the box as a vessel for all the forces of
evil and suffering he’d created –and once released, (9)……………………….. ..

Today, Pandora’s Box suggests the extreme consequences of tampering with the
unknown – but Pandora’s burning curiosity also suggests the duality that lies (10)
……………………………….. Are we bound to investigate everything we don’t
know, to mine the earth for more –or are there some mysteries that are better left
unsolved?
*Keys:

1. The paradoxical nature of this trait (00:09)

2. his divine companions (00:27)
3. bestowed two gifts on (00:44)
4. open the box under any circumstance (01:04)
5. eternally punished for giving them fire (01:27)
6. fiery-hearted soul for companionship. (01:37)
7. Its enigma became maddening (02:00)
8. Monstrous creatures and horrendous sounds (02:30)
9. they were uncontainable (02:56)
10. at the heart of human inquiry (03:38)