ĐỀ ÔN LUYỆN HSG QUỐC GIA 2021-Date:20/7/2021

TEST 11
Part 1: Choose the best answer A, B, C or D to each of the following sentences and write your answers in the
corresponding numbered boxes

1. Although he acts tough, ______.

A. his bark is worse than his bite(cung nhac hon ve ngoai) B. he’s a tough nut to crack(van de kho
giai quyet, 1 nguoi kho choi)
C. he’s learned the hard way(co bai hoc sau trai nghiem dau thuong) D. he isn’t up to
scratch(khong dang hoang, khong dat chat luong)
2. Such was the national mood in early 1976 that plans for a mammoth celebration of the bicentennial in Philadelphia had
been quietly______.
A. desisted(ngung) B. quit C. renounced(tu bo) D. dropped
3. The rumor that his job was in jeopardy caused Pete to______ with concern.
A. frown B. beam C. grimace D. howl
4. Sandra astounded all the spectators by winning the match ______ down.
A. heads B. hands C. hearts D. feet
5. When his manager went on a business trip, Mark stepped into the ______ and chaired the meeting.
A. hole B. breach(lam viec ma ai do khong the lam) C. pool D. crack
6. It is public knowledge that new magazines often use free gifts or other ______ to get people to buy them.
A. gimmicks(manh loi) B. snares(cam bay) C. plots D. scams(am muu)
7. We should never have quarreled like that. Let’s bury the _______ and forget all
about it.
A. axe B. argument C. hatchet(ket thuc xung dot va lam lanh) D. subject
8. Factories are having to ______________ all production processes and, in some cases, the workforce too.
A. slim B. simplify C. streamline(hop thuc hoa) D. train
9. It is often difficult for a householder to _______ squatters and regain possession of
his or her property.
A. eliminate B. withdraw C. evict D. vacate
10. People can make themselves walk on nails or through fire. It’s a question of mind
over________
A. body B. material C. matter D. facts

Part 3. The following paragraph contains ten vocabulary errors. Underline the errors and write the correct words
in the corresponding numbered boxes.

The big majority of students who make(do) well in the Cambridge Proficiency Examination have learnt to use a good
monolingual dictionary effectively. Such dictionaries provide informations(information), not just about the meanings
for(of) words but about their pronunciation and grammar as well. A student who studies(learns) how to use a dictionary
effectively will be able to work independently for much of the time, and will gain considerable
insight to(into) the workings of the English language. He or she will be able to confirm to(bo) the meanings of (the) words
in a text where contextual clues are insufficient, pronounce words accurately by studying the phonological(phonetic)
transcriptions, and use words accurately both when speaking and writing. Make sure that you make the(bo) room for at
least one good monolingual dictionary on your bookshelf, and then make sure that you use it at(on) a regular basis.
Your answers
1. Line 2. Line
3. Line 4. Line
5. Line 6. Line
7. Line 8. Line
9. Line 10. Line

Part 4. Choose a suitable preposition or particle and write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes

1. He was very vague ______ how much money he’d spent.

A. in B. on C. at D. about
2. A policeman must always do things ______ the book.
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 A. with B. by C. in D. about
3. Food was handed ______ the starving people.
A. out to B. into C. up to D. in for
4. Brent Cross Shopping Centre in London recently celebrated its 30th anniversary, rewarding 36 staff who have worked
there since it opened ______ gifts.
A. with B. for C. up for D. out of
5. She felt so stupid. She'd never be able to live it ______.
A. off B. by C. down D. past
Part 5: Give the correct form of the words in capital.
1. Children have to have moral lessons at school to avoid behavior of immorality in the future. (MORALITY)
2. If you don’t go to work regularly, you will be punished for irregularity in work. (REGULARITY)
3. In our country, men and women are equal. No one supports sexual inequality . (EQUALITY)
4. Every young man undergoing military training is bound to experience discomfort . (COMFORT)
5. Tom’s failure was due not to unfortune but to his own mistakes. (FORTUNE)
6. He is a notorious criminal who robbed a bank yesterday. (CRIME)
7. It is forbidden to hunt for that kind of bird. It has been listed as one of the endangered species. (DANGER)
8. The weather was terrible, so we had a very unpleasant holiday. (PLEASE)
9. The arrival of the new guest caused trouble to me. (ARRIVE)
10. to the school is by examination only. (ADMIT)
11. He wanted a divorce because his wife had been unfaithful . (FAITH)
12. I didn’t know who it was- with a mask on, she was completely unrecognizable . (RECOGNIZE)
13. “This is not a good essay,” said the lecture. “I find your arguments unconvincing ”. (CONVINCE)
14. Traveling in an aeroplane for the first time was a memorable experience. (MEMORY)
15. In winter it is important for farmers to provide food and warmth for their animals. (WARM)

III. READING (60 points)

Part 1: Read the following passages and decide which answer A, B, C or D best fits each gap. Write your answers
in the corresponding numbered boxes.

Although the earth was formed about 4,500 million years ago, human beings have inhabited it for less than half a million
years. Within this time, population has increased hugely and people have had a vast (1)…….upon the earth. They have
long been able to (2)…….the forces of nature to use. Now, with modern technology, they have the power to alter the
balance of life on earth. Reports back from the first astronauts helped dispel the dangerous (3)…..that the world had no
boundaries and had limitless resources. (4) ……. ecologists have shown that all forms of life on earth are interconnected,
so it (5) ……. that all human activity has an effect on the natural environment. In recent years, people have been putting
the environment under stress. As a result, certain raw materials such as timber, water and minerals are beginning to run
short. Pollution and the (6)…… of waste are already critical issues, and the (7)…… of the environment is fast becoming
the most pressing problem (8)……. us all. The way we respond to the challenge will have a profound effect on the earth
and its life support (9)…… However despite all these threats there are (10)…..signs. Over the past few decades, the
growth in population has been more than matched by food production, indicating that we should be able to feed ourselves
for some time yet.
Câu 1: A imprint B indication C impression D impact
Câu 2: A put B make C place D stand
Câu 3: A judgement B notion C reflection D concept
Câu 4: A however B likewise C Moreover D otherwise
Câu 5: A results B follows C complies D develops
Câu 6: A disposal B displacement C disposition D dismissal
Câu 7: A state B situation C circumstance D case
Câu 8: A encountering B opposing C confronting D meeting
Câu 9: A projects B systems C methods D routines
Cau 10: A stimulating B welcoming C satisfying D reassuring

Part 2: Fill each of the following numbered blanks with ONE suitable word and write your answers in the
corresponding numbered boxes

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 THE WHIRL OF WORK

Miserable, over-worked and insecure, the British work the longest hours in Europe and express the (1) ……least………
job satisfaction. (2)………However……. much richer, they are becoming fed up to the back (3) …………. with work
every year. What is the (4) ……point…… of economic success if it is matched by growing unhappiness? Like dumb oxen
we work harder than everyone else - a third of men work over 50 hours a week - but we're not smarter. For over a century
factory acts and ever shorter working hours marked the onward march of industrial progress. Now social history has gone
into (5)……reverse………..
In an (6) ……annual…….. study Professor Cary Cooper of the Manchester School of Management revisits the same 5000
managers from CEOs down to juniors and he finds them growing increasingly anxious about their lives. This is (7)……
hardly………. surprising since half of them work most evenings and a third work most weekends. Whatever the reality of
falling unemployment, people feel their own job or status is in grave (8)………….. because they suffer more turmoil at
work than they did five years ago. Reconstructing, downsizing and radical change at work (9) …………… a life of
constant upheaval, and the current merger epidemic (10) ……………….. off unpredictable job loss.

Part 3. Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C or D) according to the text. Write your
answers (A, B, C or D) in the corresponding numbered boxes.
PIAGET’S STAGES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

By charting out the typical cognitive development of children, Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget has heavily influenced how
psychiatrists delineate the progress of juvenile psychological growth. Beginning in the 1920s and up until his death in
1980, he studied the errors schoolchildren made on various tests and realised that children of the same age made the same
kinds of reasoning errors. Based on these recurring patterns, he identified stages in a child’s cognitive development,
beginning from infancy and extending through adulthood. Essentially, he proposed that there was a common timetable by
which children initially develop simple cognitive skills and gradually refine them into more abstract ways of thinking.
While more recent theories on the matter suggest that there is more overlap among these stages and that different
environments affect children’s progress, Piaget’s theory was nonetheless extremely important to initial studies of
cognitive development.
According to Piaget, the first stage that children go through is the sensorimotor stage, an eventful and complex period that
Piaget further divided into six sub-stages. The sensorimotor stage begins at birth and lasts roughly until the child is two
years old. During this time, the child experiences the world through his senses and motor skills, and he will initially
develop and master the basic reflexes of infants, such as grasping, sucking, looking, and listening. Moreover, the infant
begins to develop the fundamentals of basic cognitive functions. He develops awareness of himself and of objects as
separate entities and begins to manipulate his external environment, usually by kicking, moving objects, and chewing on
toys. The child also learns that certain actions will have certain effects, and he may perform an action to recreate these
effects. For instance, he may accidentally suck his thumb and find it pleasurable, so he repeatedly sucks his thumb to
experience the pleasure again. The child may also experiment with different actions to test their effects, like making
various sounds to get an adult’s attention. Finally, the child also shows the basic capacity for understanding symbols, and
he develops a rudimentary use of language toward the end of this stage, most notably by identifying parents with words
like “mama” and “dada.”

In the next stage, the preoperational stage (ages 2–7), the child expands his capacity for symbolic thinking, and he can
envision the environment and manipulate it within his imagination. Imagination thus develops more fully, as seen in the
child’s tendency to role-play other people (like his parents, firefighters, etc.), and to pretend that objects are other things,
like pretending that a broom is a horse. This stage is marked by two other distinctive characteristics. The first is
egocentrism. While the child’s language develops more fully for the purpose of social interaction, his thought process is
still limited by individual experiences, and these cognitive limitations exclude any alternative viewpoints. Piaget
determined this when he instructed several children in this age group to look at a three-dimensional model of a mountain
from a particular angle and then pick out a particular scene they saw. All of the subjects correctly fulfilled the task, but,
when asked to pick out what someone else would have seen when looking at a different angle, they only picked out the
respective scenes they saw. Basically, they were oblivious to the fact that a viewer at a different angle would see a
different scene, so they were only able to pick out only what they saw personally. The other characteristic is that thought
occurs in an illogical and irreversible manner. A child can easily believe that things can magically increase, decrease, or
vanish, as perceptions often dictate their reality. Piaget determined this from an experiment in which he poured equal
amounts of liquid into a short thick glass and a tall thin glass and asked the children which container had more liquid. The
subjects often selected the tall thin glass because the liquid reached a higher level and made the glass appear fuller. They
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believed that liquid magically appeared to fill the taller glass, even though they were told both glasses contained the same
amount.
In the final two stages, the child refines his skills or reasoning and analysis. In the concrete operational stage (ages 7–11),
the child shows evidence for logical thought and becomes less egocentric in his thinking. He begins to grasp concepts
such as mass, length, volume, time, and other abstract measurements, and he becomes capable of solving basic logical
problems and understanding reversible logic. He can perform simple arithmetic like addition, subtraction, and
multiplication, and his understanding of how these concepts relate to each other increased. For instance, he understands
that ten minus five equals five, so five plus five equals ten. He is also able to categorize concepts, such as identifying a
tiger as a cat, a cat as an animal, and thus a tiger as an animal. In the fourth and final stage, the formal operational stage
(from puberty to adulthood), the child is finally able to think in completely abstract terms. He is able to perform algebra,
calculus, and other mathematics that utilize symbols, formulas, and logic, and he is capable of other complex critical and
analytical thought. This also allows him to hypotheses from experiments and using these to predict the effects of certain
actions. The extent to which people achieve this degree of abstract thinking is always different, and some may never fully
or adequately grasp these skills, even as adults.
1. The word “delineate” in the passage is closest in meaning to “ ”.
A. counterbalance B. descry C. embolden D. map
2. In paragraph 1, the author moots Piaget’s dissertations with children in order to .
A. collate his disquisitions with contemporary therapists’
B. denote the glitches in his procedures
C. designate how he augmented his postulations
D. exhibits how Piaget’s hypotheses are pertained
3. According to paragraph 1, what can be inferred about Piaget’s analyses?
A. They are chiefly issued from other therapists’ inquires.
B. They have been called into question recently.
C. They invalidated other schools of psychology.
D. They were never orthodox among psychiatrists.
4. According to paragraph 2, a child’s development in the sensorimotor juncture is typified by .
A. an aptitude for discerning reversible notions
B. a cognizance of the entity of external objects
C. an sagacity of numerical hypotheses
D. a significant diminution in egocentrism
5. The word “rudimentary” in the passage is closest in meaning to “ ”.
A. abortive B. basic C. makeshift D. unsophisticated
6. The phrase “oblivious to” in the passage is closest in meaning to “ ”.
A. heedless of B. impervious to C. insensible to D. unconscious of
7. According to paragraph 3, most children who executed Piaget’s mountain test .
A. could use their motor prowess to manipulate their surroundings
B. evinced the ability to classify objects into different categories
C. had tribulations assigning symbols to external objects
D. were impotent to ruminate on the perspectives of other personages
8. According to paragraph 4, all of the following are true about the formal operational juncture EXCEPT
.A. It conventionally institutes at the onset of juvenescence.
B. It is the most abiding episode of development.
C. It is when people refine skills mandatory for convoluted mathematics.
D. It makes the same strides with the same ramifications all and sundry.
9. According to the passage, at which episode would a child distinctly possible commence to impersonate an astronaut?
A. concrete B. formal C. preoperational D. sensorimotor
10. Based on the information in the passage, what can be inferred about a child in the concrete operational juncture?
A. He would be adroit to conduct and unravel the elaborate mathematical equations often wielded in calculus.
B. He would discern that the containers in the liquids-in-two containers test have the same amount.
C. He would most likely flunk Piaget’s test that incorporated a three-dimensional model of mountain.
D. He would only be able to kick, shriek, and masticate on miscellaneous objects to create changes in his
vicinities.
Part 4. Read the passage and answer questions

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You are going to read an extract from a book on photography. For questions 1 – 10, choose from the sections (A –
E). The sections may be chosen more than once.

In which section are the following mentioned? Answers

the possibility that photography can directly influence events in the world 1…D…..

the possibility that the photographic image has become redundant 2…E…..

images being interpreted in a similar way by different societies 3…C…..

a commonly held view about the relationship between what is visible and how it is 4…B..
interpreted

the contrasts of scale that can be represented in photography 5…A…..

the possibility that the techniques employed in photography today have taken the 6….E
medium back to where it started

the ability of photography to provide images that will exist for a long time 7…..B

uncertainty as to whether the main purpose of photography is to inform or to 8…….D.

entertain

the potential of photography to epitomise the human condition 9……..A

the view that photography was the greatest achievement in the history of visual images 10…..C

A
Over the past one and a half centuries, photography has been used to record all aspects of human life and activity. During
this relatively short history, the medium has expanded its capabilities in the recording of time and space, thus allowing
human vision to be able to view the fleeting moment or to visualise both the vast and the minuscule. It has brought us
images from remote areas of the world, distant parts of the solar system, as well as the social complexities and crises of
modern life. Indeed, the photographic medium has provided one of the most important and influential means of capturing
the essence of our being alive. Nonetheless, the recording of events by means of the visual image has a much longer
history. The earliest creations of pictorial recording go as far back as the Upper Palaeolithic period of about 35,000 years
ago and, although we cannot be sure of the exact purposes of the early cave paintings, pictorial images seem to be
inextricably linked to human culture as we understand it.
B
Throughout the history of visual representation, questions have been raised concerning the supposed accuracy (or
otherwise) of visual images, as well as their status in society. Ideas and debates concerning how we see the world and the
status of its pictorial representations have been central political, philosophical and psychological issues from the time of
Ancient Greece to the present-day technical revolution of the new media communications. Vision and representation have
pursued interdependent trajectories, counter-influencing each other throughout history. The popular notion that ‘seeing is
believing’ had always afforded special status to the visual image. So when the technology was invented, in the form of

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photography, the social and cultural impact was immense. Not only did it hold out the promise of providing a record of
vision, but it had the capacity to make such representation enduring.
C
In the mid-nineteenth century, the invention of photography appeared to offer the promise of ‘automatically’ providing an
accurate visual record. It was seen not only as the culmination of visual representation but, quite simply, the camera
was regarded as a machine that could provide a fixed image. And this image was considered to be a very close
approximation to that which we actually see. Because of the camera’s perceived realism in its ability to replicate visual
perception, it was assumed that all peoples would ‘naturally’ be able to understand photographs. This gave rise to the
question of whether photography constituted a ‘universal language’. For example, a photograph of the heavens, whether it
showed the sun and moon or the constellations, would immediately be understood in any part of the world. In the face of
the rapid increase in global communications, we do need at least to ask to what extent the photographic image can
penetrate through cultural differences in understanding.
D
There are other questions that arise concerning the role of photography in society that have aimed to determine whether
the camera operates as a mute, passive recorder of what is happening or whether it possesses the voice and power to
instigate social change. We may further speculate whether the camera provides images that have a truly educational
function or if it operates primarily as a source of amusement. In provoking such issues, the photographic debate reflects
polarised arguments that traditionally have characterised much intellectual thought.
E
The last 170 years have witnessed an ever- increasing influence of the visual image, culminating in the global primacy of
television. For photography, the new prospects and uncertainties posed by digital storage and manipulation, and the
transmission of images via the internet present new challenges. It has even been suggested that we now inhabit the ‘post-
photographic era’ – where technological and cultural change have devalued photography to such an extent that events
have taken us beyond the photograph’s use and value as a medium of communication. Furthermore, perhaps we should be
asking if the advent of digital imagery means that photography, initially born from painting, has turned full circle and has
now returned to emulating painting – its progenitor.
Part 5. Read the passage, match the headings with the paragraphs and fill in the blanks with the mising words and
write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
List of headings
.　　 The long-term impact
ii.　　 A celebrated achievement
iii　　 Early brilliance passes unrecognized
iv　　 Outdated methods retain popularity
v　　 The basis of a new design is born
vi　　 Frustration at never getting the design right
vii　　 Further refinements meet persistent objections
viii　　 Different in all respects
ix　　 Bridge-makers look elsewhere
x 　　 Transport developments spark a major change

1. Paragraph A x
2. Paragraph B viii
3. Paragraph C v
4. Paragraph D iii
5. Paragraph E vii
6. Paragraph F ii
7. Paragraph G i
THE REVOLUTIONARY BRIDGES OF ROBERT MAILLART
Swiss engineer Robert Maillart built some of the greatest bridges of the 20th century. His designs elegantly solved a
basic engineering problem: how to support enormous weights using a lender arch
A. Just as railway bridges were the great structural symbols of the 19th century, highway bridges became the engineering
emblems of the 20th century. The invention of the automobile created an irresistible demand for paved roads and
vehicular bridges throughout the developed world. The type of bridge needed for cars and trucks, however, is
fundamentally different from that needed for locomotives. Most highway bridges carry lighter loads than railway bridges
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do, and their roadways can be sharply curved or steeply sloping, To meet these needs, many turn-of-the-century bridge
designers began working with a new building material: reinforced concrete, which has steel bars embedded in it. And the
master of this new material was Swiss structural engineer, Robert Maillart.
B. Early in his career, Maillart developed a unique method for designing bridges, buildings and other concrete structures.
He rejected the complex mathematical analysis of loads and stresses that was being enthusiastically adopted by most of
his contemporaries. At the same time, he also eschewed the decorative approach taken by many bridge builders of his
time. He resisted imitating architectural styles and adding design elements solely for ornamentation. Maillart's method
was a form of creative intuition. He had a knack for conceiving new shapes to solve classic engineering problems. And
because he worked in a highly competitive field, one of his goals was economy - he won design and construction contracts
because his structures were reasonably priced, often less costly than all his rivals' proposals.
C. Maillart's first important bridge was built in the small Swiss town of Zuoz. The local officials had initially wanted a
steel bridge to span the 30-metre wide Inn River, but Maillart argued that he could build a more elegant bridge made of
reinforced concrete for about the same cost. His crucial innovation was incorporating the bridge's arch and roadway into a
form called the hollow-box arch, which would substantially reduce the bridge's expense by minimizing the amount of
concrete needed. In a conventional arch bridge the weight of the roadway is transferred by columns to the arch, which
must be relatively thick. In Maillart's design, though, the roadway and arch were connected by three vertical walls,
forming two hollow boxes running under the roadway (see diagram). The big advantage of this design was that because
the arch would not have to bear the load alone, it could be much thinner- as little as one-third as thick as the arch in the
conventional bridge.
D. His first masterpiece, however, was the 1905 Tavanasa Bridge over the Rhine river in the Swiss Alps. In this design,
Maillart removed the parts of the vertical walls which were not essential because they carried no load. This produced a
slender, lighter-looking form, which perfectly met the bridge's structural requirements. But the Tavanasa Bridge gained
little favorable publicity in Switzerland; on the contrary, it aroused strong aesthetic objections from public officials who
were more comfortable with old-fashioned stone-faced bridges. Maillart, who had founded his own construction firm in
1902, was unable to win any more bridge projects, so he shifted his focus to designing buildings, water tanks and other
structures made of reinforced concrete and did not resume his work on concrete bridges until the early 1920s.
E. His most important breakthrough during this period was the development of the deck-stiffened arch, the first example
of which was the Flienglibach Bridge, built in 1923. An arch bridge is somewhat like an inverted cable. A cable curves
downward when a weight is hung from it, an arch bridge curves upward to support the roadway and the compression in
the arch balances the dead load of the traffic. For aesthetic reasons, Maillart wanted a thinner arch and his solution was to
connect the arch to the roadway with transverse walls. In this way, Maillart justified making the arch as thin as he could
reasonably build it. His analysis accurately predicted the behaviour of the bridge but the leading authorities of Swiss
engineering would argue against his methods for the next quarter of a century.
F. Over the next 10 years, Maillart concentrated on refining the visual appearance of the deck-stiffened arch. His best-
known structure is the Salginatobel Bridge, completed in 1930. He won the competition for the contract because his
design was the least expensive of the 19 submitted - the bridge and road were built for only 700,000 Swiss francs,
equivalent to some $3.5 million today. Salginatobel was also Maillart's longest span, at 90 metres and it had the most
dramatic setting of all his structures, vaulting 80 metres above the ravine of the Salgina brook. In 1991 it became the first
concrete bridge to be designated an international historic landmark.
G. Before his death in 1940, Maillart completed other remarkable bridges and continued to refine his designs. However,
architects often recognised the high quality of Maillart's structures before his fellow engineers did and in 1947 the
architectural section of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City devoted a major exhibition entirely to his works. In
contrast, very few American structural engineers at that time had even heard of Maillart. In the following years, however,
engineers realised that Maillart's bridges were more than just aesthetically pleasing - they were technically unsurpassed.
Maillart's hollow-box arch became the dominant design form for medium and long- span concrete bridges in the US. In
Switzerland, professors finally began to teach Maillart's ideas, which then influenced a new generation of designers.
Complete the labels on the diagrams below using ONE or TWO WORDS from the reading passage. Write your
answers in boxes on your answer sheet.

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Your answers
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. columns 9. vertical walls 10. hollow boxes

TEST 12
LEXICO-GRAMMAR (30 points)
I. Choose the option that best completes the blank. (10 points)
1. I don’t like the way Dennis is trying to __________ trouble between us.
A. dish out(vung ra) B. rub up(danh bong) C. stir up(kich dong) D. spark out(khong tinh
tao)
2. He was undoubtedly making progress, __________ rather slowly.
A. albeit(mac du) B. notwithstanding(mac du) C. however D. whilst
3. When several companies showed intere always st in buying the film rights to his novel, he knew he had __________.
A. upped the ante B. scooped the bag C. caught the fat one D. hit the jackpot
4. I can’t go out wearing something like that. I’d be the __________ of the neighbourhood.
A. make-me-laugh B. laughing stock C. laughter maker D. laughing gas
5. These two are obviously brothers. The likeness is _____________.
A. infallible B. unmistakableC. faultless D. doubtless
6. The tournament isn’t over yet, not by a long ___________.
A. talk B. chalk C. walk D. hawk
7. The trail __________ of late for easier access.
A. used to be widened B. has been widened C. was widened D. was widening
8. How much do you spend on groceries?
- It probably __________ out about $150 a week.
A. accounts B. averages C. amounts D. sums
9. It was a fantastic film. I enjoyed it __________.
A. endlessly B. unendingly C. without end D. no end
10. Once bitten, twice ___________.
A. balked B. timid C. mousy D. shy
II. There are 5 mistakes in the passage. Find out and correct them. (5 points)
It now seems clear that one of the most pressed(pressing) problems which faces(face) any large city during the first half of
the twenty-first century, is that of water supply. While most cities were found(founded) in places where water was
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plentifully available, noone could have foreseen the way in which some of these cities have expanded. Large number of
people demand more and more water, which means that cities have to compete with other non-human water users, for
water is not only a commodity needing for washing-machines and industrial processes. Many lakes that once served as
breeding grounds for wild birds now face an uncertain future. As cities make greater demands in the available water
resources, we are losing more and more of our aquatic wildlife. And quite apart from this environmental problem, there is
the economic issue to consider. Who owns the water, and how much should the consumer pay for it? The next time you
decide to turn on the tap, you might consider some of these problems, before you have wasted too much water.
Your answers:
Line Mistakes Corrections
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

III. Fill in each blank with a suitable preposition or adverbial particle. (5 points)
1. You’d better ask the doctor to give you a few shots while you’re ________ it.
A. in B. at C. on D. with
2. Sooner or later you’ll have to get a job. You can’t just go on living _________ your parents forever.
A. off B. on C. out of D. up to
3. I can’t get __________ how much money they spent on their New Year’s party.
A. past B. by C. over D. beyond
4. In many countries, the law prevents criminals from cashing ___________ their crimes by selling their life stories to
publishers and filmmakers.
A. out on B. up from C. out of D. in on
5. Our utility bill runs __________ thousands of dollars a years.
A. into B. up to C. around D. over

IV. Read the text below and give the correct form of the word in CAPITALS. (10 points)
Most snap (1 - JUDGE) ______judgements______ about people are formed on the basis of their facial features. The eyes,
regarded as clues to one’s true character, are said (2 - POETRY) _____poetically______ to be the windows of the soul:
closely positioned, they imply (3- SLY)__________; set wide apart they suggest (4- HONEST) ____honesty_______ and
directness. Thin mouths are equated with meanness and full mouths with (5- SENSUAL) ___________. Unconciously,
we make such instant judgements and they are made about us.
There is no hiding place for the face. Always exposed and vulnerable, it (6- VOLUNTARY) ___voluntarily________
expresses happiness, desire and joy, anger, fear, shame and (7- LOATHE) _____loathsomeness______. Precisely for that
person, a masked face evokes fear and horror; once someone’s distinguishing (8- CHARACTER)
______characteristic_______ are hidden, we cannot read or recognise the person and fear of the (9- KNOW)
_____unknown______ immediately arouses suspicions.
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

C. READING
I. Filling the blanks with one of four options to complete the passage (10 points)
Few television have (1) ____________ more scorn and praise (1) __________ them at the same time than
television. And few have done so much to unite the world into one vast audience (3) _________ news, sport, information
and entertainment. Television must be (4) ___________ alongside printing as one of the most significant inventions of all
time in the (5) __________ of communications. In just a few decades it has reached (6) _____________ every home in
the developed world and an ever-increasing proportion of homes in developing countries. It took over half a century from
the first suggestion that television might be possible before the first (7) __________ pictures were produced in
laboratories in Britain and America.
In 1926 John Baird’s genius for publicity brought television to the (8) ___________ of a British audience. It has
since (9) ________ such heights of success and taken on such a pivotal function that it is difficult to imagine a world (10)
___________ of this groundbreaking invention.
1. A. had B. even C. been D. done
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2. A. taken over B. heaped over C. picked on D. given over
3. A. for B. on C. in D. over
4. A. awarded B. rated C. graduated D. assembled
5. location B. site C. post D. field
6. simultaneeously B. actually C. virtually D. substantially
7. A. flaring B. glimmering C. sparkling D. flickering
8. A. attention B. concentration C. initiation D. surveillance
9. A. found B. left C. gained D. reached
10. A. without B. shallow C. bereft D. lacking

II. Fill each of the blanks with ONE suitable word. (10 points)
The dog fence is Australia’s version of the Great Wall of China (1) ___but even_____ longer, erected to keep (2)
_____out_____ hostile invaders, in this (3) _____case_____ hordes of yellow dogs. The empire it preserves is that of the
woolgrowers, sovereigns of the world’s second largest sheep flock, after China’s – some 123 million head-and keepers of
a wool export business worth four billion dollars to the national economy. It (4) ___________ to matter little that more
and more people – conservationists, politiciams, taxpayers and animal lovers – say that the construction of such a fence
(5) _____would_____ never be allowed today. With some sections of it almost one hundred years old, built by bushmen
travelling with camels, the dog fence has become, as must conservationists ruefully admit, ‘an icon of frontier ingenuity’.
To appreciate (6) _____this_____ unusual outback monument and to meet the people (7) _____whose_____
livelihoods depend on it, I spent part of an Astralian autumn travelling the wire. For most of its prodigious length the
fence winds like a river (8) ____across_______ a landscape that, (9) ____unless_____ heavy rain has fallen, scarely has
rivers. It marks the traditional dividing line (10) _____between_______ cattle (outside) and sheep (inside). Inside is where
dingoes, legally classified as vermin, are shot, poisoned and trapped.
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

III. Read the passage and choose one of four options to answer the questions (10 points)
It is estimated that over 99 percent of all species that ever existed have become extinct. What causes extinction? When a
species is no longer adapted to a change environment, it may perish. The exact causes of a species’ death vary from
situation to situation. Rapid ecological change may render an environment hostile to a species. For example, temperatures
may change and a species may not be adapt. Food resources may be affected by environmental changes, which will then
cause problems for a species requiring these resources. Other species may become better adapted to an environment,
resulting in competition and, ultimately, in the death of a species.

The fossil record reveals that extinction has occurred throughout the history of Earth. Recent analyses have also revealed
that on some occasions many species became extinct at the same time - a mass extinction. One of the best - known
examples of mass extinction occurred 65 million years ago with the demise of dinosaurs and many other forms of life.
Perhaps the largest mass extinction was the one that occurred 225 million years ago, when approximately 95 percent of all
species died. Mass extinctions can be caused by a relatively rapid change in the environment and can be worsened by the
close interrelationship of many species. If, for example, something were to happen to destroy much of the plankton in the
oceans, then the oxygen content of Earth would drop, affection even organisms not living in the oceans. Such a change
would probably lead to amass extinction. One interesting, and controversial, finding is that extinctions during the past 250
million years have tended to be more intense every 26 million years. The periodic extinction might be due to intersection
of the earth’s orbit with a cloud of comets, but this theory is purely speculative. Some researchers have also speculated
that extinction may often be random. That is, certain species may be eliminated and others may survive for no particular
reason. A species’ survival may have nothing to do with its ability or inability to adapt. If so, some of revolutionary
history may reflect a sequence of essentially random events.
1: The underlined word “ ultimately “ is closest in meaning to
A. exceptionally  B. unfortunately 
C. eventually  D. dramatically
2: What does the author say in paragraph 1 regarding most species in Earth’s history?
A. They have been able to adapt to ecological changes.
B. They have caused rapid change in the environment .
C. They have remained basically unchanged from their original forms
D. They are no longer in existence.
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3: Which of the following is NOT mentioned in paragraph 1 as resulting from rapid ecological change?
A. Availability of food resources  B. Introduction of new species
C. Temperature changes  D. Competition among species
4: The word “demise” is closest in meaning to
A. help  B. death.  C. recovery  D. change
5: Why is “ plankton” mentioned in the second paragraph?
A. To emphasize the importance of food resources in preventing mass extinction
B. To illustrate a comparison between organisms that live on the land and those that live in the ocean
C. To point out that certain species could never become extinct
D. To demonstrate the interdependence of different species
6: According to paragraph 2, evidence from fossils suggests that
A. There has been only one mass extinction in Earth’s history.
B. Extinction of species has occurred from time to time throughout Earth’s history.
C. Extinctions on Earth have generally been massive.
D. Dinosaurs became extinct much earlier than scientists originally believed.
7: The underlined word “ finding” is closest in meaning to
A. published information 
B. research method
C. scientific discovery. 
D. ongoing experiment
8: Which of the following can be inferred from the theory of periodic extinction mentioned in paragraph 3?
A. The theory is no longer seriously considered.
B. Most scientists believe the theory to be accurate.
C. Many scientists could be expected to disagree with it.
D. Evidence to support the theory has recently been found.
9: In paragraph 3, the author makes which of the following statements about a species’ survival?
A. It is associated with astronomical condition
B. It may depend on chance events.
C. It does not vary greatly from species to species
D. It reflects the interrelationship of may species.
10: According to the passage, it is believed that the largest extinction of the species occurred
A. 65 million years ago  B. 250 million years ago
C. 225 million years ago  D. 26 million years ago
IV. Read the following passage then do the tasks that follow. (10 points)
HOW DOES THE BIOLOGICAL CLOCK TICK?
A. Our life span is restricted. Everyone accepts this as 'biologically' obvious. ‘Nothing lives for ever!’ However, in this
statement we think of artificially produced, technical objects, products which are subjected to natural wear and tear during
use. This leads to the result that at some time or other the object stops working and is unusable ('death' in the biological
sense). But are the wear and tear and loss of function of technical objects and the death of living organisms really similar
or comparable?
B. Our ‘dead’ products are ‘static’, closed systems. It is always the basic material which constitutes the object and which,
in the natural course of things, is worn down and becomes 'older’. Ageing in this case must occur according to the laws of
physical chemistry and of thermodynamics. Although the same law holds for a living organism, the result of this law is
not inexorable in the same way. At least as long as a biological system has the ability to renew itself it could actually
become older without ageing; an organism is an open, dynamic system through which new material continuously flows.
Destruction of old material and formation of new material are thus in permanent dynamic equilibrium. The material of
which the organism is formed changes continuously. Thus our bodies continuously exchange old substance for new, just
like a spring which more or less maintains its form and movement, but in which the water molecules are always different.
C. Thus ageing and death should not be seen as inevitable, particularly as the organism possesses many mechanisms for
repair. It is not, in principle, necessary for a biological system to age and die. Nevertheless, a restricted life span, ageing,
and then death are basic characteristics of life. The reason for this is easy to recognise: in nature, the existent organisms
either adapt or are regularly replaced by new types. Because of changes in the genetic material (mutations) these have new
characteristics and in the course of their individual lives they are tested for optimal or better adaptation to the
environmental conditions. Immortality would disturb this system - it needs room for new and better life. This is the basic
problem of evolution

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D. Every organism has a life span which is highly characteristic. There are striking differences in life span between
different species, but within one species the parameter is relatively constant. For example, the average duration of human
life has hardly changed in thousands of years. Although more and more people attain an advanced age as a result of
developments in medical care and better nutrition, the characteristic upper limit for most remains 80 years. A further
argument against the simple wear and tear theory is the observation that the time within which organisms age lies between
a few days (even a few hours for unicellular organisms) and several thousand years, as with mammoth trees.
E. If a lifespan is a genetically determined biological characteristic, it is logically necessary to propose the existence of an
internal clock, which in some way measures and controls the aging process and which finally determines death as the last
step in a fixed programme. Like the fife span, the metabolic rate has for different organisms a fixed mathematical
relationship to the body mass. In comparison to the life span this relationship is ‘inverted’: the larger the organism the
lower its metabolic rate. Again this relationship is valid not only for birds, but also, similarly on average within the
systematic unit, for all other organisms (plants, animals, unicellular organisms).
F. Animals which behave ‘frugally’ with energy become particularly old for example, crocodiles and tortoises. Parrots
and birds of prey are often held chained up. Thus they are not able to ‘experience life’ and so they attain a high life span
in captivity. Animals which save energy by hibernation or lethargy (e.g. bats or hedgehogs) live much longer than those
which are always active, The metabolic rate of mice can be reduced by a very low consumption of food (hunger diet)
They then may live twice as long as their well fed comrades. Women become distinctly (about 10 per cent) older than
men. If you examine the metabolic rates of the two sexes you establish that the higher male metabolic rate roughly
accounts for the lower male life span. That means that they live life ‘energetically’ - more intensively, but not for as long.
G. It follows from the above that sparing use of energy reserves should tend to extend life. Extreme high performance
sports may lead to optimal cardiovascular performance, but they quite certainly do not prolong life. Relaxation lowers
metabolic rate, as does adequate sleep and in general an equable and balanced personality. Each of us can develop his or
her own ‘energy saving programme’ with a little self observation, critical self-control and, above all, logical consistency.
Experience will show that to live in this way not only increases the life span but is also very healthy. This final aspect
should not be forgotten.
The Reading Passage has seven paragraphs, A-G,
For question 1-6, choose the correct heading for paragraphs A-G from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-x, in the corresponding numbered boxes.
LIST OF HEADINGS

i The biological clock

ii Why dying is beneficial
iii The ageing process of men and women
iv Prolonging your life
v Limitations of life span
vi Modes of development of different species
vii A stable life span despite improvements
viii Energy consumption
ix Fundamental differences in ageing of objects and organisms
x Repair of genetic material

Example answer: Paragraph A: v

Your answers
1. Paragraph B …....ix......... 2. Paragraph C …....ii......... 3. Paragraph D …..vii...........

4. Paragraph E …....i......... 5. Paragraph F …..viii........... 6. Paragraph G …....iv.........

Questions 7-10, complete the notes below

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 7-10
 Objects age in accordance with principles of (7) _____physical chemistry_____ and of (8)
____thermodynamics_____
 Through mutations, organisms can (9) _____adapt_____ better to the environment
 (10) ____Immortality______ would pose a serious problem for the theory of evolution

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Your answers
7. 8. 9. 10.

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