SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO KỲ THI CHỌN HỌC SINH GIỎI LỚP 12 CẤP TỈNH

ĐỒNG NAI NĂM HỌC 2019- 2020

ĐỀ THI CHÍNH THỨC
Môn: TIẾNG ANH CHUYẺN
Thời gian làm bài: 180 phút.
Ngày thi: 10/01/2020
(Đề thi này gồm …10.. trang, có …135.. câu + 1 bài luận)

I. LISTENING (4 points)
HƯỚNG DẪN PHẦN THI NGHE HIỂU:
• Bài nghe gồm 2 phần, mỗi phần được nghe 2 lần.
• Mọi hướng dẫn cho thí sinh (bằng tiếng Anh) đã có trong bài nghe.

Part 1: Questions 1-10

You will hear part of a radio programme about the athleticism of animals. For questions 1-10, fill in each
blank with a suitable word or phrase.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
ANIMAL ATHLETES
One small ant can lift a (1) ___________________ its own body weight.
Ants have an amazingly large number of (2) ___________________.
A cheetah is (3) ___________________ faster than the fastest man on earth when it comes to covering a
distance of 100m.
Cheetahs can reach high speeds, thanks to their (4) ___________________ internal organs, which help to
deliver bursts of (5) ___________________ and their small heads, which offers (6) ___________________.
The cheetah, however, has a low (7) ___________________, with many cubs never (8)
___________________.
Springbok are frequently seen jumping for joy when they are with the herd in the rainy season and they can
jump five times their own height even without a (9) ___________________.
Archer fish, the fastest shooter in the natural world, can (10) ___________________ with a 1.5 metre water jet.
The archer fish carry out their shooting in groups.

Part 2: Questions 11-20

You will hear five short extracts in which different people are talking about friendship. While you listen,
you must complete both tasks.
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
Task 1: For questions 11-15, choose from the list (A-H) the people's attitudes towards friendships.

A. The only people I feel I can make demands on are my friends.

B. I think I can honestly say that I have never really had a best friend.
C. I expect my friends to place our friendship above everything.
D. We often give friends a one-sided impression of our true selves.
E. Friends are people you can invite to a dinner party at the last minute.
F. I always take advantage of opportunities to meet people.
G. My friendships mean far more to me than even my job.
H. I socialise with people of a similar background to myself.

11. SPEAKER 1: _____________

12. SPEAKER 2: _____________
13. SPEAKER 3: _____________
14. SPEAKER 4: _____________
15. SPEAKER 5: _____________

Trang 1/10
Task 2: For questions 16-20, choose from the list (A-H) what upsets the people about friendships.

A. not being able to rely on friends in times of trouble

B. being bothered by someone who won't accept the friendship is over
C. constantly being forced to make new friends
D. realising that your friendship is no longer of any value
E. dealing with friends' emotional problems
F. losing touch with people who have been your friends since childhood
G. being let down by friends at work
H. knowing their position in the group is what matters to your friends

16. SPEAKER 1: _____________

17. SPEAKER 2: _____________
18. SPEAKER 3: _____________
19. SPEAKER 4: _____________
20. SPEAKER 5: _____________

II. PHONOLOGY (0.5 point)

Sort out the word with the underlined part pronounced differently from that of the others.
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
21. A. leach B. measles C. teak D. cleanliness
22. A. penultimate B. commiserate C. exacerbate D. ameliorate
23. A. handcraft B. handbook C. handkerchief D. handbag

Pick out the one word with a different stress pattern from the others.
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
24. A. bandwagon B. horoscope C. clementine D. meanderings
25. A. superfluous B. veracity C. epileptic D. inevitable

III. LEXICO-GRAMMAR (4.5 points)

Part 1:
Questions 26 – 35: Choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D) to each of the following questions and
write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes.
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
26. Unfortunately, Jamie’s plans to tour around Australia didn’t ______ due to a lack of finances.
A. pan out B. pull off C. knuckle down D. waltz through
27. Insurance companies had to ______ 10 million in the storm damage claims.
A. dip in B. rip off C. bail out D. cough up
28. All three siblings agreed to ______ their resources in order to start their new business venture.
A. fuse B. blend C. mingle D. pool
29. Mr Jones is ______, unfortunately, so you’ll have to call again tomorrow.
A. indifferent B. inimitable C. indisposed D. incongruous
30. The only room available was, to say the least, ______. There was no carpet, no curtains, and the only
furniture was a bed and a small beside table.
A. snug B. dreary C. stark D. cushy
31. In any profession, you have to learn to take the ______ with the smooth.
A. hard B. stodgy C. rough D. coarse
32. Some people take a ______ view of commercial fiction.
A. dim B. low C. poor D. dull
33. The new secretary seems a bit lazy; she doesn’t really ______ her weight.
A. push B. give C. act D. pull
34. It took Anna a long time to get the ______ of the new computer programme.
A. hang B. grips C. means D. grasp
35. The collapse of the company was described as the greatest financial ______ in US history.
A. tentacle B. debacle C. pinnacle D. carbuncle
Trang 2/10
Part 2:
Questions 36 – 45: Write the correct form of each bracketed word.
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
36. What really angered her was the dirty, __________ way they had tricked her. (HAND)
37. Farepayers paid €4.8 billion for the __________ of the rail network last year. (KEEP)
38. The planned keynote speaker was unable to attend, so we had to find a __________ at short notice.
(STAND)
39. Your acupuncturist should always use sterile, __________ disposable needles. (USE)
49. As part of a recent restructuring, Anglian Water decided to __________ some of its operations. (SOURCE)
41. We are __________ and too reliant on contractors to provide us with personnel. (MAN)
42. She has loads of natural talent as a runner and with rigorous training she could be a __________. (BEAT)
43. Losing several games in a row had completely __________ the team. (MORALE)
44. She seems to have an __________ talent for physics. (BREED)
45. The big banks have been the __________ in developing the financial system. (PACE)

Part 3:
For questions 46-55, complete each sentence with the correct form of one of the phrasal verbs below.
Each verb is used once only.
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
try do brush blow fall
call bring play pick count

down forward out away on

aside off without up
46. Being late so often is a very serious offence, Michael. I think you’re __________ the seriousness of the
situation.
47. Let’s __________ that new restaurant near the bank. It's supposed to be very good. My sister went there last
week.
48. We’ll have to __________ our summer barbecue because my cousin is getting married the second weekend
of August.
49. The prime minister __________ the severe criticism and refused to change his policies.
50. Due to heavy rain and dangerous winds, the baseball game was __________.
51. My car’s broken this week and I don’t think I can __________ it. I’ll spend a fortune on cab fares!
52. Support for the plan __________ when the cost became clear. Eventually, the plan was completely
scrapped.
53. Greg, as captain, had the job of __________ the five best players.
54. When certain chemicals are mixed in the right circumstances, they can __________.
55. “Can I __________ you to support me if the meeting gets nasty?” Craig asked his colleague.

Part 4:
Questions 56- 63: Fill the following sentences with suitable prepositions or particles.
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
56. Jane stood rooted ______ the spot when she saw the ghostly figure.
57. Private companies should not be allowed to skim ______ profitable sectors of the essential services.
58. This plan is impractical; therefore, a successful outcome is ______ the realms of possibility.
59. There have been complaints that the company’s products are expensive and ______ par.
60. With the advent of Industry 4.0, we are ______ the threshold of a new era.
61. Economists think that the recession is bottoming ______ and the figures will go up again.
62. We have to move ______ the times and find new ways to market our products.
63. Terry has been carrying a torch ______ Liz for years, but she seems not to notice.

Part 5
The passage below contains 7 mistakes. For questions 64 -70, underline the mistakes and write the
corrections in the space provided in the column on the right. (0) has been done as an example.

Trang 3/10
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
Line 1 Australia is being ravaged by the worst wildfires seen in Your answers:
decades, with large swathes of the country devastated since the (0) firing → fire
firing season began late July.
A total of 18 people have died nationwide, and in the state of 64. …………………………
Line 5 New South Wales alone, more than 1,300 houses have been
destroyed. State and federal authorities are struggling to
contain massive blazes, even with firefighting assistance from 65. …………………………
other countries, including the United States.
All this has been exacerbated by persistent heat and drought,
Line 10 and many point out climate change as a factor making natural 66. …………………………
disasters go from bad to worse.
There have been fires in every Australian state, but New South
Wales has been hardest struck. 67. …………………………
Blazes have torn through bushland, wooden areas, and national
Line 15 parks like the Blue Mountains. Some of Australia's largest
cities have also been affected, including Melbourne and 68. …………………………
Sydney - which fires have damaged homes in the outer suburbs
and thick plumes of smoke have blanketed the urban center.
Earlier in December, the smoke was so bad in Sydney that air 69. …………………………
Line 20 quality was measured 11 times the "hazardous" level.
The fires range in area from small blazes - isolated buildings
or part of a neighborhood - to massive infernos that occupy 70. …………………………
entire hectares of land. Some start and are contained in a
matter of days, so the biggest blazes have been burning for
months.

IV. READING (5 points)

Part 1: Questions 71-85: Choose the answer (A, B, C or D) that best fits each space.
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
Grease is not such a smash hit
The trouble with many London restaurants is that more planning seems to have gone into what’s on the walls
than into what goes on the plates. And, sadly, that is what has gone wrong with the new restaurant called
Grease.
It (71) ______ a lot, which is what you’d expect from the owner, Johnny Price who, after all, has created a
number of fabulously fashionable eating places around the city. He’s certainly been clever in (72) ______
Grease. As you walk into the two-storey building, you feel (73) ______ you’re back in the 1970s. Plastered on
the walls are advertising images from that decade, the floors are covered (74) ______ hexagonal tiles and the
seating is mostly built-in circular sofas.
But (75) ______ of all, at the back of the restaurant, behind a glass wall, are the gleaming tanks of a working
brewery. Four (76) ______ of the beer are on sale and it’s not bad! It’s certainly a fun environment that makes a
good talking (77) ______ throughout the meal.
My dinner (78) ______ off to an excellent start, with an appetiser of wood-roasted vegetables. But for the
main course, I made the (79) ______ of ordering a salmon dish. It took more than an hour before it arrived. My
dining partner, himself a chef, took one (80) ______ and told me it was off. I sliced into it and sure (81)
______, it seemed undercooked. I sent it back and when it (82) ______ to reappear after another thirty minutes,
settled for a pizza (83) ______ with mozzarella, pesto and rocket. It was delicious.
Surprisingly pleasant also was my dessert of basil and mascarpone ice-cream with stewed rhubarb. In the
end, (84) ______, dinner had taken three times longer than it should have done. The only taste in my mouth
when I saw the bill was a bitter one. Our meal for two (85) ______ to the princely sum of £62 without service.
71. A. promises B. gone C. become D. got
72. A. the design B. to design C. designing D. design of
73. A. how B. through C. like D. as
74. A. with B. by C. from D. on
75. A. strangest B. stranger C. strangely D. strange
Trang 4/10
76. A. branches B. varieties C. strains D. sorts
77. A. time B. focus C. piece D. point
78. A. took B. got C. went D. started
79. A. fool B. mistake C. choice D. fuss
80. A. stink B. sneeze C. sniff D. snout
81. A. enough B. to truth C. to form D. be
82. A. wanted B. failed C. happened D. waited
83. A. topped B. soaked C. spread D. sliced
84. A. despite B. moreover C. therefore D. however
85. A. arrived B. came C. reached D. got

Part 2:
Questions 86 – 95: Fill each of the following numbered blanks with ONE suitable word.
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
Yoga
The benefits of yoga provide (86) _______ instant gratification and lasting transformation. In the fitness world,
both are extremely important. Too much time with too (87) _______ results can be incredibly discouraging, and
monotonous routines week after week can lead to stagnation. Yoga can change your physical and (88) _______
capacity quickly, while preparing the mind and body for long-term health.
Yoga is not just about (89) _______ out, it’s about a healthy lifestyle. The practice of yoga allows students to
find stillness in a world consumed with chaos. Peace and tranquility (90) _______ through focused training
appeals to everyone.
Yoga’s deep breathing and meditation practices help foster an inner (91) _______ from to-do lists, kids and
spouse’s needs, financial concerns, and relationship struggles to something a little bit bigger than the issues you
face. Yoga helps relieve (92) _______ and declutters the mind, helping you to become more focused.
One of the benefits of yoga is that you can choose a yoga style that's tailored (93) _______ your lifestyle, such
as hot yoga, power yoga, relaxation yoga, prenatal yoga, etc. (94) _______ you prefer to practice at home, in a
private session, while watching a DVD or at a studio or gym, there are a huge variety of options available to
(95) _______ your goals and needs. No matter your fitness level, fat percentage, or health history, yoga has a
style for you.

Part 3:
Questions 96–102: You are going to read a newspaper article about open-plan offices. Seven paragraphs
have been removed from the extract. Choose from the paragraphs A–H the one which fits each gap (96–
102). There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use. Write your answers on the answer sheet.
The plan behind open-plan
Whether or not open-plan offices, where employees have their own enclosed spaces, create a productive
working environment for employees has been the subject of much debate, but there is a strong argument that
the benefits of an open-plan working environment go beyond the purely financial. I once had the chance to visit
New York’s City Hall, during the period when
Michael Bloomberg, the former trader-turned-financial-information-mogul, was working there as mayor. As I
entered his empire, I experienced a small shock.
96.
The man himself sat in a vast, airy, open-plan room, surrounded by officials and banks of giant data screens,
showing information on issues as varied as traffic flows or public satisfaction with the police. Anybody holding
a meeting was encouraged to sit on a central, raised dais, rather than scuttle into a private hole; the idea, as one
employee explained, being to encourage a climate of transparency and collaboration.
97.
Is the open-plan spirit associated with those environments appropriate to other work contexts? It is a fascinating
and important question. Many of us spend an inordinate amount of time in an office environment, and as
anthropologists, architects and psychologists often note, the way we are physically organised shapes how we
work and think in a profound way.
98.

Trang 5/10
So it was that the quasi-cubicle system was born, but it was as much a reflection of natural human instincts as it
was dictated by the practicalities of the work itself. What gradually emerged were ‘offices’ where so much
paper had to be dealt with that a tradition of piling it high around individual desks became the norm – a feeling
of
privacy being the not unwelcome by-product.
99.
Consequently, ‘flat top’ desks proliferated, to permit oversight, even though in reality bosses continued to
retreat to private offices away from the staff whenever the opportunity arose. Then, in 1965, an industrial
designer called Robert Propst hit on the ingenious idea of the cubicle office system, and it became fashionable
to divide office workers once again, to preserve privacy.
100.
There is some evidence that removing physical barriers does indeed bring people closer to one another and does
promote casual interactions. This was the conclusion in an utterly fascinating piece in the Harvard Business
Review in 2011. This should be required reading for any bosses planning an office design. But there’s a roughly
equal amount of evidence that because open spaces reduce privacy, they don’t foster informal exchanges and
may actually inhibit them.
101.
Moreover, to promote collaboration, office bosses must not only approve informal debate, but also promote
shared activities within a semi-private space. Congregating around photocopiers and coffee machines helps
employees bond and share creative ideas, whereas creating formal ‘lounges’ does not. Scandinavian Airlines is
apparently a wonderful case study for how to get things wrong.
102.
But, as someone who has worked in both a rabbit warren and an open-plan environment, I strongly favour the
latter, and wish that more governments would adopt the system. After all, anything that promotes greater
transparency and egalitarianism seems a thoroughly good idea. Knocking down walls may seem like mere
symbolism; but, like all symbols, it can be a powerful
place to start.

A. But in our own times, that pendulum has swung back. Most large companies have – like Bloomberg –
embraced the idea of open-plan space in the hope of promoting collaboration. In truth, corporate experiences of
this arrangement are very mixed, as two decades of research by management consultants shows.
B. During my career as a journalist, I have often walked through government buildings, and have become
accustomed to seeing a rabbit warren. Across the western world, senior officials typically work from offices
interconnected by corridors, guarded by secretaries in ante-chambers. This building though, was different.
C. How Bloomberg’s open-plan design at City Hall stacks up, on these criteria, is tough to assess from the
outside. The employees I spoke to seemed pretty happy, but it may have been early days. Received wisdom
suggests that open-plan tends to become less attractive as people get older, and may not be equally suited to all
kinds of business.
D. In theory, anyone in such a space can see – and yell at – everyone else; much as they can on a modern
financial trading floor or at a newspaper. This, of course, is no accident given that Bloomberg spent most of his
career building the financial information giant that bears his name.
E. It was the changing nature of work itself and the emergence of mobile technology that led to that evolution.
Companies started experimenting with a mix of cubicles, open workstations, private offices and group
workstations. In some cases, these were not assigned to one particular individual, but were available to any
employee of the company on either a reservable or first-come, first-served basis.
F. The key issue to address, apparently, is whether employees feel any sense of control. People must feel
confident that they can converse without being interrupted or overheard and must also be able to avoid
interacting whenever they want. Without that possibility, staff will instead choose to conduct important
business out of the office, or retreat into private ‘cyber caves’, doing their work entirely online.
G. The trend towards separation intensified, as clerks started to surround their desks with more papers and
machines, and bosses expressed hierarchies by retreating to a superior enclave. But in the early twentieth
century, a new idea spread in American companies: that top managers should watch their workers to keep
productivity high.

Trang 6/10
H. Yet, generally, we barely even notice our surroundings. Except, that is, when somebody such as Bloomberg
tries to shake things up. The idea of an ‘office’ let alone its layout – has not been constant. It first cropped up in
Ancient Roman times, when magistrates worked in temples and palaces. These typically included a place for
storing documents, and this developed into the place where the scribes actually worked.

Part 4: Questions 103–115

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions 103–115.
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
Examining the Placebo Effect
The fact that taking a fake drug can powerfully improve some people's health - the so-called placebo
effect - was long considered an embarrassment to the serious practice of pharmacology, but now things
have changed.
Several years ago. Merck, a global pharmaceutical company, was falling behind its rivals in sales. To make
matters worse, patents on five blockbuster drugs were about to expire, which would allow cheaper generic
products to flood the market. In interviews with the press. Edward Scolnick. Merck's Research Director
presented his plan to restore the firm to pre-eminence. Key to his strategy was expanding the company’s reach
into the antidepressant, market, where Merck had trailed behind, while competitors like Pfizer and
GlaxoSmithKline had created some of the best-selling drugs in the world. “To remain dominant in the future.”
he told one media company, “we need to dominate the central nervous system.”
His plan hinged on the success of an experimental anti-depressant codenamed MK-869. Still, in clinical trials, it
was a new kind of medication that exploited brain chemistry in innovative ways to promote feelings of well-
being. The drug tested extremely well early on, with minimal side effects. Behind the scenes, however, MK-
869 was starting to unravel. True, many test subjects treated with the medication felt their hopelessness and
anxiety lift. But so did nearly the same number who took a placebo, a look-alike pill made of milk sugar or
another inert substance given to groups of volunteers in subsequent clinical trials to gauge the effectiveness of
the real drug by comparison. Ultimately, Merck's venture into the anti-depressant market failed. In the jargon of
the industry, the trials crossed the “futility boundary”.
MK-869 has not been the only much-awaited medical breakthrough to be undone in recent years by the placebo
effect. And it's not only trials of new drugs that are crossing the futility boundary. Some products that have
been on the market for decades are faltering in more recent follow-up tests It's not that the old medications are
getting weaker, drug developers say. It’s as if the placebo effect is somehow getting stronger. The fact that an
increasing number of medications are unable to beat sugar pills has thrown the industry into crisis. The stakes
could hardly be higher. To win FDA approval, a new medication must beat placebo in at least two authenticated
trials. In today’s economy, the fate of a well-established company can hang on the outcome of a handful of
tests.
Why are fake pills suddenly overwhelming promising new drugs and established medicines alike? The reasons
are only just beginning to be understood. A network of independent researchers is doggedly uncovering the
inner workings and potential applications of the placebo effect A psychiatrist. William Potter, who knew that
some patients really do seem to get healthier for reasons that have more to do with a doctor's empathy than with
the contents of a pill, was baffled by the fact that drugs he had been prescribing for years seemed to be
struggling to prove their effectiveness Thinking that a crucial factor may have been overlooked, Potter combed
through his company’s database of published and unpublished trials — including those that had been kept
secret because of high placebo response. His team aggregated the findings from decades of anti-depressant
trials, looking for patterns and trying to see what was changing over time. What they found challenged some of
the industry’s basic assumptions about its drug-vetting process. Assumption number one was that if a trial were
managed correctly, a medication would perform as well or badly in a Phoenix hospital as in a Bangalore clinic.
Potter discovered, however, that geographic location alone could determine the outcome. By the late 1990s, for
example, the anti-anxiety drug Diazepam was still beating placebo in France and Belgium. But when the drug
was tested in the U.S, it was likely to fail. Conversely, a similar drug, Prozac, performed better in America than
it did in western Europe and South Africa. It was an unsettling prospect FDA approval could hinge on where
the company chose to conduct a trial. Mistaken assumption number two was that the standard tests used to
gauge volunteers’ improvement in trials yielded consistent results. Potter and his colleagues discovered that
ratings by trial observers varied significantly from one testing site to another. It was like finding out that the
judges in a tight race each had a different idea about the placement of the finish line.

Trang 7/10
After some coercion by Potter and others, the National Institute of Health (NIH) focused on the issue in 2000,
hosting a three-day conference in Washington, and this conference launched a new wave of placebo research in
academic laboratories in the U.S. and Italy that would make significant progress toward solving the mystery of
what was happening in clinical trials.
In one study last year. Harvard Medical School researcher Ted Kaptchuk devised a clever strategy for testing
his volunteers’ response to varying levels of therapeutic ritual. The study focused on a common but painful
medical condition that costs more than $40 billion a year worldwide to treat. First, the volunteers were placed
randomly in one of three groups. One group was simply put on a waiting list; researchers know that some
patients get better just because they sign up for a trial. Another group received placebo treatment from a
clinician who declined to engage in small talk. Volunteers in the third group got the same fake treatment from a
clinician who asked them questions about symptoms, outlined the causes of the illness, and displayed optimism
about their condition.
Not surprisingly, the health of those in the third group improved most. In fact, just by participating in the trial,
volunteers in this high-interaction group got as much relief as did people taking the two leading prescription
drugs for the condition. And the benefits of their “bogus” treatment persisted for weeks afterwards, contrary to
the belief — widespread in the pharmaceutical industry- that the placebo response is short-lived.
Studies like this open the door to hybrid treatment strategies that exploit the placebo effect to make real drugs
safer and more effective. As Potter says, “To really do the best for your patients, you want the best placebo
response plus the best drug response”, adapted from Wired Magazine.
Questions 103–110
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage? For questions 103–110,
choose:
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
Write your answers in the corresponding numbered box provided.
103. Merck’s experience with MK-869 was unique.
104. These days, a small number of unsuccessful test results can ruin a well-established drugs
company.
105. William Potter’s research included trial results from a range of drugs companies.
106. Some medical conditions are more easily treated by a placebo than others.
107. The FDA preferred drugs to be tested in different countries.
108. Those conducting a placebo trial need to know the subjects’ disorder well.
109. The effects of a placebo can last longer than previously thought.
110. Kaptchuk’s research highlights the fact that combined drug and placebo treatments should be
avoided.
For questions 111–115, Complete the summary, using the list of words, A–O, below. Write the correct letter,
A–O in the corresponding numbered box provided
As a result of concerns about increasing (111) ______ in the drugs industry, the pharmaceutical company
Merck decided to increase its (112) ______ in the anti-depressant market. The development of the drug MK-
869 was seen as the way forward. Initially, MK-869 had some (113) _____, but later trials revealed a different
picture. Although key (114) ______ could be treated with the drug, a sugar pill was proving equally effective.
In the end, the (115) ______ indicated that it was pointless continuing with the development of the drug.

A. doubt B. activity C. prices D. symptoms E. patients

F. risk G. success H. test subjects I. cheating J. tests
K. diseases L. clinicians M. exaggeration N. figures O. competition

Part 5: Questions 116–120

You are going to read an article about British and US versions of English. For questions 116–120, choose
the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
National identity? Do the math(s)
What difference does a letter ‘s’ make? When it comes to number crunching and national pride, the answer for
some people in the USA and Britain is ‘a lot’. A few days ago, I wrote a column for the financial pages of a
British newspaper about equity market issues in the USA. I argued that it was tough for the Federal Reserve –
Trang 8/10
or anyone else – to prove whether so-called ‘short-selling bans’ actually worked on the basis of any ‘math’. To
be honest, that is not a spelling of the word that I would normally use; the British style is ‘maths’, whilst in the
USA, people typically say ‘math’. But I’d been chatting with some US academics just before I wrote the piece
and was focused on the equity market issues. Thus the word ‘math’ crept in, and that missing ‘s’ seemed such a
trivial issue that nobody picked it up. When my column was published, however, my spelling elicited almost as
many comments as my views on short selling. ‘Why is a British journalist for a British paper saying “math”
instead of “maths”? It’s really annoying,’ thundered one reader. Or as another said: ‘Many feel strongly that
American English and British English should not be swapped indiscriminately.’ ‘Math’ seems such an
affectation for a UK-educated person (and certainly a mathematician) to use that it is seen as crossing a red line
and going over to the other side.
Why such emotion? At first glance, it seems somewhat odd. If you look at the linguistic history of mathematics,
that ‘s’ can be justified or dismissed with equal logic. Linguists believe that the word takes its root from the
Ancient Greek manthanein, which can be roughly translated as ‘to learn’. Initially, this meant general ‘learning’
– hence the word ‘polymath’. But in the fourteenth century, the term ‘mathematics’ entered the English
language, from French, and became associated with numbers. However, and crucially, this concept was initially
expressed as a plural, because medieval number crunching came in many forms, including astrology,
trigonometry, calculus and physics. But then something curious happened: by the twentieth century, the word
had mutated into a singular noun, notwithstanding that final ‘s’ (in the same way as ‘physics’) and that sparked
the transatlantic linguistic divide: in the USA and Canada, ‘mathematics’ came to be abbreviated to ‘math’
because it was easier to pronounce and acted as a singular concept in terms of grammar (‘math is my favourite
subject’). In Britain, Australia and the rest of the English-speaking world, however, that ‘s’ was retained
(‘maths is my favourite subject’).
Given that the meaning is otherwise identical, you’d think that the words were largely interchangeable and that
it would hardly matter which was used. But judging from the blogosphere, no such assumption can be made on
either side of the Atlantic. One male reader of my column blames this on a deep sense of ‘intellectual
insecurity’ about quantative issues today. ‘People know that they ought to understand maths ... but most at
some point in their education reach a stage where they can no longer meet the challenge that the subject poses.
Hence the mention of math or maths induces a sense of anxiety and remembered humiliation that provokes
them to prove that they can at least spell.’
More to the point in this instance, however, is the fact that two-thirds of the world’s English speakers reside in
the USA, where they use American words and spellings. Data suggests that the remaining third are becoming
increasingly Americanised too: a growing proportion of textbooks in the emerging market countries are being
produced in an American style. It is perhaps no surprise that some British nationals are defensive, using their
version of English as a way of guarding their history and culture, and thereby perpetuating its idiosyncrasies.
Yet it’s strange to think all of this emotion should have been focused on a concept that does not involve
language. The beauty of numbers, after all, is that they transcend culture and the narrow confines of grammar.
But humans are rarely entirely logical when so much is at stake. So my suggestion is that we all just declare a
truce – and learn to say ‘arithmetic’ instead.
116. Many of the writer’s British readers regarded her spelling of the word in question as
A. a sign of disloyalty.
B. a reflection on her education.
C. a result of her training in mathematics.
D. an attempt to curry favour with Americans.
117. In the second paragraph, the writer
A. suggests that the British use of ‘maths’ is an anomaly.
B. explains why a plural concept of ‘mathematics’ developed.
C. investigates the changing meaning of the word ‘mathematics’.
D. questions the logic behind the idea of a singular concept of ‘math’.
118. What does the writer imply in the third paragraph?
A. She fails to see why alternative spellings came to co-exist.
B. She regards the US spelling of the word as the more convenient.
C. She finds the debate about the spelling of the word somewhat petty.
D. She wonders if the two spellings reflect different ideas about the subject.
119. The reader’s comment quoted is implying that
A. mathematicians have little patience with linguistic irregularities.
Trang 9/10
 B. maths students resent the suggestion that they lack language skills.
C. people who are good at mathematics also tend to be good at spelling.
D. language skills are perceived as easier to acquire than mathematical ones.
120. From the conclusion, we understand that the writer
A. supports the idea of standardised spelling in English.
B. predicts that different varieties of English will disappear.
C. regrets the attitude of those who defend varieties of English.
D. accepts that language is an important part of cultural identity.
V. WRITING (6 points)
PART 1: SENTENCE TRANSFORMATION (3 points)
A. Questions 121– 130
Complete each restatement with the words given so that it has the same meaning as the original one. Do
NOT change the form of the given word(s). You must use between THREE and EIGHT words, including the
word given.
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
121. It never occurred to me that there’d be a cashpoint machine in the supermarket. HEAD
It never ____________________________________ have a cashpoint machine.
122. We had to go home early from our holiday because of a strike threat from airport workers. SHORT
We had to ____________________________________ threatening to strike.
123. The group’s leader poor judgement jeopardised the safety of the climbers. PUT
The climber’s safety ____________________________________ of the group leader.
124. The students were told to either keep quiet or leave the art gallery. CHOICE
The students ____________________________________ keep quiet or leave the art gallery.
125. David looked as if he was about to cry when he saw the damage to his motorbike. VERGE
David looked like he was on ____________________________________ of the damage to his motorbike.
126. Many people used to believe that they would lose their soul if their photo was taken. BELIEF
There was ____________________________________ taken would mean losing your soul.
127. Helen’s running style seems to be improving now she has lessons. SIGNS
Helen’s running style ____________________________________ now she has lessons.
128. We think it would be better for the guests to arrive much earlier. PREFER
We ____________________________________ the guests arrived much earlier.
129. The area was completely devoid of vegetation. WHATSOEVER
There ____________________________________ the area.
130. Paul's mother finds it hard to accept that her kids are grown up. TERMS
Paul's mother has ____________________________________ that her kids are grown up.
B. Questions 131 – 135
Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it means exactly the same as the sentence
printed before it. You MUST write the complete sentences.
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
131. I really admire the changes you have made to your diet.
I am full ____________________________________.
132. Sam is reputed to inspire young athletes.
Sam has ____________________________________.
133. I wouls have arrived even later at the meeting, if Professor McDougal hadn’t kindly assisted me.
But for the ____________________________________
134. I know you’ll find it hard to believe, but I’ve never read any of Shakespeare’s works.
Unlikely ____________________________________.
135. We were surprised when Daphne made such a rapid recovery.
It ____________________________________.
PART 2: COMPOSITION (3 points)
Some people think that movies should only be for entertainment. Others think that they should also have
educational values.
In about 350 words, write and discuss both points of view and give your own opinion.
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
- END OF THE TEST -
Trang 10/10
Trang 11/8