SỞ GD & ĐT BÌNH ĐỊNH ĐỀ ÔN HSG LỚP 11 NĂM 2020- 2021

TRƯỜNG THPT CHUYÊN MÔN : Anh

CHU VĂN AN Time: 180 minutes

I. LISTENING
Part 1: You will hear an interview with Maria Stefanovich, co-founder of a creativity
group which organises workshops for executives. For questions 1-5, choose the answer
(A, B, C or D) which fits best according to what you hear.
1. Corporations appreciate mask-making workshops because
A. no one wants negative faces at the office.
B. unhappy employees won’t come to work.
C. they realise how their employees see them.
D. their employees change their approach.
2. Companies are turning to creative workshops because they have acknowledged that
A. unproductive employees are a financial burden.
B. the traditional work environment has its limitations.
C. there is an increase in absenteeism.
D. employees are working too hard without enjoying it.
3. The employees at the firm ‘Play’
A. change positions frequently to lessen boredom.
B. have business cards indicating their jobs.
C. dress up like comic book characters.
D. do not have stereotyped ideas about their jobs.
4. The companies that show most interest in creative workshops are surprising because
A. they usually have creative employees to begin with.
B. their employees are the ones who have to present regularly.
C. there are many other exciting workshops they would prefer.
D. their employees should be used to being funny.
5. Maria mentions the traditional companies that have held workshops in order to
A. boast about the clients her company has helped.
B. show that they have a narrow list of clients.
C. downplay the serious reputations of the firms.

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D. point out the diversity of those trying different approaches.
Part 2: You will hear part of a lecture about the artist Franz Marc.
Write:
Yes if the statement agrees with the information in the passage
No if the statement contradicts the information in the passage
6. A few years ago in London, some paintings by Franz Marc were sold at record prices
7. Almost all of Marc’s paintings feature a purple and blue horse standing in a landscape of
primary colours
8. In The Fate of the Animals Marc seems to offer a warning of the impending Great War.
9. The art group The Blue Rider were aiming to capture the purity of style often found in
paintings by children.
10. Marc’s life ended tragically in the war in 1960 when he was killed by a grenade in
France.

Part 3: You will hear an radio talk about ley line. Answer the following questions, write
NO MORE THAN FIVE WORDS for each answer.
11. Which part of many ley lines is the location of the Glastonbury Tor?
_____________________________
12. What did ancient peoples mark by building structures along them?
_____________________________
13. What is believed to be an indication of the Earth’s geomagnetic energy by Ruth?
_____________________________
14. Why may ancient peoples have been drawn to ley lines?
Because there were _____________________________
15. What are ancient civilizations claimed to have made when erecting monuments in order
to represent the position of certain groups of stars?
_____________________________
Part 4: For questions 16-25, listen to a piece of news from the BBC and fill in the
missing information. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS taken from the
recording for each answer in the spaces provided.

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Recently in the Great Pyramids, a 100-feet long space, which is called a (16) __________,
has been discovered lately. According to the “Nature”, this is a significant discovery to the
archaeology because since the 1800s, there has no other significant discovery like this (17)
____________________ . However, whether this can help to unravel the ancient mysteries
is (18) ____________________. There is no proof that a/an (19) ____________________
or burial chamber can be found from this space. There may be more others like this in the
pyramid and this discovery is expected to help the researchers find out how it was built. To
identify this space, not allowed to track (20) ____________________ or use cameras, they
had to take use of some appliances to (21) ____________________ inside the structure.
That’s not the only way the modern technology is helping archaeologists.
Adam Low, an archaeologist, admitted to being a man with (22) ____________________
the tomb of a Pharaoh, Seti I. It can be learnt from the tomb how ancient people have
different thoughts, different values and (23) ____________________. He can read the way
they thought through the (24) ___________________ on the walls. With the help of
technology, a dialogue crossing time can be built and become one of the most exciting
moment. “the Hall of Beauties” is, in fact, only a (25) ____________________ built in a
museum in Switzerland.
II. LEXICO GRAMMAR:
Part 1: For questions 26-35, choose the best answer (A, B, C or D) to each of the
following questions
26. Mr Smith ate his breakfast in great ________ so as not to miss the bus to Liverpool.
A. Speed B. pace C. rush D. haste
27. The whole situation is getting out of ________. Let’s do something before it turns into a
bitter row.
A. capacity B. charge C. hand D. discipline
28. The weekend is over, so tomorrow morning it’s back to the________ .
A. grind B. labour C. drudgery D. toil
29. I really admire the hero of the film. He’s so ________.
A. reckless B. adventurous C. foolhardyD. instinctive
30. The experimental play was only a________ success, which disappointed the playwright.
A. local B. qualified C. reserved D. cautious

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31. It takes time to get a financial system up and ________ after the introduction of a new
currency.
A. walking B. proceeding C. running D. going
32. Life is so full of both good fortune and misfortunes that you have to learn to take the
rough with the________.
A. smooth B. ready C. calm D. tough
33. Stephen really lost his________ when his dental appointment was cancelled yet again.
A. head B. voice C. calm D. rag
34. Don’t take it as ________ that you’ll be promoted in your job; other colleagues stand a
good chance too
A. fixed B. standard C. read D. word
35. When my new motor kept breaking down, I knew I’d been taken for a________ by the
second-hand car salesman.
A. drive B. ride C. walk D. stroll

Part 2: The passage below contains 5 errors in spelling, grammar, word form. For
questions 36-40, underline the errors and write the corrections
EAR INFECTIONS
One of the most prevalent illnesses in children under three is ear infections. These can be
quite painful and will often result in inccessant crying. Ear infections are caused when
bacteriums or viruses get into the inside of the ear. The Eustachian tubes, which supply the
ear with air, become swollen or inflaming. The adenoids, cell clusters near these tubes that
fight infections, can also become infected and the block tubes. Children’s Eustachian tubes
are smaller but straighter, and their adenoids are large. This means that the tubes do not drain
as well, that often results in the adenoids impeding flow through the tubes.
36. 37. 38. 39. 40.

Part 3: For question 41-45, fill in the gaps in the following sentences with suitable
particles.
41. You shouldn’t live ___________ your means
42. His wife took ___________ her new neighbours at once.

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43. Because of the falling orders, the company has been forced to lay ___________ several
hundred workers.
44. The company has been sitting ___________my letter for weeks without dealing with my
complaint.
45. We must size___________ the situation before we decide what to do.

Part 4: Read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of some of the
lines to form a word that fits in the space in the same line.
Cacti
Cacti have enjoyed an (46) ______________ popularity among ENDURE
gardeners spanning several centuries. Perhaps this is due in part to
their unusual appearance: more often than not, they consist of (47) SWELL
______________stems covered in spines. Unlike other plants, cacti
can squat in their pots, (48) ______________ in suspended APPEAR
animation, for months, showing little sign of growth or
development; then suddenly, their flowers will burst forth, dazzling GLORY
observers with their (49) ______________ vibrant colours. Added VARIOUS
to this is the fact that they come in a huge (50) ______________of RESIST
shapes, sizes and forms, so many gardeners, myself included, find
themselves (51) ______________ drawn to these extraordinary
plants. INITIATE
You do not have to be an expert to grow cacti, and the (52) REQUIRE
______________needn't be concerned about cultivating them
because they are among the easiest of plants to care for. Their (53) ABLE
______________ are simple and few. Plenty of light, a little
compost and occasional watering will keep them happy and LIKE
healthy. Also, their hardy constitution (54) ______________ them
to withstand harsh climatic conditions in the wild. So should you
neglect to water them, they are (55) ______________to object. For
this reason, I recommend them to the young enthusiasts who ask
me about starting their own windowsill gardens.

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III. READING:
Part 1. Read the following passage and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits
each gap.
DIAGNOSING DYSLEXIA
Approximately five per cent of the population (0) __ suffer__ from dyslexia. The cause of
the disorder is unknown and it is (56) ________ found in people of otherwise normal
intectual ability. The condition is (57) ________ by severe reading difficulties, with
dyslexics frequently confusing letters or words. They may, for example, read or write letters,
words or sentences in the wrong (58) ________. Although the problem can be overcome
with intensive instruction, sufferers usually continue to read and write poorly throughout
their lives.
Traditionally, diagnosis has been made by reading experts, which means that many (59)
________ are not formally (60) ________ until a child is around ten years of age. Now,
however, a group of psychologists in the United States believe that they have found a way of
identifying in their first days of life children who will develop dyslexia. This is exciting
news as early identification and (61) ________ make early instruction possible, perhaps
avoiding later problems altogether.
The research team has identified (62) ________ differences between the brain (63) ________
patterns of dyslexics and those of better readers. Attaching electrodes to the heads of babies
just 36 hours old, they measured the size and speed of their brain responses to selected
stimuli. The children were (64) ________ and given IQ and comprehension tests every two
years. At eight, reading tests were administered to identify those who were dyslexic. More
than 90 percent diagnosed as dyslexic could have been singled out at birth.
This research is still in its (65) ________ but may result in a future in which dyslexia no
longer causes life long distress.

56. A naturally B commonly C customarily D Actually

57. AB distinguished C marked D Identified
characterized
58. AB series C sequence D Order
arrangement
59. A instances B cases C times D Occurrences
60. A picked up B noted down C shown up D put down

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61. A interference B intrusion C intervention D Recognition
62. A frank B evident C distinct D precise
63. A pace B wave C pulse D Signal
64. A monitored B viewed C followed D Inspected
65. A beginnings B infancy C outset D Origins

Part 2: For questions 66- 75, read the text again and think of the word which best fits
each gap. Use only one word in each gap.
Getting ready for Mars
The 'Mars 500 project' (66) ______ an experiment that simulated a return mission to Mars.
Spending 18 months in a sealed facility in Moscow (67) ______ access to natural light or
fresh air, six men were monitored as they attended (68) ______ their daily duties. A study
into (69) ______ each of them coped with the psychological and physical constraints of the
mission has found that there were wide differences in their wake-sleep patterns. For
example, (70) ______ most of the crew began to sleep for longer periods as the mission
progressed and boredom set in, one individual slept progressively less, resulting (71) ______
him becoming chronically sleep-deprived towards the end of the (72) ______ . Identifying
bad sleepers could be important on a real Mars mission, during (73) ______ people are
required to be constantly alert even when days are tediously similar. Researchers warn that
for any astronaut heading to Mars, exciting as the trip might initially seem, (74) ______
could be problems with stress brought on by the monotony of routine. However, they also
report that (75)______ some personal tensions between crew members, there was overall
harmony within the group.

Part 3. Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C or D) according
to the text. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes.
Orientation and Navigation
To South Americans, robins are birds that fly north every spring. To North Americans, the
robins simply vacation in the south each winter. Furthermore, they fly to very specific places
in South America and will often come back to the same trees in North American yards the
following spring. The question is not why they would leave the cold of winter so much as
how they find their way around. The question perplexed people for years, until, in the

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1950s, a German scientist named Gustavo Kramer provided some answers and. in the
process, raised new questions.
Kramer initiated important new kinds of research regarding how animals orient and navigate.
Orientation is simply facing in the right direction; navigation involves finding ones way from
point A to point B.
Early in his research, Kramer found that caged migratory birds became very restless at about
the time they would normally have begun migration in the wild. Furthermore, he noticed that
as they fluttered around in the cage, they often launched themselves in the direction of their
normal migratory route. He then set up experiments with caged starlings and found that their
orientation was, in fact, in the proper migratory direction except when the sky was overcast,
at which times there was no clear direction to their restless movements. Kramer surmised,
therefore, that they were orienting according to the position of the Sun. To test this idea, he
blocked their view of the Sun and used mirrors to change its apparent position. He found that
under these circumstances, the birds oriented with respect to the new "Sun." They seemed to
be using the Sun as a compass to determine direction. At the time, this idea seemed
preposterous. How could a bird navigate by the Sun when some of us lose our way with
road maps? Obviously, more testing was in order.
So, in another set of experiments, Kramer put identical food boxes around the cage, with
food in only one of the boxes. The boxes were stationary, and the one containing food was
always at the same point of the compass. However, its position with respect to the
surroundings could be changed by revolving either the inner cage containing the birds or the
outer walls, which served as the background. As long as the birds could see the Sun, no
matter how their surroundings were altered, they went directly to the correct food box.
Whether the box appeared in front of the right wall or the left wall, they showed no signs of
confusion. On overcast days, however, the birds were disoriented and had trouble locating
their food box.
In experimenting with artificial suns, Kramer made another interesting discovery. If the
artificial Sun remained stationary, the birds would shift their direction with respect to it at a
rate of about 15 degrees per hour, the Sun's rate of movement across the sky. Apparently, the
birds were assuming that the "Sun" they saw was moving at that rate. When the real Sun was
visible, however, the birds maintained a constant direction as it moved across the sky. In

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other words, they were able to compensate for the Sun's movement. This meant that some
sort of biological clock was operating-and a very precise clock at that.
What about birds that migrate at night? Perhaps they navigate by the night sky. To test the
idea, caged night-migrating birds were placed on the floor of a planetarium during their
migratory period. A planetarium is essentially a theater with a domelike ceiling onto which a
night sky can be projected for any night of the year. When the planetarium sky matched the
sky outside, the birds fluttered in the direction of their normal migration. But when the dome
was rotated, the birds changed their direction to match the artificial sky. The results clearly
indicated that the birds were orienting according to the stars.
There is accumulating evidence indicating that birds navigate by using a wide variety of
environmental cues. Other areas under investigation include magnetism, landmarks,
coastlines, sonar, and even smells. The studies are complicated by the fact that the data are
sometimes contradictory and the mechanisms apparently change from time to time.
Furthermore, one sensory ability may back up another.
76. Which of the following can be inferred about bird migration from paragraph 1?
A. Birds will take the most direct migratory route to their new habitat.
B. The purpose of migration is to join with larger groups of birds.
C. Bird migration generally involves moving back and forth between north and south.
D. The destination of birds' migration can change from year to year.
77. The word ‘perplexed’ in the passage is closest in meaning to _____.
A. defeated B. interested C. puzzled D. occupied
78. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the underlined
sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave
out essential information.
A. Experiments revealed that caged starlings displayed a lack of directional sense and
restless movements.
B. Experiments revealed that caged starlings were unable to orient themselves in the
direction of their normal migratory route.
C. Experiments revealed that the restless movement of caged starlings had no clear direction.
D. Experiments revealed that caged starlings' orientation was accurate unless the weather
was overcast.

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79. The word ‘preposterous’ in the passage is closest in meaning to _____.
A. unbelievable B. inadequate C. limited D. creative
80. According to paragraph 3, why did Kramer use mirrors to change the apparent position
of the Sun?
A. To test the effect of light on the birds' restlessness
B. To test whether birds were using the Sun to navigate
C. To simulate the shifting of light the birds would encounter along their regular migratory
route
D. To cause the birds to migrate at a different time than they would in the wild
81. According to paragraph 3, when do caged starlings become restless?
A. When the weather is overcast
B. When they are unable to identify their normal migratory route
C. When their normal time for migration arrives
D. When mirrors are used to change the apparent position of the Sun
82. Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 4 about Kramer’s reason for
filling one food box and leaving the rest empty?
A. He believed the birds would eat food from only one box.
B. He wanted to see whether the Sun alone controlled the birds' ability to navigate toward the
box with food.
C. He thought that if all the boxes contained food, this would distract the birds from
following their migratory route.
D. He needed to test whether the birds preferred having the food at any particular point of the
compass.
83. According to paragraph 5, how did the birds fly when the real Sun was visible?
A. They kept the direction of their flight constant.
B. They changed the direction of their flight at a rate of 15 degrees per hour.
C. They kept flying toward the Sun.
D. They flew in the same direction as the birds that were seeing the artificial Sun.
84. The experiment described in paragraph 5 caused Kramer to conclude that birds possess a
biological clock because _____.

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A. when birds navigate they are able to compensate for the changing position of the Sun in
the sky
B. birds innate bearings keep them oriented in a direction that is within 15 degrees of the
Suns direction
C. birds' migration is triggered by natural environmental cues, such as the position of the Sun
D. birds shift their direction at a rate of 15 degrees per hour whether the Sun is visible or not
85. According to paragraph 6, how did the birds navigate in the planetarium's nighttime
environment?
A. By waiting for the dome to stop rotating
B. By their position on the planetarium floor
C. By orienting themselves to the stars in the artificial night sky
D. By navigating randomly until they found the correct orientation
Part 4. Read the passage and do the tasks that follow
Party Labels in Mid-Eighteenth Century England
A. Until the late 1950s the Whig interpretation of English history in the eighteenth
century prevailed. This was successfully challenged by Lewis Namier, who proposed,
based on an analysis of the voting records of MPs from the 1760 intake following the
accession to the throne of George III, that the accepted Whig/Tory division of politics did
not hold. He believed that the political life of the period could be explained without these
party labels, and that it was more accurate to characterise political division in terms of the
Court versus Country.
B.An attempt was then made to use the same methodology to determine whether the same
held for early eighteenth century politics. To Namier’s chagrin this proved that at the end
of Queen Anne’s reign in 1714 voting in parliament was certainly based on party interest,
and that Toryism and Whiggism were distinct and opposed political philosophies. Clearly,
something momentous had occurred between 1714 and 1760 to apparently wipe out party
ideology. The Namierite explanation is that the end of the Stuart dynasty on the death of
Queen Anne and the beginning of the Hanoverian with the accession of George I radically
altered the political climate.
C.The accession of George I to the throne in 1715 was not universally popular. He was
German, spoke little English, and was only accepted because he promised to maintain the

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 Anglican religion. Furthermore, for those Tory members of government under Anne, he
was nemesis, for his enthronement finally broke the hereditary principle central to Tory
philosophy, confirming the right of parliament to depose or select a monarch. Moreover,
he was aware that leading Tories had been in constant communication with the Stuart
court in exile, hoping to return the banished King James II. As a result, all Tories were
expelled from government, some being forced to escape to France to avoid execution for
treason.
D. The failure of the subsequent Jacobite rebellion of 1715, where certain Tory magnates
tried to replace George with his cousin James, a Stuart, albeit a Catholic, was used by the
Whig administration to identify the word “Tory” with treason. This was compounded by
the Septennial Act of 1716, limiting elections to once every seven years, which further en-
trenched the Whig’s power base at the heart of government focussed around the crown.
With the eradication of one of the fundamental tenets of their philosophy, alongside the
systematic replacement of all Tory positions by Whig counterparts, Tory opposition was
effectively annihilated. There was, however, a grouping of Whigs in parliament who were
not part of the government.
E. The MPs now generally referred to as the “Independent Whigs” inherently distrusted the
power of the administration, dominated as it was by those called “Court Whigs”. The In-
dependent Whig was almost invariably a country gentleman, and thus resisted the growth
in power of those whose wealth was being made on the embryonic stock market. For them
the permanency of land meant patriotism, a direct interest in one’s nation, whilst shares,
easily transferable, could not be trusted. They saw their role as a check on the administra-
tion, a permanent guard against political corruption, the last line of defence of the mixed
constitution of monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy. The reaction against the growing
mercantile class was shared by the Tories, also generally landed country gentlemen. It is
thus Namier’s contention, and that of those who follow his work, that by the 1730s the
Tories and the Independent Whigs had fused to form a Country opposition to the Court
administration, thus explaining why voting records in 1760 do not follow standard party
lines.
F. It must be recognised that this view is not universally espoused. Revisionist historians
such as Linda Colley dispute that the Tory party was destroyed during this period, and

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 assert the continuation of the Tories as a discrete and persistent group in opposition, allied
to the Independent Whigs but separate. Colley’s thesis is persuasive, as it is clear that
some, at least, regarded themselves as Tories rather than Whigs. She is not so successful in
proving the persistence either of party organisation beyond family connection, or of
ideology, beyond tradition. Furthermore, while the terms “Tory” and “Whig” were used
frequently in the political press, it was a device of the administration rather than the
opposition. As Harris notes in his analysis of the “Patriot” press of the 1740s, there is
hardly any discernible difference between Tory and Whig opposition pamphlets, both
preferring to describe themselves as the “Country Interest”, and attacking “the Court”.
Questions 86- 90
Reading Passage has 6 paragraphs (A-F). Choose the most suitable heading for each
paragraph from the List of headings below.
One of the headings has been done for you as an example.
NB. There are more headings than paragraphs, so you will not use all of them.
86. Paragraph A
87. Paragraph B
88. Paragraph C
89. Paragraph D
90. Paragraph E
Example: Paragraph F Answer: iii
List of headings
i. The Whig/Tory division discounted
ii. Maintaining the Anglican religion
iii. The fusion theory challenged and supported
iv. The consequences of George I’s accession
v. The Tory landowners
vi. Political divisions in the early 1700s
vii. The failure of the Jacobean rebellion
viii. The Tory opposition effectively destroyed
ix. The fusion of the Independent Whigs and the Tory landowners
x. The Whig interpretation of history

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Questions 91-95
Do the statements below agree with the information in Reading Passage?
Write:
Yes if the statement agrees with the information in the passage
No if the statement contradicts the information in the passage
Not Given if there is no information about the statement in the passage
Example: Until the late 1950s the Whig interpretation of English history was the one that
was widely accepted.
Answer: Yes.
91. According to Namier, political divisions in the mid18th century were not related to party
labels.
92. According to Namier, something happened between 1714 and 1760 to affect party
ideology.
93. George I was not liked by everyone.
94. The Independent Whigs were all landowners with large estates.
95. Neither the Independent Whigs, nor the Tories trusted the mercantile classes.

Part 5. Read the extract from a review of a book about the English langage For
questions 1-10. choose from the sections A-E. The sections maybe chosen more than
once.
In which section are the following mentioned?
96.the view that the global influence of a language is nothing new
97.a return to the global use of not one but many languages
98.explanations as to what motivates people to learn another language
99.the view that a language is often spoken in places other than its country of origin
100. an appreciation of a unique and controversial take on the role of the English
language
101. a query about the extent to which people are attached to their own first language
102. an optimistic view about the long-term future of the English language
103. the hostility felt by those forced to learn another language
104. a derogatory comment about the English language

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 105. a shared view about the ultimate demise of English in the future
The Last Lingua Franca by Nicholas Ostler
Deborah Cameron predicts an uncertain future for English
A. The Emperor Charles V is supposed to have remarked in the 16th century that he spoke
Latin with God, Italian with musicians, Spanish with his troops, German with lackeys,
French with ladies and English with his horse. In most books about English, the joke
would be turned on Charles, used to preface the observation that the language he
dismissed as uncultivated is now a colossus bestriding the world. Nicholas Ostler,
however, quotes it to make the point that no language's triumph is permanent and
unassailable. Like empires (and often with them), languages rise and fall, and English,
Ostler contends, will be no exception.
B. English is the first truly global lingua franca, if by 'global' we mean 'used on every
inhabited continent’. But in the smaller and less densely interconnected world of the past,
many other languages had similar functions and enjoyed comparable prestige, is Modern
lingua francas include French, German, Latin, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. Yet
these once-mighty languages are now largely confined to those territories where their
modern forms are spoken natively. Though at the height of their power some acquired -
and have kept - large numbers of native speakers outside their original homelands (as
with Spanish and Portuguese in South America), few retain their old status.
C. To understand why the mighty fall, Ostler suggests we must look to the factors that
enabled them to rise: most commonly these are conquest, commerce and conversion.
Conquered or subordinated peoples learn (or are obliged to learn) the languages of their
overlords; traders acquire the languages that give them access to markets; converts adopt
the languages of their new religion. But these ways of recruiting speakers are not
conducive to permanent attachment. The learned language is not valued for its own sake,
but only for the benefits that are seen to flow from it, and only for as long as those
benefits outweigh the costs. When new conquerors arrive, their subjects switch to new
lingua francas. Old empires break up and their lingua francas are abandoned, while the
spread of a new religion may advance a language or conversely weaken it. And always
there is the resentment generated by dependence on a language which has to be learned,

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 and therefore favours elites over those without access to schooling. Prestigious lingua
francas are socially divisive, and therefore unstable.
D. English in the global age is often portrayed as an exceptional case. Writers who take this
view point out that English differs from previous lingua francas in two important ways;
first, it has no serious competition, and second, although it was originally spread by
conquest, commerce and missionaries, its influence no longer depends on coercion.
Because of this, the argument runs, it will not suffer the fate of its predecessors. But
Ostler thinks this argument underplays both the social costs of maintaining a lingua
franca (it is not true that English is universally loved) and the deep, enduring loyalty
people have to their native so tongues. For millennia we have been willing to compromise
our linguistic loyalties in exchange for various rewards; but if the rewards could be had
without the compromise, we would gladly lay our burden down. Ostler believes that we
will soon be able to do that. English, he 65 suggests, will be the last lingua franca. As
Anglo-American hegemony withers, the influence of English will decline; but what
succeeds it will not be any other single language. Rather we will see a technologically-
enabled return to a state of Babel. Thanks to advances in computer translation, 'everyone
will speak and write in whatever language they choose, and the world will understand'.
E. Here it might be objected that Ostler's argument depends on an unrealistic techno-
optimism, and puts too much emphasis on the supposed primeval bond between speakers
and their mother tongues, which some would say is largely an invention of 19 th-century
European nationalism. But even if he is wrong to predict the return of Babel, I do not
think he is wrong to argue that English's position as the premier medium of global
exchange will not be maintained for ever. In the future, as in the past, linguistic
landscapes can be expected to change in line with so political and economic realities. The
Last Lingua Franca is not the easiest of reads: Ostler does not have the popularizer's gift
for uncluttered storytelling, and is apt to pile up details without much regard for what the
non-specialist either needs to know or is capable of retaining. What he does offer,
however, is a much- 85 needed challenge to conventional wisdom: informative, thought-
provoking and refreshingly free from anglocentric cliches.
From The Guardian Review section
IV. WRITING

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Part 1: Write a summary of about 140 words
Ever seen Indians spitting out red substances from their mouths and having their
lips conspicuously stained red? Those red substances are actually chewed betel nuts. The
betel nuts are chewed mainly by the Indians and Malays, from countries like India, Malaysia
and Thailand.
The nuts are usually removed from the betel or areca palm fruits. Softened by boiling, the
nuts are then sliced, dried in the sun before being grated into fine, thin shreds. To enjoy betel
chewing, one must spread lime on the betel leaf, then sprinkle some grated betel nuts on it,
fold up the leaf and chew in the mouth. The gums, teeth and lips will then be stained red and
later turn black if the habit is continued with no proper cleansing methods.
Long ago in the past, betel nuts had already proven their usefulness. Before the emergence of
cosmetics, women used to color their lips red with betel nuts. It was only after the invention
of lipsticks that betel nuts were used as nerve soothing medicine instead.
In India, betel nuts are chewed during important occasions like births, marriages and death
ceremonies. It was believed that Emperors long ago sent betel nuts as tributes to other
foreign kings. Before carrying out capital punishment, prisoners were also given betel nuts,
probably as "farewell gifts". Even in some countries now, betel nuts are offered as gifts of
apology or as hints from hosts to their guests about their overstay.
The preparation and serving of betel nuts are also viewed significantly in India. The skills
are used to gauge and choose ideal daughter-in-laws. The more skilful the lady is, the better
the family background she has and of course, the more ideal she is. To bless a bride with
good fortune, betel leaves are often used to cover her lap during the wedding ceremony. By
pouring the juice of betel leaves upon the expecting mother's navel and observing the
direction of the liquid flow, the sex of the foetus could be predicted too.
In more developed countries, doctors have claimed that betel leaves are rich in vitamin C.
They are also good for relieving patients with breathing difficulties. On the other hand, there
are some medical experts who discovered that the betel-chewing may lead to mouth cancer.
Whatever the conclusion is, I am sure that the traditional chewing of betel leaves and nuts
will still be practiced by Indians in India and other parts of the world.

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Part 2. The line graph shows visit to and from the UK from 1979 to 1999. The bar chart
show the most popular countries visited by the UK residents in 1999.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.

Part 3. More and more businesses as well as individuals are choosing to communicate
either professionally or socially using technology rather than being face to face. Discuss
the advantages and disadvantages of using technology for communicating

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