Unit 6 Competitions

Read the passage and then do tasks that follow.

Last Saturday the representatives of three classes of my school took part in the annual final
English Competition organized by our English teachers. Its aim was to stimulate the spirit
of learning English among students. The competition was sponsored by the Students'
Parents Society. Mrs. Lien, our English teacher, explained the competition's rules to the
students.

“...To participate in the contest, you have to work in groups of three. Each group must
complete five activities in all. On completion of each activity, you will have to answer the
questions on the worksheets within two minutes. The judges will observe and score your
performance. The maximum score for each activity is 15 points. At the end of the
competition, the judges will announce the total score of each group. The group that gets the
highest score will be the winner. The winner will be awarded a set of CDs for studying
English and an Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Now, let's start our competition."

Hung, Thu and Nga were the members of Group A. They quickly read the questions and
tried to find out the answers. At first, things went smoothly. They almost completed the five
activities. But in Activity 5, Hung had difficulty reciting the poem. He could not remember
the last sentence. Time was up, and the judges announced the results. The winner was Group
B, which got 70 points; Hung's group got 65, and Group C got 60. Thu felt a bit
disappointed. Hung apologized for not being able to complete the poem. But Nga made it
better by saying “For me the most important thing was our participation in the competition
and the enjoyment we had from it”.

Task 1. Match the words or phrases on the left with their definitions on the right.

1. representative a. without problems or difficulties

2. annual b. enthusiasm and energy

3. stimulate c. altogether or as a total

4. in all d. a person chosen or appointed on behalf of another person or a group

5. spirit e. encourage or make something more active

6. smoothly f. happening or done once every year

Task 2

1. The representatives of three classes of the (writer's) school took part in the annual/monthly/weekly/daily
final English Competition last Saturday.

2. The competition was to upgrade/ruin/decrease/ stimulate the spirit of learning English among students.

3. The Students' parents Society held/ donated/sponsored/organized the competition.

4. They had to complete five activities in fact/in all/at least/at most. On completion of each activity, they had
to answer the questions in the worksheets within two minutes.

5. They had to observe and score the students' performance. The maximum/minimum/high/total score for
each activity was 15. At the end of competition they would announce/pronounce/declare/inform the total
score of each group. The group that got the highest score would be the winner.

6. The winner would be awarded/won/defeated/gotten a set of CDs for studying English and an Oxford
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

GRAMMAR: REPORTED SPEECH (advanced)

Để tường thuật lại các lời yêu cầu, đề nghị, cảnh báo , xin lỗi, khuyên bảo ... chúng ta có thể áp
dụng các cấu trúc:

1. verb + O + (not) to inf ( advise/ tell/ ask/ order/ want/ warn(cảnh báo)/ encourage/ beg/
remind ...)
She told me,“ If I were you, I wouldn’t believe him”
 She advised me not to believe him.
2. verb + to infinitive ( agree, offer, promise, threaten, demand, decide ...)
She said, “ I am not going to walk”
(she said that she was not going to walk.)
 She decided not to walk.
- the robber threatened to kill her if she didn’t give him money.
3. verb + gerund : suggest= propose / admit (thừa nhận)/ deny (phủ nhận)/ mind/ avoid ...
“ Why don’t we share the cost?”, she said
 She suggested sharing the cost.
(that they (should) share the cost.)

4. verb + preposition + gerund look forward to/ think ..of /complain about, dream of, apologize
for, confess to, insist on, object to .../accuse …of (buộc tội)

5. verb + object + preposition + gerund : blame ... for (đổ lỗi cho) / thank ... for/
congratulate ....on (chúc mừng ./warn…..against/ prevent(stop) …….from
Warn sb not to do st

Conditional in reported speech: Type 1  Type 2; Type 2 và Type 3 không đổi

1. "Be careful while you are on top of the tree, Ben," she said.
→ She warned
2. “ It was your fault. You didn’t tell us”, she told me
 She blamed
3. “Why not buy another laptop, Sue?” He suggested
4. Tom said, “ I am sorry I messed up the arrangement” Tom
5. “ You got your promotion. Congratulations!”, Helen said to her bother.
Helen
6. “Why don’t we stay at home for a change?”, Peter said.
 Peter
7. “It was very kind of you to lend me the money”, Fred said to Helen
Fred
8. “ Sorry! I’ve hurt your feeling”, Mrs. Pitt said to me.
 Mrs. Pitt
9. “If you had taken my advice, you wouldn’t have got into such difficulties.” Mary said
--> Mary
10. “What would you do if you went abroad?” Nam asked Trung 
Nam
11. “If I had time, I would go to the beach with you this weekend”.
--> He
12. “If I have the money, I will buy a new car.”
 She reassured him that………………………………..
13. If she had the money, she would buy a new car.
14. “If Ann had found the right buyer, she would have sold the house.”

15. Kate said, ”Where did you have breakfast this morning?”
--> Kate wanted to …………………………….
16. Ben said, “Have you applied for a job as an interpreter, Bob?”

17. Andrew: "Will Mandy have lunch with Sue next week?" Andrew ………..
…………………………….
Asked Mandy if/whether he would have lunch with …..the week after/follwing week.
18. “ I don’t think that we must widen the village road”, he said.
 He objected
19. “please give me some money, Mommy.”said the girl.  the girl

20. “ It is really exciting that I will see you again tomorrow”, she said to her friend on the phone
She is looking forward …

21. “ Don’t play with fire.”

 He ………........his son……………………………

22. Teacher: "Don't forget your homework!"

 The teacher reminded
23. Helen: "I was writing a letter yesterday." Helen told me that

24. Lisa: "Tim went to the stadium an hour ago." Lisa said that

25. Patricia: "My mother will celebrate her birthday next weekend." 

26. Elisabeth: "Did you watch the latest film last night?" Elisabeth asked me

27. Andrew: "Will Mandy have lunch with Sue today?" Andrew asked me
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the
correct answer to each of the questions.
In Africa, people celebrate with joy the birth of a new baby. The Pygmies would sing a birth-song to the
child. In Kenya, the mother takes the baby strapped to her back into the thorn enclosure where the cattle
are kept. There, her husband and the village elders wait to give the child his or her name.
In West Africa, after the baby is eight days old, the mother takes the baby for its first walk in the big,
wide world, and friends and family are invited to meet the new baby. In various African nations, they hold
initiation ceremonies for groups of children instead of birthdays. When children reach a certain designated
age, they learn the laws, beliefs, customs, songs and dances of their tribes. Some African tribes consider
that children from nine to twelve are ready to be initiated into the grown up world. They may have to
carry out several tests.
Maasai boys around thirteen years old to seventeen undergo a two-stage initiation. The first stage lasts
about three months. The boys leave their parents' homes, paint their bodies white, and are taught how to
become young warriors. At the end of this stage, they have their heads shaved and they are also
circumcised. At the second stage, the young warriors grow their hair long and live in a camp called a
“manyatta” where they practice hunting the wild animals that might attack the Maasai herds. This stage
may last a few years. When they are ready, they will marry and become owners of large cattle herds like
their fathers. The girls are initiated when they are fourteen or fifteen. They are taught by the older women
about the duties of marriage and how to care for babies. Soon after that they are married and lead a life
similar to that of their mothers.
Question 28. What does the word "they" in paragraph 3 refer to?
A. the young warriors B. the cattle owners
C. the Maasai herds D. the wild animals
Question 29. The word "undergo" in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______________.
A. explore B. participate in C. experience D. commence
Question 30. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in paragraph 2?
A. Children have to learn their tribes' cultures and traditions when they are old enough.
B. An eight-day-old child will be taken for the first walk by his or her mother.
C. Children are initiated for a mature life in the presence of their friends and family.
D. Children have to overcome a few trials to enter the grown-up world.
Question 31. Where do people in Kenya give the name to the child?
A. at their house B. at the village church
C. on the cattle farm D. near the thorn fence
Question 32. What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. Birthday ceremonies for children in Africa
B. Activities in a birth celebration
C. Traditions of Maasai people when having a new baby
D. Celebrations in Africa
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate
the correct answer to each of the questions. 
  An air pollutant is defined as a compound added directly or indirectly by humans to the
atmosphere in such quantities as to affect humans, animals, vegetation, or materials adversely. Air
pollution requires a very flexible definition that permits continuous changes. When the first air
pollution laws were established in England in the fourteenth century, air pollutants were limited to
compounds that could be seen or smelled- a far cry from the extensive list of harmful substances
known today. As technology has developed and knowledge of health aspects of various chemicals
has increased, the list of air pollutants has lengthened. In the future, even water vapor might be
considered an air pollutant under certain conditions. 
  Many of more important air pollutants, such as sulfur oxides, carbon monoxides and nitrogen
oxides are found in nature. As the Earth developed, the concentration of these pollutants was altered
by various chemical reactions; they became components in biogeochemical cycles. These serve as
an air purification scheme by allowing the compounds to move from the air to the water or soil. On
a global basis, nature's output of these compounds dwarfs that resulting from human activities. 
  However, human production usually occurs in a localized area, such as a city. In such region,
human output may be dominant and may temporarily overload the natural purification scheme of
the cycles. The result is an concentration of noxious chemicals in the air. The concentrations at
which the adverse effects appear will be greater than the concentrations that the pollutants would
have in the absence of human activities. The actual concentration need not be large for a substance
to be a pollutant; in fact, the numerical value tells us little until we know how much of an increase
this represents over the concentration that would occur naturally in the area. For example, sulfur
dioxide has detectable health effects at 0. 08 parts per million (ppm), which is about 400 times its
natural level. Carbon monoxide, however has a natural level of 0. 1 ppm and is not usually a
pollutant until its level reaches about 15 ppm. 

Question 35. What does the passage mainly discuss? 

A. How much harm air pollutants can cause. 
B. The effects of compounds added to the atmosphere. 
C. What constitutes an air pollutant? 
D. The economic impact of air pollution. 
Question 36. The word “adversely” in the first paragraph in closest in meaning to __________. 
A. negatively B. quickly C. admittedly D. considerably
Question 37. The word “These” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to __________. 
A. the compounds moved to the water or soil 
B. the components in biogeochemical cycles 
C. the pollutants from the developing Earth 
D. the various chemical reactions 
Question 38. For which of the following reasons can natural pollutants play an important role in
controlling air pollution? 
A. They have existed since the Earth developed. 
B. They occur in greater quantities than other pollutants. 
C. They are less harmful to living beings than other pollutants. 
D. They function as part of a purification process. 
Question 39. According to the passage, human-generated air pollution in localized regions _____. 
A. can overwhelm the natural system that removes pollutants 
B. can be dwarfed by nature’s output of pollutants 
C. will damage areas outside of the localized regions 
D. will react harmfully with natural pollutants 
Question 40. According to the passage, the numerical value of the concentration level of a
substance is only useful if __________. 
A. it is in a localized area B. the other substances in the area are known 
C. it can be calculated quickly D. the natural level is also known 
Question 41. The word “detectable” in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to ________. 
A. beneficial B. separable C. special D. measurable 
Question 42. Which of the following is best supported by the passage? 
A. One of the most important steps in preserving natural lands is to better enforce air
pollution laws. 
B. Human activities have been effective in reducing air pollution. 
C. To effectively control pollution, local government should regularly review their air
pollution laws. 
D. Scientists should be consulted in order to establish uniform limits for all air pollutants.