ĐỀ ÔN LUYỆN HSG TỈNH

TEST 23
Part 1: Choose the correct answer to complete the sentences
1. They are fighting to eradicate the ________ of starvation caused by the civil war.
A. leftovers B. legacy C. remains D. tradition
2. The employee suffered from depression ________ by overwork and ill-health.
A. brought on B. come about C. taken up D. put through
3. Tax _______deprives the country of a great deal of money a year.
A. retention B. dissertation C. escapism D. evasion
4. The measurements must be accurate to ________five centimeters to ensure the success of an experiment.
A. about B. under C. within D. near
5. Mind that the baby shouldn’t touch the knife; it’s as sharp as a ________.
A. blade B. sword C. cut D. razor
6. Children born out of _______ shouldn’t be made fun of.
A. marriage B. marriage license C. wedlock D. home
7. I’ve just heard that argument before and quite frankly it just doesn’t ________!
A. face the music B. hit the nail on the head
C. carry weight D. hold water
8. Attempts to help only ________ the problem so they were forced to call in the emergency services.
A. extricated B. enervated C. extirpated D. exacerbated
9. The spoilt schoolboy was ________ from school for his disruptive behavior.
A. dispelled B. repealed C. expelled D. compelled
10. Don’t trust cunning friends. They can _______ you in the back.
A. hit B. stab C. cut D. punch
Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word that differs from the rest in the position of the
main stress in each of the following questions.
Question 1: A. weather B. confirm C. highland D. entrance
Question 2: A. dependence B. prediction C. disastrous D. compliment
Question 3: A. applicant B. ambitious C. essential D. performance
Question 4: A. against B. believe C. drainage D. enrich 
Question 5: A. mineral B. obstacle  C. odorness D. organic
Question 6: A. accuracy  B. individual  C. recreation  D. independence 
Question 7: A. Television B. Information C. Economic D. Engineer
Question 8: A. Achievement B. Argument C. Confinement D. Involvement
Question 9: A. Teacher B. Prefer C. Offer D. Flower
Question 10: A. kindergarten B. Contaminate C. curriculum D. conventional
Question 11: A. attend B. visit C. apply D. appear
Question 12: A. attendance B. security C. obedient D. candidate
Question 13: A. information B. decoration C. considerate D. confidential
Question 14: A. sacrifice B. supportive C. compliment D. maintenance
Question 15: A. ensure B. result C. museum D. follow
Question 16: A. methodical B. academic C. compulsory D. commercially
Question 17: A. unfortunately B. agricultural C. university D. representative
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that is CLOSEST in meaning to the
sentence given in each of the following questions
Question 1: Relaxation therapy teaches one not to fret over small problems
A. worry about B. get angry about C. get involved in D. look for
Question 2: Though many scientific breakthroughs have resulted from mishaps it has taken brilliant thinkers to
recognize their potential
A. accidents B. misunderstandings C. incidentals D. misfortunes
Question 3: I hope to have the privilege of working with them again
A. honor B. advantage C. favor D. right
Question 4: City developed at the point where the Hudson and Passaic rivers mingle with the water of the Atlantic
Ocean
A. associate B. socialize C. mix D. part
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Question 5: Lack of water and nutrients has impeded the growth of these cherry tomato plants
A. promoted B. assisted C. realized D. prevented

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to show the underlined part that needs correction
Question 1: (A) Neither John (B) nor his family members (C) enjoys their life (D) in the city
Question 2:  Cable (A) television companies (B) recently announced that (C) it will increase (D) services charges next
year.
Question 3: (A) Mostly medical doctors (B) have had some (C) training (D) in psychology and psychiatry. 
Question 4:  (A) More than 180 countries (B) have Red Cross organizations (C) that some (D) are called by different
names. 
Question 5:   (A) In the past, many (B) agrarians used to (C) working with very poor (D) technologies and farming
methods. 
Question 6: The assumption that smoking has bad effects on our health have been proved.
A. that B. effects on C. have been D. proved
Question 7: I like the fresh air and green trees of the village which I spent my vacation last year.
A. the fresh air B. green trees C. which D. my vacation
Question 8: The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is the name of a set of English qualifications,
generally taking by secondary school students at the age of 15-16 in England.
A. the name B. a set of C. taking D. at the age
Question 9: Full-time jobs for men are declining, while more women are finding part- and full-time work. The result is
declining social status for men so they lose their role as the sole financial provider.
A. while B. is C. so D. as
Question 10: I told him I'd prefer to walk , but he insisted to give me a lift .
A. prefer B. to walk C. to give D. a lift
Question 11: Not until he got home he realized he had forgotten to give her the present.
A. got B. he realized C. her D. the present
Question 12: When you are writing or speaking English it is important to use language that includes both men and
women equally the same.
A. or speaking B. it is C. that D. equally the same
Question 13: A lot of people stop smoking because they are afraid their heath will be affected and early death.
A. A lot of B. smoking C. are D. early death
Question 14: The student must have her assessment form fill in by the examiner during the oral exam.
A. must have B. fill in C. during D. oral exam
Question 15: A novel is a story long enough to fill a complete book, in that the characters and events are usually
imaginary.
A. ong enough B. complete C. that D. are usually
Question 16: Electric wires carry current for lighting and outlets designing for household appliances.
A. Electric B. carry current C. lighting D. designing
Question 17: Technology is define as the tools, skills, and methods that are necessary to produce goods.
A. is define B. the tools C. that are D. to produce
Question 18: The planet Mercury rotates slow than any other planet except Venus
A. rotates B. slow C. other planet D. except
Question 19: Van Cliburn he studied piano from 1951 to 1954 and won multiple awards between 1958 and 1960.
A. he studied B. piano from C. won D. awards between
Question 20: To raise livestock successfully, farmers must selecting cattle for breeding and apply a dietary regimen.
A. successfully B. selecting C. breeding D. apply

Part 3: Fill in each gap with a preposition

1. When we had worked _____out ____the cost of a holiday abroad, we decided to stay at home.
2. I thought he was mad and backed _____away____ nervously.
3. "I understand Diane lost her job." "Yes, but she's actually better ___off___."
4. The members of a jury are chosen ____at_____random from a list of voters.
5. The hunter froze as the tiger started running ____towards____ him. He had nowhere to hide.
Part 4: Complete the passage with the correct form of the given words

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 Miserable, overworked, insecure – The British work the longest hours in Europe and express the least job
satisfaction. However much richer they are, they are becoming more (1. content)____discontented___with work every
year. What is the point of economic success if it is matched by growing ( 2. happy)___unhappiness____? Like dumb
oxen we work harder than everyone else – a third of men work more than 50 hours a week – but we’re not smarter. For
more than a century factory acts and ever shorter working hours marked the onward march of (3.
industry)___industrial____ progress. Now social history has (4. appear)____apparently___ gone into reverse.
In an annual study Professor Cary Cooper of the Manchester School of Management revisits 5000 managers, from CEOs
down to juniors. He finds them (5. increase)___increasingly____anxious about their lives. This is hardly (6.
surprise)___surprising____ since half of them work most evenings and a third work most weekends. Despite falling (7.
employ)___unemployment____, people feel their own job or status is under threat because they suffer more turmoil at
work than they did five years ago. Restructuring, downsizing and radical changes at work mean a life of constant
upheaval, and the current merger epidemic leads to (8. predict)___unpredictable____ job loss. Most feel that this
uncertainty damages their home life and health as well as their company’s (9. produce)___productivity____. These are
the people who set the work patterns for their organization, yet even they are victims of forces beyond their control –
such as pressure from investors and (10. compete)___competitors____. What can be done?
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

READING
Part 1: Choose the correct answer to complete the passage
No one else in the group (1) _______ have been as relieved as I was to leave the dense forest. The thick ( 2)
_______ had cut my knees and thighs and streaks of mud lined my shoes. On (3) _______, I was probably the most
inappropriately dressed. I regretted not reading the itinerary before leaving the house. At the very least, I could have
dressed suitably. The area ahead was much better. I walked more confidently, even daring to walk ( 4) _______ the
others instead of behind them. For a while, I continued (5) _______ at the ground, out of habit trying to search for places
where the ground had already been (6) _______ on.
We were about to stop for a break when Jason, the leader, (7) _______ suddenly. He held up both arms
horizontally, forming a human barrier to prevent us from walking ahead. I nearly bumped ( 8) _______ him.
Luckily, Ash gripped my arms to (9) _______ me. Any further movement from me would have been (10) _______.
1. A. should B. must C. could D. need
2. A. undergrowth B. overgrowth C. outgrowth D. regrowth
3. A. retrospect B. hindsight C. thinking D. purpose
4. A. after B. outside C. alongside D. round
5. A. peeping B. regarding C. staring D. noticing
6. A. stridden B. stepped C. footed D. ambled
7. A. halted B. ceased C. settled D. braked
8. A. up B. off C. against D. after
9. A. becalm B. steady C. overrule D. collide
10. A. faithful B. needless C. wasted D. fatal
Part 2: Fill in each blank with one word
The Kangaroo is one of Australia’s most iconic animals. Kangaroos of different types live in all areas of
Australia, from cold climate areas and desert plains to tropical rainforests and beaches.
Kangaroos are herbivorous, eating a range of plants and, (1)____in____ some cases, fungi. Different kangaroo
species inhabit different habitats. Some, for example, make nests on the ground while tree kangaroos live
(2)___above_____ the ground. Larger species of kangaroo tend to shelter under trees or in caves.
Most kangaroos are distinguished (3)___from____ other animals by the way they hop on their strong back legs.
A kangaroo’s tail is used to balance while hopping and (4)____as____ a fifth limb when moving slowly. All female
kangaroos have front-opening pouches that contains four teats. (5)____It____ is in here that the ‘joey’ (6)____or____
baby kangaroo is raised until it can survive outside the pouch. Most kangaroos have no set breeding cycle and are able to
breed all year round. (7)____If____ they are such prolific breeders, a kangaroo population can increase fourfold in five
years.
Kangaroos have long been important to the survival of Australia’s indigenous people, who have hunted them for
tens of thousands of years, using both the meat and the skins. (8)____When____ Europeans arrived in Australia in the
late eighteenth century, they too hunted kangaroos for survival. Kangaroos continue to be used as a resource, but only
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(9)____under____ strict government controls. Nowadays only the four most abundant species of kangaroos may be
commercially harvested for export, and then only by licensed hunters in accordance (10)____with____ an approved
management plan.
Part 3: Read the passage and choose the correct answer
How I found my true voice
As an interpreter, Suzanne Glass could speak only for others – but the work provided terrific material for her first novel.
‘No, no, no! You’ve got to get away from this or you’re going to lose it.’ The voice reverberating in my head
was my own. I was at an international conference. My throat was killing me and my headphones were pinching. I
had just been interpreting a speaker whose last words had been: ‘We must take very seriously the
standardization of the length of cucumbers and the size of tomatoes.’ You can’t afford to have your own
thoughts when you’re interpreting simultaneously, so, of course, I missed the speaker’s next sentence and lost his
train of thought. Sitting in a darkened booth at the back of a huge conference hall, I was thrown. Fortunately, my
colleague grabbed my microphone and took over.
This high-output work was not quite the dream profession I had hoped for. Although I had fun with it in the
beginning – occasionally being among the first to hear of medical and political breakthroughs would be exciting for
any 25-year-old –I realized that this was a job in which I would never be able to find my own voice. I had always
known that words would be my life in one form or another. My mother thought she’d given birth to an alien when
I began to talk at the age of seven months. That momentous day, she had placed my playpen in the hallway and
gone into the bedroom. In imitation of the words she had repeated to me again and again, I apparently called out
towards the bedroom door: ‘I see you. I see you.’ I was already in training for a career as a professional parrot.
But how mistaken I was to think that international interpreting would be glamorous. The speaker rarely stops to
think that there’s someone at the back of the room, listening to his words, absorbing their meaning, and converting
them into another language at the same time. Often I was confronted with a droner, a whisperer or a mumbler
through my headphones. The mumblers were the worst. Most of the time, an interpreter is thought of as a machine – a
funnel, a conduit, which, I suppose, is precisely what we are. Sometimes, when those we are translating for hear us
cough or sneeze, or turn round and look at us behind the smoky glass of the booth, I think they’re surprised to see that
we’re actually alive.
Ironically, part of the secret of interpreting is non-verbal communication. You have to sense when your partner is
tired, and offer to take over. At the same time, you have to be careful not to cut him short and hog the microphone.
Interpreters can be a bit like actors: they like to show off. You do develop friendships when you’re working in such
close proximity, but there’s a huge amount of competitiveness among interpreters. They check on each other and
sometimes even count each other’s mistranslations.
Translating other people’s ideas prevented me from feeling involved and creative as an interpreter. Actually, you
can’t be a creative interpreter. It’s a contradiction in terms. Sometimes, when I disagreed with a speaker, I wanted to
rip off my headphones, jump up and run out of the booth, shouting: ‘Rubbish. Rubbish. You’re talking a lot of
nonsense, and this is what I think about it.’ Instead, I had to sit there and regurgitate opinions in violent contradiction
with my own. Sometimes, I’d get my revenge by playing games with the speaker’s tone of voice. If he was being
serious, I’d make him sound jocular. If he was being light-hearted, I’d make him sound earnest.
Eventually, I wanted to find a career where my own words would matter and where my own voice would be
heard. So, to redress the balance, I decided to write a novel. While I was writing it, I did go back and interpret at a
few conferences to get inside the head of Dominique, my main character. At first, I was a little rusty and a couple
of the delegates turned round to glare at me, but after twenty minutes, I was back into it, playing that old game of
mental gymnastics. Interpreting is like learning to turn somersaults: you never forget how to do it. But for me, sitting in
the booth had a ghost-like quality to it – as though I had gone back into a past life - a life that belonged to the time
before I found my own voice.
1. In the first paragraph, the writer says she discovered that_______.
A. there were some subjects she had no interest in dealing with.
B. the standard of her work as an interpreter was getting lower.
C. her mind was wandering when she should have been doing her job.
D. she could no longer understand subjects she had previously covered.
2. What does the writer say about being an interpreter in the second paragraph ?
A. It was the kind of job her parents had always expected her to do.
B. It turned out to be more challenging than she had anticipated.
C. It was what she had wanted to be ever since she was a small child.
D. It gave her access to important information before other people.
3. What does the writer say about speakers she interpreted for ?
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 A. Some of them had a tendency to get irritated with interpreters.
B. She particularly disliked those she struggled to hear properly.
C. They usually had the wrong idea about the function of interpreters.
D. Some of them made little attempt to use their own language correctly.
4. The writer says that relationships between interpreters_______.
A. can make it difficult for interpreters to do their jobs well.
B. are affected by interpreters’ desires to prove how good they are.
C. usually start well but end in arguments.
D. are based on secret resentments.
5. The writer says that when she disagreed with speakers, she would sometimes_______.
A. mistranslate small parts of what they said.
B. make it clear from her tone of voice that she did not agree.
C. exaggerate their point of view.
D. give the impression that they did not really mean what they said.
6. The writer says that when she returned to interpreting, _______.
A. she did not start off very well.
B. she briefly wished she had not given it up.
C. she thought that two of the delegates recognized her.
D. she changed her ideas about the main character in her novel.
7. What is the writer’s main point in the article as a whole ?
A. It is not always a good idea to go into a profession because it looks glamorous.
B. Most interpreters eventually become disillusioned with the work.
C. Being an interpreter did not allow her to satisfy her need to be creative.
D. Most interpreters would actually like to do something more creative.
8. Which is the closest in meaning to momentous in ‘That momentous day’?
A. unimportant B. historic C. momentary D. hard
9. Which is the closest in meaning to ‘to glare’?
A. to glower B. to caress C. despise D. wonder
10. Which is the closest in meaning to ‘simultaneously’?
A. all again B. all at once C. once and for all D. once too often

Read the following passage and do as required.

A. The need for a satisfactory education is more important than ever before. Nowadays, without a qualification
from a reputable school or university, the odds of landing that plum job advertised in the paper are considerably
shortened. Moreover, one’s present level of education could fall well short of future career requirements.
B. It is no secret that competition is the driving force behind the need to obtain increasingly higher
qualifications. In the majority of cases, the urge to upgrade is no longer the result of an insatiable thirst for knowledge.
The pressure is coming from within the workplace to compete with ever more qualified job applicants, and in many
occupations one must now battle with colleagues in the reshuffle for the position one already holds.
C. Striving to become better educated is hardly a new concept. Wealthy parents have always been willing to
spend the vast amount of extra money necessary to send their children to schools with a perceived educational edge.
Working adults have long attended night schools and refresher courses. Competition for employment has been around
since the curse of working for a living began. Is the present situation so very different to that of the past?
D. The difference now is that the push is universal and from without as well as within. A student at a
comprehensive school receive low grades is no longer as easily accepted by his or her peers as was once the case.
Similarly, in the workplace, unless employees are engaged in part-time study, they may be frowned upon by their
employers and peers and have difficulty even standing still. In fact, in these cases, the expectation is for careers to go
backwards and earning capacity to take an appreciable nosedive.
E. At first glance, the situation would seem to be laudable; a positive response to the exhortations of politicians
for us all to raise our intellectual standards and help improve the level of intelligence within the community. Yet there
are serious ramifications according to at least one educational psychologist. Dr. Brenda Gatsby has caused some
controversy in academic circles by suggesting that a bias towards what he terms “paper excellence” might cause more
problems than it is supposed to solve. Gatsby raises a number of issues that affect the individual as well as society in
general.
F. Firstly, he believes the extra workload involved in resulting I abnormally high stress levels in both students at
comprehensive schools and adults studying after working hours. Secondly, skills which might be more relevant to the
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undertaking of a sought-after job are being overlooked by employers not interviewing candidates without qualifications
on paper. These two areas of concern for the individual are causing physical as well as emotional stress.
Questions 1-5: Match the headings to the paragraphs in the passage. The first paragraph has been done for you.
Eg: Paragraph A - iii
1. Paragraph B __vii___ 4. Paragraph E ___iv____
2. Paragraph C __ii___ 5. Paragraph F ____v___
3. Paragraph D __viii___
i. The struggle for better education results in parents sending children to costlier schools
ii. Doubts as to whether competition is a modern phenomenon.
iii. The value of education in securing employment.
iv. Questions raised concerning the over-emphasis placed on paper qualifications.
v. Causes of concern for the individual
vi. Comprehensive school students no longer receive low grades.
vii. Competition in the workplace increasing the need for higher qualifications.
viii. Pressure to perform well at school and continue study while working.
Questions 6-10: Following is a summary of a part of the passage. Fill in the gaps with NO MORE THAN THREE
WORDS from the passage.
Dr. Gatsby, an educational psychologist, has suggested that there are problems affecting the individual and society when
the workplace is biased towards hiring personnel only on the basis of their (6) ______________paper
excellence___________. He claims that an over-emphasis placed on (7) ______workload_______ is causing stress in
students at school and in working adults studying part-time. Also, more practical skills might be overlooked by
employers hiring applicants for jobs. However, the most (8) _________________________ consequence of this
preference for ever more highly qualified applicants, apart from a possible drop in university (9)
_________________________ is that those who are unable to afford a higher level of education are disadvantaged. (10)
___________________ have not met with universal acceptance.
PART IV: WRITING
A. Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it means the same as the sentence before it.
1. The boy was about to cry when he was reprimanded by his mother.
The boy was on the point of crying when he was reprimanded by his mother.
2. In terms of economy, Vietnam has been developing very quickly over the last 20 years.
When it comes to economy, Vietnam has been developing very quickly over the last 20 years.
3. He is very good at cooking spaghetti.
He is a dab hand at cooking spaghetti.
4. The students’ rebellious behaviors should have been severely punishment.
The students deserved severe punishment for their rebellious behaviors.
5. There’s no one available in this moment to take her class.
There’s no one available at such short notice to take her class.
B. For each of the sentences below, write a new sentence as similar as possible in meaning to the original
sentence, but using the word given. This word must not be altered in any way.
1. Don’t you regret not learning to swim? (DON’T …....... SWIM ?)
Don’t you wish you had learnt to swim?
2. I can’t often afford to spend my holiday abroad. (SELDOM)
I’m seldom able to afford to spend my holiday abroad.
3. The two young men introduced a virus into the computer system. (ALLEGED)
The two young men were alleged to have introduced a virus into the computer system.
4. I would like to express my thanks for everything you have done for me.  (I …SAY … THANKFUL.…)
I’d like to say how thankful I am for everything you have done for me.
5. Since the company’s methods were exposed in a newspaper, people have lost their good opinion of it. (DISREPUTE)
Since the company’s methods were exposed in a newspaper, it has fallen into disrepute.