ĐỀ ÔN LUYỆN HSG TỈNH

TEST 30
Part 1: For questions 1- 10, choose the correct answer A, B, C, or D to each of the following questions. Write your
answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
1. He was absolutely _______ with anger when he found that I had scratched his car.
A. burned B. carmine C. fickle D. livid
2. I don't think Paul will ever get married — he's the stereotypical _______ bachelor.
A. settled B. confirmed C. fixed D. determined
3. I cannot think who had_______ the gaff, but it seems everyone knows that Nicole and I are planning to get married.
A. burst B. blown C. split D. banged
4. As we were in an urgent need of syringes and other medical equipment, the aid organization promised to deliver them
_______ the double.
A. at B. in C. with D. round
5. She was so ill that it was ________ whether she would live or not.
A. win or lose B. come and go C. touch and go D. on and off
6. “Have you got a copy of Gone with the Wind?”
“You’re ________ luck. We’ve just one copy left”
A. by B. with C. in D. on
7. When I got stuck in the elevator, I was scared out of my ________.
A brains B head C wits D nerves
8. All traffic is being _________ because of the military parades.
A. diverted B. converted C. changed D. altered
9. As he was running for a charity which was _____ to his heart, he felt even more determined to complete the race.
A. warm B. near C. next D. close
10. On completing her fifth atlantic race, she decided to _____ herself a new challenge.
A. set B. make C. fix D. accept
Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word or phrase that is CLOSEST in meaning to the
underlined part in each of the following questions.
Question 1: The message was difficult to unscramble because of the system that was used to write it.
A. decode B. unplug C. write D. describe
Question 2: Almost one hundred people have died as a direct result of food scarcity in the capital.
A. lacking B. shortage C. desire D. famine
Question 3: The spider wasp has a slender body with smokey or yellowish wings.
A. tiny B. long C. thin D. stocky
Question 4: It was Tony who persisted in asking for another glass of brandy and got drunk in the end.
A. relied on B. banked on C. counted on D. insisted on
Question 5: She still has an awful lot to learn.
A. a great desire B. a terrible thing C. a great pleasure D. a large amount
Question 6: He made one last futile effort to convince her and left the house.
A. difficult B. unsuccessfulC. fruitful D. effectual
Question 7: I cannot stand professors who think they are infallible.
A. perfect B. probable C. exhausted D. flexible
Question 8: Water supply to the city and several adjacent areas remains affected by the earthquake.
A. remote B. surrounding C. suburban D. neighboring
Question 9: Work efficiency has increased exponentially each year, thanks to computers and their ability to multitask.
A. at a very fast rate B. slightly C. constantly D. at a very slow rate
Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to show the underlined part that needs correction in each of the
following questions.
Question 1: During our conversation he couldn’t help asking me if my sister has already given birth to the baby.
A. During B. asking me if C. has already D. birth to
Question 2: Don’t reject the offer, think over it carefully. You get such an offer once in a lifetime.
A. over it B. get C. such an D. in a
Question 3: Although this cake tastes good, we shouldn’t eat too much of it because we would risk to eat too much
cholesterol.
A. good B. of it C. would D. to eat
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Question 4: They are moving the furniture and equipment all over the house because it is being redecorated. I’m having
the walls painted and the floors to be replaced.
A. the B. all over C. is being D. to be replaced
Question 5: Private couriers, extremely popular in large cities, travelling by bicycle carrying packets containing
documents and other items from office to office.
A. extremely B. travelling C. carrying D. from
Question 6: I will show you round (A) the place if you will (B) follow me. However, (C) if you are tired, we can call it
(D) off until later.
Question 7: A(A) warning sign “Overheat” may come (B) on, in that (C) case turn off the appliance at once. (D)
Question 8: He’d better not (A) quarrel with (B) the policemen, should he?
Question 9: I’d rather you didn’t (A) discuss about this (B) matter during (C) this meeting because nobody is eager to
talk (D) about it.
Question 10: Killer whales (A) tend to wander (B) in family clusters that hunt, play and resting (C) together.

Question 11: Prior to (A) an extermination programme early (B) in the last century, alive (C) wolves roamed across
nearly (D) all of North America.
Question 12: Most of the year (A) San Miguel Island is shrouded in (B) fog, and strong (C) northwest winds batter
relentlessly the island. (D)
Question 13: The remains of Homo erectus, an (A) extinct species (B) of early man (C), was (D) first discovered on
the island of Java by Dutch physician Eugene Debois.
Question 14: Women have admitted (A) to the United States Military Academy at West Point since (B) 1976, and the
first (C) women cadets graduated (D) in 1980.
Question 15: It is generally believed (A) that high level (B) of carbon emissions (C) lead to (D) climate change.
Question 16: I was in disguise (A) when I met them; as the result (B), of course (C) they didn’t recognise (D) me.
Question 17: I was discouraged to swim (A) when I put (B) my feet in (C) the ice-cold (D) water.
Question 18: No (A) matter how much (B) they quarrel, they are faithful to (C) themselves (D).
Question 19: I won’t manage to finish (A) this unless it is (B) some (C) help from (D) your men.
Question 20: Yukie Hanue is considered by many (A) being the (B) finest violinist of her (C) generation – and she’s
still in her (D) early twenties.

Mark the better A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word about differs from the rest in the position of
the main stress in each of the following questions.
Question 1:A. honorable B. intimacy C. interviewer D. participate
Question 2:A. contestant B. satellite C. similar D. interview
Question 3:A. redundant B. descendant C. relevant D. consultant
Question 4:A. memorial B. memorable C. memoir D. memorize
Question 5:A. extremity B. example C. exercise D. existence
Question 6:A. observe B. control C. support D. suffer
Question 7: A. sanitary B. enterprise C. excersice D. contribute
Question 8: A. justice B. diverse C. women D. public
Question 9: A. establish B. domestic C. activity D. education
Question 10:A. tomorrow B. spectator C. accomplish D. overwhelm
Question 11:A. mausoleum B. coincide C. petroleum D. employee
Question 12:A. evaporate B. speculative C. dependable D. conservative
Part 2: Fill in each blank with one suitable preposition.
1. I was late because he bailed me ........up.......... on the phone and wouldn't shut up.
2. It's been kept ..........under............wraps where the famous actress is going to be accommodated for the sake of her
own safety.
3. Even old Henry Spalding, who has returned to Wellington in the spring, added his signature ……for……good
measure.
4. It was my first day on patrol and they threw me………at………the deep end.
5. I think you have missed ______out______ Lan and Huong from the invitation list.
Part 3. Write the correct FORM of each bracketed word in the numbered space provided in the column on the right.
The DICTIONARY of NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY

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 Just over one hundred years ago, the last volume of a tremendous work of (0) ____ REFER
entitled The Dictionary of National Biography rolled off the printing presses. (1)
__Admittedly__, this 21-volume shelf-filler may not immediately sound like the most ADMIT
thrilling read in the world. As entertainment, you might imagine it ranks some way below
a (2) __political__ autobiography. But you would be very, very wrong. The DNB, like the POLITICS
Oxford English Dictionary, is one of the great monuments to British culture and also a
hugely enjoyable work in its own right. It is, quite simply an (3) __alphabetical__
dictionary of potted biographies of all the notable men and women who had lived in ALPHABET
Britain since the year dot. It was produced between 1885 and 1900, and it remains (4)
__emphatically__ an achievement of the Victorian period, richly redolent of 19th century EMPHASIS
confidence and (5) __capability__ energy. CAPABLE
and optimism. It is also a monument to the enormous variety of the British national
character, and the dictionary is immeasurably (6) __enriched__ by this aspect. There are RICH
not only great statesmen, generals, writers, but also hundreds of wonderfully (7)
__colourful__ characters, who you can discover only by leafing idly through a volume of COLOUR
the DNB on a wet afternoon down at your local library.
The way in which the DNB was produced was very British too: on a shoestring, out of
sheer dedication, and with no state (8) __interference__ whatsoever. It was the private INTERFERE
endeavour of a group of (9) __enthusiasts__, scholars and freelance journalists, as (10) ENTHUSE
__opposed_ to, for instance, the Austrian equivalent, produced under the oppressive OPPOSE
auspices of the Imperial Academy of Vienna.
Your answers
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

III. READING (50 POINTS)

Part 1: For questions 1 to 12, read the text below. Decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.
THE ALEXANDRA PALACE
The Alexandra Palace in north London was built with private (0)... as a “People's Palace”. Serviced by its own station, it
was opened in 1873 and was extremely well (1)... until, two weeks after its opening, it burnt down. It was (2)... by a
slightly larger building which opened in 1875 and featured, among other things, a splendid organ and the Great Hall,
which was the size of a football pitch. Despite the extraordinarily wide range of events (3)... there - from dog shows to
great concerts and banquets, from elephant displays to bicycle matches - it always (4)... at a loss and by 1877 much of
the park around it had been sold to speculative builders, leaving only about half of the original land.
In 1900, a committee was appointed, whose principal duty was to run the Palace and park “for the free use of the people
forever”. There were, however, (5)... to charge for entry so that the substantial costs could be ( 6) . ... The Palace
continued, with ( 7) ... degrees of success, as an entertainment centre. In the 1930s it was probably most notable for
being the home of the world’s first high definition television broadcasts.
In 1980 the building was once more devastated by fire and (8)... to a ruin. It was then decided to restore it and to create a
(9)... exhibition centre with community (10)..., such as a restaurant and a health club.
1. A sources B funds C expenses D budgets
2. A inhabited B attended C crowded D visited
3. A installed B overtaken C renewed D replaced
4. A performed B set C staged D laid
5. A conducted B acted C operated D maintained
6. A powers B terms ' C allowances D authorities
7. A fulfilled B covered C matched D made
8. A unsteady B varying C altering D unsettled
9. A turned B converted C reduced D wrecked
10. A chief B worthy C major D senior
10. A facilities B conveniences C supplies D appliances

Part 2: For questions 1 to 10, read the following passages, then decide which word best fits each gap. Write your
answers in the numbered boxes provided.

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R
Is Honesty The Best Policy?
adical honesty therapy, (0) .......... it is known in the US, is the latest thing to be held up as the key to happiness
and success. It involves telling the truth all the time, with no exceptions for hurt feelings. But this is not as easy
as it (1) ____may______ sound. Altruistic lies, (2) _____rather_____ than the conniving, self-aggrandising
variety, are an essential part of polite society.

‘We all lie like mad. It wears us (3) _____out_____. It is the major source of all human stress,’ says Brad Blanton,
psychotherapist and founder of the Centre for Radical Honesty. He has become a household (4) ____name______ in the
US, where he spreads his message via day-time television talk shows. He certainly has his work cut out for him. In a
recent survey of Americans, 93 per cent (5) _____admitted_____ to lying ‘regularly and habitually’ in the workplace. Dr
Blanton is typically blunt about the consequences of (6) ____being______ deceitful. ‘Lying kills people,’ he says.

Dr Blanton is adamant that minor inconveniences are (7) _____nothing_____ at all compared with the huge benefits of
truth telling. ‘Telling the truth, especially after hiding it for a long time, (8) _____takes_____ guts. It
isn’t easy. But it is better than the alternative.’ (9) _____Alternative_____, he believes, is the stress of living ‘in
the prison of the mind,’ which culminates in depression and ill health. ‘Your body stays tied up in knots and is
susceptible to illness,’ he says. ‘Allergies, high blood pressure and insomnia are all (10) _____made_____ worse by
lying. Good relationshipskills, parenting skills and management skills are also dependent on telling the truth.’
(0) which
Part 3: Read the passage, then choose the answer that fits best. Write you answers in the numbered space provided.
During the Middle Ages, societies were based on military relationships, as landowners formed their own
foot armies into which they drafted their tenants and hired hands. The infantry that fought its way forward
against the opposition engaged in heavy ground battles that proved costly in the ratio of losses to wins.
These soldiers carried darts, javelins, and slings to be used before closing ranks with the enemy, although
5 their swords and halberds (spear + axe) delivered crushing blows on contact. Such armed forces were active
for limited periods of time and had a predominantly defensive function, displayed in hand-to-hand combat.
Because this sporadic and untrained organization was ineffective, the ruling classes began to hire
mercenaries who were generously compensated for their tasks and subject to contractual terms of agreement.
The greatest idiosyncrasy of a hired military force was that the troops sometimes deserted their employers if
10 they could bank on a higher remuneration from the opposition. The Swiss pikemen became the best-known
mercenaries of the late Middle Ages. In the 1300s, they practically invented a crude body armor of leather
and quilted layered head gear with nose and skull plates, ornamented with crests. Their tower shields proved
indispensable against a shower of arrows, and their helmets progressed from cone cups to visors hinged at
the temples. As their notoriety increased, so did their wages, and eventually they were rounded into military
15 companies that later grew into the basic units in almost all armies. During the same period, the first full-size
army of professional soldiers emerged in the Ottoman Empire. What set these troops apart from other
contemporary armies was that these soldiers remained on duty in peacetime.
Companies of mercenaries were employed on a permanent basis in 1445, when King Charles VII created a
regular military organization, complete with a designated hierarchy. Gunpowder accelerated the emergence
20 of military tactics and strategy that ultimately affected the conceptualization of war on a broad scale.
Cannons further widened the gap between the attacking and the defending lineups, and undermined the
exclusivity of contact battles.

1. What is the main purpose of the passage?

A. To distinguish between laborers and mercenaries.
B. To change the existing view of the military.
C. To cite examples of armor in the Middle Ages.
D. To trace the origins of military organization.
2. In the passage, the word ‘ratio’ is closest in meaning to ______.
A. quota B. reason C. proportion D. pace
3. Which of the following statements can be inferred from the first paragraph?
A. Temporary armies of farmers were not well trained.
B. Drafting farmers into armies was costly.
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 C. Heavy ground battles were won during combat.
D. Infantry was directed to the opposition for support.
4. In the passage, the word "sporadic" is closest in meaning to ______.
A. spirited B. splendid C. irreverent D. irregular
5. Which of the following statements about the Swiss pikemen is supported by the passage?
A. Their weapons and skills were ahead of their time.
B. Their gear ensured their fame as well-dressed soldiers.
C. The demand for their cavalry made them the best-paid army.
D. Their weapons were issued to nonprofessionals as well.
6. Where in the passage does the author state the reasons for the emergence of professional armies?
A. Lines 1-4 B. Lines 9-11 C. Lines 13-15 D. Lines 19-22
7. The author of the passage implies that the soldiers in mercenary armies were ______.
A. not loyal B. not effective C. well guarded D. well rounded
8. In the passage, the phrase "these troops" refers to ______.
A. the Swiss pikemen B. military companies
C. almost all armies D. Ottoman soldiers
9. According to the passage, the first army of professionals was mobilized ______.
A. only in peacetime B. only in wartime
C. in times of anticipated war D. both during war and during peace
10. In the passage, the word "undermined" is closest in meaning to ______.
A. underestimatedB. reduced C. undersized D. shred

Part 4: The reading passage has seven paragraphs A-G. Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the
list below.

List of Headings
i. A degree of control
ii. Where research has been carried out into the effects of family on personality
iii. Categorising personality features according to their origin
iv. A variety of reactions in similar situations
v. A link between personality and aspects of our lives that aren’t chosen
vi. A possible theory that cannot be true
vii. Measuring personality
viii. Potentially harmful effects of emotions
ix. How our lives can reinforce our personalities
x. Differences between men's and women's personalities

Example:
1. Paragraph A iv....
2. Paragraph B ___ix____ 4 Paragraph E ___ii____
3. Paragraph C ___iii____ 5 Paragraph F ___i____
4. Paragraph D ___vi____ 6 Paragraph G ____vii___

What is personality?
A We are all familiar with the idea that different people have different personalities, but what does this
actually mean? It implies that different people behave in different ways, but it must be more than that.
After all, different people find themselves in different circumstances, and much of their behaviour
follows from this fact. However, our common experience reveals that different people respond in quite
remarkably different ways even when faced with roughly the same circumstances. Alan might be
happy to live alone in a quiet and orderly cottage, go out once a week, and stay in the same job for
thirty years, whilst Beth likes nothing better than exotic travel and being surrounded by vivacious
friends and loud music.

B In cases like these, we feel that it cannot be just the situation which is producing the differences in
behaviour. Something about the way the person is ‘wired up’ seems to be at work, determining how
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 they react to situations, and, more than that, the kind of situations they get themselves into in the first
place. This is why personality seems to become stronger as we get older; when we are young, our
situation reflects external factors such as the social and family environment we were born into. As we
grow older, we are more and more affected by the consequences of our own choices (doing jobs that
we were drawn to, surrounded by people like us whom we have sought out). Thus, personality
differences that might have been very slight at birth become dramatic in later adulthood.
C Personality, then, seems to be the set of enduring and stable dispositions that characterise a person.
These dispositions come partly from the expression of inherent features of the nervous system, and
partly from learning. Researchers sometimes distinguish between temperament, which refers
exclusively to characteristics that are inborn or directly caused by biological factors, and personality,
which also includes social and cultural learning. Nervousness, for example, might be a factor of
temperament, but religious piety is an aspect of personality.
D The discovery that temperamental differences are real is one of the major findings of contemporary
psychology. It could easily have been the case that there were no intrinsic differences between people
in temperament, so that given the same learning history, the same dilemmas, they would all respond in
much the same way. Yet we now know that this is not the case.
E Personality measures turn out to be good predictors of your health, how happy you typically are - even
your taste in paintings. Personality is a much better predictor of these things than social class or age.
The origin of these differences is in part innate. That is to say, when people are adopted at birth and
brought up by new families, their personalities are more similar to those of their blood relatives than to
the ones they grew up with.
F Personality differences tend to manifest themselves through the quick, gut-feeling, intuitive and
emotional systems of the human mind. The slower, rational, deliberate systems show less variation in
output from person to person.
Deliberate rational strategies can be used to override intuitive patterns of response, and this is how
people wishing to change their personalities or feelings have to go about it. As human beings, we have
the unique ability to look in at our personality from the outside and decide what we want to do with it.
G So what are the major ways personalities can differ? The dominant approach is to think of the space of
possible personalities as being defined by a number of dimensions. Each person can be given a
location in the space by their scores on all the different dimensions. Virtually all theories agree on two
of the main dimensions, neuroticism (or negative emotionality) and extroversion (or positive
emotionality). However they differ on how many additional ones they recognise. Among the most
influential proposals are openness, conscientiousness and agreeableness. In the next section I shall
examine these five dimensions.
Questions 7-13
Do the following statements reflect the claims of the
writer?
Write
YES if the statement reflects the claims of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
7. Alan and Beth illustrate contrasting behaviour in similar situations. Y
8. As we grow older, we become more able to analyse our personalities. NG
9. Nervousness is an example of a learned characteristic. N
10. The discovery of differences in temperament has changed the course of psychological research. N
11. Adopted children provide evidence that we inherit more of our personality than we acquire. Y
12. The rational behaviour of different people shows greater similarity than their emotional behaviour. Y
13. Most psychologists agree on the five major dimensions of personality. N

PART IV. WRITING (50 points)

Part 1: Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it means the same as the sentence before it. (10p)
1. It wasn’t clear to us at the time how serious the problem was.
Little did we know at the time how serious the problem was.
2. I want you to apologize to him for being rude immediately.
You are expected to apologize to him for being rude immediately.
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3. What put me off the idea was simply how expensive it was going to be.
The sheer expense was what put me off the idea.
4. I’m not friendly with him; in fact, I hardly even know him. 
Far from being on friendly terms with him, I hardly even know him.
5. Attendance at the exhibition has been down this year.
The exhibition has been poorly attended this year.

Part 2: Rewrite these sentences using the words in CAPITAL. You must not change the given words. (10p)
1. James is not feeling healthy today. (COLOUR)
James is feeling off colour today.
2. They designed the stadium to make hooliganism impossible. (SUCH)
The stadium was designed in such a way to iron out hooliganism.
3. Doing regular exercise often helps improve your attitude to life. (DO)
Many a time does regular exercise do wonders for your outlook on life.
4. I don’t really know why, but I don’t trust him. (FINGER)
I can’t put my finger on it but I don’t trust him.
5. I was about to hand in my notice when I was unexpectedly offered promotion. (ON)
I was on the point of handing in my notice when I was unexpectedly offered promotion.