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

QUẢNG NAM NĂM HỌC 2016 – 2017

ĐỀ CHÍNH THỨC Môn thi: TIẾNG ANH

(Đề thi này gồm có 12 trang) Thời gian: 150 phút (không kể thời gian giao đề)
Ngày thi: 25/ 3/ 2017

SECTION I: LISTENING (3 points)

HƯỚNG DẪN PHẦN THI NGHE HIỂU
Bài thi nghe gồm 2 phần và học sinh được nghe mỗi phần 2 lần. Mở đầu và kết thúc
bài thi nghe sẽ có tín hiệu nhạc.
PART 1: Questions 1 – 10: You will hear a woman talking to a man about joining a drama
club. Complete the note below with NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A
NUMBER for each answer. Write your answers on the Answer sheet. (2 pts)
MIDBURY DRAMA CLUB
Background
 Club started in (0)…1957…
 prize recently won by (1)_____________section
 usually performs (2)_____________plays
Meetings
 next auditions will be on Tuesday, (3)_____________
 help is needed with publicity design and (4)_____________
 rehearsals take place in the (5)_____________hall
 nearest carpark for rehearsals in Ashburton Road opposite the (6)_____________
Costs
 annual membership fee is £ (7)_____________
 extra payment for (8)_____________
Contact
 secretary’s name is Sarah (9)_____________
 secretary’s phone number is (10)_____________

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PART 2: For questions 11-15, listen to a piece of news from the BBC about soap operas and
choose the best answer ( A, B, C, or D ) to the following questions. Write your answers on the
Answer sheet. (1 pt)
11. Soap operas are usually broadcast at least _______.
A. four times a week B. three times a week C. twice a week D. five times a week
12. In the UK, soap operas often describe _______.
A. neighbourhood B. the life of murderers
C. ordinary life in the UK D. social affairs
13. At the beginning, dramas were usually on _______.
A. in the evening B. during the day C. in the morning D. in the afternoon
14. The word ‘soap’ in ‘soap opera’ refers to _______.
A. companies producing washing powder
B. washing powder used by housewives to do the washing
C. household chores housewives often do at home
D. Companies selling washing powder
15. Coronation Street has been on British TV since _______.
A. 1985 B. 1916 C. 1960 D. 1984
SECTION II: LEXICO-GRAMMAR (6 points)
PART 1: Choose the option (A, B, C or D) that best completes each of the following sentences.
Write your answers on the Answer sheet. (2pts)
1. I really appreciate_______ to help me, but I am sure I’ll be able to manage by myself.
A. you to offer B. you are offering C. your offering D. that you offer
2. The United States has _______ Japan.
A. twice more people than B. twice as many people as
C. as many twice people as D. as many people as twice
3. “Do you have a minute please?” – “_______.”
A. Well it is not as good as I think B. Sorry. I left my watch home
C. That’s just fantastic. Thanks D. Yes, but you should be brief
4. The type of plant and animal life living in and around a pond depends on the soil of the pond,
_______, and the pond’s location.
A. what the quality of the water is B. how is the water quality
C. the quality of water D. what is the water quality
5. The MP asked _______ the prime minister was aware of the growing social problem.
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 A. that B. him C. if D. what
6. They _______ have seen the play last night as they went to a football match instead.
A. could B. must C. might D. can't
7. What you are saying is very interesting, but it _____ to our situation.
A. is impertinent B. has no accordance C. has no relevance D. is uninvolved
8. Looking down at the coral reef, we saw _______ of tiny, multi-coloured fish.
A. teams B. flocks C. shoals D. swarms
9. When there are small children around, it is better to put breakable ornaments out of _______.
A. reach B. hold C. hand D. place
10. Alex can’t _______ seeing his mother cry because she means a lot to him.
A. mind B. avoid C. finish D. stand
11. ‘Forest Gump’, directed by Robert Zemeckis, won several Oscars, _______ Best Picture.
A. holding B. consisting C. including D. containing
12. I don’t suppose you’ll go, but _______ go, let me know.
A. should you B. ought you to C. should D. ought you
13. Susan became so tired of city life that she decided to buy a piece of land _______.
A. out of the ordinary B. in the middle of nowhere
C. far and away D. as the crow flies
14. She has an unbelievable voice. Her singing is absolutely _____.
A. out of this world B. beyond this world C. out of this life D. beyond this life
15. The play was _______ than I had expected.
A. far better B. more better C. good better D. very better
16. My supervisor is angry with me. I didn’t do all the work that I _______ last week.
A. must have done B. can have done C. may have done D. should have done
17. He was _______ that we turned off the TV set immediately.
A. so bad a singer B. such bad singer
C. such bad a singer D. so bad singer
18. The team won the championship four years _______.
A. running B. passing C. following D. rotating
19. The book is such a _______ that I can’t put it down.
A. best-seller B. page-turner C. duvet-cover D. mind-reader
20. Directly in front of them _______.
A. did a great castle stand B. stood a great castle
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 C. a great castle stood D. a great castle did stand

PART 2: Fill each gap in the following sentences with one of the prepositions or particles given in
the box. Use each word only ONCE. There are two extras in the box. Write your answers on
the Answer sheet. (1pt)
into out of to on in down
1. Please check _______at least an hour before departure.
2. I can count _______ my parents to help me in an emergency.
3. John works in that office. I quite often run _______ him in the streets round here.
4. Brian's parents have high expectations of him and he is determined not to let them ________.
5. Kate has a very pleasant manner. I’m sure the children will take _______ her at once.

PART 3: Choose the word or phrase (marked A, B, C, or D) that is CLOSEST in meaning to

the underlined part in each of the following questions . Write your answers on the Answer
sheet. (0.5 pt)
1. You ought to spend two hours as a minimum in the fresh air every day.
A. at all B. at most C. at least D. at case
2. After many years of unsuccessfully endeavoring to form his own orchestra, Glenn Miller
finally achieved world fame in 1939 as a big band leader.
A. requesting B. trying C. offering D. deciding
3. Although monkeys occasionally menace their enemies, they are usually not dangerous unless
they are provoked.
A. pursue B. consume C. threaten D. kill
4. A brief outline of the course and bibliography were handed out to the students at the first
meeting
A. dispensed B. dispered C. contributed D. distributed
5. Composer Philip Glass created single-handedly a new musical genre with both classical and
popular appeal.
A. by himself B. at one time C. manually D. boldly

PART 4 : Read the text below and look carefully at each line. Some of the lines are correct and
some have a word which should not be there. If the line is correct, put a tick ( ) by the

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number. If a line has a word which should not be there, write the word . There are two
examples at the beginning (0 and 00). Write your answers on the Answer sheet. (1 pt)

THE RACE FOR SURVIVAL

Imagine the Earth without any life. The higher ground would be mostly bare of 0. of
rock and ice. There would be storms as we experience them now. Winds would 00. 
blow, no rain would fall, and rivers would flow along courses like their present 01. _______
ones. The world would have a nightmarish similarity to the present Earth. There 02. _______
would be Africa and Asia, Europe and the Americas but all them would lie inert 03. _______
and bare. Let us suppose that all the life which actually exists on the Earth were 04. _______
suddenly to die. If such a thing was happened the oxygen in the atmosphere 05. _______
would break the dead material down and cause it to disappear away in a month 06. _______
or so. Oxygen even attacks things that are still alive. Thus life as we know it is in 07. _______
a race between regenerating itself and in being burned up, a race that is balanced 08. _______
on a zaror’s edge and depends crucially on rainfall. Where there is plenty of rain 09. _______
life wins. But where there is only a little of rain the burning process turns the 10. _______
landscape into desert.

PART 5: Choose the word or phrase (marked A, B, C, or D) that is OPPOSITE in meaning to

the underlined part in each of the following questions . Write your answers on the Answer
sheet. (0.5 pt)
1. It was inevitable that the smaller firms should emerge with the larger one. Otherwise, they
would be closed.
A. predictable B. unpreventable C. avoidable D. inescapable
2. There have been significant changes in women’s lives since the women’s liberation movement
A. unimportant B. controlled C. political D. disagreeable
3. A raccoon is distinctively marked with a mask of black hair around its eyes .
A. uniquely B. primarily C. similarly D. defensively
4. How on earth could they do away with a lovely old building like that and put a car park there
instead?
A. keep     B. eliminate     C. decrease     D. squander
5. In just four short years, his company has made phenomenal progress in delivering great
market success.
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 A. impeccable B. unremarkable C. impressive D. inadequate
PART 6: For questions from 1-10, read the text below. Use the word given in capital at the
end of some of the lines to form a word that fits in the gap in the same line. Write your
answers on the Answer sheet. (1 pt)
SURFING, THEN AND NOW
Surfing is a water sport which is (1)______ demanding and requires a 1. PHYSICAL
lot of skill. It began around four thousand years ago in the Pacific
Ocean, when fishermen used boards as boats to help them get closer
to the fish. Centuries later, surfing became a popular sport among
local (2)______ who lived on the Hawaiian Islands. 2. ROYAL
Over the years, interest in the sport spread, but people surfed only
where the weather was (3)______, like Hawaii, Australia and 3. PLEASE
California.
However, today you can find surfing resorts in some places that
people would consider (4)______, such as Cornwall in Britain. 4. LIKE
Though cold and rainy, Cornwall has a (5)______ of good waves and 5. COMBINE
spectacular beaches which make it ideally suited to the sport. During
the summer, thousands of people visit Cornwall to enjoy the surfing.
(6)_____ can learn the sport at one of the many surfing schools that 6. BEGIN
offer courses at (7)______ prices. Cornwall also hosts one of the 7. REASON
most important European surfing (8)______. In fact, today this sport 8. COMPETE
plays such a (9)_____ role in the region that you can even get a 9. SIGNIFY
degree in surfing at a local university. The sport has (10)______ 10. CERTAIN
come a long way from its early fishing origins!

SECTION III: READING (6 points)

PART 1: Read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C, or D) best fits each numbered
gap. Write your answers on the Answer sheet. (1 pts)
SELF DESCRIPTION
So the time has come for you to fill in your college application form. The best advice is to
(1)______ that you are the person who’s choosing the applicants and to ask yourself what
valuable (2)______ you- and you alone- can bring to the college in question. (3)______ every

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justified opportunity to present yourself in a positive light. You must (4)_______ that you are
clear-headed, keen to study your chosen subject – and that you can (5)______ your personality.
Make the most of your interests – but bear in mind that any you mention may be probed in depth
at interview.
Remember to say what your hobbies have taught you. If you (6)______ as a gardener, you will
surely have informed ideas about the environment. In a similar way, if you’re a volunteer
hospital porter, you’ll have gained some significant (7)______ into the needs of the sick and their
anxious relatives. Any job may (8)_______ deep-seated benefits, even if you understood it just to
earn money.
Getting two or three people to (9)_______ your application can be very useful. And make sure
your writing is easy for a good old professor to read. After (10)______, he may have tired eyes
and a hundred other forms to go through.
1. A. imagine B. presume C. deduce D. intend
2. A. elements B. qualities C. factors D. resources
3. A. Catch B. Apprehend C. Have D. Seize
4. A. show B. manifest C. declare D. display
5. A. deliver B. project C. practise D. identify
6. A. serve B. work C. labour D. employ
7. A. awareness B. vision C. understanding D. insight
8. A. convey B. confer C. enjoy D. attract
9. A. check B. veto C. test D. consider
10. A. all B. that C. hours D. yours

PART 2: Fill each gap in the passage with ONE suitable word. Write your answers on the
Answer sheet. (2 pts)
TREES
All over the world, forests are safeguarding the health of the planet itself. They do this by
protecting the soil, providing water and regulating the climate. Trees bind soil to mountain-sides.
Hills where the trees (1)______ been felled lose 500 times as (2)______ soil a year as those with
trees.
Trees catch and store rainwater. Their leaves break the impact of the rains, robbing them of
their destructive power. The roots of trees allow the water (3)______ go into the soil, which
gradually releases (4)______ to flow down rivers and refill ground-water reserves. Where
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(5)______ are no trees, the rains run in sheets of water off the land, carrying the soil with them.
Land covered with trees and other plants absorbs 20 times more rainwater than bare earth . As
(6)______ grow, trees absorb carbon dioxide, the main cause of the greenhouse effect, which
threatens irreversibly to change the world’s climate. Together, the world’s trees, plants and soils
contain three times as much carbon as there (7)______ in the atmosphere.
The world’s forests contain (8)______ vast majority of its animal and plant species. The
tropical rainforests alone have well over half (9)______them , (10)______ though they cover
only about 6% of the Earth’s land surface.

PART 3: You are going to read a magazine article about pandas. Some sentences are missing
from the text. Choose the best sentence (A-F) for each gap (1-5) in the article. There is one
extra sentence that you do not need to use.
GIANT PANDA FACTS
Giant pandas are chubby mammals that live in a few remote mountainous regions in China. They
have thick fur with bright black-and-white markings. A panda’s coat acts like a thick winter
raincoat. The fur is water-repellent and helps keep a panda warm and dry in cold, wet weather.
(1) ____ Sometimes pandas eat other types of plants and occasionally they eat small mammals.
But pandas usually eat only the stems, twigs, leaves, and fresh young shoots of the different types
of bamboo. They especially like the tender shoots of young bamboo plants.
(2) ____ Full-grown pandas are close to 1.5 m tall when standing up and some grow as tall as 1.7
m. Males and females look alike, but females are a bit smaller than the males.
Pandas usually live alone. Each panda lives in an area that’s about one or two miles (1.5 to 3 km)
in diameter. (3) ____
In the spring, pandas search for a mate. They mark their territories with special scent glands to let
other pandas know they are ready to mate. Once pandas mate, they separate and the females raise
the young alone.
A new-born panda is only about the size of a hamster and weighs about 100 grams. (4) ____ And
they have only a thin covering of hair. It takes a few weeks for the typical black-and-white
markings to appear.
(5) ____ They learn how to find food, climb trees, and stay away from enemies.
Ranger Rick’s Nature Scope
A Some pandas live as long as 30 years and weigh as much as 117 kg.
B Pandas are plant eaters and they feed mainly on a plant called bamboo.
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C In stormy weather, they sometimes try to find a cave or some other type of shelter.
D Pandas are born without teeth and with their eyes closed.
E Young pandas stay with their mothers for about a year and a half.
F Although pandas will share part of their territory with other pandas, they don’t usually get
too close to each other.

PART 4: Read the following passage and choose the best option to complete the blank or
answer the question. Write your answers on the Answer sheet. ( 2 pts)

Tulips are Old World, rather than New World, plants, with the origins of the species lying
in Central Asia. They became an integral part of the gardens of the Ottoman Empire from the
sixteenth century onward, and, soon after, part of European life as well. Holland, in particular,
became famous for its cultivation of the flower.
A tenuous line marked the advance of the tulip to the New World, where it was unknown in
the wild. The first Dutch colonies in North America had been established in New Netherland by
the Dutch West India Company in 1624, and one individual who settled in New Amsterdam
(today's Manhattan section of New York City) in 1642 described the flowers that bravely
colonized the settlers' gardens. They were the same flowers seen in Dutch still-life paintings of
the time: crown imperials, roses, carnations, and of course tulips. They flourished in
Pennsylvania too, where in 1698 William Penn received a report of John Tateham's "Great and
Stately Palace," its garden full of tulips. By 1760, Boston newspapers were advertising 50
different kinds of mixed tulip "roots." But the length of the journey between Europe and North
America created many difficulties. Thomas Hancock, an English settler, wrote thanking his plant
supplier for a gift of some tulip bulbs from England, but his letter the following year grumbled
that they were all dead.
Tulips arrived in Holland, Michigan, with a later wave of early nineteenth-century Dutch
immigrants who quickly colonized the plains of Michigan. Together with many other Dutch
settlements, such as the one at Pella. Iowa, they established a regular demand for European
plants. The demand was bravely met by a new kind of tulip entrepreneur, the traveling
salesperson. One Dutchman, Hendrick van der Schoot, spent six months in 1849 traveling
through the United States taking orders for tulip bulbs. While tulip bulbs were traveling from
Europe to the United States to satisfy the nostalgic longings of homesick English and Dutch
settlers, North American plants were traveling in the opposite direction. In England, the
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enthusiasm for American plants was one reason why tulips dropped out of fashion in the gardens
of the rich and famous.
1. Which of the following questions does the passage mainly answer?
A. What is the difference between an Old World and a New World plant?
B. Why are tulips grown in many different parts of the world?
C. How did tulips become popular in North America?
D. Where were the first Dutch colonies in North America located?
2. The word "integral" in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to
A. interesting B. fundamental C. ornamental D. overlooked
3. The passage mentions that tulips were first found in which of the following regions?
A. Central Asia B. Western Europe C. India D. North America
4. The word "flourished" in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to
A. were discovered B. were marketed C. combined D. thrived
5. The author mentions tulip growing in New Netherland. Pennsylvania. and Michigan in order to
illustrate how
A. imported tulips were considered more valuable than locally grown tulips
B. tulips were commonly passed as gifts from one family to another
C. tulips grew progressively more popular in North America
D. attitudes toward tulips varied from one location to another
6. The word "grumbled" in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to
A. denied B. warned C. complained D. explained
7. The passage mentions that one reason English and Dutch settlers planted tulips in their gardens
was that tulips
A. were easy to grow B. had become readily available
C. made them appear fashionable D. reminded them of home
8. The word "they" in paragraph 3 refers to
A. tulips B. plains C. immigrants D. plants
9. According to the passage, which of the following changes occurred in English gardens during
the European settlement of North America?
A. They grew in size in order to provide enough plants to export to the New World.
B. They contained a wider variety of tulips than ever before.
C. They contained many new types of North American plants.
D. They decreased in size on the estates of wealthy people.
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10. The passage mentions which of the following as a problem associated with the importation of
tulips into North America?
A. They were no longer fashionable by the time they arrived.
B. They often failed to survive the journey.
C. Orders often took six months or longer to fill.
D. Settlers knew little about how to cultivate them.

SECTION IV: WRITING (5 points)

PART 1: Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it means exactly the same
as the sentences printed before it . Write your answers on the Answer sheet. (1 pt)
1. He was sorry he hadn’t said goodbye to her at the airport.
 He regretted not__________________________________________________________.
2. Everyone was surprised that the singer had very little money when he died.
 That the singer___________________________________________________________.
3. Success depends on your hard work.
 The harder______________________________________________________________.
4. It's possible that the last person to leave didn't lock the door.
 The last person __________________________________________________________.
5. When they told the Minister about the strike, he was very angry.
 On ___________________________________________________________________.

PART 2: Finish each of the following sentences so that it has a similar meaning to the
sentences printed before it, using the word given. DON’T CHANGE THE WORD GIVEN.
You must use between THREE and SIX words, including the word given. Write your answers
on the Answer sheet. (2 pts)
1. If you hadn’t helped me, I couldn’t have moved the wardrobe. (HELP)
 But________________________________, I couldn’t have moved the wardrobe.
2. He failed to win the race. ( WINNING)
 He didn’t ______________________________________ the race.
3. Lucy succeeded in passing her driving test, even though she had flu. (MANAGED)
 Despite______________________________________ her driving test.
4. The burglar wore gloves so as not to leave any fingertips behind. (AVOID)
 The burglar wore gloves in ________________________________ any fingertips behind.
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5. You should book your ticket beforehand if you want to get a good seat. (ADVANCE)
 Your ticket _______________________________ if you want to get a good seat.
6. We don’t have any sugar left, so we must go and buy some. (RUN)
 We _______________________________ sugar, so we must go and buy some.
7. I needed a cup of coffee this morning but I didn’t have time for one. (DONE)
 I could __________________________________a cup of coffee this morning but I didn’t
have time for one.
8. By the end of the meeting, the committee had agreed on the next step. ( REACHED)
 By the end of the committee meeting, an ____________________________what to do next.
9. When it comes to sport, there is very little that Ann doesn’t know. (GAPS)
 There are very ________________________________ of sport.
10. I don’t think we’ll see Simon before he goes to New York. (LIKELIHOOD)
 There’s _______________________________ Simon before he goes to New York.

PART 3: “ Success in life comes from hard work and determination.” Do you agree or
disagree with this statement?
Write an essay of 200-250 words expressing your opinion. Give reasons for your answer and
include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write your answers
on the Answer sheet. (2 pts)

-The End-

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