Designed by Nguyen Minh Long National Examination for gifted students in English

LISTENING TEST 1

Name: ________________________ Mark: ________ / 50

Part 1. For questions 1-7, listen to part of a discussion on a current affairs programme between Nick Barnes and
Alison Tempra about the performance of the company Facebook since it floated on the stock change and choose
the answer (A, B, C or D) which fits best according to what you hear. Write your answers (A, B, C or D) in the
corresponding numbered boxes.
1. Which word can summarise Nick’s attitudes towards the current status of Facebook?
A. disapproving B. conciliatory C. buoyant D. pessimistic
2. What does Alison think is the cause for optimism?
A. The company kept its cost low.
B. The loss generated was less than expected.
C. There appears to be good revenue potential.
D. The company hasn’t started to advertise yet.
3. According to Nick, the increasing popularity of smaller devices ______.
A. represents untapped potential for Facebook
B. is a significant challenge to Facebook increasing its revenue
C. puts Facebook at a competitive advantage
D. gives the company an opportunity to advertise more
4. In what situation does Alison believe Facebook users might abandon the company?
A. If they are given the option of watching adverts on certain apps and sites.
B. If a free social network becomes available on the net.
C. If the company pushes advertisements onto users too forcefully.
D. If sites and apps start to appear which put users off using Facebook.
5. What do we learn about the company’s performance?
A. The shared price has now dropped by over one-third.
B. There has been a 6% improvement in the shared price overnight.
C. $38 has been wiped off the shared price.
D. It has become the biggest flop in history.
6. Alison thinks that ______.
A. the aforementioned problems are not necessarily true of Facebook
B. Facebook can continue to exploit its ingenuity to become the leading company
C. nervousness is not really necessary for Facebook during this time
D. we are benefiting more from social networks like Facebook than ever before
7. Nick believes that Google ______.
A. will inevitably prevail over Facebook in time
B. was short-sighted to invest everything it had into one project
C. technology will be made redundant by what Facebook offer users
D. will become profit-making in a matter of time
Your answers
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Part 2. For questions 8-15, listen to a report from BBC about Zika virus and answer the following questions with
NO MORE THAN FIVE WORDS. Write your answers in the space provided.
8. What are indications of Zika besides fever, rash and headache?
8. ______________________________________________________
9. What is increasing in parallel with Zika cases?
9. ______________________________________________________
10. What are fatal conditions of the above diseases?
Designed by Nguyen Minh Long National Examination for gifted students in English

10. ______________________________________________________
11. What are the TWO diseases that Aedes mosquito also spreads?
11. ______________________________________________________
12. Why is Zika virus not new?
12. ______________________________________________________
13. What region is mostly affected by Zika?
13. ______________________________________________________
14. List TWO ways mentioned to prevent Zika virus in addition to covering up and avoiding pregnancy.

14. ______________________________________________________

15. ______________________________________________________

Part 3. For questions 16-25, listen to a scientist talking about an important discovery in molecular biology and
complete the sentences with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS taken from the recording. Write your answers in
the space provided.
THE DOUBLE HELIX

The double helix is also called the (16) __________________________________ of DNA.

As welll as contributing to the discovery of the new techniques, the speaker suggests that the double helix
discovery (17) ____________________________ a new field of scienece.
Watson and Crick, who discovered the double helix, were jointly awarded a Nobel Prize open to people with a
background in (18) _________________________________.
Oswald Avery proved that (19)_________________________________ was contained in human DNA.
Crick and Watson were adept at using the discoveries of (20)_________________________________ for their
own purposes in investigating the composition of DNA.
Such was their focus and determination to discover the secrets of genetics that their triumph was almost a(n)
(21)_____________________________.
Their (22) ________________________ and ________________________ put them at an advantage in their
quest, though they also relied on their intuition, persistence and good fortune.
Alexander Todd had already found out the roles of certain (23) ____________________________ and phosphate
in the composition of DNA.
Chemist Linus Pauling’s innovative technique of (24) _______________________________ was employed by Crick
and Watson.
Jerry Donohue’s observation that there was a flaw in conventional theory of chemistry paved the way for Crick
and Watson’s (25) _________________________.
Designed by Nguyen Minh Long National Examination for gifted students in English

1. D
2. C
3. B
4. C
5. A
6. B
7. A
8. red itchy eyes
9. Microcephaly cases
10. small heads, underdeveloped brains
11. dengue and yellow fever
12. discovered in 1947
13. Latin America
14. use insect repellent
15. clear stagnant water
16. twisted-ladder structure
17. gave birth to
18. Philosophy or Medicine
19. hereditary information
20. other researchers
21. foregone conclusion
22. complementary expertise; qualifications
23. sugar groups
24. model building
25. breakthrough