VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HOCHIMINH CITY Student’s Full Name: _______________________________

UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

Student ID: _______________________________________
FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE SKILLS Class Code: ______________________________________

Second-Degree Program
Instructor: ________________________________________

FINAL EXAMINATION
Course: LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY – READING
Time Allotted: 45 minutes Exam Date: August 2, 2017
Approved by Proctors
Examiner(s) Score
(CBCT)
1. 1. In figures:

2. 2. In words:

Notes: Materials and dictionaries of all kinds are NOT allowed.

Students write their answers on the answer sheet.
ANSWER SHEET

PASSAGE 1 PASSAGE 2

1. _____________ 13. _____________

2. _____________ 14. _____________

3. _____________ 15. _____________

4. _____________ 16. _____________

5. _____________ 17. _____________

6. _____________ 18. _____________

7. _____________ 19. _____________

8. _____________ 20. _____________

9. _____________ 21. _____________

10. _____________ 22. _______________________________

11. _____________ 23. _______________________________

12. _____________ 24. _______________________________

25. _______________________________

TOTAL: ________ 0.4 = _________/10

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Second-Degree Program – SD.LP-R.Aug.2017
Full Name: ______________________________ Class Code: ________ Student ID: ____________
TEST PAPER: LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY
READING – August 2, 2017
Notes: Materials and dictionaries of all kinds are NOT allowed.
Students write their answers on the answer sheet.

PASSAGE 1
SOUTH POLE ADVENTURER
In the race to the South Pole, there was a Japanese team attempting to be
first, led by heroic explorer Nobu Shirase
For a few weeks in January 1912, Antarctica was full of explorers. Norwegian Roald Amundsen had reached
the South Pole on 14 December and was speeding back to the coast. On 17 January, Robert Scott and the men
of the British Antarctic expedition had arrived at the pole to find they had been beaten to it. Just then, a third
man arrived; Japanese explorer Noby Shirase. However, his part in one of the greatest adventure stories of the
20th century is hardly known outside his own country, even by fellow explorers. Yet as Scott was nearing the
pole and with the rest of the world still unaware of Amundsen’s triumph, Shirase and his team sailed into
Antarctica’s Bay of Whales in the smallest ship ever to try its luck in these dangerous waters.
Since boyhood Shirase had dreamed of becoming a polar explorer. Like Admunsen, he initially set his sights
on the North Pole. But after the American Robert Peary claimed to have reached it in 1909, both men hastily
altered their plans. Instead they would aim for the last big prize: the South Pole. In January 1910, Shirase put
his plans before Japanese government officials, promising to raise the flag at the South Pole within three years.
For many of them, the question wasn't could he do it but why would it be worth doing? 15 years earlier the
International Geographical Congress had said that as the last unknown continent the Antarctic offered the
chance to add to knowledge in almost every branch of science. So, like the British, Shirase presented his
expedition as a search for knowledge: he would bring back fossils, make meteorological measurements and
explore unknown parts of the continent.
The response from the government was cool, however, and Shirase struggled to raise funds. Fortunately, a
few months later, Japan’s former prime minister Shigenobu Okuma came to Shirase’s rescue. With Okuma’s
backing, Shirase got together just enough money to buy and equip a small ship. He eventually acquired a
scientist, too, called Terutaro Takeda. At the end of November 1910, his ship the Kainan Maru finally left
Tokyo with 27 men and 28 Siberian dogs on board. Before leaving, Shirase confidently outlined his plans to
the media. He would sail to New Zealand, then reach Antarctica in February, during the southern summer,
and then proceed to the pole the following spring. This was not to be, however. Bad weather delayed the
expedition and they didn't reach New Zealand until 8 February; Amundsen and Scott had already been in
Antarctica for a month, preparing for winter.
In New Zealand local reporters were astonished: the ship was half the size of Amundsen’s ship. True, it was
reinforced with iron plate and extra wood, but the ship had only the feeblest engine to help force its way
through ice. Few doubted Shirase’s courage, but most reckoned the expedition to be ill-prepared as the
Japanese had only lightweight sledges for transport across the ice, made of bamboo and wood.
But Shirase’s biggest challenge was time. Antarctica is only accessible by sea for a few weeks in summer and
expeditions usually aimed to arrive in January or February. ‘Even with their determination and daring, our
Japanese friends are running it rather fine,’ wrote local reporters. Nevertheless, on 11 February the Kainan
Maru left New Zealand and sailed straight into the worst weather the captain had ever seen. Then, on 6 March,
they approached the coastline of Antarctica’s Ross Sea, looking for a place to land. The ice began to close in,
threatening to trap them for the winter, an experience no one was likely to survive. With a remarkable piece
of seamanship, the captain steered the ship out of the ice and turned north. They would have to wait out the
winter in a warmer climate.
A year later than planned, Shirase and six men finally reached Antarctica. Catching up with Scott or Amundsen
was out of the question and he had said he would stick to science this time. Yet Shirase still felt the pull of the
pole and eventually decided he would head southward to experience the thrills and hardships of polar

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Second-Degree Program – SD.LP-R.Aug.2017
exploration he had always dreamed of. With provisions for 20 days, he and four men would see how far they
could get.
Shirase set of on 20 January 1912 with Takeda and two dog handlers, leaving two men at the edge of the ice
shelf to make meteorological measurements. For a week they struggled through one blizzard after another,
holding up in their tents during the worst of the weather. The temperature fell to -25oC, and frostbite claimed
some of the dogs. On 26 January, Shirase estimated there were enough provisions to continue for two more
days. Two days later, he announced it was time to turn back. Takeda calculated they had reached 80o5 south
and had travelled 250 kilometers. The men hoisted the Japanese flag.
On 3 February, all the men were heading home. The ship reached Tokyo in June 1912 – and Shirase was
greeted like a hero despite the fact that he never reached the pole. Nor did he contribute much to science – but
then nor did Amundsen, whose only interest was in being first to the pole. Yet Shirase’s expedition was heroic.
They travelled beyond 80o south, one of only four teams to have gone so far south at the time. Furthermore,
they did it all without the advantages of the other teams and with no previous experience.
Questions 1-7 Do the following statements agree with the information given in Passage 1?
Write T (for true) if the statement agrees with the information
F (for false) if the statement contradicts the information
NG (not given) if there is no information on this
1. Shirase’s trip to the South Pole is well-known to other explorers.
2. Since Shirase arrived in Antarctica, smaller ships have also made the journey.
3. Shirase’s original ambition was to travel to the North Pole.
4. Some Japanese officials thought Shirase’s intention to travel to the South Pole was pointless.
5. Shirase found it easy to raise the money he needed for his trip to the South Pole.
6. A previous prime minister of Japan persuaded a scientist to go with Shirase.
7. The weather that slowed down Shirase’s progress to New Zealand was unusually bad for the season.

Questions 8-12 Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

8. When reporters in New Zealand met Shirase, they were
A. concerned about the quality of his equipment.
B. impressed with the design of his ship.
C. certain he was unaware of the dangers ahead.
D. surprised by the bravery he demonstrated.
9. What are we told about the captain of the Kainan Maru in the fifth paragraph?
A. He had given Shirase some poor advice.
B. His skill at sailing saved the boat and crew.
C. He refused to listen to the warnings of others.
D. He was originally confident they could reach Antarctica.
10. After Shirase finally reached Antarctica he realized that
A. he was unsure of the direction he should follow.
B. he would have to give up on fulfilling his personal ambition.
C. he might not have enough food to get to the South Pole.
D. he still wanted to compete in the race against the other teams.
11. What is the writer doing in the seven paragraph?
A. criticizing a decision concerning scientific research
B. explaining why a particular mistake had occurred
C. describing the conditions that the expedition faced
D. rejecting the idea that Shirase was poorly prepared
12. What is the writer’s main point in the final paragraph?
A. Considering the problems Shirase had to deal with, his achievement was incredible.
B. In Japan, the reaction to Shirase’s adventure in Antarctica came as a surprise to him.
C. It was obvious that Amundsen would receive more attention as an explorer than Shirase.
D. Shirase had achieved more on the Antarctic expedition than even he had expected.

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Second-Degree Program – SD.LP-R.Aug.2017
PASSAGE 2
GIFTED CHILDREN AND LEARNING
A Internationally, ‘giftedness’ is most frequently determined by a score on a general intelligence test, known
as an IQ test, which is above a chosen cut-off point, usually at around the top 2-5%. Children’s educational
environment contributes to the IQ score and the way intelligence is used. For example, a very close positive
relationship was found when children’s IQ scores were compared with their home educational provision
(Freeman, 2010). The higher the children’s IQ scores, especially over IQ 130, the better the quality of their
educational backup, measured in terms of reported verbal interactions with parents, number of books and
activities in their home etc. Because IQ tests are decidedly influenced by what the child has learned, they
are to some extent measures of current achievement based on age norms; that is, how well the children
have to learned to manipulate their knowledge and know-how within the terms of the test. The vocabulary
aspect, for example, is dependent on having heard those words. But IQ tests can neither identify the
processes of learning and thinking nor predict creativity.
B Excellence does not emerge without appropriate help. To reach an exceptionally high standard in any area
very able children need the means to learn, which includes material to work with and focused challenging
tuition – and the encouragement to follow their dream. There appears to be a qualitative difference in the
way the intellectually highly able think, compared with more average-ability or older pupils, for whom
external regulation by the teacher compensates for lack of internal regulation. To be at their most effective
in their self-regulation, all children can be helped to identify their own ways of learning – metacognition
– which will include strategies of planning, monitoring, evaluation, and choice of what to learn. Emotional
awareness is also part of metacognition, so children should be helped to be aware of their feelings around
the area to be learned, feelings of curiosity or confidence, for example.
C High achievers have been found to use self-regulatory learning strategies more often and more effectively
than lower achievers, and are better able to transfer these strategies to deal with unfamiliar tasks. This
happens to such a high degree in some children that they appear to be demonstrating talent in particular
areas. Overviewing research on the thinking process of highly able children (Shore and Kanevsky, 1993)
put the instructor’s problem succinctly: ‘If they [the gifted] merely think more quickly, then we need only
teach more quickly. If they merely make fewer errors, then we can shorten the practice’. But of course,
this is not entirely the case; adjustments have to be made in methods of learning and teaching, to take
account of the many ways individuals think.
D Yet in order to learn by themselves, the gifted do need some support from their teachers. Conversely,
teachers who have a tendency to ‘overdirect’ can diminish their gifted pupils’ learning autonomy.
Although ‘spoon-feeding’ can produce extremely high examination results, these are not always followed
by equally impressive life successes. Too much dependence on the teacher risks loss of autonomy and
motivation to discover. However, when teachers help pupils to reflect on their own learning and thinking
activities, they increase their pupils’ self-regulation. For a young child, it may be just the simple question
‘What have you learned today?’ which helps them to recognize what they are doing. Given that a
fundamental goal of education is to transfer the control of learning from teachers to pupils, improving
pupils’ learning to learn techniques should be a major outcome of the school experience, especially for the
highly competent. There are quite a number of new methods which can help, such as child-initiated
learning, ability-peer tutoring, etc. Such practices have been found to be particularly useful for bright
children from deprived areas.
E But scientific progress is not all theoretical, knowledge is also vital to outstanding performance:
individuals who know a great deal about a specific domain will achieve at a higher level than those who
do not (Elshout, 1995). Research with creative scientists by Simonton (1988) brought him to the
conclusion that above a certain high level, characteristics such as independence seemed to contribute more
to teaching the highest levels of expertise than intellectual skills, due to the great demands of effort and
time needed for learning and practice. Creativity in all forms can be seen as expertise mixed with a high
level of motivation (Weisberg, 1993).
F To sum up, learning is affected by emotions of both the individual and significant others. Positive emotions
facilitate the creative aspects of learning and negative emotions inhibit it. Fear, for example, can limit the
development of curiosity, which is a strong force in scientific advance, because it motivates problem-
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Second-Degree Program – SD.LP-R.Aug.2017
 solving behavior. In Boekaerts’ (1991) review of emotion in the learning of very high IQ and highly
achieving children, she found emotional forces in harness. They were not only curious, but often had a
strong desire to control their environment, improve their learning efficiency, and increase their own
learning resources.
Questions 13-16 Passage 2 has six paragraphs, A-F. Which paragraph contains the following
information?
Note: You may use any letter more than once.
13. a reference to the influence of the domestic background on the gifted child
14. reference to what can be lost if learners are given too much guidance
15. a reference to the damaging effects of anxiety
16. examples of classroom techniques which favor socially-disadvantaged children
Questions 17-21 Look at the following statements (questions 17-21) and the list of people below. match
each statement with the correct person or people, A-E.
17. Less time can be spent on exercises with gifted pupils who produce
accurate work. List of people
18. Self-reliance is a valuable tool that helps gifted students reach their goals. A. Freeman
19. Gifted children know how to channel their feelings to assist their learning. B. Shore and Kanevsky
20. The very gifted child benefits from appropriate support from close C. Elshout
relatives. D. Simonton
21. Really successful students have learnt a considerable amount about their E. Boekaerts
subject.

Questions 22-25 Complete the sentences below. choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the
passage for each answer.

22. One study found a strong connection between children’s IQ and the availability of ______________ and
______________ at home.
23. Children of average ability seem to need more direction from teachers because they do not have
______________.
24. Metacognition involves children understanding their own learning strategies, as well as developing
______________.
25. Teachers who rely on what is known as ______________ often produce sets of impressive grades in class
tests.

-------e END OF TEST f-------

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