VISUAL MATERIALS FOR THE SPEAKING TEST

 Part 1: Reading:
 Task 1:

WHILE SOME STUDENTS SKIP COLLEGE, TRADE SCHOOLS ARE GROWING

Almost every area of higher education in the United States has fewer students registering
(đăng ký) for classes. But many trade programs are growing.

Trade programs teach students skills for specific jobs, like electricians or car repair. For
many students, skilled trades offer a clearer path to a job.

The National Student Clearing House says from spring 2021 to 2022, some trade
programs grew as much as 19.3 percent. Meanwhile, the overall number (tổng số) of
students declined (suy giảm) by 7.8 percent at public two-year colleges and about 3.4
percent at public four-year colleges.

That is the case in the American state of Tennessee.

Despite having free tuition (học phí) since 2015, the overall number of students going to
the state’s community colleges declined during the pandemic. But at the Tennessee
College of Applied Technology (TCAT) (Trường cao đẳng công nghệ ứng dụng
Tennessee) many trade programs have continued to grow.

TCAT is a network of 24 colleges that offers training for 70 different jobs. At TCAT
Nashville, several programs have waiting lists. The college has added night classes to
meet demand, said Nathan Garrett, president of the college.

TCAT centers on training students for jobs that are in demand (nhu cầu) in the area.
Garrett said the pandemic made certain jobs more desirable.

“When we look at ‘essential workers,’ a lot of those trades never saw a slowdown,” he
said. “They still hired. They still have the need.”

Cheven Jones is attending an automotive trade school (trường thương mại ô tô) at the
TCAT in Nashville. The 26-year-old said when he was in high school he did not know
what he wanted to do.

He said that his “biggest fear was to go to college, put in all that time and effort and then
not use my degree.”
Robert Nivyayo said he did not like high school. But he knew what he wanted to do
earlier in life. He spent most of his free time watching videos about fixing up cars before
he was old enough to drive.

Training in car repair made sense for him, he said, because he could earn a working
document while doing what he enjoyed.

Now 19, Nivyayo looks forward to the money he will earn when he gets a job in an auto
shop. He can expect to make about $40,000 to $60,000 a year, his instructor (người
hướng dẫn) said.

Laura Monks is the president of TCAT Shelbyville. She said one of the reasons students
like TCAT is the school’s “co-op” program. It gives students who are close to finishing
their studies a chance to get real work experience toward their degree.

Brayden Johnson, 20, is studying industrial maintenance automation (tự động hóa bảo trì
công nghiệp). As part of the “co-op” program, he works as an electrical maintenance
technician (kỹ thuật viên bảo trì điện) in a local factory that makes containers for
toothpaste. Johnson earns $26 an hour and hopes to stay in the job after he finishes at
TCAT this spring.

Garrett of Nashville said to get real work experience in TCAT’s “co-op” program is
important. He noted that the employer reports back to the student’s instructor, so they
know where the student is doing well and where they are struggling. That way, they can
work on those weaknesses in class.

For Cheven Jones, his plan is to fix up his car by the time he finishes the trade program
and have fun while doing it.

“It’s school, and I take it seriously. But you know, you come here, and it just feels more
like you’re at a shop hanging out with your homies (người nhà) all day,” Jones said.
“It’s a good feeling.”

 Task 2:

SOUTH KOREA’S PRESIDENT SPEAKS TO US CONGRESS

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol spoke to the American Congress Thursday on the
final day of his state visit (Chuyến thăm cấp quốc gia) to the United States.
The visit marks 70 years of the U.S.-South Korean alliance (liên minh). Yoon is the
seventh South Korean president to address (phát biểu) Congress.

Yoon spoke about the historical relationship the two countries shared. He spoke about the
Korean War in which “the U.S. did not look the other way,” but supported the people of
South Korea. Yoon noted that 37,000 American soldiers lost their lives in that war.

The South Korean president also spoke about the Mutual Defense Treaty (Hiệp ước
phòng thủ chung) between the two nations and praised their continuing alliance.

“Once a recipient of aid (Từng là người nhận viện trợ), Korea is the only nation in
modern history to become a donor. This itself demonstrates the success of our Alliance,”
Yoon said.

Yoon noted that, since the U.S. Congress approved a free trade agreement with Korea in
2011, “bilateral (song phương) trade has increase 68 percent.” During that time, U.S.
investment in South Korea has doubled, and South Korean investment in the U.S. has
tripled (tăng gấp ba lần).

The alliance, Yoon argued, had supplied peace and prosperity (sự phồn vinh) to the two
sides. Now, Yoon said: “Together with the U.S., Korea will play the role as a “compass
(la bàn) for freedom” for citizens around the world.

He compared those good qualities with a government that has followed, in his words,
“the wrong path.” He said North Korea, with its nuclear and missile programs (chương
trình hạt nhân và tên lửa), threatened peace in Korea and beyond. Yoon urged (thúc giục)
speeding up (tăng tốc) cooperation between his country, the U.S. and Japan to face the
North Korean nuclear threat. And he promised to firmly answer the North’s provocations
(khiêu khích) while remaining open to denuclearizing (phi hạt nhân hóa) talks.

Yoon closed by praising U.S.-Korea cooperation in high technology and economic trade.

A state visit

On Wednesday, Yoon met with President Joe Biden to discuss several issues. These
include the military threats of North Korea, how the two nations can cooperate
economically, and ways to deal with an increasingly powerful China. Other issues were
also discussed.
Ahead of those talks, the two sides released the Washington Declaration (Tuyên bố
Washington). It is an agreement in which South Korea promised not to develop its own
nuclear weapons (vũ khí) program. In return (đổi lại), South Korea will have a greater
decision-making voice in U.S. contingency (dự phòng) planning in the event of a North
Korean nuclear attack. The U.S. also promised a more muscular (mạnh mẽ hơn) presence
in the area.

A state dinner at the White House on Wednesday evening brought media stars,
businesspeople (doanh nhân) and politicians to Washington to celebrate.

The event was the second state dinner during the Biden administration. The first was for
French President Emmanuel Macron.

On Tuesday, Biden, Yoon and their wives (plu, những người vợ) visited the Korean War
Memorial (Đài tưởng niệm chiến tranh Hàn Quốc) on the National Mall in Washington.

 New Vocab:

(Head of)
Cauliflower
 Kidney beans

Garlic

Broccoli
Black beans

Pumpkin

Cabbage
 String beans

Zucchini

Brussels sprouts

 Part 2: Interview

 Time
1. Would you say you are good at managing (or, organizing) your time?
 Sometimes, when I have pressure, I can usually manage my time better because I have
to. However, if I have plenty of time to do something, I’ll tend to put it off.
2. How do you organize/manage your time?
 I would keep my schedule in a calendar note book, so that I would know what I need
to do each day or even each week. It’s a good way to see how much time I’m spending
on certain things.
3. How did you learn this? Who did you learn it from?
 I learned it from my college professor. If we want to ask her for advice, she would
always look at her schedule book to tell us when she’s available. I think it’s a good
way to manage one’s time, so I started doing it myself and after trying it, I feel it’s
very effective.

 Part 3: Solo speech:

 A friend you’d like to travel with
Describe a person who you would like to travel with.
You should say:
 who this person is
 where you would travel
 what kind of person he or she is
 and explain why you would choose to travel with this person.

Sample
I like traveling with my best friend, Lily. She loves trying new things and wouldn’t
mind taking risks. I have so many memories about doing fun things with her. I
remember, when we were children, she was like a pioneer to me. She taught me how
to climb trees and took me to the nearby mountains to collect mushrooms. For
children of our age, her deeds were always considered very brave. Sometimes we
would disagree with each other about trying news things. For example, she would
always try new roads when we were out. I’m very conservative, so I would always
worry about getting lost. Sometimes, we would find the road was a dead end.
However, there were other times, when we found shortcuts. It’s fun to travel with
someone who’s willing to try and learn new things. There must be a lot of surprise on
the journey if I could travel with her someday to a further place.

 Part 4: Discussion
1. Do people in your country like to travel alone?
 It depends, I heard it’s very popular for young college students to travel alone.
However, most of the people I know prefer to travel with some companions. When
you travel with others, you can take care of each other and it’s also fun to talk about
 what you see and feel with the people you travel with.

2. In general, what qualities should a good traveling companion have?

 A good traveling companion should be friendly and helpful, so when there’re
difficulties, we can work together to solve the problems. It’s also nice if the
companion is good at communication. It’s always nice to share the feelings with our
friends on a trip.

3. What do you think are the benefits of traveling overseas?

 When we travel overseas, we can experience different cultures and customs. It’s
very easy for us to learn new things. By seeing these, our horizon will be widened.

4. How does international tourism benefit a country?

 Foreign tourists will need to spend money whenever they go, so they’ll benefit our
country economically. Also, they could bring their own culture and language.
People can learn from them and Vietnam can become more internationalized.

5. What impact does foreign culture have on your country?

 A lot of people want to study abroad. I think many of them are probably influenced
by foreign culture. Also, there’re all kinds of foreign films nowadays and that can
influence our lifestyle and way of thinking.

6. How do you think about traveling internationally?

 I think it’s good because we can learn different culture and customs in different
countries. If children can travel internationally, they can definitely be more
interested in geography. It’s actually a lot of people’s dream to travel around the
world because we want to know what the world is like and if everyone can have the
opportunity, we’ll probably feel happier. Also, tourism can help many countries
financially and help their economy to flourish.

7. Will tourists affect the local people’s life?

 Definitely. Tourism can help the local economy because it can provide job
opportunities for local people and the service industry can flourish because of the
needs of the tourists. Foreign language and culture can also help the local country
be internationalized.

8. What are the benefits of traveling abroad?

 Traveling abroad may help us to broaden our sight by enabling us to view different
 scenery, meet different people, taste different foods, and experience different
cultures. In addition, by travelling abroad, we may feel far away from the life at
home, and so better relax ourselves. Besides, having a fresher eye about the world
and learning something new or more advanced from the country we visit may also
be possible.

9. Will you travel abroad through travel agencies or will you travel abroad on
yourself?
 Well, when I am quite familiar with the country I am going to visit, in cases that I
have visited there before or I have learned a lot about travelling in that country
through the media, I may choose to travel on my own. In this way, I don’t need to
worry about getting lost and meanwhile enjoy my freedom in travelling. However,
when the country is strange to me, going there with a travel agency may be better
for me

10. Do Vietnamese people like to travel alone or travel in groups?

 People in Vietnam have different choices when they are travelling. Some like to
travel alone, because they want to enjoy their freedom in travelling and meanwhile
enjoy the excitement of exploring new things. Others like to travel ing groups,
because they favor the relaxed ways in travelling, without too many worries about
where to go, where to live, and what to eat. Besides, by travelling in groups, people
will have companions to help each other and will not feel lonely on the journey.

11. Do you like traveling by yourself or with a group?

 It depends. When I want to enjoy my own freedom or I just want to stay alone, I
like to travel by myself and face all the things on my own. However, when I want to
share my happiness with others, or I want some others to help me in some aspects
on the way, I may travel with a group.

12. What benefits can you get if you travel abroad?

 By travelling abroad, I may broaden my vision by seeing different scenery, enrich
my experience by taking part in some cultural activities, and strengthen my own
independence by solving problems by myself. Besides, travelling abroad may help
me to have a general view about the world and then have a fresh eye on my own
life.

13. Since Vietnam has four‐thousand‐year history, why do you want to experience
different cultures abroad?
 Well, one can never make progress without learning something from others, no
matter how able or powerful he is, so do cultures. Although we have 4000‐year
history, to develop it better, and to have a more promising future, we still have to
beware of the existence of other cultures, to absorb the essence and discard the
dregs. Only in this way, can the Vietnamese cultures go further in the world.

14. What kind of problems will you encounter on a trip?

 When we are travelling to somewhere else, especially the places that are far away
from our hometown, or the places that we are unfamiliar with, we may encounter
various problems. For example, we may be unaccustomed to the weather or the
foods there, we may get hurt and do not know how to get treated, or in some other
cases, we may get stuck in misunderstandings with the local people. Therefore, we
have to be well‐prepared when we want to have a trip.

15. Should the government limit the number of foreigners traveling in Vietnam?
 I don’t think it’s necessary. From what I see at tourist sites, Vietnamese people still
make the big part of the tourists. Vietnamese people should welcome foreign
visitors because we can promote the image of our country and help the world know
better of our culture and customs. We should also encourage Vietnamese people to
travel abroad to see what the other countries are like.

16. Do people prefer traveling with a tourist agency or by themselves?

 I think nowadays, a lot of people prefer to travel by themselves because we can
have more freedom. We don’t need to follow other people’s schedule or sometimes
need to rush ourselves. Now all kinds of information can be found online, we don’t
need to rely on tourist agencies to book hotels or learn travel information about a
target place. Plus, the cost is usually lower when we travel on our own.