TRƯỜNG THPT CHUYÊN LAM SƠN KỲ THI CHỌN HỌC SINH GIỎI CÁC TRƯỜNG THPT CHUYÊN

TỈNH THANH HÓA KHU VỰC ĐỒNG BẰNG DUYÊN HẢI BẮC BỘ
Năm học: 2015 – 2016
ĐỀ THI ĐỀ XUẤT Thời gian làm bài: 180 phút (không kể thời gian giao đề)

PART I: LISTENING (40 POINTS)

You will hear a conversation which takes place in an open market among three people, Bob and Andrea Jones, and
Bob’s friend Carl. For questions 1 – 5, choose the best answer A, B, or C.

1. When Bob spots his colleague, he

A. is thrilled to see him again. B. does not want to talk to him. C. is unsure about who he is.
2. How does Bob feel about Irish music?

A. He hates it. B. He is indifferent towards it. C. He doesn’t mind it.

3. What does the stall sell?

A. different kinds of music B. Irish folk music C. country music

4. How did Carl think of starting the stall?

A. It was suggested to him. B. He wanted to sell his collection. C. He had always wanted to try it.
5. What happened to Acres?

A. It was shut down. B. It expanded its business. C. It is under new ownership.

You will hear part of a scientific television program for young people in which the speaker explains what “meteors”
are. For questions 6 – 15, complete the sentences with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS.

“Meteors” is another name for (6) ____________________.

To help explain meteors, planet Earth is compared to a (7) ____________________.

You can think of meteors as a group of (8) ____________________.

In reality, meteors are very small chunks of (9) ____________________.

The circular path the Earth travels around the Sun is called its (10) ____________________.

When Earth comes close to a meteor, the meteor is pulled (11) ____________________ by gravity.

A meteor travels very fast – a hundred times faster than (12) ____________________.

Due to the speed it travels through the air, the meteor becomes (13) ____________________.

Because of the heat, the meteor becomes less hard, (14) ____________________ and then burns.

We are lucky that most meteors burn up and never (15) ____________________.

You will hear a scene from a radio soap opera called Willowdale Green, in which a couple, Charles Miller and Daphne
Jameson, are speaking with the barman Bill Dexter in a village pub. For questions 16 – 20, decide whether each
statement is true (T) or false (F).
16. The man working at the bar presumes that Charles and Daphne aren’t married.

17. Charles knew Andy Draycott very well.

18. The previous owner of the farm died.

19. Bill says the couple should not have the farm because they are not from Willowdale.

20. According to Bill, people have been saying that the farm will be maintained as a farm going forward.

PART II: GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY: (60 POINTS)

I. Choose the most suitable word/ phrase to complete each sentence.

1. The vegetation on the island was ___.

A. exuberant B. chivalrous C. overcast D. ingenious

2. We had been looking for the nest for hours before we ___ lucky.

A. hit B. made C. struck D. came

3. This evidence should prove ___ that he was telling the truth.

A. once and for all B. now and then C. over and above D. from time to time
4. Have you considered applying for a job with the ___ service?

A. civil B. civic C. national D. governmental

5. In all ___, he’s already left.

A. odds B. probability C. certainty D. possibilities

6. We failed to lay eyes on a tiger during our expedition, ___ film one.

A. let alone B. not to mention C. apart from D. but for

7. We don’t have a secretary ___, but we do have a student who comes in to do a bit of filing.

A. as such B. the least bit C. whatsoever D. little more

th
8. I would like to welcome you all on this auspicious ___, the 25 anniversary of the founding of our company.

A. occasion B. moment C. meeting D. gathering

9. The football team Manchester United paid ___ to sign up the Brazilian twins Rafael and Fabio Da Silva when they were
only eighteen.

A. their heart in it B. an arm and a leg C. a good heart D. their eyes to eyes
10. Why are you so mad? You ___ me you weren’t coming to dinner. I waited for you for two hours.

A. should tell B. should have told C. ought to tell D. should be told

11. What he told me was a ___ of lies.

A. load B. mob C. flock D. pack

12. When I ___ at my suitcase, I could see that somebody ___ to open it.

A. look/ try B. looked/ tried C. looked/ had tried D. looked/ trying

13. She’s decided to ___ her German by attending an evening course.

A. brush up B. patch up C. polish off D. dust off

14. Do you think there will be any chance of your brother ___ his job?
 A. quit B. to quit C. quitting D. for quitting
15. Choose the answer which most closely expresses the meaning of the underlined word in the following sentence:
Soot can penetrate closed window.

A. make dirty B. stick to C. erode D. enter

16. I just can’t give you the answer on the ___ - I’ll have to think about it for a few days.

A. place B. minute C. bet D. spot

17. Mrs. Lan went to ___ school to meet her son’s teacher.

A. zero article B. a C. an D. the

18. You may borrow as many books as you like, provided you show them to ___ is at the desk.

A. whoever B. who C. whom D. which

19. Would you be ___ to hold the door open?

A. too kind B. kind enough C. as kind D. so kind

20. I’ll enter the competition if you ___.

A. would B. should C. will D. shall

II. There are 10 mistakes in the passage. Find out and correct them.

Line After inventing dynamite, Swedish-born Alfred Nobel became very rich man. Therefore, he foresaw its
universally destructive powers too late. Nobel preferred not to remember as the inventor of dynamite, so in
1895, just two weeks before his death, he created a fund to be used for rewarding prizes to people who had
made worthwhile contributions to mankind. Originally there were five awards: literature, physics, chemistry,
5 medicine, and peace. Economy was added in 1968, just sixty-seven years after the first award ceremony. Nobel’s
original legacy of nine millions dollars was invested, and the interest in this sum is used for the awards which
vary from 30,000 to 125,000.
Every year on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death, the awards (gold medal, illuminated diploma, and
money) is presented to the winners. Sometimes politics plays an important role in the judges decisions.
10 Americans have won numerous science awards, but relatively few literature prizes. No awards were presented
from 1940 to 1942 at the beginning of World War II. Some people have won two prizes, but this is scarce; others
have shared their prizes.

Answer:

Line …..: …………………………….. -> …………………………………………
Line …..: …………………………….. -> …………………………………………
Line …..: …………………………….. -> …………………………………………
Line …..: …………………………….. -> …………………………………………
Line …..: …………………………….. -> …………………………………………
Line …..: …………………………….. -> …………………………………………
Line …..: …………………………….. -> …………………………………………
Line …..: …………………………….. -> …………………………………………
Line …..: …………………………….. -> …………………………………………
Line …..: …………………………….. -> …………………………………………

III. Fill in each gap with one suitable preposition to complete the sentences.

1. Half the people in the office have gone __________ with a strange illness.

2. The rules are clearly stated and admit __________ no confusion.

3. In rough weather, the coast guard is __________ constant stand-by to respond quickly to distress signals from boats.
4. When she died, she gave __________ all her money to a charity of cats.

5. The police are going to check __________ on him very carefully.

6. Her enthusiasm makes up __________ her lack of experience.

7. We may find we come up __________ quite a lot of opposition from local people.

8. The company has to work __________ ways of reducing costs.

9. Within a few weeks all this present trouble will have blown __________.

10. It seems to be your boss who is __________ fault in this case.

IV. Give the correct form of the word in brackets to complete the passage.

INTERNET JOBS Answer

Contrary to popular belief, one does not have to be a trained (1. PROGRAM) to
work online. Of course, there are plenty of jobs (2. AVAIL) for people with high- 1. …………………………………………………..
tech computer skills, but the growth of new media has opened up a wide range of
2. …………………………………………………..
Internet career opportunities requiring only a (3. MINIMIZE) level of technical (4.
EXPERT). Probably one of the most well-known online job opportunities is the job 3. …………………………………………………..
of webmaster. However, it is hard to define one basic job description for this (5.
POSE). The (6. QUALIFY) and responsibilities depend on what tasks a (7. PART) 4. …………………………………………………..
organization needs a webmaster to perform.
To (8. SPECIAL) the job description of a webmaster, one needs to identify the 5. …………………………………………………..
hardware and software the website the webmaster will manage is running on. 6. …………………………………………………..
Different type of hardware and software require different skill sets to manage
them. Another key factor is whether the website will be running internally (at the 7. …………………………………………………..
firm itself) or externally (renting shared space on the company servers). Finally,
the responsibilities of a webmaster also depend on whether he or she will be 8. …………………………………………………..
working (9. DEPEND), or whether the firm will provide people to help. All of these
9. …………………………………………………..
factors need to be considered before one can create an accurate webmaster job
description. Webmaster is one type of Internet career requiring (10. DEEP) 10. …………………………………………………
knowledge of the latest computer applications.

PART III: READING (60 POINTS)

I. Read the following passage and decide which option A, B, C, or D best fits each space.

TALKING RUBBISH

Lasanda Kurukudasuriya takes a Sri Lanka view of recycling.

Reduce! Re-use! Recycle! The message hits Canadian consumers through all the media. As newcomers from Sri Lanka,
we compared the situation here with the one back home. We may not be the most environmentally (1) ___ citizens in
the world but, compared with this, we do not have a rubbish problem yet.

(2) ___ many shoppers in Colombo, my partner Shahid and I used to have a can basket we took (3) ___ with us to the
Sunday market or pola every week. No environmentalist could have (4) ___ about it. You need a good strong basket at
the pola. There are no supermarket trolleys to (5) ___ around. Most items – rice, flour, vegetables, fruit, biscuits, eggs –
are bought (6) ___ or wrapped in newspaper. At (7) ___ we would carry one plastic bag separately. For eggs we took a
reusable plastic tray with us.
When income (8) ___ are low, people need to buy in small quantities. It is quite normal to ask for a single envelope, two
eggs or 100 grams of sugar. The (9) ___ is that, for the most part, urban consumers in Sri Lanka cannot afford the luxury
of waste. Most people do not buy more from the grocers than they know they will actually consume. They re-use
whatever they can and are loath to (10) ___ bags, jars, tins, or boxes that can be (11) ___ to other uses.

But in recent years Western-style supermarkets have begun to spring up in Colombo. They hold out the (12) ___ of a
clean, efficient, streamlined service to customers. A (13) ___ of imported goods, dressed up in their layers of attractive,
colorful (14) ___ beckons from the shelves. These are the (15) ___ products that demand your attention on the TV
advertisements. Along with them, Sri Lanka, like so many other developing countries, may have imported a problem that
once never existed.

1. A. qualified B. concerned C. worried D. experienced

2. A. As B. Such as C. Like D. Unlike
3. A. along B. up C. out D. aside
4. A. discussed B. complimented C. complained D. contemplated
5. A. bring B. take C. get D. push
6. A. free B. in pieces C. bit by bit D. loose
7. A. maximum B. most C. highest D. best
8. A. rates B. amounts C. sizes D. levels
9. A. point B. case C. example D. question
10. A. discard B. throw C. empty D. release
11. A. made B. set C. given D. put
12. A. promise B. advantage C. evidence D. sight
13. A. set B. range C. store D. band
14. A. packets B. packs C. packaging D. padding
15. A. very B. just C. similar D. likely

II. Fill in each gap with one suitable word to complete the passage.

A substance produced by disease-transmitting insects may provide the key to fighting the same diseases. Mosquitoes
and blackflies transmit malaria and river blindness (1) ____________________, both of (2) ____________________
cause a large number of deaths every year. However, scientists (3) ____________________ now discovered, in some of
these insects, a (4) ____________________ called a peptide which kills these viruses and parasites (5) _______________
carry. (6) ____________________ introduced techniques have allowed researchers to study these minute insects in
order to find out more about the peptides. Professor John Wells said yesterday that if his team could identify the genes
responsible for (7) ____________________ the peptides, they could introduce into the world genetically altered
mosquitoes which were incapable of (8) ____________________ the disease. In the (9) ____________________ of
these exciting developments, it is hoped that science will be able to eradicate some major tropical diseases (10) _______
rather than later.

III. Read the passage and choose the best answer to each of the following questions or to complete each sentence.

Line THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT

Canada is a democracy organized as a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government
modeled after that of Great Britain. The official head of state in Canada is Queen Elizabeth II of Britain, who is
also Queen of Canada. The governor-general is the queen’s personal representative in Canada and the official
head of the Canadian parliament, although with very limited powers.
5 The federal parliament in Canada consists of the House of Commons and the Senate. The actual head of
government is the prime minister, who is responsible for choosing a cabinet. The cabinet consists of a group of
ministers of varied expertise who serve with the support of the House of Commons. They are responsible for
most legislation, and have the expenditure of public funds or taxation. The system is referred to as responsible
 government, which means that cabinet members sit in the parliament and directly responsible to it, holding
10 power only as long as a majority of the House of Commons shows confidence by voting with them. If a cabinet is
defeated in the House of Commons on a motion of censure or a vote of no confidence, the cabinet must either
resign, in which case the governor-general will ask the leader of the opposition to form a new cabinet, or a new
election may be called.
The Canadian Senate has 104 members, appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the prime minister.
15 Their actual function is advisory, although they may make minor changes in bills and no bill may become a law
without being passed by the Senate. Senators hold office until age seventy-five unless they are absent from two
consecutive sessions of parliament. The real power, however, resides in the House of Commons, the members of
which are elected directly by the voters. The seats are allocated on the basis of population, and there are about
300 constituencies. By custom, almost all members of the cabinet must be members of the House of Commons
20 or, if not already members, must win seats within a reasonable time.
General elections must be held at the end of every five years, but they may be conducted whenever issues
require it, and most parliaments are dissolved before the end of the five-year term. When a government loses
its majority support in a general election, a change of government occurs.
Although major and minor political parties were not created by law, they are recognized by law in Canada. The
25 party that wins the largest number of seats in a general election forms the government, and its leader becomes
the prime minister. The second largest party becomes the official opposition, and its leader is recognized as the
leader of the opposition. In this way, the people are assured of an effective alternative government should they
become displeased with the one in power.

1. What does this passage mainly discuss?

A. Political parties in Canada B. The Canadian election process

C. The Canadian system of government D. The powers of parliament in Canada
2. When does a change of government occur in Canada?

A. When the governor-general decides to appoint a new government.

B. When the voters do not return majority support for the government in a general election.

C. When the prime minister advises the governor-general to appoint a new government.

D. When the House of Commons votes for a new government.

3. The word “dissolved” could best be replaced by

A. approved B. evaluated C. reorganized D. dismissed

4. The word “varied” is closest in meaning to

A. little B. different C. good D. steady

5. The word “it” refers to

A. majority B. parliament C. cabinet D. system

6. Where in the passage does the author indicate whose responsibility it is to choose the cabinet in Canada?

A. Lines 3 - 4 B. Lines 5 - 6 C. Lines 7 - 8 D. Lines 17 – 18

7. What does the author mean by the statement in Italic letters?

A. Whereas Canada has a constitutional form of government, Great Britain has a parliament system.

B. Canada and Great Britain both have model systems of government.

C. Great Britain and Canada have very similar systems of government.

 D. Canada’s parliament has adopted Great Britain’s constitution.

8. What is the role of political parties in Canada?

A. Until they become powerful, they are not legally recognized.

B. Although they serve unofficial functions, they are not very important.

C. If they win a majority of seats, their leader becomes prime minister.

D. Because they are not elected, they offer the government opposing views.

9. The governor-general is described as all of the following EXCEPT

A. the official head of parliament. B. the head of government.

C. the queen’s representative in Canada. D. the official who appoints the Senate.
10. It can be inferred from the passage that the voters in Canada

A. choose the prime minister and the cabinet.

B. do not usually vote in general elections.

C. allow their representatives to vote on their behalf.

D. determine when a change of government should occur.

IV. Reading the following passage and do the tasks that follow.

SPOKEN CORPUS COMES TO LIFE

A The compiling of dictionaries has been historically the provenance of studious professorial types – usually
bespectacled – who love to pore over weighty tomes and make pronouncements on the finer nuances of meaning.
They were probably good at crosswords and definitely knew a lot of words, but the image was always rather dry
and dusty. The latest technology, and simple technology at that, is revolutionizing the content of dictionaries and
the way they are put together.
B For the first time, dictionary publishers are incorporating real, spoken English into their data. It gives
lexicographers (people who write dictionaries) access to a more vibrant, up-to-date vernacular language which has
never really been studied before. In one project, 150 volunteers each agreed to discreetly tie a Walkman recorder
to their waist and leave it running anything up to two weeks. Every conversation they had was recorded. When the
data was collected, the length of tapes was 35 times the depth of the Atlantic Ocean. Teams of audio typists
transcribed the tapes to produce a computerized database of ten million words.
C This has been the basis – along with an existing written corpus – for the Language Activator dictionary, described
by lexicographer Professor Randolph Quirk as “the book the world has been waiting for”. It shows advanced
foreign learners of English how the language is really used. In the dictionary, key words such as “eat” are followed
by related phrases such as “wolf down” or “be a picky eater”, allowing the student to choose the appropriate
D phrase.
“This kind of research would be impossible without computers,” said Della Summers, a director of dictionaries. “It
has transformed the way lexicographers work. If you look at the word “like”, you may intuitively think that the first
and most frequent meaning is the verb, as in “I like swimming”. It is not. It is the preposition, as in: “She walked
like a duck”. Just because the word or phrase is used doesn’t mean it ends up in a dictionary. The sifting out
process is as vital as ever. But the database does allow lexicographers to search for a word and find out how
E frequently it is used – something that could only be guessed at intuitively before.
Researchers have found that written English works in a very different way to spoken English. The phrase “say what
you like” literally means “feel free to say anything you want”, but in reality it is used, evidence shows, by someone
to prevent the other person voicing disagreement. The phrase “it’s a question of” crops up on the database over
 and over again. It has nothing to do with enquiry, but it’s one of the most frequent English phrases which has
F never been in a language learner’s dictionary before: it is now.
The Spoken Corpus computer shows how inventive and humorous people are when they are using language by
twisting familiar phrases for effect. It also reveals the power of the pauses and noises we use to play for time,
G convey emotion, doubt and irony.
For the moment, those benefiting most from the Spoken Corpus are foreign learners. “Computers allow
lexicographers to search quickly through more examples of real English,” said Professor Geoffrey Leech of
Lancaster University. “They allow dictionaries to be more accurate and give a feel for how language is being used.”
The Spoken Corpus is part of the larger British National Corpus, an initiative carried out by several groups involved
in the production of language learning materials: publishers, universities and the British Library.

Choose the most suitable heading from 1 – 10 for each paragraph from A – G. There are three headings which you do
not need to use.

List of headings
1. Grammar is corrected 6. Traditional lexicographical methods
2. New method of research 7. New phrases enter dictionary
3. Technology learns from dictionaries 8. A cooperative research project
4. Non-verbal content 9. Accurate word frequency counts
5. The first study of spoken language 10. Alternative expressions provided

Answer:

Paragraph A …………………………… Paragraph D …………………………… Paragraph F ……………………………

Paragraph B …………………………… Paragraph E …………………………… Paragraph G ……………………………
Paragraph C ……………………………

The diagram below illustrates the information in the passage. Complete the diagram by using ONE word for each gap.

Current, real-life data The portrayal of

collected during feelings through
(i)…………………………….. noises and pauses

Data from existing Spoken Corpus

written corpus computer

LANGUAGE
ACTIVATOR

Key words and Most frequently used Differences between

(ii)………………………....... meanings of words written and (iii)………..
use

PART IV: WRITING (40 POINTS)

I. Rewrite each of the following sentences, beginning with the phrase or containing the word in brackets given, so that
it keeps the same meaning.

1. It’s sad, but unemployment is unlikely to go down this year.

-> Sad …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2. People believe that the Chinese invented paper in 105 A.D.

-> Paper ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

3. It’s a pity that you wrote that letter.

-> I’d …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

4. He decided to repair the thing himself and not to take it back to the shop.

-> Rather ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

5. I’m sure it wasn’t Mrs. Elton you saw because she’s in Bristol.

-> It can’t ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

6. I think this word comes from ancient Greece. (DERIVED)

-> ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

7. I don’t think there will be any applicants for this post. (LIKELIHOOD)

-> ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

8. I’m very familiar with this neighborhood. (HAND)

-> ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

9. Very little money was raised by the charity appeal. (RESPONSE)

-> ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

10. The desk was too crowded for him to put his books down. (ROOM)

-> ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

II. Write a paragraph of about 150 words discussing the following topic:

An old saying goes: “Prevention is better than cure”. To what extent do you agree or disagree with it? Support your
answer with relevant explanations and examples.

-----THE END-----