READING PASSAGE 1 - Questions 1-10

You should spend about 15 minutes on Questions 1-10, which are based on Reading Passage 1.

A 71-year-old Brazilian man, Joao Pereira de Souza, rescued a penguin named Dindim in 2011. He
lives in a fishing village off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. After rescuing the penguin, de Souza cared for him
until he was strong enough to return to the sea. However, Dindim kept coming back to visit de Souza,
swimming more than 8,000 kilometers each time. They formed an unusual friendship, with Dindim staying
with de Souza for 11 months before eventually disappearing. Magellanic penguins regularly swim
thousands of kilometres a year to breeding spots on the coast of Argentina and Chile. From time to time,
penguins show up in warmer Brazilian waters. Many of de Souza's friends thought that when Dindim finally
left, that was it for the human-bird friendship. But a few months later, Dindim returned and found de Souza.
He visits for about four months, a ritual kept for the last five years. He arrives in June and leaves to go home
in October, and every year he becomes more affectionate, as he appears even happier to see his new
‘master’.
De Souza appears to be the only person who can get near Dindim. If others try, he pecks them or
waddles away. "I think the penguin believes Joao is part of his family and probably a penguin as well,"
biologist Joao Paulo Krajewski said to the Independent. "When he sees him he wags his tail like a dog and
honks with delight." Krajewski helped report the segment for TV Globo, and said that they caught Dindim
on his fifth trip out to see Pereira de Souza. He described how Dindim spends the rest of his time breeding
along the Patagonian coast, about 4,000 kilometres south on the South American continent.
It's technically illegal to have a wild animal as a pet in Brazil, as officials want to ensure vulnerable
creatures don't get separated from their families and that they can be reintroduced into the wild after injury.
The Independent also reported that there's been concern over how climate change could be forcing these
penguins farther north into the warmer Brazilian waters. Regardless, in Dindim's case, authorities have made
an exception. In this isolated case, the authorities allowed Dindim to stay with Joao because of his kindness.
(Adapted from: https://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/dindim-o-lindo-pinguim-1.3487668)

Question 1: What is the passage mainly about?

A. Rescuing stranded penguins B. The connection between a man and a penguin
C. Living in Brazil D. The migration habits of penguins
Question 2: Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word “regularly” in paragraph 1?
A. occasionally B. routinely C. randomly D. rarely
Question 3: The author uses the expression “that was it” in paragraph 1 to indicate that
A. The penguin would not come back.
B. The penguin would return.
C. The penguin no longer liked the man.
D. The penguin had decided to stay with the man.
Question 4: The author mentions a dog because
A. The penguin thinks he is a dog. B. The man really wants a pet dog.
C. The penguin's actions are similar to a dog's. D. The penguin thinks the man is a dog.
Question 5: All of the following are true EXCEPT
A. The penguin swims a round trip of 8,000 plus miles.
B. The penguin lives with the man all of the time.
C. The penguin pecks others who try to get near.
D. The penguin honks with delight when he sees the man.
Question 6: According to the passage, how far does Dindim travel from the breeding spots to visit his new
‘master'?
A. At least 8,000 kilometers B. Around 4,000 kilometers
C. More than 6,000 kilometers D. More than 10,000 kilometers
Question 7: What does the word "their" in paragraph 3 refer to?
A. wild animals B. families C. officials D. Brazil

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Question 8: According to paragraph 3, how long did the penguin, Dindim, stay with Joao Pereira de Souza
before disappearing?
A. 6 months B. 11 months C. 2 years D. 3 weeks
Question 9: In Dindim's case, why did the authorities make an exception and allow him to stay with Joao
Pereira de Souza?
A. Due to climate change concerns.
B. Because of Dindim's exceptional swimming abilities.
C. Because Joao Pereira de Souza was kind to Dindim.
D. To study Dindim's behavior closely.
Question 10: Why was this passage written?
A. To highlight the danger of keeping wild animals as pets.
B. To describe the habitat of Magellanic penguins.
C. To explain the legal restrictions on pet ownership in Brazil.
D. To share an unusual animal-human friendship story.

READING PASSAGE 2 - Questions 11-20

You should spend about 15 minutes on Questions 11-20, which are based on Reading Passage 2.
Obesity: Shrinking the World's Waistline
For most of human history, the majority of the world’s population struggled to get enough food.
Although starvation is also a big issue in some countries, many nations are now facing the opposite problem
- people are consuming too much food. In the past few decades, obesity has become a global concern that
physicians around the globe are trying to deal with.
Obesity occurs when a person becomes so overweight that their extra weight starts to endanger their
health. Many experts believe that the rise of obesity is closely linked to the rise of cheap, high-calorie foods
that bring little health benefits. These foods often contain lots of salt, sugar, and fat. But this is not the only
reason that people are getting heavier. In addition to poor food choices, people are burning fewer calories
because their lives have become lazier and they don’t get enough exercise.
There is no denying that the statics are alarming. Since 1980, the world’s obesity rate has almost
doubled. Furthermore, the number of obese people is roughly about equal to the number of people who are
underweight. This increasing obesity rate has led to skyrocketing health care costs in several countries.
Obesity has been shown to increase the risks of several deadly diseases. This includes heart disease, some
forms of cancer, and diabetes.
Dealing with obesity has proven to be more difficult than originally anticipated. This is because
there are many factors which contribute to people becoming obese. First, if you walk through any
supermarket, you will find many more processed foods than fresh ones like fruits and vegetables. Although
these processed foods are void of nutrition, they are much cheaper and easier to prepare than fresh foods.
Corporate marketing campaigns make things worse, as companies that sell junk foods will spend millions of
dollars to convince consumers to buy their foods without mentioning that they are unhealthy.
Some people are fighting back obesity though, including the former US First Lady Michelle Obama.
She has started an organization called Let’s Move that specifically targets childhood obesity. The
organization believes in educating students, parents, and educators about how to prepare healthy foods and
showing them fun ways to get exercise. Let’s Move also works closely with schools to ensure that nutritious
and affordable meals are provided in schools, so the process of staying in shape won’t be difficult. Although
we are a long way from defeating the obesity problem, programmes like this one are a good start.
(Adapted from: https://scitechdaily.com/new-research-finds-that-with-obesity)

Question 11. What is the passage mainly about?

A. Some different programmes started by Michelle Obama.
B. The types of foods people should eat to get skinny.
C. Jobs that are making people’s lives more difficult.
D. A health issue facing many nations around the globe.

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Question 12. According to the passage, what is true about starvation?
A. It is no longer a problem in any countries.
B. It affects as many people in the world as obesity.
C. It continues to get worse every year.
D. It has recently become a much bigger problem than obesity.
Question 13. What does the word "their" in paragraph 2 refer to?
A. people B. poor food choices C. calories D. exercise
Question 14. According to the paragraph 2, what are some factors contributing to the rise of obesity?
A. High-calorie foods with health benefits B. Lack of salt, sugar, and fat in the diet
C. Poor food choices and a sedentary lifestyle D. Strict exercise routines
Question 15. What could replace the word “skyrocketing” in paragraph 3?
A. declining B. equal C. increasing D. unfair
Question 16. According to the paragraph, what has happened to the world's obesity rate since 1980?
A. It has remained the same.
B. It has decreased significantly.
C. It has nearly doubled.
D. It matches the number of underweight people.
Question 17. The word “anticipated” in paragraph 4 mostly means _______.
A. recounted B. expected C. participated D. opposed
Question 18. All of the following are the reasons for obesity EXCEPT that________.
A. a variety of junk foods looks very attractive
B. processed foods are much cheaper and easier to prepare than traditional foods
C. companies spend millions of dollars to make processed foods more nutritious
D. people are not exercising enough to consume the extra calories
Question 19. We can infer from the last paragraph that Let’s Move________.
A. has worked closely with schools to provide cheap foods to their students
B. has carried out the programmes to make people aware of the obesity problem and the need of a healthy
lifestyle
C. has contributed to the reputation of the former US President Obama and former First Lady Michelle
D. has offered students funny ways to entertain to avoid obesity
Question 20. How is the information in the passage organized?
A. Discussion of global obesity rise, causes, and efforts to combat it.
B. Historical context, obesity statistics, and an initiative to address it.
C. Health risks of obesity, its causes, and initiatives.
D. Efforts to combat obesity, its causes, and statistics on obesity rates.

READING PASSAGE 3 - Questions 21-30

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 21-30, which are based on Reading Passage 3.
A useful definition of an air pollutant is a compound added directly or indirectly by humans to the
atmosphere in such quantities as to affect humans, animals, vegetation, or materials adversely. Air pollution
requires a very flexible definition that permits continuous change. When the first air pollution laws were
established in England in the fourteenth century, air pollutants were limited to compounds that could be seen
or smelled - a far cry from the extensive list of harmful substances known today. As technology has
developed and knowledge of the health aspects of various chemicals has increased, the list of air pollutants
has lengthened. In the future, even water vapor might be considered an air pollutant under certain
conditions.
Many of the more important air pollutants, such as sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen
oxides, are found in nature. As the Earth developed, the concentrations of these pollutants were altered by
various chemical reactions; they became components in biogeochemical cycle. These serve as an air
purification scheme by allowing the compounds to move from the air to the water or soil on a global basis,

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nature's output of these compounds dwarfs that resulting from human activities. However, human production
usually occurs in a localized area, such as a city.
In this localized regions, human output may be dominant and may temporarily overload the natural
purification scheme of the cycle. The result is an increased concentration of noxious chemicals in the air.
The concentrations at which the adverse effects appear will be greater than the concentrations that the
pollutants would have in the absence of human activities. The actual concentration need not be large for a
substance to be a pollutant; in fact the numerical value tells us little until we know how much of an increase
this represents over the concentration that would occur naturally in the area. For example, sulfur dioxide has
detectable health effects at 0.08 parts per million (ppm), which is about 400 times its natural level. Carbon
monoxide, however, has a natural level of 0.1 ppm and is not usually a pollutant until its level reaches about
15 ppm.
(Adapted from: https://abcofagri.com/effects-environmental-pollution/)

Question 21: What is the main topic of the passage?

A. The history of air pollution laws. B. The impact of human activities on air quality.
C. The natural levels of air pollutants. D. The specific health effects of sulfur dioxide.
Question 22: What does the word "adversely" in paragraph 1 mean?
A. beneficially B. positively C. harmfully D. naturally
Question 23: According to paragraph 1, when were the first air pollution laws established?
A. In the seventeenth century. B. In the nineteenth century.
C. In the fourteenth century. D. In the twentieth century.
Question 24: What is the main difference between air pollutants in the past and the present understanding?
A. They could be seen or smelled. B. They were limited in quantity.
C. They had no impact on health. D. They were all natural in origin.
Question 25: What does the word "they" in paragraph 2 refer to?
A. earth B. pollutants C. chemical reactions D. components
Question 26: According to paragraph 2, what is the primary difference between the production of air
pollutants by nature and by humans?
A. Natural production occurs in localized areas.
B. Human production occurs globally.
C. Natural production is more extensive.
D. Human production is limited to specific compounds.
Question 27: The word "temporarily" in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to
A. permanently B. briefly C) completely D) continuously
Question 28: According to the passage, which of the following is NOT mentioned as an example of air
pollutant?
A. Sulfur dioxide B. Carbon monoxide C. Nitrogen oxides D. Ozone
Question 29: From the text, what can we infer about the history of air pollution laws?
A. Laws have evolved over time due to a better understanding of pollutants.
B. Laws have always remained the same since their creation.
C. Laws in the past only targeted natural pollution.
D. Health and environmental effects were ignored in early laws.
Question 30: Why was the reading text on air pollutants written?
A. To provide historical context on air pollution laws
B. To stress the causes and effects of human-generated pollutants
D. To inform pollution's impact on health and the environment
C. To explain natural air pollution in the environment

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PART B: WRITING
Time: 40 minutes

Part 1.
This is part of a letter you received from an English friend.

That’s everything about my house. I love it! What about your house? What do

you like most about it?

Now write a letter to your pen friend. In your letter, you should mention:
- kind of house you are living in,
- what you have in the house,
- what you like most about the house.
Write your letter in about 100-150 words
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Part 2.
Write a paragraph about a memorable party that you went to.
In your paragraph, you should mention:
- where and when was the party,
- what activities you did there,
- why it was memorable to you.
Write your paragraph in 100-150 words.
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