--PRACTICE TEST 18

I. LISTENING
HƯỚNG DẪN PHẦN THI NGHE HIỂU:
- Bài thi gồm 4 phần, mỗi phần được nghe 2 lần, mở đầu và kết thúc bài nghe có tín hiệu.
- Mọi hướng dẫn cho thí sinh đã có trong bài Nghe.
Part 1. For question 1-5, listen to a talk about the kitchen-related risks and decide whether the statements
are True (T), False (F) or Not Given (NG). Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes
provided.
1. Avocado-related injuries in 2018 primarily occurred due to accidents with kitchen knives.
2. According to the text, ovens and ranges are the leading causes of kitchen-related injuries in the US.
3. High-heat cooking methods are associated with higher levels of pollutants than lower-heat methods
4. Transitioning from solid fuels to electric appliances is unbeneficial for the magnetic fields of the Earth.
5. A handful of governments are espousing the transference from gas to electric appliances
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Part 2. For questions 6-10, listen to a piece of nightly news and answer the questions. Write NO MORE
THAN FIVE WORDS taken from the recording for each answer.

6. What issues is Aerospace Giant Boeing struggling to recover from?

_____________________________________________
7. Which organization is raising their voice to ask for higher salary and benefits?
_____________________________________________
8. How is Boeing's assembly line production anticipated to be as a result of the strike?
_____________________________________________
9. What percentage of union members voted against Boeing’s latest offer?
_____________________________________________

10. What have the federal investigations recently revealed about the company?
____________________________________________
Part 3: You will hear a radio interview in which a choreographer, Alice Reynolds, discusses a dance
programme. For questions 11-15, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which fits best according to what you
hear.

Page 1 of 15 pages
11. How is the programme designed to help youngsters?
A. by getting them to talk about their feelings.
B. by encouraging them to loosen up.
C. by enabling them to convey their thoughts.
D. by giving them a way to entertain themselves
12. When talking about the nature of communication, Alice reveals that____________________
A. teenagers are quick to react to a number of emotions.
B. people who learn to show how they feel can articulate better.
C. shy youngsters find the programme more useful than others.
D. young people have a lot of pent-up negative emotions.
13. What aspect of the programme encourages teenagers to face their troubles?
A. the social side of dance
B. the freedom of the movement
C. the obligation to interact
D. the release of feelings
14. Alice contrasts professional and amateur dancers in order to
A. highlight the usefulness of the programme.
B. emphasize the use of emotions in dance.
C. illustrate the difference between teaching styles.
D. explain the ability to recognize feelings.
15. What point does Alice make about the study into a person’s personality?
A. It found that certain types of people dance better than others.
B. Personality has a bearing on people’s willingness to participate.
C. Who people are can be recognized through their movements.
D. It revealed that most people try to hide their true nature.
Your answers:
11. 12. 13. 14. 15.
Part 4. For questions 16-25, listen to a talk on The Dyson Sphere- an ultimate energy source and supply
the blanks with the missing information. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS and/or A NUMBER
taken from the recording for each blank.
We will need to construct The Dyson Sphere, a megastructure that (16) __________________an entire star
to harness its power output. A more practical Dyson Sphere concept would be a massive swarm of
(17)______ _______________that gather solar energy and direct it somewhere else. Since the Sun is so
large, we need a lot of satellites to circle it; if each satellite is a square kilometer, it would require about
(18)___ _______________satellites and (19) _________________________of materials. In addition to the
energy required to assemble the components and transport them to their respective locations around the Sun,
we also require (20) ___________________________to be established in space before we can begin
construction. However, it is quite probable that they will resemble massive mirrors that refract sunlight into
central collecting stations, like in (21)_________________________on Earth. Four main technological
components are needed: launch equipment, miners, refiners, and solar collectors. The solar collectors will
provide the energy needed to (22)_______________________the planet. Mirrors and solar panels supply
the energy needed to power our miners, which (23)_____________________important materials from the
planet's surface, and our refiners which extract valuable elements and (24)__________________them into
our swarm satellites. The high-speed kind of railgun- a longer (25) ____________________________is
used to launch our satellites. When our swarm satellites are launched, they will be tightly packed and unfold
like a giant origami.
Your answers:
16. 21.
17. 22.
18. 23.
19. 24.
20. 25.
Page 2 of 15 pages
II. LEXICO-GRAMMAR
Part 1. For questions 26-45, choose the correct answer A, B, C, or D to each of the following questions.
Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
26. Russia launches a _______pre-dawn invasion by land, air and sea, with bombings in several cities amid
international condemnation.
A. full-blown B. full- grown C. full-fledged D. full-scale
27. During the meeting George couldn’t resist ______ with his ‘helpful hints’ about investments.
A. chiming in B. chickening in C. raking in D. packing in
28. We are not known ________ at all, and as we grow, we feel a progress lack of individual personality.
A. gruellingly [Link] C. expensively D. brusquely
29. News of the stock market crash caused a ______ of panic among financial traders in the city.
A. wave B. piece C. clump D. column
30. The singer appeared in a game show in a ______ attempt to explain her scandal.
A. gripping B. forlorn C. transient D. pertinent
31. Having led the ______ lifestyle in his youth, Tom was tormented with guilt when thinking of his mother.
A. dissolute B. insolvent C. irresolute D. insolent
32. The ______ on the copyright page was nearly identical to the Bayside Press logo, but instead of a seagull
there was a black bird.
A. prototype B. paradigm C. emblem D. epitome
33. The minister was given _________for settling his private matters during his working hours.
A. a rap over the knuckles B. got hitched C. drawn the blank D. rocked the boat
34. Since his father left on holiday, Jeffrey has been throwing his __________about in the shop.
A. weight B. mass C. figure D. body
35. One of the reasons people are ______ with Musk is that he says cool things and makes they believe in him.
A. infatuated B. mesmerized C. entangled D. seduced
36. I felt suddenly ______, not knowing if it was from hunger, tiredness or this surprising piece of news.
A. faint-hearted B. weak-willed C. light-headed D. bloody-minded
37. A rapidly increasing body of cognitive research suggests that sleep allows us to __________ and process
information that has been acquired during the day
A. associate B. separate C. appreciate D. consolidate
38. By successfully ______ two seconds off his last best time, our son has not only won the first prize but
also set the world record.
A. cutting B. clipping C. sizing D. gashing
39. The newspapers wrote that our team had given a good _______of themselves in the semi-final.
A. performance B. display C. account D. achievement
40. Two women and three men sit close together but are ______ indifferent to one another.
A. showily B. ostensibly C. audaciously D. benignly
41. Richard is_________ confident, and this has helped him climb the corporate ladder.
A. acutely B. blissfully C. supremely D. immensely
42. Sandra always _________when she meets new people; she’s very self-conscious.
A. clams up B. beavers away C. weasels out D. monkeys around
43. His commitment to democracy and free markets has________ with his political fortunes.
A. cut and dried B. done and dusted C. tried and tested D. waxed and waned
44. The volunteers at Safe Abode homeless shelter are _______in their commitment as they understand that
everyone can unexpectedly find themselves destitute.
A. unstinting B. compassionate C. philanthropic D. altruistic
45. He was pulled in by the police for _________, but the reality is that he was simply and innocently
passing the time watching the passers-by go about their daily business.
A. weaseling out of home B. loitering with intent
C. being on the margin D. throwing a curve ball
Your answers:
26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34 35
36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45.

Page 3 of 15 pages
Part 2. For questions 46-50, write the correct form of each
bracketed word in the corresponding numbered space
provided in the column on the right.
46.__similarity___________________
46. She has included photographs in the book to lend
________to the story. (SIMILAR) 47.___entourage__________________
47. The train has its own telephone exchange and electricity
generating car, plus office accommodations and restaurant 48.___equidistant__________________
cars for the royal _____ (TOUR).
48. Liskeard and Callington are basically ______ from here, 49.____preponderance_________________
so it’ll take about the same time to get to either of them.
(DISTANT) 50.______safety_______________
49. At one time, for the ______ of people needing to make the
journey, the only way to travel from Europe to America was
by ship. (PONDER)
50. All machines need a ___________ device that helps to
prevent unexpected situations. (SAFE)

Page 4 of 15 pages
Part 3: The passage below contains 5 grammatical mistakes. For question 51 to 55, UNDERLINE the
mistakes and WRITE YOUR CORRECTIONS in the numbered space provided in the column on the
right.

Aromatherapy is the most widely use Example : use  used

complementary therapy in the National Health
Service, and doctors use it most often for treating 51._interact->interacting____________________
dementia. For elderly patients who have difficulty
interact verbally, and to whose conventional 52.__whose->whom___________________
medicine has little to offer, aromatherapy can bring
benefits in terms of better sleep, improving 53.___improving->improved__________________
motivation, and less disturbed behaviour. So the
thinking goes. But last year, a systematic review of 54.____not->no_________________
health care databases found almost not evidence
that aromatherapy is effective in the treatment of 55.______suggesting->suggest_______________
dementia. Other findings suggesting that
aromatherapy works only if you believe it will.

III. READING
Part 1. For questions 56-65, read the passage and fill each of the following numbered blanks with ONE
suitable word. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.

Recent studies show that contagious yawning is related to our predisposition toward empathy— the ability
to understand and (56) _____connect_______ with others’ emotional states. So empathy is important, sure,
but how could it (57) _____possibly_______be related to contagious yawning? Leave it (58)
____up________ to psychologists at Leeds University in England to answer that. In their study, researchers
selected 40 psychology students and 40 engineering students. Generally, psychology students are (59)
____more________ likely to feel empathy for others, while engineering students are thought to be
concerned with objects and science. Each student was (60) ___made_________ to wait individually in a
waiting room, along with an undercover assistant who yawned 10 times in (61) ____as________many
minutes. The students were (62) _____then_______administered an emotional quotient test: students were
shown 40 images of eyes and asked what emotion (63) ____each________ one displayed. The results of the
test (64) ______support______the idea that contagious yawning is linked to empathy. The psychology
students—whose future profession requires them to focus on others—yawned contagiously an average of 5.5
times in the waiting room and scored 28 out of 40 on the emotional test. The engineering students—who
tend to focus on things like numbers and systems—yawned an average of 1.5 times and scored 25.5 out of
40 on the (65) ___emotional_________ test. The difference doesn’t sound like much, but researchers
consider it significant. Strangely enough, women, who are generally considered more emotionally attuned,
didn’t score any higher than men.
Your answers:
56. 57. 58. 59. 60.
61. 62. 63. 64. 65.

Part 2. Read the following passage and do the tasks that follow.
Architecture in Britain
From the Middle Ages to the 20th century, what are the influences and movements that have shaped the
changing face of British architecture?
Architecture is about evolution, not revolution. It used to be thought that once the Romans pulled out of
Britain in the fifth century, their elegant villas, carefully planned towns and engineering marvels like
Hadrian’s Wall simply fell into decay as British culture was plunged into the Dark Ages. It took the Norman
Conquest of 1066 to bring back the light, and the Gothic cathedral-builders of the Middle Ages played an
important part in the revival of British culture. However, the truth is not as simple as that. Romano-British
culture—and that included architecture along with language, religion, political organization and the arts—
survived long after the Roman withdrawal. And although the Anglo-Saxons had a sophisticated building
Page 5 of 15 pages
style of their own, little survives to bear witness to their achievements as the vast majority of Anglo-Saxon
buildings were made of wood.
Even so, the period between the Norman landing at Pevensey in 1066 and the day in 1485 when Richard III
lost his horse and his head at Bosworth, ushering in the Tudors and the Early Modern period, marks a rare
flowering of British buildings. And it is all the more remarkable because the underlying ethos of medieval
architecture was “fitness for purpose”. The great cathedrals and parish churches that lifted up their towers to
heaven were not only acts of devotion in stone; they were also fiercely functional buildings. Castles served
their particular purpose and their battlements and turrets were for use rather than ornament. The rambling
manor houses of the later Middle Ages, however, were primarily homes, their owners achieving respect and
maintaining status by their hospitality and good lordship rather than the grandeur of their buildings. In a
sense, the buildings of the 16th century were also governed by fitness for purpose—only now, the purpose
was very different. In domestic architecture, in particular, buildings were used to display status and wealth.
This stately and curious workmanship showed itself in various ways. A greater sense of security led to more
outward-looking buildings, as opposed to the medieval arrangement where the need for defense created
houses that faced inward onto a courtyard or series of courtyards. This allowed for much more in the way of
exterior ornament. The rooms themselves tended to be bigger and lighter—as an expensive commodity, the
use of great expanses of glass was in itself a statement of wealth. There was also a general move towards
balanced and symmetrical exteriors with central entrances. With the exception of Inigo Jones (1573-1652),
whose confident handling of classical detail and proportion set him apart from all other architects of the
period, most early 17th century buildings tended to take the innocent exuberance of late Tudor to work one
step further. But during the 1640s and 50s, the Civil War and its aftermath sent many gentlemen and nobles
to the Continent either to escape the fighting or, when the war was lost, to follow Charles II into exile. There
they came into contact with French, Dutch and Italian architecture and, with Charles’s restoration in 1660,
there was a flurry of building activity as royalists reclaimed their property and built themselves houses
reflecting the latest European trends. The British Baroque was a reassertion of authority, an expression of
absolutist ideology by men who remembered a world turned upside down during the Civil War. The style is
heavy and rich, sometimes overblown and melodramatic. The politics which underpin it are questionable,
but its products are breathtaking.
The huge glass-and-iron Crystal Palace, designed by Joseph Paxton to house the Great Exhibition of 1851,
shows another strand to 19th century architecture—one which embraced new industrial processes. But it
wasn’t long before even this confidence in progress came to be regarded with suspicion. Mass production
resulted in buildings and furnishings that were too perfect, as the individual craftsman no longer had a major
role in their creation. Railing against the dehumanizing effects of industrialization, reformers like John
Ruskin and William Morris made a concerted effort to return to hand-crafted, pre-industrial manufacturing
techniques. Morris’s influence grew from the production of furniture and textiles until by the 1880s a
generation of principled young architects was following his call for good, honest construction.
The most important trends in early 20th century architecture simply passed Britain by. Whilst Gropius was
working on cold, hard expanses of glass, and Le Corbusier was experimenting with the use of reinforced
concrete frames, we had staid establishment architects like Edwin Lutyens producing Neo-Georgian and
Renaissance country houses for an outmoded landed class. In addition, there was slightly batty architect
craftsmen, the heirs of William Morris, still trying to turn the clock back to before the Industrial Revolution
by making chairs and spurning new technology. Only a handful of Modern Movement buildings of any real
merit were produced here during the 1920s and 1930s, and most of these were the work of foreign architects
such as Serge Chermayeff, Berthold Lubetkin and Erno Gold-finger who had settled in this country.
After the Second World War, the situation began to change. The Modern Movement’s belief in progress and
the future struck a chord with the mood of post-war Britain and, as reconstruction began under Attlee’s
Labour government in 1945, there was a desperate need for cheap housing which could be produced quickly.
The use of prefabricated elements, metal frames, concrete cladding and the absence of decoration—all of
which had been embraced by Modernists abroad and viewed with suspicion by the British—were adopted to
varying degrees for housing developments and schools. Local authorities, charged with the task of
rebuilding city centres, became important patrons of architecture. This represented a shift away from the
private individuals who had dominated the architectural scene for centuries.
Since the War, it has been corporate bodies like these local authorities, together with national and
multinational companies, and large educational institutions, which have dominated British architecture. By
the late 1980s the Modern Movement, unfairly blamed for the social experiments implicit in high-rise
Page 6 of 15 pages
housing, had lost out to irony and spectacle in the shape of post-modernism, with its cheerful borrowings
from anywhere and any period. But now, in the new Millennium, even post-modernism is showing signs of
age. What comes next?

Questions 66-70
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write your answers in boxes 66-70 on your answer sheet.
66. After Romans left Britain, ____________________
A. their achievements were neglected. B. their cultural legacy endured.
C. there was an abrupt culture change. D. their buildings were well protected.
67. Medieval architecture aspired all above to be____________________
A. immense B. useful C. decorative D. durable.
68. Which of the following architectural features characterize the 16th-century architecture in Britain?
A. They faced inward. B. They had plain exteriors.
C. They had small windows. D. They used symmetry in architecture.
69. How did the 17th-century British buildings come to be influenced by styles from continental Europe?
A. Fugitives brought ideas from continental Europe back to Britain.
B. British craftsmen went to work in other countries.
C. Monarchs encouraged cultural contact with other countries.
D. Buildings were restored by architects in European countries.
70. What drove building designs after the Second World War?
A. Conservatism B. a housing shortage C. foreign architecture D. wealthy patronage
Your answers:
66. 67. 68. 69. 70.

Questions 71 – 78
Complete the sentences below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 71-78 on your answer sheet.
71. Because most Anglo-Saxon buildings were constructed from____wood_________, few of them have
survived.
72. The owners of medieval manor houses in Britain earned their reputation through their
____hospitality_________and elegance.
73. The 16th-century building was designed to show evidence of
___status_________and____wealth_________.
74. In the 16th century, the use of glass was fashionable, even though it was an____expensive
commodity_________.
75. Indigo Jones was particularly skillful in designing architecture in the____classical_________ style.
76. Though William Morris designed ____furniture_________and_____textile________, his emphasis on
handcrafting influenced architects.
77. In the early 20th century, architects like ___Edwin Lutyens__________were producing conservative
designs.
78. Before the Second World War, modern movement buildings in Britain were mainly designed
by____local authorities_________.

Page 7 of 15 pages
Your answers:
71. 75.
72. 76.
73. 77.
74. 78.

Part 3. In the passage below, seven paragraphs have been removed. For questions 79-85, read the
passage and choose from the paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap. There is ONE extra
paragraph which you do not need to use. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes
provided.
Do fish have feelings?
Research suggesting certain species can learn, experience pain and form relationships has implications for
our attitude to world’s most-eaten animal. When scientists demonstrated a small tropical fish – the cleaner
wrasse – could recognise itself in a mirror, Prof Culum Brown’s first thought was: “This is the coolest thing
ever.”
79. D

In the Osaka City University study, a small number of fish had a mark placed under their throats while under
anesthesia. When given a mirror, the fish oriented their bodies to see the mark and tried to rub it off by
scraping themselves on rocks. Primates, elephants and dolphins previously passed the test. But the results in
fish proved so controversial it took five years for the paper to be published. Even then, many scientists
refused to accept the results.

80. B

In recent decades, researchers have demonstrated that along with visual self-awareness, certain species have
the capacity to learn, remember, experience pain and form relationships. Many of these qualities imply
sentience, the capacity to feel positive and negative experiences. “Science is so far in front of society that
it’s going to take a monumental shift in human behavior to catch up,” he says. For instance, Brown says the
popular misconception that fish have short memories has “absolutely no foundation”. His research on
sharks found them to be intelligent and inquisitive creatures with long memories.

81. F

The scrutiny of the mirror test led to more studies, including one published this week showing cleaner
wrasse will use a mirror to check their size before deciding whether to attack another fish. Fish now have the
best supported evidence of any animal for mirror self-recognition, Brown says, yet “people still don’t
believe it”.

82. C

“You can keep many thousands of them in the lab, very simply and cheaply,” Ling says. Ling says research
into whether fish experience sensations like pain or fear has come a long way in the decades since James
Rose, a zoologist, argued fish were incapable of pain given their different brain structure to humans.

83. E

Ling says there’s a need for similar studies in other fish. “There are lots of public concerns about how some
of these charismatic species, like the big sharks, are treated these days.” Sharks don’t seem to possess the
nerve cells, called nociceptors, that enable the sensation of pain, but that’s no reason to treat them poorly, he
says.
Page 8 of 15 pages
84. H

Psychologist Dr Michael Philipp, from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, says people’s attitudes
towards animal welfare are influenced by their own perceptions of that animal’s capacity to think and feel.
For example, his research shows the acceptability of euthanasia increases for animals that are “delicious to
eat” but decreases for those considered “beautiful”. He says other research shows that when animals
are categorized as food or experimental animals, it motivates people to deny the cognitive abilities of those
animals.

85. A

Brown says while arguments around fish sentience, pain and perception might seem complex, the upshot is
straightforward. “If they have the capacity to suffer and feel negative things, then we have an obligation to
stop that whenever we come across it,” he says. “You would treat the fish as you would any other animal – a
cow, a cat, a dog, or a bird – the same sort of decency and respect for that animal’s life.”

Missing paragraphs:

A. Countries and regions are beginning to recognize animal sentience, with New Zealand and the ACT
extending this to fish. In New Zealand, experts are raising questions now about the onset of sentience in fish.
Most zebrafish used in research are juveniles and specifically excluded from protection under the Animal
Welfare Act. But advice from the National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee says there is “persuasive
evidence to suggest that fish become sentient well before the transition from larvae to adult”.

B. Brown says the response “shows beautifully” the bias against the idea of fish being intelligent –
particularly when parts of the scientific community instead thought, “Shit! The mirror self-recognition test is
broken.” Globally, fish are the most eaten animal (an estimated 1.1-2.2tn are caught annually). They are also
the most common pet, and one of the main animals used in science and medical research. Yet Brown says
most of the public barely even consider them to be animals.

C. Pain in fish, an important consideration for animal welfare, is also contested. Associate professor Nick
Ling, a fish ecologist from the University of Waikato, says it’s hard to know whether a fish is experiencing
pain “because you can’t ask it”. But finding out is important, particularly as the use of zebrafish in medical
and scientific experiments has “massively increased”, he says. More than 5m zebrafish are used research
annually for studying human diseases, genetics, physiology and drug development

D. Brown, an ecologist who researches fish behaviour and intelligence at Sydney’s Macquarie University,
says the mirror self-recognition test – developed in the 1970s – is considered the gold standard for evidence
of visual self-awareness in animals.

E. Since then, prolific research by Prof Lynne Sneddon at the University of Gothenburg has provided
evidence that some bony fish, like the rainbow trout, experience body and behavioural responses consistent
with pain. For example, trout injected with bee venom were observed rocking from side to side and
increased their gill breathing rate.

F. He is among a group of scientists and philosophers to sign the New York declaration on animal
consciousness earlier this year, which attempts to bridge the gap between science and society. Drawing on
evidence, the declaration says there is “at least a realistic possibility of conscious experience in all
vertebrates (including reptiles, amphibians, and fishes)”.

G. The researchers tested for pharmaceuticals in commonly caught fish. The highest concentrations were for
antidepressants, including venlafaxine (150 micrograms a kilogram) in redfin perch and sertraline (100
μg/kg) in eel. They said there was no significant risk to human health, but the regulator was monitoring the
situation. High levels of pharmaceuticals in fish may affect the way they behave.
Page 9 of 15 pages
H. While Ling accepts that some species feel pain, he is cautious about generalizing. “Fish are an incredibly
diverse group,” he says. There are thousands of species ranging from huge ocean sunfish to minuscule fish
only a few millimeters long. In biology, concepts like pain and sentience are not binary or straightforward,
he says. “These things that we try to understand in other animals, like feelings and emotions and
consciousness and pain are really complex things, because the only animal that we know experiences those
things is ourselves.”
Your answers:
79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85.

Part 4: For question 86-95, read an article on desert formation and choose the answer A, B, C or D
which you think fits best according to the text. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered
boxes provided.
DESERT FORMATION
Research suggesting certain species can learn, experience pain and form relationships has implications for
our attitude to world’s most-eaten animal. When scientists demonstrated a small tropical fish – the cleaner
wrasse – could rec It has been estimated that an additional one-fourth of the Earth’s land surface is
threatened by this process.
Desertification is accomplished primarily through the loss of stabilizing natural vegetation and the ensuing
accelerated erosion of the soil by wind and water. In some cases, the loose soil is blown completely away,
leaving a stony surface. In other cases, the finer particles may be removed, while the sand-sized particles are
accumulated to form mobile hills or ridges of sand.
Even in the areas that retain a soil cover, the reduction of vegetation typically results in the loss of the soil’s
ability to absorb substantial quantities of water. The impact of raindrops on the loose soil tends to transfer
fine clay particles into the tiniest soil spaces, sealing them and producing a surface that allows very little
water penetration. Water absorption is greatly reduced, consequently runoff is increased, resulting in
accelerated erosion rates. The gradual drying of the soil caused by its diminished ability to absorb water
results in the further loss of vegetation, so that a cycle of progressive surface deterioration is established.
In some regions, the increase in desert areas is occurring largely as the result of a trend toward drier climatic
conditions. Continued gradual global warming has produced an increase in aridity for some areas over the
past few thousand years. The process may be accelerated in subsequent decades if global warming resulting
from air pollution seriously increases.
There is little doubt, however, that desertification in most areas results primarily from human activities
rather than natural processes. The semiarid lands bordering the deserts exist in a delicate ecological balance
and are limited in their potential to adjust to increased environmental pressures. Expanding populations are
subjecting the land to increasing pressures to provide them with food and fuel. In wet periods, the land may
be able to respond to these stresses. During the dry periods that are common phenomena along the desert
margins, though, the pressure on the land is often far in excess of its diminished capacity, and desertification
results.
Four specific activities have been identified as major contributors to the desertification processes:
overcultivation, overgrazing, firewood gathering, and overirrigation. The cultivation of crops has expanded
into progressively drier regions as population densities have grown. These regions are especially likely to
have periods of severe dryness, so that crop failures are common. Since the raising of most crops requires
the prior removal of the natural vegetation, crop failures leave extensive tracts of land devoid of a plant
cover and susceptible to wind and water erosion.
[A] The raising of livestock is a major economic activity in semiarid lands, where grasses are generally the
dominant type of natural vegetation. [B] The consequences of an excessive number of livestock grazing in
an area are the reduction of the vegetation cover and the trampling and pulverization of the soil. [C] This is
usually followed by the drying of the soil and accelerated erosion. [D].
Firewood is the chief fuel used for cooking and heating in many countries. The increased pressures of
expanding populations have led to the removal of woody plants so that many cities and towns are
surrounded by large areas completely lacking in trees and shrubs. The increasing use of dried animal waste
as a substitute fuel has also hurt the soil because this valuable soil conditioner and source of plant nutrients
is no longer being returned to the land.

Page 10 of 15 pages
The final major human cause of desertification is soil salinization resulting from overirrigation. Excess
water from irrigation sinks down into the water table. If no drainage system exists, the water
table rises, bringing dissolved salts to the surface. The water evaporates and the salts are left behind, creating
a white crustal layer that prevents air and water from reaching the underlying soil.
The extreme seriousness of desertification results from the vast areas of land and the tremendous
numbers of people affected, as well as from the great difficulty of reversing or even slowing the
process. Once the soil has been removed by erosion, only the passage of centuries or millennia will enable
new soil to form. In areas where considerable soil remains, though, a rigorously enforced program of land
protection and cover-crop planting may make it possible to reverse the present deterioration of the surface.

86. According to paragraph 3, the loss of natural vegetation has which of the following consequences for
soil?
A. Increased stony content B. Reduced water absorption
C. Increased numbers of spaces in the soil D. Reduced water runoff
87. The word ensuing in the passage is closest in meaning to ______________.
A. subsequent B. previous C. erstwhile D. continuous
88. According to paragraph 5, in dry periods, border areas have difficulty ____________.
A. adjusting to stresses created by settlement B. retaining their fertility after desertification
C. providing water for irrigating crops D. attracting populations in search of food and fuel
89. According to paragraph 6，which of the following is often associated with raising crops?
A. Lack of proper irrigation techniques B. Failure to plant crops suited to the particular area
C. Removal of the original vegetation D. Excessive use of dried animal waste
90. The phrase devoid of in the passage is closest in meaning to
A. consisting of B. hidden by C. except for D. lacking in
91. According to paragraph 9, the grounds absorption of excess water is a factor in desertification because it
can ______________
A. interfere with the irrigation of land B. limit the evaporation of water
C. require more absorption of air by the soil D. bring salts to the surface
92. All of the following are mentioned in the passage as contributing to desertification EXCEPT _______
A. soil erosion B. global warming
C. insufficient irrigation D. the raising of livestock
93. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the
passage? Incorrect answer choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
A. Desertification is a significant problem because it is so hard to reverse and affects large areas of land and
great numbers of people.
B. Slowing down the process of desertification is difficult because of population growth that has spread over
large areas of land.
C. The spread of deserts is considered a very serious problem that can be solved only if large numbers of
people in various countries are involved in the effort.
D. Desertification is extremely hard to reverse unless the population is reduced in the vast areas affected.
94. It can be inferred from the passage that the author most likely believes which of the following about the
future of desertification?
A. Governments will act quickly to control further desertification.
B. The factors influencing desertification occur in cycles and will change in the future.
C. Desertification will continue to increase.
D. Desertification win soon occur in all areas of the world.
95. Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence can be added to the passage.
This economic reliance on livestock in certain regions makes large tracts of land susceptible to
overgrazing.
Where would the sentence best fit?
A. [A] B. [B] C. [C] D. [D]

Your answer
86. 87. 88. 89. 90.

Page 11 of 15 pages
91. 92. 93. 94. 95.

Part 5: You are going to read an extract from a book on speech convergence and divergence. For
questions 96 – 105, choose from the sections (A-F). The sections may be chosen more than once.
Speech: Convergence and Divergence
A. There are definitely occasions when we all accommodate to the speech of others. By the term
accommodation is meant the tendency to imitate those features of speech, namely, register, pronunciation,
frequency of phrasesand grammatical patterns used, intonation, and so on – that is, one’s linguistic
repertoire – that are adopted by our interlocutors. For instance, when a friend drops his aitches, thus
pronouncing “house” as “ouse”, and we tend to do the same, at least in his presence, we have an example of
speech convergence, in that we tend to converge towards his pronunciation. Furthermore, when we have the
tendency to distinguish ourselves in speech, we have an example of speech divergence, in that we diverge
from the speech of others. Imagine the conversation between a worker using vernacular forms, and a
Professor of English Literature using formal language. As often as not, speech convergence signals that
speakers are on the same wavelength, whereas speech divergence shows that respondents may deliberately
contradict each other in choosing different models of speech.

B. Let us see different ways in which a person may accommodate to the speech of his or her interlocutor and
the reasons for doing so. For example, a teacher addressing his students or a mother talking to her baby may
simplify their vocabulary and grammatical patterns in their attempts to make themselves understood. In this
case, they converge downwards towards their addressees’ less advanced linguistic proficiency. How else
could they put their message across? When a sociologist tries to explain a phenomenon, using simple
vocabulary, he actually converges downwards towards all those who are not versed in the jargon. Of course,
speech convergence involves many other cases, as well; when an acquaintance of ours pronounces “leak” as
“lick”, it is probably the case that, out of politeness, we will ignore her mistake and go on with the
conversation.

C. We may have a vested interest in pleasing our addressee, i.e, we may curry favour with her because we
want her to lend us some money or help us with our Maths project! The same applies to a young employee
who, aspiring to a salary rise or promotion, uses formal languages when addressing his employers. In other
words, he converges upwards towards them. Moreover, affective language and phatic expressions, such as
Hello, how are you this morning? Or I’m awfully sorry, are clear examples of speech convergence,
inasmuch as they express solidarity, and enhance rapport. Finally, consider the speech of those coming from
the same region or socio-economic and political background. Fashion designers coming from Athens or
shepherds hailing from Crete tend to use much the same pronunciation and style.

D. For obvious reasons, a speaker may deliberately diverge from the speech of his interlocutor, thus
signaling his intention to disagree with, or even repudiate, him. For example, it is often the case that a
fifteen-year-old boy will regularly resort to swearing, especially when addressing his friends, as a means of
running counter to his parents’ “authority”. At any rate, a lot of young people have a proclivity towards a
different kind of register and pronunciation, so they may come out with, say meeding instead of meeting. In
the same vein, minority ethnic groups out to maintain their cultural identity and distinctiveness may use their
own linguistic variety in interaction with majority group members. Another case of speech convergence is
the linguistic behaviour of black people, who speak what has been called Black English, or that of French
people, who do not deign, so to speak, to use any other language, even when asking for help! Women’s
speech exhibits marked differences compared to the speech of men, provided that the former use more polite
expressions, and seem to adopt standard forms, while the latter tend to exercise their “right” to do as they
see fit. A clear example of speech divergence is the use of metaphors in Literature, in that the message
cloaked in this kind of register is accessible only to those who are conversant with the code. In this way, the
members of certain groups or communities can erect walls that, on the one hand, exclude the ones who
cannot penetrate the mind of the speaker or the writer, but on the other help cultivate intimacy and sense of
community.

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E. Certainly, we have only briefly touched upon the various ways in which one may converge or diverge in
speech, and the reasons for doing so. The chief aim is to draw our attention to a wide diversity of factors –
socio-political ad economic background, sex, age and status, and so forth – underpinning language use, as
well as to raise some questions that may, in the long run, prove instrumental in opening up new perspectives
and methods of investigation.

In which section are the following mentioned?

96. The topic is inexhaustible.
97. A definition is provided.
98. People sometimes avoid correcting others.
99. We use language to get things done in our favour.
100. Some expressions are used to improve our relation to others.
101. Speakers accommodate their speech to make it easier for others to follow them.
102. There are linguistic differences between the sexes.
103. People can cut themselves off from the outside world through language.
104. People working in the same field are bound to speak in much the same way.
105. Many parameters are at work when it comes to language use.
Your answers:
96. 97. 98. 99. 100.
101. 102. 103. 104. 105.

IV. WRITING
Part 1. Read the following extract and use your own words to summarize it. Your summary should be
between 100 and 120 words.
According to Jean Piaget’s famous theory of early human cognition, infants acquire intelligence only
through the physical actions they perform with objects around them. To him, cognitive ability is not innate
but is acquired over time through interaction with the phenomenal world. Newborns practise reflex
behaviours and slowly gain control over them through repetition. Over the course of their first few months,
they learn to perform actions over and over again, such as sucking their thumbs, which give them some sort
of pleasure or satisfaction. In this stage, he maintained, they are still unable to fully anticipate or predict
events. From around four to eight months, infants begin to use what Piaget called secondary circular
reactions. These are secondary because they involve combining more than one process, e.g. shaking a rattle
and hearing it make noise. Through such actions, infants learn cause and effect and begin to realize that their
own actions can create subsequent reactions. To Piaget, these were no more than conditioned responses to
the connections between newly acquired actions and their effects on objects, and because these actions are
undifferentiated, he believed that they were not goal-directed activities and, thus, they are not intentional.
Therefore, only gradually do babies begin to realize that objects have an independent existence outside of
their own perception. Piaget argued that infants have extremely limited cognitive ability until around nine
months of age but reasoned that, by then, they have usually acquired the ability to recognize object
permanence. Piaget used object-hiding tasks to demonstrate this acquisition. For example, he would show
babies an object and then hide it under a cloth or cup and analyze whether infants perceived that the object
had disappeared or was merely hidden from view. Piaget based his conclusions on whether the infants
responded by removing the cloth or cup to find the concealed item. If they did, he surmised that they had at
least a limited apprehension of object permanence; however, he also suggested that this ability was
immature and limited because if the object was moved to another location, the infant would still try to find it
by removing the original item that obscured it. Nonetheless, according to Piaget, this stage represented the
first truly intelligent behavior in human cognitive development, and he believed it was the basis for all future
problem solving.

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Part 2. The graph below shows the impact of vaccinations on the incidence of whooping cough, a childhood
illness, between 1940 and 1990 in Britain. Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main
features and make comparisons where relevant. You should write about 150 words.

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Part 3. Write an essay of about 350 words on the following topic.
Task 2: Some people believe that a crime is a result of social problems and poverty, others think that crime
is a result of bad person’s nature.
Discuss both views and demonstrate your opinion.

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THE END
SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO KỲ THI CHỌN ĐỘI TUYỂN DỰ THI HỌC SINH GIỎI
HÀ TĨNH QUỐC GIA THPT
NĂM HỌC 2024 - 2025
ĐÁP ÁN CHÍNH THỨC
Môn thi: TIẾNG ANH
Ngày thi: 18/9/2024

I. LISTENING (5.5 điểm)

Part 1 (0.22 x 5 câu = 1.1 điểm)

1. T 2. F 3. T 4 .NG 5T

Part 2 (0.22 x 5 câu = 1.1 điểm)

6. (High-profile) accidents, lawsuits, (and) investigations
7. (The) Machinists Union
8. slow to a standstill

Page 17 of 15 pages
9. Nearly 95 (% / percent)
10. Breakdown in (Boeing’s) quality control

Part 3 (0.22 x 5 câu = 1.1 điểm)

11 C 12 B 13 D 14 A 15 C

Part 4 (0.22 x 10 câu = 2.2 điểm)

16 encompasses 21 concentrated solar power

17 orbiting panels 22 disassemble

18 30 quadrillion 23 trip-mine

19 100 quintillion tons 24 fabricate

20 a permanent infrastructure 25 electromagnetic track

II. LEXICO-GRAMMAR (3 điểm)

Part 1: (0.1 x 20 câu = 2.0 điểm)

26 D 27 A 28 B 29 A 30 B 31 A 32 C 33 A 34 A 35 A
36 C 37 D 38 B 39 C 40 D 41 C 42 A 43 D 44 A 45 B

Part 2: (0.1 x 5 câu = 0.5 điểm)

46. verisimility/ 47. entourage 48. equidistant 49. preponderance 50. fail-safe
verisimilitude

Part 3: (0.1 x 5 câu = 0.5 điểm)

51. interact  interacting
52. whose  whom
53. improving  improved
54. not  no
55. suggesting  suggest

III. READING (5.0 điểm)

Part 1: (0.1 x 10 câu = 1.0 điểm)

56. connect 57. possibly 58. up 59. more 60. made
61. as 62. then 63. each 64. support/ advocate 65. subsequent

Part 2: (0.1 x 13 câu = 1.3 điểm)

66. B 67.B 68.D 69.C 70. B

Page 18 of 15 pages
71. wood 75. classical
72. hospitality 76. furniture, textiles
73. status, wealth 77. Edwin Lutyens
74. expensive commodity 78. foreign architects

Part 3: (0.1 x 7 câu = 0.7 điểm)

79. D 80. B 81. F 82.C 83. E 84. H 85.A

Part 4: (0.1 x 10 câu = 1.0 điểm)

86. B 87. A 88. A 89. C 90. D
91. D 92. C 93. A 94. C 95. B

Part 5: (0.1 x 10 câu = 1.0 điểm)

96.E 97. A 98. B 99. C 100.C

101.B 102. D 103. D 104.C 105. E

IV. WRITING:
Part 1: Students summarize the passage including the main ideas:
- Jean Piaget’s theory of early human cognition through the observation of three phrases of a nine-
month baby.
- In babies’ first few months: they perform actions over and over again without fully predicting events
- Four to eight months: secondary circular reactions, dealing with more than one process, learn cause
and effect unintentionally
- around nine months: infants have the ability to recognize object permanence but immature, Piaget’s
object-hiding experiments. the first trully intelligent behavior in human cogntive development, basis
for future problem-solving.

Part 2:
- Overview: Prior to the vaccination, the number of cough cases was considerable, the rate of vaccine
uptake was in reverse proportion to the quantity of reported cough cases.
- From 1940 to 1956: no vaccine uptake, the number of cough cases was always over 60000, peaked at over
170 000 cases in 1942.
- The period 1949 to 1956 witnessed the surge in the reported cases always over 100 000, peak at around
170 000 cases.
- From 1956: the vaccine uptake began, a downward tendency in cough cases from over 80000 to 0 cases
in 2010.
- From 1970 to 1980, the vaccine uptake witnessed a drop to a bottom at around 30%, leading to the
increase in the number of cough cases ( around 60 000 cases).
- From 2000 to 2010, there was no cough case, resulting from the vacine uptake rate being always over
90%
Part 3:
Task achievement: The essay should:
 Sufficient address all requirements of the task.
 Develop relevant supporting ideas with explanations, examples, evidence, etc.
Organization: The essay should have:
 An introduction presenting a clear thesis statement introducing the points to be developed,
 Body paragraphs developing the points mentioned in the introduction,
Page 19 of 15 pages
 A conclusion summarizing the main points discussed in the essay.
Language use: The essay should:
 Demonstrate a wide variety of vocabulary and grammatical structures,
 Have correct use of words and mechanics,
 Maintain coherence, cohesion, and unity throughout.

Page 20 of 15 pages