Bài tập trắc nghiệm 60 phút Đoạn văn đọc hiểu - Tiếng Anh 12 - Đề số 8

Bài tập trắc nghiệm 60 phút Đoạn văn đọc hiểu - Tiếng Anh 12 - Đề số 8  trong loạt bài trắc nghiệm ôn luyện kiến thức về môn Tiếng Anh lớp 12 do cungthi.online biên soạn.

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Nội dung đề thi:

Câu 1:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:

A survey is a study, generally in the form of an interview or a questionnaire, which provides information concerning how people think and act. In the United States, the best-known surveys are the Gallup poll and the Harris poll. As anyone who watches the news during presidential campaigns knows, these polls have become an important part of political life in the United States. North Americans are familiar with the many “person on the street” interviews on local television news shows. While such interviews can be highly entertaining, they are not necessarily an accurate indication of public opinion. First, they reflect the opinions of only those people who appear at a certain location. Thus, such samples can be biased in favor of commuters, middle-class shoppers, or factory workers, depending on which area the new people select. Second, television interviews tend to attract outgoing people who are willing to appear on the air, while they frighten away others who may feel intimidated by a camera. A survey must be based on a precise, representative sampling if it is to genuinely reflect a broad range of the population. In preparing to conduct a survey, sociologists must exercise great care in the wording of questions. An effective survey question must be simple and clear enough for people to understand it. It must also be specific enough so that there are no problems in interpreting the results. Even questions that are less structured must be carefully phrased in order to elicit the type of information desired. Surveys can be indispensable sources of information, but only if the sampling is done properly and the questions are worded accurately. There are two main forms of surveys: the interview and the questionnaire. Each of these forms of survey research has its advantages. An interviewer can obtain a high response rate because people find it more difficult to turn down a personal request for an interview than to throw away a written questionnaire. In addition, an interviewer can go beyond written questions and probe for a subject’s underlying feelings and reasons. However, questionnaires have the advantage of being cheaper and more consistent.

Question: Which word is given definition in the text?         

A.

A: sampling

B.

B: poll

C.

C: survey

D.

D: interview

Câu 2:

Question 24: The author mentions Vivaldi and Tartini in passage as examples of composers whose music___________.    

Of all modern instruments, the violin is apparently one of the simplest. It consist in essence of a hollow, varnished wooden sound box, or resonator, and a long neck covered with a fingerboard, along which four strings are stretched at high tension. The beauty of design, shape, and decoration is no accident, the proportions of the instrument are determined entirely by acoustical considerations. Its simplicity of appearance is deceptive. About 70 parts are involved in the construction of a violin. Its tone and its outstanding range of expressiveness make it an ideal solo instrument. No less important, however, is its role as an orchestral and chamber instrument. In combination with the larger and deeper-sounding members of the same family, the violins form the nucleus of the modem symphony orchestra. The violin has been in existence since about 1550. Its importance as an instrument in its own right dates from the early 1600’s, when it first became standard in Italian opera orchestras. Its stature as an orchestral instrument was raised further when in 1626 Louis XIII of France established at his court the orchestra known as Les vinq-quatre violons du Roy (The King's 24 Violins), which was to become widely famous later in the century. In its early history, the violin had a dull and rather quiet tone resulting from the fact that the strings were thick and were attached to the body of the instrument very loosely. During the eighteenth and nineteenth century exciting technical changes were inspired by such composer-violinists as Vivaldi and Tartini. Their instrumental compositions demanded a fuller, clearer, and more brilliant tone that was produced by using thinner strings and a far higher string tension. Small changes had to be made to the violin's internal structure and to the fingerboard so that they could withstand the extra strain. Accordingly, a higher standard of performance was achieved, in terms of both facility and interpretation. Left-hand technique was considerably elaborated, and new fingering patterns on the fingerboard were developed for very high notes.

           

A.

A: had to be adapted to the violin

B.

B: demanded more sophisticated violins

C.

C: inspired more people to play the violin

D.

D: could be played by only their students

Câu 3:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:

It is commonly believed that school is where people go to get an education. Nevertheless, it has been said that today children interrupt their education to go to school. The difference between schooling and education implied by this remark is important. Education is much more open-ended and all-inclusive than schooling. Education knows no limits. It can take place anywhere, whether in the shower or on the job, whether in the kitchen or on a tractor. It includes both the formal learning that takes place in school and the whole universe of informal learning. The agent (doer) of education can vary from respected grandparents to the people arguing about politics on the radio, from a child to a famous scientist. Whereas schooling has a certain predictability, education quite often produces surprises. A chance conversation with a stranger may lead a person to discover how little is known of other religions. People receive education from infancy on. Education, then, is a very broad, inclusive term; it is a lifelong process, a process that starts long before the start of school, and one that should be a necessary part of one’s entire life. Schooling, on the other hand, is a specific, formalized process, whose general pattern varies little from one setting to the next. Throughout a country, children arrive at school at about the same time, take the assigned seats, are taught by an adult, use similar textbooks, do homework, take exams, and so on. The pieces of reality that are to be learned, whether they are the alphabet or an understanding of the workings of governments, have been limited by the subjects being taught. For example, high school students know that they are not likely to find out in their classes the truth about political problems in their society or what the newest filmmakers are experimenting with. There are clear and undoubted conditions surrounding the formalized process of schooling.

Question 21: What does the writer mean by saying ''education quite often produces surprises"?  

A.

A: Educators often produce surprises

B.

B: Informal learning often brings about unexpected results

C.

C: Success of informal learning is predictable

D.

D:  It's surprising that we know little about other religions

Câu 4:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions:       

During the 19th century, women in the United States organized and participated in a large number of reform movements, including movements to reorganize the prison system, improve education, ban the sale of alcohol, grant rights to people who were denied them, and, most importantly, free slaves. Some women saw similarities in the social status of women and slaves. Woman like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucy Stone were feminists and abolitionists who supported the rights of both women and blacks. A number of male abolitionists, including William Lloyd Garrison and Wendell Phillips, also supported the rights of women to speak and to participate equally with men in antislavery activities. Probably more than any other movement, abolitionism offered women a previously denied entry into politics. They became involved primarily in order to better their living conditions and improve the conditions of others.     

When the civil war ended in 1865, the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution adopted in 1868 and 1870 granted citizenship and suffrage to blacks but not to women. Discouraged but resolved, feminists worked tirelessly to influence more and more women to demand the right to vote. In 1869, the Wyoming Territory had yielded to demands by feminists, but the states on the East Coast resisted more stubbornly than before. A women’s suffrage bill had been presented to every Congress since 1878, but it continually failed to pass until 1920, when the Nineteenth Amendment granted women the right to vote.  

Question: What is the topic of the passage?         

A.

A. The 14th and 15th Amendment       

B.

B. Women’s sufferage       

C.

C. Abolitionists                

D.

D. The Woyming Territory  

Câu 5:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each questions:

A lot of advice is available for college leavers heading for their first job. In this article we consider the move to a second job. We are not concerned with those looking for a second temporary position while hunting for a permanent job. Nor are we concerned with those leaving an unsatisfactory job within the first few weeks. Instead, we will be dealing with those of you taking a real step on the career ladder, choosing a job to fit in with your ambitions now that you have learnt your way around, acquired some skills and have some idea of where you want to go. What sort of job should you look for? Much depends on your long-term aim. You need to ask yourself whether you want to specialize in a particular field, work your way up to higher levels of responsibility or out of your current employment into a broader field. Whatever you decide, you should choose your second job very carefully. You should be aiming to stay in it for two or three years. This job will be studied very carefully when you send your letter of application for your next job. It should show evidence of serious career planning. Most important, it should extend you, develop you and give you increasing responsibility. Incidentally, if you are interested in traveling, now is the time to pack up and go. You can do temporary work for a while when you return, pick up where you left off and get the second job then. Future potential employers will be relieved to see that you have got it out of your system, and are not likely to go off again. Juliette Davidson spend her first year after leaving St. Aldate’s College working for three lawyers. It was the perfect first job in that “OK ... they were very supportive people. I was gently introduced to the work, learnt my way around an office and improve my word processing skills. However, there was no scope for advancement. One day, I gave my notice, bought an air ticket and traveled for a year. Juliette now works as a Personal Assistant to Brenda Cleverdon, the Chief Executive of business in the Community. “In two and a half years I have become more able and my job has really grown,“ she says. “Right from the beginning my boss was very keen to develop me. My job title is the same as it was when I started but the duties have changed. From mainly typing and telephone work, I have progressed to doing most of the correspondence and budgets. I also have to deal with a variety of queries, coming from chairmen of large companies to people wanting to know how to start their own business. Brenda involves me in all her work but also gives me specific projects to do and events to organize.” 

Question: If you have a desire to travel, when does the writer suggest that you do it?         

A.

A. straight after you have left college         

B.

B. when you are unable to find a permanent job         

C.

C. after you have done some temporary work          

D.

D. between the first and second job  

Câu 6:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:

On March 15, Dunes View Middle School held a contest for school bands. Student bands tried out for the opportunity to perform at the school picnic, which will be held at the end of June. The winner of the contest was the band called Four Square. “We’re very proud that we won the contest and are excited to perform at the picnic,” says Peter Zandt, who plays the guitar in the band. “And since we hope to perform someday at other local places, like restaurants and parks, this will be a great first step.”

The contest was the creation of music teacher Mr. Lopez and drama teacher Ms. Cho. The two thought of the idea while discussing recent years’ school picnics. “The picnic is one of the biggest events of the year, but it has become a bit formulaic", said Ms. Cho. “The activities are the same every year. We thought that a performance by a student band would make the school picnic more interesting and fun.” Mr. Lopez, Ms. Cho, and three other teachers judged the contest, which took place in the gym. Eight student bands signed up to audition. The bands varied in their musical forms: There were several rock bands, a folk band, and even a jazz band. “I’m disappointed that my band didn’t win, but I think the judges made the right choice", says student Marisol Varga, a member of the folk trio called The Bell Girls. “Four Square is really good.”

To see if the bands could present a wide range of musical skills, the teachers asked them each to prepare two songs: One song with original words, and another in which students played instrumental music only. The judges finally chose the band Four Square as the winner of the contest. Four Square is a rock band with an unusual twist: It includes a violin player! The members of Four Square write their own songs and practice three times a week after school. Students and teachers agreed that the band competition was a big success. All are looking forward to the school picnic in June.  

Question:  The word "formulaic" is closest in meaning to___________.             

A.

A. expensive        

B.

B. uncertain        

C.

C. long        

D.

D. dull  

Câu 7:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:

In most of the earliest books for children, illustrations were an afterthought. But in the Caldecott “toy books”, which first appeared in 1878, they were almost as important as the lines of text, and occupied far more space in the book. One can almost read the story from the dramatic action in the pictures. Since then, thousands of successful picture books have been published in the United States and around the world. In the best, the words and illustrations seem to complement each other perfectly. Often a single person is responsible for both writing and illustrating the book. One of the greatest, and certainly one of the most successful, illustrator-authors was Dr. Seuss, whose real name was Theodor Geisel. His first children’s book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, hit the market in 1937, and the world of children’s literature was changed forever. Seuss’s playful drawings were a perfect complement to his engaging stories and unforgettable characters. In 1957, Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat became the first book in Random House’s best-selling series, Beginner Books, written by Seuss and several other authors. These combine outrageous illustrations of people, creatures, and plants, and playful stories written in very simple language. Dr. Seuss is not the only well-known author-illustrator, of course. There is Max Sendak, who wrote and illustrated Where the Wild Things Are, the story of a little boy named Max, who becomes king of the fierce (but funny) creatures that live in the Land of the Wilds Things. Robert McCloskey produced both the richly textured illustrations and delightful story of a family of ducks living in downtown Boston, Make Ways for Ducklings. Some books are produced by a collaborative author artist team. Author Margaret Wise Brown combined with illustrator Clement Hurd to produce two delightful books loved by very young children, Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny. Another example is the husband-and-wife team of writer Audrey Wood and illustrator Don Wood, who were responsible for King Bidgoods in the Bathtub and The Napping House. Wordless and nearly wordless picture books have become popular. With a little help, three and four-year-olds can follow the sequence of events, and they can understand the stories suggested in them. The marvel of books with few or no words is that they allow children and their parents the opportunity to tell and retell the same stories over and over in their own words. One of the most charming examples of a wordless book is Jan Omerod's Sunshine. Barbara Berger’s Grandfather Twilight and David Weisner’s Tuesday are examples of books containing only a few words. U.S. publishers have also drawn on illustrators from other countries whose original, imaginative works have brought their different visions to American children’s books. Among them are Leo Lionni from Italy, Feodor Rojankovsky from Russia, and Taro Yashimi from Japan.

Question: According to the passage, when was the world of children’s literature changed?         

A.

A: Before Seuss’s first children’s book hit the market.

B.

B: Before Seuss’s made playful drawings.

C.

C: After Seuss’s first children’s book hit the market.

D.

D: After Seuss’s book became Random House’s best-seller.

Câu 8:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:

It is hard to get any agreement on the precise meaning of the term "social class". In everyday life, people tend to have a different approach to those they consider their equals from which they assume with people they consider higher or lower than themselves in social scale. The criteria we use to "place" a new acquaintance, however, are a complex mixture of factors. Dress, way of speaking, area of residence in a given city or province, education and manners all play a part. In ancient civilizations, the Sumerian, for example, which flourished in the lower Euphrates valley from 2000 to 5000 B.C. social differences were based on birth, status or rank, rather than on wealth. Four main classes were recognized. These were the rulers, the priestly administrators, the freemen (such as craftsmen, merchants or farmers) and the slaves. In Greece, after the sixth-century B.C., there was a growing conflict between the peasants and the aristocrats, and a gradual decrease in the power of the aristocracy when a kind of "middle class" of traders and skilled workers grew up. The population of Athens, for example, was divided into three main classes which were politically and legally distinct. About one-third of the total population were slaves, who did not count politically at all, a fact often forgotten by those who praise Athens as the nursery of democracy. The next main group consisted of resident foreigners, the, "metics" who were freemen, though they too were allowed no share in political life. The third group was the powerful body of "citizens”, who were themselves divided into sub-classes. The medieval feudal system, which flourished in Europe from the ninth to the thirteenth century, gave rise to a comparatively simple system based on birth. Under the King , there were two main classes–lords and “vassals”, the latter with many subdivisions. In the later Middle Ages, however, the development of a money economy and the growth of cities and trade led to the rise of another class, the "burghers" or city merchants and mayors. These were the  predecessors of the modern middle classes. Gradually high office and occupation assumed importance in determining social position, as it became more and more possible for a person born to one station in life to move to another. This change affected the towns more than the country areas, where remnants  of feudalism lasted much longer.

Question 38: The decline of the Greek aristocracy's power in the sixth century B.C _____.         

A.

A: caused international conflicts in the area

B.

B: lasted for only a short time

C.

C: was assisted by a rise in the number of slaves

D.

D: coincided with the rise of a new "middle class" of traders and peasants

Câu 9:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:           

 Rachel Carson was born in 1907 in Springsdale, Pennsylvania. She studied biology at college and zoology at Johns Hopkins University, where she received her master’s degree in 1933. In 1936, she was hired by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where she worked most of her life.

 Carson’s first book, Under the Sea Wind, was published in 1941. It received excellent reviews, but sales were poor until it was reissued in 1952. In that year she published The Sea Around Us, which provided a fascinating look beneath the ocean’s surface, emphasizing human history as well as geology and marine biology. Her imagery and language had a poetic quality. Carson consulted no less than 1,000 printed sources. She had voluminous correspondence and frequent discussions with experts in the field. However, she always realized the limitations of her nontechnical readers.

 In 1962, Carson published Silent Spring, a book that sparked considerable controversy. It proved how much harm was done by the uncontrolled, reckless use of insecticides. She detailed how they poison the food supply of animals, kill birds and fish, and contaminate human food. At the time, spokesmen for the chemical industry mounted personal attacks against Carson and issued propaganda to indicate that her findings were flawed. However, her work was proved by a 1963 report of the President’s Science Advisory Committee.            

Question: When she published her first book, Carson was closest to the age of _______     

A.

A. 26                        

B.

B. 29                     

C.

C. 34                         

D.

D. 45  

Câu 10:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:

Are organically grown foods the best choices? The advantage claimed for such foods over conventionally grown and marketed food products are now being debated. Advocates of organic foods - a term whose meaning varies greatly - frequently proclaim that such products are safer and more nutritious than others. The growing interest of consumers in the safety and nutritional quality of the typical North American diet is a welcome development. However, much of this interest has been sparked by sweeping claims that the food supply is unsafe or inadequate in meeting nutritional evidence, the preponderance of written material advancing. As a result, claims that eating a diet consisting of entirely organically grown foods prevents or cures diseases provides other benefits to health have become widely publicized and form the basis for folklore. Almost daily, the public is besieged by claims for “no - aging” diets, new vitamins, and other wonder foods. There are numerous unsubstantiated reports that natural to unfertilized eggs, that untreated grains are better than fumigated grains, and the like. One thing that most organically grown food products seem to have in common is that they cost more than conventionally grown foods. But in many cases, consumers misled if they believe organic foods can maintain health and provide better nutritional quality than conventionally grown foods. So there is real cause for concern if consumers particularly those with limited incomes, distrust the regular food supply and buy only expensive organic foods instead.

Question 49: According to the last paragraph, consumers who believe that organic foods are better than conventionally grown foods are often _____________.         

A.

A: careless

B.

B: mistaken

C.

C: thrifty

D.

D: wealthy

Câu 11:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:

Dodder is an unusual and unwanted plant that attacks other plants. Except for its flowers, the plant looks like spaghetti noodles. Its almost leafless, thread–like stems hang down atop other plants that dodder needs to stay alive. Dodder does not produce its own food. Instead, it steals it from other plants. It feeds by sucking juices from the plant it is wrapped around, often making its host very weak or even killing it.

Dodder can find other plants by their smell. When a dodder seedling starts growing, it follows the scent of plants it prefers, like tomato plants, potato plants, or other farm crops. Unlike most plants that usually grow in the direction of light or warmth, a dodder plant will grow in the direction of, for example, tomato odor––if a tomato happens to be growing nearby.

However, a young dodder plant must find a host plant quickly. If it cannot catch a whiff of a potential host within a few days, it will dry up and disappear—even if there is plenty of water around. Once it finds a host, the young dodder plant will attach itself to it and start growing faster. At that point, the dodder plant will drop its root.

Dodder is thus a difficult weed to manage and a real headache for farmers. When it does get out of hand, dodder can greatly reduce a farmer’s harvest or even destroy crops completely. Before sowing their produce, farmers in warm parts of the world often check to make sure no unwanted dodder seeds have intermingled with their crop seeds. This is a good way to stop dodder plants from sneaking their way into a crop field.

Question: What is the main topic of the passage?             

A.

A. A new variety of farm crop.         

B.

B. Plants that are harmful to humans.        

C.

C. The special abilities of a dangerous plant.         

D.

D. Recent improvements in farming methods.  

Câu 12:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:

It is hard to think of a world without gas or electricity. Both are commonly used for lighting and heating today. We now can instantly flick a lighter or strike a match to make a flame. But it was not long ago that there were no such things as matches or lighters. To make fire, it was necessary to strike a piece of iron on flint for sparks to ignite some tinder. If the tinder was damp, or the flint old, you had to borrow some fire from a neighbor. We do not know exactly when or how people first used fire. Perhaps, many ages ago, they found that sticks would burn if they were dropped into some hole where melted lava from a volcano lay boiling. They brought the lighted sticks back to make their fire in a cave. Or, they may have seen trees catch fire through being struck by lightning, and used the trees to start their own fires. Gradually people learned they could start a fire without traveling far to find flames. They rubbed two pieces of wood together. This method was used for thousands of years. When people became used to making fires with which to cook food and stay warm at night, they found that certain resins or gums from trees burnt longer and brighter. They melted resins and dipped branches in the liquid to make torches that lit their homes at night. Iron stands in which torches used to be fixed can still be seen in old buildings of Europe. There was no lighting in city streets until gas lamps, and then electric lamps were installed. Boys ran about London at night carrying torches of burning material. They were called torch boys, or link boys, and earned a living by guiding visitors to friends’ houses at night. For centuries homes were lit by candles until oil was found. Even then, oil lamps were no more effective than a cluster of candles. We read about the splendors and marvels of ancient palaces and castles, but we forget that they must have been gloomy and murky places at night.  

Question: It is stated in the passage that torches for lighting were made from ______.         

A.

A. the wood of gum trees        

B.

B. iron bars dipped in melted resins         

C.

C. wooden poles dipped in oil        

D.

D. tree branches dipped in melted resins  

Câu 13:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:

Let children learn to judge their own work. A child learning to talk does not learn by being corrected all the time. If corrected too much, he will stop talking. He notices a thousand times a day the difference between the language he uses and the language those around him use. Bit by bit, he makes the necessary changes to make his language like other people’s. In the same way, children learn all the other things they learn to do without being taught - to talk, run, climb, whistle, ride a bicycle - compare their own performances with those of more skilled people, and slowly make the needed changes. But in school we never give a child a chance to find out his mistakes for himself, let alone correct them. We do it all for him. We act as if we thought that he would never notice a mistake unless it was pointed out to him, or correct it unless he was made to. Soon he becomes dependent on the teacher. Let him do it himself. Let him work out, with the help of other children if he wants it, what this word says, what the answer is to that problem, whether this is a good way of saying or doing this or not. If it is a matter of right answers, as it may be in mathematics or science, give him the answer book. Let him correct his own papers. Why should we teachers waste time on such routine work? Our job should be to help the child when he tells us that he can’t find the way to get the right answer. Let’s end all this nonsense of grades, exams, and marks. Let us throw them all out, and let the children learn what all educated persons must someday learn, how to measure their own understanding, how to know what they know or do not know. Let them get on with this job in the way that seems most sensible to them, with our help as school teachers if they ask for it. The idea that there is a body of knowledge to be learnt at school and used for the rest of one’s life is nonsense in a world as complicated and rapidly changing as ours. Anxious parents and teachers say, “But suppose they fail to learn something essential, something they will need to get on in the world?” Don’t worry! If it is essential, they will go out into the world and learn it.  

Question: The passage suggests that learning to speak and learning to ride a bicycle are ________.         

A.

A. basically the same as learning other skills.         

B.

B. more important than other skills.         

C.

C. basically different from learning adult skills.         

D.

D. not really important skills.  

Câu 14:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:

One of the most interesting authors of the twentieth century, J. R. R. Tolkien, achieved fame through his highly inventive trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. Born in 1892, Tolkien received his education from Oxford and then served in World War I. After the war, he became a professor of Anglo-Saxon and English language and literature at Oxford University. Although published in 1965, the three books that comprise The Lord of the Rings were written in intervals from 1936 to 1949. This was mainly due to Tolkien’s responsibilities as a professor and the outbreak of World War II. By the late 1960s, this fascinating trilogy had become a sociological phenomenon as young people intently studied the mythology and legends created by Tolkien. The trilogy is remarkable not only for its highly developed account of historical fiction but also its success as a modern heroic epic. The main plot chronicles the struggle between good and evil kingdom as they try to acquire a magic ring that has the power to rule the world. The novels, which are set in a time called Middle Earth, describe a detailed fantasy world. Established before humans populated the Earth, Middle Earth was inhabited by good and evil creatures such as hobbits, dwarves, elves, monsters, wizards, and some humans. The characters and the setting of Middle Earth were modeled after mythological stories from Greece and Northern Europe. Although readers have scrutinized the texts for inner meaning and have tried to connect the trilogy with Tolkien’s real life experiences in England during World War II, he denieds the connection. He claims that the story began in his years as an undergraduate student grew out of his desire to create mythology and legends about elves and their language. Tolkien was a masterful fantasy novelist who used his extensive knowledge of folklore to create a body or work that is still read and enjoyed throughout the world today.

Question: What does the word ‘trilogy’ mean?         

A.

A. A group of three literary works        

B.

B. An unrelated group of books         

C.

C. A specific type of fantasy novel        

D.

D. A long novel  

Câu 15:

Read the following passage and choose the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:

Many flowering plants woo insect pollinators and gently direct them to their most fertile blossoms by changing the color of individual flowers from day to day. Through color cues, the plant signals to the insect that it would be better off visiting one flower on its bush than another. The particular hue tells the pollinator that the flower is full of far more pollen than are neighboring blooms. That nectar-rich flower also happens to be fertile and ready to disperse its pollen or to receive pollen the insect has picked up from another flower. Plants do not have to spend precious resources maintaining reservoirs of nectar in all their flowers. Thus, the color-coded communication system benefits both plants and insects. For example, on the lantana plant, a flower starts out on the first day as yellow, when it is rich with pollen and nectar. Influenced by an as-yet-unidentified environmental signal, the flower changes color by triggering the production of the pigment anthromyacin. It turns orange on the second day and red on the third. By the third day, it has no pollen to offer insects and is no longer fertile. On any given lantana bush, only 10 to 15 per cent of the blossoms are likely to be yellow and fertile. But in tests measuring the responsiveness of butterflies, it was discovered that the insects visited the yellow flowers at least 100 times more than would be expected from haphazard visitation. Experiments with paper flowers and painted flowers demonstrated that the butterflies were responding to color cues rather than, say, the scent of the nectar. In other types of plants, blossoms change from white to red, others from yellow to red, and so on. These color changes have been observed in some 74 families of plants.

Question: Which of the following describes the sequence of color changes that lantana blossom undergo?         

A.

A. Red to purple                

B.

B. Yellow to orange to red         

C.

C. Red to yellow to white            

D.

D. White to red  

Câu 16:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:

During the 19th century, women in the U.S organized and participated in a large number of reform movements, including movements to reorganize the prison system, improve education, ban the sale of alcohol, and most importantly to free slaves. Some women saw similarities in the social status of women and slaves. Women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucy Stone were feminists and abolitionists who supported the rights of both women and blacks. A number of male abolitionists, including William Lloyd Garrison and Wendell Phillips also supported the rights of women to speak and participate equally with men in anti-slavery activities. Probably more than any other movement, abolitionism offered women a previously denied entry into politics. They became involved primarily in order to better their living conditions and the conditions of others. When the Civil war ended in 1865, the 14th, and 15th, Amendments to the Constitution adopted in 1868 and 1870 granted citizenship and suffrage to blacks but not to women. Discouraged but resolved, feminists influenced more and more women to demand the right to vote. In 1869, the Wyoming Territory had yielded to demands by feminists, but eastern states resisted more stubbornly than ever before. A woman's suffrage bill had been presented to every Congress since 1878 but it continually failed to pass until 1920, when the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote.

 Question 37: What cannot be inferred from the passage?         

A.

A: The blacks were given the right to vote before women.

B.

B: The abolitionists believed in anti-slavery activities.

C.

C: A women's suffrage bill had been discussed in the Congress for 50 years.

D.

D: The eastern states did not like the idea of women's right to vote.

Câu 17:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:

Most languages have several levels of vocabulary that may be used by the same speakers. In English, at least three have been identified and described. Standard usage includes those words and expressions understood, used, and accepted by a majority of the speakers of a language in any situation regardless of the level of formality. As such, these words and expressions are well defined and listed in standard dictionaries. Colloquialisms, on the other hand, are familiar words and idioms that are understood by almost all speakers of a language and used in informal speech or writing, but not considered acceptable for more formal situations. Almost all idiomatic expressions are colloquial language. Slang, however, refers to words and expressions understood by a large number of speakers but not accepted as appropriate formal usage by the majority. Colloquial expressions and even slang may be found in standard dictionaries but will be so identified. Both colloquial usage and slang are more common in speech than in writing. Colloquial speech often passes into standard speech. Some slang also passes into standard speech, but other slang expressions enjoy momentary popularity followed by obscurity. In some cases, the majority never accepts certain slang phrases but nevertheless retains them in their collective memories. Every generation seems to require its own set of words to describe familiar objects and events. It has been pointed out by a number of linguists that three cultural conditions are necessary for the creation of a large body of slang expressions. First, the introduction and acceptance of new objects and situations in the society; second, a diverse population with a large number of subgroups; third, association among the subgroups and the majority population. Finally, it is worth nothing that the terms “standard”, “colloquial”, and “slang” exist only as abstract levels for scholars who study language. Only a tiny number of the speakers of any language will be aware that they are using colloquial or slang expressions. Most speakers of English will, during appropriate situations, select and use all three types of expressioins.

Question 44: Which of the following is TRUE of standard usage?         

A.

A: It is limited to written language   

B.

B: It is only understood by the upper classes

C.

C: It can be used in formal or informal settings

D.

D: It is constantly changing

Câu 18:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:

A survey is a study, generally in the form of an interview or a ques­tionnaire, which provides information concerning how people think and act. In the United States, the best-known surveys are the Gallup poll and the Harris poll. As anyone who watches the news during presiden­tial campaigns knows, these polls have become an important part of political life in the United States.

North Americans are familiar with the many "person on the street" interviews on local television news shows. While such interviews can be highly entertaining, they are not necessarily an accurate indication of public opinion. First, they reflect the opinions of only those people who appear at a certain location. Thus, such samples can be biased in favor of commuters, middle-class shoppers, or factory workers, depending on which area the new people select. Second, television interviews tend to attract outgoing people who are willing to appear on the air, while they frighten away others who may feel intimidated by a camera. A survey must be based on a precise, representative sampling if it is to genu­inely reflect a broad range of the population.

In preparing to conduct a survey, sociologists must exercisegreat care in the wording of questions. An effective survey question must be simple and clear enough for people to understand it. It must also be specific enough so that there are no problems in interpreting the re­sults. Even questions that are less structured must be carefully phrased in order to elicitthe type of information desired. Surveys can be indispensable sources of information, but only if the sampling is done properly and the questions are worded accurately.

There are two main forms of surveys: the interview and the ques­tionnaire. Each of these forms of survey research has its advantages. An interviewer can obtain a high response rate because people find it more difficult to turn down a personal request for an interview than to throw away a written questionnaire. In addition, an interviewer can go beyond written questions and probefor a subject's underlying feelings and reasons. However, questionnaires have the advantage of being cheaper and more consistent.

Question 42: According to paragraph 3, which of the following is most important for an effective survey?  

A.

A: A high number of respondents

B.

B: Carefully worded questions

C.

C: An interviewer's ability to measure respondent's feelings

D.

D: A sociologist who is able to interpret the results

Câu 19:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:

Simply being bilingual doesn’t qualify someone to interpret. Interpreting is not only a mechanical process of converting one sentence in language A into the same sentence in language B. Rather, it’s a complex art in which thoughts and idioms that have no obvious counterparts from tongue to tongue or words that have several meanings must be quickly transformed in such a way that the message is clearly and accurately expressed to the listener.         At one international conference, an American speaker said, “You can’t make a silk purse out of a sows ear”, which meant nothing to the Spanish audience. The interpretation was, “A monkey in a silk dress is still a monkey” -an idiom the Spanish understood and that expressed the same idea. There are 2 kinds of interpreters, simultaneous and consecutive. The former, sitting in a separated booth, usually at a large multilingual conference, speaks to listeners wearing headphones, interpreting what a foreign language speaker says actually a sentence behind. Consecutive interpreters are the ones most international negotiations use. They are employed for smaller meetings without sound booths and headphones. Consecutive interpretation also requires two-person teams. A foreign speaker says his piece while the interpreter, using a special shorthand, takes notes and during a pause, tells the client what was said. 

Question 49: The word  "the former” in the last paragraph refers to_____.         

A.

A: simultaneous interpreters

B.

B: the conference

C.

C: consecutive interpreters

D.

D: both A & B

Câu 20:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:

By adopting a few simple techniques, parents who read to their children can considerably increase their children’s language development. It is surprising, but true. How parents talk to their children makes a big difference in the children's language development. If a parent encourages the child to actively respond to what the parent is reading, the child's language skills increase. A study was done with two or three-year-old children and their parents. Half of the thirty children participants were in the experimental study; the other half acted as the control group. In the experimental group, the parents were given a two-hour training session in which they were taught to ask open-ended questions rather than yes-no questions. For example, the parent should ask, "What is the doggy doing?" rather than, "Is the doggy running away?" Experimental parents were also instructed how to expand on their children's answer, how to suggest alternative possibilities, and how to praise correct answers. At the beginning of the study, the children did not differ on levels of language development, but at the end of one month, the children in the experimental group were 5.5 months ahead of the control group on a test of verbal expression and vocabulary. Nine months later, the children in the experimental group still showed an advance of 6 months over the children in the control group.

Question: When did the chilren similar on levels of language development?             

A.

A. at the middle of the study        

B.

B. at the end of the study         

C.

C. at the beginning of the age        

D.

D. at the beginning of the study  

Câu 21:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:

A number of factors related to the voice reveal the personality of the speaker.

The first is the broad area of communication, which includes imparting information by use of language, communicating with a group or an individual and specialized communication through performance. A person conveys thoughts and ideas through choice of words, by a tone of voice that is pleasant or unpleasant, gentle or harsh, by the rhythm that is inherent within the language itself, and by speech rhythms that are flowing and regular or uneven and hesitant, and finally, by the pitch and melody of the utterance. When speaking before a group, a person's tone may indicate uncertainty or fright, confidence or calm. At interpersonal levels, the tone may reflect ideas and feelings over and above the words chosen, or may belie them. Here the participant’s tone can consciously or unconsciously reflect intuitive sympathy or antipathy, lack of concern or interest, fatigue, anxiety, enthusiasm or excitement, all of which are usually discernible by the acute listener. Public performance is a manner of communication that is highly specialized with its own techniques for obtaining effects by voice and/or gesture. The motivation derived from the text, and in the case of singing, the music, in combination with the performer's skills, personality, and ability to create empathy will determine the success of artistic, political, or pedagogic communication.

Second, the voice gives psychological clues to a person's self-image, perception of others, and emotional health. Self-image can be indicated by a tone of voice that is confident, pretentious, shy, aggressive, outgoing, or exuberant, to name only a few personality traits. Also the sound may give a clue to the facade or mask of that person, for example, a shy person hiding behind an overconfident front. How a speaker perceives the listener's receptiveness, interest, or sympathy in any given conversation can drastically alter the tone of presentation, by encouraging or discouraging the speaker. Emotional health is evidenced in the voice by free and melodic sounds of the happy, by constricted and harsh sound of the angry, and by dull and lethargic qualities of the depressed.  

Question: The word "Here" in line 8 refers to……………         

A.

A: at interpersonal levels

B.

B: the tone

C.

C: ideas and feelings

D.

D: words chosen

Câu 22:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:

Baseball evolved from a number of different ball-and stick games (paddle ball, trap ball, one-old-cat, rounders, and town ball) originating in England. As early as the American Revolution, it was noted that troops played “baseball” in their free time. In 1845 Alexander Cartwright formalized the New York Knickerbockers version of the game: a diamond shaped infield, with bases ninety feet apart, three strikers – you’re – out, batter out on a caught ball, three outs per inning, a nine man team. “The New York Game” spread rapidly, replacing earlier localized forms. From its beginnings, baseball was seen as a way of satisfying the recreational needs of an increasingly urban – industrial society. At its inception it was it was played by and for gentlemen. A club might consist of 40 members. The president would appoint two captains who would choose teams from among the members. Games were played on Monday and Thursday afternoons, with the losers often providing a lavish evening’s entertainments for the winners. During the 1850 - 70 period the game was changing, however, with increasing commercialism (charging admission), under – the – table payments to exceptional to players, and gambling on the outcome of games. By 1868 it was said that a club would have their regular professional ten, an amateur first - nine, and their "muffins" (the gently duffers who once ran the game). Beginning with the first openly all – salaried team (Cincinnati’s Red Stocking Club) in 1869, the 1870 - 1890 period saw the complete professionalization of baseball, including formation of the National Association of Professional baseball players in 1871. The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs was formed in 1876, run by business-minded invertors in joint-stock company clubs. The 1880s has been called Major League Baseball’s “Golden Age”. Profits soared, player’s salaries rose somewhat, a season of 84 games became one of 132, a weekly periodical “The sporting News” came into being, wooden stadiums with double-deck stands replaced open fields, and the standard refreshment became hot dogs, soda pop and peanuts. In 1900 the Western League based in the growing cities of the Mid-west proclaimed itself the American League.

Question 19: The word “itself” in line 24 refers to _______        

A.

A: the Western League

B.

B: growing cities 

C.

C: the Midwest 

D.

D: the American League

Câu 24:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions below:

 In addition to their military role, the forts of the nineteenth century provided numerous other benefits for the American West. The establishment of these posts opened new roads and provided for the protection of daring adventurers and expeditions as well as established settlers. Forts also served as bases where enterprising entrepreneurs could bring commerce to the West, providing supplies and refreshments to soldiers as well as to pioneers. Posts like Fort Laramie provided supplies for wagon trains traveling the natural highways toward new frontiers. Some posts became stations for the pony express; still others, such as Fort Davis, were stagecoach stops for weary travelers. All of these functions, of course, suggest that the contributions of the forts to the civilization and development of the West extended beyond patrol duty.

 Through the establishment of military posts, yet other contributions were made to the development of western culture. Many posts maintained libraries or reading rooms, and some - for example, Fort Davis - had schools. Post chapels provided a setting for religious services and weddings. Throughout the wilderness, post bands provided entertainment and boosted morale. During the last part of the nineteenth century, to reduce expenses, gardening was encouraged at the forts, thus making experimental agriculture another activity of the military. The military stationed at the various forts also played a role in civilian life by assisting in maintaining order, and civilian officials often called on the army for protection.

 Certainly, among other significant contributions the army made to the improvement of the conditions of life was the investigation of the relationships among health, climate, and architecture. From the earliest colonial times throughout the nineteenth century, disease ranked as the foremost problem in defense. It slowed construction of forts and inhibited their military functions. Official documents from many regions contained innumerable reports of sickness that virtually incapacitated entire garrisons and climate and their relationships to the frequency of the occurrence of various diseases were recorded at various posts across the nation by military surgeons.

 Question 32: Which of the following is the most likely inference about the decision to promote gardening at forts?  

A.

A: It was expensive to import produce from far away.

B.

B: Food brought in from outside was often spoiled.

C.

C: Gardening was a way to occupy otherwise idle soldiers.

D.

D: The soil near the forts was very fertile.

Câu 25:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:

It is hard to get any agreement on the precise meaning of the term "social class". In everyday life, people tend to have a different approach to those they consider their equals from which they assume with people they consider higher or lower than themselves in social scale. The criteria we use to "place" a new acquaintance, however, are a complex mixture of factors. Dress, way of speaking, area of residence in a given city or province, education and manners all play a part. In ancient civilizations, the Sumerian, for example, which flourished in the lower Euphrates valley from 2000 to 5000 B.C. social differences were based on birth, status or rank, rather than on wealth. Four main classes were recognized. These were the rulers, the priestly administrators, the freemen (such as craftsmen, merchants or farmers) and the slaves. In Greece, after the sixth-century B.C., there was a growing conflict between the peasants and the aristocrats, and a gradual decrease in the power of the aristocracy when a kind of "middle class" of traders and skilled workers grew up. The population of Athens, for example, was divided into three main classes which were politically and legally distinct. About one-third of the total population were slaves, who did not count politically at all, a fact often forgotten by those who praise Athens as the nursery of democracy. The next main group consisted of resident foreigners, the, "metics" who were freemen, though they too were allowed no share in political life. The third group was the powerful body of "citizens”, who were themselves divided into sub-classes. The medieval feudal system, which flourished in Europe from the ninth to the thirteenth century, gave rise to a comparatively simple system based on birth. Under the King , there were two main classes–lords and “vassals”, the latter with many subdivisions. In the later Middle Ages, however, the development of a money economy and the growth of cities and trade led to the rise of another class, the "burghers" or city merchants and mayors. These were the  predecessors of the modern middle classes. Gradually high office and occupation assumed importance in determining social position, as it became more and more possible for a person born to one station in life to move to another. This change affected the towns more than the country areas, where remnants  of feudalism lasted much longer.

Question 36: According to the passage, we evaluate other people's social position by _____ .         

A.

A: questioning them in great details

B.

B: their dress, manners, area of residence and other factors

C.

C: finding out how much their salary is

D.

D: the kind of job they do

Câu 27:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:

Light from a living plant or animal is called bioluminescence, or cold light, to distinguish it from incandescence or heat-generating light. Life forms could not produce incandescent light without being burned. Their light is produced in chemicals combining in such a way that little or no measurable heat is produced, and the life forms generating it are unharmed. Although bioluminescence is a relatively complicated process, it can be reduced to simple terms. Living light occurs when luciferin and oxygen combine in the presence of luciferase. In a few cases, fireflies the most common, an additional compound called ATP is required. The earliest recorded experiments with bioluminescence in the late 1800s are attributed to Raphael Dubois, who extracted a luminous fluid from a clam, observing that it continued to glow in the test tube for several minutes. He named the substance luciferin, which means “the bearer of life”. In further research, Dubois discovered that several chemicals were required for bioluminescence to occur. In his notes, it was recorded that a second important substance, which he called luciferase, was always present. In later study of small, luminous sea creatures, Newton Harley concluded that luciferin was composed of carbon, hydrosen, and oxygen, which are the building blocks of all living cells. He also proved that there are a variety of luciferin and luciferase, specific to the plants and animals that produce them. Much remains unknown, but many scientists who are studying bioluminescence now believe that the origin of the phenomenon may be traced to a time when there was no oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere. When oxygen was gradually introduced to the atmosphere, it was actually poisonous to life forms, plants and animals produced light to use up the oxygen in a gradual but necessary adaptation. It is speculated that millions of years ago, all life may have produced light to survive. As the millennia passed, life forms on Earth became tolerant of, and finally dependent on oxygen, and the adaptation that produced bioluminescence was no longer necessary, but some primitive plants and animals continued to use the light for new functions such as mating or attracting prey.  

Question: According to the author, why has bioluminescence continued in modem plants and animals?         

A.

A. For survival        

B.

B. For attracting prey         

C.

C. For producing heat        

D.

D. For burning excess oxygen  

Câu 28:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer ti each of the questions:

The issue of equality for women in British society first attracted national attention in the early 20th century, when the suffragettes won for women the right to vote. In the 1960s feminism became the subject of intense debate when the women’s liberation movement encouraged women to reject their traditional supporting role and to demand equal status and equal rights with men in areas such as employment and pay. Since then, the gender gap between the sexes has been reduced. The Equal Pay Act of 1970, for instance, made it illegal for women to be paid less than men for doing the same work, and in 1975 the Sex Discrimination Act aimed to prevent either sex having an unfair advantage when applying for jobs. In the same year the Equal Opportunities Commission was set up to help people claim their rights to equal treatment and to publish research and statistics to show where improvements in opportunities for women need to be made. Women now have much better employment opportunities, though they still tend to get less well-paid jobs than men, and very few are appointed to top jobs in industry. In the US the movement that is often called the “first wave of feminism” began in the mid 1800s. Susan B. Anthony worked for the right to vote, Margaret Sanger wanted to provide women with the means of contraception so that they could decide whether or not to have children, and Elizabeth Blackwell, who had to fight for the chance to become a doctor, wanted women to have greater opportunities to study. Many feminists were interested in other social issues. The second wave of feminism began in the 1960s. Women like Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem became associated with the fight to get equal rights and opportunities for women under the law. An important issue was the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which was intended to change the Constitution. Although the ERA was not passed, there was progress in other areas. It became illegal for employers, schools, clubs, etc. to discriminate against women. But women still find it hard to advance beyond a certain point in their careers, the so-called glass ceiling that prevents them from having high-level jobs. Many women also face the problem of the second shift, i.e. the household chores. In the 1980s, feminism became less popular in the US and there was less interest in solving the remaining problems, such as the fact that most women still earn much less than men. Although there is still discrimination, the principle that it should not exist is widely accepted.  

Question: The phrase “glass ceiling” in paragraph 4 mostly means ______.         

A.

A. a ceiling made of glass                  

B.

B. an imaginary barrier          

C.

C. a transparent frame

D.

D. an overlooked problem  

Câu 29:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:

A number of factors related to the voice reveal the personality of the speaker.

The first is the broad area of communication, which includes imparting information by use of language, communicating with a group or an individual and specialized communication through performance. A person conveys thoughts and ideas through choice of words, by a tone of voice that is pleasant or unpleasant, gentle or harsh, by the rhythm that is inherent within the language itself, and by speech rhythms that are flowing and regular or uneven and hesitant, and finally, by the pitch and melody of the utterance. When speaking before a group, a person's tone may indicate uncertainty or fright, confidence or calm. At interpersonal levels, the tone may reflect ideas and feelings over and above the words chosen, or may belie them. Here the participant’s tone can consciously or unconsciously reflect intuitive sympathy or antipathy, lack of concern or interest, fatigue, anxiety, enthusiasm or excitement, all of which are usually discernible by the acute listener. Public performance is a manner of communication that is highly specialized with its own techniques for obtaining effects by voice and/or gesture. The motivation derived from the text, and in the case of singing, the music, in combination with the performer's skills, personality, and ability to create empathy will determine the success of artistic, political, or pedagogic communication.

Second, the voice gives psychological clues to a person's self-image, perception of others, and emotional health. Self-image can be indicated by a tone of voice that is confident, pretentious, shy, aggressive, outgoing, or exuberant, to name only a few personality traits. Also the sound may give a clue to the facade or mask of that person, for example, a shy person hiding behind an overconfident front. How a speaker perceives the listener's receptiveness, interest, or sympathy in any given conversation can drastically alter the tone of presentation, by encouraging or discouraging the speaker. Emotional health is evidenced in the voice by free and melodic sounds of the happy, by constricted and harsh sound of the angry, and by dull and lethargic qualities of the depressed.  

Question: What does the author mean by staring that, "At interpersonal levels, tone may reflect ideas and feelings over and above the words chosen"?         

A.

A: Feelings are expressed with different words than ideas are.

B.

B: The tone of voice can carry information beyond the meaning of words.

C.

C: A high tone of voice reflects an emotional communication.

D.

D: Feelings are more difficult to express than ideas.  

Câu 30:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:

The penny press, which emerged in the United States during the 1830's, was a powerful agent of mass communication. These newspapers were little dailies, generally four pages in length, written for the mass taste. They differed from the staid, formal presentation of the conservative press, with its emphasis on political and literary topics. The new papers were brief and cheap, emphasizing sensational reports of police courts and juicy scandals as well as human interest stories. Twentieth-century journalism was already foreshadowed in the penny press of the 1830's. The New York Sun, founded in 1833, was the first successful penny paper, and it was followed two years later by the New York Herald, published by James Gordon Bennett. Not long after, Horace Greeley issued the New York Tribune, which was destined to become the most influential paper in America. Greeley gave space to the issues that deeply touched the American people before the Civil War-abolitionism, temperance, free homesteads, Utopian cooperative settlements, and the problems of labor. The weekly edition of the Tribune, with 100,000 subscribers, had a remarkable influence in rural areas, especially in Western communities. Americans were reputed to be the most avid readers of periodicals in the world. An English observer enviously calculated that, in 1829, the number of newspapers circulated in Great Britain was enough to reach only one out of every thirty-six inhabitants weekly; Pennsylvania in that same year had a newspaper circulation which reached one out of every four inhabitants weekly. Statistics seemed to justify the common belief that Americans were devoted to periodicals. Newspapers in the United States increased from 1,200 in 1833 to 3,000 by the early 1860's, on the eve of the Civil War. This far exceeded the number and circulation of newspapers in England and France.

Question 37: Which of the following would LEAST likely be in a penny-press paper?  

A.

A: A report of theft of union funds by company officials

B.

B: An article about a little girl returning a large amount of money she found in the street

C.

C: A scholarly analysis of an economic issue of national importance

D.

D: A story about land being given away in the West

Câu 31:

Read the following andmark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 37 to 43:

 In early civilization, citizens were educated informally, usually within the family unit. Education meant simply learning to live. As civilization became more complex, however, education became more formal, structured, and comprehensive. Initial efforts of the ancient Chinese and Greek societies concentrated solely on the education of males. The post-Babylonian Jews and Plato were exceptions to this pattern. Plato was apparently the first significant advocate of the equality of the sexes. Women, in his ideal state, would have the same rights and duties and the same educational opportunities as men. This aspect of Platonic philosophy, however, had little or no effect on education for many centuries, and the concept of a liberal education for men only, which had been espoused by Aristotle, prevailed.

 In ancient Rome, the availability of an education was radually extended to women, but they were taught separately from men. The early Christians and medieval Europeans continued this trend, and single-sex schools for the privileged through classes prevailed through the Reformation period. Gradually, however, education for women, in a separate but equal basis to that provided for men, was becoming a clear responsibility of society. Martin Luther appealed for civil support of schools for all children. Al the Council of Trent in the 16th century, the Roman Catholic Church encouraged the establishment of free primary schools for children of all classes. The concept of universal primary education, regardless of sex, had been born, but it was still in the realm of the single-sex school.

 In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, co-education became a more widely applied principle of educational philosophy. In Britain, Germany, and the Soviet Union the education of boys and girls in the same classes became an accepted practice. Since World War II, Japan and the Scandinavian countries have also adopted relatively universal co-educational systems. The greatest negative reaction to co-education has been felt in the teaching systems of the Latin countries, where the sexes have usually been separated at both primary and secondary levels, according to local conditions.

 A number of studies have indicated that girls seem to perform better overall and in science in particular. In single-sex classes, during the adolescent years, pressure to conform to stereotypical female gender roles may disadvantage girls in traditionally male subjects, making them reluctant to volunteer for experimental work while taking part in lessons. In Britain, academic league tables point to high standards achieved in girls’ schools. Some educationalists, therefore, suggest segregation of the sexes as a good thing, particularly in certain areas, and a number of schools are experimenting with the idea.  

Question 43: Co-education was negatively responded to in __________.         

A.

A. Conservative countries        

B.

B. Japan         

C.

C. South American countries        

D.

D. The Scandinavian countries  

Câu 32:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:

Light from a living plant or animal is called bioluminescence, or cold light, to distinguish it from incandescence or heat-generating light. Life forms could not produce incandescent light without being burned. Their light is produced in chemicals combining in such a way that little or no measurable heat is produced, and the life forms generating it are unharmed. Although bioluminescence is a relatively complicated process, it can be reduced to simple terms. Living light occurs when luciferin and oxygen combine in the presence of luciferase. In a few cases, fireflies the most common, an additional compound called ATP is required. The earliest recorded experiments with bioluminescence in the late 1800s are attributed to Raphael Dubois, who extracted a luminous fluid from a clam, observing that it continued to glow in the test tube for several minutes. He named the substance luciferin, which means “the bearer of life”. In further research, Dubois discovered that several chemicals were required for bioluminescence to occur. In his notes, it was recorded that a second important substance, which he called luciferase, was always present. In later study of small, luminous sea creatures, Newton Harley concluded that luciferin was composed of carbon, hydrosen, and oxygen, which are the building blocks of all living cells. He also proved that there are a variety of luciferin and luciferase, specific to the plants and animals that produce them. Much remains unknown, but many scientists who are studying bioluminescence now believe that the origin of the phenomenon may be traced to a time when there was no oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere. When oxygen was gradually introduced to the atmosphere, it was actually poisonous to life forms, plants and animals produced light to use up the oxygen in a gradual but necessary adaptation. It is speculated that millions of years ago, all life may have produced light to survive. As the millennia passed, life forms on Earth became tolerant of, and finally dependent on oxygen, and the adaptation that produced bioluminescence was no longer necessary, but some primitive plants and animals continued to use the light for new functions such as mating or attracting prey.  

Question: Which of the following is the main topic of the passage?  

A.

A. Cold light        

B.

B. Luciferase         

C.

C. Primitive plants and animals        

D.

D. Earth’s atmosphere  

A.

A. instruction in proper etiquette        

B.

B. rules of etiquette           

C.

C. variable and universal standards of etiquette        

D.

D. the importance of good manners

Câu 34:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 36 to 42:

 Although speech is the most advanced form of communication, there are many ways of communicating without using speech. Signals, signs, symbols, and gestures may be found in every known culture. The basic function of signal is to impinge upon the environment in such a way that it attracts attention, as, for example, the dots and dashes of a telegraph circuit. Coded to refer to speech, the potential for communication is very great. Less adaptable to the codification of words, signs also contain meaning in and of themselves. A stop sign or a barber pole conveys meaning quickly and conveniently.  Symbols are more difficult to describe than either signals or signs because of their intricate relationship with the receiver’s cultural perceptions. In some cultures, applauding in a theater provides performers with an auditory symbol of approval. Gestures such as waving and handshaking also communicate certain cultural messages. Although signals, signs, symbols, and gestures are very useful, they do have a major disadvantage in communication. They usually do not allow ideas to be shared without the sender being directly adjacent to the receiver. Without an exchange of ideas, interaction comes to a halt. As a result, means of communication intended to be used for long distances and extended periods must be based upon speech. To radio, television, and the telephone, one must add fax, paging systems, electronic mail, and the Internet, and no one doubts but that there are more means of communication on the horizon.

Question 40: Applauding was cited as an example of ____________.           

A.

A. a signal                        

B.

B. a sign

C.

C. a gesture 

D.

D. a symbol

A.

A: Students have to do nothing in the afternoon.

B.

B: Students who are learning at the Atlantic College are aged between 16 and 18.

C.

C: Some students can afford the fees of 20,000 euroes over two years.

D.

D: A quarter of students studying at Atlantic College are British.

Câu 37:

Since the dawn of time, people have found ways to communicate with one another. Smoke signals and tribal drums were some of the earliest forms of communication. Letters, carried by birds or by humans on foot or on horseback, made it possible for people to communicate larger amounts of information between two places. The telegram and telephone set the stage for more modern means of communication. With the invention of the cellular phone, communication itself has become mobile. For you, a cell phone is probably just a device that you and your friends use to keep in touch with family and friends, take pictures, play games, or send text message. The definition of a cell phone is more specific: it is a hand-held wireless communication device that sends and receives signals by way of small special areas called cells. Walkie - talkies, telephones and cell phones are duplex communication devices: They make it possible for two people to talk to each other. Cell phones and walkie-talkies are different from regular phones because they can be used in many different locations. A walkie-talkie is sometimes called a half-duplex communication device because only one person can talk at a time. A cell phone is a full-duplex device because it uses both frequencies at the same time. A walkie-talkie has only one channel. A cell phone has more than a thousand channels. A walkie- talkie can transmit and receive signals across a distance of about a mile. A cell phone can transmit and receive signals over hundreds of miles. In 1973, an electronic company called Motorola hired Martin Cooper to work on wireless communication. Motorola and Bell Laboratories (now AT& T) were in a race to invent the first portable communication device. Martin Cooper won the race and became the inventor of the cell phone. On April 3,1973, Cooper made the first cell phone call to his opponent at AT&T while walking down the streets of New York city. People on the sidewalks gazed at Cooper in amazement. Cooper's phone was called A Motorola Dyna-Tac. It weighed a whopping 2.5 pounds (as compared to today's cell phones that weigh as little as 3 or 4 ounces) After the invention of his cell phone, Cooper began thinking of ways to make the cell phone available to the general public. After a decade, Motorola introduced the first cell phone for commercial use. The early cell phone and its service were both expensive. The cell phone itself cost about $3, 500. In 1977, AT&T constructed a cell phone system and tried it out in Chicago with over 2,000 customers. In 1981, a second cellular phone system was started in the Washington, D.C and Baltimore area. It took nearly 37 years for cell phones to become available for general public use. Today, there are more than sixty million cell phone customers with cell phones producing over thirty billion dollars per years. What definition is true of a cell phone?         

A.

A: The first product of two famous corporation

B.

B: A hand-held wireless communication device

C.

C: Something we use just for playing games

D.

D: .A version of walkie-talkie

Câu 38:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 43 to 50:

Smallpox was the first widespread disease to be eliminated by human intervention. Known as a highly contagious viral disease, it broke out in Europe, causing the deaths of millions of people until the vaccination was invented by Edward Jenner around 1800. In many nations, it was a terror, a fatal disease until very recently. Its victims suffer high fever, vomiting and painful, itchy, pustules that left scars. In villages and cities all over the world, people were worried about suffering smallpox.In May, 1966, the World Health Organization (WHO), an agency of the United Nations was authorized to initiate a global campaign to eradicate smallpox. The goal was to eliminate the disease in one decade. At the time, the disease posed a serious threat to people in more than thirty nations. Because similar projects for malaria and yellow fever had failed, few believed that smallpox could actually be eradicated but eleven years after the initial organization of the campaign, no cases were reported in the field.The strategy was not only to provide mass vaccinations but also to isolate patients with active smallpox in order to contain the spread of the disease and to break the chain of human transmission. Rewards for reporting smallpox assisted in motivating the public to aid health workers. One by one, each small-pox victim was sought out, removed from contact with others and treated. At the same time, the entire village where the victim had lived was vaccinated.By April of 1978 WHO officials announced that they had isolated the last known case of the disease but health workers continued to search for new cases for additional years to be completely sure. In May, 1980, a formal statement was made to the global community. Today smallpox is no longer a threat to humanity. Routine vaccinations have been stopped worldwide.  

Question 50: It can be inferred from the passage that ___________.         

A.

A. yellow fever have been reported this year.  

B.

 B. no new cases of smallpox have been reported this year.    

C.

C. smallpox victims no longer die when they contact the disease.  

D.

D. smallpox is not transmitted from one person to another.

Câu 39:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:

Under certain circumstances, the human body must cope with gases at greater-than-normal atmospheric pressure. For example, gas pressures increase rapidly during a drive made with scuba gear because the breathing equipment allows divers to stay underwater longer and dive deeper. The pressure exerted on the human body increases by 1 atmosphere for every 10 meters of depth on seater, so thay at 39 meters in seawater a diver is exposed to pressure of about 4 atmosphere. The pressure of the gases being breathed must equal the external pressure applied to the body, otherwise breathing is very difficult. Therefore all of the gases in the air breathed by a scuba diver at 40 meter are present at five times their usual pressure. Nitrogen, which composes 80 percent of the air we breathe, usually causes a balmy feeling of well-being at this pressure. At a depth of 5 atmosphere, nitrogen causes symptoms resembling alcohol intoxication, known as nitrogen narcosis. Nitrogen narcosis apparently results from a direct effect on the brain of the large amounts of nitrogen dissolved in the blood. Deep dives are less dangerous if helium is substituted for nitrogen, because under these pressures helium does not exert a similar narcotic effect. As a scuba diver descends, the pressure of nitrogen on the lungs increases. Nitrogen then diffuses from the lungs to the blood, and from the blood to body tissues. The reverse occurs when the diver surfaces, the nitrogen pressure in the lungs falls and the nitrogen diffuses from the tissues into the blood, and from the blood into the lungs. If the return to the surface is too rapid, nitrogen in the tissues and blood cannot diffuse out rapidly enough and nitrogen bubbles are formed. They can cause severe pains, particularly around the joints. Another complication may result if the breath is held during ascent. During ascent from a depth of 10 meters, the volume of air in the lungs will double because the air pressure at the surface is only half of what it was at 10 meters. This change in volume may cause the lungs to distend ang even rupture. This the rise of the exhaled air bubbles, and must exhale during ascent.

Question: The word “exert” in bold on paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ________.         

A.

A: permit

B.

B: cause

C.

C: need

D.

D: change

Câu 40:

Read the following andmark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 22 to 29:

 Harvard University, today recognized as part of the top echelon of the world's universities, came from very inauspicious and humble beginning.

 This oldest of American universities was founded in 1636, just sixteen years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth. Included in the Puritan emigrants to the Massachusetts colony during this period were more than 100 graduates of England's prestigious Oxford and Cambridge universities, and these universities graduates in the New Word were determined that their sons would have the same educational opportunities that they themselves had had. Because of this support in the colony for an institution of higher learning, the General Court of Massachusetts appropriated 400 pounds for a college in October of 1636 and early the following year decided on a parcel of land for the school; this land was in an area called Newetowne, which was later renamed Cambridge after its English cousin and is the site of the present-day university.

 When a young minister named John Harvard, who came from the neighboring town of Charlestowne, died from tuberculosis in 1638, he willed half of his estate of 1,700 pounds to the fledgling college. In spite of the fact that only half of the bequest was actually paid, the General Court named the college after the minister in appreciation for what he had done. The amount of the bequest may not have been large, particularly by today's standard, but it was more than the General Court had found it necessary to appropriate in order to open the college.

 Henry Dunster was appointed the first president of Harvard in 1640, and it should be noted that in addition to serving as president, he was also the entire faculty, with an entering freshmen class of four students. Although the staff did expand somewhat, for the first century of its existence the entire teaching staff consisted of the president and three or four tutors.

Question: The passage indicates that Harvard is _______________         

A.

A. one of the oldest universities in the world            

B.

B. the oldest university in the world         

C.

C. one of the oldest universities in America        

D.

D. the oldest university in America  

Education is the most powerful weapon we use to change the world.

(Giáo dục là vũ khí mạnh nhất chúng ta sử dụng để thay đổi thế giới)

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