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 37 to 44.

Life Writings

The diary and the letter were the most extensively practiced forms of life writings in eighteenth-century America. From the numerous examples of these two types of writing from the period, a portrait of daily life of the period can be gleaned.

Many of the diaries that were kept during this period were life diaries by authors interested in maintaining day-to-day records of reflective self-examination, but some of the most compelling were situational diaries; those prompted by and limited to lengthy descriptions of personal reflections about a particular event. Three of the many situational journals of this period are those written by Sarah Kemble Knight, William Burd II, and Dr. Alexander Hamilton. Sarah Kemble Knight's diary of her five-month trip at the end of 1704 and the beginning of 1705 from Boston to New Haven to New York and back again to Boston was published more than a century later as The Journal of Madam Knight. Though this diary does include an account of the hardship that she encountered along the way, it is principally composed of humorous descriptions of and commentary on the hospitality that she was offered and the manners of those that she encountered. William Burd II kept two diaries to describe his experiences on a 1729 surveying expedition to settle a border dispute between Virginia and North Carolina. One of the diaries, History of the Dividing Line between Virginia and North Carolina, was published in 1842, while its companion, Secret Diary, was published in 1929. In these diaries, Burd used a humorous and satirical approach to describe not just the day-to-day events of the trip but also the characteristics which set his beloved Virginia culture apart from the (in his opinion) decidedly less praiseworthy culture of those non-Virginians that he encountered in his trip. Dr. Alexander Hamilton's Itinerarium (1744) describes a four-month voyage of discovery undertaken by Hamilton through the mid-Atlantic and New England colonies; in the diary that he kept of this trip. Hamilton provides considerable commentary on the social customs of various areas, comparing the customs and culture of the better homes of the American colonies with those of the great salons of Europe.

Letter-writing also held a place of importance in eighteenth-century America (indeed, the ability to produce cultured letters was considered a form of art), and many letters extant from that period provide insights into the culture, mores, and styles of written communication of that era. Many of the letter writers employed devices in common usage in European models of the time, demonstrating that letter writers felt a sense of cohesiveness with the cultured classes of Europe: John and Abigail Adams signed the names Lysander and Constantia to their early letters, while Thomas Jefferson created an elaborate dialogue between his head and his heart to discuss the nature of friendship in a 1786 letter to Maria Cosway. The variety of purposes that these letters served provides additional insight into the priorities of the society of the time. The letters were used to cement love matches and friendships, as the previously mentioned letters did; they were the primary method for relaying news among family and friends who were scattered across various geographic locations; they were often used as a means of carrying out business in this era before more rapid long-distance communication; they were often used used as a way of sharing professional, social, or political ideas among leaders in various fields who perhaps had no other way to get together and exchange ideas. 

What can be inferred from the passage about situational diaries? 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 19 to 23.

Culture Clash

In Africa a famous food company tried to sell its baby food by advertising it with the picture of a baby on the label. They did not know that this particular country used labels only to (19)_________ a picture of the food inside. When Pepsico used the slogan "Come alive with Pepsi' in Taiwan, they had no idea that it would be translated into Chinese as 'Pepsi (20) ________ your ancestors back from the dead’.

Misunderstandings such as these about language or about culture are sometimes comical but can also cause genuine hurt or anger. Business styles (21) ________ widely in different countries and what is normal in one culture can be completely unacceptable in another.

Socialising in different countries can be tricky. In Arabic countries, for example, people do not discuss business (22) _________ meals. Giving gifts is another potential problem: in the UK most people take presents to a dinner party, but in many countries this is not polite because it (23) _________ you think the host is poor.

Điền ô số 19

 Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions from 1 to 14. 

In some families, younger people seem more _______ to save money than their parents.

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 27 to 31.

The Progressive Movement

The progressive movement was a powerful and broad-based movement of reform that had lasting effects on the American political system in the first two decades of the twentieth century. It arose in reaction to the domination of the social and political system by business interests and rampant corruption throughout the political party system during the period following the end of the Civil War in 1865. Progressivism emerged as a force during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, from 1901 to 1909, and reached its height in the presidential campaign of 1912. By the time the United States entered World War I in 1917, progressivism as a force had faded from the political scene. The progressive movement was focused on instigating, or initiating change in three different areas. One area that was of major interest to the progressive movement was the imposition of legal and government control over big business, which had usurped an extraordinary amount of power in the era of the wealthy industrial barons such as Rockefeller and Carnegie. A second area of interest to the progressive movement was the improvement of the social system in order to rid society of the poverty, slum housing, and exploitation of immigrant and child labor that were a part of the era. A final area of interest was the cleaning up of the political system to move political decisions back into the realm of direct democratic control and away from the corrupt backroom deals that plagued the world of politics.

Progressivism was a grassroots movement that first gained force at the local level. In cities such as Cincinnati and Cleveland, effective urban reform movements took hold, and city officials were appointed or elected to run their respective cities along nonpartisan lines and out from under the control of political parties and bosses. The progressive movement then worked its way from the local level to the state level and then on to the national level. In the state of Wisconsin, for example, "Fighting Bob" La Follette led the drive for change, first in his role as governor of the state (1901-1906) and later as the U.S. senator representing the state (1906-1925). Under his leadership, numerous reforms were instituted: state regulation of the railroads increased, policies directed at improving the lives of workers -- such as workers' compensation and unemployment insurance -- were instituted, and in the political arena, selection of party candidates was determined by direct democratic vote rather than through backroom political wrangling.

The word “rampant” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _____ . 

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that best combines each pair of sentences in the following questions from 45 to 46.

We spend about one-third of our lives sleeping. We know relatively little about sleep. 

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the option that best completes each of the following exchanges from 47 to 48.

Chau and Phuong bumped into each other after their graduation three years ago.

Chau: "Hi! Phuong. How have you been?” Phuong: “_______”|

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 37 to 44.

Life Writings

The diary and the letter were the most extensively practiced forms of life writings in eighteenth-century America. From the numerous examples of these two types of writing from the period, a portrait of daily life of the period can be gleaned.

Many of the diaries that were kept during this period were life diaries by authors interested in maintaining day-to-day records of reflective self-examination, but some of the most compelling were situational diaries; those prompted by and limited to lengthy descriptions of personal reflections about a particular event. Three of the many situational journals of this period are those written by Sarah Kemble Knight, William Burd II, and Dr. Alexander Hamilton. Sarah Kemble Knight's diary of her five-month trip at the end of 1704 and the beginning of 1705 from Boston to New Haven to New York and back again to Boston was published more than a century later as The Journal of Madam Knight. Though this diary does include an account of the hardship that she encountered along the way, it is principally composed of humorous descriptions of and commentary on the hospitality that she was offered and the manners of those that she encountered. William Burd II kept two diaries to describe his experiences on a 1729 surveying expedition to settle a border dispute between Virginia and North Carolina. One of the diaries, History of the Dividing Line between Virginia and North Carolina, was published in 1842, while its companion, Secret Diary, was published in 1929. In these diaries, Burd used a humorous and satirical approach to describe not just the day-to-day events of the trip but also the characteristics which set his beloved Virginia culture apart from the (in his opinion) decidedly less praiseworthy culture of those non-Virginians that he encountered in his trip. Dr. Alexander Hamilton's Itinerarium (1744) describes a four-month voyage of discovery undertaken by Hamilton through the mid-Atlantic and New England colonies; in the diary that he kept of this trip. Hamilton provides considerable commentary on the social customs of various areas, comparing the customs and culture of the better homes of the American colonies with those of the great salons of Europe.

Letter-writing also held a place of importance in eighteenth-century America (indeed, the ability to produce cultured letters was considered a form of art), and many letters extant from that period provide insights into the culture, mores, and styles of written communication of that era. Many of the letter writers employed devices in common usage in European models of the time, demonstrating that letter writers felt a sense of cohesiveness with the cultured classes of Europe: John and Abigail Adams signed the names Lysander and Constantia to their early letters, while Thomas Jefferson created an elaborate dialogue between his head and his heart to discuss the nature of friendship in a 1786 letter to Maria Cosway. The variety of purposes that these letters served provides additional insight into the priorities of the society of the time. The letters were used to cement love matches and friendships, as the previously mentioned letters did; they were the primary method for relaying news among family and friends who were scattered across various geographic locations; they were often used as a means of carrying out business in this era before more rapid long-distance communication; they were often used used as a way of sharing professional, social, or political ideas among leaders in various fields who perhaps had no other way to get together and exchange ideas.

What is stated in the passage about the works by Knight, Burd, and Hamilton? 

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that best combines each pair of sentences in the following questions from 45 to 46.

His academic record at high school was poor. He failed to apply to that prestigious institution. 

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the option that best completes each of the following exchanges from 47 to 48.

Kien: "Do you feel like going out for a drink this evening?" Trung: “______”

________ that he had no choice but to leave early. 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 19 to 23.

Culture Clash

In Africa a famous food company tried to sell its baby food by advertising it with the picture of a baby on the label. They did not know that this particular country used labels only to (19)_________ a picture of the food inside. When Pepsico used the slogan "Come alive with Pepsi' in Taiwan, they had no idea that it would be translated into Chinese as 'Pepsi (20) ________ your ancestors back from the dead’.

Misunderstandings such as these about language or about culture are sometimes comical but can also cause genuine hurt or anger. Business styles (21) ________ widely in different countries and what is normal in one culture can be completely unacceptable in another.

Socialising in different countries can be tricky. In Arabic countries, for example, people do not discuss business (22) _________ meals. Giving gifts is another potential problem: in the UK most people take presents to a dinner party, but in many countries this is not polite because it (23) _________ you think the host is poor.

Điền ô số 23

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word whose underlined part differs from the other three in pronunciation in each of the following questions from 15 to 16. 

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that is closet meaning to each of the following questions from 34 to 36.

My impression of him was that he was a very capable person. 

It is the recommendation of many counselors _____ that their survival is attributed to their true love. 

I refuse to believe a word of it, it's a cock-and- _______ story. 

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions from 17 to 18.

I had to pay through the nose to get my car repaired at a service station in the middle of the desert.