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

     South Pole explorer Ernest Shackleton never reached his goal of crossing Antarctica, but the circumstances that prevented him from reaching that goal pushed him to achieve an even more amazing feat. In January 1915 Shackelton’s ship Endurance became trapped in the ice of Antarctica. He and his crew of twenty-seven lived on the ship trapped in the ice floes for nine months, until they had to abandon the ship when the ice crushed it. The day the ship sank, Shackleton wrote his new goal: “The task is to reach land with all members of the expedition.” The group camped on the ice floes for six months, until the ice broke up and they took small lifeboats to nearby uninhabited Elephant Island. During their time on the ship, ice, and island, Shackleton’s group endured temperatures as low as twenty degrees below zero and had no daylight from May to July. They had to hunt scarce seals and penguins for food, and were hunted themselves by killer whales and sea leopards, which would rise through the ice in search of prey. Throughout this time, Shackleton demonstrated his leadership by rationing food, rotating use of warmer sleeping bags, and keeping a calm, positive attitude that helped morale. 

          He also showed great courage as he and five of his men crossed eight hundred miles of dangerous ocean to the nearest inhabited island to seek help. Despite no maps and terrible weather, Shackeleton’s small boat reached the island where Shackleton and an even smaller group crossed unexplored, jagged mountains to reach a whaling station. He organized a rescue party to retrieve the rest of his crew, and despite the perils of living in south polar waters for almost two years, all twenty-seven men came back from the expedition. Shackleton never crossed the South Pole, but he completed the task of bringing back all of his crew alive

When did the expedition crew leave the Endurance?

Choose the word which has different stress

Keep only fish that you will eat; release the rest.

Choose the best answer.

The man _______ the door and _________ pieces of paper.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase for each of the blanks.

      School exams are, generally speaking, the first kind of test we take. They find out how much knowledge we have gained. But do they really show how intelligent we are? After all, isn’t it a__________(23)__________that some people who are very academically successful don’t have any common sense. Intelligence is the speed__________(24)__________which we can understand and react to new situations and it is usually tested by logic puzzles. Although scientist are now preparing__________(25)__________computer technology that will be able to “read” our brains,__________(26)__________tests are still the most popular ways of measuring intelligence.

       A person’s IQ is their intelligence__________(27)__________it is measured by a special test. The most common IT tests are run by Mensa, an organization that was found in England in 1946. By 1976, it had 1,300 members in Britain. Today there are 44,000 in Britain and 100,000 worldwide , largely inthe US.

Điền vào số (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 from 35 to 42.

  If you were going to choose a job that involves travel, what would be your first choice? There are many jobs available today that give people opportunities to travel. Although may traveling careers sound fantastic, they also have disadvantages.

  Being an au pair is an excellent way to not only go to different countries, but to live in different places around the world and really get a feel for the culture. Au pairs lives with the families they are placed with and take of children. Many parents include au pairs in family events and vacations, so they experience many aspects of the new culture while on the job. However, many of the activities are centered around the children, so they may not get to experience many things that interest adults.

  For people who want a bit more freedom working abroad, being an English teacher maybe a good choice. There are English teaching jobs in almost countries in the world. People teaching English in other countries often have a chance to travel on the weekends around the country. One drawback is that many teachers often wind up hanging out with other English teachers, and they don’t have time to learn the country’s language.

  The nickname “roadie” implies that this job involves life on the road. Roadies are people who work and travel with bands and provide technical support. Roadies can be lighting and stage crew who set up the stage and break it down before and after events. They can also be technicians helping band members with their instruments. International tours take a band’s crew to cities around the world, often requiring air travel. However, the crew doesn’t get much time off, so they may travel to several countries without seeing much besides concert venues and hotels.

  Similarly, flight attendants often travel to cities around the world, but they don’t see much besides the inside of airplanes and hotels. However, when they do have time off, they can often fly at no cost, and family member can sometimes fly free as well. Its is widely thought that a flight attendant job is glamorous, but flight attendants must deal with travel hassles, as well as security issues.

  All jobs gave advantages and disadvantages whether or not you travel for work, so if you have the travel bug, keep these jobs in mind for the future.

How is a flight attendant’s job similar to a roadie’s?

Decide T (true)/ F (false) for each statement.

Last year I visited the Somerset Levels, a coastal plain and wetland area in Somerset, South West England. This area is home to one of Somerset’s oldest traditional crafts - willow basket making. Basket making began in the area a long time ago. At the beginning of the 19th century, more than three thousand acres of willow trees were planted commercially there because the area provided an excellent natural habitat for their cultivation. I’d seen willow baskets before I visited the Levels, but I was still amazed at the numerous products created by the basket makers there. They make lobster pots, bread trays, and even passenger baskets for hot air balloons. Although the arrival of plastics in the 1950s caused the basket making industry to decline, willow growing and basket making have continued to play a significant role in Somerset’s rural economy. Willow growers and basket makers have dealt with this challenge by finding new markets and innovative ways of using willow. They make willow charcoal for artists and bower seats for gardens. Some even weave willow coffins. Therefore, people here can still live on the craft that their great-grandparents passed down to them.

Willows can grow well in the area because of its favourable natural conditions.

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

            In addition to the challenge to be excellent, American schools have been facing novel problems. They must ….(11) … with an influx of immigrant children, many of whom speak little or no English. They must respond to demands ….(12) ….the curriculum reflect the various cultures of all children. Schools must make sure that students develop …(13) … skills for the job market, and they must consider the needs of nontraditional students, such as teenage mothers.

            Schools are …(14)…. these problems in ways that reflect the diversity of theUSeducational system. They are hiring or training large numbers of teachers of English …(15)… a second language and, in some countries, setting up bilingual schools. They are opening …(16)… the traditional European-centered curriculum to embrace material from American, Asian, and other cultures.

            Schools are also teaching cognitive skills to the …(17)… 40 percent of American students who do not go on to higher education. In the …(18).. of a recent report by the Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills, “A strong back, the willingness to work, and a high  school diploma were once all that was necessary to …(19) ….

a start inAmerica. They are no longer. A well-developed mind, a continued willingness to learn and the ability to put knowledge to work are the new keys …(20) .. the future of our young people, the success of our business, and the economic well-being of the nation”.( Extracted from Info USA-CD Version).

Question 17

I don't enjoy _________ at by other people.

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

Today, Snyder is seeing the fruits of the collaboration. In a recent issue of the Journal of Comparative Psychology (Vol. 117, No. 3), the research group published the first study of giant panda cub-rearing and separation. The study is the first step in examining the impact of a common breeding practice in China: separating captive cubs before they are six months old so that the mothers will be able to reproduce again sooner. Cubs in the wild stay with their mothers for 1.5 to 2.5 years.

Snyder and her co-authors, including Maple and psychologist Mollie Bloomsmith, PhD, theorize that separating cubs from their mothers too early may harm their social development, and could underlie why so many captive pandas fail to breed. Captive males often show little sexual interest in females or are too aggressive.

The research team has also conducted urinary and behavioral analyses of female giant pandas during the breeding season, which is generally in the spring, and is examining the behavior of giant panda mothers. Graduate student Megan Wilson, who also has worked in Chengdu, is investigating sequences of play-fighting for her dissertation. And former graduate student and Chengdu researcher Loraine Tarou, PhD, examined giant panda cognition.

Tarou, now an assistant professor at Grand Valley State University in Michigan, is the first to examine how captive pandas forage for food and learn to adapt to changes in their environment. She compared her findings with the cognition of the spectacled bear and found that while both use spatial memory to find food, the spectacled bears used visual cues the pandas did not pick up on.

The finding indicates that giant pandas' reliance on spatial memory alone may cause them to have difficulty when their food sources are abruptly changed or moved--a big problem for an animal that consumes nearly 30 pounds of bamboo a day.

While such basic research may not have immediate application, says Tarou, it is contributing to scientists' growing knowledge of the species.

(Adapted from https://www.apa.org/)

The word “conducted” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______. 

Read the passage below and choose one correct answer for each question.

Global warming and cooling have occurred naturally throughout history. But in the last 200 years, humans’ uses of fossil fuels and clear cutting of forests have increased the amount of carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere. These gases trap some of the radiation from the sun which then increases the Earth’s temperature. Given the current state of environmental pollution caused by human activities, scientists believe the average temperature of the earth may increase 1-2 degrees Celsius which put simply, means some places will get much hotter and some much colder. At the same time, this overall warming effect means more frequent and more intense weather systems, especially in terms of flooding and drought.    

Viet Nam is one of the most vulnerable environments due to its location on the planet. It is already subject to some of the earth’s most powerful weather systems and the increased frequency and intensity of storms will affect it often and directly, especially in coastal areas where most people live. Various estimates have been made as to the possible impacts. The most directly affected sector will be agriculture, which is very sensitive to flooding and the effects of extreme weather.

Viet Nam has the advantage of coming relatively late into the industrialization, urbanization, and modernization process. This means it can avoid many of the mistakes made by wealthier industrial countries. For example, wireless communication networks can be built from the start rather than installing lines that can easily be destroyed in extreme weather. Cities can be designed and located in less vulnerable locations. Climate-friendly building codes and standards can be created that are both more efficient and less prone to heat stress, wind damage, and flooding. Climate friendly transport systems, especially public transport, can be adopted.

The vast, humid expanse of the delta is home to more than 17 million people, who (4)_______ for generations on its thousands of river arteries.

My computer ___________ broken last week.

She worked hard. She passed her exam.

→ She worked ..........................................

I like the book ____ you lent me last week.