Read the passage, and choose the correct answer A, B, C or D for each question.

Street Food Shoulder Poles on Saigon streets

      Street food shoulder pole is familiar with Saigon people throughout many years. Nowadays it has become a special thing that makes travelers curious. In small areas of District 1 and District 3, we could count more than 100 vendors who earned money using shoulder poles. A shoulder pole, also called a carrying pole, is a yoke of wood or bamboo, used by people to carry a load. The vendors put their goods in two baskets from each end of the yoke.

      In the downtown, we can meet young women with their shoulder poles. The baskets are covered with plastic wrap carefully to protect the foods from the street dust. In a tight space ofone basket, she could mix the ingredients and bake the cake on a small charcoal which was defended by carton. The ready cakes were put in other basket.

      In the morning or evening, on rainy or sunny day, Saigon streets are marked by shoulder poles of people from different regions of the country, which has become a      unique part of Saigon. It has been said that it isn’t hard to live in Saigon if you work hard. With the carrying pole on shoulders, the vendor has turned it into a “store”. The reason is very simple, they don’t have enough money to open a real store. Every day these women continue their journey through Saigon streets under the sun and the rain, selling cheap things or street foods to earn money and feed their children.

1.   A shoulder pole                .

Nowadays, they are proud that they came through those hardships. They had their heads held (10)                     walking out of the war.

As innocent children, they went to school (9)                        straw hats in the sounds of American jet fighters in the sky and the shots from Vietnamese anti-aircraft guns.

Choose the word or phrase among A, B, C or D that best fits the blank space in the following passage.

      During the war, children wore straw hats to (1)               themselves from debris. Houses and schools were bombed and destroyed. Many children were made (2)     and their schools had to be moved around or lessons sometimes had to (3)                    after dark to avoid being targeted by heavy bombing. Many schools had its roof (4)             with several layers of straw to withstand the (5)             of the bombs. Life for children was very hard in both the North and South of Viet Nam during the war.

      Young people were (6)                 of their duty to serve their country. Even young girls took part in the war efforts by digging bomb shelters. Children took first-aid courses after school so that they could (7)                  injured people.

      Childhood years of children born in the 1960s are (8)                 . As innocent children, they went to school (9)                    straw hats in the sounds of American jet fighters in the sky and the shots from Vietnamese anti-aircraft guns.

      Nowadays, they are proud that they came through those hardships. They had their heads held (10)                       walking out of the war.

Complete the conversation about means of communication, using the responses (A-H) given.

A.  Our messages will be transferred at the speech of light in the future.

B.  Smoke was used as a means of communication from one mountain to another.

C.  With the invention of stamps.

D.  Only a few simple messages could be sent and received with this primitive method of smoke signals.

E.   People carry it together with the identity card, the keys and the wallet.

F.   The pigeons could fly to and fro to carry letters.

G.  It tells about the means of communication in the past, present, and the future.

H.  Carrier pigeon was another means communication to send messages further away.

John:        Which book are you reading, Hung?

Hung:       (1)__________________________________________________________________

                  _____________________________________________________________

John:        Wow, interesting! I think it has changed according to the changes in technology. What was first used for communication?

Hung:       (2)___________________________________________________________

                  _____________________________________________________________

John:        Maybe people only used smoke to ask for help or something like that.

Hung:       (3)___________________________________________________________

John:        What happened after that?

Hung:       (4)__________________________________________________________________

                  _____________________________________________________________

John:        I’ve heard about that. The pigeons were trained for this two-way communication method of letter carrying.

Hung:       Sure. (5)            

John:        Then people send letters by post.

Hung:       (6)___________________________________________________________

                  Right? After that, we have Morse codes, telegraphs, telephones, email with the Internet, and so on.

John:        Now mobiles are the most popular.

Hung:       Yeah. (7)                   _____________________________________________________________

                  _____________________________________________________________

John:        And the future? It is not difficult to predict the future of the communication.

Fill in each blank in the passage with the correct word from the box.

      The exhibition of the (1)                          of the subsidy period in Viet Nam took place in Ha Noi attracted the attention of many people. During the historical period all goods were distributed through (2)                            . The electric fans, cups were indispensable items in the 1980s. The blanket printed with a peacock was a (3)                  item of Ha Noi (4)                             . Each family tried to have at least one. The bike, a (5)                                hat of the wartime are kept fairly intact. Most books of the subsidy (6)                              are derived from the former Soviet Union. The (7)        of many people was associated with many (8)                            about Lenin, the story of Doctor Aybolit. At that time, banknotes were rarely used; the (9)                     were distributed by coupons. (10)                       were sometimes paid by goods.

Choose the word or phrase among A, B, C or D that best fits the blank space in the following passage.

      Seventy percent of people in Viet Nam live in rural areas. Most of these people (1)            their living by caring for farm animals like pigs. Other common jobsare crop farming and fishing. For many of these farmers and fishermen, animal and plant waste is still a problem.

      Many women and children cook meals using traditional cooking fuels. They also spend many hours (2)             wood and other materials to burn. This process takes time and also uses a lot of natural resources. Moreover, they suffer the same health (3)              . Cooking was a difficult and dangerous job. The kitchen was smoky, and the black ash would make people cough, and (4)                        pain in the eyes.

      But a biogas system can (5)                     all of these problems! It can turn animal or plant waste (6)            valuable resources – such as cooking fuel, electricity and plant fertilizer. First, an expert must build a system of pipes and tanks. This biogas system contains and manages the decaying process of animal or plant waste. To use the biogas system, a farmer must move animal waste into a pipe with water. These pipes bring the waste to a tank (7)                  in the ground. This tank is called a bio-digester. Air cannot enter this tank. In this contained environment, natural bacteria decays the waste material. (8)                   the waste decays in the bio-digester, it (9)                             two things – biogas and slurry. The biogas rises to the top of the tank. The pressure from the gas pushes the liquid slurry into (10)                               . Now people can use both the biogas and the slurry.

Read the passage and fill in the blanks with suitable words.

      Being the first and also the oldest high school in Hue, originally Quoc Hoc (National High School) was the school for children from royal and noble families. French colonialists opened this school in 1896 to train those (1)                              would serve the government. Therefore, at that time, French was the main subject for students. Now it is (2)                                    Hue National High School and is a high-profile school that all students must pass a competitive (3)                                             exam to get the admission.

      Established in 1896, after more than 100-year history, the school today isconsidered the largest and also the most beautiful high school (4)                                              in Viet Nam. This surrounding makes a great picture of red French designed buildings in Harmony with green (5)                                 of a large shady trees and stone benches.

      (6)                         in spring, when “diep anh dao” (a kind of cherry blossoms)is in bloom, the whole picture is filled with pinky dots above red thatched tile. Students often call that (7)                             of time “Pinky cloud season” and regard it as the most special moments of a year. These are the reasons why Quoc Hoc is also (8)                        “Pinky school beside Perfume River Bank” in the song with the same name.

      Moreover, several Vietnamese (9)                                   leaders have been learning here, including: Nguyen Tat Thanh (President Ho Chi Minh), General Vo Nguyen Giap, Prime Minister Pham Van Dong, etc. In addition, the school is famed for its students who are well-known poets (Xuan Dieu, Huy Can, To Huu, Luu Trong Le etc.), scientists (Ta Quang Buu, Ton That Tung, Dang Van Ngu, etc.), musicians (Tran Hoan, Nguyen Van Thuong, etc.). The school also has students getting high prizes in many international (10)                        .

Read the passage, and choose the correct answer A, B, C or D for each question.

      The Complex of Hue Monuments is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is located in the city of Hue in central Vietnam. Hue was founded as the Viet Nam capital city by Gia Long, the first king of the Nguyen Dynasty in 1802. It held this position for thirteen Nguyen kings until 1945.

      The massive complex features hundreds of monuments and mins, such as the Forbidden Purple City, once the residence of the royal family and badly damagedduring the Vietnam War. the Imperial City, royal tombs, the flag tower, pagodas, temples, a library and museum.

      Hue, located on the banks of the Huong River, (also known as the Perfume River) is about a hundred kilometres north of Da Nang. Among the most impressivemonuments in this former grand imperial capital are the Ngo Mon Gate of the Imperial City which once was exclusively used by the royal family and their servants and soldiers, the tomb of Emperor Minh Mang as well as the tomb of EmperorTu DuC. In fact, many of the monuments surrounding the royal buildings were constructed in the early 19^th century and were modeled after Beijing’s Forbidden City. The wall that surroundings the citadel is six metres high and two and a half kilometres long.

      The historical complex is known not only for its rich architecture but also for its beautiful landscape setting. Overall, the site is quite spectacular. Avoid Hue between October and December as it gets most of its rain from the northeast monsoon during that period. This small city is also famous for its Imperial-style cuisine.

1.   The Hue Citadel needs the work of restoration because of                      .

Read the following passage and choose the best option for each numbered blank.

      Formed on the vast delta of the (1)                                                          mouths of Dong Nai, SaiGon and Vam Co, Can Gio Mangrove Forest in Ho Chi Minh City is an ecosystem (2)                          aquatic ecosystem and land ecosystem, freshwater ecosystemand marine ecosystem, (3)             150 flora species, 744 fauna species,130 species of birds and 130 species offish. In the core zone of Can Gio Mangrove Forest, Ho Chi Minh City invested to build Vam Sat Ecological Tourist Site withmany tourist (4)                        such as: a crocodile farm, a bat lagoon, a birdyard, Tang Bong Tower, a (5)                   garden and many games of fishingcrocodile, sailing boats, rowing boats...

      Can Gio is the green (6)                           of Ho Chi Minh City and is assessed as the best restored, care and (7)                              place in Viet Nam and worldwide. This is also the ideal place for eco-tourism and (8)                           research. On21 January 2000, UNESCO (9)                            Can Gio (10)                          a world biosphere reserve.

Read the passage, and fill in the blank with the suitable word.

            Around 60 kilometers southwest of Ha Noi, Perfume Pagoda is one of the largest (1)                               sites in Huong Son Commune, My Duc District. It comprises a complex of pagodas and Buddhist shrines (2)                                               into the limestone cliffs of Perfume Mount, spreading alongside the (3)                                           up to the peak. The complex’s center is Inner Temple, right inside Huong Tich Cavern. Huge numbers of pilgrims flock to the site (4)                                             Perfume Pagoda Festival, which begins in the middle of the (5)                              lunar month and (6)                                     until the middle of the third one (or from February to April) in order to (7)                                   for happiness and prosperity in the coming year. Also, it is a very popular opportunity for young (8)                             to meet and for numerous romances to be (9)                                           . On this special occasion, a wide range of traditional cultural activities is incorporated. Perfume Pagoda is not only a religious site, but a great sight-seeing (10)                            in Viet Nam as well.

Read the following passage and choose the best option for each numbered blank.

DA LAT - DREAM CITY

            Da Lat lies on Lam Vien plateau, in the Central Highland province of Lam Dong. 300 kilometresnorth of Ho Chi Minh City. Da Lat is a well-known city (1)             all the people who have been there once. Da Lat is known (2)              a city of pine trees, waterfalls and flowers. Da Lat is described as a forest of flowers with (3)                           colours and various species. Flowers can be found (4)                      and in any season. We can see flowers in Da Lat in the parks, (5)                     of the houses, in the gardens etc. Da Lat has the widest range of orchid varieties in the country. Da Lat has (6)                        rivers and canals but it has many picturesque waterfalls. It takes tourists several days (7)                       all the waterfalls in the area. The famous Cam Ly Falls is only 3 kilometres (8)              the town centre. The Prenn Falls is 10 kilometres in the south of Da Lat. The water (9)                                   down like a white shade. Da Lat people are very (10)               of it. They always boast to tourists about it in the first place.Around the Prenn Falls is the valley of various flowers and pine hills.

Read the passage below carefully and choose the correct answer A, B, C or D

      Although no one knows for certain who the original Saint Valentine was, once a year, on February 14, there is a day in his honor. Some historians believe that the original Saint Valentine was a priest who lived in the city of Rome about 300 years after the birth of Christ. The emperor of Rome was not a Christian and refused to allow people to be married in a Christian ceremony. Saint Valentine didn’t obeythe emperor and performed many Christian marriages, in spite of the emperor’s order. When the Romans found out, they sent Saint Valentine to prison and later killed him. While his romantic efforts to help many Christians in love cost him hislife, he was honored in his own days. But his story has been mostly forgotten after people have come to celebrate Valentine’s Day as a special time for sweethearts. On Valentine’s Day people express their affections by sending Valentine cards to friends, families, and boyfriends and girlfriends.

      1.   This writing is mostly about               .