THE ENGLISH HUB FOR KỲ THI OLYMPIC TRUYỀN THỐNG 30/4

THE SPECIALISED Môn thi: Anh Văn

Thời gian làm bài: 180 phút
PRACTICE TEST Đề này có 12 trang

A. MULTIPLE CHOICE (40 PTS)

I. GRAMMAR AND STRUCTURE (5 PTS): Choose the best options to complete the following
sentences.
1. The house was a mess and the garden hardly looked tidy _______.
A. either B. neither C. too D. as well
2. We _______ all the way to the meeting; it had already been put off because of the absence of the
director.
A. didn’t need to run B. shouldn’t have run
C. can’t have run D. needn’t have run
3. If the hurricane becomes more powerful, it’s _______ for our already crippling economy.
A. much so worse B. the worse so much C. so much the worse D. so worse much
4. They’ve got some _______ shoes in the sale at Derbyshire’s.
A. fantastic pink Russian silk ballet B. pink fantastic silk Russian ballet
C. fantastic silk pink Russian ballet D. pink silk fantastic ballet Russian
5. Alex has got _______ he never seems to have to work hard at school.
A. too good a memory B. a memory that good
C. that good a memory D. a memory too good
6. The interviewer asked _______ the question.
A. for him answering 12 times B. that he answer 12 times
C. him 12 times to answer D. 12 times his answering
7. I _______ my aunt in Seattle last week, but I cancelled the trip because she got ill.
A. was to visit B. was to have visited C. would be visiting D. would visit
8. Either you, or I, or your brother _______ responsible for the damage.
A. am B. is C. are D. being
9. I can’t concentrate! I wish they _______ that annoying noise on the upper floor.
A. all could stop B. had all stopped C. would all stop D. are all stopping
10. People will think more carefully about committing a crime if they know they’re going to _______
themselves arrested.
A. be B. have C. make D. get
II. PHRASAL VERBS AND PREPOSITIONS (5 PTS): Choose the best options to complete the
following sentences.
11. We’re getting nowhere – let’s come _______ the problem from a different angle.
A. to B. on C. at D. by

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12. These cottages are meant to last three to five years, _______ over a displaced population while
permanent homes are being built.
A. bridging B. tiding C. propping D. lifting
13. The country needs to find oil in time to head _______ a serious energy crisis.
A. off B. out C. up D. away
14. In January, Putin unveiled a major _______ of Russian politics and a constitutional overhaul, which
the Kremlin billed as a redistribution of power from the presidency to parliament.
A. shake-up B. toss-up C. roll-up D. screw-up
15. After a slow start, the rookie began to _______ the race leader.
A. come up B. gain on C. level with D. rise to
16. His present financial situation did not permit _______ marriage to a woman of Lady Sarah’s rank.
A. for B. of C. to D. with
17. I'm shocked to hear you say that! I'm disappointed _______ you! I'm really shocked!
A. about B. of C. in D. for
18. I can’t begin to tell you how ecstatic Susan was _______ your forthcoming engagement.
A. with B. about C. by D. on
19. The thieves got into the house _______ false pretences by saying they had come to repair the
water taps.
A. against B. below C. in D. on
20. It doesn’t matter where we are going to eat. What is _______ issue is whether James will pay for
our meals.
A. in B. under C. at D. of
III. VOCABULARY (10 PTS): Choose the best options to complete the following sentences.
21. Some living beings exercise their _______ for reproduction, while other living beings do not need
to, since they are everlasting.
A. capacity B. ability C. faculty D. skill
22. They ran very fast at the start of the race but after a while the pace _______.
A. abated B. slackened C. dwindled D. alleviated
23. Apparently, they’re going to build a big office block on that _______ plot of land.
A. void B. disoccupied C. hollow D. vacant
24. He shouted so much during the match that his voice was _______ afterwards.
A. raucous B. grating C. shrill D. hoarse
25. The contract was _______ signed and the record deal became official.
A. categorically B. duly C. mainly D. regularly
26. In ancient times, governments would _______ their currency by adding a lower value metal to the
gold or silver content of the coins, thus making them worth less in real terms.
A. erode B. malign C. debase D. plague
27. The dog was frightened by the distant _______ of thunder and it started barking.
A. rabble B. rumble C. ramble D. rubble
28. Although the book is a best-seller, I think it is _______ overrated and not particularly well-written.

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 A. broadly B. loosely C. wholely D. vastly
29. Heavy traffic on the motorway had been reduced to a crawl and he switched on his _______ lights
to warn drivers behind him.
A. danger B. risk C. hazard D. peril
30. Measuring and cutting the elastic was taking too much time, so someone with experience in
building theater sets helped devise a contraption to _______ the process.
A. foster B. dash C. expedite D. cultivate
31. The impact of Pfizer’s vaccine announcement highlighted the virus’s economic dominance,
temporarily _______ concerns over who controls the U.S. government.
A. overpowering B. overshadowing C. overthrowing D. overruling
32. Annie, a _______ about health, runs a hundred miles a week and never lets a grain of sugar touch
her lips.
A. devotee B. maniac C. sucker D. zealot
33. After walking all day, the hikers were absolutely _______ and ate a huge meal.
A. famished B. parched C. peckish D. withered
34. An easy substitute for fresh cream, _______ cream is ideally used as a filling in traditional tarts or
between fluffy sponge cakes.
A. false B. forged C. mock D. pretend
35. Look at those designer shoes! They’re _______ overpriced! I’m going to wait until the January
sales.
A. ridiculously B. absurdly C. funnily D. humorously
36. She used to write very nicely, but her handwriting’s really gone to _______ since she started using
a computer all the time.
A. grass B. weed C. sod D. pot
37. Vicky walked into the room _______ as brass and made her demands to the group.
A. loud B. bold C. proud D. hard
38. When Mr Jones saw that his children were wasting water, he _______ their bad habits in the bud
and insisted they act more responsibly.
A. squeezed B. pinched C. nipped D. tweaked
39. A: ‘I’d like to try on these shoes please.’ – B: ‘_______’
A. That’s right, sir. B. By all means, sir. C. Why not? D. I’d love to, sir.
40. A: ‘Do you think Dennis took the money?’ – B: ‘I wouldn’t _______ him.’
A. put it past B. think it through C. pass it over D. rub it up
IV. GUIDED CLOZE (10 PTS): Read the texts below and decide which answer best fits each
space.
Passage A:
Have you ever wondered why there are so many mirrors in shopping malls? Apart from the fact it
makes them glitzy and glamorous, they're also there to slow us down, so when we take (41) _______
our image, we notice the closest shop (42) _______ as well. Most malls revolve around anchor
tenants, such as supermarkets that draw people to the mall out of necessity. By locating them at the
back of the mall, we have to walk past all the other shops to get there and the chances are something

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will catch our eye. And once inside, the (43) _______ like milk and butter, will be at the back, so that
you have to (44) _______ the gauntlet of the sweets and chocolates to get there. The pure white (45)
_______ of a halogen spotlight in shop windows will artfully (46) _______ a must-buy item. Walkways
are also very bright, so you can check out all the other shoppers and be seen yourself. And then
there's (47) _______ noise — a constant hiss broadcast over the public address system so that people
feel there is something going on, somewhere. The constant (48) _______ of Vivaldi's Four Seasons
into bookstores is supposed to make you feel (49) _______ while the pop music (50) _______ out in
a young-person's clothing store makes you feel hip and trendy. Clever or manipulative? It all depends
on your point of view.
41. A. in B. up C. back D. out
42. A. frontispiece B. frontier C. front D. frontal
43. A. fundamentals B. rudiments C. essentials D. necessities
44. A. run B. race C. ride D. rush
45. A. gleam B. beam C. ray D. stream
46. A. accentuate B. stress C. emphasise D. highlight
47. A. white B. red C. black D. grey
48. A. peeping B. purring C. piping D. paging
49. A. educated B. cultured C. learned D. sophisticated
50. A. blazing B. banging C. booming D. blaring
Passage B:
One somewhat strange (51) _______ of modern life is, despite the fact that everybody uses money
and it's a vital (52) _______ of all our lives, surprisingly few of us understand the least little bit about
financial systems and economics. Most people are quite simply (53) _______. Hence people become
extremely angry and likely to behave in wholly (54) _______ ways when it comes to the subject of
defaults and bailouts.
First of all, a default is not a get out of jail free (55) _______. It does not mean that the debts owed
by a bank in a bank default or by a nation in a (56) _______ default simply disappear. They do not.
The other (57) _______ misconception is with regards to bailouts. It is true that government or
international bailouts use taxpayers' money to rescue banks and nations. However, this money is not
(58) _______ away. They are loans with interest that create profits for those that supply the money.
There is also a myth that allowing a bank to default will simply be hitting the rich in their pockets and
therefore banks should be allowed to go to the (59) _______. But the banking sector is an economic
(60) _______ in every country worldwide. If people lose confidence in a nation's banks, it will have a
major effect on the economy and will hurt ordinary citizens far more than it will the rich.
51. A. facet B. slant C. plane D. surface
52. A. unit B. component C. item D. factor
53. A. clueless B. gullible C. pointless D. unconscious
54. A. inane B. risible C. outlandish D. irrational
55. A. stamp B. card C. paper D. file
56. A. sovereign B. imperial C. regal D. majestic
57. A. essential B. key C. foremost D. head

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58. A. broken B. handed C. sent D. given
59. A. hedge B. gate C. fence D. wall
60. A. upholder B. mainstay C. prop D. column
V. READING COMPREHENSION (10 PTS): Read the texts below and choose the best answer to
each question.
Passage A:
In 1903, audiences at London’s Alhambra Theatre jumped in fright at what they saw on the screen.
Then they watched in fascination as images of giant eight-legged creatures crawled before them.
Large and scary looking when projected in a film hall, the creatures were actually tiny organisms called
cheese mites. This was the world’s first nature documentary, and it was hugely popular.
Cheese Mites and similar films of the time were filmed through a microscope. Like many scientific
advances, the technology that made these first nature documentaries possible was the product of
individual exploration rather than formal research. Francis Martin Duncan and Percy Smith were
amateur scientists in the early twentieth century. They devised a number of clever methods for filming
things they found in nature. Producer Charles Urban saw the potential in their inventions for producing
a new kind of film for popular viewing.
The times were right for this sort of entertainment. By the end of the nineteenth century, growing
numbers of people had taken up science-related pastimes like collecting butterflies and attending
nature talks. It is not surprising, then, that movies featuring magnified cheese mites, plant cells, and
even a juggling fly were appealing. While many people enjoyed films like Cheese Mites simply for the
spectacle, other people’s primary interest in them was educational. The juggling fly, for instance, was
in a film that demonstrated the amazing strength of insects. However, for producers such as Urban,
the entertainment value was critical to making them a financial success.
Eventually, nature films became a theater staple. They progressed from microscopic film footage
to time-lapse photography, which allowed audiences to see the full life cycle of a flower in an eight-
minute film. Producers had discovered that this was an ideal length.
61. What is the main purpose of the passage?
A. to compare science films with other kinds of films
B. to show how science influences everyday life
C. to describe the origins of a type of filmmaking
D. to explain how the first film was made
62. What point does the author make about advances in science?
A. They are influenced by popular culture.
B. They often are the result of informal experiments.
C. They generally do not receive enough public attention.
D. They usually take longer than people think.
63. In the third paragraph, why does the author describe Cheese Mites as a spectacle?
A. The insects in the film were very small. B. It was dramatic and unusual.
C. It was highly educational. D. The subject matter was important.
64. What does the author suggest about Charles Urban?
A. His filmmaking skills were limited for the time.

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 B. He conducted scientific research for his films.
C. He also owned movie theaters.
D. His primary goal was not science education.
65. What can be concluded about people’s hobbies in the early twentieth century?
A. They showed that movies were losing popularity.
B. They were a factor in the popularity of science films.
C. They were enjoyed mainly by educated people.
D. They were a result of science education in schools.
Passage B:
Coffee, one of the world's most widely consumed beverages, was not always so ubiquitous or
popular. At times a carefully guarded secret, at others a banned drink, nature's pick-me-up has spread
from its place of origin in Ethiopia to every corner of the world.
According to legend, coffee was discovered in the 9th century by an attentive Ethiopian goatherd
who noticed a frenzy overcoming his herd after they ate the ripe berry. From Ethiopia coffee moved to
Yemen, where it was cultivated for centuries before it arrived in Turkey in the 15th century. In Turkey
the seeds were roasted and then mashed and mixed with water, creating a beverage similar to modern
coffee. Introduced to Europe in the 17th century thanks to Italian traders, coffee had sailed to India
and Indonesia with Dutch merchants by the beginning of the 18th century. Coffee made its way to
Brazil in 1727, hidden in a bouquet of flowers, and quickly spread throughout the rest of Latin America,
and by 1823 had spread to Hawaii. In 1893 coffee returned home to Africa where it settled as a
lucrative cash crop in Kenya and Tanzania. After almost a millennium of travelling, coffee had
circumnavigated the globe.
Today, Brazil is the largest producer of this important commodity, harvesting more than 1 billion
kilograms annually. Vietnam, which did not start growing coffee until 1914, is among the largest
producers. Two types of coffee are produced worldwide, Arabica and Robusta. Arabica, which takes
its name from its origins in the Arabian peninsula, accounts for three-quarters of world production and
was once grown almost exclusively in South America. Robusta, which has a higher caffeine content,
accounts for one quarter of world production and is found mainly in Africa, Asia and Indonesia, where
its hardiness can withstand a broader range of climates better than Arabica.
66. What is the primary purpose of the passage?
A. to explain why coffee is so popular
B. to dispel any myths regarding the discovery of coffee
C. to describe how different countries use coffee
D. to outline how coffee became an international drink
67. According to the passage, what is true about coffee?
A. It spread after being banned in Ethiopia. B. It got its present-day form from the Ethiopians.
C. The first to cultivate it was a goatherd. D. At some time in the past, it was prohibited.
68. What can be inferred about the introduction of coffee to Brazil?
A. It travelled there through Latin America. B. The plant was originally introduced as a flower.
C. It was brought into the country in secrecy. D. It travelled there as a product of trade.
69. According to the passage, what can be understood about the spread of coffee?

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 A. It was limited to South America and Africa.
B. It created conflict in every country to which it was introduced.
C. It took a long while to spread across the whole world.
D. Most stages of its history remain obscure.
70. Why is the Robusta coffee plant more common in certain parts of the world?
A. It is a more resilient plant than Arabica. B. It has more caffeine than Arabica.
C. It can grow in any climate. D. It is considered to be better than Arabica.
Passage C:
Many writers have expressed surprise that with all the use made of voltaic cells after 1800, including
the enormous cells that produced the electric arc and vaporised wires, no one for twenty years
happened to see a deflection of any of the nearby compass needles, which were a basic component
of the scientific apparatus kept by any experimenter at this time. The surprise is still greater when one
realises that many of the contemporary natural philosophers were firmly persuaded, even in the
absence of positive evidence, that there must be a connection between electricity and magnetism.
Hans Christian Oersted himself held this latter opinion, and had been seeking electromagnetic
relationships more or less deliberately for several years before he made his decisive observations.
His familiarity with the subject was such that he fully appreciated the immense importance of his
discovery. This accounts for his employing a rather uncommon method of publication. Instead of
submitting a letter to a scientific society or a report to the editor of a journal, he had privately printed a
four-page pamphlet describing his results. This, he forwarded simultaneously to the learned societies
and outstanding scientists all over Europe. Written in Latin, the paper was published in various journals
in English, French, German, Italian and Danish during the next few weeks.
In summary, he reported that a compass needle experienced deviations when placed near a wire
connecting the terminals of a voltaic battery. He described fully how the direction and magnitude of
the needle deflections varied with the relative position of the wire and the polarity of the battery, stating
that, ‘from the preceding facts, we may likewise collect that this conflict performs circles…’ Oersted’s
comment that the voltaic apparatus used should ‘be strong enough to heat a metallic wire red hot’
does not excuse the twenty-year delay of the discovery.
71. Which of the following best describes the tone used by the author of this passage?
A. Singular focus on Oersted as a player in this period
B. Alignment with the frustrations of past critics
C. Observation and eventual agreement with earlier writers
D. Qualified praise of Oersted as a scientific genius
72. The speed with which Oersted's pamphlet was translated and disseminated shows _______.
A. the general acceptance of Oersted’s findings
B. the scientific irrefutability of his ‘decisive observations’
C. the general credulity of the scientific community
D. the innovativeness of his self-publicising methods
73. Concerning the connection between electricity and magnetism, the author of the passage takes
the opinion that _______.
A. it is surprising that Oersted was the first to articulate it

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 B. the scientific community should have observed it sooner
C. scientific progress was waylaid severely before it was found
D. some forgotten scientist likely found it before Oersted did
74. It can be inferred from the passage that _______.
A. Oersted worked at a cautious remove from the scientific community
B. Latin was a commonly-known European language in the early nineteenth century
C. Compass needles and voltaic cells were relatively inexpensive at the time
D. Oersted was strongly influenced by philosophy as well as by physics
75. What would be a modern-day parallel to the underlying viewpoint expressed in the passage?
A. The Internet existed long before it became popular among lay users.
B. Genomic mapping has come about almost half a century after the discovery of DNA.
C. Experiments currently active in particle physics could revolutionise our idea of matter.
D. Scientists were slow to realise the likely connection between smoking and cancer.
Passage D:
Among the many advanced cognitive abilities that elephants exhibit, their exceptional memory is
what they are most known for. Elephant memory is an area of study that many researchers have
sought to understand and explain, and recent findings reveal that much has yet to be discovered.
Elephants travel in herds typically guided by the oldest female – the matriarch – and her memory
is imperative to their survival. She can remember the location of watering holes and feeding points
and is the one in charge of leading the herd to safety when disaster strikes. Researchers have found
that in periods of drought, for instance, herds with younger matriarchs are less likely to survive. The
older matriarch is able to recollect information from decades back. While humans might experience
memory loss as they grow older, the exact opposite occurs with elephants. Another study exhibited
how herds with older female leaders huddled together in the face of a predator, whereas those with
younger matriarchs didn't. Older matriarchs seemed to remember encountering dangerous strangers
in the past and knew when to take a defensive position to ward them off.
Elephants form strong social ties with each other and build a complex network of relationships
throughout life which depends on genetic, social and circumstantial factors. Their strong memory helps
maintain these, through time and space. It is believed that they can keep track of the location of about
30 other elephants at any given time when travelling; an impressive figure considering that they don't
always roam in a fixed order and the groups are frequently changing.
At first glance, an elephant's memory seems to be purely utilitarian in nature, serving survival
purposes and family identification needs, but the story of two elephants, Shirley and Jenny, poses new
issues. Having spent only a few months together in a circus, the two elephants not only recognised
each other when they were reunited over 20 years later, but also displayed gestures of affection and
friendship. Could this prove that elephants experience and 'remember' feelings of fondness from the
past? To this day, even researchers can only guess.
76. What is the text about?
A. how memory skills benefit elephants
B. how elephants’ memory is affected by external elements
C. a recent research project on elephants’ memory

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 D. elephants’ cognitive abilities in comparison to other animals
77. What can be inferred about elephants and droughts?
A. Their survival depends on their leader.
B. In periods of drought, the oldest female takes charge.
C. Periods of drought are the elephants’ worst fear.
D. Their survival is a matter of luck.
78. What is suggested about elephants and their predators?
A. Predators tend to attack herds with young matriarchs.
B. Herds with young matriarchs aren’t as well defended.
C. Yound matriarchs perceive danger ahead of time.
D. Older matriarchs know when to attack approaching predators.
79. What does the word ‘these’ refer to?
A. elephants B. factors C. memories D. social ties
80. Why is the story of Shirley and Jenny mentioned?
A. to give an example of how elephants that are related to each other act
B. to demonstrate the use of memory in recognising long-lost relatives
C. to show the likelihood of elephants forming emotional connections
D. to emphasise the use of memory for necessary survival information
B. WRITTEN TEST (70 PTS)
I. CLOZE TEST (20 PTS): Read the texts below and complete each space with ONE suitable
word.
Passage A:
It is sometimes said that men and women communicate in different languages. For hundreds of
years in the Jianyong County of Hunan province, China, this was quite literally the (1) _______. Some
time between 400 and 1,000 years ago women defied the patriarchal norms of the time that (2)
_______ them to read or write, and conceived (3) _______ Nu shu – literally, ‘women’s language’ – a
secretive script and language of their own. Through building informal networks of ‘sworn sisters’ who
committed (4) _______ to teaching the language only to other women, and by using it artistically in
ways that could be (5) _______ off as artwork (such as writing characters on a decorative fan), Nu
shu was able to grow and (6) _______ without attracting too much suspicion.
Nu shu has many orthographical distinctions from the standard Chinese script. Whereas standard
Chinese has large, bold strokes that look as if they might have been shaped with a thick permanent
marker pen, Nu shu characters are (7) _______, slanted and have a slightly ‘scratchy’ appearance
that (8) _______ more similarity to calligraphy. Whereas standard Chinese is logographic, with
characters that represent words and meanings, Nu shu is completely phonetic – each character
represents a (9) _______; the meaning must be acquired from the context of what is being said. Users
of Nu shu developed coded meanings for various words and phrases, but it is likely that only a tiny
fraction of these will ever be known. Many secrets of Nu shu have gone to the (10) _______.
Passage B:
(11) _______ was a time in the world of commerce when buyers and sellers knew each other, and
advertising was simply a question of personal recommendation. But when the Industrial Revolution

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enabled mass production, manufacturers needed printed advertising to reach customers they (12)
_______ never meet. It was not until the late 19th century, however, that advertising was to become
an industry in its own (13) _______, with agencies, designers and copywriters.
In the late 1920s, adverts, which had (14) _______ only appeared on billboards or in newspapers,
were now being (15) _______ on the radio as well. Radio ads increased in number during the Great
Depression of the 1930s, when millions of people lost their jobs. Their rise in popularity (16) _______
to the severe economic problems of this period, when people would listen to free radio news rather
than spend money on a newspaper. In this economic climate, advertisers had to work extremely hard
to persuade consumers to buy (17) _______ at all.
By the 1950s, the spread of television had brought with it the commercial (18) _______ – a short
period of time between programmes when products are advertised. That’s when advertising agencies
tapped into people’s dreams and desires by advertising products as if they were necessities you
couldn’t live without, using phrases like limited offer and one-time only, which soon became part and
(19) _______ of advertising language.
Today, with the explosive growth of the Internet coupled with the rise of digital media, advertising
has come (20) _______ circle, with social influencers blurring the lines between commercial
advertising and personal recommendation.
II. WORD FORMATION (20 PTS):
Part 1: Complete each sentence, using the correct form of the word in parentheses.
1. When getting fitted with contacts, eye doctors measure the ______________ of your cornea and
prescribe the correctly curved lenses that hug the eye without squeezing or scratching the cornea.
(CURVE)
2. Dreams are ______________ in and of themselves, but, when combined with other data, they can
tell us much about the dreamer. (SCRUTINY)
3. With proper refrigeration, milk should last five to seven days past its ______________ date before
turning sour. (SALE)
4. Using a(n) ______________, researchers recorded usual walking activity (average number of steps
taken per day) over a week both at the start of the study and again 12 months later. (METER)
5. All three buses stopped outside the pool, each ______________ a gaggle of youth who were
greeted by the scorching heat of the sun. (GORGE)
6. The suspect's reputation may be ______________ damaged because publicised false or
defamatory statements are impossible to scrub from the Internet. (REMEDY)
7. News of the alleged attack spread through the ______________, leading a website to identify a
person whom they believed was the alleged attacker. (BLOG)
8. Adultsplaining refers to the phenomenon in which adults ______________ tell kids and teens what
it means to be them and devalue what kids have to offer. (LITTLE)
9. Despite his talent for music, Ben has ______________ a musical career in pursuit of pharmacy
according to his parents’ wishes. (SWEAR)
10. Baseball matches will look a little different in the COVID-19 world, with empty stadiums full of
silent cardboard ______________ replacing thousands of screaming fans in an effort to contain the
virus. (CUT)
Part 2: Complete the passage with the appropriate forms from the words given in the box.

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ABOLISH CHANGE PROPORTION SCRIPT CORRECT
BIBLE PRODUCE COMMUTE JUDICIARY LEGITIMATE
Capital punishment, also called death penalty, execution of an offender sentenced to death after
conviction by a court of law of a criminal offense. Capital punishment should be distinguished from
(11) ______________ executions carried out without due process of law. The term death penalty is
sometimes used (12) ______________ with capital punishment, though imposition of the penalty is
not always followed by execution (even when it is upheld on appeal), because of the possibility of (13)
______________ to life imprisonment.
Capital punishment for murder, treason, arson, and rape was widely employed in ancient Greece
under the laws of Draco, though Plato argued that it should be used only for the (14) ______________.
The Romans also used it for a wide range of offenses, though citizens were exempted for a short time
during the republic. It also has been sanctioned at one time or another by most of the world’s major
religions. Followers of Judaism and Christianity, for example, have claimed to find justification for
capital punishment in the (15) ______________ passage ‘Whosoever sheddeth man’s blood, by man
shall his blood be shed’ (Genesis 9:6). Yet capital punishment has been (16) ______________ for
many crimes not involving loss of life, including adultery and blasphemy. The ancient legal principle
Lex talionis (talion) – ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life’ – which appears in the
Babylonian Code of Hammurabi, was invoked in some societies to ensure that capital punishment was
not (17) ______________ applied.
Capital punishment has long engendered considerable debate about both its morality and its effect
on criminal behaviour. Supporters of the death penalty believe that those who commit murder, because
they have taken the life of another, have forfeited their own right to life. By contrast, opponents of
capital punishment, following the writings of Cesare Beccaria, argue that, by (18) ______________
the very behaviour that the law seeks to repress – killing – capital punishment is (19) ______________
in the moral message it conveys. Moreover, they urge, when it is used for lesser crimes, capital
punishment is immoral because it is not corresponding to the harm done. (20) ______________ also
claim that capital punishment violates the condemned person’s right to life and is fundamentally
inhuman and degrading.
III. ERROR CORRECTION (10 PTS): The following passage contains 10 errors. Identify and
correct them.

Line COUNTRY BUMPKINS AND CITY SLICKERS

1 Aesop’s fable about the town mouse and the country mouse concentrates on the dangers
of city living and rather sneers off its advantages. Yet advantages there are, for mice and men
alike, as long as those involved are able to grasp them. That, though, requires an ability to
respond successfully to novel problems. So a pair of researchers in Germany have looked to
5 see whether urban mice are better at doing this than rural ones. Their conclusion, just
published in Animal Behaviour, is that they are.
Valeria Mazza of the University of Potsdam and Anja Guenther of the Max Planck Institute
for Evolutionary Biology, in Plön, captivated 17 striped field mice from farmland and 14 another
from various places in central Berlin. They kept these animals in a laboratory for a year, to
10 acclimatise them, and then challenged them with various tasks which, if performing
successfully, would yield with a reward of food. Tasks included opening the window panes of
a house made of Lego bricks; opening the lid of a Petri dish; and yanking out a wad of paper

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 jammed inside a clear plastic tube. As a control, all the mice were also given a naturalistic task
that was involved digging through a heap of beddings to find a reward.
15 Both groups seemed equally eager to participate in the tasks, but the urban mice were
better at solving the novel ones. They had a 77% success rate, to the rural mice 52%. When
it came to the control task, though, both were equally good, solving it 85% and 88% of the time
respectively.
The researchers’ next object of investigation is whether the urban mice had learned their
20 smarts prior to their incarceration, or had inherited it, suggesting they were the product of
natural selection acting on their city-dwelling ancestors. This will involve raising mouse pups
from the two populaces in identical laboratory conditions. Dr Mazza and Dr Guenther hope to
have the answer later this year.
IV. SENTENCE TRANSFORMATION (20 PTS): Rewrite the following sentences using the words
given.
1. Alan used to be a healthy man before his retirement from the stage. (SHADOW)
 Ever since _________________________________________________________________ self.
2. I was no longer enthusiastic about the project as soon as I heard that Mary would also join the team.
(WORK)
 Upon ________________________________________________________________________.
3. Of over 29 million doses distributed by the government, a third of them have been administered to
elderly citizens. (WHICH)
 The government distributes as ____________________________________________________.
4. Locals who do not wear masks are not allowed to enter the store. (ARMED)
 The store will be off ________________________________________________________ masks.
5. They report that the suspected Covid-19 patient has been quarantined until test results arrive.
(PENDING)
 The suspected Covid-19 patient ____________________________________________________.
6. She danced with such grace that her performance captivated the whole audience. (RAPTURES)
 So _____________________________________________________________ her performance.
7. Their house was in poor condition because they failed to maintain it. (RACK)
 With some ____________________________________________________________________.
8. Looking back, it was unwise for us to act too soon as there could be much better offers. (GUN)
 We ought ____________________________________________________________ retrospect.
9. The once impoverished region has now played an important role in world affairs. (STAGE)
 What used ____________________________________________________________________.
10. Shortly after the arrival of the Pfizer vaccine, local citizens gathered at vaccination sites in large
numbers. (FLOCKED)
 No sooner _____________________________________________________________________.

END OF TEST – BEST OF LUCK

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 ANSWER KEY
A. MULTIPLE CHOICE (40 PTS)
I. GRAMMAR AND STRUCTURE (5 PTS):
1. A 2. D 3. C 4. A 5. C 6. C 7. B 8. B 9. C 10. D
II. PHRASAL VERBS AND PREPOSITIONS (5 PTS):
11. C 12. B 13. A 14. A 15. B 16. B 17. C 18. B 19. D 20. C
III. VOCABULARY (10 PTS)
21. A 22. B 23. D 24. D 25. B 26. C 27. B 28. D 29. C 30. C
31. B 32. D 33. A 34. C 35. A 36. D 37. B 38. C 39. B 40. A
IV. GUIDED CLOZE (10 PTS)
Passage A.
41. A 42. C 43. C 44. A 45. B 46. D 47. A 48. C 49. B 50. D
Passage B.
51. A 52. B 53. A 54. D 55. B 56. A 57. B 58. D 59. D 60. B
V. READING COMPREHENSION (10 PTS)
Passage A.
61. C 62. B 63. B 64. D 65. B
Passage B.
66. D 67. D 68. C 69. C 70. A
Passage C.
71. C 72. A 73. B 74. B 75. D
Passage D.
76. A 77. A 78. B 79. D 80. C
B. WRITTEN TEST
I. OPEN CLOZE (20 PTS)
Part 1.
1. case 2. forbade 3. of 4. themselves 5. passed
6. spread 7. thin 8. bears 9. sound 10. grave
Part 2.
11. There 12. might 13. right 14. previously 15. broadcast/aired
16. testified/ 17. anything 18. break 19. parcel 20. full
attested
II. WORD FORM (20 PTS)
Part 1.
1. curvature 2. inscrutable 3. sell-by 4. pedometer 5. disgorging
6. irremediably 7. blogosphere 8. belittlingly 9. forsworn 10. cut(-)outs

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Part 2.
11. extrajudicial 12. interchangeably 13. commutation 14. incorrigible 15. biblical
16. prescribed 17. disproportionately 18. legitimising 19. counterproductive 20. Abolitionists
III. ERROR IDENTIFICATION (10 PTS)
Line 2: (sneers) off  (sneers) at Line 14: was involved  involved
Line 8: captivated  captured Line 14: beddings  bedding
Line 8: 14 another  14 others/another 14 Line 16: (rural) mice  (rural) mice’s
Line 10: performing  performed Line 20: it  them
Line 11: yield with  yield Line 22: populaces  populations
IV. SENTENCE TRANSFORMATION (20 PTS)
1. Ever since Alan/he retired from the stage, Alan/he has been/become a shadow of his former self.
2. Upon hearing that Mary would also join the team, I could not/no longer work up any enthusiasm for
the project.
3. The government distributes as many as 29 million doses, a third of which have been administered
to elderly citizens.
4. The store will be off limits to locals (who are) not armed with masks.
5. The suspected Covid-19 patient is reported to have been quarantined pending test results.
6. So gracefully did she dance that the whole audience was in/went into raptures about/over her
performance.
7. With some maintenance, their house would not have gone to rack and ruin.
8. We ought not to have jumped the gun as there could be much better offers, in retrospect.
9. What used to be an impoverished region has now taken/occupied centre stage in world affairs.
10. No sooner had the Pfizer vaccine arrived than local citizens flocked to vaccination sites.

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