An English test for gifted students - Grade 10, 2020-2021

SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO THÁI NGUYÊN MÔN THI: TIẾNG ANH LỚP 10
KỲ THI CHỌN HỌC SINH GIỎI CẤP TỈNH Ngày thi: / /2021
NĂM HỌC 2020 - 2021 Thời gian làm bài: 150 phút (không kể thời gian giao đề)

(Thí sinh làm bài trực tiếp vào đề thi theo hướng dẫn dưới mỗi câu)
ĐÁP ÁN
Điểm Giám khảo số 1 Giám khảo số 2 Số phách
(họ tên, chữ ký) (họ tên, chữ ký) (do chủ tịch HĐ ghi)
Bằng số Bằng chữ

Đề thi này gồm 9 trang được đánh số từ 1- 9. Thí sinh kiểm tra số trang trước khi làm bài.
A. LISTENING (40 points)
Hướng dẫn phần thi nghe hiểu:
- Nội dung nghe gồm 02 phần, mỗi phần thí sinh được nghe 2 lần, đĩa CD tự chạy 2 lần.
- Mở đầu và kết thúc phần nghe có tín hiệu nhạc.
- Hướng dẫn làm bài chi tiết cho thí sinh (bằng tiếng Anh) đã có trong bài nghe.
SECTION 1. Questions 1 - 5 (10 points) Choose the correct letter, A, B, C
Example: How long has Sally been waiting?
A. five minutes B. twenty minutes C. thirty minutes
1. What does Peter want to drink?
A. tea B. coffee C. a cold drink
2. What caused Peter problems at the bank?
A. The exchange rate was down. B. He was late C. The computers weren’t working
3. Who did Peter talk to at the bank?
A. an old friend B. an American man C. a German man
4. Henry gave Peter a map of ______.
A. the city B. the bus route C. the train system
5. What do Peter and Sally decide to order?
A. food and drinks B. just food C. just drinks

1. C 2. C 3. B 4. B 5. A

Questions 6 - 8 (6 points) Complete the notes below using the words from the box.

Art Gallery Cathedral Castle Gardens Markets

Tourist attractions open all day: (6)____ Cathedral ___________ and Gardens
Tourist attractions NOT open on Mondays: (7) ___ Markets ______and Castle
Tourst attractions which have free entry: (8)_____ Gardens _________and Markets
Questions 9 - 10 (4 points) Complete the sentences below.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
9. The first place Peter and Sally will visit is the _____ Art Gallery ______________.
10. At the Cathedral, Peter really wants to ___ climb the town/ see the view _____.

SECTION 2. Questions 11 - 20 (20 points) Choose the correct letter, A, B or C

11. The Counseling Service may contact tutors if

1
 An English test for gifted students - Grade 10, 2020-2021
A. they are too slow in making assignment. B. they give students a lot of work.
C. they don’t inform students about their progress.
12. Stress may be caused by
A. new teachers. B. time pressure. C. unfamiliar subject matter.
13. International students may find stress difficult to handle because
A. they lack support from family and friends.
B. they don’t have time to make new friends.
C. they find it difficult to socialize.
14. A person crisis may be caused by
A. studying for too long overseas. B. business problems in the student’s own country.
C. disruption to personal relationships.
15. Students may lose self-esteem if
A. they have to change courses. B. they don’t complete the course.
C. their family puts too much pressure on them.
16. Students should consult Glenda Roberts if
A. their general health is poor. B. their diet is too strict.
C. they can’t eat the local food.
17. Students in financial difficulties can receive
A. assistance to buy books. B. a loan to pay their course fees.
C. a no-interest loan to cover study expenses.
18. Loans are also available to students who
A. can’t pay their rent. B. need to buy furniture.
C. can’t cover their living expenses.
19. The number of students counselled by service last year was
A. 214 B. 240 C. 2,600
20. The speaker thinks the Counselling Service
A. has been effective in spite of staff shortage
B. is under-used by students.
C. has suffered badly because of staff cuts.

11. C 12. B 13. A 14. C 15. B

16. C 17. A 18. B 19. B 20. A

B. USE OF ENGLISH (40 points)

I. Choose the correct answer A, B, C or D. (10 points)
21. You risk losing your job if your boss ______ you weren’t really ill.
A. found that B. find C. finds out D. has found
22. A: “I hope I haven’t hurt his feeling”.
B: “No, don’t worry. He’s so ______ that he probably thought you were talking about someone
else”.
A. absent-minded B. kind-hearted C. thick-skinned D. open-minded
23. By the time we ______ at the party, many of guests had left.
A. got through B. approached to C. came across D. turned up
24. As children, we were ______ to become educated people.
A. grown up B. brought up C. held up D. kept up
25. It's a good idea to see your doctor regularly for ______.
A. a revision B. a control C. an investiagation D. a check-up
26. Not only ______ in the project, but he also wanted to become the leader.
A. did Jack involve B. had Jack been involved
C. was Jack involved D. was involved Jack
28. Henry is now looking for a job. He has been ______ for nearly two months.
A. out of order B. out of mind C. out of work D. out of reach
2
 An English test for gifted students - Grade 10, 2020-2021
28. Henry ran so fast; I found it imposible to ______ him.
A. catch up with B. fall behind C. keep pace D. keep in touch with
29. It is high time you ______ your habit.
A. change B. changed C. need to change D. are to change
30. A: “Could I get you something to drink? ”
B: “______”.
A. Yes, I’ve just had enough. B. Yes, you could.
C. No, thanks. Not for me. D. No, never mind.

21. C 22. C 23. D 24. B 25. D

26. A 27. C 28. A 29. B 30. C

II. Choose the appropriate letter (A, B, C or D) to complete the passage. (12 points)
Dogs
Dogs were one of the first animals to be domesticated. Although they all belong to the same
species, they (31) ______ more in size and appearance than any other animal, and are now (32)
______ wherever there are human beings. They all have good hearing and an excellent sense of
smell. (33) ______ the differences between breeds, all dogs are (34) ______ from the same
ancestor, they grey wolf. Wolves enjoy hunting and are ready to run (35) ______ prey, which is
why dogs today like energetic games and plenty of exercise. Pet dogs that are not (36) ______
enough to do can become bored and (37) ______. Like wolves, dogs live in groups called packs.
They (38) ______ well to domestication as they came to (39) ______ their human owners as pack
leaders.
The domestication of dogs began many thousands of years ago when grey wolves, in search
of food, were (40) ______ to human settlements. The wolves must gradually have become used to
people, who would soon have discovered that they were quite useful animals, for wolves ran faster
than people and could (41)______them hunt for other animals. People (42) ______ for the wild
wolves and so the wolves became domesticated.
31. A. transform B. alter C. change D. vary
32. A. general B. average C. common D. ordinary
33. A. Despite B. Although C. However D. While
34. A. emerged B. linked C. descended D. related
35. A. away B. after C. into D. over
36. A. given B. provided C. handed D. presented
37. A. destructive B. harmful C. damaging D. injuring
38. A. suited B. grew C. responded D. injuring
39. A. think B. see C. agree D. believe
40. A. interested B. attracted C. appealed D. tempted
41. A. assist B. help C. support D. allow
42. A. guarded B. protected C. attended D. cared

31. D 32. C 33. A 34. C 35. B 36. A

37. A 38. C 39. B 40. B 41. B 42. D

III. Complete each sentence with a suitable particle or preposition. (8 points)

43. When the police discovered his history of drunk driving, they took ______ his driver's license.
44. The dividing line between the north and the south is only a matter ______ opinion.
45. There are plenty of exceptions ______ this view in this country.
46. It is hard to exaggerate the psychological effect of Japanese investment ______ local prosperity.
47. On her uncle’s death, she came ______ a great sum of money.
48. Could you put me ______ for a few days until I find a place of my own?
49. He did not know ______ certain what caused the accident.
3
 An English test for gifted students - Grade 10, 2020-2021
50. John's in hospital again. The poor chap seems prone ______ accidents.

43. away 44. of 45. to 46. on

47. into 48. up 49. for 50. to

IV. Give the correct form of the word in brackets. (10 points)
Second Language Learning
There has been much debate in recent times about when young people should take up a
second language. This has been especially fuelled in recent times by the increasing importance
placed on the English language. It is now commonplace to see parents providing a substantial
amount of (51. funding) ______ on additional tuition on language lessons to give their children
every (52. compete) ______ edge. In the past decade, language institutes have sprung up in (53.
number) ______ urban centres, all claiming to provide rapid (54. advanced) ______ in English.
There has been a push by many parents to expose their children to English in their (55. formation)
______ years. This, many claim, will make the language more (56. instinct) ______and ensure that
all pronunciation errors can be avoided. There is some evidence which points to youngsters who
have been raised in (57. language) ______ families, where the language spoken at home is different
to the one that they (58. conversation) ______ with in their external environment. While these
children can switch between two languages with greater (59. easy) ______, it remains to be seen
whether this is (60. advantage) ______ when learning additional languages.

51. funds 52. competitive 53. numerous

54. advancement 55. formative 56. instinctive
57. bilingual 58. converse 59. ease
60. advantageous

C. READING (50 points)

I. You are going to read an article about the making of an unusual television commercial.
Seven sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A-H the one
which fits each gap. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use. (12 points)
A  Then the falling dominoes head out of the room into the streets, causing progressively larger
objects to tumble.
B  These were all chosen to suit the town and fit in with the people’s way of life.
C  Getting there involved driving along 48 kilometres of dirt roads and crossing twelve rivers.
D  Iruya is situated 3000 metres above sea level and the film crew was not used to working in such
conditions.
E  The prop department did construct a small version on site, but most of the work was done in a
studio in London.
F  Added to this was the total of one hundred and thirty 'actors' who were recruited from a five
neighbouring towns.
G  Not so with the famous Irish drink company Guinness.

The Making of “Tipping Point”

Many of the most expensive commercials ever made are those in which an A-list celebrity flashes a
beautiful smile at the cameras. (0) G. Their recent television advertisement, the most expensive in
British history, cost ten million pounds, and it features, not the rich and famous, but villagers from
the mountains of Argentina.

The advertisement features a game of dominoes. It begins in a darkened room where several
thousand ordinary dominoes are set up on a specially-designed table. (61) ______. Dominoes knock
over books, which in turn knock bigger household objects such as suitcases, tyres, pots of paint, oil

4
 An English test for gifted students - Grade 10, 2020-2021
drums and even cars. The final piece in the chain reaction is a huge tower of books. These flutter
open to reveal a structure in the shape of a pint of Guinness.

The location chosen for the commercial was Iruya, a village high up in the mountains of north-west
Argentina. (62) ______. The journey there could take up to ten hours. Asked why this remote
destination was chosen for the shoot, the director said that even though it was the most difficult
location they could have picked, it was perfect.

For one month, the village, population thousand, increased in size by almost thirty percent. One
hundred and forty crew members descended on the village. These included the world record holders
in domino toppling, Weijers Domino productions from the Netherlands. (63) ______.

Creating this film was no easy task. Preparations for filming took well over a month. Twenty six
truckloads of objects were brought in. (64) ______. They included 10,000 books, 400 tyres, 75
mirrors, 50 fridges, 45 wardrobes and 6 cars. Setting the objects up took skill and patience. They
needed to be arranged so they would fall over easily, and this involved balancing them on stones.
Some of the sequences had to be reshot 15 times and 24 hours of footage was captured. However,
the sequence in which six cars fell over was successfully shot in just one take.

Filming in this location was not without its difficulties. Firstly, being so isolated, it was hard to
obtain resources at short notice. The second problem was the high altitude. (65) ______. It was also
hard working with the villagers who had no experience of film-making. Finally, setting and
resetting the props caused a good deal of frustration.

These days when CGI is all the rage, it was surprising that so little of the work was done using
computer effects. The only sequence that used computer graphics was the one in which the tower of
books fluttered open to reveal a pint of Guinness. (66) ______. Even so, this was no simple matter.
They had to ensure that all the books in the tower had a different appearance.

Director Nicolai Fuglsig said about the project: ‘Despite all the challenges, the cast was fantastic
and it was a really amazing experience.’ Whether or not the effort put into the advert pays off is
another matter entirely.
     
61. A 62. C 63. F 64. B 65. D 66. E

II. Fill in each blank with ONE suitable word to complete the following passage. (20 points)
Miss Darby was one of those people who never threw anything away. “You never know
when you might need it” was (67) ______ of her favorite sayings. She lived (68) ______ herself in
a large Victorian house across the road from us. Although I never went to her house, I knew it was
full (69) ______ antique furniture, Persian carpets and so on. In every room, there were dozens of
paintings so that her house was (70) ______ an art gallery. I remember my father (71) ______ that
she was a “ Staffordshire Darby” but I had (72) ______ idea what he meant. I (73) ______ out years
later that the Darby family had made their money from coal-mining in Staffordshire. We used to
make up stories (74) ______ her. My sister Alice, (75) ______ was a romantic girl, told us that
Miss Darby once had a lover, but he walked out one day and she (76) ______ saw him again!

67. one 68. by 69. of 70. like 71. saying

72. no 73. found 74. about 75. who 76. never

III. Read the following extract and answer the questions. (18 points)
THE NEED FOR BUSHFIRES
The plant communities that grow on the arid sandy soils of the south-western corner of Australia
depend on fire for their survival. The land here is so poor in nutrients and in summer so baked by
the sun that a forest of tall trees cannot grow. Instead there is a low bush mixed with a scatter of
5
 An English test for gifted students - Grade 10, 2020-2021
trees, few of which are more than 20 feet high. To botanists, however, it is a wonderland with
flowers of great beauty, very few of which have been seen growing in the wild before. For this one
corner of the continent contains no less than 12,000 different plant species and 87 per cent of them
grow nowhere else in the world. This individuality stems from the fact that, 50 million years ago,
Australia was partly covered by a shallow sea that separated the western part of the continent from
the rest. As Australia gradually warmed, this sea dried up, but it left behind a wide expanse of sand,
so that the western corner is cut off by desert and its ancient isolation is still to some extent evident.
Fire has regularly burnt this land throughout its recent geographical history. The plants have
evolved with it, so now they are not only well able to survive its destruction but have come to
depend on it and use it to their own advantage.

The eucalypts or gum trees that grow there often take the peculiar form known as. Species that
elsewhere become normal-working trees grow here in such a different way that they might be
thought to be a completely different kind. Instead of a single trunk that only has branches some
height above the ground, they have a massive rootstock from which rise half a dozen thin trunks of
a common height. To uninformed eyes it looks as if they had been trimmed to size. When fire
sweeps through mallee, the slender trunks are often totally burnt and destroyed. But the rootstock,
close to the ground or just below its surface, bears a ring of strong buds from which new stem
rapidly sprout. They grow more quickly and vigorously than the old, partly because the ground has
been recently fertilized by the ash of other plants, and partly because, to begin with there are few
survivors with such well-established root systems competing for those nutrients.

The bottlebrush, related to the eucalypts, produces spectacular clusters of bright red flowers at the
end of its stems, which attract indigenous birds. But it will not shed any seed they produce unless
there is a fire. So examining a bottlebrush can reveal how long it is since fire passed that way. All
you have to do is to count the number of clusters of seeds still attached along the branch and that
will tell you how many years the plant has remained unburnt.

The banksias, a tree belonging to the protea family, also relies on fire. It takes about a year for the
seeds to mature. Like the bottlebrush, some banksias will not shed their seeds unless there is a fire.
Indeed, it is almost impossible to remove them from the plant because they are held in hard, woody
capsules. But as the flames burn the branches, the intense heat causes the capsules to open. By
releasing their seeds only after a fire, the banksias ensure that they fall on well-cleaned, brightly lit
ground recently fertilized with ash and so get the most favorable of starts in what is, even at best, an
extremely harsh and demanding environment.

This country is also one of the headquarters of the grass tree, which is really neither a grass nor a
tree. It is a distant relative of the lilies. But it does have a very long narrow leaves that resemble
grass, and they are borne in a great shock on the top of a stem that trunk is not timber but fibre and
what seems to be bark, is, in fact, the tightly compacted bases of the leaves, which are shed annually
from beneath the crown as the plants grows higher. These bases are glued together by a copious
flow of gum and they form a very efficient heat insulation. Since the plant sheds one ring of leaves
annually, counting the rings of bases in this fireproof jacket gives an indication of age. When the
bushfire flames do come, they quickly burn off the great tuft of leaves, which incinerate almost
instantaneously. But the stem, surrounded by its fireguard, remains unharmed and the leaves are
quickly regrown.

For questions 77-79, complete the sentences, choosing NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS
AND/OR NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
77. The south-western part of Australia is described as a _______for scientists who study plants.
78. _____________once divided the Australian continent.
79. When the temperature in Australia slowly rose, the sea disappeared and a great area of
___________ was left behind.

6
 An English test for gifted students - Grade 10, 2020-2021
77. wonderland 78. (A) Shallow sea 79. desert / sand

For question 80-82, choose correct answer (A,B, C, or D). Write in the corresponding numbered
boxes
80. What is the significance of fire to south-western Australia?
A. it is an annual problem to the environment.
B. it caused permanent damage to soil millions of years ago.
C. vegetation is reliant on it.
D. it keeps the area isolated from the rest of the continent.
81. What effect does fire have on the bottlebrush?
A. it will only grow in the ash left after a fire. B. the burnt plant appeals to birdlife.
C. fire prevents birds from destroying the plant. D. it will not release its seeds without a fire.
82. What effects does fire have on banksias growth?
A. fire carries seeds to more fertile areas.
B. the ash from the fire destroys oxygen in the soil.
C. the high temperatures force the seed cases to open.
D. fire destroys other plants that compete for resources.

80. C 81. D 82. C

For questions 83-85, write in the corresponding numbered boxes

YES if the statement reflects the writer’s claim
NO if the statement contradicts the writer’s claim
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
83. Most of the plants in their natural environment in south-western Australia are familiar to
botanists.
84. Fire affects eucalypts in other parts of Australia as well as in the south-western region.
85. The composition of the grass tree is different from how it appears.
83. YES 84. NOT GIVEN 85. TRUE
D.WRITING (50 points)
I. Finish the second sentence in such a way that it has the same meaning as the one printed before it.
(20 points)
86. It was such a dirty beach that we decided not to stay.
 The beach was so dirty that we decided not to stay.
 The beach was such a dirty place that we decided not to stay.
 The beach was not clean enough for us to stay./ The beach was too dirty for us to stay.
87. A lot of children and old people have to go to hospitals because of the cold climate.
 Because the climate is very cold, a lot of children and old people have to go to hospitals
88. The only way you can become a good athlete is by training hard every day.
 Only by training hard every day can you become a good athlete
89. “Could you guard against my handbag while I go to the toilet?”
 “Could you keep an eye on my handbag while I go to the toilet?”
90. No matter how hard I tried, I could not open the window.
 Try as hard as I might, I could not open the window.
91. My advice to you is to go to the doctor’s.
 If I were you, I would go to the doctor’s
92. The train journey from London to Bristol takes two hours.
 It is a two-hour train journey from London to Bristol
93. How many competitors were there in the game yesterday?

7
 An English test for gifted students - Grade 10, 2020-2021
 How many people took part/ participated/ joined in the game yesterday?
94. I was not surprised that you did very well in your exam.
 It came as no surprise to me (to hear) that you did very well in your exam
9050. I don’t really want to visit the museum.
 I’d rather not go to/ visit the museum./ I’d rather stay at home than go to/ visit the museum.
She ___________________________________________________________________
III. Write an essay (around 200 words) on the following topic. (30 points)
“In the future, students may have the choice of studying at home by using technology such as
computers or television or of studying at traditional school”.
Which would you prefer? Use reasons and specific details to explain your choice.

Content: accounts for 50% of the total mark. To be given the maximum of 50% for the content, the
candidate should provide all main ideas and details as appropriate.

Language: accounts for 30% of the total mark. To be given the maximum of 30 % for language, the
candidate should use variety of vocabulary and structures appropriate to the level of English
language gifted upper-secondary school students.

Presentation: accounts for 20% of the total mark. To be given the maximum of 20% for
presentation, the candidate should write with coherence, cohesion and can use appropriate style and
linking devices appropriate to the level of English language gifted upper-secondary school students.

Total mark: 180 points:9 = 20

The end