BLOGCHUYENANH KỲ THI THỬ CHỌN HỌC SINH GIỎI QUỐC GIA THPT

Teacher: Trinh Thanh Trung LẦN III – NĂM 2015

Môn thi: TIẾNG ANH

Thời gian thi: 180 phút (không kể thời gian giao đề) SỐ PHÁCH
Ngày thi: 27/12/2015
Đề thi có 11 trang

 Thí sinh không được sử dụng tài liệu, kể cả từ điển.

 Giám thị không giải thích gì thêm.
_________________________________________________________
I. LISTENING (50 PTS)
HƯỚNG DẪN PHẦN THI NGHE HIỂU
 Bài nghe gồm 4 phần; mỗi phần được nghe 2 lần, mỗi lần cách nhau 05 giây; mở đầu và kết thúc
mỗi phần nghe có tín hiệu.
 Mở đầu và kết thúc bài nghe có tín hiệu nhạc. Thí sinh có 3 phút để hoàn chỉnh bài trước tín hiệu
nhạc kết thúc bài nghe.
 Mọi hướng dẫn cho thí sinh (bằng tiếng Anh) đã có trong bài nghe.
Part 1: For questions 1a–5c, listen to a conversation between Dylan and Emily. They are discussing
a presentation which they will have to make. Answer the questions and complete the table. Your
answers should be in the form of notes. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered spaces.
1a. What part in a presentation is of the greatest import?
________________________________________________________________________________
1b. What can presenters use to capture the audience’s attention?
________________________________________________________________________________
1c. How should presenters treat their audience?
________________________________________________________________________________
Part Subject Details
One (2a)____________________ (2b)__________________ and (2c)___________________
Two current (3a)____________________ (3b)____________________
Three (3c)____________________ review (4a)____________________
Four recommendations postulation of (4b)____________________ by Cotter
related to (5a)____________________, i.e.
Five Q&A  (5b)____________________
 (5c)____________________
Part 2: Listen to a lecture on the possibility of creating nuclear fusion.
For questions 6a–7d, complete the diagram labels. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each
answer. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered spaces.
THE SUN’S (6a)____________________
(6b)____________________

1. 2. 3.
homogenenous electric charge forced together with the  (7b)____________________
precipitates (6c)____________ incorporation of (6d)_________  (7c)____________________
to reach (7a)______________ → (7d)___________________
For questions 8a–10c, complete the diagram. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each
answer. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered spaces.

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 SPECIAL REACTOR/(8a)_______________: _______________ SYSTEM

(8b)____________________
superheated plasma with strong
(8c)____________________
2010 (10b)___________________
walls of (9a)__________________  yielded less power than inputted
cooled using (9b)______________  perpetuated a reaction for less
to (9c)____________________ than (10c)___________________

plasma can become (10a)_______;

could be calamitous

Part 3: Listen to an interview with Dr Lafford, a pre-eminent pundit in the field of forensic science.
For questions 11–15, choose the best answer (A, B, C or D) according to what you hear. Write your
answers in the corresponding numbered boxes.
11. According to Dr Lafford, Sherlock Holmes was a good forensic scientist by virtue of his _______.
A. all-inclusive observations C. medical erudition
B. cognitive perspicacity D. unbiased modus operandi
12. Forensic scientists pay peculiar heed to _______.
A. a suspect’s apparel C. items miscreants have touched
B. carpet filaments and anthropoid locks D. manifestation of reciprocal contact
13. Dr Lafford alludes to the broken headlight to substantiate the notion that forensic science in the present
climate is _______.
A. just as well-founded as it was in the past C. more straightforward than it was in the past
B. more convoluted than it used to be D. not as time-consuming as it once was
14. According to Dr Lafford, electron microscopes can _______.
A. dispense a chemical evaluation C. precipitate incongruous upshots
B. guarantee comprehensive veracity D. sporadically sabotage corroboration
15. Dr Lafford feels that the value of forensic science lies in _______.
A. how its momentousness in a case is expounded
B. pruning the number of potential suspects
C. the employment of avant-garde genetic fingerprinting
D. the feasibility of annihilating human oversight
Your answers
11. 12. 13. 14. 15.
Part 4: Listen to a piece of news from the CNN about a massive and divisive migration into Europe.
For questions 16a–25b, fill in the missing information. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS
and/or A NUMBER taken from the recording for each answer in the corresponding spaces.
THE RISE OF ISIS AND THE REFUGEE CRISIS
Europe, with a prodigious migrant crisis (16a)____________________, has endeavoured to address
the plight, in which primarily the rise of ISIS has terminated. The largest (16b)____________________ of
refugees have streamed into the country, if not oppressed by authorities, stoned, (17a)________________,
(17b)____________________ against fences or scrambled to board trains, then desperately suffering and
perishing. According to Europe’s (18a)____________________, most of the migrants have fled from Syria,
Afghanistan and Pakistan, trying to approach their (18b)____________________ in Germany. Analysts
have shared a(n) (19a)____________________ as to what conduces to such gargantuan fleeing, above
and beyond ISIS: the (19b)_______________ of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the (20a)______________
in Libya. While the bloodshed has made Syria practically untenanted for those desisting from hostilities,
ISIS adjudges it their triumph:
 those ill-disposed towards ISIS have been driven out,
 the terror group’s combatants have been (20b)____________________,
 (21a)____________________ has been devised among the powers that be, and
 ISIS can (21b)____________________ these migrants (i.e. (22a)____________________ the
conspirators or undercover agents).
The immense number of fugitives has left German no choice apart from welcome. Chancellor Angela
Merkel evinces there being a(n) (22b)____________________ among countries, in lieu of denouncing one
another, although it is touch-and-go whether German and Europe can assemble, as could her country with
Spain. First is the hurdle of (23a)____________________ EU regulations among refugees, and then come
(23b)____________________ municipal denizens who are apprehensive of pecuniary and communal
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encumbrance. Even so, many espouse her hospitality, for while EU governors have yet to act towards the
predicament, valiant Merkel is the front runner to have dispensed (24a)________________ to the deprived.
In dire straits, an emergency summit on the migration issues to be convoked, on Tuesday, EU ministers
advocated the effectuation of a quota system for dislodging and populating (24b)____________________
in the face of non-compliance from four Eastern European countries. Confederated as it may seem, EU has
(25a)____________________ the contretemps among its associates. Those countries, inundated with
migrants and refugees yet still antipathetic, will be mulcted of (25b)____________________ unless
submissive, more concernedly in the context of accruing incursion.
II. LEXICO-GRAMMAR (30 PTS)
Part 1: For questions 26–37, choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D) to each of the following
questions and write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes.
26. When you’re _______ away on perfecting your own projects, to see someone else exhibit that care and
that passion, even in an entirely different field, is a sheer pleasure.
A. occupying B. passing C. slaving D. whiling
27. That Miss Colombia was wrongly crowned at Miss Universe 2015 has sparked off the now customary
_______ frenzy in the media.
A. bolstering B. consuming C. feeding D. issuing
28. If we form an alliance with the U.S., who has a political _______ to grind against China, we’ll sabotage
its workings and maximise our problems in the Pacific Ocean.
A. axe B. hammer C. organ D. stone
29. After about an hour or two’s earful of the plaintiff’s accusations, without being able to get a word in
_______, the defendant started talking over him.
A. ascendancies B. circumferences C. edgeways D. peripheries
30. Tan Hiep Phat must be ordered to pay substantial damages for retaliating against _______.
A. mischief-makers B. scaremongers C. whistle-blowers D. wirepullers
31. The landlord had neglected to provide screens, and I was unable to open the windows, lest the house
be _______ with flies and mosquitoes.
A. infected B. infested C. inflicted D. inundated
32. A neighbour called to a break-in at a house in Binh Phuoc found the intruder still on the _______ and
hiding under a kitchen cabinet.
A. assertions B. conjectures C. premises D. surmises
33. Unofficial paths and access ways are now closed off to walkers, cyclists and horse riders, forcing them
to run the _______ of anti-nuclear protesters on the roads to reach the dwindling recreation areas.
A. drumsticks B. garter C. gauntlet D. ramrods
34. Miss Pham Huong believes Miss Universe is clearly a journey of discovery for herself, who _______
whatever the results might be.
A. is a bone of contention with C. makes no bones about
B. is in her bones as to D. works her fingers to the bone of
35. This type of headgear usually heralds bad behaviour and _______ disregard for the safety of others.
A. blatant B. shameless C. unabashed D. undisguised
36. Despite being raised the daughter of a brigadier, and despite stints at both the Royal Shakespeare
Company and the National Theatre, there are no _______ to Juliet Stevenson.
A. airs and graces B. arts and crafts C. fingers and thumbs D. pins and needles
37. By devoting such a large part of the budget for the fight against drug addiction to education, we are
_______ the question of its significance in the battle against drugs.
A. begging B. imploring C. importuning D. requesting
For questions 38–40, choose the letter (A, B, C or D) to indicate the word or phrase that is
CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined part of the following sentences and write your answers in
the corresponding numbered boxes.
38. The family feel an immense sense of satisfaction after weathering all the dangers to reach Australia,
where they are building a new life with friends and family who are already there.
A. acclimatising C. disintegrating
B. coming through unscathed D. feeling out of sorts
39. Adults, particularly older ones or those with a(n) run-down immune system, can however also contract
shingles (herpes zoster) from a child with chickenpox.
A. dilapidated B. enervated C. uncared-for D. washed-out
40. What the country urgently needs is assistance from the World Bank and other co-operating partners to
usher into a progressive and productive phase devoid of poverty.
A. be a harbinger of B. be cut out for C. pave the way for D. tag along with
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Your answers
26. 27. 28. 29. 30.
31. 32. 33. 34. 35.
36. 37. 38. 39. 40.
Part 2: For questions 41–45, fill in the gaps in the following sentences with suitable prepositions
and/or particles. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered spaces.
41. A lot of the data processing media or software that was in use just a few years ago is now so old that it
is not easy to find equipment or programmes to worm their secrets _______ them.
42. I can’t really explain why that is, so maybe we’ll just have to chalk it _______ the perplexing schematics
of the plot and the strange blankness of most of the characters.
43. In the dim and distant recesses of my cobwebbed memory, she was rabbiting _______ my son’s chums
and their abundance of confidence when it came to chit-chatting with adults.
44. Laser cardholders won’t be able to wriggle _______ paying the annual stamp duty on their cards from
next year under any extenuating circumstances.
45. Owners of shops, hotels and business establishments on this street, felt they were losing _______
genuine customers who couldn’t find space for their vehicles.
Your answers
41. 42. 43. 44. 45.
Part 3: For questions 46–55, write the correct form of each bracketed word in the corresponding
numbered space in the column in the right.
FROM COIN TO PAPER Your answers
In 9th-century China, at the height of the Tang dynasty, the government
became concerned about the (46)_______ (VEX) problems of carrying large 46. ____________________
amounts of coins in order to conduct business (47)_______ (ACT). 47. ____________________
Consequently, they devised a method of paying merchants with money
certificates, which could be exchanged for coin money on demand at the
capital. These certificates had a(n) (48)_______ (AUSPICES) tendency to 48. ____________________
blow away if there was any wind, but fortunately, they were not (49)_______ 49. ____________________
(TRANSFER), so merchants began exchanging them with each other
instead of using coins.
It was not until the Song dynasty that actual paper money was created.
Initially introduced by a group of merchants and (50)_______ (FINANCE), 50. ____________________
each banknote had images of houses, trees and people printed on it and 51. ____________________
very few are (51)_______ (PICTURE). These (52)_______ (EXIST) with 52. ____________________
various intricate markings, the identification of which could be made only by
issuing banks, thereby restricting disguised (53)_______ (KNOCK). For this 53. ____________________
reason, they became readily accepted for payment, and their circulation
increased. Then, in 1023, the government decided on the (54)_______ 54. ____________________
(DRAW) of banknotes and issued government notes in their place, every
one of them with a cash backing. These new banknotes could be
exchanged for government-issued coins, and so could be used to buy
simple groceries. As a result, the use of paper money soon became
(55)_______ (PRESENT) and universally useful. 55. ____________________
III. READING (50 PTS)
Part 1: For questions 56–65, read the following passages and decide which answer (A, B, C or D)
best fits each gap. Write your answers (A, B, C, or D) in corresponding numbered boxes.
ON THE DECLINE?
For years we have become used to hearing that crime is on the (56)_______. This has been blamed on
nearly everything from bad parenting and the influence of film and television to the availability of
information, courtesy of the internet, about how to commit practically any crime (57)_______. It therefore
comes as a surprise to many to learn that in fact the crime rate is falling and has been doing so over the
last twenty years. Is there a reason for this? Why should there be a reduction in crime during difficult
economic times when experts would expect it to increase?
Unsurprisingly, those in government insist that this is a result of improvements in policing, others say
that smart phones and other electronic devices have (58)_______ the boredom that often drove young
people to crime in the first place. Some experts maintain that the crime rate has not actually fallen, it is
simply that these days criminals engage in different types of crime that frequently go unreported such as
online fraud. There are even some who believe that people are less (59)_______ to commit crime these
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days because of the reduction of lead in the atmosphere. Whatever the truth, there is a glimmer of hope
that our perception of life being (60)_______ with danger every time we leave out homes is just that – a
perception.
56. A. expansion B. increase C. rise D. upswing
57. A. on nine cloud B. on the horizon C. over the moon D. under the sun
58. A. allayed B. alleviated C. assuaged D. attenuated
59. A. immune B. inclined C. procumbent D. prostrated
60. A. agitated B. distraught C. overwrought D. rife
CELEBRITY ROLE-MODELS
Research in the University of Leicester Department of Media and Communication examined interest in
celebrities and gossip about them. It was carried out by Dr Charlotte De Backer who sought in her study to
explain interest in celebrity culture.
According to Dr De Backer: ‘Life is about learning and gaining experience, and in that process we have
a tendency to observe and mimic the actions of others. Ideally we mimic what makes others successful and
(61)_______ shy of unsuccessful actions others have trialled and paid for. In reality, humans seem to have
the tendency to mimic the overall behaviour pattern of the higher status of those more successful than
themselves. This explains why celebrities act as role models (62)_______ of behaviour they display –
whether good or bad.’
Dr De Backer also examined another theory for interest in celebrity, known as the Parasocial
Hypothesis. In this case, the bonds are parasocial, or one-way, because the celebrity (63)_______ private
information, often involuntarily. The audience members respond emotionally to this information, although
there is hardly ever any feedback on the private life of the audience going to the celebrity, nor do celebrities
display emotions towards their audience.
Her study of 800 respondents and over 100 interviews confirmed that younger participants showed
greater interest in celebrity gossip, even if it was about celebrities who were much older than them and
even when they did not know who the celebrities were. They showed greatest interest in internationally-
known celebrities, because they considered those as more (64)_______.
Her study also found that older people were interested in celebrity gossip not because they wanted to
learn from the celebrities, but because it helped them to form social networks with other people. ‘We found
in the interviews that older people do not gossip about celebrities because they want to learn from them or
feel (65)_______ by them, but because they use celebrity gossip to bond with real-life friends and
acquaintances. As we live in scattered societies, celebrities can act as our mutual friends and
acquaintances.’
61. A. clash B. fight C. repress D. struggle
62. A. for broad ranges B. in the domain C. in the stratosphere D. within easy reach
63. A. divulges B. evinces C. uncloaks D. unveils
64. A. authoritative B. illustrious C. prestigious D. reputable
65. A. befriended B. patronised C. sustained D. upheld
Your answers
56. 57. 58. 59. 60.
61. 62. 63. 64. 65.
Part 2: For questions 66–71, fill each of the following numbered spaces with ONE suitable word and
write your answers in the corresponding boxes provided below the passage.
FASHION IN SIGHTSEEING
The question of what makes an entertaining sightseeing excursion is just as (66)_______ to the whims
of fashion as any other leisure activity. A trip around the spectacular coastal scenery of western Scotland is
now a highly attractive option but a couple of centuries ago that same landscape was (67)_______ as a
wild and scary wasteland. Increasingly, in western Europe, safely decommissioned mines and other
(68)_______ of the region’s industrial heritage are now being reinvented as visitor attractions, whilst
redundant factories and power stations get a new (69)_______ of life as shopping centres and art galleries.
The question is: if defunct industrial sites can attract tourists, then why not functioning ones?
The Yokohama Factory Scenery Night Cruise is just one of several industrial sightseeing tours now
available in Japan. These are part of an emerging niche tourist trade, (70)_______ by a craze amongst
young urbanites to reconnect with the country’s industrial base. Seeing the oil refineries and steelworks at
night, when lights and flares are more visible, apparently (71)_______ to the aesthetic charm of the
experience.
Your answers
66. 67. 68. 69.
70. 71.
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Part 3: Read the following passage and answer questions 72–84.
COMMUNICATING STYLES AND CONFLICT
Knowing your communication style and having a mix of styles on your team can provide a positive force for
resolving conflict.
A. As far back as Hippocrates’ time (460–370 BC) people have tried to understand other people by
characterising them according to personality types or temperament. Hippocrates believed there were
four different body fluids that influenced four basic types of temperament. His work was further
developed 500 years later by Galen (130–200 AD). These days there are any number of self-
assessment tools that relate to the basic descriptions developed by Galen, although we no longer
believe the source to be the types of body fluid that dominate our systems.
B. The value in self-assessments that help determine personality style, learning styles, communication
styles, conflict-handling styles, or other aspects of individuals is that they help depersonalise conflicts in
interpersonal relationships. The depersonalisation occurs when you realise that others aren’t trying to
be difficult, but they need different or more information than you do. They’re not intending to be rude;
they are so focused on the task they forget about greeting people. They would like to work faster but not
at the risk of damaging the relationships needed to get the job done. They understand there is a job to
do, but it can only be done right with the appropriate information, which takes time to collect. When
used appropriately, understanding communication styles can help resolve conflict on teams. Very rarely
are conflicts of true personality issues. Usually, they are issues of style, information needs, or focus.
C. Hippocrates and later Galen determined there were four basic temperaments: sanguine, phlegmatic,
melancholic and choleric. These descriptions were developed centuries ago and are still somewhat apt,
although you could update the wording. In today’s world, they translate into the four fairly common
communication styles described below:
D. The sanguine person would be the expressive or spirited style of communication. These people speak
in pictures. They invest a lot of emotion and energy in their communication and often speak quickly,
putting their whole body into it. They are easily sidetracked onto a story that may or may not illustrate
the point they are trying to make. Because of their enthusiasm they are great team motivators. They are
concerned about people and relationships. Their high levels of energy can come on strong at times and
their focus is usually on the bigger picture, which means they sometimes miss the details or the proper
order of things. These people find conflict or differences of opinion invigorating and love to engage in a
spirited discussion. They love change and are constantly looking for new and exciting adventures.
E. The phlegmatic person – cool and persevering – translates into the technical or systematic
communication style. This style of communication is focused on facts and technical details. Phlegmatic
people have an orderly, methodical way of approaching tasks, and their focus is very much on the task,
not on the people, emotions, or concerns that the task may evoke. The focus is also more on the details
necessary to accomplish a task. Sometimes the details overwhelm the big picture and focus needs to
be brought back to the context of the task. People with this style think the facts should speak for
themselves, and they are not as comfortable with conflict. They need time to adapt to change and need
to understand both the logic of it and the steps involved.
F. The melancholic person, who is soft-hearted and oriented toward doing things for others, translates into
the considerate or sympathetic communication style. A person with this communication style is focused
on people and relationships. They are good listeners and do things for other people – sometimes to the
detriment of getting things done for themselves. They want to solicit everyone’s opinion and make sure
everyone is comfortable with whatever is required to get the job done. At times this focus on others can
distract from the task at hand. Because they are so concerned with the needs of others and smoothing
over issues, they do not like conflict. They believe that change threatens the status quo and tends to
make people feel uneasy, so people with this communication style, like phlegmatic people, need time to
consider the changes in order to adapt to them.
G. The choleric temperament translates into the bold or direct style of communication. People with this
style are brief in their communication – the fewer words the better. They are big picture thinkers and
love to be involved in many things at once. They are focused on tasks and outcomes and often forget
that the people involved in carrying out the tasks have needs. They don’t do detail work easily and as a
result can often underestimate how much time it takes to achieve the task. Because they are so direct,
they often seem forceful and can be very intimidating to others. They usually would welcome someone
challenging them, but most other styles are afraid to do so. They also thrive on change, the more the
better.

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H. A well-functioning team should have all of these communication styles for true effectiveness. All teams
need to focus on the task, and they need to take care of relationships in order to achieve those tasks.
They need the big picture perspective or the context of their work, and they need the details to be
identified and taken care of for success. We all have aspects of each style within us. Some of us can
easily move from one style to another and adapt our style to the needs of the situation at hand –
whether the focus is on tasks or relationships. For others, a dominant style is very evident, and it is
more challenging to see the situation from the perspective of another style. The work environment can
influence communication styles either by the type of work that is required or by the predominance of
one style reflected in that environment. Some people use one style at work and another at home. The
good news about communication styles is that we all have the ability to develop flexibility in our styles.
The greater the flexibility we have, the more skilled we usually are at handling possible and actual
conflicts. Usually it has to be relevant to us to do so, either because we think it is important or because
there are incentives in our environment to encourage it. The key is that we have to want to become
flexible with our communication style. As Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can or you can’t,
you’re right!”
For questions 72–79, choose the correct heading for paragraphs A–H from the list of
headings below. Write the correct number (i–x) in the corresponding numbered boxes.
LIST OF HEADINGS
i An exuberant idiosyncrasy that emboldens others
ii Cognizance of communication styles and concomitant perquisites
iii Constitutions discerned by self-evaluation
iv Ill-disposed and importunate character traits
v Impetuous and lackadaisical make-ups
vi Professional contexts to which blended styles are appurtenant
vii Rigorous and unbiased attributes
viii Solicitous and circumspect
ix Somatic exposition
x Synopsis of assorted dispositions
72. Paragraph A 73. Paragraph B 74. Paragraph C 75. Paragraph D
76. Paragraph E 77. Paragraph F 78. Paragraph G 79. Paragraph H
Your answers
72. 73. 74. 75.
76. 77. 78. 79.
For questions 80–84, write in the corresponding numbered boxes:
T if the statement agrees with the information.
F if the statement contradicts the information.
NG if there is no information on this.
80. Individuals with buoyant peculiarities take exception to multifariousness.
81. Top-drawer wage-earners are frequently recruited in compliance with idiosyncrasies.
82. That dispositions can transmute is non-viable.
83. Which communication style is predominantly efficacious can be swayed by professional contexts.
84. Associates’ comportment can be interpreted by self-analysis contrivances.
Your answers
80. 81. 82. 83. 84.
Part 4: Read the following passage and answer questions 85–89.
RAG-PICKERS: THE BOTTOM RUNG IN THE WASTE TRADE LADDER
Recycling has existed in one form or another for many years in India and is complicated. Long before
the term itself seeped into everyday vocabulary, women separated newspapers and sold them to weekend
buyers – the kabaris (from kabar, approximately meaning dry waste) who still cycle along on weekends with
a weighing scale and loose change to pay with. Bottles were reused them till they broke and tins just never
got thrown away. As a 13-year-old, I could still see tins of baby food from my infancy, storing rice, dals and
chutneys. It happens even today, but these habits are sadly dying out, superseded and pruned down by the
ineluctable advent of the non-recyclable, non-reusable sachet and metalized plastic packaging. Now, as
then, when either broken or entirely unfit, even to store away for a rainy day, unwanted products are tossed
carelessly, all mixed up, into a dustbin. That’s when recycling begins. For every hundred residents of Delhi,
there is one person engaged in recycling.

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 All recycling in India is undertaken by (and via) the informal sector. This sector includes rag-pickers,
small middlemen, transporters, larger middlemen and finally, reprocessors. In terms of human resources
this sector is arranged in a table-top pyramid with rag-pickers at the bottom of the pyramid and forming the
backbone of waste collection. At the thinner end of the wedge are the small middlemen, who buy the waste
from these rag-pickers and sell it to larger middlemen who usually specialise in specific items and
materials. Above them are factories, who procure supplies from these go-downs through a ubiquitous
network of agents.
Delhi is a particularly interesting case in point, because it has one of the biggest and most vibrant
recycling bases in the country. The waste-pickers, of whom there are 100,000 in Delhi, are therefore, the
base of a large recycling pyramid, handling between 9 to 15 percent of the solid waste generated in a city.
In Delhi, which generated over 7000 MT waste daily, this comes to a substantial business. There is a range
of material which are picked up, processed and recycled by this sector. These include plastics, metals,
paper and glass. Studies estimate that the amounts this informal labour forces saves the three
Municipalities is a minimum of Rs. 6 lakhs (appx. $12,000) daily. It has been calculated that a single scrap
of plastic, for example, increases 700% in value along the recycling chain, before it is even reprocessed.
So, recycling in Delhi is a big business but is it a green business, and who does it benefit? Consider,
first, the rag-picker – typically, a young person (though not a child) with a large woven HDPE sack flung on
his shoulder. A rag-picker would have to begin work as early as 4 am, because otherwise, s/he’ll miss the
most profitable finds. As a resident, you could begin to recognise your own rag-picker, because the routes
are totally territorial. By the late afternoon, or whenever the bag is full, the rag-picker hunts down a
middleman, also called a kabari, to sell to. Even as he sells the waste should be sorted out according to
almost 30 different types of plastics, paper and metals. They must be clean and dry, or the kabari can’t
accept them. So you have little segregation patches in secret corners of the city, where thousands of the
poorest inhabitants sort through waste. From makeshift water sources, they might even wash them.
Hunched over for hours, the poor undertake what the privileged preach: segregation of waste. If the
privileged had done this themselves, the poor would have suffer less from backaches, allergies and
respiratory disorders, and have fewer cuts, burns and dog-bites. The transaction at the selling point is
complex: you could get paid less if your waste is sub-standard and wet, if you already owe the seller money
or if the buyer himself is temporarily cash strapped. Rag-pickers often take loans from buyers, and soon
find themselves working simply to pay back debt.
Rag-pickers mostly live either in slums (usually the shop or warehouse of a kabari), or outside in
alleyways and on footpaths or inside dustbins. This shop, this site of exploitation and symbiotic living is the
local hangout join, a club in the truest sense, a home for many in the rain and cold. Their access to basic
amenities and essential services is virtually non-existent. The police beats them regularly, and often burns
their bags of waste, leaving them with nothing to show for a day’s work. The municipal workers make them
pay bribes to be allowed to forage in a bin. If it’s a lucrative bin, with lots of paper, for example, the rates
get higher. Once ensconced, the municipal worker makes them do additional work, sweeping or loading
trucks and all that’s not nice. If the rag-picker simply walks or cycles around a route, he’s not spared either.
The police can pick him up to clean the police station, or the municipal sweepress can beat him to being
independent. Long after the rag-picker, workers in the dingy stores of traders relive this unhappy state in
their terms of work. So do factory workers, who run entire units on only a single 40 watt bulb and their bare
hands. Indian recycling thus runs on the efforts of the poor and the marginalised.
Meanwhile, this whole process subsidises the consumption of various materials by other city’s wealthier
citizens. The example of plastics stands as a fine example. According to a report by the Ministry of
Environment and Forests, the plastics industry is growing at 10% per annum, and almost 52% of this is
expected to be used in the packaging sector. Clearly, packaging is a short life use and will be collected and
processed as waste by the informal sector. Sadly, it will be undertaken in a manner which ensures that
ecologically, economically and socially, the costs will be internalised by this recycling chain.
The informal sector’s an important role because it’s able to undertake recycling of most recyclable
materials, which the municipality can’t. Though it’s critical to the solid waste handling in India, the sector’s
unable to optimise its work due to a stark lack of awareness and specific skills, as well very poor working
conditions and access to basic facilities. The services provided by this sector, albeit gratis, are also poorly
understood and ultimately free to consumers, so are unappealing to private sector (e.g. formal savings
banks, insurance). Recycling thus should be treated as the flip side of the urban middle class consumption.
Ironically, state attitude towards this informal recycling is schizophrenic. On one hand, in conferences
and seminars on Solid Waste Management, the sector is extensively, though selectively, praised. The rag-
pickers are complemented (in absentia) for their contribution to cleaning up the city. NGOs are encouraged
to work with them more intensively. There is at best a silence about the kabaris, bigger middlemen and
factories which actually undertake the reprocessing and who are a part of the entire chain. This also links to
the social/political imaging of rag-pickers in the public mind as against the rest of the chain. Hence, rag-
pickers are poor/weak/exploited and posited against the exploiters: the rich(er) kabaris and middlemen who
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are seen as “opponents” rather than being involved in the symbiotic relationship that really exists between
all these sectors. Despite their invaluable service, this sector is ignored by planners and policy makers, who
look to reform municipal systems. The current process of making the Third Master Plan for Delhi, though
still being drafted in secrecy and not shared, has been acknowledged by the Delhi Development Authorities
and NCR Authorities to have “left out the informal sectors,” including those in the area of waste. This then
results in actually ignoring this sector and not translating into practice the theoretical acknowledgement of
its services. Worse still, the lack of planning converts the sector into an illegal and illegitimate one, which is
projected as encroaching upon the city, rather than serving it.
The situation has worsened since the Lt. Governor of Delhi, Vijay Kapoor deemed in 2000 that all
commercial activities, such as kabaris, taking place in slums, be stopped and banned. Meanwhile,
implementation of planning activities resulted in dislocation of several recycling factories, while previous
“cleaning drives” have attacked waste storage stations. Two years ago, in Delhi, several illegal factories
were closed down forcibly, primarily for environmental and planning reasons. No effort towards cleaner
production or a toxics reduction agenda was seen as acceptable. Many of them were recycling factories,
which were responsible for reprocessing the city’s waste and were therefore a part of the environmental
agenda of recycling. Simultaneously, government bodies are encouraging recycling as a good practice
amongst citizens. Notably, this classification of citizenship does not seem to be inclusive of the urban poor
recyclers, or even less poor denizens, as their efforts are not encouraged within this domain of recycling. In
India, therefore the recycler becomes undesirable, although recycling itself is becoming more and more
desirable in recent years. Chintan is trying to address these issues through its efforts of organising waste-
pickers, enabling them to access information, knowledge, assistance from us and each other in times of
need and above all, to see themselves as they are: people who are amongst the most important pulses of
the city. People with a right to a clean environment and safe work environment. Demanding a break.
For questions 85–89, complete the summary by writing NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS taken from
the passage in the corresponding numbered spaces.
The notion of recycling in India has transmuted inordinately. People once (85)____________________
everything from gazettes to household repositories. Now, with the (86)___________________ expendable
commodities and plastic packaging, people simply chuck things out rather than putting them aside for
(87)____________________. The whole recycling process in the present climate is administered by the
(88)___________________, wherein rag-pickers are at the undercarriage of a(n) (89)_________________
with everyone from various intermediaries to manufactory proprietors and their go-betweens looking down.
Part 5: Read the passage attached to this test. For question 90–95, choose the best answer (A, B, C
or D) according to the text. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes.
90. Apropos rivalry, it is annotated in the first and second paragraphs that _______.
A. it engenders look-ins that can’t descend from conventional vying
B. it has a formidable leverage in us as opposed to what our body chemistry does
C. it leads us to maintain that we apprehend our combatants better
D. its corollaries are unfailingly pernicious
91. Gavin J. Kilduff’s analysis evinced that _______.
A. athletes’ performance ameliorated during a fixture when they fathomed out that their contenders
were equal to trouncing them
B. performance could be ameliorated by striving against those with proportionate adroitness
C. upon vying with more than one foe, athletes ran faster
D. upon confronting obscure adversaries, contestants excelled themselves
92. In the course of Deepak Malhotra’s simulated auction _______.
A. all the entrants comported themselves in a highly combative demeanour
B. all those who opined they were bidding against a group had no sense of enmity
C. those claimed they were bidding against just one rival grew more resolved to triumph
D. those who deemed they were bidding against a group never bid higher than the negotiated price limit
93. The inquiry carried out on basketball fans gave substance to the notion that _______.
A. fans watching with foes were unable to recall any propitious slants of the rival’s performance
B. it seemed odds-on that fans were able to retain propitious hallmarks of their own team’s performance
C. upon watching the match with other supporters of their team, participants retained more
D. upon watching the match with other followers of their team, entrants felt more enmity towards rivals
94. What does the writer imply that Kilduff believes in the last two paragraphs?
A. analogising our own attainments with an adversary’s can inspire us
B. begrudging others their undertakings is a natural backlash
C. being made alive to the attainments of others can be disorientating
D. individuals who hunt for the low-down on their foes on Facebook are likely to act up

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95. On the subject of rivalry, Kilduff’s denouement is that _______.
A. students who had vied with an adversary exhibited more unsavoury idiosyncrasies
B. the leeway between triumph and defeat is bigger between combatants than ordinary contenders
C. there was no corroboration for the notion that students who pitted themselves against a foe
manifested worse deportment than those who did not
D. under a feuding circumstance, entrants acquitted themselves in an unconscionable fashion
Your answers
90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95.
Part 6: Read the passage attached to this test. For questions 96–105, identify which section (A–E)
each of the following is mentioned. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered spaces.
One section may be chosen more than once.
Your answers
a communal perspective on the ensuing demise of English in the future 96. _______
a disparaging reflection on the English language 97. _______
a propitious perspective on the long-term prospects of the English language 98. _______
a reinstitution of global avail of not one but a profusion of languages 99. _______
a reservation as to the proportions of which people are attached to their own first language 100. _______
an appreciation of an unparalleled and tendentious account of the English language’s mantle 101. _______
exegeses as to the incitement of assimilating another language 102. _______
the animosity felt by those impelled to acquire another language 103. _______
the conviction that global leverage of a language is nothing futuristic 104. _______
the notion that a language is frequently spoken in places other than its provenance 105. _______
IV. WRITING (50 PTS)
Part 1: Choose one of the following questions:
1. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the
word given. Do not change the word given.
1. Although there were parking restrictions in our road, my neighbour left his car anywhere he likes. (law)
Try _____________________________________________________________________________ .
2. Surely Tom was telling untruths about what happened. (teeth)
Tom ___________________________________________________________ about what happened.
3. No film has ever been nominated so many times for the Academy Awards before. (unprecedented)
The film _____________________________________________________ for the Academy Awards.
4. Rafael was determined to drive across the desert. (out)
Rafael’s _____________________________________________________ driving across the desert.
5. The bedridden patients my friends and I were visiting made a deep impression on us. (skin)
The bedridden patients we were looking _________________________________ me and my friends.
2. Read the passage attached to this test and summarise it, using your own words as far as
possible. Your summary should be between 80 and 100 words. You MUST NOT copy the original.
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Part 2: The diagrams below give information about internet use in different regions of the world.
Write a report (of about 150 words) to summarise the information. Select and report the main features and
make comparisons where relevant.

Part 3: Choose one of the following questions:

1. “If racism and xenophobia are attitudes that we are taught, not born with, then the problems that
come from them can be resolved.” In about 400 words, write an essay to express your opinion on the
issue. Use reasons and examples to support your position.
2. “Some people believe that a single language should be adopted globally to facilitate
international communication and understanding. Others say that this would lead to a loss of
culture and identity.” In about 400 words, write an essay to state some reasons for both views and
express your opinion on the issue. Use reasons and examples to support your position.
– THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING IN THE SIMULATION EXAM –
Page 11 of 11 pages
 EXTENDED TEST KỲ THI THỬ CHỌN HỌC SINH GIỎI QUỐC GIA THPT
Teacher: Trinh Thanh Trung LẦN III – NĂM 2015

Môn thi: TIẾNG ANH

Thời gian thi: 30 phút (không kể thời gian giao đề) SỐ PHÁCH
Ngày thi: 27/12/2015
Đề thi có 02 trang

 THIS TEST IS AVAILABLE TO LOCAL CANDIDATES ONLY.

 ONLINE TEST-TAKERS ARE UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO ATTEMPT THIS PART,
ALTHOUGH ANY SUBMISSIONS WILL BE APPRECIATED.
_________________________________________________________
I. LISTENING
Part 4: Choose the best answer (A, B, C or D) according to what you hear.
1. Many of the migrants want to get to _______ eventually.
A. Germany B. Greece C. Hungry D. Syria
2. According to some analysts, a major factor causing people to flee is _______.
A. Europe’s not wanting to fight ISIS C. ISIS
B. friction in Europe D. the movement of terrorists into Europe
3. Germany defied UE law by _______.
A. accepting 800,000 refugees
B. allowing refugees to apply for asylum in Germany
C. allowing refugees to stay in other countries
D. giving a safe haven to refugees
4. _______ migrants and refugees arrived in Europe in July and August.
A. 8,750 B. 120,000 C. 250,000 D. 500,000
II. LEXICO-GRAMMAR
Part 3: Supply the correct form of the word in brackets.
1. The more we learn of Tagore and his work, the more we come to realise that access to his inner nature
is _______________ labyrinthine, despite the prolificacy and profundity of his writings. (VEX)
2. A(n) ________________ approach to liability should accord with modern views of health and safety
provisions in general. (ACT)
3. The Saracens marvelled and manifestly perceived that Messer Torello was minded to leave no
particular of hospitality undone them; or rather, seeing the magnificence of the ___________________
gowns, they misdoubted them they had been recognised of him. (MERCHANT)
4. The sellers liability in respect of defective or otherwise _________________ goods shall not at any time
extend beyond the actual price paid for such goods. (MERCHANT)
5. In psychological therapy, issues of ___________________, the emotional reaction of the analyst to the
subject’s contribution, may arise, triggering poorly understood but powerful feelings. (TRANSFER)
6. They have always raised awkward issues of compatibility, including characters ‘coming out wrong’ and
files being _______________ between Macs and PCs. (TRANSFER)
7. This research was _________________ and to preserve their solvency, they chose the technique they
thought would reveal the most information for the least amount of money. (FINANCE)
8. Photographs can be scanned and originals returned, and _______________ items, presenting only the
message in ornamental lettering, can also be donated for temporary or permanent display. (PICTURE)
9. Aborigines believe the spirits of the newborn have a complete conscious ___________________ in the
‘Realm of the Unborn’. (EXIST)
10. Many scientists do believe that the universe is _________________ – that God is not necessary – and
that life is the result of chance occurrences. (EXIST)
11. Agents may need to conduct _______________ searches in computer crime cases because technically
adept suspects may ‘hot wire’ their computers in an effort to destroy evidence. (KNOCK)
12. His _______________ contempt for the press and his refusal to answer journalists’ questions provoked
grumbling within the White House press corps. (GUISE)
13. Imported foodstuffs from the Americas, Australia, and eastern Europe caused a(n) ________________
depression in agricultural prices, which in turn affected industry. (DRAW)
14. Replacement notes are normally much more expensive than the ordinary note, so it might be worth
checking your notes, especially when getting _______________ ones. (CIRCULATE)
15. The proper response to the ______________________ of state pupils is to raise school standards, not
discriminate against the brightest. (PRESENT)
Page 1 of 2 pages
III. READING
Part 5
1. Find two words in the text that capture the feelings of animosity people have towards their rivals.
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2. Explain the purpose of the writer using a colon after the word contexts.
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3. Identify the stylistic device the writer uses at the beginning of the section Improving Performance.
Why does the writer use it?
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4. Why does the writer use the verb trim instead of cut?
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5. By using the word stumble, what impression is the writer trying to create?
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6. By using the phrase lopsided margins, what does the writer imply?
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7. By using the phrase the inner Machiavelli, what does the writer imply?
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Part 6
1. According to the review, identify the main point the writer is trying to make.
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2. Find the phrase that implies that there is no concrete evidence to support a fact.
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3. Find the verb that is used to convey a lack of respect for something.
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4. Find the noun that could be followed by the phrase ‘to the rule’.
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5. Identify a metaphorical reference about the impact of English today.
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6. Find the phrase that implies that something was also highly regarded.
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7. Locate where alliteration is used in the text and the purpose of the writer having used it.
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8. Find two adjectives that emphasise the negative aspects of a high-profile lingua franca.
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9. Find two words and phrase the writer uses as cohesive reference devices.
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10. What does the word burden refer to?
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11. By his reference to a state of Babel, what does the writer imply?
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12. Find an example of understatement and explain what the writer really means by it.
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- THE END -

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