14 Aug 2022 PRACTICE TEST 01 – ESC 20

HƯỚNG DẪN PHẦN THI NGHE HIỂU

 Bài nghe gồm 4 phần, mỗi phần được nghe 2 lần, mỗi lần cách nhau 30 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.

A. LISTENING (50 pts)

Part 1: For questions from 1-5, listen to a piece of news about the reasons why some
World Heritage sites are at risk, and decide whether the following statements are
True (T) or False (F). (10 pts)
Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes.
1. Mexico ranks sixth in the total number of UNESCO World Heritage sites. T
2. Being recognized as a World Heritage site can have two-sided effects on the site
chosen. T
3. More than two thirds of heritage sites in the world are home to endangered species. F
4. Cutting down trees for wood, getting underground minerals and developing fossil fuel
are activities that have negative impacts on natural sites. T
5. Yoga, Turkish coffee and Belgium beer are on the verge of vanishing soon. F

Your answers:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

volume of noise inside.

Part 2: You will hear a conversation between a new student and a lecturer. For the
question 1 -5, answerthequestionsbelow.Write NO MORE THAN THREE
WORDS foreachanswer. (10 pts)
Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes.
1. When did the orientation meeting take place? last Friday
2. Who will give the group a mark according to its representative’s presentation?
Subject advisor
3. What’s the main assessment of course? assignment
4. Who can choose the topic of essay? herself
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 5. Where can students find their tutors’ names? website
Your answers:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Part 3: You will hear a radio programme in which two people, Alison Kreel and
David Walsh, who each run a food business, are discussing the premises they share.
For questions 1-5, choose the answer (A, B, c or D) which fits best according to what
you hear. (10 pts)
1. Alison and David agree that the market for quality food products________.
A is experiencing greater growth than ever.
B is becoming increasingly sophisticated.
C has a thirst for constant innovation.
D can only thrive in particular locations.
2. David thinks that the Siston building attracted funding easily because
_______________.
A it was considered the best way to start regenerating a run-down industrial area.
B it was less risky than financing individual entrepreneurs.
C it was thought it would give new food companies valuable support.
D it was part of a drive to increase local employment opportunities.
3. They both agree the main benefit of using a shared kitchen space is cost savings
and________________.
A being able to get advice from fellow entrepreneurs.
B being able to share marketing opportunities.
C having a supportive working environment.
D having access to top-of-the-range equipment and facilities.
4. How has Alison’s vision for her business changed since moving into the Siston
building?
A She has realised that she needs to expand her range of products.
B She now sees that opening a shop and café would have been too risky,
C She has decided she prefers the idea of selling to small local businesses.
D She no longer thinks becoming a nationally recognised brand is achievable.

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 5. What advice would Alison and David give to any aspiring entrepreneur?
A Work out costs carefully.
B Don’t spend too much time planning.
C Get some relevant work experience.
D Don’t waste time on low margin products.
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Part 4:Complete the notes below by writing NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS in
the spaces provided. (20 pts)
Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes.
The Government plans to give (1)250 millions dollarsto assist the farmers. This money
was to be spent on improving Sydney’s (2)road assistance but has now been re-allocated.
Australia has experienced its worst drought in over (3) 50 years. Farmers say that the
money will not help them because it is (4) too late.
An aeroplane which was carrying a group of (5) school children was forced to land
just (6) 3 minutes after take-off.
The passengers were rescued by (7) boats The operation was helped because of the
(8)rescue . The passengers thanked the (9) pilot's skill for saving their lives but
unfortunately they lost their (10)musical instrument.
Your answers:
 1. 2.  3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

B. LEXICO AND GRAMMAR (30 pts)

Part 1: Choose the answer A, B, C or D that best completes each of the following
sentence. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes. (20 pts)
1. The plague, otherwise known as the Black Death, was a .............. disease.
A. contingent: ngẫu nhiên B. contiguous: tiếp giáp
C. contagious D. congenial
2. I was in a _______ as to what to do. If I told the truth, he would get into trouble, but if
I said nothing I would be more in trouble.
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 A. doubt B. quandary C. hitch D. complexity
3. The government needs to ______ businesses that have been trying to evade the tax.
A. put the screws on: gây sức ép lên so, st B. get into gear : vào guồng làm việc
get your brain into gear:  bắt đầu suy nghĩ một cách cẩn trọng, rõ ràng để giải quyết vấn
đề nào đó.
C. put one over on = trick so D. wipe off the map: destroy st completely
4. It is not definite that the company will accept our offer, but there's a ___________
chance so there is no reason not to try.
A. sporting: a reasonable chance of winning or succeeding
B. bragging C. pumping D. bubbling
5. A career in marketing has always been what she desires, so she just
___________herself in her work.
A. immersed B. submerged: nhấn chìm, ngập nước
C. engulfed: nhận sâu xuống vực thẳm D. dipped
6. I like both teaching and researching so the position of a professor in college is a kind of
halfway ___________ between the two for me.
A. house: ký túc xá cho người mới ra tù B. line
C. road D. hunch
Halfway house: something that combines particular features of two other things,
especially in order to try to please people who do not like the two things on their own
7. The Oscar winning actress simply _______charm and professionalism in her
acceptance speech.
A. exuded: rỉ ra (liquid) + quality B. excluded : biểu thị thể hiện, toát lên
C. expunged: tẩy, bôi D. extricated: giải phóng
8. The boss was away, so his assistant had to .............. him and make a speech.
A. make off with: Hấp tấp hoặc vội vã, đặc biệt khi ai đang cố gắng tẩu thoát hoặc
đánh cắp cái gì
B. do away with
C. stand in for
D. to take so up on st: to accept an offer or an invitation of so
9. Losing my job was ............... I never would have found this one if it hadn’t happened.

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 A. Have a bone to pick with: tức giận về chuyện ai đó đã làm
B. a breath of fresh air
C. a bleeding heart: dễ xúc động
D. a blessing in disguise: trong cái rủi có cái hên
10. With the blistering pace of technological advancements in recent years, both workers
and employers have a myriad of choices, and ________ access to education.
A. exhaustive: đầy đủ B. profuse: hoang phí, dư dả
C. bottomless D. unfettered: k bị ràng buộc
11. You could tell that she wasn’t happy about the news by the way she ________ her
face in disapproval.
A. crossed out B. blew up C. blacked out: choáng váng D. screwed up:
nhăn nhó screw up one’s face: nhăn nhó, méo xẹo mặt
12. Is it ironic when people ___________ glasses of wine and drink to each other's
health?
A. splat : bắn tung tóe B. clunk
C. clank: lẻng kẻng D. clink: cụng ly
13. Different from a misanthrope who has a hatred of people in general, Joey is more of
a___________ being distrustful of human goodness and sincerity.
A. pessimist B. tyrant: bạo chúa
C. cynic: người hoài nghi D. misogynist: người ghét đàn bà
14. When will you realise that it was your self-righteous and ___________ attitude that
prevented you from learning better ideas from other people?
A. fallow: hoang vu B. ghoulish: ghê tởm
C. bigoted: cố chấp D. conniving: thâm hiểm
15. I found the information for the project in the encyclopedia but I couldn't give
______and verse on it.
A. chapter: give exact in4 abt sth B. unit C. poem D. extract
16. Although there is some truth to the fact that Linux is a huge threat to Microsoft,
predictions of the Redmond company's demise are, ______, premature.
A. saying the most B. to say the least
C. to say the most D. to the least degree

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17. __________ chair the meeting.
A. John was decided to B. It was decided that John should
C. There was decided that John should D. John had been decided to
18. Something _____ immediately to prevent teenagers from _____ in factories and
mines.
A. should be done /being exploited B. we should do /exploiting
C. should do /be exploited D. should have done /exploited
19. If I_______to date that guy, I'd be living in the lap of luxury now.
A. was accepting B. would accept C. accepted D. had accepted
20. The luxurious office accentuated the manager's position _________. It enhanced his
power and his sense of his own worth. And it made other people feel small.
A. on the pecking pole B. in the nibbling line
C. at the nipping post D. in the pecking order: the way a group is
organized, with some members being more important or powerful than others
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
11. 12. 13. 14. 15.
16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

Part 2: Write the correct form of each bracketed word in corresponding numbered
boxes. (10 pts)
1. Safety tests on old cars have been ___standardized________ throughout Europe.
(STANDARD)
2. The Red Cross is sending emergency aid to the ___famine-stricken______ country.
(FAMINE)
3. When we catch up on the phone it's to discuss her latest short-lived conquest, the
details of which are usually colourful, sometimes __toe-curling: ngại ngùng___ and
always entertaining. (TOE)
4. Not only are employees disenfranchised from most policy decisions, they lack even the
power to rebel against _egocentric: tự kỷ___ and tyrannical supervisors. (EGO)
5. The cold winter has led to a larger-than-expected __ drawdown  ___ on oil stocks.
(DOWN)
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6. The residences _engulfed____ by the deluge were built in a neighborhood known as El
Cambray II near the bottom of a ravine. (GULF)
7. Many architects pay lip service to the idea that good design can and should __ ennoble
__ the lives of average people not blessed with bountiful wealth. (NOBLE)
8. Children from a(n) ___underpriviledged_____ background are statistically more likely
to become involved in crime. (PRIVILEGE)
9. Until now, there is hardly any measure to lessen the onerous: nặng nề, khó khăn___ __
regulation and taxation on small businesses. (ONUS)
10. About $200 million in taxes weren’t paid because of __underreporting___ income.
(REPORT)
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

C. READING (60 pts)

Part 1: Read the text below and think of one word which best fits each space. Use
only ONE WORD for each space. Write your answers in the corresponding
numbered boxes. (15 pts)
THE ISLAND WHERE DREAMS CAME TRUE
Ellis Island in New York – that extraordinary entrance to a new land and a new life which
received, processed and despatched millions of arriving immigrants between 1982 and
1924 – has been turned (1) into___ a museum. (2) __HAving__ lain derelict for years
after its official closure, the island’s huge purpose-built reception centre has been
restored. It has become a place of pilgrimage for the descendants of the desperate people
who filed through its cavenous mail hall to answer questions (3) __filled__ in the forms in
whatever halting English (4) _they_ processed.
To get to Ellis Island, you take a ferry from the southernmost tip of Manhattan. (5)
_As/When/While__ you sail past the Statue of Liberty and pull up to the dock outside the
enormous entrance to that imposing reception building, it is impossible (6) _not______ to
reflect on (7) _how _ it must have locked to those hordes of people who clambered off the
boats with their children clinging (8) to__ them and their belongings packed into baskets
and bags.
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It was only the poorest who had this experience. First and second class passengers were
dealt with by a far more civilized and expeditious system. (9) _Given__ that it was just
third class and steerage travellers who had to (10) __go__ through the Ellis Island
application and sifting procedure, it is significant that 40 per cent of present-day
Americans are descended from people who were processed there on arrival in the US.
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Part 2. Read the passage and choose the best answer to each of the questions. (10 pts)
Joanne scanned the area around her, her small frame straining above the pile of
wood. She had to wriggle her way through the wood and rubble. It did not matter where
she tried, they were all the same. The holes were too small and she used all her might to
remove the obstacles, pushing and shoving them out of the way, the noise ringing into the
night. She was imprisoned. The silence was a far cry from the explosion moments ago.
Afraid to be heard, she tried to be as quiet as possible. It was an impossible and ludicrous
task. The destruction left behind by the men was far greater than their numbers. Their
goals had probably been achieved. Those who did not escape were probably dead.
Telephone lines had been cut and lights had been shut off moments before the
much feared raids began. Except for the cut-off in communication, there was nothing to
indicate that the men would soon arrive. Under the cover of darkness, the more fortunate
ones had managed to escape. Those near the border climbed through the holes in the
fence, to seek refuge in the neighbouring country.
For weeks, the government had warned of an impending attack by the group. Initial
apprehension turned to fear when the expected day arrived. However, when nothing
happened, everyone thought that the government had made a mistake. After all, how often
within that past year had they failed to deliver what had been promised to the citizens.
First, the new lands promised to the farmers after the massive insect
attacks were insufficient and each farmer had to contend with land that was one third their
original size. Then, there was the promise of opening the economy to the international
community, allowing many to sell their handicraft overseas but this never materialised.

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The people soon became angry as they were being deceived and complacency about the
raids was abounding in the community.
The environment was ripe for the triad attack. No one noticed the men ambling into
the town. What made their attack even more shocking was that the multitude of people
returning from work and sitting down to a meal did not even notice the seven men
walking past their windows. Military uniform had been a common sight in the town ever
since the government’s warning was announced. There was no need for these men to run
or hide. No one had seen them. Joanne inched her foot out of a gap and half crawled, half
walked ahead. Every step she took was painful. Mounted up by the lack of water for
hours, the pain in her leg was excruciating and the more she walked, the more bodies she
saw. Arms and legs were sticking out from under piles of rubble and sometimes a lifeless
face could be seen among the debris. Everyone she saw was dead. Despite her situation,
Joanne hoped that she would not be able to find any of her family members.
Suddenly, she saw a movement among a pile of rubble. She ran the short distance
forward, glad for any sign of life in the place. What she saw spurred her on and she
pushed aside several pieces of wood and lifted an orange cloth, probably once a curtain.
Groping about, she managed to locate the little body and using all her might, dragged it
out. The child could have been more than five years old. He was covered in soot and his
stomach heaved in and out in agony. His eyes were shut and only his breathing told her
that he was still alive.
Joanne carried the child over her shoulder and squinted in the darkness, trying to locate
her bearings. Her only hope was the border. Moments ago, she had wanted to forgo
everything, thinking that it was probably better to lie in the darkness until it eventually
overcame her and the feelings of loneliness would disappear. Now, she was encouraged to
continue. If she could reach the border, she would be able to get help. Looking around,
she ran in the direction of what looked like spots of bright yellow light.
1. What was causing “the noise” in the first paragraph?
A. Her small frame straining above the pile of wood.
B. Her wriggling through the wood and rubble.
C. Her pushing and shoving the obstacles out of the way.
D. The explosion heard moments ago.

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2. Why were the lights “shut off” in the second paragraph?
A. It enabled the people to escape from the place.
B. It led them to the neighbouring country.
C. It warned the people of the coming raids.
D. It was shut inadvertently by the raiders.
3. The word “apprehension” in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to …….
A. anxiety B. clairvoyance C. voidance D. incongruity
4. It can be inferred from the passage that _________
A. the government had yet to fail the people
B. the strange men were dressed in military uniform
C. the main target of the mentioned men was Joanne
D. there were numerous indications of the men’s arrival
5. What spurred Joanne to remove the wood and orange cloth?
A. The child’s stomach which was moving.
B. The short distance between her and the child.
C. The vague sight of a family member.
D. The lifeless faces seen among the debris.
6. The word “excruciating” in the fourth paragraph can best be replaced by _________
A. painless B. discerning C. piercing D. powerful
7. What is not mentioned as a cause of the pain in Joanne’s walk?
A. Her leg was then in physical agony.
B. She saw numerous dead bodies.
C. She walked in fear of the men approaching.
D. She was in need of being hydrated.
8. Which did not happen before the raids began?
A. The people were cut off from the outside world.
B. Militarily dressed men entered the town.
C. The small frames strained above the wood.
D. The people saw massive insect attacks.
9. The word “bearings” in the last paragraph can be substituted by the term _________
A. whereabouts B. collocations C. managements D. strengths

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10. What particular feeling led Joanne to the desire to “forgo everything” as mentioned
in the last paragraph?
A. The fright the shadows had given her.
B. The worry for her family members.
C. The fear that the men would come for her.
D. An intense feeling of loneliness.
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Part 3: Read the text and do the tasks that follow (13 pts)
Can Hurricanes be Moderated or Diverted?
A Each year, massive swirling storms bringing along winds greater than 74 miles per hour
wipe across tropical oceans and land on shorelines—usually devastating vast swaths of
territory. When these roiling tempests strike densely inhabited territories, they have the
power to kill thousands and cause property damage worth of billions of dollars. Besides,
absolutely nothing stands in their way. But can we ever find a way to control these
formidable forces of nature?
B To see why hurricanes and other severe tropical storms may be susceptible to human
intervention, a researcher must first learn about their nature and origins. Hurricanes grow
in the form of thunderstorm clusters above the tropical seas. Oceans in low-latitude areas
never stop giving out heat and moisture to the atmosphere, which brings about warm, wet
air above the sea surface. When this kind of air rises, the water vapour in it condenses to
form clouds and precipitation. Condensation gives out heat in the process the solar heat is
used to evaporate the water at the ocean surface. This so-called invisible heat of
condensation makes the air more buoyant, leading to it ascending higher while reinforcing
itself in the feedback process. At last, the tropical depression starts to form and grow
stronger, creating the familiar eye -- the calm centre hub that a hurricane spins around.
When reaching the land, the hurricane no longer has a continuous supply of warm water,
which causes it to swiftly weaken.
C Our current studies are inspired by my past intuition when I was learning about chaos
theory 30 years ago. The reason why long-range forecasting is complicated is that the
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atmosphere is highly sensitive to small influences and tiny mistakes can compound fast in
the weatherforecasting models. However, this sensitivity also made me realise a
possibility: if we intentionally applied some slight inputs to a hurricane, we might create a
strong influence that could affect the storms, either by steering them away from densely
populated areas or by slowing them down. Back then, I was not able to test my ideas, but
thanks to the advancement of computer simulation and remote-sensing technologies over
the last 10 years, I can now renew my enthusiasm in large-scale weather control.
D To find out whether the sensitivity of the atmospheric system could be exploited to
adjust such robust atmospheric phenomena as hurricanes, our research team ran
simulation experiments on computers for a hurricane named Iniki that occurred in 1992.
The current forecasting technologies were far from perfect, so it took us by surprise that
our first simulation turned out to be an immediate success. With the goal of altering the
path of Iniki in mind, we first picked the spot where we wanted the storm to stop after six
hours. Then we used this target to generate artificial observations and put these into the
computer model.
E The most significant alteration turned out to be the initial temperatures and winds.
Usually, the temperature changes across the grid were only tenths of a degree, but the
most noteworthy change, which was an increase of almost two degrees Celsius, took place
in the lowest model layer to the west of the storm centre. The calculations produced wind-
speed changes of two or three miles per hour. However, in several spots, the rates shifted
by as much as 20 mph due to minor redirections of the winds close to the storm’s centre.
In terms of structure, the initial and altered versions of Hurricane Iniki seemed almost the
same, but the changes in critical variables were so substantial that the latter one went off
the track to the west during the first six hours of the simulation and then travelled due
north, leaving Kauai untouched.
F Future earth-orbiting solar power stations, equipped with large mirrors to focus the
sun’s rays and panels of photovoltaic cells to gather and send energy to the Earth, might
be adapted to beam microwaves which turn to be absorbed by water vapour molecules
inside or around the storm. The microwaves would cause the water molecules to vibrate
and heat up the surrounding air, which then leads to the hurricane slowing down or
moving in a preferred direction.

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G Simulations of hurricanes conducted on a computer have implied that by changing the
precipitation, evaporation and air temperature, we could make a difference to a storm’s
route or abate its winds. Intervention could be in many different forms: exquisitely
targeted clouds bearing silver iodide or other rainfall-inducing elements might deprive a
hurricane of the water it needs to grow and multiply from its formidable eyewall, which is
the essential characteristic of a severe tropical storm.
Question 1-7
The Reading Passage has seven paragraphs, A-G. Choose the correct heading for
each paragraph from the list ofheadings below. Write the correct number, i-viii, in
boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
iHurricanes in history
ii How hurricanes form
iii How a laboratory exercise re-routed a hurricane
iv Exciting ways to utilise future technologies
v Are hurricanes unbeatable?
vi Re-visiting earlier ideas
vii How lives might have been saved
viii A range of low-tech methods

1. Paragraph A v
2. Paragraph B ii
3. Paragraph C vi
4. Paragraph D iii
5. Paragraph E vii
6. Paragraph F iv
7. Paragraph G viii

Question 8 – 12 Complete the summary below. Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the

passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 8-13 on your answer sheet.

Hurricanes originate as groups of (8) thunderstorm (no s) over the tropical oceans. (9)
Low latitude condensation seas continuously provide heat and moisture to the
atmosphere, producing warm, humid air above the sea surface. When this air rises, the
water vapour in it condenses to form clouds and precipitation. (10)
Condensation_________releases heat—the solar heat it took to evaporate the water at the
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ocean surface. This so-called latent (11) _heat_________ of condensation makes the air
more buoyant, causing it to ascend still higher in a self-reinforcing feedback process.
Eventually, the tropical depression begins to organise and strengthen, forming the
familiar (12) eye - the calm central hub around which a hurricane spins. On passing
over (13) land, the hurricane’s sustaining source of warm water is cut off, which leads to
the storm’s rapid weakening.

Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
11. 12. 13.

Part 4: You are going to read an abstract from an autobiography. Seven paragraphs
have been removed from the text. Choose A- H which best fits 1-7. There is one extra
paragraph which you do not need to use. (7 pts)

EILBECK THE FEATURES EDITOR

I quickly got the hang of working at the Mirror. Every morning at eleven we would be
expected to cram into Eilbeck’s little office for a features conference, when we either had
to come up with ideas of our own or suffer ideas to be thrust upon US. Some of Eilbeck’s
own offerings were bizarre to say the least, but he did get results. I had got an inkling of
his creative thinking during my initial interview when he had invited me to match his
scrawled impromptu headline with a feature.
1 E

Some of these brainstorms came off the day’s news, some off the wall. About half the
ideas worked, a few of them spectacularly. Following a spate of shootings, Eilbeck
scrawled ‘THIS GUN FOR SALE’ on his pad, together with a rough sketch of a revolver.
Within hours a writer was back in the office with a handgun and a dramatic piece on the
ease with which (he did not mention the little help he had had from the crime staff) he had
bought it in Trafalgar Square.
2 H

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Mercifully, none of Eilbeck’s extemporised headlines winged their way to me - at least
not yet. The pitifully small paper was grossly overstaffed, with half a dozen highly
experienced feature writers fighting to fill one page a day, and it was evident that my role
was as standby or first reserve. Hanging around the office, where the time was passed
pleasantly in chit-chat, smoking and drinking coffee, I was occasionally tossed some
small task.

3 C

Another of my little chores was to compose ‘come-ons’ for the readers’ letters columns -
invented, controversial letters that, in a slow week for correspondence, would draw a
furious mailbag. I was also put to work rewriting agency and syndication material that
came into the office, including, on occasion, the Sagittarius segment of the astrology
column.
4 F

Some years later, when he had directed his talents to another paper, I confessed to him
one day that I had been guilty of tampering in this way. He was in no way put out. It was
serenely obvious to him that I had been planted on the Mirror by destiny to adjust the
hitherto inaccurate information.
5 G

For example, one afternoon I was summoned to Eilbeck’s office to find him in a state of
manic excitement, bent over a make-up pad on which he had scrawled ‘THE SPICE OF
LIFE!’ surrounded by a border of stars. This, I was told, was to be the Mirror’s new
three-times-a-week gossip column, starting tomorrow ” and I was to be in charge of it.
6 B

Happily the delightful Eve Chapman was deputed to hold my hand in this insane

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exercise. The bad news was that Eve, who went home nightly to her parents in
Croydon, had never set foot in such a place in her life. We were reduced to raiding
the society pages of the glossy magazines and ploughing through Who’s Who in
hopes of finding some important personage with an unusual hobby which could be
fleshed out to the maximum twenty-five words.
7 D

The Spice of Life column itself ground to a halt after our supply of eminent
people’s interesting pastimes petered out

A As a result, he wanted no item to be more than twenty-five words long,

followed by three dots. He was, at the time, heavily under the influence of Walter
Winchell, Earl Wilson and suchlike night-owl columnists in the New York
tabloids that were air-freighted to him weekly.
B Flattering though it was to be entrusted with this commission, there was a snag.
It had to ‘sizzle’ - a favourite Eilbeck word - with exclusive snippets about ‘the
people who really mattered’ - to Eilbeck’s mind, anyone with an aristicratic title,
or money to throw about in casinos and nightclubs. Unfortunately, I did not have a
single suitable contact in the whole of London.
C This might be a review copy of some ghosted showbiz memoirs that might
be good for a 150- word anecdotal filler. One day Eilbeck dropped a re-issued
volume on my desk - To Beg I am Ashamed, the supposed autobiography of a
criminal. It came complete with one of his headlines: ‘IT’S STILL A BAD,
DANGEROUS BOOK’. I asked him what was so bad and dangerous about it. ‘I
haven’t read it,’ the Features Editor confessed cheerfully. ‘Two hundred words by
four o’clock’.
D On one desperate occasion, with the deadline looming yet again, we fell to
working our way along Millionaires’ Row in Kensington, questioning maids and
chauffeurs about the foibles of their rich employers. This enterprise came to a stop
after someone called the police.
E This proved to be a foretaste of his favourite method of floating an idea. While
the assembled feature writers clustered around his desk skimming the newspapers
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and intermittently quoting some story that might with luck yield a feature angle,
Eilbeck would be scribbling away on his pad. Cockily trumpeting his newly
minted headline - ‘WOULD YOU RISK A BLIND DATE HOLIDAY?’ or ‘CAN
WOMEN BE TRUSTED WITH MONEY?’ - he would rip off the page and thrust
it into the arms of the nearest writer - ‘Copy by four o’clock.’
F This was for the benefit of one of the paper’s more irascible executives who
was a passionate believer in it. It had been noticed that when he was told he would
have a bad day he would react accordingly and his miserable colleagues would go
through the day quaking in their shoes. My job was to doctor the entry to give his
colleagues a more peaceful ride.
G My month’s trial with the Mirror quickly expired without my having done
anything to justify my existence on the paper, but since Eilbeck didn’t mention
that my time was up, neither did 1.1 pottered on, still trying to find my feet.
Occasionally opportunity would knock, but it was usually a false alarm. Not
always, though.
H But many of Eilbeck’s madder flights of fancy had no chance of panning out
so well - even I could tell that. Seasoned writers would accept the assignment
without demur, repair to a café for a couple of hours, and then ring in to announce
that they couldn’t make the idea stand up.

Part 5: You are going to read an article about the design of new stations on
the London Underground railway system. For questions 1-10, choose from
the sections of the article (A-D). The sections may be chosen more than once.
(15 pts)
In which section of the article are the following mentioned?
1. the previously unattractive nature of the locations of most of the stations C
2. a comparison Paoletti made to illustrate his approach to the JLE project B
3. the immediate and massive effect that one of the stations had on its
surroundings E
4. a description that Paoletti considered not to be wholly accurate D

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5. a fundamental question concerning the function of stations in underground
systems E
6. an explanation Paoletti gave for why certain comments about the new
buildings were incorrect
7. Paoletti’s desire to unite elements that had previously been seen as wholly
different from each other D
8. personal qualities that enabled Paoletti to tackle the JLE project successfully B
9. parts of a station architects were not responsible for in the past D
10.Paoletti’s opinion of those previously responsible for designing station A

Roland Paoletti

An architect who revolutionized the lives of London’s commuters.

Roland Paoletti was the driving force behind the dramatic, award-winning stations
on the £3 billion Jubilee Line Extension (JLE) to the London Underground
system, the most ambitious building programme on the Tube for many decades.
An irascible Anglo-Italian, Paoletti possessed the persuasiveness and tenacity to
take on the vested political interests at play in the planning of the 10-mile Jubilee
Line Extension to ensure good design and innovation. Historically, architects
employed on Tube projects had been restricted to ‘fitting out’ the designs of
railway and civil engineers with few or no aesthetic concerns, and whom Paoletti
dismissed as visionless ‘trench-diggers. The Jubilee line would be unique in that
for the first time the architects would be responsible for designing entire
underground stations.

As the commissioning architect in overall charge, Paoletti’s approach was to let

light flood down into the stations along the line. The project’s centrepiece was the
extraordinary huge new station at Canary Wharf, designed by Norman Foster and
Partners to handle up to 40,000 passengers an hour at peak times. ‘Everybody
keeps saying that it’s like a cathedral; complained Paoletti.‘They’re wrong. It
actually is a cathedral: Explaining his approach to designing underground
stations, Paoletti likened the Jubilee line to architectural free-form jazz, the
stations responding to their different contexts as dramatic variations on a theme.
Instead of uniformity, Paoletti envisaged variety achieved in the beauty of raw
materials like concrete, and the architectural power of simple, large spaces for
robust and practical stations.
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C

He procured the most talented individual architects he could find to design 11

new stations along the line, creating a unique variety of architectural statement
pieces – notably different but all beautiful – in what had been a largely desolate
stretch of urban east London.‘For the price of an underground ticket; he promised,
‘you will see some of the greatest contributions to engineering and architecture
worldwide’ Paoletti’s sweeping vision did not disappoint. With their swagger and
individualism, the stations have been widely acclaimed as a tour de force in
public transport architecture.

In pressing for a seamless marriage between architecture and engineering, Paoletti

was concerned to make the stations pleasing to the eye, and the daily grind of
commuters using them as uplifting an experience as possible. The result was
generally reckoned to be the finest set of stations since the classic designs for the
Piccadilly line by Charles Holden in the 1930s. In Holden’s day, design stopped
at the top of the escalators leading down to the platforms, a symptom of the
Tube’s tradition of treating architecture and engineering as separate disciplines.
From the start, Paoletti promised ‘a symbiosis of architecture and engineering’
throughout. This is particularly evident at Westminster station, where Michael
Hopkins solved structural difficulties by designing fantastic supporting structures
redolent of science-fiction – what Paoletti called ‘engineering that expresses itself
as architecture…  in which people can delight.’

He wanted the designs of the JLE stations to have a uniformity of voice, or, as he
put it, ‘a philosophical uniformity’. Paoletti contrasted the drama of MacCormac
Jamieson Prichard’s design for Southwark station with the vast glass drum of Ron
Herron’s Canada Water station, intended as a response to the area’s bleakness, ‘a
big, splendid beacon that has transformed the area from a wasteland almost
overnight’ To critics who complained about the expense of these grand designs,
Paoletti pointed out that the same cut-and-cover, box-station design that allowed
his architects a free hand with their various structures also saved London
Underground millions in tunnelling costs. ‘In any case, he noted, ‘you have to
decide at the beginning whether you’re going to see an underground station as a
kind of vehicular underpass that happens to have people in it, or whether it’s a
building; a building with some other kind of job to do, like making people
comfortable.’

Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

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D. WRITING (60 pts)
Part 1. Write a summary for the passage in about 100-120 words. (15 pts)
The Effects of Stress

The word ‘stress’ refers to a feeling of panic that makes a person want to
stop whatever they are doing, try to relax, and become calm again. 'Stress' means
pressure or tension. It is one of the most common causes of health problems in
modern life. Too much stress results in physical, emotional, and mental health
problems.
     There are numerous physical effects of stress. Stress can affect the heart. It can
increase the pulse rate, make the heart miss beats, and can cause high blood
pressure. Stress can affect the respiratory system. It can lead to asthma. It can
cause a person to breathe too fast, resulting in a loss of important carbon dioxide.
Stress can affect the stomach. It can cause stomach aches and problems digesting
food. These are only a few examples of the wide range of illnesses and symptoms
resulting from stress.
     Emotions are also easily affected by stress. People suffering from stress often
feel anxious. They may have panic attacks. They may feel tired all the time. When
people are under stress, they often overreact to little problems. For example, a
normally gentle parent under a lot of stress at work may yell at a child for
dropping a glass of juice. Stress can make people angry, moody, or nervous.
     Long-term stress can lead to a variety of serious mental illnesses. Depression,
an extreme feeling of sadness and hopelessness, can be the result of continued and
increasing stress. Alcoholism and other addictions often develop as a result of
overuse of alcohol or drugs to try to relieve stress. Eating disorders, such as
anorexia, are sometimes caused by stress and are often made worse by stress. If
stress is allowed to continue, then one's mental health is put at risk.
     It is obvious that stress is a serious problem. It attacks the body. It affects the
emotions. Untreated, it may eventually result in mental illness. Stress has a great
influence on the health and well-being of our bodies, our feelings, and our minds.
So, reduce stress: stop the world and rest for a while.

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Part 2. The bar chart shows the number of people employed in five types of
work in one region of Australia in 2001 and 2008. Summarise the information
by selecting and reporting the main features and making relevant
comparisons. (15 pts)

Part 3. Write an essay of about 350 words to express your opinion on the
following issue (30 pts)
Shops should not be allowed to sell any food or drink scientifically
proven bad for people's health. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Give reasons for your answer, and include any relevant examples from your
knowledge or experience. You may continue your writing on the back page if you
need more space
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- THE END -

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