Practice Test for English-gifted 12th graders

Practice Test 1
I. Choose the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the word that differs from the rest in
the pronunciation of the underlined letters in each of the following questions.
1. A. increasingly/s/ B. basic /s/ C. comparison/s/ D. transact /z/
2. A. importunate /tʃ/ B. unfortunate /tʃ/ C. suggestion /tʃ/ D. equation /ʒ/
3. A. endanger /eɪ/ B. ancient /eɪ/ C. skyscraper /eɪ/ D. ascot
* ascot /ˈæskɒt/ (n): cravat
II. Choose the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the word that differs from the rest in
the position of the main stress in each of the following questions.
4. A. ˈtheory B. themˈselves C. ˈthorough D. ˈstruggle /ˈstrʌɡl/
5. A. ˈhostile B. hoˈtel C. ˈhourglass D. ˈhonest
* thorough BrE /ˈθʌrə/; NAmE /ˈθɜːroʊ/ (adj)
_ˈself/selves

III. Choose the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the
following questions.
6. The coat was going for a _____, reduced from $100 to $20.
A. flower B. laugh C. song D. smile
* go for a song: be sold very cheaply
7. Mark had to _____ his pocket money by doing jobs around the house.
A. gain B. work C. earn D. take
8. A _____ for the company said that the matter was being investigated.
A. speaker B. representative C. publicist D. spokesperson
* spokesperson (n) (~ for sb/st)
* representative (n) (~ of sb/st)
9. Activities in the department store were _____ by animal rights activists
protesting against the sale of fur coats.
A. disorientated B. disrupted C. deranged D. disturbed
10. Farmers decided to _____ outside the Ministry of Agriculture in
protest against the cut in subsidies.
A. caution B. boycott C. control D. picket
11. Peter usually helps his mother with _________.
A. housework B. homework ?C. chores D. household
* housework = household/ domestic chores
12. The business had little to _____ from delaying delivery action.
A. benefit B. win C. gain D. obtain
13. In terms of protocol, the President takes _____ over all others in
the country.
A. priority B. the lead C. precedence D. the head
14. _____ you had to find a new job, what would you like to do?
A. Provided B. Supposing C. So D. Though
15. _____ from collecting shells, he also enjoys looking for fossils.
A. Except B. Besides C. Apart D. Excluded

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 16. _____ I'm concerned, he's the best manager this company has
ever had.
A. Where B. As far as C. Whereas D. While
17. Children and pensioners are admitted to the museum at _____
prices.
A. decreased B. less C. reduced D. undercharged
* pension (n): lương hưu
-> pensioner (n)
18. In the _____ right-hand corner of the portrait there is a flower.
A. front B. high C. top D. up
19. He is sometimes considered to be an outstanding artist, but I
consider his work to be quite _____.
A. common B. intermediate C. mediocre D. moderate
* mediocre /ˌmiːdiˈəʊkə(r)/ (adj): not very good; of only average standard
20. All visitors are requested to _____with the regulations.
A. agree B. assent C. comply D. consent
* comply (v) ~ with st: tuân thủ st
21. He made some _____ sketches which would serve as guides
when he painted the actual landscape.
A. elementary B. introductory C. preliminary D. primary
* preliminary /prɪˈlɪmɪnəri/ (adj)
22. Admission to the gallery is _____ except on Saturdays and
Sundays when a charge of one dollar is made.
A. allowed B. free C. nothing D. paid
23. Did you see that _____ about/ on wildlife in Africa on television
last week?
A. documentary B. history C. sitcom D. soap opera
24. All three TV channels provide extensive _____ of sporting
events.
A. broadcast B. coverage C. network D. vision
25. We hope to bring you further news of this in our next _____ at
midnight.
A. article B. bulletin C. episode D. piece
26. We covered a wide _____ of topics in the interview.
A. collection B. extend C. number D. range
* a wide range of st
27. The number of the victims of the plane crash has been _____ at
53.
A. amounted B. counted C. estimated D. scored
* estimate (v) ~ st at st
28. Judging by the casual clothes he is wearing, he doesn't _____
much significance to being elegant at work.
A. devote B. assign C. entrust D. attach
* attach importance/ significance/ value/ weight to st: to believe that st is important
29. Has anyone managed to _____ the meaning of the declaration?
A. seize B. snatch C. grip D. grasp
30. Since the new machinery was purchased in 2001, the old type has
fallen into _____.
A. decrease B. damage C. dysfunction D. disuse

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IV. Read the following passage and choose the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the best
option for each of the blanks.
BLOOD IS THICKER THAN PRINCIPLES
The present government is committed to promoting state education at the
(1)______ of private schools but not, it seems, when ministers’ own children are
concerned. The Prime Minister (2)______ the pattern by sending his eldest son to an
independent school and many of his supporters have followed (3)______. The Prime
Minister used the excuse of religion, but if Tristan and Lavinia prove too (4)______ for
the rough-and-tumble of the state-school playground, that is sufficient cause for them to
be removed, (5)______ much it costs. As some party members privately admit, in a choice
between your children and your principles, the children must come first.
1. A. cost B. expense C. loss D. price
* at the expense of sb/st (idm)
2. A. drew B. made C. put D. set
3. A. example B. lead C. suit D. mould
4. A. sensible B. sensitive C. sentimental D. sensational
5. A. however B. for how C. whatever D. no matter
* Although/ though/ even though (conj) + S + Vf + adj/ adv
~ However/ No matter how + adj/ adv + S + Vf,
~ Adj/Adv + as/ though + S + Vf,
(Mặc dù …)
V. Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer
sheet to indicate the best answer to each of the following questions.
Hunting is at best a precarious way of procuring food, even when the diet is
supplemented with seeds and fruits. Not long after the last Ice Age, around 7,000 B.C.
during the Neolithic period, some hunters and gatherers began to rely chiefly on
agriculture for their sustenance. Others continued the old pastoral and nomadic ways.
Indeed, agriculture itself evolved over the course of time, and Neolithic peoples had long
known how to grow crops. The real transformation of human life occurred when huge
numbers of people began to rely primarily and permanently on the grain they grew and
the animals they domesticated.
Agriculture made possible a more stable and secure life. With it Neolithic peoples
flourished, fashioning an energetic, creative era. They were responsible for many
fundamental inventions and innovations that the modern world takes for granted. First,
obviously, is systematic agriculture – that is, the reliance of Neolithic peoples on
agriculture as their primary, not merely subsidiary, source of food.
Thus they developed the primary economic activity of the entire ancient world and
the basis of all modern life. With the settled routine of Neolithic farmers came the
evolution of towns and eventually cities. Neolithic farmers usually raised more food than
they could consume, and their surpluses permitted larger, healthier populations.
Population growth in turn created an even greater reliance on settled farming, as only
systematic agriculture could sustain the increased numbers of people. Since surpluses of
food could also be bartered for other commodities, the Neolithic era witnessed the
beginnings of large-scale exchange of goods. In time the increasing complexity of
Neolithic societies led to the development of writing, prompted by the need to keep
records and later by the urge to chronicle experiences, learning, and beliefs.
The transition to settled life also had a profound impact on the family. The shared
needs and pressures that encourage extended-family ties are less prominent in settled than
in nomadic societies. Bonds to the extended family weakened. In towns and cities, the
nuclear family was more dependent on its immediate neighbors than on kinfolk.
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1. What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. Why many human societies are dependent on agriculture.
B. The changes agriculture brought to human life.
C. How Neolithic peoples discovered agriculture.
D. Why the first agricultural societies failed.
2. The word “precarious” in the first line is closest in meaning to _____.
A. uncertain B. humble C. worthy D. unusual
3. The author mentions “seeds and fruits” in the second line as examples of _____.
A. the first crops cultivated by early agricultural societies
B. foods eaten by hunters and gatherers as a secondary food source
C. types of food that hunters and gatherers lacked in their diets
D. the most common foods cultivated by early agricultural societies
4. The word “settled” is closest in meaning to _____.
A. advanced B. original C. involved D. stable
5. According to the passage, agricultural societies produced larger human populations
because agriculture _____.
A. created more varieties of food
B. created food surpluses
C. resulted in increases in leisure time
D. encouraged bartering
6. According to the passage, all of the following led to the development of writing
EXCEPT the _____.
A. need to keep records
B. desire to write down beliefs
C. extraction of ink from plants
D. growth of social complexity
7. The word ‘chronicle’ is closest in meaning to _____.
A. repeat B. exchange C. understand D. describe
8. According to the passage, how did the shift to agricultural societies impact people's
family relationships?
A. The extended family became less important.
B. Immediate neighbors often became family members.
C. The nuclear family became self-sufficient.
D. Family members began to wok together to raise food.
9. The author mentions all of the following as results of the shift to agricultural societies
EXCEPT _____.
A. an increase in invention and innovation
B. emergence of towns and cities
C. development of a system of trade
D. a decrease in warfare
10. Which of the following is true about the human diet prior to the Neolithic period?
A. It consisted mainly of agricultural products.
B. It varied according to family size.
C. It was based on hunting and gathering.
D. It was transformed when large numbers of people no longer depended on the grain
they grew themselves.
VI. Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer
sheet to indicate the best answer to each of the following questions.
Naturalists and casual observers alike have been struck by the special relationship
between squirrels and acorns (the seeds of oak trees). Ecologists, though, cannot observe
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these energetic mammals scurrying up and down oak trees eating and burying acorns
without wondering about their complex relationship with trees. Are squirrels dispersers
and planters of oak forests or pesky seed predators? The answer is not simple. Squirrels
may devour many acorns, but by storing and failing to recover up to 74 percent of them
(as they do when seeds are abundant), these arboreal rodents can also aid the regeneration
and dispersal of the oaks.
Their destructive powers are well documented. According to one report, squirrels
destroyed tens of thousands of fallen acorns from an oak stand on the University of
Indiana campus. A professor there estimated that each of the large while oaks had
produced between two and eight thousand acorns, but within weeks of seed maturity,
hardly an intact acorn could be found among the fallen leaves.
Deer, turkey, wild pigs, and bears also feed heavily on acorns, but do not store
them, and are therefore of no benefit to the trees. Flying squirrels, chipmunks, and mice,
whose behavior of caching (hiding) acorns below, are also unlikely to promote tree
dispersal. The leaf litter often promotes successful germination of acorns and perhaps
blue jays, important long-distance dispersers, seem to help oaks spread and reproduce.
Among squirrels, though, there is a particularly puzzling behavior pattern.
Squirrels pry off the caps of acorns, bite through the shells to get at the nutritious inner
kernels, and then discard them half-eaten. The ground under towing oaks is often littered
with thousands of half-eaten acorns, each one only bitten from the top. Why would any
animal waste so much time and energy and risk exposure to such predators as red-tail
hawks only to leave a large part of each acorn uneaten? While research is not conclusive
at this point, one thing that is certain is that squirrels do hide some of the uneaten
portions, and these acorn halves, many of which contain the seeds, may later germinate.
1. What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. The ecology of oak trees.
B. Factors that determine the feeding habits of squirrels.
C. Various species of animals that promote the dispersal of tree seeds.
D. The relationship between squirrels and oak trees.
2. The word "they" in the first paragraph refers to _____.
A. oak forests B. acorns C. squirrels D. predators
3. According to the passage, what do squirrels do when large quantities of acorns are
available?
A. They do not store acorns.
B. They eat more than 74 percent of available acorns.
C. They do not retrieve all the acorns that they have stored.
D. They hide acorns in tree cavities.
4. The word ‘estimated’ in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to _____.
A. commented B. judged C. observed D. discovered
5. Why does the author mention “the University of Indiana campus"?
A. To provide evidence that intact acorns are hard to find under oak trees.
B. To indicate a place where squirrels can aid seed dispersal of oaks.
C. To argue in favor of additional studies concerning the destructive force of squirrels.
D. To support the claim that squirrels can do great damage to oak stands.
6. It can be inferred from paragraph 3 that chipmunks do not aid in the dispersal of oak
trees because _____.
A. they store their acorns where they cannot germinate
B. they consume most of their stored acorns
C. their stored acorns are located and consumed by other species
D. they cannot travel the long distance required for dispersal
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7. According to the passage, which of the following do squirrels and blue jays have in
common?
A. They travel long distances to obtain acorns.
B. They promote the reproduction of oak trees.
C. They bury acorns under fallen leaves.
D. They store large quantities of acorns.
8. The phrase ‘pry off’ in the fourth paragraph is closest in meaning to _____.
A. swallow B. remove C. squeeze D. locate
9. The word ‘littered’ in the fourth paragraph is closest in meaning to _____.
A. covered B. displayed C. fertilized D. planted
10. According to the passage, scientists cannot explain which of the following aspects of
squirrel behavior?
A. Where squirrels store their acorn caches.
B. Why squirrels prefer acorns over other seeds.
C. Why squirrels eat only a portion of each acorn they retrieve.
D. Why squirrels prefer acorns from a particular species of oak trees.
VII. Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to show the underlined part
that needs correction.
1. After all, it was only the dinosaurs that have been disappeared, not the
A B C D
whole of animal life.
2. A gunpowder is made from a mixture of potassium nitrate and other
A B C D
substances.
3. Eagles are predatory birds that have large, heavy, hooked bills and strong,
A B
sharp claws called as "talons."
C D
4. My reaction, I suppose, could have been called to be instinctive.
A B C D
5. Although apples do not grow during the cold season, apple trees must have
A B
a such season in order to flourish.
C D
VIII. Fill in each gap with an appropriate preposition.
1. Serve the lamb _____________ new potatoes and green beans.
2. He was staggering _____________ the weight of the sack.
3. This arrangement is more economical _____________ its use of staff.
4. He is there to give you counsel _____________ all matters.
5. We’ll go on _____________ the presentations after lunch.
6. He silently vowed vengeance _____________ them all.
7. She had a tattoo _____________ a swallow on her shoulder.
8. We should make use of our superiority _____________ numbers.
9. I scraped my elbow _____________ the wall as I went past.
10. The plants will wilt _____________ direct sunlight.
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IX. Give the correct form of the words in brackets.
1. After her illness, she started worrying that she was ______________ (weigh).
2. It is ______________ (courtesy) of you to arrive late when all people are in a party.
3. To attract ______________ (academy) gifted students from many different cities and
provinces, the university presents the National Scholar Programme.
4. He paused, ______________ (appear) lost in thought.
5. The study ______________ (theory) about the role of dreams in peoples' lives.
6. Don’t discuss the matter too much because it is ______________ (confide).
7. To be chosen, students must show ______________ (excel) in mathematics and
reading and writing skills.
8. Tom spoke ______________ (breath) because he was so excited.
9. They ______________ (hold) a bright star shining in the sky.
10. The gene is ______________ (active) by a specific protein.
X. Rewrite each of the following sentences so that the meaning stays the same.
1. Mrs Scott is proud of her cooking.
-> Mrs Scott prides ________________________________________________
2. I wasn’t a bit surprised to hear that Karen had changed her job.
-> It came _______________________________________________________
3. John didn’t celebrate until he received the offer of promotion in writing.
-> Not until ______________________________________________________
4. It’s thought that the accident was caused by human error.
-> The accident is _________________________________________________
5. Some people will do anything to lose weight.
-> Some people will go _____________________________________________

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