KHẢO SÁT CHỌN HỌC SINH GIỎI

NĂM HỌC 2022 - 2023

ĐỀ THI MÔN: TIẾNG ANH LỚP 12
Thời gian 180 phút (không kể thời gian giao đề)
(Đề thi có 21 trang)

Điểm Giám khảo 1 Số phách

Bằng số Bằng chữ

Giám khảo 2

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

- Giám thị không giải thích gì thêm.

I. LISTENING (50 points)

Part 1. For questions 1-5, listen to a milestone in the field of nuclear-fusion energy and decide
whether these statements are True (T), False (F), or Not Given (NG). Write your answers in
the corresponding numbered boxes provided.

1. After years of little progress, obtaining a burning plasma state in the lab is a major stride
towards turning fusion energy into a sustainable energy source.
2. The self-heating process was the secret behind the success of the experiment, which spit out
such a large amount of power.
3. Ignition refers to the point at which the fuel is self-heating more rapidly than it is cooling.
4. Nuclear fission is a more efficient source of energy than burning fossil fuels.
5. This is the first time the optimal conditions for the fusion reactions to occur are thoroughly
understood.

1 2 3 4 5

Part 2. For questions 6-10, listen to a report on a popular series and answer the questions.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS or NUMBERS taken from the recording for each
answer in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
6. On what reviewing platform does Squid Game earn a perfect critics' score of 100
per cent?
……………………………………………………………………
7. How can the series, to a lesser extent, be characterized as being?

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……………………………………………………………………

8. What have Korean cultural exports achieved in the US?

……………………………………………………………………
9. What facilitated the storytelling of the series, which was both unique and captivating?
……………………………………………………………………
10. Besides being a source of extreme gruesomeness, what function does the series serve?
……………………………………………………………………

6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Part 3: You will hear part of an interview in which two scientists called Jessica Conway and
Paul Flower are talking about exploration and discovery. For questions 11 to 15, choose the
answer (A, B, C or D) which fits best according to what you hear.
11. Regarding new species found around underwater craters, Jessica says that_______
A. they are being discovered less often these days.
B. they are more abundant in certain locations.
C. it is difficult to estimate possible numbers.
D. there are problems classifying them.
12. When asked about geographical discoveries in general, Paul and Jessica agree that scientists
need to ______
A. make regular reassessments of their work. B. compare their respective results.
C. recognize their limitations. D. promote their findings.
13. What does Paul say about walking when no one has ever walked before?
A. It recharges his tired mind. B. It makes him feel he is unique.
C. It gives him a sense of belonging. D. It helps him forget physical discomfort.
14. When asked about others visiting remote areas, Paul ______
A. supports the public’s right to experience them.
B. expresses his concern of growing urbanization.
C. suggests it would benefit local communities.
D. criticizes the attitude of some tourists.
15. In Paul’s view, future generations will ______
A. only need to go online to experience the thrill of adventure.
B. have to reduce travel for environment reasons.
C. be less interested in the concept of exploration.
D. still be attracted to isolated places.

11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

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Part 4: For questions 16-25, listen and complete the sentences with a word or short phrase.
Write NO MORE THAN FOUR WORDS taken from the recording in each blank.

Philosophy, one of Ancient Greece's substantial achievements, was 16_____________of its

democracy.
Socrates depicted in the 17______________ as being extremely pessimistic about democracy.
According to Socrates, election voting is not a 18_______________, it is a skill.
A 19________________ was summoned to hear the case, and the philosopher was found guilty by
a narrow margin.
Importantly, Socrates was not 20___________ in the conventional sense.
Ancient Athens had a traumatic 21__________________ and Athens' 22_________________ in
Sicily were aided by a charismatic, smooth-talking wealthy man.
Socrates injures you, gives 23_____________ and instructs you not to eat or drink whatever you
prefer.
We haven’t completely remembered Socrates' 24__________________ against democracy.
We have regarded democracy as an 25_________________ rather than something whose
effectiveness is limited by the education system surrounding it.

16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

21. 22. 23. 24. 25.

II. GRAMMAR AND LEXICOLOGY (30 points)

Part 1: Choose the best answer. (20 points)
26. Sandra astounded all the spectators by winning the match ______ down.
A. heads B. hands C. hearts D. feet
27. When his manager went on a business trip, Mark stepped into the ______ and chaired the
meeting.
A. hole B. breach C. pool D. crack
28. It is public knowledge that new magazines often use free gifts or other _____ to get people to
buy them.
A. gimmicks B. snares C. plots D. scams
29. Peter Oprah is a true sister under the______ as he always supports women’s action to
improve their rights.
A. skin B. chin C. mask D. card
30. It is often difficult for a householder to ______ squatters and regain possession of his or her
property.
A. eliminate B. withdraw C. evict D. vacate
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31. I'm not a serious investor, but I like to ______ in the stock market.
A. splash B. splatter C. paddle D. dabble
32. The teacher said 'Well done' and patted me on the head. I can't stand people who treat me
so ______.
A. pompously B. maternally C. snobbishly D. patronizingly
33. The investigation was instigated ______the Prime Minister.
A. on the part of B. consequence of C. subsequent to D. at the behest of
34. Teachers have the authority to discipline pupils by ______ of their position as teachers.
A. view B. virtue C. means D. way
35. The consultant called in by the firm brought a ______ of experience to bear on the problem.
A. wealth B. realm C. bank D. hoard
36. The thick fog ______ out any possibility of our plane taking off before morning.
A. ruled B. struck C. stamped D. crossed
37. The new curriculum has been designed to ______ students learning by combining theory with
hands-on practice.
A. endow B. optimize C. sharpen D. estimate
38. When I was younger, I wanted to be an air pilot but I soon went ____ the idea when I realized I
hated flying.
A. out B. off C. up D. with
39. People can make themselves walk on nails or through fire. It’s a question of mind over ______.
A. body B. material C. matter D. facts
40. We are a luxury restaurant and if people have a bad experience, we have to _______.
A. carry all before them B. carry the can C. carry the ball D. carry the day

Your answers:
26. 27. 28. 29. 30.
31. 32. 33. 34. 35.
36. 37. 38. 39. 40.

Part 2. Complete these sentences, using the suitable form of the given words in brackets.
Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided. (10 points)
41. These people are _________ and they are not going to say anything on camera that makes
them look stupid. (MEDIA)
42. Right now Usain Bolt can still_______ professional athletes although he's considerably aging
(PACE)
43. Many scientists still don't believe ________ about their insisting on proving that they had met
aliens (TACT)
44. In January 2001, the ____ Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued its latest report on
climate change. (GOVERN)
45.The New Year 2020's _______ show involves almost every famous face of the country (STAR)
Your answers:
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 41. 42. 43. 44. 45.
III. READING COMPREHENSION (60 points)
Part 1. Read the passage and fill in each gap with a suitable word.
Public opinion polls show that crime is viewed as one of the most serious problems of many
societies. Yet, 46. _______ studies have revealed that the amount of violent crime is 47. _______.
Our peculiar awareness and fear is largely brought about by the great attention it is 48. _______ in
the mass media and also because of violent crime being a popular theme for television series and
films.
Among all crimes, murder makes the 49. _______ and there is a little doubt that homicides
still continue to be a 50. _______ question in a number of countries. The various causes of severe
crime are being constantly 51. _______ and innumerable reasons for it are being pointed out.
Among these are unemployment, drug abuse, inadequate police enforcement, ineffective courts,
racial discrimination, television and the general decline in social values.
An acknowledged fact is that it is mainly poverty that 52. ________ crime. Individual
incapable of 53. ______ for themselves and their families the rudimentary means of living
unavoidably take 54. _____ stealing, burgling or committing other offences. We may try to explain
crime on different 55. ______ - cultural, economic, psychological or political, but criminologists
are still far from detecting the exact source of violent offences as the direct link between these
particular factors isn’t possible to specify.
46. A. postulating B. philosophizing C. examining D. penetrating
47. A. customized B. overestimated C. presupposed D. outspoken
48. A. granted B. awarded C. devoted D. entrusted
49. A. headlines B. titles C. captions D. spotlights
50. A. burdening B. obstructing C. nagging D. contending
51. A. debated B. conversed C. uttered D. articulated
52. A. rears B. nurtures C. breeds D. urges
53. A. insuring B. affording C. securing D. accommodating
54. A. on B. to C. for D. with
55. A. motives B. drives C. grounds D. reasons
Your answers:
46. 47. 48. 49. 50.
51. 52. 53. 54. 55.

Part 2: Complete the following passage by filling each blank with ONE suitable word. Write
your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
The game of solving difficult puzzles has always filled people with the feeling of a profound
excitement. No (56)_______, then, that the fascination of treasure hunting has invariably been
associated with the possibility of (57)_______ the most improbable dreams. According to what the
psychologists claim, there is a little boy in every treasure hunter. Yet, the chase of hidden valuables
has recently become a serious venture with amateur and professional seekers equipped with highly
sophisticated (58)_______ like metal detectors, radars, sonars or underwater cameras.
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What (59)_______ the adrenaline level in these treasure - obsessed fanatics are legends, myths, old
maps and other variety of clues promising immeasurable fortunes (60)_______ beneath the earth’s
surface or drowned in the ancient galleys.
For many reassure hunters the struggle of hint searching is even more stimulating than digging out
a treasure (61)_______ composed of golden or silver objects, jeweler and other priceless artifacts.
The job is, however, extremely strenuous as even the most puzzling clues must be thoroughly
analyzed. Failures and misinterpretations (62)_______ quite frequently, too. Yet, (63)_______ the
most unlikely clue or the smallest find is enough to reinforce the hunter's self - confidence and
passion.
Indeed, the delight in treasure finding doesn't always depend on acquiring tremendous amounts of
valuables. Whatever is detected, (64)_______ it a rusty sundial or a marble statue, brings joy and
(65)_______ after a long and exhausting search.

56. 57. 58. 59. 60.

61. 62. 63. 64. 65.

Part 3. Read the passage and choose the best answer A, B, C or D.

Medieval Europe abounded in castles. Germany alone had ten thousand and more, most of
them now vanished; all that summer journey in the Rhineland and the south-west now can show
are a handful of ruins and a few nineteenth century restorations. Nevertheless, anyone journeying
from Spain to the Dvina, from Calabria to Wales, will find castles rearing up again and again to
dominate the open landscape. There they will stand, indesolate and uninhabited districts where the
only visible forms of life are herdsman and their flocks, with hawks circling the battlements, far
from the traffic and comfortably distant even from the nearest small town; these were the
strongholds of the European aristocracy.
The weight of aristocratic dominance was felt in Europe until well after the French
Revolution; political and social structure, the church, the general tenor of thought and feeling
were all influenced by it. Over the centuries, consciously or unconsciously, the other classes of
this older European society- the clergy, the bourgeoisie, and ‘ the common people’- adopted many
of the outward characteristics of the aristocracy, who became their model, their standard, their
ideal. Aristocratic values and ambition were adopted alongside aristocratic manners and fashions
of dress. Yet Aristocracy was the object of much contentious criticism and complaint; from the
thirteenth century onwards their military value and their political importance were both called into
question. Nevertheless, their opponents continued to be their principal imitators. In the eleventh
and twelfth centuries, the reforming Papacy and its clerical supporters, although opposed the
excessively democratic control of the church ( as is shown by the Investiture contest)
nevertheless, themselves first adopted and then strengthened the forms of this control. Noblemen
who became bishops or who founded new Orders helped to implant aristocratic principles and
forms of government deep within the structure and spiritual life of the Church. Again, in the
twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the urban bourgeoisie, made prosperous and even rich by trade
and industry, were rising to political power as the servants and legal protégés of the monarchy.
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These ‘ Patricians’ were critical of the Aristocracy and hostile towards it. Yet they also imitated
the Aristocracy and tried to gain admittance to the closed circle and to achieve equality of status.
Even the unarmed peasantry, who usually had to suffer more from the unrelieved weight of
aristocratic dominance, long remained tenaciously loyal to their lords, held to their allegiance by
that combination of love and fear, amor et timor, which was so characteristic of the medieval
relationship between lord and servant, between God and man.
The castle and strongholds of the aristocracy remind us of the reality of their power and
superiority. Through the long warring centuries when men went defenseless and insecure, the’
house’, the lord’s fortified dwelling, promised protection, security and peace to all whom it
sheltered. From the ninth to the eleventh centuries, it not later, Europe was in many ways all to
open. Attack came from the sea, in the Mediterranean from Saracens and Vikings, the latter
usually in their swift, dragon- power, easily maneuvered longboats, manned by some sixteen pairs
of oarsmen and with a full complement of perhaps sixty men. There were periods when the
British Isles and the French coasts were being raided every year by Vikings and in the heart of the
continent marauding Magyar and armies met invading bands of Saracens. The name of
Pontresina, near ST. Moritz in Switzerland, is a memento of the stormy tenth century. It means
pons Saracenorum, the ‘ fortified Saracen bridge’, the place where plundering expeditions halted
on their way up from the Mediterranean.
It was recognized in theory that the Church and the monarchy were the principal powers
and that they were bound by the nature of their office to ensure peace and security and to do
justice; but at this period they were too weak, too torn by internal conflicts to fulfill their
obligations. Thus, more and more power passed into the hands of warriors invested by the
monarchy and the Church with lands and rights of jurisdiction, who in return undertook to support
their overlords and to protect the unarmed peasantry.
Their first concern, however, was self- protection. It is almost impossible for us to realize
how primitive the great majority of these early medieval ‘ castles’ really were. Until about 1150
the fortified houses of the Anglo-Norman nobility were simple dwellings surrounded by a mound
of earth and a wooden stockade. These were the motte and bailey castles; the motte was the
mound and its stockade, the bailey an open court lying below and also stockaded. Both were
protected, where possible, by yet another ditch filled with water, the moat. In the middle of the
motte there was a wooden tower, the keep or donjon, which only became a genuine stronghold at
the later date and in places where stone was readily available. The stone castles of the French and
German nobility usually had only a single communal room in which all activities took place.
In such straitened surroundings, where warmth, light and comfort were lacking, there was no way
of creating an air of privacy. It is easy enough to understand why the life of the landed nobility
was often so unrestrained, so filled with harshness, cruelty and brutality, even in later, more ‘
chivalrous ‘ periods. The barons’ daily life was bare and uneventful, punctuated by war, hunting
( a rehearsal for war), and feasting. Boys were trained to fight from the age of seven or eight, and
their education in arms continued until they were twenty-one, although in some cases they started
to fight as early as fifteen. The peasants of the surrounding countryside, bound to their lords by a
great variety of ties, produced the sparse fare which was all that the underdeveloped
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agriculture of the early medieval period could sustain. Hunting was a constant necessity, to make
up for the lack of butcher’s meat, and in England and Germany in the eleventh and twelfth
centuries even the Kings had to progress from one crown estate to another, from one bishop’s
palace to the next, to maintain themselves and retinue.
Questions:
66. Class conflict in the Middle Ages was kept in check by______.
A. The fact that most people belonged the same class
B. Tyrannical suppressions of rebellions by powerful monarchs
C. The religious teachings of the church
D. The fact that all other classes admired and attempted to emulate the aristocracy
67. The urban bourgeoisie was hostile to the aristocracy because_______.
A. The bourgeoisie was prevented by the aristocracy from seeking an alliance with the kings.
B. Aristocrats often confiscated the wealth of the bourgeoisie.
C. the bourgeoisie saw the aristocracy as their rivals
D. the aristocrats often deliberately antagonized the bourgeoisie
68. Castles were originally built _______.
A. As status symbols
B. As strongholds against invaders
C. As simple places to live in.
D. As luxurious chateaux.
69. One of the groups that invaded Central Europe during the Middle Ages from the ninth
century on was the______ .
A. Magyars B. Franks C. Angles D. Celts
70. The aristocracy was originally_________
A. The great landowners
B. Members of the elegy
C. The king’s warriors
D. Merchants who became wealthy
71. The reforming Popes eventually produced an aristocratic Church because______.
A. They depended on the aristocracy for money
B. They themselves were more interested in money than in religion.
C. They were defeated by the aristocrats.
D. Many aristocrats entered the structure of the Church and impressed their values on it.
72. Hunting served the dual purpose of ______.
A. Preparing for war and engaging in sport
B. Preparing for war and getting meat
C. Learning how to ride and shoot
D. Testing horses and men
73. The phrase “ amor et timor” is used to describe the _______.
A. Rivalry between bourgeoisie and aristocracy
B. Church’s view of man and his relationship to God
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 C. Peasnant’s loyalty to the aristocracy
D. Adaptation of aristocratic manners and dress
74. Protection of the peasantry was implemented by the _______.
A. King ‘s warriors
B. Magyar mercenaries
C. Replacement of wood towers by stone donjons
D. Princes of the Church
75. The effectiveness of the Church and King was diminished by________.
A. Ambition of the military
B. Conflicts and weaknesses within the Church and the royal house.
C. Peasant dissatisfaction
D. The inherent flaws of feudalism.

Your answers:
66. 67. 68. 69. 70.
71. 72. 73. 74. 75.

Part 3. Read the passage and do the tasks that follow.

Questions 76 – 81. The reading passage has six sections, A - F. Choose the correct heading for
each section from the list of headings below.
List of Headings
i. Tough words that have to be said
ii. Passion leads to great coffee
iii. Getting the message out
iv. Preparing young people for employment
v. Too much emotion
vi. A harder time ahead
vii. Back to school
viii. Results are not enough
ix. Preparing for change
76. Section A
77. Section B
78. Section C
79. Section D
80. Section E
81. Section F
Should we recalibrate what we think of as success?
'High Mistress' Clarissa Farr believes that a rounded education and realistic expectations
are as important as top exam grades for her pupils at St Paul's.
'There's far too much passion everywhere these days; we're drowning in it,' observes Clarissa Farr,
the head of the elite private St Paul's School for Girls in west London, with a note of dry humour.
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She is referring, however, not to the age-old problem of broiling teenage hormones, but the modern
phenomenon of shamefully over-excitable adults.

A. 'We were interviewing various companies about designing a new prospectus, and they were all
declaring how passionate they were,' she elucidates. Cafes put signs up announcing their passion
for serving coffee or making sandwiches - and it's a reflection of how overhyped the world has
become. Our society has been in thrall to the max; maximum working, maximum earning,
maximum reaction, and the extreme language is a symptom of that. 'An important part of my role
is to teach intelligent restraint, to turn the temperature down and encourage my girls to take a step
back and engage in thought rather than simply adding their voices to the confusion.'

B. Of late, Miss Farr has been sharing her intelligent thoughts with us all. She has written to
newspapers to give her opinions on the character-building importance of extra-curricular
challenges. She has made headlines with the revelation that she was staging parenting classes at
her school, which counts Rachel Weisz, the actress; Alexandra Shulman, the editor-in-chief of
Vogue; Jennifer Saunders, the comedian; Stephanie Flanders, the BBC economics editor; and
Carol Thatcher, the journalist among its alumnae - the Old Paulinas.

C. Right now, Miss Farr, officially known-as the High Mistress, is calmly saying the unsayable;
namely that even young people who attend top-flight places of learning such as hers will struggle
to find employment. 'We need to prepare young people for the world as it is now, not as we would
wish it to be,' she says crisply. 'This generation I'm looking at now isn't going to be chasing super-
salaries. A lot are going to struggle to get employment - at present, the best-educated graduates are
coming out of university without jobs'. Cue gasps of anguish from pushy parents everywhere, but
Miss Farr, 54, tall and impeccably dressed, cuts an imposing figure who brooks no argument. She
commands respect within the school walls and far beyond; when she speaks, educationalists listen.
Her school's liberal ethos - embodied in the absence of uniform - is balanced by its mission to
'educate the prodigiously gifted.' Miss Farr is unabashed by this elitist reputation, but believes that
a rounded education instills more than a rigorous work ethic.

D. Today's teenagers will need more than just a series of top exam grades if they are to shine.
Resourcefulness, confidence and a flexible mindset will be just as - perhaps even more - important.

'We need to recalibrate what we think of as success. What will success look like in the future?
Most probably not a job for life, and that process of altering perspective begins at school.'
Recalibration doesn't come cheap; after shelling out fees of £18,000 a year, parents could be
forgiven for assuming that their daughters will be able to pick and choose their own career paths.
Given the current pressure on leading universities to admit more students from the state sector, Old
Paulinas might even find the odds are, for the first time in the school's 108-year history, stacked
against them. But Miss Farr refuses to complain at what is perceived by other independent head
teachers as a blatant unfairness.
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E. 'When our girls go to interview for university places, they're given a tough time, and quite
rightly so, she says. 'They've had access to excellent teaching and have had the opportunity to hear
extraordinary speakers from a whole range of professions. This is a high-octane intellectual
environment, and they should have to work harder to prove themselves.' Miss Farr, who is married
to John Goodbody, the sports journalist, has two children: a 16-year-old daughter and a 14-year-
old son, both of whom are at single sex independent schools. As a parent, she can empathize with
other parents' concerns. 'A school like this can have a reputation for being detached and stand-
offish,’ she says. 'But we see ourselves as working alongside parents in bringing up their girls.
What have been billed in the press as "parenting classes" are more a sort of seminar, a forum where
parents can meet and share experiences?'

F. Miss Farr has bluntly pointed out to high-flying professional parents who work long hours and
often travel abroad that they are ‘deceiving themselves if they think they can bring up children by
iPhone’. It's not necessarily the message today's hard-pressed parents want to hear, but it is, avers
Miss Farr, the message they need to hear. Subjects under discussion thus far have included the
Internet, discipline and, most recently, how to support girls through the stressful exam period.
Needless to say, the high-achieving girls of St Paul's won't turn a hair at the plan by Michael Gove,
the Education Secretary, to let universities preside over the setting of significantly tougher A-
levels. Some state schools, however, will find it a tough readjustment. But Miss Farr -
disingenuously, perhaps - claims that there is no gulf between the two sectors. 'I don't see a divide;
the independent sector is another component within a mosaic of provision that includes faith
schools, academies and the maintained sector, she says. 'In this school, we have a very particular
purpose: to look after the needs of very academically gifted girls. That's our contribution, and
through our bursary and outreach work, we are trying to be as accessible as we can to any girls
who would benefit. ' But education isn't just about the students; effective learning begins with good
teaching, but the pressures of the job mean that as in the state sector,’ the independent sector is facing
something of a leadership crisis. 'There are not enough people wanting to go into the top job;
nobody wants to be the one held responsible,' says Miss Farr. 'A generation of deputy heads needs
to be encouraged to stand up and become the point beyond which the buck can't be passed.' Much
of the mistrust felt by those in school management stems from the way education is invariably
treated as a political football. 'I feel very strongly that education needs to stand outside political
motivations; one of the problems we face is that as every new government comes to power, we are
forced to swing between policies.'
'We need a slow-burn, evolutionary strategy that will serve us for the long haul. At the moment,
there's a lot of integrated thinking, which is encouraging, as it fosters a bespoke rather than a one-
size-fits-all approach to providing education.' At St Paul's School for Girls, where learning is
tailored to the proverbial crème de la crème, Miss Farr is in her element and keen to proselytize to
those considering education as a career.
'It's up to schools to rebalance people's thinking and reset the co-ordinates for a different kind of
future. Shaping young people's values is an important, exciting role.'
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 (adapted from www.telegraph.co.uk)
Questions 82-85. Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading
Passage?
Write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

82. Miss Farr's ideas are only relevant for parents and pupils of St Paul's School.
83. Miss Farr has an unwelcome message about the future of her pupils.
84. Miss Farr abandoned school uniform as part of the school's philosophy.
85. Miss Farr believes business success can lead to poor parenting decisions.

Questions 86-88. Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

86. St Paul's School is ________
A. a school with special classes for emotional teenagers.
B. one of the best state schools in London.
C. facing financial problems which will require it to modify its policies.
D. under the direction of a woman with strong views.
87. The writer predicts that the reaction to Miss Farr's views on future employment prospects will
be _______
A. heard by educationalists. B. shocking to some parents.
C. useful to the young people at St Paul's. D. seen by society as elitist.
88. There is a leadership crisis ________
A. because there are not enough deputy heads in schools.
B. as a result of a series of recent political changes.
C. in schools in both the independent sector and the state sector.
D. in management teams as they lack trust in government.

Your answers:
76. 77. 78. 79. 80.
81. 82. 83. 84. 85.
86. 87. 88.

Part 4. You are going to read an extract from a newspaper article. Five paragraphs have
been removed from the extract. Choose from the paragraphs A-G the one which fits each gap
(89-95). There are extra paragraphs which you do not need to use.
Why do catchy tunes stay on our minds?
Claire Wilson reveals why the brain finds it hard to forget irritating, popular songs.

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Songs that go round and round in your head for days or even weeks on end, have commonly
become known as “earworms.” For no obvious reason, a tune just stays on your mind, and you
cannot help singing or humming it whether it’s a song you like or not. What is interesting about
this experience is that it clearly illustrates a part of our mind that is not under our control.
89
Oliver Sacks, a neurologist and author of the book Musicophilia, claims that earworms are an
obvious sign of “the overwhelming and at times, helpless, sensitivity of our brains to music.”
Music has something in common with earworms; they are both typified by reiteration, and this
may be why earworms are so difficult to oust from our mind.
90
Along with the repetition, music is unique compared to many of the other things we frequently
encounter in our daily lives, because it is so similar every time we hear it. Roads are tedious to our
eyes, and often all look the same, but each time you see the same road, you’ll see it from a
different angle, aspect or in a different light.
91
A further thing about earworms is that time and again they seem to have something appealing or
untypical about them. Usually they are simple and repetitive fragments of music, but those songs
that eventually become earworms have just a small trace of something that makes them “catchy.”
92
Earworms also seem to be a part of long-term memory and not just a temporary after image of
sound. For example, someone with an especially lasting earworm can activate it just by hearing
someone mention the name. They don’t actually have to hear the music before it’s back again
going through their head.
93
One part of the slave system is the “mind’s eye,” which retains visual information, and another is
the “inner ear,” which we, for instance, employ to remember someone’s address or phone number.
It is the latter which appears to get weighed down with earworms.
94
Freud claimed that our minds are not one unity, and today’s cognitive neuroscience agrees, though
it varies on some of the specifics. The point is that our awareness of ourselves is far from being the
only thing teeming in our minds. The mind is a place of which we do not have total control not
complete knowledge.
95
One psychologist has proposed singing other songs that are quite similar to your earworm, using
the theory that an earworm continues to exist in your mind because of its idiosyncrasy and your
inner ear. By wiping out the individuality of the memory that is the earworm, either it will
disappear or be replaced by yet another earworm.

A. Earworms are musical memories that get set in a loop and play a specific verse or line, over and
over again and never get to the end of the song. A few people have said that if they sing the

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 earworm to the very end, it can help stop it playing in your head. However, others have reported
this is absolutely no help at all, and in fact might make it worse by more of the song rather than
less being repeated mentally.

B. Maybe that is the reason why they haunt our memory, and are so difficult to forget. If they were
the normal run of the mill song, they would be drummed out by all the other tunes that sound so
similar to each other and we’d have no grounds to mark them out as different.

C. Yet this is not the complete story. Aptly named “slave systems” have been pinpointed in our
short-term memory by human memory researchers; sections of the mind that ensnare sights and
sounds, keeping them to the forefront of our minds while we focus exclusively on them for a
short time.

D. There is of course the infamous “don’t think of a white bear” predicament. As it implies, the
idea is not to think about a white bear, but just try it for yourself. You face the irony of
attempting to block your mind of all thoughts of a white bear whilst at the same time confirming
you are not thinking of a white bear – you are conjuring up an image of precisely the thing you
are trying not to think of. So the only solution is to do something else to circumvent both
thinking of the white bear and not thinking of the white bear. Something like the inner ear,
really.

E. This inner ear would appear to have a preference for maintaining a couple of bars of music or a
few short phrases from a song on our mind, rather than going through our plans for the day or
making a list of things to remember. In other words, a part of the body that we do not usually
have to even think about and which should do what we want, has turned against us, turning our
minds into a jukebox playing only one record that we never requested.

F. An earworm infects our inner ear, that essential component of our cognitive apparatus that helps
us remember and rehearse sounds. This is a part of ourselves over which we have no control, so
just telling it to “be quiet” is unlikely to work, and in fact could have the opposite effect and
worsen the situation. It is deemed a good idea by many scientists to use the inner ear for another
activity – something that will make the mind off the ear worm.

G. They fail to ask for permission to arrive and decline to depart when we tell them to. Earworms
are leeches, residing in a section of our mind that practices sounds. These sounds appear to be
quite simple and rhythmic, but not everyone is suffering from the same song at the same time.

H. Conversely, play a tune on your MP$ player and it sounds the same every single time.
Memorizing information is strongly influenced by repetition, therefore, perhaps the familiarity
of a piece of music etches deep-rooted channels in our mind, allowing earworms to flourish.

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Part 5. You are going to read an article that contains information about underground
railway systems. For questions 96 – 105, choose from the cities (A – D).

The cities may be chosen more than once.

About which railway system is the following stated? Your answers:

Some passengers may not be allowed on certain parts of the train. 96. _______
The system was renovated to high aesthetic standards. 97. _______
Sometimes extra employees are needed to help people get into crowded 98. _______
trains.
The underground is a great contrast to the rest of the city. 99. _______
It may require some effort to get to another line. 100. _______
Although trains are crowded, service is frequent. 101. _______
Passengers are shown where to board the trains. 102. _______
Its construction was a historical landmark in the city’s development. 103. _______
Train drivers’ wages used to be reduced if their trains were late. 104. _______
It depends on substantial government support to keep it open. 105. _______

A. Paris
Passengers carried per day: 4.5m
Cost of ticket: 1.70 euros flat fare
Length: 214 kilometers
Lines: 14
Stations: 300
In Paris, there are pleasures for those who use the Metro – many of them aesthetic. The gracefully
curvaceous Art Nouveau dragon-fly entrances are just the most prominent on a Metro system
which celebrated its centenary by spending millions of euros on refurbishing its stations and
making them works of art. On my way home, I pass Bonne Nouvelle station in the heart of Paris’s
cinema district. There, during the cinema festival this summer, special lighting effects dapple the
platforms and films are projected onto the advertising hoardings. More than anything the metro is
efficient. ‘When I worked on line 4,’ says a retired driver, ‘we had exactly 30 minutes and 15
seconds to complete the journey. If it took any longer, they docked our pay.’ But there are
drawbacks. Many Metro stations have too many stairs, and changing lines at big interchanges can
be tiresome

B. Moscow
Passengers carried per day: 6.6m
Cost of ticket: 28 rubles (0.70 euros)
Length: 301 kilometers
Lines: 12

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Stations: 182
The first tunneling for the Moscow Metropolitan started in 1932. Three years later, the trains
started running. They haven’t stopped since – every 90 seconds or two minutes during rush hour,
every five minutes the rest of the time, from 6 a.m. till 1 a.m. There may be a crush but there is
seldom a wait. The trains take you through a parade of marbled, stuccoed, spacious, spotless
stations. For tourists it’s a major draw: from Russian art deco to neoclassical, the Metro stations
are not to be missed. In short, the Metro was a central, perhaps the central, element in the building
frenzy of the 1930s that changed the face of Moscow forever.

C. Tokyo
Passengers carried per day: 8.7m
Cost of ticket: 160 – 300 yen (1.40 – 2.50 euros)
Length: 328 kilometres
Lines: 14
Stations: 282
Trains do not just arrive on time in Tokyo, they stop right on the platform mark so that passengers
can line up knowing exactly where the doors will open. Train driving is a prestigious job for life
for which the applicants must pass a rigorous screening of health checks, interviews and written
exams before they can don the usually meticulously turned out uniform, cap and white gloves.
However, overcrowding means it is far from a commuter paradise. At peak morning hours, some
stations employ part-time platform staff to cram in passengers. Carriages can be filled to 183% of
capacity. The main reason for such cramped conditions is that the Tokyo subway system has only
24 kilometres of track for every 1 million people, compared to 58 on the London Underground.
New lines are under construction, but at a cost of 575,000 euros per metre of rail, progress has
been slow.

D. Mexico City
Passengers carried per day: 5m
Cost of ticket: 3 pesos (0.15 euros) flat fare
Length: 451 kilometres
Lines: 11
Stations: 175
Fast, relatively safe, and very cheap, Mexico City’s underground is an oasis of order and efficiency
under the chaos above. The Mexican capital’s underground system is the biggest in the continent
and one of the most subsidized networks in the world. Built in the 1960s, it boasts rubber-tyred
carriages and connecting walkways that recall the Paris Metro. An army of vendors wind their way
through the cars selling everything from briefcases to potato peelers. The first trains leave the
terminuses at 5 a.m. and the last after midnight as the masses move from the outskirts of the 20
million-strong megacity. Mexico City’s Metro also attracts a sizeable contingent of passengers
who are unwilling to spend hours in choking traffic jams.

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Without the Metro, the city would grind to a halt, but expansion is desperately needed to relieve
the crowding. At peak times, two carriages on each train may be reserved for women and children
only. There is a master plan to build new lines and extend existing ones, but financial constraints
complicated by the fact that the system runs through different jurisdictions mean progress is slow.
IV. WRITING (60 points)
Part 1. Summary (10 points)
Read the following text and use your own words to summarize it in about 120 words. You must
not copy the original words.

The child who is too aggressive is usually revealing two difficulties. Firstly, far from being
too confident, he is actually not confident enough of himself. Secondly, he has not learnt, or is
afraid to trust, the acceptable ways of getting what he wants and defending his rights.
Why the child lacks confidence may not be apparent. In a young child, a lack of confidence
can be readily understood. He has not yet had enough experience to know what he can do. An
older child may be bullying and aggressive because he is too strictly held down at home, or equally
because he is too laxly handled and has not been helped to self-control. Too much and too little
parental authority often have similar troubling effects on children of different temperaments.
The same may be said of the second difficulty the child reveals by his aggressive behavior.
A young child does not yet know that there are better ways than fighting. An older child may not
have been given much guidance, or through circumstances he may not have had much experience
in getting along with other children. When parents or other adults have not been on hand to teach
and show children by their example, or have been too protective of their children in the pre-school
years, it may take both time and experience for the children to learn to get along with others, once
they are in school and on their own.
The child who is too aggressive needs his confidence build up in good and wholesome
ways. His boldness, his energy, his desire to lead and manage others can be directed into useful
channels. At home and in school, the aggressive child can be given more responsibility and more
praise for his real achievements.
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Part 2. Chart description (20 points)

The pie graphs show greenhouse gas emissions worldwide in 2002 and the forecast for 2030.
The column chart shows carbon dioxide emissions around the world.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons
where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

Greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions

worldwide 2002 worldwide 2030
OECD
OECD
Developing countries; Developing OECD; 43%
38% Transi-
countries; 48% tion
OECD; 52%Transition
economies economi
Transition
es
Transition economies; economies; 9%
10% Develop-
ing coun- Develop-
tries ing
coun-
tries

Worldwide Carbon Dioxide Emissions by sector

(billion tons)
Industry

Consumer

Transportation

Waste combustion

Other sectors

0 2 4 6 8 10 12
2030 2002

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Part 3. Essay (30 points)

Some people say the government should not put money into building theatres and sports
stadiums; they should spend more money on medical care and education.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience. Write at least 350 words.

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