SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TỈNH BÌNH DƯƠNG

KỲ THI CHỌN ĐỘI TUYỂN HỌC SINH GIỎI THPT

DỰ THI CẤP QUỐC GIA
MÔN THI: TIẾNG ANH
- Ngày thi: 14/9/2018
- Thời gian thi: 180 phút (Không kể thời gian phát đề)
- Họ và tên thí sinh: .................................................................. SBD: ...............................

Ghi chú:
- Đề thi có 14 trang. Thí sinh nộp lại Đề thi và Phiếu trả lời khi hết giờ làm bài thi.
- Thí sinh ghi câu trả lời của mình trên Phiếu trả lời.
- Thí sinh không được sử dụng tài liệu, kể cả từ điển.
- Giám thị không giải thích gì thêm.

HƯỚNG DẪN PHẦN THI NGHE HIỂU

 Mở đầu và kết thúc bài nghe có tín hiệu nhạc.
 Bài nghe gồm 4 phần, kéo dài 33 phút.
 Phần 1 và Phần 3: nghe 1 lần; Phần 2 và Phần 4: nghe 2 lần.

I. LISTENING (60 points)

Part 1:
You will hear three different extracts. For questions 1-6, choose the answer (A, B or C)
which fits best according to what you hear. There are two questions for each extract.
Each extract is played ONCE only.
Extract One: You hear two people talking about public speaking.
1. Both speakers refer to a feeling of ________.
A. over-confidence B. embarrassment C. achievement
2. The two speakers agree that a big problem with speaking in public is ________.
A. choosing the wrong content for a speech
B. losing the audience’s attention during a speech
C. feeling nervous at the thought of giving a speech
Extract Two: You hear two presenters talking on a science programme.
3. The male presenter says that the research produced data on ________.
A. where disappearing teaspoons had gone
B. the period of time that some teaspoons were missing
C. how quickly a certain number of teaspoons disappeared
4. The female presenter says that disappearing teaspoons is a topic which ________.
A. has no great significance
B. concerns a growing phenomenon
C. has produced some interesting theories
Extract Three: You hear two people on a radio programme talking about running.
5. Who are the two speakers?
A. successful athletes B. fitness experts C. sports journalists
6. Both speakers agree that, to improve as a runner, runners should
A. vary the focus of their training.
B. limit the amount of training they do.
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 C. develop their own personal training methods.

Part 2:
You will hear part of a radio programme, in which the history of Ty-Phoo Tipps – a brand
of tea that is well-known in Britain - is described. Complete the sentences with a word or
short phrase.
Part 2 is played TWICE.

In 1835, William Sumner appeared in a publication called the (7)____________________.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Sumners’ business sold (8)__________________
in addition to groceries.
Mary found that a certain type of tea was good for (9)_______________________.
John was told that people would not wish to buy tea that resembled (10)_______________.
John thought the name he chose for the tea sounded like a word that was (11)___________.
To promote the tea, customers were offered a big (12)_______________________.
John wanted people to know his tea came from the (13)_______________________.
John was given an honour for his (14)_______________________.

Part 3:
You will hear a radio interview with a chef about the process of eating. For questions
15-20, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which fits best according to what you hear.
Part 3 is played ONCE only.

15. Heston mentions eating fish from a paper plate with a plastic knife and fork ________.
A. because it is something listeners may have done
B. as an example of an unpleasant eating experience
C. as an example of what influences the eating experience
D. because doing so made him think about the process of eating
16. What does Heston say about taste?
A. Fat should be considered a taste.
B. The number of taste buds gradually decreases.
C. The sense of smell is involved in it.
D. Taste and flavour are separate from each other.
17. The experiment involving salt and other food shows that ________.
A. the flavour of food can change as you eat it
B. food can taste better when you can’t smell it
C. it is possible to taste something that you can’t smell
D. the sense of smell is not as powerful as other senses
18. The story about the trainee waiters illustrates that ________.
A. one sense can strongly influence another
B. certain colours are more appealing than others
C. some people can perceive taste better than others
D. something can seem to taste good because of its appearance
19. What does Heston say about bitterness?
A. Reactions to it can change over time.
B. Its function is widely misunderstood.
C. It can give a false impression that something is harmful.
D. It can become the main reason why people like something.

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20. The problem with the dish Heston describes was caused by ________.
A. the taste of it B. its appearance
C. its combination of flavours D. the fact that people ate it repeatedly

Part 4:
You will hear five short extracts in which people are talking about people they know.
Task one: For questions 21-25, choose from the list A-H the description each speaker gives
of the person.
Task two: For questions 26-30, choose from the list A-H the feeling each speaker expresses
about the person. While you listen you must complete both tasks.
Part 4 is played TWICE.

TASK ONE Speakers: TASK TWO

A. critical A. sympathy
21. Speaker 1 26.
B. easily influenced B. confusion
C. tough 22. Speaker 2 27. C. loyalty
D. careless D. amusement
E. moody 23. Speaker 3 28. E. guilt
F. cruel 24. Speaker 4 29. F. envy
G. arrogant G. fear
H. deceitful 25. Speaker 5 30. H. annoyance

II. LEXICO-GRAMMAR (30 points)

Choose the correct answer to each of the following questions.

31. The ________ noises from the kitchen kept the baby awake.
A. raking (cào) B. etching (khắc) C. clattering (lạch cạch) D. muttering
(lẩm bẩm)
32. Don’t you understand that you’ll gain weight when you ________ on sweets and
fast food?
A. overlap (chồng chéo) B. augment (tăng) C. gorge (ăn nhiều
cho phình bụng ra) D. falter (lưỡng lự)
33. I use a special lotion that ________ insects.
A. orbits (quỹ đạo) B. repels (đẩy lùi) C. pans D. relays
34. The earthquake victims are eligible for(có đủ điều kiện/tư cách cho cgi đó) ________
housing.
A. subsidized(trợ cấp)B. zipped (nén lại) C. overtaken D. flanked (phòng
vệ)
35. In our country, it’s compulsory to ________ children.
A. heed (= attention) B. wail (than vãn) C. salvage (cứu hộ) D. vaccinate
36. Every winter they carefully ________ their apple trees to promote significant growth
of fruit buds.
A. lurch B. prune C. reaffirm D. heave
37. We managed to leave only when the tide ________.
A. tensed B. boomed C. booted D. receded
38. Employees like her are an asset to our company, so we try to ________ them.
A. retain B. refrain C. curtail D. hamper
39. The illustration creatively ________ a dense forest.
A. grunted B. depicted C. imparted D. vibrated
40. The authorities are investigating how they managed to ________ illegal immigrants
 into the country.
A. swoop B. smuggle C. underline D. relegate
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41. Unconditional acceptance was the principle ________ his core philosophy.
A. snagging B. underpinning C. conspiring D. limping
42. Difficult assignments should not be ________ to the new assistant because he is not
dependable.
A. disseminated B. conspired C. delegated D. relegated
43. A tsunami is ________ to be one of the most catastrophic natural phenomena.
A. tacked B. streaked C. reckoned D. acquitted
44. Her parents eventually ________ to the engagement.
A. pedaled B. evaded C. ensued D. consented
45. She is the eternal optimist, who always ________ anything negative that happens to
her.
A. engulfs B. weds C. pedals D. relegates
46. This low-budget film, which came out last month, certainly ________ among the
most entertaining of the year.
A. harnesses B. grieves C. pants D. ranks
47. Her uncontrolled anxiety ________ into every aspect of her life.
A. encroached B. spiraled C. panted D. grieved
48. The naughty boy ________ his face against the car window to make his sister laugh.
A. dissipated B. stiffened C. squashed D. waned
49. He said he would ________ further upon his theory in the next lesson.
A. elaborate B. designate C. coordinate D. segregate
50. The narrow trail ________ down to a derelict cottage.
A. ascertained B. wound C. juggled D. harnessed
51. The bank robbers ________ the manager into giving them the combination to the safe.
A. deflected B. coerced C. affiliated D. elected
52. She was ________ by the breathtaking beauty of the waterfall.
A. sheared B. horrified C. amplified D. captivated
53. The ground ________ while he was operating the heavy machinery.
A. rumbled B. permeated C. rotted D. straddled
54. The administrative law is intended to ________ spending costs.
A. acquaint B. bash C. coin D. curb
55. Unfortunately, the four-month deadline has ________ and we will have to
finally cancel the deal.
A. afflicted B. elapsed C. amassed D. traversed
56. The recent scandal has jeopardized the singer’s career so much that he intends
to employ an expert to help him ________ his image.
A. rehabilitate B. revel C. molest D. shade
57. My impertinent little daughter ________ aloud when I asked her to go to bed.
A. groaned B. pounded C. frowned D. extracted
58. The dangerous kidnappers ________ their victim for more than a week.
A. infected B. fueled C. detained D. betrayed
59. The private investigator was ________ by the riddle of the vanished lady.
A. updated B. sparked C. confounded D. speculated
60. After a few seconds, the sugar completely ________ in the water.
A. induced B. designated C. centered D. dissolved

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III. READING (50
points) Part 1:
You are going to read a magazine article about health and fitness. For the ten questions
below, choose from the sections (A-D). The sections may be chosen more than once.

Which person
61. mentions being disconcerted by their lack of ability when faced with a completely
new activity? B
62. was grateful for having been spurred on in their efforts? D
63. suggests that prior experience of the exercise method can be advantageous? A
64. suggests that they have overreached themselves during their first session? C
65. is skeptical about whether a way of exercising would really appeal to them? A
66. suggests that their chosen exercise programme seemed to be based on a
slightly eccentric premise? B
67. rejects the idea that they are following an exercise programme to improve fitness?D
68. comments on the relentless nature of the trainer? D
69. contrasts the amount of pleasure to be gained from different types of exercise? C
70. suggests that the outcome of their exercise programme was not wholly positive? A

A. Chloe – New Pilates

I’ll be honest. I have never felt the natural high which scientists claim follows
about of intense exercise. The empirical evidence of my own body tells me that the
only thing exercise releases in my brain is loathing. So I scoff when the people at the
gym tell me I’ll be hooked on a new type of Pilates in two sessions. My first session is
an hour’s one-on-one with Daniel, my trainer; a good idea for any beginner. Although
I, disappointingly, don’t actually lose any weight over my six sessions - personally, I
find it rather ups my appetite - I can attest to its toning abilities. The classes
themselves - which take a maximum of six people - are entertaining, and as agreeable
as enforced muscle fatigue can ever be. It definitely helps if you’d already got to grips
with some basic Pilates techniques before you start, but, once you’ve got the hang of
commands such as “squeeze that imaginary grape under your armpit”; it provides a
great variety of exercise.

B. Mark – Personal Training

A month of sessions with a personal trainer three times a week seems like the
perfect springboard to a better future. My personal trainer, Tony, asks me what I hope
to achieve. I mutter something about losing a few pounds and toning up a bit, but the
truth is I want to get back into my tailor-made suits. It’s the gap between my
expectations and reality that is hardest to contend with. I know that no matter how
healthy I become at the age of 36, I will still be less fit than I was as a lazy 18-year-old
who did no exercise at all. But if I’m honest, I secretly believed I wouldn’t actually be
all that bad at this. The problem is weights. I’ve never bothered with them before. I
take it slowly for the first few sessions but it’s hard going and I eventually pull a
muscle in my right arm. It’s time for a few days off. I greet a four-day respite with
enthusiasm, but actually find myself in the gym, running faster and longer than before
and lifting weights well.

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C. Ben – Sport Active
I go along to my nearest fitness center and decide to try out the DVD of Sport
Active, which has more than 70 different exercises on it. The programme can measure
and display your heart rate, thanks to a monitor that straps to your forearm which
sends information to the console. I start with tennis and get an enormous kick out of
hitting balls into an onscreen net. I quickly move on to mountain biking, or, as I now
call it, ‘total physical punishment’. However, even though I am an old hand at cycling,
by halfway round, I have clearly lost all ability to show off. On screen, my heart rate
has rocketed up to 178. “You’re definitely getting a good cardio workout here”;
encourages Robert, the fitness center trainer. Could these games damage people by
suggesting the wrong positions? Robert is dismissive: “It’s unlikely you’re going to
hurt yourself.” I decide to carry on and after a few weeks begin to see the benefits.

D. Tasha – Wild fitness

Wild Fitness is more than a form of exercise, Matt, my trainer, told me that it
was a whole philosophy of life: to transform yourself by learning to move and eat in
the way of our hunter-gatherer ancestors and to become strong, fast and agile. It all
sounded a bit bizarre but I was more than happy to give it a go. The first session began
at Sam on a Monday morning in Regent’s Park, London, with some introductory
exercises. The hardest session came the next week when Matt told us we would sprint
around the 400-metre running track four times, with a short rest in-between – no
excuses allowed. I did my best and then discovered that the so-called rest was going to
involve squat thrusts; 20 of them. Matt didn’t stop there. It was thanks to him that I did
far more than I would ever have done exercising alone and I looked thinner and was
far more toned as a result, especially around my thighs and stomach.

Part 2:
You are going to read a newspaper article about maths. Seven paragraphs have been
removed from the article. Choose from the paragraphs A–H the one which fits each gap.
There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use.

The man who proved that everyone is good at Maths

The French academic Marc Chemillier has shown that humans have remarkable
innate skills with numbers. Reporter Alex Duval Smith accompanies him to Madagascar to
see this at first hand.

Maths is simple. But to discover this requires travelling to the ends of the earth
where an illiterate, tobacco-chewing teller lives in a room with a double bed and a beehive.
As the sun rises over the hut belonging to Raoke, a 70-year-old witch doctor, a highly
pitched din heralds bee rush hour. The insects he keeps shuttle madly in and out through the
window. This bizarre setting, near nowhere in the harsh cactus savannah of southern
Madagascar, is where a leading French academic, Marc Chemillier, has achieved an
extraordinary pairing of modern mathematics and illiterate intuition.

C 71

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 Mr Chemillier argues in this ground-breaking work that children should be
encouraged to do maths before they learn to read and write. “There is a strong link between
counting and the number of fingers on our hands. Maths becomes complicated only when
you abandon basic measures in nature, like the foot or the inch, or even the acre, which is
the area that two bulls can plough in a day.”

72

With a low table covered in pieces of wood – each of which has a particular
medicinal virtue – Raoke sits on his straw mat and chants as he runs his fingers through a
bag of shiny, dark brown tree seeds. “There were about 600 seeds in the bag to begin with
but I have lost a few,” he says. “They come from the fane tree and were selected for me
many years ago. The fane from the valley of Tsivoanino produces some seeds that lie and
others that tell the truth so it is very important to test each seed. I paid a specialist to do
that,” says the father of six.

73

From this selection of wood pieces before him, Raoke can mix concoctions to cure
ailments, banish evil spirits and restore friendships. A basic session with the seeds costs
10,000 ariary (£3), then a price is discussed for the cure. It seems there is nothing Raoke
cannot achieve for the top price of one or two zebus – Malagasy beef cattle that cost about
£300 each – though some remedies are available for the price of a sheep.

74

Given the thousands of plant species in Madagascar that are still undiscovered by
mainstream medicine, it is entirely possible that Raoke holds the key to several miracle
cures. But Mr Chemillier is not interested in the pharmacopaeic aspect of the fortune teller’s
work.

75

The startling reality of the situation is explained to me. Raoke can produce 65,536
grids with his seeds – Mr Chemillier has them all in his computer now. “But we still need to
do more work to understand his mental capacity for obtaining the combinations of single
seeds and pairs,” he says.

76

Over the years, Mr Chemillier has earned respect from Raoke and other Malagasy
fortune tellers. “Initially they thought France had sent me to steal their work in an attempt
to become the world’s most powerful fortune teller. But once I was able to share grids with
them that had been through my computer program, we established a relationship of trust,”
says Mr Chemillier.

77

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 When not consulting clients, the diminutive fortune teller spends hours with his
seeds, laying them in different formations and copying the dots down in pencil. Those grids
have value and Raoke sells them to other fortune tellers. He is indeed a most remarkable
man, and the full value of his work is, one suspects, something that even Chemillier may
take years to fathom.

Paragraphs removed from the article:

A. This is indeed impressive. The way in which Raoke poses questions over the seeds
requires the same faculties for mental speculation as might be displayed by a winner of the
Fields Medal, which is the top award any mathematician can aspire to, according to Mr
Chemillier. - 76

B. Indeed, I can see it is the lack of memory and computer aids that helps keep Raoke’s
mind sharp. In the developed world people are over-reliant on calculators, dictionaries,
documents. And also the developed world is wrong to ignore the basic human connection
with numbers that goes back to using the fingers on your hands and relating them to the
environment around you.

C. In his book, Les Mathématiques Naturelles, the director of studies at EHESS (School for
Advanced Studies in Social Sciences) argues that mathematics is not only simple, it is
“rooted in human, sensorial intuition”. And he believes that Madagascar’s population,
which remains relatively untouched by outside influences, can help him to prove this. - 71

D. “A white man came from Réunion with a stomach ailment that the hospitals in France
could not cure. I gave him a powder to drink in a liquid. He vomited and then he was
cured,” says Raoke. - 73

E. Raoke duly felt able to reveal that a divine power shows him how to position the
seeds. He does not understand why “Monsieur Marc”, and now this other visiting white
person, keeps asking him why he lays the seeds in a certain way. Yet it is clear from a stack
of grimy copybooks he keeps under his bed that he is kept very busy indeed as a receiver of
divine messages. – 72

F. To make his point, Mr Chemillier chose to charge up his laptop computer, leave Paris
and do the rounds of fortune tellers on the Indian Ocean island because its uninfluenced
natural biodiversity also extends to its human population. Divinatory geomancy – reading
random patterns, or sikidy to use the local word – is what Raoke does, when not attending
to his insects. - 77

G. He is, after all, a mathematician, not a scientist. “Raoke is an expert in a reflexive view
of maths of which we have lost sight in the West,” he says. “Even armed with my computer
program, I do not fully comprehend Raoke’s capacities for mental arithmetic.” - 74

H. Raoke proceeds from explanation to demonstration, pouring a random number on to his

mat, then picking them up singly or in twos and laying them in a grid from right to left.
Each horizontal gridline has a name – son, livestock, woman or enemy – and each vertical
one has a name, too: chief, zebu (cattle), brother and earth. Whether one or two seeds lie at
the intersection of two gridlines determines the subject’s fortune and informs Raoke as to
the cure required, and its price. - 75
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Part 3:
Read the text and answer the questions.
Hot Springs
Hot springs are found on every continent and on the ocean floors of the earth.  (A) They
are produced by the powerful emergence of heated groundwater from a fissure in the Earth’s crust.
Water from the hot springs of the Yellowstone National Park, a volcanic zone, is likely heated when it
comes into contact with molten rocks.  (B) On the ocean floor, the phenomenon is called a
hydrothermal vent. The water that issues is warmed by the heat from the interior of the earth: this is
known as geothermal heat.  (C) Scientists believe that the temperature of rocks within the earth
increases as they go deeper. The increase is about 3 to 5°F and results from the natural radioactive
decay of elements such as potassium, uranium and thorium. (D)
In some areas where hot springs exist, it is not certain what the exact source of heat
is. These areas are non-volcanic zones, and any molten material that existed in the ancient
past would have cooled, so it is not likely to be a source of heat. Scientists theorize that the
water is heated by convective circulation: groundwater, which moves downwards to a depth
of a kilometer or more, is warmed by the hotter rock and then moves back upwards. They
base the origin of the groundwater on two alternatives: water rising from hot magma in the
depths of the earth, or rainwater percolating deep into the crust and becoming heated. The
second alternative is more probable. Scientific tests have shown that the water of hot
springs contains the elements of hydrogen and oxygen in similar forms, known as isotopes.
By determining the abundance of isotopes in the hot spring water and comparing these with
data collected from different kinds of water around the world, scientists have conjectured
that the water is rainwater that rained on the earth some 4,000 years ago.
Several definitions of hot springs exist and none of which are universally accepted.
Some scientists accept hot springs to be any geothermally-heated spring, others say that any
spring with a water temperature higher than its surroundings should be considered a hot
spring, and still others insist that the temperature of the water must be higher than 98°F.
The hottest hot springs are over 120°F. The temperature of some hot springs is high enough
to have various applications of geothermal energy developed. The water may become so hot
that it erupts above the surface of the earth in a geyser. Some people who have jumped into
a hot spring without knowing the temperature have been killed.

78. What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Scientific interest in hot springs has centered on their heat and water sources.
B. Hot springs are located in virtually every place around the world.
C. Hydrothermal vents are a type of hot springs found under the ocean.
D. Hot springs are defined according to the temperature of the water.
79. The word “fissure” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ________.
A. volcano B. metal C. crack D. element

80. Look at the four squares  in paragraph 1 that indicate where the following sentence could
be added to the passage.
Another cause of the increase in heat is the compression of the planet’s interior
by gravitational forces.
Where would the sentence best fit?
81. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the
italicized sentence in paragraph 2 (The third sentence)? Incorrect choices change
the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
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 A. Scientists postulate that water is heated by heat transmission: groundwater
picks up heat one kilometer beneath the earth’s crust.
B. Scientists suppose that groundwater will be heated only if it is one kilometer
deep. C. Scientists speculate that groundwater is heated in a circular way: going deep
down, being warmed, then going up again.
D. Scientists hypothesize that the only mechanism by which groundwater is heated
is through its movement through the rocks beneath the earth.
82. What can be inferred about the origin of groundwater?
A. It likely comes from deep inside the earth.
B. It is not one hundred percent certain where it comes from.
C. It may come from a source that scientists are unaware of.
D. It can be determined what the origin is.
83. All of the following have been given as definitions of hot springs EXCEPT that
________.
A. it is a spring that is heated geothermally.
B. it is a spring that must be at least 98°F.
C. it is a spring which erupts above ground level.
D. it is a spring whose temperature is higher than that of the area around.
84. Why does the author mention a geyser?
A. To illustrate how hot a hot spring can be
B. To compare two types of springs
C. To give an example of a hot spring
D. To provide another definition of hot springs
85. According to paragraph 3, which of the following is true of hot springs?
A. They are normally over 120°F.
B. They can be harnessed for use as power.
C. Swimming is banned in some hot springs.
D. They may contain poisonous substances.

Questions 86-88: Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the

passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer
choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Write them in the
correct order.
- Hot springs are openings on the earth’s land surface or ocean floor from which hot
water spews.
86. -
87. -
88. -
Answer choices:
A. The hot springs of the Yellowstone National Park are heated by very hot
liquid rocks.
B. Groundwater from hot springs is heated geothermally.
C. The source of the heat may be molten rocks or rocks that are at least one
kilometer beneath the crust.
D. Various types of water around the world contain isotopes.
E. Hot springs are hot enough to kill any organism that enters them.
F. Definitions of hot springs could vary in the temperature requirement.

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Part 4:
You are going to read an article about some children. For the ten questions below, choose
from the sections of the article (A-E). The sections may be chosen more than once.

In which section of the article are the following mentioned?

89. an example of a sign that has become simpler C — capture
90. the difference between how the deaf children communicate an image and how
other people communicate the same image В — right.
91. the fact that the same signs can be used in the communication of a number of ideas A
— counting
92. the characteristics of languages in general at different stages of their development C
— attend
93. a belief that language is learnt by means of a specific part of the mind D — impact
94. an aspect of language learning that children are particularly good at C — led
95. how regularly the children have been monitored
96. older children passing their sign language on to younger children
97. the reason why the children created a particular sign
98. opposing views on how people acquire language

DEAF CHILDREN’S AD HOC LANGUAGE EVOLVES AND INSTRUCTS

Section A
A deep insight into the way the brain learns language has emerged from the study of
Nicaraguan sign language, invented by deaf children in a Nicaraguan school as a means of
communicating among themselves. The Nicaraguan children are well-known to linguists
because they provide an apparently unique example of people inventing a language from
scratch. The phenomenon started at a school for special education founded in 1977.
Instructors noticed that the deaf children, while absorbing little from their Spanish lessons,
had developed a system of signs for talking to one another. As one generation of children
taught the system to the next, it evolved from a set of gestures into a far more sophisticated
form of communication, and today’s 800 users of the language provide a living history of
the stages of formation.

Section B
The children have been studied principally by Dr. Judy Kegi, a linguist at the University of
Southern Maine, and Dr. Ann Senghas, a cognitive scientist at Columbia University in New
York City. In the latest study, published in Science magazine, Dr. Senghas shows that the
younger children have now decomposed certain gestures into smaller component signs. A
hearing person asked to mime a standard story about a cat waddling down a street will
make a single gesture, a downward spiral motion of the hand. But the deaf children have
developed two different signs to use in its place. They sign a circle for the rolling motion
and then a straight line for the direction of movement. This requires more signing, but the
two signs can be used in combination with others to express different concepts. The
development is of interest to linguists because it captures a principal quality of human
language - discrete elements usable in different combinations - in contrast to the one sound,
one meaning of animal communication. “The regularity she documents here - mapping
discrete aspects of the world onto discrete word choices - is one of the most distinctive
properties of human language,” said Dr. Steven Pinker, a cognitive scientist at Harvard
University.

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Section C
When people with no common language are thrown into contact, they often develop an ad
hoc language known to linguists as a pidgin language, usually derived from one of the
parent languages. Pidgins are rudimentary systems with minimal grammar and utterances.
But in a generation or two, the pidgins acquire grammar and become upgraded to what
linguists call creoles. Though many new languages have been created by the pidgin-creole
route, the Nicaraguan situation is unique, Dr. Senghas said, because its starting point was
not a complex language but ordinary gestures. From this raw material, the deaf children
appear to be spontaneously fabricating the elements of language.

Section D
Linguists have been engaged in a longstanding argument as to whether there is an innate,
specialized neural machinery for learning language, as proposed by Noam Chomsky of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or whether everything is learned from scratch. Dr.
Senghas says her finding supports the view that language learning is innate, not purely
cultural, since the Nicaraguan children’s disaggregation of gestures appears to be
spontaneous. Her result also upholds the idea that children play an important part in
converting a pidgin into a creole. Because children’s minds are primed to learn the rules of
grammar, it is thought, they spontaneously impose grammatical structure on a pidgin that
doesn’t have one.

Section E
The Nicaraguan children are a living laboratory of language generation. Dr. Senghas, who
has been visiting their school every year since 1990, said she had noticed how the signs for
numbers have developed. Originally the children represented “20” by flicking the fingers of
both hands in the air twice. But this cumbersome sign has been replaced with a form that
can now be signed with one hand. The children don’t care that the new sign doesn't look
like a 20, Dr. Senghas said; they just want a symbol that can be signed fast.

Part 5:
Read the texts below and decide which answer (A B, C or D) best fits each gap.
Travel Books of the Year
The best travel books of this year fall into three main categories; purely
informational, narrative, and what, for (99)_______ of a better term, I’ll call “anecdotal”.
Between these broad categories, however, the boundaries are (100)_______. One problem
with putting travel writers into genres is that they are (101)_______ to be pigeon-holed.
Many of them see their role as a mixture of the documentary and the creative.
Some claim to be more like novelists, (102)_______ some of the elements of fiction
writing. Others regard themselves as sociologists, exploring the customs and mores of other
societies. At the end of the day, what (103)_______ is how readable or useful the book is,
and in many cases, how well it is presented. However, it is quite clear that travel and books
were made for each other.
A. want : for want of
99. sth B. absence C. shortage D. need
100. A. misted B. blurred C. blended D. sketchy
101. A. wary B. loath C. cautious D. resistant
102. A. engaging B. exerting C. employing D. exercising
103. A. counts : to count B. reckons C. bears D. signifies
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 Reading People
Last month I was invited to lunch with my cousin and his new wife. I hadn’t met her
before, but my cousin had been (104)_______ to everyone about her wonderful, warm and
caring personality. Clearly she had completely (105)_______ him off his feet. It didn’t take
long for me to see through this veneer. On arriving at lunch, she sat down at the table
without so (106)_______ as an acknowledgment of my presence. She (107)_______ to
continue her conversation with her husband as if I didn’t exist, and then (108)_______ at
the young waitress for accidentally spilling some water on the table. I was eventually
(109)_______ worthy of her attention only when it came to paying the bill; I had offered to
treat them to lunch to celebrate their recent “good news”. She was evidently someone who
could turn the charm on, but only when it served her purpose. In my opinion, (110)_______
wonderful, warm and caring people do not blow hot and cold in their behaviour to others
depending on what they believe they can get out of what someone can do for them.

104. A. acclaiming B. plugging C. raving D. promoting

105. A. plucked B. swept C. dragged D. hoisted
106. A. much B. far C. great D. long
107. A. proceeded B. followed C. progressed D. continued
108. A. winked B. glared C. peeped D. eyed
109. A. pondered B. discriminated C. weighed D. deemed
110. A. fully B. purely C. literally D. truly

IV. WRITING (40 points)

Part 1:
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using
the word given in parentheses. Do not change the word given. Use no contractions.
Only write between TWO AND FIVE WORDS, including the word given, on the
answer sheet.

Example: Repairing that old computer is pointless in my view. (point)

→ I can ______________________ that old computer being repaired.
Answer:I can see no point in that old computer being repaired.

111. You can’t do it any other way. (THERE’S)

→ _________________________________ do it.
112. I am getting very upset and frustrated by Fred. (BEND)
→ Fred is _________________________________.
113. It’s only a matter of time before you need one. (SOONER)
→ _________________________________ need one.
114. It is important to know the difference between a joke and a lie. (DRAW)
→ It is important to know where _________________________________ a
joke and a lie.
115. I am not going to that party whatever happens. (QUESTION)
→ My going to that party _________________________________.
116. Even if they don’t win, our team will do well. (MONEY)
→ Our team will give them _________________________________.
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117. I have to admit that you have won. (CONCEDE)
→ I have to _________________________________.
118. She is absolutely delighted about her new job. (MOON)
→ She is _________________________________ her new job.
119. Bill was offended by some of the comments that were made about his wife.
(EXCEPTION)
→ Bill _________________________________ the comments that were made
about his wife.
120. She may face problems if she doesn’t have any proper insurance. (PRONE)
→ She is _________________________________ she has any proper insurance.

Part 2:
The bar chart below shows the percentage of unemployed graduates, aged 20-24, in
one European country over a two-year period.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and making
comparisons where relevant. You should write at least 150 words.

Part 3:
Meat production requires relatively more land than crop production. Some people think
that as land is becoming scarce, the world’s meat consumption should be reduced.
What measures could be taken to reduce the world’s meat consumption? What kinds
of problem might such measures cause?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge
or experience.
You should write between 300 and 400 words.

THIS IS THE END OF THE TEST.

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