TRƯỜNG THPT LÝ THÁI TỔ

A. PHONETICS (1p)
Question I. Choose one word whose underlined part is pronounced differently from the others by
circling A, B, C or D.
1. A. foot B. mood C. moon D. spoon
2. A. vision B. decision C. compulsion D. provision
3. A. hatred B. allegedly C. deluged D. dogged
Question II. Choose one word whose stress pattern is different from the others by circling A, B, C
or D.
1. A. measurement B. information C. economic D. engineer
2. A. confiscate B. emphatic C. dynamic D. delicious

B. VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR (9 points)

Question I: Choose the best word from A, B, C, and D that fits each blank. (4p)
1. I am ………under with work at the moment. – It’s awful!
A. rained B. iced C. snowed D. fogged
2. The year – end party was out of this……………We had never tasted such delicious food.
A. word B. world C. earth D. country
3. When the manager of our company retires, the deputy manager will………that position.
A. take over B. take in C. take on D. take for
4. It was a serious operation but he made a complete recovery and was soon as………. as a fiddle.
A. fat B. match C. shape D. fit
5. Those flowers are………….everywhere is a sign of spring.
A. going over B. taking over C. coming out D. breaking out
6. Candace would ……….her little sister into an argument by teasing her and calling her names.
A. advocate B. provoke C. prompt D. trigger
7. His neighbors found his………..manner bossy and irritating, and they stopped inviting him to
backyard barbeques.
A. insistent B. magisterial C. cynical D. restorative
8. I intended to put forward the financial problem at the meeting but my boss wanted me to talk to him
……….
A. on site B. at disposal C. for real D. in private
9. When it comes to the…………, Alice always supports her friends.
A. point B. crunch C. crisis D. finale
10. He left the meeting early on the unlikely……….that he had a sick friend to visit.
A. pretext B. action C. claim D. motive
11. My sunburnt nose made me feel rather……….for the first few days of the holiday.
A. self-confident B. self-centred C. self-conscious D. self-evident
12. Your son has the…………of a fine musician.
A. beginnings B. makings C. looks D. talents
13. The little children watched the performance in………….amazement.
A. wide-eyed B. cross-eyed C. eagle-eyed D. hawk-eyed
14. They say he inherited his money from a………relative he had never met.
A. faraway B. remote C. distant D. far
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15. Not until the end of the 19 century…………become a scientific discipline.
A. plant breeding has B. did plant breeding
C. plant breeding had D. has plant breeding
16. They are conducting a wide………..of surveys throughout Vietnam.
A. range B. collection C. selection D. group
17. His emotional problems……….from the attitudes he encountered as a child, I think.
A. flourish B. root C. sprout D. stem
18. The play is very long but there are three………..
A. intervals B. breaks C. rests D. naps
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 19. Jane and Brian got married a year after they got………….
A. divorced B. proposed C. separated D. engaged
20. On Friday night some of our friends came to the party and………for the weekend.
A. fell behind B. waited up C. stayed on D. kept up
C. READING (4 points)
Question I: Read the following passages and choose the options that best complete the blanks. (2p)
BOOKS BEFORE SCHOOL?
Many people believe that they should begin to teach their children to read when they are scarcely more than
toddlers. This is fine if the child shows a real interest but forcing a child could be (1)…………..if she isn’t
ready. Wise parents will have a (2)………..attitude and take the lead from their child. What they should
provide is a selection of (3)…………books and other activities. Nowadays, there is plenty good (4)………
available for young children, and of course, seeing plenty of books in use about the house will also
encourage them to read.
Of course, books are no longer the only source of stories and information. There is also a huge range of
videos, which can (5)………..and extend the pleasure a child finds in a book and are equally valuable in
helping to increase vocabulary and concentration. Television gets a bad review as far (6)……….. children
are concerned, mainly because too many spend too much time watching programs not intended for their age
group. Too many television programs attract an incurious, uncritical attitude that is going to make learning
more difficult. However, (7)………viewing of programs designed for young children can be useful. Just as
adults enjoy reading a book after seeing it (8)………on television, so children will pounce on books which
(9)………their favorite television characters, and videos can add a new (10)………..to a story known from a
book.
1. A. unuseful B. unproductive C. counter-productive D. useful
2. A. cheerful B. contented C. relaxed D. hopeful
3. A. bright B. thrilling C. energetic D. stimulating
4. A. material B. sense C. produce D. amusement
5. A. uphold B. found C. assist D. reinforce
6. A. than B. as C. more D. so
7. A. cautious B. choice C. discriminating D. approved
8. A. serialized B. revised C. transferred D. visualized
9. A. illustrate B. extend C. possess D. feature
10. A. revival B. dimension C. option D. existence

Question II: Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer
sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions (2p).
In the early 1800s, to reach the jump-off point for the West, a family from the East of the United States
could either buy steamboat passage to Missouri for themselves, their wagons, and their livestock or-as
happened more often-simply pile everything into a wagon, hitch up a team, and begin their overland trek
right in their front yard.

Along the macadamized roads and turnpikes east of the Missouri River, travel was comparatively fast,
camping easy, and supplies plentiful. Then, in one river town or another, the neophyte emigrants would
pause to lay in provisions. For outfitting purposes, the town of Independence had been preeminent ever
since 1827, but the rising momentum of pioneer emigration had produced some rival jump-off points.
Westport and Fort Leavenworth flourished a few miles upriver. St. Joseph had sprung up 55 miles to the
northwest; in fact, emigrants who went to Missouri by riverboat could save four days on the trail by staying
on the paddle-wheelers to St. Joe before striking overland. At whatever jump-off points they chose, the
emigrants studied guidebooks and directions, asked questions of others as green as themselves, and made
their final decisions about outfitting. They had various, sometimes conflicting, options.

For example, either pack animals or two-wheel carts or wagons could be used for the overland crossing. A
family man usually chose the wagon. It was the costliest and slowest of the three, but it provided space and
shelter for children and for a wife who likely as not was pregnant. Everybody knew that a top-heavy covered

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wagon might blow over in a prairie wind or be overturned by mountain rocks, that it might mire in river
mud or sink to its hubs in desert sand-but maybe if those things happened on this trip, they would happen to
someone else. Anyway, most pioneers, with their farm background, were used to wagons.

1. What is the topic of the passage?

A. Important river towns. B. The advantages of traveling by wagon.
C. Getting started on the trip west. D. Choosing a point of departure.
2. All of the following can be inferred from the passage about travel east of the Missouri EXCEPT that
it……..
A. was faster than in the west B. took place on good roads
C. was easier than in the west D. was usually by steam boat
3. The phrase “jump-off point” is closest meaning to…………….
A. a bridge across a river B. a point of departure
C. a gathering place D. a trading post
4. Which of the cities that served as a jump-off point can be inferred from the passage to be farthest west?
A. Independence B. St. Joseph C. Fort Leavenworth D. Westport
5. The word “preeminent” is closest in meaning to………..
A. oldest B. superior C. most easily reached D. closest
6. The author implies in the passage that the early emigrants ……….
A. knew a lot about travel
B. were well stocked with provisions when they left their homes
C left from the same place in Missouri
D. preferred wagon travel to other types of travel
7. The word “neophyte” is closest in meaning to………..
A. eager B. courageous C. prosperous D. inexperienced
8. All of the following were mentioned in the passage as options for modes of transportation from the
Missouri River to the West EXCEPT………
A. A wagon B. A riverboat C. a pack animal D. A two-wheel cart
9. All of the following features of the covered wagon made it unattractive to the emigrants
EXCEPT……….
A. the speed at which it could travel B. its bulk
C. its familiarity and size D. its cost
10. The phrase “those things” refers to……..
A. the types of transportation B. the belongings of pioneers
C. the problems of wagon travel D. the overland routes