TRƯỜNG THPT CHUYÊN TIỀN GIANG - TIỀN GIANG

A. MULTIPLE CHOICE
I. WORD CHOICE

1. The hotel room was __________ furnished with only a bed, a wardrobe and an ancient
armchair.
A. thinly B. sparsely C. lightly D. sketchily
2. The main disadvantage to our house is that the only __________ to the garden is through a
bedroom.
A. passage B. doorway C. access D. communication
3. I've had my car examined three times now but no mechanic has been able to __________ the
problem.
A. pinpoint B. focus C. specify D. highlight
4. Our hosts had prepared a __________meal with seven courses to celebrate our arrival.
A. generous B. profuse C. lavish D. spendthrift
5. Don't thank me for helping in the garden. It was __________ pleasure to be working out of
doors.
A. plain B. mere C. simple D. sheer
6. She had __________ mind which kept her alert and well-informed even in old age.
A. an examining B. a demanding C. an enquiring D. a querying
7. The police decided to__________ the department store after they had received a bomb
warning.
A. abandon B. evacuate C. evict D. expel
8. The company was declared bankrupt when it had __________ more debts than it could hope
to repay.
A. inflicted B. incurred C. entailed D. evolved
9. After months of bitter arguing the couple had to accept that they were __________.
A. incongruous B. incompatible C. dissident D. disaffected
10. The BBC has __________ a young composer to write a piece of music for the Corporation's
centenary.
A. ordered B. consulted C. commissioned D. decided

II. STRUCTURES AND GRAMMAR

1. You __________ wonderful! Is that a new perfume you're wearing?

A. are smelling B. smell C. will smell D. have been smelling
2. It gets on my nerves that way that Carol__________ about her job.
A. forever boasts C. never boasts
B. is forever boasting D. is never boasting
3. We __________ to the new Harry Potter film on Saturday. If we can get tickets, would you
like to come too?
A. were going to go C. had planned to go
B. were thinking of going D. had been meaning to go
4. Given the chance, many children __________ TV uninterruptedly for hours.
A. are watching C. will be watching
B. will have watched D. will watch
5. __________ nocturnal creature(s).
A. Owl is a B. An owl is a C. The owl is a D. The owls are
6. The engagement ring he gave her__________ been more beautiful.
A. couldn't have B. might have C. shouldn't have D. must have
7. That was__________ party last night - I haven't had so much fun for years!
A. any B. some C. one D. no
8. I would normally have been on that train that was derailed yesterday, but __________ told me
I should take my car to work instead.
A. anything B. everything C. something D. nothing
9. I wish you __________ when I'm telling you something important.
A. won't interrupt C. didn't interrupt
B. wouldn't interrupt D. hadn't interrupted
10. Oh no! It looks like my rucksack __________ behind in the scramble to get on the bus.
A. has left B. has got left C. had left D. had been left

III. PREPOSITIONS AND PHRASAL VERBS

1. Since smokers appear to be unable to act in a socially responsible way by voluntarily

refraining __________ smoking in public, it seems there must be a law.
A. from B. into C. off D. behind
2. He's a little confused and a little __________ balance, but he knows his routine and heads to
his car
A. under B. against C. off D. in
3. My client accepts the formal apology__________ prejudice to any further legal action she
may decide to take.
A. without B. onto C. in D. for
4. If you get goods __________ the cheap, you get them for a low price, often from someone you
know who works in the company or business that produces them.
A. on B. for C. at D. within
5. A pay rise is not __________ the realms of possibility, I'm afraid.
A. behind B. under C. within D. against
6. Although the others __________ him, and his lies, Kirk persists in keeping the pretence going.
A. see throug B. turn up C. look back on D. come across
7. He failed to recover from a leg injury and __________ on a trip to Barcelona
A. missed out B. came up C. turned down D. made up
8. Next year we intend to __________ several new products but at the moment we're still testing
them.
A. bring out B. cut back C. take over D. go ahead
9. This heat has made me __________ an itchy red rash.
A. come out in B. take up C. tone up D. put on
10. When we discussed how much our wedding was going to cost, it __________ over two
thousand pounds!
A. added up to B. moved on to C. sent away for D. went ahead with

IV. COLLOCATIONS AND IDIOMS

1. Mr Simkins is the big __________ in the company as he has just been promoted to the
position of Managing Director.
A. bread B. apple C. cheese D. meat
2. This is a good hair dye but the colour gradually __________ after a few weeks.
A. fades B. vanishes C. disappears D. pales
3. Breaking his leg dealt a __________ to his chances of becoming a professional footballer.
A. thump B. strike C. hit D. blow
4. The judge's ruling __________ a wave of protest campaigns across the country.
A. provoked B. instigated C. launched D. commenced
5. Despite her poor exam results, Alice put a __________ face on the situation.
A. tough B. brave C. courageous D. bold
6. My grandmother was a lovely person who __________pleasure from helping others.
A. gathered B. derived C. deduced D. collected
7. For busy people in today's society, lifestyle management is gaining __________
A. points B. speed C. ground D. terrain
8. Once at the skating rink, Ivan was allowed to skate to his heart's __________
A. happiness B. content C. contentment D. delight
9. Benjamin Britten, the composer, is probably most __________ for his opera "Peter Grimes".
A. famous B. conspicuous C. remarkable D. distinguished
10. He slammed my hand in the car door and, to add insult to __________, didn't stop to
apologise.
A. damage B. harm C. injury D. infamy

V. READING COMPREHENSION
READING 1

Printmaking is the generic term for a number of processes, of which woodcut and engraving are
two prime examples. Prints are made by pressing a sheet of paper (or other material) against an
image-bearing surface to which ink has been applied. When the paper is removed, the image
adheres to it, but in reverse.
The woodcut had been used in China from the fifth century A.D. for applying patterns to textiles.
The process was not introduced into Europe until the fourteenth century, first for textile
decoration and then for printing on paper. Woodcuts are created by a relief process; first, the
artist takes a block of wood. which has been sawed parallel to the grain, covers it with a white
ground, and then draws the image in ink. The background is carved away, leaving the design
area slightly raised. The woodblock is inked, and the ink adheres to the raised image. It is then
transferred to damp paper either by hand or with a printing press.
Engraving, which grew out of the goldsmith's art, originated in Germany and northern Italy in
the middle of the fifteenth century. It is an intaglio process (from Italian intagliare, "to carve").
The image is incised into a highly polished metal plate, usually copper, with a cutting
instrument, or burin. The artist inks the plate and wipes it clean so that some ink remains in the
incised grooves. An impression is made on damp paper in a printing press, with sufficient
pressure being applied so that the paper picks up the ink.
Both woodcut and engraving have distinctive characteristics. Engraving lends itself to subtle
modeling and shading through the use of fine lines. Hatching and cross-hatching determine the
degree of light and shade in a print. Woodcuts tend to be more linear, with sharper contrasts
between light and dark. Printmaking is well suited to the production of multiple images. A set of
multiples is called an edition. Both methods can yield several hundred good quality prints before
the original block or plate begins to show signs of wear. Mass production of prints in the
sixteenth century made images available, at a lower cost, to a much broader public than before.
1. What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. The origins of textile decoration
B. The characteristics of good-quality prints
C. Two types of printmaking
D. Types of paper used in printmaking
2. The word "prime" in line 2 is closest in meaning to __________.
A. principal B. complex C. general D. recent
3. The author's purposes in paragraph 2 is to describe __________.
A. the woodcuts found in China in the fifth century
B. the use of woodcuts in the textile industry
C. the process involved in creating a woodcut
D. the introduction of woodcuts to Europe
4. The word "incised" is closest in meaning to__________.
A. burned B. cut C. framed D. baked
5. The word "distinctive" is closest in meaning to __________.
A. unique B. accurate C. irregular D. similar
6. According to the passage, all of the following are true about engraving EXCEPT that it
__________.
A. developed from the art of the goldsmiths
B. requires that the paper be cut with a burin
C. originated in the fifteenth century
D. involves carving into a metal plate
7. The word "yield" is closest in meaning to __________
A. imitate B. produce C. revise D. contrast
8. According to the passage, what do woodcut and engraving have in common?
A. Their designs are slightly raised.
B. They achieve contrast through hatching and cross-hatching.
C. They were first used in Europe.
D. They allow multiple copies to be produced from one original.
9. According to the author, what made it possible for members of the general public to own
prints in the sixteenth century?
A. Prints could be made at low cost.
B. The quality of paper and ink had improved.
C. Many people became involved in the printmaking industry.
D. Decreased demand for prints kept prices affordable.
10. According to the passage, all of the following are true about prints EXCEPT that they
__________.
A. can be reproduced on materials other than paper
B. are created from a reversed image
C. show variations between light and dark shades
D. require a printing press

READING 2

Long before they can actually speak, babies pay special attention to the speech they hear around
them. Within the first month of their lives, babies' responses to the sound of the human voice will
be different from their responses to other sorts of auditory stimuli. They will stop crying when
they hear a person talking, but not if they hear a bell or the sound of a rattle. At first, the sounds
that an infant notices might be only those words that receive the heaviest emphasis and that often
occur at the ends of utterances. By the time they are six or seven weeks old, babies can detect the
difference between syllables pronounced with rising and falling inflections. Very soon, these
differences in adult stress and intonation can influence babies' emotional states and behavior.
Long before they develop actual language comprehension, babies can sense when an adult is
playful or angry, attempting to initiate or terminate new behavior, and so on, merely on the basis
of cues such as the rate, volume, and melody of adult speech.
Adults make it as easy as they can for babies to pick up a language by exaggerating such cues.
One researcher observed babies and their mothers in six diverse cultures and found that, in all six
languages, the mothers used simplified syntax, short utterances and nonsense sounds, and
transformed certain sounds into baby talk. Other investigators have noted that when mothers talk
to babies who are only a few months old, they exaggerate the pitch, loudness, and intensity of
their words. They also exaggerate their facial expressions, hold vowels longer, and emphasize
certain words.
More significant for language development than their response to general intonation is
observation that tiny babies can make relatively fine distinctions between speech sounds. In other
words, babies enter the world with the ability to make precisely those perceptual discriminations
that are necessary if they are to acquire aural language.
Babies obviously derive pleasure from sound input, too; even as young as nine months they will
listen to songs or stories, although the words themselves åre beyond their understanding. For
babies, language is a sensory-motor delight rather than the route to prosaic meaning that it often
is for adults.
1. What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. How babies differentiate between the sound of the human voice and other sounds
B. The differences between a baby's and an adult's ability to comprehend language
C. How babies perceive and respond to the human voice in their earliest stages of language
development
D. The response of babies to sounds other than the human voice
2. Why does the author mention a bell and a rattle?
A. To contrast the reactions of babies to human and nonhuman sounds
B. To give examples of sounds that will cause a baby to cry
C. To explain how babies distinguish between different nonhuman sounds
D. To give examples of typical toys that babies do not like
3. Why does the author mention syllables pronounced with rising and falling inflections?
A. To demonstrate how difficult it is for babies to interpret emotions
B. To illustrate that a six-week-old baby can already distinguish some language differences
C. To provide an example of ways adults speak to babies
D. To give a reason for babies' difficulty in distinguishing one adult from another
4. The word "noted" in line 18 is closest in meaning to
A. theorized B. requested C. disagreed D. observed
5. The word "They" refers to
A. mothers B. investigators C. babies D. words
6. The passage mentions all of the following as ways adults modify their speech when talking to
babies EXCEPT
A. giving all words equal emphasis
B. speaking with shorter sentences
C. speaking more loudly than normal
D. using meaningless sounds
7. The word "emphasize" is closest in meaning to
A. stress B. repeat C. explain D. leave out
8. Which of the following can be inferred about the findings described in paragraph 2?
A. Babies who are exposed to more than one language can speak earlier than babies exposed to a
single language.
B. Mothers from different cultures speak to their babies in similar ways.
C. Babies ignore facial expressions in comprehending aural language.
D. The mothers observed by the researchers were consciously teaching their babies to speak.
9. What point does the author make to illustrate that babies are born with the ability to acquire
language?
A. Babies begin to understand words in songs.
B. Babies exaggerate their own sounds and expressions.
C. Babies are more sensitive to sounds than are adults.
D. Babies notice even minor differences between speech sounds.
10. According to the author, why do babies listen to songs and stories, even though they cannot
understand them?
A. They understand the rhythm.
B. They enjoy the sound.
C. They can remember them easily.
D. They focus on the meaning of their parents' words.

VI. CLOZE TEST

CLOZE TEST 1

THE TRUTH BEHIND A SMILE

People smile a great deal, and we seem to know instinctively that some smiles are more genuine
than others. But is there any scientific (1) __________ for this? Recent research suggests that a
mechanism in the brain can help us (2) __________ whether a smile is really heartfelt - or
whether it is just being (3) __________ on for show.
According to various long-held traditions, a genuine smile involves the eyes as well as the
mouth. In the nineteenth century, a French anatomist (4) __________ to prove this. He used
electrodes to stimulate the facial muscles of volunteers, (5) __________ creating false smiles.
He found that real smiles were always (6) __________ with the contraction of a muscle around
the eye, but that his artificially induced ones were not.
During more recent research, volunteers were shown a variety of human facial (7) __________
and their reactions to these were monitored. When they were shown a happy face, 35% of the
volunteers immediately started looking at the eye area, checking for tell-tale crinkles that would
(8) __________ that the smile was genuine; but when shown a sad or neutral face, they did not.
So why did the human brain evolve to distinguish between real and false smiles? It could be that
this ability to (9) __________ a quick assessment of a smile has an important role to play in
successful communication. A genuine smile (10) __________ as a gesture of conciliation in
conflict, and it's important to know whether we are really being offered a truce or not.
1. A. sign B. basis C. root D. fact
2. A. recollect B. accept C. admit D. recognize
3. A. put B. brought C. created D. stuck
4. A. got down B. set out C. went off D. carried out
5. A. despite B. thereby C. however D. nonetheless
6. A. associated B. mixed C. joined D. accompanied
7. A. exhibitions B. resemblances C. appearances D. expressions
8. A. assure B. confirm C. justify D. approve
9. A. make B. earn C. do D. hold
10. A. aims B. serves C. portrays D. applies

CLOZE TEST 2
HOW TO CONCENTRATE
Concentration is good in exams, bad in orange juice. Concentration happens when you manage
to focus on one thing to the (1) __________ of all others, and concentrating on that one thing (2)
__________ you to stop worrying about a lot of other things. Sometimes, of course, your mind
concentrates when you don't your mind want it to. Maybe you can't get something out of your
head, such as a problem you have to (3) __________ up to, or an embarrassing situation you've
been in. That's why collecting things as a hobby is popular; it (4) __________ your mind off
other things, indeed, some people seem to prefer looking after and cataloguing their collections
to actually doing anything with them, because this is when the (5) __________, single-minded
concentration happens.
The natural span for concentration is 45 minutes. That's why half an hour for a television
programme seems too short whilst an hour seems too long. But many people's lives are (6)
__________ of concentration. Modern culture is served up in small, (7) __________ digestible
chunks that require only a short (8) __________ span - although young people can concentrate
on computer games for days at a (9) __________.
Sticking out the tongue can aid concentration. This is because you can't (10) __________
yourself with talking at the same time and other people won't dare to interrupt your thoughts,
because you look like an idiot!
1. A. removal B. exclusion C. omission D. rejection
2. A. lets B. means C. makes D. allows
3. A. face B. confront C. tackle D. meet
4. A. brings B. puts C. holds D. takes
5. A. arresting B. gripping C. absorbing D. enthralling
6. A. absent B. devoid C. lacking D. deficient
7. A. gently B. plainly C. surely D. easily
8. A. attention B. application C. consideration D. contemplation
9. A. length B. stroke C. time D. sequence
10. A. sidestep B. distract C. sidetrack D. disturb

B. WRITTEN TEST
1. OPEN CLOZE TEST (20 PTS)
CLOZE TEST 1
AN EQUAL SHARE OF HOUSEWORK MAKES A HAPPY RELATIONSHIP
A recent study shows that an unequal share of household chores is still the norm in many
households, despite the fact that many more women now have jobs. In a survey of 1,256 people
(1) __________ between 18 and 65, men said they contributed an average of 37 per cent of the
total housework, while the women estimated their share to be nearly double that, at 70 per cent.
This ratio was not (2) __________ by whether the woman was working or not.
When they were asked what they thought was a (3) __________ division of labour, women with
jobs felt that housework should be shared equally between male and female partners. Women
who did not work outside the home were satisfied to perform 80 per cent the (4) __________ of
the household work - if their husbands did the remainder. Research has shown that, if levels
increase (5) __________ these percentages, women become unhappy and anxious, and feel they
are unimportant.
After marriage, a woman is reported to increase her household workload by 14 hours per week,
but for men the (6) __________ is just 90 minutes. So the division of labour becomes
unbalanced, as the man's share increases (7) __________ less than the woman's. It is the
inequality and (8) __________ of respect, not the actual number of hours, which leads to anxiety
and depression. The research (9) __________ housework as thankless and unfulfilling. Activities
included in the study were cooking, cleaning, shopping, doing laundry, washing-up and
childcare. Women who have jobs report that they feel overworked by these chores in (10)
__________ to their professional duties. In contrast, full-time homemakers frequently anticipate
going back to work when the children grow up. Distress for this group is caused by losing the
teamwork in the marriage.

CLOZE TEST 2
Chewing gum, until now considered the ultimate junk food and the national dish of the gormless,
turns out to have a positive effect on cognitive performance. In the first intellectual victory far
supporters of progressive education in many years, it seems that the teacher telling the child at
the back of the class to 'spit it out' has (1) __________ it all wrong. The Human Cognitive
Neuro-Science Unit at the University of Northumbria has tested the thinking and memory of
those who chew gum. The results show that gum-chewers (2) __________ far better in cognitive
tests than those who did not partake.
This new information makes many things clear that were (3) __________ shrouded in mystery. It
was said of Gerald Ford that he could not walk and chew gum at the same time. That he proved
so bad at walking and was constantly falling over was seen as a (4) __________ that he was not
up to the job. Now it is apparent that faced with the choice between walking and masticating he
picked wisely. Even though he fell down the steps of many aircraft, his performance when he
reached the ground was (5) __________ enhanced.
Certain mysteries of literature and language are (6) __________ up, too. Shakespeare has Brutus
tell Cassius to "chew on this" when he wants him to think about something. Chew on what? Now
all is clear. Difficult problems which (7) __________ cogitation are confusingly called "sticky".
Be confused no longer.
The beneficial effects of gum may (8) __________ as a surprise to some, but chewers
themselves, being intellectually superior to everyone else, of course, have been (9) __________
of gum's advantages for years.
Sadly, some politicians want to tax gum to pay for the (10) __________ of scraping discarded
pieces from the street. It can confidently be predicted that such small-mindedness among non-
chewers will leave the mouths of gum consumers everywhere goping open.

II. WORD FORMS (20 PTS)

WORD FORM 1
1. These shoes are very nice, but they're terribly __________ (PRICE).
2. The __________ (OUT) appearance of the building has not changed at all in 200 years.
3. Sadly, some economists think that full employment in Europe is an __________ (ATTAIN)
goal.
4. The state must ensure the independence and __________ (PART) of the justice system.
5. Sales of __________ (COOK) meals have risen sharply over the past few years.
6. He refused to say anything on the grounds that he might __________ (CRIME) himself.
7. The recent factory closures and job losses are just a __________ (TASTE) of the recession
that is to come.
8. Most of the errors were corrected at the __________ (READ) stage before the copies are
finally printed.
9. You can accuse me of __________ (COWARD), but I still wouldn't volunteer to fight in a
war.
10. When we re-examined the regulations, we realised that we had __________ (INTERPRET)
them.

WORD FORM 2
suffice foot evolve signify submit
conscious terminate resource power nature
Mankind's intuition of freedom, and our identification of freedom with knowledge, sets us apart
from animals. The animal's grasp of freedom is (1) __________ in comparison, being only the
freedom to respond to external stimuli. The nearest creature to us on the (2) __________ tree of
life, the chimpanzee, cannot retain an image for a (3) __________ length of time to be able to
reflect on it. So animal life is largely a matter of conditioned reflexes, performed in an (4)
__________ present; in short, animals are little more than machines with (5) __________
While the animal is carried along (6) __________ on the stream of time, mankind has certain
capacities that (7) __________ us to resist the current or look into the future. Our (8)
__________ invention of language was the first step towards this 'conquest of time'. Language
'fixes' experiences, and places the experience of the past on an equal (9) __________ with that of
the present. Imagination was bound to follow, as a (10) __________ progression from labelling'
a past experience to conjuring up its mental image.
1. insignificant 2. evolutionary 3. Sufficient 4. interminable
5. consciousness 6. submissively 7. empower 8. resourceful
9. footing 10. natural

III. ERROR IDENTIFICATION

ECO-TOURISM
1 Snacking on green ants is not everyone's idea of the most delicious holiday indulgently,
but on a recent walk through the Daintree rainforest in Queensland, Australia, Aboriginal
guide Kirsty Norris assured a group of uncertain guest that the traditional food source of
her Kuku Yalanji tribe was worth a try. She might have been right- but lucky for the
native ants and the tourists, rain came streaming down through the canopy, sending any
possible food scurrying for cover.
5 Connected with nature isn't a compulsory part of a stay at an environmental friendly
resort, but at the Daintree Eco Lodge, where tree house villas are set on stilts above the
compound's waterfall-fed creek, many people find themselves done a bit of communing
while they relax.
Although ecotourism is increasing on popularity, recording heady growth worldwide, it
10 is still difficult to define. For some travellers, ecotourism means eavesdropping on nature
from the comfort of a plush bed with a magnificent view. To others, it's about doing
 without hot showers and trekking across wildernesses. However, industrial watchers say
the category's basic tenet is minimal environmental impact combination with some
contribution to education and conservation.

15

IV. SENTENCE TRANSFORMATION (20 PTS)

1. Absolute secrecy was crucial to the success of the mission..
→
Without_______________________________________________________________________
____________________
2. The two sides never looked likely to reach an agreement.
→At no time
was__________________________________________________________________________
__________
3. He is a complete hypocrite; in public he condemns smokers, yet he smokes a packet a day
himself.
→So_________________________________________________________________________
__________________________
4. Ruth never asks anyone for a loan as she doesn't like to admit she has financial problems.
→Ruth
is____________________________________________________________________________
__________________
5. He loses his temper at all things, even the slightest one.
→He flies
______________________________________________________________________________
________________
6. Initially, losing one's job can seem awful; afterwards it can work out well, for some people.
BLESSING
→Losing one's job has
proved______________________________________________________________________
7. He's a pleasant man socially, but he's a tough businessman. BARGAIN
→He's a pleasant man
______________________________________________________________________________
8. As a champion swimmer, she will never be better than she is now. PRIME
→____________________________________________________________________________
__________________________
9. A summary cannot bring out the high quality of this book. JUSTICE
→____________________________________________________________________________
__________________________
10. The inspector showed us four potential health hazards. DREW
→ __________________________________________________________________________