TEST 1- TỰ LUYỆN

Part 1: For questions 1-5, listen to a piece of news from NBC News on why Netflix’s ‘Squid
game’ is an overnight sensation and decide whether the following statements are TRUE (T),
FALSE (F) or NOT GIVEN (NG). (1.0 pt)
1. Social media yesterday shut down due to the huge number of viewers watching Squid game.
2. 2. Squid game revolves around a group of indebted and desperate adults playing children’s games.
3. Squid game has become a popular show because it has a built-in fan base.
4. Viewers’ opinions about the dubbing of Squid game remain inconclusive.
5. Major plot points of Squid game may be misinterpreted because of the subtitles.
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Part 2: For questions 6-10, listen to a podcast on where phobia come from and answer the
following questions with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each question. (1.0 pt)
6. What response does the hypothalamus trigger when your brain recognizes a dangerous situation?
…………………………………………… …………………
7. For most people, what part of their brain can calm amygdala?
……………………………………………………………………………………
8. What mode is your brain constantly stuck in when you have a phobia?
…………………………………………………………………………………
9. What was the first man in history with phobia terrified of?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
10. What disease did Celsius use the word ‘phobia’ to describe?
……………………………………………………………………………………………
Your answers:
6. 9.
7. 10.
8.
Part 3: You will hear a conversation among some men. For questions 11-15, choose the answer
(A, B, C or D) which fits best according to what you hear. (1.0 pt)
11. What self-imposed agreement do the men agree upon?
A. To limit the aspirations they have for their children.
B. To project their own desires and goals onto their offspring.
C. Not to be so overbearing as to be a negative influence.
D. To avoid engaging with their children as older generations of parents did.
12. What opinion does one speaker express while reflecting on earlier years?
A. Parents should be prepared to deal with difficult children.
B. We will inevitably develop behavioural patterns similar to our own parents.
C. They should have been slightly more aware of future responsibilities that lay ahead.
D. Inward reflection is more problematic than viewing others.
13. What conclusions did the speaker incorrectly arrive at?
A. That every parent experiences a sense of helplessness in the early stages of raising a child.
B. Children developing a certain routine that could be worked around.
C. That the transition to parenthood would have taken a more natural course.
D. His own instictive ability to rise to the challenge of being a parent.
14. What does one speaker express assurance over?
A. That there are a substantial number of parents who hold the same view.
B. In the long term, the sacrifice of one’s personal life will negatively affect children.
C. There are other parents who benefit from having more personal space.
D. Parents will constantly regret the loss of personal down time.
15. What concern is shown by one of the fathers speaking?
A. Personal stress resulting from a lack of individual leisure time.
B. The inability to maintain a social life leading to a more subdued family life.
C. The loss of external personal relationships will cause friction within the family unit.
D. A worry that one day they will be a source of embarrassment to their children.
Your answers:
11. 12. 13. 14. 15.
Part 4: For questions 16-25, listen to a podcast on the curious history of filming the sneeze and
complete the sentences with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS taken from the recording for
each answer in the space provided. (2.0 pts)
The curious history of filming the sneeze
Basing on newest studies of sneezes or 16.___________, we are now able to watch closely
the “turbulent multiphase cloud” distributing 17. ___________ and a payload of droplets from far
distance and at high speeds.
Fred Ott’s Sneeze was a short film recorded in 1894 to test 18. ___________ - a new moving
picture machine. In this five-second long film, Fred Ott took a(n) 19. ___________ and then
sneezed. This captured the imagination of a public who were wowed by the idea that something as
fast as a sneeze could now be captured, preserved and repeated.
Not until the late 19th century was the idea that contagious illnesses can be resulted from 20.
___________brought out. This new understanding coinciding with the Spanish Flu in 1918 21.
___________ of public health “Coughs and sneezes spread diseases”.
During the Second World War, wartime propaganda made use of the 22. ___________ with a
view to persuading people to wear masks and cover their mouths. The germ mask is a simple way of
keeping the germs at bay. In the age of SARS and COVID-19, people is still using 23. ___________
to try to better capture and visualise the mechanics of the sneeze. Maybe an even fuller
understanding of exactly how a sneeze works will help us to use tools like masks and social
distancing more effectively in the fight against epidemics.
The long tradition of filming sneezes are not only conducted by researchers but also vloggers
and filmmakers who posted 24. ___________ on a video streaming site. The image of the sneeze can
provide us with useful information and can also be a(n) 25. ___________, a comic punchline, or
just a source of fascination.
Your answers:
16. 21.
17. 22.
18. 23.
19. 24.
20. 25.
II. LEXICO AND GRAMMAR (2.0 points)
Part 1: Choose the answer A, B, C, or D that best completes each of the following sentences.
Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes. (1.5 pts)
26. She had warned Michael __________ of death not to spread the software any further, and she felt
sure she could trust him.
A. by virtue B. on pain C. in vino D. at risk
27. The police showed him a photo to try to __________ his memory about what had happened on
the night of the robbery.
A. raise B. jog C. trim D. force
28. We are certainly proud of the monument, but there are times when it proves something of a
_________.
A. silver lining B. red herring C. mixed blessing D. party swishing
29. During the meeting George couldn’t resist __________ with his ‘helpful hints’ about
investments.
A. chiming in B. chickening in C. raking in D. packing in
30. Please accept this gift as __________ of our good will.
A. a lump B. a piece C. a bit D. a token
31. It is a __________ situation here. Nobody wants to support you until you’re successful but
without the support, how can you ever be successful?
A. catch 11 B. catch 22 C. catch 33 D. catch 55
32. It is claimed that many reality shows have been recently_________.
A. jumped the shark B. jumped the line C. jumped their throat D. jumped the
rails
33. Tony has always loved olives, but for me it was an _________.
A. acquired taste B. increasing liking C. achieved taste D. improving
liking
34. Keep applying and by the_________ you’ll get a job sooner or later.
A. law of the jungle B. law of supply C. law of averages D. law of nature
35. Since the spread of Covid-19 disease, their father has been __________ so the whole family is
living on a tight budget.
A. on the level B. on the sly C. on the dole D. on the map
36. In the performance, the dancers wore embroidered caps fridged with cowrie shells which
__________ like bells when they moved.
A. clattered B. clunked C. tittled D. tinkled
37. I had heard he was a __________ but he actually has a good sense of humour.
A. stuffed stiff B. sticked wicket C. number cruncher D. loose canon
38. If there is another acident like that in the building, I am sure that the occupants will __________.
A. clap eyes B. lock horns C. take pains D. play possums
39. The photocopier has gone __________, it becomes disorganised or goes out of control.
A. bananas B. nuts C. haywire D. postal
40. It didn’t take much to ________ the old animosity lurking beneath the surface of their
relationship.
A. resuscitate B. rekindle C. restore D. regain

Your answers:
26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35.
36. 37. 38. 39. 40.
Part 2: Give the correct form of each given word to complete the following sentences. Write
your answers in the numbered boxes. (0.5 pt)
41. His previous works feature human forms howling in pain while hatching from a cocoon, a tribal
gang living on the edge of town, or people struggling in __________. SAND
42. At first, I thought I could count on Jim, but then I discovered that he’s just a ___-_______ friend.
WEATHER
43. His __________ business approach is combined with a very real concern for the less fortunate in
society.
NOSE
44. The coffee is horrible - really weak and _________. WATER
45. Strikers attacked the __________ sent in to replace them. STRIKE
Your answers:
 41. 42. 43.
44. 45.
III. READING (5.0 points)
Part 1: Read the text below and think of the word which best fits each space. Use only ONE
word in each space. Write your answers in the space provided. (1.0 pt)
Life for 20-something-year-olds
The notion of work-life 46. ________ is something many a 20-something-year-old would
have a good chuckle at, for theirs is the grim reality of the rat race, which they are caught 47.
________ in from the moment they leave university, if, that is, in the harsh economic climate 48.
________ exists at present, they are lucky enough to find a job in the first place. And to make 49.
________worse, exorbitant house prices push them further and further out into the commuter 50.
________, from where they have to endure long commutes to and from work daily. And even here in
suburbia, affordable accommodation is basically a thing of the 51. ________, so not only have they
to contend with the debt burden they inherited on leaving college, they also have mortgage or rental
payments to cover. In an effort to safeguard their precious jobs, and, 52. ________, their financial
futures, they work tirelessly, 53. ________overtime and staying in the office after hours hoping to
score brownie 54. ________with the boss. They return home late at night having burnt the 55.
________ oil, tired and stressed, and with little time to unwind before they are into another day’s
toil.
Your answers:
46. 47. 48. 49. 50.
51. 52. 53. 54. 55.
Part 2: Read the article below and choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best
according to the text. (1.0 pt)
The Morecamebe & Wise show
It happened one night. It happened, to be precise, at 8.55 p.m on the night of 25 December
1977, when an estimated 28,835,000 people – more than half of the total population of the United
Kingdom – turned their television sets to BBC1 and spent the next hour and ten minutes in the
company of rather tall man called Eric and a rather short man called Ernie. It was an extraordinary
night for British television. It was – at least as far as that catholic and capacious category known as
“light entertainment” was concerned – as close as British television had ever come, in some forty-
one years of trying, to being a genuine mass medium. None of the usual rigid divisions and
omissions were apparent in the board audience of that remarkable night: no stark class bias, no
pronounced gender imbalance, no obvious age asymmetry, no generalized demographic slant.
It was also, of course, and extraordinary night for the two stars of the show: Eric Morecambe
and Ernie Wise - by far the most illustrious, and the best-loved, double-act that Britain has ever
produced. Exceptionally professional yet endearingly personable, they were wonderful together as
partners, as friends, as almost a distinct entity: not “Morecambe and Wise” but “Morecambewise”.
There was Eric and there was Ernie: one of them an idiot, the other a bigger idiot, each of them half a
star, together a whole star, forever hopeful of that “brand new, bright tomorrow” that they sang about
at the end of each show. True, Eric would often slap Ernie smartly on the cheeks, but they clearly
thought the world of each other, and the world thought a great deal of them, too.
Their show succeeded in attracting such a massive following on that memorable night
because it had, over the course of the previous nine years or so, established, and then enhanced, an
enviable reputation for consistency, inventiveness, unparalleld professional polish and, last but by no
means least, a strong and sincere respect for its audience. The Morecambe & Wise Show stood for
something greater, something far more precious, than mere first-rate but evanescent entertainment; it
had come to stand – just as persuasively and as proudly as any earnest documentary or any epic
drama – for excellence in broadcasting, the result not just of two gifted performers (great talent, alas,
does not of itself guarantee great television) but also of a richly proficient and supremely committed
production team.
The show, culminating in the record-breaking triumph of that 1977 special, represented an
achievement in high-quality popular programme-making that is now fast assuming the aura of a
fairy tale-destined, one fears, to be passed on with bemused fascination from one doubtful generation
to its even more disbelieving successor as the seemingly endless proliferation of new channels and
novel forms of distraction continue to divide and disperse the old mass audience in the name of that
remorseless quest for “quality demographics” and “niche audience”. The Morecambe & Wise Show
appeared at a time before home video, before satellite dishes and cable technology, before the
dawning of the digital revolution, a time when it was still considered desirable to make a television
programme that might – just might – excite most of the people most of the time.
Neither Morecambe nor Wise ever looked down on, or up at, anyone (except, of course, each
other); both of them looked straight back at their audience on level terms. No celebrated guest was
ever allowed to challenge this comic democracy: within the confines of the show, the rich and
famous went unrecognized and frequently unpaid (a running gag); venerable actors with grand
theatrical reputations were mocked routinely by Eric’s sotto voice comments; and two resolutely
down-to-earth working-class comedians gleefully reaffirmed the remarkably deep, warm and sure
relationship that existed between themselves and the British public.
“It was,” reminisced Ernie Wise, “a sort of great big office party for the whole country, a bit
of fun people could understand”. From the first few seconds of their opening comic routine to the
final few notes and motions of their closing song and dance, Morecambe and Wise did their very best
to draw people together rather than drive them apart. Instead of pandering submissively to the smug
exclusivity of the cognoscenti (they were flattered when a well-regarded critic praised the sly
“oeillade” that accompanied Eric’s sarcastic asides, but they still mocked him mercilessly for his use
of the word), and instead of settling - as so many of their supposed successors would do with
unseemly haste – for the easy security of a “cult following”, Morecambe and Wise always aimed to
entertain the whole nation.
When viewers watched that show at the end of 1977, they witnessed a rare and rich
compendium of the very best in popular culture: the happy summation of a joint career that had
traversed all of the key developments associated with the rise of mass entertainment in Britain,
encompassing the faint but still discernible traces of Victorian music-hall, the crowded animation of
Edwardian Variety, the wordy populism of the wireless, the spectacular impact of the movies and,
finally, the more intimate pervasiveness of television. When that career was all over, it was sorely
missed. They were simply irreplaceable.
56. The writer implies in the first paragraph that one reason why the show on 25 December 1977 was
extraordinary was that __________.
A. light entertainment programmes had been the targets of criticism before then.
B. no one had thought that a British television programme could appeal to all classes.
C. its audience included people who might not have been expected to watch it.
D. people turning into it knew that they were taking part in a phenomenal event.

57. In the second paragraph, the writer implies that Morecambe and Wise __________.
A. would probably not have been successful had they been solo performers.
B. had a different relationship in real life from the one they had on television.
C. were keen for audiences to realize how professional they were.
D. probably did not know how popular they were.
58. The word “pandering” in the six paragraph is closest in meaning to __________?
A. pampering B. shunning C. endeavoring D. swaying
59. The writer says in the third paragraph that one reason why The Morecambe & Wise Show
remained so popular was that __________.
A. it adapted to changes in audience attitudes to what constituted good entertainment.
B. it appealed to people who normally preferred other kinds of progamme.
C. the people who made it knew that its popularity was guaranteed.
D. the contribution of people other than its stars was a key element in it.
60. The writer suspects that The Morecambe & Wise Show will in the future regarded as
__________.
A. something which might only catch on with certain audiences.
B. something which has acquired an exaggerated reputation.
C. the kind of programme that programme-makers will aspire to.
D. the kind of programme that illustrates the disadvantages of technological advances.
61. According to the writer, one feature of The Morecambe & Wise Show was __________.
A. the way in which it reflected developments in British society.
B. its inclusion of jokes that only certain people would understand.
C. the consistent way in which other stars were treated on it.
D. its careful choice of other stars to appear on it.
62. In the six paragraph, the writer implies that __________.
A. other comedians have attempted to appeal to only a particular group of people.
B. Morecambe and Wise usually disregarded what critics said about them.
C. other comedians have not accorded Morecambe and Wise the respect they deserve.
D. Morecambe and Wise realized that there were some people who would never like them.
63. The word “discernible” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to __________?
A. inalienable B. unquestionable C. recognizable D. inscrutable
64. In the last paragraph, the writer implies that one remarkable feature of the show was that
__________.
A. it exceeded even the expectations of its audience.
B. it contained elements that could have been regarded as old-fashioned.
C. it showed the similarities between earlier forms of entertainment.
D. it contained a hint of sadness despite being so entertaining.
65. What is not TRUE about The Morecambe and Wise Show?
A. It occurred after the advent of satellite dishes and cable technology.
B. Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise were two stars of the show.
C. The show usually aimed at entertaining the whole nation.
D. The comedians of the show tried to connect people together.
Your answers:
56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65.
Part 3: Read the passage and do the tasks that follow. (1.3 pt)
Youth works
As the pace of today’s working life blurs the line between personal time and work time, so it
increasingly mixes personal lifestyle and work style. And as companies concentrate on attracting and
keeping a younger workforce for its technical skills and enthusiasm for change, office culture is
becoming an extension of youth culture. This may be no bad thing. Along with the company games
room come things that matter deeply to young people: opportunity, responsibility, respect. For most
of human history the middle-aged have ruled. With years came wisdom, experience, connections and
influence. Rarely did they change jobs, years of loyal service counted most. However, in the future,
older workers will not disappear, or even reduce in numbers, but they will have to share power with
fresh-faced youths.
There have been a number of reasons for this change; the most dramatic of these is
technology. Children have always been more expert than their parents at something, but usually a
game or a fashion, not the century’s most important business tool. The Internet has triggered the first
industrial revolution in history to be led by the young. This is the age group that created Netscape,
the first commercial web browser; Napster, the music-sharing technology that shocked the music
industry; Yahoo! And many of the other web giants. Though there have been youth revolutions
before, none of them made the leap from teen bedroom to boardroom the way the Internet has.
Throughout the twentieth century, had a young person wanted to enter corporate America they
needed to leave their youth behind. They got a haircut, and probably a suit or at least a tie. Now the
same hair, same clothes, even nearly the same hours apply to office and home.
Had it not been for the Internet, this change could not have happened. However, it did not
happen because of the Internet only, the corporate restructurings of the 1980s and 90s broke down
traditional hierarchies. In many companies, rigid seniority-based hierarchies have given way to
hierarchies based on merit. No longer are the abilities to navigate internal bureaucracies and please
your superiors the most valued skills. Today’s employees are free agents who stay with companies
only as long as they feel challenged and rewarded; moving from job to job is now a sign of ambition
and initiative. Today’s young people are valued as workers for different reasons than their
predecessors: they welcome change; they think differently; they are independent; they are
entrepreneurial; they want opportunity more than money and security and finally, they demand
respect.
This revolution is not just about the young. Youth itself is being redefined. Increasingly, 35-
year-olds listen to the same music as 20-year-olds, dress like them and even look almost like them.
Never before has there been a time when there was so little difference between age groups. Imagine a
society converging on an age somewhere between 20 and 30, and you have a fair picture of New
York or San Francisco now, with other American cities not far behind.
The rise of the youth is a good thing, not least because it gives people at their most creative
stage in life more opportunity to put their ideas and energy into practice. But will there be a takeover
by the young? A good place to look for an answer is Microsoft. Microsoft’s most important
employees are not its managers, but individual programmers. They have great independence in
choosing how to do their job. By and large, the manager’s task is not to tell programmers what to do,
but to clear obstacles from the path they choose. Microsoft workers are valued most for their ability
to think for themselves, they are trusted to find their own solutions to business problems. Managers,
hold back, knowing that the more specific their order, the more it is likely to undermine their
employees’ ability to find creative solutions. So they concentrate on the diplomatic tasks that most of
the independent young programmers are not much good at: coordinating with other teams, resolving
conflicts, motivating people and ensuring that everybody is happy. Microsoft starts to look like a
model for the workplace of the future: programmers tend to be in their twenties and early thirties,
whereas the managers are about a decade older. Many of the managers are former programmers who
reached a point where they no longer wanted to sleep under their desk. The effect of all this is that
youth and youth qualities apparently dominate, but the experience and maturity of older employees is
put to good use too.
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in the reading passage? For
questions 66 -72, write ________
YES if the statement reflects the claims of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
66. The number of older workers in companies will decline.
67. 67. The Internet is the most important development since the industrial revolution.
68. Company structures are now based on ability, not length of employment.
69. Older people are behaving more like young people.
70. At Microsoft, managers watch their workers carefully.
71. Older workers are better at social skills than younger workers.
72. Managers at Microsoft become managers because they did not want to work long hours any
more.
For questions 73-78, use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS to complete the following
summary.
In today’s workplace 73.________ and work are becoming mixed and older workers are
losing power in their companies. The most important reason for this is 74.________ which have
allowed fresh-faced youths to enter the workplace and make changes. A second reason was the
changes made to company 75.________ in the 80s and 90s which emphasized 76.________ over
seniority. The final reason is that values have changed. Today’s workers want opportunity more than
77.________. Another effect is that older people are behaving like younger people with society’s
average age between 20 and 30 in some US cities. At Microsoft the manager’s role is not to give
workers orders but to 78.________ from their way and help them discover solutions to business
problems.
Your answers:
66. 67. 68. 69. 70.
71. 72. 73. 74. 75.
76. 77. 78.
Part 4: Read the text. Seven paragraphs have been removed. Choose from the paragraphs A-
H the one which fits each gap (79-85). There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to
use. (0.7 pt)

Heavens on Earth
The white and silver buildings of the VLT or Very Large Telescope at the ESO (European
Organization for Astronomical research in the Southern Hemisphere) stand tall and imposing on top
of a mountain shining brightly under the desert sun. At night they come alive, the outer walls open
up and silently slide through 360 degrees, allowing an uninterrupted view of the Southern
Hemisphere sky. Inside, a giant eye looks deep into the stars and beyond, looking for life, mysteries
and making sense out of the darkness.
79.______
Getting to the place is a journey of discovery in itself. After leaving the Pacific Ocean, you
head south and hook up with the Panamericana Highway and into the desert, the driest on Earth. It’s
a two-hour drive to the observatory, but it feels longer as the harsh light, the rocky, dusty desert, the
complete absence of any form of life, except for the giant trucks plying their trade along the
highway, is unsettling.
80.______
The reason, we are told, is simple. Astronomers need a clear view of the sky at night. Optimal
conditions are to be found in deserts; there are fewer of the negative factors like light pollution that
can make the four telescopes which form VLT work less effectively. Here no lights are allowed after
dark, all windows are screened, and even the main residence where 108 people sleep, leaks no more
than 40W when the lights are turned on.
81.______
These monsters and their smaller auxiliaries bring to mind the set of Star Wars. But at sunset,
they take on another look. This could be Stonehenge, another magic circle where our forefathers
tried to make sense of the stars. Soon after arriving, we are taken to see the inside of one of the
telescopes. They have all been named in the indigenous Mapuche language following a competition
among Chilean schoolchildren.
82.______
Once these have been completed, the telescope is handed over to the team who will operate
one or more of the telescopes from a control room. All night long these giants will be moving and
pointing to the sky helping the scientists unravel new problems. Fourteen countries contribute around
160 million euros to their joint astronomical cause, and Paranal is allocated 20% of that figure.
Standing in the shadow of the VLT, one wonders what all this taxpayers' money buys.
83.______
They all answered with the usual 'finding out where we came from, where we are going, are
we alone in the universe?’ And, as the ESO has no commercial use and is a not-for-profit
organization, it's easy to imagine these scientists indulging in their research and being cut off from
reality.
84.______
One of Paranal’s great achievements was the discovery of a planet outside our solar system. It
is huge: five times bigger than Jupiter, and the work being done now is aimed at understanding the
physical and chemical composition of this, and other, giant Earth-like planets. Truly a quest for life
in outer space.
85.______
‘We needed even sharper images to settle the issue of whether any other configuration is
possible and we counted on the ESO VLT to provide those; says Reinhard Genze!, director at the
Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics.’ Now the era of observational physics has truly
begun.
The Paragraphs
A. But talking further revealed a simple truth: that having pretty much discovered all there is to know
about our world on the Earth, astronomy looks at the vast Terra Incognita which surrounds us. These
scientists see themselves very much as a mixture of Renaissance men and women: all questing for
further knowledge.
B. Every evening an engineer is assigned to one of these telescopes and his or her job is to get it
ready so that it can then be taken over at night by a three-person team. The engineer runs through a
series of tests in preparation for the work which will be done later that night.
C. The central unit inside weighs 450 tonnes and houses the main 8.5 m mirror. A second, smaller
mirror is made from beryllium, a rare metal. The external walls can all slide open to allow the
telescope to point in any direction as it rotates soundlessly on its base.
D. As we drive further into the desert, the road starts to rise gradually, with hills and steep valleys all
around us. The environment is harsh in the extreme and it's hard to imagine that a community of
European scientists have chosen this place to establish a world-leading laboratory.
E. It is a question that many in Paranal find a little difficult to answer. Maybe because scientists, due
to the nature of their research and also, maybe, their mindsets, tend to focus on very specific areas of
competence and therefore are not required to have a broader 'strategic' view.
F. The other big consideration in the desert is the absence of cloud cover and, higher up, the lack of
atmospheric dust and all the other interference caused by humans or nature which contributes to
partially hiding the secrets of the universe. 'Twinkle, twinkle little star' is just what astronomers do
not want to hear, as this means there is debris between the eye, the telescopes and the stars.
G. We are in Paranal, in Chile's Atacama Desert, where at 2,600 m above sea level, Europe has its
most advanced astronomical observatory. It's a leading site, a joint undertaking by fourteen European
countries focused on developing the most advanced scientific tools for observing the universe and
enhancing the knowledge base for industry, education and culture.
H. Astronomers have also used the data from VLT for another purpose - to attempt to find out how
old the universe is. It seems that the oldest star is 13.2 billion years old, which means the universe
must be even older. They also use VLT to look into galaxies beyond ours, and where they continue
to find evidence of supermassive black holes, where all kinds of violent activity occurs.
Your answers:
79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85.
Part 5: Read the text, identify which section A–D each of the following is mentioned. Write
ONE letter A–D in the corresponding numbered space provided. Each letter may be used more
than once. (1.0 pt)
In which section are the following mentioned?
86.____ the conviction that despite embellishment, a legend was based on factual events
87. ____ Schliemann’s uncovering an object causing irreparable damage
88. ____ embarking on an expedition to find a lost civilization, based on hearsay
89. ____ contemporaries condemning Schliemann’s methodology
90. ____ ancient works inspiring a theory
91. ____ demonstrating conclusively a link between history and legend
92. ____ financial security enabling an amateur to fulfil his dream
93. ____ Schliemann’s assertions subsequently being proved incorrect
94. ____ non-professionals engaging in archaeology
95. ____ the rejection of Schliemann’s theories resulting in unorthodox techniques

The treasure of Priam and the mask of Agamennon

A. There is a long tradition of amateurs in the field of archaeology who are often as fanatical
as the professional: breaking into the tombs of the pharaohs, letting light into a darkness over 4,000
years old; trekking through jungle and swamp for weeks on end to follow up rumours of cities lost
and reclaimed by nature; deciphering the hieroglyphic intricacies of forgotten languages belonging to
citizens and civilizations long-buried. Heinrich Schliemann was one of these and, like many of them,
was driven by an obsession that was to rule his life. Schliemann had read and reread the stories of
Homer, The Iliad and The Odyssey, while he was working in his business in Germany. The story of
the ten year Trojan War, fought over the divine beauty of Helen (‘the face that launched a thousand
ships’) and the homesick wanderings and adventures of Odysseus and his men, who had to use all
their wits and courage to stay alive, filled his head with a magical vision. He began to form an idea,
one that experts scoffed at as pure fantasy.
B. Schliemann asserted that the places, events and people described in the epic tales were
more than just myths and legends. He was sure that they had some original basis in fact, no matter
how much elaboration and distortion had been lain on top afterwards. His dream was to unearth the
legendary city of Troy, home to King Priam and his son, Paris, abductor of the incomparable Helen.
The success of his business allowed Schliemann to retire early and pursue his dream, and the year
1870 found him in Hisarlik, Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), excavating a ‘tell’. This was a huge
mound, much like a hill, created over millennia by the successive building and razing of mud brick
houses, and reaching up to 100 feet in height. He began to strike different layers denoting separate
cities, going back hundreds of years each time. In 1873, he hit the ninth layer, which contained a
considerable hoard of treasure. This, he claimed to have belonged to Priam, and he was sure he had
reached his goal; he was certain he was looking at the remains of Troy.
C. Schliemann excavated several other sites related to this time in Greek history, the most
famous being a shaft grave at Mycenae, on the Argos plain in Greece. This was the site of the citadel
which supposedly belonged to Agamemnon, King of Argos and commander of the Greek force
during the Trojan War. In 1876, Schliemann entered a grave containing a number of bodies,
jewellery, drinking vessels and weapons. Five of the corpses wore death masks made of beaten gold;
removing one (resembling a bearded man) Schliemann glimpsed the face for a second before it
crumbed to dust. In an excited conversation, Schliemann uttered his famous words, ‘I have gazed
upon the face of Agamemnon!’ Later investigations into his two significant finds told a rather
different story. In all probability, the treasure found at Troy was not Priam’s (it is now believed that
Priam’s Troy formed the seventh layer Schliemann went through), and the gold death mask was
dated some hundreds of years before the reign of Agamemnon.
 D. Schliemann was attacked by critics, who said that this style of excavation was more like a
child’s at the seaside than that of a serious scholar. In his overenthusiasm and haste he had done
irreparable damage, tearing his way down through layers of history to satisfy his thirst for the glory
of a big discovery. It cannot be denied that Schliemann’s methods left a lot to be desired and were
more akin to the grave robbing of the Egyptian pyramids than the painstaking brush-and-trowel work
of modern archaeology. It should be noted, however, that the critics that condemned his methods had
also ridiculed his theory in the first place, leaving him with little choice but to try things his own
way. His establishing the connection between myth and reality has proved extremely important in the
fields of archaeology and social anthropology, among others. He also achieved something that
perhaps few people do in their lifetime; he fulfilled his dream, and found the site of the famed Troy,
ancient city of legend and history.
Your answers:
86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95.
IV. WRITING (6.0 points)
Part 1: Read the following extract and use your own words to summarize it. Your summary
should be about 100-120 words long. (1.5 pts)
One of the shared assumptions in computer research is that talking to computer is a very good
idea. So is this a good idea that speech is regarded as the natural interface between human and
computer?
Each company with enough money to spare and enough egotism to believe that it can shape
everyone’s future now has a ‘natural language’ research group. Films and TV series set in the future
use computers with voice interfaces to show how far technology has advanced from our primitive
day and age. The unwritten assumption is that talking to your computer will in the end be as natural
as shouting at your relatives.
The roots of this shared delusion lie in the genuine naturalness of spoken communication
between humans. Meaning is transferred from person to person so effortlessly that it must be the best
way of transferring information from a human to another object.
This view is totally misguided. Computer do not experience life as people do - it is shared human
experience which enables people to understand each other precisely in a conversation where a
transcript would make very little sense. Unfinished sentences, in-jokes, catchphrases, hesitation
markers like “er” and “you know”, and words whose meaning is only clear in the context of that one
conversation are no bar to human understanding, but baffled early attempts at computer speech
recognition.
It is doubtful that talking to computer is a good thing. In fact, so-called “natural communication”
with a computer would appear to be about unnatural as you can get. People and computer inhabit
different worlds. Even if you succeed in ordering your computer about, it’ll never laugh at your
jokes, make sarcastic comments, tell you the latest gossip or do any of the other things that make real
human conversation such fun.
Then there’s that awful prospect of an office full of people talking to their machines. Quite apart
from the generated, most people are bound to feel pretty ridiculous talking to something obviously
non-human. Moreover, there is no doubt that controlling a computer by speaking to it only work if
you imitate an army drill sergeant. You have to avoid all those “could you’s” and “would you
mind’s” that most of us use when we’re trying to get someone to do something they don’t really want
to do. Since this will be impossible for most of us, we’ll end up with machines never doing what we
really want and making all manner mistakes in the process.
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Part 2: Graph description (1.5 pts)

The two charts below outline the statistically most desirable countries in terms of quality of
life and reasons for migration in 2020.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.
You should write at least 150 words.

International survey on reasons for migra- Rankings based on quality of life

tion 2020
10
9.1 9.1
Community scale ranking (out of 10)

9 8.5
8.1
8 7.5
7
7
Better lifestyle
3% 11% 6
Work opportunities
24% Study 5
Family
Adventure 4

15% 48% 3

0
UK Switzerland USA Canada Sweden Australia

Rankings based on quality of life

Part 3: Essay writing (3.0 pts)

Write an essay on the following topic.
 In any professional field, beginners are more likely than experts to make important
contributions. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
_THE END_