SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐỀ THI CHỌN ĐỘI TUYỂN DỰ THI HSG QUỐC GIA

NAM ĐỊNH Năm học: 2022-2023

Môn: Tiếng Anh - Đề số: 01
Thời gian làm bài: 180 phút.
(Đề thi gồm: 16 trang)

Điểm bài thi Họ, tên và chữ ký 2 giám khảo SỐ PHÁCH

Bằng số: ............................. Giám khảo 1: ..................................

Bằng chữ: ............................ Giám khảo 2: ..................................

I. LISTENING (5.0 points)

HƯỚNG DẪN PHẦN THI NGHE HIỂU
 Bài nghe gồm 4 phần, mỗi phần được nghe 2 lần, mỗi lần cách nhau 10 giây, mở đầu và kết thúc
mỗi phần nghe có tín hiệu.
 Mở đầu và kết thúc bài nghe có tín hiệu nhạc. Thí sinh có 02 phút để hoàn chỉnh bài trước tín
hiệu nhạc kết thúc bài nghe.
 Mọi hướng dẫn cho thí sinh bằng tiếng Anh đã có trong bài nghe.

Part 1: For questions 1-5, listen to a recording and decide whether the following statements
are TRUE (T), FALSE (F) or NOT GIVEN (NG) according to what you hear. Write your answers
in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
1. The document newly released by the government required that airlines offer their customers better
treatments for delayed flights.
2. Dot.gov lists the compensations that each airline gives customers for some flight related problems.
3. Never in this year have there been so many flight delays and cancellations as there were in August.
4. There is a storm of protest by off-duty pilots all over the country against unfair working conditions.
5. Many attorney generals who themselves were victims of flight delays and cancellations are asking
for stricter laws protecting customers’ rights.

Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Part 2: For questions 6-10, listen to a news report. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS
taken from the recording for each answer.
6. Which kind of land were Palliser’s words intended to refer to?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….

7. What is characteristic of hills in Saskatchewan and Alberta?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….

8. What are common plants in southern dunes now?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….

9. What led to the formation of sand dunes in the South?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….

10. Apart from land practices, what else are listed as dune disturbances?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….

-Page 1 of 16 pages-
Part 3: For questions 11-15, you will hear an interview with a historian. Listen and choose the
best answer.
11. The settlement at Dimini is especially interesting because
A it dates back to the Neolithic period.
B it includes a large, central building surrounded by smaller ones.
C it is surrounded by a series of stone walls.
D it is the oldest example of an organised community in Greece.
12. The two theoretical reconstructions of the site
A are based on different interpretive models.
B assume that the central building was a castle.
C were influenced by the writings of Homer.
D were formulated at roughly the same time.
13. According to Professor Pretz, Chourmouziadis' interpretation
A is convincing and provides insight into how the settlement worked.
B is based on evidence of social and economic activity in the settlement.
C is persuasive but the thinking behind it is open to question.
D is too simple and generic to be of any real value to historians.
14. The main difference between the two theories regarding Dimini is that
A they disagree about the settlement's social system.
B they disagree about the function of the central building.
C they disagree about the economic function of the settlement.
D the historians were inspired by different authors.
15. Professor Pretz
A thinks historians should pay more attention to the social, historical and cultural influences of the
period.
B suggests that the study of the past is affected by influences in the historian's own society.
C proves that some historians are entirely subjective in their approach to the study of the past.
D implies that the interpretations of the settlement at Dimini are unrealistic.

Your answers:
11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

Part 4: For questions 16-25, listen to a piece of news and complete the following sentences.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS taken from the recording in each gap. Write your
answers in the provided space.
The secrets of the deep ocean
Immensely as it expands over the Earth, the majority of the ocean remains an (16)
______________________________________ to human.
It has become progressively practical to enter the formidable territory of the ocean thanks to
technological advances like (17) _______________________________.
Apart from billions of cubic kilometers of water and fish in the depths of the ocean, there also exist
alien species, many of which will (18) _____________________________ once captured.
A string-like animal comprised of countless (19) _______________________________ was
discovered in 2020.
Contrary to common belief, the seabed boasts a diversity of terrains, some of which are (20)
___________________________ without deep dives.
Down in the abyssal depth, the scientists discovered a crustacean species inhabiting (21)
______________________________ with remains of plastic in its body.
As a result of being (22) ____________________________ from the ocean, human tends to regard
the sea as a dumping place, which creates even more ‘dead zones’.

-Page 2 of 16 pages-
Exploiting the biological properties of oceanic creatures possibly contributes greatly to addressing
pressing problems related to (23) ________________________________________.
The ocean is home to (24) __________________________________, which produce the majority of
oxygen, and makes climatic conditions on Earth conducive to life.
Unbeknownst to us, the ocean is wielding influence on every Earthling by sustaining the (25)
_____________________________________ of the planet.
II. LEXICO – GRAMMAR (3.0 points)
Part 1: Choose the best answer (A, B, C or D) to each of the following questions and write your
answer (A, B, C or D) in the corresponding numbered boxes.
1. ______ nothing to watch on television last weekend, we sang karaoke together.
A. There being B. Having had C. Had D. There having
2. She could barely survive on the ______ she received as a pension.
A. pittance B. royalties C. turnover D. fortune
3. She ______ and was only acting out of concern for their safety.
A. went back to square one B. went by the board
C. had no axe to grind D. cut no ice
4. A bull is never used twice in a bullfight, mainly because they ______ death at the hands of the
matador.
A. find B. meet C. rein D. show
5. The orchestra decided to ______ tradition, and wear their everyday clothes for the concert.
A. flaunt B. flout C. feign D. fend
6. The wife still ______ her beloved husband to this day, 28 years after his sacrifice in World War II.
A. vies for B. tacks on C. pines for D. pitches into
7. Tom can ______ the names of all the presidents of the US.
A. rattle off B. bubble over C. muddle along D. thrash out
8. It's normal for salaries to be paid monthly ______, meaning you'll need to work four weeks first.
A. in real terms B. in installments C. in kind D. in arrears
9. It’s been a ______ winter this year, with temperatures as low as -15°.
A. bitter B. fetid C. fervent D. sharp
10. There may be a ______ of truth in what these kids say even though they are just primary
students.
A. pinch B. kernel C. speck D. crux
11. As well as criticizing the omissions in the sample studied, local scientists ______ some of the
health evidence.
A. paid homage to B. paid tribute to C. took issue with D. made amends for
12. I was enjoying a lazy Sunday so my spirits ______ when I saw Aunt Agnes heading up the path.
A. shriveled B. plummeted C. declined D. dwindled
13. My brother can be unreliable at times but when it ______, I know I can depend on him to help me.
A. comes to a crunch B. toes the line
C. goes off the rails D. runs its course
14. Most people are ______ to believe that girls and boys play certain toys when they are young.
A. hardened B. accustomed C. conditioned D. acclimatized
15. There is always a ______ of journalists waiting for the actors and actresses when they arrive at
the event.
A. mob B. gaggle C. clique D. legion
16. Even if the authorities want to develop this area, it is unjustifiable that they ______ over the
concerns of the local community.
A. lock horns B. pour cold water C. dig dirt D. ride roughshod
17. After winning the lottery, they moved into a more ______ house in a high-class residential area
and had a more comfortable life.
A. well-attended B. well-built C. well-appointed D. well-disposed

-Page 3 of 16 pages-
18. In the end, it ______ that the champion didn’t get the prize by himself but thanks to his intimate
relationship with the judge panel.
A. befell B. transpired C. issued D. occurred
19. The engineer ______ the machine with a hammer and, miraculously, it roared back to life.
A. slapped B. smacked C. whacked D. punched
20. Jamie went tearing down the road as fast as his legs would ______ him.
A. bring B. support C. carry D. transport
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

Part 2: Write the correct form of each bracketed word in the numbered space provided.
1. She drives a ______________________ old Mini. I guess it’s time she traded it for a new one.
(CLAP)
2. There are too many risks ____________________ on such a large investment of money.
(ATTEND)
3. The company has a ___________________________ right to the software, so other rivals are not
legally allowed to use it. (PROPERTY)
4. These yoga postures are ______________________ and good for your mind, though they do not
require much energy. (VIGOR)
5. Having been secretly informed of the result, he raised his eyebrows with an
_________________________ of surprise. (AFFECT)
6. The room was full of portraits of long-dead ancestors whose eyes followed her
_____________________. (NERVE)
7. Commercial whaling has been _______________________ by international agreement. (LAW)
8. Disaster response teams are completing an __________________ of damaged facilities. (INVENT)
9. After exchanging the usual __________________, they got down to serious discussion. (PLEASE)
10. For a busy working mother like Jane, the holiday was sheer ______________________ pleasure.
(ADULT)
III. READING (6.0 points)
Part 1: Read the following passage and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.
Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes.
Rubik's Cube
One of the most recognisable fad icons of the 1980s has to be Rubik's cube - a three-
dimensional toy made up of twenty-six smaller interconnecting cubes, which can be rotated either
vertically or horizontally to form 'faces' of six different colours. The cube was invented in the mid -
1970s by Erno Rubik, a Hungarian engineer fascinated by geometrical (1) ___ although it wasn't until
the end of the decade that people began to show an interest in the toy. Then suddenly, almost
overnight, the craze went international. Demand for the cubes soon far (2) ___ the original production
order of one million and pirated versions (3) ___ the market. It is estimated that over 100 million
cubes had been sold by the end of 1982.
It has been calculated that Rubik's cube has over forty-three quintillion (that's 43 followed by
18 zeros) (4) ___, only one of which will result in the cube displaying all six sides with the same
colour. The official record for the fastest (5) ___ belongs to a Japanese student who completed it in
just under fifteen seconds.

-Page 4 of 16 pages-
1. A. conundrums B. enigmas C. riddles D. puzzles
2. A. expanded B. extended C. exceeded D. excelled
3. A. drowned B. flooded C. washed D. soaked
4. A. permutations B. transformations C. incarnations D. conversions
5. A. undoing B. unraveling C. unscrambling D. unwinding
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Part 2: Fill each of the following numbered blanks with ONE suitable word. Write your answers
in the space provided.
Olfaction
In spite of its importance to our emotional and sensory lives, smell is probably the most
undervalued sense in many cultures. The reason often given for the low (1) ____________ in which
smell is held is that, in comparison with its importance among animals, the human sense of smell is
feeble and undeveloped. While it is true that the olfactory powers of humans are (2) ______________
like as fine as those possessed by certain animals, they are still remarkably acute. Our noses are able
to recognise thousands of smells, and to perceive odours which are (3) _______________ only in
extremely small quantities.
Smell, however, is a highly (4) ______________ phenomenon. Odours, unlike colours, for
instance, cannot be named in many languages because the specific (5) ____________________
simply doesn’t exist. ‘It smells like ...,’ we have to say when describing an odour, struggling to express
our olfactory (6) __________________. Nor can odours be (7) _________________: there is no
effective way to (8) ____________ capture or store them over time. In the realm of olfaction, we must
make (9) _________ with descriptions and recollections. This has (10) ____________________ for
olfactory research.

Part 3: Read the following passage and do the tasks that follow.
ROBOTS
Since the dawn of human ingenuity, people have devised ever more cunning tools to cope
with work that is dangerous, boring, onerous, or just plain nasty. That compulsion has
culminated in robotics - the science of conferring various human capabilities on machines
A. The modern world is increasingly populated by quasi-intelligent gizmos whose presence we barely
notice but whose creeping ubiquity has removed much human drudgery. Our factories hum to the
rhythm of robot assembly arms. Our banking is done at automated teller terminals that thank us with
rote politeness for the transaction. Our subway trains are controlled by tireless robo-drivers. Our mine
shafts are dug by automated moles, and our nuclear accidents - such as those at Three Mile Island
and Chernobyl - are cleaned up by robotic muckers fit to withstand radiation.
Such is the scope of uses envisioned by Karel Capek, the Czech playwright who coined the term
‘robot’ in 1920 (the word ‘robota’ means ‘forced labor’ in Czech). As progress accelerates, the
experimental becomes the exploitable at record pace.
B. Other innovations promise to extend the abilities of human operators. Thanks to the incessant
miniaturisation of electronics and micromechanics, there are already robot systems that can perform
some kinds of brain and bone surgery with submillimeter accuracy - far greater precision than highly
skilled physicians can achieve with their hands alone. At the same time, techniques of long-distance
control will keep people even farther from hazard. In 1994 a ten- foot-tall NASA robotic explorer called
Dante, with video-camera eyes and with spiderlike legs, scrambled over the menacing rim of an
Alaskan volcano while technicians 2,000 miles away in California watched the scene by satellite and
controlled Dante’s descent.
C. But if robots are to reach the next stage of labour-saving utility, they will have to operate with less
human supervision and be able to make at least a few decisions for themselves - goals that pose a
formidable challenge. ‘While we know how to tell a robot to handle a specific error,’ says one expert,
‘we can’t yet give a robot enough common sense to reliably interact with a dynamic world.’ Indeed the
quest for true artificial intelligence (Al) has produced very mixed results. Despite a spasm of initial
optimism in the 1960s and 1970s, when it appeared that transistor circuits and microprocessors might

-Page 5 of 16 pages-
be able to perform in the same way as the human brain by the 21st century, researchers lately have
extended their forecasts by decades if not centuries.
D. What they found, in attempting to model thought, is that the human brain’s roughly one hundred
billion neurons are much more talented - and human perception far more complicated - than
previously imagined. They have built robots that can recognise the misalignment of a machine panel
by a fraction of a millimeter in a controlled factory environment. But the human mind can glimpse a
rapidly changing scene and immediately disregard the 98 per cent that is irrelevant, instantaneously
focusing on the woodchuck at the side of a winding forest road or the single suspicious face in a
tumultuous crowd. The most advanced computer systems on Earth can’t approach that kind of ability,
and neuroscientists still don’t know quite how we do it.
E. Nonetheless, as information theorists, neuroscientists, and computer experts pool their talents,
they are finding ways to get some lifelike intelligence from robots. One method renounces the linear,
logical structure of conventional electronic circuits in favour of the messy, ad hoc arrangement of a
real brain’s neurons. These ‘neural networks’ do not have to be programmed. They can ‘teach’
themselves by a system of feedback signals that reinforce electrical pathways that produced correct
responses and, conversely, wipe out connections that produced errors. Eventually the net wires itself
into a system that can pronounce certain words or distinguish certain shapes.
F. In other areas researchers are struggling to fashion a more natural relationship between people
and robots in the expectation that someday machines will take on some tasks now done by humans
in, say, nursing homes. This is particularly important in Japan, where the percentage of elderly
citizens is rapidly increasing. So experiments at the Science University of Tokyo have created a ‘face
robot’ - a life-size, soft plastic model of a female head with a video camera imbedded in the left eye -
as a prototype. The researchers’ goal is to create robots that people feel comfortable around. They
are concentrating on the face because they believe facial expressions are the most important way to
transfer emotional messages. We read those messages by interpreting expressions to decide
whether a person is happy, frightened, angry, or nervous. Thus the Japanese robot is designed to
detect emotions in the person it is ‘looking at’ by sensing changes in the spatial arrangement of the
person’s eyes, nose, eyebrows, and mouth. It compares those configurations with a database of
standard facial expressions and guesses the emotion. The robot then uses an ensemble of tiny
pressure pads to adjust its plastic face into an appropriate emotional response.
G. Other labs are taking a different approach, one that doesn’t try to mimic human intelligence or
emotions. Just as computer design has moved away from one central mainframe in favour of myriad
individual workstations - and single processors have been replaced by arrays of smaller units that
break a big problem into parts that are solved simultaneously - many experts are now investigating
whether swarms of semi-smart robots can generate a collective intelligence that is greater than the
sum of its parts. That’s what beehives and ant colonies do, and several teams are betting that legions
of mini-critters working together like an ant colony could be sent to explore the climate of planets or to
inspect pipes in dangerous industrial situations.
Questions 1-7
The above Reading Passage has seven paragraphs A-G. From the list of headings below choose the
most suitable heading for each paragraph. Write the appropriate numbers (i-x) in boxes 1-7.
List of headings
i Some success has resulted from observing how the brain functions.
ii Are we expecting too much from one robot?
iii Scientists are examining the humanistic possibilities.
iv There are judgments that robots cannot make.
v Has the power of robots become too great?
vi Human skills have been heightened with the help of robotics.
vii There are some things we prefer the brain to control.
viii Robots have quietly infiltrated our lives.
ix Original predictions have been revised.
x Another approach meets the same result.

1. Paragraph A 2. Paragraph B 3. Paragraph C

4. Paragraph D 5. Paragraph E 6. Paragraph F 7. Paragraph G

-Page 6 of 16 pages-
Questions 8-12
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Reading Passage? In boxes 8-12,
write
YES if the statement agrees with the information
NO if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this in the passage
8. Karel Capek successfully predicted our current uses for robots.
9. Lives were saved by the NASA robot, Dante.
10. Robots are able to make fine visual judgments.
11. The internal workings of the brain can be replicated by robots.
12. The Japanese have the most advanced robot systems.

Questions 13-15
Complete the summary below with words taken from paragraph F. Use NO MORE THAN THREE
WORDS for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 13-15.
The prototype of the Japanese ‘face robot’ observes humans through a ... 13 ... which is planted in its
head. It then refers to a ... 14 ... of typical ‘looks’ that the human face can have, to decide what
emotion the person is feeling. To respond to this expression, the robot alters its own expression using
a number of... 15 ... .

Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

Part 4: In the passage below, seven paragraphs have been removed. Choose from paragraphs
A-H the one which fits each gap 1-7. There is ONE extra paragraph which you do not need to
use. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
Ban the bag
Once upon a time, if you went to the market, you would have to take a basket with you to bring your
groceries back home. That basket would probably have been made from reed, willow or raffia, and
you’d almost certainly use it until it finally fell apart, years after it had been made.
1.
Things changed in the middle of the nineteenth century with the invention of the paper bag, which was
later developed with handles to make it easier to carry. And once supermarket shopping took off after
World War II, the paper bag became ubiquitous, especially in the United States once people began to
drive to the shops.
2.
Then, in the 1960s, Sten Gustaf Thulin, a Swedish engineer working for a plastics company in his
native country, invented the plastic bag as we know it today. It seemed like a brilliant solution: plastic
bags were much cheaper to produce, used almost four times less energy and 20 times less water to
manufacture, were stronger, could be reused, and out-performed paper bags in every way. Except in
one crucial respect: they are almost indestructible. Long after they’ve lost their usefulness, they
persist in the environment, doing the terrible damage we can see in our world today.
3.
They ruin the countryside, blowing all over fields and forests, then, once ripped to shreds by wind and
rain, they end up in waterways, or block drainage pipes and increase the danger of floods. They
destroy wildlife not only on land but in our oceans too. Turtles, for example, mistake the bags for their
favourite food; jellyfish. In India, cows eat them by mistake while scavenging for food in rubbish tips.
Once ingested, the bags can end up blocking breathing passages and the stomach, eventually
causing death. Thousands of animals die because of plastic bags every year and some species are
even being brought to the brink of extinction.
4.

-Page 7 of 16 pages-
Instead of a ban, other countries, including the UK, have introduced a fee for plastic bags. So when
you go to the supermarket in the UK, for example, and you’ve forgotten to take a bag with you, you
have to buy a thin plastic bag for 5p, or a ‘bag for life’, which is a thicker, more durable plastic bag, for
10p or 15p. This dramatically reduced the use of plastic bags by up to 85 per cent in the UK in its first
year.
5.
The problem with oxo biodegradable plastic bags is that although they do biodegrade, thanks to the
addition of small concentrations of additives such as metal salts, they need to be left out in the open,
exposed to heat or light, in order to decompose. If they are buried under landfill, they will stay as they
are. The results have not been as promising as hoped. Studies of one particular brand have shown
that cold weather and rain virtually stop the process, making it less useful in the UK, where winters
are long and rainfall is high.
6.
Envigreen’s carrier bags look exactly like plastic bags, but there the difference ends. They are made
from various natural ingredients including tapioca, potatoes, corn, vegetable oil and bananas. What
they don’t include is any of the ingredients that make plastics, like polyethylene or other petrochemical
derivatives. The resulting bags are easily destroyed – you can burn them safely, you can dissolve
them in boiling water and you can even eat them with no ill effects. This means that they will not harm
an animal if it accidentally eats one.
The bags are available in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, and Envigreen will start selling them in India in the
near future. It is also receiving orders from international companies around the world. Ashwath’s
dream is to create a global brand and to begin to address the massive problem of plastic waste in
India, where 15,000 tonnes of plastic are generated daily and only 9,000 tonnes collected. The rest is
polluting cities, countryside, rivers and oceans.
7.
Nevertheless, it would be rash to tar all plastics with the same brush. We mustn’t forget that plastics
have improved our lives immeasurably with products such as disposable syringes, protective gloves
and artificial limbs, to name just a few. Equally, the use of plastics instead of metals has had many
advantages: plastic doesn’t corrode, it is lighter than metal, which can translate into energy savings
when it comes to transportation, and it is cheaper too. It is clear that we can’t do without plastic, but
we can and must do without plastic bags.
MISSING PARAGRAPHS
A. Fortunately, the problem is being addressed as governments and the public become more aware
of just how damaging the plastic bag can be. Many countries have followed the example of
Bangladesh, which was the first country in the world to ban thinner plastic bags, which had been
found to aggravate flooding by blocking drainage systems, thus causing untold devastation.
B. There is no doubt that plastic in all its forms is extremely challenging when it comes to its disposal.
Plastic bags in particular, which are so easily substituted with other types of bags, should become a
shameful memory, and one which our grandchildren will find hard to understand.
C. Despite this threat to the environment, by the 1980s, shops and supermarkets all over the world
were using plastic instead of paper bags. The general public had little idea of the damage that was
being done by this seemingly harmless and useful little bag. We now know plastic bags can cause
devastation on a previously unimagined scale; not only by creating litter everywhere, but by
endangering wildlife as well.
D. The oxo biodegradable plastic bag is being used widely in many countries around the world.
However, the capacity of the bags to biodegrade depends on too many conditions to make it a
practical choice. They won’t biodegrade in wet or cold weather, or if buried under a pile of rubbish. As
a result, they are not seen as a truly practical solution to the problem.
E. Now, however, there has been a development which has the potential to finally solve the problem
for good. It is the brainchild of 24-year-old Bengalurean Ashwath Hegde, whose company, Envigreen,
has started manufacturing carrier bags that are 100 per cent biodegradable: they are just as strong as
ordinary plastic bags, but completely harmless to the environment.
F. However, there were considerable environmental costs in the production of paper bags, not least
the mass felling of trees and the amount of energy and water needed to produce the bags. They were
easily broken and few people were likely to recycle them.

-Page 8 of 16 pages-
G. Another proposed solution, with mixed results, has been the introduction of the oxo biodegradable
plastic bag, which, it is claimed, biodegrades much faster than ordinary plastic bags, which can take
decades, if not hundreds of years, to degrade completely.
H. If you went out shopping for clothes or shoes, you would probably bring back your new purchases
wrapped in paper or cloth, in a cardboard box or even in a cloth bag. And if you were very rich, you
would have had everything delivered to your house.
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Part 5: Read the passage and choose the answer that fits best according to the text. Write your
answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
CHINESE POTTERY
China has one of the world’s oldest continuous civilizations—despite invasions and occasional
foreign rule. A country as vast as China with so long-lasting a civilization has a complex social and
visual history, within which pottery and porcelain play a major role.
The function and status of ceramics in China varied from dynasty to dynasty, so they may be
utilitarian, burial, trade, collectors’, or even ritual objects, according to their quality and the era in
which they were made. The ceramics fall into three broad types—earthenware, stoneware, and
porcelain—for vessels, architectural items such as roof tiles, and modeled objects and figures. In
addition, there was an important group of sculptures made for religious use, the majority of which
were produced in earthenware.
The earliest ceramics were fired to earthenware temperatures, but as early as the fifteenth
century B.C., high-temperature stonewares were being made with glazed surfaces. During the Six
Dynasties period (A.D. 265-589), kilns in north China were producing high-fired ceramics of good
quality. Whitewares produced in Hebei and Henan provinces from the seventh to the tenth centuries
evolved into the highly prized porcelains of the Song dynasty (A.D. 960-1279), long regarded as one
of the high points in the history of China’s ceramic industry. The tradition of religious sculpture
extends over most historical periods but is less clearly delineated than that of stonewares or
porcelains, for it embraces the old custom of earthenware burial ceramics with later religious
images and architectural ornament. Ceramic products also include lead-glazed tomb models of the
Han dynasty, three-color lead-glazed vessels and figures of the Tang dynasty, and Ming three-color
temple ornaments, in which the motifs were outlined in a raised trail of slip, as well as the many burial
ceramics produced in imitation of vessels made in materials of higher intrinsic value.
Trade between the West and the settled and prosperous Chinese dynasties introduced new
forms and different technologies. One of the most far-reaching examples is the impact of the fine
ninth-century A.D. Chinese porcelain wares imported into the Arab world. [A] So admired were these
pieces that they encouraged the development of earthenware made in imitation of porcelain and
instigated research into the method of their manufacture. [B] From the Middle East the Chinese
acquired a blue pigment—a purified form of cobalt oxide unobtainable at that time in China—that
contained only a low level of manganese. Cobalt ores found in China have a high manganese
content, which produces a more muted blue-gray color. [C] In the seventeenth century, the trading
activities of the Dutch East India Company resulted in vast quantities of decorated Chinese porcelain
being brought to Europe, which stimulated and influenced the work of a wide variety of wares, notably
Delft. [D] The Chinese themselves adapted many specific vessel forms from the West, such as
bottles with long spouts, and designed a range of decorative patterns especially for the European
market.
Just as painted designs on Greek pots may seem today to be purely decorative, whereas in
fact they were carefully and precisely worked out so that at the time, their meaning was clear, so it is
with Chinese pots. To twentieth-century eyes, Chinese pottery may appear merely decorative, yet to
the Chinese the form of each object and its adornment had meaning and significance. The dragon
represented the emperor, and the phoenix, the empress; the pomegranate indicated fertility, and a
pair of fish, happiness; mandarin ducks stood for wedded bliss; the pine tree, peach, and crane are
emblems of long life; and fish leaping from waves indicated success in the civil service examinations.

-Page 9 of 16 pages-
Only when European decorative themes were introduced did these meanings become obscured or
even lost.
From early times pots were used in both religious and secular contexts. The imperial court
commissioned work and in the Yuan dynasty (A.D. 1279-1368) an imperial ceramic factory was
established at Jingdezhen. Pots played an important part in some religious ceremonies. Long and
often lyrical descriptions of the different types of ware exist that assist in classifying pots, although
these sometimes confuse an already large and complicated picture.

1. According to paragraph 2, which of the following is true of Chinese ceramics?

A. The function of ceramics remained the same from dynasty to dynasty.
B. The use of ceramics as trade objects is better documented than the use of ceramics as ritual
objects.
C. There was little variation in quality for any type of ceramics over time.
D. Some religious sculptures were made using the earthenware type of ceramics.
2. The word “evolved” in the passage is closest in meaning to
A. divided B. extended C. developed D. vanished
3. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence
in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential
information.
A. While stonewares and porcelains are found throughout most historical periods, religious sculpture
is limited to the ancient period.
B. Religious sculpture was created in most periods, but its history is less clear than that of stonewares
or porcelains because some old forms continued to be used even when new ones were developed.
C. While stonewares and porcelains changed throughout history, religious sculpture remained uniform
in form and use.
D. The historical development of religious sculpture is relatively unclear because religious sculptures
sometimes resemble earthenware architectural ornaments.
4. Paragraph 3 supports all of the following concerning the history of the ceramic industry in China
EXCEPT:
A. The earliest high-fired ceramics were of poor quality.
B. Ceramics produced during the Tang and Ming dynasties sometimes incorporated multiple colors.
C. Earthenware ceramics were produced in China before stonewares were.
D. The Song dynasty period was notable for the production of high-quality porcelain ceramics.
5. The word “instigated” in the passage is closest in meaning to
A. improved B. investigated C. narrowed D. caused
6. According to paragraph 4, one consequence of the trade of Chinese ceramics was
A. the transfer of a distinctive blue pigment from China to the Middle East.
B. an immediate change from earthenware production to porcelain production in European countries.
C. Chinese production of wares made for the European market.
D. a decreased number of porcelain vessels available on the European market.
7. In paragraph 5, the author compares the designs on Chinese pots to those on Greek pots in order
to
A. emphasize that while Chinese pots were decorative, Greek pots were functional.
B. argue that the designs on Chinese pots had specific meanings and were not just decorative.
C. argue that twentieth-century scholars are better able to understand these designs than were
ancient scholars.
D. explain how scholars have identified the meaning of specific images on Chinese pots.
8. Which of the following is mentioned in paragraph 5 as being symbolically represented on Chinese
ceramics?
A. Chinese rulers B. love of homeland C. loyalty to friends D. success in trade
9. Paragraph 5 suggests which of the following about the decorations on Chinese pottery?
A. They had more importance for aristocrats than for ordinary citizens.
B. Their significance may have remained clear had the Chinese not come under foreign influence.
C. They contain some of the same images that appear on Greek pots.
D. Their significance is now as clear to twentieth-century observers as it was to the early Chinese.

-Page 10 of 16 pages-
10. Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence can be added to the
passage.
Foreign trade was also responsible for certain innovations in coloring.
Where would the sentence best fit?
[A] [B] [C] [D]
11-13. 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. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas
that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage.
Ceramics have been produced in China for a very long time.
Answer Choices
A. The Chinese produced earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain pottery, and they used their
ceramics for a variety of utilitarian, architectural, and ceremonial purposes.
B. The shape and decoration of ceramics produced for religious use in China were influenced by
Chinese ceramics produced for export.
C. As a result of trade relations, Chinese ceramic production changed, and Chinese ceramics
influenced the ceramic production of other countries.
D. Chinese burial ceramics have the longest and most varied history of production and were
frequently decorated with written texts that help scholars date them.
E. Before China had contact with the West, the meaning of various designs used to decorate Chinese
ceramics was well understood.
F. Ceramics made in imperial factories were used in both religious and non-religious contexts.
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
11. 12. 13.

Part 6: For questions 1-10, answer by choosing from the sections A-E. Some of the choices
may be required more than once. Write your answers in the space provided in the column on
the right.
The Future of Interior Design
Five designers talk about the changes they see on the horizon
A. Antonio Maroles
I’m optimistic about the future, actually, because no industry gets the luxury of staying the same
forever, otherwise innovation never happens. For me, much of what is changing is exciting, especially
how technology will open up the sector to more people. Interior design used to only be accessible by
a select few, whereas now it's much more egalitarian and affordable, and this will bring opportunities
for designers everywhere. Apps that allow customers to visualise designs and ‘walk through’ 3D
rooms are going to revolutionise how we do things, and customers will also be able to recruit
designers from anywhere in the world. All this would have been unthinkable a decade ago when all
these image apps didn’t exist, but they’ve really opened up the possibilities to interact with clients and
increase that level of personalised service. And this gives designers far more scope to develop their
own personal style, too. Years ago, everyone tended to follow the same trends promoted in
magazines and by fabric or wallpaper companies, but that approach is dead now that anyone can
create their own distinctive style, whichever walk of life they come from, and I’m fully behind it.
B. Jeannette Harrison
So many interior designers are panicking that technology is going to put them out of a job in the next
few years, but I find all this gloomy talk quite depressing and quite unlikely in the foreseeable future.
The latest market analysis is not telling us that people want their homes to go high-tech anytime soon.
In fact, quite the opposite seems to be true if you look carefully at the research. There are real
concerns around privacy connected to smart technology in our homes, so in my view the fear of
technology is leading the profession up a blind alley. What people are looking for, however, is
individuality, both at the high end of the market and the new middle-class customers who can afford to
design their homes more to their own tastes due to a wider range of prices. I am slightly concerned
about the impact on less technologically minded designers because, although it’s not going to take
over our jobs, clients will start to expect a basic level of proficiency with design apps.

-Page 11 of 16 pages-
C. Bobbi Zarkowksi
As far as I’m concerned, there’s no point in trying to predict the outcomes of this period of change with
any certainty. There are all sorts of people saying that the end is in sight for interior designers
because consumers can do everything themselves online, but this is an oversimplification of the
situation. There are considerable similarities to what went on in the travel sector, so we would do well
to analyse the impact of the internet to analyse the impact of the internet for them before wringing our
hands in despair. Of course, the internet democratised travel for the masses, but parts of that meant
that the type of customer changed significantly. Likewise, interior design has always been seen as a
luxury for the wealthy, but not anymore. Whatever the effects over the coming decade there will be
winners and losers, and those who survive will harness the internet to their advantage instead of
railing against it.
D. Martina Davis
I’m really hoping that the future heralds a return to creativity after this horrible period, which I
affectionately call the beige stage. I understand that it's important for more people to have access to
interior design because increased access reflects a society that has improved living conditions for its
citizens. But these people should also be given choice and creativity too, and, unfortunately, what I
see around me nowadays is somewhat of a paradox; people have a desire to express their
individuality at home in the same way they do through fashion, but this self-expression is often
identical. The retail landscape is entirely uninspiring, and I hope the next few years will see a return to
innovation and creativity in both customers and designers. I am worried that this will be at odds with
sustainability, though, which I wholeheartedly believe must be at the heart of what interior design
represents going forward. Cheap furniture from unsustainable wood sources is not the solution, so
we’ve got to try to merge creativity, sustainability and affordability, which is going to be quite a
challenge.
E. Francesca Cheng
My approach towards design has always drawn on traditional imagery that encapsulates the idea of
nature and then applying this inside the home, and this to me is where the future lies because
consumers are much more concerned with sustainability now. Based on this I can see interior design
having a period of re-evaluation that will likely result in rejecting certain materials or production
practices and focusing on innovative ways to be sustainable and stylish together. I predict a lot more
design that tries to enhance wellbeing, such as using plants for internal walls or LED lights that use a
fraction of the electricity used by other light bulbs. I also think that there’ll have to be a lot more
collaboration between interior designers and engineers in order to turn these ideas into actual objects
or materials that function well at the same time as looking attractive.

Your answers:
Which person
suggests that interior designers could upskill themselves to meet customer expectations? 1.
is not convinced that it is worth speculating on the future of interior design? 2.
supports the movement of interior design towards a wider customer base? 3.
thinks that there is a connection between interior design and social mobility? 4.
is disappointed that interior design has become bland for everyone involved? 5.
believes technology will completely transform the industry? 6.
suggests that interior design will become more environmentally friendly? 7.
believes that the future of interior design will be comparable to changes in another 8.
industry?
predicts that designers will work alongside other professionals to create the interiors of the 9.
future?
says that there is little evidence that technology will replace interior designers? 10.

-Page 12 of 16 pages-
IV. WRITING (6.0 points)
Part 1: Read the following extract and use your own words to summarize it. You MUST NOT
copy or rewrite the original. Your summary should be between 120 and 140 words long.
Over the past one and a half centuries, photography has been used to record all aspects of
human life and activity. During this relatively short history, the medium has expanded its capabilities in
the recording of time and space, thus allowing human vision to be able to view the fleeting moment or
to visualise both the vast and the minuscule. It has brought us images from remote areas of the world,
distant parts of the solar system, as well as the social complexities and crises of modern life. Indeed,
the photographic medium has provided one of the most important and influential means of capturing
the essence of our being alive.
Throughout the history of visual representation, questions have been raised concerning the
supposed accuracy (or otherwise) of visual images, as well as their status in society. The popular
notion that ‘seeing is believing’ had always afforded special status to the visual image. So when the
technology was invented, in the form of photography, the social and cultural impact was immense.
Not only did it hold out the promise of providing a record of vision, but it had the capacity to make
such representation enduring.
In the mid-nineteenth century, the invention of photography appeared to offer the promise of
‘automatically' providing an accurate visual record. Because of the camera's perceived realism in its
ability to replicate visual perception, it was assumed that all peoples would ‘naturally’ be able to
understand photographs. This gave rise to the question of whether photography constituted a
‘universal language’. For example, a photograph of the heavens, whether it showed the sun and
moon or the constellations, would immediately be understood in any part of the world.
There are other questions that arise concerning the role of photography in society that have
aimed to determine whether the camera operates as a mute, passive recorder of what is happening or
whether it possesses the voice and power to instigate social change. We may further speculate
whether the camera provides images that have a truly educational function or if it operates primarily
as a source of amusement. In provoking such issues, the photographic debate reflects polarised
arguments that traditionally have characterised much intellectual thought.

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-Page 13 of 16 pages-
Part 2: The table gives information about five types of vehicles registered in Australia in 2010,
2012 and 2014.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant. You should write about 150 words.

Types of vehicles 2010 2012 2014 % change

(from 2010 to 2014)

Passenger vehicles 11,800,000 12,700,000 13,000,000 +10.2%

Commercial vehicles 2,300,000 2,600,000 2,700,000 +17.4%
Motorcycles 540,000 680,000 709,000 +30.8%
Heavy trucks 384,000 390,000 416,000 +8.3%
Light trucks 106,000 124,000 131,000 +23.5%

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-Page 14 of 16 pages-
Part 3: Write an essay of about 350 words on the following topic.
Technology can be a threat to the survival of a language, but it can also serve as a powerful tool to
preserve, even restore languages.
Discuss the statement and give your personal opinions.

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-The end-

-Page 16 of 16 pages-