READING PRACTICE TESTS

VOL.1
D: Lớp 11 – HSG 11
Practice Test 1 - Ninh Bình
III: Read the following passage and choose the best answer. Write your answers in the corresponding
numbered boxes. (15pts)
The United States government is currently taking a serious look at the moon and Mars as
potential places for future human settlement for a number of reasons. First, they could be a future source
of natural resources desperately needed on the Earth. Second, the moon could serve as a training ground
or a kind of stepping stone for later journeys to Mars. Therefore, the moon is already on NASA’s docket
for further exploration within the next couple of decades, which, at least to some experts, is completely
unnecessary mainly due to the needless risks involved.
Mars looming as the eventual long-term goal, serious questions exist as to whether the dangers
and difficulties of a lunar settlement are too extreme and unnecessary. The moon’s relatively harsh
environment and the greater potential of natural resources on Mars are major reasons that make lunar
settlements too great a liability and why the moon should be bypassed.
One major reason a lunar settlement is too hazardous is the contrast between the environment of
the moon and the red planet. Numerous scientists believe the moon is too difficult for human settlement
as compared to Mars. The fact that the moon has no atmosphere poses the greatest threat to human
beings. Atmosphere is crucial because it protects humans and all other life from continuous bombardment
cosmic radiation caused by sources such as the sun. This radiation is especially dangerous to humans
because it increases the risk of cancer and can negatively alter and mutate DNA. On the other hand, while
Mars’s atmosphere is significantly thinner than the Earth’s, at least it has one and would create some sort
of protective barrier for humans.
Another important characteristic necessary for sustainable human settlement is water, of which
the moon is believed to have none. If lunar settlements are to be successful, water will be a key
component and must be brought with the colonists and continually supplied by further expeditions from
the Earth, which means they will have a limited capacity of it. Conversely, Mars contains vast quantities
of water ice, dry ice, and also snow. There is also ample evidence that water once existed at the surface of
Mars and might return in the future if the planet warms.
With increased technological advances in conversion capabilities, the potential for settlers to
remain on Mars indefinitely by being increasingly self – sufficient makes Mars a much more attractive
goal as a space colony than the moon.
 Future colonists will not only benefit from potential water sources on Mars; the planet is also rich
in other basic elements vital to sustained life. These resources include nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen.
Mars also contains many minerals that contain iron, silicon, and magnesium, which can be used in
productive ways. For example, silicon can be used to make solar cells to store energy and create
electricity. Hydrogen can be extracted from water sources and used as fuel. Moreover, it can be combined
with nitrogen to form fertilizing materials necessary to a sustainable colony. Due to these factors, Mars
would be a more successful candidate for exploration and settlement because it contains the basic
resources necessary for humans to survive more independently of aid from the Earth than they would on
the moon.
Clearly, any future settlements on Mars or the moon will be monumental efforts for the space
agencies and astronauts involved. The expenses incurred will be extreme and are a further reason why
plans and implementation should focus on the project, which has the greater potential of long-term
success. While the moon may serve as a temporary training ground for Mars, it could end up becoming a
major diversion from Mars and place humans in too great a risk with too little benefit. Because the
environment of Mars is more similar to that of Earth and it contains important resources necessary to
sustain life, it should be the one and only option for any kind of long-term human settlement.
Furthermore, the moon has been eclipsed by mankind, and it is only natural that Mars be the next step for
space exploration. Finally, the habitation of Mars would not only be a milestone in space but also an
excellent opportunity for mankind to redeem itself from past exploits on the Earth and preserve and make
the best use of the natural resources Mars has to offer.
1: According to paragraph 1, all of the following statements are true EXCEPT_______.
A. Space settlement could supplement natural resources for the Earth.
B. The moon could be used as a practice arena for Mars exploration.
C. The exploration of the moon might pose threats to humankind.
D. NASA ignores the exploration for the moon due to the risks involved.
2: The word “looming” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to _______.
A. expanding B. Competing C. waiting D. emerging.
3: The author discusses “environment” in paragraph 3 in order to _______.
A. express the notion that Mars poses less life-threatening hazards than the moon
B. indicate that lunar settlements are futile because the moon has no atmosphere
C. propose that cosmic radiation would have little effect on the lunar colonists
D. justify why the moon is a more practical place than Mars for human settlement
4: The word “it” in paragraph 3 refers to _______.
A. life B. radiation C. atmosphere D. bombardment
5: According to paragraph 3, the atmosphere on Mars would ______.
A. cause humans to be more openly exposed to potentially fatal illnesses
B. change the genetic makeup of humans and cause their DNA to change and mutate
C. give human colonists a safety shield against dangerous cosmic effects
D. protect humans completely from harmful cosmic radiation coming from space
6: The word “sustainable” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. verifiable B. unexceptional C. insatiable D. endurable
7: What can be inferred about water sources on Mars?
A. They are not present at the moment though they probably once were.
B. They will be easily converted into liquid forms necessary for life.
C. They exist in liquid form below the surface and ice at the immediate surface.
D. They are not known to be present in a fluid state above or below the surface.
8: According to paragraph 6, what is TRUE about the mineral content of Mars?
A. Their levels do not reach the magnitude of those found on the moon.
B. Some will help future colonists create their own sources of energy.
C. Most are in their rawest forms and cannot be utilized completely.
D. The planet lacks the fundamental elements of carbon and nitrogen.
9: What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Scientists’ strenuous efforts to renovate other planets for human life.
B. Scientists’ plans to exploit resources on other planets to support the Earth.
C. The possibility of settlement on Mars is greater than that on the moon.
D. Further exploration of the moon is unnecessary in the next two decades.
10: The word “fertilizing” in paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to _______.
A. saturating B. nourishing C. suffocating D. Exhausting
Your answer:
1 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Part 4: Read the passage and complete the tasks below. (15pts)
The effects of light on plant and animal species
Light is important to organisms for two different reasons. Firstly it is used as a cue for the timing
of daily and seasonal rhythms in both plants and animals, and secondly it is used to assist growth in
plants.
Breeding in most organisms occurs during a part of the year only, and so a reliable cue is needed
to trigger breeding behaviour. Day length is an excellent cue, because it provides a perfectly predictable
pattern of change within the year. In the temperate zone in spring, temperatures fluctuate greatly from day
to day, but day length increases steadily by a predictable amount. The seasonal impact of day length on
physiological responses is called photoperiodism, and the amount of experimental evidence for this
phenomenon is considerable. For example, some species of birds' breeding can be induced even in
midwinter simply by increasing day length artificially (Wolfson 1964). Other examples of
photoperiodism occur in plants. A short-day plant flowers when the day is less than a certain critical
length. A long-day plant flowers after a certain critical day length is exceeded. In both cases the critical
day length differs from species to species. Plant which flower after a period of vegetative growth,
regardless of photoperiod, are known as day-neutral plants.
Breeding seasons in animals such as birds have evolved to occupy the part of the year in which
offspring have the greatest chances of survival. Before the breeding season begins, food reserves must be
built up to support the energy cost of reproduction, and to provide for young birds both when they are in
the nest and after fledging. Thus many temperate-zone birds use the increasing day lengths in spring as a
cue to begin the nesting cycle, because this is a point when adequate food resources will be assured.
The adaptive significance of photoperiodism in plants is also clear. Short-day plants that flower in
spring in the temperate zone are adapted to maximising seedling growth during the growing season.
Long-day plants are adapted for situations that require fertilization by insects, or a long period of seed
ripening. Short-day plants that flower in the autumn in the temperate zone are able to build up food
reserves over the growing season and over winter as seeds. Day-neutral plants have an evolutionary
advantage when the connection between the favourable period for reproduction and day length is much
less certain. For example, desert annuals germinate, flower and seed whenever suitable rainfall occurs,
regardless of the day length.
The breeding season of some plants can be delayed to extraordinary lengths. Bamboos are
perennial grasses that remain in a vegetative state for many years and then suddenly flower, fruit and die
(Evans 1976). Every bamboo of the species Chusquea abietifolio on the island of Jamaica flowered, set
seed and died during 1884. The next generation of bamboo flowered and died between 1916 and 1918,
which suggests a vegetative cycle of about 31 years. The climatic trigger for this flowering cycle is not
yet known, but the adaptive significance is clear. The simultaneous production of masses of bamboo
seeds (in some cases lying 12 to 15 centimetres deep on the ground) is more than all the seed-eating
animals can cope with at the time, so that some seeds escape being eaten and grow up to form the next
generation (Evans 1976).
The second reason light is important to organisms is that it is essential for photosynthesis. This is
the process by which plants use energy from the sun to convert carbon from soil or water into organic
material for growth. The rate of photosynthesis in a plant can be measured by calculating the rate of its
uptake of carbon. There is a wide range of photosynthetic responses of plants to variations in light
intensity. Some plants reach maximal photosynthesis at one- quarter full sunlight, and others, like
sugarcane, never reach a maximum, but continue to increase photosynthesis rate as light intensity rises.
Plants in general can be divided into two groups: shade-tolerant species and shade-intolerant
species. This classification is commonly used in forestry and horticulture. Shade-tolerant plants have
lower photosynthetic rates and hence have lower growth rates than those of shade- intolerant species.
Plant species become adapted to living in a certain kind of habitat, and in the process evolve a series of
characteristics that prevent them from occupying other habitats. Grime (1966) suggests that light may be
one of the major components directing these adaptations. For example, eastern hemlock seedlings are
shade-tolerant. They can survive in the forest understorey under very low light levels because they have a
low photosynthetic rate.
Questions 1 - 5
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3?
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
1. There is plenty of scientific evidence to support photoperiodism.
2. Some types of bird can be encouraged to breed out of season.
3. Desert annuals are examples of long-day plants.
4. Bamboos flower several times during their life cycle.
5. Eastern hemlock is a fast-growing plant.
Questions 6 - 10
Complete the sentences.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
6. Day length is a useful cue for breeding in areas where ....................... are unpredictable.
7. Plants which do not respond to light levels are referred to as ....................... .
8. Plants that flower when days are long often depend on ....................... to help them
reproduce.
9. Desert annuals respond to ....................... as a signal for reproduction.
10. Tolerance to shade is one criterion for the ....................... of plants in forestry and Horticulture.
Your answer:
1 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Practice Test 2 –Vĩnh Phúc

III. Read the passage and choose the best options to answer the questions (500 words)

Part 4: Read the following passage and write the letter A, B, C, or D in the corresponding
numbered boxes to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 76 to 85. Write your
answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided (10 points).

The craft of perfumery has an ancient and global heritage. The art flourished in Ancient Rome,
where the emperors were said to bathe in scent. After the fall of Rome, much of the knowledge was lost,
but survived in Islamic civilizations in the Middle Ages. Arab and Persian pharmacists developed
essential oils from the aromatic plants of the Indian peninsula. They developed the processes of
distillation and suspension in alcohol, which allowed for smaller amounts of raw materials to be used than
in the ancient process, by which flower petals were soaked in warm oil. This knowledge was carried back
to European monasteries during the Crusades.
At first, the use of fragrances was primarily associated with healing. Aromatic alcoholic waters were
ingested as well as used externally. Fragrances were used to purify the air, both for spiritual and health
purposes. During the Black Death, the bubonic plague was thought to have resulted from a bad odor
which could be averted by inhaling pleasant fragrances such as cinnamon. The Black Death led to an
aversion to using water for washing, and so perfume was commonly used as a cleaning agent.
Later on, the craft of perfume re-entered Europe, and was centered in Venice, chiefly because it was an
important trade route and a center for glass-making. Having such materials at hand was essential for the
distillation process. In the late seventeenth century, trade soared in France, when Louis XIV brought in
policies of protectionism and patronage which stimulated the purchase of luxury goods. Here, perfumery
was the preserve of glove-makers. The link arose since the tanning of leather required putrid substances.
Consequently, the gloves were scented before they were sold and worn. A glove and perfume makers’
guild had existed here since 1190. Entering it required 7 years of formal training under a master
perfumer.
The trade in perfume flourished during the reign of Louis XV, as the master glove-and-perfume makers,
particularly those trading in Paris, received patronage from the royal court, where it is said that a different
perfume was used each week. The perfumers diversified into other cosmetics including soaps, powders,
white face paints and hair dyes. They were not the sole sellers of beauty products. Mercers, spicers,
vinegar-makers and wig-makers were all cashing in on the popularity of perfumed products. Even simple
shopkeepers were coming up with their own concoctions to sell.
During the eighteenth century, more modern, capitalist perfume industry began to emerge, particularly in
Britain where there was a flourishing consumer society. In France, the revolution initially disrupted the
perfume trade due to its association with aristocracy, however, it regained momentum later as a wider
range of markets were sought both in the domestic and overseas markets. The guild system was abolished
in 1791, allowing new high-end perfumery shops to open in Paris.
Perfume became less associated with health in 1810 with a Napoleonic ordinance which required
perfumers to declare the ingredients of all products for internal consumption. Unwilling to divulge their
secrets, traders concentrated on products for external use. Napoleon affected the industry in other ways
too. With French ports blockaded by the British during the Napoleonic wars, the London perfumers were
able to dominate the markets for some time.
One of the significant changes in the nineteenth century was the idea of branding. Until then, trademarks
had had little significance in the perfumery where goods were consumed locally, although they had a long
history in other industries. One of the pioneers in this field was Rimmel who was nationalized as a British
citizen in 1857. He took advantage of the spread of railroads to reach customers in wider markets. To do
this, he built a brand which conveyed prestige and quality, and were worth paying a premium for. He
recognized the role of design in enhancing the value of his products, hiring a French lithographer to create
the labels for his perfume bottles.
Luxury fragrances were strongly associated with the affluent and prestigious cities of London and Paris.
Perfumers elsewhere tended to supply cheaper products and knock-offs of the London and Paris brands.
The United States perfume industry, which developed around the docks in New York where French oils
were being imported, began in this way. Many American firms were founded by immigrants, such as
William Colgate, who arrived in 1806. At this time, Colgate was chiefly known as a perfumery. Its
Cashmere Bouquet brand had 625 perfume varieties in the early 20th century.
86. What is the purpose of the passage?

A. compare the perfumes from different countries

B. describe the history of perfume making

C. describe the problems faced by perfumers

D. explain the different uses of perfume over time

87. Which of the following is NOT true about perfume making in Islamic countries?

A. They created perfume by soaking flower petals in oil.

B. They dominated perfume making after the fall of the Roman Empire.

C. They took raw materials for their perfumes from India.

D. They created a technique which required fewer plant materials.

88. Why does the writer include this sentence “During the Black Death, the bubonic plague was
thought to have resulted from a bad odor which could be averted by inhaling pleasant fragrances
such as cinnamon.” in paragraph 2?
 A. To explain why washing was not popular during the Black Death

B. To show how improper use of perfume caused widespread disease

C. To illustrate how perfumes used to be ingested to treat disease

D. To give an example of how fragrances were used for health purposes

89. Why did the perfume industry develop in Paris?

A. Because it was an important trade route

B. Because of the rise in the glove-making industry

C. Because of the introduction of new trade laws

D. Because of a new fashion in scented gloves

90. The word ‘putrid’ in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to

A. bad-smelling B. rare C. prestigious D. numerous

91. In paragraph 4, it is implied that

A. Master glove and perfume makers created a new perfume each week.

B. Mercers, spicers and other traders began to call themselves masters.

C. The Royal Court only bought perfume from masters.

D. Cosmetics were still only popular within the Royal Courts.

92. How did the French Revolution affect the Parisian perfume industry?

A. The industry declined then rose again.

B. The industry collapsed and took a long time to recover.

C. The industry was greatly boosted.

D. The industry lost most of its overseas customers.

93. London came to lead the perfume industry because

A. the French Revolution meant that there were fewer customers in France.

B. Napoleon’s new laws affected the profitability of perfume-making.

C. the production of perfume ceased during the Napoleonic wars.

D. the French were unable to export perfumes for a period of time.

94. Which of the following is NOT true of Rimmel?

A. He was one of the first people to utilize trademarks.

B. He created attractive packaging for his products.

C. His products were more expensive than other brands.

D. He transported his goods to potential customers by train.

95. What is implied about the New York perfume industry?

A. It was the fastest-growing perfume industry in the world at that time.

B. It was primarily developed by immigrants arriving from France.

C. It copied luxury fragrances and sold them cheaply.

D. There was a wider range of fragrances available here than elsewhere.

I. Read the passage and do the tasks that follow (800 words)

A
Japan has a significantly better record in terms of average mathematical attainment than England
and Wales. Large sample international comparisons of pupils' attainments since the 1960s have
established that not only did Japanese pupils at age 13 have better scores of average attainment, but there
was also a larger proportion of 'low' attainers in England, where, incidentally, the variation in attainment
scores was much greater. The percentage of Gross National Product spent on education is reasonably
similar in the two countries, so how is this higher and more consistent attainment in maths achieved?
B
Lower secondary schools in Japan cover three school years, from the seventh grade (age 13) to
the ninth grade (age. 15). Virtually all pupils at this stage attend state schools: only 3 per cent are in the
private sector. Schools are usually modem in design, set well back from the road- and spacious inside.
Classrooms are large and pupils sit at single desks in rows. Lessons last for a standardised 50 minutes and
are always followed by a 10-minute break, which gives the pupils a chance to let off steam. Teachers
begin with a formal address and mutual bowing, and then concentrate on whole-class teaching.
Classes are large - usually about 40 - and are unstreamed. Pupils stay in the same class for all
lessons throughout the school and develop considerable class identity and loyalty. Pupils attend the
school in their own neighbourhood, which in theory removes ranking by school. In practice in Tokyo,
because of the relative concentration of schools, there is some competition to get into the 'better' school in
a particular area.
C .
 Traditional ways of teaching form the basis of the lesson and the remarkably quiet classes take
their own notes of the points made and the examples demonstrated. Everyone has their own copy of the
textbook supplied by the central education authority, Monbusho, as part of the concept of free
compulsory education up to the age of 15. These textbooks are, on the whole, small, presumably
inexpensive to produce, but well set out and logically developed. (One teacher was particularly keen to
introduce colour and pictures into maths textbooks: he felt this would make them more accessible to
pupils brought up in a cartoon culture.) Besides approving textbooks, Monbusho also decides the highly
centralised national curriculum and how it is to be delivered.
D
Lessons all follow the same pattern. At the beginning, the pupils put solutions to the homework
on the board, then the teachers comment, correct or elaborate as necessary. Pupils mark their own
homework: this is an important principle in Japanese schooling as it enables pupils to see where and why
they made a mistake, so that these can be avoided in future. No one minds mistakes or ignorance as long
as you are prepared to learn from them.
After the homework has been discussed, the teacher explains the topic of the lesson, slowly and with
a lot of repetition and elaboration. Examples are demonstrated on the board; questions from the textbook
are worked through first with the class, and then the class is set questions from the textbook to do
individually. Only rarely are supplementary worksheets distributed in a maths class. The impression is
that the logical nature of the textbooks and their comprehensive coverage of different types of examples,
combined with the relative homogeneity of the class, renders work sheets unnecessary. At this point, the
teacher would circulate and make sure that all the pupils were coping well.

It is remarkable that large, mixed-ability classes could be kept together for maths throughout all
their compulsory schooling from 6 to 15. Teachers say that they give individual help at the end of a lesson
or after school, setting extra work if necessary. In observed lessons, any strugglers would-be assisted by
the teacher or quietly seek help from their neighbour. Carefully fostered class identity makes pupils keen
to help each other - anyway, it is in their interests since the class progresses together.

This scarcely seems adequate help to enable slow learners to keep up. However, the Japanese
attitude towards education runs along the lines of 'if you work hard enough, you can do almost anything'.
Parents are kept closely informed of their children's progress and will play a part in helping their children
to keep up with class, sending them to 'Juku' (private evening tuition) if extra help is needed and
encouraging them to work harder. It seems to work, at least for 95 per cent of the school population.
F
So what are the major contributing factors in the success of maths teaching? Clearly, attitudes are
important. Education is valued greatly in Japanese culture; maths is recognised as an important
compulsory subject throughout schooling; and the emphasis is on hard work coupled with a focus on
accuracy.
Other relevant points relate to the supportive attitude of a class towards slower pupils, the lack of
competition within a class, and the positive emphasis on learning for oneself and improving one's own
standard. And the view of repetitively boring lessons and learning the facts by heart, which is sometimes
quoted in relation to Japanese classes, may be unfair and unjustified. No poor maths lessons were
observed. They were mainly good and one or two were inspirational.

HVT (p3 reading) For questions 1-5, choose correct heading for sections B – F from the list of
headings below.

List of Headings

I The influence of Monbusho

II Helping less successful students

III The success of compulsory education

IV Research findings concerning achievements in Maths

V The typical format of a Maths lesson

VI Comparative expenditure on Maths education

VII Background to middle-years education in Japan

VII The key to Japanese successes in Maths education

IX The role of homework correction

Example Answer

Section A IV

1. Section B ___________ 2. Section C ___________

3. Section D ___________ 4. Section E ___________

5. Section F ___________

For quesions 61 – 64, write in the corresponding numbered boxes.

YES if the statement agrees with the information

NO if the statement contradicts the statement
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this in the passage
6. There is a wider range of achievement amongst English pupils studying Maths than amongst their
Japanese counterparts.

7. The percentage of Gross National Product spent on education generally reflects the level of attainment
in mathematics.

8. Private schools in Japan are more modern and spacious than state-run lower secondary schools.

9. Teachers mark homework in Japanese schools.

10. Maths textbooks in Japanese schools are well organised and adapted to the needs of the
pupils.
Practice Test 3 – chuyên Bắc Giang
Part 3: Read the following passage about the human immune system and choose the best
answer (A, B, C, or D) according to the text. Write your answers in the corresponding
numbered boxes provided.
The Human Immune System
The human immune system is composed of both an innate and an adaptive immune
system. First, humans have an innate immune system that is intrinsic in all organisms, and
it functions particularly through establishing biological barriers and creating biochemical
reactions that immediately respond with a maximal effort in order to destroy infectious
microbes. [A] Second, humans have an adaptive immune system, which can only be found
in vertebrates with jaws. [B] The adaptive immune system gains an immunological memory
from previously encountered germs, so it is able to prevent these specific microbes from
causing further infection. [C] With these dual capacities of fighting infection and acquiring
resistance to germs, humans can maximize their immunity. [D]
A person’s innate immune system has many complex barriers and biochemical
reactions designed to ward off infections. The most visible one is the skin, which keeps
most bacteria, fungi, and viruses from ever entering the body, but humans also have mucus,
which traps germs that reside in the body’s tissue. In addition to such biological material,
there are other internal barriers like gastric acids, tears, saliva, urine, and various chemicals
that either destroy or flush out germs. Even involuntary functions like sneezing and
coughing are barriers that serve to expel germs. Beyond these, there are biochemical
reactions that come from leukocytes, which are found in the blood. Leukocytes are white
blood cells that effectively clear out cellular debris, create inflammation near an infection,
summon immune cells to the inflammation, activate several other chemical reactions, and
even destroy tumors. However, perhaps the most important action these cells perform is
activating a human’s adaptive immune system, which is essential in not only curing current
diseases but also preventing future infections.
With an adaptive immune system, cells learn how to best combat pathogens and
develop a higher resistance to them. Like the innate immune system, this involves chemical
reactions and cellular cooperation. Unlike the innate immune system, this system doesn’t
respond very quickly or with its full strength all at once. Instead, it uses its time and energy
to provide cells with an immunological memory to the pathogens they encounter, making
them more resistant to recurring infections (similarly to how a vaccination works). Certain
white blood cells called T-cells are the principal actors in this system; these identify “self”
cells with the same DNA and distinguish them from any foreign cells with different DNA.
After this, they seek and destroy these foreign cells, whether they are invading microbes or
infected host cells. T-cells also mediate the responses from the innate and adaptive immune
systems so that the body can effectively exterminate the infection.
After destroying infectious cells, the body uses B-cells to develop antibodies, or
specialized proteins that prevent future infections. A B-cell is designed to connect with an
individual type of antigen created by an infectious cell. The B-cell uses this antigen to
produce antibodies that seek out and neutralize infectious bacteria, fungi, and viruses.
However, the most important process comes after the infection disappears: these B-cells
will duplicate, and their progeny will manufacture the same antibodies. Thus, the body will
constantly produce antibodies that successfully fight off a specific infection, and the body
can successfully fight off any subsequent infections from this pathogen. In addition to this,
B-cells also mark antigens for leukocytes to attack, thus making them and microbes easier
targets for the biochemical reaction.
An interesting feature of the human immune system is how it affects infants both
before and after birth. When babies are first born, they do not have very many previously
formed antibodies, so they have a greater risk of infection than adults do. However, they
ward off many infections by temporarily obtaining the mother’s antibodies from breast milk
and nutrients passed through the placenta. Also interesting is the very inception of the fetus
among such an aggressive immune system: somehow, the fetus, which doesn’t have its
mother’s exact DNA, is ignored by the mother’s T-cells and B-cells. Scientists currently
have a few theories about this phenomenon. For instance, the uterus may not be monitored
by white blood cells, or it may produce special proteins that suppress any local immune
responses. Nonetheless, the fact that the immune system restrains its programming for
reproductive development continues to puzzle many scientists.
1. The word intrinsic in the passage is closest in meaning to ________.
A. fundamental B. auxiliary C. detrimental D. extraordinary
2. Which of the following square brackets [A], [B], [C], or [D] best indicates where in
the paragraph the sentence ‘However, this particular action never changes to counter
specific threats of infection’ can be inserted?
A. [A] B. [B] C. [C] D. [D]
3. According to passage 2, which bodily fluid initiates biochemical reactions in a
human’s innate immune system?
A. urine B. blood C. saliva D. tears
4. The word mediate in the passage is closest in meaning to _________.
A. interrupt B. magnify C. contemplate D. coordinate
5. Based on the information in paragraph 3, what can be inferred about the adaptive
immune system?
A. Because it takes so long to act, it is less effective in purging infectious cells than
the innate immune system.
 B. Even though it takes longer to act, it is more effective in long term immunity than
the innate immune system.
C. Because humans already have an innate immune system, this system is
unnecessary and only used as a substitute.
D. It works differently from the innate immune system, so the two are completely
independent of one another.
6. The word progeny in the passage is closest in meaning to _________.
A. willingness B. mechanism C. offspring D. mutation
7. According to paragraph 4, what do B-cells produce?
A. antigens B. antibodies C. leukocytes D. pathogens
8. The word inception in the passage is closest in meaning to __________.
A. conception B. invulnerability C. contamination D. consumption
9. According to paragraph 5, where do newborn babies get most of their antibodies?
A. from their own white blood cells B. from immune cells in the uterus
C. from mucus and other barriers D. from breast milk and the placenta
10. Based on the information in paragraph 5, what can be inferred about how the
mother’s immune system should scientifically be affecting the fetus?
A. It should protect the fetus from infection.
B. It should help develop cells in the fetus.
C. It should be attacking foreign fetal cells.
D. It should be exposing the fetus to microbes.
Your answers:
1. ________ 2. ________ 3. ________ 4. ________ 5. _______

6. ________ 7. ________ 8. ________ 9. ________ 10. _______

Part 4: Read the passage and do the tasks below

A. Genealogy, the study of tracing family connections and relationships through history –
so building a cohesive family tree, has become an increasingly popular hobby from non-
specialist enthusiasts over recent decades. The introduction of the Internet has, in many
ways, spurred interest levels since historical information has been made far more
accessible than previously. Experts warn, however, that sources obtained from the
internet must be considered with caution as they may often contain inaccuracies, often
advising novice genealogists to join a family history society where they are able to learn
useful skills from experienced researchers.
B. Originally, prior to developing a more mainstream following, the practice of
genealogy focused on establishing the ancestral links of rulers and noblemen often with
the purpose of disputing or confirming the legitimacy of inherited rights to wealth or
position. More recently, genealogists are often interested in not only where and when
previous generations of families lived but also details of their lifestyle and motivations,
interpreting the effects of law, political restrictions, immigration and the social conditions
on an individual’s or family’s behaviour at the given time. Genealogy searches may also
result in location of living relatives and consequently family reunions, in some cases
helping to reunite family members who had been separated in the past due to
fostering/adoptlon, migration or war.
C. In Australia, there has been a great deal of interest of late, from families wishing to
trace their links to the early settlers. As a result of the loss of the American colonies in
the 1700s, Britain was in need of an alternative destination for prisoners who could not be
accommodated in the country’s overcrowded penal facilities. In 1787, the ‘First Fleet’
which consisted of a flotilla of ships carrying just over 1300 people (of which 753 were
convicts or their children and the remainder marines, officers and their family members)
left Britain’s shores for Australia. On January 26, 1788 – now celebrated as Australia
Day – the fleet landed at Sydney Cove and the first steps to European settlement began.
D. Genealogy research has led to a shift in attitudes towards convict heritage amongst
contemporary Australian society, as family members have been able to establish that their
ancestors were, in fact, not hardened and dangerous criminals, but had, in most cases,
been harshly punished for minor crimes inspired by desperation and dire economic
circumstances. So dramatic has the shift in attitudes been that having family connections
to passengers on the ‘First Fleet’ is considered nothing less than prestigious. Convicts
Margaret Dawson and Elizabeth Thakery were amongst the first European women to ever
set foot on Australian soil. Details about the former, whose initial death sentence passed
for stealing clothes from her employer was commuted to deportation, and the latter
expelled for stealing handkerchiefs along with others of similar fate are now available on
the internet for eager descendants to track.
E. Although many of the deported convicts were forbidden to return to Britain, others
such as Dawson, were, in theory, expelled for a given term. In reality, however, the costs
of attempting to return to the mother country were well beyond the means of the majority.
Genealogists now attribute the successful early development of Australia to such ex-
convicts who decided to contribute fully to society once their sentence had been served.
Many rewards were available to prisoners who displayed exemplary behaviour, including
land grants of 30 acres or more, tools for developing and farming the land and access to
convict labour. Genealogy studies also show that many former prisoners went on to hold
powerful positions in the newly forming Australia society, examples being Francis
Greenway – a British architect expelled on conviction of fraud – who went on to design
many of Sydney’s most prominent colonial buildings, and Alexander Munro, transported
after stealing cheese at the age of 15, who would later build Australia’s first gas works
and hold the position of Town Mayor.
F. In North America, the Mormon Church, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, holds
wo major genealogical databases, the International Genealogical Index and the Ancestral
File, which contain records of hundreds of million individuals who lived between 1500
and 1900 in the United States, Canada and Europe. Resources available to genealogy
enthusiasts include the Salt Lake City based Family History Library and more than 4000
branches where microfilms and microfiches can be rented for research and the newer
Family Search internet site which provides open access to numerous databases and
research sources. Such data sharing practices are central and crucial to genealogical
research and the internet has proven to be a major tool in facilitating ease of transfer of
information in formats suitable for use in forums and via email. The global level of
interest in and demand for such information has proven so intense, that traffic load on
release of sources such as Family Search and the British Census for 1901 led to
temporary collapse of the host servers.

G. Experts advise that reliability of sources used for genealogical research should be
evaluated in light of four factors which may influence their accuracy, these being the
knowledge of the informant, the bias and mental state of the informant, the passage of
time and potential for compilation error. First, genealogists should consider who the
information was provided by and what he or she could be ascertained to have known. For
example, a census record alone is considered unreliable as no named source for the
information is likely to be found. A death certificate signed by an identified doctor,
however, can be accepted as more reliable. In the case of bias or mental state, researchers
are advised to consider that even when information is given by what could be considered
a reliable source, that there may have been motivation to be untruthful – continuing to
claim a government benefit or avoidance of taxation, for example.
H. Generally, data recorded at the same time or close to the event being researched is
considered to be more reliable than records written at a later point in time, as – while
individuals may intend to give a true representation of events – factual information may
be misrepresented due to lapses in memory and forgotten details. Finally, sources may be
classified as either original or derivative. The latter refers to photocopies, transcriptions,
abstracts, translations, extractions, and compilations and has more room for error due to
possible misinterpretations, typing errors or loss of additional and crucial parts of the
original documentation.

Questions 1 – 5
Reading Passage has eight paragraphs A-H. Choose the correct heading for
paragraphs B and D-G from the list of headings below. Write the correct number i to
ix in boxes 1 – 5 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
i. An Embarrassing Heritage
ii. Assessing Validity
iii. Diversity of Application
iv. Interpretation Errors
v. Past Usage
vi. Useful Sources
vii. Australasian Importance
viii. Changing Viewpoints
ix. Significant Roles
Example: Paragraph C; Answer: vii
1) Paragraph B ______
2) Paragraph D ______
3) Paragraph E ______
4) Paragraph F ______
5) Paragraph G ______
Questions 6 – 8
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading
Passage?
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
6) Early applications of genealogy focused on behaviour, movement and settlement of
populations.
7) Some ex-convicts chose to stay in Australia due to the opportunities it presented.
8) Overwhelming interest in obtaining genealogical information has led to technological
difficulties.
Questions 9-10
Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D
9) Why has recreational genealogy become more popular?
A. Because it is now a fashionable hobby.
B. Because more people wish to trace missing relatives.
C. Because there are less political barriers.
D. Because it is no longer requires so much effort.
10) Why does census information need to be approached with caution?
A. Because it cannot easily be attributed to a particular individual.
B. Because it is often not validated by a physician.
C. Because administration practices in the past were unreliable.
D. Because informants may not have been truthful due to financial motivations.
Practice Test 4 – chuyên LHP NĐ
Part 3: Read an extract from an article and answer the questions. Write your
answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided. (15 pts)
Biological Patents
The patenting on biological matter has become particularly awkward and
publicly controversial in recent times. The reason for this is that scientists are
patenting life itself, though we should be careful about what we mean by 'life'. Many
countries have allowed people to own and register plant varieties for decades.
America took the lead, starting with the 1930 Plant Patent Act, followed by
Germany and other European countries. Britain passed its Plant Varieties and Seeds
Act in 1964, when it awarded a full monopoly right to the owner of any plant that
can be shown to be novel, distinct, uniform and stable. The test of novelty is much
looser than that required for an industrial patent (who knows what plants may be
growing in the wild?). So, a plant qualifies for protection even if it has a history of
growing wild as long as it has not been sold commercially for more than four years.
At the same time, patenting a seed or a plant for agricultural purposes was
regarded as being no different from patenting a chemical or biological recipe for
pharmaceutical purposes. This notion was particularly welcome for Western farmers
and horticulturalists who were eager to increase yields as their own costs grew
(especially farm wages) and foreign imports from low-wage countries undercut their
prices. They were also keen to grow new varieties that could be harvested and
brought to market a few weeks earlier. So, the huge investments in faster-growing
and more disease-resistant seeds over the past fifty years might not have been made
if the seed companies had not been able to protect their work.
Over that period the number of applications for plant and genetic patents has
increased rapidly. Technological advances in biotechnology have extended scientists'
ability to exploit biological matter from whole plants into their various components;
from whole animals to parts of animals; and from animals to humans. Developments
in DNA and in cell technology have allowed scientists to identify, nurture and remix
cells so that they can create living material. The identification of the human genome,
which contains the genes that control the 'design' of each human, will also require a
property contract.
But should the genome be public property in the same way as the knowledge
of blood types is? Or should it be private property? In 1952, the American Supreme
Court famously said, 'Anything under the sun that is made by man is patentable.'
Since then, its position has shifted. In Diamond v. Chakrabarty in 1980, it was asked
to rule on a patent application by Anand Chakrabarty for a genetically modified
bacterial microorganism designed to gobble up oil spills at sea. It decided to shift
the dividing line to between the product of nature, whether living or not, and human-
made inventions which may, of course, be living, and it approved the patent. In
1987, the US Patent Office issued new guidelines which stated that all bio-organisms
except humans could be patented.
The Patent Office later issued a patent to Harvard University for an
experimental mouse known as Oncomouse, into which an oncogene had been
inserted for the purpose of medical research. The European Patent Office, after
initially demurring, did likewise. It said Oncomouse was such a considerable
manipulation of genetic material as to be new and unique. It was protested on ethical
grounds that the mice would suffer during the research, but the EPO decided that the
benefit to society outweighed the loss to the mouse; a neat variation on the 'property
contract' that balances the creator's reward against the social gain. This rapid shift
over seven years was a breath-taking expansion of private property and a massive
change in attitude towards the ownership of life.
Another odd case that reinterpreted the property contract against our common
instincts occurred when a Californian University medical centre managed to own
and patent the cell line found in a spleen taken from a patient John Moore, who had
hairy-cell leukaemia. The doctors had discovered that Moore's T-lymphocytes were
extremely rare and of great medical value. Without informing him, they carried out
intensive tests that ended with the removal of his spleen. The cells were indeed as
valuable as expected, generating products worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
When Moore discovered how the university had privatised his cells, and made huge
profits, he sued, but he lost. The Supreme Court of California decided that we do not
have an exclusive right to ownership of our cells after they have left our body.

1. Under the 1964 Act, one requirement that qualified a plant for a patent was that it
A. had been developed as a result of commercial exploitation.
B. had been discovered in the wild fewer than four years earlier.
C. exhibited characteristics that distinguished it from other plants.
D. had no prior history of being used in an industrial process.
2. The word horticulturalists refers to those who
A. grow flowers B. study cultures C. import seeds D. grow
organic foods
3. Why were Western farmers keen to raise production levels in the 1960s?
A. Their overheads were making them less competitive.
B. The market price of their products had been reduced.
C. Disease that could destroy their crops was becoming rife.
D. Fast-growing weeds were making their harvest less lucrative.
4. The writer suggests that advances in biotechnology
A. have allowed scientists to conduct their experiments more precisely.
B. are dependent on the financial rewards they can generate.
C. will ultimately lead to the introduction of designer babies.
D. may be considered unethical if they involve exploitation.
5. The phrase gobble up mostly means
A. consuming B. supplying C. spreading D. destroying
6. The shift in position of the US Supreme Court in 1980 meant that
A. any biological organism could be patented.
B. knowledge of how DNA functions was patentable.
C. patents were no longer restricted to inanimate things.
D. tinkering with cells from living creatures was immoral.
7. The word demurring mostly means
A. advocating B. objecting C. reinforcing D. investigating
8. The European Patent Office ruling on Oncomouse
A. was never in doubt because Harvard University was involved.
B. became open to interpretation by experts in property laws.
C. totally disregarded the moral issues related to the case.
D. highlighted the emphasis on the greater good in legal decisions.
9. Which saying is most appropriate to the verdict handed down in the case involving John
Moore?
A. Property has its duties as well as its rights.
B. No person's property is safe while legislature is in session.
C. If something is worth money, it is worth possessing.
D. Possession is nine-tenths of the law.
10. Which of the following is NOT true, according to the passage?
A. Patenting Oncomouse met with some disapprovals concerning ethical matters.
B. The USA blazed a trailed in patenting kinds of plants.
C. The doctors removed Moore’s spleen unbeknownst to him.
D. Companies’ patenting their seeds provided an incentive for agricultural breakthroughs.
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Part 4: Read the passage and do the tasks that follow. (15 pts)
How should reading be taught?

By Keith Rayncr a Barbara R Foorman

A. Learning to speak is automatic for almost all children, but learning to read
requires elaborate instruction and conscious effort. Well aware of the difficulties,
educators have given a great deal of thought to how they can best help children learn
to read. No single method has triumphed. Indeed, heated arguments about the most
appropriate form of reading instruction continue to polarize the teaching community.

B. Three general approaches have been tried. In one, called whole-word

instruction, children learn by rote how to recognise at a glance a vocabulary of 50 to
100 words. Then they gradually acquire other words, often through seeing them used
over and over again in the context of a story.

Speakers of most languages learn the relationship between letters and the sounds
associated with them (phonemes). That is, children are taught how to use their
knowledge of the alphabet to sound out words. This procedure constitutes a second
approach to teaching reading – phonics.

Many schools have adopted a different approach: the whole-language method. The
strategy here relies on the child’s experience with the language. For example,
students are offered engaging books and are encouraged to guess the words that they
do not know by considering the context of the sentence or by looking for clues in the
storyline and illustrations, rather than trying to sound them out.

Many teachers adopted the whole-language approach because of its intuitive appeal.
Making reading fun promises to keep children motivated, and learning to read
depends more on what the student does than on what the teacher does. The presumed
benefits of whole-language instruction – and the contrast to the perceived dullness of
phonics – led to its growing acceptance across American during the 1990s and a
movement away from phonics.

C. However, many linguists and psychologists objected strongly to the

abandonment of phonics in American schools. Why was this so? In short, because
research had clearly demonstrated that understanding how letters related to the
component sounds in words is critically important in reading. This conclusion rests,
in part, on knowledge of how experienced readers make sense of words on a page.
Advocates of whole-language instruction have argued forcefully that people often
derive meanings directly from print without ever determining the sound of the word.
Some psychologists today accept this view, but most believe that reading is typically
a process of rapidly sounding out words mentally. Compelling evidence for this
comes from experiments which show that subjects often confuse homophones
(words that sound the same, such as rose and ‘rows). This supports the idea that
readers convert strings of letters to sounds.

D. In order to evaluate different approaches to teaching reading, a number of

experiments have been carried out, firstly with college students, then with school
pupils. Investigators trained English-speaking college students to read using
unfamiliar symbols such as Arabic letters (the phonics approach), while another
group learned entire words associated with certain strings of Arabic letters (whole-
word). Then both groups were required to read a new set of words constructed from
the original characters. In general, readers who were taught the rules of phonics
could read many more new words than those trained with a whole-word procedure.

Classroom studies comparing phonics with either whole-word or whole-language

instruction are also quite illuminating. One particularly persuasive study compared
two programmes used in 20 first-grade classrooms. Half the students were offered
traditional reading instruction, which included the use of phonics drills and
applications. The other half were taught using an individualised method that drew
from their experiences with languages; these children produce their own booklets of
stories and developed sets of words to be recognised (common components of the
whole-language approach). This study found that the first group scored higher at
year’s end on tests of reading and comprehension.

E. If researchers are so convinced about the need for phonics instruction, why
does the debate continue? Because the controversy is enmeshed in the philosophical
differences between traditional and progressive (or new) approaches, differences that
have divided educators for years. The progressive challenge the results of laboratory
tests and classroom studies on the basis of a broad philosophical skepticism about
the values of such research. They champion student- centred learned and teacher
empowerment. Sadly, they fail to realise that these very admirable educational
values are equally consistent with the teaching of phonics.

F. If schools of education insisted that would-be reading teachers learned

something about the vast research in linguistics and psychology that bears on
reading, their graduates would be more eager to use phonics and would be prepared
to do so effectively. They could allow their pupils to apply the principles of phonics
while reading for pleasure. Using whole-language activities to supplement phonics
instruction certainly helps to make reading fun and meaningful for children, so no
one would want to see such tools discarded. Indeed, recent work has indicated that
the combination of literature-based instruction and phonics is more powerful than
either method used alone.

Teachers need to strike a balance. But in doing so, we urge them to remember that
reading must be grounded in a firm understanding of the connections between letters
and sounds. Educators who deny this reality are neglecting decades of research.
They are also neglecting the needs of their students.

Questions 1-5
Reading Passage 3 has six sections, A-F.
Choose the correct heading for sections B-F from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-ix, in boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
i Disagreement about the reading process
ii The roots of the debate
iii A combined approach
iv Methods of teaching reading
v A controversial approach
vi Inconclusive research
vii Research with learners
vii Allowing teachers more control
ix A debate amongst educators
Example Section A ix
1. Section B
2. Section C
3. Section D
4. Section E
5. Section F

Questions 6-10
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3?
In boxes 32-36 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
6. The whole-language approach relates letters to sounds.
7. Many educators believe the whole-language approach to be the most interesting
way to teach children to read.
8. Research supports the theory that we read without linking words to sounds.
9. Research has shown that the whole-word approach is less effective than the
whole-language approach.
10. Research has shown that phonics is more successful than both the whole-word
and whole- language approaches.
Your answers:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Practice Test 5 – chuyên Hạ Long QN

Part 3. Read an extract from an article and choose the answer A, B, C or D that fits best according to
the text. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided. (15 points)

Using video gaming in education

It has become conventional wisdom that spending too much time playing video games has a detrimental
effect on children’s studies and their social development. However, some educationalists are now
questioning this theory and are using video games as effective educational tools thus bridging the gap
between recreational and educational activities.

Due to the sophisticated nature of today’s games, teachers are able to justify the inclusion of video and
online games for many pedagogical reasons. There may, for example, be sociological, psychological, and
ethical implications built into the gameplay. Harvey Edwards, who teaches IT classes in London, was one
such educator who decided to use video games in his lessons. To do this, he chose Minecraft, an online
game in which players create and develop imaginary worlds. He was somewhat uneasy about attempting
such an unconventional approach, not because of some students’ unfamiliarity with the game but rather
due to them not being able to make sense of what he was trying to do with it. He worried that it might
interfere with his learners’ focus, but he couldn’t have been more surprised by the results.

Minecraft is an example of a ‘sandbox game’, in which gamers roam around and change a virtual world at
will. Instead of having to pass through numbered levels to reach certain places, there’s full access from
start to finish. The original version can be adapted to control which characters and content are left in.
Each student can then be allocated tasks – such as house-building, locating items or problem-solving –
which they must complete within the game. Elements of more general skills can be subtly incorporated
into the lessons, such as online politeness and safety, teamwork and resolving differences. Edwards feels
that presenting such lessons in the context of a game students probably already know and enjoy enables
him to connect with them at greater depth, and in more motivational ways.
Bolstered by his success, Edwards introduced his approach to another school nearby. He recalls that the
first couple of sessions didn’t live up to his expectations. Those who had played Minecraft before were
keen for others to adopt their own style of play. Unsurprisingly, this assortment of styles and opinions as
to how the game should proceed were far from harmonious. However, the sessions rapidly transformed
into something more cohesive, with the learners driving the change. With minimal teacher input, they set
about choosing leaders and established several teams, each with its own clearly-defined role. These
teams, now party to clear common goals, willingly cooperated to ensure that their newborn world
flourished, even when faced with the toughest of challenges.

‘Human’ inhabitants in a Minecraft ‘society’ are very primitive and wander around the imaginary world,
waiting for guidance from players. [A] This dynamic bears a resemblance to traditional education, an
observation highlighted by Martina Williams, one of the leaders of the group. [B] ‘Through the game, we
were no longer passive learners in the classroom, being told what and how to learn, but active participants
in our own society. [C] The leaders, meanwhile, had a vision for their virtual world as a whole,
encouraging everyone to play their part in achieving the group’s goals. [D] Through creating their own
characters and using these to build their own ‘world’, students will have gained some experiential
understanding of societal structure and how communities work.

But not everyone is convinced by video games’ potential academic value. While many progressive
commentators cite extensive evidence to maintain that video games encourage collaboration and build
problem-solving skills, more traditional factions continue to insist they are a distraction that do not merit
inclusion in any curriculum. Even less evangelical cynics, who may grudgingly acknowledge games have
some educational benefit, assert that this is only the case in the hands of creative educators. However, the
accusation most often levelled at video games is that they detract from the social aspect of the classroom,
particularly taking part in discussions. Dr Helen Conway, an educational researcher, argues that video
games can be used to promote social activities. ‘Students become animated talking about the game and
how to improve their gameplaying and problem-solving skills,’ she says. ‘I find it strange, this image that
many people have,’ Conway says. ‘Children are often totally detached from their peers when undertaking
more traditional activities, like reading books, but we never suggest that books are harmful because
they’re a solitary experience.

1. The first time Edwards used a game in his classes, he was______________

A. convinced that learners would realise why he wanted them to play it.

B. convinced that learners would see the reasons for playing it.

C. anxious that he had chosen the wrong one for learners to play.

D. sure that his reasons for getting learners to play it were valid.

2. The writer suggests that Minecraft is a good choice of educational game because______

A. any number of learners can use it simultaneously.

B. teachers can remove any inappropriate material.

C. gamers can create educative tasks whilst playing it.

D. players can develop their skills in a step-by-step way.

3. Which of the following words in the fourth paragraph is used to convey a feeling of approval?

A. keen B. harmonious C. driving D. newborn

4. In the fifth paragraph, the writer draws a comparison between a Minecraft ‘society’
and_______________

A. relationships within the group as they played.

B. the way in which countries organize themselves.

C. typical students in a school environment.

D. how leadership operates in different situations.

5. In the sixth paragraph, the writer feels that critics of video games in education_________

A. are unwilling to admit that using them in class has benefits.

B. make accurate observations about teachers who use them.

C. use flawed research to support their objections to using them.

D. acknowledge the drawbacks of more traditional teaching methods.

6. The words ‘this image’ in the sixth paragraph refer to______________

A. people who criticize gaming in education. B. students discussing a game in a group.

C. a group of students reading individually. D. a solitary player absorbed in a game.

7. Where does this sentence belong to in the fifth paragraph?

Each group member had ideas as to how their function should develop.

A. [A] B. [B] C. [C] D. [D]

8. The word ‘subtly’ in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to __________.

A. intricately B. ingeniously C. ingenuously D. haphazardly

9. The word ‘grudgingly’ in the sixth paragraph is closest in meaning to __________.

A. gleefully B. vivaciously C. genially D. reluctantly

10. Which of the following best describes the author's attitude towards the application of gaming into
education?

A. supportive B. neutral C. cynical D. satirical

Your answers:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Part 4. For questions 1-10, read the following passage and do the tasks that follow. (15 points)

Follow your nose

A Aromatherapy is the most widely used complementary therapy in the National Health Service,
and doctors use it most often for treating dementia. For elderly patients who have difficulty interacting
verbally, and to whom conventional medicine has little to offer, aromatherapy can bring benefits in terms
of better sleep, improved motivation, and less disturbed behaviour. So the thinking goes. But last year, a
systematic review of health care databases found almost no evidence that aromatherapy is effective in the
treatment of dementia. Other findings suggest that aromatherapy works only if you believe it will. In fact,
the only research that has unequivocally shown it to have an effect has been carried out on animals.

B Behavioural studies have consistently shown that odours elicit emotional memories far more
readily than other sensory cues. And earlier this year, Rachel Herz, of Brown University in Providence,
Rhode Island, and colleagues peered into people’s heads using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
(fMRI) to corroborate that. They scanned the brains of five women while they either looked at a photo of
a bottle of perfume that evoked a pleasant memory for them, or smelled that perfume. One woman, for
instance, remembered how as a child living in Paris—she would watch with excitement as her mother
dressed to go out and sprayed herself with that perfume. The women themselves described the perfume as
far more evocative than the photo, and Herz and co-workers found that the scent did indeed activate the
amygdala and other brain regions associated with emotion processing far more strongly than the
photograph. But the interesting thing was that the memory itself was no better recalled by the odour than
by the picture. “People don’t remember any more detail or with any more clarity when the memory is
recalled with an odour,” she says. “However, with the odour, you have this intense emotional feeling
that’s really visceral.”

C That’s hardly surprising, Herz thinks, given how the brain has evolved. “The way I like to think
about it is that emotion and olfaction are essentially the same things,” she says. “The part of the brain that
controls emotion literally grew out of the part of the brain that controls smell.” That, she says, probably
explains why memories for odours that are associated with intense emotions are so strongly entrenched in
us, because the smell was initially a survival skill: a signal to approach or to avoid.

D Eric Vermetten, a psychiatrist at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, says that doctors
have long known about the potential of smells to act as traumatic reminders, but the evidence has been
largely anecdotal. Last year, he and others set out to document it by describing three cases of post-
traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in which patients reported either that a certain smell triggered their
flashbacks, or that smell was a feature of the flashback itself. The researchers concluded that odours could
be made use of in exposure therapy, or for reconditioning patients’ fear responses.

E After Vermetten presented his findings at a conference, doctors in the audience told him how they
had turned this association around and put it to good use. PTSD patients often undergo group therapy, but
the therapy itself can expose them to traumatic reminders. “Some clinicians put a strip of vanilla or a
strong, pleasant, everyday odorant such as coffee under their patients’ noses, so that they have this
continuous olfactory stimulation,” says Vermetten. So armed, the patients seem to be better protected
against flashbacks. It’s purely anecdotal, and nobody knows what’s happening in the brain, says
Vermetten, but it’s possible that the neural pathways by which the odour elicits the pleasant, everyday
memory override the fear-conditioned neural pathways that respond to verbal cues.

F According to Herz, the therapeutic potential of odours could lie in their very unreliability. She has
shown with her perfume-bottle experiment that they don’t guarantee any better recall, even if the
memories they elicit feel more real. And there’s plenty of research to show that our noses can be tricked,
because being predominantly visual and verbal creatures, we put more faith in those other modalities. In
2001, for instance, Gil Morrot, of the National Institute for Agronomic Research in Montpellier, tricked
54 oenology students by secretly colouring a white wine with an odourless red dye just before they were
asked to describe the odours of a range of red and white wines. The students described the coloured wine
using terms typically reserved for red wines. What’s more, just like experts, they used terms alluding to
the wine’s redness and darkness—visual rather than olfactory qualities. Smell, the researchers concluded,
cannot be separated from the other senses.

G Last July, Jay Gottfried and Ray Dolan of the Wellcome Department of Imaging Neuroscience in
London took that research a step further when they tested people’s response times in naming an odour,
either when presented with an image that was associated with the odour or one that was not. So, they
asked them to sniff vanilla and simultaneously showed them either a picture of ice cream or of cheese,
while scanning their brains in a fMRI machine. People named the smells faster when the picture showed
something semantically related to them, and when that happened, a structure called the hippocampus was
strongly activated. The researchers’ interpretation was that the hippocampus plays a role in integrating
information from the senses— information that the brain then uses to decide what it is perceiving.

Questions 1-7

The passage has seven paragraphs, A-G.

Choose the correct heading for paragraph A-G and from the list of headings below.

Write the correct number, i-x, in boxes 1-6.

List of Headings

i Remembering the past more clearly

ii Bringing back painful memories

iii Originally an alarm signal

 iv The physical effects of scent versus image

v Checking unreliable evidence

vi Reinforcing one sense with another

vii Protection against reliving the past

viii The overriding power of sight and sound

ix Conflicting views

Example Paragraph A : ix

1 Paragraph B

2 Paragraph C

3 Paragraph D

4 Paragraph E

5 Paragraph F

6 Paragraph G

Your answers

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Questions 7-10

Look at the following findings and the list of researchers

Match each finding with the correct researcher, A-D.

Write the correct letter, A-D, in boxes 7-10.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

7. Smell can trigger images of horrible events.

8. Memory cannot get sharpened by smell.

9. When people are given an odour and a picture of something to learn, they will respond more quickly
in naming the smell because the stimulus is stronger when two or more senses are involved.

10. It is impossible to isolate smell from visual cues.

A Rachel Hertz
 B Eric Vermetten

C Gil Morrot

D Jay Gottfried and Ray Dolan

Your answers

7. 8. 9. 10.

Practice Test 6 – chuyên Bắc Ninh

Part 3. Read the following passage and circle the best answer to each of the following questions. Write
your answers in corresponding numbered boxes. (15 points)
Successful FCE Tests – Test 7
The 20th century was a time of remarkable change. In less than 100 years, the population went from
around 2 billion to close to 6; almost treble the number of people living in the world today as did ten or so
decades ago. Not only have our numbers exploded, but our lives have become more intertwined than ever.
For most of human history, different communities which existed lived in their own very small worlds
inside of a bigger world they knew little about. The only world that mattered was the one you could see in
your immediate surroundings. Compared with today, when even the poorest parts of sub-Saharan Africa
can boast 43 television sets per thousand people. The world view is no longer limited to the horizon; it
stretches across the planet. The global village is here. Now, let's see how it came about.

The lessons of two world wars in quick succession signalled the dawning of a new age. Statesmen and
women saw that the way forward lay in bringing the world closer. World War Three was to be avoided at
all costs. It was believed that by making nations more interdependent, the risk of conflict would be
lessened as it would be in nobody's interest to go to war.

That desire to see the nations of the world united gave birth to the United Nations (U.N.). The idea was to
share power, responsibility and decision-making for world affairs equally between all members of the
new global village, so it is the nearest thing we have ever had to a world government. The U.N. brings
together officials from 185 member states to preserve world peace and prevent conflict, but the dream
never quite became a reality as this body has very little 'real' power - it just does a lot of talking. Not long
after the U.N. was founded, Europe started to play with the idea of uniting its own continent. After all, it
was internal conflict being the main cause of both world wars.

Line 21--- Then, in 1957, the idea took shape; it started as the European Coal and Steel Community with
six member states. Today, we know it as the European Union (E.U.)- 27 countries, called member states,
united in one large free trade area and committed to supporting each other to make Europe a safer, more
secure and more prosperous place. 15 of those members have gone a step further and created a single
currency. The system is hardly perfect, but at least the members are working together and not trying to
destroy each other anymore.

But, for all the political movement that took place, there was a revolution more powerful, yet more
simple, that changed the world - and that was the dawn of the information age. First the television brought
people from opposite sides of the globe into contact; then the Internet makes the world our living
room. Technology was the most powerful tool for uniting people in the last century, and the first to create
a truly global community. Now we can communicate with people from different 'tribes' in an instant;
debate with, learn from, understand, chat with them. But for all the change, have we made the world any
better? There's still a huge gap between the richest and the poorest nations and misunderstanding and
conflict. We may be closer and live in a global village; but there's still a lot more to do.

21 .The number of people living in the world ______

A. has almost trebled since a decade ago.
B. has more than trebled in just under 100 years.
C. has risen to more than 6 million.
D. rose tremendously during the twentieth century.

22. What does the writer mean by saying communities used to live in worlds inside of a bigger
world?
A. In the past people knew little about faraway places.
B. In the past people only cared about themselves.
C. Most people didn't travel very much in the past.
D. Most people cared about what was happening in the bigger world.

23. What changed after the experience of two world wars?

A. Politicians felt determined to prevent another world war.
B. Information technology brought the world closer together.
C. Nobody was interested in conflict anymore.
D. Nations wanted to become more independent.

24. What is suggested about the United Nations?

A. It keeps the world peaceful and conflict-free.
B. It will become a global government.
C. It doesn't have a lot of meaningful influence.
D. It is controlled by a few big powers.

25. What does the phrase 'took shape' mean in the context of paragraph 4, line 21?
A. succeeded
B. developed
C. concluded
D. changed
26. The E.U. is now comprised of ______
A. 6 member states.
B. 15 member states.
C. 27 member states.
D. 15 member and 27 associate states.

27. The arrival of new technology and the information age _______
A. seemed unimportant compared to the political changes taking place.
B. had a strong impact on the opposite side of the globe.
C. brought people together in a way that politicians could not.
D. saw people use the internet a lot in their living rooms.

28. What does the writer's tone in the final paragraph suggest?
A. He is satisfied with what has been achieved.
B. He is critical and pessimistic about the future.
C. He is confused and upset.
D. He is realistic about the situation.

29. What does the author mean by “the Internet makes the world our living room”?
A. people can access huge sources of information thanks to the Internet
B. people can enjoy the convenience brought about by the Internet
C. people can watch a lot of TV shows thanks to Internet connection
D. people can purchase furnitures for their homes on the Internet

30. What is the best title for the passage?

A. How the U.N. and E.U. came into being
B. A century of significant changes
C. Technology is the foundation for growth
D. The problem of overpopulation

Your answers:
21. 22. 23. 24. 25.
26. 27. 28. 29. 30.

Part 4: Read the following passage and choose the best answer to each of the following questions.
Write your answers in corresponding numbered boxes. (15 points)
One misguided legacy is that intelligence suffers if children are bilingual. Research examined whether
bilinguals were ahead or behind monolinguals on IQ tests. From the 1920s to the 1960s, research using
IQ tests showed bilinguals were mentally confused as two languages in the brain disrupted effective
thinking, and having one well-developed language was superior to having two half-developed languages.
The idea that bilinguals may have a lower IQ still exists, particularly monolinguals. However, this
early research was misconceived. First, it often gave bilinguals IQ tests in their weaker language –
usually English. Had bilinguals been tested in other languages, the result may have differed. Second,
bilinguals tended to come from impoverished New York or rural Welsh backgrounds. Monolinguals
tended to come from middle class, urban families. Working class bilinguals were often compared with
middle class monolinguals, so the results were somehow due to social class differences than language
ones.
 The most recent research from Canada, the US and Wales suggests that bilinguals are equal to
monolinguals on IQ tests. When having two well-developed languages, balanced bilinguals show a slight
superiority in IQ tests compared with their counterparts, demonstrating psychological wisdom. Take, for
example, a child who can operate in either language who is likely to be ahead on IQ tests, compared with
similar (same gender, social class and age) monolinguals. Far from making people mentally confused,
bilingualism is now associated with a mild degree of intellectual superiority.
However, IQ tests probably do not measure intelligence, but a fragment of its broad concept. IQ tests
are simply paper and pencil tests where only “right and wrong” answers are allowed. Many questions
need answering. Are intelligent people those who obtain a high score? Do the only intelligent people
belong to high IQ organisations such as MENSA? Is there social, musical, military, marketing, motoring,
political intelligence? Defining what constitutes intelligent behaviour requires a personal value
judgement as to what type of behaviour, and what kind of person is of more worth.
The current state of psychological wisdom about bilinguals is that, where two languages are well-
developed, bilinguals have thinking advantages over monolinguals. To illustrate, when a child is asked a
simple question: How many uses can you think when offered a brick? Some children give two or three
answers: building walls or a house. Another child pours out ideas continuously: blocking up a rabbit
hole, breaking a window, using as a bird bath, as a plumb line, as an abstract sculpture in an art
exhibition.
Global research shows that bilinguals are more fluent, flexible, original and elaborate to open-ended
questions. The person who thinks of a few answers is a convergent thinker. They converge onto
conventional answers. People who think of different uses for unusual items (e.g. a brick, tin can,
cardboard box) are divergent thinkers who like a variety of answers and are imaginative and fluent in
thinking.
“Balanced" bilinguals may have temporary and occasionally permanent advantages over
monolinguals: increased sensitivity to communication, speedier movement through the stages of cognitive
development, and being less fixated on the sounds of words and more centred on the meaning of words.
Such ability tends to be a temporary competitive edge for bilinguals around the ages from four to six,
which means an initial head start in learning to read and to think about language.
For questions 31-36, choose the correct heading for paragraphs B-G from the list of headings below.

List of Headings

i No single definition of intelligence

ii Faulty testing, wrong conclusion

iii Welsh research supports IQ testing

iv Beware: inadequate for selling intelligence

v International research supports bilingualism

vi Current thought on the advantage bilinguals have

vii Early beliefs regarding bilingualism

viii Monolinguals ahead of their bilingual peers

ix Exemplifying the bilingual advantage

Example: Paragraph A: vii

31. Paragraph B
32. Paragraph C
33. Paragraph D
34. Paragraph E
35. Paragraph F
36. Paragraph G
For questions 37-40, do the following statements agree with the information given?
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
37 Balanced bilinguals have more permanent than temporary advantages over monolinguals.
38 Often bilinguals concentrate more on the way a word sounds than on its meaning.
39 Monolinguals learn to speak at a younger age than bilinguals.
40 Bilinguals just starting school might pick up certain skills faster than monolinguals.