Đề thi chọn HSG cấp tỉnh Tiếng Anh 12 năm 2021 Trường Chuyên Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm có đáp án

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐỀ THI CHÍNH THỨC TRƯỜNG CHUYÊN NGUYỄN BỈNH KHIÊM

ĐỀ THI CHỌN HỌC SINH GIỎI CẤP TỈNH SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO QUẢNG NAM MÔN THI: TIẾNG ANH 12 NĂM HỌC 2020 – 2021 Thời gian: 180 phút (không kể thời gian giao đề)

SECTION A. LISTENING (50pts)

HƯỚNG DẪN PHẦN THI NGHE HIỂU

- Bài nghe gồm 4 phần. Mỗi phần thí sinh được nghe 2 lần.

- Mọi hướng dẫn cho thí sinh đã có trong bài nghe.

Part 1. For questions 1 – 5, listen to a radio news report about ‘Google’, a popular Internet search engine and answer the questions. Write NO MORE THAN FIVE WORDS taken from the recording for each answer.

1. What way did Google rely on to market its product?

________________________________

2. What position did Google achieve last week as the Internet search engine for America Online?

________________________________

3. What group of people was mentioned to favour Google as a search engine?

________________________________

4. What verb is the word ‘google’ said to be replacing?

________________________________

5. Who invented the original term ‘googol’?

________________________________

Part 2. For questions 6 – 15, listen to a piece of news about future technology and complete the following sentences. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER taken from the recording in each space.

Strange-looking as they are, the robots can help to explore collapsed buildings for 6._________________________ efforts.

Flying robots, going airborne, help engineers inspect 7.___________________________ safely.

The robot goes and collects data; it is acting as 8._________________________ to the inspector.

In the game Eyewire, players could help researchers by tracing brain neurons to create 9._________________________.

The professor says the human brain has 85 billion neurons and that with 10._________________________, they may trace one to two neurons a day.

They take the players’ input and use it to train 11.__________________________ to speed up the process.

New technologies are also exploring our 12._________________________, as our limitations aren’t just physical.

The technology they’re building doesn’t allow us to have 13._________________________ of something really subjective like emotions.

Multi-sense tracks facial expressions and 14.__________________________ to help clinicians diagnose mental illnesses such as depression or PTSD.

What clinicians need is more of a technology to be 15.___________________________ in the real-time.

Part 3. For questions 16 – 20, listen to two nutritionists, Fay Wells and George Fisher, discussing methods of food production and choose the correct answer A, B, C or D which fits best according to what you hear. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.

16. Looking at reports on the subject of GM foods, Fay feels ____________.

A. pleased to read that the problem of food shortages is being addressed

B. surprised that the fears of the public are not allayed by them

C. frustrated by contradictory conclusions

D. critical of the scientists' methodology

17. What does George suggest about organic foods?

A. Consumers remain surprisingly poorly informed about them.

B. People need to check out the claims made about them.

C. They need to be made more attractive to meat-eaters.

D. They may become more widely affordable in future.

18. What is George's opinion of 'vertical farming'?

A. It could provide a realistic alternative to existing methods.

B. It's a highly impractical scheme dreamt up by architects.

C. It's unlikely to go much beyond the experimental stage.

D. It has the potential to reduce consumption of energy.

19. George and Fay agree that the use of nanotechnology in food production will ____________.

A. reduce the need for dietary supplements

B. simplify the process of food-labelling

C. complicate things for the consumer

D. introduce potential health risks

20. In Fay's view, returning to self-sufficiency is only an option for people who ____________.

A. have no need to get a return on their investment

B. are willing to accept a high level of regulation

C. reject the values of a consumer society

D. already have sufficient set-up funds

Your answers:

16. ................

17. ..............

18. ................

19. .............

20. .............

Part 4. For questions 21 – 25, listen to a radio discussion on technology in sport and decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F). Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.

21. Geoff thinks the use of cameras for refereeing decisions will add to the excitement of sport.     

22. Sally enjoys the speed at which tennis is played nowadays.                                                         

23. Geoff suggests that if everyone has access to doping, then it should be acceptable.                    

24. Geoff says that certain banned practices should be made legal.                                                    

25. He feels that there are adequate restrictions on the use of technology in sport.                            

Your answers:

21. ..............

22. ..............

23. ................

24. ................

25. ................

SECTION B. LEXICO-GRAMMAR (30 points)

Part 1. For questions 1-20, choose the correct answer A, B, C, or D to each of the following questions. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.   

1. Successful athletes cannot afford to be _________; they need to stay cool and focused.

A. highly-paid               B. highly-motivated        C. highly-trained           D. highly-strung

2. Her excellent grades in college led _________ a high-paying job after graduation.

A. to get her                  B. in getting her              C. to her getting            D. her getting

3. - “Are you working late again tonight?”

- “Yes, I’ll be here _________ the report.”

A. until I finish              B. since I’ve finished      C. when I’ve finished      D. by the time I’ve finished

4. The kind of exercises you can do depends on your _________ of fitness.

A. stage                         B. level                            C. step                             D. phase

5.  Aware that his pension will be small, he _________ a part of his salary for his old age.

A. sets apart                  B. sets aside                    C. puts up                        D. puts apart

6. I have no appetite and I am lethargic. I've been feeling under _________ for ages.

A pair                            B par                               C stress                            D threat

7. I think having a beer during a meeting with your boss is clearly _________ the mark.

A. overlooking              B. overreaching               C. overstepping               D. overseeing

8. The new soap opera on Channel 3 _________ the depths in terms of tastelessness.

A plumbs                      B reaches                        C fills                               D achieves

9. We’ll keep you _________ on any further changes in the examination specifications.

A noticed                      B announced                   C mailed                          D posted

10. We must be sure to make the right decision because there is a lot at _________.

A. range                         B. stake                           C. chance                         D. expectation

11. His past behaviour had a definite _________ on what the judges decided.

A. bearing                     B. weight                        C. decision                      D. conclusion

12. If you are a student on a low budget you are probably _________ from paying tax.

A. except                        B. excluded                     C. exempt                        D. apart

13. The mailing list has done much to _________ the numbers of people attending.

A. lift                              B. encourage                   C. heighten                      D. boost

14. As was _________ predicted, the company has announced hundreds of job losses.

A. considerably              B. widely                        C. substantially                D. amply

15. She felt that travelling had greatly _________ her life.

A. moved                       B. enriched                     C. expanded                     D. increased

16. A study that’s just been published _________ our theory completely.

A. puts up                      B. holds up                     C. backs up                       D. takes up

17. I recommend reading the books _________, starting with the very first.

A. by accident               B. at random                   C. in sequence                 D. on impact

18. If we have to pay a £1,000 fine, then ________. We’re not going to win a fight with the Tax Office.

A. so be it                      B. be it so                        C. thus be it                     D. be it thus

19. He came into the room and sat down without _________ a word to anyone.

A. as far as                    B. too much of                C. very much of              D. so much as

20. The restaurant has _________ recently, and the food is much better now.

A. had its hands full       B. lived hand to mouth   C. changed hands            D. gained the upper hand

Your answers:

..................

Part 2. For questions 21-30, write the correct form of each bracketed word in the corresponding numbered boxes provided. 0 has been done as an example.

FUSSY EATERS

If there is one thing that is likely to be (0. WORRY) ____________ for first-time parents, it is a young child’s eating problems. Most of these parents’ worries, however, are (21. FOUND)____________ since the incidence of children who do not enjoy their food is far more (22. SPREAD)____________ than the majority imagine and the retention beyond (23. CHILD)____________ of such problems to adolescence is (24. COMPARE)____________ rare.

There are, of course, cases which have perished into adulthood and those which appear to be more than just a (25. PASS)____________ phase. In these cases, professional (26. GUIDE)____________ has to be sought.

Up to now, psychiatrists have (27. CATEGORY)____________ nine distinct types of eating (28.ORDER)____________, each with its own particular treatment. The least serious of these is selective eating, when the child displays his/her (29. WILL)____________ to try anything but a narrow range of foods. This affects about 12% of three-year-olds but it rarely persists. The most serious is persuasive refusal syndrome, which affects only a (30. HAND)____________ of people and requires psychiatric supervision and treatment.

Your answers:

0. worrying

21. .........

22. .........

23. .........

24. .........

25. .........

26. .........

27. .........

28. .........

29. .........

30. .........

SECTION C. READING (60 points)

Part 1. For questions 1 – 10, fill each of the following numbered blanks with ONE suitable word. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.              

HYPERINFLATION

Inflation may be defined as either a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time, or a fall in the value of money over time. 'Hyperinflation' refers to extremely rapid or (1) ____________ of control inflation. Perhaps the most famous example of hyperinflation in recent history is that which took (2) ____________ in Germany after World War I. Between 1922 and 1923, prices in Germany increased (3) ____________ a factor of 20 billion. Inflation was so out of control that prices rose not just by the day, but by the hour and even minute. A loaf of bread cost just 463 marks in Germany in March 1923, but by November that (4) ____________ year cost over 200,000,000,000 marks. The effect on society was devastating. Because wages received in the morning would (5) ____________ worthless by the afternoon, people spent their money as quickly as possible, buying any physical goods they could get their hands (6) ____________ (whether they needed it or not) in a desperate attempt to get rid of currency units (7) ____________ they lost value. This only had the effect of stoking the fires of inflation further. Savings were wiped out overnight. People lived in constant fear. Bartering and crime became the order (8) ____________ the day. Interestingly, hyperinflation is not a rare event. Since Weimar Germany, there have been 29 additional hyperinflations around the world, including those in Austria, Argentina, Greece and Brazil, to (9) ____________ but a few. On average, that's one every three years (10) ____________ so.

Your answers:

1. ..............

2. ..............

3. ..............

4. ..............

5. ..............

6. ..............

7. ..............

8. ..............

9. ..............

10. ..............

Part 2. For questions 11 – 20, read the text below and decide which answer A, B, C or D best fits each gap. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.

THE BYGONE ERA

We live in an era (11) ________ by and increasingly dependent on technological innovations. It is for this reason that younger generations find it (12) _________ impossible to envision a future devoid of the convenience and comfort they provide us with. Small wonder then that when asked to (13) _________ what life will be like in the future, they come up with something that sounds as if it has been taken out of a science-fiction book. But this description is actually not the product of an (14) _________ imagination. Based on the present speed at which breakthroughs are being (15) _________, it is actually a fairly accurate prediction. It looks as if technology will have the (16) _________ hand and that fully automated systems will (17) ________ for people in all areas. People will take the back seat and instead of (18) ________ away at work we will be able to take advantage of the time made available to us to engage in more recreational activities. (19) ________ this time constructively will be a feat in itself. Perhaps, a case of too much of a good thing. Things might just come to the point where, (20) ________ time to time, we will reminisce about the good old days.

11. A. rivalled                       B. dominated                   C. surpassed                    D. overtaken

12. A. virtually                      B. fully                            C. potentially                  D. greatly

13. A. perceive                      B. forecast                       C. divine                         D. enact

14. A. intrepid                       B. ultimate                       C. inherent                      D. unbridled

15. A. done                            B. happened                    C. made                           D. occurred

16. A. upper                          B. back                            C. first                             D. high

17. A. emulate                       B. devise                         C. substitute                    D. duplicate

18. A. beavering                    B. badgering                    C. hounding                    D. monkeying

19. A. Utilising                     B. Manipulating              C. Operating                   D. Manoeuvring

20. A. at                                 B. in                                 C. for                               D. from

Your answers:

..............

Part 3. Read the following passage and answer the questions 21 – 30.  

THE HISTORY OF A COOL IMAGE

A       The history of sunglasses can be traced back to ancient Rome around the year AD 60, where the Emperor Nero is said to have watched gladiator fights whilst holding up polished emerald-green gems to his eyes, thus reducing the effect of the sun's glare. The very first actual recorded evidence of the use of sunglasses can be found from a painting by Tommaso da Modena in Italy, 1352, showing a person wearing sunglasses.

Earlier, around the twelfth century in China, sunglasses were worn by court judges, not to protect their eyes from the sun, but in order to conceal any expressions in their eyes as it was important to keep their thoughts and opinions secret until the end of each trial. These were flat panes of quartz that had been polished smooth and then smoked to give their tint. It was not until 1430 that prescription glasses were first developed in Italy to correct vision, and these early rudimentary spectacles soon found their way to China, where they were again tinted by smoke to be used by the judges. The frames were carved out of either ivory or tortoiseshell, and some were quite ornate. During the 17th century, prescription glasses were being used in England to help elderly long-sighted people to see better. The Spectacle Makers Company was founded in England, which started manufacturing prescription glasses for the public and whose motto was "A Blessing to the Aged".

B       The development of sunglasses, however, remained static until the work of James Ayscough, who was known for his work on microscopes in London around 1750. He experimented with blue and green tinted lenses, believing they could help with certain vision problems. These were not sunglasses, however, as he was not concerned with protecting the eyes from the sun's rays.

Prescription spectacles continued to be developed over the next few decades, especially regarding the design of the spectacle frames and how to get them to sit comfortably on the nose. The frames were made from leather, bone, ivory, tortoiseshell and metal, and were simply propped or balanced on the nose. The early arms or sidepieces of the frames first appeared as strips of ribbon that looped around the backs of the ears. Rather than loops, the Chinese added ceramic weights to the ends of the ribbons which dangled down behind the tops of the ears. Solid sidepieces finally arrived in 1730, invented by Edward Scarlett.

C       Sunglasses, as we know them today, were first introduced by Sam Foster in America, 1929. These were the first sunglasses designed specifically to protect people's eyes from the harmful sun's rays. He founded the Foster Grant Company, and sold the first pair of Foster Grant sunglasses on the boardwalk by the beaches in Atlantic City, New Jersey. These were the first mass-produced sunglasses, and from this year onwards, sunglasses really began to take off.

D       In 1936, Edwin H Land patented the Polaroid filter for making polarized sunglasses. This type of tint reduces glare reflected from surfaces, such as water. Later in that same year, Ray-Ban took the design of pilots' sunglasses further by producing the aviator style sunglasses that we know today, using this recently invented polarized lens technology. The edge of the frame characteristically drooped away at the edges by the cheeks in a sort of tear drop shape, to give a full all-round protection to the pilots' eyes, who regularly had to glance down towards the aircraft's instrument panel. The polarized lens reduced the glare from light reflected off the instrument panel. Pilots were given these sunglasses free of charge, but in 1937 the general public were allowed to purchase this aviator-style model that "banned" the sun's rays as Ray-Ban sunglasses.

E       In 1960, Foster Grant started a big advertising campaign to promote sunglasses, and pretty soon famous film stars and pop stars started wearing sunglasses as part of their image. The public began to adopt this new fashion of wearing sunglasses, not just to protect their eyes from bright light, but also as a way of looking good. Today, sunglasses are continuing to be improved with efficient UV blocking tints, cutting out all the harmful ultra-violet light. Various coloured tints are now available and, of course, the frame styles are very varied and exciting. Now you can really make a statement with your fashion sunglasses, transforming your image or creating a new one. Designer sunglasses have certainly come a long way in just a few years, and now not only protect our eyes from the harmful sun's rays, but are also an important fashion accessory - and it all started nearly 2,000 years ago with the Roman Emperor Nero!

For questions 21- 25, choose the correct heading for sections A-E. There are THREE extra headings that you do not need to use. Write your answers in the spaces provided.

List of Headings

i         New developments in sunglasses lenses                       

ii       The use of sunglasses in early courts                            

iii      How the physical shape of early sunglasses developed

iv       The introduction of sidepieces on sunglasses

v        The origins and early history of sunglasses

vi       Ways in which sunglasses have become trendy

vii     The arrival of modern sunglasses

viii    Advertising campaigns for sunglasses

Your answers:

21.  Section A     ______            23.  Section C   ______              25.  Section E    ______

22.  Section B      ______            24.  Section D   ______

For questions 26-30, decide whether the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage. Write in the corresponding numbered boxes provided

YES                 if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer.

NO                  if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer.

NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this.

26. The earliest reference to sunglasses can be found in early Roman times.                                  

27.  Early Chinese sunglasses were worn to correct the wearer's eyesight.                                      

28. The work of James Ayscough had a profound effect on the development of modern lenses.   

29. Prior to 1730, sidepieces on glasses were made of many different materials.                           

30. Sam Foster's sunglasses were the first to be made for a mass market.                                       

Your answers:

.............

Part 4. For questions 31 – 40, read an extract from an article on advertising and choose the answer A, B, C or D which you think fits best according to the text. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided. 

ADVERTISING SHIFTS FOCUS

The average citizen is bombarded with TV commercials, posters and newspaper advertisements wherever he goes. Not only this, but promotional material is constantly on view, with every available public space from shop to petrol station covered with advertising of some kind. People who are foolish enough to drive with their windows open are likely to have leaflets advertising everything and anything thrust in at them. The amount of advertising to which we are exposed is phenomenal, yet advertisers are being hurt by their industry's worst recession in a decade and a conviction that is in many respects more frightening than the booms and busts of capitalism: the belief that advertising can go no further. Despite the ingenuity of the advertisers, who, in their need to make their advertisements as visually attractive as possible, often totally obscure the message, the consumer has become increasingly cynical and simply blanks out all but the subtlest messages. The advertising industry has therefore turned to a more vulnerable target: the young.

The messages specifically aimed at children are for toys and games - whose promotional budgets increased fivefold in the 1990s - and fast food, which dominates the children's advertising market. Advertisers acknowledge that the commercial pressures of the 1990s had an extraordinary effect on childhood: it is now generally believed that the cut-off point for buying toys has been falling by one year every five years. Research, suggests that while not so many years ago children were happy with Lego or similar construction games at ten or eleven, most of today's children abandon them at six or seven. In effect, the result is the premature ageing of children.

There is nowhere where the advertising industry's latest preoccupation with the young is so evident as in schools. Increasingly low budgets have left schools vulnerable to corporate funding and sponsorship schemes in order to provide much needed equipment, such as computers, or to enable them to run literacy schemes. While on the face of it this would seem to be a purely philanthropic gesture on the part of the companies concerned, the other side of the coin is a pervasive commercial presence in the classroom, where textbooks and resource books are increasingly likely to bear a company logo.

This marked shift in advertising perceptions also means that a great deal of supposedly adult advertising has an infantile appeal, inasmuch as adult products can be presented within an anecdote or narrative, thus making the message more accessible to young teenagers and smaller children. Children obviously cannot buy these things for themselves; what is behind these advertisements is more subtle. Advertisers have come to recognize that if children can successfully pester their parents to buy them the latest line in trainers, then they can also influence their parent's choice of car or credit card, and so children become an advertising tool in themselves.

There are many, on all sides of the ideological spectrum, who would argue that advertising has little influence on children, who are exposed to such a huge variety of visual images that advertisements simply become lost in the crowd. Rather, they would argue that it is the indulgent parents, who do not wish their children to lack for anything, who boost sales figures. While there may be a great deal of truth in this, it would seem that to deny that advertising influences at all because there is so much of it, while accepting that other aspects of life do have an effect, is a little disingenuous. In fact, the advertising industry itself admits that since peer pressure plays such an important role in children's lives, they are not difficult to persuade. And of course, their minds are not yet subject to the advertising overload their parents suffer from. The question that arises is whether indeed, we as a society can accept that children, far from being in some sense protected from the myriad of pressures, decisions and choices which impinge on an adult's life, should now be exposed to this influence in all aspects of their lives, in ways that we as adults have no control over. Or do we take the attitude that, as with everything else from crossing city streets to the intense competition of the modern world, children will have to learn to cope, so the sooner they are exposed the better?

31. What does the writer say about advertising in the first paragraph?

A. Capitalism has led to the demise of advertising.

B. We should have a cynical view of advertisers.

C. Advertising is facing new challenges these days.

D. The industry has run out of new ideas.

32. The bombardment of advertisements has led to ________.

A. children taking more notice of them                   

B. greater difficulty in attracting consumers' attention

C. more appealing advertisements

D. people being less likely to spend money

33. How have children changed during the past decade?

A. They have become consumers.

B. They are growing up more quickly.

C. They are becoming cleverer.

D. They are not playing as much.

34. Which of the following square brackets [A], [B], [C], or [D] best indicates where in the paragraph the sentence “However, the main thrust of advertising in this area is no longer towards traditional children's products.” can be inserted?

[A] The messages specifically aimed at children are for toys and games - whose promotional budgets increased fivefold in the 1990s - and fast food, which dominates the children's advertising market. [B] Advertisers acknowledge that the commercial pressures of the 1990s had an extraordinary effect on childhood: it is now generally believed that the cut-off point for buying toys has been falling by one year every five years. [C] Research, suggests that while not so many years ago children were happy with Lego or similar construction games at ten or eleven, most of today's children abandon them at six or seven. In effect, the result is the premature ageing of children. [D]

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

35. Which of the following sentences best expresses the meaning of the underlined sentence in paragraph 3?

A. The advertising industry's latest obsession with young people is rather obvious in schools.

B. Nowhere else can we see the advertising industry's latest products for the young as in schools.

C. Schools are places where the advertising industry's latest concern with youngsters is the least obvious.

D. It is in schools that the advertising industry's latest concern with youngsters is the most clearly seen.

36. What does the writer imply in the third paragraph?

A. Advertising agencies need to preserve their reputations.

B. Schools welcome aid from big business.

C. There are restrictions on how financial aid may be used.

D. Companies expect nothing in return for their help.

37. How have children changed the face of advertising?

A. Children are influencing the purchases of adult products.

B. They are now the advertising industry's sole market.

C. More products have to be sold to children.

D. Children have become more selective in their choices.

38. The word “who” in the last paragraph refers to ________.

A. many people               B. the crowd                 C. parents                      D. children

39. What does the writer suggest in the last paragraph?

A. Adults feel increasingly threatened by advertising.

B. Children are unlikely to be influenced by their friends.

C. Parents avoid spending too much money on their children.

D. Children have a less sheltered existence than they used to.

40. In the text as a whole, the writer's purpose is to ________.

A. explain the inspiration for advertisements

B. expose the exploitation of children

C. deter parents from giving in to advertisers

D. prevent advertisers from infiltrating schools

Your answers:

..............

Part 5. The passage below consists of five paragraphs marked A, B, C, D and E. For questions 41-50, read the passage and do the task that follows. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided. Each letter may be used more than once.   

SEEKING SOCRATES

It may be more than 2,400 years since his death, but the Greek philosopher can still teach us a thing or two about leading ‘the good life’. Bettany Hughes digs deeper.

A    Sharing breakfast with an award-winning author in an Edinburgh hotel a few years back, the conversation came round to what I was writing next. 'A book on Socrates,' I mumbled through my muesli. 'Socrates!' he exclaimed. 'What a brilliant doughnut subject. Really rich and succulent with a great hole in the middle where the central character should be.' I felt my smile fade because, of course, he was right. Socrates, the Greek philosopher, might be one of the most famous thinkers of all time, but, as far as we know, he wrote not a single word down. Born in Athens in 469BC, condemned to death by a democratic Athenian court in 399BC, Socrates philosophized freely for close on half a century. Then he was found guilty of corrupting the young and of disrespecting the city's traditional gods. His punishment? Lethal hemlock poison in a small prison cell. We don't have Socrates' personal archive; and we don't even know where he was buried. So, for many, he has come to seem aloof and nebulous – a daunting intellectual figure – always just out of reach.

B    But that is a crying shame. Put simply, we think the way we do because Socrates thought the way he did. His famous aphorism, 'the unexamined life is not worth living', is a central tenet for modern times. His philosophies 24 centuries old - are also remarkably relevant today. Socrates was acutely aware of the dangers of excess and overindulgence. He berated his peers for a selfish pursuit of material gain. He questioned the value of going to fight under an ideological banner of 'democracy'. What is the point of city walls, warships and glittering statues, he asked, if we are not happy? The pursuit of happiness is one of the political pillars of the West. We are entering what has been described as 'an age of empathy'. So Socrates' forensic, practical investigation of how to lead 'the good life' is more illuminating, more necessary than ever.

C    Rather than being some kind of remote, tunic-clad beardy who wandered around classical columns, Socrates was a man of the streets. The philosopher tore through Athens like a tornado, drinking, partying, sweating in the gym as hard as, if not harder than the next man. For him, philosophy was essential to human life. His mission: to find the best way to live on earth. As Cicero, the Roman author, perceptively put it: 'Socrates brought philosophy down from the skies.' And so to try to put him back on to the streets he loved and where his philosophy belonged, I have spent 10 years investigating the eastern Mediterranean landscape to find clues of his life and the 'Golden Age of Athens'. Using the latest archaeology, newly discovered historical sources, and the accounts of his key followers, Plato and Xenophon, I have endeavoured to create a Socrates shaped space, in the glittering city of 500BC Athens – ready for the philosopher to inhabit.

D    The street jargon used to describe the Athens of Socrates' day gives us a sense of its character. His hometown was known as 'sleek', 'oily', 'violet crowned', 'busybody' Athens. Lead curse tablets left in drains, scribbled down by those in the world's first true democracy, show that however progressive fifth-century Athenians were, their radical political experiment - allowing the demos (the people) to have kratos (power) did not do away with personal rivalries and grudges. Far from it. In fact, in the city where every full citizen was a potent politician, backbiting and cliquery came to take on epic proportions. By the time of his death, Socrates was caught up in this crossfire.

E    His life story is a reminder that the word 'democracy' is not a magic wand. It does not automatically vaporize all ills. This was Socrates' beef, too – a society can only be good not because of the powerful words it bandies around, but thanks to the moral backbone of each and every individual within it. But Athenians became greedy, they overreached themselves, and lived to see their city walls torn down by their Spartan enemies, and their radical democracy democratically voted out of existence. The city state needed someone to blame. High-profile, maddening, eccentric, freethinking, free-speaking Socrates was a good target. Socrates seems to me to be democracy's scapegoat. He was condemned because, in fragile times, anxious political masses want certainties – not the eternal questions that Socrates asked of the world around him.

In which paragraph is each of the following mentioned?                                             Your answers:

 

 relationships between people in Socrates' time                                                                41.______

 the continuing importance of Socrates' beliefs                                                                 42.______

 the writer's theory concerning what happened to Socrates                                               43.______

 why little is known about Socrates as a man                                                                    44.______

 how the writer set about getting information relevant to Socrates                                   45.______

 the difference between common perceptions of Socrates and what he was really like    46.______

 an aim that Socrates was critical of                                                                                  47.______

 the realization that finding out about Socrates was a difficult task                                  48.______

 how well known Socrates was during his time                                                                 49.______

 an issue that Socrates considered in great detail                                                               50.______

SECTION D. WRITING (60 points)

Part 1. Read the following passage and use your own words to summarise it. Your summary should be between 100 and 120 words long.  

Today, the majority of the world's population may not be vegetarians, but vegetarianism is rapidly gaining popularity. People who decide to become vegetarians generally have very strong feelings about the issue and may choose a vegetarian diet for different reasons. Health issues, awareness of environmental problems and moral issues are three common arguments in favour of vegetarianism that are quite convincing.

Many non-vegetarians claim that a vegetarian diet does not give a person the necessary vitamins and proteins that their body needs. However, doctors and medical associations say that a vegetarian diet is able to satisfy the nutritional needs of people of all ages. All the nutrients and proteins one's body needs can be found in vegetables, nuts and grains, as well as in dairy products. Eating meat may be an easy way to get the protein one needs, but it is not the only way.

Vegetarians also argue that the meat industry is the source of many environmental problems that could be eliminated if people ate less meat or even stopped eating it altogether. Raising livestock for the meat industry takes a huge toll on the world's natural resources; for example forests are cut down to clear land for crops to feed livestock or for pastureland. This in turn leads to an increase in global warming, loss of topsoil and loss of plant and animal life.

Finally, many people refrain from eating meat for ethical reasons. They object to taking the life of another living creature in order to satisfy their hunger. Moreover, they argue that we inflict great pain and suffering on animals that are raised for meat. Poultry and livestock raised on factory farms are kept under abominable conditions, confined in areas that hardly allow them to move, fed with antibiotics and, in the end, they are cruelly slaughtered.

Becoming a vegetarian might not appeal to everyone, but it is a choice that is gaining popularity as our awareness of health and environmental issues as well as our concern for animal welfare is growing. It is also becoming more feasible as restaurants and supermarkets increasingly cater for the vegetarian market.

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Part 2.  The pie charts below show the expenditure of two technology companies of similar size in the UK in 2012.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. You should write about 150 words.           

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Part 3. Write an essay of 350 words on the following topic.

Drug addiction is becoming an increasing problem. In order to reduce this problem, anyone caught using drugs should be automatically sentenced to time in prison.

Do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience.

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----THE END----

ĐÁP ÁN

SECTION A: LISTENING ( 50pts)

Part 1: (2 x 5= 10 points)

1. (by) word of mouth                          

2. world largest service provider / the world's largest service provider

3. academics     

4. (to) browse   

5. A mathematician’s nephew / An American mathematician’s nephew / A nine-year-old boy /

A nephew of a mathematician

Part 2: (2 x 10= 20 points)

6. search(-)and(-)rescue

7. bridges and dams

8. (the) apprentice

9. (a) giant roadmap                       

10. 10,000 active users 

11. (an)  artificial intelligence

12. psyches 

13. objective measures                    

14. nonverbal cues

15. multi-sense / multisense

Part 3: (2 x 5= 10 points)

16C; 17D; 18A; 19C; 20B

Part 4: (2 x 5= 10 points)

21T; 22F; 23F; 24F; 25T

SECTION B: LEXICO-GRAMMAR (30 points)

Part 1: (1 x 20= 20 points)

1. D; 2. C; 3. A; 4. B; 5. B; 6. B; 7. C; 8. A; 9. D; 10. B

11. A; 12. C; 13. D; 14. B; 15. B; 16. C; 17. C; 18. A; 19. D; 20. C

Part 2: (1 x 10= 10 points)

21. unfounded

22. widespread

23. childhood

24. comparatively

25. passing

26. guidance

27. categorized / categorised

28. disorders

29. unwillingness

30. handful

SECTION C: READING (60 points)

Part 1: (1.5 x 10= 15 points)

1. out

2. place

3. by

4. same

5. be / become

6. on

7. before

8. of

9. name

10. or

Part 2: (1 x 10= 10 points)

11. B; 12. A13. B; 14. D; 15. C; 16. A; 17. C; 18. A; 19. A; 20. D

Part 3: (1 x 10= 10 points)

21. v

22. iii

23. vii

24. i

25. vi

26. Yes

27. No

28. Not Given

29. No

30. Yes

Part 4: (1 x 10= 10 points)

31. C; 32. B; 33. B; 34. B; 35. D; 36. B; 37. A; 38. C; 39. D; 40. B

Part 5: (1.5 x 10= 15 points)

41. D; 42. B; 43. E; 44. A; 45. C; 46. C; 47. B; 48. A; 49. E; 50. B

SECTION D: WRITING (60 points)

Part 1: Read the following passage and use your own words to summarise it. Your summary should be between 100 and 120 words long.    

Contents (10 points)

- The summary MUST cover the following points:

• The increasing popularity of vegetarianism today
• The three reasons why people choose a vegetarian diet (health issues (claim by non-vegetarians vs doctors and medical experts’ ideas); awareness of environmental problems (less or no meat = fewer environmental problems); and moral issues (It’s unfair to raise animals in bad conditions and then kill them for meat to feed humans.)

- The summary MUST NOT contain personal opinions. 

Language use (5 points)

The summary should:

• show attempts to convey the main ideas of the original text by means of paraphrasing (structural and lexical use), 
• demonstrate correct use of grammatical structures, vocabulary, and mechanics (spelling, punctuations,...),
• maintain coherence, cohesion, and unity throughout (by means of linkers and transitional devices). 

Penalties

• A penalty of 1 point to 2 points will be given to personal opinions found in the summary.
• A penalty of 1 point to 2 points will be given to any summary with more than 30% of words copied from the original.  
• A penalty of 1 point will be given to any summary longer than 130 words or shorter than 90 words.

Part 2:  The pie charts below show the expenditure of two technology companies of similar size in the UK in 2012.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Contents (10 points)

• The report MUST cover the following points: 
• Introduce the pie charts (2 points) and state the striking features (2 points)
• Describe main features with relevant data from the charts and make relevant comparisons 
  (6 points)
• The report MUST NOT contain personal opinions. (A penalty of 1 point to 2 points will be given to personal opinions found in the answer.)

Language use (5 points)

The report should:

• demonstrate a wide variety of lexical and grammatical structures, have correct use of words (verb tenses, word forms, voice,…); and mechanics (spelling, punctuations,...). 

Part 3: Write a composition of about 350 words on the following topic:  

Drug addiction is becoming an increasing problem. In order to reduce this problem, anyone caught using drugs should be automatically sentenced to time in prison.

Do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience.

The mark given to part 3 is based on the following criteria: 

- Task achievement/ fulfillment (10 points) 

• All requirements of the task are sufficiently addressed.
• Ideas are adequately supported and elaborated with relevant and reliable explanations, examples, evidence, personal experience, etc.

- Organization (10 points)

• Ideas are well organized and presented with coherence, cohesion, and unity.
• The essay is well-structured:
• Introduction is presented with a clear thesis statement introducing the points to be developed.

- Body paragraphs develop the points introduced with unity, coherence, and cohesion. Each body paragraph must have a topic sentence and supporting details and examples when necessary.

- Conclusion summarises the main points and states personal opinions (prediction, recommendation, consideration,…) on the issue. 

- Language use (5 points)

• Demonstration of a variety of topic-related vocabulary 
• Excellent use and control of grammatical structures

- Punctuation, spelling, and handwriting (5 points)

• Correct punctuation and no spelling mistakes
• Legible handwriting
• Markers should discuss the suggested answers and the marking scale thoroughly before marking the papers.

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