Practice Test 04 - Esc 20: phần nghe có tín hiệu. nhạc kết thúc bài nghe [PDF]

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PRACTICE TEST 04 – ESC 20

10 Sep 2022

HƯỚNG DẪN PHẦN THI NGHE HIỂU 

Bài nghe gồm 4 phần, mỗi phần được nghe 2 lần, mỗi lần cách nhau 30 giây, mở đầu và kết thúc mỗi phần nghe có tín hiệu.

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Mở đầu và kết thúc bài nghe có tín hiệu nhạc. Thí sinh có 3 phút để hoàn chỉnh bài trước tín hiệu nhạc kết thúc bài nghe.

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Mọi hướng dẫn cho thí sinh (bằng tiếng Anh) đã có trong bài nghe.

I. LISTENING (50 points) Part 1: You will hear a woman talking about caffeine. Listen and decide whether the following sentences are true (T) or false (F). (10 points) 1. The desired effects of caffeine are brought by its role in enabling the proper function of specific receptors in the brain. 2. Daily consumption of caffeine products has a long history, only at irregular intervals. 3. The local popularity Chinese tea enjoyed was preceded by its global reputation. 4. Caffeine consumption has become a part of the US beverage culture. 5. Caffeine has a risk warning, which led to a ban on the bulk sale of caffeine-infused beverages by the US government. Your answers 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Part 2: You will hear part of the lecture about the history of fireworks in Europe. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER taken from the recording. (10 points)) 1. What did the European emperors use fireworks to celebrate? __________________________________________________________ 2. In the late 17th century, what could be deployed to enable sailors to navigate at sea? __________________________________________________________ 3. Where was the contribution of fireworks specialists overlooked? __________________________________________________________ 4. What were featured in Grand displays in Paris, composed by Giovanni Servandoni, an architect and stage designer? __________________________________________________________ 5. Whom did the Italian specialists desire to appeal during their journey around Europe? __________________________________________________________ 1

Part 3: Listen to a radio discussion about children who invent imaginary friends 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. (10 points) 10. In the incident that Liz describes A. her daughter asked her to stop the car. B. she had to interrupt the journey twice. C. she got angry with her daughter. D. her daughter wanted to get out of the car. 11. What does the presenter say about the latest research into imaginary friends? A. It contradicts other research on the subject. B. It shows that the number of children who have them is increasing. C. It indicates that negative attitudes towards them are wrong. D. It focuses on the effect they have on parents. 12. How did Liz feel when her daughter had an imaginary friend? A. always confident that it was only a temporary situation B. occasionally worried about the friend's importance to her daughter C. slightly confused as to how she should respond sometimes D. highly impressed by her daughter's inventiveness 14. Karen says that the teenager who had invented a superhero is an example of A. a very untypical teenager. B. a problem that imaginary friends can cause. C. something she had not expected to discover. D. how children change as they get older. 15. According to Karen, how should parents react to imaginary friends? A. They should pretend that they like the imaginary friend. B. They shouldn't get involved in the child's relationship with the friend. C. They should take action if the situation becomes annoying. D. They shouldn't discuss the imaginary friend with their child. Your answers 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Part 4: Listen to a recording about a growth mindset and complete the summary by writing NO MORE THAN THREE words and/or a number in each gap. (20 points)

2

Growth mindset has acquired 1.________ these days with studies indicating greater success for those who embrace efforts and learning than those who are merely supportive of 2. __________. Similarly, deceptive behaviours are found in companies encouraging talent game while higher rates of innovative developments, greater 3. _________ as well as more dedicated staff are reported in companies supporting growth. However, a growth mindset can also be misinterpreted. One common misconception is to dismiss the evolutionary nature of growth and to mistake features such as a 4.________ or receptiveness for a growth mindset. Next, people might misinterpret endeavors as a sure component of a growth mindset while not attaching enough significance to 5. _______ which involve the lessons learnt, progress made and processes engaged in. Finally, organisations may solely announce their goals to achieve 6. _________ without 7. ______ and _________. All in all, organisations that encourage a growth zone value learning and support certain levels of 8. ________. In such environments, not 9._________ but ________ is espoused, and the concept of “growth” must be truly delivered to employees through actions. The fixed mindset that triggers 10.__________ in response to negative feedback might be an obstacle to growth thinking; therefore, the key is to get insight into what a growth mindset truly means and how to put it into practice. Your answers: 1.

6.

2.

7.

3.

8.

4.

9.

5.

10.

II. LEXICO - GRAMMAR (3 points) Part 1. Choose the best option to complete each of the following sentences. (20 points) 1. Beneath the streets of a modem city_______ of walls, columns, cables, pipes,and tunnels required to satisfy the needs of its inhabitants. A. where exists

B. the existing network

C. the network’s existence

D. exists the network

2. Everything looks very positive for the company, _______ the current investors do not default: fail to fulfil an obligation on their agreements. A. assuming that

B. whether

C. whereas

D. as if

3. Probably no man had more effect on the daily lives of most people in the United States_______ A. as Henry Ford, a pioneer in automobile production. B. rather than Henry Ford, a pioneer in automobile production. C. than did Henry Ford, a pioneer in automobile production. 3

D. more than Henry Ford, a pioneer in automobile production. 4. I would rather _______ my holiday in Egypt than in Turkey. I really couldn’t stand the food. A. take

B had taken

C. to have taken

D. have taken

5. According to a recent report, the disease is rare, affecting _______ ten thousand adults. A. out of every one

B. the only one of

C. every one from

D. only one out of every

6. I feel a bit wary that people seem so eager to make a _______ of faith: try but not know if it succeed or not about driverless cars being free to drive in our street. A. hop

B. jerk

C. leap

D. twitch

7. He has secured a loan for a new building by ______ upon the resources of two existing tenants. A. dwelling + upon: to think or talk about

B. training

C. playing

D.

drawing 8. They worked _______ all weekend, trying to get it finished on time. A. ferociously: to a great degree, extremely

B. Furiously: with much effort

C. Indignantly: indicating anger or annoyance

D. Outrageously: excessive

9. Individuals are being arrested and detained for lengthy periods, often without trial, for disseminating information judged to be ______ via the Internet. A. frolicsome

B. unpropitious

C. pedestrian

D. Seditious: phản động

10. The sun ______ down with merciless intensity on the six men adrift in the life boat. A. shone

B. scared

C. glared

D. flared

11. He was found to have provided the court with ______ evidence. A. doctored: to change a doc to deceive ppl C. Feigned: simulated, pretended

B. Tampered: interfered D. Shammed: pretend to be

12. The story _____ well, indicating that sports obsession is a universal quality. A. travels: with no spoil

B. carries

C. sails

D. crosses

13. Her legs were starting to grow tired and sore, and a _____ of pain was ______ in her side. A. stitch / erupting: stitch of pain: sát hông bursting

B. crick / arousing: đau cổ

C.

prick

/

D. throb / surging

14. Some find it hard to _____ themselves to the new working condition. A. apply

B. accommodate

C. habituate

D. conduct

15. She deliberately _____ the waters by constantly referring to other irrelevant cases. A. sullied: spoil st that is pure

B. Muddied: covered by or containing mud

C. Blemished: a mark on st that spoils its appearance

D. Shrouded: to hide st by

covering or surrounding it 16. The president claims the new media is _____ hostile: unfriendly and not liking st to his initiatives.

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A. impalpably: difficult to feel/understand are impossible to change

B. Implacably: strong opinions or feelings that

C. Impeccably: perfectly

D. Implausibly: difficult to

believe, unlikely 17. Talking about the quality of your work behind your back was a _____ tactic on her part! A. know-how: expertise

B. look-out

C. low-down: mean, unfair

D. show-down: thu thach cuoi cung 18. Research in this field is of relatively recent _____; that’s why I’m not conversant with it. A. progress

B. Caliber: the quality of so’s character

position affording a good view of st

C.

Vantage:

a

D. vintage

19. He said my novel showed promise. He liked the style and the story-line, and he was ____ just to be kind. A. getting his bearings: find out his position strength/power

B.

flexing

his

C. pulling his punches: be less forceful, severe

muscles:

give

a

show

of

D. spreading his wings:

extend one’s activities or start new ones 20. How am I expected to _____ a meal for six of his friends with almost nothing in the fridge? A. conjure up: evoke, imagine, make, prepare (food) deficiency

C. hack down: cut, chop

B. eke out: make up for the D. roll in: receive in large amount

Your answers: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

Part 2: Write the correct form of word in each blank. (10 points) 1. Sometimes I'm really shocked by the (CONTEMP) contemptuous behaviour of shop assistants. 2. The police (EXAMINE) cross-examined the accusing man about how the accident had occurred. 3. The thing you have done makes a player in your team feel that he or she is being (LINE) sidelined . Give everyone a chance to play. 4. The chairman of this company is merely a (HEAD) figurehead, the Chief Executive is the one who is truly in control. 5. The total (TON) tonnage of the bombs flopped in the Vietnam War increases every year as more bombs are unearthed. 6. He looked at the policeman with (DEFY) defiance, as if he were asking for a fight. 7. She received a (PLENTY) platinum of presents on her birthday - it would surely take the whole day to open them. 5

8. The sides are bluish green above, violet in the middle, red beneath, (VARIANT) variegated with oval spots of brilliant silver. 9. When going on business trip, Henry enjoys staying in luxurious hotels that offer (POINT) wellappointed suites. 10. He was born into a (BLOOD) blueblood family; therefore, he had an opportunity to attend the most prestigious private school in the country.

Your answers: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

III. READING (60 points) Part 1: Fill in each blank with ONE word. (15 points) We’ve all been there and come back with a T-shirt bearing a slogan about it – The Failed Holiday. The kids are bored stiff you can’t find a decent restaurant for love nor 1._dislike_____, the cafes are all full and you are fed up. Tempers fray and you are left wondering why you went away in the first place 2._without_not____ a good way to spend precious holiday time. But there is a way of escaping the stresses of being away from home. Staying in an all-inclusive hotel 3._and_means___ you don’t have to 4._make_plan____, meals, activities or night life, as everything is catered for, leaving you to 5._lay_sit____ back, relax and enjoy your holiday. Most importantly, all-inclusive holidays 6._vary_come____ at all-inclusive prices, so you pay for everything before you go away. And don’t think you’ll be 7. recommended__limited____ to one or two resorts. These days, holiday companies offer all-inclusive deals in every main resort around the Mediterranean, as well as more exotic locations such as the Caribbean or the Maldives. If you think this is the sort of holiday you are after, there are a few things to keep in 8._mind_____. Firstly, remember that you’ll be spending most of your time in the hotel, so make sure you choose one which has the facilities you require. If you’re travelling as a family 9. package__unit____, many hotels offer excellent children’s facilities such as kid’s clubs, playgrounds and crèches. For older children, there are a number of hotels offering supervised activities for teens while others offer 10._ many_____ sport facilities including team games, water sports and gym facilities. Your answers: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

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Part 2: Read the following passage and choose the best answer to each question. (10 points) I have been asked what I think about the idea of ‘Investing in People’. The best answer I can give is that I think that what it tries to achieve - basically making the link between business improvement and focusing on the needs of the people who work for an organisation - is great. My problem is with organisations who subscribe to it as a way to help them 'get better', when they don't bother to understand where they went wrong in the first place. They need to ask what explicit and implicit policies and procedures they have in place that prevent their people from being able to do the right thing for the right reasons. I am sure that there are managers out there who don't know any better, and assume that to manage they simply need to put pressure on their people to perform. [A] But people don't demonstrate high performance because they are told to. [B] They do it because they see the need to do it, and make the choice to do so. They do it because they are connected to the business goals and they see how their contributions can help achieve them. [C] But simply putting ticks in boxes is no good if it doesn't reflect reality. [D] I know of a company that was so concerned that its people were doing the 'right thing' that it put in place a series of metrics to measure their effectiveness. So far, so good. But one of the objectives - making successful sales calls - manifested itself in the metric 'Number of potential customers seen in one day'. The sales people obviously focused their efforts on going from one customer's office to another, and not on closing deals. Instead of the employees becoming more effective,they focused on getting the boxes ticked. Good intent; poor thinking. Another company wanted to improve the speed with which it was able to introduce new products. Competition was beating it to the market place, and consequently the company was losing market share. Senior management sent out the message to reduce the time spent in getting products into customers' hands, with the explanation that they couldn't afford delays. This was a relatively easy task,especially since the time spent testing the products was cut in half to accomplish the time reduction. The result was new products were introduced in less time than those of the competition - but soon rejected by customers for poor quality. Good intent; reckless implementation. A third company I know is trying hard to help employees see that they have some control over their future. The company instituted a programme with a title like 'Creating our own future' or something like that. A good idea; get the people involved in the future of the company. But instead of the employees becoming motivated to contribute, they saw it as a hollow exercise on the part of senior management who, in the past, had paid little attention to anything other than getting the job done so they could report great earnings. Yes, the programme was a big 'tick the box' effort, but that was all it was in the minds of the people that it was designed for. A final example is of a company that brought in one of these 'Investing in People' programmes to change the way the company was run. Assessors were running around like crazy, helping managers examine 7

how they managed. They told managers how they could manage better. And when the programme was over, the company was able to say they had done it- it had invested in its people and life was now good. But after all, the assessors were gone, and they again had targets to hit. All these examples are representative of senior management who see the need to improve things in their organisation, but don't see how to do it. For a start, a programme targeted at improving things is only as good as management's ability to motivate their people. And when the employees simply see the programme as a box-ticking exercise, then it's hopeless. 1. The writer thinks that putting the concept of 'Investing in People' into practice _______. A. frequently results in confusion among the people it is supposed to help B. involves more effort than some organizations are prepared to make C. may create problems where previously there had not been any problems D. is something that some organizations should attempt to do 2. What is the writer's attitude when using the phrase 'get better' in the first paragraph? A. ironic

B.humorous

C. indignant

D.practical

3. The writer's main point in the second paragraph is that the performance of employees _______. A. may be very good even if management is poor B. cannot be accurately measured by any box-ticking exercise C. is related to their knowledge of the organization as a whole D. is not as unpredictable as some managers believe it to be 4. Which of the following square brackets [A], [B], [C] or [D] best indicates where in the second paragraph the sentence “Such managers may tell themselves they can put a 'tick' in the 'we care about people' box.” can be inserted? A. [A]

B. [B]

C. [C]

D. [D]

5. What point does the writer make about the first company he describes? A. It was not really interested in measuring the effectiveness of employees. B. The targets that it set for staff were unrealistic. C. It failed to understand the real needs of its employees. D. The data that it collected did not measure what it was supposed to measure. 6. What point does the writer make about the second company he describes? A. It made what should have been an easy task into a complicated one. B. It failed to foresee the consequences of an instruction. C. It misunderstood why a new approach was required. D. It refused to take into account the views of employees. 7. What does the writer say about the programme introduced by the third company he mentions? A. Employees did not believe that it had been introduced for their benefit. B. Employees felt that it was in fact a way of making their jobs even harder. 8

C. The reason given for introducing it was not the real reason why it was introduced. D. It was an inappropriate kind of programme for this particular organization. 8. The writer says that the programme in his final example. A. was too demanding for managers to maintain long-term B. was treated as a self-contained exercise by managers C. involved some strange ideas on how managers could improve D. caused managers to believe that their previous methods had been better 9. What does the writer mean by using the phrase 'they again had targets to hit'? A. Setting targets and achieving them are a common thing in the mentioned company. B. Despite the programme, the company did not deviate from conventional business practices. C. The company were made up of goal-oriented managers and staff members. D. Managers in the company were quite oblivious to change and innovation.10. What can be inferred from the passage? A. Box ticking requires a coordination of efforts. B. Box ticking is being misinterpreted by businesses. C. Box ticking will need further revision along the way. D. Box ticking has become obsolete for businesses. Your answers: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Part 3: For questions 1-13, read the following passage and do the tasks that follow. (13 points)

Assessing the risk A. As a title for a supposedly unprejudiced debate on scientific progress, “Panic attack: interrogating our obsession with risk” did not bode well. Held last week at the Royal Institution in London, the event brought together scientists from across the world to ask why society is so obsessed with risk and to call for a “more rational” approach. “We seem to be organising society around the grandmotherly maxim of ‘better safe than sorry’,” exclaimed Spiked, the online publication that organised the event. “What are the consequences of this overbearing concern with risks?” B. The debate was preceded by a survey of 40 scientists who were invited to describe how awful our lives would be if the “precautionary principle” had been allowed to prevail in the past. Their response was: no heart surgery or antibiotics, and hardly any drugs at all; no aeroplanes, bicycles or high-voltage power grids; no pasteurisation, pesticides or biotechnology; no quantum mechanics; no wheel; no “discovery” of America. In short, their message was: no risk, no gain. 9

C. They have absolutely missed the point. The precautionary principle is a subtle idea. It has various forms, but all of them generally include some notion of cost-effectiveness. Thus the point is not simply to ban things that are not known to be absolutely safe. Rather, it says: “Of course you can make no progress without risk. But if there is no obvious gain from taking the risk, then don’t take it.” D. Clearly, all the technologies listed by the 40 well-chosen savants were innately risky at their inception, as all technologies are. But all of them would have received the green light under the precautionary principle because they all had the potential to offer tremendous benefits – the solutions to very big problems – if only the snags could be overcome. E. If the precautionary principle had been in place, the scientists tell us, we would not have antibiotics. But of course, we would – if the version of the principle that sensible people now understand had been applied. When penicillin was discovered in the 1920s, infective bacteria were laying waste to the world. Children died from diphtheria and whooping cough, every opendrain brought the threat of typhoid, and any wound could lead to septicaemia and even gangrene. F. Penicillin was turned into a practical drug during the Second World War when the many pestilences that result from were threatened to kill more people than the bombs. Of course antibiotics were a priority. Of course, the risks, such as they could be perceived, were worth taking. G. And so with the other items on the scientists’ list: electric light bulbs, blood transfusions. CAT scans, knives, the measles vaccine – the precautionary principle would have prevented all of them, they tell us. But this is just plain wrong. If the precautionary principle had been applied properly, all these creations would have passed muster, because all offered incomparable advantages compared to the risks perceived at the time. H. Another issue is at stake here. Statistics are not the only concept people use when weighing up risk. Human beings, subtle and evolved creatures that we are, do not survive to three-score years and ten simply by thinking like pocket calculators. A crucial issue is the consumer’s choice. In deciding whether to pursue the development of new technology, the consumer’s right to choose should be considered alongside considerations of risk and benefit. Clearly, skiing is more dangerous than genetically modified tomatoes. But people who ski choose to do so; they do not have skiing thrust upon them by portentous experts of the kind who now feel they have the right to reconstruct our crops. Even with skiing, there is the matter of cost-effectiveness to consider: skiing, I am told, is exhilarating. Where is the exhilaration in GM soya? 10

I. Indeed, in contrast to all the other items on Spiked’s list, GM crops stand out as an example of a technology whose benefits are far from clear. Some of the risks can at least be defined. But in the present economic climate, the benefits that might accrue from them seem dubious. Promoters of GM crops believe that the future population of the world cannot be fed without them. That is untrue. The crops that really matter are wheat and rice, and there is no GM research in the pipeline that will seriously affect the yield of either. GM is used to make production cheaper and hence more profitable, which is an extremely questionable ambition. J. The precautionary principle provides the world with a very important safeguard. If it had been in place in the past it might, for example, have prevented insouciant miners from polluting major rivers with mercury. We have come to a sorry pass when scientists, who should above all be dispassionate scholars, feel they should misrepresent such a principle for the purposes of commercial and political propaganda. People at large continue to mistrust science and the high technologies it produces partly because they doubt the wisdom of scientists. On such evidence as this, these doubts are fully justified. Questions 1-6 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 1 The title of the debate is not unbiased. 2 All the scientists invited to the debate were from the field of medicine. 3 The message those scientists who conducted the survey were sending was people shouldn’t take risks. 4 All the 40 listed technologies are riskier than other technologies. 5 It was worth taking the risks to invent antibiotics. 6 All the other inventions on the list were also judged by the precautionary principle. Questions 7-13: Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage Using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer. When applying the precautionary principle to decide whether to invent a new technology, people should also the consideration of the 7_________________, along with the usual consideration of 8_________________For example, though risky and dangerous enough, people still enjoy 9_________________for the excitement it provides. On the other hand, experts believe that future 11

population desperately needs 10_________________in spite of their undefined risks. However, the researchers

conducted so far have not been directed

towards

increasing the yield

of

11_________________ , but to reduce the cost of 12_________________and to bring more profit out of it. In the end, such selfish use of the precautionary principle for business and political gain has often led people to 13_________________science for they believe scientists are not to be trusted.

Your answers: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

Part

13.

4. You are going to read an article about graphology. Seven paragraphs have been

removed .from the extract. Choose from the paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap (1-7). There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use (7 points) Graphology is the study and analysis of handwriting in order to assess the personality and other traits of the writer. As a means of providing in-depth details of personality, graphology is based on the principle that most people write differently to the way they were taught at school. A unique pattern is formed on the page in the way a writer combines characters from left to right and from top to bottom. 1______

Physical, mental and emotional characteristics are revealed. Handwriting is an exposure of a person's current state of mind, feelings and body. An experienced graphologist can also detect past influences and perhaps, future potential. 2______ When Michon published the results of his many years of research into handwriting movements, the subject began to arouse public interest. His method was popular, owing to its simplicity. He studied certain elements in handwriting, namely the 'stroke', the letters, words, paragraphs and free movements (dots on i's and bars on t's). 3______ Crepieux-Jamin spent his life collating and improving upon Michon's observations and is credited with founding the School of Isolated Signs, which linked specific handwriting elements to specific traits. He

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defined the various elements of handwriting and divided them into seven categories: dimension, form , pressure, speed , direction , layout and continuity. 4______ At around the same time, in Germany, William T. Preyer recognised the fact that handwriting is, in fact, brainwriting. He theorised that should a writer lose his writing arm, as did Nelson, for example, and have to use the opposite hand, or even the foot or mouth in the case of paralysis, the same basic tendencies will appear in the script, although obviously executed with less fluency at first. 5______ Dr Max Pulver, a renowned psychologist with a deep interest in graphology, was to make a further contribution. He divided handwriting into three 'zones' - vertical movement, horizontal movement and depth. This clarified aspects of handwriting previously misunderstood. 6______ At that time, many graphologists came to Britain hoping to continue their profession, only to find the subject virtually unknown. In order to bring it to public attention, several graphologists produced books for the layman. This was a breakthrough for graphology, and public reaction indicated there was a demand for more information on the subject. 7______ Since graphology can give an all-round accurate specific handwriting elements to specific traits. He profile, there is a deeper insight into a person's whole defined the various elements of handwriting and character. There is also an elimination of the divided them into seven categories: dimension, form, problem of premeditated candidate responses and any attempts at deception are detectable to the graphologists. Strengths and weaknesses are emphasized, as well as many other features that are relevant to the appointment. Your answers: 1.

2.

6.

7.

3.

4.

5.

Part 5: The passage below consists of five sections marked A-E. Read the passage and do the task that follows. Write your answers (A-E) in the corresponding numbered boxes provided. (15 points) A. There are now five times as many cases of food poisoning as there were 20 years ago. It's partly down to the fact that we eat out more often. Consider that one in men and one in three five women admit that they don't wash their hands after going to the toilet or before preparing food; it's enough to put you off popping out for a quick bite on a Friday night. And before you reach for one of those mints sitting on the counter by the till, think how many non-hand-washers have dipped their fingers into that bowl. But the 13

problem isn't restricted to grubby eateries. More than half of food poisoning infections are acted in the home. This may be because people are eating more pre-prepared food and shopping less often, so is stored for longer. But most food poisoning is preventable if you know what you're doing. B. Next time you have a headache, don't automatically reach for painkillers. Using them too often could be more dangerous than you think. For a vulnerable minority, the route to addiction can be alarmingly fast. It's thought that overusing painkillers leads to changes in the way the handles pain signals, so it becomes oversensitive to stimuli that wouldn't normally cause pain. As the pain threshold lowers, people seek out stronger medication and increase the dosage and soon they are hooked. Somewhere along the line we have become blasé about the dangers of these medicines which are available in petrol stations, news agents and supermarkets. People must not assume that over the counter drugs are safe because clearly this is not the case. C. The basic premise of detox is that we need to clear the toxic waste from our bodies every so often in order to stay healthy. It sounds a reasonable idea, but nutrition experts are quick to point out that there's no evidence to support it. Detoxing is a concept that underestimates the abilities of our liver and kidneys. Any toxins that do get absorbed are very efficiently dealt with and secreted by our bodies. The concept of detox diets is irrational and unscientific. Those promoting detox diets often claim that in order to detoxify, we should avoid foods such as wheat and dairy products. The reality is that these foods provide us with important nutrients, and it is unnecessary potentially harmful to exclude them from the diet. D. There is a lot of publicity about the dangers of having 'high cholesterol' at the moment - mainly coming from companies that make special foods that claim to lower it for you. It is a widespread problem though: according to the British Heart Foundation around two thirds of British people have a blood cholesterol level above the suggested healthy target figure. And as there are no symptoms until it causes disease, many people with high cholesterol may not be aware that they have it. However we need some cholesterol because the body wouldn't function without it! It is a key part of cell membranes and it is also found in bile, which is important for digestion and absorption of fat. E. Just like a real-time personal trainer (PT), an online coach discusses personal goals, tailors exercise schedules and offers advice to clients of all abilities. Instead of face-toface guidance, however, the virtual trainer gives feedback via emails and texts - perfect for the self-conscious exerciser! While critics say that it is impossible to effectively rain clients without meeting them, online coaches offer a valuable compromise when it comes to training. First they are a cost-effective alternative. Second, they represent a more flexible option, especially if your work takes up much of your time or makes it difficult for you to commit to regular sessions. And just because your coach is in cyberspace, it doesn't mean he won't be 14

keeping tabs on you. The mere thought of the next email should have you racing to put on your sports kit. F. Most of us are unclear as to where social drinking stops and alcohol dependency starts. A heavydrinking student is fairly normal, but a 40-year-old party animal? A sozzled 60- year-old? At what point do the questions demand a serious answer? Recommendations from the government are that men should consume no more than three to four units of alcohol a day and women only two to three units. Of course, committed social drinkers of all ages often ignore units, taking comfort from the fact that they are not reaching for the bottle before lunchtime, and their friends are drinking as much as they are so it must be alright. But you can even test yourself online by looking at Alcohol Concern's website to determine if alarm bells should be ringing. Most people can reduce their alcohol consumption without professional help but it's not just about cutting down, it's about editing your life to remove the reasons you are drinking too much. In which extract is the following mentioned? 1. People may be unaware of something that is causing disease in their body. 2. Cutting back too much can be harmful. 3. If you feel self-conscious, this could be for you. 4. A shocking hygiene confession is made. 5. This could be a flexible way to monitor your activity and performance levels. 6. A change in body reaction could be dangerous. 7. Drastic measures may not achieve the expected results. 8. You should reassess your lifestyle to see if it is causing a bad habit. 9. People need to be aware of the dangers of something that seems safe. 10.A high-profile health problem boosts manufacturers' turnover. Your answers: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

IV. WRITING (60 points) Part 1: Read the following extract and use your own words to summarise it. Your summary should be 120 words long. (15 points) The extraordinary system, language, allows us to communicate about anything whatsoever, whether it is present, absent, or even non-existent. This is quite strange, compared with the communication systems of other animals, which are mostly confined to messages about everyday events, such as food, danger, mating and territorial rights. Humans are the odd ones out. We humans are strange, because language 15

with its fast and precise sounds has more in common with birdsong than with the vocal signals of our ape relatives. So how did it all begin, this powerful, weird communication system of ours? Frustratingly, we do not know. Our earliest written records are around 5,000 years old, though most are more recent. Yet language must have evolved at least 50,000 years ago, and most researchers propose a date around 100,000 years ago. Until recently, how it all began was an unfashionable question, a playground for cranks. Curious theories abounded. Take the views of Lord Monboddo, a Scottish aristocrat, who in 1773 published a book claiming that humans learned how to spin and weave from spiders, how to construct dams from beavers, and how to sing and speak from birds. The cuckoo, the raven and the parrot, he noted, produced almost alphabetical sounds. Therefore in his view human articulation was the result of imitating such birds. As absurd claims mushroomed, the question of language origin was shunned by serious scholars. In 1866, a ban on the topic was even imposed. Yet scholarly disapproval did not stop speculation. One academic, in fact, has counted twenty-three 'principal theories' of language origin. Another acidly commented: The very fact ... that human animals are ready to engage in a great "garrulity" over the merits and demerits of essentially unprovable hypotheses, is an exciting testimony to the gap between humans and other animals.' The origin of language is like a juicy fruit dangling just out of reach. Human beings have a natural curiosity about it seemingly built into their minds: 'Few questions in the study of human language have attracted so much attention, provoked so much controversy, or resisted so resolutely their answers as that of the origin of language,' noted a recent writer. Source: Aitchison (1996) - Seeds of Speech (language origin and evolution) _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ 16

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Part 2: The chart below shows import and export values of crude oil in Vietnam and the table shows fluctuations in world oil prices and average prices of products and services in Vietnam between 2015 and 2020. Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant. (15 points)

Increase/decrease in world oil prices and average prices of products and services over the years (%)

Average world oil prices Average price of products and services

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

 45.6

 17.4

 20.74

 31.3

 10.28

 33.8%

 0.63

 2.66

 3.53

 3.54

 2.79

 3.23

_________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ 17

_________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ Part 3: Write an essay of about 300 words to express your opinion on the following issue. It is time to recognize the growing importance of teenagers’ mental well-being .Some people say that so as to lead a healthy lifestyle, students should maintain a balanced diet and regular workouts. Others, however, believe that courses to promote their mental condition are more advisable. Discuss both views and give your own opinion. (30 points) _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ 18

_________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ - THE END -

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