(Đáp án) National English competition (mock test)

ĐỀ THI THỬ ĐỘI TUYỂN HỌC SINH GIỎI ONLINE LẦN 1
I. LISTENING (50 points)
Part 1. For questions 1-5, listen to the recording and decide whether the following
statements are True (T), False (F), or Not Given (NG) according to what you hear. 1. Answer T
The land that is being mined for oil was once forest. 2. Answer F
This part of Alberta is known as a nesting place for tropical birds. 3. Answer NG
About one-third of Alberta's bitumen is upgraded into SCO before being sold to downstream refineries. 4. Answer F
One woman comments that there are more pipelines than people in Alberta now. 5. Answer T
More CO² is being released into the atmosphere because the peat bogs are now exposed.
Part 2: Listen to a part of news report about the boom and benefits in telemedicine
and answer the questions. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS taken from the
recording for each answer.
1. According to the reporter, in addition to refilling prescriptions, what does telemedicine
in the US mainly get calls for? Answer bumps and bruises
2. What was the interview between the reporter and Dr. Fang about? Answer Intubating
3. What disease was Theresa diagnosed with eventually? Answer mastoiditis
4. What is Michael Novieli’s job? Answer veteran
5. According to Michael, who advised him to go to the emergency department? Answer a telehealth nurse
Part 3. For questions 11-15, listen to a radio interview with the mountaineer and
explorer Tom Masefield and choose the correct answer which fits best according to what you hear.
11. While kayaking, Tom and his group were surprised by the sight of ________. the local people an unusual animal a school of dolphins a sunken ship Mark 2.00 out of 2.00
The correct answer is: an unusual animal .
12. According to Tom, mountaineers ___________.
form close bonds with the surrounding environment
often misunderstand each other's intentions
experience friction under extreme conditions
appreciate the importance of trust in the team Mark 2.00 out of 2.00
The correct answer is: appreciate the importance of trust in the team
13. Regarding the problem with frostbite on Everest, Tom is ________. indifferent philosophical dismissive frustrated Mark 0.00 out of 2.00
The correct answer is: philosophical
14. The team's first attempt to climb Carstensz Pyramid failed due to______.
disagreements with their sponsors
disturbances caused by local dissidents
mechanical problems with their helicopter
a lack of sufficient time and funding Mark 2.00 out of 2.00
The correct answer is: mechanical problems with their helicopter
15. Tom's conquest of Carstensz Pyramid was special because it was ______.
the second time he had climbed it
the first time anyone had done this
a dream he had had since childhood
his second historic achievement for his country Mark 0.00 out of 2.00
The correct answer is: a dream he had had since childhood
Part 4. For questions 16-25, listen to a talk about the human nose and complete the
following sentences. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS taken from the recording for each blank.
Our noses are composed of 16. Answer bendy cartilage
rather than bone. Similar to our other external organs, they evolved to contribute to our
survival by assisting us in eating. Thanks to their proximity to our mouth with 17. Answer dow nw ard pointing nostrils
, noses enable us to smell if something has rotted. In addition, noses help infants by making
sure that they don't 18. Answer suffocate while being nursed.
Their outer part consists mainly of resilient tissue, which means they are softer and much
less likely to 19. Answer splinter and shatter
though they receive a lot of 20. Answer bashing throughout our life span.
The position of our jutting noses also helps to prevent a direct intrusion of rainwater or
sweat. Many other animals are not so 21. Answer design savvy
. Take the 22. Answer snub-nosed monke
in Myanmar as an example, its upward pointing nose makes it sneeze every time it rains,
which is not good when the monkey wants to hide from predators, attempting to live its
best 23. Answer camouflaged life .
Plastic nose surgery, also known as 24. Answer rhinoplasty
, has been used by surgeons to reconstruct the normal function and appearance of the
noses damaged by syphilis since the 16th century and is now the most common one.
Odour memory is a human unique ability because the part of our brain dealing with our sense
of smell is right next to the area where memories are formed called the 25. Answer hippocampus .
II. LEXICO-GRAMMAR (20 points)
Part 1. For questions 26-40, choose the correct answer A, B, C, or D to each of the following questions.
26. The cartoon Answer lampooned
the politician for his outlandish behaviour with hysterical imagery.
27. His threat to go to the press with unflattering information unless he got what he wanted amounted to Answer blackmail .
28. She's going to read a few Answer excerpts
from her much-hyped novel at tonight's event.
29. His Oscar win thrust him into the Answer limelight
and the film roles started pouring in.
30. She made a few films in her 20s, then faded into Answer obscurity .
31. Everything we know about the past is recorded in the Answer annals of history.
32. Despite her stunning loss in the election, the politician Answer conducted
herself with poise and dignity.
33. When we make a mistake, it's often difficult to Answer sw alow our pride and admit to it.
34. Mark had a feeling of Answer impending
disaster, as if something terrible was going to happen.
35. The subjects of the adverts they saw were very Answer hit-or-miss in terms of their appeal.
36. The first banner ad appeared over twenty years ago. Since then, this form of marketing
has come on Answer in leaps and bounds
and they are now part and parcel of almost every website – commercial or otherwise.
37. Working Answer against the clock
on a Sunday night to meet a Monday morning deadline is a lot more motivating when it’s your own company.
38. He’s got some kind of food poisoning – he must have Answer picked it up on holiday. 39. You are Answer quite
welcome to stay here: I can't offer five-star accommodation, that's all.
40. If you spend any time Answer behind bars
, you're labelled as a criminal for the rest of your life.
Part 2. For questions 41 – 45, WRITE THE CORRECT FORM of each bracketed word in
each sentence in the space provided.
41. I've lectured on the importance of Answer test-taking
skills, as all of my colleagues. (TEST)
42. When someone waves at you, a Answer reciprocal
gesture is to wave back. (RECIPROCATE)
43. Judging by how much the neighbours scream at each other, one can only imagine them
to be quite a Answer dysfunctional family. (FUNCTION)
44. If you don't set rules for your children, it won't be long before they exhibit Answer aberrant behaviour. (ERRANT)
45. Opponents of globalisation claim that it leads to countries becoming culturally Answer homogenise . (GENOME)
III. READING (50 points)
Part 1. For questions 46-55, read the passage and fill each of the following numbered
blanks with ONE suitable word.
One mismatched disease which affects approximately 55 million people in the US is
osteoporosis. A disease 46. Answer affecting
bone density, it is now regarded as a ‘silent epidemic’, as many people will be unaware
they are sufferers until they experience a sudden fracture. Lieberman explains that humans
have skeletons that require physical activity to 47. Answer grow
properly, and that it is between the ages of 20 and 30 that peak bone mass is reached. It is
therefore crucial to acquire as much bone mass as possible before then. Inactive pre-teens
simply won't develop enough bone mass to support a skeleton 48. Answer into old age.
What about the rise in allergies? Lieberman explains that the 49. Answer immune
system evolved to protect people from external germs, and that it is still constantly ready
looking for invaders to attack. However, since the invention of antibiotics, many of those 50. Answer invaders
are no longer there, meaning that the immune system is less 51. Answer in
demand and now sometimes functions inappropriately, attacking for example, cells or
molecules such as the proteins in peanuts or wheat-based products. To reinforce his
hypothesis, Lieberman points out that diseases such as diabetes and heart disease are virtually 52. Answer unknow
among societies which still hunt for meat and gather edible 53. Answer plants
. The solution, he says, therefore lies in a change in the kind of high-sugar, high-fat diet we
now depend upon, and strenuous exercise.
The problem with exercise, Lieberman notes, is that our bodies are adapted to preserve
energy whenever possible; our 54. Answer ancestors
would have rested and taken it easy whenever possible. For most people in the 21st
century, unless they are coerced by their environment and circumstances, it is 55. Answer unlikely
that they will voluntarily sustain a regular exercise routine.
Part 2. For questions 56-68, read the following passage and do the tasks that follow. WHAT IS PERSONALITY?
A. We are all familiar with the idea that different people have different personalities, but
what does this actually mean? It implies that different people behave in different ways, but
it must be more than that. After all, different people find themselves in different
circumstances, and much of their behaviour follows from this fact. However, our common
experience reveals that different people respond in quite remarkably different ways even
when faced with roughly the same circumstances. Alan might be happy to live alone in a quiet
and orderly cottage, go out once a week, and stay in the same job for thirty years, whilst Beth
likes nothing better than exotic travel and being surrounded by vivacious friends and loud music.
B. In cases like these, we feel that it cannot be just the situation which is producing the
differences in behaviour. Something about the way the person is „wired up‟ seems to be at
work, determining how they react to situations, and, more than that, the kind of situations
they get themselves into in the first place. This is why personality seems to become stronger
as we get older; when we are young, our situation reflects external factors such as the social
and family environment we were born into. As we grow older, we are more and more
affected by the consequences of our own choices (doing jobs that we were drawn to,
surrounded by people like us whom we have sought out). Thus, personality differences that
might have been very slight at birth become dramatic in later adulthood.
C. Personality, then, seems to be the set of enduring and stable dispositions that characterise
a person. These dispositions come partly from the expression of inherent features of the
nervous system, and partly from learning. Researchers sometimes distinguish between
temperament, which refers exclusively to characteristics that are inborn or directly caused
by biological factors, and personality, which also includes social and cultural learning.
Nervousness, for example, might be a factor of temperament, but religious piety is an aspect of personality.
D. The discovery that temperamental differences are real is one of the major findings of
contemporary psychology. It could easily have been the case that there were no intrinsic
differences between people in temperament, so that given the same learning history, the
same dilemmas, they would all respond in much the same way. Yet we now know that this is not the case.
E. Personality measures turn out to be good predictors of your health, how happy you
typically are – even your taste in paintings. Personality is a much better predictor of these
things than social class or age. The origin of these differences is in part innate. That is to say,
when people are adopted at birth and brought up by new families, their personalities are
more similar to those of their blood relatives than to the ones they grew up with.
F. Personality differences tend to manifest themselves through the quick, gut-feeling,
intuitive and emotional systems of the human mind. The slower, rational, deliberate systems
show less variation in output from person to person. Deliberate rational strategies can be
used to over-ride intuitive patterns of response, and this is how people wishing to change
their personalities or feelings have to go about it. As human beings, we have the unique
ability to look in at our personality from the outside and decide what we want to do with it.
G. So what are the major ways personalities can differ? The dominant approach is to think of
the space of possible personalities as being defined by a number of dimensions. Each person
can be given a location in the space by their scores on all the different dimensions. Virtually
all theories agree on two of the main dimensions, neuroticism (or negative emotionality) and
extroversion (or positive emotionality). However, they differ on how many additional ones
they recognise. Among the most influential proposals are openness, conscientiousness and
agreeableness. In the next section I shall examine these five dimensions.
Questions 56-62: There are seven paragraphs marked A-G in the passage. Choose the
correct heading for each paragraph from the list below. Write your answers in the
corresponding box provided. Write i-x only. List of Headings i A degree of control
ii Where research has been carried out into the effects of family on personality
iii Categorising personality features according to their origin
iv A variety of reactions in similar situations
v A link between personality and aspects of our lives that aren’t chosen
vi A possible theory that cannot be true
vii Measuring personality
viii Potentially harmful effects of emotions
ix How our lives can reinforce our personalities
x Differences between men’s and women’s personalities 56. Paragraph A Answer iv 57. Paragraph B Answer ix 58. Paragraph C Answer iii 59. Paragraph D Answer vi 60. Paragraph E Answer v 61. Paragraph F Answer i 62. Paragraph G Answer vii
Questions 63-68: Do the following statements reflect the claims of the writer? Choose the correct answer.
YES (Y) if the statement reflects the claims of the writer
NO (N) if the statement reflects the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN (NG) if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this 63. Answer Y
Alan and Berth illustrate contrasting behaviour in similar situations. 64. Answer NG
As we grow older, we become more able to analyse our personalities. 65. Answer N
Nervousness is an example of a learned characteristic. 66. Answer NG
The discovery of differences in temperament has changed the course of psychological research. 67. Answer Y
Adopted children provide evidence that we inherit more of our personality than we acquire. 68. Answer Y
The rational behaviour of different people shows greater similarity than their emotional behaviour.
Part 3. In the passage below, seven paragraphs have been removed. For questions
69-75, read the passage and choose from paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap.
There is ONE extra paragraph which you do not need to use. Write your answers in
the corresponding numbered boxes provided. Write A-H only. Born Bad?
New research points to a biological role in criminality
The tattoo on the ex-corn’s beefy arm reads: BORN TO RAISE HELL. Much as it may
defy the science of the past, which blamed crime on social influences such as poverty and
bad parenting, the outlaw may be onto something. Though no one would deny that
upbringing and environment play important parts in the making of a criminal, scientists
increasingly suspect that biology also plays a significant role. 69 Answer H
After evaluating recent research on violence, a special panel gathered by the National
Research Council (NRC) in Washington published a lengthy report last fall noting that “even
if two individuals could be exposed to identical experiences, their potentials for violent
behavior would differ because their nervous systems process information differently. 70 Answer B
Another simple fact pointing to a biological basis for criminality is that in all societies,
about 90% of violent criminals are men – many of them young. The great majority of other
crimes are also committed by men. Among animals, too, the male is almost always more
aggressive. This fact suggests that certain hormones, particularly androgens, which
characterize maleness, may help tip the balance from obeying to breaking the law. 71 Answer D
Linking an individual’s temperament to criminality is, of course, a much more
contentious matter. To search for the roots of violence, the members of NRC panel asked
several key questions. Why do some children show patterns of unusually aggressive
behavior – hitting, kicking, biting peers or parents, or being cruel to animals – at an early
age? Why do only a small percentage of those children commit violent crimes as adults? The
panel concluded: “Research strongly suggests that violence arises from interactions
among individuals’ psychological development, their neurological and hormonal differences,
and social processes.” There is no basis, the researchers added, for giving one of these
elements more weight than another. 72 Answer G
Research that may help resolve this nature-nurture question focuses mostly on three
areas: biochemical imbalances, genetic factors and physical damage such head injury around
the time of birth. Some studies suggest a link between criminal behavior – particularly the
violent sort – and birth-related trauma, premature birth or low birth weight. Similarly, a
woman’s use of alcohol, cocaine, tobacco or other drugs during pregnancy also appears, in
some instances, to damage fetal development in a way that is related to later criminality. On
a more positive note, however, one recent study concluded that when children who’s had a
traumatic birth grew up in a stable family environment, they were no likelier than anyone
else to develop into criminals. 73 Answer A
Both animal experiments and cases of human head injury and brain damage have
pinpointed areas of the brain where impairment or seizure can trigger aggression. In
monkeys, researchers can elicit “sham rage” by using electrodes to stimulate the limbic
system, a group of structures deep within the brain that influence emotions. A rare condition
called intermittent explosive disorder is linked to periodic seizures in the same brain area. 74 Answer C
After collaborating with Dr. Tomas Bouchard, Jr., on famous studies of more than 55
pairs of identical twins adopted separately at birth and reared apart, Dr. David Lykken, a
psychologist at the University of Minnesota’s Twin Research Center, says that “these traits
correlate as strongly in twins who have been raised apart as in twins who were raised
together.” Moreover, the largest twin study of criminality ever conducted, published in
Denmark in 1987, found that when a male identical twin* committed a crime, his twin was
five times likelier than the average Danish man to commit a crime as well; when a fraternal
twin* committed a crime, his twin was three times likelier than other Danish men to break the law.
* Twin developed from one fertilized ovum; twins loo very much alike
* Twin who developed from two fertilized ova; twins can look quite different from one another 75 Answer F
Dr. Kagan’s research suggest that 35% to 40% of babies are born with a very relaxed
approach to the world around them. Many of the babies he studied react to stress with a low
degree of excitability, as gauged by physical indications such as heartbeat, blood pressure
and adrenaline secretion. By the time these children are between 20 and 30 months old, they
can frequently be described as extroverted and relatively fearless. (Of the faction who
warrant the description extremely fearless, 80% are boys.) Glenn Garelik Missing paragraphs:
A. Childhood injury to brain tissue may also figure in late criminal behavior. Law professor
Deborah Denno of Fordham University in New York City, studied a group of nearly 500 boys
from birth to age 23. She found that lead poisoning, which is known to impair aspects of brain
functioning, is the single best predictor of boys’ disciplinary problems in school; such problems
in turn are strongly associated with later adult crime. Denno had expected to find family factors
most strongly implicated in delinquency and criminal behavior and was astonished by her results.
B. First and most obvious among the clues that biology plays a role in criminal behavior is
the simple fact that throughout history, crime has occurred in all cultures. One element in the
universality of crime is the human capacity for aggression. Nobel prize-winning ethologist
Konrad Lorenz, author of On Aggression, argued that just as people have an instinct for eating
and drinking, nature evolved in them the impulse for aggression. Though Lorenz thought it was
peculiar to people and rats, aggression has now been observed in every vertebrate species
studied. In people, only a fine line separates aggression form violence – defined by researchers
as behavior intended to inflict harm on others. “Criminals are, on the whole, angry people,” says
Harvard psychologist Richard Hernstein. “That’s well substantiated.”
C. Convincing evidence from the field of behavioral genetics implies that certain biological
predispositions to criminal behavior are inherited. Like test pilots and mountain climbers,
delinquents and criminals tend to be born with relatively calm nervous systems that allow them
to face risky situations with minimal stress. Other personality traits, including aggressiveness
and impulsivity, partly depend on genes.
D. While there’s no such thing as a “crime gene”, or indeed any single determinant that
leads a person to break the law, each child is born with a particular temperament, or
characteristic pattern of psychological response. As Wilson notes, “One is shy, the other bold;
one sleeps through the night, the other is always awake; one is curious and exploratory, the
other passive. These observations are about differences that cannot be explained wholly or even largely by environment.
E. Factors such as low intelligence, poor diet, impulsivity, and hyperactivity, hormones such
as testosterone and cortisol, and environmental pollutants may all affect a person’s biological
propensity for criminal or antisocial behavior. Emerging evidence about the correlates of these
and related factors is helping to build a better picture of the biological basis for human behavior.
F. One way or another, says Harvard psychologist Jerome Kagan, there’s no question that
people inherit different neurochemistries. He has categorized babies by their patterns of
excitability and identified four basic types. “Think of them as different breeds of puppies,” he
says, “just as Pekingnese, for example, are naturally more irritable than beagles.”
G. Nonetheless, two camps have emerged to debate whether criminality is influenced more
by nature (biology) or nurture (environment). And this is no mere ivory tower question. Public
interest mounts with the statistics: Some 35 millions offenses against people or households, 20%
of them violent, are reported in the U.S. every year.
H. Poverty and family problems, sex-role expectations, community standards – all may
predispose individuals towards crime. But many researchers now believe that the reason one
individual commits a crime and another person doesn’t may have as much to do with
neurological differences as it does with differences in upbringing or environment. After all, says
Dr. James Q. Wilson, a professor of management and pubic policy at UCLA, “it’s hard to find any
form of behavior that doesn’t have some biological component.”
Part 4: For questions 76-85, read the passage and choose the answer which fits best according to the text.
Medieval Europe abounded in castles. Germany alone had ten thousand and more,
most of them now vanished; all that a summer journey in the Rhineland and the south-west
now can show are a handful of ruins and a few nineteenth century restorations. Nevertheless,
anyone journeying from Spain to the Dvina, from Calabria to Wales, will find castles rearing
up again and again to dominate the open landscape. There they still stand, in desolate and
uninhabited districts where the only visible forms of life are herdsmen and their flocks, with
hawks circling the battlements, far from the traffic and comfortably distant even from the
nearest small town: these were the strongholds of the European aristocracy.
The weight of aristocratic dominance was felt in Europe until well after the French
Revolution; political and social structure, the Church, the general tenor of thought and feeling
were all influenced by it. Over the centuries, consciously or unconsciously, the other classes
of this older European society the clergy, the bourgeoisie and the „common people' -adopted
many of the outward characteristics of the aristocracy, who became their model, their
standard, their ideal. Aristocratic values and ambitions were adopted alongside aristocratic
manners and fashions of dress. Yet the aristocracy were the object of much contentious
criticism and complaint; from the thirteenth century onwards their military value and their
political importance were both called in question. Nevertheless, their opponents continued
to be their principal imitators. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the reforming Papacy
and its clerical supporters, although opposed to the excessively aristocratic control of the
Church (as is shown by the Investiture Contest) nevertheless themselves first adopted and
then strengthened the forms of this control. Noblemen who became bishops or who founded
new Orders helped to implant aristocratic principles and forms of government deep within
the structure and spiritual life of the Church. Again, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries
the urban bourgeoisie, made prosperous and even rich by trade and industry, were rising to
political power as the servants and legal protégés of monarchy. These „patricians' were
critical of the aristocracy and hostile towards it. Yet they also imitated the aristocracy, and
tried to gain admittance to the closed circle and to achieve equality of status. Even the
unarmed peasantry, who usually had to suffer more from the unrelieved weight of
aristocratic dominance, long remained tenaciously loyal to their lords, held to their
allegiance by that combination of love and fear, amor et timor, which was so characteristic
of the medieval relationship between lord and servant, between God and man.
The castles and strongholds of the aristocracy remind us of the reality of their power
and superiority. Through the long warring centuries when men went defenceless and
insecure, the „house', the lord's fortified dwelling, promised protection, security and peace
to all whom it sheltered. From the ninth to the eleventh centuries, if not later, Europe was in
many way all too open. Attack came from the sea, in the Mediterranean from Saracens and
Vikings, the latter usually in their swift, dragon-prowed, easily manoeuvred longboats,
manned by some sixteen pairs of oarsmen and with a full complement of perhaps sixty men.
There were periods when the British Isles and the French coasts were being raided every
year by Vikings and in the heart of the continent marauding Magyar armies met invading
bands of Saracens. The name of Pontresina, near St. Mortiz in Switzerland, is a memento of
the stormy tenth century; it means pons Saracenorum, the „fortified Saracen bridge', the
place where plundering expeditions halted on their way up from the Mediterranean.
It was recognised in theory that the Church and the monarchy were the principal
powers and that they were bound by the nature of their office to ensure peace and security
and to do justice; but at this period they were too weak, too torn by internal conflicts to fulfil
their obligations. Thus more and more passed into the hands of warriors invested by the
monarchy and the Church with lands and rights of jurisdiction, who in return undertook to
support their overlords and to protect the unarmed peasantry.
Their first concern, however, was self-protection. It is almost impossible for us to
realise how primitive the great majority of these early medieval „castles' really were. Until
about 1150 the fortified houses of the Anglo-Norman nobility were simple dwellings
surrounded by a mound of earth and a wooden stockade. There were the motte and bailey
castles: the motte was the mound and its stockade, the bailey an open court lying below and
also stockaded. Both were protected, where possible, by yet another ditch filled with water,
the moat. In the middle of the motte there was a wooden tower, the keep or donjon, which
only became a genuine stronghold at a later date and in places where stone was readily
available. The stone castles of the French and German nobility usually had only a single
communal room in which all activities too place.
In such straitened surroundings, where warmth, light and comfort were lacking, there
was no way of creating an air of privacy. It is easy enough to understand why the life of the
landed nobility was often so unrestrained, so filled with harshness, cruelty and brutality,
even in later, more „chivalrous' periods. The barons' daily life was bare and uneventful,
punctuated by war, hunting (a rehearsal for war), and feasting. Boys were trained to fight
from the age of seven or eight, and their education in arms continued until they were twenty-
one, although in some cases they started to fight as early as fifteen. The peasants of the
surrounding countryside, bound to their lords by a great variety of ties, produced the sparse
fare which was all that the undeveloped agriculture of the early medieval period could
sustain. Hunting was a constant necessity, to make up for the lack of butcher's meat, and in
England and Germany in the eleventh and twelfth centuries even the kings had to progress
from one crown estate to another, from one bishop's palace to the next, to maintain themselves and their retinue.
76. Class conflict in the Middle Ages was kept in check by _____________.
the religious teachings of the church
the fact that most people belonged to the same class
tyrannical suppressions of rebellions by powerful monarchs
the fact that all other classes admired and attempted to emulate the aristocracy Mark 1.00 out of 1.00
The correct answer is: the fact that all other classes admired and attempted to emulate the aristocracy
77. The urban bourgeoisie was hostile to the aristocracy because ____________.
the bourgeoisie saw the aristocracy as their rivals
the aristocrats often deliberately antagonised the bourgeoisie
the bourgeoisie felt that the aristocracy was immoral
aristocrats often confiscated the wealth of the bourgeoisie Mark 0.00 out of 1.00
The correct answer is: the bourgeoisie saw the aristocracy as their rivals
78. Castles were originally built ___________. as status symbols
as strongholds against invaders as simple places to live in as luxurious chateaux Mark 1.00 out of 1.00
The correct answer is: as strongholds against invaders
79. One of the groups that invaded central Europe during the Middle ages from the ninth
century on was the ______________. Franks Magyars Celts Angles Mark 0.00 out of 1.00
The correct answer is: Magyars
80. The aristocracy was originally ___________. slaves who had rebelled members of the clergy the great landowners the king's warriors Mark 0.00 out of 1.00
The correct answer is: the king's warriors
81. The reform Popes eventually produced an aristocratic church because___________.
many aristocrats entered the structure of the church and impressed their values on it
they were defeated by aristocrats
they depended on the aristocracy for money
they themselves were more interested in money than in religion Mark 0.00 out of 1.00
The correct answer is: many aristocrats entered the structure of the church and impressed their values on it
82. Hunting served the dual purpose of ______________.
learning how to ride and learning how to shoot
preparing for war and engaging in sport testing horses and men
preparing for war and getting meat Mark 0.00 out of 1.00
The correct answer is: preparing for war and getting meat
83. The phrase "amor et timor" is used to describe _____________.
the peasant's loyalty to the aristocracy
the adaptation of aristocratic manners and dress
the rivalry between bourgeoisie and aristocracy
the payment of food in exchange for protection Mark 0.00 out of 1.00
The correct answer is: the peasant's loyalty to the aristocracy
84. Protection of the peasantry was implemented by ____________. the King's warriors the princes of the Church the Magyar mercenaries the ruling monarchy Mark 1.00 out of 1.00
The correct answer is: the King's warriors
85. The effectiveness of the Church and King was diminished by _____________. peasant dissatisfaction
conflicts and weaknesses within the Church and Royal house economic instability ambition of the military Mark 1.00 out of 1.00
The correct answer is: conflicts and weaknesses within the Church and Royal house
Part 5. The passage below consists of four paragraphs marked A, B, C and D. For
questions 86-95, read the article in which four people talk about taking photographs.
For each question, choose the correct person. The person may be chosen more than once. TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS A Lucy
I'm definitely guilty of taking too many photos myself. It's important not to get carried away,
though, and just constantly be taking snaps of everything you do. If you’re always
documenting everything, there's a risk that you won’t enjoy the moment, or even have any
memory of it unless you see the photos later. And although all these images can get a bit
repetitive, it is nice to capture something special. And taking photographs is a great way of
keeping people informed about what you’re doing, and of keeping up to date with friends.
Lots of my family live far away, and now when I see them I know exactly what they've been
up to and the conversation flows, rather than me just sitting there feeling tongue-tied. But I
do worry that the use of social media could mean that one day such pictures will be lost.
People used to make photographic prints and treasure them, but so few of us do that
anymore, and things can disappear if they're just left on a computer. B Ben
It can get too much, people taking photographs all the time. It can feel as if everyone's more
interested in showing people what they're doing than actually enjoying themselves. And the
number of images involved is simply mind-boggling. It can be interesting to see what people
are up to, but when a social media site is full of pictures of their dinner, I think that's going
into far too much detail. I select what I choose to show other people carefully. I think there's
a danger that taking photos and sharing them becomes essentially a way of promoting
yourself, and your life. It's like saying, ‘Hey look at me, I’m happy.' Selfies, pictures people
take of themselves, aren't necessarily a bad thing. It all depends on what you do with them,
and your mentality. If you're constantly posting them on a public platform, you can build an
image of yourself that doesn't reflect reality. However, although all selfies are looking for
attention, they can be used as a good advertisement for either yourself, or a good cause. C Sarah
I'm definitely guilty of taking a lot of photographs, but after all, I'm not the only one.
Everyone's absolutely obsessed with it these days, it's something that's really taken hold. I
found myself at an art gallery taking pictures of the art, then taking pictures of people taking
pictures of that art. If only I'd actually given myself the chance to appreciate what I was
seeing, or created some lasting memories. It’s ironic, because someone has created a piece
of art, and I'm trying to create art out of that. You’re wasting your own time taking pictures,
but you’re showing other people what you haven’t properly seen yourself. And then there
are selfies. Let’s not deny it, everyone loves an audience. You end up making your life look
more glamorous - mine is nowhere near as exciting as it appears to be on social media. And
I do have the fear that the world as a whole is becoming more concerned with what others
think, rather than how they feel about themselves. D Kevin
It's true that people are a bit obsessed with taking pictures, and it takes the pleasure out of
some really great occasions. Psychologists say they are worried about the fact that many of
us spend more time thinking about how good the recording of an event will be, rather than
the actual event. And yet, the most accurate way of remembering a particular thing is always
going to be by means of a visual record. The chance to freeze a certain moment in time is a
great thing. That moment will be there forever. Technology's constantly changing the way
we do things, how we learn, how we process information. Therefore the amount of photos
now taken will affect today’s culture. Selfies are fun to take, but because of them everyone
feels the need to look fun, unusual and exciting nowadays. They can make people feel good
about themselves, and that’s great, as long as it doesn't produce unrealistic expectations,
especially with all these editing apps that make everyone look flawless.
Choose from the people (A-D). The people may be chosen more than once. Write
your answer (A-D) in the space provided. Which person mentions Answers
86. people's approach to photography affects the impact of the photos they take? Answer B
87. they regret missing an opportunity? Answer C
88. photos help them avoid awkward situations? Answer A
89. software can give people a perfect appearance? Answer D
90. many photos are very similar to one another? Answer A
91. some photos give a great deal more information about people's lives than is Answer B desirable?
92. a behaviour has become well established? Answer C
93. people risk losing a permanent record of events? Answer A
94. photos create a lasting memory? Answer D
95. it's impossible to imagine how many photos are taken nowadays? Answer B Question text
IV. WRITING (60 points)
Part 1: Read the following article and use your own words to summarize it. Your
summary should be between 100 and 120 words long. You MUST NOT copy the original.
Wi-Fi has become an integral part of our fast-paced everyday lives. Thanks to Wi-Fi, we no longer
have to be tethered to the Internet with cables. But have you ever stopped to wonder how it works?
Wi-Fi uses radio waves to transmit information between your device and a router via
frequencies. Two radio-wave frequencies can be used, depending on the amount of data being
sent: 2.4 gigahertz and 5 gigahertz. What does that mean, though? Well, a hertz is just a measurement
of frequency. For example, let’s say you’re sitting on a beach, watching the waves crash to shore. If
you measured the time between each wave crash, you’d be measuring the frequency of the waves.
One hertz is a frequency of one wave per second. One gigahertz, on the other hand, is
one billion waves per second. (Thank goodness beaches aren’t like that—it probably wouldn’t be too
relaxing.) The higher the frequency, the greater the amount of data transmitted per second.
The two Wi-Fi frequencies are split into multiple channels so as to prevent high traffic and
interference. When it comes to sharing the data across these channels, well, that’s when the magic—
er, computer science—happens. The first step in the process is initiated by you (the user). When you
access the Internet on your device, it converts the information you’ve requested into binary code, the
language of computers. Everything computers do is based in binary code, a series of 1s and 0s. When
you click on this article, your request is translated into a bunch of 1s and 0s. If you’re using Wi-Fi,
these 1s and 0s are translated into wave frequencies by the Wi-Fi chip embedded in your device. The
frequencies travel across the radio channels mentioned earlier and are received by the Wi-Fi router
that your device is connected to. The router then converts the frequencies back into binary code and
translates the code into the Internet traffic that you requested, and the router receives that data
through a hardwired Internet cable. The process repeats itself until you have loaded this article—or
anything that requires the Internet. All of this happens at an unbelievably fast rate; most routers
operate at 54 Mbps (megabits per second), meaning that when such routers translate and transmit
binary data, 54 million 1s and 0s are taken in or sent out in a single second.
Part 2. The chart and table below show customer satisfaction levels in the US with airlines and aspects of
air travel in 1999, 2000 and 2007.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
Part 3. Write an essay of 350 words on the following topic.
In recent years, there has been growing interest in the relationship between equality and personal
achievement. Some people believe that individuals can achieve more in egalitarian societies. Others believe
that high levels of personal achievement are possible only if individuals are free to succeed or fail according
to their individual merits.
What is your view of the relationship between equality and personal success?
V. SPEAKING (20 points)
Many governments think that economic progress is their most important goal. Some people, however, think
that other types of progress are equally important for a country.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
You have 5 minutes to prepare for your talk. Good luck!