ĐỀ CHÍNH THỨC HSG 12 - 2021-2022 TỈNH ĐỒNG NAI

SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO KỲ THI CHỌN HỌC SINH GIỎI LỚP 12 CẤP TỈNH ĐỒNG NAI NĂM HỌC 2021-2022
ĐỀ THI CHÍNH THỨC
Môn: TIẾNG ANH BẢNG A
Thời gian làm bài: 180 phút Ngày thi: 18/02/2022
(Đề thi này gồm 12 trang, có 135 câu + 1 bài luận) I. LISTENING (4 points)
HƯỚNG DẪN PHẦN THI NGHE HIỂU:
• Bài nghe gồm 3 phần, mỗi phần được nghe 2 lần.
• Mọi hướng dẫn cho thí sinh (bằng tiếng Anh) đã có trong bài nghe.
Part 1: Questions 1-5
You will hear a talk about graffiti. For questions 1-5, choose the correct answer A, B, or C.
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
1. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE about graffiti?
A. It’s a common belief that graffiti is a recent phenomenon.
B. Romans and Greeks were the first to paint on walls.
C. Graffiti can be traced back for thousands of years.
2. Which of the following statements is TRUE about modern graffiti? A. It is usually sanctioned. B. It is often done covertly.
C. The messages conveyed are totally different from those of the past.
3. Which of the following is TRUE about graffiti in Roman times?
A. It took longer to complete a painting.
B. It did not reflect political views.
C. It was different in all aspects from modern graffiti.
4. What is special about street art parties and festivals?
A. Distinguished figures in the fields are invited to become judges.
B. Large paintings are carried out on outside walls of buildings.
C. Advanced technologies are employed to make them more commercial.
5. What is the speaker’s attitude towards modern-day graffiti?
A. Your freedom of expression ends where my property begins.
B. Graffiti represents freedom and makes cities more vibrant.
C. Graffiti as an art form is in the eye of the beholder.
Part 2: Questions 6-15
You will hear a talk about monarchies around the world. While you listen, you must complete both tasks. TASK ONE
For questions 6–10, fill in each blank with NO MORE THAN FOUR WORDS OR/AND A
NUMBER from the listening.
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
You may wonder why monarchies are still (6) _____________ well throughout the world. Ruling (7)
_____________, Queen Elizabeth II is always frugal with words in front of her people and has shown her
ability to (8) _____________ by accepting a biracial bride to the royal family. Thai monarchs, though
conceivably (9) _____________, still survive by having (10) _____________ with the army and imposing strict laws. Trang 1/12 TASK TWO
For questions 11–15, decide if the following statements are TRUE (T) or FALSE (F).
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
11. In Thailand, people can face legal punishment for gentle rebuke of the royal members.
12. The Thai monarchy is expected to prosper during the reign of the new king.
13. In Saudi Arabia, the king and his crown prince govern as absolute monarchs.
14. Saud monarchs keep their people submissive through violent means.
15. On April 23rd more than 30 people were put to death after being proved guilty of terrorist attacks by the Saudi monarchy.
Part 3: Questions 16-20
You will hear a talk about marriage crises in some Asian countries. Answer the questions, using NO
MORE THAN FOUR WORDS from the talk.
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
16. What is one medical advance mentioned that led to the reduction of girls born in China?
_______________________________
17. How many Chinese men could not find a wife in 2010 due to distorted sex ratios at birth?
_______________________________
18. What is the phenomenon associated with men not finding a wife right away?
_______________________________
19. What situation are Chinese and Indian men put in as they cannot get married?
_______________________________
20. What is one possible consequence of bachelors piling up?
_______________________________
II. PHONOLOGY (0.5 point)
Sort out the word with the underlined part pronounced differently from that of the others.
Write your answers on the answer sheet. 21. A. sceptical B. cenotaph C. iridescence D. centenary 22. A. vehement B. shepherd C. rhapsody D. haberdasher 23. A. beatitude B. steadfast C. unleaded D. meadow
Pick out the one word with a different stress pattern from the others.
Write your answers on the answer sheet. 24. A. escapade B. monarchy C. abeyance D. innocence 25. A. matrimony B. chemotherapy C. pharmacognosy D. physiognomy
III. LEXICO-GRAMMAR (4.5 points)
Part 1: Questions 26-35
Choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D) to each of the following questions and write your answers
in the corresponding numbered boxes.
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
26. I really ______ by missing that important meeting. A. blotted my copybook B. cooked the books C. was off the books D. was on the books
27. Side-effects of the treatment include tiredness and brain ______. A. haze B. clog C. fog D. wash
28. Their marriage ended eight years ago in a(n) ______ divorce. Trang 2/12 A. jobbing B. acrimonious C. incumbent D. tattered
29. If you want a qualified accountant, their services don’t ______ cheap. A. take B. go C. run D. come
30. Many scientists working for the government have left for the private ______. A. field B. sector C. domain D. post
31. He keeps trying to get his novel published but I think he’s flogging a dead ______. A. horse B. dog C. bull D. frog
32. She was so hungry that she gulped down the sandwiches as if they were going out of ______. A. hand B. style C. life D. time
33. Of 30 countries inspected for airline safety, only 17 received a clean ______ of health. A. note B. paper C. bill D. slate
34. After 20 years of punching the ______, he just disappeared one morning and was never heard from again. A. clock B. lights C. desk D. pen
35. She had done her best to comfort him, ______ as she was able. A. hitherto B. heretofore C. nonetheless D. insofar
Part 2: Questions 36-45
Write the correct form of each bracketed word.
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
36. Gravitational waves are created, theoretically, by ______ massive objects moving through space at
astonishing speeds. (CONCEIVE)
37. The discovery of penicillin was a(n) ______ in the history of medicine. (WATER)
38. John easily ______ his rivals in the 200-metre freestyle and won the gold medal. (SHINE)
39. Because of injury, her playing career came to a(n) ______ end in 2008. (MATURE)
40. The university is doing ______ research into the impact of cellphones on the brain and body. (DISCIPLINE)
41. People are relieved to learn that the post-pandemic economic recovery is already ______. (WAY)
42. Being out of work for a long time is very ______. (MORALE)
43. Today, we see the development of Virtual Reality – something that would have been ______ a
generation ago. (THINK)
44. Unfortunately, the demand for affordable housing is largely ______. (MEET)
45. Farming is the ______ of the country’s economy. (BONE)
Part 3: Questions 46-55
Complete each sentence with the correct form of one of the phrasal verbs made from one word from
each box below. Each verb is used once only.
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
give play think talk chip black knock pore cover do up over out in back
46. After a heated debate, the employers ______ to the union’s demands.
47. She always ______ her presents ______ beautifully in gold and silver paper.
48. The report ______ the benefits of the plan but doesn’t say much about the costs.
49. The company tried to ______ its employment of illegal immigrants. Trang 3/12
50. She ______ the vodka at John’s party and staggered home.
51. She spends her evenings ______ textbooks.
52. On my copy, they ______ all the names ______ so I couldn’t read them.
53. It might help you to understand Julia if you ______ to when you were her age.
54. They each ______ $50 to take their parents out to dinner.
55. Pupils who ______ to their teachers are regarded as disrespectful.
Part 4: Questions 56-62
The passage below contains 7 mistakes. For questions 56-62, underline the mistakes and write the
corrections in the space provided in the column on the right. (0) has been done as an example.
Write your answers on the answer sheet. Line 1
Nine people died in three days during whic
h more than 100 Your answers:
avalanches struck Austria, as heavy snowfall followed by (0) unusual → unusually
warmer weather made for unusual dangerous conditions.
Most of the avalanches hit the western Tyrol region and 56. ……………………... Line 5
Friday alone saw five fatalities.
Police said that one incident had claimed the lives of a group
of Swedish skiers going off-piste with a mountainous guide in 57. ……………………...
the zone around Ischgl, near the Swiss border.
The guide and four of the group were swept away with just
Line 10 one member survived. He managed to call for help and was 58. ……………………... airlifted out by helicopter.
Saturday then saw an Austrian age 58 killed at Schmirn near
Innsbruck in an avalanche which injured four others.
59. ……………………...
Further west, an experienced skier of 43 was killed in the Line 15 popular Vorarlberg re
gion as Austria saw exceptional quantities
of snowfall going into and across the weekend.
60. ……………………...
Five winter sports enthusiasts were buried by snowfall in the
major resort of Soelden and were all rescued.
Recent years have seen avalanches claim around 20 lives a 61. ……………………... Line 20
year in Austria, more over the past two years afte r the pandemic
vastly reduced the numbers of skiers.
In neighbour Switzerland, an avalanche in Reckingen in the 62. ……………………...
south-eastern Wallis region killed a 68-year-old on Saturday,
while a second person was injured, police said. Line 25
According to a provisional report by the MeteoSwiss
weather service on Friday, people have been caught out in 45
avalanches so far this winter.
It urged people to be “careful, careful, careful”.
Part 5: Questions 63-70
Fill the following sentences with suitable prepositions or particles.
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
63. Mark, a professional ______ his fingertips, insisted that we follow the correct procedures.
64. The opposition was ______ full cry in Parliament last night over the proposed changes to the education bill. Trang 4/12
65. I have profound admiration for our permanent officials, believing that they are ______ compare both in their knowledge and skill.
66. You don’t have to worry because the deal is completely open and ______ board.
67. If this drug was a magical cure for Covid-19, the drug companies would be all ______ it.
68. I need £8,000 to set up the business, but I suppose £4,000 would do ______ a pinch.
69. To everyone’s disappointment, she passed ______ her chance to study abroad in Switzerland.
70. The investigation put the company’s financial accounts ______ the microscope. IV. READING (5 points)
Part 1: Questions 71-85
Choose the answer (A, B, C or D) that best fits each space.
Write your answers on the answer sheet. Passage 1
Say ‘No’ to Plastic Bags
Did you know that on (71) ______ we take home 150 plastic bags annually? In other words, that’s one
million plastic bags every minute. This is a truly shocking statistic.
Plastic bags cannot simply be (72) ______ of along with your domestic rubbish – they can blow off
landfill sites and become highly (73) ______ litter which can remain in the environment for years. They
are not only an eyesore but a (74) ______ to the environment too. For example, plastic bags almost dammed
the Buriganga river in Bangladesh, and they are widely (75) ______ responsible for causing devastating
floods there on two separate (76) ______.
They also (77) ______ a particular threat to wildlife. More and more dead turtles and whales are
discovered washed up on beaches after swallowing plastic bags. To marine life, a plastic bag closely (78) ______ a jellyfish.
These are the (79) ______ why you should reuse plastic bags or take a small rucksack on trips to the
supermarket. Why not take this small step to show that you care about the environment? 71. A. average B. normal C. example D. ratio 72. A. finished B. thrown C. disposed D. used 73. A. evident B. visible C. observable D. marked 74. A. venture B. danger C. difficulty D. problem 75. A. shown B. taken C. made D. held 76. A. occasions B. events C. incidents D. episodes 77. A. place B. set C. pose D. generate 78. A. resembles B. reminds C. equates D. appears 79. A. motives B. reasons C. explanations D. causes Passage 2 Faces
Despite our complex language skills, the face is still our primary means of communication. It is (80)
______ because our faces are so complex in appearance, that we can easily (81) ______ a friend in a crowd
or attempt to check the trustworthiness of a stranger. (82) ______, our ability to recognise faces quickly, in
all sorts of circumstances, is arguably our most important and remarkable visual skill. Thanks to its very
elastic skin, animated by a complex musculature capable of an enormous range of (83) ______ movements,
the human face can quickly display a whole (84) ______ of contrasting emotions. As a result of evolution,
we can read faces, making judgements about them (85) ______ on our experience, without effort and without anything being said. Trang 5/12 80. A. pointedly B. singularly C. precisely D. uniquely 81. A. peek B. glimpse C. spot D. glance 82. A. Indeed B. Still C. Really D. Anyway 83. A. intransigent B. insatiable C. invincible D. intricate 84. A. span B. extent C. scope D. array 85. A. rooted B. based C. anchored D. derived
Part 2: Questions 86-95
Fill each of the following numbered blanks with ONE suitable word.
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
In the last 50 years, the way we make and store goods to meet demand has turned on its head. Traditionally,
companies stored (86) ______ stock to meet current demand but also kept an extra amount in case there
was a problem or a sudden increase in demand for their product. But in the 1970s, Toyota executive, Taiichi
Ohno realised that storing excess parts and components (87) ______ Toyota money. So he devised a system
where the company only ordered (88) ______ was needed, making sure that parts arrived 'Just in Time' the
moment they were required. And so 'Just in Time' was born. Just in Time increased Toyota's profits and
freed up enormous amounts of capital that had been tied (89) ______ in expensive warehousing. This
enabled Toyota to reinvest, expand and stay (90) ______ of the competition.
But there are limitations within the system that make it quite fragile. Firstly, if a problem occurs anywhere
in the supply chain, such as materials (91) ______ arriving when they're needed, the production simply
stops. And secondly if there is a spike in demand, the business cannot (92) ______ to the surge. The covid-
19 global pandemic really laid bare the fragility of the Just in Time system where businesses around the
world saw anomalies in (93) ______ supply and demand. On a local level, the toilet paper shortage we
saw at the start of the outbreak, was a spike in demand (94) ______ simply because toilet paper is a bulky
and low profit item that supermarkets don't want to waste money storing. On a global level, the online
spending sprees that many of us went on during lockdown, also created a spike in demand for goods and
this is continuing to put additional pressure on an (95) ______ overstretched shipping industry.
Part 3: Questions 96-102
You are going to read a newspaper article about mental health. Seven paragraphs have been removed
from the extract. Choose from the paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap (96-102). There is one
extra paragraph which you do not need to use.
Write your answers on the answer sheet. A Matter of Trust
Behaviour, such as reciprocity and co-operation is not bred in the bone.
Rather, it responds to incentives and experience.
How much do you trust your business partners, and how much do they trust you? Even in rules-based,
litigious societies, some measure of trust is essential. Contracts cannot plan for every eventuality, and
outcomes are often hard to verify anyway. The issue is that much more pressing in emerging economies,
whose threadbare legal systems and poor enforcement offer little assurance to investors. 96.
Kenneth Clark of the University of Manchester and Martin Sefton of the University of Nottingham
examine the first of these motivations in a recent paper. By having subjects play a series of simple games,
the academics measured levels of trust and trustworthiness among strangers at their first encounter, and
then recorded how the levels of trust changed over time. 97. Trang 6/12
There are four possible outcomes, depending on the player’s actions. Should the first player to be
interrogated confess, whilst the second does not, then the first is released and the second gets 20 years (or
vice versa). Should both confess, then both get ten years. Should neither confess, both get two years. 98.
Using money as a payoff rather than prison sentences as a threat, Messrs Clark and Sefton had student
subjects play the game ten times. Players kept the same role (first or second mover) in each round, but were
randomly paired with different, hidden partners. 99.
The levels of mutual distrust had ratcheted up in the intervening play. This evidence belies the idea that
any given person is, by nature, consistently trustful or mistrustful. The authors refined their results in two
ways. They doubled the payoffs across all outcomes, and they offered far greater reward for a solitary confessor. 100.
Despite the evidence that trust responds to incentives, certain situations foster trust more than others. In
another game of trust, Edward Glaser of Harvard University and his collaborators paired off players, some
of whom knew each other in real life. In this game, the first player received a small sum of money, of which
he could give any part to the second player, hidden from view. 101.
Sadly for those with a high regard for human nature, the first players sent an average of $12.41 to their
partners, who returned an average of 45% of the doubled sum. First movers who declared before the game
that they trusted strangers sent $2.21 more across, other things being equal, than counterparts who
remembered their mother’s advice on the subject. 102.
Together, the studies argue that trust is shaped by experience not native personal traits. It also seems that
trust is a fragile thing, prone to break down altogether. The lesson? A handshake is no substitute for ready
money, or a hard-earned reputation. The missing paragraphs
A. During initial rounds, the first mover began by trusting (not confessing) 57% of the time. In 35% of
those cases the second mover followed suit, thus obtaining the trusting outcome. By the tenth round,
however, only 32% of first movers were still trusting.
B. The existence of a previous acquaintance also affected behaviour: both the amount initially sent, and the
percentage returned by the second player, rose in proportion to the length of time the players had known each other.
C. The statistics show that respondents who had recently suffered a personal setback also reported lower
levels of trust. This suggests that when people revise their expectations of fellow humans, it may sometimes
be for apparently irrelevant reasons.
D. Simply raising the stakes had no effect. But in the second case, where the cost of trust was increased,
the frequency of the trusting outcome fell substantially. Again the idea that some people are inherently
trusting while others are not, appears ill-founded.
E. Intuitively, at least two sets of factors are significant. For one, trust could serve as a signal of goodwill,
either to secure initial co-operation or to ensure the success of a long-term relationship. On the other hand,
the origins of trust might be simpler: some people might just feel good about trusting others.
F. If the amount transmitted was $15, for example, this was doubled by the researchers, and the second
player then sent any part he wished of the new amount back to the first player. Here, the trusting outcome
is for the first player to send all $15 to the second. Then, provided that the second player is worthy of the
first’s trust, both can walk away with $15. Trang 7/12
G. The format each time was the ‘sequential prisoner’s dilemma’ known more briefly as SPD, which
imagines two prisoners being held separately for interrogation on their parts in an alleged crime.
H. In this game, the greatest mutual trust is shown when the first player refuses to confess and the second
one does the same. True, the second player might well be inclined to confess and so get off scot-free. But
if the game is played several times, maintaining trust gives the best overall outcome.
Part 4: Questions 103-115
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions 103-115.
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
The Influence of the Crime Writer Agatha Christie
Crime fiction books, in which detectives hunt for the perpetrators of crimes, have been popular with
readers for many decades – so popular, in fact, that at a recent London Book Fair sales of the genre overtook
general fiction for the first time ever, a development that had been widely anticipated. Commercial success,
of course, does not impress everyone and there are those who believe crime fiction should not be held in
such high regard. Prominent in this group is Sebastian Franklin, who has argued that most crime fiction
books better resemble crossword puzzles than literature. His view is shared by other literary critics.
However, increasingly this is a minority opinion as crime fiction has become recognized around the world
as a rich and dynamic literary genre in its own right.
Crime writing really came to prominence in the 1920s and 30s with the books of the British author
Agatha Christie and to a slightly lesser extent the American James M. Cain. Agatha Christie was a prolific
writer, publishing more than 60 detective novels over a 50-year period, beginning in 1920. However, the
majority of the general public have never picked up one of her books and are more familiar with Christie
from the numerous adaptations of her work for films. The colourful locations around the world where
Christie set many of her stories were not fictional depictions but were informed by her extensive travels,
on the Orient Express train, to Cairo and the River Nile, and elsewhere. Her memoir, Come, Tell Me How
You Live, published in 1946, is a non-fiction account of these real-life travels, so is unique among Christie’s
publications. Success brought Christie considerable wealth and international fame, though she never lost
her appetite for work, continuing writing and publishing until shortly before her death in 1976.
Without a doubt, there are certain elements that tend to be repeated in Christie’s books. The stories
generally revolve around a well-off if not aristocratic circle of people, whose privileged lives are thrown
into chaos by an unexplained crime. What’s more, the location is often a confined space of some sort: a
train, an island, a boat, an isolated house, or a village. This is quite different, for example, to the world of
the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, who often has as his hunting ground the entire city of London. But
the influence of Christie’s sheltered, secluded locations has been immense, for they have been used in
countless television series ever since.
The writer Michael Utley argues that Christie’s characters lack depth and are not convincing people
we can believe in. This is not an infrequent complaint, but it is quite untrue. Christie was a perceptive
observer of human nature and psychology and she put the traits of people she knew into many of her
fictional characters. Part of the reason her appeal has been so widespread is that she wrote about human
relationships in a way so many of us can relate to. Her very first book, The Mysterious Affair at Styles,
features the amateur detective Hercule Poirot. Poirot and Miss Marple are Christie’s two best-known and
most frequently imitated characters precisely because they are so well-drawn and believable. Further
evidence of Christie’s ability at characterization was provided by a recent survey. The survey asked readers
to identify the villain revealed in the final pages of Christie’s sixteenth book, Murder on the Orient Express.
Most readers could not recall, because for them the really important aspect of the book had been the
interplay between the characters, not the outcome. The truth is that Christie’s characters were one of her
greatest achievements as a writer. Trang 8/12
The books are also action-packed, no less so than today’s most popular thrillers. Christie mastered the
art of the page-turner: events unfold so quickly and unpredictably that we keep reading to find out what
happens next. The most significant consequence is that it is so simple to overlook vital clues. It is worth
reading a Christie book a second time just to notice how carefully she hides crucial information about the
criminal’s identity. It was there all along, but we just fail to see it because she has created such tension and
so many exciting distractions.
Attempts to retell Christie’s stories in contemporary times have largely been unsuccessful; they work
best in their original early twentieth-century settings and cannot accommodate mobile phones, computers,
and DNA analysis. But that does not mean her influence has come to an end. Indeed, a new generation of
global crime writers is emerging in nations as diverse as Brazil, Singapore, South Korea, India, and Nigeria,
to name but five. And though each new writer adds something of their own, they all employ conventions
first established by Christie. If we take just one of her books, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, we find near-
perfect examples of conventions that are still used today: tight plotting, clever sub-plots, unexpected twists,
perceptive characterization. Perhaps this is why Christie herself is believed to have ranked The Murder of
Roger Ackroyd above all her other work. Certainly, the digital revolution has transformed, crime-fighting.
But a survey of contemporary crime writing shows that Agatha Christie’s legacy is more important now
than at any time previously, at the very point when crime writing has become the most popular of all book genres.
In boxes 103–108 on your answer sheet, write, 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
103. Sales of crime fiction were surprisingly high at a recent London Book Fair.
104. Literary critics such as Sebastian Franklin think that crime fiction is overrated.
105. Agatha Christie and James M. Cain admired each other’s writing.
106. Most people know about Christie from films rather than books.
107. Christie’s descriptions of international locations were based on her own experience.
108. Christie enjoyed the wealth and fame she achieved through writing
For questions 109–111, choose the answer A, B, C or D which you think fits best according to the text.
109. What is the writer doing in the third paragraph?
A. discussing one weakness of Christie’s style
B. identifying a writer who influenced Christie
C. contrasting different techniques Christie used
D. listing some features of a typical Christie story
110. What point does the writer make about Christie’s writing style in the fifth paragraph?
A. Occasionally, the stories do not make sense.
B. Little happens compared to modern stories.
C. Important evidence is very easy to miss.
D. Some unnecessary details are included.
111. What does the writer conclude about Christie in the final paragraph?
A. Her influence is slowly beginning to decrease.
B. She is more influential today than ever before.
C. One book was more influential than the others. Trang 9/12
D. She has only influenced writers in certain countries.
For questions 112–115, complete each sentence with the correct ending, A–F, below.
112. Christie’s book Come, Tell Me How You Live, ______
113. Christie’s first book, The Mysterious Affair at Styles ______
114. Christie’s sixteenth book, Murder on the Orient Express ______
115. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, published in 1926, ______
A. is an example of a book disliked by many critics.
B. has sold more copies than her other books.
C. has illustrated the fact that readers cannot remember the ending.
D. was Christie’s own favourite from among her books for good reasons.
E. is different from all of her other books.
F. introduced one of her most famous and most often copied characters.
Part 5: Questions 116-120
You are going to read an article about history. For questions 116-120, choose the answer (A, B, C or
D) which you think fits best according to the text.
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
This excerpt is the beginning of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise, published in 1920. The
book opens up with the following character introduction of Fitzgerald’s semi-autobiographical
protagonist, Amory Blaine.
Amory Blaine inherited from his mother every trait, except the stray inexpressible few, that made
him worth while. His father, an ineffectual, inarticulate man with a taste for Byron and a habit of drowsing
over the Encyclopedia Britannica, grew wealthy at thirty through the death of two elder brothers, successful
Chicago brokers, and in the first flush of feeling that the world was his, went to Bar Harbor and met Beatrice
O’Hara. In consequence, Stephen Blaine handed down to posterity his height of just under six feet and his
tendency to waver at crucial moments, these two abstractions appearing in his son Amory. For many years
he hovered in the background of his family’s life, an unassertive figure with a face half-obliterated by
lifeless, silky hair, continually occupied in “taking care” of his wife, continually harassed by the idea that
he didn’t and couldn’t understand her.
But Beatrice Blaine! There was a woman! Early pictures taken on her father’s estate at Lake Geneva,
Wisconsin, or in Rome at the Sacred Heart Convent – an educational extravagance that in her youth was
only for the daughters of the exceptionally wealthy – showed the exquisite delicacy of her features, the
consummate art and simplicity of her clothes. A brilliant education she had – her youth passed in
renaissance glory, she was versed in the latest gossip of the Older Roman Families; known by name as a
fabulously wealthy American girl to Cardinal Vitori and Queen Margherita and more subtle celebrities that
one must have had some culture even to have heard of. She learned in England to prefer whiskey and soda
to wine, and her small talk was broadened in two senses during a winter in Vienna. All in all, Beatrice
O’Hara absorbed the sort of education that will be quite impossible ever again; a tutelage measured by the
number of things and people one could be contemptuous of and charming about; a culture rich in all arts
and traditions, barren of all ideas, in the last of those days when the great gardener clipped the inferior roses to produce one perfect bud.
In her less important moments she returned to America, met Stephen Blaine and married him – this
almost entirely because she was a little bit weary, a little bit sad. Her only child was carried through a
tiresome season and brought into the world on a spring day in ninety-six. Trang 10/12
When Amory was five he was already a delightful companion for her. He was an auburn-haired boy,
with great, handsome eyes which he would grow up to in time, a facile imaginative mind and a taste for
fancy dress. From his fourth to his tenth year he did the country with his mother in her father’s private car,
from Coronado, where his mother became so bored that she had a nervous breakdown in a fashionable
hotel, down to Mexico City, where she took a mild, almost epidemic consumption. This trouble pleased
her, and later she made use of it as an intrinsic part of her atmosphere – especially after several astounding bracers.
So, while more or less fortunate little rich boys were defying governesses on the beach at Newport,
or being spanked or tutored or read to from “Do and Dare,” or “Frank on the Mississippi,” Amory was
biting acquiescent bell-boys in the Waldorf, outgrowing a natural repugnance to chamber music and
symphonies, and deriving a highly specialized education from his mother. “Amory.”
“Yes, Beatrice.” (Such a quaint name for his mother; she encouraged it.)
“Dear, don’t think of getting out of bed yet. I’ve always suspected that early rising in early life makes
one nervous. Clothilde is having your breakfast brought up.” “All right.”
“I am feeling very old to-day, Amory,” she would sigh, her face a rare cameo of pathos, her voice
exquisitely modulated, her hands as facile as Bernhardt’s. “My nerves are on edge – on edge. We must
leave this terrifying place to-morrow and go searching for sunshine.”
Amory’s penetrating green eyes would look out through tangled hair at his mother. Even at this age
he had no illusions about her.
116. Beatrice is best characterized as ___________. A. privileged and eccentric B. mean-spirited and haughty C. wealthy and industrious D. misanthropic and itinerant
117. The style of the second paragraph (“But Beatrice ... one perfect bud”) is generally ___________. A. educational and morose B. intellectual and nebulous C. idealistic and optimistic D. emphatic and descriptive
118. The passage implies that Beatrice married Stephen for what reason? A. True love B. Because she settled C. Because she was forced D. Because of vengeance
119. Amory’s upbringing and education can best be described as ___________. A. demanding B. scholarly C. exhausting D. unique
120. Amory’s relationship with his mother is ___________. A. traditionally pious B. unusually friendly C. blatantly disrespectful D. cold and distant V. WRITING (6 points)
PART 1: SENTENCE TRANSFORMATION (3 points) A. Questions 121– 130
Complete each restatement with the words given so that it has the same meaning as the original one.
Do NOT change the form of the given word(s). You must use between THREE and TEN words,
including the word given.
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
121. Despite our careful planning, the surprise party was not successful. (AS)
→ Carefully _____________________________________________ off.
122. Sally was so nervous that she withdrew from the competition. (OUT) Trang 11/12
→ Such _____________________________________________ the competition.
123. It’s very likely that they rushed to get things ready on time. CLOCK
→ They must _____________________________________________ to get things ready on time.
124. He refrained from talking as he didn’t want to hurt her feeling again. OF
→ He bit _____________________________________________ her feeling again.
125 I never thought that I would seek help from him one day. TO
→ It never crossed _____________________________________________ to him for help one day.
126. Sarah is very likely to be accepted at her new school as she enjoys socializing with the other students. FIT
→ Saral may very _____________________________________________ personality.
127. If the boys had not been exposed to too much violence, they wouldn’t have exhibited problem behaviour. ADVERSE
→ Excessive _____________________________________________ the boys’ behaviour.
128. If no one is ready to defend their rights, justice does not exist. STANDS
→ There is no _____________________________________________ their rights.
129. The newly appointed mayor’s reputation was damaged after he admitted involvement in the disaster. HAD
→ Having pleaded _____________________________________________ reputation damaged.
130. Sarah was disappointed that Sam was too nervous to propose at the last minute. FEET
→ Sam got _____________________________________________ to Sarah.
B. Questions 131 – 135
Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it means exactly the same as the sentence
printed before it. You MUST write the complete sentences.
Write your answers on the answer sheet.
131. You are more like an adventurer than a holidaymaker.
→ You are not _____________________________________________.
132. Mary decided to resign as she disagreed with her boss about everything.
→ Not seeing _____________________________________________.
133. After our big argument, she ignored me.
→ She gave _____________________________________________.
134. He shouldn’t have underestimated his opponent.
→ He made _____________________________________________.
135. You should avoid mentioning that subject.
→ I would let sleeping _____________________________________________.
PART 2: COMPOSITION (3 points)
Write your answers on the answer sheet. - END OF THE TEST - Trang 12/12