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Đề luyện đội tuyển HSG Quốc gia 2022 môn Tiếng Anh
Đề luyện đội tuyển HSG Quốc gia 2022 môn Tiếng Anh giúp các bạn tham khảo, ôn tập kiến thức và đạt kết quả cao trong kỳ thi sắp tới. Mời bạn đọc đón xem!
Môn: Đề thi chọn học sinh giỏi Tiếng Anh lớp 12 THPT & đội tuyển dự thi học sinh giỏi Quốc gia THPT 510 tài liệu
Trường: Đề thi chọn HSG Tiếng Anh từ lớp 9 đến lớp 12 cấp trường, quận/ huyện, tỉnh/ thành phố 1.4 K tài liệu
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I. LISTENING (5.0 points)
HƯỚNG DẪN PHẦN THI NGHE HIỂU
Bài nghe gồm 4 phần, mỗi phần được nghe 2 lần, mỗi lần cách nhau 10 giây, mở đầu và kết thúc
mỗi phần nghe có tín hiệu.
Mở đầu và kết thúc bài nghe có tín hiệu nhạc. Thí sinh có 02 phút để hoàn chỉnh bài trước tín
hiệu nhạc kết thúc bài nghe.
Mọi hướng dẫn cho thí sinh bằng tiếng Anh đã có trong bài nghe.
Part 1: For questions 1-5, listen to a piece of a report about the 10 countries with the highest
recycling rates and answer the following questions. Answer the following questions with NO
MORE THAN THREE WORDS. Write your answers in the space provided.
1. What reputation have the Italians reversed in the last decade?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….
2. What percentage of household waste does Sweden prevent from reaching landfills?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….
3. Which country is the most efficient in Europe in terms of recycling?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….
4. What helps Austria citizens understand the exact way they should be recycling?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….
5. What are the two populated countries which are successful in cutting down waste?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….
Part 2: For questions 6-10, listen to a talk about the best recent phone trends. What does the
speaker say about these trends? Choose five answers from the box and write the correct
letter, A-F, in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
A. witness a shortcoming being rectified properly
B. are a worthy successor to previous models in terms of camera quality
C. have been consistently diverse in style since their first launch
D. were initially monotonous in design
E. include sophisticated applications particularly suited for advanced uses
F. become more available with higher quality Phone trends 6. Foldables 7. Notch Fight Phones 8. Wireless Charging Phones 9. Low-light Phones 10. Cheaper Phones Your answers: 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. -Page 1 of 15 pages-
Part 3: For questions 11–15, you will hear a radio program in which two people, Janet
Jennings and Hal Brentford, are discussing corporate tax rates. Choose the answer (A, B, C or
D) which fits best according to what you hear. Write your answers in the corresponding boxes provided.
11. Hal suggests that _______.
A. records show businesses pay more tax than the media suggests
B. low tax rates attract skilled workers to the country
C. businesses pay the government a lot of indirect taxes
D. businesses bring benefits that warrant the low tax rates
12. Janet implies attracting desirable foreign investment is _______.
A. dependent more on workforce characteristics than corporate tax
B. not critical to the long-term success of the economy
C. more likely if tax rates are slightly increased
D. going to require workforce retraining and upskilling
13. According to Hal, if business rates increased, _______.
A. established companies like his might leave
B. the country might not attract as much new foreign investment
C. the skilled workforce might move elsewhere
D. local businesses might struggle to complete
14. Why does Janet mention corruption levels, productivity and infrastructure?
A. to highlight areas for improvement
B. to highlight the negative effects of low corporation taxes
C. to suggest other factors of competitiveness outweigh business tax rates
D. to suggest where increased tax revenues could be spent
15. Hal believes that raising the corporate tax rate could _______.
A. have a devastating impact on the economy
B. cause potential investors to lose confidence
C. have an impact on levels of corruption in the country
D. be more damaging in the short- than long-term Your answers: 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.
Part 4: For questions 16-25, listen to a report on “Media Influence” and supply the blanks
with the missing information. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS taken from the
recording for each answer in the space provided.
Media Influence: Positive And Negative Influences Of Media On Teenagers
*Positive Media Influence Of Media On Teens:
- Teens can develop awareness about society and the world with exposure to
(16)………………………………….
- Media gives teens a chance to groom their social skills which in turn helps them
(17)………………………………… through modern society
- When teens watch an action flick, they may decide to take up (18) ……………………………………… - Video games draw a lot of flak but a few video games can help teens
(19)…………………………………. their motor skills and coordination
- Teenagers might be tempted to (20) …………………………………. when a celebrity talks about her favourite book.
*Negative Media Influence Of Media On Teens: - Because perfect people images appear everywhere, anorexia and bulimia are
(21)…………………………………. of the body image crisis
- Long hours watching violence on video games make teenagers unable to distinguish between
(22)…………………………………
- The amount of sex in media today can lead to irresponsible sexual behavior and
(23)…………………………………
- Teenagers mistake commercialization for happiness when advertisers target teenagers to ramp up
(24)…………………………………
- Long time in front of TV or computers and bad eating habits drive teens to the risk of
(25)………………………………. at hand -Page 2 of 15 pages-
II. LEXICO – GRAMMAR (3.0 points)
Part 1: Choose the best answer (A, B, C or D) to each of the following questions and write your
answer (A, B, C or D) in the corresponding numbered boxes.
1. Major political party is ______ the campaign for tighter gun controls in the wake of last month‟s shooting. A. procuring B. solidifying C. spearheading D. fulfilling
2. Despite his poor performance in last month‟s athletics trials, Jack is stil ______ for a medal in next week‟s race.
A. in the running B. by a mile C. on his plate D. on the go
3. In its ______, the city of Bath was a magnet for wealthy and fashionable people from all over the country. A. dream B. foothold C. prestige D. heyday
4. Jenny ______ her audition and was immediately offered the part! A. went up B. scraped through C. took off D. waltzed through
5. The money laundering scandal lead to the minister‟s ______ fal from political power. A. prodigious B. precipitous C. dismal D. persistent
6. The CEO was found guilty of ______; nobody could believe that he had been deceiving the company for so many months. A. trafficking B. arson C. embezzlement D. hooliganism
7. The ______ windows of the house seemed to indicate that it had been derelict for a long time. A. faced-up B. long-awaited C. semi-detached D. boarded-up
8. The office was closed for a week for refurbishment and now the staff have to deal with the _____ that
built up during their absence. A. backstage B. backlash C. backlog D. backdrop
9. Garlic being sold as organic was found to contain pesticide _____ and was removed from the market. A. elements B. residues C. filaments D. variables
10. Sam has no ______ for the night of the crime and, therefore, he is the main suspect in this case. A. verdict B. surveillance C. alibi D. witness
11. The entire workforce staged a ______ and gathered outside the plant to protest. A. stopover B. walkout C. go-slow D. lay-off
12. They were sued for _______ of copyright. A. invasion B. intrusion C. infringement D. interference
13. After my brother had lost his job, he ______. I hope his depression doesn‟t last much longer.
A. went from strength to strength B. made a breakthrough C. hit rock bottom D. did the trick
14. They say that even the police hesitate before entering some of the city‟s most lawless ______. A. suburbs B. ghettoes C. crowds D. allotments
15. Jeremy got a job working ______ at the theatre – he‟s an usher and shows people to their seats. A. onstage B. out-and-out C. front-of-house D. backstage
16. Upon his late arrival, he ______ the anger of the whole class even further with his ill-bred manner. A. threw B. fanned C. vented D. hosted
17. From football to fashion, from TV to stage, we name the ______ stars whose careers are likely to rocket in the future. A. out and about
B. up and coming C. down and out D. in and out
18. Morayshire is the heart of the whisky industry and you can take the famous Whisky Trail to seven
distinctive malt whisky ______. A. burgundy B. benefaction C. chartreuse D. distilleries
19. The man in the market was selling leather coats very cheaply: they were such bargains that were soon ______. A. snapped up B. cleared off C. done up D. sold up
20. Although Sean was a successful actor, his career hit the ______ when he appeared in a poorly- rated film. A. hay B. bottle C. buffers D. dirt Your answers: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. -Page 3 of 15 pages-
Part 2: Write the correct form of each bracketed word in the numbered space provided.
The arguments around reading pooled into two different classroom methodologies: (1.
CONSTRUCT) …………………………………… and behaviorism. The constructivist methodology
grew from a (2. WHOLE) ……………………………………conception of knowledge creation that
understood reading and writing to be innate, humanistic, and interpretative practices that suffered
when they were spliced and (3. FORM) …………………………………… within rigid doctrines, strict
rules, and universal skill-sets. Constructivists associate words with meanings; each word might be
thought of as a Chinese ideogram. Students are encouraged to learn individual words and skip over
and guess words they do not understand, or learn to interpret those words by situating them within the
lexical (4. STRUCTURE) …………………………………… of the sentence and the story‟s wider
narrative. These practices materialize as learning processes centered on guided group reading and
independent reading of high-quality, culturally diverse literature or textual composition that
emphasizes pupils conveying their own thoughts and feelings for real purposes such as letters for pen
pals or journal (5. ENTER) …………………………………… Behaviorism sees the pedagogical process is a less (6. DIALECT)
…………………………………… fashion – words are initially taught not lexically, as vehicles to convey
meaning, but rather sub-lexically, as a combination of features that can be separated and learned in a
schematic process. The behaviorist approach does not focus on words at all in the early stages of
learning. Rather, it is centered on a (7. UNIVERSE) …………………………………… applicable
method of teaching students to isolate graphemes and phonemes with the intention that students will
eventually learn to (8. SYNTHESIS) …………………………………… these individual parts and make
sense of spoken words (9. TEXT) …………………………………… In this way, individual components
are not equated with the strokes of a brush on a Chinese ideogram, but rather as the focal pieces of
interpretation – as in, for example, learning to read musical notations or Morse Code. Because of its emphasis on universal rules, behaviorism is much more (10. CONDUCE)
…………………………………… to formal examination and the consolidation of results across regions and countries. III. READING (6.0 points)
Part 1: Read the following passage and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.
Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes.
When LL Zamenhof constructed the auxiliary language of Esperanto in the late 1880s, he did
so with certain key goals in mind: to (1) _______ the study of language easier and more learner-
friendly; and to develop a universal language as a means of international communication and as a (2)
_______ for promoting concord and understanding in a (3) _______ world. His goals were influenced
very much by his own experiences of growing up in Bialystok, which is part of modern-day Poland. A
multitude of different ethnic groups lived there at the time and were constantly (4) _______ with each
one another. It was this at which Zamenhof despaired, and he reasoned that the (5) _______ cause
of dispute was the barriers to communication present on account of the lack of a common language.
Therefore, he set out to create one: Esperanto.
His goals were incredibly ambitious, but was the new language a success? Well, in so far as it
is the most widely spoken artificial one in existence today, with an estimated two-plus-million people
worldwide fluent to some (6) _______, you would have to say yes. However, the fact remains that
Esperanto has not (7) _______ English as the lingua franca of international communication, nor has it
been nearly so widely (8) _______ as Zamenhof himself would have hoped.
Therefore, judged against Zamenhof‟s own (9) _______ ambitions for the language, the
conclusion could not be in the affirmative. That said, his intentions in building an entirely new
language were incredibly noteworthy and that the language has (10) _______ even to the extent that
it has done, with millions of active speakers, is, in and of itself quite remarkable. 1. A. render B. prove C. adjust D. portray 2. A. scheme B. utensil C. device D. mechanism 3. A. discordant B. analogous C. congruent D. comparable -Page 4 of 15 pages- 4. A. debating B. disputing C. quarrelling D. conflicting 5. A. outlying B. underlying C. outstanding D. underlining 6. A. scope B. breadth C. matter D. degree 7. A. promoted B. usurped C. overturned D. reversed 8. A. endured B. embraced C. embodied D. enhanced 9. A. reckless B. modest C. lofty D. pushy 10. A. enriched B. cultivated C. stretched D. prospered Your answers: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Part 2: Fill each of the following numbered blanks with ONE suitable word. Write your answers in the space provided.
It is often helpful when thinking about biological processes to consider some apparently similar
(1)…………………………………… better understood non-biological process. In the case of visual
perception an obvious choice would be color photography. Since in many respects eyes
(2)…………………………………… cameras, and percepts photographs, is it not reasonable to
assume that perception is a sort of photographic process whereby samples of the external world become spontaneously and accurately reproduced somewhere inside our
(3)……………………………………? Unfortunately, the answer must be no. The best that can be said
of the photographic analogy is that it points up (4)…………………………………… perception is not.
Beyond this it is superficial and misleading. Four simple experiments should make the matter plain. In
the first experiment, a person is asked to match a pair of black and white discs, which are rotating at
such a (5)…………………………………… as to make them appear uniformly grey. One disc is
standing in shadow, the other in bright illumination. By adjusting the ratio of black to white in one of
the (6)……………………………………, the subject tries to make it look the same as the other. The
results show him to be remarkably accurate, for it seems he has made the proportion of black to white
in the brightly illuminated disc almost identical with that in the disc which stood in shadow. But there is
(7)…………………………………… photographic about his perception, for when the matched discs,
still spinning, are photographed, the resulting print shows them to be quite dissimilar in
(8)……………………………………. The disc in shadow is obviously very much darker than the other one. What has happened? Both the camera and the person were accurate,
(9)…………………………………… their criteria differed. One might say that the camera recorded
things as they look, and the person things as they are. But the situation is manifestly more
(10)…………………………………… than this, for the person also recorded things as they look. He did
better than the camera because he made them look as they really are. He was not misled by the
differences in illumination. He showed perceptual constancy.
Part 3: Read the following passage and do the tasks that follow. The Mystery of Sleep
Sleep takes up precious time and leaves us vulnerable, so why do we do it? A.
The question of why we sleep has been on people‟s minds at least since the time of Aristotle,
who believed that the warming and cooling of the body as a result of digestion caused sleep. Though
we know this is incorrect today, other early theories have held up better. The possibility of a „sleep
toxin‟ – a substance that built up during the day, causing drowsiness, and was subsequently relieved
by sleep – was put forward by Henri Pieron in the early 1900s, and this concept is not unlike some
contemporary ideas about sleep that researchers are pursuing today. It was not until 1953 that
Nathaniel Kleitman and his colleagues identified two different kinds of sleep; REM and non-REM
sleep. Many say that this breakthrough paved the way for modern sleep research. But since then,
despite the great deal of effort that has been made to better understand sleep, it is still largely a mysterious phenomenon. B.
Among living things, sleep is practically universal. Even jellyfish, which have no brains,
experience something called sleep pressure – the need to rest longer after being kept awake. Tiny -Page 5 of 15 pages-
worms, with only a few neurons, spend time in a sleep-like state and die more quickly when exposed
to stress if this state is prevented. Sharks and dolphins, which must keep moving at all times in order
to breathe, have the ability to sleep with one hemisphere of the brain at a time. Yet, when an animal
sleeps, it cannot protect itself from danger, it cannot eat or reproduce. Sleep is high-risk and costly, so
why is it such a universal phenomenon? Clearly, it must be important. C.
One theory about the reason for sleep is that it arose simply as a way to save energy. If there
were times when it was difficult or hazardous for an animal to move around, then it might make sense
for them to simply enter a sleep state when all of their physical systems slow down. That way, they
would require less food, and could hide away from danger. The observation that animals with few
natural predators, lions, for example, sleep up to 15 hours a day, while small prey animals seldom
sleep more than 5 hours a day, seems to contradict this, however. In addition, the objection has been
raised that sleep only lowers the metabolism by 10-15 per cent, so not much energy is, in fact, saved.
According to Serge Daan, a researcher who studied arctic ground squirrels, something else must be
taking place. He found that the ground squirrels would periodically come out of their suspended-
animation-like state of hibernation in order to sleep. For these animals, sleep was actually
energetically expensive, so it must serve some other essential purpose. D.
It is well established that the act of sleeping is important for essential brain functions such as
memory and learning. A rapidly increasing body of cognitive research suggests that sleep allows us to
consolidate and process information that has been acquired during the day. Sleep scientist Matthew
Walker used MRI scans to visualise activity in the brains of people who were learning a series of
finger movements. One group was allowed to sleep and the other was not. He found differences in
the areas of the brain that were activated when they recalled the movements; the group that had slept
showed less activity in the brain, and better recollection of the task. In other words, the way the
memory was stored had become more efficient. Walker believes that this could explain why toddlers,
who are constantly learning new motor skills, require so much more sleep than adults. Furthermore,
Ted Abel, while assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania, found that mice deprived of
sleep for the first five hours after learning did not remember their physical surroundings, while their
memory of facts and events was not affected. This result allowed him to specify that sleep regulates
memory in a specific part of the brain, the hippocampus, which is responsible for memories related to
spatial and contextual information. But despite numerous studies, there are still more questions than
answers on the role of sleep in memory and learning. E.
Another theory about the role of sleep is that it is essential for cleanup and repair in the brain
and body. Support for this theory is provided by research that shows periods of REM sleep increase
following periods of sleep deprivation and strenuous physical activity. During sleep, the body also
increases its rate of cell division and protein synthesis, further suggesting that repair and restoration
occurs during sleeping periods. Recently, new evidence supporting the repair and restoration theory
has been uncovered. Research has shown that the cellular structure of the brain is altered during
sleep, and more space forms between cells. This allows fluid to move between the cells and flush out
toxic waste products. It is believed that these toxins increase in the central nervous system during
waking times, and the restorative function of sleep is a consequence of their removal. F.
It may seem that all of this new evidence is not making the question of why we sleep any
clearer; indeed, the evidence seems to point to different explanations. In this context, it seems
important to remember that there may not be one correct answer, but instead it could be a
combination. While the idea that sleep is a method of energy conservation seems to be falling out of
favour, it seems more and more likely that benefits for memory and learning, the cleanup of the brain
and the repair of the body can all be attributed to a good night‟s sleep.
Questions 1-6: There are six paragraphs marked A-F in the passage. In which paragraph is the
following mentioned? Write your answers in the corresponding numbered box provided.
1. how researchers can see what is happening inside the brain
2. how many reasons for sleep there might realistically be
3. an example of lack of sleep being deadly
4. a particular discovery that was essential for how we view sleep today
5. how sleep might have arisen from threatening conditions
6. how the brain physically changes during sleep -Page 6 of 15 pages-
Questions 7-9: Look at the following statement and the list of researchers below. Match each
statement with the correct researcher, A-E. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered box provided. A Henri Pieron B Nathaniel Kleitman C Serge Daan D Matthew Walker E Ted Abel
7. Sleep is essential for the recollection only of certain types of memory.
8. The fact that sleep requirements vary with age alludes to its role.
9. A chemical that promotes sleep accumulates throughout the day.
Questions 10-11: Choose TWO letters, A-E. Which TWO theories does the writer question the
validity of? Write your answers in the corresponding numbered box provided.
A Sleep pressure is proof of the necessity of sleep.
B Animals‟ sleeping habits are related to their place on the food chain.
C Sleep is related to changes in body temperature.
D Sleep prevents the unnecessary burning of calories.
E There are different types of sleep with different functions.
Questions 12-13: Choose TWO letters, A-E. Which TWO points does the writer mention in
support of the importance of sleep for memory? Write your answers in the corresponding numbered box provided.
A During sleep, unimportant memories are removed.
B Sleep makes recollection more effortless.
C Sleep results in more activity throughout the brain.
D The function of a specific brain region is affected by sleep.
E Sleep duration modifies learning Your answers: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.
Part 4: In the passage below, seven paragraphs have been removed from the passage. 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.
TOWARDS GENDER-SENSITIVE ARCHITECTURE
Some twenty years ago, one of my neighbors first stimulated my investigations into gender-sensitive
architecture. She was trying to cook on a charcoal stove on the plastic tiled floor of her kitchen in our
up-market part of Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. She proudly described her design solution,
consisting of an old tire and some sackcloth to put under the stove to protect her nice floor. Watching
the white ceiling darken above her stove, I began to realize that professional ignorance of the
circumstances in which people live has a gender aspect as well as a cultural aspect.
1. ___________________________________________________________________________
One result was an overhaul of the architecture curriculum, encouraging students to investigate the
rural roots of urban social life and to be more creative about building design. Another result was the
beginning of more systematic research on building use and adaptation. It was during the
investigations of our own neighborhood that I and my colleagues came across the gender differences.
2.___________________________________________________________________________
Women went to great trouble to light their stoves and cook in these modern houses. Most carried the
stove across the living room to the back garden and back to the kitchen when lit, crossing their
children‟s play area. Thus, when most of the smoke had subsided, they could cook inside.
3. ___________________________________________________________________________
Africa is not the only region where a lack of gender sensitivity in architecture shows up most in the
design of kitchens. Above all, this appears in the lack of sensitivity to the predominant fuel type used
for cooking and how the buildings are designed to accommodate this. There is also the problem of
cramped spaces for cooking, in disregard of the convenience, as well as the health and safety, of the
people – women – doing the cooking. -Page 7 of 15 pages-
4. ___________________________________________________________________________
However, it remains depressingly commonplace for architects to give precious little attention to the
actual needs and situation of the people who are going to live in the buildings, especially women.
Women in unplanned informal settlements are in a considerably worse situation than the housewife in
her African plastic-tiled kitchen or the Asian apartment block. They have to cope with an almost total
lack of services and often harassment of their daily activities as well.
5. ___________________________________________________________________________
Many poor urban women and men engage in crop growing and livestock keeping. They need small
gardens suitable for this. As mentioned, they need workspace in the home or neighborhood, and most
of all they need privacy for different functions in the home. The small spaces and overcrowding in low
income informal settlements and planned housing cause severe problems for women and men and for growing children.
6. ___________________________________________________________________________
These arrangements have grown up over time in all societies. They are at the very basis of culture,
which is why there is often resistance to changing them, or even questioning them. And yet it is
obvious that they are always in a state of change as families and societies adapt to different
technologies and other circumstances. One of the most major changes in families, in the things men
and women do, happens with the trend towards living in cities.
7. ___________________________________________________________________________
Developing appropriate designs for local conditions is one of the least often mentioned advantages of
self-help housing. People who build for themselves can adapt materials and technologies to suit their
own needs, thus participating as designers of buildings. Women as well as men have to take part in
decisions about what is built if the architecture is to be gender sensitive. The African housewife
struggling with her stove probably wishes she were back in her village where this process happened as a matter of course. The missing paragraphs: A
Through Asia too, researchers have found women cooking with smoky fuels even in cramped
spaces in apartment buildings. In China, a group of university women based mainly in Nanjing and
Beijing formed the “Design and Research group on House Kitchens”. During the 1980s and 1990s
they carried out research on kitchens and applied this to developing better designs. Similar initiatives
in Viet Nam and in other parts of Asia have led to some changes in design and planning of buildings
as networks of researchers and women‟s networks link up their efforts. B
One of the men we talked to first drew our attention to the issue, pointing out that the kitchen
and living area was arranged in such a way that it tended to be a woman‟s place, whereas there was
no men‟s place as is the custom in rural homes. Research in 1985 showed that 83 percent of Nairobi
households were using charcoal to cook with. This accounts for why the women, always responsible
for cooking, stressed this as an important aspect of building design. C
Men and women use space in the home and even the workplace and other public spaces
differently. Apart from their different tasks, there are strongly-held beliefs in some cultures about how
men and women use space, and these vary enormously. Although this is becoming less and less the
case in industrialized and post industrial economies, throughout much of the world there is a clear
division of labor in the home as well as the workplace. D
Even now, this routine, and the same fuels, charcoal and even firewood, are still used for
cooking in urban areas. However, fuel stores are not routinely designed in houses. With the exception
of a few “experimental houses”, there are no chimneys in Nairobi kitchens. It is also worth noting that
these shortcomings are mainly experienced by women. E
Despite the fact that societies in different parts of the world begin from very different cultural
assumptions about what men and women do and have very different buildings adapted to their
circumstances, urbanization often comes with a whole new set of assumptions and conditions which
are imposed from elsewhere. This includes the buildings, whose form and construction may be based
on completely different climates and culture, and are therefore unsuitable for a given region. F
Yet these women‟s problems would by no means be solved if by some miracle they were
transported to the house with the plastic-tiled kitchen or the apartment block. Apart from the fuel
problem, they have other matters to contend with. -Page 8 of 15 pages- G
While teaching architecture at the University of Nairobi in the 1970s, I had already realized the
sometimes ridiculous gaps between East African lifestyles and the type of designs I was used to
building. My curiosity was roused by the results of surveys the students carried out on how families in
different parts of the city were using buildings. In apartment blocks, cooking was mostly done on
balconies and staircases, while kitchens were often used as extra bedrooms by large families. H
In addition to studying the changes people made to their houses, we had to take into account
the practical effects of these people leading a largely nomadic lifestyle. A great deal of consideration
had to be given to the utility of buildings that lent themselves to easy dismantling for reconstruction at another site. Your answers: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Part 5. Read an extract from an article on an invention and choose the answer A, B, C or D that
fits best according to the text. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
In orbit high above Earth, a multi-billion-dollar formation of communications satellites stands ready to
instantly connect pilots, seamen and navigators of all kinds to every available aid when they find
themselves in an emergency. But what if the communication computers on board these ships and
aircraft started acting up or even broke down? The world could go silent, and leave travellers groping
around for directions. Not to worry. There is a backup plan, using technology that was invented in
1835. It's Morse code, the language of dots and dashes that has survived the assault of higher
technology for a century and a half.
Named after its inventor, Samuel F B Morse, the code is a series of combinations of short and long
tones (dots and dashes) representing letters of the alphabet that can be transmitted manually by a
key operator. A telegrapher combines the dots and dashes to form letters and words. It is a seemingly
tedious procedure, but skilled operators can transmit and receive faster than most secretaries can
type. The fastest Morse transmission ever recorded is an amazing 84 words per minute, sent by an
operator named T L McElroy in 1951.
Morse telegraphy may seem like a quaint anachronism, with its brass sounder and key operated by
the world's most basic tool, the human finger. However, it is sometimes vital to worldwide
communications. When the Mexico City earthquake occurred in 1985 and all the power went off, calls
for help were transmitted in Morse by an amateur radio operator. "We see the Morse code as a dying
art, but we refuse to let it die completely," says Major General Leo M Childs, the US Army's Chief
Signal Officer. "Newer is not always better. Even though it is old and slow, Morse is still the most
reliable in difficult conditions. "
Every merchant vessel bearing the US flag must carry a radio officer who can both transmit and
receive Morse code. Under US law, the officer must spend eight hours at sea every day monitoring
the radio for Morse distress signals. Should you ever find yourself adrift at sea in a lifeboat launch
from a sink passenger cruise ship, it will be equipped with a single communications device: a Morse
transmitter that automatically signals a distress call, but is also equipped with a keyboard in case you
happen to know Morse code. Perhaps the best-known bit of Morse code is the call for help - SOS. In
the code, these letters form a distinctive pattern (dot dot dot, dash dash dash, dot dot dot) easily recognised in an emergency.
The enduring use of Morse telegraphy is the legacy of a burst of industrialisation in 19th-Century
America, when the railway and telegraph developed side by side. Most of those railway telegraph
lines were used well into the mid-20th century, well after radio, television and computers became
commonplace. Until 1985, the Milwaukee Road had a Morse telegraph line between Milwaukee and
La Crosse that was routinely used to relay orders to train crews. This Milwaukee operation was shut
down quietly in the late Eighties. In many other countries, however, Morse railway is still used.
The military services continue to be the most serious users of Morse telegraphy. While billion-dollar
satellites and sophisticated ground networks are good in theory, such communication systems can
break down on the battlefield. As a matter of prudence, the Army keeps a functional Morse capability.
Morse code signals require much less power to transmit broadcasting than voice messages. In
addition, even an unclear Morse signal can be interpreted, whereas a distorted voice transmission is
virtually useless. The Army annually trains about 2,800 men and women in Morse code for a variety of
signal jobs in infantry, artillery, intelligence and even Special Forces. A Morse transmission will get
through when all else fails, and especially in military conflicts, "he who communicates first, no matter
how primitively, will come out on top," says Major General Childs. -Page 9 of 15 pages-
In that case, retired railway telegraph operators will Probably take over the world. Each evening, the
amateur radio waves come alive with the Morse transmissions of the retired operators known among
themselves as 'old heads'. "I get on the air and use the code every night to chat to other old heads,"
says Craig Becker, the retired Milwaukee telegraph operator who received the railway's final telegraph
message in 1985. "There are a lot of telegraphers around. Every night you hear them pecking.
"Experienced Operators say the Morse code is not so much a clatter of sounds as a language,
because operators do not hear dots and dashes. "You can sit back and hear a conversation," says Becker.
When Morse inaugurated the telegraph service in 1844, he wired from Baltimore to Washington the
now-famed message: "What hath God wrought!" Ever since, the death of Morse code has been
regularly predicted. However, although the surface has receded from public view, experts say that
they cannot envision an end to its use any time soon. "I can carry a very small Morse key in my
pocket and transmit around the world," says Burke Stinson, a public relations man for American
Telephone & Telegraph Co. "I do not think you will ever see Morse code die. It is going to be difficult
to find another method that is as flexible and reliable."
1. The reason the writer mentions the possibility of satellite–based communication systems failing is to
A. underline the importance of a reliable alternative.
B. suggest that satellite communications are unreliable.
C. emphasise the drawbacks of satellite communications.
D. compare Morse to communication satellites.
2. The process of communicating using Morse code
A. involves more than transmitting tones.
B. is tedious even for experienced users.
C. is not as laborious as people think.
D. is simple enough for anyone who can type.
3. In the third paragraph, the writer implies that the use of Morse code is
A. old-fashioned, but attracts many enthusiasts.
B. only useful to the armed forces and some hobbyists.
C. being revived by amateur radio operators.
D. often the only way to communicate during a crisis.
4. In the fifth paragraph, the writer
A. implies that Morse telegraphy developed faster than the railway.
B. implies that Morse has survived for so long because of the railway.
C. suggests that the railway developed because of Morse telegraphy.
D. explains why Morse telegraphy eventually became redundant.
5. The American military
A. needs simple communication methods
B. has recently neglected its Morse capability.
C. allows its forces some Morse equipment.
D. offers training for recognising distorted Morse.
6. The first message to be transmitted in Morse code
A. symbolised the code‟s flexibility.
B. was used for commercial purposes.
C. took a long time to reach its destination.
D. was sent by Samuel Morse himself.
7. What does the writer mean by saying that Morse code “has survived the assault of higher
technology for a century and a half” in the first paragraph?
A. Even though in the last 150 years newer and more sophisticated ways of doing things have been
invented, Morse is still used.
B. As modern communication systems have progressed rapidly, it is surprising that Morse telegraphy could survive for 150 years.
C. Thanks to the backup plan, Morse telegraphy has survived for 150 years in the face of technology.
D. Morse code could not have survived for 150 years without the support of modern technology.
8. What does the word “It” in paragraph 2 refer to?
A. a series of combinations
B. sending a message in Morse code
C. representing letters of the alphabet
D. the transmission sent by McElroy
9. The phrase “quaint anachronism” in paragraph 3 refers to _______.
A. unimportant thing B. monotonous cycle C. old-fashioned tool
D. irrelevant invention
10. Which is the best title for the passage?
A. Morse Code – a Revolutionary Invention
B. Dots and Dashes Still Alive
C. The Comeback of a Forgotten Name
D. The Applications of Morse Telegraphy Your answers: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. -Page 10 of 15 pages-
Part 6: You are going to read extracts from an article written by a football analyst in which she
discusses the weekend’s football program. Read the passage and do the task that follows.
Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided. A. Manchester
We kick off with Manchester. Despite a severely depleted squad, with much of the first team hit by a
mysterious ailment midweek, manager, Noel Harriot, remains upbeat about his team‟s prospects this
weekend and has appealed for his squad players to stand up and be counted, and to grasp the
opportunity by seizing the moment and cementing their first-team place. However, in Doncaster, they
will go up against a side undefeated in twenty-eight games, which is a record run for the club, and this
will undoubtedly represent their stiffest challenge to date. Harriot, though, is hopeful that new star
signing, Gregor Dmitri, can inspire his side to defy the odds and emerge victorious in Sunday‟s
midday kick-off. While the title appears to be out of reach for Manchester now, a string of good results
could yet see them finish in the converted top four, but they are clearly up against it. B. Doncaster
And now to their opponents on Sunday, Doncaster will hope to continue building on the momentum of
a string of successive victories, which sees them flying high at the top of the table. Their coach, Yale
Edwards, is understandably in confident mood ahead of Sunday‟s match-up; however, in Manchester,
they face a team known for their resilience and battling qualities, as evidenced last year, so a win is
not as simple as it may seem on paper. Victory would, though, put them nearly out of reach of their
rivals and a step closer to the title. Indeed, they are now odds-on to claim the crown for a second
successive season with most bookmakers. Their pragmatic style of play may not have won them
many fans without the club, but the club faithful remain united and steadfast in their support, and so
long as the unprecedented success continues, this is unlikely to change. It is, after all, not how but
how many that counts at the end of the day. C. Liverpool
Liverpool must tear up the formbook if they are to come away from Saturday‟s clash with Brighton
with more than a draw. Considering last year‟s notoriously leaky defence, their record in that
department is incredibly impressive this season. However, their problems now are in front of goal.
They are playing the kind of football that has fans salivating at times, but they simply cannot convert
their chances. Indeed, this no doubt explains why manager, Alain Jerome, is coming under increasing
pressure. There have long been rumors of boardroom dissatisfaction with the team‟s results, but as
long as Jerome had the backing of supporters, his position was considered safe. There are growing
signs, however, that they are losing faith in him and this will only add to the pressure this weekend to
get a result. This reason has for Jerome, sadly, been a case of style over substance so far. Can their
swashbuckling approach finally pay dividends? D. Brighton
Midseason, Brighton were top of the list of teams analysts thought likely to be in the relegation fight,
facing demotion. They have defied the odds and their position in the league is already secure with five
games to go. This must surely be a weight off manager Landon Grieg‟s shoulders. The commotion of
the early season has died down now and fans are no longer calling for his head. In this fickle game
that is football, Grieg has somehow managed to win them over. The secret to Brighton‟s success
doesn‟t lie in their defensive resilience or attacking prowess, though. They are average at best in all
departments. However, Grieg has somehow galvanized his squad of mediocre players and
transformed them into something far more than the sum of their parts. Anything less than a draw on
Saturday against Liverpool would be a disappointment; that is how far they have come. It has been a
turnaround not without trials, tribulations and setbacks, but it has been one, nonetheless, of epic proportions. E. Leicester
Leicester have had a season beset by misfortune, with the squad ravaged by injury for much of the
first half, which stifled any momentum they could have hoped to build. They are now, as a result, in a
battle for their lives, where every game and every point won or lost could mean the difference
between survival and being cast off into the abyss of the lower leagues. Manager, Thomas -Page 11 of 15 pages-
Waylander, cut a despondent figure at the press conference earlier today, admitting that the odds are
stacked up against them now (which, incidentally, is quite remarkable considering they were many
experts‟ preseason pick as title favorites and have been serious contenders in each of the last two
seasons). However, he did see one dim ray of light at the end of this long and very dark tunnel;
suggesting that, with the squad more or less returned to full fitness, if they could claim an unlikely
victory on Saturday against Northampton, then that could be the momentum-builder to spur them on to a miraculous escape.
According to the analyst, which team…? Your answers:
is performing better than it should 1. ________
has already shown great resilience this season 2. ________
has played exciting football but not got the right results 3. ________
is more concerned with success than playing stylishly 4. ________
manager is realistic about the uphill challenge they face for the rest of the season 5. ________
desperately needs a string of good results to survive 6. ________
manager has seen fans‟ opinion of him change favorably 7. ________
is missing several key first-team players 8. ________
manager wants certain players to exploit their lucky chance 9. ________
is not popular with neutral fans 10. _______ -Page 12 of 15 pages- III. WRITING (6.0 points)
Part 1: Read the following extract and use your own words to summarize it. You MUST NOT
copy or rewrite the original. Your summary should be about 120 words long.
Scientists have identified two ways in which species disappear. The first is through ordinary or
background extinctions, where species that fail to adapt are slowly replaced by more adaptable life
forms. The second is when large number of species go to the wall in relatively short periods of
biological time. There have been five such extinctions, each provoked by cataclysmic evolutionary
events caused by some geological eruption, climate shift, or space junk slamming into the earth.
Scientists now believe that another mass extinction of species is currently under way – and this time
human fingerprints are on the trigger.
How are doing it? Simply by demanding more and more space for ourselves. In our assault on
the ecosystems around us we have used a number of tools, from spear and gun to bulldozer and
chainsaw. Certain especially rich ecosystems have proved the most vulnerable. In Hawaii more than
half of the native birds are now gone - some 50 species. Such carnage took place all across the
island communities of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. While many were hunted to extinction, others
simply succumbed to the 'introduced predators' that humans brought with them: the cat, the dog, the pig and the rat.
Today the tempo of extinction is picking up speed. Hunting is no longer the major culprit,
although rare birds and animals continue to be butchered for their skin, feathers, tusks and internal
organs, or taken as cage pets. Today the main threat comes from the destruction of the habitat that
wild plants, animals and insects need to survive. The draining and damming of wetland and river
courses threatens the aquatic food chain and our own seafood industry. Overfishing and the
destruction of fragile coral reefs destroy ocean biodiversity. Deforestation is taking a staggering toll
particularly in the tropics where the most global biodiversity is at stake. The shrinking rainforest cover
of the Congo and Amazon river-basins and such places as Borneo and Madagascar, has a wealth of
species per hectare existing nowhere else. As those precious hectares are drowned or turned into
arid pasture and cropland, such species disappear forever.
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Part 2: Writing description
The tables below are the results of research, which examine the average percentage marks
scored by boys and girls of different ages in several school subjects in Fancy country in 2019.
Summarizes the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant. You should write about 150 words.
Average percentage marks in Fancy in 2019 Boys: Subject Age Maths Science Geography Languages Sports 7 63% 70% 63% 62% 71% 10 65% 72% 68% 60% 74% 13 69% 74% 70% 60% 75% 15 67% 73% 64% 58% 78% Girls: Subject Age Maths Science Geography Languages Sports 7 64% 69% 62% 62% 65% 10 65% 73% 64% 67% 64% 13 64% 70% 62% 65% 62% 15 68% 72% 64% 75% 60%
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Part 3: Write an essay of about 350 words about the following issue.
Some people say that developed countries should be the major force to curb global issues
such as pollution or pandemic. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
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(You may write overleaf if you need more space) -The end- -Page 15 of 15 pages-