Đề thi chọn đội tuyển dự thi HSG quốc gia THPT năm 2020 tỉnh Nghệ An môn Tiếng Anh

SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO
ĐỀ THI CHỌN ĐỘI TUYỂN NGHỆ AN
DỰ THI HSG QUỐC GIA THPT NĂM 2020
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Môn thi: Tiếng Anh ĐỀ CHÍNH THỨC
Thời gian: 180 phút (không kể thời gian giao đề)
Ngày thi: 06 tháng 10 năm 2020
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
I. LISTENING (50 points)
Part 1: Listen to a talk about Atificial Intelligence. For questions 1-5, listen and decide whether the
statements are True (T) , False (F) or Not Given (NG). Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided. 1.
The lecturer claims we are all worried about A.I in the future. 2.
The lecturer believes A.I will destroy us. 3.
Most of us find A.I fun to think about. 4. A.I will cause global famine. 5.
We are able to systemize an emotional response to the future of A.I Your answers: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
For questions 6- 10, give short answers to the questions.
6. What is behind door number 1?
_________________________________________________ 7. What can stop A.I?
_________________________________________________
8. What will happen if we build machines that are smarter than we are?
_________________________________________________
9. What is the main concern when machines become smarter than we are?
_________________________________________________
10. What does the speaker refer to to consolidate his point?
_________________________________________________
Part 2: You will hear two people speaking about their work together. For questions 11-15, choose the
answer (A, B, C or D) which fits best according to what you hear. Write your answers in the
corresponding numbered boxes provided.
11. One speaker makes the point that the approach to historical accuracy________ A. has changed over time. B. is to be admired. C. is disappointing. D. is very demanding.
12. One speaker, when discussing the time constraints on her work, feels________ A. unnecessarily pressured.
B. she is not given the respect she deserves.
C. a high level of frustration. D. it's unfair.
13. Speaking about The Snow Queen costume, one speaker________ A. doesn't feel up to the job.
B. is nervous and full of self-doubt. Page 1 of 17 pages
C. is happy with the actors chosen.
D. feels disappointed by the design.
14. The two speakers are in agreement that________
A. only authentic costumes should be used.
B. some actors need to be more respectful.
C. it is important to be psychologically sensitive during the fitting process.
D. A Man For All Seasons was the most challenging work they have been asked to do.
15. Both speakers conclude that________
A. making costumes is extremely demanding work.
B. an actor's ability to perform can be affected by having to wear a costume.
C. they are both extremely grateful for the chance to do the work they do.
D. getting awards for their work is not something they think about. Your answers: 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.
Part 3: For questions 16-25, you will hear a piece of news about a kind of test carried out in Leipzig,
Germany. Fill in each blank with NO MORE THAN FOUR WORDS taken from the recording. You
will hear the audio twice. Write your answers in the space provided.
16. Researchers needed to get as much _____________________________from the tested concert as possible.
17. A common sight in normal times but not during a deadly pandemic is that of music enthusiasts
lining up for a/an _____________________________.
18. The test is aimed at helping reseachers understand_____________________________ at big events and how to prevent it.
19. Besides having to wear masks, participants had to get a_____________________________.
20. To help scientists identify the most often touched surfaces, fans were given____________________.
21. Smoke was pumped to track how _____________________________the spread of the virus.
22. Participants were given _____________________________to measure distances between
themselves and the frequency of their contact.
23. The event is very safe because all participants were tested in advance and they had to
wear_____________________________.
24. Although this was an experiment, many people considered it a_____________________________.
25. Conclusions about how big events could be staged safely are expected by the end of the year after
researchers at the University of Halle _____________________________.
II. LEXICO-GRAMMAR
Part 1: For questions 26-40, choose the correct answer A, B, C, or D to each of the following
questions and write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
26. That human rights are ________ is unacceptable in a civilized society. A. infringed B.impeached C. abrogated D. quashed
27. The regular appearance of sex and violence on television undoubtedly has a ________ influence on teenagers. A. pernicious B. parsimonious C. precipitous D. propitious
28. China fueled fears that its________economy is about to slow further after Beijing cut its main
interest rate by 0.25 percentage points. A. diseased B. ailing C.sickening D. unwell
29. Alaska boasts several climates due to its ________ mountains, warm ocea currents, and frozen seas. A. adept B. pious C.ghastly D. lofty Page 2 of 17 pages
30. The Oscar winning actress simply________ charm and professionalism in her acceptance speech. A.exuded B.excluded C.expunged D. extricated
31. Companies are joining forces with governments in Africa to ________ regional campaigns against malaria. A. fabricate B. originate C.mount D. produce
32. I hope the computer course starts this term. We’re all as keen as ________ to get going. A.coffee B. mustard C. a gigolo D. cornflakes
33. The proposed ________of Micro industries and SJ electronics would make the new company the
largest electronics firm in Britain. A. combination B. merger C. fusion D. mixture
34. She ________ agreed to go with him to the football match although she had no interest in the game at all. A. apologetically B. grudgingly C. shamefacedly D. discreetly
35. Due to many years of________ , the Smiths had nothing to fall back on when it was time for them to retire. A. illiteracy B. impunity C. inflexibility D. imprudence
36. Writing rhymes for birthday cards is really easy. It's money for old ________. A. rags B. bread C. rope D. rubbish
37. The celebrations were somewhat ________ by the announcement of her resignation. A. outshone B. overshadowed C. overcast D. outweighed
38. Whenever we organise social events or outings in our office, Janice remains ________ , as if such things are beneath her. A. inaccessible B. outstanding C. aloof D. invisible
39. "Mary, I'd like you to meet Howard Canning. He was a(n) ________ at university." A. accompaniment B. twill C. contemporary D. coincidence
40. There was little we could do ________registering a formal complaint. A. beyond B. further C. over D. beside Your answers: 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39 40.
Part 2: For questions 41-45, write the correct form of each bracketed word. Write your answers in the
corresponding numbered boxes provided.
41.Our attitudes to animals are marked by (41. Favour) ________. Cats, dogs, horses and apes top the
list; slugs, skunks, rats and mice come near the bottom.
42. If participation and the culture are incongruous, employees are likely to perceive the participation
process as (42. MANIPULATE) ________ and be negatively affected by it.
43. Last month, Epic Games, maker of the popular game Fortnite, sued Apple and Google, claiming
they violated (43. TRUST) ________rules.
44. The new policy only serves to (44. ACCENT)________ the inadequacy of help for the homeless.
45. We often forget we are inextricably linked to the nature, and by doing so, (45. ADVERT)
________contribute to its slow destruction. Your answers: 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. III. READING Page 3 of 17 pages
Part 1: For questions 46-55, read the following passage and decide which answer (A, B, C, or D) best fits
each gap. Write your answer in the numbered boxes.
There's extensive historical evidence that our ancestors may have witnessed a massive invasion
of Unidentified Flying Objects (46.) ________on their territories. These extraterrestrials are (47.)
________ to have come into touch with the ancient earthly populations and helped them (48.) ________
numerous magnificent structures or even establish glamorous empires.
However, the present-day fascination with UFO was only (49.) ________ by the first widely
(50.) ________American sighting in Idaho in1947. Since that time, countless other close encounters
have been reported both by highly credible witnesses such as top-class pilots and less credible ones such
as ordinary civilians. Thousands of people around the world maintain having come close to the visitors
from outer space or to have been (51) ________ for a scientific study inside their flying saucers.
Although most of these accounts have been (52) ________as fantasy or hallucinations, there's (53)
________criticism from the public and media forignoring the subject for too long. To many people,
rejecting even the most inexplicable sightings or UFO encounters as luminous artificial objects, natural
phenomena like auroras or even as meteorological balloons and satellites seems to be an irresponsible
(54) ________. Most of us would prefer to believe that these extraterrestrial guests are arriving from some remote galaxies to
establish a peaceful relationship and possibly give us a fair warning
against the consequences of our wasteful lifestyles. Yet, there's another theory (55) ________ that the
visitors' attitudetowards mankind isn't so conciliatory and that their sole aim might be the unscrupulous
annihilation of the terrestrial populations.
46. A. surpassing B. approximating C. transgressing D. encroaching 47. A. reasoned B. alleged C. denoted D. inferred 48. A. fabricate B. plant C. erect D. install 49. A. discharged B. instigated C. constituted D. devised 50. A. proclaimed B. notified C. communicated D. conveyed 51. A. abolished B. abducted C. absconded D. abbreviated 52. A. speculated B. disposed C. repelled D. dismissed 53. A. multiplying B. piling C. storing D. mounting 54. A. approach B. bias C. encounter D. manner 55. A. consisting B. specifying C. meaning D. implying Your answers: 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55.
Part 2: Read the following passage and do the task that follow. Write your answers in the corresponding
numbered boxes provided.
Neurologists tend to divide the experience of love into three distinct categories: attraction, lust
and attachment. The combination of all three can make for an intoxicating and lasting bond, but they are
not always experienced together. Frequently, for example, we lust after those with whom we have no
desire of having a long-term relationship; at other time, we feel “attached” to people in the sense of
being drawn to them emotionally or spiritually, but not drawn to them physically. It is accurate to
describe these as “stages” of love – lust tends to come first, then attraction, which lasts for months or
years, and finally attachment, which can keep people together for decades. These are separate chemical
substrates so they can overlap; however, evidence suggests that attraction has a limited lifespan.
Lust is typically experienced soon after puberty. This is when estrogen and testosterone – the
underlying chemical substrates for lust in women and men respectively – activate themselves in our
bodies for the first time. The primary purpose of lust is believed to be procreation, and the experience is
one of feeling physically drawn, or even “pulled” towards another person. Pheromones, physical
attractiveness and our socialized predispositions for what we seek in a mate are the factors that activate
the sensation of lust. Despite the strength it can have over our psyche, lust on its own is a very fleeting Page 4 of 17 pages
experience. It can firmly steer people together for their initial encounters, but it has no power to keep them there.
If the relationship is to last, something called attraction must take place. Attraction is the intoxicating
sensation experienced in the initial period of knowing someone. The “symptoms” include dizziness,
flushed skin, and a loss of appetite and sleep. These are a result of a chemical cocktail of dopamine and
norepinephrine that PEA – a transmitter chemical – unleashes into the bloodstream when attraction takes
place. Dopamine is responsible for the blissful feelings of self-confidence, joy and motivation that new
love brings about; norepinephrine, similar to adrenaline, brings about palpitations and anxiety.
Attraction has more staying power than lust; while its intensity fades after a few weeks, the effect of the
PEA transmission can continue for some time between eighteen months and four years. After that, our
bodies build up a natural tolerance.
At this stage, a transition to a phase called attachment can occur. The “rush” of attraction is replaced
by endorphins like oxytocin and vasopressin that feel like a gentle, warm sort of pleasantness – a safe
feeling that calms the mind, numbs pain and soothes anxiety. This is a much more pleasant feeling in
which to spend an extended period of time – potentially, forty, fifty or more years, depending on when
you meet your partner. It allows you to live your life with someone, without being the central obsession
in your life. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that PEA transmission will evolve into the endorphin
stage – in many instances, it will be replaced by a feeling of emptiness and dissatisfaction. It is not a
coincidence that peak divorce rates occur at between four and seven years, as PEA transmission wears
away and attachment does not materialize in many people’s brain.
Even neurologists agree that chemistry isn’t everything. There are numerous other factors such as
culture and personality, for which science may never have an explanation. While dopamine is bliss,
however, ignorance is not – neurology has much to contribute to satisfaction in our personal lives. It
may not be a good idea to commit to marriage or spending the rest of your life with someone if you still
feel the blissful rush of PEA transmission, for example. Once your brain has succumbed to the warming
opiates of oxytocin and vasopressin, this will be a safer commitment. Attachment brings other needs to
the foreground, however, while people enjoy the security that attachment brings about, they do not lose
their desires for either lust or attraction. Losing the ability to give your partner the rush of PEA
transmission, while knowing that he may feel this for other people, can bring about jealousy and anxiety
in people. Acknowledging and discussing these insecurities can alleviate them as it is likely that, to
some extent, both partners will be feeling them. Questions 56 – 63 Complete the notes below
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer Lust Attraction Attachment
Designed to encourage (56) Two chemicals are released Chemicals in the brain work to reduce _____.
through a third one called (58) physical & mental suffering, and calm (61) _____. _____.
Generated by natural scent, (59)_____ is a feel-good Separate chemical processes mean PEA looks, and (57) _____.
chemical, norepinephrine brings transmission does not always progress to
about elevated heart-rate and (62) _____. nervousness. Has weak staying power.
Can last for up to (60) _____.
There is a relationship between (63)_____
and the failure of attachment to occur. Your answers: 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. Page 5 of 17 pages Questions 64 – 68
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in the above passage? YES
if the statement agrees with the views of the writer. NO
if the statement contradicts the views of the writer.
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this.
64. We cannot explain all romantic decisions on the basis of chemical processes.
65. Knowing about brain chemistry can actually harm our happiness.
66. Long-term relationship commitments should be made after attraction has faded.
67. Relationship insecurities fade away once the attachment phase begins.
68. Growing resistance to PEA transmission is experienced as mental anguish. Your answers: 64. 65. 66. 67. 68.
Part 3: You are going to read an extract from a magazine article. Seven paragraphs have been
removed from the extract. Choose from the paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap . There is
one extra paragraph which you do not need to use. Blind to change
How much of the world around you do you really see? You only take in tiny pieces of information at a
time and that can have unnerving consequences, says Laura Spinney.
Imagine you’re walking across a college campus when an unknown man asks you for directions. While
you’re talking, two men pass between you carrying a door. After an irritating minute of interruption you
carry on describing the route. When you’ve finished you are informed that you’ve just taken part in a
psychology experiment, and asked if you noticed any changes after the two men passed with the door.
‘No,’ you reply uneasily. The unknown man then explains that the man who approached you initially
walked off behind the door, leaving this man in his place. You are stunned; the two men are dressed
differently and have different voices and haircuts. 69.
Rather than logging every detail of the visual scene, we are actually highly selective about what we take
in. Our impression of seeing everything is just that - an impression. In fact we extract a few details and
rely on memory, or perhaps even our imagination, for the rest. 70.
Yet in 1991, the controversial claim was made that our brains hold only a few salient details about the
world - and that this is the reason we are able to function at all. We don’t store elaborate pictures in
short-term memory, because it isn’t necessary and would take up valuable computing power. 71.
Just a year later, at a conference on perception in Vancouver, it was reported that people shown
computer-generated pictures of natural scenes were blind to changes that were made during an eye
movement. In a typical laboratory demonstration of this you might be shown a picture on a computer
screen of, say, a couple dining on a terrace. 72.
It’s an unnerving experience. But to some extent, such ‘change blindness’ is artificial because the
change is masked in some way. In real life, there tends to be a visible movement that signals the change.
But not always. For instance, we have all had the experience of not noticing a traffic signal change
because we had briefly looked away. 73.
For instance, an experiment was done at Harvard in which people were shown a videotape of a
basketball game and asked to count the passes made by one or other team. After about 45 seconds a man
dressed in a gorilla suit walked slowly across the scene, passing between the players. Although he was
visible for five seconds, an amazing 40 per cent of the viewers failed to notice him. 74. Page 6 of 17 pages
Such lapses raise important questions about vision. For instance, how can we reconcile these gross
lapses with our subjective experience of having continuous access to a rich visual scene? One researcher
has actually shown that imagining a scene activates parts of the visual cortex in the same way as seeing
it. He says that this supports the idea that we take in just what information we consider important at the
time, and fill in the gaps where the details are less important. The illusion that we see ‘everything’ is
partly a result of filling in the gaps using memory. Such memories can be created based on beliefs and expectations. 75.
This particular idea has not been generally accepted. Yet most researchers in the field do agree that of
all the myriad visual details of any scene that we could record, we take only what is relevant to us at the
time. This leads us to the uncomfortable realisation that, for all our subjective experience of a rich visual
world, it may, in fact, be impossible to tell what is real and what is imagined.
A Now imagine that the task absorbing their attention had been driving a car, and the distraction had
been a pedestrian crossing their path. According to some estimates, nearly half of all motor-vehicle
accidents in the US can be attributed to driver error, including momentary loss of attention. It is more
than just academic interest that has made both forms of cognitive error hot research topics.
B The image would disappear, to be replaced for a fraction of a second by a blank screen, before
reappearing significantly altered - by the raising of a railing in the background, perhaps. Many people
search the screen for up to a minute before they see the change. A few never spot it.
C In contrast, other researchers argue that we can get the impression of visual richness without holding
any of that richness in our heads. For instance, the ‘grand illusion’ theory argues that we hold no picture
of the visual world in our brains at all. Instead, we refer back to the external visual world as different
aspects become important. The ‘usion arises from the fact that as soon as you ask yourself ‘am I seeing
this or that?’ you turn your attention to it and see it.
D It sounds impossible, but when this test was earned out, a full 50 per cent of those who took cart
failed to notice the substitution. The subjects had succumbed to what is called change blindness. Taken
with a glut of recent experimental results, this phenomenon suggests we see far less than we think we do.
E The relationships between attention, awareness and vision have yet to be clarified. Because we have a
less than complete picture of the world at any one time, there is the potential for distortion and error.
How that complete picture could be objectively established is controversial, but there is one obvious way forward.
F This flies in the face of what vision researchers have long believed: that seeing really means making
pictures in the brain. According to this theory, by building detailed internal representations of the world,
and comparing them over time, we would be able to pick out anything that changed.
G And there’s a related phenomenon called inattentional blindness, that doesn’t need any experimental
visual trick at all: if you are not paying attention to some feature of a scene, you won’t see it.
H Rather, we log what has changed and assume the rest has stayed the same. Of course, this is bound to
mean that we miss a few details. Experimenters had already shown that we may ignore items in the
visual field if they appear not to be significant - a repeated word or line on a page of text for instance.
But nobody realised quite how little we really do ‘see’. Page 7 of 17 pages
Part 4: For questions 76-85, read the following passage and choose the correct answer A, B, C or D.
Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
The Rise of Teotihuacán
The city of Teotihuacán, which lay about 50 kilometers northeast of modern-day Mexico City,
began its growth by 200 –100 B.C. At its height, between about A.D. 150 and 700, it probably had a
population of more than 125,000 people and covered at least 20 square kilometers. It had over 2,000
apartment complexes, a great market, a large number of industrial workshops, an administrative center,
a number of massive religious edifices, and a regular grid pattern of streets and buildings. Clearly, much
planning and central control were involved in the expansion and ordering of this great metropolis.
Moreover, the city had economic and perhaps religious contacts with most parts of Mesoamerica
(modern Central America and Mexico).
How did this tremendous development take place, and why did it happen in the Teotihuacán
Valley? Among the main factors are Teotihuacán's geographic location on a natural trade route to the
south and east of the Valley of Mexico, the obsidian1 resources in the Teotihuacán Valley itself, and the
valley's potential for extensive irrigation. The exact role of other factors is much more difficult to
pinpoint —for instance, Teotihuacán's religious significance as a shrine, the historical situation in and
around the Valley of Mexico toward the end of the first millennium B.C., the ingenuity and
foresightedness of Teotihuacán's elite, and, finally, the impact of natural disasters, such as the volcanic
eruptions of the late first millennium B.C.
This last factor is at least circumstantially implicated in Teotihuacán's rise. Prior to 200 B.C., a
number of relatively small centers coexisted in and near the Valley of Mexico. Around this time, the
largest of these centers, Cuicuilco, was seriously affected by a volcanic eruption, with much of its
agricultural land covered by lava. With Cuicuilco eliminated as a potential rival, any one of a number of
relatively modest towns might have emerged as a leading economic and political power in Central
Mexico. The archaeological evidence clearly indicates, though, that Teotihuacán was the center that did
arise as the predominant force in the area by the first century A.D.
It seems likely that Teotihuacán's natural resources—along with the city elite's ability to
recognize their potential — gave the city a competitive edge over its neighbors. The valley, like many
other places in Mexican and Guatemalan highlands, was rich in obsidian. The hard volcanic stone was a
resource that had been in great demand for many years, at least since the rise of the Olmecs (a people
who flourished between 1200 and 400 B.C.), and it apparently had a secure market. Moreover, recent
research on obsidian tools found at Olmec sites has shown that some of the obsidian obtained by the
Olmecs originated near Teotihuacán. Teotihuacán obsidian must have been recognized as a valuable
commodity for many centuries before the great city arose.
Long-distance trade in obsidian probably gave the elite residents of Teotihuacán access to a wide
variety of exotic goods, as well as a relatively prosperous life. Such success may have attracted
immigrants to Teotihuacán. In addition, Teotihuacán's elite may have consciously attempted to attract
new inhabitants. It is also probable that as early as 200 B.C. Teotihuacán may have achieved some
religious significance and its shrine (or shrines) may have served as an additional population magnet.
Finally, the growing population was probably fed by increasing the number and size of irrigated fields.
The picture of Teotihuacán that emerges is a classic picture of positive feedback among obsidian mining
and working, trade, population growth, irrigation, and religious tourism. The thriving obsidian
operation, for example, would necessitate more miners, additional manufacturers of obsidian tools, and
additional traders to carry the goods to new markets. All this led to increased wealth, which in turn
would attract more immigrants to Teotihuacán. The growing power of the elite, who controlled the
economy, would give them the means to physically coerce people to move to Teotihuacán and serve as
additions to the labor force. More irrigation works would have to be built to feed the growing
population, and this resulted in more power and wealth for the elite. Page 8 of 17 pages
76. In paragraph 1, each of the following is mentioned as a feature of the city of Teotihuacán between A.D. 150 and 700 EXCEPT: A. regularly arranged streets
B. several administrative centers spread across the city
C. many manufacturing workshops D. apartment complexes
77.The word "ingenuity" in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to: A. ambition B. sincerity C. faith D. cleverness
78.Which of the following is NOT mentioned in paragraph 2 as a main factor in the development of Teotihuacán?
A.The presence of obsidian in the Teotihuacán Valley
B.The potential for extensive irrigation of Teotihuacán Valley lands
C.A long period of volcanic inactivity in the Teotihuacán Valley
D.Teotihuacán's location on a natural trade route
79.What can be inferred from paragraph 3 about Cuicuilco prior to 200 B.C.?
A.It was a fairly small city until that date.
B.It was located outside the Valley of Mexico.
C.It emerged rapidly as an economical and political center.
D.Its economy relied heavily on agriculture.
80.Which of the following allowed Teotihuacán to have "a competitive edge over its neighbors"?
A.A well-exploited and readily available commodity
B.The presence of a highly stable elite class
C.Knowledge derived directly from the Olmecs about the art of toolmaking
D.Scarce natural resources in nearby areas such as those located in what are now the Guatemalan and Mexican highlands
81.According to paragraph 4, what has recent research on obsidian tools found at Olmecsites shown?
A.Obsidian's value was understood only when Teotihuacán became an important city.
B.The residents of Teotihuacán were sophisticated toolmakers.
C.The residents of Teotihuacán traded obsidian with the Olmecs as early as 400 B.C.
D.Some of the obsidian used by the Olmecs came from the area around Teotihuacán.
82.Select the TWO answer choices that are mentioned in paragraph 5 as being features of Teotihuacán
that may have attracted immigrants to the city. To receive credit, you must select TWO answers.
A. The prosperity of the elite B. Plenty of available housing
C. Opportunities for well-paid agricultural employment
D. The presence of one or more religious shrines
83.In paragraph 6, the author discusses "The thriving obsidian operation," in order to:
A.explain why manufacturing was the main industry of Teotihuacán
B.give an example of an industry that took very little time to develop in Teotihuacán
C.illustrate how several factors influenced each other to make Teotihuacán a powerful and wealthy city
D.explain how a successful industry can be a source of wealth and a source of conflict at the same time
84. In paragraph 1 of the passage, there is a missing sentence. The paragraph is repeated below and
shows four letters (A, B, C, and D) that indicate where the following sentence could be added. Page 9 of 17 pages
In fact, artifacts and pottery from Teotihuacán have been discovered in sites as faraway as the
Mayan lowlands, the Guatemalan highlands, northern Mexico, and the Gulf Coast of Mexico.
Where would the sentence best fit?
The city of Teotihuacán, which lay about 50 kilometers northeast of modern-day Mexico City, began its
growth by 200 –100 B.C. At its height, between about A.D. 150 and 700, it probably had a population of
more than 125,000 people and covered at least 20 square kilometers. (A) It had over 2,000 apartment
complexes, a great market, a large number of industrial workshops, an administrative center, a number
of massive religious edifices, and a regular grid pattern of streets and buildings. (B) Clearly, much
planning and central control were involved in the expansion and ordering of this great
metropolis. (C) Moreover, the city had economic and perhaps religious contacts with most parts of
Mesoamerica (modernCentral America and Mexico). (D) A.Option A B.Option B C.Option C D.Option D
85. What is the best summary of the passage?
A. Teotihuacán was a highly developed city in Mesoamerica that reached its peak between about A.D. 150 and 700.
B. The number and sophistication of the architectural, administrative, commercial, and religious features
of Teotihuacán indicate the existence of centralized planning and control.
C.Several factors may account for Teotihuacán's extraordinary development, including its location, rich
natural resources, irrigation potential, intelligent elite, and the misfortune of rival communities.
D.Although many immigrants settled in Teotihuacán between A.D. 150 and 700, the increasing threat of
coerced labor discouraged further settlement and limited Teotihuacán's population growth.
Part 5: You are going to read an extract from an article about modern art and whether it can be
called 'art'. For questions 1-10, choose from the people (A, B, C or D). The people may be chosen more than once. Is it Art? A.Corinne
Art is the result of an artist using her or his skill or creative imagination for a creative purpose, to give
pleasure to the viewer through its aesthetic qualities, or to get a reaction from the audience to a wider
more significant issue outside of the work of art itself. That work of art might be a painting, a sculpture,
an installation of some kind or an example from the performing arts like dance or mime. I think we
sometimes get bogged down by the notion of 'skill'. For many in the anti modern art camp, there needs
to be evidence of the artist's craft on show before the work is taken seriously and can merit the term 'art',
be it intricate drawing skills, expert use of form or an artist's eye for colour. I'm not suggesting that an
artist need not have these credentials but hand in hand with craft is, as I said earlier, creative
imagination, the ability to see the value or beauty of something unremarkable which would often go
unnoticed by the untrained eye. Much of modern art I think possesses this second quality which is why I
often leave an exhibition of modern art feeling that I've had the chance to reflect on something that I
wouldn't normally have given the time of day to. The art has engaged me, has had an impact, made me
think about something in a way that I wouldn't have thought about before. B.Michael
I would certainly call myself an art enthusiast and have been for many years and in my opinion the
modern art world is full of second-rate junk which most of us, if we were being totally honest, would
agree a 4-year-old child could do. The idea that a slept-in bed such as that 'produced' by Tracy Emin or
many of the pieces by Damien Hirst and his ilk are works of art is hard to justify as is the huge price tag
that accompanies their work. I find it particularly galling when extremely talented people out there who Page 10 of 17 pages
have spent years honing their skills and learning the craft of drawing or painting are completely ignored.
What's more, one of the dangers of this kind of 'art' is that it serves to alienate the mass of the population
from the visual arts. The man in the street viewing one of these pieces is left thinking the world of
modern art has no value; worse still, that he lacks the intellectual ability to understand the meaning of
the piece when in fact there is little to interpret. Thankfully, one or two great artists make it through, but
I'm afraid many are lost amongst the deluge of dross the art-world deems 'art'. For me, the first measure
of the worth of an artist must be the degree of skill exhibited in the work or at the very least a pedigree
of fine art preceeding any more abstract pieces produced by the artist such as was the case with Picasso. C.Robert
The idea that modern art is some kind of mass deception and that all modern artists are talentless
fraudsters just doesn't hold water. And I'm not talking here about the painters who for centuries have
made a living out of copying works of art and selling them on as originals. I'm talking about abstract art
and the idea that the great art collectors such as the Saatchis or Rockefellas and the great museums of art
around the world, would somehow allow themselves to be duped into paying a fortune for an abstract
painting or sculpture. Are these artists really tricking these people into paying huge sums of money for
something worthless? Of course not. Though some of these works may not appear to the layman as
having any artistic merit, neither did the great impressionists or the more abstract works of Picasso or
Rothko when they were first exhibited. In the same way that great poetry can speak to us in a way that
prose never can, abstract art can engage with the audience in more subtle and effective ways than is the
case with art of a more realistic nature. So, they may get their fingers burnt now and again but I don't
think the Saatchis will be cursing the day they spent huge sums on works of abstract art. Quite the
opposite in fact and in the process of making a canny investment they have helped further raise the profile of some of our great modern artists. D.Janet
Here we go again: the media are once more up in arms about the latest 'is it art' shock-horror editorials
following the latest Turner Prize shortlisting. When will they learn? For decades art in many forms has
moved away from realism and towards abstraction. Ever since the invention and popularisation of
photography, art has had to reinvent itself. Patrons who wanted a perfect representation of themselves
no longer needed to turn to the artist. Artists started to struggle with the challenge of catching the
essence of the thing depicted rather than simply its external appearance. Abstract artists try to convey a
pure idea, not the exact replica of the subject concerned. It's true that some works of art are so obscure
that you may need to read up on the theory behind the creation, which is usually helpfully supplied in art
galleries. But this isn't always necessary. Take Guernica by Picasso. To get a full understanding of this
painting it could be argued the audience needs to appreciate the historical context, the bombing of the
Basque city during the Spanish Civil War. It would also probably help to have a good understanding of
the techniques of abstraction that Picasso had used to create the effect. However, I think most people
viewing this masterpiece would be struck by the horror it depicts even without this background
knowledge. And I would argue it is the effect of this abstraction that adds to the impact on us compared
to a realistic portrayal of such a scene.
Which person gives each of these opinions about modern art?
86. Some practices have been going on for hundreds of years.
87. Some people may not have the knowledge to understand a work of art fully.
88. Certain aesthetic qualities can be invisible until brought to our attention by the artist.
89. Picasso is an example of an artist who proved his craftsmanship. Page 11 of 17 pages
90. Appreciation of the work itself is not always the artist's aim.
91. The purpose of Art has undergone change.
92. People don't always appreciate the works of great artists initially.
93. Abstract art is generally overpriced.
94. Abstract art isn't always a good investment.
95. We can be touched by a work of art without knowing the context. Your answers: 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. IV. WRITING
Part 1. Read the following extract and use your own words to summarize it. Your summary should be
between 140 and 160 words long. Page 12 of 17 pages
Efforts to improve educational outcomes through extending the school day may have unintended and
counterproductive consequences if longer days are implemented by moving the school bell earlier or by
pushing more homework later into the night. Young children are biologically primed for "early to bed
and early to rise," but as children pass through middle school and into high school, biological processes keep them up later.
Even without a move to longer school days, many adolescents are already in trouble because they get
too little sleep; their biological propensity to stay up combines with other factors, like parents who have
largely ceded responsibility for setting bedtimes and the pernicious, sleep-defeating influence of
distracting technology in their bedrooms.
The negative effects of insufficient sleep on learning and academic engagement are quite real. Sleep
affects the learning process at several key stages. In the first place, adequate sleep prepares youngsters
to learn by setting the stage for the attention, motivation and alertness that facilitate information
acquisition and processing. Thus, students whose sleep is adequate are better prepared to take part in the
activities of their school days.
Current research also provides strong support that good sleep after learning actually enhances the gains
that occur the day before. Sleep amplifies, consolidates, and improves not only the process of
acquisition, but also storage of information. To round out the story, sleep enhances next-day memory
retrieval and cognitive processing.
I don’t see inherent problems with longer school days if they do not impinge on children’s opportunities
to sleep, either through forcing them to wake up earlier or extending their waking days with more
homework. But another way to help kids learn would be not to extend hours in school, but to extend
hours spent sleeping at night. More sleep might help the teachers, too!
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Part 2. Graph writing
The chart below shows the frequency of going to fast food restaurants among American
people from 2003 to 2013.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons
where relevant. Your writing should be at least 150 words.
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Part 3. Write an essay of about 300- 350 words to answer the following question.
For a long time there has been concern about the quality of the food we eat because of additives
and contaminants. Recently, genetically modified food is becoming more common and is causing
concern. Is this concern justified or not?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience.
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