SỞ GD& ĐT CAO BẰNG
ĐỀ THI OLYMPIC NĂM 2015 TRƯỜNG THPT CHUYÊN
MÔN THI: TIẾNG ANH- LỚP 10 Thời gian: 180 phút
(không kể thời gian giao đề) (Đề gồm 7 trang) P
ART I. LISTENING (2 pts)
Question 1. Listen to the passage and fill in the blank with the missing word (ONE word
only for each blank). (1pt)
Dinning at a restaurant
I love coming to this Italian restaurant. The appetizers and desserts are to die for. When the
waiter came to our table to (1)……………………. our order, my friend ordered a lobster ravioli
dish, and I ordered my favorite, lasagna. The waiter then asked us, “Would you like a soup or salad
with that?” My friend said yes; I passed on both.
The vibe in the restaurant is pretty laid back, not at all (2) ……………….. like you find in
some of the ritzier restaurants in Beverly Hills. The wait staff is courteous, although sometimes the
hostesses can be a bit (3) ………………..
Anyway, when our meals arrived, everything was cooked to perfection. Since I didn’t order
any appetizers, soup, or salad, I was (4) …………………… Even though I was really hungry, I
tried not to gobble down my food to quickly. I didn’t want my friend to think I was a pig! But even
though I tried not to, I still (5) ………………. When the waiter asked if we wanted any dessert or
after dinner drinks, I just couldn’t resist getting the apple – filled crepes. They are the best.
When we got our check, my friend and I split the bill, as we’re accustomed to do. I frankly
prefer to go Dutch when I eat out with friends. So that was the end of a really great meal. Now I
have to hit the gym if I’m going to lose any of this extra weight I gained from eating that lasagna!
Question 2. Listen to the conversation and choose the best option A, B, C or D for the
following statements and questions. (1pt)
1. What is the main topic of this conversation?
A. The lecture is very difficult, and both students need help.
B. Living in a dorm is not very pleasant experience for both.
C. They are planning for spring break together.
D. New life at college is a challenge for both.
2. Thomas Jones is from ……………………………………… A. Los Angeles B. New York C. Chicago D. the East
3. Why did they decide to see the RA?
A. To help other students B. To become roommates
C. To introduce themselves to other students D. To plan spring break together
4. John Lee is a……………………………………………………….. . A. freshman B. sophomore C. third- year student D. fourth- year student
5. Why does John Lee say “It’s a new life for me… almost”?
A. Thomas Jones doesn’t understand what he said.
B. He cannot hear what Thomas Jones said.
C. He is actually nervous about college life.
D. He does not like college life. 1
PART II – PHONETIC(2pts)
Choose the word whose underlined part is pronounced differently from the rest. 1. A. usage B. usher C. usual D. uniform 2. A. genuine B. guy C. generate D. geneticist 3. A. sister B. summer C. suger D. sibling 4. A. chimney B. children C. chilly D. chaos 5. A. nation B. rational C. ambition D. ambiguous
Choose the word whose stress pattern is different from that of the others. 6. A. redundant B. terrorism C. unique D. officer 7. A. briefcase B. journalism C. calculate D. apply 8. A. thorough B. tornado C. strategy D. comedy
9. A. circumstance B. civilize C. aspire D. circus 10. A. airport B. ambulance C. abundant D. jewellery
PART III – VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR (6 pts)
Question 1. Choose the most suitable word or phrase (A, B, C or D) to fill in each blank. ( 1pt).
1. ………….. I am aware, there were no problems during the first six months. A. As far as B. So much as
C. Much more than D. Except that
2. …………… decoration in the restaurant provides us with good appetite. A. Tasty B. Tasteful C. Tasteless D. Tasting
3. It is ……knowledge in the village that Mr. and Mrs. Thorne quarrel violently several time a week. A. common B. complete C. normal D. usual
4. Minh and Cuong were badly injured in the last match, so ………… can play in this match. A. both of them B. neither of them C. all of them D. either of them
5. Her relatives didn’t do anything to help her, and her friends ……………….. . A. didn’t neither B. didn’t too C. didn’t either D. did too
6. The film was ……………… on the book of the same name. A. founded B. built C. constructed D. based
7. The actor got his moustache shaved so as to avoid …………….. . A. being recognized B. to be recognized C. recognizing D. be recognized
8. She ………………. to take her neighbor to court if he didn’t stop making so much noise. A. asked B. promised C. threatened D. suggested
9. The twins look so …………. their father. A. like B. likely C. likeness D. alike
10. …………. team sports require cooperation. A. Of all B. They are all C. Why are all D. All
Question 2. Give the correct tense or form of the verb in bracket (2pts)
1.(1. it not /be)……………………………. for Mary’s help, I (2. not be able)
………………………… to take part in the competition. As it (3. be)……………………., I
(4. manage) …………………………..to win first prize, so I (5. be)…………………………….. eternally indebted to her.
2. When the school finally (6. close) ………………………….. its doors in 1988, Mr Roberts (7.
teach) …………………… there for 25 years. As a result of the closure, he (8. decide) 2
………………………… to take early retirement and (9. be) …………………………….. now
to be seen tending his garden most sunny afternoons.
3. Present day problems demand that we ………………………..(10.be) ready for any emergency.
Question 3: Complete each of the following sentences with prepositions. (1pt)
1. He decided to make a claim ……………………. damages to his car.
2. Some very important is issues was taking ………………………. all his attention.
3. He wasn't walking very fast. You'll catch ……………….. him if you start at once.
4. It would be safer to get your solicitor to draw ……………….. the contract.
5. She'll be busy seeing ………………... the children's clothes before they go back to school.
6. The music faded ……………….. in the distance as the street players moved on.
7. All passengers must fill ……………….. this disembarkation form before they leave the ship.
8. He supported the idea at first but backed ……………….. when he found he'd have to contribute towards the cost.
9. I was invited ……………….. her birthday party yesterday.
10. This stove must be cleaned ……………….. once a week or it gets choked with ashes.
Question 4: Complete the sentences with the correct forms of the given words.(1 pt)
1. He suffered from constant ……………………. (sleep)
2. Be careful! That’s a ………………poison. (dead)
3. The talks were totally ………… We didn’t reach agreement on anything. (product)
4. The boy was very violent and his parents found him ……………… (manage)
5. Tax exemption only applies to those with …………………………. status. (resident)
6. This effect is particularly ………………… in younger patients. (notice)
7. “How are you?” she asked ……………… …………….. (smile)
8. The family has the important function of ……………… children. (society)
9. …………………… books have been written on the subject. (number)
10. They are waiting for the doctor’s …………………. . (diagnose)
Question 5: Identify 10 errors in the following passage and correct them.(1pt)
Convincing evidence has come to light which shows that there is a strong ability that modern
birds originated from dinosaurs. Research carried out over a period of twenty years has yielded
common physical, physiological as well as behavioral characters, which are now shedding new
light in how some dinosaurs revolved through the ages to become what we now know to be, our feathered friends.
China’s Liaoning province has been the most crucial contributor in the quest for truth. Its
renowned fossil bed has to day given paleontologists an exquisite collection of well preserved
animal and plant species. Among their most recent finds are feathered and winged dinosaurs. Of the
former, the Dilong Paradoxus is a primary example. The fact that the Dilong Paradoxus is a
tyrannosaur made this discovery all the more interesting as this dinosaur species has long been
deemed a successor of modern birds. The T-rex both metabolized its food and grew at an alarming
rate, indicating that it should have been warm-blooded much like birds are. Its staggering rate of
development would, nevertheless, have required conservation of heat, and the discovery of the
tyrannosaur sporting plumage has made it clear that insulation was achieved as the result of it. This
plumage, may, thus, have initially been used for insulation rather than fly. Prior to the
aforementioned characteristic, wish-bones and swiveling wrist bones served as proof of ties between dinosaurs and fowls.
1. …………………………………….. 2. ……………………………………………….
3. ……………………………………….. 4. ……………………………………………….
5. ……………………………………….. 6. ……………………………………………… 3
7. ………………………………………. 8. …………………………………………………
9. ……………………………………… 10. ………………………………………………
PART IV – READING (5pts)
I. Read the following passages and choose the best answer for each of the questions below. (2pts)
The modern comic strip started out as ammunition in a newspaper war between giants of the
American press in the late nineteeth century. The first full-color comic strip appeared in January
1894 in the new York World, owned by Joseph Pulitzer. The first regular weekly full-color comic
supplement, similar to today’s Sunday funnies, appeared two years later, in William Randolph
Hearst’s rival New York paper, the morning Journal.
Both were immensely popular, and publishers realized that supplementing the news with
comic relief boosted the sale of papers. The Morning journal started another feature in 1896, the
“Yellow Kid,” the first continuous comic character in the United States, whose creator, Richard
Outcault had been lured away from the World by the ambitious Hearst. The “Yellow Kid’ was in
many ways a pioneer. Its comic dialogue was the strictly urban farce that came to characterize later
strips, and it introduced the speech balloon inside the strip, usually placed above the characters’ heads.
The first strip to incorporate all the elements of later comics was Rudolph Dirks’s
“Katzenjammer Kids,” basedon Wilheim Busch’s Max an Moritz, a European satire of the
nineteenth century. The “Kids” strip, first published in 1897, served as the prototype for future
American strips. It contained not only speech balloons, but a continuous cast of characters, and was
divided into small regular panels that did away with the larger panoramic scenes of most earlier comics.
Newspaper syndication played a major role in spreading the popularity of comic strips
throughout the country. Though weekly colored comics came first, daily black-and-white strips
were not far behind. They first appeared in the Chicago American in 1904. it was followed by many
imitators, and by 1915 black-and-white comic strips had become a staple of daily newspapers around the country.
1 What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. A comparison of two popular comic strips
B. The differences between early and modern comic strips
C. The effects of newspapers on comic strip stories
D. Features of early comic strips in the United States
2 Why does the author mention Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst?
A. They established New York’s first newspaper.
B. They published comic strips about the newspaper war.
C. Their comic strips are still published today.
D. They owned major competitive newspapers.
3 The passage suggests that comic strips were popular for which of the following reasons?
A. They provided a break from serious news stories.
B. Readers enjoyed the unusual drawings.
C. Readers couldidentify with the characters.
D. They were about real-life situations.
4 To say that Richard Outcault had been “lured away from the “world” by Hearst (line 9) means which of the following?
A. Hearst convinced Outcault to leave the World. B. Hearst fired Outcault from the World.
C. Hearst warned Outcault to leave the World. D. Hearst wanted Outcault to work for the World. 4
5 The word “it” in line 10 refers to………. A. The “Yellow Kid” B. dialogue C. farce D. balloon
6 According to the passage, the “Yellow Kid” was the first comic strip to do all of the following EXCEPT……….
A. feature the same character in each episode
B. include dialogue inside a balloon
C. appear in a Chicago newspaper
D. charactetize city life in a humorous way
7 The word “incorporate” in line 12 is closest in meaning to………. A. affect B. create C. combine D. mention
8 The word “prototype” in line 14 is closest in meanig to………. A. story B. humor C. drawing D. model
9 The word “staple” in line 20 is closest in meaning to………. A. regular feature
B. Popular edition C. new version D. huge success
10 In what order does the author discuss various comic strips in the passage? A. alphabetical order by title
B. in the order in which they were created
C. According to the newspaper in which they appeared
D. From most popular to least popular
II. Read the passage and then decide which word (A, B, C or D) best fits each space. (2pts)
The computer is undoubtedly one of the most (1)______ and important inventions of the twentieth
century. Boring or time-consuming jobs which, in the past, would have been (2)____ by hundreds of
workers can now be done by one small computer. However, the (3)_____ of the computer has not been
entirely problem-free. Many people feel that we are already too dependent on computers. They think that
computers themselves are (4)_____too powerful, and that people are no longer in control of them.
One of the problems with a computer is that, like any other machines, it can break down. If a
computer is (5)_____, then the information it is storing can be lost. If a computer program has a(n)
(6)______in it, the computer’s calculations can be seriously (7)_____. A faulty program in a hospital or
police computer could cause terrible mistakes.
The other problem with computers is security. Although computer systems are carefully designed
to prevent unauthorized people using them, computer (8)____do happen. Illegal computer users, known
as “hackers”, have found ways to gain access to company, and even governmental, computer systems.
Hackers can cause destruction by making unauthorized changes to a systems or stealing (9)________
information. They can even steal money by (10)______it from one bank account to another. 1. A. shocking B. amazing C. astonishing D. surprising 2. A. put out B. carried out C. run out D. taken out 3. A. usage B. recommendation C. use D. operation 4. A. becoming B. coming C. running D. keeping 5. A. changed B. broken C. contaminated D. damaged 6. A. foul B. abnormality C. wrongdoing D. error 7. A. devalued B. affected C. offended D. broken 8. A. sins B. offences C. fouls D. crimes 9. A. unknown
B. mysterious C. confidential D. vague 10. A. transferring B. giving C. changing D. dealing
III. Fill each of the numbered blanks in the passage with one suitable word. (1pt)
The humpback whale is the fifth largest animal on this planet, reaching a size (1)…………..
to eleven elephants, or six hundred humans. The name “humpback” has been given to these whales 5
on (2) ………………….. of the fact that they break the water surface with a large area of their
backs when diving. (3) …………… are dolphins, and other sea mammals, humpback whales are
cetaceans. They (4) ………………… by straining their food from sea water, living on plankton and
very small crustaceans (5) ……………… “krills”. As this is their only food source, they are not a
(6) …………….. to humans. Like many marine animals, the humpback (7) ……………… to its
usual migratory route. Of course, the whale does not have the ocean to (8) ……………. In addition
to other sea animals, there is man, (9)…………… activities have always endangered sea animals
by placing obstacles, in the (10) …………… of shipping or fishing, in their natural environment.
PART V – WRITING (5pts)
Question 1. Rewrite the sentences with the given words or beginning in such a way that
their meanings remain unchanged. (2pts)
1. People say that there is oil under the North Sea.
 There .........................................................................................................................
2. I’ve never met such a famous person before.
 It’s ............................................................................................................................
3. House prices have risen dramatically this year
 There has ..................................................................................................................
4. He speaks more persuasively than his brother.
 He is a .......................................................................................................................
5. Your silly questions distracted me.
 You drove...................................................................................................................
6.This liver condition is common among those who drink a lot.
This liver condition …………………………………………….. drinkers.
7.“ I think the whole idea is ridiculous,” he said.
 He dismissed ………………………………………………………………………..
8.He threatened the officers with violence.
 He made ………………………………………………………………………...
9.It shouldn’t have surprised me that my children didn’t like the new, cheaper ice-cream.
 I might ………………………………………………………………………….
10.She wore headphones in order not to disturb anyone.
She wore headphones lest ………………………………………………………..
Question 2. Rewrite the following sentences with the given word. The given words can’t
be changed. (1 pt) 6
1. The police ended the fighting between the two gangs by arresting the leaders. (STOP)
 ..................................................................................................................................
2. He is becoming quite famous as an entertainer. (NAME)
 ..................................................................................................................................
3. I’m afraid our problems are only just beginning. ( ICEBERG)
 ..................................................................................................................................
4. I don’t intend to sell this house. (INTENTION)
 ..................................................................................................................................
5. He is determined to become a doctor. (HEART)
 ..................................................................................................................................
Question 3. Write a composition (150 words) about the following topic: Movies are popular
all over the world. Explain why movies are so popular. Use reason and specific examples to support
your answer. (2 pts)
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