Kì thi chọn đội tuyển chính thức dự thi HSG quốc gia lớp 12 THPT tỉnh Tây Ninh năm học 2019-2020 môn thi Tiếng Anh vòng 2
Kì thi chọn đội tuyển chính thức dự thi HSG quốc gia lớp 12 THPT tỉnh Tây Ninh năm học 2019-2020 môn thi Tiếng Anh vòng 2 giúp các bạn học sinh sắp tham gia các kì thi Tiếng Anh tham khảo, học tập và ôn tập kiến thức, bài tập 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
Trường: Đề thi chọn HSG Tiếng Anh từ lớp 9 đến lớp 12 cấp trường, quận/ huyện, tỉnh/ thành phố
Thông tin:
Tác giả:
Thông tin :
Môn:
Đề thi chọn học sinh giỏi Tiếng Anh lớp 12 THPT & đội tuyển dự thi học sinh giỏi Quốc gia THPT
Trường:
Đề thi chọn HSG Tiếng Anh từ lớp 9 đến lớp 12 cấp trường, quận/ huyện, tỉnh/ thành phố
Tác giả:
Tài liệu liên quan:
Preview text:
SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TÂY NINH
____________
KỲ THI CHỌN HỌC SINH GIỎI LỚP 12 THPT NĂM HỌC 2019-2020
Ngày thi: 01 tháng 10 năm 2019
Môn thi: TIẾNG ANH – LỚP 12 THPT
Thời gian làm bài: 180 phút (không kể thời gian giao đề)
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ĐIỂM | HỌ TÊN VÀ CHỮ KÝ CỦA GIÁM KHẢO | MÃ SỐ PHÁCH | ||
Bằng số | Bằng chữ | GIÁM KHẢO 1 | GIÁM KHẢO 2 | |
ĐỀ CHÍNH THỨC
(Đề thi gồm có 16 trang, thí sinh làm bài trực tiếp vào đề thi)
I. LISTENING (5 points)
Part 1: For questions 1-5, listen to part of a conversation. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER taken from the recording for each answer.
1. What is the address of the driving school?
……………………………………………………………………..
2. What is the last name of the teacher?
……………………………………………………………………..
3. Which type of car did Zach choose to learn?
……………………………………………………………………..
4. Why is it easier to take the lessons during the day?
……………………………………………………………………..
5. How much did the driving course cost Zach in total?
……………………………………………………………………..
Part 2: You will hear five short extracts in which people talk about environmental initiatives in the workplace. From questions 6 – 10, choose from the list A-H the person who is speaking.
6. Speaker 1 7. Speaker 2 8. Speaker 3 9. Speaker 4 10. Speaker 5 | A. a public health officer B. a sales representative C. the company manager D. a company’s customer E. a careers advice officer F. a marketing executive G. an environmental activist H. an office cleaner |
Your answers:
6. | 7. | 8. | 9. | 10. |
Part 3: You will hear part of a radio interview with Jack Edwards, an expert on rainforests. For questions 11-15, choose the answer (A. B, C or D) which fits best according to what you hear.
11. According to Jack, all of the world’s tropical rainforests
A. are found in only a few countries. B. can be divided into two types.
C. have temperatures constantly above 24°C. D. are in either Central or South America.
12. What does Jack say about temperate rainforests?
A. They are home to a huge variety of animal species.
B. They have existed much longer than any other forests on Earth.
C. In a few cases, they can be found in the same country as a tropical rainforest.
D. They are much larger than tropical rainforests.
13. The speakers agree that the most important characteristic of rainforests is that
A. they may help mitigate changes to the planet’s climate.
B. they are home to very rare species of plants and animals.
C. they provide people with food and shelter.
D. some pharmaceutical companies depend on ingredients found in them.
14. Jack is concerned that
A. some plants that are normally used in medicines are being deliberately destroyed.
B. governments don’t understand the negative impact mining and logging have on the rainforest.
C. conservation projects are not as profitable as other ventures in the rainforest.
D. plants with medicinal properties may become extinct before they are discovered.
15. What does Jack say about the people working on the conservation project in Acre?
A. They are planting trees to recreate an area of rainforest.
B. They are creating environmentally friendly employment for local people.
C. They inspired Jack to start his own conservation project.
D. They have succeeded in making the river so clean that you can now drink the water in it.
Your answers:
11. | 12. | 13. | 14. | 15. |
Part 4: For questions 16-25, listen to a part of a news report and complete the sentences. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS taken from the recording in each blank.
16. The number of Asian students at Mission San Jose School is increasingly dominating because of _____________________ in the Silicon Valley community.
17. The Asian students became more _____________________ in this area because their parents come from a system where they all teach for a test.
18. Asian students outscore their _____________________ on the math portion of the SATs, Physics and Calculus.
19. Education is _____________________ in most Asian cultures.
20. “Any time we make broad statements about Asian-Americans being _____________________, it misleads the public.”
21. Dr. Alvin Alvarez says statistics do not tell the whole story and _____________________ of a model minority.
22. The path of a college-educated immigrant from India or China is very different from that of an _____________________ who fled Cambodia or Laos or Vietnam.
23. The model minority myth _____________________ all those distinctions moves.
24. For Asian students, it doesn’t feel like pressure, it feels a bit like _____________________.
25. When Sid hope to earn a political science degree from Harvard, his parents _____________________ to support him every step of the way.
Your answers:
16. | 21. |
17. | 22. |
18. | 23. |
19. | 24. |
20. | 25. |
II. LEXICO-GRAMMAR (2 points)
Part 1: For questions 26-40, choose the correct answer A, B, C or D to each of the following questions. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
26. It takes time to get a financial system up and ________ after the introduction of a new currency.
A. walking B. proceeding C. running D. going
27. Bill is the most ________ accountant I’ve worked with. You can trust he’ll do everything properly.
A. amiable B. adamant C. obstinate D. scrupulous
28. Do you think it’s better to ________ your anger than to suppress it?
A. assert B. repress C. arouse D. vent
29. Although Ahmed had a fairly conventional upbringing, his behavior now was most ________.
A. orthodox B. unorthodox C. conformist D. deferential
30. I’m not going to allow them to ________ me one way or the other. I’m going to make up my own mind.
A. sway B. endorse C. tout D. pitch
31. They used to ________ all the time about his acting, his singing and his clothes. But now he’s famous, he’s having the last laugh!
A. wind him up B. egg him on C. fall out D. lead him on
32. We actually need ________ evidence that you’ve made progress. You need to send us a photo at the very least.
A. sure B. heavy C. concrete D. avid
33. She’s always surrounded by ________ of assistants, hairdressers, make-up artists, personal trainers, bodyguards, and a few friends.
A. a staff B. a following C. an entourage D. a clique
34. He’s a mysterious character, indeed. It’s only anybody’s ________ whether his intentions are good or bad.
A. thought B. guess C. clue D. suspicion
35. I think young people ________ harder than ever these days to make a living. It didn’t use to be so hard.
A. are working B. have worked C. worked D. were working
36. The project has progressed in ________ and starts due to a constant change in funding.
A. wits B. bits C. fits D. sits
37. Frankie has always been held in high ________ among his workmates because of his exceptional skill at handling the most difficult tasks.
A. respect B. admiration C. prestige D. esteem
38. I’ll have to call a ________ to this discussion, as we have a lot of work to do.
A. halt B. stoppage C. close D. standstill
39. Stop complaining all the time. You’re being a real pain in the ________.
A. neck B. back C. head D chest
40. Such ________ planning means there is little likelihood of anything going wrong.
A. careless B. poised C. meticulous D. principled
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 in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
The ‘Standard Family’ Myth
The traditional picture of the nuclear family features a marriage that can (41, STAND) _________ the tests of time, a father who is the active (42, BREAD) _________ and a mother who cares for their common offspring. In reality, however, families that fit this description are becoming increasingly rare. Rising divorce rates coupled with a growing number of (43, MARRY) _________ women who elect to have children mean that the one-parent family is no longer a rarity to give just one example.
Nevertheless, the myth of the ‘typical family’ seems to be tenacious. The overwhelming majority of families depicted in films and on TV fit the traditional mould. Advertisers are especially guilty of this, seemingly unaware that by portraying families in this way they exclude and (44, MARGIN) _________a significant portion of their audience.
Research shows conclusively that what is important to children is their relationship with their caregivers, not the latter’s marital status. Trying to conform to an (45, IDEAL) _________ image of family life does more harm than good, and it’s high time that popular culture reflected this.
Your answers:
41. | 42. | 43. | 44. | 45. |
III. READING (5 points)
Part 1: For questions 46-55, fill each of the following numbered blanks with ONE suitable word. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
(46) _________ being informed that the peasants had no bread to eat, Marie Antoinette, the French queen, purportedly responded, ‘Then let them eat cake.’
The story (47) ___________ be considered apocryphal at best. Indeed, (48) _________ exists convincing evidence that the exact same quote had been attributed (49) _________ several other French princesses long before Marie Antoinette's time. Nevertheless, the version of the story featuring Marie Antoinette, and thus highlighting her supposed (50) _________ of sympathy for her subjects’ plight, clearly (51) _________ a chord in the common imagination and continues to stain the young queen's reputation to (52) _________ day.
Marie Antoinette was certainly a lavish spender who (53) _________ fatally - some might say criminally - ignorant of the realities of her subjects’ lives. However, it's difficult not to feel at least a (54) _________ sympathy for the young woman who was delivered to a foreign husband at the age of fifteen, lost her son when he was just seven and had to flee her home on three separate occasions, a murderous mob literally on her heels, before she was finally sent to the guillotine to (55) _________ executed in public.
Your answers:
46. | 47. | 48. | 49. | 50. |
51. | 52. | 53. | 54. | 55. |
Part 2: Read the following passage and do the tasks that follow.
Alfred Nobel
The man behind the Nobel Prize
A. Since 1901, the Nobel Prize has been honoring men and women from all corners of the globe for outstanding achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and for work in peace. The foundations for the prize were laid in 1895 when Alfred Nobel wrote his last will, leaving much of his wealth to the establishment of the Nobel Prize.
B. Alfred Nobel was born in Stockholm on October 21, 1833. His father Immanuel Nobel was an engineer and inventor who built bridges and buildings in Stockholm. In connection with his construction work Immanuel Nobel also experimented with different techniques for blasting rocks. Successful in his industrial and business ventures, Immanuel Nobel was able, in 1842, to bring his family to St. Petersburg. There, his sons were given a first class education by private teachers. The training included natural sciences, languages and literature. By the age of 17 Alfred Nobel was fluent in Swedish, Russian, French, English and German. His primary interests were in English literature and poetry as well as in chemistry and physics. Alfred’s father, who wanted his sons to join his enterprise as engineers, disliked Alfred’s interest in poetry and found his son rather introverted.
C. In order to widen Alfred’s horizons his father sent him abroad for further training in chemical engineering. During a two year period Alfred Nobel visited Sweden, Germany, France and the United States. In Paris, the city he came to like best, he worked in the private laboratory of Professor T. J. Pelouze, a famous chemist. There he met the young Italian chemist Ascanio Sobrero who, three years earlier, had invented nitroglycerine, a highly explosive liquid. But it was considered too dangerous to be of any practical use. Although its explosive power greatly exceeded that of gunpowder, the liquid would explode in a very unpredictable manner if subjected to heat and pressure. Alfred Nobel became very interested in nitroglycerine and how it could be put to practical use in construction work. He also realized that the safety problems had to be solved and a method had to be developed for the controlled detonation of nitroglycerine.
D. After his return to Sweden in 1863, Alfred Nobel concentrated on developing nitroglycerin as an explosive. Several explosions, including one (1864) in which his brother Kmil and several other persons were killed, convinced the authorities that nitroglycerine production was exceedingly dangerous. They forbade further experimentation with nitroglycerine within the Stockholm city limits and Alfred Nobel had to move his experimentation to a barge anchored on Lake Malaren. Alfred was not discouraged and in 1864 he was able to start mass production of nitroglycerine. To make the handling of nitroglycerine safer Alfred Nobel experimented with different additives. He soon found that mixing nitroglycerine with kieselguhr would turn the liquid into a paste which could be shaped into rods of a size and form suitable for insertion into drilling holes. In 1867 he patented this material under the name of dynamite. To be able to detonate the dynamite rods he also invented a detonator (blasting cap) which could be ignited by lighting a fuse. These inventions were made at the same time as the pneumatic drill came into general use. Together these inventions drastically reduced the cost of blasting rock, drilling tunnels, building canals and many other forms of construction work.
E. The market for dynamite and detonating caps grew very rapidly and Alfred Nobel also proved himself to be a very skillful entrepreneur and businessman. Over the years he founded factories and laboratories in some 90 different places in more than 20 countries. Although he lived in Paris much of his life he was constantly traveling. When he was not traveling or engaging in business activities Nobel himself worked intensively in his various laboratories, first in Stockholm and later in other places. He focused on the development of explosives technology as well as other chemical inventions including such materials as synthetic rubber and leather, artificial silk, etc. By the time of his death in 1896 he had 355 patents.
F. Intensive work and travel did not leave much time for a private life. At the age of 43 he was feeling like an old man. At this time he advertised in a newspaper “wealthy, highly-educated elder gentleman seeks lady of mature age, versed in languages, as secretary and supervisor of household.” The most qualified applicant turned out to be an Austrian woman, Countess Bertha Kinsky. After working a very short time for Nobel she decided to return to Austria to marry Count Arthur von Suttner. In spite of this Alfred Nobel and Bertha von Suttner remained friends and kept writing letters to each other for decades. Over the years Bertha von Suttner became increasingly critical of the arms race. She wrote a famous book, Lay Down Your Arms and became a prominent figure in the peace movement. No doubt this influenced Alfred Nobel when he wrote his final will which was to include a Prize for persons or organizations who promoted peace. Several years after the death of Alfred Nobel, the Norwegian Storting (Parliament) decided to award the 1905 Nobel Peace Prize to Bertha von Suttner.
G. Alfred Nobel died in San Remo, Italy, on December 10, 1896. When his will was opened it came as a surprise that his fortune was to be used for Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace. The executors of his will were two young engineers, Ragnar Sohlman and Rudolf Lilljequist. They set about forming the Nobel Foundation as an organization to take care of the financial assets left by Nobel for this purpose and to coordinate the work of the Prize-Awarding Institutions. This was not without its difficulties since the will was contested by relatives and questioned by authorities in various countries.
H. Alfred Nobel’s greatness lay in his ability to combine the penetrating mind of the scientist and inventor with the forward-looking dynamism of the industrialist. Nobel was very interested in social and peace-related issues and held what were considered radical views in his era. He had a great interest in literature and wrote his own poetry and dramatic works. The Nobel Prizes became an extension and a fulfillment of his lifetime interests.
For questions 56-61, decide whether the following statements are True (T), False (F) or Not Given (NG). Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
56. The first Nobel Prize was awarded in 1895.
57. Nobel’s father wanted his son to have better education than what he had had.
58. Nobel was an unsuccessful businessman.
59. Bertha von Suttner was selected by Nobel himself for the first peace prize.
60. The Nobel Foundation was established after the death of Nobel
61. Nobel’s social involvement was uncommon in the 1800’s.
Your answers:
56. | 57. | 58. | 59. | 60. | 61. |
For questions 62-66, complete the summary with NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS taken from the passage. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
Having accumulated a great fortune in his business, Nobel’s father determined to give his son the best education and sent him abroad to be trained in (62) _________. During Nobel’s study in Paris, he worked in a private laboratory, where he came in contact with a young scientist (engineer) (63) _________ and his invention nitroglycerine, a more powerful explosive than (64) _________.
Benefits in construction works:
Nobel became really interested in this new explosive and experimented on it. But nitroglycerine was too dangerous and was banned for experiments within the city of Stockholm. So Nobel had to move his experiments to a lake. To make nitroglycerine easily usable, Nobel invented dynamite along with (65) _________ while in the meantime pneumatic drill became popular, all of which dramatically lowered the (66) _________ of construction works.
Your answers:
62. | 63. | 64. | 65. | 66. |
Part 3: In the passage below, seven paragraphs have been removed. For questions 67-73, read the passage and choose from paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap. There is ONE extra paragraph which you do not need to use. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
As the pilot announced that we would shortly be touching down in Manchester, half of the passengers began gathering up their books and magazines, and the other half began turning off tablets and laptops as they’d been requested to do. I, however, continued to gaze through the window at the tiny fields bordered by hedges, the assortment of shapes and colours reminding me of a patchwork quilt.
67 |
Despite the familiarity of the landscape, I was still impressed by the various shades of green on display and the regular arrangement of fields. It was then that I realised, it had been more than a decade since I’d left England to live in Greece. I was only now returning to my homeland and, after living abroad for so long, I was seeing it through the eyes of a foreigner.
68 |
The politeness instilled into the English was in evidence again as we drove away from the airport in the early morning traffic. No drivers could be seen gesticulating wildly at each other, no horns sounded impatiently as an elderly gentleman ambled across the pedestrian crossing, no motorbikes weaved precariously in and out of the lines of vehicles. It goes without saying that everybody seemed to be carefully sticking to the speed limit.
69 |
I grinned, as I remembered my mother’s constant battle against the elements in order to get the washing dry. She would laboriously peg it out one minute in sunshine and blustery winds, only to hastily run out and bring it in again because of a sudden downpour the next.
70 |
Evidence that my dad wasn’t alone in this habit was obvious as we wound our way through the maze of narrow streets. Tiny squares of grass were bordered by lovingly-maintained flower beds, proudly bearing a profusion of plants in a riot of colour. Garden gnomes peeked out from behind ornamental wells, and ceramic hedgehogs and owls were strategically dotted around.
71 |
Some houses still had milk bottles on their doorstep while the residents stole an extra few minutes’ sleep. The doors of other houses opened to reveal early birds in their dressing gowns bending down to pick up the glass bottles that are delivered religiously each day.
72 |
And, of course, the British would want fresh milk delivered every morning; milk being an essential component of the ritual of tea drinking. Whereas other nationalities take their tea black, with lemon or honey, for example, the typical Englishman will want milk and sugar in his cup of tea. More surprising still, is the frequency with which he will indulge in this practice, that is to say, every couple of hours or so. Tea, for the British, is omnipresent and a cure-all. If someone suffers a shock, hot, sweet tea is prescribed; an interval during working hours is a tea break, and a social visit to someone’s home is incomplete without a ‘cuppa’.
73 |
There on the doorstep were my parents: my father just collecting the newspaper and my mother with the milk. Their faces lit up as they realised I had arrived.
“Here she is, at last!” said my dad, “Welcome home, love.”
“Hello, darling, you look exhausted after your flight,” said Mum. “Let’s go in and have a nice cup of tea. You’ll soon be as right as rain.”
The missing paragraphs:
A. The compact two-storey residences nestling within these boundaries of shrubs were obviously cared for just as devotedly. Windows gleamed from recent polishing, the paintwork on doors and window ledges was free of blemishes and hanging baskets stuffed with colourful blossoms swung from porch corners.
B. As the taxi turned the corner and the house I grew up in came into view, my heart skipped a beat. My head flooded with childhood memories of learning to ride a bike on the driveway, and doing handstands on the lawn. Though as a teenager the wet weather was the bane of my life, my earlier childhood seemed to be bursting with nothing but sunny days packed with fun and activity.
C. Of course I knew these outward appearances could be deceiving. Underneath these calm, courteous English exteriors, people were just as likely to be angry and mean-spirited as anywhere else on the planet. They were just experts at hiding it behind seemingly inane conversations about the weather. I was reminded about how they got away with this tactic, as on our short journey we experienced everything from brilliant sunshine to gentle drizzle to thunderous rain. With such frequent and unexpected variations, the subject is inexhaustible.
D. The taxi driver waited patiently as I counted out the unfamiliar money. I’d forgotten what pounds looked like, having used only euros for the past decade. He took my heavy suitcases out of the boot of the car and I wished there had been somebody there to help me with my luggage on the next part of my journey.
E. Waiting to go through passport control was the first culture shock. Nobody voiced any complaints about the length of the queue, nobody dug me in the ribs or rammed their suitcase into my calves. Everyone stood there patiently, having murmured conversations, until it was their turn to hand over their documents to the smiling, welcoming official.
F. Another similar custom still remaining in Britain is the delivery of newspapers. To a city dweller like me, who has a selection of shops selling both newspapers and milk within a five-minute walk of her home, having such goods brought to your doorstep first thing in the morning seemed like an old-fashioned and yet somehow luxurious tradition.
G. The weather is one factor partly responsible for another British fascination, namely gardening, since the abundance of rainfall helps plants to flourish. Another recollection came back to me. This time it was my father, nipping out to tend his roses or do some weeding whenever the sun came out in defiance of the heavy grey clouds hanging low in the sky.
H. From above, the little square houses looked like matchboxes sitting in handkerchief-sized gardens, and a smile played on my lips as I remembered myself as a teenager mowing the lush green lawn in order to squeeze some extra pocket money out of my dad.
Your answers:
67. | 68. | 69. | 70. | 71. | 72. | 73. |
Part 4: For questions 74-80, read an extract from a book about the history of the US and choose the answer A, B, C or D which you think fits best according to the text. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
Progressive in the US
The United States had reached a point, in the closing years of the 19th century, when radical improvements in its political, social and economic arrangements were so plainly necessary that they were actually attempted, and therefore may be called inevitable. Women and men, young and middle-aged, rich, poor and in-between, West, South and North, all acknowledged the necessity and had some hand in shaping the improvements. It was an epoch very much to the American taste, for it seemed a proof that faith in progress, and particularly in the potential for progress in America, was justified. The word ‘progressive’ had long been a favorite in common speech; now it became attached to a political party, a movement, an era. It remains a curiously empty word, but historians will never be able to do without it. And after all due reservations have been made, it would be churlish to deny that the United States did in many respects move forward during this period, did begin to tackle a good many serious problems intelligently. It is a moderately encouraging story.
Big business made itself felt at every stage in the progressive story, and not by any means as a purely reactionary force. All the same, it would be a mistake to suppose that business, however profoundly it had shaped and now colored the day-to-day operations of American life, was the key to progressivism. Nor could the industrial working class, however active, muster the power necessary to dominate the epoch. That privilege belonged to the new middle class.
This class had emerged as, numerically, the chief beneficiary of the great transformation of American society. America’s rapid development under the impact of industrialism and urbanization implied an equally rapidly developing need for professional services. The need for a new order was generally felt, and implied the recruitment and training of new men, and new women, to administer it. Society was now rich enough to pay for their services. Hence in the last decades of the 19th century there was a mushroom growth among the professions. Doctors and lawyers, of course; but also engineers, dentists, professors, journalists, social workers, architects. This was the age of the expert; he was given a free hand, such as he has seldom enjoyed since. Each new technical marvel – the telephone, the phonograph, the motor-car, the aeroplane – increased the faith that there was a sound technical answer to every problem, even to the problem of government. When a devastating hurricane and flood wrecked the port of Galveston, Texas, in 1901, the local businessmen proclaimed the regular authorities incompetent to handle the task of reconstruction and handed the city’s government over to a commission of experts – a pattern that was to be widely followed in the next few years.
This may stand very well for what was happening generally. The new class, conscious of its power and numbers, was anxious to get hold of American society and remake it according to plan. All round were problems that needed solving – crime, disease, bad housing, political corruption – and the new class thought it knew what to do about them. Just as the experts themselves had taken advantage of a society open to the rise of the talented, so they wanted their disadvantaged fellow-citizens to rise also. And this democratic individualistic ideology made it seem perfectly legitimate to bid for political power, that is, for votes: to go down into that arena was simply to carry out one’s civic duty. Motives did not need to be examined too closely, since they were self-evidently virtuous. What was new, and important at least to the experts, was the tool-kit they brought to their tasks: their improved spanners, so to speak. The new middle class set out to apply their spanners to such various contraptions as the state and city machines of the old political parties, and the new urban wastelands.
Behind the zeal of these technocrats lay an older tradition, betrayed in the world they used to describe the philanthropic centres they established in the slums, ‘settlements’: to them the cities were wildernesses, the inhabitants alien savages and the new settlers were bringers both of superior techniques and superior ideas, like the settlers of old. It is thus possible to see in the very approach of these progressives certain limitations, a certain inexperience, which were likely to impede their quest. They were mostly of old American stock, brought up on the old pieties, which their new expertise only veneered. The progressives were too conservative in their instincts, too parochial in their outlook, ever to propose, let alone carry out, fundamental changes in the American system.
Still, it cannot be denied that the progressives were an impressive generation, as intelligent, high-minded, energetic and good-hearted as any in American history. If their achievements were limited and flawed, they were real; they greatly assisted the adaptation of America to the requirements of modern government; and they laid the foundations, intellectual, personal, ideological – even organizational – of that liberalism which was to become one of the chief creative forces in American politics and society. This is not small praise.
74. What does the writer say about the word ‘progressive’ in the first paragraph?
A. It should only be used with regard to this period in the US.
B. No other word has been generally adopted to describe this period in the US.
C. It was sometimes used inappropriately during this period in the US.
D. No other word could have united diverse people during this period in the US.
75. What does the writer say about big business during this period?
A. It ensured that the industrial working class was lacking in power.
B. It paid too little attention to the importance of the new middle class.
C. It was beginning to have too great an impact on everyday life in the US.
D. It played a significant part in the development of progressivism.
76. The writer says that the ‘mushroom growth’ among the professions
A. was expected to be only a short-term phenomenon.
B. resulted from a desire among professionals for greater freedom.
C. was a natural consequence of other changes at the time.
D. resulted from fears among Americans about changes in their society.
77. The writer uses events in Galveston to illustrate
A. the high regard in which specialists were held during that period.
B. problems which had never been dealt with satisfactorily before.
C. the speed at which solutions were found during that period.
D. disagreements caused by the desire for technical solutions.
78. The writer says that when members of the new class tried to get political power,
A. they sometimes underestimated the social problems of the time.
B. people made assumptions about their reasons for doing so.
C. they tended to overestimate the potential of their fellow citizens.
D. people had realistic expectations of what they could achieve.
79. According to the writer, the use of the word ‘settlements’ reveals
A. the insincerity of some of the progressives concerning social problems.
B. the misunderstandings behind some of the progressives’ beliefs.
C. the confusion that surrounded the progressives’ approach to problems.
D. the similarities between the progressives and previous generations.
80. The writer’s general view of the progressives is that
A. they did not achieve as much as is widely supposed.
B. their ideas were more radical than they believed.
C. their impact was not enormous but it was lasting.
D. they have not been given the credit they deserve.
Your answers:
74. | 75. | 76. | 77. | 78. | 79. | 80. |
Part 5: You are going to read an article about call-centre workers who give advice to people over the phone. For questions 81-95, choose from the people (A-D). The call-center workers may be chosen more than once. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
Which of the call-centre workers say that she …
- advises people on the legal background to a problem?
82. enjoys the variety of things which people call about?
83. finds the equipment that she works with reassuring?
84. used to find it hard to work with only a spoken description of people’s problems?
85. gets back to certain callers within a given period of time?
86. can arrange for an expert to visit callers at home?
87. has identified a regular pattern in calls on certain subjects?
88. helps people to solve unexpected problems at night?
89. was sorry not to be in direct touch with the people she had the skills to help?
90. finds some people have unrealistic expectations of the service she can provide?
91. sometimes has to convince people that their problems will be taken seriously?
92. sometimes has to correct information obtained elsewhere?
93. gets the same people calling back more than once?
94. was initially apprehensive about the type of problems people would call with?
95. looks forward to the challenge of unexpected individual enquiries?
- Claire Lippold, 23, works for the Bat Conservation Trust
I did a degree in biology, and studied bats as part of my thesis. When I saw the ad for this job, I thought it would be perfect for me. We get about ten thousand calls a year, many from people worried that if they have bats in their loft they can’t have any building work done. They need the right advice, because the law protests bats. We’re contracted by an organization called Natural England to arrange a service whereby anybody with bats on their property can have a specialist volunteer come out and give information and advice about the creatures they’re living with. Generally, once they have the information, they’re happy. It’s the sign of a really green environment if you have bats. In the summer, we get calls when bats have flown uninvited into people’s houses after dark. We advise turning the lights out, shutting the door, leaving the window open and allowing the bat to find its own way out. One of the most common myths we have to explode is that bats always turn left when they leave roofs. Apparently that was printed in a magazine recently, so we got a clutch of calls about it. We also get people calling and humming the entire Batman theme tune down the phone. The jokes are pretty predictable, I’m afraid.
- Anthea McNufty, 26, works for NHS Direct, the phone-in helpline operated by the National Health Service
Having worked in nurse training for a while, I found I missed the patient contact I’d enjoyed doing nursing itself. When I saw this job, I thought of it as a way of getting some of that contact back – without the cleaning up! I remember the dread of what the calls might be about on my first day, but they give you so much training before you’re let loose that you can handle it. It was a bit difficult not having the physical clues I’d have been able to pick up on the wards. But you very quickly get used to working with the computer, it makes you feel safe. Occasionally, there are problems with the system but you’re never left with a blank screen, and because we’re a national service there’s always somebody else who can take a call. The most common calls are about coughs and colds, things people can manage on their own, but I need to look out for anything that will indicate that they might need to go and see a doctor. People can be too embarrassed to go to a hospital with what seem like minor ailments, and we do have to reassure them that if they do have to go in, people aren’t going to laugh at them.
- Agnes Thomson, 60, works for a major broadcasting company
Yesterday, I got lots of calls relating to weekly programs, though there was quite a contrast: the radio show for the blind, ‘In Touch’, and ‘Watchdog’ on TV. The ‘In Touch’ callers had heard of some new equipment and wanted further details. ‘Watchdog’ is a consumer program and people generally call me because they have a problem with a product from a company we’ve covered on the show. We have regular callers, some very nice and some not so nice, and you get to know them. Quite often people phone to complain spontaneously, and when we call them again within ten days with a response, which we promise to do in some cases, they’ve forgotten what made them cross. Television programs probably generate more calls, particularly medical programs or programs about children. People have a sense that we’re a general repository of knowledge and wisdom – which we’re not! There’ll have been a show that has covered most things at one time or another so I can always look things up. As a result, I have a lot of what you might call useless knowledge.
- Caroline Hickman, 34, works for a company with a wide range of household products
I really get a lot out of the work. We have such a wide range of products – from beauty and haircare through to nappies and household cleaners – that no two calls are ever the same. With laundry products, for example, we get lots of specific queries – people want to know what to use with certain types of material. We can’t always go into details of all the settings of different brands of machine, though. We also get a lot of calls about skincare from people who want to know about specific ingredients in our products. You also get fascinating insight into the country’s lifestyles. For instance, we tend to get lots of calls about cleaning products on a Monday, presumably because people buy them over the weekend, then, towards Friday we’ll get haircare and beauty because they’re planning a night out. I also long for one-off problems I can really get my teeth into – the ones that come out of blue. We once had a call from a woman who’d seen a wedding dress on one of our TV adverts and wanted one identical to it for her own big day. We found that it was still at the television studio and was available for her to borrow – which she did. It just goes to show that it’s always worth asking!
Your answers:
81. | 82. | 83. | 84. | 85. |
86. | 87. | 88. | 89. | 90. |
91. | 92. | 93. | 94. | 95. |
IV. WRITING (6 points)
Part 1: Read the following extract and use your own words to summarize it. Your summary should be between 100 and 120 words long. (1.5 point)
For many years, the preferred option for refuse disposal in Britain has been the landfill. In fact, the UK, more than any other European country, makes use of landfills to get rid of its biodegradable waste. However, problems have arisen with this method and alternative solutions have had to be researched.
One of the biggest drawbacks to landfills is the cost. In the past this was not the case as land was plentiful and cheap with abandoned quarries and mines often being utilised. But by 2015, since space for approved and licensed landfills will have run out, viable alternatives to waste disposal have to be found. Another disadvantage is the environmental impact made by the acids and hazardous chemicals that are leaked from the landfills. Older sites depended on these substances being diluted naturally by rain but this often did not occur and surrounding agricultural land was affected and livestock poisoned. Nowadays, more modern landfills use liners within the pits to contain any dangerous material and the liquid is then collected, treated and discharged within the site itself. But perhaps the most apparent annoyance for the general public living in the immediate vicinity of the landfill is the nuisance that results from the traffic, the noise, the dust and the unpleasant odors emanating from the site. Although no risks to human health have been verified, symptoms such as headaches, drowsiness and exhaustion have been reported by people living close to landfills. These may have been caused by toxic emissions from the site but they may be connected to the impact that living next to the sites can have on stress and anxiety.
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Part 2: The charts below show the percentage of men and women in different weight groups (healthy weight, overweight, obese, and dangerously obese) in England between 1993 and 2002. (1.5 point)
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant. You should write at least 150 words.
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Part 3: Write an essay of 350 words on the following topic. (3 points)
Some people believe that preserving natural environment is crucial; however, most make no effort to do so. Why do you think this is happening? What are some simple actions that could help the environment?
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