Kì thi chọn đội tuyển chính thức dự thi HSG quốc gia lớp 12 THPT tỉnh Lạng Sơn năm học 2019-2020 môn thi Tiếng Anh

SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO
ĐỀ KHẢO SÁT CHẤT LƯỢNG ĐỘI TUYỂN LẠNG SƠN
HỌC SINH GIỎI QUỐC GIA Môn thi: Tiếng Anh
Thời gian: 180 phút (không kể thời gian giao đề)
(Đề thi gồm 16 trang)
Chú ý: Học sinh làm bài vào tờ đề thi.
Điểm của bài thi:
Họ tên, chữ kí của giám khảo - Bằng số:
1-......................................................... - Bằng chữ:
2- ....................................................... SỐ PHÁCH
(Do CTHĐ chấm thi ghi)
_______________________________________________________________________________
SECTION 1. LISTENING (5 points)
Part 1. You will hear a radio talking about globalization. For questions 1-10, complete the
sentences with a word or a short phrase. You will hear the recording twice. (2.0 points)
The entire world is now seen as one big (1) ___________________________.
Multinational corporations control about (2) ___________________________ of international commerce.
MNCs are welcomed by (3) ___________________________.
The GNP in rich countries is now (4) ___________________________ greater than that in poor countries.
Cheap third-world labour for MNCs is encouraged by (5) ___________________________ or (6)
___________________________ employment legislation.
Governments in Third World countries should support (7) ___________________________.
It is not a good idea to have protectionism in a (8) ___________________________.
Despite opinion to the contrary, MNCs do not improve (9) ___________________________ for the workforce.
Protest are staged at conferences held by the International Monetary Fund and the (10) ___________________________.
Part 2. You will hear two people discussing the woman’s new job. For questions 11-15, choose
the best answer A, B, or C. You will hear the recording twice. (1.0 point) 1
11. Cath dislikes her timetable because _______. A. the hours are very long.
B. she has to go to work twice every day.
C. she has to do some shift work.
D. she has to work a lot of evenings.
12. From Cath’s description of the work, it seems that her job is _______. A. challenging B. confusing C. demanding D. routine
13. Cath’s attitude towards the customers is _______. A. resigned B. understanding C. critical D. disinterested
14. From Cath’s description, her superior is _______. A. strict B. impolite C. envious D. dishonest 15. Cath plans to ______.
A. look for a new job immediately
B. wait for another opportunity to turn up
C. apply for better position within the company
D. try to get on friendly terms with her manager
Part 3. You will hear two psychologist students called Tim and Laura talking about Laura’s
work placement. You will hear the recording twice. (2.0 points)
Questions 16 and 17. Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Which TWO skills did Laura improve as a result of her work placement? 16. ________ A. communication B. design 17. ________ C. IT D. marketing E. organization
Questions 18 and 19. Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Which TWO immediate benefits did the company get from Laura’s work placement?
A. updates for its software 18. ________ B. cost savings C. an improved image 19. ________ D. new clients E. a growth in sales
Questions 20 and 25. Choose the answers, A-G.
What source of information should Tim use at each of the following staged of the work placement? 20. ________ A. company manager 21. ________
B. company’s personnel department C. personal tutor 22. ________
D. psychology department 23. ________ E. mentor 24. ________
F. university careers officer 25. ________ G. internet 2
SECTION 2. LEXICO-GRAMMAR (3 points)
Part 1. Choose the word or phrase that best completes each sentence. Write your answers in
the boxes provided. (2.0 points)
1. The new town development has begun to ______ on the surrounding green belt. A. reach B. encroach C. enter D. intrude
2. The reason why he gets into trouble so often is that he has a ______ temper. A fast B rapid C speedy D quick
3. Stop that tapping, will you? I'm trying to concentrate and it is driving me up the ______. A. wall B. roof C. hill D. house
4. We knew the concert was sold out, but we still went to the stadium ______ the off-chance that
someone might want to sell us their tickets. A. with B. by C. on D. in
5. They were the best economic analysts in the United States - a team hand-______ by the President himself. A selected B picked C named D settled
6. Of course you'll pass. You write well and you have an excellent ______ of the subject. A. grip B. seizure C. embrace D. grasp
7. The government are strongly committed to clamping ______ unregulated parking. A. out on B. over C. down on D. out for
8. Visitors are kindly requested to ______ from taking photographs inside the museum. A. refrain B. endeavour C. elapse D. grant
9. There's no need to get so ______ about being turned down. There are other advertising agencies out there, you know. A. destitute B. despondent C. descendant D. despicable
10. Catching her foot, the waitress ______, dropping the tray into a customer's lap. A. stumbled B. skipped C. clambered D. dashed
11. He was reserved by nature, even ______. A. amiable B. morose C. approachable D. cordial
12. The vegetation on the island was _______. A. exuberant B chivalrous C. overcast D. imaginary
13. He became an outlaw by ________ the law. A. defying B. observing C. sticking to D. abiding by
14. After his wife's death, he ________ drinking. A. got to B. came to C. held to D. took to
15. The theory he put forward concerning the origin of species was highly ______. A. disgraced B. discredited C. debased D. dishonored
16. ln the event of a nuclear accident, huge areas will have to be A. ceded B. yielded C. evacuated D. renounced
17. The whole country is up in ______ about the new tax the government has put on books. A. rage B. fists C. anger D. arms
18. We were starving but mum wouldn't let us eat before dinner as it would ______ our appetites. A. damage B. spoil C. dent D. prejudice
19. The fire hardly touched the exterior of the building. The inside, however, was completely ______. A. swept B. gutted C. smouldered D. blazed 3
20. If you are so ______ unhappy, why don't you leave him? A. wholly B. bitterly C. vastly D. desperately Your answers: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.
Part 2. Read the text below. Use the word given in capitals to form a word that fits in the
space in the same line. Write your answers in the boxes provided. (2.0 points) The stairlift
It’s ironic that the very things that are supposed to provide access to the (1. UP) ______
floors of buildings – stars – often, in fact, make them (2. ACCESS) ______. For many elderly
people and others with limited (3. MOBILE) ______, getting upstairs can be a daily problem to be
(4. COME) ______. However, stairlifts have been helping people solve that problem since they first
appeared in the US in the 1930s. Designs have (5. GO) ______ many changes over the years and
stairlifts have become (6. PROGRESS) ______ safer and easier to use. Most consist of a seat which
moves along rails that run along the wall.
The user controls how (7. RAPID) ______ the seat moves along the rails as it travels from
the bottom of the stairs to the (8. LAND) ______ at the top. In today’s models, the (9. MOVE)
______ is controlled by computers to give a smooth ride and the components are designed to (10.
STAND) ______ constant use. Many people have been given a new lease of lift by the stairlift. Your answers: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
SECTION 3. READING (5 points)
Part 1. Read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word
in each gap. Write your answers in the boxes provided. (1.0 point) Changing ambitions
It used to be accepted that higher education provides access (1) _____ better-paid careers.
However, the world of work has changed in recent decades, (2) _____ one where few people had
university degrees to one where they are very common. A (3) _____ many underpaid teachers,
managers and other professionals are considering a career change. Swapping the desk for the (4)
_____ box, many are retraining to become skilled manual workers, who are very much (5) _____ demand.
Those who (6) _____ the change are finding that as plumbers, gas fillers and electricians
they can earn a good (7) _____ more than they used to. Workers who (8) _____ something about
these vital services can demand high fees from customers and often enjoy considerable
independence, in (9) _____ of the working controlled working environment in a school and office. 4
Of course, those who make the break know that if it doesn’t work out they can usually go back to
their profession (10) _____ a late date. Your answers: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Part 2. You are going to read an extract from a newspaper article about Anta Roddick, the
founder of The Body Shop. Choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best
according to the text. (0.7 point)
A radical multimillionaire
Anita Roddick squats in the back of a Jeep in Ghana’s blowtorch heat, bare-armed and wild-
haired, dusty feet in worn sandals, sweat on her lined forehead. Her clothes are crumpled and her
face is creased. She is the fourteenth richest woman in Britain; she is the public face of the eco-
friendly Body Shop but she shrugs when anyone mentions her money. She doesn’t want to talk
about her wealth but about other people’s poverty. She doesn’t want to talk about cosmetics, but
about the stories and traditions behind each pot pf cocoa butter moisturizing cream, or about beauty
not being skin deep, or the wisdom that comes with age, or the danger of microwave ovens and animal-tested hair sprays.
‘I am a child of the Sixties,’ she says. And so she is, with her flowing hair and present
clothes, and her indefatigable love of all good causes: she’s an unreconstructed old hippie, one of a dying breed.
I used to think that Anita Roddick was the female equivalent of Richard Branson, hiding her
businesswoman’s heart under the cheesecloth smock, and cannily persuading intense teenage girls
to buy lip gloss or little bottles of body creams in naff raffia baskets – cashing in on a fashion for
ethical shopping by vigilante consumers who no longer want products that are tainted by child
labour, oppressive regimes, environmental damage.
A few years ago, Roddick came under a barrage of criticism. She won a bruising libel case
against Channel Four, who had suggested that Body Shop cosmetics contained animal products, but
then faced hostile media attention for the way that the company was set up, for the razzmatazz of
their hype, for advertising American Express in a manner that suggested a colonial complacency.
Roddick insists that if you dig for dirt you will always find some. Some of the mud seemed to stick:
and while we oddly continue to love Branson for his homey jerseys and hos inarticulate
pronouncement, the public seems irritated by Roddick’s garrulous, tireless, pushy and normally insistent presence.
We are on our way to one of the villages near Tamale which supply the Body Shop with
shea butter. Under the Fair Trade agreement, Body Shop pays a ten per cent premium on top of the
price, which goes into community projects.
We approach the village, and a throng of people is waiting. Anita unscrews the tops of
moisturizing creams, and their scent fills the baked air like incense in church. She visits the shea-
butter process. She praises the women – ‘the wives and mothers and grandmothers’ – and listens to
their worries: there’s been a drought for three years; there is no school. She promises money (out of
her own trust fund) for the equipment. They cheer, they give her a goat, two guinea fowl and a great
box of yams. Then everyone dances, - and Anita dances the most enthusiastically of all, as the drum 5
beats out its rhythms and the children stare up at her and giggle. I don’t know whether to be moved
or appalled by this vision of white woman coming to Africa, she who would be queen, or by her
inimitable combination of generosity and shamelessness.
In another village, further south and later in the trip, she promises that she will fund a clinic
(in Ghana, there is Aids, malaria, yellow fever, fatal epidemics of measles and malnutrition. She is
given another goat. She has a go at hacking cocoa pods off the trees, wielding the long pole tipped
with knife, stubborn and off-target. She questions the cooperative which runs the cocoa butter
production about its bureaucracy (‘I want to know what we’re doing here that’s different,’ she says.
‘I want to see result.’). A quarrel breaks out among the men, some of whom are drunk on palm gin.
She stands up. ‘OK, OK, tell me, um …’ – She looks around wildly – ‘who is the best here at kissing?’
I feel embarrassed for her, by her – but maybe that is just my problem, for the quarrel peters
out, and the women smile up at her adoringly; their fairy godmother, coming from another world, bearing gifts.
With Anita Roddick, there seems to be no gap between the thought and the utterance, nor
any sense of shame or dignity. This is her great strength and also her perpetual weakness – the way
she plunges into things, with her shambolic passions, her spontaneous opinions. She is not chic,
trendy or cool (nor, indeed, is The Body Shop). She clings to naivety and optimism. Of course, it
can be disarming, and she knows and plays on this.
As we walk, she admits to guilt; she is a rich hippie; a radical multimillionaire. She is
leaving most of her money to charities, not to her two daughters; she drives an old Golf and wears
floppy flowery skirts (‘I like to look like a peasant’) to business meetings in the City. She works
very hard when she doesn’t need to.
Our last appointment to Ghana before flying home is at the British High Commission in
Accra, where a reception is being held in Roddick’s honour. Drifting across the hum of cultured
voices. I can hear Roddick laughing lustily. Who cares if she is a bit batty? Her hair is messy; her
chin is up; behind her glasses, her eyes are shrewd and bright and determined. There are many
worse things to be than a wacky hippie with a large wallet and a large heart.
1. The writer thinks that Anita Roddick
A. pretends to be concerned about moral issues but is at heart a businesswoman.
B. is eccentric but well-intentioned on the whole. C. is rather hypocritical.
D. is condescending to the people in the village.
2. The text states that The Body Shop sells products that
A. contain some hidden animal products. B. sometimes contain mud.
C. are produced in a morally acceptable way.
D. appeal unfairly to young women.
3. According to the text, Anita Roddick
A. agrees that in the past The Body Shop may have had some faults.
B. thinks that all the accusations against The Body Shop are completely unfounded.
C. thinks that American Express behave like colonialists.
D. has been over-criticized in the past.
4. In one of the villages she visits Anita Roddick
A. promises to build a new school.
B. goes to see the place where they made one of The Body Shop products. 6
C. distributes Body Shop products to the villagers.
D. promises the villagers money from The Body Shop to buy equipment. 5. Anita Roddick
A. is guilty of double-dealing.
B. feels uneasy about her wealth.
C. is embarrassed about being a hippie.
D. is guilty about her treatment of her family.
6. How do the villagers feel about Anita Roddick?
A. They feel embarrassed by her.
B. They dislike her interfering with the way they run their business.
C. They expect her to solve their disagreements.
D. they see her as a benefactor.
7. When describing Anita, the writer of this article tends to be A. uncritical B. disapproving C. embarrassed D. critical but amused Your answers: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Part 3. Read the following passage and do the tasks that follow. (1.0 point)
What’s the purpose of gaining knowledge? A
‘I would found an instruction where any person can find instruction in any subject.’ That was
the founder’s motto for Cornell University, and it seems an apt characterization of the
different university, also in the USA, where I currently teach philosophy. A student can
prepare for a career in resort management, engineering, interior design, accounting, music,
law enforcement, you name it. But what would the founders of these two instructions have
thought of a course called ‘Arson for Profits’? I kid you not: we have it on the books. Any
undergraduates who have met the academic requirements can sign up for the course in our
program in ‘fire science’. B
Naturally, the course is intended for prospective arson investigators, who can learn all the
tricks of the trade for detecting whether a fire was deliberately set, discovering who did it, and
establishing a chain of evidence for effective prosecution in a court of law. But wouldn’t this
also be the perfect course for prospective arsonists to sign up for? My point is not to criticize
academic programs in fire science: they are highly welcome as part of the increasing
professionalization of this and many other occupations. However, it’s not unknown for a
firefighter to torch a building. This example suggests how dishonest and illegal behaviour,
with the help of higher education, can creep into every aspect of public and business life. C
I realized this anew when I was invited to speak before a class in marketing, which is another
of our degree programs. The regular instructor is a colleague who appreciates the kind of
ethical perspective I can bring as a philosopher. There are endless ways I could have
approached this assignment, but I took my cue from the title of the course: ‘Principles of
Marketing’. It made me think to ask the students, ‘Is marketing principled?’ After all, a
subject matter can have principles in the sense of being codified, having rules, as with football
or chess, without being principled in the sense of being ethical. Many of the students
immediately assumed that the answer to my question about marketing principles was obvious:
no. Just look at the ways in which everything under the sun has been marketed; obviously it
need not be done in a principled (=ethical) fashion. 7 D
Is that obvious? I made the suggestion, which may sound downright crazy in light of the
evidence, that perhaps marketing is by definition principled. My inspiration for this judgement
is the philosopher Immanuel Kant, who argued that any body of knowledge consists of an end (or purpose) and a means. E
Let us apply both terms ‘means’ and ‘end’ to marketing. The students have signed up for a
course in order to learn how to market effectively. But to what end? There seem to be two
main attitudes toward that question. One is that the answer is obvious: the purpose of
marketing is to sell things and to make money. The other attitude is that the purpose of
marketing is irrelevant: Each person comes to the program and course with his or her own
plans, and these need not even concern the acquisition of marketing expertise as such. My
proposal, which I believe would also be Kant’s, is that neither of these attitudes captures the
significance of the end to the means for marketing. A field of knowledge or a professional
endeavour is defined by both the means and the end; hence both deserve scrutiny. Students
need to study both how to achieve X, and also what X is. F
It is at that point that ‘Arson for Profit’ becomes supremely relevant. That course is
presumably all about means: how to detect and prosecute criminal activity. It is therefore
assumed that the end is good in an ethical sense. When I ask fire science students to articulate
the end, or purpose, of the field, they eventually generalize to something like, ‘The safety and
welfare of society,’ which seems right. As we have seen, someone could use the very same
knowledge of means to achieve a much less noble and such as personal profit via destructive,
dangerous, reckless activity. But we would not call that firefighting. We have a separate word
for it: arson. Similarity, if you employed the ‘principles of marketing’ in an unprincipled
way, you would not be doing marketing. We have another term for it: fraud. Kant gives the
example of a doctor and a poisoner, who use the identical knowledge to achieve their
divergent ends. We would say that one is practicing medicine, the other, murder.
Choose the correct heading for each section A-F from the list of headings below. 1. Section A: _______
i. Courses that require a high level of commitment
ii. A course tittle with two meanings 2. Section B: _______
iii. The equal importance of two key issues 3. Section C: _______
iv. Applying a theory in an unexpected content
v. The financial benefits of studying 4. Section D: _______ vi. A surprising course title 5. Section E: _______
vii. Different names for different outcomes
viii. The possibility of attracting the wrong kind of student. 6. Section F: _______
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
The ‘Arson for Profit’ course
This is a university course intended for students who are undergraduates and who are studying (7)
_____. The expectation is that they will become (8) _____ specializing in arson. The course will
help them to detect cases of arson and find (9) _____ of criminal intent, leading to successful (10) _____ in the courts. Your answers: 7. 8. 9. 10.
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in the reading passage? 8 Write 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
11. It is difficult to attract students onto courses that do not focus on a career.
12. The ‘Arson for Profit’ course would be useful for people intending to set fire to buildings.
13. Fire science courses are too academic to help people to be good at the job of firefighting.
14. The writer’s fire science students provided a detailed definition of the purpose of their studies. Your answers: 11. 12. 13. 14.
Part 4. You are going to read an article. Seven paragraphs have been removed from the
article. Choose from the paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap (1-7). There is one extra
paragraph which you do not need to use. (0.7 point)
HELP GUIDE US THROUGH THE UNIVERSE
Sir Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, launches this year’s Young Science Writer competition
If you ask scientist what they’re doing, the answer won’t be ‘Finding the origin of the universe’,
‘Seeking the cure for cancer’ or such like. It will involve something very specialized, a small piece
of the jigsaw that build the pig picture. 1. _____
So, unless they are cranks or geniuses, scientists don’t shoot directly for a grand goal – they focus
on bite-sized problems that seem timely and tractable. But this strategy (though prudent) carries an
occupational risk: they may forget they’re wearing blinkers and fail to see their own work in its proper perspective. 2. _____
I would personally derive far less satisfaction from my research if it interested only a few other
academics. But presenting one’s work to non-specialists isn’t easy. We scientists often do it badly,
although the experience helps us to see our work in a broader context. Journalists can do it better,
and their efforts can put a key discovery in perspective, converting an arcane paper published in an
obscure journal into a tale that can inspire others. 3. _____
On such occasions, people often raise general concerns about the way science is going and the
impact it may have; they wonder whether taxpayers get value for money from research they
support. More intellectual audiences wonder about the basic nature of science; how objective can
we be? And how creative? Is science genuinely a progressive enterprise” What are its limits and are
we anywhere near them? It is hard to explain, in simple language, even a scientific concept that you
understand well. My own (not always effective) attempts have deepened my respect for science
reporters, who have to assimilate quickly, with a looming deadline, a topic they may be quite unfamiliar with. 4. _____
It’s usual for science to earn newspaper headlines. Coverage that has to be restricted to crisp
newsworthy breakthroughs in any case distorts the way science develops. Scientific advances are 9
usually gradual and cumulative, and better suited to feature articles, or documentaries – or even
books, for which the latent demand is surprisingly strong. For example, millions bought A Brief
History of Time, which caught the public imagination. 5. _____
Nevertheless, serious books find a ready market. That’s the good news for anyone who wants to
enter this competition. But books on pyramidology, visitations by aliens, and suchlike do even
better: a symptom of a fascination with the paranormal and ‘New Age’ concepts. It is depressing
that these are often featured uncritically in the media, distracting attention from more genuine advances. 6. _____
Most scientists are quite ordinary, and their lives unremarkable. But occasionally they exemplify
the link between genius and madness; these ‘eccentrics’ are more enticing biographees. 7. _____
There seems, gratifyingly, to be no single ‘formula’ for science writing – many themes are still
underexploited. Turning out even 700 words seems a daunting task if you’re faced with a clean
sheet of paper or a blank screen, but less so if you have done enough reading and interviewing on a
subject to become inspired. For research students who enter the competition, science (and how you
do it) is probably more interesting than personal autobiography. But if, in later life, you become
both brilliant and crazy, you can hope that someone else writes a nest-seller about you.
__________________________________________________________________________ ______ A
However, over-sensational claims are a hazard for them. Some researchers themselves ‘hype
up’ new discoveries to attract press interest. Maybe it matters little what people believe about
Darwinism or cosmology. But we should be more concerned that misleading or overconfident
claims on any topic of practical import don’t gain wide currency. Hopes of miracle cures can
be raised: risks can be either exaggerated, or else glossed over for commercial pressures.
Science popularities – perhaps even those who enter this competition – have to be skeptical of
some scientific claims as journalists routinely are of politicians. B
Despite this, there’s tendency in recent science writing to be chatty, laced with gossip and
biographical detail. But are scientists as interesting as their science? The lives of Albert
Einstein and Richard Feyman are of interest, but is that true of the routine practitioner? C
Two mathematicians have been treated as such in recent books: Paul Erdos, the obsessive
itinerant Hungarian (who described himself as ‘a machine for turning coffee into theorems’)
and John Nash, a pioneer of game theory, who resurfaced in his sixties, after 30 years of
insanity, to receive a Nobel prize. D
For example, the American physicist Robert Wilson spent months carrying out meticulous
measurements with a microwave antenna which eventually revealed the ‘afterglow of creation’
– the ‘echo’ of the Big Bang with which our universe began. Wilson was one of the rare
scientists with the luck and talent to make a really great discovery, but afterwards he
acknowledged that its importance didn’t sink in until he read a ‘popular’ description of it in the New York Times. E
More surprising was the commercial success of Sir Roger Penrose’s The Emperor’s New Mind.
This is a fascinating romp through Penrose’s eclectic enthusiasms – enjoyable and
enlightening. But it was a surprising best seller, as much of it is heavy going. The sales pitch 10
‘great scientist says mind is more than a mere machine’ was plainly alluring. Many who bought
it must have got a nasty surprise when they opened it. F
But if they have judged right, it won’t be a trivial problem – indeed it will be the most difficult
that they are likely to make progress on. The great zoologist Sir Peter Medawar famously
described scientific work as ‘the art of the soluble’. ‘Scientists,’ he wrote, ‘get no credit for
failing to solve a problem beyond their capacities. They earn at best the kindly contempt
reserved for utopian politicians.’
G This maybe because, for non-specialists, it is tricky to demarcate well-based ideas from flaky
speculation. But it’s crucially important not to blur this distinction when writing articles for a
general readership. Otherwise credulous readers may take too much on trust, whereas hard-
nosed sceptics may reject all scientific claims, without appreciating that some have firm empirical support.
H Such a possibility is one reason why this competition to encourage young people to take up
science writing is so important and why I am helping to launch it today. Another is that popular
science writing can address wider issues. When I give talks about astronomy and cosmology,
the questions that interest people most are the truly ‘fundamental’ ones that I can’t answer: ‘Is
there life in space?’, ‘Is the universe infinite?’ or ‘Why didn’t the Big Bang happen sooner?’ Your answers: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Part 5. You are going to read an article about leadership and choose the sections (A-F) to
answer the question below. The sections may be chosen more than once. (1.2 points) CAREER POWER
Get the leading edge – motivate yourself to take full control and work
A What makes a good leader? A leader is one who inspires, an agent of charge, a developer
who shows the way forward. Leadership is not about breeding of height – taller being better, as
the early theorists believed. It’s not simply about intelligence, either. Pat Dixon, author of the
book Making the Difference: Women and Men in the Workplace, saying that leadership is about
‘making things happen through people who are as enthusiastic and interested as you are’.
Enthusiasm is a key element and, to convey it and encourage it in others, a good leader
should be able to speak out articulately and with conviction. ‘It’s having the confidence to say
“I believe” instead of “I think”,’ maintains Dixon.
B John van Maurik, director of a Leadership in Management course, says, ‘Most people have
a far greater potential for leadership than they realize. The process of becoming a leader is
recognizing those latent talents, developing them and using them.’
In one sense, we are all born leaders – we just need the right circumstances in which to
flourish. While it’s quite easy to recognize leadership in the grand sense – be it in the form of
figures like Emmeline Pankhurst, Mahatma Grandhi or even Richard Branson – it may be more
difficult to relate it to our own workplace. And yet this quality is now regarded as the
cornerstone of effective management.
C Consider the best and worst boss you’re ever had. They may have been equally good at 11
setting objectives, meeting deadlines and budgets. But what about how they achieved them?
The best leader will have motivated you, and may have driven you hard. But he would have
also given you support. The worst leader would have made you feel like a small cog in the
corporate machinery and kept information from you, and then when things went wrong would
have reacted as if it were your fault. The first led (very well); the second simply managed (very badly).
D Leaders and managers can be seen as different animals. Managers tend to enjoy working
according to set boundaries. Leaders creates their own horizons. ‘A good manager can keep
even an inefficient company running relatively smoothly,’ writes Micheal Shea, the author of
Leadership Rules. ‘But a good leader can transform a demoralized organization – whether it’s a
company, a football team or a nation.’
E Whether you’re the boss or a middle manager, you can benefit from improving your
leadership skills. There are definite lessons to be learnt: 
Leadership is something we do best when we choose to do it. So find out where your
passions and convictions lie. Next time you feel inspired to lead, harness the energy it gives you and on it. 
Start thinking of yourself as a leader. Your ability to lead is a powerful part of you. Recognize it. 
Collaboration can be fine, but there will be times when firm leadership is required.
Experiment with your style. If you are a natural transactor, trying being the negotiator.
If you always ask for the views of others, try taking the lead. Watch how the outcomes
is changed by this change in you. 
You have to get goals, then beat them. Look at the demands of your job and define
those where being a leader will greatly enhance your effectiveness and career prospects. F 
Leadership does not simply happen. It can only develop from actually taking the lead,
from taking risks and learning from mistakes. Learn how to delegate and motivate;
organize and chastise; praise and raise. 
Don’t assume that your way of leading will immediately win over colleagues. It may
even alienate them. Keep working on your communication skills. You don’t have to be
liked – but your ideas and accomplishments do. 
Be visible and accessible to those who are important. But bear in mind that it can lend
mystique to maintain a distance. 
You don’t have to lead all the time. Be clear on where your contribution is vital and
how you can help others to develop as leaders.
In which section are the following mentioned?
1. deciding to let other people take charge 1. _______
2. sounding as if you mean what you say 2. _______
3. not feeling valued in your place of work 3. _______
4. knowing when it is best not to consult others 4. _______
5. having the same positive feelings as others 5. _______
6. considering your professional future 6. _______ 12
7. wanting to work within certain limits 7. _______
8. being unware of your capabilities 8. _______
9. being prepared to be unpopular 9. _______
10. realizing how leadership may apply to your situation 10. ______ 11. being unfairly blamed 11. ______
12. being forced to make a big effort 12. ______
SECTION 4. WRITING (5.0 points) Part 1. (1.5 points)
Read the following extract and use your own words to summarize it. Your summary should
be between 120 and 150 words long.
Rings, generally made of precious metal, may be simply a piece of more important jewellery
or a symbol of duty or authority. Among some races rings are also worn on the ears or lips, and in
both cases the soft flesh is usually pierced. In Western society, the custom of wearing earnings still
persists. The lobe of the ear may be pierced, or the ornament can be held in place by the pressure of
both ends of an opened ring on the lobe.
As a form of ornament rings are of great antiquity. They are well known among the
Egyptians, the Greeks and the Romans (where it was the privilege of citizens alone to wear an iron
ring). From Egyptian times, onwards the beret (or top surface of the ring) has been decorated with
precious stones or engraved with a device which may be used as a seal. The symbolic meaning of
rings was taken over by the Medieval Churches. There the ring symbolizes the marriage of the
individual to the Church and to Christ, as it does in some orders of nuns. This symbolic overtone
gave rise to some of the theoretical arguments in the investiture controversy of the 11th century
when the Pope objected to rules who held no spiritual authority investing a bishop with the ring and
staff of pastoral office. The ceremony suggested that the laity were thus able to confer spiritual
functions. As a token of betrothal, the ring has, of course, survived in the West to indicate an engagement or marriage.
It was also common practice in the later Middle Ages for the king of England to authenticate
less important documents and instructions by using his signet ring. This became a state seal, but of
minor importance, and gave rise to the office of “keeper of the signet”. The doges of Venice from
early times participated in a ceremony of casting a ring into the Adriatic to symbolize the marriage
of the Republic of the Sea. Some of the most fascinating rings are those of the Renaissance in which
a hidden or retractable spike, covered in poison, could be used to get rid of an enemy with a mere handshake.
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………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Part 2. (2.0 points)
The bar chart below shows the number of students in three different courses from 2001 –
2004. Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words. 14
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………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Part 3. (2.5 points)
Some people believe that allowing children to make their own choices on everyday matters (such
as food, clothes and entertainment) is likely to result in a society of individuals who only think
about their own wishes. Other people believe that it is important for children to make decisions
about matters that affect them.
Write an essay of about 350 words.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Give reasons and specific examples to support your answer.
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___________________ END OF THE TEST ___________________ 17