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

SỞ GIÁO DỤC & ĐÀO TẠO CÀ MAU
KỲ THI CHỌN ĐỘI TUYỂN HSG CẤP THPT NĂM HỌC 2020-2021 Môn thi: Tiếng Anh ĐỀ CHÍNH THỨC Ngày thi: 25-10-2020
(Đề thi gồm có 15 trang)
Thời gian: 180 phút (Không kể thời gian giao đề)
Học sinh làm bài thi vào đề này ĐIỂM TOÀN Giám khảo 1 Giám khảo 2 SỐ PHÁCH BÀI THI
(Họ tên và chữ ký)
(Họ tên và chữ ký)
(Do Chủ tịch HĐ ghi) Bằng chữ Bằng số
SECTION I: LEXICO and GRAMMAR (5.0 points)
PART I: (2.0 pts) Choose A, B, C or D to indicate the word or phrase that best completes each
sentence. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
1. The politician gave a press conference to deny the charges that had been ________at him. A. targeted B. leveled C. accused D. blamed
2. General Custer was confident of victory despite being vastly________ by the enemy. A. outnumbered B. outclassed C. overcome D. overtaken
3. The purpose of the survey was to ________ the inspectors with local conditions. A. inform B. acquaint C. instruct D. notify
4. My wife’s being ________for migraine headaches at the clinic. A. cured B. healed C. operated D. treated
5. Despite the high divorce rate, the ________ of marriage remains popular. A. practice B. habit C. institution D. state
6. He drove fast and arrived an hour ________ of schedule. A. in advance B. ahead C. abreast D. in front
7. There is no point in phoning him. He’s certain ________by now. A. to leave B. to have left C. left D. having left
8. Can I ________ your brains for a moment? I can’t do this crossword by myself. A. have B. pick C. mind D. use
9. If you don’t stop smoking, you ________the risk of developing chronic bronchitis. A. bear B. suffer C. make D. run
10. The doctor prescribed tablets to help ________ the pain. A. lighten B. calm C. relieve D. rid
11. He was a pickpocket and had to spend many years behind ________. A. windows B. prisons C. cells D. bars
12. Please drop me a ________when you get to Paris. A. word B. message C. sentence D. line
13. Her performance in the last scene was quite ________. A. describable B. remarkable C. notable D. noticeable
14. You should be _________ ashamed of yourself for what you have done. A. thoroughly B. hopelessly C. entirely D. earnestly Page 1 of 15
15. Like everyone else, Sue has her ________ of course but on the whole, she's quite satisfied with life. A. ups and downs B. ins and outs C. safe and sound D. odds and ends
16. You’ll be glad to know that Yuki’s work is showing a ________ improvement. A. mediocre B. minimal C. prominent D. marked
17. Far be it from me to ________ down the law, but I think we need to pull our socks up. A. put B. lay C. write D. set
18. The prospects of picking up any survivors are now __________. A. thin B. narrow C. slim D. restricted
19. Their children felt disappointed because first they promised to take them to Ha Long Park and then they ________ their word. A. played down on B. drew out on C. went back on D. came off with
20. Hopes of finding the missing boat seem to be _______ away. A. darkening B. going C. fading D. draining Your answers: 1.......... 2.......... 3.......... 4.......... 5.......... 6.......... 7.......... 8.......... 9.......... 10........ 11........ 12........ 13........ 14........ 15........ 16........ 17........ 18........ 19........ 20........
PART II: (1.0 pt) Complete the following sentences with suitable prepositions or particles. Write your
answers in the space provided.
1. He shot the bird while it was ________ the wing.
2. In Britain, natural gas is piped all over the country from gas field________ the North Sea.
3. His last hours were quiet, and he passed ________ without pain.
4. Don’t make a fuss _________ such a minor thing.
5. I am astonished ________ the way my students can spend all night at the disco and still remember their lessons next morning.
6. The hotel was terrible, but the wonderful beach made up ________ our disappointment.
7. The H5N1 infected patients have to stay away ________ others to prevent the virus from spreading.
8. Small children should be watched ________ carefully.
9. It was so foggy that driver couldn’t make ________ the traffic signs.
10. “These beers are ________ the house!” whispered the grinning tenant to his customers on Sunday. Your answers: 1...................... 2....................... 3....................... 4....................... 5....................... 6....................... 7....................... 8....................... 9....................... 10...................... Page 2 of 15
PART III: (2.0 pts) Give the correct FORM of each bracketed word. Write your answers in the
numbered space provided in the column on the right. Your answers
It was not so long ago that we dealt with colleagues through face-to-face
(1. INTERACT) ______and with counterparts and customers by phone or 1. ………………….
letter. But the world of communication has undergone a dramatic 2. ………………….
transformation, not for all the good. Email, while (2. DOUBT) ______ a swift 3. ………………….
means of communication providing your server is fully (3. FUNCTION) 4. ………………….
______ and that the address you have contains no (4. ACCURATE) ______ 5. ………………….
has had a (5. SIGNIFY) ______ effect on certain people's behaviour, both at 6. ………………….
home and in business. For those people, the use of email has become (6. 7. ………………….
RESIST) ______ addictive to the extent that it is (7. THREAT) ______ their 8. ………………….
mental and physical health. Addicts spend their day (8. COMPULSION) 9. …………………
______ checking for email and have a (9. TEND) ______ to panic if their 10. ………………
server goes down. It is estimated that one in six people spend four hours a day
sending and receiving messages, the equivalent to more than two working
days a week. The negative effect on (10. PRODUCE) ______ is something
employers are well aware of.
SECTION II: READING (7.5 points)
PART I: (1.5 pts) Fill each blank with ONE suitable word. Write your answers in the space provided under this passage.
In most art museums, the paintings on the wall just look flat, but sometimes visitors come across
an image that appears to be three-dimensional. The artist has cleverly used colors, lines, and shading to
give the painting some depth, making it more (1)________. The artistic technique of creating three-
dimensional images of something on a flat surface is called trompe l'oeil, a French phrase (2)________
“trick the eye”. Today, some artists are adapting the idea of tricking the eye to make things become
invisible. A new (3) ________for this is camouflage art. In nature, there are major benefits to using
camouflage to blend (4) ________with the surroundings. Becoming invisible, or at (5) ________ being
harder to see on the ground or in a tree, allows insects and animals to hide from enemies that might eat
them. It also allows them to get close (6) ________ to surprise other insects or smaller animals that
they want to catch and eat. Artists are not hiding or preparing to attack. (7) ________, they are using
the idea of camouflage to make urban spaces look nicer or to make statements with their art.
Sometimes they just do it for fun. Artists can make these things more interesting and in some cases
make them (8) ________ visible. In many urban areas, large buildings have been painted with amazing
murals that trick our eyes. Thus, ordinary brick walls are transformed into interesting (9) ________ of
art. Temporary walls put up to keep people out of a (10) ________ site can be painted like the finished
building to camouflage the site. Your answers:
1/...........................................
6/...........................................
2/...........................................
7/...........................................
3/...........................................
8/...........................................
4/...........................................
9/...........................................
5/...........................................
10/........................................... Page 3 of 15
PART II: (1.5 pt) Read the following passage and choose A, B, C or D to indicate the word or
phrase that best fits each gap. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
For many people doing physical exercise may (1)_______a painful torturing of the body.
Therefore, there's usually something we come up with that is of higher importance than putting one's
muscles through their (2)_______. Unless we are forced to go in for a physical training, we are
(3)_______to treat it as something of a lower (4)_______than staying in front of the TV set, spending
time in a pub sipping alcoholic beverages or consuming excessive quantities of fattening confectionery
in a cafe. We need to be considerably motivated to take up a body workout and build our physical
fitness. What usually (5)_______individuals from (6)_______ themselves to strenuous exercise is the
fear of fatigue, discomfort or even the inhibitions of being outdone by true fitness zealots.
However, getting fit is fully a (7)_______ of common sense. Different forms of exercise may be
of great benefit to the human body increasing its strength, flexibility and endurance. When supported
by a nutritious diet, much better performance of the heart and the lungs improves the blood circulation
making an individual more resistant to stressful situations as well as more (8)_______to infections and diseases.
In the first place, self-discipline that is requisite for proceeding with such physical effort ought to
be attained to (9)_______that the intention of becoming healthier and more vigorous isn't
(10)_______by any trivial impediments. 1. A. correspond B. entail C. incorporate D. administer 2. A. burdens B. efforts C. paces D. labours 3. A. inclined B. tended C. affirmed D. implied 4. A. superiority B. advantage C. privilege D. priority 5. A. denies B. opposes C. repels D. rejects 6. A. engrossing B. absorbing C. involving D. committing 7. A. point B. matter C. case D. reason 8. A. irresistible B. wary C. immune D. preventative 9. A. certify B. ascertain C. resolve D. ensure 10. A. suppressed B. tormented C. harassed D. persecuted Your answers: 1...................... 2....................... 3....................... 4....................... 5....................... 6....................... 7....................... 8....................... 9....................... 10......................
PART III: (1.5 pts) Read the following passage and choose A, B, C or D to indicate the best answer
to each question. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes. LIFTOFF AND REENTRY
During any space mission, whether it is manned or unmanned, the two most critical periods are
liftoff and reentry. This fact is proven by the fact that every loss of life in the history of space
exploration has occurred during a liftoff or reentry maneuver. Liftoff and reentry not only represent
the times of greatest danger during a space mission, they also present the greatest science and
engineering challenges to the planners and organizers of a space mission.
The major challenge during liftoff is to achieve a great enough velocity to break free of the
Earth’s gravitational pull and escape the atmosphere. The velocity required varies depending on the
type of the mission in question. For example, most orbital missions, like those to the International
Space Station or the launching of a satellite, do not require the spacecraft to complete escape Earth’s Page 4 of 15
gravitational pull. These spacecraft simply need enough velocity to achieve a certain distance from
Earth and then to maintain their orbit. The speed necessary for this is dependent on the type of orbit
desired, but is generally around 24,000 kilometers per hour. Completely escaping the Earth’s gravity,
as is needed for interplanetary missions, is a far more difficult undertaking, requiring a speed of 40,200 kilometers per hour.
To achieve such high speeds, huge rockets must be built. This, however, presents another
problem: the larger the rocket, the larger the total mass that must be lifted into space. This means more
fuel is needed, adding more weight. For this reason, as spacecraft grow larger it becomes increasingly
more difficult to lift them into space. For example, NASA’s space shuttle weighs 78,000 kg, but the
rocket required to lift it into orbit weighs nearly 2,000,000 kg. This means that rockets are actually
highly inefficient, since much of the rocket’s energy is expended lifting the rocket into space, rather
than simply the spacecraft that one wants to place in space.
To help offset this inefficiency, launch sites for rockets are planned carefully. With the
exception of a few launch sites used for highly specialized purposes, nearly all launch sites are placed
as near the equator as possible. Since the equator is the Earth’s widest point, it is also the point where
the Earth is spinning the fastest. Spacecraft can use this fact to receive a little extra “push” from the
Earth, reducing the work their rockets must do during liftoff.
Once a spacecraft has made it safely into space, the next major challenge is for it to return to
Earth in one piece. While the major challenge during liftoff is gaining speed, the three major challenges
of reentry are reducing speed, controlling the angle of reentry, and reducing heat. To initiate reentry,
spacecraft perform a maneuver called a deorbital burn. Simply put, this means they fire their engines in
reverse to slow the spacecraft down. Once the spacecraft has passed below the critical orbital velocity,
gravity will once again take over and begin to pull the spacecraft back towards Earth.
The amount of speed lost during the deorbital burn will determine the angle of reentry, and this
angle is of critical importance. If the reentry angle is too low, the spacecraft will skip off the Earth
atmosphere, much as pebble skips across the water when thrown into a pond. If the angle is too high,
the spacecraft will generate too much heat and burn up during reentry. Even with a correct angle of
reentry, spacecraft generate enormous amounts of heat. As they enter the Earth’s atmosphere, the
friction between the spacecraft and the surrounding air serves to slow the spacecraft, but it also can heat
the outer surfaces of the spacecraft to 5,500oC. To minimize this effect, spacecraft are designed to
create the smallest amount of friction possible during reentry. Special heat-resistant materials are also
used on reentry surfaces of the spacecraft. In this way, the heat of reentry can be kept to manageable levels.
1. The word maneuver in the paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to_________. A. accident B. period C. procedure D. control
2. According to the information in paragraph 2, interplanetary missions are more difficult because _________. A. they require more fuel
B. they must complete reentry maneuvers twice C. they use larger spacecraft
D. they must attain higher escape velocities
3. The word this in the passage refers to_________.
A. escaping the Earth’s gravity
B. maintaining an orbit around the Earth
C. launching a spacecraft into space
D. reaching the International Space Station
4. Why does the author mention NASA’s space shuttle?
A. To suggest that it is the most inefficient spacecraft in the history of spaceflight Page 5 of 15
B. To better illustrate the disparity between the size of a spacecraft and the size of the rocket needed to launch it
C. To show that even with modern technology, spacecraft are still very heavy
D. To better illustrate exactly how difficult it is to construct a spacecraft as large as a rocket
5. The word inefficient in the passage is closest in meaning to_________. A. technical B. massive C. uneconomic D. ineffective
6. According to paragraph 4, what advantage do spacecraft gain when being launched near the equator?
A. They are able to gain speed from the rotational spin of the Earth.
B. They are able to achieve specialized orbits that are not possible in other locations.
C. They can shorten their flight time during liftoff.
D. They can take advantage of the better weather conditions prevalent at the equator.
7. All of the following are mentioned in paragraph 5 as problems during reentry EXCEPT_________.
A. achieving the correct reentry angle B. reducing speed
C. initiating a deorbital burn D. reducing heat
8. The word initiate in the passage is closest in meaning to_________. A. control B. accelerate C. alter D. start
9. Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 6 about reentry angles?
A. They must be controlled by very precise computers.
B. Failures to achieve the proper angle are responsible for most space disasters.
C. Higher reentry angles result in higher levels of air friction.
D. Reentry angles determine the amount of fuel during reentry.
10. The author explains the effect of an improper reentry angle in paragraph 6 by__________.
A. likening it to a pebble skipping off a pond
B. explaining the scientific causes of friction
C. discussing the maximum temperature a spacecraft can reduce
D. explaining how higher speeds create greater levels of heat Your answer: 1...................... 2....................... 3....................... 4....................... 5....................... 6....................... 7....................... 8....................... 9....................... 10......................
PART IV: (1.0 pt) You are going to read a magazine article on space. Some paragraphs have been
removed from the article. Choose from the paragraph A-G the one which fits each gap (1-5). There
is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use. Write your answers in the corresponding
numbered boxes provided. There is an example at the beginning (0). Cheap Access to Space
Charles Conrad went to the moon with Apollo 12 and circled the Earth in Skylab. But from now
on, he is going to aim high for himself. His company, Universal Space Lines, hopes to produce a more
economic rocket that will be able to go into space again and again. 0. G
NASA, the U.S, government-owned space program, plans to develop such a rocket. However, the
intermediate priority is missions to Mars, which will require different technology. So it is more likely
that people outside the NASA program will develop re-useable rocket design. Rick Tumlinson runs an
independent organization called the Space Frontier Foundation and firmly believes that it is time for business to get involved. Page 6 of 15 1.
So Tumlinson is also in business to prove a point. Space is our destiny, he says, so why not get on
with it a bit more eagerly? To this end, the SFF is holding a conference in Los Angeles shortly, to be
called Space: Open for Business. 2.
Another company, Kistler Aerospace, has similar plans: “Our goal is to become a delivery service
to low Earth orbit that will radically re-align the economics of doing business in space. Satellites will
be our parcels: our vehicles will be operated in repeated flights with air freights efficiently.” 3.
Their own view is that it is impossible for NASA, which is government-owned, to offer an “open
frontier”. This is not a matter of budgets or schedules, but of fundamental purpose and design. NASA is
“elitist and exclusive”, whereas the SFF believe in opportunities for everyone “a future of endlessly expanding new choices”. 4.
Of course, the ex-astronaut and businessman Charles Conrad agrees. “I’m trying to get affordable
space transportation up and operative so that everybody can go enjoy space. And by the way, the
Japanese are hard at work building a space hotel.” 5.
If he is right, mass space travel will have arrived by 2050 and space tourism will have become a
viable industry. More importantly, the human race will have made serious progress in crossing that final frontier. A
Companies will always be looking for profit. For this reason, the SFF is not in favour of
American missions to Mars, claiming that there’s nothing in it for investors. At the same
time, they do accept that these missions could bring scientific benefits. B
He sees the NASA program as a bit of dinosaur. “25 years after the Wright Brothers, people
could buy a commercial plane ticket… but 25 years after landing on the moon, we sat around
watching old astronauts on TV talking about the good old days.” C
In 1997, the SFF ran a survey on the Internet, called “Cheap Access to Space”, where it asked
American taxpayers for their views on the U.S space program and on what American’s future
priorities should be in space transportation. D
U.S government officials don’t see a future for space tourism. Here again, private companies
may well prove them wrong. David Ashford, director of Bristol Space planes Limited, once
said that space tourism would begin ten years after people stopped laughing at the concept.
Recently, he added this striking comment: “people have stopped laughing”. E
Charles Conrad is due to speak there. But his company is in fact only one of several that
already have blueprints for getting into space and back cheaply. Rotary is working on
something that would be launched like a rocket but return like a helicopter. Pioneer Rocket
plane believes there could be a million dollar market in delivering packages from one side of
the planet to the other in an hour. Page 7 of 15 F
They would like to see “irreversible human settlement” in space as soon as possible and
maintain that this will only happen through free enterprise. “Building buildings and driving
trucks is not what astronauts should be doing; that’s what the private sector does.” G
“Cheap” is an important word in space technology nowadays and re-usable rockets will be a
key way of controlling costs. They will deliver things to orbits, bring stuff back to Earth and
then go up again, perhaps with machinery for a space factory, or even carrying tourists. Your answers: 0. G 1. ______ 2. ______ 3. ______ 4. ______ 5. ______
PART V: (1.0 pts) Read the article and decide if the following statements are YES, NO or NOT
GIVEN according to the information in the passage. In boxes, write:
YES if the statement agrees with the information
NO if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
Organic farming and chemical fertilizers
A. The world’s population continues to climb. And despite the rise of high-tech agriculture, 800 million
people don’t get enough to eat. Clearly it’s time to rethink the food we eat and where it comes from.
Feeding 9 billion people will take more than the same old farming practices, especially if we want to do
it without felling rainforests and planting every last scrap of prairie. Finding food for all those people
will tax predicting farmers’- and researchers’- ingenuity to the limit. Yet already, precious aquifers that
provide irrigation water for some of the world’s most productive farmlands are drying up or filling with
seawater, and arable land in China is eroding to create vast dust storms that redden sunsets as far away
as North America. “Agriculture must become the solution to environmental problems in 50 years. If we
don’t have systems that make the environment better not just hold the fort - then we’re in trouble,” says
Kenneth Cass man, an agronomist at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. That view was echoed in
January by the Curry report, a government panel that surveyed the future of farming and food in Britain.
B. It’s easy to say agriculture has to do better, but what should this friendly farming of the future look
like? Concerned consumers come up short at this point, facing what appears to be an ever-widening
ideological divide. In one corner are the techno-optimists who put their faith in genetically modified
crops, improved agrochemicals and computer enhanced machinery; in the other are advocates of
organic farming, who reject artificial chemicals and embrace back-to-nature techniques such as
composting. Both sides cite plausible science to back their claims to the moral high ground, and both
bring enough passion to the debate for many people to come away thinking we’re faced with a stark
between two mutually incompatible options.
C. Not so. If you take off the ideological blinkers and simply ask how the world can produce the food it
needs with the least environmental cost, a new middle way opens. The key is sustainability: whatever
we do must not destroy the capital of soil and water we need to keep on producing. Like today’s
organic farming, the intelligent farming of the future should pay much more attention to the health of
its soil and the ecosystem it’s part of. But intelligent farming should also make shrewd and locally Page 8 of 15
appropriate use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. The most crucial ingredient in this new style of
agriculture is not chemicals but information about what’s happening in each field and how to respond.
Yet ironically, this key element may be the most neglected today.
D. Clearly, organic farming has all the warm, fuzzy sentiment on its side. An approach that eschews
synthetic chemicals surely runs no risk of poisoning land and water. And its emphasis on building up
natural ecosystems seems to be good for everyone. Perhaps these easy assumptions explain why sales
of organic food across Europe are increasing by at least 50 per cent per year.
E. Advocates of organic farming like to point out that fields managed in this way can produce yields
just as high as fields juiced up with synthetic fertilisers. For example, Bill Leichardt, research manager
at the Rodale Institute in Kutztown, Pennsylvania recently compiled the results of such comparisons for
corn, wheat, soybeans and tomatoes in the US and found that the organic fields averaged between 94
and 100 per cent of the yields of nearby conventional crops.
F. But this optimistic picture tells only half the story. Farmers can’t grow such crops every year if they
want to maintain or build soil nutrients without synthetic fertilisers. They need to alternate with soil-
building crops such as pasture grasses and legumes such as alfalfa. So in the long term, the yield of
staple grains such as wheat, rice and com must go down. This is the biggest cost of organic farming.
Vaclav Smile of the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, estimates that if farmers worldwide
gave up the 80 million tones of synthetic fertiliser they now use each year, total grain production would
fall by at least half. Either farmers would have to double the amount of land they cultivate- at
catastrophic cost to natural habitat-or billions of people would starve.
G. That doesn’t mean farmers couldn’t get by with less fertilizer. Technologically advanced farmers in
wealthy countries, for instance, can now monitor their yields hectare by hectares, or even more finely,
throughout a huge field. They can then target their fertilizer to the parts of the field where it will do the
most good, instead of responding to average conditions. This increases yield and decreases fertiliser
use. Eventually, farmers may - incorporate long-term weather forecasts into their planning as well, so
that they can cut back on fertiliser use when the weather is likely to make harvests poor anyway, says
Ron Olson, an agronomist with Cargill Fertilizer in Tampa, Florida.
H. Organic techniques certainly have their benefits, especially for poor farmers. But strict “organic
agriculture”, which prohibits certain technologies and allows others, isn’t always better for the
environment. Take herbicides, for example. These can leach into waterways and poison both wildlife
and people. Just last month, researchers led by Tyrone Hayes at the University of California at
Berkeley found that even low concentrations of atrazine, the most commonly used weed killer in the
US, can prevent frog tadpoles from developing properly. Statements
1. Increasing population, draining irrigation, eroding farmland push agricultural industry to extremity.
2. There are only two options for farmers: they use chemical fertiliser or natural approach.
3. Chemical fertilizers currently are more expensive than the natural fertilisers.
4. In order to keep nutrient in the soil, organic farmers need to rotate planting method.
5. “Organic agriculture” is the way that environment-damaging technologies are all strictly forbidden. Page 9 of 15 Your answers: 1...................... 2....................... 3....................... 4....................... 5....................... PART VI: (1.0 pt)
In the passage below, the five headings have been removed. For questions 1-5, read the
passage and choose from headings A-H the one which fits each gap. There are THREE extra ones
that should not be used. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
A. How to maximize the SPF of sunscreens?
B. Summer sport and skin protection
C. How the various types of radiation differ?
D. Sunscreens: the higher the SPF the better?
E. What is ultraviolet radiation?
F. Other ways to protect yourself
G. What are the first signs of skin cancer?
H. A short break in the sun won’t hurt, will it? 1.___________
Sunshine contains three different bans of ultraviolet radiation: UVA, UVB and UVC. Although UVC is
the most dangerous, because it is a shorter-wavelength radiation than UVA and UVB, it is screened out
by the Earth’s ozone layer. UVA used to be thought less dangerous than UVB, but it is now known that
both bands can cause skin cancer. It is UVB which causes sunburn. However, both UVA and UVB can age the skin prematurely. 2.___________
Levels of UV rays can vary. A two-week holiday in the Mediterranean will expose you to the same
amount of sun as you would get in a year in Britain. Short periods of intense exposure to the sun are
thought to be more risky than regular daily exposure, particularly if you have fairer skin. However,
even if you have darker skin tones you will burn eventually. You can find out the daily UV rate by
watching the solar UV index which has recently been introduced on national weather forecasts across Europe. 3.___________
The ideal sunscreen to use is an SPF15. This means a sunscreen which gives you fifteen times more
protection that you would have normally. An SPF15 sunscreen will absorb proportionally equal
amounts of UVA and UVB, and will give you good protection if you are sensible about your exposure.
Sunscreens higher than SPF15 tend to lose their balanced effect: the chemicals in an SPF30, for
example, will not block UVA rays as effectively as UVB. The other danger with high SPFs is that
people will stay in the sun longer because they think are better protected. Higher SPFs do not give
proportionately greater protection. An SPF15 gives 93 percent protection, for example, while an SPF34 gives 97 percent protection. 4.____________
Only UVA rays can pass through glass, so you won’t get sunburnt sitting by a window, while you can
still enjoy the warmth of the sun. Be careful when sitting in the shade, however. You can still get burnt
because you will be exposed to rays bouncing off reflective surfaces nearby. This is particularly the Page 10 of 15
case near water. Not all clothing offers effective protection, either. If you can see the light through a
piece of clothing when you hold it up, it will not offer much of a barrier to UV rays. 5.____________
You should keep an eye out for any moles or dark spots on the skin that change in size, shape, or color,
become bigger, itchy or inflamed, or bleed. All these may be symptoms of skin cancer and should be
checked by a doctor. Once a mole has been identified as a potential melanoma, it is removed under
local anaesthetic and sent for examination. Most turn out to be harmless. Of the three forms of skin
cancer the two most common varieties – basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas are easily treatable
and rarely fatal, and even melanomas can be treated effectively if caught in time. Your answers: 1. .............. 2. .............. 3. .............. 4. .............. 5. ..............
SECTION III: WRITING (7.5 pts)
PART I: (2.0 pts) Read the following extract and use your own words to summarize it in one
paragraph. Your summary should be about 100 to 120 words long.
Have you ever dreamt of going to a tropical island, lounging on the warm sand, feasting your eyes
on an outburst of orangey-pink corals while snorkeling in the sea? Just below the rush of foaming
waves lies a hubbub of marine life. Coral reefs are one of the nature’s masterpieces.
Apart from their unsurpassed beauty, reefs are essential to people in many ways. Corals remove and
recycle carbon dioxide, hindering gas emissions causing global warming. Reefs also protect land and
coastal dwellers from harsh oceans and floods as well as providing a rich food source for fisheries.
Tropical reefs are also the favourite attraction for thousands of tourists flocking to view this living sea
garden, injecting a welcome income to local economies.
Sadly, they are now under threat of extinction due to natural disasters and human intervention. One
major problem is ocean pollution caused by oil slicks and untreated sewage. Pollutants are let out into
the water and poison corals. Deforestation, absurd as it may seem, is also detrimental to coral reefs.
Topsoil from cleared tropical forests is washed down to the rivers into the coast and settles on reefs,
smothering the corals and blocking out the sunlight crucial for reefs to live. Extensive fishing and the
use of dynamite have destroyed many reefs, while the poaching of coral items for the souvenir and
jewellery trade continues at a devastating rate. Urgent measures need to be taken at a global level so
that corals continue to decorate tropical coasts for future generations.
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…………..………………………………………………………………………………………………. Page 11 of 15
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…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… PART II: (2.0 pts)
The chart below shows the results of a survey on various home activities among young people
aged 11 to 16 in four regions. Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main
features, and make comparisons where relevant. You should write about 100 to 120 words.
Home activities among young people 60 Co C mpu omput te e r r G Games ames 50 Read Rea ing ding 40 Bo B ar oa d rd Games Games 30 20 Watch wa in tching g T TV V 10 % 0 England Scotland Ireland Wales
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PART III: (3.5 pts) Write an essay about 300 words to express your own idea on the following topic:
It is argued that “allowing students to use smartphones during class time under the teacher’s
control” brings both advantages and disadvantages. What is your opinion about this issue? Give your
relevant evidences and explanations to justify your opinion.
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