Kì thi chọn đội tuyển chính thức dự thi Quảng Bình HSG quốc gia lớp 12 THPT năm học 2016-2017 môn thi Tiếng Anh (vòng II )
Kì thi chọn đội tuyển chính thức dự thi Quảng Bình HSG quốc gia lớp 12 THPT năm học 2016-2017 môn thi Tiếng Anh (vòng II ) 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 GD&ĐT QUẢNG BÌNH
KỲ THI CHỌN ĐỘI TUYỂN CHÍNH THỨC DỰ THI HSG
ĐỀ THI CHÍNH THỨC
QUỐC GIA LỚP 12 THPT NĂM HỌC 2016-2017
Môn thi: Tiếng Anh - Vòng II
SỐ BÁO DANH:……………
(Khóa ngày 14 tháng 9 năm 2016)
Thời gian làm bài: 180 phút (không kể thời gian giao đề) Đề có 11 trang
Lưu ý: Thí sinh làm bài trên tờ giấy thi
SECTION ONE: LISTENING (40/ 200 points)
Instruction: Listen to the recording and answer the questions. You will hear each part of the
recording twice. There will be a pause before each part so you can read the questions. There will be
other pauses to let you think about your answers. When you hear the tone, you should write your
answers on the question paper.
Part 1. Questions 1-6. You will hear three different extracts. For questions 1-6, choose the
answer (A, B or C) which fits best according to what you hear. There are two questions for each extract. Extract ONE
You hear two friends talking about an experience one of them had as a volunteer .
1. Nigel joined the Blue Ventures project because
A. a friend of his encouraged him to do volunteer work.
B. he had always dreamed of going to Madagascar.
C. he thought the experience would be useful to him.
2. Which word best describes Jenny’s reaction to Nigel’s account? A. enthusiasm B. disinterest C. envy Extract Two
You hear two people talking on a radio programme about how to deal with a compulsive disorder.
3. When did Alice realize she had a problem?
A. when she had a strong urge to go shopping all the time
B. after she had got into serious financial difficulty
C. once she had talked to a professional about how she felt
4. Alice now goes to a gym in order to
A. stop herself spending money.
B. get fit and lose a bit of weight. C. get to know new people. Extract Three
You hear two friends talking about a football match they have just watched.
5. The woman thinks that England A. deserved to lose. B. were not confident enough. C. were unfortunate. 6. According to the man,
A. Gerrard was unfairly treated. B. England played badly. C. Russia didn’t play well.
Part 2. You will hear part of a talk by a writer who has written a book about bread. For
questions 7-14, complete the sentences. 1
Supermarket (7) ___________ believe that baking bread on the premises attracts customers.
About (8) ___________ of bread in Britain is no longer baked in the old-fashioned way. In the past, it
took (9) ___________ for the yeast to ferment. Nowadays, the fermentation process is faster, and less
(10) ___________ is used. Unless salt is added, bread baked in the modern way is (11) ___________.
Calcium propionate can be sprayed on the bread to prevent it from going (12) ___________. The
speaker believes certain (13) ___________ may be caused by modern bread-making methods.
Supermarkets (14) ___________ on the sale of bread.
Part 3. You will hear an interview with the television presenter Dan Heckmond. For questions
15-20, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which fits best according to what you hear.
15. Dan was particularly attracted to the idea of working on the programme because…
A. it was a way of continuing his academic studies.
B. he agreed with the approach adopted by the team.
C. it involved working with experts in their subjects.
D. he welcomed the chance to visit interesting places.
16. How does Dan feel about the way topics are selected for the programme?
A. keen to ensure that his opinions are taken into account
B. worried that he hasn’t time to focus on the issues
C. sorry to play rather a minor role in the process
D. content to leave the main decisions to others
17. Dan says that any topic accepted for the programme must…
A. involve filming in a place with many picturesque views.
B. have at its heart a well-known mystery from the past.
C. give him the chance to engage in exciting activities.
D. require only a small amount of additional research.
18. When asked about those who criticise the series, Dan says that…
A. they may misunderstand its aims.
B. they are unfair to judge it by its style.
C. they underestimate how much it can achieve.
D. they might learn something from its methods.
19. What does Dan suggest about the first programme in the new series?
A. It was lucky to reach a conclusion.
B. It will fulfil the viewer’s limited expectations.
C. It should have addressed a much wider question.
D. It could make a valuable contribution to ongoing research.
20. How does Dan feel about including scenes where things go wrong?
A. certain that it will become a popular regular feature
B. unsure whether it’s the best use of programme time
C. worried that it might show his colleagues in a bad light
D. hopeful that it will provide insights into everyday archaeology
SECTION TWO: LEXICO - GRAMMAR (50/ 200 points)
Part 1. For questions 21- 35, choose the most suitable word to complete each sentence.
21. As he turned to chase the ball, the centre forward … his knee and collapsed in agony. A. twisted B. tortured C. contorted D. crumpled
22. The work is beyond the shadow of a … one of the best she has written. A. contradiction B. doubt C. criticism D. suspicion
23. Tina took her four-year-old daughter to the children’s hospital for an appointment with a … A. philologist B. pedestrian C. paediatrician D. philatelist
24. Sally had to stay behind in …. for being rude to the teacher. A. detention B. punishment C. college D. delay 2
25. I really must … these trousers because I want to wear them in the morning. A. press B. smooth C. crease D. flatten
26. The sea between Dover and Calais was so… that most of the passengers were seasick. A. choppy B. heavy C. bumpy D. gusty
27. I’d like to have a bath, but there doesn’ t seem to be a … or anything to stop the water running away. A. lid B. cork C. plug D. cap
28. The frightened horse began to … away from the snake. A. shy B. fear C. throw D. tip
29. The safe deposit box … a high-pitched sound when it was moved. A. ejected B. expelled C. emitted D. exuded
30. It’s hard to do … to such a masterpiece. A. judgement B. justice C. fair play D. fairness
31. This jacket would be ideal in winter: it has a fur … . A. coating B. backing C. filling D. lining
32. The runner with the injured foot…across the finishing line. A. limped B. trundled C. scrambled D. flashed
33. In the days before the widespread use of … , having an operation must have been a gruelling experience. A. aesthetes B. aesthetics C. anaesthetics D. anaesthetists
34. It had been a trying afternoon, …. at about 6 o’clock in the TV breaking down. A. culminating B. leading C. arriving D. finalising
35. She gave up nursing training when she found she had no … for looking after the sick. A. vocation B. mission C. service D. ambition
Part 2. For questions 36-45, read the text below, use the words given in capitals at the end of
some of the lines to form a word that fits in the gap in the same line.
The twentieth-century study of Vermeer's works was gravely
hampered by the activities of Hans Van Meegeren, whose (36) ___________ NOTORIOUS
stems from a series of stunning (37) ___________ painted in the 1930’s FORGE
and 40’s. Van Meegeren exploited the art world’s (38) ___________ of IGNORE
Vermeer’s early life by painting a number of fakes that went on to be
(39) ___________ as genuine works of Vermeer by the leading authorities AUTHENTIC
of the day. His (40) ___________ were only exposed in the aftermath of DECEIVE
World War II, when a (41) ___________ Vermeer was found amongst the SUPPOSE
numerous illicit (42) ___________ of Hermann Goering. It was soon ACQUIRE
established that he had been sold the painting by Van Meegeren, who
was arrested as a collaborator. In order to escape possible (43) ___________ EXECUTE
Van Meegeren confessed to having forged the picture only to find
that his story was met with total (44) ___________ . To test his claim, he BELIEVE
was locked in a studio with a panel of experts and ordered to produce
another “Vermeer”: stunned by the (45) ___________ of his technique, the MASTER
judges released him before he had even completed the painting.
Part 3. For questions 46-50, fill each blank with a suitable preposition or particle.
46. He showed great ingenuity ___________ solving the problem.
47. Don’t let him lure you ___________ agreeing.
48. You’re silly not to avail yourself ___________ this good opportunity.
49. The speaker made many allusions ___________ the new scheme.
50. Stop wasting time! Get to my office ___________ the double. 3
Part 4. For questions 51 -55, fill the following sentences with suitable words in the box.
on the shelf at all costs cows tall stomach donkey
51. We must ___________ catch the 7.30 train. Otherwise, we won’t get to the meeting in time.
52. She loved tennis and could watch it until the ___________ came home.
53. When I was growing up in Wales, a girl was considered to be ___________ if she wasn’t married
by the time she was twenty - five.
54. You need to have a strong ___________ to work in a slaughterhouse.
55. Don’t believe a word he says; it’s just another of his ___________ stories.
Part 5. For questions 56-70, complete the following article by writing each missing word in the
correct blank. Use only ONE word for each space.
(56) ___________ civilization and culture are fairly modern words, having (57) ___________
into prominent use during the 19th century by anthropologists, historians, and literary figures. There
has (58) ___________ a strong tendency to use them interchangeably as (59) ___________ they mean
the same thing, (60) ___________ they are not the same.
Although modern in (61) ___________ usage, the two words are derived from ancient Latin.
The word “civilization” is (62) ___________ on the Latin civis, “inhabitant of a city.” Thus
civilization, in its most essential meaning, is the ability of people to live (63) ___________
harmoniously in cities, in social groupings. From this definition it would seem that certain (64)
___________, such as ants or bees, are also civilized. They live and work together in social groups. So
(65) ___________ some microorganisms. But there is more to civilization, and that is (66)
___________ culture brings to it. So, civilization is (67) ___________ from culture.
The word culture is (68) ___________ from the Latin verb colere, “to till the soil” (its past
participle is cultus, associated with cultivate). But colere also has a wider range of meanings. It may,
like civis, (69) ___________ inhabiting a town or village. But (70) ___________ of its definitions
suggest a process of starting and promoting growth and development.
SECTION THREE: READING COMPREHENSION (75/ 200 points)
Part 1. For questions 71 - 83, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B,C or D) best fits each space. Modern barging
There has been a (71) … change in the way the canals of Britain are used. The (72) … network
of canals that covers much of the country (73)… back to the industrial revolution, when goods
were transported along these routes. The canals themselves, the (74) … waterways of the
country, were dug by teams of men. This was no (75)…feat in the days before mechanised
diggers. It .was also necessary to construct a system of locks, which raise and lower boats so they can
(76)… with the varying height of the canals themselves. Barges-simple boats without engines -
were used to carry the freight, and horses would (77) … along the side of the canal pulling these
vessels. Many of the people working on the boats would themselves live on the water, in a long
boat with cramped living quarters: a narrowboat.
As the railways and roads (78) … in popularity as ways of transporting freight, the canals fell into
(79) …; many of them became (80) … with weeds and rubbish. But over the last few decades
Britain appears to have rediscovered these (81) … of engineering. A growing number of people
each year sample the delights of canal holidays. Narrowboats can be (82) … up to be very
comfortable, and these days they are (83) … by an engine and not pulled by a horse. 71. A. prime B. fundamental C. downright D. deep-rooted 72. A. extensive B. far-flung C. ample D. widespread 73. A. comes B. looks C. throws D. dates 4 74. A. inbuilt B. inland C. internal D. interior 75. A. modest B. mean C. minor D.tiny 76. A. balance B. compensate C. cope D. handle 77. A. trudge B. canter C. stroll D. meander 78. A. increased B. obtained C. gained D. assumed 79. A. disuse B. obsolescence C. redundancy D. negligence 80. A. impeded B. choked C. hindered D. congested 81. A. records B. testimonies C. constructions D. monuments 82. A. done B. worked C. customised D. converted 83. A. equipped B. supplied C. drawn D. powered
Part 2. Reading the following passage and answer questions 84 -107.
The Reading Passage has seven paragraphs A-G. From the list of headings below, choose the most
suitable heading for each paragraph. LIST OF HEADINGS
i. Some success has resulted from observing how the brain functions.
ii. Are we expecting too much from one robot?
iii. Scientists are examining the humanistic possibilities.
iv. There are judgements that robots cannot make.
v. Has the power of robots become too great?
vi. Human skills have been heightened with the help of robotics.
vii. There are some things we prefer the brain to control.
viii. Robots have quietly infiltrated our lives.
ix. Original predictions have been revised.
x. Another approach meets the same result. 84. Paragraph A __ 85. Paragraph B __ 86. Paragraph C __ 87. Paragraph D __ 88. Paragraph E __ 89. Paragraph F __ 90. Paragraph G __ ROBOTS
Since the dawn of human ingenuity, people have devised ever more cunning tools to cope with work
that is dangerous, boring, onerous, or just plain nasty. That compulsion has culminated in robotics -
the science of conferring various human capabilities on machines. A.
The modern world is increasingly populated by quasi-intelligent gizmos whose presence we
barely notice but whose creeping ubiquity has removed much human drudgery. Our factories hum to
the rhythm of robot assembly arms. Our banking is done at automated teller terminals that thank us
with rote politeness for the transaction. Our subway trains are controlled by tireless robo-drivers. Our
mine shafts are dug by automated moles, and our nuclear accidents - such as those at Three Mile Island
and Chernobyl - are cleaned up by robotic muckers fit to withstand radiation.
Such is the scope of uses envisioned by Karel Capek, the Czech playwright who coined the
term ‘robot’ in 1920 (the word ‘robota’ means ‘forced labor’ in Czech). As progress accelerates, the
experimental becomes the exploitable at record pace. B.
Other innovations promise to extend the abilities of human operators. Thanks to the incessant
miniaturisation of electronics and micro-mechanics, there are already robot systems that can perform
some kinds of brain and bone surgery with submillimeter accuracy - far greater precision than highly
skilled physicians can achieve with their hands alone. At the same time, techniques of long-distance
control will keep people even farther from hazard. In 1994, a ten-foot-tall NASA robotic explorer 5
called Dante, with video-camera eyes and with spiderlike legs, scrambled over the menacing rim of an
Alaskan volcano while technicians 2,000 miles away in California watched the scene by satellite and controlied Dante’s descent. C.
But if robots are to reach the next stage of labour-saving utility, they will have to operate with
less human supervision and be able to make at least a few decisions for themselves - goals that pose a
formidable challenge. ‘While we know how to tell a robot to handle a specific error,’ says one expert,
‘we can’t yet give a robot enough common sense to reliably interact with a dynamic world.’ Indeed the
quest for true artificial intelligence (AI) has produced very mixed results. Despite a spasm of initial
optimism in the 1960s and 1970s, when it appeared that transistor circuits and microprocessors might
be able to perform in the same way as the human brain by the 21st century, researchers lately have
extended their forecasts by decades if not centuries. D.
What they found, in attempting to model thought, is that the human brain’s roughly one
hundred billion neurons are much more talented-and human perception far more complicated-than
previously imagined. They have built robots that can recognise the misalignment of a machine panel
by a fraction of a millimeter in a controlled factory environment. But the human mind can glimpse a
rapidly changing scene and immediately disregard the 98 per cent that is irrelevant, instantaneously
focusing on the woodchuck at the side of a winding forest road or the single suspicious face in a
tumultuous crowd. The most advanced computer systems on Earth can’t approach that kind of ability,
and neuroscientists still don’t know quite how we do it. E.
Nonetheless, as information theorists, neuroscientists, and computer experts pool their talents,
they are finding ways to get some lifelike intelligence from robots. One method renounces the linear,
logical structure of conventional electronic circuits in favour of the messy, ad hoc arrangement of a
real brain’s neurons. These ‘neural networks’ do not have to be programmed. They can ‘teach’
themselves by a system of feedback signals that reinforce electrical pathways that produced correct
responses and, conversely, wipe out connections that produced errors. Eventually the net wires itself
into a system that can pronounce certain words or distinguish certain shapes. F.
In other areas, researchers are struggling to fashion a more natural relationship between people
and robots in the expectation that some day machines will take on some tasks now done by humans in,
say, nursing homes. This is particularly important in Japan, when the percentage of elderly citizens is
rapidly increasing. So experiments at the Science University of Tokyo have created a ‘face robot’ - a
life-size, soft plastic model of a female heat with a video camera imbedded in the left eye - as a
prototype. The researchers’goal is to create robots that people feel comfortable around. They are
concentrating on the face because they believe facial expressions are the most important way to
transfer emotional messages. We read those messages by interpreting expressions to decide whether a
person is happy, frightened, angry, or nervous. Thus, the Japanese robot is designed to detect emotions
in the person it is ‘looking at’ by sensing changes in the spatial arrangement of the person’s eyes, nose,
eyebrows, and mouth. It compares those configurations with a database of standard facial expressions
and guesses the emotion. The robot then uses an ensemble of tiny pressure pads to adjust its plastic
face into an appropriate emotional response. G.
Other labs are taking a different approach, one that doesn’t try to mimic human intelligence or
emotions. Just as computer design has moved away from one central mainframe in favour of myriad
individual workstations - and single processors have been replaced by arrays of smaller units that
break a big problem into parts that are solved simultaneously - many experts are now investigating
whether swarms of semi-smart robots can generate a collective intelligence that is greater than the sum
of its parts. That’s what beehives and ant colony do, and several teams are betting that legions of mini-
critters working together like an ant colony could be sent to explore the climate of planets or to inspect
pipes in dangerous industrial situations.
Questions 91-95. Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Reading
Passage ? In boxes 91-95 on your answer sheet write YES
if the statement agrees with the information NO
if the statement contradicts the information 6
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this in the passage
91. Karel Capek successfully predicted our current uses for robots. __
92. Lives were saved by the NASA robot, Dante. __
93. Robots are able to make fine visual judgements. __
94. The internal workings of the brain can be replicated by robots. __
95. The Japanese have the most advanced robot systems. __ Questions 96-98
Complete the summary below with words taken from paragraph F. Use NO MORE THAN THREE
WORDS for each answer.
The prototype of the Japanese ‘face robot’ observes humans through a (96) ___________ which is
planted in its head. It then refers to a (97) ___________ of typical ‘looks’ that the human face can
have, to decide what emotion the person is feeling. To respond to this expression, the robot alters its
own expression using a number of (98) ___________ .
Part 3. You are going to read an extract from a magazine article. Six paragraphs have
been moved from the extract. Choose from the paragraphs A -G the one which fits each
gap(99-104).There is one extra paragraph you do not need to use. NATURAL TALENTS
In the mere seven million years since we humans separated from chimpanzees, we haven’t had
time to develop any differences: genetically we’re still more than 98 per cent identical to chimps. 99
That’s a large burden to place on a relative handful of genes. It should come as no surprise, then,
that modern studies of animal behaviour have been shrinking the list of attributes once considered
uniquely human, so that most differences between us and animals now appear to be only matters of degree. 100
The earliest art forms may well have been wood carvings or body painting. But if they were, we
wouldn’t know it, because those materials don’t get preserved. Not until the Cro-Magnons,
beginning around 35,000 years ago, do we have unequivocal evidence for a distinctly human art,
in the form of the famous cave paintings, statues, necklaces and musical instruments. 101
First, as Oscar Wilde said, “All art is quite useless”. The implicit meaning a biologist sees behind this
quip is that human art doesn't help us survive or pass on our genes - the evident functions of most
animal behaviours. Of course, much human art is utilitarian in the sense that the artist
communicates something to fellow humans, but transmitting one’s thoughts or feelings isn’t the
same as passing on one’s genes. In contrast, birdsong serves the obvious functions of defending a
territory or wooing a mate, and thereby transmitting genes. By this criterion human art does seem different. 102
As for human art’s third distinction - that it’s a learned rather than an instinctive activity - each
human group does have distinctive art styles that surely are learned. For example, it’s easy to
distinguish typical songs being sung today in Tokyo and in Paris. But those stylistic differences
aren’t wired into the singer’s genes. The French and Japanese often visit each other’s cities and can
learn each other’s songs. In contrast, some species of birds inherit the ability to produce the
particular song of their species. Each of those birds would sing the right song even if it had never
heard the tune. It’s as if a French baby adopted by Japanese parents, flown in infancy to Tokyo
and educated there, began to sing the French national anthem spontaneously. 103
Yet even connoisseurs would mistake the identity of two mid-twentieth century artists named
Congo and Betsy. If judged only by their works, they would probably be identified as lesser-
known abstract expressionists. In fact the painters were chimpanzees. Congo did up to 33 paintings 7
and drawings in one day, apparently for his own satisfaction, and threw a tantrum when his pencil was taken away. 104
These paintings by our closest relatives, then, do start to blur some distinctions between human art
and animal activities. Like human paintings, the ape paintings served no narrow utilitarian
functions; they were produced not for material regard but only for the painter’s satisfaction. You
might object that human art is still different because most human artists intend their art as a means
of communication. The apes, on the other hand, were so indifferent to communicating with other
apes that they just discarded their paintings. But that objection doesn’t strike me as fatal, since even
some human art that later became famous was created by artists for their private satisfaction. A.
Perhaps we can now explain why art as we usually define it - the dazzling explosion of
human art since Cro-Magnon times - burst out spontaneously among only one species, even though
other species may be capable of producing it. Since chimps do, in fact, paint in captivity, why don’t
they do so in the wild? I suggest that wild chimps still have their days filled with problems of finding
food, surviving, and fending off rivals. If the ancestors of wild chimps had more leisure time,
chimps today would be painting. Indeed, some slightly modified chimps - we humans - are. B.
The role of learning in human art is also clear in how quickly our art styles change. Roman
authors described geese honking 2,000 years ago, as geese still do today. But humans innovate so
rapidly that even a casual museum-goer would recognise almost any twentieth century painting
as having been made later than, say, the Mona Lisa. Connoisseurs can do better, of course. When
shown a work with which they are not familiar, they can often identify not only when it was painted but who painted it. C.
Congo and Betsy were honoured by a two -chinip show of their paintings in 1957 at
London’s Institute of Contemporary Art. What's more, most of the paintings available at that show
sold; plenty of human artists can’t make that boast. D.
On this grand evolutionary scale, whatever it is that separates humans from animals is a very
recent development. Our biological history implies that our physical capacity for making art
(whatever changes were needed in the human physique, brain, and sense organs) and anything else we
consider uniquely human must be due to just a tiny fraction of our genes. E.
If we’re going to insist that our recent creative burst finally does set us apart, then in what ways
do we claim that our art differs from the superficially similar works of animals? Three supposed
distinctions are often put forward: human art is non-utilitarian, it’s made for aesthetic pleasure and
it’s transmitted by learning rather than by genes. Let’s scrutinise these claims. F.
For example, tools are used not only by humans but also by wild chimpanzees (which use
sticks as eating utensils and weapons), and sea otters (which crack open clams with rocks). As for
language, monkeys have a simple one, with separate warning sounds for ‘leopard’, ‘eagle’ and
‘snake’. These discoveries leave us with few absolute differences, other than art, between ourselves and
animals. But if human art sprang from a unique genetic endowment, isn’t it strange that our ancestors
dispensed with it for at least the first 6.9 million of the 7 million years since they diverged from chimps? G.
The second claim - that only human art is motivated by aesthetic pleasure - also seems plausible.
While we can’t ask robins whether they enjoy the form or beauty of their songs, it’s suspicious that
they sing mainly during the breeding season. Hence they’re probably not singing just for aesthetic
pleasure. Again, by this criterion human art seems unique.
Part 4. You are going to read a newspaper article which discusses alternative systems for
vehicles. For questions 105-120, choose from the section (A-F).
In which section of the article are the following mentioned?
105. __ the advantages of conventional cars
106. __ a more compact version of existing technology 8
107. __ a willingness to invest in new technologies
108. __ limitations concerning where a vehicle can be used
109. __ a power source associated with a space programme
110. __ recycling waste products
111. __ a negative aesthetic impression
112. __ laws that encourage the development of new technologies
113. __ the inability to transport many people
114. __ devices that function best when conditions are constant
115. __ the rate of acceleration of a vehicle
116. __ the possibility of returning to a source of power used in the past
117. __ the existence of a market for a certain type of vehicle
118. __ the ability to switch from one power source to another
119. __ a car that is expensive to buy, and that has relatively low running costs
120. __ a car can change position itself. Vehicles of the Future A.
The motor industry is finally showing some serious interest in developing cost-effective
and environmentally-friendly technologies to power vehicles, as can be seen by the amount of
money they are spending on research and development. There are some sound reasons for this:
nowadays a significant number of people would prefer to buy a vehicle that did not emit
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere or pollute the environment in other ways. But there are other
forces at work in the industry as well. Governments throughout the world are demanding
restrictions on gas emissions, and the goals they have set can only be met in the long run if
conventional cars with internal combustion engines are phased out and replaced by vehicles that
run on alternative power sources. Naturally, public opinion is ultimately behind legislation like
this, which is aimed at protecting the environment. Governments, after all, need to respond to the wishes of their voters. B.
For the last few decades innovators have been coming up with ideas for alternative power
sources for automobiles, though so far none has had a significant appeal for consumers. The
alternative technologies we have at present are lagging far behind the petrol-guzzling internal
combustion engine in terms of speed and the distance that can be travelled before refuelling. But
what does the future hold? At present a hybrid car propelled by a combination of an electric
motor and petrol engine may be the best compromise for those who want to help save the planet and
still have the convenience of a car. When you start the hybrid car and when you are driving
normally, power is provided by the electric motor, which works with a battery. However, when
the battery starts to go flat, the petrol engine starts automatically and drives a generator to recharge
the battery. Similarly, when the car needs extra power - in order to accelerate, for instance - the petrol
engine provides that power. This vehicle performs respectably, though not spectacularly: it can go
from 0 to about 100 kph in around 10 seconds, has a top speed of 165 kph, and below average fuel consumption. C.
And what of cars powered solely by electricity? Here the main stumbling block has
always been storing the electricity: batteries may have come a long way, but they are still bulky
and have to be charged for long periods. The latest completely electric car, for example, has a top
speed of 60 kph and a range of 60 kilometres. It takes 6 hours to charge the battery fully. But the
makers claim this is perfectly acceptable for city driving, when people are unable to go much
faster or further in any case. Many cities provide benefits such as free parking for drivers of electric
cars. But these vehicles are virtually confined to urban settings, which is off-putting, and most
people find electric cars have a toy-like appearance which is definitely not appealing. Moreover,
environmentalists point out that while the car itself may not emit poisonous fumes, as is the case
with petrol-driven vehicles, this is of little real benefit to the environment if the electricity used to
drive the car has been generated by coal or oil power stations, as is generally the case. D.
First developed for use in missions to the moon, fuel cells appear to be the most serious 9
challenger to the internal combustion engine as an alternative source of energy for both mobile and
stationary applications. A fuel cell uses relatively straightforward technology that converts
chemical energy into electrical energy with benign by-products. In fact, the only by-products are
water, which is harmless, and heat. The other advantage is that fuel cells have no complex moving
parts that need to be cooled or lubricated. But rather than replacing the internal combustion engine as
the source of power for the vehicle itself, the fuel cell - in the view of some manufacturers - will only
replace the battery and alternator, supplying electricity to vehicle systems, operating independently of
the engine. The actual drive power for the vehicle itself would still be provided by the combustion
engine. However, while fuel cells certainly hold a great deal of promise, there are some drawbacks. They
need a steady supply of hydrogen, which needs to be extracted from some source, such as methanol
gas, and this process can be cumbersome. In one model that uses fuel cells, the reformer required to
extract the hydrogen from methanol takes up so much space that the vehicle can only seat the driver and one passenger, E.
Another possibility is represented by turbines. Gas turbines have long been considered a
possible mobile and smaller stationary power source, but their use has been limited for a variety
of reasons, including cost, complexity and size. These large turbines shine when in steady-state
applications but are not as efficient when speed and load are continually changing. However, a
new generation of turbines - microturbines - has been developed in large measure for use in
vehicles. They are small, high-speed engine systems that typically include the turbine, compressor
and generator in a single unit with all the other vital components and control electronics. A
different possibility in terms of energy supply for cars is household gas. A special device installed
in a garage can compress the gas, which is then fed into the car. A gas car is cheaper to run, as
well as being cleaner than a conventional car. On the other hand, the vehicle itself is expensive
because the technology is new, and environmentalists argue that a gas car will produce only a
little less carbon dioxide than petrol-driven vehicles. F.
In the meantime, various compromises are being employed as temporary measures. For
example, most diesel cars can now be converted to run on biodiesel fuel, which is made from used
vegetable oils and animal fats. However, the environment lobby is not convinced that biodiesel helps
cut local air pollution by any significant amount. Many experts believe that the ultimate solution to the
problem of reducing dangerous emissions ultimately lies with electric vehicles once the battery technology
has improved. Some experts even believe that the future may lie with steam cars, and since the first
genuine ‘automobile’ - a vehicle capable of moving itself - was powered by steam more than two centuries
ago, it could be that the wheel is coming full circle.
SECTION FOUR: WRITING (35/ 200 points)
Part 1. For each of the sentences below, write a new sentence as similar as possible in meaning to
the original sentence, using the word given. This word must not be altered in any way.
121. That guy was a secret enemy. (SNAKE)
->...................................................................................
122. This car is far superior to the other models. (CUT)
->...................................................................................
123. Assembling the furniture is extremely easy. (PLAY)
->...................................................................................
124. I think his theory is clear and logical. (stands)
->...................................................................................
125. He is a generous person. (NAME)
->................................................................................... 10
Part 2. Write a report describing the information in the graph below.
You should write at least 150 words. ---THE END--- 11