Kỳ thi thử chọn học sinh giỏi quốc gia THPT năm 2019 THPT Chuyên Thái Nguyên

SỞ GD – ĐT THÁI NGUYÊN
KỲ THI THỬ CHỌN HỌC SINH GIỎI QUỐC GIA THPT Trường THPT Chuyên NĂM 2019 ---------------
Môn thi: TIẾNG ANH
Thời gian: 180 phút (không kể thời gian giao đề) Điểm
Ngày thi: 02/12/2019 
Thí sinh không được sử dụng tài liệu, kể cả từ điển. 
Giám thị không giải thích gì thêm.
Họ và tên: …………………………………………………………………..
____________________________________________________________________ I. LISTENING (50 points)
Part 1: You will hear an interview with Maria Stefanovich, co-founder of a creativity group which organises
workshops for executives. For questions 1-5, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which fits best according to what you hear.
1. Corporations appreciate mask-making workshops because
A. no one wants negative faces at the office.
B. unhappy employees won’t come to work.
C. they realise how their employees see them.
D. their employees change their approach.
2. Companies are turning to creative workshops because they have acknowledged that
A. unproductive employees are a financial burden.
B. the traditional work environment has its limitations.
C. there is an increase in absenteeism.
D. employees are working too hard without enjoying it.
3. The employees at the firm ‘Play’
A. change positions frequently to lessen boredom.
B. have business cards indicating their jobs.
C. dress up like comic book characters.
D. do not have stereotyped ideas about their jobs.
4. The companies that show most interest in creative workshops are surprising because
A. they usually have creative employees to begin with.
B. their employees are the ones who have to present regularly.
C. there are many other exciting workshops they would prefer.
D. their employees should be used to being funny.
5. Maria mentions the traditional companies that have held workshops in order to
A. boast about the clients her company has helped.
B. show that they have a narrow list of clients.
C. downplay the serious reputations of the firms.
D. point out the diversity of those trying different approaches. Your answers: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Part 2: You will hear part of a lecture about the artist Franz Marc. Write: Yes
if the statement agrees with the information in the passage No
if the statement contradicts the information in the passage
6. A few years ago in London, some paintings by Franz Marc were sold at record prices
7. Almost all of Marc’s paintings feature a purple and blue horse standing in a landscape of primary colours
8. In The Fate of the Animals Marc seems to offer a warning of the impending Great War.
9. The art group The Blue Rider were aiming to capture the purity of style often found in paintings by children.
10. Marc’s life ended tragically in the war in 1960 when he was killed by a grenade in France. Your answers: 1 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Part 3: You will hear an radio talk about ley line. Answer the following questions, write NO MORE THAN FIVE WORDS for each answer.
11. Which part of many ley lines is the location of the Glastonbury Tor?
__________________________________________________
12. What did ancient peoples mark by building structures along them?
__________________________________________________
13. What is believed to be an indication of the Earth’s geomagnetic energy by Ruth?
__________________________________________________
14. Why may ancient peoples have been drawn to ley lines?
Because they were __________________________________________________
15. What are ancient civilizations claimed to have made when erecting monuments in order to represent the
position of certain groups of stars?
__________________________________________________
Part 4: For questions 16-25, listen to a piece of news from the BBC and fill in the missing information. Write
NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS taken from the recording for each answer in the spaces provided.
Recently in the Great Pyramids, a 100-feet long space, which is called a (16) ______________________, has been
discovered lately. According to the “Nature”, this is a significant discovery to the archaeology because since the
1800s, there has been no other significant discovery like this (17) ________________________ . However,
whether this can help to unravel the ancient mysteries is (18) ________________________. There is no proof that
a/an (19) _______________________ or burial chamber can be found from this space. There may be more others
like this in the pyramid and this discovery is expected to help the researchers find out how it was built. To identify
this space, not allowed to (20) ________________________ or use cameras, they had to take use of some
appliances to track (21) ________________________ inside the structure. That’s not the only way the modern
technology is helping archaeologists.
Adam Low, an archaeologist, admitted to being a man with (22) _________________________ the tomb of a
Pharaoh, Seti I. It can be learnt from the tomb how ancient people have different thoughts, different values and (23)
_______________________. He can read the way they thought through the (24) ________________________ on
the walls. With the help of technology, a dialogue crossing time can be built and become one of the most exciting
moment. “the Hall of Beauties” is, in fact, only a (25) __________________________ built in a museum in Switzerland.
II. LEXICO GRAMMAR: (20 points)
Part 1: For questions 26-35, choose the best answer (A, B, C or D) to each of the following questions
26. Mr Smith ate his breakfast in great ________ so as not to miss the bus to Liverpool. A. Speed B. pace C. rush D. haste
27. The whole situation is getting out of ________. Let’s do something before it turns into a bitter row. A. capacity B. charge C. hand D. discipline
28. The weekend is over, so tomorrow morning it’s back to the________ . A. grind B. labour C. drudgery D. toil
29. I really admire the hero of the film. He’s so ________. A. reckless B. adventurous C. foolhardy D. instinctive
30. The experimental play was only a________ success, which disappointed the playwright. A. local B. qualified C. reserved D. cautious
31. It takes time to get a financial system up and ________ after the introduction of a new currency. A. walking B. proceeding C. running D. going
32. Life is so full of both good fortune and misfortunes that you have to learn to take the rough with the________. A. smooth B. ready C. calm D. tough
33. Stephen really lost his________ when his dental appointment was cancelled yet again. A. head B. voice C. calm D. rag
34. Don’t take it as ________ that you’ll be promoted in your job; other colleagues stand a good chance too A. fixed B. standard C. read D. word 2
35. When my new motor kept breaking down, I knew I’d been taken for a _____ by the second-hand car salesman. A. drive B. ride C. walk D. stroll Your answers: 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35.
Part 2: The passage below contains 5 errors in spelling, grammar, word form. For questions 36-40,
underline the errors and write the corrections EAR INFECTIONS
One of the most prevalent illnesses in children under three is ear infections. These can be quite painful and will
often result in inccessant crying. Ear infections are caused when bacteriums or viruses get into the inside of the ear.
The Eustachian tubes, which supply the ear with air, become swollen or inflaming. The adenoids, cell clusters near
these tubes that fight infections, can also become infected and the block tubes. Children’s Eustachian tubes are
smaller but straighter, and their adenoids are large. This means that the tubes do not drain as well, that often results
in the adenoids impeding flow through the tubes. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40.
Part 4: Read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of some of the lines to form a word
that fits in the space in the same line. Cacti
Cacti have enjoyed an enduring popularity among gardeners spanning several
centuries. Perhaps this is due in part to their unusual appearance: more often than not,
they consist of swollen stems covered in spines. Unlike other plants, cacti can squat in
their pots, (41) __________________ in suspended animation, for months, showing little APPEAR
sign of growth or development; then suddenly, their flowers will burst forth, dazzling
observers with their gloriously vibrant colours. Added to this is the fact that they come in
a huge variety of shapes, sizes and forms, so many gardeners, myself included, find
themselves (42) ___________________ drawn to these extraordinary plants. RESIST
You do not have to be an expert to grow cacti, and the (43) _________________ INITIATE
needn't be concerned about cultivating them because they are among the easiest of plants
to care for. Their (44) ______________________ are simple and few. Plenty of light, a REQUIRE
little compost and occasional watering will keep them happy and healthy. Also, their
hardy constitution (45) ____________________ them to withstand harsh climatic ABLE
conditions in the wild. So should you neglect to water them, they are unlikely to object.
For this reason, I recommend them to the young enthusiasts who ask me about starting their own windowsill gardens. III. READING: (50 points)
Part 1. Read the following passage and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap. DIAGNOSING DYSLEXIA
Approximately five per cent of the population (0) __ suffer__ from dyslexia. The cause of the disorder is
unknown and it is (46) ________ found in people of otherwise normal intectual ability. The condition is (47)
________ by severe reading difficulties, with dyslexics frequently confusing letters or words. They may, for
example, read or write letters, words or sentences in the wrong (48) ________. Although the problem can be
overcome with intensive instruction, sufferers usually continue to read and write poorly throughout their lives.
Traditionally, diagnosis has been made by reading experts, which means that many (49) ________ are not
formally (50) ________ until a child is around ten years of age. Now, however, a group of psychologists in the
United States believe that they have found a way of identifying in their first days of life children who will develop
dyslexia. This is exciting news as early identification and (51) ________ make early instruction possible, perhaps
avoiding later problems altogether.
The research team has identified (52) ________ differences between the brain (53) ________ patterns of
dyslexics and those of better readers. Attaching electrodes to the heads of babies just 36 hours old , they measured
the size and speed of their brain responses to selected stimuli. The children were (54) ________ and given IQ and 3
comprehension tests every two years. At eight, reading tests were administered to identify those who were
dyslexic. More than 90 percent diagnosed as dyslexic could have been singled out at birth.
This research is still in its (55) ________ but may result in a future in which dyslexia no longer causes life long distress. 46. A. naturally B. commonly C. customarily D. Actually 47. A. characterized B. distinguished C. marked D. Identified 48. A. arrangement B. series C. sequence D. Order 49. A. instances B. cases C. times D. Occurrences 50. A. picked up B. noted down C. shown up D. put down 51. A. interference B. intrusion C. intervention D. Recognition 52. A. frank B. evident C. distinct D. precise 53. A. pace B. wave C. pulse D. Signal 54. A. monitored B. viewed C. followed D. Inspected 55. A. beginnings B. infancy C. outset D. Origins 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55.
Part 2: For questions 56- 65, read the text again and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap. Getting ready for Mars
The 'Mars 500 project' (56) ________________ an experiment that simulated a return mission to Mars. Spending
18 months in a sealed facility in Moscow (57) _______________ access to natural light or fresh air, six men were
monitored as they attended (58) _______________ their daily duties. A study into (59) _______________ each
of them coped with the psychological and physical constraints of the mission has found that there were wide
differences in their wake-sleep patterns. For example, (60) _______________ most of the crew began to sleep for
longer periods as the mission progressed and boredom set in, one individual slept progressively less, resulting (61)
_______________ him becoming chronically sleep-deprived towards the end of the (62) _______________ .
Identifying bad sleepers could be important on a real Mars mission, during (63) _______________ people are
required to be constantly alert even when days are tediously similar. Researchers warn that for any astronaut
heading to Mars, exciting as the trip might initially seem, (64) _______________ could be problems with stress
brought on by the monotony of routine. However, they also report that (65)_______________ some personal
tensions between crew members, there was overall harmony within the group.
Part 3. Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C or D) according to the text. Write
your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes.
Orientation and Navigation
To South Americans, robins are birds that fly north every spring. To North Americans, the robins simply vacation
in the south each winter. Furthermore, they fly to very specific places in South America and will often come back
to the same trees in North American yards the following spring. The question is not why they would leave the cold
of winter so much as how they find their way around. The question perplexed people for years, until, in the 1950s,
a German scientist named Gustavo Kramer provided some answers and. in the process, raised new questions.
Kramer initiated important new kinds of research regarding how animals orient and navigate. Orientation is simply
facing in the right direction; navigation involves finding ones way from point A to point B.
Early in his research, Kramer found that caged migratory birds became very restless at about the time they would
normally have begun migration in the wild. Furthermore, he noticed that as they fluttered around in the cage, they
often launched themselves in the direction of their normal migratory route. He then set up experiments with caged
starlings and found that their orientation was, in fact, in the proper migratory direction except when the sky was
overcast, at which times there was no clear direction to their restless movements. Kramer surmised, therefore, that
they were orienting according to the position of the Sun. To test this idea, he blocked their view of the Sun and
used mirrors to change its apparent position. He found that under these circumstances, the birds oriented with
respect to the new "Sun." They seemed to be using the Sun as a compass to determine direction. At the time, this 4
idea seemed preposterous. How could a bird navigate by the Sun when some of us lose our way with road maps?
Obviously, more testing was in order.
So, in another set of experiments, Kramer put identical food boxes around the cage, with food in only one of the
boxes. The boxes were stationary, and the one containing food was always at the same point of the compass.
However, its position with respect to the surroundings could be changed by revolving either the inner cage
containing the birds or the outer walls, which served as the background. As long as the birds could see the Sun, no
matter how their surroundings were altered, they went directly to the correct food box. Whether the box appeared
in front of the right wall or the left wall, they showed no signs of confusion. On overcast days, however, the birds
were disoriented and had trouble locating their food box.
In experimenting with artificial suns, Kramer made another interesting discovery. If the artificial Sun remained
stationary, the birds would shift their direction with respect to it at a rate of about 15 degrees per hour, the Sun's
rate of movement across the sky. Apparently, the birds were assuming that the "Sun" they saw was moving at that
rate. When the real Sun was visible, however, the birds maintained a constant direction as it moved across the sky.
In other words, they were able to compensate for the Sun's movement. This meant that some sort of biological
clock was operating-and a very precise clock at that.
What about birds that migrate at night? Perhaps they navigate by the night sky. To test the idea, caged night-
migrating birds were placed on the floor of a planetarium during their migratory period. A planetarium is
essentially a theater with a domelike ceiling onto which a night sky can be projected for any night of the year.
When the planetarium sky matched the sky outside, the birds fluttered in the direction of their normal migration.
But when the dome was rotated, the birds changed their direction to match the artificial sky. The results clearly
indicated that the birds were orienting according to the stars.
There is accumulating evidence indicating that birds navigate by using a wide variety of environmental cues.
Other areas under investigation include magnetism, landmarks, coastlines, sonar, and even smells. The studies are
complicated by the fact that the data are sometimes contradictory and the mechanisms apparently change from time
to time. Furthermore, one sensory ability may back up another.
66. Which of the following can be inferred about bird migration from paragraph 1?
A. Birds will take the most direct migratory route to their new habitat.
B. The purpose of migration is to join with larger groups of birds.
C. Bird migration generally involves moving back and forth between north and south.
D. The destination of birds' migration can change from year to year.
67. The word ‘perplexed’ in the passage is closest in meaning to _____. A. defeated B. interested C. puzzled D. occupied
68. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the underlined sentence in the
passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
A. Experiments revealed that caged starlings displayed a lack of directional sense and restless movements.
B. Experiments revealed that caged starlings were unable to orient themselves in the direction of their normal migratory route.
C. Experiments revealed that the restless movement of caged starlings had no clear direction.
D. Experiments revealed that caged starlings' orientation was accurate unless the weather was overcast.
69. The word ‘preposterous’ in the passage is closest in meaning to _____. A. unbelievable B. inadequate C. limited D. creative
70. According to paragraph 3, why did Kramer use mirrors to change the apparent position of the Sun?
A. To test the effect of light on the birds' restlessness
B. To test whether birds were using the Sun to navigate
C. To simulate the shifting of light the birds would encounter along their regular migratory route
D. To cause the birds to migrate at a different time than they would in the wild
71. According to paragraph 3, when do caged starlings become restless?
A. When the weather is overcast
B. When they are unable to identify their normal migratory route
C. When their normal time for migration arrives
D. When mirrors are used to change the apparent position of the Sun
72. Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 4 about Kramer’s reason for filling one food box and leaving the rest empty?
A. He believed the birds would eat food from only one box. 5
B. He wanted to see whether the Sun alone controlled the birds' ability to navigate toward the box with food.
C. He thought that if all the boxes contained food, this would distract the birds from following their migratory route.
D. He needed to test whether the birds preferred having the food at any particular point of the compass.
73. According to paragraph 5, how did the birds fly when the real Sun was visible?
A. They kept the direction of their flight constant.
B. They changed the direction of their flight at a rate of 15 degrees per hour.
C. They kept flying toward the Sun.
D. They flew in the same direction as the birds that were seeing the artificial Sun.
74. The experiment described in paragraph 5 caused Kramer to conclude that birds possess a biological clock because _____.
A. when birds navigate they are able to compensate for the changing position of the Sun in the sky
B. birds innate bearings keep them oriented in a direction that is within 15 degrees of the Suns direction
C. birds' migration is triggered by natural environmental cues, such as the position of the Sun
D. birds shift their direction at a rate of 15 degrees per hour whether the Sun is visible or not
75. According to paragraph 6, how did the birds navigate in the planetarium's nighttime environment?
A. By waiting for the dome to stop rotating
B. By their position on the planetarium floor
C. By orienting themselves to the stars in the artificial night sky
D. By navigating randomly until they found the correct orientation 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75.
Part 4. Read the passage and do the tasks that follow
Party Labels in Mid-Eighteenth Century England
A. Until the late 1950s the Whig interpretation of English history in the eighteenth century prevailed. This was
successfully challenged by Lewis Namier, who proposed, based on an analysis of the voting records of MPs
from the 1760 intake following the accession to the throne of George III, that the accepted Whig/Tory division
of politics did not hold. He believed that the political life of the period could be explained without these party
labels, and that it was more accurate to characterise political division in terms of the Court versus Country.
B. An attempt was then made to use the same methodology to determine whether the same held for early
eighteenth century politics. To Namier’s chagrin this proved that at the end of Queen Anne’s reign in 1714
voting in parliament was certainly based on party interest, and that Toryism and Whiggism were distinct and
opposed political philosophies. Clearly, something momentous had occurred between 1714 and 1760 to
apparently wipe out party ideology. The Namierite explanation is that the end of the Stuart dynasty on the death
of Queen Anne and the beginning of the Hanoverian with the accession of George I radically altered the political climate.
C. The accession of George I to the throne in 1715 was not universally popular. He was German, spoke little
English, and was only accepted because he promised to maintain the Anglican religion. Furthermore, for those
Tory members of government under Anne, he was nemesis, for his enthronement finally broke the hereditary
principle central to Tory philosophy, confirming the right of parliament to depose or select a monarch.
Moreover, he was aware that leading Tories had been in constant communication with the Stuart court in exile,
hoping to return the banished King James II. As a result, all Tories were expelled from government, some being
forced to escape to France to avoid execution for treason.
D. The failure of the subsequent Jacobite rebellion of 1715, where certain Tory magnates tried to replace George
with his cousin James, a Stuart, albeit a Catholic, was used by the Whig administration to identify the word
“Tory” with treason. This was compounded by the Septennial Act of 1716, limiting elections to once every
seven years, which further entrenched the Whig’s power base at the heart of government focussed around the
crown. With the eradication of one of the fundamental tenets of their philosophy, alongside the systematic
replacement of all Tory positions by Whig counterparts, Tory opposition was effectively annihilated. There was,
however, a grouping of Whigs in parliament who were not part of the government.
E. The MPs now generally referred to as the “Independent Whigs” inherently distrusted the power of the
administration, dominated as it was by those called “Court Whigs”. The Independent Whig was almost
invariably a country gentleman, and thus resisted the growth in power of those whose wealth was being made on
the embryonic stock market. For them the permanency of land meant patriotism, a direct interest in one’s nation,
whilst shares, easily transferable, could not be trusted. They saw their role as a check on the administration, a 6
permanent guard against political corruption, the last line of defence of the mixed constitution of monarchy,
aristocracy, and democracy. The reaction against the growing mercantile class was shared by the Tories, also
generally landed country gentlemen. It is thus Namier’s contention, and that of those who follow his work, that
by the 1730s the Tories and the Independent Whigs had fused to form a Country opposition to the Court
administration, thus explaining why voting records in 1760 do not follow standard party lines.
F. It must be recognised that this view is not universally espoused. Revisionist historians such as Linda Colley
dispute that the Tory party was destroyed during this period, and assert the continuation of the Tories as a
discrete and persistent group in opposition, allied to the Independent Whigs but separate. Colley’s thesis is
persuasive, as it is clear that some, at least, regarded themselves as Tories rather than Whigs. She is not so
successful in proving the persistence either of party organisation beyond family connection, or of ideology,
beyond tradition. Furthermore, while the terms “Tory” and “Whig” were used frequently in the political press, it
was a device of the administration rather than the opposition. As Harris notes in his analysis of the “Patriot”
press of the 1740s, there is hardly any discernible difference between Tory and Whig opposition pamphlets,
both preferring to describe themselves as the “Country Interest”, and attacking “the Court”. Questions 86- 90
Reading Passage has 6 paragraphs (A-F). Choose the most suitable heading for each paragraph from the List of headings below.
One of the headings has been done for you as an example.
NB. There are more headings than paragraphs, so you will not use all of them. 76. Paragraph A 77. Paragraph B 78. Paragraph C 79. Paragraph D 80. Paragraph E
Example: Paragraph F Answer: iii List of headings i.
The Whig/Tory division discounted ii.
Maintaining the Anglican religion iii.
The fusion theory challenged and supported iv.
The consequences of George I’s accession v. The Tory landowners vi.
Political divisions in the early 1700s vii.
The failure of the Jacobean rebellion viii.
The Tory opposition effectively destroyed ix.
The fusion of the Independent Whigs and the Tory landowners x.
The Whig interpretation of history 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. Questions 81-85
Do the statements below agree with the information in Reading Passage? Write: Yes
if the statement agrees with the information in the passage No
if the statement contradicts the information in the passage Not Given
if there is no information about the statement in the passage
Example: Until the late 1950s the Whig interpretation of English history was the one that was widely accepted. Answer: Yes.
81. According to Namier, political divisions in the mid18th century were not related to party labels.
82. According to Namier, something happened between 1714 and 1760 to affect party ideology.
83. George I was not liked by everyone.
84. The Independent Whigs were all landowners with large estates.
85. Neither the Independent Whigs, nor the Tories trusted the mercantile classes. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 7
Part 5. Read the extract from a review of a book about the English langage For questions 1-10. choose from
the sections A-E. The sections maybe chosen more than once.
In which section are the following mentioned?
86. the view that the global influence of a language is nothing new
87. a return to the global use of not one but many languages
88. explanations as to what motivates people to learn another language
89. the view that a language is often spoken in places other than its country of origin
90. an appreciation of a unique and controversial take on the role of the English language
91. a query about the extent to which people are attached to their own first language
92. an optimistic view about the long-term future of the English language
93. the hostility felt by those forced to learn another language
94. a derogatory comment about the English language
95. a shared view about the ultimate demise of English in the future
The Last Lingua Franca by Nicholas Ostler
Deborah Cameron predicts an uncertain future for English
A. The Emperor Charles V is supposed to have remarked in the 16th century that he spoke Latin with God, Italian
with musicians, Spanish with his troops, German with lackeys, French with ladies and English with his horse.
In most books about English, the joke would be turned on Charles, used to preface the observation that the
language he dismissed as uncultivated is now a colossus bestriding the world. Nicholas Ostler, however, quotes
it to make the point that no language's triumph is permanent and unassailable. Like empires (and often with
them), languages rise and fall, and English, Ostler contends, will be no exception.
B. English is the first truly global lingua franca, if by 'global' we mean 'used on every inhabited continent’. But in
the smaller and less densely interconnected world of the past, many other languages had similar functions and
enjoyed comparable prestige, is Modern lingua francas include French, German, Latin, Portuguese, Russian
and Spanish. Yet these once-mighty languages are now largely confined to those territories where their modern
forms are spoken natively. Though at the height of their power some acquired - and have kept - large numbers
of native speakers outside their original homelands (as with Spanish and Portuguese in South America), few retain their old status.
C. To understand why the mighty fall, Ostler suggests we must look to the factors that enabled them to rise: most
commonly these are conquest, commerce and conversion. Conquered or subordinated peoples learn (or are
obliged to learn) the languages of their overlords; traders acquire the languages that give them access to
markets; converts adopt the languages of their new religion. But these ways of recruiting speakers are not
conducive to permanent attachment. The learned language is not valued for its own sake, but only for the
benefits that are seen to flow from it, and only for as long as those benefits outweigh the costs. When new
conquerors arrive, their subjects switch to new lingua francas. Old empires break up and their lingua francas
are abandoned, while the spread of a new religion may advance a language or conversely weaken it. And
always there is the resentment generated by dependence on a language which has to be learned, and therefore
favours elites over those without access to schooling. Prestigious lingua francas are socially divisive, and therefore unstable.
D. English in the global age is often portrayed as an exceptional case. Writers who take this view point out that
English differs from previous lingua francas in two important ways; first, it has no serious competition, and
second, although it was originally spread by conquest, commerce and missionaries, its influence no longer
depends on coercion. Because of this, the argument runs, it will not suffer the fate of its predecessors. But
Ostler thinks this argument underplays both the social costs of maintaining a lingua franca (it is not true that
English is universally loved) and the deep, enduring loyalty people have to their native so tongues. For
millennia we have been willing to compromise our linguistic loyalties in exchange for various rewards; but if
the rewards could be had without the compromise, we would gladly lay our burden down. Ostler believes that
we will soon be able to do that. English, he 65 suggests, will be the last lingua franca. As Anglo-American
hegemony withers, the influence of English will decline; but what succeeds it will not be any other single
language. Rather we will see a technologically-enabled return to a state of Babel. Thanks to advances in
computer translation, 'everyone will speak and write in whatever language they choose, and the world will understand'.
E. Here it might be objected that Ostler's argument depends on an unrealistic techno-optimism, and puts too much
emphasis on the supposed primeval bond between speakers and their mother tongues, which some would say is 8
largely an invention of 19th-century European nationalism. But even if he is wrong to predict the return of
Babel, I do not think he is wrong to argue that English's position as the premier medium of global exchange
will not be maintained for ever. In the future, as in the past, linguistic landscapes can be expected to change in
line with so political and economic realities. The Last Lingua Franca is not the easiest of reads: Ostler does not
have the popularizer's gift for uncluttered storytelling, and is apt to pile up details without much regard for
what the non-specialist either needs to know or is capable of retaining. What he does offer, however, is a
much- 85 needed challenge to conventional wisdom: informative, thought- provoking and refreshingly free from anglocentric cliches.
From The Guardian Review section 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. IV. WRITING (60 points)
Part 1: Write a summary of about 140 words (15 points)
Summarize the following passage about measures to reduce stress in about 140 words. TAKING STRESS IN STRIDE
For many years, stress was considered an imaginary complaint that lazy employees would use as an excuse
for skipping work. Now, stress has finally made its way into medical books and into company accounts too. More
and more firms are realizing the effect that stress-related illnesses are having on their bottom line.
The causes of stress are manifold. Just getting to work on time may be a major cause. At the workplace,
stress can be caused by not having enough to do, not facing sufficient challenges or simply being in a job that does
not suit the person. At the other end of the scale is overwork and job insecurity. There may also be ergonomic
reasons for stress such as cramped working conditions, a faulty chair, a desk at the wrong height, a smoky office or defective air-conditioning.
Stress manifests itself in many ways. The most common symptoms are headaches, backaches, shortness of
breath, skin disorders, heart palpitations, gastric problems and sleeping disorders. There is also poor concentration,
poor memory and loss of self-confidence. Other major health problems such as depression, repetitive strain injury
and heart problems may follow these symptoms.
All these symptoms give rise to inefficient work practices, increased medical leave and consequently loss
of productivity. Companies are finally beginning to take notice and are starting to invest in their employees' health
as a natural cost of doing business.
Companies are taking the necessary measures to overcome stress-related problems with the hope that there
will be heightened efficiency at the workplace and lower absenteeism. But at the end of the day it is up to the individual.
The art of stress management is not something that can be picked up overnight. It is something that an
individual has to perfect and improve on throughout his lifetime. The key is 'healthy body, healthy mind'.
Diet should be kept in check with smoking and drinking under control. Consider investing in a home gym, which
can be set up at a reasonable cost consisting of basic equipment such as an exercise bench, a pair of dumb-bells and an exercise bike.
Massage is another tried and tested form of physical relaxation, guaranteed to reduce both mental and
physical stress levels. The two most popular forms of massages are the Japanese and Swedish massages. A
Japanese Shiatsu massage focuses on specific points of the body where energy is blocked, while the Swedish
massage involves stroking with oils to stimulate blood circulation. A massage does not take long and it is not
expensive. The different types of massages and aromatherapy techniques have different effects with some for
relaxation and some for stimulation; all guaranteed to make you feel invigorated or enlivened after a hard day.
Another way of reducing stress is the century-old and hugely popular practice of yoga. A beginner taking up yoga
may find the posture and breathing exercises beneficial. But yoga goes way beyond that as it deals with the inner
organism (the mind, the respiratory and digestive organs) - inner harmony first - and when the inner organism is
working properly, then physical fitness can be achieved.
In stress management, the most important thing is to recognize the symptoms of stress early and to act before they become something serious. Your summary 9
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Part 2. Graph description (15 pts)
The pie chart shows the amount of money that a children's charity located in the USA spent and received in one year.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.
You should write at least 150 words. ...
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Part 3. Essay writing (30 pts)
Youngsters now admire and imitate media and sports personalities even though they do not always set a
good example. Do you think that this is a positive or negative development?
Your essay should be about 300 to 350 words.
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