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NEC MOCK TEST 5 - Harmonious relationship: mối quan hệ hoà hợp Fragile rel… NEC MOCK TEST 5
Subject: ENGLISH LISTENING: _____/ 50
USE OF ENGLISH: _____/ 40
Time allotted: 180 minutes (excluding the time for paper distribution) READING: _____/ 50
There are 12 pages in this paper. WRITING: _____/ 60
___________________________
Full name: ______________________________ TOTAL SCORE: _____/200
Date: ______________________________
SECTION A. LISTENING (50 points)
Link to audio: https://bom.so/olVwcR
Part 1. For questions 1-5, a part of news report about the boom and benefits in telemedicine and answer
the questions. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS taken from the recording for each answer.
1. According to the reporter, in addition to refilling prescriptions, what does telemedicine in the US mainly get calls for?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What was the interview between the reporter and Dr. Fang about?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What disease was Theresa diagnosed with eventually?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
4. What is Michael Novieli9s job?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
5. According to Michael, who advised him to go to the emergency department?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Part 2. For questions 6-10, listen to an interview with Dr Lafford, a leading expert in the field of forensic
science, and decide whether the following statements are True (T) or False (F) according to what you hear. List of statements Your answers
6. According to Dr Lafford, Sherlock Holmes was a good forensic scientist because of his unbiased approach.
7. Forensic scientists pay particular attention to evidence of mutual contact.
8. Dr Lafford mentions the broken headlight to show that forensic science nowadays is not
as time-consuming as it once was.
9. According to Dr Lafford, electron microscopes can provide a chemical analysis.
10. Dr Lafford feels that the value of forensic science lies in reducing the number of possible suspects. Page 1 of 12 pages about:blank 1/15 14:54 29/7/24
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Part 3. For questions 11-15, listen to Alice Brown interviewing Professor Robert Atkins about health
scares and choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which fits best according to what you hear.
11. How does Professor Atkins feel about the frequency of health scares in the media?
A. irritated that the media print nonsense
B. reconciled to health scares being a necessary evil
C. resigned to the media misunderstanding science
D. worried that the health scares might be real
12. What is Alice9s attitude to the threat of lethal diseases?
A. She worries that new ones will occur.
B. She is doubtful that they can be contained.
C. She is concerned that they are spread more easily today.
D. She believes they pose less of a danger today.
13. Professor Atkins believes that the concerns people have today arise from
A. a lack of spiritual belief.
B. being misled by scientists and doctors.
C. bewilderment when their assumptions are challenged.
D. worry about how diseases are communicated.
14. What do Alice and Professor Atkins agree about when it comes to health scares?
A. some businesses have a vested interest in promoting them
B. some manufacturers see them as the best form of publicity
C. some doctors are at fault for not criticising them sufficiently
D. some researchers are looking for publicity
15. What worries Professor Atkins about health scares?
A. They could lead to people taking too many pills.
B. They are more damaging than real diseases.
C. They might make people disregard potential risks.
D. They are difficult to disprove.
Part 4. For questions 16-25. listen to a talk on the transit of Mercury and fill in the missing information.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS taken from the recording for each answer in the space provided. THE 20 T 1 HE 20 6 1 6 T RAN T S RAN I S T I T O F O F M E M R E C R U C R U Y R Y
- There is a widely held belief among scientists that spots on the sun are
caused by the eruption of irregular (16) _____________________. However,
the spot expected to be witnessed on May 9,2016 is the result of Mercury
making a transit of the sun, which is a(n) (17) _____________________ phenomenon.
- In the US, the transit begins before sunrise on the west coast, but that is not
the problem as Mercury is expected to be gliding across the
(18) _____________________ when the sun comes up over certain places.
- Be careful when viewing the transit as Mercury9s tiny disk covers on a small fraction of the sun9s
(18) _____________________.
- A(n) (20) _____________________ can prove to be useful in this case as (21) _____________________ is
considered to be essential to view Mercury.
- You can witness the transit on the website of Nasa9s Solar Dynamics Observatory.
- Nasa scientist Rosemary Killen and colleagues plan to take advantage of the transit as an opportunity to study
Mercury9s (22) _____________________, also known as exosphere.
- The atoms in Mercury9s exosphere are blasted into space by solar radiation, (23) _____________________ and
meteoroids, which gives Mercury a(n) (24) _____________________ stretched out as long as 1.2 million miles.
- According to Killen, sodium in the exosphere absorbs and re-emits a yellow-orange color from sunlight and the
measurement of the absorption can help to learn about the (25) _____________________ there. Page 2 of 12 pages about:blank 2/15 14:54 29/7/24
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SECTION B. USE OF ENGLISH (40 points)
Part 1. For questions 26-40, choose the correct answer A, B, C, or D to each of the following questions.
26. Most armies around the world use satellite technology to _____ orders. A. emit B. import C. release D. relay
27. I was really shocked when Marianna was so rude; it was completely out of _____. A. mind B. shape C. proportion D. character
28. Dr Johnson managed to ensure that the scientists in his research team were the _____ of the crop. A. top B. catch C. cream D. blend
29. More than 80 people were feared dead last night after _____ floods, the worst in 34 years. A. flash B. spark C. instant D. sudden
30. Travelling by sea makes me suffer from _____. A. vertigo B. vomit C. nausea D. disgust
31. He always was a tough employer, and governed with a(n) _____ fist. A. iron B. heavy C. hard D. metal
32. Constant travel extracts a ____ from athletes. A. payment B. toll C. rate D. charge
33. Some people try to _____ the myth that women are weak. A. maintain B. preserve C. disseminate D. perpetuate
34. There weren9t any electricity blanket in the fifties. Which was a _____ pity because nobody needed the things more than country vets. A. large B. big C. great D. vast
35. It9s been a _____ winter this year, with temperatures as low as -15o. A. fervent B. sharp C. bitter D. fetid
36. The location was far from _____ and we felt very comfortable there. 6/7 A. nostalgic B. melodious C. opulent D. idyllic
37. It9s one thing to simply tell a white lie, but you9ve been downright _____; I will never be able to trust you again. A. prudent B. reclusive C. precipitous D. mendacious
38. Unless the rebels lay down their weapons and ______ violence once and for all, we will not engage with them at the negotiation table. A. shun B. renege C. eschew D. impugn
39. When Tim was eating a cherry, he accidentally swallowed the _______. A. nut B. stone C. seed D. core
40. Customer: Receptionist: A. wouldn9t have B. can9t have
C. mightn9t have D. mustn9t have
Part 2. For questions 41-50, write the correct form of each word in capital in the space provided.
The Role of Education in the Developing World
Levels of illiteracy and (41) _____________ remain startlingly high in the NUMBER
developing world, and continue to be so until the West provides or
sponsors new education initiatives, preferably also getting directly
involved. A better education is a prerequisite should the
(42) _____________ masses of Africa ever wish to hold any genuine POOR
hope of gaining their (43) _____________ from the metaphorical EMANCIPATE
hackles of poverty. Education initiatives for young people as well as life-
long learning programmes will also help to breach the gulf that separates the working classes PRIVILEGE
from their ruling elite, a (44) _____________ few who enjoy the (45) _____________ of TRAP
Western wealth and the lifestyle that goes with it, while those in their midst are completely
(46) _____________ with the daily struggle for survival. Furthermore, we must promote a OCCUPY
culture of (47) _____________ of corruption, and help to create a new generation for whom TOLERATE
education rather than a(n) (48) _____________ nature will reap the true rewards. Education SCRUPLE
will also help to bridge another gap; that of the cultural one which separates the West from its
brethren in the developing world. The slums and shanty towns are a hotbed of religious and
political (49) _____________ but hopefully education will serve to create a better sense of EXTREME
understanding between all the peoples of the world, (50) _____________ of background. RESPECT Page 3 of 12 pages about:blank 3/15 14:54 29/7/24
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Part 3. For questions 51-65, fill each of the following numbered blanks with ONE suitable word. Write your
answers in the corresponding numbered space provided. Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini, who died 65 years ago, was the entertainment phenomenon of his era. He could escape from
chains, locks, ropes and sacks. They strapped him in and hung him upside (51) _____________ from a high
building and he somehow freed (52) _____________. They locked him in a packing case and sank him in
Liverpool docks and minutes (53) _____________ he surfaced smiling.
Houdini would usually (54) _____________ his equipment to be
examined by the audience. The chains, locks and packing cases all
seemed line, (55) _____________ it was tempting to conclude that he
possessed superhuman powers. However, there was (56) ___________
physically remarkable about Houdini (57) _____________ for his
bravery, dexterity and fitness. His nerve was so cool that he could relax
when buried six feet underground (58) _____________ they came to dig
him up. His fingers were so strong that he (59) _____________ undo a
strap or manipulate keys through the canvas of a mail hag. He made
(60) _____________ comprehensive study of locks and was able to
conceal tools about his person in a way (61) _____________ fooled even the doctors who examined him.
As an entertainer, he combined (62) _____________ this strength and ingenuity with a lot of trickery. His stage
escapes took place behind a curtain with an orchestra playing to disguise (63) _____________ banging and
sawing. All Houdini's feats can easily be explained but he (64) _____________ to that band of mythical supermen
who, we (65) _____________ to believe, were capable of miracles.
SECTION C. READING (50 points)
Part 1. For questions 66-75, decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap. SO S UN O D UN A D DV A I DV C I E C E F O F R O R LANGUAGE LAN GUAGE L E L A E R A N R ER E S R S
A recent survey of a language learning magazine has consulted
a number of experts in the (66) _______ of a second language
acquisition. Their advice may prove invaluable for those
(67) _______ a language course. One suggestion is that you
(68) _______ whether you are likely to be successful at learning
a language? Did you enjoy studying languages at school, for
example? The major (69) _______ will be your own time and
effort. Therefore, you must be sure that the course on offer leads to a (70) _______ qualification. Also, be realistic
in your (71) _______. If you don't set achievable aims, you are more likely to give up. Do not be deceived
(72) _______ thinking that the most expensive courses are the best. (73) _______ around to get the best possible
value for money. You should also bear in mind that the faster you learn a language, the more quickly you forget
it. Sandra Miller, a French teacher, tried to teach herself German by rolling on a (74) _______ course. Already
fluent in four languages and with a sound knowledge of teaching methodology her chances of (75) _______
progress were high. Three years on she remembers very little. She feels her biggest mistake was not to follow up
her first experience. "I should have consolidated what I'd learnt by continuing to study, even if it were by myself." 66 A. branch B. field C. area D. domain 67 A. considering B. wondering C. thinking D. looking 68 A. survey B. review C. balance D. assess 69 A. price B. charge C. cost D. valuation 70 A. valued B. regarded C. understood D. recognised 71 A. ends B. sights C. goals D. objects 72 A. into B. about C. by D. in 73 A. Nose B. Shop C. Push D. Run 74 A. rapid B. quick C. fast D. crash 75 A. achieving B. making C. doing D. gaining Page 4 of 12 pages about:blank 4/15 14:54 29/7/24
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Part 2. For questions 76-88, read the following passage and do the tasks that follow. The Cloud Messenger
At six o’clock one evening in December 1802, in a dank and cavernous laboratory in London, an
unknown young amateur meteorologist gave the lecture that teas to make him famous
A. Luke Howard had been speaking for nearly an hour, during which time his audience had found itself in a state
of gradually mounting excitement. By the time that he reached the concluding words of his address, the Plough
Court laboratory was in an uproar. Everyone in the audience had recognized the importance of what they had just
heard, and all were in a mood to have it confirmed aloud by their friends and neighbours in the room. Over the
course of the past hour, they had been introduced not only to new explanations of the formation and lifespan of
clouds, but also to a poetic new terminology: 8Cirrus9, 8Stratus9, 8Cumulus9, 8Nimbus9, and the other names, too, the
names of intermediate compounds and modified forms, whose differences were based on altitude, air temperature
and the shaping powers of upward radiation. There was much that needed to be taken on board.
B. Clouds, as everyone in the room would already have known, were staging posts m the rise and fall of water
as it made its way on endless compensating journeys between the earth and the fruitful sky. Yet the nature of the
means of their exact construction remained a mystery to most observers who, on the whole, were still in thrall to
the vesicular or 8bubble9 theory that had dominated meteorological thinking for the better part of a century. The
earlier speculations, in all their strangeness, had mostly been forgotten or were treated as historical curiosities to
be glanced at, derided and then abandoned. Howard, however, was adamant that clouds were formed from actual
solid drops of water and ice, condensed from their vaporous forms by the fall in temperature which they
encountered as they ascended through the rapidly cooling lower atmosphere. Balloon pioneers during the 1780s
had continued just how cold it could get up in the realm of the clouds: the temperature fell some 6.5″C for every
thousand metres they ascended. By the rime the middle of a major cumulus cloud had been reached, the
temperature would have dropped to below freezing, while the oxygen concentration of the air would be starting to
thin quire dangerously. That was what the balloonists meant by 8dizzy heights9.
C. Howard was not, of course, the first to insist that clouds were best understood as entities with physical
properties of their own, obeying the same essential laws which governed the rest of the natural world (with one or
two interesting anomalies: water, after all, is a very strange material). It had long been accepted by many of the
more scientifically minded that clouds, despite their distance and their seeming intangibility, should be studied and
apprehended like any other objects in creation.
D. There was more, however, and better. Luke Howard also claimed that there was a fixed and constant number
of basic cloud types, and this number was not (as the audience might have anticipated) in the hundreds or the
thousands, like the teeming clouds themselves, with each as individual as a thumbprint. Had this been the case,
it would render them both unclassifiable and unaccountable; just so many stains upon the sky. Howard9s claim,
on the contrary, was that there were just three basic families of cloud, into which every one of the thousands of
ambiguous forms could be categorized with certainty. The clouds obeyed a system and, once recognized in
outline, their basic forms would be 8as distinguishable from each other as a tree from a hill, or the latter from a
lake9, for each displayed the simplest possible visual characteristics.
E. The names which Howard devised tor them were designed to convey a descriptive sense of each cloud type9s
outward characteristics (a practice derived from the usual procedures of natural history classification), and were
taken from the Latin, for ease of adoption by the learned of different nations9: Cirrus (from the Latin for fibre or
hair), Cumulus (from the Latin for heap or pile) and Stratus (from the Latin for layer or sheet). Clouds were thus
divided into tendrils, heaps and layers: the three formations at the heart of their design. Howard then went on to
name four other cloud types, all of which were either modifications or aggregates of the three major families of
formation. Clouds continually unite, pass into one another and disperse, but always in recognizable stages. The
rain cloud Nimbus, for example (from the Latin for cloud), was, according to Howard, a rainy combination of all
three types, although Nimbus was reclassified as nimbostratus by meteorologists in 1932, by which time the
science of rain had developed beyond all recognition.
F. The modification of clouds was a major new idea, and what struck the audience most vividly about it was its
elegant and powerful fittingness. All of what they had just heard seemed so clear and so self-evident. Some must
have wondered how it was that no one – not even in antiquity – had named or graded the clouds before, or if they
had, why their efforts had left no trace in the language. How could it he that the task had been waiting for Howard,
who had succeeded in wringing a kind of exactitude from out of the vaporous clouds? Their forms, though
shapeless and unresolved, had at last, it seemed, been securely grasped. Howard had given a set of names to a
radical fluidity and impermanence that seemed every bit as magical, to that first audience, as the Eskimo9s fabled
vocabulary of snow. Page 5 of 12 pages about:blank 5/15 14:54 29/7/24
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For questions 76-81, choose the correct heading for paragraphs A-F in the passage. There are FOUR extra
headings that you do not need to use. Write your answers in the corresponding space provided. List of Headings Your answers i. An easily understood system ii. Doubts dismissed iii.
Not a totally unconventional view 76. Paragraph A _____________ iv. Theories compared 77. Paragraph B _____________ v. A momentous occasion 78. Paragraph C _____________ vi.
A controversial use of terminology 79. Paragraph D _____________ vii. Initial confusion 80. Paragraph E _____________
viii. Previous beliefs replaced 81. Paragraph F _____________ ix.
More straightforward than expected x. An obvious thing to do
For questions 82-85, complete the labels on the diagrams below using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS
AND/OR A NUMBER taken from the passage. Write your answers in the corresponding space provided.
Reaching situation known as the (82) _______________________
(83) ___________________ not much
(84) ___________________ temperature down
(85) ______________ per _______________
For questions 86-88, write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
Which paragraph contains the following information? Your answers
a comparison between Howard9s work and another classification system 86
a reference to the fact that Howard presented a very large amount of information 87
an example of a modification made to work done by Howard 88 Page 6 of 12 pages about:blank 6/15 14:54 29/7/24
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Part 3. In the passage below, seven paragraphs have been removed. For questions 89-95, read the
passage and choose from the paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap. There is ONE extra paragraph
which you do not need to use. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided. RETURN FROM THE OTHER WORLD
In the end, Hugh was unsure whether or not it had all been a dream, but, if so, what a dream! He had travelled
to the four corners of the Otherworld and he had prized it free from the clutches of the evil Spectronomer. Would
that all his dreams were this real! 89
Now Hugh's mind was racing. Had it all been real after all? Here, standing at the bottom of his bed was the
undeniable evidence that it was surely just so. Yet, he had been away for so many years. He had grown tall and
strong in the Otherworld. He held his hand aloft and inspected its fragile little palm. It bore no signs of the trauma
he had endured. Hugh turned to face the mirror and had his likeness confirmed. He was a child again, so if it were
real, how could this all be so? 90
Kobalt smiled sympathetically and gestured for Hugh to come and sit beside him at the end of the bed. Master. Soon all will become clear. I am as real as the blood coursing through your veins, Master, as is the
adventure we shared together, but the Otherworld is unbeknownst to most, hidden in the subconscious. You have
an open invitation to return anytime you want and I am here to act as your portal when you do. It is an honour
Queen Estella bestowed upon me. It is, Master, as I wished. But, fear not, for I am visible here only to your eyes.
Only Otherworlders can see one another, and you are one of us now. But you remain also a part of this world.= 91
This prompted a further unwanted realisation from him, for Todd and Nicky were still just as real as they had
been the Friday - or was it thirty years - before. His earthly problems had not disappeared and his tormentors
would no doubt be waiting for him in the school hallway as the bell chimed to signal the start of another week
come Monday morning. In the Otherworld he may have been a mighty warrior famed for vanquishing
Spectronomer, but here he was still a brittle little boy. 92
Just as inescapably, the little elf started to whimper, too, for his was the purest of hearts of gold, and he felt the
pain of others with immeasurable intensity. To see his beloved Master upset now, it was all he could do not to fall
apart. However, Kobalt reminded himself that he had volunteered for this role, and so it was his duty now to see
it through and endure the unpleasantness of this world he would part inhabit forever more, or for so long as his
beloved friend existed in his human manifestation, which, for all intents and purposes, might as well be forever in
Otherwordly terms. He offered Hugh his handkerchief and an encouraging smile. 93
"Is Master afraid?" Inquired Kobalt. when he faced them in the Fiery Canyon? Did Master flee from the Wolves of Urden when they pounced upon
him in the Great Abyss? Is this the same Master who swore to protect the life of Queen Estella to the very last?
Did Master not lead the army of Noblemia to victory in the Great Battle of Oblivia?= 94
"Master was but a youngling when he first came to the Otherworld, too. Or has Master forgotten this? Did Master
not become a lion-heart over-night? Does Master remember the first time he met Kobalt?"
A smile flashed across Hugh's face momentarily as the image of him cowering in fear before little Kobalt on their
first encounter conjured up before him. Yet, small and harmless though Kobalt was, he did not look so small then,
not to an eight-year-old child, and Hugh wasn't to know that Kobalt's body contained not one single bad bone; that Kobalt was an angel manifest. 95
happenings of the Otherworld were just as non-fictitious? Why should Master not be able to replicate those feats
here? Or does Master simply not want to?" Page 7 of 12 pages about:blank 7/15 14:54 29/7/24
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The missing paragraphs:
A. But dreams can't be real, can they?' He thought.
E. 'Little Kobalt, I'm so glad to see you, my loyal
Kobalt and Spectronomer were both too
friend.' He said. 'But, tonight, could you tell me a
fantastical; the first, pure goodness; the second,
story? I don't know what to make of all this, dear he shuddered to think what.
fellow, and it seems almost surreal. For here I
B. Yet Hugh remained entirely unconvinced of his
am back at home now, my friend, yet I remember
suitability for the world he was now inhabiting,
everything that has happened these past thirty
notwithstanding his Otherworldly exploits, so he
years. It is as if it were a dream. But here you
continued his protestations. 'But it's different
are, Kobalt, so I am not dreaming, even as still
here, Kobalt. You don't understand. This is the
pinch myself now to confirm. Please help me real world.' understand.'
C. Truthfully, Hugh didn't know. For all the strength
F. As Kobalt patiently recounted the story of the last
and courage he had shown in the Otherworld
thirty Otherworldy years, it finally dawned on
seemed to mean little any more. He was but a
Hugh that his feats were not the whim of fantasy
helpless boy again. He was not the brave young
but the heroic deeds of actuality in another realm
prince that had inspired the people of the
far removed from his once familiar world.
Otherworld to overthrow their tyrant king. He
Nonetheless, he could scarcely believe it were
was as an ant in the grass, and soon he would
so. He was at once both a mighty warrior prince
be hiding amongst the shoots in a vain effort to
and a fragile little child. How could he tally all that
evade being trodden on by the unforgiving steel-
had happened with the life he was destined to
toed boots of Todd and Nicky again; squashed
lead here on Earth? Did he even want to?
like the puny little creature he really was. 'l am
G. Rubbing his eyes, Hugh continued. I cannot face
but eight years old.' He said.
it, Kobalt. I don't want to go back to school. It isn't
D. Yet just as he was about to consign his feats to
fair. Not after everything we've been through.
the realms of fantasy, he felt a tug on his
Not after everything we've achieved. Please,
nightshirt. 'Is Master asleep?' enquired the
take me back with you. I am not strong enough
unassuming voice of little Kobalt. 'Would Master for this world.'. read Kobalt a story?'
H. Almost inevitably, with this renewed cognizance
of the unpleasant reality of his normal life,
Hugh's eyes began to weep. First, a trickle then
a cascade of tears flowed. 'I want to go back,
Kobalt.' He declared. 'Please, take me home.'
Part 4. For questions 96-105, read the following passage and choose the answer A, B, C or D which you
think fits best according to the text.
Turn up the light and you, too,
can grow your own mind
A new way of thinking about the brain could give science the key to consciousness, says Susan Greenfield
The biggest challenge to science is to explain how the brain generates consciousness. The very concept defies
formal definition, but perhaps an informal way would be to define it as the first-person, personal world as it seems
to you. As such, consciousness is not just a tantalising enigma, but also an embarrassment to some scientists.
If, after all, it is all about the subjective, then it could be distasteful to those of us who are trained to be impartial.
Until recently, this aversion to a phenomenology that could not be measured or shared was enough to focus
most scientists on the smaller, but still awesome, problems of brain function - how the sludgy mass between our
ears actually works at the nuts and bolts level. More recently, the techniques of imaging brain activity on
computer and the relating of genes to specific brain properties, have given neuroscientists enough to think about.
[A] But what has eluded us is how the brain works as a whole. Over the past few years, however, a growing
band of pioneers has asked the big question of how the cells and chemicals fit together to generate mental
experience. The problem has been that in our enthusiasm to be objective we have thrown the baby out with
the bath water, and turned our backs on the very quality that perplexes the non-biologist: the first-hand feel of the subject of experience.
[B] Perhaps the mistake has been to liken consciousness to some kind of monolithic property that cannot be
deconstructed. But suppose we could draw up a list of criteria for envisaging how conscious processes might be
sub-served by brain tissue: what kind of issues might feature? We usually assume consciousness is all or none:
you either have it or you don't. This is why the study of consciousness has proved so hard for the neuroscientists: Page 8 of 12 pages about:blank 8/15 14:54 29/7/24
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it is very hard to peer into the human brain and find a magic property
that is either there or not there. After all, science is about measurement,
quantity rather than quality - so what if consciousness was quantitative,
varied in degree. rather than being there as some deux ex machina?
[C] What if consciousness grows as brains grow - can evolve, rather
like a light bulb that is operated by an electric dimmer switch, from
humble beginnings in simple non-human animals or indeed in the early
foetus, and grow to become the sophisticated entities that we recognise
in ourselves. Once we adopt the dimmer switch model, then two ways
forward open up. First is the possibility that our consciousness varies
in degree from one moment to the next. Second, we could start to look
for states in the brain that can also vary in degree.
By correlating states of consciousness along with some feature of the brain that could vary in parallel, we might
open up a method for developing a way of looking at consciousness that could be expressed in scientific terms
and, at the same time, respect the phenomenology beloved of philosophers.
One model that would work is that of a stone in a puddle. Imagine some kind of trigger from one moment to the
next, that acted like a stone thrown onto a smooth surface of water - the ripples that resulted would depend in
degree on the force at which the stone was thrown, the height from which it was thrown, its size and, of course,
the competition from subsequent stones that would deform the ripples. Could it be that there are equivalent ripples in the brain?
[D] Looking at conventional brain imaging techniques does not help. Most brain imaging is on a scale that
exceeds a second, and yet we know that tens of millions of brain cells can gather into a working assembly in less
than a quarter of a second. My own money goes on these highly global, but very transient, events as a possible correlate of consciousness.
In its simplest state, when there were not many connections between cells to begin with, for example in a small
child, then consciousness would be at its most rudimentary. Such a state could also be revisited every night in
our dreams, when we are cut off from the raw input of our senses. Alternatively, in the middle of a bungee jump,
where the inputs come fast and furious, this time an assembly of brain cells would be restricted due to the
competition of the next set of ripples.
Connections between brain cells amazingly, can be forged post-natally and, most marvellously of all, reflect
individual experience. But less dramatically, every moment will leave its mark on the brain, in some change in the
strengthening of one input over another. It is this growing of individuality of brain configurations that happen that
I will argue is the mind. For me, not some airy-fairy alternative to the banal sludgy brain but rather the
personalisation of it. In this sense you would grow a mind as you develop, and that mind, although it would colour
consciousness, could be separated from it.
96. The word <tantalising= in the paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to
A. both facile and revolting.
B. both vexing and miscellaneous.
C. both alluring and perplexing.
D. both presumptuous and ubiquitous.
97. The word <at the nuts and bolts level= in the paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to
A. scrupulously.
B. painstakingly. C. candidly. D. basically.
98. According to the writer, what effect has the uncertainty surrounding the nature of consciousness had on scientists?
A. They have been reluctant to admit that they do not understand it.
B. They have chosen to review their theoretical perspective on it.
C. They have turned to neuroscientists for help on the matter.
D. They have opted to study more accessible phenomena.
99. When the writer says <we have thrown the baby out with the bath water=, she means that
A. a critical issue has been ignored.
B. a possible solution has been rejected.
C. too many ideas have complicated the matter.
D. too many questions have remained unanswered.
100. In generating an image of consciousness, the writer thinks an error has been made in
A. failing to judge the processes that it deals with.
B. assuming that it cannot be broken down into parts.
C. analysing the brain's role in its development.
D. using human subjects for neurological research.
101. In the writer's <dimmer switch model= consciousness is represented by
A. the electricity. B. the switch.
C. the operator. D. the light. Page 9 of 12 pages about:blank 9/15 14:54 29/7/24
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102. In the <stone in a puddle= analogy, what does the stone represent? A. brain cells.
B. brain inputs.
C. brain imaging.
D. brain function.
103. What excites the writer most about the approach she is suggesting?
A. what it reveals about mental health
B. how it explains the function of brain cells
C. its application to personal experience
D. its dependence on human development
104. Which of the following reflects the writer's lack of respect for current views on consciousness?
A. <rudimentary=
B. <post-natally=
C. <airy-fairy=
D. <sludgy=
105. Which of the square brackets [A], [B], [C], or [D] best indicates where in the first paragraph the sentence
<Perhaps a happier approach might be to ask what it is we are actually going to expect of the brain.= can be inserted? A. [A] B. [B] C. [C] D. [D]
Part 5. The passage below consists of six paragraphs marked A-F. For questions 106-115, read the
passage and do the task that follows. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided. Jo J h o n h n M c M Ca c r Ca t r h t y h y
Computer Pioneer
A. John McCarthy was often described as the father of 8artificial intelligence9 (AI), a branch of computer science
founded on the notion that human intelligence can be stimulated by machines. McCarthy, who coined the term in
1956, defined it as 8the science and engineering of making intelligent machines9 and created the Lisp computer
language to help researchers in the AI field. He maintained that there were aspects of the human mind that could
be described precisely enough to be replicated: 8The speed and memory capacities of present computers may be
insufficient to stimulate many of the higher functions of the human brain.9 he wrote in 1955, 8but the major obstacle
is not lack of machine capacity but our inability to write programs taking full advantage of what we have.9
B. McCarthy went on to create AI laboratories at the Massachusetts institute of Technology, and later at Stanford
University where he became the laboratory9s director in 1965. During the 1960s he developed the concept of
computer time-sharing, which allows several people to use a single, central, computer at the same time. If this
approach was adopted, he claimed in 1961, 8computing may some day be organized as a public utility9. The
concept of time-sharing made possible the development of so-called 8cloud computing9 (the delivery of computing
as a service rather than a product). Meanwhile, his Lisp programming language, which he invented in 1958,
underpinned the development of voice recognition technology.
C. McCarthy9s laboratory at Stanford developed systems that mimic human skills – such as vision, hearing and
the movements of limbs – as well as early versions of a self-driving car. He also worked on an early chess-playing
program, but came to believe that computer chess was a distraction, observing in 1997 that it had developed
8much as genetics might have if the geneticists had concentrated their efforts starting in 1910 on breeding racing
Drosophila. We would have some science, but mainly we would have very fast fruit flies.9
D. The concept of AI inspired numerous books and sci-fi film, notably Stanley Kubrick9s dystopian 2001: A space
Odyssey (1968). In the real world, however, the technology made slow progress, and McCarthy later admitted that
there was some way to go before it would be possible to develop computer programs as intelligent as humans.
Meanwhile he applied himself to addressing theoretical issues about the nature of human and robotic decision-
making and the ethics of creating artificial beings. He also wrote a sci-fi story, The Robot and the Baby, to 8illustrate
my opinions about what household robots should be like9. The robot in the story decides to stimulate love for a human baby.
E. McCarthy taught himself mathematics as a teenager by studying textbooks at the California Institute of
Technology. When he arrived at the institute to study the subject at 16, he was assigned to a graduate course. In
1948 a symposium at Caltech on 8Cerebral Mechanisms in Behaviour9, that included papers on automata and the
brain and intelligence, sparked his interest in developing machines that can think like people. McCarthy received
a doctorate in Mathematics from Princeton University in 1951 and was immediately appointed to a Chair in the
subjects. It was at Princeton that he proposed the programming language Lisp as a way to process more
sophisticated mathematical concepts than Fortran, which had been the dominant programming medium until then.
McCarthy joined the Stanford faculty in 1962, remaining there until his official retirement in 2000. Page 10 of 12 pages about:blank 10/15 14:54 29/7/24
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F. During the 1970s he presented a paper on buying and selling by computer. He also invited a local computer
hobby group, the Homebrew Computer Club, to meet at the Stanford laboratory. Its members included Steve Jobs
and Steven Wozniak, who would go on to found Apple. However, his own interest in developing time-sharing
systems led him to underestimate the potential of personal computers. When the first PCs emerged in the 1970s
he dismissed them as 8toys9. McCarthy continued to as an emeritus professor at Stanford after his official
retirement, and at the time of his death was working on a new computer language called Elephant. Despite his
disappointment with MI, McCarthy remained confident of the power of mathematics: 8He who refuses to do
arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense,9 he wrote in 1995.
In which section are the following mentioned?
Your answers
the speed at which McCarthy made progress in his career 106
an opinion McCarthy had which proved to be mistaken 107
McCarthy9s belief that one of his ideas could have a widespread function 108
McCarthy9s attention to the moral aspects of an area of research 109
what inspired McCarthy to go into a certain area of research 110
McCarthy9s view of what was the cause of a certain problem 111
McCarthy9s attempt to introduce a rival to something commonly used 112
McCarthy9s continuing belief in the importance of a certain field 113
a common belief about McCarthy 114
McCarthy9s criticism of an area of research he had been involved in 115
SECTION D. WRITING (60 points)
Part 1. Read the following extract and use your own words to summarize it. Your summary should be 100 to 120 words.
The title of Fats, Shoots and Leaves refers to a famously misplaced comma in a wildlife
manual that ended up suggesting a panda rather violently eating shoots and leaves. The author of this book, journalist Lynne Truss, is something akin to
a militant linguist, dedicating this Bolshevik printers of St. Petersburg who, in demanding the same remuneration for punctuation
as they received for letters, ended up setting in motion the first Russian Revolution.
Some of the book involves humorous attacks on erroneous punctuation. There is the
confused Shakespearian thespian who inadvertently turns a frantic plea: surgeons!= into the cheerful encouragement of have a ubiquitous presence. A bakery declares that – promoting grammar ignorance, or a postmodern caricature of atrocious punctuation.
Eats, Shoots and Leaves is not just a piece of comedy and ridicule, however, and Truss has plenty to offer on
the question of proper grammar usage. If you have ever wondered whether it is acceptable to simply use an dash=1 in place of a comma – the verdict from Truss is that you can. which makes it more attractive,= she suggests. effects.= The author concludes, with characteristic wry condescension, that the em dash9s popularity largely rests
on people knowing it is almost impossible to use incorrectly. Truss is a personal champion of the semicolon, a
historically contentious punctuation mark elsewhere maligned by novelist Kurt Vonnegut Jr., as a hermaphrodite representing absolutely nothing=. Coming to the semicolon9s defence, Truss suggests that while it
can certainly be overused – she refers to the dying words of one 20th century writer: semicolons, the semicolon can perform the role of a kind of Special Policeman in the event of comma fights.= Page 11 of 12 pages about:blank 11/15 14:54 29/7/24
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The charts below give information about weather in two Brazilian cities.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
Part 3. Write an essay of 350 words on the following topic: that field of study.=
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Present argumentation to highlight your opinion on this matter. Give reasons and specific examples to support your opinion(s). -THE END- Page 12 of 12 pages about:blank 12/15 14:54 29/7/24
NEC MOCK TEST 5 - Harmonious relationship: mối quan hệ hoà hợp Fragile rel… ANSWER KEY
SECTION A. LISTENING (50 points) Part 1 1. bumps and bruises 2. intubating 3. mastoiditis 4. veteran 5. a telehealth nurse Part 2 6. TRUE 7. TRUE 8. FALSE 9. TRUE 10. TRUE Part 3 11. B 12. D 13. C 14. A 15. C Part 4
16. islands of magnetism 17. rare 18. solar disk
19. blinding surface
20. proper filter
21. magnification
22. ultra-thin atmosphere
23. solar wind bombardment
24. comet-like tail
25. density of gas
SECTION B. USE OF ENGLISH (40 points) Part 1 26. D 27. D 28. C 29. A 30. C 31. A 32. B 33. D 34. C 35. C 36. D 37. C 38. D 39. B 40. B Part 2 41. innumeracy
42. impoverished
43. emancipation 44. privileged 45. trappings 46. preoccupied 47. intolerance 48. unscrupulous 49. extremism
50. irrespective Part 3 51. down 52. himself 53. later/afterwards 54. allow/permit 55. nothing 56. something 57. except/but 58. until 59. could 60. a 61. that 62. all 63. the/his 64. belongs 65. like/want/wish
SECTION C. READING (50 points) Part 1 66. B 67. A 68. D 69. C 70. D 71. C 72. A 73. B 74. D 75. B Part 2 76. v 77. viii 78. iii 79. ix 80. i 81. x 82. dizzy heights
83. major cumulus cloud 84. oxygen
85. 6.5°C; thousand/1000 metres 86. F 87. A 88. E Part 3 89. D 90. E 91. F 92. H 93. G 94. C 95. B Part 4 96. C 97. D 98. D 99. A 100. B 101. D 102. B 103. C 104. C 105. B Part 5 106. E 107. F 108. B 109. D 110. E 111. A 112. E 113. F 114. A 115. C about:blank 13/15 14:54 29/7/24
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SECTION D: WRITING (60 points) Part 1
Sample summary (from IELTS Simulation Tests)
Eats, Shoots and Leaves is a book on punctuation by journalist Lynne Truss, who could be described
as a militant linguist. She dedicates the book to the Bolshevik printers who started the first Russian
Revolution by protesting for better pay conditions. The book is partly a humorous criticism of incorrect
punctuation. Some of the examples are so bad it is possible that they are actually a postmodern
caricature. Truss also guides the reader on correct punctuation usage. She likes the em dash because
it is not as formal as the semicolon, for example, but remains a personal champion of the latter due to
its ability to discipline areas of text that are crowded with commas. (115 words) Part 2
Sample report (from IELTS Trainer)
These charts give information about the rainfall and temperatures for the cities of Brasilia and Recife,
with additional data about hours of sunshine and days with thunder.
Although temperatures in Brasilia can be quite extreme, from just above freezing to 37°C, the average
daily temperatures in Recife are not so variable. In Brasilia the range can be as great as 15 degrees,
but in Recife average daily temperatures generally vary from 22°C to 31°C throughout the year.
The most noticeable contrast is in the rainfall. Brasilia is wettest from September to May, with only
two or three wet days in June, July and August. During the wet months, there is thunder on
approximately half the days. By contrast, Recife has at least ten wet days, even in its driest season,
which lasts from October to January. From April to August there is rain on over twenty days per month.
However, thunder is less common there, with a maximum of three thundery days in April. (164 words) Part 3
Sample essay (by Hà Duy Bảo Thiên)
From the Internet to artificial intelligence, from forensics to nuclear weapons, each is based on
different scientific approaches. The focus of multiple perspectives on a study field is all too familiar in
the scientific realm, and believed to be crucial if that field wants to progress further. Personally, I
completely agree with such view.
Firstly, the need for interrelation between fields stems from the nature of science. It is prompted by
human innate desire to discover and make sense of the world around them. As there are countless
phenomena and each comprises numerous aspects, multiple areas of knowledge are needed and new
disciplines are thus created to enable flexible interpretations. This proves why all branches of science
must co-exist to facilitate human understanding of their environment. For example, in order to help
police solve crimes, forensics emerges as a way to track the right criminals. To do so, various
knowledge fields must come into play: from chemistry for evidence analysis, human anatomy for
autopsy procedures, to technology for data-tracking.
Secondly, introducing external views to a field of study can help remove obstacles within and outside
it. Such approach allows each aspect of that field to be thoroughly scrutinised and rectified, with
contributory knowledge from various domains. In the process, one can learn about methods previously
unknown to his field and use them to address its issues. Therefore, a problem is questioned from various
standpoints, each with a number of corresponding solutions. For instance, climate change cannot be
eradicated if it is a matter restricted only to climatology. To effectively resolve it, the phenomenon must
also be viewed in relation to agriculture, economics or policymaking, each of which helps to address
part of the issue and thus mitigate its overall effects. Undoubtedly, the convergence of different domains
allows them to rid each other of riddles, paving clear paths for advancement.
Thirdly, fusing various principles into a particular study field can boost its own credibility and its
researchers' creativity, yielding more chances for development. When different fields are brought
together, ideas are exchanged and if compatible, combined to produce new ones. For the latter to occur,
experts must fully understand each other's specialisations, which in turn requires creativity and critical
thinking. The process also generates new disciplines that broaden the scope of science, thus increasing about:blank 14/15 14:54 29/7/24
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its prevalence and applicability. This makes science in general and any discipline in particular more
comprehensive and diverse, hence greater advancement.
To conclude, interdisciplinary approach is central to the advancement of any study field due to the
former9s ability to minimise errors and enhance scientific prestige, as well as our need for multiple
interpretations to understand life. As new disciplines are bound to emerge, such approach will strongly
unite the world of science and aim its specialties towards completeness. (462 words) about:blank 15/15