Nec Mock test - English Bonanza kỳ thi chọn học sinh giỏi quốc gia THPT năm 2021
Nec Mock test - English Bonanza kỳ thi chọn học sinh giỏi quốc gia THPT năm 2021 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
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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:
ENGLISH BONANZA
KỲ THI CHỌN HỌC SINH GIỎI QUỐC GIA THPT NĂM 2021 Môn thi: TIẾNG ANH Thời gian thi:
180 phút (Không kể thời gian giao đề) SỐ PHÁCH Ngày thi: 09/9/2021
Đề thi có 11 trang
• Thí sinh không được sử dụng tài liệu, kể cả từ điển.
• Giám thị không giải thích gì thêm. I. LISTENING (50 POINTS)
HƯỚNG DẪN PHẦN THI NGHE HIỂU
• Bài nghe gồm 4 phần; mỗi phần được nghe 2 lần, mỗi lần cách nhau 05 giây; mở đầu và kết thúc mỗi
phần nghe có tín hiệu.
• Mở đầu và kết thúc bài nghe có tín hiệu nhạc. Thí sinh có 02 phút để hoàn chỉnh bài trước tín hiệu
nhạc kết thúc bài nghe.
• Mọi hướng dẫn cho thí sinh (bằng tiếng Anh) đã có trong bài nghe
Part 1. For questions 1-5, listen to the record about asphodel, a carnivorous plant and decide whether
these statements are True (T) or False (F). Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
1. It was in 1879 that botanists realized asphodel was a carnivorous plant.
2. Professor Sean Graham and some other botanists knew asphodel as a carnivore in advance.
3. Scientists have discovered about 1000 carnivorous flora.
4. Sean Graham states that asphodel is the only carnivore among common plants.
5. According to Dr Qianshi Lin, asphodel’s uniqueness lies in that insects pol inating its flowers will be trapped. Your answers: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Part 2. For question 6 – 10, listen to a recording talking about some facts about the hedgehog and
answer the questions. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS taken from the recording for each answer.
6. On what basis can it be concluded that hedgehogs have gained in polarity as family-friendly mammals?
________________________________________________________________________________________
7. What do the substances found in hedgehogs’ spines give them?
________________________________________________________________________________________
8. What is the special occurrence in hedgehogs that scientists and biologists are unable to figure it out?
________________________________________________________________________________________
9. What wil hedgehogs often do after arriving at the source of the smel which they've recently recognized?
________________________________________________________________________________________
10. Why is it normal for hedgehogs to spend time sleeping?
________________________________________________________________________________________
Part 3. For questions 11-15, listen to an interview with Simon Lessing, who is a leading expert on the
phenomenon of modern piracy and choose the correct answer A, B, C, or D which fits best according
to what you hear. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
11. What does modern pirates distinguishes from those of previous generation?
A. The degree of advanced planning.
B. That they use more than one form of weaponry.
C. That victims are often murdered.
D. The targeting of ships with a certain type of crew.
12. Common sources of information for pirate gangs are people who A. Work for shipping companies B. Operate computer networks.
C. Work for multinational corporations. D. Handle the payrol .
13. In Lessing’s view, what is the problem with “flags of convinience”?
A. They are bought for a low registration fee.
B. They can be used at open sea.
C. They make hijacked ships harder to identify.
D. They help pirates identify easy target.
14. Why does Lessing imply that piracy is a more widespread problem than it used to be?
A. Because of the forms of disguises pirates now adopt.
B. It affects more than just merchant vessels.
C. The method of counting and recording incidents has changed.
D. Pirates have stopped targeting major sea lanes.
15. How does Lessing feel the romantic notions of pirates?
A. They have never been accurate.
B. They stil apply to modern piracy in some of its forms.
C. They are appropriate to those who used riddles to indicate the location of their loot.
D. They persist in modern times because of hidden treasure. Your answers: 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.
Part 4. For questions 16-25, listen to a piece of news talking about an evil government and supply the
blanks with the missing information. Write NO MORE THAN FOUR WORDS taken from the recording
for each answer in the space provided.
Although people might deem American soldiers’ leaving Afganistan after 20 years as essential, many
Afghans now have to live in (16) _________________________.
Despite the fact that the Taliban particularly or (17) ________________________ on the whole might
be of grave concern, the American military stil have to join forces with them in order to get rid of ISIS-K.
Because the Taliban is a group of extremists, this col aboration might end up with (18)
____________________ taking control.
In 1996 when the Taliban governed Afghanistan, they distorted their faiths by (19)
_____________________ of such on Afghans. After having made their words to prioritize (20)
___________________, they brought them into practice by cruel and moral y deteriorating acts like
public corporal punishments or women getting their lives (21) ______________________.
(22) _____________________, they manslaughtered anyone including Muslims who went against or
just didn’t vouch for their (23) _______________________.
After al , the Taliban is just an (24) _____________________, empirical y evil troop of barbarians which
by no means can be considered as a government. America shouldn’t provide them with any (25)
_________________________ and should hurrily find a way to prevent them from taking further actions.
B. LEXICO AND GRAMMAR (20 POINTS)
Part 1. For questions 26-39, choose the correct answer A, B, C or D to each of the following questions
and write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
26. They made a(n) ______ with their decision to lease their current house. A. driving B. earning C. kil ing D. streaming
27. During the pandemic, many people spend hours _______ on their cel phones or laptops. A. at earnest B. cut and dried C. on end D. in two shakes
28. I always carry a bag of dried fruits to snack on when I've ______. A. been up a gum tree B. had a bun in the oven C. broken bread D. got the munchies
29. I real y love skydiving because I ______ freefal ing from enormous heights. A. rest on your laurels with B. get a real kick out of C. gloat over D. bang for the buck in
30. My mother is such a _____ the chess that I can rarely defeat her. A. virtuoso B. boffin C. whizz D. hotshot
31. When my teacher started using ______ teaching methods, many students’ parents reprimanded him. A. unorthodox B. impending C. ergonomic D. intrepid
32. When my son won the biggest award of the night, the audience fil ed the room with _____ applause. A. succulent B. tumultuous C. seductive D. uncanny
33. Though they made no effort in the first half, the visiting team gained the ______ in the second. A. first lead B. throw-in C. underdog D. upper hand
34. Stars of the Hol ywood silver screen tend to be larger than ______. A. drama B. life C. reality D. ever
35. It must be a success when we could train most of the citizens to ______ observe laws and regulations. A. heartily B. passionately C. keenly D. enthusiastical y
36. The pace of trading ______ during the disaster-stricken months. A. dwindled B. slackened C. abated D. al eviated
37. In the ____ between two invitations, my sisters went to Thai Binh. A. practice B. closing C. rush D. interim
38. Susie as wel as her coaches ____ any idea of her plan for next year. A. have not voiced B. do not voice C. has not voiced D. is not voicing
39. My brother often exaggerates an il ness with an aim to _____ his work at the office. A. head off B. skive off C. scope out D. dial down
40. Our manager held a meeting and _________ our opinions about our company’s upcoming marketing campaign. A. interrogate B. scrutinize C. canvass D. tal y Your answers: 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40.
Part 2. For questions 41-45, write the correct form of each bracketed word in the numbered space provided. Your answers:
41. We have been (METHOD) conservative in only retaining political 41. ___________________
variables significant over al four rounds.
42. Despite the looming split, they are reportedly (FAST) on continuing to 42. ___________________
work closely together in their foundation.
43. The book’s discoveries chart shifts in geology, climate and culture with 43. ___________________
an optimistic sense of (WANDER).
44. Let us look at the improved health and condition of our children—clear- 44. ___________________
eyed, (LIMB), bonny children who are a pride and satisfaction to al of us.
45. Philosophers accustomed to clear and (VIOLATE) boundaries made by 45. ___________________ the Creator. III. READING (50 POINTS)
Part 1. For questions 46-55, fill each of the following numbered blanks with ONE suitable word and
write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
Newspaper publishers estimate that nearty six out of ten adults in the United States and Canada read a
newspaper every day, and seven out of ten read a paper each weekend. By the time they see a newspaper,
most people have already learned about (46) __________ news stories on television or radio. Readers (47)
_________ on newspapers to provide detailed background information and analysis, which television and radio
newscasts rarely offer. Newspapers not only inform readers that an (48) __________ happened but also help
readers understand (49) __________ led up to the event and how it wil affect the world around them.
The staff of a large newspaper works under the constant (50) ___________ of deadines to bring news
to readers as quickly as human energy and technological devices permit. Reporters photographers, artists, and
editors compile articles and graphics - sometimes in just a few hours. Page designer assemble articles, photos,
lustrations, advertisements, and eye-catching headines into (51) _________ layouts, then rush their work to
the printer. Printing technicians may work through the night operating printing presses that can (52) _________
out more than 60,000 copies per hour.
Newspapers trace their roots to handwritten news sheets posted daily in the public marketplaces of (53)
____________ Rome and Greece. The first printed newspapers appeared in China during the Tang dynasty
(AD 616-907). These (54) ____________ were printed from carved wood blocks. Precursors to moderm
papers first appeared in Venice, taly, in the middle of the 14th century. Newspapers (55) ___________ known
today, complete with advertising and a mixture of political, economic, and social news and commentary,
emerged in Britain in the mid-18th centura. Your answers: 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55.
Part 2. For questions 56-68, read the following passage and do the tasks that follow.
OPTIMISM – THE KEY TO A GOOD LIFE
It's an age-old battle. Pessimists think optimists are foolish; optimists think pessimists make themselves
unnecessarily miserable. A lot of research has been done on this issue in the last 30 years. Have we answered
the question yet? Is the glass half-ful or half-empty?
Optimistic people are happier than pessimists. When something bad happens, optimists think of it as
temporary, limited in its effect, and not entirely their fault. Pessimists do the opposite. They consider the
setback to be permanent, far-reaching and their entire fault. There are varying degrees of this, of course; it's
not black or white. Most people fal somewhere between the two extremes. The main difference between
optimists and pessimists is how they explain setbacks to themselves. Optimism and pessimism both tend to be
self-fulfil ing prophecies. Pessimistic explanations tend to make people feel defeated—making them less likely
to take constructive action. Optimistic explanations, on the other hand, make people more likely to act. If they
think the setback is only temporary, people are apt to try to do something about it, and because they take
action, they make it temporary. Using these definitions, researchers find that optimism contributes to good
health and pessimism contributes to il ness. Chris Peterson was teaching a class in abnormal psychology at
Virginia Tech. When he told his students to fil out an Attributional Style Questionnaire—a careful y designed
test that determines a person's level of optimism and pessimism. The students also answered questions about
their general health, including how often they went to a doctor. Peterson fol owed the health of his students the
fol owing year and discovered that the pessimists had twice as many infectious diseases and made twice as
many trips to the doctor as the optimists. Later, Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania and two of
his col eagues, using interviews and blood tests, found that optimists have better immune activity than
pessimists. The study shows that university freshmen who participated in a workshop on cognitive coping skil s
reported fewer adverse physical problems and took a more active role in maintaining their health.
In the study, incoming freshmen were asked to complete a questionnaire designed to reflect their
overal attitudes and coping behaviors. Seligman and Buchanan invited those students identified as the most
pessimistic to participate in the study. Students were randomly assigned to attend either the 16-hour workshop
or a control group. Workshop participants learned to dispute their chronic negative thoughts as wel as learned
social and work skil s that can help avert depression. After an 18-month fol ow-up, the preliminary findings
showed that 22 percent of the workshop participants had suffered moderate or severe depression by blind
clinical diagnosis, compared with 32 percent of the control group subjects. Also, only 7 percent of the workshop
participants suffered from a moderate or severe anxiety disorder, compared with 15 percent of the control
group. Workshop participants also reported fewer health problems during the course of the workshop, and
were more likely than control subjects to see a physician for maintenance or checkups rather than wait until
they became il . While the subjects were young and general y healthy, Buchanan speculated the study could
be replicated using older more vulnerable subjects.
Studies by other researchers show the same thing. Why? One big factor is that " pessimistic
individuals," as Seligman writes, "get depressed more easily and more often. " When a person is depressed,
certain brain hormones become depleted, creating a chain of biochemical events that end up slowing down the
activity of the immune system. For example, two key players in our immune systems are T cel s and NK cel s.
T cel s recognize invaders (like viruses) and make more copies of them to kil off the invaders. Pessimists' T
cel s don't multiply as quickly as optimists', al owing invaders to get the upper hand • and NK cel s circulate in
the blood and kil whatever they come across that they identify as alien (such as cancer cel s). Pessimists' NK
cel s can identify alien entities, but they don't destroy them as wel as the optimists' NK cel s.
Optimists also look at information in more depth to find out what they can do about the risk factors. In a
study by Lisa Aspinwal , PhD, at the University of Maryland, subjects read health-related information on cancer
and other topics. She discovered that optimists spent more time than pessimists reading the severe risk
material and they remembered more of it. " These are people," says Aspinwal , "who aren't sitting around
wishing things were different. They believe in a better outcome, and that whatever measures they take wil help
them to heal." In other words, instead of having their heads in the clouds, optimistic people look. They do more
than look, they seek. They aren't afraid to look into the situation because they're optimistic. Thus, for yet
another reason, optimists are likely to be healthier. And it is also true that the better their health, the easier it is
for them to maintain an optimistic outlook. And every effort they make to keep an optimistic attitude will reward
them with a stronger immune system.
The best news is what research has shown repeatedly: anyone can become more optimistic with effort.
Pessimists can learn to see the temporary aspects of setbacks. They can be more specific about the effects of
it, they can learn to not take al the blame and they can learn to take credit for the good they do. Al it takes is
practice. Optimism is simply a way of thinking about good and bad; it's a cognitive skil anyone can learn. So,
what about the age-old conflict'/ Is the glass half-ful or half-empty? The best answer is that the glass is both
half-ful and half-empty, but you're much better off if you think of it as half-ful . When bad happens; assume it
won't last long, look to see what isn't affected, and don't indulge in self-blame. When good happens; consider
its effects permanent, see how much of your life is affected, and look to see how much you can take credit for.
For question 56-61, decide whether the following statements are True (T), False (F) or Not Given (NG).
Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
56. Studies indicate that pessimists are unhealthy.
57. Students were assigned, according to their levels of pessimism, to attend a workshop or a control group respectively.
58. Control subjects are more reluctant to see doctors and waited for their situations to worsen.
59. Pessimists' NK cel s have the same function and efficiency as optimists'.
60. Lisa Aspinwal discovered that optimists have better memory than pessimists
61. People ought to see the glass as both half-ful and half-empty. Your answers:
For question 62-65, match each of the following opinions or deeds with the correct letter A, B, C or D.
Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided. A. Chris Peterson B. Lisa Aspinwal C. Buchanan D. Martin Seligman and col eagues
62. concludes that optimists are belter aware of their situations because of the more positive attitude they take.
63. conducted a one-year study.
64. invited university freshmen to participate in a cognitive coping skil s workshop.
65. suggested conducting the study on older subjects. Your answers:
For question 66-68, read the following summary and fill in the blank with NO MORE THAN THREE
WORDS taken from the passage. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
Studies have identified the mechanism by which pessimists get unhealthier as a biochemical chain
reaction. Depression inhibits the secretion of (66) _______________ which in tum reduces the efficiency of
(67) _______________. Although pessimists and optimists have T cel s and NK cel s alike, the formers'
reproduce fewer T cel s which detect and attack viruses. And their NK cel s are less powerful in combating (68)
_______________ making it possible for invaders to prevail. Your answers:
Part 3. In the passage below, seven paragraphs have been removed. For questions 69-75, 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 box provided.
TESTING THE WATER: DO SPAS WORK?
In the first of a two-day series, Cassandra Jardine examines whether spas - long appreciated in Europe - have any medical benefits
Last winter was awful. I spent most of it in bed, suffering from one chest infection after another. Ever since I
became run-down after thyroid col apse and pneumonia, I have had chest trouble and I would love to do something about it. 69.
Then Thermalia, which specialises in health tourism, came up with the offer of a week at Termes Montbrió in
Spain. They offer a programme for improving "respiratory tracks" - and I couldn't resist the idea of reading
books in the Mediterranean sunshine and thinking of my husband struggling to get the children to school.
Thermalia specialises in spas that purport to do you good. They only represent the luxury end of the market,
shunning most of the traditional middle and eastern European spas. As Miro Sajfert, Thermalia's managing
director, explains, those can be old-fashioned and adopt a utilitarian - not to say bossy - approach. 70.
Miro passes me a pile of research papers, mainly from the University of Padua, where the denizens of the
department of biology wal ow in the natural hot springs of Abano Terme. Their aim is to prove to the medical
establishment that treatments (fangotherapy) using local mud impregnated and matured in that water are more
beneficial than using any old mud. 71.
Scientists believe that the mineral content of the spring, and the algae in mud imbued with it, have an impact
that lasts for months after a visit. As the Paduans show, mineral waters, whether drunk or wal owed in,
penetrate the tissues and alter hormone levels. 72.
One problem for spa users is that European Spas Association members cannot even agree on the definition of
a spa. Is a health farm in England offering true thalassotherapy when it imports sea water for a treatment pool?
Can an inner-city beauty salon with fancy showers cal itself a spa? 73.
Water is relaxing to be in or near and relaxation benefits the immune system and lessens arterial narrowing. At
thalassotherapy centres, the sea air, with its high ozone content, reinforces this effect. At inland spas, it is often
the sunshine and the clean air that make a difference, says Kavounas. Accounts by 18th and 19th-century
visitors to spas convinced her that the "cures" owed most to a light diet, drinking water instead of alcohol. 74.
My week in Spain involved an hour and a half of therapy each day, in three sections. Part one was inhalacion:
breathing in mineral-enriched steam to soften the broncial tissues. Next came oxygeno: lying in a chair
breathing from a bubbling cylinder to reoxygenate those cel s deprived over the winter by my poor breathing. 75.
I emerged after a week feeling and looking considerably better. But I cannot tel what made the difference. Was
it the treatment itself, the change of scene and pace, the water, or the absence of al responsibility? Also,
although I know that my Spanish improved considerably, I cannot tel whether my lungs benefited. If asthma
was my problem I would know whether I was breathing more easily, but how do you know if you are less likely
to succumb to another infection? I'll find out next winter.
Missing paragraphs:
A. The same holds true today. And yet, if you are visiting a spa because you have a health problem,
choose with care. The hotter the water, the longer it has been underground and the higher the mineral
content. Heat suits some problems and not others. Climate makes a difference. And so does the
medical expertise a spa develops through long association with a particular ailment. Sometimes, too, a
place is worth visiting for its doctors.
B. The deal was that I took it seriously and went for a week. "Any less and it won't work," he told me,
firmly. He goes to a spa himself four times a year. By these he means a resort using natural y occuring
spring or sea water for healing - and it helps him to stay healthy, he believes.
C. Go to a spa, wel wishers suggested. But spas - or at least the health farms I've visited - are good fun for
hen nights and losing a few pounds. As a way to tackle recurring bronchitis, it seemed an expensive, time-consuming long-shot.
D. It's not so improbable. Nicotine patches work, as Alice Kavounas, author of Water Pure Therapy points
out, so why shouldn't bathing in fresh or sea water have an effect beneath the skin? "They walk
racehorses in the sea to strengthen them and not just for the salt," she says. "In Greece, where my
family comes from, people swim daily for their health."
E. Britain has largely missed out on the growing enthusiasm for spas - in America, 88 mil ion spa trips are
taken each year - but we are catching up. Droitwich, the first traditional British spa to reopen, sits above
an underground lake as saline as the Dead Sea, and has a clinic and pool. Bath is due to reopen in
2002, fol owed by Harrogate and Cheltenham.
F. It depends on the importance ascribed to the water itself. Alice Kavounas says the composition of a
mineral water is not what makes a spa effective. "There is nothing special, for example, about the water
at Lourdes," she says. "Any good water should contain a good deal of magnesium and calcium and
very little nitrates. It's other factors that make the difference."
G. Part three consisted of, on alternate days, reflexology and back massage with "clapping" (gentle
thumping) to loosen any gunk in the lungs. In addition, there were endless exercise and relaxation
classes, which I attended religiously, and meals that were healthy, but not austerely so.
H. These treatments have been taken seriously in Europe since Greek and Roman times. You can get spa
treatments courtesy of the state and health insurers in France, Austria, Hungary and Italy; the problem
for those governments is rationing the length and frequency of visits. Many of the springs - as at
Lourdes - have acquired quasi-magical reputations for curing people. Today, spas only claim to be able
to help with muscular, skeletal, respiratory, digestive, skin and reproductive problems - but that's good enough for most of us. Your answers: 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75.
Part 4. For questions 76-85, read a piece of story below and choose the answer A, B, C or D that fits
best according to the text. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
Recent years have brought minority-owned businesses in the United States unprecedented
opportunities—as wel as new and significant risks. Civil rights activists have long argued that one of the
principal reasons why Blacks, Hispanics, and other minority groups have difficulty establishing themselves in
business is that they lack access to the sizable orders and subcontracts that are generated by large
companies. Now Congress, in apparent agreement, has required by law that businesses awarded federal
contracts of more than $500,000 do their best to find minority subcontractors and record their efforts to do so
on forms filed with the government. Indeed, some federal and local agencies have gone so far as to set
specific percentage goals for apportioning parts of public works contracts to minority enterprises.
The corporate response appears to have been substantial. According to figures col ected in 1977,
the total of corporate contracts with minority businesses rose from $77 mil ion in 1972 to $1.1 bil ion in 1977.
The projected total of corporate contracts with minority businesses for the early 1980’s is estimated to be over
53 bil ion per year with no letup anticipated in the next decade. Promising as it is for minority businesses, this
increased patronage poses dangers for them, too. First, minority firms risk expanding too fast and
overextending themselves financial y, since most are smal concerns and, unlike large businesses, they often
need to make substantial investments in new plants, staff, equipment, and the like in order to perform work
subcontracted to them. If, thereafter, their subcontracts are for some reason reduced, such firms can face
potential y crippling fixed expenses. The world of corporate purchasing can be frustrating for smal
entrepreneurs who get requests for elaborate formal estimates and bids. Both consume valuable time and
resources, and a smal company’s efforts must soon result in orders, or both the morale and the financial
health of the business wil suffer.
A second risk is that White-owned companies may seek to cash in on the increasing apportionments
through formation of joint ventures with minority-owned concerns. Of course, in many instances there are
legitimate reasons for joint ventures; clearly, White and minority enterprises can team up to acquire business
that neither could acquire alone. But civil rights groups and minority business owners have complained to
Congress about minorities being set up as “fronts” with White backing, rather than being accepted as ful
partners in legitimate joint ventures.
Third, a minority enterprise that secures the business of one large corporate customer often runs the
danger of becoming—and remaining—dependent. Even in the best of circumstances, fierce competition from
larger, more established companies makes it difficult for smal concerns to broaden their customer bases:
when such firms have nearly guaranteed orders from a single corporate benefactor, they may truly have to
struggle against complacency arising from their current success.
76. The primary purpose of the passage is to ____________.
A. present a commonplace idea and its inaccuracies
B. describe a situation and its potential drawbacks
C. propose a temporary solution to a problem
D. analyze a frequent source of disagreement
77. The passage supplies information that would answer which of the fol owing questions?
A. What federal agencies have set percentage goals for the use of minority-owned businesses in public works contracts?
B. What is one set of conditions under which a smal business might find itself financially overextended?
C. How widespread is the use of minority-owned concerns as “fronts” by White backers seeking to obtain subcontracts?
D. How many more minority-owned businesses were there in 1977 than in 1972?
78. According to the passage, civil rights activists maintain that one disadvantage under which minority-owned
businesses have traditional y had to labor is that they have ____________.
A. been especial y vulnerable to governmental mismanagement of the economy
B. been denied bank loans at rates comparable to those afforded larger competitors
C. not had sufficient opportunity to secure business created by large corporations
D. not been able to advertise in those media that reach large numbers of potential customers
79. The passage suggests that the failure of a large business to have its bids for subcontracts result quickly in
orders might cause it to _____________.
A. experience frustration but not serious financial harm
B. face potential y crippling fixed expenses
C. have to record its efforts on forms filed with the government
D. increase its spending with minority subcontractors
80. The author implies that a minority-owned concern that does the greater part of its business with one large
corporate customer should ___________.
A. avoid competition with larger, more established concerns by not expanding
B. concentrate on securing even more business from that corporation
C. try to expand its customer base to avoid becoming dependent on the corporation
D. pass on some of the work to be done for the corporation to other minority-owned concerns
81. It can be inferred from the passage that, compared with the requirements of law, the percentage goals set
by “some federal and local agencies” underlined in the text are __________.
A. more popular with large corporations B. more specific C. less controversial D. less expensive to enforce
82. Which of the fol owing, if true, would most weaken the author’s assertion that, in the 1970’s, corporate
response to federal requirements (underlined sentence) was substantial?
A. Corporate contracts with minority-owned businesses totaled $2 bil ion in 1979.
B. Between 1970 and 1972, corporate contracts with minority-owned businesses declined by 25 percent.
C. The figures col ected in 1977 underrepresented the extent of corporate contracts with minority- owned businesses.
D. The $1.1 bil ion represented the same percentage of total corporate spending in 1977 as did $77 mil ion in 1972.
83. The passage most likely appeared in ________. A. a business magazine
B. an encyclopedia of Black history to 1945
C. a dictionary of financial terms
D. a yearbook of business statistics
84. The author would most likely agree with which of the fol owing statements about corporate response to
working with minority subcontractors?
A. Annoyed by the proliferation of “front” organizations, corporations are likely to reduce their efforts to
work with minority-owned subcontractors in the near future.
B. Although corporations showed considerable interest in working with minority businesses in the
1970’s, their aversion to government paperwork made them reluctant to pursue many government contracts.
C. The significant response of corporations in the 1970’s is likely to be sustained and conceivably be
increased throughout the 1980’s.
D. Although corporations are eager to cooperate with minority-owned businesses, a shortage of capital
in the 1970’s made substantial response impossible.
85. The word “legitimate” has the CLOSEST meaning to __________. A. lawful B. endorsed C. authentic D. genuine Your answers: 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85.
Part 5. The passage below consists of five paragraphs marked A-D. For questions 86-95, read the
passage and do the task that follows. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided. LOCKED IN TIME
What are the issues surrounding the preservation of good architecture?
A. Emerging from the Lincoln tunnel into midtown Manhattan in New York, a yel ow cab from JFK Airport
takes you past an architectural masterpiece, Number 510 Fifth Avenue was originally the Manufacturers
Hanover Trust Bank and was designed in 1954 as a new kind of banking house, something other than a thick-
wal ed fortress. It was a glass temple of finance, inviting passers-by to step through its cool transparency and
be converted to its gleaming vision of the future. Mid-twentieth-century banks were usual y mundane but at 510
Fifth Avenue, the vault was displayed behind the glazed facade and the escalators became central to the
composition, fal ing and rising diagonally across the gridded lines like an updated game of snakes and ladders.
The upper floor featured a gilded screen by the artist Harry Bertoia.
B. But things are changing at 510 Fifth Avenue. As a very careful y-designed and much-admired building, it
now finds itself at the frontier between developers and preservationists and it's turning into quite a fight. For if
there's one thing in architecture that causes friction, it's that our needs change, and so buildings must evolve
and adapt in order to stay useful. Within reason, Vornado Realty Trust, the site's owners and one of New
York's largest developers, has made the not unreasonable assumption that this commercial building on the
world's primary shopping street should be adapted to suit its new tenant, a retailer of lumberjack-style shirts.
For this purpose, the gilded screen has been dismantled, the entrance is to be moved, the escalator reversed
and the vault moved. On the basis that the facades remain intact, the Landmarks Preservation Commission
approved these changes in April. But in July, a judge halted work after a legal chal enge by the Citizens'
Emergency Committee to Preserve Preservation, which argues that, given the transparency of the facade,
Landmark status must extend to those interior features that contribute to the streetscape. Too late. It is now
gutted, the interior features broken from their positions of more than half a century.
C. Architects are often feted for designing buildings whose form fol ows function. And that's reasonable -
intel igent design brings intel ectual and physical beauty to the world. But architects are no better at predicting
the future than the rest of us. Hence, the flip side to architectural masterpieces: the closer a building's form
fol ows its function, the bigger the upheaval when the original purpose no longer needs to be served.
Preservation groups are aware that conservation is an expensive business. Arguments to preserve for
preservation's sake are weakened when loans are in short supply and the economic buoyancy that might offer
a long-term business case for the sensitive commercial usage of old buildings starts to sink. The stronger
argument is to update historic places so they can fund themselves. In any repurposing of a historic building,
something has to give. And it usual y gives in the direction of apartments, shops, restaurants or art gal eries. It's a global picture.
D. The most exciting new place in New York is the High Line, built as an elevated railway through the
Meatpacking District and unused since the 1980s. It was scheduled to be torn down, but local residents started
a grass-roots movement in 1999. Three years on, they gained the authorities' support for a radical
redevelopment as a city garden, a string of improbable greenery threading through an overlooked quarter that
has since spread economic fertiliser in its wake with hotels, boutiques and bars abounding. Back in Fifth
Avenue, there's much hand-wringing over the stripped modern icon. Is it too late to hope the perfect tenant wil
turn up and want to strike a deal? If it's not to change further, who wil put it back together, take care of it and run it as ... what - an icon?
In which section does the writer mention
86. the idea that a preservation project can regenerate the surrounding area? ______
87. why a particular structure stood out amongst its contemporaries? ______
88. the inescapable need to make compromises when structures find a new use? ______
89. a successful attempt to halt the total destruction of an obsolete structure? ______
90. a paradox regarding the work of highly renowned architects? ______
91. an approach to saving the architectural heritage that cannot always be financed? ______
92. how an architect made a feature of something which is usual y obscured? ______
93. a disagreement about how a principle should be applied in practice? ______
94. a structure that embodied the optimism of its time? ______
95. a feeling that alterations to a structure were justifiable? ______ D. WRITING (60 POINTS)
Part 1. Read the following extract and use your own words to summarise it. Your summary should be
between 120 and 140 words long.
Nearly half of al Math lessons are not good enough, according to an Ofsted report out today which
suggests that even though more pupils are getting qualifications, uninspiring teaching means they often lack
understanding of math mathematical concepts.
Children are being dril ed to pass the exams and enrol for booster and revision classes, but are not
equipped with the mathematical skil s or knowledge needed for their future, it wil say. The study by the schools
inspectorate, based on inspections of 192 primary and secondary schools, focuses on the most serious
problems in secondaries , where pupils were making inadequate progress in about 10 % of lessons. It wil
claim that 45 % of Math classes were only satisfactory or worse - a judgment which Ofsted wil say is not good enough.
Primary schools are fal ing to identify gifted children at an early age, it wil say. The schools minister,
Lord Adonis, will appeal to primaries to improve their work with gifted pupils. It comes after this summer's tests
showed a drop in the number of pupils obtaining top marks for literacy.
The report will say: "Evidence suggests that strategies to improve test and examination performance,
including 'booster' lessons, revision classes and extensive intervention, coupled with a heavy emphasis on
"teaching to the test", succeed in preparing pupils to gain the qualifications but are not equipping them wel enough for their future"
Ofsted wil blame the government's testing regime for narrowing children's understanding, and say that
it leaves some pupils unable to explain mathematical theory because they are too used to answering narrow questions in tests.
"Pupils rarely investigate open-ended problems which might offer them opportunities to choose which
approach to adopt or to reason and generalize. Most lessons do not emphasize mathematical talk enough; as
a result, pupils struggle to express and develop their thinking, "the report will say.
Christine Gilbert, Ofsted's chief inspector, said last night: "Too many schools are not teaching
mathematics wel enough. The way mathematics is taught can make a huge difference to the level of
enthusiasm and interest for the subject."
Jim Knight, the school minister, said: "While Ofsted's recognizes there are positive trends, with results
in Math up at al ages, we know that more needs to be done to improve Math for a long term. That's why we
are introducing a range of measures, back by £140m, which wil transform the standard of Math teaching."
He said the measures were being introduced to attract the best graduates to teaching and ensure that
every primary school has a specialist Math teacher within 10 years.
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Part 2. The chart gives information about Greece major import sources in 2017.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
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Part 3. Some people believe that standardized exams are an inappropriate way of measuring students’
performance and should be replaced by non-quantative assessment such as interviews and essays.
Do you agree or disagree with this view? Write an essay of about 350 words to express your opinion. Give
reason and specific examples to support your answer.
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