De thi

ĐỀ THI ĐỀ XUẤT
MÔN TIẾNG ANH 11
TRƯỜNG THPT CHUYÊN NGUYỄN TẤT THÀNH – YÊN BÁI
LISTENING (5 points)
Part 1. Listen to a talk about the Ant IPO delay and decide whether these statements are True (T),
False (F) or Not Given (NG).
1. Shanghai authorities disrupted Ant’s IPO at short notice on the grounds of its fragile business plans.
2. Ant Group’s IPO would have been unprecedented in the fintech industry.
3. Interference from China is the main reason accounting for the questionable status of Hong Kong as
a major financial centre.
4. Winston Ma forecasts that the fintech industry will not cease to enjoy a period of phenomenal
growth in the wilderness.
5. Recent regulations from the Chinese government will shift the role of Ant Group as a fintech
company.
Your answers
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Part 2. Listen to a talk about Neptune and answer the questions. Write NO MORE THAN THREE
WORDS taken from the recording for each answer in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
1. What is the distance between Neptune and the Sun?
______________________________________________________________________
2. What is Neptune’s core made up of besides water ice?
______________________________________________________________________

3. What gives Neptune blue color?
______________________________________________________________________
4. What can strong winds recorded on Neptune do?
______________________________________________________________________
5. What is the name of the spacecraft that has visited Neptune?
______________________________________________________________________
Part 3. Listen to part of an interview with an artist about the subject of art and choose the answer
(A, B, C or D) which fits best according to what you hear. Write your answers in the corresponding
numbered boxes provided.
1. How does Brendan feel about his work?
A. He prefers negative criticism to no reaction at all.
B. His intention is to provoke critics with his art.
C. He believes his art can only be viewed subjectively.
D. His definition of art is at odds with general opinion.
2. According to Brendan, standing on a chair
A. is an example of what art should be.
B. would be art if it was intended to be.
C. is an example of mediocre art.
D. would not be considered art by most people.
3. Brendan says that some successful artists
A. are not very good at drawing.
B. have not been able to create original art.
C. lack the ability to express ideas.
D. use excessively old-fashioned techniques.
4. Brendan doesn't think that
A. throwing paint at a canvas would constitute art.
B. it is difficult to come up with original ideas.
1

C. critics are open-minded enough.
D. modern art has nowhere left to go.
5. The invention of the camera
A. allowed more people to indulge their passion for taking portraits.
B. enabled photographers to imitate life more closely.
C. meant that artists were no longer restricted to copying from life.
D. changed the way society viewed the role of the artist.
Your answers
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Part 4. Listen to a talk about sleep and supply the blanks with the missing information. Write NO
MORE THAN THREE WORDS taken from the recording for each answer in the space provided.
SLEEP AND MENTAL HEALTH
1. The culprit behind our ______________________ relationship to sleep originates from our ancient
understanding of the subject.
2. Parents of small children have a disposition to be ______________________ in routine
negotiations.
3. Every reversal becomes a drama, every disappointment turns into a catastrophe and every
excitement shifts into ______________________.
4. An innovatively ______________________ approach to bedtimes when growing up can be
considered an expression of independence and individuality.
5. There are various ways of expressing our perceptions about lives, ranging from positive narratives

to appalling tales of complete ignorance and ______________________.
6. When exhaustion sets in, we tend to think in a ______________________ way.
7. When we lie in bed, we think that we bear a resemblance to a ______________________, for
instance, a rabbit or a squirrel.
8. Given the harsh grown-up life, we need to be free to ______________________ this.
9. It is inferred from curled squirrel position that mental problems cannot be universally handled by
______________________.
10. It is not until we have treated ourselves with a ______________________ or a long night’s sleep
that we understand the reasons to live.
LEXICO - GRAMMAR (3 points)
Part 1. Choose the best option to complete the following sentences.
1. Sandra astounded all the spectators by winning the match ______ down.
A. heads
B. hands
C. hearts
D. feet
2. When his manager went on a business trip, Mark stepped into the ______ and chaired the meeting.
A. hole
B. breach
C. pool
D. crack
3. It is public knowledge that new magazines often use free gifts or other _____ to get people to buy
them.
A. gimmicks
B. snares
C. plots
D. scams
4. We should never have quarreled like that. Let’s bury the ______and forget all about it.
A. axe
B. argument

C. hatchet
D. subject
5. It is often difficult for a householder to ______ squatters and regain possession of his or her
property.
A. eliminate
B. withdraw
C. evict
D. vacate
6. I'm not a serious investor, but I like to ______ in the stock market.
A. splash
B. splatter
C. paddle
D. dabble
7. The teacher said 'Well done' and patted me on the head. I can't stand people who treat me so
______.
A. pompously
B. maternally
C. snobbishly
D. patronizingly
8. The investigation was instigated ______the Prime Minister.
2


A. on the part of
B. consequence of
C. subsequent to
D. at the behest of
9. Teachers have the authority to discipline pupils by ______ of their position as teachers.
A. view
B. virtue

C. means
D. way
10. The consultant called in by the firm brought a ______ of experience to bear on the problem.
A. wealth
B. realm
C. bank
D. hoard
11. The thick fog ______ out any possibility of our plane taking off before morning.
A. ruled
B. struck
C. stamped
D. crossed
12. The new curriculum has been designed to ______ students learning by combining theory with
hands-on practice.
A. endow
B. optimize
C. sharpen
D. estimate
13. When I was younger, I wanted to be an air pilot but I soon went ____ the idea when I realised I hated
flying.
A. out
B. off
C. up
D. with
14. People can make themselves walk on nails or through fire. It’s a question of mind over ______.
A. body
B. material
C. matter
D. facts
15. We had a ______ sale to sell off all the stuff we found in the attic

A. parking
B. garage
C. station
D. garden
16. Because of the dominance of retail chain-stores, most shopping centers show the same bland
_______ and no imagination.
A. similarity
B. likeness
C. equality
D. uniformity
17. She wears the most _______ color combinations you could ever imagine.
A. hiding
B. hideout
C. hidebound
D. hideous
18. It would help _______ me, if you could go to the Post Office for me.
A. totally
B. absolutely
C. enormously
D. largely
19. The plastic surgery must have cost the ________, but there’s no denying she looks younger.
A. world
B. planet
C. universe
D. earth
20. A few of the older campers were sent home after a week as they were ________.
A. lenient
B. erratic
C. unruly
D. indulgent

Your answers:
1.
6.
11.
16.

2.
7.
12.
17.

3.
8.
13.
18.

4.
9.
14.
19.

5.
10.
15.
20.

Part 2. Give the correct form of the words in brackets.
The upper layers of Earth's oceans have cooled (1. SIGNIFY) _______ over the past two years,
even though the planet as a whole is warming up. While this may just be part of the natural (2.VARY)
______ of oceans, climatologists are still confounded by the massive unaccountable loss of heat.

Scientists have been (3. INCREASE)______ concerned by rising sea temperatures over the last 50
years but these new (4.FIND)______ tell a different story.
Generally speaking, the (5.ABSORB)______ of heat by the oceans reduces atmospheric
warming. Now (6. MEASURE) ______ taken by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration have put a wrinkle in the trend. The researchers used data from 3000 floating buoys
which monitor the oceans (7. WORLD) ______. They found that the oceans dropped in temperature
by an (8.BELIEVE)______ 0.02 degrees centigrade between 2011 and 2013. Now, that may not seem
like much, but trying to account for the missing energy is proving to be enormously (9. PROBLEM)
______. It is possible that (10. VOCANO) ______ eruptions are one main cause of the phenomenon,
but no firm answers have yet been provided.
Your answers:
1.

2.

3.

4.
3

5.


6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
READING (6 points)
Part 1. Fill in each blank with ONE word

Anyone who has (1) ______ been to a yoga or meditation class will know the enormous
benefits of something as simple and natural as breathing. Inhale slowly and steadily, and you can relax
your entire body. Stop and focus on the flow of (2) ______ breath you take in and out, and you can
quieten and focus your mind. In (3)______ positive breathing will help you feel calmer, bring down
your blood pressure and increase your mental alertness and energy levels.
Yet, breathing is so instinctive that most of the time we're hardly even aware of it. Of course,
that's (4)______ why it's easy to develop bad habits and why many of us don't do it as well as we
(5)______. But with a little practice, (6)_____ it right can bring instant health benefits. These include
feeling more relaxed and being more mentally alert. You may also find that there's an improvement in
(7)______ physical symptoms, such as bloating and stomach pains, dizziness, headaches, pins and
needles and low energy.
Learning to breathe correctly can dramatically improve your wellbeing and (8) ______ of life.
Most people think that poor breathing means that you don't get enough oxygen, but it's (9)______ the
carbon dioxide you're missing out (10)______
Your answers:
1.
6.

2.
7.

3.
8.

4.
9.

5.
10.

Part 2. Read passage and choose the answer A, B, C or D that fits best according to the text.
It has become conventional wisdom that spending too much time playing video games has a
detrimental effect on children’s studies and their social development. However, some educationalists
are now questioning this theory and are using video games as effective educational tools thus bridging
the gap between recreational and educational activities.
Due to the sophisticated nature of today’s games, teachers are able to justify the inclusion of video and
online games for many pedagogical reasons. There may, for example, be sociological, psychological,
and ethical implications built into the gameplay. Harvey Edwards, who teaches IT classes in London,
was one such educator who decided to use video games in his lessons. To do this, he chose Minecraft,
an online game in which players create and develop imaginary worlds. He was somewhat uneasy
about attempting such an unconventional approach, not because of some students’ unfamiliarity with
the game but rather due to them not being able to make sense of what he was trying to do with it. He
worried that it might interfere with his learners’ focus, but he couldn’t have been more surprised by the
results.
Minecraft is an example of a ‘sandbox game’, in which gamers roam around and change a virtual
world at will. Instead of having to pass through numbered levels to reach certain places, there’s full
access from start to finish. The original version can be adapted to control which characters and content
are left in. Each student can then be allocated tasks – such as house-building, locating items or
problem-solving – which they must complete within the game. Elements of more general skills can be
subtly incorporated into the lessons, such as online politeness and safety, teamwork and resolving
differences. Edwards feels that presenting such lessons in the context of a game students probably
already know and enjoy enables him to connect with them at greater depth, and in more motivational
ways.
Bolstered by his success, Edwards introduced his approach to another school nearby. He recalls that
the first couple of sessions didn’t live up to his expectations. Those who had played Minecraft before
were keen for others to adopt their own style of play. Unsurprisingly, this assortment of styles and
opinions as to how the game should proceed were far from harmonious. However, the sessions rapidly
transformed into something more cohesive, with the learners driving the change. With minimal teacher
4

input, they set about choosing leaders and established several teams, each with its own clearly-defined
role. These teams, now party to clear common goals, willingly cooperated to ensure that their newborn
world flourished, even when faced with the toughest of challenges.
‘Human’ inhabitants in a Minecraft ‘society’ are very primitive and wander around the imaginary
world, waiting for guidance from players. [A] This dynamic bears a resemblance to traditional
education, an observation highlighted by Martina Williams, one of the leaders of the group. [B]
‘Through the game, we were no longer passive learners in the classroom, being told what and how to
learn, but active participants in our own society. [C] The leaders, meanwhile, had a vision for their
virtual world as a whole, encouraging everyone to play their part in achieving the group’s goals. [D]
Through creating their own characters and using these to build their own ‘world’, students will have
gained some experiential understanding of societal structure and how communities work.
But not everyone is convinced by video games’ potential academic value. While many progressive
commentators cite extensive evidence to maintain that video games encourage collaboration and build
problem-solving skills, more traditional factions continue to insist they are a distraction that do not
merit inclusion in any curriculum. Even less evangelical cynics, who may grudgingly acknowledge
games have some educational benefit, assert that this is only the case in the hands of creative
educators. However, the accusation most often levelled at video games is that they detract from the
social aspect of the classroom, particularly taking part in discussions. Dr Helen Conway, an
educational researcher, argues that video games can be used to promote social activities. ‘Students
become animated talking about the game and how to improve their gameplaying and problem-solving
skills,’ she says. ‘I find it strange, this image that many people have,’ Conway says. ‘Children are
often totally detached from their peers when undertaking more traditional activities, like reading
books, but we never suggest that books are harmful because they’re a solitary experience.
1. The first time Edwards used a game in his classes, he was
A. convinced that learners would realise why he wanted them to play it.
B. convinced that learners would see the reasons for playing it.
C. anxious that he had chosen the wrong one for learners to play.
D. sure that his reasons for getting learners to play it were valid.
2. The writer suggests that Minecraft is a good choice of educational game because

A. any number of learners can use it simultaneously.
B. teachers can remove any inappropriate material.
C. gamers can create educative tasks whilst playing it.
D. players can develop their skills in a step-by-step way.
3. Which of the following words in the fourth paragraph is used to convey a feeling of approval?
A. keen
B. harmonious
C. driving
D. newborn
4. In the fifth paragraph, the writer draws a comparison between a Minecraft ‘society’ and
A. relationships within the group as they played.
B. the way in which countries organise themselves.
C. typical students in a school environment.
D. how leadership operates in different situations.
5. In the sixth paragraph, the writer feels that critics of video games in education
A. are unwilling to admit that using them in class has benefits.
B. make accurate observations about teachers who use them.
C. use flawed research to support their objections to using them.
D. acknowledge the drawbacks of more traditional teaching methods.
6. The words ‘this image’ in the sixth paragraph refer to
A. people who criticise gaming in education.
5


B. students discussing a game in a group.
C. a group of students reading individually.
D. a solitary player absorbed in a game.
7. Where does this sentence belong to in the fifth paragraph?
Each group member had ideas as to how their function should develop.
A. [A]

B. [B]
C. [C]
D. [D]
8. The word ‘subtly’ in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to __________.
A. intricately
B. ingeniously C. ingenuously
D. haphazardly
9. The word ‘grudgingly’ in the sixth paragraph is closest in meaning to __________.
A. gleefully
B. vivaciously C. genially
D. reluctantly
10. Which of the following best describes the author's attitude towards the application of gaming into
education?
A. supportive
B. neutral
C. cynical
D. satirical
Your answers:
1.
6.

2.
7.

3.
8.

4.
9.

5.
10.

Part 3. Read the following passage and do the tasks that follow.
The history of aspirin is a product of a rollercoaster ride through time, of accidental
discoveries, intuitive reasoning and intense corporate rivalry.
A. In the opening pages of Aspirin: The Remarkable Story of a Wonder
Drug, Diarmuid Jeffreys describes this little white pill as ‘one of the most amazing creations in
medical history, a drug so astonishingly versatile that it can relieve headache, ease your aching
limbs, lower your temperature and treat some of the deadliest human diseases’.
B. Its properties have been known for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptian physicians used
extracts from the willow tree as an analgesic, or pain killer. Centuries later the Greek physician
Hippocrates recommended the bark of the willow tree as a remedy for the pains of childbirth
and as a fever reducer. But it wasn't until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
that salicylates the chemical found in the willow tree became the subject of serious scientific
investigation. The race was on to identify the active ingredient and to replicate it synthetically.
At the end of the nineteenth century a German company, Friedrich Bayer & Co. succeeded in
creating a relatively safe and very effective chemical compound, acetylsalicylic acid, which
was renamed aspirin.
C. The late nineteenth century was a fertile period for experimentation, partly because of the
hunger among scientists to answer some of the great scientific questions, but also because
those questions were within their means to answer. One scientist in a laboratory with some
chemicals and a test tube could make significant breakthroughs whereas today, in order to map
the human genome for instance, one needs ‘an army of researchers, a bank of computers and
millions and millions of dollars’.
D. But an understanding of the nature of science and scientific inquiry is not enough on its own to
explain how society innovates. In the nineteenth century, scientific advance was closely linked
to the industrial revolution. This was a period when people frequently had the means, motive
and determination to take an idea and turn it into reality. In the case of aspirin that happened
piecemeal - a series of minor, often unrelated advances, fertilised by the century’s broader

economic, medical and scientific developments, that led to one big final breakthrough.

6


E. The link between big money and pharmaceutical innovation is also a significant one. Aspirin’s
continued shelf life was ensured because for the first 70 years of its life, huge amounts of
money were put into promoting it as an ordinary everyday analgesic. In the 1970s other
analgesics, such as ibuprofen and paracetamol, were entering the market, and the
pharmaceutical companies then focused on publicising these new drugs. But just at the same
time, discoveries were made regarding the beneficial role of aspirin in preventing heart attacks,
strokes and other afflictions. Had it not been for these findings, this pharmaceutical marvel
may well have disappeared.
F. So the relationship between big money and drugs is an odd one. Commercial markets are
necessary for developing new products and ensuring that they remain around long enough for
scientists to carry out research on them. But the commercial markets are just as likely to kill
off' certain products when something more attractive comes along. In the case of aspirin, a
potential ‘wonder drug* was around for over 70 years without anybody investigating the way
in which it achieved its effects, because they were making more than enough money out of it
as it was. If ibuprofen or paracetamol had entered the market just a decade earlier, aspirin
might then not be here today. It would be just another forgotten drug that people hadn't
bothered to explore.
G. None of the recent discoveries of aspirin's benefits were made by the big pharmaceutical
companies; they were made by scientists working in the public sector. 'The reason for that is
very simple and straightforward,' Jeffreys says in his book. 'Drug companies will only pursue
research that is going to deliver financial benefits. There's no profit in aspirin any more. It is
incredibly inexpensive with tiny profit margins and it has no patent any more, so anyone can
produce it.' In fact, there's almost a disincentive for drug companies to further boost the drug,
he argues, as it could possibly put them out of business by stopping them from selling their
more expensive brands.

H. So what is the solution to a lack of commercial interest in further exploring the therapeutic
benefits of aspirin? More public money going into clinical trials, says Jeffreys. ‘If I were the
Department of Health. I would say “this is a very inexpensive drug. There may be a lot of other
things we could do with it." We should put a lot more money into trying to find out.'
I. Jeffreys' book which not only tells the tale of a 'wonder drug' but also explores the nature of
innovation and the role of big business, public money and regulation reminds us why such
research is so important.
Questions 1-6
The Reading Passage has nine paragraphs A-I.
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph (A-F) from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number (i-x) in boxes 1-6.

7


List of headings:
i.

The most powerful analgesic

ii.

The profit potential of aspirin

iii.

Saved from oblivion by drug companies

iv.

Recognition of an important medicinal property

v.

A double-edged sword

vi.

An unstructured pattern of development

vii.

Major pharmaceutical companies

viii.

A wonder drug

ix.

Roots of the scientific advancements in the 19th century

x.

The discovery of new medical applications

1.
2.
3.
4.

5.
6.

Paragraph A
Paragraph B
Paragraph C
Paragraph D
Paragraph E
Paragraph F

Questions 7-13
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer?
YES

if the statement agrees with the views of the writer

NO

if the statement contradicts the views of the writer

NOT GIVEN

if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

7. The discovery of aspirin’s full medicinal properties was a very unusual one.
8. The 19th century saw significant changes in the way in which scientific experiments were carried
out.
9. For nineteenth-century scientists, small-scale research was far from enough to make important
discoveries.
10. The creation of a market for aspirin as a painkiller was achieved through commercial advertising

campaigns.
11. In the 1970s sales of new analgesic drugs overtook sales of aspirin.
12. Between 1900 and 1970, there was little research into aspirin because commercial companies
thought it had been adequately exploited.
13. Jeffrey suggests that there should be state support for further research into the possible
applications of aspirin.
Your answers:
1.

2.

3.

4.
8

5.


6.
11.

7.
12.

8.
13.

9.

10.

Part 4. You are going to read a magazine article. Seven paragraphs have been removed from the
article. Choose from the paragraphs A - H the one which fits each gap (24 - 30). There is one
extra paragraph which you do not need to use.
Mobile Misgivings
It's getting hard to be anonymous. To do anything, you have to prove who you are. Want to buy
something or draw some cash? That's a wodge of credit cards to lug around, and a plethora of fourdigit PINs to remember. Even before stepping out of the front door, you've got to find your driving
licence or rail pass, perhaps even your passport.
1.
Inside every digital mobile phone is a SIM card. SIM stands for Subscriber Information Module, and
the chip embedded in the SIM card is what makes the mobile yours. For now, the SIM just identifies
you to the phone system, and maybe holds details of your favourite phone numbers. In future it could
identify you to everyone who needs to know who you are and would enable you to carry out
transactions which require a form of identification.
2.
The Finnish government is looking at using SIM's in place of a national identity card - and eventually
a passport. Under this plan, the SIM wilt become a person's legal proof of identity. And there's no
reason why it couldn't unlock your health records, social security details and other personal
information. One click and a hospital would know exactly who it's dealing with.
3.
People can loge or mislay their phones, and they are a tempting target for thieves, who can easily
dispose of them on the black market. That's bad enough when there's only a large phone bill at stake.
When your phone becomes the key to your identity, secrets and cash, you'll want so make sure it stays
safely locked up, even if only the gadget itself falls into the wrong Lands. "Having something that
contains all this information would be extremely rash," says Roger Needham, managing director of
Microsoft's British research laboratory in Cambridge. "People will simply find it unacceptable."
4.
The beauty of this system is that the identifier would act as one half of what's called a public key
encryption system. The identifier, kept safe inside the phone, acts as a key, known to no one else. To

read a message locked with this private key requires a second, public key, which can be freely
distributed.
5.
An increasing number of countries are passing laws to give private keys the same legal force as
signatures. This has unleashed a flood of encryption systems, and the problem now is to get
governments and companies to agree on a standard. "It needs to be simple, secure and transparent,"
says Mica Nierninen, head of mobile commerce company More Magic Software, in Helsinki. "We
have the maths to show that it is secure. The only problem now is making it global."
9


6.
The private key is protected by a PIN, and the card will shut itself off if wrong numbers are keyed in
three times. To switch it back on, the owner must take it to a police station with another form of ID. If
a card is stolen, the police will cancel it permanently. Either way, information on the card stays safe.
7.
Pearson thinks consumers, too, will learn to trust a chip with their identity, not least because it will
make life so much easier. A private key will do away with hard-to-remember log-in codes and
passwords for websites, as well as all those credit cards and PINS. "People already give up their
privacy quite happily just to get access to a website," he says. "As long as they get something out of
it."
A. But for these dreams to become reality, there'll have to be a revolution in public attitudes. People
will have to let go of their apprehensions about e-commerce and learn to trust their mobiles;
"Cultivating that trust is a very difficult thing to do and takes it lot of time," says Ian Pearson, resident
futurologist at British Telecom.
B. Your credit history could be accessed by your bank manager with your agreement, which would
negate the need for you to visit the bank. The manager could communicate with you through your
mobile phone and either give you advice over the phone or invite you to the bank for a face-to-face
consultation. This has already been piloted in Britain and has received a positive reception.
C. The solution, according to experts in the field, is to share precious information on secure servers

accessible via a WAP connection on the web. The SIM would only store a personal identifier - a long
string of digits that would unlock the servers and give access to the information they hold. To use the
identifier, the phone's owner would have to punch in a PIN.
D. "Even in its embryonic form, FINEID gives people a secure way to access sensitive information,"
says Vatka. "And when you get it in a mobile phone you're not even tied to a terminal," he says. Many
believe that identity theft will be inevitable no matter how careful safeguards are. But since it is
already taking place and this system is more secure, businesses will probably be keen to adopt it.
E. In a few years, this plastic and paper baggage could be history. A single chip hidden in your
cellphone will be all you need - a little treasure that holds your complete identity. But beware! Lose
your phone, and your identity and money go with it. The big question is whether people will be
willing to trust so much to a sliver of silicon.
F. You might use this set-up to send a request to a bank using its public key to see the details of your
account, which it would decrypt using its private key. The bank would then send you the requested
information encrypted with your public key, which only your private key could decrypt. Thus both
messages would be secure.
G. To pay for a meal, say, you will use the phone to transfer money through the phone network to a
restaurant's computer. There will be no payment slip to sign because your SIM will do it for you.
Likewise, when you board a plane you won't have to wait in line for a boarding pass and seat number.
H. "The Finnish government has taken the initiative with a national standard that companies can use
free of charge," says Vesa Vatka of the Finnish Population Register Centre in Helsinki. "At the
moment this system - called FINEID - uses a smart card and a card reader attached to a computer, but
the plan is to integrate to a SIM," says Vatka.
Your answers:
1.
6.

2.
7.

3.

4.
10

5.


Part 5. The passage below consists of four paragraphs marked A-D. Read the passage and do the
task that follows. Write your answers (A-D) in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
Studying the law
A. Ordinary people regularly encounter law in a variety of circumstances. Freely-negotiated
commercial contracts may bind them to act in particular ways. By becoming members of a sports club
or a trade union they agree to comply with a set of rules. Sometimes these forms of law will use the
courts to enforce their arrangements. In other cases privately-instituted adjudication bodies are
established, a third party being appointed to decide whether an agreement or rule has been broken or
not. These kinds of arrangements may seem very different from the normal idea of law, especially if
law is thought of mainly in terms of the criminal law. However, it is possible to see law simply as a
way of regulating our actions, of deciding what can be done and what cannot be done. Most laws are
not about something spectacular but, rather, about the details of ordinary life. Every time a purchase is
made, a contract is made. Both parties make promises about what they will do; one to hand over the
goods, one to pay the price. In this and other ways, everybody is involved in law every day of their
lives.
B. Legal rules can be divided up in many different ways. The rules show differences in purpose, in
origin and form, in the consequences when they are breached, and in matters of procedure, remedies
and enforcement. One of the most fundamental divisions in law is the division between criminal and
civil law. Newcomers to the study of law tend to assume that criminal law occupies the bulk of a
lawyer's caseload and of a law student's studies. This is an interesting by-product of the portrayal of
the legal system by the media. Criminal law weighs very lightly in terms of volume when measured
against non-criminal (that is, civil) law. There are more rules of civil law than there are of criminal
law; more court cases involve breach of the civil law than that of the criminal law.

C. The term 'national law' is used to mean the internal legal rules of a particular country, in contrast to
international law which deals with the external relationships of a state with other states. There is no
world government or legislature issuing and enforcing laws to which all nations are subject. The
international legal order has no single governing body and operates by agreement between states. This
means that the creation, interpretation and enforcement of international law lie primarily in the hands
of states themselves. Its scope and effectiveness depend on the sense of mutual benefit and obligation
involved in adhering to the rules. Disputes about the scope and interpretation of international law are
rarely resolved by the use of international courts or binding arbitration procedures of an international
organisation. This is because submission to an international court or similar process is entirely
voluntary and few states are likely to agree to this if there is a serious risk of losing their case or where
important political or national interests are at stake.
D. One source of detailed information about the legal system is statistical analyses. Information about
the number of cases handled by a court shows in specific terms what a court's workload is. Changes in
these from year to year may indicate some effects of changes in the law and practice. Statistical tests
can establish that there is a relationship, a correlation, between different things. For example, the
length of a sentence for theft may correlate with the value of the items stolen or the experience of the
judge who heard the case. This means that the sentence will be longer if, for example, more items are
stolen or the judge is more experienced. A correlation can provide evidence for a theory. Such
confirmation is important; without it we have little to establish the impact the law has, being forced to
rely on individual instances of its application and having to assume that these have general truth.
Empirical study of the operation of law may reveal areas of improvement. It can also confirm that,
measured by particular standards, the courts are working well.
In which extract are the following mentioned?
1. the relative frequency of certain types of legal cases
11


2. input by those who are not directly involved in a dispute
3. how common transactions assume certain guarantees
4. ascertaining the effectiveness of a legal system

5. determining the consequences of altering the legal system
6. the influence of popular depictions of the law
7. a reluctance to submit to formal legal processes
8. how a decentralised legal system depends on a feeling of reciprocity
9. the lack of drama in the way the law operates
10. the absence of a certain type of legal institution
Your answers:
1.
6.

2.
7.

3.
8.

4.
9.

5.
10.

WRITING (6 pts)
Part 1. Read the following text and use your own words to summarize it between 120 and 140
words long. You MUST NOT copy the original.
Throughout history, various people have demonstrated a high degree of confidence in the ability of
certain animals to predict the weather. It may seem surprising today in view of the complex equipment
now involved in weather forecasting to understand that in certain cases, the behavior of animals does
indeed provide an indication of inclement weather. Sensitivity of certain animals to falling air pressure
or to low-frequency sound waves that humans cannot hear, which are indicators of approaching

storms, causes behaviors in animals that certain societies have come to recognize as predictors of
storms.
A number of animals are remarkably sensitive to variations in air pressure, and some of these
animals show consistent, noticeable, and predictable behaviors as air pressure drops before a storm
hits. Where the air pressure drops before a storm, some animals move closer to the ground to equalize
the pressure in their ears: some birds such as swallows tend to stay on the ground or roost in trees
instead of soaring in the skies when a storm is imminent because of the decreasing air pressure. Other
animals make more noise than usual as air pressure drops: an unusual amount of quacking by ducks
and a high volume of croaking by frogs are both indicators that are believed to occur because of the
high degree of sensitivity of ducks and frogs to the change in pressure. Finally, still other animals
become more active before storms as a reaction to the falling air pressure: dolphins and porpoises
seem to be taking part in a frenzied sort of play, and bees and ants become more active prior to storms,
most likely because of their sensitivity to lower pressure.
There is good reason to believe that the fact that these animal behaviors seem to occur regularly
prior to storms may have a scientific basis and that the animals demonstrating these behaviors may
actually be good short-range weather forecasters. However, their ability to predict long-range weather
patterns is rather suspect. Certain proverbs, for example, are based on what is most likely the idea that
squirrels are good indicators of long-range weather patterns. One proverb indicates that, if a squirrel
seems busier than usual in gathering nuts, then a long and cold winter is on its way; however, this
behavior in squirrels is more likely due to a large supply of nuts available for gathering, which occurs
because of earlier good weather, and is not an indicator of cold weather to come. Another proverb
about squirrels indicates that if a squirrel grows a long and bushy tail in the fall, then a particularly
harsh winter is on its way; in this case too, the squirrel develops a long and bushy tail because of
earlier good weather and not as a warning of bad weather to come.
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
12


…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...

…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
Part 2. The chart below shows the percentage of adults of different age in the UK who used the
Internet everyday from 2003-2006. Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the
main features and make comparisons where relevant.

…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
13


…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
Part 3. Write an essay on the following topic
Society is based on rules and laws. It could not function if individuals were free to do whatever they

wanted. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………...

14