TIENGANH 11 LUONGVANTUY NINHBINH

TRƯỜNG THPT CHUYÊN
LƯƠNG VĂN TỤY
ĐỀ ĐỀ XUẤT

ĐỀ THI HỌC SINH GIỎI
KHU VỰC DUYÊN HẢI BẮC BỘ
Môn thi: Tiếng Anh 11
(Đề thi gồm có 25 trang)

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 khoảng 15
giây, mở đầu và kết thúc mỗi phần nghe có tín hiệu.
• Mọi hướng dẫn cho thí sinh (bằng tiếng Anh) đã có trong bài nghe.
Part 1. For questions 1 – 5, listen to a dialogue and complete the notes below. Write
NO MORE THAN ONE WORD AND/ OR A NUMBER for each answer.

Small claims tribunal – Claim form
Claimant’s name: Emily-Jane Appleby
Address: 1 Yeronga Street, (1).........................
Postcode: 4105
Telephone No. (home): (2).........................................
Respondent: (3).........................................
Company name: ABC appliances ltd
Address: (4)............................................... avenue, Bardon
Postcode: 4065
Your answers Telephone no. (work): 72324681
1.

Date 2.
(of transaction):3.3rd Feb, 2011 4.

5.

Guarantee: (5)..................................................
Your answers
Part 2. For question
6-10, listen to the recording and decide whether the following
statements are true (T) or false (F). Write your answers in the corresponding boxes
provided.
6. The article says agriculture is mainly responsible for making Amazon become
contributor of CO2.


7. In the research called "Nature", researchers found out that the CO2 production of
Amazon tripled its removal of CO2.
8. Forest fires produced annual amount of CO2 equal to that of Japan.
9. Professor Simon Lewis said that Japan is the fifth-largest polluter in the world.
10. A university professor alerted people about consequences brought about by
Amazon sink-to-source story.
Your answers
6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Part 3. For questions 11-15, you will hear part of an interview with the comedian
Kevin Burke. Choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which fits best according to what
you hear. Write your answers in the corresponding boxes provided.
11. What does Kevin value most about the book entitled Laughter?
A. It was written with comedians in mind.
B. It helps him see why some comedians fail.
C. It shows him why audiences react as they do.
D. It aims to show what makes certain jokes funny.
12. What does Kevin say about his time at university?
A. He regrets his choice of degree subject.
B. He is proud of his academic achievements.
C. He enjoyed getting involved in a range of activities
D. He had a lot in common with other students on his course.
13. After leaving university, Kevin
A. was determined to build a career as a journalist.
B. didn't really enjoy the type of work he was doing.
C. set his sights on getting work as a television presenter.
D. took the opportunity to develop his skills as a performer.
14. What does Kevin say about his television career?


A. It's not where he does his best work.
B. He wishes he hadn't accepted certain offers.
C. It's not as demanding as working on stage with a live audience.
D. He feels most comfortable doing a range of different programmes.
15. Kevin believes that he is successful on stage because
A. he is able to make audiences feel sorry for him.
B. he can convince audiences that he is in control.
C.. he is able to laugh at his own appearance.
D he can appeal to people's sense of logic.

Your answers
11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

Part 4. For questions 16-25, listen to an interview with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla
on Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing outlook and supply the blanks with the
missing information. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS OR NUMBERS
taken from the recording for each answer in the space provided.
Both Pfizer and Moderna may not suffer from intensified pressure in vaccine
manufacturing despite a soaring in the number of individuals who could become (16)
__________________ to get the vaccine. Instead, a ramp-up in alterations to
administer more vaccines is considered the (17) __________________ at the
moment. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla shared his confidence in the company’s ability to
deliver the vaccines on time thanks to the (18) __________________ with the US
government. This is viewed as a(n) (19) __________________ contrast to the
hitherto popular conception that vaccine supply can be insufficient. For the time
being, around (20) __________________ have been released. Because of a (21)
__________________ of an extra dose in the vial and rising productivity in
manufacturing, it is also possible to expect an increased pace of vaccine output on a


(22) __________________ all year round. The six doses have been submitted to all
(23) __________________ and already been approved by the FDA, WHO, EU,

Switzerland authorities, (24) __________________ authorities etc. Pfizer’s
manufacturing team is now (25) __________________ in virtually impossible
speeds.
Your answers:
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.

21.
22.
23.
24.
25.

PART B. LEXICO-GRAMMAR (30 points)
Part 1. For questions 26-45, choose the best answer to each of the following
questions. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered box provided.
26. Many a leader

fallen due to pride.

A. is

B. are

C. has

D. have

27. When he started that company, he really went ____. It might have been a disaster
A. out on the limb

B. on and off

C. over the odds

D. once too often

28. She’s so______; you really have to watch you say or she’ll walk out of the room.
A. high and dry

B. prim and proper

C. rough and ready

D. sick and tired

29. _____________that he burst into tears.
A. His anger was such was his anger that

B. So angry he was

C. He was so anger

D. Such his anger was

30. I refuse to believe a word of it; it's a cock-andA. hen

B. goose

C. bull

story.
D. duck


31. The planes were delayed and the hotel was awful, but _______ we still had good
time.
A. on the top of all that. B. on the contrary C. for all that

D. by the same

token
32. I was told yesterday that the car had been fixed but it’s broken down ________
again!
A. even

B. still

C. yet

D. right

33. I ________ with the performances but I got flu the day before.
A. was to have helped

B. helped

C. was to help

D. had helped

34. Of the four new teachers, one is experienced and______.
A. the others are not

B. another is inexperienced

C. the other is not

D. other lacks experience

35. Some novels can be killed ______ dead by bad reviews when they are first
published.
A. axe

B. hammer

C. rock

D. stone

36. His energy and optimism were a tribute, perhaps, to the ______ life he advocated.
A. deleterious

B. abstemious

C. amorphous

D. deciduous

37. The dispute was eventually resolved by a(n) ________ decision of the arbitrator.
A. interested

B. uninterested

C. disinterested

D. uninteresting

38. Don't thank me for helping in the garden. It was ____ pleasure to be working out
of doors.
A. plain

B. mere

C. single

D. sheer

39. My sister was a very _______ woman, one day she would be happy, the next
miserable.
A. uncontrollable

B. uneven

C. temperamental D. dispirited

40. She didn’t show even a

of emotion when the court found her

guilty.
A. gleam

B. wink

C. flicker

41. The

are against her winning a fourth consecutive gold medal.

A. chances

B. bets

C. prospects

D. flash

D. odds

42. He will be sued for of contract if he does not do what he promised.
A. fracture

B. crack

C. rupture

D. breach

43. James could no longer bear the

surroundings of the decrepit old house.

A. oppressive

C. pressing

B. domineering

D. overbearing

44. You are not supposed to park on the hard _______ except in an emergency.
A. lane

B. shoulder

45. Some romantic novelists

C. leg

D. area

out books with the same old formula

every year.

A. churn

B. spill

C. ladle

D. pour

29.
34.
39.
44.

30.
35.
40.
45.

Your answers:
26.
31.
36.
41.

27.
32.
37.
42.

28.

33.
38.
43.

Part 2. For the questions 46-55, write the correct form of each bracketed word in
the numbered space provided in the column on the right.
46. In spite of the (PRIVATE)________they had suffered,

Your answers:
46. _____________

the wrecked sailors didn’t seem to have been seriously
affected by their ordeal.
47. The terms of the argument must be quite explicit, so
that there is no possibility of (APPREHENSION)
______________them.
48. Marble is simply limestone that has been

47. _____________
48. _____________
49. _____________


(CRYSTAL)__________ by heat or pressure.
49. If he knows the job is (GAIN)________, he will do it

50. _____________

immediately.
50. She is too (RETIRE) ___________to be in the crowd

51. _____________

and talk to somebody.
51. According to a recent investigation, (JOB)_______ is

52. _____________
53. _____________

on the increase in our country.
52. we give three research (FELLOW) ______ a year.
53. He is such a/an (KNOW)__________. We have taught

54. _____________
55. _____________

him this four times but he can’t on one aspect of it.
54. Dog and cats are called (HOME)__________pets.
55. This meeting may (FIGURE)________ an
improvement in relations between two countries.
III. READING (60 points)
Part 1. For questions 56-65, read the following text and fill in the blank with ONE
suitable word. Write your answers in corresponding numbered boxes.
The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda is impenetrable in more ways than
(56) ____________ Not only is it nigh on impossible for visitors to trek through the
thick undergrowth in their quest to spot the famed guerrilla inhabitants of the area.
(57) ____________literally can the forest's former residents, the Batwa pygmy
people, penetrate it at all.
Strictly (58) ____________ of course, the dense foliage does not prevent
tourists from going in (59) ____________ of the great apes which dwell there; it just

severely encumbers them as they trek. However, notwithstanding the difficulty
encountered as soon as they enter the leafy habitat, (60) ____________ in mind that
at least they can access this magical place. Entry is not an option afforded any longer
to its original human inhabitants, the Batwa or Twa people.
The Batwa were evicted from the land in 1992 based on the Ugandan
government’s desire to make it exclusively a guerrilla reserve - great for the ape
inhabitants, yet you can't help (61) ____________ wonder how fair that was on the
Batwa. They appear to have got the (62) ____________ straw to say the least,
receiving little compensation on account of hot being official landowners (63)
____________ their traditional nomadic way of life.


Since that time, they have been in a never-ending struggle for their very
existence. They cannot afford to (64) ____________ big and dream of a very cosy,
rich lifestyle. Instead, they want only (65) ____________ which everyone deserves a decent existence.
(Ahead with CPE)
Your answers:
56.

57.

58.

59.

60.

61.

62.

63.

64.

65.

Part 2. For questions 66-75, read an extract from an article 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.
New ways of looking at history
Though few modem readers are familiar with LP Hartley’s novel The GoBetween, many will know the novel’s often quoted opening line: ‘The past is a foreign
country: they do things differently there.’ In Hartley’s novel, published in 1953, the
remark indicates the distance that separates an early narrator from the dramatic events
of his youth. But the phrase has since been gleefully adopted by historians hoping to
dramatize the gulf between present and bygone ages. This remoteness makes the past
both alluring and incomprehensible. It is the natural hurdle all historians must
overcome to shed lights on earlier times. Since the days of Herodotus, the father of
history who lived 2500 years ago, it has had them scrambling for new ways to
acquaint today’s audiences with yesterday’s events.
Amid the current mass of works of popular historical non-fiction, the question
of how to bring history to life seems more pressing than ever. The historian Ian
Mortimer takes a literal approach: if the past is a foreign country, then a foreigner’s
guidebook might help. His book The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England is
exactly that, offering ‘an investigation into the sensations of being alive in different
times’. The resulting portrait of the era is as lively and entertaining as it is
informative. Yet it is worth considering his claims about his own approach. ‘In


traditional history, what we can say about the past is dictated by the selection and

interpretation of evidence.’ It would be foolish, however, to suppose that Mortimer’s
own text has not relied on precisely this kind of selection. Mortimer presents events
as if they were unfolding, putting the facts in the present tense. Yet the illusion of
first-hand historical experience is shattered the moment we are thrown 50 years
backwards or forwards in order to provide context. Mortimer’s refusal to commit to a
temporal point of view undermines the immediacy he attempts to convey.
Unlike Mortimer, Philip Matyszak, author of Ancient Rome on Five Denarii a
Day, does not claim to tread new historiographical ground. His aim is to inform and
amuse, and in this he succeeds. The light-hearted approach pays off, though it
occasionally descends into juvenile and anachronistic humor: Oedipus is referred to
as ‘he of the complex’. This raises the question of what readership the book is really
aimed at. Also, the problem with time-travellers’ guides is that they often say more
about the people who wrote them than about the people they describe. Mortimer’s
avowal that ‘climate change is another factor affecting the landscape’ in 14th-century
England reflects worries more modem than medieval. While Matyszak’s assertion
that ‘it is a common misconception among visitors that the Acropolis is the
Parthenon’ sounds more like a complaint about the ignorance of today’s tourists.
‘Understanding the past is a matter of experience as well as knowledge,’
Mortimer declares. This may well be the manifesto for those who, not satisfied with
virtual tours of history, take history into their own hands. Historical re-enactors - yes,
those individuals whose idea of fun is to dress up and stage mock battles - provide
the most literal interpretation of history as experience. Humorist Tim Moore set out
to explore this world in his book I Believe in Yesterday. In Berne, Switzerland, he
suffers in the name of utter authenticity’ during the restaged siege of Grandson, circa
1474. In the US he endures a stint of ‘relentless and uncompromising immersion with
re-enactment’s seasoned elite.' revisiting 1864’s battle of Red River during the
American Civil War. Moore’s quest for ‘my inner ancient’ is fueled by his anxieties
about our modem inability to deploy the skills that came naturally to our ancestors.
More often, he finds, it is a ‘refreshingly simple impulse to get away from it all’ that
gets people into period attire. Many civil war re-enactors seek redress: ‘History is

written by the winners but re- enactment gives the losers a belated chance to scribble
in the margins.’ For others, it’s ‘a simple and truly heart-warming quest for
gregarious community’. Perhaps re-enactment is the closest we can get to Mortimer’s
ideal of what history should be: ‘A striving to make spiritual, emotional poetic,
dramatic and inspirational connections with our forebears’. Interestingly, Mortimer
quotes the poet WH Auden, who remarked that to understand your own country it
helps to have lived in at least two others. Perhaps the same applies to historical eras.
The central question, for popular historians and historical re-enactors alike, is not
how to animate the past but how to make it cast light on us today.
(Objective Proficiency Practice Tests)
66. The quoted opening line of The Go-Between ___________
A. accounts for the unfamiliarity of readers with the novel
B. serves as a figurative barrier separating the past and the present
C. encapsulates attempts made by historians
D. instills historians with a disrespect for remoteness
67. According to the passage, _____________
A. all historians have presented carefully selected historical events to laypeople.
B. the matter of enlivening history' has been of more urgency recently.
C. historians have adopted traditional methods to introduce bygone events to readers
for ages.
D. Being impenetrable to outsiders renders history' somewhat humdrum.
68. The writer suggests that Mortimer’s approach is flawed in the sense that _____
A.
it heavily relies on the process of comprehending events.
B.
it completely runs counter to his claims, which results in confusion.
C.
it entails events to be illustrated as if they were happening.

D.
it fails to stick to a time-related perspective.
69. Which of the following nouns best reflect the writer’s attitudes towards the books
by Mortimer and Matyszak?
A.
appreciation and criticism
B.
disregard and hostility
C.
reverence and admiration
D.
acknowledgement and castigation
70. As indicated by the author, a shared characteristic of the books by Mortimer and
Matyszak is that ______
A. they include inappropriate use of humor to convey the ideas.
B. they are written from a viewpoint which remains unchanged throughout.


C. they are clearer manifestations of the authors' concerns than of the topics.
D. their target audience is left open to question by readers.
71. The writer's choice of words in the fourth paragraph suggests that regarding
activities in the field of historical re-enactment, the author harbors feelings of
_______
A. cynicism
B. skepticism
C. enthusiasm
D. optimism
72. As mentioned in the text, a driving force behind the appeal of historical
reenactment to some people is ________
A. the ability to envision themselves as famous historical figures

B. the possibility of corroborating their beliefs
C. the investigation into counterfactuals regarding life in the past
D. the chance to pretend to influence historical outcomes
73. All of the following reasons are given to explain the act of animating the past
EXCEPT_______
A.a sense of inferiority
B.a form of escapism
C. a feeling of dissatisfaction
D.a method of networking
74. What can be said about the historian Ian Mortimer?
A. He attaches little importance to abridging the distance between us and our
ancestors.
B. His book lends itself well to educating and entertaining his readers.
C. He believes that comprehension of the past does not require one to experience it.
D. He leads an expedition into the world of historical re-enactment in his books.
75. The writer comes to the conclusion that historians as Mortimer, Matyszak and
historical re-enactors __________
A. shares many characteristics with literary writing.
B. mark another important development which will be a fad.
C. can enrich our understanding of modern society.
D. may well be the way forward for historians in general.
Your answers:
66.

67.

68.

69.

70.

71.

72.

73.

74.

75.


Part 3. For questions 76-88, read the following passage and do the tasks that
follow.
Love stories
“Love stories” are often associated - at least in the popular imagination - with
fairy tales, adolescent day dreams, Disney movies and other frivolous pastimes. For
psychologists developing taxonomies of affection and attachment, however, this is an
area of rigorous academic pursuit. Beginning in the early 1970s with the
groundbreaking contributions of John Alan Lee, researchers have developed
classifications that they believe better characterise our romantic predispositions. This
involves examining not a single, universal, emotional expression (“love”), but rather
a series of divergent behaviours and narratives that each has an individualised
purpose, desired outcome and state of mind. Lee’s gritty methodology painstakingly
involved participants matching 170 typical romantic encounters (e.g., “The night after
I met X...”) with nearly 1500 possible reactions (“I could hardly get to sleep” or “I
wrote X a letter”). The patterns unknowingly expressed by respondents culminated in
a taxonomy of six distinct love “styles” that continue to inform research in the area
forty years later.

The first of these styles - eros - is closely tied in with images of romantic love
that are promulgated in Western popular culture. Characteristic of this style is a
passionate emotional intensity, a strong physical magnetism - as if the two partners
were literally being “pulled” together - and a sense of inevitability about the
relationship. A related but more frantic style of love called mania involves an
obsessive, compulsive attitude toward one’s partner. Vast swings in mood from
ecstasy to agony - dependent on the level of attention a person is receiving from his
or her partner - are typical of manic love.
Two styles were much more subdued, however. Storge is a quiet, companionate
type of loving - “love by evolution” rather than “love by revolution”, according to
some theorists. Relationships built on a foundation of platonic affection and caring
are archetypal of storge. When care is extended to a sacrificial level of doting,
however, it becomes another style - agape. In an agape relationship one partner
becomes a “caretaker”, exalting the welfare of the other above his or her own needs.
The final two styles of love seem to lack aspects of emotion and reciprocity


altogether. The ludus style envisions relationships primarily as a game in which it is
best to “play the field” or experience a diverse set of partners over time. Mutuallygratifying outcomes in relationships are not considered necessary, and deception of a
partner and lack of disclosure about one’s activities are also typical. While Lee found
that college students in his study overwhelmingly disagreed with the tenets of this
style, substantial numbers of them acted in a typically ludic style while dating, a
finding that proves correct the deceit inherent in ludus. Pragma lovers also
downplayed emotive aspects of relationships but favoured practical, sensible
connections. Successful arranged marriages are a great example of pragma, in that
the couple decides to make the relationship work; but anyone who seeks an ideal
partner with a shopping list of necessary attributes (high salary, same religion, etc.)
fits the classification.
Robert J. Sternberg’s contemporary research on love stories has elaborated on
how these narratives determine the shape of our relationships and our lives. Sternberg

and others have proposed and tested the theory of love as a story, “whereby the
interaction of our personal attributes with the environment - which we in part create leads to the development of stories about love that we then seek to fulfil, to the extent
possible, in our lives.” Sternberg’s taxonomy of love stories numbers far more, at
twenty-six, than Lee’s taxonomy of love styles, but as Sternberg himself admits there
is plenty of overlap. The seventh story, Game, coincides with ludus, for example,
while the nineteenth story, Sacrifice, fits neatly on top of agape.
Sternberg’s research demonstrates that we may have predilections toward
multiple love stories, each represented in a mental hierarchy and varying in weight in
terms of their personal significance. This explains the frustration many of us
experience when comparing potential partners. One person often fulfils some
expected narratives - such as a need for mystery and fantasy - while lacking the
ability to meet the demands of others (which may lie in direct contradiction). It is also
the case that stories have varying abilities to adapt to a given cultural milieu and its
respective demands. Love stories are, therefore, interactive and adaptive phenomena
in our lives rather than rigid prescriptions.
Steinberg also explores how our love stories interact with the love stories of


our partners. What happens when someone who sees love as art collides with
someone who sees love as a business? Can a Sewing story (love is what you make it)
co-exist with a Theatre story (love is a script with predictable acts, scenes and lines)?
Certainly, it is clear that we look for partners with love stories that complement and
are compatible with our own narratives. But they do not have to be an identical
match. Someone who sees love as mystery and art, for example, might locate that
mystery better in a partner who views love through a lens of business and humour.
Not all love stories, however, are equally well predisposed to relationship longevity;
stories that view love as a game, as a kind of surveillance or as addiction are all
unlikely to prove durable.
Research on love stories continues apace. Defying the myth that rigorous
science and the romantic persuasions of ordinary people are incompatible, this

research demonstrates that good psychology can clarify and comment on the way we
give affection and form attachments.
Look at the following statements and the list of styles in the box below.
Match each statement with the correct term, A-F.
Write the correct letter, A-F in the boxes provided.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
76. My most important concern is that my partner is happy.
77. I enjoy having many romantic partners.
78. I feel that my partner and I were always going to end up together.
79. I want to be friends first and then let romance develop later.
80. I always feel either very excited or absolutely miserable about my relationship.
81. I prefer to keep many aspects of my love life to myself.
82. When I am in love, that is all I can think about.
83. I know before I meet someone what qualities I need in a partner.
List of Love Styles
A
Eros
B
Mania
C
Storge
D
Agape
E
Ludus
F
Pragma
76.

77.

Questions 84-88

78.

79.

80.

81.

82.

83.


Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in the reading
passage?
In boxes 9-13, write
YES

if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer

NO

if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer

NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
84. Some of our love stories are more important to us than others.
85. Our love stories can change to meet the needs of particular social environments.

86. We look for romantic partners with a love story just like our own.
87. The most successful partners have matching love stories.
88. No love story is more suited to a long relationship than any other.
Your answers:
84.

85.

86.

87.

88.

Part 4. You are going to read an extract from an article. Seven paragraphs have
been removed. Select from the paragraphs (A-H) the one that fits each gap (89-95).
There is one extra paragraph that you do not need to use.
A Race to Remember
Imagine, if you will, charging across sand dunes at a speed of 100 kilometers per
hour, with sand flying up at the windscreen while you try to maintain control of the
wheel and your navigator attempts to maintain their compass steady at 25 degrees
north-northwest, so you don't divert from your course. Now, imagine that scenario
taking place over eight hours in a single day and over a period of around 12 days.
That is the reality of the world-renowned Dakar Rally.
89
This year the race took place in Saudi Arabia with a total of 310 vehicles, made up of
motorbikes and cars, amongst many other categories, and only 206 of those vehicles
crossed the finish line. One individual that made it through this brutal event was
Frederique Le Salles for whom it was his second rally. “Although, my first Dakar

Rally was five years ago, I’ve dreamed about coming back ever since. It took me all
that time to raise the funds to enter again, and I’m overjoyed to finally return.”
90
As these examples show, the Rally truly does get under people’s skin, with the same
competitors returning multiple times. This gives them the benefit of experience,
which is an essential attribute in this competition. Without the modem necessities of
GPS, knowing what the race takes in terms of the trials and tribulations, gives oldtimers an important mental advantage in the race, and many taking part more than
once because of this.
91
The event originated from the experience of a man called Thierry Sabine who
became so adrift from the course in the 1977 Abidjan-Nice Rally that he realized his
detour would make for a great race In itself. The first Dakar Rally started in Dakar in
Africa and finished in Paris, skirting around the edges of the Sahara Desert, a
grueling 10,000 kilometre trip.
92
It is here that I spoke to competitors about their expectations of and concerns for the
race, as well as finding out a bit about their preparation for an unyielding few weeks
of fierce, motor rating. The responses I received didn’t vary wildly - participants’
preparation was always meticulous,
93
One rally driver, who is on his fifth race, told me that he believes a lot of the rally is
down to luck. “It takes just a split second to make a mistake, and so, it doesn’t matter
if you’ve driven brilliantly for thousands of kilometers, because all you need is one
meter to go wrong, and you crash out. It’s happened to me twice and it’s a completely
soul- crushing experience.”
94
Whether this is truly enough to be ready, only time will tell. While the financial
rewards for winning aren't publicized (although rumor has it that they are relatively
low), the accolade of winning is certainly something money can't buy. However,

this doesn't mean that the rally is unprofitable for all, and there are some enterprising
routes to make the rally a little more lucrative.
95

Missing paragraphs:
A. Such is the commitment to compete that one racer, Chris Cork, sold his house in
the UK in order to secure a place on the 2015 Dakar Rally. Unfortunately, he
crashed out on the fourth day and had to undergo a difficult recovery procedure
for his injuries. Undeterred, he came back the next year to compete, with financial
help from well- wishers who were touched by his story.
B. Although some entrants go it alone, with the bare-minimum requirements needed
to participate, there are many other participants who sign up with companies andreceive sponsor bonuses depending on their performance in each round. While
finishing a round may be in the hands of fate, it is far more beneficial to do it with
sponsorship, as many successful rally winners know.
C. As a motorsport reporter, I’ve been fortunate enough to follow this competition
for the last five years, and it never ceases to amaze me how tough and committed
each racer is. Rainer man a test of driving, or navigation, it is simply an epic feat
of endurance. Racers are required to fix their vehicles themselves while on a
stage, and there is not even a great probability that they will be able to finish, with
most competitors crashing out or breaking down on the route.
D. Perhaps the main appeal for these riders is that it offers a sense of adventure that is
hard to parallel. The Rally covers lots of harsh terrain and the course is simply a
series of written directions. In addition to that, if they don’t have any overnight
repairs to keep them busy, many drivers find themselves sleeping in tents
alongside their vehicles, giving them just enough time to recuperate and get back
on the ride. Indeed, unlike many racing events, there is little luxury to be had, and
this has always been the case with the Dakar Rally.

E. There was lot of focus, as with every rally before, on the terrain, and the best ways
to cope with it. 75% of the rally would take place on sand, and a great deal on
sand dunes. This means hill climbs and sheer drops, and little ability to spot
landmarks to help you know where you are. And remember, if you get your
directions wrong, it can take you hours to catch up.
F. Fortunately, for many people, the Dakar Rally is a labour of love, but budget can
make a significant difference to your opportunities of succeeding. While amateurs
may be sleeping aside their vehicles relying on themselves for any repairs,
professionals will have a team that can take care of their every need at the end of
each stage.
G. Although for many years Africa was its home, the location of the Rally has not
remained static, it transferred to a different continent altogether, South America,
from 2009 to 2019, and more lately to Saudi Arabia, where the vehicles have had
to compete with the Middle Eastern deserts, and their scorching days and nearly
freezing nights.
H. Others are more concerned with how they’ll keep their momentum up. “This will
be our third race, and we think we’ve finally discovered what we need to really
compete with the best. We’ve come to realise that the race is about resilience and
technical ability, and we've been training with sleep deprivation and motor repair
exercises to make sure we’ve got both these qualities.”
Your answers:
89.

90.

91.

92.

93.

94.

95.

Part 5. The passage below consists of five sections marked A-E. For questions 96105, read the passage and do the task that follows. Write your answers (A-E) in the
corresponding numbered boxes provided.
A. Throwaway living took off in the second half of the 20th century. Disposable
coffee cups, plastic stirrers, and plates that could be tossed in the bin 'improved' our
lives. Global plastic production soared from 1.5 million tonnes in 1950 to nearly 200
million tonnes in 2002. Today, it's reached the 300 million tonne mark. Reports of


ocean garbage patches suggest that much of that plastic eventually ends up in our
seas. Take a boat out far enough and you'll witness bottles, toy figurines, roller balls
from underarm deodorants and thousands of plastic sandals all floating around in the
sea. A project called The Ocean Cleanup has been testing floating platforms for
collecting bigger bits of plastic, but they cannot deal with microplastics.
Microplastics is the technical term for tiny pieces of plastic They are so finely
shredded by ocean currents that they’re impossible to spot front a boat and are easily
mistaken for food by sea creatures.
B. A recent study by Marcus Eriksen. one of the co-founders of 5 Gyres, the
organization that studies plastic pollution in the seas, suggests that at least five trillion
pieces of plastic, altogether weighing in at over 268,000 tonnes, are floating around
near the surface of the sea. An incredible 92 per cent of the pieces are microplastics.
According to Eriksen. we’ll have to live with what’s already out there. "It's going to
sink, it's going to get buried, it's going to fossilize.” he says. "There’s no efficient
means to clean up 5 kilometers down on the ocean floor." No one really knows what
damage all that stranded microplastic is doing, but the hope is that once it's mixed up

with the sediment, it's doing less of it. Yet the clouds of microplastics swirling in the
water column pose a problem. The debris is easy for marine life to swallow, but the
gunk that the plastics collect – such as pollution and bacteria - are also a threat.
C. In May 2014. chemist Alexandra Ter Halle joined the Seventh Continent
Expedition to the north Atlantic Ocean with the aim of analysing the gunk. She
collected samples and is now analysing her data back at Paul Sabatier University in
Toulouse. France, to work out why some plastics attract pollution as they age. "The
difficulty lies in the fact that there are so many plastics, of different colours, shapes
and compositions," she says. "It's difficult to extract a trend from all those pieces."
Ter Halle believes the answer is prevention. She says that switching to biodegradable
plastics could offer part of that solution. While the first generation of biodegradables
just broke down into smaller pieces, the second generation may have some utility. Ter
Halle suggests that they could, for instance, be handy for shopping bags.


D. Yet Prof Richard Thompson, a marine biologist at Plymouth University, believes
that the very notion of biodegradable plastic is flawed. "The idea that you could build
into a plastic a feature that would enable it to fulfil its life in service without
deteriorating and then, the minute it becomes an item of litter, it somehow' rapidly
and harmlessly degrades... it kind of seems like you're aspiring towards the
impossible," he says. He recently attended a workshop in Portugal involving over 50
people from around Europe, including scientists, policymakers and industry types
eager to offer ideas for solving the problem. But there was a shortage of cutting-edge
solutions. "From my perspective, there was nothing new from any of the
participants," he says. "A range of solutions are known to us, but it’s more about
translating that into action."
E. To dramatically reduce the amount of plastic accumulating in the oceans, the 'loop'
of producing and recycling plastics would have to become a closed one. This means
that any material leaving the system as waste would enter it again as a renewable
resource. One option is banning certain types of plastics for particular applications,

such as the plastic microbeads used in facial scrubs and toothpastes. These tiny
particles - often measuring less than Imm - wash straight down the sink and arc too
small to be filtered out at the waterworks. All plastic products would need to be
designed with an end-of-life care package. In short, solving the plastic problem in the
oceans means solving plastic pollution, full stop.
In which section are the following mentioned?

Your answers:

96.
97.
98.

The importance of responsible product design
Potential improvement of an innovation
Contemporary lifestyles eventuating undesirable

96. ______
97. ______
98. ______

99.

consequences
A popularly held solution to plastic contamination being

99. ______

rejected
100. A lack of new and advanced ideas about dealing with

pollution problems
101. Uncertainty about the extent of the harm caused to ocean
ecosystems
102. Plastic pollution impinging on aesthetic values

100. _____
101. _____
102. _____
103. _____
104. _____


103. The necessity of putting ideas into practice
105. _____
104. A consequence of plastic pollution that will remain
105. Scientific study of pollution hampered by the variety of plastic
D. WRITING (60 points)
Part 1: Read the following passage and use your own words to summarise it. Your
summary should be between 100 – 120 words.
There is a great concern in Europe and North America about declining standards
of literacy in schools. In Britain, the fact that 30 per cent of 16 year olds have a
reading age of 14 or less has helped to prompt massive educational changes. The
development of literacy has far-reaching effects on general intellectual development
and thus anything which impedes the development of literacy is a serious matter for
us all. So the hunt is on for the cause of the decline in literacy. The search so far has
focused on socio-economic factors, or the effectiveness of 'traditional' versus 'modern'
teaching techniques.
The fruitless search for the cause of the increase in illiteracy is a tragic example
of the saying 'They can't see the wood for the trees'. When teachers use picture books,
they are simply continuing a long-established tradition that is accepted without

question. And for the past two decades, illustrations in reading primers have become
increasingly detailed and obtrusive, while language has become impoverished sometimes to the point of extinction.
Amazingly, there is virtually no empirical evidence to support the use of
illustrations in teaching reading. On the contrary, a great deal of empirical evidence
shows that pictures interfere in a damaging way with all aspects of learning to read.
Despite this, from North America to the Antipodes, the first books that many school
children receive are totally without text.
As they grow older, many children turn aside from books without pictures, and it
is a situation made more serious as our culture becomes more visual. It is hard to
wean children off picture books when pictures have played a major part throughout
their formative reading experiences, and when there is competition for their attention


from so many other sources of entertainment. The least intelligent are most
vulnerable, but tests show that even intelligent children are being affected.
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Part 2. The chart shows 31st Sea Games medal tally. Summarize the information by
selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
You should write about 150 words.
RANKINGS
VIETNAM
THAILAND
INDONESIA
PHILIPPINE

GOLD
205
92
69
52

SILVER
125
103
91
70

BRONZE
116
136
81
104

TOTAL
446
331

241
226

S
SINGAPORE
MALAYSIA

47
39

46
45

73
90

166
174

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Part 3: Write an essay of about 350 words on the following topic.
From the next year, students will have right to select certain groups of subjects to
learn and history will become an optional subject. Is this a positive or negative
trend?
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