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ĐỀ THI KIỂM TRA, ĐÁNH GIÁ
NĂNG LỰC SỬ DỤNG TIẾNG ANH
DÀNH CHO HSG LỚP 9
Năm học: 2022 - 2023
Thời gian: 150 phút (Không kể thời gian giao đề)
-------------------------(Đề thi gồm có … trang. Thí sinh làm bài trực tiếp trên đề thi.)
PART A. LISTENING (4.0 POINTS)
I. Listen to the conversation between a man and a woman. For each question, choose the
correct answer. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes. (1.0 pt)
1. The woman got a credit card because she ______.
A. she wants to build a good credit rating B. doesn't want to borrow money from family
C. she wants to buy things at a discount D. she wants to buy her new entertainment center
2. The woman didn't buy _____.
A. a TV
B. a digital camera C. a stereo
D. a DVD player
3. The man says that a problem with credit cards is that ______.
A. it can lead to internet fraud
B. they can't be used in all countries
C. interest rates are often very high
D. it is unsafe to use.
4. The credit card limit on the woman's card is about _____.
A. $12,000
B. $21,000
C. $20,000
D. $18,000
5. The man suggests that the woman _____.
A. buy a new MP3 player
B. shred her credit cards
C. come up a financial management plan D. spend money on her birthday
Your answers
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
II. Listen to the record and decide if the following sentences are true (T) or false (F). Write
your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes. (1 pt)
6. The man and woman are close friends.
7. Andrew found out about his new diet through unwanted mail.
8. The cost of the Wafu Diet is $419
9. From the conversation, we can infer that Andrew hasn’t gone running yet.
10. The woman advised the man to eat a little late at night.
Your answers
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
III. Listen to the conversation and complete the gaps. Write NO MORE THAN THREE
WORDS taken from the recording for each gap. Write your answers in the corresponding
numbered boxes. (2 pts)
11. It will take 37 hours for the new form of transport to travel from London to ______ .
12. Unlike crowded jets, the Aircruise will allow passengers to travel in_______
13.The Aircruise can travel at low altitudes if there is something ______
14. Hydrogen fuels the airship and also provides _____ for the people on board.
15. The Hindenburg airship disaster killed ______people.
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16. The disaster occured in ______.
17. Scientists are keen to develop transport options which are both ______ and
environmentally friendly.
18. The Aircruise will carry a total of ______ passengers.
19. The luxury features on board include private apartments, a bar and a ______ .
20. Compared to airports, the Aircruise has the potential to land closer to ______ .
PART B: PHONETICS(1 pt)
I. Circle the letter before the word in each group that has underlined part pronounced differently from
the rest. (0.2 pt)
1. A. awful
B. awesome
C. awkward
D. awry
2. A. wicked
B. rugged
C. dogged
D. used
II. The stressed syllables of the three words in each group are in the same position counting from the
beginning of the words. In each group, find the word which has the stressed syllable in a different
position. (0.3 pt)
1. A. commune
B. momentary
C. elaborate
D. modesty
2. A. environment
B. pneumonia
C. publication
D. equality
3. A. kangaroo
B. involvement
C. biologist
D. accelerate
PART B : VOCABULARY- GRAMMAR (5.5 pts)
I. Choose the word or phrase which best completes each sentence. Write your answers (A, B, C, or D) in
the space provided under this part. (2pts)
1. If noone will ...................misbehaving, all pupils will be kept in after school.
A. admit off
B. admit in
C. own up in
D. own up to
2. When facing problems, it is important to keep a sense of............................
A. proportion
B. introspection
C. relativity
D. comparison
3. At the scene of the disaster the Prince said some comforting words to the .....................
relatives.
A. lamenting
B. waiting
C. complaining
D. grieving
C. that you keep
D. that you will keep
4. I would appreciate.........................it a secret.
A. you to keep
B. your keeping
5. ......................with the size of the whole earth, the highest mountains do not seem high at all.
A. When compared
B. Compare them
C. If you compare
D. A comparison
6. Centuries of erosion have exposed ................. rock surfaces in the Painted Desert of Northern
Arizona.
A. in colors of the rainbow
B. colored like a rainbow
C. rainbow – colored
D. a rainbow’s coloring
7. You shouldn’t have criticized him in front of his friends. It was extremely ................ of you.
A. unfortunate
B. insensitive
C. insensible
D. unconscious
8. Two days passed during which we did not ........................ a single word.
A. changed
B. exchanged
C. snapped
D. converted
9. He escaped by....................................
A. a hair’s breadth
B. the hair’s breadth
C. the breadth of a hair
D. a breadth of a hair
10. “Did Jane pass her exam?”
“Yes, but only just. It was .................... The pass mark was forty – five percent and she got forty – six”.
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A. a narrow escape
B. a tight spot
C. a clear cut
D. a close thing
11. The ceiling fans were on, but unfortunately they only ……… the hot, humid air.
A. stirred up
B. cut back
C. turned into
D. poured through
12. The brother and sister were ……………..over who would get to inherit the beach house.
A. at large
B. at odds
C. at a standstill
D. at a loose end
13. After congratulating his team, the coach left, allowing the players to let their …………….down
for a while.
A. hair
B. heads
C. hearts
D. souls
14. Grandma says there wasn’t a ………….of truth in that story. Granddad told last night about
being a war hero.
A. speak
B. crumb
C. dot
D. grain
15. The manager told his assistant to ……………. the mistake immediately.
A. rectify
B. maltreat
C. sanction
D. banish
16. Good restaurants serving traditional English food are very hard to ……………….
A. come into
B. get in
C. come by
D. go through
17. Once he decided what he wanted, he would ………….it with single mindedness.
A. go out of
B. go on with
C. go after
D. go ahead of
18. When the funds finally ……………, they had to abandon the scheme.
A. faded away
B. clamped down
C. petered out
D. fobbed off
19. She expressed her ……………….for certain kinds of cheaply produced movies.
A. disapproval
B. distaste
C. dissatisfaction
D. disloyalty
20. People of all countries are expected to ……………….the principles of the United Nations.
A. uphold
B. inspect
C. exaggerate
D. integrate
II. Put the verbs given in the brackets into their appropriate tenses or forms. (1.0 pt)
1. (come) _____what may, we will go ahead.
2. The speed limit is 30 miles an hour but Tom is driving at 50. He (not drive) _____ like that.
3.It is high desirable that every effort (be) _____ made to reduce expenditure.
4. Suppose every word of this (be) _____ true, what action would the committee wish to take.
5. (convince) _____ that they were trying to poison him, he refused to eat anything.
6-7. As our new furniture (deliver) _____ on Monday morning, I ‘ll have to stay at home
to check that it (not damage) _____
8-9. It (announce) _____ that the new office block (not/build) _____because of the current
economic situation.
10. No decision can be made about any future appointment until all suitable
candidates (interview)_____
III: Use the correct form of the word in brackets to complete each sentence. (1.0 pt)
1. The government has committed itself to developing ………………………………. sources of
NEW
energy.
2. He has an unfortunate ………………………………to understand people’s feelings.
ABLE
3. This is very ……………………………….! Can't you practice your violin somewhere else?
CONVENIENCE
4. Deforestation and excessive farming have ………………………………. the soil.
POOR
5. Our school set up a project to ………………………………. the library system.
COMPUTER
6. Her contribution was of ………………………………. importance.
MEASURE
7. There are many ………………………………. species of mammals, birds, amphibians
DANGER
and plants nowadays.
8. The documents were handed to the authorities for further ………………………..
INVESTIGATE
9. I dont' like living near the ……………………………park. it’s so noisy all day long.
INDUSTRY
10. There is always a traffic jam here. The road needs ………………………………..
WIDE
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IV:Each of the following sentences has an error. Find the errors and correct them ( 1.0 pt).
1. Do you make the children to do the morning exercise every day? a
2. It is such difficult a lesson that we can’t understand it.
3. George told Mary that he has seen this film three times.
4. The earth is the only planet with a large number of oxygen in its atmosphere.
5. The pilot and the crew divided the life preservers between the twenty frantic passengers.
6. The athlete really surprised to hear that he had won the race after all.
7. What I told her a few day ago were not the solution to most of her problems.
8. Becase of tired, we could not go to school yesterday.
9. Jim’s father are glad that he has done lots of progress this school year.
10. The boy came down to a cold walking in the rain for too long.
V.Supply each space with a suitable preposition or adverbial particle to complete each of the
following sentences(0.5 pt)
1. There has been an increase ……………the number of road accidents recently.
2. The restaurant will be crowded ……………tourists next week.
3. Many people still believe that our natural resources will never be used …………….
4. The craft of basket weaving is usually passed______ from generation to generation.
5. When she was young she looked …….……to her parents. They were very good role models for her.
SECTION III: READING (5.0 POINTS)
I.Read the passage below and choose the best answer to each question.(1pt)
British parents are always complaining that their children spend too much time glued to the telly
and not enough time on other activities (1) _________ sports and reading. A survey recently (2) ________
on people’s viewing habits does not disprove this. It shows that young people in Britain spend on average
23 hours a week in front of the television, (3) _________ works out at over three hours every day.
(4) __________ is surprising, however, is the fact that the average adult watches even more:
incredible 28 hours a week. We (5) __________ to have become a nation of addicts. Just about every
household in the country has a television and over half have two or more. According to the survey, people
nowadays don’t just watch television sitting in their living-rooms, they watch it in the kitchen and in bed
(6) _________.
The Education Minister said a few weeks agao that Britain’s pupils (7) ________ spend more time
reading. Unfortunately, parents are not setting a good example: adults do (8) _________ reading than
young people. In fact, reading is at the (9) _________ of their list of favourite pastimes. They would (10)
_________ listen to the radio, go to the cinema or hire a video to watch on their televisions at home.
1. A. such
B. like
C. as
D. alike
2. A. investigated
B. researched
C. carried
D. carried out
3. A. that
B. which
C. this
D. it
4. A. What
B. It
C. The thing
D. This
5. A. seem
B. ought
C. used
D. would like
6. A. in addition
B. as well
C. more
D. moreover
7. A. might
B. could
C. should
D. would
8. A. more
B. less
C. little
D. fewer
9. A. tail
B. top
C. beginning
D. bottom
10. A. better
B. rather
C. prefer
D. like
II.Read the passage below and choose the best answer to each question(2pts)
It is commonly believed that school is where people go to get an education. Nevertheless, it has
been said that today children interrupt their education to go to school. The difference between schooling
and education implied by this remark is important.
Education is much more open-ended and all-inclusive than schooling. Education knows no limits. It
can take place anywhere, whether in the shower or on the job, whether in the kitchen or on a tractor. It
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includes both the formal learning that takes place in school and the whole universe of informal learning.
The agent (doer) of education can vary from respected grandparents to the people arguing about politics on
the radio, from a child to a famous scientist. Whereas schooling has a certain predictability, education
quite often produces surprises. A chance conversation with a stranger may lead a person to discover how
little is known of other religions. People receive education from infancy on. Education, then, is a very
broad, inclusive term; it is a lifelong process, a process that starts long before the start of school, and one
that should be a necessary part of one’s entire life.
Schooling, on the other hand, is a specific, formalized process, whose general pattern varies little
from one setting to the next. Throughout a country, children arrive at school at about the same time, take
the assigned seats, are taught by an adult, use similar textbooks, do homework, take exams, and so on. The
pieces of reality that are to be learned, whether they are the alphabet or an understanding of the workings of
governments, have been limited by the subjects being taught. For example, high school students know that
they are not likely to find out in their classes the truth about political problems in their society or what the
newest filmmakers are experimenting with. There are clear and undoubted conditions surrounding the
formalized process of schooling.
1. This passage is mainly aimed at ______.
A. giving examples of different schools
B. telling the difference between the meaning of two related words
C. listing and discussing several educational problems
D. telling a story about excellent teachers
2. In the passage, the expression “children interrupt their education to go to school”
mostly implies that ______.
A. education is totally ruined by schooling
B. all of life is an education
C. schooling takes place everywhere
D. schooling prevents people discovering things
3. The word “all-inclusive” in the passage mostly means ______.
A. going in many directions
B. involving many school subjects
C. allowing no exceptions
D. including everything or everyone
4. According to the passage, the doers of education are ______.
A. mostly famous scientists
B. mainly politicians
C. only respected grandparents
D. almost all people
5. What does the writer mean by saying “education quite often produces surprises”?
A. Educators often produce surprises.
B. It’s surprising that we know little about other religions.
C. Success of informal learning is predictable. D. Informal learning often brings about unexpected results.
6. Which of the following would the writer support?
A. Without formal education, people won’t be able to read and write.
B. Schooling is of no use because students do similar things every day.
C. Our education system needs to be changed as soon as possible.
D. Going to school is only part of how people become educated.
7. The word "they" in the last paragraph refers to ______.
A. workings of governments
B. political problems
C. newest filmmakers
D. high school students
8. Because the general pattern of schooling varies little from one setting to the next, school children
throughout the country ______.
A. do similar things
B. have the same abilities
C. are taught by the same teachers
D. have similar study conditions
9. From the passage, we can infer that a high school teacher ______.
A. is free to choose anything to teach
B. is not allowed to teach political issues
C. has to teach social issues to all classes
D. is bound to teach programmed subjects
10. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. The more years students go to school, the better their education is.
B. The best schools teach a variety of subjects.
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C. Education and schooling are quite different experience.
D. Students benefit from schools, which require long hours and homework.
III. Read the text and think of the word which best fits each gap.(2pts)
The traditional of birthday parties started a long time ago. People thought that there (1) ……………….……..
a special danger from evil spirits, so friends and family came together to bring good thoughts and wishes
and even presents. At one time, only kings had birthday parties but as time went (2) ……………….…….., children
and then adults began to have their (3) ……………….…….. birthday celebrations. There are some traditions - (4)
……………….…….. as sending birthday cards, blowing out the candles on a birthday cake and singing the ‘Happy
Birthday’ song, that you can find (5) ……………….…….. anywhere, any time.
In China, everyone celebrates their birthday on New Year’s Day: they become one year (6)
………….. on that day. On a child’s second birthday, family members put a variety of objects on the floor
around the child. (7) ……………….…….. to Chinese tradition, the first object that the child picks up tells you what
profession the child will choose (8) ……………….…….. in life.
In many English-speaking countries, a twenty-first birthday cake often has a key on top, or the cake
(9) ……………….…….. is sometimes in the shape of a key. The key means that the young person is now old (10)
……………….…….. to leave and enter the family home at any time they want to!
E. WRITITNG (5 POINTS)
I:Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it means the same as the sentence
printed before it. (1.0 pt)
1. I wish I had gone on holiday with you.
@ I regret ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
2. The questions were so easy that all the students got them right.
@ They were...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
3. We didn’t visit the museum because we didn’t have time.
@ If ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
4. “Daisy, I’m sorry I broke your vase”.
@ He apologized .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
5. I have been studying English for five years.
@ I started ……………………………………………………………………….
6. There has been a time when the English language was not in a state of change.
At no time ……………………………………………………………………
7. The President clearly felt the ministers he sacked had not acted swiftly enough.
The ministers sacked …………………………………………………………
8. The climber nearly died when they founder him.
The climber was on …………………………………………………………
9. The brochure gives hardly any useful information.
Precious ……………………………………………………………………….
10. Our son is looking forward to going to Disney world.
Our son is excited ……………………………………………………………
II: Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word
given. Do not change the word given. (2.0 pts)
1. The two theories appear to be completely different. (common)
The two theories appear to ………………………………………………………..……..
2. His rude behaviour is too much for me. (put)
I won’t ………………………………………………………..…….. behaviour.
3. The only thing the thief didn’t steal was the television. (except)
The thief stole ………………………………………………………..…….. television.
4. Bill was about to speed when he saw the patrolman. verge
Bill was ………………………………………………………..…….. when he saw the patrolman.
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5. He liked the new job straight away. (DUCK)
He …………………………………………………………………………………
6. It was the telephonist’s fault that they didn’t get the message. (blame)
……………………………………………………………………………………….
7. The disagreement is a lot of fuss about nothing. (teacup)
……………………………………………………………………………………….
8. There’s nothing new about defence alliances. (hills)
………………………………………………………………………………………
9. They couldn’t decide where to go on holiday. (reach)
……………………………………………………………………………………….
10. Why didn’t they tell me about these changes earlier? (should)
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
III. Write an essay of about 250 words : Should students use cell phones at school? (2pts)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
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HƯỚNG DẪN CHẤM ĐỀ THI KIỂM TRA, ĐÁNH GIÁ
NĂNG LỰC SỬ DỤNG TIẾNG ANH
DÀNH CHO HSG LỚP 9
PART A. LISTENING (4.0 POINTS)
I. Listen to the conversation between a man and a woman. For each question, choose the
correct answer. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes. (1.0 pt)
1. A 2. B 3. C 4. D 5. C
II. Listen to the record and decide if the following sentences are true (T) or false (F). Write
your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes. (1.0 pt)
6. F 7. T 8. F 9. T 10. F
III. Listen to the conversation and complete the gaps. Write NO MORE THAN THREE
WORDS taken from the recording for each gap. Write your answers in the corresponding
numbered boxes. (2.0 pts)
11. New York
12.comfort and style13. Interesting to see
14. Power and water15. 35
16. May 1937
17. sustainable
18. 100
19. Glass four
20. Urban centers
PART B: PHONETICS ( 0.5 pt)
I. Circle the letter before the word in each group that has underlined part pronounced differently from
the rest. (0.2 pt)
1. D
2. D
II. The stressed syllables of the three words in each group are in the same position counting from the
beginning of the words. In each group, find the word which has the stressed syllable in a different
position. (0.3 pt)
1. C
2. C
3. A
PART C : VOCUBULARY- GRAMMAR ( 5.5 pts)
I. Choose the word or phrase which best completes each sentence. Write your answers (A, B, C, or D) in
the space provided under this part. (2.0 pts)
3. D 5. A 7. B
9. A
4. B 6. C 8. B
10. D
II: Choose the word or phrase which best completes each sentence. Write your answers (A, B, C, or D)
in the space provided under this part. (1.0 pt)
1.come
2.shouldn’t have been driving
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3.were
4.be
5.having been convinced/convinced
6 - 7.is being delivered – has not been damaged
8 – 9.has been announced – will not be built
10. have been interviewed
III: Use the correct form of the word in brackets to complete each sentence(1 point - 0.1/ each) .
1. The government has committed itself to developing renewable sources of energy. NEW
2. He has an unfortunate inability to understand people’s feelings.
ABLE
3This is very inconvenient! Can't you practice your violin somewhere else?
CONVENIENCE
4. Deforestation and excessive farming have impoverished the soil.
POOR
5. Our school set up a project to computerize the library system.
COMPUTER
6. Her contribution was of immeasurable importance.
MEASURE
7. There are many endangered species of mammals, birds, amphibians
DANGER
and plants nowadays.
8. The documents were handed to the authorities for further investigation.
INVESTIGATE
9. I don’t like living near the industrial park. it’s so noisy all day long.
INDUSTRY
10. There is always a traffic jam here. The road needs widening.
WIDE
IV: Each of the following sentences has an error. Find the errors and correct them (1 pt:0).1/ each
1. Do you make the children to do the morning exercise every day? do
2. It is such difficult a lesson that we can’t understand it. so
3. George told Mary that he has seen this film three times. had
4. The earth is the only planet with a large number of oxygen in its atmosphere. amount
5. The pilot and the crew divided the life preservers between the twenty frantic passengers. into
6. The athlete really surprised to hear that he had won the race after all. was really surprised
7. What I told her a few day ago were not the solution to most of her problems. was
8. Becase of tired, we could not go to school yesterday. being tired
9. Jim’s father are glad that he has done lots of progress this school year. made
10. The boy came down to a cold walking in the rain for too long. with
V.Supply each space with a suitable preposition or adverbial particle to complete each of the
following sentences(0.5 pt)
1.in
2.with
3.up
4.down
5.up to
D: READING (5.0 POINTS)
I.Read the passage below and choose the best answer to each question.(1.0 pt)
1. B.like
2.D. carried out
3. B. which
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4. A. What
5. A. Seem
6. B. as well
7. C. should
8. B. less
9. D. bottle
10. B. rather
II. Read the passage below and choose the best answer to each question(2.0 pts)
1. B. telling the difference between the meaning of two related words
2 .B. all of life is an education
3. D. including everything or everyone
4. D. almost all people
5. D. Informal learning often brings about unexpected results.
6. D. Going to school is only part of how people become educated.
7. D. high school students
8. A. do similar things
9. D. is bound to teach programmed subjects
10. C. Education and schooling are quite different experience.
III: Read the text and think of the word which best fits each gap.(2.0 pts)
1. was
2. by
3. own
4. such
5. almost
6. older
7. According
8. later
9. itself
10.enough
E. WRITING (5 POINTS)
I. Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it means the same as the sentence
printed before it.(1 pt)
1. I regret not having gone /going on holiday with you.
2. They were such easy questions that all the students got them right.
3. If we had had time we would have visited the museum.
4. He apologized to Daisy for breaking/having broken her vase.
5. I started studying/to study English 5 years ago.
6. At no time has the English language been in a state of change.
7. The minister sacked were clearly felt by the president not to have acted swiftly enough.
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8. The climber was on the point of death when they found him.
9. Precious little useful information is given in the brochure.
10. Our son is excited at the thought of going to Disney world
II. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word
given. Do not change the word given.(2.0 pts)
1. The two theories appear to have nothing in common.
2. I won’t put up with his rude behaviour.
3. The thief stole everything except for the television.
4. Bill was on the verge of speeding when he saw the patrolman.
5. He took to the new job like duck to water.
6. The telephonist was to blame for the fact that they didn’t get the message.
7. The disagreement is a storm in a teacup.
8. Defence alliances are as old as the hills.
9. They couldn’t reach a decision on/about where to go on holiday.
10. I should have been told about these changes earlier.
III. Write an essay of about 250 words : Should students use cell phones at school? (2.0 pts)
Phần HD chấm viết luận:
The mark given to part 3 is based on the following criteria:
1. Task achievement: (0.6 pt)
a. ALL requirements of the task are sufficiently addressed.
b. Ideas are adequately supported and elaborated with relevant and reliable explanations,
examples, evidence, personal experience, etc.
2. Organization: (0.6 pt)
a. Ideas are well organized and presented with coherence, cohesion, and unity.
b. The essay is well-structured:
Introduction is presented with clear thesis statement.
Body paragraphs are written with unity, coherence, and cohesion. Each body paragraph
must have a topic sentence and supporting details and examples when necessary.
Conclusion summarises the main points and offers personal opinions (prediction,
recommendation, consideration, …) on the issue.
3. Language use: (0.4 pt)
a. Demonstration of a variety of topic-related vocabulary
b. Excellent use and control of grammatical structures
4. Punctuation, spelling, and handwriting (0.4 pt)
a. Correct punctuation and no spelling mistakes
b. Legible handwriting
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TAPESCRIPT 1
Man: Hi, Sis. I just came over to drop off the DVDs you wanted, and . . . Hey, wow!? Where did you get
all of this stuff?
Woman: I bought it. So, what do you think of my new entertainment center? And the widescreen TV . . .
Man: Bought it?
Woman: . . . and my new DVD player. Here, let me show you my stereo. You can really rock the house
with this one.
Man: But where did you get the dough to buy all this? You didn't borrow money from mom and dad again,
did you?
Woman: Of course not. I got it with this!
Man: This? Let me see that . . . Have you been using Dad's credit card again?
Woman: No, silly. It's mine. It's student credit card.
Man: A student credit card? How in the world did you get one of these?
Woman: I got an application in the mail.
Man: Well, why did you get one in the first place?
Woman: Listen. Times are changing, and having a credit card helps you build a credit rating, control
spending, and even buy things that you can't pay with cash . . . like the plane ticket I got recently.
Man: What plane ticket?
Woman: Oh yeah, my roommate and I are going to Hawaii over the school break, and course, I needed
some new clothes for that so . . .
Man: I don't want to hear it. How does having a student credit card control spending? It sounds
you've spent yourself in a hole. Anyway, student credit cards just lead to impulse spending . . . as I can
see here. And the interest rates of student credit cards are usually sky-high, and if you miss a payment, the
rates, well, just jump!
Woman: Ah. The credit card has a credit limit . . .
Man: . . . of $20,000?
Woman: No, no quite that high. Anyway, . . .
Man: I've heard enough.
Woman: Did I tell you we now get digital cable with over 100 channels? Oh, and here's your birthday
present. A new MP3 player . . .
Man: Yeah. Oh, don't tell me. Charged on the credit card. Listen. Hey, I don't think having a student credit
card is a bad idea, but this is ridiculous. And how in the world are you going to pay off your credit card
bill?
Woman: Um, with my birthday money? It's coming up in a week.
Man: Hey, let's sit down and talk about how you're going to pay things back, and maybe we can come up
with a budget that will help you get out of this mess. That's the least I can do.
TAPESCRIPT 2
Andrew's Sister: Hey, Andrew! An . . . ? Andrew. [ What? ] Andrew.
Andrew: What? What's going on?
Andrew's Sister: What happened to YOU?
Andrew: You mean my hair? You like my hair?
Andrew's Sister: Uh, I think you know what I mean, Andrew. Do you want me to be honest? [ What? ]
Okay. Andrew. You've put on, like, a ton of weight since I saw you at Christmas time. What on earth
happened to you?
Andrew: Why are you always so blunt?
Andrew's Sister: Well, I'm your big sister. I'm . . . what am I? Three years older than you, and I can be
blunt if I want. Besides, you used to say stuff like that to me all of the time. You used to call me fatso all
the time when I was little.
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Andrew: Oh, yeah, well, to be honest, uh . . . , I started changing my life . . . . yesterday. [ Oh good! ] I'm
on the Wafu Diet.
Andrew's Sister: What? I've never even heard of the Wafu Diet. What is that?
Andrew: Ah, it's too difficult to explain. I found information about it in my junk mail the other day . . .
Andrew's Sister: What? You read your junk mail? No one reads their junk mail.
Andrew: . . . and I signed up for it, and it only cost $490.
Andrew's Sister: You're serious? [ Yeah. ] Four hundred and ninety bucks? [ Yeah. ] Like every month or
every week or . . . ?
Andrew: I didn't check that . . . ah, ah, but, but, but, but . . . I think . . .
Andrew's Sister: Listen. I think you're getting scammed, and it sounds really stupid, so listen. I'm not fat
anymore, so trust me. I . . . if you want to lose weight, you need to do it the right way.
Andrew: Well, like what?
Andrew's Sister: Well, okay.
Andrew: Okay, uh, well, look. Look at my running shoes over there.
Andrew's Sister: Andrew. They're still in the box. ( Well . . . ). Never used. Besides exercise, yeah,
exercise is wonderful. It's great, but you also need to learn how to eat right. For example, you need to eat
smaller portions. And, and you can't load up your plate with seconds and thirds like you always used to do
at the family parties.
Andrew: Well, okay. I'll just get a bigger plate!
Andrew's Sister: Andrew! That won't help. Next [ Oh, next? ]. Oh yeah. So, first of all, smaller portions
[ Okay. ] Then, you need to make sure you eat a good, well-balanced breakfast first thing in the morning [ I
do that. ] and then you follow that up with smaller meals throughout the day, cause, you know what? If you
skip breakfast, then throughout the day, you feel like you need to make up it by overeating at lunch and
dinner and lots of snacks. [ Uh . . . ]
Andrew's Sister: Anyway, um, oh yeah. Don't eat late at night. [ What? Like what? ] Well, you know a lot
of people . . . they want a . . . they want a late night snack and stuff like that, but a lot of times, ……
TAPESCRIPT 3
Interviewer: These days we all know that time is money. People don't want to waste a moment of their
lives travelling when they could be working, or let's face it, relaxing on holiday. So with this in mind, why
is the London-based company Seymour Powell working on a new form of transport which will go from
London to New York in 37 hours, when we can already get there in seven? With me here in the studio is
Mark Baker. Mark, why on earth would anyone want to travel so slowly?
Mark: Well, the company Seymour Powell have come up with the idea that 'slow is the new fast'. It's true
that people traditionally want to get to their destination as quickly as possible, but I think everyone would
agree that there is nothing pleasant about flying in a small, crowded passenger jet. That's why this company
has developed the Aircruise concept. It aims to carry people to their destination in comfort and style.
Interviewer:Rather like the old ocean liners.
Mark:You could say that.
Interviewer:So what is an Aircruise? Is it a type of plane?
Mark: No it's not. It is proposed that the Aircruise will be a huge kite-shaped airship. It will fly at 12,000
feet, but it would be able to fly at just a few hundred feet above the ground if there was something
interesting to see on the ground.
Interviewer: It sounds like a sort of luxurious hot air balloon.
Mark: Well the plan is that it will be powered, not by hot air, but another type of air. Hydrogen. Hydrogen
is capable of lifting weights of 1.2 kg per cubic metre, and you can also use hydrogen fuel to provide onboard power and drinking water. With hydrogen as the fuel, you'd be able to reach speeds of around ninety
miles per hour. It would be pollution free, and what's more, it'd be completely silent!
Interviewer: It reminds me of those airships they had back in the 1930s.
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Mark: Zeppelins
Interviewer: That's right. Weren't they very dangerous?
Mark: They were rather, and after the famous Hindenburg disaster, in May 1937 which killed 35 of the 97
people on board. But technology has moved on a good deal since then, and scientists are looking at ways
that we can create transport options that are more sustainable and kinder to the environment.
Interviewer: So you mentioned that this Aircruise was going to be a luxurious form of transport. Why is
that? What sort of luxuries can a passenger expect?
Mark: Well, first of all it won't be full of people. One Aircruise ship will carry just 100 people. There'll
also be plenty of staff to attend to your every need. They're estimating that there'll be one crew member for
every five people! Thirdly, you won't be pinned in your seat for the entire journey. You'll be able to walk
around. There's to be a bar, private apartments and even a glass floor so that you can see the view beneath
your feet!
Interviewer: Gosh, I don't know if I fancy that!
Mark: No, me neither!
Interviewer: And would these airships depart from airports?
Mark: No, I think that would be very dangerous! No, the plan is that they would build special landing
pads. Compared to airports, these are much smaller, so the airships would be able to land much closer to
urban centres.
Interviewer: So, this Aircruise idea. Is it just an idea, or is it actually going into production?
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