ĐỀ THI CÔNG CHỨC

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEST
ELEMENTARY LEVEL
* * *
READING COMPREHENSION AND WRITING
(90 minutes)
PAPER 1: READING COMPREHENSION
Section A: Choose the word or phrase which best completes each sentence.
Blacken your choice.
1. When I see Barbara in the street, she always……. at me.
A. smiled B. has smiled
C. was smiling D. smiles
2."Who's in my bed?", the little bear asked.
A. sleep B. been sleep
C. been sleeping D. been slept
3. She told me I would have an accident if I …… more care.
A. am not taking B. haven't taken
C. won't take D. didn't take
4. It's a lovely day, but I … staying at home with you.
A. don't mind B. haven't mind
C. am not minding D. wasn't minding
5. Several people were hurt in the accident but only one …….
to hospital.
A. has taken B. has been taking
C. was taken D. was taking
6. The doctor showed the nurse ……. to do.
A. what B. that C. how D. as
7. "You're late," he said. "I think the bus …… already."
A went B. was going C. has gone D. goes
8. You should have some ice-cream when you …… your

dinner.
A. finished B. finish
C. will finish D. will be finished
9. She often wishes that she …. a bicycle.
A. can rode B. can ride
C. could rode D. could ride
10. We wondered who was going to pay for the…… window.
A. broken B. break C. breaking D. broke
11. The crowd at a football match are often …….
A. excite B. exciting
C. excited D. being excited
12. All the girls … present yesterday.
A. was B. were C. is D. are
13. I wouldn't waste time …… that book if I were you.
A. to reading B. reading
C. read D. to be read
14. He can go, can't he?
A. No, he can B. Yes, he can't.
C. Yes, he can. D. No, he won’t
15. She doesn't like coffee, does she?
A. Yes, she doesn't B. No, she does.
C. Yes, she will D. No, she doesn’t.
16. I don't like the place …… he goes.
A. that B. which C. where D. A & B
17. The time he'll start is not known.
A. where B. when C. which D. how
18. They could reach the house ……. the road was flooded.
A. although B. whether C. as if D.
even
19. That man is …. deaf to hear what we say.

A. so B. enough C. too D. not
20. They keep the dog …… so that it will not bite anybody.
A. in chain B. unchained
C. chained up D. to be chained
Section B: In this section you mil find after the passage five questions, each with four suggested answers. You
must choose one which you think fits best. Blacken your choice.
THE EVILS OF SMOKING
Last Thursday an old man came to our school to talk about the evils
of smoking. He said he wouldn't talk for too long, and we saw him take his
watch off and lay it on the table. I can't remember what he said about
smoking because John and I had other things to think about. He
finished when the bell rang for break, and the headmaster told us to go out.
John happened to slip when he was passing the teacher's table.
In the playground John showed me the watch. He put it on his wrist,
and it looked lovely. I was wishing that I'd been the one to slip by the
table, because it was a beautiful gold watch. The headmaster came
outside then, and the old man was with him. They walked about, looking
around and talking all the time. After a bit the bell rang, and we came into
our class again.
The headmaster said, "I've got a little job for you, boys. This
gentleman, our lecturer, has lost his watch in the playground. It has
happened before, he says - it just slips off his wrist. So look around for it,
will you? See if you are clever enough to find it. The boy who can find it will
get a useful reward."
Well, of course we all walked about the playground, looking for the
watch. And I wasn't surprised at all when John bent down as if he was
picking something up. Then he hurried past me towards the headmaster
and the old man.
"Where are you going?" I called out, though I knew very well where
he was going. And the next minute John was smiling, handing over the

watch to the old man and waiting for a reward.
But the old man didn't seem pleased at all. In fact he looked quite
angry as if he wanted to put a knife into John's heart. Then both the
headmaster and the old man burst out laughing. Later, John said to me
that the old man didn't even say "Thank you" when he gave back to him
the watch.
The thing that made everybody, except me, surprised was that
John didn't get any reward. When he reminded the headmaster about it,
he said " Well, I will give you a useful reward that you will never forget.
Take this sheet of paper and write a long composition on the evils of
smoking".
Of course John didn't know what to write.
21. What were the two boys thinking about during the lecture?
A. They were not thinking about anything
B. They were thinking about the evils of smoking
C. About the watch - and how to get it, perhaps.
D. They thought that the headmaster was very clever.
22. Why did the story-teller wish that he had slipped?
A. Because it was a beautiful watch.
B. He thought he could have taken the watch if he had slipped.
C. If that had happened, the watch wouldn't have been lost.
D. In that case he wouldn't have given it back to the lecturer.
23. Why did the two men come out to the playground?
A. Because that was where the watch was lost
B. It was day-time, and they needed some fresh air.
C. It was just a lucky chance that they came out mere.
D. They came out in order to support the headmaster's story.
24.What was the purpose of the promised reward?
A. People who find things must have a reward.
B. It was a clever trap of the headmaster to find the watch.

C. It was to encourage the boys to find the watch.
D. The watch was a valuable one, so a reward was necessary.
25.When John "bent down", what was he trying to do?
A. He had to bend down in order to pick up the watch.
B. He was trying to hide the fact that he had found the watch
C. The watch had slipped off his wrist, and he was trying to pick it
up.
D. He was pretending to have found the watch in the playground.
PAPER 2: USE OF ENGLISH
Section A: Passage foe Gap-fill
Fill each of the numbered blanks in the following passage by a word chosen from the list. Use ONLY
ONE word in each space.
abruptly as because benefit discharge
exhaust garbage gradually individuals or
protects provide purity require too
by amount pollutes give can
people
Everyone wants to reduce pollution but the pollution problem is (26) complicated
as it is serious. It is complicated (27) much pollution is caused (28) things that
benefit people. For example, (29) from cars causes a large (30) of all air
pollution. But the cars (31) transportation for millions of people. Factories (32)
much of the material that (33) air and water, but factories (34) employment
to a large number of people.
Thus, to end (35) greatly reduce pollution immediately, (36) would
have to stop using many things that (37) them. Most people do not want to do that, of
course, but pollution can be (38) reduced in several ways. Scientists and engineers
can work to find ways to lessen the amount of pollution that such things as cars and factories
cause. Governments can pass and enforce laws that (39) businesses and (40)
to stop, or to cut down on certain polluting activities.
Section B: Guided sentence building

Use the following sets of words and phrases to write complete sentences.
41. George / brave / tell / truth
42. You / drive / carefully / road / accident / occur / very often.
43. He / not have / holidays / last year / but / he / this year.
44. We / not wait / him because / too late
45. She / late / the opera / as / bus / too late
46. When /1 / small /I / swim / that river
47. When / she / cross / road / someone / call / her.
48. Before / he / retire / last year / he / active / Union leader.
49. The car / expensive / us / buy
50. A lot / new hotels / be / built / city / since 1990.
Section C: Reading passage
In this section you will find after the reading passage five questions or unfinished statements. Choose the
best answer or way of finishing. Blacken the letter of your choice.
Elizabeth Blackwell was born in England in 1821, and emigrated to New York City when she was ten
years old. One day she decided that she wanted to become a doctor. That was nearly impossible for a woman
in the middle of the nineteenth century. After writing many letters seeking admission to the medical
schools, she was finally accepted by a doctor hi Philadelphia. So determined was she, that she taught school
and gave music lessons to earn money for her tuition
hi 1849, after graduation from medical school, she decided to further her education in Paris. She
wanted to be a surgeon, but a serious eye infection forced her to abandon the idea.
Upon returning to the United States, she found it difficult to start her own practice because she was
a woman. By 1857 Elizabeth and her sister, also a doctor, along with another female doctor, managed to
open a new hospital, the first for women and children. Besides being the first female physician and founding
her own hospital, she also established the first medical school for women.
51. Why couldn 't Elizabeth realize her dream of becoming a surgeon?
A. She couldn't get admitted to medical school.
B. She decided to further her education in Paris.
C. A serious eye infection prevented her.
D. It was difficult for her to start practice in the US.

52. What main reason almost destroyed Elizabeth's chances for becoming a doctor?
A. She was a woman.
B. She wrote too many letters.
C She couldn't graduate from medical school. D She couldn't
establish her hospital.
53. How many years passed between her graduation from medical school and the opening of her
hospital?
A. 8 B. 10 C. 19 D.36
54. When Elizabeth became a doctor, she was
A. 21 years old B. 49 years old C. 28 years old D. 31 years old
55. All of the following are "firsts" in the life of Elizabeth Blackwell, except:
A. She became the first female physician B She was the
first woman surgeon
C. She and several other women founded the first hospital for women and children
D She established the first medical school for women