Test for Gifted Ss (Hanoi 2005 2006)

Hanoi 2005 – 2006, scanned from hard copy

TEST FOR GIFTED STUDENTS
Hanoi, 2005 – 2006

(This copy is for reference only)
I. Listening
Part 1: Two people are talking with each other, listen carefully and answer the following
questions. You will hear the recording twice. (1,25 pts)
1. What do you think the main point of their argument is?
(Circle A, B, C or D for your choice)
A. Expensive cars, meals and perfume are a waste of money.
B. It's a waste of money to buy expensive things just to show you can afford them.
C. People have to spend more than they can afford.
D. Most people can only afford expensive things on special occasions.
2. The speakers give several examples of extravagance. According to the speakers:
A. Why do people go to expensive restaurants?
B. Why do people buy expensive cars?
......................................................................................................
C. Why do men buy women expensive perfume?
D. Why do women buy expensive perfume?
...................................................................................................
Part 2: You will hear extracts of five different people talking out a disaster which is going
to happen at an airport A plane which was approaching the area, had to make an
emergency landing in poor weather conditions. The people are describing how the event
affected them. W e letter A, B, C, ... or H you choose next to the number given. You will
hear the recording twice. (1,25 pts)
A. the pilot
1 ....................................
B. a passenger
2 ....................................

C. a stewani
3 ....................................
D. an airport fire officer
4 ....................................
E. a check-in clerk
5 ....................................
F. the manager of the airport restaurant
G. a taxi driver
H. a customs officer
II. Give the correct form of the words. (2,5 pts)
1. Bill was given a medal in …………….
of his services.
2. All ……………. must be received before July 19th 2005.
3. Karen and Catherine are ……………
twins.
4. You look rather ……………. Are you worried about something?
5. I'm sure that the whole problem is a simple ………………
6. Going swimming every day would have very ……………. effects.
7. It's much more ……………… to buy large size packets.
8. My ankle is really ……………... and I cannot walk easily.
9. The government's ……………… approach has brought criticism.
10. The meeting adopted a …………….. calling for Smith to resign.

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(RECOGNISE)
(APPLY)
(IDENTIT'Y)
(OCCUPY)
(UNDERSTAND)

(BENENT)
(ECONOMY)
(SWELL)
(COMPROMISE)
(RESOLVE)

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III. Fill in the numbered blanks with one suitable word (3 pts).
The Environment
Problems arose in the 1990s over the Indian government's giant dam project in the rugged
Narmada Valley, where many of Rudyard Kipling's stories are set. The Narmada River rises in
the heart (1) __________
central India and flows westwards to the Arabian sea. According
to officials, the planned (2) __________of a huge dam and irrigation canals would (3)
__________ water for drinking and agriculture in an area worryingly prone to (4)
__________. The Narmada dam would also offer a major (5) __________ of electricity to
power-starved regions. As part of its commitment to (6) __________ countries, the World
Bank originally gave India a $450 million loan for this vast project. However, critics argued
that the dam project represented (7) __________ and cultural destruction (8) __________ a
scale so massive that the benefits would pale in comparison to the (9) would cause. They
pointed (10) __________ that more than 200,000 people would be uprooted and rehoused,
and ancient tribal cultures (11) __________ be obliterated. The World Bank subsequently
halted funding as a result of intense pressure from (12) __________ following an
unfavourable independent review of the project.
IV. Complete each sentence with the correct noun from the list. There are four more
than you need. (3 pts)

breakdown
breakup
layout
stopover
break-in
castaway
let-up
upbringing
breakthrough
dropout
lookout
go-ahead
handout
getaway
outburst
grown-up
1. Customs officers were on the __________ for illegal drugs.
2. The tourist office has a free __________ on cheap accommodation in London.
3. Patricia suffered a nervous __________ when she lost her job.
4. If you were a __________ on a desert island, how would you cope?
5. Scientists have made an important __________ in the field of genetic engineering.
6. The planning authorities gave the school the __________ for an extension.
7. At South London University, there were several __________ from the Computer Science
course this year.
8. Tommy, ask a __________ to help you next time if you want to do some painting.
9. It poured down all day without any __________.
10. The whole room was stunned into silence by Gordon's angry __________.
11. The robber made an incredibly quick __________ in a waiting car.
12. The advantage of flying Air Canada is that the fare includes a free __________ in
Vancouver

V. For each of the sentences below, write a new sentence as similar as possible in meaning to the
original sentence, but using the word given. This word must not be changed in any way. (4 pts)
1.
I bought myself a present because I wanted to stop myself feeling unhappy.
(cheer) …………………………………………………………………………………
2.
The news of his death was such a shock that it hasn't been clearly understood yet.
(sunk) ……………………………………………………………………………………
3.
The offer to go and work in Australia was a complete surprise.
(blue) ………………………………………………………………………………… …
4.
Considering that she's only just started, she's doing very well.
(bearing) …………………………………………………………………………………
5.
The number of comprehensive schools was growing, with Central Government
encouragement.
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(growth) ………………………………………………………………………………….
6.
The average family surveyed expects to spend $ 20.000 on education over the years.
(costs) ……………………………………………………………………………………
7.
The high cost of private education is not a deterrent.

(put off) ……………………………………………………………………………………
8.
To pay school fees, 83% of the parents surveyed cut down on holidays and travel.
(reduced)
………………………………………………………………………………
VI. The following reading passage has 12 paragraphs. For each paragraph find a
matching summary from the box below. Note that there are more summaries than
paragraphs. (3 pts)
The Grand Embankment
Bangladesh's floods can be devastating. But an ambitious scheme
to control the waters is also causing concern.
1. No country is as profoundly influenced by water as Bangladesh. The land, culture and
lifestyles of the people are shaped by three of the world's most powerful rivers - the Ganges,
Bral,maputra and Meghna. These spread their floods across one-third of the countryside each
summer.
2. The great rivers carry soil sediment from the Himalayas which they deposit in a huge,
constantly changing delta at the head of the Bay of Bengal. They bring the fertility which
supports 110 million of the poorest people on earth and they can also bring disaster to this lowlying land. The raw power of these unstable rivers is difficult to comprehend. Just one breach
of the right bank of the Brahmaputra in the 1988 floods inundated 1000 square kilometres of
farmland.
3. For much of the year there is too little water. When the monsoon breaks, the fiat landscape
changes completely. Boats replace bicycles as the means of local transport and deepwater rice
flourishes with the rising floodwaters All of this is essential for the farming season. But when
rainfall is exceptional and floodwaters rise higher than normal, the effects can devastate.
4. The farmers of Bangladesh are adept at making the most of their tiny plots of land. But
with 11,6 people per cultivable hectare they are already at the extreme. Increased food
production in an already hungry land means investing in dry-season agriculture. And this
means protection from the floods.
5. After the disastrous floods in 1988 the Bangladesh government sought to determine
whether modem engineering techniques and computer-aided technology could solve the

problem. Aid organizations of all shapes and sizes offered flood-control assistance. When the
reports were presented to the Bangladesh government in 1989, the advice was somewhat
conflicting.
6. The French proposal was for embankments up o seven metres high to be built along the
length of all the major rivers. They estimated the cost at $10.000 million up front and $150
million for annual repair and maintenance. Such expenditure would plunge the country into
massive debt and divert money from other programmes.
7. By no means all the potential investors thought this was the answer. In the end the World
Bank was asked to formulate an action plan. They did so, unveiling it in London Ln December
1989, and the $.150 =trillion needed for pilot schemes immediately became oversubscribed.
The plan envisages as a first step finding out what social and technical problems the
embankments would cause.
8. Many informed observers are extremely sceptical about the scheme. Despite assurances
from the World Bank's Vice-President for Asia, Atilla Karaosmanoglu, that "the people of
Bangladesh will be consulted at every stage", the British aid agencies involved in disaster
relief after the 1988 flcods do not believe that people at the grass roots will be adequately
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involved By what line of communication can the planners conceivably consult the poor?
9. Steve Johns, the European Community's advisor o n the action-plan team says that the,
embankments are both` . to have a huge social impact. Under the French proposal, around 20.000
hectares of land would be requisitioned and 180.000 people affected. Some households would" lose
everything, adding their numbers to ngladesh's already burgeoning landless population.
10. Jones also points out that the embankments will take decades to complete and other floodprotection measures, improved flood warning, better disaster management - will be needed.
11. No one knows more about managing the flood waters than the Bangladeshi people who live perched

above them and whose welfare depends upon them. And it is essential that 'experts' brought in to help
should be ready to learn from the existing 'experts'. Their ingenuity includes floating hen coops and mesh
fences to stop fish escaping from flooded fish ponds. Ideas like these could be more widely promoted.
12. Meanwhile there will be profound environmental effects from canalizing such vast bodies of water.
Every-step forward on the grand embankment plan will have to be watched with care.
A. An expensive proposal
B. Doubts about Bangladeshi involvement
C. The strong influence of water in Bangladesh
D. Disastrous floods
E. The plan's effect on people
F. Time and other problems
G. Advice from many groups on flood control

H. Environmental effects of the plan
I. The good and bad effects of rivers on
Bangladesh
J. Over-population problems
K. Poor farming techniques
L. The effect of water changes with the sessions.
M. Local expertise.
N. Putting the proposal into effect

VII. The graphs below shows the number of men and women in full and part-time
employment in Australia between 1973 and 1993. Write a report for a university lecture
(about 150 – 200 words inside this paper) describing the information shown. (2)

Source: Labour Force Survey
Note: This is a scanned copy, so spelling errors are unavoidable. Please press the F7 button
on the keyboard to check with Spelling and Grammar function.

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