Bài đọc hiểu tiếng anh

1. Hãy đọc đoạn văn sau và chọn câu trả lời tốt nhất trong số A, B, C và D.
At sixteen Ron Mackie might have stayed at school, but the future called to him
excitedly. “Get out of the classroom into a job,” it said, and Ron obeyed. His father,
supporting the decision, found a place for him in a supermarket. “You’re lucky, Ron,” he
said. “For every boy with a job these days, there’s a dozen without.” So Ron joined the
working world at twenty pounds a week.
For a year he spent his days filling shelves with tins of food. By the end of that time
he was looking back on his schooldays as a time of great variety and satisfaction. He
searched for an interest in his work, with little success. However, Fridays came around
unfailingly and with them Ron’s pay; but the best thing about the place was Judy on the
cash desk. Ron got on well with all the girls when the manager was not around. They
liked him too, though he did not see that.
One fine day instead of going to work Ron got a lift on a lorry going south. With nine
pounds in his pocket, a full heart and a great longing for the sea, he set out to make a
better way for himself. That evening, in Bournemouth, he had a sandwich and a drink in a
cafe run by an elderly man and his wife. Before he had finished the sandwich, the woman
had taken him on for the rest of the summer, at twenty pounds a week, a room upstairs
and three meals a day. The ease and speed of it rather took Ron’s breath away. At quiet
times Ron had to check the old man’s arithmetic in the records of the business.
At the end of the season he stayed on the coast. He was again surprised how
straightforward it was for a boy of seventeen to make a living. He worked in shops
mostly, but once he took a job in a hotel for three weeks. Late in October, he was taken
on by the sick manager of a shoe shop, where a woman and two girls also worked. Ron
soon found himself in charge there; he was the only one who could keep the books. He
and the girls shared a flat above the shop. By this time he knew there was something
about him that women of all ages liked. He was not sure what it was, except that he felt
warm and playful and sensitive towards them.
1. Why did Ron Mackie leave school at sixteen?
A. His father made him leave.

B. He had reached the age when he had to leave.
C. He left because he was worried about the future.
D. He left because he wanted to start work.
2 What did Ron’s father think about his leaving school?
A. He thought his son was doing the right thing.
B. He advised him to stay at school to complete his education
C. He did not like the idea, but he helped Ron to find work.
D. He knew there was a job for every boy who wanted one.
3. It took about a year for Ron to realise that _______
A. he worked well because he was interested in the job.
B. his work at the supermarket was dull.
C. being at work was much better than going to school.
D. the store manager wanted to get rid of him.
4. Why did Ron leave the supermarket?
A. He knew he would find work in Bournemouth.
B. He took a job as a lorry driver.
C He gave up the job because he felt unwell.
D. He wanted to work at the seaside
5. At the cafe, Ron was very surprised when _______
A. he was sent upstairs to eat his meal.
B he found he could do the old man’s arithmetic.
C. the woman took the sandwich away from him.
D. the woman offered him a job.
6. So far as employment was concerned, Ron expected _______
A. more help than he actually got.
B. to be the manager of a shop.
C. the problems to be much harder.
D. the winter to be an easy time.
7. Ron was able to take over the shop because _______

A he got on well with the women there.
B. he understood the accounts of-the business.
C. he had had experience of selling books
D. he had a flat above it
2. Hãy đọc đoạn văn sau và chọn câu trả lời tốt nhất trong số A, B, C và D.
A single scream shattered the morning calm and woke Bernie from a troubled sleep. A
car raced past the house. Bernie got up and opened the curtains. A cat lay in the middle of
the road, twisted, broken and still. It was not a rare sight on that busy corner. Drivers took
more care to avoid dogs for there was often a value on a dog; farmers and the like might
depend on them. But cats were nobody’s business really, and there were too many about
anyway.
It was late that evening that the first faint cries were heard. Nicola, reading in bed,
heard them but took little notice. She slept in the back of the house, away’ from street
noises, and there were often fighting cats beneath her window. Next morning, when
Bernie woke her for school, there were the cries again, not just one but several together.
Nicola stared at her mother.
“They’re kittens!” she cried. “That must have been a mother cat yesterday. The kittens
are somewhere and they’re hungry.”
After school Nicola found the little family in a store-room beneath the house. The
door of this was always kept shut, but a broken window high in the wall was an invitation
to any normal cat. There were six kittens, all very tiny. Four were black and white and
two marmalade. When Nicola bent to pick one up there was a fierce reaction, and six tiny
backs arched in terror. Laughing, she lifted up one of the little things and was surprised at
how quickly it grew calm and curious in the warmth of her hand. Its eyes were only half
open, and it seemed too weak to stand up. One by one Nicola put them in a cardboard box
and took them indoors.
“They must be fed at once,” Bernie said when she saw them. She put some milk on
the stove to warm. “Nicky, look for that dolls’ feeding bottle you used to have. I think it’s
in your cupboard. These little creatures can’t drink from a saucer like cats; they have to

be fed like babies.” She dipped her fingers in the warm milk and put them to the mouth of
each kitten in turn. How they loved it.
1. What was the cause of the scream?
A. Bernie had a nightmare and woke with a scream.
B. A motor-car went too fast round a corner.
C. There was a cat and dog fight outside.
D. A cat was run over in the street.
2. We understand from the passage that motorists _______
A. are reliable dog owners

B. try hard not to run over dogs.

C. are not so careful as farmers are.

D. often depend upon their dogs.

3. When Nicola first heard the cries, she _______
A. knew they were kitten’s cries.

B. got up and looked for the kittens.

C. did not think about them.

D. thought they came from the street.

4. Why did Nicola look for the kittens in the store-room?
A. She thought a cat could have got into it.
B. A lot of the family’s cats lived there.

C. She had seen the mother cat going in.
D. Someone had left the door open for her.
5. When Nicola bent down to the kittens _______
A. they attacked her.

B. they showed they were afraid.

C. they welcomed her.

D. they ran away from her.

6. When she hold one of the kittens in her hand_______
A. it felt very warm to her.

B. it began to cry.

C. she did not like the feel of it.

D. it soon felt safe with her

7. The kittens were too young to _______
A. live without their mother.

B. take the milk from Bernie’s fingers

C. take food as cats usually do

D. drink from a feeding bottle.

3. Hãy đọc đoạn văn sau và chọn câu trả lời tốt nhất trong số A, B, C và D.

The tanker lay in the bay for four days, a few hundred metres from the shore. In this


tideless water she lay as still and secure as if fastened to a wall. In a way, she was, for the
sandy bottom held her in its grip. Twice the harbour master’s boat went out to her; the
second time it brought off a number of the crew. It never occurred to the watchers on
shore that the ship was in danger, she looked so calm and seaworthy. From time to time
there was activity on board: when a land wind rose in the evenings, the tanker’s engines
came to life. Then the vessel shook herself and strained fiercely, but none of it did her any
good. She just stayed where she was in the bay.
The July sun blazed down on her flat decks. Occasionally a seaman, stripped to the
waist, came out on to the deck with the movements of someone performing a complicated
dance, stepping lightly, never resting on that burning metal. Once or twice he kept close
to the ship’s rail, with an arm raised against the sunlight, staring at the people on the
beach. Throughout the day the air rose in visible waves from the tanker’s decks. When a
sea wind blew, it brought with it the heavy smell of oil. At night the ship lay in total
darkness.
On the fifth morning a thick bank of sea mist filled the bay. It seemed that the tanker
had got away in the night and gone into harbour. But this was an illusion. Slowly, as the
fog cleared a little, she came into view again but farther out. Soon two figures could be
seen at work on her decks. There was the sound of hammering, of metal on metal, and
then of something heavy falling on to the deck. At once the Watchers on shore were half
blinded by a flash of yellow light that enveloped the ship from end to end. The explosion
that followed the flash was like a single crack from a giant whip. In a moment the ship,
except for a dark line at water level, was lost to sight behind the flames.
Two bodies were washed ashore in the bay. They were stripped to the waist, barefooted, and black with flash burns. The right arm of one body was raised to the forehead
as if shielding the eyes from some bright light. The other man wore a gold chain round
his neck. The tanker burned for nine days and nights.
1. What prevented the tanker from sailing into harbour?
A. She was waiting for a suitable tide.

B. Most of her crew had gone ashore.


C. She had run aground on sand.
D. Her engines had broken down.
2. The people who were watching from the beach _______
A. realised the trouble but could do nothing about it.
B. offered to help without knowing what to do.
C. did not know there was anything wrong with the ship.
D. did not want to put themselves in any danger.
3. Why did the seaman keep moving about?
A. The deck was uncomfortable to stand on.
B. That was the best way to keep his balance
C. He was practising some kind of dance.
D. He had to pretend he was working.
4. The air that rose from the ship was “visible” because _______
A. it might easily have caught fire.
B. it could be seen.
C. it had a nasty smelt.
D. it was mixed with spray from the waves.
5. How did the mist affect the situation?
A. It forced the ship to move farther from the shore.
B. It made the seamen’s work harder.
C. It allowed the ship to move into the harbour.
D. For a time it hid the ship from sight.
6. The explosion occurred on the tanker when _______
A. she was unloading her oil. B. the fog began to clear.
C. the two seamen were working. D. she was struck by lightning.
7. What happened to the two seamen?
A. They were blown off the ship and swam ashore.

B They were killed in the explosion.
C. They survived but were badly burned.


D. They died shortly after reaching the beach.
4. Hãy đọc đoạn văn sau và chọn câu trả lời tốt nhất trong số A, B, C và D.
Sands looked up at the roof of the ruin, “This is the only part where we might try to
sleep,” he said. “The beams up there support some stonework they’re the only ones that
don’t look ready to come down on us.”
“Not for me, thanks, Professor,” Morris replied I’m too bony and sensitive to sleep on
a stone floor. I’ll spread my blanket in the dust by the path.”
Professor Sands stared at him. “That wouldn’t do you any good at all. Besides it will
be very cold up here after dark. Do you want your brain to soften?”
“My brain?” Now Morris pointed to the roof beams. “Mightn’t it be yours that risks
damage should one of those suddenly decide to obey gravity in the middle of one of your
pleasant dreams? What exactly do you mean?”
“It’s unhealthy, even foolish, to sleep without a roof of some sort over your head.
Being high, as we are on this mountain, is a great help, but it’s not enough.”
“Tonight will be all right, surely. It’s a lovely evening, and the sky is clear I’ve got
warm clothes. I’m not worried about a change in the weather”
“Nor am I. It’s the weight I’m thinking of. The brain needs protection from it. Many
creatures have developed their own - a shell for example Fish always have the sea above
them. Foxes spend most of their time underground. To sleep undefended, uncovered to
the air, like the most stupid animals, is simply asking for trouble. Do you wish to take
after a goat or a sheep? Sleep under this roof, Morris, where the weight can’t reach you.”
“What weight do you mean?” Morris cried, losing patience.
The professor sighed. He had to explain even the simplest details to some of his
students. “The air, of course,” he said. “It’s a great blanket of gas, eighty kilometres thick,
and it’s pressing, pressing, pressing down on us. It’s the brain that suffers most. We must
do all we can to shield it. Do you know the terrific weight on your head when you stand

out there?”
Morris closed his eyes. “I don’t notice it. I’ve grown used to it.” He laughed. “That
won’t help you. You must try to avoid it as I do. The roof here will protect; and I use this


too.” He opened his bag and took out a small metal helmet “Have you a hat or something
to cover your head?”
1. What was Professor Sands’ opinion of the room they were in?
A. As it was the only room, they had to sleep there.
B. He suggested the beams might give way and bring down the stones.
C. He thought it was safer there than elsewhere in the ruin.
D. He thought it was perfectly safe for them to sleep there.
2. Where did Morris decide to sleep?
A. He was going to sleep in the open air
B. He was so tired he said he could sleep anywhere
C. He thought he would sleep on a flat stone outside.
D. He did not like the hard floor of the room but would sleep on it.
3. When Morris pointed to the roof, he suggested that _______
A. it was in good condition.

B. Sands might cause damage to it.

C. Sands was confused about it.

D. part of it might fall on to Sands.

4. If you haven’t “a roof over your head”, you _______
A. are homeless or without a room

B. are on a bare mountain-top

C. are bare-headed.

D. are bald-headed.

5. Professor Sands argued that the least intelligent creatures _______
A. were always the heaviest ones.
B. lived mainly underground.
C. slept outside, in the fields.
D. were the ones with shells on their backs.
6. What do we understand about Sands’ fears?
A. He was most afraid of being attacked.
B. He thought the open air was dangerous.
C. He was scared of poisonous gas.
D. He had a secret worry that weighed on his mind.
7. Why did Sands use a helmet?


A. To help him explore old ruins.

B: To protect his head.

C. To enable him to see better.

D. To help him sleep soundly.

5. Hãy đọc đoạn văn sau và chọn câu trả lời tốt nhất trong số A, B, C và D.
Police Officer Tidwell left the station just after 8 a m on Sunday, June 4. He had spent
an uneventful night on duty and was looking forward to his day of rest. By habit he took
a short cut down the path behind Digby Hall Road and after a minute or two he saw a

man climbing down a drain-pipe from an open bedroom window of number 29. In silence
Tidwell crept into the garden. The man reached the ground and was dusting himself down
when he felt his arm gripped.
“It’s 8.15 on a Sunday morning,” said the officer, “and this sort of thing seems an
unlikely adventure at such a time. Would you mind explaining?”
The man was obviously startled but kept calm. He said, “I know what you’re thinking,
officer, but it isn’t true. This is a very funny mistake”
“It’s part of my job to take an interest in unusual events. I think you’ve just left this
house in a manner other than the customary one. That may be quite innocent, but I’d like
to make sure.” Tidwell took out his notebook and a pen. “Name, address and occupation
and then, please, tell me your story.”
“Charlie Crane, lorry driver, from Nottingham, 51 Brecon Street. My story...”
“Yes. What were you doing like a fly on that wall, Mr. Crane?”
“Well, I had a breakdown yesterday and had to stay the night here. Bed and breakfast.
The landlady’s name is Mrs. Fern. She gave me breakfast at seven, and I was out of here
in the right way and down at the lorry park by half past. It was only when I felt around
for a cigarette I realized I’d left £80 in my pay envelope under She pillow here at number
29. I always put it under my pillow at night, it’s a habit I’ve got into. I even do it at
home...”
“I see. Why didn’t you miss it when you went to pay Mrs. What’s-her-name?”
“I’d paid her last night. You’ve got to pay when you take the room, see? So I came
rushing back, but it’s Sunday, and she’d gone back to bed, and could I wake her? I rang
the bell and banged on the front door for ten minutes before I came round here to the


back and spotted my bedroom window still open. Up I went, then, up this pipe. It’s a trick
I learnt in the army. She hadn’t made the bed, and the money was still there. You know
the rust, and I hope you believe it because ...”
“Mr. Crane, whatever are you doing here? I thought you’d gone an hour ago.” It was
Mrs. Fern, speaking from the kitchen window at the corner of the house.

1. Why was Tidwell walking along that path?
A. He usually discovered something suspicious along that way.
B. He had an appointment with a man at number 29, Digby Hall Road.
C. He chose to go that way by chance.
D. He knew he would get home quicker that way.
2. According to the passage, the officer saw a man _______
A. causing damage to a house.
B. bringing a pipe out through a window.
C. leaving a house.
D. trying to break into a house.
3. The police officer questioned the man because _______
A. he had seen him doing a strange thing.
B. he thought he recognised him.
C. the man had fallen and needed attention
D. the man had tried to escape.
4. It is customary to leave a house _______
A. through the kitchen window.

B. through a bedroom.

C. by the door.

D. down a drain-pipe.

5. Why had Crane stayed the night at number 29?
A. He had lost his way in the dark.
B. His lorry had something wrong with it.
C. Nottingham was too far for him to drive that night.
D. He had suddenly felt ill.
6. When Mr. Crane was at home, he _______

A. kept his cigarettes under his pillow at night.
B. always carried his money about in an envelope.
C. tried to give up the smoking habit.
D. hid his money under his pillow at night.
7. When Crane arrived back at the house, _______
A. he refused to wake Mrs. Fern.
B. he felt ashamed to wake Mrs. Fern, but he did so.
C. he woke Mrs. Fern, but she refused to get up.
D. he tried to wake Mrs. Fern but failed.
8. What trick had Crane learnt in the army?
A. Opening windows from the outside.
B. Climbing pipes.
C. Getting money from people.
D. Making beds.
6. Hãy đọc đoạn văn sau và chọn câu trả lời tốt nhất trong số A, B, C và D.
When Brooke married his Irish nurse, the colonel gave him two weeks to go with her
to her country, so that he could meet her people and see what the place was like. Southern
Ireland, though only across a narrow sea, was not at war. That seemed to make it an
inviting place, a strange place, more foreign than France or Egypt.
“You take ship from Holyhead,” said the colonel. I’ll give you a ticket and a pass to
say you’re an Irishman on leave. But remember, you’re not to wear uniform unless you
want to spend the rest of the war in an Irish prison. Get a suit and a shirt from somebody
and leave your army stuff here. In uniform they’ll pick you up as soon as you step off the
boat.”
Brooke arranged the journey without too much trouble. An army man could do
practically what he wanted in those days, especially a lame man with a couple of ribbons
on his chest. Brooke had fought through the North African war, and then the invasion of
Europe. He had got his leg wound in France and been nursed back to near normal health

by Bernie Hale, now Mrs. Brooke.


It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good. The bombing was severe, and Bernie’s
hospital, crowded and busy with wounded, was so badly damaged on the day before she
got married that there was nowhere immediately for her to work. Her patients were sent
elsewhere, and that allowed her to take her holidays.
The boat to Dublin was crowded. All the passengers wore civilian clothes, and all
seemed to have a great air of cheerfulness and pride, too, Brooke thought. The
atmosphere was of a victorious return from a meeting with some challenge. They were
nearly all young people. They talked and laughed about the war. Brooke guessed they
were Irish men and women who did not share their country’s determination to keep out of
the war. They did not want to miss the chance of a good fight.
Dublin seemed a fairy city that evening. There were lights everywhere, in complete
contrast to blacked-out Europe. The people were pink-cheeked, cheerful, not pale and
war-weary. Bombs and rockets did not disturb the sleep of the Irish. The manageress of
the hotel Brooke and Bernie stayed at refused to believe they were married, it was
separate rooms or nothing.
Next morning, when Brooke asked the hotel porter to help with one of the heavy
cases, the man said, “No, I’ve got other things to do. Don’t you people know there’s a
war on?” That angered Bernie, but Brooke could only laugh.
1. Why did Brooke go to Ireland?
A. He went on leave, because his home was there.
B. He went mainly to see his wife’s family.
C. The colonel had asked him to spy out the land.
D. The people of Ireland had asked him to visit the country.
2. Brooke was not allowed to wear his uniform to Iceland because _______
A. Ireland was on the opposite side in the war
B. he was wounded and had left the army
C. that would be against Irish law

D. no one would believe him if he did
3. In the last sentence of paragraph 2, the words “pick you up” mean _______


A. recognise you.

B. help you.

C. arrest you.

4. When Brooke made the travel arrangements, _______
A. people were unusually helpful to him.
B. there were more difficulties than he expected.
C. he was glad to be wearing civilian clothes.
D. he tried to hide his lameness.
5. Bernie managed to get a holiday because _______
A. she wanted to get married.
B. her place of work was bombed
C. her patients had recovered and left hospital.
D. a storm wrecked the hospital.
6. What do you understand about the other passengers on the ship?
A. They were unwillingly involved in the war.
B. They were proud of their peace-loving country.
C. They were determined to stay out of the war.
D. They were happy to be taking part in the war.
7. Bernie was angry because _______
A. she felt insulted by the porter’s question.
B. the porter had such a lot of work to do.
C. her country was suffering as a result of the war.
D.

her husband was laughing at the porter.

D. give you a lift.