2b ngân hàng câu hỏi tiếng anh (đọc hiểu)

READING COMPREHENSION (20)

C1. All spiders spin webs. That's because webs help spiders. Webs help spiders do three things.
Webs help spiders hold eggs. Webs help spiders hide. And webs help spiders catch food. Webs
help spiders hold eggs. Many spiders like to lay their eggs in their webs. The webs help keep the
eggs together. Webs help spiders keep their eggs safe. Webs help spiders hide. Most spiders
are dark. They are brown, grey, or black. But spider webs are light. They are white and cloudy.
When spiders hide in their webs, they are harder to see. Webs help spiders catch food. Spider
webs are sticky. When a bug flies into the web, it gets stuck. It moves around. It tries to get out.
But it can't. It is trapped! Spiders can tell that the bug is trapped. That's because spiders feel the
web move. And the spider is hungry. The spider goes to get the bug. As you can see, webs help
spiders hold eggs. Webs help spiders hide. And webs help spiders catch food. Without webs,
spiders would not be able to live like they do. Spiders need their webs to survive.

C2. Most human beings are awake during the day and sleep all night. Owls live the opposite
way. Owls are nocturnal. This means that they sleep all day and stay awake at night. Because
owls are nocturnal, this means they must eat at night. But finding food in the dark is difficult. To
help them, they have special eyes and ears. Owls have very large eyes. These eyes absorb
more light than normal. Since there is little light during the night, it is helpful to be able to absorb
more of it. This helps owls find food in the dark. Owls also have very good hearing. Even when
owls are in the trees, they can hear small animals moving in the grass below. This helps owls
catch their prey even when it is very dark. Like owls, mice are also nocturnal animals. Mice have
an excellent sense of smell. This helps them find food in the dark. Being nocturnal helps mice to
hide from the many different animals that want to eat them. Most of the birds, snakes, and
lizards that like to eat mice sleep at night—except, of course, owls! Some animals are nocturnal.
This means they are active at night. The owl and the mouse are good examples of nocturnal
animals that use their senses to find food in the dark.

C3. When we are young, we learn that tigers and sharks are dangerous animals. We might be
scared of them because they are big and powerful. As we get older; however, we learn that
sometimes the most dangerous animals are also the smallest animals. In fact, the animal that

kills the most people every year is one that you have probably killed yourself many times: the
mosquito. While it may seem that all mosquitoes are biters, this is not actually the case. Male
mosquitoes eat plant nectar. On the other hand, female mosquitoes feed on animal blood. They
need this blood to live and produce eggs. When a female mosquito bites a human being, it
transmits a small amount of saliva into the blood. This saliva may or may not contain a deadly
disease. The result of the bite can be as minor as an itchy bump or as serious as death.
Because a mosquito can bite many people in the course of its life, it can carry diseases from one
person to another very easily. Two of the most deadly diseases carried by mosquitoes are
malaria and yellow fever. Mosquitoes have many natural enemies like bats, birds, dragonflies,
and certain kinds of fish. Bringing more of these animals into places where mosquitoes live
might help to cut down the amount of mosquitoes in that area. This is a natural solution, but it


does not always work very well. Mosquitoes can also be killed with poisons or sprays. Even
though these sprays kill mosquitoes, they may also harm other plants or animals.

C4. Rainforests circle the globe for twenty degrees of latitude on both sides of the equator. In
that relatively narrow band of the planet, more than half of all the species of plants and animals
in the world make their home. Several hundred different varieties of trees may grow in a single
acre, and just one of those trees may be the habitat for more than ten thousand kinds of spiders,
ants, and other insects. More species of amphibians, birds, insects, mammals, and reptiles live
in rainforests than anywhere else on earth. Unfortunately, half of the world’s rainforests have
already been destroyed, and at the current rate, another 25 percent will be lost by the year 2030.
Scientists estimate that as many as fifty million acres are destroyed annually. In other words,
every sixty seconds, one hundred acres of rainforest is being cleared. By the time you finish
reading this passage, two hundred acres will have been destroyed! When this happens,
constant rains erode the former forest floor, the thin layer of soil no longer supports plant life,
and the ecology of the region is altered forever. Thousands of species of plants and animals are
condemned to extinction and since we aren’t able to predict the ramifications of this loss to a
delicate global ecology, we don’t know what we may be doing to the future of the human species

as well.

C5. Should women find their happiness inside or outside the home? In the United States people
used to believe the saying, “A woman’s place is in the home.” But now both women and society
are changing. More than fifty percent of American women continue their work even after they are
married. What has brought about these changes? What is happening to the American family
today? Up until the 1950’s a typical American woman got married in her early 20’s. In those days
she quit her job and became a mother. “A woman’s place is in the home” was a popular saying.
Most women felt that taking care of their home and family was their full-time job. But times have
changed. Women are getting married later these days and more have chosen to stay single.
Others get married but decide not to have any children. Today more than fifty percent of all
married women work full-time. Many others run businesses in their homes. What has caused
these major changes? One reason is economic necessity. It may be that the husband has lost
his job and the wife must support the family. Or even if the husband is working, some families
say they can’t survive on only one paycheck. But probably a more important influence has been
the “women’s liberation movement.” Women are being told in many magazines and TV
programs: “You can be successful on your own. Don’t be satisfied with just being a wife and
mother. Use your intelligence and talents to do something bigger. And you should be paid as
much as a man.”
No doubt this movement has accomplished much good. But it has also contributed to a selfish
“me first” attitude that is breaking up many families. Sometimes women who are happy staying
at home feel that working women look down on them. There are no easy answers to these
problems. But certainly women’s influence will continue to grow in business, education and
politics.
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C6. When John Mills was going to fly in an aeroplane for the first time, he was frightened. He did
not like the idea of being thousands of feet up in the air. “I also didn’t like the fact that I wouldn’t
be in control,” says John. “I’m a terrible passenger in the car. When somebody else is driving, I

tell them what to do. It drives everybody crazy”. However, John couldn’t avoid flying any longer.
It was the only way he could visit his grandchildren in Canada. To get ready for the flight John
did lots of reading about aeroplanes. When he booked his seat, he was told that he would be
flying on a Boeing 777, which is better known as a jumbo jet. “I needed to know as much as
possible before getting on that plane. I suppose it was a way of making myself feel better. The
Boeing 777 is the largest passenger aircraft in the world at the moment. Even though I had
discovered all this very interesting information about the jumbo, when I saw it for the first time,
just before I was going to travel to Canada, I still couldn’t believe that something so enormous
was going to get up in the air and fly. I was even more impressed when I saw how big it was
inside with hundreds of people!”. The biggest surprise of all for John was the flight itself. “The
take-off itself was much smoother than I expected although I was still quite scared until we were
in the air. In the end, I managed to relax, enjoy the food and watch one of the movies and the
view from the window was spectacular. I even managed to sleep for a while! Of course,”
continues John, “the best reward of all was when I arrived in Canada and saw my son and his
family, particularly my beautiful grandchildren. Suddenly, I felt so silly about all the years when I
couldn’t even think of getting on a plane. I had let my fear of flying stop me from seeing the
people I love most in the world. I can visit my son and his family as often as I like now!”

C7. With the onset of the winter season, man’s natural enemies, the common cold and the flu,
arrive with full force. It seems that the fluctuations in temperature and weather are guarantees
that coughs and sneezes will spread infecting germs among family and friends. More than 100
different types of bacteria can cause a cold, and doctors sometimes use antibiotics to treat
bacterial colds. However, there are an equal number of viruses that can cause influenza, and
modern science offers no drug capable of curing viral infections. In most cases, the best advice
is the usual prescription: get plenty of rest, drink lot fluids, and be prepared to suffer for three to
ten days. Some home cures help to relieve the symptoms of colds and flus. Mother’s chicken
soup, rich in fats and oils, helps to revitalize a tired body and to soothe a sore throat. Garlic,
containing the active ingredient allicin, has long been used to fight off the effects of bacteria and
viruses. Hot toddies consisting of small amounts of liquor mixed with honey, sugar, and lemon
juice can relieve soreness and draw out cold germs. Finally, recent evidence suggests that large

doses of vitamin C not only boost the immune system before a cold arrives, but also relieve cold
symptoms after they have set in.

C8. Today’s cars are smaller, safer, cleaner, and more economical than their predecessors, but
the car of the future will be far more pollution-free than those on the road today. Several new
types of automobile engines have already been developed that run on alternative sources of
power, such as electricity, compressed natural gas, methanol, steam, hydrogen, and propane.
Electricity, however, is the only zero-emission option presently available. Although electric
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vehicles will not be truly practical until a powerful, compact battery or other dependable source
of current is available, transportation experts foresee a new assortment of electric vehicles
entering everyday life: shorter-range commuter electric cars, three-wheeled neighborhood cars,
electric delivery vans, bikes, and trolleys. As automakers work to develop practical electric
vehicles, urban planners and utility engineers are focusing on infrastructure systems to support
and make the best use of the new cars. Public charging facilities will need to be as common as
today’s gas stations. Public parking spots on the street or in commercial lots will need to be
equipped with devices that allow drivers to charge their batteries while they shop, dine, or attend
a concert. To encourage the use of electric vehicles, the most convenient parking in
transportation centers might be reserved for electric cars. Planners foresee electric shuttle
buses, trains, buses, and neighborhood vehicles all meeting at transit centers that would have
facilities for charging and renting. Commuters will be able to rent a variety of electric cars to suit
their needs: light trucks; one-person three-wheelers; small cars; or electric, gasoline hybrid cars
for longer trips, which will no doubt take place on automated freeways capable of handling five
times the number of vehicles that can be carried by a freeway today.

C9. Being able to forecast the weather isn’t just to do with informing people about whether or not
they can go to the beach or have a picnic. When there are going to be severe weather
conditions, the ability to prepare for them can be a matter of life or death. A hurricane needs

certain weather conditions to start forming: warm tropical oceans with moisture and heat above
them. The centre of the hurricane is very calm and it is called the “eye”, but the most violent
activity takes place in the area immediately around the eye which is called the “eyewall”. When
hurricanes move onto the land from the sea, the heavy rain, strong winds and huge waves can
cause unbelievable damage to buildings and trees, and cars can be picked up and thrown like
matchboxes. The greatest danger, however, is in the rise in the sea level as it hits the land. This
is called the ‘storm surge’ and can be catastrophic. To measure how powerful an approaching
hurricane is, meteorologists use something called the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. This
means that a hurricane coming towards the land is given a number from 1 to 5 depending on
how fast its winds are. The calmest hurricane is given the number 1 on the scale. As technology
has developed and we can now forecast the weather, it has meant that the advance warnings
given have greatly reduced the number of deaths caused by hurricanes. However, the damage
to property, which cannot be avoided, still costs billions of dollars to repair.

C10. To be successful, a business traveler must be able to maintain contact with the office, no
matter what the time or place. Negotiations often involve decisions based on the latest figures.
New telecommunications products and services now on the market make staying in touch easier
than ever before. The most widespread device is the cellular telephone, the price of which has
dropped from several thousand dollars to a few hundred, including installation. There are over
two million mobile cellular phones in use today, including both car phones and cordless
transportable units. Car phones have proven indispensable for road emergencies as well as
routine business transactions. Phone service is also available on airplanes and on the rails.
Recently introduced pocket-size organizers help business travelers with heavy schedules keep
track of clients. These are tiny computers that can store all kinds of information. They can serve
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as phone and address directories, calendars, electronic memo pads, and calculators, among
other uses. Another invaluable telecommunications tool is smaller, lighter fax machines that plug
into any standard electrical outlet and phone line. The devices allow instantaneous transmission

of hard copy to any location having a compatible fax machine. It is expected that faxing will soon
become the primary means of sending and receiving short documents requiring prompt action.

C11. During the nineteenth century, women in the United States organized and participated in a
large number of reform movements, including movements to reorganize the prison system,
improve education, ban the sale of alcohol, grant rights to people who were denied them, and,
most importantly, free slaves. Some women saw similarities in the social status of women and
slaves. Women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucy Stone were not only feminists who fought
for the rights of women but also fervent abolitionists who fought to do away with slavery. These
brave people were social leaders who supported the rights of both women and blacks. They
were fighting against a belief that voting should be tied to land ownership, and because land was
owned by men, and in some cases by their widows, only those who held the greatest stake in
government, that is the male landowners, were considered worthy of the vote. Women did not
conform to the requirements. A number of male abolitionists, including William Lloyd Garrison
and Wendell Phillips, also supported the rights of women to speak and to participate equally with
men in antislavery activities. Probably more than any other movement, abolitionism offered
women a previously denied entry into politics. They became involved primarily in order to better
their living conditions and improve the conditions of others. However, they gained the respect of
those they convinced and also earned the right to be considered equal citizens. When the civil
war between the North and the South ended in 1865, the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments
to the Constitution adopted in 1868 and 1870 granted citizenship and suffrage to blacks but not
to women. Discouraged but resolved, feminists worked tirelessly to influence more and more
women to demand the right to vote. In 1869, the Wyoming Territory had yielded to demands by
feminists, but the states on the East Coast resisted more stubbornly than before. A women’s
suffrage bill had been presented to every Congress since 1878, but it continually failed to pass
until 1920, when the Nineteenth Amendment granted women the right to vote.

C12. The first settlers who came to America were not rich. The ships, food, tools and weapons
necessary for voyage to America and new life there were financed by companies in England.
One person’s voyage to the New World cost about ten pounds. Settlers also needed help until

they harvested crops. The total cost was probably more than ten thousand dollars, in today’s
dollars, for each settler. Settlers had to find out how to repay this debt. Almost all the settlers
became farmers and raised food and made material for their clothes. They also produced raw
materials which they could send back to England. In the South, in such colonies as Virginia,
Maryland and North Carolina, tobacco was found most profitable. In South Carolina and
Georgia, rice was the most popular crop. Slaves worked in the tobacco and rice fields on large
plantations. There were also some independent farms which raised them. On farms from New
York to Pennsylvania, settlers produced large quantities of grain, beer, beef and pork, and they
exported them to England and the West Indies. They also exported large quantities of furs,
which they received in trade from Indians. Settlers in New England had a hard time at the
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beginning. Raising crops in the stony soil was difficult, so they had to find other means to make
a profit. They depended on lumber and other natural resources. They had to use the sea to
make a living. They did ship-building, fishing and trading.

C13. Thomas Alva Edison lit up the world with his invention of the electric light. Without him, the
world might still be a dark place. However, the electric light was not his only invention. He also
invented the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and over 1,200 other things. About every
two weeks he created something new. Thomas A. Edison was bom in Milan, Ohio, on February
11, 1847. His family moved to Port Huron, Michigan, when he was seven years old. Surprisingly,
he attended school for only two months. His mother, a former teacher, taught him a few things,
but Thomas was mostly self-educated. His natural curiosity led him to start experimenting at a
young age with electrical and mechanical things at home. When he was 12 years old, he got his
first job. He became a newsboy on a train that ran between Port Huron and Detroit. He set up a
laboratory in a baggage car of the train so that he could continue his experiments in his spare
time. Unfortunately, his first work experience did not end well. Thomas was fired when he
accidentally set fire to the floor of the baggage car. Thomas then worked for five years as a
telegraph operator, but he continued to spend much of his time on the job conducting

experiments. He got his first patent in 1868 for a vote recorder run by electricity. However, the
vote recorder was not a success. In 1870, he sold another invention, a stock-ticker, for $40,000.
Thomas Edison was totally deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the ether, but thought of his
deafness as a blessing in many ways. It kept conversations short, so that he could have more
time for work. He left numerous inventions that improved the quality of life all over the world.

C14. Have you ever heard someone use the phrase “once in a blue moon?” People use this
expression to describe something that they do not do very often. For example, someone might
say that he tries to avoid eating sweets because they are unhealthy, but will eat chocolate “once
in a blue moon.” Or someone who does not usually like to go to the beach might say “I visit the
shore once in a blue moon.” While many people use this phrase, not everyone knows the
meaning behind it. The first thing to know is that the moon itself is never actually blue. This is
just an expression. The phrase “blue moon” actually has to do with the shape of the moon, not
the color. As the moon travels around the earth, it appears to change shape. We associate
certain names with certain shapes of the moon. For example, when we can see a small part of
the moon, it is called a crescent moon. A crescent is a shape that looks like the tip of a
fingernail. When we cannot see the moon at all, it is called a new moon. When we can see the
entire moon, it is called a full moon. Usually, there is only one full moon every month.
Sometimes, however, there will be two full moons in one month. When this happens, the second
full moon is called a “blue moon.” Over the next 20 years, there will only be 15 blue moons. As
you can see, a blue moon is a very rare event. This fact has led people to use the expression
“once in a blue moon” to describe other very rare events in their lives.

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C15. Many people like to eat pizza, but not everyone knows how to make it. Making the perfect
pizza can be complicated, but there are lots of ways for you to make a more basic version at
home. When you make pizza, you must begin with the crust. The crust can be hard to make. If
you want to make the crust yourself, you will have to make dough using flour, water, and yeast.

You will have to knead the dough with your hands. If you do not have enough time to do this,
you can use a prepared crust that you buy from the store. After you have chosen your crust, you
must then add the sauce. Making your own sauce from scratch can take a long time. You have
to buy tomatoes, peel them, and then cook them with spices. If this sounds like too much work,
you can also purchase jarred sauce from the store. Many jarred sauces taste almost as good as
the kind you make at home. Now that you have your crust and your sauce, you need to add the
cheese. Cheese comes from milk, which comes from cows. Do you have a cow in your
backyard? Do you know how to milk the cow? Do you know how to turn that milk into cheese? If
not, you might want to buy cheese from the grocery store instead of making it yourself. When
you have the crust, sauce, and cheese ready, you can add other toppings. Some people like to
put meat on their pizza, while other people like to add vegetables. Some people even like to add
pineapple! The best part of making a pizza at home is that you can customize it by adding your
own favorite ingredients.

C16. When you imagine the desert, you probably think of a very hot place covered with sand.
Although this is a good description for many deserts, Earth’s largest desert is actually a very cold
place covered with ice: Antarctica. In order for an area to be considered a desert, it must receive
very little rainfall. More specifically, it must receive an average of less than ten inches of
precipitation—which can be rain, sleet, hail, or snow—on the ground every year. Antarctica, the
coldest place on earth, has an average temperature that usually falls below the freezing point.
And because cold air holds less moisture than warm air, the air in Antarctica does not hold much
moisture at all. This is evident in the low precipitation statistics recorded for Antarctica. For
example, the central part of Antarctica receives an average of less than 2 inches of snow every
year. The coastline of Antarctica receives a little bit more—between seven and eight inches a
year. Because Antarctica gets so little precipitation every year, it is considered a desert.When
precipitation falls in hot deserts, it quickly evaporates back into the atmosphere. The air over
Antarctica is too cold to hold water vapor, so there is very little evaporation. Due to this low rate
of evaporation, most of the snow that falls to the ground remains there permanently, eventually
building up into thick ice sheets. Any snow that does not freeze into ice sheets becomes caught
up in the strong winds that constantly blow over Antarctica. These snow-filled winds can make it

look as if it is snowing. Even though snowfall is very rare there, blizzards are actually very
common on Antarctica.

C17. A recent survey of crime statistics shows that we are all more likely to be burgled now than
20 years ago and the police advise everyone to take a few simple precautions to protect their
homes. The first fact is that burglars and other intruders prefer easy opportunities, like a house
which is very obviously empty. This is much less of a challenge than an occupied house, and
one which is well-protected. A burglar will wonder if it is worth the bother. There are some
general tips on how to avoid your home becoming another crime statistic. Avoid leaving signs
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that your house is empty. When you have to go out, leave at least one light on as well as a radio
or television, and do not leave any curtains wide open. The sight of your latest music centre or
computer is enough to tempt any burglar. Never leave a spare key in a convenient hiding place.
The first place a burglar will look is under the doormat or in a flower pot and even somewhere
more ‘imaginative’ could soon be uncovered by the intruder. But if your house is in a quiet,
desolate area be aware that this will be a burglar’s dream, so deter any potential criminal from
approaching your house by fitting security lights to the outside of your house. But what could
happen if, in spite of the aforementioned precautions, a burglar or intruder has decided to target
your home. Windows, no matter how small, are usually the first point of entry for many intruders.
For extra security, fit window locks to the inside of the window.

C18. Today, Mike and his mom are going to the library. Mike wants to find a book to read. His
mom wants to use a computer there. When they get to the library, Mike finds a book about
detectives. He also finds a book with chapters about a friendly ghost. Finally, he finds a book
about a man who lives in the woods without food or water. He puts the books on the front desk
and waits for his mom.
Mike's mom sits at one of the computers in the library. She checks her email and looks at
pictures of flowers on the internet. Then she reads a news article on a website. Mike's mom

leaves the computer and walks over to Mike, holding up something out for him. Mike looks at her
quizzically. It takes him a moment to recognize what she is holding. “I got that movie for us to
watch tonight," says Mike's mom. “Are you ready to leave?”. "Sure," Mike says, now holding the
movie out in front of him. He reads the cover while walking back to the library entrance. He puts
his books and the movie on the front desk to check out. A librarian stands behind the counter
holding an electronic scanner. "How long can we keep them?" Mike asks her. "Three weeks,"
says the librarian. "Cool," says Mike. Suddenly, Mike is surprised. His mother is checking out
something else that is too big to put on the desk. It’s a picture of the ocean. "What is that for?"
Mike asks. "To put on our wall at home," says Mike's mom. "You can do that?" Mike asks. Mike's
mom smiles at the librarian. "Yes," she says, "but we have to return it in three months".

C19. Although Edgar Allan Poe is recognized as the originator of the mystery story genre and as
a master of the short story, literary critics and the general public have debated the extent of both
his genius and his madness since his death in 1849. Poe rose from destitute beginnings as an
orphan to a childhood of relative comfort when a wealthy businessman took him in. As a young
man, however, he descended through poverty and mental illness to an early death at the age of
forty. In his short career, he produced dozens of poems, stories, and critical essays that reflect
his brilliant creative intellect. At twenty, Poe moved to Baltimore to live with his impoverished
aunt and her daughter, where he eventually married his fourteen-year-old cousin, Virginia. Poe
was obviously devoted to his young wife, and idealized images of her appear in many of his
female characters. It is difficult to suppose, however, that they had a close relationship, since
she was many years younger than he was and chronically ill with tuberculosis. Although Poe
wrote for various newspapers and magazines during this time, making great strides in literary
criticism and developing his short-story style, he achieved no monetary success. His sensitive
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personality and a hereditary tendency to neurosis contributed to a tragic mental decline;
however, this only seems to have reinforced the brilliant imagery and fascinating morbidity that
he achieved in his tales. Many critics speculate that Poe also suffered from alcoholism and

opium addiction. The fantastical quality of his work earned him a devoted posthumous following
in France, but he was generally disparaged by his American contemporaries.

C20. I’ve always been a bit of an entertainer and played the funny man. I was a part-time
comedian for years, so I learned how to stand in front of audiences. It made me sure of myself. I
like being liked and I love making everyone smile. I’ve lived in London all my life and have just
moved to a larger house with my wife Clare and our two children, Jimmy and Madeleine. We
spend a lot of time just singing and dancing around the house. I grew up with music because my
dad is the pianist, Chester Harriott - who’s still playing, by the way. My working day is divided
between television and writing cook books, though TV takes most of my time. I spend about five
days a fortnight working on the cooking programmes I appear in. I eat all sorts of things at home
but I only buy quality food. When I’m cooking, I experiment with whatever is in the fridge - it’s
good practice for my TV series. I’m a football fan and enjoy going to matches, but I’m a homeloving person really. I don’t like going to the pub but we do go out to eat about twice a month.
There’s nothing better than a night at home playing with the children. I rarely go to bed before
midnight. Late evening is when fresh thoughts on cooking usually come to me, so I often write or
plan my programmes then. When I eventually get to bed, I have no trouble sleeping!

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