Reading mock test 1, Ôn thi b1 chuần Châu Âu Trường ĐHSP Hồ Chí Minh

PHẦN 2: ĐỌC HIỂU – VSTEP
Thời gian: 60 phút
Số câu hỏi: 40
Directions: In this section of the test, you will read FOUR different passages, each
followed by 10 questions about it. For questions 1-40, you are to choose the best answer
A, B, C or D, to each question. Then, on your answer sheet, find the number of the
question and fill in the space that corresponds to the letter of the answer you have chosen.
Answer all questions following a passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in that
passage.
You have 60 minutes to answer all the questions, including the time to transfer your
answers to the answer sheet.
Example
Read the following passage:
FALL WEATHER
One of the first things we look for in fall is the first frost and freeze of the season,
killing or sending into dormancy the beautiful vegetation you admired all summer long.
For some locations along the Canadian border, and in the higher terrain of the West, the
Line first freeze typically arrives by the middle part of September. Cities in the South may
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not see the first freeze until November, though a frost is very possible before then. A
few cities in the Lower 48, including International Falls, Minnesota and Grand Forks,
North Dakota, have recorded a freeze in every month of the year.
0. When does the first freeze often arrive in the South?
A. Early September
B. Mid September
C. November
D. Before November
You will read in the passage that “Cities in the South may not see the first freeze until
November”, so the correct answer is option C. November.

PASSAGE 1- Questions 1-10

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Aside from perpetuating itself, the sole purpose of the American Academy and
Institute of Arts and Letters is to "foster, assist and sustain an interest" in literature,
music, and art. This it does by enthusiastically handing out money. Annual cash awards
are given to deserving artists in various categories of creativity: architecture, musical
composition, theater, novels, serious poetry, light verse, painting, sculpture. One award
subsidizes a promising American writer`s visit to Rome. There is even an award for a
very good work of fiction that failed commercially ― once won by the young John
Updike for the Poorhouse Fair and, more recently, by Alice Walker for In Love
and Trouble.
The awards and prizes total about $750,000 a year, but most of them range in size
from $5,000 to $12,500, a welcome sum to many young practitioners whose work may
not bring in that much money in a year. One of the advantages of the awards is that
many go to the struggling artists, rather than to those who are already successful.
Members of the Academy and Institute are not eligible for any cash prizes. Another
advantage is that, unlike the National Endowment for the Arts or similar institutions
throughout the world, there is no government money involved.

Awards are made by committee. Each of the three departments ― Literature (120
members), Art(83), Music(47) ― has a committee dealing with its own field.
Committee membership rotates every year, so that new voices and opinions are
constantly heard.
The most financially rewarding of all the Academy-Institute awards are the Mildred
and Harold Strauss Livings. Harold Strauss, a devoted editor at Alfred A. Knopf, the
New York publishing house, and Mildred Strauss, his wife, were wealthy and childless.
They left the Academy-Institute a unique bequest : for five consecutive years, two
distinguished (and financially needy) writers would receive enough money so they
could devote themselves entirely to "prose literature"(no plays, no poetry, and no
paying job that might distract). In 1983, the first Strauss Livings of $35,000 a year went
to short-story writer Raymond Carver and novelist-essayist Cynthia Ozick. By 1988, the
fund had grown enough so that two winners, novelists Diane Johnson and Robert Stone,
each got $50,000 a year for five years.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?
A) Award-winning works of literature
B) An organization that supports the arts
C) The life of an artist
D) Individual patrons of the arts
2. The word "sole" in line 1 is closest in meaning to
A) only
B) honorable
C) common
D) official
3. The word "subsidizes" in line 6 is closest in meaning to


A) assures
B) finances

C) schedules
D) publishes
4. Which of the following can be inferred about Alice Walker`s book In Love and Trouble?
A) It sold more copies than The Poorhouse Fair.
B) It described the author`s visit to Rome.
C) It was a commercial success.
D) It was published after The Poorhouse Fair.
5. Each year the awards and prizes offered by the Academy-Institute total approximately
A) $ 12,500
B) $ 35,000
C) $ 50,000
D) $ 750,000
6. The word "many" in line 13 refers to
A) practitioners
B) advantages
C) awards
D) strugglers
7. What is one of the advantages of the Academy-Institute awards mentioned in the passage?
A) They are subsidized by the government.
B) They are often given to unknown artists.
C) They are also given to Academy-Institute members.
D) They influence how the National Endowment for the Arts makes its award decisions.
8. The word "rotates" in line 19 is closest in meaning to
A) alternate
B) participates
C) decides
D) meets
9. The word "they" in line 25 refers to
A) Mildred and Harold Strauss
B) years

C) writers
D) plays
10. Where in the passage does the author cite the goal of the Academy-Institute?
A) Lines 1-3
B) Lines 12-13
C) Lines 19-20
D) Lines 22-23


PASSAGE 2- Questions 11-20

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Before the 1500’s, the western plains of North America were dominated by
farmers. One group, the Mandans, lived in the upper Missouri River country,
primarily in present-day North Dakota. They had large villages of houses built close
together. The tight arrangement enabled the Mandans to protect themselves more
easily from the attacks of others who might seek to obtain some of the food these
highly capable farmers stored from one year to the next.
The women had primary responsibility for the fields. They had to exercise
considerable skill to produce the desired results, for their northern location meant
fleeting growing seasons. Winter often lingered; autumn could be ushered in by severe

frost. For good measure, during the spring and summer, drought, heat, hail,
grasshoppers, and other frustrations might await the wary grower.
Under such conditions, Mandan women had to grow maize capable of weathering
adversity. They began as early as it appeared feasible to do so in the spring, clearing
the land, using fire to clear stubble from the fields and then planting. From this point
until the first green corn could be harvested, the crop required labor and vigilance.
Harvesting proceeded in two stages. In August the Mandans picked a smaller
amount of the crop before it had matured fully. This green corn was boiled, dried,
and shelled, with some of the maize slated for immediate consumption and the rest
stored in animal-skin bags. Later in the fall, the people picked the rest of the corn.
They saved the best of the harvest for seeds or for trade, with the remainder eaten right
away or stored for later use in underground reserves. With appropriate banking of the
extra food, the Mandans protected themselves against the disaster of crop failure
and accompanying hunger.
The women planted another staple, squash, about the first of June, and harvested it
near the time of the green corn harvest. After they picked it, they sliced it, dried it,
and strung the slices before they stored them. Once again, they saved the seed from
the best of the year`s crop. The Mandans also grew sunflowers and tobacco ; the latter
was the particular task of the older men.

11. What is the main topic of the passage ?
A) The agricultural activities of a North American Society
B) Various ways corn can be used
C) The problems encountered by farmers who specialize in growing one crop
D) Weather conditions on the western plains
12. The Mandans built their houses close together in order to
A) guard their supplies of food
B) protect themselves against the weather
C) allow more room for growing corn
D) share farming implements

13. The word "enabled" in line 4 is closest in meaning to
A) covered


B) reminded
C) helped
D) isolated
14. The word "considerable" in line 8 is closest in meaning to
A) planning
B) much
C) physical
D) new
15. Why does the author believe that the Mandans were skilled farmers ?
A) They developed effective fertilizers.
B) They developed new varieties of corn.
C) They could grow crops in most types of soil.
A) They could grow crops despite adverse weather.
16. The word "consumption" in line 19 is closest in meaning to
A) decay
B) planting
C) eating
D) conversion
17. Which of the following processes does the author imply was done by both men and
women ?
A) Clearing fields
B) Planting corn
C) Harvesting corn
D) Harvesting squash
18. The word "disaster" in line 23 is closest in meaning to
A) control

B) catastrophe
C) avoidance
D) history
19. According to the passage, the Mandans preserved their food by
A) smoking
B) drying
C) freezing
D) salting
20. Throughout the passage, the author implies that the Mandans
A) planned for the future
B) valued individuality
C) were open to strangers
D) were very adventurous


PASSAGE 3 – Questions 21-30

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No student of a foreign language needs to be told that grammar is complex. By changing
word sequences and by adding a range of auxiliary verbs and suffixes, we are able to
communicate tiny variations in meaning. We can turn a statement into a question, state whether
an action has taken place or is soon to take place, and perform many other word tricks to convey
subtle differences in meaning. Nor is this complexity inherent to the English language. All
languages, even those of so-called 'primitive' tribes have clever grammatical components. The
Cherokee pronoun system, for example, can distinguish between 'you and I', 'several other people
and I' and 'you, another person and I'. In English, all these meanings are summed up in the one,
crude pronoun 'we'. Grammar is universal and plays a part in every language, no matter how
widespread it is. So the question which has baffled many linguists is - who created grammar?
At first, it would appear that this question is impossible to answer. To find out how grammar
is created, someone needs to be present at the time of a language's creation, documenting its
emergence. Many historical linguists are able to trace modern complex languages back to earlier
languages, but in order to answer the question of how complex languages are actually formed,
the researcher needs to observe how languages are started from scratch. Amazingly, however,
this is possible.
Some of the most recent languages evolved due to the Atlantic slave trade. At that time,
slaves from a number of different ethnicities were forced to work together under colonizer's
rule. Since they had no opportunity to learn each other's languages, they developed a makeshift language called a pidgin. Pidgins are strings of words copied from the language of the
landowner. They have little in the way of grammar, and in many cases it is difficult for a listener
to deduce when an event happened, and who did what to whom. A Speakers need to use
circumlocution in order to make their meaning understood. B Interestingly, however, all it takes
for a pidgin to become a complex language is for a group of children to be exposed to it at the
time when they learn their mother tongue. C Slave children did not simply copy the strings of
words uttered by their elders, they adapted their words to create a new, expressive language. D
Complex grammar systems which emerge from pidgins are termed creoles, and they are invented
by children.
Further evidence of this can be seen in studying sign languages for the deaf. Sign languages
are not simply a series of gestures; they utilise the same grammatical machinery that is found in

spoken languages. Moreover, there are many different languages used worldwide. The creation
of one such language was documented quite recently in Nicaragua. Previously, all deaf people
were isolated from each other, but in 1979 a new government introduced schools for the
deaf. Although children were taught speech and lip reading in the classroom, in the playgrounds
they began to invent their own sign system, using the gestures that they used at home. It was
basically a pidgin. Each child used the signs differently, and there was no consistent grammar.
However, children who joined the school later, when this inventive sign system was already
around, developed a quite different sign language. Although it was based on the signs of the
older children, the younger children's language was more fluid and compact, and it utilised a
large range of grammatical devices to clarify meaning. What is more, all the children used the
signs in the same way. A new creole was born.
Some linguists believe that many of the world's most established languages were creoles at
first. The English past tense –ed ending may have evolved from the verb 'do'. 'It


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ended' may once have been 'It end-did'. Therefore it would appear that even the most widespread
languages were partly created by children. Children appear to have innate grammatical
machinery in their brains, which springs to life when they are first trying to make sense of the
world around them. Their minds can serve to create logical, complex structures, even when there
is no grammar present for them to copy.
21. In paragraph 1, why does the writer include information about the Cherokee language?
A) To show how simple, traditional cultures can have complicated grammar structures
B) To show how English grammar differs from Cherokee grammar
C) To prove that complex grammar structures were invented by the Cherokees.
D) To demonstrate how difficult it is to learn the Cherokee language
22. What can be inferred about the slaves' pidgin language?
A) It contained complex grammar.
B) It was based on many different languages.

C) It was difficult to understand, even among slaves.
D) It was created by the land-owners.
23. All the following sentences about Nicaraguan sign language are true EXCEPT:
A) The language has been created since 1979.
B) The language is based on speech and lip reading.
C) The language incorporates signs which children used at home.
D) The language was perfected by younger children.
24. In which space in paragraph 3 (marked A, B, C and D in the passage) will the following sentence
fit?
It included standardised word orders and grammatical markers that existed in neither the pidgin
language, nor the language of the colonizers.
A. A
B. B
C. C
D. D
25. 'From scratch' in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to:
A) from the very beginning
B) in simple cultures
C) by copying something else
D) by using written information
26. 'Make-shift' in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to:
A) complicated and expressive
B) simple and temporary
C) extensive and diverse
D) private and personal
27. Which sentence is closest in meaning to the highlighted sentence?


Grammar is universal and plays a part in every language, no matter how widespread it is.
A) All languages, whether they are spoken by a few people or a lot of people, contain grammar.

B) Some languages include a lot of grammar, whereas other languages contain a little.
C) Languages which contain a lot of grammar are more common that languages that contain a little.
D) The grammar of all languages is the same, no matter where the languages evolved.
28. All of the following are features of the new Nicaraguan sign language EXCEPT:
A) All children used the same gestures to show meaning.
B) The meaning was clearer than the previous sign language.
C) The hand movements were smoother and smaller.
D) New gestures were created for everyday objects and activities.
29. Which idea is presented in the final paragraph?
A) English was probably once a creole.
B) The English past tense system is inaccurate.
C) Linguists have proven that English was created by children.
D) Children say English past tenses differently from adults.
30. The word “consistent” in paragraph 4 could best be replaced by which of the following?
A) natural
B) predictable
C) imaginable
D) uniform


PASSAGE 4 – QUESTIONS 31 – 40

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Ancient people probably assembled the massive sandstone horseshoe at Stonehenge more than
4,600 years ago, while the smaller bluestones were imported from Wales later, a new study
suggests. The conclusion, detailed in the December issue of the journal Antiquity, challenges
earlier timelines that proposed the smaller stones were raised first.
"The sequence proposed for the site is really the wrong way around," said study co-author
Timothy Darvill, an archaeologist at Bournemouth University in England. "The original idea that
it starts small and gets bigger is wrong. It starts big and stays big. The new scheme puts the big
stones at the center at the site as the first stage."
The new timeline, which relies on statistical methods to tighten the dates when the stones were
put into place, overturns the notion that ancient societies spent hundreds of years building each
area of Stonehenge. Instead, a few generations likely built each of the major elements of the site,
said Robert Ixer, a researcher who discovered the origin of the bluestones, but who was not
involved in the study. "It's a very timely paper and a very important paper," Ixer said. "A lot of
us have got to go back and rethink when the stones arrived."
The Wiltshire, England, site of Stonehenge is one of the world's most enduring mysteries. No
one knows why prehistoric people built the enigmatic megaliths, although researchers over the
years have argued the site was originally a sun calendar, a symbol of unity, or a burial
monument.
Though only some of the stones remain, at the center of the site once sat an oval of bluestones, or
igneous rocks (those formed from magma) that turn a bluish hue when wet or freshly cut.
Surrounding the bluestones are five giant sandstone megaliths called trilithons, or two vertical
standing slabs capped by a horizontal stone, arranged in the shape of a horseshoe.

Around the horseshoe, ancient builders erected a circular ring of bluestones. The sandstone
boulders, or sarsens, can weigh up to 40 tons (36,287 kilograms), while the much smaller
bluestones weigh a mere 4 tons (3,628 kg).
Past researchers believed the bluestone oval and circle were erected earlier than the massive
sandstone horseshoe. But when Darvill and his colleagues began excavations at the site in 2008,
they found the previous chronology didn't add up. The team estimated the age of new artifacts
from the site, such as an antler bone pick stuck within the stones. Combining the new
information with dating from past excavations, the team created a new timeline for Stonehenge's
construction.
Like past researchers, the team believes that ancient people first used the site 5,000 years ago,
when they dug a circular ditch and mound, or henge, about 361 feet (110 meters) in
diameter. But the new analysis suggests around 2600 B.C. the Neolithic people built the giant
sandstone horseshoe, drawing the stone from nearby quarries. Only then did builders arrange the
much smaller bluestones, which were probably imported from Wales. Those bluestones were
then rearranged at various positions throughout the site over the next millennium, Darvill
said. "They sort out the local stuff first, and then they bring in the stones from Wales to add to
the complexity of the structure," Darvill told LiveScience.
The new dating allows the archaeologists to tie the structure to specific people who lived in the
area at the time, Darvill said. The builders of the larger sandstone structures were pig farmers
found only in the British Isles. In contrast, the bluestone builders would've been the Beaker
people, sheep and cow herders who lived throughout Europe and are known for the distinctive,
bell-shape pottery they left behind.


The new timeline "connects everything together, it gives us a good sequence of events outside,
and it gives us a set of cultural associations with the different stages of construction," Darvill
said. "
31. The new study described in this article suggests which sequence of events for the
building of Stonehenge?
A) The bluestones were arranged in the horseshoe configuration and then accented with

the larger stones
B) Ancient peoples first arranged the small bluestone configuration and later ringed it
with large, imported granite slabs
C) The sandstone horseshoe was developed first, thousands of years ago, and the smaller
bluestones were imported later from Wales
D) All the stones were brought in at the same time and slowly arranged over centuries
32. Which type of methodology does the new study rely on to discern Stonehenge's
timeline?
A) Mineralogy
B) Statistical analysis
C) Carbon dating
D) DNA analysis
33. According to the article, a sarsen could weigh how much?
A) 38 tons
B) 42 tons
C) 56 tons
D) 41 tons
34. Until the study that is discussed in the article, what was the accepted sequence of
Stonehenge's construction?
A) Bluestone horseshoe, then sandstone oval
B) Bluestone diamond, then sandstone square
C) Bluestone square, then sandstone circle
D) Bluestone oval, then sandstone horseshoe
35. None of the following were known artifacts in constructing the new Stonehenge
timeline EXCEPT
A) Arrowheads of the nearby civilizations
B) Skeletons of ancient peoples
C) An antler bone wedged between stones
D) Stone eroded clearly enough to be dated

36. It is agreed between old and new studies that Stonehenge was first used by
civilizations?
A) 5,000 years ago
B) 6,000 years ago


C) 7,000 years ago
D) 8,000 years ago
37. The later bluestones, believed to be imported from Wales,
A) were originally arranged to outline the horseshoe shape of the sandstone boulders
B) were arranged over the course of a millennium
C) were actually recovered from local quarries
D) were settled in their pattern within a year
38. According to Darvill, what effect did the bluestones have upon Stonehenge?
A) They allowed the dimensions of Stonehenge to be more aesthetically pleasing
B) They provided an added complexity to the structure by using foreign material
C) They represented strong cultural ties with the Welsh culture
D) They were symbols of conquest of foreign lands
39. According to Darvill, what is the most important piece of knowledge obtained from
this new timeline?
A) That sandstone and bluestone were both native to the region
B) That Stonehenge became the model for future Scottish architecture
C) That the original peoples who built Stonehenge were wealthy enough to acquire rare
stones
D) That the original builders of Stonehenge were different types of animal herders
40. What is the conclusion that Darvill draws in the quote in the final paragraph?
A) Stonehenge remains an inspiration for modern artists and architects
B) The mysteries of Stonehenge are entirely clarified by the new research and timeline
C) Previous timelines for Stonehenge may have given us a flawed interpretation of the
civilizations and materials they had access to at the time

D) Stonehenge was really a foreign project, made from materials outside of the country,
and influenced by civilizations other than those who lived locally

This is the end of the reading paper.
Now please submit your test paper and your answer sheets.