Chọn câu đồng nghĩa với câu đã cho trước.:
The train drivers' strike made it hard for us to get to work.

 

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The Greatest Light Show on the Earth
If you are a fan of amazing visual displays, planetariums around the world offer some entertaining laser-light shows that are often accompanied by popular music. Yet if you want to see the world’s greatest light show, you won’t be able to catch it indoors. Instead, you will have to head to one of the Poles. In certain spots, you will be treated to colourful streaks of light dancing across the sky. This incredible display is the aurora borealis, and every year people from all corners of the globe flock to witness its wonders firsthand. The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, got its official name in 1621. The name combines the name of the Roman goddess of the dawn, Aurora, and the Roman god of the north wind, Boreas. In ancient times, the aurora completely baffled people’s minds, as science was far more primitive than it is today. Nevertheless, they created many myths to explain them. The Vikings believed the lights were the reflection of dead maidens. The Scots thought they were supernatural beings battling in heaven. Meanwhile, Eskimos thought that the lights were dead souls, and when the colours changed, it was their attempt to contact living friends and relatives. It was not until 2008 that a team of scientists from ULCA finally concluded with certainty what the true cause of these dancing light is. The process begins when solar winds carry charged particles from the Sun through space and into the Earth’s atmosphere. When these charged particles enter the Earth’s atmosphere, they are magnetically attracted to the Earth’s poles. During their journey to these points, they come in contact with nitrogen and oxygen atoms in the sky. These collisions are what cause the aurora. The heights at which the collisions occur determine the colours of the individual lights. For example, when the solar winds collide with nitrogen at least than 96 kilometres above the Earth’s surface, the lights will be blue. If the same collision occurs above 96 kilometres, however, the light will be purple. Or, if the solar wind particles collide with oxygen, the colours produced will be either red or green. However, merely understanding how the aurora works does not do this phenomena justice. To truly appreciate the full splendor of the aurora, you will have to see this Natural Wonder of the World in person.
1. Which of the following statements about the Aurora Borealis is true?

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:
Composers today use a wider variety of sounds than ever before, including many that were once considered undesirable noises. Composer Edgard Varese (1883-1965) called thus the “liberation of sound…the right to make music with any and all sounds.” Electronic music, for example – made with the aid of computers, synthesizers, and electronic instruments – may include sounds that in the past would not have been considered musical.
Enviromental sounds, such as thunder, and electronically generated hisses and blips can be recorded, manipulated, and then incorporated into a musical composition. But composers also draw novel sounds from voices and non-electronic instruments. Singers may be asked to scream, laugh, groan, sneeze, or to sing phonetic sounds rather than words. Wind and string players may lap or scrape their instruments. A brass or woodwind player may hum while playing, to produce two pitches at once; a pianist may reach inside the piano to pluck a string and then run a metal blade along it. In the music of the Western world, the greatest expansion and experimentation have involved percussion instruments, which outnumber strings and winds in many recent compositions. Traditional persussion instruments are struck with new types of beaters; and instruments that used to be couriered unconventional in Western music – tom-toms, bongos, slapsticks, maracas – are widely used.
In the search for novel sounds, increased use has been made in Western music of Microtones. Non-Western music typically divides and intervals between two pitches more finely than Western music does, thereby producing a greater number of distinct tones or micro tones, within the same interval. Composers such as Krzysztof Penderecki create sound that borders on electronic noise through tone clusters – closely spaced tones played together and heard as a mass, block, or band of sound. The directional aspect of sound has taken on new importance as well Loudspeakers or groups of instruments may be placed at opposite ends of the stage, in the balcony, or at the back and sides of the auditorium. Because standard music notation makes no provision for many of these innovations, recent music scores may contain graph like diagrams, new note shapes and symbols, and novel ways of arranging notation on the page.

According to the passage, Krzysztof Pederecki is known for which of the following practices?

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions:
The lack of printing regulations and the unenforceability of British copyright law in the American colonies made it possible for colonial printers occasionally to act as publishers. Although they rarely undertook major publishing project because it was difficult to sell books as cheaply as they could be imported from Europe, printers in Philadelphia did publish work that required only small amounts of capital, paper, and type. Broadsides could be published with minimal financial risk. Consisting of only one sheet of paper and requiring small amounts of type, broadsides involved lower investments of capital than longer works. Furthermore, the broadside format lent itself to subjects of high, if temporary, interest, enabling them to meet with ready sale. If the broadside printer would know this immediately, there would be no agonizing wait with large amounts of capital tied up, books gathering dust on the shelves, and creditors impatient for payment.
In addition to broadsides, book and pamphlets, consisting mainly of political tracts, catechisms, primers, and chapbooks were relatively inexpensive to print and to buy. Chapbook were pamphlet-sized books, usually containing popular tales, ballads, poems, short plays, and jokes, small, both in formal and number of pages, they were generally bound simply, in boards (a form of cardboard) or merely stitched in paper wrappers (a sewn antecedent of modern-day paperbacks). Pamphlets and chapbooks did not require fine paper or a great deal of type to produce they could thus be printed in large, cost-effective editions and sold cheaply.
By far, the most appealing publishing investments were to be found in small books that had proven to be steady sellers, providing a reasonably reliable source of income for the publisher. They would not, by nature, be highly topical or political, as such publications would prove of fleeting interest. Almanacs, annual publication that contained information on astronomy and weather patterns arranged according to the days, week, and months of a given year, provided the perfect steady seller because their information pertained to the locale in which they would be used.

The word “appealing” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to     .

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), who wrote under the pseudonym of O. Henry, was born in North Carolina. His only formal education was to attend his Aunt Lina’s school until the age of fifteen, where he developed his lifelong love of books. By 1881 he was a licensed pharmacist. However, within a year, on the recommendation of a medical colleague of his Father’s, Porter moved to La Salle County in Texas for two years herding sheep. During this time, Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary was his constant companion, and Porter gained a knowledge of ranch life that he later incorporated into many of his short stories. He then moved to Austin for three years, and during this time the first recorded use of his pseudonym appeared, allegedly derived from his habit of calling “Oh, Henry” to a family cat. In 1887, Porter married Athol Estes. He worked as a draftsman, then as a bank teller for the First National Bank. In 1894 Porter founded his own humor weekly, the “Rolling Stone”, a venture that failed within a year, and later wrote a column for the Houston Daily Post. In the meantime, the First National Bank was examined, and the subsequent indictment of 1886 stated that Porter had embezzled funds. Porter then fled to New Orleans, and later to Honduras, leaving his wife and child in Austin. He returned in 1897 because of his wife’s continued ill-health, however she died six months later. Then, in 1898 Porter was found guilty and sentenced to five years imprisonment in Ohio. At the age of thirty five, he entered prison as a defeated man; he had lost his job, his home, his wife, and finally his freedom. He emerged from prison three years later, reborn as O. Henry, the pseudonym he now used to hide his true identity. He wrote at least twelve stories in jail, and after re-gaining his freedom, went to New York City, where he published more than 300 stories and gained fame as America’s favorite short Story writer. Porter married again in 1907, but after months of poor health, he died in New York City at the age of forty-eight in 1910. O. Henry’s stories have been translated all over the world.
2: Why did the author write the passage?

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions :
Much of the music we listen to today is a mixture of styles from various countries and time periods. A lot of music has (1)___________ in older traditional songs heard in many different countries around the world. Traditional, (2)__________ music is collected over decades, if not centuries. Younger generations learn these songs from their elders through practice and repetition. Since music can tell us a lot about different cultures (3)____________ its lyrics, melodies, and the instrument used, researchers and music fans see it as an essential part of history. They fear that traditional and older types of music are slowly disappearing, partly because they are less likely to be written down or recorded, or because the format in which they are recorded is no longer (4)___________. Also, younger generations may not find such music very appealing, so once older generations pass away, the music may die (5)___________ them. Whole genres of music may go extinct.

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
Want to discover the latest trends in International Business? Sign up for our free workshops, to be held October 2-6. Register now online! Starting Sept. 1, employees will be able to access a new workshop registration system at www.employeetraining.com. To enter the site, a staff ID number and password are required. If you don't already have these, contact your immediate supervisor. Employees are encouraged to sign up early for workshops, as the number .of participants is….(1)…. to 50 per session. Provided that seats remain available, employees can easily register for sessions. If a session is …(2)…., however, staff can request that they be contacted if a space opens up. The upcoming sessions…...(3)….. on the 5th floor of the Stafford Suite building.

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
The LED Lighting Revolution
If you have picked up any electronics magazines recently, you have probably heard about LEDs; yet chances are, you probably don’t realize why they are so special. The truth is that these tiny light bulbs are helping to improve watches, remote controls, televisions, and a host of other projects. Diodes are components that enable energy to flow in one direction, while simultaneously blocking the current from the opposite direction. This is similar to how a valve works on a faucet. If electronic manufacturers require currents to flow in several directions, then multiple diodes will be included in the circuit design. With LEDs, every time a current passes through them, a light is emitted. LED is short for light-emitting diode. Although they have only recently waves in the past decade or so, early models have been around since 1962. There are several benefits that LEDs offer when compared to incandescent or fluorescent lighting. For starters, they have extremely long-life spans in the range of l00,000 hours even in the toughest conditions. They also require far less energy than power sources, which can save users money over the long run. Since LEDs don’t contain moving parts like other bulbs, they can withstand heavy impacts without getting damaged. Finally, they don’t require any _warm-up time_ so they instantly light up when switched on. The only drawback is that they are still a more expensive to purchase at the moment. LEDs were first used on digital clocks, but they have come a long way since then. They have certainly done a lot to improve TV technology. LED TVs have been a hit because they can be built extremely thin, yet also offer power-saving benefits. LED TVs also provide a wider range of colour, which allows for more lifelike and vivid images. In the future, organic LEDs, or OLEDs, will bring additional benefits for viewers. OLEDs are even more flexible than LEDs, so manufacturers will be able to create bent display screens and lights. Therefore, you will be able to roll up your living room TV set and pack it in your suitcase. In other words, LED and OLED technology will likely be lighting up your life for years to come.
6. How do OLEDs compare with LEDs?

Choose the best answer:
I would rather stay at home than go out.

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I often ……….. my homework …………. school.

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
Technology, general term for the processes by (1) _______ human beings fashion tools and machines to increase (2) _______ control and understanding of the material (3) _______. The term is derived from the Greek words tekhnē, which refers to an art or craft, and logia, (4) _______ an area of study; thus, technology means, literally, the study, or science, of crafting. Many historians of science argue not only that technology is an essential condition of advanced, industrial civilization (5) _______ also that the rate of technological change has developed its own momentum in recent centuries.

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People in my country are very open and _________.

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What’s going to be ____________ TV tonight?

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
Some Amazing Apps for Your Smartphone
It is hard to imagine life in modern society without smartphones. These handy little devices keep us entertained and enable us to manage important tasks on the go. Although smartphones feature powerful hardware, they wouldn’t be so useful without thousands of handy applications. Here are a few free and helpful apps that you can download to help you throughout the day. If you have a habit of forgetting things and want to organize your life, give Evernote a try. It promises to help users remember everything. With a few clicks, you can send all of your photos, documents, and audio notes to Evernote. Then, your digital information can be stored in folders or tagged with useful keywords. When you need to access this data, you can perform a simple search and it will appear in seconds. Evernote is available on smartphones, tablets, and computers, so you can access your data from everywhere. Imagine this scenario. You are watching a TV show and you hear a cool song in the background. You want to buy it but there is one problem. You don’t know the name of the song. SoundHound is an app that will make this problem a thing of the past. It enables users to quickly identify songs by launching the app and holding their phone in the air. The app takes the song playing and compares it to thousands of other songs until it finds a match. Within seconds, it can tell you the name, artist, and album of the song you just heard. Another spectacular app is Lookout. Hopefully, you won’t have to use it often, but when you do need it. Lookout can be a lifesaver. Its main function is to help you find your phone if it goes missing. Lookout does this by using your smartphone’s data connection to locate your lost device. To see where your phone is on a map, simply log into Lookout from any web browser. In the worst-case situation, if someone steals your phone and you fear it has gone for good, you can wipe out all of its data with a few clicks. This will ensure no one will see any private information on your phone. These helpful apps are just the tip of the iceberg. If you do some searching online, you are certain to find many other apps that will make your life more convenient.
7. All of the following are true about the apps for your smartphone EXCEPT that _________

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 36-42
From smartphones and tablets to apps and social media, society is ambushed from all sides with technology. Naturally, all generations embrace it differently, with younger “digital natives” generally being more connected, more switched-on and more tech literate than older age groups.
According to Pew Research, 92% of Millennials (born 1981–1996) own smartphones, compared with 85% of Gen Xers (born 1965–1980) and 67% of Baby Boomers (born 1946–1964). In terms of tech behavior, older generations tend to use their phones mostly for making calls, whereas for younger generations, a phone is their digital window to the world. Phones are used for social media, going online, texting, emailing, playing games, listening to music, and recording and watching videos.
The daily media consumption of different generations also vastly differs. Gen Z and Millennials favor streaming and online services, with 46% of teens saying they use Netflix compared to 31% of those aged over 16. Furthermore, 16-24s spend 30% of their downtime watching TV or video, compared to 40% of time spent on these activities by the average UK adult. Boomers spend a whopping 344 minutes a day watching regular TV, significantly more than any other age group.
Size also matters more depending on your decade of birth. Younger generations prefer smaller screens sizes, opting for a smartphone as their go-to tech, while Generation X and technology newbies - the Boomers, are going bigger, owning more desktops and tablets. Always in the front of the queue for the hottest tech, younger generations see technology as an integral part of their existence, and since few Millennials and Gen Z can remember a time without social media, they’re more fearless and carefree when it comes to technology. So much so, that a LivePerson report revealed 65% of Millennials and Gen Z interact more with each other online than they do in the real world.
Fundamentally, these behaviors and preferred technologies combine to create a technological generation gap, where employees, shaped by their personal experiences, demonstrate different levels of ability and willingness to adopt new tech. Constantly chasing the next update or device, switched on Millennials and Gen Z are quick to lap up the latest apps, games, and platforms, while Gen X and Boomers are generally slower to embrace technology - both at home and in the workplace.

The word “downtime” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to _______.

Over the next 20 to 50 years, it will become harder to tell the (1) _____ between the human and the machine. All, body (2) will be replaceable. Computers will function like the human brain with the ability to recognize feelings and respond in a feeling way. They will then produce fake people. We will then be able to create a machine duplicate of ourselves so we will appear to be alive long after we are dead. Maybe a few decades later, a way will be found to transfer our spirit, including our (2) _____ and thoughts, to the new body. Then we can choose to live for as long as we want. It might be expensive. When it becomes possible to do a spirit transfer, they will figure out (3) _____ to do them automatically. So we will be able to reside within whichever duplicate we want, whenever we want. Miniature robots will be built to travel through your blood stream and repair damage. Also, larger robots will be used when you are sick. When you have an upset stomach, you will (4)_____ a very small cherry tasting robot which will travel through your stomach taking video of the mess. It will be set up like a video game, so you can control the exploring and the selection of images. Then you can replay the video to help a doctor (5) _____ your illness, or to prove to your employer that you really, were sick.

(85)______________

Choose the best answer:
London/ city/ the/ historic/ is/ of/ buildings.

Find mistakes:
Should you mind telling me the way to the nearest restaurant?

Mai is talking to Hoa about Hoa’s new dress.

- Mai: “You’ve got a nice dress, Hoa.”                                               

- Hoa: “_______”                               

(144)______

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
Dear Mr. Castro:
It is my pleasure to (1)------- you that beginning next month, Chrislyn Spano will be Gibson & Dunn’s Real Estate representative in your area. Ms. Spano has been assisting clients in purchasing land and housing in the Bromley area for the last seven years. She is very (2)------- in her field, and we are fortunate to have her in our London office. If you are interested in buying (3)-------, please write to her at cs@gibsondunn.com.
Very sincerely yours,
MARILYN CARR Manager
Gibson & Dunn, London

Choose the best answer:
Computer is a good source of information and __________.