Choose the best answer:
The train............for half an hour.

 

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
Durable Ceramic Beauty
Inside an art and craft workshop, a young woman sits in front of a pottery wheel. The machine contains a large lump of clay which she molds into the shape of an elaborate bowl. Later, when she is satisfied with its appearance, it will be baked in an oven until it solidifies. Then she adds decorative paints to add some style. In the end, this ceramic pot will be both a handy utility for eating as well as a work of art. Humans have been working with ceramics for about 30,000 years, making it one of the oldest industries on the planet. In ancient times, ceramics enabled humans to make containers to store food and drinks, as well as bricks for buildings, but as time went on, people found other uses for this prehistoric technology. Techniques were added to give these products more eye-catching designs. Objects were often coated with glaze, so they would be smoother and more pleasant to touch. This helped to transform these practical items into works of art. People would pay large amounts of money for pieces of ceramic art and use them to decorate their homes. In modern times, architects and inventors discovered that ceramic offered the perfect balance between beauty and durability, and started using it in their products as well. Ceramics have found a home in the world of automobiles as they are used to produce several products. They are often used to make brake discs, engines, and other parts because ceramics are able to withstand extremely hot temperatures. Ceramics also play a part in the world of medicine, as their flexibility and strength are perfect for creating sturdy dental implants. Other doctors are using them to replace damaged bones because they are able to bond with tissues in the body without causing adverse reactions. In many kitchens today, you will also find ceramic knives. Once they are produced, the hard edges of these blades rarely need to be sharpened. Unlike metal knives, they won’t rust when exposed to difficult conditions. Ceramics also help to make it possible for humans to travel into space. Space shuttles are designed with ceramic tiles because they are one of the few materials that can stand the extreme heat when reentering the Earth’s atmosphere, plus they don’t wear out easily. With so many useful applications, it is hard to deny that ceramic technology is out of this world.
1. What does the first paragraph describe?

____ Sahara of _____ Africa is the world’s largest desert.

(329)________

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 :
All native peoples create artworks that use what is (1)_________ to them in terms of local resources. In the Americas, the aboriginal people created handicrafts that had both a cultural and an artistic significance. These beautiful crafts were made by master Native American craftsmen, and their skills have been (2)_________ down through countless generations. Religious or spiritual beliefs can play a major role in the arts and handicrafts of all people. One example of a Native American handicraft is made of a willow branch and thin strips of leather. The branch is formed into a circular (3)_________ that is meant to hang in a person’s living area. Often (4)_________ with feathers on the outside of the circle, it is called a dream catcher. It is related to the belief that these special crafts could catch bad dreams sent by the spirits. To Native Americans, dreams were special (5)_________ sent from the great beyond. The dream catcher would allow good dreams to pass through it; however, nightmares would be caught and then released with the first morning light

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Although only a small percentage of the electromagnetic radiation that is emitted by the Sun is ultraviolet (UV) radiation, the amount that is emitted would be enough to cause severe damage to most forms of life on Earth were it all to reach the surface of the Earth. Fortunately, all of the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation does not reach the Earth because of a layer of oxygen, called the ozone layer encircling the Earth in the stratosphere at an altitude of about 15 miles above the Earth. The ozone layer absorbs much of the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation and prevents it from reaching the Earth. Ozone is a form of oxygen in which each molecule consists of three atoms (O3) instead of the two atoms (O2) usually found in an oxygen molecule. Ozone forms in the stratosphere in a process that is initiated by ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. UV radiation from the Sun splits oxygen molecules with two atoms into free oxygen atoms, and each of these unattached oxygen atoms then joins up with an oxygen molecule to form ozone. UV radiation is also capable of splitting up ozone molecules; thus, ozone is constantly forming, splitting, and reforming in the stratosphere. When UV radiation is absorbed during the process of ozone formation and reformation, it is unable to reach Earth and cause damage there. Recently, however, the ozone layer over parts of the Earth has been diminishing. Chief among the culprits in the case of the disappearing ozone, those that are really responsible, are the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). CFCs meander up from Earth into the stratosphere, where they break down and release chlorine. The released chlorine reacts with ozone in the stratosphere to form chlorine monoxide (ClO) and oxygen (O2). The chlorine then becomes free to go through the cycle over and over again. One chlorine atom can, in fact, destroy hundreds of thousands of ozone molecules in this repetitious cycle, and the effects of this destructive process are now becoming evident.
8. The word "culprits" in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to which of the following?

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
Drawing a Line in the Sand
Artists are known to be a picky bunch. Over years of practice, they often develop a preference for certain materials. For instance, some sculptors will only work with marble, whereas some painters may insist on only using watercolour paints. Yet, only a select few have become masters working with a common material that you can find on any beach: sand. As children, we all made sand castles, but some skilled artists have taken this activity to the next level. They have created impressive, massive sand constructions in the shape of dragons, castles, and everything else you can imagine. A major benefit for many artists who build with sand is its simplicity. To get started, all you need is sand and water. However, mastering this medium takes years of practice and great attention to detail. For example, different tasks require different ratio of water to sand to get the job done. Deciding on the proper tools can also be complicated. Some artists prefer using buckets and shovels, while others are purists who refuse to use anything but their hands. Sand painting is another form of sand art. The practice dates back dozens of thousands of years and has been used by several different cultures. It involves spreading different coloured particles, which often come from crystals and rocks, onto a surface and then arranging them to make a picture. Interestingly enough, many sand paintings are designed to be temporary. Tibetan monks will spend days creating beautiful sand paintings which are blown away by winds shortly after they are finished. They view the natural destruction of their work as a symbol of impermanence in life. Meanwhile, Native Americans consider their temporary sand paintings as living creatures and they treat them with great respect while they exist. Recently, filmmakers have also discovered a way to work with sand by creating sand animation. Like other forms of animation, an artist will create one image and then capture it on camera. Then, they will make some subtle changes and then move on to the next frame and so on. After they have created and captured hundreds of images, the frames will be strung together. In the final product, it will appear as if the sand images are moving or changing shape. The next time you are at the beach, let your mind run free as you look at the shore. Who knows, you might get the urge to create some remarkable sand art of your own.
4. The word “them” in paragraph 3 refers to ___________.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on you answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks .
             WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE
Some people think of 'traditional ' gender roles as being like a 1950s TV sitcom: Dad puts (1)..............his suit and goes to the office, while Mum, in her apron, stays at home and (2)............. the housework. But for most of human history, it has taken the efforts of both men and women, whether working in an office (3)..................... in the fields, to look after the family. And that's the situation to which we now seem to be returning.
By 2050, women will make up 47% of the workforce in the United States, up from 30% in 1950. But some experts are predicting that, at (4)................. in the short term, the number of women in the workforce may actually overtake the number of men. What's the reason? During the economic recession that began in 2008, many jobs disappeared from industries traditionally dominated by male workers, such as manufacturing. Unless many more manual manufacturing jobs (5)........... , it may be that women, who traditionally work in healthcare, education and other service industries, will take the lead in the labour market.

(2)..........................

Harry is talking to Judy over the phone.

- Harry: “Thank you for helping me prepare for my birthday party, Judy.” - Judy: “_______.”

(99)________

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.
Together, the thousands of scientists and conservation organizations that contribute to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List and other systems of assessment provide the world's largest knowledge base on the global status of species. The aim of these systems is to provide the general public, conservationists, nongovernmental organizations, the media, decision makers, and policy makers with comprehensive and scientifically rigorous information on the conservation status of the world's species and the threats that drive the observed patterns of population decline. Scientists in conservation and protected area management agencies use data on species status in the development of conservation planning and prioritization, the identification of important sites and species for dedicated conservation action and recovery planning, and educational programs. Although the IUCN Red List and other similar species-assessment tools do not prescribe the action to be taken, the data within the list are often used to inform legislation and policy and to determine conservation priorities at regional, national, and international levels. In contrast, the listing criteria of other categorization systems (such as the United States Endangered Species Act, the CITES) are prescriptive; they often require that landowners and various governmental agencies take specific mandatory steps to protect species falling within particular categories of threat It is likely that many undescribed or unassessed species of plants, animals, and other organisms have become or are in the process of becoming extinct. To maintain healthy populations of both known and unknown species, assessments and reassessments are valuable tools. Such monitoring work must continue so that the most current knowledge can be applied to effective environmental monitoring and management efforts. For many threatened species, large well-protected conservation areas (biological reserves) often play major roles in curbing population declines. Such reserves are often cited by conservation biologists and other authorities as the best way to protect individual species as well as the ecosystems they inhabit. In addition, large biological reserves may harbor several undescribed and unassessed species. Despite the creation of several large reserves around the world, poaching and illegal trafficking plague many areas. Consequently, even species in those areas require continued monitored and periodic assessment.
1. Which could be the best title for the passage?

The World Health Organization (WHO) is warning young people all over the world that they are also at risk from COVID-19. The WHO said young people are not exempt from catching the coronavirus. Many young people ___ 34 _believe they will not catch the virus because of their age. They think it is a disease that only older people catch. The WHO said the truth is _______35young people are catching the coronavirus and becoming ill or dying from it. It added that young people are also spreading the disease to their parents, grandparents and _____ 36 people. The White House also urged young adults to follow advice and to avoid gathering in large groups to help prevent the spread of the virus.

       The Director-General of the WHO said: "Today, I have a message for young people: You are not invincible." He added: "This coronavirus could put you in hospital for weeks, or even kill you. Even if you don't get sick, the choices you make about where you go could be the difference between life and death for someone else." The WHO said: "A significant proportion of patients_______37 in hospital for COVID-19 around the world are aged under 50." New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said many young people are not ________38 the state's social-distancing rules. He told young people that: "This is a public health issue and you cannot be endangering other peoples' health."

(119)_______

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
Microwave Magic
The 20th century was a time in which many great inventions were created. Things like the automobile, computers, and the Internet truly changed the way we live forever. Yet, one handy invention that has made eating at home far more convenient is often overlooked. The invention of microwave allowed even the worst cooks in the world to prepare a meal in essentially no time at all. What is really fascinating about microwave ovens is that they were invented by accident. During World War II, British scientists discovered a device called a magnetron that can produce microwaves. They hoped it would help them quickly identify German planes that were intent on bombing their nation. However, it would be an American scientist named Percy Spencer who linked microwaves with cooking food. One day, Spencer brought a candy bar with him to work, and he stored it in his shirt pocket. While walking through a radar set, he noticed that the radar had somehow melted his treat. Afterwards, Spencer and his coworkers started to experiment with heating other things. They tried heating some popcorn kernels and it worked like a charm. Next, they tried to cook an egg with microwaves, but it literally blew up in their face. In 1945, the company that Spencer worked for, Raytheon, filed a patent for the technology and started working on ways to make microwave ovens more efficient. The first commercial microwave ovens hit the market, and an industry was born. In the first few years, things didn’t appear too promising. Early microwaves were quite expensive and they were big and chunky, so it was difficult to fit them in most kitchens. Yet, people did see the benefit an ease of being able to cook foods so quickly. Therefore, once manufacturers were able to shrink the device and bring down the price a bit, sales started to skyrocket. By 1986, approximately 25 percent of Americans had a microwave oven in their kitchen. Through the years, many people have questioned the safety and potential negative health effects of microwaves, fearing that the technology was a little too good to be true. Yet, some studies have shown that microwaving food actually helps it to retain more nutrients because of the short cooking times and minimal water required. However, it is essential to use microwave containers to avoid harmful chemicals from possibly leaking into your food. Microwave dishes may never be seen as gourmet cooking, but when you are in a hurry, nothing beats this method of cooking.
8. It can be inferred from the passage that when we use microwave ovens _________

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
Space Debris
Once something is considered rubbish, we want to throw it away and forget about it. Yet if we are not careful about where we store it, our garbage could come back to haunt us. On the Earth, poorly discarded garbage can cause land, water, and air pollution. And now, people are starting to learn that space debris can also cause a host of different problems. Space debris is defined as a collection of objects that orbit the Earth. Space debris can be classified into two categories. One is man-made rubbish, such as old satellites, rockets, and other machinery left in space after past missions. The other is natural objects, such as meteors that are traveling through space. If you think the man-made garbage doesn’t amount to much, guess again. Researchers estimate that there are over 20,000 pieces of large debris floating around in space and approximately 300,000 smaller pieces in orbit as well. Traveling at speeds of up to 17,500 miles per hour, these objects create a great degree of danger for any spaceships when they leave or return to the Earth. We are lucky to some degree that there haven’t been too many accidents caused by space debris as of yet. Still some incidents have occurred. In 1996, a French satellite was damaged after it crashed into debris from an old French rocket. Then in 2009, an old Russian satellite collided with a working US satellite. The end result was an additional 2,000 pieces of space junk that was added to the junk pile. As the current situation can only worsen, it is now up to the international community to cooperate and create a plan to deal with space debris. For starters, several nations have pledged to take more care with the items they discard in space to cut down on future debris. Researchers are working on devising a way to label space junk, so it can be avoided. Others have proposed more creative techniques to recapture the garbage and discard it on the Earth, or destroy it with lasers. The nightmare scenario that everyone fears is if the Kessler Syndrome starts to occur. This is when the density of garbage becomes so high that it sets off a chain reaction of collisions which would raise the probability of accidents even further. Although there is not a long-term solution in place for space debris, nations are starting to understand the seriousness of this problem.
5. What are scientists most worried about with space debris?

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
The World Health Organization (WHO) is warning young people all over the world that they are also at risk from COVID-19. The WHO said young people are not exempt from catching the coronavirus. Many young people ___ (1) _____believe they will not catch the virus because of their age. They think it is a disease that only older people catch. The WHO said the truth is ____ (2) ____young people are catching the coronavirus and becoming ill or dying from it. It added that young people are also spreading the disease to their parents, grandparents and _____ (3) ___people. The White House also urged young adults to follow advice and to avoid gathering in large groups to help prevent the spread of the virus. The Director-General of the WHO said: "Today, I have a message for young people: You are not invincible." He added: "This coronavirus could put you in hospital for weeks, or even kill you. Even if you don't get sick, the choices you make about where you go could be the difference between life and death for someone else." The WHO said: "A significant proportion of patients___ (4) _____in hospital for COVID-19 around the world are aged under 50." New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said many young people are not ___ (5)_____the state's social-distancing rules. He told young people that: "This is a public health issue and you cannot be endangering other peoples' health."

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
No More Polar Bears?
We all know that the Earth is getting warmer and warmer. This problem is called “global warming”. We also know that global warming is causing a lot of problems. Ocean levels are getting higher and higher. Because ocean levels are getting higher, storms are getting stronger and stronger. This list of problems goes on and on. Animals are suffering a lot because of global warming. Polar bears are suffering more than most animals. This is because polar bears live in the North Pole. In the North Pole, global warming is making ice melt. Polar bears hunt from large pieces of floating ice. They jump off the ice and hunt for food. Polar bears have to swim and find these floating pieces of ice. These days, they have to swim farther to find the floating ice. Many of them don’t have enough energy. They get too tired, and they die in the water. Polar bears are suffering because of other problems, too. Pollution makes their water dirty. Many countries go to the North Pole to look for oil and gas, and they damage the environment of the bears. In addition, when ships sail through the North Pole, they cause a lot of damage. Finally, people hunt and kill too many polar bears. However, melting ice is definitely the biggest problem. Right now, there are about 25,000 polar bears in the world. If global warming continues, there may be only about 12,000 in the year 2050. By the year 2080, that number might be much smaller. It is important to study polar bears. When we learn about polar bears, we also learn about the health of the North Pole. If polar bears are doing well, then the environment in the North Pole is probably healthy. If polar bears are suffering then there are probably serious problems in the North Pole. Right now, governments around the world are working to help polar bears. There are new laws that protect polar bears. However, if global warming continues to get worse, polar bears may disappear forever.
1. Which of the following has the same meaning as the last sentence of the first paragraph?

Chọn câu đồng nghĩa:
We started out for California. It started to rain right after that.

My fingers were injured _____ my sister had to write the note for me.

(351)______

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
One of the major problems in the art world is how to distinguish and promote an artist. In effect, a market must be created for an artist to be successful. The practice of signing and numbering individual prints was introduced by James Abbott McNeill Whistler, the nineteenth-century artist best known for the painting of his mother, called "Arrangement in Grey and Black", but known to most of US as "Whistler's Mother". Whistler's brother-in- law, Sir Francis Seymour Haden, a less well-known artist, had speculated that collectors might find prints more attractive if they knew that they were only a limited number of copies produced. By signing the work in pencil, an artist could guarantee and personalize each print. As soon as Whistler and Haden began the practice of signing and numbering their prints, their work began to increase in value. When other artists noticed that the signed prints commanded higher prices, they began copying the procedure. Although most prints are signed on the right-hand side in the margin below the image, the placement of the signature is a matter of personal choice. Indeed, prints have been signed within the image, in any of the margins, or even on the reverse side of the print. Wherever the artist elects to sign it, a signed print is still valued above an unsigned one, even in the same edition.
5. Where in the passage does the author indicate where an artist's signature might be found on a work?

Choose the best answer:
The monitor always goes to class on time _________ a good example for the class.

How men first learnt to creat words is unknown; in other words, the origin of language is a (1) _____ . All we really know is that men, unlike animals, somehow invented certain sounds to express thoughts and feelings, actions and things so that they could communicate with each other; and that later they agreed (2) _____ certain signs, called letters, which could be combined to represent those sounds, and which could be written down. These sounds, whether spoken or written in letters, are called words. Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words that appeal powerfully to our minds and emotions. This charming and telling use of words is what we call literary style. Above all, the real poet is a master of words. He can (3) _____ his meaning in words which sing like music, and which by their position and association can (4) _____ men to tears. We should, therefore, learn to choose our words carefully, (5) _____ they will make our speech silly and vulgar.

(12)_________

Choose the best answer:
You can only drive if you’ve got a ________ license.

Chọn câu đồng nghĩa với câu trên:
We cut down many forests. The Earth becomes hot.