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 following questions.

A YEAR WITH OVERSEAS VOLUNTEERS

I was with Overseas Volunteers (OV) for a year after leaving university, and I was sent to an isolated village in Chad, about 500 km from the capital N'Djamena. Coming from a rich country, I got quite a shock as conditions were much harder than I had expected. But after a few days I soon got used to living there. The people were always very friendly and helpful, and soon I began to appreciate how beautiful the countryside was.

One of my jobs was to supply the village with water. The well was a long walk away. And the women used to spend a long time every day carrying heavy pots backward and forwards. So I contacted the organization and arranged to have some pipes delivered. We built a simple pipeline and a pump, and it worked the first time. It wasn't perfect - there were a few leaks, but it made a great difference to the villagers, who had never had running water before. And not only did we have running water, but in the evenings it was hot because the pipe had been lying in the sun all day. All in all, I think .my time with OV was a good experience. Although it was not well-paid, it was well worth doing, and I would recommend it to anyone who was considering working for a charity.

What does the author think about his time with OV?

Read and choose the correct answer to complete the letter.

"Dear Diana,

My parents and I are (1)…… to know that you passed the end-of-term examination. Congratulations! I think that with your excellence, your (2)……… to become a good doctor will come true.

My younger sister was really (3)………. to receive a hair curling machine from you on her birthday and she asked me to say “thank you” to you. However, she doesn't know the (4)…….. to use that machine. It seems (5)……. for her to use it.

I was relieved that your mother had recovered after a serious surgery. It was (6)………. to believe that she had to suffer from a severe disease for a long period of time. Please give her my love.

I am excited that you're going to visit my beautiful city. I want to show you my (7)……… to take you to famous places.

We're looking forward to seeing you. It will be (8)………. for me to welcome you to my house.

Write me soon and confirm your arrival date and time.

Love,

Sarah"

2. Congratulations! I think that with your excellence, your (2)……… to become a good doctor will come true.

Tulips are Old World, rather than New World, plants, with the origins of the species lying in Central Asia. They became an integral part of the gardens of the Ottoman Empire from the sixteenth century onward, and, soon after, part of European life as well. Holland, in particular, became famous for its cultivation of the flower.
A tenuous line marked the advance of the tulip to the New World, where it was unknown in the wild. The first Dutch colonies in North America had been established in New Netherlands by the Dutch West India Company in 1624, and one individual who settled in New Amsterdam (today's Manhattan section of New York City) in 1642 described the flowers that bravely colonized the settlers' gardens. They were the same flowers seen in Dutch still-life paintings of the time: crown imperials, roses, carnations, and of course tulips. They flourished in Pennsylvania too, where in 1698 William Penn received a report of John Tateham's "Great and Stately Palace”, its garden full of tulips.
By 1760, Boston newspapers were advertising 50 different kinds of mixed tulip "roots”. But the length of the journey between Europe and North America created many difficulties. Thomas Hancock, an English settler, wrote thanking his plant supplier for a gift of some tulip bulbs from England, but his letter the following year grumbled that they were all dead.
Tulips arrived in Holland, Michigan, with a later wave of early nineteenth-century Dutch immigrants who quickly colonized the plains of Michigan. Together with many other Dutch settlements, such as the one at Pella, Iowa, they established a regular demand for European plants. The demand was bravely met by a new kind of tulip entrepreneur, the traveling salesperson. One Dutchman, Hendrick Van De Schoot, spent six months in 1849 traveling through the United States taking orders for tulip bulbs. While tulip bulbs were traveling from Europe to the United States to satisfy the nostalgic longings of homesick English and Dutch settlers, North American plants were traveling in the opposite direction. In England, the enthusiasm for American plants was one reason why tulips dropped out of fashion in the gardens of the rich and famous.

The passage mentions which of the following as a problem associated with the importation of tulips into North America?

There is usually one important subject missing from most school timetables. Very few students are .....(1)........ how to organize their learning, and how to make the best use of their time. Let’s take some simple examples. Do you know how to .....(2)... up words in a dictionary, and do you understand all the information the dictionary contains? Can you ...(3)... notes quickly, and can you understand them afterwards? For some reason, many schools give learners no help with these matters. Teachers ask students to ...(4)... pages from books, or tell them to write ten pages, but don't explain how to do it Learning by heart can be useful, but it is important to have a genuine understanding of a subject. You can ...(5)... a lot of time memorizing books, without understanding anything about the subject.

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

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

In American, although most men still do less housework than their wives, that gap has been halved since the 1960s. Today, 41 per cent of couples say they share childcare equally, compared with 25 percent in 1985. Men's greater involvement at home is good for their relationships with their spouses, and also good for their children. Hands-on fathers make better parents than men who let their wives do all the nurturing and childcare. They raise sons who are more expressive and daughters who are more likely to do well in school - especially in math and science.

In 1900, life expectancy in the United States was 47 years, and only four per cent of the population was 65 or older. Today, life expectancy is 76 years, and by 2025, it is estimated about 20 per cent of the U.S. population will be 65 or older. For the first time, a generation of adults must plan for the needs of both their parents and their children. Most Americans are responding with remarkable grace. One in four households gives the equivalent of a full day a week or more in unpaid care to an aging relative, and more than half say they expect to do so in the next 10 years. Older people are less likely to be impoverished or incapacitated by illness than in the past, and have more opportunity to develop a relationship with their grandchildren.

Even some of the choices that worry people the most are turning out to be manageable. Divorce rates are likely to remain high, and in many cases marital breakdown causes serious problems for both adults and kids. Yet when parents minimize conflict, family bonds can be maintained. And many families are doing this. More non-custodial parents are staying in touch with their children. Child-support receipts are rising. A lower proportion of children from divorced families are exhibiting problems than in earlier decades. And stepfamilies are learning to maximize children's access to supportive adults rather than cutting them off from one side of the family.

Which of the following can be the most suitable heading for paragraph 1?

Read the following passage and do the tasks below.

Southeast Asian Countries’ PISA Rankings 2012

Once every three years, 15-year-olds from around the world are tested on how well they know their reading, maths and science. This is called the Programme for International Student Assessment, or PISA for short. It is run by the Organization for Economic Coopertation and Development or OECD. Over half a million students from 65 countries and economies took part in PISA 2012. The result of the latest PISA 2012 had been announced on 3 December 2013. Only five out of ten ASEAN countries participated in PISA 2012. They were Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
- Singapore ranked 2nd in maths and 3rd in reading and science;
- Vietnam, entered PISA tests for the first time, ranked 8th in science, 17th in maths and 19th in reading;
- Thailand has been the participant in the PISA tests since 2000. It ranked 47 in science, 48th in reading and 50 in maths;
- Malaysia got 52th in maths, 53rd in science and 59th in reading;
- Indonesia got 61st in reading and got 64th in maths and science.
Singapore’s 15-year-old students came in the top five in every area. Vietnamese students scored very well on all three PISA subjects. Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia ranked below average for the 65 countries assessed. The next administration of PISA is in 2015 and results will be reported at the end of 2016.

What does PISA stand for?

Throughout history people have always communicated with one another, not only by speech but also by movements of the hands and body. It is, however, only (11)_____ the last few years that these aspects of communication have been studied at all widely. This type of communication is known as body language or non-verbal communication. People sometimes wonder (12)______you can learn how body language works. It is of course possible to read books on the subject but you also need to without time observing people’s movements. A railway station is a particular good place for such observation, as here people can be seen openly expressing eagerness, sorrow, delight, impatience and many other human emotions by (13)_________ of movement.

If you turn down the sound on your television set and try to understand (14)______is happening simply by watching the picture you will learn even more about communication spend words. By turning the sound back up every five (15)_________ or so, it is possible to check how accurate your understanding is.

(11)..........................................

Read the following text and circle the best answer:
Thanks for a great year! In case you haven't heard, Henwith Home Supply will be ---135--- our second store this spring. This additional retail site will be located in the shopping centre at the corner of Aberton Parkway and Sutton Avenue in Derbyshire.

We will be accepting applications for cashiers and sales positions ---136--- 1 April. The personnel director will review applicants' qualifications from 2 April to 6 April, and ---137--- is scheduled to begin one week later. -------138---.

135..................

Fill in each numbered blank with one suitable word or phrase

The Global Volunteer Network currently has opportunities to aim at (1) ____  primary and secondary (2) ____ to needy children, and community outreach and counseling with their partner organization in Uganda. This provides (3) _____ opportunity to experience Ugandan life first-hand (4) _____ working to improve your host community. The programs provide counseling, (5) ____ , and education for (6) ____ people, orphans and underprivileged children in small villages. The main activities will (7) ___ working with local children and youth teaching nursery, primary, and vocational education. Volunteers (8) ____ work in the areas of sport, art, games and academics. For volunteers with a medical (9) ____ and education, placements can involve work in (10) ____ clinics with small health-based community organizations.

(4) ________

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.

Why is it that many teenagers have the energy to play computer games until late at night but can't find the energy to get out of bed (1) ________ for school? According to a new report, today's generation of children are in danger of getting so (2)_______ sleep that they are putting their mental and physical health at (3)_______. Adults can easily survive on seven to eight hours' sleep a night, (4)_______teenagers require nine or ten hours. According to medical experts, one in five youngsters (5)________ anything between two and five hours' sleep a night less than their parents did at their age

4 is ..................

READING COMPREHENSION

Read the passage, and choose the correct answer A, B, C or D for each question.

Mr. and Mrs. Nelson have two children, Lara 10 and Peter is 16. Mrs. Nelson first discovered that Peter was getting into trouble when school rang her to say that he hadn’t turned up that day, or the day before. She realized right away that he had been truanting.

Peter's behavior was causing conflict in the house and Mr. and Mrs. Nelson were both concerned. They had different views of how they should deal with Peter's behavior and this led to rows that upset the whole family. They decided to prevent Peter from going out with his friends, but this just made him more stubborn and he would continue to miss school and stay outside his curfew.

 Over the coming weeks, family life became more and more difficult. Mr. and Mrs. felt that they could no longer do this on their own and asked the school to help. They arranged for Peter to talk to someone he trusted, and they made an agreement for him gradually attending school again. He was also given some time to catch up with the work he had missed.

As he started to talk it through, Peter realized that he had been unhappy at school for a while. He admitted that he had felt lonely since his best friend moved away and another group had persuaded him to skip school. As he missed more and more school, it became harder to go back.

Peter was encouraged to tell his parents how much he missed his friend and that he to spend time with his dad playing football or fishing. Mr. Nelson thought he had grown out of that a long time ago but was pleased to spend time with Peter again.

Mr. and Mrs. Nelson tried to notice every day when Peter achieved his goal of attending being on time and remembering to do his homework. It took a little longer for Peter's friendship to return to normal and Peter has had to learn to prove himself trustworthy to his parents, but gradually Mr. and Mrs. Nelson are learning to trust Peter again.

The best solution to Peter's problem was that _____________.

Political and family values within society have impacted upon the modern family structure. Traditionally, it has been the man’s role to be the breadwinner for the family- providing the funds to pay for food and shelter. However, due to the many new and unique responsibilities placed upon families, in numerous cases both men and women- fathers and mothers- have had to enter the workforce. Generally, the reasons for both being involved in the workforce revolve around the need to add to the family’s current financial base. To a lesser extent, the need to interact with “adults” in a stimulating work environment is another popular reason. Whatever their reasons, for many families, the decision for father and mother to go out of home and join the labor force has led to a number of side effects within the home which, in turn, impact upon their performance as employees. Many researchers agree that attitudes towards work are carried over into family life. This spillover can be positive or negative. Positive spillover refers to the spread of satisfaction and positive stimulation at work resulting in high levels of energy and satisfaction at home. If the amount of research is to be taken as an indication, it would seem that positive spillover is not a dominant occurrence in the workplace with most research focusing on the effects of negative spillover. Often pointing out the incompatible nature of work and family life, the research focuses on problems and conflict at work which has the effect of draining and preoccupying the individual, making it difficult for him or her to participate fully in family life.
Social scientists have devised a number of theories in an attempt to explain the work-family dynamic. Compensation theory is one which has been widely used. It assumes that the relationship between work and family is negative by pointing out that high involvement in one sphere- invariably the work sphere- leads to low involvement in the other. As an individual advances within a career, demands typically fluctuate from moderate to more demanding and if the advancing worker has younger children, this shift in work responsibilities will usually manifest itself in the form of less time spent with the family. Researchers subscribing to this theory point out that the drain on family time is significantly related to work-family conflict with an escalation in conflict, as the number of families increase.

The following are true EXCEPT ______.

A YEAR WITH OVERSEAS VOLUNTEERS

I was with Overseas Volunteers (OV) for a year after leaving university, and I was sent to an isolated village in Chad, about 500 km from the capital N'Djamena. Coming from' a rich country, I got quite a shock as conditions were much harder than I had expected. But after a few days I soon got used to living there. The people were always very friendly and helpful, and soon I began to appreciate how beautiful the countryside was.

One of my jobs was to supply the village with water. The well was a long walk away. And the women used to spend a long time every day carrying heavy pots backwards and forwards. So I contacted organization and arranged to have some pipes delivered. We built a simple pipeline and a pump, and it worked first time. It wasn't perfect - there were a few leaks, but it made a great difference to the villagers, who had never had running water before. And not only did we have running water, but in the evenings it was hot, because the pipe had been lying in the sun all day. All in all, I think my time with OV was a good experience. Although it was not well-paid, it was well worth doing, and I would recommend it to anyone who was considering working for a charity.

How did the author feel when he arrived in the village?

According to airline industry statistics, almost 90 percent of airline accidents are survivable or partially survivable. But passengers can increase their chances of survival by learning and following certain tips. Experts say that you should read and listen to safety instructions before take-off and ask questions if you have uncertainties. You should fasten your seat belt low on your hips and as tightly as possible. Of course, you should also know how the release mechanism of your belt operates. During take-off and landings you are advised to keep your feet flat on the floor.
Before take-off you should locate the nearest exit and an alternative exit and count the rows of seat between you and the exits so that you can find them in the dark if necessary. In the event that you are forewarned of the possible accident, you should put your hands on your ankles and keep your head down until the plane come to complete stop. If smoke is present in the cabin, you should keep your head low and cover your face with napkins, towels, or clothing. If possible, wet these for added protection against smoke inhalation. To evacuate as quickly as possible, follow crew command and do not take personal belongings with you. Do not jump on escape slides before they are fully inflated and when you jump, do so with your arms and legs extended in front of you. When you get to the ground, you should move away from the plane as quickly as possible, and never smoke near the wreckage.

Travellers are urged by experts to read and listen to safety instructions........

Read the following text and circle the best answer:
As a Hanson-Roves employee, you are entitled to sick absences, during which you will be paid for time off work for health ---135---. To avoid deductions to your pay, you ---136--- to provide a physician-signed note as documentation of your illness. ---137--- should include the date you were seen by the doctor, a statement certifying that you are unable to perform the duties of your position, and your expected date of return. Your supervisor will then forward the documentation to Human Resources. ---138---. Employee health records can be accessed only by those with a valid business reason for reviewing them.

136...................

Sleep is a natural process, and although a lot have been written about the subject, it is still surrounded by mystery. It is used by some as an escape from the world, and regarded by others as an irritating waste of time: some people get by on very little, others claim they cannot exist without at least ten hours, but nobody can do without sleep completely.
Our night’s sleep does not just consist of a steady phase of gradually deepening sleep. It alternates between two stages: Non-dreaming or ordinary sleep, and REM (rapid eye movement) or dreaming sleep. As soon as we fall asleep, we go straight into non-dreaming sleep for an hour or so, then into REM sleep for about 15 minutes, then back into non-dreaming sleep. It alternates in this way for the rest of the night, with non-dreaming sleep tending to last longer at the beginning of the night. Non-dreaming sleep occupies three-quarters of our night’s sleep, about a quarter of it deep and the rest fairly light. 
It is widely believed that sleep repairs the body and makes good the damage caused by being awake. However, its main function is to refresh the brain. Experts believe that probably only about two-thirds of our sleep is necessary for repairing and refreshing the brain, with the most valuable sleep coming in the first few hours of the non-dreaming period, the last few hours of sleep are not so essential. The brain can manage quite well with reduced sleep as long as it is uninterrupted sleep. 
The quality of sleep is important. A study conducted in the USA looked at short sleepers, who slept for 5.5 hours on average, and long sleepers, who had 8.5 hours or more. It is discovered after a variety of tests that the long sleepers were poor sleepers, had twice as much REM sleep as the short sleepers, appeared to sleep longer to make up for poor sleep, and did not wake up in the morning refreshed. Similarly, people who sleep deeply do not necessarily get a better quality of sleep than shallow sleepers. Deep sleepers can feel tired the following day, so six hours of good sleep is worth more than eight hours of troubled sleep.

Which of the following is NOT discussed in the passage?

Read the following text and circle the best answer:
Garden Shade Tree Landscaping
Garden Shade creates tree landscapes and hedges to suit every garden, no matter the size.  Our designs have ---131--- small urban gardens as well as large-scale projects commissioned by architects and property developers. ---132---. However, no single nursery can offer trees of all species and sizes. That is why Garden Shade has developed close relationships with many specialist growers
---133--- to provide us with the trees we need. Such resources give us the variety necessary to complete any ---134---. In other words, whatever your landscape design dream, we can make it happen.

131...................

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

In American, although most men still do less housework than their wives, that gap has been halved since the 1960s. Today, 41 per cent of couples say they share childcare equally, compared with 25 percent in 1985. Men's greater involvement at home is good for their relationships with their spouses, and also good for their children. Hands-on fathers make better parents than men who let their wives do all the nurturing and childcare. They raise sons who are more expressive and daughters who are more likely to do well in school - especially in math and science.

In 1900, life expectancy in the United States was 47 years, and only four per cent of the population was 65 or older. Today, life expectancy is 76 years, and by 2025, it is estimated about 20 per cent of the U.S. population will be 65 or older. For the first time, a generation of adults must plan for the needs of both their parents and their children. Most Americans are responding with remarkable grace. One in four households gives the equivalent of a full day a week or more in unpaid care to an aging relative, and more than half say they expect to do so in the next 10 years. Older people are less likely to be impoverished or incapacitated by illness than in the past, and have more opportunity to develop a relationship with their grandchildren.

Even some of the choices that worry people the most are turning out to be manageable. Divorce rates are likely to remain high, and in many cases marital breakdown causes serious problems for both adults and kids. Yet when parents minimize conflict, family bonds can be maintained. And many families are doing this. More non-custodial parents are staying in touch with their children. Child-support receipts are rising. A lower proportion of children from divorced families are exhibiting problems than in earlier decades. And stepfamilies are learning to maximize children's access to supportive adults rather than cutting them off from one side of the family.

Which of the following is NOT true about divorce rates in the USA?

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to choose the word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.

Mai is my neighbor. She turned sixteen recently and her parents (46) _______ a birthday party for her. I was one of those invited. The party began at about three (47) ­­_______ the afternoon. There were about twenty of us gathering in Mai’s house. She didn’t like having the party at a restaurant (48) ­­_______ it is noisy and expensive.

We gave presents to Mai and she (49) ­­_______ opened them. It must really be exciting to receive all those presents. After that Mai’s mother served us soft drinks and biscuits. We then listened to music and played cards. The winners were given prizes. At about four-thirty, Mai’s mother brought out the birthday cake. It was beautifully decorated with pink and white icing. (50) ­­_______ colorful candles sat in the middle of the cake. We all clapped our hands eagerly and sang “Happy Birthday” as she blew out the candles and cut the cake. We helped ourselves to slices of the delicious cake and sang all the songs that we knew.

Finally, at about six in the evening, the party came to an end. We were all tired but happy. The parents of other children came to collect them by motorbikes. I helped Mai and her mother clean up the mess we had made. After that, I walked home, which was only three doors away.

Câu 48: .....................

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 following questions.

A YEAR WITH OVERSEAS VOLUNTEERS

I was with Overseas Volunteers (OV) for a year after leaving university, and I was sent to an isolated village in Chad, about 500 km from the capital N'Djamena. Coming from a rich country, I got quite a shock as conditions were much harder than I had expected. But after a few days I soon got used to living there. The people were always very friendly and helpful, and soon I began to appreciate how beautiful the countryside was.

One of my jobs was to supply the village with water. The well was a long walk away. And the women used to spend a long time every day carrying heavy pots backward and forwards. So I contacted the organization and arranged to have some pipes delivered. We built a simple pipeline and a pump, and it worked the first time. It wasn't perfect - there were a few leaks, but it made a great difference to the villagers, who had never had running water before. And not only did we have running water, but in the evenings it was hot because the pipe had been lying in the sun all day. All in all, I think .my time with OV was a good experience. Although it was not well-paid, it was well worth doing, and I would recommend it to anyone who was considering working for a charity.

Which of the following is NOT TRUE?

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

Who talks more - men or women? Most people believe that women talk more. However, linguist Deborah Tannen, who has the studied the communication style of men and women, says that this is a stereotype. According to Tannen, women are more verbal - talk more - in private situations, where they use conversation as the “glue’ to hold relationships together. But, she says, men talk more in public situations, where they use conversation to exchange information and gain status. Tannen points out that we can see these difference even in children. Little girls often play with one ‘best friend’ and their play includes a lot of conversation. Little boys often play games in groups, their play usually involves more doing than talking. In school, girls are often better at verbal skills, while boys are often better at mathematics.

A recent study at Emory University helps to shed light on the roots of this difference. Researchers studied conversation between children aged 3-6 and their parents. They found evidence that parents talk very differently to their sons than they do to their daughters. The startling conclusion was that parents use more language with their girls. Specifically, when parents talk with their daughters, they use more descriptive language and more details. There is also far more talk about emotions, especially with daughters than with sons.

Which of the following phrases best explains the meaning of the word “verbal”?