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International school in Ho Chi Minh City is the ……….. school in Vietnam with high-tech facilities.

 

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My friend/ never/ ride/ horse/ before.

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Nick is ....... than Peter.

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At break time, I go to the library and …………. books.

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Which woman are you going to vote for? – I’m not sure. Everyone says that Joan is………….

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" You must not get into the area," the policemen said.

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The Great Energy Debate
Modern civilization is heavily dependent on energy. Without reliable power sources, we couldn’t operate machines, use transportation, communicate via Internet, or do many other things. Although everyone recognizes the importance of energy, deciding what kind of energy the world should use in the future is not a simple task. The two leading candidates for this role are green energy and nuclear energy. Currently, most of the energy we use is derived from fossil fuels. Although this energy source has got us this far, there are several problems with it. For starters, it is a finite resource which is quickly running out. Some analysts have even estimated that the Earth could run out of coal and oil within the next 50 years. Burning fossil fuels also creates large amount of pollution, which is harmful to the environment. Although fossil fuels still provide the majority of our power, governments are seeking better energy sources to use going forward. Green energy is one option that is becoming increasingly attractive. It includes technologies such as solar, wind, and hydro power. These are seen as clean sources of energy because they cause very little pollution. In addition, they are completely renewable, so there is no danger that it will run out. The major disadvantage with green energy sources is that they are not cheap. The other alternative is nuclear power. Like green energy, it is also a renewable source of power that will not run out, and it also doesn’t produce air pollution. In addition, nuclear power is more reliable than green energy, as it doesn’t depend on sunshine, rain, or wind to operate. The major issues with nuclear power are safety concerns and nuclear waste. Nuclear power plants create a considerable amount of nuclear waste which is extremely hazardous to people’s health. If they happen to have a meltdown, this could destroy the surrounding area for years to come. The recent nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan brought this reality into the spotlight once again. In response, Germany announced it would close down eight of its nuclear plants immediately, and close the rest by 2022. Meanwhile, other nations refuse to give up on nuclear power, stating that these disasters are rare. The debate of whether to use green or nuclear power will likely continue for some time. In the end, it is quite possible that both energy sources will be used to fuel our planet.
1. What is the focus of the passage?

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Learning to Dig Jazz Music
It has been said that jazz is America’s greatest contribution to music. It mixes the powerful rhythm of African traditions with elements of European classical music. The beginnings of jazz music are a bit unclear, but many people believe it originated in New Orleans during the late 1800s. New Orleans was a melting pot where local tribes mixed with immigrants who came from Africa and Europe to form a new, unique culture. Jazz has several elements which set it apart from other styles of music. Compared to rock music, jazz is more complex and versatile. Whereas rock bands typically consists of a drummer, some guitarists, and a singer, jazz bands can be big or small and they are made up from a wide variety of instruments. Another thing which sets jazz apart from other forms of music is improvisation. Musicians start with a basic structure, perhaps a few chords, and then they decide what to play in the moment. Therefore, even if the same songs are repeated, you can be certain that no two jazz concerts are the same. Over the years, many sub-genres of jazz came about. Ragtime is one of the first styles that came about, and it consists mainly of upbeat piano compositions. Dixieland Jazz started in the 1920s and it incorporated blue music and brass bands. Next came the Big Band era, which showcased groups with 10 or more musicians playing different instruments. In the Bebop era of the 1940s, jazz musicians returned to smaller groups of four to six musicians, but they started playing far more complex melodies.  If you are just becoming interested in jazz, you should start by listening to the works of some of its masters. Louis Armstrong is considered one of the grandfathers of jazz, as he helped to spread jazz to the masses in the 1920s. Armstrong is perhaps best-known today for singing the classic song “What a Wonderful World”, but in his prime, he was a talented bandleader and an incredible trumpet player. Charlie Parker was all the rage during the bebop age, as every saxophone player was trying to imitate him. Miles Davis is another pioneering jazzman who everyone should check out, as he was always changing his style. During his long career, Davis won nine Grammy awards. Although jazz music is an acquired taste, once you begin to appreciate it, it is like a fine wine that gets better with age.
2. What is the second paragraph mainly about?

Fill in each numbered blank with one suitable word or phrase.

The Early Life of Bill Gates

While Bill Gates had to work (1)………..to become what he is today, his story isn’t exactly a rags-to-riches one as he was born into a fairly wealthy family. His father was a successful attorney while his mother was a school teacher who went onto a member of the Board of Directors of the First Interstate Bank. Gates was a bright student and (2) ……….well academically, especially in mathematics. And, this was exemplified by the 800 points that young Bill Gates scored in the mathematics part of an intelligence test.

Bill Gates developed a (3) ………..for computers and programming as early as 13. At the same age, Gates enrolled in the Lakeside School, a private preparatory school. While Gates was still at the school, the school administration decided to buy a computer from the General Electric Company. (4) ………his flare in programming, the school administration excused Gates from classes to allow him to (5) ………….his interest. On the GEC machine, Bill Gates built his first ever computer program.

At the school, Gates met Paul Allen and they worked (6)………..to find bugs in a system belonging to Computer Center Corporation. In exchange for computer time and royalties, Gates and Allen along with two other students wrote a payroll program for Information Sciences. This led to Gates’ school becoming fully aware (7)………..his talent and they had him build a program (8)………..scheduled students in classes.

Gates and Allen continue to build software and at just the age of 15, Bill Gates sold a software to optimize traffic for $$ 20,000. A few years later, he developed another software and earned $$ 30,000 from (9)...... And, this was the start of Bill Gates’ journey to a billion-dollar (10)…………..

(2)……….

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
Space Tourism
If you are like most people, you probably dream of spending your next vacation sightseeing or relaxing in a tropical spot. But pretty soon, you may have the option of blasting into space and exploring the universe. It appears that space tourism may start to experience a boom that is sure to be out of this world. Since ancient times, humans have surely dreamed about visiting space. However, it was just a fantasy until 1961, when Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to fly into space. Yet in the years following, only a few highly-trained Soviet and American astronauts managed to leave the Earth’s atmosphere. In the mid-1980s, the US began to relax some of its restrictions. In 1986, an engineer named Charles Walker became the first non-government employee to fly into space. A year later, an American teacher named Christa McAuliffe was chosen to be the first teacher in space. Unfortunately, the Space Shuttle she was on, The Challenger, crashed during takeoff, killing everyone on board. Space tourism got an unexpected boost from the collapse of the Soviet Union. With Russia’s space programme in dire need of money, it became open to offers for space tourism. In 1990, a Japanese reporter was allowed to fly with a Russian crew into space, but the trip would cost his employer $28 million. In the late 1990s, a private company, MirCorp, started organizing trips to space for wealthy individuals. Now, many other companies are trying to do the same. Still, most people who want to become space tourists face a major barrier: the price. Early space tourists have paid dozens of millions of dollars for a seven-to- ten-day stay outside the Earth. However, there are some indications that the price will come down in the near future. Some corporations are gearing up for this with big plans to make space a more hospitable place. The luxurious hotel chain Hilton has expressed interest in opening a space hotel in the next 15 to 20 years. Meanwhile, some experts believe that flights to and from the moon could become a common occurrence within a few decades. Hopefully someday soon we will all have the chance to get to know our solar system a little bit better.
3.  What effect did the end of the Soviet Union have on space tourism?

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Alan agreed _______ hide and seek with me this afternoon.

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 :
Waves don’t always (1)_________ the beaches with enough height or force to allow a sport such as surfing. The surfers in the 1960s looked for something that would allow them to have the thrill of riding waves without having to actually go in the water on days when it looked more like a (2)_________ rather than a series of hills reaching the shore. The simple solution was to put wheels on a board, and before long, a new style of surfing was born, but it was done on land. Looking back, it is easy to see how skateboarding could become more popular than even surfing. To surf you need coastline and waves, but to skateboard, all you need is a paved surface. As its popularity grew, skateboarding took (3)_________ new forms, and adventurous skateboarders tried new stunts. Skateboard parks started popping up throughout several countries, and there was plenty of innovation in skateboards. Early skateboards had metal wheels, usually (4)_________ from roller skates. Clay wheels replaced these, followed by the special urethane wheels that are used today. The innovations with wheels made the sport safer in many ways, but they also (5)_________ the stunts to become more and more extreme.

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A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words
In 1826, a man named Joseph Nicephore Niepce went to the upstairs window of his home in France. He used a new invention called a camera to take the world’s first photograph of nature. Niepce’s photograph shows us the view from his window. However, it is very difficult to know that when you look at the picture. The image is not very clear at all. That doesn’t matter. On that day, Niepce changed the world forever. Photography first became very popular in the 1850s and 1860s. People liked it because it showed more details than other kinds of art. A painting or a statue might be more beautiful than a photograph, but a photograph can tell you a much clearer story. Many people believe that colour photographs didn’t exist until the 1920s, but that’s not true. The first colour photograph was taken in 1855. It shows a colourful ribbon. Before the 1920s, people didn’t often use colour photography because it was very complicated and expensive. Even after colour photography became easier and cheaper, many people still preferred black and white pictures. They felt that black and white had a more “classic photo” feeling. In the 1940s, colour photography finally replaced black and white. When we think of the history of photography, it is amazing to think of how easy it is to take pictures today. Many years ago, only professionals had cameras. These days, just about everybody has one. One of the biggest reasons for this change is the popularity of smartphones. Almost every modern smartphones. Almost every modern smartphone has a camera. These smartphone cameras are very easy to use and they also take very clear pictures. Most of them have a video function.  One thing that hasn’t changed is the importance of photography. These days, a picture can still create all kinds of feelings and emotions inside of us. There is a saying. “A picture is worth a thousand words.”
1. What is NOT true about Joseph Nicephore Niepce?

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 :
Faster processors and advances in memory technology have made today’s smartphones much more powerful than a lot of computers from just a decade ago. With wireless technology, people can surf the internet, play online games, send e-mail, and do (1)_________ all the things they once could only do on a computer. (2)__________, they have the power to do things constantly at their fingertips. Many people (3)_________ that while smartphones are powerful tools, they are making people reliant on them. Why would a person need to learn to read a map when he can get directions to anywhere by simply asking his phone a question? Who needs to learn maths when you have immense calculating power in your pocket at all times? What (4)__________ is there to memorise facts about history, art, or geography when that information is readily available from a portable Internet interface? There are just some of the questions being asked and answered as smartphone usage continues to spread. Like any technology, smartphones have their advantages, but they do have disadvantages as well that we must (5)__________ an eye on.

Read the text and choose the best answer (A, B, C or D) to each of the questions.
I was brought up in a very ordinary but very happy home with one elder sister, my mother and my father. The great love of my life since I was a small girl was writing, which only family thought was surprising because they didn't consider themselves educated people. I wasn't surprised though because my parents were great readers which is my idea of being educated. Anyway, I trained to be a nurse but whenever I had free time I wrote: poems, short stories, I even once wrote a novel called 'The Pleasure Principle' but I didn't feel comfortable writing longer pieces and I soon went back to my poetry. 
Then the strangest thing happened. I had my twenty-first birthday just a few days before and I was feeling very much that I wanted to change things in my life. I'd been nursing a very old woman for several months in a private ward, she told me that although she had-lots of relatives, no one came to visit her. Anyway, when she died she left me an enormous sum of money, nearly three-quarters of a million pounds! Of course when the lawyer rang me up and told me I just laughed and thought that my friends were playing a joke on me. So I put down the phone and went in to tell my mother the joke. 
But it wasn't a joke! All of a sudden, I was a very rich woman. Well, the first thing was that I was determined that I wouldn't waste the money. Of course I wanted to do something for my family, but all my dad said was 'We're not leaving this house after all the work I've put into the garden!' My mother agreed so all I did was give them something towards a new car and a new greenhouse. My sister was working abroad at this time and when I wrote to tell her the news and offer her some money she said it was my money and that she knew I would use it sensibly. None of this really came as a surprise because they've always had a sensible attitude towards money. 
But this left me a fortune on my hands to spend! It soon became obvious to me that much as I loved nursing, I loved writing more and that's how I got started. I went to America and did a degree in creative writing. I had a wonderful time and learned a great deal, not from the lecturers necessarily but mainly from other hopeful writers on the course. All this was a decade ago and I've now had several volumes of poetry published. I now want to do something to help other young poets so I'm thinking of setting up a small publishing company which I'll call Grace Park Books after the wonderful old lady who helped me fulfill my life's ambition!

It can be inferred from the passage that ............

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Raising a Child Athlete
In many countries, children with sporting potential are identified early and encouraged to achieve athletic greatness by training for hours every day. While some people see this as a great opportunity for kids to be healthy, others argue that too much focus on training can hurt young people. How parents should raise child athletes has become a big topic of their debate. People who are against such serious commitment to sport say that there are many negatives to training so intensively. Here are some of their arguments: The long hours spent training can distant the child from his or her family. thletes who spend too much time training miss out on education. The child may not be prepared for other real world activities, such as going to college and having a non-athletic job. Pressure from parents and coaches to win can be psychologically damaging for the child. Parents may also become too pushy and end up caring more about athletic achievements than the child. Dr. Christine Carr, a psychologist, suggests that parents take some important steps to make sure that their kids are getting the most out of sports. Carr says that the focus should be on the child’s happiness and about learning life lessons. Self-discipline, determination, and learning to deal with failure are some of the important life skills and lessons kids can learn from sports. Other experts point to the importance of letting children make their own decisions. Top athletes Tiger Woods and Michael Phelps have said that they appreciated their parents letting them decide how much or how little they wanted to train. In fact, according to Phelps’ mother, he had trouble focusing in the classroom until he found a sport that he was passionate about. By allowing Michael to focus on his sport, his mother also saw him improve as a student. Another thing that many parents and doctors agree on is the importance of developing a close relationship with the family. Dr. Carr suggests eating dinner together and says it is a simple way to remind children that family is important, and that support can always be found at home. Woods and Phelps both had supportive families and made it public, with parents attending their many competitions. Raising an athlete is not easy. By balancing life and training, parents can set their children up for success and help them become winners in sports and in life.
8. Who would find this passage the most useful?

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:
On the fourth Thursday in November, in houses around the United States, families get together for a feast, or a large meal. Almost all families eat turkey and cranberry sauce for this meal, and have pumpkin pie for dessert. This feast is part of a very special day, the holiday of Thanksgiving.
In 1620 the Pilgrims made a difficult trip across the ocean from England. They landed in what is now Massachusetts. In England the Pilgrims had not been allowed to freely practice their religion. So they went to the New World in search of religious freedom.
The Pilgrims' first winter was very hard. Almost half the group died of cold, hunger and disease. But the Indians of Massachusetts taught the Pilgrims to plant corn, to hunt and to fish. When the next fall came, the Pilgrims had plenty of food. They were thankful to God and the Indians and had a feast to give thanks. They invited the Indians to join them. This was the first Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving became a national holiday many years later because of the effort of a woman named Sarah Hale. For forty years Sarah Hale wrote to each president and asked for a holiday of Thanksgiving. At last she was successful. In 1863 President Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a holiday.
How much is Thanksgiving today like the Pilgrims’ Thanksgiving? In many ways they are different. For example, historians think that the Pilgrims ate deer, not turkey. The idea of Thanksgiving, though, is very much the same: Thanksgiving is a day on which we celebrate and give thanks.

Which of the following is NOT true about Thanksgiving?

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
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

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 :
There are many sources of pollution in our modern world. At present, the most (1)___________ sources are acid rain, car exhaust fumes and oil spills. Factory chimneys give out smoke that contains sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. These gases combine with the moisture in the atmosphere to form sulphuric acid and nitric acid. When it rains, these acids dissolve in the rain and (2)___________ it acidic. Acid rain is thought to be the worst pollution problem of all. It has (3)___________ aquatic life by turning many lakes into lifeless bodies of water. Car exhaust fumes contain carbon monoxide and lead which are highly poisonous. In big cities, the exhaust fumes build (4)___________ and pose a health hazard to human beings. Pollution of the sea by oil threatens marine life. Much of the oil comes from ships that clean their fuel tanks while at sea. Pollution of the sea can also be caused by oil spills. An oil spill may occur as a result of accidents (5)____________ oil tankers.

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Explosions in the Sky
If you attend a major outdoor event in the evening, whether it is in Paris, Beijing, or New York City, there is a good chance that it will end in a sensational way. After all of the other activities have concluded, the sky will be lit up by a colourful firework display. Although the show may only last for a few minutes, during that time every eye will look on with amazement as they work their magic in the air. Fireworks were invented in the seventh century by the Chinese. They were quickly absorbed into the culture and became a part of many celebratory events and festivals. Eventually, emperors would organize large firework displays to entertain and impress their subjects. Fireworks didn’t become big in Europe until the mid-17th century. People became interested in fireworks after reading accounts from monks and travellers who saw them while in China. Once they did arrive, it was obvious they were there to stay. Fireworks were frequently paired with triumphant classical symphonies to celebrate the end of wars and other great victories. As time went on, the fireworks continued to evolve and get better in many ways. Fireworks now come in every colour imaginable. The colour comes from different chemicals that are placed inside of each firework. Thanks to modern technology, it is also possible to create firework arrangements in the shape of hearts, smiley faces, and even the planet Saturn. This is because of the way that the aerial shells, or casings, of fireworks are constructed. The cases are packed with exploding pellets and a piece of cardboard. The cardboard enables the designers to arrange the pellets in pattern or shape of the object of their choice. The first time this technology was used was in Washington DC, during a celebration to welcome home American troops who fought in the Gulf War. The visual aspect is only part of the reason fireworks are appealing. The sounds that fireworks make also add a healthy dose of excitement to the display. There are several noises that fireworks can make. The most common is the “bang” which sounds a lot like a gunshot. Fireworks can also crackle, hum, and whistle as they streak across the night sky. The world’s largest firework show was held in Kuwait in 2012. 77,282 fireworks exploded during the incredible 64-minute show. But with people’s love for fireworks at an all-time high, who knows how long that record will last?
4. Which of the following best matches the meaning of the phrase “become big” in paragraph 2?

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
Joanne Rowling became famous almost overnight. She is the (1)_____of a highly successful series of books for young people. Joanne has dreamt of being a writer for as long as she can remember. In fact, she has been(2)_____ stories and characters ever since she was a schoolgirl. When she was still quite young, the family moved to a town called Chepstow. A family who lived (3) ____were called Potter, and she used their name for the hero of her books. She and her sister, Di, (4)_____a state school in town. At school, she was hard-­‐working and rather reserved. She was (5)_____good at English and languages. Her talent for telling stories made her popular figure in the school. During breaks between (6) _____she was often surrounded by a crowd of friends, excited to hear the (7) _____story she had written. She often included her classmates in her stories though they were not always aware of this! When she left school, Joanne succeeded in getting a place at university. After graduating, she got a(8) _____in French. Then Joanne started to work as a teacher in a school in Portugal. She married a journalist but, sadly, the couple soon (9)_____and she moved to Edinburgh. She had (10) _____and couldn’t even afford a plastic folder to send her new book to potential publishers. However, one wonderful day a publisher said “yes”. It was the greatest day of her life