Choose the best answer:
It is natural for young people to be critical of their parents at times and to blame them for most of the misunderstandings between them. They have always complained, more or less justly, that their parents are old-fashioned, possessive and dominant; that they do not trust their children to deal with obstacles; that they talk too much about certain problems and that they have no sense of humor, at least in parent-child relationships. I think it is true that parents often underestimate their teenage children and also forget how they themselves felt when young.  Young people often irritate their parents with their choices in clothes and hairstyles, in entertainers and music. This is not their motive. They feel cut off from the adult world into which they have not yet been accepted. So they create a culture and society of their own. Then, if it turns out that their music or entertainers or vocabulary or clothes or hairstyles irritate their parents, this gives them additional enjoyment. They feel they are superior, at least in a small way, and that they are leaders in style and taste.  Sometimes you are resistant and proud because you do not want your parents to approve of what you do. If they did approve, it looks as if you are betraying your own age group. But in that case, you are assuming that you are the underdog: you can you can keep your honor. This is a passive way of looking at things. It is natural enough after long years of childhood, when you were completely under your parents' control. But it ignores the fact that you are now beginning to be responsible for yourself.  If you plan to control your life, co-operation can be part of that plan. You can charm others, especially parents, into doing things the ways you want. You can impress others with your sense of responsibility and initiative, so that they will give you the authority to do what you want to do. 
5. To improve parent-child relationships, teenagers are advised to be ____

Choose the best answer:
The Spring festival season in Vietnam starts with the Lunar New Year and closes with the celebration honoring the mythical founding fathers, the Hung Kings, on the tenth day of the third lunar month. Underlying the origins of these rituals is the farming cycle and its association with fertility rites and ancestor worship. Ancestor worship is a belief of wet-rice farmers who keep their ancestors' graves in their village. This strong attachment to the village of one's birth and the recognition that the inhabitants all descend from the same ancestral line creates strong bonds. The village festival is based on the spirit of unity and family. The farmers are the festivals' creators, actors and audience.  Ancient ceremonies related to farming sometimes take on additional meanings: the commemoration of heroic deeds and the village heroes' birth or death. Each village in the North of Vietnam has such a heroic or super-human figure as a tutelary or guardian spirit. The heroes were honored in their own temples and communal houses which became the heart of the village activities.  There are basic themes which are common to all Spring festivals in the Red River Delta. For instance, water takes on an essential role. Water is collected and blessed and later used for ritual washing. There are boat races, fishing contests, snake dances and water puppet performances. In Chem village, in the suburbs of Hanoi on the banks of the Red River, the main part of the festival actually occurs on a barge carrying over 200 people waving flags, singing, dancing and chasing a unicorn. The barge sails from the temple out into the middle of the Red River, while elders in smaller boats fetch three large jars of water to be blessed and used in rituals during the year. The next day the blessed water is used for the symbolic washing of the wooden statue of the village guardian.
3. The word "descend" in the passage is closest in meaning to ____

Choose the best answer:
Increasing numbers of parents in the U.S. are choosing to teach their children at home. In fact, the U.S. Department of Education has estimated that in 1999, about 850,000 children were being homeschooled. Some educational experts say that the real number is double this estimate, and the ranks of home-schooled children seem to be growing at the average rate of about eleven percent every year. At one time, there was a theory accounting for home-schooling: it was traditionally used for students who could not attend school because of behavioral or learning difficulties. Today, however, more parents are taking on the responsibility of educating their own children at home due to their dissatisfaction with the educational system. Many parents are unhappy about class size, as well as problems inside the classroom. Teacher shortages and lack of funding mean that, in many schools, one teacher is responsible for thirty or forty students. The children are, therefore, deprived of the attention they need. Escalating classroom violence has also motivated some parents to remove their children from school. Although there have been a lot of arguments for and against it, home-schooling in the U.S. has become a multi-million dollar industry, and it is growing bigger and bigger. There are now plenty of websites, support groups, and conventions that help parents protect their rights and enable them to learn more about educating their children. Though once it was the only choice for troubled children, homeschooling today is an accepted alternative to an educational system that many believe is failing. 
2. According to some experts, the exact number of home-schooled children then must be _______.

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
THE THREAT TO THE ENVIRONMENT
Nowadays people are more aware that wildlife all over the world is in danger. Many (1)________of animals are threatened, and could easily become (2)______ if we do not make an effort to protect them. There are many (3)_______ for this. In some cases, animals are hunted for their fur or for othervaluable parts of their bodies. Some birds, such as parrots, are caught (4)________and sold as pets. For many animals and birds, the problem is that their habitat - the (5)________where they live - is disappearing. More (6)________is used for farms, for houses or industry, and there are fewer open (7)________than there once were. Farmers use powerful chemicals to help them grow better (8)________, but these chemicals pollute the environment and (9)________wildlife. The most successful animals on earth - human beings - will soon be the only Ones left, unless we can (10)________this problem

Choose the best answer:
The American southwest is full of deserts. If you ever go there, you might get to see a very strange event. We are talking something called the sailing stones. Sometimes, stones in the southwestern desert move by themselves. Wind doesn’t seem to push them. People and animals don’t touch them. However, these stones still move. Sometimes they travel more than a hundred meters. They always leave a trail in the sand behind them. This is useful because we can look at the trail and figure out how far a stone has moved. How is this possible? How can stones move all by themselves? Scientists have been studying this for years. People have offered all kinds of theories. One of the earliest theories was that wind pushes the stones. That theory isn’t correct, because some of the stones weigh more than 300 kilograms. When it seemed like there was no logical explanation for the sailing stones, people started coming up with crazier ideas. Some people said that aliens were moving the stones, and others said that clever people were playing a joke. Finally, in 2013, a scientist came up with an explanation for the sailing stones. This scientist normally studies weather on other planets, and when he heard about the sailing stones, he became interested in them. He found out that ice forms on the bottom of the stones. When that happens, even a very light wind can push the stone for long distances. To prove his theory, the scientist did an experiment. He put a rock in his freezer and let some ice form on it. Then, he put sand and a little water in a tray. Finally, he put his frozen rock on top of the sand. When he blew on the rock, it moved. Even when he blew very gently, he had no problems moving the rock. Here is something interesting about the sailing stones. Curious people visit the desert in the southwest to see them. A lot of those people don’t like to hear the scientific explanation for the sailing stones. Many people prefer to feel that the stones are still a mystery.
5. The word “that” in paragraph 4 refers to________

Choose the best answer:
According to some sources, the first online dating service appeared in the mid-nineties. Different from international matching services that were already up and running, these sites were created to help the average busy person find someone to date and, perhaps eventually, someone to many. For this week’s column, I asked a few people what they thought of online dating. Many who have tried online dating it’s the greatest invention since sliced bread. Although he was hesitant to try it at first, Mitchell Waverton, a 25-year-old who’s looking for love, gives online dating thumbs-up. Waverton explains, “I don’t have a lot of time to meet women. Some of my friends told me I should try online dating. I wasn't sure about it because it just seems weird- meeting someone online. But then I tried it, and it was a lot of fun”. However, not everyone has the same opinion. Peter Wong explains, “A few of my friends tried to get me join an online dating site. I only agree to do it to prove to them that it wasn’t going to work for me”. After I went on five miserable dates, my friends were finally convinced that online dating wasn't for me.” I do believe that online daters are sometimes successful in their search of love, but I think success stories are the exception rather than the rule. Although online dating seems like it’s here to stay, I’ve heard enough horror stories to keep me away from it
5. According to the passage, who approves of online dating?

Choose the best answer:
It is hard to argue that the actual contribution to development amounts to a great deal directly. Whilst volunteer tourists can get involved in building homes or schools, they have usually paid a(n) (26) _______ fee for the opportunity to be involved in this work: money that, if donated to a local community directly, could potentially pay for a greater (27) _______ of labour than the individual volunteer could ever hope to provide. This is especially so in the case of gap years, (28) _______ the level of technical skill or professional experience required of volunteers is negligible. Hence, it is unsurprising that many academic studies (29) _______ to the moral issue of whether gap year volunteering is principally motivated by altruism – a desire to benefit the society visited – or whether young people aim to generate ‘cultural capital’ which benefits them in their careers. (30) _______, the projects may play a role in developing people who will, in the course of their careers and lives, act ethically in favour of those less well-off

Choose the best answer:
Although digital cameras and camera phones have made it easier to capture newsworthy events, it is social media that have revolutionized citizen photography. With news regularly breaking on social networks, some journalists are now turning to them as (26) _______ of images as fast-moving events occur. Unfortunately, (27) _______ reporters have published user-generated content (UGC) without permission. Despite official guide (28) _______ images posted on social media can be used without permission if there are exceptional circumstances or strong public interest, debate continues about whether this is (29) _______. With research indicating that around one in ten people would film or photograph a news event, it is clear that UGC has a major role to play in the future of the media. (30) _______, if the media is to prevent its relationship with the public from souring, steps must be taken to ensure that people are properly rewarded for their work and that permission is always sought

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
Another side effect of the human population explosion will be the conversion of more land to food production or cities. This habitat (1)_______ will cause progressive extinction of many more species. Globally, 45 species of birds and 40 species of mammals went (2) ______ between 1650 and 1969, more have disappeared since then, and many more are in endangered species list. It has been estimated that half of all the species on Earth reside in the Amazon rain forest, (3) ______ most of them in Brazil. Brazil’s plans to colonize and cut down the rain forests and similar changes in Congo and Indonesia may very well (4) ______a major episode of extinction. Recent efforts to estimate the projected rate of extinction suggest (5) ______ half of all the species of mammals and birds will become extinct within the next 200 to 300 years.

Choose the letter A, B, C or D to complete the passage below

Hello everyone, I am......(1)..... teacher, I……..(2)…….at a primary school in the USA. In the morning I......(3)..... up at seven o'clock. I have breakfast with bread and a cup of coffee. Then I go to work. I teach his students French. I have lunch at school. I go home.....(4)...... one o'clock in the afternoon. I don’t work on Saturdays and Sundays. I go to the cinema, or …….(5)……… a book. I like the books very much. I have a sister in Oxford and a brother in London.

5. I go to the cinema, or …….(5)……… a book.

Choose the best answer:
Scientists agree that the earth's rising temperatures are fueling longer and hotter heat waves, more frequent droughts, heavier rainfall, and more powerful hurricanes. In 2015, for example, scientists said that an ongoing drought in California - the state's worst water shortage in 1,200 years - had been intensified by 15 percent to 20 percent by global warming. They also said the odds of similar droughts happening in the future had roughly doubled over the past century. And in 2016, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine announced that it's now possible to confidently attribute certain weather events, like some heat waves, directly to climate change.  The earth's ocean temperatures are getting warmer, too - which means that tropical storms can pick up more energy. So global warming could turn, say, a category 3 storm into a more dangerous category 4 storm. In fact, scientists have found that the frequency of North Atlantic hurricanes has increased since the early 1980s, as well as the number of storms that reach categories 4 and 5. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina - the costliest hurricane in U.S. history struck New Orleans; the second - costliest, Hurricane Sandy, hit the East Coast in 2012.  The impacts of global warming are being felt across the globe. Extreme heat waves have caused tens of thousands of deaths around the world in recent years. And in an alarming sign of events to come, Antarctica has been losing about 134 billion metric tons of ice per year since 2002. This rate could speed up if we keep burning fossil fuels at our current pace, some experts say, causing sea levels to rise several meters over the next 50 to 150 years.   
1. The passage answer which of the following questions? 

Choose the best answer:
The American southwest is full of deserts. If you ever go there, you might get to see a very strange event. We are talking something called the sailing stones. Sometimes, stones in the southwestern desert move by themselves. Wind doesn’t seem to push them. People and animals don’t touch them. However, these stones still move. Sometimes they travel more than a hundred meters. They always leave a trail in the sand behind them. This is useful because we can look at the trail and figure out how far a stone has moved. How is this possible? How can stones move all by themselves? Scientists have been studying this for years. People have offered all kinds of theories. One of the earliest theories was that wind pushes the stones. That theory isn’t correct, because some of the stones weigh more than 300 kilograms. When it seemed like there was no logical explanation for the sailing stones, people started coming up with crazier ideas. Some people said that aliens were moving the stones, and others said that clever people were playing a joke. Finally, in 2013, a scientist came up with an explanation for the sailing stones. This scientist normally studies weather on other planets, and when he heard about the sailing stones, he became interested in them. He found out that ice forms on the bottom of the stones. When that happens, even a very light wind can push the stone for long distances. To prove his theory, the scientist did an experiment. He put a rock in his freezer and let some ice form on it. Then, he put sand and a little water in a tray. Finally, he put his frozen rock on top of the sand. When he blew on the rock, it moved. Even when he blew very gently, he had no problems moving the rock. Here is something interesting about the sailing stones. Curious people visit the desert in the southwest to see them. A lot of those people don’t like to hear the scientific explanation for the sailing stones. Many people prefer to feel that the stones are still a mystery.
6. What does the last paragraph tell us?

Choose the best answer:
British people have a reputation for being rather quiet and reserved. However, a new study has (1) ____ that Britons are actually quite sociable and the (2) ____ person claims to have 14 close friends. Although a minority of those questioned (3) ____ that they had no best friend, a quarter said that they had more than 18 close friends. Experts said that this is (4) ____ to changes in the way people (5) ____ their free time. They are now more (6) ____ to invite friends to their homes or go out socialising than previous generations. The increasing use of mobile phones and emails has also made it easier to (7) ____ a greater number of friendships.  Men's relationships are not (8) ____ though they tend to have more friends. Women, (9) ____ prefer to have a small number of friends they can trust (10) ____, and with whom they can feel completely at (11) ____. The idea that people in the north of England are more neighbourly than those in the south seems to be backed (12) ____ by the survey. However, despite having friends, it seems that family still (13) ____ an important part in most people's lives. When asked who they would (14) ____ to for help if they were ill or had a problem, the majority said that they would (15) ____ upon a relative first rather than a friend 

Choose the best answer:
Many older cities are having modern makeovers and they are being given a new (1) ____. Sometimes the impetus for this (2) ____ of change comes from the need to provide new (3) ____ for particular events being held in the city - a sporting event, or something (4) ____. On other (5) ____ the change just seems to (6) ____ place almost naturally.  Take Birmingham, for instance, (7) ____ it was previously an (8) ____ place to live, it has now become trendy, and this change has been brought about largely by the new-look architecture that can be found everywhere in the city. The old shopping centre has been (10) ____ down and completely rebuilt, and new shopping malls are competing to attract shoppers with the high quality of their services and goods. The area located around the canal, once hidden away and surrounded by decaying factories was often used as a rubbish (11) ____, but it has now become a trendy place (12) ____ up of modern offices, bars, sought-after apartments and restaurants. To (13) ____ up, Birmingham has become the place to be. Even in what was formerly the poorest part of the city an old factory has been (14) ____ into a lively complex of studios, galleries and coffee bars. With its theatres, museums and football teams Birmingham is (15) ____ worth visiting and has something for everyone

Read the following dialogue and then choose the best answer A, B, C, D:

"Teacher: Good morning. Minh. Do you (1).....................      in town?
Minh : Yes, I live in (2).....................        apartment.
Teacher: Is (3)...................... a supermarket near the apartmenr?
Minh : Yes, there’s also a bank, a clinic (4)       ........... a hotel.
Teacher: Are there any (5).............. near it?
Minh Yes, there (6)............... a toy store, a bakery, a drugstore and two bookstores.                   
Teacher: Is it (7) ....... there? 
Minh No, it’s very (8) ................"

3. Is (3)...................... a supermarket near the apartmenr?

Choose the best answer:
In Germany, it's important to be serious in a work situation. They don't mix work and play so you shouldn't make jokes (1)_______you do in the UK and USA when you first meet people. They work in a very organized way and prefer to do one thing at a time. They don't like· interruptions or (2)_______changes of schedule. Punctuality is very important so you should arrive on time for appointments. At meeting, it's important to follow the agenda and not interrupt (3)_______speaker. If you give a presentation, you should focus (4)_______facts and technical information and the quality of your company's products. You should also prepare well, as they may ask a lot of questions. Colleagues normally use the family names, and title - for example 'Doctor' or 'Professor', so you shouldn't use first names (5)_______a person asks you to

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
THE THREAT TO THE ENVIRONMENT
Nowadays people are more aware that wildlife all over the world is in danger. Many (1)________of animals are threatened, and could easily become (2)______ if we do not make an effort to protect them. There are many (3)_______ for this. In some cases, animals are hunted for their fur or for othervaluable parts of their bodies. Some birds, such as parrots, are caught (4)________and sold as pets. For many animals and birds, the problem is that their habitat - the (5)________where they live - is disappearing. More (6)________is used for farms, for houses or industry, and there are fewer open (7)________than there once were. Farmers use powerful chemicals to help them grow better (8)________, but these chemicals pollute the environment and (9)________wildlife. The most successful animals on earth - human beings - will soon be the only Ones left, unless we can (10)________this problem

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
What do you do if you want to (1)______ a book in a library? If you know the author’s (2)______, go to the author catalogue. Find the title of the book (3)______ check the shelf mark. Make a note of this before you look (4)_______ the appropriate shelf. If you do not know the author’s name, go to the (5)______ catalogue. If there (6)_______ no title catalogue in the library, go to the subject catalogue. Check all the titles which are under the (7)______ you want. Then check the appropriate card, as with the author catalogue. Next look for the book on the shelf. Let the librarian stamp it (8)_______ you take it out of the library. If the book isn’t on the shelf, ask the librarian to get it for you.

Choose the best answer:
Of the many sports that people play, most have evolved over time from simpler games or a combination of different games. Basketball is different in this (31) _________ because it was a game specifically invented to be an indoor sport. Its purpose was not to be just fun and challenging. (32) _________, it was invented for track and field athletes to use in order to stay in shape during the winter, while also being relatively safe to play. The person who made up the game was a physical education teacher at a school in Springfield, Massachusetts named Dr. James Naismith. It only took Naismith two weeks to come (33) _________ the game. He took a basket that had originally held peaches and nailed it high up on the walls of a gymnasium. The players then used a soccer ball and to get it in the basket while being blocked by other players. Naismith’s reason for putting the basket high up on the wall came from his (34) _________ that more injuries in other games happened near where a goal was. In this case, the goal was the basket, so he believed the higher up it was, the safer the players would be. Eventually, the game progress like so many other sports did, and it became quite popular. A second basket was added, rules of play were (35) _________, and the sport of basketball as we know today was born

Choose the best answer:
The American southwest is full of deserts. If you ever go there, you might get to see a very strange event. We are talking something called the sailing stones. Sometimes, stones in the southwestern desert move by themselves. Wind doesn’t seem to push them. People and animals don’t touch them. However, these stones still move. Sometimes they travel more than a hundred meters. They always leave a trail in the sand behind them. This is useful because we can look at the trail and figure out how far a stone has moved. How is this possible? How can stones move all by themselves? Scientists have been studying this for years. People have offered all kinds of theories. One of the earliest theories was that wind pushes the stones. That theory isn’t correct, because some of the stones weigh more than 300 kilograms. When it seemed like there was no logical explanation for the sailing stones, people started coming up with crazier ideas. Some people said that aliens were moving the stones, and others said that clever people were playing a joke. Finally, in 2013, a scientist came up with an explanation for the sailing stones. This scientist normally studies weather on other planets, and when he heard about the sailing stones, he became interested in them. He found out that ice forms on the bottom of the stones. When that happens, even a very light wind can push the stone for long distances. To prove his theory, the scientist did an experiment. He put a rock in his freezer and let some ice form on it. Then, he put sand and a little water in a tray. Finally, he put his frozen rock on top of the sand. When he blew on the rock, it moved. Even when he blew very gently, he had no problems moving the rock. Here is something interesting about the sailing stones. Curious people visit the desert in the southwest to see them. A lot of those people don’t like to hear the scientific explanation for the sailing stones. Many people prefer to feel that the stones are still a mystery.
7. What can be inferred from the scientist’s experiment?

Choose the best answer:
The oceans of the world are precious because of (31) _________ they do for all life on the Earth. They help regulate the temperature of the planet, and they are home to a myriad of sea creatures - many of which we depend on (32) _________ sources of food. However, due to our consumption and improper disposal of plastic items, human beings have created a swirling mess of garbage. The one located in the Pacific now known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and it is not a pretty sight. In an ideal world, all of the plastic would be recycled and there would be zero waste. This is not the case, however, and a huge amount of the plastic ends up making its (33) _________ to our oceans due to carelessness. (34) _________ the plastic is part of rain runoff coming from a landfill or just a thoughtless discard of a piece of plastic onto the ground, if it ends up in the Pacific Ocean, it will eventually become part of the disgusting patch of garbage. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch may be impossible to (35) _________, but it is doing a lot of harm to sea life. If anything, we can do our best to avoid over-using plastic