Choose the best answer:
Minh had a terrible headache. , he went to school.

 

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.

William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), who wrote under the pseudonym of O. Henry, was born in North Carolina. His only formal education was to attend his Aunt Lina’s school until the age of fifteen, where he developed his lifelong love of books. By 1881 he was a licensed pharmacist. However, within a year, on the recommendation of a medical colleague of his Father’s, Porter moved to La Salle County in Texas for two years herding sheep. During this time, Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary was his constant companion, and Porter gained a knowledge of ranch life that he later incorporated into many of his short stories. He then moved to Austin for three years, and during this time the first recorded use of his pseudonym appeared, allegedly derived from his habit of calling “Oh, Henry” to a family cat. In 1887, Porter married Athol Estes. He worked as a draftsman, then as a bank teller for the First National Bank.

In 1894 Porter founded his own humor weekly, the “Rolling Stone”, a venture that failed within a year, and later wrote a column for the Houston Daily Post. In the meantime, the First National Bank was examined, and the subsequent indictment of 1886 stated that Porter had embezzled funds. Porter then fled to New Orleans, and later to Honduras, leaving his wife and child in Austin. He returned in 1897 because of his wife’s continued ill-health, however she died six months later. Then, in 1898 Porter was found guilty and sentenced to five years imprisonment in Ohio. At the age of thirty five, he entered prison as a defeated man; he had lost his job, his home, his wife, and finally his freedom. He emerged from prison three years later, reborn as O. Henry, the pseudonym he now used to hide his true identity. He wrote at least twelve stories in jail, and after re-gaining his freedom, went to New York City, where he published more than 300 stories and gained fame as America’s favorite short Story writer. Porter married again in 1907, but after months of poor health, he died in New York City at the age of forty-eight in 1910. O. Henry’s stories have been translated all over the world.

Why did the author write the passage?

Other disabilities include hearing, visual, or orthopedic impairments; autism; (1) _______ traumatic brain injury. An increasing number of children in the United States are identified as having attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and (2) _______ special education services. Many schools in the United States provide special education services (3) _______ gifted children, although federal law does not mandate these services. Gifted children demonstrate (4) _______ high abilities in intellectual, creative, academic, leadership, or artistic areas. Estimates of the gifted (5) _______ in the United States range from 3 to 5 percent of all schoolchildren.

(18)__________

The UK Government ensures that all schools in the UK (1)______ certain standards, and this includes independent schools as well as those that are (2)_____ by the Government. All qualifications are awarded by national agencies accredited by the Qualification and Curriculum Authority (QCA), (3)____ the quality of the qualifications you will gain is guaranteed. At many independent schools in England, you will be encouraged to take part (4)_____ extracurricularactivities to develop your hobbies and learn new skills, and you may be encouraged to take graded music exams (5)______ by the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. The exam grades gained from these are widely accepted toward university entry requirements.

(69)_______

Choose the best answer:
____________ beautiful girl!

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
The penny press, which emerged in the United Sates during the 1830’s, was 1 a powerful agent of mass communication. These newspapers were little dailies, generally four pages in length, written for the mass taste. They differed from the 3 staid, formal presentation of the conservative press, with its emphasis on political and literary topics. The new papers were brief and cheap, emphasizing sensational reports of police courts and juicy scandals as well as human interest 5 stories. Twentieth – century journalism was already foreshadowed in the penny press of the 1830’s. 7 The New York Sun, founded in 1833, was the first successful penny paper, and it was followed two years later by the New York Herald, published by James 9 Gordon Bennett. Not long after, Horace Greeley issued the New York Tribune, which was destined to become the most influential paper in America. Greeley 11 gave space to the issues that deeply touched the American people before the Civil War – abolitionism, temperance, free homesteads, Utopian cooperative settlements, and the problems of labor. The weekly edition of the Tribune, with 13 100,000 subscribers, had a remarkable influence in rural areas, especially in Western communities. 15 Americans were reputed to be the most avid readers of periodicals in the world. An English observer enviously calculated that, in 1829, the number of 17 newspapers circulated in Great Britain was enough to reach only one out of every thirty – six inhabitants weekly; Pennsylvania in that same year had a 19 newspaper circulation which reaches one out of every four inhabitants weekly. Statistics seemed to justify the common belief that Americans were devoted to periodicals. Newspapers in the United States increased from 1,200 in 1833 to 21 3000 by the early 1860’s, on the eve of the Civil War. This far exceeded the number and circulation of newspapers in England and France.
9. The word "justify" in line 20 is closest in meaning to: 

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
Many parents believe that they should begin to teach their children to read when they are (1)________ more than toddlers. This is fine if the child shows a real interest but forcing a child could be counter-productive if she isn't ready. Wise parents will have a (2) ________attitude and take the lead from their child. What they should provide is a selection of stimulating toys, books and other activities. Nowadays there is plenty of good (3) ________available for young children, and of course, seeing plenty of books in use about the house will also (4) ________them to read. Of course, books are no longer the only source of stories and information. There is also a huge range (5)_______ videos, which can reinforce and extend the pleasure a child finds in a book and are equally valuable in helping to increase vocabulary and concentration. Television gets a bad review as far as children are concerned, mainly because too many spend too much time watching programmes not intended for their age group

Rewrite sentences without changing the meaning:
 If he doesn’t come to the theater with me, I shall go alone.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word for each of the numbered blanks.
                       THE LIFE OF COUNTRY VET
Don Strange, who works as a vet in northern England, leads a busy life. As well as having to treat pets which are unwell, he often visits farms where problems of (1).......... kinds await him. He has lost (2)..........of the number of times he has been called out at midnight to give advice to a farmer with sick sheep or cows.
Recently, a television company chose Don as the subject of a documentary program it was making about the life of a country vet. The program showed the difficult situations Don faces every day such as helping a cow to give birth or winning the trust of an aggressive dog (3)..............needs an injection. Not all of Don’s patients are domestic animals, (4)................. , and in the program people saw him helping an owl which had a damaged wing. It also showed Don holding a meeting with villagers concerned about the damage a new road might do to their (5)......................... environment.

(4)......................................

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

Rapid urbanization can hold long-term economic, social and environmental promise for developing countries (23) ____ investments made now in infrastructure, housing and public services are efficient and sustainable, the World Bank says in a new report.

In the next two decades, cities are (24) ____ to expand by another two billion residents, as people move in unprecedented numbers from rural areas to pursue hopes and aspirations in cities. More than 90% of this urban population growth is expected to occur in the developing world, (25) ____ many cities are already struggling to provide basic needs such as water, electricity, transport, health services and education.

Report authors note that most new urban growth will not take (26) ____ in the “megacities” of the world e.g. Rio de Janeiro, Jakarta or New Delhi but rather in less commonly recognized “secondary” cities - places like Fushun in China, and Surat in India.

To help policymakers prepare for and manage growth, the report distills lessons learned from 12 countries across all geographic regions and stages of urbanization. It then translates these global lessons (27) ____ practical policy advice.

26.................

One of the most important (1) _______ of a standardized test is time. You'll only be allowed a certain number of minutes for each section, so it is very important that you use your time (2) _______. The most important time strategy is pacing yourself. Before you begin, take just a few seconds to survey the test, noting the number of questions and the sections that looks easier than the rest. Then, make a rough time schedule based on the amount of time (3) _______ to you. Mark the halfway point on your test and make a note beside that mark of the time when the testing period is half over. Once you begin the test, keep moving. If you work slowly in an attempt to make fewer mistakes, your mind will become bored and begin to wander. You'll end up making far more mistakes if you're not concentrating. If you take too long to answer questions that stump you, you may end up (4) _______ out of time before you finish. So don't stop for difficult questions. Skip them and move on. You can come back to them later if you have time. A that takes you five seconds to answer counts as much as one that takes you several minutes, so pick up the easy points first. (5) _______, answering the easier questions first helps build your confidence and gets you in the testing groove. If you're a little ahead, you know you're on track and may even have a little time left to check your work. If you're a little behind, you have several choices. You can pick up the pace a little, but do this only if you can do it comfortably.

(21)______

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate to each of the questions from 31 to 35
Social media marketing has increased due to the growing active user rates on social media sites. For example, Facebook currently has 2.2 billion users, Twitter has 330 million active users and Instagram has 800 million users. 
One of the main uses is to interact with audiences to create awareness of the brand or service, with the main idea of creating a two-way communication system where the audience and/or customers can interact back; providing feedback as just one example. Social media can be used to advertise; placing an advert on Facebook's Newsfeed, for example, can allow a vast number of people to see it or targeting specific audiences from their usage to encourage awareness of the product or brand. Users of social media are then able to like, share and comment on the advert, becoming message senders as they can keep passing the advert's message on to their friends and onwards. The use of new media put consumers on the position of spreading opinions, sharing experience, and has shift power from organization to consumers for it allows transparency and different opinions to be heard. 
Media marketing has to keep up with all the different platforms. They also have to keep up with the ongoing trends that are set by big influencers and draw many peoples attention. The type of audience a business is going for will determine the social media site they use. 

Which best serves as the title for the passage? 

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.
                          VIRTUAL DOCTORS
 Clare Harrison rarely falls ill and hates going to the doctor’s when she does. So when she recently(1)........... out in a painful rash down one side of her body she emailed her symptoms, (2)..................  also  included a (3)...................... fever, to e–doc, the internet medical service. Two hours later she was diagnosed as having shingles (Herpes Zoster) by her online doctor, who prescribed a special cleansing solution for the rash and analgesics to help relieve the pain.
Health advice is now the second most popular topic that people search for on the internet, and online medical consultation is big business. Sites vary enormously in what they offer, with services ranging from the equivalent of a medical agony aunt to a live chat with a doctor via email. They are clearly (4)....................... a demand from people who are too busy or, in some cases, too embarrassed to discuss their medical (5)..................... with their GP.

(1).........................

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
Voluntary work helps foster independence and imparts the ability to deal with different situations, often simulaneously, thus teaching people how to (1)____ their way through different systems. It therefore brings people into touch with the real worls; and, hence, equips them for the future. Initially, young adults in their late teens might not seem to have the expertise or knowledge to impart to others that say a teacher or an agriculturalist or a nurse would have, (2)____ they do have many skills that can help others. And in the absence of any particular talent, their energy and enthusiasm can be harnessed for the benefit (3) ____ their fellow human beings, and ultimately themselves. From all this, the gain to any community no matter how many voluntees are involved is (4)_____ Employers will generally look favorably on people (5)_____ have shown an ability to work as part of a team. It demonstrates a willingness to learn and an independent spirit, which would be desirable qualities in any employee

Choose the best answer:
The repairman told me to keep the electrical socket _________ children’s reach.

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

Read the reading below carefully, and then complete it with the best option A, B, C or D given below:
Music, artful arrangement of sounds (1) _______ time. This definition is obviously very broad, but a narrower one would exclude (2) _______ much. Music is part of virtually every culture on (3) _______, but it varies widely among cultures in style and structure. Definitions of music can (4) _______ dramatically over a short time, as they have across the world during the 20th (5) _________.

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:
Animals have an intuitive awareness of quantities. They know without analysis the difference between a number of objects and a smaller number. In his book "The Natural History of Selboure" (1786), the naturalist Gilbert White tells how he surreptitiously removed one egg a day from a plover's nest, and how the mother laid another egg each day to make up for the missing one. He noted that other species of birds ignore the absence of a single egg but abandon their nest if more than one egg has been removed. It has also been noted by naturalists that a certain type of wasp always provides five - never four, never six - caterpillars for each of their eggs so that their young have something to eat when the eggs hatch. Research has also shown that both mice and pigeons can be taught to distinguish between odd and even numbers of food pieces.
These and similar accounts have led some people to infer that creatures other than humans can actually count. They also point to dogs that have been taught to respond to numerical questions with the correct number of banks, or to horses that seem to solve arithmetic problems by stomping their hooves the proper number of times.
Animals respond to quantities only when they are connected to survival as a species - as in the case of the eggs - or survival as individuals - as in the case of food. There is no transfer to other situations of from concrete reality to the abstract notion of numbers. Animals can "count" only when the objects are present and only when the numbers involved are small - not more than seven or eight. In lab experiments, animals trained to "count" one kind of object were unable to count any other type. The object, not the numbers, are what interest them. Animals' admittedly remarkable achievements simply do not amount to evidence of counting, nor do they reveal more than innate instincts, refined by the genes of successive generations, or the results of clever, careful conditioning by trainers.

The word "surreptitiously" is closest in meaning to     _.

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
Putting Cars on Autopilot
Automobile accidents are one of the leading causes of death each year. Accidents can occur due to drunk driving, mechanical problems, carelessness, or a whole assortment of other reasons. In the near future, these problems could be solved by eliminating the person behind the wheel. Driverless cars may soon be turning all vehicle owners into “backseat drivers”. Driverless cars are vehicles that use several technologies to operate without human input. Through GPS, they can find a location on a map and plan the best route to get there. They may also use radar to detect other vehicles and avoid them when necessary. One company involved with developing driverless cars is Google. It’s developing a software called Google Chauffer which powers the vehicles. The technology isn’t cheap though, as Google robotic cars contain about $150,000 worth of equipment. In 2012, Google began testing the cars on the road with a highly-skilled driver in the driver’s seat, and a Google engineer in the passenger seat. In case there are any malfunctions, the human driver can step on the brakes or turn the wheel to take control of the automobile. Other car manufacturers are also working on implementing automated options into their cars. For example, the 2014 Mercedes-S class offers advanced cruise control using radar, lane warnings, and even detects, and warns drivers when they appear tired. Many Americans seem open to the idea, as three states have already passed laws that make it legal for driverless cars to be on the road. Still there will be some stumbling blocks to overcome before the roads are controlled by digital decision-makers. Firstly, companies will need to provide proof that driverless cars were tested a lot and are truly safe. Automobile manufacturers will also have to find a way to bring down costs, as few people would be able to afford the equipment required. Driverless cars could also potentially become targets for computer hackers. If a hacker were somehow able to override the software system, they could cause accidents or malfunctions. There are also economic issues to consider. If driverless cars became successful, millions of truck, bus, and taxi drivers would likely lose their jobs. Despite these issues, all indications suggest that it should be just a matter of time before humans are no longer needed behind the wheel.
4. Why does the author suggest that Americans are OK with the concept of driverless cars?

Choose the best answer:
I can complete a______English if necessary.

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
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.

1. Why was New Orleans a good place for jazz to start?