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 49:........................

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 on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

The American type of football was developed in the 19th century from soccer and rugby football. Played by professionals, amateurs, college and high school students, or young children, football in American is one of the most popular sports besides basketball and baseball. It attracts millions of fans each fall and people are very supportive of their favourite teams. The football playing field of today is rectangular in shape and measures 100 yards long and 53.5 yards wide. White lines are painted on the playing field to mark off the distances to the end zone. The games is divided into four quarters, each fifteen minutes long. The first two quarters are known as the first half. There is a rest period between two halves which usually last about fifteen minutes. Each team has eleven players. Each team has offensive players who play when the team has possession of the ball and defensive players who play when the other team has the possession of the ball. Because of the body contact players have during the game, helmets are worn to protect their head and face area, whereas pads are worn to protect the shoulders, arms, and legs. Also, there are officials carrying whistles and flags to make certain that the rules of the game are followed during the game. The football is made of leather and is brown in colour. It is shaped much like an oval and has white rings near each end of the football. These rings help the players see the ball when it is thrown or someone is running with it. The eight stitches on the top of the football help the players to grip the ball when throwing or passing. The most famous game of the year is Super Bowl that is played in January or February. It is televised around the world and is watched by millions of people each year.

Which is the most popular sport in the US?

The classic Neanderthals, who lived between about 70,000 and 30,000 years ago, shared a number of special characteristics. Like any biological population, Neanderthals also showed variation in the degree to which those characteristics were expressed. Generally, they were powerfully built, short and stocky, with the lower parts of their arms and legs short in relation to the upper parts, as in modern peoples who live in cold environments. Neanderthal skulls were distinctive, housing brains even larger on average than those of modern humans, a feature that may have had more to do with their large, heavy bodies than with superior intelligence. Seen from behind, Neanderthal skulls look almost spherical, but from the side they are long and flattened often with a bulging back. 

The Neanderthal face, dominated by a projecting and full nose, differed clearly from the faces of other hominids; the middle parts appear to be pulled forward (or the sides pulled back), resulting in a rather streamlined face shape. This peculiarity may have been related to the greater importance (in cultural activities as well as food processing) of the front teeth, which are large and part of a row of teeth that lies well forward in the head; it may reflect a reduction in importance of certain jaw muscles operating at the sides of the face; or it may reflect an adaptation to cold. Whether it results from any or all of these three factors or from other, undiscovered causes, this midfacial projection is so characteristic that it unfailingly identifies a Neanderthal to the trained eye. Neanderthal teeth are much more difficult to characterize: the front teeth are large, with strong roots, but the back teeth may be relatively small. This feature may have been an adaptation to cope with heavy tooth wear.

The paragraph following this passage most probably discusses

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 school applied all the following things to help Peter EXCEPT that _______________.

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.

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

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

1 is .......................

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.

According to the passage, airline travellers should keep their feet flat on the floor.......

Read the text carefully, then choose the correct answers.

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.

 What does the author think about his time with OV?

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.

According to the writer, the future of American family life can be ____.

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 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.

The author ­­_______.

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..................

Read the passage carefully, then choose the correct answers.

Each summer, the Winant and Clayton Volunteer program sends a group of Americans to volunteer in London for seven weeks and provides housing and a small stipend to help defray the high cost of living. After seven weeks of volunteering, participants have two weeks to travel independently before returning to London to evaluate the program and get their flight back to the United States.

The application includes a few short essays, a series of questions about the type of placement one would prefer, and an informal interview with former volunteers that gives applicants a chance to find out more about the program.

Deciding to participate takes a small leap of faith. The roster of volunteer placements and housing options can change from year to year and volunteers can’t choose their placement in advance. But once you’re accepted you instantly feel that you’ve joined a close-knit group. The volunteer coordinator is in frequent contact through mailings and e-mails to help you prepare for the trip, and there is a daylong orientation in New York that bring all the volunteers together before departure for London.

How does the volunteer coordinator keep in contact with you?

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 statement is TRUE about the passage?

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 word “breadwinner” is closest in meaning to .

Read the following text and circle the best answer:
Welcome to Arolis Chemicals! Thank you for ---139--- the full-time, permanent position of laboratory assistant. We look forward to your arrival on 1 August in the Harris Building. Please report to the front desk and ask for Jack McNolan. He ---140--- you to the Human Resources office. There, you will obtain your employee badge
---141--- all documents necessary to start work. Note that because of its large size, the Leicester campus of Arolis can be difficult to navigate. Studying a campus map will help orient you to the location of the different buildings.----142---. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

139..................

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.

The word “they” refers to___________

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.

It can be inferred from the experts’ ideas that ______.

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.

(5) ________

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.

Nowadays people are more aware that wildlife all over the world is in (1)________. Many species of animals are threatened, and could easily become (2)________ if we do not make an effort to protect them. In some cases, animals are hunted for their fur or for other valuable parts of their bodies. Some birds, such as parrots, are caught (3)________and sold as pets. For many animals and birds the problem is that their habitat - the place where they live - is disappearing. More land is used for farms, for houses or industry, and there are fewer open spaces than there once were. Farmers use powerful chemicals to help them to grow better crops, but these chemicals pollute the environment and (4)________ wildlife. The most successful animals on earth - human beings - will soon be the only ones (5)________, unless we can solve this problem.

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