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:
Overpopulation, the situation of having large numbers of people with too few resources and too little space, is closely associated with poverty. It can result from high population density, or from low amounts of resources, or from both. Excessively high population densities put stress on available resources. Only a certain number of people can be supported on a given area of land, and that number depends on how much food and other resources the land can provide. In countries where people live primarily by means of simple farming, gardening, herding, hunting, and gathering, even large areas of land can support only small numbers of people because these labor-intensive subsistence activities produce only small amounts of food.
In developed countries such as the United States, Japan, and the countries of Western Europe, overpopulation generally is not considered a major caus of poverty. These countries produce large quantities of food through mechanized farming, which depends on commercial fertilizers, large-scale irrigation, and agricultural machinery. This form of production provides enough food to support the high densities of people in metropolitan areas.
A country’s level of poverty can depend greatly on its mix of population density and agricultural productivity. Bangladesh, for example, has one of the world’s highest population densities, with 1, 147 persons per sq km. A large majority of the people of Bangladesh engage in low – productivity manual farming, which contributes to the country’s extremely high level of poverty. Some of the smalleer countries in Western Europe, such as the Netherlands and Belgium, have high population densities as well. These countries practice mechanized farming and are involved in high-tech industries, however, and there fore have high standards of living.
At the other end of the spectrum, many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have population densities of less than 30 persons per sq km. Many people in these countries practice manual subsistence farming; these countries also have infertile land, and lack the economic resources and technology to boost productivity. As a consequence, these nations are very poor. The United States has both relatively low population density and high agricultural productivity; it is one of the world’s wealthiest nations.
High birth rates contribute to overpopulation in many developing countries. Children are assets to many poor families because they provide labor, usually for farming. Cultural norms in traditionally rural societies commonly sanction the value of large families. Also, the governments of developing countries often provide little or no support, financial or political, for family planning; even people who wish to keep their families small have difficulty doing so. For all these reasons, developing countries tend to have high rates of population growth.
(From “Poverty” by Thomas J. Corbett)

Which of the following could be the best title for the passage?

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"You ______ take more exercise," my doctor advised me.

Choose the word or phrase among A, B, C or D that best fits the blank space in the following passage:

"In the home a dad is very important. He is the (1)……who provides us with money to feed and (2)….. ourselves. He can decorate your bedroom, mend your radio, make (3)….. for your pets, repair a puncture your bicycle tyre and help you with maths homework. A dad can be very useful for (4)…. you in the car to and from parties, music and dancing lessons.
 A dad is the person whom you ask for (5)…. money. He is the one who (6)…. about the time you spend talking on the phone, as he has to pay for the bills. Dad is someone who will support you in an (7)…. , if he believes you to be right. He is someone who reads your school (8) …. And treats if it is good. A dad likes to come into a nice happy home evening, and settle (9)…. in his chair with a newspaper. He likes to (10) ….  his National Service days."

4. A dad can be very useful for (4)…. you in the car to and from parties, music and dancing lessons.

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Nowadays people ……….. hours sitting in front of the computers.

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Exobiology is the study of life that originates from outside of Earth. As yet, of course, no such life forms have been found. Exobiologists, however, have done important work in the theoretical study of where life is most likely to evolve, and what those extrateưestrial life forms might be like. What sorts of planets are most likely to develop life? Most scientists agree that a habitable planet must be terrestrial, or rock-based, with liquid surface water and biogeochemical cycles that somewhat resemble Earth’s. Water is an important solvent involved in many biological processes. Biogeochemical cycles are the continuous movement and transformation of materials in the environment. These cycles include the circulation of elements and nutrients upon which life and the Earth’s climate depend. Since (as far as we know) all life is carbon-based, a stable carbon cycle is especially important. The habitable zone is the region around a star in which planets can develop life. Assuming the need for liquid surface water, it follows that most stars around the size of our sun will be able to sustain habitable zones for billions of years. Stars that are larger than the sun are much hotter and bum out more quickly; life there may not have enough time to evolve. Stars that are smaller than the sun have different problem. First of all, planets in their habitable zones will be so close to the star that they will be “tidally locked” – that is one side of the planet will always face the star in perpetual daylight with the other side in the perpetual night. Another possible obstacle to life on smaller stars is that they tend to vary in their luminosity, or brightness, due to flares and “star spots”. The variation can be large enough to have harmful effects on the ecosystem. Of course, not all stars of the right size will give rise to life; they also must have terrestrial planets with the right kind of orbits. Most solar systems have more than one planet, which influence each other’s orbits with their own gravity. Therefore, in order to have a stable system with no planets flying out into space, the orbits must be a good distance from one another. Interestingly, the amount of space needed is roughly the width of a star’s habitable zone. This means that for life to evolve, the largest possible number of life-supporting planets in any star’s habitable zone is two. Finally, not all planets meeting the above conditions will necessarily develop life. One major threat is large, frequent asteroid and comet impacts, which will wipe out life each time it tries to evolve. The case of Earth teaches that having large gas giants, such as Saturn and Jupiter,.in the outer part of the solar system can help keep a planet safe for life. Due to their strong gravitation, they tend to catch or deflect large objects before they can reach Earth.
3. The word “which” in paragraph 3 refers to

Chọn câu đồng nghĩa:
He is very lazy. That makes his parents worried.

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A Microchip in Your Body
In 1998, a British scientist named Kevin Warwick did an experiment. He inserted a small microchip into his left arm. He used the microchip to turn on lights, work with his computer, and even start the water for his hath. After only nine days, Warwick removed the microchip from his arm. Nine days is not a long time, but it was enough to give the world a very important message. It is possible to have a microchip in your body. Many people think that someday, we all will have microchips. There are all kinds of things that a microchip could do. It could be useful for simple, everyday things. You might not have to carry keys, because you could use your microchip to open the front door of your house. You might not need cash, because you could use your microchip to buy things. A microchip might be able to do more important things. For example, a microchip could contain all of your important health information. If you had an emergency and wert to hospital, doctors could read your microchip and learn all of your health history. Some scientists even believe that someday a microchip could help cure diseases. Many people dislike the idea of a microchip in their body. They have a lot of concerns. Is it safe? Could a microchip make you sick? Besides, would other people be able to read your microchip and steal your personal information? People are especially worried about personal freedom. This is probably the biggest reason why so many people are against these microchips. What if your government could use your microchip to watch you? What if your government could use your microchip to find your location? Do you want the government to have that information about you? Again, for most people the answer is “no". Nobody has microchips in their body yet. We don't know if this will ever happen. If we ever do have microchips, we don't know what they would look like or what they would do. What do you think? Would you like to have a microchip inserted into your body?
5. The word “it” in paragraph 4 refers to________

The museum is open to everybody. It ______ between 9am and 5pm.

(394)_______

Read the following passage and then choose the best answer.
This is a picture of Tom’s family. He is my pen pal. He lives in a lovely old town in England. There are six people in his family: his parents, his aunt, his uncle, his brother and Tom. They live happily together.
Tom’s family lives in a nice house in the town. His house is near a park and next to a bookstore. There are seven rooms, a garage and a beautiful garden in the house. The seven rooms include three bedrooms, two bathrooms, one living room, and a large kitchen. Tom and his brother share a bedroom and they don’t really like it. The house was built in 1999 but it is still new and fashionable. The garden is so beautiful with many kinds of flowers. Tom loves the garden so much.
People in Tom’s family have different jobs. His father is fifty and he is a teacher. He teaches in a secondary school in the town. His mother is forty-eight and she is a housewife. She takes care of all the people in the house. She grows vegetables in the garden and usually prepares wonderful meals. His brother, Peter is a pilot. He flies a plane in the sky. He is very handsome. His aunt is a nurse. She helps doctors take care of sick people in the hospital. His uncle is a journalist. He writes articles for a local newspaper. Tom is a student and he wants to be a doctor in the future. I will go to England to see him again next summer vacation.

 What does Tom’s brother do?

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The Math test was ....... than I thought it would be.

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How many houses __________ by the storm last night?

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Even before the turn of the century, movies began to develop in two major directions: the realistic and the formalistic. Realism and formalism are merely general, rather than absolute terms. When used to suggest a tendency toward either polarity, such labels can be helpful, but in the end they are still just labels. Few films are exclusively formalist in style, and fewer yet are completely realist. There is also an important difference between realism and reality, although this distinction is often forgotten. Realism is a particular style, whereas physical reality is the source of all the raw materials of the film, both realistic and formalistic. Virtually all movie directors go to the photographable world for their subject matter, but what they do with this material, how they shape and manipulate it determines their stylistic emphasis. Generally speaking, realistic films attempt to reproduce the surface of concrete reality with a minimum of distortion. In photographing objects and events, the filmmaker tries to suggest the copiousness of life itself. Both realist and formalist film directors must select and hence emphasize certain details from chaotic sprawl of reality. But the element of selectivity in realistic films is less obvious. Realists, in short, try to preserve the illusion that their film world is not manipulated, an objective mirror of the actual world. Formalists, on the other hand, make no such pretense. They deliberately stylize and distort their raw materials so that only the very naive would mistake a manipulated image of an object or event for the real thing. We rarely notice the style in a realistic movie; the artist tends to be self-effacing. Some filmmakers are more concerned with what is being shown than how it is manipulated. The camera is used conservatively. It is essentially a recording mechanism that reproduces the surface of tangible objects with as little commentary as possible. A high premium is placed on simplicity, spontaneity, and directness. This is not to suggest that these movies lack artistry, however, at its best the realistic cinema specializes in art that conceals art.
9. The word "tangible" in paraghrap 3 is closest in meaning to: 

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The film was ______ through.

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After dinner, Mom ______ the lamp and Dad used to tell us stories.

Choose the word or phrase among A, B, C or D that best fits the blank space in the following passage:

"In the home a dad is very important. He is the (1)……who provides us with money to feed and (2)….. ourselves. He can decorate your bedroom, mend your radio, make (3)….. for your pets, repair a puncture your bicycle tyre and help you with maths homework. A dad can be very useful for (4)…. you in the car to and from parties, music and dancing lessons.
 A dad is the person whom you ask for (5)…. money. He is the one who (6)…. about the time you spend talking on the phone, as he has to pay for the bills. Dad is someone who will support you in an (7)…. , if he believes you to be right. He is someone who reads your school (8) …. And treats if it is good. A dad likes to come into a nice happy home evening, and settle (9)…. in his chair with a newspaper. He likes to (10) ….  his National Service days."

6. He is the one who (6)…. about the time you spend talking on the phone, as he has to pay for the bills. 

______it was so cold, he went out without an overcoat.
(130)_______

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This championship attracts millions ___________ participants all over the world.

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If people _________ the rules, there are no more accidents.

Read the passage below carefully, and then choose the best answer:
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.
7. Why does Dr. Carr say families should eat dinner together at home?

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Poor Pluto! Once the ninth planet in our solar system, Pluto has now been demoted to the status of a "dwarf planet". It is no longer even part of our solar system, but rather of a separate area called the Kuiper Belt. The decision came about after the International Astronomical Union (IAU) tried to shed some light on Pluto's status. It came up with a new definition for planets that Pluto did not fit. Many in the astronomical disagreed with it, especially since the Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Neptune would not be planets either according to this definition! Only five percent of the astronomical community voted on this issue, and critics say this decision was not based on the community as a whole. In the state of New Mexico, a resolution has been passed that Pluto will always be a planet. This was done in honor of Clyde Tombaugh who discovered Pluto and lived most of his life in New Mexico. Pluto's demotion was also influenced by its size - it's only half the size of our moon! It consists of rock and ice. Pluto has one big moon (Charon) an two smaller ones (Nix and Hydra). Lowell realized that there must be a ninth planet as the gravitational pull of a large body was influencing the orbit of Uranus. He called it "Planet X". He spent his whole life searching for "Planet X" but to no avail. It was until 1930 that it was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh. Now that "Planet X" has finally been discovered, it needed a name. Suggestions poured in from all over the world, but it was an 11 -year-old girl. Venetia Burnet, who came up with the name "Pluto". Venetia was interested in Greek history, and "Pluto", was another name for Hades, god of the Underworld (Hell). As she imagined it to be a cold and dark place, she felt that "Pluto" would be an appropriate name. The Lowe Observatory (where Clyde Tombaugh worked) agreed and Pluto was born! Pluto is so far away from Earth that it is difficult to study. That will change in 2015 when the "New Horizons" spacecraft arrives on Pluto. It was launched on January 19.2006. It carries with it the ashes of Clyde Tombaugh Pluto's discover who died in 1997. It is hoped that the mission will give scientists more information about Pluto. Even though Pluto has lost its place in the sun, it is still important enough for scientists to study!
9. What does the phrase "many moons ago" mean?