Sở Giáo Dục – Đào Tạo Kì Thi Chọn Đội Tuyển HSG Lớp 12 – THPT TP Hồ Chí Minh Năm học: 2005-2006 Khóa ngày: 15/12/2005 Môn: Tiếng Anh Thời gian: 180 phút (không kể thời gian phát đề) ĐỀ CHÍNH THỨC PART ONE: LISTENING Task one Listen to the conversation and answer the questions that follow. 1. (A) On a tennis court (B) In a gymnasium (C) At a sporting goods store (D) At an equipment rental shop 2. (A) Instructor and player (B) Sales clerk and customer (C) Delivery person and buyer (D) Repair person and client 3. (A) Courteous (B) Irritated (C) Concerned (D) Disinterested 4. (A) If there weren’t so many styles to choose from, he’d buy a racket right (B) He doesn’t want to buy a high-priced racket because he doesn’t know how long he’ll use it. (C) He doesn’t like buying a beginner’s racket but thinks the others are too expensive. (C) If he played tennis more often he would know which racket to buy. 5. (A) Take up another sport so he’ll buy another equipment. (B) Buy a more expensive racket than he really needs, (C) Get an instructor to teach him how to play tennis. (D) Return to the store to purchase another racket. Task two Listen to three people describing the people they admire. Fill in each blank with no more than three words. 1. Wilma Ruldolph was admired as a _________________ 2. At a very young age, she lost her ability to walk because of ____________________ 3. It was difficult for her to become an athlete because she had to wear ________ on her legs. 4. However, her __________________ helped her to work and won three gold medals in the Olympics. 5. Nancy Drew was a _________________________ who could solve any crime. 6. She always managed to get out of all kinds of _____________ 7. ____________ the woman dreamed about being Nancy Drew is her sports car. 8. We have great __________ for volunteer coastguards. 9. They rescue people who are _________ in the water. 10. Volunteer coastguards are willing to go out to save people’s lives in all kinds ____________ 1 PART TWO: GRAMMAR & STRUCTURES Choose the word or phrase (A, B, C or D) that best fits each blank. 1. If ________ prices go on increasing as they have done for the past few months, then the Government will have to step in and impose some sort of price freeze. A. actual B. current C. ready D. monetary 2. Have you written off to the College for a copy of their _________ yet? A. programme B. catalogue C. pamphlet D. prospectus 3. These jeans are terrible. Look how much they’ve ________ since I washed them. They’ve much too small to wear now. A. narrowed B. lessened C. shrunk D. shortened 4. In the past, captains would plot their ship’s ________ by the moon and the stars. A. course B. direction C. movement D. way 5. The company is ________ its operations all over the Asia region. A. planting B. growing C. expanding D. setting 6. ________ storms have destroyed most of the farmers’ crops. A. Tough B. Serious C. Strict D. Severe 7. Many ________ arrive from overseas hoping to start a new life in this country. A. travellers B. immigrants C. tourists D. emigrants 8. ________ disliked the play because the story was weak and the acting terrible. A. Critiques B. Critics C. Criticism D. Criticize 9. He says things in such a ________ way that it’s often hard to understand what he means. A. soft B. brittle C. small D. subtle 10. Even when he was in ________, his fans still recognized him. A. masking B. cover C. disguise D. dislike 12. I ________ him to a game of badminton. A. won B. played C. offered D. challenged 13. Why did you have to spend so much time on the test? It was ________. A. a bone of contention B. a breeze C. a matter of life and death D. a closed book 14. Everyone is jealous of Sue because she ________. A. was born with a silver spoon in her mouth B. often goes bananas C. beats about the bush D. buries the hatches 15. The closure of many companies _______ the increase in the high rate of unemployment. A. put down to B. set places for C. gave rise to D. got down to 16. They had a ________ conversation to solve some misunderstandings. A. mouth-to-mouth B. face-to-face C. check-to-check D. heart-to-heart 17. We all want to ________ discrimination. A. put a finish at D. put an end to C. put a stop to D. put a deadline to 18. Their performance will be _______ a little extra practice. A. all the better for B. no better than C. better off D. for the better of 19. It was a role that really _______ as a serious actress. A. drew her a map B. caught her C. put her on the map D. put her forward 20. She usually calls her mother when she is feeling ________. A. yellow B. red C. green D. blue 21. Have you ever seen ______ Acropolis in _______ Athens? A. Ø / Ø B. an / the C. Ø / an D. the / Ø 22. I bought my sister ________ bottle of perfume for her birthday but I don’t think she liked _______ perfume. A. a / the B. Ø / the C. Ø / Ø D. the / Ø 23. A child in the first grade tends to ________ all of the other children in his class. A. the same old to B. as old like C. the same age than D. the same age as 2 24. The universe ________ we know it might have begun with a great explosion. A. as B. that C. and which D. and 25. An earthquake is a shaking of the ground ________ when masses of rock beneath the surface of the earth change position. A. which occurring B. it occurs C. that occurs D. and therefore occurring 26. Those boys ________ so noisily; the exam is in progress. A. shouldn’t have talked B. can’t be talking C. needn’t have talked D. shouldn’t be talking 27. __________ he was, he couldn’t lift that heavy table. A. So strong B. Although strong C. Strong as D. Stronger than 28. _________ of fire, dial 114. A. The case was B. In case C. In the case D. In spite 29. The goalkeeper couldn’t _________ at the ball floating into the goal. A. but look B. than looking C. but looking D. than look 30. Thanks to his help, I ________ it without any mistakes. A. could do B. would do C. could have done D. will have done 31. His suspision was _________ he could not say a word. A. very much B. so very much C. such that D. such one that 32. I had to go early ________ I could have a good seat. A. otherwise B. if not C. but D. so that 33. _______ what he may, it is unlikely that he will succeed. A. To do B. Doing C. Do D. In doing 34. He is always speaking as though he _______ everything. A. know B. knows C. knew D. had known 35. He drinks very little ________ the police catch him as he drives home. A. in the event B. despite C. otherwise D. in case 36. Every man and woman ______ responsible for what he or she does. A. is B. are C. be D. have been 37. They caught him _______ things in the shop. A. steal B. to steal C. stolen D. stealing 38. All students in the school are free to join any club they wish or ______. A. none B. not C. no D. without 39. Under the table _______. A. a cat sat B. was seated a cat C. seated a cat D. a cat sitting 40. She clearly remembers ________ her servant ________ her a bar of soap. A. to tell / to buy B. telling / buying C. telling / to buy D to tell / buying PART THREE: PREPOSITIONS & PARTICLES Fill in each blank with an appropriate particle or preposition. 1. They will bring ______ in the end. Success is a matter of course. 2. The new fashion of-hair is really catching ______. 3. Perhaps, we’d better cross ______ his name because of his too frequent absence from class. 4. Look ______ ______ sharp stones when you walk on the beach. 5. It is said that his new book will be brought ______ on the occasion of the Liberation Day. 3 6. I was going to the football match when I was suddenly held ______. 7. I think a sip of wine can bring him ______. 8. His comment only adds ______ her resentment toward him. 9. His aunt told ______Hugh for making so much noise. 10. We’re worried about violence when the army generals handed ______ power to the new government. 11. The film will be ______ general release next week. 12. BP is ______ the move. 13. ______ reflection, I decided to change my plan. 14. His remarks are always ______ the point. 15. The bandits are ______ the run, pursued by loyal troops. 16. His fame is now ______ the wane. 17. The lorry, ______ ______ control, ran down the hill and crashed into a wall. 18. Go and lie down if you’re feeling ______ ______ sorts 19. It’s really ______ your advantage to accept a favourable offer. 20. I agree with you ______ a great extent, but not completely. PART FOUR: WORD FORMS Use the correct form of the word given to fill in each blank. 1. The inquiry decided that the police were also __________ (blame). 2. How do you like my latest __________ (acquire) for my stamp collection? 3. The minister gave __________ (evade) answers to the interviewer’s questions. 4. Professor Jackson has joined the company in an __________ (advice) capacity. 5. The accused stated that the allegations against him were __________ (found). 6. Have you read the latest ________ (reveal) about Madonna’s private life? 7. There was a(n) __________ (precedent) rise in the cost of living this year. 8. The reason for Bruce Lee’s death was sleeping pill __________ (dosage). 9. The firm is surely __________ (staff). We have to take on more workers. 10. “Beautiful” is a __________ (syllable) word. Use the correct forms of the words in the box to fill in the blanks to make a meaningful passage. Most scientists agree that if pollution and other environmental deterrents continue at their present rates, the result will be (11) __________ damage to the ecological cycles and balances in nature upon which all life depends. Scientists warn that fundamental, and perhaps drastic, changes in human (12) __________ will be required to avert an (13) _________ crisis. To safeguard the healthful environment that is essential to life, humans must learn that Earth does not have (14) __________ resources. Earth’s limited resources must be conserved and, where possible, (15) __________ . Furthermore, humans must devise new strategies that mesh environmental progress with economic growth. The future growth of developing nations depends upon the development of (16) __________ conservation methods that protect the environment while also meeting the basic needs of citizens. Many nations have acted to control or reduce environmental problems. For example, Great Britain has (17) _________ succeeded in cleaning up the waters of the Thames and other rivers, and London no longer suffers the heavy smog caused by industrial (18) _________. Japan has some of the world’s (19) __________ standards for the control of water and air pollution. In Canada, the Department of Commerce has developed (20) _________ programs covering environmental contaminants. 4 behave comprehend ecology finite large pollute reverse strict sustain use PART FIVE: CLOZE PASSAGES A/ Choose the word (A, B, C or D) that best fits each blank. Structural employment (1) _____ from an imbalance between the kinds of workers wanted by employers and the kinds of workers looking for jobs. The imbalances may be caused by (2) _____ in skills, location, or personal characteristics. Technological developments, for example, necessitate new skills in many industries, leaving those workers who have (3) _____ skills without a job. A plant in a declining industry may (4) _____ or move to another area, throwing out of (5) _____ those employees who are unable or unwilling to move. Workers with inadequate education or training and young workers with (6) _____ or no experience may be unable to get jobs because employers believe that these employees would not produce enough to be (7) _____ paying the legal minimum wage or the rate agreed (8) _____ with the union. On the other hand, even highly trained workers can be unemployed; this happened in the U.S in the early 1970s, for example, when the large numbers of new (9) _____ with doctoral degrees in physics and mathematics (10) _____ the number of jobs available in those fields. If employers practice illegal job (11) _____ against any group because of sex, race, religion, age, or national origin, a high unemployment rate for these workers could result even when jobs are (12) ______ . Structural unemployment shows up most (13) _____ in some cities, in some occupations or industries, for those with below-average educational (14) _____, and for some other groups in the labour force. In June 1992, for example, when the U.S (15) _____ unemployment rate was 7.8 percent, the rate in the state of New York was 9.2 percent, for teenagers 16 to 19, 23.6 percent, for black workers, 14.9 percent, and for retail workers, 9.2 percent. 1. A. rises B. raises C. increases D. arises 2. A. impropriety B. inadequacy C. ineffectiveness D. inaccuracy 3. A. ancient B. antiquated C. antique D. outdated 4. A. close down B. close up C. close off D. close in 5. A. employment B. work C. job D. profession 6. A. few B. a few C. little D. a little 7. A. worthy B. worth C. praiseworthy D. worthless 8. A. with B. to C. about D. on 9. A. school-leavers B. graduates C. enthusiasts D. drop-outs 10. A. exceeded B. passed C. overcame D. increased 11. A. difference B. bias C. displacement D. discrimination 12. A. plenty B. enough C. crowded D. plentiful 13. A. eminently B. persistently C. evidently D. prominently 14. A. retainments B. accomplishments C. attainments D. requirements 15. A. civic B. civil C. civilian D. civilized B/ Fill in each blank with ONE suitable word to make a meaningful passage. Children use all their senses to help them understand the world. If one of these senses is (1) ________ or weakened, then a child’s development will be seriously affected. The case of Helen Keller, then, is very remarkable as she was missing not one, (2) ____________ two of these vital senses. Helen was born in 1880 in America, a happy, normal (3) _____________. However, when she was a year old, a serious illness made her deaf and blind. She grew up in a dark, silent (4) ___________, unable to communicate. Unsurprisingly, by the time she was seven years old she was a wild, uncontrollable child. Helen’s parents were determined to help her. They (5) ____________ her a teacher, Anne Sullivan. Miss Sullivan communicated with Helen (6) ________________ her sense of touch. Gradually, Helen learnt (7) __________ to communicate through a kind of touching sign language. Later, she even learnt to speak by (8) ______________ her fingers to her 5 teacher’s throat and feeling the (9) ____________ when she spoke. Then she would try to imitate those sounds while touching her (10) ____________ throat. PART SIX: READING COMPREHENSION Read the passages and choose the best answers. Sprinkler-based irrigation systems are claimed to be more efficient than gravity Systems since they use less water to irrigate the same amount of land. In addition, it is said that they can be efficiently utilized both on sandy soil, and on hilly or uneven ground, neither of which is true of gravity systems. 1. How many advantages of sprinkler-based systems are suggested? A. one B. three C. four D. five 2. Which of the following may NOT be inferred from the passage? A. Gravity systems are said to require more water than sprinkler systems. B. The author agrees with the claims made. C. Sprinkler systems may be used on either hilly or uneven terrain. D. Gravity systems cannot be efficiently used on sandy soil. 3. Which of the following is claimed as an advantage for sprinkler-based irrigation systems? A. They are more often utilized. B. They can be used in addition to gravity systems. C. They are less economical with water. D. They are more versatile. Humanity’s primal efforts to systematize the concepts of size,shape, and number are usually regarded as the earliest mathematics. However, the concept of number and the counting process developed so long before the time of recorded history (there is archaeological evidence that counting was employed by humans as far back as 50,000 years ago) that the manner of this development is largely conjectural. Imagining how it probably came about is not difficult. The argument that humans, even in prehistoric times, had some number sense, at least to the extent of recognizing the concepts of more and less when some objects were added to or taken away from a small group, seems fair, for studies have shown that some animals possess such a sense. With the gradual evolution of society, simple counting became imperative. A tribe had to know how many members it had and how many enemies, and a shepherd needed to know if the flock of sheep was decreasing in size. Probably the earliest way of keeping a count was by some simple tally method employing the principle of one-to-one correspondence. In keeping a count of sheep, for example, one finger per sheep could be turned under. Counts could also be maintained by making scratches in the dirt or on a stone, by cutting notches in a piece of wood, or by tying knots in string. Then, perhaps later, an assortment of vocal sounds was developed as a word tally against the number of objects in a small group. And still later, with the refinement of writing, a set of signs was devised to stand for these numbers. Such an imagined development is supported by reports of anthropologists in their studies of present-day societies that are thought to be similar to those of early humans. 4. What does the passage mainly discuss? (A) The efforts of early humans to care for herds of animals (B) The development of writing (C) The beginnings of mathematics (D) Similarities in number sense between humans and animals 5. The word “conjectural” in line 5 is closest in meaning to (A) complex (B) based on guessing (C) believable (D) supported by careful research 6. What is the basic principle of the tally method described in the second paragraph? 6 (A) The count is recorded permanently. (B) Calculations provide the total count. (C) Large quantities are represented by symbols. (D) Each marker represents a single object. 7. The word “employing” in line 12 is closest in meaning to (A) using (B) paying (C) focusing (D) hiring 8. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an early method of counting? (A) Cutting notches (B) Bending fingers (C) piling stones (D) Tying knots 9. The word “maintained” in line 13 is closest in meaning to (A) justified (B) asserted (C) located (D) kept 10. The word “assortment” in line 15 is closest in meaning to (A) instrument (B) variety (C) surplus (D) symbol PART SEVEN: MISTAKE CORRECTION There are 10 mistakes in this passage. Find and correct them. Environmental racism takes international forms as well American corporations often continue to produce dangerous, U.S-banned chemistry and ship them to developed countries. Additionally, the developed world has shipped large amount of toxic waste to developing countries for less-than-safe disposals. For instance, experts estimate that 50 to 80 percent of electronic waste produced in the United States, including computer parts, are shipped to waste sites in developing countries, such as China and India. At a waste site in Giuyu, China, laborers with no protected clothing regularly burn plastics and circuit boards from old computers. They pour acid to electronic parts to extract silver and gold, and they smash cathode-ray tubes from computer monitors to move lead. These activities so pollute the underwater beneath the site and drinking water is trucked in to the area from a town 29 km (18 mi) away. PART EIGHT: SENTENCE TRANSFORMATION Rewrite the sentences in such a way that the mean almost the same as those printed before them. You have to use the word in bold in your sentence, and you mustn’t change the word in any way. 1. He was silly to do such a thing yesterday. (brains)  Doing _____________________________________________________ 2. No doubt, English is an important language to master. (command)  It goes_____________________________________________________ 3. I’m afraid she will sooner or later reveal the secret. (give)  It’s just ____________________________________________________ 4. It seems that she was not in good health yesterday morning. (sort)  She was ___________________________________________________ 5. They confess that it was their entire fault. (blame)  Their ______________________________________________________ 6. Despite their continuous efforts, they made no progress. (got)  Although __________________________________________________ 7. I’d rather my friends were optimistic. (bright)  I am ______________________________________________________ 8. My father and I often have the same opinions on politics. (ground)  When it ____________________________________________________ 7 9. It’s about time you started working hard. (cracking)  I’d sooner __________________________________________________ 10. Your empty promises won’t have any effect on her. (ice)  The empty _________________________________________________ PART NINE: GRAPH INTERPRETATION Describe the following graph. 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Months Foreign Tourists NUMBERS OF TOURISTS VISITING A PARTICULAR COUNTRY PART TEN: WRITING The following comment was printed recently in a local newspaper. Much of what is taught in schools nowadays is a waste of students’ time. Now your teacher has asked you to write a composition on this subject, with reference to your own learning experiences. In about 250 words write your composition. THE END OF THE TEST 8 . Sở Giáo Dục – Đào Tạo Kì Thi Chọn Đội Tuyển HSG Lớp 12 – THPT TP Hồ Chí Minh Năm học: 2005-2006 Khóa ngày: 15/12/2005. ngày: 15/12/2005 Môn: Tiếng Anh Thời gian: 180 phút (không kể thời gian phát đề) ĐỀ CHÍNH THỨC PART ONE: LISTENING Task one Listen to the conversation and