READING
In this section of the test, you will read FOUR different passages, each followed by 10 questions about it. For questions 1–40, you are to choose the best answer to each question. Answer all questions following a passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in that passage.
You have 60 minutes to answer all the questions.
Example:
Read the following passage.
FALL WEATHER
One of the first things we look for in fall is the first frost and freeze of the season, killing or sending into dormancy the beautiful vegetation you admired all summer long. For some locations along the Canadian border, and in the higher terrain of the West, the first freeze typically arrives by the middle part of September. Cities in the South may not see the first freeze until November, though a frost is very possible before then. A few cities in the Lower 48, including International Falls, Minnesota and Grand Forks, North Dakota, have recorded a freeze in every month of the year.
When does the first freeze often arrive in the South?
A. Early September
B. Mid September
C. November
D. Before November
You will read in the passage that “Cities in the South may not see the first freeze until November”, so the correct answer is option C. November.
Passage 1: Questions 1–10
Badminton is a racket sport in which two or four players hit an object called a shuttlecock backwards and forwards across a high net. Some people consider it as the oldest racket sport in the world, although the earliest forms of the sport probably didn’t use a racket, and the net is a relatively recent addition.
A shuttlecock is a small, light ball made of a far-outer covering of a tree, with feathers attached to it to help it fly. It is thought that shuttlecocks were first used about 2,500 years ago in China. But at this time, they were kicked rather than being hit with a racket. A racket sport using shuttlecocks was certainly known in ancient Greece around 2,000 years ago, as well as in China and Japan. And a version of the game has been played by children across Asia for centuries. The aim was to keep hitting the shuttlecock backwards and forwards for as long as possible. The modern game which call “badminton” was developed in England, however, and not until the 19th century.
British soldiers learnt to play a game using shuttlecocks while serving in India from the middle of the 18th century onwards. When they came home, they brought the game with them. At this point, it was called Poona which was named after a place in India. From about 1860, it became much more popular in England where a net was first introduced in 1867. Meanwhile, a modern system of scoring for the game also began to develop. Then the game was brought to other countries in Asia and Europe. However, there were lots of disagreements about the rules among the players, and no official organisations to administer the sport.
All this changed in 1887. The name “badminton” was introduced at a famous party at a country house of that name in the year. At the party, a game was played and it was very similar to the one we call badminton today. A set of modern rules was prepared and published in 1893, and the Badminton Association of England (BAE) was formed in 1895 to manage the new sport and organise championships.
The first of these were held in 1899 for men and in 1900 for women. Badminton can be played by both men and women, although slightly different rules and scoring systems apply. The new sport soon became very popular in England. By 1920, there were 300 badminton clubs in the country, and that figure had risen to 500 by 1930. At the same time, the sport was becoming more popular in other countries too, and in 1934 an International Badminton Federation (IBF) was set up. The IBF decided to run international championships in 1939. But due to the Second World War, the first one didn’t take place until 1948, and then only for men. The first international women’s championships were held in 1957.
Question 1. What would be a good title for this passage?- A. The general aim of badminton
- B. The history of badminton
- C. The regulations of badminton
- D. The popularity of badminton
- A. racket
- B. tree
- C. ball
- D. bark
- A. Shuttlecocks were only hit forwards over a net for as long as possible.
- B. The first shuttlecocks were used by being hit rather than kicked.
- C. Shuttlecocks are always made of bark to make them fly easily.
- D. Chinese people played with shuttlecocks around 2,500 years ago.
- A. Until the 19th century
- B. About 2,500 years ago
- C. About 2,000 years ago
- D. Until the 18th century
- A. India
- B. China
- C. Greece
- D. Japan
- A. in India
- B. in Asia
- C. in England
- D. in Europe
- A. govern
- B. develop
- C. establish
- D. promote
- A. The first competitions for women were held a year after the ones for men.
- B. There were no differences in scoring systems for men's and women's badminton.
- C. It was the modern rules that helped badminton become much more popular.
- D. The name "badminton" was not made known to the public until 1985.
- A. Formal party
- B. Company
- C. Organisation
- D. Competition
- A. Modern rules were established and an official badminton association was finally formed during 1890s.
- B. Children of all countries were not allowed to play the racket sport until the 19th century.
- C. The ancient forms of badminton used to be played without using a racket or even a net.
- D. The first international championship for men was not organised until 1948 owing to World War II.
Passage 2: Questions 11–20
What does it take to be a successful banker? Do you need to study finance? Do you need experience working in a bank? Not anymore. Now all you need is $25 and an Internet connection, thanks to an organization called Kiva. Kiva Microfunds, known simply as Kiva, is an organization that connects people, using the Internet, for the purpose of eliminating poverty around the world. This organization believes that lending people money is better than just giving people money. It also believes that connecting lenders and borrowers directly helps to build a global community of people. People seem to be happier lending money when they know exactly who is using it, and what the loans are being used for.
This is the world of microfinance. Microfinance allows people to lend small amounts of money to people in developing parts of the world – people who may not easily be able to get loans from a real bank. Most of the people who borrow money from Kiva and its partners are self-employed, or have small businesses.
Kiva is based in San Francisco, California, and works with many different “field partners”. Field partners are people and organizations around the world who help find local people who want to borrow money to start or grow a business. The field partners post information about these borrowers on the Kiva website, www.kiva.org
, and lenders browse the site and choose the people they want to lend money to. The loans are made by credit card, or by PayPal, an online payment service based in the U.S. PayPal usually receives a fee for taking care of these payments, but it has agreed not to take any fees for handling Kiva payments. This helps Kiva put more of the money lent by its members directly into their loans.
In just five years since it was started in October 2005, Kiva had already lent nearly $170 million to business people around the world. The money for over 232,000 loans during this period came from almost 500,000 people. The average loan size was $381.65, and nearly 82% of borrowers were women. Almost 99% of loans made through Kiva are paid back in full, which is quite successful in the world of finance – big or small.
A lot of the marketing done by Kiva is through its own lenders, using social media. Kiva lenders can connect with each other through the Kiva website. Inside the website, lenders can join or create their own “lending teams”, plan Kiva events to raise money for loans, and use email invitations to other friends, and share their Kiva activities on their favorite social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter. And when lenders’ loans have been paid back by their borrowers, most of them put that money into new loans for new borrowers.
Question 11. According to the passage, which of the following describes Kiva's key to success?- A. The Internet is believed to end poverty around the world successfully.
- B. More people tend to lend money to Kiva than they do to other banks.
- C. Connecting lenders and borrowers directly builds a good lending community.
- D. Its organization includes many successful bankers around the world.
- A. getting out of
- B. getting ahead of
- C. getting on with
- D. getting rid of
- A. Self-employed people
- B. Its partners
- C. Kiva members.
- D. Local people
- A. PayPal is losing a lot of money by not charging Kiva lenders any fee.
- B. PayPal donates a large amount of its fees to Kiva through their websites.
- C. If PayPal charged fees, people would be less likely to lend money to Kiva.
- D. PayPal is showing its support for Kiva by not charging a fee.
- A. are located all over the world
- B. post information about borrowers on Kiva's website
- C. help locate people who want to borrow money
- D. are based in San Francisco, California
- A. paying a small fee to PayPal for handling the loan
- B. posting information about themselves on the Kiva website
- C. reading their information on the Kiva website
- D. speaking with Kiva's field partners around the world
- A. had paid back almost 99% of its loans
- B. had made most of its loans to women borrowers
- C. had made loans of more than 200 million dollars
- D. had made more than 500 thousand loans
- A. demanding
- B. managing
- C. refusing
- D. accepting
- A. sites
- B. borrowers
- C. loans
- D. lenders
- A. To highlight American companies' efforts to reduce poverty
- B. To explain the meaning of the word "microfinance"
- C. To show an example of a successful microfinance company
- D. To report on how much money is needed by developing countries
- A. The fashion and music in the 1960s
- B. The history and music of the Beatles
- C. The trend and importance of 1960s music
- D. The history and role of rock music
- A. Four
- B. Five
- C. Six
- D. Seven
- A. John Lennon and Paul McCartney
- B. Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best
- C. George Harrison and John Lennon
- D. Paul McCartney and George Harrison
- A. They competed with American musicians.
- B. They were active in social movements.
- C. They became popular relatively quickly.
- D. They wrote their music as a group.
- A. In the late 1950s
- B. During the early and mid 1960s
- C. After their break-up in 1970
- D. Throughout their lifetimes
- A. made them the richest musicians all over the world
- B. became more sophisticated than they were at the beginning of their career
- C. declined steadily in quality and political significance
- D. were dedicated to women named Eleanor and Michelle
- A. gained
- B. maintained
- C. transformed
- D. lost
- A. dedication
- B. solitude
- C. prosperity
- D. hatred
- A. political issues
- B. great songs
- C. popular ballads
- D. social problems
- A. became more famous
- B. kept in touch with each other
- C. had the most albums sold
- D. set another social trend
Passage 4: Questions 31–40
The Citadel and the Royal Palace
Throughout the ups and downs of Vietnamese history, Hue has maintained its image as an ancient capital. It has always been considered a “masterpiece of urban architecture” with hundreds of valuable historical and cultural monuments that blend harmoniously into the landscape. This is also the setting for Viet Nam’s largest cultural festival.
[A] Hue’s architecture is abundant and diverse, combining elements of philosophy, spirituality, and aesthetics. [B] The largest and best of the buildings are located in the monument complex constructed by the Nguyen Dynasty. [C] In fact, in 1993 the complex was recognized by UNESCO as an artifact of world cultural heritage.
Hue is additionally its intangible cultural heritage. Hue is also a center for intangible cultural expressions. For example, in 2003, nha nhac – the music of the royal court – was recognized as a masterpiece of intangible human heritage by UNESCO.
The distinctive culture celebrated by the Hue Festival came from a mix of two eminent cultures. The first one was Dong Son culture with the arrival of northern immigrants before the 2nd century. The other was brought by Sa Huynh immigrants after the 13th century. These together became the Viet–Cham culture, which itself assimilated influences from the civilizations of Southeast Asia, China, India, and western countries.
Hue is also unique in its integration of royal and folk cultures. Because Hue was the home of the monarchs, the culture of the royal court heavily influenced the ordinary citizens. However, it has been suggested that, in fact, royal culture was originally derived from Hue traditional folklore. Later on, it was simply formalized and “polished” by the feudal government.
These characteristics, unique to Hue culture, are reflected in all its art forms: literature, music, theatre, aesthetics, festivals, social etiquette, style of living and more. The Hue Festival, established in order to preserve this precious culture, became an event of national scale and international importance. It has spread images of Viet Nam far and wide, as more and more foreign artists and tourists come to watch and participate.
Hue celebrates a festival once every two years. This festival is a true cultural exchange, full of political, diplomatic, and economic meaning. The first Hue Festival was successfully organized by the province of Thua Thien–Hue in 2000 with support from the government, the central ministries, and the French embassy. It enjoyed the participation of more than 1,000 professional and amateur performers from Viet Nam and France. This also attracted over 410,000 participants, including 6,000 foreign visitors.
Hue Festival 2014 was built on the theme “Cultural Heritage with Integration and Development”. This festival not only features classical performances presenting Hue royal court music and Hue folk songs. In addition, exceptional traditional and contemporary art performances were staged every night at venues inside the Citadel and An Dinh Palace of Hue, and outdoor stages in the vicinity of the ancient city.
Question 31. Which of the following best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in paragraph 1?- A. Hue has been extremely successful in its preservation of numerous monuments of immense historical and cultural value as well as its natural landscape.
- B. Many valuable historical and cultural monuments in Hue have been renovated to successfully combine with its natural scenery and modern urban architecture.
- C. Hue is an impressive example of urban architecture, with many monuments of great historical and cultural value in absolute harmony with its landscape.
- D. Hue's landscape and plenty of its valuable historical and cultural monuments have been well preserved as part of an architecture and urban conservation project.
- A. [A]
- B. [B]
- C. [C]
- D. [D]
- A. priceless
- B. invisible
- C. incomprehensible
- D. non-physical
- A. immigrants
- B. civilizations
- C. influences
- D. cultures
- A. Throughout the course of history, it has maintained its image as both an ancient and a modern city.
- B. Its ample and diverse architecture is such a great combination of various artistic and spiritual elements.
- C. Its unique royal and folk cultures are well integrated and clearly reflected in all of its art forms.
- D. It is the venue for Viet Nam's largest cultural festival which takes place once every two years.
- A. The government
- B. The first Hue Festival
- C. The province of Thua Thien-Hue
- D. The French embassy
- A. It helps to preserve a distinctive culture that is unique to the central area of Viet Nam.
- B. It is a cultural event having great significance for the country's politics, diplomacy, and economy.
- C. It has continued to promote Hue as an amazing destination for foreign cultural tourists.
- D. It has stunning art performances that have been recognized as classic works by UNESCO.
- A. industrial area
- B. surrounding area
- C. residential area
- D. financial area
- A. critical
- B. informative
- C. humorous
- D. disapproving
- A. Hue Festival, Origin and Development
- B. Hue Festival, A Cultural Beauty to Preserve
- C. Hue, An Ideal City for Tourists
- D. Hue, Vietnam's Architectural and Cultural Jewel
WRITING
In this section of the test, there are TWO writing tasks, with specific directions for each part. You have 60 minutes to finish the two tasks.
Task 1.
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
You received an email from your cousin, Jane. She asked you for some information about your mother’s birthday party. Read her email below.
Hi,
I’m writing about our grandma’s 65th birthday this Saturday. Let’s have a party to celebrate the day. Where do you think we should hold the party, at home or at a restaurant near grandma’s house? Will we invite her old friends as well as relatives? (Last year’s party was much fun!) Grandma loves cooking and listening to music. Have you come up with any special gifts for her? I’m so excited about the party. Write me soon and let me know your ideas.
Love,
Jane
Write an email to reply to Jane and
say where you want to hold the party,
say whether you want to invite your grandma’s friends,
and suggest a special gift for her birthday.
You should write at least 120 words.
DO NOT include your name or address. Your response will be evaluated in terms of Task Fulfillment, Organization, Vocabulary, and Grammar.
Đáp án: (41)
Task 2.
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Read the following topic.
Some Vietnamese parents require their children to take private lessons after school because they want the children to improve their overall performance in school. Other people believe children should have more free time for fun and relaxation.
Write an essay to express your point of view.
Đáp án: (42)
