THPT Nguyen Hue 2008-2009
ĐỀ THI HỌC SINH GIỎI
Trường PTTH Nguyễn Huệ - Năm học 2008 – 2009
Thời gian: 180 phút
I. VOCABULARY
A. Choose the best word from A, B, C or D that fits each blank.
1.She has given a firm …………….. not to reveal any of the company's secret information.
A. reassurance B. stipulation C. confirmation D. undertaking
2.They were…………….. in conversation and didn't notice me leaving the room.
A. deep B. thoroughly C. solidly D. far
3.We weren't close friends but she …………….. me well when I left the college.
A. hoped B. aspired C. wished D. bade
4.This evidence should prove .................. that he was telling the truth.
A. once and for all B. now and then C. over and above D. from time to time
5.A new computer has been produced, which will …………….. all previous models.
A. overdo B. supersede C. excel D. overwhelm
6.I was really looking forward to going to the game and I could hardly wait until the …………….. day came.
A. grand B. big C. major D. huge
7.This disagreement is likely to …………….. relations between the two countries.
A. disaffect B. alienate C. sour D. estrange
8.Their flat is…………….. of a place I used to live in.
A. mindful B. reminiscent C. memorable D. retrospective
9.As the evening …………….. on. I became more and more bored.
A. passed B. drew C. stuck D. wore
10. He was .................... of the press because they had written some terrible things about him in the past.
A. alert B. wary C. guarded D. tentative
11. If you wish to take photographs, you'll have to have……………..
A. an application B. a permit C. an allowance D. an admission
12. Come ............... , children! Get your coats on or you'll be late for school.
A. to B. across C. along D. over
13. She tried to prevent the dog........ running into the road.
A. from B. to C. against D. for
14. My main …………….. to the new bypass is that it will spoil the countryside.
A. object B. objection C. objective D. objecting
15. You'd better leave for the airport now…………….. there's a lot of traffic on the way.
A. in fact B. in time C. in order D. in case
16. It was clear from the beginning of the meeting that Jack was …………….. on causing trouble.
A. inclined B. predisposed C. bent D. obsessed
17. All her hard work paid................ …………….. in the end and she's now very successful.
A. up B.out C.back D. off
18. I should like to thank you, ................. my colleagues, for the welcome you have given us.
A. on account of B. on behalf of C. because of D. instead of
19. It's very dry today. Will you help me …………….. the plants?
A. moisten B. wet C. water D. sprinkle
20. It' s no use …………….. a language if you don't try to speak it too.
A. to learn B. learned C. learning D. learn
B. For questions 1-15 use the word given in bracket to form a word that fits in each space.
EXTRACT FROM AN ARTICLE
Silicon Valley Millionaires
Although the Internet is still probably only in embryonic form in
(1) …………….. (compare) to what it will be like in the future, there is no doubt that many Internet businesses have been extremely (2) …………….. (profit). San Francisco has the highest (3) …………….. (concentrate) of self-made Internet millionaires. Some have made their money from clever (4) …………….. (invest) in Internet businesses while others have used their skills to create (5) …………….. (innovate) Internet products. Regardless of how they became (6) …………….. (wealth), one thing these people share is an almost
(7)…………….. (obsess) dedication to their work. Many work at home in luxurious houses and flats. (8) …………….. (fortunate), this influx of very rich young people has pushed property values beyond the means of many others.
EXTRACT FROM AN ENCYCLOPEDIA
How Sociable Are Cats?
The cat is often characterised as a solitary, (9) …………….. (self) animal, walking alone and coming together with other cats only to fight or mate. Wild cats fit this picture (10) …………….. (reason) well, but they are (11) …………….. (able) of changing their ways in more crowded situations.
Living in cities and towns, and in the homes of their human owners cats show a remarkable and (12) …………….. (expect) degree of sociability. Anyone doubting this must remember that, to a pet cat, we ourselves are giant cats. The fact that domestic cats will share a home with a human family is, in
itself (13) …………….. (prove) of their social flexibility. But this picture is (14) …………….. (complete). There are many other ways in which cats demonstrate co-operation, mutual aid and (15) …………….. (tolerate).
C. In most lines in the following text, there is ONE unnecessary word. It is either grammatically incorrect or does not fit in the sense of the text. For each numbered line 1-15 find this word and underline it. Some lines are correct. Indicate these lines with a R at the front of the line. The exercise begins with two examples (0) and (00).
GETTING OLDER TELESCOPES YOUR PERCEPTION OF TIME
0. in… Does your birthday seem to come around faster in every year?
0. 0 R The common experience that time flies as you get older was
1. ….. first noted more than a hundred years ago by the psychologist
2. ….. William James. Now researchers have proved it that age really
3. ….. does affect on your perception of time. They asked people in three
4. ….. age groups to date the twenty major public events such as natural
5. ….. disasters and political changes. The 18-21 age group who thought
6. ….. the events had occurred more recently than they actually had to,
7. ….. while the over-60s dated events too far back. The middle-aged
8. ….. groups were the most accurate. These results are show that our
9. ….. perception of time really it does depend on age, although no one
10.….. knows quite why this should be. One explanation for is that as
11.….. we get older we accumulate of generic memories of events such as
12. ….. Christmas and holidays. Such a regular events may create the
13. ….. impression of time is passing more quickly. Another explanation
14. ….. is that we perceive time in relation to our own age - when you
15. ….. are four, a year is a quarter "of your life, but it's a fortieth for a 40-year-old.
II. GRAMMAR
A.Complete these sentences with the missing prepositions
1. Most musicians spend their lives striving …………….. perfection.
2. They are hardly ever completely satisfied …………….. a performance.
3. Often it is a teacher they had as a. child that has had an enormous influence …………….. their career.
4. Even when the reviews in the newspaper are very positive they tend not to be convinced …………….. them.
5. An orchestra's programme is usually dictated …………….. public tastes and the conductor's preferences.
6. According............... some experts musical ability is actually determined by a gene.
7. Withdrawal............. ..government funding meant the South African National Orchestra had to disband.
8. There had been a gradual reduction.......... ..the number of people attending their concerts.
9. This lead .............. the criticism that the music they played was no
longer relevant to today's South Africans.
10. Non-musicians are often surprised to discover that orchestra members do not always have very much respect …………….. conductors.
B.Put the verbs given in brackets into their appropriate tense or form.
Millions of years ago, trees from now (l) …………….. (vanish) forests produced a sticky substance that slowly (2) …………….. (harden) into sparkling rocks. Often, the (3) …………….. (harden) sap would drip onto an unlucky grasshopper or beetle, (4) …………….. (encase) it in a premature tomb. Today, a piece of amber with such content is worth thousands of dollars. However, .not long ago, miners tossed out these pieces,
believing them (5) ……………..... (flaw) and worthless. The preservation of creatures in amber is (6) …………….. (amaze).Scientists are able to cut the amber and expose the actual structures of a prehistoric creature's muscles, eyes, jaws and nervous systems. Although
amber supplies (7) …………….. (decline) in some areas of the world, it is doubtful that the supplies (8) …………….. (deplete) any time soon. New deposits always (9) …………….. (discover), (10) ……..…….. (guarantee) a rich link to the past.
III. READING
A. Read the passage and answer the questions which follow by choosing the best suggestion.
What is meant by the term economic resources?In general, these are all the natural, man-made, and human resources that go into the production of goods and services. This obviously covers a lot of ground: factories and farms, tools and machines, transportation and communication facilities, all types of natural resources, and labor. Economic resources can be broken down into two general categories: property resources - land and capital - and human resources - labor and entrepreneurial skills.
What do economists mean by land?Much more than the non-economist. Land refers to all natural resources that are usable in the production process: arable land, forests, mineral and oil deposits, and so on. What about capital?Capital goods are all the man-made aids to producing, storing, transporting, and distributing goods and services. Capital goods differ from consumer goods in that the latter satisfy wants directly, while the former do so indirectly by facilitating the production of consumer goods. It should be noted that capitalas defined here does not refer to money. Money, as such, produces nothing.
The term laborrefers to the physical and mental talents of humans used to produce goods or services (with the exception of a certain set of human talents, entrepreneurial skills, which will be considered separately because of their special significance). Thus the services of a factory worker or an office worker, a ballet dancer or an astronaut all fall under the general heading of labor.
1. What is the author's main purpose in writing this passage?
A. To explain the concept of labor.
B.To criticize certain uses of capital.
C.To contrast capital goods and consumer goods.
D.To define economic resources.
2. In the second sentence of paragraph 1, the author uses the expression
"This obviously covers a lot of ground ..." to indicate that
A.the factories and farms discussed in the passage are very large.
B.economic resources will be discussed in great depth.
C.the topic of economic resources is a broad one.
D.land is an important concept in economics.
3. When non-economists use the term "land", its definition
A.is much more general than when economists use it.
B.is much more restrictive than when economists use it.
C.changes from place to place.
D.includes all types of natural resources;
4. Which of the following could be considered a capital good as defined in
the passage?
A. A railroad B. Money C. A coal deposit D. Human skills
5. The skills of the following could be considered examples of labor, as
defined in the passage EXCEPT
A.artists and scientists.
B.workers who produce services, not goods.
C.office workers.
D.entrepreneurs.
B. Read the following article and choose which of the paragraphs below fit into the numbered gaps. There is one extra paragraph which does not fit in any of the gap.
A.In addition to these, the forensic report on the body identified two further
injuries, each of which on its own would probably have been fatal. The
head had been hit hard enough to send splinters of skull deep into the
brain and the man had also received a heavy blow in the centre of his
back, breaking a rib.
B.But for what possible reason might these individuals end up in the bogs
in the first place? The Danish archaeologist P. V. Glob, in a popular book
entitled The Bog Peopleexplored the notion of a bog religion. He noticed
that while bog bodies ranged from several thousands of years old to
almost modern, many seemed to originate from just a few centuries either
side of the birth of Christ.
C.It came to be realised that his clothes actually provide a unique insight
into bronze-age European dress. First, he was wrapped in an
undergarment of coarsely-woven wool with an embroidered hem that
hung to his knees. Then, over this he wore a skin cape, threaded close
around his neck.
D.Today, he still feels deep affection for the man whose remains he saved
then; he often talks of feeling 'protective', as if the deceased were a son,
or a lost brother. It was unclear at first but it soon became obvious to
Turner that he had stumbled on an extremely rare and important find.
E.This, however, is just one strand of a huge debate raging in the
archaeological world and, unfortunately, opportunities to resolve the
issues with new finds and modern analyses are fading rapidly. Peat
cutting exposed the bodies. But now industrial peat quarrying and our
huge appetite for garden peat compost has all but removed the bogs.
F.In order to begin one's investigation into this weird world of bog bodies,
it is important to realise that while skin, hair, nails and internal organs
can be exceptionally well preserved, bones are soft and pliable, and may
not even survive. It is the leathery, tanned skin that keeps things together.
A good bog body is literally a bag of bones and flesh.
G.Many things came of this work. A concentration of certain minerals on
Lindow Man's skin suggested he had been painted green or blue, and
further research indicated that this might have been what Caesar was
referring to in a famous passage about painted Britons. The contents of
his stomach were well-preserved. And it appears that they consisted
largely of a chapati-like bread made from two varieties of wheat and
barley.
It was just a flap of skin hanging out of the peat. It was soft and wrinkled but unmistakably human skin. It had actually come to light when one of the workers employed in cutting the peat (used in domestic gardens) had thrown what looked like a piece of wood on to the ground. As the muck bounced off it, the wood was revealed to be the lower part of a human leg with a foot attached. Rick Turner, the county archaeologist was called and spent the next morning searching in the bog.
What Rick Turner was to unearth following-the discovery of that stray human leg would become known as Lindow Man, alias Pete Marsh, the almost complete remains of someone estimated to have died nearly 2,000 years ago. The find would change Turner's life. His name would be associated permanently with one of the best-known archaeological finds in Britain.
(1) ……………………………………………………………………………………………….
In the end, it was not just Turner but more than 50 scientific specialists who contributed to the British Museum's first substantial report on Lindow Man. And while "Pete Marsh" excited the press and television (more than ten million viewers watched the first of two BBC programmes on the find), he gripped academics too. He was at the centre of the type of multi-disciplinary project that has come to characterise the best of modern archaeology.
(2) ……………………………………………………………………………………………….
Hi-tech scientific analysis of the remnants of this last meal indicated it had been heated briefly to 200-250 degree Celsius - too hot for an oven but achievable on a griddle. He was a healthy, well built man about 5'6" tall, aged 25, with good teeth and fingernails. His short beard and moustache had been trimmed with scissors. He was naked except for a fox fur armband worn just above his right elbow.
And his mode of death was, to say the least, curious. The first thing to be noticed was a hole in the top of his head. And when his chin was gingerly lifted away from his chest, a neat cut in his throat was revealed.
(3) ……………………………………………………………………………………………….
In 1984, Lindow Man was thought to be the first bog body found in Britain. But it was well known that there were many such remains elsewhere in Europe. The new British find, and the large scientific project that grew up around it, inspired archaeologists to take a fresh look at these remarkable discoveries, of which nearly 2,000 have now been catalogued. Who were all these people? How did they get into the bogs, and why are they preserved so well?
(4) ……………………………………………………………………………………………….
It used to be thought that the key to preservation was peat bog water. The natural acidity dissolves the minerals in bones, leaving only the soft tissues. With no oxygen, on the other hand, corrupting bacteria cannot act. Recent research has revealed another and more important factor, the ubiquitous peat-building Sphagnum moss. This plant releases a chemical called sphagnan, which both immobilises bacteria and tans the bodies.
(5)……………………………………………………………………………………………….
He noted as well that the Celts of northern Europe were said to drown deserters, cowards etc. in swamps. To them, human sacrifice was a common punishment. Many of the best preserved bog bodies, it seems, were spring sacrifices of such people to the Mother Goddess.
(6)………………………………………………………………………………………………..
With the loss of unique environments and ecosystems go the loss of the archaeology, and of the bogs as repositories of myth and mystery. Unfortunately, an appreciation of this will increasingly have to depend on books and museums. Unless the government can move rapidly to rein in the exploitation, the bogs themselves will be but part of the myth. Who then are the bog murderers?
IV. USE OF ENGLISH
A. Read the following text and circle which word best fits each blank.
The coolest kids in Europe share a single (1) …………….. they want to get married, have children and live happily ever after. They know it means …………….. (2) their children first and sticking with their spouses even if they (3) ……………..out of love. This news comes from the report of a new study that (4) …………….. out to find the answer to the modern riddle: What will today's (5) …………….. really, really want tomorrow?
Poignantly, one of the clearest answers is that they want to have happy families. Even in the most (6) …………….. countries there was condemnation for divorce, demands that parents should keep their marriage
(7) …………….. , and admiration for stable couples.
It appears that among the middle classes, the quality of our children's lives has suffered from the (8) …………….. on parents in high-stress professions. In the days when the concept of 'quality time' first (9) …………….. , I remember seeing a TV producer on (10) …………….. dial home on her mobile phone to read her son a (11) …………….. story.
This is just not good enough.
Quality time cannot be time(12) …………….. Children need unconditional time in the same (13) …………….. that they need unconditional love. This study found a generation that had given up trying to (14) …………….. its parents' attention but was (15) …………….. to do better by its own children.
1. A. drive B. eagerness C. ambition D. yearning
2.
A.
putting
B.
keeping
C. having
D. wanting
3.
A.
drop
B.
fall
C. slip
D. jump
4.
A.
made
B.
aimed
C. looked
D. set
5.
A.
youth
B.
young
C. juniors
D. juveniles
6.
A.
loose
B.
relaxed
C. generous
D. liberal
7.
A.
oaths
B.
vows
C. pledges
D. promises
8.
A.
pressures
B.
weights
C. burdens
D. loads
9.
A.
proceeded
B.
revealed
C. emerged
D.rose
10.
A.
B.
place
C. situation
D. location
11.
A.
bedtime
B.
goodnight
C. pyjama
D. dream
12.
A.
organised
B.
managed
C. controlled
D. disciplined
13.
A.
system
B.
respect
C. way
D. method
14.
A.
have
B.
make
C.get
D. take
15.
A.
determined
B.
firm
C. persistent
D. stubborn
B.Fill each of the numbered blanks in the passage with one suitable word.
We live surrounded by objects and systems that we (1) …………….. for granted,(2) …………….. which profoundly (3) …………….. the way we behave, think, work, play, and in general lead our (4) …………….. Look, for example, at the place in (5) …………….. you are reading this now, and see how much of (6) …………….. surrounds you is understandable, how much of it you
could (7).............. build yourself or repair if it (8)....... cease to function. When we start the car or (9) …………….. the button in the elevator, or buy food in the supermarket, we (10) …………….. no thought to the complex devices or systems that, (11) …………….. the car move, or the elevator rise, or the food appear on the shelves. (12) …………….. this century we have become increasingly(13) …………….. on the products of technology. They have already changed our lives: at the simplest
(14) , the availability of transport (15) …………….. made us physically less fit than our (16) …………….. Many people are alive only because they have been given immunity to (17) …………….. through drugs. The vast (18) …………….. of the world's population relies (19) …………….. the ability of technology to provide and transport food. We are (20) …………….. to feed or clothe or keep ourselves warm
without technology.
C.For each of the following sentences, write a new sentence as similar as
possible in meaning to the origin sentence, but using the word given in
capital letters. These words must not be altered in any way.
1. What exactly am I supposed to have done wrong?
…………………………………………………………………………………… STAND
2. Good colour sense is instinctive for some peole. …………………………………………………………………………………… COMES
3. Don't ask him about the accident, he's upset already.
…………………………………………………………………………………………. STATE
4. Everyone's saying the government is about to resign.
……………………………………………………………………………………RUMOURED
5. The senior students believe that they are old enough to choose which classes to attend.
………………………………………………………………………………………. REGARD
6. Since the company's methods were exposed in a newspaper, people have lost their good opinion of it.
…………………………………………………………………………………… DISREPUTE
7. What really depresses me is this continual wet weather
……………………………………………………………………………………………GETS
8. We missed the bus because we had overslept.
……………………………………………………………………………….CONSEQUENCE
9. She passed the word around that she was looking for a flat.
……………………………………………………………………………………….. KNOWN
10.They continued to suggest that I was lying.
……………………………………………………………………………………..PERSISTED
D. Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it is as similar as possible in meaning to the sentence printed before it.
1. Julia soon calmed down and explained her problem.
Julia soon pulled ……………………………………………………………………………….
2. He warned them against using the mountain road.
I wouldn't ………………………………………………………………………………………..
3. Edward eventually organsied himself and started work.
Edward eventually got his……………………………………………………………………….
4. I can't imagine myself ever singing in public.
I would ………………………………………………………………………………………….
5. There had been allegations of drug-taking by members of the team.
It …………………………………………………………………………………………………
6.As I listened to the music on repeated occasions, my request for the
composer increased.
The more …………………………………………………………………………………….
7. This device has the capacity to detect protential engine failure.
It …………………………………………………………………………………………….
8. If ever a student dared to ask a question, the professor would sigh wearily.
In the ………………………………………………………………………………………...
9. In spite of her initial reluctance to take the job, she's'got on very well.
Reluctant ……………………………………………………………………………………
10.Why not try hang-gliding - It's really great!
Why not have ………………………………………………………………………………
V. COMPOSITION
Write a composition (at least 200 words) about the following topic:
What are the advantages and disadvantages of private tutoring?
ANSWER KEY
I. Vocabulary:
A./
1. D 2.A 3. C 4. A 5. B 6. B 7. C 8. B 9. D 10. B
11. B 12. C 13. A 14. B 15. D 16. C 17. D 18. B 19. C 20. C
B./
1. comparison 2. profitable 3. concentration
4. investment 5. innovative 6. wealthy
7. obssessive 8. Unfortunately 9. selfish
10. reasonably 11. capable 12. unexpected
13. proof 14. incomplete 15. tolerance
C./
1.R 2. it 3. on 4. the 5. who 6. to 7. R 8. are
9. it 10.for 11. of 12. a 13. is 14. R 15. R
II. Grammar:
A./
1. for2. with 3. on 4. by 5. by 6. to 7. of 8. in 9.to 10.for
B./
1. vanished 2. hardened 3. hardening 4. encasing
5. to be flawed 6. amazing 7. are declining 8. will be depleted
9. are always being discovered 10. guaranteeing
III. Reading:
A./
1.D 2. C 3. B 4. A 5. D
B./
1.D 2. G 3. A 4. F 5. B 6. E
IV. Use of English:
A./
1.C 2. A 3. B 4. D 5. A 6. D 7. B 8. A 9. C 10. D
11. A 12. B 13. C 14. C 15. A
B./
1. take 2. but/ yet 3. affect/ influence 4. lives 5. which
6. what 7. actually 8. should 9. press/ push 10. give
11. make 12. Throughout 13. dependent/ reliant 14. level
15. has 16. ancestors/ forebears/ (grand)parents 17. disease
18. majority 19. on 20. unable
C./
1. What exactly do I stand accused of?
2. Good colour sense comes naturally to some people.
3. Don’t ask him about the accident, he’s in the state already.
4. It is rumoured that the government is about to resign.
5. The senior students regard themselves as (being) old enough to choose which classes to attend.
6. Since the company's methods were exposed in a newspaper, it has fallen into dispute.
7 What really gets me down is this continual wet weather.
8. We missed the bus as a consequence of over-sleeping.
9. She let it be known that she was looking for a flat.
10.They persisted in suggesting that I was lying.
D./
1. Julia soon pulled herself together and and explained her problem.
2. 'I wouldn't use the mountain road if I were you.' he warned.
3. Edward eventually got his act together and started work.
4. I would never sing in public.
5. It had been alleged that members of the team had taken/were taking/took drugs
6. The more I listened to the music, the more my respect for the composer increased.
7. It is possible for this device to detect potential engine failure.
8. In the event of a student daring to ask a question, the professor would sigh wearily.
9. Reluctant though she was to take the job at first, she's got on very well.
10.Why not have a go at hang-gliding - It's reallly great!
V. Composition:
Sample:
A recent investigation shows that about 70 percent of pupils in cities have private tutors. While private tutoring has both advantages and disadvantages. I feel the disadvantages are greater.
Such a popular practice indicates that people are attaching greater importance to education. Many parents, for various reasons, missed the chance of obtaining a good education.
When their children meet with difficulties in study, they are helpless. Private tutoring is the only solution. As private tutoring is usually one-to-one, the teacher knows the weak points as well as strong points of the pupil, and teaching is, in most cases, directly to the point. Private tutoring thus benefits a lot of pupils.
On the other hand, private tutoring has its own disadvantages. For one thing, it takes up so much of the pupil's time that they can hardly find enough time for rest and entertainment, which are essential for their physical and mental health. For another, some tutors, busy "shuttling" from one family to another, tend to neglect their regular teaching duties. What is more, some tutors are eager to help pupils to do well on the test, offering the so-called tips for test-taking rather than help them acquire what .is most needed.
Generally speaking, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Greater emphasis should be laid on classroom teaching and practice, on the improvement of teaching quality and on the tapping of the pupil's potential. Only in this way can a new generation be healthily brought up.
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