B1_READING TEST

Time permitted: 45 minutes

Number of questions: 30

Directions: In this section, you will read THREE different passages. Each one is followed by
10 questions about it. For questions 1-30, you are to choose the best answer A, B, C or D to
each question. Then on your answer sheet, find the number of the question and fill in the space
that corresponds to the letter of the answer you have chosen. Answer all questions following a
passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in that passage.

PASSAGE 1
The hugs that keep on giving

Every weekend over the past 10 months, Nguyen Bao Ngoc has been walking around the
Sword Lake in Hanoi, dressed up as Doraemon, a popular Japanese comic book character that
is half cat half robot. Stretching his arms out, he tries to hug as many strangers as
possible. Some stop to hug him back before putting money into one of the boxes that his
friends are holding. Some Others walk faster and avoid eye contact with him. Ngoc, 23, says
he started the “Hug Me” (Om toidi) campaign in February, inspired by the Free Hugs social
movement in. Australia. The difference is his hugs are not free, because he wants to raise
money to help children in poor and remote areas around the country. [A]
The senior college student who is studying to become a TV reporter has been doing charity
work for three years. In one of his most successful attempts, he worked as a xe om motorbike
taxi driver in his free time and donated all the money he could earn to poor families in his
hometown in Quang Binh Province. But “Hug Me,” Ngoc says, is his favorite because with it,
he can get the attention of his peers. “Young people my age have been more into social media
than real life. We may cry over a sad story on Facebook but when we witness the same story in
real life, we can be indifferent”. [B]
As hugging in public is not very common in Vietnam, Ngoc said he puts on a costume so that
strangers will not feel uncomfortable. Doraemon the cat is in fact famous for its friendliness
and kindness. Sometimes, for a change, he also dresses as a bee or a puppy. [C]
Many students who gave him a hug donated more than VND5,000, which is what he hopes to
receive, allowing the campaign to earn between $50 and $200 each week. Some also brought
old clothes and books. Ngoc has organized two trips to bring gifts and food to children in
Quang Binh and the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai this year. The third has been
planned for December.
Ngoc has been diagnosed with first stage bone marrow cancer but he says his condition is”
stable.” He says he does not want to be defined by his illness. Having cancer is not the
motivation for him to help others. “I’d do it anyway. I want people to see me as a student
doing charity work, not a cancer patient doing charity work.” [D]
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1. Why does Ngoc start the “Hug Me” campaign?
A. to initiate a social movement in Australia
B. to offer free hugs
C. to raise money for charity
D. to pay for his tuition fee at college
2. The word “some” refers to _____
A. friends B. children C. strangers D. boxes
3. The word “senior” is closest in meaning to _____
A. last-year B. superior C. advanced D. leading
4. The word “indifferent” is closest in meaning to _____
A. uncaring B. concerned C. dissimilar D. responsive
5. What character might probably not represent a costume that Ngoc dresses in?
A. a cat B. a bee C. a puppy D. a panda
6. How much is the “Hug Me” campaign expected to earn a month?
A. VND5,000 B. $50 and $200 C. $200 and $800 D. free
7. The word “third” refers to _____
A. province B. campaign C. trip D. month
8. In which space (marked A, B, c and D in the passage) will the following sentence fit?
“I want to live and love in the real world, not the virtual world,”He added.
A. [A]
B. [B]
C. [C]
D. [D]
9. What does Ngoc mean when he said “Z want people to see me as a student doing
charity work, not a cancer patient doing charity work”
A. having cancer motivates him to do charity work
B. he does not like being remembered by his illness
C. any student with such illness can do more to help other people
D. he is a student who helps cancer people
10. In which paragraph does the author mention the bad health condition of Nguyen Bao
Ngoc?
A. paragraph 1
B. paragraph 2
C. paragraph 4
D. paragraph 5

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PASSAGE 2 - Questions 11-20
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is the main political and economic organization
for that area. The leaders summit is the last meeting before the launch of the ASEAN’ Economic
Community, or AEC, on December 31.
The AEC will be equivalent to the world’s seventh largest economy. It was set up to create a highly
competitive single market and production area. Organizers hope it will ease the movement of capital,
goods, investment, services and skilled labor across ASEAN countries. The goal is to make the whole
area more competitive and economically successful. But some business leaders have low expectations
for the ASEAN summit. Anthony Nelson is a director at the US – ASEAN Business Council in
Washington. He believes that security will be an important issue at the meetings, especially after the
terrorist attacks in Paris last week. “The November summit includes the East Asia Summit, which
primarily focuses on political and security issues. So that’s going to be a big part of what is actually
going on around the summit. A lot of the work that business gets really involved in tends to happen
around the ASEAN economic ministers’ meeting in August.” But the AEC may have only limited
influence on business activity when it comes into being next year. Experts expect little to change at
first because there is still much to be done.
“The ASEAN single window, which is a customs project, is still very much a work in progress. But
beginning next year they will start limited trials with five of the 10 ASEAN countries. And there have
been past mutual recognition agreements for credentials of skilled professionals. But there’s still a lot
of work to be done in terms of actually implementing those agreements.” Some critics say the AEC
will mainly help businesses, not the majority of people in Southeast Asia. Earlier this year, the
ASEAN Civil Society Conference and ASEAN Peoples’ Forum expressed concern about regional
economic integration. In a statement, the group said such a move would mean unequal and
unsustainable economic growth. This, it said, would result “in worsening poverty and inequalities of
wealth.” Jerald Joseph is co – chairman of the ASEAN People’s Forum. He says people crossing
borders to find employment need more protections. He said: “Cross — border migrant workers don’t
have the same level of protection or interest in the whole negotiation. So that’s a little bit of a pity, a
wasted chance, if it’s not reflected in the coming document.” The 27th ASEAN Summit includes the
organization’s partners. Nations including China, India, Japan and the United States are to attend.

11. ASEAN is the main political and economic organization in _____

A. East Asia
B. Southeast Asia
C. West Asia
D. North Asia
12. What does the word “It” refer to _____
A. ASEAN
B. Organizer
C. AEC
D. Business Council
13. According to Anthony Nelson, what is the important issue at the meetings?
A. Security
B. Climate change
C. Business
D. Economy
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14. According to the passage, what aspect tends to happen around the ASEAN economic
ministers?
A. Security
B. Climate change
C. Business
D. Economy
15. According to the passage, how many countries in the ASEAN will start limited trials?
A. 3
B. 5
C. 7
D. 10
16. The word “credentials” can be replaced by _____
A. letters
B. salutations
C. invitations
D. certificates
17. The word “implementing” is closest in meaning to _____
A. carrying out
B. producing
C. concentrating
D. focusing
18. The word “integration” can be replaced by _____
A. utilization
B. contribution
C. combination
D. separation
19. According to the passage, what would delay the increase of the economy?
A. the recession
B. the poverty
C. the move
D. the employment
20. According to the passage, who requires more assurance?
A. travellers
B. immigrants
c. residents
D. tourists

PASSAGE 3 - Questions 21 - 30
New surveys suggest that the technological tools we use to make our lives easier are killing our
leisure time. We are working longer hours, taking fewer and shorter vacations (and when we
do go away, we take our cell phones, PDAs, and laptops along). And, we are more stressed
than ever as increased use of e-mail, voice mail, cell phones, and the Internet is destroying any
idea of privacy and leisure.

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Since the Industrial Revolution, people have assumed that new labor-saving devices would
free them from the burdens of the workplace and give them more time to grow intellectually,
creatively, and socially - exploring the arts, keeping up with current events, spending more
time with friends and family, and even just ‘goofing off’.
But here we are at the start of the 21 st century, enjoying one of the greatest technological boom
times in human history, and nothing could be further from the truth. The very tools that were
supposed to liberate us have bound us to our work and study in ways that were inconceivable
just a few years ago. It would seem that technology almost never does what we expect.
In ‘the old days’, the lines between work and leisure time were markedly clearer. People left
their offices at a predictable time, were often completely disconnected from and out of touch
with their jobs as they traveled to and from work, and were off-duty once they were home.
That is no longer true. In today's highly competitive job market, employers demand increased
productivity, expecting workers to put in longer hours and to keep in touch almost constantly
via fax, cell phones, e-mail, or other communications devices. As a result, employees feel the
need to check in on what is going on at the office, even on days off. They feel pressured to
work after hours just to catch up on everything they have to do. Workers work harder and
longer, change their work tasks more frequently, and have more and more reasons to worry
about job security.
Bosses, colleagues, family members, lovers, and friends expect instant responses to voice mail
and e-mail messages. Even college students have become bound to their desks by an
environment in which faculty, friends, and other members of the college community
increasingly do their work online. Studies of time spent on instant messaging services would
probably show staggering use.
This is not what technology was supposed to be doing for us. New technologies, from genetic
research to the Internet, offer all sorts of benefits and opportunities. But, when new tools make
life more difficult and stressful rather than easier and more meaningful - and we are, as a
society, barely conscious of it – then something has gone seriously awry, both with our
expectations for technology and our understanding of how it should benefit us.

21. According to the first three paragraphs, technological tools that were designed to
make our lives easier _____.
A. have brought us complete happiness
B. have not interfered with our privacy
C. have fully met our expectations
D. have turned out to do us more harm than good
22. Which of the following is NOT true about technological tools, according to new
surveys?
A. They are being increasingly used.
B. They bring more leisure to our life.

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 C. They are used even during vacations.
D. They make our life more stressful.
23. Which of the following is true, according to the passage?
A. People have more opportunities to get access to technological applications.
B. Students used to have to study more about technological advances.
C. People now enjoy greater freedom thanks to the technological boom.
D. Employees were supposed to make technology do what they expected.
24. The word “inconceivable” in the passage is closest in meaning to “_____”.
A. unimaginable
B. foreseeable
C. unforgettable
D. predictable
25. With the phrase “at a predictable time”, the author implies that _____.
A. people wanted to be completely disconnected from their work
B. people had to predict the time they were allowed to leave offices
C. people used to have more time and privacy after work
D. people were unable to foresee their working hours
26. It can be inferred from the fourth paragraph that _____.
A. employees have more freedom to decide what time they start and finish work
B. employers are more demanding and have efficient means to monitor employees
C. it is compulsory that employees go to the office, even on days off
D. life is more relaxing with cell phones and other technological devices
27. The word “They” in the fourth paragraph refers to _____.
A. employers
B. workers
C. employees
D. tasks
28. Which of the following could be the main idea of the fifth paragraph?
A. The coming of new technological advances has spoiled family and social relationships.
B. New technological advances have added more stress to daily life.
C. New technological applications are wise entertainment choices of our modern time.
D. New technological advances have reduced work performance.
29. This passage has probably been taken from _____.
A. a fashion magazine
B. a science review
C. a political journal
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 D. an advertisement
30. Which of the following could best serve as the title of the passage?
A. Research on the Roles of Computers
B. Changes at the Workplace
C. Benefits of Technology
D. Expectations and Plain Reality

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