SỞ GD&ĐT BẮC NINH ĐỀ THI OLYMPIC KHU VỰC DHBB

TRƯỜNG THPT CHUYÊN BẮC NINH NĂM HỌC 2016 - 2017

Môn: Tiếng anh – lớp 11
(Đề thi đề xuất)
(Thời gian: 180 phút – không kể thời gian giao đề)

A. LISTENING (50 points)

HƯỚNG DẪN PHẦN THI NGHE HIỂU
 Bài nghe gồm 4 phần, mỗi phần được nghe 2 lần, mỗi lần cách nhau 15 giây, mở đầu và kết thúc
mỗi phần nghe có tín hiệu.
 Mở đầu và kết thúc bài nghe có tín hiệu nhạc. Thí sinh có 3 phút để hoàn chỉnh bài trước tín hiệu
nhạc kết thúc bài nghe.
 Mọi hướng dẫn cho thí sinh (bằng tiếng Anh) đã có trong bài nghe.

Part 1: You will hear a radio discussion about writing a novel. For questions 1-5, choose the answer
(A, B, C or D) which fits best according to what you hear. (10pts) - CAE Practice Test
1. What does Louise say about Ernest Hemingway’s advice to writers?
A. It is useful to a certain extent.
B. It applies only to inexperienced novelists.
C. It wasn’t intended to be taken seriously.
D. It might confuse some inexperienced novelists.
2. Louise says that you need to get feedback when you
A. have not been able to write anything for some time.
B. are having difficulty organizing your ideas.
C. are having contrasting feelings about what you have written.
D. have finished the book but not shown it to anyone.
3. What does Louise regard as useful feedback?
A. a combination of general observations and detailed comments
B. both identification of problems and suggested solutions
C. comments focusing more on style than on content
D. as many points about strengths as weaknesses
4. What does Louise say about the people she gets feedback from?
A. Some of them are more successful than her.
B. She doesn't only discuss writing with them.
C. She also gives them feedback on their work.
D. It isn’t always easy for her to get together with them.
5. One reaction to feedback that Louise mentions is that
A. it is justified but would require too much effort to act on.
B. it focuses on unimportant details rather than key issues.
C. it has been influenced by reading other people’s novels.

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D. it is not suggesting that major changes to the novel are required.
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Part 2: Listen to a lecture about population growth. For questions 1 – 5, decide whether these
statements are TRUE (T) or FALSE (F). (10pts) - ExamEnglish

1. Birth rate is the average number of children born in a year, per thousand people.
2. Fertility rate in UK was first reported to have been so high in 2008.
3. Fertility rate in the UK is higher than it was twenty years ago because a higher proportion of women
are having children.
4. 10% of of women in their mid-forties do not have children nowadays.
5. Fertility rates are low partly because parents do not have time to have children.
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Part 3: You will hear part of a lecture on the subject of jellyfish. For questions 1 - 5, give short
answers to the questions USING NO MORE THAN FOUR WORDS. (10pts) – CPE Cambridge 5
1. Why are jellyfish largely without enemies?
……………………………………………………………………………………
2. What are TWO things determining where jellyfish can go in the sea?
……………………………………………………………………………………
3. Where do both jellyfish and people tend to end up?
……………………………………………………………………………………
4. Through which method can you counteract tentacles of jellyfish on the victim's body?
……………………………………………………………………………………
5. What part of the blue-coloured moon jellyfish's body appears to be glowing in the dark?
……………………………………………………………………………………
Part 4: Listen to a piece of news about the loss of rainforests and complete the summary below.
WRITE NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS OR A NUMBER. (20pts) – Seeker Daily
Since the beginning of 20th century rainforests have been under threat of extinction. One major cause
of deforestation is repurposing the land for 1. ________ such as growing rubber or palm oil on its
property.

The loss of this dense biodiversity can pose several threats to our modern society. It is estimated that
2.________ modern medicines would be lost along with thousands of 3._______ derived from plants
while underprivileged groups are relying on rainforest plants for medicines. According to World
Health Organization, 4.______ take up to 50% of all medicines in China. Another major problem is
climate change. Known as 5. _________, rainforests absorb CO2, clearing it from the atmosphere. A
rise in carbon dioxide levels and a fall in rainforest acreage would contribute to 6. _______ and severe

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droughts. More seriously, 7. __________ over resources such as farming land has led to farmers’
deaths globally.

It is not easy to find a feasible approach to stopping deforestation as many people on Earth survive by
means of natural resource 8. __________. A typical example is palm oil industry which helps to 9.
_______ by creating jobs for millions of farmers. Switching to another production of 10. ________
like sunflower or soybean would even cause more land destruction.

Your answers:
1. 6.
2. 7.
3. 8.
4. 9.
5. 10.

B. LEXICO AND GRAMMAR (30 pts)

Part 1: Choose the best answer to each of the following questions. Write your answers in the
corresponding numbered boxes (10 pts) (WORD PERFECT + OLYMPIC 30-4)
1. ______, we missed our plane.
A. The train is late B. The train was late
C. To be late D. The train being late
2. I really cannot believe that anyone would ______ to such underhand tactics.
A. dabble B. stoop C. reach D. conceive
3. Dominant individuals may use ______ gestures to underline their power.
A. submissive B. expansive C. flirtatious D. nervous
4. Andrew’s ______ was to only tell his mother bad news when she was busy so that she would have
less chance to react.
A. tactics B. intent C. ploy D. threat
5. A sharp frost ______ the beginning of winter.
A. advertised B. predicted C. heralded D. showed
6. The old man led a ______ existence after she left and refused even to see his children.
A. reclusive B. deserted C. remote D. vacant
7. We may win, we may lose – it’s just the luck of the _______.
A. chance B. draw C. odds D. fate
8. They’re having serious problems. Their relationship is on the _______.
A. cliffs B. rocks C. stones D. grass
9. The renewed interest in Elizabethan times is evident in the _______ of new Hollywood films set
during that period.
A. spate B. hypocrisy C. transience D. demise
10. The car was _______ speed.

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 A. gathering B. collecting C. consuming D. firing
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Part 2: The passage below contains 5 mistakes. Underline the mistakes and write the corrections in
the corresponding numbered boxes. (5pts) CPE practice test
Line
1 In the last twenty years, the country has made great technological progress, culminating in
2 our entering the space age earlier this year with the launch of our first telecommunications
3 satellite. From a healthy perspective, there has been a major modern programme in public
4 hospitals. This has involved the purchase of the latest scanning and diagnosis equipment, as
5 well as the refurbishment of major operating theatres with state-of-the-art surgical equipment.
6 As far as the infrastructure of the country is concerned, several major projects are on progress,
7 including the construction of three major motorways, a hydroelectric power station and a new
8 international airport. All of these public works are being carried out using the latest technology.
9 With the increasing use of computer technology, the future of our country looks very bright
10 indeed. It is anticipated that, in the very near future, all government offices will be computered
11 and networked to central mainframe computers in the capital.
12
13
Your Answers:
No Line Mistake Correction
1
2
3
4
5

Part 3: Fill each gap in the following sentences with one of the prepositions or particles. Write your
answers in the corresponding numbered boxes (5pts)
1. George always falls __________ girls with blonde hair.
2. She will come __________ to the idea of buying a bigger house if we explain all the advantages.
3. If you cut __________ the field, you will save time.
4. Jane carried __________ her part in the play without difficulty.
5. A wet cloth helped to bring the unconscious man __________ .
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Part 4: Write the correct form of each bracketed word in the following passage. Write your answers
in the corresponding numbered boxes (10pts)
(Source: https://www.coursehero.com/file/p3rkn2i)
There is little to disagree about in the notion that a good voice, whether in opera or rock music, is one
which moves its audience and brings a sense of release and (1. FULFIL) _____ to the singer. But

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contemporary pop and rock music have come about due to (2. SUBSTANCE) _____ advances in
technology. Here, the impact of the microphone should not be (3. ESTIMATE) _____, as it has enabled
the (4. MAGNIFY) ________ of quiet, intimate sounds. This, in turn, allows the singer to experiment
with the emphasis on mood rather than on strict (5. ADHERE) _____ to proper breathing and voice
control. Donna Soto - Morettin, a rock and jazz vocal trainer, feels that (6. ANATOMY) _____ reasons
may account for the raspy sound produced by certain rock singers. Her (7. SUSPECT) _____ is that
swollen vocal chords, which do not close properly, may allow singers to produce deeper notes. She
does not, however, regard this as detracting (8. NOTICABLE) _____ from the value of the sound
produced. Singing, she maintains, has an almost (9. SEDUCE) _____ quality and so our response to it
has more (10. SIGNIFY) _____ than its technical qualities.

Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
C. READING (60 pts)
Part 1: For questions 1-10. Read the following passage and decide which answer A, B, C or D best
fits each gap. Write your answers in corresponding numbered boxes. (10 pts)
English.Advanced.Vocabulary.and.Structure - Test 7
It only (1)_______ the completion of the reconstruction of the human genetic map for a
whole host of hereditary diseases to be (2)_______ . Originally, it was forecast that the venture would
take until the beginning of the 21st century to be (3) _______. At present, it is clear that the task can be
finished much earlier.
Hundreds of scholars have gone to (4)_______ to help unravel the mystery of the human
genetic structure with an ardent hope for insulating mankind from disorders such as cancer, cystic
fibrosis or arthritis.
The progress in this incredible undertaking is (5) _______ by an accurate interpretation of
the information involved in the chromosomes forming the trillions of the cell in the human body.
Locating and characterizing every single gene may (6) _______ an implausible assignment, but very
considerable (7)_______ has already been made. What we know by now is that the hereditary code is
assembled in DNA, some parts of which may be diseased and conducive to be uncontrollable
transmission of the damaged code from parents to their children.
Whereas work at the completion of the human genome may last for a few years more,
notions like gene therapy or genetic engineering don’t (8)_______ much surprise any longer. Their
potential application has already been (9)_______ in the effective struggle against many viruses or in
the genetic treatment of blood disorders. The hopes are, then, that hundreds of maladies the humanity
is (10)_______ with at present might eventually cease to exist in the not too distant future.
1. A. expects B. anticipates C. requires D. remains
2. A. eradicated B. interfered C. terminated D. disrupted
3. A. dismantled B. discharged C. accomplished D. exterminated
4. A. maximum B. extremes C. supreme D. utmost
5. A. dependent B. reliant C. qualified D. conditioned

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 6. A. perceive B. hear C. voice D. sound
7. A. headline B. headway C. heading D. headship
8. A. evoke B. institute C. discharge D. encourage
9. A. examined B. inquired C. corroborated D. accounted
10. A. aggravated B. plagued C. persecuted D. teased
Your answers
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Part 2: Read the following passage and choose the best answer to each question. Write your
answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided below the passage (10 pts) Adapted from
The Guardian
How can I cope better with stress?
Recent research found that having higher levels of self-esteem, a more positive way of explaining why
things happen, and avoiding perfectionist thinking were strongly 1._________ to bouncing back when
things go wrong.
To begin with, according to Dr Judith Johnson self-esteem was shown to be 2. __________ in two
thirds of the studies in mediating the link between failure and distress. All we need to do is write a list
of our positive qualities and examples of when we have 3. _______them.
Secondly, how we explain things also 4.______. If we can brush off a disappointment by
5.____________ it to external factors, then we have the equivalent of emotional armour.
Finally, if we have perfectionist tendencies, lower them. Perfectionists hold rigid standards that don’t
bend in the stormy 6. _________of life. Johnson says we need to set more realistic 7. ___________.
She also advises self-awareness and noticing when we are stressed. If you feel stuck, do something that
8._________ you up. You need to plan these things into a schedule – doing them will chip away at
your negative 9. ________, even if you do enjoy them a bit less than usual. Other research shows that
the 10. __________ of friends or family also helps emotional resilience, as does being physically
active.
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Part 3: Read the following passage and choose the best answer to each question. Write your
answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided below the passage (12 pts) How to prepare
for TOEFL iBT
Conquest by Patent
Patents are a form of intellectual property rights often touted as a means to give 'incentive and reward'
to inventors. But they're also a cause for massive protests by farmers, numerous lawsuits by
transnational corporations and indigenous peoples, and countless rallies and declarations by members
of civil society.It is impossible to understand why they can have all these effects unless you first
recognize that patents are about the control of technology and the protection of competitive advantage.

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Lessons from history
In the 1760s, the Englishman Richard Arkwright invented the water-powered spinning frame, a
machine destined to bring cotton-spinning out of the home and into the factory. It was an invention
which made Britain a world-class power in the manufacture of cloth. To protect its competitive
advantage and ensure the market for manufactured cloth in British colonies, Parliament enacted a
series of restrictive measures including the prohibition of the export of Arkwright machinery or the
emigration of any workers who had worked in factories using it. From 1774 on, those caught sending
Arkwright machines or workers abroad from England were subject to fines and 12 years in jail.
In 1790, Samuel Slater, who had worked for years in the Arkwright mills, left England for the New
World disguised as a farmer. He thereby enabled the production of commercial-grade cotton cloth in
the New World and put the US firmly on the road to the Industrial Revolution and economic
independence. Slater was highly rewarded for his achievement. He is still deemed the 'father of
American manufacturing'. To the English, however, he was an intellectual property thief.
Interestingly, patent protection was a part of US law at the time of Slater's deed. But that protection
would only extend to US innovations. It is worth remembering that until the 1970s it was understood,
even accepted that countries only enforced those patent protections that served their national interest.
When the young United States pirated the intellectual property of Europe - and Slater wasn't the only
infringer - people in the US saw the theft as a justifiable response to England's refusal to transfer its
technology.
By the early 1970s, the situation had changed. US industry demanded greater protection for its idea-
based products - such as computers and biotechnology - for which it still held the worldwide lead.
Intellectual property rights held the key. And so, together with its like-minded industrial allies, the US
pushed for the inclusion of intellectual property clauses, including standards for patents, in
international trade agreements.
When US business groups explained the 'need' for patents and trademarks in trade agreements, they
alleged $40-60 billion losses due to intellectual property piracy; they blamed the losses on Third
World pirates; they discussed how piracy undermined the incentive to invest; and they claimed that the
quality of pirated products was lower than the real thing and was costing lives.
The opposition pointed out that many of the products made in the industrial world, almost all its food
crops and a high percentage of its medicines had originated in plant and animal germplasm taken from
the developing world. First, knowledge of the material and how to use it was stolen, and later the
material itself was taken. For all this, they said, barely a cent of royalties had been paid. Such
unacknowledged and uncompensated appropriation they named 'biopiracy' and they reasoned that trade
agreement patent rules were likely to facilitate more theft of their genetic materials.Their claim that
materials 'collected' in the developing world were stolen, elicited a counter-claim that these were
'natural' or 'raw' materials and therefore did not qualify for patents. This in turn induced a counter-
explanation that such materials were not 'raw' but rather the result of millennia of study, selection,
protection, conservation, development and refinement by communities of Majority World and
indigenous peoples.
Others pointed out that trade agreements which forced the adoption of unsuitable notions of property
and creativity - not to mention an intolerable commercial relationship to nature - were not only

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insulting but also exceedingly costly. To a developing world whose creations might not qualify for
patents and royalties, there was first of all the cost of unrealized profit. Secondly, there was the cost of
added expense for goods from the industrialized world. For most of the people on the planet, the whole
patenting process would lead to greater and greater indebtness; for them, the trade agreements would
amount to “conquest by patents” – no matter what the purported commercial benefits.
Intellectual property*: an invention or composition that belongs to the person who created it.
1. According to paragraph 1, what is the real reason for patents to exist?
A. protests B. lawsuits C. prizes D. control
2. Which of the sentences below best expresses the information in the highlighted statement in the
passage?
A. Among the laws to protect Britain from competition in the textile industry was a ban on exporting
Arkwright equipment and on emigration of former employees.
B. Former employees of Arkwright could not leave the country because they might provide
information about the company to competing factories.
C. The reason that Britain passed laws to prevent emigration was to keep employees in the textile mills
from leaving their jobs to work in other countries.
D. Parliament passed laws to ensure that the price of textiles was kept in high in spite of competition
from the former British colonies who were exporting cloth.
3. In paragraph 3, how does the author explain the concept of technological transfer?
A. By recounting how Samuel Slater, an American farmer established a successful textile mill in Great
Britain.
B. By describing how Samuel Slater used workers from Britain to develop the textile industry in the
United States.
C. By exposing how Samuel Slater stole ideas and technology from one nation to introduce them in
another.
D. By demonstrating how Samuel Slater used the laws to his advantage in order to transfer technology.
4. The word “innovations” in the passage is closest in meaning to
A. discoveries B. exceptions C. Disputes D. territories
5. How did the perspective of industrialists in the United States change in the 1970s?
A. They favored free exchange of technology.
B. They supported the protection of patents.
C. They refused to sign international trade agreements.
D. They began to collaborate with Third World nations.
6. How did industrialized nations justify using plants and animals from the developing world for food
and medicine products?
A. They claimed that the plant and animal sources were raw materials that could not be patented.
B. They asserted that the original plant and animal materials were found in their own nations.
C. They paid a large royalty for the use of plants and animals that were not original to their countries.
D. They stated that they had manufactured a higher quality of products than the competition.
7. Based on the information in paragraph 7, which of the following best explains the term
“biopiracy”?

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A. A conspiracy by farmers B. The theft of plants and animals
C. Secret trade agreements D. Natural resources in the biosphere
8. The word “facilitate” in the passage is closest in meaning to
A. permit B. assist C. require D. delay
9. The word “notion” in the passage is closest in meaning to
A. customs B. records C. property D. ideas
10. Why does the author call this article “Conquest by Patents”?
A. Because most trade agreements are unfair to developing nations
B. Because patents cost too much money for developing nations
C. Because industrialized countries do not pay their debts to developing nations
D. Because natural resources are a source of power for developing nations
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Part 4: Read the following passage and do the tasks that follow (15 pts)
(IELTS Reading Recent Actual Tests Vol 3)
Wealth in A Cold Climate
Latitude is crucial to a nation's economic strength.
A Dr William Masters was reading a book about mosquitoes when inspiration struck. “There was this
anecdote about the great yellow-fever epidemic that hit Philadelphia in 1793," Masters recalls.
“This epidemic decimated the city until the first frost came." The inclement weather froze out the
insects, allowing Philadelphia to recover.
B If weather could be the key to a city's fortunes. Masters thought, then why not to the historical
fortunes of nations? And could frost lie at the heart of one of the most enduring economic
mysteries of all - why are almost all the wealthy, industrialised nations to be found at latitudes
above 40 degrees? After two years of research, he thinks that he has found a piece of the puzzle.
Masters, an agricultural economist from Purdue University in Indiana, and Margaret McMillan at
Tufts University, Boston, show that annual frosts are among the factors that distinguish rich
nations from poor ones. Their study is published this month in the Journal of Economic Growth.
The pair speculate that cold snaps have two main benefits - they freeze pests that would otherwise
destroy crops, and also freeze organisms, such as mosquitoes, that carry disease. The result is
agricultural abundance and a big workforce.
C The academics took two sets of information. The first was average income for countries, the
second climate data from the University of East Anglia. They found a curious tally between the
sets. Countries having five or more frosty days a month are uniformly rich, those with fewer than
five are impoverished. The authors speculate that the five-day figure is important; it could be the
minimum time needed to kill pests in the soil. Masters says: “For example, Finland is a small
country that is growing quickly, but Bolivia is a small country that isn't growing at all. Perhaps
climate has something to do with that." In fact, limited frosts bring huge benefits to farmers. The
chills kill insects or render them inactive; cold weather slows the break-up of plant and animal

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 material in the soil, allowing it to become richer; and frosts ensure a build-up of moisture in the
ground for spring, reducing dependence on seasonal rains. There are exceptions to the “cold equals
rich" argument. There are well-heeled tropical places such as Hong Kong and Singapore, a result
of their superior trading positions. Likewise, not all European countries are moneyed - in the
former communist colonies, economic potential was crushed by politics.
D Masters stresses that climate will never be the overriding factor - the wealth of nations is too
complicated to be attributable to just one factor. Climate, he feels, somehow combines with other
factors - such as the presence of institutions, including governments, and access to trading routes -
to determine whether a country will do well. Traditionally, Masters says, economists thought that
institutions had the biggest effect on the economy, because they brought order to a country in the
form of, for example, laws and property rights. With order, so the thinking went, came affluence.
“But there are some problems that even countries with institutions have not been able to get
around,” he says. “My feeling is that, as countries get richer, they get better institutions. And the
accumulation of wealth and improvement in governing institutions are both helped by a favourable
environment, including climate.”
E This does not mean, he insists, that tropical countries are beyond economic help and destined to
remain penniless. Instead, richer countries should change the way in which foreign aid is given.
Instead of aid being geared towards improving governance, it should be spent on technology to
improve agriculture and to combat disease. Masters cites one example: “There are regions in India
that have been provided with irrigation - agricultural productivity has gone up and there has been
an improvement in health.” Supplying vaccines against tropical diseases and developing crop
varieties that can grow in the tropics would break the poverty cycle.
F Other minds have applied themselves to the split between poor and rich nations, citing anthro-
pological, climatic and zoological reasons for why temperate nations are the most affluent. In
350BC, Aristotle observed that “those who live in a cold climate ... are full of spirit”. Jared
Diamond, from the University of California at Los Angeles, pointed out in his book Guns, Germs
and Steel that Eurasia is broadly aligned east-west, while Africa and the Americas are aligned
north-south. So, in Europe, crops can spread quickly across latitudes because climates are similar.
One of the first domesticated crops, einkorn wheat, spread quickly from the Middle East into
Europe; it took twice as long for com to spread from Mexico to what is now the eastern United
States. This easy movement along similar latitudes in Eurasia would also have meant a faster
dissemination of other technologies such as the wheel and writing, Diamond speculates. The region
also boasted domesticated livestock, which could provide meat, wool and motive power in the
fields. Blessed with such natural advantages, Eurasia was bound to take off economically.
G John Gallup and Jeffrey Sachs, two US economists, have also pointed out striking correlations
between the geographical location of countries and their wealth. They note that tropical countries
between 23.45 degrees north and south of the equator are nearly all poor. In an article for the
Harvard International Review, they concluded that “development surely seems to favour the
temperate-zone economies, especially those in the northern hemisphere, and those that have
managed to avoid both socialism and the ravages of war”. But Masters cautions against
geographical determinism, the idea that tropical countries are beyond hope: “Human health and

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 agriculture can be made better through scientific and technological research," he says, “so we
shouldn’t be writing off these countries. Take Singapore: without air conditioning, it wouldn’t be
rich.”
Questions 1-6
Choose the most suitable heading for paragraphs A-G from the list of headings below. Write the appropriate
number, i-x, in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.
Example answer List of Headings
Paragraph A: iii i. The positive correlation between climate and wealth
1. Paragraph B ii. Other factors besides climate that influence wealth
2. Paragraph C iii. Inspiration from reading a book
3. Paragraph D iv. Other researchers’ results do not rule out exceptional cases
4. Paragraph E v. Different attributes between Eurasia and Africa
5. Paragraph F vi. Low temperature benefits people and crops
6. Paragraph G vii. The importance of institution in traditional views
viii. The spread of crops in Europe, Asia and other places
ix. The best way to use aid
x. Confusions and exceptions

Questions 7-10
Complete the summary below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each
answer. Write your answers in boxes 7-10 on your answer sheet.
Dr William Masters read a book saying that a(an) 7. _______which struck an American city hundreds
of years ago was terminated by a cold frost. And academics found that there is a connection between
climate and country’s wealth as in the rich but small country of Finland. Yet besides excellent
surroundings and climate, one country still needs to improve their 8. ______to achieve long prosperity.
Thanks to resembling weather conditions across latitude in the continent of 9. ______, crops such as
einkorn wheat is bound to spread faster than from South America to the North. Other researchers also
noted that even though geographical factors are important, tropical country such as 10. ______ still
became rich due to scientific advancement.
Your answers
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Part 5: Read the following passage and do the tasks that follow (10 pts)
– IELTS Reading Recent Actual Tests Vol 4
Stealth Forces in Weight Loss
The field of weight loss is like the ancient fable about the blind men and the elephant. Each man
investigates a different part of the animal and reports back, only to discover their findings are
bafflingly incompatible.

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A The various findings by public-health experts, physicians, psychologists, geneticists, molecular
biologists, and nutritionists are about as similar as an elephant’s tusk is to its tail. Some say obesity
largely predetermined by our genes and biology; others attribute it to an overabundance of fries,
soda, and screen-sucking; still others think we’re fat because of viral infection, insulin, or the
metabolic conditions we encountered in the womb. “Everyone subscribes to their own little theory,
says Rob Berkowitz, medical director of the Center for Weight and Eating Disorders at the
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. We’re programmed to hang onto the fat we have,
and some people are predisposed to create and carry more fat than others. Diet and exercise help,
but in the end the solution will inevitably be more complicated than pushing away the plate and
going for a walk. “It’s not as simple as ‘You’re fat because you’re lazy,”’ says Nikhil Dhurandhar,
an associate professor at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge. “Willpower is
not a prerogative of thin people. It’s distributed equally.”
B Science may still be years away from giving us a miracle formula for fat-loss. Hormone leptin is a
crucial player in the brain’s weight-management circuitry. Some people produce too little leptin;
others become desensitised to it. And when obese people lose weight, their leptin levels plummet
along with their metabolism. The body becomes more efficient at using fuel and conserving fat,
which makes it tough to keep the weight off. Obese dieters’ bodies go into a state of chronic
hunger, a feeling Rudolph Leibel, an obesity researcher at Columbia University, compares to thirst.
“Some people might be able to tolerate chronic thirst, but the majority couldn’t stand it,” says
Leibel. “Is that a behavioural problem - a lack of willpower? I don’t think so.”
C The government has long espoused moderate daily exercise – of the evening-walk or take-the-
stairs variety – but that may not do much to budge the needle on the scale. A 150-pound person
burns only 150 calories on a half-hour walk, the equivalent of two apples. It’s good for the heart,
less so for the gut. “Radical changes are necessary,” says Deirdre Barrett, a psychologist at
Harvard Medical School and author of Waistland, “People don’t lose weight by choosing the small
fries or taking a little walk every other day.” Barrett suggests taking a cue from the members of the
National Weight Control Registry (NWCR), a self-selected group of more than 5,000 successful
weight-losers who have shed an average of 66 pounds and kept it off 5.5 years. Some registry
members lost weight using low-carb diets; some went on low fat; others eliminated refined foods.
Some did it on their own; others relied on counselling. That said, not everyone can lose 66 pounds
and not everyone needs to. The goal should not be getting thin, but getting healthy. It is enough to
whittle your weight down to the low end of your set range, says Jeffrey Friedman, a geneticist at
Rockefeller University. Losing even 10 pounds vastly decreases your risk of diabetes, heart
disease, and high blood pressure. The point is to not give up just because you do not look like a
swimsuit model.
D The negotiation between your genes and the environment begins on day one. Your optimal weight,
writ by genes, appears to get edited early on by conditions even before birth, inside the womb. If a
woman has high blood-sugar levels while she is pregnant, her children are more likely to be
overweight or obese, according to a study of almost 10,000 mother-child pairs. Maternal diabetes
may influence a child’s obesity risk through a process called metabolic imprinting, says Teresa
Hillier, an endocrinologist with Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research and the study’s

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 lead author. The implication is clear: Weight may be established very early on, and obesity largely
passed from mother to child. Numerous studies in both animals and humans have shown that a
mother’s obesity directly increases her child’s risk for weight gain. The best advice for moms-to-
be: Get fit before you get pregnant. You will reduce your risk of complications during pregnancy
and increase your chances of having a normal- weight child.
E It’s the $64,000 question: Which diets work? It got people wondering: Isn’t there a better way to
diet? A study seemed to offer an answer. The paper compared two groups of adults: those who,
after eating, secreted high levels of insulin, a hormone that sweeps blood sugar out of the
bloodstream and promotes its storage as fat, and those who secreted less. Within each group, half
were put on a low-fat diet and half on a low-glycemic-load diet. On average, the low-insulin-
secreting group fared the same on both diets, losing nearly 10 pounds in the first six months - but
they gained about half of it back by the end of the 18-month study. The high-insulin group did not
do as well on the low-fat plan, losing about 4.5 pounds, and gaining back more than half by the
end. But the most successful were the high-insulin-secretors on the low-glycemic-load diet. They
lost nearly 13 pounds and kept it off.
F What if your fat is caused not by diet or genes, but by germs - say, a virus? It sounds like a sci-fi
horror movie, but research suggests some dimension of the obesity epidemic may be attributable to
infection by common viruses, says Dhurandhar. The idea of “infectobesity” came to him 20 years
ago when he was a young doctor treating obesity in Bombay. He discovered that a local avian
virus, SMAM-1, caused chickens to die, sickened with organ damage but also, strangely, with lots
of abdominal fat. In experiments, Dhurandhar found that SMAM-1-infected chickens became
obese on the same diet as uninfected ones, which stayed svelte.
G He later moved to the U.S. and onto a bona fide human virus, adenovirus 36 (AD-36). In the lab,
every species of animal Dhurandhar infected with the virus became obese — chickens got fat, mice
got fat, even rhesus monkeys at the zoo that picked up the virus from the environment suddenly
gained 15 percent of their body weight upon exposure. In his latest studies, Dhurandhar has
isolated a gene that, when blocked from expressing itself, seems to turn off the virus’s fattening
power. Stem cells extracted from fat cells and then exposed to AD-36 reliably blossom into fat
cells - but when stem cells are exposed to an AD-36 virus with the key gene inhibited, the stems
cells don’t differentiate. The gene appears to be necessary and sufficient to trigger AD-36-related
obesity, and the goal is to use the research to create a sort of obesity vaccine.
Questions 1 - 5 |
Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the Correct letter, A-G, in boxes
NB You may use any letter more than once.
1. evaluation on the effect of weight loss on different kinds of diets
2. an example of a research which includes the relatives of the participants
3. an example of a group of people who did not regain weight immediately after
4. long term hunger may appear to be acceptable to some of the participants during the period of losing
weight program
5. a continuous experiment may lead to a practical application besides diet or hereditary resort
Questions 6-10

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Look at the following findings (Questions 6-10) and the list of researchers below. Match each
finding with the correct researcher, A-F. Write the correct letter, A-F, in boxes 32-36 on your
answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
6. A person’s weight is determined by the interaction of his/her DNA and List of Researchers
the environment. A Robert Berkowitz
7. Pregnant mothers who are overweight may risk their fetus in gaining B Rudolph Leibel
weight. C Nikhil Dhurandhar
8. The aim of losing weight should be keeping healthy rather than being D Deirdre Barrett
attractive. E Jeffrey Friedman
9. Small changes in lifestyle will not help in reducing much weight. F Teresa Hillier
10. Researchers can be divided into different groups with their own point
of view about weight loss.
Your answers
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

D. WRITING (60 pts)

Part 1.1: Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using
the word given. DO NOT CHANGE the word given. You must use between THREE and EIGHT
words, including the word given. ( 3 points)
1. The Prime Minister felt it appropriate to make a statement. (FIT)
 The Prime Minister ___________________________________________ a statement.
2. Trudy was quite relieved when she found out the truth. (RELIEF)
 It was something _______________________________________________ when she found the
truth.
3. I promised him that the situation would not be repeated in the future. (WORD)
 I ________________________________________________________ no repetition of the
situation in the future.

Part 1.2: Finish the second sentence in such a way that it means the same as the original one (2
pts).
1. They believe that Oliver failed his exam because he was nervous.
 Oliver’s failure _______________________________________________________
2. The inhabitants were far worse-off twenty years ago than they are now.
=> The inhabitants are nowhere ___________________________________________
Part 2: The graph below shows the number of students who got prizes in the National Exams for
excellent students from 2008 to 2011 in three provinces. Summarise the information by selecting
and reporting the main features and make relevant comparisons where relevant. (20 p)

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Part 3: Essay writing (35 pts)

It is more important for schoolchildren to learn about local history than world history. To
what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Write an essay of about 300 words to express your opinion and support your answer with relevant
examples from your own knowledge or experience.

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Người ra đề:
Nguyễn Thị Nguyệt (0915.417.566)

Phạm Triệu Bằng (0985.397.666)

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