SON TAY SECONDARY SCHOOL TEST FOR GIFTED STUDENTS School year: 20 – 20 Subject: English Time: 90 minutes SECTION A: PHONETICS I Circle the word (A, B, C, or D) whose underlined part is pronounced differently A sushi B curry C custommer D rusty A facilitate B teacher C operate D application A factor A dosage B galaxy B massage C career C carriage D establishment D voyage A architect B parachute C choir D psychology II Choose the word A, B, C or D whose main stress is different from the others A pollution B excitement C usually D remember A encourage B tropical C discover D advancement A atmosphere B Atlantic C athletics D Canadian A tomorrow B continue C popular D informing 10 A population B communicate C ability D continuum SECTION B: VOCABULARY & GRAMMAR III Choose the correct answer from A, B, C or D to complete each of the following sentences 11 It says in the program that the show at 7:30 A starts B has started C will start D started 12 Two students at a bus-stop were kidnapped yesterday A wait B waited C waiting D were waiting 13 anything suspicious arise, please phone me immediately A Should B If C Would D Could 14 Most American people don’t object them by their first names A that I call B that I am called C for calling D to my calling 15 In my opinion, young must be punished, but education is the best cure A crime B criminals C crimes D criminality 16 A cooperative program between two companies building a famous ancient city into a(n) city has proceeded smoothly since it started in September last year A friendly ecology B ecology-friendly C friendly-ecological D ecological-friendly 17 Mr Henry was given a medal in _ of his service to his country A gratitude B knowledge C recognition D response 18 Jane: “It was really kind of you to give me a lift home.” Peter: “ ” A Oh, don’t mention it I was coming past your house anyway B I’m not pleased C Oh, don’t that I was coming past your house anyway D As a matter of fact, you’re pretty nice 19 Choose the best option A, B, C or D to indicate the phrase that is CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined part in the following sentence I knew he was only flattering me because he wanted to borrow some money from me A making me impatient B praising me too much C making me feel worse D elevating me 20 Choose the best option A, B, C or D to indicate the word OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined part in the following sentence I think we ought to give him a free hand and let him carry out the scheme as he thinks best without any interference from us A permit B support C control D forbid 21 You need to be more if you want to become a novelist A imaginary B imagination C imaginative D imaginatively 22 A person who is concerned only his own interests cannot be a true friend A about B in C for D with 23 Patient: “Excuse me! Could you tell me when Dr Smith has office hours?” Nurse: “ .” A Yes, I could B Not really, but there’s a sign on the door I think C By no means D When he’s not busy 24 “ bad weather we are having this summer!”, said the woman A What a B How C How this D What 25 The reporters thought that the football coach would be depressed by his dismissal, but he just _ A ran it down B called it off C laughed it off D turned it down IV (26-35) There are 10 mistakes in the following passage Identify the mistakes and write the corrections in the corresponding numbered boxes (0) has been done as an example Example: Line (0): the a Corrections st Stress is often called the 21 century illness, but it has always ……………… been with us perhaps with different names Those days we often ……………… consider stress is a necessary evil of modern life However, stress is ……………… not negative and without it we will certainly not enjoy some of the ……………… highpoints in life just as the anticipation before a date or the ……………… tension leading up to an important match All these situations ……………… produce stress, but if you can control it and not the other ……………… way round you will feel stimulated, not worn out Like these ……………… situations, which are generally positive but easier to deal with, ……………… sitting in a train that is late, being stuck in a traffic jam, working ……………… 10 to a tight deadline is much harder to manage and control Stress ……………… 11 is now recognized as a medical problem and as a significant ……………… 12 factor in causing coronary heart disease, high blooded pressure ……………… 13 and high cholesterol count The fact is that patients are often willing to ……………… 14 admit to stress problems because they feel they are a form of ……………… 15 society failure and it is important that symptoms should be identified in ……………… 16 17 18 order to avoid unnecessary sufferings So why should we be looking out for as danger signals? Some common signs of stress are increased tiredness, irritability and the inability to solve certain situations V Use the correct form of the word given to fill in each blank ……………… ……………… ……………… 36 He’s a university student majoring in …………………… (climate) 37 The teacher gave us a(n) ………………… lesson on conservation (introduce) 38 To be completely fair, we need a(n) ……………………… person (interest) 39 The inauguration ceremony was given ………………… coverage (world) 40 After working really hard for the examination, he deserved a(n) ……………… holiday (earn) 41 Such important work needs …………………… (exact) 42 The article I read the other day was quite ………………… That’s why I keep it for later reference (inform) 43 ………………… enough, no-one else has applied for the job (Amaze) 44 Please check the ………………… of the language lab on that day (avail) 45 The tendency now is to ……………… our cell phone ring tones (person) VI Put each verb in brackets into an appropriate form 31 By the time the war is over, thousands of innocent people (kill) _ 32 Tom will never forget (send) to a boarding school when he was just years old 33-34 The accident (report) _(cause) by a reckless motorist 35 Many people (invite) to the party couldn’t come because it rained heavily 36 In her report, she mentioned (treat) at a hospital abroad last year 37 Hardly our teacher (enter) the classroom when it started to rain 38 Bi Rain, together with 58 members of the South Korean National Military Symphony Orchestra and 17 traditional musicians, (come) _to Vietnam since yesterday 39 The police are stopping all the cars They (look) _ for the escaped prisoner 40 My uncle would rather that I ( not leave) _ yesterday SECTION C: READING VII Read the passage and choose the best word to fill in each blank applied account to instance alternatively Choosing a career path is hard - you have to consider many things Firstly, you should consider what you like, what is the most important (41)…………………… you, what you are good at and who is there to help you For example, you may care mostly about earning as much money as possible or you may want to experience job satisfaction, or make a difference to society Then, you should take into (42) ………………… education and learning styles You may want to follow an academic route of high school, then colleage or university (43) ………………… , you may opt for vocational training where you learn skills which can be (44)………………… directly to a job Thirdly, you should your own research to explore possible career paths For (45) …………………., career paths in education include teaching, curriculum development, ressearch or administration Finally, speak to people Your parents, your teachers, and even your peers can give you good advice VIII Choose the best word A, B, C or D to fill in spaces in the following passage Reality television is a genre of television programming which, it is claimed, presents unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents (46) _ events, and features ordinary people rather than professional actors It could be described as a form of artificial or "heightened" documentary (47) _ the genre has existed in some form or another since the (48) _ years of television, the current explosion of popularity dates from (49) _ 2000 Reality television (50) _ a wide range of television programming formats, from game or quiz shows which resemble the frantic, often demeaning programmes (51) in Japan in the 1980s and 1990s (a modern example is Gaki no tsukai), to surveillance- or voyeurism-focused productions (52) _ Big Brother Critics say that the (53) _ "reality television" is somewhat of a misnomer and that such shows frequently portray a modified and highly influenced form of reality, (54) _ participants put in exotic locations or abnormal situations, sometimes coached to act in (55) _ ways by off-screen handlers, and with events on screen manipulated through editing and other post-production techniques 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 A factual A Because A early A in A covers A.which produced A such A saying A for A other B actual B If B earliest B during B spreads B produced B such as B words B into B special C real C Despite C earlier C around C stretches C which was produced C as C term C with C own D interesting D Although D more early D with D expands D producing D from D definition D with D certain IX Fill in each gap with ONE suitable word to complete the following paragraph Solar energy is a long lasting source of energy which can be used (56) ………………… anywhere To generate solar energy, we only need solar cells and the sun! Solar cells can easily (57) ……………… installed on house roofs, so no new space is needed and each user can quietly generate their (58) …………… energy Compared to other renewable sources, they also possess many advantages Wind and water power rely on turbines (59) …………… are noisy, expensive and easy to break down Solar cells are totally silent and non-polluting As they have no moving parts, they require little maintenance and have (60) ……………….long lifetime However, solar energy also has some disadvantages We can only generate solar energy during (61) …………… because the system depends on sunlight Besides, solar cells require (62) ……………… area to work effectively The main disadvantage of solar energy is that it (63) ……………… about twice as much as traditional sources such as coal, oil, and gas This is because solar cells are (64)……………… Scientists are hoping that the costs of solar cells will reduce as more and more people see the advantages of this environmentally (65) ………………… source of energy SECTION D: WRITING X 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 81 The heavy rain made it impossible for us to have our picnic Had ……………………………………………………………………………………… 82 People no longer smoke so many cigarettes as they used to The ……………………………………………………………………………………… 83 My decision to get up to dance coincided with the band’s decision to stop playing The moment ………………………………………………………………………… 84 If anyone succeeds in solving the problem, it will probably be him He is the most ……………………………………………………………………… 85 We were all shocked by his reaction His reaction came …………………………………………………………………… XI 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 Do not change the form of the given word 86 I left my last job because I didn’t really agree with my manager’s approach (EYE) I left my last job because I ……………………… with my manager 87 All the witnesses said that the accident was my fault (BLAME) All the witnesses said that ……………………… the accident 88 It was childish of him not to accept my apologies (REFUSED) He …………………………………………………………… of him 89 No one listened to what the politician was saying last night (EARS) What …………………………………………………………… last night 90 She thought it was too difficult for her to come to the class on time (FOUND) She …………………………………………………………… the class on time XII Composition Some people say that facebook has connected people around the world while others argue that facebook has brought more disadvantages than advantages to people, in particular teenagers What is your opinion about using facebook? Write a short paragraph (about 200 words) to express your point of view ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ... hospital abroad last year 37 Hardly our teacher (enter) the classroom when it started to rain 38 Bi Rain, together with 58 members of the South Korean National Military Symphony Orchestra and 17... ……………………… the accident 88 It was childish of him not to accept my apologies (REFUSED) He …………………………………………………………… of him 89 No one listened to what the politician was saying last night (EARS) What... the form of the given word 86 I left my last job because I didn’t really agree with my manager’s approach (EYE) I left my last job because I ……………………… with my manager 87 All the witnesses said