TRƯỜNG THPT CHUYÊN LAM SƠN TỈNH THANH HÓA ĐỀ THI ĐỀ XUẤT KỲ THI CHỌN HỌC SINH GIỎI CÁC TRƯỜNG THPT CHUYÊN KHU VỰC ĐỒNG BẰNG DUYÊN HẢI BẮC BỘ Năm học 2015 – 2016 Thời gian làm bài 180 phút (không kể th[.]
TRƯỜNG THPT CHUYÊN LAM SƠN TỈNH THANH HÓA ĐỀ THI ĐỀ XUẤT KỲ THI CHỌN HỌC SINH GIỎI CÁC TRƯỜNG THPT CHUYÊN KHU VỰC ĐỒNG BẰNG DUYÊN HẢI BẮC BỘ Năm học: 2015 – 2016 Thời gian làm bài: 180 phút (không kể thời gian giao đề) PART I: LISTENING (40 POINTS) You will hear a conversation which takes place in an open market among three people, Bob and Andrea Jones, and Bob’s friend Carl For questions – 5, choose the best answer A, B, or C When Bob spots his colleague, he A is thrilled to see him again B does not want to talk to him How does Bob feel about Irish music? C is unsure about who he is A He hates it What does the stall sell? C He doesn’t mind it B He is indifferent towards it A different kinds of music B Irish folk music How did Carl think of starting the stall? C country music A It was suggested to him What happened to Acres? B He wanted to sell his collection C He had always wanted to try it B It expanded its business C It is under new ownership A It was shut down You will hear part of a scientific television program for young people in which the speaker explains what “meteors” are For questions – 15, complete the sentences with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS “Meteors” is another name for (6) To help explain meteors, planet Earth is compared to a (7) You can think of meteors as a group of (8) In reality, meteors are very small chunks of (9) The circular path the Earth travels around the Sun is called its (10) When Earth comes close to a meteor, the meteor is pulled (11) by gravity A meteor travels very fast – a hundred times faster than (12) Due to the speed it travels through the air, the meteor becomes (13) Because of the heat, the meteor becomes less hard, (14) and then burns We are lucky that most meteors burn up and never (15) You will hear a scene from a radio soap opera called Willowdale Green, in which a couple, Charles Miller and Daphne Jameson, are speaking with the barman Bill Dexter in a village pub For questions 16 – 20, decide whether each statement is true (T) or false (F) 16 The man working at the bar presumes that Charles and Daphne aren’t married 17 Charles knew Andy Draycott very well 18 The previous owner of the farm died 19 Bill says the couple should not have the farm because they are not from Willowdale 20 According to Bill, people have been saying that the farm will be maintained as a farm going forward PART II: GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY: (60 POINTS) I Choose the most suitable word/ phrase to complete each sentence The vegetation on the island was _ A exuberant B chivalrous C overcast We had been looking for the nest for hours before we _ lucky D ingenious A hit B made C struck This evidence should prove _ that he was telling the truth D came A once and for all B now and then C over and above Have you considered applying for a job with the _ service? D from time to time A civil B civic In all _, he’s already left D governmental C national A odds B probability C certainty We failed to lay eyes on a tiger during our expedition, _ film one D possibilities A let alone B not to mention C apart from D but for We don’t have a secretary _, but we have a student who comes in to a bit of filing A as such B the least bit C whatsoever D little more th I would like to welcome you all on this auspicious _, the 25 anniversary of the founding of our company A occasion B moment C meeting D gathering The football team Manchester United paid _ to sign up the Brazilian twins Rafael and Fabio Da Silva when they were only eighteen A their heart in it B an arm and a leg C a good heart D their eyes to eyes 10 Why are you so mad? You _ me you weren’t coming to dinner I waited for you for two hours A should tell B should have told 11 What he told me was a _ of lies C ought to tell D should be told A load B mob C flock 12 When I _ at my suitcase, I could see that somebody _ to open it D pack A look/ try B looked/ tried C looked/ had tried 13 She’s decided to _ her German by attending an evening course D looked/ trying A brush up B patch up C polish off 14 Do you think there will be any chance of your brother _ his job? D dust off A quit B to quit C quitting D for quitting 15 Choose the answer which most closely expresses the meaning of the underlined word in the following sentence: Soot can penetrate closed window A make dirty B stick to C erode 16 I just can’t give you the answer on the _ - I’ll have to think about it for a few days D enter A place B minute 17 Mrs Lan went to _ school to meet her son’s teacher D spot C bet A zero article B a C an D the 18 You may borrow as many books as you like, provided you show them to _ is at the desk A whoever B who 19 Would you be _ to hold the door open? C whom D which A too kind B kind enough 20 I’ll enter the competition if you _ C as kind D so kind C will D shall A would B should II There are 10 mistakes in the passage Find out and correct them Line 10 After inventing dynamite, Swedish-born Alfred Nobel became very rich man Therefore, he foresaw its universally destructive powers too late Nobel preferred not to remember as the inventor of dynamite, so in 1895, just two weeks before his death, he created a fund to be used for rewarding prizes to people who had made worthwhile contributions to mankind Originally there were five awards: literature, physics, chemistry, medicine, and peace Economy was added in 1968, just sixty-seven years after the first award ceremony Nobel’s original legacy of nine millions dollars was invested, and the interest in this sum is used for the awards which vary from 30,000 to 125,000 Every year on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death, the awards (gold medal, illuminated diploma, and money) is presented to the winners Sometimes politics plays an important role in the judges decisions Americans have won numerous science awards, but relatively few literature prizes No awards were presented from 1940 to 1942 at the beginning of World War II Some people have won two prizes, but this is scarce; others have shared their prizes Answer: Line … : …………………………… -> ………………………………………… Line … : …………………………… -> ………………………………………… Line … : …………………………… -> ………………………………………… Line … : …………………………… -> ………………………………………… Line … : …………………………… -> ………………………………………… Line … : …………………………… -> ………………………………………… Line … : …………………………… -> ………………………………………… Line … : …………………………… -> ………………………………………… Line … : …………………………… -> ………………………………………… Line … : …………………………… -> ………………………………………… III Fill in each gap with one suitable preposition to complete the sentences Half the people in the office have gone with a strange illness The rules are clearly stated and admit no confusion In rough weather, the coast guard is constant stand-by to respond quickly to distress signals from boats 4 When she died, she gave all her money to a charity of cats The police are going to check on him very carefully Her enthusiasm makes up her lack of experience We may find we come up quite a lot of opposition from local people The company has to work ways of reducing costs Within a few weeks all this present trouble will have blown 10 It seems to be your boss who is fault in this case IV Give the correct form of the word in brackets to complete the passage INTERNET JOBS Contrary to popular belief, one does not have to be a trained (1 PROGRAM) to work online Of course, there are plenty of jobs (2 AVAIL) for people with hightech computer skills, but the growth of new media has opened up a wide range of Internet career opportunities requiring only a (3 MINIMIZE) level of technical (4 EXPERT) Probably one of the most well-known online job opportunities is the job of webmaster However, it is hard to define one basic job description for this (5 POSE) The (6 QUALIFY) and responsibilities depend on what tasks a (7 PART) organization needs a webmaster to perform To (8 SPECIAL) the job description of a webmaster, one needs to identify the hardware and software the website the webmaster will manage is running on Different type of hardware and software require different skill sets to manage them Another key factor is whether the website will be running internally (at the firm itself) or externally (renting shared space on the company servers) Finally, the responsibilities of a webmaster also depend on whether he or she will be working (9 DEPEND), or whether the firm will provide people to help All of these factors need to be considered before one can create an accurate webmaster job description Webmaster is one type of Internet career requiring (10 DEEP) knowledge of the latest computer applications Answer ………………………………………………… ………………………………………………… ………………………………………………… ………………………………………………… ………………………………………………… ………………………………………………… ………………………………………………… ………………………………………………… ………………………………………………… 10 ………………………………………………… PART III: READING (60 POINTS) I Read the following passage and decide which option A, B, C, or D best fits each space TALKING RUBBISH Lasanda Kurukudasuriya takes a Sri Lanka view of recycling Reduce! Re-use! Recycle! The message hits Canadian consumers through all the media As newcomers from Sri Lanka, we compared the situation here with the one back home We may not be the most environmentally (1) _ citizens in the world but, compared with this, we not have a rubbish problem yet (2) _ many shoppers in Colombo, my partner Shahid and I used to have a can basket we took (3) _ with us to the Sunday market or pola every week No environmentalist could have (4) _ about it You need a good strong basket at the pola There are no supermarket trolleys to (5) _ around Most items – rice, flour, vegetables, fruit, biscuits, eggs – are bought (6) _ or wrapped in newspaper At (7) _ we would carry one plastic bag separately For eggs we took a reusable plastic tray with us When income (8) _ are low, people need to buy in small quantities It is quite normal to ask for a single envelope, two eggs or 100 grams of sugar The (9) _ is that, for the most part, urban consumers in Sri Lanka cannot afford the luxury of waste Most people not buy more from the grocers than they know they will actually consume They re-use whatever they can and are loath to (10) _ bags, jars, tins, or boxes that can be (11) _ to other uses But in recent years Western-style supermarkets have begun to spring up in Colombo They hold out the (12) _ of a clean, efficient, streamlined service to customers A (13) _ of imported goods, dressed up in their layers of attractive, colorful (14) _ beckons from the shelves These are the (15) _ products that demand your attention on the TV advertisements Along with them, Sri Lanka, like so many other developing countries, may have imported a problem that once never existed A qualified A As A along A discussed A bring A free A maximum A rates A point 10 A discard 11 A made 12 A promise 13 A set 14 A packets 15 A very B concerned B Such as B up B complimented B take B in pieces B most B amounts B case B throw B set B advantage B range B packs B just C worried C Like C out C complained C get C bit by bit C highest C sizes C example C empty C given C evidence C store C packaging C similar D experienced D Unlike D aside D contemplated D push D loose D best D levels D question D release D put D sight D band D padding D likely II Fill in each gap with one suitable word to complete the passage A substance produced by disease-transmitting insects may provide the key to fighting the same diseases Mosquitoes and blackflies transmit malaria and river blindness (1) , both of (2) cause a large number of deaths every year However, scientists (3) now discovered, in some of these insects, a (4) called a peptide which kills these viruses and parasites (5) _ carry (6) introduced techniques have allowed researchers to study these minute insects in order to find out more about the peptides Professor John Wells said yesterday that if his team could identify the genes responsible for (7) the peptides, they could introduce into the world genetically altered mosquitoes which were incapable of (8) the disease In the (9) of these exciting developments, it is hoped that science will be able to eradicate some major tropical diseases (10) _ rather than later III Read the passage and choose the best answer to each of the following questions or to complete each sentence Line THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT Canada is a democracy organized as a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government modeled after that of Great Britain The official head of state in Canada is Queen Elizabeth II of Britain, who is also Queen of Canada The governor-general is the queen’s personal representative in Canada and the official head of the Canadian parliament, although with very limited powers The federal parliament in Canada consists of the House of Commons and the Senate The actual head of government is the prime minister, who is responsible for choosing a cabinet The cabinet consists of a group of ministers of varied expertise who serve with the support of the House of Commons They are responsible for most legislation, and have the expenditure of public funds or taxation The system is referred to as responsible 10 15 20 25 government, which means that cabinet members sit in the parliament and directly responsible to it, holding power only as long as a majority of the House of Commons shows confidence by voting with them If a cabinet is defeated in the House of Commons on a motion of censure or a vote of no confidence, the cabinet must either resign, in which case the governor-general will ask the leader of the opposition to form a new cabinet, or a new election may be called The Canadian Senate has 104 members, appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the prime minister Their actual function is advisory, although they may make minor changes in bills and no bill may become a law without being passed by the Senate Senators hold office until age seventy-five unless they are absent from two consecutive sessions of parliament The real power, however, resides in the House of Commons, the members of which are elected directly by the voters The seats are allocated on the basis of population, and there are about 300 constituencies By custom, almost all members of the cabinet must be members of the House of Commons or, if not already members, must win seats within a reasonable time General elections must be held at the end of every five years, but they may be conducted whenever issues require it, and most parliaments are dissolved before the end of the five-year term When a government loses its majority support in a general election, a change of government occurs Although major and minor political parties were not created by law, they are recognized by law in Canada The party that wins the largest number of seats in a general election forms the government, and its leader becomes the prime minister The second largest party becomes the official opposition, and its leader is recognized as the leader of the opposition In this way, the people are assured of an effective alternative government should they become displeased with the one in power What does this passage mainly discuss? A Political parties in Canada C The Canadian system of government When does a change of government occur in Canada? B The Canadian election process D The powers of parliament in Canada A When the governor-general decides to appoint a new government B When the voters not return majority support for the government in a general election C When the prime minister advises the governor-general to appoint a new government D When the House of Commons votes for a new government The word “dissolved” could best be replaced by A approved B evaluated The word “varied” is closest in meaning to C reorganized D dismissed A little The word “it” refers to C good D steady B different A majority B parliament C cabinet D system Where in the passage does the author indicate whose responsibility it is to choose the cabinet in Canada? A Lines - B Lines - C Lines - What does the author mean by the statement in Italic letters? D Lines 17 – 18 A Whereas Canada has a constitutional form of government, Great Britain has a parliament system B Canada and Great Britain both have model systems of government C Great Britain and Canada have very similar systems of government D Canada’s parliament has adopted Great Britain’s constitution What is the role of political parties in Canada? A Until they become powerful, they are not legally recognized B Although they serve unofficial functions, they are not very important C If they win a majority of seats, their leader becomes prime minister D Because they are not elected, they offer the government opposing views The governor-general is described as all of the following EXCEPT A the official head of parliament B the head of government C the queen’s representative in Canada D the official who appoints the Senate 10 It can be inferred from the passage that the voters in Canada A choose the prime minister and the cabinet B not usually vote in general elections C allow their representatives to vote on their behalf D determine when a change of government should occur IV Reading the following passage and the tasks that follow A B C D E SPOKEN CORPUS COMES TO LIFE The compiling of dictionaries has been historically the provenance of studious professorial types – usually bespectacled – who love to pore over weighty tomes and make pronouncements on the finer nuances of meaning They were probably good at crosswords and definitely knew a lot of words, but the image was always rather dry and dusty The latest technology, and simple technology at that, is revolutionizing the content of dictionaries and the way they are put together For the first time, dictionary publishers are incorporating real, spoken English into their data It gives lexicographers (people who write dictionaries) access to a more vibrant, up-to-date vernacular language which has never really been studied before In one project, 150 volunteers each agreed to discreetly tie a Walkman recorder to their waist and leave it running anything up to two weeks Every conversation they had was recorded When the data was collected, the length of tapes was 35 times the depth of the Atlantic Ocean Teams of audio typists transcribed the tapes to produce a computerized database of ten million words This has been the basis – along with an existing written corpus – for the Language Activator dictionary, described by lexicographer Professor Randolph Quirk as “the book the world has been waiting for” It shows advanced foreign learners of English how the language is really used In the dictionary, key words such as “eat” are followed by related phrases such as “wolf down” or “be a picky eater”, allowing the student to choose the appropriate phrase “This kind of research would be impossible without computers,” said Della Summers, a director of dictionaries “It has transformed the way lexicographers work If you look at the word “like”, you may intuitively think that the first and most frequent meaning is the verb, as in “I like swimming” It is not It is the preposition, as in: “She walked like a duck” Just because the word or phrase is used doesn’t mean it ends up in a dictionary The sifting out process is as vital as ever But the database does allow lexicographers to search for a word and find out how frequently it is used – something that could only be guessed at intuitively before Researchers have found that written English works in a very different way to spoken English The phrase “say what you like” literally means “feel free to say anything you want”, but in reality it is used, evidence shows, by someone to prevent the other person voicing disagreement The phrase “it’s a question of” crops up on the database over F G and over again It has nothing to with enquiry, but it’s one of the most frequent English phrases which has never been in a language learner’s dictionary before: it is now The Spoken Corpus computer shows how inventive and humorous people are when they are using language by twisting familiar phrases for effect It also reveals the power of the pauses and noises we use to play for time, convey emotion, doubt and irony For the moment, those benefiting most from the Spoken Corpus are foreign learners “Computers allow lexicographers to search quickly through more examples of real English,” said Professor Geoffrey Leech of Lancaster University “They allow dictionaries to be more accurate and give a feel for how language is being used.” The Spoken Corpus is part of the larger British National Corpus, an initiative carried out by several groups involved in the production of language learning materials: publishers, universities and the British Library Choose the most suitable heading from – 10 for each paragraph from A – G There are three headings which you not need to use List of headings Traditional lexicographical methods New phrases enter dictionary A cooperative research project Accurate word frequency counts 10 Alternative expressions provided Grammar is corrected New method of research Technology learns from dictionaries Non-verbal content The first study of spoken language Answer: Paragraph A …………………………… Paragraph B …………………………… Paragraph C …………………………… Paragraph D …………………………… Paragraph E …………………………… Paragraph F …………………………… Paragraph G …………………………… The diagram below illustrates the information in the passage Complete the diagram by using ONE word for each gap Current, real-life data collected during (i)…………………………… Data from existing written corpus The portrayal of feelings through noises and pauses Spoken Corpus computer LANGUAGE ACTIVATOR Key words and (ii)……………………… Most frequently used meanings of words Differences between written and (iii)……… use PART IV: WRITING (40 POINTS) I Rewrite each of the following sentences, beginning with the phrase or containing the word in brackets given, so that it keeps the same meaning It’s sad, but unemployment is unlikely to go down this year -> Sad ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… People believe that the Chinese invented paper in 105 A.D -> Paper …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… It’s a pity that you wrote that letter -> I’d ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… He decided to repair the thing himself and not to take it back to the shop -> Rather …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… I’m sure it wasn’t Mrs Elton you saw because she’s in Bristol -> It can’t …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… I think this word comes from ancient Greece (DERIVED) -> ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… I don’t think there will be any applicants for this post (LIKELIHOOD) -> ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… I’m very familiar with this neighborhood (HAND) -> ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Very little money was raised by the charity appeal (RESPONSE) -> ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 10 The desk was too crowded for him to put his books down (ROOM) -> ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… II Write a paragraph of about 150 words discussing the following topic: An old saying goes: “Prevention is better than cure” To what extent you agree or disagree with it? Support your answer with relevant explanations and examples -THE END - ... to define one basic job description for this (5 POSE) The (6 QUALIFY) and responsibilities depend on what tasks a (7 PART) organization needs a webmaster to perform To (8 SPECIAL) the job description... …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… I think this word comes from ancient Greece (DERIVED) -> ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… I don’t think there will be any applicants for this post... responsibilities of a webmaster also depend on whether he or she will be working (9 DEPEND), or whether the firm will provide people to help All of these factors need to be considered before one can create