D. Except for Tom, all the students attended the meeting
II. Read the passage carefully and choose the correct answer
Reading 1
The deserts of the world are not all covered with sand. Many of them have surfaces of rock or clay or small stones. They are not flat, either; they often have high hills and deep valleys. There is some plant life in many parts of the desert. There is little rain in the desert, but it does fall often enough for most plants.
The deserts of the world are not uninhabited. People also live outside oases, but these people are not farmers. They have camels, donkeys, sheep, etc. These animals can live on the desert plants and do not need much water.
The people of the desert have to move constantly from place to place, they must always look for grass or desert plants for their animals. They usually live in tents. When there is no more food for their animals, they fold up their tents, put them on their camels and donkeys, and move to another place. In good years, when there is enough food for their animals, they trade their skins and camel hairs with the people of oases for wheat and fruit. But in bad years, when there is not enough food for their animals, the people of the desert would attack the oases people. But they are also hospitable. No man in the desert would ever refuse to give a stranger food and water.
1. According to the passage, deserts are mostly made up of …….
A. clay B. sand C. rock D. small stones
2. Which of the following is true?
A. There is no plant and animal life in deserts.
B. There are no people living in deserts.
C. There is some rain in the desert but far from enough.
D. People only live in places where there is water and plants and trees grow.
3. People of the desert have to move from place to place to …….
A. look for food for their animals B. trade their skins, their camel hairs C. raise their camels and donkeys
D. communicate with the people of oases
4. The word ’hospitable” has the meaning of being ……
A. brave B. cruel C. strange D. kind.
5. It can be concluded from the passage that life …….
A. is hard in deserts B. is happy in deserts
C. is impossible in deserts D. in deserts is much better now.
Reading 2
THE WILD LIFE
Wild animals (and wild plants) and the wild places where they live are seriously threatened almost everywhere. One species has become extinct in each year of this century. But many hundreds are now in danger.
Lack of attention would lead to the rapid advance of the process of extinction.
Already many kinds of wild animals has been so reduced in number that their role in the ecosystem is forgotten.
Animals like the great apes, the whales, seals etc. thought to be in danger of extinction.
But even more important, perhaps than individual kinds of animals and plants, whole habitats are in danger of vanishing: marshes are being drained, and the world forests, especially tropical forests are being cut down to satisfy man’s needs of timber and paper.
What would our world be like if all the wild animals and wild plants vanished? - Would our life still exist then?
1. What would happen to the human beings if the wild life vanished?
A. Many species would quickly become extinct.
B. The human life would be seriously threatened.
C. Species would go on dying out.
D. Tropical forests would be cut down.
2. What is more important than individual kinds of animals and plants?
A. the vanishing of whole habitats. B. the extinction of many species.
C. the rapid advance of the process of extinction. D. man’s need of timber and paper.
3. What does the writer caution us against?
A. cutting down the tropical forests. B. hunting wild animals.
C. draining marshes. D. destroying our environment.
4. What would happen if we cut down forests?
Cutting down forests would cause ……
A. the changes of temperature. B. the flood
C. both A and B are correct. D. no problem
5. “To threaten” in the passage means ……
A. to pollute B. to give fear to
C. to vanish D. to poison
Reading 3
It is often said that books are always a good friends and reading in an active mental process. Unlike TV, books make you use your brain. By reading, you think more and become smarter. Reading improves concentration and focus. Reading books takes brain power. It requires you to focus on what you are reading for long periods. Unlike magazines, Internet posts or emails that might contain small pieces of information. Books tell the whole story. Since you must concentrate in order to read, you will get better at concentration. Many studies show if you do not use your memory, you lose it. Reading helped you stretch your memory muscles.
Reading requires remembering details, facts and figures and in literature, plot lines, themes and characters.
Reading is good way to improve your vocabulary. Do you remember that when you were at elementary school you learned how to infer the meaning of one word by reading the context of the other words in the sentence? While reading books, especially challenging ones, you will find yourself exposed to many new words.
Reading is a fundamental skill builder. Every good course has a matching book to go with it. Why?
Because books help clarify difficult subjects. Books provide books, you become better informed and more of an expert on the topics you read about. This expertise translates into higher self-esteem. Since you are so well-read, people look to you for answers. Your feelings about yourself can only get better.
Books give you knowledge of other cultures and places. The more information you have got, the richer your knowledge is. Books can expand your horizons by letting you see what other cities and countries have to offer before you visit them.
1. Books have great influence on …….
A. TV B. friendship C. brain D. muscle
2. When you are reading a book, …….
A. you have to read small pieces of information B. you use your brain in concentrate and focus C. you have to read during a very long time D. you lose your memory
3. A challenging book …….
A. helps you to improve your vocabulary B. is only for primary pupils C. can translate all new words D. contains a lot of difficult vocabulary 4. Books …….
A. are compulsory in every course B. are not needed in most of course C. contain less information than class discussion D. make a stick patient feel better 5. Books cannot give you …….
A. knowledge B. information C. self-esteem D. muscle
Reading 4
Aquatic sports — sports involving playing in or upon the water — take various forms. The main activities include swimming, synchronized swimming, diving and water polo. Swimming is the act of moving through the water by using the arms, legs, and body in motion. It is an integral part of almost all water-based activities. In synchronized swimming, the players perform beautiful maneuvers to music and diving. Water polo, on the other hand, is a game where two opposing teams play against each other, attempting to throw a
buoyant ball into the opponent’s goal.
Underwater activities are less varied, the most popular of which are snorkeling and scuba diving.
Snorkeling involves swimming face down just below the water surface while breathing through a slender plastic tube called a snorkel, meanwhile scuba divers carry a big tank of air that allows them to breathe while deep underwater.
Aquatic sports have long been acknowledged as excellent ways to take physical exercise. Furthermore, practicing them is known to produce both psychological and physical benefits which help to improve mood states and reduce the risk of many serious diseases. This explains why aquatic sports have become very popular forms of exercise among people of all ages.
1. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Two kinds of aquatic sports B. The popularity of aquatic sports C .Aquatic sports — kinds and benefits D. Swimming and breathing
2. According to the passage, almost all kinds of aquatic sports involve …….
A. scoring B. using equipment C. music D. swimming 3. According to the passage, which sport includes playing against an opponent team?
A. snorkeling B. synchronized swimming C. scuba diving D. water polo 4. The word acknowle dged in line 12 is nearest in meaning to …….
A. accepted B. known C. described D. explained 5.What can we infer from the passage about aquatic sports?
A. Younger people can play aquatic sports better than older people.
B. Playing aquatic sports costs a lot of money.
C. Underwater activities are less dangerous than swimming.
D. Aquatic sports give people many health benefits.
Reading 5
A desert is a hostile, potentially deadly environment for unprepared humans. In hot deserts, high temperatures cause rapid loss of water due to sweating, and the absence of water sources with to replenish it can dehydration and death within a few days. In addition, unprotected humans are also at risk from heatstroke.
Humans may also have to adapt to sandstorms in some deserts, not just in their adverse effects on respiratory systems and eyes, but also in their potentially harmful effects on equipment such as filters, vehicles and communication equipment. Sandstorms can last for hours, sometimes even days.
Despite this, some cultures have made not deserts their home for thousands of years, including the Bedouin.
Tuareg tribe and Peublo people. Modern technology, including advanced irrigation systems, desalinization and air conditioning, has made deserts much more hospitable. In the United States and Israel for example, desert farming has found extensive use.
In cold desert, hypothermia and frostbite are the chief hazards, as well as dehydration in the absence of a source of heat of melt ice for drinking. Falling through pack-ice or surface ice layers into freezing water is a particular danger requiring emergency action to prevent rapid hypothermia. Starvation is also a tain body heat and to move. As with hot desert, some people such as the Inuit have adapted to the harsh conditions of cold deserts.
1. The text is about …….
A. troubles that human being have to face in a desert B. desert storms and desert inhabitants
C. hot deserts and cold deserts in the United States D. desert hospitality and environment
2. Which is not a problem for an unprepared man in hot desert?
A. sandstorm B. loss of water C. irrigation D. heatstroke
3. Sandstorms …….
A. do no harm to machinery B. have effects only on the eyes
C never lasts more than one hour D. have bad effects on human beings and machinery 4. Which sentences is true?
A. No one can survive on both hot and cold desert.
B. Modern technology makes deserts more hospitable C. In the United States, all deserts more hospitable D. There are no deserts in Israel
5. Which is not problem in cold deserts?
A. Starvation B. Hypothermia C. Frostbite D. Body heat
Reading 6
By the year 2025, the Earth could lose as many as one fifth of all species known to exist today. In recent centuries, hundreds of species have disappeared, almost always as a result of human activities. The passenger pigeon, one familiar example, was a source of food until excessive hunting and habitat loss caused its extinction in 1914. The North American bison, whose populations were decimated by settlers and market hunters in the 1800s, came close to sharing the same fate. Bison survive today only because of the efforts of early conservationists.
Today, species require such efforts more urgently than ever. An essential task that falls to present-day conservationists is to determine which species are most, endangered, so that conservation resources' can be applied where action is needed most. Species are categorized by the degree to which their survival in the wild is threatened. World Wildlife Fund offers a sampling of animals and plants that fall mainly within the two most serious categories of- threat: critically endangered and endangered. What threatens these species' existence?
Some of the top threats are habitat destruction by unsustainable logging and ever-encroaching human
settlement; pollution of water, soil, and air by toxic chemicals; unnatural climate changes due to fossil fuel use;
unmanaged fishing that exhausts fish stocks; and illegal hunting to supply the demand for skins, hides, traditional medicines, food, and tourist souvenirs. The list which conservationists presents only a fraction of the species at risk of extinction today and does not include thousands of species whose status we do not yet know.
Hundreds of species without common names have been left out, which means that while many mammals are on this list, only a few insects and mollusks are included.
Species listed here range from the largest animal on Earth, the blue whale, to the majestic tiger, to the humble thick-shell pond snail. Large or small, beautiful or ugly, all species play a role in the complex circle of life. All of us depend on the natural resources of our planet. Each time a species is lost, the complexity, natural balance, and beauty of our world is diminished. And what threatens plants and animals ultimately threatens people as well.
1. According to the first paragraph …….
A. species extinction is only caused by hunting
B. human beings protect wife life much more than they do harm to them C. the main cause of species extinction is human activities
D. we can stop radically species extinction by 2025 2. The North American bison …….
A. was completely extinct in 1800s B. was not the aim of human hunting
C. was raised by settlers in 1800s D. has escaped from extinction thanks to conservationists 3. Species are categorized …….
A. to prevent hunting B. to provide food
C. to destroy their habitats D. to give preferential right to conserve 4. Which sentence is true?
A. Medicine is not a factor to cause species extinction.
B. The list which conservationists present does not include all kinds of species.
C. Pollution does nothing to species extinction.
D. Conservationists have good knowledge of all kinds of mollusks.
5. According to the last paragraph, …….
A. species extinction has no relationship to human beings
B. what threaten plants and animals can do nothing to human beings C. human beings depend on natural resources to survive
D. not every, species has a role in the circle of life.
Reading 7
The 23rd Southeast Asian Games were held in the Philippines from November 27th to December 5th in 2005. The games were participated by the eleven nations of Southeast Asia. This was the first time that the opening and closing ceremonies were held in a large open field, despite the fact that Manila has many stadiums.
The organization de chided to hold the games at an open space to accommodate the large number of participants and spectators. As a result, the 2005 SEA Games ranked as having the largest audience – 100,000 people – during the opening and closing ceremonies. These games were also noted for having the most number of delegates in the history of the SEA Games. In the end, all participating countries received medals.
Events in men’s football actually started on November 20th, prior to the opening ceremony. Water polo events began on November 21st, women’s football on November 23rd, sailing on November 26th, and tennis on November 26th.
The first gold medal of the game was awarded to Singapore on November 25th when their water polo team came out undefeated during the round-robin tournament round. The Philippine team took the silver medal in that event, and Malaysia brought home the bronze.
The Games were also considered a valuable opportunity for athletes to gain competition experience and preparation created for the upcoming Asian Games and Olympic Games. It was purposely created to strengthen friendship, solidarity and understanding among neighboring countries in the region.
This was the third SEA Games to be hosted by the Philippines. The last two times the Philippines hosted the games were in 1981, and again in 1991.
There were 1,461 medals awarded, 444 of which were gold, 434 were silver, and 583 were bronze.
1. Up to now, the Philippines has hosted the SEA Games …… times.
A. 2 B. 3 C. 4 D.5
2. According to the first paragraph, …… .
A. the opening and closing ceremonies were hold in the stadiums of Manila B. only four of eleven participating countries got medals
C. the 23rd SEA Games had been over by the end of November, 2005
D. the number of audience in the 23rd SEA Games was about 200,000 people 3 Which sport was first completed in the 23rd SEA Games?
A. Water polo B. Tennis C. Men’s football D. Sailing
4. Which was not mentioned in the 23rd SEA Games?
A. Peace B. Friendship C. Solidarity D. Understanding
5. Which country got the first gold medal in the 23rd SEA Games?
A. Vietnam B. Singapore C. The Philippines D. Malaysia
Reading 8
In 1945 leaders from 51 countries met in San Francisco, California, and organized the United Nations (often called the UN). World War II had) just ended. Millions of people had died, and there was destruction everywhere. People hoped they could build a future of world peace through this new organization.
The main United Nations organization is in New York City, but the UN has a "family" of other related organizations all over the world. These organizations try to provide a better life for everyone.
One example is UNICEF, an organization that provides food, medical care, and many other services to poor children wherever they live. Another example is the World Health Organization, which develops medical programs all over the world.
There are thousands of UN workers in developing countries. They work as planners to increase production in farming and industry. They provide medical services, improve education programs, and spread scientific information.' They develop programs that provide jobs and better living conditions.
They help countries control their population growth.
The United Nations also hold large international conferences, where people meet to discuss important world issues. One conference was about the uses and ownership of oceans. Another was about women. There are also International Years. In these special years, people work together to improve situations and solve problems. One year is the International Year of the Child.
1. Leaders from 51 countries met in San Francisco and decided to organize the UN in order to … A. help the countries that had been damaged in the War.
B. build a future of world peace for all countries C. pay for the damage caused by World War II D. exchange commercial goods
2. What is the main purpose of the World Health Organization?
A. To provide food and clothing for children all over the world.
B. To supply teaching aid and educational programs.
C. To develop medical programs in different countries.
D. To bring peace to the countries at war.
3. Which of the following fields is the UN NOT involved in?
A. Farming and industry B. Medical services
C. Education D. Armament
4. In International Years held by the United Nations, people … .
A. discuss the uses of the oceans B. provide jobs and better living conditions C. work together to improve situations D. exchange scientific information
5. The word "spread" in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to … .
A. “circulate” B. “collect” C. “save” D. “announce”
Reading 9
Today, more and more women are actively participating in social activities both in urban and rural areas.
Specifically, they have shined brightly in even many fields commonly regarded as the man's areas such as business, scientific research and social management. In some areas, women even show more overwhelming power than men. The image of contemporary Vietnamese women with creativeness, dynamism, success has become popular in Vietnam's society. The fact reveals that the gender gap has been remarkably narrowed and