SECTION A: MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS (70 points)

HƯỚNG DẪN PHẦN THI NGHE HIỂU

• Bài nghe gồm 2 phần, mỗi phần được nghe 2 lần, mỗi lần cách nhau khoảng 15 giây.

• Mở đầu và kết thúc bài nghe có tín hiệu âm thanh.

• Mọi hướng dẫn cho thi sinh (bằng tiếng Anh) đã có trong bài nghe. Giám thị chỉ bật đài nghe một lần.

PART 1: You will hear part of a radio interview in which two psychologists, Stella Burrows and Simon Peres, are giving advice to office workers. Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions.

Question 1. Why does Stella mention “the smooth talker” and other office types?

A. They are characters every office worker will recognise.

B. They are successful personas to adopt.

C. They are people who don’t contribute much to a company.

D. They are kinds of people we should try to avoid in offices.

Question 2. According to Simon, what should “live-to-work” employees consider?

A. perfection is desirable B. what colleagues really think of them

C. the best way to impress their boss D. achieving a work-life balance

Question 3. Simon thinks the majority of employees .

A. are too conscientious B. do not make enough effort

C. have a healthy work-life balance D. are neither of the types described

Question 4. According to Stella, what will happen if someone does not take their job seriously?

A. Their colleagues will feel obliged to work harder.

B. They will irritate their colleagues.

C. They will lose the trust of their colleagues.

D. Their colleagues will envy them.

Question 5. Simon warns employees against .

A. asking colleagues for their views

B. giving advice which was not asked for

C. constantly seeking advice from superiors

D. openly criticising other people’s contributions

PART 2: You will hear an interview with Steve, who talks about the love of his life, Abby. Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions.

Question 6. How did Abby feel about Steve five years ago?

A. She looked up to Steve, but didn’t love him.

B. She felt the same way as Steve did about her.

C. She thought he was fun to be with occasionally.

D. She was uncertain about starting any relationship.

Question 7. How did Steve explain Abby’s change of heart initially?

A. He saw it as an aberration, brought on by boredom,

B. He put it down to her being lonely and unattached

C. He thought she was having a laugh at his expense.

D. He decided something at work must have upset her.

Question 8. What did Steve’s work colleagues suddenly notice about him?

A. He spent less time chatting with them in the office.

B. He seemed preoccupied by a personal problem.

C. He was putting in longer hours than he had done.

D. He was showing more commitment to his work.

Question 9. On hearing Steve’s declaration, the first thing Samantha did was to .

A. burst into tears at his news B. get some flowers for Abby

C. rush round to Abby’s place D. phone Steve’s office to say he was sick

Question 10. At the family wedding, Steve .

A. showed an American how to drive a British car

B. was given advice by someone he didn’t know well.

C. was attacked by his mother for ditching Samantha

D. announced his plan to get married to Abby

Choose the word whose underlined part is pronounced differently from the rest.

Choose the word which is stressed differently from the others.

Choose the most suitable word or phrase to complete each sentences.

Question 16. The interviewer told Alison that she would earn $30,000 a year, she … to be offered the job.

A. should B. would C. had D. were

Question 17. As a result of Israel-Hamas war, now in Gaza safe drinking water is becoming ever harder to …, with disastrous consequences for those who can’t afford it.

A. come across B. come into C. come up with D. come by

Question 18. Hawk is an authority … Spanish architecture.

A. in B. for C. on D. with

Question 19. Large cities like Tokyo are usually … when it comes to adopting new technology.

A. on the double B. ahead of the curve

C. beyond its means D. before its time

Question 20. … he’s only just started, he knows quite a lot about it.

A. Concerning B. Considering C. Including D. Regarding

Question 21. … is that a chicken stands up to lay its eggs.

A. That many people don’t realize B. It is that many people don’t realize

C. What many people don’t realize D. Because many people don’t realize

Question 22. That boy’s always been in trouble. Sooner or later he’s going to … in prison.

A. turn out B. grow up C. wind up D. live up

Question 23. Do you need to give your speech another … or do you already know it by heart?

A. run-through B. check-up C. mix-up D. break-down

Question 24. We started off walking …, but after an hour we had slowed down to a nail’s pace.

A. briskly B. crisply C. sharply D. heartily

Question 25. She must have been disappointed when hearing that story, …?

A. mustn’t she B. have she C. hasn’t she D. has she

Question 26. Teaching high school students is relatively easy. Teaching majored students, on the other hand, is a different … of fish.

A. pan B. bowl C. pot D. kettle

Question 27. Up until the middle of the 19th century, there were no … and well-established army nursing systems for casualties.

A. organizations B. organizers C. organized D. organizational

Question 28. The telephone rang and interrupted my … of thought.

A. train B. series C. chain D. circle

Question 29. “Well, I first came here last March.” – “So, by the end of this month you … with us for almost a year.”

A. are going to live B. will have been living

C. will be living D. are living

Question 30. It was horrible how she … by leaving the house without telling us where she was going.

A. struck a chord B. banged the drum

C. played second fiddle D. led us a merry dance

Question 31. …, the diners settled the bill and left the restaurant.

A. Having hunger satisfied B. Hunger been satisfied

C. Having satisfied their hunger D. Satisfying their hunger

Question 32. The flowers of … tea plant are small and white.

A. a B. no article C. an D. the

Question 33. There … to have been thousands of new companies founded last year.

A. is reported B. has reported C. are reported D. have reported

Question 34. …, pretending to be soldiers.

A. The children marching around the park

B. Around the park marching were the children

C. Around the park were the children marching

D. Marching around the park were the children

Question 35. We were very glad to receive a … description of all the cases related to the fire reported for the last 3 months in the hospital.

A. complacent B. compendious C. compact D. compatible

Question 36. I’m glad you dropped by! It’s been a month of … since I last saw you.

A. Mondays B. Sundays C. Fridays D. Tuesdays

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.

Question 37. Mr. Jones knew who had won the contest, but he kept it to himself until it was announced publicly.

A. had a big mouth B. let the cat out of the bag

C. kept it under his hat D. made headlines

Question 38. The America authorities expressed regret as a drone strike has accidentally killed innoc hostages.

A. incongruously B. graciously C. inadvertently D. vehemently

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.

Question 39. The senator chose to incur dislike rather than compromise her principles to win favor with the public.

A. dissent B. articulate C. take away D. negotiate

Question 40. The hotel’s description in the brochure was fallacious in the extreme and we were left utterly disappointed on arrival.

A. pretentious B. confusing C. precise D. misleading

Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the option that best completes each of the following exchanges.

Question 41. Two friends are discussing the major they are going to choose at university.

• Peter: “My parents gave me no choice but to study business. “

• Danny: “ “

A. Of course not. B. No, I can’t get it. C. Well, so be it. D. Oh, by all means.

Question 42. Michael and Linda are at the schoolyard.

• Michael: “Do you prefer relaxing holidays, or would you rather go on an adventure?”

• Linda: “ “

A. To be honest, that sounds adventurous.

B. Honestly, I’m not the adventurous type.

C. Why don’t you go for an adventurous holiday?

D. As a matter of fact, I’d rather like them.

Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the underlined part that needs correction in each of the following questions

Question 43. Owing to their superior skills, highly competitive athletes have been known to win contests and break records even when suffered from injuries, physical disorders, and infections.

A. when suffered B. Owing to C. highly competitive D. have been known

Question 44. San Francisco is facing its deadliest year ever for drug overdoses, a trend blamed on the surge of powerful synthetic fentanyl in the US’s elicit drug supply.

A. overdoses B. the US’s elicit C. blamed on the surge D. facing its deadliest

Question 45. Because of their color and shape, seahorses blend so well with the seaweed in which they live that it is almost impossible to see themselves.

A. Because of B. themselves C. that D. in which

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word, or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.

The issues for emerging economies are a little more straightforward. The desire to build on undeveloped land is not born (46) desperation or necessity, but is a result of the relentless march of progress, Cheap labour and a relatively highly-skilled workforce (47) these countries highly competitive and there is a flood of inward investment, particularly from multinationals looking to take advantage of the low wages before the cost and standard of living begin to rise. It is factors such as these

(48) are making many Asian economies extremely attractive when viewed as investment opportunities at the moment. (49) , in Africa, the relative abundance of precious metals and

natural resources tends to attract a lot of exploration companies and a whole sub-industry develops around and is completely dependent on this foreign-direct investment. It is understandable that countries that are the focus of this sort of attention can (50) the environmental implications of large-scale industrial development, and this can have devastating consequences for the natural world. And it is a vicious cycle because (51) industrially active a nation becomes, the greater the demand for and harvesting of natural resources. For some, the environmental issues, though they can hardly be (52) , are viewed as a peripheral concern. Indeed, having an environmental conscience or taking environmental matters into consideration when it comes to decisions on whether or not to build rubber- tree (53) or grow biofuel crops would be quite (54) indeed. For those involved in such schemes it is a pretty black-and-white issue. And, for vast (55) of land in Latin America, for example, it is clear that the welfare of the rainforests matters little to local government when vast sums of money can be made from cultivating the land.

(Source https://www.ielsmaterial.com)

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer in each of the questions.

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

Since the Industrial Revolution, people have assumed that new labor-saving devices would free them from the burdens of the workplace and give them more time to grow intellectually, creatively, and socially exploring the arts, keeping up with current events, spending more time with friends and family, and even just ‘goofing off.

But here we are at the start of the 21th century, enjoying one of the greatest technological boom times in human history, and nothing could be further from the truth. The very tools that were supposed to liberate us have bound us to our work and study in ways that were inconceivable just a few years ago. It would seem that technology almost never does what we expect.

In the old days’, the lines between work and leisure time were markedly clearer. People left their offices at a predictable time, were often completely disconnected from and out of touch with their jobs as they traveled to and from work, and were off-duty once they were home. That is no longer true. In today’s highly competitive job market, employers demand increased productivity, expecting workers to put in longer hours and to keep in touch almost constantly via fax, cell phones, e-mail, or other communication devices. As a result, employees feel the need to check in on what is going on at the office, even on days off. They feel pressured to work after hours just to catch up on everything they have to do. Workers work harder and longer, change their work tasks more frequently, and have more and more reasons to worry about job security.

Bosses, colleagues, family members, lovers, and friends expect instant responses to voice mail and e-mail messages. Even college students have become bound to their desks by an environment in which faculty, friends, and other members of the college community increasingly do their work online. Studies of time spent on instant messaging services would probably show staggering use.

This is not what technology was supposed to be doing for us. New technologies, from genetic research to the Internet, offer all sorts of benefits and opportunities. But, when new tools make life more difficult and stressful rather than easier and more meaningful – and we are, as a society, barely conscious of it then something has gone seriously awry, both with our expectations for technology and our understanding of how it should benefit us.

(Adapted From “Summit 1” by Joan Saslow & Allen Ascher)

Question 56. Which of the following could best serve as the title of the passage?

A. Research on the Roles of Computers B. Expectations and Plain Reality

C. Changes at the Workplace D. Benefits of Technology

Question 57. The word “them” in the paragraph 2 refers to .

A. devices B. burdens C. employers D. people

Question 58. It can be inferred from the paragraph 4 that .

A. life is more relaxing with cell phones and other technological devices

B. employees have more freedom thanks to technological advances

C. employers are more demanding and have efficient means to monitor employees

D. it is compulsory that employees go to the office, even on days off

Question 59. The word “staggering” in the paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to .

A. imaginable B. predictable C. foreseeable D. incredible

Question 60. Which of the following is TRUE, according to the passage?

A. Thanks to modern devices, people can leave office earlier.

B. People now enjoy greater freedom thanks to the technological boom.

C. New technologies can hardly meet all people’s expectations.

D. Students used to have to study more about technological advances.

Question 61. Which of the following is NOT TRUE about technological tools, according to new surveys?

A. They are being increasingly used. B. They bring more leisure to our life.

C. They are used even during vacations. D. They make our life more stressful.

Question 62. With the sentence “That is no longer true”, the author implies that .

A. people wanted to be completely disconnected from their work

B. people now all have faxes, cell phones, e-mails, or other communication devices

C. now workers have more time and privacy after work than in the past

D. people used to have more time and privacy after work than they do now

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer in each of the questions.

Amid the hum and heat of Berlin’s Reuter thermal power station stands a shining contraption that looks out of place in the decades-old machine hall. Its silver pipes and vats contain a substance that the company Vattenfall, the plant’s operator, says could become a key ingredient for a fossil fuel-free future. The energy company, together with a Swedish start-up, is testing the use of salt to store heat, which accounts for more than half the power consumed in Germany. If it works well, the system could help solve a problem posed by renewable energy sources like wind and solar: unreliability, meaning they sometimes generate too much, and sometimes too little power. “Germany currently has enough installed renewable energy capacity to produce twice as much as it needs, it’s just not constant,” says Hendrik Roeglin, who oversees the salt storage project for Vattenfall.

At the Reuter power plant in Berlin, which supplies 600,000 households in the capital with heat, the solution involves the use of calcium oxide, also known as quicklime. Vattenfall and Swedish start- up SaltX have been taking advantage of a simple chemical reaction that occurs when quicklime becomes wet: the salt-like grains soak up the water, becoming calcium hydroxide and releasing large amounts of heat in the process. By removing the water again, the substance turns back into calcium oxide. The process essentially mirrors how batteries work, except that instead of electricity, the system stores heat. Roeglin says the process can absorb ten times more energy than water, which is currently used for power-

to-heat facilities. And unlike tanks of hot water, which slowly cool down over time, the system can retain the chemically-trapped energy for far longer. Need heat? Just add water.

The pilot project in Berlin can currently store enough energy to heat about 100 large houses. But SaltX says the facility could easily be scaled up and provide heat to any of the homes or offices already connected to the capital’s district heating system. Such networks – consisting of pipes pumping hot water or steam from power plants to consumers – exist in many European countries, Canada, the United States, Japan and China. SaltX also notes that the calcium oxide currently mined in Finland could be safely recycled, giving it an edge over some battery technologies that use rare or toxic materials.

“If your ambition is to be fossil-free within a generation, you have to consider various alternatives to reach that,” a representative of SaltX, Simon Ahlin, said during a visit to the facility. “This is an effective solution that’s available in a short time frame.”

(Adapted from https://www.apnews.com)

Question 63. Which of the following is best serves as a title for the passage?

A. Start-ups in Germany B. Producing Heat from Salt

C. Potential Alternative to Fossil Fuels D. Berlin’s District Heating System

Question 64. The word “which” in paragraph 1 refers to .

A. energy company B. Swedish start-up

C. salt D. heat

Question 65. The word “oversees” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to .

A. supervises B. invests C. installs D. establishes

Question 66. As mentioned in paragraph 1, if the new heat-retaining system operates effectively, it can

A. solve the problem of insufficient energy in Germany

B. generate twice as much energy as wind or solar power

C. provide Germany with a steady source of renewable energy

D. make common renewable energy sources like wind and solar more reliable

Question 67. The word “scaled up” in the third paragraph can be best replaced by .

A. stretched B. expanded C. extended D. prolonged

Question 68. Which of the following is TRUE about the new method of using salt to store heat at the Reuter power plant?

A. It involves the use of three substances: quicklime, water and calcium oxide.

B. It stores electricity in the exact same manner as batteries do.

C. A great deal of heat is released when calcium oxide becomes calcium hydroxide.

D. It is based on a very complex chain of chemical reactions involving quicklime and water.

Question 69. According to paragraph 3, calcium oxide is more advantageous than materials used in several battery technologies because .

A. it is capable of storing far greater amounts of heat energy

B. it can be used again in a safe way

C. it has already existed in many European countries

D. it can be easily mined from Finland and transported to Berlin

Question 70. According to the passage, all of the following statements are true EXCEPT .

A. renewable energy sources like wind and solar are considered unreliable

B. salt energy hasn’t officially been used in Berlin’s District Heating System

C. the project in Berlin provides 100 large houses with heat

D. salt energy is likely to be a suitable alternative to fossil fuels

SECTION B: WRITING (30 points)

PART 1: 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. Write your answers on your answer sheet. (5 points)

Question 71. “Hurrah! I’ve passed the exam with flying colours!” he exclaimed.

🡪 He exclaimed .

Question 72. He was so enthusiastic that he apparently ignored any warning signs.

🡪 Such .

Question 73. It was a bad idea to put this shirt in the washing machine.

🡪 This shirt .

Question 74. The gun going off was the signal for everyone to panic.

🡪 As soon .

Question 75. This conservation programme is financed from advertising revenue.

🡪 This conservation programme derives .

PART 2: 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 by using the given word. Do not change the form of the given word. Write your answers on your answer sheet. (5 points)

Question 76. I was relieved to know that my car was not damaged. (MUCH)

Question 77. I suggested he phone his mother and he did it immediately. (THEN) 

Question 78. When I grow up, I want to be rich and powerful. (CAT)

Question 79. Could I stay with you in Chicago for a few days, Mike? (PUT) 

Question 80. The military parade was just the government showing its power before (FLEXING)

the elections.

PART 3: Essay writing (20 points)

Some people say that AI (Artificial Intelligence) is having a great impact on education, so there will soon be no role for teachers in education.

To what extent do you agree or disagree? Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion. Write an essay of about 250 words to express your ideas.

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