TRƯỜNG THPT CHUYÊN LÊ HỒNG PHONG – HỒ CHÍ MINH

I. PHONOLOGY
A. Pick out the word whose underlined part is pronounced differently from
that of the others
1. A. polemics B. rhinoceros C. depots D. palets
2. A. pilchard B. lichen C. architrave D. chrysalid
3. A. doughnut B. shoulder C. thorough D. poultice
4. A. afara B. eisteddfod C. leafy D.
irrefutable
5. A. fasten B. buffet C. bouquet D. pullet
B.
II. MULTIPLE CHOICE
Choose the best options (A,B, C & D) that best compIete the following
sentences.
l. I feel I’m in a in my job right now — I need a change.
A. ridge B. rut C. ditch ' D. tunnel
2. The skater lost her balance and fell, her arms
A. hauling B. flailing C. swinging D. grasping
3. checks were carried out at customs. '
A. Sudden B. Rare C. Spot D. Swoop
4. His encounter with the tarantula hawk — named because it lies around
tarantulas stalking and stinging them — has been’ watched over l3m times.
A. aptly B. eerily C. despicably D. wantonly
5. He had a unique stage presence, at once and intense, projecting an
almost papal serenity. ‘
A. frank B. boisterous C. subdued D. languid
6. In a few wore moments this love scene would have reached the of no
return.
A. peak B. point C. apex D. tip
7. Schoolteachers rarely have to teach the way they want.
A. scope B. leeway C. scale D. albatross
8. Failing to submit the proposal on time was for Tom.
A. a nail in the coffin B. a real kick in the pants
C. a leap in the dark D. an open and shut case
9. Once the kids have all the nest we might sell this house and move
somewhere smaller.
A. fled B. kicked C. rushed D. flown
10. Being out of work these days is no matter.
A. trolling B. spitting C. laughing D. gossiping
11. It’s nice to see politicians sending themselves occasionally.
A. up B. off ' C. in D. out
12. We used to share a room at college, but we over the years.
A. dreamt away B. messed up C. drifted apart D. slugged out
13. I’ve just left Ben poring computer printouts with an engineer.
A. into B. around C. over D. on
14. Since her arrest, they’ve charges against her, and she’s been deported
to Beirut.
A. inveighed against B. poured out C. headed for D. trumped up
15. Their project put us a lot of expense.
A. at B. to C. into D. with
16. She had been carefully by her upbringing, she said, to avoid
effusive displays of feeling, but this did not mean her heart was shallow.
A. pivoted B. poached C. trained. ; ' D. undertaken
17. But in any case this was a dangerous , and one not to be employed
except under pressure.
A. counterfeit B. quest C. scheme D. briefing
18. In accordance with his , the agent was attired in a style of severe
elegance with gloves and boots fitting him to perfection but an unusually
winning smile played upon his lips.
A. indication B. layer C. wont D. intrigue
19. You can’t criticism to the local authority.
!A. apply B. employ C. associate D. lay
20. From my viewpoint, the changes to the education system have been to good

A. influence B. outcome C. upshot D. effect

87
21. Without qualifications, there will be no of firms willing to
employ you.
A. want B. inadequacy C. deficiency D. shortage
22. Having planned our weekends to watch football, we found the news of the
home team’s players strike most
A. disconcerting B. refreshing C. activating D. debilitating
23. The audience his appearance on stage with thunderous
applause.
A. clapped B. protested C. rewarded D. hailed
24. He was extremely defiant when some scientists doubt on his
theory.
A. cast B. flung C. tossed D. hurled
25. She was with good looks.
A. gifted B. provided C. endowed D. awarded
26. He was a generous friend, but as a businessman, he drove a hard
A. bargain B. affair C. contract D. deal
27. 1 must take this watch to be repaired, it over 20 minutes a day.
A. increases B. progresses C. accelerates D. gains
28. Luckily my wallet was handed in to the police with all its contents

A. preserved B. unscathed C. contained D. intact

29. Professor Williams a trail in the study of physics.
A. set B. left C. blazed D. showed
30.He cannot ignorance as his excuse; he should have known what
was happening in his own department.
A. insist B. plead C. refer D. defend
I. READING COMPREHENSION
Read the following passages carefully and answer the questions below them,
PASSAGE 1.
DRESS-DOWN FRIDAY IS ALL WASHED UP
Dress-down Friday has not worked out. In fact, it is about to be let go. A slew
of new surveys from the States shows employers increasingly concerned that
staff who turn up in 'smart casual' (or should that be 'casual smart'?) are up to 50
per cent more likely to act rude and silly. Lateness, sluggishness or just not being
there at all have all become hallmarks of the last day of the working week,
according to a study for American Corporate Trends Magazine. So much so, that
many bosses are now returning Friday to its previous strict and sober incarnation.
They include George W. Bush, who has decreed that henceforth all White
House staff must be formally suited and booted whenever they report for work.
And in Britain the Institute of Directors has also detected signs of an end
88
to the recent custom of greeting the weekend one day early with a sludgy
medley of soft trousers and endless, endless fleeces.
Friday first went casual in Britain in the late 1980s, but the practice didn't
really catch fire until the mid-Nineties. By then, the economy was booming
and new sources of income and prestige - IT, biotechnology, dotcom - were
emerging. The people who worked for these firms may have been rich (in fact,
they were getting richer all the time), but they liked to think that they were
sufficiently self-confident not to need to rely on someone else’s idea of a status
symbol. Bowler hats and umbrellas represented an older - now ailing - economy,
one that had been founded aeons ago in the mid-nineteenth century on a formal
distinction between work and home.
The New Economy, by contrast, liked to emphasise the continuity and even
overlap between professional and domestic spaces. People brought scented
candles to the office before returning home to a converted industrial site. In
Frankfurt, workers could pop into 'nap rooms’ after lunch, while in London the
smartest new nightclub was called, quite simply, 'Home'. At the level of
aesthetics, work and play had become infinitely swappable. By the time the
Millennium finally arrived, many firms, including the formerly pinstriped Merrill
Lynch and Arthur Andersen, had decided to extend dress-down Friday to the
other four days of the week. There were rules, of course -'there always are. No
jeans, naturally, and some other less obvious demarcations: shirts needed to have
collars, and shoes laces.
What has been a problem, though, for a lot of people is achieving the
required look. While American and French men have long had an alternative
uniform to the business suit - polo shirt, unstructured jacket, brownish/fawn
trousers - British men have mostly had to resort to that odd solution of
teaming a formal, usually Harris tweed, jacket with jeans. Several retailers
have taken pity on the hordes of baffled men who arrive for work in the
financial institutions of Canary Wharf each day knowing that they don’t want
to dress like Jeremy Clarkson but aren't quite sure who they do want to look
like. Both Gap and Ted Baker have set up branches stuffed full of the kind of
touchy-feely clobber that will take you inconspicuously through the day in a
symphony of mushroom.
Dressing down has proved to be more of a worry, than getting decked out
in a uniform ever was. Even in those companies that are casual every day, the
understanding is that you wear a suit whenever appropriate - to meet a client,
make an important presentation. As a result, some employees complain they
spend more time matching up their clothes to their schedule than ever before.
And, if America is anything to go by, the sartorial week is about to get even
more complicated. To counter the negative effects of dress-down Fridays,
some firms have instituted the weird corrective of Dress Up Thursdays. Soon,
it seems, each day of the week could carry its own coercive dress code.
89
 Where dress-down Friday got it wrong was not in overestimating the
importance of clothing Upon our psyches, but in underplaying it. Employers had
the vague hope that allowing people to wear buff-coloured trousers to the office
would signal a loosening up of mental boundaries which, in turn, would release a
stream of 'beyond the box’ thinking. But clothing acts like a sharp trigger for sense
memory. Wear casual clothes to work, and your brain thinks it's on holiday. It
doesn’t want to come up with left-field solutions to the problems in Product
Development. Instead it wakes you want to gossip with your friends, drink
coffee, send loads of raffish emails. Asking people to pretend that work is fun,
and then suggesting that they mark this state of affairs by wearing combat
trousers, is the height of patronisation. As the economy slows down and recession
begins to bite, these kinds of self-deceiving strategies are beginning to fall away.
We know what work owes us - money, skills-training and a certain amount of
status. It doesn’t own our souls, and we wouldn't want it to. For that we have home,
where we can dress exactly as we please.
l. What does the writer say in the first paragraph about “dressing down'?
A. It has become an excuse for staff to be inefficient.
B. It allows people to behave immaturely without censure.
C. It has caused managers to apply rules more strictly.
D. It has led to increased absenteeism.
2. What motivated people in the technology industry in the nineties to “dressing
down”?
A. They didn’t have the confidence to wear smart clothes.
B. It was an attempt to disguise their new-found health.
C. It was part of a general trend towards exhibiting independence.
D. They wanted to challenge authority.
3. What was different about the New Economy?
A. There was less distinction between people’s private ‘and working lives.
B. Working hours became more flexible.
C. People were required to spend longer in the office.
D. It became more acceptable to take work home. '
4. According to the passage, many 8ritish men
A. miss the security of knowing what to wear.
B. choose more daring casual alternatives than foreign colleagues.
C. have become more sensitive to colleagues through “dressing down”.
D. are now more interested in fashion as a result of “dressing down”.
5. “Dressing down” on Fridays has made some employees
A. feel they are required to express themselves through their clothes:
B. more anxious they may be inappropriately dressed at times.
C. dress more conservatively on other days of the week.
D. feel pressurized into conforming to a dress code they don’t agree with.

90
 6. The basic problem with the “dressing down” experiment was
A. employees felt they were being patronized.
B. employers misjudged the effect clothing has on behavior.
C. it had no obvious impact on people’s work performance.
D. employers gave their staff too much freedom in choice of clothes.
7. The word “incarnation” is closest in meaning to
A. form B. representative C. display D. expression
8. The word “underplaying” is closest in meaning to
A. undermining B. downplaying C. deprecating D. curtailing
PASSAGE 2.
Even with his diverse experience as an elected official at the state level,
Andrew Johnson was the first president of the United States ever to be
impeached, primarily because of his violent temper and unyielding stubbornness.
His career started in 1828 with his election to the city council of Greenville,
Tennessee, and after two years, as an alderman, he took office as mayor. His
advancements followed in rapid succession when he was elected to the Tennessee
state senate, their as the state governor, and later to the U.S. House of
Representatives for five consecutive terms.
In 1864, Johnson ran for the office of vice-president on the Lincoln-Johnson
ticket and was inaugurated in 1865. After Lincoln’s assassination six weeks into his
term, Johnson found himself president at, a time when southern leaders were
concerned about their forced alliance with the northern states and feared
retaliation for their support of the secession. Instead, however, with the
diplomatic skill he had learned from Lincoln, Johnson offered full pardon to
almost all Confederates on the condition that they take an oath of allegiance. He
further reorganized the former Confederate states and set up legislative elections.
Congressional opposition to his peace-making policies resulted in gridlock
between the House and Johnson, and the stalemate grew into an open conflict on
the issue of emancipation of slaves. While Johnson held the view that newly freed
slaved lacked understanding and knowledge of civil liberties to vote
intelligently, Congress overrode Johnson’s veto of the Civil Rights Bill, which
awarded them citizenship and ratified the Fourteenth Amendment. In the years
that followed, Congress passed bills depriving the president of the power to
pardon political criminals, stripping away his status of commander-in-chief, and
taking away Johnson’s right to dismiss civil and executive officers from their
duties. Johnson vetoed each bill, and each veto was overridden. When .Johnson
dismissed the secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, Stanton refused to step down and
was supported by House of Representative, which voted to impeach Johnson. At
the trial, the Senate came one vote short of the two-thirds majority necessary to
remove his from office. After Johnson’s term expired, he returned to his home
state, but in 1875 he was elected senator and went back to Washington to take his
seat.

91
1. What does the passage mainly discuss?
A Andrew Johnson’s personal characteristics.
B. Andrew Johnson’s career as a politician.
C. Congressional decision in the late 1800s.
D. Congressional decisions and procedures in the late 1800s.
2. What can be inferred from the first paragraph about Andrew Johnson’s work
in Tennessee?
A. His personality precluded him from important positions.
B. His work became known to the governor.
C. He was elected to several posts.
D. He was represented to the posts five times.
3. The word “alliance” is closest in meaning to
A. union B. counsel C. allowance D. allotment
4. According to the passage, what led to Johnson’s downfall?
A. The state of the nation’s economy. B. His liberal position on slavery.
C. His personal characteristics. D. H is waffling and hesitation.
5. The author of the passage implies that when Johnson became president he
A. was a dedicated supporter of civil rights.
B. was a soft-spoken and careful diplomat.
C. has an extensive background in politics.
D. had already experienced political turmoil.
6. According to the passage, at the beginning of Johnson’s term as president
southerners were
A. expected to secede from the union. B. apprehensive about their future.
C. singled out as scapegoats. D. afraid of his violent temper.
7. According to the passage, Congress’s disapproval of Andrew Johnson’s
policies was
A. short-lived and groundless. B. detrimental to his presidency.
C. directed at his civic duties. D. stopped as soon as emerged.
8. The word “pardon” is closest in meaning to
A. parade B. patronize C. exonerate D. extricate
9. The author of the passage implies that the Stanton affair proved the
pre5ident’s
A. lack of stamina. B. lack of electoral Note.
C. loss of willpower. D. loss of authority.
10. According to the passage, the attempt to impeach Andrew Johnson
A. succeeded as expected by the House
B. failed by a minimal margin.
C. put an end to his political power.
D. overwhelmed his supporters in Tennessee.
92
V. GUIDED CLOZE
G UIDED CLOZE 1:
Choose the most approriate words to fill in the blanks.
ADVENTURE TRAVEL
Wildred Thesinger, the (1) explorer once said, “We live our lives
second-hand”. Sadly, his words are true for far too many of us, as we (2)
in front of the television, (3) in “reality television”, living our adventures
through the words and pictures of others. But it does not have to be that way —
there are more opportunities than ever for taking a break from our increasingly
sanitized lives and exploring not only some exotic (4) of the globe, but
also our own abilities and ambitions. The kind of first-hand experience whose
loss Thesinger (5) is still available for anyone willing to forsake the
beaten (6) , and put their mind to (7) into the less eKplored regions of
this (8) ,. planet. The (9) in travel in recent years has been towards
what is known as adventure travel. But adventure doesn’t have to involve
physical exertion; be it (10) over a souvenir in Peru,’ or getting lost in the
labyrinthine passages of a Moroccan souk, it all counts.
1. A. descriptive B. imaginary C. fabled D. legendary
2. A. droop B. slump C. sag D. plunge
3. A. captivated B. gripped C. engrossed D’. riveted
4. A. corner B. edge C. angle D. pocket
5. A. deplores B. laments C. agonizes D. grieves
6. A. path B. road C. track D. course
7. A. turning out B. taking off C. making out D. dropping off
8. A. wide B. diverse C. mixed D. different
9. A. trend B. direction C. custom D. inclination
10. A. haggling B. arguing C. debating D. quarreling
GUIDED CLOZE 2:
Aristotle Socrates Onassis was one of the world’s wealthiest men, whose
fortune at his death was estimated at more than 500 milliom dollars. His life
history, however is not (1) of lifelong wealth. His family, who
were living in Smyrna (now lzmir) during the early years of the last century,
were forced to (2) to Greece in 1922 when the city was recaptured by
the Turks. (3) the family had left their business behind
them, Onassis was sent to South America in search (4) opportunities
for work and a better life.
Onassis started off by carrying on the family (5) of tobacco
dealing and formed his own tobacco-importing business, while holding (6)
another job at the same time. At the age of 25, he had made
his
first m’il1ion dollars. It was soon afterwards, in 1932, that Onassis turned his
(7) to shipping; he took advantage of the (8)
 Depression and bought six freight ships an an extremely low price. From there.
he moved on to tankers and had his first tanker built in 1938. After the Second
World War. he embarked (9) a program of building large
tankers with a/an (10) to transporting petroleum in all over the
world.
1. A. the B. son C. one D. this
2. A. free B. bound C. flee D. arrive
3. A. Truly B. After C. Since D. Although
4. A. of B. for C. about D. on
5. A. custom B. practice C. convention D. tradition
6. A. off B. by C. on D. down
7. A. head B. view C. tension D. attention
8. A. Grand 8. Great C. Large D. Colossal
9. A. at B. about C. in D. on
10. A. eye B. ear C. nose D. head
VI. OPEN CLOZE:
Fill in each numbered blank with ONE suitable card.
OPEN CLOZE 1
Environmental issues are harmful (1) of human activity on the
biophysical environment. Environmental protection is a (2) of
protecting the natural environment (3) individual, organizational
or governmental levels, for the benefit of both the environment and humans.
(4) , a social and environmental movement, addresses
environmental issues through advocacy, education and activism.
The carbon dioxide (5) of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the
atmosphere has already (6) 400 parts per million (with total "long-
term" GHG exceeding 455 parts per million). This level is considered a tipping
point. "The amount of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere is already above the
(7) that can potentially cause dangerous climate change. We are already
at risk of many areas of pollution... It's not next year or next decade, it's now."
"Climate disasters are (8) the rise. Around 70 percent of
disasters are now climate-(9) — up from arouhd 50 percent from two
decades ago.
These disasters take a heavier human (10) and come with a
higher price tag. In the last decade, 2.4 billion people were affected by such
disasters, (I l) to 1.7 billion in the previous decade. The cost of
responding to disasters has (12) tenfold between 1992 and 2008.
Destructive sudden heavy rains, intense tropical storms, repeated flooding and
droughts are likely to increase, (13) will the vulnerability of local
comiriunities in the absence of strong concerted action.” “Climate change is not
just a distant (14) threat. lt is the main driver behind rising
humanitarian needs and we are seeing its impact. The number of people
affected and the (l5) inflicted by extreme weather has been
unprecedented.”
94
OPEN CLOZE 2
AU CCO l2om ics professor, trying to explain “monopoly” to a freshman
class, COUld (1) find a more illuminating example than professional
sports. The major leagues maintain (2) control over the 5upply
of their sports. The United States does have some rules’ and regulations
(3) at preventing monopoly, but these might as well not exist
where spoils are (4) Every league operates effectively as a
cai’tcl — a group of competitors joined together for (5)
economic benefit.
The cartel arrangement gives participating teams the best of two (6)
It reduces competition among members, but still allows them freedom of action
in are’as not (7) by the cartel agreement. Thus the league members
agree on matters of common interest, such as game rules, number of teams allowed
in the league, promotional campaigns; and media contracts.’The competition
tak“es place' mainly on the field,’when the athlete-employees of two teams meet
in a (8)

Being an economic cartel creates enormous benefits for a sports league, by

reducing competition in areas that would (9) cost owners
more money. When teams bid against each other for the services of talented
players, for example, the' process is controlled by league, rules regulating
contracts, drafts and trades. In the annual college football draft, for instance, pro
teams must take turns’ designating individual college athletes they wish to hire.
The cartel also decides how many teams can be in the league, and where they
can locate, thus limiting the number of potential employers the (10)
can choose from.
VII. WORD FORMATION
WORD FORMATION 1
Supply tlte correct forms of the wards given.
1. Getting started on a rehabilitation regime sometimes requires help with
, a process to remove excess chemicals from the body.
( TOXIC)
2. When he was still unmarried ten years ago, he was
and fancy-fee. ( FEET)
3. Some women found the discussions and went home .'(PIJT)
4. They owned a , Orchard near the river so they didn’t
need to take care of it often. (MAlNTAIN)
5. This is suitable for some funereal songs . ( MISERY)
6. The venom of many snakes, especially cobras, acts as a
, producing ecstatic visions.(,HALL UCINATE )
7. Aims are necessary stating points, but before the teacher can begin to
provide learning experiences further is necessary. (FlNE)
8. A circle is a shape on which all points are from sorrle
point l ying inside. ( DISTANCE)
95
9. A detailed list of in the factory is publicly given. (CONSUME)
10. It is a form of that is comforting to a great
number of people. ( ESCAPE)
WORD FORMATION 2
Fill in the blank with an approriate form of one of the words given to make a
meaningful passage
outdated act state establish mortality
form conduit allegation art administer
HOTEL CHELSEA
To say that the Hotel Chelsea has an interesting story would be a/an
(1) . Since the early twentieth century, the hotel has been home to dozens
of celebrities. The fame of the building itself (2) its fame as a hotel;
when it was constructed in 1883 as a block of flats, ’it was New York’s tallest
building. It became a hotel in 1905. Although prosperous at first, during a period
of (3) , the hotel began to degenerate. lt went bankrupt and changed
hands in 1939. Its (4) new managers soon got it up and running again
and, in the post-war era, its fame grew.
As a part of the New York artistic scene, the hotel is irreplaceable. Its famous
residents have included actors, artists, singers, writers, reactionaries, and
numerous (5) figures. Krida Kahlo, Jean-Paul Sartre, Marilyn Monroe,
Bob Dylan, Madonna and Uma Thurman all lived there for a while, and the hotel
has been (6) in dozens of songs, books and films. Always a place of
(7) , the hotel’s management sometimes allowed penniless residents to
pay for their rooms by their (8) , some of which still hang in, its lobby
today. Its famous residents have found the hotel (9) to creativity.
However, the hotel is also associated with artistic misbehavior and tragedy. One
of numerous examples of wild adventures behind its closed doors, the poet
Dylan Thomas (10) collapsed in room 205 of the hotel after partying too
hard. He died four days later.
VIII. ERROR IDENTIFICATION
Identify 8 mistakes in this passage and suggest corrections.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, almost nothing was written
about the contributions of women during the colonial period and the early
history of the newly formed United States. Lacking of the right to vote and
absent from the seats of power, women were not considered an important force
in history. Anne Bradstreet wrote some significant poetry in the seventeenth
century, Mercy Otis Warren produced the best contemporary history of the
American Revolution, and Abigail Adams penned important letters showing she
exercised great political influence over her husband, John, the second President
of the United States. But little or no notice was taken for these contributions.
During these centuries, women remained invisible in history books.
96
 During the nineteenth century, therefore, feminists showed a keen
certain
sense of history by keeping records of activities on which women were engaged.
National, regional, and local women’s organizations compiled accounts of their
doings. Personal correspondening, newspaper clippings, and souvenirs were
saved and stored and such sources have provided valuable materials for later
generations of
history. of more information about ordinary women ’during the
Despite the gather
nineteenth
Century, mOst of the writing about women to the “great women”
conformed
theory of History, just as many of mainstream American history concentrated on
great men.” To demonstrate that women were making significant contributions
to American life, female authors singled out women leaders and wrote
biographies, or else important women produced their autobiographies. Most of
these leaders were in Volved in !pub1 life as reformers, activists yorking for
ic women’s right to vote, or authors, werc not representative at a I I of the great
and
of ordinary woman. The lives of ordinary people continued, generally, to be
unto ld in the American histories being published.
XI. SENTENCE TRANSFORMATI ON:
Rewrite the following sentences using the words given.
1. I bet your friend could tell several stories about you. (GOOD)
—> I bet your friend
2. Although Mia was a bit off colour, she decided to take the eam. (SET)
Being under
3. This knife sharpened is completely useless. (DEAD)
—> This
4. Being her only niece, Ann is very precious to her. (APPLE)

5. That'he decided to retire early marked the end of his distinguished

career. (CURTAIN)
—> His
6. It was more of a business arrangement than a marriage.
—+ It was not
7. She herself admitted to being rather selfish.
—+ On
8. You may rif t be considered qualified if you don’t obey the game
regulations.
—+ Failure
9. I will on ly be satisfied if the manager apologizes fully.
—+ Nothing short
10. The man’s life was one of great poverty.
—+ TlJroughout

97