SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO KỲ THI LẬP ĐỘI TUYỂN DỰ THI CHỌN HỌC SINH

BẮC KẠN GIỎI QUỐC GIA THPT NĂM HỌC 2023-2024

ĐỀ CHÍNH THỨC MÔN THI: TIẾNG ANH

(Đề thi gồm có 16 trang) Thời gian làm bài: 180 phút, không kể thời gian giao đề

Điểm toàn bài thi Họ tên, chữ ký Số phách (do Chủ tịch HĐ
chấm thi ghi)
Bằng số Bằng chữ Giám khảo số 1:

Giám khảo số 2:

Thí sinh làm bài trực tiếp trên tờ đề thi

I. LISTENING (5,0 points)

HƯỚNG DẪN PHẦN THI NGHE HIỂU
- Bài nghe gồm 4 phần, mỗi phần được nghe 2 lần, mở đầu và kết thúc mỗi phần đều có tín hiệu.
- Mọi hướng dẫn cho thí sinh được ghi trong mỗi phần tương ứng của bài nghe.
Part 1. For questions 1-5, listen to a talk about equality, diversity and inclusion, then decide whether
these statements are True (T), or False (F). Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes
provided.
1. Based on the results of each indicator, actions can then be taken to improve racer quality.
2. Indicators five through eight are based on data outside the NHS staff survey and concentrate on people's
experiences with bullying, harassment, and abuse at work.
3. The disparity ratios for each band and may propose talent management strategies to aid in the reduction of
the disparity ratio.
4. The following phase may not involve stakeholder groups mapping out the current recruitment process.
5. During the final phase, all information and work from all organizations involved, including HR, EDI, and
various strategy teams, is compiled.
1. ___________ 2. ___________ 3 ___________ 4. ___________ 5. ___________
Part 2. Listen to a talk and answer the question with NO MORE THAN FOUR WORDS.
6. What happened to an isolated area in Siberia in 2016?
_________________________________________________
7. What did the Russian officials soon find out?
_________________________________________________
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8. What did these functionaries have to burn so as to control the spread?
_________________________________________________
9. What is the adverse effect of burning carbon on permafrost?
_________________________________________________
10. What are the other effects of climate change aside from droughts in some areas and floods in others?
_________________________________________________
Part 3: You'll hear an interview with a singer songwriter called madeleine martin who's talking about
her life and career for questions 11 to 15 choose the answer A B C or D which fits best according to
what you hear.
11. What does Madeleine say about having to adopt a professional name?
A. The disadvantages have outweighed the benefits
B. It met with some resistance from some people
C. It has taken her along time to get used to it
D. The change continues to cause confusion
12. How did having a part in a musical help Madeleine?
A. It led to further offers of work on stage
B. It provided inspiration for her songwriting
C. It enabled her to make some useful contacts
D. It allowed her to re-establish a routine in her life
13. Madeleine thinks that stars who seems to be behaving badly _____________.
A. might just be expressing their creativity
B. may be unaware the public does not approve
C. may just be keen to get media exposure
D. might behave equally poorly in another profession
14. Madeleine thinks that she has not become a big star because she ________________.
A. is too honest to push her way to the top
B. has been too ready to listen to other people
C. has never had enough say in her own career
D. is quick to blame herself when things go wrong
15. Compared to her earlier work, Madeleine thinks that her latest songs ____________.
A. reflect her pop music roots more
B. reveal more about her as a person
C. have more carefully written lyrics
D. owe a greater debt to her producer
Part 4. For questions 16-25, listen to an interview with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on Covid-19 vaccine
manufacturing outlook and supply the blanks with the missing information.Write your answers in the
corresponding numbered boxes provided.
Both Pfizer and Moderna may not suffer from intensified pressure in vaccine manufacturing despite a
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soaring in the number of individuals who could become (16) __________________ to get the vaccine.
Instead, a ramp-up in alterations to administer more vaccines is considered the (17) __________________ at
the moment. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla shared his confidence in the company’s ability to deliver the
vaccines on time thanks to the (18) __________________ with the US government. This is viewed as a(n)
(19) __________________ contrast to the hitherto popular conception that vaccine supply can be
insufficient. For the time being, around (20) __________________ have been released. Because of a (21)
__________________ of an extra dose in the vial and rising productivity in manufacturing, it is also
possible to expect an increased pace of vaccine output on a (22) __________________ all year round. The
six doses have been submitted to all (23) __________________ and already been approved by the FDA,
WHO, EU, Switzerland authorities, (24) __________________ authorities etc. Pfizer’s manufacturing team
is now (25) __________________ in virtually impossible speeds.

16. ____________________________ 21. ____________________________

17. ____________________________ 22. ____________________________
18. ____________________________ 23. ____________________________
19. ____________________________ 24. ____________________________
20. ____________________________ 25. ____________________________
II. LEXICO-GRAMMAR (2.0 points)
Part 1. For questions 1-15, choose the correct answer A, B, C or D to each of the following questions.
Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
1. She ________ agreed to go with him to the football match although she had no interest in the game at all.
A. apologetically B. grudgingly C. shamefacedly D. discreetly
2. On the way to Cambridge yesterday, the road was blocked by a fallen tree, so we had to make a
________
A. deviation B. digression C. detour D. departure
3. Because of the fierce storm, the rescue mission had to be ______ to avoid unnecessary loss of life.
A. aborted B. absconded C. banished D. ruptured
4. Factories are ______ to produce enough masks and protective clothing for health workers during the
pandemic.
A. raising red flags B. firing on all cylinders
C. raking over the ashes D. packing heat
5. Jenny decided to draw a line ______ her recent breakup and move on.
A. at B. under C. over D. with
6. It’s hard to believe that so many completely untrue stories are spread on social media. We are living in an
era where ______ information is more credible than fact.
A. full- scale B. low-key C. post-truth D. short-lived
7. Marlene is quite _______. I don't know how she manages to fit everything in.
A. inexhaustible B. tiresome C. inexorable D. indefatigable
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8. The princess's nanny's autobiography really gives the _______ on life among the royals.
A. show-down B. know-how C. low-down D. look-out
9. Anyone who lies under oath will be charged with _______ the course of justice.
A. perverting B. inverting C. converting D. diverting
10. His energy and optimism were a tribute, perhaps, to the ______ life he advocated.
A. deleterious B. abstemious C. amorphous D. deciduous
11. The dispute was eventually resolved by a(n) ________ decision of the arbitrator.
A. interested B. uninterested C. disinterested D. uninteresting
12. She didn’t show even a_____________of emotion when the court found her guilty.
A. gleam B. wink C. flicker D. flash
13.The _________ are against her winning a fourth consecutive gold medal.
A. chances B. bets C. prospects D. odds
14. He will be sued for _____________of contract if he does not do what he promised.
A. fracture B. crack C. rupture D. breach
15. James could no longer bear the _________________surroundings of the decrepit old house.
A. oppressive B. domineering C. pressing D. overbearing
Part 2. For questions 16-20, write the correct form of each bracketed word in each sentence in the
numbered space provided
16. Marble is simply limestone that has been (CRYSTAL)__________ by heat or pressure.
17. If he knows the job is (GAIN)________, he will do it immediately.
18. It was quite obvious that there had been a definite ______________ between her and her daughter in-law
right from the beginning. (STRANGE)
19. The cricket match was a complete ____________ because of the unexpected rain and it has now been
postponed until another day. (WASH)
20. A(n)___________political outlook can be misguided or even dangerous, because it doesn't take the
lessons of the past into account. (HISTORY)
Your answers

16. _____________ 17. _____________ 18. _____________ 19. _____________ 20. _____________

III. READING: (6,0 points)

Part 1: Fill in the gap with ONE suitable word. (1,0 point)
What do Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Julius Caesar, and Napoleon have in common? They were all
left-handed! Beginning early in history, southpaws were feared, neglected, and punished because use of the
left hand was considered 1.________. In fact, the Latin word for “left” is “sinister.” Due to
this 2._________ against the left, left-handed people were forced to switch hands. This change caused many
problems for lefties in school, which resulted in frustration, bad behavior, and high drop-out rates. Maybe
that is why lefties were 3.________ as unintelligent, an idea that could not be further from the truth.
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 Researchers studying the brain have found differences in the left side and right side of the brain.
Researchers believe that people who use more of the left side of their brain tend to be more
4.________. They also tend to use language better and solve problems faster. However, one study also
showed that left-brain people tend to have 5.________ memories.
So, which side of the brain do lefties use? Actually, both. Right-handed people use the left side of the
brain more, whereas left-handed people use both sides of the brain almost 6.________. The part connecting
the two halves of the brain is usually larger in left-handed people. Therefore, information can pass more
7.________ from one side of the brain to the other. The left hemisphere of the brain controls speech,
language, writing, logic, mathematics, and science. The right hemisphere controls music, art, creativity,
perception, and emotion. Since lefties use both sides, they are often both creative and scientific.
Approximately ten percent of the world is left-handed, and the 8.________ of left-handed males to
left-handed females is two to one. Thankfully, parents and teachers no longer treat left-handedness
9.________ a problem to be cured. It may actually contribute to a child’s excellence! If allowed to learn and
develop in their own way, lefties will 10.________ in school. Perhaps one of these lefties might turn out to
be the next Einstein or da Vinci.
(Reading challenge 2)
Your answer:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Part 2: Read the article below and choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best
according to the text. (1,0 points)
Four stages of planetary development
The planet Earth has passed through four-stages of planetary development. All terrestrial planets
pass through these same stages to some degree, but some planets evolved further or were affected in
different ways.
The Four Stages
The first stage of planetary evolution is differentiation, the separation of material according to
density. Earth now has a dense core and a lower-density crust, and that structure must have originated very
early in its history. Differentiation would have occurred easily if Earth were molten when it was young. Two
sources of energy could have heated Earth. First, heat of formation was released by in-falling material. A
meteorite hitting Earth at high velocity converts most of its energy of motion into heat, and the impacts of a
large number of meteorites would have released tremendous heat. If Earth formed rapidly, this heat
would have accumulated much more rapidly than it could leak away, and Earth was probably molten
when it formed. A second source of heat requires more time to develop. The decay of radioactive elements
trapped in the Earth releases heat gradually; but, as soon as Earth formed, that heat began to accumulate and
helped melt Earth. That would have helped the planet differentiate.
While Earth was still in a molten state, meteorites could leave no trace, but in the second stage in
planetary evolution, cratering, the young Earth was battered by meteorites that pulverized the newly
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forming crust. The largest meteorites blasted out crater basins hundreds of kilometers in diameter. As the
solar nebula cleared, the amount of debris decreased, and after the late heavy bombardment, the level of
cratering fell to its present low level. Although meteorites still occasionally strike Earth and dig craters,
cratering is no longer the dominant influence on Earth's geology. As you compare other worlds with Earth,
you will discover traces of this intense period of cratering, on every old surface in the solar system.
The third stage, flooding, no doubt began while cratering was still intense. The fracturing of the crust
and the heating produced by radioactive decay allowed molten rock just below the crust to well up through
fissures and flood the deeper basins. You will find such flooded basins with solidified lava flows on other
worlds, such as the moon, but all traces of this early lava flooding have been destroyed by later geological
activity in Earth's crust. On Earth, flooding continued as the atmosphere cooled and water fell as rain, filling
the deepest basins to produce the first oceans. [A] Notice that on Earth flooding involves both lava and
water, a circumstance that we will not find on most worlds. [B]
The fourth stage, slow surface evolution, has continued for the last 3.5 billion years or more. [C]
Earth’s surface is constantly changing as sections of crust slide over each other, push up mountains, and shift
continents. [D] Almost all traces of the first billion years of Earth’s geology have been destroyed by the
active crust and erosion.
Earth as a Planet
All terrestrial planets pass through these four stages, but some have emphasized one stage over
another, and some planets have failed to progress fully through the four stages. Earth is a good standard for
comparative planetology because every major process on any rocky world in our solar system is represented
in some form on Earth.
Nevertheless, Earth is peculiar in two ways. First, it has large amounts of liquid water on its surface.
Fully 75 percent of its surface is covered by this liquid; no other planet in our solar system is known to have
such extensive liquid water on its surface. Water not only fills the oceans but also evaporates into the
atmosphere, forms clouds, and then falls as rain. Water falling on the continents flows downhill to form
rivers that flow back to the sea, and in so doing, the water produces intense erosion. You will not see such
intense erosion on most worlds. Liquid water is, in fact, a rare material on most planets. Your home planet is
special in a second way. Some of the matter on the surface of this world is alive, and a small part of that
living matter is aware. No one is sure how the presence of living matter has affected the evolution of Earth,
but this process seems to be totally missing from other worlds in our solar system. Furthermore, the thinking
part of life on Earth, humankind, is actively altering our planet.

1. Why does the author mention the ‘Earth’ in paragraph 1?

A. To explain the stages in planetary development for the Earth in detail
B. To contrast the evolution of the Earth with that of other planets
C. To demonstrate that the Earth passed through similar stages to those of most planets
D. To give an example of exploration of the terrestrial planets
2. Which of the sentences below best expresses the information in the highlighted statement in the passage?
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 A. The Earth may have been liquid because the heat collected faster than it dissipated if the formation
took place quickly.
B. Because of-the rapid formation of the Earth, the crust took a long time to cool before it became a solid.
C. The liquid core of the Earth was created when the planet first formed because the heat was so high and
there was little cooling.
D. The cooling caused the Earth to form much more quickly as it met with the intense heat of the new
planet.
3. The word ‘pulverized’ in the passage is closest in meaning to ________.
A. melted into liquid B. broken into small parts C. frozen very hard D. washed very clean
4. What can be inferred about radioactive matter?
A. It floods the planet’s crust. B. It generates intense heat.
C. It is an important stage. D. It is revealed by later activity.
5. According to paragraph 4, how were the oceans formed?
A. Ice gouged out depressions in the Earth. B. Rain filled the craters made by meteorites.
C. Earthquakes shifted the continents. D. Molten rock and lava flooded the basins.
6. According to the passage, which stage occurs after cratering?
A. Flooding B. Slow surface evolution C. Differentiation D. Erosion
7. What is the author’s opinion of life on other planets?
A. She does not know whether life is present on other planets.
B. She does not express an opinion about life on other planets.
C. She is certain that no life exists on any planet except Earth.
D. She thinks that there is probably life on other planets.
8. Look at the four squares that show where the following sentence could be inserted in the passage. ‘At the
same time, moving air and water erode the surface and wear away geological features.’
A. [A] B. [B] C. [C] D. [D]
9. The word ‘process’ in the passage is closest in meaning to________.
A. regulation B. improvement C. procedure D. definition
10. All of the following are reasons why the Earth is a good model of planetary development for purposes of
comparison with other planets EXCEPT_________.
A. The Earth has gone through all four stages of planetary evolution.
B. Life on Earth has affected the evolution in a number of important ways.
C. All of the fundamental processes on terrestrial planets have occurred on Earth.
D. There is evidence of extensive cratering both on Earth and on all other planets

Part 4. Read the following passage and do the tasks that follow. (1,3 points)
THE FACE OF MODERN MAN?

A. In response to the emergence of the ‘metro-sexual’ male, in other words, an urban, sophisticated man
who is fashionable, well-groomed and unashamedly committed to ensuring his appearance is the best it can
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be, a whole new industry has developed. According to research conducted on behalf of a leading health and
beauty retailer in England, the market for male cosmetics and related products has grown by 800% since
2000 and is expected to continue to increase significantly. The male grooming products market has become
the fastest growing sector within the beauty and cosmetics industry, currently equivalent to around 1.5
billion pounds per annum.

B. Over the last decade, several brands and companies catering for enhancement of the male image have
been successfully established, such operations ranging from male-only spas, boutiques, personal hygiene
products, hair and skin care ranges, and male magazines with a strong leaning towards men’s fashion. Jamie
Cawley, holds that his company’s success in this highly competitive market can be attributed to the
‘exclusivity’ tactics employed, in that their products and services are clearly defined as male- orientated and
distinctly separate to feminine products offered by other organisations. However, market analyst, Kim
Sawyer, believes that future growth in the market can also be achieved through sale of unisex products
marketed to both genders, this strategy becoming increasingly easy to implement as men’s interest in
appearance and grooming has become more of a social norm.

C. Traditionalists such as journalist Jim Howrard contend that the turn-around in male attitudes having led to
the success of the industry would have been inconceivable a decade ago, given the conventional male role,
psyche and obligation to exude masculinity; however, behavioural scientist Professor Ruth Chesterton
argues that the metro-sexual man of today is in fact a modern incarnation of the ‘dandy’ of the late
eighteenth and early nineteenth century. British dandies of that period, who were often of middle-class
backgrounds but imitated aristocratic lifestyles, were devoted to cultivation of their physical appearance,
development of a refined demeanour and hedonistic pursuits. In France, she adds, dandyism, in contrast, was
also strongly linked to political ideology and embraced by youths wishing to clearly define themselves from
members of the working class revolutionary social groups of the period.

D. Over recent decades, according to sociologist Ben Cameron, gender roles for both sexes have become
less defined. According to research, he says, achievement of status and success have become less important
in younger generations of men, as has the need to repress emotions. Cameron defines the traditional
masculine role within western societies – hegemonic masculinity – as an expectation that males demonstrate
physical strength and fitness, be decisive, self-assured, rational, successful and in control. Meeting this list
of criteria and avoiding situations of demonstrating weakness, being overly emotional or in any way
’inferior’, he says, has placed a great deal of pressure on many members of the male population. So
restrictive can society’s pressure to behave in a ‘masculine’ fashion on males be, Professor Chesterton states
that in many situations men may respond in a way they deem acceptable to society, given their perceived
gender role, rather than giving what they may actually consider to be the best and most objective response.

E. Jim Howard says that learning and acquiring gender identity makes up a huge component of a child’s
socialisation and that a child exhibiting non-standard behavioural characteristics often encounters social and
self-image difficulties due to their peers’ adverse reactions. According to Kim Sawyer, media images and

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messages also add to pressures associated with the male image, stating that even in these modern and
changing times, hegemonic masculinity is often idolised and portrayed as the definitive male persona.
F. Whilst male stereotypes and ideals vary from culture to culture, according to Professor Chesterton, a
universal trait in stereotypical male behaviour is an increased likelihood to take risks than is generally found
in female behaviour patterns. For this reason, she attributes such behaviour to the influence of genetic
predisposition as opposed to socially learned behaviour. Men, she says, are three times more likely to die
due to accidents than females, a strong indication of their greater willingness to involve themselves in
precarious situations. Ben Cameron also says that an attitude of invincibility is more dominant in males and
is a predominant factor in the trend for fewer medical checkups in males and late diagnosis of chronic and
terminal illness than in their more cautious and vigilant female counterparts.

G. Jamie Cawley, however, remains optimistic that the metro-sexual culture will continue and that what
society accepts as the face of masculinity will continue to change. He attributes this to a male revolt against
the strict confines of gender roles, adding that such changes of attitudes have led and will continue to lead to
establishment of greater equality between the sexes.

Questions 1-5: The Reading Passage has seven paragraphs A-G. Choose the correct heading for
paragraphs B-D and F-G from the list of headings below.
List of Headings
i. Basis and predictions
ii. Revolution or recurrence?
iii. Servicing a growing demand
iv. The surfacing of a new phenomenon
v. A long-held mindset and its downsides
vi. Influence on minors
vii. Hereditary predilection
viii. Effects of external pressures
Question 1: Paragraph B __________
Question 2: Paragraph C __________
Question 3: Paragraph D __________
Question 4: Paragraph F __________
Question 5: Paragraph G __________
Your answer:
1. _________ 2. _________ 3. _________ 4. _________ 5. _________
Questions 6-9: Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Reading Passage?
In boxes 6-9 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts with the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

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6. Sales in the female health and beauty market have slightly declined over recent years.
7. The rise of ‘dandyism’ in England and France is attributed to similar factors.
8. Emotional reaction is contradictory to hegemonic masculine behaviour.
9. There is a correlation between men’s belief that they are indestructible and their decreased likelihood to
seek medical advice.
Your answers

6. _________ 7. ____________ 8. ___________ 9. ___________

Questions 10-13 Look at the following list of statements based on changes in male image and
behaviour. Match each statement with the correct person A-E. Write the correct letters A-E in boxes
10-13 on your answer sheet.
List of Contributors
A. Jamie Cawley
B. Kim Sawyer
C. Jim Howard
D. Professor Ruth Chesterton
E. Ben Cameron

10. Male behaviour patterns have changed in a way that would have been considered implausible in the past.
11. Traditional benchmarks of masculinity are often exacerbated by the press.
12. Metro-sexual culture has developed as a response to modern men’s dissatisfaction with traditional
images.
13. The need to conform to society’s expectations of male behaviour may impede men’s decision-making
and judgement.
Your answers
10. __________ 11. __________ 12. __________ 13. __________

Part 4: In the passage below, seven paragraphs have been removed. Read the passage and choose from
paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap. There is ONE extra paragraph which you do not need to
use. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided. (7pts)
The man who proved that everyone is good at maths
By travelling all the way to Madagascar, the French academic Marc Chemillier has shown that humans
have remarkable innate skills with numbers.
Alex Duval Smith reports.

Maths is simple. But to discover this requires travelling to the ends of the earth where an illiterate,
chain-smoking fortune teller lives in a room with a double bed and a beehive.
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As the sun rises over the hut belonging to Raoke, a 70-year-old witch doctor, a highly pitched din heralds
bee rush hour. The insects he keeps shuttle madly in and out through the window.
1. __________
In his book, Les Mathématiques Naturelles, the director of studies at EHESS (School for Advanced Studies
in Social Sciences) argues that mathematics is not only simple, it is "rooted in human, sensorial intuition".
And he believes that Madagascar's population, which remains relatively untouched by outside influences,
can help him to prove this.
2. ___________
To make his point, Mr Chemillier chose to charge up his laptop computer, leave Paris and do the rounds of
fortune tellers on the Indian Ocean island because its uninfluenced natural biodiversity also extends to its
human population. Divinatory geomancy – reading random patterns, or sikidy to use the local word – is
what Raoke does, when not smoking cigarettes rolled with paper from a school exercise book.
3. ___________
Raoke pours a random number of seeds on to his mat, then picks them up singly or in twos and lays them in
a grid from right to left. Each horizontal gridline has a name – son, livestock, woman or enemy – and each
vertical one has a name, too: chief, zebu (cattle), brother and earth. Whether one or two seeds lie at the
intersection of two gridlines determines the subject's fortune and informs Raoke as to the cure required, and
its price. From the selection of wood pieces on his table, Raoke can mix concoctions to cure ailments, banish
evil spirits and restore friendships.
4. ___________
Given the thousands of plant species in Madagascar that are still undiscovered by mainstream medicine, it is
entirely possible that Raoke holds the key to several miracle cures. But Mr Chemillier is not interested in the
pharmacopaeic aspect of the fortune teller's work.
5. ___________
The way in which he poses questions over the seeds requires the same faculties for mental speculation as
might be displayed by a winner of the Fields Medal, which is the top award any mathematician can aspire to,
said Mr Chemillier.
6. ___________
Raoke says God shows him how to position the seeds. He does not understand why "Monsieur Marc", and
now this other visiting white person, keeps asking him why he lays the seeds in a certain way. Yet it is clear
from a stack of grimy copybooks he keeps under his bed that if indeed God is a mathematician dictating to
Raoke, then the Almighty keeps him busy. When not consulting clients, the diminutive fortune teller spends
hours with his seeds, laying them in different formations and copying the dots down in pencil. Those grids
have value and Raoke sells them to other fortune tellers.
7. ___________
Raoke cannot read but he recognises the word "danger", written in red at the start of the government health
warning. He drops the packet to the floor in shock and disgust

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A. Indeed, I can see it is the lack of memory and computer aids that helps keep Raoke’s mind sharp. In the
developed world people are over-reliant on calculators, dictionaries and documents. And also the developed
world is wrong to ignore the basic human connection with numbers that goes back to using the fingers on
your hands and relating them to the environment around you.

B. This bizarre setting, near nowhere in the harsh cactus savannah of southern Madagascar, is where a
leading French academic, Marc Chemillier, has achieved an extraordinary pairing of modern science and
illiterate intuition.

C. A basic session with the seeds costs 10,000 ariary (£3), then a price is discussed for the cure. It seems
there is nothing Raoke cannot achieve for the top price of one or two zebus – Malagasy beef cattle that cost
about £300 each – though some remedies are available for the price of a sheep. "A white man came from
Réunion with a stomach ailment that the hospitals in France could not cure. I gave him a powder to drink in
a liquid. He vomited and then he was cured," said Raoke.

D. "Raoke is an expert in a reflexive view of maths of which we have lost sight in the West," says Mr
Chemillier. "Even armed with my computer program, I do not fully comprehend Raoke's capacities for
mental arithmetic. He can produce 65,536 grids with his seeds – I have them all in my computer now – but
we still need to do more work to understand his mental capacity for obtaining the combinations of single
seeds and pairs."

E. Mr Chemillier argues that children should be encouraged to do maths before they learn to read and write.
"There is a strong link between counting and the number of fingers on our hands. Maths becomes
complicated only when you abandon basic measures in nature, like the foot or the inch, or even the acre,
which is the area that two bulls can plough in a day."

F. Seeing that pages of the copybooks are being sacrificed to his roll-ups, I offer Raoke a packet of cigarette
papers which he accepts with delight, having never seen them before. He buys his tobacco leaf in long plaits
from the market. So I offer him a green plastic pouch of Golden Virginia.

G. With a low table covered in pieces of wood – each of which has a particular medicinal virtue – Raoke sits
on his straw mat and chants as he runs his fingers through a bag of shiny, dark brown tree seeds. "There
were about 600 seeds in the bag to begin with but I have lost a few," he says. "They come from the fane tree
and were selected for me many years ago. The fane from the valley of Tsivoanino produces some seeds that
lie and others that tell the truth so it is very important to test each seed. I paid a specialist to do that," said the
father of six.

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H. Over the years, Mr Chemillier has earned respect from Raoke and other Malagasy fortune tellers.
"Initially they thought France had sent me to steal their work in an attempt to become the world's most
powerful fortune teller. But once I was able to share grids with them that had been through my computer
program, we established a relationship of trust," says Mr Chemillier.

Part 5: You are going to read a set of science book reviews. For questions 1-10, choose from the
reviews (A-D). The reviews may be chosen more than once. Write your answer in the numbered boxes.
(15 points)
In which review are the following mentioned?
1. ______The warning that the author does not always simplify the subject matter for the reader
2. ______An admission of past ignorance on the reviewer’s part
3. ______The subject matter being dealt with in an impressive amount of detail
4. ______The book having both a narrative and simple academic approach
5. ______The depressing revelations the book makes about certain areas of its subject matter
6. ______The book’s combination of established fact and doubt about the subject
7. ______The reviewer’s sense of satisfaction concerning a personal achievement
8. ______A comparison between two very different causes of anxiety
9. ______Praise for the author’s clarity of thinking and enthusiasm for the subject
10. _____A mild criticism about some mistakes which occur in the book
This month’s new science books
A. Maggie McDonald: Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver
White letters chalked on a blackboard in Sri Lanka are the first things I remember reading. The
pleasure of deciphering that first word (C-A-T, of course) remains with me to this day. By age 11, I read a
book a day, and at 14 I was being tested by an irritated teacher and school librarian who demanded proof
that I was actually reading my library books. But there are only so many authors even the most avid of
readers can digest, and some evaded me. Barbara Kingsolver was one. I had her filed in a ‘sentimental
nature-lover: must avoid ‘category. Friends kept recommending her and a few years ago, I read my first
Kingsolver and ditched my ill-founded prejudice. She’s a biologist by training and a wonderful writer.
Possessed of an analytical mind, she’s capable of putting it all down with real passion: a rare find. If you
haven’t tried her yet, do! Small Wonder is Kingsolver the essayist, elegant and insightful, and a great place
to set out from before you tackle her backlist. Here you’ll find the San Pedro river on the edge of survival,
the energy bill behind the production of a five-calorie strawberry, and scientist Charles Darwin in all his
complexity summed up in a mere four clear paragraphs.
B. Sue Bowler: Earthshaking Science by Susan Elizabeth Hough
Anyone who has ever driven an elderly, ailing car knows the feeling: it’s going to break down, but
who knows when, where and what part of the system will fail? Predicting earthquakes is much the same.
Tidy forecasts of what, when, where and how much it will cost are as rare for quakes as for car repairs, and
about as reliable. Have earthquakes seismologists failed, then? Susan Elizabeth Hough says not, and
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Earthshaking Science sets out her case. This book gives us an excellent outline of how, why and where
earthquakes happen together with a clear-eyed look at the subject’s inherent uncertainties. This is not a book
that proposes simplistic answers. It presents a real picture of a lively research field in all its gritty glory,
written with a sharp eye for the absurdities of scientific life.
The focus on uncertainty has the paradoxical effect of highlighting the areas in which seismologists
are confident, which makes it easier to deal with the ambiguities. Hough includes a careful and informative
discussion of the earthquake risk across the US. Although her findings do not make easy reading, given the
unexpected changes of intraplate quakes, it is an excellent analysis of what to worry about and where.
Overall, this is an intelligent look at a broad field of science that affects many lives. Anyone heading for an
earthquake area should buy a copy.
C. Adrian Barnett: Zoo by Eric Baratay
What’s the attraction of gazing at captive animals? It’s a good question and others have often
sketched out an answer. But in Zoo, Eric Baratay gives us an unprecedented, in-depth answer. He explains
why zoos lodge in the human psyche, their place in society, and how they developed over time. Placing them
in their social and cultural context, Zoo traces the development of animal collections from medieval bear
fights through the menagerie of the French king Louis XIV to modern captive breeding centers. Combining
architectural analysis and political history, the author shows that the desire to display our domination over
nature has long been a hidden feature of zoos.
The text has been translated from the French and in places, not very successfully. A trained biologist
on the translation team might have weeded out appalling zoological errors such as describing the gannet as a
‘rare and much sought after’ bird, which it is definitely not. But these are forgivable oversights in a
wonderful book that is acute at tracing themes of modern animal husbandry. While the book neither
apologizes for nor criticizes the modern zoo, the extensive appendices tell a grim story. They contain a
wealth of statistics on the death rate in collections, and the success rate of captive breeding. An absolute
must for those interested in zoo history –or anyone fascinated by homosapiens’ changing relationship with
our fellow creatures.
D. Ben Longstaff: Journey from the Center of the Sun by Jack B. Zirker
Up, down, in or out. If that’s about as much attention as you pay the Sun, you’re ignoring something
incredible. Did you know that it loses a million tonnes every second in the form of light alone? That’s just
for starters. In Journey from the Center of the Sun, Jack Zirker goes on a breakneck trip from its hellish core
out into the realm of the planets, explaining as much as possible about our star on the way. His
story-meets-textbook approach mainly avoids confusing scientific equations, but enables him to delve into
lots of physics from massive sound waves to exploding pieces of sun the size of Asia.
Zirker’s explanations are clear and sharp, although don’t expect him to lead you by the hand. You do
need to find the patience for a few serious pages of physics and daunting diagrams, but that’s just great news
if you want plenty of fascinating details as well as the grand overview. His informal style keeps things
moving along swiftly, while balancing the lastest findings with background on the pioneers of the field. He
shows how solar research has progressed from inspired speculation into a flourishing science.
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IV WRITING.
Part 1: Summary (15pts) Read the following extract and use your own words to summarize it. Your
summary should be between 100 and 120 words long:
Plants play a very important role in our surroundings. Trees provide us with fresh air, shade in
summers, food, and other benefits without which we cannot even think of living.
One of the most principal organs of a tree is a leaf. The leaves are the organs for photosynthesis - a
process when carbon dioxide is turned into oxygen. The structures of leaves are adapted for efficient
photosynthesis.
Most leaves are broad and so have a large surface area allowing them to absorb more light. Also,
they are thin, which means a short distance for carbon dioxide to diffuse in and oxygen to diffuse out easily.
The blade is the broad, flat part of the leaf. Photosynthesis occurs in the blade, which has many green
food-making cells.
If you look closer at leaves, you will notice networks of thin threads. Those networks are called veins: they
support the structure of the leaf and transport substances to and from the cells in the leaf. The main vein of a
leaf, running down the centre of the leaf, is called midrib.
The area of some plants that connects the plant's stem and leaf is called the petiole. The petiole is the
pipeline through which the products of photosynthesis are moved from individual leaves to the rest of a
plant and through which necessary chemicals and nutrients from other parts of the plant are brought to
individual leave.

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Part 2.
The pie chart shows the percentage of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by the 6 biggest polluters in 2015
while the bar graph shows the top 6 emitters per capita in the same year.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where
relevant. Write at least 150 words.

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Part 3: Essay writing (30 points)
Write an essay on the following topic.
Some claim that scientific innovation is absolutely essential to the development of humanity
while some argue that scientific progress can be detrimental. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. You should write at least 350 words.

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 ---------------------- HẾT ------------------------
Thí sinh không được sử dụng tài liệu; cán bộ coi thi không giải thích gì thêm.
Chữ ký CB coi thi 1: …………………............; Chữ ký CB coi thi 2: …….........………………

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