Asian Science and Mathematics Olympiad for Primary and Secondary Schools (ASMOPSS)

National Competitive Examination 2023

English Secondary : Grade 10 - 12
Saturday, August 19, 2023. 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

ENGLISH PROFICIENCY TEST FOR GRADE 10 – GRADE 12

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Part I: Conversation (Items 1-6)

Short Conversation
Directions: Choose the best answer.
1. Situation: At a police station
Police Officer: Where were you at the time of the murder? Were you with the victim?
Matthew: No, I wasn’t anywhere near the house, and ______________ (2 marks)
A. I didn’t want to be a witness. B. I had nothing to do with the murder.
C. I didn’t want to be frightened. D. I was involved in the murder.

2. Situation: At an office
Boss: Your ideas sound interesting, but not good enough. We want something
more original and concrete. Any ideas?
Jane: Hmm, I think I got one, but I have to ____________. I'll let you know
as soon as possible. (5 marks)
A. lend you a hand B. try to look it up again
C. fix it up immediately D. make sure if it is feasible

English Secondary : Grade 10 – 12 ASMOPSS Thailand

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 Asian Science and Mathematics Olympiad for Primary and Secondary Schools (ASMOPSS)
National Competitive Examination 2023
English Secondary : Grade 10 - 12
Saturday, August 19, 2023. 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

3. Situation: At an office
A: How much work do we have for this evening?
B: I think we’ve finished everything for the day.
A: Good. _______________________ (3 marks)
A. It’s not the end of the world. B. I beg your pardon.
C. Let’s put two and two together. D. Let’s call it a day then.

Long Conversation
Directions: Choose the best answer.
Situation: Reacting to news and events
Michelle: Today we'll discuss how we should highlight our exhibition and decide on
the focus of our show. Any ideas?
Mark: The main point of our show is to promote our latest products into the global
market. I think the demonstration is the most important part of our show.
Renee: I agree with Mark. _____4._____ our products will sell pretty well if we can
draw buyers' attention to our demonstrations. They will be amazed at what
they see. (2 marks)
Sam: After all, our products are the results of the latest technology. They are
high-tech items.

English Secondary : Grade 10 – 12 ASMOPSS Thailand

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 Asian Science and Mathematics Olympiad for Primary and Secondary Schools (ASMOPSS)
National Competitive Examination 2023
English Secondary : Grade 10 - 12
Saturday, August 19, 2023. 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

Michelle: Good point. Then demonstrations will be the highlight of our show. ___5.___,
Tim, I'll confirm our daily schedule during the fair later today. You need to
book our flights first thing in the morning. (3 marks)
Tim: Sure. _____6._____ (5 marks)

4. A. I doubt that B. I don’t think that

C. I’m convinced that D. I prefer that

5. A. By the way B. Furthermore

C. In fact D. However

6. A. I’ll turn it in. B. I’ll put it off.

C. I’ll check it out. D. I’ll see to it.

Part II: Vocabulary (Items 7-12)

Directions: Fill in the blank with the most suitable word.
7. Your completed passport application should be ________ by two recent photographs.
(2 marks)
A. accompanied B. integrated C. excluded D. summarized

English Secondary : Grade 10 – 12 ASMOPSS Thailand

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 Asian Science and Mathematics Olympiad for Primary and Secondary Schools (ASMOPSS)
National Competitive Examination 2023
English Secondary : Grade 10 - 12
Saturday, August 19, 2023. 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

8. An airline spokesman stated that the safety of passengers was absolutely ________.
(3 marks)
A. negligible B. palpable C. paramount D. marginal

9. Every sound is in essence an ________ entity, possessing nothing perpetual but our
memory of it. (5 marks)
A. erratic B. elusive C. ephemeral D. equivocal

Directions: Choose the word which has the closest meaning to the underlined word.
10. The blizzard was a catastrophe that affected 17 states, ranging from New Hampshire
to Tennessee. (2 marks)
A. misfortune B. disaster C. danger D. phenomenon

11. Public dissent over the new tax system culminated in a spate of demonstrations and
industrial action throughout the country. (3 marks)
A. opposition – ended B. anger – started
C. disagreement – increased D. approval – caused

English Secondary : Grade 10 – 12 ASMOPSS Thailand

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 Asian Science and Mathematics Olympiad for Primary and Secondary Schools (ASMOPSS)
National Competitive Examination 2023
English Secondary : Grade 10 - 12
Saturday, August 19, 2023. 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

12. Choose the alternative which has the closest meaning to the underlined word.
Emergency services will face additional problems this winter. (5 marks)
A. Many couples refuse to face the fact that there are problems in their marriage.
B. I don’t know how I’m going to face her after what happened.
C. He had to face the awful truth that she no longer loved him.
D. The president is going to face the difficult task of putting the economy back on its
feet.

Part III: Grammar (Items 13-18)

Directions: Choose the best answer.
13. The meeting ________ to take place on Tuesday, but we had to postpone it. (2 marks)

A. supposes B. is supposed C. supposed D. was supposed

14. The statistics _________ that, in general, women live longer than men. (3 marks)

A. shows B. show C. is shown D. are shown

15. Before Ulysses S. Grant passed away, he requested that he ________ either at West

Point, in the Illinois town of Galena, or in New York City. (5 marks)

A. was buried B. be buried C. buried D. would be buried

English Secondary : Grade 10 – 12 ASMOPSS Thailand
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 Asian Science and Mathematics Olympiad for Primary and Secondary Schools (ASMOPSS)
National Competitive Examination 2023
English Secondary : Grade 10 - 12
Saturday, August 19, 2023. 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

Directions: Choose the underlined part that is grammatically wrong.

16. James Farmer, an American civil rights leader, he helped establish the Congress of
A. B.
Racial Equality, an organization that is dedicated to the principle of non-violence.
C. D.
(2 marks)

17. Perhaps was his defiance against his parents’ attitude that led Salvatore Ferrangamo
A. B.
to fame as the shoemaker for the world’s most famous women. (3 marks)
C. D.

18. Of Thailand's total marine catch, 41 percent is caught in the Gulf of Thailand and 19
A. B.
percent in Andaman Sea. Forty percent is caught in waters outside Thailand's EEZ.
C. D.
(5 marks)

English Secondary : Grade 10 – 12 ASMOPSS Thailand

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 Asian Science and Mathematics Olympiad for Primary and Secondary Schools (ASMOPSS)
National Competitive Examination 2023
English Secondary : Grade 10 - 12
Saturday, August 19, 2023. 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

Part IV: Cloze Test (Items 19-24)

Directions: Fill in the blank with the most suitable word.
For years, Elon Musk was a mysterious, intriguing and _____19._____ (2 marks)
figure. That was back before he purchased Twitter and clasped his hands firmly on the
wheel of the social media platform, boosting his influence and _____20._____ (2 marks) his
voice, in the process revealing that the man behind the spectacular business achievements
of Tesla and SpaceX is not quite what he had led us to believe.
Just in the past week, Musk ______21._____ (3 marks) in ways that cause potentially

far-reaching harm, while shedding more light on the contradiction between his public

pronouncements and his actions.

Musk _____22._____ (3 marks) the attention, so one hesitates to feed him precisely

what he wants. Even those of us who make it a point to ignore his regular trolling find it

necessary to note just how harmful and _____23._____ (5 marks) the former world’s

wealthiest man truly is.

Over the weekend, Musk – whose claim that he is a “free speech absolutist” has

already appeared self-serving in the past – surrendered to demands from the increasingly

authoritarian government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, _____24._____

(5 marks) some accounts and more than 400 tweets in the country.

English Secondary : Grade 10 – 12 ASMOPSS Thailand

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 Asian Science and Mathematics Olympiad for Primary and Secondary Schools (ASMOPSS)
National Competitive Examination 2023
English Secondary : Grade 10 - 12
Saturday, August 19, 2023. 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

19. A. admired-widely B. widely-admired

C. wide-admired D. widely-admiring
20. A. obstructing B. magnifying C. diminishing D. suppressing
21. A. behaves B. behaved C. has behaved D. would behave
22. A. craves B. repels C. relinquishes D. compels
23. A. philanthropic B. pious C. hypocritical D. gullible
24. A. to block B. who blocked C. blocked D. blocking

Part V: Reading Comprehension (Items 25-30)

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the questions.
It is commonly known that placebos can cure everything from dandruff to leprosy. They have long been

used by witch doctors, faith healers, and even modern physicians. Nowadays, thanks to modern

distribution techniques, virtually everyone can receive this most potent of medicines, not just those who

are fortunate enough to receive placebos in a medical testing program.

Normally, in a drug test, half of the patients are given the new medication, while the other half, a

harmless substitute. This is due to the fact that every drug tested would prove effective if there were

not any special steps taken to neutralize the placebo effect. The test demonstrates the value of

placebos because approximately five percent of the patients are cured, even though placebos are

made from useless substances.

English Secondary : Grade 10 – 12 ASMOPSS Thailand

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 Asian Science and Mathematics Olympiad for Primary and Secondary Schools (ASMOPSS)
National Competitive Examination 2023
English Secondary : Grade 10 - 12
Saturday, August 19, 2023. 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

To most people, the lucky patients in a drug test are those who receive the experimental drug because

the real drug is thought to have a curative effect on the patients who take it. However, analysis shows

that it is the patients taking the placebos who are the luckier. Because they do not take the experimental

drug, these patients do not risk any adverse effects from the new drug. Moreover, they do have zero

chances of suffering serious side effects of the experimental drug if the drug is found worthless in the

test. Placebos never result in harmful side effects.

Placebos regularly cure more than five percent of the patients, and it is thought that placebos would

cure considerably more if patients had no doubts associated with the test. Patients’ faith plays a vital

role in a test because cures depend mainly on faith. Despite that, patients are still aware that they may

or may not be given the real drug, which may or may not prove to be effective. As they know that the

probability of being given the new drug is about fifty percent, the placebo cure rate would be more

than doubled if doubts are completely eliminated.

The real curing power of placebo is probably based on the patient’s faith in the treatment. With this

assumption, the ten percent range of cure rates can be achieved if patients are given placebos under

the guise of a proven cure, even when they know their diseases are incurable.

To reach 10 percent level of cure, the placebo treatment requires word-of-mouth advertising. This may

take a while for the newly established program to cultivate enough credibility to ensure its success.

One person says, “I was told that my problem was beyond medical treatment, but placebos cured

English Secondary : Grade 10 – 12 ASMOPSS Thailand

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 Asian Science and Mathematics Olympiad for Primary and Secondary Schools (ASMOPSS)
National Competitive Examination 2023
English Secondary : Grade 10 - 12
Saturday, August 19, 2023. 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

me.” This saying has drawn countless patients to the treatment with the required degree of faith.

Furthermore, when only patients with terminal illnesses are treated, those not cured tell no one of the

failure.

Unfortunately, the idea of setting up placebo treatment centers as nonprofit businesses was ruled out.

This is due to the first rule of public medicine, which states that free medicine must not be given to the

public. The rationale behind the rule is that most patients feel the medicine is worth as much as the

amount it costs them, and public health services know that medicine not paid for is often not effective.

Even though the patients do not know that they are taking sugar pills, they seem to have no faith in the

treatment when the placebo treatment cost is too low. For this reason, although it is against higher

principles, patients should be charged high for placebo treatments. This sacrifice of principles,

however, is a small price to pay for the sake of the patients’ health.

English Secondary : Grade 10 – 12 ASMOPSS Thailand

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 Asian Science and Mathematics Olympiad for Primary and Secondary Schools (ASMOPSS)
National Competitive Examination 2023
English Secondary : Grade 10 - 12
Saturday, August 19, 2023. 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

25. Which of the following statements best expresses the main idea of the passage?

(2 marks)

A. Thanks to modern distribution techniques, more patients can get access to

placebo treatments

B. Placebo treatment is a proven medical tool of modern medicine, and its expansion

to a massive scale will benefit patients’ health.

C. Whether placebo treatments work effectively or not depends on patients’ faith in

the treatment.

D. The price of placebo treatment must be kept high because patients have no faith in

the treatment if it is too cheap.

26. Why do medical researching give half of the subjects the new drug and the other half

placebos in a medical test? (3 marks)

A. This method reduces the risk of harming too many subjects in if the experimental

drug proves to be unsafe.

B. This method is to confirm that the experimental drug is truly effective.

C. Some people prefer to receive placebos rather than the new drug.

D. Some experimental drugs are so expensive that they cannot be given to all the

subjects.
English Secondary : Grade 10 – 12 ASMOPSS Thailand
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 Asian Science and Mathematics Olympiad for Primary and Secondary Schools (ASMOPSS)
National Competitive Examination 2023
English Secondary : Grade 10 - 12
Saturday, August 19, 2023. 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

27. Which one of the following is most analogous to the idea presented in the last
paragraph? (5 marks)
A. Buying a computer at a discount
B. Making a donation to several charities
C. Buying a second-hand car from a reliable used car dealer
D. Choosing the most expensive shampoo from a variety of product brands

28. Which of the following statements can be inferred from the passage? (3 marks)
A. The author of this passage supports outlawing the use of placebo treatment.
B. Placebo treatments can be used to cure all types of diseases.
C. Most doctors suggest that patients with terminal illnesses turn to placebo
treatments.
D. The author of this passage believes that the benefits of a placebo treatment are
worth compromising the principles established.

English Secondary : Grade 10 – 12 ASMOPSS Thailand

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 Asian Science and Mathematics Olympiad for Primary and Secondary Schools (ASMOPSS)
National Competitive Examination 2023
English Secondary : Grade 10 - 12
Saturday, August 19, 2023. 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

29. Which of the following words has the same meaning as “rationale” in the last
paragraph? (2 marks)
A. reason B. problem C. situation D. hint

30. What is the author’s attitude toward placebo treatment? (5 marks)

A. reserved advocacy B. enthusiastic support
C. complete objectivity D. total indifference

English Secondary : Grade 10 – 12 ASMOPSS Thailand

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 Asian Science and Mathematics Olympiad for Primary and Secondary Schools (ASMOPSS)
National Competitive Examination 2023
English Secondary : Grade 10 - 12
Saturday, August 19, 2023. 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

Grade 10-12 Answer Key

Item Score Answer Item Score Answer

1 2 B 16 2 B
2 5 D 17 3 A
3 3 D 18 5 C
4 2 C 19 2 B
5 3 A 20 2 B
6 5 D 21 3 C
7 2 A 22 3 A
8 3 C 23 5 C
9 5 C 24 5 D
10 2 B 25 2 B
11 3 A 26 3 B
12 5 D 27 5 D
13 2 D 28 3 D
14 3 B 29 2 A
15 5 B 30 5 A

English Secondary : Grade 10 – 12 ASMOPSS Thailand

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