De Minh Hoa
De Minh Hoa
Directions: In this section of the test, you will have an opportunity to demonstrate
your ability to understand conversations and talks in English. There are three parts in
this section with special directions for each part. Answer all the questions on the basis
of what is stated or implied by the speakers in the recording.
There will be time for you to read the instructions and you will have a chance to check
your work. The recording will be played ONCE only.
Time allowance: about 40 minutes, including 05 minutes to transfer your answers to
your answer sheet.
PART 1-Questions 1-8
Directions: In this part, you will hear EIGHT short announcements or instructions.
There is one question for each announcement or instruction. For each question, choose
the right answer A, B, C or D. Then, on the answer sheet, find the number of the
question and fill in the space that corresponds to the letter of the answer that you
have chosen.
Now, let’s listen to an example. On the recording, you will hear:
Woman: Hello. This is the travel agency returning your call. You left a message
          about the holiday you’ve booked, asking which meals are included in the
          cost during your stay at Sunny Hotel. Lunch and dinner are free but if you
          wish to have breakfast in the hotel, you will need to pay an extra amount of
          money, depending on what you order. Let me know if I can help you with
          any other information. Goodbye.
The correct answer is A. Breakfast. Now, let’s begin with the first question.
1. How many languages are taught at Hanoi International Language School?
   A. 1
   B. 2
   C. 3
   D. 4
                                                                                       63
2. What is the boarding time of Flight VN178?
   A. 3.30
   B. 3.45
   C. 4.15
   D. 4.45
                                                           64
PART 2-Questions 9-20
In this part, you will hear THREE conversations. The conversations will not be
repeated. There are four questions for each conversation. For each question,
choose the correct answer A, B, C or D.
11. According to the woman, why do young people learn language more quickly?
    A. They have friends at university.
    B. Their brains are fresher.
    C. They do not have much concern other than study.
    D. They find languages easier than the elder.
Questions 13 to 16. Listen to the conversation between Emma, the tourist and
Felipe, a local person from Ecuador.
13. What does the man say about the Galapagos Islands?
    A. They are unattractive.
    B. They are a must-visit place for tourists.
    C. They are more popular with foreigners than locals.
    D. There are a lot of famous hotels and food there.
14. Why are the costs in Galapagos Islands so high?
                                                                               65
   A. To improve their service quality
   B. To protect the environment
   C. To attract international tourists
   D. To solve local economic problems
15. Which place can be compared to the Galapagos in terms of scenery?
   A. The Amazon region
   B. The lowlands
   C. South Ecuador
   D. Ecuadorean countryside
16. What do the speakers mean by mentioning “more rights”?
   A. Islanders should have more freedom to do business.
   B. Ecuadoreans should visit the island with more ease.
   C. Tourists should be given more freedom on the island.
   D. Visitors should be encouraged to visit the island.
                                                                             66
PART 3-Questions 21-35
In this part, you will hear THREE talks or lectures. The talks or lectures will not
be repeated. There are five questions for each talk or lecture. For each question,
choose the right answer A, B, C or D.
21. What factor deserves initial consideration when a summer job search is
    launched?
    A. Sort of jobs within the field
    B. Flexible working hours
    C. Employees’ hobbies
    D. Commitment to the job
23. What principle does a person necessarily stick to when looking for the second
    job?
    A. Value the second job over the current one
    B. Ask for the current employer’s permission
    C. Make all the contact out of company time
    D. Have interviews scheduled during official working hours
25. What is of greatest importance for a successful attempt at the job search?
    A. Asking for references from the current company
    B. Referring to what have been achieved in the current job
    C. Getting the track record of the current job
    D. Talking to somebody in the current company for advice
                                                                                 67
Questions 26 to 30. Listen to a talk about recycling carbon.
29. What does the speaker say about the cycle of carbon?
    A. It helps remain carbon in litter for a long time.
    B. It finishes when CO2 comes out of the soil to the air.
    C. It is the result of soil respiration.
    D. It creates the amount of carbon in the living biomass.
30. What does the example of tropical rainforest and the Arctic Tundra
    illustrate?
    A. The balance between photosynthesis and decomposition rate
    B. The importance of litter and organic matter in the production of carbon
    C. The effect of environmental factors on photosynthesis and decomposition rate
    D. The way how the nutrient availability stores carbon within the soil
34. What does the speaker say about poor comprehenders at primary school age?
    A. They make up the majority of primary students.
    B. They perform badly in subjects that require higher cognitive levels.
    C. Oral tasks are more difficult for them to achieve than reading ones.
    D. They have greater receptive skills than productive ones.
35. What is meant about poor comprehenders’ ability to look over their
    comprehension?
    A. They actually know reasons for their poor comprehension.
    B. They can monitor their comprehension only occasionally.
    C. They change their monitoring process when their comprehension has broken
       down.
    D. Controlling comprehension is beyond their ability.
                                                                             69
                                    PHẦN 2: ĐỌC
Directions: In this section of the test, you will read FOUR different passages, each
followed by 10 questions about it. For questions 1-40, you are to choose the best
answer A, B, C or D, to each question. Then, on your answer sheet, find the number of
the question and fill in the space that corresponds to the letter of the answer you have
chosen. Answer all questions following a passage on the basis of what is stated or
implied in that passage.
You have 60 minutes to answer all the questions, including the time to transfer your
answers to the answer sheet.
Example
You will read in the passage that “Cities in the South may not see the first freeze until
November”, so the correct answer is option C. November.
                                                                                       70
PASSAGE 1- Questions 1-10
Line Ever wondered what it feels like to have a different job? Here, four people with
     very different careers reveal the trade secrets of their working day.
    Luc
    My day typically starts with a business person going to the airport, and
  5 nearly always ends with a drunk. I don't mind drunk people. Sometimes I
    think they're the better version of themselves: more relaxed, happier, honest.
    Only once have I feared for my life. A guy ran out at a traffic light and so I sped
    up before his brother could run, too. He seemed embarrassed and made me drop
    him at a car park. When we arrived, the first guy was waiting with a boulder,
 10 which went through the windscreen, narrowly missing my head. But the worst
    people are the ones who call me “Driver!”
    Harry
    I not only provide appearance for my client, I also do damage control. We've
    had clients involved in lawsuits, divorces or drugs. One mistakenly took a gun
 15 to an airport. On the red carpet – at the Academy Awards or the Golden Globes
    – I'm the person making my client look good. The other day at an Oprah
    Winfrey event, the carpet wasn't put down properly and my clients almost went
    flying – I had to catch them. They can make some strange requests, too. At
    a black-tie gala at the White House, two clients hated the dinner and insisted
 20 that we circle around Washington DC to find a KFC open at 1a.m. I had to go
    in wearing a gown and order so they could eat it in the car.
    Jennifer
    I could teach you to do a basic brain operation in two weeks. But what takes
    time and experience is doing it without wrecking the brain of the patients -
 25 learning your limitations takes years.
      I don't get upset by my job. These children are dying when they come in and I
      do whatever I can to make them better.
 35 Solange
    When you become a judge after years of being a barrister and trying to make
    points that win cases, you have to remember that a huge part of what you do is
    listening - to advocates, to witnesses, to defendants. Behind closed doors most
                                                                                     71
    judges, even very experienced ones, are much more anxious about their work
 40 than most people might think. We agonise over what we do and the decisions
    we have to make. It would be bizarre to say that as a judge, we learn to be less
    judgmental. But as you see the complex and difficult lives of the people who
    end up in front of you, you realise that your job is not so much to judge them as
    to ensure that everyone receives justice.
1. In the first paragraph, what best paraphrases the sentence ‘My day typically starts
with a business person going to the airport, and nearly always ends with a
drunk’?
   A. Normally, I will take a business person and a drunk at the airport.
   B. Normally, I will go to the airport in the morning and come back with a drunk.
   C. Normally, my first passenger will be a businessman and my last one a drunk.
   D. Normally, I will drive a businessman to the airport and come back almost drunk.
4. In lines 25, what does Jennifer mean when she says, ‘Learning your limitations
takes years’?
                                                                                    72
    D. prospective
7. According to the passage, whose job involves in a large part listening to others?
   A. Luc’s
   B. Harry’s
   C. Jennifer’s
   D. Solange’s
8. According to the passage, who is likely to meet different types of people every day?
   A. Luc
   B. Harry
   C. Jennifer
   D. Solange
      Spring is the season when newly minted college graduates flock to New York
      City to start their careers. They begin the search for their dream apartment,
      brokers say, with the same single-minded determination that earned them their
      degrees and landed them their jobs in the first place. But that determination only
5     goes so far when it comes to Manhattan real estate. A
      “Almost every single person I’ve worked with thinks there’s a golden nugget of
      an apartment waiting right for them,” said Paul Hunt, an agent at Citi Habitats
      who specializes in rentals. “They all want to be in the Village, and they all want
      the ‘Sex and the City’ apartment.”
10 The first shock for a first-time renter will probably be the prices. Consider that the
   average monthly rent for a one-bedroom in the Village is more than $3,100 and
   that the average for a studio is over $2,200. Or that the average rent for a one-
   bedroom in a doorman building anywhere in Manhattan is close to $3,500. B
                                                                                       73
   Mr. Hunt said that when he shows prospective renters what their budget really
15 can buy, they are sometimes so appalled that “they think I’m trying to fool them
   or something, and they run away and I don’t hear from them again.”
     Alternatively, the renter checks his or her expectations and grudgingly decides to
     raise the price limit, or look in other neighborhoods or get a roommate. “When
     expectations are very high, the process can be very frustrating,” Mr. Hunt said.
20 The thousands of new graduates who will be driving the engine of the city’s rental
   market from now until September will quickly learn that renting in New York is
   not like renting anywhere else. C
   The second shock is likely to be how small a Manhattan apartment can be. It is
   not uncommon in New York, for example, to shop for a junior one-bedroom only
25 to find out it is really a studio that already has or can have a wall put up to create a
   bedroom.
   To start with, landlords want only tenants who earn at least 40 times the monthly
   rent, which means an $80,000 annual salary for a $2,000 apartment. According to
   census data, more than 25,000 graduates aged 22 to 28 moved to the city in 2006,
30 and their median salary was about $35,600. D
     Those who don’t make 40 times their monthly rent need a guarantor, usually a
     parent, who must make at least 80 times the monthly rent. In addition to a security
     deposit, some landlords also want the first and last month’s rent. Tack on a
     broker’s fee and a prospective renter for that $2,000 apartment is out of pocket
     nearly $10,000 just to get the keys to the place.
11. Which of the following would be the best title for this article?
    A. Best Guide to Finding an Apartment in New York City
    B. New York City - Haven for First-time Renters
    C. Surprises Await First-time Renters in New York City
    D. Sure You Can Afford it in New York City?
12. On average, how much do tenants have to pay for a studio in New York City?
    A. About $2,000
    B. More than $2,000
    C. More than $3,100
    D. Less than $3,500
13. Which of the following words can best replace the word ‘prospective’ in line 14?
    A. Apparent
    B. Prosperous
    C. Potential
    D. Upcoming
                                                                                        74
14. Which of the following is NOT listed by Mr. Hunt as a reaction of prospective
renters when he informs them of the prices?
   A. They think the broker is meaning to deceive them.
   B. They decide to move to another city.
   C. They decide to look for a place in a different neighborhood.
   D. They find someone to share the accommodation with.
15. According to Mr. Hunt, what would make the process of finding an apartment
challenging?
    A. Renters do not trust the brokers.
    B. Renters over-expect about places they can rent.
    C. Landlords expect tenants to have secured income.
    D. Renters want to bargain with landlords.
16. Which of the following would best describe the attitude of renters who decide to
raise their price limit after being informed of the price?
    A. Willing
    B. Hopeful
    C. Reluctant
    D. Frustrated
17. In which space (marked A, B, C and D in the passage) will the following sentence
fit?
Aside from the realities of price and space, the requirements set by New York
landlords are also bound to help turn a bright-eyed first-time renter’s outlook grim.
   A. A
   B. B
   C. C
   D. D
18. Why did the writer mention the income of college graduates in 2006?
    A. To demonstrate that graduates can earn a decent salary if they work in New
       York City
    B. To indicate that less than 50% of the surveyed graduates could afford
       apartments in New York City
    C. To suggest that New York City is not a place for graduates
    D. To prove that to guarantee a place in New York City is financially out of reach
       for an average graduate
                                                                                    75
20. Which of the following sentences would best complete the last paragraph?
    A. On top of that, every owner also has their own requirements, so just because
       you qualified here doesn’t mean you’ll qualify there.
    B. So you had better accept that you’ll never have what you want no matter how
       hard you work.
    C. So the key to finding that first apartment is to learn as much as possible about
       the market before arriving in the city and to keep an open mind.
    D. You have to be flexible and you have to come to the city armed with
       information and financial paperwork.
     ‘Ladies and gentlemen’, the captain's voice crackled over the plane's public
     address system. "If you look out of the window on the right side of the aircraft,"
     he said, "you will have a clear view of Greenland. In my 15 years of flying, I
     have not seen a scene like this." I opened the window shade, and I understood
 5   what had so startled the pilot. Instead of the habitual snowy landscape and frozen
     glaciers, a wide swathe of black water was visible as it flowed into the Atlantic. It
     was late spring, but the giant icebox that is Greenland was already melting.
     The fleeting image that I saw from 30,000 feet in early May is consistent with
     massive amounts of climate data gathered from across the planet. It is now clear
10   that on average, the global surface temperature has increased by about one degree
     Celsius since 1900 and has been the cause of extreme climate events across the
     planet.
     At times, warming climate combined with soot in the air thrown by wild fire has
     accelerated the melting. Warm weather is leading ice sheets to break up and
15   turning glaciers into flowing streams. In May, NASA scientists concluded that the
     rapidly melting glacial region of Antarctica has passed "the point of no return",
     threatening to increase sea levels by as much as 13 feet within the next few
     centuries. A The fact that the melting is taking place slowly and its effect may not
     be felt for a few decades seems to offer comfort to those who want to continue
20   their lifestyle relying on fossil fuels. Unwilling to believe in global warming or
     make the sacrifices needed to face the challenge, politicians have been finding
     excuses to do nothing. B
     American President Barack Obama, not hobbled by the need to fight elections,
     has now broken ranks with such politicians. Unable to pass legislation in the face
25   of Republican (and sometimes Democratic) opposition, he instructed the
     Environmental Protection Agency to announce regulatory policies to curb
     emissions from power plants in the United States by 30 per cent by 2030. He
     hopes that regulations would influence the US states to adopt aggressive market
     interventions to address global warming. Of course, execution of the policy still
                                                                                       76
30   lies in the hands of many state governors who would find ways to resist, saying
     that regulations would raise the cost to the economy and cause unemployment
     among coal workers. As President Obama told Thomas Friedman of the New
     York Times: "One of the hardest things in politics is getting a democracy to deal
     with something now where the payoff is long term or the price of inaction is
35   decades away." C
     The price of inaction could be raised - if the coming global summit on climate in
     Paris could do what other summits have failed to do: agree on a fixed target for
     greenhouse gas emissions and a rigorous system for monitoring. China has hinted
     at capping coal burning in the next 15 years, adding weight in favour of action. D
40   Meanwhile, melting in Greenland and the Antarctica will continue as the sun
     scorches the fields and rising water threatens the coastal areas.
21. In paragraph 1, what does the pilot mean by saying, ‘In my 15 years of flying, I
have not seen a scene like this’?
    A. This scene is very unusual.
    B. The pilot is not an attentive person.
    C. The scene makes flying worthy.
    D. This scene is very magnificent.
22. What is the author’s purpose when recounting the scene he saw from the plane?
    A. To introduce the idea of global warming
    B. To give specific detail to support his point that global warming needs public
awareness
    C. To express his opinion towards research on global surface temperature
    D. To contrast with what the pilot is saying
                                                                                       77
26. In which space (marked A, B, C and D in the passage) will the following sentence
fit?
India, the world's third largest user of coal, may have to take measures on its own
or face isolation.
   A. A
   B. B
   C. C
   D. D
27. According to paragraph 4, the author's attitude toward Obama’s actions can be
best described as
    A. skeptical
    B. appreciative
    C. sympathetic
    D. supportive
28. What can the word ‘scorches’ in line 41 be best replaced by?
    A. shines
    B. warms up
    C. burns
    D. heats up
29. Which of the following best describes the tone of the author in this passage?
    A. skeptical
    B. concerned
    C. indifferent
    D. pessimistic
30. Which of the following could best describe the message that the author wants to
pass to readers?
    A. Fossil fuel should be replaced in the future.
    B. Solutions to global warming need political support.
    C. Rapid glacial melt has reached an irreversible point.
    D. Politicians play a key role in resolving global issues.
PASSAGE 4 – QUESTIONS 31 – 40
  The earliest evidence for life on Earth comes from fossilized mats of cyanobacteria
  called stromatolites in Australia that are about 3.4 billion years old. Ancient as their
  origins are, these bacteria, which are still around today, are already biologically
  complex—they have cell walls protecting their protein-producing DNA, so
5 scientists think life must have begun much earlier, perhaps as early as 3.8 billion
  years ago. But despite knowing approximately when life first appeared on Earth,
                                                                                      78
     scientists are still far from answering how it appeared.
   Today, there are several competing theories for how life arose on Earth. Some
   question whether life began on Earth at all, asserting instead that it came from a
10 distant world or the heart of a fallen comet or asteroid. Some even say life might
   have arisen here more than once.
     Most scientists agree that life went through a period when RNA was the head-
     honcho molecule, guiding life through its nascent stages. According to this "RNA
     World" hypothesis, RNA was the crux molecule for primitive life and only took a
15   backseat when DNA and proteins—which perform their jobs much more
     efficiently than RNA—developed.
     RNA is very similar to DNA, and today carries out numerous important functions
     in each of our cells, including acting as a transitional-molecule between DNA and
     protein synthesis, and functioning as an on-and-off switch for some genes.
20 But the RNA World hypothesis doesn't explain how RNA itself first arose. Like
   DNA, RNA is a complex molecule made of repeating units of thousands of smaller
   molecules called nucleotides that link together in very specific, patterned ways.
   While there are scientists who think RNA could have arisen spontaneously on early
   Earth, others say the odds of such a thing happening are astronomical.
   But "astronomical" is a relative term. In his book, The God Delusion, biologist
30 Richard Dawkins entertains another possibility, inspired by work in astronomy and
   physics. Suppose, Dawkins says, the universe contains a billion planets, a
   conservative estimate, he says, then the chances that life will arise on one of them
   is not really so remarkable. Furthermore, if, as some physicists say, our universe is
   just one of many, and each universe contained a billion planets, then it's nearly a
35 certainty that life will arise on at least one of them.
                                                                                    79
   C. bacteria
   D. DNA.
35. What does Robert Shapiro mean when he says, ‘To adopt this, you have to
believe we were incredibly lucky’?
   A. Supporters of RNA world hypothesis must think that humans were extremely
blessed.
   B. Humans were incredibly lucky because the RNA was the first form of life on
Earth.
   C. He believes it is near impossible that RNA accidentally arose on Earth.
   D. Humans were unlucky because the RNA world hypothesis is highly
improbable.
36. Which of the following statements would Dawkins most probably support?
    A. As there are a countless number of planets, it is surprising that life arose on
       Earth only.
    B. Life may exist on planets other than Earth and in universes other than ours.
    C. There are many universes like ours, which contain an incredible number of
       planets.
    D. Given the colossal number of planets, the appearance of life on one of them was
       not unusual.
37. According to the passage, which is most likely supported by Robert Shapiro?
    A. Life on Earth first came from outer space.
    B. It is highly possible that DNA was present in earliest stages of life.
    C. Earliest life might not have arisen in the form of complex molecules.
    D. Life has arisen more than once on Earth.
                                                                                    80
38. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a hypothesis of life origin?
    A. Life was formed elsewhere and then came to Earth.
    B. Life was brought to Earth with crashing comets.
    C. RNA played a central role in the early form of life.
    D. DNA is more efficient than RNA for primitive life.
   40. Which of the following best describes the organization of this passage?
   A. A general presentation followed by a detailed discussion of both sides of an
       issue.
   B. A list of possible answers to a question followed by a discussion of their
       strengths and weaknesses.
   C. A general statement of an issue followed by a discussion of possible answers.
   D. A discussion of different aspects wrapped up by an answer to the question.
                                                                                    81
                                  PHẦN 3: VIẾT
                                 Thời gian: 60 phút
                                    Số câu hỏi: 2
TASK 1
You received an email from your English friend, Jane. She asked you for some
information about one of your friends. Read part of her email below.
I’ve just got an email from your friend, An. She said she’s going to take a course in
London this summer. She asked if she could stay with my family until she could find
an apartment near her school. Can you tell me a bit about her (things like her
personality, hobbies and interests, and her current work or study if possible)? I
want to see if she will fit in with my family before I reply to her email.
Tourism has become one of the fastest growing industries in the world. Millions of
people today are travelling farther and farther throughout the year. Some people
argue that the development of tourism has had negative effects on the different
aspects of local communities; others think that its influences are positive.
You should write at least 250 words. Your response will be evaluated in terms of Task
Fulfillment, Organization, Vocabulary and Grammar.
                                                                                    82
                                     PHẦN 4: NÓI
                                   Thời gian: 12 phút
                                      Số câu hỏi: 3
   -   What is the difference between the kinds of books read by your parents’
       generation and those read by your generation?
   -   Do you think that governments should support free books for all people?
   -   In what way can parents help children develop their interest in reading?
                                                    BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO
83