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E. Complete each paragraph using the correct form of one of the following verbs. There may be more than one possible answer. not submit - welcome - finalise - distribute - hold 1. "The programme of events for this year's student induction week (1) has been finalised The principal (2) ....................... the new students at 12 o'clock on Monday 5th September in the main hall. Individual departments (3) ..................... meetings that afternoon, so booklists can be handed out. By the end of the day, tutors (4) ....................... the lists to all new students. Second-year students who (5) ....................... their course request forms must do so by Wednesday 7th September at the latest. wait - recognise - get - take - arrange - drive 2. "I've got to go to the doctor's the afternoon you arrive. I hope you don't mind, but 1 (1)........................ for someone to come and pick you up. When you (2)........................... to the airport, go straight to the information desk, where Tina (3).......................... with a sign with your name on it, so you (4)....................... her right away. She (5)....................... you to my house. 1 (6)........................... a few days off work so we can do some sightseeing together. Can't wait to see you! appeal - measure - not need - realise - consider - buy - grow - keep 3. “So, you (1)........................ getting a pet. Hamsters and canaries are so old-fashioned. The local pet shop has snakes and lizards, and the idea of an iguana in your bedroom really (2)....................... to you. But before you (3)............................ one on impulse, there are a few things you should know. A baby iguana (4)......................... a lot of space at first, but it (5)...................... very quickly. An adult male (6)......................... up to six feet long. Where (7)........................... a creature of that size? And (8)............................. that it will probably live for up to 20 years? '
1
23 tháng 8 2020

Part 1:
1. welcomes
2. will hold,
3. will distribute
4. haven't submitted
Part 2:
1. arrange
2. get
3. will be waiting
4. will recognize
5. will drive
6. have taken
Part 3:
1. are considering
2. appeals
3. buy
4. doesn't need
5. grows
6. measures
7. to keep
8. realizing

Part 3: You are going to read a newspaper article by a British student who worked at a summer camp in the US. Seven paragraphs have been removed from the article. Choose from the paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap (124-130). There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use. (7 points)SUMMER CAMP: A SOAP OPERAEvery June, thousands of British students fly to the United States to spend their holidays working at summer camps. In return, they get a free return flight, full board,...
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Part 3: You are going to read a newspaper article by a British student who worked at a summer camp in the US. Seven paragraphs have been removed from the article. Choose from the paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap (124-130). There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use. (7 points)

SUMMER CAMP: A SOAP OPERA

Every June, thousands of British students fly to the United States to spend their holidays working at summer camps. In return, they get a free return flight, full board, pocket money and the chance to travel. Lucy Graham joined a camp and spent eight weeks working with six to sixteen-year-olds.

I applied at the last minute and was so thrilled at the prospect of spending the holidays doing something more exciting than working in the local supermarket that I hastily accepted the only job left - in the camp laundry.

(124) ___ On arrival I was told by the camp director that I would be doing the washing for 200 children - on my own. Any romantic dreams I'd had quickly turned into nightmare reality. For the first week, the party sent out by the jobs agency - nine students, including me - became a full-time cleaning squad, getting the place ready for its grand opening.

(125) ___ The children's arrival also brought 50 American counsellors to look after them, and the opening of the laundry. At first, I had to work from 8.45 in the morning till 10.30 at night to get all my work done. Considering there was no hot water in the laundry and the machines were old, the washing came out remarkably well.

(126) ___ The kitchen workers, maintenance man and myself found that we were on the lowest level of the camp's class system. Our four British counsellor friends had a much better time. They got friendly with their American colleagues and were respected by the children. They were also given tips by parents after the holiday.

(127) ___ As for the camp itself, it had a large lake and excellent sporting facilities. But because organised activities for the children carried on into the evening, we usually didn't get the chance to use them. However, much more annoying were my room-mates, three 18­-year-old girls who worked in the dining room.

(128) ___ On top of that, the camp food was poor, with child-size portions; fresh fruit and vegetables were rare. One catering worker even stood over the pineapple rings, checking that you took only one each.

(129) ___ However, I couldn't set off as soon as the children left because we had to stay on for a few days, cleaning and closing down the camp. My last duty was to load up the rubbish bags and take out any clothes the children had thrown away, in case their parents asked about them.

(130) ___ What's more, without the free ticket I got to the US - and the rail ticket from my parents ­- I would never have seen Niagara Falls, gone up the Empire State Building or had my picture taken with Mickey Mouse at Disney World.

A They had never been away from home before, and spent most of the night screaming with excitement. Sometimes, the only way to get any rest was to pretend to be ill and sleep in the medical centre.

B We weren't so lucky. We were never invited to join in the evening activities. When we did manage to get out of the camp, our evenings tended to consist of eating ice-cream at the local gas station.

C As a result, the standard of the camp you end up in is usually a question of luck. However, the agencies do hold meetings where you can ask representatives from camps about the facilities and the nature of the work you will be expected to do.

D We swept out the bedrooms and scrubbed the lavatories, gymnasium and kitchen. We polished the cooking equipment, put up the sports nets and carried any luggage sent on ahead to the bedrooms.

E On the whole it had been well worth it. Despite the washing, the camp's plus points had been a beautiful setting, meeting a great bunch of travelling companions and doing far more reading for my university course than I would have done at home.

F All these disadvantages meant that Saturdays, our days off, were highly valued. The places we visited then, such as New York City, gave me an appetite for travelling later on. If I hadn't done that, I would have regretted it - there is so much to see and do and I was keen to get on with it.

G But with so many clothes to wash and dry, some did get mixed up. I had six­-year-olds marching up and telling me that their parents would be very angry if I didn't find their favourite sweater.

H I started to have my doubts while squashed between the swimming instructor and the sports teacher during the three-hour minibus ride to the camp, which was in a tiny town about 90 miles from New York City.

Your answer:

124. ……….……………       125. ……………………        126. ……………………

127. …………………….       128. ……………………        129. ……………………

130. …………………….      

 

Part 4: Read the passage and fill in each gap with ONE suitable word. (10 points)

We have seen photographs of the whole earth taken from great dis­tances in outer space. This is the first time, the (131) ………….. first time, in man's long history that such pictures have been possible. (132) ………….. many years most people have believed that the earth was ball-shaped. A few thought it was round and (133) ………….., like a coin. Now we know, beyond doubt, that those few were (134) …………. The photographs show a ball-shaped (135) …………., bright and beautiful. In colour photographs of the earth, the sky is as (136) …………. as coal. The (137)            ………….. looks much bluer than it usually does to us. All our grey (138) ………….. are a perfect white in colour; because, of course, the (139) ………… is for ever shining on them. We are (140) ………….. to live on the beautiful earth.

Giúp mk làm bài này thôi!

1
10 tháng 8 2016

Part 4: 

We have seen photographs of the whole earth taken from great dis­tances in outer space. This is the first time, the (131) very first time, in man's long history that such pictures have been possible. (132) For many years most people have believed that the earth was ball-shaped. A few thought it was round and (133) flat, like a coin. Now we know, beyond doubt, that those few were (134) wrong/mistaken. The photographs show a ball-shaped (135) earth/planet, bright and beautiful. In colour photographs of the earth, the sky is as (136) black as coal. The (137) sea looks much bluer than it usually does to us. All our grey (138) clouds are a perfect white in colour; because, of course, the (139) sun is for ever shining on them. We are (140) lucky to live on the beautiful earth

 

11 tháng 8 2016

thank you

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.Let's see if you can correctly answer the following question: At what age are Latter-day Saint youth allowed to date? Of course, you probably immediately said, "16". OK, then, how about this one: At what age are you allowed to have a boyfriend or girlfriend? You may be thinking, “Um, 16. Didn't I just answer that?" Well, if that was your answer, then, even though you aced the...
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Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

Let's see if you can correctly answer the following question: At what age are Latter-day Saint youth allowed to date? Of course, you probably immediately said, "16". OK, then, how about this one: At what age are you allowed to have a boyfriend or girlfriend? You may be thinking, “Um, 16. Didn't I just answer that?" Well, if that was your answer, then, even though you aced the first question, you missed the second one. Just because you can date when you turn 16 doesn't mean you should immediately start looking for a steady boyfriend or girlfriend. [….]

To begin with, there are two different types of dating: casual dating and steady (or serious) dating. The distinction between the two has to do with exclusivity. With casual dating, there is no exclusivity. The two people aren't “a couple” or “an item”, and they don't refer to each other as a “boyfriend” or “girlfriend”. They don't pair off. People who are casually dating are simply friends. This is the kind of dating the Church encourages you to do after you turn 16. You should put aside a need to find a “one and only”. If you're dating casually, you don't expect a relationship to become a romance. You have fun; you do a variety of things with a variety of people. On the other hand, steady dating means the couple is exclusive with one another. They expect each other not to date anyone else or to be emotionally or physically close with other people. Couples who date seriously consider the future, because there is a real possibility they could stay together. This is the kind of dating the Church encourages young adults (generally, people in their 20s) to progress toward, because that's the age when they should be thinking of marrying. [….]

Question 2: The word “aced” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ____.

A. gave up

B. misled

C. succeeded in

D. understood

2
4 tháng 2 2018

Đáp án C

Aced = succeeded in (thành công trong lĩnh vực gì)

28 tháng 12 2020

Đáp án: C

Dịch: Những người tình cờ hẹn hò chỉ đơn giản là bạn bè. Đây là kiểu hẹn hò mà Giáo hội khuyến khích bạn làm sau khi bạn đủ 16 tuổi. Bạn nên bỏ qua một nhu cầu tìm kiếm một người khác và chỉ có một.

Thông tin: People who are casually dating are simply friends. This is the kind of dating the Church encourages you to do after you turn 16. You should put aside a need to find a “one and only”.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.Let's see if you can correctly answer the following question: At what age are Latter-day Saint youth allowed to date? Of course, you probably immediately said, "16". OK, then, how about this one: At what age are you allowed to have a boyfriend or girlfriend? You may be thinking, “Um, 16. Didn't I just answer that?" Well, if that was your answer, then, even though you aced the...
Đọc tiếp

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

Let's see if you can correctly answer the following question: At what age are Latter-day Saint youth allowed to date? Of course, you probably immediately said, "16". OK, then, how about this one: At what age are you allowed to have a boyfriend or girlfriend? You may be thinking, “Um, 16. Didn't I just answer that?" Well, if that was your answer, then, even though you aced the first question, you missed the second one. Just because you can date when you turn 16 doesn't mean you should immediately start looking for a steady boyfriend or girlfriend. [….]

To begin with, there are two different types of dating: casual dating and steady (or serious) dating. The distinction between the two has to do with exclusivity. With casual dating, there is no exclusivity. The two people aren't “a couple” or “an item”, and they don't refer to each other as a “boyfriend” or “girlfriend”. They don't pair off. People who are casually dating are simply friends. This is the kind of dating the Church encourages you to do after you turn 16. You should put aside a need to find a “one and only”. If you're dating casually, you don't expect a relationship to become a romance. You have fun; you do a variety of things with a variety of people. On the other hand, steady dating means the couple is exclusive with one another. They expect each other not to date anyone else or to be emotionally or physically close with other people. Couples who date seriously consider the future, because there is a real possibility they could stay together. This is the kind of dating the Church encourages young adults (generally, people in their 20s) to progress toward, because that's the age when they should be thinking of marrying. [….]

Question 1: It can be inferred from the first paragraph that ____.

A. dating doesn't mean having exclusive boyfriend or girlfriend

B. teenagers are supposed to have a steady boyfriend or girlfriend

C. teenagers date as many boyfriends or girlfriends as they can

D. young people shouldn't be allowed to date at 16

2
3 tháng 9 2017

Đáp án A

Đoạn 1 cho rằng hẹn hò không có nghĩa là có bạn trai hay bạn gái độc quyền

28 tháng 12 2020

Đáp án: A

I. Rewrite each of the following sentences, using the suggested word. 1. My school has conducted several volunteer programs to raise students' awareness of helping others. (BEEN) 2. My grandfather became deaf when he turned 70 years old. (SINCE) 3. James last visited his mother, who has been living in the nursing home, in December. (NOT) 4. Helen and her boyfriend haven't gone on a date for ages. (IT) 5. When Maria started college, she stopped doing volunteer work. (SINCE) II. Read the...
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I. Rewrite each of the following sentences, using the suggested word.

1. My school has conducted several volunteer programs to raise students' awareness of helping others. (BEEN)

2. My grandfather became deaf when he turned 70 years old. (SINCE)

3. James last visited his mother, who has been living in the nursing home, in December. (NOT)

4. Helen and her boyfriend haven't gone on a date for ages. (IT)

5. When Maria started college, she stopped doing volunteer work. (SINCE)

II. Read the passage and choose the best answer to each of the following questions.

four great reasons for high school students to volunteer

Volunteer work presents a great opportunity for teenagers to prepare for the future, as well as to improve their communities. In addition to boosting socializing skills and awareness of local organizations and social issues, high school students who volunteer often may have an advantage over their peers when headed off to college.

1. Gaining New Skills

With each new volunteer activity, students gain new skills. The skills seem to be basic or trivial at the time of training, but may provide fundamental grounds for future success. For example, For example, by managing the receipt, sorting and distributing the donations from community, school students might learn how to use spreadsheets to keep track of inventory. These skills are a great foundation for a job in management, accounting, or running a small business.

2. Giving Time

One of the most charitable acts anyone can do is donate their time and talents. Students who are busy with after-school sports or work to help support their families and still make time to volunteer on evenings or weekends show their outstanding character and resolve to make a difference. High school students may help to mentor younger ones or to assist with one-time special events held on weekends.

3. Showing Responsibility

Just like going to a job, committing to a volunteer position shows a student's responsibility. High school students should get involved in volunteer programs relating to their hobbies in order to naturally build responsibility. For example, those who love to read can find volunteer opportunities with a local library and those who enjoy sports can coach athletics at an after-school program for children.

4. Adding to the Resume

If a high school student's pre-college resume is limited to summer employment at a local restaurant or a cafe. it might be time to add a few lines. Commitment to community volunteer work over a long time shows that a student is willing to work for something without monetary compensation, including a college internship or apprenticeship, which may be a requirement of college programs.

1. According to the passage, who is volunteer work beneficial to?

A. high school students

B. students' communities

C. both students and communities

D. none of them

2. The word 'trivial' in paragraph 2 most closely means ________

A. important

B. significant

C. of little importance

D. fundamental

3. According to the passage, what job will the students' skill of using spreadsheets be useful to?

A. a manager

B. an accountant

C. a business owner

D. all of them

4. Why should busy students make their time to volunteer?

A. to demonstrate their excellent quality

B. to show their outstanding outcomes

C. to support their families

D. to develop their talents

5. According to the passage, what volunteer programs help to develop students' responsibility?

A. The programs are related to their future jobs

B. The programs are related to their interests

C. The programs are available after school

D. The programs are held by their local library

6. What volunteer work may be suitable for a student who likes sports?

A. working in a local library

B. joining a football team in their school

C. being a sport instructor at a primary school

D. coaching a football program for children after school hours

7. The phrase 'it might be time to add a few lines' in paragraph 5 most closely means________

A. Some more lines should be added in your resume

B. Much volunteer work must be included in your resume

C. You might spend more time to write your resume

D. Your resume should include your experience in volunteering

8. What may be a requirement of college programs for their future students?

A. being able to work over time

B. agreeing to work as a paid apprentice

C. being willing to work without being paid

D. being employed before

III. Read the text and decide whether the sentences are true (T) or false (F)

USAID IN Vietnam

Assisting persons with disabilities has long been one of the top priorities for the U.S. Government in Vietnam. Since 1989, with the establishment of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Leahy War Victims Fund (LWVF), USAID is working to increase the availability of and access to a wide variety of programs benefiting people with disabilities in conflict-affected countries.

In Vietnam, U. S. assistance has helped address medical needs and support the inclusion of Vietnamese with disabilities into all aspects of society. The U.S. Government has contributed more than $80 million in assistance to persons with disabilities, has improved the lives of more than 30,000 persons with disabilities, and has strengthened the Government of Vietnam’s capacity to provide high quality services to those in need. USAID has provided rehabilitation services for tens of thousands of persons with disabilities, education and vocational training including information technology, job placement, supporting parent associations to expand the advocacy for disability issues, and support for the development of legal codes to improve physical accessibility for persons with disabilities in public buildings.

USAID'S work supporting persons with disabilities is also viewed by many as contributing to successful US-Vietnam cooperation to overcome the painful past shared by the two countries. Program activities work in three areas: policy advocacy and coordination, direct assistance including occupational and physical therapy and providing assistive devices, and health systems strengthening, to provide quality disabilities-related care and treatment. Persons with disabilities have been more readily integrated into society by improving their access to health, education and social services. USAID programs support local governments in implementing the national disability law and the U.N. Convention on the rights of Persons with disabilities, and influencing public policies that affect the lives of persons with disabilities.

1. USAID was established in 1989 _____

2. USAID aims to make various programs benefiting all people in conflict-affected countries ___________

3. Addressing medical needs of Vietnamese people is the priority of U.S assistance in Vietnam ___________

4. American government has made an $80 million contribution to help disabled people in Vietnam __________

5. Thanks to USAID, more high quality services are provided to disabled people in Vietnam __________

6. USAID has helped to rehabilitate only a limited number of persons with disabilities in Vietnam __________

7. USAID work makes a great contribution to the success of US-Vietnam cooperation ___________

8. The main focus of USAID activities is providing direct assistance with occupation replacement and health treatment for the disabled. ___________

9. Having better access to health, education and social services, the disabled in Vietnam have become more integrated into society ___________

10. Thanks to USAID programs, the Vietnam's national disability law and the U.N. Convention on the Rights of persons with disabilities have been enforced ___________

0
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.Let's see if you can correctly answer the following question: At what age are Latter-day Saint youth allowed to date? Of course, you probably immediately said, "16". OK, then, how about this one: At what age are you allowed to have a boyfriend or girlfriend? You may be thinking, “Um, 16. Didn't I just answer that?" Well, if that was your answer, then, even though you aced the...
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Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

Let's see if you can correctly answer the following question: At what age are Latter-day Saint youth allowed to date? Of course, you probably immediately said, "16". OK, then, how about this one: At what age are you allowed to have a boyfriend or girlfriend? You may be thinking, “Um, 16. Didn't I just answer that?" Well, if that was your answer, then, even though you aced the first question, you missed the second one. Just because you can date when you turn 16 doesn't mean you should immediately start looking for a steady boyfriend or girlfriend. [….]

To begin with, there are two different types of dating: casual dating and steady (or serious) dating. The distinction between the two has to do with exclusivity. With casual dating, there is no exclusivity. The two people aren't “a couple” or “an item”, and they don't refer to each other as a “boyfriend” or “girlfriend”. They don't pair off. People who are casually dating are simply friends. This is the kind of dating the Church encourages you to do after you turn 16. You should put aside a need to find a “one and only”. If you're dating casually, you don't expect a relationship to become a romance. You have fun; you do a variety of things with a variety of people. On the other hand, steady dating means the couple is exclusive with one another. They expect each other not to date anyone else or to be emotionally or physically close with other people. Couples who date seriously consider the future, because there is a real possibility they could stay together. This is the kind of dating the Church encourages young adults (generally, people in their 20s) to progress toward, because that's the age when they should be thinking of marrying. [….]

Question 3: According to the passage, what is NOT true about casual dating?

A. You can be friend with each other.

B. You don't pair off exclusively.

C. You find your "one and only”.

D. You meet different kinds of people.

2
19 tháng 1 2019

Đáp án C

Thông tin: People who are casually dating are simply friends. This is the kind of dating the Church encourages you to do after you turn 16. You should put aside a need to find a “one and only”

Dịch: Những người tình cờ hẹn hò chỉ đơn giản là bạn bè. Đây là kiểu hẹn hò mà Giáo hội khuyến khích bạn làm sau khi bạn 16 tuổi. Bạn nên bỏ qua một nhu cầu tìm kiếm một người khác và chỉ có một.

28 tháng 12 2020

Đáp án: C

Dịch: Những người tình cờ hẹn hò chỉ đơn giản là bạn bè. Đây là kiểu hẹn hò mà Giáo hội khuyến khích bạn làm sau khi bạn đủ 16 tuổi. Bạn nên bỏ qua một nhu cầu tìm kiếm một người khác và chỉ có một.

Thông tin: People who are casually dating are simply friends. This is the kind of dating the Church encourages you to do after you turn 16. You should put aside a need to find a “one and only”.

The Penny Black It might not have looked very impressive, but the Penny Black, now 170 years old, was the first stamp to be created and it launched the modem postal system in Britain. Before 1840 and the arrival of the Penny Black, you had to be rich and patient to use the Royal Mail. Delivery was charged according to the miles travelled and the number of sheets of paper used; a 2-page letter sent from Edinburgh to London, for example, would have cost 2 shillings, or more than £7 in today’s...
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The Penny Black

It might not have looked very impressive, but the Penny Black, now 170 years old, was the first stamp to be created and it launched the modem postal system in Britain.

Before 1840 and the arrival of the Penny Black, you had to be rich and patient to use the Royal Mail. Delivery was charged according to the miles travelled and the number of sheets of paper used; a 2-page letter sent from Edinburgh to London, for example, would have cost 2 shillings, or more than £7 in today’s money. And when the top-hatted letter carrier came to deliver it, it was the recipient who had to pay for the postage. Letter writers employed various ruses to reduce the cost, doing everything possible to cram more words onto a page. Nobody bothered with heavy envelopes; instead, letters would be folded and sealed with wax. You then had to find a post office - there were no pillar boxes - and hope your addressee didn't live in one of the several rural areas which were not served by the system. If you were lucky, your letter would arrive (it could take days) without being read or censored.

The state of mail had been causing concern throughout the 1830s, but it was Rowland Hill, an inventor, teacher and social reformer from Kidderminster, who proposed a workable plan for change. Worried that a dysfunctional, costly service would stifle communication just as Britain was in the swing of its second industrial revolution, he believed reform would ease the distribution of ideas and stimulate trade and business, delivering the same promise as the new railways.

Hill’s proposal for the penny post, which meant any letter weighing less than half an ounce (14 grams) could be sent anywhere in Britain for about 30p in today’s money, was so radical that the Postmaster General, Lord Lichfield, said, 'Of all the wild and visionary schemes which I ever heard of, it is the most extravagant.’ Lord Lichfield spoke for an establishment not convinced of the need for poor people to post anything. But merchants and reformers backed Hill. Soon the government told him to make his scheme work. And that meant inventing a new type of currency.

Hill quickly settled on 'a bit of paper covered at the back with a glutinous wash which the user might, by applying a little moisture, attach to the back of a letter’. Stamps would be printed in sheets of 240 that could be cut using scissors or a knife. Perforations would not arrive until 1854. The idea stuck, and in August 1839 the Treasury launched a design competition open to ‘all artists, men of science and the public in general’. The new stamp would need to be resistant to forgery, and so it was a submission by one Mr Cheverton that Hill used as the basis for one of the most striking designs in history. Cheverton, who worked as a sculptor and an engineer, determined that a portrait of Queen Victoria, engraved for a commemorative coin when she was a 15-year-old princess, was detailed enough to make copying difficult, and recognisable enough to make fakes easy to spot. The words ‘Postage’ and ‘One Penny’ were added alongside flourishes and ornamental stars. Nobody thought to add the word ‘Britain’, as it was assumed that the stamps would solely be put to domestic use.

With the introduction of the new postal system, the Penny Black was an instant hit, and printers struggled to meet demand. By the end of 1840, more than 160 million letters had been sent - more than double the previous year. It created more work for the post office, whose reform continued with the introduction of red letter boxes, new branches and more frequent deliveries, even to the remotest address, but its lasting impact on society was more remarkable.

Hill and his supporters rightly predicted that cheaper post would improve the ‘diffusion of knowledge’. Suddenly, someone in Scotland could be reached by someone in London within a day or two. And as literacy improved, sections of society that had been disenfranchised found a voice.

Tristram Hunt, an historian, values the ‘flourishing of correspondence’ that followed the arrival of stamps. ‘While I was writing my biography of Friedrich Engels I could read the letters he and Marx sent between Manchester and London,’ he says. ‘They wrote to each other three times a day, pinging ideas back and forth so that you can almost follow a real-time correspondence.’

The penny post also changed the nature of the letter. Weight-saving tricks such as cross-writing began to die out, while the arrival of envelopes built confidence among correspondents that mail would not be stolen or read. And so people wrote more private things - politically or commercially sensitive information or love letters. ‘In the early days of the penny post, there was still concern about theft,’ Hunt says. ‘Engels would still send Marx money by ripping up five-pound notes and sending the pieces in different letters.’ But the probity of the postal system became a great thing and it came to be expected that your mail would not be tampered with.

For all its brilliance, the Penny Black was technically a failure. At first, post offices used red ink to cancel stamps so that they could not be used again. But the ink could be removed. When in 1842, it was determined that black ink would be more robust, the colour of the Penny Black became a sort of browny red, but Hill’s brainchild had made its mark.

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

1. One of the characteristics of the postal service before the 1840s was that

A. postmen were employed by various organisations.
B. letters were restricted to a certain length.
C. distance affected the price of postage.
D. the price of delivery kept going up.

2. Letter writers in the 1830s

A. were not responsible for the cost of delivery.
B. tried to fit more than one letter into an envelope.
C. could only send letters to people living in cities.
D. knew all letters were automatically read by postal staff.

3. What does the text say about Hill in the 1830s?

A. He was the first person to express concern about the postal system.
B. He considered it would be more efficient for mail to be delivered by rail.
C. He felt that postal service reform was necessary for commercial development.
D. His plan received support from all the important figures of the day.

3
30 tháng 7 2019

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

1. One of the characteristics of the postal service before the 1840s was that

A. postmen were employed by various organisations.
B. letters were restricted to a certain length.
C. distance affected the price of postage.
D. the price of delivery kept going up.

2. Letter writers in the 1830s

A. were not responsible for the cost of delivery.
B. tried to fit more than one letter into an envelope.
C. could only send letters to people living in cities.
D. knew all letters were automatically read by postal staff.

3. What does the text say about Hill in the 1830s?

A. He was the first person to express concern about the postal system.
B. He considered it would be more efficient for mail to be delivered by rail.
C. He felt that postal service reform was necessary for commercial development.
D. His plan received support from all the important figures of the day.

30 tháng 7 2019

The Penny Black

It might not have looked very impressive, but the Penny Black, now 170 years old, was the first stamp to be created and it launched the modem postal system in Britain.

Before 1840 and the arrival of the Penny Black, you had to be rich and patient to use the Royal Mail. Delivery was charged according to the miles travelled and the number of sheets of paper used; a 2-page letter sent from Edinburgh to London, for example, would have cost 2 shillings, or more than £7 in today’s money. And when the top-hatted letter carrier came to deliver it, it was the recipient who had to pay for the postage. Letter writers employed various ruses to reduce the cost, doing everything possible to cram more words onto a page. Nobody bothered with heavy envelopes; instead, letters would be folded and sealed with wax. You then had to find a post office - there were no pillar boxes - and hope your addressee didn't live in one of the several rural areas which were not served by the system. If you were lucky, your letter would arrive (it could take days) without being read or censored.

The state of mail had been causing concern throughout the 1830s, but it was Rowland Hill, an inventor, teacher and social reformer from Kidderminster, who proposed a workable plan for change. Worried that a dysfunctional, costly service would stifle communication just as Britain was in the swing of its second industrial revolution, he believed reform would ease the distribution of ideas and stimulate trade and business, delivering the same promise as the new railways.

Hill’s proposal for the penny post, which meant any letter weighing less than half an ounce (14 grams) could be sent anywhere in Britain for about 30p in today’s money, was so radical that the Postmaster General, Lord Lichfield, said, 'Of all the wild and visionary schemes which I ever heard of, it is the most extravagant.’ Lord Lichfield spoke for an establishment not convinced of the need for poor people to post anything. But merchants and reformers backed Hill. Soon the government told him to make his scheme work. And that meant inventing a new type of currency.

Hill quickly settled on 'a bit of paper covered at the back with a glutinous wash which the user might, by applying a little moisture, attach to the back of a letter’. Stamps would be printed in sheets of 240 that could be cut using scissors or a knife. Perforations would not arrive until 1854. The idea stuck, and in August 1839 the Treasury launched a design competition open to ‘all artists, men of science and the public in general’. The new stamp would need to be resistant to forgery, and so it was a submission by one Mr Cheverton that Hill used as the basis for one of the most striking designs in history. Cheverton, who worked as a sculptor and an engineer, determined that a portrait of Queen Victoria, engraved for a commemorative coin when she was a 15-year-old princess, was detailed enough to make copying difficult, and recognisable enough to make fakes easy to spot. The words ‘Postage’ and ‘One Penny’ were added alongside flourishes and ornamental stars. Nobody thought to add the word ‘Britain’, as it was assumed that the stamps would solely be put to domestic use.

With the introduction of the new postal system, the Penny Black was an instant hit, and printers struggled to meet demand. By the end of 1840, more than 160 million letters had been sent - more than double the previous year. It created more work for the post office, whose reform continued with the introduction of red letter boxes, new branches and more frequent deliveries, even to the remotest address, but its lasting impact on society was more remarkable.

Hill and his supporters rightly predicted that cheaper post would improve the ‘diffusion of knowledge’. Suddenly, someone in Scotland could be reached by someone in London within a day or two. And as literacy improved, sections of society that had been disenfranchised found a voice.

Tristram Hunt, an historian, values the ‘flourishing of correspondence’ that followed the arrival of stamps. ‘While I was writing my biography of Friedrich Engels I could read the letters he and Marx sent between Manchester and London,’ he says. ‘They wrote to each other three times a day, pinging ideas back and forth so that you can almost follow a real-time correspondence.’

The penny post also changed the nature of the letter. Weight-saving tricks such as cross-writing began to die out, while the arrival of envelopes built confidence among correspondents that mail would not be stolen or read. And so people wrote more private things - politically or commercially sensitive information or love letters. ‘In the early days of the penny post, there was still concern about theft,’ Hunt says. ‘Engels would still send Marx money by ripping up five-pound notes and sending the pieces in different letters.’ But the probity of the postal system became a great thing and it came to be expected that your mail would not be tampered with.

For all its brilliance, the Penny Black was technically a failure. At first, post offices used red ink to cancel stamps so that they could not be used again. But the ink could be removed. When in 1842, it was determined that black ink would be more robust, the colour of the Penny Black became a sort of browny red, but Hill’s brainchild had made its mark.

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

1. One of the characteristics of the postal service before the 1840s was that

A. postmen were employed by various organisations.
B. letters were restricted to a certain length.
C. distance affected the price of postage.
D. the price of delivery kept going up.

2. Letter writers in the 1830s

A. were not responsible for the cost of delivery.
B. tried to fit more than one letter into an envelope.
C. could only send letters to people living in cities.
D. knew all letters were automatically read by postal staff.

3. What does the text say about Hill in the 1830s?

A. He was the first person to express concern about the postal system.
B. He considered it would be more efficient for mail to be delivered by rail.
C. He felt that postal service reform was necessary for commercial development.
D. His plan received support from all the important figures of the day.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrases that best fits each of the numbered blanks.       Children in the Netherlands must be at least four years old to (1)_______ primary education. Almost all 4-year-olds (99.3%) in the country indeed attend primary school, (2)________ this is not compulsory until children reach the age of. Primary school is free of charge. In most schools, children are grouped by age in...
Đọc tiếp

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

       Children in the Netherlands must be at least four years old to (1)_______ primary education. Almost all 4-year-olds (99.3%) in the country indeed attend primary school, (2)________ this is not compulsory until children reach the age of. Primary school is free of charge. In most schools, children are grouped by age in mixed ability classes, with one teacher for all subjects. Primary school consists of 8 groups, thus schooling (3)_______ for 8 years. During the first two years, which is also called kindergarten, children receive an average of 22 hours of (4)______, during the last 6 years children receive an average of 25 hours per week. Schools are open 5 days a week, but children are free on Wednesday afternoon. At the end of primary school, or in group 8, schools advice on secondary school choice. Most schools use a national test to support this advice, for instance the ′Citotoets’, a test (5)_______ by the Central Institute for Test development.

Question 1.

A. afford

B. enter

C. come

D. run

1
24 tháng 7 2017

Đáp án: B

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrases that best fits each of the numbered blanks.       Children in the Netherlands must be at least four years old to (1)_______ primary education. Almost all 4-year-olds (99.3%) in the country indeed attend primary school, (2)________ this is not compulsory until children reach the age of. Primary school is free of charge. In most schools, children are grouped by age in...
Đọc tiếp

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

       Children in the Netherlands must be at least four years old to (1)_______ primary education. Almost all 4-year-olds (99.3%) in the country indeed attend primary school, (2)________ this is not compulsory until children reach the age of. Primary school is free of charge. In most schools, children are grouped by age in mixed ability classes, with one teacher for all subjects. Primary school consists of 8 groups, thus schooling (3)_______ for 8 years. During the first two years, which is also called kindergarten, children receive an average of 22 hours of (4)______, during the last 6 years children receive an average of 25 hours per week. Schools are open 5 days a week, but children are free on Wednesday afternoon. At the end of primary school, or in group 8, schools advice on secondary school choice. Most schools use a national test to support this advice, for instance the ′Citotoets’, a test (5)_______ by the Central Institute for Test development.

Question 2.

Aalthough

B. despite

C. inspite

D. due to

1
22 tháng 5 2018

Đáp án: A

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrases that best fits each of the numbered blanks.       Children in the Netherlands must be at least four years old to (1)_______ primary education. Almost all 4-year-olds (99.3%) in the country indeed attend primary school, (2)________ this is not compulsory until children reach the age of. Primary school is free of charge. In most schools, children are grouped by age in...
Đọc tiếp

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

       Children in the Netherlands must be at least four years old to (1)_______ primary education. Almost all 4-year-olds (99.3%) in the country indeed attend primary school, (2)________ this is not compulsory until children reach the age of. Primary school is free of charge. In most schools, children are grouped by age in mixed ability classes, with one teacher for all subjects. Primary school consists of 8 groups, thus schooling (3)_______ for 8 years. During the first two years, which is also called kindergarten, children receive an average of 22 hours of (4)______, during the last 6 years children receive an average of 25 hours per week. Schools are open 5 days a week, but children are free on Wednesday afternoon. At the end of primary school, or in group 8, schools advice on secondary school choice. Most schools use a national test to support this advice, for instance the ′Citotoets’, a test (5)_______ by the Central Institute for Test development.

Question 3.

A. spends

B. lasts

C. lengthens

D. takes

1
22 tháng 6 2017

Đáp án: B