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21 tháng 5 2023

1.cross-section

2.selected

3.intended

4.slightly

5.predictions

6.reflect

7.conducted

8.findings

9.views

10.incorrect

11.examined

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 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

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 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 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”.

Read the passage and choose the correct answer for each question from 23 to 27Thanksgiving is celebrated in the US on the fourth Thursday in November. For many Americans it is the most important holiday apart from Christmas. Schools, offices and most businesses close for Thanksgiving, and many people make the whole weekend a vacation.Thanksgiving is associated with the time when Europeans first came to North America. In 1620 the ship the Mayflowers arrived, bringing about 150 people who today...
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Read the passage and choose the correct answer for each question from 23 to 27

Thanksgiving is celebrated in the US on the fourth Thursday in November. For many Americans it is the most important holiday apart from Christmas. Schools, offices and most businesses close for Thanksgiving, and many people make the whole weekend a vacation.

Thanksgiving is associated with the time when Europeans first came to North America. In 1620 the ship the Mayflowers arrived, bringing about 150 people who today are usually called Pilgrims. They arrived at the beginning of a very hard winter and could not find enough to eat, so many of them died. But in the following summer Native Americans showed them what foods were safe to eat, so that they could save food for the next winter. They held a big celebration to thank God and the Native Americans for the fact that they had survived.

Today people celebrate Thanksgiving to remember these early days.

The most important part of the celebration is a traditional dinner with foods that come from North America. The meal includes turkey, sweet potatoes (also called yams) and cranberries, which are made into a kind of sauce or jelly. The turkey is filled with stuffing or dressing, and many families have their own special recipe. Dessert is pumpkin made into a pie.

On Thanksgiving there are special television programs and sports events. In New York there is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, when a long line of people wearing fancy costumes march through the streets with large balloons in the shape of imaginary characters. Thanksgiving is considered the beginning of the Christmas period, and the next day many people go out to shop for Christmas presents.

Which of the following is not true?

A. Thanksgiving was originally celebrated by the first, Europeans in North America to thank God for their survival.

B. Christmas comes less than a month after Thanksgiving.

C. In the US, Thanksgiving is not a national holiday; it's a religious holiday.

D. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is colourful and exciting.

1
17 tháng 5 2017

Đáp án là C.

Read the passage and choose the correct answer for each question from 23 to 27Thanksgiving is celebrated in the US on the fourth Thursday in November. For many Americans it is the most important holiday apart from Christmas. Schools, offices and most businesses close for Thanksgiving, and many people make the whole weekend a vacation.Thanksgiving is associated with the time when Europeans first came to North America. In 1620 the ship the Mayflowers arrived, bringing about 150 people who today...
Đọc tiếp

Read the passage and choose the correct answer for each question from 23 to 27

Thanksgiving is celebrated in the US on the fourth Thursday in November. For many Americans it is the most important holiday apart from Christmas. Schools, offices and most businesses close for Thanksgiving, and many people make the whole weekend a vacation.

Thanksgiving is associated with the time when Europeans first came to North America. In 1620 the ship the Mayflowers arrived, bringing about 150 people who today are usually called Pilgrims. They arrived at the beginning of a very hard winter and could not find enough to eat, so many of them died. But in the following summer Native Americans showed them what foods were safe to eat, so that they could save food for the next winter. They held a big celebration to thank God and the Native Americans for the fact that they had survived.

Today people celebrate Thanksgiving to remember these early days.

The most important part of the celebration is a traditional dinner with foods that come from North America. The meal includes turkey, sweet potatoes (also called yams) and cranberries, which are made into a kind of sauce or jelly. The turkey is filled with stuffing or dressing, and many families have their own special recipe. Dessert is pumpkin made into a pie.

On Thanksgiving there are special television programs and sports events. In New York there is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, when a long line of people wearing fancy costumes march through the streets with large balloons in the shape of imaginary characters. Thanksgiving is considered the beginning of the Christmas period, and the next day many people go out to shop for Christmas presents.

All of the following statements are mentioned EXCEPT _________.

A. People celebrate Thanksgiving to thank God

B. People go to churches for religious services on Thanksgiving

C. People usually have traditional dinners on Thanksgiving

D. There are lots of entertainments on Thanksgiving

1
7 tháng 12 2019

Đáp án là B.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.Animation traditionally is done by hand-drawing or painting successive frame of an object, each slightly different than the proceeding frame. In computer animation, although the computer may be the one to draw the different frames, in most cases the artist will draw the beginning and ending frames and the computer will produce the drawings between the first...
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Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

Animation traditionally is done by hand-drawing or painting successive frame of an object, each slightly different than the proceeding frame. In computer animation, although the computer may be the one to draw the different frames, in most cases the artist will draw the beginning and ending frames and the computer will produce the drawings between the first and the last drawing. This is generally referred to as computer-assisted animation, because the computer is more of a helper than an originator.

In full computer animation, complex mathematical formulas are used to produce the final sequences of pictures. These formulas operate on extensive databases of numbers that defines the objects in the pictures as they exist in mathematical space. The database consists of endpoints, and color and intensity information. Highly trained professionals are needed to produce such effects because animation that obtains high degrees of realism involves computer techniques from three-dimensional transformation, shading, and curvatures.

High-tech computer animation for film involves very expensive computer systems along with special color terminals or frame buffers. The frame buffer is nothing more than a giant image memory for viewing a single frame. It temporarily holds the image for display on the screen.

A camera can be used to film directly from the computer’s display screen, but for the highest quality images possible, expensive film recorders are used. The computer computers the positions and colors for the figures in the picture, and sends this information to the recorder, which captures it on film. Sometimes, however, the images are stored on a large magnetic disk before being sent to the recorder. Once this process is completed, it is replaced for the next frame. When the entire sequence has been recorded on the film, the film must be developed before the animation can be viewed. If the entire sequence does not seem right, the motions must be corrected, recomputed, redisplayed, and rerecorded. This approach can be very expensive and time – consuming. Often, computer-animation companies first do motion tests with simple computer-generated line drawings before selling their computers to the task of calculating the high-resolution, realistic-looking images.

Question. The word “they” in the second paragraph refers to ______.

A. formulas

B. objects

C. numbers

D. database

1
24 tháng 3 2017

Đáp án B.

Thông tin: These formulas operate on extensive databases of numbers that defines the objects in the pictures as they exist in mathematical space

Dịch: Những công thức này vận hành trên một cơ sở dữ liệu lớn các con số xác định vật trong bức ảnh khi chúng tồn tại trong không gian toán học.

Read the following article about ice-skating. Choose the most suitable heading from the list A-I for each part (1-8) of the article. A. Prepare yourself B. The benefits of the sport C. When things go wrong D. Different skating techniques E. A change in approach F. The right attitude G. Moving off H. Holding your body correctly I. How it all started 1...... Ice skating has a history of thousands of years. Archaelogists have discovered skates made from animal bone. It seems that bone...
Đọc tiếp

Read the following article about ice-skating. Choose the most suitable heading from the list A-I for each part (1-8) of the article.

A. Prepare yourself

B. The benefits of the sport

C. When things go wrong

D. Different skating techniques

E. A change in approach

F. The right attitude

G. Moving off

H. Holding your body correctly

I. How it all started

1......
Ice skating has a history of thousands of years. Archaelogists have discovered skates made from animal bone. It seems that bone skates were used until the introduction of iron into Scandinavia about the year 200 AD. Among the Scandinavian upper classes, skating was seen as an essential skill.
2.......

In the early 20th century, skating was stylish and reserved, but at the 1924 Winter Olympics, 11-year-old Sonja Henie introduced a more athletic attitude which inspired a new wave of popularity. Nowadays art and athletics are combined and modern skating is both graceful and physically demanding.
3......
For the beginner, balance and control are still important and speed can only increase with proficiency. The position of your body plays a great part in the balance. Legs slightly bowed and the knees bent keep the body weight centred; in effect the body leans slightly forward in this position. For skating, probably more than any other sport or recreation, relaxation is vital.
4......
For the starting position, the heels shoould almost be touching and the feet should be turned outwards. While pushing forward with the back foot, you make a very small movement with the other foot. Fairly easy, isn't it? If you can keep this up for a while, you can then slowly increase the length of your movements as you gain experience.
5......
Knowing how to fall must be learned among the skater's first skills. Even the best of the professionals fall. In order to fall without injury, you should be as relaxed as possible. In this way the shock of hitting the ice is lessened. To get up, use your hands to get into a kneeling position, then stand.
6......
Once you have learned to move on the ice with confidence, there are various styles to be practised - figure skaing, free style, distance, speed, skating in pairs and so on - but the basis of them all, and by far the best approach, is first to learn figure skating and then elementary freestyle. With proper guidance available at most of the ice rinks troughout the country, the basic figures can soon be learned and the turns, jumps and spins of elementary free style will soon follow.
7......
If you look at any good or professional skater, you will see how relaxed they are and how easily they move. To achieve this an expertise programme should be regularly practised. It can be dangerous to skate with a stiff body and warm-up exercises should at least include those for the legs, back and shoulders, with special emphasis on the ankles and knees. After a long or intense session, the same exercises should be used afterwards to avoid stiffness.
8......
Skating improves balance, co-ordination, relaxation and movement. It improves heart and lung activity and generally strengthens the body. Combined with swimming or jogging, it provides a great programme for all-round health and fitness.

1
5 tháng 1 2019

Read the following article about ice-skating. Choose the most suitable heading from the list A-I for each part (1-8) of the article.

A. Prepare yourself

B. The benefits of the sport

C. When things go wrong

D. Different skating techniques

E. A change in approach

F. The right attitude

G. Moving off

H. Holding your body correctly

I. How it all started

1...I...
Ice skating has a history of thousands of years. Archaelogists have discovered skates made from animal bone. It seems that bone skates were used until the introduction of iron into Scandinavia about the year 200 AD. Among the Scandinavian upper classes, skating was seen as an essential skill.
2....E...

In the early 20th century, skating was stylish and reserved, but at the 1924 Winter Olympics, 11-year-old Sonja Henie introduced a more athletic attitude which inspired a new wave of popularity. Nowadays art and athletics are combined and modern skating is both graceful and physically demanding.
3....H..
For the beginner, balance and control are still important and speed can only increase with proficiency. The position of your body plays a great part in the balance. Legs slightly bowed and the knees bent keep the body weight centred; in effect the body leans slightly forward in this position. For skating, probably more than any other sport or recreation, relaxation is vital.
4....G..
For the starting position, the heels shoould almost be touching and the feet should be turned outwards. While pushing forward with the back foot, you make a very small movement with the other foot. Fairly easy, isn't it? If you can keep this up for a while, you can then slowly increase the length of your movements as you gain experience.
5..C....
Knowing how to fall must be learned among the skater's first skills. Even the best of the professionals fall. In order to fall without injury, you should be as relaxed as possible. In this way the shock of hitting the ice is lessened. To get up, use your hands to get into a kneeling position, then stand.
6....D..
Once you have learned to move on the ice with confidence, there are various styles to be practised - figure skaing, free style, distance, speed, skating in pairs and so on - but the basis of them all, and by far the best approach, is first to learn figure skating and then elementary freestyle. With proper guidance available at most of the ice rinks troughout the country, the basic figures can soon be learned and the turns, jumps and spins of elementary free style will soon follow.
7...A...
If you look at any good or professional skater, you will see how relaxed they are and how easily they move. To achieve this an expertise programme should be regularly practised. It can be dangerous to skate with a stiff body and warm-up exercises should at least include those for the legs, back and shoulders, with special emphasis on the ankles and knees. After a long or intense session, the same exercises should be used afterwards to avoid stiffness.
8..B....
Skating improves balance, co-ordination, relaxation and movement. It improves heart and lung activity and generally strengthens the body. Combined with swimming or jogging, it provides a great programme for all-round health and fitness.

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...
Đọc tiếp

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 passage and choose the correct answer for each question from 23 to 27Thanksgiving is celebrated in the US on the fourth Thursday in November. For many Americans it is the most important holiday apart from Christmas. Schools, offices and most businesses close for Thanksgiving, and many people make the whole weekend a vacation.Thanksgiving is associated with the time when Europeans first came to North America. In 1620 the ship the Mayflowers arrived, bringing about 150 people who today...
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Read the passage and choose the correct answer for each question from 23 to 27

Thanksgiving is celebrated in the US on the fourth Thursday in November. For many Americans it is the most important holiday apart from Christmas. Schools, offices and most businesses close for Thanksgiving, and many people make the whole weekend a vacation.

Thanksgiving is associated with the time when Europeans first came to North America. In 1620 the ship the Mayflowers arrived, bringing about 150 people who today are usually called Pilgrims. They arrived at the beginning of a very hard winter and could not find enough to eat, so many of them died. But in the following summer Native Americans showed them what foods were safe to eat, so that they could save food for the next winter. They held a big celebration to thank God and the Native Americans for the fact that they had survived.

Today people celebrate Thanksgiving to remember these early days.

The most important part of the celebration is a traditional dinner with foods that come from North America. The meal includes turkey, sweet potatoes (also called yams) and cranberries, which are made into a kind of sauce or jelly. The turkey is filled with stuffing or dressing, and many families have their own special recipe. Dessert is pumpkin made into a pie.

On Thanksgiving there are special television programs and sports events. In New York there is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, when a long line of people wearing fancy costumes march through the streets with large balloons in the shape of imaginary characters. Thanksgiving is considered the beginning of the Christmas period, and the next day many people go out to shop for Christmas presents.

According to the passage, Pilgrims are _________.

A. people who left their home and went to live in North America in the early 17th century

B. people who travelled to America by ships

C. trips that religious people make to a holy place

D. Native Americans who live in North America

1
5 tháng 2 2017

Đáp án là A.