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

Before the 1500’s, the western plains of North America were dominated by farmers. One group, the Mandans, lived in the upper Missouri River country, primarily in present – day North Dakota. They had large villages of houses built close together. The tight arrangement enabled the Mandans to protect themselves more easily from the attacks of others who might seek to obtain some of the food these highly capable farmers stored from one year to the next.

The women had primary responsibility for the fields. They had to exercise considerable skill to produce the desired results, for their northern location meant fleeting growing seasons. Winter often lingered; autumn could be ushered in by severe frost. For good measure, during the spring and summer, drought, heat, hail, grasshoppers, and other frustrations might await the wary grower.

Under such conditions, Mandan women had to grow maize capable of weathering adversity. They began as early as it appeared feasible to do so in the spring, clearing the land, using fire to clear stubble from the fields and then planting. From this point until the first green corn could be harvested, the crop required labor and vigilance.

Harvesting proceeded in two stages. In August the Mandans picked a smaller amount of the crop before it had matured fully. This green corn was boiled, dried and shelled, with some of the maize slated for immediate consumption and the rest stored in animal – skin bags. Later in the fall, the people picked the rest of the corn. They saved the best of the harvest for seeds or for trade, with the remainder eaten right away or stored for alter use in underground reserves. With appropriate banking of the extra food, the Mandans protected themselves against the disaster of crop failure and accompany hunger.

The woman planted another staple, squash, about the first of June, and harvested it near the time of the green corn harvest. After they picked it, they sliced it, dried it, and strung the slices before they stored them. Once again, they saved the seeds from the best of the year’s crop. The Mandans also grew sunflowers and tobacco; the latter was the particular task of the older men.

The word “disaster” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to __________.

A. catastrophe

B. history

C. control

D. avoidance

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. 

People travel for a lot of reasons: Some tourists go to see battlefields or religious shrines. Others are looking for culture, or simply want to have their pictures taken in front of famous places. But most European tourists are looking for a sunny beach to lie on. 

Northern Europeans are willing to pay a lot of money and put up with a lot of inconveniences for the sun because they have so little of it. Residents of cities like London, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam spend a tot of their winter in the dark because the days are so short, and much of the rest of the year in the rain. This is the reason why the Mediterranean has always attracted them. Every summer, more than 25 million people travel to Mediterranean resorts and beaches for their vacation. They all come for the same reason, sun!

The huge crowds mean lots of money for the economies of Mediterranean countries. Italy’s 30,000 hotels are booked solid every summer. And 13 million people camp out on French beaches, parks and roadsides. Spain’s long sandy coastline attracts more people than anywhere else. 37 million tourists visit yearly, or one tourist for every person living in Spain.

But there are signs that the area is getting more tourists than it can handle. The Mediterranean is already one of the most polluted seas on earth. And with increased tourism, it’s getting worse. The French can’t figure out what to do with all the garbage left by campers around St. Tropez. And in many places, swimming is dangerous because of pollution. 

          None of this, however, is spoiling anyone’s fun. The Mediterranean gets more popular every year with tourists. Obviously, they don’t go there for clean water and solitude. They tolerate traffic jams and seem to like crowded beaches. They don’t even mind the pollution. No matter how dirty the water is, the coastline still looks beautiful. And as long as the sun shines, it’s still better than sitting in the cold rain in Berlin, London, or Oslo.

The latter half of the last sentence in paragraph 3, “or one tourist for every person living in Spain” means _____.

A. every Spanish is visited by a tourist every year.

B. every person living in Spain has to take care of a tourist annually.

C. every  year  almost  as  many  tourists  visit  Spain  as  there  are  people  living  in  that country.

D. all the 37 million people living in Spain are tourists.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that best combines each pair of sentences in the following questions.

Although they taste nearly the same, both Sprite and Mountain Dew are two separate citrus – flavoured soft drinks made by different companies.

A. Although Sprite has a stronger citrus taste than Mountain Dew, basically they are the same soft drink, though made by different companies

B. Sprite and Mountain Dew are both manufactured by the same company, though they are similarly tasting citrus – flavoured soft drinks

C. Produced by two different companies, Sprite and Mountain Dew, which are both citrus – flavoured soft drinks, taste practically no different

D. Not made by the same company, Sprite and Mountain Dew are different from one another in the amount of their citrus flavouring

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to the following questions
National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said that ______, a large number of women and girls in various areas in the world are being discriminated and subjected to violence.

A. though positive outcomes in gender equality and women empowerment

B. despite of positive outcomes in gender equality and women empowerment

C. in spite positive outcomes in gender equality and women empowerment

D. in spite of positive outcomes in gender equality and women empowerment

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. 

People travel for a lot of reasons: Some tourists go to see battlefields or religious shrines. Others are looking for culture, or simply want to have their pictures taken in front of famous places. But most European tourists are looking for a sunny beach to lie on. 

Northern Europeans are willing to pay a lot of money and put up with a lot of inconveniences for the sun because they have so little of it. Residents of cities like London, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam spend a tot of their winter in the dark because the days are so short, and much of the rest of the year in the rain. This is the reason why the Mediterranean has always attracted them. Every summer, more than 25 million people travel to Mediterranean resorts and beaches for their vacation. They all come for the same reason, sun!

The huge crowds mean lots of money for the economies of Mediterranean countries. Italy’s 30,000 hotels are booked solid every summer. And 13 million people camp out on French beaches, parks and roadsides. Spain’s long sandy coastline attracts more people than anywhere else. 37 million tourists visit yearly, or one tourist for every person living in Spain.

But there are signs that the area is getting more tourists than it can handle. The Mediterranean is already one of the most polluted seas on earth. And with increased tourism, it’s getting worse. The French can’t figure out what to do with all the garbage left by campers around St. Tropez. And in many places, swimming is dangerous because of pollution. 

          None of this, however, is spoiling anyone’s fun. The Mediterranean gets more popular every year with tourists. Obviously, they don’t go there for clean water and solitude. They tolerate traffic jams and seem to like crowded beaches. They don’t even mind the pollution. No matter how dirty the water is, the coastline still looks beautiful. And as long as the sun shines, it’s still better than sitting in the cold rain in Berlin, London, or Oslo.

The word “solid” in paragraph 3 means most nearly the same as  ______.

A. having no spaces inside.

B. seeming to be hard to book.

C. having less people than normal.

D. being uncomfortable to live in.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to the following questions
In the quarter-final showdown with Malaysia, Cho Jae-wan (Korea Republic) wrote himself into the history books when he found the back of the net just 11.35 seconds into the game – the second ______ goal in any AFC tournament.

A. latest

B. worst

C. best

D. fastest

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. 

           People used to know more or less how their children would live. Now things are changing so quickly that they don’t even know what their own lives will be like in a few years’ time. What follows is not science fiction. It is how experts see the future.

          You are daydreaming behind the steering wheel; is it too dangerous? No! That’s no problem because you have it on automatic pilot, and with its hi-tech computers and cameras, your car “know” how to get you home safe and sound.

          What is for lunch? In the old days you used to stop off to buy a hamburger or a pizza. Now you use your diagnostic machine to find out which foods your body needs. If your body needs more vegetables and less fat, your food-preparation machine makes you a salad.

          After lunch, you go down the hall to your home office. Here you have everything you need to do your work. Thanks to your information screen and your latest generation computer, you needn’t go to the office any more. The information screen shows an urgentmessage from a co-worker in Brazil. You can instantly send back a reply to him and go on to deal with other matters.

Which of the following is NOT true about life in the future?

A. Eating is a problem because food contains too much fat.

B. There’s no need to concentrate much when driving.

C. Contacts between people are almost instant.

D. Getting information is a matter of just a few seconds

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. 

People travel for a lot of reasons: Some tourists go to see battlefields or religious shrines. Others are looking for culture, or simply want to have their pictures taken in front of famous places. But most European tourists are looking for a sunny beach to lie on. 

Northern Europeans are willing to pay a lot of money and put up with a lot of inconveniences for the sun because they have so little of it. Residents of cities like London, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam spend a tot of their winter in the dark because the days are so short, and much of the rest of the year in the rain. This is the reason why the Mediterranean has always attracted them. Every summer, more than 25 million people travel to Mediterranean resorts and beaches for their vacation. They all come for the same reason, sun!

The huge crowds mean lots of money for the economies of Mediterranean countries. Italy’s 30,000 hotels are booked solid every summer. And 13 million people camp out on French beaches, parks and roadsides. Spain’s long sandy coastline attracts more people than anywhere else. 37 million tourists visit yearly, or one tourist for every person living in Spain.

But there are signs that the area is getting more tourists than it can handle. The Mediterranean is already one of the most polluted seas on earth. And with increased tourism, it’s getting worse. The French can’t figure out what to do with all the garbage left by campers around St. Tropez. And in many places, swimming is dangerous because of pollution. 

          None of this, however, is spoiling anyone’s fun. The Mediterranean gets more popular every year with tourists. Obviously, they don’t go there for clean water and solitude. They tolerate traffic jams and seem to like crowded beaches. They don’t even mind the pollution. No matter how dirty the water is, the coastline still looks beautiful. And as long as the sun shines, it’s still better than sitting in the cold rain in Berlin, London, or Oslo.

The writer seems to imply that Europeans travel mostly for the reason that ______.

A. they want to see historic remains or religious spots.

B. they would like to take pictures in front of famous sites

C. they wish to escape from the cold, dark and rainy days back at home.

D. they are interested in different cultural traditions and social customs.

Mark  the  letter  A,  B,  C  or  D  on  your  answer  sheet  to  indicate  the  word  whose  underlined  part differs from the other three in pronunciation in each of the following questions.

A. theme

B. ethnic

C. thunder

D. honey-mouthed

The teacher asked students to discuss the situation “ Which is better, supermarkets and traditional markets”.

-Jennifer: “ I believe that supermarkets are much better than traditional markets”.

-Katherine: “______. Each has its own features”.

A. I can’t help thinking the same.

B. I couldn’t agree with you more.

C. . I disagree with you. 

D. That’s completely true.