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.

      Perhaps better known than the Cullinan Diamond is the Hope Diamond, a valuable and blue gem with a background of more than 300 years as a world traveler.The 112-carat blue stone later became the Hope Diamond was mined in India sometime before the middle of the seventeenth century and was first known to be owned by Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal in memory of his beloved wife. From India, the celebrated blue stone has changed hands often, moving from location to location in distant corners of the world.

      In the middle of the seventeenth century, a trader from France named Jean Baptiste Tavernier acquired the large blue diamond, which was rumored to have been illegally removed from a temple Tavemier returned to France with the big blue gem, where the stone was purchased by the Sun King Louis XIV. Louis XIV had it cut down from 112 to 67 carats to make its shape symmetrical and to maximize its sparkle. The newly cut diamond, still huge by any standards, was passed down through the royal family of France, until it arrived in the hands of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. During the French Revolution, Louis XVI and his wife met their fate on the guillotine in 1793, and the big blue diamond disappeared from public sight.

      The diamond somehow managed to get from France to England, where banker Henry Hope purchased it from a gem dealer early in the nineteenth century. The huge blue stone was cut into a 45.5-carat oval, and at this point it took on the name by which it is known today. The diamond stayed in the Hope family for around a century, when deep indebtedness brought on by a serious gambling habit on the part of one of Henry Hope's heirs forced the sale of the diamond.

          From England, the Hope Diamond may have made its way into the hands of the Sultan of Turkey; whatever route it took to get there, it eventually went on to the United States when American Evelyn Walsh McLean purchased it in 1911. Mrs. McLean certainly enjoyed showing the diamond off guests in her home were sometimes astounded to notice the huge stone embellishing the neck of Mrs. McLean’s Great Dane as the huge pet trotted around the grounds of her Washington, D.c. home. The Hope Diamond later became the property of jeweler Harry Winston, who presented the stunning 45.5- carat piece to the Smithsonian in 1958. The Hope Diamond is now taking a well-earned rest following its rigorous travel itinerary and is on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., where it has been since 1958.

The main idea of this passage is that the Hope Diamond

A. came from India

B. has moved around a lot

C. has been cut several times

D. now resides in the Smithsonian

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.

The concept of obtaining fresh water from iceberg that is towed to populated areas and arid regions of the world was once treated as a joke more appropriate to cartoons than real life. But now it is being considered quite seriously by many nations, especially since scientists have warned that the human race will outgrow its fresh water supply faster than it runs out of food. Glaciers are a possible source of fresh water that has been overlooked until recently. (A)

        Three-quarters of the Earth's fresh water supply is still tied up in glacial ice, a reservoir of untapped fresh water so immense that it could sustain all the rivers of the world for 1,000 years. Floating on the oceans every year are 7,659 trillion metric tons of ice encased in 10,000 icebergs that break away from the polar ice caps, more than ninety percent of them from Antarctica. (B)

        Huge glaciers that stretch over the shallow continental shelf give birth to icebergs throughout the year. Icebergs are not like sea ice, which is formed when the sea itself freezes; rather, they are formed entirely on land, breaking off when glaciers spread over the sea. As they drift away from the polar region, icebergs sometimes move mysteriously in a direction opposite to the wind, pulled by subsurface currents. Because they melt more slowly than smaller pieces of ice, icebergs have been known to drift as far north as 35 degrees south of the equator in the Atlantic Ocean. (C)

        The difficulty arises in other technical matters, such as the prevention of rapid melting in warmer climates and the funneling of fresh water to shore in great volume. But even if the icebergs lost half of their volume in towing, the water they could provide would be far cheaper than that produced by desalination, or removing salt from water. (D)

The word "that" in the last paragraph refers to _________.

A. the volume

B. the water

C. the iceberg

D. the towing

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 35 to 44.

Speech is one of the most important (35)…… of communicating .It consists of far more than just making  noises . To talk and also (36)……. to by other people, we have to speak a language ,that is, we have to use combinations of (37) …..that  everyone agrees  to  stand for a  particular object  or idea.  Communication would  be impossible if everyone made up their own language.  Learning a language properly is  very   (38)……. The basic (39)…… of English is not very large, and not only about 2,000 words are needed to speak it quite (40) ……..But the more idea you can (41)……. the more precise you can be about  their exact  meaning. Words are the (42)……..   thing we use in communicating what we want to say. The way we (43)……..  the words is also very important. Our tone of voice can express many emotions and (44) …….      whether we are  pleased or angry, for instance.

Điền vào ô 40

A. fluent               

B. good                

C. perfect             

D. well

Mark the letter A,B,C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word or phrase that is CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined part in each of the following questions.

Jim's decided to buy a phonograph even though they are now redundant.

A. old-fashioned  

B. reproduced       

C. unnecessary      

D. expensive

Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions.

–“Today’s my 20th birthday.” – “_____.”

A. I don’t understand. 

B. Take care!

C. Have a good time!

D. Many happy returns.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A,B,C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase for each of blanks. Fill in the appropriate word in question 45

When you read something in a foreign language, you frequently come across words you do not (45)______ understand. Sometimes you (46)______ the meaning in a dictionary and sometimes you guess. The strategy you adopt depends very much upon the (47)______of accuracy you require and the time at your disposal. If you are the sort of person who tends to turn to the dictionary frequently, it is (48)_______remembering that every dictionary has its limitations. Each definition is only an approximation and one builds up an accurate picture of the meaning of a word only after meeting it in a (49)__________of contexts. It is also important to recognize the special dangers of dictionaries that translate from English into your native language and vice versa. If you must use a dictionary, it is usually far safer to (50)________an English- English dictionary. In most exams you are not permitted to use a dictionary. (51)__________you are allowed to use one, it is very time- consuming to look up words, and time in exams is usually limited. You are, (52)______, forced to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words. When you come across unknown words in an exam text, it is very easy to panic. However, if you develop efficient techniques for guessing the meaning, you will(53)__________a number of possible problems and help yourself to understand far more of the text than you at first likely. Two strategies which may help you guess the meaning of a word are: using contextual clues, both within the sentence and outside, and making uses (54)_____ clues derived from the formation of the word.

A. totally

B. wholly

C. fully

D. complete

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word or phrase that is CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined part in each of the followings.

It is useless to attempt to flee from every danger: some risks must be taken.

A. run away 

B. hesitate

C. hide oneself

D. protect oneself

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.

The concept of obtaining fresh water from iceberg that is towed to populated areas and arid regions of the world was once treated as a joke more appropriate to cartoons than real life. But now it is being considered quite seriously by many nations, especially since scientists have warned that the human race will outgrow its fresh water supply faster than it runs out of food. Glaciers are a possible source of fresh water that has been overlooked until recently. (A)

        Three-quarters of the Earth's fresh water supply is still tied up in glacial ice, a reservoir of untapped fresh water so immense that it could sustain all the rivers of the world for 1,000 years. Floating on the oceans every year are 7,659 trillion metric tons of ice encased in 10,000 icebergs that break away from the polar ice caps, more than ninety percent of them from Antarctica. (B)

        Huge glaciers that stretch over the shallow continental shelf give birth to icebergs throughout the year. Icebergs are not like sea ice, which is formed when the sea itself freezes; rather, they are formed entirely on land, breaking off when glaciers spread over the sea. As they drift away from the polar region, icebergs sometimes move mysteriously in a direction opposite to the wind, pulled by subsurface currents. Because they melt more slowly than smaller pieces of ice, icebergs have been known to drift as far north as 35 degrees south of the equator in the Atlantic Ocean. (C)

        The difficulty arises in other technical matters, such as the prevention of rapid melting in warmer climates and the funneling of fresh water to shore in great volume. But even if the icebergs lost half of their volume in towing, the water they could provide would be far cheaper than that produced by desalination, or removing salt from water. (D)

According to the author, most of the world's fresh water is to be found in ________.

A. oceans

B. rivers

C. glaciers

D. reservoirs