SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO KỲ THI CHỌN HỌC SINH GIỎI

SECTION I. LISTENING (1.5 pts – 0.1/each)

There are three parts in the listening section. You will hear each part twice. After each part,
you will have a ten-second pause to do.
Part 1. You will hear part of an interview with a girl called Elena, a young film-maker who
wrote, directed and starred in her own film. Choose the correct answer from A, B or C for each
of the following questions.
1. What does Elena say about the character she played in her film?
A. She has a very similar personality to Elena’s.
B. She worries too much about people.
C. She is easily hurt by other people’s actions.
2. What message does Elena want her film to communicate?
A. Value your background.
B. Believe in your own abilities.
C. Be realistic about the choices you make.
3. While filming the atmosphere was _______.
A. difficult because it was hard to get people to work.
B. sad because o f the subject matter of the film.
C. close because the difficulty of the work brought them together.
4. What does Elena say about filming?
A. The days tended to start and end at the same time.
B. They had to work every day of the week to get the film finished.
C. She filmed a similar number of scenes each day.
5. What did Elena find most challenging about making the film?
A. controlling large groups of actors when filming.
B. telling people what she wanted them to do.
C. having so many different jobs to do herself.
Part 2. You will hear some information, about a special science lesson. Fill in each of the
following blanks with no more than two words or numbers.
SPECIAL SCIENCE LESSON
This school will speak to an astronaut working on the International Space Station!
* The lesson:
7th August at 9.20 a.m.
for the whole school will take place in the (6) ………………..……….. .
all questions and answers sent and received by radio.
* The astronaut:
name: Harry Burton
length of time on Space Station: (7) ………………..………...
work Harry is doing: (8) ………………..……….. on sleep while living in space.
* The Space Station:
travels at (9) ………………..……….. miles per hour
takes 90 minutes to go round the (10) ………………..………...
Part 3. Look at the 5 sentences for this part. You will hear a conversation between a boy, Tom,
and a girl, Sophie, about a TV quiz show. Decide if each sentence is TRUE or FALSE.
11. Tom and Sophie agree that the presenter of the quiz show is very funny. ………………..………..
12. Tom is keen on a number of programs shown on Channel 5. ………………..………..
13. Tom has previously recommended this quiz show to a number of friends. ………………..………..
14. Tom warns that the questions become more difficult throughout the quiz. ………………..………..
15. Sophie is worried about being able to answer any of the questions. ………………..………..
SECTION II. KNOWLEDGE OF LANGUAGE
Part 1: Phonetics (0.4 pts - 0.1/ each)
Choose the word (A, B, C or D) whose underlined part is pronounced differently from that of
the rest in each o f the following questions.
16. A. reserve B. conserve C. observe D. preserve
17. A. adventure B. procedure C. figure D. mature
Choose the word (A, B, C or D) whose main stress pattern is different from that of the rest in
each of the following questions.
18. A. volunteer B. competition C. advantage D. capability
19. A. individual B. comparison C. electrify D. biologist
Part 2: Language function (0.4 pts - 0.1/ each)
Choose the word or phrase (A, B, C or D) that best completes each of the following exchanges.
20. -Tom: “I’m sorry. I won’t be able to come.” -Jerry: “___________.”
A. Great! B. Oh, that’s annoying!
C. Sounds like fun! D. Well, never mind!
21. -Lan: “Well, cats are very good at catching mice around the house.” -Mai: “___________.”
A. No, dogs are very good, too. B. Yes, I hope so.
C. You can say that again. D. Nothing more to say.
22. James: “What’s the matter?” - Anne: “________.”
A. That’s all right B. Not at all C. Nothing D. It’s no trouble
23. John: “Are you ready, Tom? There’s not much time left.” -Tom: “Yes, just a minute. _______!”
A. I’m coming B. No longer C. I’d be OK D. I won’t finish
Part 3: Synonym and antonym (0.4 pts - 0.1/ each)
Choose the word or phrase (A, B, C or D) that is closest in meaning to the underlined part in
each of the following sentences.
24. It is believed that the plane crash was caused by electrical malfunction of its navigation system.
A. breaking through B. breaking in C. breaking down D. breaking up
25. Billy, come and give me a hand with cooking.
A. be busy B. attempt C. prepare D. help
Choose the word or phrase (A, B, C or D) that is opposite in meaning to the underlined part in
each of the following sentences.
26. John was so insubordinate that he lost his job in one week.
A. understanding B. fresh C. obedient D. disobedient
27. He had never experienced such discourtesy towards the president as it occurred at the annual
meeting in May.
A. rudeness B. measurement C. encouragement D. politeness
Part 4: Lexico - Grammar (1.8 pts - 0.1/ each)
Choose the word or phrase (A, B, C or D) that best completes each of the following sentences.
28. Only after she ________ from a severe illness did she realise the importance of good health.
A. would recover B. was recovering C. had recovered D. has recovered
29. The presenter started his speech with a few ________ jokes to build rapport with the audience.
A. light-hearted B. kind-hearted C. soft-hearted D. whole-hearted
30. It is advisable that the apprentice should be ________ to learn the ins and outs of the new job.
A. noticeable B. permissive C. acceptable D. observant
31. Several measures have been proposed to ________ the problem of unemployment among
university graduates.
A. address B. create C. pose D. admit
32. You shouldn't lose heart; success often comes to those who are not ________ by failures.
A. switched off B. put off C. turned on D. left out
33. The children ________ by social networks are likely to suffer from depression and other health
problems.
A. are obsessed B. obsessing C. obsessed D. who obsessed
34. They asked me a lot of questions, ________ I couldn't answer.
A. much of which B. both of them C. neither of which D. most of which
35. They have considered all the 100 applications, ________ seem suitable for the position.
A. none of them B. none of these C. none of which D. none of whom
36. When friends insist on ________ expensive gifts, it makes most people uncomfortable.
A. them to accept B. they accepting C. they accept D. their accepting
37. John lost the ________ bicycle he bought last week and his parents were very angry with him
because of his carelessness.
A. beautiful Japanese blue new B. beautiful new blue Japanese
C. new beautiful blue Japanese D. Japanese beautiful new blue
38. The ________ cheered when the final goal was scored in the match today.
A. spectators B. audience C. onlookers D. viewers
39. Becoming an adult and setting up ________ no longer mean the same thing.
A. housing B. household C. housework D. housemate
40. John contributed fifty dollars, but he wishes he could contribute________.
A. more fifty dollars B. one other fifty dollars
C. the same amount also D. another fifty
41. They said they had come back ________.
A. the previous day B. the next day C. the following day D. the day after tomorrow
42. They asked me ___________ in Los Angeles then.
A. whether my father had been working B. was my father working
C. if my father was working D. whether was my father
43. Most young people nowadays believe in ________marriage – first come love, then comes
marriage.
A. arranged B. romantic C. unique D. contractual
44. It’s my wish that he ________here at this room at 5p.m tomorrow.
A. will be B. is C. be D. is going to be.
45. Unfortunately, not all candidates can be offered a job, some have to be________.
A. required B. rejected C. remained D. resigned
Part 5: Word form (0.5 pts – 0.05/ each)
Give the correct form of the words in brackets to complete the following sentences.
46. ………………..…………….. , public interest in folk music has declined. (doubt)
47. These shoes are smart, but they are very ………………..……………... (comfort)
48. Why should you be so ………………..…………….. when the fault was not yours? (apologize)
49. We apologize for the ………………..…………….. caused by the late arrival of the train. (convenient)
50. Is it some ………………..………….. disease that he doesn't like people to know about? (mention)
51. The internet allows investors to research investment opportunities ……………….…... (expense)
52. It is necessary to take steps to ensure that the economy behaves ………………………... (compete)
53. They said ‘good-bye’ to each other just because of some minor ………………..……... (understand)
54. The council has promised to deal with the problem of ………………..………….. among (employ)
young people.
55. The fans’ bad behavior has resulted in the ……………..…………….. of their football (quality)
team from the championship.
Part 6: Error correction (0.5 pts – 0.1/ each)
There are 05 errors in the following passage. Identify the errors, write the line number and
correct them. Write your answers in the numbered spaces below. Number (00.) is done as an
example.
Line Passage
Swimming with seals
1 The UK is home to half the world’s population of grey seals and there is many local
2 boat trips offering sightseeing tours out to the islands and sandbanks which the animals are
3 most regularly found. But if you really want to get close to the seals and understand
4 something about its way of life, then you need to go on an underwater seal-watching trip.
5 On these trips, you have the chance to go over the side of the boat and, equipping with a
6 wetsuit, mask and snorkel, spend time in the water alongside the animals. Seals are
7 extremely inquisitive creatures and, once you’re in the water, they will swim past you
8 trying working out who you are and what you’re doing there. Though they can appear shy
9 at first, seals soon get used to you being in the water, and will come and play around you.
10 Young pups especially like having contact for divers, and often use their teeth, gently
11 biting masks, fins and cameras out of curiosity. It can be a thrilling experience.

Line Error Correction

1 00. is à are
………….. 56. ………………..…………….. à ………………..……………..
………….. 57. ………………..…………….. à ………………..……………..
………….. 58. ………………..…………….. à ………………..……………..
………….. 59. ………………..…………….. à ………………..……………..
………….. 60. ………………..…………….. à ………………..……………..
Part 7: Prepositions and phrasal verbs (0.5 pts – 0.05/ each)
Supply each space with a suitable preposition or adverbial particle to complete each of the
following sentences.
61. Pedro bumped …………..….. his English teacher at the supermarket.
62. When the factory closed …………..….., the employees lost their jobs.
63. In some exercises you are asked to cross …………..….. the incorrect word.
64. We ran out …………..….. milk this morning, so we need to go to the store.
65. If you plan the project well, then everything should fall …………..….. place.
66. For security reasons, you have to check …………..….. two hours before your flight.
67. Mary decided to brush …………..….. on her Spanish before going to South-America.
68. I just can’t figure …………..….. why President Clinton did that! What a stupid thing to do!
69. Most patients find that the numbness from the injection wears …………..….. after about an hour.
70. You slipped …………..….. when you told Sara about her surprise party. You shouldn’t have done that.
SECTION III. READING (2 pts - 0.1/ each)
Part 1. Guided cloze test
Choose the word or phrase (A, B, C or D) that best fits each blank in the following passage.
One of the most urgent environmental problems in the world today is the shortage of clean
water. Having clean drinking water is a basic human right. But acid rain, (71) ________ pollution and
garbage have made many sources of water undrinkable. Lakes, reservoirs and even entire seas have
become vast pools of poison. Lake Baikal in Russia is one of the largest lakes in the world. It (72)
________ a rich variety of animals and plants, including 1,300 rare species that do not exist
anywhere else in the world. But they are being destroyed by the massive volumes of toxic effluent
which (73) _______ into the lake every day. Even where law existed, the government did not have
the power to enforce them.
Most industries simply ignore the regulations. The Mediterranean Sea (74) ________ 1% of the
world's water surface. But it is the dumping ground for 50% of all marine pollution. Almost 16
countries regularly throw industrial wastes a few miles (75) ________ shore.
Water is free to everyone. A few years ago, people thought that the supply of clean water in the
world was limitless. Today, many water supplies have been ruined by pollution and sewage. Clean
water is now scarce, and we are at last beginning to respect this precious (76) ________. We should
do something now.
71. A. industrialized B. industry C. industrious D. industrial
72. A. composes B. consists C. contains D. encloses
73. A. stay B. pour C. burn D. boil
74. A. occupies B. comprises C. holds D. makes
75. A. on B. of C. off D. away
76. A. outlet B. source C. well D. nature
Part 2. Open cloze test
Read the passage and choose the best answer to fill in each blank space.
On the hunt for the best young female entrepreneurs
Founded in 1972, the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Award is celebrated in 27 countries.
Veuve Clicquot has now introduced a new award (77) …………….…..….. complement its Business
Woman of the Year category. Called The New Generation Award, it recognises the best young
female talent across business and corporate life.
The first winner of the award, Kathryn Parsons, (78) …………….…..….. innovative start-up
company, Decoded, teaches people to code in a day, has joined the judging panel to help find this
year’s winner. The importance of these awards cannot (79) …………….…..….. overestimated’ she says.
‘Women need role models that prove to them that they can do it, too.’
 The New Generation Award is open to entrepreneurial businesswomen (80) …………….…..….. the
ages of 25 and 35. They can run their (81) …………….…..….. businesses or hail from corporate life. This
award isn’t about how much money you’ve made or how long you’ve been in business, it’s about
recognising young women having a mission and a vision’ says Parsons. ‘We want to meet women
who are working to (82) …………….…..….. the world a better place.
Part 3. Reading comprehension
Read the passage and choose the best answer for each question below.
The concept of urban agriculture may conjure up images of rooftop, backyard or community
gardens scattered among downtown city streets and surrounding neighborhoods. But in the Seattle
area, and within and beyond the Puget Sound region, it means a great deal more. “Urban agriculture
doesn’t necessarily equate to production that occurs only in a metropolitan urban area,” says Jason
Niebler, who directs the Sustainable Agriculture Education (SAgE) Initiative atSeattle Central
Community College. “It means we are providing for growing population food needs from
surrounding rural landscapes, as well as from the core urban landscape.”
Picture a series of concentric circles, with an urban core that produces some food at varying
capacities, surrounded by a series of outlying rings of small farms that become increasingly more
rural with distance. The hope is that such land use planning, from the inner core to the outer rings,
will encourage local ecologically sound sustainable food production. This, in turn, will create local
jobs and decreasereliance on distant food products that originate from petroleum-intensive large scale
farms.
That’s the idea behind SAgE, believed to be the nation’s first metropolitan-based community
college sustainable agriculture program that emphasizes farming practices across diverse landscape
types from urban centers to surrounding rural environs. “It’s small scale agriculture with an urban
focus,” Niebler says. “Any urban population, large or small, can practice sustainable agriculture,
improve food security and protect the environment, which ultimately results in resilient food systems
and communities.”
SAgE is a part of the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education
(ATE) Program, which is providing the project with $157,375 over two years. ATE’s goal is to
support projects that strengthen the skills of technicians who work in industries regarded as vital to
the nation’s prosperity and security. The support largely goes to community colleges that work in
partnership with universities, secondary schools, businesses and industries, as well as government
agencies, which design and implement model workforce initiatives.
The SAgE project focuses on the environmental, socioeconomic, political and cultural issues
related to sustainable food systems within Puget Sound watersheds through student and community
education and research, and technological innovation. The curriculum offers courses that cover such
issues as agricultural ecology, urban food systems, food politics and ethics, soil science, sustainable
food production and technology, the integration of food and forests, and career opportunities.
“We’ve created a curriculum that is fundamental in nature, addressing the principles of
sustainable agriculture and what a food system is – how it functions both locally and globally,”
Niebler says. “These courses are challenging, robust and inspirational. One of the really wonderful
things about themis that we offer service learning opportunities, where students volunteer a portion of
their time to working with local partner organizations. They can do a research project, or a service
learning option. The ideal would be to prompt students into careers that involve sustainable practices
in an urban agriculture setting.”
83. It is stated in the passage that Jason Niebler ______.
A. preserves the core urban landscape
B. provides food for Seattle’s population
C. studies at Seattle Central Community College
D. directs the SAgE Initiative
84. It can be inferred from the passage that the conventional idea of urban agriculture ______.
A. focuses mainly on agriculture within and beyond the Puget Sound region
B. aims at food production and consumption in both rural and urban regions
C. is associated with production only in metropolitan urban areas
D. concerns with food production in any city’s surrounding areas
85. The word “concentric” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. coming from different places B. having the same size
C. going in different directions D. having the same center
86. Which of the following is supposed to be an outcome of the SAgE’s new land use planning?
A. Dependence on distant food products
B. Increased food production in large scale farms
C. Employment opportunities for local residents
D. Modernized farming practices in rural environs
87. The curriculum of SAgE at Seattle Central Community College offers courses covering the
following EXCEPT ______.
A. agricultural ecology B. career opportunities
C. urban system development D. integration of food and forests
88. In Niebler’s opinion, the courses offered by the SAgE project are ______.
A. functional but impractical B. robust but unpromising
C. challenging and costly D. hard but encouraging
89. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. The curriculum that the SAgE project designs is fundamental in nature.
B. The SAgE project alone will offer students sufficient jobs in urban agriculture.
C. ATE helps to improve the skills of technicians in the nation’s major industries.
D. Resilient food systems can be attributedto sustainable agricultural practices.
90. Which of the following best describes the author’s tone in the passage?
A. Skeptical B. Provocative C. Supportive D. Satirical
SECTION IV. WRITING (2 pts)
Part 1. For questions 91–100, finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it has the
same meaning as the first sentence. (0.5 pts – 0.1/each)
91. “I didn’t steal your car yesterday,” he said to me.
@ He denied ............................................................................................................................................................................................................
92. I’m absolutely sure that they weren’t playing in this weather.
@ They can’t ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................
93. The demand was so great that they had to reprint the book immediately.
@ So ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................
94. If we can solve the problem soon, it will be better for an concerned.
@ The sooner ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................
95. We regret to inform you that your application has not been successful.
@ Much to ................................................................................................................................................................................................................
96. It was a bit difficult to get into work this morning.
@ Getting ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................
97. She had hardly begun to speak before people started interrupting her.
@ Hardly ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................
98. It’s thought that the accident was caused by human error.
@ The accidient ....................................................................................................................................................................................................
99. John didn’t celebrate until he received the offer of promotion in writing.
@ Not until ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................
100. It was the goalkeeper who saved the match for us.
@ If it hadn’t ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................
Part 2. For questions 101–110, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to
the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between
two and five words, including the word given. (0.5 pts – 0.1/each)
101. You should book your ticket beforehand if you want to get a good seat. (advance)
@ Your ticket ……………………………………………………….….…..….. if you want to get a good seat.
102. John, do you know yet what you are doing this evening? (mind)
@ John, have ……………………………………………………….….…..….. yet what you are doing this evening?
103. We weren’t surprised by her success. (surprise)
@ It came ……………………………………………………….….…..….. that she was successful.
104. They made me wait for over 20 minutes on the phone. (kept)
@ I ……………………………………………………….….…..….. over 20 minutes on the phone.
105. Linda has improved a lot this term. (progress)
@ Linda has ……………………………………………………….….…..….. this term.
106. Dawn’s boss is constantly criticizing her work. (fault)
@ Dawn’s boss is ……………………………………………………….….…..….. her work.
107. We haven’t contacted each other for several months. (touch)
@ We haven’t ……………………………………………………….….…..….. each other for several months.
108. She was going to hand in her notice when the boss decided to promote her. (point)
@ She ……………………………………………………….….…..….. in her notice when the boss decided to promote her.
109. He’s been writing the novel for nearly two years. (started)
@ It is nearly ……………………………………………………….….…..….. writing the novel.
110. Susan regrets not buying that house. (wishes)
@ Susan ……………………………………………………….….…..….. that house.