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sName:
PRACTICE 210222
A. LISTENING (50pts)
Part 1: You will hear a radio programme about research on doctors. Choose the best response A, B or C.
(10pts)
1. In order to set up her research programme, Shona got _____.
A. advice from personal friends in other countries
B. help from students in other countries
C. information from her tutor’s contacts in other countries
2. What types of people were included in the research?
A. young people in their first job
B. men who were working
C. women who were unemployed
3. Shona says that in her questionnaire, her aim was _____.
A. to get a wide range of data
B. to limit people’s responses
C. to guide people through interviews
4. What do Shona’s initial results show about medical services in Britain?
A. Current concerns are misrepresented by the press
B. Financial issues are critical to the government
C. Reforms within hospitals have been unsuccessful
5. Shona needs to do further research in order to _____.
A. present the government with her findings
B. decide the level of extra funding needed
C. identify the preferences of the public

Part 2: Listen to a report about a film called “Mamma Mia!”. Decide whether certain statements are true or false.
(10pts)
TRUE FALSE
1. “Mamma Mia!” is the name for both the musical and the film.
2. The film “Mamma Mia!” is a tragedy based on ABBA’s music.
3. “Mamma Mia!” is a story about a bride-to-be trying to identify her real mother.
4. The title “Mamma Mia” is originally the name of an ABBA song.
5. ABBA was the winner of the 1964 Eurovision Song Contest.

Part 3: You will hear an extract from a talk about preventative medicine. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS.
(10pts)
1. Who should take charge of the patient’s health? ______________________
2. What, in the speaker’s opinion, is the single greatest threat to health? ______________________
3. Which group in the study was most at risk of early death? ______________________
4. Which environmental hazard does the speaker find most underrated? ______________________
5. What will be improved by an education campaign? ______________________

Part 4: You will hear a discussion about what it means to truly be happy. For each question, write NO MORE
THAN ONE WORD. (20pts)
Episodic memory
•     the ability to recall details, e g the time and (1) ................................of past events
•     different to semantic memory - the ability to remember general information about the (2) ................................., which
does not involve recalling (3) ............................ information
Forming episodic memories involves three steps:
Encoding
•    involves receiving and processing information
•    the more (4) .......................... given to an event, the more successfully it can be encoded
•    to remember a (5) .................... , it is useful to have a strategy for encoding such information
Consolidation
•     how memories are strengthened and stored
•     most effective when memories can be added to a (6) .......................... of related information
•     the (7) .................................. of retrieval affects the strength of memories
Retrieval
•      memory retrieval often depends on using a prompt, eg: the (8) ..................................  of an object near to the place
where you left your car.
Episodic memory impairments
•     these affect people with a wide range of medical conditions
•     games which stimulate the (9) ....................... have been found to help people with schizophrenia
•     children with autism may have difficulty forming episodic memories - possibly because their concept of the
(10) ....................... may be absent
•      memory training may help autistic children develop social skills

B. LEXICO – GRAMMAR (30pts)

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Part 1: Choose the best answer A, B, C or D to complete the following sentences. (10pts)
1. A number of oil tankers have been laid _________ recently.
 A. on                 B. down                 C. up                     D. In
Lay on : provide
Lay down : put away/stop using ST
Lay up : store/keep
Lay in : obtain/store for later use
2. My car was so old that I could only sell it for ______.
A. rubbish         B. scrap (sắt vụn)             C. debris                 D. waste
3. I felt a bit _________ and seemed to have more aches and pains than usual.
A. out of sorts B. on the mend C. over the worst D. under the fevers
(slightly ill)
4. They had a four-day holiday, then began work _________.
A. on end         B. out of bounds   C. in proportions       D. in earnest
(continuously) (seriously)
5. He is a tough politician – he knows how to _________ the storm.
A. run down       B. keep up           C. ride out               D. push back
Run down : gradually use up a supply of ST/end an org’s operations
Push back : delay/postpone
Ride (storm) the storm : manage not to be harmed by the difficult situation you experience
6. On entering the nursery I stumbled on the wooden blocks _________ all over the carpet.
A. plunged         B. scattered         C. settled                 D. Tossed
Plunge (v) : move up and down suddenly and violently
7. The weather is going to change soon; I feel it in my______.
A. body                   B. legs                     C. skin                       D. Bones
Feel it in your bones : believe ST strongly though you can’t explain why
8. For a whole month, Muslims ______ eating and drinking during daylight hours.
A. abstain from       B. keep from             C. stay from               D. stand from
(kiêng) (prevent)
9. That argument is no good: it won't ______.
A. hold water         B. blossom               C. make water             D. pass water
Hold water : appear to be valid, reasonable
Pass water : urinate
10. If you get measles, you will ______ in spots.
A. break out           B. break up               C. break                       D. break down
Measles : bệnh sởi

Part 2: Read the text and find 5 mistakes and correct them. (5pts)
1 Anthony Masters was a writer in exceptional gifts and prodigious energy. He began his eventful and versatile
career as a teenager, when he was expelled from school for organizing a revolt against the school uniform. In
order to earn a living, he fulfilled his childhood ambition and took on writing. In 1964, at the age of 23, he
published A Pocketful of Rye, a collection of shortstories where freshness of style earned him a distinction of
5 being runner – up in the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize, an established and prestigious British – based
literacy award.He made the award two years later with his novel The Seahorse, after which he continued to
display his considerable talent by writing both fiction or non – fiction. The inspiration for many of his novels came
from his experience helping the socially excluded: he ran soup kitchens for drug addicts and campaigned for the
civic rights of gypsies and other ethnic minorities. Hisnon – fiction output was typically eclectic, ranged from
biographies to social histories, but it was a writer of children fiction that Masters outshone his contemporaries.
10 His work contains a sensitivity which remains unequalled by any other writer of the genre.

NO. LINES MISTAKES CORRECTIONS

1. 3 on up
2. 4 where whose
3. 5 made won
4. 9 ranged ranging
5. 10 children children’s

Part 3: Put prepositions to complete the following sentences. (5pts)

1. Tom`s absorption in his studies means he has no social life. …………………………….
2. The factory owner is not in the habit of fraternizing with his workers. …………………………….
Fraternize with SB : behave in a friendly manner …………………………….
3. My sister is always getting at me about my clothes. …………………………….
Get at SB : keep criticizing SB …………………………….
4. He laid out all his savings on that venture which fortunately succeeded.
Lay out : spend money (fork out)
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5. The law limiting the amount of foreign exchange should have been done away with years ago.

Part 4: Complete the text by writing the correct form of the word in capitals. (10pts)
They are everywhere, (1. GRACE) graceful , curving shapes whose incredible (2.
REGULAR) regularity contrasts so sharply with the random world around them. We call 1. .............................
them spirals and helices but that hardly does (3. JUST) justice to their diversity or their
significance. Over the centuries, mathematicians have identified many different types, but 2. .............................
the most intriguing are those that (4. REPEAT) repeatedly occur in the natural world.
The need to (5. RAVEL) unravel the mysteries of the existence of spirals and helices has 3. .............................
exercised some of the best scientific brains in the world and opened the way to a number of
(6. BREAK) breakthroughs in fields as widely varied as genetics and meteorology. 4. .............................
The most (7. SPETACLE) spectacular spirals on earth are also the most unwelcome
hurricanes. Their (8. AWE) awesome power comes from the sun’s heat, but they owe their
5. .............................
shape to the force caused by the rotation of the earth. After (9. NUMBER) innumerable
years of study, however, Nature’s spirals and helices have yet to (10. CLOSE) disclose all
6. .............................
their secrets. For example, why, astronomers wonder, are so many galaxies spiral-shaped?
7. .............................
Helices : plural of helix = spiral
Do justice to : treat ST in a fair way and show its true
Unravel : become known/understood 8. .............................

9. .............................

10. ...........................
C. READING COMPREHENSION (60pts)
Part 1: Read the following passage and choose the best answer to fill in the blanks A, B, C or D. (10pts)
In the late 1930s, a group of primary American scientists seeking dinosaur fossils made some (1) _______ finds
Although one of their expeditions discovered no bones at all, it nonetheless proved to be important in terms of the
information about dinosaurs it provided. During that historic expedition, which took place along the banks of the Paluxy
river in Texas, something extraordinary was revealed: a dinosaur track, clearly (2) _________ in the rock.
These dinosaur footprints (3) _________ their preservation to the salts and mud that covered them and then hardened
into rock, before (4) ________ to light 100 million year later. Tracks like these are (5) _________ to experts. There have
been great gaps in scientists’ understanding of dinosaur (6) _________, and so such footprints are useful since they
provide direct evidence of how dinosaurs actually moved. Scientists have been able to use these footprints, and other
like them, to determine how quickly different species walked, and to conclude that many kinds of dinosaur must have
travelled in (7) _________.
(8) __________, the tracks of four-legged dinosaurs seem to (9) ________ that in spite of being reptiles, these
creatures must have moved in a very similar way to living mammals, such as elephants a pattern of movement distinct
from that of most contemporary reptiles, such as crocodiles. This leads to an intriguing question. Might existing
mammals have more to teach us about the (10) _______ reptiles that once walked the earth?
1. A. noteworthy B. noticeable C. notifiable D. notional
2. A. blatant B. substantial C. distinguishable D. ostensible
3. A. owe B. derive C. result D. thank
4. A. coming B. bringing C. appearing D. surfacing
5. A. unique B. invaluable C. costly D. rare
6. A. action B. manners C. behavior D. customs
7. A. sets B. herds C. masses D. bunches
8. A. Accordingly B. Characteristically C. Interestingly D. Alternatively
9. A. point B. specify C. express D. indicate
10. A. abolished B. departed C. extinct D. extinguished

Part 2: Read the following passage and fill in each blank with one appropriate word. (10pts)
Congress pushes for multibillion-dollar nuclear reactor that critics call a boondoggle.
Plans (1) for a controversial multibillion-dollar U.S. nuclear research reactor are coming 1. ……......……….
together at lightning speed—much (2) too fast, say some nuclear policy experts. With a push 2. …………….......
from Congress, the Department of Energy (DOE) has begun designing the Versatile Fast 3. ………......…….
Neutron Source, which would be the first DOE-built reactor since the 1970s. It would generate 4. …………......….
high-energy neutrons for testing materials and fuels for so-called fast reactors. But U.S. 5. …………….......
utilities have no plans to deploy such reactors, which some nuclear proliferation analysts say 6. …………….......
pose a (3) risk because they use plutonium, the stuff of atomic (4) bombs. 7. …………….......
Researchers are divided on (5) whether the reactor, which would likely be built at Idaho 8. ………......…….
National Laboratory (INL) near Idaho Falls, is badly needed or a boondoggle. "Definitely, there 9. …………......….
is a (6) lack of capability in the U.S. and a shortage of such facilities worldwide," says 10. …………….......
Massimiliano Fratoni, a nuclear engineer at the University of California, Berkeley. But Frank
von Hippel, a nuclear physicist at Princeton University, says, "It's a pork-barrel project."
The reactor does enjoy extraordinary congressional (7) support. In March, Congress gave the
project $35 million for this year, although DOE only requested $10 million. The House of
Representatives and the Senate have (8) passed separate bills that call for completing the
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facility by 2025, with the House bill authorizing DOE (9) to spend $2 billion. Von Hippel
speculates that the cost could end (10) up reaching $10 billion.

Part 3: Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C or D) according to the text. (10pts)
Science plays a crucial role in identifying problems related to how natural systems function and deteriorate, particularly
when they are affected by an external factor.  In turn, scientific findings shape the policies introduced to protect such
systems where necessary. Experts are frequently called upon by politicians to provide evidence which can be used to
make scientifically sound, or at least scientifically justifiable policy decisions.
Issues arise as there are frequent disagreements between experts over the way data is gathered and interpreted. An
example of the former is the first scientific evidence of a hole in the ozone layer by the British Antarctic Survey. (1) The
findings were at first greeted by the scientific community with scepticism, as the British Antarctic Survey was not yet an
established scientific community. (2) Moreover, it was generally believed that satellites would have picked up such
ozone losses if they were indeed occurring. (3) It was not until the methodology of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
was reviewed that it became apparent that data had been overlooked. (4)
With regards to the latter, controversy between scientists may arise where data analysis appears to support one policy
over another. In 1991, the World Resource Institute (WRI) published estimates of net emissions and sinks of
greenhouse gases for a number of countries, including India. The report provoked criticisms among Indian scientists
who argued that the figures had failed to take some significant factors into account, leading to overestimated emission
values. The WRI was accused of blaming less economically developed countries for global warming; a stance which, if
accepted, could impede industrialisation and sustain, even widen, the wealth gap.
Problems regarding the scientific method are well documented and it is widely accepted by the scientific community
that, however consistent scientists are in their procedures, the results born under different circumstances can vary
markedly. A number of factors influence research, among them the organisation of a laboratory, the influence of
prevailing theories, financial constraints and the peer review process. Consequently, scientists tend to believe they are
not in a position to bear universal truths but to reveal tendencies.
However, this is countered by two factors. Firstly, certain scientific institutions wish to maintain a degree of status as
‘bearers of truth’. Further, policy makers uphold this understanding by requesting scientific certainties in order to
legitimise their policy decisions. According to a number of authors who have documented this process, decision makers
do not necessarily try to obtain all the information which is or could be made available regarding an issue. Rather, they
select that information which is necessary to fulfil their goals, information termed as ‘half-knowledge’. Attempts to
underplay transboundary issues such as water provision and pollution are cases in point. Politicians clearly cannot
pretend that certain data do not exist if they are well-known in scientific communities or national borders, but some
discretion is evident, especially where there is controversy and uncertainty.
It is important to note that policies regarding scientific issues are influenced in no small part by societal factors. These
include the relative importance of certain environmental issues, the degree of trust in the institutions conducting the
research, and not least the social standing of those affected by the issue. In other words, environmental problems are in
many ways socially constructed according to the prevailing cultural, economic and political conditions within a society. It
has been suggested, for example, that contemporary 'post-materialist' Western societies pay greater attention to 'quality'
- including environmental quality – than 'quantity'. This theory does not necessarily assume that people of low-income
countries have no interest in environmental protection, as the example of the Chipko movement in India clearly
demonstrates, but demonstrates that the way a resource is valued varies widely among different communities.
Finally, it cannot be denied that the ‘issue of the day’ changes constantly. One issue becomes more or less urgent than
another, based on current events. Concurrently, new issues enter the political agenda. It has been noted that it often
takes a 'policy entrepreneur', someone who dedicates time, energy and financial resources to a certain issue, to raise its
profile. Furthermore, whether an issue is taken up by political, environmental or media groups, depends very much on
the degree to which it suits their particular agenda, not to mention budget.
Impede : to delay or stop the progress of something
Underplay : to make something seem less important than it really is
Transboundary : crossing the border between two or more countries or areas and affecting both or all areas
Discretion : the freedom or power to decide what should be done in a particular situation
Anomalous : different from what is normal or expected
Incontestable = indisputable
1. With reference to paragraph 1, which of the following pieces of research would be NOT be relevant to this article?
A. the effect of climate change on weather patterns in Africa
B. whether or not low level radiation increases the risk of cancer
C. how acid rain impacts species within a lake ecosystem
D. a comparison of the species present in two areas of woodlanplays What is the purpose of the example of ozone
data given in paragraph 2?
A. to show that NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center used unreliable methods of gathering scientific data
B. to show how data gathering methods and the status of scientists may affect the way data is regarded
C. to prove that it is wrong to dismiss evidence which comes from a non-established source
D. to show how NASA and the British Antarctic Survey disagreed over the correct way to gather ozone data.
2. Where in paragraph 2 does this sentence best fit?
This wasthe way their computers had been programmed to discard any readings which appeared anomalous.
A. 1 B. 2 C. 3 D. 4
3. Paragraph 3 gives an example of a dispute over…
A. which country was most responsible for producing greenhouse gases
B. the pollution caused by multinational companies in India.
C. how statistics were interpreted and presented.
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D. erroneous data which resulted from a poorly-funded experiment.

4. In paragraph 5, ‘this’ refers to…
A. the scientific method and its inherent problems.
B. the belief that scientists cannot reveal universal truths.
C. the variation in scientific results under different circumstances.
D. the list of factors which influence scientific research.
5. What is meant by this sentence?
‘Further, policy makers uphold this understanding by requesting scientific certainties in order to legitimise their policy
decisions.’
A. Politicians when seeking evidence for policy-making, do not understand the fact that scientists are unable to act
as ‘bearers of truth’.
B. Politicians consider the scientific research that supports their policies as more legitimate than other research.
C. Scientific institutions encourage politicians to use them for policy-making in order to improve their status.
D. Politicians, when seeking evidence for policy-making, encourage the belief that scientists can produce
incontestable facts.
6. Which sentence best sums up the ideas in paragraph 4?
A. Scientists are aware that their work cannot present incontrovertible facts.
B. If scientists were more consistent, they could create more reliable evidence.
C. Variations in how research is conducted often affect its validity.
D. Scientists spend more time documenting problems than conducting research.
7. Why are ‘transboundary issues such as water provision and pollution’ referred to in paragraph 5?
A. to illustrate situations in which politicians pretend that certain data does not exist
B. to illustrate situations in which incorrect information is given by scientific institutions keen to maintain their status.
C. to illustrate situations in which politicians are selective with regards to what data they gather
D. to illustrate situations in which policy makers request scientists to present them with scientific certainties, even
though none exist.
8. What can be inferred about the Chipko movement?
A. It was an example of how people in low-income countries have little interest in environmental protection.
B. It was an example of how different people within a community valued a resource differently.
C. It was an example of how people in a low-income community showed interest in protecting the environment.
D. It was an example of how people in a low-income community valued quantity over quality.
9. Which of the following arguments is NOT presented in paragraph 7?
A. An issue only get political or media attention if someone with a high profile is supporting it.
B. Politicians are only interested in environmental issues if it benefits them.
C. Issues don’t get public attention unless a particular person advocates it strongly.
D. Issues may be overlooked if there are other significant events happening at the time.

Part 4: Read the following passage and do the tasks that follows. Write your answer in the space provided.
(10pts)
Dirty river but clean water
Floods can occur in rivers when the flow rate exceeds the capacity of the river channel, particularly at bends or
meanders in the waterway. Floods often cause damage to homes and businesses if they are in the natural flood plains
of rivers. While riverine flood damage can be eliminated by moving away from rivers and other bodies of water, people
have traditionally lived and worked by rivers because the land is usually flat and fertile and because rivers provide easy
travel and access to commerce and industry.
A. Fire and flood are two of humanity’s worst nightmares. People have, therefore, always sought to control them. Forest
fires are snuffed out quickly. The flow of rivers is regulated by weirs and dams. At least ，that is how it used to be. But
foresters have learned that forests need fires to clear out the brush and even to get seeds to germinate. And a similar
revelation is now dawning on hydrologists. Rivers 一 and the ecosystems they support — need floods. That is why a
man-made torrent has been surging down the Grand Canyon. By Thursday March 6th it was running at full throttle,
which was expected to be sustained for 60 hours.
B. Floods once raged through the canyon every year. Spring Snow from as far away as Wyoming would melt and swell
the Colorado river to a flow that averaged around 1,500 cubic metres (50,000 cubic feet) a second. Every eight years or
so, that figure rose to almost 3,000 cubic metres. These floods infused the river with sediment, carved its beaches and
built its sandbars.
C. However, in the four decades since the building of the Glen Canyon dam, just upstream of the Grand Canyon, the
only sediment that it has collected has come from tiny, undammed tributaries. Even that has not been much use as
those tributaries are not powerful enough to distribute the sediment in an ecologically valuable way.
D. This lack of flooding has harmed local wildlife. The humpback chub, for example, thrived in the rust-red waters of the
Colorado. Recently, though, its population has crashed. At first sight, it looked as if the reason was that the chub were
being eaten by trout introduced for sport fishing in the mid-20th century. But trout and chub co-existed until the Glen
Canyon dam was built, so something else is going on. Steve Gloss, of the United States’ Geological Survey (USGS),
reckons that the chub’s decline is the result of their losing their most valuable natural defense, the Colorado’s rusty
sediment. The chub were well adapted to the poor visibility created by the thick, red water which gave the river its name,
and depended on it to hide from predators. Without the cloudy water the chub became vulnerable.
E. And the chub are not alone. In the years since the Glen Canyon dam was built, several species have vanished
altogether. These include the Colorado pike-minnow, the razorback sucker and the roundtail chub. Meanwhile, aliens
including fathead minnows, channel catfish and common carp, which would have been hard ， put to survive in the
savage waters of the undammed canyon, have moved in.
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F. So flooding is the obvious answer. Unfortunately, it is easier said than done. Floods were sent down the Grand
Canyon in 1996 and 2004 and the results were mixed. In 1996 the flood was allowed to go on too long. To start with, all
seemed well. The floodwaters built up sandbanks and infused the river with sediment. Eventually, however, the
continued flow washed most of the sediment out of the canyon. This problem was avoided in 2004 ，but unfortunately,
on that occasion, the volume of sand available behind the dam was too low to rebuild the sandbanks. This time, the
USGS is convinced that things will be better. The amount of sediment available is three times greater than it was in
2004. So if a flood is going to do some good, this is the time to unleash one.
G. Even so, it may turn out to be an empty gesture. At less than 1,200 cubic metres a second, this flood is smaller than
even an average spring flood, let alone one of the mightier deluges of the past. Those glorious inundations moved
massive quantities of sediment through the Grand Canyon, wiping the slate dirty, and making a muddy mess of silt and
muck that would make modem river rafters cringe.
Bend : a curve or turn, especially in a road or river
Meander : a place where a road or river curves rather than being in a straight line
Riverine : on, near, or relating to a river or the banks of a river
Germinate : (of a plant) start to grow
At full throttle : as fast as possible; with as much power or energy as possible
Canyon : a deep valley with steep sides of rock
Sediment : sand, stones, mud, etc. carried by water or wind and left, for example, on the bottom of a lake, river,
etc.
Sandbar : a long mass of sand at the point where a river meets the sea that is formed by the movement of the
water
Upstream : along a river, in the opposite direction to the way in which the water flows
Undam : destroy a dam
Tributary : a river or stream that flows into a larger river or a lake
Humpback : lưng gù
Rust-red : màu đỏ gỉ
Trout : cá hương
Fathead minnow : cá tuế đỏ hồng
Razorback sucker : cá mút Razorback
Roundtail chub : cá Chub đuôi tròn
Channel catfish : cá nheo Mỹ
Carp : cá chép
Infuse : make ST have a particular quality
Deluge = flood
Silt : sand, mud, etc. that is carried by flowing water and is left at the mouth of a river or in a

Questions 1-7
Do the following statements agree with the information given in  the passage? In boxes 1-6, write
TRUE if the statement is true
FALSE if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage
1. Damage caused by fire is worse than that caused by flood. NG
2. The flood peaks at almost 1500 cubic meters every eight years. F
3. Contribution of sediments delivered by tributaries has little impact. T
4.  Decreasing number of chubs is always caused by introducing of trout since mid-20 th F
5. It seemed that the artificial flood in 1996 had achieved success partly at the very beginning T
6. In fact, the yield of artificial flood water is smaller than an average natural flood at present. T

Questions 8-13
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 7-10.
Humpback chub population reduced, why?
Then, several species disappeared including Colorado pike-minnow, (7) razorback
sucker and the round-tail chub. Meanwhile, some moved in such as fathead 7. .....................................
minnows, channel catfish and (8) common carp. The non-stopped flow leaded to 8. .....................................
the washing away of the sediment out of the canyon, which poses great threat to 9. .....................................
the chubs because it has poor (9) visibility away from predators. In addition, the 10. .....................................
volume of (10) sand available behind the dam was too tow to rebuild the bars and
flooding became more serious.

Part 5: Read the passage and questions 1-10, choose the appropriate section (A-F) in the article. The sections
may be chosen more than once. (10pts)
Is there an architect in the house?
The multimedia company
A. The problem: The reception at Channelfly.com, in London's Chalk Farm, is crammed with "new office" design cliche
in town: the bashed-up sofas, the table football, the spike-haired staff, Daft Punk on the stereo. But it's all front.
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Behind, it's crowded and confusing, with strip lighting, hotch-potch furniture and parched spider plants. Not exactly
the image of a young multimedia music company.
"We get people like Cerys from Catatonia coming here," says the Managing Director, Jeremy Ledlin. " We don't want
it to look like an office." But it looks like a dive. "Well, we don't want it to look like that either." The company has long
working hours and a wide range of activities, so it's hard to keep coordinated. The claustrophobic, labyrinthine layout
does not help either.
B. The solution: Ralph Buschow definitely talks the talk. "The office should be like a city. You need ugly areas too.
What they need right now is a city square, somewhere to talk, not just the street or the photocopier. Otherwise,
people only talk to the same people at the same time. We put a bar in one office next to the lift and it became a
hotbed of idea-swapping. And they need signposts. People want easy clues about how everything connects, or they
go crazy."
The charity
C. The problem: Dreariness, cramped space, stifling ventilation, nasty lighting, carpet tiles, utilitarian furniture - Jim
Devereux has it all. He's not sure if he can take any more. The trouble is money: "In a charity, it's tight." His office, a
housing aid centre cobbled from two shops in Fleetwood. Lancashire, is threadbare, with only a clock, clutter,
posters on benefit rates and the like for decor. "But our biggest bother is space. There's nowhere to go for a break,
so everyone has lunch at their desks, and we've got six new staff starting soon. Mind you, you should have seen
where we used to work."
D. The solution: "Hmm," sighs architect Mervyn Hill. "Sometimes the answer isn't design, but rethinking how you work,
like how to work flexibly in the space you have: think of computers as workstations, do different jobs in different parts
of the office, and keep mobile: not one person tied to a desk all day." But what about the ambience? "The people
here are so committed, they'd work in a cellar with two candles. A charity shouldn't be luxurious, but it needs to be
warm. This is spartan. The bare fluorescent strips have to go. Up-lights will lift the ceiling, make it sparkle.
The call centre
E. The problem: Account manager Sally Stapleton insists this isn't a call centre. In fact, she calls where she works in
Edinburgh a contact centre. "Compared with other contact centres it's light and airy, with plants, fresh décor." But a
call centre's a call centre, even when it's a contact centre - with similar problems, such as noise, and mundanity.
"We need to alleviate the repetitive tasks of the agents, so they can love what they're selling. We don't mind a more
casual space. But we'd draw the line at lots of fluffy animals cluttering up the desks."
F. The solution: "I've seen a lot worse," says Julian Frostwick. He sounds disappointed. "But there's lots to get my
teeth into. They need to humanise the space. It's very bland and anonymous. They can kill a few birds with one
stone by putting in a beautiful new ceiling, a big wave, maybe, breaking up the space into defined areas. Keep the
rest cosmetic, treating the windows for glare, a few colours. A bit of bright red will give it a kick."

Bashed-up : bọc nệm

Spike-haired : tóc nhọn
Hotch-potch : lộn xộn
Parched : khô
Dive : a bar, music club, etc. that is cheap, and perhaps dark or dirty
Claustrophobic : giving you chứng sợ ko gian hẹp
Labyrinthine : complicated and difficult to find your way through
Hotbed : a place where a lot of a particular activity, especially something bad or violent, is happening
Dreariness : the fact of being sad and not interesting
Stifling : making you feel unable to breathe, because it is too hot and/or there is no fresh air
Utilitarian : designed to be useful and practical rather than attractive
Cobbled : having a surface that is made of đá cuội
Ambience : the character and atmosphere of a place
Spartan : simple or severe; without anything that makes life easier or more pleasant
Up-light : a light placed or designed to throw illumination upward
Mundanity : the fact of being very ordinary and therefore not interesting

1. 1. Changing the light will give this office a more spacious appearance. D
2. 2. The problem of this office do not provide enough challenge for the architect. F
3. 3. This office requires an area where informal discussions can take place. B
4. 4. Some problems in this office can be solved by changing the way the work is organized. D
5. 5. We would our staff to benefit from a more varied routine. E
6. 6. The atmosphere of this office can be improved by repainting it. F
7. 7. The directors do not want the office to be perceived as very formal. A
8. 8. This office would work better if each department was clearly labelled. B
9. 9. The situation in this office is likely to get worse C
10. 10. These offices may give visitors a false impression when they first arrive. A

D. WRITING (30pts)
Part 1: Summarize the following passage about ego-driven people from 80 to 100 words. (10pts)
The Importance of Monasteries in Thailand
The number of Buddhist novice monks is rising each year in Thailand. The official figure for the year 2000 was 97 875
novices. It is easy to think that more young men are being drawn to the religious life. But according to Phra Peter
Pannapadipo (an English monk who has lived in Thai monasteries for ten years and who has just written a book entitled
 8

Little Angels), this is not the reason for the increase in novices. He said that the increase is more likely an indication of
the continuing poverty and lack of opportunity among the many disadvantaged Thai families, especially in rural areas. It
is a sad reflection of parents' inability to care for and educate their children.
Phra Peter Pannapadipo explains that boys from the rural areas of Thailand become novices because there is nowhere
else for them to go. Sometimes their impoverished parents cannot afford to feed them or send them to school. For many
boys therefore, ordaining and studying at monastic high schools is the only way they can complete their secular
education. In a few monasteries, however, becoming a novice for a time is a way of testing a man's spiritual
commitment to the monastic life before he becomes a monk. The majority of novices are in their late teens, but they can
be as young as seven to as old as 20. After 20, a novice is expected to be either ordained as a full monk, or disrobe
entirely.
Experts say that monasteries play an important role and act as a social support system that has been around for some
time. "Ordaining as a novice or a monk has been part of Thai society for a long time. This is the way the monastery and
the community support each other," said a professor of' the Social Administration Faculty at Thammasat University. "In
fact, providing education for young boys and sheltering them from some bad surroundings, so called `social work
education', has been one of the most important roles of Thai monasteries from the beginning," she added.
Novices usually study during the week. Apart from walking on the dawn alms round and attending morning and evening
services, they have their own duties. These include for example, keeping the monastery grounds swept, or preparing
candles and incense for ceremonies. Their schedules can be full beginning as early as 5.00 a.m. and ending as late as
11.00 p.m. Many novices disrobe after six years of high school studies at these monastery schools. Some return to their
villages, others look for jobs in the cities. Some ambitious few, if they can find money or obtain a scholarship, pursue
further studies. The rest, less than a handful, stay on to practice Buddha's teachings for the rest of their life. They look
for another monastery or stay on at the present one.

Part 2: Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it is as similar as possible in meaning to the
sentence printed before it. (10pts)
1. Could you come on Saturday?
How suitable is coming on Saturday for you?
2. You shouldn’t overstate the importance of finishing the project on time.
You shouldn’t put emphasis on finishing on time.
3. Jane was quiet relieved when she found out the truth.
It was something of a relief to Trudy when she found out the truth.
4. I have been told that you have been late for work every day this week.
It has been brought to my attention that you have been late for work every day this week.
5. Children and older people are much more prone to infection than young adults.
Children and older people pick up infections much more easily than young adults.

Part 3: Complete the sentence with the given words in CAPITAL. (10pts)
1. It would be easy to make a film adaption of Danielle Steel’s latest novel. ITSELF
Danielle Steel’s lastest novel lends itself to being made into a film
2. In particular, the school library was criticised by the inspectors because of its poor lighting. SINGLED
In particular, the school library was singled out for criticism by the inspectors because of its poor lighting
3. He has tried to lose weight before. DIET
It isn’t the first time he has gone on diet
4. I believe there will be an economic crisis soon. IMMINENT
In my estimation an economic crisis is imminent
5. The author describes his childhood vividly in the book. ACCOUNT
The author gives a vivid account of his childhood in the book