A. READING
Part 1. Read part of a magazine article by Maisie McNeice, who is co-author of a book about her childhood in Africa and circle the best answer A, B, C, or D.
[ Đọc một phần của bài tạp chí viết bởi Maisie McNeice, là đồng tác giả của một quyển sách về thời thơ ấu của bà ở Châu Phi và khoanh tròn đáp án A, B, C hoặc D]
When I was seven, my family moved to Botswana, because my mother wanted us to experience a different way of life. We joined a group of scientists at a lion research station, and for five years now we’ve been living in tents in the middle of nowhere. In my book, there are a lot of funny stories about our lives here. For example, when I go to bed, I have to check for scorpions before I get in - but I don’t mind that. The only thing I regret is not to have walls to put posters on. There’s a kitchen tent and a living room tent with a video, so I can still watch my favourite programmes in the evenings.
There are no fences around our camp, and it is dangerous to walk around after dark, so we drive - even from the living room tent to my bedroom tent! Occasionally I think “What if an animal is lying around the comer and kills me!” I am usually fine. Once I turned a comer in the car (I’ve driven since I was nine) and there was a huge bull elephant, and I stopped the car. Luckily the elephant swerved and missed us, but not by much! Another time my brother stepped on a scorpion, and he was in pain for days. And we get spiders in our tents, the size of CDs, but I am not afraid of them. And as for lions, I started working with them when I was nine, and they are just the most wonderful animals in the world.
1. Why did Maisie’s family move to Botswana?
A. because they wanted to do some research into lions
B. because they enjoyed living in tents
C. because it’s such a beautiful country
D. because they wanted to have a new kind of lifestyle
2. What does the phrase “in the middle of nowhere” in paragraph 1 mean?
A. in a remote and isolated place C. in the middle of Botswana
B. in the heart of a research station D. in an unknown place
3. What does the word “that” in paragraph 1 refer to?
A. seeing scorpions in bed
B. checking for scorpions before getting in bed
C. hearing funny stories about lives there
D. living with scorpions
4. Why does Maisie have to drive from the living room tent to the bedroom tent after dark?
A. because the tents are far away
B. because there are fences around the camp
C. because it is dangerous to walk around then
D. because she enjoys driving
5. The creature that put Maisie in most danger was .
A. an elephant B. a scorpion C. a spider D. a lion
6. Why was Maisie not hit by the elephant?
A. because it was a huge bull elephant
B. because the elephant swerved
C. because Maisie was at a comer
D. because the elephant missed her
7. What does Maisie think about spiders?
A. They aren’t dangerous.
B. They don’t frighten her.
C. Her brother shouldn’t worry about them.
D. People should not let them come into their tents.
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8. What would be a good title for Maisie’s book?
A. Life with the Lions C. Travels around Africa
B. African Life D. My Unusual Family
Hướng dẫn giải:
1. D 2. A 3. B 4. C
5. A 6. B 7. B 8. A
Part 2. Circle A, B, C, or D that best completes the following passage.
[ Khoanh tròn A, B, C hoặc D để hoàn thành bài đọc tốt nhất]
THE BOOK IN THE 21ST CENTURY
How many times in the last hundred years or so have people talked of the imminent death of the book? Films (1) an early threat because they were so effective at telling stories in a visual way. Next there was radio, which stepped into the
mid-twentieth century and (2) people with such an alternative to books as drama, documentaries and discussions. When television arrived, many people believed that (3) would finish the book off. Nowadays, besides the threat by TV, the book is thought to be (4) by computers and the Internet, and by other technological attractions like the CDs and the video games, too.
Surely there are now enough (5) why the book ought to be dead, or at least very badly injured. If so, why does it not show proper respect for these reportedly less literate times and die out? There is clearly more than a (6) answer to this question. Firstly, we have more leisure time than we (7) to, and people are generally living longer, which means there is more time to do more (including reading books). As well as this, there is the strength of the book as a tradition. We are all too (8) of traditions in our modem world, but they can have very strong pull on us. Added to this, the book is such a practical tool: it doesn’t (9) too much, it is usually small enough to carry around, and it
can (10) be revisited. We will never go without books, because they have served us so well for so long.
1. A. were B. are C. have been D. are being
2. A. got B. provided C. brought D. made
3. A. he B. she C. they D. it
4. A. written B. altered C.changed D.endangered
5. A. causes B.reasons C. discussions D. talks
6. A. single B. one C. double D. singular
7. A. were B. use C. used D. had
8. A. thoughtful B. supportive C. dismissive D. respectful
9. A. cost B. take C. spend D. get
10. A. easily B. hardly C. difficultly D. impossibly
Hướng dẫn giải:
1.A 2. B 3. D 4. D 5. B
6. A 7. C 8. C 9. A 10. A