I.       Choose the item among a, b, c or d that best answers  the question about the passage.

A young man from Germany named Levi Strauss arrived in California in 1850. He went there to sell things to the miners. He saw that the miners needed strong pants, so he began to make them. He used cloth that people made tents from. He put rivets on the pockets to make them strong and lasted a long time. The pants became very popular immediately.

Later, Mr. Strauss started making jeans from cotton cloth from Nimes, France. People called this cloth denim. Denim was popular in the fifteenth century. Christopher Columbus used denim for the sails of his ships. Sailors in Genoa, Italy, wore denim pants. The word “jeans” comes from the word “Genoa”. Mr. Strauss made the first jeans in the United States, but the idea and the kind of cloth came from Europe. The names came from France and Italy.

Jeans were always blue until recently. People used indigo to dye them. Indigo is the oldest dye in the world. Most jeans have blue threads going across and white threads going up and down. These two colors make denim look different from other kinds of cloth.

36. The word “denim” comes from the name of a city in _____.

      a. France                       b. India                              c. Italy                               d. Germany

37. The word “jeans” is from the name of a city in _____.

      a. France                       b. the United States          c. Italy                               d. Germany

38. Levi Strauss went to California to _____.

      a. sell things to miners                                            b. look for gold

      c. make jeans                                                          d. be a sailor

39. Rivets _____.

      a. make good sails                                                  b. make tents strong         

      c. come from Genoa                                               d. make the pockets of jeans strong

40. Cloth is made from thousands of _____.

      a. tents                          b. sails                               c. factories                         d. threads

Levi Strauss, a young immigrant from Germany, arrived in San Francisco in 1850. California was in the middle of the Gold Rush. Thousands of men were coming to California to dig for gold. And Strauss came to sell canvas to these gold miners. Canvas is a heavy fabric. So Strauss thought the miners could use the canvas for tents.

One day Strauss heard a miner complain that he couldn’t find clothes strong enough for the work he was doing. Strauss got an idea. He quickly took some of his canvas and made it into pants. These pants were what the miners needed. In one day Strauss sold all the pants he had made.

Strauss wanted to improve his pants. He wanted to make them even better. He bought a fabric that was softer than canvas but just as strong. This fabric came from Nimes, a city in France, and was called serge de Nimes. The miners like this fabric. They called it “denim” from (de Nimes) and bought even more pants from Strauss.

However, denim had no color. Because of this the denim pants did not look very interesting, and they got dirty easily. To solve these problems, Strauss dyed the denim blue.

Strauss continued to improve his jeans. Today the company he started is known around the world. And Jeans are considered not just practical but very fashionable as well.

True or False?

1. Levi Strauss was the first person to make blue jeans.  

2. Blue jeans got dirty easily.                                                                

3. Strauss made his first jeans from a fabric called serge de Nimes.        

4. Nimes is a city in France.                                                                     

      Questions

5. What could be the best title of the passage

 A. A Young Immigrant From Germany     B. The History of Blue Jean

 C. Serge de Nimes                                   D. The Gold Rush

6. Why did Levi Strauss come to California?

 A. to dig for gold      B. to sell pants      C. to buy denim       D. to sell canvas

Levi Strauss a young immigrant from Germany ,arrived in san francisco in 1850 .California was in the middle of the Gold Rush, thousands of men were coming to California to dig for gold and  Levi Strauss came to sell canvas to these gold miners . Canvas is a heavy fabric. So Levi Strauss thought the miners could use the canvas for tents.

      One day Strauss heard a miner complain that he couldn´t find clothes strong enough for the work he was doing Strauss got an idea he quickly took some of his canvas and made it into pants these pants were what the miners needed . In one day Strauss sold all the pants he had made.
Strauss wanted to improve his pants he wanted to make them even better .He bought a fabric that was softer than canvas but just as strong. This fabric came from Nimes , a city in France and was called serge de Nimes .The miners liked this fabric they called it "denim" (from de Nimes) and bought even more pants from Strauss.
      However denim had no color because of this the denim pants did not look very interesting and they got dirty easily .To solve these problems Strauss made the denim blue.
    Strauss continued to improve his jeans .Today the company he started is known around the world and jeans are considered not just practical but very fashionable as well.

      A. Choose true or false

1. Levi Strauss came to Germany in 1850.                                                                    

2. Levi Strauss came to import  canvas .                                                                      

3. Strauss got the denim from France.                                                                          

4. Strauss dyed the denim blue.                                                                                     

      B. Choose the most suitable item.

5. What does the word” to improve” in line 8 mean?

      A. to make better        B. to take care                    C. to find more                  D. to look after

6. People like jeans because they are__________ .

      A. practical                  B. fashionable                    C. colorful                          D. A and B

I.       Read the following passage and choose the item (a, b, c, or d) that best answers each of the questions about it.

Every nation and every country has its own customs and traditions. In Britain traditions play a more important part in the life of the people than in other countries. Englishmen are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up.

It has been the law for about 300 years that all theaters are closed on Sundays. No letters are delivered; only a few Sunday papers are published.

To this day an English family prefers a house with a garden to a flat in a modern house with central heating. English people like gardens. Sometimes the garden in front of the house is a little square covered with cement painted green in imitation of grass and a box of flowers.

Holidays are especially rich in old traditions and are different in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Christmas is a great English national holiday, and in Scotland it is not kept, except by clerks in banks, all shops and factories are working.

26. What is the best title for the passage?

      a. Traditions and Customs in Great Britain          b. The Importance of Traditions and Customs

      c. Traditional Life vs. Modern Life                      d. Englishmen’s Hobbies

27. How important are traditions in Britain?

      a. It is slightly important.                                      b. It is more important than in other countries.

      c. It is rather important.                                        d. It is somewhat important.

28. In Great Britain, _____.

a.    only a few papers are published                      

b.   a garden in front of the house is a little square covered with cement painted garden in imitation of grass and a box of flowers

c.    all shops and factories are working at Christmas

d.   traditions are preserved

29. The word it in the last paragraph refers to _____.

      a. Christmas                  b. a national holiday        c. old traditions               d. England

30. Which of the following is not true?

      a. In Great Britain all theatres are closed on Sundays.

      b. In Great Britain a postman doesn’t work on Sundays.

      c. English families like a house with garden better than a modern flat.

      d. In Scotland Christmas is a great national holiday.

I.         Read the following passage and choose the item (a, b, c, or d) that best answers each of the questions about it.

According to the census of 1800, the United States of America contained 5,308,483 persons. In the same year the British Islands contained upwards of fifteen million; the French Republic, more than twenty-seven million. Nearly one-fifth of American people were black slaves; the true political population consisted of four and a half million free whites, or less than one million able-bodied males, on whose shoulders fell the burden of a continent. Even after two centuries of struggle the land still untamed; forests covered every portion, except here and there a strip of cultivated soil; the minerals lay undisturbed in their rocky beds, and more than two-thirds of the people clung to the seaboard within fifty miles of tidewater, where alone the wants of civilized life could be supplied.

26. In the United States of America in 1800 _____.

      a. one out of every twenty-five Americans was a black slave

      b. one out of every four Americans was a black slave

      c. two out of every three Americans were black slaves

      d. one out of every five Americans was a black slave

27. What is the true political population in America in 1800?

      a. About four-fifths of the population.                  b. About one-fifth of the population.

      c. 5,308,483.                                                         d. Less than one million

28. Which of the following is not true?

      a. About one-fifth of American people were black slaves in 1800.

      b. Two-thirds of the American people live on the seaboard.

      c. In 1800, the land was still untamed.

      d. In 1800, strips of cultivated land were everywhere.

29. In the context of the paragraph, the word “untamed” means _____.

      a. calm                          b. dangerous                    c. uncultivable                 d. bad

30. How long had the struggle to tame the American continent been going on in 1800?

      a. About two hundred years.                                 b. A little more than a century.

      c. About fifty years.                                              d. Since 1750.

I.       Read the following passage and choose the item (a, b, c, or d) that best answers each of the questions about it.

After the Revolutionary War people in America were able to get news of European fashions. Fashion plates (= pictures) and dolls showing the latest fashions were sent to the US, and American women began wearing large hoop skirts. Some people thought that heavy hoops and corsets were bad for the health, and encouraged women to wear looser clothes. Amelia Bloomer designed light frilled trousers, called bloomers, but many people laughed at them. Though bloomers were not popular, there was a fashion for smaller, lighter skirts. American men also followed fashion and began wearing long trousers (or pants) instead of breeches.

26. When did American women begin to wear large hoop skirts?

      a. After the Revolutionary War

      b. After fashions plates and dolls showing the latest fashion

      c. After buying fashion plates and dolls

      d. After some people encouraged women to wear looser clothes

27. What can be the best title of the passage?

      a. The American Clothing After Revolution War

      b. The American Cloths After Revolution War

      c. The Influence of the European Fashions

      d. The History of Bloomers

28. In the context of the passage, the word “encouraged” means _____.

      a. suggested that someone did something

      b. helped someone do something

      c. gave someone hope

      d. helped so that someone continue doing something

29. The word “them” in sentence 5 refers to _____.

      a. hoops and corsets                                                b. bloomers                       

      c. some American people                                       d. American women

30. Which of the following is not true?

      a. Some people persuaded women not to wear heavy hoops and corsets.

      b. Amelia Bloomer was the one who designed frilled trousers.

      c. Americans liked wearing large hoop skirts.

      d. American men used to wear breeches.

I.       Read the following passage and choose the item (a, b, c, or d) that best answers each of the questions about it.

After the Revolutionary War people in America were able to get news of European fashions. Fashion plates (= pictures) and dolls showing the latest fashions were sent to the US, and American women began wearing large hoop skirts. Some people thought that heavy hoops and corsets were bad for the health, and encouraged women to wear looser clothes. Amelia Bloomer designed light frilled trousers, called bloomers, but many people laughed at them. Though bloomers were not popular, there was a fashion for smaller, lighter skirts. American men also followed fashion and began wearing long trousers (or pants) instead of breeches.

26. When did American women begin to wear large hoop skirts?

      a. After the Revolutionary War

      b. After fashions plates and dolls showing the latest fashion

      c. After buying fashion plates and dolls

      d. After some people encouraged women to wear looser clothes

27. What can be the best title of the passage?

      a. The American Clothing After Revolution War

      b. The American Cloths After Revolution War

      c. The Influence of the European Fashions

      d. The History of Bloomers

28. In the context of the passage, the word “encouraged” means _____.

      a. suggested that someone did something

      b. helped someone do something

      c. gave someone hope

      d. helped so that someone continue doing something

29. The word “them” in sentence 5 refers to _____.

      a. hoops and corsets                                                b. bloomers                       

      c. some American people                                       d. American women

30. Which of the following is not true?

      a. Some people persuaded women not to wear heavy hoops and corsets.

      b. Amelia Bloomer was the one who designed frilled trousers.

      c. Americans liked wearing large hoop skirts.

      d. American men used to wear breeches.

V. Read the following passage and choose the item (a, b, c, or d) that best answers each of the questions about it.

Since 1877, the Fresh Air Fund has helped poor children from New York City spend summers in the country. Each year, over ten thousand children, ages 6 to 18, participate in the program. Some stay at a camp; others live with a host family. The fund pays for all expenses.

The camps are for 8-to 15-year-olds. At camp, children can learn about the stars, see deer and cows and other animals, and go hiking, fishing, and of course, swimming. The children learn responsibility by helping out with chores like making beds and waiting on tables.

host (n) : chủ                     expense (n) : chi phí

responsibility (n): trách nhiệm

1. The aim of the Fresh Air Fund is to help_____ .

a. poor children b. children from New York City

c. all children   d. poor children from New York City

2 How many children take part in the program every year?

a. all children ages 6 to 18   b. ten thousand

c. over ten thousand d. no information

3. What does the word ‘others’ in line 4 refer to?

a. summer b. camps   c. programs d. children

4. What do the children do at the camp?

a. Learn about the stars. b. See deer, cows, and other animals.

c. Go hiking, fishing and swimming. d. all are correct

5. Which of the following could replace the word ‘chores’ in line 8?

a. homework b. hard work c. housework   d. all are correct

I.       Read the following passage and choose the item (a, b, c, or d) that best answers each of the questions about it.

Las Vegas, Nevada, is the most famous city for gambling in the United States. It started in 1905 as a small train stop. There were only a few buildings in the desert. In 1946, a famous gangster named Bugsy Siegel built the first casino. He was murdered in 1947. This made him and Las Vegas more famous! In the early 1950s, tourists went to Las Vegas not only to gamble. They went to watch atomic bomb tests in the desert outside the city. In those days, people didn't know it was dangerous. They thought it was exciting.

Las Vegas is also famous for its many wedding chapels. Like all of Las Vegas, they are open twenty-four hours a day. Getting married is easy. A couple just pays a few dollars for a license, and they can get married immediately. They don't have to wait. Many famous movie stars were married in Las Vegas.

26. Nevada _____.

      a. is a famous city for gambling                            b. is another name of Las Vegas

      c. is a state in the United States of America         d. is the capital of Las Vegas

27. The word “this” in the first paragraph refers to _____.

            a. the fact that Bugsy Siegel was murdered         b. Siegel’s first casino

            c. the fact that Siegel built the first casino            d. a famous gangster

28. People used to think that watching atomic bomb tests _____.

      a. was dangerous                                                   b. was thrilling                

      c. might be a quiz show                                        d. should be prohibited

29. In the context of the passage, the word “chapel” in the last paragraph means _____.

      a. room                          b. hotel                             c. big pagoda                   d. small church

30. Which of the following is not true?

      a. Las Vegas is a place for gambling.

      b. In 1905, there were only a few buildings at the place now called Las Vegas.

      c. Bugsy Siegel was a famous gangster.

      d. The only things that make Las Vegas famous are wedding chapels.