Exercise 2: Read the paragraph below. Then do the tasks that follow.

                Louis Braille was born in 1809 in Coupvray. He was a French teacher of the blind. He himself was blind from the age of thee. In 1818 he was a foundling (trẻ bỏ rơi) in the National Institute for the Young Blind in Paris (NIYBP). Soon showing marked ability in both science and music, he became famous in Paris as an organist and violoncellist. In 1826 Braille began teaching the blind in the institute. Braille is known for his idea modifying the Barrier “point writing” system, used for coded army messages, to enable the blind to read. Point writing consists of dots and dashes on cardboard; the Braille system derived from it is used successfully today in many countries.

Task 1: Match one word in A with its definition in B.

Task 2: Decide whether the statements below are true (T) or false (F).

1. _________       Louis Braille was an engineer.

2. _________       Braille was blind in 1812.

3. _________       Braille studied sciences and music well.

4. _________       Braille invented the Barrier point writing system.

5. _________       The Braille system was used in the French army.

Task 3: Answer the questions.

1. When and where was Louis Braille born?

> ……………..................................................................

2. When did he begin teaching the blind in NIYBP?

> ……………..................................................................

3. What did the Braille system derive from?

> ……………..................................................................

4. What was used for coded army messages?

> ……………..................................................................

5. What does the Barrier point writing system consist of?

> ……………..................................................................

V.  READING COMPREHENSION

A. Choose the one option - a, b, c or d - that best fits each of the num­bered blank.

Marie Curie, the Polish-born French (1) ..................... was a courageous and determinal woman. She left her home for Paris to (2) ..................... her interest in science. Living in (3) ….................. , she still (4) …….............. to graduate at the top of her class. She met Pierre Curie (5) ..................... after graduation and (6)     …………… him a year later. Together, Pierre and Marie (7)...................... the most famous husband-and-wife (8) ...................... in science history. They (9) ….................. the Radioactive elements, Polonium and Radium. They (10) …….............. the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903.

1. a. biologist                   b. mathematician            c. chemist                           d. physicist and chemist

2. a. follow                      b. take                             c. pursue                             d. satisfy

3. a. poverty                    b. loneliness                    c. wealth                             d. difficulty

4. a. made                        b. managed                     c. harbored                         d. worked

5. a. immediately             b. soon                            c. shortly                             d. rightly

6. a. married                  b. left                              c. divorced                         d. devoted

7. a. built                       b. organized                    c. established                      d. formed

8. a. couple                    b. partnership                  c. scientists                         d. partners

9. a. discovered            b. invented                      c. built                                d. made

10. a. had awarded         b. awarded                      c. were awarded                 d. were awarding

Louis Braille ⁽¹⁾ ……………… in 1809 in Coupvray. He was a French ⁽²⁾ ……………… of the blind. He himself was blind from the age of three and in 1818 he went to the National Institute for the Young Blind in Paris. Soon showing marked ability in both science and ⁽³⁾ ………………, he became famous in Paris an organist and violoncellist. In 1826 Braille began ⁽⁴⁾ ……………… the blind in institute. Braille is known for his idea of modifying the Barbier “point writing” system, used for coded army messages to enable the blind to read. Point writing consists of embossed dots and dashes on cardboard; the Braille system derived from it is used ⁽⁵⁾ ……………… today, in slightly modified form, and ⁽⁶⁾ ……………… many countries.

1. A. is born                            B. was born                       C. bears                              D. bore 

2. A. principal                         B. customer                       C. engineer                        D. teacher

3. A. music                             B. mathematics                  C. foreign language           D. literature

4. A. teach                              B. to teach                         C. teaching                        D. taught 

5. A. succeed                          B. success                          C. successful                      D. successfully 

6. A. on                                  B. in                                   C. at                                   D. over

C. READING IV. Read the passage and decide which answer A, B, C or D best fits each space One of the first novels in the history of literature was written in England (31)______ 1719. It was Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. Daniel Defoe was born (32)______ London in the family of a rich man. When Daniel was a schoolboy, he began to write stories. After (33)________ school, he worked in his father's shop and (34)________ articles for newspapers. Defoe visited many countries and met many people. That helped him (35)________ in his writings. In 1719, when Defoe was sixty years old, he wrote the novel Robinson Crusoe which (36)______ him famous. Defoe used in his book a true story about a sailor who (37)______ on an island for four years. Robinson Crusoe in Defoe's novel lived on an island for twenty-eight years. People liked (38)_____ novel in England and in many other countries, Daniel Defoe wrote other books. (39)_____ his novel Robinson Crusoe was the (40)______ famous. Defoe was not a rich man when he died in 1731. 31.A. at B. in C. from D. of 32.A. at B. from C. in D. on 33.A. leaving B. staying C. going D. coming 34.A. sold B. wrote C. read D. bought 35.A. few B. much C. plenty D. many 36.A. made B. did C. brought D. let 37.A. came B. lived C. visited D. went 38.A. a B. an C. the D. X 

V. READING COMPREHENSION

A. Choose the one option - a, b, c or d - that best fits each of the num­bered blank.

David Evans is a farmer. He does farming on his own land in Wales. The farm has (1) ..............  his family for generations. The soil is poor. David (2) ................ sheep on his land. He does not employ (3) ................ fulltime workers. His sons help him when they are not (4) …........... school. His wife adds to the family income by (5) ............... eggs which her hens produce. In summer she often (6) ............. paying guests into the farmhouse. The guests from the city enjoy their quiet holiday in the clean country (7) ............... and Mrs. Evans enjoys having some (8) ..............  money to spend on clothes for her children and herself. However, it is a lonely life for the Evans family when the guests have gone. The question is that if his children want to (9) ............... the farm when Mr. Evans gives up working. Country life is quiet and (10) .............. to them. It is quite likely that they will leave the farm for the city some day.

1. a. been to                         b. belonged to                     c. possessed                       d. depended on

2. a. feeds                            b. grows                              c. raises                              d. leads

3. a. some                            b. more                                c. much                              d. any

4. a. in                                 b. for                                   c. at                                    d. on

5. a. selling                          b. sells                                 c. to sell                             d. sell

6. a. take                              b. takes                                c. took                               d. is taking

7. a. wind                            b. sights                               c. life                                 d. air

8. a. more                            b. free                                  c. extra                               d. interest

9. a. take off                        b. take over                         c. take after                      d. take care

10. a. interesting                  b. exciting                           c. dull                                d. peaceful

IV. GUIDED CLOZE TEST (2 points / 0.25 each)
Choose the correct option (A, B, C or D) that best fits each space in the following
passage.
Long ago a lot of people (17)_______ the moon was a god . Other people thought it was
just a light in the sky. And other thought it was a big (18) _______ cheese.
The telescopes were made. And men saw that the moon was really another world. They
wondered (19) _______ it was like. They dreamed of going there. On July 20th, 1969, that dream
came (20) _______. Two American men landed on the moon (21) _______ names were Neil
Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin.
The first thing the men found was that the moon is covered (22) _______ dust. The dust
is so thick that the men left footprints where they walked. Those were the first marks a living
thing had ever made on the moon. And they could (23) _______ there for years and years.
There is no wind or rain to wipe them off. The two men picked up rocks to bring back to the
earth to study. They drug up dirt to bring back. They set up machines to find out things people
want to know, then they were off their long trip (24) _______ earth
17. A. thought B. guessed C. told D. said
18. A. form B. stone C. ball D. round
19. A. how B. which C. that D. what
20. A. real B. true C. unreal D. untrue
21. A. Their B. His C. Its D. Theirs
22. A. by B. for C. to D. with
23. A. stay B. remain C. be D. all are correct
24. A. back to B. from to C. into D. onto

V.Read the passage carefully and choose the best option (A, B, C or D)

Galileo Galilei was one of the first modern scientists. He was born in Pisa, Italy, in 1564. At first he studied philosophy, but later he studied mathematics and astronomy. He was interested  in the way the earth and other planets move around the sun. He found out several important facts about our world. He also started a new way of working in science. Before Galileo, scientists didn’t do experiments. They just guessed about how something happened. Galileo was different. He did not just make guesses. He did experiments and watched to see what happened.

 Galileo was famous for his study of how things fall. He was the first person to do experiments about  this problem. Before, people thought that  heavy things fell faster than light things. He found out that this was not true. He took a heavy ball and a light ball and he dropped them both from a high place. They fell at the same speed. This meant that weight is not important. This is the law of falling bodies. It is an important law for understanding our world.

The life of the scientist was not always easy in the 1500s. For example, Galileo got into trouble because of his scientific ideas. His ideas were not the same as the religious ideas at the same time. Many religious people did not agree with him. During his whole life he had to worry about this. He even went to prison for a while. But no one could stop him from thinking. He continued to look for scientific answers to his questions about the world.

1.      Galileo studied all the  following EXCEPT _______.

a. philosophy                     b. experiments                      c. mathematics                      d. astronomy

2.      Galileo started a new way of working in science in which__________.

a. he made guesses about how things happened.        

b. he did experiments to see how things happened.

c. he was different from other scientists.                     

d. he did not do experiments

3.      In his study of how things fall, Galileo found out __________.

a. that heavy things did not fall faster than light things.

b. that heavy things always fell faster than light things.

c. that weight was not important                        

d. both a and c

4.      Which of the following is NOT true about Galileo ?

a. He was  a famous  Italian  scientist.  

b. He lived over four centuries ago.

c. Being sent  to prison stopped him from exploring the world .

d. He got into trouble because he was a scientist.

IV. Read the passage and decide which answer A, B, C or D best fits each space One of the first novels in the history of literature was written in England (31)______ 1719. It was Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. Daniel Defoe was born (32)______ London in the family of a rich man. When Daniel was a schoolboy, he began to write stories. After (33)________ school, he worked in his father's shop and (34)________ articles for newspapers. Defoe visited many countries and met many people. That helped him (35)________ in his writings. In 1719, when Defoe was sixty years old, he wrote the novel Robinson Crusoe which (36)______ him famous. Defoe used in his book a true story about a sailor who (37)______ on an island for four years. Robinson Crusoe in Defoe's novel lived on an island for twenty-eight years. People liked (38)_____ novel in England and in many other countries, Daniel Defoe wrote other books. (39)_____ his novel Robinson Crusoe was the (40)______ famous. Defoe was not a rich man when he died in 1731. 31.A. at B. in C. from D. of 32.A. at B. from C. in D. on 33.A. leaving B. staying C. going D. coming 34.A. sold B. wrote C. read D. bought 35.A. few B. much C. plenty D. many 36.A. made B. did C. brought D. let 37.A. came B. lived C. visited D. went 38.A. a B. an C. the D. X 39.A. And B. Because C. So D. However 40.A. much B. most C. very D. best

Louis Braille (1)........ in 1809 in Coupvray. He was a French (2).... of blind. He himself was blind from the age of three and in 1818 he went to the National Institute for the Young Blind in Paris. Soon showing marked ability in both science and (3)....... ,he became famous in Paris an organist and violoncellist. In 1826 Braille bega the (4)......blind in institute. Braille is known for his idea of modifying the Barbier "point writing" system, used for coded army messages to enable the blind to read. Point writing consists of embossed dots and dashes on cardboard; the Braille system derived from it is used (5)......today, in slightly modified form, and (6) ......countries. many