A person’s final passage is death. Every culture has rituals in which the person and his or

her family make this transition. In Thailand, a Buddhist country, people believe that after death,

the person is born again, in another body. Everything the person did in life – both good and bad –

determines whether the next life will be a good one or not. Of course, family members and friends

want to achieve a good rebirth for the deceased, and this is a major goal for a Thai funeral.

As a Thai person is dying, the family members encourage him or her to think about

Buddhist scriptures holy writing – or to repeat one of the names of the Buddha. Then, after the

person dies, the family takes the deceased to the temple. They lay the body down, cover him or

her, and place one hand outside of the blanket. The family and friends show respect by washing

the hand of the deceased. Then they put the body in a coffin. People burn candles and sweet￾smelling incense around the coffin, and Buddhist monks come to chant – recite prayers. In the next

step, perhaps three days, one week, or 100 days later, friends, relatives, and monks take the coffin

to the cemetery for the cremation, at which there is more chanting. The coffin is placed on a funeral

pyre. At this point, people come up to it with white paper flowers, candles and incense. One by

one, they light the pyre, and the body is burned. It is believed that when the body still exists, the

spirit can benefit from the chanting; however, when the body is cremated, the spirit is cut off from

the world. After the cremation, people go home. The family usually takes some of the ashes home,

but some families keep the ashes at the temple.

Summary: Fill each gap with a suitable word from the text.

In Thailand, where people are (1) ___________, it is believed that a person will be reborn

in another body after (2) _________. Therefore, during a (3) __________ the family members and

friends of the deceived aim at achieving a good rebirth for the dead person. When a Thai person is

dying, he or she is encouraged to think about Buddhist holy writing or repeat the names of the

Buddha. As the person passes away, he or she will be taken to the (4) _________, where they

corpse is covered with one (5) __________ outside of the blanket. The family members and friends

wash it and then they put the body in a coffin. Sweet-smelling incense and (6) _________ will be

burned around the coffin and Buddhist monks come to say prayers. After that the body will be

taken to the (7) _________ for the cremation. It is after the corpse is (8) __________that people

believe the spirit is cut off from the world. When the cremation is finished, people take some of

the (9) __________ home, but some families keep the ashes at the temple.

PASSAGE 2: What Was the Silk Road?

Along the famous Silk Road, cultures have influenced each other from ancient times,

although it was not truly one continuous road. Instead, it was a 5,000-mile series or network of

trails that connected East Asia to the Mediterranean. In ancient times, it was never called the “Silk

Road”. The term Silk Road was coined in the 19th century by a German explorer. He was thinking

of one of the goods that people in the West found especially desirable – silk fabric from China.

For centuries, the Chinese kept as a secret the way in which silk is produced. They exchanged this

fabric for Mediterranean glass, whose production was also kept secret by the Romans. However, merchants also moved many other goods along these trade routes: spices (such as cinnamon),

musical instruments, tea, valuable stones, wool, linen, and other fabrics. Ideas and knowledge also

moved along the Silk Road. Travelers to foreign regions took with them ideas about art,

architecture, styles of living, and religion.

In a sense, there were two Silk Roads – the literal, historical one and the figurative one.

The historical network of trails was used from approximately 100 B.C.E until the 16th century

C.E. Almost nobody actually made a complete trip from one end to the other. Instead, merchants

used to carry goods along one section of the road and sell them to other merchants at an oasis in

the desert or a town in the mountains. These merchants, in turn, took the goods to the next stop,

and so on. The figurative Silk Road is a symbol of the cross-cultura1 exchange of knowledge. This

continues even today. In short, the Silk Road was the way that goods and ideas, moved across a

vast area of Asia and south eastern Europe.

Summary: Fill each gap with a suitable word from the text.

It was not until the 19th century that “Silk Road”, a (1) __________ invented by an (2)

__________ appeared. That was a network of trails that connected East Asia to the Mediterranean.

For centuries, the Chinese (3) ___________ exchanged their silk for Mediterranean glass, a secret

by the Romans. Merchants also traded in other goods along these routes. Not only (4) _________

but also ideas and knowledge also moved along the Silk Road by merchants and (5) __________.

Therefore, the Silk Road means the exchange of products and also the cross-cultural exchange of

knowledge between Asia and south eastern Europe.

PASSAGE 3: The Art of the Body

Three common types of body decoration are mehndi, tattooing, and scarification. Mehndi

is the art of applying dye (usually dark orange or dark brown) to the skin of women in India,

Islamic cultures, and Africa. The dye comes from the henna plant and is applied in a beautiful

design that varies from culture to culture – fine, thin lines in India and large flower patterns in the

Arab world, for example. A tattoo is also a design or mark made with a kind of dye (usually dark

blue); however, unlike henna, it is put into a cut in the skin. In scarification – found mainly in

Africa – dirt or ashes are put into the cuts instead of dye; the result is a design that is unique to the

person’s tribe. Three lines on each side of a man’s face identify him as a member of the Yoruba

tribe of Nigeria, for example. A complex geometric design on a woman’s back identifies her as

Nuba (from Sudan) and also makes her more beautiful in the eyes of her people. In the 1990s,

tattooing became popular among youth in urban Western societies. Unlike people in tribal cultures,

these young people had no tradition of tattooing, except among sailors and criminals. To these

young people, the tattoos were beautiful and were sometimes also a sign of rebellion against older,

more conservative people in the culture. These days, tattooing has become common and is usually

not symbolic of rebellion.

Summary: Fill each gap with a suitable word from the text.

Mehndi, tattooing and scarification are three popular ways by which people decorate their

(1) __________. In India, Islamic cultures and Africa, women put dark orange or brown (2)

_________ on their skin. This is referred to as mehndi. The second kind of (3) __________ of the

human body is tattooing. A tattoo is a design or mark made with a kind of dark blue dye. People

make a (4) __________ into the skin and put this dye into it. The third type of body decoration is

known as scarification. It is similar to tattooing in that people cut into their body. However, they

do not put dye into the cuts. They use dirt or ashes (5) __________. The design made is unique to

the person’s tribe. Among the three types of body decoration, tattooing became popular with young

people in urban Western societies because they considered them as something (6) __________.

E hỏi gấp ạ, mogg mn trl sớm vs huhuhu, mai nộp dl mk hqua quên làm

VII. Read the passage carefully, then choose the correct answer.
In Britain there is a holiday now which people call Mother’s Day. In the old days many girls from working-class families in towns and cities and from farmers’ families in the country worked in rich houses.
Once a year, it was usually on Sunday in March, they were allowed to visit their mothers. They went home and brought presents for their mothers and for other members of their families. People call that day Mothering Day or Mothering Sunday. Mothering Day later became Mother’s Day. It is the last Sunday in March.
In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson and Congress agreed that the second Sunday in May should be observed as Mother’s Day in America. On that day, children give their mothers flowers, presents and cards to show their love to their mothers. Americans spend millions of dollars to buy Mother’s Day gifts. Clothes, perfume, jewelry and books or tickets to theater are given to mothers. People who cannot be with their mothers on that day usually send them presents and call them on the phone.
26. In the United States, Mother’s Day has been celebrated .........................
A. on the second Sunday in May B. on Sunday in March
C. in 1914 D. the last Sunday in March.
27. Americans usually ..................................
A. allow to visit their mothers. B. offer gifts to their mothers on Mother’s Day.
C. call their mothers on the phone. D. spend hundred of dollars to buy Mother’s Day gifts.
28. People who cannot visit their mothers on Mother’s Day often .....................
A. bring presents for their mothers. B. give their mothers money.
C. go shopping with their mothers. D. phone to talk to them.
29. According to the passage, Mother’s Day is.......................in Britain.
A. the last Sunday in May B. the second Sunday in May
C. the last Sunday in March D. the first Sunday in March
30. What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. A day children give someone flowers, presents and cards.
B. A day when servants couldn’t return home to visit their mothers.
C. A day children show their love to their mothers and fathers
D. A day to honor mothers and motherhood

Read the conversation again. Complete each sentence with no more than TWO words from it.

1. There is a _____ in Mi's home town.

2. Her uncle’s family had to move everything to the _____ last night.

3. A tornado is an example of a _____.

4. Tom’s family _____ dinner when the tornado came.

5. The tornado damaged their roof and _____ up some trees in their yard.

Tom: You look pretty sad, Mi. What's the matter?

Mi: My uncle called us this morning. Our hometown has been affected by a flood. It’s the second time this year.

Tom: I'm sorry to hear that. How are things there now?

Mi: My uncle, his wife, and his children are all safe. They moved everything to the second floor of their house last night. Are there natural disasters in your hometown in the US?

Tom: Yes, we sometimes have tornadoes.

Mi: Tornadoes? Sounds strange. What's a tornado?

Tom: It’s a violent storm that moves in a circle with very strong winds. I still remember the tornado we had last year.

Mi: What happened?

Tom: One evening my parents and I were having dinner. Suddenly, we heard a very loud noise. When we looked out of the window, we saw a big funnel of wind moving towards us.

Mi: Did it cause any damage?

Tom: Yes, a lot. It damaged the roof of our house and pulled up some trees in our yard. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

V. Read the passage and decide which statement is true (T) or false (F):

My friens’s name is Mark. He is from Amsterdam, Holland. He is Dutch. He has two children. His wife, Jane, is American. She is from Boston in the United States. Her family is still in Boston, but she now works and lives with Mark in Milan. They speak English, Dutch, German and Italian! Their children are pupils at a local primary school. Their children go to school with other children from all over the world. Flora, their daughter, has friends from France, Switzerland, Austria and Sweden. Hans, their son goes to school with students from South Africa, Portugal, Spain and Canada. Of course, there are many children from Italy. Imagine, French, Swiss, Austrian, Swedish, South African, American, Italian, Spanish and Canadian children all learn together in Italy!

PRONUNCIATION Read Speaking Strategy 2. Then listen again. Which phrases from exercise 4 do you hear? Which ones are introduced by a phrase from the strategy? Practice saying them. Pay attention to the stressed words.

* Each of the following sentences contains one error. Underline and correct it.
21. The road on which we are driving is built in 1990. …………………
22. I will call you when I will return from my country. …………………
23. His family was poor, because he couldn’t go to school. …………………
24. Rubber is used to making tyres and other elastic things. …………………
25. All writing was done with hand until the invention of the printing press. …………………

Read Listening Strategy 2. Then listen again. Which wxtracts (1-6) are formal? Which words from the strategy do they include?