Read the following passage, and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

CUTTING THE APRON STRINGS

 There is substantial evidence that students going off to college have changed over the years. For one thing, studies show that they are emotionally closer to their parents and their parents to them. One thing that means is that they depend on each other more for happiness. It puts a burden on children for parents to use their children as vehicles for their own happiness- although today’s young people seem complicit in this arrangement, perhaps because they’ve known no other way-even if it creates anxiety in the children. That’s one reason parents like to be involved in their children’s college experiences, and colleges have had to devise novel ways of getting parents off campus when they transport their kids to school.

 There’s also evidence that students today seem to be choosing schools with reference to proximity to home. The closer a student is to home, the easier it is to bring the laundry home and to land in your old bed with tea and sympathy when you have the sniffles. And the easier it is for parents to visit you at university whenever the mood strikes. The amount of visiting parents do is far more than in generations past.

 But in a real sense, students don’t really leave their parents behind. Their parents go to college right along with them - in their front pockets. That is, the parents are a speed dial away by cell phone. This, of course, significantly reduces independence. A student doesn’t get the chance to solve minor problems on his own - he just calls Mom or Dad. A student has initial problems getting along with a roommate? A roommate doesn’t do laundry as often as the other roommate wishes? A student gets a C grade on her first paper? Instead of absorbing the negative information and figuring out how to resolve the problem or how to do better, the call gets made to home, where Mom or Dad solves the problem, often by calling the school administration. This kind of behavior is, sadly, commonplace today and is a mark of the lack of coping skills among students because all the lumps and bumps have been taken out of life for them until now.

 In addition to being tethered to parents, incoming freshmen are now very heavily connected by cell phone to classmates from high school, who are presumably at other colleges. So there isn’t the great impetus to mix and venture forth to meet new people, to get out of one’s comfort zone, to get drawn into new experiences, that has traditionally marked the beginning of freshman year. The laws of physics still apply, and it is difficult to be meeting new people and seeking novel experiences while you are talking to your old pals.

Colleges have had to devise ways of getting parents off campus because _________.

A. children want complete freedom from their parents’ control 

B. the colleges want to keep parents in the dark about their activities

C. parents tend to get more involved in their children’s schoolwork

D. teachers themselves do not want to share information with the parents

Read the passages and the questions or unfinished sentences. Then choose the answer (A, B, C or D) that you think fits best.

Around the age of sixteen, you must make one of the biggest decisions of your life. “Do I stay on at school and hopefully go on to university (31) _______? Do I leave and start work or begin a training course. The decision is yours, but it may be (32) _______ remembering two things: there is more unemployment among those who haven’t been to university, and people who have the right skills will have a big advantage in the competition for jobs. If you decide to go (33) _______ into a job, there are many opportunities for training. Getting qualifications will help you to get on more quickly in many careers, and evening classes allow you to learn (34) _______ you earn. Starting work and taking a break to study when you are older is another possibility. In this way, you can save up money for your student days, as well as (35) _______ practical work experience

Điền vào ô số 32

A. necessary 

B. important 

C. useful 

D. worth

Read the passages and the questions or unfinished sentences. Then choose the answer (A, B, C or D) that you think fits best.

Around the age of sixteen, you must make one of the biggest decisions of your life. “Do I stay on at school and hopefully go on to university (31) _______? Do I leave and start work or begin a training course. The decision is yours, but it may be (32) _______ remembering two things: there is more unemployment among those who haven’t been to university, and people who have the right skills will have a big advantage in the competition for jobs. If you decide to go (33) _______ into a job, there are many opportunities for training. Getting qualifications will help you to get on more quickly in many careers, and evening classes allow you to learn (34) _______ you earn. Starting work and taking a break to study when you are older is another possibility. In this way, you can save up money for your student days, as well as (35) _______ practical work experience

Điền vào ô số 34

A. while 

B. what 

C. where 

D. which 

Read the passages and the questions or unfinished sentences. Then choose the answer (A, B, C or D) that you think fits best.

Around the age of sixteen, you must make one of the biggest decisions of your life. “Do I stay on at school and hopefully go on to university (31) _______? Do I leave and start work or begin a training course. The decision is yours, but it may be (32) _______ remembering two things: there is more unemployment among those who haven’t been to university, and people who have the right skills will have a big advantage in the competition for jobs. If you decide to go (33) _______ into a job, there are many opportunities for training. Getting qualifications will help you to get on more quickly in many careers, and evening classes allow you to learn (34) _______ you earn. Starting work and taking a break to study when you are older is another possibility. In this way, you can save up money for your student days, as well as (35) _______ practical work experience

Điền vào ô số 31

A. former 

B. past 

C. later 

D. after

Read the passages and the questions or unfinished sentences. Then choose the answer (A, B, C or D) that you think fits best.

Around the age of sixteen, you must make one of the biggest decisions of your life. “Do I stay on at school and hopefully go on to university (31) _______? Do I leave and start work or begin a training course. The decision is yours, but it may be (32) _______ remembering two things: there is more unemployment among those who haven’t been to university, and people who have the right skills will have a big advantage in the competition for jobs. If you decide to go (33) _______ into a job, there are many opportunities for training. Getting qualifications will help you to get on more quickly in many careers, and evening classes allow you to learn (34) _______ you earn. Starting work and taking a break to study when you are older is another possibility. In this way, you can save up money for your student days, as well as (35) _______ practical work experience

Điền vào ô số 35

A. doing 

B. getting 

C. making 

D. taking

Read the passages and the questions or unfinished sentences. Then choose the answer (A, B, C or D) that you think fits best.

Around the age of sixteen, you must make one of the biggest decisions of your life. “Do I stay on at school and hopefully go on to university (31) _______? Do I leave and start work or begin a training course. The decision is yours, but it may be (32) _______ remembering two things: there is more unemployment among those who haven’t been to university, and people who have the right skills will have a big advantage in the competition for jobs. If you decide to go (33) _______ into a job, there are many opportunities for training. Getting qualifications will help you to get on more quickly in many careers, and evening classes allow you to learn (34) _______ you earn. Starting work and taking a break to study when you are older is another possibility. In this way, you can save up money for your student days, as well as (35) _______ practical work experience

Điền vào ô số 33

A. instant 

B. just 

C. straight 

D. direct

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions from 35 to 42.

CUTTING THE APRON STRINGS

There is substantial evidence that students going off to college have changed over the years. For one thing, studies show that they are emotionally closer to their parents and their parents to them. One thing that means is that they depend on each other more for happiness. It puts a burden on children for parents to use their children as vehicles for their own happiness - although today’s young people seem complicit in this arrangement, perhaps because they have known no other way even if it creates anxiety in the children. That’s one reason parents like to be involved in their children’s college experiences, and colleges have had to devise novel ways of getting parents off campus when they transport their kids to school.

There’s also evidence that students today seem to be choosing schools with reference to proximity to home. The closer a student is to home, the easier it is to bring the laundry home and to land in your old bed with tea and sympathy when you have the sniffles. And the easier it is for parents to visit you at university whenever the mood strikes. The amount of visiting parents do is far more than in generations past.

But in a real sense, students don’t really leave their parents behind. Their parents go to college right along with them - in their front pockets. That is, the parents are a speed dial away by cellphone. This, of course, significantly reduces independence. A student doesn’t get the chance to solve minor problems on his own - he just calls Mom or Dad. A student has initial problems getting along with a roommate? A roommate doesn’t do laundry as often as the other roommate wishes? A student gets a C grade on her first paper? Instead of absorbing the negative information and figuring out how to resolve the problem or how to do better, the call gets made to home, where Mom or Dad solves the problem, often by calling the school administration. This kind of behavior is, sadly, commonplace today and is a mark of the lack of coping skills among students because all the lumps and bumps have been taken out of life for them until now.

In addition to being tethered to parents, incoming freshmen are now very heavily connected by cellphone to classmates from high school, who are presumably at other colleges. So there isn’t the great impetus to mix and venture forth to meet new people, to get out of one’s comfort/one, to get drawn into new experiences, that has traditionally marked the beginning of freshman year. The laws of physics still apply, 6 and it is difficult to be meeting new people and seeking novel experiences while you are talking to your old pals.

Colleges have had to devise ways of getting parents off campus because ___.

A. children want complete freedom from their parents’ control 

B. the colleges want to keep parents in the dark about their activities 

C. parents tend to get more involved in their children’s schoolwork 

D. teachers themselves do not want to share information with the parents

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, c, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 35 to 42.

  Most of us associate robots with films such as Star Wars, I, Robot or AI, but in reality they have more to do with social issues and politics rather than science fiction. The term robot first made its appearance in a play entitled Rossum s Universal Robots written almost a century ago by a Czechoslovakian playwright by the name of Karel Capek. Capek got the name robot from the Slavic word ‘ robota’ which means forced labour. In his play, he portrays a society where robots, which look human, are mass produced to work in the place of people.

  Capeks story was well received by the critics but never really got credit for being the source of the notion of robots. The play has significant relevance to our society today, as humanoid-type robots are being created to fulfil a wide range of tasks. Robot engineers are not only developing mindless worker drones, but are attempting to create human-like companion robots for people. Consequently, the question of what actually makes us human is the subject of lively debate.

  In the USA, sociable robotics is developing at a relatively rapid rate and a human companion type of robot could soon be a reality. Japanese researchers see a very bright future for these robots who will serve as friends or family to the lonely. Nevertheless, one needs to ask if a human being can have a relationship with a machine in the same way as they do with other people or animals and if so, what effect this could have on our society. The success of robot toys or virtual pets suggests that this type of relationship is possible.

  Research shows that children tend to have similar relationships with humans as with non-humans whereas the same is true for adults only with pets or when the robot is designed to look like a child. This is probably because robots display superficial emotions and cannot as yet replace human touch. But will these machines one day succeed in replacing humans?

  Some paint a very dark picture of a robot society and predict that artificially intelligent machines will take control of the entire planet and dominate the human race. However robot technology is still in its infancy and the idea of them taking over the world is pure fantasy to most of us, including scientists. In fact, most robots can only perform very basic tasks and even the most advanced robot that is capable of expressing over forty different emotions seems to do so in a totally random manner, regardless of what is going on around it.

  In spite of the simplicity of today’s robots, robotic technology is impacting our everyday lives in a dramatic way. Nowadays, our robots are becoming more and more like those portrayed in Capeks work. In a society where human relationships are so often strained, it is no surprise that the possibility for human-robot relationships is increasing.

There is a lot of discussion about _____________

A. the truth about companionship 

B. the nature of a humanoid robot

C. how a robot is made up 

D. what a human really is

Read the following passage, and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

CUTTING THE APRON STRINGS

 There is substantial evidence that students going off to college have changed over the years. For one thing, studies show that they are emotionally closer to their parents and their parents to them. One thing that means is that they depend on each other more for happiness. It puts a burden on children for parents to use their children as vehicles for their own happiness- although today’s young people seem complicit in this arrangement, perhaps because they’ve known no other way-even if it creates anxiety in the children. That’s one reason parents like to be involved in their children’s college experiences, and colleges have had to devise novel ways of getting parents off campus when they transport their kids to school.

 There’s also evidence that students today seem to be choosing schools with reference to proximity to home. The closer a student is to home, the easier it is to bring the laundry home and to land in your old bed with tea and sympathy when you have the sniffles. And the easier it is for parents to visit you at university whenever the mood strikes. The amount of visiting parents do is far more than in generations past.

 But in a real sense, students don’t really leave their parents behind. Their parents go to college right along with them - in their front pockets. That is, the parents are a speed dial away by cell phone. This, of course, significantly reduces independence. A student doesn’t get the chance to solve minor problems on his own - he just calls Mom or Dad. A student has initial problems getting along with a roommate? A roommate doesn’t do laundry as often as the other roommate wishes? A student gets a C grade on her first paper? Instead of absorbing the negative information and figuring out how to resolve the problem or how to do better, the call gets made to home, where Mom or Dad solves the problem, often by calling the school administration. This kind of behavior is, sadly, commonplace today and is a mark of the lack of coping skills among students because all the lumps and bumps have been taken out of life for them until now.

 In addition to being tethered to parents, incoming freshmen are now very heavily connected by cell phone to classmates from high school, who are presumably at other colleges. So there isn’t the great impetus to mix and venture forth to meet new people, to get out of one’s comfort zone, to get drawn into new experiences, that has traditionally marked the beginning of freshman year. The laws of physics still apply, and it is difficult to be meeting new people and seeking novel experiences while you are talking to your old pals.

The word “vehicles” in the first paragraph may be replaced by _________.

A. means 

B. methods 

C. ways 

D. instruments