The reading passage has seven paragraphs A-G. Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.

CLOCKING CULTURES

What is time? The answer varies from society to society

A If you show up a bit late for a meeting in Brazil, no one will be too worried. But if you keep someone in New

York City waiting for ten or fifteen minutes, you may have some explaining to do. Time is seen as relatively flexible in some cultures but is viewed more rigidly in others. Indeed, the way members of a culture perceive and use time tells us about their society's priorities, and even their own personal view of the world.

B Back in the 1950s, anthropologist Edward T Hall described how the social rules of time are like a 'silent

language' for a given culture. These rules might not always be made explicit, he stated, but 'they exist in the

air'. He described how variations in the perception of time can lead to misunderstandings between people

from separate cultures. 'An ambassador who has been kept waiting by a foreign visitor needs to understand that

if his visitor "just mutters an apology", this is not necessarily an insult,' Hall wrote. 'You must know the

social rules of the country to know at what point apologies are really due.'

C Social psychologist Robert V Levine says 'One of the beauties of studying time is that it's a wonderful window on culture. You get answers on what cultures value and believe in.' Levine and his colleagues have conducted so-called pace-of-life studies in 31 countries. In A Geography of Time, published in 1997, Levine describes how he ranked the countries by measuring three things: walking speed on urban sidewalks, how quickly postal clerks could fulfill a request for a common stamp, and the accuracy of public clocks. From the data he collected, he concluded that the five fastest-paced countries are Switzerland, Ireland, Germany, Japan and Italy; the five slowest are Syria, El Salvador, Brazil, Indonesia and Mexico.

D Kevin Birth, an anthropologist, has examined time perceptions in Trinidad. In that country, Birth observes, 'if

you are meeting friends at 6.00 at night, people show up at 6.45 or 7,00 and say, "any time is Trinidad time".'

When it comes to business, however, that loose approach works only for the people with power, A boss

can show up late and just say 'any time is Trinidad time', but those under him are expected to be on time. Birth

adds that the connection between power and waiting time is true for many other cultures as well,

E The complex nature of time makes it hard for anthropologists and social psychologists to investigate.

'You can't simply go into a society, walk up to someone and say, "Teli me about your concept of time",' Birth

says. 'People don't really have an answer to that. You have to come up with other ways to find out.'

F Birth attempted to get at how Trinidadians regard time by exploring how closely their society links time and

money. He surveyed rural residents and found that farmers - whose days are dictated by natural events,

such as sunrise - did not recognise the phrases time is money, budget your time or time management even

though they had satellite TV and were familiar with Western popular culture. But tailors in the same areas

were aware of such notions. Birth concluded that wage work altered the tailors' views of time. 'The ideas of

associating time with money are not found globally,' he says, 'but are attached to your job and the people you

work with.'

G In addition to cultural variations in how people deal with time at a practical level, there may be differences in

how they visualise it from a more theoretical perspective. The Western idea of time has been compared to that of an arrow in flight towards the future; a one-way view of the future which often includes the expectation that life should get better as time passes. Some cultures see time as closely connected with space: the Australian

Aborigines' concept of the 'Dreamtime' combines a myth of how the world began with stories of sacred sites and orientation points that enable the nomadic Aborigines to find their way across the huge Australian landscape. For other cultures, time may be seen as a pattern incorporating the past, present and future, or a wheel in which past, present and future revolve endlessly. But theory and practice do not necessarily go together. 'There's often considerable variation between how a culture views the mythology of time and how they think about time in their daily lives,' Birth asserts.

Câu 7: Reading Passage has 4 paragraphs, A-D. Choose the correct heading for each paragraphs from the list of headings below. ( 1.0pt)

The water crisis

A. Agriculture consumes about 70% of the world's fresh water, so improvements in irrigation can make the greatest impact. At present, average efficiency in the use of irrigated water in agriculture may be as low as 50%. Simple changes could improve the rate substantially, though it is unrealistic to expect very high levels of water-use efficiency in many developing countries, faced as they are with a chronic lack of capital and a largely untrained rural workforce. After agriculture, industry is the second biggest user of water and, in terms of value added per liter used, is sixty times more productive than agriculture. However, some industrial processes use vast amounts of water. For example, production of 1 kg of aluminium might require 1,500 liters of water. Paper production too is often very water-intensive. Though new processes have greatly reduced consumption, there is still plenty of room for big savings in industrial uses of water.

B. In rich countries, water consumption has gradually been slowed down by price increases and the use of modern technology and recycling. In the USA, industrial production has risen fourfold since 1950, while water consumption has fallen by more than a third. Japan and Germany have similarly improved their use of water in manufacturing processes. Japanese industry, for example, now recycles more than 75% of process water. However, industrial water consumption is continuing to increase sharply in developing countries. With domestic and agricultural demands also increasing, the capacity of water supply systems is under growing strain.

C. One way to cut back on water consumption is simply to prevent leaks. It is estimated that in some of the biggest cities of the Third World, more than half of the water entering the system is lost through leaks in pipes, dripping taps and broken installations. Even in the UK, losses were estimated at 25% in the early 1990s because of the failure to maintain the antiquated water supply infrastructure. In addition, huge quantities of water are consumed because used water from sewage pipes, storm drains and factories is merely flushed away and discharged into rivers or the sea. The modern approach, however, is to see used water as a resource which can be put to good use - either in irrigation or, after careful treatment, as recycled domestic water. Israel, for instance, has spent heavily on used water treatment. Soon, treated, recycled water will account for most farm irrigation there. There are other examples in cities such as St Petersburg, Florida, where all municipal water is recycled back into domestic systems.

D. Another way of conserving water resources involves better management of the environment generally. Interference with the ecosystem can have a severe effect on both local rainfall patterns and water run-off. Forest clearings associated with India's Kabini dam project reduced local rainfall by 25%, a phenomenon observed in various other parts of the world where large-scale deforestation has taken place. Grass and other vegetation acts as a sponge which absorbs rainfall both in the plants and in the ground. Removal of the vegetation means that rainfall runs off the top of the land, accelerating erosion instead of being gradually fed into the soil to renew ground water.

List of Headings
1. What the future holds
2. Successful measures taken by some
3. The thirsty sectors
4. Ways of reducing waste
5. Interdependence of natural resources

Your answers:

 1. Paragraph A ............................................

 2. Paragraph B ............................................

 3. Paragraph C ............................................

 4. Paragraph D ............................................

You are going to read an article about a sailing race. Choose the most

suitable heading from the list A - H for each paragraph from 1 – 5 of the article. There

are two extra headings which you do not need to use. There has been an example for you.  (10 pts)

          EX:      Paragraph 0: D

Paragraph 0:         D

Imagine for a moment, spending the night on board of a large yacht, being roughly woken in the pitch dark and ordered on deck. Every so often you will be totally drenched, very suddenly, in salt water. You will be sharing the same cramped space with 14 other people for a whole year. Your stomach, when not affected by seasickness, will be hit by the competitive tension and nervousness that afflicts all sportspeople. You will be obliged to concentrate without cease. The slightest loss of focus could cost someone their life.

Paragraph 1:

For the eight crews taking part in the Round-the-world yachting race, this has been daily life since they left Britain eleven months ago. Now, after racing 50,000 across kilometers of ocean, they are soon due home. While most of us have worked, slept, taken a holiday, these crews have sailed and sailed, day after day, night after night, in weather conditions that would test any human. This is the reality of ocean yacht racing, which bears little resemblance to the popular image of sailing - the quick sprint around a lake before returning ashore for a meal and a warm bath.

Paragraph 2:

Racing 20-metre yachts around the world is a story of unrelenting hard work, pushing yourself to the limits of endurance. But it is also a story of the vastness and beauty of the sea, of seeing the sun rise and set on hundreds of desolate horizons, and of the supreme satisfaction of arriving somewhere knowing that wind alone has taken you there.

Paragraph 3:

Unlike the captains, who are professional sailors, the crews all consist of amateur volunteers who have actually paid for the privilege of taking a year off from their work and enduring these difficult conditions. On board London Light the ages range from 21 to 65. For the youngest member, Susan Porter, the trip is about the excitement of both the racing and the elements “Being able to pitch yourselves as a team against a storm gives you a huge sense of achievement”, she says

Paragraph 4:

Jerry Wallace, a marketing director, found sailing a refreshing change from the selfish individualism of business. Although he was prepared for the discomfort, the mental stress of long distance racing was not what he has anticipated, “A grand Prix driver has a few hours of focus, a footballer 90 minutes, but we have been racing for 11 months. This is something I didn’t really appreciate before I start.”

Paragraph 5:

Inevitably, there are tensions. The kind of people who choose to take part in races like this tend to motivated and strong-willed. On a trivial level, there are the usual arguments about things like cleaning, tidying, personal hygiene, even the way people snore. Row on a boat must be addressed immediately. Left to develop, they get much worse. On London Light they have done this by having a meeting where problems can be discussed and resolved by majority vote. Cooperation is the key, and everyone can have their say. The London is one of the few boats that has never lost any crew early because of a personality clash.

XI. You are going to read an article about a sailing race. Choose the most suitable heading from the list A - H for each paragraph from 1 – 5 of the article. There are two extra headings which you do not need to use. There has been an example for you.  

          EX:      Paragraph 0: D

A. The consequences of poor performance E. Benefiting from the power of nature

B. An unexpectedly demanding way of life F. Cooperating to overcome the power of nature

C. A solution that seems to work G. It’s not what people think

D. The terrible consequences of making a mistake H. No way out if you don’t like it

Paragraph 0: 

Imagine for a moment, spending the night on board of a large yacht, being roughly woken in the pitch dark and ordered on deck. Every so often you will be totally drenched, very suddenly, in salt water. You will be sharing the same cramped space with 14 other people for a whole year. Your stomach, when not affected by seasickness, will be hit by the competitive tension and nervousness that afflicts all sportspeople. You will be obliged to concentrate without cease. The slightest loss of focus could cost someone their life.

Paragraph 1: 

For the eight crews taking part in the Round-the-world yachting race, this has been daily life since they left Britain eleven months ago. Now, after racing 50,000 across kilometers of ocean, they are soon due home. While most of us have worked, slept, taken a holiday, these crews have sailed and sailed, day after day, night after night, in weather conditions that would test any human. This is the reality of ocean yacht racing, which bears little resemblance to the popular image of sailing - the quick sprint around a lake before returning ashore for a meal and a warm bath.

Paragraph 2: 

Racing 20-metre yachts around the world is a story of unrelenting hard work, pushing yourself to the limits of endurance. But it is also a story of the vastness and beauty of the sea, of seeing the sun rise and set on hundreds of desolate horizons, and of the supreme satisfaction of arriving somewhere knowing that wind alone has taken you there.

XI. You are going to read an article about a sailing race. Choose the most suitable heading from the list A - H for each paragraph from 1 – 5 of the article. There are two extra headings which you do not need to use. There has been an example for you.  

          EX:      Paragraph 0: D

A. The consequences of poor performance   E. Benefiting from the power of nature

B. An unexpectedly demanding way of life  F. Cooperating to overcome the power of nature

C. A solution that seems to work  G. It’s not what people think

D. The terrible consequences of making a mistake  H. No way out if you don’t like it

Paragraph 0: 

Imagine for a moment, spending the night on board of a large yacht, being roughly woken in the pitch dark and ordered on deck. Every so often you will be totally drenched, very suddenly, in salt water. You will be sharing the same cramped space with 14 other people for a whole year. Your stomach, when not affected by seasickness, will be hit by the competitive tension and nervousness that afflicts all sportspeople. You will be obliged to concentrate without cease. The slightest loss of focus could cost someone their life.

Paragraph 1: 

For the eight crews taking part in the Round-the-world yachting race, this has been daily life since they left Britain eleven months ago. Now, after racing 50,000 across kilometers of ocean, they are soon due home. While most of us have worked, slept, taken a holiday, these crews have sailed and sailed, day after day, night after night, in weather conditions that would test any human. This is the reality of ocean yacht racing, which bears little resemblance to the popular image of sailing - the quick sprint around a lake before returning ashore for a meal and a warm bath.

Paragraph 2: 

Racing 20-metre yachts around the world is a story of unrelenting hard work, pushing yourself to the limits of endurance. But it is also a story of the vastness and beauty of the sea, of seeing the sun rise and set on hundreds of desolate horizons, and of the supreme satisfaction of arriving somewhere knowing that wind alone has taken you there.

Paragraph 3: 

Unlike the captains, who are professional sailors, the crews all consist of amateur volunteers who have actually paid for the privilege of taking a year off from their work and enduring these difficult conditions. On board London Light the ages range from 21 to 65. For the youngest member, Susan Porter, the trip is about the excitement of both the racing and the elements “Being able to pitch yourselves as a team against a storm gives you a huge sense of achievement”, she says

Paragraph 4: 

Jerry Wallace, a marketing director, found sailing a refreshing change from the selfish individualism of business. Although he was prepared for the discomfort, the mental stress of long distance racing was not what he has anticipated, “A grand Prix driver has a few hours of focus, a footballer 90 minutes, but we have been racing for 11 months. This is something I didn’t really appreciate before I start.”

Paragraph 5: 

Inevitably, there are tensions. The kind of people who choose to take part in races like this tend to motivated and strong-willed. On a trivial level, there are the usual arguments about things like cleaning, tidying, personal hygiene, even the way people snore. Row on a boat must be addressed immediately. Left to develop, they get much worse. On London Light they have done this by having a meeting where problems can be discussed and resolved by majority vote. Cooperation is the key, and everyone can have their say. The London is one of the few boats that has never lost any crew early because of a personality clash.

Question VIII. Choose the most suitable heading from the list A - F  for each paragraph from 1 - 5 of the article. Write them in the numbered blanks.

A. An easy life

B. Less money; less waste

C. Home’s like people

D. Not all good news

E. Starting to take control

F. Everything under control

INTELLIGENT HOUSING

1

  Have you ever thought about how your body works? Everyday, you make your body do lots of different actions, such as when you walk, talk, or dance. But at the same time, your body automatically does many other things that are essential for everyday life. For instance, when you blink or yawn or breathe, you don’t have to think about what you doing; your body simply carries out these task for you. You might think this is strange, but the latest houses are like this, too.

2

Now, thanks to the work of some far- sighted architects and designers, houses have become “more intelligent”. It isn’t quite true to say that houses are starting to think for themselves, but some modern homes are now using sophisticated technology to control many of the routine jobs that up to now have always been our responsibility.

3

For years, architects and builders have been trying to find ways to make houses more economical and comfortable to live in, as well as trying to reduce the amount of damage that houses do to the environment. “Intelligent” houses seem to be the ideal solution. Clever use of building materials and techniques has brought us houses that are easier and cheaper to keep warm than traditional housing. Modern water systems, together with the recycling of washing water from bathrooms and kitchens, means that “intelligent” houses use 30% less water than convetional homes.

4

“Intelligent” homes might look a little unusual from the outside. This is because the builders use a lot of glass and wood to make the walls. Some of the houses even have a grass roof because it is kinder to the atmosphere! But, inside, they are comfortable and bright. The technology, which is similar to that of your TV remote control, makes sure of this. There are always enough lights on in every room and the windows close when it starts to rain. The water is always at the correct temperature whenever you want to have a shower and the house doesn’t allow you to use more water than you need. You can even watch TV in every room, or use the close- circuit cameras to see what’s happening in the garden.

5

Until recently, we have always had to think about everything we want our houses to do. If we have wanted it to be warmer or cooler, lighter or darker, we had to turn the heating or lighting on or off. However, for some families already live in “intelligent” houses, daily life has changed in many ways. They don’t worry about turning off the light or locking the door before they go out. The house does all this for them. Families in “intelligent” houses don’t have to do as much work to keep their home clean and comfortable- and the hi-tech kitchen means it isn’t difficult to prepare family meals.

IX. Read the text and choose the most suitable heading (1-5) for each paragraph (A-E).(5 pts)

A. One flavorous dish

B. Food culture of Central Viet Nam

C. Food and a lot of spices

D. Popular dishes from the North of Viet Nam

E. Natural features and food

1 _______

Vietnamese food culture varies by regions from the north to the south. In Northern Vietnam, food is characterized by light and balanced. Northern Vietnam is seen to be the cradle of Vietnamese cuisine with many notable dishes like Pho, Bun Rieu, Bun Thang, Bun Cha, BanhCuon, etc. Then, food culture in Northern Vietnam became popular in Central and Southern Vietnam with suitable flavors in each region.

2. ______

The regional cuisine of Central Vietnam is famous for its spicy food. Hue cuisine is typical Central Vietnam’s food culture. Food in the region is often used with chili peppers and shrimp sauces, namely, Bun Bo Hue, BanhKhoai, BanhBeo, etc.

3 _______

In Southern Vietnam, the warm weather and fertile soil create an ideal condition for planting a variety of fruit, vegetables and livestock.

4. _______

Thus, food in this region is often added with garlic, shallots and fresh herbs. Particularly, Southerners are favored of sugar; they add sugar in almost dishes. Some signature dishes from Southern Vietnam include BanhKhot and Bun Mam.

5. _______

Local broken rice dish (Com tam) can practically be found on every street in Saigon. A broken rice dish is served with many beautiful colours from grilled pork chop with multi-flavour to steamed egg, shredded pork skin, pickles, vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers ... and especially sweet fish sauce that is the spirit of the dish.

IV.  Choose one of the half-sentence endings from the list (A-K) to complete each blank in the passage. Number zero (0) has been done for you.

    A. than just react to emergencies

    B. the building will telephone the service engineers and tell them what has gone wrong

C. and turns off some of the systems at night

D. lighting, heating and ventilation

E. can make their own decisions

F. the telephone system to call the fire department

G. of breakdowns

H. tell the employees what to do

I. while at the same time allowing people to escape

J. look after themselves and the people inside them

K. in cities all around the world

     A new generation of “intelligent” buildings can be seen (0)......K....... Today, many of the buildings that people work in (1)................. These decisions enable the buildings to (2).................

      If a fire should start in one, for example, the building’s alarm system sends a message to a computer, which immediately instructs (3)................. The computer can also (4)................. Then it operates doors to contain the fire, (5)................. The building can also take care (6)................. In the case of a faulty air-conditioner, for example, (7).................

      But an intelligent building does more (8)................. Twenty-four hours a day, it checks (9)................. It adjusts the condition of each to suit those working inside during the day, (10).................

Read the passage below. For each paragraph, choose the most suitable heading from the list which follows. There is one extra heading you do not need to use.

PROCESSED FOOD
A. Not all doctors agree.
B. Adequate nourishment essential.
C. Additives disguise bad ingredients.
D. Diet to be fat-free, sugar-free.
E. Coffee increases risk of heart disease.
F. Tea and coffee bad for you.
G. Processed food may be bad for you.
H. Doctor's argument not logical.

1. ..........................
After the cigarette manufacturers, it has become the turn of the food processors to suffer the attacks of those who would have us lead a healthy life. Sometimes you have the feeling that almost everything you eat is liable to damage your brain, clog your arteries, ulcerate your stomach, or impact your intestine. On the other hand, it is certainly true that there is nothing like reading the list of ingredients on the back of a cereal packet or a pot of jam to put you off your breakfast.
2. ..........................
One dietician writes of pork pies as follows: "People wouldn't buy a pork pie if chemicals had not been designed into them. A pork pie can contain as much as 50 per cent of highly saturated fat which is bad for the heart and arteries. A perfectly good pork pie could be made from reasonable ingredients but it is cheaper to make it with additives because less meat is then needed. The additives in the pie do little harm in themselves. The fat is made acceptable by a perfectly safe emulsifier. Added colour makes the fat look like meat. The additives in it deceive our senses and persuade us to eat too much fat. Even if the additives themselves are considered to be relatively safe, the nutritional consequences are appalling."
3. ..........................
Since a study by Johns Hopkins Medical Centre, Baltimore, in the mid-eighties, coffee has been on everyone's blacklist. According to the study: "Regardless of the measure of coffee consumption used, analyses found that heavy coffee drinkers were almost three times more likely to have coronary disease than were non-drinkers. Even one or two cups of coffee a day appear to be associated with a small extra risk of heart disease - a one-third increase over non-drinkers." The one piece of good news appears to be that the risk decreases rapidly once a person stops drinking coffee.
4. ..........................
Few arguments create greater passion among medical experts than the supposed link between diet and heart disease. Some doctors, however, refuse to accept any connection between the two. They have argued that diets which cut back on dairy produce, although unlikely to cause physical harm, could lead to malnutrition, particularly among children. They are appalled that breakfast, that traditional British meal, should be under attack by the spectre of disease. Come between some doctors and their bacon and eggs and feelings will run high.
5. ..........................
The nutritionists have fought back. They remain convinced that sugary, fatty foods lead to preventable ill health. One doctor argues that a fibre-rich diet is only of use to those who suffer from diabetes. Rubbish, say the nutritionists, and go on to point out that "over one third of British adults are constipated. At least one in seven takes laxatives. And dietary fibre is of proven value in the treatment of constipation."
6. ..........................
Yet another doctor argues that dental decay should really be seen as a disease which results from a lack of fluoride. What we need to do is clean our teeth like crazy, have them coated with sealants, and take fluorides daily. The nutritionist blasts back by pointing out that you might as well say that headaches are caused by a lack of aspirin.
7. ..........................
What we do know is that nutrition does affect health. Too little food and too much food are both bad for you. In Britain, poor boys tend to be two inches shorter on average than rich boys.