• For questions (1 - 8), read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0).

                                                                                                      BLUE DIAMONDS

  Blue diamonds are the world’s most expensive diamonds, with some valued (0) ...... AT....... over 350 million US dollars. However, no one knew (1) ............... recently precisely where these rare stones came from.

  Most diamonds are formed from pure carbon under extreme heat 150 to 200 kilometers underground, and (2) ............... is thought that volcanic eruptions bring them to the earth’s surface. Research by scientists has revealed, however, that blue diamonds were probably formed somewhere (3) ............... 600 and 800 kilometers down, in a part of the earth’s interior known (4) ............... the lower mantle.

  These researchers analyzed 46 blue diamonds, all of (5) .............. contained minerals only found in the lower mantle. (6) .............. only were these stones formed four times nearer the earth’s core (7) ............... normal diamonds, but they also contain an element called boron that is mostly found on the earth’s surface. What seems to have happened, (8) ............... to the researchers, is that billions of years ago, rocks containing boron were carried down into the lower mantle by movements of the earth’s tectonic plates, and were eventually returned to the surface by volcanic action.

• For questions 9 – 16, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0).

                                                                                                 A HISTORY OF SURFING

The history of surfing undoubtedly goes (0) BACK a long way. It seems to (9) .......... formed a central part of the culture of the Polynesian people, who were inhabitants of islands in the Pacific Ocean (10) .......... as Samoa, Tonga, and Hawaii. These people did not regard surfing (11) .......... a mere recreational activity. For them, it was much (12) .......... of an art. Although surfing disappeared from many parts of Polynesia in (13) .......... early twentieth century, a small number of people in Hawaii kept the tradition alive. In 1912, it spread to the east coast of the United States, and in particular to Virginia Beach, (14) .......... became an important surfing center. Surfing developed quite rapidly from then on, and the design of surfboards became more sophisticated. However, (15) .......... was not until the 1960s that surfing came to be a truly global phenomenon, boosted not only by the success of surfing films (16) .......... also by pop songs about surfing culture.

Part 4. Read the text below and think of the word which best fits each space. Use only ONE word in each space. (5 pts)

Have you ever had a really boring job? When I 1. __________ a student, I did lots of different jobs during the summer vacation, ranging 2. __________ picking fruit to working for a furniture removal company. Fruit picking is hard work, but 3. __________ least you are outside and have the company of other pickers. Probably the least pleasant job 4. __________ I had was working in the fridge of a butcher's shop where I had to sort pieces of chickens. But 5. __________ a doubt, the prize for the 6. __________ boring job has to go to the one I had working for a sports equipment company.

My task was to put six table tennis balls into boxes. They left me in a room with a huge container of thousands of balls. I was stuck out 7. __________ sight at the back of the storeroom without even a radio for company. A day in the room felt 8. __________ a month. There is one funny thing I remember: there were supposed 9. __________ be two speeds of ball: one fast and one that was slower for 10. __________ experienced players. The thing was, they were actually the same ball, they just went into different boxes!

Read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only ONE word in each gap.

Until the late 1920s, motion pictures were silent except (1) ________ the musical accompaniment

provided by theater owners in the form of live orchestras. Up (2) ________ this point, movies had enjoyed a wide

degree of popularity, but they still remained a secondary form of entertainment, largely (3) ________ to their lack

of sound. Everything changed (4) ________ 1926 when Warner Brothers introduced a new sound-on-disc system.

In this system, sound effects and music were (5) ________ on wax record. In order to exhibit this new (6)

________, Warner Brothers showed “Don Juan”, the first (7) ________ picture to have a pre-recorded score and

sound effects. Although “Don Juan” was enjoyed very much, many movie studios still refused to adapt (8)

________ talking picture technology, believing that “talkies” would never replace silent pictures. (9) ________,

“The Jazz Singer”, an interesting film with sound, in October (10) ________ 1927 changed these options, and in

doing so, changed the history of motion pictures forever.

• For questions 1 - 8, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0).

      Founded in 1972, the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Award is celebrated in 27 countries. Veuve Clicquot has now introduced a new award (0) ___TO___ complement its Business Woman of the Year category. Called The New Generation Award, (1) __________ recognizes the best young female talent across the business and corporate life. The first winner of the award, Kathryn Parsons, (2) __________ innovative start-up company, Decoded, teaches people to code in a day, has joined the judging panel to help find this year’s winner. ‘The importance of these awards cannot (3) __________ overestimated,’ she says. ‘Women need role models that prove to (4) __________ that they can do it, too.’ The New Generation Award is open to entrepreneurial businesswomen (5) __________ the ages of 25 and 35. They can run (6) __________ own businesses or hail from corporate life. ‘This award isn’t about how much money you’ve made or how long you’ve been in business, it’s about recognizing young women (7) __________ a mission and a vision,’ says Parsons. ‘We want to meet women who are working to (8) __________ the world a better place.’

Read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only ONE word in
each gap. 
The destruction of the rainforests is a pressing problem of our times (61) _______ not one that is
regarded equally seriously by everyone. The more affluent nations regard the issue as (62) _______ of
preservation; deforestation must stop. When it comes to the poorer countries, the issue is not so cut and dried.
(63) _______ these people, the rainforests represent a source of economic prosperity, a point that obviously
takes precedence over ecological concern. A solution must be found before the damage caused by the
deforestation that is destroying the rainforests becomes irrevocable.
Deforestation is carried out by (64) _______ involved in the timber industry and also by migrant
farmers. The latter occupy an area of land, strip it, farm it (65) _______ its natural mineral supply is used up
and then move on. The land is left useless and exposed and a process of erosion comes into effect, washing
soil into rivers thereby killing fish and blocking the water’s natural course.
The land is not the (66) _______victim. Rainforests are a richly populated habitat. In the rainforests
of Madagascar there are at (67) _______150,000 individual species of plants and animals which are found
nowhere (68) _______ in the world, and more are being discovered all the time . Furthermore, approximately
50% of all endangered animal species live in the world’s rainforests. The destruction of the forests effectively
represents a complete removal of all these plants and animals. Deprived (69) _______ their natural
environments, they will disappear altogether. Again, this process is irreversible. Man, no (70) _______ how
powerful he considers himself, does not have the power to re-establish the species he is so wilfully
destroying.

Think of a word which best fits each gap. Use only ONE word each time. Last year, only a (29) __________ of my group of friends went to summer camp. The other (30) __________failed their exams and their parents were furious, so they didn’t go. As (31) __________as we got to the camp, the leader told us that they had (32) __________trying to phone a riding school all morning to arrange some horse-riding lessons for us, but they hadn’t had (33) __________luck. So they (34) __________ arranging water-skiing lessons instead! We looked at each other. (35) __________ of us had (36) __________done any water skiing before and it was really difficult. Anyway, the next day, we all went down to the sea and had some lessons. (37) __________the time we got back to camp, I was exhausted! I had been trying to stand up on the skis (38) __________afternoon and I don’t know how (39) __________times I had fallen off into the water. After that, it (40) __________ me the whole week to recover!

Giúp tui với 

Read the text below and think of the word which best fits each space. Use only one word in each space. English has developed as a (1) ______ language for a range of reasons, many of them historical, rather (2)_______ anything intrinsic in the language itself. The enormous irregularities in the English (3)________ of spelling, for example, may often be seen by a newcomer as a disincentive. Miliions, however, are undeterred. One of the strongest incentives for learning the (4)________ is the use to which it can immediately be put, socially, economically and culturally From education and the creative economy to IT and advanced engineering, industries in the UK (5)________ hugely from using the English language. But it also helps economies overseas to prosper. English language (6)_________ provide life-changing oppotunities, and promote prosperity and security around the world. Research in countries in the Middle East (7)_______ North Africa suggests that the need to the scope of domestic industry and also attract more inward investment (8) ________ multinationals is fuelling the fast-growing (9)________ for improved English education. It is also clear that reducing unemployment as a means of securing political stability (10) ________ an imperative for many of these countries.

Read the text below and think of the word which best fits each space. Use only one word in each space.

LEARNING VOCABULARY

Do you (1)________ hours trying to memorize lists of words? Do you look (2) ________ in a dictionary the meaning of every word you don't know? If  so, you may not be  doing yourself a favor. Research suggests that the (3) ________ way of building your vocabulary is by seeing words (4) ________ context and the obvious way to do that is to read as  often as you (5) ________. Regular exposure to written English, say 15 minutes every day, will be much (6) ________ useful than working really hard (7) ________ the evening once a week. This is (8) ________ the brain remembers information best when (9) ________ is associated with other information. The more you enjoy reading the more you will read. Pop songs (as long  as  they are in English) and TV programs will help in the same way. Who says that learning can’t (10) ________ fun?