Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheer to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 10 to 14.

In the past, technology and progress was very slow. People “invented” farming 12,000 years ago but it took 8,000 years for the idea to go around the world. Then, about 3,500 years ago, people called “potters” used round wheels to turn and make plates. But it took hundreds of years before some clever person thought, if we join two wheels together and make them bigger, we can use them to move things

In the last few centuries, things have begun to move faster. Take a 20th-century invention like the aeroplane, for example. The first acroplane flight on 17 December 1903 only lasted 12 seconds, and the plane only went 37 metres. It can't have been very exciting to watch, but that flight changed the world. Sixteen years later, the first plane flew across the Atlantic, and only fifty years after that, men walked on the moon. Technology is now changing our world faster and faster. So what will the future bring?

One of the first changes will be the materials we use. Scientists have just invented an amazing new material called graphene, and soon we will use it to do lots of things. With graphene batteries in your mobile, it will take a few seconds to charge your phone or download a thousand gigabytes of information! Today, we make most products in factories, but in the future, scientists will invent living materials. Then we won't make things like cars and furniture in factories - we will grow them!

Thirty years ago, people couldn't have imagined social media like Twitter and Facebook. Now we can't llve without them. But this is only the start. Right now, scientists are putting microchips in some disabled people's brains, to help them see, hear and communicate better. In the future, we may all use these technologies. We won't need smartphones to use social media or search the internet because the internet will be in our heads!

More people will go into space in the future, too. Space tourism has already begun, and a hundred years from now, there may be many hotels in space. One day, we may get most of our energy from space too. In 1941, the writer Isaac Asimov wrote about a solar power station in space. People laughed at his idea then, but we should have listened to him. Today, many people are trying to develop a space solar power station. After all, the sun always shines above the clouds! 

The writer says that in the past ___________.

A. people didn't invent many things 

B. people didn't want to use wheels 

C. most inventions were to do with farming 

D. it took time for new ideas to change things 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheer to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 10 to 14.

In the past, technology and progress was very slow. People “invented” farming 12,000 years ago but it took 8,000 years for the idea to go around the world. Then, about 3,500 years ago, people called “potters” used round wheels to turn and make plates. But it took hundreds of years before some clever person thought, if we join two wheels together and make them bigger, we can use them to move things

In the last few centuries, things have begun to move faster. Take a 20th-century invention like the aeroplane, for example. The first acroplane flight on 17 December 1903 only lasted 12 seconds, and the plane only went 37 metres. It can't have been very exciting to watch, but that flight changed the world. Sixteen years later, the first plane flew across the Atlantic, and only fifty years after that, men walked on the moon. Technology is now changing our world faster and faster. So what will the future bring?

One of the first changes will be the materials we use. Scientists have just invented an amazing new material called graphene, and soon we will use it to do lots of things. With graphene batteries in your mobile, it will take a few seconds to charge your phone or download a thousand gigabytes of information! Today, we make most products in factories, but in the future, scientists will invent living materials. Then we won't make things like cars and furniture in factories - we will grow them!

Thirty years ago, people couldn't have imagined social media like Twitter and Facebook. Now we can't llve without them. But this is only the start. Right now, scientists are putting microchips in some disabled people's brains, to help them see, hear and communicate better. In the future, we may all use these technologies. We won't need smartphones to use social media or search the internet because the internet will be in our heads!

More people will go into space in the future, too. Space tourism has already begun, and a hundred years from now, there may be many hotels in space. One day, we may get most of our energy from space too. In 1941, the writer Isaac Asimov wrote about a solar power station in space. People laughed at his idea then, but we should have listened to him. Today, many people are trying to develop a space solar power station. After all, the sun always shines above the clouds!

Why does the writer use the example of the aeroplane? 

A. To explain why transport changed in the 20th century.

B. Because he thinks It's the most important invention in history

C. To explain how space travel started. 

D. To show how an invention developed quickly

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheer to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 10 to 14.

In the past, technology and progress was very slow. People “invented” farming 12,000 years ago but it took 8,000 years for the idea to go around the world. Then, about 3,500 years ago, people called “potters” used round wheels to turn and make plates. But it took hundreds of years before some clever person thought, if we join two wheels together and make them bigger, we can use them to move things

In the last few centuries, things have begun to move faster. Take a 20th-century invention like the aeroplane, for example. The first acroplane flight on 17 December 1903 only lasted 12 seconds, and the plane only went 37 metres. It can't have been very exciting to watch, but that flight changed the world. Sixteen years later, the first plane flew across the Atlantic, and only fifty years after that, men walked on the moon. Technology is now changing our world faster and faster. So what will the future bring?

One of the first changes will be the materials we use. Scientists have just invented an amazing new material called graphene, and soon we will use it to do lots of things. With graphene batteries in your mobile, it will take a few seconds to charge your phone or download a thousand gigabytes of information! Today, we make most products in factories, but in the future, scientists will invent living materials. Then we won't make things like cars and furniture in factories - we will grow them!

Thirty years ago, people couldn't have imagined social media like Twitter and Facebook. Now we can't llve without them. But this is only the start. Right now, scientists are putting microchips in some disabled people's brains, to help them see, hear and communicate better. In the future, we may all use these technologies. We won't need smartphones to use social media or search the internet because the internet will be in our heads!

More people will go into space in the future, too. Space tourism has already begun, and a hundred years from now, there may be many hotels in space. One day, we may get most of our energy from space too. In 1941, the writer Isaac Asimov wrote about a solar power station in space. People laughed at his idea then, but we should have listened to him. Today, many people are trying to develop a space solar power station. After all, the sun always shines above the clouds! 

What does the writer say about the future of communication? 

A. We can't know what the most popular social media will be. 

B. Microchips will become faster

C. We won't use the internet as much. 

D. We won't need devices like smartphones

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheer to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 10 to 14.

In the past, technology and progress was very slow. People “invented” farming 12,000 years ago but it took 8,000 years for the idea to go around the world. Then, about 3,500 years ago, people called “potters” used round wheels to turn and make plates. But it took hundreds of years before some clever person thought, if we join two wheels together and make them bigger, we can use them to move things

In the last few centuries, things have begun to move faster. Take a 20th-century invention like the aeroplane, for example. The first acroplane flight on 17 December 1903 only lasted 12 seconds, and the plane only went 37 metres. It can't have been very exciting to watch, but that flight changed the world. Sixteen years later, the first plane flew across the Atlantic, and only fifty years after that, men walked on the moon. Technology is now changing our world faster and faster. So what will the future bring?

One of the first changes will be the materials we use. Scientists have just invented an amazing new material called graphene, and soon we will use it to do lots of things. With graphene batteries in your mobile, it will take a few seconds to charge your phone or download a thousand gigabytes of information! Today, we make most products in factories, but in the future, scientists will invent living materials. Then we won't make things like cars and furniture in factories - we will grow them!

Thirty years ago, people couldn't have imagined social media like Twitter and Facebook. Now we can't llve without them. But this is only the start. Right now, scientists are putting microchips in some disabled people's brains, to help them see, hear and communicate better. In the future, we may all use these technologies. We won't need smartphones to use social media or search the internet because the internet will be in our heads!

More people will go into space in the future, too. Space tourism has already begun, and a hundred years from now, there may be many hotels in space. One day, we may get most of our energy from space too. In 1941, the writer Isaac Asimov wrote about a solar power station in space. People laughed at his idea then, but we should have listened to him. Today, many people are trying to develop a space solar power station. After all, the sun always shines above the clouds!

The best title for the article would be ___________.

A. Man in space 

B. Will computers rule the world? 

C. More and more inventions 

D. Progress now and then

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheer to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 10 to 14.

In the past, technology and progress was very slow. People “invented” farming 12,000 years ago but it took 8,000 years for the idea to go around the world. Then, about 3,500 years ago, people called “potters” used round wheels to turn and make plates. But it took hundreds of years before some clever person thought, if we join two wheels together and make them bigger, we can use them to move things

In the last few centuries, things have begun to move faster. Take a 20th-century invention like the aeroplane, for example. The first acroplane flight on 17 December 1903 only lasted 12 seconds, and the plane only went 37 metres. It can't have been very exciting to watch, but that flight changed the world. Sixteen years later, the first plane flew across the Atlantic, and only fifty years after that, men walked on the moon. Technology is now changing our world faster and faster. So what will the future bring?

One of the first changes will be the materials we use. Scientists have just invented an amazing new material called graphene, and soon we will use it to do lots of things. With graphene batteries in your mobile, it will take a few seconds to charge your phone or download a thousand gigabytes of information! Today, we make most products in factories, but in the future, scientists will invent living materials. Then we won't make things like cars and furniture in factories - we will grow them!

Thirty years ago, people couldn't have imagined social media like Twitter and Facebook. Now we can't llve without them. But this is only the start. Right now, scientists are putting microchips in some disabled people's brains, to help them see, hear and communicate better. In the future, we may all use these technologies. We won't need smartphones to use social media or search the internet because the internet will be in our heads!

More people will go into space in the future, too. Space tourism has already begun, and a hundred years from now, there may be many hotels in space. One day, we may get most of our energy from space too. In 1941, the writer Isaac Asimov wrote about a solar power station in space. People laughed at his idea then, but we should have listened to him. Today, many people are trying to develop a space solar power station. After all, the sun always shines above the clouds! 

What does the writer say about space solar power? 

A. It's an old idea, but people are only starting to develop it now

B. It's a science fiction idea, and nobody really thinks it will work

C. It's much easier to build a solar power station in space than on Earth

D. People tried it in 1941, but they didn't succeed

Life in the past and Life in the present

Over the last century, there have been many significant changes in the way we live. Obviously, it is hard to compare the life of the ancient people and the life of the people of the twenty first century because so many changes have occured. However, even the changes that have taken place over the last ten years are amazing.

To start with, people were not able to travel such long distances in such short period of time. The planes were not that popular then because they used to be a very expensive means of transport. Nowadays, we have become very mobile. We have fast and comfortable cars and more and more people also travels by plane. Moreover, in the past people had to work much harder as they did not have tools which made their work easier. Today, most of the difficult and dangerous work is done by computers and other machines. In the past the conditions of living were not as comfortable as they are now. There were not bathrooms and running water in many houses, besides many people could not afford household appliances like fridge, TV set or vacuum cleaner because they used to be luxurious goods. Another difference between living now and in the past is the fact that nowadays the access to education is much easier. In the past, there were fewer schools and the quality of the education they provided was much poorer. Besides, nowadays it is much easier to find the educational materials that you need thanks to the Internet. Another difference is that in the past there were not that many sources of entertainment. Therefore people used to spend more time with their friends.

All things considering, it is an obvious conclusion that life has changed significantly in the last couple of years. It is definitely much easier now however, it is not easy to decide whether it is also better. The scientific achievements and technological progress are amazing. We still create new inventions which simplify our lives. On the other hand, however, life now is much faster and more busy than it used to be in the past. Moreover, it has also become more dangerous. The standard of living has definitely improved but it can be discussed whether the quality of our lives is also better.

* T/F:

1. Life nowadays is the same as life of our ancestors.

2. Technology has made our lives easier.

3. In the past, household appliances were very expensive.

4. Public schools allowed females and males to be educated in the same schools.

5. We can use the internet to communicate with people around the world.

* Answer Question:

1. Is life today faster or slower than life in the past?

2. What has happend to the standard of living?

3. What makes it easy to access information?

4. Who or what does some difficult jobs for us?

5. What makes our lives easier at home?

@Hoàng Minh Nguyệt, ...

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 question.

Mountaineers have noted that as they climb, for example, up to the 12,633–foot Humphreys Peak in the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona, plant life changes radically. Starting among the cacti of the Sonoran Desert, one climbs into a pine forest at 7,000 feet and a treeless alpine tundra at the summit. It may seem that plants at a given altitude are associated in what can be called “communities” – groupings of interacting species. The idea is that over time, plants that require particular climate and soil conditions come to live in the same places, and hence are frequently to be found together. Scientists who study the history of plant life are known as paleobotanists, or paleobots for short. They build up a picture of how groups of plants have responded to climate changes and how ecosystems develop. But are these associations, which are real in the present, permanent?

A great natural experiment took place on this planet between 25,000 and 10,000 years ago, when small changes in the earth’s orbit and axis of rotation caused great sheets of ice to spread from the poles. These glaciers covered much of North America and Europe to depths of up to two miles, and then, as the climate warmed, they retreated. During this retreat, they left behind newly uncovered land for living things to colonize, and as those living things moved in they laid down a record we can read now. As the ice retreated and plants started to grow near a lake, they would release pollen. Some would fall into the lake, sink to the bottom, and be incorporated into the sediment. By drilling into the lake bottom it is possible to read the record of successive plant life around the lake. The fossil record seems clear; there is little or no evidence that entire groups of plants moved north together. Things that lived together in the past don’t live together now, and things that live together now didn’t live together in the past. Each individual organism moved at its own pace. The fossil record seems to be telling us that we should be thinking about preserving species by giving them room to maneuver – to respond to environmental changes.

The word “which” in last sentence of paragraph 1 refers to _______. 

A. the developments of ecosystems 

B. plant life changes 

C. the current theories of ecosystem 

D. the responses of plants to climate changes

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 36 to 42.

          Most people think that lions only come from Africa. This is understandable because in fact most lions do come from there but this has not always been the case. If we went back ten thousand years. we would find that there were lions roaming vast sections of the globe. However no, unfortunately only a very small section of the lion’s former habitat remains.

          Asiatic lions are sub-species of African lions. It is almost a hundred thousand years since the Asiatic lions split off and developed as a sub-species. At one time the Asiatic lion was living as  far west as Greece and they were found from there, but in a band that spreads east through various countries of the Middle East, all the way to India. In museums now, you can see Greek coins that have clear images of the Asiatic lion on them. Most of them are dated at around 500 B.C. However, Europe saw its last Asiatic lions roaming free to thousand years ago. Over the next nineteen hundred years the numbers of Asiatic lions in the other areas declined steadily, but it was only in the nineteenth century that they disappeared from everywhere but in India.

          The Gir Wildlife Sanctuary in India was established especially to protect the Asiatic lion. There are now around three hundred Asiatic lions in India and almost all of them are in this sanctuary. However, despite living in a sanctuary, which makes them safe from hunters, they still face a number of problems that threaten their survival. One of these is the ever-present danger of disease. This is what killed more than a third of Africa’s Serengeti lions in 1994, and people are fearful  that something similar could happen in the Gir Sanctuary and kill off many of the Asiatic lions there.

          India’s lions are particular vulnerable because they have a limited gene pool. The reason for this is interesting – it is because all of them are descended from a few dozen lions that were saved by a prince who took a particular interest in them. He was very healthy, and he managed to protect them otherwise they would probably have died out completely.

When you see the Asiatic lion in India, what you sense is enormous vitality. They are very impressive animals and you would never guess that they this vulnerability when you look at them.

According to the passage, ten thousand years ago,________.

A. lions did not live in small forests

B. lions came mainly from Afric

C. lions roamed much more than nowadays

D. there were much more lion habitats than nowadays

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 question.

Mountaineers have noted that as they climb, for example, up to the 12,633–foot Humphreys Peak in the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona, plant life changes radically. Starting among the cacti of the Sonoran Desert, one climbs into a pine forest at 7,000 feet and a treeless alpine tundra at the summit. It may seem that plants at a given altitude are associated in what can be called “communities” – groupings of interacting species. The idea is that over time, plants that require particular climate and soil conditions come to live in the same places, and hence are frequently to be found together. Scientists who study the history of plant life are known as paleobotanists, or paleobots for short. They build up a picture of how groups of plants have responded to climate changes and how ecosystems develop. But are these associations, which are real in the present, permanent?

A great natural experiment took place on this planet between 25,000 and 10,000 years ago, when small changes in the earth’s orbit and axis of rotation caused great sheets of ice to spread from the poles. These glaciers covered much of North America and Europe to depths of up to two miles, and then, as the climate warmed, they retreated. During this retreat, they left behind newly uncovered land for living things to colonize, and as those living things moved in they laid down a record we can read now. As the ice retreated and plants started to grow near a lake, they would release pollen. Some would fall into the lake, sink to the bottom, and be incorporated into the sediment. By drilling into the lake bottom it is possible to read the record of successive plant life around the lake. The fossil record seems clear; there is little or no evidence that entire groups of plants moved north together. Things that lived together in the past don’t live together now, and things that live together now didn’t live together in the past. Each individual organism moved at its own pace. The fossil record seems to be telling us that we should be thinking about preserving species by giving them room to maneuver – to respond to environmental changes.

Which of the following can be inferred from the passage? 

A. That the migratory patterns of plants are dependent upon changes in climate

B. That current associations of plants are similar to those in the past

C. That modern conservation methods should consider the migratory patterns of plants

D. That another ice age is likely to occur at some time