Read and listen to the article again and answer the questions.

1. What time of year do most teenagers do work experience in the UK?

2. Why does the writer think work experience is useful?

3. How long are placements?

4. What does Paul want to do when he finishes school?

The world of work experience

Forget relaxing with friends. The end of the school year is a time for working for most fourteen- and fifteen-year-olds in the UK. Around half a million teenagers in the UK do work experience every summer. This is a useful way to find out which jobs you might enjoy in the future. It is also important when you apply for university, or get a job in the future. For example, if you want to study to be an engineer, you could do work experience with a car manufacturer. Other popular work experience placements are in teaching, marketing, media, and finance. Placements usually last two weeks. Some teenagers have no idea what job they want to do. In this case, they need to think about their passions. For example, if you are interested in music, you could work in a music shop. Alternatively, if you love animals, you could work on a farm.

My work experience: Hi, I’m Paul, and I’ve just done two weeks’ work experience on a farm near where I live. It was brilliant. I enjoyed giving the animals their food in the morning. I also made sure the animals had exercise and I kept everything clean. At night, I helped to put the animals inside. It was hard work but I loved it. I hope the farm will give me a job when I finish school.

Read and listen to the article again and answer the questions.

1. How old are the young people who are supported by the Hideaway Youth Project?

2. What are the aims of Hideaway?

3. What happened in 1965?

4. What programmes should young people join if they want to become healthier?

5. What can people learn at the Young Men’s Project and the Young Women’s Project?

6. Why was 2014 an important year for Hideaway?

Hideaway Youth Project

Helping young people to make a difference

Aims

Hideaway tries to support young people aged eleven to twenty-five in Moss Side, Manchester. The organisation aims to give young people a way of expressing their opinions and making positive contributions to society.

History

In the 1960s, the city of Manchester had problems with crime, violence and unemployment. The founders of the Hideaway Youth Project wanted to provide a safe place – a ‘hideaway’ for young people in the Moss Side area in particular.

Since opening in 1965, the project has helped thousands of teenagers of different cultures, religions and races. They can share their stories and get advice, as well as take part in activities that develop skills. Many of these teenagers then go on to become project volunteers themselves.

Activities

Programmes include:

Powerhouse – fun sports activities such as football and basketball, or specialist sessions on cooking and art.

Healthy Living – young people learn about how important it is to eat well and do regular exercise. Young Men’s Project and Young Women’s Project – these two separate projects support and encourage young men and women to talk about sensitive topics openly and honestly. The sessions promote acceptance and tolerance, and build self-confidence.

Award winners

In 2014, the Hideaway Youth Project won the Youth Work Award for their success in helping young people be the best that they can be.

Answer the questions. Listen again and check.

1. Where does Robert Lee get the unwanted food from?

2. Why is it a clever idea?

3. What animals was Edwin Sabuhoro trying to protect?

4. How does his eco-tour company provide a good solution to problems in Rwanda?

5. What opportunities do the bike trips give to city kids?

6. In what countries can you find Marilyn Price's programmes?

Read and listen to the text again and answer the questions.

1. Who might live to be 150 years old?

2. What will probably cause our brains to get bigger?

3. What will people possibly do as the result of an epidemic or war?

4. What are the possible ways the children of the future will be different from now?

5. What might happen if the Earth gets overcrowded?

                                           FACES OF THE FUTURE

Humans have adapted and changed through the ages and, unless a catastrophe destroys the Earth, we'll probably survive and continue to change. Scientists are already saying that children born now might live until they're 150. Further into the future, perhaps people won't die but simply buy new body parts as they get older!

What other changes are possible in the years ahead?

1. Homo Informaticus

If we continue to use computers and screens more and more, our eyes and brains will probably get bigger in order to process more information.

2. Neo-humans

If there’s a terrible war or an epidemic, survivors might leave the cities and live in caves. They'll become stronger, hairier and more agile.

3. Homo Perfectus

If scientists manipulate human genes, will some people pay to have children who are better looking, healthier and more intelligent than ‘normal’ humans?

4. Cyborgs

Soldiers of the future might be part human, part machine, with super-strong body parts, auto-zoom eyes and a brain connected by Wi-Fi to super computers.

5. Space humans

If the Earth gets too crowded, humans will move to other planets. If they adapt to a different atmosphere and gravity on another planet, they won't look the same as humans on Earth.

Which possibilities do you think are most likely? 

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

Before the grass has thickened on the roadside verges and leaves have started growing on the trees is a perfect time to look around and see just how dirty Britain has become. The pavements are stained with chewing gum that has been spat out and the gutters are full of discarded fast food cartons. Years ago I remember travelling abroad and being saddened by the plastic bags, discarded bottles and soiled nappies at the edge of every road. Nowadays, Britain seems to look at least as bad. What has gone wrong?

The problem is that the rubbish created by our increasingly mobile lives lasts a lot longer than before. If it is not cleared up and properly thrown away, it stays in the undergrowth for years; a semi-permanent reminder of what a tatty little country we have now. Firstly, it is estimated that 10 billion plastic bags have been given to shoppers. These will take anything from 100 to 1,000 years to rot. However, it is not as if there is no solution to this. A few years ago, the Irish government introduced a tax on non-recyclable carrier bags and in three months reduced their use by 90%. When he was a minister, Michael Meacher attempted to introduce a similar arrangement in Britain. The plastics industry protested, of course. However, they need not have bothered; the idea was killed before it could draw breath, leaving supermarkets free to give away plastic bags.

What is clearly necessary right now is some sort of combined initiative, both individual and collective, before it is too late. The alternative is to continue sliding downhill until we have a country that looks like a vast municipal rubbish tip. We may well be at the tipping point. Yet we know that people respond to their environment. If things around them are clean and tidy, people behave cleanly and tidily. If they are surrounded by squalor, they behave squalidly. No much of Britain looks pretty squalid. What will it look like in five years?

The word 'they in the last paragraph may refer to ________.

A. people

B. the environment

C. much of Britain 

D. cleanliness

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

Before the grass has thickened on the roadside verges and leaves have started growing on the trees is a perfect time to look around and see just how dirty Britain has become. The pavements are stained with chewing gum that has been spat out and the gutters are full of discarded fast food cartons. Years ago I remember travelling abroad and being saddened by the plastic bags, discarded bottles and soiled nappies at the edge of every road. Nowadays, Britain seems to look at least as bad. What has gone wrong?

The problem is that the rubbish created by our increasingly mobile lives lasts a lot longer than before. If it is not cleared up and properly thrown away, it stays in the undergrowth for years; a semi-permanent reminder of what a tatty little country we have now. Firstly, it is estimated that 10 billion plastic bags have been given to shoppers. These will take anything from 100 to 1,000 years to rot. However, it is not as if there is no solution to this. A few years ago, the Irish government introduced a tax on non-recyclable carrier bags and in three months reduced their use by 90%. When he was a minister, Michael Meacher attempted to introduce a similar arrangement in Britain. The plastics industry protested, of course. However, they need not have bothered; the idea was killed before it could draw breath, leaving supermarkets free to give away plastic bags.

What is clearly necessary right now is some sort of combined initiative, both individual and collective, before it is too late. The alternative is to continue sliding downhill until we have a country that looks like a vast municipal rubbish tip. We may well be at the tipping point. Yet we know that people respond to their environment. If things around them are clean and tidy, people behave cleanly and tidily. If they are surrounded by squalor, they behave squalidly. No much of Britain looks pretty squalid. What will it look like in five years?

The word 'they in the last paragraph may refer to ________.

A. people   

B. the environment         

C. much of Britain         

D. cleanliness

A. Read the following text and write T (true) or F (false) (1m)
In the future, we will live in hi-tech houses. Our houses will use the sun and the wind to make electricity (điện). We will have many hi-tech robots. They will cook our meals and wash our clothes. We won’t use computers. We will have special remote control units. They will help us surf the Internet, send and receive emails and order food from the supermarkets. Our cars might not use gas. They might use energy from air, water or plants. In the future, the air won’t be polluted. Our world will be a great place to live in.
In the future, we will live in old houses. ..................
Our houses will have solar energy or windy energy. .................
Robots won’t cook dinner or wash clothes. .......................
In the future, the air will be fresh because our cars might use energy from water or plants............
B. Read the text again and answer the questions given: (1.5 ms)
1.What type of house will we have in the future? ………………………………………………
2. What will our world be like? …………………………………………………………………..
3. What will special remote control units do? …………………………………………………

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 24 to 33.

Since the world became industrialized, the number of animal species that have either become extinct or have neared extinction has increased. Bengal tigers, for instance, which once roamed the jungles in vast numbers, now number only about 2,300. By the year 2025, it is estimated that they will become extinct. What is alarming about the case of the Bengal tiger is that this extinction will have been caused almost entirely by poachers who, according to some sources, are not always interested in material gain but in personal gratification. This is an example of the callousness that is contributing to the problem of extinction. Animals such as the Bengal tiger, as well as other endangered species, are valuable parts of the world's ecosystem. International laws protecting these animals must be enacted to ensure their survival - and the survival of our planet.

Countries around the world have begun to deal with the problem in various ways. Some countries, in an effort to circumvent the problem, have allocated large amounts of land to animal reserves. They then charge admission prices to help defray the costs of maintaining the parks, and they often must also depend on world organizations for support. This money enables them to invest in equipment and patrols to protect the animals. Another response to the increase in animal extinction is an international boycott of products made from endangered species. This has had some effect, but by itself it will not prevent animals from being hunted and killed.

What does the word 'this' in line 6 refer to in the passage?

A. Bengal tigers

B. interest in material gain

C. killing animals for personal satisfaction

D. the decrease in the Bengal tiger population