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.

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away. The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall. When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. The second son said no – it was covered with green buds and full of promise. The third son disagreed, he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen. The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfilment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but one season in the tree’s life. He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are – and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life – can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up. If you give up when it’s winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfilment of your fall.

Don’t judge a life by one difficult season. Don’t let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.

(source: https://www.beliefnet.com)

According to the paragraph 2, what did the second son see in his turn?

A.The tree was gloomy, withered and crooked.

B.The tree was in buds and teeming with vigor.

C.The tree was blossoming and gave off a sweet scent.

D.The tree was bountifully fruitful, brimming with life force.

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.

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away. The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall. When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. The second son said no – it was covered with green buds and full of promise. The third son disagreed, he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen. The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfilment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but one season in the tree’s life. He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are – and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life – can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up. If you give up when it’s winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfilment of your fall.

Don’t judge a life by one difficult season. Don’t let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.

(source: https://www.beliefnet.com)

According to the paragraph 4, what is the lesson the father wanted to impart to his children?

A.Moral lessons can come from the most unexpected and ordinary things.

B.No matter what season it is outside, you always have to cherish it.

C.The old age of humans is similar to the winter of nature.

D.Persevere through the difficulties and better times are sure to come sometime sooner or later.

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.

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away. The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall. When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. The second son said no – it was covered with green buds and full of promise. The third son disagreed, he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen. The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfilment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but one season in the tree’s life. He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are – and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life – can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up. If you give up when it’s winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfilment of your fall.

Don’t judge a life by one difficult season. Don’t let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.

(source: https://www.beliefnet.com)

The word “laden” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to .

A. loade

B. decorated

C. enhanced

D. given

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.

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away. The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall. When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. The second son said no – it was covered with green buds and full of promise. The third son disagreed, he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen. The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfilment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but one season in the tree’s life. He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are – and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life – can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up. If you give up when it’s winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfilment of your fall.

Don’t judge a life by one difficult season. Don’t let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.

(source: https://www.beliefnet.com)

Which best serves as the title for the passage?

A. The Seasons of Life 

B. The Observation of a Tree

C. Father and Four Sons 

D. Love all the Seasons in a Year

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.

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away. The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall. When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. The second son said no – it was covered with green buds and full of promise. The third son disagreed, he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen. The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfilment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but one season in the tree’s life. He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are – and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life – can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up. If you give up when it’s winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfilment of your fall.

Don’t judge a life by one difficult season. Don’t let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.

(source: https://www.beliefnet.com)

The word “they” in paragraph 3 refers to____.

A. the four sons

B. green buds 

C. trees, people

D. the pleasure, joy and love

Read this legend, then answer the following questions.. Kitchen Gods Once upon a time, there was a childless couple. The wife was faithful and loved the husband passionately while the husband was treated his wife badly. One day he beat the poor wife with a stick and dismissed her from home. The women had come to another place. She then got married with a kind man, and they lived in harmony. One afternoon when her husband had gone for hunting, a beggar came and a some food. The woman was kind; filled the poor beggar's bag and recognized that the beggar was her former husband. The man also recognized his wife then. She felt sorry for the man when hearing that from the day he dismissed ber, he was deeply sad and regretful. So he decided to go away to find her until he spent all money and became a beggar. After being offered a big meal, the man was drunk so the woman had to drag him out and hid him in a stack of straw because it was time for her recent husband to come back from the forest. After a while, there was a knock at the door, the hunter appeared with a deer on his back. He then happily asked the woman to go to the market to prepare for the dinner. When the women came back, she found that the stack of straw, where her drunk former husband was sleeping, had been burned with a deer roasted. She cried painfully, and then jumped into the fire. The hunter didn't know what had happened and what to do but jumped into the fire to die beside his wife. At that moment, God was in the heaven, he was moved by the story so he turned three of them into three parts of the earthen tripod so that they could live side foreverand conferred them with the title of Kitchen God to oversee all the cooking of people. Every year, they all together came back to the heaven on the 23"of the 12 lunar month to report to God.

1. Why did the wife have to leave for another place?

2. What did the former husband do after dismissing his wife from home?

3. Why did the wife jump into the fire?

4. What did the hunter do then?

5.Why did God turn them into three parts of the earthen tripod?

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 30 to 37.

  In the United States, presidential elections are held in years evenly divisible by four (1888, 1900, 1964, etc.). Since 1840, American presidents elected in years ending with zero have died in office, with one exception. William H. Harrison, the man who served the shortest term, died of pneumonia only several weeks after his inauguration.

  Abraham Lincoln was one of four presidents who were assassinated. He was elected in 1860, and his untimely death came just five years later. James Garfield, a former Union army general from Ohio, was shot during his first year in office (1881) by a man to whom he wouldn’t give a job. While in his second term of office (1901), William McKinley, another Ohioan, attended the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. During the reception, he was assassinated while shaking hands with some of the guests. John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 in Dallas only three years after his election.

  Three years after his election in 1920, Warren G, Harding died in office. Although it was never proved, many believe he was poisoned. Franklin Roosevelt was elected four times (1932, 1936, 1940 and 1944), the only man to serve so long a term. He had contracted polio in 1921 and eventually died of the illness in 1945.

  Ronald Reagan, who was elected in 1980 and reelected four years later, suffered an assassination attempt but did not succumb to the assassin’s bullets. He was the first to break the long chain of unfortunate events. Will the candidate in the election of 2020 also be as lucky?

The word “assassinated” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to _______.

A. murdered

B. decorated

C. honored

D. sickened

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 30 to 37.

  In the United States, presidential elections are held in years evenly divisible by four (1888, 1900, 1964, etc.). Since 1840, American presidents elected in years ending with zero have died in office, with one exception. William H. Harrison, the man who served the shortest term, died of pneumonia only several weeks after his inauguration.

  Abraham Lincoln was one of four presidents who were assassinated. He was elected in 1860, and his untimely death came just five years later. James Garfield, a former Union army general from Ohio, was shot during his first year in office (1881) by a man to whom he wouldn’t give a job. While in his second term of office (1901), William McKinley, another Ohioan, attended the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. During the reception, he was assassinated while shaking hands with some of the guests. John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 in Dallas only three years after his election.

  Three years after his election in 1920, Warren G, Harding died in office. Although it was never proved, many believe he was poisoned. Franklin Roosevelt was elected four times (1932, 1936, 1940 and 1944), the only man to serve so long a term. He had contracted polio in 1921 and eventually died of the illness in 1945.

  Ronald Reagan, who was elected in 1980 and reelected four years later, suffered an assassination attempt but did not succumb to the assassin’s bullets. He was the first to break the long chain of unfortunate events. Will the candidate in the election of 2020 also be as lucky?

The word “whom” in the second paragraph refers to - ________.

A. Garfield

B. Garfield’s assassin 

C. a Union anny general

D. McKinley

Read the passage below and decide whether the statements are TRUE or FALSE?

This report shows how the rice-cooking festival was held. The festival was held in the communal house yard about one kilometer away from a river. There were three competitions: water-fetching, fire-making and rice-cooking. The festival lasted one day. In the water-fetching contest one person from each team had to go to the river to get the water. In the fire-making contest two team members had to make a fire in the quickest way. They tried to rub pieces of wood together to make the fire. Members from each team took part in the rice-cooking contest. They had to separate the rice from the husk and then cook the rice. After the three contests, all the points were counted and the Thon Trieu group won the grand prize. The festival was wonderful.

Question: They tried to cut pieces of wood together to make the fire.

A. True

B. False