BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO KỲ THI CHỌN HỌC SINH GIỎI QUỐC GIA THPT

ĐỀ THI CHÍNH THỨC NĂM HỌC 2020 – 2021

Môn thi: TIẾNG ANH

SỐ PHÁCH
Thời gian: 180 phút (không kể thời gian giao đề)
Ngày thi thứ nhất: 25/12/2020
Đề thi có 12 trang

• Thí sinh không được sử dụng tài liệu, kể cả từ điển.

• Giám thị không giải thích gì thêm.
____________________________________________________________

I. LISTENING (50 points)

HƯỚNG DẪN PHẦN THI NGHE HIỂU
• Bài nghe gồm 4 phần; mỗi phần được nghe 2 lần, mỗi lần cách nhau 10 giây; mở đầu và kết thúc mỗi phần
nghe có tín hiệu.
• Mở đầu và kết thúc bài nghe có nhạc hiệu. Thí sinh có 02 phút để hoàn chỉnh bài trước nhạc hiệu kết thúc bài
nghe.
• Mọi hướng dẫn cho thí sinh đã có trong bài nghe.

Part 1. For questions 1-5, listen to a podcast on social networks and decide whether the following
statements are True (T), False (F), or Not Given (NG) according to what you hear. Write your answers in
the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
1. The mass of data online is being exploited by scientists at Oxford University to their advantage.
2. Online inflammatory hate speech results from conflicts among individuals in society.
3. The police and security services can use social media to help them track down intelligent criminals.
4. Computer algorithms could be developed to help verify the reliability of the information posted.
5. Unlocking greater potential of social networks means encountering thornier moral issues.
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Part 2. For questions 6-10, listen to part of a news report about wildfires in California and answer the
questions. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS taken from the recording for each answer.
6. How was the vegetation in California described?
______________________________________________________
7. What does the record of 1.5 million refer to?
______________________________________________________
8. What period of the year are the people in California said to be getting into?
______________________________________________________
9. What is reported to have been completely destroyed by the Glass Fire in North California?
______________________________________________________
10. What can be expected of the already extreme wildfire weather conditions?
______________________________________________________

Page 1 of 12 pages
Part 3. For questions 11-15, listen to a radio interview in which a choreographer, Alice Reynolds,
discusses a dance program and choose the correct answer A, B, C, or D which fits best according to
what you hear. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
11. What human ability is said to be unique, according to Alice?
A. Loosing up with feelings. B. Conveying emotions through dancing.
C. Featuring dancing in ceremonial rites. D. Exploiting dancing as a means of entertainment.
12. With which of the following does Alice most probably agree?
A. Teenagers are quick to react to a number of emotions.
B. Young people have a lot of pent-up negative emotions.
C. Young people able to show how they feel can articulate better.
D. Shyness hinders youngsters from finding the right words to express their feelings.
13. What aspect of the programme encourages teenagers to face their troubles?
A. The absence of a therapist. B. The freedom of the movement.
C. The release of feelings. D. The obligation to interact.
14. Alice contrasts professional dancers and teenagers to imply that ______.
A. professional dancers have opposite personalities to those of teenagers
B. it is important to keep one’s emotions true to his or her personalities
C. the teaching styles adopted in her program are more effective to teenagers
D. with proper training, anyone can acquire the ability to recognize feelings
15. What is the conclusion of the study into a person’s personality?
A. It is through people’s movement that their true nature is revealed.
B. Personality has a bearing on people’s willingness to dance.
C. Those with certain personalities have the ability to dance better than others.
D. Most people have a tendency to conceal their true nature.
Your answers:
11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

Part 4. For questions 16-25, listen to a talk about the Christmas pudding and complete the following
sentences. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS taken from the recording for each blank.
According to a recent survey, the Christmas pudding, which used to be (16)____________________________,
is losing its popularity.

The Christmas pudding dates back to the medieval period, when (17)___________________________ called
plum pottage, which was a concoction of beef, spice and dried food, was often served during winter.

The end of the Tudor era saw the appearance of the plum pudding, which, unlike the plum pottage, had
(18)________________________________ and was ideally eaten with roast beef.

In the 18th century, the plum pudding, as one of (19)__________________________ of the century, was widely
consumed during winter and became an ideal expensive gift.

In the 19th century, given the ubiquity of beef on the Christmas table, the plum pudding was regarded as a typical
Xmas dish, so much so that it was even eaten without beef (20)_______________________________.

The Christmas pudding, which owed its name to the publication of Eliza Acton’s recipe in 1845, became
(21)______________________________, and was slowly eaten later in the meal.

No longer a main dish in the 20th century, the plum pudding was then served as a sweet, with accompaniment
like custard or butter, which was (22)____________________________ for its definition.

In the early 20th century, the pudding (23)____________________________________ such as the custom of
making the dish on the fifth Sunday before Christmas, or concealing a sixpence in the mixture so as to create
(24)__________________________ when it was found.

These days, (25)_____________________________ as part of the lavish Christmas dinner sometimes seems
too much to consume, thus reducing the popularity of the dish among young people.

Page 2 of 12 pages
II. LEXICO-GRAMMAR (20 points)
Part 1. For questions 26-40, choose the correct answer A, B, C, or D to each of the following questions.
Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
26. Reductions in pollution levels could ______ global warming.
A. withhold B. dwindle C. waver D. retard
27. Our small company ______ with a much larger one last year and tripled in size.
A. amalgamated B. negotiated C. mingled D. acclimated
28. The earlier model is ______ for its unreliability and now we are almost unlikely to find it on the market.
A. disreputable B. irreverent C. notorious D. pre-eminent
29. His chance at the medal ______ away as his Olympic teammate took the gold.
A. swept B. stowed C. stripped D. slipped
30. You will have to learn to face up to a few ______, my boy, before it’s too late.
A. home truths B. odd jobs C. second thoughts D. kid gloves
31. Susan is looking for the cooking utensils that just caused the ______ of sounds in her kitchen.
A. clatter B. sputter C. mutter D. splutter
32. The company executives ______ criticism by inviting union leaders to meet.
A. thwarted B. gainsaid C. inhibited D. forestalled
33. She found the novel absolutely ______ and impossible to put down.
A. riveting B. nailing C. unfastening D. pinning
34. Falsely arrested and charged, in a strange country and all alone, Walker was truly ______.
A. at his wits’ end B. on his hind legs
C. up to the minute D. over the grapevine
35. In the basketball match last night, Hanoi Buffalo ______ defeated Ho Chi Minh City Wings by 86-85.
A. narrowly B. tightly C. finely D. thinly
36. These are very ______ times, and people are very pessimistic about how long before things can return to normal.
A. temporary B. contemporary C. turbulent D. rapid
37. The team’s performance in the match last night was fairly ______, which disappointed their fans.
A. glum B. grim C. tacky D. shabby
38. Just give me ______ of the conversion plans for the house and tell me what it will cost.
A. bits and pieces B. the cut and thrust
C. odds and ends D. the nuts and bolts
39. Because of the children involved, they want to resolve the court case as quickly and ______ as possible.
A. grudgingly B. discerningly C. discreetly D. judiciously
40. Stop ______ to drink more! You can see he’s had enough!
A. drawing him out B. egging him on C. selling him a pup D. knocking him off
Your answers:
26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33.
34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40.

Part 2. For questions 41-45, write the correct form of each bracketed word in each sentence in the
numbered space provided in the column on the right.
Your answers:

41. Josh brought his defective printer back to the shop, hoping to receive good 41. __________________
(SALE) service.

42. Although European countries were heavily stricken by the pandemic, many 42. __________________
people still (CONCERN) planned for their holidays.

43. His responsibilities included welcoming visiting (DIGNIFY) from foreign 43. __________________
countries.

44. The judge put his pen away and looked at the contestant (SCRUTINY), which 44. __________________
made her even more nervous.

45. People can decide how to care for their children, (CUMBERSOME) by 45. __________________
interference from the state.

Page 3 of 12 pages
III. READING (50 points)
Part 1. For questions 46-55, read the passage and fill each of the following numbered blanks with ONE
suitable word. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
In the religion of the ancient Greeks, a hero was a mythical being to whom regular worship was offered. A
hero was distinct from a god in that, unlike the (46)__________, he was regarded as mortal: it was indeed his
death alone, and an exceptional death at that, which made him (47)__________ of fulfilling the requests of those
who (48)__________ him. The hero could ensure general good fortune, such as (49)__________ in war,
prosperity in peace and success in all enterprises.
The stages in the development of the heroic myth began with the birth of the hero, (50)__________ often
to the intervention of one of the gods. Some scholars have wished to find (51)__________ all stages of the
hero’s development elements (52)__________ symbolically to the stages through which youths (53)__________
to undergo initiation had to pass, but it is chiefly in the educational phase of their development that this analogy
would seem to have some truth. However, the main subject of mythical narration consisted of the heroic exploits
of the central (54)__________: of wars and duels, of the slaying of giants and monsters, and of the liberation of
regions from such scourges. During his lengthy wanderings, before achieving his final conquest, the hero
founded cities, gave laws to the people and established cults. The hero’s death, always under unusual
(55)__________, determined his status forever.
Your answers:
46. 47. 48. 49. 50.
51. 52. 53. 54. 55.

Part 2. Read the following passage and do the tasks that follow.
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH IN EDUCATION
Many education researchers used to work on the assumption that children experience different phases of
development, and that they cannot execute the most advanced level of cognitive operation until they have
reached the most advanced forms of cognitive process. For example, one researcher Piaget had a well-known
experiment in which he asked the children to compare the amount of liquid in containers with different shapes.
Those containers had the same capacity, but even when the young children were demonstrated that the same
amount of fluid could be poured between the containers, many of them still believed one was larger than the
other. Piaget concluded that the children were incapable of performing the logical task in figuring out that the two
containers were the same size even though they had different shapes, because their cognitive development had
not reached the necessary phase. Critics on his work, such as Donaldson, have questioned this interpretation.
They point out the possibility that the children were just unwilling to play the experimenter’s game, or that they
did not quite understand the question asked by the experimenter. These criticisms surely do state the facts, but
more importantly, it suggests that experiments are social situations where interpersonal interactions take place.
The implication here is that Piaget’s investigation and his attempts to replicate it are not solely about measuring
the children’s capabilities of logical thinking, but also the degree to which they could understand the directions
for them, their willingness to comply with these requirements, how well the experimenters did in communicating
the requirements and in motivating those children, etc.
The same kinds of criticisms have been targeted to psychological and educational tests. For instance,
Mehan argues that the subjects might interpret the test questions in a way different from that meant by the
experimenter. In a language development test, researchers show children a picture of a medieval fortress,
complete with moat, drawbridge, parapets and three initial consonants in it: D, C, and G. The children are
required to circle the correct initial consonant for “castle”. The answer is C, but many kids choose D. When
asked what the name of the building was, the children responded “Disneyland”. They adopted the reasoning line
expected by the experimenter but got to the wrong substantive answer. The score sheet with the wrong answers
does not include in it a child’s lack of reasoning capacity; it only records that the children gave a different answer
rather than the one the tester expected.
Here we are constantly getting questions about how valid the measures are where the findings of the
quantitative research are usually based. Some scholars such as Donaldson consider these as technical issues,
which can be resolved through more rigorous experimentation. In contrast, others like Mehan reckon that the
problems are not merely with particular experiments or tests, but they might legitimately jeopardize the validity of
all researches of this type.
Meanwhile, there are also questions regarding the assumption in the logic of quantitative educational
research that causes can be identified through physical and/or statistical manipulation of the variables. Critics
argue that this does not take into consideration the nature of human social life by assuming it to be made up of
static, mechanical causal relationships, while in reality, it includes complicated procedures of interpretation and
negotiation, which do not come with determinate results. From this perspective, it is not clear that we can
understand the pattern and mechanism behind people’s behaviors simply in terms of the casual relationships,

Page 4 of 12 pages
which are the focuses of quantitative research. It is implied that social life is much more contextually variable and
complex.
Such criticisms of quantitative educational research have also inspired more and more educational
researchers to adopt qualitative methodologies during the last three or four decades. These researchers have
steered away from measuring and manipulating variables experimentally or statistically. There are many forms of
qualitative research, which is loosely illustrated by terms like ‘ethnography’, ‘case study’, ‘participant
observation’, ‘life history’, ‘unstructured interviewing’, ‘discourse analysis’ and so on. Generally speaking, though,
it has characteristics as follows:
Qualitative researches have an intensive focus on exploring the nature of certain phenomena in the field
of education, instead of setting out to test hypotheses about them. It also inclines to deal with ‘unstructured data’,
which refers to the kind of data that have not been coded during the collection process regarding a closed set of
analytical categories. As a result, when engaging in observation, qualitative researchers use audio or video
devices to record what happens or write in detail open-ended field-notes, instead of coding behavior concerning
a pre-determined set of categories, which is what quantitative researchers typically would do when conducting
‘systematic observation’. Similarly, in an interview, interviewers will ask open-ended questions instead of ones
that require specific predefined answers of the kind typical, like in a postal questionnaire. Actually, qualitative
interviews are often designed to resemble casual conversations.
The primary forms of data analysis include verbal description and explanations and involve explicit
interpretations of both the meanings and functions of human behaviors. At most, quantification and statistical
analysis only play a subordinate role. The sociology of education and evaluation studies were the two areas of
educational research where criticism of quantitative research and the development of qualitative methodologies
initially emerged in the most intense way. A series of studies conducted by Lacey, Hargreaves and Lambert in a
boys’ grammar school, a boys’ secondary modern school, and a girls’ grammar school in Britain in the 1960s
marked the beginning of the trend towards qualitative research in the sociology of education. Researchers
employed an ethnographic or participant observation approach, although they did also collect some quantitative
data, for instance on friendship patterns among the students. These researchers observed lessons, interviewed
both the teachers and the students, and made the most of school records. They studied the schools for a
considerable amount of time and spent plenty of months gathering data and tracking changes over all these
years.
For questions 56-61, decide whether the following statements are True (T), False (F) or Not Given (NG).
Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
56. From his experiment, Piaget concludes that logical reasoning is beyond a child’s cognitive development.
57. According to Mehan, a child’s incorrect answer may be a true indicator of his/her incompetent reasoning
rather than different perspectives.
58. Donaldson cites participants’ low commitment to the game rules as a possible explanation for their wrong
answers in the study.
59. A quantitative researcher views human social life as an entity in which behaviors are mostly described in
terms of causal relationships.
60. One major criticism of quantitative educational research is that it fails to view human life as socially
constructed.
61. Quantitative research method involves coding behaviors to a set of pre-determined themes.
Your answers:
56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61.
For questions 62-68, read the following summary and fill in each blank with NO MORE THAN THREE
WORDS taken from the passage. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
Qualitative research emerged as a response to (62) ________________ related to the quantitative method.
With the focus shifting away from experimental or statistical measurement and manipulation of (63)
________________ for the purpose of hypothesis testing, qualitative method involves the researcher recording
data to write detailed open-ended field-notes and conducting interviews in the forms of (64) ________________
with (65) ________________ that allow for rich descriptive data.
A series of studies by Lacey, Hargreaves and Lambert in the field of the (66) ________________ marked
the beginning of the shift towards qualitative design. Adopting an (67) ________________ approach, the
researchers conducted detailed observation of participants but used students’ patterns of friendship as a source
of (68) ________________.
Your answers:
62. 63. 64.
65. 66. 67.
68.

Page 5 of 12 pages
Part 3. In the passage below, seven paragraphs have been removed. For questions 69-75, read the
passage and choose from paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap. There is ONE extra paragraph
which you do not need to use. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.

A liturgy of opposites has developed in the theory of education; creativity versus routine, spontaneity versus rote
learning, innovation versus conformity. In the face of all the evidence to the contrary, educationalists go on telling
us that children learn not by conforming to some external standard, but by ‘releasing their inner potential’ and
expressing their creative skills. Hence, rote learning, facts and traditional routines are dismissed as irrelevant.
69
Imagine an educational guru who told us that nothing mattered in mathematics so much as creativity. The great
mathematicians of the past were distinguished, the guru tells us, by their imaginative powers. They were able to
break through the hide-bound rules of their predecessors, to cast aside the ordinary routines of proof, and to
take an imaginative leap to their conclusions. We should therefore be teaching our children to release their
mathematical creativity and to value spontaneity against rule-following. We all know what such a philosophy
would entail in practice – namely, ignorance.
70
Why do we think that things are so different in the case of language, literature, history and the arts? The answer
is to be found in the long tradition of woolly thinking that began with Rousseau. On the one hand, educationists
believe, there is the objective world of facts, and this we must explore through disciplined learning and the
building of theories. On the other hand, there is the subjective world of opinions, feelings and artistic urges, to be
explored through self-expression.
71
Such thinking is contradicted by the obvious fact that self-expression is not innate but acquired: the self, too, is a
social product. We do children a great wrong by withholding the discipline, the knowledge and the store of
examples that confer the art of self-expression, since, by doing so, we damage the self. The anger of many
young people leaving school is the anger of the inarticulate. The emphasis on the creative act produces
teenagers specializing in acts of destruction.
72
Of course Mozarts are few and far between, but it is all the more reason to be as disciplined as Mozart. With the
discipline, there is the chance of being creative; without it, there is no chance at all. Visit a British art school
today and you are almost certain to find an array of objects, maybe just an old coat with the artist's name tag
pinned to it – all praised and rewarded for their 'creativity' and all as dull and empty as the work of caged
chimpanzees.
73
Of course, artistic ability is not like scientific knowledge: you cannot acquire it merely by diligent study. There
comes a point where a leap of the imagination is required. If in music, art or poetry you say something that has
already been said, then you say nothing. In Ezra Pound's famous dictum, you have to 'make it new ', and that
means imprinting your words, your notes or your forms with a distinct personality and an inimitable life. But what
is so striking about the art works produced on a diet of unadulterated creativity is not that they are new and
surprising, but drawn from a repertoire of clichés already done to death by modernists, and now reduced to a
routine.
74
Real originality does not defy convention but depends on it. You can only 'make it new' when the newness is
perceivable, which means departing from conventions while at the same time affirming them. Hence originality
requires tradition if it is to make artistic sense.
75
People who have learnt poetry by rote and know how to compose the occasional sonnet may not revolutionize
the consciousness of mankind as Shakespeare did. But they are more likely to understand what great writers are
saying, are likely to live on a more exalted plane as a result of doing so, and are also able, through their life and
example, to make a positive contribution in the great war against Dullness.

Missing Paragraphs:
A. The myth that we are all instinctively creative goes hand in hand with the belief in originality as the sole
criterion of artistic merit. And, when rules and disciplines are rejected, the only proof of originality becomes
the ability to shock or surprise. Nothing that Mozart did was intended to shock his audience, or to surprise
them with some outrageous gesture. The originality of his music is inseparable from its rule-guided objectivity.

Page 6 of 12 pages
B. You can be a creative genius in mathematics only if you have acquired the discipline of mathematical proof. In
teaching science, even educationists seem prepared to admit that discipline comes first, creativity last. They
recognize that chemistry taught with a regime of pure self-expression would soon degenerate into alchemy,
just as 'creative physics' would be hard to distinguish from witchcraft.
C. But will we never learn that what really separates the great artists of the past from those who claim to be
'creative' today is rigorous education? The exhibits of such 'creative artists' as Damien Hurst and Tracey
Emin lack the skills required for real art and are shockingly banal. Shocking is apparently both the be-all and
end-all of the intention but in the long run the result is not so much shocking as dull.
D. The shibboleth of creativity has been especially counter-productive in the arts. Consider Mozart, whose ever-
fresh, ever-lucid melodies are among the most original creations of mankind. Mozart did not become a
creative genius merely by letting it all hang out, even though he had more to hang out than anyone. He was
rigorously and relentlessly schooled by his father, subjected to the ordeal of public performances, trained in
the art of memory and the grammar of the classical style.
E. But what about the rest of us? Why should we, who are not geniuses, acquire the knowledge needed by those
who are? This is a difficult question, but I like to believe that people who acquire artistic, musical or literary
skills, but who lack the divine spark, are nevertheless an addition to the common good.
F. Children write poetry before they have memorized a single line of it, dance before they have learnt a single
step, paint and daub without the faintest knowledge of figurative drawing. Grammar, spelling and punctuation
are degraded in the interests of creative self-expression.
G. Any other approach is considered 'authoritarian'. Grammar, style, art, even history, are all alleged to be
matters of opinion. Hence the purpose of education is to give children the confidence to express their
subjective attitudes to these things – subjective attitudes being all that we have.
H. Hardly an art school in our country now insists on figurative drawing, clay modelling, casting, or the mastery of
pigments – still less a knowledge of art history, or an ability to discern just why the planes of a Matisse interior
intersect at an acute angle, or the shadows of a Constable are done in yellows and browns.
Your answers:
69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75.

Part 4. For questions 76-85, read a passage on the Depression which was caused by the stock market
crash of 1929 and choose the answer A, B, C or D which fits best according to the text. Write your
answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
The American people were dismayed by the sudden proof that something had gone wrong with their
economic system, that it lacked stability and was subject to crises of unpredictable magnitude. They had
encountered hard times and temporary depressions before, and such reverses had tended for over a century to
broaden out and to become international misfortunes. But the depression that began in 1929 proved so severe,
so general, and so difficult to arrest, that it caused a “loss of nerve.”
Students of economics pointed out that periods of inflation and deflation, of “boom and bust,” had alternated
for generations. Any strong stimulus such as a war might force the economy of the Western world into high gear;
when the fighting ceased, reconstruction and a “backlog” of consumer’s orders unfulfilled in wartime might for a
time keep the machines running at full speed; but within a decade the market was likely to become satiated and
a fall in demand would then cause a recession. Adjustment and recovery were certain to come in time, and come
the sooner if a new stimulus developed. The threat of another war, or war itself, that put millions of men in
uniform and created a demand for munitions, was one such stimulus. War provided a limitless market for
expendable goods, the type of goods the machines were best fitted to supply, and solved unemployment by
creating more military and civilian jobs. Such reasoning as this brought no comfort, however, for it implied a
choice between war and depression, and the cure was worse than the disease. “Is modern industry a sick giant
that can rouse itself only to kill?” one critic asked. There was no clear answer. But the American people were not
willing to accept such a grim diagnosis and insisted that there must be some method of coordinating a supply
and demand within the framework of a peacetime economy.
The problem appeared to be as much psychological as economic. In prosperous times business expanded,
prices rose, wages increased, and the expectation that the boom would continue indefinitely tempted people to
live beyond their means. They purchased goods on credit, confident that they could meet the payments later.
The increasing prosperity, in part genuine but overstimulated by optimism and artificial elements, encouraged
farmers and manufacturers to overproduce until the supply exceeded the capacity of the market to absorb it.
Then when business confidence began to falter, and stock quotations began to drop, panic set in. Speculators
who saw their “paper profits” vanishing began to unload their securities with a disastrous effect on prices.
Dealers with overloaded shelves slashed their prices to keep their goods moving, and cancelled outstanding
orders. Manufacturers, seeing orders shrink, reduced output. All down the line the contraction of business left
employees without jobs, and lacking wages they could not meet their debts. Once started, this spiral of deflation
seemed to have no limit.
It is natural for people to blame others when misfortune strikes, and after 1929 the American people
became suddenly critical of their business leaders, who had failed to foresee or avert the swift transition from

Page 7 of 12 pages
prosperity to privation. The conviction spread that the heads of great banks and corporations, the promoters and
financiers and stockbrokers, had misled the public. Demands raised earlier in American history were revived,
demands for “cheap” money with which to pay off debts, demands that the great trusts and monopolies be
investigated, demands that the federal government intervene to correct business abuses and aid the destitute.
More and more people began to feel that the system of free business enterprises, of unregulated economic
competition, so highly praised in the 1920s, must be wrong if it could lead to crises that brought such widespread
misery and unemployment.
But President Hoover was firm in his conviction that the American economic system was fundamentally
sound and that it would be a mistake for the government to interfere unduly. Government supervision and
regulation of business, he felt, would stifle freedom and lead to government control of activities that should be
left to private initiative. “You cannot extend the mastery of the government over the daily life of people,” he
warned, “without somewhere making it master of people’s souls and thoughts.” He believed that the
government’s role should be limited to helping business itself, and to this end he supported an act (1932) which
created the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to aid ailing businesses, as well as hard-pressed states, with
government loans. Hoover also inaugurated a public works program which he hoped would effectively relieve
unemployment. But beyond such indirect measures as these he did not believe the federal government should
go. Meanwhile the burden of providing direct relief for the millions of unemployed and their families was
exhausting the resources of state and local governments and private agencies – and still the breadlines formed
as jobs and savings went.
76. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a cause of the 1929 Depression?
A. Excessive buying on credit. B. Over-optimism in economic prosperity.
C. International political unrest. D. Lack of economic stability.
77. The author would agree that war is economically beneficial in that ______.
A. it implies a choice between war and depression B. it increases aggregate demand
C. the market becomes satiated D. it solves bouts of inflation
78. According to the passage, when the stock quotations began to drop, all of the following ensued EXCEPT ______.
A. unprecedentedly increased unemployment levels
B. speculators quickly selling their shares of securities
C. unlimited deflation spiral
D. reduced business operation
79. After 1929, the following demands were raised EXCEPT ______.
A. tax reduction B. cheap money
C. intervention of the federal government to aid the poor D. investigation of trusts and monopolies
80. According to the passage, which of the following is true as a result of the Depression?
A. The value of the free enterprise system was questioned.
B. More people demanded that the government stay out of business.
C. People put more trust in business leaders.
D. The government was forced to increase taxes.
81. According to the passage, the American public ______.
A. demanded remedies for the economic crisis
B. reconciled themselves to war as a solution to the recession
C. firmly believed in economic competition
D. praised the government’s intervention to end the Depression
82. Which of the following is true about President Hoover?
A. He sincerely doubted the soundness of the American economic system.
B. He made efforts to relieve unemployment.
C. He advocated government regulation of the economy.
D. He blamed the government for exhausting national resources.
83. According to the passage, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation ______.
A. remodeled old private and government buildings
B. served as a price-regulating organization
C. granted government loans to certain businesses
D. supported the unemployed with public relief programs
84. According to the passage, the contraction of business in 1929 led to ______.
A. war fever B. increased unemployment
C. payment of debts D. skyrocketing prices
85. According to the passage, which of the following is true?
A. Demands for economic remedies were never raised again in American history.
B. Poverty persisted despite government aid.
C. The government’s economic solutions soothed the American people.
D. Familiarity with economic crises kept the American public undisturbed by the Depression.

Page 8 of 12 pages
Your answers:
76. 77. 78. 79. 80.
81. 82. 83. 84. 85.

Part 5. The passage below consists of four paragraphs marked A, B, C, and D. For questions 86-95, read
the passage and do the task that follows. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes
provided.
A. Grovestock
Grovestock has taken on a completely new guise, having reinvented itself this year in an effort to attract a more
youthful audience, where, until now, of course, the lion's share of attendees have always been in the thirty-and-
over age bracket. Indeed, it has, surprisingly, considering this is a venture into the unknown for the festival, been
able to attract a stellar line-up this year, one which is surely the envy of many a similar festival around the
country. This notwithstanding, however, the festival has failed to capture the attention or the imagination of its
intended audience. Moreover, traditional devotees have turned their backs on the event in large numbers, feeling
let down, underappreciated and ignored. On the upside, this has prompted heavy discounting of tickets and
some would say they are now a steal. Therefore, I would argue that Grovestock 2.0 is very hard to dismiss if
you're without something to do next weekend. It may be wanton in the atmosphere department if ticket uptake
doesn't improve, but the impressive programme and the minimal wallet impact make it very hard to completely
ignore – the last-minute-whim option of the week.
B. Featherline Music Fest
Rather than try to reinvent the wheel, Featherline Music Fest has remained faithful to a tried and tested formula
despite declining attendances in recent years, and this approach appears to have paid dividends because, if
advance bookings are anything to go by, it is not just hardcore fans that will be glamping in the muck at this
year's event, which looks set for a bumper turnout. Headlining the festival are newcomers to the rock scene,
Headaway. Music aficionados may be more familiar with them in their former guise as unheralded punk outcasts,
but their transition into the mainstream has been nothing short of extraordinary as they have taken the rock
scene by storm with a string of catchy anthems this year. These local gals made good are supported by a strong
line-up of somewhat lesser-known bands, which, that said, between them, can boast a not inconsiderable
repertoire of sing-along hits of their own. Audience participation will be the order of the day. Expect the decibel
levels to be very high! The only downside is ticket prices are commensurate with the expected decibel levels ...
They are also vanishing rapidly, so don't procrastinate or mull this one over too long.
C. Indie Fest
No festival does indie rock better than the eponymous Indie Fest. Not by any means to everyone's liking given
that the line-up is totally unheralded, this, however, is, to hardcore fans, the bait that continues to lure them back
annually. The core fanbase of diehard indie lovers is what keeps the cogs turning; and the fact that festival
organizers have a deft eye for talent, unearthing soon-to-be megabands as though it were as simple as prizing a
bottle open. The bottle that is Indie Fest, however, always promises to be a chaotic melange of different flavours
though (all rock true and true, of course), some of which seriously fizz and provide just the breath of fresh air the
industry needs, whilst others simply fall flat. The attraction for fans, then, is in sampling all the flavours, and
deciding which ones titillate their musical senses and which ones ought to be spat back out and confined to
anonymity and performing on the pub circuit forever more. If you want to be where the talent gets found and
found out, look no further. Tickets are keenly priced, but they come at a premium compared to what you would
normally pay to see the likes of these bands on account of the festival's reputation.
D. Retal
Given the line-up Retal can boast, it's hard to fathom why this fusion festival hasn't yet gone all commercial and
attempted to squeeze every last penny from its adoring fans. Yet pricing remains reassuringly competitive,
making this my pick of the weekend's festivals. On the one hand, you'll have the soft, dulcet tones of the likes of
Riddie Levellers serenading you with their sentimental ballads. On the other hand, hard rockers Gory Danes will
deliver you to a veritable headbanger's utopia. Indeed, some of the performers have very questionable merits for
inclusion in the rock category at all, but then Retal aims to live up to its billing as a fusion music festival, which it
does with aplomb. Although the very keenly priced tickets have been disappearing faster than a speeding bullet,
the farm Retal is hosted on has a near limitless capacity so there remains, thankfully, a generous supply of
additional bullets in the armory as it were. If you are a true music devotee, then this is one shot in the arm you
definitely need. Fans love it because it has refused to sell out to Big Money. And given what it pays performers,
Retal punches far above its weight in attracting the might of the industry. Bands typically demanding lucrative
fees come here not because they want to, but because they have to. This is truly a dying breed of festival.

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According to the writer, which festival ______ Your answers:
• still has room sufficient for a large audience? 86. _______
• does a good job in attracting big names yet offers unimpressive incentives? 87. _______
• offers performances that are incommensurate with entrance fees attendees have to pay? 88. _______
• has a knack for discovering and promoting budding rock bands? 89. _______
• used to have a number of loyal attendees? 90. _______
• is likely to produce a very intense atmosphere? 91. _______
• is seeing things looking up after times of coming to grief? 92. _______
• attracts an impressive line-up but may fail to produce an atmosphere typical of any festival? 93. _______
• welcomes a capacity audience? 94. _______
• performs wide-ranging music genres? 95. _______

IV. WRITING (60 points)

Part 1. Read the following extract and use your own words to summarise it. Your summary should be
between 100 and 120 words.
Language develops. Thought develops. But what is the relationship between those two developments? A
short answer is: important but complex and difficult to determine. Language and thought are separate in the
early stages of life. Before the child can speak he is thinking. He recognizes some significant parts of life’s reality
and tries to act on them. At the next stage, the development of a phonological system, we have seen that the
child is engaged in a complex analysis of one part of reality – the sounds made by adults – into a small set of
elements, organized by a hierarchy of categories. This is an impressive act of thinking. It precedes language and
is prerequisite for it. The development of this system is virtually complete by four years old, at least in outline, at
a stage when children are, according to cognitive psychologists, capable only of elementary thought processes.
A similar paradox arises with grammar.
We have seen the child using the hypothetic-deductive method on a formidable scale in acquiring grammar
at the age of two or three. Yet Piaget sees adolescence (12 plus) as the age at which this kind of thinking
emerges first, in an explicit form (1955). Many individuals who speak grammatically, and therefore were budding
Newtons at the age of three, hardly use these modes of thought as adults. So the thinking behind language
seems to have gone well ahead of thinking in language. Yet the thought implicit in a natural language, including
many of the concepts underlying words they hear or use, go well beyond the apparent grasp of children. In
acquiring language, then, they acquire forms of thought which go beyond what they can understand. To give just
one example, children up to the age of seven have the word ‘because’ but cannot complete ‘because’ sentences
consistently to express what adults would regard as a cause (Piaget, 1955). So insofar language is ahead of
thought, it seems a kind of pseudo-thought – like adult’s clothes on a child frame, which the child will go into.

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Part 2. The chart below shows the proportions of different learning modes planned for different regions
in the country of Fantasy by 2030. The table shows the percentages of students at different educational
levels planning to take online modes of learning in urban and mountainous regions by the same year.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where
relevant. You should write about 150 words.

Proportions of Students Taking Online Learning

Primary Lower-secondary Upper-secondary Tertiary
Urban region 38% 42% 63% 81%
Mountainous region 13% 15% 22% 37%

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Part 3. Write an essay of 350 words on the following topic.
Constructive feedback from teachers, including deserved praise and specific suggestions, helps students learn,
as well as develop positive self-esteem; to suggest the contrary can produce harmful effects.
Discuss the statement and give your opinion.
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(You may write overleaf if you need more space.)
– THE END –

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