SỞ GD&ĐT VĨNH PHÚC KỲ THI CHỌN HỌC SINH GIỎI LỚP 12

CHƯƠNG TRÌNH THPT CHUYÊN NĂM HỌC 2019-2020

ĐỀ CHÍNH THỨC ĐỀ THI MÔN: TIẾNG ANH
Thời gian làm bài: 180 phút, không kể thời gian giao đề.
(Đề thi có 10 trang)

A. LISTENING (Each recording will be played twice)

Part 1. You will hear three different extracts. For questions 1-6, choose the answer A, B or C which
fits best according to what you hear.
There are two questions for each extract.
Extract 1
You hear an artist being interviewed.
1. What happened to the artist?
A. His sculpture was never put in the place that he’d designed it for.
B. A piece of his work was destroyed.
C. A woman bought one of his sculptures illegally.
2. Why was the artist angry?
A. No one consulted him about the removal of the sculpture.
B. He wasn’t paid enough money for the sculpture.
C. Because artists are generally treated badly in Wales.
Extract 2
You hear a reporter interviewing a scientist who has just completed an experiment.
3. What do we learn about the jellyfish the scientist created?
A. it fulfilled all the criteria to be classed as a new life form
B. it was created using only synthetic parts
C. it relied on an animal heart for movement
4. What does the scientist say is the next step in his project?
A. to find a means of giving the life form a degree of intelligence
B. to train the experimental life form to seek energy and food
C. to test the experimental life form’s brain capacity and intelligence
Extract 3
You hear a professor talking about getting reactions from his students.
5. What is the professor’s opinion about surveys?
A. They are less useful than his colleagues think.
B. They are a complete waste of time.
C. They cannot elicit a response from students.
6. The professor implies that his students
A. are reluctant to communicate.
B. need feedback on their performance.
C. know he values their opinions.

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Part 2. You are going to hear a conversation about an accident. Decide whether the following
statements are true (T) or false (F).
TRUE FALSE
1. The accident happened during the holidays.

2. His initial assessment of the injury was optimistic.

3. He had to have several stitches the following day.

4. He didn’t see the doctor until the next morning.

5. The speaker hit his chin against the side of a car.

Part 3. You will hear a journalist talking about alphabetism, which he calls a new type of
discrimination. As you listen, complete the notes for questions 1 – 9.
Types of discrimination mentioned: racism; sexism; 1._______________ ; alphabetism. Alphabetism
= discrimination against those whose surnames begin with a letter in the 2.__________ of the
alphabet.
Number of US Presidents before George W Bush whose names began:
with a letter in the first half of the alphabet 3._______________
with a letter in the second half of the alphabet 4._______________
Other groups of people who illustrate the same phenomenon include the world’s top three
5._______________ and the five richest men in the world.
Children whose names are at the beginning of the alphabet are made to sit at the 6._______________
of the class in infant school and so get more attention from the teacher.
Lists of people at graduation ceremonies, for job interviews, etc. are usually drawn up in alphabetic
order and by the end the audience, interviewers, etc. have 7._______________.
What can women do to change this? 8._______________.
One consolation for those whose names begin with a letter in the ‘wrong’ half of the alphabet is that
such people are better at 9._______________.
B. VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR
Part 1. Choose the correct answer (A, B, C, or D) to each of the following questions.
1. _________ is a belief generally held by people who live in colder climates.
A. That weather affects a person’s mood B. Weather affects a person’s mood
C. A person’s mood is affected by weather D. Although a person’s mood is affected by weather
2. I didn’t suspect anything at first, but when I noticed her going through the office drawers I began to
smell _________.
A. a rat B. a pig C. a culprit D. a thief
3. He had such a bad stomach that he was _________ with pain.
A. bent down B. folded over C. snapped off D. doubled up
4. _________, scientists have greatly increased the yield of crops such as corn, rice, and wheat.
A. As using the laws of genetics B. Using the laws of genetics
C. The laws of genetics D. The laws of genetics are to be used
5. Mr. Smith ate his breakfast in great ________ so as not to miss the bus to Liverpool.
A. speed B. pace C. rush D. haste
6. It takes time to get a financial system up and ________ after the introduction of a new currency.
A. walking B. proceeding C. running D. going
7. Life is so full of both good fortune and misfortunes that you have to learn to take the rough with the
_______.
A. smooth B. ready C. calm D. tough
8. Stephen really lost his________ when his dental appointment was cancelled yet again.
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A. head B. voice C. calm D. rag

9. There's still a _________ of hope that a peace agreement can be reached.

A. reason B. set C. shred D. piece
10. They threw petrol on to the bonfire and the sudden _________ lit up the whole garden
A. glow B. twinkle C. spark D. flare
11. Try to dress yourself with your arm in a __________is almost impossible.
A. sling B. bandage C. regimes D. fixation
12. She had to take out a bank loan when I started up in business and it took her two years to pay it___.
A. out B. up C. over D. off
13. A: “I’ve had a _______ pain in my side all day.”
B: “It’s probably indigestion.”
A. whimpering B. nagging C. moaning D. muttering
14. I know budgets are tight, but where safety is concerned I don’t think we should cut _______.
A. rounds B. ways C. corners D. lines
15. I’m opting out of the _______ race and going to live on a small farm in the countryside.
A. horse B. dog C. rat D. cat and mouse
16. Many diseases that used to be considered ___ of mankind are now easily treatable with antibiotics.
A. scourges B. tortures C. blights D. thorns
17. Contact sports, like American football, require athletes to wear protective _____ to prevent injury.
A. trophy B. gear C. uniform D. costume
18. After thanking everyone for their moral support, the now aged actress went on _______ the most
significant moments of her bright career.
A. having recounted B. to recount C. to have recounted D. recounting
19. You should bear in mind that children of tender years are notoriously _______.
A. impressive B. impervious C. impersonal D. impressionable
20. The film is _______ released at the end of next year.
A. due to be B. on the point of being C. on the verge of being D. about to be
Part 2. Read the passage below which contains 10 mistakes. Identify the mistakes and write the
corrections. There is an example at the beginning.
Example:
Line Mistake Correction
1 has have

LINE A MODERN-DAY PROBLEM

1 In the hustle and bustle of today’s hectic world, all of us, without exception, has to contend
2 with some level of stress. Obviously, the source and amount of stress are relatively to the
3 individual. Just as causes and quantities of stress are subject to personal factors, so is the way
4 in that a person deals with it. It is a well-known fact that some people flourish when faced
5 with a potential stress-causing task or situation. On another hand, the majority of people are
6 adversely affected when confront with a serious dilemma. Abnormal levels of stress can be a
7 serious healthy hazard and may prove detrimental to one’s physical health. Stress is said to
8 be the culprit in a high percent of heart problems and stomach disorders. Even certain types
9 of cancer are, reportedly, linked to stress. Knowing that stress is a modern-day malady what
10 we all, in a greater or lesser extent, suffer from, has prompted many people to begin looking
11 seriously at ways of controlling stress. Due to the inevitable factor that stress will always
12 play a part in our lives, it is of paramount important that strategies of stress management be

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 found.

Part 3. Supply the correct form of the words in brackets.

The Mayas developed the only pre-Columbian writing in the Americas and devised an intricate
astronomy to chart the movements of the heavens. Archaeologists have been (1. MYSTERY)
_________ as to why their civilization seems to have collapsed abruptly in the ninth century, resulting
in the (2. ABANDON) _____ of flourishing cities. However, a team of Mexican and American
archaeologists have recently (3. EARTH) ________ a monumental art work that may give some clues
to their sudden (4. APPEAR) ________. While digging at Palenque, in the Yucatan peninsula, the
researchers (5. COVER) ______ a bench-like throne more than 2.8m wide and 1.7m deep in
vermilion-painted limestone. The archaeologists say the grandeur of the throne and the (6. SPACE)
______ of the palace that houses it indicate that the last rulers of Palenque were more ambitious and
(7. POWER) ________ than had once been thought. The throne itself was built in about AD760 by
one of the last Mayan rulers and is adorned with at least 200 hieroglyphs and six sculptured portraits.
The experts hope that once the (8. SCRIBE) _______ have been deciphered, something which could
take time, they may disclose the (9. ACHIEVE) ________ and aspirations of the Mayas in the
decades before their demise and lead to a better (10. STAND) _________ of the reasons for their
decline.

C. READING
Part 1. Read the following passage and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.
OK?
The word OK is ubiquitous in modern English but its origins remain (1) ______ in mystery.
Over the years, many theories have been (2) ______ regarding its derivation but none of them is (3)
______ convincing. The first recorded written use of OK was in 1839, when it appeared in a
newspaper article in Boston, Massachusetts. There was a (4) ______ for wacky acronyms at the time,
just as today's text messages use things like 'LOL', and OK allegedly originated as a misspelling of All
Correct. But (5)______ many of these acronyms flourished briefly and then gradually (6) _______ out
of use, OK has proved to be remarkably (7) _______. It first reached England in 1870, where it
appeared in the words of a popular song, and today is in (8) _______ use across the English-speaking
world. As part of a phrase ' …. rules OK', it has been a mainstay of urban graffiti since the 1930s and
in 1969 it had the (9) ______ of being the first word spoken on the moon. In short, it's a (10) _______
useful word.

1. A. shrouded B. smothered C. clothed D. draped

2. A. laid out B. put forward C. drawn up D. brought about
3. A. widely B. mainly C. wholly D. largely
4. A. hype B. craze C. rage D. whim
5. A. despite B. albeit C. whereas D. providing
6. A. slipped B. faded C. crept D. strayed
7. A. resolute B. stalwart C. steadfast D. resilient
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8. A. staunch B. relentless C. durable D. constant
9. A. credit B. pride C. honour D. acclaim
10. A. phenomenally B. ordinarily C. conclusively D. controversially

Part 2. Fill in the blanks with the words which best fit each gap. Use only ONE word in each space.
Getting ready for Mars
The 'Mars 500 project' was an experiment that simulated a return mission to Mars. Spending 18
months in a sealed facility in Moscow (1) ______ access to natural light or fresh air, six men were
monitored as they attended to their daily duties. A study into how each of (2) ______ coped with the
psychological and (3) ______ constraints of the mission has found that there were wide differences in
their wake-sleep patterns. For example, although most of the (4) ______began to sleep for longer
periods as the mission progressed and boredom set in, one individual slept progressively less, resulting
in him becoming chronically sleep-deprived towards the end of the (5) ______ . Identifying bad
sleepers could be important on a real Mars mission, during (6) ______ people are required to be
constantly alert even when days are tediously similar. Researchers warn that for any (7) ______
heading to Mars, exciting as the trip might initially seem, there could be problems with stress brought
on by the monotony of routine. However, they also report that (8)______ some personal tensions
between crew members, there was overall harmony within the group.
Part 3. You are going to read an extract from a book. Seven paragraphs have been removed from
the extract. Choose from the paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap (1-7). There is one extra
paragraph which you do not need to use.
https://zim.vn/luyen-thi-chung-chi-cambridge-phuong-phap-lam-bai-gapped-text-trong-fce-cae-
cpe/
THE FOOTBALL CLUB CHAIRMAN
Bryan Richardson greeted me warmly, and ushered me into his modest office, somewhat larger
than the others along the corridor, but without pretensions of any kind. He returned to his desk, which
had two phones and a mobile on it, and a lot of apparently unsorted papers, offered me a chair, and
said it was nice to see me again. I rather doubt he remembered me at all, but it had the effect of
making me feel a little less anxious.
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‘I want to talk to you about an idea I have,’ I said. ‘I have supported this club since the 1970s,
and I’m starting to get frustrated by watching so much and knowing so little.’ He gazed at me with a
degree of interest mixed with incomprehension. ‘What I mean,’ I added, ‘is that every football fan is
dying to know what it is really like, what’s actually going on, yet all we get to see is what happens on
the field.’
2

And I didn’t wish to be fobbed off. ‘They all make it worse, not better. They all purvey gossip
and rumours, and most of what they say turns out to be either uninteresting or incorrect. Your average
supporter ends up in the dark most of the time.’
3

‘Now that,’ I said, ‘is just the sort of thing I want to know about. I’d like to write a book about
the club this coming season, to know about the deals, the comings and goings, all the factors involved.
To get to know how a Premiership football club actually works.’ As I said this, I feared that it was a
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futile request, but I’d drawn a little hope from the fact that he had just been so open, as if he had
already decided to consider the project. ‘I want to know about buying and selling players, how the
finances work, to go down to the training ground, travel with the team, talk to the players and the
manager.’
4

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 So I continued with it. ‘Let me tell you a little about myself.’ He leaned back to make himself
comfortable, sensing that this might take a while. ‘By training I’m an academic. I came here from
America in the 1960s, got a doctorate in English at Oxford, then taught in the English Department at
Warwick University for fifteen years. Now I run my own business, dealing in rare books and
manuscripts in London, and do some freelance writing. But I’m not a journalist.’
5

I was starting to babble now, and as I spoke I was aware of how foolish all this must be
sounding to him. At one point he put his hands quietly on his lap, under the desk, and I had the
distinct, if paranoid, impression that he was ringing some sort of hidden alarm, and that three orange-
shirted stewards would shortly come in and escort me from the ground (By Order of the Chairman).
6

‘But a book is certainly a good idea,’ he said. ‘Let me think it over and I’ll get back to you.’
He stood up and we shook hands. ‘I’ll be in touch,’ he said. And a few weeks later, in mid-August, he
was. ‘There’s a great story here,’ he said. ‘Go ahead and do it next season. I’ll introduce you to the
people up here at the club. Go everywhere, talk to everybody, you’ll find it fascinating.’ I was
surprised, and delighted, but tried not to gush. ‘Thank you,’ I said. ‘It’s very open-minded of you.’
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‘Yes, sure,’ he said. ‘But I mean something more than that, something more complicated.’ ‘What’s
that? I asked. He smiled. ‘You’ll see.’
A The disappointment must have registered on my face, because he quickly added: ‘I
came to all this relatively late in my career, and it’s a fascinating business. I find it more so all
the time, and I don’t have any doubt that people would be interested to read an account of it.’
B ‘We’ve got nothing to hide,’ he said, ‘but you’ll be surprised by what you learn. It’s an
amazingly emotional business.’ ‘It must be,’ I said, ‘the supporters can see that. So many of the
games are like an emotional rollercoaster. Sometimes the whole season is.’
C He nodded gently. ‘Good,’ he said firmly. ‘That’s part of the point,’ I went on. ‘I want
to write about the club from the point of view of the supporters, a sort of fan’s eye view. Getting
behind the scenes is every fan’s dream - whether it’s here or somewhere else. I’ve never written
anything like this, although I have written a couple of books. And I am trained, as an academic,
in habits of analysis, in trying to figure out how things work. And I’m a supporter of the club, so
I don’t think there is anything to fear.’
D As I was speaking, the mobile phone rang, and he answered it with an apologetic
shrug. A brief and cryptic one-sided conversation ensued, with obscure references to hotels and
phone numbers. When he hung up, he explained: ‘We’re trying to sign a full-back. Good player.
But there are three agents involved, and two continental sides want to sign him, so we’ve got
him hidden in a hotel. If we can keep them away from him for another couple of days, he’ll
sign.’
E He considered this for a moment. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘there is the Club Call line, the
match-day programmes, and the articles in the local and national papers. There’s lots of
information about.’ He sounded like a politician trying to claim for his party the moral authority
of open government, while at the same time giving nothing away.
F Not at all. ‘It’s funny you should ask,’ he said, ‘because you’re the second person this
week who has come in with a request to write a book about the club. And I’ve just been
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 approached by the BBC with a proposal to do a six-part documentary about the club. ‘Are you
going to let them do it?’ I asked. ‘I don’t think,’ he said wryly, ‘that a six-part series on what a
nice club Coventry City is would make good television.’
G ‘So, what can I do for you?’ He made it sound as if he were interested. Poised and well
dressed, though without foppishness, he had that indefinable polish that one often observes in
people of wealth or celebrity. By polish I do not mean good manners, though that frequently
accompanies it, but something more tangible: a kind of glow, as if the rich and famous applied
some mysterious ointment (available only to themselves) every morning, and then buffed their
faces to a healthy sheen.
H There, I’d done it. The worst that he could do was to tell me to get lost. Part of me, to
tell the truth, would have been just a little relieved. But he didn’t do anything. He sat quite still,
listening, letting me make my pitch.
Part 4. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.
(https://ieltsdata.org/a-history-of-fingerprinting/) hoặc (https://mini-ielts.com/)
A story of Fingerprinting
A. To detective, the answers lie at the end of our fingers. Fingerprinting offers an accurate and
infallible means of personal identification. The ability to identify a person from a mere fingerprint is a
powerful tool in the fight against crime. It is the most commonly used forensic evidence, often
outperforming other methods of identification. These days, older methods of ink fingerprinting, which
could take weeks, have given way to newer, faster techniques like fingerprint laser scanning, but the
principles stay the same. No matter which way you collect fingerprint evidence, every single person’s
print is unique. So, what makes our fingerprints different from our neighbor’s?
B. A good place to start is to understand what fingerprints are and how they are created. A fingerprint
is the arrangement of skin ridges and furrows on the tips of the fingers. This ridged skin develops fully
during foetal development, as the skin cells grow in the mother’s womb. These ridges are arranged into
patterns and remain the same throughout the course of a person’s life. Other visible human
characteristics, like weight and height, change over time whereas fingerprints do not. The reason why
every fingerprint is unique is that when a baby’s genes combine with environmental influences, such
as temperature, it affects the way the ridges on the skin grow. It makes the ridges develop at different
rates, buckling and bending into patterns. As a result, no two people end up having the same
fingerprints. Even identical twins possess dissimilar fingerprints.
C. It is not easy to map the journey of how the unique quality of the fingerprint came to be
discovered. The moment in history it happened is not entirely clear. However, the use of fingerprinting
can be traced back to some ancient civilizations, such as Babylon and China, where thumbprints were
pressed onto clay tablets to confirm business transactions. Whether people at this time actually realized
the full extent of how fingerprints were important for identification purposes is another matter
altogether. One cannot be sure if the act was seen as a means to confirm identity or a symbolic gesture
to bind a contract, where giving your fingerprint was like giving your word.
D. Despite this uncertainty, there are those who made a significant contribution towards the analysis of
fingerprinting. History tells us that a 14th century Persian doctor made an early statement that no two
fingerprints are alike. Later, in the 17th century, Italian physician Marcello Malpighi studied the
distinguishing shapes of loops and spirals in fingerprints. In his honor, the medical world later named a
layer of skin after him. It was, however, an employee for the East India Company, William Herschel,
who came to see the true potential of fingerprinting. He took fingerprints from the local people as a
form of signature for contracts, in order to avoid fraud. His fascination with fingerprints propelled him
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to study them for the next twenty years. He developed the theory that fingerprints were unique to an
individual and did not change at all over a lifetime. In 1880 Henry Faulds suggested that fingerprints
could be used to identify convicted criminals. He wrote to Charles Darwin for advice, and the idea was
referred on to Darwin’s cousin, Sir Francis Galton. Galton eventually published an in-depth study of
fingerprints science in 1892.

E. Although the fact that each person has a totally unique fingerprints pattern had been well
documented and accepted for a long time, this knowledge was not exploited for criminal identification
until the early 20th century. In the past, branding, tattooing and maiming had been used to mark
criminal for what he was. in some countries, thieves would have their hands cut off. France branded
criminals with the fleur-de-lis symbol. The Romans tattooed mercenary soldiers to stop them from
becoming deserters.

F. For many years police agencies in the Western world were reluctant to use fingerprinting much
preferring the popular method of the time, the Bertillon System, where dimensions of certain body
parts were recorded to identify a criminal. The turning point was in 1903 when a prisoner by the name
of Will West was admitted into Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. Amazingly, Will had almost the
very same prison, whose name happened to be William West. It was only their fingerprints that could
tell them apart. From that point on, fingerprinting became the standard for criminal identification.

G. Fingerprinting was useful in identifying people with history of crime and who were listed on a
database. However, in situations where the perpetrator was not on the database and a crime had no
witnesses, the system fell short. Fingerprint chemistry is a new technology that can work alongside
traditional fingerprinting to find more clues than ever before. From organic compounds left behind on
a print, a scientist can tell if the person is a child, an adult, a mature person or a smoker, and much
more. It seems, after all these years, fingers continue to point the way.
Question 1-7. Choose the correct headings (from i to x) for paragraphs A- G from the list of
headings below.
List of headings
i. Key people that made a difference 1. Paragraph A ______________
ii. An alternative to fingerprinting
2. Paragraph B ______________
iii. The significance of prints
iv. How to identify a criminal 3. Paragraph C ______________
v. Patterns in the making 4. Paragraph D ______________
vi. Family connections
5. Paragraph E ______________
vii. Exciting new developments
viii. A strange coincidence 6. Paragraph F ______________
ix. Punishing a criminal
7. Paragraph G ______________
x. An uncertain past

Question 8-10. Complete the sentences. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage
for each answer.

8. Unlike other _________________________________ that you can see, fingerprints never change.

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9. Although genetically the same, ____________________________ do not share the same
fingerprints.

10. A fingerprint was a substitute for a ___________________________________ in Indian contracts.

Question 11-15. Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading above.
Write

TRUE If the statement agrees with the information

FALSE If the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN If there is no information on this

______________ 11. Fingerprinting is the only effective method for identifying criminals.
_

______________ 12. The ridges and patterns that make up fingerprints develop before birth.
_

______________ 13. Malpighi conducted his studies in Italy.

_

______________ 14. Roman soldiers were tattooed to prevent them from committing violent
_ crimes.

______________ 15. Fingerprint chemistry can identify if a fingerprint belongs to an elderly

_ person.

D. WRITING

Part 1. Read the following extract and use your own words to summarize it. Your summary should
be about 80 - 100 words long. You MUST NOT copy the original.

TOEFL® Reading Test 2

( )- link:
https://www.examenglish.com/TOEFL/TOEFL_reading2.htm
Smart Grid technology basically involves the application of a computer system to the
electricity network.  The computer system can be used to collect information about supply and demand
and improve engineer's ability to manage the system.  With better information about electricity
demand, the network will be able to increase the amount of electricity delivered per unit generated,
leading to potential reductions in fuel needs and carbon emissions.  Moreover, the computer system
will assist in reducing operational and maintenance costs.
Smart Grid technology offers great benefits to the consumer.  They will be able to collect real-
time information on their energy use for each appliance.  Varying tariffs throughout the day will give
customers the incentive to use appliances at times when supply greatly exceeds demand, leading to
great reductions in bills.  For example, they may use their washing machines at night.  Smart meters
can also be connected to the internet or telephone system, allowing customers to switch appliances on
or off remotely.  Furthermore, if houses are fitted with the apparatus to generate their own power,
appliances can be set to run directly from on-site power source, and any excess can be sold to the grid.

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 Although Smart Technology is still in its infancy, pilot schemes to promote and test it are
already underway.  Consumers are currently testing the new smart meters which can be used in their
homes to manage electricity use.  There are also a number of demonstrations being planned to show
how the smart technology could practically work, and trials are in place to test the new electrical
infrastructure.  It is likely that technology will be added in 'layers', starting with 'quick win' methods
which will provide initial carbon savings, to be followed by more advanced systems at a later date. 
Cities are prime candidates for investment into smart energy, due to the high population density and
high energy use.  It is here where Smart Technology is likely to be promoted first, utilising a range of
sustainable power sources, transport solutions and an infrastructure for charging electrically powered
vehicles.  The infrastructure is already changing fast.  By the year 2050, changes in the energy supply
will have transformed our homes, our roads and our behavior.

Part 2.
The diagram below shows the stages a company should go through before launching a product
globally. Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make
comparisons where relevant.

Task 3. Write an essay of about 300-350 words on the following topic.

In recent years, there has been growing interest in the relationship between inequality and
personal achievement. Some people believe that individuals can achieve more in more egalitarian

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societies. Others believe that high levels of personal achievement are possible only if individuals are
free to succeed or fail according to their individual merits.

What is your view of the relationship between equality and personal success?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

______The End______

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