English 12

UNIT 1: LIFE STORIES

Exercise 1. Choose the word whose underlined part is pronounced differently.
1. A. diagnose /ə/ B. achievement C. talented /∞/ D. anonymous
2. A. prosthetic /e/ B. reputation /e/ C. dedication D. respectable /i/
3. A. distinguished /s/ B. result /z/ C. generosity D. respectable
Exercise 2. Choose the word whose main stress is placed differently.
4. A. perse’verance B. ex’perience C. dedi’cation D. influ’ential
5. A. gene’rosity B. hospi’tality C. encyclo’pedia D. crea’tivity
Exercise 3. Choose the best answer A, B, C or D to complete the sentences.
- historic: important in history
- historical: relating to history
6. Before passing away, President Ho Chi Minh left the Vietnamese people with the ________ testament.
A. important B. essential C. historic D. historical
7. Her ________ to medicine was so great that she had little time for anything else.
A. importance B. dedication C. emphasis D. reputation
8. Tran Hung Dao was a great ________to lure the enemy to enter deeply into his land, then attacked to
destroy them.
A. strategy B. strategist C. soldier D. king
9. In spite of having a peasant________, Nguyen Hue had proved that he was really an excellent general,
only gained victories.
A. situation B. experience C. condition D. background
10. In 1921, Phan Boi Chau studied socialism and the Soviet Union in ________ assistance from the Soviet
Union or socialist groups.
A. hope to gain B. hope of gaining C. the hope of gaining D. the hope to gain
11. Bill Gates’ ________in donating large sums of money towards welfare activities is remarkable.
A. generosity B. politeness C. wealth D. talent
12. Nguyen Hue invited ________scholars at that time; Nguyen Thiep, Tran Van Ky and Ngo Thoi Nham.
A. Ꝋ B. that C. some D. the
13. At first, Microsoft had ________ hyphen in the name “Micro-soft”, ________combination of
microcomputer and ________software.
A. a-the- a B. a-a- Ꝋ C. the-the- Ꝋ D. Ꝋ-a-the
14. Dr, Jane Luu ________the huge telescope at the University of Hawaii while she ________for any bodies
beyond Neptune.
A. was using- searched B. used- had searched
C. used-was searching D. had used-searched
15. I first met her four years ago when we ________at a middle school.
A. had been studying B. are studying C. have been studying D. were studying
16. This school has an excellent ________in the community.
A. image B. reputation = fame C. name D. opinion
17. He seems like a ________businessman, but he has caused some personal scandals.
A. respecting B. respectful C. respectably D. respectable
18. Le Loi used the ________war, moving from little to large scale.
A. mid-term B. short-term C. long-term D. half term
19. Nguyen Hue, with his genius ________, created a people’s army, no matter how small or large.
A. leading B. leader C. lead D. leadership
20. Being stormy and sudden were the special characteristics in the battle ________of Nguyen Hue.
A. method B. approach C. strategy D. access
21. When his mother showed him a newspaper article about a man dealing with a severe disability, Vujicic
realized he wasn’t ________in his struggles.
A. unique B. lonely C. alone D. only
22. As well as being a successful actor, Clint Eastwood is a ___adj _film director.
A. talent (n) B. talented (adj) C. distinguish  distinguished D.
respectful
23. ________Emperor Quang Trung was ________second emperor of ________Tay Son Dynasty, reigning
from 1788 to 1792.
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A. The-a-the B. Ꝋ - a-the C. Ꝋ-the-the D. Ꝋ-the Ꝋ
24. Bill Gates was______ middle child of William II, Gates II, ______prominent Seattle lawyer, and Mary
Gates, who worked as ______teacher before she had children.
A. the-a-a B. a-a-a C. the-the-a D. the-the-the
25. When Jane Luu______ as a graduate student at MIT, David Jewitt ______there as a professor.
A. enrolled – was working B. had enrolled- was working
C. was enrolling-had worked D. enrolled-has worked
Exercise 4. Choose the word or phrase among A, B, C or D that best fits the blank space in the
following passage.
Alexandre Yersin was born in 1863 in Switzerland, and died on March 1, 1943 in Nha Trang,
Vietnam. He studied medicine in Paris and Berlin.
Yersin left Europe in 1890 to (26.) ____________as a physician aboard steamships operating
(27.) ____________ the coast of Indochina and soon began his four-year exploration of the central region.
He (28.) ____________ the sources of the Dong Nai River and explored the Lam Vien Plateau, where he
(29.) ____________ that a town, the future Da Lat, be built. In 1892 he joined the colonial (30.)
____________and was sent to Hong Kong in 1894, where he discovered the plague bacillus (31.)
____________studying an outbreak of plague in China.
The next year Yersin (32.) ____________ a laboratory at Nha Trang, later the Pasteur Institute of
Nha Trang. There he prepared serums against plague in human beings and cattle and studied cattle diseases,
cholera, and smallpox. To finance the laboratory, he (33.) ____________ the cultivation of corn (maize),
rice, and coffee and introduced the rubber tree to Indochina. In 1903, he founded a medical (34.)
____________ in Hanoi but returned to Nha Trang, (10) ____________ he introduced a source of quinine.
26. A. serve B. serve as C. work D. work to
27. A. away B. from C. in D. off
28. A. came up B. discovered C. invented D. carried out
29. A. recommended B. offered C. agreed D. required
30. A. family doctors B. health treatments C. health services D. public office
31. A. before B. while C. during D. since
32. A. set B. found C. established D. came up with
33. A. made B. prepared C. promised D. undertook
34. A. history B. profession C. school D. care
35. A. where B. when C. which D. that
Exercise 5. Read the passage and choose the correct answer A, B, C or D for each question.
Nguyen Binh Khiem was a Vietnamese administrator, educator, poet, and sage. As a poet throughout his
life, he composed many poems in Chinese and Nom that have survived to this day. He is referred to by
several names: Hanh Phu, Bach Van cu si (White Cloud Hermit) and Trang Trinh.
Born in Co Am village in 1491, he got the teaching from the second-rank doctor Luong Dac Bang and
passed the official government examination in 1535, ranking number one in the country. This was a period
of great instability in Viet Nam which may explain the reason why he took the exam at such a late age. He
served in the Mac Dynasty court for just seven year until 1542 when he resigned after his official complaints
about royal court corruptions were ignored. He then returned to his native village and opened a school.
Among his students were Phung Khac Khoan (a diplomat), Luong Huu Khanh, Nguyen Du (the author of
Truyen ky man luc).
Nguyen Binh Khiem became a person much sought after by many leaders during that time of upheaval, civil
war, the Mac collapse, and the rise of the Trinh Lords and Nguyen Lords. Both Trinh Kiem and Nguyen
Hoang sought his advice in their pursuit of power. To the former, he gave the advice of being the real power
behind the restored Le Dynasty. To the latter, he advised building a base of power in the undeveloped south.
Both men followed these suggestions, resulting in a political and military division of Viet Nam that would
last for 200 years. As a result of this sage advice, Nguyen Binh Khiem gained a reputation as someone who
could foretell the future. Some of his prophecies were of a Delphic nature as they were ambiguous and could
be read in several ways.
36. The reason why he took the official government examination at a late age was that _________.
     A. there was no examination before that         
     B. he waited for the Mac Dynasty to rule the country
     C. the country went through many conflicts    
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     D. he was busy composing poems
37. In 1542, he resigned from the royal court because _________.
     A. the royal court didn't pay attention to his complaints
     B. the royal court ignored his suggestions developing the country
     C. he was replaced by his talented students
     D. there were corruptions in the royal court
38. All of the following are true about the period after he resigned from the royal court EXCEPT that
_________.                                                                                                                                                   .
     A. he trained some famous scholars for the country
     B. the kings or lords often came to him for advice
     C. he composed poems and some prophecies
     D. he paid no attention to politics and ignored it
39. We can infer from the passage that _________.                                                                           
     A. he asked Trinh Kiem to become the king of the restored Le Dynasty
     B. he foresaw the division of Viet Nam between the Trinh Lords and Nguyen Lords
     C. he advised Nguyen Hoang to live in peace in the undeveloped south
     D. he made the Mac Dynasty collapse with his prophecies and influence
40. His prophecies _________.                                                                                                 .
     A. are accurate all the time                        
     B. can be understood in several ways
     C. can give us good advice about the future  
      D. contain reliable information about the future
Exercise 6. Choose the word or phrase among A, B, C or D that best fits the blank space in the
following passage.
PATRIOTIC POET NGUYEN DINH CHIEU
Nguyen Dinh Chieu was a Vietnamese poet who was known (41.)_________ his patriotism and anti-
colonial writings against the French. His work, Luc Van Tien, remains one of the most celebrated (42.)
_________in Vietnamese literature.
In 1843, he passed high school graduation of Gia Dinh School and left home for Hue to join the second-
degree examination. However, when (43.) _________that his mother was dead, he had to come back to the
hometown. On the journey south, he contracted an eye infection and was soon completely blind. (44.)
_________his disability, he opened a small school in Gia Dinh and was soon in high (45.) _________as
both a teacher and a medical practitioner.
Long after the collapse of the southern resistance, he (46.) _________wife a small group of students in Ben
Tre. He continued to write poetry despite his works (47.) _________by the French regime. He (48.)
_________to cooperate with the colonial system. When an official of the French authorities offered him the
land that had been taken from his family plot in Gia Dinh, he was (49.) _________to have replied, “When
our common land, our country, has been lost, how is it possible to have (50.) _________land”?
41. A. as B. with C. through D. for
42. A. work B. works C. poets D. arts
43. A. to hear B. he would hear C. hearing D. to be heard
44. A. In spite of B. Due to C. Owing to D. Though
45. A. requirement B. order C. need D. demand
46. A. kept B. remained C. maintained D. continued
47. A. banning B. be banned C. having been banned D. had been banned
48. A. refused B. rejected C. denied D. objected
49. A. responded B. reported C. told D. reacted
50.A . original B. single C. personal D. individual

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