HỘI CÁC TRƯỜNG THPT CHUYÊN KỲ THI CHỌN HỌC SINH GIỎI

KHU VỰC DUYÊN HẢI, ĐỒNG BẰNG BẮC BỘ LẦN THỨ XV, NĂM 2024
TRƯỜNG THPT CHUYÊN HẠ LONG, QUẢNG NINH MÔN: TIẾNG ANH - LỚP 10
Thời gian làm bài: 180 phút (không kể thời gian giao
Ngày thi: 15 tháng 7 năm 2024
ĐÁP ÁN ĐỀ ĐỀ XUẤT

A. LISTENING (50 points):

Part 1. Complete the notes below. Write ONE WORD AND/ OR A NUMBER for each answer.
(10 points – 2 points for each correct answer)
1. harbour/ 2. bridge 3. 3.30/ three 4. Rose/ rose 5. sign
harbor thirty/

Part 2. Listen to the recording and decide whether the following statements are True (T) or False
(F). (10 points – 2 points for each correct answer)
1. TRUE 2. FALSE 3. FALSE 4. TRUE 5. TRUE

Part 3. You will hear a discussion in which two biologists, Ian Cartwright and Angela Sharpe,
talk about conservation and the public's perception of it. Choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which
fits best according to what you hear. (10 points – 2 points for each correct answer)
1. B 2. A 3. D 4. B 5. C

Part 4. Listen to part of a radio program about sleep and complete the following summary. Write
NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS taken from the recording for each blank.
(20 points – 2 points for each correct answer)
16. tangled and unhelpful 17. entirely implacable
18. mania 19. defiant and cavalier
20. unforgivable errors 21. vindictive and sloppy
22. smaller, furry mammal 23. know and lament
24. active reasoning 25. weepy nap

B. LEXICO – GRAMMAR (40 points)

Part 1. Part 1. For questions 26-55, choose the best option A, B, C, or D to complete the
following sentences and write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided on
the answer sheet. (30 points – 1 point/a correct answer)
26. C 27. B 28. C 29. D 30. C 31. C 32. A 33. D 34. D 35. B
36. A 37. C 38. A 39. A 40. B 41. A 42. B 43. A 44. C 45. A
46. B 47. A 48. B 49. C 50. D 51. A 52. C 53. A 54. B 55. B
Part 2 For questions 56-65, fill each gap with the correct form of the words in brackets. Write
your answer in the boxes provided on the answer sheet. (10 points – 1 point/a correct answer)
56. deservedly 61. solitary
57. majestic 62. crossbred
58. underestimated 63. fatality
59. outcry 64. unfailingly
60. unfazed 65. entourage
C. READING (60 points)
Part 1. For questions 66-75, read the following passage and decide which option (A, B, C, or D)
best fits each gap. Write your answers in corresponding numbered boxes. (15 points)
(15 points – 1,5 point/a correct answer)
66. B 67. C 68. D 69. A 70. D
71. B 72. C 73. A 74. D 75. B
Part 2. For questions 76-85, fill each of the following numbered blanks with ONE suitable word and
write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes. (15 points)
(15 points – 1,5 point/a correct answer)
76. not 77. taken 78. does 79. or 80. rather
81. changes 82. as 83. aware 84. succumbing 85. focusing
Part 3. For questions 86-95, read the following passage and circle the best answer to each of the
following questions. Write your answers in corresponding numbered boxes provided. (15 points)
(15 points – 1,5 point/a correct answer)
86. B 87. C 88. D 89. B 90. B 91. D 92. C 93. D 94. B 95. C
Part 4. For questions 96-105, read the passage and do the following tasks. Write your answers in
the corresponding numbered boxes. (15 points)
(15 points – 1,5 point/a correct answer)
96. Space X 97. US scientists 98. Nearly Ready 99. safety 100. UN’s 1967 treaty
101. B 102. F 103. E 104. H 105.D
D. WRITING (50 points)
Part 1: 20 points
Contents (10 points)
The report MUST cover the following points:
- Introduce the charts (2 points) and state the overall trends and striking features (2 points)
- Describe main features with relevant data from the charts and make relevant comparisons (6 points)
Language use (10 points)
The report:
- should demonstrate a wide variety of lexical and grammatical structures
- should have correct use of words (verb tenses, word forms, voice...) and mechanics (spelling,
punctuations,)
Part 2: (30 points)
The mark given to part 3 is based on the following criteria:
1. Organization (5 points)
a. Ideas are well organized and presented with coherence, cohesion and unity.
b. The essay is well-structured:
* Introduction is presented with clear thesis statement.
* Body paragraph are written with unity, coherence and cohesion.
Each body paragraph must have a topic sentence and supporting details and examples when
necessary.
* Conclusion summarizes the main points and offers personal opinions (prediction,
recommendation, consideration ...) on the issue.
2. Content (15 points)
a. All requirements of the task are sufficiently addressed.
b. Ideas are adequately supported and elaborated with relevant and reliable explanations,
examples, evidence....
3. Language use (10 points)
a. Demonstration of a variety of topic-related vocabulary.
b. Excellent use and control of grammatical structures (verb tenses, word forms, voice...) and
mechanics (spelling, punctuations...)

AUDIO SCRIPTS

PART 2:
For the microscopic lab worm, C. elegans life equates to just a few short weeks on
Earth. Compare that with the tortoise, which can age to more than 100 years. Mice and rats
reach the end of their lives after just four years, while for the bowhead whale, Earth's longest-
lived mammal, death can come after 200. Like most living things, the vast majority of animals
gradually degenerate after reaching sexual maturity in the process known as aging.
But what does it really mean to age? The drivers behind this process are varied and
complicated, but aging is ultimately caused by cell death and dysfunction. When we're young,
we constantly regenerate cells in order to replace dead and dying ones. But as we age, this
process slows down. In addition, older cells don't perform their functions as well as young
ones. That makes our bodies go into a decline, which eventually results in disease and
death. But if that's consistently true, why the huge variance in aging patterns and lifespan
within the animal kingdom? The answer lies in several factors, including environment and
body size. These can place powerful evolutionary pressures on animals to adapt, which in turn
makes the aging process different across species. Consider the cold depths of the Atlantic and
Arctic Seas, where Greenland sharks can live to over 400 years, and the Arctic clam known as
the quahog can live up to 500. Perhaps the most impressive of these ocean-dwelling ancients is
the Antarctic glass sponge, which can survive over 10,000 years in frigid waters. In cold
environments like these, heartbeats and metabolic rates slow down. Researchers theorize that
this also causes a slowing of the aging process. In this way, the environment shapes longevity.
When it comes to size, it's often, but not always, the case that larger species have a longer
lifespan than smaller ones. For instance, an elephant or whale will live much longer than a
mouse, rat, or vole, which in turn have years on flies and worms. Some small animals, like
worms and flies, are also limited by the mechanics of their cell division. They're mostly made
up of cells that can't divide and be replaced when damaged, so their bodies expire more
quickly. And size is a powerful evolutionary driver in animals. Smaller creatures are more
prone to predators. A mouse, for instance, can hardly expect to survive more than a year in the
wild.
So, it has evolved to grow and reproduce more rapidly, like an evolutionary defense
mechanism against its shorter lifespan. Larger animals, by contrast, are better at fending off
predators, and so they have the luxury of time to grow to large sizes and reproduce multiple
times during their lives. Exceptions to the size rule include bats, birds, moles, and turtles, but
in each case, these animals have other adaptations that allow them to escape predators. But
there are still cases where animals with similar defining features, like size and
habitat, age at completely different rates. In these cases, genetic differences, like how
each organism's cells respond to threats, often account for the discrepancies in
longevity. So it's the combination of all these factors playing out to differing degrees in
different animals that explains the variability we see in the animal kingdom. So what about
us? Humans currently have an average life expectancy of 71 years, meaning that we're not even
close to being the longest living inhabitants on Earth.
But we are very good at increasing our life expectancy. In the early 1900s, humans only lived
an average of 50 years. Since then, we've learned to adapt by managing many of the factors
that cause deaths, like environmental exposure and nutrition. This, and other increases in life
expectancy make us possibly the only species on Earth to take control over our natural fate.

PART 3:
Interviewer: Today, we'll be talking to two biologists, Ian Cartwright and Angela Sharpe, about
conservation and the public's perception of it. Now, the message of how important it is to conserve
biological diversity is one that has been passed on to the public through education and the media for
some time and yet very little seems to have changed, Do you think you are fighting a losing battle in
trying to change the public's mindset, Ian?
Ian: I wouldn't go that far. But I will admit that it's been an uphill struggle to convince people of the
value of endangered species and what can happen if they become extinct because of human activity.
You see, although we know that the loss of a single species can trigger a chain reaction, the impact
of that loss is not always immediately apparent and can be unpredictable. As such, it's an
imprecise science, which makes it difficult to provide the public with the kind of information
they will be able to grasp and hopefully act on.
Angela: I agree it is difficult, but not impossible as we've been able to witness through eco-tourism,
which is particularly important in developing countries that cannot afford conservation
programmes. Because of its direct link to economic and social development, eco-tourism allows
local populations to see clearly the benefits of exploiting biological diversity to create a
permanent source of wealth rather than destroying it to satisfy short-term needs. The success
of eco-tourism shows that it is possible to conserve diversity when the benefits are clear and within
reach.
Ian: I think that's a fair point. Very often in the developed world, people who live in urban
sprawls are too far removed from nature to be able to appreciate the extent to which we rely
on what it has to offer. This was illustrated when economists were first requested to include
the environmental factor in their complicated calculations to determine whether a project was
economically feasible or not. To put a value on the environment, they visited some residents of a
city with a lake nearby and informed them that a company was interested in purchasing land next to
the lake to build a factory. They were also told the factory would probably pollute the lake and in
doing so kill every living thing in it. Then, they were asked how much they were willing to give to
prevent the company from building a factory and therefore conserve the area. The amounts were
noted, but when the researchers returned to the households to tell the residents the company wanted
to go ahead with the purchase, hardly anyone was prepared to pay the sum of money they had
pledged. As a consequence, the economists concluded that the environment was virtually worthless
and could not be factored into their analyses.
Angela: That story ties in with public perception of what are aptly known as the unrecognised
benefits of conserving biodiversity. These are the services we receive when ecosystems function
normally. By that I mean such benefits as chemical cycling - the oxygen produced by rain forests
for example, water purification and flood protection. These are the kinds of things we take for
granted, so we tend not to consider them until an ecosystem together with its ability to provide these
services is destroyed and we have to foot the bill to replace them. Naturally, you might expect that
the high cost of fixing such problems would be enough to make people sit up and heed the warnings
about ecological disasters, but you would be wrong. This is because of the relatively low
proportion of the population that is severely affected by such catastrophes.
Ian: Yes, again it's a case of people not having to care unless they feel the full effect of an
environmental malfunction. What they don't realise is that there is always a wider impact of any
ecosystem collapse than just the localised one. So, keeping all ecosystems intact is obviously the
primary aim of all conservation projects with the focus on prevention rather than cure. Fortunately,
this can be achieved because within any single ecosystem there are species that act as indicators
of environmental quality. The decline of bald eagles, for instance, told us of the dangers of DDT.
And more recently, in Florida, largemouth bass have relayed the message that there is mercury
contamination in freshwater ecosystems. Likewise, the disappearance of sawgrass in freshwater
marshes has informed us of nutrient problems in the Everglades. Without such environmental
monitors, we would not have realised there were contaminants until even more damage was done.
Angela: So, in answer to your question, I think I can speak for both of us when I say that the key to
putting the message across is to get people involved in conservation even if that just means visiting
a reserve.
Thank you both.
PART 4:
Part of the reason why many of us have tangled and unhelpful relationship to sleep can be
traced back to the way we first learnt about the subject many years ago. Parents of small children
tend to be very careful about bedtimes. They favour early nights, they give their babies plenty of
naps throughout the day, they think a lot about black-out curtains, they are quick to diagnose many
instances of bad temper as stemming form a background deficit of rest and while they may be
indulgent in some areas, they are likely to be entirely implacable in any negotiation over routines: 7
p.m. lights out, no ifs ands or buts. None of this is remotely altruistic: tired small children are a
nightmare to look after. Every reversal becomes a drama, every disappointment turns into a
catastrophe and every excitement shifts into mania. A half - way decent adult existence is
impossible alongside a tired child. Self-interest necessitates totalitarianism. But while a draconian
philosophy is useful in the early years, it can set up an awkward dynamic in an off-spring’s mind as
adolescence sets in. growing up and asserting one’s independence and individuality can then
become associated with a newly defiant and cavalier approach to bedtimes. Not for a newly
empowered young adult the strictures and denying rules of the past. Why bother to put the light out
by ten or even midnight of one in the morning, given that one is so obviously no longer a toddler?
What is thereby missed is how much every adult shares in a young child’s sensitivity to a shortfall
of sleep. Just like our younger selves, we do not have an impregnable command over a reasonable
view of our prospects or condition. There are many different ways of telling the story of our lives,
ranging from an optimistic tale of progress mixed with noble defeats to a tragic narrative of
thorough going stupidity and unforgivable errors. What can determine the difference between
madness and sanity maybe nothing grander, but then again nothing more critical, than how long our
minds have been allowed to lie on a pillow in the preceding hours. It’s especially unfortunate that
this connection is so easy to miss. No bells go off in our minds warning us that we are running low
on nocturnal nectar. As a result, we start to believe many dark things with doomful ease: that our
relationship is over, that everyone hates us, that our lives are meaningless, and that human existence
is a cosmic joke. “When we are tired, we are attacked by ideas we conquered long ago,” knew
Friedrich Nietzsche. We go mad from tiredness long before we notice the role of exhaustion in
stealing our sanity. The thinking we do when tired is vindictive and sloppy. It misses important
details, it gives the advantage over to our enemies, it hands victory to the evangelists of sadness.
Being careful doesn’t just apply to the night. At varied points in the day, when possible, and we are
overwhelmed, we should know to stop, hoist the white flag and have a nap. When we lie in bed, it
makes sense to think of ourselves as akin to a smaller, furry mammal, a rabbit or perhaps a squirrel.
We should lift our knees up very close to our chests and pull the duvet over our heads. We might
soak a whole patch of the pillow with our tears. We should metaphorically stroke our weary
foreheads as a loving adult might once have done. Grown-up life is intolerably hard and we should
be allowed to know and lament this. We shouldn’t feel weird in our weepy squirrel position. Other
people go to immense lengths to hide that they do, or would like to do, the very same sort of thing.
We need to know someone extremely well-better than we know 99% of humanity- before they will
let us in on the scale of their despair and anxiety and their longings for a cozy, safe nook. It looks
child-like but it is in fact the essence of adulthood to recognize, and give space for, one’s regressive
tendencies. What the curled squirrel position indicates is that not all mental problems can be solved
by active reasoning. Not thinking consciously should also be deemed a part of the mind’s work.
Being curled up in bed allows our minds to do a different sort of thinking, the sort that can take
place when we are no longer impatiently looking for results, when the usual hectoring conscious
self takes a break and lets the mind do what it will for a time. It is then, paradoxically that certain
richer, more creative ideas can have the peace and freedom to coalesce – as they may do when we
are out for a walk in the countryside or idling while having a drink in a café. Thinking isn’t what we
do best when it’s all we’re meant to do. There remain plenty of reasons to live. We simply may not
be able to see them until we have allowed ourselves the privilege of a weepy nap or a long night’s
sleep.