Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions from 17 to 24.

Newspapers can be traced back to 16^th century Venice. In 1566, handwritten news sheets - called 'avis' or ‘gazette' – filled with information on wars and politics in Europe were distributed weekly in Venice. Similar news sheets soon started to appear in other European countries. By 1615, Germany and Austria were publishing weeklies. And in 1621, the first news sheets appeared in England.

At first, these news sheets only printed news which came from outside the country in which they were printed. Discussion of local or national issues was avoided. Europe’s governments did not tolerate anything negative being said about them as it could lead to national unrest.

Such censorship slowed the development of newspapers. Nevertheless, a belief in the importance of a 'free press’ slowly began to take hold in Europe. England was among the first countries to escape government control of the press. This occurred during the reign of King Charles I in the 17^th century, when, during a period of breakdown in the king's authority, people began to publish what they wanted.

Eventually, free press had the right to criticize government and voice other ideas freely. In the middle of the 18^th century, Sweden became the first country to make press freedom a part of its law.

In the 19^th century, the newspaper industry was transformed by the invention of the telegraph. The telegraph was a communication system that allowed messages to be sent over long distances in a matter of minutes. It wasn’t long before newspapers became society's primary means of spreading and receiving information. In 1880, the first photographs appeared in newspapers and, by the end of the century, all the basic technical tools for the modern newspaper were in place.

The story of newspapers in the 20^th century was one of adaptation to changing consumer and media markets. The invention of radio, TV, and later the Internet, repeatedly drove newspapers to re-invent themselves. Also, during the 20^th century, mass-market advertising increased profitability for newspapers. This attracted large, publicly-owned corporations who began buying newspapers from the descendants of company founders.

Over the years, people have periodically predicted the extinction of newspapers. In fact, every time a new media has come into being, dire predictions have been made for existing forms (e.g. television was supposed to have replaced radio, radio was supposed to have replaced newspapers). Yet history has repeatedly shown that new media do not replace existing media. Instead, what happens is that media consumption grows, which creates the necessary space for the new media to become a part of the media landscape.

According to the World Association of Newspapers (WAN), each day more than 1.5 billion people around the world read a newspaper. The WAN has also estimated the total annual worth of the global newspaper industry and put it at just under 180 billion USD. Such statistics suggest the newspaper industry is healthier than at any other time in its history. Indeed, if the industry proves itself as capable of adapting to change as it has done in the past, it is unlikely that newspapers will be disappearing from newsstands anytime soon. 

The word “to take hold” in paragraph 3 mostly means _______. 

When Carol _______ last night, I _______ my favorite show on television. 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 5 to 9.

In the past, people bought goods using (5) _______. They rarely borrowed money from financial institutions and only when they had saved the money did they buy what they wanted.

Recently, however, there have been great changes in the way people purchase goods. To begin with, some people pay for things by cheque, (6) ______ others prefer monthly installments rather than paying the whole amount at once. Most consumers, though, prefer to buy things using their credit cards. (7) _______, it is thought that there are benefits to having a credit card. Apart from the fact that credit cards are handy, some stores offer bonus points to people making purchases, while others give discounts on certain products.

On the other hand, credit cards must be used wisely because they can prove disastrous. In the long run, consumers find that they can’t (8) _______ without their credit cards and constantly rely on them, as they are “easy money”. As a result, some people lose control of their finances spending more than they should end up not being able to (9) _______. So they end up in debt and have difficulty in paying it back.

Điền ô số 5

If a drop of oil is placed in a glass of water, it _______ to the top. 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 25 to 29.

Why are there so many grandmothers and so few grandfathers? In other words, why do men die younger than women? Is this because men are afraid of getting old and helpless and so they prefer to die before that happens? Perhaps they fear to be left alone by their women and so decide to do the leaving first.

Many explanations are given for the fact that men die earlier than women. Men are stronger physically, yet women can hang on longer to life. Both men and women are emotional creatures but women are not afraid or ashamed to cry while men refuse to do so. They are afraid of being thought "soft". Some men, when they are upset, play loud music or dig in the garden to relieve their feelings. Many men like an orderly life so that they bury themselves in their work or want a wife with some children or long to take part in wars where there is a definite chain of command. There is a leader to give orders and a known enemy to fight against and defeat. All these make men feel they live in a rational world.

So the majority of men like a rational world. Rationality is fine but it does not include everything that makes life joyful and fun or even messy and frustrating. When a man refuses to cry he is refusing to accept that his emotions are part of him. Of course some men do not follow this pattern. Bob Hawke is capable of crying in public whereas Margaret Thatcher is probably incapable of crying at any time.

We need to cry because that shows our ability to suffer. If we do not suffer we are not really alive at all. Suffering can be creative or destructive. If we can all learn to cry and laugh and shout and dance openly, we are living creatively and adding something to the human race. We often say men suffer more from stress and therefore they die earlier. Are we not saying in another way that they do not know how to suffer in the right way – with tears and laughter instead of silence – and so they are miserable and just give up? That is just my theory of course. Have you a better one?

What does the word "that" in the passage refer to?

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the underlined part that needs correction in each of the following questions from 12 to 14.

Physics and mental exercise has been found to be beneficial for our brains, but scientists have now found it could also improve the learning ability of our children. 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 5 to 9.

In the past, people bought goods using (5) _______. They rarely borrowed money from financial institutions and only when they had saved the money did they buy what they wanted.

Recently, however, there have been great changes in the way people purchase goods. To begin with, some people pay for things by cheque, (6) ______ others prefer monthly installments rather than paying the whole amount at once. Most consumers, though, prefer to buy things using their credit cards. (7) _______, it is thought that there are benefits to having a credit card. Apart from the fact that credit cards are handy, some stores offer bonus points to people making purchases, while others give discounts on certain products.

On the other hand, credit cards must be used wisely because they can prove disastrous. In the long run, consumers find that they can’t (8) _______ without their credit cards and constantly rely on them, as they are “easy money”. As a result, some people lose control of their finances spending more than they should end up not being able to (9) _______. So they end up in debt and have difficulty in paying it back.

Điền ô số 9

Any candidates caught _______ in the examination will be disqualified. 

Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the most suitable response to each of the following exchanges from 10 to 11. 

- Nick: “I’m really tired. I’m taking next week off.” - Michael: “_______” 

_______ the age of 21, he was able to gamble in Las Vegas. 

Many countries’ cultural _______ is a result of taking in immigrants from all over the world. 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions from 17 to 24.

Newspapers can be traced back to 16^th century Venice. In 1566, handwritten news sheets - called 'avis' or ‘gazette' – filled with information on wars and politics in Europe were distributed weekly in Venice. Similar news sheets soon started to appear in other European countries. By 1615, Germany and Austria were publishing weeklies. And in 1621, the first news sheets appeared in England.

At first, these news sheets only printed news which came from outside the country in which they were printed. Discussion of local or national issues was avoided. Europe’s governments did not tolerate anything negative being said about them as it could lead to national unrest.

Such censorship slowed the development of newspapers. Nevertheless, a belief in the importance of a 'free press’ slowly began to take hold in Europe. England was among the first countries to escape government control of the press. This occurred during the reign of King Charles I in the 17^th century, when, during a period of breakdown in the king's authority, people began to publish what they wanted.

Eventually, free press had the right to criticize government and voice other ideas freely. In the middle of the 18^th century, Sweden became the first country to make press freedom a part of its law.

In the 19^th century, the newspaper industry was transformed by the invention of the telegraph. The telegraph was a communication system that allowed messages to be sent over long distances in a matter of minutes. It wasn’t long before newspapers became society's primary means of spreading and receiving information. In 1880, the first photographs appeared in newspapers and, by the end of the century, all the basic technical tools for the modern newspaper were in place.

The story of newspapers in the 20^th century was one of adaptation to changing consumer and media markets. The invention of radio, TV, and later the Internet, repeatedly drove newspapers to re-invent themselves. Also, during the 20^th century, mass-market advertising increased profitability for newspapers. This attracted large, publicly-owned corporations who began buying newspapers from the descendants of company founders.

Over the years, people have periodically predicted the extinction of newspapers. In fact, every time a new media has come into being, dire predictions have been made for existing forms (e.g. television was supposed to have replaced radio, radio was supposed to have replaced newspapers). Yet history has repeatedly shown that new media do not replace existing media. Instead, what happens is that media consumption grows, which creates the necessary space for the new media to become a part of the media landscape.

According to the World Association of Newspapers (WAN), each day more than 1.5 billion people around the world read a newspaper. The WAN has also estimated the total annual worth of the global newspaper industry and put it at just under 180 billion USD. Such statistics suggest the newspaper industry is healthier than at any other time in its history. Indeed, if the industry proves itself as capable of adapting to change as it has done in the past, it is unlikely that newspapers will be disappearing from newsstands anytime soon.

In paragraph 1, we learn that _______. 

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word or phrase that is CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined part in each of the following questions from 1 to 2. 

I’m all in favor of ambition but I think when he says he’ll be a millionaire by the time he’s 25, he’s simply crying for the moon. 

Although _______ by the bravery of his fellow soldiers, Bloch had harsh words for the army leadership. 

Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word that differs from the other three in the position of the primary stress in each of the following questions from 49 to 50 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 5 to 9.

In the past, people bought goods using (5) _______. They rarely borrowed money from financial institutions and only when they had saved the money did they buy what they wanted.

Recently, however, there have been great changes in the way people purchase goods. To begin with, some people pay for things by cheque, (6) ______ others prefer monthly installments rather than paying the whole amount at once. Most consumers, though, prefer to buy things using their credit cards. (7) _______, it is thought that there are benefits to having a credit card. Apart from the fact that credit cards are handy, some stores offer bonus points to people making purchases, while others give discounts on certain products.

On the other hand, credit cards must be used wisely because they can prove disastrous. In the long run, consumers find that they can’t (8) _______ without their credit cards and constantly rely on them, as they are “easy money”. As a result, some people lose control of their finances spending more than they should end up not being able to (9) _______. So they end up in debt and have difficulty in paying it back.

Điền ô số 7