Ngân hàng câu hỏi thi công chức môn tiếng anh

the statue was built for entertainment many years ago People usually sing because they like music or because they feel happy.. 10 Valentine's Day February 14 is a day for people who hav

No 1

I was born in Newcastle, a city in the North East of England Newcastle is on the bank ofthe River Tyne It is quite big, with a population of about 200,000 people There is acathedral and a university There are five bridges over the River Tyne, which linkNewcastle to the next town, Gateshead, where there is one of the biggest shopping centres

in the world A few years ago, the main industries were shipbuilding and coal mining, butnow the chemical and soap industries are important

I moved to London ten years ago but I often return to Newcastle I miss the people, whoare very friendly, and I miss the beautiful countryside near the city, where there are somany hills and streams

1 Newcastle is

A a city near the North East of England

B a small town in England

C a city in the North East of England

2 The population of Newcastle is

A about 200,000 people

B much less than 200,000 people

C much more than 200,000 people

3 Gateshead has one of in the world

A the biggest shopping centres

B the most important shipbuilding industries

C the most beautiful countrysides

4 According to the passage, the writer

A is still living in Newcastle

B has never returned to Newcastle

C doesn't live in Newcastle any more

5 Which of the following is NOT true about Newcastle?

A Its people are friendly

B Its main industry now is shipbuilding

C It has a cathedral and a university

David Hempleman Adams is an explorer and adventurer In April 1984, he walked throughnorthern Canada to the North Pole He walked 400 kilometres in 22 days He was 27 years

old when he did it David was the first person to walk to the North Pole by himself Other

people travelled to the North Pole before David but they had a sled and a dog team Daviddidn't have a dog team David was a brave man to go on this adventure on his own He wasalso a lucky man because the bear and the icy water didn't kill him

1 Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage? A David drove to

the North Pole

B No one travelled to the North Pole before David

C David was the first person to walk to the North Pole alone

2 David travelled to the North Pole with

A a dog team

B another person

C nobody

3 Which of the following is NOT true? A He was killed by the bear

B He walked to the North Pole alone

C He walked 400 kilometres

4 The phrase "by himself" can be replaced by

A alone

B successfully

C with other people

5 Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

A A Lucky Man

B A Walk to the North Pole

C Without a Dog Team

For many people the language of the Internet is English “World, Wide, Web: ThreeEnglish Words” was the name of an article by Michael Specter in the New York Times afew years ago The article went on to say: “If you want to take full advantage of the

Internet, there is only one real way to do it: learn English.”

In general, it is not difficult to learn to use Internet services But although Internet servicesare rather easy to use, you will have considerable difficulties if you are not familiar withEnglish In fact, a good knowledge of English is one of the most important aspects thathelp you use the Internet

Learning to use a new Internet service may take a few hours, a few days or some weeks,but it takes years to learn a language so that you can use it fluently and confidently Ofcourse, when you know some English, you can learn more just by using it on the Internet

But at least your English should be good enough to understand commonly used words and

to know what to do on the Internet

1 It to learn to use Internet services

A is easy

B is difficult

C takes a few minutes

2 According to the article by Michael Specter, you should _ to take full

advantage of the Internet

A learn to type fast

B learn to use the Internet services

C learn English

3 Learning to use a language fluently and confidently may take

A a few years

B a few hours C a few weeks

4 If you do not know English very well, you will when using the Internet

A be laughed at

B have many difficulties

C feel more comfortable

5 Which of the following could be the best title for the passage?

A “English and the Internet”

B “Ways to take full advantage of the Internet”

C “Practising your English on the Internet”

George Washington was born on February 22nd, 1732 in Virginia His parents wereAugustine and Mary Washington George grew up on a farm in Virginia Little is known

of his early childhood He attended school irregularly from his 7th to his 15th year Hisfavourite subject was mathematics He learned to be a surveyor of land when he grew up

He joined the army and was a leader during the American Revolution He later became thefirst President of the United States George Washington is called by his people the "Father

of our country" The Americans celebrate his birthday on Presidents' Day in February Hispicture is on the one-dollar bill

1 When was George Washington born? A In 1732

C On the grassland in Virginia

3 What subject did he like when he was a child?

A Chemistry

B Mathematics

C Literature

4 His people call him

A the "Leader of our country"

B the "Hero of our country"

C the "Father of our country"

5 The Americans celebrate his birthday on

is also destroying the ancient statue The air is so full of poisonous gases that it is

damaging the statue even faster Third, the statue is being destroyed by extremes oftemperature The air is very cold at night, but during the day the stone of the statuebecomes very hot under the strong sunlight Other natural forces such as severesandstorms attack the statue as well Finally, the tourists who visit the statue every dayalso cause a lot of damage to it

1 Which of the following is NOT true about the statue? A Part of it looks like a person

B It is in the centre of Cairo

4 The word “ancient” in the passage mostly means

A very old B very big

C modern

5 It can be inferred from the text that

A human beings as well as nature cause much damage to the statue

B there is little damage to the statue

C the statue was built for entertainment many years ago

People usually sing because they like music or because they feel happy They express theirhappiness by singing When a bird sings, however, its song usually means much more thanthat the bird is happy Birds have many reasons for singing They sing to give information Their songs are their language

The most beautiful songs are sung by male birds They sing when they want to attract afemale bird It is their way of saying that they are looking for a wife Birds also sing to tellother birds to keep away To a bird, his tree or even a branch of a tree is his home He doesnot want strangers to come near him, so he sings to warn them

If a bird cannot sing well, he usually has some other means of giving importantinformation Some birds dance, spread out their tails or make other signs

1 People sing because

A they feel happy

B they are good at singing

C they want to tell a story

2 What is one of the main reasons why birds sing?

A They are in a bad temper

B They want to give information

C They are sad

3 Which birds sing the most beautiful songs?

A Male birds

B Young birds which attract male birds

C Female birds which attract male birds

4 According to the passage, a bird sings

A to stop sadness

B to tell strangers to keep away

C to warn about the approach of people

5 Most birds usually if they cannot sing well

A give information in another way

B warn other birds to go away

C find a wife

Smoking causes lung cancer, which is the number one cancer among men Ninety percent

of the people who get lung cancer die Smoking is also the leading cause of mouth cancer,tongue cancer, and throat cancer

Many smokers have heart disease and pneumonia Smoking causes about one million earlydeaths in the world every year

Smokers not only harm themselves but also harm others Smokers breathe smoke out into

the air They breathe it out on their children and on their wives or husbands Children

whose parents smoke have more breathing and lung problems than other children Womenwho are married to smokers are more likely to have lung cancer than those married tononsmokers We are all aware that smoking is bad So why do people smoke?

1 The number one cancer among men is

A lung cancer

B throat cancer C tongue cancer

2 The main cause of mouth cancer, tongue cancer and throat cancer is

A overeating

B smoking

C breathing

3 Every year, smoking causes about one million

B People who live in the country

C People who live with smokers

These days, power is a big concern for many countries People are using more and moreelectricity, but our traditional sources of electricity, coal and oil, are getting smaller andsmaller In addition, both coal and oil power plants create a lot of pollution How will weget enough electricity in the future? Some scientists are looking to the sky for answers The sun is an almost endless source of energy Every minute, the Earth gets enough energyfrom the sun to provide the world with electricity for a year The problem is that thisenergy is in the form of heat and light To use this energy, we need to change it intoelectricity Solar cells already do this for calculators and other electronics Unfortunately,solar cells only produce a small amount of electricity We can make larger solar cells, but

it is very expensive

Instead, scientists are now trying to build solar power plants These power plants woulduse thousands of huge mirrors to focus the light of the sun on a small place, where it

would create a lot of heat The heat would then be used to create electricity This creates

more electricity than solar cells, but not enough The biggest solar power plant in theworld creates 15 mega watts of electricity In contrast, most nuclear power plants createabout 1,000 mega watts of electricity

1 According to the passage, which of the following is a traditional source of electricity?

A oil

B the nuclear power

C water

2 Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A Solar cells only produce a small amount of electricity

B The sun is a limited source of energy

C People are using more and more electricity

3 As mentioned in the passage, making larger solar cells is

A study was done with two or three-year-old children and their parents Half of the thirtychildren participants were in the experimental study; the other half acted as the controlgroup In the experimental group, the parents were given a two-hour training session in

which they were taught to ask open-ended questions rather than yes-no questions For

example, the parent should ask, "What is the doggy doing?" rather than, "Is the doggyrunning away?" Experimental parents were also instructed how to expand on theirchildren's answer, how to suggest alternative possibilities, and how to praise correctanswers

At the beginning of the study, the children did not differ on levels of languagedevelopment, but at the end of one month, the children in the experimental group were 5.5months ahead of the control group on a test of verbal expression and vocabulary Ninemonths later, the children in the experimental group still showed an advance of 6 monthsover the children in the control group

1 Parents can give great help to their children's language development by _ them

3 During the training session, experimental parents were taught to _

A use yes-no questions

B give correct answers

C ask open-ended questions

4 What was the major difference between the control group and the experimental one inthe study?

A The training that parents received

B The books that were read

C The age of the children

5 What conclusion can be drawn from this passage?

B Children's language skills increase when they are required to respond actively

C Two or three-year-old children can be taught to read actively

No 10 Valentine's Day

February 14 is a day for people who have fallen in love On this day, these men and womengive gifts and cards to each other to celebrate Valentine's Day

At first, February 14 was the old Roman festival, Lupercalia Then, one story says, on

February 14, 270 A.D., a man named Valentine was killed by the Romans' because of hisbeliefs Before Valentine was killed, he fell in love with the daughter of his jailer' andwould pass notes to her His final note read, "From your Valentine." Later, February 14became known as Valentine's Day

Since then, people in love around the world have given gifts and cards to each other onValentine's Day Gloves, chocolates, and even underwear have all been popular as gifts Valentine cards did not become popular until the 1750s.The first Valentine cards weremade by hand People wrote their own words on the cards, usually a kind or funnymessage By around 1850 there were lots of machines for making cards All of a sudden,sending Valentine cards became very popular

Now, every year around February 14, cards and chocolates fill stores around the world, forall the people who have fallen in love

1 A good title for this Reading Passage is A The History of Valentine's Day

B Why People Fall in Love

C The Most Romantic Valentine's Day Ever

2 What was Lupercalia?

A a jail

B a Roman festival

C a type of card

3 Who was Valentine?

A a man who killed someone

B a Roman

C a man who was in love

4 Why is Valentine thought to be romantic? A He was killed by the Romans

B He fell in love with his jailer

C He passed love notes to the daughter of his jailer

5 When did Valentine cards first become popular?

A about 270

People who sit with laptops on their legs for hours and hours have noticed they get darkmarks on their legs The hot laptop is toasting the skin Doctors have noticed more peopleshow up with "toasted skin syndrome They use their laptops every day for hours and hoursfor a month or more and this results in a burn The marks are not dangerous, but they lookstrange because they are just in one spot on people's legs

Companies that make computers tell people not to let warm computers touch bare skin for

a long time Wearing pants and putting a laptop's case under the laptop is usually enough toprotect one's skin from the computer's heat But the best way to avoid toasted skin is not toput a laptop on your lap when you use it for a long time

1 This reading is about

A a problem that laptops may have

B a problem that electronic devices may have

C a problem that people may have

2 What does toasted skin syndrome result in?

B about one week

C more than a month

4 Which of the following is NOT true about toasted skin syndrome? A It covers aperson's whole leg

B It is not a dangerous problem

5 What can be guessed about the people who got toasted skin syndrome?

A They did not protect their laps well while using their laptops

B They felt pain when their pants touched the burns on their legs

C They tried to make the laptop companies pay the doctors' bills

A Long Weekend

Many people have to work on the weekend Some people do not Mind Other people think

it is terrible One man thinks that working on the weekend can be dangerous He isGraham Coates Mr Coates worked in an office in Brighton, England

One Saturday, he went to the office to do some work When he got in the elevator' to gohome, it stopped between floors Mr Coates could not get out of the elevator He wastrapped! He did not have a cell phone, so he started to shout However, no one heard him.Then Mr Coates remembered that Monday was a holiday No one was going to come towork until Tuesday!

There was nothing for Mr Coates to do He had to wait until one of his coworkers came towork and found him With nothing to eat or drink, Mr Coates ended up sleeping for most

of the time

Early on Tuesday morning, the vice president of the company came into work and foundthe elevator was not working When someone finally opened the elevator, Mr Coatescame out cold, weak, and tired He had been in the elevator for sixty-two hours!

1 What is the best title for this story?

A Elevator Safety

B A Busy Weekend

C Trapped in an Elevator

2 Why could Mr Coates not get out of the elevator? A It was broken

B It was the weekend

C It was in an office

3 What is NOT a reason why Mr Coates spent so long in the elevator?

A It was a three-day weekend

B He had no food or drink

C The elevator was stuck between two floors

4 How long was he in the elevator?

A twenty-four hours

B more than sixty hours

C from Saturday to Monday

5 How was Mr Coates able to get out of the elevator? A He telephoned

his coworkers

B The elevator started again

C The vice president discovered the elevator was not working

Lizards

Lizards are unusual, but they can make good pets because most of them are small and easy

to care for They do not make loud noises, and they do not need to go for walks or takebaths

Of course, some lizards make better pets than others One of the most popular lizards inpet stores is the bearded dragon.' Bearded dragons are active during the day and do notmind people holding them Geckos are another popular pet lizard They are a little moredifficult to care for Geckos are active at night and need a warm place to live Like beardeddragons, they can be held by their owners Both of these lizards can live ten years or morewhen they are well cared for

Two lizards that are bad choices for pets are iguanas and chameleons Iguanas can grow to

be almost two meters (nearly six feet), so they need a big space to live in They can alsobite or scratch their owners Chameleons do not hurt their owners, but they are quitedifficult to care for While iguanas can live up to twenty years, chameleons do not livevery long Most do not live more than five years

1 This reading is about

A good and bad pets

B how to tell male from female lizards

C why lizards are disappearing

2 What is true according to the passage?

A It is not hard to care for most lizards

B Lizards are better than dogs or cats

C Lizard bites can be dangerous

3 Which lizard would be good for a child to watch and play with during the day?

C Most lizards are dangerous, so do not keep them as pets

Lions

Lions have been called the kings of the animal world These animals can be found wild inAfrica and India Lions in Africa can go without water for up to one month, so they have

no trouble during dry times

Without question, lions are also one of the most popular animals to see in zoos Almostevery zoo around the world has a few lions

It is very easy for people to tell male and female lions apart Lions are the only kind of catthat shows this big difference between males and females A male lion has a ‘mane,' alarge collar of hair around the lion's face Females do not have manes

Male lions are also larger than females A male lion usually weighs about 200 kilograms.Both male and female lions have very strong mouths They can break the backs of otheranimals with one bite One lion will usually kill between ten and twenty large animalseach year for food

It is unusual for lions to kill people However, in 1898 two lions killed and ate over onehundred people in Kenya before they were shot by a British colonel named P J Patterson

This story became the subject of a Hollywood movie called The Ghost and the Darkness

1 The passage is about

A countries with lots of lions

B lions in books and movies and cats

C male and female lions

2 How are lions different from other cats? A Lions are from Africa

B Many zoos keep them

C Males and females look very different

3 Male lions

A have manes

B weigh more than most people

C all of the above

4 Female lions

A are larger than males.'

B have manes

C can break the back of an animal with one bite

5 How many large animals does a lion usually kill for food in one year?

A less than ten

B between ten and twenty

C over one hundred

No 1

A university professor in the Southwest tells of a student who went on a one-day trip to theGrand Canyon She didn’t return until a week later When asked what had happened, sheanswered that the Grand Canyon was so amazing that she had needed three days just to get

used to it

The Grand Canyon was formed by the mighty Colorado River cutting into a plateau inArizona The canyon is 277 miles long and about 1 mile deep Because it is so deep, thetop and the bottom have very different weather and vegetation Going from the top to thebottom is somewhat like going from Canada to Mexico

Known as one of the seven tourist travel wonders, which include the Great Wall of China,

the Taj Mahal, and Machu Picchu, it is visited by millions of people each year

1 What does the word ‘it’ in line 3 refer to?

A The university

B The trip

C The Grand Canyon

2 What is the depth of the Grand Canyon?

A 277 miles

B 278 miles

C 1 mile

3 What does the word ‘wonder’ in line 8 mean? A A feeling of surprise and admiration

B Something that causes you to feel surprise or admiration

C A place in a desert that has trees and water

4 Not only the Grand Canyon but also is one of the seven tourist travel wonders

A the Taj Mahal

B Machu Picchu

C all are correct

5 Which of the following could be the best title of the passage?

A The Seven Tourist Travel Wonders

B The Grand Canyon

C The Story of a Student

More than two hundred years ago, the term “environmental pollution” was quite strange topeople They lived healthily, drank pure water, and breathed fresh air Nowadays, thesituation is quite different People all over the world are worried about things that arehappening to the environment Actually it is man that is destroying the surroundings withmany kinds of wastes Everybody knows that motorbikes and cars emit dangerous gasesthat cause poisonous air and cancer, but no one wants to travel on foot or by bicycle.Manufactures know that wastes from factories make water and soil polluted, but they donot want to spend a lot of their money on treating the wastes safely Scattering rubbish isbad for our health, but no one wants to spend time burying it Is it worth talking a lot aboutpollution?

1 More than two hundred years ago _

A the environment was polluted as much as it is today

B people knew nothing about environmental pollution

C air was polluted badly

2 In former days, people _

A led a healthy life

B lived in the polluted environment

C were worried about pollution

3 Nowadays, many people are concerned about _

A the polluted water

B the wastes from the factories

C the pollution of the environment

4 Everybody knows that cars emit dangerous gases _

A so they do not travel by car

B so they prefer travelling by bicycle

C but they still prefer traveling by car

5 Factory owners _

A have no awareness of pollution

B treat wastes from their factories safely

C do not want to spend money on treating the wastes safely

Thomas Edison was born in Milan, Ohio, in 1847 His family moved to Port Huron,Michigan, when he was seven years old Surprisingly, he attended school for only twomonths His mother, a former teacher, taught him a few things, but Thomas was mostlyself-educated His natural curiosity led him to start experimenting at a young age

Thomas Edison lit up the world with his invention of the electric light Although theelectric light was the most useful, it was not his only invention He also invented therecord player, the motion picture camera, and over 1,200 other things About every twoweeks he created something new He worked 16 out of every 24 hours Sometimes heworked so intensely that his wife had to remind him to sleep and eat

Thomas Edison died in 1931, in West Orange, New Jersey He left numerous inventionsthat improved the quality of life all over the world

1 Thomas Edison was

A a teacher

B an explorer

C an inventor

2 In 1854 Edison’s family

A moved to Port Huron, Michigan

B bought a new house in Milan, Ohio

C decided to settle in Milan, Ohio

3 The word “self-educated” in the passage mostly means A “having been welltaught”

B “having had good schooling”

C “having taught himself”

4 Edison died at the age of

C He made numerous inventions

Britain is now a highly industrialized country and there are only 238,000 farms in the UK.More and more farmers leave the land because they cannot earn enough money to survive.Only large farms are economic and because of this, most British farms are big Theyusually grow cereals in the east of England and raise sheep and cows in the north ofEngland and Scotland The small family farms often have to earn more money by offeringbed and breakfast accommodation to tourists

Farming methods in Britain have also changed Fields used to be quite small, divided byhedges which were sometimes a thousand years old and full of wild flowers and birds.Many hedges were pulled up to allow farmers to use modern machinery Now most fields

in England are large by European standards

1 British farmers give up working on their farms because

A they are tired of the farm work

B they can’t earn their own living by farming

C they want to continue to live

2 Most British farms are big because A there are plenty of abandoned land

B farming is now industrialized

C small farms are uneconomic

3 The small family farms often offer bed and breakfast accommodation to tourists

A to show their friendship

B because they want to have more tourists to their farms

C in order to improve their earnings

4 Fields on British farms were

A separated from each other by hedges

B full of wild flowers and birds

C all are correct

5 Which of the following sentences is not true?

A Industries are developed in Britain

B Breeding farms are usually in the north of England

C Farming methods in Britain have remained unchanged up to now

Probably you have seen someone reading a book on an electronic reading device Over thepast few years, these small computers have become more popular For that reason, morecompanies that make traditional paper books are now making electronic books (ebooks).

Most ebooks are the same as paper books, but people download a file into a reading device

rather than buying the paper book This way they can carry many books

Book companies are adding special features to some ebooks These extra features mightinclude sound files, picture files, or video files When the readers click on these files theylearn more about the book, the story or the writer

The latest electronic readers are smaller and cheaper, but they are also much more

powerful They can store much more information, so writers and book companies can do

more with their ebooks They do not want to just add files to a completed book They aremaking the sound, picture, and video files part of the story Readers need these files tounderstand the whole story Readers can even change the story Readers already have a lot

of books to choose from If they can change the way stories end, they will have even morechoice!

1 This reading is about

A books about the future

B books about animals

C electronic books

2 Which sentence is true about the devices described in the passage? A You can use them

to read ebooks

B They change paper books into ebooks

C You can use them to make videos

3 According to the passage, what special feature might some ebooks include?

A copies of the paper book

B extra files

C devices for other ebooks

4 Which of the following ebooks is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A an ebook that has sold over one million copies

B an ebook that is only text

C an ebook with a sound file that tells part of the story

5 How are some ebooks today different than older ebooks? A Companies sell them inmany files

B Readers can change the stories

C Devices make them easier to read

The leaning tower

Why does the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy lean? It leans because of a mistake It hasleaned almost since the day the tower was built

In 1173, the people of Pisa, Italy, wanted to build a bell tower They wanted the tower to

be the most beautiful bell tower in all of Italy The city also needed a bell tower becausethe church did not have one However, there was a problem As soon as the third floor ofthe building was finished, the tower started to lean Builders tried to make the buildingstraight again as they added more floors, but they could not figure out how to make it stopleaning When the building was finished in 1350, it had eight floors and was 54.5 meterstall

After it was built, the tower continued to lean by another millimeter every year By 1990,

it was leaning by about four meters to one side It was also slowly sinking into the ground.Many people became worried that it would soon fall apart In 1998, repair works began onthe tower Workers took nearly three years to move it back by 45 centimeters It is stillleaning, but it is safe now

1 Why did the people of Pisa want to build the tower? A

They needed a new church

B They needed a bell tower

C They wanted to build the tallest tower in Italy

2 When did the tower begin to lean? A from the first day

it was built

B after the third floor was built

C after the last floor was built

3 When was the tower finished?

5 Which of the following is NOT true about the tower?

A It was sinking into the ground

B It was repaired between 1990 and 1998

C People were worried it might fall apart

A smart dog

Rico is a collie who lives in Germany His owners trained him from a young age to findhis toys When they say the name of a certain toy, Rico can find it In fact, he seems toknow the names of 200 toys!

Some researchers in Germany wanted to test Rico They put his toys in a room and thentold him to go in the room and find a certain toy Since nobody was in the room with Rico,

he had no help from anyone finding the right toy The researchers did this test forty times.Rico found the right toy thirty-seven times!

Then the researchers tried something else They put seven of Rico's toys in the room plusone new toy that Rico had never seen before Then they told Rico to go into the room andget the new toy This new toy had a name Rico had never heard before Rico found theright toy seven out of ten times!

Researchers cannot really say that Rico knows words or language However, these testsseem to show that Rico can think about what he hears and think about what he knows Infact, Rico seems to think and remember things as well as a three-year-old child Fromthese tests, animal researchers know one thing for sure Rico has given them a lot to thinkabout

1 A good title for the passage is

A German Collies Are the Smartest Dogs

B Rico Surprises Researchers

C How Dogs Use Language

2 What is Rico good at?

A Catching things

B Finding things

C Counting things

3 What did researchers ask Rico to do at first?

A Bring a certain toy out of a room B Name toys plus put them away

C Choose a toy that he liked playing with

4 How many times did Rico go into the room to find a new toy he did not know?

A Seven

B Ten

C Thirty-seven

5 Why were researchers surprised by what they saw?

A Rico always knew which toys were his and which were not B Rico seems toremember things as well as a young child

C Rico showed that he understands language

The Salt Palace Hotel

There are many unique hotels around the world In Sweden, you can stay in a hotel madeout of ice, open between December and April every year In Turkey, you can stay in a cavehotel with a television, and a bathroom in each room And in Bolivia, you can stay at thePalacio de Sal (Palace of Salt)

Thousands of years ago, the area around the Palace of Salt was a large lake But over time,all the water disappeared Today, the area has only two small lakes and two salt deserts.The larger of the two deserts, the Uyuni salt desert, is 12,000 square kilometers Duringthe day, the desert is bright white because of the salt There are no roads across the Uyunidesert, so local people must show guests the way to the hotel

In the early 1990s, a man named Juan Quesada cut big blocks of salt from the desert Heused the blocks to build the hotel Everything in the hotel is made out of salt: the walls, theroof, even the furniture, so the tables, the chairs, the beds, and the hotel's bar are all made

of salt The sun heats the walls and roof during the day At night the desert is very cold,but the rooms stay warm The hotel has sixteen rooms A single room costs about $100 anight, and a double room costs about $130 A sign on the hotel's wall tells guests, "Please,

do not lick the walls."

1 What is unique about Palacio de Sal?

A its long history

B what it is made of

C the price of the rooms

2 Who is Juan Quesada? A a hotel quest

B a guide

C the hotel's owner

3 Where did the salt used for the hotel come from?

A a salt factory B the ground

C Turkey

4 What keeps the rooms warm at night?

A heat from the walls

B the desert air

C the sun

5 Which sentence about the area around Palacio de Sal is NOT true? A It was a lakemany years ago

B It is white during the day

C There are several roads to the hotel

The Taj Mahal

Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal in Agra, India, in the 1600s He wanted to make a beautifulplace where he could bury his wife, Mumtaz Mahal Mumtaz Mahal was only one of ShahJahan's wives, but he liked her the most After Mumtaz died, the Shah built the Taj Mahal

It took twenty-two years to complete all of the work The main building is made of whitemarble and the main roof is white and round It is one of the most famous things to see inIndia The Taj Mahal is beautiful The Jumna River flows beside the north wall, but insidethe walls, a smaller river runs through a pretty garden

Some people who study history think that Shah Jahan was also a cruel man They say thatafter the Taj Mahal was completed, Shah Jahan killed the man who made it He did thisbecause he did not want the man to build anything more beautiful than the Taj Mahal Thatwas not all they found out Stories also say the Shah cut off the hands of all of the artistswho took part in building the Taj Mahal

As for Shah Jahan, when he died he was also buried in the Taj Mahal, next to his wife

1 Why did Shah Jahan build the Taj Mahal? A He needed a

new place to live

B He liked beautiful gardens

C He wanted to bury his wife there

2 Who was Mumtaz Mahal? A one of the Shah's wives

B a person who studied history

C the man who made the Taj Mahal

3 What can you NOT see when you visit the Taj Mahal?

A the Jumna River B

a round bell tower

C a pretty garden

4 Why did Shah Jahan kill the man who made the Taj Mahal?

A The Shah did not like the Taj Mahal

B The man made a mistake

C The Shah did not want him to make another building

5 What did Shah Jahan do that makes people think he was a

cruel man? A He buried his wife

B He built the Taj Mahal

C He cut off the hands of the artists

The Mona Lisa

Leonardo da Vinci began painting the Mona Lisa, one of the most famous paintings of alltime, in 1503 He was working on a special painting for a church at the time, but it was notgoing well The woman who can be seen in the Mona Lisa is said to be Madonna Lisa delGiocondo She was the wife of an Italian businessman who asked da Vinci to paint aportrait of her After da Vinci finished the painting in 1506 he was invited by the FrenchKing, Francois I, to visit France, and he took the painting with him Today the Mona Lisa

is kept in the Louvre, an art museum in Paris, and it is seen by about six million visitors ayear

The painting measures only 77 centimeters by 53 centimeters and is painted with oil onwood In 1911, Vincenzo Peruggia, a worker at the Louvre, stole the painting He took itout of the museum by hiding it under his coat Two years later, police officers found thepainting under Mr Peruggia's bed after he tried to sell it

In 1962, the Mona Lisa was taken to Washington and New York for an exhibition For thejourney, the museum wanted to insure the painting The insurance company set the value

of it at 100 million dollars, making it the most valuable painting ever! Today, the value ofthe painting would be over 700 million dollars

1 What is the best title for the passage?

A Leonardo da Vinci - an Interesting Painter

B The Louvre - a Famous French Art Museum

C The Mona Lisa - the Most Valuable Painting of All Time

2 Who is Madonna Lisa del Giocondo said to be?

A the painter of the Mona Lisa

B the woman in the painting

C the wife of the French king

3 When did Leonardo da Vinci finish painting the Mona Lisa?

A 1503 B.1506

C 1911

4 Why did da Vinci go to France?

A to visit the Louvre

B to paint the Mona Lisa

C He was invited by Francois 1

5 What sentence about Vincenzo Peruggia is NOT true? A He worked in an art museum

B He stole the Mona Lisa

C He sold the painting

The word jeans comes from a kind of material that was made in Europe The material,

called jean, was named after sailors from Genoa in Italy because they wore clothes made

from it In the 18th century jean cloth was made completely from cotton and workers at thattime loved wearing it because the, material was very strong and it did not wear out easily.

In the 1960s many university and college students wore jeans Designers made differentstyles of jeans to match the 1960s' fashions: embroidered jeans, painted jeans and so on

In the 1970s more and more people started wearing jeans because they became cheaper Inthe 1980s jeans finally became high fashion clothing, when famous designers startedmaking their own styles of jeans, with their own labels on them Sales of jeans went upand up But in the 1990s the worldwide economic situation got worse, and the sales ofjeans stopped growing However, jeans have never been out of fashion, and today younggeneration is still fond of wearing them

1 The material that was used to make jeans first came from

B the material was the cheapest

C the material was very eye-catching

3 In the 1960s jeans became popular with

A teenagers

B workers

C designers

4 In the 1970s more and more people wore jeans because

A there were labels on them

B there were different styles of jeans

C they became cheaper

5 Nowadays, jeans are

A popular with young people

B out of fashion

C the highest fashion clothing

Dear Mr Landers,

I run 'Snips' hairdressing shop above Mr Shah's chemist's shop at 24 High Street I started the business 20 years ago and it is now very successful My customers have to walk through the chemist's to the stairs at the back which lead to the hairdresser's This has never been a problem

Mr Shah plans to retire later this year, and I have heard from a business acquaintance that you intend to rent the shop space to a hamburger bar I have thought about trying to rent it myself and make my shop bigger but I cannot persuade anyone to lend me that much money I don't know what to do My customers come to the hairdresser's to relax

and the noise and smells of a burger bar will surely drive them away Also, they won't like

having to walk through a hot, smelly burger bar to reach the stairs

I have always paid my rent on time You have told me in the past that you wish me to continue with my business for as long as possible I believe you own another empty shop

in the High Street Could the burger bar not go there, where it would not affect other people's businesses?

I hope you think carefully about this

1 What is the writer's main aim in the letter? A to show why her business is successful

B to explain why her customers are feeling unhappy

C to avoid problems for her business

2 Who was the letter sent to?

A the writer's landlord

B the writer's bank manager

C the owner of the burger bar

3 What does the writer think about the burger bar?

A It will make her lose money

B It will not be successful

C The High Street is not the place for it

4 Why is the writer worried about her customers? A They do not like eating burgers

B They may not be allowed to use the stairs C

The smells will not be pleasant

5 The words “ drive them away” in paragraph 2 can be replaced by which of the

following?

A ask them to agree B make them leave

C force them to lie down

The government published a report yesterday saying that we need to eat more healthily more fruit and vegetables, less fat and sugar So that means fewer burgers, chips and fried

-food as well as cutting down on sweet things We went into central London yesterday atlunchtime and asked people what they thought about it 'It's got nothing to do with the

government what I eat,' says Paul Keel, a building worker, as he eats a beef-burger and

chips washed down with strawberry milkshake “I think I have a healthy diet You see, Idon't normally eat a beef burger for lunch Normally I just have the chips.” Any fish? “I

like cod But I've only ever had it once.” Tim Kennor, a librarian, welcomes the

government advice But he also has his own rules 'I think,' he explains, eating his friedchicken and chips, 'it's important to eat a variety of food.' We then asked DorothyMatthews, aged 74 'I don't think it's the government's business to tell us what to eat.' Wewent into Simpson's restaurant and asked the manager if people had changed what theywere eating 'I don't think people believe all these reports any more What they say is goodfor you in June, they say is bad for you in July People have stopped taking notice Weserve what we've always served Almost all of it is fattening.'

1 What is the writer trying to explain in the text?

A what people think

B his own opinion

C the government report

2 What can the reader learn from the text? A what the government is going to do

B which meals are healthiest

C whether the advice will be followed

3 What is Paul Keel's opinion?

A The government's advice is wrong, B Fish isn't good for you

C He doesn't need to change his habits

4 In order to eat more healthily

A People don’t need to stop eating three meals per day

B People need to eat more fruit and vegetables, less fat and sugar C Peopleneed to eat more fat and sugar than fruit and vegetables

5 The word ‘worker’ in the passage is A a kind of drink

B a kind of job C a

kind of weather

My name's Mandi Three months ago, I went to a disco where I met a boy called Tom Iguessed he was older than me, but I liked him and thought it didn't matter We danced acouple of times, then we chatted He said he was 18, then asked how old I was I told him I

was 16 I thought that if I told him my real age, he wouldn't want to know me, as I'm only

13

After the disco we arranged to meet the following weekend The next Saturday we went

for a burger and had a real laugh Afterwards he walked me to my street and kissed me

goodnight Things went really well We see each other a couple of times a week, but I'vehad to lie to my parents about where I'm going and who with I've always got on withthem, but I know that if they found out how old Tom was they'd stop me seeing him

Now I really don't know what to do I can't go on lying to my parents every time we goout, and Tom keeps asking why he can't come round to my house I'm really worried and Ineed some advice

1 Why has Mandi written this?

A to describe her boyfriend

B to prove how clever she is

3 Why is Mandi worried?

A Tom has been behaving strangely

B She's been telling lies

C She's not allowed to go to discus

4 Why can’t Tom come to Mandi’s house

A She doesn’t want her parents to meet him

B Her parents don’t like him

C He’s nervous of meeting her parents

5 The word ‘Afterwards’ in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to

A Before B Then

C In the end

There's an old saying in the theatre world 'Never work with children or animals' It's a pitythat Herman Gross has never heard this piece of advice, or if he has, that he didn't pay

attention to it It's not so much that Pet Doctor is a bad film, although I can't really find

many reasons for saying it's a good one It's more that it makes me angry Gross is a good

actor His appearance on the New York stage last winter in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet showed that he really can act So what's he doing in this nonsense?

It's a story about a small town doctor who finds he's making more money by looking afterthe local children's pets than he is by looking after humans Then he gets into trouble with

the police, because he doesn't have the right sort of license to do this and, surprise, the

children and their pets find a way to solve his problems I won't say how, as it's the onlypart of the film that's even slightly original or amusing If you have to see it, you'd beannoyed with me for telling you But my advice is, when it comes to a cinema near you -stay in and shampoo the cat

1 What is the writer trying to do in the text? A compare Herman Gross with another actor

B give his or her opinion about using animals in films

C give the opinion about Pet Doctor

2 What would a reader expect to get from this text? A information about a new film

B ideas about how animals should be cared for

C news about the lives of film stars

3 How did the writer feel about Pet Doctor?

A It's funny

B It ends too suddenly C It's not worth seeing

4 Why did the writer mention Romeo and Juliet?

A It’s an example of a really good play

B Gross proved he’s good actor in it C It was produced in New York

5 Which of the following can best replace the word ‘license’ in the second paragraph

had a bit of an argument but they obviously didn't have enough rooms In the end the

manager phoned other hotels in the town and found rooms for everyone but in fourdifferent hotels By this time the coach had gone so we had to get taxis and some of thetourists started to get very angry with me I still don't know who made that phone call but

it definitely wasn't me

1 What is the writer trying to do?

A argue

B apologise

C explain

2 Who was the text written to?

A one of the tourists

B the writer's employer C the hotel manager

3 Why weren’t any rooms available at the Hotel Riviera? A A conference wastaking place there

B There were more people in the group

C Someone had said they were not needed

4 What happened in the end?

A The tourists got angry with the hotel manager

B The tourists couldn’t stay together

C The writer found other hotels with rooms

5 The word ‘an argument’ in the passage is closest in meaning to

The action group was set up three weeks after the project was announced Members of the

group argue that the new centre will be too big and will totally change the way the townlooks They also dislike the removal of sports facilities from the centre and the change toless healthy activities such as video games and films Apart from the size of the project,they say that the 550 parking spaces provided will be too few and parking will becomemore difficult as a result

Local hotel owners have welcomed the project, but the action group says that in general itwill only have a bad effect on the neighbourhood According to one group member it willresult in up to 4,000 people being around Layton seafront late at night ‘A lot of old peopleand families live nearby,’ he explained A meeting is being held tonight to discuss theplans

1 What is the writer trying to do in the article? A show why the new leisure centre isneeded

B give her own opinion about the new leisure centre

C describe the arguments against the new leisure centre

2 The sports club has been in Layton for

A less than 15 years

B over 20 years

C over 25 years

3 What does the action group think about the new leisure centre?

A It will not be right for the area

B It will cost too much to build

C It will not attract enough people

4 Which group of people is keen on having the new leisure centre?

A The action group

B Local hotel owners

C People who come into Layton by car

5 The words ‘set up’ in the second paragraph can be best replaced by

Singing helps people live in peace together, she says All over the world people havealways sung together and in most places they still do, but in England it is no longertraditional Nowadays, says Ruth, people only sing together in churches and footballgrounds, although it could be done anywhere Everyone is able to sing, she says, but most

of us either think we can't or have forgotten what we learned as children However, as witheverything musical, you need to practise and the same applies to your voice Ruth believesthat singing itself brings other benefits It encourages good breathing, for example.Through singing, people often become more confident and also learn to control stress Butmore than anything, it brings people together

When Ruth first started singing, there was little opportunity to sing with others Then,

through a friend, she discovered an excellent singing class and became so keen that shestarted running her own classes These are held twice a month for all singers, whatevertheir level, and are now enormously successful

1 What is the writer trying to do in this article?

A explain why singing has become less popular everywhere B describe a teacher’s

ideas about the importance of singing

C advertise a teacher’s singing classes

2 What can the reader find out from the article? A how singing is something anyone can

do

B where the best places to learn to sing are

C why traditional singing has disappeared

3 Ruth believes the main benefit of singing with other people is that A you learn tobreathe more easily

B you are able to improve your speaking

C you can get to know other people

4 What made Ruth start her own class?

A She was asked to teach people she knew

B She wanted to improve her own teaching

C She enjoyed going to a singing class herself

5 The word ‘opportunity’ in the passage is closest in meaning to

retire, even though he was only in his late forties

Then he saw a violin in a shop It was of such high quality that even top professionalplayers are rarely able to afford one like it ‘I’d never felt money was important until then,’

he explained ‘Even with the money I’d won, I wasn’t sure I could afford to buy the violin,

so I started to leave the shop Then I thought I’d just try it, and I fell in love with thebeautiful sound it made I knew it was perfect both for live concerts and for recordings.’

Now all the money has gone ‘My wife can’t have the study room I promised her, and Ican’t retire,’ says Colin, ‘but it doesn’t matter.’ His wife says, ‘I sometimes wish he wasmore responsible with money, but I’m still pleased for him I’ve always helped him in hiscareer, as he’s helped me, by sharing everything We weren’t unhappy with our jobs, so

we didn’t really need the money to escape, and although Colin considered retiring, I know

he wouldn’t be happy doing that - he loves music too much I think he did the right thing.’

1 What is the writer trying to do in the text? A advise musicians to enter competitions

B explain why someone spent a lot of money

C describe how someone got a CD recorded

2 The high quality violin he saw in a shop was

A brand new

B very cheap

C very expensive

3 What does Colin’s wife say about what he did?

A She feels she didn’t really benefit from the money B She is sorry she has lost herstudy room C She accepts the decision that he made

4 When Colin first found the violin, he thought

A he might not have enough money to buy it B he should not spend all of his money

on it

C he was not a good enough player to own it

5 The word ‘retire’ in the passage is closest in meaning to

A start working

B stop working

C apply for a new job

Breaking the Ice

It's just before 7 a.m and I’m at an outdoor swimming pool in London, where thetemperature of the water is only 11 degrees above freezing! Amazingly, there are alreadyeight people swimming

I had intended to discover, by taking a swim myself, why anyone would want to swim insuch cold water However, in the end, I decided to ask people instead Peter Smith hasbeen a swimmer here for three years, coming every morning before work ‘It’s wonderful

on a cold winter morning,’ he says ‘I thought it would make me healthier and I haven’tbeen ill once since I started.’

All the swimmers here say the same thing They all feel fitter However, not everyoneagrees with them Some doctors say it helps fight illness, while others say it could be

dangerous, especially for your heart I asked Peter what they did on the days when the

pool was frozen ‘That’s easy,’ he said ‘There’s a place in the middle where the ice is thinand easy to break You have to avoid the sides where the ice is thicker I did try to swimthere once just to see what it was like, but I found that it was impossible to break throughthe ice

I would like to be able to say that I too dived happily into the water and swam a couple ofhundred metres But the truth is, fearing the worst, I walked very carefully into the pool,stood there almost in shock and then got out again after 30 seconds before I became ablock of ice

1 What is the writer trying to do in this text? A

explain why some people like swimming in the

cold

B prove an idea he has had about keeping fit C warn

people not to go swimming in cold water 2 What do

some doctors say about swimming in the cold?

A it improves heart problems

B it helps fight illness

C it is a dangerous sport

3 What does Peter Smith say about his morning swim?

A It has helped him recover from a recent illness

B He enjoys it when the pool is covered in ice C It is the reason why he keeps well allyear

4 What did the writer feel about swimming at the pool?

A It was very cold

B He did not like the ice

C It made him feel healthier

5 The word ‘dangerous’ in the passage is opposite to A

hard-working

B safe

C rich

A month ago I had no idea that on a Saturday afternoon in November I’d be hanging 30metres above the ground and enjoying it Now I looked down at the river far below me,

and realised why people love rock-climbing

My friend Matt and I had arrived at the Activity Centre on Friday evening Theaccommodation wasn’t wonderful, but we had everything we needed (beds, blankets,food), and we were pleased to be out of the city and in the fresh air

On Saturday morning we met the other ten members of our group Cameron had comealong with two friends, Kevin and Simon, while sisters Carole and Lynn had come withAmanda We had come from various places and none of us knew the area

We knew we were going to spend the weekend outdoors, but none of us was sure exactlyhow Half of us spent the morning caving while the others went rock- climbing and then

we changed at lunchtime Matt and I went to the caves first Climbing out was harder thangoing in, but after a good deal of pushing, we were out at last - covered in mud but pleasedand excited by what we’d done

1 What is the writer trying to do in the text

A say how she spent some free time

B advertise the Activity Centre

C describe some people she met

2 What can the reader learn from the text?

A when to depend on other people at the Centre

B how to apply for a place at the Centre

C what sort of activities you can experience at the Centre

3 How do you think the writer might describe her weekend?

A interesting

B frightening

C unpleasant

4 What do we learn about the group?

A Some of them had been there before

B They had already chosen their preferred activities C Some of them already kneweach other

5 The word ‘rock-climbing’ in the passage can be understood as

A A computer game

B An outdoor activity

C A music program

Winter Driving Winter is dangerous because it’s so

difficult to know what is going to happen and accidents take place so easily Fog can bewaiting to meet you over the top of a hill Ice might be hiding beneath the melting snow,waiting to send you off the road The car coming towards you may suddenly slide acrossthe road

Rule Number One for driving on icy roads is to drive smoothly Uneven movements canmake a car suddenly very difficult to control So every time you either turn the wheel,touch the brakes or increase your speed, you must be as gentle and slow as possible.Imagine you are driving with a full cup of hot coffee on the seat next to you Drive so thatyou wouldn’t spill it

Rule Number Two is to pay attention to what might happen The more ice there is, thefurther down the road you have to look Test how long it takes to stop by gently braking.Remember that you may be driving more quickly than you think

In general, allow double your normal stopping distance when the road is wet, three times

this distance on snow, and even more on ice Try to stay in control of your car at all timesand you will avoid trouble

1 What is the writer trying to do in the text? A give

information about winter weather

B warn people against driving in winter

C advise people about safe driving in winter

2 Why would somebody read this text? A to find out

about the weather

B for information on driving lessons

C to learn about better driving

3 What does the writer think?

A People should avoid driving in the snow

B Drivers should expect problems in winter C People drive too

fast in winter

4 Why does the writer talk about a cup of coffee? A

to explain the importance of smooth movements

B because he thinks refreshments are important for drivers C because he wantsdrivers to be more relaxed

5 The word ‘distance’ in the passage is closest in

meaning to

A length

B work

C speed

When I opened the first ‘Body Shop’ in 1976 my only object was to earn enough to feed

my children Today ‘The Body Shop’ is an international company rapidly growing allaround the world In the years since we began I have learned a lot Much of what I havelearned will be found in this book, for I believe that we, as a company, have somethingworth saying about how to run a successful business without giving up what we reallybelieve in It’s not a normal business book, nor is it just about my life The message is that

to succeed in business you have to be different Business can be fun, a business can be runwith love and it can do good In business, as in life, I need to enjoy myself, to have afeeling of family and to feel excited by the unexpected I have always wanted the peoplewho work for ‘The Body Shop’ to feel the same way

Now this book sends these ideas of mine out into the world, makes them public I’d like tothink there are no limits to our ‘family’, no limits to what can be done I find that anexciting thought I hope you do, too

1 What is the writer’s main purpose in writing this text

A to tell the reader her life story

B to introduce her ideas to the reader

C to explain how international companies operate

2 What did the writer want when she opened the first ‘Body Shop’ in 1976?

A to make a lot of money

B to write a book about business

C to earn enough money to feed her children

3 How does the writer feel about the business she runs?

A She doesn’t care about success if her children are fed B She just runs it for herown entertainment

C It is not like any other company

4 What kind of workers does the writer like to employ?

A workers who can explain her ideas

B workers who get on well with the public

C workers who have the same attitudes as she does