Tổ chức The Gifted Battlefield

Nhiệm kỳ 2023-2024

DỰ ÁN CHICKEN MINDS KỲ THI THỬ TUYỂN SINH LỚP 10 THPT CHUYÊN

BAN CHUYÊN MÔN TIẾNG ANH NĂM HỌC 2024 – 2025

ĐỀ THI THỬ ĐỢT 1

Môn thi: TIẾNG ANH (không chuyên) SỐ PHÁCH

Thời gian: 90 phút (không kể thời gian giao đề)
Ngày thi: 16/3/2024 – 30/3/2024
Đề thi gồm có 10 trang

• Thí sinh làm bài vào Phiếu trả lời (Answer sheet).
• Chỉ những câu trả lời được ghi tại Phiếu trả lời (Answer sheet) mới được chấm điểm.
• Thí sinh KHÔNG được sử dụng tài liệu, kể cả từ điển.
• Giám thị KHÔNG giải thích gì thêm.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR CANDIDATES

• Before doing the test, make sure that you are in a quiet environment. Time yourself according to real test conditions.
• Access the online answer sheet HERE (and sign in with your Google account if necessary). Click Make a copy to create a
copy of the answer sheet.
• Rename your answer sheet using the following syntax: [Your full name] – ANH KC 1.
o For example, if your name is Nguyễn Văn A, rename your answer sheet as follows: Nguyễn Văn A – ANH KC 1.
• Read the instructions for each part of the paper carefully. Answer all the questions.
• Type your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided on the answer sheet. Do not modify any other parts of
the answer sheet. You must complete the answer sheet within the time limit.
• At the end of the test, download your answer sheet as a Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) file by clicking File > Download > Microsoft
Excel (.xlsx) and upload it to the submission point on the LMS website.

INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES

There are 5 sections and 100 questions in this paper.
• Section I: Pronunciation consists of 2 parts and questions 1 – 10.
o Each question carries half a point.
• Section II: Use of English consists of 3 parts and questions 11 – 60.
o Questions 11 – 50 carry one point each.
o Questions 51 – 60 carry half a point each.
• Section III: Reading consists of 3 parts and questions 61 – 80.
o Each question carries one point.
• Section IV: Word formation consists of questions 81 – 90.
o Each question carries one point.
• Section V: Key word transformation consists of questions 91 – 100.
o Each question carries up to two points.

Kỳ thi thử tuyển sinh lớp 10 THPT chuyên – Đợt 1 – Năm học 2024-2025
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Môn thi: Tiếng Anh (không chuyên) – Ngày làm bài thi: 16/3/2024 – 30/3/2024
 Tổ chức The Gifted Battlefield
Nhiệm kỳ 2023-2024

I. PRONUNCIATION (5 points)
Part 1. For questions 1-5, type the letter A, B, C or D in the corresponding numbered boxes provided on your answer sheet
to indicate the word whose underlined part is pronounced differently from that of the others.
1. A. delicate B. differentiate C. dedicate D. indicate
2. A. demise B. horizon C. premise D. disguise
3. A. patriot B. male C. safety D. plasma
4. A. business B. impossible C. embarrass D. scissors
5. A. thatched B. terraced C. washed D. raised

Part 2. For questions 6-10, type the letter A, B, C or D in the corresponding numbered boxes provided on your answer sheet
to indicate the word that has a different stress pattern from that of the others.
6. A. faucet B. pollute C. respond D. relax
7. A. innovation B. separation C. environment D. installation
8. A. adjunct B. adjust C. adjourn D. adjacent
9. A. proportion B. prominent C. processor D. profitable
10. A. committee B. referee C. guarantee D. abductee

II. USE OF ENGLISH (45 points)

Part 1. For questions 11-30, type the letter A, B, C or D in the corresponding numbered boxes provided on your answer
sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions.

11. Kate: Oh no, my phone died! Would you mind if I used yours for a few seconds?
John: ________.
A. That's a great idea B. I'd rather you wouldn't C. No, I'm fine with that D. Yes, go ahead

12. Sam: Why did you miss your flight to Berlin?

James: I had aimed ________ at the airport with plenty of time to spare, but I got caught up in a traffic jam.
A. arriving B. to have arrived C. to have been arriving D. to arrive

13. Manager: What do you think about Charles, the youngest candidate for our company’s HR position?
Interviewer: Charles is an excellent judge of character. If anyone tries to deceive him, he can _______ them immediately.
A. see through B. look into C. see to D. look through

14. Amy: What’s the matter with Sarah? She seems so upset lately.
Tim: While she was on vacation in Egypt with her family, Sarah ________ and lost many valuable possessions.
A. had her flat broken into B. had broken into her flat C. got her flat broken into D. got her flat broken

15. Teacher: I’m concerned about Danny. Why doesn’t he show up in class today?
Tom: I heard he was ________ yesterday, so I guess his parents decided to let him stay at home and rest a little bit more.
A. breaking the ice B. under the weather C. taking a rain check D. right as rain

16. Parent: How is my son doing at school?

Teacher: Carl excels at literature and social science subjects. As ________ natural sciences, though, he is completely hopeless
and will probably need a tutor.
A. about B. to C. with D. in

17. This is an extract from a newspaper article about the district’s road infrastructure.
Major upgrades in road infrastructure have tremendously improved road
safety and reduced the daily ________ of traffic going through the district.

A. volume B. capacity C. number D. total

18. Theo: I'm so nervous – I’m about to become the leader of the Music Club. Can you give me a piece of advice?
Anna: You should know you can never do everything on your own, and it’s your responsibility to _______ tasks to your members.
A. assume B. attribute C. delegate D. initiate

19. Brother: Why shouldn’t we lie?

Sister: If you keep lying, one lie will turn into another and eventually, all of your lies will ________ you.
A. catch on to B. catch up with C. catch up on D. catch on with

Kỳ thi thử tuyển sinh lớp 10 THPT chuyên – Đợt 1 – Năm học 2024-2025
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Môn thi: Tiếng Anh (không chuyên) – Ngày làm bài thi: 16/3/2024 – 30/3/2024
 Tổ chức The Gifted Battlefield
Nhiệm kỳ 2023-2024

20. Harry: Is Anand going to visit the Independence Palace while he’s in Vietnam?
Jay: __________ what Anand’s holiday plans are?
A. Where must I know B. How should I know C. Why could I know D. What do I know

21. This is part of Jouri’s diary entry about yesterday’s farewell party.
15th March 2024
I had a whale of a time last night. ________ at the farewell party, I was surprised to find my favourite singer
performing my childhood songs there!
A. I arrived B. Just arrived C. On arrival D. To have arrived

22. This is an announcement from The Gifted Battlefield, an academic project for high school students.
The Gifted Battlefield – Member Recruitment
Join us now for an intellectually stimulating journey.
Application ________: 4 August 2023

A. deadline B. limit C. frame D. interval

23. This is an extract from a book review.

The book follows four college graduates, all of ________ lives are linked, as they try to become independent and get a job.
A. where B. whom C. which D. whose

24. Interviewer: Congratulations for winning the championship! What was the key to your team’s excellent performance?
Megan: Practice. There’s no secret – we _________ our resounding success right now had we not practiced day and night for
the past month.
A. wouldn’t be celebrating B. weren’t celebrating C. wouldn’t have celebrated D. won’t celebrate

25. A news broadcaster is reporting a local wildfire on Channel 4.

By the time the firefighters arrived, the entire forest had been ________ by the flames.
A. consumed B. absorbed C. eaten D. swollen

26. This is an announcement about your district’s annual literature competition.

Annual literature competition
________ will only be accepted from students at least fourteen years of age.

A. Entrances B. Entries C. Entrants D. Entrance

27. Jenna: May I ask why I received an F for this paper? Clearly, it’s very well-written and fully satisfies the requirements.
Kelvin: Yes, but it is ________ obvious that you didn't write this essay yourself but used ChatGPT instead, so I unfortunately
have no choice but to give you an F.
A. sadly B. tragically C. painfully D. unhappily

28. Jenna: I think I will study to become a doctor in the future. What do you think?
Dad: You might want to think this through a little bit. Salaries in the medical ________ tend to be very high, but in return, many
doctors often find themselves overworked and under constant stress.
A. classification B. position C. occupation D. profession

29. This is a letter that Jonathan received yesterday.

Jonathan,
Finals are coming, so hit the books. When I met Mr. Tom yesterday, he said he was very concerned for your grades and urged
________ your studies.
Mom

A. you putting more effort into B. you to put more effort into
C. you put more effort into D. to put more effort into

30. Courtney: I find the fried chicken somewhat underwhelming. It’s overcooked and dry as a bone.
Kayla: ________, Courtney. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the fried chicken – in fact, I love it!
A. Talk about it B. Talk nonsense C. Speak up D. Speak for yourself

Kỳ thi thử tuyển sinh lớp 10 THPT chuyên – Đợt 1 – Năm học 2024-2025
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Môn thi: Tiếng Anh (không chuyên) – Ngày làm bài thi: 16/3/2024 – 30/3/2024
 Tổ chức The Gifted Battlefield
Nhiệm kỳ 2023-2024

Part 2. For questions 31-50, read the texts below and type the letter A, B, C or D in the corresponding numbered boxes
provided on your answer sheet to indicate the answer that best fits each gap.
PASSAGE 1

Teacher’s Corner: Answering questions about learning

A. Assessment for learning and assessment of learning – how are they different?
In (31) ________, assessment for learning involves both the teacher and student becoming (32) ________ of techniques
and ways to improve learning, while assessment of learning simply (33) ________ what a student knows at one specific point in
time. The former (34) ________ of students recognizing where they are and in which direction they want to go in their learning
journey to reach their goals, thereby requiring students to actively (35) ________ in their learning.
B. How can teachers help students learn better?
First of all, to help students gain learning (36) ________, it is important to have clear lesson objectives and suitable
targets (37) ________ on the needs and abilities of each class. The teacher is responsible for explaining to students why they
are learning what they are currently learning. In addition, given that most students’ attention (38) ________ is short, teachers
should (39) ________ for a range of interactive classroom activities or use audiovisual aids to help students (40) ________
knowledge faster and learn more effectively.

31. A. conclusion B. contrast C. brief D. relation

32. A. known B. obvious C. aware D. capable
33. A. exams B. assigns C. tests D. studies
34. A. comprises B. contains C. consists D. composes
35. A. determine B. participate C. concentrate D. process
36. A. diligence B. industry C. motivation D. incentive
37. A. emphasizing B. focusing C. prioritizing D. tailoring
38. A. duration B. span C. length D. period
39. A. select B. opt C. choose D. pick
40. A. take on B. get at C. pick up D. come up with

PASSAGE 2

Agriculture puts a (41) ________ on the environment in several ways. Farming requires a substantial amount of land,
an issue (42) ________ global importance as land becomes ever scarcer. Agriculture typically contributes to other important
problems, too, such as soil erosion, loss of wildlife habitats and pollution. Environmentalists also point out that the carbon (43)
________ of many forms of agriculture is considerable, (44) ________ are the energy and water requirements of farming. For
these reasons, scientists and growers strive to identify more ecologically (45) ________ ways to supply the world with fresh
food.
In recent decades, the quest for environmentally friendly farming practices has largely centred (46) ________ growing
crops in town and cities. The development of vertical farming has played an important (47) ________ in this. As the name
suggests, this type of farming involves growing crops in vertical racks or shelves stacked on top of one another (48) ________
planting them horizontally across wide open spaces. Vertical farms maximise urban (49) ________ by making use of abandoned
sites such as vacant apartment blocks, disused underground tunnels, abandoned mine shafts or old (50) ________ containers.

41. A. weight B. pressure C. problem D. strain

42. A. of B. with C. in D. by
43. A. footprint B. capture C. absorption D. credit
44. A. such B. so C. as D. with
45. A. usable B. sustainable C. supportable D. bearable
46. A. by B. around C. in D. into
47. A. milestone B. stage C. position D. role
48. A. instead B. while C. rather than D. in contrast
49. A. region B. space C. density D. design
50. A. shipload B. shipboard C. shipment D. shipping

Kỳ thi thử tuyển sinh lớp 10 THPT chuyên – Đợt 1 – Năm học 2024-2025
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Môn thi: Tiếng Anh (không chuyên) – Ngày làm bài thi: 16/3/2024 – 30/3/2024
 Tổ chức The Gifted Battlefield
Nhiệm kỳ 2023-2024

Part 3. For questions 51-60, each sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. If the sentence contains an error,
choose the underlined part (A, B, C or D) that is incorrect; if the sentence is correct, select choice E. Type the correct letter
A-E in the corresponding numbered boxes provided on your answer sheet.
51. He is (A) way taller (B) than (C) she is (D). No error (E)
52. Of (A) the two students, the one living (B) in the suburbs (C) is more (D) talented. No error (E)
53. I would sooner (A) you didn't give away (B) my secret and made (C) fun of it – it was no laughing matter (D). No error (E)
54. Despite of (A) being given (B) the highest quality education, he didn't (C) even bother learning. (D) No error (E)
55. The (A) Niagara Falls, one of the world's (B) most famous waterfalls, lie (C) half in North America and half in Canada (D). No
error (E)
56. The battle in (A) the war of 1812 between the English and the United States armies could have been avoided if the warring sides
(B) had known (C) that a peace agreement (D) had already been signed. No error (E)
57. Although (A) the writing was difficult to decipher (B) and the paper had begun (C) to disintegrate, the ancient manuscript was a
valuable find (D). No error (E)
58. Before the 2020 United States presidential election, there was a long period of (A) disagreement among my friends and I (B), as
we (C) all had conflicting opinions from which (D) we would not be swayed. No error (E)
59. Role models can be a source of motivation if they are people whose (A) achievements we find (B) realistically attainable; in
addition (C), comparing ourselves (D) to super-achievers might have the opposite effect. No error (E)
60. Amusement parks, particularly (A) those featuring (B) water rides, are a fun place (C) for families to visit (D) during the hot
summer months. No error (E)

III. READING (20 points)

Part 1. For questions 61-67, read the following passage and do the tasks that follow.
MASS MEDIA
A. Mass media are means of communication that are used to reach the general public for the purpose of creating audiences for
information, artistic expression, and other kinds of messages.
B. Mass media are essentially an industrial-era phenomenon. The growth of the first commercial printing industry during the early
18th century, which sprang up around London's Grub Street, is often cited as a beginning for mass media because of the
recognisable economic system that was put into place. It was there that publishing found its early commercial applications, as
hand-operated printing presses were used to produce and reproduce thousands of copies of inexpensive literary products,
including novels and magazines, which were sold for profit to a growing audience of rudimentary readers.
C. A string of communication technologies were introduced during the 19th century, all of which accelerated the development of
the mass media. The invention of the steam-powered printing press, coupled with increasing literacy rates, gave rise to mass
circulation of newspapers and magazines, as well as to the mass production of books, including paperbacks. Photography was
invented in the 1820s, and methods for reproducing photographs in the print media were improved throughout the century,
making such media ever more attractive to consumers. In addition, the development of still photography led to the invention of
the motion picture, an entirely new means of communication that showed great potential for mass-media application.
D. The telegraph, invented in the 1830s and in practical use by the late 1840s, was perhaps the single most important invention in
the history of mass communication. It revolutionised existing media by supplying newspapers and magazines with a continuous
stream of news dispatches from the region, the nation, and eventually the world. Bolstered by the resources of the telegraphic
wire services, newspapers and magazines achieved circulations numbering in the millions. Thus print became the first of the
modern mass media.
E. During the 1950s, broadcast television emerged as the centre of the mass media. Containing news, drama, cinema, music, and
at least some content from all other mass media in a single, convenient home appliance, television's overwhelming functionality
was soon dictating supplementary roles to other components of the mass media. Radio began to produce specialised
programming, mostly music, for smaller target audiences as television absorbed general-interest entertainment, such as drama,
comedy, and variety, which had been among radio's most popular attractions. Newspaper circulation had started to decline in
the 1930s as radio journalism proved itself both faster and more popular. With the spread of television, the number of daily
newspapers and general-interest magazines dropped as well. In the face of television's at-home convenience, motion-picture
attendance declined too.

Kỳ thi thử tuyển sinh lớp 10 THPT chuyên – Đợt 1 – Năm học 2024-2025
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Môn thi: Tiếng Anh (không chuyên) – Ngày làm bài thi: 16/3/2024 – 30/3/2024
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Nhiệm kỳ 2023-2024

F. Evolving technologies continue to drive the development of the mass media. Instantaneous communication, a process that
originated with the telegraph, reached a milestone with the successful launchings of communications satellites into low Earth
orbit. The first of these, Telstar 1 (1962) orbited the Earth at a speed faster than the Earth revolves, allowing for "windows" of
time when video and audio transmissions could be made within a shifting orbital footprint. Today, with dozens of high-capacity
communications satellites in synchronous orbit, a reporter may attach a camera or microphone to a laptop computer and report
live, via satellite, from virtually any place in the world to the studio of a mass-media company, which in turn can offer that live
transmission to much of the world.
G. The 1990s were marked by an explosive growth in online services for people who use computers, as well as public access to the
Internet. At first it was hoped by critics that the Internet might offer an alternative or even a counterforce to mass-media
influence over public taste and public opinion with such interpersonal applications as e-mail, newsgroups, bulletin boards, and
chat rooms. By the turn of the 21st century, however, the familiar model of mass-media development had reasserted itself over
the new domain. Mass-media companies had become the dominant servers, extending their familiar brand names to this newest
source of information and entertainment.
For questions 61-64, choose the correct heading for sections C-F from the list of headings (i-viii) provided. Type the correct
number i-viii in the corresponding boxes provided on your answer sheet.

i. What happened with the advent of TV

ii. The importance of photography as a mass medium
61. Section C iii. The unchanging role of new inventions in creating mass media
62. Section D iv. What 'mass media' means
63. Section E v. Why the mass media are run by big business
64. Section F vi. When and why the mass media first developed
vii. The role of the printing press in the production of print materials
viii. The main driving force behind the development of newspapers as a mass medium

For questions 65-67, complete each sentence with the correct ending A-J. You may use any letter MORE THAN ONCE. Type
the correct letter A-J in the corresponding boxes provided on your answer sheet.

A. never helped to create a large audience.

B. provided the first examples of mass media.
C. gradually became a medium for select audiences.
D. lessened the importance of cinema.
65. Print materials
E. depended on live reporting.
66. Radio
F. enabled the development of mass-media companies.
67. Satellites
G. created the need for more advanced technology.
H. facilitated the growth of instant news.
I. prevented people from becoming critical consumers.
J. helped to educate people.

Part 2. For questions 68-74, read a magazine article about the influence the virtual world can have on us and type A, B, C or
D in the corresponding numbered boxes provided to indicate the correct answer which fits best according to what is stated
or implied in the text.
OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE DIGITAL WORLD
1. As you approach the boarding gate, your heart starts beating faster and you begin to sweat. You begin to panic as your fear of flying
threatens to overwhelm you. Despite your urge to flee, you continue to move forward in an orderly fashion. So, how did you resist the
temptation to leave the airport? The simple answer is by not being there in the first place. You have lived the whole experience through
your avatar, an animation that represents you in a virtual environment. In reality, you were never at the airport: you were only there
on a computer. However, according to recent research, the experience of watching your digital look-alike deal with anxiety in a
simulated airport and board a plane is real enough to help you cope with such a situation in the real world.

2. In the virtual world, avatars do not normally resemble those people controlling them. A prime example is the popular virtual set-up
of World of Warcraft, in which avatars take the form of dwarfs and elves as well as other mythical beings. However, when digital
photographs of users' faces are incorporated into the avatars, they can look frighteningly like the users themselves. Such avatars are
known as 'doppelgängers' and they have powerful effects on us. Indeed, it is claimed that just three minutes spent watching our

Kỳ thi thử tuyển sinh lớp 10 THPT chuyên – Đợt 1 – Năm học 2024-2025
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Môn thi: Tiếng Anh (không chuyên) – Ngày làm bài thi: 16/3/2024 – 30/3/2024
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Nhiệm kỳ 2023-2024

doppelgängers can affect our ability to learn, our behaviour and even our opinions. Given these claims, it would appear that our
identities may eventually become a combination of our real selves and our virtual representations, each inseparable from the other.

3. The power of our look-alike avatars to influence us is termed the 'doppelgänger effect’. Although its potential is now becoming widely
recognised, the effect was known and applied well before the digital age through the use of puppets by teachers to illustrate the
points they wished to put across. The reasons why puppets were effective teaching tools were, however, unknown until scans of the
brain were used to identify the parts that became active when people talked about both their avatar and their real-life experiences.
They turned out to be remarkably similar, meaning we think of our experiences in the virtual world in almost the same way as we view
our encounters in the real world. And since we tend to remember personal information more effectively than other kinds, the use of
avatars, especially doppelgänger avatars, can be an efficient learning tool.

4. Apart from being able to play a role in education, doppelgänger avatars could be used to motivate us to adopt a healthier lifestyle.
Studies have shown that behaviour can be altered through the use of digital images of ourselves. In a recent experiment, one group
of students witnessed their avatars exercising on screen. As the routine progressed, they looked increasingly fitter. A second group
watched their avatars hanging round doing nothing. In the twenty-four hours following the experiment, the first group were more
physically active than the second group, doing more walking and working out in the gym longer. Although it is unclear how long this
effect lasts, there is little doubt that we do relate strongly to our virtual selves.

5. While research indicates that the use of avatars can be beneficial to their real life equivalents, it is also recognised that they could
also be used to benefit people other than the users. One obvious example of when such manipulation might occur is during an
advertisement. By using actors that represent the section of the population the advertisement is aimed at, an advertising agency can
get the viewers to imagine themselves using a particular product and increase sales accordingly. It has also been found that the
more like the consumer an actor is, the closer the association the viewer feels with the product. This finding suggests that advertising
companies might even use social networking sites like Facebook to get the consumer to make a more personal connection with an
advertisement. In this way a person's opinion of a product can be greatly affected and spending patterns changed or modified.

68. Why does the writer describe the situation at an airport?

A. to show how common air travel is B. to illustrate how dangerous flying can be
C. to give an example of a stressful situation D. to advise people against doing things they dislike
69. Which use of the virtual world is described in paragraph 1?
A. playing a role in an online game B. providing training for airport personnel
C. as a way of getting airline tickets D. as part of a treatment to overcome fear
70. From paragraph 2, we can infer that
A. digital avatars often look very similar to our physical appearances.
B. the real and virtual worlds may become indistinguishable from each other.
C. we will be incapable of forming independent opinions in the future.
D. the extent to which the virtual world shapes our lives will never be fully appreciated.
71. What does the bold, underlined word 'They' in paragraph 3 refer to?
A. scans of the brain B. people operating puppets C. real life experiences D. teaching tools
72. What was the probable reason for the first group of students exercising more?
A. they saw no point in hanging around doing nothing.
B. they were already fitter than the second group.
C. they were more willing to adopt a new routine.
D. they saw that their avatars looked better after working out.
73. To boost their sales, companies can
A. get the public to picture themselves as people in advertisements.
B. promote their products on social networking platforms.
C. convince people to utilise their imagination.
D. completely reject traditional forms of advertising.
74. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Doppelgänger avatars can secretly influence our personalities.
B. In the future, digital avatars will become an important part of our personal identities.
C. Seeing ourselves in the digital world may be beneficial, but it can also have a dark side.
D. Given the actors’ relatability, advertisers can alter our shopping preferences.

Kỳ thi thử tuyển sinh lớp 10 THPT chuyên – Đợt 1 – Năm học 2024-2025
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Môn thi: Tiếng Anh (không chuyên) – Ngày làm bài thi: 16/3/2024 – 30/3/2024
 Tổ chức The Gifted Battlefield
Nhiệm kỳ 2023-2024

Part 3. For questions 75-80, read the following passage and do the tasks that follow.

TWO ARE BETTER THAN ONE

Antonella Sorace explains how bilingualism might affect children and
answers some questions about living and speaking with two languages.

Research on bilingual language and cognition shows that the human brain is perfectly capable of dealing with two or
more languages simultaneously from birth. In many parts of the world growing up multilingual is the norm: if children hear enough
of both languages and have enough motivation and fun, they will pick them up. What many people don't know is that the
experience of dealing with two languages seems to give bilingual children some general cognitive advantages in other domains.
These advantages are particularly evident in tasks that involve cognitive flexibility and the control of attention: bilingual children
seem to be better at selectively paying attention, at inhibiting irrelevant information, and at switching between alternative
solutions to a problem. In contrast, such children do not seem to have an advantage over monolinguals with respect to functions
that depend on the way knowledge is represented. For example, they don't seem to be any better at encoding problems,
accessing relevant knowledge, or drawing logical inferences.
What is the link between enhanced cognitive control and bilingualism? Bilingual speakers must develop a powerful
mechanism for keeping the two languages separate, so that fluency in one language can be achieved without intrusions from the
unwanted language. Therefore, the bilingual child's constant experience of having two languages available and inhibiting one
when the other is activated enhances their ability to multitask in other domains. There is more good news for bilingual children:
it's been suggested that some of these cognitive advantages are maintained in old age. If these results are confirmed by future
research, it will be possible to conclude that bilingualism provides a defence against the decline of general processing functions
that is a feature of normal cognitive aging.
A further spin-off of bilingualism is higher awareness of language and greater ability to think about it and talk about it.
Bilingual children have a greater ability to focus on the form of language, abstracting away from meaning. Parents of bilingual
children often report that their children engage in 'language play' that may take the form of 'funny accents' or impossible literal
translations between one language and another. Many parents also report that bilingual children have more precocious reading
skills, and this has recently been confirmed experimentally. Bilingual children recognise symbolic letter-sound correspondences
earlier than monolingual children, although this does not appear to be related to greater awareness of the sounds themselves
and it is also a function of the specific languages acquired as well as of the level of proficiency attained.
Because of their experience of selecting languages according to the perceived linguistic competence of the person they
are addressing, bilingual children have also been said to have an enhanced ‘awareness of the other'. This often goes under the
heading of 'Theory of Mind', which is a term used to describe the ability to understand other people's mental states, and more
specifically that other people may have beliefs, desires and intentions different from one's own. The cognitive abilities involved
in Theory of Mind normally emerge around the age of 4 years in monolingual children; they are permanently impaired in autistic
children. It has been reported that bilingual children develop Theory of Mind, on average, a year earlier than monolingual
children. It is remarkable that the experience of dealing with two languages may have such extensive repercussions in so many
apparently unrelated domains of cognitive development.
Do bilingual children confuse their languages? A hopelessly mixed language is the thing that many parents in bilingual
families typically fear, but recent research has completely discredited this idea. First, using new techniques for studying whether
babies can tell the difference between one outside stimulus and another, researchers have learned that monolingual babies'
perceptual abilities are remarkably fine-tuned very early on: they know a lot about what their language sounds like long before
they start producing their first words, and even at the age of a few months will notice when someone who was speaking English
switches to speaking, say, Japanese. This makes it very implausible that bilingual children do not realize that they are hearing two
languages. Second, research on 'code-switching' – swapping back and forth between languages – shows that bilingual children,
like bilingual adults, often switch from one language to another in order to achieve particular communicative effects. For example,
even if they are talking in Language A, they may switch to Language B to report something that somebody said, if the speech they
are reporting was originally in Language B. Or they may switch because of the topic they are talking about, or simply to play
games with their languages. Naturally, this kind of code-switching takes place most often when talking to other bilingual children.
Moreover, code-switching is not random but generally obeys a remarkably strict grammar. For example, a Spanish-English
bilingual child is much more likely to say 'La house' than 'The casa' (Spanish article + English noun, rather than English article +
Spanish noun), apparently favouring the combination that is more informative in terms of grammatical features like gender and
number. Far from producing random mixings due to confusion, in other words, bilingual children know when and how it is

Kỳ thi thử tuyển sinh lớp 10 THPT chuyên – Đợt 1 – Năm học 2024-2025
8
Môn thi: Tiếng Anh (không chuyên) – Ngày làm bài thi: 16/3/2024 – 30/3/2024
 Tổ chức The Gifted Battlefield
Nhiệm kỳ 2023-2024

appropriate to mix their languages. There is also plenty of evidence that the grammatical rules of each of the languages are kept
separate most of the time in the course of development.
While bilingual children usually are 'late talkers' who start speaking later than monolingual children, there is little
evidence that bilingual languages affect each other – they neither speed up nor delay normal acquisition processes. Instead,
children's development in each of the two languages follows the same milestones as in monolingual children.
For questions 75-78, read the following flow chart and fill in each blank with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS taken from
the passage. Type your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided on your answer sheet.

COGNITIVE CONTROL AND BILINGUALISM

prevent (75) ________ the other promote increased awareness

language into children’s speech of the (77) ________

increased (76) ________ to do may preserve cognitive abilities

several things simultaneously (78) ________

For questions 79 and 80, choose TWO statements A-F which are stated or implied in the passage. Type the correct letter A-
F in any order in boxes 79 and 80 on your answer sheet.
A. Learning to read is more challenging for bilingual children than for their monolingual peers.
B. Bilingualism does not necessarily enhance all cognitive functions.
C. Being bilingual enables children to understand complex language easily.
D. Bilingual children are very sensitive to their audience.
E. Bilingual children learn languages faster than monolingual children.
F. Bilingual parents often bond with their children by playing language games.

IV. WORD FORMATION (10 points)

For questions 81-90, type the correct form of each bracketed word in each sentence in the corresponding numbered boxes
provided on your answer sheet.
81. In surgeries, a split-second moment of _________ from the doctor can have devastating consequences for the patient. (CARE)
82. All _______ sitting the high school entrance examination must turn off their phones and leave them outside the test room. (EXAM)
83. Having spent decades with her family in Poland, Linda has never lost her strong sense of Polish identity, although she is now
_________ as a French citizen. (NATURAL)
84. From artificial intelligence to nanotechnology, the Fourth Industrial _______ has brought about countless breakthroughs that
transform the world we live in. (REVOLVE)
85. Although the odds were heavily against them, the team demonstrated remarkable ________ and kept on playing, eventually
bouncing back from 3-0 to 4-3 in extra time. (BRAVE)
86. The rapid _______ of the current global environmental crisis requires a shared response from all individuals, businesses and
governments. (WORSE)
87. There is increasing concern about the negative effects of violence portrayals in the media on teenagers who are currently at an
________ age. (IMPRESS)
88. As big corporations are the main industrial _______, they should be the ones bearing the most responsibility in cleaning up the
environment. (POLLUTE)
89. Although the book deals with a wide variety of complex topics in literature and philosophy, its simple language makes it ________
to a wide audience. (ACCESS)
90. Although the event could not have been more _________ with absolutely nothing going according to plan, the PR team has done
an amazing job to control the damage to the company's reputation. (DISASTER)

Kỳ thi thử tuyển sinh lớp 10 THPT chuyên – Đợt 1 – Năm học 2024-2025
9
Môn thi: Tiếng Anh (không chuyên) – Ngày làm bài thi: 16/3/2024 – 30/3/2024
 Tổ chức The Gifted Battlefield
Nhiệm kỳ 2023-2024

V. KEY WORD TRANSFORMATION (20 points)

For questions 91-100, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first one, using the word given
in brackets. Do not change the word given. You must use between THREE and EIGHT words, including the word given. Type
ONLY THE MISSING WORDS in the corresponding numbered boxes provided on your answer sheet.
91. As he got older, he became more forgetful. (MORE)
The older .

92. I was about to leave the classroom when my teacher phoned. (POINT)
I when my teacher phoned.

93. To fully appreciate the beauty of the river, you have to be in a boat. (CAN)
Only in a boat the river is.

94. None of the food was left when we got to the party. (TIME)
All the food had been eaten .

95. The president arrived late for the meeting due to the traffic jam. (PREVENTED)
The traffic jam time for the meeting.

96. Tyler remembered his father taking him to the old village. (BEEN)
Tyler recalled his father.

97. He was taken back to his pleasant childhood by the smell of the ice cream. (MEMORIES)
The smell of the ice cream brought childhood.

98. Kayla should really stop behaving like a child. (THOUGH)

It’s high time a child.

99. At night, my family would always keep our dog in for fear it would get run over. (CASE)
At night, my family's dog never used run over.

100. Thomas quickly recovered from his cold. (GET)

It did of his cold.

– THE END OF THE TEST –

Kỳ thi thử tuyển sinh lớp 10 THPT chuyên – Đợt 1 – Năm học 2024-2025
10
Môn thi: Tiếng Anh (không chuyên) – Ngày làm bài thi: 16/3/2024 – 30/3/2024