SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO KỲ THI CHỌN ĐỘI TUYỂN

HẢI PHÒNG DỰ THI HỌC SINH GIỎI QUỐC GIA

NĂM HỌC 2019-2020
ĐỀ CHÍNH THỨC
ĐỀ THI MÔN: TIẾNG ANH
(Đề thi gồm 12 trang) Thời gian: 180 phút (không kể thời gian giao đề)
Ngày thi: 28/9/2019
ĐIỂM BÀI THI HỌ TÊN, CHỮ KÝ GIÁM KHẢO SỐ PHÁCH

Bằng số: ….......................... Giám khảo 1: …………………………………

Bằng chữ: …....................... Giám khảo 2: …………………………………

Chú ý: - Thí sinh làm bài vào đề thi.

- Thí sinh không được sử dụng bất kỳ tài liệu gì, kể cả từ điển.
- Giám thị không giải thích gì thêm.
SECTION A. LISTENING (25 pts)
HƯỚNG DẪN PHẦN NGHE HIỂU:
 Giám thị bật đĩa nghe một lần duy nhất. Đĩa nghe tự động chạy từ đầu đến hết.
 Bài nghe gồm 4 phần, mỗi phần được nghe hai lần, mỗi lần cách nhau 5 giây. Ở đầu và cuối
mỗi phần, thí sinh có 20 giây để đọc hướng dẫn và câu hỏi cũng như kiểm tra đáp án.
 Mở đầu và kết thúc từng phần có tín hiệu. Ở đầu và cuối bài thi nghe có tín hiệu nhạc.
 Mọi hướng dẫn cho thí sinh (bằng tiếng Anh) đã có trong đề bài nghe.
Part 1: You will hear a guide and answer the questions. Write NO MORE THAN FOUR WORDS
taken from the recording for each answer. (5 pts)

1. What kinds of art will be on display apart from jewelry, furniture and sculpture?
Ceramics, metal work......................................................................................................
2. What are Kate Maine’s works fashioned after?
Garden vegetables..........................................................................................................
3. What is the name of the Sunday demonstration?
Face to Face...................................................................................................................
4. Which institution is holding autumn courses?
The Artist’s/ Artists’ Conservatory...................................................................................
5. What is an advantage of the courses besides experienced instructors and the small class size?
Plenty of individual assistance........................................................................................
Part 2: You will hear part of a radio interview with Harry and Jennifer, two members of an
after-work adult drama class. (5 pts)
Read the statements below. In boxes 1-5, write:
TRUE if the statement reflects the claims of the speaker
FALSE if the statement contradicts the claims of the speaker
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the speaker claims or thinks about this

1. Jennifer was always certain about the benefits of the course.

2. The unscripted aspect of improvisation excites Harry.
3. Harry was excited to personalize his roles.
4. Jennifer found the newcomer’s behavior troubling.
5. Harry blamed the newcomer for the disruption of harmony in the class.

Your answers:
1. N 2. Y 3. NG 4. Y 5. N

Part 3: You will hear an interview with a woman called Alice Cowper who went in search of a
rare animal called the king cheetah.. Listen and choose the answer (A, B, or C) which
fits best according to what you hear. Write your answers in the boxes 1-5. (5 pts)
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1. What makes the king cheetah different from other cheetahs?
A. the length of its tail
B. the pattern on its coat
C. the width of its stripes
D. the colour of its spots
2. What did Alice find surprising about her discovery in Botswana?
A. the number of animals she found
B. how long it took to find anything
C. the area where it happened
D. how hard it was to identify the animal
3. Alice believes that the king cheetah has undergone mutation in order to _____.
A. protect itself against a new enemy
B. prevent the species dying out
C. hunt more effectively
D. live in different surroundings
4. Alice explains that the pattern on the king cheetah's coat is _____.
A. perfectly symmetrical
B. frightening to predators.
C. difficult to describe
D. deceptive at first sight
5. The person who made the comment about the camera people felt that _____.
A. we should only trust what we see on films
B. there is nothing new to find in the world
C. adventurers should record their findings
D. it is best to look at nature on television

Your answers:
1. B 2. C 3. D 4. D 5. B

Part 4: You will hear a speech. In boxes 1-10, write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A
NUMBER to complete the sentences. (10 pts)

a. Today more people are receiving (1) ______ than ever before.
b. Around the world people with HIV are living full and healthy lives with the (2) ______ they
deserve.
c. We are closer than we have ever been to achieving the extraordinary – an (3) ______.
d. We have got to stay (4) ______.
e. Among 14 million pregnant women who (5) ______,95 percent of their babies were born HIV
free.
f. We provided testing and (6) ______ for nearly 57 million people and care for more than (7)
______ and (8) ______.
g. We give thanks to doctors and (9) ______, scientists and social workers, mothers, fathers and
activists of all kinds
h. To all of you dedicated to this (10) ______ and to all of you fighting this disease on the front
lines. Thank you!

Your answers:
1. life-saving treatment 6. counselling
2. dignity and respect 7. 5 million orphans
3. AIDs-free generation 8. vulnerable children
4. focused and committed 9. caregivers
5. tested positive 10. cause

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SECTION B. VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR (30 pts)
Part 1: Choose the correct answer (A, B, C, or D) to each of the following questions. (10 pts)

1. Scientists are ______ for a ban on all chlorine substances.

A. clacking B. cloying C. clamming D. clamoring
2. As revenues dwindle, travel slows and production lines halt, companies have begun to ______
employees.
A. dislodge B. expropriate C. sequester D. furlough
3. The banks closed, causing serious ______ problems for smaller companies.
A. liquidity B. liquidisation C. liquify D. liquidator
4. The public health of Americans is at risk if the Chinese market is further _____.
A. gobbled B. hobbled C. cobbled D. bobbled
5. Despite being _____ ill last winter, he has made a steady recovery.
A. lethally B. critically C. fatally D. deeply
6. Thanks to his tutorship, I am now up to ______ with other students in the course.
A. snuff B. par C. speed D. mark
7. The senator has begun wearing his heart on his ______ now that he's not seeking re-election.
A. sleeve B. face C. collar D. knees
8. The actor was so nervous that he could only remember small ______ of dialogue.
A. snatches B. patches C. pieces D. shreds
9. He excused himself on the unlikely ______ that his mother died.
A. motive B. claim C. pretext D. petition
10. His claim to ______ was bringing Greta Garbo to Hollywood years ago.
1. A. stardom B. celebrity C. fame D. glory
11. Many elderly people have to live on the money they ______ when they were working.
A. set up B. put aside C. laid up D. put back
12. It was only a cheap suit, bought ______.
A. off the hook B. on the fly C. on the house D. off the peg
13. A huge crowd turned ______ in the pouring rain to cheer the band.
A. on B. out C. up D. over
14. He insisted that his method ______ correct.
A. be B. should C. were D. was
15. She refused to ______ on why she took such an unexpected decision.
A. account B. amplify C. elaborate D. clarify
16. Tom: I have no idea who stole the money.
Jenny: ______, Tom. We saw you opening the safe last night.
A. Come off it B. Come off of it C. Come over it D. Come out of it
17. Many ______ been destroyed by gambling.
A. good man has B. a good man has C. good men have D. a good men have
18. He seems ______ for the experience.
A. none worse B. none the worse C. none worst D. none the worst
19. These pills are not harmful ______, but are dangerous when taken with alcohol.
A. per se B. as such C. at that D. as it all
20. I did very well in school , with a "genius IQ" ______.
A. if you may B. if you would C. if you will D. if you might

Your answers:
1. D 2. D 3. A 4. B 5. B 6. C 7. A 8. A 9. C 10. C
11. B 12. D 13. B 14. D 15. C 16. A 17. B 18. B 19. A 20. C

Part 2: Supply the correct form of the words in brackets to complete each of the following
sentences. (5 pts)

1. The Red Cross is sending emergency aid to (FAMINE) countries.

2. The use of various (FRIDGE) is frowned upon by environmentalists.

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3. We offered our sincere (CONDOLE) to his widow.
4. Hundreds of thousands of refugees subsist on international (HAND).
5. I spent the next six years working for a small (PROFIT), helping the economically disadvantaged.
6. The peace ambassador is (SPARE) in his criticism of the arms trade.
7. It was virtually impossible to stop the (PLACATE) advance of the enemy.
8. The cultural sphere has polarized into two competing (IDEA) positions.
9. The overwhelming criticism forced him to (GUESS) himself.
10. Thanks to the (ANONYMOUS) of the internet, many underprivileged citizens have been able to seek
help without shame.

Your answers:
1. famine-stricken 2. refrigerants 3. condolences 4. handouts 5. nonprofit
6. unsparing 7. implacable 8. ideological 9. second-guess 10. anonymity

Part 3: The following text contains 10 words that need correction. Identify these words and
write the corrections in the corresponding numbered boxes (1-10). There is an example
at the beginning (0). (10 pts)

THE AGE OF EBOOKS

Line 1 First comes the PC, then the internet and e-mail; now the e-book is upon us, a hand-
Line 2 held device similarly in size and appearance to a video cassette. The user simply calls
Line 3 off the website on their PC, selects the desired books, downloads them onto their e-
Line 4 book machine and sits down to read them. For turning a page, the user simply taps the
Line 5 screen. E-book technology is evolving rapidly, and with some of the latest handhelds
Line 6 you will even get internet access. But why would one want an e-book machine with
Line 7 preference to a book? Well, one selling-point companies emphasized, when these
Line 8 devices had hit the market a few years ago, which is the space they save when going
Line 9 on holiday. E-books enlighten the load, literally. Ten large novels can be put onto a
Line 10 device that weighs more than the average paperback. One can understand why
Line 11 commercial interests seem to want us to change. After all, the whole production process
Line 12 from first plan by author until delivery to the printer has been doing electronically for a
Line 13 while now, so why not save a few millions trees and cut out the hard copy?

Your answers:
No. Lines Mistakes Corrections
1. 1 comes came
2. 2 similarly similar
3. 3 off up
4. 4 For turning To turn
5. 6 with in
6. 8 had hit hit
7. 8 which (omit)
8. 9 enlighten lighten
9. 10 more less
10. 13 millions million

Part 4: Read the passage and decide which answer (A, B, C, or D) best fits each gap. (5 pts)
A DAUGHTER’S STORY
My father died when I was very small, so there were always just my mother and I. Sometimes I used

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to wish that I had a brother or sister, not so much for someone to play with, but to take some of the
pressure of my mother's expectations off me. My father had been in the Army, and apart from a small
(1) ______ we were quite poor at first. But my mother (2) ______ as a teacher and managed to get
herself a fairly well-paid post at a girls' private school. We must have had enough to (3) ______ on,
but somehow money always remained a major-topic of (4) ______. I remember sometimes feeling (5)
______ for eating because she worked so hard to (6) ______ our food. Apart from teaching at school,
she used to give private (7) ______ and she also had a part-time job in a local library. By the time I
was eight I already knew she wanted me to be a lawyer or a doctor. It never (8) ______ to me to say
no, or to wonder what I would really like to do. I would have been too (9) ______ of hurting her. I felt I
owed it to her to make her proud of me. When I was about 16, a man she knew became very (10)
______ in her. I liked him and thought it would be great if they got married.

1. A. grant B. fee C. wage D. pension

2. A. trained B. learnt C. taught D. educated
3. A. get B. get by C. pass by D. go
4. A. comment B. remark C. speech D. conversation
5. A. guilty B. bad C. embarrassed D. worried
6. A. serve B. produce C. satisfy D. provide
7. A. teaching B. lessons C. education D. learning
8. A. occurred B. happened C. thought D. appeared
9. A. anxious B. shy C. scared D. concerned
10. A. keen B. fond C. interested D. enthusiastic

Your answers:
1. D 2. A 3. B 4. D 5. A 6. D 7. B 8. A 9. C 10. C

SECTION C. READING (25 pts)

Part 1: Read the text below and think of a word which best fits each gap. (5 pts)

In the past people suffered from a disease (1) ______ scurvy. Their gums bled, their skin became
rough, their wounds did not (2) ______, and their muscles wasted away. The cause of these (3)
______ was a lack of vitamin C, since people preserved meats and foods and could not get fresh
vegetables and fruits. The best (4) ______ of vitamin C are oranges, lemons, grapefruit, cantaloupes,
strawberries, and fresh vegetables. These fruits must be fresh because vitamin C is destroyed by
heat, storage or exposure (5) ______ air.
Although to day more people (6) ______ vitamin C pills than any other supplement, some people still
have scurvy, including some of the elderly, alcoholics and the chronically ill. Research shows that
vitamin C reduces the severity of colds, and can help prevent cancer. There is also evidence that
vitamin C prevents heart disease, speeds (7) _____ healing, helps prevent gum disease, and helps
protect us (8) ______ pollutants such as cigarette smoke. Some recent (9) _____ also shows that
vitamin C has a positive effect on some mental disorders (10) ______ increases life span.

Your answers:
1. called 2. heal 3. symptoms 4. sources 5. to
6. take 7. wound 8. from 9. research 10. and

Part 2: Read the following passage and do the tasks that follow. (10 pts)
A THEORY OF SHOPPING
For a one-year period I attempted to conduct an ethnography of shopping on and around a
street in North London. This was carried out in association with Alison Clarke. I say ‘attempted’
because, given the absence of community and the intensely private nature of London households,
this could not be an ethnography in the conventional sense. Nevertheless, through conversation,
being present in the home and accompanying householders during their shopping, I tried to reach an
understanding of the nature of shopping through greater or lesser exposure to 76 households.
My part of the ethnography concentrated upon shopping itself. Alison Clarke has since been
working with the same households, but focusing upon other forms of provisioning such as the use of
catalogues (see Clarke 1997). We generally first met these households together, but most of the
material that is used within this particular essay derived from my own subsequent fieldwork. Following
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the completion of this essay, and a study of some related shopping centres, we hope to write a more
general ethnography of provisioning. This will also examine other issues, such as the nature of
community and the implications for retail and for the wider political economy. None of this, however,
forms part of the present essay, which is primarily concerned with establishing the cosmological
foundations of shopping.
To state that a household has been included within the study is to gloss over a wide diversity
of degrees of involvement. The minimum requirement is simply that a householder has agreed to be
interviewed about their shopping, which would include the local shopping parade, shopping centres
and supermarkets. At the other extreme are families that we have come to know well during the
course of the year. Interaction would include formal interviews, and a less formal presence within their
homes, usually with a cup of tea. It also meant accompanying them on one or several ‘events’, which
might comprise shopping trips or participation in activities associated with the area of Clarke’s study,
such as the meeting of a group supplying products for the home.
In analysing and writing up the experience of an ethnography of shopping in North London, I
am led in two opposed directions. The tradition of anthropological relativism leads to an emphasis
upon difference, and there are many ways in which shopping can help us elucidate differences. For
example, there are differences in the experience of shopping based on gender, age, ethnicity and
class. There are also differences based on the various genres of shopping experience, from a mall to
a corner shop. By contrast, there is the tradition of anthropological generalisation about ‘peoples’ and
comparative theory. This leads to the question as to whether there are any fundamental aspects of
shopping which suggest a robust normativity that comes through the research and is not entirely
dissipated by relativism. In this essay I want to emphasize the latter approach and argue that if not all,
then most acts of shopping on this street exhibit a normative form which needs to be addressed. In
the later discussion of the discourse of shopping I will defend the possibility that such a heterogenous
group of households could be fairly represented by a series of homogenous cultural practices.
The theory that I will propose is certainly at odds with most of the literature on this topic. My
premise, unlike that of most studies of consumption, whether they arise from economists, business
studies or cultural studies, is that for most households in this street the act of shopping was hardly
ever directed towards the person who was doing the shopping. Shopping is therefore not best
understood as an individualistic or individualising act related to the subjectivity of the shopper. Rather,
the act of buying goods is mainly directed at two forms of ‘otherness’. The first of these expresses a
relationship between the shopper and a particular other individual such as a child or partner, either
present in the household, desired or imagined. The second of these is a relationship to a more
general goal which transcends any immediate utility and is best understood as cosmological in that it
takes the form of neither subject nor object but of the values to which people wish to dedicate
themselves.
It never occurred to me at any stage when carrying out the ethnography that I should consider
the topic of sacrifice as relevant to this research. In no sense then could the ethnography be regarded
as a testing of the ideas presented here. The Literature that seemed most relevant in the initial
anaLysis of the London material was that on thrift discussed in chapter 3. The crucial element in
opening up the potential of sacrifice for understanding shopping came through reading Bataiile.
Bataille, however, was merely the catalyst, since I will argue that it is the classic works on sacrifice
and, in particular, the foundation to its modern study by Hubert and Mauss (1964) that has become
the primary grounds for my interpretation. It is important, however, when reading the following
account to note that when I use the word ‘sacrifice’, I only rarely refer to the colLoquial sense of the
term as used in the concept of the ‘self-sacrificial’ housewife. Mostly the allusion is to this Literature
on ancient sacrifice and the detailed analysis of the complex ritual sequence involved in traditional
sacrifice. The metaphorical use of the term may have its place within the subsequent discussion but
this is secondary to an argument at the level of structure.

Do the following statements reflect the claims of the writer in the reading passage?
In boxes 1-7, write:
YES if the statement reflects the claims of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

1. Anthropological relativism is more widely applied than anthropological generalization.

2. Shopping lends itself to analysis based on anthropological relativism.
3. Generalisations about shopping are possible.
4. Tire conclusions drawn from this study will confirm some of the findings of other research.
5. Shopping should be regarded as a basically unselfish activity.
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 6. People sometimes analyse their own motives when they are shopping.
7. The actual goods bought are the primary concern in the activity of shopping.

Your answers:
1. NG 2. Y 3. Y 4. N 5. Y 6. NG 7. N

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer. Write your
answers in boxes 8-10.Your answers:
8. The subject of written research the writer first thought was directly connected with his study
was ______.
9. The research the writer has been most inspired by was carried out by ______.
10. The writer mostly does not use the meaning of ‘sacrifice’ that he regards as ______.

Your answers:
8. thrift 9. Hubert and Mauss 10. colloquial/ metaphorical

Part 3: You are going to read a newspaper article about a novelist. For questions 1-5, choose the
answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text. (5 pts)

THE OPERA-LOVER TURNED CRIME NOVELIST

Through her series of crime novels, Donna Leon has been solving murders in Venice with great
panache – mostly to the soundtrack of grand opera.
Donna Leon first launched herself as a crime writer in 1991 with “Death at La Fenice”, which saw a
conductor poisoned in mid-performance at the Venice opera house. “It was an idea that kind of grew,”
she says. “I had a friend at the opera house. One day we were backstage, complaining about the
tyrannical conductor - and we thought it would be a laugh to make him the victim in a crime novel,
which I duly went off and wrote. But that's all it was meant to be. I was lucky to be born without
ambition, and I had none for this book. Then I sent it off to a competition, and six months later they
wrote back to say I'd won. I got a contract, and suddenly I had a purpose in life, a mission.”
To hear her talk, you'd think that until “Death at La Fenice” she'd been living in obscurity. Not so. She
was a well-known academic teaching English literature at universities in the USA and Europe. But she
found that she wasn't really cut out for university life, and finally decided to walk out on it. “I'm a
former academic,” she says now through slightly gritted teeth. And it's interesting that her literary
reputation has been made through a medium so remote from the one she used to teach.
“You'd be surprised how many academics do read murder mystery though,” she adds. “It makes no
intellectual demands, and it's what you want after a day of literary debate.” That said, Ms Leon is big
business. She sells in bulk, her books are translated into nineteen languages and she's a household
name in German-speaking countries. “All of which is gratifying for me personally, and I don't mean to
rubbish my own work, but murder mystery is a craft, not an art. Some people go to crime conventions
and deliver learned papers on the way Agatha Christie presents her characters, but they're out of their
minds. I stay away from such events.”
Leon also stays away from most of the other expected haunts of crime writers, like courtrooms and
police stations – “I've only known two policemen, neither of them well,” -which accounts for the
absence of technical leper detail in the books. What's more, the few points of police procedure that
appear are usually invented - as, she admits, they're bound to be when you set a murder series in a
place where murders never happen. “Venice is small, compact, protected by its geography - there's
really not much crime.” Clearly the key thing about her murder stories isn't credibility. Predictability
comes closer to the mark: setting a series in a fixed location that the reader finds attractive, with a
constant cast of characters.
And that's what Donna Leon does. Her unique selling point is Venice which, as the reviewers always
say, comes through with such vitality and forcefulness in Leon's writing that you can smell it. There's a
set cast of characters, led by a middle-aged detective, Commissario Brunetti, and his wife la
disillusioned academic). Then there are her standard jokes - often to do with food. Indeed, Leon
lingers so ecstatically over the details of lunch, the pursuit of justice frequently gets diverted. The
eating is a literary device - part of the pattern of each novel, into which she slots the plot. “That's how
you hook your readers, who like a kind of certainty. And the most attractive certainty of crime fiction is
that it gives them what real life doesn't. The bad guy gets it in the end.”
Indeed, when the conversation switches to Donna Leon's other life, “II Complesso Barocco”, the
opera company she helps run, she talks about baroque opera as though it were murder-mystery:

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fuelled by “power, jealousy and rage, despair, menace” which are her own words for the sleeve notes
of a new CD of Handel arias by the company, packaged under the title “The Abandoned Sorceress”.
Designed to tour rare works in concert format, “ll Complesso” was set up in 2001 in collaboration with
another US exile in Italy, the musicologist Alan Curtis. “It started as a one-off. There was a rare
Handel opera, “Arminio”, that Alan thought should be performed, and it became an obsession for him
until eventually I said, “Do you want to talk about this or do you want to do it?” So we did it. I rang a
friend who runs a Swiss opera festival. We offered him a production. Then had eight months to get it
together.”
Somehow it came together, and “II Complesso” is now an ongoing venture. Curtis does the hands-on
artistic and administrative work. Leon lends her name which 'opens doors in all those German-
speaking places' and, crucially, underwrites the costs. In addition, her publishing commitments take
her all over Europe-where she keeps a lookout for potential singers, and sometimes oven features in
the productions herself: not singing (I don't') but reading the odd snatch from her books.

1. What is suggested about the novel “Death at La Fenice” in the first paragraph?
A. Donna based the plot on a real-life event she had witnessed.
B. Donna didn't envisage the work ever being taken very seriously.
C. Donna had to be persuaded that it was good enough to win a prize.
D. Donna embarked upon it as a way of bringing about a change in her life.
2. From Donna's comments in the third paragraph, we understand that _____.
A. she feels crime fiction should be considered alongside other types of literature
B. she is pleased with the level of recognition that her own novels have received
C. she regards her own novels as inferior to those of Agatha Christie
D. she finds the popularity of crime novels amongst academics very satisfying
3. Donna is described as an untypical crime writer because _____.
A. she is able to imagine crimes being committed by unlikely characters
B. she is unconcerned whether or not her stories appear realistic
C. she has little interest in the ways criminals think and operate
D. she manages to come up with imaginative new ideas for her plots
4. Donna's greatest strength as a crime writer is seen as ______.
A. her avoidance of a fixed approach
B. her injection of humour into her stories
C. the clear moral message she puts across
D. the strong evocation of place she achieves
5. In what way is Donna important to “Il Complesso Barocco”?
A. She provides essential financial support.
B. She oversees its day-to-day organisation.
C. She helps as a translator.
D. She organises the recruitment of performers.

Your answers:
1. B 2. B 3. B 4. D 5. A

Part 4: You are going to read an extract from a novel. Seven paragraphs have been removed
from the extract. Choose from paragraph A-H the one which fits each gap (1-7). There is
one extra paragraph which you do not need to use. (7 pts)

I'd come to Alaska to watch preparations for the Iditarod, the longest, most gruelling dog-sled race
in the world. And when it comes to setting off on a trip through the sub-Arctic wilderness in mid-
January, one doesn't like to take chances. Consequently, there wasn't much in the way of winter
wear that I hadn't packed: long fleecy underwear, eiderdown jackets, and several layers of socks. I
even had goggles, a facemask and a new beard grown specially for the occasion. I was wearing
just about the lot when I waddled off Alaska Airlines Flight 93 from London to Anchorage.
1. C

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“This is where we skate,” my driver said listlessly as, on the way into town, we drove past a melted
pond, its surface dancing with falling rain. “This is where we snowshoe,” she gloomily intoned a
minute later, pointing at an open expanse in the forest. It was a brown, churned-up bog of mud.
“And this is where we cross-country ski,” she said, her voice close to cracking with emotion now, as
she indicated what was once a trail running beside the road. Not only was the grass and moss
there exposed — it was green and appeared to be growing.
2. H
With this in mind, I was headed for Winterlake Lodge, checkpoint number six on the 1,100 mile-long
Iditarod Trail and home of wilderness guide Carl Dixon who, with his wife Kirsten, an award-winning
chef, keeps 26 sled-dogs. With a little supervision, he allows city folk like me to test their mettle on
the runners of a dog-sled.
3. A
But it wasn't to be. While my isolated, roadless, destination lay far inland and was a good deal
colder than coastal Anchorage — there was snow on the ground up there — unsettled conditions
and poor visibility ruled out any prospect of flying that day. For hours, I sat by a loaded De Haviland
Beaver waiting for a break in the weather until finally, with the short Alaskan day closing in, we gave
up the ghost.
4. F
After all, the sprawling, modem city of 260,000 can seem a little short on charm. Although almost
half the state's population lives there, Alaskans do not see the malls, high-rises and multiplex
cinemas as having much to do with the land they live in. Perched on the edge of a vast wilderness,
Anchorage, they like to say, is “just 20 minutes from Alaska”.
5. D
But there was not a flake of snow to be seen on the streets. Already the Klondike 300, a qualifying
race for the Iditarod, had been cancelled for lack of snow. Now the city fathers, panicky, had
ordered the stockpiling of up-country snow reserves that could be spread on the street on the day
of the race. The situation was desperate.
6. E
Free at last to take in the sights, I zipped up my thermal jacket and ventured forth. Disconcertingly,
the first person I passed was a window-washer working in a short-sleeved, hibiscus-red Hawaiian
shirt. But by the time I'd strolled along the main drag three or four times, I was beginning to feel a
little less conspicuous. In the relative chill of early evening, one or two locals even seemed to be
wearing gloves.
7. G

It was not the little one that handled Beavers though, but the big one where I had arrived. Leaving
aside for the moment the vast pack of unused winter clothes I dragged back to London, what got
me hottest under the collar about my trip to the Great White North was seeing the next day's
weather report for Alaska. Under clear skies, temperatures were dropping; snow was on the way.
A. In anticipation of just such a challenge, I had read the hairy-chested prose of Jack London and
listened to the rough-and-ready goldrush doggerel of Robert Service. In my mind, I had mushed the
snowy frozen trails of Alaska all the way from Skagway to the Yukon River. Like the keenest of
huskies, I was straining at the leash.
B. Alaskans, it seems, get pretty heated up about any subject you care to name, and this one
was no exception. The opinions in the airport bar were extreme and unpredictable; I felt lucky to get
out in one piece.
C. I couldn't have been less prepared for the freakish conditions that greeted me. The skies were
so filled with mist and rain that I was denied any glimpse of the great mountain chain that soars
skyward just behind the city. The air was so balmy that I couldn't even see my own breath.
D. How frustrating, then, to be a whole season away. It didn't help that, from my window, I could
see the bronze-sculpted statue of Balto, the most famous lead dog in the Iditarod's 28-year history. It
is here that the race begins each year, with more than 50 teams of sled-dogs straining in the traces
before they fly round the corner and into the wild, only to reappear many days later in distant Nome.
E. By noon the next day I had caught the mood. With Carl telephoning me regularly with weather
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updates, I couldn't even go out and explore. As the hours ticked slowly by, and visibility dropped even
further, I got to wondering how Alaskan trappers and miners hold out for entire winters in the lonely
wilderness. By four, when Dixon phoned to say he was again calling it a day, I was climbing the walls
— and I had cable television).
F. One consolation was that I got to check into the Anchorage Hotel. It is among the oldest
buildings in the city and one of the few to have survived the powerful earthquake which rocked the
region in 1964. There was a slight tilt to the floor in the corridor, but I liked the place all the more for it,
it added character.
G. I will not labour you with a dreary account of my mental deterioration the next day as the
prospects of onward travel grew ever remoter. Suffice it to say that when Carl told me that afternoon
that the flight was in doubt yet again, I headed for the airport.
H. For in spite of their tendency to fly to Hawaii for winter breaks, Alaskans are really fond of
winter. Never had they seen such unseasonal mildness and I shared their dismay. Although a rank
beginner, I had set my heart on having a go at dog-sledding myself.

SECTION D. WRITING (20 pts)

Part 1: Finish each sentence in such a way that it means exactly the same as the sentence
printed before it. Use the word given with its form unchanged. (5 pts)
1. Although Mia was a bit off color, she decided to take the exam MIND
Despite being under the weather, Mia set her mind on taking the exam.
2. This knife sharpener is completely useless. DEAD
This knife sharpener is a dead loss/ weight.
3. When I grow up, I’m going to be a really important person. FAT
When I grow up, I’m going to be a fat cat.
4. The disease is first heralded by blurred vision. ONSET
The onset of the disease is blurred vision.
5. It is better to give vent to your feelings BOTTLE
It is better not to bottle up your feelings.
6. Jenette said her family could not believe what was happening and were very upset. END
Jenette said her family were in disbelief and at their wits’ end.
7. The appeal of Shakespeare’s works has lasted through centuries. STOOD
The appeal of Shakespeare’s works has stood the test of time.
8. I didn’t want to give up while there remained some hope. DEFEAT
I was loathe to admit defeat while some hope remained.
9. It is unwise to draw conclusions too quickly about people’s motives. JUMP
It is unwise to jump to conclusions about people’s motives.
10. It will be extremely difficult to get your work finished by the deadline. UPHILL
It will be an uphill struggle to get your work finished by the deadline.

Part 2: Table description (5 pts)

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 Write a summary of the information. Select and report the main features, and make comparisons
where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

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Part 3: Essay writing (10 pts)

Write about the following topic from 250-300 words.
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
The role of education is to prepare children for the modern world. Schools should cut art and
music out of the curriculum so that children can focus on useful subjects such as information
technology.
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- THE END -

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