5.What does the word “figure out” in paragraph 1 mean?

Read the passage and answer the questions.

THE POSTAGE STAMP

      Before the invention of the postage stamp, it was difficult to send a letter to another country. The sender paid for the letter to travel in his or her own country. Then the person in the other country paid for that part of the trip. If a letter crossed several countries, the problem was worse.

      Rowland Hill, a British teacher, had the idea of the postage stamp with gum on the back. The British post office made the first stamps in 1840. They were the Penny Black and the Twopence Blue. A person bought a stamp and put it on a letter, the post office delivered the letter. When people received letters, they didn’t have to pay anything. The letters was prepaid.

      Postage stamps became popular in Great Britain immediately. Other countries started making their own postage stamps very quickly.

      There were still problems with international mail. Some countries did not want accept letter with stamps from another countries. Finally, in 1874, a German organized the Universal Postal System. Each country in the UPS agreed to accept letter with prepaid postage from the other members. Today the offices of the U PS are in Switzerland. Almost every country in the world is a member of this organization. It takes care of any international mail problems.

      Today post offices in every country sell beautiful stamps. Collecting stamps is one of the most popular hobbies in the world, and every stamp collector knows about the Penny Black and the Twopence Blue.

Questions

1.   Why was it difficult to send a letter to another country before the invention of the postage stamp?

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2.   Why were the postage stamps popular?

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3.   How did other countries react with the postage stamps?

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4.   What does the Universal Postal System do today?

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5.   Why do stamp collectors know about the Penny Black?

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Choose the word or phrase among A, B, C or D that best fits the blank space in the following passage.

      Why does Man want to go to other planets (1)                 the solar system? Justfor adventure? True, (2)            is adventure in space travel. But a (3) toother planets would also be (4)                    . For example, space stations could be built that would give us (5)                         information about the weather.

      In space stations (6)          around the earth, Man could live and study the cloud formation on (7)              surface. These formations could tell us what weather to(8)                     in any part of the world at any time. (9)        information wouldbe useful to pilots, to ship captains, and even to farmers (10)                 must setdates for planting and harvesting.

Why does Man want to go to other planets (1)                 the solar system? Justfor adventure?

Read the passage and answer the questions below

      David wants to buy a Christmas present for a very special person, his mother. David’s father gives him $5.00 pocket money a week and David puts $2.00 a weekinto his bank account. After three months David takes $20.00 out of his bank account and goes to the shopping mall. He looks and looks for a perfect gift.

      Suddenly he sees a beautiful brooch in the shape of his favourite pet. He says to himself, “My mother loves jewelry, and the brooch costs only $17.00.” He buys the brooch and takes it home. He wraps the present in Christmas paper and places itunder the tree. He is very excited and he is looking forward to Christmas morning to see the joy on his mother’s face.

      But when his mother opens the present she screams with fright because she sees a spider.

1.   Who does David get his money from?

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2.   What does David want to buy his Mother?

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3.   How much money does David take to the mall?

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4.   What does David buy his mother?

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5.   What does David do with the present when he takes it home?

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6.   Why does David’s mother scream?

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7.   Why does David buy a spider brooch?

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8.   Where does David put the present on Christmas Eve?

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Read the passage and complete the sentences.

      One of the main sources for the spreading of news and events through out the world is the newspaper. The purpose of newspaper is to inform the public of political, social, economic and entertainment happenings, among other things. Generally, there are three types of newspapers. Daily newspapers publish at least one edition every weekday. Most dailies also have a weekend edition. Daily newspapers often have sections for news, sports, arts, and entertainment, business, and classified advertising. Weekly newspapers print once a week and cover news of interest to readers in a smaller area than that of a daily paper. They focus on local happenings rather than national or international events. Special-interest newspapers may publish daily, weekly, monthly, or even less frequently. They generally disseminate news of interest to a particular group of readers of feature news about a specific topic.

      Thanks to the development of Internet, we can now get access to electronic newspapers. To some extent, e-newspapers are cheap, up-to-date, and convenient for most readers in the world.

1.   The purpose of newspapers is to.................................................................................................

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2.   There are three types of newspaper. They are ............................................................................

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3.   Daily newspapers often have sections for ..................................................................................

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4.   Weekly newspapers focus on .....................................................................................................

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5.   Special-interest newspapers cover news of interest to ...............................................................

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6.   Electronic newspapers are ..........................................................................................................

Read the following passage and then answer the questions below it.

      In the world today there are 5,000 to 6,000 living languages, of which English is the most widely used. As a mother tongue, it ranks second only to Chinese, which is little used outside China.

      English is the most international of languages. It is used as the language of aviation, international sport and pop music. Sixty percent of the world’s radio stations broadcast in English, and more than half of the world’s scientific papers are printed in English.

      It is true that a great number of people are involved in the use of English. To people in Africa, Asia, and South America, English is an important foreign language to master. In most countries in the world, the English language is used as the language of business, commerce, and technology. English is now an effective medium of international communication. However, it is the written English which is not systematically phonetic, that causes difficulties to non-native speakers.

1.   Which language is used as the language of aviation, international sport and pop music?

      _______________________________________________________________

2.   Why is English an important foreign language used in many countries?

      _______________________________________________________________

3.   What difficulties may learners of English be confronted with? Why?

      _______________________________________________________________

4.   Name three countries in which English is spoken as a first language.

      _______________________________________________________________

5.   As a mother tongue, why does English rank second only to Chinese?

      _______________________________________________________________

Read the text and choose the suitable words with the correct blank spaces.

      Ilive in a (1) .......................... village. My parents often tell me (2) .......................... about their life in the past. It’s not much like the village I can see nowadays.

      Some villagers now live in brick houses instead of earthen ones. Our housesare better equipped (3) .......................... electric fans and TVs. Thanks to theTV, we now know more about (4) .......................... outside our village. We don’tuse oil lamps (5) .......................... more. We have electric lights which aremuch brighter. More villagers are using motorcycles for transport instead of (6) .......................... a horse or walking. We – village children – no longer haveto walk a long way and cross a stream to get (7) .......................... school, which isdangerous in the rainy season. Now there’s a new school nearby. We also have more (8) .......................... from the city. They come to experience our way of life.

Complete the conversation between Nick and Mai about Vietnamese table manners with the sentences given (A-H). Practise the conversation with your partner.

      A.No. You should wait to be shown where to sit, and the oldest person should sit first.

      B.Yeah, you should try to finish everything on your plate.

      C.You should bring a small gift, such as fruits, sweets, flowers...

      D.You shouldn’t bring handkerchiefs, anything black, or yellow flowers.

      E.They are chopsticks and a flat spoon.

      E.You should rest your chopsticks on top of your rice bowl.

      G.Yes, and remember to cover your mouth when using a toothpick.

      H.Chopsticks should be placed on the table or a chopstick holder after a few mouthful or when breaking to drink or speak.

Peter:         What should I do first if I am invited to a Vietnamese home for dinner, Huong?

Huong:      (1)____________________________________________________________

Peter:         Which kinds of gift shouldn’t I bring?

Huong:      (2)____________________________________________________________

Peter:         Can I sit at the dining table as I would like to?

Huong:      (3)____________________________________________________________

Peter:         What are the most common utensils for a meal in Viet Nam?

Huong:      (4)____________________________________________________________

Peter:         Where should I place my chopsticks when breaking to drink or speak?

Huong:      (5)____________________________________________________________

Peter:         Is there anything else that I have to pay attention to during the meal?

Huong:      (6)____________________________________________________________

Peter:         What should I do when I finish dinner?

Huong:      (7)____________________________________________________________

Peter:         Do Vietnamese people often use toothpicks after finishing a meal?

Huong:      (8)____________________________________________________________

Peter:         Thank you so much, Mai.

Huong:      You’re welcome. I hope you’ll enjoy having a meal with a Vietnamese household.

Read the following passage and choose the best answer A, B, C or D.

      Sydney is Australia’s most exciting city. The history of Australia begins here. In 1788 Captain Arthur Philips arrived in Sydney with 11 ships and 1624 passengers from Britain (including 770 prisoners). Today there are about 3.6 million people in Sydney. It is the biggest city in Australia, the busiest port in the South Pacific and one of the most beautiful cities in the world. In Sydney, the buildings are higher, the colors are brighter and the nightlife is more exciting. There are over 20 excellent beaches close to Sydney and its warm climate and cool winter have made it a favorite city for immigrants from overseas. There are two things that make Sydney famous: its beautiful harbor, the Sydney Harbor Bridge, which was built in 1932 and the Sydney Opera House, which was opened in 1973.

 1.   Where did Captain Arthur Philips arrive in 1788?

Fill each blank with a, an or the to complete the following passage.

      (1)                          history of Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture started in 1891 when (2)                     French scientist began to collect Cham sculptures that had been discovered in scattered areas of Quang Nam Province and brought them to Da Nang.

      (3)             first museum building was designed by French architects, and construction began in 1951 and was finished by May 1916.

      (4)              Museum has played (5)                      important role in preserving sculpture items featuring (6)             cultural, spiritual and ritual lives of (7)                      Cham people. They arranged (8)              displays in order to (9)      areas where (10)                      objects were found.

Read the text and fill in the blank with the suitable word.

      The normal working day in Britain is (1)                         9 a.m to 5 p.m, so mostoffices are open 9-5. Schools usually start at 9 o’clock, too, but they (2)               at about 3.30. Shops usually (3)                    from 9 to 5.30 Monday to Saturday and (4)                                    shops open from 10 to 4 on Sunday, too. Restaurants (5)                        pubs usually open from 11 a.m to 11 p.m. Some (6)                          come for a few hours in (7)                                   afternoon. People usually (8)             a meal between 1 and 2 in the afternoon and between 7 and 9 in the evening. Clubs don’t usually open (9)                        about 10 or 11 p.m and they close at 2 or 3 a.m. Museums normally open at about 10 a.m and (10)                  dose at 5 or 6 p.m.

Choose the correct words in the box to fill in the blanks of the text.

      Why does Man want to go to other planets (1)                             the solar system? Justfor adventure? True, (2)                    is adventure in space travel. But a (3)                        to other planets would also be (4)             . For example, space stations couldbe built that would give us (5)                      information about the weather.