Tài liệu bồi dưỡng học sinh giỏi Khối 12 môn Tiếng Anh

TÀI LIỆU BỒI DƯỠNG HSG KHỐI 12
I. VOCABULARY
I. Use the correct form of each of the words given in parentheses to fill in the blank in each sentence. 
Exercise 1. 
1. The unresponsive audience made the lecturer somewhat ............................. (heart).
 What a same. 
2. She’s quite an .................................. (eye)! 
3. His family suffered from his ......................................... (expend).
4. The ..................................... (edit) staff consists of ten experienced journalists. 
5. This leads to more pressure being put on the ........................................ (adequate) 
 public transport system. 
6. Switzerland is a .................................... (mountain) country. 
7. The nineteenth-century faith in the power of science is now very ...........................
 (question). 
8. A person with an ................................ (inferior) complex can be very disagreeable. 
9. There was loud ................................... (laugh) as the clown fell off the ladder. 
10. Although he is now middle-aged, he still looks quite ................................. (youth). 
Exercise 2. 
1. Alison’s ................................. (shy) made it hard for her to speak in public. 
2. He had the ............................. (annoy) habit of borrowing books and then fogetting
 to return them. 
3. Remind me of my appointment. I am ................................. (forget). 
4. For one who has spent his life in town, a trip into the mountains could prove an 
 .................................... (forget) experience. 
5. He had been ............................... (expect) delayed at the office and was now in a 
 hurry to keep his ............................. (appoint) with the dentist. 
6. Recently health foods have increased in ............................... (popular). 
7. The old lady hid all her ............................... (save) under the floor. 
8. The gas from the chemical factory was extremely ............................ (harm). 
9. Unless something is done about unemployment, the ............................ (look) for 
 the future is not good. 
10. The ................................. (conclude) is that the plan will fail. 
Exercise 3. 
1. Bill was given a medal in .................................. (recognise) of his services. 
2. All ................................... (apply) must be received before July 20th 2007. 
3. Karen and Catherine are ................................... (identity) twins. 
4. You look rather ............................... (occupy). Are you worried about something? 
5. I’m sure that the whole problem is a simple ................................. (understand). 
6. Going swimming everyday would have very ............................ (benefit) effects. 
7. It’s much more ............................... (economy) to buy large size packets. 
8. My ankle is really .............................. (swell) and I can’t walk easily. 
9. The government’s ........................... (compromise) approach has brought criticism. 
10. The meeting adopted a .............................. (resolve) calling for Smith to resign. 
Exercise 4. 
1. Please ................................. (know) our letter of the 14th. We have not had a reply. 
2. Keith’s exam results turned out to be ............................... (disaster). 
3. There will be no pay rises in the .................................. (see) future. 
4. Jim is one of the most ................................. (speak) members of the committee. 
5. What are the entry ................................ (require) at this university? 
6. Jackie suffered as a child from a very strict ................................ (bring). 
7. I think that your ................................. (assume) about the cost are wrong. 
8. This statue ............................. (memory) the soldiers who died in the war. 
9. The idea that the sun ‘rises’ is a popular ................................ (conceive). 
10. Ruth has gone back to college to get a teaching .............................. (qualify). 
Exercise 5. 
1. The villages in the mountains are quite .............................. (access) during winter. 
2. The inquiry decided that the police were not entirely .............................. (blame). 
3. Sam was accused of stealing some ................................ (confidence) documents 
 from the safe. 
4. You do not have to go. Your decision must be entirely ........................ (volunteer). 
5. How do you like my latest .............................. (acquire) for my stamp collection? 
6. The minister gave .......................... (evade) answers to the interviewer’s questions. 
7. The two prisoners are to be ............................. (trial) next month. 
8. Most people agree that Cristmas has become too ............................ (commerce). 
9. The dancer’s movements were extremely ............................... (grace). 
10. The cost of ................................ (admit) to the show is quite reasonable. 
Exercise 6. 
1. People used to suffer from their life-time physical ................................. (normal). 
2. Unless we do research on .......................... (sun) energy, wind power, ....................
 (tide) power ..., our fossil fuels will run out. 
3. In my opinion, this book is just .................................. (intellect) rubbish. 
4. The alpine .................................. (land) is very dramatic. 
5. The slight .............................. (form) in his left hand was corrected by surgery. 
6. It may be .................................... (produce) to force them into making a decision, 
 and if you upset them they’re quite likely to overact. 
7. Like oil, gas is a fossil fuel and is thus a ........................ (renew) source of energy. 
8. Various ............................... (practise) by police officers were brought to light by
 the enquiry. 
9. Tourists forget their ................... (conceive) ideas as soon as they visit our country. 
10. They won the case because of the .................... (appear) in court of the defendant. 
Exercise 7. 
ANTHROPOLOGY
One of the most (0) .......challenging................... (challenge) aspects of the science of anthropology comes from its fieldwork. Certainly, in its (1)............................. (infant) as a profession, anthropology was distinguished by its concentration on so-called “primitive societies” in which social (2)........................(institute) appeared to be fairly limited and social interaction to be conducted almost (3)................................(exclude) face-to-face. Such societies, it was felt, provided anthropologists with a valuable (4)..............................(see) into the workings of society that contrasted with the many complexities of more highly developed societies. There was also a sense that the ways of life represented by these smaller societies were rapidly (5)..............................
(appear) and that preserving a record of them was a matter of some urgency. 
The (6)..........................(commit) of anthropologists to the first-hand collection of data led them to some of the most (7)............................(access) places on earth. Most often they worked alone. Such lack of contact with other people created feelings of intense (8)............................(lonely) in some anthropologists, especially in the early stages of fieldwork. Nevertheless, this process of (9)........................(immense) in a totally alien culture continues to attract men and women to anthropology, and is (10).....................
(deny) the most effective way of understanding in depth how other people see the world. 
Exercise 8. 
EXTRACT FROM AN ARTICLE
Silicon Valley Millionaires 
Although the Internet is still probably only in embryonic form in (1)............................
(compare) to what it will be like in the future, there is no doubt that many Internet businesses have been extremely (2)............................... (profit). San Francisco has the highest (3)................................ (concentrate) of self-made Internet millionaires. Some have made their money from clever (4).......................... (invest) in Internet businesses while others have used their skills to create (5)............................... (innovate) Internet products. Regardless of how they became (6)........................ (wealth), one thing these
People share is an almost (7)................................... (obsess) dedication to their work. 
Many work at home in luxurious houses and flats. (8)......................... (fortunate), this influx of very rich young people has pushed property values beyond the means of many others. 
EXTRACT FROM AN ENCYCLOPEDIA
How Sociable Are Cats?
The cat is often characterised as a solitary, (9)........................... (self) animal, walking alone and coming together with other cats only to fight or mate. Wild cats fit this picture (10)............................ (reason) well, but they are (11)........................... (able) of changing their ways in more crowded situations. Living in cities and towns, and in the homes of their human owners cats show a remarkable and (12).............................. (expect) degree of sociability. Anyone doubting this must remember that, to a pet cat, we ourselves are gaint cats. The fact that domestic cats will share a home with a human family is, in itself (13).............................. (prove) of their social flexibility. But this picture is (14)................................ (complete). There are many other ways in which cats demonstrate co-operation, mutual aid and (15)........................... (tolerate). 
Exercise 9. 
THE SPIRAL AND THE HELIX
They are everywhere, graceful, curving shapes whose incredible (1)........................... (regular) contrasts so sharply with the random world around them. We call them spirals and helices but that hardly does (2)............................ (just) to their diversity or their significance. Over the centuries, (3)................................ (mathematics) have identified many different types, but the most intriguing are those that (4).................... (repeat) occur in the natural world. 
The need to (5)................................. (ravel) the mysteries of the existence of spirals and helices has exercised some of the best scientific brains in the world and opened the way to a number of (6)................................ (break) in fields as widely varied as genetics and (7).................................. (meteor). 
The most (8)................................... (spectacle) spirals on earth are also the most unwelcome hurricanes. Their (9)............................ (awe) power comes from the sun’s heat, but they owe their shape to the force caused by the rotation of the earth. After innumberable years of study, however, Nature’s spirals and helices have yet to (10)........................................ (close) all their secrets. For example, why, astronomers wonder, are so many galaxies spiral-shaped? 
Exercise 10. 
TRAINING FOR A MARATHON 
A successful marathon training programme starts slowly, (1)......................... (intense) gradually and then tapers off before the big race to (2)....................... (sure) maximum energy. A typical schedule for a beginner lasts six weeks, which is enough time to build up the endurance and (3)........................ (strong) needed to run twenty-six miles 
while avoiding (4)................................ (injure). Before you begin training you should be capable of (5)................................ (comfort) running for 45 minutes. The most important element in the programme is long runs, as these allow you to develope the physical and mental (6).......................... (tough) that will enable you to run for several hours without (7)................................ (interrupt). To be fresh for the race, make your final run two or three weeks before the marathon. 
BORN TO BICKER 
It seems so petty and (8)...................... (child)! While we expect sibling (9).................
(rival) among our children we’re often embarrassed to find similar emotions ourselves. Yet we do sometimes have (10)............................ (pain) animosities that can cause some of the most (11).............................. (resolve) problems of adult life. 
(12)............................. (compete) is inherent in all aspects of life. If nations compete, it shouldn’t be surprising that siblings do too – for their parents’ affection and then for the (13)................................ (admire) of bosses, peers and friends. As we grow older we usually find that there is enough love and (14)........................... (recognise) to go round. Some siblings may be more (15).............................. (assert) while others
have more urgent needs for love and attention and this can produce conflict. 
Exercise 11. 
WEDDING OF STRANGERS 
A wedding between two strangers who met for the first time when they exchanged marital vows during a peak time radio broadcast has come in for widespread (1)................................. (critic). Carla Germaine and Greg Cordell were married after winning each other in a ‘lonely heart’ competition organized by BRMB radio station. The service, perhaps (2)................................... (surprise), attracted the highest ratings figures of the year. 
The model and salesman were (3)..................................... (dismiss) of their critics and say they have made a serious (4)................................ (commit) to make their marriage work. ‘Everyone seems to have the (5)................................. (expect) that we will split up, but we’re going to prove them wrong,’ Cordell said (6)............................ (defy). 
The couple were selected from 200 (7)..................................... (hope) candidates by a panel including (8)............................... (relate) counsellors and an astrologer. As well as each other, they won a free honeymoon in the Bahamas, a sports car and a luxury two bedroom apartment. 
ANIMALS 
Most cat ansd dog owners would swear their pet was virtually human. It’s pleased to see you and shows its disapproval when they go. It may not be particularly (9).................................... (talk) or a genius mathematics but it sees grass as green and inhabits as rich world of smells (10).............................. (imagine) to us. Until recently such notions of a pet’s inner life, with (11)................................... (similar) to our own in some ways would have been met with a (12).................................... (know) sneer in many respected (13)................................. (science) circles. Nowdays in fact, claiming (14)................................ (conscious) for your pets is commonplace. The problem now is providing an adequate (15)............................... (define) of what this actually means. Is it about having sensations like hunger and pain, or is it more about the ability to be aware that you are experiencing something? 
Exercise 12. 
HARD TO BELIEVE !
Albert and Betty Cheetham hit the headlines recently thanks to an astonishing lists of coincidences. On holiday in Tunisia, the (1)................................ (retire) couple found themselves dinning opposite another retired couple - Albert and Betty Rivers. And, 
also (2)..................................... (coincidence), Mr Cheethan and Mr Rivers had both previously worked for a railway company, while Mrs Cheethan and Mrs Rivers had both worked for the post office. The two couples also made the (3)............................
(discover) that they both had two sons and five grandchildren and, to their (4)........................ (amazing), that the date and time of their (5)...................... (marry) was exactly the same i.e. 2p.m. August 15th, 1942. 
A more sustained coincidence is that seven of the eight US presidents who died in office were elected at exactly 20 year intervals between 1840 and 1960. Its was eventually Ronald Reagan, beginning his (6)............................................ (president) 
in 1980, 20 years after John. F. Kennedy, who broke the cycle after surviving an (7)...................... (assassinate) attempt and finishing his last term (8)................. (live). 
OUT FOR THE COUNT
‘You are what you think you are,’ says self-hypnotist Jonathan Atkinson. So there are 20 of us lying on our backs trying to communicate with our (9)...................................
(conscious) minds. We start by describing our problems. I’ve got the usual (10).......................... (complain): tiredness, insomnia, (11).......................... (anxious). 
Six years ago, Jonathan was a typical 40 cigarettes-a-day executive under too much (12)............................... (stressful). Then he learnt self-hypnosis. What is particularly (13)........................... (impress) is that he can stop the bleeding when he cuts himself shaving, and have his teeth filled without needing an (14)............................... (inject). 
Gradually what started off as weird becomes (15)................................... (understand). 
Why in hypnosis, Jonathan tells us that whenever we count to ten, with the (16).................................. (intend) of going into self-hypnosis, we’ll be able to do it. Amazingly, it seems to work. 
Exercise 13. 
FOOD MILES 
In Britain, what is described as ‘food miles’, the distance which food is transported from the place where it is grown to its point of sale, continues to rise. This has major economic, social and environmental consequences, given the traffic congestion and pollution which (1)............................ (variable) follow. 
According to (2)......................... (press) groups, the same amount of food is travelling 50 percent further than twenty years ago. What’s more, the rise in the demand for road haulage over this period has mostly been due to the transport of food and drink. The groups assert that the increase in the number of lorry journeys is (3)...................... (exceed) and that many of these are far from (4)......................... (essence). 
In the distribution systems employed by British food (5)............................. (retail), fleets of lorries bring all goods into more (6).................................. (centre) located warehouses for redistribution across the country. (7)............................... (logic) as this moght appear, the situation whereby some goods get sent back to the same areas from which they came is (8)................................... (avoid). 
In response to scathing (9)........................ (critic) from environmentalists, some food distributors now aim to minimise the impact of food miles by routing vehicles, wherever possible, on motorways after dark. This encourages greater energy (10)................................ (efficient) whilst also reducing the impact on the residential areas through which they would otherwise pass. 
Exercise 14. 
More than half the world’s population consider (1).................................... (them) shy,
delegates to the first international (2).................................. (confer) on shyness, being held in Cardiff, will be told today. One in 10 cases is severe. Effects include mutism, speech problem, (3).................................. (lonely), blushing, shaking and trembling, lack of eye contact, (4)................................ (difficult) in forming relationships and social phobia – the most extreme form of shyness, defined by the American Psychiatric Association as a pronounced and (5).............................. (persist) fear of social or performance situations in which (6).................................. (embarrass) may occur. Shy people tend to blame themselves for social (7)............................ (fail) and attribute success to (8)................................ (out) factors. They expect their behaviour to be (9)................................. (adequate), remember only negative information about themselves and accept without challenge adverse comments from others. 
The cause are complex and not fully understood. The latest theory is that it can be traced to genes as well as to social (10)................................ (condition). One estimate, based on research with twins, is that around 15 percent of the population are born with a (11).............................. (dispose) to shyness. Some (12).................................... (psychology) believe there are two types: an early developing, fearful and shyness and a later developing, (13)............................ (conscious) shyness. The fearful version emerges often in the first year of life and is (14)............................... (think) to be (15)............................... (part) inherited. 
Exercise 15. 
THE LIFE OF A FOOTBALL FAN 
Being a fan is not a vicarious pleasure, all appearances to the contrary. Our fun is not a (1).................................. (water) – down version of the team’s fun, even though they are the ones that get to score the goals. The (2)..................................... (excite) we feel on occasions like this is not a (3)......................................... (celebrate) of others’ good fortune, but it is truly our own. And when there is a (4)................................. (disaster) defeat the sorrow that engulfs us is, in effect, self-pity. The players are merely our (5)................................... (represent). I am a part of the club, just as the club is part of me; and I say this with total (6)..................................................... (aware) that the club (7)......................... (regard) my views, and treats me (8)............................................... (appalling) on occasions. 
THE ART OF FENCING
Fencing is popular sport that demands (9)............................ (agile) and quick reflexes. It is, (10)................................ (basic), the modern version of the (11)...........................
(equivalence) of the everyday swords of the past. The ‘foil’ is the weapon distinguished by its (13).............................. (light) and hits are made only on the trunk of the body, not the limbs or head. The ‘epée’ is most like the old duelling sword and is stiffer and more solid. It is (14).................................... (permit) with this to make hits anywhere on the body, head or limbs. The ‘sabre’ is like the old cavalry sword and has proved its (15)................................ (effective) in cutting as well as thrusting. Fencers wear masks and thick waistcoats for (16)............................... (protect) from injuries which can occur during matches. 
II. Choose the best word from A, B, C or D that fits each blank.
1. The hotel room was ...................... furnished with only a bed, a wardrobe, and an
 ancient armchair. 
A. thinly	B. sparsely	C. lightly	D. sketchily 
2. The main disadvantage to our house is that the only .................... to the garden is 
 through a bedroom. 
	A. passage	B. doorway	C. access	D. communication
3. The demonstrations .................... in one hundred students being arrested. 
	A. culminated	B. erupted	C. escalated	D. concluded
4. Although he was a hardened criminal, his one ...... feature was his love of children. 
	A. saving	B. redeeming	C. recovering	D. acquitting
5. Following the accident, he was prosecuted for ........................... driving. 
	A. rash	B. heedless	C. irresponsible	D. reckless
6. In many places in Wales we found that place-names in English had been ...............
 with green paint – the work of ardent Welsh Nationalists. 
	A. suppressed	B. disguised	C. obliterated	D. destroyed
7. She took up so many hobbies when she retired that she had hardly any time ...........
	A. on her hands	B. in hand	C. at her hand	D. at hand
8. He was hardened criminal without a scrap of ...................... for his crimes.
	A. pity	B. reproach	C. remorse	D. penance 
9. We might just as well have stayed at home ......................... the enjoyment we had. 
	A. on account of	B. as far as	C. for all 	D. concerning 
10. Don’t stick your elbows out when you eat. ....................... them in by your sides. 
	A. tuck	B. bend	C. place	D. turn 
11. Nothing was arranged – it was all very ......................................... . 
	A. take away	B. worn out	C. slapdash	D. slap up
12. She gave me the same advice ............................ you did. 
	A. like	B. than 	C. as 	D. who
13. He was ............................ with an extraordinary musical ability. 
	A. ensured	B. entrusted	C. entreated	D. endowed
14. Not being able to find my phone number is a pretty .................... excuse for not 
 contacting me. 
	A. fragile	B. frail	C. feedble	D. faint
15. Fearing for his life, he .............................. the muggers for mercy. 
	A. pleaded	B. petitioned	C. urged	D. begged
16. I am sorry to have bothered you – I was under the ....................... that you wanted 
 me to call you. 
	A. mistake	B. miscalculation	C. misconception	D. misapprehension
17. A special committee was set up to ........... on the problem of football hooliganism. 
	A. investigate	B. inform	C. research	D. report
18. After the flash flood, all the drains were overflowing ........................ storm water. 
	A. from 	B. with	C. by	D. for
19. The factory is working below ......... because of the shortage of essential materials. 
	A. range	B. scope	C. capacity	D. density
20. If the work-force respected you, you wouldn’t need to ............................... your 
 authority so often. 
	A. assert	B. affirm	C. maintain	D. inflict 
21. I’ve had my car examined three times now but no mechanic has been able to ........
 the problem. 
	A. pinpoint	B. focus	C. specify	D. highlight
22. Our hosts had prepared a ............ meal withseven courses to celebrate our arrival. 
	A. generous	B. profuse	C. lavish	D. spendthrift
23. I explained that I wanted to ........................... my legal right to consult a solicitor. 
	A. entertain	B. exercise	C. grant	D. insist 
24. We were all rather in awe ........................... the new computers when they arrived. 
	A. about	B. before	C. by	D. of
25. The case was ................................... by the judge for lack of evidence. 
	A. disallowed	B. dismissed	C. abandoned	D. discarded
26. Once she’s ............................... a few tears she’ll resign herself to the situation. 
	A. shed	B. split	C. sobbed	D. released
27. .................... the regular written work, you will be required to submit a long essay. 
	A. Apart from	B. Beside	C. In addition	D. Beyond
28. ........................... the difficulty of the task, I shall be lucky to complete it by May. 
	A. Regarding	B. Given 	C. Presuming	D. Accepted 
29. He was so .......... in answer to my questions that I knew he has something to hide. 
	A. effusive	B. elusive	C. allusive	D. evasive
30. There is no ....................... for hard work and perseverance if you want to succeed. 
	A. alternative	B. substitute	C. equivalent	D. imitation 
31. People in this village have got an ................................. appetite for now. 
	A. inexorable	B. inevitable	C. insatiable	D. inedible 
32. Hardly had he sat down ................................... he was sent for again. 
	A. when 	B.than 	C. after	D. that
33. Many children who get into trouble in their early teens go on to become ...............
 offenders. 
	A. persistent	B. insistent	C. consistent	D. resistent 
34. Race regulations in this country are unlikely to improve until people overcome 
 their ........................ feelings of hostility towards foreigners. 
	A. interior	B. internal 	C. inverted 	D. innate
35. Here is an example of an accident ............................ Chinese vase. 
	A. beautiful	B. tiny	C. patterned 	D. exotic 
36. Even the other convicts considered it a ............................. crime. 
 	A. guilty	B. hard-bitten	C. heinous	D. hell-bent
37. Working with the mentally handicapped requires considerable ......................... of
 patience and understanding. 
	A. means	B. resources	C. stocks	D. provisions 
38. The book took me the ............................... part of a year to write. 
	A. most	B. greatest	C. best	D. largest
39. I utterly ..................... your argument. In my opinion, you have distorted the facts. 
	A. confound	B. dispute	C. decline	D. refute
40. I offer you my most ................................ apologies for offending you as I did. 
	A. repentant	B. servile	C. candid	D. abject 
41. Having decided to rent a flat, we ........................ contacting all all accommodation 
 agencies in the city. 
	A. set to	B. set off	C. set out	D. set about	
42. Don’t thank me for helping in the garden. It was .............................. pleasure to be 
 working out of doors. 
	A. plain	B. mere	C. simple	D. sheer
43. The school authorities ....................... the child’s unruly behaviour on his parents’ 
 lack of discipline. 
	A. attribute	B. accuse	C. blame	D. ascribe
44. After months of bitter arguing the couple had to accept that they were ................ . 
	A. incongruous 	B. incompatible	C. dissident	D. disaffected 
45. My sunburnt nose made me feel rather .......... for the first few days of the holiday.
	A. self-effacing	B. self-centred	C. self-conscious	D. self-evident
46. The peace of the public library was ..................... by the sound of a transitor radio. 
	A. smashed	B. fractured	C. demolished	D. shattered 
47. Anticipating renewed rioting, the aut