AMBROSIA HSG AMBROSIAX – NEW HORIZONS

TRƯ NG THPT CHUYÊN AMBROSIA KỲ THI OLYMPIC TRUYỀN THỐNG 30/4 NĂM 2018
Môn thi: TIẾNG ANH; L p 10 & 11
Thời gian làm bài: 180 phút, không kể thời gian phát đề

APPLICATION TEST
(Đề thi có 08 trang)

Họ và tên thí sinh: ................................. SBD: .................

I. LISTENING (30 PTS)

Part 1 (10 PTS): Listen carefully to the recording. For questions 1 – 5, choose the option (A, B, C, or D)
which best completes the blank space or best answers the question. Link: goo.gl/iuoJTh
1. Who is Lindy King?
A. A story-teller B. A radio interviewer C. A civil activist D. A history expert
2. What is false about Rosa Parks?
A. She is said to have rewritten history. B. She was first to be kicked off a vehicle.
C. Her name was very well-known. D. She has colored skin and comes from America.
3. Why did Claudette Colvin sit near the emergency door?
A. She was designated to sit there. B. She knew how to deal with emergency situations.
C. That chair was empty at the time she got on. D. The bus driver wanted her to sit near him.
4. Which ‘crime’ was Claudette NOT charged with?
A. Acting inappropriately to her race B. Obstructing investigation
C. Unacceptable and improper behaviour D. Resisting law enforcement
5. How long did she have to stay under her parents’ supervision, according to the court?
A. She was imprisoned. B. About a month. C. It is unknown. D. Infinitely.
Part 2 (20 PTS): Listen carefully to the recording. For questions 6 – 15, fill in each blank with the missing
information. You can write up to three words in each blank. Link: goo.gl/1FjaHb
6. People in Chesilworth want to ______________________________ of an international airport taking place.
7. They conducted a _________________________________________________ into the government’s plans.
8. They submitted _____________________________________________________________ to the chairman.
9. A new airport is needed because _______________________________ of the other airports in the London
area is insufficient.
10. Chesilworth was chosen because it is near a major _____________________ and a ___________________.
11. It was a protest march, but the demonstrators had a good ________________________________________ .
12. Families had to ________________________________________________ when there was a gas explosion.
13. The explosion occurred in an _________________________________________________ in Mickle street.
14. The gas main had cracked, resulting in __________________________________ that caused the explosion.
15. People are not ___________________________ the area until tests by the Gas Board have been completed.

II. VOCABULARY AND COLLOCATIONS (10 PTS)

Choose the best options to complete the following sentences.

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AMBROSIA HSG AMBROSIAX – NEW HORIZONS

1. What’s special about Phil is that whenever something __________ me extremely, he always seems to be
there reassuring me tenderly.
A. aggravates B. mitigates C. deteriorates D. agitates
2. Seeing my husband-to-be tall and __________ at the altar made me so happy. Finally, I managed to choose
the right man.
A. perpendicular B. erect C. linear D. uprightly
3. One’s __________ years seem to be the scariest, when his body weakens daily as more and more illnesses
come about.
A. twilight B. afternoon C. autumn D. sunset
4. Specialised students are prone to undue stress, with the __________ pressure from overexpecting parents.
A. exterior B. extraneous C. external D. extrinsic
5. I offer you my most __________ apologies for offending you as I did.
A. repentant B. candid C. servile D. abject
6. “Are you a beer? If not so, don’t look so __________ cold.” – his joke welcomed me.
A. bitterly B. sourly C. pungently D. muskily
7. Having finished the classed, he __________ hurried home without saying goodbye, which was weird.
A. therein B. thereabout C. thereby D. thereupon
8. While concert-goers were leaving Ariana Grande’s Dangerous Woman tour, a bomb was detonated,
making everyone panicked and ran __________.
A. thither and yon B. hither and thither C. away D. broadside
9. The young of a kangaroo is called a joey, of a goose is a gosling, of a goat, surprisingly, a __________.
A. kid B. child C. babe D. tot
10. “Stop studying so hard, Dan! All work and no play makes __________ a dull boy”, Harry wittily shouted.
A. Damien B. Jack C. William D. Daniel

III. GRAMMAR AND STRUCTURES (10 PTS)

Choose the best options to complete the following sentences.
11. “This champagne doesn’t represent just anyone,” he clinked my wedding glass, “this is __________ now.”
A. our B. ours C. ourselves D. us
12. Working for Ambrosia has been wonderful, __________ I learnt so much useful knowledge and soft skills.
A. in that B. at that C. in this D. at this
13. Many __________ fish has been killed in the 2016 marine life disaster.
A. the B. a C. Ø D. some
14. I dare you __________ me soundly in the upcoming tests.
A. to beat B. beating C. to beating D. beat
15. At __________ last governments heard our needs for protecting the environment.
A. far B. near C. short D. long
16. The teacher __________ to stop writing.
A. remarked B. said C. told D. asked
17. Being an alpha male, I am not any the __________ delighted to be left to my own devices.
A. less B. most C. more D. least

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18. During my 18th summer, I worked part-time for a café, where I was paid __________.
A. at all hours B. hourly C. by the hour D. hours and hours
19. Joan __________ more time playing sports while he was younger, because he’s so unfit now and his body
just doesn’t move right.
A. was supposed to be spending B. regret that he didn’t spend
C. wish he spent D. would like to have spent
20. I __________ the least interest in the Literature project, so I asked James to be the leader.
A. haven’t B. do have C. had not D. don’t have got
IV. PHRASAL VERBS AND PREPOSITIONS (5 PTS)
Choose the best options to complete the following sentences.
21. My answer to the Chemistry question doesn’t accord __________ any of yours. How can that be?
A. towards B. with C. among D. to
22. Tide is my favorite detergent because it makes my clothes softer __________ the touch.
A. to B. below C. amid D. through
23. Phonological questions in the Olympic 30/04 examination have been __________ away with in 2018.
A. made B. done C. gotten D. taken
24. Poppy crept __________ Sinclair and put her hands over his eyes.
A. up on B. upwards C. into D. behind
25. In one episode of The Ellen Show, Ellen __________ up Nicki Minaj, which was hilariously funny.
A. played B. acted C. sent D. dressed
26. When Larry Page and Sergey Brin __________ their fledgling company Google, they surely couldn’t have
imagined how huge it would turn out to be.
A. hit on B. set off C. worked up D. set up
27. “We’ll __________ that port later today for dinner”, the captain announced.
A. ring up B. phone in C. call at D. dial down
28. I told myself not to fall in love again, but I __________ his charms and came to introduce myself.
A. fell under B. succumbed to C. gave in to D. admitted of
29. I knew my feelings for him were real, so that night I __________ what was in my mind.
A. poured out B. spilt out C. tipped off D. splashed out
30. The next words he said I remembered forever: “I have __________ you the first day we met, and I will
love you for a thousand years…”
A. hit on B. fallen for C. bowled over D. grown on
V. READING COMPREHENSION – IELTS (14 PTS)
Passage 1 (7 PTS): Read the following passage carefully. For questions 31-37, choose the correct heading
for each paragraph from the list of headings given below.

i. How ambient music is different vi. An unrecognised effort to change

ii. How ambient music is special vii. Formation of a band
iii. Process of producing ambient music viii. Disappearance of a band
iv. What ambient music sounds like ix. German productions
v. Only one person appreciated their work

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AMBROSIA HSG AMBROSIAX – NEW HORIZONS

The Invention of Ambient Music

By Alex Abramovich January 20, 2016
A In the sixties, pop music in West Germany was in a peculiar state. Popular singers still sang “Schlager
music”—pointedly apolitical schmaltz, of the sort that had once been championed by Joseph Goebbels—while
Germany’s rock musicians covered English bands, playing, essentially, American music at an extra remove.
But, as with the New German Cinema that emerged in that decade, new German sounds had begun to take
shape. British journalists called the music Krautrock, an unfortunate term, despised by German musicians
themselves, which has stuck, nonetheless. The German press (and, for the most part, German audiences) ignored
the Krautrock bands entirely. But in advertisements and airports, on film soundtracks, and in concert halls, high
and low, the music is still in the air, all around us.
B Take Can, which formed in Cologne, in 1968. (Fast-forward to the two-minute mark of “Don’t Turn the
Light On, Leave Me Alone” to hear a jam that sounds remarkably like latter-day Radiohead.) Or Kraftwerk,
which formed in Düsseldorf, in 1970, and scratched out the templates for disco, New Wave, techno, and any
number of micro-genres beloved by readers of Pitchfork and Brooklyn Vegan. (Compare Kraftwerk’s “Trans-
Europe Express” with Afrika Bambaataa’s hip-hop touchstone “Planet Rock.”) The Germans invented
electronic dance music, just as surely as German engineers, working between the wars, had invented magnetic
tape. And, at the same time, groups like Tangerine Dream, Popol Vuh, Cluster, and Neu! were playing songs
that seeped much more softly into the atmosphere. It took Brian Eno to coin the phrase “ambient music,” but it’s
worth remembering that he did so after playing with German musicians, and after collaborating with David
Bowie on “Low”—an album (the first in Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy) that might be heard as an homage to
Krautrock and, at its worst, becomes Krautrock pastiche.
C A few months ago, the Berlin label Grönland Records released “Harmonia Box,” which collects the
recordings of a group Eno adored and, eventually, worked with. Compared with its sound, which is crystalline,
the group’s history seems convoluted, but in the briefest of outlines: Harmonia was a sort of supergroup,
composed of Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Dieter Moebius, and Michael Rother, a guitarist who had played in Neu!
and an early incarnation of Kraftwerk. Roedelius, the group’s oldest member, had been a child star in Nazi
propaganda films, a conscript in the Pimpfe_ _(the Cub Scouts of the Hitler Youth), and, in the late nineteen-
sixties, a founder of the Zodiak Free Arts Lab, in Berlin. Moebius, who died last year, had studied with Joseph
Beuys in Düsseldorf. Moebius had had a bit of musical training. Roedelius had had no training at all (though he
did have a gift for melody). But together with Conrad Schnitzler, Roedelius and Moebius had formed Kluster, at
the Zodiak, in 1969, changing the spelling to “Cluster,” after Schnitzler’s departure, in 1971. That year,
Moebius and Roedelius moved to a large, ruined farmhouse in Forst, in Lower Saxony. And, in 1973, Rother
took a hiatus from Neu! and joined them.
D The trio made two albums: “Musik von Harmonia,” in 1974, and “Deluxe,” in 1975. They played to
audiences that were indifferent or hostile. “Harmonia was completely ignored or hated,” Rother told me, over
Skype, recently. “Ignored would have been the better thing. People did not understand it, did not want our
music.” The group broke up in the summer of 1976, only to reform later that year, when Eno spent a little over a
week recording with it in Forst. But Eno took the tapes with him; aside from Bowie’s “Low,” which is shot
through with the group’s influence, nothing came of the recordings for decades. In the interim, Harmonia
remained unknown and unheralded. Still, Eno wasn't kidding when he called it the “greatest rock band in the
world.” Listen to the recordings today and you’ll hear music that could have been made this morning in Vienna
or Williamsburg.
E There’s a reason the music has aged so well. In Germany in the late sixties and seventies, forward-
looking musicians were working with sequencers, analog synthesizers, drum machines, tape loops, and exotic
instruments. The idea, Rother told me, was to scrape clean the musical palate. “By that time,” he said, in lightly
accented English, “I had left behind the idea of being a guitar hero, of trying to impress people by playing fast
melodies. I’d erased all that from my repertoire. I kept my respect for the Beatles, for Jimi Hendrix, and the
blues. I loved that culture. But I knew that it was not my music, not my culture. I had to leave it behind. In
Germany, Anglo-American music was everywhere. Then we had Schlager. Then we had nothing. So I went
back to one note. One guitar string. It was quite a primitive music, really.”

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AMBROSIA HSG AMBROSIAX – NEW HORIZONS

F What this meant, in practice, is that Rother—who’d grown up covering Cream, the Stones, and the
Beatles—had subtracted the blues (if not the funk) from his playing. Eventually, he’d simplified chord
progressions, or removed them entirely, playing single-note runs against a tight matrix set up by his partner in
Neu! and Kraftwerk, the drummer Klaus Dinger. The resulting songs, most of them instrumental, could sound
like a stream or a flood; either way, the effect was one of constant, cleansing forward motion. And with
Harmonia, most of the drumming and singing disappeared as well. Filtered through Eno and Eno’s work as a
producer, the results helped to lay the foundation not only for ambient music but for a few generations of blues-
less rock bands, from Wire and New Order to My Bloody Valentine, and all the way up to LCD Soundsystem.
G “I started as a copycat,” Rother told me. “Trying to imitate my heroes. After a few years, I noticed that
this was not enough to express my personality. Now I wonder why this does not happen more often. I mean, I’m
glad when young musicians say, ‘We are your fans, we love your music, and we try to sound like you.’ In a
way, this is flattering. But sometimes I think it would be better, and they would understand me better, if they
understood that what they liked about this music has to do with finding your own song. Your own identity. With
trying to move forward. To move on.”

Passage 2 (7 PTS): Read the following passage carefully. For questions 38-44, decide if the statements are
true (T), false (F), or not mentioned in the text (NM).

Unlikely Boomtowns: The World’s Hottest Cities

Megacities like London, New York, and Tokyo loom large in our imaginations. They are still associated
with fortune, fame and the future. They can dominate national economies and politics. The last fifty years has
been their era, as the number of cities with more than ten million people grew from two to twenty. But with all
respect to the science-fiction novelists who have envisioned a future of urban giants, their day is over. The
typical growth rate of the population within a megacity has slowed from more than eight per cent in the 1980s to
less than half that over the last five years, and numbers are expected to be static in the next quarter century.
Instead, the coming years will belong to a smaller, far humbler relation - the Second City.
Within a few years, more people will live in cities than in the countryside for the first time in human
history. But increasingly, the urban core itself is downsizing. Already, half the city dwellers in the world live in
metropolises with fewer than half-a-million residents. Second Cities - from exurbs, residential areas outside the
suburbs of a town, to regional centres - are booming. Between 2000 and 2015, the world’s smallest cities (with
under 500,000 people) will grow by 23 per cent, while the next smallest (one million to five million people) will
grow by 27 per cent. This trend is the result of dramatic shifts, including the global real-estate bubble;
increasing international migration; cheaper transport; new technologies, and the fact that the baby-boom
generation is reaching retirement age.
The emergence of Second Cities has flowed naturally (if unexpectedly) from the earlier success of the
megacities. In the 1990s, megacities boomed as global markets did. This was particularly true in areas with
high-tech or ‘knowledge-based’ industries like finance. Bonuses got bigger, bankers got richer and real-estate
prices in the world’s most sought-after cities soared. The result has been the creation of what demographer
William Frey of the Washington-based Brookings Institute calls ‘gated regions’ in which both the city and many
of the surrounding suburbs have become unaffordable for all but the very wealthy. ‘Economically, after a city
reaches a certain size its productivity starts to fall,’ notes Mario Pezzini, head of the regional-competitiveness
division of the OECD. He puts the tipping point at about six million people, after which costs, travel times and
the occasional chaos ‘create a situation in which the centre of the city may be a great place, but only for the rich,
and the outlying areas become harder to live and work in’. One reaction to this phenomenon is further sprawl -
high prices in the urban core and traditional suburbs drive people to distant exurbs with extreme commutes into
big cities. As Frey notes, in the major US metropolitan areas, average commuting times have doubled over the
last fifteen years.
Why does one town become a booming Second City while another fails? The answer hinges on whether
a community has the wherewithal to exploit the forces pushing people and businesses out of the megacities. One
key is excellent transport links, especially to the biggest commercial centres. Though barely a decade old,
Goyang is South Korea’s fastest-growing city in part because it is 30 minutes by subway from Seoul. Another
growth driver for Second Cities is the decentralization of work, driven in large part by new technologies. While

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more financial deals are done now in big capitals like New York and London than ever before, it is also clear
that plenty of booming service industries are leaving for ‘Rising Urban Stars’ like Dubai, Montpellier and Cape
Town. These places have not only improved their Internet backbones, but often have technical institutes and
universities that turn out the kinds of talent that populate growth industries.
Consider Montpellier, France, a case study in urban decentralization. Until the 1980s, it was like a big
Mediterranean village, but one with a strong university, many lovely villas, and an IBM manufacturing base.
Once the high-speed train lines were built, Parisians began pouring in for weekend breaks. Some bought houses,
creating a critical mass of middle-class professionals who began taking advantage of flexible working systems
to do three days in Paris, and two down South, where things seemed less pressured. Soon, big companies began
looking at the area; a number of medical-technology and electronics firms came to town, and IBM put more
investment into service businesses there. To cater to the incoming professionals, the city began building
amenities: an opera house, a tram line to discourage cars in the city centre. The result, says French urban-
planning expert Nacima Baron, is that ‘the city is now full of cosmopolitan business people. It’s a new society’.
All this means that Second Cities won’t stay small. Indeed some countries are actively promoting their
growth. Italy, for example, is trying to create tourist hubs of towns close to each other with distinctive buildings
and offering different yet complementary cultural activities. Devolution of policymaking power is leaving many
lesser-known cities more free than ever to shape their destinies. To them all: this is your era. Don’t blow it.
T F NM

38. Megacities’ population will probably, at some point, stay unchanged.

39. Second Cities have been booming for a while and will continue to do so.
40. The more citizens a city had, the more advantageous it would be.
41. The creation of efficient access routes makes a successful Second City.
42. Only when there exist support services, foreign workers will come to the city.
43. Older people play an instrumental role to a growing Second City.
44. It’s governments’ time to build prosperous cities.
VI. OPEN CLOZE TEST (10 PTS)
Read the text below and think of the word that best fits each space. Use only ONE WORD for each space.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S INAUGURAL ADDRESS

Chief Justice Roberts, President Carter, President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, (1) __________
Americans, and people of the world: thank you.
We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to (2) __________ our country and to
restore its promise for all of our people.
Together, we will determine the course of America and the world for many, many years to (3) __________. We
will face challenges. We will confront hardships. But we will get the job done.
(4) __________ four years, we gather on these steps to carry out the orderly and peaceful transfer of power, and
we are grateful to President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for their gracious aid (5) __________ this
transition. They have been magnificent. Thank you.
Today’s ceremony, (6) __________, has a very special meaning. Because today we are not merely transferring
power from one Administration to another, or from one party to another – but we are transferring power from
Washington, D.C. and giving it back to you, (7) __________ People.
For too long, a small group in our nation’s capital has reaped the rewards of government while people have
borne the cost. Washington flourished – but people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered – but the
jobs left, and the factories (8) __________. The establishment protected (9) __________, but not the citizens of
our country. Their victories have not been your victories; their triumphs have not been your triumphs; and while
they celebrated in our nation’s capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land.
That all changes – starting right here, and right now, because this moment is your moment: it belongs to you.
It belongs to everyone who has (10) __________ here today and everyone watching in America.
This is your day. This is your celebration. And this, the United States of America, is your country.

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VII. WORD FORMATION (16 PTS)

Part 1: Complete each sentence, using the correct form of the word in parentheses. (10 PTS)

1. Watching the __________ on the tightrope has made my heart drop several times. (ONE)
2. Justin Hartley, the starring hunk in This Is Us, is truly a __________. (HEART)
3. After __________ the motorbiker, it was definite that he had overdrunk. (BREATH)
4. We made a bet that whoever got an A+ would have to buy the others a __________ meal. (SLAP)
5. “There’s no way he’s cheating on me! The stories you told me seem so __________”, she yelled. (FAR)
6. “The professor asked me to be here, __________ I think he did.” (LEAST)
7. German municipalities are testing electric buses in public transportation. The vehicles use __________
technology, so they send out no emissions and only a small hum. (STATE)
8. In __________ of receiving overtime pay, I choose to have time off in __________, which means I have
some hours that I may take off from work. (same word) (MILIEU)
9. You Are The Apple of My Eye is so __________ I can hardly stop reading it. (PUT)
10. Tør is a classic Nordic type: 6’3”, blond haired and blue eyed; but more importantly, he has a
__________ soul that I can never seem to get bored of. (TENDER)
Part 2: Complete the passage with appropriate forms of the words in brackets. (6 PTS)

BlackBerry weaponizes instant messaging

patents, sues Facebook
TIMOTHY B. LEE - 3/7/2018, 5:35 AM

BlackBerry, the once-great smartphone maker that exited the hardware business in 2016, is suing Facebook
for patent infringement. BlackBerry owns a (1. FOLIO) __________ of broad software patents that cover some
of the most basic features of modern smartphone messaging services—and the company says it wants Facebook
to pay up.
Facebook "created mobile messaging applications that (2. OPT) __________ BlackBerry's innovations,
using a number of the innovative security, user interface, and functionality-enhancing features that made
BlackBerry's products such a critical and commercial success in the first place," BlackBerry's Tuesday lawsuit
claims. The lawsuit argues that Facebook (3. SUBSIDY) __________ Instagram and Whatsapp infringe
BlackBerry's patents in addition to Facebook's own messaging apps.
It's not unusual for technology companies that lose their lead in the (4. MARKET) __________to turn to
patent licensing as an alternative way to make money. Yahoo sued Facebook for patent infringement in 2012,
for example, while Nokia sued Apple for patent infringement in 2016.
BlackBerry began its own campaign of patent (5. LITIGANT) __________ in 2016, suing the little-known
Android phone maker BLU and the Internet telephony company Avaya. BLU agreed to pay up last year, and
BlackBerry is now moving on to Facebook—potentially a much more (6. LUCRE) __________ target.
VIII. SENTENCE TRANSFORMATION (20 pts)
Rewrite the following sentences using the words given.
1. Sometimes I feel down because I always get chosen last for my sports team, but I believe everyone will have
a chance. (DOG)
→ Every _________________________________________________________________________________

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2. The strange squeak in the middle of the night scared me to the core. (FRIGHTENED)
→ ___________________________________________________________________________________wits.
3. They used glitzy diagrams for their presentation, but they were unnecessary and useless. (MORE)
→ Diagrams used _____________________________________________________________________ candy.
4. Bruce said that the situation at work was like a family argument . (LIKENED)
→ ______________________________________________________________________________________
5. “Students, do not quote every line of the poem in your essay if it is too long”, my Literature teacher said.
(ENTIRETY)
→ My Literature teacher instructed ____________________________________________________________
6. Vanessa was taken on by a big law firm as soon as she graduated. (LANDED)
→ On graduation, Vanessa __________________________________________________________________
7. No sooner had I finished my interview than he offered me the job.
→ The ___________________________________________________________________________________
8. Tim was always an optimist even when things were going wrong.
→ Tim invariably looked ____________________________________________________________________
9. Jane was extremely exuberant when she saw Cape Town.
→ Jane could feel nothing ___________________________________________________________________
10. Not for another five years did the whole truth come out. (ELAPSED)
→ It was not until __________________________________________________________________________

– END OF TEST. BEST OF LUCK –

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TRƯ NG THPT CHUYÊN AMBROSIA KỲ THI OLYMPIC TRUYỀN THỐNG 30/4 NĂM 2018
Môn thi: TIẾNG ANH; L p 10 & 11
Thời gian làm bài: 180 phút, không kể thời gian phát đề

ANSWER KEY – EXPLANATION

(Đáp án có 06 trang)
I. LISTENING (30 PTS)
Part 1 (10 PTS, 2 pts each)
1. D. A history expert. “And with us in the studio is American historian Lindy King”
2. B. She was first to be kicked off a vehicle. “However, nine months before Rosa Parks was arrested, a fifteen-
year-old girl called Claudette Colvin was removed from a bus in the same town…”
3. A. She was designated to sit there.
“…the law stated that black passengers on buses had to sit on the seat to the back…”
4. B. Obstructing investigation (trying to stop investigation from developing)
“…she was arrested and charged with misconduct (unacceptable, improper behavior), resisting arrest
(resisting law enforcement), and disobeying the laws of segregation (laws that separate people into
racial/ethnic groups in daily life) in the city.”
5. C. It is unknown. “…had to stay in her parents' care for an indefinite (not exact, not clear) amount of time”
Part 2 (20 PTS)
6. prevent the building/construction
7. public enquiry “where a public enquiry into the plans was taking place”
8. a petition
9. the capacity/size “the other airports in the London area are overcrowded”
10. motorway – railway line
11. sense of humor “…both demonstrators and police remained good-humored”
12. evacuate/be evacuated
13. an empty house/home “The explosion occurred at ten a.m. in a deserted house...”
14. leaking gas
15. allowed to enter “The police have forbidden anyone to enter the area...”
II. VOCABULARY AND COLLOCATIONS (10 PTS)
1. D. agitates
aggravate so/sth (v) 1. make a bad situation/a disease worse 2. (inf) ~annoy
mitigate sth (v) make something less harmful, unpleasant, or severe
deteriorate sth (quickly, sharply…) (v) become progressively worse.
sth agitate so (extremely…) (v) make someone feel worried, troubled, nervous → “reassuring me tenderly”
2. B. erect
perpendicular (a): making a right angle (90o)
erect (a) standing with your back and neck very straight → “tall…”
linear (a) concerning lines or length
upright (a) (adv) vertical and as straight as possible (would be correct too, but uprightly)

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Prep: at the altar

3. A. twilight
twilight years (n) the last years of one’s life → best option “weakens daily…”
autumn years (n) the later years of one’s life, after they stopped working
4. C. external
external (a) coming or derived from a source outside the subject affected → external stress >< internal stress
exterior (a) forming, situated on, or relating to the outside of sth
extraneous (a) irrelevant or unrelated to the subject being dealt with
extrinsic (a) not part of the essential nature of so or sth, antonym: intrinsic
5. A. repentant
repentant apology (a) expressing or feeling sincere regret and remorse
candid remark (a) honest and truthful, especially about sth difficult or painful
servile manner (a) showing an excessive willingness to serve or please others
abject misery, poverty, failure, etc. (a) (of something bad) experienced or present to the maximum degree
6. A. bitterly
bitterly (adv) in a way that shows strong negative emotion, bitterly cold: unpleasantly cold ⟹ “joke” (beer =
bitter + cold, don’t look so cold)
pungent smell/taste/odor/soup… (a) very strong (sometimes unpleasantly so)
musky smell/perfume… (a) with a strong, sweet and warm smell
7. D. thereupon
therein (adv, formal) in or into that place, thing
thereabout(s) (adv) 1. approximately 2. near that place
thereby (adv, formal) by that means, as a result of this action
thereupon (adv) immediately or shortly after that → “Having finished the class”
8. B. hither and thither
hither and thither (also thither and yon) in many directions
run away from: 1. leave a place/person secretly/suddenly 2. avoid dealing with
broadside (adv) with a side facing sth
9. A. kid
10. B. Jack
All work and no play (makes Jack a dull boy) (proverb) without time off from work, a person becomes both
bored and boring → “stop studying so hard”
III. GRAMMAR AND STRUCTURES (10 PTS)
11. D. us “This is (= represents) + object” → object pronoun us
12. A. in that (formal) because
13. B. a Many a + singular noun = A large number of = Many + plural form
14. A. to beat dare + to V: express challenge + Vbare: express threats, warning, anger
+ to V/Vbare: express (lack of) courage
15. D. long at long last (adv) finally, after much waiting
16. B. said In reported speech, we can use say + infinitive (no object)

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17. A. less not any the less delighted: extremely delighted

leave sb to their own devices: to allow someone to make their own decisions about what to do
alpha male (n) a strong and successful man who likes to be in charge of others
18. C. by the hour
by the hour (adv): for every hour you work hourly (adv): happening every hour
for hours (and hours): for a very long time at all hours (of the day and night): repeatedly, day & night
19. D. would like to have spent
20. A. haven’t I haven’t (= haven’t got = don’t have) the least interest/idea: I have absolutely no interest/idea
IV. PHRASAL VERBS AND PREPOSITIONS (5 PTS)
21. B. with accord with sth (phr V) to be the same as something, or to agree with something
22. A. to soft to the/your touch: it feels soft when you put your hand on it
23. B. done do away with something (phr V) put an end to, remove
get away with something (phr V) succeed in avoiding punishment for something
24. A. up on creep up on/up behind sb: move close to sb and surprise them without being seen
value, amount creep up(wards): slowly increases
mistake creep in(to) a piece of text: happen in spite of efforts not to include them
2. gradually start to be noticeable e.g: Doubts begin to creep in(to) my mind.
25. C. sent send up so/sth (phr V) imitate them in an amusing way that makes them appear foolish
play up sth (phr V) make sth seem more important/better than it is, to get an advantage
act up = play up (phr V) (children) start to behave badly
dress sth up (phr V) add sth to sth to make it seem more interesting/pleasing
26. C. work up work up sth: bring something into existence, especially gradually or in stages
set up new company, organization, system, way of working (phr V): formally establish
hit (up)on sth (phr V) think of an idea unexpectedly or unintentionally
set off bomb, alarm (phr V) cause a device to explode or a signal to start
27. C. call at train, boat call at somewhere (phr V) stop at a place for a short time (“for dinner”)
ring up sth (phr V): record bought items & calculate costs using a cash register
phone in sick… (phr V) phone the workplace to tell your employer sth
dial down sth (phr V) make something less forceful or extreme
28. B. succumbed to succumb to temptation/charm: lose the determination to oppose something
be/fall under sb’s influence/spell: be affected by sb in a strong and often negative way
give in to sth (phr V) to agree to do something that you do not want to do
admit of sth (phr V) to allow sth or make it possible
29. A. poured out pour out sth (phr V) tell all your problems/feelings to sb, especially privately/secretly
spill out sth (phr V) talk about or express an emotion freely
tip off someone (phr V) give secret information to someone (or without intending to)
splash out $999 on (phr V) spending money on buying pleasant things you don’t need
30. B. fallen for fall for sb (phr V) have strong romantic feelings about someone
hit on sb (phr V) show sb you’re sexually attracted to them (tán tỉnh)
bowl sb over (phr V) surprise and please someone greatly

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sth/sb grow on you (phr V) you like sth/sb more and more than you did at first
V. READING COMPREHENSION – IELTS (14 PTS)
Passage 1 (7 PTS):
A …new German sounds had begun to take shape. British journalists called the music Krautrock, an
unfortunate term, despised by German musicians themselves, which has stuck, nonetheless. The German press
(and, for the most part, German audiences) ignored the Krautrock bands entirely…
⟹ vi. An unrecognised effort to change
B …The Germans invented electronic dance music, …, had invented magnetic tape. And, at the same
time, groups like Tangerine Dream, Popol Vuh, Cluster, and Neu! … ⟹ ix. German productions
C …Harmonia was a sort of supergroup, composed of Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Dieter Moebius, and
Michael Rother, …Roedelius and Moebius had formed Kluster, …after Schnitzler’s departure, in 1971… And,
in 1973, Rother took a hiatus from Neu! and joined them. ⟹ vii. Formation of a band
D ...They played to audiences that were indifferent or hostile. “Harmonia was completely ignored or
hated,” Rother told me, over Skype, recently. …. In the interim, Harmonia remained unknown and unheralded.
Still, Eno wasn't kidding when he called it the “greatest rock band in the world…
⟹ v. Only one person appreciated their work
E … The idea, Rother told me, was to scrape clean the musical palate. …. I kept my respect for the
Beatles, for Jimi Hendrix, and the blues. I loved that culture. But I knew that it was not my music, not my
culture. I had to leave it behind…. Then we had Schlager. Then we had nothing. So I went back to one note.
One guitar string. It was quite a primitive music, really.” ⟹ i. How ambient music is different
F … The resulting songs, most of them instrumental, could sound like a stream or a flood; either way, the
effect was one of constant, cleansing forward motion. And with Harmonia, most of the drumming and singing
disappeared as well. … ⟹ iv. What ambient music sounds like
G … and they would understand me better, if they understood that what they liked about this music has to
do with finding your own song. Your own identity. With trying to move forward. To move on.”
⟹ iii. How ambient music is special
Passage 2 (7 PTS):

45. Megacities’ population will probably, at some point, stay unchanged. TRUE
46. Second Cities have been booming for a while and will continue to do so. NOT MENTIONED
47. The more citizens a city had, the more advantageous it would be. FALSE
48. The creation of efficient access routes makes a successful Second City. TRUE
49. Only when there exist support services, foreign workers will come to the city. NOT MENTIONED
50. Older people play an instrumental role to a growing Second City. NOT MENTIONED
51. It’s governments’ time to build prosperous cities. FALSE
Explanation
45. numbers are expected to be static in the next quarter century. [Paragraph 1]
47. Economically, after a city reaches a certain size its productivity starts to fall [Paragraph 3]
48. One key is excellent transport links, especially to the biggest commercial centres. Though barely a decade
old, Goyang is South Korea’s fastest-growing city in part because it is 30 minutes by subway from Seoul
[Paragraph 4]
50. Devolution of policymaking power is leaving many lesser-known cities more free than ever to shape their
destinies. To them all: this is your era. Don’t blow it. [Paragraph 6]
VI. OPEN CLOZE TEST (10 PTS)
31. fellow → in the years/days/… to come: in the future
32. rebuild/revamp/protect 34. every/each
33. come 35. throughout/during

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36. however/nonetheless/though 39. itself/themselves

37. The/our/my/American 40. gathered/come
38. closed
VII. WORD FORMATION (16 PTS)
Part 1: Complete each sentence, using the correct form of the word in parentheses. (10 PTS)
1. unicyclist(s)/unicycle(s): a bicycle with only one wheel
2. heartthrob (n) a famous man, often a singer or an actor, who is attractive to many women
or sweetheart (n) a particularly lovable or pleasing person or thing.
3. breathalysing/-zing → breathalyse (v) test a driver's breath to see how much alcohol they have drunk
4. slap-up (a) meal: especially large and good
5. far-fetched (a) very unlikely to be true, and difficult to believe
6. leastways (adv) at least
7. state-of-the-art (a) very modern and using the most recent ideas and methods
8. lieu → in lieu of: instead of, time off in lieu: you have extra time off for the time you overwork (instead
of getting an overtime pay)
9. unputdownable (a) book: so exciting that you do not want to stop reading it:
10. tender(-)hearted (a) very kind and showing a lot of sympathy
Part 2: Complete the passage with appropriate forms of the words in brackets. (6 PTS)
1. portfolio (n) a collection of documents that represent a person's work
2. co(-)opt(ed) → co-opt3 (v) use someone else’s idea
3. subsidiaries (n) a company that is owned by a larger company
4. marketplace (n) a set of trading conditions or the business environment
5. litigation (n) the process of taking a case to a court of law so that a judgment can be made
6. lucrative (a) (a business, job, or activity) producing a lot of money
VIII. SENTENCE TRANSFORMATION (20 pts)
1. Every now and then
Every now and again I feel down because I always get chosen last, but I believe every dog has its/his
Every once in a while day.
Every so often
→ Every dog has its/his day: everyone is successful or happy at some time in their life.
2. The strange squeak in the middle of the night frightened me out of my wits.
→ frighten/scare sb out of their wits (also frighten/scare the wits out of sb): make someone very frightened
→ to the core: in every way, to an extreme degree
3. Diagrams used for their presentation were nothing more than an eye candy.
→ eye candy (n) someone or something that is attractive but not very interesting or useful
4. Bruce likened the situation at work to a family argument.
→ liken sb/sth to sb/sth: say that someone is similar to or has the same qualities as someone else
5. My Literature teacher instructed us not to quote the poem in its entirety in our essay(s) if it was/they were
too long.

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or My Literature teacher instructed the/his/her students not to quote the poem in its entirety in their essay(s)
if it was/they were too long.
→ in its entirety: with all parts included
6. On graduation, Vanessa landed a job with a big law firm.
→ land a job with sb/sth: find a job and be hired by sb/sth
7. The instant/moment/second (that) (= As soon as) I finished my interview, he offered me the job.
8. Tim invariably looked on the bright side even when things were going wrong.
→ look on the bright side: to find good things in a bad situation
9. Jane could feel nothing but exuberance when she saw Cape Town.
10. It was not until five years had elapsed that the whole truth came out. → time elapses: goes by

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TRƯ NG THPT CHUYÊN AMBROSIA KỲ THI OLYMPIC TRUYỀN THỐNG 30/4 NĂM 2018
LISTENING SCRIPT Môn thi: TIẾNG ANH; Lớp 10 & 11

I. Recording 1
I: This week on Hidden Stories, we’re looking at the story of Claudette Colvin. And with us in the studio is
American historian Lindy King. Lindy, welcome to the program.
L: Thank you.
I: So, first, Lindy, can you give us a little bit of background to Claudette Colvin?
L: Yes, of course. I'm sure listeners have heard of Rosa Parks. She was a black American woman who on
December 1st, 1955, got a bus in Alabama, refused to move from her seat to let a white person sit down and was
arrested.
I: Yes, of course. Rosa Parks is a name that most people will associate with making a difficult decision and
changing the course of history.
L: Exactly. However, nine months before Rosa Parks was arrested, a fifteen-year-old girl called Claudette
Colvin was removed from a bus in the same town in almost exactly the same circumstances.
I: Really?
L: Yes, really. On Friday, March 2nd, 1955, Claudette Colin got a bus to go home from school. She sat down
beside another black girl near an emergency door.
I: Was there a reason why Claudette sat in that particular seat?
L: Yes, the law stated that black passengers on buses had to sit on the seat to the back, while white people sat at
the front. However, if a white person got on the bus and all the seats were full, then a black person had to give
up their seat for the white person
I: So is that what happened to Claudette?
L: Yes, exactly. The bus was eventually full and the driver asked black passengers to give their seats to the
white passengers. Three black girls sitting near Claudette gave up their seats, Claudette didn't.
I: Why did she decide to do that?
L: Because, like Rosa Parks, Claudette had paid a fair, and she felt she had a right to have a seat.
I: What happened next?
L: When the bus driver called the policeman but Claudette still refused to move, she was arrested and charged
with misconduct, resisting arrest, and disobeying the laws of segregation in the city.
I: What happens during the trial?
L: Claudette pleaded not guilty, but the court decided otherwise. She did not go to prison, but had to stay in her
parents' care for an indefinite amount of time.
I: Thank you Lindy, so next time you hear the name Rosa Parks, spare a thought for Claudette Colvin, she
paved the way for Rosa’s decision.
II. Recording 2
The Eight O’clock News
Good evening, and here is the Eight O’clock News.
Five thousand people marched through the streets of Chesilworth today protesting against plans for a
new international airport near the town. Although there were such a large number of demonstrators, there was
no trouble. The demonstrators marched to the town hall, where a public enquiry into the plans was taking place,
and handed in a petition to the chairman of the enquiry. A new airport is needed because the other airports in the
London area are overcrowded. Several sites for a new airport have been suggested, and Chesilworth was
considered because it is near both a major motorway and a railway line. Although it was a protest march, there
was almost a carnival atmosphere, and both demonstrators and police remained good-humored.
Families were evacuated from four streets in the centre of Glasgow today, because of a gas explosion.
The explosion occurred at ten a.m. in a deserted house in Mickle Street. Gas Board officials believe that the
explosion was due to leaking gas. The house had been empty for several months, and they suspect that a gas
main had cracked because of vibration from road-works in the street. Windows 100 metres away were broken
by the blast. The police have forbidden anyone to enter the area until the Gas Board has completed tests.

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