TEST 9

Part 1: You will hear a radio discussion about writing a novel. For questions 1-5, choose the answer (A, B, C
or D) which fits best according to what you hear.
1. What does Louise say about Ernest Hemingway’s advice to writers?
A. It is useful to a certain extent. B. It applies only to inexperienced novelists.
C. It wasn’t intended to be taken seriously. D. It might confuse some inexperienced novelists.
2. Louise says that you need to get feedback when you
A. have not been able to write anything for some time. B. are having difficulty organizing your ideas.
C. are having contrasting feelings about what you have written.
D. have finished the book but not shown it to anyone.
3. What does Louise regard as useful feedback?
A. a combination of general observations and detailed comments
B. both identification of problems and suggested solutions
C. comments focusing more on style than on content
D. as many points about strengths as weaknesses
4. What does Louise say about the people she gets feedback from?
A. Some of them are more successful than her.B. She doesn't only discuss writing with them.
C. She also gives them feedback on their work. D. It isn’t always easy for her to get together with them.
5. One reaction to feedback that Louise mentions is that
A. it is justified but would require too much effort to act on.
B. it focuses on unimportant details rather than key issues.
C. it has been influenced by reading other people’s novels.
D. it is not suggesting that major changes to the novel are required.
Part 2: Listen to a lecture about population growth. For questions 1 – 5, decide whether these statements are
TRUE (T) or FALSE (F).
1. Birth rate is the average number of children born in a year, per thousand people.
2. Fertility rate in UK was first reported to have been so high in 2008.
3. Fertility rate in the UK is higher than it was twenty years ago because a higher proportion of women are
having children.
4. 10% of of women in their mid-forties do not have children nowadays.
5. Fertility rates are low partly because parents do not have time to have children.
Part 3: You will hear part of a lecture on the subject of jellyfish. For questions 1 - 5, give short answers to
the questions USING NO MORE THAN FOUR WORDS.
1. Why are jellyfish largely without enemies?
……………………………………………………………………………………
2. What are TWO things determining where jellyfish can go in the sea?
……………………………………………………………………………………
3. Where do both jellyfish and people tend to end up?
……………………………………………………………………………………
4. Through which method can you counteract tentacles of jellyfish on the victim's body?
……………………………………………………………………………………
5. What part of the blue-coloured moon jellyfish's body appears to be glowing in the dark?
……………………………………………………………………………………
Part 4: Listen to a piece of news about the loss of rainforests and complete the summary below. WRITE NO
MORE THAN THREE WORDS OR A NUMBER.
Since the beginning of 20th century rainforests have been under threat of extinction. One major cause of
deforestation is repurposing the land for 1. ________ such as growing rubber or palm oil on its property.

The loss of this dense biodiversity can pose several threats to our modern society. It is estimated that
2.________ modern medicines would be lost along with thousands of 3._______ derived from plants while
underprivileged groups are relying on rainforest plants for medicines. According to World Health Organization,
4.______ take up to 50% of all medicines in China. Another major problem is climate change. Known as 5.
_________, rainforests absorb CO2, clearing it from the atmosphere. A rise in carbon dioxide levels and a fall
in rainforest acreage would contribute to 6. _______ and severe droughts. More seriously, 7. __________ over
resources such as farming land has led to farmers’ deaths globally.
It is not easy to find a feasible approach to stopping deforestation as many people on Earth survive by means of
natural resource 8. __________. A typical example is palm oil industry which helps to 9. _______ by creating
jobs for millions of farmers. Switching to another production of 10. ________ like sunflower or soybean would
even cause more land destruction.
B. LEXICO AND GRAMMAR . Part 1: Choose the best answer to each of the following questions.
1. ______, we missed our plane.
A. The train is late B. The train was late
C. To be late D. The train being late
2. I really cannot believe that anyone would ______ to such underhand tactics.
A. dabble B. stoop C. reach D. conceive
3. Dominant individuals may use ______ gestures to underline their power.
A. submissive B. expansive C. flirtatious D. nervous
4. Andrew’s ______ was to only tell his mother bad news when she was busy so that she would have less
chance to react.
A. tactics B. intent C. ploy D. threat
5. A sharp frost ______ the beginning of winter.
A. advertised B. predicted C. heralded D. showed
6. The old man led a ______ existence after she left and refused even to see his children.
A. reclusive B. deserted C. remote D. vacant
7. We may win, we may lose – it’s just the luck of the _______.
A. chance B. draw C. odds D. fate
8. They’re having serious problems. Their relationship is on the _______.
A. cliffs B. rocks C. stones D. grass
9. The renewed interest in Elizabethan times is evident in the _______ of new Hollywood films set during that
period.
A. spate B. hypocrisy C. transience D. demise
10. The car was _______ speed.
A. gathering B. collecting C. consuming D. firing
Part 2: The passage below contains 5 mistakes. Underline the mistakes and write the corrections in the
corresponding numbered boxes.
Line
1 In the last twenty years, the country has made great technological progress, culminating in our
2 entering the space age earlier this year with the launch of our first telecommunications satellite.
3 From a healthy perspective, there has been a major modern programme in public hospitals. This has
4 involved the purchase of the latest scanning and diagnosis equipment, as well as the refurbishment
5 of major operating theatres with state-of-the-art surgical equipment. As far as the infrastructure of
6 the country is concerned, several major projects are on progress, including the construction of three
7 major motorways, a hydroelectric power station and a new international airport. All of these public
8 works are being carried out using the latest technology. With the increasing use of computer
9 technology, the future of our country looks very bright indeed. It is anticipated that, in the very near
10 future, all government offices will be computered and networked to central mainframe computers in
11 the capital.

Part 3: Fill each gap in the following sentences with one of the prepositions or particles. Write your answers
in the corresponding numbered boxes (5pts)
1. George always falls __________ girls with blonde hair.
2. She will come __________ to the idea of buying a bigger house if we explain all the advantages.
3. If you cut __________ the field, you will save time.
4. Jane carried __________ her part in the play without difficulty.
5. A wet cloth helped to bring the unconscious man __________ .
Part 4: Write the correct form of each bracketed word in the following passage. Write your answers in the
corresponding numbered boxes (10pts)
There is little to disagree about in the notion that a good voice, whether in opera or rock music, is one which
moves its audience and brings a sense of release and (1. FULFIL) _____ to the singer. But contemporary pop
and rock music have come about due to (2. SUBSTANCE) _____ advances in technology. Here, the impact of
the microphone should not be (3. ESTIMATE) _____, as it has enabled the (4. MAGNIFY) ________ of quiet,
intimate sounds. This, in turn, allows the singer to experiment with the emphasis on mood rather than on strict
 (5. ADHERE) _____ to proper breathing and voice control. Donna Soto - Morettin, a rock and jazz vocal
trainer, feels that (6. ANATOMY) _____ reasons may account for the raspy sound produced by certain rock
singers. Her (7. SUSPECT) _____ is that swollen vocal chords, which do not close properly, may allow singers
to produce deeper notes. She does not, however, regard this as detracting (8. NOTICABLE) _____ from the
value of the sound produced. Singing, she maintains, has an almost (9. SEDUCE) _____ quality and so our
response to it has more (10. SIGNIFY) _____ than its technical qualities.
C. READING (60 pts)
Part 1: For questions 1-10. Read the following passage and decide which answer A, B, C or D best fits each
gap. Write your answers in corresponding numbered boxes.
It only (1)_______ the completion of the reconstruction of the human genetic map for a whole host
of hereditary diseases to be (2)_______ . Originally, it was forecast that the venture would take until the
beginning of the 21st century to be (3) _______. At present, it is clear that the task can be finished much earlier.
Hundreds of scholars have gone to (4)_______ to help unravel the mystery of the human genetic
structure with an ardent hope for insulating mankind from disorders such as cancer, cystic fibrosis or arthritis.
The progress in this incredible undertaking is (5) _______ by an accurate interpretation of the
information involved in the chromosomes forming the trillions of the cell in the human body. Locating and
characterizing every single gene may (6) _______ an implausible assignment, but very considerable (7)_______
has already been made. What we know by now is that the hereditary code is assembled in DNA, some parts of
which may be diseased and conducive to be uncontrollable transmission of the damaged code from parents to
their children.
Whereas work at the completion of the human genome may last for a few years more, notions like
gene therapy or genetic engineering don’t (8)_______ much surprise any longer. Their potential application has
already been (9)_______ in the effective struggle against many viruses or in the genetic treatment of blood
disorders. The hopes are, then, that hundreds of maladies the humanity is (10)_______ with at present might
eventually cease to exist in the not too distant future.
1. A. expects B. anticipates C. requires D. remains
2. A. eradicated B. interfered C. terminated D. disrupted
3. A. dismantled B. discharged C. accomplished D. exterminated
4. A. maximum B. extremes C. supreme D. utmost
5. A. dependent B. reliant C. qualified D. conditioned
6. A. perceive B. hear C. voice D. sound
7. A. headline B. headway C. heading D. headship
8. A. evoke B. institute C. discharge D. encourage
9. A. examined B. inquired C. corroborated D. accounted
10. A. aggravated B. plagued C. persecuted D. teased
Part 2: Read the following passage and choose the best answer to each question. Write your answers in the
corresponding numbered boxes provided below the passage
How can I cope better with stress?
Recent research found that having higher levels of self-esteem, a more positive way of explaining why things
happen, and avoiding perfectionist thinking were strongly 1._________ to bouncing back when things go
wrong.
To begin with, according to Dr Judith Johnson self-esteem was shown to be 2. __________ in two thirds of the
studies in mediating the link between failure and distress. All we need to do is write a list of our positive
qualities and examples of when we have 3. _______them.
Secondly, how we explain things also 4.______. If we can brush off a disappointment by 5.____________ it to
external factors, then we have the equivalent of emotional armour.
Finally, if we have perfectionist tendencies, lower them. Perfectionists hold rigid standards that don’t bend in
the stormy 6. _________of life. Johnson says we need to set more realistic 7. ___________.
She also advises self-awareness and noticing when we are stressed. If you feel stuck, do something that
8._________ you up. You need to plan these things into a schedule – doing them will chip away at your
negative 9. ________, even if you do enjoy them a bit less than usual. Other research shows that the 10.
__________ of friends or family also helps emotional resilience, as does being physically active.
Part 3: Read the following passage and choose the best answer to each question. Write your answers in the
corresponding numbered boxes provided below the passage
Conquest by Patent
Patents are a form of intellectual property rights often touted as a means to give 'incentive and reward' to
inventors. But they're also a cause for massive protests by farmers, numerous lawsuits by transnational
corporations and indigenous peoples, and countless rallies and declarations by members of civil society.It is
impossible to understand why they can have all these effects unless you first recognize that patents are about the
control of technology and the protection of competitive advantage.
Lessons from history
In the 1760s, the Englishman Richard Arkwright invented the water-powered spinning frame, a machine
destined to bring cotton-spinning out of the home and into the factory. It was an invention which made Britain a
world-class power in the manufacture of cloth. To protect its competitive advantage and ensure the market for
manufactured cloth in British colonies, Parliament enacted a series of restrictive measures including the
prohibition of the export of Arkwright machinery or the emigration of any workers who had worked in factories
using it. From 1774 on, those caught sending Arkwright machines or workers abroad from England were
subject to fines and 12 years in jail.
In 1790, Samuel Slater, who had worked for years in the Arkwright mills, left England for the New World
disguised as a farmer. He thereby enabled the production of commercial-grade cotton cloth in the New World
and put the US firmly on the road to the Industrial Revolution and economic independence. Slater was highly
rewarded for his achievement. He is still deemed the 'father of American manufacturing'. To the English,
however, he was an intellectual property thief.
Interestingly, patent protection was a part of US law at the time of Slater's deed. But that protection would only
extend to US innovations. It is worth remembering that until the 1970s it was understood, even accepted that
countries only enforced those patent protections that served their national interest. When the young United
States pirated the intellectual property of Europe - and Slater wasn't the only infringer - people in the US saw
the theft as a justifiable response to England's refusal to transfer its technology.
By the early 1970s, the situation had changed. US industry demanded greater protection for its idea-based
products - such as computers and biotechnology - for which it still held the worldwide lead. Intellectual
property rights held the key. And so, together with its like-minded industrial allies, the US pushed for the
inclusion of intellectual property clauses, including standards for patents, in international trade agreements.
When US business groups explained the 'need' for patents and trademarks in trade agreements, they alleged
$40-60 billion losses due to intellectual property piracy; they blamed the losses on Third World pirates; they
discussed how piracy undermined the incentive to invest; and they claimed that the quality of pirated products
was lower than the real thing and was costing lives.
The opposition pointed out that many of the products made in the industrial world, almost all its food crops and
a high percentage of its medicines had originated in plant and animal germplasm taken from the developing
world. First, knowledge of the material and how to use it was stolen, and later the material itself was taken. For
all this, they said, barely a cent of royalties had been paid. Such unacknowledged and uncompensated
appropriation they named 'biopiracy' and they reasoned that trade agreement patent rules were likely to
facilitate more theft of their genetic materials.Their claim that materials 'collected' in the developing world
were stolen, elicited a counter-claim that these were 'natural' or 'raw' materials and therefore did not qualify for
patents. This in turn induced a counter-explanation that such materials were not 'raw' but rather the result of
millennia of study, selection, protection, conservation, development and refinement by communities of Majority
World and indigenous peoples.
Others pointed out that trade agreements which forced the adoption of unsuitable notions of property and
creativity - not to mention an intolerable commercial relationship to nature - were not only insulting but also
exceedingly costly. To a developing world whose creations might not qualify for patents and royalties, there
was first of all the cost of unrealized profit. Secondly, there was the cost of added expense for goods from the
industrialized world. For most of the people on the planet, the whole patenting process would lead to greater
and greater indebtness; for them, the trade agreements would amount to “conquest by patents” – no matter what
the purported commercial benefits.
Intellectual property*: an invention or composition that belongs to the person who created it.
1. According to paragraph 1, what is the real reason for patents to exist?
A. protests B. lawsuits C. prizes D. control
2. Which of the sentences below best expresses the information in the highlighted statement in the passage?
A. Among the laws to protect Britain from competition in the textile industry was a ban on exporting Arkwright
equipment and on emigration of former employees.
B. Former employees of Arkwright could not leave the country because they might provide information about
the company to competing factories.
C. The reason that Britain passed laws to prevent emigration was to keep employees in the textile mills from
leaving their jobs to work in other countries.
 D. Parliament passed laws to ensure that the price of textiles was kept in high in spite of competition from the
former British colonies who were exporting cloth.
3. In paragraph 3, how does the author explain the concept of technological transfer?
A. By recounting how Samuel Slater, an American farmer established a successful textile mill in Great Britain.
B. By describing how Samuel Slater used workers from Britain to develop the textile industry in the United
States.
C. By exposing how Samuel Slater stole ideas and technology from one nation to introduce them in another.
D. By demonstrating how Samuel Slater used the laws to his advantage in order to transfer technology.
4. The word “innovations” in the passage is closest in meaning to
A. discoveries B. exceptions C. Disputes D. territories
5. How did the perspective of industrialists in the United States change in the 1970s?
A. They favored free exchange of technology. B. They supported the protection of patents.
C. They refused to sign international trade agreements.
D. They began to collaborate with Third World nations.
6. How did industrialized nations justify using plants and animals from the developing world for food and
medicine products?
A. They claimed that the plant and animal sources were raw materials that could not be patented.
B. They asserted that the original plant and animal materials were found in their own nations.
C. They paid a large royalty for the use of plants and animals that were not original to their countries.
D. They stated that they had manufactured a higher quality of products than the competition.
7. Based on the information in paragraph 7, which of the following best explains the term “biopiracy”?
A. A conspiracy by farmers B. The theft of plants and animals
C. Secret trade agreements D. Natural resources in the biosphere
8. The word “facilitate” in the passage is closest in meaning to
A. permit B. assist C. require D. delay
9. The word “notion” in the passage is closest in meaning to
A. customs B. records C. property D. ideas
10. Why does the author call this article “Conquest by Patents”?
A. Because most trade agreements are unfair to developing nations
B. Because patents cost too much money for developing nations
C. Because industrialized countries do not pay their debts to developing nations
D. Because natural resources are a source of power for developing nations
Part 4: Read the following passage and do the tasks that follow (15 pts)
Wealth in A Cold Climate
Latitude is crucial to a nation's economic strength.
A Dr William Masters was reading a book about mosquitoes when inspiration struck. “There was this anecdote
about the great yellow-fever epidemic that hit Philadelphia in 1793," Masters recalls. “This epidemic decimated
the city until the first frost came." The inclement weather froze out the insects, allowing Philadelphia to recover.
B If weather could be the key to a city's fortunes. Masters thought, then why not to the histori cal fortunes of
nations? And could frost lie at the heart of one of the most enduring economic mysteries of all - why are almost
all the wealthy, industrialised nations to be found at latitudes above 40 degrees? After two years of research, he
thinks that he has found a piece of the puzzle. Masters, an agricultural economist from Purdue University in
Indiana, and Margaret McMillan at Tufts University, Boston, show that annual frosts are among the factors that
distinguish rich nations from poor ones. Their study is published this month in the Journal of Economic Growth.
The pair speculate that cold snaps have two main benefits - they freeze pests that would otherwise destroy
crops, and also freeze organisms, such as mosquitoes, that carry disease. The result is agricultural abundance
and a big workforce.
C The academics took two sets of information. The first was average income for countries, the second climate
data from the University of East Anglia. They found a curious tally between the sets. Countries having five or
more frosty days a month are uniformly rich, those with fewer than five are impoverished. The authors
speculate that the five-day figure is important; it could be the minimum time needed to kill pests in the soil.
Masters says: “For example, Finland is a small country that is growing quickly, but Bolivia is a small country
that isn't growing at all. Perhaps climate has something to do with that." In fact, limited frosts bring huge
benefits to farmers. The chills kill insects or render them inactive; cold weather slows the break-up of plant and
animal material in the soil, allowing it to become richer; and frosts ensure a build-up of moisture in the ground
for spring, reducing dependence on seasonal rains. There are exceptions to the “cold equals rich" argument.
There are well-heeled tropical places such as Hong Kong and Singapore, a result of their superior trading
 positions. Likewise, not all European countries are moneyed - in the former communist colonies, economic
potential was crushed by politics.
D Masters stresses that climate will never be the overriding factor - the wealth of nations is too complicated to be
attributable to just one factor. Climate, he feels, somehow combines with other factors - such as the presence of
institutions, including governments, and access to trading routes - to determine whether a country will do well.
Traditionally, Masters says, economists thought that institutions had the biggest effect on the economy, because
they brought order to a country in the form of, for example, laws and property rights. With order, so the
thinking went, came affluence. “But there are some problems that even countries with institu tions have not been
able to get around,” he says. “My feeling is that, as countries get richer, they get better institutions. And the
accumulation of wealth and improvement in governing institutions are both helped by a favourable
environment, including climate.”
E This does not mean, he insists, that tropical countries are beyond economic help and destined to remain
penniless. Instead, richer countries should change the way in which foreign aid is given. Instead of aid being
geared towards improving governance, it should be spent on technology to improve agriculture and to combat
disease. Masters cites one example: “There are regions in India that have been provided with irrigation -
agricultural productivity has gone up and there has been an improvement in health.” Supplying vaccines against
tropical diseases and developing crop varieties that can grow in the tropics would break the poverty cycle.
F Other minds have applied themselves to the split between poor and rich nations, citing anthro pological, climatic
and zoological reasons for why temperate nations are the most affluent. In 350BC, Aristotle observed that
“those who live in a cold climate ... are full of spirit”. Jared Diamond, from the University of California at Los
Angeles, pointed out in his book Guns, Germs and Steel that Eurasia is broadly aligned east-west, while Africa
and the Americas are aligned north-south. So, in Europe, crops can spread quickly across latitudes because
climates are similar. One of the first domesticated crops, einkorn wheat, spread quickly from the Middle East
into Europe; it took twice as long for com to spread from Mexico to what is now the eastern United States. This
easy movement along similar latitudes in Eurasia would also have meant a faster dissemination of other
technologies such as the wheel and writing, Diamond speculates. The region also boasted domesticated
livestock, which could provide meat, wool and motive power in the fields. Blessed with such natural
advantages, Eurasia was bound to take off economically.
G John Gallup and Jeffrey Sachs, two US economists, have also pointed out striking correlations between the
geographical location of countries and their wealth. They note that tropical countries between 23.45 degrees
north and south of the equator are nearly all poor. In an article for the Harvard International Review, they
concluded that “development surely seems to favour the temperate-zone economies, especially those in the
northern hemisphere, and those that have managed to avoid both socialism and the ravages of war”. But Masters
cautions against geographical determinism, the idea that tropical countries are beyond hope: “Human health and
agriculture can be made better through scientific and technological research," he says, “so we shouldn’t be
writing off these countries. Take Singapore: without air conditioning, it wouldn’t be rich.”
Questions 1-6
Choose the most suitable heading for paragraphs A-G from the list of headings below. Write the appropriate
number, i-x, in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.
Example answer List of Headings
Paragraph A: iii The positive correlation between climate and wealth
1. Paragraph B Other factors besides climate that influence wealth
2. Paragraph C Inspiration from reading a book
3. Paragraph D Other researchers’ results do not rule out exceptional cases
4. Paragraph E Different attributes between Eurasia and Africa
5. Paragraph F Low temperature benefits people and crops
6. Paragraph G The importance of institution in traditional views
The spread of crops in Europe, Asia and other places
The best way to use aid
Confusions and exceptions
Questions 7-10
Complete the summary below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Dr William Masters read a book saying that a(an) 7. _______which struck an American city hundreds of years
ago was terminated by a cold frost. And academics found that there is a connection between climate and
country’s wealth as in the rich but small country of Finland. Yet besides excellent surroundings and climate,
one country still needs to improve their 8. ______to achieve long prosperity.
 Thanks to resembling weather conditions across latitude in the continent of 9. ______, crops such as einkorn
wheat is bound to spread faster than from South America to the North. Other researchers also noted that even
though geographical factors are important, tropical country such as 10. ______ still became rich due to
scientific advancement.
Part 5: Read the following passage and do the tasks that follow (10 pts)
Stealth Forces in Weight Loss
The field of weight loss is like the ancient fable about the blind men and the elephant. Each man investigates a
different part of the animal and reports back, only to discover their findings are bafflingly incompatible.
A The various findings by public-health experts, physicians, psychologists, geneticists, molecular biologists, and
nutritionists are about as similar as an elephant’s tusk is to its tail. Some say obesity largely predetermined by
our genes and biology; others attribute it to an overabundance of fries, soda, and screen-sucking; still others
think we’re fat because of viral infection, insulin, or the metabolic conditions we encountered in the womb.
“Everyone subscribes to their own little theory, says Rob Berkowitz, medical director of the Center for Weight
and Eating Disorders at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. We’re programmed to hang onto
the fat we have, and some people are predisposed to create and carry more fat than others. Diet and exercise
help, but in the end the solution will inevitably be more complicated than pushing away the plate and going for
a walk. “It’s not as simple as ‘You’re fat because you’re lazy,”’ says Nikhil Dhurandhar, an associate professor
at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge. “Willpower is not a prerogative of thin people. It’s
distributed equally.”
B Science may still be years away from giving us a miracle formula for fat-loss. Hormone leptin is a crucial
player in the brain’s weight-management circuitry. Some people produce too little leptin; others become
desensitised to it. And when obese people lose weight, their leptin levels plummet along with their metabolism.
The body becomes more efficient at using fuel and conserving fat, which makes it tough to keep the weight off.
Obese dieters’ bodies go into a state of chronic hunger, a feeling Rudolph Leibel, an obesity researcher at
Columbia University, compares to thirst. “Some people might be able to tolerate chronic thirst, but the majority
couldn’t stand it,” says Leibel. “Is that a behavioural problem - a lack of willpower? I don’t think so.”
C The government has long espoused moderate daily exercise – of the evening-walk or take-the-stairs variety –
but that may not do much to budge the needle on the scale. A 150-pound person burns only 150 calories on a
half-hour walk, the equivalent of two apples. It’s good for the heart, less so for the gut. “Radical changes are
necessary,” says Deirdre Barrett, a psychologist at Harvard Medical School and author of Waistland, “People
don’t lose weight by choosing the small fries or taking a little walk every other day.” Barrett suggests taking a
cue from the members of the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR), a self-selected group of more than
5,000 successful weight-losers who have shed an average of 66 pounds and kept it off 5.5 years. Some registry
members lost weight using low-carb diets; some went on low fat; others eliminated refined foods. Some did it
on their own; others relied on counselling. That said, not everyone can lose 66 pounds and not everyone needs
to. The goal should not be getting thin, but getting healthy. It is enough to whittle your weight down to the low
end of your set range, says Jeffrey Friedman, a geneticist at Rockefeller University. Losing even 10 pounds
vastly decreases your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. The point is to not give up just
because you do not look like a swimsuit model.
D The negotiation between your genes and the environment begins on day one. Your optimal weight, writ by
genes, appears to get edited early on by conditions even before birth, inside the womb. If a woman has high
blood-sugar levels while she is pregnant, her children are more likely to be overweight or obese, according to a
study of almost 10,000 mother-child pairs. Maternal diabetes may influence a child’s obesity risk through a
process called metabolic imprinting, says Teresa Hillier, an endocrinologist with Kaiser Permanente’s Center
for Health Research and the study’s lead author. The implication is clear: Weight may be established very early
on, and obesity largely passed from mother to child. Numerous studies in both animals and humans have shown
that a mother’s obesity directly increases her child’s risk for weight gain. The best advice for moms-to-be: Get
fit before you get pregnant. You will reduce your risk of complications during pregnancy and increase your
chances of having a normal- weight child.
E It’s the $64,000 question: Which diets work? It got people wondering: Isn’t there a better way to diet? A study
seemed to offer an answer. The paper compared two groups of adults: those who, after eating, secreted high
levels of insulin, a hormone that sweeps blood sugar out of the bloodstream and promotes its storage as fat, and
those who secreted less. Within each group, half were put on a low-fat diet and half on a low-glycemic-load
diet. On average, the low-insulin-secreting group fared the same on both diets, losing nearly 10 pounds in the
first six months - but they gained about half of it back by the end of the 18-month study. The high-insulin group
did not do as well on the low-fat plan, losing about 4.5 pounds, and gaining back more than half by the end. But
 the most successful were the high-insulin-secretors on the low-glycemic-load diet. They lost nearly 13 pounds
and kept it off.
F What if your fat is caused not by diet or genes, but by germs - say, a virus? It sounds like a sci-fi horror movie,
but research suggests some dimension of the obesity epidemic may be attributable to infection by common
viruses, says Dhurandhar. The idea of “infectobesity” came to him 20 years ago when he was a young doctor
treating obesity in Bombay. He discovered that a local avian virus, SMAM-1, caused chickens to die, sickened
with organ damage but also, strangely, with lots of abdominal fat. In experiments, Dhurandhar found that
SMAM-1-infected chickens became obese on the same diet as uninfected ones, which stayed svelte.
G He later moved to the U.S. and onto a bona fide human virus, adenovirus 36 (AD-36). In the lab, every species
of animal Dhurandhar infected with the virus became obese — chickens got fat, mice got fat, even rhesus
monkeys at the zoo that picked up the virus from the environment suddenly gained 15 percent of their body
weight upon exposure. In his latest studies, Dhurandhar has isolated a gene that, when blocked from expressing
itself, seems to turn off the virus’s fattening power. Stem cells extracted from fat cells and then exposed to AD-
36 reliably blossom into fat cells - but when stem cells are exposed to an AD-36 virus with the key gene
inhibited, the stems cells don’t differentiate. The gene appears to be necessary and sufficient to trigger AD-36-
related obesity, and the goal is to use the research to create a sort of obesity vaccine.
Questions 1 – 5.
Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the Correct letter, A-G, in boxes
NB You may use any letter more than once.
1. evaluation on the effect of weight loss on different kinds of diets
2. an example of a research which includes the relatives of the participants
3. an example of a group of people who did not regain weight immediately after
4. long term hunger may appear to be acceptable to some of the participants during the period of losing weight
program
5. a continuous experiment may lead to a practical application besides diet or hereditary resort
Questions 6-10
Look at the following findings (Questions 6-10) and the list of researchers below. Match each finding with
the correct researcher, A-F. Write the correct letter, A-F, in boxes 32-36 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
6. A person’s weight is determined by the interaction of his/her DNA and the List of Researchers
environment. A Robert Berkowitz
7. Pregnant mothers who are overweight may risk their fetus in gaining B Rudolph Leibel
weight. C Nikhil Dhurandhar
8. The aim of losing weight should be keeping healthy rather than being attractive. D Deirdre Barrett
9. Small changes in lifestyle will not help in reducing much weight. E Jeffrey Friedman
10. Researchers can be divided into different groups with their own point of view F Teresa Hillier
about weight loss.
D. WRITING (60 pts)
Part 1.1: Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word
given. DO NOT CHANGE the word given. You must use between THREE and EIGHT words, including the
word given. ( 3 points)
1. The Prime Minister felt it appropriate to make a statement. (FIT)
 The Prime Minister ___________________________________________ a statement.
2. Trudy was quite relieved when she found out the truth. (RELIEF)
 It was something _______________________________________________ when she found the truth.
3. I promised him that the situation would not be repeated in the future. (WORD)
 I ________________________________________________________ no repetition of the situation in the
future.
Part 1.2: Finish the second sentence in such a way that it means the same as the original one (2 pts).
1. They believe that Oliver failed his exam because he was nervous.
 Oliver’s failure _______________________________________________________
2. The inhabitants were far worse-off twenty years ago than they are now.
=> The inhabitants are nowhere ___________________________________________
Part 3: Essay writing
It is more important for schoolchildren to learn about local history than world history. To what
extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
 Write an essay of about 300 words to express your opinion and support your answer with relevant
examples from your own knowledge or experience.

CHƯA LẤY

Part 2: The graph below shows the number of students who got prizes in the National Exams for excellent
students from 2008 to 2011 in three provinces. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the
main features and make relevant comparisons where relevant.
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