Selection Test for National English Competition 2014 No. 2
HANOI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION

HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIFTED STUDENTS

Name: __________________________
Class: __________________________

(The test paper consists of 12 pages)

SELECTION TEST No. 2
FOR NATIONAL ENGLISH COMPETITION
Date: November 22nd, 2013
Time: 180 minutes

I. LISTENING (4 pts.)
Part 1. Questions 1 – 10
Listen to a piece of news from BBC talking about Saudi women’s movement and supply the blanks
with the missing information. Write no more than four words.
A new campaign has been launched on Twitter, which shows how (1)_________ online social
networks have become in Saudi Arabia.
Eman al Nafjan, who is an (2)____________, announced that Saudi women will express their
feelings about (3)____________ on October the 26th.
According to Eman al Nafjan, the campaign is considered a (4)__________ open to all Saudis.
Hundreds of (5)____________ which support the campaign have been posted.
Being allowed to drive is important for women in Saudi Arabia to obtain other rights, including
the freedom from (6)______________ male guardianship.
According to these women, there’s an (7)_________ in the ban on driving because this means
that they have to count to male drivers. However, the campaign would be regarded as a
(8)________________ in such a conservative country.
Some critics argue that women driving would violate the (9)_______________________. Some

years ago, women could be arrested or fired for (10)___________________ as part of similar campaigns.
Part 2. Questions 11 – 20
You will hear an interview with a scientist about home composting. First you have some time to look at
questions 11 to 15.
Questions 11 – 15
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
HOME COMPOSTING
11. What is the main reason for the current interest in home composting?
A. a lack of landfill space.
B. to reduce greenhouse emissions.
C. it improves the soil.
12. Dr. Rotenberg says that landfill sites lead to
A. confusion about composting.
B. increased transportation costs.
C. more emissions from vehicles.
13. Home composting reduces greenhouse gases because
A. there is enough oxygen.
B. there are enough bacteria.
C. there is enough heat.
14. Dr. Rotenberg describes organic material as
A. mainly carbon.
B. living.
C. greens and browns.
15. Composting usually requires brown materials to be
A. mixed together with green materials.
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B. placed on top of green materials.
C. kept separate from green materials
Questions 16 – 20
Before you hear the rest of the interview, you have some time to look at questions 16 to 20.
Complete the diagram below.
Write ONE WORD/NUMBER ONLY for each answer.

Home composter
Composter made from (16)___________________________________ or recyclable plastic.
Holds compost for up to (17)___________________________________ months.
Container with a (18)___________________________________ for kitchen scraps
Enclosure in the garden to hold (19)___________________________________.
Shredded card or screwed up (20)___________________________________ improve the airflow.
Part 3. Questions 21 – 30
You will hear five short extracts in which people talk about fitness and health. While you listen you
must complete both tasks.
Task 1:
For questions 21-25, choose from the list A-H what each speaker says about his or her reasons for
attending a gym regularly.
A. The gym has a social function for me.
Speaker 1
21
B. I want to be fit for a specific event.
I.
C. My company pays for me to attend a gym.
Speaker 2
22
D. I must keep fit because of my medical condition.

E. Being fit gives me a sense of achievement.
Speaker 3
23
F. Attending a gym is an absolute necessity for me.
K.
G. I come here with the members of my cycling club.
Speaker 4
24
H. I started exercising regularly after an injury.
Speaker 5
25
Task 2:
For questions 26-30, choose from the list A-H what opinion each speaker expresses about fitness and
health generally.
A. My lifestyle is unhealthy in the long run.
Speaker 1
26
B. Keeping fit is a habit.
C. I find it hard to commit myself to exercising.
A.
Speaker 2
27
D. City life doesn’t encourage walking for exercise.
E. Exercise machines are extremely boring.
Speaker 3
28
F. You can’t separate health and lifestyle.
G. It’s easier to get fit if you think of it as a commitment.
C.
29

H. I’m sure your genetic make-up has a lot to do with Speaker 4
fitness.
Speaker 5
30
Part 4. Questions 31 – 40
You will hear a lecture talking about Charles Darwin and Galapagos Islands. First you have some
time to look at questions 31 to 40.
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Complete the notes below.
Write NO MORE THAN ONE WORD OR ONE NUMBER for each answer.

Darwin
Charles Darwin was born in 1809 in (31)_______________________________.
As a child, Darwin showed an interest in (32) _______________________________, particularly insects.
Darwin attended medical school in 1825 but left in (33)_______________________________.
In 1831 Darwin left Plymouth, England, travelling by (34)_____________________________.
In 1835, he made important discoveries in the Galapagos Islands.
Darwin made sketches and (35)___________________________ during the five-year voyage.
The results of the Beagle expedition were first published in (36)________________________.
In 1859, Darwin’s famous book caused a great deal of (37)_____________________________.
Galapagos Islands
Spanish sailors have used Galapagos Island turtles for (38)____________________________.
Darwin found fossils of creatures that had been unable to (39)__________________________.
In Darwin’s theory, nature selects which (40)___________________________ will die out.

II. LEXICO – GRAMMAR (5 pts.)
Part 1. Question 41 – 50: Choose the word or phrase that best completes each sentence.
41. Please accept our __________ congratulations!
A. finest
B. warmest
C. dearest
D. deepest
42. I’d sooner they ____________ deliver the new furniture tomorrow.
A. shouldn’t
B. didn’t
C. wouldn’t
D. mustn’t
43. This film ___________ several scenes which are very funny.
A. features
B. pictures
C. depicts
D. illustrates
44. Sales of margarine rose last year ______________ those of butter.
A. comparing
B. at a loss of
C. at the expense of D. with regard to
45. The tennis player couldn’t ____________ the possibility of withdrawing from the championship
because of injury.
A. come off
B. pass over
C. rule out
D. do without
46. We all feel that his jokes about immigrants were in very poor _____________.
A. form
B. view

C. feeling
D. taste
47. As the President was absent, I was asked to ____________ the meeting.
A. officiate
B. govern
C. chair
D. regulate
48. He became a millionaire by ______________ of hard work and a considerable amount of luck.
A. process
B. effect
C. dint
D. cause
49. The trouble with Stan is that he makes such a fuss about even the most _____________ injury.
A. slight
B. trivial
C. basic
D. elementary
50. They turned down the proposal _____________ that it didn’t fulfill their requirements.
A. by reason
B. on the grounds
C. as a cause
D. allowing
Part 2. Question 51 – 60: Read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of some of
the lines to form a word that fits in the gap in the same line. There is an example at the beginning
(0).
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CROSSING ICELAND BY ROAD
Iceland, the second largest island in Europe, emerged from the bed of the
Atlantic Ocean as a result of (0)_volcanic__ activity which is still going on
today. The island has a (51)________________ small population, most of which
lives around the deeply intented coastline, while the uninhabited interior
represents an impenetrable barrier between the north and the south for most of the
year.
Regularly blocked by the first winter snowfalls each year, routes through
the interior traditionally served only as summer short cuts for intrepid travellers.
And it wasn’t just the (52)________________ of the terrain that put people off.
Outlaws – wild men who (53)________________ attacked and robbed poor
(54)________________ travellers – were rumoured to roam the area.
Nowadays, adventurous tourists, looking for a challenge, find these interior
routes irresistibly attractive. Camping is the only accommodation option, and
there are no rescue services, so most choose a four-wheel drive vehicle for the
trip. Nonetheless, it can be a (55)________________ undertaking. The roads
themselves are mostly (56)________________ and, even in summer, bad weather
is a fact of life in this (57)________________ area.
The greatest threats, however, are posed by unbridged rivers. Fed by
(58)_____________________
glaciers,
these
have
a
(59)____________________ to change course without warning. Yesterday’s
shallow crossing point may easily have turned into today’s
(60)________________ torrent.


VOLCANO
Relate

HARSH
ALLEGE
SUSPECT

HAZARD
SURFACE
HOSPITALITY
CAPRICE
TEND
RAGE

Part 3. Question 61 – 70: Put the verbs in the brackets in the correct tenses or forms.
When Roger Bannister first ran the mile in less than four minutes on May 6, 1954, he (61. break)
_________________ a barrier which (62. now, cross) __________________ hundreds of times.
Similarly, in other athletic events the limits of the possible continue (63. push) ___________ back as
record after record is broken.
In a less spectacular way, everyday skills such as riding bicycles seem (64. become)
_______________ easier to pick up, with many children (65. learn) ___________________ younger and
faster than their grandparents did. And recent studies have shown that average performance in
intelligence tests (66. also, improve) _________________. Since the war, the average IQ score of
American children (67. rise) ____________________ by about 1 point every three years, and even faster
increases have occurred in Japan.
There are many possible reasons for these effects, such as better nutrition, (68. improve)
____________________ teaching methods, greater availability of facilities and so on. But there may be
an important underlying factor which (69. so far, ignore) _______________________, namely an
inherent tendency for past experience to influence present performance through a kind of collective
memory to which everyone (70. have) ____________________ potential access.


Part 4. Question 71 – 80: Fill each gap in the following sentences with one of the prepositions or
particles in the box. Use each word only ONCE.
by

up

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about

at

aside

Over
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Selection Test for National English Competition 2014 No. 2

apart

out

for

in

off


On

71. The film was well researched, but it glossed __________ the important issues.
72. Jane intends to wind _____________ her business soon.
73. The goods will be delivered _____________ your convenience.
74. It’s possible to pass ______________ the virus to others through physical contacts.
75. At parties he always makes a beeline _____________ the prettiest woman in the room.
76. The runner dropped _____________ halfway through the marathon.
77. I’ve no idea how to set _____________ changing a tyre on a car.
78. There was nobody else involved, we just grew ______________.
79. It’s time he stood ____________ and let a more qualified person do the job.
80. Just back ____________ and let us do this on our own, will you?
Part 5. Question 81 – 90: The passage below contains 10 mistakes. Identify the mistakes in most
lines and write their correct forms. (0) has been done as an example.
Lin
e
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

14
15
16
17

The market for tourism in remote areas is booming as ever before. Countries all
across the world are active promoting their ‘wilderness’ regions – such as mountains,
Arctic lands, deserts, small islands and wetlands – to highly-spending tourists. The
attraction of these areas is obvious: by defining, wilderness tourism requires little or
no initial investment. But that does not mean that there is no cost. Like the 1992 UN
Conference on Environment and Development recognized, these regions are fragile
(i.e. highly vulnerable of abnormal pressures) not just in terms of the culture of their
inhabitation. The three most significant types of fragile environment in these respects
are deserts, mountains and Arctic areas. An important character is their marked
seasonality. Consequently, most human acts, including tourism, are limited to clearly
defined parts of the year.
Tourists are drawn to these regions by their natural beauty and the unique culture
of its people. And poor governments in these areas have welcomed the ‘adventure
tourist’, grateful for the currency they bring. For several years, tourism is the prime
source of foreign exchange in Nepal and Bhutan. Tourism is also a key element in the
economics of Arctic zones such as Lapland and Alaska and in desert areas such as
Ayres Rocks in Australia and Arizona’s Monument Valley.

Example:
0. ever (line 1)  never

III. READING (5 pts.)
Part 1. Question 91 – 100: Read the following passage and decide which answer (A, B, C, or D) best
fits each gap.


The changing earth
Although the earth was formed about 4,500 million years ago, human beings have inhabited it for
less than half a million years. Within this time, population has increased hugely and people have had a
vast (91) ________ upon the earth. They have long been able to (92) _______ the forces of nature to use.
Now, with modern technology, they have the power to alter the balance of life on earth.
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Reports back from the first astronauts helped dispel the dangerous (93) _______ that the world
had no boundaries and had limitless resources. (94) ________, ecologists have shown that all forms of
life on earth are interconnected, so it (95) ________ that all human activity has an effect on the natural
environment.
In recent years, people have been putting the environment under stress. As a result, certain raw
materials such as timber, water and minerals are beginning to (96) _________ short. Pollution and the
disposal of waste are already critical issues, and the (97) ________ of the environment is fast becoming
the most pressing problem (98) ________ us all. The way we respond to the challenge will have a
profound effect on the earth and its life support (99) __________.
However, despite all these threats there are (100) ________ signs. Over the past few decades, the
growth in population has been more than matched by food production, indicating that we should be able
to feed ourselves for some time yet.
91. A. imprint
92. A. put
93. A. judgment
94. A. However
95. A. results
96. A. turn

97. A. state
98. A. encountering
99. A. projects
100. A. stimulating

B. indication
B. make
B. notion
B. Likewise
B. follows
B. come
B. situation
B. opposing
B. systems
B. welcoming

C. impression
C. place
C. reflection
C. Moreover
C. complies
C. go
C. case
C. meeting
C. methods
C. satisfying

D. impact
D. stand
D. concept

D. Otherwise
D. develops
D. run
D. circumstance
D. confronting
D. routines
D. reassuring

Part 2. Question 101 – 115: Read the below passage and answer the questions that follow.
IT’S ECO-LOGICAL
Planning an eco-friendly holiday can be a minefield for the well-meaning traveler, says Steve Watkins.
But help is now at hand.
If there were awards for tourism phrases that have been hijacked, diluted and misused then ‘ecotourism’
would earn top prize. The term first surfaced in the early 1980s reflecting a surge in environmental
awareness and a realization by tour operators that many travelers wanted to believe their presence abroad
would not have a negative impact. It rapidly became the hottest marketing tag a holiday could carry.
These days the ecotourism label is used to cover anything from a two-week tour living with remote
Indonesian tribes, to a one-hour motorboat trip through an Australian gorge. In fact, any tour that
involves cultural interaction, natural beauty spots, wildlife or a dash of soft adventure is likely to be
included in the overflowing ecotourism folder. There is no doubt the original motives behind the
movement were honorable attempts to provide a way for those who cared to make informed choices, but
the lack of regulations and a standard industry definition left many travelers lost in an ecotourism jungle.
It is easier to understand why the ecotourism market has become so overcrowded when we look at its
wider role in the world economy. According to World Tourism Organisation figures, ecotourism is worth
US $ 20 billion a year and makes up one-fifth of all international tourism. Add to this an annual growth
rate of around five per cent and the pressure for many operators, both in developed and developing
countries, to jump on the accelerating bandwagon is compelling. Without any widely recognized
accreditation system, the consumer has been left to investigate the credentials of an operator themselves.
This is a time-consuming process and many travellers usually take an operator’s claims at face value,
only adding to the proliferation of fake ecotours.


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However, there are several simple questions that will provide qualifying evidence of a company’s
commitment to minimize its impact on the environment and maximize the benefits to the tourism area’s
local community. For example, does the company use recycled or sustainable, locally harvested materials
to build its tourist properties? Do they pay fair wages to all employees? Do they offer training to
employees? It is common for city entrepreneurs to own tour companies in country areas, which can mean
the money you pay ends up in the city rather than in the community being visited. By taking a little extra
time to investigate the ecotourism options, it is not only possible to guide your custom to worthy
operators but you will often find that the experience they offer is far more rewarding.
The ecotourism business is still very much in need of a shake-up and a standardized approach. There are
a few organizations that have sprung up in the last ten years or so that endeavour to educate travellers and
operators about the benefits of responsible ecotourism. Founded in 1990, the Ecotourism Society (TES) is
a non-profit organization of travel industry, conservation and ecological professionals, which aims to
make ecotourism a genuine tool for conservation and sustainable development. Helping to create inherent
economic value in wilderness environments and threatened cultures has undoubtedly been one of the
ecotourism movement’s most notable achievements. TES organizes an annual initiative to further aid
development of the ecotourism industry. This year it is launching ‘Your Travel Choice Makes a
Difference’, an educational campaign aimed at helping consumers understand the potential positive and
negative impacts of their travel decisions. TES also offer guidance on the choice of ecotour and has
established a register of approved ecotourism operators around the world.
A leading ecotourism operator in the United Kingdom is Tribes, which won the 1999 Tourism Concern
and Independent Traveller’s World ‘Award for Most Responsible Tour Operator’. Amanda Marks, owner
and director of Tribes, believes that the ecotourism industry still has some way to go to get its house in

order. Until now, no ecotourism accreditation scheme has really worked, principally because there has
been no systematic way of checking that accredited companies actually comply with the code of practice.
Amanda believes that the most promising system is the recently re-launched Green Globe 21 scheme.
The Green Globe 21 award is based on the sustainable development standards contained in Agenda 21
from the 1992 Earth Summit and was originally coordinated by the World Travel and Tourism Council
(WTTC). The scheme is now an independent concern, though the WTTC still supports it. Until recently,
tour companies became affiliates and could use the Green Globe logo merely on payment of an annual
fee, hardly a suitable qualifying standard. However, in November 1999 Green Globe 21 introduced an
annual, independent check on operators wishing to use the logo.
Miriam Cain, from the Green Globe 21 marketing development, explains that current and new affiliates
will now have one year to ensure that their operations comply with Agenda 21 standards. If they fail the
first inspection, they can only reapply once. The inspection process is not a cheap option, especially for
large companies, but the benefits of having Green Globe status and the potential operational cost savings
that complying with the standards can bring should be significant. ‘We have joint ventures with
organizations around the world, including Australia and the Caribbean, that will allow us to effectively
check all affiliate operators,’ says Miriam. The scheme also allows destination communities to become
Green Globe 21 approved.
For a relatively new industry it is not surprising that ecotourism has undergone teething pains. However,
there are signs that things are changing for the better. With a committed and unified approach by the
travel industry, local communites, travellers and environmental experts could make ecotourism a tag to
be proud of and trusted.
Questions 101 - 106
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in the reading passage?
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YES
if the statement agrees with the writer’s views
NO
if the statement contradicts the writer’s views
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
101. The term ‘ecotourism’ has become an advertising gimmick.
102. The intentions of those who coined the term ‘ecotourism’ were sincere.
103. Ecotourism is growing at a faster rate than any other type of travel.
104. It is surprising that so many tour orgnisations decided to become involved in ecotourism.
105. Tourists have learnt to make investigations about tour operators before using them.
106. Tourists have had bad experiences on ecotour holidays.
Questions 107-109
According to the information given in the reading passage, which THREE of the following are true of the
Ecotourism Society (TES)?
Write the appropriate letters A-F in boxes 107 - 109 on your answer sheet.
A
B
C
D
E
F

It has monitored the growth in ecotourism.
It involves a range of specialists in the field.
It has received public recognition for the role it performs.
It sets up regular ecotour promotions.
It offers information on ecotours at an international level.
It consults with people working in tourist destinations.

Questions 110 - 111

According to the information given in the reading passage, which TWO of the following are true of the
Green Globe 21 award?
Write the appropriate letters A-D in boxes 110 – 111 on your answer sheet.
A
B
C
D
E

The scheme is self-regulating.
Amanda Marks was recruited to develop the award.
Prior to 1999 companies were not required to pay for membership.
Both tour operators and tour sites can apply for affiliation.
It intends to reduce the number of ecotour operators.

Questions 112 – 114
Using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS, answer the following questions.
Write your answers in boxes 112-114 on your answer sheet.
112. Which body provides information on global tourist numbers?
113. Who often gains financially from tourism in rural environments?
114. Which meeting provided the principles behind the Green Globe 21 regulations?
Part 3. Question 115 – 120: Read the following article from a journal and then answer questions
that follow.

WHALES
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“The whale has no voice”, wrote Melville in Moby Dick ‘but then again what has the whale to
say? Seldom have I known any profound being that had anything to say to this world, unless to stammer
out something by way of getting a living.’ Not so. Whales may not sing for their suppers, but some of
them certainly do sing. Melville failed to hear them because they sing underwater. Others have heard
them without realising it. If whales sing near a wooden-bottomed boat, sailors in their bunks or
hammocks may hear an eerie melodious wail from they know not where. Hence, perhaps, the many seatales of lullabies sung by drowned colleagues.
Why do they sing? First, spot the singers. There are two sorts of whales: the toothed whales –
such as sperm, killer and pilot whales – who are close relatives of the porpoise and the dolphin; and the
toothless ‘baleen’ whales – such as the humpback, right and minke. The toothed whales usually live in
stable and organised groups: a gang of killer whales may stay together for years on end. Such creatures
make sounds, but have not been known to sing. Many dolphins produce ‘signature’ whistles – each one
has a different call-sign from his neighbours. These seem to function as names: a dolphin will often
produce his neighbour’s whistle when nearby. Similarly, each sperm whale produces a distinctive series
of clicks – known as his coda – and will sometimes mimic a nearby whale’s coda.
Killer whales
have identifiable dialects that are specific to each family. It is the baleen whales, especially the
humpbacks, who break into song. At any one time, all the singing whales in a population sing the same
song. It gradually changes over time and each whale learns and copies the new variations. This is a
formidable feat because the songs, which can last up to thirty minutes, are highly complex. It is only the
males who sing, and they do so chiefly during the breeding season. The songs seem – like many bird
songs – to be a sort of display that males use in competing with each other for females.
Singing humpbacks have a wide vocal range: the notes can swoop down from a high-pitched
factory whistle to a reverberating fog-horn. Play back a recorded humpback song at fourteen times the
correct speed and it sounds like a nightingale. But birdsong is shorter – and more significantly – not so
structured as whale song. Whale song can be broken down into regularly repeating phrases, which in turn
are organised into themes that always occur in the same sequence. Unlike birds, whales appear to have
studied some of the rules of classical composition.
By analysing these themes and phrases, two scientists have reached conclusions about whale

culture that would have struck Melville dumb. Whales seem to use a structure like rhyme in poetry. And,
like people, they may put in the rhymes to help them remember their songs. The two scientists, Miss
Linda Guinee of the Long Term Research Institute in Lincoln, Massachusetts, and Mrs. Katherine Payne
of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, analysed 460 whale songs from the North Pacific and 88 from
the North Atlantic. From their recordings they produced audio spectograms, converting sounds into string
of squiggles which can be classified by shape. Having a catalogue of whale songs helps marine biologists
to track whale populations on their odysseys by showing where each singer comes from. It also lets them
study the songs as they evolve. Since whales learn their songs, such songs are an example of culture; and
the way they change is an example of cultural evolution.
It turns out that whales make much use of phrases with the same endings – i.e. rhymes. Miss
Guinee and Mrs. Payne found that songs with many differing themes were much more likely to contain
plenty of rhymes. They found that rhymes were correlated not with the length of a song but with the
amount of different material to be remembered. Simple songs did not contain any rhyming passages. The
rhyming pattern then, could be a way to help the whale remember what comes next in a complicated
song. A rhyming pattern helps people to learn and remember poetry by limiting the number of possible
words in a given position. If you know that every third and fourth line of a stanza in a given poem rhyme,
and that the third line of a stanza ends with ‘love’, you know that the next line might end with ‘dove’ but
cannot end with ‘sparrow’. Advertising jingles often use rhyme in the justified hope that people will
remember the names of products. You do not have to know the meaning of a word or sign in order for
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rhyme to help you recall it (think of children’s nonsense rhymes). Poets use rhyme for all sorts of
reasons: because they are attractive, musical, create a pleasing rhythm, or are merely ingenious or funny.
Miss Guinee and Mrs. Payne realise that their evidence is inconclusive, because they cannot ask
the whales what they are up to. Some will doubt their conclusion because it makes whales seem

implausibly human. Maybe they have not made whales ‘human’ enough. Perhaps the rhyming sirens of
the deep are simple trying to please themselves and their audience.
115. What did Melville believe about whales?
A. They didn’t produce vocal sounds.
C. They couldn’t imitate the human voice.

B. They had nothing to say.
D. They couldn’t sing.

116. Which of the following seem to use personal identification signals?
A. Killer whales
B. Porpoises
C. Sperm whales
D. Baleen whales
117. What is known about the song of a humpback whale?
A. It is identical to that of a nightingale.
B. It could be taken for birdsong if it was slower.
C. It mimics sounds produced by musical instruments.
D. It is rather more complex than that of birds.
118. Why does the writer say ‘Whales appear to have studied some of the rules of classical composition’?
A. He believes whales are more intelligent than most people think.
B. He doesn’t take the research seriously.
C. He thinks there is evidence that whales have learnt through contact with humans.
D. He is trying to amuse his readers.
119. What did the two scientists discover?
A. There were four hundred and sixty types of whale song.
B. Whale song varied according to how fast the whales were travelling.
C. Whales responded when music was played to them.
D. The songs demonstrated where the whales originated from.
120. What is the conclusion of the writer of the article?

A. That the scientists want to make whales appear too much like humans.
B. That the scientific work on whales is too inconclusive to be taken seriously.
C. That scientists may be missing a simple and obvious explanation for whale song.
D. That scientists may have found a way of communicating with whales.
Part 4. Question 121 – 130: Fill each blank with ONE suitable word.

History and storytelling
Over the last few years there has been more interest in the subject of history, perhaps because
historical documentaries on television have attracted large viewing audiences. Historians who often
complain about (121)__________ of interest in their subject should be delighted at this development,
shouldn’t they?
According to a survey, (122)__________ people are applying for places at university, and the
number of those wanting to study history (123)___________ increased. Professors of history are
(124)_________ particularly happy about this increase and have expressed concern about the quality of
their students. They claim that most of their first-year students have never read a (125)_________ book
and don’t have the skills to study the subject in-depth. TV programmes make students think that
(126)_________ history is as simple as storytelling. Documentaries oversimplify the subject and
concentrate on the historical personalities (127)_________ an attempt to attract audiences.
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On the other hand, traditional historians could learn how to tell a story (128)__________ the
markers of such documentaries. Historians don’t (129)___________ good narrative skills, which is
(130)_________ history books are not popular with readers.
Part 5. Question 131 – 140.
Fill in each blank with the correct form of the word from the box. Use one word twice.

come
count
blow
bring
draw
take
fall
back
hold
131. Towards the end of the film Thelma and Louise, a large truck is ___________ up by the main
characters when they shoot its tank, which is full of oil.
132. Bruce has always been interested in watching golf on TV, so he’s decided ___________ up the
sport now that he has more free time.
133. The fact that the swimmer Jim Piper was disqualified from the 50-metre breaststroke event did not
___________ against him in future events in the 2005 FINA World Cup competition.
134. Even though two of the band are dead, a new The Beatles album called Love was recently
___________ out.
135. If you give Lisa some time to think about what you said, I’m sure she’ll ___________ around to
your point of view.
136. Because the US constitution was seen as potentially oppressive, additions to it were ___________
up in 1791 to defend the people’s liberty.
137.

I know that your situation seems very bad at the moment, but your problems will soon
___________ over.

138. The rapid rise in the global population is not expected to start ___________off until past the
middle of this century, by which time it will have reached 9 billion.
139. Behaviorists argue that the ideas of Sigmund Freud are not ___________ up by scientific evidence,
and therefore, they reject them.

140. When the city of La Rochelle was besieged by French forces, it managed to ___________ them off
for over a year before it surrendered.

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Selection Test for National English Competition 2014 No. 2

IV. WRITING (6 pts.)
Part 1. For questions 141 to145, 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.
Write only the missing words on the separate answer sheet.
141. John has hinted that he doesn’t wish to remain in the group any longer. (HINT)
John has _____________________________________ wishes to remain in the group.
142. A spokesman said that the story was pure speculation. (DISMISSED)
The story _____________________________________ than speculation by a spokesman.
143. She was concentrating so hard on her work that she didn’t notice when I came in. (WRAPPED)
She was _____________________________________ that she didn’t notice when I came in.
144. Suzanne is far superior in terms of technical knowledge. (MATCH)
When it comes _____________________________________ for Suzanne.
145. Anthony wasn’t at all discouraged by this bad experience. (PUT)
This bad experience _____________________________________ least.
Part 2: The chart below gives information about birth and death rates in Switzerland from 1970 to 2020
according to United Nations statistics.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where
relevant.
Write at least 150 words.


Part 3: In many countries today insufficient respect is shown to older people. What do you think may be
the reasons for this?
What problems might this cause in society?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.
Write at least 250 words.

THE END
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