1. Read the text. Match the highlighted words with their meanings.

(Đọc văn bản. Nối các từ được làm nổi bật với nghĩa của chúng.)

The more people travel, the bigger impact they may have on the environment. How can we reduce it while travelling? Here are some advice.

Reduce your carbon footprint while travelling. Since flying produces more carbon footprint than any other means of transport, you should only fly when the trip is long. During the trip, you should walk, cycle or use public transport as much as you can. This not only helps to keep the environment clean, but also allows you to enjoy the beauty of nature and interact with local people. 

Choose eco-friendly activities that benefit animals and the ecosystem. Avoid activities that allow you to touch or ride animals because they disturb their natural patterns and attract many people. Instead, visit wildlife parks or organic farms. These will help you understand and respect the nature more and stop doing things that harm the environment.

3. Read the text again. Match the questions below with paragraphs A-E of the text. 

(Đọc bài khóa một lần nữa. Nối các câu hỏi bên dưới với các đoạn văn (A – E).)

In which paragraph does the writer tell us …

1. when doctors realised Ashlyn had a medical problem?

2. what causes her condition?

3. what happened when she burned her hands?

4. why some people die from this condition?

5. how school life for Ashlyn was unusual?

A life without pain

A. All children hurt themselves from time to time. But when thirteen-year-old Ashlyn Blocker gets injured, she doesn't realise it. Once, when she burned herself, she only knew about it when she looked at her skin. 

B. There was always something different about Ashlyn. As a baby, she didn't cry. When she was eight months old, her parents noticed there was some blood in her eye, so they took her to see a doctor. The doctor found a serious cut in her eye and was shocked. Why didn't the baby cry? Tests showed that Ashlyn had a very unusual medical condition: she couldn't feel any pain. 

C. This condition is very rare: many people who have it die of it. Pain is a natural warning that you're ill or injured. People who can't feel pain lust don't realise they're in danger. 

D. The first few years of Ashlyn's life were very difficult. She often tripped and injured herself. Once, she broke her ankle but she didn't stop running. During school breaks, one teacher watched Ashlyn all the time in the playground and they had to search for cuts. bruises or other injuries.

E. When she was five, Ashlyn's story appeared in newspapers and on TV. Scientists studied her condition and found she has a genetic disorder that means pain signals do not reach her brain. Unfortunately, at the moment, there is no hope of a cure. And, as Ashlyn knows, a life without pain is both difficult and dangerous.

2. Read the text. Are these sentences about the people who took part in the survey true or false? Write T or F.

(Đọc văn bản. Những câu này về những người đã tham gia khảo sát là đúng hay sai? Viết T (đúng) hoặc F (sai).)

a. Most have a positive view of the British overall. _____

b. More than half have a better opinion of the British now that they live in the country. _____

How foreigners see the British

What is a typical British person like? People who come to Britain from other countries probably have a few expectations: British people are polite, rather reserved, and enjoy drinking tea and standing in queues! But how accurate is this stereotype? In an online survey of 1402 foreign nationals living in the UK, just over half said that the British matched their expectations.

The survey also asked which aspects of the British character the foreign nationals liked and disliked. British people's good manners were popular with 49% and 40% liked the ability to queue. Many agreed that the British are reserved and for 32% this was a good quality but for 19% it was negative. Other negative aspects were the British sense of humour (31%) and British culture in general (28%). However, 77% said they liked British people in general and 61% said that their opinion of the British got better as a result of living in the UK. 

A spokesman for the researchers said: People probably come to Britain with a stereotype of what to expect. It’s good to see that, for the majority, the reality is better than the stereotype.'

2. Read the text and circle the correct meanings of the highlighted words and phrases.

(Đọc văn bản và khoanh tròn nghĩa đúng của các từ và cụm từ được đánh dấu.)

Gender equality has been greatly promoted around the world. However, there are still many challenges that women face.

First of all, there are still girls who are forced to get married before the age of 18. In many places, parents may see child marriage as a way to protect daughters from violence. However, many of these young girls become victims of domestic violence. Child marriage also carries serious health risks as young girls are not physically developed to give birth.

Secondly, more than half of the world's uneducated people are women. This means fewer girls than boys go to school or stay long at school. Girls who receive an education are less likely to marry young. They can also have better job skills and can earn higher salaries. Education gives girls the opportunity to have a better life and give back to their communities.

Thirdly, women are often paid less than men. In other words, women have to work longer than men to earn the same amount of money. Differences in career choices might be one reason. Women tend to become nurses, secretaries, or shop assistants, which are low-paying jobs, while men choose high-paying careers as surgeons, airline pilots, or engineers.

Women are still not equal to men in today's society, and governments, organisations and individuals must work together to achieve gender equality.

1. be forced

a. be made to do something unwanted

b. be made to do something necessary

2. domestic violence

a. action taken to please someone

b. behaviour intended to hurt someone you live with

3. uneducated

a. having little or no formal education at school

b. not having many jobs opportunities

4. low-paying

a. giving money to a person

b. providing very little money

2. Read the text and choose the best tittle for it.

(Đọc văn bản và chọn tiêu đề hay nhất.)

a. Environmental problems: What are they?

b. Environmental protection: How important is it?

c. Environmental solutions: How practical are they?

The environment we live in is facing many serious problems. We need to be aware of these problems so that we can find ways to protect nature.

A. Global warming is the rise in the average temperature of the earth's atmosphere. It is one of the biggest issues facing humans today. It can have serious consequences such as rising sea levels, polar ice melting, and extreme weather events like floods or heatwaves.

B. Another environmental problem is the cutting and clearing of natural forests. The loss of forests can have a negative impact on the environment. It can damage the natural habitats of many animals and put wildlife in danger. It can also destroy the natural soil and lead to climate change.

C. Air pollution is also a serious problem. It is mainly caused by waste gases that come out of vehicles, machines, or factories. When these harmful gases combine with the water in the air, they come down as rain or snow, which can damage all forms of life. In addition, this problem leads to global warming and climate change. It is also a major cause of respiratory diseases or even lung cancer.

D. Around the world, the number of endangered animals is rising. Many of them disappear because of pollution and climate change. In addition, humans illegally hunt and kill animals, and catch too many fish at once. This is upsetting the natural balance of ecosystems, which can be harmful to all living and non-living things.

Complete the sentences with who, which, that or whose. You may use more than one relative pronoun in some sentences.

(Hoàn thành các câu who, which, that hoặc whose. Bạn có thể sử dụng nhiều hơn một đại từ quan hệ trong một số câu.)

1. That is the teacher _______ has received an award for excellent teaching.

2. We were invited to attend a talk show _______ is popular with teenagers.

3. Their school, _______ offers both face-to-face and online classes, is the beast in the city.

4. The students _______ names are on the list will join the field trip.

5. Have you finished the project _______ was given by our art teacher?

6. My cousin John, _______ lives in Da Nang, is coming to visit me this weekend.

Amanda
Married: 05/15/2010
Aug 04, 2009 at 7:59 AM • Flag As Inappropriate
I ....... understood ......people think it's tradition to make you do something you don't want to for YOUR wedding. I think they just pretend that it is ...... your suppose to do ........... they have no real reason to make you do it. Stand by what you think is best ...... you. If you don't want someone in your bridal party just say no. I have been/am being a bridesmaid in both .............. weddings but they will not be standing up with me. ......you think it will cause drama face it head on so people don't start talking behind your back and getting all worked up. ..........them and say this is what I'm doing, ........your reasoning and that should be it. I'm ....... it will all work out, good luck & happy planning!

2. Read the text. Are all lottery winners happy? 

(Đọc đoạn văn trên. Có phải tất cả những người thắng xổ số đều hạnh phúc không?)

Last weekend, somebody bought a lottery ticket, chose all the correct numbers and won millions. How lucky! Or maybe not. In the 1970s, scientists at the University of Illinois studied lottery winners and compared their levels of happiness with other people. The results were interesting. The winners felt delighted for a short time, but after that, their happiness returned to normal levels. A similar study by the University of California in 2008 gave the same results. They looked at lottery winners six months after their win and found completely normal levels of happiness. And for a few unlucky people, a huge lottery win was the start of major problems. Alex Toth, for example, won $13 million in 1990. He stopped working, spent the money quickly and had terrible arguments with his family and friends.