SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO KỲ THI CHỌN HSG GIỎI LỚP 12 CẤP TỈNH

BÌNH THUẬN NĂM HỌC: 2021 – 2022

Môn thi : TIẾNG ANH
Thời gian : 180 phút (không kể thời gian phát đề)
ĐỀ CHÍNH THỨC Ngày thi : 14/01/2022
(Đề này có 06 trang)
Chú ý:
• Học sinh làm bài trên PHIẾU TRẢ LỜI; và nộp lại ĐỀ THI kèm theo PHIẾU TRẢ LỜI.
• Thí sinh không được sử dụng tài liệu, kể cả từ điển.

ĐỀ
SECTION A. USE OF LANGUAGE AND READING (135pts)
Part I. Choose the word or phrase which best completes each of the following sentences.
Write your answers (A, B, C or D) on the answer sheet. (30pts)
1. It was proposed that the president ______ for a period of two years.
A. elected B. were elected C. should elect D. be elected
2. By the time his daugter graduates from the college, Mr Brown ______.
A. retired B. will have retired C. will be retiring D. has tired
3. While in the capital, we paid a visit to the school founded ______ our grandfather, a famous scientist.
A. in line with B. in favor of C. in honor of D. in place of
4. ______ Ann by phone, James decided to email her.
A. Having failed to contact B. Having failed contacting
C. He failed to contact D. That he failed contacting
5. There isn‘t any sugar, I‘m afraid. You‘ll have to ______ it.
A. run out B. go beyond C. do without D. make up
6. He agreed to accept the position ______ a share of the company‘s profits.
A. in agreement that he would be giving B. with the aim that he would be received
C. with the purpose that he would give D. on condition that he would be given
7. It is really hard to ______ on such low salary.
A. make ends meet B. make a mess C. make up your mind D. make a fuss
8. My wallet ______ at the station while I ______ for the train.
A. must have been stolen – was waiting B. should have stolen – had been waiting
C. could have stolen – was waiting D. needn‘t have been stolen – waited
9. ______ the issue was debated, the more people became involved.
A. The more longer B. The longer C. The longest D. The long
10. I shall do the job to the best of my ______.
A. capacity B. ability C. experience D. talent
11. Everyone would go into the hall for assembly, and then they would go to their ______ classes.
A. respected B. respectful C. respective D. respectable
12. She would always ______ a clear impression of the incident.
A. rebuke B. retain C. reconcile D. reflect
13. Daughter: ―What should I do if someone rings the doorbell?‖
Mom: ―______ should you open the door to strangers.‖
A. Under these circumstances B. Under any circumstances
C. Not under circumstances D. Under no circumstances
14. When you _____ the exam tomorrow, try to stay calm and relaxed.
A. make B. take C. write D. answer
15. If you believe ____ in the newspapers, you will not be wiser than people who read nothing at all.
A. all that published B. all what is published
C. all that is published D. all that which is published
16. When D.H Lawrence died, most of what was written about him was hostile; ______, today he is
widely recognized as an important writer.
A. in spite of B. what is more C. all the same D. as a result
17. You ______ anything to me. If you want to spend virtually your entire wages on lottery tickets,
then that‘s up to you.
A. couldn‘t have explained B. weren‘t supposed to explain
C. don‘t have to explain D. shouldn‘t have explained
18. We took part in a sponsored walk ______ to support the poor.
A. had organized B. that organized C. organizing D. organized
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19. This car is very ____ as it goes so far on one of tank of petrol.
A. financial B. economical C. costly D. endless
20. We‘re ______ if we continue with genetic modification of our food.
A. playing with fire B. playing out of our skin
C. adding fuel to the fire D. playing over
Part II. Give the correct form of the words in brackets to complete the following passage. An
example has been done for you. Write your answers on the answer sheet. (15pts)
Despite the suggestions by many (0.)____ (CRITICIZE) that reality shows would be a very short-lived
phenomenon, it is still increasing in (1)____ (POPULAR). Several reality shows are (2)____
(CURRENT) watched by millions of viewers each night, and it‘s clearly a form of entertainment that‘s
here to stay. Indeed, a number of people have become (3)____ (FAME) because of their (4)____
(INVOLVE) in reality TV shows, and have gone on to have successful careers as singers, actors or TV
presenters. We can watch with (5)____ (EXCITE) each night the ―goings-on‖ in the house (or jungle,
or bar, or school of arts). The conversations between the contestants are interesting, so we don‘t get
(6)____ (BORE) and there are frequently (7)____ (VARY) conflicts, which provide further amusement.
The contestants have to give some kind of (8)____ (PERFORM) at the end of the week, which is even
more appealing. But there‘s a (9)____ (SAY) in the TV industry: ―It‘s all in the editing‖ and this is
(10)____ (SPECIAL) true of reality shows.
Example: (0.) critics
Part III. There are some mistakes in the following passage. Identify and correct them. One
mistake has been identified and corrected for you as an example. Find the other 10 mistakes.
Write your answers on the answer sheet. (20pts)
Though most organizations search for employees whom will fit in with the company culture,
showing that they have skills and qualities that are unusual putting candidates at the top of
the pile when it comes to the screening process. Here are some ways for applicants to jump
of the page.
5 Can you cooperate with anybody, no matter where they come from or what they believe?
Companies, particularly global companies, look for people who have worked with another
who are different from themselves. That difference could be as obvious as ethnicity, but
could also include those who have a similar educational level or natural culture.
Are you good at disagreeing? This can be a difficult idea to get cross well about the ability to
10 manage conflict. Though the phrase ―conflict management‖ has the potential to sound very
negative, it is nevertheless an important skill. The more talented and diverse your team, the
most opportunities for disagreement will be presented. Those recruiters look for is an ability
to deal with disagreement in a positive way and examples where you have taken it upon
yourself to sort it out.
15 Finally, creativity can be an asset in jobs where you might not expect to be. Even when you
work for a small entrepreneurial company, creativity and initiative are specially important.
―We are always looking for new ideas and we can implement these the next day, like a big
corporation, which it may take months,‖ says a human resource manager.
Example: Line 1: whom → who
Part IV. Fill in each blank with ONE suitable word to complete the following passage. Write
your answers on the answer sheet. (15pts)
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, a constant stream of news is being (1)____ every day.
Every news channel and website is filled with data on the (2)_____ of cases, deaths, ICU admissions,
and government restrictions and guidelines. What the future holds may seem grim. (3)_____, one
thing that has struck us during this pandemic is how, through hardship, the positive aspects of human
nature—kindness and resilience—shine through. It shows glimpses of hope in this challenging battle
(4)_____ the virus.
We may not know what someone else has experienced during the pandemic. They may have lost
their job or have a loved one affected by the illness, fighting (5)_____ their life in the hospital. We‘ve
each (6)_____ our own experiences, but one thing we can all hope to achieve is to spread kindness.
We‘ve learned about lots of medical students (7)_____ clinical clerkship experiences have been
affected but who have chosen to use their time to help health care workers with groceries and child
care. We‘ve learned about restaurants providing and delivering free meals in order to (8)_____health
care workers. There are, of course, the health care workers who are going above and beyond to
spread kindness to their patients—nurses setting up FaceTime for their dying patients to see family
one last time, or doctors (9)_____reassurance and care for patients who are fighting this illness. It is
the acts of kindness and resilience (10) _____will be this pandemic‘s lasting legacy.
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Part V. Read the following passage and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each of
the following gaps. Write your answers on the answer sheet. (15pts)
The planet Jupiter is named after the mythical king of the Roman gods. In many ways, it is the king
of the planets.
Jupiter is the largest of the planets circling the sun, big enough to contain all the others with room
to (1) _____. Its immense gravity controls a family of 16 moons, and it is surrounded by radiation belts
powerful enough to kill a visiting astronaut. If one looks at Jupiter through even the smallest of
telescopes, one can make (2) _____ bands of cloud in (3) _____ of yellow and white. It may even be
possible to (4) _____ a glimpse of the ―Great Red Spot‖, which in reality is a storm that is three (5)
_____ the size of planet Earth. (6) _____ a good pair of binoculars, if they are well-supported, one can
see Jupiter‘s four largest moons. They appear as tiny dots of light on either side of Jupiter, endlessly
changing (7) _____ as they orbit their parent world. Four spacecrafts have sent back fleeting glimpses
of Jupiter, as they travelled past the planet and its moons. But the (8) _____ scrutiny will come soon
from the first man-made object to join Jupiter‘s family of moons – the spacecraft Galileo, which will (9)
_____ thousands of (10) _____ shots and video sequences.
1. A. sell B. go C. rent D. spare
2. A. in B. from C. up D. out
3. A. covers B. shades C. shadows D. shapes
4. A. take B. see C. catch D. save
5. A. objects B. amounts C. extras D. times
6. A. Through B. Over C. In D. On
7. A. post B. status C. possession D. position
8. A. nearest B. closest C. nearby D. approximate
9. A. transcend B. transform C. transpose D. transmit
10. A. close-up B. nearly C. down-to-earth D. everyday
Part VI. Read the following text. Match sentences A–H with gaps 1–7 to complete the passage.
There is one extra sentence. Write your answers on the answer sheet. (14pts)
A calamity to be endured – this was how I first reacted to the idea of teaching to rows of faces
inside squares on a screen. It was March of 2020 when my university shut down in-person classes.
(1) _____. Has something about me changed? (2) _____? A few weeks ago I paid attention as I
taught what was to be my last class on Zoom. What was I actually enjoying?
(3) _____. Many students have told me they like to replay portions of the class session, having
gotten distracted by a train of thought the discussion had evoked or anxieties robbing them of
their concentration on the subject at hand. (4) _____. One international student described how she
kept a dictionary ready and paused the recording often to look up words that were new to her,
becoming more confident about what she was learning as a result.
For me, the recordings contained the added treat of getting to see students‘ faces filling the entire
screen when they spoke. While leading discussions, I had to keep Gallery View going so that I could
keep track of the whole class – was engagement evident in the faces or did I need to inject further
provocation? (5) _____. All along, students choosing Speaker View had been able to see the nuances
of their classmates‘ facial expressions and gestures, amplifying their knowledge of each other.
More than anything else, hearing from the shy students on Chat has been transformational. (6) _____.
When they typed their remarks into the box at the side of the screen, visible to all, I would find the right
moment to read aloud what they had written. (7) _____. I loved when their fellow students would later refer
to these contributions, sometimes reading the Chat remarks out loud again for emphasis.
A. Thanking them by name and calling out their observations, I was able to bring them directly into
the exchange of ideas as never before
B. Later, when the recordings arrived from Zoom in Speaker View, I could get a close look each
student who had told a personal story or recounted an insight that had influenced their view of life
C. The value of the class recordings must be emphasized here
D. I was also able to replay my blunders that I had barely handled adequately but still weren’t as
awful as I’d feared
E. Like having a microphone placed in the ocean depths, what these silent students were thinking
had become audible
F. Almost two years later, I find myself thinking about aspects of the virtual classroom that I am
going to miss
G. My students for whom English is a second language would often replay sections that they hadn’t
understood the first time around
H. Has my comfort with face-to-face contact eroded with so much isolation
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Part VII. Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow. (26pts)
Decision, Decision!
Research explores when we can make a vital decision quickly and we need to proceed more
deliberately.
A
A widely recognised legend tells us that in Gordium (in what is now Turkey) in the fourth century BC
an oxcart was roped to a pole with a complex knot. It was said that the first person to untie it would
become the king of Asia. Unfortunately, the knot proved impossible to untie. The story continues that
when confronted with this problem, rather than deliberating on how to untie the Gordian knot,
Alexander, the famous ruler of the Greeks in the ancient world, simply took out his sword and cut it in
two – then went on to conquer Asia. Ever since the notion of a ‗Gordian solution‘ has referred to the
attractiveness of a simple answer to an otherwise intractable problem.
B
Among researchers in the psychology of decision making, however, such solutions have traditionally
held little appeal. In particular, the ‗conflict model‘ of decision making proposed by psychologists Irving
Janis and Leon Mann in their 1977 book, Decision Making, argued that a complex decision-making
process is essential for guarding individuals and groups from the peril of ‗group-think‘. Decisions made
without thorough canvassing, surveying, weighing, examining and reexamining relevant information
and options would be suboptimal and often disastrous. One foreign affair decision made by a well-
known US political leader in the 1960s is typically held us as an example of the perils of inadequate
thought, whereas his successful handling of a water crisis is cited as an example of the advantages of
careful deliberation. However, examination of these historical events by Peter Suedfield, a
psychologist at the University of British Columbia, and Roderick Kramer, a psychologist at the
Stanford Graduate School of Business, found little difference in the two decision-making processes;
both crises required and received complex consideration by the political administration, but later only
the second one was deemed to be the effective.
C
In general, however, organizational and political science offers little evidence that complex decisions
fare better than simpler ones. In fact, a growing body of work suggests that in many situations simply
‗snap‘ decisions with being routinely superior to more complex ones – an idea that gained widespread
public appeal with Malcolm Gladwell‘s best-selling book Blink (2005).
D
An article by Ap Dijksterhuis of the University of Amsterdam and his colleagues, Making the Right
Choice: the Deliberation-without-attention Effect‘, runs very much in the spirit of Gladwell‘s influential
text. Its core argument is that to be effective, conscious (deliberative) decision making requires
cognitive resources. Because increasingly complex decisions place increasing strain on those
resources, the quality of our decisions declines as their complexity increases. In short, complex
decisions overrun our cognitive powers. On the other hand, unconscious decision making (what the
author refer to as ‗deliberation without attention‘) requires no cognitive resources, so task complexity
does not effectiveness. The seemingly counterintuitive conclusion is that although conscious thought
enhances simple decisions, the opposite holds true for more complex decisions.
E
Dijksterhuis reports four simple but elegant studies supporting this argument. In one, participants
assessed the quality of four hypothetical cars by considering either four attributes (a simple task) or 12
attributes (a complex task). Among participants who considered four attributes, those who were
allowed to engage in undistracted deliberative thought did better at discriminating between the best
and worst cars. Those who were distracted and thus unable to deliberate had to rely on their
unconscious thinking and did less well. The opposite pattern emerged when people considered 12
criteria. In this case, conscious deliberation led to inferior discrimination and poor decisions.
F
In other studies, Dijksterhuis surveyed people shopping for clothes (‗simple‘ products) and furniture
(‗complex‘ products). Compared with those who said they had deliberated long and hard, shoppers
who bought with little conscious deliberation felt less happy with their simple clothing purchase but
happier with the complex furniture purchases. Deliberation without attention actually produced better
results as the decisions became more complex.
G
From there, however, the researchers take a big leap. They write: There is no reason to assume that
the deliberation-without-attention effect does not generalize to other types of choices – political,

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managerial or otherwise. In such cases, it should benefit the individual to think consciously about
simple matters and to delegate thinking about more complicated matters to the unconscious.
H
This radical inference contradicts standard political and managerial theory but doubtless comforts
those in politics and management who always find the simple solution to the complex problem an
attractive proposition. Indeed, one suspects many of our political leaders already embrace this
wisdom.
I
Still, it is there, in the realms of society and its governance, that the more problematic implications of
deliberation without attention begin to surface. Variables that can be neatly circumscribed in decisions
about shopping lose clarity in a world of group dynamics, social interaction, history and politics. Two
pertinent questions arise. First, what counts as a complex decision? And second, what counts as a
good outcome?
J
As social psychologist Kurt Lewin (1890 – 1947) noted, a ‗good‘ decision that nobody respects is
actually bad, his classic studies of decision making showed that participating in deliberative processes
makes people more likely to abide by the results. The issue here is that when political decision-
makers make mistakes, it is their politics, or the relationship between their politics and our own, rather
than psychology which is at fault.
K
Gladwell‘s book and Dijksterhuis‘s paper are invaluable in pointing out the limitations of the
conventional wisdom that decision quality rises with decision-making complexity. But this work still
tempts us to believe that decision making is simply a matter of psychology, rather than also a question
of politics, ideology and group membership. Avoiding social considerations in a search for general
appeal rather than toward it.
Questions 1-5
Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D. Write your answers on the answer sheet.
1. The legend of the Gordian knot is used to illustrate the idea that
A. anyone can solve a difficult problem
B. difficult problems can have easy solutions
C. the solution to any problem requires a lot of thought
D. people who can solve complex problems make good leaders
2. The ‗conflict model‘ of decision making proposed by Janis and Mann requires that
A. opposing political parties be involved
B. all-important facts be considered
C. people be encouraged to have different ideas
D. previous similar situations be thoroughly examined
3. According to recent thinking reinforced by Malcolm Gladwell, the best decisions
A. involve consultation B. involve complex thought
C. are made very quickly D. are the most attractive option
4. Dijksterhuis and his colleagues claim in their article that
A. our cognitive resources improve as tasks become more complex
B. conscious decision making is negatively affected by task complexity
C. unconscious decision making is a popular approach
D. deliberation without attention defines the way we make decisions
5. Dijksterhuis‘s car study found that, in simple tasks, participants
A. were involved in lengthy discussions
B. found it impossible to make decisions quickly
C. were unable to differentiate between the options
D. could make a better choice when allowed to concentrate
Questions 6-9
Complete the summary using the list of words A-I in the box given. There are MORE words
than needed. Write your answers on the answer sheet.
Dijksterhuis’s shopping study and its conclusions
Using clothing and furniture as examples of different types of purchases, Dijksterhuis questioned
shoppers on their satisfaction with what they had bought. People who spent 6 _____ time buying
simple clothing items were more satisfied than those who had not. However, when buying furniture,
shoppers made 7_____ purchasing decisions if they didn‘t think too hard. From this, the researchers
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concluded that in other choices, perhaps more important than shopping. 8_____ decisions are best
made by the unconscious. The writer comments that Dijksterhuis‘s finding is apparently 9_____ but
nonetheless true.

A. more B. counterintuitive C. simple D. better E. concious

F. obvious G. complex H. less I. worse

Questions 10-13
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in the passage given? On the
answer sheet, write
YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
10. Dijksterhuis‘s findings agree with existing political and management theories.
11. Some political leaders seem to use deliberation without attention when making complex decisions.
12. We judge political errors according to our own political beliefs.
13. Social considerations must be taken into account for any examination of decision making to
prove useful.

SECTION B. WRITING (65pts)

Part I. Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it means the same as the
sentence printed before it. Write your answers on the answer sheet. (15pts)
1. Just after solving one problem, I was faced with another.
Hardly ________________________________________________________________.
2. I won‘t sell the painting, no matter how much you offer me.
Whatever____________________________________________, I won‘t sell it.
3. Fleming discovered penicillin as a result of a little luck.
A little luck _______________________________________ discovering penicillin.
4. Everyone was surprised that the singer had very little money when he died.
The singer had __________________________________________________________.
5. It is thought that the prisoner was recaptured while drinking in a pub.
The prisoner ____________________________________________________________.

Part II. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence,
using the word given. Do NOT change the words given. Write your answers on the answer
sheet. (10pts)
1. If I take that job, I‘ll have to do a lot more travelling. (MEAN)
Taking that job _____________________________________ to do a lot more travelling.
2. The government has been reviewing their tax policy for some time. (REVIEW)
The government‘s ____________________________________________ for some time.
3. I didn‘t know about the meeting until Tracy rang. (DID)
Not until ________________________________________________ about the meeting.
4. Nobody approved of the new law when it was introduced. (APPROVAL)
The new law didn‘t ____________________________________ when it was introduced.
5. We were shocked by the news and didn‘t know what to do. (SO)
The news ____________________________________________ didn‘t know what to do.

Part III. Essay writing (40pts)

Under the shadow of COVID-19, the study of millions of students has temporarily shrunk to their
screens. Some parents and educators think that online learning works whereas other ones believe
that threats are ahead. Write an essay of 200-250 words to discuss both views and express your
viewpoint on this issue. Give reasons and specific examples to support your opinion. Write your
essay on the answer sheet.
___________ HẾT __________

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