PASSAGE 21

Sadly, the reading habit is on the decline among children as well. Popeye and his gang, aided by multimedia games have drowned the shuffle of the pages. Though the Harry Potter mania is gripping children these days, it could just be another ephemeral phase withering away sooner or later.

“But why blame it on the kids for all this wean-off-from-reading culture? It is the parents who are responsible for this,” says an English professor. Parents blame it on the mounting pressure on the children in schools and tuition classes. “My son hardly gets time to read story books. In the little time he gets after finishing the home work, all he wants to do is watch the cartoon channel or play video games,” says Vijaylakshmi whose nine-year-old son ‘is glued to the idiot box whenever he gets the time’. The other problem is that there is a tremendous pressure upon students to perform and excel.

The situation is no better among college students. Library for them becomes popular only before the final examination. It is then that the students, in a panic state, just browse through their course related books.

There are also regular visitors to the libraries among them, though they constitute a small minority who frequently borrow books. ”But more often than not, students visit the libraries for their research work rather than reading a book for their own pleasure. In fact, nowadays libraries have become common hangouts for the college students,” remarks another professor.

(Source: Adapted from Objective PET)

Câu 1. How does the writer think about the Harry Potter story?

A. It’s a good book for

B. It’s an exceptional book because children love

C. It’s not an exceptional book because children will forget

D. It is a good example of bettering the children’s reading

Câu 2. According to the writer, who should be blamed for the children’s wean-off-from-reading culture?

A. Teachers.

B. Parents.

C. Both teachers and parents.

D. He doesn’t state any.

Câu 3. What is the best way to understand the phrase “glued to the idiot box”?

A. The son sits very close to TV.

B. The son is addicted to TV.

C. The son is short-sighted

D. The son is long-sighted.

Câu 4. The word “them” refers to      .

A. college students

B. libraries

C. course related books

D. visitors

Câu 5. Most of the college students mentioned in this passage   .

A. like researching

B. frequently go to the library

C. borrow books in the library for pleasure

D. only come to the library before exams

PASSAGE 22

Do you think education is better now than it was in your grandparents’ time? Many older people in the UK believe the opposite. “Schools were better in our day,” they complain. “There isn’t enough discipline these days. Kids don’t work as hard as we did, either. The syllabus isn’t as challenging, so clever students aren’t being stretched enough. They need to study things in greater depth. Exams are much, much easier now as well.”

Were schools better years ago? Some British teenagers travelled back in time to a 1950s boarding school. They got a big surprise! The first shock came when the teenagers met their new teachers. Dressed in traditional black gowns, they look so frosty and uncaring! They were really authoritarian, too, so anyone caught breaking the rules – talking in classes, mucking about in the playground or playing truant – was in big trouble! Punishments included writing ‘lines, or staying after class to do detention. The naughtiest kids were expelled.

Things were just as bad after class. At meal times the students had to endure a diet of plain, no-nonsense, healthy food. Homework was obligatory and it took ages! Copying essays off the Internet wasn’t an option, as personal computers didn’t exist in the 1950s!

At the end of ‘term’ everyone sat 1950s-style exams. The old exams were much longer than their twenty- first century equivalents and involved learning huge amounts of facts by heart. History papers were all dates and battles. Math’s papers were trickier, too; calculators weren’t around in the 1950s, so the students had to memories multiplication tables and master long division. Our candidates found this really difficult.

The exam results surprised a lot of people. Students predicted to do well in their real-life, twenty-first century exams often got low grades in the 1950s exams. Does this prove modern exams are too easy? Do twenty-first century kids rely too much on modem technology, like calculators and computers? The TV series of That‘ll teach ‘me! focused on a 1960s vocational school. UK school-kids study a range of academic subjects these days. But in the 1960s, children judged to be less ‘able’ went to vocational schools. These helped them learn job skills. Boys studied subjects like metalwork, woodwork or gardening. In some classes, they even learned how to milk goats! The girls’ timetables included secretarial skills. They also learned to cook, clean and sew – probably not much fun for most girls.

(Source: Activate! B2)

Câu 1. What criticism is sometimes made about modem education in the first paragraph?

A. Teachers aren’t strict enough.

B. The syllabus is out of date.

C. There’s too much stress on exams.

D. The teaching methods are not good enough.

Câu 2. The word “authoritarian” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to .

A. inexperienced

B. impolite

C. unreasonable   

D. strict

Câu 3. Which of the following statements is TRUE about the food the students ate at school?

A. It wasn’t cooked properly.

B. It wasn’t delicious.

C. It wasn’t nutritious.

D. There wasn’t much of it.

Câu 4. The word “obligatory” in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to         .

A. compulsory

B. difficult

C. long       

D. complicated

Câu 5. According to the passage, how did exams in the 1950s differ from those in the twenty-first century?

A. They covered more subjects.

B. It took students less time to do them.

C. There was more to remember.

D. They were less difficult.

Câu 6. What was surprising about the students’ results after taking the 1950s-style exams?

A. All the students found the exams

B. Students didn’t do as well as

C. Students who were predicted to fail did rather

D. Students did better than twenty-first century

Câu 7. The word “these” in the last paragraph refers to    .

A. School-kids

B. subjects

C. series

D. vocational school

Câu 8. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Vocational schools provided poorer children with

B. Vocational schools took children who were good at

C. Vocational schools prepared students for

D. Vocational schools were a complete waste of

PASSAGE 23

BECOMING AN EFFECTIVE STUDENT

Learning how to study effective is an essential skill for students in any discipline. There are six areas which are crucial to developing good study habits. Work on these and you will become an effective student.

Targets

Always set a realistic work target. Don’t try to do much. For example, plan to read one chapter of a book each evening rather than think about reading the whole book over the weekend. This kind of detailed, planned target is more effective than a vague commitment. It is sometimes helpful to tell your friends about your plan. This is a good incentive to keep you on target because they will know if you fail!

Rewards.

Develop a system of small rewards for your work. For example, stop for a cup of coffee or tea, or listen to a favorite piece of music after one hour’s study. Rewarding yourself for keeping to your work plan will make you feel good about yourself.

Timing

Make sure you choose a suitable time to study, i.e. when it is quiet and when you ate most alert. Try to make this a regular, time-tabled part of your day. If you plan to start work at a certain time, say 7 pm, do not find reasons to put off getting started. You can watch a DVD later, and your emails are not urgent!

Quantity

A large task such as researching a new topic for an essay can be daunting – so daunting, in fact that it can be difficult to sit down and make a start. Break the larger task down into several smaller ones. For example, make a list of questions that you will have to deal with your essay, and then approach each Câu separately. This makes the work more manageable.

Notes and Learning styles.

The books you are studying won’t always present information in a way that suits your learning style. It is, therefore, worthwhile spending time making notes and organizing them in a way that suits you best. It is also a good idea to keep your notebooks neat and well-organized. This will make it much easier to retrieve information later.

Revision.

Don’t leave revision until the last moment. When you set your study targets, allow regular revision time. This is much more effective than trying to cram before an exam.

Câu 1. How do the writer think you can develop good study habits?

A. By setting a realistic work target

B. By planning and considering your learning style

C. By revising your work on a regular basis

D. By taking into account six important areas

Câu 2. Why is it good idea to tell other people about your work plan?

A. They can help you develop a detailed target

B. They will be very helpful with your plan

C. They will know if you do not stick to your plan, which motivates you to reach the target

D. They will know how to help you avoid failing

Câu 3. Which of the following words is closest in meaning to the word “vague” in paragraph 2?

A. unrealistic

B. inefficient

C. unclear   

D. impractical

Câu 4. Timing includes all of the following EXCEPT.

A. you must be able to think clearly at the chosen time to study

B. the best time to study is 7 m

C. the time to study should be made a routine

D. don’t delay getting started

Câu 5. How can complicated piece of work be made easier?

A. Try to sit down and make start anyway

B. Make a list of questions beforehand

C. Divide the large task into manageable smaller segments

D. Manage the tasks on by one

Câu 6. The word “daunting” in the paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to which of the following?

A. frightening

B. demanding

C. challenging

D. discouraging

Câu 7. What is NOT the benefit of keeping good class or lecture notes?

A. The information is tailored to your learning style

B. It enables you to find information quickly when needed

C. The information is favorably organized to your liking

D. You do not need to spend time on the books you are studying

Câu 8. The most suitable phrase to replace the word “cram” in the last paragraph is.

A. study hard in a short time

B. revise hastily

C. stay up late to study

D. revise overnight

PASSAGE 24

Successful students often do the followings while studying. First, they have an overview before reading. Next, they look for important information and pay greater attention to it (which often needs jumping forward or backward to process information). They also relate important points to one another. Also, they activate and use their prior knowledge. When they realize that their understanding is not good, they do not wait to change strategies. Last, they can monitor understanding and take action to correct or “fix up” mistakes in comprehension.

Conversely, students with low academic achievement often demonstrate ineffective study skills. They tend to assume a passive role, in learning and rely on others (e.g., teachers, parents) to monitor their studying, for example, low-achieving students often do not monitor their understanding of content; they may not be aware of the purpose of studying; and they show little evidence of looking back, or employing “fix-up” strategies to fix understanding problems. Students who struggle with learning new information seem to be unaware that they must extent effort beyond simply reading the content to understand and remember it. Children with learning disabilities do not plan and judge the quality of their studying. Their studying may be disorganized. Students with learning problems face challenges with personal organization as well. They often have difficulty keeping track of materials and assignments, following directions, and completing work on time. Unlike good studiers who employ a variety of study skills in a flexible yet purposeful manner, low-achieving students use a restricted range of study skills. They cannot explain why good study strategies are important for learning; and they tend to use the same, often ineffective study approach for all learning tasks, ignoring task content, structure or difficulty.

(Source: Adapted from Study Skills: Managing Your Learning — NUI Galway)

Câu 1. What is the topic of the passage?

A. Successful and low-academic achieving students

B. Successful learners and their learning strategies

C. Study skills for high school students

D. Effective and ineffective ways of learning

Câu 2. The word “prior” in the first paragraph is closest meaning to   ?

A. important

B. earlier

C. forward

D. good

Câu 3. According to the passage, what can be learnt about passive students?

A. They depend on other people to organize their learning

B. They are slow in their studying

C. They monitor their understanding

D. They know the purpose of studying

Câu 4. Which of the followings is NOT an evidence of monitoring studying?

A. Being aware of the purpose of studying

B. Monitoring their understanding of content

C. Fixing up mistakes in understanding

D. Looking at their backs

Câu 5. According to the passage, to learn new information, low-achieving students do NOT       .

A. just understand it

B. relate it to what they have known

C. simply remember it

D. read it

Câu 6. In compared with low-achieving students, successful students use      .

A. aimless study techniques

B. various study skills

C. restricted strategies

D. inflexible study ways

Câu 7. The underlined pronoun “They” in the last sentence refers to   .

A. study strategies

B. study skills

C. low-achieving students

D. good studiers

PASSAGE 25

Learning means acquiring knowledge or developing the ability to perform new behaviors. It is common to think of learning as something that takes place in school, but much of human learning occurs outside in classroom and people continue to learn throughout their lives.

Even before they enter school, young children learn to walk, to talk and to use their hands to manipulate toys, food and other objects. They use all of their senses to learn about the sights, sounds, tastes and smells in their environments. They learn how to interact with their parents, siblings, friends and other people important to their world. When they enter school, children learn basic academic subjects such as reading, writing and mathematics. They also continue to learn a great deal outside the classroom. They learn which behaviors are likely to be rewarded and which are likely to be punished. They learn social skills for interacting with other children. After they finish school, people must learn- to adapt to the many major changes that affect their lives, such as getting married, raising children and finding and keeping a job.

Because learning continues throughout our lives and affects almost everything we do, the study of learning is important in many different fields. Teachers need to understand the best ways to educate children. Psychologists, social workers, criminologists and other human-service workers need to Understand how certain experiences change people’s behaviors. Employers, politicians and advertisers make use of the principles of learning to influence the behavior of workers, voters and consumers

Learning is closely related to memory, which is the storage of information in the brain. Psychologists who study memory are interested in how the brain stores knowledge, where this storage takes place now the brain later retrieves knowledge when we need it. In contrast, psychologists who study le are more interested in behavior and how behavior changes as a result of a person’s experiences.

There are many forms of learning, ranging from simple to complex. Simple forms of learning involve a single stimulus. A stimulus is anything perceptible to the senses, such as a sight, sound, smell or taste. In  a form of learning known as classical conditioning, people learn to associate two stimuli that occur in sequence, such as lightning followed by thunder. In operant conditioning, people learn by forming an association between a behavior and its consequences (reward or punishment). People and animals can also learn by observation – that is, by watching others perform behaviors. More complex forms of  learning include learning languages, concepts and motor skills.

Câu 1. According to the passage, which of the following is learning in broad view comprised of?

A. Knowledge acquisition and ability

B. Acquisition of social and behavioral

C. Acquisition of academic

D. Knowledge acquisition outside the

Câu 2. According to the passage, what are children NOT usually taught outside the classroom?

A. Interpersonal communication.

B. Life skills.

C. Literacy and calculation.

D. Right from wrong.

Câu 3. Getting married, raising children and finding and keeping a job are mentioned in paragraph 2 as examples of        

A. the changes to which people have to orient themselves

B. the situations in which people cannot teach themselves

C. the ways people’s lives are influenced by education

D. the areas of learning which affect people’s lives

Câu 4. According to the passage, the study of learning is important in many fields due to

A. the need for certain experiences in various areas

B. the exploration of the best teaching methods

C. the great influence of the on-going learning process

D. the influence of various behaviors in the learning process

Câu 5. It can be inferred from the passage that social workers, employers and politicians concern themselves with the study of learning because they need to         .

A. change the behaviors of the object of their interest towards learning

B. thoroughly understand the behavior of the objects of their interest

C. make the objects of their interest more aware of the importance of learning

D. understand how a stimulus relates to the senses of the objects of their interest

Câu 6. The word “retrieves” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to   

A. generates

B. creates

C. recovers

D. gains

Câu 7. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Psychologists studying memory are concerned with how the stored knowledge is

B. Psychologists studying memory are concerned with the brain’s storage of

C. Psychologists are all interested in memory as much as

D. Psychologists studying learning are interested in human

Câu 8. According to the passage, the stimulus in simple forms of learning    

A. bears relation to perception

B. is created by the senses

C. is associated with natural phenomena

D. makes associations between behaviours.

PASSAGE 26

It’s often said that we learn things at the wrong time. University students frequently do the minimum of work because they’re crazy about a good social life instead. Children often scream before their piano practice because it’s so boring. They have to be given gold stars and medals to be persuaded to swim or have to be bribed to take exams. But the story is different when you’re older.

Over the years, I’ve done my share of adult learning. At 30, I went to a college and did courses in History and English. It was an amazing experience. For starters, I was paying, so there was no reason to be late – I was the one frowning and drumming my fingers if the tutor was late, not the other way round. Indeed, if I could persuade him to linger for an extra five minutes, it was a bonus, not a nuisance, I wasn’t frightened to ask questions and homework was a pleasure not a pain. When I passed an exam, I had passed it for me and me alone, not for my parents or my teachers. The satisfaction I got was entirely personal.

Some people fear going back to school because they worry that their brains have got rusty. But the joy is that, although some parts have rusted up, your brain has learnt all kinds of other things since you were young. It has learnt to think independently and flexibly and is much better at relating one thing to another. What you lose in the rust department, you gain in the maturity department.

In some ways, age is a positive plus. For instance, when you’re older, you get less frustrated. Experience has told you that, if you’re calm and simply do something carefully again and again, eventually you’ll get the hang of it. The confidence you have in other areas – from being able to drive a car, perhaps – means that if you can’t, say, build a chair instantly, you don’t, like a child, want to destroy your first pathetic attempts. Maturity tells you that you will, with application, eventually get there.

I hated piano lessons at school, but I was good at music. And coming back to it, with a teacher who could explain why certain exercises were useful and with musical concepts that, at the age of ten never grasp, was magical. Initially, I did feel a bit strange, thumping out a piece that I’d played for my school exams, with just as little comprehension of what the composer intended as I’d had all those years before. But soon, complex emotions that I never knew poured out from my fingers and suddenly I could understand why practice makes perfect.

Câu 1. It is implied in paragraph 1 that        

A. young learners are usually lazy in their class

B. teachers should give young learners less homework

C. young learners often lack a good motivation for learning

D. parents should encourage young learners to study more

Câu 2. The writer’s main point in paragraph 2 is to show that as people grow up,    

A. they cannot learn as well as younger learners

B. they have a more positive attitude towards learning

C. they tend to learn less as they are discouraged

D. they get more impatient with their teachers

Câu 3. While doing some adult learning courses at a college, the writer was surprised      

A. to have more time to learn

B. to be able to learn more quickly

C. to feel learning more enjoyable

D. to get on better with the tutor

Câu 4. In paragraph 3, the word “rusty” means      .

A. not as good as it used to be through lack of practice

B. impatient because of having nothing to do

C. covered with rust and not as good as it used to be

D. staying alive and becoming more active

Câu 5. All of the following are true about adult learning EXCEPT

A. experience in doing other things can help one’s learning

B. young people usually feel less patient than adults

C. adults think more independently and flexibly than young people

D. adult learners have fewer advantages than young learners

Câu 6. It can be inferred from paragraph 4 that maturity is a positive plus in the learning process because adult learners   

A. pay more attention to detail than younger learners

B. have become more patient than younger learners

C. are less worried about learning than younger learners

D. are able to organize themselves better than younger learners

Câu 7. It is implied in the last paragraph that when you learn later in life, you        

A. should expect to take longer to learn than when you were younger

B. find that you can recall a lot of things you learnt when younger

C. can sometimes understand more than when you were younger

D. are not able to concentrate as well as when you were younger

Câu 8. What is the writer’s main purpose in the passage?

A. To show how fast adult learning is.

B. To describe adult learning methods.

C. To encourage adult learning.

D. To explain reasons for learning.

PASSAGE 27

Reading to oneself is a modern activity which was almost unknown to the scholars of the classic medieval worlds, while during the fifteenth century the term “reading” undoubtedly meant reading aloud. Only during the nineteenth century did silent reading become commonplace.

One should be wary, however, of assuming that silent reading came about simply because reading aloud was a distraction to others. Examinations of factors related to the historical development of silent reading have revealed that it became the usual mode of reading for most adults mainly because the tasks themselves changed in character.

The last century saw a steady gradual increase in literacy and thus in the number of readers. As the number of readers increased, the number of potential listeners declined and thus there was some reduction in the need to read aloud. As reading for the benefit of listeners grew less common, so came the flourishing of reading as a private activity in such public places as libraries, railway carriages and offices, where reading aloud would cause distraction to other readers.

Towards the end of the century, there was still considerable argument over whether books should be used for information or treated respectfully and over whether the reading of materials such as newspapers was in some way mentally weakening. Indeed, this argument remains with us still in education. However, whatever its virtues, the old shared literacy culture had gone and was replaced by the printed mass media on the one hand and by books and periodicals for a specialized readership on the other.

By the end of the twentieth century, students were being recommended to adopt attitudes to books and to use reading skills which were inappropriate, it not impossible, for the oral reader. The social, cultural and technological changes in the century had greatly altered what the term “reading” implied.

Câu 1. Reading aloud was more common in the medieval world because      

A. people relied on reading for entertainment

B. there were few places available for private reading

C. few people could read to themselves

D. silent reading had not been discovered

Câu 2. The word “commonplace” in the first paragraph mostly means “       “

A. attracting attention

B. most preferable

C. widely used     

D. for everybody’s use

Câu 3. The development of silent reading during the last century indicated   

A. a change in the nature of reading

B. an increase in the average age of readers

C. an increase in the number of books

D. a change in the status of literate people

Câu 4. Silent reading, especially in public places, flourished mainly because of

A. the development of libraries

B. the increase in literacy

C. the decreasing need to read aloud

D. the decreasing number of listeners

Câu 5. The phrase “a specialized readership” in paragraph 4 mostly means “        “.

A. a requirement for readers in a particular area of knowledge

B. a limited number of readers in a particular area of knowledge

C. a status for readers specialized in mass media

D. a reading volume for particular professionals

Câu 6. The phrase “oral reader” in the last paragraph mostly means “a person who         ”

A. is good at public speaking

B. takes part in an audition

C. practices reading to an audience

D. is interested in spoken language

Câu 7. All of the following might be the factors that affected the continuation of the old shared literacy culture EXCEPT

A. the diversity of reading materials

B. the specialized readership

C. the inappropriate reading skills

D. the printed mass media

Câu 8. The writer of this passage is attempting to

A. emphasize that reading aloud was more common in the past than it is today

B. encourage the growth of reading

C. show how reading method has been improved

D. change people’s attitudes towards reading

PASSAGE 28

Increasing numbers of parents in the U.S. are choosing to teach their children at home. In fact the U.S. Department of Education has estimated that in 1999, about 850,000 children were being homeschooled. Some educational experts say that the real number is double this estimate and the ranks of homeschooled children seem to be growing at the average rate of about eleven percent every year.

At one time, there was a theory accounting for homeschooling: it was traditionally used for students who could not attend school because of behavioral or learning difficulties. Today, however, more parents are taking on the responsibility of educating their own children at home due to their dissatisfaction with the educational system. Many parents are unhappy about class size, as well as problems inside the classroom. Teacher shortages and lack of funding mean that, in many schools, one teacher is responsible for thirty or forty students. The children are, therefore, deprived of the attention they need. Escalating classroom violence has also motivated some parents to remove their children from school.

Although there have been a lot of arguments for and against it, homeschooling in the U.S. has become a multi-million dollar industry and it is growing bigger and bigger. There are now plenty of websites, support groups and conventions that help parents protect their rights and enable them to learn more about educating their children. Though once it was the only choice for trouble children homeschooling today is an accepted alternative to an educational system that many believe is failing.

Câu 1. The number of parents who want to teach their own children in the U.S. is  

A. remaining unchanged

B. remaining the same

C. going up

D. going down

Câu 2. This estimated number was presented by    

A. a governmental office

B. school teachers

C. the parents

D. homeschooled children

Câu  3.  According  to  some  experts,  the  exact  number  of  homeschooled  children  then  must  be

A. 1,600,000

B. 850,000

C. 1,900,000

D. 1,700,000

Câu 4. The attitude of the author towards homeschooling can be best described as

A. acceptable

B. favorable

C. remarkable

D. unfavorable

Câu 5. More parents teach their children because they completely      the current educational system

A. please with

B. object to

C. appeal to

D. approve of

Câu 6. Many parents stop their children from going to school because it is now too    for them.

A. explosive

B. expensive

C. dangerous

D. humorous

Câu 7. Parents can teach children at home with the support of   

A. the internet, conventions along with support groups

B. support groups, teachers and websites

C. documents, websites and support groups

D. books, support groups and the Internet

Câu 8. Which is the best title for the passage?

A. Reasons for Homeschooling in the USA.

B. The Trend of Homeschooling in the USA.

C. Homeschooling-One of the Ways of Education in the

D. Education System in the

PASSAGE 29

Death of the classroom: The New Wave of Online Education

Picture a society where learning can happen at any time, in any place and can be completed without ever going to class. This could be the essence of education and the internet technology now exists to support such a system. The virtual classroom is here. If you are interested in English, or Civil Engineering, then head to the university and click yourself a degree. Well, maybe it’s not that easy, but you would be on the right track. The flexibility of studying at your own pace and the money you save with online courses are two of the main attractions.

The Web is a powerful educational tool. Yet some feel that virtual classrooms will isolate students from each other, which will result in problems developing interpersonal relationships and that these skills are much more important than computer skills. Should teachers teach kids how to behave in society, how to respect others and how to cooperate or should kids have already learned this from their parents? No  one is saying that social skills aren’t important, however, virtual classrooms are far about more than just computer skills. Some strongly believe that education can be taught via the Web and social skills can be gained from joining sports teams, summer camps, or just hanging out! Others argue that this virtual classroom may place pressure on students: to become computer literate or be left behind in life. Is this undue pressure or reality? Maybe being left behind in life is a little dramatic, but the reality is that the computer age is here. Whether you want to pay for your new jeans with your debit card, or check to see if the library has the book you want, you’re going to need some computer skills.

The development of flexible, inquiring minds has rarely been the main concern in the design of educational systems. After all, if you have over thirty inquiring minds and only one teacher, flexibility could be a problem. It seems that developing students’ proper social behaviour has always exceeded the concern to develop students’ creativity. Computer technology can make individualized attention a real possibility. At the Institute for the Learning Sciences, systems are being developed to allow people to try out things in simulated worlds. This technology will allow for the individual creative growth in students.

The Web will provide amazing opportunities for the education of our society. Anyone with a phone line and a computer has access to unlimited amounts of knowledge and programs designed to help them learn and understand. The teachers and parents involved with these programs will be given the job of making sure that students lead well-balanced lives that combine Web-based education and positive social interaction with their friends and neighbors. Imagine your recreation room has now become your classroom and your parents seem to be doing as much homework as you are! So, be prepared as the virtual classroom may find its way to a computer screen near you!

Câu 1. What is the author’s overall attitude towards a virtual classroom?

A. He is enthusiastic.

B. He is skeptical.

C. He is indifferent.       

D. He is disapproving.

Câu 2. Why are people attracted to online education?

A. Because it is cheap and flexible.

B. Because it is fashionable and new.

C. Because it is powerful and easy.

D. Because it is unlimited and fast.

Câu 3. What do the opponents of online education maintain?

A. The virtual classroom will result in dramatic

B. The virtual classroom will place a burden on

C. Students’ academic performance will

D. Students cannot ignore the reality of the computer

Câu 4. The word “computer literate” in paragraph 2 is closet in meaning to ?

A. computer based

B. unable to use computer

C. computerized

D. able to use computer

Câu 5. What do the advocates of online education maintain

A. It develops computer skills.

B. It increases student’s social skills.

C. It will boost student’s creativity.

D. It complements education at home.

Câu 6. Why does the author mention “over thirty inquiring minds and only one teacher”?

A. To prove that inquiring minds have been the main concern of the educational

B. To prove that teachers overestimate the value of students’ social

C. To prove that individualized attention is hardly possible in a traditional

D. To prove that teachers feel no special concern for developing students’

Câu 7. What role are parents supposed to play in the web-based education of society?

A. They will have to do home assignments together with their

B. They will have to balance social activities and learning of their

C. They will have to control the virtual and real-life activities of their

D. They will have to help their kids get access to the virtual

Câu 8. The word “essence” in the first paragraph mostly means”         ”.

A. substance

B. abstract

C. description

D. exteriority

PASSAGE 30

In today’s fast-paced industry, learning will most likely involve seeking new skills in ways that challenge the norm. But thankfully, there is promise for such lifelong learning online–a promise that will save you time and money while helping you earn more of both.

Provided you have access to a decent computer and the Internet, the barrier to getting started is probably lower than it ever has been. And with those things in place, it is a matter of finding the content you wish to learn. So, to help others who may be looking to maximize their own learning efforts, I have listed some quick tips below.

First, set achievable goals. When you start learning, it is a good idea to set goals about what you want to learn or what you might do with your newly acquired knowledge. It might be landing that new job, building a tangible product, or impressing your current management. The goals may vary in size and complexity, but do revisit these goals throughout your learning process. Within a couple weeks ask yourself, “Am I getting closer to my goal?” or “Am I learning the skills necessary to reach my goals?” If you are not, then you may need to look elsewhere.

Second, learn with others. By yourself, learning anything has a high propensity to become frustrating. Try teaming up with friends or colleagues. They can often be your best resource for maintaining motivation while you learn.

Third, make it a habit. Online habits often include scrolling through social media or watching videos on Youtube. If you have the downtime for such activities, then you could spend that downtime learning something. And why not learn something? If you do, then you will have plenty more to talk about on social media anyways. So, make learning your new online habit by making a commitment to learn something new each day.

Câu 1. What does the word “both” in Paragraph 1 refer to?

A. Time and money

B. Lifelong and online learning

C. New skills and ways

D. Industry and technology

Câu 2. According to the passage, what are the basic condition for online learning?

A. A smartphone and a 4-G sim card

B. A computer and the Internet

C. A goal and learning efforts

D. A content and the wish to learn

Câu 3. According to the passage, what is the first step of learning online?

A. Buying a computer and having it checked every two

B. Landing a new job and building a tangible

C. Setting practical goals and checking them

D. Varying your goals in size as well as

Câu 4. What is the word “commitment” in the last paragraph closest in meaning to?

A. a rule

B. a chance

C. a need    

D. a situation

Câu 5. What is the passage mainly about?

A. Tips for lifelong learning

B. Advantages of the Internet

C. Changes of technology

D. Effects of social media