Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to choose the word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 26 to 30. WHY

WE NEED TO PROTECT POLAR BEARS?

Polar bears are being increasingly threatened by the effects of climate change, but their disappearance could have (26) ______ consequences. They are uniquely adapted to the extreme conditions of the Arctic Circle, (27) __________ temperatures can reach -40°C. One reason for this is that they have up to 11 centimetres of fat underneath their skin. Humans with comparative levels of adipose tissue would be considered obese and would be likely to suffer from diabetes and heart disease. (28) ______ the polar bear experiences no such consequences. A 2014 study by Shi Ping Liu and colleagues sheds light on this mystery. They compared the genetic structure of polar bears with (29) __________ of their closest relatives from a warmer climate, the brown bears. This allowed them to determine the genes that have allowed polar bears to survive in one of the toughest environments on Earth. Liu and his colleagues found the polar bears had a gene known as APOB, which reduces levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) - a form of 'bad' cholesterol. In humans, mutations of this gene are (30) _______ with increased risk of heart disease. Polar bears may therefore be an important study model to understand heart disease in humans. (Adapted from Cambridge English Academic IELTS 16 by Cambridge University Press)

Câu 34:

Polar bears are being increasingly threatened by the effects of climate change, but their disappearance could have (26) ______ consequences.

A. far-flung

B. far-fetched

C. far-reaching

D. far-sighted

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Câu 35:

They are uniquely adapted to the extreme conditions of the Arctic Circle, (27) __________ temperatures can reach -40°C.

A. which

B. that

C. who

D. where

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Câu 36:

(28) ______ the polar bear experiences no such consequences.

A. So

B. Yet

C. For instance

D. And

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Câu 37:

They compared the genetic structure of polar bears with (29) __________ of their closest relatives from a warmer climate, the brown bears.

A. this

B. such

C. none

D. that

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Câu 38:

In humans, mutations of this gene are (30) _______ with increased risk of heart disease.

A. dealed

B. confronted

C. covered

D. associated

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Đoạn văn 1

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 31 to 35.

When you wake up in the morning, do you assume that you're going to have a great day or that you're going to have a difficult day? If you normally have positive expectations, you might consider yourself an optimist, and if your expectations are usually negative, you may be a pessimist. According to research done by the Mayo Clinic, optimism can have a strong positive effect on your health. Their research shows that optimists may live longer, get colds less often, and be less likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease. Optimists may even deal with stress better than pessimists do. If you think you might be a pessimist and would like to try to be more optimistic, pay attention to what some call “self-talk.” The term “self-talk” refers to the automatic thoughts that go through your head all the time. You know-the ideas, worries, beliefs, and hopes that run through your mind as you're driving, washing dishes, folding laundry. Are those thoughts negative like, “Everyone knows so much more than I do,” or positive like, “I'm learning a lot at this job”? If your self-talk is negative, there are some things you can do to steer it in a more positive direction. First, you can simply stop your negative self-talk. Every time you catch yourself thinking something negative, you can stop yourself by actually saying, “Stop,” out loud. Alternatively, you can revise your self-talk. For example, if you catch yourself saying, “I’m terrible at giving presentations,” revise that to a question like, “How can I improve my presentation skills?” Another idea is to think of yourself as a friend. When you “hear” a negative sentence go through your mind, think about whether or not you would feel comfortable saying it to a friend. If the sentence seems too mean to say to a friend, think about what would sound better. (Adapted from Select Readings by Linda Lee and Jean Bernard)

Câu 39:

Which could be the best title for the passage?

A. Are you an optimist or a pessimist?

B. Self-talk for health.

C. Thinking negatively: Is it all bad?

D. Treat yourself better!

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Câu 40:

According to paragraph 2, what is NOT a benefit to thinking positively?

A. improved life expectancy

B. catch colds less frequently

C. totally free from stress

D. less chance to contract serious diseases

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Câu 41:

The word “steer” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to _______.

A. remove

B. generate

C. turn

D. develop

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Câu 42:

The word “it” in paragraph 4 refers to _______.

A. a negative thought

B. an important sentence

C. a friend

D. a stupid question

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Câu 43:

Which of the following is true, according to the passage?

A. Most people tend to engage in negative thoughts rather than positive ones.

B. There is a direct correlation between optimism and health.

C. Presentation skills are not as important as your optimistic thoughts.

D. You can create conscious thoughts from your head all the time.

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Đoạn văn 2

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 36 to 42.

One of my favorite movies is When Harry Met Sally. I can watch it again and again and love it every single time - maybe even more than I did before. There’s a scene that will be familiar to any of the movie’s fans: Harry and Sally have just set off on their drive to New York City and Harry starts telling Sally about his dark side. He mentions one thing in particular: whenever he starts a new book, he reads the last page first. That way, in case he dies while reading it, he’ll know how it ends. Harry will know how it ends, true, but doesn’t that also ruin the book? If you know the ending, how can you enjoy the story? As it turns out, easily. A study in this month’s issue of Psychological Science comes to a surprising conclusion: spoilers don’t actually spoil anything. In fact, they may even serve to enhance the experience of reading. Over 800 students from the University of California San Diego took part in a series of three experiments, where they read one of three types of short story: a story with an ironic twist (such as Roald Dahl), a mystery (such as Agatha Christie), and a literary story (such as Raymond Carver). For each story, there was a spoiler paragraph that revealed the outcome. The students read the stories either with or without the spoiler. Time to reconsider, it seems, what we call a spoiler. The so-called “spoiled” stories were actually rated as more enjoyable than those that were “unspoiled,” no matter what type of story was being read. Knowing the ending, even when suspense was part of the story’s goal, made the process of reading more, not less, pleasurable. Why would this be the case? Perhaps, freed from following the plot, we can pay more attention to the quality of the writing and to the subtleties of the story as a whole. Perhaps we can be more attuned to those signs that foreshadow the unfolding of the action and take pleasure in our ability to identify them. Whatever the case may be, it may not be as urgent as we think it is to avoid spoilers. Indeed, it might be just fine to embrace them openly. Harry might have the right idea after all. In fact, he might be getting at the very thing that lets me watch him meet Sally over and over and over again, and enjoy the process every single time. (Adapted from New English File Advanced by Christina Latham-Koenig, Clive Oxeden and Jerry Lambert)

Câu 44: