Câu hỏi 1 (8 điểm):
Questions 1-8: TRUE/ FALSE/ NOT GIVEN
| Paragraph | Questions |
| The cutting of huge figures or geoglyphs into the earth of English hillsides has taken place for more than 3,000 years. There are 56 hill figures scattered around England, with the vast majority on the chalk downlands of the country’s southern counties. The figures include giants, horses, crosses and regimental badges. Although the majority of these geoglyphs date within the last 300 years or so, there are one or two that are much older. | 1. Most geoglyphs in England are located in a particular area of the country. => 2. There are more geoglyphs in the shape of a horse than any other creature. => |
| The most famous of these figures is perhaps also the most mysterious — the Uffington White Horse in Oxfordshire. The White Horse has recently been re-dated and shown to be even older than its previously assigned ancient pre-Roman Iron Age date. More controversial is the date of the enigmatic Long Man of Wilmington in Sussex. While many historians are convinced the figure is prehistoric, others believe that it was the work of an artistic monk from a nearby priory and was created between the 11th and 15th centuries. | 3. A recent dating of the Uffington White Horse indicates that people were mistaken about its age. => 4. Historians have come to an agreement about the origins of the Long Man of Wilmington. => |
| The method of cutting these huge figures was simply to remove the overlying grass to reveal the gleaming white chalk below. However, the grass would soon grow over the geoglyph again unless it was regularly cleaned or scoured by a fairly large team of people. One reason that the vast majority of hill figures have disappeared is that when the traditions associated with the figures faded, people no longer bothered or remembered to clear away the grass to expose the chalk outline. Furthermore, over hundreds of years the outlines would sometimes change due to people not always cutting in exactly the same place, thus creating a different shape to the original geoglyph. The fact that any ancient hill figures survive at all in England today is testament to the strength and continuity of local customs and beliefs which, in one case at least, must stretch back over millennia. | 5. Geoglyphs were created by people placing white chalk on the hillside. => 6. Many geoglyphs in England are no longer visible. => 7. The shape of some geoglyphs has been altered over time. => |
| The Uffington White Horse is a unique, stylised representation of a horse consisting of a long, sleek back, thin disjointed legs, a streaming tail, and a bird-like beaked head. The elegant creature almost melts into the landscape. The horse is situated 2.5 km from Uffington village on a steep slope close to the Late Bronze Age (c. 7th century BCE) hillfort of Uffington Castle and below the Ridgeway, a long-distance Neolithic track. | 8. The fame of the Uffington White Horse is due to its size. => |
Câu hỏi 2 (6 điểm):
Questions 21-26: YES/ NO/ NOT GIVEN
| Paragraph | Questions |
| The most recent research actually turns accepted norms upside down. For example, there are studies indicating that the excessive use of household detergents and antibacterial products actually destroys the microbes that normally keep the more dangerous germs at bay. Other studies show that keeping a dog as a pet gives children early exposure to a diverse range of bacteria, which may help protect them against allergies later. | 21. It is possible that using antibacterial products in the home fails to have the desired effect. => 22. It is a good idea to ensure that children come into contact with as few bacteria as possible. => |
| The readers of Yong’s book must be prepared for a decidedly unglamorous world. Among the less appealing case studies is one about a fungus that is wiping out entire populations of frogs and that can be halted by a rare microbial bacterium. Another is about squid that carry luminescent bacteria that protect them against predators. However, if you can overcome your distaste for some of the investigations, the reasons for Yong’s enthusiasm become clear. The microbial world is a place of wonder. Already, in an attempt to stop mosquitoes spreading dengue fever — a disease that infects 400 million people a year — mosquitoes are being loaded with a bacterium to block the disease. In the future, our ability to manipulate microbes means we could construct buildings with useful microbes built into their walls to fight off infections. Just imagine a neonatal hospital ward coated in a specially mixed cocktail of microbes so that babies get the best start in life. | 23. Yong’s book contains more case studies than are necessary. => 24. The case study about bacteria that prevent squid from being attacked may have limited appeal. => 25. Efforts to control dengue fever have been surprisingly successful. => 26. Microbes that reduce the risk of infection have already been put inside the walls of some hospital wards. => |
Câu hỏi 3 (5 điểm):
Questions 36-40: TRUE/ FALSE/ NOT GIVEN
| Paragraph | Questions |
For example, in one experiment that took place during the peak of a recent economic recession, graduating college seniors were asked to reflect on their job prospects. The students were instructed to imagine their career either ‘as if you were a distant observer’ or ‘before your own eyes as if you were right there’. Participants in the group assigned to the ‘distant observer’ role displayed more wisdom-related reasoning (intellectual humility and recognition of change) than did participants in the control group. In another study, couples in long-term romantic relationships were instructed to visualize an unresolved relationship conflict either through the eyes of an outsider or from their own perspective. Participants then discussed the incident with their partner for 10 minutes, after which they wrote down their thoughts about it. Couples in the ‘other’s eyes’ condition were significantly more likely to rely on wise reasoning — recognizing others’ perspectives and searching for a compromise — compared to the couples in the egocentric condition. | 36. Students participating in the job prospects experiment could choose one of two perspectives to take. => 37. Participants in the couples experiment were aware that they were taking part in a study about wise reasoning. => 38. In the couples experiment, the length of the couples’ relationship had an impact on the results. => 39. In both experiments, the participants who looked at the situation from a more detached viewpoint tended to make wiser decisions. => |
| We might associate wisdom with intelligence or particular personality traits, but research shows only a small positive relationship between wise thinking and crystallized intelligence and the personality traits of openness and agreeableness. ‘It is remarkable how much people can vary in their wisdom from one situation to the next, and how much stronger such contextual effects are for understanding the relationship between wise judgment and its social and affective outcomes as compared to the generalized “traits”,’ Grossmann explains. ‘That is, knowing how wisely a person behaves in a given situation is more informative for understanding their emotions or likelihood to forgive (or) retaliate as compared to knowing whether the person may be wise “in general”. | 40. Grossmann believes that a person’s wisdom is determined by their intelligence to only a very limited extent. => |
