Bài Tập Trắc Nghiệm Chuyên Đề: Đọc hiểu: từ quy chiếu (Tiếng Anh Lớp 10, 11, 12)

When I saw her name on the screen, it took me right back to the moment she had moved away with her family ten years before. We had been such close friends at primary school. To begin with, she and I had not hit it off, perhaps because we were both timid. We had quickly got over that, though, and as time went on, we had become really good friends, until you almost never saw one of us without the other. And now after so much time apart, there was her name. She had sent me a friend request. I knew she had been living abroad, and her profile picture showed her on the beach. I had been expecting her to look different after ten years. The girl in the photo was the same old Lauren, though. Nowadays, it is easy to find old friends thanks to social networking sites. There are lots of stories about long lost friends getting back in touch after years apart. It was odd because I had been thinking about our friendship too and now here she was! She told me about the place where she had been living for the past ten years, and I told her about things that had happened to me. Before long, the years melted away and we were the same two girls who had spent so much time together. Of course, true friends are loyal and listen to you when you are down. And they are the people you have fun with. But deep down, I realised that the truest friends are those you are most yourself with. And that is something that never changes. That is what Lauren and I learned that day, the day we realised our friendship was so precious and had never really ended in the first place.

As Australia’s largest and oldest city, Sydney carries many traces of its history. Time seems to stand still in the city’s old streets and in its many magnificent, ancient buildings, such as the Sydney Town Hall, the Queen Victoria Building, and St. Mary’s Cathedral. To explore the city’s present and past, head for The Rocks - the oldest neighbourhood in Australia and Sydney, where sandstone houses built in the 18th century still stand. You can stroll through the pretty streets, visit a traditional pub for some craft beer, and try delicious local dishes. Sydney is blessed with natural gifts that few cities can rival. This city is full of greenery. Parks and nature reserves mingle with urban areas. Thanks to this, you need not travel far to see rare species in numerous city zoos; or enjoy fresh air and a range of plants from all corners of the world, all gathered in boundless parks. For those visitors keen to explore the sea, Sydney is heaven with over 70 spectacular bays and beaches. These include beautiful Bondi Beach, which is said to be the loveliest on the planet, where visitors can sunbathe, and play various water sports. Sydney is said to be a miniature world of attractions, captivating visitors. It is a must-go destination on every tourist’s bucket list, should they visit the beautiful land of Australia.

When I saw her name on the screen, it took me right back to the moment she had moved away with her family ten years before. We had been such close friends at primary school. To begin with, she and I had not hit it off, perhaps because we were both timid. We had quickly got over that, though, and as time went on, we had become really good friends, until you almost never saw one of us without the other. And now after so much time apart, there was her name. She had sent me a friend request. I knew she had been living abroad, and her profile picture showed her on the beach. I had been expecting her to look different after ten years. The girl in the photo was the same old Lauren, though. Nowadays, it is easy to find old friends thanks to social networking sites. There are lots of stories about long lost friends getting back in touch after years apart. It was odd because I had been thinking about our friendship too and now here she was! She told me about the place where she had been living for the past ten years, and I told her about things that had happened to me. Before long, the years melted away and we were the same two girls who had spent so much time together. Of course, true friends are loyal and listen to you when you are down. And they are the people you have fun with. But deep down, I realised that the truest friends are those you are most yourself with. And that is something that never changes. That is what Lauren and I learned that day, the day we realised our friendship was so precious and had never really ended in the first place.

The concept of traffic-free shopping areas goes back a long time. During the Middle Ages, traffic-free shopping areas were built in Middle Eastern countries to allow people to shop in comfort and, more importantly, safety. As far back as 2000 years ago, road traffic was banned from central Rome during the day to allow for the free movement of pedestrians. The modern, traffic-free shopping street was born in Europe in the 1960s, when both city populations and car ownership increased rapidly. Dirty exhaust from cars and the risks involved in crossing the road were beginning to make shopping an unpleasant and dangerous experience. Many believed the time was right for experimenting with car-free streets, and shopping areas seemed the best place to start. At first, there was resistance from shopkeepers. They argued that people would avoid streets if they were unable to get to them in their cars. When the first streets in Europe were closed to traffic, there were even noisy demonstrations, as many shopkeepers predicted they would lose customers. With the arrival of the traffic-free shopping street, many shops, especially those selling things like clothes, food and smaller luxury items, prospered. Unfortunately, shops selling furniture and larger electrical appliances actually saw their sales drop. Many of these were forced to move elsewhere, away from the city centre.

Machines already perform a lot of tasks that were usually done by humans, such as building cars, doing complex calculations, and even marking exam papers. But now it seems that ever more intelligent machines are straying into areas where we never envisaged they would go. We have always taken pride in having a unique kind of intelligence that machines could never match, one which allows us to think of new ideas and produce creative and artistic works. But it seems that even here, computers are lining up to compete with us. Machines can easily be trained to do the physical work of producing art. About ten years ago, a painting robot known as e-David was created at a university in Germany. And recently in New York, the painting ‘Portrait of Edmond de Belamy’ has been auctioned for nearly half a million dollars. What made it a bit unusual was that the idea, and the image itself, was produced entirely by a computer. A group of young French artists gave instructions to the computer, aiming simply to show that computers can be creative. Some artists are now working with computers to produce a new kind of art. Computer-generated works of art are certainly interesting, and make us think about the limits of what machines can and cannot do. But not everyone would accept that they qualify as art. Some enthusiasts would argue they do, and the collectors willing to pay high prices for these works would suggest there is definitely a market for computer art. Others, however, would disagree. Many ‘real’ artists would claim that art is an expression of human intelligence and human emotions. More importantly, it is about a desire to communicate with other people. These things, they argue, are part of being human and can never be produced by a machine.

Many children have music classes when they attend school. And it is thought that music can help them learn other subjects better. Research has shown that it can improve children’s performances in certain subjects. Some studies have shown that music training can help you understand your own language better. It could also help you with learning a second one. Moreover, young people who have studied music also seem to get higher scores in other subjects like maths. So it could be that these school subjects are connected in some way. Music also helps you think of new ideas, and believe more in yourself. If you are learning the guitar, for example, it can be really exciting when you are able to start composing your own pieces of music. One of the biggest benefits, of course, is that listening to music can reduce your stress. And composing music can make you feel the same way. Maybe your musical knowledge will even open up a great career path for you in the future!

When it comes to ambition, no two people are alike. Every class has its outstanding students, every company has its wonderful employees, and every family has its successful members. Then there is someone who is happy with whatever life brings. So what makes us different? A person’s desire to succeed depends on so many factors. He or she may have goals, but without the ambition to get started, they never take the first steps to achieve them. Similarly, those with an ambition but no clear goals tend to begin many projects, but do not ever follow them till the end. Although there are not any strict rules about how to ‘teach’ ambition or what decides it, many successful people do share some things. Most scientists agree that it helps to have parents who encourage their children to try new experiences, praise their successes, and accept their failures. In those families, kids often have much higher confidence levels. They know how to set goals and keep trying until they achieve them. Money also plays an important role. Those who are not very rich often want to earn money. It forces them to work hard all the time to improve their life. However, the desire for success can create its own stress. Working too hard to achieve success can lead to illnesses. These days, even teens and young adults are feeling the stress. Trying to get into good colleges and find good jobs has forced high school students to study harder than ever. For many, it is difficult to find the balance. One solution may be to get together with family and friends, and do the things we enjoy. Most would agree that those values are far more important than any wealth or success.

Many children have music classes when they attend school. And it is thought that music can help them learn other subjects better. Research has shown that it can improve children's performances in certain subjects. Some studies have shown that music training can help you understand your own language better. It could also help you with learning a second one. Moreover, young people who have studied music also seem to get higher scores in other subjects like maths. So it could be that these school subjects are connected in some way. Music also helps you think of new ideas and believe more in yourself. If you are learning the guitar, for example, it can be really exciting when you are able to start composing your own pieces of music. One of the biggest benefits, of course, is that listening to music can reduce your stress. And composing music can make you feel the same way. Maybe your musical knowledge will even open up a great career path for you in the future!

When it comes to ambition, no two people are alike. Every class has its outstanding students, every company has its wonderful employees, and every family has its successful members. Then there is someone who is happy with whatever life brings. So what makes us different? A person's desire to succeed depends on so many factors. He or she may have goals, but without the ambition to get started, they never take the first steps to achieve them. Similarly, those with an ambition but no clear goals tend to begin many projects, but do not ever follow them till the end. Although there are not any strict rules about how to teach 'ambition' or what decides it, many successful people do share some things. Most scientists agree that it helps to have parents who encourage the children to try new experiences, praise their successes, and accept their failures. In those families, kids often have much higher confidence levels. They know how to set goals and keep trying until they achieve them. Money also plays an important role. Those who are not very rich often want to earn money. It forces them to work hard all the time and improve their life. However, the desire for success can create its own stress. Working too hard to achieve success can lead to illnesses. These days, even teens and young adults are feeling the stress. Trying to get into good colleges and find good jobs have forced high school students to study harder than ever. For many, it is difficult to find the balance. One solution may be to get together with family and friends, and do the things we enjoy. Most would agree that those values are far more important than any wealth or success.

Since the 19th century, companies have looked for better and cleaner ways of creating electricity. One UK company has created a special type of floor made of square tiles. Under each square, there is a system that can create electricity very cheaply when someone steps on it! The design of the floor works very well when it is used in very busy areas. And the reason is that a lot of energy is created simply because of the large numbers of people walking across the floor. The floor can have other uses too; one of them is to record how many people visit a shopping centre. This kind of information is very useful for shop owners because very often they want to know at which times of days they have the highest numbers of customers. So the next time you visit a big shopping centre, have a careful look at the floor that you are walking across!

Today, text-messaging has probably become young people’s most common form of communication. Some teachers think that because of this, young people are not writing correctly at school. They fear that once students get used to it, they will find it hard to switch back to using correct grammar and spelling. How did things begin this way? It all began with e-mail, online chat-rooms, and games. Then step by step young people made sentences, phrases and words shorter. As text-messaging continued to become popular, people invented more and more words. Today, it is like a real language with its own grammar and vocabulary. The growth of text-messaging has raised an important question: As students become fluent in text-messaging, do their writing skills suffer? People have different ideas about the effects of text-messaging on students’ writing skills. Some say that students are losing the ability to write long, correct sentences. Others say that text-messaging is having a good effect on the language students use in their schoolwork. It shows that they are creative and good at expressing themselves. And if students can keep the two systems separate - one for text-messaging and one for school - this will help students appreciate reading and writing more. Some people suggest that one way to reduce the bad effects of text-messaging is to find ways to use technology as a positive learning tool. For example, students can be allowed to type their assignments in a cell phone message and send them to their teachers, but they must type correctly. In this way, students are using the technology that they are familiar with to communicate in a form of language suitable for schoolwork. It shows students that text-messaging is fine for social communication, but correct grammar and spelling are necessary for communication in school.

Since the 19th century, companies have looked for better and cleaner ways of creating electricity. One UK company has created a special type of floor made of square tiles. Under each square, there is a system that can create electricity very cheaply when someone steps on it!

The design of the floor works very well when it is used in very busy areas. And the reason is that a lot of energy is created simply because of the large numbers of people walking across the floor.

The floor can have other uses too; one of them is to record how many people visit a shopping centre. This kind of information is very useful for shop owners because very often they want to know at which times of days they have the highest numbers of customers. So the next time you visit shopping centre, have a careful look at the floor that you are walking across!

Today, text-messaging has probably become young people’s most common form of communication. Some teachers think that because of this, young people are not writing correctly at school. They fear that once students get used to it, they will find it hard to switch back to using correct grammar and spelling. How did things begin this way?

It all began with e-mail, online chat rooms, and games. Then step by step young people made sentences, phrases and words shorter. As text-messaging continued to become popular, people invented more and more words. Today, it is like a real language with its own grammar and vocabulary. The growth of text-messaging has raised an important question: As students become fluent in text-messaging, do their writing skills suffer?

People have different ideas about the effects of text-messaging on students’ writing skills. Some say that students are losing the ability to write long, correct sentences. Others say that text-messaging is having a good effect on the language students use in their schoolwork. It shows that they are creative and good at expressing themselves. And if students can keep the two systems separate - one for text-messaging and one for school - this will help students appreciate reading and writing more.

Some people suggest that one way to reduce the bad effects of text-messaging is to find ways to use technology as a positive learning tool. For example, students can be allowed to type their assignments in a cell phone message and send them to their teachers, but they must type correctly. In this way, students are using the technology that they are familiar with to communicate in a form of language suitable for schoolwork. It shows students that text-messaging is fine for social communication, but correct grammar and spelling are necessary for communication in school.

More and more young people are choosing to take a gap year between finishing school and starting university. Alternatively, they may decide to take a gap year between graduating from university and starting a career feeling the need for some time out before joining the rat race. Most students see the time as an opportunity to travel. The idea of travelling to as many foreign places as possible appeals greatly. A large percentage of gap-year students have wealthy parents who can easily subsidize their travel. Others have to save up before they go, or look for some form of employment while travelling For example, they may work on local farms or in local hotels. By doing so, they not only earn some money, but they are likely to meet local people and acquire some understanding of their culture. There are some students who choose to work for the whole of their gap year. A number may decide to get work experience, either at home or abroad, in an area which they hope to make their career, such as medicine or computers. A large proportion of students are now choosing to work with a charity which arranges voluntary work in various parts of the world. The projects provide hands-on experience of a very varied nature, from teaching to helping build roads or dams. The gap year is not just an adventure. Young people can benefit greatly from encountering new and varied experiences and from communication with a wide range of people. Perhaps most importantly, gap-year students have to learn to stand on their own two feet.

For many years, schoolchildren in the US have been taken on 'field trips’ to cultural institutions and historical sites. Despite these trips involving some expense and disruption to class timetables, educators arrange them in the belief that schools exist not only to teach economically useful skills, but also to produce civilised young people who appreciate the arts and culture. However, there have been increasing signs in recent years that the attitude towards field trips is changing, with a significant decrease in the number of tours organised for school groups. A survey carried out by a group of school administrators found that over half the schools they asked had decided to cancel trips planned for the next academic year. So what are the reasons for this change? The most obvious one is the issue of finance. Because there are increasing demands on their funds, schools are forced to make a difficult choice about how to spend the limited money they have. Field trips are an obvious thing to cut since they are seen by many as a luxury. A large number of school heads also consider days spent away from school a waste of time, believing that the only worthwhile use of students' time is spent preparing for exams in the classroom. But why should anybody worry if schoolchildren go on fewer trips? Those that believe this is a negative development in education would say that cultural field trips contribute to the development of students into well-educated adults who have a healthy interest in history and the arts. Researchers warn that if schools cut field trips, then valuable opportunities to broaden and enrich children's learning experiences are lost.

I have not paid a single electricity bill since the year 1970, says Richard Perez with noticeable glee. He can afford to be smug. He lives off-grid - unconnected to the power grid and the water, gas and sewerage supplies that most people in the world rely on. He generates his own electricity, sources his own water and deals with his own waste disposal - and he prefers it that way. There are times when the grid blacks out, he says. I really like the security of having my own electricity company. Perez is not alone. Once the preserve of mavericks, hippies and survivalists, there are now approximately 200,000 off-grid households in the United States of America, a figure that Perez says has been increasing by a third every year for the past decade. For all of the people who live off-grid, self-sufficiency means guilt-free energy consumption and peace of mind. It feels brilliant to make use of clean, free energy that is not from fossil fuels, says Suzanne Galant, a writer who lives off-grid in a rural area in Wales. And if something goes wrong, we can fix it ourselves. Now even urbanites are seeing the appeal of generating some if not all of their own power needs. So is energy freedom an eco pipe-dream or the ultimate good life? Well, there is only one way to find out: begin to explore the possibilities of solar, wind or hydro power. But unless you live on a sunny, south-facing hillside with access to a nearby river or stream, that might prove prohibitively expensive! There is no doubt that being off-grid has its problems, and it is not always the cheapest way to get the energy you need. Even so, pioneers like Perez have proved that it can be done, and without giving up a 21-century lifestyle: I have got five personal computers, two laser scanners, two fridge-freezers, a microwave, a convection oven, vacuum cleaners - you name it, says Perez There is an external beam antenna on the roof for the phone and a satellite dish for an Internet connection. I have got 70 kWh in batteries that could last me five days. I have too much electricity. Too much electricity and no more bills. That has got to be worth aiming for.

Most of us have taken a selfie at one time or another, be it a photo of ourselves in a beautiful place, during a performance by our favourite band, or on a memorable night out with friends. But today, more and more people are putting their lives at risk in an attempt to get the most shocking pictures to share on social media. In several cases, this action has had disastrous consequences. Take, for example, the Spaniard who was killed by a bull while he was taking a selfie during the annual bull run in a village near his hometown, or the Singaporean tourist who died when he fell from cliffs on the coast of Bali. Such incidents have led to the death toll from selfie-related incidents reaching double figures for the first time in 2015, overtaking the number of victims of shark attacks. Despite the risks, social media is full of pictures featuring near misses that could have been fatal under other circumstances. Under the caption 'Most dangerous selfie ever', a woman posing at a stadium can be seen narrowly avoiding being hit in the head by a baseball approaching her. Yet the photo has received thousands of 'likes', and the comments below it suggest that this behaviour is something to be admired. In response to the increasing threat posed by the selfie, the authorities have started to take action. The Russian Interior Ministry, for instance, has launched a public education campaign advising selfie-takers against balancing on dangerous surfaces or posing with their pets, among other things. But if instructions like this are really necessary, then perhaps it is about time we asked ourselves which is more important, a 'like' or a life?

One day, a middle-aged man asked a taxi to take him to see Chelsea play Arsenal at football. He told the driver 'Stamford Bridge', the name of Chelsea's stadium, but he was delivered instead to the village of Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire. Of course, he missed the match. What had happened? With the Sat-Nay system in place, the driver in this story felt he did not need to know where he was going. He confidently outsourced the job of knowing this information to the Sat-Nav. Using an Internet search engine takes a broadband user less than a second. And with smartphones at hand, people will be online almost all of the time. The same could be true of university education. Today, the average student seems not to value general knowledge. If asked a factual question, they will usually click on a search engine without a second thought. Actually knowing the fact and committing it to memory does not seem to be an issue, it's the ease with which we can look it up. However, general knowledge has never been something that you acquire formally. Instead, we pick it up from all sorts of sources as we go along, often absorbing facts without realising. The question remains, then: is the Internet threatening general knowledge? When I put that to Moira Jones, expert in designing IQ tests, she referred me to the story of the Egyptian god Thoth. It goes like this: Thoth offers writing as a gift to the king of Egypt, declaring it an 'elixir of memory and wisdom.' But the king is horrified, and tells him: 'This invention will induce forgetfulness in the souls of those who have learned it, because they will not need to exercise their memories, being able to rely on what is written.' Who wants to be a millionaire finalist David Swift, responding to the same question, recognises that there was a problem of young people saying: 'I don't need to know that', but he is far more excited about the educational potential of the Internet. 'There is so much more information out there, giving people opportunities to boost their general knowledge.' After all, the Internet might just help us to forget more and more. But meanwhile, the continuing popularity of quizzes and game-shows shows us that general knowledge is strong enough to remain.

Staying in hotels and resorts has been a traditional part of travel since the beginning of mass tourism. But nowadays, many tourists want a more intimate experience. For this reason, they are choosing to 'go native'. This often means staying in the kinds of places that local people inhabit. In big cities, you can try staying with the friend of a friend. You may end up sleeping on the couch or the floor, but the advantages outweigh the discomfort. The biggest plus is that you'll be staying with a local and seeing the city from a local perspective. Another option is house-swapping. Several websites allow you to connect with people who want to trade living situations. It's usual to exchange emails about favourite places in the city before the swap, meaning you can have a truly local experience. But of course, you can only do this if you don't mind having strangers staying in your house. For the more adventurous, staying in a native structure in an African village or a hut on the water in Vietnam or Thailand can be real thrill. These might not even include plumbing or electricity, and that is part of the charm. The experience of dealing with oil lamps and carrying water really gives you a sense of how the people live. No matter how unadventurous you feel, you might want to consider crossing hotels off your list. Getting to know the local way of life is the most valuable part of travel. And what better way is there to do this than staying where the local people actually live?

One day, a middle-aged man asked a taxi to take him to see Chelsea play Arsenal at football. He told the driver 'Stamford Bridge', the name of Chelsea's stadium, but he was delivered instead to the village of Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire. Of course, he missed the match. What had happened? With the Sat-Nav system in place, the driver in this story felt he did not need to know where he was going. He confidently outsourced the job of knowing this information to the Sat-Nav. Using an Internet search engine takes a broadband user less than a second. And with smartphones at hand, people will be online almost all of the time. The same could be true of university education. Today, the average student seems not to value general knowledge. If asked a factual question, they will usually click on a search engine without a second thought. Actually knowing the fact and committing it to memory does not seem to be an issue, it's the case with which we can look it up. However, general knowledge has never been something that you acquire formally. Instead, we pick it up from all sorts of sources as we go along, often absorbing facts without realising. The question remains, then: is the Internet threatening general knowledge? When I put that to Moira Jones, expert in designing IQ tests, she referred me to the story of the Egyptian god Thoth. It goes like this: Thoth offers writing as a gift to the king of Egypt, declaring it an 'elixir of memory and wisdom.' But the king is horrified, and tells him: 'This invention will induce forgetfulness in the souls of those who have learned it, because they will not need to exercise their memories, being able to rely on what is written.' Who wants to be a millionaire finalist David Swift, responding to the same question, recognises that there was a problem of young people saying: 'I don't need to know that', but he is far more excited about the educational potential of the Internet. 'There is so much more information out there, giving people opportunities to boost their general knowledge.' After all, the Internet might just help us to forget more and more. But meanwhile, the continuing popularity of quizzes and game-shows shows us that general knowledge is strong enough to remain.