Read the passage. Circle the best answer A, B, C, or D to each of the questions.

My city has been changing since the municipal authority had a plan to renovate the canal systems. The project cost a huge amount of money which was from the support of the world bank and the city’s budget. Before the renovation, the canal was the dirtiest place full of rubbish along its sides. Many ramshackle shacks were built to be shelters of the impoverished working families migrating to this city to earn their living. Household wastes were directly dumped into the canal, resulting in the very contaminated environment. It was said that the very unpleasant smell releasing from the canal was unable to be eliminated, and the living condition there would not be better. However, thanks to the advanced technology and methods as well as the city authority’s effort, everything has been changing. There is no longer the disgusting smell or shabby houses along both sides of the canal. Instead, the road running parallel to the canal is now full of shade of greenery and the water now is so clean that it is a friendly habitat for a variety of fish. The residents now can walk or do morning exercise on the sidewalks along the banks to enjoy the fresh atmosphere. Former inhabitants are also relocated in new apartments with much better living conditions than before. The canal creates not only a beautiful urban landscape, but also brings a lot of economic benefits to local dwellers. Because of its reformation, the city is changing fast too.

The main topic of the passage is about ______________.

Where are the volunteers going to do volunteer work?

Complete the reading passage with ONE suitable word in each blank.

Scientific progress brings lots of opportunities to help women all over the world to be better recognized in many aspects. In the past, they obviously adhered to their traditional roles as housewives and mothers (1) ___________ many chores to do and duty of rearing children. These days, with the advanced technology, they have more time to widen their horizon, and improve useful skills to get better careers. Thanks to the creation of many (2) ___________ appliances such as washing machine, dishwasher, vacuum cleaner, or floor cleaning robot, etc., housewives spend only a few hours for her daily chores and their workspace is (3) ___________ longer within house, room, or kitchen. The (4) ___________ of labor-saving devices for home is one of the key factors to help women (5) ___________ to the high steps in society.

Listen to a talk about an event and complete the note. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/ OR A NUMBER in each blank. You will listen TWICE.

Student’s notes

Event: Spring Festival

Date: (1) ____________

Special guests: a well-known (2) ____________and one of the best singers

First-time competition on (3) ____________

Ticket price: (4) ____________

Number of tickets: (5) ____________

Complete each sentence with the correct form of the verb in brackets.

1. Parents should teach children ___________ (put) the rubbish in the bins in daily lives.

Choose the word with a different way of pronunciation in the underlined part. 

Choose the word with a different way of pronunciation in the underlined part. 

Write a paragraph about the benefits of a personal device that is necessary for students’ study (120 – 150 words).

You can use the following questions as cues.

- What personal device do you want to write about?

- What benefits can it bring to many students?

- How important is that personal device in students’ study?

Choose the word which has a different stress pattern from that of the others.

2. their confidence/ doing volunteer work/ because/ Many young people/ they/ boost/ and/ like/ many valuable skills/ can/ gain/ .