Listen to the following talk and decide which its main idea is. 

Mô tả câu hỏi

Complete the dialogue. Use the present simple or present continuous form of the verbs in brackets. 

Mô tả câu hỏi

Complete each sentence with the correct one.

1. Amazingly, pink is considered a ...... in some parts of the world. Men wear it.

2. The ...... is very expensive.

3. I don’t like red. It is a ......

4. The kite is too ...... to fly safely.

5. Blue ...... peace.

6. In this country, people often wear black clothes in ......

7. Meanings of colors are different in different ......

8. The man in the grey suit is a ...... professor

Mô tả câu hỏi

Complete the conversation with words from the box. Use each word only once.

A   Did you read the article on Erik Weihenmayer? Isn’t he a fascinating person?

B   Yes, he really is! Imagine being blind and ...... a mountain!

A   Even for people who can see, climbing a mountain is very difficult.

B   You know, I was really surprised to learn that he is also a teacher and a ...... athlete.

A   People like Erik really ...... people all around the world. Did you know that he is not the only person with a disability who has done amazing things?

B   Yes! I read about Helen Keller in school. She was blind, deaf, and could not speak. Helen Keller became famous because of all the ...... she had in her lifetime.

A  Right! But people who have disabilities are not the only people who face ...... We all have difficulties in our lives. We face challenges at home, at work, at school, and in relationships.

B   I agree. Do you think challenges are good for us?

A   Yes, I do. I think if a person is not ...... and has ...... then he or she can overcome most of life’s challenges. I believe that challenges make us stronger.

B   You are right! I think that people like Erik Weihenmayer and Helen Keller really ...... others to be brave and face life’s challenges and never give up.

Listen and chosse the main idea of the text. 

Mô tả câu hỏi

Choice  I (It's) or T (There's) in the following sentences.

1. ...... a boy in the garden.

2. ...... dark in the forest.

3. I don’t like autumn because ...... rainy.

4. ...... a cold day today.

5. ...... a beautiful garden in front of the house.

6. On the corner of the street, ...... a supermarket.

7. ...... a nice park near our house.

Mô tả câu hỏi

Fill the gaps with these words from the text

A recruitment firm gives this advice to new workers:

It is important to ...... time in your relationships with others at ....... Get to know the people who work near you: ...... yourself to them and tell them something about yourself. If people ask for your help, always ...... positively. Don’t ...... emails or phone calls just because you are busy. If you make a mistake, it is better to ...... it and then apologise. When things go wrong, stay calm and ...... shouting and using bad language. Remember good ...... help to ...... your working ......, and you will find you can enjoy your work more.

Text 1  Bad manners at work

Etiquette is the name we give to the rules for being polite in a social group. Business etiquette is important for people who often have to make new contacts and build relationships in their work. Politeness can also help to improve the working environment for people in the same office. Some cultures and situations are formal, which means that we have to follow rules; other cultures and situations are more informal.

Text 2   Office workers “admit being rude”

Most office workers say they are rude or bad-mannered at work. Two out of three workers regularly arrive late for meetings, most ignore emails and three out of four use bad language. In a survey of 1,000 workers, two-thirds say that pressure of work is the reason for bad manners.

Other common examples of bad office etiquette include ignoring colleagues and answering mobile phone calls during meetings. Using mobile phones in meetings is impolite and distracts others, research by the University of Surrey shows. If you respond to call when speaking to somebody, it means that the phone call is more important than the person, the survey said. If you answer a call during a meeting, it could mean that the meeting is not important.

Mr Jacobs, managing director of Office Angels, a recruitment firm say it is easy for people to forget their manners in the working environment, which is often very informal and very busy. Workers can forget proper etiquette such as introducing people at meetings, and this is often bad for working relationships.

Psychologist Dr Colin Gill believes that people are not as polite as they were twenty years ago. He said: ‘Courtesy is no longer something that is so much respected in our society.’ People think it is ‘stuffy to be polite or formal.’

Now some organisations are actually investing money in training their junior managers to be polite. Office Angels is encouraging people to arrive on time for meetings, turn off mobile phones and avoid bad manners at work is such a simple thing to do,’ Mr Jacobs says, ‘ and it can have a dramatic impact on improving your working environment and your relationships with others.’

The aim of the texts is to …………………………………….

Mô tả câu hỏi

Listen to six short conversations. How does the second person reply in each situation? Predict the meanings of their replies by choose the correct description in italics. 

1. John points out a mistake. Jane ...... for it.(apologizes/doesn't apologise) 

2. Jack invites Barbara to dinner. Barbara ...... the invitation. (accepts/refuses)

3. John introduces Caroline Day to Barbara. Barbara ...... her.  (knows/ doesn’t know)

4. Jack asks if he is allowed to park in front of the office. Jane says that he ....... (can/can't)

5. Barbara gives Jane a gift. Jane ...... it. (likes/doesn’t like)

6. Jack helped John to arrange his travel. It ...... a problem for Jack.  (was/wasn't)

Mô tả câu hỏi

Choose /s/, /z/ or /iz/ for the correct pronunciation of the underlined syllables. 

Mô tả câu hỏi

Fill in the connectors describing the process of making mint tea.

(1) ......, some tea is put in a pot,

(2) ......, the water is boiled,

(3) ......, the mint and the tea are rinsed in hot water,

(4) ......, the sugar is added,

(5) ......, the pot is filled with boiling water

Listen. Circle the main idea of the radio programme. 

Circle the best title for the reading text.

Color Matters for What You Wear

Clothes are like a second skin. Most likely you feel good when you wear your favorite color. What happens when someone sees you wearing any color - for example blue? Does the color send a message?

What do you think about pink and blue for children?

One of the most common examples of color symbolism in clothing is the custom of using pink for girls and blue for boys, but it wasn't always this way. This tradition emerged at the turn of the 20^th century. Since pink was thought to be a stronger color, it was best suited for boys; blue was more delicate and dainty and best for girls. In 1921, the Women's Institute for Domestic Science in Pennsylvania endorsed pink for boys, blue for girls.

Even more interesting is the fact that pink is the color for baby boys and blue is the color for baby girls in Belgium today.

Another interesting fact about pink is that pink is a very masculine color in Bermuda. Also, British bankers and barristers have worn pink shirts for decades. Pink goes in and out of fashion in other parts of the world. White is the traditional color for a bride's wedding gown in the U.S. and most European cultures. White symbolizes purity and innocence.

What about the color worn for weddings and funerals?

In Asia, white is the color of death. This arises from the belief that death is seen as a beginning and that white represents the purity that the deceased brings into the next life. Therefore, brides in Japan and China wear red in traditional wedding ceremonies.

White is also associated with death in India, where widows wear white. Consequently, red or pink saris are the most popular colors for brides.

What about black clothes?

Black symbolizes death and is the traditional color of mourning in Western cultures. Black clothing is associated with powerful forces in many parts of the world. Bad and good Witches, the devil, ninjas, cat burglars, Darth Vader, Cat Woman, and Batman wear black....and so do priests, nuns, judges, mimes, Mennonites, Bedouins, and monks.

Maybe the common thread is that these people are signaling their seriousness of purpose - or the need to be hard to see - or both.

Here's something else to think about: What happens when the same people wear green? Are they as powerful? Are the priest and nun as respectable?

Office workers “admit being rude”

Most office workers say they are rude or bad-mannered at work. Two out of three workers regularly arrive late for meetings, most ignore emails and three out of four use bad language. In a survey of 1,000 workers, two-thirds say that pressure of work is the reason for bad manners.

Other common examples of bad office etiquette include ignoring colleagues and answering mobile phone calls during meetings. Using mobile phones in meetings is impolite and distracts others, research by the University of Surrey shows. If you respond to call when speaking to somebody, it means that the phone call is more important than the person, the survey said. If you answer a call during a meeting, it could mean that the meeting is not important.

Mr Jacobs, managing director of Office Angels, a recruitment firm say it is easy for people to forget their manners in the working environment, which is often very informal and very busy. Workers can forget proper etiquette such as introducing people at meetings, and this is often bad for working relationships.

Psychologist Dr Colin Gill believes that people are not as polite as they were twenty years ago. He said: ‘Courtesy is no longer something that is so much respected in our society.’ People think it is ‘stuffy to be polite or formal.’

Now some organisations are actually investing money in training their junior managers to be polite. Office Angels is encouraging people to arrive on time for meetings, turn off mobile phones and avoid bad manners at work is such a simple thing to do,’ Mr Jacobs says, ‘ and it can have a dramatic impact on improving your working environment and your relationships with others.’

The author wants to ………………………….

Mô tả câu hỏi

Match the words with their definitions (1-5) 

1. The official home of a person of very high rank, especially a King or Queen. ...... 
2. To make someone or something safe from danger, harm or destruction. ......
3. A magical creature in old Arabian stories that will do what you want when you call. ......
4. Someone whose job is to give advice because they know a lot about a subject. ......

Mô tả câu hỏi

Read the text and do the activities that follow.

The 1001 night

The Thousand and one nights is probably one of the most famous books in the world. It is a collection of stories first told by travelers from Persia, Arabia, India and China between the ninth and thirteenth centuries. In later years professional storytellers also told the stories in coffee houses in Turkey, Egypt and many other countries. The Thousand and one nights contains well-known stories like Aladdin and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, so people often think they are just for children – but they were originally for adults.

Shahrazad’s story

There was once an Indian King called Shahriyar. One day King Shahriyar found his wife with another man so he killed her and her lover. After that the King married a different woman everyday and killed her the next morning before she could stop loving him. This continued for three years.

Shahrazad was the clever and beautiful daughter of the King’s adviser. When her father told her what was happening, she decided to marry the King. Shahrazad’s father tried to stop her because he knew she was going to die. But Shahrazad had a plan to save herself and all the women in the kingdom. The King and Shahrazad got married a few days later.

After the wedding, while the King was drinking with his friends, Shahrazad went to find her sister. ‘I need your help,’ said Shahrazad. ‘Come to the palace this evening and ask me to tell you a story’.

So that night, Shahrazad was getting ready for bed when her sister came to visit her. She began telling her sister a story called The Fisherman and the Genie. While she was telling the story, the King came into the room. He started listening to her story too, and became more and more interested.

Shahrazad continued telling the story all night, but she stopped just before the end and said, ‘The morning’s here, husband. Am I going to die now?’. ‘No, no’, said the King. ‘Tell me the end of the story’. ‘I’ll tell you this evening, but not before’, said Shahrazad with a smile.

That night Shahrazad finished the story – and then immediately began another. This continued night after night. The King never heard the end of a story until the next evening.  He couldn’t kill his wife because he always wanted to know how each story ended.

As time passed, the King fell in love with Shahrazad. He knew he could never kill her because he couldn’t live without her and her stories. To show Shahrazad he really loved her, the King married her again. The stories Shahrazad told the King became the stories of The Thousand and one nights.

Are these following sentences true (T) or false (F)

1. ...... The King killed his first wife.
2. ...... He was married to his next wife for three years.
3. ...... Shahrazad worked for the King.
4. ...... Shahrazad’s father didn’t want her to marry the King.
5. ...... Shahrazad asked her mother to help her.

Read the text and do the activities that follow.

The 1001 night

The Thousand and one nights is probably one of the most famous books in the world. It is a collection of stories first told by travelers from Persia, Arabia, India and China between the ninth and thirteenth centuries. In later years professional storytellers also told the stories in coffee houses in Turkey, Egypt and many other countries. The Thousand and one nights contains well-known stories like Aladdin and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, so people often think they are just for children – but they were originally for adults.

Shahrazad’s story

There was once an Indian King called Shahriyar. One day King Shahriyar found his wife with another man so he killed her and her lover. After that the King married a different woman everyday and killed her the next morning before she could stop loving him. This continued for three years.

Shahrazad was the clever and beautiful daughter of the King’s adviser. When her father told her what was happening, she decided to marry the King. Shahrazad’s father tried to stop her because he knew she was going to die. But Shahrazad had a plan to save herself and all the women in the kingdom. The King and Shahrazad got married a few days later.

After the wedding, while the King was drinking with his friends, Shahrazad went to find her sister. ‘I need your help,’ said Shahrazad. ‘Come to the palace this evening and ask me to tell you a story’.

So that night, Shahrazad was getting ready for bed when her sister came to visit her. She began telling her sister a story called The Fisherman and the Genie. While she was telling the story, the King came into the room. He started listening to her story too, and became more and more interested.

Shahrazad continued telling the story all night, but she stopped just before the end and said, ‘The morning’s here, husband. Am I going to die now?’. ‘No, no’, said the King. ‘Tell me the end of the story’. ‘I’ll tell you this evening, but not before’, said Shahrazad with a smile.

That night Shahrazad finished the story – and then immediately began another. This continued night after night. The King never heard the end of a story until the next evening.  He couldn’t kill his wife because he always wanted to know how each story ended.

As time passed, the King fell in love with Shahrazad. He knew he could never kill her because he couldn’t live without her and her stories. To show Shahrazad he really loved her, the King married her again. The stories Shahrazad told the King became the stories of The Thousand and one nights.

Choose the best answer 

Who listened to Shahrazad’s story?