READING COMPREHENSION

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.
Culture is the lens with which we evaluate everything around us; we evaluate what is proper or
improper, normal or abnormal, through our culture. If we are immersed in a culture that is unlike our
own, we may experience culture shock and become disoriented when we come into contact with a
fundamentally different culture. People naturally use their own culture as the standard to judge other
cultures; however, passing judgment could reach a level where people begin to discriminate
against others whose “ways of being” are different than their own—essentially, we tend to fear
that which we do not understand.
Cultural diversity is important because our country, workplaces, and schools increasingly consist
of various cultural, racial, and ethnic groups. We can learn from one another, but first we must have
a level of understanding about each other in order to facilitate collaboration and cooperation.
Learning about other cultures helps us understand different perspectives within the world in which we
live and helps dispel negative stereotypes and personal biases about different groups.
In addition, cultural diversity helps us recognize and respect “ways of being” that are not
necessarily our own, so that as we interact with others, we can build bridges to trust, respect, and
understanding across cultures. Furthermore, this diversity makes our country a more interesting place
to live, as people from diverse cultures contribute language skills, new ways of thinking, new
knowledge, and different experiences.
(Adapted from https://www.purdueglobal.edu/)
Question 1: Which could be the best title for the passage?
A. What is the function of culture? B. How do people use own culture?
C. Why is cultural diversity a “good thing”? D. How can we learn from one another?
Question 2: The word “their” in paragraph 1 refers to ______.
A. levels B. people C. others D. ways of being
Question 3: Which of the following is TRUE about the main reason for discrimination?
= bias= prejudice ( thành kiến)
A. Valuating everything is the main reason for discrimination.
B. Immersing in a culture is the main reason for discrimination. Be immersed in = be absored in =
interested in
C. Contacting with a different culture may cause discrimination.
D. Making judgment may cause discrimination.
Make judgment
Question 4: The word “dispel” in paragraph 2 mostly means ______.
A. eliminate B. contain C. realize D. discuss
Question 5: According to the passage, before we can learn from people from other cultures, we need
to ______.
A. understand one another B. facilitate collaboration = cooperation
C. have different perspectives D. form personal biases
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.
 The authors noted that while other forms of pollution are decreasing, noise pollution has been
increasing. This conclusion is reinforced by the fact that there has been an increase in the number of
people who have been complaining about excessive noise in the WHO region. Populations that are
exposed to high noise levels can be afflicted by other symptoms such as: stress reactions, sleep-stage
changes, and clinical symptoms like hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. All these impacts can
contribute to premature mortality. It is important to note that these adverse health problems impact
all age groups including children and adolescents. In fact, it has been reported that children who live
and or study in an area afflicted with noise pollution tend to suffer from stress, impairments in
memory and attention as well as difficulty reading.
“In Western Europe, the guidelines say, traffic noise results in an annual loss of at least one
million healthy years”. Traffic noise is currently ranked second among environmental threats to
public health.
The danger of noise pollution is more present to us when we are asleep. Because the human ear
is so sensitive, it never rests, it is always working, picking up and transmitting sounds for our brains
to interpret. This always on working process is where the danger lies, though you may be sleeping,
sounds are still being picked up and processed. The most common side effects of this phenomenon
are sleep disturbance and tiredness, impaired memory, judgment, and psychomotor skills. The other
more serious outcomes of this can be the triggering of the body’s acute stress response, which raises
blood pressure and heart rate as the body and brain go into a state of hyperarousal. According to the
European Environment Agency, at least 10,000 cases of premature deaths from noise exposure occur
each year, although incomplete data mean this number is significantly underestimated.
(Adapted from https://www.encida.dk/)
Question 6: Which is the most suitable title for the passage?
A. Noise in the WHO region B. Increase in noise, Increase in risk
C. Health problems and Age groups D. Side effects of tiredness
Question 7: The word “afflicted” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. assumed B. illustrated C. described D. affected
Question 8: The word “premature” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. early B. quick C. late D. slow
Question 9: According to paragraph 2, what is the reason for the annual loss of at least one million
healthy years in Western Europe?
A. guidelines B. public health
C. environmental threats D. traffic noise
Question 10: Which statement is TRUE, according to the passage?
A. Many forms of pollution, except for noise pollution, are decreasing.
B. Adverse health problems impact children and adolescents only.
C. The danger of noise pollution is less serious when we are asleep.
D. At least 100,000 cases of premature deaths from noise exposure occur each year.
Question 11: The word “This” in paragraph 3 refers to ______.
A. side effect B. sound C. human ear D. the danger
Question 12: According to the passage, what is the reason for the body’s acute stress response?
A. Sleep disturbance B. Excessive noise exposure during sleping
C. Impaired memory D. Psychomotor skills
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 question.
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)
Question 1. 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!
Question 2. 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
Question 3. The word “steer” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to _______.
A. remove B. generate C. turn D. develop
Question 4. The word “it” in paragraph 4 refers to _______.
A. a negative thought B. an important sentence
C. a friend D. a stupid question
Question 5. 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.
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.
There are several ways to measure how often men and women appear in news photos. One way
is to think about all the photos together as making up one big crowd of people and estimating what
share are women versus men. Women made up 33% of all the 53,067 individuals identified in news
post images, while men made up the other 67%.
Another way to look at the data is to examine the mix of people who appear in each image.
Across the 22,342 posts with photos containing identifiable human faces, more than half of them
exclusively showed men, while less than a quarter showed exclusively women. The remaining
images show at least one man and one woman.
All 17 news outlets included in the study showed more men than women in news images on
Facebook during the study period. The share of individuals who were identified as women by the
model ranges from 25% to 46%, by outlet.
While these findings are striking, there is no perfect benchmark or “true ratio” for how often
men and women should be portrayed in news images on social media. Yes, the U.S. population is
divided nearly in half, male versus female. But, for example, all the representational coverage of
professional football teams would return results overwhelmingly dominated by male faces. Coverage
of the U.S. Senate – currently 25% female – might do the same. In addition, the analysis did not
address whether the content of the news stories that accompanied the images was more focused on
men or women.
The analysis also reveals other ways that men are more prominent in news images on
Facebook. In photos that showed two or more people, men tend to outnumber women. And men’s
faces take up more space when shown, with the average male face being 10% larger than the average
female face across all photos with people.
(Adapted from https://www.pewresearch.org/)
Question 6: Which is the most suitable title for the passage?
A. Big Crowd of People and the Share of Women and Men
B. Men and Women in News Images by Outlet
C. Men Appear Twice as Often as Women in News Photos on Facebook
D. The analysis of news images on Facebook
Question 7: According to paragraph 2, how many of the 22,342 posts with photos containing
identifiable human faces showed only women?
A. 25% B. 33% C. 75% D. 46%
Question 8: The word “exclusively” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. perfectly B. uniquely C. honestly D. naturally
Question 9: The word “striking” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. impressive B. impartial C. creative D. inactive
Question 10: Which statement is TRUE, according to the passage?
A. Women accounted for 67% of all the 53,067 individuals identified in news post images.
B. More than half of the 22,342 posts with photos show at least one man and one woman.
C. Currently 25% of the U.S. Senate are female.
D. Women’s faces take up more space when shown.
Question 11: The word “that” in paragraph 4 refers to ______.
 A. the analysis B. the content C. the images D. the news stories
Question 12: According to the passage, what may be the reason why men are more prominent in
news images?
A. Women are whiter than men. B. Men’s face was bigger than women’s.
C. Women didn’t like taking photos. D. Men didn’t make up.