ĐỀ THI CHUYÊN TIẾNG ANH TP HỒ CHÍ MINH (TP HCM) NĂM HỌC 2023-2024

SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO

THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH

ĐỀ THI CHÍNH THỨC

(Đề thi có 04 trang)

KỲ THI TUYỂN SINH LỚP 10 THPT NĂM HỌC 2023-2024

KHÓA NGÀY 06 THÁNG 6 NĂM 2023

Môn thi chuyên: Tiếng Anh

Ngày thi: 07 tháng 6 năm 2023

Thời gian làm bài: 150 phút, không kể thời gian phát đề

I. USE OF ENGLISH (30 PTS)

PART A: CHOOSE THE CORRECT ANSWER TO FILL IN THE BLANK. (10 PTS)

1. One of the key techniques of magicians in performance is to _______ curiosity from the audience.

A. arise    B. awake    C. arouse   D. aggravate

2. If only Helena _______ the last point in the presentation; it was a striking point.

A. did not miss B. would not miss   C. would not have missed    D. hadn’t missed

3. _______ Mike’s determination, the whole team refused to join the science project competition.

A. Not regarding    B. Were it not  C. Regardless of    D. Should it not be

4. I have told you this _______ that the water heater should be turned off after use.

A. as quite often as not    B. umpteen times    C. irredeemable times   D. very several times

5. It is my own recommendation that short-loan books _______ by weekend.

A. being returned   B. should return    C. be returned  D. are returned

6. The more you read about the world, _______ to know more about yourself.

A. the better you have chances  B. the better chances you have

C. chances are better   D. better chances are

7. - Jack: “Why do you ask me about my brother?”

- Carlos: “_______.”

A. Just a reason    B. Be curious   C. I can’t miss it  D. Just idle curiosity

8. Are there any chances that Manchester City will be _______ with Manchester United?

A. tied B. drawn    C. equaled  D. balanced

9. Many _______ professional training abroad for the last three years.

A. candidates experienced   B. a candidate has experienced

C. candidates had experienced   D. a candidate have experienced

10. - Peter: “You fancy a field trip to a soft drink factory or a train excursion to an art village?”

- Paul: “_______”

A. No wonder for me B. No way to pick them up   C. Nothing much to choose   D. Not even one chance

11. The horror film _______, all of the children froze in fear and we were completely silent.

A. being hideous    B. was hideous  C. so hideous   D. hideous as it was

12. The coaches should do something for the team. _______ words don’t help.

A. Simple   B. Lone C. Only D. Mere

13. The new clerk was blamed for _______ the troubles in the sales team and disrupting the process.

A. stirring B. agitating    C. disintegrating   D. fermenting

14. _______, the answer did not receive good comments from the judges because it was not creative enough.

A. Brief and accurate it was    B. Brief though accurate

C. Though brief and accurate    D. Though it is brief and accurate

15. At Hudson Bay to the North of Canada _______.

A. were located some British-owned factories    B. located some British-owned factories

C. were some British-owned factories located    D. were locating some British-owned factories

16. The film is _______ based on a true story, but most of it is fiction.   

A. loosely  B. casually C. faintly  D. lightly

17. - Tina: “What a coincidence it is!”

- Keith: “Yes. It’s strange that we _______ the same pastel striped T-shirt.”

A. should be wearing    B. were wearing C. might be wearing D. ought to be wearing

18. - My brother: “I don’t like the glowing colors in your painting.”

- Me: “_______. I’d say.”

A. Everyone to his own  B. Each to his own  C. Each has his own D. Everyone has his own

19. Having taken a long nap after the journey, the children now are as fresh as _______.

A. bread    B. milk C. a breeze D. a daisy

20. The university sent me a letter _______ were congratulations for my successful application.

A. which the beginning  B. the beginning at which   C. at the beginning of which    D. of which at the beginning

PART B: CHOOSE THE WORD OR PHRASE THAT BEST FITS EACH SPACE IN THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE. (20 PTS)

PASSAGE 1

The Phantom of the Opera, Broadway’s longest-running show, is scheduled to close in February 2023. The musical – a fixture on Broadway since 1988, (1) _______ recessions, war and cultural shifts – will play its final performance on Broadway on 18 February, a spokesperson said on Friday. The closure will come less than a month after its 35th anniversary. It will conclude with an (2) _______ 13,925 performances. Box office grosses have fluctuated since the show reopened after the pandemic – going as high as over $1m (£870,000) a week but also dropping to about $850,000. Last week, it hit $867,997. Based on a novel by Gaston Leroux, Phantom of the Opera tells the story of a (3) _______ composer who haunts the Paris opera house and falls (4) _______ in love with an innocent young soprano, Christine. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s lavish songs include Masquerade, Angel of Music, All I Ask of You and The Music of the Night.

“As a producer you dream that a show will run for ever. (5) _______, my production of Andrew’s Cats proudly declared for decades ‘Now and Forever.’ Yet ‘Phantom’ has (6) _______ that show’s extraordinary Broadway (7) _______. But all shows do finally close,” producer Cameron Mackintosh said in a statement. 

The first production opened in London in 1986 and since then the show has been seen by more than 145 million people in 183 cities and performed in 17 languages over 70,000 performances. On Broadway (8) _______, the musical has played more than 13,500 performances to 19 million people at the Majestic theatre. The closing of Phantom would mean the longest running show (9) _______ would go to Chicago, which started in 1996. The Lion King is next, (10) _______ performances in 1997. 

1.  A. recovering   B. undertaking  C. weathering   D. airing

2.  A. eye-popping  B. eye-washing  C. eye-shadowing    D. eye-witnessing

3.  A. dispatched   B. disqualified C. dishonored   D. disfigured

4.  A. madly    B. vividly  C. avidly   D. divinely

5.  A. Therefore    B. Nevertheless C. Indeed   D. Otherwise

6.  A. overcome B. surpassed    C. exceeded D. overtaken

7.  A. fame B. move C. run  D. go

8.  A. alone    B. single   C. sole D. particularly

9.  A. glory    B. crown    C. queen    D. corona

10. A. beginning    B. begun    C. which began  D. having begun

PASSAGE 2

The environment is the fundamental source of all possible existence on planet Earth. However, over the recent years, the environment has been exploited (1) _______ because of which the environmental conditions are becoming worse (2) _______. Pollution of air, water and land, mining, industrialisation, modern urbanization, deforestation, release of chemical (3) _______ and landfills are some of the major factors that cause the gradual deterioration of the environment. With the disastrous pace of climate change, a result of pollution and exploitation of the environment, finding out ways to protect the environment from any further damage should be the first (4) _______. Bringing back the environment to its original state is of (5) _______ importance and is the only solution. Working towards a common goal will be the easiest and fastest way to keep the environment from any more harm. Dots are to be connected between climate change, water (6) _______, energy shortages, global health, food security and women’s (7) _______. Solutions to one problem must be solutions for all. 

The leaders of the world are working to reduce the rapid degradation of the environment, organizations like the United Nations (8) _______ initiatives to create awareness and get people to take actions to curb the problems of the environment. Some of these initiatives include the 2019 Sustainable Development Summit, 2019 Climate Action Summit, 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. (9) _______ all these measures are in action, individuals are also obliged to take steps to preserve the environment that everyone is a part of. With everyone’s efforts, we can be sure that all of it will definitely (10) _______ a difference and help the environment in becoming healthy and sustainable.

1.  A. excessively  B. abundantly   C. aggressively D. extremely

2.  A. from day to day  B. day in day out   C. day by day   D. day after day

3.  A. effluents    B. affluence    C. liquids  D. outflowing

4.  A. prerequisite B. requirement  C. frontier D. priority

5.  A. substantial  B. critical C. subliminal   D. primary

6.  A. shortness    B. scarcity C. sparseness   D. deficiency

7.  A. domination   B. control  C. bestowal D. empowerment

8.  A. bring up B. take on  C. come up with D. stand up for

9.  A. Since    B. By the time  C. Until    D. While

10. A. take B. make C. have D. count

II. READING (35 PTS)

PART A: READ THE PASSAGE AND CHOOSE THE BEST ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS. (10 PTS)

Back in 1998, three 26-year-olds, Adam Balon, Richard Reed and Jon Wright, made up their minds that it was time they either left their well-paid jobs in management consultancy and advertising and went into business together or stopped talking about it. What kind of business they wanted to set up they weren’t quite sure, but it was something they had been discussing ever since they were at university together. Deciding that the way forward was to make it easier for busy people to be healthy, the trio bought some fruit and made smoothies, which they then tested on people at a small jazz festival in London. ‘We put up a large sign asking, “should we quit our jobs to make these smoothies?” and put out one bin saying “Yes” and another saying “No”.’ The ‘Yes’ bin filled up immediately with empty bottles and the next day they resigned from their jobs.

However, launching Innocent smoothies did not happen overnight. Experts in the food industry told them that their product was too expensive and without the use of additives, the drinks wouldn’t last long. Even more worryingly, the numerous banks they approached were not too keen on financing them and it wasn’t until their savings were about to run out that a wealthy businessman took a leap of faith and invested in the business. Ignoring most of the advice they’d been given, Innocent then went on to create a range of drinks made from 100 percent fresh fruit and nothing else. Careful production and high-tech packaging gave the drinks the longest possible shelf life, but they stuck to their beliefs by ‘not messing about with them’ at all. The next step was to persuade local shops to stock their product, which they delivered personally in their grass-covered minibus.

Their airy office in London, affectionately known as ‘Fruit Towers’, is open-plan, the ‘grass’ floors, table football games, beanbags and casually dressed trendy young staff representing the fresh feeling Innocent is trying to create. But alongside all this quirkiness is an impressive business. New recipes created in the high-tech kitchen are tried out on the people in the surrounding office buildings, although new product ideas, however fashionable, are rejected if they go too far away from their main aim: making a natural, healthy, great-tasting drink. Their confidence that a quality product will sell itself appears to have paid off; despite minimal advertising, Innocent currently sells more than two million smoothies per week.

Aside from the greenery, one of the first things you notice about Fruit Towers is how happy everyone there seems to be. The three partners were convinced that success relies on the well-being and happiness of the people who work there, so as well as financial incentives like company shares, healthcare and extra bonuses, the staff are motivated by snowboarding trips, scholarships to enable them to pursue outside interests and studies, and a wide choice of social and sporting activities. Innocent employees are positive, motivated, and proud of where they work, which is why the company has won numerous awards over the years, including Guardian Employer of the Year and top place in the Sunday Times “Best small companies to work for” list.

Wright, Balon and Reed had firm ideas from the very beginning about the kind of company they wanted to run. Their aim was to provide a wide range of healthy drinks, make Innocent a global brand and take its ethical values to the world’s consumers.

1. The three friends gave up their ‘real jobs’ because they had _______.

A. always dreamt of creating fruit drinks together

B. realised that one of their business ideas might be a success

C. decided that their ‘real jobs’ did not allow them to live healthy lives

D. lost interest in what they were doing before

2. Innocent’s major obstacle to marketing their smoothies was _______.

A. deciding how to package the drink attractively   B. seeking advice from experts

C. working out how to keep the drinks fresh D. keeping the cost low to sell to supermarkets

3. The phrase “took a leap of faith” in the second paragraph suggests that the investor _______.

A. took a risk while hoping it would have a good result B. didn’t believe in the future of Innocent

C. took the faith of Innocent’s founders for granted    D. tried to persuade other investors to give their money

4. The expression “not messing about with them” in the second paragraph suggests that the trio didn’t _______.

A. change the basic contents of the drinks  B. check how long the drinks were kept in the shops

C. allow anyone else to distribute the drinks   D. worry about which bottles the drinks were in

5. The ‘Fruit Towers’ Office is NOT _______.

A. ventilated due to the grassy floors  B. peculiar nor arresting

C. equipped with leisure facilities D. divided up into separate rooms

6. The success of Innocent can be attributed to the fact that _______.

A. their staff are young and trendy

B. their ingredients change according to what is popular at the time

C. the company has benefited from the partners’ experience in advertising

D. the partners have maintained a very clear focus on what they do

7. The word ‘their’ in paragraph 3 refers to _______.

A. the people in the office buildings   B. new product ideas

C. new recipes  D. Innocent

8. The phrase “paid off” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to _______.

A. owed B. succeeded    C. returned D. cost

9. Employees are motivated to work for Innocent because they _______.

A. are paid more than other people in similar jobs  B. appreciate working for a prize-winning company

C. feel they are valued by the organisation D. get a lot of time off to pursue their interests

10. Innocent could become popular among the world’s consumers because it _______.

A. did not allow itself to become too big   B. was much admired for its underlying philosophy

C. believed in building the brand’s image and reputation    D. did not concern itself with making a lot of money

PART B: FIVE SENTENCES HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM THE STORY. READ THE STORY AND THEN CHOOSE FROM THE LIST A-F GIVEN BELOW THE BEST SENTENCE TO FILL IN EACH OF THE BLANKS (1-5). THERE IS ONE SENTENCE YOU DO NOT NEED TO USE. (5 PTS)

I wanted to sail to the Canary Islands, but I was afraid to go too far from the shore. It was only a small boat. And so we sailed on south for some days. We had very little water, and it was dangerous country here, with many wild animals. We were afraid. We often had to go on shore to get more water. Once, I used a gun to shoot a wild animal. I don’t know what animal it was, but it made a good meal. For about ten or twelve days we sailed on south, down the coast of Africa. (1) _______. They were strange, wild people, who did not look friendly. By now we had very little food, and we really needed help. We were afraid, but we had to go on shore. At first, they were afraid of us, too. Perhaps white people never visited this coast. (2) _______. So we used our hands and faces to show that we were hungry. They came with food for us, but then they moved away quickly. (3) _______. While we did that they watched us carefully. I tried to thank them, but I had nothing to give them. Just then two big wild cats came down to the shore from the mountains. I think they were leopards. The people were afraid of these wild cats, and the women cried out. Quickly, I took a gun, and shot one of the animals. (4) _______. Guns were new to these African people, and they were afraid of the loud noise and the smoke. But they were happy about the dead wild cat. I gave them the meat of the dead animal, and they gave us more food and water. We now had a lot of food and water, and we sailed on. (5) _______. We could see them, but we couldn’t get near because there was no wind.

A. Then one day we saw some people on the shore.

B. We carried it to our boat and ate it.

C. Eleven days later we came near the Cape Verde Islands.

D. The second one ran back up into the mountains.

E. The wind picked up, and we had to move.

F. We did not speak their language.

PART C: SUPPLY EACH BLANK WITH ONE SUITABLE WORD TO MAKE A MEANINGFUL PASSAGE. (20 PTS)

PASSAGE 1

Ants are common insects, but they have some unique capabilities including their legendary communication skills that allow their colonies to (1) _______ as superorganisms. There are more than 10,000 known species of ants living throughout the world. Ants can be (2) _______ by the constriction that looks like a waist (3) _______ the abdomen, at the end of the body, and the part of the body called the thorax, which is located before the head. Their bodies are covered with a hard armour called the exoskeleton. While the exoskeleton is their (4) _______ weapon, their rear abdominal stinger is their offensive one. Like other insects, they have six legs; each (5) _______ three joints. Ants have large heads with compound eyes, elbowed antennae, and powerful pincers known as mandibles. These are an ant’s most useful tools to be used for holding, carrying and cutting. 

Queen ants are the largest ants in the (6) _______. They have wings and their purpose is to lay eggs. The queens can live up to 30 years. There may be one or more queens, which depends on the ant species and the nest community (7) _______. The ant life cycle has four stages of development: egg, larva, pupa and (8) _______. The queen lays the eggs, which will hatch into larvae in a couple of days. The helpless larvae are fed and groomed by the worker ants (9) _______ they pass through the pupal stage. In a little more than a week, an adult ant will emerge, and the metamorphosis is (10) _______.

PASSAGE 2

You can read faster if you wish to, but you will have to push yourself to do it. If you just (1) _______ along while reading, you will make (2) _______ or no improvement in your rate. If, however, you keep trying to step up your reading speed, you will be surprised to discover that you are making (3) _______. There are several ways to shift your reading speed from low into high (4) _______. 

When you read books, magazines or newspapers, make every effort to read faster, quicken your (5) _______ movement, allow no concentration (6) _______. If you try and try again, you are likely to see the difference. You may think you should slow down your reading rate or reread certain parts of a chapter of a book to have a better understanding. Don’t (7) _______ in to this feeling. (8) _______, keep up your reading speed until you have finished the chapter. Then, make an oral or written summary of what you have read. Reread the chapter from start to finish but a little faster than before and with greater understanding. 

However, you should adjust your rate to your purpose and material. Reading is like driving a car. Your purpose and conditions of your drive decide your speed. You may be in a hurry and step on the (9) _______; you may drive at moderate speed to enjoy the countryside. A good reader adopts the speed that best fits his reading purpose and material. Are you reading a history book, a novel, or a magazine? Do you read for specific details, for writing a report or for recreation? All (10) _______.

III. ERROR CORRECTION: IDENTIFY THE FIVE MISTAKES IN THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE AND CORRECT THEM. (5 PTS)

LINE NUMBER 

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10  In Britain good manners were once seen as proof of a person’s worth, as in the old saying ‘manners maketh man’. Though attitudes have become more tolerant over the years, people still tend to judge how do others conduct themselves. People may be said to have no manners if they speak rudely to someone, yawn without covering their mouth, or behave without thoughts for others. They certainly attract criticisms. On the other hand, a person who is civilly courteous, who is considerate towards other people, who says little about their own achievements and who respects the privacy of others, is much more likely to win approval and respect. Ideas about appropriate personal behaviour vary from country to country and it seems to be no universal definition for good manners. Good manners do not have to be formal. They include table manners; they are magic words like ‘please’, ‘thank you’, on simple words like ‘pardon’, ‘good morning’. In the past but less common today, people bought books on etiquette (polite behavior) to learn how to behave.

IV. WORD FORMS: SUPPLY THE APPROPRIATE FORMS OF THE WORDS IN BRACKETS. (10 PTS)

1. Due to the advanced medicine, patients now have certain negligence of _______. [herb]

2. The demonstrators have been _______ outside the garment factory in the protest for furcoats. [camp]

3. John Steinbeck is an American writer who is well-known for masterly _______. [character]

4. Contrary to what I had expected, my first journey to Antarctica was _______. [event]

5. When I told my students that I believed in every of Don Quixote’s unrealistic ideas, my students looked at me _______. [search]

7. Not every journalist could notice the star’s shifted grounds; her opinion had changed _______. [perceive]

8. Due to the ten-minute standing ovation of the audience, the violinist had to take his third _______. [curtain]

9. False data in his surveys and interviews have _______ his scientific research. [valid]

9. I do not always fancy modern gadgets or recent scientific techniques; I sometimes find them really _______. [new]

10. I just heard something broken in the kitchen again; nothing surprising. My children are _______. [butter]

V. WRITING: COMPLETE THE SECOND SENTENCE SO THAT IT MEANS THE SAME AS THE FIRST ONE, USING THE WORD GIVEN. (20 PTS)

1. I do not have enough money to have the automatic lighting installed. (PUT)

=> Were ______________________________________________________________________.

2. When the war broke out, a lot of Ukrainians fled to neighbor countries to escape misfortune. (NECK)

=> No sooner ______________________________________________________________________.

3. The management board decided to offer the strikers a pay rise to alleviate their anger. (FEATHERS)

=> With a ______________________________________________________________________.

4. It was wrong of the antifans to make negative influence on the journalists about the star. (PREJUDICED)

=> The antifans should ______________________________________________________________________.

5. Kevin was so interested in the hockey match on TV that he invented an excuse for his day off. (COOKED)

=> Such ______________________________________________________________________.

6. No one can believe that Laura earns money to support the whole family at such a tender age. (BACON)

=> Hardly ______________________________________________________________________.

7. The local authorities made the museum suitable for the public hall after the war. (KEYED)

=> It was ______________________________________________________________________.

8. Nice art works from litter should be exhibited now. (LAUNCHED)

=> It’s high ______________________________________________________________________.

9. Our team could not have been favoured by the judges if we had been experienced enough. (WIN)

=> Due to ______________________________________________________________________.

10. Although quiet members seem to be patient, they do not always take criticism. (COME)

=> Patient ______________________________________________________________________.

THE END OF THE TEST

SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO

THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH

ĐÁP ÁN

KỲ THI TUYỂN SINH LỚP 10 THPT NĂM HỌC 2023-2024

KHÓA NGÀY 06 THÁNG 6 NĂM 2023

Môn thi chuyên: Tiếng Anh

Ngày thi: 07 tháng 6 năm 2023 

I. USE OF ENGLISH

PART A. 1   C

    2   D

    3   C

    4   B

    5   C

    6   B

    7   D

    8   A

    9   B

    10  C

    11  A

    12  D

    13  D

    14  C

    15  A

    16  A

    17  A

    18  B

    19  D

    20  C

PART B.     

PASSAGE 1   1   C

    2   A

    3   D

    4   A

    5   C

    6   B

    7   C

    8   A

    9   B

    10  D

PASSAGE 2   1   A

    2   C

    3   A

    4   D

    5   B

    6   B

    7   D

    8   C

    9   D

    10  B

II. READING

PART A. 1   B

    2   C

    3   A

    4   A

    5   D

    6   D

    7   D

    8   B

    9   C

    10  B

PART B. 1   A

    2   F

    3   B

    4   D

    5   C

PART C.     

PASSAGE 1.  1   function/ act

    2   identified/distinguished

    3   between

    4   defensive

    5   with/ having

    6   colony

    7   size

    8   adult

    9   until

    10  complete

PASSAGE 2.  1   plod/ jog/ coast

    2   little

    3   progress

    4   gear

    5   eye

    6   lapses

    7   give

    8   Instead

    9   gas/ accelerator

    10  depend/ matter

III. ERROR CORRECTION

    1   tolerant => tolerable

    2   how do others => how others

    3   mouth => mouths

    4   thought => thinking

    5   criticisms => criticism

    5   it seems to be => there seems to be

IV. WORD FORMS

    1   herbalism

    2   encamped/encamping

    3   characterization

    4   uneventful

    5   searchingly

    6   imperceptibly

    7   curtain-call

    8   invalidated

    9   newfangled

    10  butterfingered

V. WRITING

    1   Were I to have enough money/ Were it not for the lack of money, I would have had the automatic lighting put in.

    2   No sooner had the war broken out than a lot of Ukrainians fled to neighbor countries to save their necks.

    3   With a view to smoothing the strikers' ruffled feathers, the management board decided to offer them a pay rise./ With a view not to ruffling their feathers, the management board decided to offer the strikers a pay rise.

    4   The anti-fans should not have prejudiced the journalists against the star.

    5   Such was Kevin's interest in the hockey match on TV that he cooked up an excuse for his day off.

    6   Hardly anyone believes that Laura brings home the bacon at such a tender age.

    7   It was the museum that was keyed to the need for a/the public hall by the local authorities after the war./ It was after the war that the museum was keyed to the need for a/the public hall by the local authorities.

    8   It's high time people launched an exhibition on nice art works from litter./ It's high time the exhibition of nice art works from litter was launched.

    9   Due to our lack of experience, our team could not win the judges’ favour./ Due to our lack of experience, our team didn’t manage to win the judges’ favour.

    10  Patient as/though quiet members may seem, they do not always come to terms with criticism.