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Thi Thử Vstep Online Đề 1 – Reading Test 7 part 2
Câu 1
Nhận biết
PASSAGE 3 – Questions 21–30
COAST TO COAST
A 27-year-old graphic designer from Oxfordshire in England completed a record-breaking journey across Australia yesterday. It was a 5,800 kilometre odyssey — and he travelled the whole distance on a skateboard. David Cornthwaite, who started skateboarding less than two years ago, decided on his epic journey after waking up one morning and realising he hated his job. "I thought, the only thing keeping me going is the skate to and from work. I was a bit disillusioned and I was looking for something new," he said. "I saw a Lonely Planet guide to Australia. There was a map on the back. Perth was on one side and Brisbane on the other and I thought, ‘that’s it! I shall do’."
He decided to prepare by skateboarding from John O’Groats to Land’s End: the two points furthest apart on the British mainland. That 1,442 kilometre trek, which he finished in June, took just over a month, during which an infected blister swelled to the size of a tennis ball.
Crossing Australia on a skateboard brought unique challenges. The wind caused by huge road trains, the articulated lorries that thunder across the Outback, was so powerful that he was sometimes blown off his board. Multiple blisters and aching ankles, toes and feet, have kept him in almost constant pain for the last six weeks. "I feel like an old man. I’m not sure that anyone has ever had this many blisters," he said.
Temperatures of 40°C and above mean that he has used more than a dozen tubes of factor 30 sunscreen. "There have been moments where I thought ‘this is ridiculous, I have to rest’, but I never contemplated giving up." He has worn through 13 pairs of shoes and has an over-developed right calf muscle which he compares to "a giant chicken fillet."
Skating an average of 50 kilometres a day and hitting speeds of up to 50 kph on downhill runs, he left Perth, Western Australia, and skated across the fearsome Nullarbor Plain into South Australia. After entering Victoria, he made his way to Melbourne and from there to Sydney. A support team of seven people trailed him all the way in a four-wheel drive vehicle, which included camping equipment for night stops. The journey has smashed the previous record for a long-distance skateboard, set by an American, Jack Smith, who covered 4,800 kilometres across the US in 2003.
David Cornthwaite was less than three kilometres from the end of his epic journey when he hit a hole and was so thrown off his skateboard, suffering cuts and bruises to his shoulders, knees, hips and elbows. "I was only going at 40km at the time, so although it wasn’t pretty, it could have been a lot worse," he said.
In the short term, he hopes to spend the next few days surfing on the Gold Coast, south of Brisbane, to build up some much-needed upper body strength. "I’ve got huge legs but a skinny body — it’s a bit ridiculous. I need to give my body a chance to warm down and surfing sounds ideal. For the time being I’m hanging up my skateboard." In the longer term, he plans to give motivational speeches and write a book. Another long-distance journey is also on the cards. "I’m certainly not going back to the day job," he said.
Why did David Cornthwaite decide to skateboard across Australia?
- A. He was an experienced skateboarder
- B. He wanted to break a world record
- C. He was bored with his life and wanted to try something different
- D. Somebody gave him a guidebook about Australia
Lát kiểm tra lại
Phương pháp giải
Lời giải
Câu 2
Nhận biết
The word "disillusioned" in line 5 can be best replaced by …
- A. disappointed
- B. embarrassed
- C. fascinated
- D. delighted
Lát kiểm tra lại
Phương pháp giải
Lời giải
Câu 3
Nhận biết
His preparation in Britain was …
- A. successful, but painful
- B. successful, but more time-consuming than planned
- C. successful, but more difficult than he had realised
- D. unsuccessful because he got injured
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Phương pháp giải
Lời giải
Câu 4
Nhận biết
What made David fall off his skateboard several times in Australia?
- A. The thunderstorms in the Outback
- B. The trains that race across the Outback
- C. The wind created by huge lorries going past
- D. Holes in the road
Lát kiểm tra lại
Phương pháp giải
Lời giải
Câu 5
Nhận biết
At times, David felt that he …
- A. had to give up altogether
- B. wanted to give up for a short time
- C. wanted to get out of the sun
- D. needed a new pair of shoes
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Phương pháp giải
Lời giải
Câu 6
Nhận biết
During the journey, where did David sleep at night?
- A. In a four-wheel drive vehicle
- B. In a tent
- C. In a hotel
- D. On his skateboard
Lát kiểm tra lại
Phương pháp giải
Lời giải
Câu 7
Nhận biết
He compared his right calf to a chicken fillet because …
- A. it was completely flat
- B. it was over-developed
- C. he was exhausted and in pain
- D. he was thinking about food all the time
Lát kiểm tra lại
Phương pháp giải
Lời giải
Câu 8
Nhận biết
Why does David think surfing is a good thing to do after his journey …
- A. He can stay close to Brisbane
- B. He’s always wanted to surf the Gold Coast
- C. He wants to strengthen the top half of his body
- D. He needs to keep his legs strong
Lát kiểm tra lại
Phương pháp giải
Lời giải
Câu 9
Nhận biết
What does David hope to do eventually?
- A. encourage other people to feel more positive about themselves
- B. put his skateboard away
- C. return to work as a designer
- D. persuade other people to make long-distance journeys
Lát kiểm tra lại
Phương pháp giải
Lời giải
Câu 10
Nhận biết
According to the text, in some days, David plans to skate on …
- A. Perth
- B. Adelaide
- C. Melbourne
- D. Gold Coast
Lát kiểm tra lại
Phương pháp giải
Lời giải
Câu 11
Nhận biết
PASSAGE 4 – Questions 31–40
On Tour with the London Symphony Orchestra
‘Footballers and musicians are in the same business. They both do stressful jobs in front of critical audiences. The only difference is that football crowds are noisier.’ So says Rod Franks. And he should know. Franks started working life with Leeds United Football Club, but quickly changed direction, started playing the trumpet instead of football, and is now principal trumpeter with the LSO (London Symphony Orchestra). Franks might have made a further observation about the similarities between orchestras and football clubs: it is playing away that presents the real challenges.
London’s oldest orchestra has been playing away since it was formed almost a century ago. Nowadays, the orchestra’s trips abroad are kept to tours of a maximum of two and a half weeks. But since touring is clearly expensive and stressful, and has many organisational and technical problems, why bother to do it at all? Clive Gillinson, the managing director, says: ‘A great international orchestra needs to work with the greatest conductors and soloists. No recording company will record a conductor or soloist if he or she is only known in their own territory: they need an international reputation. So for the recording side to work, you have to visit the key markets; you need to tour.’
By working with projects or festivals, Gillinson is able to create an event, not just provide a series of concerts. That is not so easy to do, but when you leave town you are not so easily forgotten. However, as Clive himself and Jane Mallet, the orchestra’s administrator, the difficulties of her job lie in getting a symphony orchestra of 100 musicians on stage at the right time and in one piece. However well the orchestra plays and she does her planning with scientific accuracy, events sometimes take over — like the time when a concert had been advertised for one evening, and took another to happen.
‘It is a tiring and stressful business flying around the world, and yet on balance it is something worth doing,’ says Franks. ‘Even the best concerts are unpredictable. At the end of one in the US not long ago, the orchestra had brought the house down and the crowd was still cheering and shouting for more. One member of the orchestra produced a piece of paper in his hand. It said, in large letters, THIS IS THE END! and held it up for the audience to see.’
What do footballers and musicians have in common?
- A. Their work arenas add a lot of praise.
- B. They receive too much public criticism
- C. They enjoy extremely noisy audiences.
- D. They experience tensionless jobs.
Lát kiểm tra lại
Phương pháp giải
Lời giải
Câu 12
Nhận biết
What are we told about Rod Franks?
- A. He used to be the director of a football club.
- B. He switched from one career to another.
- C. He used to be a professional trumpeter.
- D. He disliked his original choice of career.
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Phương pháp giải
Lời giải
Câu 13
Nhận biết
Before joining London Symphony Orchestra, Rod Franks worked for …
- A. a football club.
- B. a travel agency
- C. a consulting firm
- D. an event organizing firm
Lát kiểm tra lại
Phương pháp giải
Lời giải
Câu 14
Nhận biết
The word "principal" in line 4 can be best replaced by …
- A. original
- B. main
- C. prime
- D. initial
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Phương pháp giải
Lời giải
Câu 15
Nhận biết
The LSO began playing abroad …
- A. only fairly recently.
- B. over a hundred years ago.
- C. when it was first set up.
- D. when it needed money.
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Phương pháp giải
Lời giải
Câu 16
Nhận biết
Orchestras have to travel abroad …
- A. to play with foreign conductors.
- B. to record with foreign companies.
- C. to make themselves better known.
- D. to record with new solo players.
Lát kiểm tra lại
Phương pháp giải
Lời giải
Câu 17
Nhận biết
What does "it" in line 15 refer to?
- A. organising a number of recordings
- B. visiting the most important markets
- C. the expense of touring in a country
- D. providing more than just concerts
Lát kiểm tra lại
Phương pháp giải
Lời giải
Câu 18
Nhận biết
Sue Mallet’s arrangements for the LSO can be …
- A. affected by external circumstances.
- B. made difficult by awkward players.
- C. spoilt by overlooking tiny details.
- D. spoilt by very careless planning.
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Phương pháp giải
Lời giải
Câu 19
Nhận biết
What does the phrase "with scientific accuracy" (line 18) suggest about Sue Mallet’s planning?
- A. It’s very neat and tidy.
- B. Her figures are correct.
- C. She used to be a scientist.
- D. The details are excellent.
Lát kiểm tra lại
Phương pháp giải
Lời giải
Câu 20
Nhận biết
According to the writer, what made a certain moment "unforgettable" (line 23)?
- A. The fact that the orchestra stood up
- B. an individual’s appreciation
- C. the enthusiastic applause
- D. the fact that a message was in English
Lát kiểm tra lại
Phương pháp giải
Lời giải
Thi Thử Vstep Online Đề 1 – Reading Test 7 part 2
Số câu: 20 câu
Thời gian làm bài: 30 phút
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