1. Choose the correct option A, B, C, or D to fill in each blank in the following passage.

(Chọn phương án đúng A, B, C hoặc D để điền vào chỗ trống trong đoạn văn sau.)

The local newspaper carried out a survey with city dwellers about how to make the city a more (1) _____ place. Most participants in the survey talked about the city’s traffic. First, they wanted stricter traffic (2) _____ to stop drivers from ignoring traffic lights and breaking speed limits. This would help reduce road accidents. In addition, they hoped their city would improve its (3) _____ system. For example, buses should be clean and have air conditioners. There should be bus lines that reach almost all areas in the city, so it would be easy for people to (4) _____. They said that good public transport could also (5) _____ the city money. The local authority wouldn’t need to construct new parking lots and (6) _____ roads to cater for the increasing number of private cars. Finally, the survey (7) _____ suggested the local authority build traffic apps. The apps could recommend to drivers the best routes to avoid traffic (8) _____. The sooner the government started implementing these, the more convenient it would be to travel around the city.

1.

A. lifelong                          

B. living                                 

C. lively                                   

D. liveable

2.

A. jams                               

B. laws                                   

C. lights                                   

D. safety

3.

A. public transport             

B. underground                      

C. amenity                                  

D. parking

4.

A. go away                         

B. move in                             

C. get around                        

D. come out

5.

A. earn                               

B. make                                  

C. save                                               

D. spend

6.

A. narrow                           

B. widen                                 

C. reduce                                   

D. block

7.

A. participants                   

B. people                                

C. government                

D. police

8.

A. signs                              

B. flow                                   

C. accidents                                

D. congestion

2. Read the passage and match the information with the person by writing A for Gina, B for Olivia, and C for Hoai.

(Đọc đoạn văn và nối thông tin bằng cách viết A cho Gina, B cho Olivia và C cho Hoài.)

Living in Vancouver

Vancouver, a coastal city in Canada, ranks among the most liveable cities in the world. Let’s meet three residents to learn why they love this city.

A. Gina (20 years old)

I fell in love with Vancouver’s natural habitats. I can go hiking in the summer and snowboarding in the winter in the mountains. Sometimes I pack my favourite foods and go to Kitsilano Beach to get a bit of sunshine. I like swimming in the Kitsilano pool, which is the longest outdoor swimming pool in North America.

B. Olivia (30 years old)

Life in Vancouver is convenient. The food here is good. There are both great restaurants and food trucks. Farmers’ markets offer a wide range of fresh produce. When I’m too busy to cook, I pick up prepared meals in the supermarket.

C. Hoai (35 years old)

This is such a kid-friendly place. The whole city is like an adventure playground. There are hundreds of activities to entertain children. At weekends, I take my daughters to the mind-blowing museum, explore a rainforest, or play outdoor games with them. Vancouver is a perfect place for family life.

3. Read the passage and do the exercises.

(Đọc đoạn văn và làm bài tập.)

Twenty years ago, people tried to leave the suburbs for cities but nowadays many people are reluctant to make such a move. They say that compared to suburban areas, city life has many drawbacks.

The high cost of living is the first disadvantage. The bigger the city is, the higher the living cost is. Accommodation and petrol are expensive. Food and drinks are also pricey. Apart from that, city people seem to suffer from more noise and air pollution. The densely populated neighbourhoods, busy traffic, and big construction sites make cities noisy and dusty. These are harmful to people’s health, such as increasing their stress levels, disturbing their sleep and making them suffer from breathing problems.

Lack of space is another drawback of city life. House prices are high in the city, so people tend to live in smaller houses or in apartment blocks. Many cities lack spaces for outdoor activities; therefore, teenagers often hang out at shopping malls or in entertainment complexes instead of doing sports outdoors.

The cities’ authorities are trying to overcome these problems. However, they still have a long way to go before they can reduce living costs and pollution, and increase green space to make all cities in the world more liveable places.

a. Choose the correct answer A, B, C, or D.

(Chọn câu trả lời đúng A, B, C hoặc D.)

1. What is the passage mainly about?

A. The reasons for moving to the suburbs.

B. The disadvantages of city life.

C. The high cost of living in cities.

D. The causes of pollution in cities.

2. Why does the author mention “accommodation, petrol, food, and drinks” in paragraph 2?

A. To give examples of high living costs.

B. To explain how convenient city life is.

C. To describe what city people often lack.

D. To suggest city people save money.

3. What does the word “them” in paragraph 2 refer to?

A. bad effects

B. stress levels

C. city people

D. construction sites

4. According to the passage, teenagers often hang out at shopping malls because _____.

A. they find shopping malls interesting

B. they have few places outdoor to play

C. they prefer them to entertainment complexes

D. their houses are too small

5. Which of the following is NOT mentioned about city authorities?

A. They are trying to find solutions to city problems.

B. They all want to solve problems for all the world’s cities.

C. They hope to lower the costs of living in cities.

D. They reduced pollution levels in cities by half last year.

b. Complete each gap in the sentences below with no more than THREE words taken from the passage.

(Hoàn thành mỗi chỗ trống trong các câu dưới đây với không quá BA từ lấy từ đoạn văn.)

1. Fewer people nowadays want to move to the city than _____ ago.

2. The bigger cities often have _____ living costs.

3. Congested traffic and building sites can cause _____ pollution in neighbourhoods.

4. People living in noisy and dusty areas may have problems with stress, _____ and _____.

5. Many people live in small apartment blocks because of high _____.

6. It takes a long time for the authorities to _____ these city problems.