Bộ Đề Thi Mẫu Đọc Hiểu Tiếng Anh B1 B2 VSTEP - ĐỌC HIỂU PART 2 - Đề số 3
Bộ Đề Thi Mẫu Đọc Hiểu Tiếng Anh B1 B2 VSTEP - ĐỌC HIỂU PART 2 - Đề số 3
1. Cấu trúc đề thi tổng quát
2. Đề Viết B1 B2 VSTEP: ĐỌC HIỂU PART 2 - Đề số 3
Question 11-20
You should spend about 15 minutes on this task.
For centuries, the power of Chinese emperors rose and fell with their control of the Grand Canal. Today, this important waterway is shorter than it once was, but it is still the longest man-made river in the world, and continues to play an important cultural and economic role in modern China. [A]
Construction Begins
The original canal system began around the year 605, when Emperor Yang realized that - in order to feed his army - he needed a way to move food quickly from China's southern rice-growing region to the country's north. An estimated one million people. mostly farmers, worked to build the first section of the Grand Canal, which connected existing canals, lakes, and rivers. Construction took six years and was completed in 611.
Over the next 500 years, the canal's importance grew throughout China, but by 1127, parts were deteriorating. In 1279, Kublai Khan began to repair and build new parts of the canal. This renovation created a more direct north-south route to and from Beijing Future rulers then continued to expand and improve the canal.
Nation's Lifeline
In addition to moving rice around China, the Grand Canal was also an important cultural conduit. Soldiers, merchants, and artists transported ideas, regional foods, and cultural practices from one part of China to another along the country's watery highway. According to legend, this is how Beijing acquired two of its best-known trademarks Peking duck, a dish from Shandong Province in the south, and Peking opera, from Anhui and Hubei, also in the south. [B]
The Modern Canal
For more than a thousand years, goods have been transported along the Grand Canal. Even today, the country's watery highway plays an important economic role in China. Boats continue to carry tons of coal, food, and other goods to points between Hangzhou and Jining. In addition, local governments eager to increase tourism and real estate development - are working to beautify areas along the canal. [C]
This development comes at a price, though. In Yangzhou, the city has torn down almost all of the older canal-side buildings. Farther south in the cities of Zhenjiang, Wuxi, and Hangzhou, the situation is similar. In Hangzhou, for example, almost all of the ancient buildings have been demolished. "Traditionally we talk about 18 main cities on the Grand Canal, and each had something unique and special about it." Explains Zhou Xinhua, the former vice director of the Grand Canal museum in Hangzhou. "But now many of these cities are all the same: a thousand people with one face."
In 2005, a group of citizens proposed that the historic Grand Canal be made a UNESCO World Heritage site, to protect both the waterway and the architecture around it. "Every generation wants the next generation to understand it, to look at its monuments." said Zhu Bingren, an artist who cowrote this proposal. The hope is that the Grand Canal, a site of cultural and economic importance and one of the world's great engineering accomplishments - will continue to link north and south China for centuries to come. [D]
11. Why was the Grand Canal originally built?
A. to allow the army to move quickly from the north to the south
B. to transport food from the southern regions of China to the northern regions
C. to enable more people to visit remote parts of China
D. to promote the cultural and traditional diversity of the south of China
12. What is NOT true about the Grand Canal?
A. It originally took six years to complete its construction.
B. Even today, it is the longest man-made river in the world
C. Around a million people worked on the first section of the canal.
D. It allowed Peking duck and Peking opera to spread to southern China.
13. What is the main idea of paragraphs 2 and 32
A. the origin of the Grand Canal
B. the history of the Grand Canal
C. the modernization of the Grand Canal
D. the cultural importance of the Grand Canal
14. What would be the best alternative heading for paragraph 4?
A. Renewed Importance
B. Cultural Connections
C. The Army's Highway
D. The Origins of Peking Opera
15. The word 'practices' in paragraph 4 could be replaced with
A. traditions
B. repetitions
C. instructions
D. improvements
16. Why did the writer mention Peking duck in paragraph 4?
A. to give an example of a famous food in Beijing.
B. to show that it is a favourite dish of people from Shandon Province.
C. to demonstrate a trademark in Beijing.
D. to give an example of the cultural importance of the Grand Canal.
17. What best paraphrases the following sentence in paragraph 6?
This development comes at a price, though.
A. But developing the canal involves spending a lot of money.
B. But even after spending money, people might not like the development.
C. But developing it is a lot more expensive than one can imagine
D. But there are some negative consequences to having this development.
18. The word 'demolished' in paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to
A. destroyed
B. built
C. renovated
D. restored
19. The artist Zhu Bingren would probably most like to see that
A. the canal and the area around it are declared a heritage site
B. the canal is further expanded in an east-west direction
C. more changes are made to modernize the canal
D. a monument is created to honor China's economic and cultural importance
20. In which space (marked A, B, C and D in the passage) will the following sentence fit?
The city of Yangzhou, for example, has created a beautiful park near its waterfront
A. [A]
B. [B]
C. [C]
D. [D]
3. Đáp án
11. B
12. D
13. B
14. B
15. A
16. D
17. D
18. A
19. A
20. C