SỞ giáo dục và ĐÀo tạo kỳ thi tuyển sinh lớP 10 thpt hệ chuyên long an năm họC 2011-2012

Ngày thi: 30-6-2011

A

lot of research had been done suggesting that laughter is good for us and there are many benefits to the mind and body. In 1995, Dr Madan Kataria decided to follow up on the research findings. He went to a public garden in the city of Mumbai, in India and spoke to people there about starting a laughter club. At first, not everyone was enthusiastic but as he explained the health benefits of laughter, a number of people showed interest and the first laughter club was born. It had just four members, who would stand and tell jokes in a quiet corner of the garden to get each other to laugh. Although everyone enjoyed the fun, they soon ran out of good jokes. So Dr Kataria decided the club members would laugh without jokes at their future meetings.

Today there are about 6,000 laughter clubs in 60 countries around the world. The members of these clubs get together daily or weekly to laugh together for about 20 minutes. They gather in parks and on beaches. Any outdoor public place will do as long as it is far away from peoples’ houses. That way the sound of 20 or so people all laughing together won’t disturb people in their homes. Meetings are usually held early in the morning when there is less air pollution.

These clubs appeal to people for a number of reasons. Firstly, there are the health benefits: club members say that it helps them with their asthma and it can help with headaches too. According to Dr Kataria, laughter clubs also help young people. Our teenage years can be difficult ones, he says, and laughing can help us get rid of feelings like anger or jealousy. It can also help with the stress young people often experience at school or college.

In addition, people form friendships at laughter clubs, and will usually lend a hand to any club member who is in trouble. For example, when the shop of one laughter club member burnt down, the other members raised some of the money he needed to rebuild his shop. People who have few friends or relatives find that loneliness is less of a problem after they join a laughter club because they get to know the other people.

So, if you feel that laughter has been missing from your life recently, why not find out if there is a laughter club in your area? It might be just what the doctor ordered.

1. Why did Doctor Kataria want to start a laughter club?

A He heard people talking about laughter in a park.

B He wanted to check to see if laughter could affect a person’s health.

C He didn’t think people in India laughed enough.

D He thought that laughter helped a person think more effectively.
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2. What happened when Dr Kataria told people that he wanted to start a laughter club?

A A lot of people were excited by the idea.

B People wanted to know more about the research.

C Only a small number of people joined.

D No one was enthusiastic about the club.

3. The words ran out (line 9) mean

A had no more.

B stopped telling.

C left.

D needed to get.

4. After a while, Dr Kataria realized that the meetings did not need to include

A jokes.

B laughter.

C breathing exercises.

D stretch exercises.

A by the sea.

B outdoors where it does not disturb the public.

C when there is no air pollution.

D in people’s homes.

6. What does It (line 23) refer to?

A stress

B anger

C jealousy

D laughter

A will make friends more easily.

B never feel angry at other members.

C cope better with pressure at school.

D do not suffer from headaches.

8. The writer says that members of laughter clubs

A help each other with problems.

B go there at their doctor’s advice.

C lend each other money.

D feel that laughter is missing from their lives.


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II. Read the article and choose the most suitable heading (A–G) for each of the following paragraphs (1–6). There is one extra heading that you do not need. (12 points)

A The end of the journey

B The history of the flame

C The beginning of the Olympics

D The symbolic meaning of the flame

E The end of the Olympics

F Carrying the torch

G Lighting the torch

OLYMPIC FLAME

(1)........

Every four years the world watches the Olympic Games, which start when somebody from the host country carries a torch into the stadium and lights the flame in the opening ceremony. The flame continues to burn throughout the games until it is extinguished in the closing ceremony.

This is a tradition that started in ancient Greece, when a fire burnt throughout the ancient Olympics, but it wasn’t introduced to the modern games until 1928. The modern world welcomed the idea of an Olympic flame with enthusiasm. In 1936, Carl Diem, a German sports official, came up with the idea of an Olympic torch relay for the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Since then the torch relay has been part of the Olympic Games.

The Olympic torch is lit many months before the opening ceremony at Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympics in Greece. Eleven women take part and one of them lights the torch from the sun using a special mirror. After this there is a ceremony in the Athenian Panathinaiko Stadium where the Athens city authorities deliver the torch to the officials of the host city.

This ceremony is then followed by the torch relay. Traditionally, runners, including athletes, celebrities and ordinary people carry the torch on a journey from Athens to the host city. The relay lasts for many months and goes through many countries. Sometimes the torch travels by boat, or by plane.

The relay ends when the torch arrives at the Olympic stadium where the Games will take place. The final carrier of the torch is often kept secret until the last moment, and is usually a famous sportsman or woman. They run around the track and towards a huge cauldron, which is usually at the top of a staircase. They use the torch to light the Olympic flame.

The torch relay represents the passing of Olympic traditions from one generation to the next. Originally the flame represented the ‘endeavor for protection and struggle for victory’. Since it was introduced again in 1928, it has come to represent ‘the light of spirit, knowledge, and life’.

Dear Mum and Dad,

This is just a quick letter to let you know that I’m fine. We’re all working quite hard because the exams are only a few weeks away, but our teacher (1)...... he thinks we’ll do well. (My landlady’s not so sure – she keeps (2)...... me I should stop (3)...... so much TV and do a bit more reading!)

Anyway, we had a wonderful time at half-term. I went off to Paris for (4)...... days with some of the others from the school, and we went on a guided (5)...... of the city. We saw most of the famous (6)...... like the Louvre, where they have an amazing (7)...... of painting, and the Eiffel Tower. Then we went down to the South of France (8)...... train. It was so fast – the whole (9)...... was only about four hours. On our last day we went to a small island. The only thing I felt (10)...... was that we didn’t have enough time to spend to go swimming – maybe next time.

Example: (0)... every...

The original Olympic Games were held once (0)........ four years in Olympia, Greece. The earliest games ever recorded took (1)........ nearly three thousand years (2)........ . In the late nineteenth century (3)........ Frenchman called Baron de Courbertin managed to persuade some sportsmen to start the games again, and the first modern Olympics were held (4)........ 1896 in Athens. They have taken place every four years (5)........ then, except for the periods during the two world wars. Since 1924, Winter Olympic Games have (6)........ held in a different venue from the main summer event. As (7)........ result, the numbering of the Summer and Winter Olympics (8)........ different: the Sydney Olympics in 2000 was number 27, and the winter event in Salt Lake City was number 18. The number of countries which send athletes (9)........ increased from thirteen at the first modern Olympics (10)........ nearly 200 in the twenty-first century.

Example: (0)...patience...

Example: (0) Two years ago, Maria started learning German.

Maria .....has been learning German for..... two years.

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Giám khảo chấm điểm từng phần của bài làm theo hệ 100 điểm. Sau khi có được tổng số điểm của bài làm, chia cho 10 và ghi điểm trên hệ 10 vào ô ghi điểm trên tờ phiếu làm bài.

I. Số điểm tối đa cho phần này là 8. Mỗi vị trí chọn đúng phương án theo như hướng dẫn chấm này được 1 điểm.

1. B He wanted to check to see if laughter could affect a person’s health.

2. C Only a small number of people joined.

3. A had no more.

4. A jokes.

5. B outdoors where it does not disturb the public.

6. D laughter

1. even find some examples

2. stop asking so many

3. despite the good

4. bad for you to look

5. impossible for him to hear

6. were a few people

7. refuses / has refused to lend

8. if he had had

9. used to have