Choose the best option to complete each of the following sentences.

EXTREME TO SCHOOL JOURNEYS

For some students, the journey to school is just a stroll around the comer or a short drive and the biggest problems they face are getting stuck in traffic jams during rush hour or public transport delays. For others, getting to school involves crossing deserts. rivers or dangerous urban neighbourhoods. They have to travel long distances on foot, or by boat, bicycle, rickshaw or sledge.

Next time you miss the school bus and feel like complaining about your journey to school, think about these schoolchildren who don't have access to buses or even roads.

2. Read the introduction to Extreme journeys to school and match students' comments 1-6 with photos A-F.

(Đọc phần giới thiệu về Hành trình đến trường khắc nghiệt và nối nhận xét của học sinh từ 1-6 với ảnh A-F.)

1 'I cross a fast-flowing river on a wire ...'

('Tôi băng qua dòng sông chảy xiết trên một sợi dây ...')

2. 'I take a short cut by cycling across a valley ...'

('Tôi đi đường tắt bằng cách đạp xe qua một thung lũng...')

3. 'I cross a valley on a homemade cable car ...'

('Tôi băng qua một thung lũng trên chiếc cáp treo tự chế ...')

4. 'I walk or run barefoot to school along a dirt track ...'

('Tôi đi bộ hoặc chạy chân trần đến trường dọc theo con đường đất ...')

5. 'I ride a donkey along a narrow winding path ...'

('Tôi cưỡi lừa dọc theo con đường hẹp quanh co ...')

6. 'I barely have time to fasten my seatbelt ...'

('Tôi hầu như không có thời gian để thắt dây an toàn ...')

2. Read the short newspaper article. Are statements 1-3 true (T) or false (F)?

(Đọc bài báo ngắn. Các câu 1-3 đúng (T) hay sai (F)?)

1. The man is sure he saw a lion.

2. The woman is sure she heard a lion.

3. The police are sure a lion escaped from a zoo.

LION ON THE LOOSE IN ESSEX?

On Sunday evening at 8.00 p.m., a holidaymaker was walking to his caravan with his eleven-year-old son when he believed he saw a lion. He told reporters, 'It was dark, but I could see a large animal. It can't have been a domestic animal it was too big. I thought it might have been a lion. So we ran, very quickly!' The seaside resort was full of holidaymakers and at least ten people saw the animal. One woman said 'I heard a loud roar at 10.00 p.m. It must have been a lion. No other animal can roar like that.' Police have told everybody to stay inside as they believe a lion may have escaped from a nearby zoo.

Tạm dịch:

SƯ TỬ NGOÀI VÒNG PHÁP LUẬT Ở ESSEX?

Vào lúc 8 giờ tối Chủ nhật, một khách du lịch đang đi bộ đến đoàn lữ hành của mình cùng với đứa con trai mười một tuổi thì anh ta tin rằng mình đã nhìn thấy một con sư tử. Anh ấy nói với các phóng viên, 'Trời tối, nhưng tôi có thể nhìn thấy một con vật lớn. Nó không thể là một con vật nuôi trong nhà vì nó quá lớn. Tôi nghĩ nó có thể là một con sư tử. Thế là chúng tôi chạy, rất nhanh!' Khu nghỉ mát bên bờ biển có rất nhiều khách du lịch và ít nhất mười người đã nhìn thấy con vật. Một phụ nữ cho biết 'Tôi nghe thấy một tiếng gầm lớn lúc 10 giờ tối. Nó phải là một con sư tử. Không con vật nào khác có thể gầm như vậy.' Cảnh sát đã yêu cầu mọi người ở trong nhà vì họ tin rằng một con sư tử có thể đã trốn thoát khỏi vườn thú gần đó.

Yes

Charlotte Johnstone, a Millennial, argues that her smartphone did not get in the way of life-altering travel experiences.

I took my gap year a couple of years ago, and I'm really glad I did, because it changed my life. The time I spent in India and Zambia were the hardest and most rewarding of my life. Despite the fact that I had my smartphone in my pocket, I really felt that I had immersed myself in a foreign culture, and I learned a lot about myself and the world around me.

Of course, the way we travel has changed; the world around us has changed. It's unavoidable. There are lots of pluses: you can call home when something happens, book plane tickets on your phone, withdraw money from a cash point, even find hidden temples on Google Maps.

Staying connected doesn't detract from travelling- independence doesn't necessarily have to be solitary and young people don't need to be cut off from home to explore the wider world and appreciate their place in it. Just as much as our parents' generation did, we Millennials want to watch the sun rise, make friends with like-minded strangers. The values and aspirations are the same.

_________________

*Millennial someone born between 1980 and 2000

No

Travel writer William Sutcliffe believes that smartphones have changed backpacking in a bad way.

I believe that travel ought to be a profound experience. By cutting us off from everything that has previously been familiar to us, travel challenges our beliefs and makes us see the world in new ways. But when so many relationships and social support networks are carried out digitally, it's actually impossible for Millennials to cut themselves off from home. What has this done to the nature of travel?

A modern traveller will probably be more concerned about whether their room has Wi-Fi than whether it has a bathroom. To be disconnected is unthinkable. But this means that they have one foot firmly planted at home at all times. I don't think you can consider this way of travelling as a journey of self-discovery.

2. Read the first two sentences of the story. What do you think will happen? Then read the whole story and check your ideas.

(Đọc hai câu đầu của truyện. Bạn nghĩ điều gì sẽ xảy ra? Sau đó đọc toàn bộ câu chuyện và kiểm tra ý tưởng của bạn.)

A memorable road trip!

We were completely prepared for the journey, but we didn't expect this! Last summer, we went on a family holiday to Mù Cang Chải in a car. Mù Cang Chải is best experienced as a road trip so we did it by car, trying to soak up the scenic beauty of the landscape. Sounds an amazing trip, doesn't it? The problem was my mum and dad hadn't really thought about flat tyres.

"Flat tyres?" asked my mum in dismay.

"Yes, and I didn't bring any extra. I didn't know we needed them!" sighed my dad.

Oh yes, we did! We stopped and looked around. There was no one driving behind us and there was no house nearby. To make the matter worse, my parents' phones lost their connection to their mobile providers. We felt we were in the middle of nowhere! It was really a nightmare!

My little brother and sister became impatient as we had to wait on the road for hours. They would expect fun and a big adventure, but it turned out to be a long wait. They began crying, while I kept asking my mum and dad about the next stop. My dad was about to lose his temper when a stranger on an old motorbike suddenly appeared right behind us. He stopped and lent us his phone. My dad called one of his friends in Yên Bái city and one hour later, we had our tyres changed!

4. Read the text and choose the correct answer, A, B or C.

(Đọc văn bản và chọn câu trả lời đúng, A, B hoặc C.)

Lost passport

Last year, I won some money in a TV competition.

It wasn't enough to ¹______  the Atlantic, but the prize was sufficient for me and my boyfriend, Adrian, to go on a cruise. We both hoped that the 10-day cruise in the Baltic Sea would be a very ²______ experience.

Everything was perfect until the fourth day. We were returning from a walk around Malmö, when Adrian realised his passport was missing. He ³______ it with him at all times normally, so it was a bit strange. 'I ⁴______ it in the cabin. I'm sure, Adrian said convinced. Unfortunately, the passport wasn't there.

The embassy didn't have good news: without a passport, my boyfriend couldn't continue the cruise. We collected our belongings and looked for a ⁵______. We didn't want to spend much money, but we didn't have a tent, either.

Adrian's new passport was ready the following day, so we caught a train to Stockholm, the next stop of the cruise. We reached our ⁶______ just in time to board the ship before it left for Tallinn in Estonia.

1. A. fasten                       B. get                     C. cross

2. A. sparkling                 B. memorable

    C. unexpected

3. A. would take               B. had taken

    C. could have taken

4. A. must have left          B. could leave

    C. may have left

5. A. campsite                  B. youth hostel

    C. three-star hotel

6. A. location                   B. destination

    C. reservation

6. Read the text and choose the correct answer, A, B or C.

(Đọc đoạn văn và chọn câu trả lời đúng A, B hoặc C.)

Focus on: North Korea

¹______North Korea, ²______is officially known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is an unusual and secretive socialist country. The ordinary people of North Korea rarely have any contact with the ³______world because it is impossible for them to travel overseas or access the Internet. The rest of the world knows very little about what life is like in North Korea because it is not part of the wider ⁴______community. Kim Jong-un, ⁵______is currently the supreme leader of North Korea, is the third member of the Kim family to lead the Republic since it was established in 1948. ⁶______capital city is called Pyongyang and is located in the south-west of the country.

1 A Ø

B The

C A

2 A where

B which

C who

3 A inside

B outside

C other

4 A global

B local

C national

5 A which

B whose

C who

6 A Ø

B The

C A

1. Read blogs 1-3 and match them with photos A-C.

(Đọc blog 1-3 và nối chúng với các bức ảnh A-C.)

Blogger 1

Well, my journey didn't get off to a very good start as I lost my passport in Manchester Airport. I panicked, then found it where I was sitting earlier. How stupid! I hope this is not a bad sign for the rest of the trip. The plane was one of those new two-level ones and was really posh inside. It wasn't even half full, so I lay across several seats and managed to get plenty of sleep.

Arrived in Bangkok at 7.00, feeling fresh, but immediately had problems. My card didn't work in any of the ATMs, so I panicked again until I realised that I was using the wrong pin number. Again, pretty stupid. Got a taxi to the hostel, which is great and full of young people like me. I'm writing this in the lounge area. Feeling excited, but also a bit nervous- not really sure how anything works here in Thailand. Please keep reading - hopefully, my travelling (and blogging) skills will improve soon!

Blogger 2

Yesterday I said bye to Mum and Dad and took the plane from Liverpool to Florence, Italy. My cousin Lucia lives here (my English uncle is married to Sabrina, my Italian aunt) and I was very glad to see them waiting for me at the airport. I've been to lots of places, including Italy, before with my parents, but this is my first trip alone and I don't speak any Italian except, ciao and grazie! Lucia is really cool and she speaks brilliant English (thank goodness!). It's school holidays here too, so we've got lots of time to enjoy ourselves. My uncle and aunt are totally chilled, I've got my own room at their house and the tram stop is just outside. Freedom! Tonight we're going to a party at Lucia's friend's house. I'll blog again tomorrow and tell you all about it - if I don't sleep all day. ;)

Blogger 3

After a fantastic fortnight studying English in beautiful York, it's almost time to head back home to Budapest. Although it was sometimes difficult to find time each day, I reckon that writing this blog has really helped me improve my English.

Tonight is the farewell party organised by the school and all the students in my group will be there. I can't get over how many people I've met from all over the world. Especially cool are Sonata from Lithuania, Marta from Poland and Nico from Italy. We're definitely going to stay in touch and Marta even said she will come and visit me in Budapest. Despite a few problems with accommodation, which we eventually solved, it has been a great experience. I'll miss everyone and I'll even miss writing to you, my patient readers.

2. Match statements a-d with blogs 1-3. One blog has two matching statements.

(Ghép các câu từ a - d với blog 1-3. Một blog có hai câu phù hợp.)

In this blog:

a the blogger suggests that he/she won't be updating the blog again. ☐

b it is clear that the blogger is not an experienced traveller. ☐

c the blogger describes two potentially big problems which are solved quickly. ☐

d the blogger mentions that this is not his / her first visit to the country he / she is currently in. ☐

3. Read the blogs again. Are the statements true (T) or false (F)?

(Đọc lại các blog. Các câu phát biểu đúng (T) hay sai (F)?)

1 Jo was very tired when he arrived at his destination. ☐

2 Jo arrived to find that the ATMs in the airport were broken. ☐

3 Alex is enjoying staying with her uncle and aunt. ☐

4 Lucia and Alex will find it hard to understand each other. ☐

5 Adèl feels she has benefited from writing her blog. ☐

6 Adèl is going to visit a friend she made while she was in England. ☐

2. Match these examples with the tips in Exercise 1.

(Hãy nối những ví dụ này với những lời khuyên trong Bài tập 1.)

a After I had finished reading my magazine, I turned to my dad, who was sitting beside me. ☐

b Well, I certainly hadn't expected that to happen! ☐

c It was five o'clock in the morning and I was fast asleep when something hard fell on my stomach and woke me up. ☐

d 'So, where have you been?' asked my mother. ☐

e Mark was definitely surprised to see me on the train. ☐

f I was wrong! ☐