Đề thi chính thức tốt nghiệp THPT môn Tiếng Anh năm 2017 - Mã đề 404

Culture has a strong influence on non-verbal communication. Even the simple act of looking someone in the eye is not at all that simple. In the USA, Americans are (23)______ to look directly at people when speaking to them. It shows interest in what they are saying and is thought to carry a (24)______ of honesty. Meanwhile, in Japan and Korea, people avoid long periods of eye contact. It is considered more polite to look to the side during a conversation. The Lebanese, (25)______, stand close together and look intensely into each other's eyes. The action shows sincerity and gives people a better sense of what their counterparts want. Given such differences with even the most common expressions, people (26)______ travel or work abroad have a real need to learn the other culture's body language. People tend to be unaware of the messages they are sending to others. So, it is (27)______ to consider your own body language before dealing with people from other cultures. Knowing about the body language of friends, clients, and colleagues can be very helpful in improving understanding and avoiding miscommunication. (Source: Reading Fusion 1 by Andrew E. Bennett)

When naming a child, some parents seem to choose a name based simply on their personal preference. In other families, grandparents or professional name-makers come up with a child's name. In some cases, the time of a child's birth influences how the child's name is determined. In many European cultures, names are typically chosen by parents. Parents' choice for their child's name may be based on names of their relatives or ancestors. For example, in Italy, children are traditionally named after their grandparents. The parents generally use the father's parents' names first. If they have more children, then they will use the mother's parents' names. Similarly, some people in Eastern Europe name their children after relatives who have died. This tradition is seen as a means to protect the child from the Angel of Death. Traditionally in some Asian countries, a child's grandfather or a fortune-teller chooses the child's name. In contrast to the tradition of naming children after relatives, the child's name is chosen to influence the child's character. For example, names may be based on a connection to certain elements such as fire, water, earth, wood, or metal. Or the name might include a written character meaning beauty, strength, or kindness. In certain African cultures, when a child is born plays a large part in determining the child's name. In Ghana's Akan culture, the day a child is born determines the child's name. But each day has different names for boys and girls. For instance, a boy born on Friday is named Kofi, whereas a girl born on the same day is named Afua. Both Kofi and Afua mean "wanderer" or "explorer." Children with these names are seen as travelers. No matter where the name comes from, a child's name is the first gift in life. Whether the name is chosen according to preference or dictated by tradition, it reflects something about a child's culture. For that reason, all names should be treasured and respected. (Source: Reading Challenge 2 by Casey Malarcher & Andrea Janzen)

Tropical rainforests are being destroyed and badly degraded at an unsustainable rate. Some scientists estimate that in the early 1990s tropical forests were being destroyed at a rate of approximately 28 hectares a minute, or about 14 million hectares each year – an area about the size of the state of Wisconsin. This figure marked a decrease since the 1980s, when approximately 16 million hectares were destroyed each year, largely due to a reported decline of deforestation in the Amazon River Basin in the early 1990s. However, satellite images indicate that rates may have rebounded in the late 1990s as burning in the Amazon increased again. Over the past three decades alone, about 5 million square kilometers – or 20 percent of the world's tropical forests – have been cleared. During this time, deforestation in tropical Asia reached almost 30 percent. High rates of deforestation are inevitably followed by alarming rates of plant and animal extinction because many rainforest species cannot survive outside their pristine rainforest habitat. Some scientists estimate that dozens of rainforest species are becoming extinct every day. Causes of deforestation vary from location to location, but certain patterns tend to be consistent across all forests. Logging companies in search of valuable rainforest hardwoods, or, less often, oil companies in search of petroleum, are often the first to enter a remote area of rainforest. Some logged forests, if left alone, can regenerate in a few decades. But typically, they are not left alone – the roads built by logging companies often provide access for landless farmers to enter a new area, as well as a means to transport agricultural crops to market. For every 1 kilometer of new roads built through a forested area, 4 to 24 square kilometers are deforested and colonized. Once the loggers leave the land, a typical cycle of destruction ensues. When the landless farmers arrive, they clear the land for planting. Poor rainforest soils produce a low crop yield, especially after a couple of years. At that point, the farmers often sell their lands to cattle ranchers or large plantation owners. After nutrients have been exhausted and soils compacted by cattle, lands are then abandoned and often laid to waste. Rainforest does not readily regenerate on these lands without human intervention. Meanwhile, the colonist farmers and cattle ranchers move to a new piece of land made accessible by logging roads, where the cycle of deforestation begins again. (Source: Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation)