Title VSTEP-Reading test 12.docx ✅

Code 12 - Page 1 of 11 READING PAPER 12 Time permitted: 60 minutes Number of questions: 40 ______________________________________________________________________ Directions:In this section you will read FOUR different passages. Each one is followed by 10 questions about it. For questions 1-40, you are to choose the best answer A, B, C or D, to each question. Then, on your answer sheet, find the number of the question and fill in the space that corresponds to the letter of the answer you have chosen. Answer all questions following a passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in that passage. You have 60 minutes to answer all the questions, including the time to transfer your answers to the answer sheet. PASSAGE 1 – Questions 1-10 What is the most recognizable object in the world? Could it be a football? Or a Big-Mac? No, the answer is a Coca-Cola bottle. The famous Coca-Cola bottle is almost 100 years old! Footballs and big macs are certainly part of life for lots of people; but Coca-Cola is now a permanent part of world culture. People know and drink Coca-Cola all over the world. It is said that the Coca-Cola bottle is the most recognised object in the world. Hundreds of millions of people can recognise a Coke bottle by its shape, even if they cannot see it! And the famous Coca-Cola logo is the most famous logo in the world. Unlike any other famous commercial logo, it has not changed in 100 years!  But the story of Coca-Cola is even older than that. It was in 1886 that John Pemberton, a druggist in Atlanta, Georgia, invented a new type of syrup, using coca leaves, sugar and cola nuts, plus a few other secret ingredients! Pemberton sold it as a medicine; and with its coca (the source of cocaine), it must have made people feel good!Nevertheless, Pemberton's medicine was not very successful, so he sold his secret formula to another druggist, Asa Candler. Candler was interested, because he had another idea; he thought that Pemberton's "medicine" would be much better if it was mixed with soda.Candler was thus the man who really invented the drink Coca-Cola. At first he sold it in his drugstore; then he began selling the syrup to other drugstores, who used it with their soda fountains. Candler also advertised his new drink, and soon people were going to drugstores just to get a drink of Coca-cola. Before long, other people became interested in the product, including a couple of businessmen who wanted to sell it in bottles. Candler sold them a licence to bottle the drink, and very quickly the men became millionaires. The famous bottle, with its very distinctive shape, was designed in 1916.During the First World War, American
Code 12 - Page 2 of 11 soldiers in Europe began asking for Coca-Cola, so the Coca-Cola company began to export to Europe. It was so popular with soldiers that they then had to start bottling the drink in Europe. Today, Coca-Cola is made in countries all over the world, including Russia and China; it is the world's most popular drink.  As for the famous formula, it is probably the world's most valuable secret! The exact ingredients for making Coca-Cola are only known to a handful of people. And as for the "coca" that was in the original drink, that was eliminated in 1903. It was a drug, and too dangerous. Today's Coca-Cola contains caffeine, but not cocaine! 1. What does the word “it” in paragraph 1refer to? A. Coca-Cola logo B. Coca-Cola bottle C. Football D. Big Mac 2. Why does the author mention Big-Mac in the first paragraph? A. to stress its influence to people’s life B. to compare world famous brands and then emphasize the popularity of Coca-Cola C. to guide the readers to the brand’s history D. to show the long-term presence of Coca-Cola 3. Which of the following is true about Coca-Cola drink? A. Its logo has remained the same in the past decade. B. Candler’s changed its taste and this was unwelcomed by people. C. It became worse when mixed with soda D. It was sold mainly to people who had health problems 4. Where in the passage does the author mention the first commercial of Coca-Cola? A. Paragraph 1 B. Paragraph 2 C. Paragraph 3 D. Paragraph 4 5. According to the passage, John Pemberton A. set up a successful business with Coca-Cola. B. was a well-known druggist. C. became a millionaire. D. had some mysterious ingredients in his syrup. 6. Which of the following best states the essential information in the sentence “Candler was thus the man who really invented the drink Coca-Cola”? A. He was the initiator of the Coca-Cola company. B. He found the cola tree and mix parts of it to make a syrup. C. He was the first to make Coca-Cola the taste that it is.
Code 12 - Page 3 of 11 D. He exported Coca-Cola to Europe 7. Which of the following could be the best title for paragraph 2? A. a worldwide well-known brand B. the Coca’s origin C. the popularity of the product D. the secret ingredients 8. Which of the following best replaces the word “licence” in paragraph 3? A. regulations B. paper of recognition C. official document of permission D. illegal instructions 9. What can be inferred from the sentence “The exact ingredients for making Coca- Cola are only known to a handful of people”? A. Only clever people could make Coca-Cola. B. A great number of people shared the formula of making Coca-Cola. C. A group of people are trying to discover the exact ingredients of Coca-Cola. D. The formula to make Coca-Cola is not widely spread. 10. What does the word “eliminate” in the last paragraph mean? A. included B. maintained C. removed D. minimized PASSAGE 2 – Questions 11-20 After the United States withdrew its troops, North Vietnamese troops soon swept into South Vietnam and, by 1975, they had taken Saigon, the southern capital. In 1976, the country was reunited, but in 1978, it attacked its neighbor, Cambodia, in hope of stopping border raids staged by the Khmer Rouge, who attacked and killed Vietnamese who lived close to the border. Vietnam quickly drove the Khmer Rouge out of power and installed a government to control the country. In 1979, Communist China invaded Vietnam. Amazingly, however, the Vietnamese pushed the Chinese back to their own borders. After all of the centuries of fighting, Vietnam was united and without wars in the 1980s. The country still had a huge standing army, however, one of the four largest in the world. Turning this military machine into an economic dynamo would serve as the next big challenge for Vietnam.While Vietnam was fighting the First and Second Indochina Wars, much of the rest of Asia was already on a rapid path to economic development. Japan’s economic rise after World War II was meteoric. Many other Asian countries, including South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, China, Singapore, and Malaysia, began to prosper as
Code 12 - Page 4 of 11 well. Vietnam’s entrance to the world’s economic stage was hampered by its Communist government and the aftereffects of the decades of fighting. The Communist government factor lessened with the global decline of Communism and the end of the Cold War. A new economic policy called “DoiMoi” was introduced in the mid-1980s. This plan encouraged a variety of free-market mechanisms. By 1992, most nations in the world, including China, South Korea, and the forerunner of the European Union, had resumed trade and diplomatic relations with Vietnam. The United States became the last country to reestablish relations with Vietnam. This finally happened in 1995 under President Bill Clinton, who in 2000 became the first U.S. president to visit Vietnam. Vietnam has also been making other important steps to improve its economic condition. Starting in 1992, the country began initiatives that eventually led to membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1995. This important step put the country more in the mainstream of Southeast Asia and opened doors to extensive business, educational, political, and cultural benefits that have helped Vietnam develop even further. 11. Which of the following could be the best title of the passage? A. Vietnam enters the new era after years of wars B. The Indochina wars in Vietnam and their damage C. The history of wars in Vietnam D. The Communist government and its “DoiMoi” policy 12. What does the pronoun “they” in the first paragraph refer to? A. The United States troops B. The North Vietnam troops C. The South Vietnam troops D. The Chinese people 13. When did China trigger the war with Vietnam? A. in 1975 B. in 1976 C. in 1978 D. in 1979 14. Which of the following is NOT true about the Khmer Rouge? A. They came from Cambodia B. They set up a pro-Vietnamese government C. They killed Vietnamese people near the border. D. They had power over Cambodia.