Reading Bổ Trợ 30-9

Martha and Mary were identical twin sisters in our high school class. They didn't dress identically, but they did share and exchange clothes, so it could be difficult to tell them apart without observing their behavior or conversing with them. As identical as they looked, they had quite different personalities. While both were soft-spoken, Martha would sometimes volunteer information or an experience relevant to the subject in class, while Mary never did. Martha was more social and outgoing. She both enjoyed and was serious about acting, and appeared in several school plays. Mary was more retiring, preferring reading, knitting, and listening to music. While they were very pretty, the twins did not date, but for different reasons. Martha had such high standards that no boy in high school was acceptable, and she preferred to wait for the greater variety of choices she would find in college. Mary, on the other hand, was too shy to talk to boys much in high school. College life helped her gain social confidence.

• ATo compare and contrast the personalities of twin sisters.
• BTo chronicle the developmental growth of identical twins.
• CTo describe vividly so readers feel they know both sisters.
• DTo support the argument that nature outweighs nurture.

Emissions of sulphur hexafluoride, the strongest greenhouse gas in the Earth’s atmosphere, have increased dramatically in the past few years. This colourless greenhouse gas has multiple uses, including acting as an insulator in electrical installations. Aside from being an insulator in circuit breakers and switches, sulphur hexafluoride is utilised to inhibit fires. However, when installed, it does result in some emissions into the atmosphere. Renewable energy installations require more circuit breakers and switches in their electricity grids due to having more wind turbines and solar panels. Therefore, as renewable energy production expands, there is likely to be an associated rise in sulphur hexafluoride emissions.

• ASulphur hexafluoride has a wide variety of uses in renewable energy production.
• BProducing more renewable energy may lead to more sulphur hexafluoride emissions.
• CIt is becoming increasingly difficult and complicated to generate renewable energy.
• DGreen energy demands ultimately result in emissions of various greenhouse gases.

Ancient Rome’s streets were named after the social status of their residents. But what do we know about the interactions between these varying classes? Conflicting ideas exist of how Rome’s inhabitants socialised. Some historical texts provide details of specific trading areas for differing classes, yet others suggest densely-populated streets where people of all statuses came to socialise. Archaeological findings, however, show that the gradual development of Rome’s commerce and infrastructure led to an increase in population and social activity among city-dwellers. These developments may have led to more social mixing, as we can see demonstrated by the kinds of seating area and mosaics excavated from the ancient city.

• AThe development of trade in Rome influenced the style of buildings around the city
• BHistorical texts provide certainty about the lifestyle of ancient Rome’s residents.
• CThe growth and development of the city directly affected the interactivity of its residents.
• DUncertainty about ancient Rome’s physical environment has been addressed by excavations.

Being a living language, English is always changing. New words are invented every day. Many are linked to developments in computer science and other areas of technology. However, technology doesn’t just influence a language by increasing its vocabulary, it also causes language to change more frequently. In the Internet age, we’ve become used to using emails as a quick and convenient means of communication. However, when writing these messages, we’re a bit careless about our use of grammar. Does this mean that the quality of written English is poorer because of emails? In this chapter, it is argued that people’s actual use of language doesn’t prove this to be true.

• Athe increase in the number of messages sent by email
• Bthe difference between emails and traditional writing
• C the effects of new vocabulary on emails
• Dthe effect of emails on the standard of written English

One of the Supreme Court's most important ________ (5) is to decide cases that raise questions of constitutional interpretation. The Court decides if a law or government ________ (6) violates the Constitution. This is known as judicial review and enables the Court to invalidate both federal and state laws when they ________ (7) with the Constitution. Since the Supreme Court stands as the ultimate authority in constitutional interpretation, its decisions can be ________ (8) only by another Supreme Court decision or by a constitutional amendment.

Leonard Lauder, chief executive of the company his mother founded, says she always thought she "was growing a nice little business." And that it is. A little business that ________ (9) 45% of the cosmetics market in U.S. department stores. A little business that sells in 118 countries and last year grew to be $3.6 billion big in sales. The Lauder family's shares are worth more than $6 billion. But early on, there wasn't a burgeoning business, there weren't houses in New York, Palm Beach, Fla., or the south of France. It is said that at one point there was one person to answer the telephones who ________ (10) her voice to become the shipping or billing department as needed. You more or less know the Estée Lauder story because it's a chapter from the book of American business folklore. In short, Josephine Esther Mentzer, daughter of immigrants, lived above her father's hardware store in Corona, a section of Queens in New York City. She started her ________ (11) by selling skin creams concocted by her uncle, a chemist, in beauty shops, beach clubs and resorts. No doubt the portions were good — Estée Lauder was a quality fanatic — but the saleslady was better. Much better. And she simply outworked everyone else in the cosmetics industry. She ________ (12) the bosses of New York City department stores until she got some counter space at Saks Fifth Avenue in 1948. And once in that space, she utilized a personal selling approach that proved as ________ (13) as the promise of her skin ________ (14) and perfumes.

May 15, 2008 When motorcyclists have an accident they roll a dice, with escaping ________ (15) on one side and very severe consequences on the other. And for those unlucky enough to ________ (16) severe and permanent injuries like paraplegia, there's often one huge regret - that they may never ride again on a real bike. A chance encounter with a paraplegic ex-motorcross champion in a hospital carpark inspired West Australian Darren Lomman to put together an audacious project: a motorcycle for paraplegic riders - and his working prototype, a heavily modified Honda CBR250RR, is now road licensed and ________ (17) .With the right investment and profile, Lomman believes the Dreamfit bike isn't too far away from production potential - and after around 150 enquiries from all around the world, he would love to be able to put the bikes in the hands of more people for whom riding has become an impossible dream. Started as a university project, the Dreamfit CBR250RR has been modified to ________ (18) riders paralyzed from the chest down, with thumb-activated pneumatic rams for foot-free gear shifting, a combined braking system, custom-moulded ergonomic cups to hold the rider in place without any lower body strength, and a set of steel-braced "landing gear" wheels that drop to provide stability at very low speeds.

In the fast-changing world of modern healthcare, the job of a doctor is more like the job of chief executive. The people who run hospitals and physicians' practices don't just need to know ________ (19) . They must also be ________ (20) to balance budgets, motivate a large and diverse ________ (21) and make difficult marketing and legal ________ (22).

Australia Day is an official celebration that commemorates the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet of British Ships at Sydney Cove, New South Wales, and raising of the Flag of Great Britain at that site by Governor Arthur Phillip. It is celebrated annually on 26th January and is variously referred to as the Anniversary Day, Invasion Day, Foundation Day, and ANA (Australian Natives' Association) Day. Although it was not known as Australia Day until over a century later, records of celebrations on 26th January date back to 1808. A century later the celebration was officially recognized when in 1908 the British colonies of Australia formed a Federation, marking the birth of modern Australia. It was not until 1935 that all Australian states and territories had adopted use of the term Australia Day to mark the date, and not until 1994 that the date was consistently marked by a public holiday by all states and territories. Outdoor concerts, community barbecues, sports competitions, festivals, and fireworks are some of the many events presented in communities across Australia for this occasion. These official events are presented by the National Australia Day Council, an official council or committee in each state and territory, and local committees. The celebration is also marked by the announcement of the Australian of the Year Awards. This celebrates the achievements and contributions of eminent Australians, both young and old, in all fields from science to sport.

• AAn official celebration that is used to commemorate the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet of British Ships at Sydney Cove.
• BAnnual celebrations that marks the achievements of only the legends drawn from all fields from science to sport.
• CAnnual celebration that marks the first raising of the flag of Great Britain at Sydney Cove by Governor Arthur Phillip.
• DA public holiday that is marked by only the Australian states and not territories.
• EAn annual celebration that marks the birth of the modern Australia, after the formation of a Federation by Australia.

Examinations: Despite all the new thinking, there is still no acceptable alternative to the examination. Whether it be at the end of term, or the year, or at the end of a school course or for the purpose of choosing candidates for a course of study and training, the only practicable way of measuring a student’s performance or of assessing his potential is by an examination, supplemented where necessary, by recommendation, interview and other devices. Means to Pass: The most unfortunate by-product of the examination system has been the proliferation of study notes, guides to passing examination, model answers, hints for writing essays and similar travesties of education. There is no need to engage on the unethical nature of these publications. From the student’s point of view a rigorous censorship of this kind of publication would be a great advantage. For one thing these ‘notes’ promote the habit of rote learning. For the other, they are priced more highly than the poems of Wordsworth or the plays of Shakespeare, although they are not worth the paper they are printed on. The sooner we find a way to dispense with these, the better it is for the student community and the system at large.

• AExaminations are meant to analyse the process of learning.
• BThere are serious problems in assessing a student’s progress through examinations.
• CThe study notes and guides hinder the true process of study.
• DExaminations recognize a student’s difficulties and overcome them.
• EThere are no alternatives, better or worse, to the examination system.

Given the record of our political class, the proposal to give tax rebates for political donations will likely meet a similar fate. Instead of cleaning up political life then, the bill runs the risk of being a godsend for fly-by-night middlemen and fixers, and unscrupulous businessmen. The other objection to the bill is a more traditional one, namely that rather than private donations, the solution is in state funding of parties. This not only ensures that there is some sense of proportion and fairness in the quantum of funding available to different parties, but also that funding does not become a means of determining the political agenda. Private funding, in this argument, is an unacceptable form of political lobbying which promotes the specific demands of donors apart from generally favouring conservative, mainstream parties, squeezing out those representing minority voices. Whatever its merits, the most serious obstacle to this kind of reasoning comes from the precarious nature of public finance in the country. At a time when the Indian state is already hard-pressed to find resources for education, health, and other social security activities, can there be a case for it to burden itself with a new category of expenses? In purely economic terms too, the proposed tax breaks do not augur well for the savings sector; and this when the sagging savings graph in the economy is already a matter of increasing anxiety.

• ATo provide better education opportunities to the citizens.
• BServing the health-related requirements of the people.
• CEducational donations to institutions.
• DTaking care of the safety and security of the citizens.
• EThe funds for the proper functioning of transport systems.

Using infant mortality as a key indicator of the status of children, we now begin to have the broad features of a hypothesis as to the causes of higher or lower mortality rates. One aspect is the complex of factors involving the access of mothers to trained personnel and other facilities for child delivery, the nutritional status of pregnant and nursing mothers and the quality of health care and nourishment which babies receive. The other aspect, indicated by rural-urban differentials, is the possible importance of human settlement patterns in relation to the availability of health care and related facilities such as potable water, excreta disposal systems, etc. Thus, in a special sense, it is much cheaper to make health and other basic services available to a community when it is densely settled rather than widely dispersed. It is possible to argue, however, that both these sets of factors are closely related to a third one, namely, income levels. Poorer mothers and babies have less access to health-care facilities and nourishment than those who are better off; urban communities are on an average much better off than rural communities. That economic condition plays a crucial role in determining the status of both mother and child, is beyond dispute. But the question really is whether this is the only decisive factor or whether factors such as the availability of medical facilities, healthcare programs, and nutritional programs have an independent role. If so then the settlement patterns which affect service delivery to the mother and child target groups become a relevant consideration. These are clearly issues of some importance for policy and program planning.

• AIt is easy and economical to provide health care facilities in dense settlements.
• BThe fact that income has an important role to play in health care is arguable.
• CA densely settled community has to be supplied with health and basic services after bearing a large cost.
• DMothers from well to do families can provide better care and facilities to their babies.
• EThe settlement conditions, income levels, and health facilities are the only influencing factors behind the varying mortality rates.

Primitive man was probably more concerned with fire as a source of warmth and as a means of cooking food than as a source of light. Before he discovered less laborious ways of making fire, he had to preserve it, and whenever he went on a journey he carried a firebrand with him. His discovery that the firebrand from which the torch may well have developed, could be used for illumination was probably incidental purpose of preserving a flame. Lamps, too probably developed by accident. Early man may have had his first conception of a lamp while watching a twig of fibre burning in the molten fat dropped from roasting carcass. All he had to do was to fashion a vessel to contain fat and float a lighted reed in it. Such lamps, which were made of hollowed stones or sea-shells, have persisted in identical form up to quite recent times.

• ALighting his surroundings was a major concern for the primitive man.
• BPrimitive man used to soften his food by heating it.
• CTorch was discovered more by accident than by design.
• DPreserving fire was not a major concern for the primitive man.
• ESome of the primitive lamp designs survived for long through the ages.

Most people don’t mind working out a bit, but are discouraged by the thought of exercising hard. The idea of sweating buckets is so daunting that they avoid exercising. Fortunately, exercise is not a matter of all or nothing. There is some reward at every level of effort, provided it is regular. Spend at least 30 minutes a day in action like brisk walking to errands climbing stairs, carrying heavy shopping or children, doing outdoor gardening. Your rewards will not be immediate, but you can expect a reduced risk of problems like brittle bones, heart disease and poor blood circulation. You work up a decent appetite and sleep well, but improvement in body-shape will be minimal. Light regular exercise helps your heart. Such activity can include anything from brisk walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, any light sport or even disco dancing. The reward is immunity to colds and flu, less stress, slightly healthier levels of cholesterol and blood pressure. The figure trims down a little but only gradually.

• AEven some routine activities can serve as light exercise.
• BIf putting your body into complete shape is your aim, you might be in for some disappointment.
• CIt is necessary to exercise different parts of the body daily.
• DPut in some aerobic activity for working up a sweat.
• EIt builds resistance to chronic diseases and infections, and your heart performs strongly.

The concept of the rocket, or rather the mechanism behind the idea of propelling an object into the air, has been around for well over two thousand years. However, it wasn’t until the discovery of the reaction principle, which was the key to space travel and so represents one of the great milestones in the history of scientific thought, that rocket technology was able to develop. Not only did it solve a problem that had intrigued man for ages, but, more importantly, it literally opened the door to exploration of the universe. It was not until the eighteenth century that Europe became seriously interested in the possibilities of using the rocket itself as a weapon of war and not just to propel other weapons. Prior to this, rockets were used only in pyrotechnic displays. The incentive for the more aggressive use of rockets came not from within the European continent but from far-away India, whose leaders had built up a corps of rocketeers and used rockets successfully against the British in the late eighteenth century. The Indian rockets used against the British were described by a British Captain serving in India as ‘an iron envelope about 200 millimetres long and 40 millimetres in diameter with sharp points at the top and a 3m-long bamboo guiding stick’. In the early nineteenth century the British began to experiment with incendiary barrage rockets. The British rocket differed from the Indian version in that it was completely encased in a stout, iron cylinder, terminating in a conical head, measuring one metre in diameter and having a stick almost five metres long and constructed in such a way that it could be firmly attached to the body of the rocket. The Americans developed a rocket, complete with its own launcher, to use against the Mexicans in the mid-nineteenth century. A long cylindrical tube was propped up by two sticks and fastened to the top of the launcher, thereby allowing the rockets to be inserted and lit from the other end. However, the results were sometimes not that impressive as the behaviour of the rockets in flight was less than predictable. Since then, there have been huge developments in rocket technology, often with devastating results in the forum of war. Nevertheless, the modern day space programs owe their success to the humble beginnings of those in previous centuries who developed the foundations of the reaction principle. Who knows what it will be like in the future?

• AGreatest outcome of the discovery of the reaction principle was, rockets could be propelled into the air
• BSpace travel became a reality due the discovery of reaction principle
• CGreatest progress in rocket technology was made by the British
• DRocket technology saw substantial improvements from nineteenth century
• EBritish soldiers were petrified by the use of rockets by the Indians

Robots: The word 'robot' was first used to denote a fictional humanoid in a 1920 play R.U.R. by the Czech writer, Karel Čapek but it was Karel's brother Josef Čapek who was the word's true inventor. The branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, and application of robots, as well as computer systems for their control, sensory feedback, and information processing is robotics. Using robots: In general robots can be autonomous or semi-autonomous and are now used in different fields. They have replaced humans in performing repetitive and dangerous tasks which humans prefer not to do, or are unable to do because of size limitations, or which take place in extreme environments such as outer space or the bottom of the sea. For instance, robots can now be used in industry, as in car manufacturing, or they can be used in homes to do the housework. Some robots may respond to speech or be even medical operating tools. New functionalities: In 2008, Caterpillar Inc. developed a dump truck which can drive itself without any human operator. Many analysts believe that self-driving trucks may eventually revolutionize logistics. By 2014, Caterpillar had a self-driving dump truck which is expected to greatly change the process of mining. In 2015. Some analysts believe that within the next few decades, most trucks will be self-driving. A literate or 'reading robot' named Marge has intelligence that comes from software. She can read newspapers, find and correct misspelled words, learn about banks like Barclays, and understand that some restaurants are better places to eat than others. Baxter is a new robot which is different from other industrial robots because it can learn. A worker could teach Baxter how to perform a task by moving its hands in the desired motion and having Baxter memorize them. Extra dials, buttons, and controls are available on Baxter's arm for more precision and features. Any regular worker could program Baxter and it only takes a matter of minutes, unlike usual industrial robots that take extensive programs and coding in order to be used. This means Baxter needs no programming in order to operate. No software engineers are needed. This also means Baxter can be taught to perform multiple, more complicated tasks.

• ARobots have been developed to respond to speech and various medical operating tools.
• BThe development of a dump truck that can drive itself without human operator.
• CLiterate robot that has intelligence originating from software.
• DDevelopment of a robot that can learn, known as Marge.
• EA robot that can learn but do not require software engineers; thus, it can be taught to perform multiple and more complicated tasks.
• FA robot that does not have extra dials, buttons, and controls on its arms for more precision and features.