Page 138 - Tài Liệu Ôn Thi THPT Quốc Gia Môn Tiếng Anh

O PEN CLOZE TESTS

Read the texts belovv and think o f the vvord vvhich best fits each space.

1. THE YOUNGEST ROUND-THE-WORLD SAILOR

An 18-year-old returned to a hero’s welcome in Australia yesterday after
becoming the youngest person (1) ______ sail round the world non-stop.
David Dawson sailed into Preemantle, Western Australia, anxious to enjoy a
cold beer (2 )______ warm shower for the ílrst time in nine months. “I could
do it another four tim es,” he joked as he stepped ashore to (3 )______ greeted
by his family in front (4) ______ 15,000 spectators crowding the quayside.
His 14-metre boat, Sea ílight, had to be towed into the port (5) ______ of
strong winds and obstruction from the 300 boats that (6) gathered to
escort him in. Sailing club oữĩcials said that he passed (7) ___ __hnishing
line ííve kilometres out to sea late on Priday.
Mr Dawson had covered (8) ______than 50,000 kilometres since leaving
Preemantle, but it was anything but (9) easy trip. His radio ílooded,
his boat lost her mast and the generator broke down, threatening to end the
voyage prematurely. (1 0 )______ one point, he (1 1 )_______forced to accept a
bolt from the British Royal Navy to repair his damaged mast and (1 2 )______
a result he could not claim to (13)______made the journey “unassisted”.
(1 4 )______ his 264 days at sea, the teenager became the youngest person
to sail single-handedly around Cape Horn, (1 5 )______he did in winter, with
a damaged sail. He said he had missed his girlíriend, real food, beer and
surílng.

2. THE VIOLIN MAKER

A physicist-turned-violin-maker believes that he has found a way to make
new violins sound (1 )______ old ones. Alan Beavitt puts his violins through a
repeated cycle of damp and dry conditions, re-creating in (2) ______ few
months the natural changes that he believes are responsible (3) ______
making older violins sound better. Why older violins sound better (4 )______
long been a mystery. The best ones of all, made (5 )______ Antonio Stradivari
in Cremona, Italy, 300 years ago, have a tone that other makers have tried
but failed to match.
Mr Beavitt argues that the changes in the sound of a violin over time (6)
______the result of slow changes in the wood. The process leads (7 )_______a
gradual stiffening of the wood, which improves the plaỊÕng quality and
depends on regular changes in humidity. He reproduces the effect in two
ways. He (8) ______ puts his violins in a sealed Container and Controls the
humidity with saturated salt Solutions or he pumps air of controlled
humidity through rubber pipes into the interior of the violin. The weight of

Tài liệu ôn thi THPT Ouổc gia ỉìión Tiếng Anh 139