Đề luyện thi vào lớp 10 - Đề 3

A lot of teenagers love music. It helps them express themselves and connect with others. Teens often listen to music through headphones or go to concerts with friends. However, (19)______ good or bad effects on teen behaviour? Some people believe that music has a couple of positive effects. It can make teens feel better when they are sad, and it helps them connect (20)______ like the same music. Also, learning to play an instrument or write songs can make teens more creative and disciplined. (21)______, some people worry about the negative effects. Some songs with violent or bad words might influence teens to act in risky ways. Music (22)______ teens' hearing if they listen to it too loudly through headphones. Parents (23)______ an important role in helping teens make good choices about music. They (24)______ talk to teens about the meaning of songs and help them avoid harmful music. With the right guidance, music can have a good influence on teenagers.

This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Doyeon in Korea about the usage of three similar words. Here is the question: Hello. I want to know the differences between the beach, . . . coast and shore. Thank you. You ask a useful question, Doyeon. Beach, shore and coast are related words, but they have some important differences. Beach The word “beach” is the most specific of the three words. The Collins online dictionary defines beach as “a nearly level stretch of pebbles and sand beside a sea, lake, etc., often washed by high water.” Ocean beaches are popular places to visit. We often use the phrase “at the beach” to express the idea of spending time in the general area of the beach, as in the following example: They will vacation at the beach this summer. We usually say “on the beach” when describing specific activities we do there: She went for a walk on the beach. They are playing football on the beach. Coast The Learning English Word Book defines coast as “land on the edge of the ocean.” We can use the word to describe a wide area, however. For example, Baltimore, Maryland is an East Coast city even though it is several kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean. Here are more examples of how we can use “coast” in a sentence. The Florida coast has many nice towns and beaches. The coast of California extends over 1,300 kilometers. Like the expression “at the beach,” we can say “on the coast” when describing the general area, as in the following example: Her mother has lived on the coast for 30 years. We can use the expression “off the coast of” to describe an area of ocean or sea relative to a place on land: The island is about 60 kilometers off the coast of Africa. Shore The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines the word “shore” as “the land bordering a usually large body of water.” Shore can sometimes mean the beach, but not always. For example, you might swim to shore and come out of the water onto a beach. But you could also come to shore at a port with no beach in sight. And we can use “shore” when discussing the general area, just like we do with the word “coast.” The following example shows this meaning: The northern shore has many nice towns and beaches.

Suppose you are listening to a program in English and hear the word “borrow.” You have heard this word many times but forget its meaning. So, you look up the equivalent word in your own language. Ahh, yes, now you remember! A few days later, you see the word again, but again cannot remember its meaning. Why? It is easy to blame yourself or think, “I have a terrible memory!” But your memory is not the problem. The problem is that translating a word to its equivalent word in your language is not an effective way to learn vocabulary. This is because it does not create strong connections in the brain, something critical for remembering information. To really learn words, you have to bring attention to them and connect them with mental images or your existing knowledge. This helps your brain recall words quickly and easily when you need them. On today’s Education Tips, we will discuss three methods that use images to retain vocabulary. 1-Use pictures First, let’s discuss the most straightforward method: Using pictures as visual aids. Danielle Zelin is an English teacher and teacher trainer. She has taught for nearly 25 years, including in South Africa, Latvia and Mauritius, her homeland. Zelin says visual aids are important for language learners because humans think in images. “When we hear a sentence...[when] somebody is talking to us, we see the pictures. We don’t see the words. We don’t see the sentence in our brain. Like ‘Yesterday, I went to the beach.’ If I tell you that, you will see me on the beach. You will not see the sentence in written form.” She uses pictures or images with her beginning students and some of her mid-level students. Cristiane Galvão has used pictures to teach vocabulary to students of every level, from grade school to the university level. Galvão, who is based in California, has taught English for 20 years, including in the United States and Brazil.

We continue the story of “The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane. As we told you last week, the story is based on true events. In eighteen ninety-six, Crane was traveling to Cuba as a news reporter. On his way there, his ship sank in the Atlantic Ocean. Crane climbed into the last remaining lifeboat. Three men got into the boat with him. They were the ship’s captain, the cook and a sailor named Billie. For three days, the men steered the small boat through high waves along the coast of Florida. At last, they saw land. Here is Shep O’Neal with the final part of the story. A long stretch of coast lay before the eyes of the men. Slowly, the land rose up out of the mountainous sea. The men could see a small house against the sky. To the south, they could see a lighthouse. Tide, wind and waves were pushing the lifeboat northward. The men thought someone on land would have seen the boat by now. “Well,” said the captain, “I suppose we’ll have to attempt to reach the shore ourselves. If we stay out here too long, none of us will have the strength left to swim after the boat sinks.” So Billie the sailor turned the boat straight for the shore. “If we don’t all get ashore,” said the captain, “I suppose you fellows know where to send news of my death?” The men then exchanged some information. There was a great deal of anger in them. They thought: “If I am going to be drowned, why, in the name of the seven mad gods who rule the sea, was I permitted to come this far and think about sand and trees?” The waves grew stronger. They seemed always just about to break and roll over the little boat. The coast was still far away. The sailor said: “Boys, the boat won’t live three minutes more, and we’re too far out to swim. Shall I take her to sea again, captain?” “Yes! Go ahead!” said the captain. The sailor turned the boat and took her safely out to sea again. “It’s funny those life-saving people haven’t seen us,” one of the men said. “Maybe they think we’re out here for sport! Maybe they think we’re fishing. Maybe they think we’re fools.”