Đề luyện thi vào lớp 10 - Đề 4

And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. From above, birds must have a wonderful view of the world below. Flying over everything at such a height gives them a rare ability to see many things. In English, we use the term “bird’s eye view” to describe a view from above as if seen by a bird in flight. It is also described as an “overall view” or “big picture view.” For example, when I start a project, I first like to get a bird’s eye view. I ask myself several important questions: What is the overall goal? Who is the main focus? What resources do I have available to me? Answers to these “big picture” questions can help me understand the scope of the project. Now, let's talk about noticing the smaller details. Some birds, called raptors, are known for their extremely sharp vision. Eagles, hawks, and owls can see their prey from very far away. The Raptor Center is part of the University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Its website explains why eagles, hawks, and owls see so well: “Raptors have powerful binocular vision, where both their left and right eyes can see and focus on a single object.” Eagles and hawks also have a special bone structure around their eyes that protects them from bright sunlight. Their ability to focus on faraway details in addition to other factors make them extremely effective hunters. In English, the keen vision of eagles and hawks describes a certain type of person. If you have an eagle eye, you have the ability to see or notice distant objects. Also, you observe everything, even very small details which others might miss. On the same note, someone who is hawk-eyed watches and notices everything that happens. These types of people may even perceive things that are not clear to others. Both eagle-eyed and hawk-eyed people are observant or perceptive. A person does not have to have this ability all the time. They might use their keen vision and powers of observation only at certain times, especially times when they need to keep a close watch. For example, during Christmastime, hawk-eyed children might search the sky looking for Santa Claus. These children may not be very observant during the rest of the year, but during Christmastime, they are looking for gifts.

This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Marco in Italy. Here is Marco’s question: Dear Teacher, I want to understand more when to use the word “regimen” for exercise or other actions. Thank you. A regimen is usual and repeated action, especially in training. In health care, it is a systematic plan to improve a person’s health. A training regimen, for example, can include exercises people can do to help them get the results they want. For example, a long-distance runner’s regimen might include runs of 10 or 20 kilometers every week. Note that we often put another noun before the word “regimen” to help identify it more clearly. These are called attributive nouns. They act similarly to adjectives, as in the following examples: a weightlifting regimen, a workout regimen, a running regimen, a walking regimen, a stretching regimen In fact, you can more clearly identify any kind of regimen by placing an attributive noun before it. For example, musicians can have a “practice regimen,” and students can have a “study regimen.” To express what actions or steps are in a regimen, we can use the verb and preposition “consist of,” as the following example shows: My exercise regimen consists of strength training two days a week and running or walking most other days. Note that native speakers might substitute the word “routine” for “regimen” in some situations. Here are some examples: What practice routine do you follow? You can use this daily routine to improve your fitness. A medical regimen is a series of repeated treatments. For example, a doctor might tell a patient to take a certain medicine two times a day for two weeks. We often put adjectives, like medical, before the word “regimen,” also. “Daily,” and “effective” are commonly used, as in: Try to include long walks in your daily regimen. You need an effective regimen for losing weight. And it is not unusual to use both an adjective and an attributive noun, like in this example: She swims two kilometers a day as part of a strict training regimen. For our readers and listeners, what are your questions about American English? Do you have a special study regimen? We want to hear from you! And please let us know where you are from, too. And that’s Ask a Teacher.

The Empire State Building remains a popular place to visit in New York City. The structure sits in a central part of New York’s Manhattan area. It was built at a time when many developers were racing to become the first to complete the world’s tallest building. Construction on the Empire State Building started in January 1930. Building operations began two months later. The structure went up very quickly, with workers completing framing for the structure at a rate of about four-and-a-half floors per week. When completed in 1931, the Empire State Building was just over 443 meters tall, with 102 floors. The measurement included a 62-meter-tall lightening pole on top. It was the world’s tallest building at the time and remained so for more than 40 years. On May 1, 1931, the president of the United States, Herbert Hoover, took part in an opening ceremony. He pressed a button that turned on the lights to officially open the building. By 1946, the Empire State Building had become the headquarters for numerous organizations and supported more than 15,000 employees. But over time, the building never became as popular with large companies as the developers had hoped. Today, the structure houses mostly small businesses. The Empire State Building opened during the Great Depression, a long-lasting economic crisis that affected the U.S. and other economies around the world. This resulted in lower than predicted building costs. The structure alone cost about $25 million, while the cost of the land brought the price up to more than $40 million. Today, New York City officials estimate that more than 2.5 million people visit the Empire State Building each year. At least half the visitors come from other countries. The building has observation areas on two floors. The first is on the 86th floor and the other on the 102nd. The upper area has top-to-bottom windows on all sides to provide 360-degree views of the city skyline. Building officials say that on a clear day, visitors can see up to 120 kilometers. On the way up, visitors can stop at an exhibit area on the second floor. Among the things to see there is a model of the moving hand used in the popular 1933 movie King Kong. In the film, King Kong climbs the Empire State Building. The huge creature is then attacked by military planes and falls to his death.