Trắc nghiệm tổng hợp Tiếng anh có đáp án 2023 (Phần 86)

Less than a year ago marketing director, David Smith, 33 was behaving like a secret agent. He used to secretly tape all his conversations, he refused to sign his name and he would ask his secretary to check all his emails. Anything he wrote was photocopied and kept as “evidence”. But David isn’t mad, or even mildly eccentric. He suffers from ‘responsibility OCD’, one of more common forms of obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD, as it is usually known. OCD is now recognized as the second most prevalent mental-health problem, after depression – and the number of reported cases is soaring. Experts estimate that 2% - 3% of the population suffer from the full-blown syndrome, with as many as one in five suffering from a milder form. OCD sufferers are tortured by obsessional thoughts, such as worrying that their hands are contaminated by germs. The terrible anxiety is only relieved by performing a particular set of behaviours. Unfortunately, any sense of relief is short-lived, which is why the behaviour must be repeated again and again. OCD sufferers know their behavior is irrational, yet feel powerless to stop. Common treatments are either antidepressants or behavioral therapy with a psychologist, but only 60% of patients show some improvement. However, a new treatment from America is bringing fresh hope to sufferers. One of the OCD gurus and neuropsychiatrists, Jeffrey Schwartz, has designed the Four Steps program which employs meditation techniques with the aim of teaching sufferers to manage their symptoms by themselves. “The goal is to learn to override false brain messages”, explains Schwartz. There are different theories about what causes the disorder. Most experts recognize a genetic element that can be triggered by a stressful event. Schwartz believes that the OCD ‘worry circuit’ is a direct result of faulty brain chemistry. “When someone experiences an OCD thought, one part of the brain knows quite clearly that the hand is not dirty”, explains Schwartz. Some part of the brain is standing apart from the symptoms, reflecting on the sheer bizarreness of it all. The objective is to harness this impartial spectator so that patients can use this healthy part of their brain to resist the compulsions. David Smith is delighted with the results of Schwartz’s treatment. “Now I can sign cheques without a problem”, he says brightly. “And I don’t photocopy them either. OCD used to feel like a huge stigma, but I don’t feel handicapped by it anymore. You just deal with it.”

Many people now think that teachers give pupils too much homework. They say that it is unnecessary for children to work at home in their free time. Moreover, they argue that most teachers do not properly plan homework tasks they give to pupils. The result is that pupils have to repeat tasks which they have already done at school.

Recently in Greece many parents complained about the difficult homework which teachers gave to children. The parents said that most of the homework was a waste of time, and they wanted to stop it. Spain and Turkey are two countries which stopped homework recently. In Denmark, West Germany and several other countries in Europe, teachers cannot set homework at weekends. In Holland, teachers allow pupils to stay at school to do their homework. The children are free to help one another. Similar arrangements also exist in some British school.

Most people agree that the homework is unfair. A pupil who can do his homework in a quiet and comfortable room is in a much better position than a pupil who does his homework in a small, noisy room with the television room. Some parents help their children with their homework. Other parents take no interest at all in their children's homework.

It is important, however, that teachers talk to parents about homework. A teacher should suggest suitable tasks for parents to do with their children. Parents are often better at teaching their own children.

In the early days of the cinema, before sound was introduced, silent films were accompanied by a pianist, or even a small orchestra playing in the cinema itself. One reason for this was to cover up the noise of the projector. However, a more important role was to provide support for what was going on in the film, and _________ (1) the audience through the story. Different kinds of music were ________ (2) with different situations, such as fights, chases, romantic scenes and so on. Music was also used to identify the geographical location or historical setting of the story. In ________ (3), individual characters often had their own tune, which could also _______ (4) what sort of person they were.