Đề thi thử tiếng Anh THPT Quốc gia 2023 (Mã đề 019)

An increasing number of people nowadays are choosing to work from the comfortable environment of their own homes rather than ___(34)___ the troublesome process of travelling to work every day. The emergence of teleworking, as it is commonly called, is due to the extensive use of computers in the workplace. Working conditions at home are more relaxed and can actually be timed to ___(35)___ oneself. There is no stressful need to get to the office on time, no frustration ___(36)___ is caused by the rush-hour traffic as with commuting, and it isn't necessary to face unpleasant colleagues on a daily basis.

___(37)___, there is a negative side. For example, some people might suffer from boredom if they spend all day at home, or they might feel the temptation to spend time doing ___(38)___ jobs around the house.

Scientists have dreamed for a long time about building a 'flying train' which can float through the air above the tracks. With Maglev technology, their dreams are now a reality. Maglev trains have no wheels. Instead, powerful magnets lift them into the air and push them forward, at speeds of up to 500 km per hour.

As well as speed, Maglev has a number of advantages over other transport systems. The trains are quieter and the journey is smoother because they don't have wheels. They are also greener because they don't use fuel and so create less pollution. Right now there is only one high-speed Maglev train system in the world. It carries passengers from Shanghai city centre to the airport. However, work has started on a new, longer Maglev track in Japan. Trains will go from Tokyo to Nagoya in 40 minutes. But don't expect to ride on it on your next trip to Japan. It won't open until 2027! Then, in 2045, the line will extend to Osaka.

There is one major problem with Maglev technology: it is incredibly expensive to build the tracks. Transport planners predict that the Tokyo to Osaka line will cost 91 billion dollars. The high cost means that Maglev technology probably won't replace other forms of transport in the near future. However, the technology is still in development and somebody might find a cheaper and simpler way to build the tracks. And then, who knows? In the future, some of us might fly to work by train.

For Sean O'Brien, it was just an ordinary night out with friends. He knew that people sometimes mocked him for being overweight, and he was usually able to shrug it off. But this time, as well as laughing at him in person, someone decided to publicly fat-shame him by posting a video of him dancing online, with a hurtful comment. Sean was completely unaware of it, but the post about him was shared widely, and it prompted a wave of abuse from immature Internet trolls.

However, as well as the cyberbullies, other people were watching. A group of women in California, who were campaigning to encourage people to have a positive body image whatever their size, decided to take action. They put out a message on Twitter, inviting Sean on an all-expenses- paid trip from London to Los Angeles, to meet and dance with them. When Sean's friends first told him about the search for 'dancing man', he figured it was a bit of nonsense which would soon blow over, and decided not to bother doing anything about it.

But the movement got bigger and bigger. Sean rethought his decision, made contact, and the women - all 1,700 of them - started raising money to throw him an extra-special party in LA. He went to the party in California. Sean had assumed that just a few people would turn up, but he realised his mistake as soon as he saw over 1,000 people queuing to get into the nightclub! Sean danced all night and the story of how he and the women's group in California took a stance against cyberbullying was reported around the world. As a result of the event, some of the women set up Dance Free Movement, an online forum where anyone who felt they had been bullied or victimised could receive support. The 'dancing man' himself has become a fundraiser for several anti-bullying charities.

Sean commented in an interview at the time that he was amazed that something which started out so badly, had become such a positive movement. He said that he had actually never really thought about the people who posted the original images, concluding that they must have their own insecurities, to put the spotlight on someone else so maliciously. Sean certainly had the last laugh. We are often told that the best idea is not to give bullies any attention, but it may be that the best way to deal with cyberbullying is to act as these women did and be brave enough to make it clear that we are uncomfortable with this kind of behaviour, that we disagree with what is being said and that bullying is completely unacceptable.