As birds awaken the early risers at dawn on the farm, one person is already up;

in fact, he hasn’t even been to bed. Sixty-four-year old Thai Ngoc, from central
Quang Nam province in Vietnam, claims that he has not slept for 33 years. “My
insomnia started many years ago after I got a fever. I have tried sleeping pills
and Vietnamese traditional medicine but nothing helps, not even to get me to
sleep for a few minutes”, said Ngoc.. but amazingly, despite 11,700
consecutive sleepless nights since then , he has never once been ill.
“Fortunately, the insomnia doesn’t seem to have had a negative impact on my
health. I still feel healthy and can farm normally like other men. I even carry
two 50 kg bags of fertilizer for 4 Km every day”. According to his wife , when
Ngoc went for a medical check-up recently, his doctor said he was in perfect
health except for a minor decline in liver function.

Ngoc lives with his six children on his farm at the foot of a mountain. He
spends the day farming and taking care of his pigs and chickens, and at night
he often does extra farm work or guards his farm to prevent theft. His
neighbours said that Ngoc volunteered to help beat a drum during the night
and guard the house for the relatives of the dead during funeral ceremonies so
that they could have a nap. They also said that when the villagers were
planting sugar cane, several people asked Ngoc to be their “alarm clock” and
to wake them up early in the morning to go to work as he was up anyway.
Experts say that a chronic lack of sleep often causes anorexia, lethargy and
irritability. But in special cases, some extreme insomniacs can still live and
work normally, although this is a small minority. Thai Ngoc is obviously one of
them.
Questions
1.Write a summary of the text in English, including the most important
points using your own words (approximately 50 words; 1 point).
2. Mark the following sentences true or false (T/F) according to the
text. Then write the part (and ONLY that part) of the text which
justifies your answer. (1 point; 0.25 each)
a) Thai Ngoc says that he has been awake since he was 31 years old.
b) Ngoc has an important deterioration in his liver.
c) During funerals he beats the drum so that all neighbours will know that
someone has died.
d) Anorexia, lethargy and irritability are generally caused by lack of sleep.

3. Find words and phrases in the text that correspond in meaning to

the words and definitions given here. (1 point; 0.25 each)
a) temperature b) unhealthy c) cultivate land d)
deprivation

4. Pronunciation. (1 point. 0.25 each)

a. In which of the following words are the letters “th” pronounced /ɵ/?: that –
them – thanks – those
b. Write the word where -ed is pronounced differently: claimed / started /
seemed / lived
c. Write the word in which the underlined letters are pronounced /aʊ/ the same
as “ou” in “around”. grow – shown – how – own
d. Write the ord that has the underlined part pronounced differently from the
rest: farm _ warm_ park _ garden
5.Rewrite the following sentences without changing the original
meaning. Use the word in brackets and / or the expression given,
making the necessary changes. (1.5 points; 0.5 points each)
a) Despite 11,700 consecutive sleepless nights, he has never once been ill
(ALTHOUGH)
b) Chris speaks English so fluently that I thought she was American (SUCH)
Chris….
c) ` My insomnia started many years ago after I got a fever,´ Ngoc said
Ngoc said………………………………………………………………………………………….

6. Choose ONE of these topics to write 120 -150words (3 points)

a) Describe a practical joke (= a prank) that was played on you and explain
how it affected you.
b) Cyborgs: Integrating tools into our bodies is a natural evolution of a process
that has been in motion since man first learned how to use fire. Discuss