Tiếng Anh 2026 · Có lời giải chi tiết
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the option that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 12 to 16.
Among the many paradoxes surrounding money, one deserves particular attention: the wealth that truly counts is precisely the wealth you cannot observe. When a sleek Lamborghini glides past, it is normal (12) . Closer inspection often tells a different story. A large number of those who drive luxury vehicles are, in fact, only modest earners (13) to the privilege of being seen in such a car. It is uncertain to say whether someone driving a car worth one hundred thousand pounds is affluent. Yet the certain thing is that they have one hundred thousand pounds less than they did before they got the car, or one hundred thousand pounds more in debt. (14) .
We tend to judge wealth by what we see as visible details are the only evidence we have access to. Nobody walks around displaying a printout of their savings, (15) – handbags, holiday villas, posts on social networks – to decide who is prospering. Contemporary marketing has fed this habit, packaging the illusion of success as a saleable product. (16) . It hides in the upgrade declined, the jewellery left in the display case, the watch never bought, the wardrobe never expanded and the business-class seat politely waved away.
In short, wealth is whatever money has not yet been swapped for tangible goods. That is why distinguishing wealthy from rich deserves careful thought; mistaking one for the other has quietly ruined many a budget.
(Adapted from Psychology of Money)
(15)
so we instead rely on their outward appearances
instead they rely on the appearances on the outside
instead of their reliable outward appearances
yet they appear reliable on the outside instead
Không ai mang theo bản sao kê tiết kiệm, nên chúng ta dựa vào vẻ bề ngoài (túi xách, biệt thự…) để đánh giá ai giàu có. Chủ ngữ we thống nhất với câu đầu đoạn. Chọn A.