Câu 16 Phần I · Đề chính thức Tiếng Anh 2026 (Bộ GD&ĐT) – mã đề 1148

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 13 to 17.

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 (13) . Closer inspection often tells a different story. A large number of those who drive luxury vehicles are, in fact, only modest earners (14) 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. (15) .

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, (16) – 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. (17) . 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)