IELTS Reading: Công nghệ Tài chính FinTech – Đề thi mẫu có đáp án chi tiết

Công nghệ đang thay đổi ngành dịch vụ tài chính một cách sâu sắc và toàn diện. Chủ đề “How Is Technology Influencing The Financial Services Industry?” xuất hiện ngày càng thường xuyên trong các đề thi IELTS Reading thực tế, đặc biệt trong các passage có độ khó trung bình đến cao. Đây là một trong những chủ đề hot của IELTS Academic vì sự kết hợp giữa công nghệ, kinh tế và tác động xã hội.

Bài viết này cung cấp một bộ đề thi IELTS Reading hoàn chỉnh với 3 passages được thiết kế theo đúng format Cambridge IELTS, bao gồm:

• Đề thi đầy đủ 3 passages từ dễ đến khó (Easy → Medium → Hard)
• 40 câu hỏi đa dạng với 7 dạng khác nhau giống thi thật
• Đáp án chính xác 100% kèm giải thích chi tiết
• Từ vựng chuyên ngành và kỹ thuật làm bài hiệu quả

Bộ đề này phù hợp cho học viên từ band 5.0 trở lên, giúp bạn làm quen với độ khó tăng dần và các dạng câu hỏi phức tạp thường gặp trong IELTS Reading.

Hướng dẫn làm bài IELTS Reading

Tổng Quan Về IELTS Reading Test

IELTS Reading Test là bài kiểm tra kỹ năng đọc hiểu học thuật trong 60 phút với 3 passages và tổng cộng 40 câu hỏi. Mỗi câu trả lời đúng được tính 1 điểm, sau đó quy đổi ra band điểm từ 1-9.

Phân bổ thời gian khuyến nghị:

• Passage 1 (Easy): 15-17 phút – Đây là passage dễ nhất, bạn cần tận dụng để ghi điểm tối đa
• Passage 2 (Medium): 18-20 phút – Độ khó trung bình, cần đọc kỹ hơn
• Passage 3 (Hard): 23-25 phút – Passage khó nhất, dành thời gian nhiều nhất

Lưu ý quan trọng: Không có thời gian bổ sung để chép đáp án vào answer sheet. Bạn phải vừa làm vừa ghi ngay trong 60 phút.

Các Dạng Câu Hỏi Trong Đề Này

Bộ đề này bao gồm 7 dạng câu hỏi phổ biến nhất trong IELTS Reading:

1. Multiple Choice – Câu hỏi trắc nghiệm
2. True/False/Not Given – Xác định thông tin đúng/sai/không có
3. Matching Information – Nối thông tin với đoạn văn
4. Yes/No/Not Given – Xác định quan điểm tác giả
5. Matching Headings – Chọn tiêu đề phù hợp cho đoạn văn
6. Summary Completion – Hoàn thiện đoạn tóm tắt
7. Matching Features – Nối đặc điểm với người/tổ chức

Mỗi dạng có kỹ thuật làm bài riêng, bạn sẽ được hướng dẫn chi tiết trong phần giải thích đáp án.

Hướng dẫn phân bổ thời gian và chiến lược làm bài IELTS Reading về công nghệ tài chính

IELTS Reading Practice Test

PASSAGE 1 – The Digital Revolution in Banking

Độ khó: Easy (Band 5.0-6.5)

Thời gian đề xuất: 15-17 phút

The way people interact with banks has changed dramatically over the past two decades. Gone are the days when customers had to visit a physical branch during limited opening hours to carry out even the simplest of transactions. Today, thanks to technological advancements, banking has become a 24/7 service that can be accessed from anywhere in the world through a smartphone or computer.

Online banking platforms first emerged in the late 1990s, but they were often clunky and difficult to use. Early systems required customers to download special software and follow complicated procedures just to check their account balance. However, as internet connectivity improved and web browsers became more sophisticated, banks began to develop more user-friendly interfaces. By the mid-2000s, most major banks offered comprehensive online services that allowed customers to view statements, transfer money, and pay bills without ever speaking to a bank employee.

The introduction of mobile banking apps in the late 2000s marked another significant milestone. Initially, these apps simply replicated the functionality of online banking websites, but they soon evolved to take advantage of the unique features of smartphones. Biometric authentication using fingerprints or facial recognition made logging in faster and more secure. Push notifications could alert customers to unusual account activity in real-time, helping to prevent fraud. The ability to deposit checks by taking a photograph eliminated one of the last remaining reasons many customers had for visiting a branch.

Perhaps the most revolutionary development has been the rise of digital-only banks, sometimes called neobanks or challenger banks. These institutions operate entirely online without any physical branches, which allows them to keep costs low and pass the savings on to customers in the form of higher interest rates and lower fees. Companies like Revolut, N26, and Chime have attracted millions of customers, particularly among younger demographics who have grown up with digital technology and see no need for traditional banking services.

These digital banks often offer features that traditional banks cannot easily match. Many provide detailed spending analytics that categorize transactions automatically and help users understand where their money goes each month. Some offer the ability to create multiple sub-accounts or “pots” to help with budgeting and saving for specific goals. Real-time notifications mean customers always know their exact balance, helping to avoid overdraft fees. International travelers benefit from competitive exchange rates and low or zero fees for foreign transactions.

Traditional banks have been forced to respond to this competition by improving their own digital offerings. Many have launched their own mobile-first services or partnered with fintech companies to add new features. The result has been a rapid improvement in the quality of banking services available to consumers. What was considered cutting-edge technology just five years ago is now seen as a basic expectation.

However, the shift to digital banking has not been without challenges. Cybersecurity remains a significant concern, as criminals become increasingly sophisticated in their attempts to steal login credentials and personal information. Banks must invest heavily in security measures while still keeping their services easy to use. There is also the issue of financial exclusion – not everyone has access to the smartphones, computers, and reliable internet connections needed for digital banking. Elderly customers and those in rural areas with poor connectivity may struggle to access these services.

Customer service has also changed significantly. While digital channels offer convenience, some customers miss the personal touch of speaking to a bank employee face-to-face. Many banks have tried to address this by offering video banking services where customers can have a video call with an advisor, but this is not the same as an in-person meeting for everyone. The challenge for banks is to find the right balance between efficiency and personal service.

Despite these challenges, the trend towards digital banking shows no signs of slowing down. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift, as branch closures and social distancing requirements forced even reluctant adopters to embrace online and mobile banking. Surveys suggest that many of these new digital banking users will continue with these habits even after the pandemic ends. As younger generations who have never known a world without smartphones become the majority of banking customers, the transformation of the financial services industry will only become more complete.

Questions 1-6

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?

Write:

• TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
• FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
• NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

1. In the past, customers could only do banking transactions during specific hours at bank branches.
2. Early online banking systems in the 1990s were simple and easy to use.
3. Mobile banking apps were initially just copies of online banking websites.
4. Digital-only banks have more physical locations than traditional banks.
5. Younger people prefer digital banks because they grew up with technology.
6. All traditional banks have successfully competed with digital-only banks.

Questions 7-10

Complete the sentences below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

7. Banks can use __ such as fingerprints to make mobile app login more secure.
8. Digital banks can offer better rates because they have no __ to maintain.
9. Some mobile banking apps help users by providing detailed __ of their spending patterns.
10. One major concern with digital banking is __, as criminals try to steal customer information.

Questions 11-13

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

11. According to the passage, what was a key advantage of mobile banking apps over earlier systems?

    • A. They were cheaper to develop
    • B. They used smartphone features like biometric authentication
    • C. They required less internet connectivity
    • D. They had simpler interfaces than websites

12. The passage suggests that COVID-19’s impact on digital banking was to:

    • A. slow down its adoption temporarily
    • B. make it less secure
    • C. speed up the rate at which people started using it
    • D. reduce the number of digital banks

13. What challenge does the passage mention regarding customer service in digital banking?

    • A. Video calls are too expensive
    • B. Customers cannot access help at night
    • C. Some people miss face-to-face interactions
    • D. Digital channels are too slow

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PASSAGE 2 – Artificial Intelligence and Financial Decision-Making

Độ khó: Medium (Band 6.0-7.5)

Thời gian đề xuất: 18-20 phút

Artificial intelligence (AI) is fundamentally reshaping how financial institutions make decisions, assess risk, and serve their customers. From algorithmic trading on stock markets to personalized financial advice delivered through smartphone apps, AI technologies are pervading every aspect of the financial services industry. This transformation raises important questions about efficiency, accuracy, and the future role of human expertise in financial decision-making.

A. Algorithmic Trading and Market Analysis

One of the earliest and most impactful applications of AI in finance has been in algorithmic trading. These systems use complex mathematical models and machine learning algorithms to analyze vast amounts of market data and execute trades at speeds impossible for human traders. High-frequency trading firms employ AI systems that can identify and exploit tiny price discrepancies across different markets in milliseconds, making thousands of trades per second. While this has improved market liquidity and reduced transaction costs, it has also raised concerns about market stability. The 2010 “Flash Crash,” when the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped nearly 1,000 points in minutes before quickly recovering, demonstrated how algorithmic systems operating at high speed can sometimes amplify market volatility rather than dampen it.

B. Credit Scoring and Lending Decisions

AI is revolutionizing how financial institutions assess creditworthiness and make lending decisions. Traditional credit scoring models relied on a limited set of variables such as payment history, debt levels, and length of credit history. Modern AI systems can analyze hundreds or even thousands of data points, including unconventional sources such as social media activity, online shopping behavior, and smartphone usage patterns. Proponents argue that this approach can provide credit to people who would be rejected by traditional models despite being reliable borrowers. For example, someone with a limited credit history but a stable job and responsible spending habits might be approved for a loan based on alternative data analysis.

However, this practice is not without controversy. Critics warn that using non-traditional data sources could lead to discrimination, even if unintentional. An AI system might identify correlations between certain behaviors and loan defaults, but these correlations might reflect socioeconomic factors rather than true creditworthiness. If the training data contains historical biases, the AI system may perpetuate or even amplify these biases. Regulatory bodies in many countries are grappling with how to ensure that AI-driven lending decisions are fair and transparent while still allowing innovation.

C. Fraud Detection and Security

Financial institutions lose billions of dollars annually to fraud, making effective fraud detection systems essential. AI has proven particularly adept at identifying fraudulent transactions by recognizing patterns that would be difficult for humans to spot. Machine learning models can analyze a customer’s typical spending behavior and immediately flag anomalous transactions – for example, a purchase made in a foreign country just hours after a transaction in the customer’s home city, or an unusually large withdrawal from an ATM.

These systems continuously learn and adapt as they process more data, becoming increasingly sophisticated at distinguishing between genuine fraud and false positives. This is crucial because excessive false alarms can frustrate customers and lead them to ignore legitimate warnings. Modern AI systems achieve accuracy rates above 95% in detecting fraud while keeping false positive rates low. They can also identify new types of fraud schemes much faster than traditional rule-based systems, which require humans to recognize the pattern and create new rules manually.

D. Robo-Advisors and Personal Finance

The emergence of robo-advisors represents a democratization of investment advice that was once available only to wealthy individuals who could afford human financial advisors. These AI-powered platforms ask users about their financial goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon, then automatically create and manage a diversified investment portfolio tailored to those parameters. Companies like Betterment, Wealthfront, and Vanguard’s Digital Advisor manage billions of dollars in assets, typically charging fees far lower than traditional advisors.

Robo-advisors use modern portfolio theory and other established investment principles to construct portfolios, typically consisting of low-cost index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). They automatically rebalance portfolios when market movements cause the asset allocation to drift from target levels, and perform tax-loss harvesting to minimize tax obligations. While they lack the personal touch and nuanced judgment of human advisors, they provide competent investment management at a price point accessible to ordinary investors.

E. Challenges and the Human Element

Despite the impressive capabilities of AI systems, significant challenges remain. One fundamental issue is the “black box” problem – many AI systems, particularly those using deep learning, make decisions through processes that are difficult even for their creators to fully understand. When an AI system denies someone a loan or flags a transaction as fraudulent, explaining the exact reasoning behind that decision can be challenging. This lack of transparency creates both practical and ethical concerns, particularly when the decisions affect people’s financial lives significantly.

Furthermore, AI systems are only as good as the data they are trained on. If the training data is incomplete, unrepresentative, or contains errors, the resulting system will have flawed decision-making processes. Financial institutions must therefore invest not just in AI technology but in data quality and governance. Human oversight remains essential to ensure that AI systems are functioning as intended and to handle exceptional cases that fall outside the systems’ training parameters.

The question is not whether AI will replace human workers in financial services, but rather how the relationship between AI systems and human expertise will evolve. The most effective approach appears to be augmented intelligence, where AI handles data-heavy analytical tasks while humans provide strategic thinking, ethical judgment, and the personal connection that many customers value. A financial advisor enhanced by AI tools can serve more clients more effectively than either a human or AI system working alone.

Questions 14-20

Reading Passage 2 has seven paragraphs, A-E.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter, A-E, in boxes 14-20 on your answer sheet.

NB: You may use any letter more than once.

14. A description of how AI creates investment portfolios for individual investors
15. An explanation of why too many false warnings are problematic
16. A concern about AI systems being difficult to understand
17. Examples of data sources that were not traditionally used in financial decisions
18. A discussion of how AI and humans might work together
19. Information about extremely rapid trading that occurs in tiny fractions of a second
20. A warning that AI might reproduce existing unfairness in society

Questions 21-24

Complete the summary below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

AI has brought major changes to fraud detection in the financial industry. Machine learning systems can identify 21 __ by studying a customer’s normal behavior patterns. These systems can continuously 22 __ as they process more information, getting better at separating real fraud from 23 __. Modern systems achieve over 95% 24 __ while keeping the number of false warnings low.

Questions 25-26

Choose TWO letters, A-E.

Which TWO of the following are mentioned as advantages of robo-advisors?

• A. They provide completely personalized advice
• B. They charge lower fees than human advisors
• C. They automatically adjust portfolios when needed
• D. They can predict market movements accurately
• E. They offer advice on complex tax situations

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PASSAGE 3 – Blockchain Technology and the Future of Financial Infrastructure

Độ khó: Hard (Band 7.0-9.0)

Thời gian đề xuất: 23-25 phút

The emergence of blockchain technology and distributed ledger systems represents potentially the most profound transformation in financial infrastructure since the development of double-entry bookkeeping in the Renaissance. While initially conceived as the underlying technology for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, blockchain’s potential applications extend far beyond digital currencies to encompass fundamental changes in how financial transactions are recorded, verified, and settled. Understanding both the revolutionary potential and the practical limitations of this technology is essential for comprehending the future trajectory of financial services.

At its core, a blockchain is a distributed database that maintains a continuously growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data. This structure makes the data inherently resistant to modification – once recorded, the data in any given block cannot be altered retroactively without altering all subsequent blocks, which requires consensus of the network majority. This creates an immutable record of transactions without requiring a central authority to verify and maintain the database.

The decentralized nature of blockchain technology addresses several fundamental challenges in contemporary financial systems. Traditional financial transactions typically require trusted intermediaries – banks, clearinghouses, and payment processors – to verify and record transactions. This intermediation serves important functions, including preventing double-spending (ensuring that the same money isn’t spent twice) and maintaining accurate records, but it also introduces friction in the form of fees, delays, and single points of failure. A blockchain-based system can potentially perform these functions without centralized intermediaries, reducing costs and increasing efficiency while maintaining security through cryptographic methods and distributed consensus mechanisms.

Cross-border payments illustrate both the promise and current limitations of blockchain technology. International money transfers through traditional banking channels typically take several days to complete and involve multiple intermediary banks, each taking a fee. The process is opaque to users, who often cannot track their payment’s progress or predict final costs. Blockchain-based payment systems can theoretically complete transactions in minutes with dramatically lower fees and full transparency. Ripple, a blockchain company that has partnered with numerous financial institutions, claims to enable cross-border settlement in seconds rather than days.

However, realizing this potential in practice has proven challenging. The scalability of blockchain systems remains a significant constraint. Bitcoin’s blockchain, for example, can process only about seven transactions per second, compared to Visa’s capacity to handle over 24,000 transactions per second. Various proposed solutions exist, including “second-layer” technologies that handle most transactions off the main blockchain, but these often involve trade-offs between speed, security, and decentralization. Moreover, the volatility of cryptocurrency values creates practical difficulties for their use in everyday transactions.

Smart contracts represent another transformative application of blockchain technology. These are self-executing contracts with the terms of the agreement directly written into code. When predetermined conditions are met, the contract automatically executes without requiring intermediaries. In financial services, smart contracts could automate processes from insurance payouts to complex derivatives trading. For instance, an insurance smart contract could automatically trigger a payout when specific conditions are verified, such as a flight delay confirmed by flight tracking data, eliminating the need for claims processing and reducing both costs and payment delays.

The potential for smart contracts to disintermediate traditional financial services has led to the emergence of “Decentralized Finance” or DeFi – a ecosystem of financial applications built on blockchain platforms, primarily Ethereum. DeFi applications aim to recreate traditional financial instruments like loans, insurance, and trading in a decentralized architecture without traditional financial institutions. Users can lend cryptocurrencies and earn interest, borrow against their crypto holdings, or trade assets, all through automated protocols rather than banks or brokerage firms. By mid-2021, DeFi protocols had over $80 billion in total value locked, demonstrating significant, if speculative, interest in this model.

Yet the DeFi ecosystem also exemplifies the nascent nature of blockchain-based finance and its attendant risks. The technology remains experimental, and numerous DeFi projects have suffered from security vulnerabilities, with hackers exploiting flaws in smart contract code to steal millions of dollars. The pseudonymous nature of blockchain transactions, while offering privacy, also facilitates illicit activities including money laundering and ransomware payments. Regulatory frameworks have struggled to keep pace with these innovations, creating legal uncertainty that may inhibit mainstream adoption.

Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) represent an alternative paradigm – the application of blockchain or similar technologies by governments and central banks rather than as a replacement for them. Over 80% of central banks are now researching or piloting digital currency projects. These would function as digital equivalents of physical cash, potentially offering the efficiency benefits of blockchain technology while maintaining government oversight and monetary policy tools. China’s digital yuan is already being tested in multiple cities, while the European Central Bank is actively exploring a digital euro.

The implementation of CBDCs raises profound questions about financial privacy, monetary policy, and the structure of the banking system. If citizens can hold digital currency directly at the central bank, what role would commercial banks play? How would central banks balance the efficiency of digital payment tracking against citizens’ privacy rights? Could CBDCs give governments new tools for monetary stimulus, such as “expiring” money that must be spent by a certain date to encourage consumption during recessions? These questions remain largely unanswered, yet the decisions made will shape financial systems for decades to come.

The trajectory of blockchain technology in financial services appears likely to involve neither complete disruption of existing institutions nor simple abandonment of the technology as overhyped. Instead, a more nuanced evolution seems probable, where blockchain finds application in specific use cases where its unique properties provide genuine advantages – such as clearing and settlement systems between financial institutions, supply chain finance, and certain types of asset tokenization – while traditional systems persist in areas where they remain more efficient. Financial institutions are increasingly exploring “permissioned” blockchain systems that combine blockchain’s benefits with traditional governance structures.

What remains certain is that the ongoing experimentation with blockchain technology is pushing financial institutions to reconsider fundamental assumptions about how value is transferred and recorded. Even if blockchain itself proves to have limited applications, the impetus for innovation it has created – and the demonstrated demand for faster, cheaper, more transparent financial services – will continue to drive evolution in the financial sector. The technology has already succeeded in one crucial aspect: making incremental improvement in financial infrastructure no longer acceptable, thereby catalyzing innovation that might otherwise have taken decades to emerge.

Questions 27-31

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

27. According to the passage, what is the fundamental characteristic that makes blockchain data secure?

    • A. It requires passwords to access
    • B. Changing past data requires changing all subsequent data
    • C. It is stored in multiple locations
    • D. Only governments can access the information

28. The passage suggests that traditional financial intermediaries:

    • A. are completely unnecessary in modern finance
    • B. perform useful functions but add costs and delays
    • C. are more efficient than blockchain systems
    • D. will be replaced by blockchain within five years

29. What does the passage identify as a major technical limitation of blockchain systems?

    • A. They are not secure enough
    • B. They cannot process as many transactions as traditional systems
    • C. They require too much electricity
    • D. They are too difficult for ordinary people to use

30. According to the passage, smart contracts:

    • A. require lawyers to execute properly
    • B. are only used for insurance applications
    • C. automatically execute when certain conditions are met
    • D. have completely replaced traditional contracts

31. The passage’s overall view of blockchain’s future in finance can best be described as:

    • A. extremely optimistic about complete disruption
    • B. highly skeptical of any practical applications
    • C. expecting selective adoption in specific use cases
    • D. certain that it will replace all traditional systems

Questions 32-36

Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-H, below.

Write the correct letter, A-H, in boxes 32-36 on your answer sheet.

32. Cross-border payments through traditional banking
33. The DeFi ecosystem
34. Central bank digital currencies
35. Permissioned blockchain systems
36. The security of blockchain

A. relies on cryptographic methods and requiring network consensus to change data.

B. combine blockchain advantages with traditional oversight structures.

C. has experienced significant security problems despite its growth.

D. take several days and involve multiple fees from different banks.

E. will definitely replace commercial banks within the next decade.

F. could provide governments with new monetary policy tools.

G. can only be used for cryptocurrency transactions.

H. requires no technical knowledge to implement.

Questions 37-40

Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 3?

Write:

• YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
• NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
• NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

37. Blockchain technology was specifically designed to improve international banking systems.

38. Some central banks are concerned that digital currencies could affect the role of commercial banks.

39. Blockchain will most likely find applications in specific areas rather than replacing all traditional finance.

40. Financial institutions should completely abandon their current systems in favor of blockchain technology.

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Answer Keys – Đáp Án

PASSAGE 1: Questions 1-13

1. TRUE
2. FALSE
3. TRUE
4. FALSE
5. TRUE
6. NOT GIVEN
7. biometric authentication
8. physical branches
9. spending analytics
10. cybersecurity
11. B
12. C
13. C

PASSAGE 2: Questions 14-26

14. D
15. C
16. E
17. B
18. E
19. A
20. B
21. anomalous transactions / fraudulent transactions
22. learn and adapt / adapt
23. false positives
24. accuracy rates
25. B
26. C

PASSAGE 3: Questions 27-40

27. B
28. B
29. B
30. C
31. C
32. D
33. C
34. F
35. B
36. A
37. NO
38. YES
39. YES
40. NO

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Giải Thích Đáp Án Chi Tiết

Passage 1 – Giải Thích

Câu 1: TRUE

• Dạng câu hỏi: True/False/Not Given
• Từ khóa: in the past, customers, specific hours, bank branches
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 1, dòng 1-2
• Giải thích: Câu trong bài viết “Gone are the days when customers had to visit a physical branch during limited opening hours” được paraphrase thành “in the past” (gone are the days) và “specific hours” (limited opening hours). Thông tin hoàn toàn khớp.

Câu 2: FALSE

• Dạng câu hỏi: True/False/Not Given
• Từ khóa: early online banking, 1990s, simple, easy to use
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 2, dòng 1-3
• Giải thích: Bài viết nói “they were often clunky and difficult to use” và “complicated procedures” – hoàn toàn trái ngược với “simple and easy to use” trong câu hỏi.

Câu 3: TRUE

• Dạng câu hỏi: True/False/Not Given
• Từ khóa: mobile banking apps, initially, copies, online banking websites
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 3, dòng 2-3
• Giải thích: “Initially, these apps simply replicated the functionality of online banking websites” – từ “replicated” được paraphrase thành “copies”, thông tin khớp chính xác.

Câu 4: FALSE

• Dạng câu hỏi: True/False/Not Given
• Từ khóa: digital-only banks, more physical locations, traditional banks
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 4, dòng 2-3
• Giải thích: Bài viết nói rõ “operate entirely online without any physical branches” – digital banks KHÔNG có chi nhánh vật lý, trái ngược hoàn toàn với câu hỏi.

Câu 5: TRUE

• Dạng câu hỏi: True/False/Not Given
• Từ khóa: younger people, prefer, grew up with technology
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 4, dòng cuối
• Giải thích: “particularly among younger demographics who have grown up with digital technology” khớp chính xác với thông tin câu hỏi.

Câu 6: NOT GIVEN

• Dạng câu hỏi: True/False/Not Given
• Từ khóa: all traditional banks, successfully competed
• Vị trí trong bài: Không có thông tin
• Giải thích: Đoạn 6 chỉ nói traditional banks “have been forced to respond” và “improving their digital offerings”, nhưng không đề cập đến việc ALL banks đã thành công hay chưa.

Minh họa kỹ thuật làm bài True/False/Not Given trong IELTS Reading về ngân hàng số

Câu 7: biometric authentication

• Dạng câu hỏi: Sentence Completion
• Từ khóa: Banks, secure, fingerprints
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 3, dòng 4-5
• Giải thích: “Biometric authentication using fingerprints or facial recognition made logging in faster and more secure” – đáp án phải là danh từ chỉ phương thức bảo mật.

Câu 8: physical branches

• Dạng câu hỏi: Sentence Completion
• Từ khóa: Digital banks, better rates, no
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 4, dòng 2-3
• Giải thích: “operate entirely online without any physical branches, which allows them to keep costs low” – không có chi nhánh vật lý giúp giảm chi phí.

Câu 9: spending analytics

• Dạng câu hỏi: Sentence Completion
• Từ khóa: mobile banking apps, help users, detailed
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 5, dòng 2-3
• Giải thích: “Many provide detailed spending analytics that categorize transactions automatically” – đáp án chính xác từ bài.

Câu 10: cybersecurity

• Dạng câu hỏi: Sentence Completion
• Từ khóa: major concern, criminals, steal information
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 7, dòng 1-2
• Giải thích: “Cybersecurity remains a significant concern, as criminals become increasingly sophisticated” – đây là mối lo ngại chính.

Câu 11: B

• Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice
• Từ khóa: key advantage, mobile banking apps, earlier systems
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 3, dòng 3-5
• Giải thích: “they soon evolved to take advantage of the unique features of smartphones. Biometric authentication…” – ứng dụng tính năng độc đáo của smartphone là lợi thế chính. A, C, D không được đề cập.

Câu 12: C

• Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice
• Từ khóa: COVID-19, impact, digital banking
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 9, dòng 2-3
• Giải thích: “The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift” – từ “accelerated” = “speed up”. Các đáp án khác trái ngược với thông tin bài.

Câu 13: C

• Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice
• Từ khóa: challenge, customer service, digital banking
• Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 8, dòng 2-3
• Giải thích: “some customers miss the personal touch of speaking to a bank employee face-to-face” – khách hàng nhớ tương tác trực tiếp, khớp với đáp án C.

Passage 2 – Giải Thích

Câu 14: D (Paragraph D)

• Dạng câu hỏi: Matching Information
• Từ khóa: AI creates investment portfolios, individual investors
• Giải thích: Đoạn D nói về robo-advisors và cách chúng “automatically create and manage a diversified investment portfolio tailored to those parameters” – tạo danh mục đầu tư cho cá nhân.

Câu 15: C (Paragraph C)

• Dạng câu hỏi: Matching Information
• Từ khóa: too many false warnings, problematic
• Giải thích: Đoạn C đề cập “excessive false alarms can frustrate customers and lead them to ignore legitimate warnings” – quá nhiều cảnh báo sai gây ra vấn đề.

Câu 16: E (Paragraph E)

• Dạng câu hỏi: Matching Information
• Từ khóa: AI systems, difficult to understand
• Giải thích: Đoạn E nói về “black box problem” – AI systems make decisions through processes that are “difficult even for their creators to fully understand”.

Câu 17: B (Paragraph B)

• Dạng câu hỏi: Matching Information
• Từ khóa: data sources, not traditionally used
• Giải thích: Đoạn B đề cập “unconventional sources such as social media activity, online shopping behavior, and smartphone usage patterns” – các nguồn dữ liệu không truyền thống.

Câu 18: E (Paragraph E)

• Dạng câu hỏi: Matching Information
• Từ khóa: AI and humans, work together
• Giải thích: Đoạn E cuối cùng thảo luận về “augmented intelligence” và việc AI và con người làm việc cùng nhau: “AI handles data-heavy analytical tasks while humans provide strategic thinking”.

Câu 19: A (Paragraph A)

• Dạng câu hỏi: Matching Information
• Từ khóa: extremely rapid trading, tiny fractions of a second
• Giải thích: Đoạn A nói về high-frequency trading “making thousands of trades per second” và “in milliseconds” – giao dịch cực nhanh.

Câu 20: B (Paragraph B)

• Dạng câu hỏi: Matching Information
• Từ khóa: AI might reproduce, existing unfairness
• Giải thích: Đoạn B cảnh báo “If the training data contains historical biases, the AI system may perpetuate or even amplify these biases” – tái tạo sự bất công.

Câu 21: anomalous transactions / fraudulent transactions

• Dạng câu hỏi: Summary Completion
• Vị trí: Paragraph C, dòng 3-5
• Giải thích: “immediately flag anomalous transactions” hoặc có thể dùng “fraudulent transactions” vì ngữ cảnh nói về phát hiện giao dịch bất thường/lừa đảo.

Câu 22: learn and adapt / adapt

• Dạng câu hỏi: Summary Completion
• Vị trí: Paragraph C, dòng 6
• Giải thích: “These systems continuously learn and adapt as they process more data” – chấp nhận cả “learn and adapt” hoặc “adapt” đều đúng theo quy tắc NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS.

Câu 23: false positives

• Dạng câu hỏi: Summary Completion
• Vị trí: Paragraph C, dòng 7-8
• Giải thích: “becoming increasingly sophisticated at distinguishing between genuine fraud and false positives” – cụm từ chuyên ngành trong bài.

Câu 24: accuracy rates

• Dạng câu hỏi: Summary Completion
• Vị trí: Paragraph C, dòng 9
• Giải thích: “Modern AI systems achieve accuracy rates above 95%” – tỷ lệ chính xác.

Câu 25 & 26: B và C

• Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice (Choose TWO)
• Vị trí: Paragraph D
• Giải thích:
  • B đúng: “typically charging fees far lower than traditional advisors”
  • C đúng: “They automatically rebalance portfolios when market movements cause…”
  • A sai: không nói “completely personalized”
  • D sai: không đề cập predict market movements
  • E sai: chỉ nói “minimize tax obligations” chứ không phải complex tax situations

Kỹ thuật làm bài Matching Information trong IELTS Reading về AI và tài chính

Passage 3 – Giải Thích

Câu 27: B

• Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice
• Từ khóa: fundamental characteristic, secure
• Vị trí: Đoạn 2, dòng 3-5
• Giải thích: “once recorded, the data in any given block cannot be altered retroactively without altering all subsequent blocks” – thay đổi dữ liệu quá khứ yêu cầu thay đổi tất cả dữ liệu sau đó, đây là đặc điểm bảo mật cơ bản.

Câu 28: B

• Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice
• Từ khóa: traditional financial intermediaries
• Vị trí: Đoạn 3, dòng 3-7
• Giải thích: “This intermediation serves important functions… but it also introduces friction in the form of fees, delays” – trung gian có chức năng hữu ích nhưng tạo ra chi phí và chậm trễ.

Câu 29: B

• Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice
• Từ khóa: major technical limitation
• Vị trí: Đoạn 5, dòng 1-3
• Giải thích: “The scalability of blockchain systems remains a significant constraint. Bitcoin’s blockchain… can process only about seven transactions per second, compared to Visa’s capacity to handle over 24,000” – giới hạn về xử lý giao dịch.

Câu 30: C

• Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice
• Từ khóa: smart contracts
• Vị trí: Đoạn 6, dòng 1-3
• Giải thích: “These are self-executing contracts… When predetermined conditions are met, the contract automatically executes” – tự động thực hiện khi điều kiện được đáp ứng.

Câu 31: C

• Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice (Overall view)
• Từ khóa: blockchain’s future
• Vị trí: Đoạn 10 và 11
• Giải thích: “neither complete disruption… nor simple abandonment… where blockchain finds application in specific use cases where its unique properties provide genuine advantages” – ứng dụng có chọn lọc trong các trường hợp cụ thể.

Câu 32: D

• Dạng câu hỏi: Matching Sentence Endings
• Từ khóa: Cross-border payments, traditional banking
• Vị trí: Đoạn 4, dòng 1-3
• Giải thích: “typically take several days to complete and involve multiple intermediary banks, each taking a fee” – khớp với ending D.

Câu 33: C

• Dạng câu hỏi: Matching Sentence Endings
• Từ khóa: DeFi ecosystem
• Vị trí: Đoạn 8, dòng 2-4
• Giải thích: “numerous DeFi projects have suffered from security vulnerabilities, with hackers exploiting flaws” – có vấn đề bảo mật nghiêm trọng, khớp với ending C.

Câu 34: F

• Dạng câu hỏi: Matching Sentence Endings
• Từ khóa: Central bank digital currencies
• Vị trí: Đoạn 9, dòng cuối
• Giải thích: “Could CBDCs give governments new tools for monetary stimulus” – có thể cung cấp công cụ chính sách tiền tệ mới, khớp với F.

Câu 35: B

• Dạng câu hỏi: Matching Sentence Endings
• Từ khóa: Permissioned blockchain systems
• Vị trí: Đoạn 10, dòng cuối
• Giải thích: “permissioned blockchain systems that combine blockchain’s benefits with traditional governance structures” – kết hợp ưu điểm blockchain với cấu trúc giám sát truyền thống, khớp với B.

Câu 36: A

• Dạng câu hỏi: Matching Sentence Endings
• Từ khóa: security of blockchain
• Vị trí: Đoạn 2 và 3
• Giải thích: “maintaining security through cryptographic methods and distributed consensus mechanisms” – bảo mật dựa vào mật mã và cơ chế đồng thuận, khớp với A.

Câu 37: NO

• Dạng câu hỏi: Yes/No/Not Given
• Từ khóa: specifically designed, improve international banking
• Vị trí: Đoạn 1, dòng 2-3
• Giải thích: Bài viết nói blockchain “initially conceived as the underlying technology for Bitcoin” – được thiết kế cho Bitcoin, KHÔNG phải cho hệ thống ngân hàng quốc tế.

Câu 38: YES

• Dạng câu hỏi: Yes/No/Not Given
• Từ khóa: central banks, concerned, affect role of commercial banks
• Vị trí: Đoạn 9, dòng cuối
• Giải thích: “If citizens can hold digital currency directly at the central bank, what role would commercial banks play?” – câu hỏi này cho thấy lo ngại về vai trò ngân hàng thương mại.

Câu 39: YES

• Dạng câu hỏi: Yes/No/Not Given
• Từ khóa: most likely, specific areas, rather than replacing
• Vị trí: Đoạn 10, dòng 1-3
• Giải thích: “where blockchain finds application in specific use cases where its unique properties provide genuine advantages” – tác giả cho rằng blockchain sẽ ứng dụng ở các lĩnh vực cụ thể.

Câu 40: NO

• Dạng câu hỏi: Yes/No/Not Given
• Từ khóa: completely abandon, current systems
• Vị trí: Đoạn 10
• Giải thích: Tác giả nói “traditional systems persist in areas where they remain more efficient” – hệ thống truyền thống vẫn tồn tại, KHÔNG phải bỏ hoàn toàn.

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Từ Vựng Quan Trọng Theo Passage

Passage 1 – Essential Vocabulary

Từ vựng	Loại từ	Phiên âm	Nghĩa tiếng Việt	Ví dụ từ bài	Collocation
dramatically	adv	/drəˈmætɪkli/	một cách đáng kể, mạnh mẽ	has changed dramatically	change dramatically, increase dramatically
transaction	n	/trænˈzækʃn/	giao dịch	carry out transactions	financial transaction, online transaction
clunky	adj	/ˈklʌŋki/	vụng về, khó sử dụng	were often clunky	clunky interface, clunky system
replicate	v	/ˈreplɪkeɪt/	sao chép, tái tạo	simply replicated the functionality	replicate results, replicate features
biometric authentication	n phrase	/ˌbaɪəʊˈmetrɪk ɔːˌθentɪˈkeɪʃn/	xác thực sinh trắc học	using fingerprints or facial recognition	biometric security, biometric data
neobank	n	/ˈniːəʊbæŋk/	ngân hàng số, ngân hàng mới	sometimes called neobanks	digital neobank, neobank services
demographics	n	/ˌdeməˈɡræfɪks/	nhóm dân số, đối tượng khách hàng	younger demographics	target demographics, customer demographics
categorize	v	/ˈkætəɡəraɪz/	phân loại	categorize transactions automatically	categorize data, categorize expenses
overdraft fee	n phrase	/ˈəʊvədrɑːft fiː/	phí thấu chi	avoid overdraft fees	charge overdraft fee, waive overdraft fee
cybersecurity	n	/ˌsaɪbəsɪˈkjʊərəti/	an ninh mạng	cybersecurity remains a concern	cybersecurity threat, cybersecurity measures
financial exclusion	n phrase	/faɪˈnænʃl ɪkˈskluːʒn/	loại trừ tài chính	issue of financial exclusion	tackle financial exclusion, reduce financial exclusion
reluctant adopter	n phrase	/rɪˈlʌktənt əˈdɒptə/	người chấp nhận miễn cưỡng	even reluctant adopters	early adopter, late adopter

Passage 2 – Essential Vocabulary

Từ vựng	Loại từ	Phiên âm	Nghĩa tiếng Việt	Ví dụ từ bài	Collocation
algorithmic trading	n phrase	/ˌælɡəˈrɪðmɪk ˈtreɪdɪŋ/	giao dịch thuật toán	earliest applications of AI	algorithmic trading strategy, high-frequency algorithmic trading
exploit	v	/ɪkˈsplɔɪt/	khai thác, tận dụng	identify and exploit discrepancies	exploit opportunities, exploit weaknesses
volatility	n	/ˌvɒləˈtɪləti/	sự biến động	amplify market volatility	market volatility, price volatility, high volatility
creditworthiness	n	/ˈkredɪtwɜːðinəs/	khả năng tín dụng, độ tin cậy	assess creditworthiness	evaluate creditworthiness, determine creditworthiness
unconventional	adj	/ˌʌnkənˈvenʃənl/	không theo lối mòn, phi truyền thống	unconventional sources	unconventional approach, unconventional method
perpetuate	v	/pəˈpetʃueɪt/	kéo dài, duy trì	may perpetuate biases	perpetuate stereotypes, perpetuate inequality
grappling with	v phrase	/ˈɡræplɪŋ wɪð/	vật lộn với, đối phó với	regulatory bodies are grappling with	grapple with issues, grapple with problems
adept	adj	/əˈdept/	thành thạo, giỏi	AI has proven adept at	adept at handling, adept at solving
anomalous	adj	/əˈnɒmələs/	bất thường	flag anomalous transactions	anomalous behavior, anomalous pattern
false positive	n phrase	/fɔːls ˈpɒzətɪv/	kết quả dương tính giả	distinguishing from false positives	reduce false positives, high false positive rate
democratization	n	/dɪˌmɒkrətaɪˈzeɪʃn/	dân chủ hóa, phổ cập	represents a democratization	democratization of access, democratization of information
robo-advisor	n	/ˈrəʊbəʊ ədˈvaɪzə/	cố vấn tài chính tự động	emergence of robo-advisors	robo-advisor platform, robo-advisor service
rebalance	v	/riːˈbæləns/	cân bằng lại	automatically rebalance portfolios	rebalance portfolio, rebalance investments
black box	n phrase	/blæk bɒks/	hộp đen (không hiểu được)	the black box problem	black box algorithm, black box system
augmented intelligence	n phrase	/ɔːɡˈmentɪd ɪnˈtelɪdʒəns/	trí tuệ tăng cường	appears to be augmented intelligence	augmented intelligence approach, augmented intelligence system

Passage 3 – Essential Vocabulary

Từ vựng	Loại từ	Phiên âm	Nghĩa tiếng Việt	Ví dụ từ bài	Collocation
profound	adj	/prəˈfaʊnd/	sâu sắc, to lớn	most profound transformation	profound impact, profound effect, profound change
distributed ledger	n phrase	/dɪˈstrɪbjuːtɪd ˈledʒə/	sổ cái phân tán	distributed ledger systems	distributed ledger technology (DLT), maintain distributed ledger
encompass	v	/ɪnˈkʌmpəs/	bao gồm, bao trùm	potential applications encompass	encompass a range, encompass various aspects
cryptography	n	/krɪpˈtɒɡrəfi/	mật mã học	linked using cryptography	advanced cryptography, cryptography technique
immutable	adj	/ɪˈmjuːtəbl/	bất biến, không thể thay đổi	creates an immutable record	immutable data, immutable blockchain
intermediary	n	/ˌɪntəˈmiːdiəri/	trung gian	require trusted intermediaries	financial intermediary, act as intermediary
double-spending	n	/ˈdʌbl ˈspendɪŋ/	chi tiêu hai lần	preventing double-spending	double-spending problem, prevent double-spending
friction	n	/ˈfrɪkʃn/	ma sát, trở ngại	introduces friction	reduce friction, create friction, transaction friction
opaque	adj	/əʊˈpeɪk/	mờ đục, không rõ ràng	process is opaque to users	opaque system, opaque process
scalability	n	/ˌskeɪləˈbɪləti/	khả năng mở rộng	scalability remains a constraint	improve scalability, scalability issue
trade-off	n	/ˈtreɪd ɒf/	sự đánh đổi	often involve trade-offs	trade-off between, make trade-offs
smart contract	n phrase	/smɑːt ˈkɒntrækt/	hợp đồng thông minh	self-executing contracts	deploy smart contract, smart contract platform
disintermediate	v	/ˌdɪsɪntəˈmiːdieɪt/	loại bỏ trung gian	potential to disintermediate	disintermediate traditional services
DeFi	n	/diːˈfaɪ/	tài chính phi tập trung	Decentralized Finance or DeFi	DeFi protocol, DeFi ecosystem, DeFi platform
nascent	adj	/ˈnæsnt/	mới sinh, sơ khai	nascent nature of blockchain	nascent technology, nascent industry
pseudonymous	adj	/sjuːˈdɒnɪməs/	giả danh, bút danh	pseudonymous nature	pseudonymous transaction, pseudonymous identity
facilitate	v	/fəˈsɪlɪteɪt/	tạo điều kiện, hỗ trợ	also facilitates illicit activities	facilitate transactions, facilitate communication
CBDC	n	/siː biː diː siː/	tiền kỹ thuật số ngân hàng trung ương	Central Bank Digital Currencies	CBDC implementation, launch CBDC, pilot CBDC
monetary policy	n phrase	/ˈmʌnɪtri ˈpɒləsi/	chính sách tiền tệ	maintaining monetary policy tools	implement monetary policy, monetary policy framework
tokenization	n	/ˌtəʊkənaɪˈzeɪʃn/	mã hóa tài sản	certain types of asset tokenization	asset tokenization, real estate tokenization
permissioned	adj	/pəˈmɪʃnd/	có phép, được cấp quyền	permissioned blockchain systems	permissioned network, permissioned access
impetus	n	/ˈɪmpɪtəs/	động lực, sức thúc đẩy	impetus for innovation	provide impetus, strong impetus
catalyze	v	/ˈkætəlaɪz/	xúc tác, thúc đẩy	thereby catalyzing innovation	catalyze change, catalyze growth, catalyze development

Bộ từ vựng chuyên ngành FinTech và Blockchain trong IELTS Reading kèm phiên âm

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Kết bài

Chủ đề “How is technology influencing the financial services industry?” không chỉ là một đề tài thời sự mà còn phản ánh xu hướng ra đề của IELTS Reading trong những năm gần đây. Ba passages trong bộ đề này đã mang đến cho bạn cái nhìn toàn diện về sự chuyển đổi số trong ngành tài chính, từ ngân hàng kỹ thuật số cơ bản đến trí tuệ nhân tạo và công nghệ blockchain phức tạp.

Bộ đề đã cung cấp đầy đủ các độ khó từ Easy (Passage 1) đến Medium (Passage 2) và Hard (Passage 3), giúp bạn làm quen với sự tăng dần về độ phức tạp của từ vựng, cấu trúc câu và yêu cầu suy luận. 40 câu hỏi với 7 dạng khác nhau phản ánh chính xác format thi thật, từ True/False/Not Given đến Matching Headings và Smart Contract completion.

Phần giải thích đáp án chi tiết không chỉ cho bạn biết đáp án đúng mà còn hướng dẫn cách xác định từ khóa, tìm vị trí thông tin và nhận biết paraphrase – những kỹ năng cốt lõi để đạt band điểm cao. Bảng từ vựng phân loại theo từng passage với phiên âm, nghĩa, ví dụ và collocations sẽ giúp bạn xây dựng vốn từ vựng học thuật vững chắc.

Hãy làm lại bộ đề này nhiều lần, mỗi lần tập trung vào một kỹ năng khác nhau: lần đầu làm đúng thời gian, lần sau phân tích kỹ thuật paraphrase, lần tiếp theo học từ vựng chuyên sâu. Đây là cách tốt nhất để biến một bộ đề thành công cụ luyện tập hiệu quả, giúp bạn tự tin bước vào phòng thi IELTS Reading với mục tiêu band điểm mơ ước.

Chúc bạn ôn tập hiệu quả và đạt kết quả cao trong kỳ thi IELTS sắp tới!