Mở bài
An ninh tài chính là chủ đề xuất hiện thường xuyên trong kỳ thi IELTS Reading, đặc biệt trong các passages về kinh tế cá nhân, lối sống hiện đại và phát triển bền vững. Chủ đề “Tips For Achieving Financial Security” không chỉ phổ biến trong đề thi thực tế mà còn mang tính ứng dụng cao, giúp bạn vừa luyện tập kỹ năng Reading vừa tích lũy kiến thức hữu ích.
Bài viết này cung cấp một bộ đề thi IELTS Reading hoàn chỉnh với 3 passages được thiết kế tăng dần độ khó từ Easy đến Hard, bao gồm 40 câu hỏi đa dạng giống như thi thật. Bạn sẽ được thực hành với nhiều dạng câu hỏi phổ biến, từ True/False/Not Given, Multiple Choice đến Matching Headings và Summary Completion. Đi kèm là đáp án chi tiết với giải thích rõ ràng về cách xác định thông tin, paraphrase và vận dụng kỹ thuật làm bài hiệu quả.
Đề thi này phù hợp cho học viên từ band 5.0 trở lên, giúp bạn làm quen với format thi thực tế, cải thiện kỹ năng quản lý thời gian và nâng cao khả năng đọc hiểu tiếng Anh học thuật.
1. Hướng dẫn làm bài IELTS Reading
Tổng Quan Về IELTS Reading Test
IELTS Reading Test kéo dài 60 phút với 3 passages và tổng cộng 40 câu hỏi. Mỗi passage có độ dài 700-1000 từ và mức độ khó tăng dần. Điều quan trọng là bạn phải tự phân bổ thời gian hợp lý vì đề thi không chia nhỏ thời gian cho từng phần.
Phân bổ thời gian khuyến nghị:
- Passage 1 (Easy): 15-17 phút – Passage dễ nhất, câu hỏi trực tiếp
- Passage 2 (Medium): 18-20 phút – Độ khó trung bình, cần paraphrase nhiều hơn
- Passage 3 (Hard): 23-25 phút – Passage khó nhất, yêu cầu suy luận cao
Lưu ý dành 2-3 phút cuối để chép đáp án vào answer sheet, vì không có thời gian phụ như phần Listening.
Các Dạng Câu Hỏi Trong Đề Này
Đề thi mẫu này bao gồm 7 dạng câu hỏi phổ biến trong IELTS Reading:
- Multiple Choice – Câu hỏi trắc nghiệm nhiều lựa chọn
- True/False/Not Given – Xác định thông tin đúng/sai/không có
- Matching Headings – Nối tiêu đề với đoạn văn
- Summary Completion – Hoàn thành đoạn tóm tắt
- Sentence Completion – Hoàn thành câu
- Matching Features – Nối thông tin với đặc điểm
- Short-answer Questions – Câu hỏi trả lời ngắn
2. IELTS Reading Practice Test
PASSAGE 1 – Building Your Financial Foundation
Độ khó: Easy (Band 5.0-6.5)
Thời gian đề xuất: 15-17 phút
Financial security is not merely about having money in the bank; it represents the peace of mind that comes from knowing you can handle unexpected expenses and maintain your lifestyle without constant financial stress. For many people, achieving this goal seems distant or even impossible, but the reality is that financial security is within reach for anyone willing to follow some fundamental principles and maintain disciplined habits over time.
The first and most crucial step toward financial security is creating and maintaining a realistic budget. A budget is essentially a spending plan that helps you understand where your money comes from and where it goes each month. Many people avoid budgeting because they think it requires complex calculations or restricts their freedom, but modern budgeting is actually quite simple. Start by tracking all your income sources – salary, side income, investment returns, and any other money you receive regularly. Then, list all your expenses, dividing them into fixed costs like rent or mortgage payments, utilities, and insurance, and variable expenses such as groceries, entertainment, and dining out. The goal is to ensure your income exceeds your expenses, creating a surplus that can be saved or invested.
Emergency funds represent another critical component of financial security. Financial experts consistently recommend maintaining savings equivalent to three to six months of living expenses in an easily accessible account. This fund serves as a safety net when unexpected situations arise, such as job loss, medical emergencies, or urgent home repairs. Without an emergency fund, people often resort to credit cards or loans, which can lead to debt accumulation and financial instability. Building this fund doesn’t happen overnight; it requires consistent contributions even if you can only save small amounts initially. Some people find it helpful to automate their savings by setting up automatic transfers from their checking account to a dedicated savings account on payday.
Managing and eliminating debt is equally important for achieving financial security. Not all debt is created equal – some debt, like mortgages or student loans, can be considered “good debt” because it helps build assets or increase earning potential. However, high-interest debt from credit cards or personal loans can quickly become overwhelming. The debt avalanche method, where you focus on paying off debts with the highest interest rates first while making minimum payments on others, is mathematically the most efficient approach. Alternatively, the debt snowball method, which involves paying off the smallest debts first for psychological wins, works better for some people. Regardless of the method chosen, the key is to stop accumulating new debt while systematically eliminating existing obligations.
Investment is the bridge between earning and building wealth. While saving money is important, inflation gradually reduces the purchasing power of cash sitting in a regular savings account. This is where investing becomes crucial. For beginners, employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s in the United States or similar schemes in other countries offer an excellent starting point, especially when employers offer matching contributions. This is essentially free money that accelerates wealth building. Beyond retirement accounts, diversified investment portfolios including stocks, bonds, and mutual funds help money grow over time. The principle of compound interest – earning returns on both your initial investment and the accumulated returns – becomes powerful over long periods.
Insurance might seem like an unnecessary expense when money is tight, but it’s actually a crucial element of financial security. Adequate insurance coverage protects your finances from catastrophic events. Health insurance prevents medical bills from destroying your savings, while life insurance ensures your family’s financial security if something happens to you. Disability insurance replaces income if you cannot work due to illness or injury, and property insurance protects your home and belongings. The cost of insurance premiums is minimal compared to the potential financial devastation of being uninsured during a crisis.
Finally, continuous financial education empowers you to make better money decisions throughout your life. Financial literacy isn’t taught comprehensively in most schools, so individuals must take responsibility for learning about personal finance. This includes understanding how taxes work, the implications of different investment vehicles, strategies for retirement planning, and ways to optimize credit scores. Numerous free resources exist online, including blogs, podcasts, and video courses, making financial education more accessible than ever. Additionally, consulting with financial advisors or certified financial planners can provide personalized guidance tailored to your specific situation and goals.
Achieving financial security is not about making dramatic changes overnight or suddenly earning significantly more money. Instead, it results from consistent, smart financial decisions made over months and years. By budgeting carefully, building emergency reserves, managing debt wisely, investing for the future, protecting yourself with insurance, and continuously expanding your financial knowledge, you create a solid foundation for long-term financial well-being. The journey requires patience and discipline, but the destination – financial peace of mind – is well worth the effort.
Questions 1-13
Questions 1-5: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.
1. According to the passage, financial security mainly provides people with
A) the ability to buy luxury items
B) freedom from worrying about money issues
C) opportunities to change careers frequently
D) a chance to retire early
2. The author suggests that modern budgeting is
A) too complicated for most people
B) only necessary for low-income individuals
C) simpler than many people believe
D) impossible without professional help
3. Emergency funds should ideally cover living expenses for
A) one to two months
B) three to six months
C) six to twelve months
D) one to two years
4. The debt avalanche method focuses on
A) paying off the smallest debts first
B) eliminating debts with the highest interest rates first
C) making equal payments on all debts
D) consolidating all debts into one loan
5. Employer-sponsored retirement plans are valuable because
A) they require no personal contribution
B) they guarantee specific returns
C) employers often contribute matching funds
D) they are completely risk-free
Questions 6-9: True/False/Not Given
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage?
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
6. Variable expenses include rent and mortgage payments.
7. Building an emergency fund requires saving large amounts of money quickly.
8. All types of debt are harmful to financial security.
9. Many schools do not teach comprehensive financial literacy.
Questions 10-13: Sentence Completion
Complete the sentences below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
10. The __ gradually decreases the value of money kept in regular savings accounts.
11. Insurance premiums cost much less than the potential __ that could occur without coverage.
12. The power of __ helps investments grow by earning returns on both the principal and accumulated gains.
13. Achieving financial security requires making __ over an extended period rather than sudden major changes.
PASSAGE 2 – Psychological Barriers to Financial Security
Độ khó: Medium (Band 6.0-7.5)
Thời gian đề xuất: 18-20 phút
While the principles of achieving financial security are relatively straightforward – spend less than you earn, save consistently, invest wisely, and avoid unnecessary debt – the psychological dimensions of money management present far greater challenges for most individuals. Behavioral economics, a field that examines the intersection of psychology and financial decision-making, has revealed that humans are inherently irrational when it comes to money, often making choices that contradict their long-term financial interests. Understanding these psychological barriers is crucial for developing strategies to overcome them and achieve lasting financial security.
One of the most pervasive psychological obstacles is present bias, also known as temporal discounting. This cognitive bias causes people to prioritize immediate gratification over future benefits, even when the future benefits substantially outweigh the present ones. In financial terms, present bias explains why someone might choose to purchase an expensive coffee daily rather than invest that money, despite knowing that compound growth over decades could transform small regular contributions into significant wealth. Neurological research has demonstrated that different parts of the brain activate when considering immediate versus delayed rewards, with the limbic system – responsible for emotional responses – dominating decisions about immediate pleasures, while the prefrontal cortex – associated with rational planning – engages more weakly for future considerations. This neurological asymmetry creates an inherent disadvantage for long-term financial planning.
Loss aversion, another fundamental concept in behavioral economics, describes the psychological phenomenon whereby people feel the pain of losses approximately twice as intensely as they feel the pleasure of equivalent gains. This asymmetry has profound implications for financial behavior. Investors experiencing loss aversion may hold onto declining investments far too long, hoping to avoid realizing losses, even when selling and reallocating capital would be the rational choice. Similarly, loss aversion can paralyze people from investing altogether, as the fear of potential losses outweighs the attraction of potential gains, causing them to keep money in low-yield savings accounts where it gradually loses value to inflation. Ironically, this risk-averse behavior intended to protect wealth often undermines long-term financial security.
Tâm lý học hành vi ảnh hưởng đến quyết định tài chính cá nhân và an ninh tài chính
Social comparison and status anxiety constitute additional psychological barriers to financial security. In an era of social media ubiquity, individuals are constantly exposed to curated images of others’ seemingly affluent lifestyles, creating pressure to maintain comparable appearances regardless of underlying financial realities. This phenomenon, sometimes termed “keeping up with the Joneses” in popular culture or “conspicuous consumption” in sociological literature, drives people to spend beyond their means on visible markers of success – luxury cars, designer clothing, exotic vacations, and upscale residences. Research in consumer psychology has consistently shown that such status-driven purchases provide only transient satisfaction while potentially causing long-term financial strain. The irony is that many people projecting images of wealth are themselves financially overstretended, creating a cycle where everyone attempts to match an illusion of prosperity that few actually possess.
Mental accounting, a concept developed by economist Richard Thaler, describes how people compartmentalize money into different mental categories based on arbitrary criteria, subsequently treating each category differently despite money being fungible – completely interchangeable regardless of its source or intended use. For example, someone might carefully budget their salary but frivolously spend a tax refund or bonus, treating “unexpected” money as “free” to waste, even though it has the same financial value as regular income. Similarly, people might maintain credit card debt with 18% interest while simultaneously keeping money in a savings account earning 1% interest, because they’ve mentally designated the savings as “untouchable emergency funds” despite the mathematical inefficiency. These arbitrary mental boundaries often prevent optimal financial decision-making.
The planning fallacy represents another cognitive bias undermining financial security. This bias causes people to systematically underestimate how long tasks will take and how much they will cost, while simultaneously overestimating their ability to control outcomes. In financial planning, this manifests as unrealistic budgets that fail to account for predictable irregular expenses like annual insurance premiums, holiday gifts, or vehicle maintenance. When these “unexpected” expenses inevitably arise, people experience budget failure and may abandon budgeting altogether rather than recognizing their planning was systematically optimistic. The planning fallacy also causes underestimation of retirement savings needs, as people fail to adequately account for longevity risk, healthcare costs in old age, and the impact of inflation over decades.
Anchoring bias affects financial decisions by causing people to rely too heavily on the first piece of information encountered when making decisions. In salary negotiations, the first number mentioned – whether by employer or candidate – tends to anchor the discussion, with final agreements clustering around that initial figure even when it’s arbitrary. In investing, people often anchor to purchase prices, viewing them as the “true value” of investments, making it psychologically difficult to sell at a loss even when market conditions suggest the asset is overvalued. Similarly, consumers anchor to “original prices” on sale items, perceiving discounts as savings even when the original price was inflated or the item is unnecessary.
Overcoming these psychological barriers requires developing metacognitive awareness – essentially thinking about your thinking – and implementing structural solutions that work with rather than against human psychology. Automation proves particularly effective: automatic transfers to savings and investment accounts remove the need for repeated willpower. Commitment devices like retirement accounts with early withdrawal penalties leverage loss aversion productively, making people reluctant to access funds. Reframing techniques can also help; viewing savings not as deprivation but as “paying your future self” can reduce present bias. Additionally, deliberately limiting exposure to consumption-oriented media and cultivating social circles that value financial prudence over conspicuous consumption can reduce social comparison pressures.
Understanding that financial decisions are influenced by predictable psychological biases rather than pure rationality is itself liberating. It shifts the challenge from a moral question of willpower to a practical question of designing systems and environments that facilitate better choices. By acknowledging these psychological realities and implementing appropriate countermeasures, individuals can navigate the complex emotional landscape of money management and make meaningful progress toward financial security.
Questions 14-26
Questions 14-18: Yes/No/Not Given
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in the passage?
Write:
- YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer
- NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer
- NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
14. The basic principles of financial security are more difficult to understand than to implement.
15. Brain scans show that different areas of the brain control short-term and long-term financial thinking.
16. People feel losses more intensely than they enjoy equivalent gains.
17. Social media has reduced the pressure on people to display wealth.
18. Richard Thaler believes that all money should be treated identically regardless of its source.
Questions 19-22: Matching Headings
The passage has eight paragraphs (1-8). Choose the correct heading for paragraphs 3, 5, 6, and 7 from the list of headings below.
List of Headings:
i. The problem of compartmentalizing finances
ii. How first impressions affect financial decisions
iii. Understanding emotional versus rational brain functions
iv. The fear of losing money and its consequences
v. Strategies for overcoming psychological barriers
vi. Social pressure and financial overspending
vii. Underestimating future financial requirements
viii. The impact of immediate pleasure on saving
19. Paragraph 3
20. Paragraph 5
21. Paragraph 6
22. Paragraph 7
Questions 23-26: Summary Completion
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Psychological barriers significantly impact financial decision-making. Present bias causes people to prefer immediate satisfaction, as the 23. __ of the brain, which handles emotions, dominates decisions about instant rewards. Meanwhile, 24. __ prevents people from selling declining investments because they want to avoid accepting losses. Social media increases 25. __, pressuring people to spend money maintaining appearances. To overcome these challenges, experts recommend using 26. __ to transfer money to savings accounts automatically, removing the need for constant self-control.
PASSAGE 3 – Systemic Factors and Financial Security in Contemporary Society
Độ khó: Hard (Band 7.0-9.0)
Thời gian đề xuất: 23-25 phút
The discourse surrounding financial security has traditionally emphasized individual agency – the capacity of persons to exercise control over their economic circumstances through prudent decision-making, disciplined saving, and strategic investment. While such microeconomic perspectives offer valuable insights into personal financial management, they risk obscuring the profound influence of macroeconomic structures, institutional arrangements, and systemic inequalities that fundamentally shape individuals’ capacity to achieve financial security. A comprehensive understanding of financial security must therefore transcend individualistic frameworks and engage with the complex interplay between personal choices and the broader socioeconomic architecture within which those choices are embedded.
Contemporary labor market dynamics present perhaps the most salient structural challenge to financial security. The decades-long transition from industrial manufacturing economies to service-based and knowledge economies has been accompanied by fundamental transformations in employment relationships. The erosion of stable, full-time employment with comprehensive benefits packages – once the norm for middle-class workers in developed economies – has been supplanted by the proliferation of precarious work arrangements: temporary contracts, part-time positions, zero-hours contracts, and the burgeoning gig economy. While proponents of this labor market flexibility emphasize its benefits for entrepreneurship and dynamic resource allocation, critics highlight how such arrangements systematically transfer economic risk from employers and the state onto individual workers, who must navigate income volatility, intermittent employment, and the absence of employer-provided benefits such as health insurance, pension contributions, and paid leave. This structural precariousness makes the foundational principles of financial security – maintaining emergency reserves, investing for retirement, budgeting predictably – exponentially more challenging for millions of workers, irrespective of their financial literacy or disciplinary intentions.
The financialization of contemporary capitalism represents another systemic factor profoundly impacting individual financial security. Financialization refers to the increasing dominance of financial motives, financial markets, financial actors, and financial institutions in the operation of domestic and international economies. This process has manifested in several ways relevant to household financial security. First, the dismantling of defined-benefit pension systems – wherein employers guaranteed specific retirement income – and their replacement with defined-contribution plans such as 401(k)s has effectively privatized retirement risk, requiring individuals to become amateur portfolio managers navigating complex investment landscapes without the expertise, information access, or economies of scale available to institutional investors. Second, the expansion of consumer credit has transformed from a marginal phenomenon to a structural necessity for many households, as wage stagnation relative to productivity gains and the rising cost of essential goods – particularly housing, healthcare, and education – have necessitated debt-financed consumption to maintain living standards. Third, asset price inflation, particularly in real estate markets, has created a bifurcated society wherein existing asset holders experience wealth appreciation while those without assets face increasingly prohibitive barriers to ownership, perpetuating and amplifying intergenerational wealth disparities.
Sự chuyển đổi từ kinh tế công nghiệp sang kinh tế dịch vụ ảnh hưởng đến an ninh tài chính của người lao động
Regulatory frameworks and social policy architectures constitute crucial mediating factors between individual financial behaviors and outcomes. The extent and nature of social safety nets – including unemployment insurance, public healthcare, subsidized education, and old-age pensions – fundamentally determine the degree to which individuals must self-insure against life’s vicissitudes versus mutualize risks through collective institutional mechanisms. Comparative analysis across OECD countries reveals substantial variation in these arrangements and corresponding differences in household financial security. Nordic countries, characterized by comprehensive welfare states, exhibit lower levels of household financial vulnerability despite similar or higher tax burdens, suggesting that collective risk-pooling through robust public institutions can provide greater security than privatized individual strategies. Conversely, countries embracing market-oriented social policies exhibit higher household debt-to-income ratios, greater retirement insecurity, and increased susceptibility to financial shocks, as individuals bear greater responsibility for protecting themselves against unemployment, illness, and old age without commensurate increases in real wages or employment stability.
The spatial distribution of economic opportunity introduces additional structural dimensions to financial security. Economic geography research demonstrates persistent and often intensifying geographical inequalities, with economic activity, high-wage employment, and wealth accumulation concentrated in particular metropolitan areas – typically coastal cities and technology hubs in the United States context, or capital cities in many other countries. This spatial concentration creates a paradox of prosperity: while these regions offer greater employment opportunities and higher nominal wages, they simultaneously feature exorbitant housing costs that consume disproportionate shares of income, potentially leaving residents with less disposable income than counterparts in lower-wage but lower-cost regions. Meanwhile, individuals in economically depressed areas face limited employment prospects, wage suppression from minimal labor demand, and declining public services as tax bases erode, yet cannot easily relocate due to moving costs, social ties, and the catch-22 that securing employment in prosperous regions typically requires already residing there. This geographical immobility traps populations in areas of limited economic opportunity, rendering individual-level financial strategies insufficient without addressing structural regional disparities.
Demographic transformations, particularly population aging in developed economies, present unprecedented challenges to both individual and collective financial security. Increasing longevity – while representing a civilizational achievement – extends the period individuals must self-finance in retirement, requiring larger accumulated savings and creating longevity risk (outliving one’s resources). Simultaneously, declining fertility rates alter the dependency ratio, reducing the number of working-age adults supporting each retiree through tax-financed social programs. This demographic pincer movement threatens the fiscal sustainability of pay-as-you-go pension systems and public healthcare programs, potentially necessitating some combination of benefit reductions, eligibility age increases, tax increases, or greater individual responsibility for old-age support. These macro-level demographic pressures interact with individual financial security planning, as the adequacy of both public and private retirement provisions becomes increasingly uncertain.
Technological disruption introduces further structural uncertainty into financial security planning. While technological innovation has historically generated overall prosperity, its benefits have been unevenly distributed, and transition periods have often involved significant labor market dislocations. Contemporary concerns focus on artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation potentially displacing not only routine manual labor – the focus of previous automation waves – but increasingly cognitive and interpersonal tasks previously considered immune to mechanization. Optimistic scenarios emphasize complementarity between human workers and technology, with automation eliminating drudgery while creating new categories of valuable work. Pessimistic projections envision widespread technological unemployment or wage polarization intensifying inequality. Regardless of which scenario materializes, the uncertainty itself complicates financial security planning, as individuals must prepare for potentially radical transformations in labor market opportunities and returns to different types of human capital investments.
Addressing financial insecurity therefore requires multilevel interventions spanning individual, institutional, and policy domains. At the individual level, financial literacy and disciplined money management remain valuable, though their efficacy is constrained by structural factors. Institutionally, employers and financial services providers can implement structural supports such as automatic enrollment in retirement savings with appropriate default options, emergency savings programs, and accessible financial advisory services. Most fundamentally, policy interventions must address underlying structural factors: labor market regulations ensuring stable employment and adequate wages, progressive taxation funding robust social insurance programs, affordable housing policies preventing asset price inflation from excluding populations from homeownership, and educational investments promoting broad-based skill development. Only through such comprehensive approaches – recognizing financial security as emerging from the interaction between individual agency and structural conditions – can societies move toward ensuring that financial security is universally attainable rather than the privilege of a fortunate few.
Questions 27-40
Questions 27-31: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.
27. According to the passage, traditional views of financial security have primarily emphasized
A) government policies and regulations
B) personal responsibility and decision-making
C) corporate social responsibility programs
D) international economic cooperation
28. The transition to a gig economy has mainly resulted in
A) higher wages for all workers
B) better benefits for part-time employees
C) economic risk being transferred to workers
D) reduced entrepreneurship opportunities
29. The term “financialization” in the passage refers to
A) individuals becoming more interested in finance
B) the growing influence of financial markets and institutions
C) banks offering more consumer products
D) governments regulating financial sectors more strictly
30. Nordic countries demonstrate lower financial vulnerability because of
A) higher individual incomes than other regions
B) stronger emphasis on personal financial literacy
C) comprehensive collective welfare systems
D) lower tax rates encouraging more savings
31. The author’s perspective on achieving widespread financial security is that it requires
A) primarily individual effort and discipline
B) waiting for technological solutions
C) focusing only on policy changes
D) addressing both personal and structural factors
Questions 32-36: Matching Features
Match each concept (32-36) with the correct description (A-H) from the passage.
Write the correct letter, A-H.
List of Descriptions:
A) Creates uncertainty about future employment patterns
B) Concentrates wealth in specific urban areas
C) Reduces the number of workers supporting each retiree
D) Replaced guaranteed pensions with individual investment accounts
E) Provides protection against various life risks
F) Increased the importance of borrowing for daily expenses
G) Made retirement planning more difficult due to longer lifespans
H) Reduced the availability of permanent employment
32. Precarious work arrangements
33. Defined-contribution pension plans
34. Population aging
35. Economic geography
36. Technological disruption
Questions 37-40: Short-answer Questions
Answer the questions below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
37. What type of employment relationship has been declining according to the passage?
38. What must individuals become when managing their retirement investments in defined-contribution plans?
39. What creates a situation where people with assets gain wealth while others cannot afford to buy assets?
40. What kind of interventions does the author say are needed to address financial insecurity?
3. Answer Keys – Đáp Án
PASSAGE 1: Questions 1-13
- B
- C
- B
- B
- C
- FALSE
- FALSE
- FALSE
- TRUE
- inflation
- financial devastation
- compound interest
- smart financial decisions
PASSAGE 2: Questions 14-26
- NO
- YES
- YES
- NO
- NOT GIVEN
- iv
- i
- vii
- ii
- limbic system
- loss aversion
- status anxiety / social comparison
- automation
PASSAGE 3: Questions 27-40
- B
- C
- B
- C
- D
- H
- D
- C
- B
- A
- stable, full-time employment / full-time employment
- amateur portfolio managers
- asset price inflation
- multilevel interventions
4. Giải Thích Đáp Án Chi Tiết
Passage 1 – Giải Thích
Câu 1: B
- Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice
- Từ khóa: financial security, mainly provides
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 1, câu đầu tiên
- Giải thích: Bài đọc nói rõ “Financial security… represents the peace of mind that comes from knowing you can handle unexpected expenses” – paraphrase của “freedom from worrying about money issues”. Đây là ý nghĩa chính mà financial security mang lại, không phải khả năng mua xa xỉ phẩm (A), đổi nghề (C) hay về hưu sớm (D).
Câu 2: C
- Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice
- Từ khóa: modern budgeting
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 2, dòng 3-4
- Giải thích: Câu “Many people avoid budgeting because they think it requires complex calculations… but modern budgeting is actually quite simple” trực tiếp ủng hộ đáp án C. Tác giả đang bác bỏ quan niệm sai lầm rằng budgeting quá phức tạp.
Câu 6: FALSE
- Dạng câu hỏi: True/False/Not Given
- Từ khóa: Variable expenses, rent, mortgage payments
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 2, dòng 7-9
- Giải thích: Bài đọc phân loại rõ ràng: “fixed costs like rent or mortgage payments… and variable expenses such as groceries, entertainment”. Rent và mortgage thuộc fixed costs, không phải variable expenses, nên câu này sai.
Câu 10: inflation
- Dạng câu hỏi: Sentence Completion
- Từ khóa: gradually decreases, value of money, savings accounts
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 5, dòng 2-3
- Giải thích: “inflation gradually reduces the purchasing power of cash sitting in a regular savings account” là câu gốc được paraphrase. “Reduces purchasing power” = “decreases value”.
Phương pháp tìm đáp án chính xác trong bài thi IELTS Reading về chủ đề tài chính
Passage 2 – Giải Thích
Câu 14: NO
- Dạng câu hỏi: Yes/No/Not Given
- Từ khóa: basic principles, difficult to understand, implement
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 1, câu đầu
- Giải thích: “While the principles… are relatively straightforward… the psychological dimensions… present far greater challenges” – tác giả nói rằng principles thì đơn giản (straightforward), nhưng implementation gặp nhiều thách thức tâm lý hơn. Câu hỏi nói ngược lại, nên đáp án là NO.
Câu 15: YES
- Dạng câu hỏi: Yes/No/Not Given
- Từ khóa: brain scans, different areas, short-term, long-term
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 2, giữa đoạn
- Giải thích: “Neurological research has demonstrated that different parts of the brain activate when considering immediate versus delayed rewards” – đây chính xác là ý của câu hỏi. Limbic system cho immediate, prefrontal cortex cho future planning.
Câu 19: iv
- Dạng câu hỏi: Matching Headings
- Từ khóa: Paragraph 3
- Vị trí trong bài: Toàn bộ đoạn 3
- Giải thích: Đoạn 3 tập trung vào “loss aversion” – việc sợ mất tiền khiến người ta giữ declining investments quá lâu hoặc không dám đầu tư. Heading “The fear of losing money and its consequences” (iv) khớp hoàn hảo với nội dung này.
Câu 23: limbic system
- Dạng câu hỏi: Summary Completion
- Từ khóa: handles emotions, dominates, immediate rewards
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 2
- Giải thích: “the limbic system – responsible for emotional responses – dominating decisions about immediate pleasures” là thông tin trực tiếp từ bài. Summary đang paraphrase câu này.
Passage 3 – Giải Thích
Câu 27: B
- Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice
- Từ khóa: traditional views, emphasized
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 1, câu đầu
- Giải thích: “The discourse… has traditionally emphasized individual agency – the capacity of persons to exercise control… through prudent decision-making” – đây là paraphrase của “personal responsibility and decision-making” (B).
Câu 28: C
- Dạng câu hỏi: Multiple Choice
- Từ khóa: gig economy, resulted in
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 2, giữa đoạn
- Giải thích: “such arrangements systematically transfer economic risk from employers and the state onto individual workers” – đây chính xác là đáp án C. Các đáp án khác không được đề cập hoặc bị bác bỏ.
Câu 32: H
- Dạng câu hỏi: Matching Features
- Từ khóa: Precarious work arrangements
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 2
- Giải thích: “The erosion of stable, full-time employment… has been supplanted by the proliferation of precarious work arrangements” – precarious work làm giảm availability of permanent employment, khớp với H.
Câu 37: stable, full-time employment
- Dạng câu hỏi: Short-answer Questions
- Từ khóa: type of employment, declining
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn 2, đầu đoạn
- Giải thích: “The erosion of stable, full-time employment with comprehensive benefits packages” – đây là loại việc làm đang suy giảm. Có thể trả lời “full-time employment” hoặc đầy đủ “stable, full-time employment”.
Câu 40: multilevel interventions
- Dạng câu hỏi: Short-answer Questions
- Từ khóa: what kind of interventions, needed
- Vị trí trong bài: Đoạn cuối, câu đầu
- Giải thích: “Addressing financial insecurity therefore requires multilevel interventions spanning individual, institutional, and policy domains” – tác giả nói rõ cần “multilevel interventions”.
5. Từ Vựng Quan Trọng Theo Passage
Passage 1 – Essential Vocabulary
| Từ vựng | Loại từ | Phiên âm | Nghĩa tiếng Việt | Ví dụ từ bài | Collocation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| financial stress | n | /faɪˈnænʃəl stres/ | căng thẳng tài chính | constant financial stress | reduce/minimize financial stress |
| disciplined habits | n | /ˈdɪsəplɪnd ˈhæbɪts/ | thói quen có kỷ luật | maintain disciplined habits over time | develop/maintain disciplined habits |
| realistic budget | n | /ˌriːəˈlɪstɪk ˈbʌdʒɪt/ | ngân sách thực tế | creating a realistic budget | set/create a realistic budget |
| emergency fund | n | /ɪˈmɜːdʒənsi fʌnd/ | quỹ dự phòng khẩn cấp | maintaining emergency funds | build/establish an emergency fund |
| debt accumulation | n | /det əˌkjuːmjəˈleɪʃən/ | tích lũy nợ | lead to debt accumulation | prevent/avoid debt accumulation |
| high-interest debt | n | /haɪ ˈɪntrəst det/ | nợ lãi suất cao | eliminate high-interest debt | pay off high-interest debt |
| compound interest | n | /ˈkɒmpaʊnd ˈɪntrəst/ | lãi suất kép | principle of compound interest | earn/benefit from compound interest |
| purchasing power | n | /ˈpɜːtʃəsɪŋ ˈpaʊə/ | sức mua | reduces purchasing power | maintain/preserve purchasing power |
| diversified portfolio | n | /daɪˈvɜːsɪfaɪd pɔːtˈfəʊliəʊ/ | danh mục đầu tư đa dạng | diversified investment portfolios | build/create a diversified portfolio |
| matching contributions | n | /ˈmætʃɪŋ ˌkɒntrɪˈbjuːʃənz/ | đóng góp tương ứng | employers offer matching contributions | provide/offer matching contributions |
| wealth building | n | /welθ ˈbɪldɪŋ/ | xây dựng tài sản | accelerates wealth building | focus on wealth building |
| financial devastation | n | /faɪˈnænʃəl ˌdevəˈsteɪʃən/ | tàn phá tài chính | potential financial devastation | avoid/prevent financial devastation |
Passage 2 – Essential Vocabulary
| Từ vựng | Loại từ | Phiên âm | Nghĩa tiếng Việt | Ví dụ từ bài | Collocation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| behavioral economics | n | /bɪˈheɪvjərəl ˌiːkəˈnɒmɪks/ | kinh tế học hành vi | field of behavioral economics | study behavioral economics |
| present bias | n | /ˈprezənt ˈbaɪəs/ | thiên kiến hiện tại | overcome present bias | suffer from/overcome present bias |
| temporal discounting | n | /ˈtempərəl dɪsˈkaʊntɪŋ/ | chiết khấu thời gian | also known as temporal discounting | demonstrate temporal discounting |
| loss aversion | n | /lɒs əˈvɜːʃən/ | e ngại mất mát | experiencing loss aversion | display/exhibit loss aversion |
| limbic system | n | /ˈlɪmbɪk ˈsɪstəm/ | hệ thống limbic (não) | the limbic system dominates | activate the limbic system |
| prefrontal cortex | n | /ˌpriːˈfrʌntəl ˈkɔːteks/ | vỏ não trước trán | prefrontal cortex engages | engage the prefrontal cortex |
| social comparison | n | /ˈsəʊʃəl kəmˈpærɪsən/ | so sánh xã hội | social comparison constitutes barriers | avoid social comparison |
| status anxiety | n | /ˈsteɪtəs æŋˈzaɪəti/ | lo lắng về địa vị | status anxiety drives spending | experience/suffer from status anxiety |
| conspicuous consumption | n | /kənˈspɪkjuəs kənˈsʌmpʃən/ | tiêu dùng phô trương | termed conspicuous consumption | engage in conspicuous consumption |
| mental accounting | n | /ˈmentl əˈkaʊntɪŋ/ | kế toán tâm lý | concept of mental accounting | practice mental accounting |
| fungible | adj | /ˈfʌndʒəbəl/ | có thể thay thế | money being fungible | completely fungible |
| planning fallacy | n | /ˈplænɪŋ ˈfæləsi/ | ngụy biện hoạch định | the planning fallacy represents | fall victim to planning fallacy |
| anchoring bias | n | /ˈæŋkərɪŋ ˈbaɪəs/ | thiên kiến neo đậu | anchoring bias affects decisions | demonstrate anchoring bias |
| metacognitive awareness | n | /ˌmetəˈkɒgnətɪv əˈweənəs/ | nhận thức siêu nhận thức | developing metacognitive awareness | build metacognitive awareness |
| commitment devices | n | /kəˈmɪtmənt dɪˈvaɪsɪz/ | công cụ cam kết | commitment devices prove effective | use/implement commitment devices |
Passage 3 – Essential Vocabulary
| Từ vựng | Loại từ | Phiên âm | Nghĩa tiếng Việt | Ví dụ từ bài | Collocation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| individual agency | n | /ˌɪndɪˈvɪdʒuəl ˈeɪdʒənsi/ | quyền tự chủ cá nhân | emphasized individual agency | exercise individual agency |
| macroeconomic structures | n | /ˌmækrəʊˌiːkəˈnɒmɪk ˈstrʌktʃəz/ | cấu trúc kinh tế vĩ mô | influence of macroeconomic structures | analyze macroeconomic structures |
| systemic inequalities | n | /sɪˈstemɪk ˌɪnɪˈkwɒlətiz/ | bất bình đẳng hệ thống | systemic inequalities shape capacity | address systemic inequalities |
| precarious work | n | /prɪˈkeəriəs wɜːk/ | công việc bấp bênh | proliferation of precarious work | engage in precarious work |
| gig economy | n | /ɡɪɡ ɪˈkɒnəmi/ | nền kinh tế làm việc tự do | the burgeoning gig economy | participate in gig economy |
| labor market flexibility | n | /ˈleɪbə ˈmɑːkɪt ˌfleksəˈbɪləti/ | linh hoạt thị trường lao động | labor market flexibility benefits | promote labor market flexibility |
| financialization | n | /faɪˌnænʃəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/ | tài chính hóa | the financialization of capitalism | process of financialization |
| defined-benefit pension | n | /dɪˌfaɪnd ˈbenɪfɪt ˈpenʃən/ | lương hưu xác định quyền lợi | dismantling of defined-benefit pensions | replace defined-benefit pensions |
| defined-contribution plan | n | /dɪˌfaɪnd ˌkɒntrɪˈbjuːʃən plæn/ | kế hoạch đóng góp xác định | replacement with defined-contribution plans | enroll in defined-contribution plan |
| wage stagnation | n | /weɪdʒ stæɡˈneɪʃən/ | trì trệ tiền lương | wage stagnation relative to productivity | experience wage stagnation |
| asset price inflation | n | /ˈæset praɪs ɪnˈfleɪʃən/ | lạm phát giá tài sản | asset price inflation creates division | contribute to asset price inflation |
| intergenerational wealth | n | /ˌɪntədʒenəˈreɪʃənəl welθ/ | tài sản liên thế hệ | intergenerational wealth disparities | transfer intergenerational wealth |
| social safety nets | n | /ˈsəʊʃəl ˈseɪfti nets/ | lưới an sinh xã hội | extent of social safety nets | strengthen social safety nets |
| welfare states | n | /ˈwelfeə steɪts/ | nhà nước phúc lợi | comprehensive welfare states | establish welfare states |
| economic geography | n | /ˌiːkəˈnɒmɪk dʒiˈɒɡrəfi/ | địa lý kinh tế | economic geography research | study economic geography |
| spatial concentration | n | /ˈspeɪʃəl ˌkɒnsənˈtreɪʃən/ | tập trung không gian | spatial concentration creates paradox | lead to spatial concentration |
| demographic transformations | n | /ˌdeməˈɡræfɪk ˌtrænsfəˈmeɪʃənz/ | chuyển đổi nhân khẩu | demographic transformations present challenges | undergo demographic transformations |
| longevity risk | n | /lɒnˈdʒevəti rɪsk/ | rủi ro sống thọ | creating longevity risk | manage longevity risk |
| technological disruption | n | /ˌteknəˈlɒdʒɪkəl dɪsˈrʌpʃən/ | gián đoạn công nghệ | technological disruption introduces uncertainty | face technological disruption |
Kết bài
Chủ đề “Tips for achieving financial security” là một trong những topics phổ biến và thiết thực nhất trong IELTS Reading. Qua bộ đề thi mẫu này, bạn đã được thực hành với 3 passages có độ khó tăng dần, từ các khái niệm cơ bản về ngân sách và tiết kiệm (Passage 1), đến các rào cản tâm lý trong quản lý tài chính (Passage 2), và cuối cùng là phân tích sâu về các yếu tố hệ thống ảnh hưởng đến an ninh tài chính (Passage 3).
Bộ đề bao gồm đầy đủ 40 câu hỏi với 7 dạng khác nhau, giúp bạn làm quen với mọi format câu hỏi có thể xuất hiện trong kỳ thi thực tế. Phần giải thích đáp án chi tiết không chỉ cho bạn biết đáp án đúng mà còn hướng dẫn cách xác định thông tin trong bài, cách paraphrase hiệu quả và kỹ thuật làm bài cho từng dạng câu hỏi.
Hệ thống từ vựng được tổng hợp theo từng passage giúp bạn nắm vững các collocations quan trọng và cách sử dụng chúng trong ngữ cảnh học thuật. Đây không chỉ là những từ vựng hữu ích cho IELTS Reading mà còn có thể áp dụng cho Writing Task 2 khi viết về các chủ đề kinh tế và xã hội.
Hãy thực hành đề thi này trong điều kiện giống thi thật: 60 phút, không tra từ điển, và tự chấm điểm để đánh giá chính xác trình độ hiện tại của bạn. Chúc bạn ôn tập hiệu quả và đạt band điểm cao trong kỳ thi IELTS sắp tới!
