PRACTICE TEST 4

Module I Reading comprehension and Language Awareness test ( 90 minutes)

ACTIVITY I

Step 1

Quickly read the text below with the following questions in mind. Then choose the correct answers by
marking A, B, C on your answer sheet.
1. This text provides information about 3. The best title for this text is
A a weight loss programme A cooking oils
B a weight loss accelerator B a new diet
C olive oil C new aid to weight loss
2. The text may have been written for 4. The writer seems to
A a sports newspaper A be doubtful that the oil will work
B a specialist monthly magazine B feel confident that the oil will work
C a promotional leaflet C distrust the results of the tests

It sounds like a dieter’s impossible dream- a cooking oil that can help you lose weight. Yet it could
be in the shops within a year. A blend of tropical oils developed by scientists has been
(5) shown to heighten the metabolism, lower chore sterol and, in some cases, help take off the
pounds. In trials, some volunteers lost up to a pound a month, suggesting someone using the oil for a
year could shed almost a stone in excess weight.
(10) The product is the brainchild of Professor Peter Jones and a team from McGill University’s
School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition in Montreal. Christened Functional Oil, it is made up of
77 per cent tropical oils, 6 per cent olive oil, 12 per cent coconut oil and 5 per cent flaxseed oil.
(15) Professor Jones has just completed two clinical trials of the product, which is made of fats
called medium chain triglycerides rather than the long chain triglycerides found in traditional oils.
The trials were conducted over two periods of 27 days on men and women who were around 25
pounds
(20) overweight.. Professor Jones explained:’ The way the Functional Oil works in fighting fat is
simple. It is directed towards the liver for combustion and burned as energy. The oil not stored in the
body as fat and heightens the metabolism, which is a
(25) key in maintaining a healthy body weight’.

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ACTIVITY 2

Carefully read the text again and choose the correct answers by marking A, B, or C on your
answer sheet

5. The cooking oil could be on sale 6. The cooking oil is guaranteed to

A a mixture of tropical oils A save money
B olive oil. Coconut oil and flax seed oil B aid weight loss
C tropical oils, and other oils C decrease cholesterol and metabolic rates

7. The base for the cooking oil is

A in less than 12 months
B the year after next
C in the distant future

8. The people who participated in the research

A had problems losing weight
B weighted at least 25 pounds
C carried excess weight

9.The oil improves weight loss because

A it can stored in the liver
B it burns energy
C it is not kept in the body as fat

10.What does the word’ brainchild’ mean in line 10?

A a particularly intelligent person
B an extremely good idea
C a new invention

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11.’ Trials’ (line 15) in this context means
A being in court
B experiments
C trying something on
12. The men and women who participated in the tests
A lost twenty- five pounds in twenty- seven days
B lost some weight in twenty-seven days
C did not lose any weight

ACTIVITY 3
Read this paragraph from a letter to the newspaper written by someone who read the text in
activity 2 and fill in the missing words. Choose from the words in the box below. There is one
word that you won’t need and one that you may use twice. On your answer sheet, mark the box
( A, B, C, D, E, F, G or H) corresponding to each of the blank spaces.

A at B in C for D of E with F on G as H from

13………………my opinion, we should now be considering running final tests 14………men and
women who need to lose 15……….5 to 60 pounds. If the tests are successful, then the product should be
presented 16…………..next year’s International Medical Symposium, a well known forum
17……………discussion of similar discoveries. It is still too soon to tell, of course, but if the final tests
are positive, a simple remedy which will help thousands of people reach their ideal weight may have
been discovered. It can’t be claimed that the problem 18……………fat will have been altogether solved,
as this is something that can only happen 19…………a radial change in diet and ways
20………..thinking about food.

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ACTIVITY 4
Here is comment about a tour guide, taken from a postcard you receive from a friend. The parts of the
sentence are in the wrong order. Put them in the right order by marking the correct box ( A, B, C, D, E or F
for numbers 21 to 25 on your answer sheet, as in the example.

A Our tour guide 0…A

B not only of the lives of the Pharaohs 21……..
C of the people of Egypt 22……..
D amazed us all 23……
E but also of those 24……
F with her knowledge 25……

ACTIVITY 5
Decide where these texts are most likely to appear and mark the appropriate box ( A, B or C) on
your answer sheet.
26. Do not exceed prescribed dosage. This warning appears on
A a box of chocolates
B a bottle of medicine
C a tin of instant coffee
27. Refrigerate after opening. This notice appears on
A a jar of food
B a bottle of water
C the door of a refrigerator
28. All items at below cost! This notice appears
A in a shop window
B at a station
C in a bank
29. Help wanted. This announcement appears in
A an English novel
B an instruction manual
C the classified advertisements section of a newspaper

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30 Because YOU need to know FIRST! This phrase appears in
A an advertisement for a news channel
B a theatre programme
C a TV guide

ACTIVITY 6
Read the definition below and indicate which words are what we call an ‘odd man out’ by
marking A, B or C on your answer sheet, as in the two examples.
Definition: an old man out is a word or phrase which does not fit into the same category as the words
around it, for example from an exercise book, a diary and a TV, the TV is the odd man out as you
cannot write on it.
STATEMENTS A B C
0 A deny B request C inquire
31 A theatre B cinema C video
32 A contented B depressed C happy
33 A lorry B van C train
34 A worker B position C job
35 A blouse B shirt C skirt
36 A farmer B director C manager
37 A overdue B punctual C delayed
38 A a dishwasher B a cooker C a cellular phone
39 A peeling B chopping C peering
40 A notice B speech C label

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ACTIVITY 7
Below is an extract from an article on nutrition. Choose the appropriate word with which to fill
the gaps, by marking A, B, or C on your answer sheet as in the example below.

For centuries it has been a 0……….fact that the people of the Mediterranean enjoyed robust health and
strength. It was taken 41…….granted in these lands that you would live a long life. Every garden had its
vines and olive trees; even 42……of towns contrived to keep one foot in the soil, and to eat fresh,
usually home-grown foods, with olive oil of their 43….pressing. In the developed countries of the West,
where industrialization and mass-produced food had gradually taken 44……. Health was a major
concern by the 1950s. Today the Mediterranean 45…….and in particular that of the Cretans is still
considered to be the healthiest 46………of eating in the world. Research has 47 ………that the Cretans
have the lowest rate of heart disease.

This exceptional good health is thought to be due to the large quantities of olive oil that the Cretans
consume.
0 A well estimated B well known C well felt
41 A at B from C for
42 A tenants B inhabitants C employees
43 A sole B only C own
44 A after B over C in
45 A eating B food C diet
46 A way B means C technique
47 A regarded B shown C informed

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 ACTIVITY 8

Read the statements below and on the basis of this text about a football player, decide if they are A (TRUE),
B( FALSE) or C(NOT STATED). Mark the corresponding box on your answer sheet.

STATEMENTS A B C
48 Seaman will not play for Manchester United
49 Seaman wants to play for the English national team
50 Keegan is on holiday in Portugal
51 Seaman is one of the seven players to leave Arsenal this year
52 Seaman feels angry at his treatment by Arsenal
53 Arsenal offered Seaman the chance to train its players
54 Keegan and Seaman are happy with the arrangement
55 Seaman will play for three more years

DAVID SEAMAN last night agreed to join Manchester City in a move that he hopes will enable him to
reclaim his place as England’s first-choice goalkeeper. The 39-year-old reluctantly severed his links
with Arsenal, after a thirteen season association, in the belief that the move to Manchester will provide
him with a platform from which to relaunch his international career. Seaman had hoped to persuade
Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, to offer him one more season as first choice goalkeeper at
Highbury, but was unhappy with the suggestion that he would stay on as goalkeeping coach and help to
groom his successor. As revealed in The Times last Thursday, he decided to look for a new club after
Wenger refused to offer him the guarantees that he was looking for, and swiftly agreed a one-year
contract with City. Although currently on holiday in Portugal, he has confirmed to City that he will sign
on his return. Sources have indicated that the arrangement is unlikely to be extended beyond next
summer, when Seaman plans to retire, but that he and Kevin Keegan, the City manager, viewed the
transfer as a mutually beneficial arrangement, similar to that which enabled Peter Schmeichel to enjoy a
final flourish at Maine Road before retiring last month.

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ACTIVITY 9
Read the text again and match the two halves of the sentences below (56 to 60). Write the correct
letter( A, B, C, D or E) in the corresponding boxes and mark your answers on the answer sheet.
There is one extra half you do not need.

56 Schmeichel A is Arsenal’s former goal-keeper

57 Arsenal B did not comply with Seaman’s wishes
58 Kevin Keegan C ran a story on Seaman last week
59 David Seaman D has recently given up football
60 The Times E is going to sign up Seaman
F plays for Manchester City

ACTIVITY 10
The text below is taken from an article about a French composer. Read it and answer the
questions below, as in the example.
Example: When did Saint –Saens commence work on Samson et Dalila?
He commenced work in 1867.

61 Where did Saint – Saens take the tale from?

62 What did Saint- Saens first aim to create?
63 Where did Saint- Saens practice the performances?
64 How was the biblical story changed?
65 What was the public’s reaction to the work in 1877?
66 How long did it take for the opera to reach Paris?

Saint- Saens biblical tale of passion

Saint – Saens started working on one of the Bible’s most well-known stories in 1867, his initial intention
being to come up with an oratorio. Picking up on the work’s potential as an opera he held rehearsals, in
his house, in front of an audience. The French composer’s librettist, however, tried to eliminate the
choral parts, which are most suitable for an oratorio. Rather than focusing on Samson’s heroic deeds, he
shifted the emphasis to his affair with Dalila, underlining his vulnerable side. Samson et Dalila’s
premiere at Germany’s Weimar Theatre on December2 1877, with the support of Franz Lizst, met with a
lukewarm response on the part of the audience which was disturbed by the interpretation of the biblical
story, focusing more in this case on the seduction of Samson than on the heroic deeds. The opera made it

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 to the French countryside in 1890, eventually being performed at the Paris Opera in 1892, a full quarter
of a century after Saint-Saens began work on it.

ACTIVITY 11
Water damaged some parts of this report on holiday flights.
Read it and decide what you think each of the original words was. Write the words in the blank spaces
( 67 to 75) on your answer sheet.

Holidaymakers 67……………….flight are cancelled or delayed will for the first time be legally entitled
to have the entire cost of their tickets reimbursed after a vote in the European parliament.
When they 68….……become law-once the parliament and EU governments finalise the details- the
changes will be radical. The statutory amount of compensation travelers can claim if they are bumped
off a flight because it is overbooked will be doubled. Foreigners who suffer that particular fate 69….
……… currently entitled to compensation of ₤90 for short-haul flights and ₤ 180 for long-haul flights.
After yesterday’s vote those figures will go 70……….. to ₤ 173 and ₤415 respectively. But the biggest
breakthrough was on cancelled and delayed flights, including charter flights for 71………. there is
currently no statutory compensation. Passengers whose flights are cancelled will now be entitled to the
same treatment 72………. Those denied boarding- the same levels of compensation plus the same
choice of full reimbursement 73…………an alternative flight. Travellers who suffer delays will get no
compensation, 74………..will be entitled to full reimbursement provided that the delay is over two
hours for short-haul flights or over four hours for longer flights. Airlines will also be legally bound
‘where appropriate’ to 75………..refreshments, meals and hotels for stranded passengers.

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 Module 2 free writing production and mediation test ( 90 minutes)

ACTIVITY 1
Send an e-mail message to your Swedish friend, who is studying in London, and ask whether you
can stay with him/her for two weeks in the summer. Mention why you want to spend this time
there as well as some things you would like to do during your stay. This could include a concert
and visits to famous landmarks but also some things you would like to do that you do not have the
chance to do in Greece. Length of e-mail about 150 words.

ACTIVITY 2
The table below shows the results of a survey for a Greek magazine comparing the hours a worker
in the EU zone has to work to buy certain goods. In a brief report, write your analysis and
comments on some of these figures for an international journal. Length of text about 150 words

100 ΕΙΔΗ 50 ΕΙΔΗ 10 ΕΙΔΗ 25 ΕΙΔΗ ΣΥΝΟΛΟ

ΤΡΟΦΙΜΩΝ ΣΠΙΤΙΟΥ ΣΥΣΚΕΥΩΝ ΕΝΔΥΣΗΣ ΓΙΑ 185
ΚΑΙ ΠΟΤΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΠΡΟΪΟΝΤΑ
ΕΠΙΠΛΩΝ
ΑΓΓΛΙΑ 57 ΩΡ&10’ 30 ΩΡ & 06’ 108 ΜΕΡΕΣ 81 ΜΕΡΕΣ 200 ΜΕΡΕΣ
ΓΑΛΛΙΑ 57 ΩΡ & 55’ 50 ΩΡ& 13’ 126 ΜΕΡΕΣ 78 ΜΕΡΕΣ 218 ΜΕΡΕΣ
ΓΕΡΜΑΝΙΑ 48 ΩΡ & 35’ 37 ΩΡ& 10’ 102 ΜΕΡΕΣ 66 ΜΕΡΕΣ 179 ΜΕΡΕΣ
ΙΤΑΛΙΑ 69 ΩΡ & 12’ 43 ΩΡ& 20’ 170 ΜΕΡΕΣ 117 ΜΕΡΕΣ 301 ΜΕΡΕΣ

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