Entry Test for IELTS

A. Listening
Questions 1–4

Complete the form below. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

HOLIDAY BOOKING FORM

Example
6
Size of group ..................
Accommodation
chosen Villa 1. ................................................

Dates of stay 19–26th 2. ................................................

Cost 3. £........................................... per week.

Deposit payable 4. £............................................

Questions 5–8

Complete the notes below. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

To do list

Need to 5 ................................................ immediately.

Check everyone is 6 ................................................

Ask everyone if they’d like to hire a private 7 ................................................

Pay deposit.

Remember to pay the balance of the cost by 8 ................................................ April.

Questions 9 and 10

Choose TWO letters, A–E. Which TWO activities would Alice and her friends like to do on their holiday?

A Lying on the beach

D Mountain biking
B Wind surfing
E Dolphin watching
C Walking ____ out of 10
B. Use of English
I. For questions 1-20, choose the word or phrase that best fits each space. (x 0.5 p.)

1. She _____ my brother-in-low’s family _____ they first came to this country.
A) has been knowing, for B) is knowing, since C) has known, since D) knows, for
2. After she _____ to the members of staff, she _____ a report to the manager
A) had spoken, sent B) spoke, had sent C) has spoken, sent D) had spoken, had sent
3. Not until later _____ he was my new-door-neighbour.
A) I realised B) did I realise C) I realised D) I did realise
4. We went there every winter for over ten years but we never _____ the freezing weather.
A) accustomed B) were used to C) were use to D) got used to
5. He learned that his brother was working in a petrol service station ____ his job as a car salesman.
A) after he loses B) when he was losing C) after having lost D) as he lost
6. I don’t mind door-to-door salesmen, _____ they don’t call too early in the morning.
A) supposing B) provided that C) unless D) otherwise
7. I can’t give you the report on Friday because I _____ it by then.
A) will finish B) won’t finish C) won’t be finishing D) won’t have finished
8. What a beautiful bunch of flowers! You _____ spent so much money on this insignificant occasion.
A) mustn’t have B) didn’t have to C) needn’t have D) couldn’t have
9. ‘I’d rather my parents _____ me for granted.’ thought Tony wide awake that night.
A) doesn’t take B) don’t take C) didn’t take D) won’t take
10. My job is _____; I don’t want to take on any more responsibility.
A) such stressful B) enough stressful C) stressful enough D) such a stressful
11. _____ his ill health, he went on studying from dawn to dark.
A) Although B) Despite C) In spite D) Nevertheless
12. Whoever say that _____ in the dark knows nothing about nocturnal animals.
A) the cats cannot see B) cats cannot see C) cats not see D) cat cannot see
13. Nobody was watching, _____?
A) didn’t they B) were they C) weren’t they D) did they
14. It’s a long walk to the cave, so we’d better ______ early.
A) starting B) to start C) have started D) start
15. Going out in this fog? You must be kidding. I _____ at home and read a book.
A) had rather stay B) rather will stay C) would rather stay D) rather stay
16. On our way to school Tom stopped _____ a coke and asked me to wait for him.
A) for to have B) having C) to have D) for having
17. Never _____ the knowledge or courage to change the course of events.
A) has he had B) he has had C) hasn’t he had D) he hasn’t had
18. My father has to walk to the office these days because his car _____.
A) is fixing B) fixes C) is fixed D) is being fixed
19. You shouldn’t let her read your letters _____ you want her to know what you think.
A) in case B) if C) unless D) provided
20. The passengers were worried that the plane, _____ was already half an hour late, was delayed for another ten
minutes. A) that B) which C) who D) whom
21. When he _____ an airline pilot he _____ a lot of money.
A) became, had become B) became, earned C) had become, earned D) had become, had earned
22. You will find their house _____ you take a good street map with you
A) as long as B) unless C) even if D) otherwise
____ out of 11
C. Reading
1. You are going to read an article about a lion that was kept as a pet. For questions 1–6, choose the answer (A,
B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.

Christian the lion, our joy and pride

The home-made piece of film first appeared on the Internet several years ago. Since then, it has melted millions of
hearts: a fully grown male lion hugs two young men like an over-enthusiastic kitten. The moving reunion of the men
with their pet took place a year after they had left him in the African bush. ‘It was so humbling the way he ran towards
us with such love and excitement in his eyes, and we felt exactly the same way,’ says John Rendall of the lion he raised
and later delivered to Africa. ‘We had such a beautiful relationship with him. Christian changed the path of our lives.’

In 1969, Rendall and his friend Anthony ‘Ace’ Bourke, came across a lion cub in Harrods, London, which then sold
exotic animals. They fell in love with him and took him home to their Chelsea flat. They named the cub Christian and
he lived with them in a Kings Road furniture shop where he rarely ruined the store’s furniture. He played with local
children in the walled garden of a churchyard. He was fed steak and taken to restaurants and glamorous parties in the
back of their Mercedes cabriolet.

‘Neither of us dreamed of owning an exotic animal, but I was pretty shocked to see this big cat, even if it was just three
months old, in this tiny cage.’ Rendall remembers thinking: ‘This isn’t right – we must get him out of here. Surely we
can give him a better life. Suddenly our lives were incomplete without a lion cub. And right there, we decided to
buy him.’

The idea that anyone could buy a lion and move it into an urban environment seems shocking now. But, in London in
the 60s, says Rendall, anything was possible. Rendall and Bourke had known each other in their native Australia and
were drawn together by their love of animals. Growing up on a farm, Rendall rode horses, and the family pets included
cattle dogs, cats and injured birds and orphaned baby kangaroos, who were hand-reared until they were old enough to
be set free.

‘The all-consuming commitment of looking after Christian was like having a child and the perfect preparation for
being a parent,’ says Rendall. ‘I was 23 and never had that much responsibility and suddenly here was this animal that
demanded our constant attention. He was so irresistible you couldn’t refuse him anything. If one of us was reading, he
would climb into our lap.’

When he was older Christian was flown to Kenya. He was placed in the care of the lion conservationist George
Adamson to introduce him to the wild, at the Kora National Park. ‘When we took Christian to Africa, it was my first
visit to that magnificent continent. I was entranced by the sights and smells, and to see Christian in his right
environment was so exciting. Suddenly, instead of being “exotic” he just fit in. Even so, it was terrible to leave him
behind. We knew all the inevitable dangers and hardships that faced an animal in the wild, particularly a pampered
one.’

In 1972, a year after the heart-stopping hug that made international news, Rendall and Bourke returned to Kenya to see
Christian. Adamson hadn’t seen him for three months and then, incredibly, he reappeared soon after the men arrived.
‘On the third day, during dinner, Christian slowly walked into the camp and then rushed over to us, grunting with
excitement. He knocked George over, jumped on the table and interrupted dinner. He tried to sit on our laps, even
though he was now a 500lb cat. We spent nine amazing days with him. He was much bigger and more independent,
with a pride of lionesses and a batch of cubs. We were no longer part of his life. But that was the whole point of it, to
return to the wild.’
1 What does Rendall say about Christian’s early life?
A He had a good lifestyle.
B He lived in the garden.
C He caused quite a few problems.
D He was a good friend to his children.
4 Having Christian as a pet made Rendall become
A more mature in his relationships.
B better able to deal with life’s demands.
C more confident about family life in the future.
D better informed about animal welfare issues.

2 Why did the men decide to buy Christian?
A They had always wanted an exotic animal.
B They thought the lion would stay small.
C They believed they could help him.
D They liked to do things spontaneously.
3 Rendall had experience of
A looking after young wild animals.
B having pets in his London home.
C visiting farms in Australia.
D sharing animals with his friend Ace.
5 How did Rendall feel when he took Christian to Africa?
A The place reminded him of his life in Australia.
B He was concerned about Christian’s future.
C He was determined to return to see Christian again.
D He was aware that his own lifestyle was very
different.
6 Why does Rendall mention Christian’s new lion
family?
A to emphasize how mature the lion has become
B to illustrate that Christian is no longer in danger
C to explain that bringing up wild pets can be a good
thing
D to show that he doesn’t need humans any more

____ out of 12

2. You are going to read a magazine article about a new fitness and diet. Six sentences have been removed from
the article. Choose from the sentences A–G the one which fits each gap (1–6). There is one extra sentence which
you do not need to use.
A It is a matter of self-maintenance, she believes, which can have a beneficial effect in every area of your life.

B But then you get chatting to people and they realize that you’re like everybody else, really.

C For Gunnell, the idea of determining her own fitness programme after two decades of being told what to do and

when by athletics coaches brought its own sense of freedom.

D I’m trying to balance being a mum and working, and just trying to build fitness into my life.

E With this in mind, the exercises have been very much designed for different levels and abilities.

F If they see you going out of the door and going for a run, or going to the gym, you make it a culture within the

family.

G The golden girl of British athletics in the 1990s retired from the track more than fifteen years ago.
Get fit in 28 days
‘We’re going to turn right, is it right? Here, just where these cars are going. Yeah, go on.’ Dusk is falling and
Sally Gunnell is being driven back home after a day-long photo shoot. Such is the ceaseless pace at which her
life moves that this short journey is almost the only free time she has had all week.
When she is not travelling up and down the motorways of Britain on her motivational speaking tours, she is
looking after her three children, undertaking promotional work or appearing on television. However,
she is still showing few signs of slowing down. ‘A lot of what I do now is being a taxi service,’ she says with a
smile.
So the first thing I want to know is where on earth she found the time to put together a fitness and diet
programme, giving you the chance to train like an Olympic champion. ‘I always say I’m like everybody else
now,’ she says. ‘ I think it’s about finding something that you enjoy. If you’ve only got five minutes,
you’ll be better off doing some sit-ups rather than doing nothing at all. You’re better off adapting fitness to
your lifestyle in this way. If you want to perform better at work, if you want to deal with stress and day-to-day
living, fitness is a key part of it.’
Just as she uses motivational speaking to unlock people’s potential in the workplace, so Gunnell is passionate
about spreading the word about healthy living. ‘People always say to me: “I feel so stressed because I can’t get
this done, I can’t think straight,” and they might have all sorts of aches and pains. But often, the amount of
energy you have in a day is linked back to lack of exercise or what you’re eating or not eating.’
‘Whatever you’re trying to achieve, whether it’s trying to be a better mum, or performing to your highest
ability at work, it often does come back to how you feel about yourself.’
So as well as slotting into the hectic lifestyle, Gunnell believes exercises in her fitness plan will suit people of
all ages and shapes. ‘I always think that with exercise there’s no quick fix or secret remedy. It’s often just
something that fits in with what you can do at home.’ Practicality is a primary objective.
‘I was an athlete from the age of 14 to the age of 31, and it was very demanding. When I retired, it
was nice to choose what I wanted to do. I could go running, or go to the gym. I thought, “Wow, this is great.” ’
So do people still expect her to be a finely sculpted athlete? ‘Sometimes they do,’ she says. ‘ I still
have to work at it. I still have to watch what I eat, and I know how it affects my mood. If I ate everything, I’d
put on loads of weight.’

____ out of 12

5
3. You are going to read an article in which four crime writers talk about other authors they like. For
questions 1–10, choose from the crime writers (A–D). The writers may be chosen more than once.

Which writer
enjoys the slow pace of the book?

feels overshadowed by this author?

appreciates the author’s precise style of writing?

mentions a detective with an unusual background?

believes a previous job influences the author’s work?

had not expected to enjoy the books?

likes the way the books reflect what’s going on in the world?

admires the way the author is not influenced by what is expected?

prefers books that show the feelings of the author?

is impressed by the consistent high standard of an author’s books?

A John Harvey on Peter Temple

I started reading Temple’s books about 10 years ago, and at the time it was fairly straightforward crime fiction
set in Australia, a lot of it with a horse-racing background. The books were OK, but not exceptional. Then
suddenly with The Broken Shore, he just hit something quite different and moved up a level. He is writing the
kind of books I‘ve spent 20 years trying to write, and writing them better than I do. He’s using crime fiction
not just to tell a story, but to say something about today’s society. He really gets the connections between
politics, the police and the media right. I love the writing – it‘s really taut and a lesson in how to say a lot
without being too wordy.

B Sara Paretsky on Liza Cody

There is a lot of good, stylish writing out there that puts me off because it’s unfelt. I’m looking for someone
who has a gift for storytelling, and who is willing to do the hard work of digging into the emotional aspect of
life. Liza Cody does that, and she takes a lot of risks. She doesn’t just do the easy thing to be recognized in the
marketplace; she goes where the story and emotion takes her. For instance, she had to self-publish her most
recent book, Ballad of A Dead Nobody, because no one in the industry was willing to. These days, you’re told
you have to create a brand or a series, with a recognizable link. She is willing to turn her back on that and
focus on what her inner voice is telling her.

6
C Mark Billingham on Michael Connelly
The first Connelly book I read was The Poet, his first standalone novel and a big breakthrough for him. By
then, he had written four books in his Harry Bosch series, which I went back to read. He has maintained a
level of quality through a long-running series – an incredibly difficult thing to achieve. People talk about how
you create suspense, tricks such as cliffhangers and reveals, but actually the real secret is to create characters
the readers care about. Bosch, a detective in the Los Angeles Police Department, is a character who has grown
and changed, who you come to know and care about. All that aside, he is a fantastic storyteller, probably the
best in modern mystery fiction. I think his days as a journalist – he was a crime reporter on the Los Angeles
Times – stood him in good stead because he never forgets the story.

D Ann Cleeves on Johan Theorin

I read Theorin’s first novel, Echoes from the Dead, after my Swedish editor had said: ‘There’s this Swedish
author writing four books set on an island in the Baltic – I wonder if he stole the idea from you?’ because I’ve
written novels set in the Shetlands. I was a bit annoyed – although I’m sure it was coincidental – so I wasn’t
prepared to like it. But I really loved it. He has this interesting detective who is elderly and lives in a sheltered
housing complex, so he can’t be out there doing car chases. One of the books is about this crumbling house by
the shore and you’re not sure if there’s a supernatural element. It has the most wonderful climax. Theorin is
prepared to take his time over the telling of the story, which is unusual these days. If you look at the
bestsellers, they usually move quite rapidly. There is nothing wrong with that, but Theorin writes in a much
deeper, literary way.

____ out of 10

D. Writing

Write an essay of about 200 words on the following topic.

‘Technology has largely had a negative impact on family life.’

To what extend do you agree or disagree?

____ out of 20

E. Speaking
____ out of 20

Test total ____ out of 95