Candidate Name: Nguyễn Thị Mỹ Dung

Number: 0987646228

IELTS
PLACEMENT TEST
Time allotted: 100 minutes

SECTION A: GRAMMAR (10 minutes)

1. How often do you play football?
A. On Tuesday. B. For two hours. C.Almost every day. D. With Hùng.
2. What kind of work do you do?
A. I work every day. B. I'm an English teacher.
C. I worked for two hours. D. I really enjoy my work.
3. What did you do yesterday?
A. I am swimming. B. I swim. C. I will swim. D. I swam.
4. When was the last time you took a picture?
A. A picture of my baby. B. Seven pictures.
C. About four days ago. D. With my iPhone.
5. I ................ TV when the phone rang.
A. Watched B. Was watching. C. Are watching. D. Have watched

6. Learning a foreign language is important because it helps you to understand other cultures
better. ........... it can be a useful skill in many areas of work.
A. However, B. Despite this, C. In addition, D. Although,
7. Minh is really .................. history, especially Japanese history.
A. Interesting in. B. Interested at. C. Interested for. D. Interested in.
8. If we…….….cutting down trees, we………….. some natural disasters.
A. stop - prevented B. stopped – prevented
C. stop – can prevent D. will stop – are prevented
9. Why are your hands so dirty? - Well, I ............... in the garden for the last two hours.
A. Have worked. B. Worked. C. Am working. D. Have been working.
10. Yes, that is the woman ......... bike was almost stolen!
A. Which. B. Whose. C. Who. D. That.
11. He ............... by the police for robbery.
A. was arrested B. will arrest C. arrests D. arrested
12. ..................... I got to the airport, the plane had left.
A. At the time B. In time C. By the time D. On time

13. Choose the correct sentence.

A. The children were looking after by my mother.
B. The children looked after by my mother.
C. The children were looked after my mother.
D. The children were being looked after by my mother.
14. Learning to drive was ..........
A. not more difficult than I thought it would be.
B. not as difficult as I thought it would be.
C. not as difficult than I thought it would be.
D. not so difficult than I thought it would be.
15. People say that global warming has caused many bad effects.
A. Global warming is said to cause many bad effects
B. It says that global warming has caused many bad effects
C. People are said to cause global warming many bad effects
D. Many bad effects cause global warming as people say.

SECTION B : LISTENING – NGHE 2 LẦN (20 minutes)

Exercise 1: (Track 1)
Task 1:
People are talking about their weekends. How was each person’s weekend? Listen and circle the
correct answer.
1. A. so-so B. terrible C. great
2. A. disappointing B. pleasant C. boring
3. A. tiring B. terrific C. wonderful
4. A. awful B. quiet C. enjoyable

Task 2:
Listen again. Are these statements true or false? Write T (True) or F(False) next to each
statement.
5. A. She won a contest in a music store. F
B. She won a trip to Las Vegas. T

6. A. They went to a restaurant for dinner. F

B. His friend has a very interesting job. T

7. A. The park is very far from town. F

B. They didn’t see any wild birds or butterflies on the trip. T

8. A. There were a lot of interesting people at the party. T

B. The party ended early. F
Exercise 2: Listen and complete the form. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/
OR A NUMBER for each answer. (Track 2)

Good Moves Accommodation Agency

Call taken by:
Name: 9 CLARICE WILLARD
Telephone: 10 01928734566
Heard about us from: 11 family member
Type of accommodation preferred: 12 third foors
Number of people: 13 …2
Preferred location: Wants to be close to 14 town centre.
Price: maximum 15…700 £ per person (including 16………bills………...)
Additional notes:
I suggested Flat 3 at 17…Thorney Leys . Road in Bampton.
I will send further details to customer by 18……email…. .

Exercise 3: Listen and answer the following questions. (Track 3)

Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.

19. According to Don, what might be a problem for Jenny?
A her accent
B talking to her colleagues
C understanding local people
20. How many members does the club have now?
A 30
B 50
C 80
21. How often does the club meet?
A once a week
B once every two weeks
C once a month
22. What is the club’s most frequent type of activity?
A a talk
B a visit
C a meal
23. The main purpose of the club is to help members to
A meet Australians.
B learn about life in Australia.
C enjoy themselves together.
Exercise 4: Listen and complete the questions below. Write ONE WORD for each question.
(Track 4)

Spectrum by Alex Mackenzie

Title of chapter Theme Features

“The hidden jungle” How an animal’s color and shape can
conceal it when it hides or…hunts..
(24)…..
“A question of choice” Why people’s color tone (26) differs
from others
“It’s all in the…mind How our brain perceive colour
(28)….”
Has some outstanding …traps
(25).
A…..(27analyses test which
involves readers grading
things based on colour.
Describes some (29)
experiments that the reader
can do

SECTION C: READING (40 minutes)

Exercise 1: The ballpoint pen
Most of us have at least one, but how did this popular item evolve?
 One morning in 1945, a crowd of 5,000 people jammed the entrance of Gimbels Department
Store in New York. The day before, Gimbels had placed a full-page advertisement in the New
York Times for a wonderful new invention, the ballpoint pen. The advertisement described the
pen as 'fantastic' and 'miraculous'. Although they were expensive, $12.50 each, all 10,000 pens in
stock were sold on the first day.
In fact, this 'new' pen was not new at all. In 1888, John Loud, a leather manufacturer, had
invented a pen with a reservoir of ink and a rolling ball. However, his pen was never produced,
and efforts by other people to produce a commercially successful one failed too. The main
problem was with the ink. If it was too thin, the ink leaked out of the pen. If it was too thick, it
didn't come out of the pen at all.
 
Almost fifty years later, in 1935, a newspaper editor in Hungary thought he spent too much time
filling his pens with ink. He decided to invent a better kind of pen. With the help of his brother,
who was a chemist, he produced a ballpoint pen that didn't leak when the pen wasn't being used.
The editor was called Ladislas Biro, and it was his name that people would associate more than
any other with the ballpoint pen.
 
By chance, Biro met Augustine Justo, the Argentinian president. Justo was so impressed with
Biro's invention that he invited him to set up a factory in Argentina. In 1943, the first Biro pens
were produced.
 
Unfortunately, they were not popular, since the pen needed to be held in a vertical position for
the ink to come out. Biro redesigned the pen with a better ball, and in 1944 the new product was
on sale throughout Argentina.
 
It was a North American, Milton Reynolds, who introduced the ballpoint pen to the USA.
Copying Biro's design, he produced the version that sold so well at Gimbels. Another American,
Patrick Frawley, improved the design and in 1950 began producing a pen he called the
Papermate. It was an immediate success, and within a few years, Papermates were selling in their
millions around the world.
Read each part carefully and choose the correct option, A, B, C or D.

1.  People went to Gimbels to buy a ballpoint pen because……………………….

A   they couldn't get them anywhere else.
B   they had been told how good the pens were.
C   they had never seen a ballpoint pen before.
D   they thought the price was good.
 
2.  Why were early ballpoint pens not produced commercially?
A   Nobody wanted to buy one.
B   It cost too much to produce them.
C   They used too much ink.
D   They didn't work properly.
 
3.  Why was Ladislas Biro's pen better than earlier models?
A   It didn't need to be filled with ink as often.
B   It was designed by a chemist.
C   The ink stayed in the pen until it was needed.
D   It was easier to use.
 
4.  Biro's first commercially-produced pen…………………….
A   was produced in a factory owned by the Argentinian president.
B   only worked if used in a certain way.
C   was a major success.
D   went on sale in 1944.

5.  Patrick Frawley's pen…………….

A   was a better version of an earlier model.
B   took time to become successful.
C   was the USA's first commercially successful ballpoint pen.
D   was only successful in the USA.
Exercise 2:
Australian culture and culture shock
by Anna Jones and Xuan Quach
Sometimes work, study or a sense of adventure take us out of our familiar surroundings to
go and live in a different culture. The experience can be difficult, even shocking.
Almost everyone who studies, lives or works abroad has problems adjusting to a new culture.
This response is commonly referred to as ‘culture shock’. Culture shock can be defined as ‘the
physical and emotional discomfort a person experiences when entering a culture different from
their own’ (Weaver, 1993).
For people moving to Australia, Price (2001) has identified certain values which may give rise to
culture shock. Firstly, he argues that Australians place a high value on independence and
personal choice. This means that a teacher or course tutor will not tell students what to do, but
will give them a number of options and suggest they work out which one is the best in their
circumstances. It also means that they are expected to take action if something goes wrong and
seek out resources and support for themselves.
Australians are also prepared to accept a range of opinions rather than believing there is one
truth. This means that in an educational setting, students will be expected to form their own
opinions and defend the reasons for that point of view and the evidence for it.
Price also comments that Australians are uncomfortable with differences in status and hence
idealise the idea of treating everyone equally. An illustration of this is that most adult Australians
call each other by their first names. This concern with equality means that Australians are
uncomfortable taking anything too seriously and are even ready to joke about themselves.
Australians believe that life should have a balance between work and leisure time. As a
consequence, some students may be critical of others who they perceive as doing nothing but
study. Australian notions of privacy mean that areas such as financial matters, appearance and
relationships are only discussed with close friends. While people may volunteer such
information, they may resent someone actually asking them unless the friendship is firmly
established. Even then, it is considered very impolite to ask someone what they earn. With older
people, it is also rude to ask how old they are, why they are not married or why they do not have
children. It is also impolite to ask people how much they have paid for something, unless there is
a very good reason for asking.
Kohls (1996) describes culture shock as a process of change marked by four basic stages. During
the first stage, the new arrival is excited to be in a new place, so this is often referred to as the
“honeymoon” stage. Like a tourist, they are intrigued by all the new sights and sounds, new
smells and tastes of their surroundings. They may have some problems, but usually they accept
them as just part of the novelty. At this point, it is the similarities that stand out, and it seems to
the newcomer that people everywhere and their way of life are very much alike. This period of
euphoria may last from a couple of weeks to a month, but the letdown is inevitable.
During the second stage, known as the ‘rejection’ stage, the newcomer starts to experience
difficulties due to the differences between the new culture and the way they were accustomed to
living. The initial enthusiasm turns into irritation, frustration, anger and depression, and these
feelings may have the effect of people rejecting the new culture so that they notice only the
things that cause them trouble, which they then complain about. In addition, they may feel
homesick, bored, withdrawn and irritable during this period as well.
Fortunately, most people gradually learn to adapt to the new culture and move on to the third
stage, known as ‘adjustment and reorientation’. During this stage a transition occurs to a new
optimistic attitude. As the newcomer begins to understand more of the new culture, they are able
to interpret some of the subtle cultural clues which passed by unnoticed earlier. Now things make
more sense and the culture seems more familiar. As a result, they begin to develop problem-
solving skills, and feelings of disorientation and anxiety no longer affect them. In Kohls’s model,
in the fourth stage, newcomers undergo a process of adaptation. They have settled into the new
culture, and this results in a feeling of direction and self-confidence. They have accepted the new
food, drinks, habits and customs and may even find themselves enjoying some of the very
customs that bothered them so much previously. In addition, they realise that the new culture has
good and bad things to offer and that no way is really better than another, just different.

Questions 6-11
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading 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. Australian teachers will suggest alternatives to students rather than offer one solution.TRUE
7. In Australia, teachers will show interest in students’ personal circumstances. TRUE
8. Australians use people’s first names so that everyone feels their status is similar. TRUE
9. Students who study all the time may receive positive comments from their colleagues. NOT
GIVEN
10. It is acceptable to discuss financial issues with people you do not know well. FALSE
11. Younger Australians tend to be friendlier than older Australians. NOT GIVEN

Questions 12-18
Complete the table below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
THE STAGES OF CULTURE SHOCK

Stage Name Newcomers’ reaction to problems

Stage (12) honey They notice the (13). similarities between different nationalities and
1 moon. cultures. They may experience this stage for up to (14) letdown

Stage Rejection They reject the new culture and lose the (15) enthusiasm they had at
2 the beginning.
Stage Adjusment and They can understand some (16)… subtle cultural..which they had not
3 reorientation previously observed. They learn (17)… problem-solving skills …….
for dealing with difficulties.
Stage (18) Kohls’s They enjoyed some of the customs that annoyed them before.
4 model.
SECTION D: WRITING ( 30 minutes)
Topic: What are the advantages and disadvantages of living far from home?

In recent times, it is clear that there has been a number of people who live far from home. There
are several benefits and drawbacks with this trend.

There are two main advantages of living in another place. Firstly, this choice supports people to
become mature and self-reliance. That means they have a chance to broaden their mind with a
range of diverse new cultures and experience new environments. Maybe it is difficult in the early
stage but at least they will learn more ways to accept and over take them. To be specific,
personal skills are the most valuable things they learn by themselves from new habitats such as
financial controlling, solving-problem, communication to establish new relationship and so on.
The next point is responding to demands. In fact, people who leave their poor area to seek out
high salary for making a living. Besides, there are a number of students nowadays who tend to
choose universities which have modern facilities than those in their hometown.

Despite some obvious benefits of this trend, there are some disadvantages. Firstly, to accept
more new cultures of another place can create many troubles. Example, cooperation between
different language and non-language will have not well work results if they not understand each
other clearly. Similarly, people can lead to accident caused by different law. Second, cost of
living is not similar between each area. Therefore, they can not afford the goods and service in
expensive cities. Renting a house in big cities cost around 3 million while that in home town is 1
to 1.5 million, for instance.

In conclusion, I firmly assert that there are many pros and cons of living far from home.

GOOD LUCK 