PRACTICE TEST 6

I. LISTENING
Part 1: You will hear someone giving a talk about careers in the fire service. For questions 1 – 10,
complete the sentences with NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS.
Like all her colleagues, Debbie is involved in 1. Fire prevention service as well as dealing with
emergencies.
Debbie explains that most emergency calls turn out to be 2. False alarms
Debbie's first experience of a big fire was when a 3. Vast warehouse near London caught light.
At her first big fire, Debbie was positioned on a piece of equipment called a 4. Revolving platform
After a major fire, the fire-fighters meet for what's known as a 5. De-briefing session
Debbie is especially useful when someone is needed to work in 6. Confined space in an emergency.
To become a fire-fighter, Debbie had to undergo tests of 7. Aerobic fitness, strength and 8. stamina
Debbie blames an unfair 9. Height limit for preventing women from joining the service in the past.
Finally, Debbie reminds us that the job is not as 10. Glamorous as it might appear on TV.

Part 2: You will hear a broadcast about technology and mental health.
Questions 11 – 13: Complete the sentences below. Write NO MORE THAN ONE WORD for each
answer.
11. Psychologist Dr Tomas Chamorro - Premuzic says, “If narcissism is fire, then Facebook is
gasoline”.
12. People have a desire to broadcast their lives to reinforce their self-concept, self-esteem and self-
centered needs.
13. According to the recent research, the more time you spend on the various social networks, the more
narcissistic you become.
 
Questions 14 – 16: Choose the correct letter, A, B, or C.
14. Social networks may cause depression because ________.
A. people have to portray themselves in a positive way
B. people spend too much time on social networks
C. people compare themselves to others and feel miserable
15. What is the biggest problem of children and teenagers who spend too much time online?
A. They don’t develop their social and intellectual skills.
B. They grow isolated.
C. They don’t spend enough time on education.
16. If children spend their time looking at screens instead of looking out, what consequences it may
cause?
A. Their adaptation to the world is more technologically mediated.
B. They encounter difficulties in interacting with other people.
C. They experience deficit in social and emotional skills.

Questions 17 – 20: Complete the sentences below. Write NO MORE THAN ONE WORD for each
answer.

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17. Psychotherapist Gillian Isaacs Russell discovered that there are some distinct differences between
working on the screen and working co-presently in the room.
18. Therapies like CBT are appropriate for online use because they are didactic.
19. Psychotherapists have to pay attention to the implicit non-verbal part of relationship, as it makes
60% of our communication.
20. There are some risks related to treatment at distance, because therapists can’t see the whole body
and a lot of the intimate things that are going on.

Part 3: You will hear an interview with a couple who work as photographers in Africa. For
questions 21 – 25, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which fits best according to what you hear.
21. Why do Bob and Hilary find it hard to organise their photographic trips?
A. Ceremonies take place at irregular intervals.
B. The information they receive is unreliable.
C. The precise timing of events is unpredictable.
D. Important messages may not reach them in time.
22. Hilary feels that she and Bob are accepted by the communities they visit because _________.
A. they don't rush into things B. they make influential friends
C. they avoid getting involved with them D. they are able to explain their aims to them
23. When living with a group of people in a remote area, Bob and Hilary _________.
A. avoid adopting local eating habits B. make a point of dressing in local clothes
C. depend on the hospitality of their hosts D. take a supply of basic provisions with them
24. Hilary explains that they gain access to very private ceremonies thanks to ________.
A. their persistent requests B. changing attitudes in Africa
C. their long-term relationships with people D. an acceptance of their role in the ceremonies
25. Bob and Hilary feel that the significance of their work is that ________.
A. it will prevent certain traditions from dying out
B. it portrays traditional ceremonies in a positive way
C. it encourages young Africans to appreciate their heritage
D. it allows comparisons with similar traditions elsewhere

II. LEXICO-GRAMMAR
Part 1: Circle the best answer (A, B, C, or D) to complete each of the following sentences.
1. I’m trying to arrange an interview with the editor but it’s difficult to _____ him down to an exact
time.
A. stick B. fix C. pin D. glue
2. The girl _____ her friend with her elbow to draw her attention to what was happening.
A. poked B. pointed C. nudged D. stroked
3. Finding the gorillas alive had been _____ his wildest dreams.
A. past B. beneath C. beyond D. without
4. Coming top in the exam was a real _____ in her cap.
A. feather B. plume C. badge D. medal
5. The leopard _____ its prey for hours before it finally went in for the kill.
A. crouched B. crept C. scrambled D. stalked
6. In spite of his owner’s cruelty, the dog _____ no grudge against humans.

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 A. takes B. bears C. carries D. supports
7. The rabbits were kept outside the house in a large wooden _____.
A. hut B. warren C. hutch D. eyerie
8. Dave keeps going on about the evils of modern farming; he’s got a real _____ in his bonnet about it.
A. ant B. bee C. spider D. wasp
9. Brenda has an amazing appetite. She eats like a_____.
A. horse B. wolf C. whale D. lion
10. The keeper grabbed the lion cub by the _____ of its neck.
A. mane B. fur C. scruff D. hide

Part 2: For questions 1-10, write the correct form of each word in capital.
FRANKENSTEIN'S REAL CREATOR
In these days of (0) genetic engineering, it is not unusual to hear the name 0. GENE
Frankenstein invoked by those who fear the consequences when humans seek
to create a being in their own (11) likeness LIKE
Often overlooked, however, is the fact that the tale originated, not as a folk
legend, still less as a wildly original film script, but as a literary (12)
masterpiece. Even today, to read the chilling story of an inventor and the MASTER
uncontrollable monster he created is at once both a thought-provoking and an
(13) unsettling experience. What's more, the (14) enduring popularity of the SETTLE
novel, and its modern-day relevance are all the more remarkable when we ENDURE
remember it was written almost 200 years ago, by an 18-year-old woman
called Mary Shelley. Over the decades, (15) numerous films have attempted
to capture the full horror of her story, but none have come close to equalling NUMBER
the power of Mary Shelley's frightening prose. Amongst (16 ) academics and
commentators, Frankenstein has long been (17) acknowledged as a powerful ACADEMY
piece of gothic fiction, representing as it does an (18) extraordinary fusion KNOWLEDGE
of contemporary philosophy, literary skill and (19) imaginative vision. ORDINARY
It is only recently, however , with increased media attention devoted IMAGINE
to the philosophical issues her novel raises, that there has been a more general
(20) revival of interest in Mary herself.
REVIVE

III. READING
Part 1: Read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap. (0) has been
done as an example.
WHY DO WE NEED LIFELONG LEARNING?
Incentives play an important (0) C in our decisions to learn. As we get older, the outcomes of (1)
______ in learning may not be the same as when we were younger. For example, we are less likely to
be (2) ______ as a result of training. The type of work-related training or learning we do also changes
as we get older. Workers over 45 years old are more likely to participate in learning (3) ______ that
relate directly to their function. So they may choose to (4) ______ those technical skills directly related
to their work. By contrast young workers are more (5) ______ to participate in training that is an
investment in their future careers.
Organizations also want to continually (6) ______ their skills base. Recently, business has (7)
______ this largely through a steady inflow of newly-(8) ______ young people onto the labor (9)

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______. Traditionally, we have had a mix of those young people who bring new formal
skills to the workplace, and a small proportion of older workers who (10) ______ their experience.
What we are seeing now is a decreasing proportion of young people entering the workforce and an
increase in the proportion of older people. So, unless we change the (11) ______ of our education and
learning across life, we will see a (12) ______ in formal skills in the working population.

0 A focus B game C role D feature

1 A participation B contribution C attendance D activity
2 A raised B promoted C advanced D upgraded
3 A actions B activities C acts D modules
4 A relearn B promote C restore D upgrade
5 A probable B likely C possible D liable
6 A restart B renovate C restore D renew
7 A affected B fulfilled C achieved D succeeded
8 A educated B taught C qualified D graduated
9 A workforce B employment C stall D market
10 A donate B supply C contribute D sell
11 A way B method C means D nature
12 A decline B cutback C fall D lessening

Part 2: Read the following passage and answer questions 13 – 26.

HELIUM’S FUTURE UP IN THE AIR
A
In recent years we have all been exposed to dire media reports concerning the impending demise of
global coal and oil reserves, but the depletion of another key nonrenewable resource continues without
receiving much press at all. Helium – an inert, odourless, monatomic element known to lay people as
the substance that makes balloons float and voices squeak when inhaled – could be gone from this
planet within a generation.
B
Helium itself is not rare; there is actually a plentiful supply of it in the cosmos. In fact, 24 per cent of
our galaxy’s elemental mass consists of helium, which makes it the second most abundant element in
our universe. Because of its lightness, however, most helium vanished from our own planet many years
ago. Consequently, only a miniscule proportion – 0.00052%, to be exact – remains in earth’s
atmosphere. Helium is the byproduct of millennia of radioactive decay from the elements thorium and
uranium. The helium is mostly trapped in subterranean natural gas bunkers and commercially extracted
through a method known as fractional distillation.
C
The loss of helium on Earth would affect society greatly. Defying the perception of it as a novelty
substance for parties and gimmicks, the element actually has many vital applications in society.
Probably the most well known commercial usage is in airships and blimps (non-flammable helium
replaced hydrogen as the lifting gas du jour after the Hindenburg catastrophe in 1932, during which an
airship burst into flames and crashed to the ground killing some passengers and crew). But helium is
also instrumental in deep-sea diving, where it is blended with nitrogen to mitigate the dangers of
inhaling ordinary air under high pressure; as a cleaning agent for rocket engines; and, in its most
prevalent use, as a coolant for superconducting magnets in hospital MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
scanners.
D
The possibility of losing helium forever poses the threat of a real crisis because its unique qualities are
extraordinarily difficult, if not impossible to duplicate (certainly, no biosynthetic ersatz product is close
to approaching the point of feasibility for helium, even as similar developments continue apace for oil
and coal). Helium is even cheerfully derided as a “loner” element since it does not adhere to other

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molecules like its cousin, hydrogen. According to Dr. Lee Sobotka, helium is the “most noble of gases,
meaning it’s very stable and non-reactive for the most part … it has a closed electronic configuration, a
very tightly bound atom. It is this coveting of its own electrons that prevents combination with other
elements’. Another important attribute is helium’s unique boiling point, which is lower than that for
any other element. The worsening global shortage could render millions of dollars of high-value, life-
saving equipment totally useless. The dwindling supplies have already resulted in the postponement of
research and development projects in physics laboratories and manufacturing plants around the world.
There is an enormous supply and demand imbalance partly brought about by the expansion of high-
tech manufacturing in Asia.
E
The source of the problem is the Helium Privatisation Act (HPA), an American law passed in 1996 that
requires the U.S. National Helium Reserve to liquidate its helium assets by 2015 regardless of the
market price. Although intended to settle the original cost of the reserve by a U.S. Congress ignorant of
its ramifications, the result of this fire sale is that global helium prices are so artificially deflated that
few can be bothered recycling the substance or using it judiciously. Deflated values also mean that
natural gas extractors see no reason to capture helium. Much is lost in the process of extraction. As
Sobotka notes: "[t]he government had the good vision to store helium, and the question now is: Will
the corporations have the vision to capture it when extracting natural gas, and consumers the wisdom to
recycle? This takes long-term vision because present market forces are not sufficient to compel prudent
practice”. For Nobel-prize laureate Robert Richardson, the U.S. government must be prevailed upon to
repeal its privatisation policy as the country supplies over 80 per cent of global helium, mostly from the
National Helium Reserve. For Richardson, a twenty- to fifty-fold increase in prices would provide
incentives to recycle.
F
A number of steps need to be taken in order to avert a costly predicament in the coming decades.
Firstly, all existing supplies of helium ought to be conserved and released only by permit, with medical
uses receiving precedence over other commercial or recreational demands. Secondly, conservation
should be obligatory and enforced by a regulatory agency. At the moment some users, such as
hospitals, tend to recycle diligently while others, such as NASA, squander massive amounts of helium.
Lastly, research into alternatives to helium must begin in earnest.

Questions 13 - 17: This passage has six paragraphs, A–F. Which paragraph contains the following
information? Write the correct letter, A–F, in the boxes given.

 13. a use for helium which makes an activity safer - C

 14. the possibility of creating an alternative to helium - D
 15. a term which describes the process of how helium is taken out of the ground - B
 16. a reason why users of helium do not make efforts to conserve it - E
 17. a contrast between helium’s chemical properties and how non-scientists think about it - A
Questions 18 - 21: Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in passage?
Write YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
18. Helium chooses to be on its own. Y
19. Helium is a very cold substance. NG
20. High-tech industries in Asia use more helium than laboratories and manufacturers in other parts
of the world. NG
21. The US Congress understood the possible consequences of the HPA. N

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Questions 22 – 26: Complete the summary below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from
the passage for each answer.
Sobotka argues that big business and users of helium need to help look after helium stocks because
22. Prudent practice will not be encouraged through buying and selling alone. Richardson believes
that the 23. Privatisation policy needs to be withdrawn, as the U.S. provides most of the world’s
helium. He argues that higher costs would mean people have 24. Incentives to use the resource many
times over.
People should need a 25. Permit to access helium that we still have. Furthermore, a 26. Regulatory
agency should ensure that helium is used carefully.

Part 3: You are going to read an article about the ethics of reality television producers. Six
paragraphs have been removed from the extract. Choose from the paragraphs A-G the one which
fits each gap (27 - 32). There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use.

THE ETHICS OF REALITY TELEVISION PRODUCERS

Richard Crew
After producing television documentaries for 14 years, I closed my production company to begin
doctoral studies. One year later, Survivor was broadcast. As the 'reality television’ fast snowballed, I
became curious about the ethical principles producers apply when they create 'reality' television.

27 E

My questions were framed by two ethical concerns. First, that non-professional actors be treated in a
fair and responsible manner, and second, that program maker present the stories of ordinary people and
their experiences in an ethical manner.

28 G

This was a priority, however, for the executive producer that I interviewed. An important part of his
job was to prepare participants for what would happen to them, as well as to help them deal with the
situation if they were voted off the show. Furthermore, he claimed, he makes it very clear to his
employees that cast members should be accurately portrayed, both in raping and editing. When I talked
with production personnel below the executive producer level, however, 1 heard a different story.

29 D

This leads to compelling drama, they say, and the resulting drama should deliver the escape and
entertainment that viewers seek. Some ex - reality show participants informed me that producers made
alcohol freely available during the tapings, significantly affecting their behavior.

30 A

Also, producers can always heighten drama during the editing process. This 'cheating footage,
according to the story editor, is necessary because cast members don't always demonstrate on camera
how they really feel. They can, however, usually verbalize their feelings when interviewed one-on-one
by producers. So producers can manufacture scenes out of surveillance footage to visually portray the
feelings discussed in the interviews.
31 F

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 A female cast member from a well-known show claimed that she was victimized by this technique,
through the creative editing of her words, which were taken from the many different days on which she
was taped, and then cut into a single embarrassing scene. The field producer I interviewed was actually
present during this taping and confirmed that the event did not happen as shown.

32 C

The networks want entertainment on these programs, so the opportunity exists for an individual's
ethical standards to be crowded out by pragmatic considerations for audience stimulation and
successful ratings. The ultimate portrayal of cast members on a reality show appears to be left to the
discretion of different production personnel going about their work to 'create interesting stories.'

A It appears that the 'create entertainment' directives from the networks carry messages that contribute
to show producers' ethical behavior. For example, since 'conflict' is a network requirement, producers
accordingly cast their shows with a volatile mix of characters. But if the casting doesn't produce the
desired conflict and drama, producers know they may have to manipulate the conditions under which
the cast members perform. Producers can vary the tasks and games required of show participants to
build friction, or they can simply open the bar during recordings.

B Failing to treat non-professional actors fairly can have serious consequences, especially for
psychologically unsuited participants. In 1997 the first contestant banished from Swedish reality show
threw himself under a train. Richard Levak, a consulting psychologist, believes that many reality TV
shows would not be allowed to take place if they were overseen by the same regulations that guard
volunteers' rights in psychological experiments.

C Reality television has faced significant criticism since its rise in popularity. Much of the criticism has
centered on the use of the word "reality", and such shows' attempt to present themselves as a
straightforward recounting of events that have occurred. Critics have argued that reality television
shows do not accurately reflect reality, in ways both implicit (participants being placed in artificial
situations), and deceptive or even fraudulent, such as misleading editing, participants being coached in
what to say or how to behave, storylines generated ahead of time, and scenes being staged or re-staged
for the cameras.

D My interviews suggest that ethical standards to protect non-professional cast members' psychological
well-being are in place. But since producers are required to make myriads of decisions during the
production process, they mostly operate without ethical direction from their superiors.

E I decided to examine 'reality' shows for two reasons. First, I was intrigued by this new generation of
programs that fall at the 'fiction' end of a fact/fiction continuum for viewers. And second, several of my
former employees have been working on these shows, providing a cooperative and candid sample of
reality television production personnel. I interviewed four producers at various levels of reality
television production - an executive producer, a field producer, a supervising producer, and a story
editor. They were not working on the same reality show when interviewed, so the picture formed here
is not representative of a specific show.

F One of the tools used for 'cheating footage' is an editing technique termed the 'Franken bite'. This is
production jargon for 'Frankenstein bite', something which all the producers I interviewed admitted
having used. To them, this practice is acceptable if it depicts the character's point of view.

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G The supervising producer and the story editor I interviewed both told me that ethical direction had
never been given to them by their executive producers. Rather, they were directed to 'create
entertaining stories'. According to the supervising producer, this direction comes from the TV
networks. Specifically, network representatives insist that reality shows be 'cast' with characters that,
when put together, will create conflict.

For questions 33-39, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which best fits according to the text.
33. If a show is not dramatic enough, producers are expected to ______.
A. replace less interesting contestants
B. provoke tension between contestants
C. ask contestants to improve their performance
D. arrange for certain contestants to be voted off
34. Who did the writer interview for his research into reality television?
A. a random selection of television company employees
B. the production team of a particular reality TV show
C. a number of people who had once worked for him
D. the top executives of a TV network
35. One of the main tasks of the executive producer interviewed was to ______.
A. select compatible contestants far the show
B. help contestants to cope with rejection by the public
C. tape and edit the show accurately
D. advise contestants during the show
36. Producers can use technology to show how contestants really feel by ______.
A. showing interviews which have had words removed
B. showing face – to - face interviews with them
C. filming them secretly without their knowledge
D. mixing private conversations with separately filmed material
37. According to television network representatives, audiences enjoy ______.
A. shows in which there are personality clashes
B. a wide variety of personalities involved in the shows
C. seeing contestants who have consumed too much alcohol
D. watching a well-directed drama
38. What does the case of the 1997 Swedish reality TV show contestant demonstrate?
A. that reality TV shows should be banned
B. that reality TV show contestants don't like being voted off
C. that contestants should have psychological tests before being accepted
D. that reality TV programmes need tighter control
39. The writer concludes that the unethical treatment of reality TV contestants is ______.
A. unfortunate but accidental
B. standard policy of IV networks
C. a result of the drive for high audience figures
D. something audiences want to see

Part 4: You are going to read an article by a psychologist about laughter. For questions 40 – 50,
choose from the sections (A – D). The sections may be chosen more than once.

Which section
40. comments on which person laughs within a verbal exchange? - C

41. uses a comparison with other physical functions to support an idea? - D

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42. gives reasons why understanding laughter supplies very useful insights? - B

43. refers to someone who understood the self-perpetuating nature of laughter? - A

44. cites a study that involved watching people without their knowledge? - C

45. describes laughter having a detrimental effect? - A

46. criticises other research for failing to consider a key function of laughter? - C

47. explains that laughing does not usually take precedence over speaking? - D

48. describes people observing themselves? – B/A/C

49. encourages checking that a proposition is correct? - D

50. presents the implementing of laughter of a group of people to consider its effects? - A

Why do people laugh?

Psychologist Robert Provine writes about why and when we laugh.
A
In 1962, what began as an isolated fit of laughter in a group of schoolgirls in Tanzania rapidly rose to
epidemic proportions. Contagious laughter spread from one individual to the next and between
communities. Fluctuating in intensity, the laughter epidemic lasted for around two and a half years and
during this time at least 14 schools were closed and about 1,000 people afflicted. Laughter epidemics,
big and small, are universal. Laughter yoga, an innovation of Madan Kataria of Mumbai, taps into
contagious laughter for his Laughter Yoga clubs. Members gather in public places to engage in laughter
exercises to energise the body and improve health. Kataria realised that only laughter is needed to
stimulate laughter – no jokes are necessary. When we hear laughter, we become beasts of the herd,
mindlessly laughing in turn, producing a behavioural chain reaction that sweeps through our group.
B
Laughter is a rich source of information about complex social relationships, if you know where to look.
Learning to ‘read’ laughter is particularly valuable because laughter is involuntary and hard to fake,
providing uncensored, honest accounts of what people really think about each other. It is a decidedly
social signal. The social context of laughter was established by 72 student volunteers in my classes,
who recorded their own laughter, its time of occurrence and social circumstance in small notebooks
(laugh logbooks) during a one-week period. The sociality of laughter was striking. My logbook keepers
laughed about 30 times more when they were around others than when they were alone – laughter
almost disappeared among solitary subjects.
C
Further clues about the social context of laughter came from the surreptitious observation of 1,200
instances of conversational laughter among anonymous people in public places. My colleagues and I
noted the gender of the speaker and audience (listener), whether the speaker or the audience laughed,
and what was said immediately before laughter occurred. Contrary to expectation, most conversational
laughter was not a response to jokes or humorous stories. Fewer than 20% of pre-laugh comments were
remotely jokelike or humorous. Most laughter followed banal remarks such as ‘Are you sure?’ and ‘It
was nice meeting you too.’ Mutual playfulness, in-group feeling and positive emotional tone – not
comedy – mark the social settings of most naturally occurring laughter. Another counterintuitive
discovery was that the average speaker laughs about 46% more often than the audience. This contrasts
with the scenario in stand-up comedy – a type of comedy performance in which a non-laughing speaker
presents jokes to a laughing audience. Comedy performance in general proves an inadequate model for

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everyday conversational laughter. Analyses that focus only on audience behaviour (a common
approach) are obviously limited because they neglect the social nature of the laughing relationship.
D
Amazingly, we somehow navigate society, laughing at just the right times, while not consciously
knowing what we are doing. In our sample of 1,200 laughter episodes, the speaker and the audience
seldom interrupted the phrase structure of speech with a ha-ha. Thus, a speaker may say ‘You are
wearing that? Ha-ha,’ but rarely ‘You are wearing… ha-ha… that?’ The occurrence of laughter during
pauses, at the end of phrases, and before and after statements and questions suggests that a
neurologically based process governs the placement of laughter. Speech is dominant over laughter
because it has priority access to the single vocalisation channel, and laughter does not violate the
integrity of phrase structure. Laughter in speech is similar to punctuation in written communication. If
punctuation of speech by laughter seems unlikely, consider that breathing and coughing also punctuate
speech. Better yet, why not test my theory of punctuation by examining the placement of laughter in
conversation around you, focusing on the placement of ha-ha laughs. It's a good thing that these
competing actions are neurologically orchestrated. How complicated would our lives be if we had to
plan when to breathe, talk and laugh.

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