Professional Documents
Culture Documents
II. In the passage below some lines are correct but some have a word that should not be
there. Indicate the correct lines with a tick (√). For the incorrect lines, write the words that
should not be there. (1 point)
1 .................. Many species of animals, birds and even that insects are in danger
2 ………….. of disappearing from the earth off. Every day construction in
3 ………….. the rainforests destroys the habitats of these creatures. They
4 ………….. cannot survive in other environments. They rely on about the food
5 ………….. and shelter being in their own habitats. Each time a habitat is
6 ………….. destroyed, the animals must have search for a new place. Luckily,
7 ………….. there are some people who they are doing something about this
8 ………….. situation. Animal protection societies are helping for the world
9 ………….. to learn more than about endangered species. When people know
10 ………… more, they can fight to protect and save the animals.
III. Choose the right tenses to complete the following passage. (1 point)
Traditionally, universities (1.carry out) ........................... two main activities: research and
teaching. Many academics would argue that both these activities play a critical role in serving the
community. The fundamental question, however, is: how does the community want or need (2.
serve) ...........................?
In recent years, universities have been coming under (3.increase) ...........................
pressure from both governments and the public (4.ensure) ........................... that they do not
remain “ivory towers” of study divorced from the realities of everyday life. University teachers
(5.encourage) ..........................., and in some cases constrained, to provide more courses which
produce graduates with the technical skills (6. require) ........................... for the commercial
sector and research that has practical benefits which are commercially exploitable. If Aristotle
(7.want) ........................... to work in a tertiary institution in the UK today, he would have a good
chance of teaching computer science but would not be so readily employable as a philosopher.
A post-industrial society (8. require) ........................... large numbers of computer
programmers, engineers, managers and technicians to maintain and develop its economic growth
but man, as the Bible says “does not live by bread alone”. Apart from requiring medical and
social services which do not directly contribute to economic growth, it (9.be) ........................... an
impoverished society that did not value and enjoy literature, music and the arts. In these cost-
conscious times, it even (10.point out) ........................... in justification for the funding of the
arts that they can be useful money earners. A successful musical, for instance, can contribute as
much to the Gross Nation Product through tourist dollars as any other export initiative.
IV. Use the correct form of the word in capitals to fit each gap. (1 point)
Interviews are an imperfect method of choosing the best people
for jobs, yet human (1) ...........................like to examine each other in BE
this way. One of the many problems of (2) ...........................as it is SELECT
commonly practised is that the forms filled in by (3) ........................... APPLY
often fail to show people as they really are. This means that you can
follow all the best (4) ........................... when completing your form and ADVISE
still find that you are (5) ........................... at the next stage - the interview. SUCCESS
(6) ..........................., in the rare cases where interviewers are automatic, a SIMILAR
candidate with an (7) ........................... form may do surprisingly well. ADEQUATE
Of course, your forms need to show that you have (8) ........................... CONFIDENT
in your (9) ........................... to do the job, but don’t try to turn yourself ABLE
into someone else – a person you have to pretend to be at the
interview. Realism and (10) ........................... are definitely the best HONEST
approach.
V. Choose the correct prepositional phrase from the box to complete the following
sentences. You may not use one phrase. (1 point)
on good terms independent of tired of out of tune
ashamed of on the whole capable of at most
for safe keeping out of order for a change
PART C. READING
I. Read the following passage. Circle the best answers (A, B, C or D) to complete the
passage. (1 point)
Smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease, and breathing problems. Worldwide, about
three million people die every year because of smoking - that's about one ....(1)...... every ten
seconds ! In fact, smoking is the ....(2)...... of almost 20 percent of all deaths in the developed
countries of the world. Smoking doesn't just ....(3)...... the smoker, it hurts other people, too.
When a pregnant ....(4)...... smokes, she is hurting her developing....(5)....... When a man
.....(6)...... at home, his wife and children are also breathing in smoke and can become sick. Even
though most people understand the ....(7)....... effects of smoking, they continue to smoke. The
...(8).....of women and teenagers who smoke is increasing. Cigarette companies make
advertisements that.....(9).......these groups of people so that they...(10)....to buy cigaretes.
1. A. death B. end C. loss D. decrease
2. A. origin B. reason C. cause D. basis
3. A. injure B. danger C. destroy D. hurt
4. A. child B. man C. woman D. wife
5. A. baby B. children C. love D. youth
6. A. relax B. enjoy C. cigarettes D. smokes
7. A. beneficial B. harmful C. harmed D. profitable
8. A. number B. amount C. quantity D. total
9. A. interest B. concern C. matter D. worry
10. A. retain B. maintain C. continue D. preserve
II. Read the passage below. Then circle the best option (A, B, C or D) to answer each
question. (1 point)
Rachel Carson was born in 1907 in Springsdale, Pennsylvania. She studied biology at
college and zoology at Johns Hopkins University, where she received her master’s degree in
1933. In 1936, she was hired by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where she worked most of
her life.
Carson’s first book, Under the Sea Wind, was published in 1941. It received excellent
reviews, but sales were poor until it was reissued in 1952. In that year, she published The Sea
Around Us, which provided a fascinating look beneath the ocean’s surface, emphasizing human
history as well as geology and marine biology. Her imaginary and language had a poetic quality.
Carson consulted no less than 1,000 printing sources. She had voluminous correspondence and
frequent discussions with experts in the field. However, she always realized the limitations of her
non-technical readers.
In 1962, Carson published Silent Spring, a book that sparked considerable controversy. It
proved how much harm was done by the uncontrolled, reckless use of insecticides.She detailed
how they poisoned the food supply of animals, killed birds and fish, and contaminated human
food. At the time, spokesmen for the chemical industry mounted personal attacks against Carson
and issued propaganda to indicate that her findings were flawed. However, her work was
vindicated by a 1963 report of the President’s Science Advisory Committee.
III. Read the text below carefully and then do the following exercises. (1 point)
Testing 1, 2, 3, …
A. These are testing times. In both education and the field of work, the prevailing wisdom apears
to be: if it moves, test it and if doesn’t, well, test it anyway. I say wisdom, but it has become
rather an absession. In addition to the current obstacles, like GCSEs, A-levels, GNVQs, ONDs,
and HNDs, not to mention the interviews and financial hurdles that school-leavers have to
overcome in order to access higher education, students are facing the threat of “new tests”,
Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SATs)
B. SATs are being imported from the United States, where they have been in use for nearly a
hundred years. As a supplement to A-levels, the tests purport to give students from poor
backgrounds a better chance of entering university. SATs are intended to remove the huge social
class bias that exists in British universities. But, in fact, they are, no more than an additional
barrier for students. The tests, which masquerade as IQ tests, are probably less diagnostic of
student potential than existing examinations, and, more seriously, are far from free of the bias
that the supporters pretend.
C. First of all, as for any other tests, students will be able to take classes to cram for SATs, which
again will advantage the better-off. At a recent conference of the Prefessional Association of
Teachers, it was declared that school exams and tests are biased toward middle-class children.
Further, the content of the tests in question is not based on sound scientific theory, merely on a
pool of Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs), set up by a group of item writers.
D. The questions in SATs are tested on a representative sample of children. Those which
correlate with the school grades of the children are kept, and the rest discarded. This is highly
unsatisfactory. There is also evidence that in MCQs tests women are at a disadvantage, because
of the way they think, i.e. they can see a wider picture. And it is worth noting that MCQs are
only as good as the people who write them; so, unless the writers are highly trained, those who
are being tested are being judged against the narrow limitations of the item writers.
E. Globalisation has introduced greater flexibility into the workplace, but the educational system
has not been so quick off the mark. But there are signs that times are a changing. Previously,
students took exams at the end of academic terms, or at fixed dates periodically throughout the
year. Now, language examinations like the TOEFL, IELTs and the Pitman ESOL exams can be
taken much more frequently. The IELTs examination, for example, is run a test centre
throughout the world subject to demand. Where the demand is high, the test is held more
frequently. At present, in London, it is possible for students to sit the exam about four times a
week.
F. Flexible assessment like the IELTs has been mooted in other areas. It has been suggested that
the students may in future be able to walk into a public library or other public building and take
assessment test for a range of skills on a computer. The computer will dispense an instant
assessment and a certificate. The beauty of this system is the convenience.
Questions 1 – 5: This reading passage has 6 paragraphs (A-F). Choose the most suitable
heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below. Write the appropriate number
(1-10) next to the paragraph. One of the headings has been done for you.
Note: There are more headings than paragraphs, so you will not use all of them.
YOU MAY USE ANY HEADING MORE THAN ONCE
List of Headings
1. Assessment in the future
2. The theory behind MCQs
3. Problem with SATs
4. Misuse of testing in School
5. The need for computer assessment
6. The benefits of SATs
7. Testing in workplace
8. The sortcoming of MCQs
9. Too much testing
10. Flexibility in language tesing
Question 6- 10: Read the passage again and then decide whether the following statements
agree with the information in the Reading or not. Write:
Yes if the statement agrees with the information in the passage.
No if the statement contradicts the information in the passage
No Information if there is no information about the statement in the passage.
Example:
0. SATs is the abbreviation of Scholastic Aptitude Tests .
Answer: Yes
6. In the fields of education and work the prevailing wisdom seems to be to test everything.
7. Research in genetics refutes the theory that people are predestined to follow certain careers.
8. Psychometric testing is favoured by headmaster and mistresses in many high schools.
9. The writer of this article is in favour of testing in general.
10. According to the writer, students get benefits from SATs
Your answer
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
IV. You are going to read an article about the Beatles Band. Ten sentences or phrases have
been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences or phrases A- J the one which
fits each gap (1-10). (1 point)
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and………….. (1)
…………... Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon (rhythm guitar,
vocals), Paul McCartney (bass guitar, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals) and Ringo
Starr (drums, vocals). Rooted in skiffle and 1950s rock and roll…………..(2) …………... The
nature of their enormous popularity, which first emerged as "Beatlemania", transformed as their
songwriting grew in sophistication. They came to be perceived as the embodiment of ideals of
the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960s.
Initially a five-piece line-up of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe (bass) and Pete
Best (drums), ………….. (3) …………... Sutcliffe left the group in 1961, ………….. (4)
…………... Moulded into a professional outfit by their manager, Brian Epstein, their musical
potential was enhanced by the creativity of producer George Martin. ………….. (5) …………...
Gaining international popularity and acquiring the nickname "Fab Four" the following year,
they toured extensively until 1966. During their subsequent "studio years", they produced what
critics consider some of their finest material including the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts
Club Band (1967), ………….. (6) …………... After their break-up in 1970, the band members
all found success in independent musical careers. ………….. (7) …………... McCartney and
Starr remain active.
The Beatles are the best-selling band in history, ………….. (8) …………... They have had more
number one albums on the UK charts, ………….. (9) …………... According to the RIAA, they
have sold more albums in the United States than any other artist, and they headed Billboard
magazine's list of all-time top Hot 100 artists in 2008. They have received 7 Grammy Awards
from the American National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and 15 Ivor Novello
Awards from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors. ………….. (10)
…………...
A. They were collectively included in Time magazine's compilation of the 20th century's 100
most influential people.
B. the group later worked in many genres ranging from pop ballads to psychedelic rock, often
incorporating classical and other elements in innovative ways.
C. and Best was replaced by Starr the following year.
D. They achieved mainstream success in the United Kingdom in late 1962, with their first single,
"Love Me Do".
E. Lennon was murdered outside his home in New York City in 1980, and Harrison died of
cancer in 2001.
F. one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular
music.
G. they built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over a three-year period
from 1960
H. which was widely regarded as a masterpiece.
I. and they have held the top spot longer than any other musical act.
J. and over four decades after their break-up, their recordings are still in demand.
Your answer:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
PART D. WRITING
I. Rewrite the following sentences, so that their meaning stay the same, using the exact
words given. (1 point)
1. He stood no chance of passing his exams. INEVITABLE
……………………………………………………………………………………….
2. I am sure that he missed the eleven o’clock train. CAN’T
……………………………………………………………………………………….
3. Not a word came out of her mouth. LOST
……………………………………………………………………………………….
4. I am not a solitary person, I’m sociable. RATHER
……………………………………………………………………………………….
5. You cannot choose which hotel you stay at on this package holiday. OPTION
……………………………………………………………………………………….
6. I certainly won’t change my mind about resigning. QUESTION
……………………………………………………………………………………….
7. You couldn’t do anything more stupid than to give up your job now. HEIGHT
……………………………………………………………………………………….
8. I really don’t know what you are talking about. FAINTEST
……………………………………………………………………………………….
9. I have hardly done anything today. NEXT
……………………………………………………………………………………….
10. Many people will congratulate her if she wins. SHOWERED
……………………………………………………………………………………….
II.Some people think that family is the most important influence on young adults. Other people think
that friends are the most important influence on young adults. Which view do you agree with? Use
examples to support your opinion.
You should write at least 250 words. (3points)