Pathways Listening, Speaking, and Critical Thinking, 2e Level 4: Unit Test

Name: ________________________ Class: ___________________ Date: __________

UNIT 1: URBAN CHALLENGES

VOCABULARY: Lesson A
Read the text. Notice the bold words. Then choose the correct answer for each bold word.

The city has announced an innovative plan to redevelop the land around the old baseball stadium. The
aim is to change this little-used area of the city into a modern, interesting place that maximizes its value for
residents of the city. Because the city has limited funds, the plan has two financial aims. The first is to prioritize
improvements that can be done quickly and are affordable. The second is to focus on improvements that are likely
to bring tourists, and their money, into the city. A public meeting to discuss the plan for these renovations is at 7
p.m. on October 27th in the City Office, Room 23.

1. The word innovative is closest in meaning to ____.

a. good but expensive
b. large and useful
c. new and modern
d. useful for sports

2. The word maximizes is closest in meaning to ____.

a. makes as large as possible
b. sees as much as possible
c. spends as little as possible
d. uses as often as possible

3. The word funds is closest in meaning to ____.

a. designs
b. money
c. people
d. time

4. The word renovation is closest in meaning to ____.

a. a view that is widely accepted
b. a way of talking or behaving
c. the act of fixing or improving
d. the time between two events

5. The word prioritize is closest in meaning to ____.

a. use something in an unusual manner
b. make surprising plans with somebody
c. offer something that is very valuable
d. give special importance to something

6. The word affordable is closest in meaning to ____.

a. carefully considered
b. generally believed
c. reasonably priced
d. widely available

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Pathways Listening, Speaking, and Critical Thinking, 2e Level 4: Unit Test

Name: ________________________

VOCABULARY: Lesson B
Write the correct word from the box to complete each sentence. Two of the words will not be used.

affluent conform debatable dominant

enforce ethnic restrict rank

7. After being self-employed for a number of years, Sandy got a job at a large corporation; she found it difficult to
act like her coworkers and ________________ to the company policies.

8. As far as I am concerned, it’s ________________ whether Marek’s new job is really going to be better for him
because the location is not great and the pay is about the same.

9. His research showed that there was not actually a _______________side of the brain. Both sides worked
together in different ways for the various functions.

10. In order to help solve the city’s housing problem, the local government decided to ________________ house
purchases only to those who didn’t already own a home.

11. If we are going to complete the project on time, we need to strictly ________________ the schedule.

12. Like many cities with a large immigrant population, Toronto has many neighborhoods such as Little Italy,
Koreatown, and Chinatown where people from similar backgrounds or ________________ groups have made
their home.

LISTENING FOR MAIN IDEAS

Listen to the conversation and take notes on a piece of paper. Then choose the correct answer for each
question. (U1 Track 1)

13. What do the speakers mainly discuss?

a. A recent rise in how much tax they pay
b. A water project in their city
c. Reasons why their city has traffic issues
d. The benefits of spending time on rivers

14. What is the woman’s attitude toward daylighting?

a. Ambitious
b. Cautious
c. Concerned
d. Optimistic

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Pathways Listening, Speaking, and Critical Thinking, 2e Level 4: Unit Test

Name: ________________________

LISTENING FOR DETAILS

Listen to the conversation. Then choose the correct answer(s). More than one answer may sometimes be
correct. (U1 Track 1)

15. What point does the woman make about Marshall Creek?
a. It can be seen easily from Main Street.
b. It gave its name to a road downtown.
c. The city council is going to bury it.
d. The water that flows in it is polluted.

16. Why does the woman mention Taylor Creek in Seattle?

a. To emphasize that daylighting only occurs in the United States
b. To give an example of a daylighting project
c. To remind the man of a trip
d. To suggest that the man has a poor memory for places

17. What concerns about the daylighting project does the man have? Choose two answers.
a. Traffic problems
b. Damage to historical sites
c. Cost to taxpayers in the city
d. Temporary loss of a popular park

18. What does the man imply when he says, “It would be nice to bring in a few tourist dollars, I guess, but what about
those of us who live here?”
a. He doesn’t see how the plan benefits local people.
b. He feels tourists are likely to ignore people’s views.
c. He’s worried that the plan will cost a lot of money.
d. He thinks that the plan may not bring in more tourists.Sometimes it rains a lot.

19. What does the woman imply about the summer weather in the city? Choose two answers.
a. Sometimes it rains a lot.
b. It’s cooler than most other cities.
c. Temperatures can get very hot.
d. Most days there is little daylight.

LISTENING SKILL: Understanding the Introduction to a Lecture

Listen to the introduction to a lecture. Then choose the correct answer. (U1 Track 2)

20. What does the speaker do first in her introduction?

a. Introduces the topic she will discuss today
b. Summarizes the contents of her last lecture
c. Asks students to discuss ideas with each other

21. What topic does the speaker say she talked about last time?
a. Growing city populations
b. Types of settlements
c. Rich and poor people

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Pathways Listening, Speaking, and Critical Thinking, 2e Level 4: Unit Test

Name: ________________________

22. What topic does the speaker say she will discuss today?
a. Gentrification
b. Neighborhoods
c. Large cities

PRONUNCIATION: Linking with Word-Final t

Listen to the short conversations. Choose the final t pronunciation that you hear for the underlined words.

23. (U1 Track 3)

Man: Did you say Maria is coming over?

Woman: That’s right. You’ve met her before, haven’t you?

a. no air
b. quick d
c. soft t, like ch

24. (U1 Track 4)

Man: My grandmother gave me a lot of money.

Woman: Very nice of her. I hope you thanked her.

a. no air
b. quick d
c. soft t, like ch

25. (U1 Track 5)

Man: I was impressed with your suggestions in the meeting.

Woman: Thanks, Brian. What you said made good sense, too.

a. no air
b. quick d
c. soft t, like ch

26. (U1 Track 6)

Man: Don’t we need to leave right now?

Woman: No, we have time before we need to go.

a. no air
b. quick d
c. soft t, like ch

© 2018 National Geographic Learning, a Cengage Learning Company 4

Pathways Listening, Speaking, and Critical Thinking, 2e Level 4: Unit Test

Name: ________________________

GRAMMAR FOR SPEAKING: Passive Voice

Read the sentences. Write P if the sentence is passive voice, A if it is active voice, or B if the sentence
includes both passive and active voice.

27. ____ Over time, more and more people moved into the neighborhood, which caused house prices to rise and, in
turn, made the area less affordable for long-time residents.

28. ____ The park became an extremely popular place for local families to visit after it was fully renovated.

29. ____ According to the speaker, the traffic problem could have been easily prevented if people had been told about
it earlier.

30. ____ Rising temperatures can make cities an uncomfortable place to live during the summer months even for those
people who are lucky enough to have air-conditioning.

31. ____ Every year, ten cities around the world are recognized and promoted by The Economist magazine as some of
the greatest places to live.

SPEAKING SKILL: Signaling Additional Aspects of a Topic

Choose the two words or phrases that can best complete each excerpt from a talk.

32. I’m not sure this renovation project is good for the city. For one thing, I’m concerned about very large
developments that don’t benefit everyone who lives in the city. ____ / ____ this housing project hasn’t been
thought out very carefully.

a. Along with
b. Another point I want to make is that
c. Let me add that
d. Third,

33. First, and most important, the new park could generate a lot of money for local businesses. There will be more
visitors in the area, and more traffic to the stores. ____ / ____ , the town plans to plant 200 more trees, which will
benefit our environment.

a. Along with
b. In addition
c. Second
d. Third

34. Some students have been protesting the new road that the college is building on campus. However, I’d like to
stress that this project comes with new electric buses and a bike path. ____ / ____ the electric buses and bike
paths, new solar lighting will also be installed.

a. Along with
b. Another point I want to make is that
c. Let me add that
d. In addition to

© 2018 National Geographic Learning, a Cengage Learning Company 5

Pathways Listening, Speaking, and Critical Thinking, 2e Level 4: Unit Test

Name: ________________________

SPEAKING TASK
Read the question. Spend one minute thinking about how to respond. Then speak for one to two minutes.

35. Talk about an environmental or city planning problem (traffic, pollution, housing shortage) that you have
experienced in a town or city that you know. Consider the following questions:

 What is the problem?

 How does it affect you?
 What are some ways to solve the problem?

Support your response with details and examples.

© 2018 National Geographic Learning, a Cengage Learning Company 6

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UNIT 1: URBAN CHALLENGES

Answer Section

1. ANS: C PTS: 2 REF: Lesson A TOP: Vocabulary

MSC: TOEFL | AWL
2. ANS: A PTS: 2 REF: Lesson A TOP: Vocabulary
MSC: TOEFL | AWL
3. ANS: B PTS: 2 REF: Lesson A TOP: Vocabulary
MSC: TOEFL | AWL
4. ANS: C PTS: 2 REF: Lesson A TOP: Vocabulary
MSC: TOEFL
5. ANS: D PTS: 2 REF: Lesson A TOP: Vocabulary
MSC: TOEFL | AWL
6. ANS: C PTS: 2 REF: Lesson A TOP: Vocabulary
7. ANS: conform

PTS: 2 REF: Lesson B TOP: Vocabulary MSC: AWL

8. ANS: debatable

PTS: 2 REF: Lesson B TOP: Vocabulary MSC: AWL

9. ANS: dominant

PTS: 2 REF: Lesson B TOP: Vocabulary MSC: AWL

10. ANS: restrict

PTS: 2 REF: Lesson B TOP: Vocabulary MSC: AWL

11. ANS: enforce

PTS: 2 REF: Lesson B TOP: Vocabulary MSC: AWL

12. ANS: ethnic

PTS: 2 REF: Lesson B TOP: Vocabulary MSC: AWL

13. ANS: B PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A | Lesson B
TOP: Listening for Main Ideas MSC: TOEFL
14. ANS: D PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A | Lesson B
TOP: Listening for Main Ideas MSC: TOEFL
15. ANS: B PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A | Lesson B
TOP: Listening for Details MSC: TOEFL
16. ANS: B PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A | Lesson B
TOP: Listening for Details MSC: TOEFL
17. ANS: A, C PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A | Lesson B
TOP: Listening for Details MSC: TOEFL
18. ANS: A PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A | Lesson B
TOP: Listening for Details MSC: TOEFL
19. ANS: A, C PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A | Lesson B
TOP: Listening for Details MSC: TOEFL
20. ANS: A PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A TOP: Listening Skill

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21. ANS: B PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A TOP: Listening Skill

22. ANS: A PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A TOP: Listening Skill
23. ANS: C PTS: 3 REF: Lesson B TOP: Pronunciation
24. ANS: B PTS: 3 REF: Lesson B TOP: Pronunciation
25. ANS: C PTS: 3 REF: Lesson B TOP: Pronunciation
26. ANS: A PTS: 3 REF: Lesson B TOP: Pronunciation
27. ANS: A

PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A TOP: Grammar

28. ANS: B

PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A TOP: Grammar

29. ANS: P

PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A TOP: Grammar

30. ANS: A

PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A TOP: Grammar

31. ANS: P

PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A TOP: Grammar

32. ANS: B, C PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A TOP: Speaking Skill
33. ANS: B, C PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A TOP: Speaking Skill
34. ANS: A, D PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A TOP: Speaking Skill
35. ANS:
Answers will vary.

PTS: 10 REF: Lesson A | Lesson B TOP: Speaking Task: Free Speaking

MSC: IELTS

© 2018 National Geographic Learning, a Cengage Learning Company 2