Test 1

Language Competence Test

The use of a dictionary is NOT allowed.
You have 30 minutes for this test.

I Choose the best word to fi ll each gap in the sentences below.

minutes to complete this task

o I prepared really well for the ...... interview at IBM.

A work (i)job c position o post

1
A franchisee pays an advertising ...... to help cover the company's marketing costs.
A commission s fee c benefit D allowance

2
Software ...... causes huge losses for the manufacturing company.
A bribery s piracy c forgery o embezzlement
3
As part of our campaign we will hand out ...... with information and a photo of the product.
A direct mail s leaflets c mailshots o displays
4
These items are on ...... now, some of them you can buy at half price.
A action s promotion c special offer o bargain
5
The ...... added tax (VAT) has recently been reduced to 20% in the country.
A volume s value c valid o venture

6 The seller has to compensate the buyer for any ...... occurring during delivery.
A fault s dispatch c carriage o damage
1 We accept complaints only if you present your .......
A bill s recipe c receipt o invoice
s The ...... of greenhouse gases should be decreased by 10% in the next five years.
A output s emission c launch disposal
O

9 The bank will pay you 5.5% ...... on your savings account.
A deposit s exchange c interest o debit
10 We need only ...... workers for this job.
A half-skilled s semi-skilled c non-skilled o partly-skilled
11
Customers who always buy the same brand of goods are showing brand .......
A faithfulness B loyalty c respect
o commitment
12
These machines are not ...... to operate in the long run, they need too much petrol.
A ecocentric B economised c economical
o economic
13
The CE? s~:nt huge sums on this ...... but unfortunately it turned out to be unprofitable.
A acqu1rab11ity s acquiring c acquirement
o acquisition
14
The bank's massive losses led to an expensive ...... by the government.
A buyout s bailout c buy out
o bail out
1
s Which offshore tax havens offer the most bank ...... ?
A confidence s confidentiality c secret
o secrecy

8 TEST 1
II Complete the spaces w ith the most su itabl d/ h .
e wor p rase given
Use eac h word /phrase once only· There are tw o ex t ra wor d s t h.at ........ ../!(10x1) 10 points
you d o not nee d . I needed '·· . . . __: minutes to complete this task

r······················ 1 1····WITH .....i····ARE····i··· ..~v·····i····ARO·U·N

·D·····i··..~·;:D·····i·..·wAs····i··· ..;T····'i"····NEir~·E·R·····i···.................... !
l. . ..... . .. ..... ..... . . ... .... .. .. ... . .... ..... . i. .~?~.~?.... . . . ?F ....1.. .. NOR.... 1.... IF .... 1..............................................................................1
Ford is planning ··· ···· .. to. .. ... ... 0 cut around 10% of its global workforce in an attempt to boost profits,

according to reports. Chief executive officer Mark Fields also wants to stop the slide in the US car company's

share price. The cuts, first reported in the Wall Street Journal last week, ...... ... .. .. . ....... 1 part of a plan

to save $3bn (£2.3bn) during 2017. Ford refused to confirm or deny the story, but said in a statement that it

.... .... .. ... ...... .. 2 focused on its plans to "drive profitable growth''.

It added: "Reducing costs and becoming as lean and efficient as possible also remain part of that work. We

have not announced any new efficiency actions, ..................... 3 do we comment on speculation:' Ford

employs .. ... .. ... . ..... .. .. . 4 200,000 people, with half of them in North America.

In March, the carmaker announced that it ..... .... .... ....... . s spend $1.2bn (£927m) to upgrade three plants

in Michigan in the US and create 130 new jobs. . .. ..... ............. 6 the start of the year it cancelled plans to

build a new factory in Mexico after pressure from President Trump, who .... . ....... ........ . 7 also criticised

General Motors' plans to produce cars there.

The company's share price has fallen .. .... .... ...... ..... 8 nearly 40% since Mr Fields took up his role in the

middle of 2014. Earlier this year, a leaked document seen by BBC Wales revealed that Ford was projecting a

reduction .. . ..... .... .... .... . 9 1,160 workers at its plant in Bridgend by 2021 .. ..... ........ ... . 10 no new

projects came into the site.

Ill Finish each sentence in such a way that it means exactly the same (Sx1) 5 points
as the sentence before it .
I needed l ......... ..' minutes to complete this task
o It's been ages since we last had an order from CWP.
We .... haven't had any orders from CWP for ages. ................................................................................................................. .

1 They are offering an attractive price reduction.

An attractive price reduction ...................................................................................................................................................... ·

2 They have cancelled our flight to London.

Our flight to London ...................................................................................................................................................................... ·

3 Although Kate was dissatisfied with the offer she accepted it.
Despite .............................................................................................................. .
4 Th
e new tax system wI no
•1i t be beneficial for companies and consumers.

Neither companies .............................................................................................................. ··

5 ·,gn two months earlier;' said the manager.

"I've decided to start t he campa
The manager announced his ................................................. ..

Language competence total: 30 / 3 = 10 points

TEST 1 9
 The use of a printed dictionary is allowed.

I You have 150 minutes for the reading comprehension test and the writing task.

TEXT 1

The Body Shop: What went wrong?

The Body Shop was founded by Dame Anita Roddick While The Body Shop's heritage is strong, it needs
in 1976. It initially thrived, expanding rapidly, and by to work on its brand perception. It's failed to keep up
the 1980s was one of the most well-known brands with market trends - contour sticks, kits and palettes
on the High Street. The company was a pioneer are nowhere to be seen in The Body Shop's range.
using natural ingredients for its affordable beauty With premium retailers such as Jo Malone and Liz
products. Earle offering in-store treatments, The Body Shop
But by the early 2000s, rivals had caught up, with could also be doing more to raise its profile and
firms such as Boots, for example, developing similar improve the customer experience.
natural beauty ranges. New challengers such as Since the chain is underperforming, L'.Oreal is
Lush also emerged, advancing into The Body Shop's trying to sell it together with its current separate
market share. Results for 2016 show total sales were management team, who are likely to have their
920.8m euros (£783.8m), down from 967.2m euros in own ideas for how to improve it. According to
2015, which L'.Oreal blamed on market slowdowns in expectations there will be plenty of interest from
Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia. private equity funds. A new owner could increase
And arguably the chain - which L'.Oreal bought sales particularly by selling the chain's products
for £652m ($1.14bn) in 2006 - remains a lower-end outside its own shops. However, trying to offload the
and insignificant part of its huge portfolio of brands, large store estate with long committed leases will be
which include skincare specialists Kiehl's, Lancome an obstacle to any buyer.
and Garnier, as well as fashion brands Ralph Lauren
and Giorgio Armani.
Retailing in shops is becoming an increasingly
challenging business. Everyone that shops in The
Body Shop spends most of their personal care budget
somewhere else. The chain is constantly chasing its
tail, having to work hard to attract people into a store.
When the 2006 deal was struck, founder Dame
Anita - who died just a year later- was forced to reject
claims that The Body Shop, known for its ethically
sourced goods, was joining with "the enemy''. There
were concerns that some of the ingredients L'.Oreal
then used in its products had been tested on animals,
while The Body Shop was publicly opposed to animal
testing. The French firm insisted the brand would
complement its existing offering, giving it increased
presence in the "masstige" sector - mass market
combined with prestige.

10 TEST 1
 on the basis of the text are the following statements true (T) or false
(F)? There is an example (0) for you. (Sxl) 5 points
I needed [ J minutes to complete this task
0 d) F o The Body Shop products are not very expensive.

T F '1 Decline in sales atThe Body Shop hit L'Oreal hard.

T F 2
The Body Shop consumers buy more of the chain's products than that of competing bra nd s.
T F 3 Anita was not attacked for animal testing.
4 T F 4 The Body Shop should not follow its rivals' example.
T F s The present management might be able to save the company.

11 Answer the questions briefly (1 - 10 words) on the basis of the text. (Sxl) 5 points
Full sentences are not required. There is an example (0) for you.
1needed !_._ ... ___ __[ minutes to complete this task
o How did The Body shop perform in the 80's?

It was one of the most well-known brands ................................................. .

1 What made its products unique?

·················•·"' ' '''''''''"'' ''

2 What outside factors had an influence on the company? (Write two)

...................... ·················•"''
····· ··········•"''' '''''''''''' .. ...............................................................................................

3 What was the mistake the company made concerning its product range?

•••••••• ••••••• •••• ••••• ••••• ••••••• ••••••••••• ••••••• ••••• ••oo• •••••• •• '"'' ''''" ' ''' " " ' ' ' ""' ' ' '' '"''" "' ''" '" '' ' '

4 How should the distribution policy be changed?

.............................. .....................................................................
···········...·.. ······•"""'····················· .. ·······... , ..
7
s What might make selling the company d"ffi
I cu lt .

...............................................................
...............................···· •• "•" •'• " ' '' ' '' ........................
I TEXT 2
Will globalisation take away our job?
I Richard Baldwin, president of an economic policy
research think-tank has been studying global trade
for the past 30 years. Accord ing to the professor
technological advances could now mean wh ite-
collar workers and professionals are at risk of losing
their jobs. In the US, voter anger with globalisation
may have led to Donald Tru mp's election victory, but
those who voted for him could soon be disappointed
as his aim of bringing back jobs is unlikely to work.
Knowledge crossing borders in massive amounts
is the big new disruptive thing. It's going to help
people in Africa and Asia compete more effectively
with people in the West, as communication advances
mean workers in the developing world will be able
to control robots to do jobs in Europe and the US at
lower cost, he says. "They can't get here to take the
jobs but technology will soon allow virtual migration,
thanks to telerobotics and telepresence:'
Ever-faster internet speeds becoming globally
more widely available, coupled with the rapidly
falling prices of robots will allow workers, for example
in the Ph ili ppines or China, to remotely provide
services to a co u ntry like the UK - where the sector
accounts for about 80% of the economy.
"What it will do is taking our jobs apart and change
the nature of our occupation. Some of the things you
do absolutely require your judgement - but parts of
your job could be off-shored, just as some stages in
a factory can be off-shored. Security guards in Us
shopping malls could be replaced by robots controlled
by security personnel based in Peru, and hotel cleaners
in Europe could be replaced by robots driven by staff
based in the Philippines, Mr Baldwin argues.
The increased use of robots is also threatening
millions of jobs in developing countries, as well as in
developed economies. And it's not just in factories;
the worldwide number of domestic household
robots will rise to 31 million in the coming three yea rs
with sales of robots for cleaning floors and mowing
lawns, forecast to grow to about $13bn in this period.
In the 19th Century, the first wave of the industrial
revolution triggered an upsurge in global trade.
Steam power, the end of the Napoleonic wars and
the subsequent era of peace cut the costs of moving
goods internationally. Global wealth became
increasingly concentrated among just a few nations;
the G7 group saw their share of the world's wealth
rise significantly. But from the 1990s a second wave
of globalisation kicked in, with the rise of informat ion
and communications technology, which is chang ing
and d isrupting economies and societies w ith
increasing rapidity.
Ill Choose the best one of the given It •
exa mple (O) for you. a ernatives (a Ib/ c) . Th ere is an
(10x1) 10 points

I needed ............ ..J minutes to complete this task

o Richard Baldwin...
0 deals with politics.
B is a researcher.
c is a fresh graduate.

1 Office based workers ...

A will benefit from technological improvements.
B have reason to worry.
c are against technological advancement.

2 Donald Trump...
A benefited from globalisation.
s disappointed his voters.
c is praised by Prof Baldwin.

3 Technological advances...
A make competition fierce for Asia and Africa.
s create competition for the west.
c will enable Asians and Africans to cross borders.

4 People...
A in the West will be employed through telerobotics.
B have virtually migrated to the West.
c in developing countries can't migrate from their homeland.

s About 80% of the UK economy...

A will be served by robots.
s is engaged in providing services.
c will rely on remotely controlled robots.

6 Jobs...
A will change nature more than before.
s in factories cannot be off-shored.
c could become redundant.

7 Robots...
A could be controlled by security personnel in Europe.
B could work as security guards.
c might replace Peruvian security guards.

s A huge number of people will lose their jobs...

A both in the rich and the poor world.
s as 31 mn robots will be sold for people and factories ·
c because robot sales will increase by $13bn.

9 Global trade...
A was greatly influenced by the industrial revolution.
B resulted in more innovations.
c contributed to peace.

10 The first wave of the industrial revolution ...

A raised global wealth.
8 promoted rising inequality.
c was mainly favourable for developing nations. Reading comprehension test total: 20 points

TEST 1 13
Writing Task
The use of a printed dictionary Is allowed.
You have 150 minutes for the writing task and the reading comprehension teSt.

TASK 1
Write your opinion using the given prompts in 140-160 words. ..../ 35 points

I needed ! ........ ...i minutes to complete this task

By 2060 older Europeans dependent on a younger working population will double in number. While for
every one person over 65 years we have four working age people today, due to our ageing crisis soon we
will have just two working age people.

Use the given prompts for your composition :

• how much Hungary is concerned by this problem
• the difficulties and dangers caused by an ageing population
• a possible way for governments to solve/ease the problem

task achievement 10P

lexical resource: 10P

grammatical range and accuracy: 10P

coherence and cohesion: SP

14 TEST 1
TASK 2
Write an e-mail in 100-120 words.
Do NOT use your own name in your writing.
I needed :._ i minut~s to complete this task
y0 ur company ordered some office furniture online, but you have experienced several problems, partly
with the items of furniture, partly with the delivery. Express your opinion on the issue in an e-mail to your
colleague (Jane/James), who is in charge of keeping in contact with supplier companies.

use the given prompts for your composition:

• the reason why you chose this web store
• what the problems were (mention two)
• what compensation you would consider acceptable

task achievement: 10 P
lexical resource: 5P
grammatical range and accuracy: 5P
coherence and cohesion: 5P

. k total (Task 1 + Task 2): 35 +25 = 60 I 2 = 30 pont

Writing tas

TEST 1 15