ORIENTATION COURSE FOR

VERSANT ENGLISH PLACEMENT

TEST

Session 3

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A- Read Aloud

Instructions: Read the passage aloud smoothly and naturally in a clear voice.
You will be stopped after 30 seconds. This is not a speed reading test. You may
not be able to finish reading the entire passage, but that is okay. When your
time is up, you will automatically move on to the next item.

Have you eaten a root before? You probably have. People and animals eat many

kinds of roots. Most roots that people eat are usually called root vegetables. A

root vegetable is what we call vegetables that grow underground. A carrot is one

type of root vegetable. It is the orange, edible root of the carrot plant. Many

people like to put it in salads or eat it right out of the ground. The turnip is

another root vegetable. It is a member of the cabbage family. Turnips are

usually eaten boiled, steamed, roasted, fried, pickled or even raw.

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B- Repeat

Instructions: Please repeat each sentence that you hear. Example: You hear:
"Leave town on the next train." You say: "Leave town on the next train."

C- Sentence Builds

Instructions: Please rearrange the word groups into a sentence. Example: You
hear: "was reading" ... "my mother" ... "her favorite magazine" You say: "My
mother was reading her favorite magazine.

1. must be filled - the application - quickly

2. truth - the author - wrote the

3. please – the printer – start up

4. called – John – the secretary

5. read – did you – the book

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6. your room - please clean - before you go

7. crazy hair - check out - the guy’s

8. his behavior - for - I don’t care

9. the hotel keys - soon - we will get

10. is giving - this crazy music - me a headache

D- Conversations

Instructions: You will hear a conversation between two people, followed by a

question. Give a short, simple answer to the question.&E Typing This section
allows you to get used to the keyboard and also measures your typing speed.
You will have 60 seconds to type as much as you can. Type quickly and
accurately. Keep typing until your time is up. You work will be saved
automatically.
Example: You hear: Speaker 1: "Lucy, can you come to the office early tomorrow?" Speaker
2: "Sure, what time?" Speaker 1: "7:30 would be great." Question: "What will Lucy have to
do tomorrow morning?" You say: "Go to the office early." or "She will go to the office at
7:30."

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 E- Typing

Instructions: This section allows you to get used to the keyboard and also
measures your typing speed. You will have 60 seconds to type as much as you
can. Type quickly and accurately. Keep typing until your time finish. Your work
will be saved automatically.

F-Sentence Completion

Instructions: Please type one word that best fits the meaning of the sentence.
Type only one word. You will have 25 seconds for each sentence. Click "Next"
when you are finished.

1- In order for the medicine to work ---------------, you must take the correct
amount.
2- The holiday was ------------------. I hadn’t done anything yet!
3- Mary was born --------------------- 1867.
4- I don’t watch plays because I --------------------- go to the theatre.
5- John forgot his backpack and had to --------------- home to get it.

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G Dictation

Instructions: Please type each sentence exactly as you hear it. You will have 25
seconds for each sentence. Pay attention to spelling and punctuation. Click
"Next" when you are finished. After 25 seconds, your work will be saved
automatically.

H- Passage Reconstruction

Instructions: You will have 30 seconds to read a paragraph. After 30 seconds,

the paragraph will disappear from the screen. Then, you will have 90 seconds to
reconstruct the paragraph. Show that you understood the passage by rewriting
it in your own words. Your answer will be scored for clear and accurate content,
not word-for-word memorization. After 90 seconds, your work will be saved
automatically.

Original Passage:

Shannon loves basketball. She loves everything about basketball. Shannon

always looks forward to basketball practice. She enjoys the workout. She enjoys
the competition. She enjoys the time with her teammates. But today, Shannon
twists her ankle and falls down. She cries out in pain, which is unusual for
Shannon. She rarely cries. Everyone rushes over to see if she is okay.  One of her

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teammates runs to get ice for her ankle. (Ice helps with the swelling.) The others
help her off the court and she sits down to rest. 

Original Passage:

Donna and her husband Matt go to the beach every Saturday in the summer.
Today is the same. Donna packs a picnic lunch. She packs the beach umbrella
and sun lotion. Donna puts on her swimsuit and sun hat. She is almost ready.
She just needs her sunglasses. Donna always loses things. Maybe they are in the
bathroom. They could also be in her purse. Donna looks in the mirror and
laughs. Her sunglasses are on top of her head. They were there the whole time!

I- Summary and Opinion

Instructions: Read the passage. Then, in the first box, write a short summary of
the author’s opinion in 25-50 words. In the second box, write your opinion on
the topic. Do you agree or disagree with the author? Why? Try to use your own
ideas. You must write at least 50 words. You will have 18 minutes to read the
passage and write both the summary and opinion. Write both the summary and
the opinion before clicking ‘Next’. Write in complete sentences. After 18
minutes, your work will be saved automatically.

Books hold a special place in everybody’s lives and are important for one’s
growth, maturity and knowledge. There are countless ways in which books

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influence our lives. The progress of humanity would have been impossible
without books and the lessons that we learn from them.

Books influence and teach us throughout our lives. We learn human values and
mannerisms, etiquette and ethical behavior, courage and bravery, compassion
and humility, forgiveness and acceptance and various other emotions. A good
book will influence our behavior and give us a new way to look at life. Books
also portray the struggle of mankind through the ages. The lessons that we learn
from our past mistakes and the struggle for the advancement of the world can
.be learned from books

There are books for children, teenagers and adults; there are books for all ages.
There are also books with all kinds of subjects. Experts believe that the first
book that people read is usually a fiction, like Harry Potter or Alice in
.Wonderland. No matter what the topic is, reading is useful for everybody