Do not turn the page until you are told to do so.

Blank page
 Placement Test
Section 1: Grammar, Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension
You are encouraged to spend no more than 30 minutes on this section

1. For questions 1-10, read the text below and decide which answer (a, b, c or d) best
fits each gap.

How can cities prepare for flooding?

Flooding caused by storms is a risk for cities close to sea level. Examples are Miami in the
US and Amsterdam in the Netherlands. A warming atmosphere also means that storms
are releasing 1.____________ water onto cities. How can they learn to cope?
Urban environments are not well suited to extreme rainfall 2.___________ concrete stops
water draining away. In contrast, one of the best things cities can do is to absorb the
water. By 2030 China wants to cover 30 cities with sponge-like features. These will absorb
or re-use 80% of rainfall. The cost is 3._____________ to be $1trillion. These features
include pavements which allow water to move through them, and “green roofs”, which
use plants and soil to collect rainwater. Lower tech solutions help too. Planting trees and
plants 4.____________ streets can reduce water. One study in Canada found that urban
trees can absorb about half of rainfall.
Cities can also stop water flowing where it should not be. In the Netherlands,
playgrounds, sports facilities and parks are built to make space for water. On a sunny day,
a game of basketball can get under way. When it rains 5._____________, the basketball
court doubles as a rainwater container. Simply tidying 6.____________ makes a
difference. Rubbish left out on the streets for collection, as it is in many American cities,
blocks water from flowing into drains.
Many of the most 7.____________ problems occur below street level. Sewer systems
often struggle to cope, meaning that their contents come back up into homes, streets and
waterways. London is building a new “super sewer” that will be complete by 2025, partly
to avoid this. Flash-floods can also cause problems for underground transport
8.____________. In Taipei subway entrances 9.____________ been raised to stop water
coming in during storms. Tokyo’s metro system is equipped with sliding doors capable of
10._____________ floodwater.

Adapted from an article in The Economist, 7th September 2021

1. a) more b) more of c) most d) many

2. a) although b) despite c) because d) unless
3. a) estimated b) judged c) evaluated d) assessed
4. a) along b) under c) over d) into
5. a) heavily b) highly c) lightly d) down
 6. a) up b) over c) down d) away
7. a) serious b) big c) bad d) potential
8. a) systems b) ways c) schemes d) procedures
9. a) have b) has c) are d) were
10. a) stopping b) building c) pausing d) heating

2. For questions 11-17, read the text below. Fill in the gaps using an appropriate form
of the word given in capitals in the column on the right. There is an example at the
beginning (0).

More and more “emotional-support animals” are boarding planes

(0) FLY
Animals may not board a plane to take a (0) flight. The exception to this
is animals which provide a (11)_____________ such as helping the blind. (11) SERVE
However, the 1986 Air Carrier Access Act says that commercial airlines
must not discriminate against passengers with other, less obvious
disabilities.

(12) DEFINE
Emotional-support animals are (12)______________ as companion
animals which help an individual with a psychological disorder. The (13) USUAL
animals are (13)______________ dogs but can be cats, rabbits and even
(14) SECURE
birds. They provide a sense of (14)______________ for those suffering
from anxiety.

Unlike service animals, the real need for an emotional-support animal is

(15) DESCRIBE
hard to check. To fly with an emotional-support animal, a passenger
needs a letter from a doctor (15)____________ the emotional benefit (16) CHEAP
the animal provides. However, these can be obtained
(17) BEHAVE
(16)______________ and quickly online without any formal checks.
Between 2016 and 2017, Delta Air Lines reported an 84% increase in
animal incidents. Most of these involved the (17)______________ of a
support animal.
160 words
Adapted from an article in The Economist September 13 th 2018
 3. You are going to read an article about working from home (remote working). For
questions 18 – 25, choose the answer (a, b, c or d) which you think fits best
according to the text.

A Trend for Home Working

Working from home is here to stay. Employers enjoy cost savings as they spend less on
desks and floor space. Employees save time: without their commute, they can get their
work done and focus on their families and hobbies. That, at least, is the idea. However, as
many a remote employee knows, the boundary between work and home life can be
difficult to manage.

Some governments and employers are trying to help workers identify this boundary.
Portugal’s labour minister has announced legislation for home working. Bosses are now
banned from calling their employees “after hours”: those who make contact outside
previously agreed times could be fined more than €9,000. Employers are also required to
provide remote-working computers and other equipment, pay for electricity and internet
costs, and must hold in-person meetings twice a month, to help prevent isolation.

Several European countries had similar laws in place even before Covid-19. In 2017 the
“right to disconnect” took effect in France. This allowed workers to ignore after-hours
texts, emails or calls from their bosses without fear of losing their jobs. Italy followed
soon after. Earlier this year Ireland said workers could ignore late emails and calls.
Whether legislation can reduce the number of hours is unclear. Ambitious workers have
an incentive to pick up a call from their boss after office hours. By comparison there is
little advantage in reporting their employer’s late emails, which would lead to a fine.

Then there is the practical difficulty of agreeing on when workers should be contactable.
This is often left to be agreed between employer and employee. Except for one widely
publicised court decision in 2018 ordering a company to pay €60,000 to an employee who
had to be reachable at all times in case of an emergency, little has come of the law in
France.

Perhaps change must come from the companies themselves, rather than from laws. In
Japan, where working 50 hours a week is very common, half of all workers were already
back in the office at least three days a week by April 2021. However, some employers are
responding to workers’ demands for a better work-life balance. Fujitsu, a technology
giant, has introduced flexible hours and allows remote work. In many Japanese
companies the number of chief remote officers is growing. Few companies have gone as
far as Volkswagen. For the past decade, the German carmaker’s servers have ensured that
employees covered by a collective-pay agreement do not receive work emails on their
phones between 6.15pm and 7am.

Adapted from an article in The Economist December 11th 2021

18. For employers, what is the advantage of people working from home?
a) No travel to work
b) Time for their families
c) More free desks
d) Cost savings
19. For employees, what is difficult about working from home?
a) Managing work and home life
b) Managing hobbies and family life
c) Finding enough space to work
d) Finding time to travel
20. What must employers NOT do in Portugal?
a) Pay for remote workers’ computers
b) Pay for remote workers’ internet costs
c) Call their workers late in the evening
d) Provide in-person meetings
21. Which country was first to introduce laws about home working?
a) Italy
b) France
c) Portugal
d) Ireland
22. What is the punishment for companies who send late emails to workers in Portugal?
a) A fine
b) A payment
c) Prison
d) There is no punishment.
23. Why did a French company have to pay a fine of €60,000?
a) The company wanted all workers to be available 24 hours a day
b) The company wanted one worker to be available 24 hours a day
c) The company expected immediate responses to emails
d) The company did not give workers computers
24. What did Fujitsu introduce?
a) A 50-hour week
b) 3-day working week
c) Flexible working
d) New technology
25. What is Volkswagen’s policy on contacting workers after office hours?
a) Workers must be available
b) Managers are free to contact workers when they like
c) Workers do not receive emails in the evening or during the night
d) Remote Officers check all communications.

25 marks
Section 2: Writing – You are encouraged to spend no more than 30 minutes on this section
Select ONE topic from the two topics provided and write a minimum of 200 words to
answer the question.
1. What makes a good workplace?
2. What are the best uses of the internet?
Your short essay should have an introduction, a main body and a conclusion. Use your own
experience and knowledge to support your arguments.
25 marks
(Write your answer here)

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

This is the end of the test.