Sample English exam

Word formation Read the sentences carefully and put the correct form of the word given in brackets in the spaces provided. The first one has been done for you. 0. The storms caused widespread destruction in the mountains. (destroy) 1. There is a great of cheap housing in Bologna. (short) 2. Hes under a lot of at work. (press) 3. I dont think that there is a to the problem. (solve) 4. You have some good ideas, but your work is rather (organise) 5. People living in big cities often suffer from (lone) 6. Margaret had a successful career as a (politics) 7. Please give details of your present (occupy) 8. Are there many between the two religions? (similar) 9. There has been great in the traffic since the road-works. (improve) 10. I dont understand the Governments to face the issue. (refuse)

Verb forms and modals Choose the correct word or phrase - a, b, c or d to fill the space, and write your answer in the space provided. The first one (0) has been done for you. 0. This is an examination! Why .? A. do you talk B. you talk C. would you talk D. are you talking D.. 1. I .. tea to coffee. A. d better B. prefer C. like D. want 2. You .. have seen Mr Jacobs yesterday hes in Australia. A. cant B. neednt C. mustnt D. shouldnt 3. If you .. me you were ill, I would have visited you. A. had told B. would have told C. were telling D. wouldnt have told 4. Im afraid that it will not be possible .. A. for me to come B. that I come C. that I will come D. for my coming 5. My car is gone: it must .. A. have been stolen B. be stolen C. have stolen D. have been stealing 6. In the last few weeks, a record number of computers .. A. had been sold B. had sold C. have been sold D. have sold 7. It took about twenty minutes .. to the station. A. that he got B. for him to get C. to him to get D. that he went 8. The accident was your fault you .. have been driving so fast. A. mustnt B. couldnt C. wouldnt D. shouldnt 9. Sometimes I wish I .. more money. A. will have B. have C. had D. would have 10. The policeman asked us where .. from. A. did we come B. we had come C. had we come D. have we come 11. I think you had better . and see me next week. A. come B. to come C. be coming D. came 12. The new factory .. next week by the Prime Minister.

A. will be opening B. will open C. will be opened D. will have opened 13. I am looking forward .. you again next year. A. to see B. seeing C. to seeing D. to having seen 14. They came to Los Angeles a few years ago they used to in New York A. living B. have lived C. be living D. live 15. Theres someone behind us I think we .. A. are being followed B. are followed C. were followed D. had followed

Interrogatives word order Put the following words into the correct order to make questions. Be sure to use all the words given. Write your answers in the space provided. The first one (0) has been done for you as an example. 0 Britain / Italy / are / more / there / political / or / in / parties / ? ..Are there more political parties in Britain or Italy? 1 protest / journalist / that / which / wrote / about / piece / march / the / ? . 2 yesterday / about / in / they / what / talk / meeting / did / the / ? . 3 they / talks / why / peace / interrupt / the / did / ? . 4 been / who / as / nominated / has / director / ? . 5 mention / how / the / often / they / results / did / ? .

Multiple choice Choose the most appropriate word(s) from the choice given to fill the gap. Write the letter ONLY in the space provided. The first one has been done for you. Book review The age [0] Unreason Prof. Charles Handy In his book The Age of Unreason, Prof. Handy describes the changes [1] are taking place in our lives today and warns that we [2] adapt to these changes [3] survive. He believes that in the future [4] 50% of the work-force will be employed full-time by an organisation. [5] employees will be the qualified professionals [6] are essential to an organisation. Their working lives will be a lot more demanding [7] today, [8] in return they will be well-paid. The rest of the workforce will be self-employed. Handy forecasts a big increase in the number of working mothers [9] the large numbers of unemployed. Handy estimates that by the year 2040, one person in five will be a pensioner and there will be one pensioner to [10] three people of working age, and [11] more in some countries. Pensioners will remain active for longer and many will live [12] a hundred years old, a fact which leads Handy to suggest that the term retirement will [13] be appropriate. He suggests the third age as a better description, [14] it will be [15] as an important part of our lives as the first age of learning and the second age of working. 0. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. that that had to for less than the Which then than in spite of in spite of any even for not yet since only B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. of what might for be able round Whose for of although however every ever being not for long like just C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. at who may in order to less than Them than that despite of the fact that because over lot to be no longer as much as yet D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. which and must for to more then These that for because although all also up no more yet much ..B...

Cloze Read the following text and fill each gap with ONE suitable word only. Write the word in the space provided below. The first one has been done for you as an example.
Body Language

R. L. Birdwhistle, ..(0).. studied body language scientifically, discovered that there is a link ..(1).. body language and spoken language. He noticed this in the old films of Fiorello La Guardia, who was fluent ..(2).. three languages. With the sound turned ..(3).. he was still able to identify which language La Guardia was speaking simply ..(4).. observing his gestures. The things we say do not always correspond to the gestures we use. In a family, ..(5).. example, it may seem that the wife is ..(6).. powerful than the husband because she always seems

..(7).. ask for his advice. However a ..(8).. inspection shows that she is the true leader. For instance she crosses ..(8).. legs first and all the other ..(10).. of the family imitate her without realising it.

Write your answers here: 0. who.. 1. .. 2. .. 3. .. 4. .. 5. .. 6. .. 7. .. 8. .. 9. .. 10. ..

Answer key

Word formation 1. shortage 2. pressure 3. solution 4. disorganised 5. loneliness 6. politician 7. occupation 8. similarities 9. improvement 10. refusal / refusing Verb forms and modals 1. B 2. A 3. A 4. A 5. A 6. C 7. B 8. D 9. C 10. B 11. A 12. C 13. C 14. D 15. A Interrogatives word order 1. Which journalist wrote that/the piece about the/that protest march? 2. What did they talk about yesterday in the meeting?/in the meeting yesterday? 3. Why did they interrupt the peace talks?

4. Who has been nominated as director? 5. How often did they mention the results? Multiple choice 1. A 2. D 3. C 4. C 5. D 6. D 7. A 8. B 9. A 10. B 11. A 12. C 13. C 14. A 15. B

Cloze 1. between 2. in 3. off/down 4. by/from 5. for 6. less 7. to 8. close/closer/detailed/careful/thorough 9. her 10. members