PRACTICE TEST 21

Name: ……………………………….….
Part A: PHONETICS

Question I: Choose the word whose underlined part is pronounced differently from the rest in the same line.
1. A. controlled B. returned C. formed D. convinced
2. A. suggestion B. devotion C. congestion D. digestion

Question II: Find the word with the stress pattern different from that of the other three words in each question.
3. A. compulsory B. curriculum C. certificate D. secondary
4. A. hospital B. different C. supportive D. special
5. A. compliment B. apologize C. tradition D. develop

Part B: VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR

Question I: Choose the most suitable word or phrase to complete each sentence.
6. He felt ______when he failed the exams the second time.
A. discouraged B. discouraging C. encouraged D. encourage
7. David learned to play ______ violin when he was at ______ university.
A. -/- B. the/- C. the/the D. -/the
8. The workers ______ cement for the patio when it began to rain.
A. lay B. were lying C. laid D. were laying
9. American students agree that a husband is______ to tell his wife where he has been if he comes home late.
A. obsessed B. obliged C. obtained D. observed
10.-"Let's have a pizza." -"______"
A. Not again B. It doesn't matter C. Not really D. It’s a good idea
11. Nam: “ You are a great dancer, Huong.”
Huong: “_________”
A. There’s no doubt about it. B. You shouldn’t have said that.
C. You must be kidding. D. Yes. Congratulations
12. In most social situations where some ______ is allowed, a brief raise of the hand and a small wave is fine to
attract someone's attention.
A. informality B. friendship C. familiarity D. introduction
13. Sperm Whales and sharks are carnivores. Carnivores mean ______
A. animals that live in the sea B. animals that only eat plants
C. fish that aren’t born from eggs D. animals that eat meat
14. Will we be ______ the storm if we shelter under a tree?
A. happy about B. safe from C. depended on D. cared for
15. Michael was ______ with anger when he saw his car had been scratched.
A. stored B. fixed C. loaded D. filled
16. He ______ his life to helping the poor.
A. spent B. experienced C. dedicated D. used
17. I am not really ______ this kind of music. I prefer music that we can dance to.
A. in B. for C. into D. with
18. ______ I had nothing for breakfast but an apple, I had lunch early.
A. However B. Since C. Due to D. Therefore
19. Military is ______ in this country. Every man who reaches the age of 18 has to serve in the army for two years.
A. compulsory B. optional C. illegal D. unnecessary
20. All ______ is a continuous supply of the basic necessities of life.
A. that is needed B. which is needed C. what is needed D. the thing needed
21. Never ______ till tomorrow what you can do today .
A. put out B. put off C. put away D. put down
22. John’s score on the test is the highest in the class;______ .
A. he should study last night B. he should have studied last night
C. he must have studied last night D. he must have to study last night
23. The company received______complaints about the quality of its products.
A. continual B. continued C. continuous D. continuing
24. Mai is______of the two sisters.

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 A. as beautiful as B. more beautiful
C. the more beautiful D. the most beautiful
25. Many lists of “Wonders of the World” ______during the Middle Ages.
A. said to be existed B. are said to exist
C. said to exist D. are said to have existed
26. The weather is going to change soon; I feel it in my ______.
A. body B. legs C. skin D. bones
27.The workers have gone on strike. ______, all production has ceased.
A. So that B. Therefore C. Because D. Now that
28.Do you expect there will be a lot of _______ to the project from the local community?
A. rejections B. disapproval C. disagreement D. objections
29. _________ handball is fast becoming ________ popular sport worldwide.
A. The/ the B. Φ/ a C. A/ Φ D. Φ/ the
30. The size and shape of a nail depend primarily on the function ______ intended.
A. which it is B. for which it C. which it is for D. for which is
31. But for the fog, we_________ our destination ages ago.
A. would have reached B. would reach
C. reached D. had reached
32. Tom: “ I'm having some friends over for lunch this Saturday. Would you like to join us?”
Jane: “______________________”.
A. Can I take a rain check? B. Come on. It's your turn.
C. Thanks, but I musn't D. As a matter of fact, I do.
33. Tom: “Wasn't it Mozart who composed Swan Lake?” Jane: “__________.”
A. Yes, he wasn't B. It's out of question
C. I haven't a clue D. It's not my favourite
34. Water polo is played in a pool. It is played ____a ball and people play it ___a team.
A. by/ in B. in/with C. within/ by D. with/in
35. I wonder if they have that dress in my size. I ______ a size 10.
A. make B. have C. take D. get

Question II: Put each verb in brackets into an appropriate form.

1. It was a boring show. I would rather (not/go) _________________ there.
2. I’m sure they (complete) _____________________ the new road by June.
3. (Bite) ____________________ twice, the postman refused to deliver our letters unless we changed our dog up.
4. His (take) __________________ ill was quite unexpected.
5. It (not/be) _____________________ for you, I would come home late.
6. His roommate (always enter) _________________ the room without knocking first, which annoys him a lot.
7. The curricula of American public schools (not determine) __________________ by the federal government.
8. He (not wear) _______________________ uniform when you see him, because he’ll be on leave then, and
they don’t wear uniform when they are on leave.
9. It is essential that every student (know) ______________________ how to use a computer.
10. A shape with four equal sides and one right angle (call) _______________________ a square.

Question III: Put each word in brackets into an appropriate form.

1. (MYSTERY), the light came on though no one was near the switch.
2. Excessive (EXPOSE) to direct sunlight should of course be avoided.
3. The complete (RELEVANT) of this answer shows that the student did not read the question carefully.
4. Most birds (MIGRATORY) in the winter.
5. When a boy, Bob was a very (ATTEND) student and seemed to spend most of the time looking out of the window.
6. Travelling gives young people opportunities to (DEPTH) their understanding of the world.
7. The living-room is littered with (DISCARD) newspapers.
8. The boys took part in the competition with great (ENTHUSIAST).
9. Most young Americans want to lead a / an (DEPEND) life at the age of twenty.
10. (NEW) energy sources such as wind and wave power are pollution-free.

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 PART IV: PHRASAL VERBS: Complete each sentence with the correct form of the phrasal verbs in the
box. Use each once only. There are two extra phrasal verbs which you do not need to use.

take after go off come across do without come in for be with

sell out look into take up drop in on cut down on get in

1. We ………..……….. tea and drank coffee instead.

2. Any time you're in the area, feel free to …………..…….. us.
3. Tom: “Does Tan ………..……….. his father or mother?”
Jane: “Well, he looks just like his father, but has his mother nature”.
4. You should …………..…… smoking if you can't stop completely.
5. We'll give you our decision when we have had time to ……………. the matter.
6. Don't let your windows open when you are away from home or a burglar might ………..……
7. I'm not very fit, so I’ve decided to ……….……. an active hobby such as squash or jogging.
8. There were clashes between friend and myself at times but I ……..... really ….......... him every serious trouble.
9. The bomb ………..…….. with a loud bang which could be heard all over the town.
10. They are going to ………………… a lot of criticism for increasing bus fares by so much

PART C: READING COMPREHENSION

Question I: Read the following passage and then choose the most suitable word or phrase for each space.
English spelling
Why does English spelling have a reputation for being difficult? English was first written down when Christian
monks came to England in Anglo-Saxon (1) ______ .They used the 23 letters of Latin to write down the sounds of
Anglo-Saxon speech as they heard it. However, English has a (2) ______ range of basic sounds (over 40) than
Latin. The alphabet was too small, and so combinations of letters wer needed to (3) ______ the different sounds.
Inevitably, there were inconsistencies in the way that letters were combined.
With the Norman invasion of England, the English language was put (4) ______ risk. English survived, but the
spelling of many English words changed to follow French patterns, and many French words were (5) ______ into the
language. The result was more irregularity.
When the printing press was (6) ______ in the fifteenth century, many early printers of English texts spoke other
first languages. They (7) ______ little effort to respect English spelling. Although one of the short-term effects of
printing was to produce a number of variant spellings, in the long term it created fixed spellings. People became used
to seeing words spelt in the same way. Rules were (8) ______ and dictionaries were put together which printers and
writers could refer to. However, spoken English was not fixed and continued to change slowly - just as it still does
now. Letters that were sounded in the Anglo-Saxon period, like the 'k' in 'knife', now became (9) ______. Also, the
pronunciation of vowels then had (10) _____ in common with how they sound now, but the way they are spelt hasn't
changed.

1. A. ages B. centuries C. times D. years

2. A. deeper B. longer C. thicker D. wider
3. A. explain B. express C. perform D. tell
4. A. at B. in C. on D. under
5. A. announced B. found C. introduced D. started
6. A. discovered B. invented C. made up D. taken up
7. A. brought B. did C. made D. put
8. A. drawn up B. filled in C. got across D. handed out
9. A. dump B. quiet C. silent D. speechless
10. A. much B. many C. few D. little

Question II: Supply the most suitable word for each blank.
Because of the recent growth in air travel, airports have become more than ever before symbols of international
importance. They therefore have (1.____________) look good and are frequently designed by well-known
architects. In (2.____________) to this, competition and customer demand mean that (3. ___________) generally
have to have impressive facilities nowadays. For instance, there are (4. __________) lounges, where passengers
can wait before their (5. ___________ ) takes off, luxurious restaurants, shopping areas and banks. Good road
and rail connections (6. _________) nearby towns and cities are also essential, with large (7. __________) of
people needing to get to and from the airport quickly and effectively.

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 However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find land on which to build airports. One reason for this is that
aircraft, (8. ____________) improvements in engine design, are still very noisy, and need a considerable amount
of space in which to (9. ___________) and take off. This of course means that crowded residential areas need to
be avoided, so, unluckily, travellers often find that the airport they need to use might be located (10.
__________) an inconvenient distance from the city.

Question III: Read the passage and choose the best answers to questions below. (10 pts)
An air pollutant is defined as a compound added directly or indirectly by humans to the atmosphere in such
quantities as to affect humans, animals, vegetation, or materials adversely. Air pollution requires a very flexible
definition that permits continuous change. When the first air pollution laws were established in England in the
fourteenth century, air pollutants were limited to compounds that could be seen or smelled-a far cry from the
extensive list of harmful substances known today. As technology has developed and knowledge of the health
aspects of various chemicals has increased, the list of air pollutants has lengthened. In the future, even water vapor
might be considered an air pollutant under certain conditions.
Many of the more important air pollutants, such as sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides, are found
in nature. As the Earth developed, the concentration of these pollutants was altered by various chemical reactions;
they became components in biogeochemical cycles. These serve as an air purification scheme by allowing the
compounds to move from the air to the water or soil. On a global basis, nature's output of these compounds dwarfs
that resulting from human activities.
However, human production usually occurs in a localized area, such as a city. In such a region, human output may
be dominant and may temporarily overload the natural purification scheme of the cycles. The result is an increased
concentration of noxious chemicals in the air. The concentrations at which the adverse effects appear will be greater
than the concentrations that the pollutants would have in the absence of human activities. The actual concentration
need not be large for a substance to be a pollutant; in fact, the numerical value tells us little until we know how
much of an increase this represents over the concentration that would occur naturally in the area. For example,
sulfur dioxide has detectable health effects at 0.08 parts per million (ppm), which is about 400 times its natural
level. Carbon monoxide, however, has a natural level of 0.1 ppm and is not usually a pollutant until its level reaches
about 15 ppm.
1. What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. The economic impact of air pollution.
B. What constitutes an air pollutant.
C. How much harm air pollutants can cause.
D. The effects of compounds added to the atmosphere.
2. The word "adversely" in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to _______.
A. negatively B. quickly C. admittedly D. considerably
3. It can be inferred from the first paragraph that _______.
A. water vapor is an air pollutant in localized areas
B. most air pollutants today can be seen or smelled
C. the definition of air pollution will continue to change
D. a substance becomes an air pollutant only in cities
4. The word "These" in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to__________.
A. the various chemical reactions
B. the pollutants from the developing Earth
C. the compounds moved to the water or soil
D. the components in biogeochemical cycles
5. For which of the following reasons can natural pollutants play an important role in controlling air pollution?
A. They function as part of a purification process.
B. They occur in greater quantities than other pollutants.
C. They are less harmful to living beings than other pollutants.
D. They have existed since the Earth developed.
6. According to the passage, human-generated air pollution in localized regions _______.
A. can be dwarfed by nature's output of pollutants
B. can overwhelm the natural system that removes pollutants
C. will damage areas outside of the localized regions
D. will react harmfully with natural pollutants
7. The word "localized" in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to _______.

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 A. specified B. circled C. surrounded D. encircled
8. According to the passage, the numerical value of the concentration level of a substance is only useful if _______.
A. the other substances in the area are known B. it is in a localized area
C. the natural level is also known D. it can be calculated quickly
9. The word "detectable" in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to__________.
A. beneficial B. special C. measurable D. separable
10. The word "noxious" in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to__________.
A. poisonous B. natural C. known D. essential

Question IV: You are going to read an article about four people who enjoy different forms of dance. For
question 1-10, choose from the people (A-D). The people may be chosen more than once.

The challenge of dance

Four professional dancers talk about the forms of dance they love.
A Eva Smolienko: ballet dancer
I won't pretend the idea of wearing a tutu and satin shoes wasn't what attracted me to ballet as a girl, but through
the years of demanding training that helped me become a ballerina, wearing beautiful costumes faded into
insignificance, as love for the art form itself took over from the desire to look pretty. And far from skipping about
pretending to be a butterfly, I discovered to my disappointment that ballet requires an enormous amount of
selfdiscipline in order to meet its physical demands and mental challenges. Committing to ballet meant developing
critical thinking skills, becoming musically aware and building stamina. The route to the fancy dresses was tough,
involving anti-social hours, strain on the body, and intense mental focus. But the effort paid off, and I wouldn't have
had it any other way, because I truly appreciate where I am today as a principal dancer in the company.

B Cherry Proctor: tap dancer

lt was without doubt the percussive element of tap dance that attracted me to it, and I love the sound the metal on
the shoes makes when it strikes the floor. I've always been attracted to rhythm and movement, and tap dance is the
perfect combination of these. As a tap dancer I consider myself a musician, as essentially, I'm making music with
my feet. Tap's fast and furious, and terrifically tricky, but the rewards that come with mastering the skill are worth
all the effort of battling to get your head, or rather, feet, around the complicated beat patterns and speed. it's like my
feet become musical instruments when I dance. Tap is excellent for developing coordination and mine has improved
enormously. lt also concentrates the mind when you're involved in performing challenging routines, which is
certainly a welcome release from the pressures of daily life.

C Jenny Hardcastle: contemporary dancer

The fact that contemporary dance is an expressive dance form which combines several other forms is why I find it
so fascinating. Contemporary dance focuses on the connection between mind and body, and nothing is more
satisfying than exploring movement and making up my own dance sequences. Contemporary dance is more flexible
and free than traditional dance forms like ballet, though like ballet, it helps the dancer work on balance and strength,
as well as being aware of the space around them. Dancers aim for fluid movements and allow gravity to pull them to
the floor - there's lots of floor work involved. When I'm dancing, I use my body to express my deepest emotions,
from sadness to joy. Sometimes I feel exhausted afterwards, but I also feel as though a weight has been lifted from
my shoulders.

D Tamara Whitely: street dancer

Street dance is still relatively new and it therefore comes under close examination from the critics in its field. But I
would argue that there are elements of techniques and styles from all kinds of older disciplines wrapped up in street
dance. Street is a loosely-structured form of dance and what first appealed to me was its 'street cred'. In other words,
it's current, and it looks cool. it's easy to make the mistake of thinking that because it looks so unstructured, there's
little real skill involved but that couldn't be further from the truth. While it may not conform to the strict principles
of dances such as ballet, its choreography can be really quite complex. lt often makes use of gymnastic elements
which require strength, agility and coordination, which, as I found out, are not the easiest skills to acquire.

Which person
Your answers
1 says that her dance includes challenging movements from a different form of
exercise?
2 says that dancing is the physical representation of her feelings?
3 appreciates the fact her dance form helps her to switch off from everyday

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 routine?
4 admits that what first appealed about her dance form became less important
over time?
5 enjoys the ability to use her creative skills more than anything else?
6 is keen to explain why her dance form should be recognised in the dance
world?
7 compares herself to an artist in a different field from dance?
8 realised that her dance form required harder work than she'd expected?
9 was attracted to the dance form because of its modern appearance?
10 is pleased that she put so much into achieving her current status?

PART D: WRITING
Part 1. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given.
DO NOT CHANGE THE WORD GIVEN. You must use between three and five words, including the word given.
1. I never have enough money. (SHORT)
 I …………………………….…………………
2. I’ve got to get a new computer. (NEED)
 What I really .................................................................. new computer.
3. I can’t describe people as well as you can. (BETTER)
 You’re ........................................................................... I am.
4. It was easy for us to get tickets for the concert. (NO)
 We ...................................................................... tickets for the concert.
5. I hate to watch late night films on TV. (STAND)
 I ………………………………………….…… late night films on TV.
6. The players did their best, so the manager thanked them. (FOR)
 The manager ………………………………..…….………….. their best.
7. He surprised me very much when he said he loved me. (BREATH)
 He ………………………………………………….. when he said he loved me.
8. She couldn’t finish the race because she was injured. (PREVENTED)
9. “It’s not worth worrying about the past”, I told him. (POINT)
 I told him that there was ...................................................................................... about the past.
10. While I was driving, I realized that the car wasn’t working properly. (WRONG)
 While I was driving, I realized that ............................................................................ the car.
Part 2. Rewrite each sentence so that it has the same meaning, and contains the word given in capitals. Do not
change the word in any way.
1. Nobody helped me at all. (FINGE.R)
 Nobody …………………………………..……………………….
2. Money is of little value on a desert island. (COUNTS)
 Money ………………………………………………………….
3. I tried to talk to Jack about the problem but he was too busy. (WORD)
 I tried ……………………………………………………………..
4. I don't mind whether we have the meeting today or tomorrow. (MAKES)
 It …………………………………………………………………..
5. As far as I know he is still working in HoChiMinh city. (KNOWLEDGE)
 To ………………………………………………………………….

III. Essay writing