Paper Format

 Three reading passages with a variety of questions.

 Timing : 60 minutes (1 hour) including the time given for
transferring answers on the answer sheet.
 No. of questions : 40
 Marks : each question is worth 1 mark.
 Source of material : texts are taken from books,
magazines and newspapers etc.
Type of questions
1. Multiple Choice.
2. Short-answer questions.
3. Sentence completion.
4. Summary completion.
5. Table completion.
6. Yes, No, Not Given or True, False, Not Given.
7. Matching lists/phrases.
8. Choosing headings for paragraphs/ sections of a text.
9. identifying the location of information.
10. Labeling a diagram
 Julian did indeed die, his body was loaded on to the cart, and the oxen plodded on
until they came to a stop near a small town. Julian's disciples built a tomb for him
and in time a monastery grew up around the shrine. That at least is the legend of St
Julian the Old Man, or, as he is known in Arabic, Mar Elian. What's certainly true is
that Mar Elian's shrine has existed since at least the 6th Century, near the remote
town of al-Qaryatain, located in the desert between Damascus and Palmyra. Mar
Elian is not only venerated as a saint by Christians, however. The local Sunni
population regard him as a Sufi leader and call him Sheikh Ahmed Ghouri ("ghouri"
means "priest"). Until its destruction last year, Mar Elian's sarcophagus was draped
in green satin, a traditional mark of homage to a Sufi holy man.
 When the British archaeologist, Emma Loosley, travelled to al-Qaryatain 15 years
ago to excavate and redevelop the monastery she found the tumbledown ruins of
the original complex, a run-down church from the 1930s and a friendly priest -
Father Jacques Murad - who immediately decamped to a house in a nearby village.
"We couldn't cause any scandal by sleeping in the same place," she says. "That
meant I was the only permanent resident of the monastery at that point, and I had
to live in this half-ruined mud-brick tower in the corner of the cloister. "Our shower
was tainted because the well had sulphur, so I used to smell like rotten eggs every
time I washed." But the Qurwani, the people of al-Qaryatain, made up for the
grotty living conditions. Loosley found the remote desert community to be
remarkably open-hearted and tolerant. They even had a myth to explain why Sunni
Muslims and Christians - who accounted for about a fifth of the population in 2001
- lived together so harmoniously. "Their belief is that there were two tribes living in
this place," says Loosley. "With the coming of Islam, the tribes got together and
they decided that one tribe would stay Christian and that the other one would try
the new religion. "Then they had a pact that whichever religion became dominant,
they would look after their brothers who stayed in the minority religion."
 What did the community have to explain why Sunni
Muslims and Christians lived together in harmony?
Multiple Choice
Passage : The deaths occurred in four separate accidents in August 1985.
Each disaster had quite different causes. The aircraft involved ranged
from a 747 with hundreds on board to a tiny twin engine turboprop
carrying just eight people.
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Question : Twin engine turboprop could carry :
A. Eight people.
B. Four people.
C. Two people.
D. Only a pilot.

 Also note that you may be asked to circle ONE, TWO, THREE or
FOUR letters
Short-answer questions
 Passage : Recent estimates suggest that 16 percent of the
energy consumed in the US is used to produce food. Yet
atleast 25 percent of food is wasted every year.

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage.

Question : How much food does the US waste every year?

Sentence Completion
 Passage : North America could collectively lock up a
manmoth 1o kg of carbon- currently worth more than
$700 million on the european carbon-trading market.
Complete the sentence bellow.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A
NUMBER from the passage.
Question : The amount of carbon dioxide would be
worth over ___________.
 Summary completion
Passage : The Siberian Tiger
 The Siberian tiger can be found in what was the USSR and seems to live
mainly on the lower slopes of mountains. It likes to eat wild boar, wapiti
and moose and will travel long distances in search of food. The male tiger
weighs more than the female and is bigger than any other species of tiger.
Genetically it is closely linked to the now extinct Caspian tiger. Although
brown bears are capable of killing tigers, they make up approximately 8%
of their diet. Russian conservatives are trying to protect Siberian tigers
because they keep the wolf population under control.
Questions 1 – 4
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
 The main habitat of the Siberian tiger is in low mountainous areas of the
former1_______. It hunts a variety of animals including 2_______. It is
similar genetically to the 3_______. Russian conservatives want
to 4_______ the number of wolves by protecting the Siberian tiger.
 Questions 1 – 4
Complete the summary by entering, A-I, below.
 The main habitat of the Siberian tiger is in low
mountainous 1_______. The female is2_______ than
the opposite sex. The Caspian tiger is 3_______
genetically to the Siberian tiger. Russian conservatives
are 4_______ the Siberian tiger and at the same time
reducing the wolf population.

A bigger B closely C protect D close E area

F heavier G protecting H lighter I regions
 Table Completion
Passage
 A team of social psychologists from California has spent six years studying the reactions of
people in cities around the world to different situations. The results show that cities where
people have less money generally have friendlier populations. Rio de Janeiro in Brazil,
which is often known for its crime, comes out top, and the capital of Malawi, Lilongwe, comes
third.
But what makes one city friendlier than another? The psychologists from California State
University say it has got more to do with environment than culture or nationality.
They carried out a study into the way locals treated strangers in 23 cities around the world.
The team conducted their research through a series of tests, where they dropped pens or
pretended they were blind and needed help crossing the street.
The study concludes that people are more helpful in cities with a more relaxed way of life such
as Rio. While they were there, researchers received help in 93 percent of cases, and the
percentage in Lilong we was only a little lower. However, richer cities such as Amsterdam and
New York are considered the least friendly. Inhabitants of Amsterdam helped the researchers
in 53 percent of cases and in New York just 44 percent. The psychologists found that, in these
cities, people tend to be short of time, so they hurry and often ignore strangers.
Labelling flowchart/processes
PASSAGE
Freya Stark travelled to many areas of the Middle East, often alone. Frey Stark was an explorer
who lived during a time when exploreers were regarded as heroes.She travelled to distant areas
of the Middle East, where few Europeans – especially women – had travelled before. She also
travelled extensively in Turkey, Greece, Italy, Nepal and Afghanistan.
Stark was born in Paris in 1893. Although she had no formal education as a child, she moved
about with her artist parents and learned French, German and Italian.She entered London
University in 1912, but at the start of World War I, she joined the nurse corps and was sent to
Italy. After the war, she returned to London and attended the School of Oriental Studies.
Her studies there led to extensive travel in the Middle Studies, enabling her to eventually
become fluent in Persian, Russian and Turkish. Stark became well known as a traveller and
explorer in the Middle East. She travelled to the Lebanon in 1927 at the age of 33 when she
had saved enough money, and while there, she studied Arabic.
In 1928, she travelled bu donkey to the Jebel Druze, a mountainous area in Syria. during
another trip, she went to a distant region of the Elburnz, a mountain range in Iran, where she
made a map. She was searching for information about an ancient Muslim sect known as the
Assassions, which she wrote about in Valley of the Assassins (1934), a classic for which she
was awarded a Gold Medal by Royal Geogrpahic Society.
For the next 12 years, she continued her career as a traveller and writer, establishing a style
which combined an account of her journey with personal commentary on the people, places,
customs, history and politics of the Midle East.
Diagram labelling
TRUE, FALSE, NOT GIVEN OR YES, NO, NOT
GIVEN
The Saiga Antelope
In 1993 more than a million saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) crowded the steppes of Central Asia. However,
by 2004 just 30,000 remained, many of them female. The species had fallen prey to relentless poaching –
with motorbikes and automatic weapons – in the wake of the Soviet Union’s collapse. This 97% decline is
one of the most dramatic population crashes of a large mammal ever seen. Poachers harvest males for their
horns, which are used in fever cures in traditional Chinese medicine. The slaughter is embarrassing for
conservationists. In the early 1990s, groups such as WWF actively encouraged the saiga hunt, promoting its
horn as an alternative to the horn of the endangered rhino. “The saiga was an important resource, well
managed by the Soviet Union,” says John Robinson, at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in New
York City, US. “But with the breakdown of civil society and law and order, that management ceased.”

Questions 1 – 4
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?
Write:
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
1. In the early nineties Central Asia’s steppes was home to over one million saiga.
2. This 97% decline is the most dramatic population crash of a large mammal ever seen.
Headings
HEADING: tea in china
HEADING 2: tea in japan
 The exhibition also explores tea’s enormous
significance in japan, where it was first introduced
during the early Heian period ( 794-1185) by monks
who travelled to china to study zen Buddhism. Tea was
consumed in monasteries and in some aristocratic
circles, but it was not until the late 12th century that its
role in art and culture became more prominent after a
Buddhist priest brought back to japan the powdered
tea( known as matcha) then popular in china.
Headings…………….
 Matching
 Passage : “Old” London Bridge was built between 1176 and 1209, during the reign of King
John. The bridge was around 8 metres wide and 250 metres long, and it had a drawbridge
for the passage of tall ships up-river, and defensive gatehouses at both ends. By the
fifteenth century there were some 200 buildings on the bridge. Some stood up to seven
stories high, some overhung the river by seven feet, and some overhung the road, to form
a dark tunnel through which all traffic had to pass. By the end of the 18th century, it was
apparent that “Old” London Bridge, which was by then over 600 years old, needed to be
replaced.
Which bridge is described in each statement below? Choose A, B or C.
1. Many buildings were constructed on it.
2. It has a royal connection.
3. It was taken to a new location.
4. It had fortified entrances.
5. It could not cope with increasing congestion.
A –OldLondonBridge
B -NewLondonBridge
C - The current London Bridge
Identifying the location of
information.
 A.There are now over 700 million motor vehicles in the world -
and the number is rising by more than 40 million each year. The
average distance driven by car users is growing too - from 8km a
day per person in western Europe in 1965 to 25 km a day in 1995.
This dependence on motor vehicles has given rise to major
problems, including environmental pollution, depletion of oil
resources, traffic congestion and safety.
 B.While emissions from new cars are far less harmful than they
used to be, city streets and motorways are becoming more
crowded than ever, often with older trucks, buses and taxis
which emit excessive levels of smoke and fumes. This
concentration of vehicles makes air quality in urban areas
unpleasant and sometimes dangerous to breathe. Even Moscow
has joined the list of capitals afflicted by congestion.
 Which paragraphs contains the following
information?
1.How driving habits contribute to road problems
2. The relative merits of cars and public transport
3. The writer’s prediction on future solutions
4. The increasing use of motor vehicles
 Underline the key words.
 Decide what information you need to find in the text.
 Look out for question words like ‘where’ and ‘who’
which indicate.
 You should find out for specific things like places and
people.
Look for
 Who
 What
 When
 How
 Where
 Which
Example
 Passage : Recent estimates suggest that 16 percent of
the energy consumed in the US is used to produce
food. Yet atleast 25 percent of food is wasted every
year.

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the

passage.

Question : How much food does the US waste every

year?
 Recent estimates suggest that 16 percent of the energy
consumed in the US is used to produce food. Yet
atleast 25 percent of food is wasted each year. Michael
webber and Amanda Cueller at the center for
International Energy and Environmental Policy at the
University of Texas at Austin calculate that this is the
equivalent of about 2,150 trillion kilojoules lost each
year. That’s more than could be gained from many
popular strategies to improve energy efficiency. It is
also more than projections for how much energy the
US could produce by making ethanol biofuel from
grains.
 Question : How much energy could be saved annually
if food was not wasted?
 The fattest animals
As the largest animal in the world, the blue whale also has the most fat. In a
1968 study involving 49 different species of mammal from across the US and
Brazil, researchers deduced that the blue whale had the highest percentage of
body fat – more than 35%. With the whales weighing in at up to 180 tonnes,
that’s easily a record-breaking amount of fat for one animal.
But if we look at things proportionally, you might be surprised by some of the
world’s full-fat species. We’ll begin with blubber, the fat rich tissue belonging
to marine mammals that has myriad benefits for streamlining, buoyancy,
defence, insulation and energy storage.
In waters further north live bowhead whales. To survive in these frosty, remote
waters they have a layer of blubber almost half a metre thick. In his studies, Dr
Craig George found blubber mass ranged from 43% to 50% of the body mass of
yearling whales.
 Answer the questions with NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS:
Which animal has the most fat?

What is called tissue of marine mammals that is rich with fat?

Which marine animals need a thick layer of fat to survive in cold waters?