Embassy Education Placement Test

Time Allowance: 90 minutes

Student’s name:
Student’s number:

Section A: Grammar (30 minutes)

Part 1: Choose the best answer to complete the following sentences
1. John used ...................................... cycling before he...................................... his leg last month.
A. to go / hurt B. to go / hurts C. going / hurt D. going / hurts
2. The novel is very interesting, and it is worth ....................................... I strongly recommend it.
A. read B. to read C. reading D. to reading
3. Have you got used...................................... from a quarter to seven?
A. working B. to work C. work D. to working
4. Apart...................................... English he is good at French and German as well.
A. at B. from C. of D. about
5. Practise ...................................... regularly if you don't want to fail the listening exam.
A. listen B. to listen C. listening D. to listening
6. Christopher seemed to be an........... lucky person before the accident.
A. exceptionally B. exceptional C. exception D. except
7. ........... enormous obstacles he tried his best to overcome.
A. Although B. Even though C. In spite of D. However
8. The customer complained about the noise and accused us........... the badly- cooked meal.
A. with B. of C. about D. to
9. At Japanese schools, teachers don't let pupils ask questions because they say it ...........time.
A. wastes B. waste C. is wasting D. wasted
10. When I was at university I used to play ............................... piano.
A. a B. an C. the D. x
11. This girl is very interested in education. She'd like to be ............................... university teacher.
A. a B. the C. an D. some
12. Although we …… wear a helmet in Britain, I always wear one.
A. must B. don’t have to C. mustn’t D. need
13. Very few drivers were carrying more than one passenger, …… I suppose is the reason why there's
so much traffic on the roads during the rush hour.
A. that B. who C. whose D. which
14. She wonders ....................... her father looks like now, after so many years away.
A. whose B. that C. what D. how
15. Could you tell me how long …… to get there?
A. does it take B. it takes C. it take D. if it takes
16. Paul is the ....................... person I've ever met. He is so pleasant and funny to talk to.
A. most interesting B. most interested C. interesting D. interested
17. When we got home, the guests ....................... . The house was quiet.
A. have left B. left C. were leaving D. had left
18. While George ....................... the ceiling, he fell off the ladder.
A. repaired B. was repairing C. had been repairing D. is repairing
19. Your car is too dirty. Why don't you have it .......................?
A. to clean B. cleaning C. cleaned D. have cleaned
20. “............................... you make me a cup of tea, please?” - “Yes, certainly”
A. May B. Should C. Will D. Shall
21. Hanoi is famous ………….its green tree lines.
A. by B. for C. with D. from
22. I've set the alarm clock for 8.30………………I oversleep tomorrow.
A. unless B. if C. until D. in case
23. I don't know exactly where Linda is now, but she ………..at her sister's.
A. might be B. must be C. can’t be D. should be
24. Peter……………working today. He never works on Saturdays.
A. could be B. mustn’t be C. could be D. can’t be
25. I forgot to send them a map. ……………., they still found the house easily.
A. Although B. However C. Because D. As a result
26. When Rita ………………… her driving license next week , she …………………able to drive to
work everyday."
A. gets/is B. will get/is C. gets/will be D. will get/will be
27. A : How about going across the street for a cup of coffee?
B: I can 't. I…………………my father at the station at 5.00.
A. will meet B. meet C. met D. am meeting
28. My sister can fall asleep under any condition, but I can't get to sleep……….the light is off and the
room is perfectly quiet.
A. unless B. if C. in case D. provided that
29. The teacher ........................ has not just arrived.
A. about who I wrote to you B. Who I wrote to you
C. whom I wrote to you about him D. about whom I wrote to you
30. He wants to go to the movies, and she ........................
A. wants, too B. does, too C. wants, also D. does, either

Part 2: Use the suggest words to rewrite each of the following sentences in such a
way that it has the same meaning as the sentence given.
1. I am sorry that I didn’t invest in the stock market.

I wish ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….

2. She didn’t eat vegetables when she was a child, but now she does.

She didn’t …………………………………………………………………………………………………..

3. We haven’t met each other for ages.

It …………………..……………………………………………………………………………………….

4. We know that Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.

Alexander Graham Bell.…………………………………………………………………………………..

5. You will understand more when you grow older.

The ………..……………………………………………………………………………………………….

6. Do you feel like going out with me tonight?

Would you …………………………………………………………………………………………………

7. He speaks more persuasively than I do.

He is a ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

8. Is it essential to meet your aunt at the station?

Does your …………………………………………………………………………………………………..

9. “Don’t come to class late,” the teacher said to Tom.

The teacher ………………………………………………………………………………………………..

10. He doesn’t like the fact that she changed her job.

He’d rather………………………………………………………………………………………………..

11. “I am sorry I couldn’t come to the meeting yesterday” he said to his boss.

He apologized ……………………………………………………………………………………………

12. Petrol prices have risen dramatically recently.

There …………………………………………………………………………………………………......

13. “Would you like me to take you to the airport” said his secretary.

His secretary ……... …………………………………………………………………………………

14. I am sure that he stayed up late last night.

He must ………………………………………………………………………………………………….
15. We had to swim across the river. This was very difficult. (which)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

16. I am learning English, so I can’t go out with you.

If ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

17. It is a pity that she didn’t take part in the competition.

She should ………………………………………………………………………………………………..

18. She was such a beautiful girl that he fell in love with her at first sight.

So ………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

19. The refugees continued to feel unsafe until they had crossed the border.

Not until ………………………………………………………………………………………………….

20. The economic recession resulted in a sharp increase in unemployment.

Unemployment …………………………………………………………………………………………..

Part 3: Use the correct form of the words given to complete the sentences below

1. It was a huge earthquake which resulted in a lot of .......................... and injuries. (die)

2. The newspaper said there was a tornado in the .......................... part of the country. (centre)

3. The time of .......................... of an earthquake can affect the number of casualties. (occur)

4. Hey! Are you doing anything .......................... tonight? (specialize)

5. Some .......................... see comics as a way to get teenagers to choose reading instead of

television and video games. (educate)

6. The terrible storm caused the .......................... of half the houses in the town. (destroy)

7. My sister called and said there was no .......................... because of the hurricane. (electric)

8. Comics are a .......................... source of reading pleasure in many parts of the world. (favor)

9. Comics are increasingly being used for .......................... purposes. (educate)

10. Some people argue that comics are a great way to get children to think ..........................

(create)

SECTION B: READING (20 minutes)

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on the following reading

passage
Questions 1-5

Reading Passage 1 has five marked paragraphs, A-E.

Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.

List of Headings

i Avoiding an overcrowded centre

ii A successful exercise in people power

iii The benefits of working together in cities

iv Higher incomes need not mean more cars

v Economic arguments fail to persuade

vi The impact of telecommunications on population distribution

vii Increase in travelling time

viii Responding to arguments against public transport

1. Paragraph A …………………….

2. Paragraph B ................................

3. Paragraph C ................................

4. Paragraph D ................................

5. Paragraph E ................................

ADVANTAGES OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT

A new study conducted for the World Bank by Murdoch University’s Institute for Science and

Technology Policy (ISPT) has demonstrated that public transport is more efficient than cars. The study

compared the proportion of wealth poured into transport by thirty-seven cities around the world. This

included both the public and private costs of building, maintaining and using a transport system.

The study found that the Western Australian city of Perth is a good example of a city with minimal

public transport. As a result, 17% of its wealth went into transport costs. Some European and Asian

cities, on the other hand, spent as little as 5%. Professor Peter Newman, ISTP Director, pointed out

that these more efficient cities were able to put the difference into attracting industry and jobs or

creating a better place to live.

According to Professor Newman, the larger Australian city of Melbourne is a rather unusual city in

this sort of comparison. He describles it as two cities: “A European city surrounded by a car-

dependent one”. Melbournes’s large tram network has made car use in the inner city much lower, but

the outer suburbs have the same car-based structure as most other Australian cities. The explosion in

demand for accommodation in tlhe inner subrubss of Melbourne suggests a recent change in many

people’s preferences as to where they live.

Newman says this is a new, broader way of considering public transport issues. In the past, the case

for public transport ahs been made on lthe basis of environmental and social justice considerations

rather than economics. Newman, however, believes the study demonstrates that “the auto-dependent

city model is inefficient and grossly inadequate in economic as well as environmental terms”.

Bicylce use was not included in the study but Newman noted that the two most “bicycle friendly”

cities considered – Amsterdam and Copenhagen – were very efficient, even though their public

transport systems were “reasonable but not special”.

It is common for supporters of road networks to reject the models of cities with good public transport

by arguing that such systems would not work in their particular city. One objection is climate. Some

people say their city could not make more use of public transport because it is either too hot or too

cold. Newman rejects this, pointing out that public transport has been successful in both Toronto and

Singapore and, in fact, he has checked the use of cars against climate and found “zero correlation”.

When it comes to other physical features, road lobbies are on stronger ground. For example, Newman

accepts it would be hard for a city as hilly as Auckland to develop a really good rail network.

However, he points out that both Hong Kong and Zurich have managed to make a success of their rail

systems, heavy and light respectively, though there are few cities in the world as hilly.

A. In fact, Newman believes the main reason for adopting one sort of transport over another is

politics: “The more democratic the process, the more public transport is favored.” He considers

Portland, Oregon, a perfect example of this. Some years ago, federal money was granted to

build a new road. However, local pressure groups forced a referendum over whether to spend

the money on light rail instead. The rail proposal won and the railway worked spectacularly

well. In the years that have followed, more and more rail systems have been put in,
 dramatically changing the nature of the city. Newman notes that Portland has about the same

population as Perth and had a similar population density at the time.

B. In the UK, travel times to work had been stable for at least six centuries, with people avoiding

situations that required them to spend more than half an hour travelling to work. Trains and

cars initially allowed people to live at greater distances without taking longer to reach their

destination. However, public infrastructure did not keep pace with urban sprawl, causing

massive congestion problems which now make commuting times far higher.

C. There is a widespread belief that increasing wealth encourages people to live farther out where

cars are the only viable transport. The example of European cities refutes that. They are often

wealthier than their American counterparts but have not generated the same level of car use. In

Stockholm, car use has actually fallen in recent years as the city has become larger and

wealthier. A new study makes this point even more starkly. Developing cities in Asia, such as

Jakarta and Bangkok, make more use of the car than wealthy Asian cities such as Tokyo and

Singapore. In cities that developed later, the World Bank and Asian Development Bank

discouraged the building of public transport and people have been forced to rely on cars-

creating the massive traffic jams that characterize those cities.

D. Newman believes one the best duties on how cities built for cars might be converted to rail use

is The Urban Village report, which used Melbourne as an example. It found that pushing

everyone into the city centre was not the best approach. Instead, the proposal advocated the

creation of urban villages at hundreds of sites, mostly around railway stations.

E. It was once assumed that improvements in telecommunications would lead to more dispersal in

the population as people were no longer forced into cities. However, the ISTP team’s research

demonstrates that the population and job density of cities rose or remained constant in the

1980s after decades of decline. The explanation for this seems to be that it is valuable to place

people working in related fields together. “The new world will largely depend on human

creativity, and creativity flourishes where people come together face-to-face.”

 Questions 6-10

Do the following statement agree with the information given in the reading passage?

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

6. The ISTP study examined public and private systems in every city of the world.

7. Efficient cities can improve the quality of life for their inhabitants.

8. An inner-city tram network is dangerous for car drivers.

9. In Melbourne, people prefer to live in the outer suburbs.

10. Cities with high levels of bicycle usage can be efficient even when public transport is only

averagely good.

Questions 11-13

Look at the following cities (Questions 11-13) and the list of descriptions below.

Match each city with the correct description, A-F

11. Perth ................................

12. Auckland ................................

13. Portland ................................

List of Descriptions

A successfully uses a light rail transport systems in hilly environment

B successful public transport system despite cold winters

C profitably moved from road to light rail transport system

D hilly and inappropriate for rail transport system

E heavily dependent on cars despite widespread poverty

F inefficient due to a limited public transport system

WRITING (40 minutes)

Student’s name:…………………………………………………

Do you agree that English is becoming more and more important in Vietnam? Use reasons

and specific examples to support your views. (You have to write at least 250 words)

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