Exam-based Tutorials

5 Practice Tests

EDI
C2

contents
Reading & Writing Tutorial
Reading
Writing

Editorial Team
Peter Pappas

PAGE
4
17

Practice Test 1
Listening

33

Jean Vinten

Reading

36

Helen Tsismetzis

Writing

43

Philip Cooper
Maria Ioannou

ISBN 978-9963-710-15-7
978-9963-710-14-0

Practice Test 2
Listening

51

Reading

54

Writing

61

Practice Test 3
Listening

69

Reading

72

Writing

79

Practice Test 4
Listening

87

Reading

90

Writing

97

Practice Test 5
Super Course System

Listening

105

Aegaleo 1

Reading

108

2057 Strovolos

Writing

115

Nicosia, Cyprus
Practice Speaking Tests
Practice Speaking Test 1

123

Practice Speaking Test 2

124

Practice Speaking Test 3

125

Practice Speaking Test 4

126

Practice Speaking Test 5

127

Practice Speaking Test 6

128

Glossary

129

Listening Transcripts

133

All rights reserved; no part of this publication may

be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted in any form or by any means without the
prior written permission of the publisher.

EDI

Practice test 1

C2

LISTENING

THE TEST LASTS APPROXIMATELY 45 MINUTES

INSTRUCTIONS
Listen to each question carefully
Select the correct answer and then mark your selection on your answer sheet
Only mark one answer for each question

READING

TIME ALLOWED 120 MINUTES

INSTRUCTIONS
Read each question carefully
Select the correct answer and then mark your selection on your answer sheet
Only mark one answer for each question

WRITING

TIME ALLOWED 120 MINUTES

INSTRUCTIONS
Read each question carefully
Write your answers in the spaces provided

You need
This question paper
A pencil

You may NOT use a dictionary

Do NOT open this paper until you are told to do so.

Try to answer ALL the questions.
32

Listening
Part One
Read the questions, listen to the recording and select True (A), False (B) or Unknown (C).
Mark your answer on your answer sheet.

PX

1. Bottomless Pit focused on the disposal of hazardous waste.

A = True

B = False

C = Unknown

the professor asks whether they remember Bottomless Pit, the film they watched last month about the way hazardous
waste is disposed of

2. Some countries are considering further bans on hazardous waste disposal.

A = True

B = False

C = Unknown

no mention is made of whether there will be further bans on hazardous waste disposal by some countries

3. Very little lead is used in the manufacture of cathode ray tubes.

A = True

B = False

C = Unknown

these tubes are extremely high in lead content

4. Lead can seep into ground water.

A = True

B = False

C = Unknown

lead can poison ground water

5. X-rays pose little danger to humans.

A = True

B = False

C = Unknown

the tubes are infused with lead in order to shield the viewer from extremely harmful x-rays

6. Researchers have been trying to improve CRTs for the past 20 years.
A = True

B = False

C = Unknown

no reference is made as to whether researchers have been trying to improve CRTs

7. Frances has more than one television set at home.

A = True

B = False

C = Unknown

she states that nearly every household in the developed world has a TV while many have two or three including her family

8. Countries in the developing world do not dump hazardous waste.

A = True

B = False

C = Unknown

no mention is made as to whether countries in the developing world dump hazardous waste

9. The recycling of monitors is a widespread practice in the developed world.

A = True

B = False

C = Unknown

the professor asks why old CRT monitors are not being recycled; Frances replies that there arent enough services which
provide this type of recycling service in the west

10. Landfill Solutions is about pioneering recycling methods.

A = True

B = False

C = Unknown

it deals with a number of products that can be recycled through innovative means

33

(10 marks)

Part Two
Listen to two colleagues, Todd and Greg, discussing salary caps. Read each statement. Decide whether the opinions
expressed are Todds (A), Gregs (B), or whether they both agree (C). Mark your answers on your answer sheet.

11. A salary cap is a good thing.

A = Todds

B = Gregs

C = Both Agree

12. Too many families are struggling to make ends meet.

A = Todds

B = Gregs

C = Both Agree

13. Not attending a college or university is a personal choice.

A = Todds

B = Gregs

C = Both Agree

14. Setting a maximum wage will stifle innovation.

A = Todds

B = Gregs

C = Both Agree

15. A strong luxury car industry benefits the economy.

A = Todds

B = Gregs

C = Both Agree

16. No-one should be allowed to earn an unlimited amount of money.

A = Todds

B = Gregs

C = Both Agree

17. Business owners are averse to earning the same as their employees.
A = Todds

B = Gregs

C = Both Agree

18. A doctor neednt necessarily earn more than a footballer.

A = Todds

B = Gregs

C = Both Agree

19. People who dont earn much work very hard.

A = Todds

B = Gregs

C = Both Agree

20. A large number of people do not earn as much as they should.

A = Todds

B = Gregs

C = Both Agree

(10 marks)

refer to Listening Transcript on page 133 for justification

34

Reading
Part One
Read the text below. Then look at the questions on the following page and
select the best heading (A, B, C or D) for each of the numbered paragraphs.
Mark your answers on your answer sheet.

Butt ns

A Brief History

1.

The first buttons made their debut during the Bronze Age, over 3,000 years ago.
They were made from bone, horn, wood, metal or even seashells and looked very
similar to the buttons of today. However, they didnt fasten anything; they were simply worn for decorative reasons. At the
time, belts, pins or brooches were used for fastening clothes; even in extreme weather there was no practical use for a
button. So the button just existed, waiting for the next big clothing innovation.
2.
The Greeks, although they had no word for button, did, like the Romans, use them for decoration. However, at some point,
someone thought the button might make a nifty fastener. To this end, they ran the button through a little loop of thread and
thereby created a use for the button, alongside the pin or the brooch, to keep garments together. As clothing became more
fitted, using a button and loop became more sensible since it was less likely to cause injury than a pin. In around 1200, the
buttonhole arrived inEurope, delivered, like many other things, by the returning Crusaders. Of course, they hadnt invented
it themselves, but they freed the idea from the Turks and Mongols they had encountered on their travels. At any rate, the
button and buttonhole were soon to become a driving force in clothing design.
3.
The first buttonhole was a slit made in fabric just big enough to pass the button through and this was enough to hold
clothes fast and inspire a fashion revolution. The word button appeared at around this time and stems from either the
Frenchboutonfor bud orbouterfor to push. Whatever the basis for the word may have been, theFrenchwere quick to
spot the potential of the button and by 1250 had established the first of many Button Makers Guilds. The Guilds produced
beautiful buttons with great artistry, much to the delight of the aristocracy. Peasants, however, werent allowed to join this
button fest, even if they could come up with the money. The aristocracy passed laws to limit buttons permitted for common
usage to simple thread or cloth covered buttons. As a result, the button became a status symbol, and it wasnt discrete;
buttons were not just used for fastening clothes but, once more, as adornment.
4.
In the 19th century, buttons were mass-produced, but this didnt detract from the many types available; Dorset buttons,
made from thread, competed side-by-side with bone and metal buttons. The fashion conscious prized buttons and brass
or ceramic buttons were sold in sets to be affixed to uniforms or other clothing. Every home kept a button box which
heldreclaimedbuttons from discarded garments, along with odd buttons suitable for completing repairs. No history about
the button would be complete without mentioning the white pearl button. Shipments from Japan flooded the button market
with this type of button in the 1860s, and this directly resulted in the rise of thePearly Kings and Queensof London. Visitors
to the city could expect to see local celebrities sporting costumes bearing over 30,000 such buttons, although today they
are only seen at charity events.
5.
Today buttons come in all shapes and sizes. There are circular, square or triangular buttons; buttons with two, three or
four holes for application, toggle buttons, leather shaft type or stud buttons. There are many button collectors clubs, and
the future of the button seems secure despite the popularity of Velcro, poppers and zips. This could be due to the fact that
whatever youre fastening, it just seems more attractive with the flourish of a button. Or it could just be that the button and
buttonhole are perfect for their job. Whatever the case may be, the button has continued to thrive alongside its various
alternatives, and regardless of what clothing designers have in store for us, thebuttonseems certain to survive.

36

1. A.
Identical to modern-day buttons

C. Of no use, but attractive

B.
The making of buttons

D. The rise of innovative materials

2. A.
From loop to buttonhole

C. Developments in clothing design

B.
The conquerors of Europe

D. The Greeks copy the Romans

3. A.
The end of a fashion revolution

C. The beauty of the button

B.
Buttons for all

D. Another French discovery

4. A.
An increasing variety of buttons

C. Japan dominates the industry

B.
London becomes the home of buttons

D. The English button box

5. A.
On the way out?

C. Losing popularity?

B.
Looks do count!

D. Here to stay!

(5 marks)

Part Two
Read the text again and decide if the following statements are True (A), False (B) or Not mentioned in text (C).
Mark your answers on your answer sheet.
6. Bronze Age buttons served no purpose at all.

A = True

B = False

C = Not mentioned in text

they were worn for decorative reasons

7. The Greeks and Romans did away with pins and brooches.

A = True

B = False

C = Not mentioned in text

they created a use for the button alongside the pin or the brooch to keep garments together

8. The Crusaders introduced the buttonhole to Europe.

A = True

B = False

C = Not mentioned in text

Crusaders took the idea from the Turks and Mongols and brought it back to Europe

9. Had it not been for the button, clothing design would have seen little development.

A = True

B = False

C = Not mentioned in text

there is no reference as to any link between the button and the development of clothing design

10. In the 13th century, buttons denoted ones position in society.

A = True

B = False

C = Not mentioned in text

the button became a status symbol

11. Some peasants wore elaborate buttons.

A = True

B = False

C = Not mentioned in text

peasants were limited to simple thread or cloth covered buttons

12. Button boxes were widespread in the 1800s.

A = True

B = False

C = Not mentioned in text

every home kept a button box for reclaimed buttons and old buttons

13. The Pearly Kings and Queens used imported buttons to adorn their costumes.

A = True

B = False

C = Not mentioned in text

shipments from Japan

14. Buttons look better than poppers and zips, in the view of the author.

A = True

B = False

C = Not mentioned in text

it just seems more attractive with the flourish of a button

15. Modern alternatives to buttons are not very effective.

A = True

B = False

C = Not mentioned in text

it is stated that the button continues to thrive alongside its various alternatives; there is no mention of the
effectiveness of these alternatives

37

(10 marks)

Part Three
Choose the word or words (A, B, C or D) that are closest in meaning to the underlined words from the text.
Mark your answers on your answer sheet.
16. simply

17. nifty

18. established

19. prized

20. thrive

A.
hardly

A.
careful

A.
made up

A.
treasured

A.
suffer

B.
steadily

B.
affordable

B.
brought out

B.
rewarded

B.
flourish

C.
merely

C.
discreet

C.
turned out

C.
demanded

C.
display

D. easily

D. effective

D. set up

D. awarded

D. fasten
(5 marks)

Part Four
Read the following magazine article and fill each gap with a suitable word from the four options available (A, B, C or
D). Mark your answers on your answer sheet.

Extraterrestrial Life
As oursearch

21

extraterrestrial lifegathers pace with the advance of

technology, we seem to be identifying more and moreplanetsthat may

22

the

21.

A. from C.
in

B.
to

D. for

conditions for life todevelop. If and when we do eventually discover one with the ideal
conditions,

23

24

it be great to hop aboard a spaceship andpop

there

to say Hello! to our galactic neighbours? However, theres one small problem - that

22.

A. have C.
hold

B.
exist

D. own

of distance.
Galactic distances are so huge it takes light itself many years to get anywhere. In
fact, a spaceship travelling
over 100,000 years to

26

25

a speed of 10km per second would take well

ProximaCentauri, our neareststar. Any inhabitable

planets would be even further than that.

27

24.

D. wouldnt

A. under C.
onto
D. to

our

galactic neighbours. Admittedly, they havent made any contact with us, but weve been
28

A. shouldnt C.
mustnt

B.
couldnt

B.
over

Nevertheless, this hasnt prevented us fromtrying to communicate

transmitting

23.

sorts of broadcasts into space for several decades now. Our

25.

A. on C.
at

B.
to

D. from

signals will be pretty weak by the time they arrive, but some of them might be detected.
The trouble is, they wont quite be up to

29

with the latest transmissions were

sending. Even our nearest extrasolar planets (planets outside our solar system) are

26.

A. reach C.
land

B.
arrive

D. catch

around ten and a half light years

away, so theyll be over ten

27.

years behind us. Even so, theyll

B.
to

A. at C.
by
D. with

be able to recognise that theres

28.

intelligent life onEarth.

A. all C.
other

B.
both

D. enough

Having said that, round about

now, the nearest of them will

30

be receiving the first

29.

A. time C.
space

B.
date

D. us

transmissions ofthe TV show

Big Brother and will be able to

30.

gauge just how intelligent we

B.
before

A. since C.
soon
D. after

really are.
(10 marks)

38

Part Five
Read the following extract from a novel and fill the gaps with a suitable word from the four options available (A, B, C
or D). Mark your answers on your answer sheet.
prone
31. A. likely C.
31
B.
recent
D. available
to nerves, had a knot in his stomach. It was a
Mandela, not usually
curious thing for a man with his past. This was not the day of his release in February
1990, nor was it his presidential inauguration in May 1994, or even the morning back
in June 1964 when he
33

32

up in a cell not knowing whether or not the judge

33. A. could C.
should
B.
would
D. must

condemn him to death.

This was the day on which his country, South Africa, would be playing the best
team in the world, New Zealand,
compatriots were

32. A. woke C.
made
B.
gave
D. set

35

34

the final of the Rugby World Cup. His

34. A. at C.
in
B.
on
D. to

tense as he was. The remarkable thing, in a country

that had lurched historically

36

crisis to disaster, was that this morning an

unheard of national consensus had formed

37

one idea. All 43 million South

Africans, black and white, shared the same aspiration:

victory for their team, the Springboks.Or almost all.
There was at

38

one malcontent in those

hours before the game, one who wanted South

Africa to lose. Justice Bekebeke was his name and
he was sticking by
principled position

39

40

he regarded as his
he knew no one who

actually shared his desire that the other team should

35. A. so C.
that
B.
enough
D. as
36. A. to C.
from
B.
with
D. in
around
37. A. up C.
B.
roughly
D. every
38. A. ease C.
last
B.
all
D. least
39. A. that C.
what
B.
which
D. those

win. Not his girlfriend, not his family, nor his friends in
Paballelo, the black township where he lived.

40. A. so C.
regardless
B.
despite
D. although
(10 marks)

Part Six

Fill the gaps in the following sentences with the correct answer by selecting A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on your
answer sheet.
41. What

if you hadnt remembered to fill up the tank?

A.
was happening

B. happened

42. Dave left the office early in order to join his friends for a
A.
celebratory drink

A.
is being produced

44. The boss

C. celebrating drink

D. drink of celebration

the best rice in the world for two decades now.

B. has been producing

the supervisors

A.
made ... to attend

D. had happened

B. drink for celebrating

43. The central plain of Indonesia

C. would have happened

C. was producing

a seminar on how to delegate tasks to subordinates.

B. had ... attended

45. By the time we get to Brisbane we

D. has been produced

C. got ... attended

D. had ... attend

for 23 hours non-stop.

A.
will have to travel B.
would have travelled C.
will have been travelling D.
were travelling
(5 marks)

39

Writing
Part One
Read the following text and fill the numbered gaps with a suitable word. The first one has been done for you.
It cannot

be

ex

denied that most modern advertisements contain

1

hidden messages.
For example, implicit

in

an advertisement

2

showing a pretty girl
driving a new car or smiling children gathered around/behind/

beside
3

if
a packet of washing
powder is the message that
we dont buy
4
the product, we

wont

achieve success and happiness. It is a subtle

5

approach since it seeks

to

exploit our secret dreams and ambitions,

and is all around us. Giant street billboards and catchy jingles on television bombard
us from

all

sides, brainwashing us into believing that we can realise

our ambitions quickly and easily.

Advertising is

not

without its proponents, though. Defenders of advertising say that it is not only informative,

but also entertaining due to the fact that advertisements tell us about useful new products and they brighten our lives with
colour and music.
Whether for or

against
advertising, most people would agree that

organisation, appointed
by the government or the advertising industry

10

itself

some

kind of

, is necessary to maintain standards

of honesty and to discourage the more misleading types of ever-present advertisements.

(10 marks)

Part Two
Fill the gaps with the correct variation of the word in brackets.
The first one has been done for you.
The

Pitcairn

Islands

are

located

ex

(locate)

halfway between Peru and New Zealand. The largest island of the

complex
was discovered by British

11

mutineers

(mutiny) from the English ship, the Bounty, and their Tahitian
companions.
12

Todays

descendants

population

of

50

islanders

are

all

direct

(descend) of the original settlers.

Besides
fishing for a living, the islanders practise

13

subsistence
14

the islands
valleys favours the production of a wide

variety

(subsist) farming as the fertile soil of

(vary) of fruit and vegetables. Only

recently has a resident doctor been posted to the islands clinic. Should an emergency occur where the clinic cannot give
15

satisfactory

(satisfy) care, a call will be put out for any passing ship to stop and take the patient to the

nearest emergency facility - often many days away.

(5 marks)

43

Practice Speaking Test 1

The EDI ESOL INTERNATIONAL Level C2 Speaking Test lasts about 15 minutes and includes three parts.

Part One

(2-3 minutes)

- Describe the sort of books/films people of your age enjoy nowadays.

- Is there anything about your best friend that you find hard to tolerate?
- What would you consider to be your greatest responsibility?
- Whats the difference between going on holiday alone or with friends?
- What are some of the problems young people face these days?
- Do you think its important to be able to drive? Why / Why not?

Part Two

(5-6 minutes)

To Candidate A
Look at the following question. You have 30 seconds to think about the subject. Then speak for about one minute on
the subject. Your partner will then comment for a further minute on what you have said.

To Candidate B
Listen to what your partner says, and then be ready to comment.
(Cards with questions/prompts are handed to each candidate.)

Candidate A
Should the use of animals to test new health drugs be abolished?

Candidate B
Is it ethical to pay humans to become human guinea pigs for new health drugs?

Part Three

(5-6 minutes)

Now we are going to talk together about the subject of Health Drugs.
- Do you believe that drugs which are safe for animals are necessarily safe for human use? Why / Why not?
- How do pharmaceutical companies influence the way doctors treat their patients?
- Can we do without over-the-counter vitamins or are they essential for good health?

123