Name: …………………………………………….

PRACTICE TEST

SECTION A: PHONETICS
PART I: Choose the word whose underlined part differs from the other three in pronunciation in
each of the following questions. Write your answers in the box provided.
1. A. debt B. subtle C. doubt D. absorb
2. A. germane B. inhumane C. angel D. macaroni
3. A. houses B. horses C. prerequisite D. zebra
4. A. fathom B. feather C. within D. anthem
5. A. Suite B. Suit C. Fruit D. bruit
YOUR ANSWERS:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

PART II: Choose the word that differs from the other three in the position of the primary stress in each
of the following questions. Write your answers in the box provided.
1. A. laager B. hiccup C. abbess D. converge
2. A. mischievous B. obstinate C. euphemism D. analysis
3. A. gazelle B. gazette C. rucksack D. bereave
4. A. agriculture B. opportune C. legislature D. prevalent
5. A. mollify B. dissipate C. epileptic D. kindergarten
YOUR ANSWERS:
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

SECTION B: GRAMMAR & VOCABULARY

PART I: Choose the best answer from A, B, C, or D to complete the following sentences. Write your
answers in the box provided.
PART II: Find and correct TEN mistakes in the following passage. Write them down and give the
correction.
Stress is often called a 21st century illness but it has always been with us if perhaps with different names.
These days we regard stress is a necessary evil of modern living. Yet stress is not negative and without it we
will not enjoy some of the highpoints in life just as the anticipation before a date or the tension leading up to
an important match. All these situations produce stress, but unless you can control it and not the other way
round, you will feel stimulated, not worn out. Unlike these situations, what are generally positive and easier
to deal with, sitting on a train that is late, being stuck in a traffic jam or working to a tight deadline are more
harder to manage and control. Stress is now recognised as a medical problem and as a signficant factor in
causing coronary heart disease, high blooded pressure and a high cholesterol count. Patients are often
unwilling to admit to stress problems although they feel they are a form of social failure, but it is important
that symptoms are identified in order to avoid unnecessary suffering. So why should we be looking out for
as danger signals? Common signs of stress are increased tiredness, irritability and the inability to cope with
certain situation.
Part 3: WORD FORM

Are you a chocoholic or a fast food addict? Don't blame yourself - certain foods can trigger an eating binge,
but there are ways to control the (0) ………… (CRAVE). Even if you're a fairly disciplined eater, there are
sure to be foods you'll have no (1)…………… (RESIST) to. For some it's a bar of chocolate, for others a
burger. You probably think there's no one to blame but your weak-willed self. But the reassuring truth is that
when it comes to controlling your junk food intake, the odds are heavily stacked against you. High-fat, high-
sugar foods can act like an (2) ……………… (ADDICT) drug, making us crave even more of the same. ln
the States, where (3)………….. (OBESE) rates are reaching epidemic proportions, there's even a group
called Junk Food Anonymous, which aims to help people recover from their (4) ………… (DEPEND) on
synthetic or refined food. Fat is often added to food to make it more palatable so it's a good way of making
(5) ………… (EXPENSE), bland food seem tastier. Another reason certain foods are so (6) ……….
(RESIST) is that they have a very real effect on our mood, making us feel more relaxed. Our eating habits
develop when we are young and as we move into (7) ……..………. (ADULT) the chocolate that we were
rewarded with as a young child becomes a guilty (8)……….. (INDULGE). We might feel we've earned the
right to treat ourselves after a hard day at work, for example. Past (9) …………. (ASSOCIATE) can
reinforce bad eating habits that are difficult to break free from.
SECTION D: READING
PART I: For questions 1-15, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each
space.
THE OPEN UNIVERSITY
The Open University was created in 1968 to give people who cannot afford to........ regular courses of study,
the opportunity of studying and........ a university diploma or degree. They study at home and their academic
performance is assessed by........ of written examinations or project work. Most Open University
students........ in study while also holding down a job or coping with a busy home life. They study in order to
update their job skills or for personal........ .
At the heart of most courses is a........ of specially written and professionally printed textbooks and
workbooks which students receive by post. On many of the courses, students are........ to watch television
programmes on the BBC network, which are usually broadcast in the........ hours of the morning. The........ of
these programmes is to develop and broaden the study experience, so that students do not have to........ only
on the printed material they are sent.
Students are........ with all the notes and books they need and, in....... some courses also include audio and
video cassettes and computer software. However, studying at the Open University can be a........ because
students have few opportunities to........ each other. That is why the University encourages students to set......
and run informal study groups themselves.

Câu 1.

A present B assist

C apply D attend

Câu 2.

A managing B obtaining

C reaching D claiming

Câu 3.

A Method B route

C Means D system
Câu 4.

A join B take

C put D fit

Câu 5.

A satisfaction B delight

C joy D challenge

Câu 6.

A unit B set

C club D heap

Câu 7.

A considered B needed

C hoped D expected

Câu 8.

A first B initial

C early D starting

Câu 9.

A aim B reason

C end D cause

Câu 10.

A believe B rely

C trust D confide

Câu 11.

A given B posted

C provided D handed

Câu 12.

A return B particular

C advance D addition
 Câu 13.

A Struggle B fight

C Battle D pressure

Câu 14.

A Introduce B meet

C Know D speak

Câu 15.

A Out B in

C Up D off

PART II: For questions 1-10, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use
only one word in each gap.

PART IV. You are going to read a magazine article about marathon running. Seven sentences have
been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (15-20).
There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use. There is an example at the beginning (0).
Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.
 MARATHON RUNNING-A RECIPE FOR HEALTH?
If ever there was living proof that marathon running keeps you fit, Jenny Wood Allen from Dundee is
it. (0) __H__ She was 71 and she did not even have proper training shoes then.

At first she could only run to the end of her avenue, which is about three quarters of a mile. She had
problems getting back and had to either take a bus or ask somebody for a lift (15) ________

Scientifically speaking, human beings are perfectly tuned for jumping and running and walking long
distances. (16) ________ One of them, Professor Craig Sharp says that if you are reasonably fit, you
can probably run for two hours at a medium pace and feel OK. At this point your muscles run out of
glycogen - the best source of energy we have.

This means you start using fat for energy, and your body has to work harder to transform fat into
energy. This happens at a time when you are starting to feel exhausted. (17) ________. 1 All this is
proof - he believes - that the body isn't designed for long-distance running.

Other specialists have a very different opinion. Dr Percy Brown believes that if you train sensibly and
prepare several months in advance, it could even help you live longer. (18) ________

He believes the only problem you may have when running a marathon is exhaustion or a small injury
caused by falling or tripping over things. (19) ________ Only 1 in 1,000 actually makes it to hospital.

Another problem may be post-race exhaustion. Surveys show most runners are much more likely to
catch colds or develop chest infections in the week after running a race.(20) ________ . There is no
evidence of lasting disease or an increased risk of illness.

At 87, Jenny Wood Allen will be doing the London marathon for the 13th time this Sunday. And she
plans to go on taking part for many years to come.
A He argues that after 16-20 miles, you have to slow down and running gets really hard.
B After a quick top up of water and a rest, most go home and make a full recovery.
C When it comes to marathon running, however, the experts are divided.
D In spite of this, marathon running is bad for your health.
E But this weakening effect on the system is short-lived.
F Within a couple of months, however, she was managing two or three miles.
G This is because running halves your risk of getting heart disease.
H She started by running to the shops, wearing an anorak and carrying her shopping bag.

Part V. Read and do the following tasks

HOW DOES THE BIOLOGICAL CLOCK TICK?

A
Our life span is restricted. Everyone accepts this as ‘biologically’ obvious. ‘Nothing lives for ever!’
However, in this statement we think of artificially produced, technical objects, products which are subjected
to natural wear and tear during use. This leads to the result that at some time or other the object stops
working and is unusable (‘death’ in the biological sense). But are the wear and tear and loss of function of
technical objects and the death of living organisms really similar or comparable?
B
Our ‘dead’ products are ‘static’, closed systems. It is always the basic material which constitutes the object
and which, in the natural course of things, is worn down and becomes ‘older’. Ageing in this case must
occur according to the laws of physical chemistry and of thermodynamics. Although the same law holds for
a living organism, the result of this law is not inexorable in the same way. At least as long as a biological
system has the ability to renew itself it could actually become older without ageing; an organism is an open,
dynamic system through which new material continuously flows. Destruction of old material and formation
of new material are thus in permanent dynamic equilibrium. The material of which the organism is formed
changes continuously. Thus our bodies continuously exchange old substance for new, just like a
spring which more or less maintains its form and movement, but in which the water molecules are always
different.
C
Thus ageing and death should not be seen as inevitable, particularly as the organism possesses many
mechanisms for repair. It is not, in principle, necessary for a biological system to age and die. Nevertheless,
a restricted life span, ageing, and then death are basic characteristics of life. The reason for this is easy to
recognise: in nature, the existent organisms either adapt or are regularly replaced by new types. Because of
changes in the genetic material (mutations) these have new characteristics and in the course of their
individual lives they are tested for optimal or better adaptation to the environmental conditions. Immortality
would disturb this system - it needs room for new and better life. This is the basic problem of evolution.
D
Every organism has a life span which is highly characteristic. There are striking differences in life span
between different species, but within one species the parameter is relatively constant. For example, the
average duration of human life has hardly changed in thousands of years. Although more and more
people attain an advanced age as a result of developments in medical care and better nutrition, the
characteristic upper limit for most remains 80 years. A further argument against the simple wear and tear
theory is the observation that the time within which organisms age lies between a few days (even a few
hours for unicellular organisms) and several thousand years, as with mammoth trees.
E
If a life span is a genetically determined biological characteristic, it is logically necessary to propose the
existence of an internal clock, which in some way measures and controls the ageing process and which
finally determines death as the last step in a fixed programme. Like the life span, the metabolic rate has for
different organisms a fixed mathematical relationship to the body mass. In comparison to the life span this
relationship is ‘inverted’: the larger the organism the lower its metabolic rate. Again this relationship is valid
not only for birds, but also, similarly on average within the systematic unit, for all other organisms (plants,
animals, unicellular organisms).
F
Animals which behave ‘frugally’ with energy become particularly old, for example, crocodiles and tortoises.
Parrots and birds of prey are often held chained up. Thus they are not able to ‘experience life’ and so they
attain a high life span in captivity. Animals which save energy by hibernation or lethargy (e.g. bats or
hedgehogs) live much longer than those which are always active. The metabolic rate of mice can be reduced
by a very low consumption of food (hunger diet). They then may live twice as long as their well fed
comrades. Women become distinctly (about 10 per cent) older than men. If you examine the metabolic rates
of the two sexes you establish that the higher male metabolic rate roughly accounts for the lower male life
span. That means that they live life ‘energetically’ - more intensively, but not for as long.
G
It follows from the above that sparing use of energy reserves should tend to extend life. Extreme high
performance sports may lead to optimal cardiovascular performance, but they quite certainly do not prolong
life. Relaxation lowers metabolic rate, as does adequate sleep and in general an equable and balanced
personality. Each of us can develop his or her own ‘energy saving programme’ with a little self-observation,
critical self-control and, above all, logical consistency. Experience will show that to live in this way not only
increases the life span but is also very healthy. This final aspect should not be forgotten.
Questions 1-6
Reading Passage 3 has seven paragraphs, A-G.
Choose the correct heading for paragraphs B-G from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-x, in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
i The biological clock
ii Why dying is beneficial
iii The ageing process of men and women
iv Prolonging your life
v Limitations of life span
vi Modes of development of different species
vii A stable life span despite improvements
viii Energy consumption
ix Fundamental differences in ageing of objects and organisms
x Repair of genetic material

0. Paragraph A: …………v

1 Paragraph B

2 Paragraph C

3 Paragraph D

4 Paragraph E

5 Paragraph F

6 Paragraph G

Questions 7-10
Complete the notes below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 7-10 on your answer sheet.

• Objects age in accordance with principles of 7 and of 8

• Through mutations, organisms can 9 better to the environment

• 10 would pose a serious problem for the theory of evolutions

 SECTION E: WRITING

PART I: Finish each of the following sentences in such way that it means exactly the same as the
sentences printed before it.
1. Nothing will persuade me to sleep in that haunted house', she said
-> She flatly…………………………………………………………………..
2. I rarely sleep in the afternoon.
> I'm not in...........................................................
3. It would not have been possible to solve that puzzle, even for a genius.
-> That puzzle …………………………………………………………………..
4. We must continue our efforts whether there are problems or not.
-> Regardless…………………………………………………………………..
5. It seems that no-one predicted the correct result.
-> No one……………………………………………………………………….
6. I don't mind which make of car you choose.
-> It is ……………………………………………………………………….. (consequence)
-> It is ……………………………………………………………………..(concern)
-> It is ……………………………………………………………………..(none)
-> It ……………………………………………………………………….(concern)
7. You should always be grateful for what you are given.(HORSE)
> You should ……………………………………… the mouth.
8. He promised to look into my case personally. (ASSURANCE)
-> He ……………………………………………………. look into my case personally.
9. The prisoner was unrepentant about the suffering he had cause. (REMORSE)
-> The prisoner …………………………………………………….. the suffering he had cause.
10. We got no assistance when we needed help and advice (RESOURCES)
-> We …………………………………………… when we needed help and advice.
Part 2: Make a branching skema of a tree for this topic:
Some people say part-time jobs are useful for full-time students because

they not only earn money but also gain career experience. Do you agree or disagree?