PHONETICS (2.

0 PTS)
I. Choose the word whose underlined part is pronounced differently from that of the others by circling
A, B, C or D. (1.0 pt)
1. A. hombre B. echo C. heirloom D. homage
2. A. inadequate B. navigate C. necessitate D. debate
3. A. copious B. obese C. drone D. clamorous
4. A. buffet B. ballet C. draught D. hustle
5. A. Chile B. recipe C. catastrophe D. kerosene
II. Choose the word whose main stress pattern is different from that of the others by circling A, B,
C or D. (1.0 pt)
1. A. interchange B. subsection C. parliament D. obstinacy
2. A. argumentative B. psychological C. contributory D. hypersensitive
3. A. preferable B. speculative C. undercurrent D. magnificent
4. A. European B. pneumonia C. Aborigine D. ingenuity
5. A. morale B. preface C. contour D. hindsight
VOCABULARY - GRAMMAR (4.0 PTS)
I. Circle the best option A, B, C or D to complete the following sentences. (1.5 pts)
1. The optician says you have to wear glasses, like it or ______ it.
A. jump B. loathe C. dislike D. lump
2. Three of their players were out injured, but there’s still no excuse for such a _______ performance.
A. walking B. strolling C. pedestrian D. striding
3. Her latest book is readable enough, but it can't hold a candle to her earlier work.
A. hold B. make C. lit D. blow
4. When Eric’s mother could no longer stand his _______ , she bought him the toy car.
A. crowing B. squirreling C. wolfing D. badgering
5. Yahoo! has finally jumped the ______, hasn’t it? It is no longer popular.
A. salmon B. shark C. herring D. dolphin
6. I like my new job; the only fly in the ________ is the fact that I have to work every other weekend.
A. broth B. porridge C. soup D. ointment
7. The special effects were quite good, but that’s more than could be _______ for the acting.
A. mentioned B. spoken C. said D. told
8. We do not have a secretary ________, but we do have a student who comes in to do a bit of filing.
A. as such B. the least bit C. whatsoever D. little more
9. The road is packed with vehicles! That’s _______ at rush hour.
A. a sore point B. a hue and cry C. the live wire D. par for the course
10. Owning and living in a freestanding house is still a goal of young adults, ______ earlier generations.
A. as did B. as it was of C. like that of D. so have
11. I wondered whether there might be some truth in the ________ that one’s school days are the
happiest of one’s life.
A. old chestnut B. old soak C. old wives’ tale D. old money
12. ________, the diners settled the bill and left the restaurant.
A. Having hunger satisfied B. Their hunger satisfied
C. Hunger been satisfied D. Satisfying their hunger
13. The government intends to introduce a new bill on taxation, _________.
A. whose provisions will be the work of experts on both sides of the House will be study
B. of which the study of its provisions will be the work of experts on both sides of the House
C. the work of experts on both sides of the House will be the study of its provisions
D. the study of whose provisions will be the work of experts on both sides of the House
14. We all decreed that ________.
A. there be an end to their quarrel B. their quarrel should put an end to
C. they ended their quarrel then D. their quarrel be coming to an end
15. ________ good reviews, the producers would commission a 10-part series.
A. Were the pilot show to get B. If the pilot show will get
C. Unless the pilot show got D. In case the pilot show would get
II. Circle the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the word or phrase CLOSEST in meaning to the
underlined word or phrase in each of the following questions. (0.2 pts)
1. From mass production clothing to managing factory lines, he put his nose to the grindstone and that has
brought him where he is today.
A. played different roles B. invested a lot of money C. gave up D. worked hard
2. We don’t want to continue our business any longer. All the goods will go for a song so that we can
close at the end of this month.
A. be given away B. be sold cheaply C. be thrown away D. be repaired
III. Circle the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the word or phrase OPPOSITE in meaning to the
underlined word or phrase in each of the following questions. (0.2 pts)
1. Her Spanish has come on in leaps and bounds this year.
A. insignificantly B. apparently C. slowly D. immediately
2. Most fire investigations are pretty cut and dried, but this one has left more questions than answers.
A. minor B. slow C. confusing D. ineffective
IV. Give the correct form of the words in brackets to complete the passage. (0.8 pts)
Holidays at home are usually a last (1) ___recourse_____ (COURSE); when all other options have been
ruled out for one reason or another, but, in these tough times when money is perhaps tighter than ever
before, the grim reality that the stay-at-home vacation may be the only realistic (2)
___alternative_____________ (ALTER) is one that more and more of us are faced with.
However, this does not have to mean a miserable time in the same old (3)
_______surroundings_________ (ROUND) you are in for the other 355-odd days of the year. For (4)
_______holidaymakers_________ (HOLIDAY) willing to think outside the box a little, there are, in
fact, a (5) ____multitude____________ (MULTIPLE) of possibilities that should be explored.
Ever thought about a house swap, for example? The house swap is the ultimate holiday (6)
________recession________ (RECEDE) buster. And there are now websites on which (7)
_______likeminded_________ (MIND) individuals, couples and families looking to get a flavour of the
life lived in someone else's home can hook up and start house swapping.
Okay, so it's not the two weeks in Gran Canaria you might have hoped for, but staying in someone else's
(8) ____residence____________ (RESIDE) for a few days at least, whether it be ten, fifty or one
hundred miles away, sure beats slouching around at home on your own sofa.
V. Complete each sentence using a verb from column A in the correct form and a particle from
column B. You use each verb and particle once ONLY. (0.8 pts)

A B
trail bore brim bundle up into for out
square thrash pipe vouch off with away down

1. If we have an important decision to make, we will ___________ it __________ in a meeting.

2. Her eyes ____________________________ tears when she heard that he was alive.
3. I’ve got my plane tickets and hotel ____________________________.
4. His voice ____________________________ as he drifted into sleep.
5. Patricia has checked the reports and can ___________________________ the accuracy of
the information.
6. I’d rather you two ____________________________. I'm trying to read!
7. Her eyes ____________________________ me, which made me feel nervous.
8. The kids were ____________________________ in coats and scarves.
VI. Think of ONE word which can be used appropriately in all THREE sentences. (0.5 pts)
1. _____________
a. The village where I live is situated at the ________ of the River Wye.
b. Clearly feeling insulted, Helen told Sheila to watch her ________.
c. We could just make out a gleam of light at the ________ of the tunnel.
2. _____________
a. This book is packed with information, but it is a little ________.
b. The dish was quite tasty but rather ________, and would have benefitted from some sort of sauce.
c. The weather forecast says it will be ________ today with occasional showers.
3. ____________
a. In the ________ of the meeting, it became clear that Mr. Jennings had misread the situation.
b. It is not clear why the ship changed ________ before reaching its original destination.
c. Because of the recession, we’re on ________ for record unemployment levels.
4. _____________
a. The easiest wat to get from Glasglow to Ayr is by train, but there is also a bus ________.
b. Most of his ________ in the Ministry of Technology has been as an administrative officer.
c. Restaurant prices include VAT and ________, but most people leave tips for the waiters anyway.
5. _____________
a. Tina had a sarcastic _______ on her face.
b. The ________ of negative emotions can help one to come to terms with them.
c. Jean used an unusual ________ which I hadn’t heard before.
READING (6.0 PTS)
I. Read and choose the best option by circling A, B, C or D to complete the passage. (2.0 pts)
A gel that helps brains recover from (1)______ injuries has been developed by scientists at the Clemson
University in South Carolina. The gel, which is (2)______ in liquid form at the site where the injury was
sustained, (3)______ stem cell growth in the affected area. In terms of circumstances in which it might
be applied, the gel has the potential to treat a wide range of head injuries, including those arising from car
accidents, falls and gunshot wounds.
Serious brain injuries are (4)______ difficult to recover from on account of the fact that the affected
tissue can swell up considerably, which causes additional (5)______ damage to the surrounding cells.
Existing treatments do little more than attempt to limit secondary damage and are relatively
(6)______ ,certainly when it comes to repairing the damaged cells, so the discovery of a gel which
stimulates cell repair is being as revolutionary.
(7)______ the wave of excitement now running through medical circles, it is important to note that
results so far are solely on observations of the effects of the gel on laboratory rats. The development of
the treatment is very much still in its (8)______ stages and human testing is expected to be some three
years or more away yet.

1. A. traumatic B. enigmatic C. sporadic D. aquatic

2. A. implanted B. instilled C. injected D. imposed
3. A. motivates B. vitalises C. stimulates D. mobilises
4. A. notionally B. incidentally C. notoriously D. increasingly
5. A. corresponding B. collateral C. coincident D. dependent
6. A. integrated B. ineffective C. incompetent D. unproductive
7. A. Though B. Despite C. Thus D. Besides
8. A. heralded B. advertised C. promised D. ushered
9. A. based B. rested C. discovered D. stationed
10. A. penultimate B. preliminary C. concluding D. fundamental
II. Choose which of the paragraphs A - G that fits into the numbered gaps in the following magazine
article. There is one extra paragraph, which does not fit in any of the gaps. (1.2 pts)
Here's an important question. What's calming, therapeutic, healthier than drugs, and could well prolong
your life? Answer: singing in a choir.
1. __________________
In fairness, there was a specific angle to this study, which compared the collective experience of choral
singing to that of taking part in team sports. Choirs apparently win hands down, because there's 'a
stronger sense of being part of a meaningful group', related to 'the synchronicity of moving and breathing
with other people’. And as someone who since childhood has used singing as a refuge from the sports
field, I take no issue with that.
2. __________________
I know there are occasional initiatives. From time to time I get invited as a music critic to the launch of
some scheme or other to encourage more collective singing among school-age children. There are smiles
and brave words. Then, six months later, everything goes quiet-until the next launch of the next initiative.
3. __________________
I know a woman who's been trying hard to organize a performance of Benjamin Britten's Noye's Fludde -
perhaps the greatest work ever devised for young children to sing together-as a tribute to the composer's
centenary this year. But has she found her local schools responsive? Sadly not: it was all too much
trouble.
4. __________________
We sang Herbert Howells's Like as the Hart. And whatever it did or didn't do for my cardiovascular
system, my emotional health, or any of the other things that turn up in research papers, it was the most
significant experience of my childhood. It opened a world to which 11-year-olds from unfashionable
parts of east London don't generally get access. It was magical, transcendent. It spoke possibilities.
5. __________________
The other weekend I was in Suffolk, celebrating Britten, where in fact there were a lot of children
privileged enough to be pulled into the centenary events. There was a great Noye's Fludde in Lowestoft.
And on the actual birthday countless hordes of infant voices piled into Snape Maltings to sing Britten's
school songs, Friday Afternoons, part of a project that involved 100,000 others, internationally, doing
likewise.
6. __________________
Just think: if we could finally get Britain's children singing, it would filter upwards. And we wouldn't
need university researchers. We'd just do it, and be all the better for it.
Missing paragraphs
A. It was an extraordinary experience that many of those children will carry with them all their lives,
like my experience all those years ago. There's a plan for it to be repeated every year on Britten's
birthday. But that will only happen if there are resources and sustained commitment (for a change).
B. In fact, I have no argument with any of these piles of research - bring them on, the more the better -
because what they have to say is true. The only thing I find annoying is that such an endlessly repeated
truth results in relatively little action from the kind of people who could put it to good use.
C. One of my enduring life regrets is that I never got the chance to take part in such an event as a child. I
guess I went to schools where it was also too much trouble. But I did, just once, aged 11.get the chance to
go with a choir and sing at Chelmsford Cathedral.
D. But being there was even better. And as I was sitting near the choir-who were magnificent-I saw the
faces of the boys and thought how fabulously privileged they were to have this opportunity given to
them.
E. And that, for me, is what a choir can offer. All the physical and mental pluses are a happy bonus.
But the joy and thrill of access to that world of music is what counts.
F. It's not a new discovery: there are endless dissertations on the subject. libraries of research, and
celebrity endorsements. But people have short memories. So every time another academic paper is
published, it gets into the news-which was what happened this week when Oxford Brookes University
came up with the latest 'singing is good for you' revelation.
G. The hard fact is that most state schools don't bother much with singing. unless someone in the
hierarchies of government steps in to make it worth their while. They say they don't have the resources
or the time. And even when a worthwhile singing project drops into their lap, they turn it down.
III. The following reading passage has six paragraphs A-F. Read it carefully and do the exercises
below. (2.8 pts)
A.
Crime-fighting technology is getting more sophisticated and rightly so. The police need to be equipped
for the 21st century. In Britain we've already got the world's biggest DNA database. By next year the
state will have access to the genetic data of 25m people: one British-based person in 14. Hundreds of
thousands of those on the database will never have been charged with a crime.
B.
Britain is also reported to have more than £4 million CCTV (closed circuit television) cameras. There is
a continuing debate about the effectiveness of CCTV. Some evidence suggests that it is helpful in
reducing shoplifting and car crime. It has also been used to successfully identify terrorists and murderers.
However, many claim that better lighting is just as effective to prevent crime and that cameras could
displace crime. An internal police report said that only one crime was solved for every 1,000 cameras in
London in 2007.In short, there is conflicting evidence about the effectiveness of cameras, so it is likely
that the debate will continue.
C.
Professor Mike Press, who has spent the past decade studying how design can contribute to crime
reduction, said that, in order for CCTV to have any effect, it must be used in a targeted way. For
example, a scheme in Manchester records every licence plate at the entrance of a shopping complex and
alerts police when one is found to belong to an untaxed or stolen car. This is an effective example of
monitoring, he said. Most schemes that simply record city centres continually- often not being watched -
do not produce results. CCTV can also have the opposite effect of that intended, by giving citizens a
false sense of security and encouraging them to be careless with property and personal safety. Professor
Press said: 'All the evidence suggests that CCTV alone makes no positive impact on crime reduction and
prevention at all. The weight of evidence would suggest the investment is more or less a waste of money
unless you have lots of other things in place.' He believes that much of the increase is driven by the
marketing efforts of security companies who promote the crime-reducing benefits of their products. He
described it as a 'lazy approach to crime prevention' and said that authorities should instead be focusing
on how to alter the environment to reduce crime.
D.
But in reality, this is not what is happening. Instead, police are considering using more technology. Police
forces have recently begun experimenting with cameras in their helmets. The footage will be stored on
police computers, along with the footage from thousands of CCTV cameras and millions of pictures from
numberplate recognition cameras used increasingly to check up on motorists.
E.
And now another type of technology is being introduced. It's called the Microdrone and it's a toy-sized
remote-control craft that hovers above streets or crowds to film what's going on beneath. The Microdrone
has already been used to monitor rock festivals, but its supplier has also been in discussions to supply it
to the Metropolitan Police, and Soca, the Serious Organised Crime Agency. The drones are small enough
to be unnoticed by people on the ground when they are flying at 350ft. They contain high-resolution
video surveillance equipment and an infrared night vision capability, so even in darkness they give their
operators a bird's-eye view of locations while remaining virtually undetectable.
F.
The worrying thing is, who will get access to this technology? Merseyside police are already employing
two of the devices as part of a pilot scheme to watch football crowds and city parks looking for antisocial
behaviour. It is not just about crime detection: West Midlands fire brigade is about to lease a drone, for
example, to get a better view of fire and flood scenes and aid rescue attempts; the Environment Agency is
considering their use for monitoring of illegal fly tipping and oil spills. The company that makes the
drone says it has no plans to license the equipment to individuals or private companies, which hopefully
will prevent private security firms from getting their hands on them. But what about local authorities? In
theory, this technology could be used against motorists. And where will the surveillance society end?
Already there are plans to introduce 'smart water' containing a unique DNA code identifier that when
sprayed on a suspect will cling to their clothes and skin and allow officers to identify them later. As long
as high-tech tools are being used in the fight against crime and terrorism, fine. But if it's another weapon
to be used to invade our privacy then we don't want it.
For questions 1 to 6, choose the most suitable headings for paragraphs A-F from the list of headings
below. Write the appropriate numbers (i-x) in spaces 1-6. There are more headings than paragraphs,
so you will not use them all.
List of Headings Answer
i. The spy in the sky 1. Paragraph A _____
ii. The spread of technology 2. Paragraph B _____
iii. The limitations of cameras 3. Paragraph C _____
iv. The cost of cameras 4. Paragraph D _____
v. Robots solving serious crimes 5. Paragraph E _____
vi. Lack of conclusive evidence 6. Paragraph F _____
vii. Cars and cameras
viii. Advantages and disadvantages
ix. A natural progression
x. A feeling of safety
For questions 7-9, choose the appropriate letters A-D to finish the sentences.
7. Britain has already got ______________
A. four million CCTV cameras.
B. more data about DNA than any other country.
C. the most sophisticated crime-fighting technology.
D. access to the genetic data of one in fourteen people living in Britain.
8. Professor Press ______________
A. works at the University of Manchester.
B. studies car-related crime.
C. is concerned about the negative impact of the use of CCTV.
D. feels that some marketing departments lie about the crime-reducing benefits of CCTV.
9. The Microdrone is ______________
A. a type of toy in the shape of a plane.
B. being used by the Metropolitan Police.
C. being used by the government.
D. able to film in the dark.
For questions 10&11, answer the following questions, using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS
from the passage. Write your answer in the space given.
10. Give examples of 2 events where technology is used to watch crowds.
_________________________
11. According to the passage, who do we not want to use the Microdrone?
_________________________
For questions 12-14, write:
YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer.
NO if the statement contradicts what the writer thinks.
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to know what the writer's point of view is.
12. The British authorities use too much technology to monitor their citizens. ___________
13. Microdrone is currently not used to check drivers. ___________
14. Technology should not be used to check on people's private affairs. ___________
WRITING (5.0 PTS)
I. Finish the second sentence in such a way that is similar to the original one, using the given words.
(1.0 pt)
1. Immediately after winning the race, Sandy began training for the next one.
 No sooner ___had Sandy won the race than she began training for the next
one__________________________________________________________.
2. It’s nobody’s fault that the meeting was cancelled.
 Nobody is __to blame for the meeting’s
cancellation___________________________________________________________.
3. He showed his dissatisfaction with the decision we had made.
 He let it __be known that he was dissatisfied with the decision we had
made_____________________________________________________________.
4. I’m sure he missed the night train.
 He can’t have caught the night
train______________________________________________________________.
5. We really think our girl will become a successful businesswoman.
 We have high __hopes for our girl’s becoming a successful
businesswoman___________________________________________________________.
II. Rewrite the following sentences without changing their meaning using the words in the brackets.
Do not change the words given. (1.0 pt)
1. The negotiator achieved the impossible when he got both sides to meet for talks. (squared)
 The negotiator _squared the circle by________________________________________ getting both
sides to meet for talks.
2. Our boss gets very annoyed when we criticize him. (bull)
 Criticism is like ____a red rag to a bull
to_________________________________________________________ our boss.
3. Tom is forever teasing Daisy for having spoonerism. (mickey)
 On account of____Daisy’s spoonerism, Tom is forever taking the mickey out
of_______________________________________________________________ her.
4. The boys fixed all their attention on what the teacher was saying in order not to miss any small
details. (zeroed)
The boys __zeroed in on what the teacher was
saying__________________________________________ in order not to miss any small details.
5. He causes so much trouble that we can do nothing besides from leaving him to worry and suffer the
unpleasant effect of his own actions. (juice)
 As he causes so much trouble, there’s ____nothing we can do besides from letting him stew in his own
juice_______________________________________________.