PRACTICE TEST 1

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word whose underlined
part differs from the other three in pronunciation in each of the following questions.
Question 1: A. supply B. sensitive C. reserve D. universal
Question 2: A. teaching B. treatment C. weather D. repeat

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word that differs from the
other three in the position of stress in each of the following questions.
Question 3: A. recipe B. candidate C. instrument D. commitment
Question 4: A. preside B. pretend C. preface D. prefer

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word CLOSEST in
meaning to the underlined word in each of the following questions.
Question 5: A special exhibition of Indian art will be opened at the National Museum next
month.
A. painting B. programme C. music D. show
Question 6: Traffic began to flow normally again after the accident.
A. with the same speed B. in the usual or ordinary way
C. strangely and irregularly D. repeatedly in different modes

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) OPPOSITE in
meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.
Question 7: Deer are very agile animals.
A. nimble B. spry C. dexterous D. clumsy
Question 8: His boss has had enough of his impudence and doesn't want to hire him anymore.
A. respect B. rudeness C. obedience D. agreement

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that best
completes each of the following exchanges.
Question 9: Mary: “Thanks a lot for your help.”
John: “______.”
A. My happiness B. My excitement C. My delight D. My pleasure
Question 10: Tom: “When are we leaving for the concert?”
Kyle: “______.”
A. No problem B. Certainly C. That’s right D. Straight away

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of
the following questions.
Question 11: I’d rather you ______ to the English-speaking club with me this Sunday.
A. will come B. came C. come D. to come
Question 12: While Henry ______, a burglar broke into his apartment.
A. was feeling bored B. was cycling C. felt bored D. were sleeping
Question 13: In Spain has won the championship, ______ is not surprising.
A. that B. how C. which D. what
Question 14: Instead of staying around the house all day, you should be out there looking
______ a job.
A. for B. after C. into D. at
Question 15: The culprit appeared ______ than what the jury had expected.
 A. calmlier B. calmer C. more calm D. more calmly
Question 16: Parts of the mountain road have been washed ______ after the floods.
A. through B. off C. away D. out
Question 17: Parts of the country are suffering water ______ after the unusually dry summer.
A. shortage B. supply C. thirst D. hunger
Question 18: How long ago ______ to learn French?
A. have you started B. were you starting
C. would you start D. did you start
Question 19: I think Helen said that nobody is allowed to enter her office, ______?
A. didn’t she B. are they C. wasn’t I D. aren’t they
Question 20: Although the timetable states that the train ______ at 8 o’clock tomorrow, we
should arrive at the station 30 minutes earlier.
A. will leave B. leaves
C. is going to leave D. left
Question 21: Gloria had to make a _______ from her savings to pay tuition.
A. removal B. termination C. extraction D. withdrawal
Question 22: The newspapers announced the _______ of the concert season.
A. coming B. arrival C. appearance D. advent
Question 23.1: Of the two sister, Anna seems to be _______ singer.
A. the better B. better C. the best D. best
Question 24.1: _______ Chinese are known to have invented _______ gunpowder.
A. The/the B. The/Ø C. Ø/Ø D. Ø/the
Question 25.1: I was required to compile figures for a documentary in only a week, which was
a(n) _______ as I always hate finding things.
A. tall order B. high demand C. big deal D. hard case

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to
indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 23 to 27.
The popular image of student life is of young people with (23) ______ responsibilities
enjoying themselves and doing very little work. This is often not true. Many older people now
study at college or university, sometimes on a part-time basis while having a job and looking
after a family. These students are often (24) ______ motivated and work very hard. Younger
students are often thought to be lazy and careless about money, (25) ______ this situation is
changing. In Britain reduced government support for higher education means that students can
no longer rely on having their expenses paid for them. Formerly, students received a grant
towards their living expenses. Now most can only get a loan (26) ______ has to be paid back.
Since 1999 they have paid over £1 000 towards tuition (27) ______, and this amount will
increase up to a maximum of £3 000. In the US students already have to pay for tuition and
room and board.
Question 23: A. a few B. several C. few D. little
Question 24: A. absolutely B. mainly C. highly D. adequately
Question 25: A. but B. and C. however D. thus
Question 26: A. what B. who C. which D. this
Question 27: A. costs B. prices C. fees D. charges

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to
indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 28 to 35.
One of the factors contributing to the intense nature of twenty-first-century stress is our
continual exposure to media – particularly to an overabundance of news. If you feel stressed out
by the news, you are far from alone. Yet somehow many of us seem unable to prevent ourselves
from tuning in to an extreme degree.
The further back we go in human history, the longer news took to travel from place to
place, and the less news we had of distant people and lands altogether. The printing press
obviously changed all that, as did every subsequent development in transportation and
telecommunication.
When television came along, it proliferated like a population of rabbits. In 1950, there
were 100,000 television sets in North American homes; one year later there were more than a
million. Today, it’s not unusual for a home to have three or more television sets, each with cable
access to perhaps over a hundred channels. News is the subject of many of those channels, and
on several of them it runs 24 hours a day.
What’s more, after the traumatic events of September 11, 2001, live newscasts were
paired with perennial text crawls across the bottom of the screen – so that viewers could stay
abreast of every story all the time.
Needless to say, the news that is reported to us is not good news, but rather disturbing
images and sound bytes alluding to disaster (natural and man-made), upheaval, crime, scandal,
war, and the like. Compounding the problem is that when actual breaking news is scarce, most
broadcasts fill in with scare stories about things that possibly might threaten our health, safety,
finances, relationships, waistline, hairline, or very existence in the future. This variety of story
tends to treat with equal alarm a potentially lethal flu outbreak and the bogus claims of a
wrinkle cream that overpromises smooth skin.
Are humans meant to be able to process so much trauma – not to mention so much
overblown anticipation of potential trauma – at once? The human brain, remember, is
programmed to slip into alarm mode when danger looms. Danger looms for someone,
somewhere at every moment. Exposing ourselves to such input without respite and without
perspective cannot be anything other than a source of chronic stress.
Question 28: According to the passage, which of the following has contributed to the intense
nature of twenty-first-century stress?
A. The degree to which stress affects our life
B. Our inability to control ourselves
C. An overabundance of special news
D. Our continual exposure to the media
Question 29: In the past, we had less news of distant people and lands because ______.
A. printing, transportation, and telecommunications were not developed
B. means of communication and transportation were not yet invented
C. most people lived in distant towns and villages
D. the printing press changed the situation too slowly
Question 30: The pronoun “them” in paragraph 3 refers to ______.
A. TV channels B. TV news C. television sets D. cable access
Question 31: The word “traumatic” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. fascinating B. upsetting C. exciting D. boring
Question 32: According to the passage, when there is not enough actual breaking news,
broadcasts ________.
A. are full of dangerous diseases such as flu
B. send out live newscasts paired with text across the screen
C. are forced to publicise an alarming increase in crime
D. send out frightening stories about potential dangers
Question 33: As stated in the passage, a flu outbreak and the bogus claims of a wrinkle cream
tend to _______.
A. be scarce breaking news
B. involve natural and man-made disasters
C. be treated with equal alarm
D. be warmly welcomed by the public
Question 34: Which of the following is NOT true, according to the passage?
A. The only source of stress in our modern life is the media.
B. Many TV channels supply the public with breaking news.
C. Many people are under stress caused by the media.
D. The news that is reported to us is not good news.
Question 35: What is probably the best title for this passage?
A. Developments in Telecommunications
B. The Media – A Major Cause of Stress
C. More Modern Life – More Stress
D. Effective Ways to Beat Stress
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to
indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 36 to 42.
Experts in climatology and other scientists are becoming extremely concerned about the
changes to our climate which are taking place. Admittedly, climate changes have occurred on
our planet before. For example, there have been several ice ages or glacial periods. These
climatic changes, however, were different from the modern ones in that they occurred gradually
and, as far as we know, naturally. The changes currently being monitored are said to be the
result not of natural causes, but of human activity. Furthermore, the rate of change is becoming
alarmingly rapid.
The major problem is that the planet appears to be warming up. According to some
experts, this warming process, known as global warming, is occurring at a rate unprecedented in
the last 10,000 years. The implications for the planet are very serious. Rising global
temperatures could give rise to such ecological disasters as extremely high increases in the
incidence of flooding and of droughts. These in turn could have a harmful effect on agriculture.
It is thought that this unusual warming of the Earth has been caused by so-called
greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, being emitted into the atmosphere by car engines and
modern industrial processes, for example. Such gases not only add to the pollution of the
atmosphere, but also create a greenhouse effect, by which the heat of the sun is trapped. This
leads to the warming up of the planet. Politicians are also concerned about climate change and
there are now regular summits on the subject, attended by representatives from around 180 of
the world's industrialized countries. Of these summits, the most important took place in Kyoto
in Japan in 1997. There it was agreed that the most industrialized countries would try to reduce
the volume of greenhouse gas emissions and were given targets for this reduction of emissions.
It was also suggested that more forests should be planted to create so-called sinks to
absorb greenhouse gases. At least part of the problem of rapid climate change has been caused
by too drastic deforestation. Sadly, the targets are not being met. Even more sadly, global
warnings about climate changes are often still being regarded as scaremongering.
Question 36: According to the passage, in what way did the climate changes in the ice ages
differ from the modern ones?
A. They occurred naturally over a long period of time.
B. They were fully monitored by humans.
C. They were wholly the result of human activity.
D. They were partly intended.
Question 37: The word “alarmingly” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. disapprovingly B. worryingly C. surprisingly D. disappointingly
Question 38: According to the passage, agriculture could ______.
A. give rise to many ecological disasters
B. make the global warming more serious
C. be indirectly affected by the global temperature rises
D. be directly damaged by the rises in global temperature
Question 39: Greenhouse gases cause the warming up of the Earth because they ______.
A. are emitted by car engines B. trap heat from the sun
 C. do not add to atmosphere pollution D. are unusual gases
Question 40: According to the passage, 1997 witnessed ______.
A. the largest number of summits on the subject of climate change
B. the highest attendance by representatives from 180 industrialised countries
C. the most important summit on climate change taking place in Kyoto, Japan
D. widespread concern about climate change
Question 41: It can be inferred from the passage that the countries which are mainly
responsible for global warming are ______.
A. developed countries
B. the most industrialised countries
C. countries with the warmest climate
D. developing countries
Question 42: What is probably the writer’s attitude toward global warming?
A. Optimistic B. Neutral C. Positive D. Pessimistic

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that best
combines each pair of sentences in the following questions.
Question 43: The latest public appearance made by the president was two weeks ago.
A. The president has never appeared in public again for two weeks.
B. The last time the president was seen in the public dated back to two weeks ago.
C. The public has seen the president for the last two weeks.
D. Two weeks ago was the last time the president was seen publicly.
Question 44: “Trust me! Do not invest all your money in one company,” said my friend.
A. My friend ordered me to invest all my money in one company.
B. My friend persuaded me not to invest all my money in one company.
C. My friend offered to help me to invest all my money in one company.
D. My friend encouraged me to invest all my money in one company.
Question 45: It is possible that the recent bushfire killed eight people and their dogs.
A. The recent bushfire must have killed eight people and their dogs.
B. The recent bushfire should have killed eight people and their dogs.
C. The recent bushfire may have killed eight people and their dogs.
D. The recent bushfire has, in all probability, killed eight people and their dogs.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the underlined part that needs
correction in each of the following questions.
Question 46: John is uncertain whether his automobile could be more fuel-efficient than my.
A. is B. whether C. fuel-efficient D. my
Question 47: A dolphin can communicate with others by making distinguished sounds.
A. with B. others C. making D. distinguished
Question 48: The children wish that they have more free time to play football.
A. children B. wish C. have D. to play

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that is closest in
meaning to each of the following questions.
Question 49: They drove fifteen miles off the main road. Also, they had nothing to eat for the
day.
A. Not only did they drive fifteen miles off the main road, they also had nothing to eat for
the day.
B. Driving fifteen miles off the main road, they eventually had something to eat for the
day.
C. They neither drove fifteen miles off the main road nor had anything to eat for the day.
D. They drove fifteen miles off the main road until they had something to eat for the day.
Question 50: Emma went to bed late last night. Today, she falls asleep in the third period.
 A. Suppose that Emma had gone to bed late last night, today, she would fall asleep in the
third period.
B. If Emma had gone to bed earlier last night, today, she would not have fallen asleep in
the third period.
C. Emma would not fall asleep in the third period today if she had gone to bed early last
night.
D. Today, were Emma not to fall asleep in the third period, she would not have gone to
bed late last night.
_____ THE END _____

KEY
1. C 2. C 3. D 4. C 5. D 6. B 7. D 8. A 9. D 10. D
11. B 12. B 13. C 14. A 15. B 16. C 17. A 18. D 19. A 20. B
21. D 22. D 23. C 24. C 25. A 26. C 27. C 28. D 29. A 30. A
31. B 32. D 33. C 34. A 35. B 36. A 37. B 38. C 39. B 40. C
41. B 42. D 43. A 44. B 45. C 46. D 47. D 48. C 49. A 50. C
23.1. A
24.1. B
25.1. A