PRACTICE TEST 29 – 12E

SECTION A: LISTENING (50 points)

Part 1. Complete the notes below. Write ONE WORD for each answer. Write your
answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided. (10 points) ( HNAM24)
Hand knitting
Interest in knitting
Knitting has a long history around the world.
A (1) ___________ ago, knitting was expected to disappear.
The number of knitting classes is now increasing.
People are buying more (2) ___________ for knitting nowadays.
Benefits of knitting
gives support in times of (3) ___________ difficulty
requires only basic skills and little money to start
reduces stress in a busy life
Early knitting
Findings show early knitted items to be round in shape.
The first needles were made of natural materials such as wood and (4) ___________.
Early yarns felt (5) ___________ to touch.
Wool became the most popular yarn for spinning.

Part 2. You will hear an interview in which two journalism students, called
Matthew and Tracy, are talking about fact and opinion in the news. Decide the
following statements are True (T) or False (F). Write your answers in the
corresponding numbered boxes provided. (10 points)
6. Matthew believes telling fact from opinion is hard because people may be unfamiliar with
the background to a news story.
7. Matthew and Tracy were both impressed by an article they read about transport.
8. Matthew feels worried about writing factual articles in case he misleads readers.
9. Tracy point out that the public prefer video to photos when reporting news
10. Matthew’s style of writing when expressing his opinion is inspired by a contemporary
novelist.

Part 3. You will hear an interview in which two entrepreneurs, called Charles and
Betty, are talking about their experience of setting up a business when they
were young. Choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which fits best according to what
you hear. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
(10pts)
16. What does Charles say about the failure of his first company?
A. He learnt some valuable lessons from the experience.
B. He was glad this happened when he was young.
C. It could have been avoided if he had acted earlier.
D. It resulted from taking poor advice.
17. Betty and Charles both say that the key to being a successful young entrepreneur is
___________.
A. to be a creative thinker.
B. to have clear long-term aims.
C. to have a positive attitude to risk.
D. to be willing to dedicate enough time to business.
18. In the first year of her business, what did Betty find most difficult?
A. raising money B. hiring employees
C. getting enough sales D. dealing with the paperwork
19. How did Betty feel after she won a Young Businessperson of the Year award?
A. curious to find out why her business had been selected
B. determined to live up to the standard of the other contenders
C. uncertain about the attention her winning attracted
D. inspired to expand her business
20 . According to Charles, technology has made it easier to become an entrepreneur
because ___________.
A. websites can reach potential customers.
B. networking can be done on the internet.
C. video conferencing makes meetings effective.
D. online training is outstanding.

Part 4. You will listen to a person present his idea about the best way to deal with
traffic congestion. For questions 16-25, complete the summary by writing NO
MORE THAN THREE WORDS in each gap. Write your answers in the corresponding
numbered boxes provided. (20 points)
The primary issue isn't the vehicles but rather human drivers' coordination problems due to
(16) ___________ and (17) ___________. Even synchronizing everyone to press the pedal
simultaneously is difficult, leading to limited throughput at intersections. This lack of
coordination results in (18) ___________.
The author comes to conclusion that (19) ___________ is the best solution to city traffic jams.
He exemplifies with the case of a chicken crossing a one-lane highway triggers a chain
reaction of braking, creating (20) ___________ even after the chicken has moved on.
A single car slowing down initiates a perpetual traffic loop (21) ___________. Quick lane
changes with closely following cars can create enduring traffic snakes (22) ___________.
Accidents or traffic snakes are more likely to happen due to (23) ___________.
The ability to keep proper distance and (24) ___________ of self-driving cars can mitigate the
risk of traffic congestion at intersections.
A traffic light, supposed to be a rudimentary tool for drivers on one road to communicate,
operates (25) ___________.

SECTION B: LEXICO- GRAMMAR (40 points)

Part 1. For questions 26-55, choose the best option A, B, C, or D to complete the
following sentences and write your answers in the corresponding numbered
boxes provided. (30 points)
26. These stones have been here since time ______.
A. immemorial B. immemorable C. immortal D. innumerable
27. Trying to find her way home through the woods in the dead of night, Sarah lost her ______
when the clouds obscured the stars overhead.
A. bearings B. rag C. heart D. marbles
28. In fact the whole wedding was a ______ affair - no dancing, just people standing around in
groups chatting politely.
A. basic B. sober C. plain D. gaudy
29. The mobilephone company planned to publicly ______ its latest technology to upgrade its
already strong operating system.
A. underwrite B. undervalue C. undress D.
unveil
30. James didn’t take ______ to your suggestion that she was mean with money.
A. agreeably B. cheerfully C. kindly D.
pleasantly
31. The scientists ______ the festival of Ramadan, but they were too busy with their research
in the laboratory.
A. would have liked to commemorate B. would have loved to have observed
C. would prefer to have organised D. would sooner have celebrated
32. The manager hesitated to assign the job to the newcomer as he was ______.
A. wet behind the ears B. feeling your ears burning
C. ringing in your ears D. keeping your ears open
33. Legend ______ that Robin Hood fired an arrow from his dead-bed and was burried where
the arrow handed.
A. tells it B. says it C. makes it D. has it
34. Mr.Gump supposes, ______, that he will retire at 60.
A. like most people did B. as most of people
C. like most people do D. as do most people
35. The robbers packed the money into a suitcase and ______ in a van that waited for them in
the street.
A. put through B. made off C. roled over D. carried
away
36. I overslept this morning and caught the last bus to school by ______.
A. the hair of my head B. the skin of my teeth
C. the nail of my finger D. the skin of my heels
37. ______ the public concern about the local environment, this new road scheme will have to
be abandoned.
A. In view of B. In the event of C. As regards D. However
much
38. I don’t believe there’s a ______ of evidence that could be held against him.
A. drop B. grain C. shred D. strain
39. I feel ______ to inform the committee that a number of members are unhappy with the
decision.
A. my duty B. this my duty C. it my duty D. that my
duty
40. What I hate about Alcie is that she’s always trying to ______ teachers for favors.
A. crying out for B. making up for C. pinning down to D. sucking up to
41. The car wheels ______ as they curved and bounced over the rough broken ground.
A. screenched B. squeaked C. squished D. sputtered
42. Mary is a ______ liar. She was even arrested for lying to a police officer.
A. physical B. congenital C. naïve D. abnormal
43. In your place, I ______ to others for help. There’s no way of getting the project finished
yourself.
A. would turn B. would have turned C. will turn D. must
have turned
44. There are no hills around and the area is as flat as a ______.
A. stick B. coin C. pancake D. feather
45. He won’t pay 80 pounds for the coat; it is not worth ______.
A. all that much B. that all much C. much that all D. that much all
46. His public announcement of the secret plans was dealt a sheer ______ of confidence and
was heavily criticized by the other members of the council.
A. damage B. breach C. crash D. fracture
47. The last candidate for the managerial position is a pretty unknown ________ .
A. quality B. quantity C. quandary D. qualification
48. The couple tied the knot two months after they met – it was indubitably a ________
romance.
A. typhoon B. hurricane C. whirlwind D. cyclone
49. I don’t expect the entry test this year will be more demanding, but, ________, I don’t think
it will be simpler either.
A. over and above B. on the side
C. by the same token D. for good measure
50. The new superconductors look set to ________ a useful niche for themselves in the world’s
electrical industries.
A. etch B. incise C. carve D. lacerate
51. The Oscar winning actress simply ______ charm and professionalism in her acceptable
speech.
A. exuded B. excluded C. expunged D. extricated
52. The computer has changed the world ______.
A. irreplaceably B. irrevocably C. irredeemably D. irreparably
53. The entire staff was thrown off ______ when the news of the takeover was announced.
A. composure B. disarray C. stability D. balance
54. He’s so lazy! We all have to work harder because he’s always ______ his duties.
A. evading B. shirking C. ducking D. dodging
55. I’m hoping that this work experience will stand me in ______ in my future career.
A. good grounding B. good stead C. fine precedent D. stable
footing

Part 2. For questions 56-65, fill each gap with the correct form of the words in
brackets. Write your answer in the boxes provided. (10 points)
56. Her story about being chased away from school by wolves seems pretty ___________.
(FAR)
57. She complained ___________ about his rudeness. (CEASE)
58. The rumors are completely ___________ and I would urge everyone not to believe them.
(SUBSTANCE)
59. The sprawling factory compound, all grey dormitories and ___________ warehouses,
blends seamlessly into the outskirts of the Shenzjen megalopolis. (WEATHER)
60. You can ask a ___________ for advice on what kind of food you should eat to keep you
healthy. (DIET)
61. Everyone marveled at his ___________ idea of organizing more field trips for students.
(OBJECT)
62. It was just ___________ that I met my high school friend on my second day visiting Paris.
(HAPPEN)
63. People are increasingly becoming ___________ to violence on television. (SENSE)
64. By pausing for a moment or two before speaking, you will simply be ___________ a
nervous tendency to rush headlong into everything. (ACT)
65. In my opinon, this book is just ___________ rubbish. (INTELLECT)

SECTION C: READING (60 points)

Part 1. For questions 66-75, read the following passage and decide which option
(A, B, C, or D) best fits each gap. Write your answers in corresponding numbered
boxes. (15 points)
Sleeping disorders like insomnia can (66) ___________ to be a worrying question for many of
us. Almost anyone can easily conjure (67) ___________ at least one sleepless night of tossing
and turning in bed awaiting the bliss of a deep dream. Most probably, a third of us undergo
the distressing experience at least once a week.
Even though it is possible for people to (68) ___________ without any sleep at all for a period
of time, such occurrences are rather few and far between and there is no evidence to (69)
___________ this assumption. What is sure, however, is the fact that we do need some sleep
to regenerate our strength and to (70) ___________ the brain to its proper activity. No
wonder, then, that the tiredness and fatigue that appear after a sleepless night (71)
___________ many of us to go for chemical support in the form of sleep (72) ___________
tablets or powders.
However long the problem of sleeplessness has afflicted many individuals, very little has
been detected in the question of its original causes. We are conscious that it usually (73)
___________ those who are exposed to a great deal of stress, anxiety or depression. It may
also be (74) ___________ by overworking or unfavorable surroundings with scarcity of fresh
air.
Sleeping pills may provide some relief as an alternative in this desperate situation. Yet, they
do little to combat the ailment in full. Consequently, our hopes should be placed on the
medical authorities to (75) ___________ the root cause insomnia before we take to being
nocturnals leading our noisy lives in the dead of night.
66. A. present B. entail C. realize D. prove
67. A. up B. about C. off D. out
68. A. operate B. progress C. function D.
perform
69. A. proclaim B. endure C. invalidate D.
substantiate
70. A. recuperate B. restore C. revive D. revamp
71. A. exert B. seduce C. reinforce D. compel
72. A. inducing B. instigating C. amending D.
provoking
73. A. betrays B. bemoans C. besets D.
bestows
74. A. engendered B. applied C. instigated D.
evolved
75. A. release B. determine C. emerge D.
confess

Part 2. For questions 76-85, fill each of the following numbered blanks with ONE
suitable word and write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes. (15
points)
Fake Rolex Watches
Rolex is one of the most (76) ___________ out brand names in the timepiece industry. (77)
___________ from the design and movement of a Rolex to its price screams quality. Thanks to
the outrageous prestige of the Rolex brand, Rolex watchers are (78) ___________ the world’s
most copied luxury items. In recent years, Rolex forgeries have become so good that the
(79) ___________ of the best are now virtually identical to the real thing.
It (80) ___________ without saying that thrift motivates informed fake Rolex purchases. Most
people simply don’t have the money to purchase the genuine article. But what about those
who are unwittingly duped (81) ___________ buying a fake Rolex? How can they avoid being
scrammed?
There is only one way to (82) ___________ a high-quality Rolex knock-off from the real deal
and that is to get an expert to open (83) ___________ the watch. At this point, most experts,
most of the time, can spot a fake by looking at the watch’s movement. But not always.
Sometimes, even experts can have a hard time distinghuishing fake and genuine Rolexes.
Thus, there really is only one fail-safe way for (84) ___________ Rolex owners to avoid being
inadvertently caught (85) ___________: purchase their watch from a reputable Rolex dealer.

Part 3. For questions 86-95, read the following passage and circle the best answer
to each of the following questions. Write your answers in corresponding
numbered boxes provided. (15 points)
MUSICAL TALENT
Among all the abilities with which an individual may be endowed, musical talent appears
earliest in life. Very young children can exhibit musical precocity for different reasons.
Some develop exceptional skill as a result of a well-designed instructional regime, such as
the Suzuki method for the violin. Some have the good fortune to be born into a musical
family in a household filled with music. In a number of interesting cases, musical talent is
part of an otherwise disabling condition such as autism or mental retardation. A musically
gifted child talent; however, the extent to which the talent is expressed publicly
will depend upon the envirionment in which the child lives.
Musically gifted children master at an early age the principal elements of music, including
pitch and rhythm. Pitch – or melody – is more central in certain cultures, for example, in
Eastern societies that make use of tiny quarter – tone intervals, sounds produced at
certain-auditory frequencies and grouped according to a prescribed system, is emphasized
in sub — Saharan Africa, where the rhythmic ratios can be very complex.
All children have some aptitude for making music. During infancy, normal children sing as
well as babble, and they can produce individual sounds and sound patterns. Infants as
young as two months can match their mother’s songs in pitch, loudness, and melodic
shape, and infants at months can match rhythmic structure as well. Infants are especially
predisposed to acquire these core aspects of music, and they can also engage in sound
play that clearly exhibits creativity.
Individual differences begin to emerge in young children as they learn to sing. Some children
can match large segments of a song by the age of two or three. Many others can only
approximate pitch at this age and may still have difficulty in producing accurate melodies
by the age of five or six. However, by the time they reach school age, most children in any
culture have a schema of what a song should be like and can produce a reasonably
accurate imitation of the songs commonly heard in their environment.
The early appearance of superior musical ability in some children provides evidence that
musical talent may be a separate and unique form of intelligence. There are numerous
tales of young artists who have a remarkable “ear” or extraodinary memory for music and
natural understanding of musical structure. In many of these cases, the child is average in
every other way but displays an exceptional ability in music. Even the most gifted child,
however, takes about ten years to achieve the levels of performance or composition that
would constitute mastery of the musical sphere.
Every generation in music history has had its famous prodigies – individuals with exceptional
musical powers that emerge at a young age. In the 18th century, Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart began composing and performing at the age of six. As a child, Mozart could play the
piano like an adult. He had perfect pitch, and at age nine he was also a master of the art of
modulation – transitions from one key to another – which became one of the hallmarks of
his style. BY the age of eleven, he had composed three symphonics and 30 other major
works. Mozart’s well-developed talent was preserved into adulthood.
Unusual musical ability is a regular characteristic of certain anomalies such as autism. In one
case, an autistic girl was able to play “Happy birthday” in the style of various composers,
including Mozart Beethoven, Verdi, and Schubert. When the girl was three, her mother
called her by playing incomplete child, music may be the primary mode of communication,
and the child may cling to music because it represents a haven in a world that is largely
confusing and frightening.
86. Which sentences below best expresses the essential information on the highlighted
 sentence in paragraph 1?
A. Children may be born with superior musical ability, but their environment will determine
how this ability is developed.
B. Every child is naturally gifted, and it is the the responsibility of the public schools to
recognize and develop these talents.
C. Children with exceptional musical talent will look for the best way to express themselves
through music - making.
D. Some musically talented children live in an environment surrounded by music, while
others have little exposure to music.
87. The author makes the point that musical elements such as pitch and rhythm ______.
A. distinguish music from other art forms
B. vary in emphasis in different cultures
C. make music difficult to learn
D. express different human emotions
88. The word “predisposed” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. inclined B. gifted C. pushed D. amused
89. According to the passage, when does musical talent usually begin to appear?
A. When infants start to babble and produce sound patterns
B. Between the ages of two and four months
C. When children team to sing at two or three years old
D. Between ten years old and adolescence
90. According to the passage, which of the following suggests that musical talent is a
separate form of intelligence?
A. Exceptional musical ability in an otherwise average child.
B. Recognition of the emotional power of music.
C. The ability of all babies to acquire core elements of music.
D. Differences between learning music and learning language
91. Why does the author discuss Mozart in paragraph 6?
A. To compare past and present views of musical talent
B. To give an example of a well-known musical prodigy.
C. To list musical accomplishments of the eighteenth century.
D. To descrive the development of individual musical skill.
92. In music, the change from one key to another is known as ______.
A. Rhythm B. Prodigy C. perfect pitch D. modulation
93. All of the following are given as examples of exceptional musical talent EXCEPT ____.
A. a remarkable “ear” or perfect memory for music
B. ability to compose major works at a young age
C. appreciation for a wide variety of musical styles
D. playing a single song in the style of various composers
94. The word “haven” in paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. beautiful art B. safe place C. personal goal D. simple
problem
95. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about exceptional musical
ability?
A. It occurs more frequently in some cultures than in others.
B. It is evidence of a superior level of intelligence in other areas.
C. It has been documented and studied but is little understood.
D. It is the result of natural talent and a supportive environment.