SECTION A.

LISTENING (30 points)

(You will hear twice for each part)
Part 1: Questions from 1 to 6.
You will hear part of a radio interview with a woman called Alice, who is talking about
learning how to drive. Choose the correct answer for each of the following questions.
1. How old was Alice when she had her first lesson?
A. 17 B. 18 C. 19
2. Why didn't her father give her lessons?
A. He didn't have a car B. He was worried that she would damage his car
C. Alice didn't want him to teach her
3. Alice found learning to drive
A. enjoyable B. stressful C. easy
4. On the day of her test, Alice
A. was ill. B. got up late C. was nearly late for the test
5. At the end of the test
A. the examiner called his office. B. Alice spoke to her dad.
C. Alice kissed the examiner.
6. Alice doesn't have a car because
A. she doesn't need one. B. the car she wants is too expensive.
C. she drives her father's car.
Part 2: Questions from 7 to 15.
Listen to the recording twice. Complete the form the form below. Write no more than two
words or a number for each answer.
Dubai Palm Apartments
Enquiry taken by: Amanda
Name: (7) Leo Blutcher
Address: (8) 37 Blumengasse Vienna
Telephone number: (9) 4312 11057
Number of people: four
Starting date: (10) January 1st
Length of stay: (11) 9 days
Price per day: (12) 200 Euros
Other requirements:
- fully equipped (13) kitchen
- view of the sea
- air conditioning must be (14 quiet
- (15) a parking for car

SECTION B: PHONETICS (10 points)

Part I. Choose the word whose underlined part is pronounced differently from that of the rest.
(5 points)
1. A. responsible B. homemaker C. mow D. overworked
2. A. bathe B. finance C. program D. cat
3. A. collection B. necessary C. explanation D. reputation
4. A. casual B. occasion C. impression D. usually
5. A. compulsory B. adult C. publish D. campus
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

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Part II. Choose the word that has a different stress pattern from the others in the group. (5 points)
1. A. Private B. Provide C. Arrange D. Advise
2. A. Resurface B. Knowledge C. Technical D. Export
3. A. Medical B. Entertainment C. Atmosphere D. Suburb
4. A. government B. linguistics C. territory D. journalism
5. A. mausoleum B. vegetarian C. intermediate D. informative
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

SECTION C: LEXICO AND GRAMMAR (60 points)

Part I. Choose the word, phrase or expression that best completes each sentence. (20 points)
1. I would rather you ______________ a noise last night; I couldn’t get to sleep
A wouldn’t make B. didn’t make C. haven’t made D. hadn’t made
2. They _________ me believe that they had left the district.
A. led. B. made C. assured. D. confirmed
3. This work needs _________ by ten today.
A. finish B. finishing C. to finish D. to have finished
4. Would you mind _________ these plates a wipe before putting them in the cupboard.
A. making B. doing C. giving D. getting
5. You must lend me the money for the trip. _________ I won’t be able to go.
A. Consequently B. Nevertheless C. Otherwise D. Although
6. _________ of going to the beach, we went up to the mountains.
A. On behalf B. in place C. Instead D. On account
7 . Uncle Ho’s desire was that our country might______ other countries in the world.
A. be fed up with B. make use of C. keep pace with D. take grand for
8. Sarah is a young girl with________ and a straight nose.
A. almond-shaped eyes B. almond-eyed shape
C. eyes shaped almond D. almond-shape eyed
9. You shouldn't ___________ to your teacher like that. It was very rude.
A. have talked B. talk C. have be talked D. talked
10. - “Shall I put the books on the floor?” “No, I want to keep the_______
A. tidy room B. room tidily C. room is tidy D. room tidy
11. If you had left early, I think_________there now.
A. you will reach C. you could reach B. you’d have reached D. you reached
12. She wondered _________ her father looked like now, after so many years away.
A. How B. What C. Whose D. That
13. _________ I can’t make the presentation myself, I’ve asked my assistant to be prepared to do it
for me.
A. For B. In the event that C. Only if D. On the other hand
14. The fire _________ to have started in the furnace under the house.
A. is believed B. that is believed C. they believed D. that they believed
15. Nobody comes to visit us, _________?
A. doesn’t he B. do they C. haven’t they D. don’t they
16. He talks so much as if he _________the owner of the party.
A. is B. being C. was D. were
17. I am going to have my car_________by the end of the day.
A. repair B. repaired C. to repair D. repairing
18. My brother just bought a _______ lamp from an electronics store.
A. new reading black B. black reading new
C. reading new black D. new black reading
19. Choose the word that is OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined part in the following sentence.
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We should not allow any kind of discrimination against women and girls.
A. inequality B. hatred C. unbiased feeling D. intolerance
20. Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) CLOSEST in
meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.
A smile and a “hi” are enough to break the ice in any conversation.
A. melt B. relieve tension C. become friendly D. be polite

Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
11. 12. 13. 14. 15.
16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

Part II. Give the correct form of words in brackets to complete the following sentences. (10 points)\
Use the correct form of the word in brackets to complete each sentence.
Global warming could cause (1. DRY)_______ and possibly famine in China, the source of
much of Hong Kong’s food, by 2050, a new report predicts. Hong Kong could also be at risk from
flooding as sea level rose. The report recommends building sea-walls around (2. LOW) _______
areas such as the new port and airport (3. RECLAIM) _______. Published by the World Wide Fund
for Nature (WWF), the report, which includes work by members of the Chinese Academy of
(4.METEOR) _______ Sciences, uses the most recent projections on climate change to point to a
(5.GLOOM) _______ outlook for China.
By 2050 about 30 to 40 percent of the country will experience changes in the type of
(6.VEGETABLE) _______ it supports, with tropical and subtropical forest conditions shifting
northward and hot desert conditions rising in the west where currently the desert is (7.
TEMPERATURE) _______. Crop - growing areas will expand but any benefit is expected to be
negated by increased evaporation of (8.MOIST) _______, making it too dry to grow crops such as
rice. The (9. GROWTH) _______season also is expected to alter, becoming shorter in southern and
central China, the mainland’s (10.BREAD) _______ . The rapid changes make it unlikely that
plants could adapt.

Your answers:
1. drought 6. vegetation
2. low-lying 7. temperate
3. reclamations 8. moisture
4. meteorological 9. growing
5. gloomy 10.

Part III. Give the correct tense or form of the verbs in brackets. (10 points)
1. Were she to know your new address, she ( come) _______________to see you.
2. He (always / go ) to class late, which makes his teacher angry.
3. By next Saturday, I ( Join )________________ the club for 6 months.
4. If only it ( stop) ____________________raining now. I don’t like rain.
5. More than sixteen people in a family are reported (rescue ) ____in the ship accident last week .
6. They suggested that he (get )__________ that job in the factory .

Your answers:
1. would come 2. is always going 3. will have joined
4. stopped 5. to have been rescued 6. should get
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Part IV. The passage below contains 10 mistakes. Identify and correct the mistakes. Write
your answers in the answer box below. Line (0) has been done for you as an example. (10
points)

Line THE EIGHTH WONDER OF THE WORLD

0 The Thames Barrier is a major part of the flood defending scheme for protecting
1 London against rise water levels. The defenses also include raised river embankments
2 and additional flood gates at strategic points, including the Barking Barrier. The
3 unique structure that are the Barrier spans the 520-metre wide Woolwich reach and
4 consist of 10 separate movable gates, each pivoting and supported between concrete
5 structures which house the operating machinery. When raising, the four main gates
6 each stands as tall as a five-storey building and as wide as the opening of Tower
7 Bridge. Each weights 3700 tonnes. During the first twelve years of operation, the
8 Barrier has closed twenty-nine times to protect London.
9 View the Barrier from the comfortable cafeteria. Picnic on the riverside embankment.
10 Enjoy beautiful views from the riverside walk. Visit the shop stocks a large selection
11 of souvenirs, books and Barrier information.
12 There is a children’s play area suitable for 4-to 12-year-olds, located adjacent near the
13 riverside walk. A visit to the spectacular Thames Barrier is a memorable experience.

Your answers
e.g. Line 0: defending defence
Line Mistake Correction Line Mistake Correction
1 rise rising 7 weights weighs
3 are is 10 stocks which stocks
4 consist consists 12 near to
5 raising raised
6 tall high

Part V. Fill in the gaps the most suitable particle or preposition to complete the sentences.
Write your answers in the answer box below. (10 points)
1. People will be more likely listen to you if you tone ______ your language a little.
2. The students will receive the exams notification ______ due course.
3. I couldn’t hear what he said because he was muttering _______ his breath.
4. She wasn’t at all hungry, and could only toy_________ the food on her plate.
5. It was a tricky plan, but we pulled it____________.
6. Strawberries are only ________ season in May and June.
7. Young children are awkward ______ dancing as they can’t co-ordinate their movements well.
8. She tried not to yield ________ temptation and have another piece of cake.
9. I can vouch ________ Sandra’s integrity, so I recommend we include her in our discussions.
10. Mike is not really ________ tune with the rest of the group.
Your answers
1. down 2. in 3. under 4. with 5. off
6. in 7. at 8. to 9. for 10. in

SECTION D: READING COMPREHENSION (50 points)

Part 1: Fill in each gap with ONE suitable word to complete the following passage. (10 points)

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My mother and my father are very different people. Mum is always very calm; not exactly easy-
going, because she (1) __________ things very seriously sometimes, but she doesn’t get excited.
When we (2) _________ small she almost never shouted at us. When we (3) _________something
wrong, she talked to us about it very firmly, but in a soft tone of (4)_____________. If we shouted
and cried, she made us go and sit (5___________ ourselves in her sewing-room (6) ________ we
calmed down. So when the news came, she reacted in her usual way, quietly seeing what she could
do to prepare (7) __________the changes that were coming. Dad, on the other (8)_____________,
shouted, kicked a chair, and went for along walk to try cool off. During the next few days he was
cross with us, as nothing was our fault. All of our kids were worried (9) _________________ what
was going to happen, and a (10) ________________afraid, but we didn’t talk to our parents much.
We were also were sad about having to leave all of our school friends.

Your answers:
1. takes 2. were 3. did 4. voice 5. by
6. until 7. for 8. hand 9. about 10. little

Part II. Choose the best word A, B, C or D to fill in spaces in the following passage. (10 points)
TORNADOES AND TYPHOONS
People often confuse typhoons and tornadoes, even though they are very different. Both are
extremely destructive weather phenomina, with very (1) ________ winds, but the similarity ends
there.
Typhoons, also known as hurricanes, form only on water. They are such large storms that we can
see them clearly only from space. In a satellite photograph, a typhoon (2) ________like an
enormous circular blanket of thick cloud. It may have a small hole in the centre, (3) ________ an
“eye”.
Tornadoes, on the other hand, are much smaller. A person on the ground can easily (4)
________ a photo of a tornado, although it might be a dangerous thing to do. It would be much
wiser to look for (5) ________ than to hunt for your camera if a tornado is coming your (6) ______.
Unlike typhoons, tornadoes can form over both land and water. When a tornado (7) ________
over a lake or the sea, it can create a waterspout which can be well over a kilometre in (8)
________. Just like a tornadoes over land, waterspouts can (9) ________ and transport some
interesting objects. There have, for instance, been reports of fish being carried through the air and
(10) ________ onto boats.
1. A. strong B. big C. huge D. firm
2. A. sees B. looks C. views D. watches
3. A. called B. titled C. said D. told
4. A. fix B. take C. pull D. make
5. A. shelter B. asylum C. hiding D. defence
6. A. road B. direction C. route D. way
7. A. gains B. increases C. develops D. finds
8. A. level B. altitude C. summit D. height
9. A. come across B. pick up C. set out D. drop off
10. A. thrown B. dumped C. dropped D. fallen

Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Part III. Read the following passage and choose the correct answer (20 points)

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 One of the factors contributing to the intense nature of twenty-first-century stress is our
continual exposure to media – particularly to an over abundance 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 then 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 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 over promises
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.
1. According to the passage, which of the following has contributed to the intense nature of twenty-
first-century stress?
A. An overabundance of special news B. The degree to which stress affects our life
C. Our inability to control ourselves D. Our continual exposure to the media
2. In the past, we had less news of distant people and lands because ______.
A. means of communication and transprotation were not yet invented.
B. the printing press changed the situation to slowly
C. printing, transportation, and telecommunications were not developed
D. most people lived in distant towns and villages
3. The pronoun “them” in paragraph 3 refers to _________.
A. TV channels B. television sets C. TV news D. cable access
4. The word “traumatic” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to _______.
A. boring B. fascinating C. upsetting D. exciting
5. 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. send out frightening stories about potential dangers
D. are forced to publicize an alarming increase in crime
6. As stated in the passage, a flu outbreak and the bogus claims of a wrinkle cream tend to ________.
A. involve natural and man-made disasters B. be treated with equal alarm
C. be scarce breaking news D. be warmly welcomed by the public
7. Which of the following is NOT true, according to the passage?
A. The news that is reported to us is not good news.
B. Many people are under stress caused by the media.
C. Many TV channels supply the public with breaking news.
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 D. The only source of stress in our modern life is the media.
8. The word “slip” in paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. release B. bring C. fail D. fall
9. According to the passage, our continual exposure to bad news without perspective is obviously
________.
A. the result of human brain’s switch to alarm mode.
B. a source of chronic stress.
C. the result of an overabundance of good news.
D. a source of defects in human brain.
10. What is probably the best title for this passage?
A. Effective Ways to Beat Stress B. More Modern Life - More Stress
C. The Media - A Major Cause of Stress D. Developments in Telecommunications

Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Part IV 1. Reading the passage, there are nine paragraphs (A-I). Choose the most suitable
heading for the paragraphs (from A to F) from the list of headings below. Write the appropriate
numbers (i-vi) in boxes 1 – 5 on your answer sheet. Paragraph A has been done for you as an
example. (5 points)
List of Headings
i. The loneliest place on Earth
ii. A choice of routine
iii. Alternative routes - 3
iv. Looking ahead
v. A varied community
vi. The need for human contact

DARK DAYS
Example Answer
Paragraph A i
A.
The last ship of the season has left; the next will not be here until December. There will be eight
months of isolation, cut off from the rest of the world on the edge of the world's coldest, remotest
continent: Antarctica.
B.
The people who spend the winter at Davis Station in Antarctica regard the departure of the last ship
not with fear but with something like a feeling of relief. Gone are the busy days of summer, the
helicopters, and the crowd of people. Now life starts again.
C.
There are more than 40 research projects being carried out in Antarctica but many of the scientists
have left by the time winter arrives. The station is home to physicists, biologists, weather observers,
mechanics, communications technicians, electricians, carpenters, plumbers, a doctor and a chef.
There is also a station leader whose job is to keep everyone happy and productive and to look after
all the paperwork. When most of the team arrives each year in December, the sun never sets. By the
beginning of the following June it will never rise, so people have to get used to many dark days.
D.
It does not matter what hours people choose to walk so long as the work gets done, so they can start
and finish work at whatever times suit them. The first real meal of the day, a hot breakfast, is served
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at 10 A.M. There is a hot lunch and a hot supper but putting on weight is a potential problem for
many people. The doctor is there to advise on diet and exercise and a gym is available to help
people keep fit.
E.
Inevitably, small social groups develop within this isolated community. There is usually a group of
smokers, a group of video watchers, a group of people who sit and chat. As people try to maintain
contact with home so the cost of phone bills increases, but in any case there is nothing else to spend
money on.
F.
It is quite common for the sea to freeze during April and instead of waves lapping the beach, thick
plates of ice lift and move with the tide. Once the sea ice has been checked to see if it is strong
enough to walk on, one can ski over and fish through the holes. Eventually it becomes strong
enough for vehicles to drive on it and the researchers can open up a new road system to enable them
to drive around the coast in minutes, to huts which could only be reached after hours of walking in
summer.
G
Trips to the huts are the only means of physically escaping from life on the station. Some trips are
for science, others for recreation and a way of having some personal and private space. Some trips
can be made on foot or skis, but in winter they are usually in vehicles.
H
There are no animals as they all leave for the winter, but in spring seals and seabirds and penguins
arrive. Only humans stay in Antarctica for the full year, and although their lives are comfortable
they are still isolated and imprisoned. They have good food, comfortable buildings, telephones,
entertainment, the internet, but for many months at a time no chance of leaving.
Your answers:
Paragraph Answer

1. Paragraph B iv

2. Paragraph C v

3. Paragraph D ii

4. Paragraph E vi

5. Paragraph F iii

2. Read the text and then choose from the list A–F given below the best sentence to fit each
gap (1–5). (5 points) Question (0) has been done as an example.

Sentences
A. Here, on the ocean floor, is a huge area of underwater volcanoes, their chimneys
all blowing out black smoke.
B. Here I am on the bottom of the sea, and no one else on this planet has ever before
seen them.
C. “No one has tested it yet, but I do not think it would be a very pleasant journey.”
D. When it did not happen, we could not believe it.
E. This pours out at a rate of one metre per second and at a temperature of 350
degrees.
F. She is a lecturer at the Oceanography Centre at Southampton University.

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 IN HOT WATER
Rachel Mills is a scientist who spends as much time as she can at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
Rachel Mills teaches and does research into marine geochemistry, which means she studies the
chemical processes happening in the sea. (0) ……… When she is not teaching, she lowers herself
into a steel vehicle, a vessel for underwater exploration the size of a small car, and dives three
kilometres down into the Atlantic Ocean to study underwater volcanoes.
“Inside,” she says, “space is so limited that I can reach out and touch the two pilots.” They are used
to these conditions, which mean they cannot stand up or move, and they must stay inside until
someone opens the door from the outside. A dive can last for 16 hours – three hours to reach the
ocean floor, ten hours gathering samples of rock and water and then three hours to get back up to
the surface again.
“If anything happens, and you have a problem and have to get to the top quickly, you can hit a panic
button.” The outside drops away leaving a small circular escape vessel that gets released, and it is
like letting go of a ping-pong ball in the bath – it goes rapidly to the surface. (1) ………
“I didn’t know how I was going to react the first time I climbed into the vehicle. It was on the deck
of a ship and I got in with an instructor. He then talked me through the emergency procedures,
including what to do if the pilot has a heart attack! They were testing me to see how I would react to
being in such a small place.”
Now Rachel has made six dives. Last year she dived with a Russian crew. “We went to a site which
was a five-day sail west of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic. (2) ……… It is where the Atlantic
Ocean comes alive. The Russian team were dropping off some scientific equipment there to
discover the effect of a multi-national programme that would make a hole 150 metres through a
volcano.”
When she is not at sea, Rachel is in her office at the Oceanography Centre, Southampton. “Two
thirds of my salary comes from teaching which I love, but I do it so I can get on with my research
into the ‘black smokers’. This is just another name for underwater volcanoes –water comes out of
the rock and turns into what looks like black smoke. (3) ………
The only time I have been frightened is when I first went down with the Americans. We were
towing equipment on a 50-metre rope when suddenly there was an explosion. There was this
immense bang as the shock waves hit our vehicle and I thought, ‘I am going to die.’ We stared at
each other in silence, waiting. (4) ……… The relief was incredible – we were still alive!”
“It is such an adventure diving down to the deepest part of the ocean. Every time I look out of the
porthole and see those chimneys, there is such a sense of wonder. (5) ……… I had studied the black
smokers for three years for my PhD. When I got down there and saw them for real, it was such an
amazing feeling.”
Your answers:
0. F 1. C 2. A 3. E 4.D 5. B

SECTION E: WRITING (50 points)

Part I. Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it means exactly the same as
the sentence printed before it. (10 points)
1. Although Richard is competent in his work, he doesn’t know how to deal with his client.
=> Competent as Richard is in his work, he doesn’t know how to deal with his client.
2. Don’t touch this switch.
=> This switch musn’t be touched
3. It wasn’t necessary for you to go to so much trouble on my behalf.
=> You needn’t have gone to so much trouble on my behalf.
4. Nam entered the room, he discovered that he had lost his hat while shopping in the city centre.
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=> Entering the room, he discovered that he had lost his hat while shopping in the city centre.
5. I was late for the meeting because I missed the bus.
 If I hadn’t missed the bus, I wouldn’t have been late for the meeting

Part II. Rewrite each of the following sentences so that it means exactly the same as the given
one. Use the given words in brackets. Do not change the word given. (10 points)
1. Tim looks nothing like his father at all. (take)
 Tim doesn’t take after his father at all.
2. I regret not studying hard at school. (only)
 If only I had studied hard at school.
3. The staff in that office all have great respect for their boss. (look)
 The staff in that office all look up to their boss.
4. It is not likely that the effects of global warming can be reversed. (likelihood)
 There is little likelihood of reversing the effects of global warming.
5 We feel uncomfortable in this weather. (fish)
=> We feel like fish out of water in the house.

Part III. In recent years, online shopping has become popular, Write a paragraph about the
advantages and disadvantages of online shopping. ( about 200 words ) ( 30 points )

In this everchanging modern world, Internet purchasing has grown in popularity during recent
years. While this trend has certainly brought benefits to people, it also has its own drawbacks. First
and foremost, online shopping is convenient and time-saving. This new way of shopping can be
done everywhere at everytime: while being at home, at work, in the car, at the movies, or on
holiday, etc. You can easily select a wide range of goods as per your choice without going to a
supermarket or a physical store. Another good point of shopping via the Internet is that it offers a
huge range of options at your fingertips. Comparing to real stores, online shopping platforms
provide users with a lot of choices in a variety of categories: clothing, home appliances,
cosmetics,etc with a much more reasonable prices. This also helps the shoppers to make the best
choice in terms of choice and pricing by getting in on the latest worldwide trends. But purchasing
online also has its own negative aspects. When making an internet purchase, customers usually run
the risks of being scammed, receiving goods that are not true to what they have chosen,… This
happens when consumers choose stores that don't have reputable reviews, and by doing that, they
are likely to lose money, and feel rather disturbed. Last but not least, shopping online can cause
negative environmental impact of packaging and gas. Merchandises bought online are often
wrapped in lots of plastic bubble wrap and cardboard, and with millions of orders like that every
day, we are harming the environment with tons of extra waste generated from product packaging.
To sum up, for the benefits and drawbacks mentioned above, we all need to balance both side to
make online shopping a more customer-friendly experience.

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