Preliminary test
PART 1 . Check how well you
understand written English with this
test. Start now. You must stop after 25
minutes (20 questions)
1. A dog is bigger than a mouse, but smaller
than an elephant.
a. A dog is smaller than a mouse.
b. A dog is very big.
c. A dog is the biggest.
d. An elephant is bigger than a dog.
2. Sangay is English but Teresa isn't; she's
American.
a. Teresa is English.
b. Sangay isn't English.
c. Sangay isn't American.
d. Teresa and Sangay aren't English.
3. He is the oldest man in the world.
a. He is not as old as my grandmother.
b. Many men are older.
c. There are no older men anywhere.
d. He's older than some other men.
4. You can't come without a ticket.
a. You can come if you have a ticket.
b. You mustn't go with a ticket.
c. You don't need a ticket to come.
d. You cannot buy a ticket outside.
5. Andrea is looking after the children.
a. She can see the children.
b. She is taking care of the children.
c. She is looking at the children.
d. The children are in front of her.
6. They only have one car for the family.
a. They only like cars.
b. They do not like any other cars.
c. They do not have two cars.
d. They have a big family.
7. What does Vonica like?
a. What are her favourite things?
b. How is she?
c. Does she look like Vonica?
d. Does he like Vonica?
8. He hopes to go home, but he may go to
work.
a. He'll be at home before the office.
b. It is possible that he will go to work.
c. He's allowed to go to work.
d. He always goes home after work.
9. I want you to clean the car when you
come back.
a. You want to clean it.
b. We will clean it together.
c. I don't want you to forget to clean it.
d. I want to clean the car.
10. She used to smoke cigarettes.
a. She is used to cigarettes.
b. She smoked before, but she doesn't
now.
c. She usually smokes cigarettes.
d. She used two cigarettes.
11. Shall I take you to the station?
a. Would you like me to take you to the
station?
b. Must I take you?
c. Will it be necessary to take you there?
d. Did I take you before?
12. They should talk more slowly.
a. They talk too quickly.
b. They would like to talk more slowly.
c. They might have slower talks.
d. Talking is not fast.
13. Mirana remembered to phone the doctor.
a. She remembered phoning the doctor.
Preliminary test
b. Mirana forgot to remember to phone.
c. She didn't forget to phone the doctor.
d. She remembered that she phoned
her.
14. Madame Jean has lived nearly 115 years.
a. She was very old.
b. She is very old.
c. She died when she was nearly 115.
d. Madame Traiviey has many more
years.
15. She can hardly see it.
a. She sees very hard.
b. She is hard with it.
c. She cannot see it very well.
d. It is hard to see her.
16. Jessy had her house painted white
yesterday.
a. She had to paint her house white
yesterday.
b. Her house was not blue last week.
c. They painted her house white for her
yesterday.
d. She painted her house yesterday.
17. Either teacher knows the answer.
a. No teachers know the answer.
b. Both teachers know the answer.
c. All the teachers know the answer.
d. Any teacher can answer.
18. I'd rather be a millionaire.
a. I've been a millionaire.
b. I'd better be a millionaire.
c. I'd prefer to be a millionaire.
d. You have more millions than me.
19. You don't have to do this test.
a. You can choose not to do this test.
b. You mustn't do it.
c. You can't do this test.
d. You have no desire to do it.
20. If Muriel had come, she would have won.
a. If she hadn't won, she'd have come.
b. Muriel didn't win because she didn't
come.
c. When Muriel came she always won.
d. She didn't come, but she won anyway.
PART 2. Reading Comprehension test
Read the passage and answer the
comprehension questions. Start now.
You must stop after 25 minutes.
Passage1.
Researches suggest that there are creatures
that do not know what light means at the
bottom of the sea. They don't have either
eyes or ears; they can only feel. There is no
day or night for them. There are no winters,
no summers, no sun, no moon, and no stars.
It is as if a child spent its life in darkness in
bed, with nothing to see or hear. How
different our own life is! Sight shows us the
ground beneath our feet and the heavens
above us - the sun, moon, and stars,
shooting stars, lightning, and the sunset. It
shows us day and night. We are able to hear
voices, the sound of the sea, and music. We
feel, we taste, we smell. How fortunate we
are!
1. Judging from the passage, we can say that
this story is mainly about ............ .
a. Llife of sea creatures at the bottom of
the sea
b. How changes in the seasons are
perceived by the deep-sea creatures
c. How wonderful our lives were and will
be
d. The differences among creatures of
the earth and those of the sea
e. The superiority of human beings over
some creatures in terms of senses
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2. We discover that the sea creatures in the
story .......
a. Have the same senses that we do
b. Have no sense of hearing as well as
sight
c. Hear the sounds of the ocean
d. Live in darkness because no light
reaches to the bottom
e. Do not hear the sound of sea as they
are accustomed to it
3. In the passage a child in darkness is
likened to ........
a. Someone who lives where there are
no seasons
b. An animal without the sense of touch
c. A sea creature with no seeing or
hearing ability
d. A deaf child unaffected by the
environment
e. A perfect sleeper, for there is no
sound around to hear
Passage 2
Official records state that the Pueblo Indians
lived in New Mexico and Arizona . The word
"Pueblo" comes from the Spanish word
"pueblo," meaning town or village. The
Spaniards found these Indians living in
apartment houses, some of them on the side
of a cliff in order that they could be reached
only by ladders. Whenever they were
attacked by Apaches, the Pueblos would pull
up the ladders. They grew corn, which they
watered with water flowing down in ditches.
They wove cloth, made wonderful baskets,
and created jars and pots out of clay proving
how skilful they were at hand-craft.
1. From the passage we understand that the
Pueblo Indians were afraid of ............. .
a. cliff dwelling
b. Apache Indians
c. apartment houses
d. water flowing down in ditches
e. solitary life
2. Why the Spaniards called these Indians
"Pueblos" is because they ................ .
a. were close to the Apaches
b. lived together in a town or village
c. farmed and brought down water in
ditches
d. pulled up their ladders when attacked
e. achieved fame thanks to their hand-
craft
3. The Pueblo Indians lived on the side of a
cliff .........
a. although they had apartment houses
b. to observe the stars in the sky for rain
season
c. so that they could provide themselves
with shelters
d. and, they didn't have a lake, a stream,
or a pond
e. as long as they were all together
Passage 3
It was a man who lived before the time of
Christopher Columbus that was the world's
first great traveler. His name was Marco
Polo. With his father and his uncle, he
traveled from Italy to China, crossing
mountains and deserts to get there. In China
a king called Kublai Khan was pleased to see
the Polos and had them live near to him.
They stayed for twenty-three years. Kublai
Khan sent Marco to other countries to do
business for him. When Marco finally
returned to Italy, he wrote all about his
adventures in a book, which was read by
Columbus and many other people, who also
became interested in traveling to strange
countries.
1. This story is mainly about ............. .
a. the world's first great traveler
b. traveling from Italy to China
c. why Polo went to the far east
d. Marco Polo and Kublai Khan
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e. in what ways Columbus affected Polo
2. The reason that Marco Polo is called great
is not that ................ .
a. he traveled very far to reach China for
a new world
b. he wrote about his adventures in a
book, which many people read
c. he was so well liked by the king of
China
d. he crossed mountains and deserts to
reach China
e. he achieved fame thanks to his good
reasoning
3. We know from the story that after he
turned back..
a. Marco brought out a book inspiring
new voyages
b. Marco stayed in Italy for twenty-three
years
c. Kublai Khan knew that Marco had
crossed mountains and deserts
d. Kublai Khan sent Columbus to other
countries for business
e. Marco set out for a new adventure
Passage 4
Have you ever wondered whether fishes
drink or not? All living things must drink, and
they require a fresh supply of water often. A
person can go without food for many days,
but he or she cannot go for long without
water. Fishes drink, and fishes that live in
salt water must drink salt water. However,
when we watch them in an aquarium and
see them opening and closing their mouths,
we must not assume that they are drinking.
Fishes need water for its oxygen. The water
that they seem to be gulping gives them
oxygen, which is in the water. On the other
hand, when a fish drinks, it swallows water,
just in the way we do.
1. It is stated in the passage that a fish
opens and closes its mouth .............. .
a. in order to get oxygen
b. so as to gulp
c. to drink to stay alive
d. to swim in an aquarium.
e. so that it can suffice salt
2. We are informed by the passage that a
person ........
a. can live for a long time without water
b. can live for a long time without food
c. has no need for food and water
d. has no need for a fresh supply of
water
e. does need water to get oxygen
3. When a fish drinks
water, ............................ .
a. it requires fresh water
b. it swallows water just like us
c. it requires salt water
d. it drinks water for its oxygen
e. it stays motionless for a while to
swallow
Passage 5
The world's nuclear plants have accumulated
vast stocks of highly radioactive waste.
Worldwide, high-level waste is currently
stored above ground, and no government
has a clear policy on its eventual disposal.
While most experts believe that burying the
waste is the safest bet in the long term, the
problem is finding sites that everyone can
agree are geologically stable. Decaying
radioactive isotopes release heat. As a
result, high-level waste must be constantly
cooled; otherwise, it becomes dangerously
hot. This is why many experts want to store
waste above ground until it has decayed and
is cool enough to be stored safely in sealed
repositories several hundreds of metres
below ground. According to one recent
theory, however, waste should be lowered
down boreholes drilled to 4 kilometres. The
trick is to exploit heat generated by the
waste to fuse the surrounding rock and
contain any leaking radioactivity.
Preliminary test
1. .It is clear from the passage that the safe
disposal of radioactive waste ------------ .
a. has been satisfactorily dealt with by
scientists in conjunction with
governments
b. is a problem that each government
must decide on for its own country
c. remains a global problem of great
magnitude
d. is a problem that has not attracted
attention
e. will in all likelihood soon be resolved,
and a clear policy agreed on by
concened governments.
2. As it is pointed out in the passage, many
exports are of the opinion that radioactive
waste --------.
a. should never be stored underground
as it can not then be monitored
b. should not be stored underground
while the radioactive isotopes
continue to let off substantial amounts
of heat
c. does not require to be cooled when
stored above ground
d. cannot be safely disposed of
anywhere and the problem of what to
do with it intensifies as the amount
increases
e. can be safely left to cool down
underground in sealed repositories
3. The passage describes a new method, still
only a theoretical one, for the disposal of
radioactive waste, ---
a. which uses bore holes so that all sites
are suitable
b. at a depth considerably less than that
normally recommended but the
chosen site must meet certain
geological requirements
c. which, unfortunately, increases the
time needed for cooling the waste
before final disposal
d. in which the radioactive isotopes are
prevented from releasing heat
e. whereby the heat produced by that
waste will serve to seal it safety into
the rock under which it has been
buried
PART 3. Paragragh Completion
Activity .Complete the gaps in the
reading passages in accordance wtih
meaning. Start now. You must stop
after 10 minutes.
Thermal insulation is concerned with the
problem of reducing the transfer of heat
from one place to another and depends upon
the thermal resistance of the insulating
medium. --------- . However, this is not very
satisfactory in an ordinary air space because
radiation is also involved in the transfer of
heat.
a. Since air is a very poor conductor, an
air gap, narrow enough to minimize
convection, may be used for insulation
b. Thermal conductivity is a term that is
only strictly applicable to
homogeneous materials
c. In general, the lighter the material per
unit volume, the greater its insulating
value per unit thickness
d. The vertical air spaces used in
insulating buildings are actually only
about one third as thick
e. The optimum thickness must also be
chosen to avoid condensation of
moisture inside the walls
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