Professional Documents
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Practice Test A2
Practice Test A2
SECTION A: LISTENING
I. You are going to hear two students, Brett and Mica, talking to their tutor about their
photography assignment. Listen and answer questions 1-5. Write NO MORE THAN FIVE WORDS for
each answer.
1. In bad weather, what should students think carefully about when it comes to photography?
Landscape
2. What does Brett want to take advantage of when photographing near water?
Stunning reflections
3. What can they avoid when they use a piece of equipment called an “angle finder”?
Neck pain
4. According to the tutor and Brett, whose works or paintings should they use to generate ideas?
Scottish artists and designers
5. What issues should they think about when deciding on what to photograph?
Matters related to conservation
II. You will hear a dialogue about property development.For questions 1-5, decide whether the
following statements are True (T) or False (F).
F1. The process of buying a house, improving it and selling it for a profit is called money making(property
development).
T2. Marcus says that buyers need to do their homework before they buy a house at an auction.
T3. When renovating a house, Marcus suggests that buyers think about what fittings future occupants will need.
F4. People advertise in newspapers because they want to sell their homes at lower price(keep their fees
low).
T5. Marcus suggests contacting the land registry if you find an empty house.
IV. Read the text and find 10 mistakes and correct them.
For the past eight years, many of the world’s leading classical musicians have gathered together in
Switzerland’s most glitzy(glitziest) ski resort to play, to teach and socialise. If this were all, it would be the
ultimate classical music insiders’ club. But the attraction of Verbier, their(its) charm and relevance, is that it is
also home for three weeks to more than 100 young musicians from 31 countries, starried-eye(starry-eyed)
about meeting the masters and getting a crashing course at the highest possible level. Conductors of the
world’s top orchestras are off(on) hand to get the young musicians into shape, coaxing fine performances of
so(such) daunting challenges as Mahler’s Third Symphony and Brahms’ First Symphony.
Verbier is the creation of the Swede, Martin Engstroem, who for many years was a leading agent. He
wanted to run his own festival and, having some of the best contacts of(in) the business, it was not hard to
find a Swiss ski resort to look(looking) for a summer boost, rich villa owners keen to open their houses to
musical celebrities and stars used to being indulgent(indulged). Engstroem is the most relaxed and charming
of men, but in his way he is a dictator. The music heard at Verbier tends to be of(to) his classical taste with
barely a note of the contemporary.
SECTION C: READING
I. Read the passage and do the tasks that follow.
BUILDING HOUSES OUT OF EARTH
2. Name TWO places where earth building practices have existed for a long time.
………Xinjiang Province………………. ………Southwestern United States……………….
3. Name THREE places where earth building is becoming more popular.
……………Australia …………. ……………New Zealand………. ……Western Europe………………….
4. In ‘Building houses out of earth’, the writer mentions several reasons why some people prefer
earth houses. Read the list of reasons below and choose FOUR that are referred to in the passage.
A. cost of construction B. resistance to earthquakes
C. stability of earth D. heat storage capacity
E. availability of materials F. construction technology G. appearance and character
5. Use a NUMBER or NO MORETHAN THREE WORDS to answer the following questions.
a. What percentage of earth buildings in New Zealand were constructed in the past 5 years?
…………………………………………………35………………………………………..
c. Name the feature of earth houses that enables them to keep temperatures low in summer.
…………………………………………………………passive solar capacity ………………………………..
d. Name TWO substances that can lengthen the life of earth as a building material.
……………………………cement and straw……………………………………………………………..
6. Complete the flow chart below. Choose ONE or TWO words from the passage for each answer.
(a) …………….
(b) …………….
III. Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct answer to
each of the questions.
GENETICS
In the 1860s, an Austrian botanist and monk named Gregor Mendel began studying the characteristics of
pea plants. Specifically, he was interested in the way in which pea plants passed on their characteristics to their
offspring. Mendel chose to work with pea plants because they are not self-pollinating. Unlike some plants, pea
plants are distinctly male or female, and require the presence of a pea plant of the opposite sex for pollination.
In this way, they are roughly analogous to humans and all other mammals, and it is for this reason that Mendel
chose to study them.
8. Based on the information in paragraph 4, what can be inferred about the genetic makeup of organisms?
A. Humans have the highest number of genes that are polygenic.
B. Their traits are actually impossible to predict.
C. Only organisms that lack polygenetic traits are properly understood.
D. More advanced organisms generally have higher numbers of gene sets.
9. The word “envisioned” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to
A. imagined B. required C. represented D. tested
10. Which of the following is NOT TRUE?
A. According to Mendel, traits were passed down through genes, which could either be recessive or dominant.
B. Mendel’s basic theory has proved to be very complicated.
C. Humans have 46 long chains of genes.
D. Thanks to genetic engineering, scientists can now make fundamental changes to organisms.
SECTION D: WRITING
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the
word given. You must use between three and eight words.
1. The inhabitants were far worse- off twenty years ago than they are now. (NOWHERE)
→The inhabitants are nowhere near as badly of as they were twenty years ago.
2. I’ve often contemplated emigrating. (THOUGHT)
→Many’s the time I have thought about emigrating.
3. I feel that to brand her ideas unworkable at this stage would be wrong. (WRITE)
→I don’t think we should write her ideas off as unworkable at this stage.
4. The journalist wanted to interview me and I eventually agreed. (CONSENTED)
→I consented to have an interview with the journalist.
5. I put a lot of care and attention into this matter. (TROUBLE)
→I take the trouble over this matter.
6. None of us was hurt in the explosion. (UNSCATHED)
→We escaped unscathed from the explosion.
7. There was a fantastic firework display at the end of the Games. (CULMINATED)
→The Games culminated with a fantastic display of fireworks.
8.I choose very carefully who I discuss my private life with. (PARTICULAR)
→I am very particular about choosing who to discuss my private life with.
9. I’ve forgotten my sandwiches on three consecutive days this week, which was really annoying. (RUNNING)
→I’ve forgotten my sandwiches three days running this week, which was really annoying.
10. Your scheme is brilliant, but it won’t succeed. (DOOMED)
→ Brilliant though your scheme is, it is doomed to failure.