PRACTICE 21072021

PART A. VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR

I. Choose the correct word or phrase to complete each sentence.
Write your answer (A, B, C or D) in the spaces provided on your answer sheet. (10 pts)
1. She used her weekly column in the local newspaper as a ______ for her political views.
A. means B. vehicle C. vessel D. passage
2. ______ to have stolen credit cards, he has been investigated for days.
A. Suspecting B. Having suspected C. Suspected D. To be suspected
3. ______ as taste is really a composite sense made up of both taste and smell.
A. That we refer to B. What we refer to C. To which we refer D. What do we refer to
4. Writing rhymes for birthday cards is really easy. It’s money for old ______.
A. boot B. rubbish C. bread D. rope
5. He has two big houses in this country, ______ his villa in France.
A. let alone B. not to mention C. apart from D. but for
6. We all decreed that ______.
A. there be an end to their quarrel B. their quarrel should put an end to
C. they ended their quarrel then D. their quarrel be coming to an end.
7. The chairman quickly ______ rumours that he was planning to resign.
A. dispelled B. repelled C. expelled D. compelled
8. John: “It’s a public holiday, so everything will be closed.”
Alice: “______.”
A. So far, so good B. Mmm, that figures C. Forget it D. That’s an idea
9. Another assumption is that ______ cellular networks are too costly and draw too much power to do
the job.
A. long-range B. long-lived C. long-standing D. long-lasting
10. I know she was not lying when she apologized because she seemed ______ sorry for what she had
done.
A. reluctantly B. genuinely C. constantly D. gorgeously
11. The company is looking for a person having a(n) ______ knowledge of the Asian market.
A. intimate B. detail C. undivided D. whole
12. She spent the day sorting through a box full of ______.
A. leaps and bounds B. odds and ends C. sick and tired D. trial and error
13. If she spent five years in Paris, ______ her French is so bad?
A. any old how B. any how C. how on earth D. how come
14. It was surprising the government was re-elected, ______ that they had raised taxes so much.
A. except B. failing C. for all of D. given
15. ______ appears considerably larger at the horizon than it does overhead is merely an optical
illusion.
A. That the moon B. The moon C.The moon which D. When the moon
16. Biochemists have solved many of the mysteries about photosynthesis, the process ______ plants make
food.
A. by which B. through which C. which D. in that
17. The defendant refused to answer the prosecutor’s questions ______.
A. because he was afraid it would incriminate him
B. for fear that they will incriminate him
C. because he was afraid that his answers would incriminate him
D. fearing that he will be incriminated by it
18. John: “Travel broadens the mind.”
David: “Well, ______.”
A. if you ask me B. it’s the point of no return
C. that’s true up to a point D. I’ll see what I can do

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19. ______ recent incidents, we are asking our customers to take particular care of their personal
belongings.
A. From all account of B. Bearing in mind C. After all D. In the light of
20. On the island ______ the only representation of the islands' handicraft.
A. remains B. does it remain C. did it remain D. remain it
II. Supply the correct form of the words given in brackets to complete the text below.
Write your answers in the spaces provided on your answer sheet. (5 pts)
LANGUAGE CHANGE
The phenomenon of language change (1) (PROBABLE) ______ attracts more public notice and more (2)
(DISAPPROVE) ______ than any other linguistic issue. There is a widely held belief that change must
mean deterioration and decay. Older people observe the casual speech of the young and conclude that
standards have fallen (3) (APPRECIATE) ______.
It is understandable that many people dislike change, but it is (4) (WISE) ______ to condemn all
linguistic (5) (MODIFY) ______. It is often felt that comtemporary language illustrates the problem at
its worst, but this belief is shared by every generation.
There are indeed cases where linguistic change can lead to problems of unintelligibility and (6)
(AMBIGUOUS) ______, but if change is too rapid there can be major communication problems. But as a
rule, the parts of language which are undergoing change at any given time are relatively small in
comparison to the vast, unchanging areas of language. It is because change is so (7) (FREQUENT)
______ that it is so distinctive and (8) (NOTICE) ______. Some degree of caution and concern is therefore
always desirable for the (9) (MAINTAIN) ______ of precision and (10) (EFFECT) ______ communication,
but there are no grounds for the extremely pessimistic attitudes so often encountered.
III. Fill in each blank with a suitable preposition or adverb particle.
Write your answers in the spaces provided on your answer sheet. (5 pts)
a. He did not know (1) ______ certain what caused the accident, but (2) ______ a guess, it was due to a
fault in the engine.
b. Environmental groups are locked (3) ______ argument with the council (4) ______ the proposed new
bypass through the wood.
c. He went home and his anger soon wore (5) ______ and he was sad (6) _____ having had the
argument.
d. So far the detective in charge of this case ruled (7) _____ the possibility that the victim was
deceived (8) ______ handling over her jewels. They have been found in her safe.
e. Even though she is unfamiliar (9) ______ the scholastic programme, she is already forging (10) _____
with her study.
IV. The passage below contains 10 errors. IDENTIFY and CORRECT them.
Write your answers in the spaces provided on your answer sheet. (5 pts)
1 Cuisine and probably also music are the most accessible parts of a culture and, at the same
2 time, the most resistant to outsides influence. They are the first points of real physical contact
3 with a different society, part of knowing how to travel is to have an appreciation for other
4 cuisines: this is still one of the rare ways in what people of different backgrounds can learn
5 easily from each other.
6 Cuisine is an art which (discounting a handful of outstanding professionals) has always been
7 developed by amateurs or, to be more precisely, by professionals who have never been
8 recognized as such because they were women. Perhaps almost of the European cuisine of the
9 leisured classes of the nineteenth century is so unnecessarily complicated and pretentious
10 because it was elaborated by the great chefs. Elsewhere even the most subtle cuisine, that
11 aristocratic or popular in origin, is relatively simple apart from a few dishes.
12 The art of cooking calls for a little patience, organization and precision. It derives from an
13 interest in the taste of food and the sheer delight of satisfied the guest. There is one other
14 essential requirement one must cook by natural foods.
15 The search for provisions, from indispensable staples and the luxury of spices, have shaped
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 16 the development of human societies. Through the ages, the problems of food, whether of
17 sheer necessity or of idle indulgence, have led to conflicts, growth, trade and the discovery of
18 the New World. (All this time most of the world has been short of food, and will continue to be
19 so). The culinary heritage of the world, in the sense of haute cuisine, is, moreover, the product
20 of abundance.

PART B. READING
I. Read the following passage and choose the correct answer to each question.
Write your answers (A, B, C or D) in the spaces provided on your answer sheet. (10 pts)
THE FUTURE OF EXAMS
Like it or not, technology is already an established part of the exam process and the only argument still
to be fought at this year's e-assessment conference and exhibition, taking place in London this week, is
just how much further in that direction we should go.
At one end, little has changed. Students still, by and large, take exams in much the same way as they
always have. They walk into a room full of desks with an invigilator on hand to tell them when to start
and stop and to make sure no one is texting anyone else, and everyone is ticking the right boxes, or
writing out the answer in longhand if required. It’s once the ink has dried that the real change in the
system kicks in. Instead of divvying up the scripts between the thousands of markers, they are now
scanned into a central computer and the markers then access them online.
The benefits are obvious. It's quicker, cheaper and more efficient. The really dull components, such as
multiple choice or simple questions such as “name four things that contribute to global warming,” can
be marked automatically or by less experienced markers, whereas questions requiring a more
nuanced, longer answer can be left to the old hands. Your best markers don't have to be wasted on
the straightforward stuff.
Students can also benefit. “Markers can now give much more precise feedback,” says Kathleen Tattersall,
who chairs the Institute of Educational Assessors. “We can tell someone almost exactly what he or she
needs to do to improve a grade because we can show them what they got right and wrong. This is
particularly useful for anyone looking to resit a January exam in the summer, because teachers can tailor
individual revision plans for all their students.”
For all its advantages, no one reckons that this assessment model is the finished article. “There are
difficulties that need to be ironed out,” says Martin Walker, a former English teacher and a principal
examiner for one of the main boards. “Because markers are now often only given a few questions from
each paper, it's hard to get an accurate feel of exactly what a student does and doesn't know. When
you had an entire exam script in front of you, you could build up a picture of the candidate's range of
knowledge, so when there was room for doubt in an answer, you could make a judgement call based on
previous responses. It's much harder to do that now.”
“There are also limits to what you can easily read on screen,” he adds. “In my experience, most
examiners end up printing out the long essays and working from a hard copy, which is both time-
consuming and slightly self-defeating.” The danger, as Tattersall concedes, is that schools end up
teaching only what technology is capable of assessing. “Rather, we have to look at how IT is used in the
classroom to improve teaching and learning and base our exams on that model,” she says.
It is certain that we are only halfway through the electronic revolution. In the coming years, more and
more exams will be completed - as well as marked - online, and the government and the Qualifications
and Curriculum Authority will have to think hard about ways of maintaining standards.
By far the easiest form of online testing to implement is multiple choice. A student can take the test
online and it can be automatically marked instantaneously; this system is almost foolproof. The
downside is that most people associate multiple choice with dumbing down, on the grounds that
anything that can be reduced to a yes or no, right or wrong answer is bound to be over-simplified.
“Not true,” says Stevie Pattison-Dick, head of communications for Edexcel. “Some multiple-choice
exams may be quite straightforward, but if they are, they only reflect the level of knowledge a student
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is expected to attain. There's nothing inherently simple about multiple choice. We've become very
sophisticated in our question setting and are able to cross-reference the answers, so an examiner can
now tell whether someone just got lucky by ticking the right box or actually understood the process on
which he or she was being assessed.” One of the final exams a medical student has to pass before
qualifying as a doctor is multiple choice, so this method of assessment has to be extremely rigorous.
1. The writer believes that ______.
A. nothing of significance has changed in the exam system
B. a revolution in exam taking may soon be initiated
C. many students cheat by using their mobile phones
D. technology doesn't greatly affect students when they sit exams
2. What does the writer mean by “old hands” in paragraph 3?
A. retired examiners
B. experienced examiners
C. examiners who have reached a certain age
D. mature students
3. The word “chairs” in the fourth paragraph is closest in meaning to ______.
A. emulates B. supplants C. presides D. follows
4. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a benefit of computer marking?
A. better utilisation of examiners
B. more interesting questions can be set
C. many set questions do not need human markers at all
D. financial advantages
5. The word “entire” in the fifth paragraph is closest in meaning to ______.
A. absurd B. abridged C. gross D. partial
6. One advantage of the new system is that ______.
A. teachers can focus on students' weaknesses before retakes
B. students only need to retake the parts of the exam that they failed
C. students can delay taking the exam for an extra six months
D. examiners can construct comprehensive revision plans
7. What is stated to be a disadvantage of the current system?
A. Many examiners complain that the work is boring now.
B. Examiners no longer have enough work.
C. Examiners have a limited impression of the candidate.
D. Examiners aren't as skillful as they used to be.
8. The word “downside” in the eighth paragraph is closest in meaning to ______.
A. drawback B. perfection C. firmness D. mode
9. What is implied about the general perception of multiple-choice testing?
A. It is easy for a student to cheat. B. It reduces the student's writing skills.
C. It lowers the standard of the exam. D. It's impossible for a computer error to be made.

10. According to Stevie Patterson-Dick, multiple-choice exams ______.

A. do have a large element of chance in them
B. are not always the best way to test medical students
C. are by far the best way to test students on particular subjects
D. can be composed in a way that makes students reaffirm their knowledge
II. Read the following passage and choose the word that best fits each of the blanks in the following
passage. Write your answers (A, B, C or D) in the spaces provided on your answer sheet. (5
pts)
THE VALUE OF WALKING
New research reveals that walking just 9.5 kilometers (six miles) a week may keep your brain sharper
as you get older. Research published in the October 13 online issue of Neurology (1) _______ that
walking may protect aging brains from growing smaller and, in (2) _______ preserve memory in old age.

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“Brain size shrinks in late adulthood, which can cause memory problems,” study author Kirk Erickson
of the University of Pittsburgh said (3) _______ a news release. “Our findings should encourage further
well-designed scientific (4) _______ of physical exercise in older adults as a very (5) _______ approach for
preventing dementia and Alzheimer's disease.” For the study, the team asked 299 dementia-free
seniors to record the (6) _______ they walked each week.
Four years later, the participants were tested to see if they had developed (7) _______ of dementia. Then
after nine years had passed, scientists scanned the participants' brains to measure size. At the four-
year test, researchers discovered subjects who walked the most had (8) _______ their risk of developing
memory problems by 50 per cent. At the nine-year checkpoint, (9) _______ who walked at least 9.5
kilometers a week, had brains with a larger volume than those who didn't walk as much.
This is not the first study to promote the benefits of walking in seniors. For example, last spring, Harvard
University found that women who walked regularly at a (10) _______ pace had an almost 40 per cent lower
risk of stroke.
1. A. informs B. provides C. suggests D. notifies
2. A. result B. turn C. sequence D. case
3. A. of B. in C. below D. over
4. A. trials B. attempts C. searches D. courses
5. A. indicative B. promising C. fortunate D. ideal
6. A. distance B. length C. duration D. extent
7. A. signals B. factors C. signs D. features
8. A. depressed B. declined C. reduced D. dropped
9. A. those B. one C. that D. anyone
10. A. brisk B. hard C. crisp D. brief
III. Fill each gap in the following passage with ONE suitable word.
Write your answers in the spaces provided on your answer sheet. (10 pts)
People often groan about the faults of our education system, but I think we just like to complain; my
gut feeling is most people are actually only too aware of (1) ______ lucky are to have such a high quality
of formal education open (2) ______ them for free all the way up to the end of secondary school. What
we take for granted - free education - is not something students from other parts of the world
necessarily enjoy. The standard of teaching in our schools is also second-to-none, another thing (3)
______ can't be said everywhere. I mean, in Greece, for example, state school teachers are often (4)
______ indifferent that students are forced to attend extra study classes at night - the (5) ______ of which
has to be borne by their parents. Not alone is this a waste of money, it also eats (6) ______ students' free
time. The situation is similar in South Korea - students have private lessons in the evenings to help
them (7) ______ their state school grades, and sometimes, between state school classes, (8) ______
lessons and homework, there are literally not enough hours in the day, (9) ______ to exhaustion and
burnout in a worst-case scenario, and, even in the best one, a significant reduction in the amount of
leisure time available to pursue healthy activities and partake in the kind of fun and games that should
characterize youth. In Britain, we go to school from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.; we have the evening to enjoy
(10) ______ young and that is how it should be; to quote a well-known proverb, “You're only young
once.”
IV. Read the following passage then answer the questions. (10 pts)
The following reading passage has seven paragraphs, A-G.
Choose the correct heading for paragraphs B-G from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-x, in blanks 1-6 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings

i The biological clock

ii Why dying is beneficial
iii The aging process of men and women
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 iv Prolonging your life
v Limitations of life span
vi Modes of development of different species
vii A stable life span despite improvements
viii Energy consumption
ix Fundamental differences in aging of objects and organisms
x Repair of genetic material

Example Answer
Paragraph A v

Paragraph B 1. ______
Paragraph C 2. ______
Paragraph D 3. ______
Paragraph E 4. ______
Paragraph F 5. ______
Paragraph G 6. ______
A Our life span is restricted. Everyone accepts this as “biologically” obvious. “Nothing lives for ever!”
However, in this statement we think of artificially produced, technical objects, products which are
subjected to natural wear and tear during use. This leads to the result that at some time or other
the object stops working and is unusable (“death” in the biological sense). But are the wear and
tear and loss of function of technical objects and the death of living organisms really similar or
comparable?
B Our “dead” products are “static”, closed systems. It is always the basic material which constitutes
the object and which, in the natural course of things, is worn down and becomes “older”. Aging in
this case must occur according to the laws of physical chemistry and of thermodynamics. Although
the same law holds for a living organism, the result of this law is not inexorable in the same way.
At least as long as a biological system has the ability to renew itself it could actually become older
without aging; an organism is an open, dynamic system through which new material continuously
flows. Destruction of old material and formation of new material are thus in permanent dynamic
equilibrium. The material of which the organism is formed changes continuously. Thus our bodies
continuously exchange old substance for new, just like a spring which more or less maintains its
form and movement, but in which the water molecules are always different.
C Thus aging and death should not be seen as inevitable, particularly as the organism possesses
many mechanisms for repair. It is not, in principle, necessary for a biological system to age and
die. Nevertheless, a restricted life span, aging, and then death are basic characteristics of life. The
reason for this is easy to recognise: in nature, the existent organisms either adapt or are regularly
replaced by new types. Because of changes in the genetic material (mutations), these have new
characteristics and in the course of their individual lives, they are tested for optimal or better
adaptation to the environmental conditions. Immortality would disturb this system - it needs
room for new and better life. This is the basic problem of evolution.
D Every organism has a life span which is highly characteristic. There are striking differences in life
span between different species, but within one species the parameter is relatively constant. For
example, the average duration of human life has hardly changed in thousands of years. Although
more and more people attain an advanced age as a result of developments in medical care and
better nutrition, the characteristic upper limit for most remains 80 years. A further argument
against the simple wear and tear theory is the observation that the time within which organisms’
age lies between a few days (even a few hours for unicellular organisms) and several thousand
years, as with mammoth trees.
E If a life span is a genetically determined biological characteristic, it is logically necessary to
propose the existence of an internal clock, which in some way measures and controls the aging
process and which finally determines death as the last step in a fixed programme. Like the life
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 span, the metabolic rate has for different organisms a fixed mathematical relationship to the body
mass. In comparison to the life span this relationship is “inverted”: the larger the organism the
lower its metabolic rate. Again this relationship is valid not only for birds, but also, similarly on
average within the systematic unit, for all other organisms (plants, animals, unicellular
organisms).
F Animals which behave “frugally” with energy become particularly old, for example, crocodiles and
tortoises. Parrots and birds of prey are often held chained up. Thus they are not able to
“experience life” and so they attain a high life span in captivity. Animals which save energy by
hibernation or lethargy (e.g. bats or hedgehogs) live much longer than those which are always
active. The metabolic rate of mice can be reduced by a very low consumption of food (hunger
diet). They then may live twice as long as their well fed comrades. Women become distinctly
(about 10 per cent) older than men. If you examine the metabolic rates of the two sexes you
establish that the higher male metabolic rate roughly accounts for the lower male life span. That
means that they live life “energetically” - more intensively, but not for as long.
G It follows from the above that sparing use of energy reserves should tend to extend life. Extreme
high performance sports may lead to optimal cardiovascular performance, but they quite certainly
do not prolong life. Relaxation lowers metabolic rate, as does adequate sleep and in general an
equable and balanced personality. Each of us can develop his or her own energy saving
programme with a little self-observation, critical self-control and, above all, logical consistency.
Experience will show that to live in this way not only increases the life span but is also very
healthy. This final aspect should not be forgotten.
Questions 7-10
Complete the notes below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each
answer. Write your answers in blanks 7-10 on your answer sheet.
 Objects age in accordance with principles of (7) ______ and of (8) ______.
 Through mutations, organisms can (9) ______ better to the environment.
 (10) ______ would pose a serious problem for the theory of evolution.

PART C. WRITING
Finish each of the sentences below in such a way that it means the same as the original one. (5 pts)
1. He is unlikely to carry out the plan. (PRACTICE)
He .......................................................................................................................................................................................
2. The accused never expressed regret for what he had done. (TIME)
At ........................................................................................................................................................................................
3. You’ve eaten so much that it’s logical you feel sick. (STANDS)
You have ..........................................................................................................................................................................
4. Jane persuaded the others to agree with her point of view. (BROUGHT)
Jane ....................................................................................................................................................................................
5. Please make sure you have all the documents available before the meeting. ......... (FINGERTIPS)
Please ensure that ........................................................................................................................................................

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