20/10/2023: 8ANCT – PRACTICE EXERCISES

SECTION A – LISTENING (15 pts)

Part I. You will hear a man talking about a children’s competition. Listen and complete the numbered
gaps that follow. You can listen to the audio twice.
Competition
Organiser: The Countryside Club
Write about: Your favourite British………(1)…………
Open to children aged: 8-……(2)……….
Number of words: ……………(3)………..
Prize: Family ticket to ………(4)…………
Send entries to: ……….(5)………., Portland
Part II.- Listen again and decide whether the following statements are True ( T) or False (F).
6.Last year, the children at the Countryside Club were asked to write about their favourite animal from
the British countryside.
7.This year, the writing topic is the same as it used.
8.This year, the children between the ages of eight and fifty have the right to take part in the writing
competition.
9.The best writing will appear in the Countryside magazine.
10.The winner will be awarded 200-400 pounds.
Part III. Listen to Jack asking Alice about her birthday. For each question, choose the correct
answer.
11. What date is Alice’s birthday?
A. 12th July B 14th July C. 16th July
12. What was the problem at Alice’s party last year?
A. Nobody had fun. B. It was hard work. C. Hardly any people came.
13. What is the problem with Freddie’s Pizza House?
A. The service was terrible. B. The food is bad. C. The pizzas are expensive.
14 . Where is the burger restaurant?
A. Hill Street. B. Penny Road C. Arthur Street
15. How much will six burgers cost at the new restaurant?
A. £18 B. £36 C. £40

SECTION B: PHONETICS (5 pts)

Part I. Choose the word whose underlined part is pronounced differently from the rest in the same
line. (3 pts)
16. A. weather B. breathe C. healthy D. although
17. A. admire B. avid C. variety D. while
18. A. moustache B. championship C. machinery D. champagne
Part II. Pick out the word that differs from the other words in the position of the main stress. (2pts)
19. A. obligatory B. geographical C. international D. undergraduate
20. A. university B. punctuality C. agricultural D. mathematician

SECTION C – VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR STRUCTURE(30 pts)

Part I- Choose the best answer. (10pts)
21. Granny is completely deaf. You’ll have to ________allowance for her
A. bring B. take C. make D. find
22. She was ________ she could not say anything.
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 A. so surprised at the news that B. such surprised at the news that
C. so surprised of the news that D. so that surprised for the news
23. So little ________ about mathematics that the lecture was completely beyond me.
A. I have known B. I knew C. do I know D. did I know
24. You must lend me the money for the trip. _________ I won’t be able to go.
A. Consequently B. Nevertheless C. Otherwise D. Although
25. She is wearing a/an ______ ring.
A. expensive nice gold B. nice gold expensive
C. gold nice expensive D. nice expensive gold
26. ________, we tried our best to complete it.
A. Thanks to the difficult homework B. Despite the homework was difficult
C. Difficult as the homework was D. As though the homework was difficult
27. I’m feeling a bit _______ the weather, I think I’m getting a cold.
A. with B. for C. upon D. under
28.Life’s very easy for you. You were born with a ________spoon in your mouth.
A. silver B. golden C. bronze D. diamond
29. A: “Will the Jackson be invited?”– B: “I_________.”
A. expect so not B. so expect C. expect so D. don’t expect
30. __________ the barrier at the side of the road, the car would have crashed into the valley below.
A. But for B. Apart from C. Except for D. Unless

Part II. Put each verb in brackets into an appropriate form.(8 pts)
31. Lan bought a new English book yesterday. She (read) _________ it tonight.
32. In twenty- four hours’ time, I (relax) _________.
33. ( you/ see) _________ Mary, give her my best regards
34. Tim looks so frightened and upset. He ( experience)___________ something terrible.
35. Tom will never forget (send)_________ to a boarding school when he was just 8 years old.
36. Thick fog across much of the UK has resulted in dozens of flights (cancel)__________and many
more delayed.
37. Too big and too heavy (pull)______behind passenger cars, these mobile homes are moved by tow
trucks.
38 By this time next month we (live)________ here for exactly 10 years..

Part III. Put each word in brackets into an appropriate form. (7pts)
39. His busy schedule made him completely ______ to his students. (ACCESS)
40. I really believe that it would be a major mistake to _____ any drugs (CRIME)
that are currently illegal.
41. The ___________ you can find in Sapa include the Hmong, Dao, and Tay. ( ETHNIC)
42. The comedian joked about a plane crash and some in the audience thought
he was being ________. (RESPECT)
43. Everyone thinks Ben is a weatherman, but he’s actually a _______, (CLIMATE)
44. The northern part of our country was slow to____________. (INDUSTRY)
45.The Tai are known for their ___________ garments and their houses on stilts. (WEAVE)

Part IV. Find out and correct the mistake in each sentence. (5 pts)
46. A persimmon tastes best when it is such ripe that it looks wrinkled and almost spoiled.
A B C D
47. In America, the Indians used crude oil for fuel and medicine hundreds of years before the first
A B C
white settlers arrive.
D
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48. Musical comedies, as an American form of entertainment, often take its subjects from America’s
A B C
present or past.
D
49. Of all seashore plants, seaweeds are best able to tolerate long periods out of water, followed by
A B C
long periods covering by water.
D
50. The fruit of the plantain looks much like a banana, and it is not so sweet or so pleasing in flavor.
A B C D
SECTION D: READING (30 pts)
Part I: Read the text and think of the word which best fits each gap. (10pts)
Dealing with waste plastic
Every year people throw (51) ………………….. millions of tonnes of plastic bottles, boxes and
wrapping. These create huge mountains of waste that are extremely hard to get (52) ………………….. of. Now
a new recycling process promises to reduce this problem by turning old plastic (53) ………………….. new.
Scientists have taken a long time to develop their ideas because waste plastic has always been a
bigger problem (54) ………………….. substances like waste paper, You can bury plastic, but it takes many
years to break down. If you burn it, it just becomes another form of pollution. A (55) …………………..
products, for (56) ………………….., bottles, can be re-used, but it is expensive or difficult to do this with a lot
of plastic products.
Now a group of companies has developed a new method (57) ………………….. recycling that could
save almost all plastic waste. Nearly every type of waste plastic can be used: it does (58) …………………..
have to be sorted. In addition, labels and ink may be left on the products. Everything is simply mixed
together (59) ………………….. heated to more than 400 degrees centigrade (60) ………………….. that it melts. It is
then cooled, producing a waxy substance that can be used to make new plastic products, including
computer hardware.
Part II. Read the passage below and choose the best answer to each question.(10pts)
CAREERS
Work should be a meaningful and (61) __________ part of one’s life. The (62) _______ of a
career is, therefore, one of the most serious decision anyone can (63) __________. It is important
to take in consideration your (64) _______ and personal preferences. For instance, adventurous people
who enjoy an outdoor life shouldn’t choose a (65) _______ in an office. If you like to work alone, you
shouldn’t look for employment which requires working with the public. If you enjoy working with
people, you may like a career in a (66) __________ such as human resources. You should (67)
__________ about finding out as much as possible about intended career before you finish your
education. It may take time to (68) __________ for the career you want. Don’t accept a job if you
haven’t got a clue what your working conditions will be or how much you can expect to ( 69)
__________. Future disappointment can be avoided by talking to professionals with (70) __________ in
the career you are interested in as well as visiting different companies and institutions.
61. A. comfortable B. productive C. exported D. efficient
62. A. thought B. advice C. choice D. interest
63. A. do B. set C. have D. make
64. A. facilities B. skills C. references D. contracts
65. A. work B. job C. pension D. business
66. A. branch B. department C. workplace D. firm
67. A. set B. work C. look D. find
68. A. run for B. practise C. train D. learn
69. A. bring B. earn C. obtain D. win
70. A. reputation B. employment C. experience D. experiment
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Part III. Read the passage below and choose the best answer to each question( 10 pts)
Lake Baikal, the world’s largest lake, is located in southern Siberia, in Russia. It measures 395
miles long by 50 miles wide and it has 1,245 miles of coastline. The lake’s rocky basin consists of three
depressions, which hold a total volume of 14,656 cubic miles of water, 20 percent of the freshwater in
the world. The lake is also very deep, with its deepest point at over 1 mile and an average depth of 2,066
feet. Furthermore, scientists have determined that Lake Baikal is the oldest lake in the world. From
sediment obtained by drilling deep down below the lake, researchers estimate it to be at least 25 million
years old.
To scientists, Lake Baikal is of particular interest because of its unique and isolated ecosystem.
More than 1,000 species of plants and animals found at Lake Baikal exist nowhere else on earth and
some can be dated to prehistoric times. Among its unique fauna is the Baikal freshwater seal. This
creature, which local people call nerpa, is the only mammal which inhabits the lake. Researchers
speculate that these seals, which have been breeding at Lake Baikal for 22 million years, are the
descendents of ocean-dwelling seals which migrated inland in search of food, when the lake was still
connected to the sea. Another creature that is unique to this Siberian Lake is the omu, a fish, which is
caught by local fisherman and is considered a great delicacy.
For centuries, the water in Lake Baikal was so clear that it was possible to see down to depths of
40 to 60 feet. Several factors contributed to keeping the water crystal clear. First, the lake contained
certain small zoo plankton and small crustaceans that consumed waterweeds, bacteria, and other material
that would otherwise cloud the water. Furthermore, the water in the lake consisted of rainwater and
melted snow that flowed down from a mountain range in about 300 streams and through uninhabited
forest. Finally, most of the watershed has a rocky surface, so the water flowing into the lake did not
accumulate mud or organic matter and had little mineral or chemical content.

71. The word “which” in the first paragraph refers to ________.

A. the rocky basin B. the lake
C. the total water volume D. three depressions
72. All of the following is mentioned EXCEPT that ________.
A. Lake Baikal is the world’s largest lake
B. Lake Baikal is located in Russia
C. Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world
D. Lake Baikal is the oldest lake in the world
73. All of the following are true about Lake Baikal EXCEPT that ________.
A. it has a great variety of fish
B. it is near the sea
C. it has the biggest amount of freshwater in the world
D. it is about 25 million years old
74. Scientists are particularly interested in Lake Baikal because ________.
A. its ecosystem is special
B. the animals there are similar to elsewhere
C. it has more species of plants than anywhere else
D. it is isolated
75. Baikal fresh seal is ________.
A. the only habitants of the lake Baikal
B. only found in the lake Baikal
C. has been breeding at the lake for 32 million years
D. a species of plant
76. Omu is mentioned in the passage as ________.
A. a local fisherman B. an animal migrating inland from the sea
C. descendents of ocean-dwelling seals D. an animal unique to the lake
77. The water of the lake Baikal is ________.
A. transparent B. toxic C. made of crystal D. used to make crystal
77. According to the passage, there are ________ factors contributing to the clarity of the water in Lake
Baikal.
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 A. 2 B. 1 C. 3 D. 4
79. The word cloud in the final paragraph can be best replaced by ________.
A. cold B. dirty C. clean D. muddy
80. The water in the lake is from all of the following EXCEPT ________.
A. snow B. rainwater C. streams D. forests

SECTION E . WRITITNG ( 20pts)

Part I: Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it means the same as the sentence
printed before it.
81. His small house stands at the top of the hill.
 At the top………………………………………………………………………………………….
82. Although he likes the girl a lot, he quarrels with her sometimes.
 Much ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
83. He spoke so loudly that all of us could hear him clearly.
 So...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
84. It wasn't Tom that you saw in the department store, for sure.
 It couldn't..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
85. We had to call the doctor because the baby had a high temperature.
 Because of........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Part II. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the
word given. Do not change the word given.
86. Carol didn't listen to what her teacher said. (attention)
 Carol didn't ……………………………………what her teacher said.
87. Despite the late departure of the flight, it arrived on time. (although)
…………………………………………, it arrived on time.
88. John only understood very little of what the teacher said. hardly
 John could ……………………………………….the teacher said.
89. I'm sure he hasn't forgotten about the meeting. (must)
 He ……………………………….about the meeting.
90. The man said that lie hadn't been involved in the robbery. (denied)
 The man ………………………………..involved in the robbery.
Part III. Write a paragraph about 150-180 words about the benefits of studying at a gifted school.