PRACTICE TEST 1

I/ LISTENING
Part 1: You will hear three different extracts. For questions 1-6, choose the answer (A,B or C) which
fits best according to what you hear. There are two questions for each extract.

Part 2: You will hear a financial expert called Alexandra Harrow talking about the influence of the
mobile phone on the way people transfer money on a radio show. For questions 7-15, complete the
sentences with a word or short phrase.
II/ LEXICO & GRAMMAR
Choose the most suitable word to complete each sentence.

Think of ONE word which can be used appropriately in all three sentences.
Choose the best answer.
1. I'm really glad that pompous oaf lost his court case, maybe that will bring him down a ________ or two.
A. step B. notch C. peg D. rung
2. The economic situation makes many people unwilling to take the ________ and open their own businesses.
A. initiative B. bull C. plunge D. opportunity
3. The new soap opera on Channel 3 ________ new depths in terms of tastelessness.
A. plumbs B. reaches C. fills D. achieves
4. It only took me a few minutes to get the printer up and ________ after taking it out of the box.
A. walking B. proceeding C. running D. going
5. It was a hot summer day and ice cream salesmen were doing a ________ trade.
A. busy B. lucrative C. bustling D. roaring
6. I was in ________ at that comedy show. I could barely breathe it was so funny.
A. stitches B. pleats C. shreds D. tears
7. I hate the way Tony ________ around looking so self – important.
A. struts B. scampers C. slithers D. slinks
8. Most frequently, the earthquake lasts 30 to 60 seconds, so usually there is no time to avert the mortal ________
once the shaking starts.
A. upkeep B. upturn C. upshot D. upswing
9. They live under a constant pressure of being ________ and subsequently replaced by someone who is younger,
faster and more accomplished.
A. outcast B. outshone C. outstayed D. outgrown
10. Serena is still _______ ignorant of the fact that she is about to be made redundant.
A. blissfully B. decorously C. jubilantly D. ecstatically
11. No decision has been taken about the building of the new airport. The authorities are still _______.
A. beating about the bush B. comparing apples and oranges
C. sitting on the fence D. holding all the aces
12. I’m not surprised people are arguing- they are at the _________of their tether.
A. end B. limit C. finish D. termination
13. To get his proposal accepted, the Finance Manager had to _______ heavy pressure from colleagues.
A. fend off B. laugh off C. send off D. push off
14. At first the children enjoyed the game but quite soon the novelty ________.
A. went off B. died out C. wore off D. died down
15. I went to see the boss about a pay rise and he ________ with a weak excuse about a business dinner and
left me standing there.
A. brushed me aside B. brushed me up C. brushed me off D. brushed me down
16. She was very fortunate to ________ an excellent private tutor to help her with her study.
A. think through B. seek out C. pick up D. light upon
17. We had to _______ in the back of the car for an hour to find the missing keys.
A. bed out B. ransack C. root around D. turn upside down
18. They spend so much time arguing that, when it comes to the _______, decisions are often deferred.
A. crunch B. outcry C. panic stations D. uproar
19. James never really broke the rules but he did _______ them a little bit when it suited him.
A. twist B. curve C. move D. bend
20. Take care that your love for him doesn't _______ your judgement.
A. cloud B. darken C. topple D. shadow
21. The princess's nanny's autobiography really gives the _______ on life among the royals.
A. show-down B. know-how C. low-down D. look-out
22. I don't think Paul will ever get married — he's the stereotypical _______ bachelor.
A. settled B. confirmed C. fixed D. determined
23. It's as if that silly argument we had has driven a _______ between us and we've lost all our old closeness.
A. beam B. ledge C. plank D. wedge
24. Sources in France suggested that further _______ would be needed before they would agree to a deal.
A. concessions B. consolations C. contractions D. contortions
25. It was a close _______ but we just made it to the airport on time for our flight.
A. run B. drive C. call D. go
Find 10 mistakes in the passage and CORRECT them.
One of the most influential scientists in history, Sir Isaac Newton’s contributions to the fields of physics,
mathematics, astronomy, and chemistry helped usher in the Scientific Revolution. And while the long-told tale of
an apple dropping on his learning head is likely apocryphal, his contributions changed the way we see and
understand the world around us.
Before Newton, standard telescopes provided magnification, but with drawbacks. Known as refracting
telescopes, they used glass lenses that changed the direction of different colors in different angles. This caused
“chromatic aberrations,” or fuzzy, out-of-focus areas around objects being viewed through the telescope.
After much tinkering and testing, including grinding his own lenses, Newton found a solution. He replaced
the refracting lenses with mirrored ones, including a large, concave mirror to show the primary image and a
smaller, flat, reflecting one, display that image to the eye. Newton’s new “reflecting telescope” was more powerful
than previous versions, and because he used the small mirror to bounce the image to the eye, he could build a
much smaller, more practical telescope. In fact, his first model, he built in 1668 and donated to England’s Royal
Society, was just six inches long (some 10 times smaller than other telescopes of the era), but could magnify
objects by 40x.
The next time you look up at a rainbow in the sky, you can thank Newton for helping us first understand
and identify their seven colors. He began working on his studies of light and color even before creating the
reflecting telescope, although he presented much of his evidence several years later, in his 1704 book, Opticks.
Before Newton, scientists primarily adhered with ancient theories on color, including those of Aristotle,
who believed that all colors came from lightness (white) and darkness (black). Some even believed that the colors
of the rainbow was formed by rainwater that colored the sky’s rays. Newton disagreed. He performed a seeming
endless series of experiments to prove his theories.
Working in his dark room, he directed white light through a crystal prism on a wall, which separated into
the seven colors we now know the color spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet). Scientists
already knew many of these colors existed, but they believed that the prism itself transformed white light into
these colors. But when Newton refracted these same colors back onto another prism, they formed into a white
light, proving that white light (and sunlight) was actually a combination of all the colors of the rainbow.

III/ READING
Part 1: You are going to read an extract from a short biography of the author J.R.R. Rolkien. For
questions 31-36, choose the answer (A,B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
Part 2: You will read an article about working from home. Choose from the paragraphs (A-H) the
one which fits each gap (1-7). There is one paragraph you do not need to use.
Part 3: Read the passage and do the tasks that follow.
Tackling Obesity in the Western World
A. Obesity is a huge problem in many Western countries and one which now attracts considerable medical
interest as researchers take up the challenge to find a 'cure' for the common condition of being seriously
overweight. However, rather than take responsibility for their weight, obese people have often sought solace in
the excuse that they have a slow metabolism, a genetic hiccup which sentences more than half the Australian
population (63% of men and 47% of women) to a life of battling with their weight. The argument goes like this:
it doesn't matter how little they eat, they gain weight because their bodies break down food and turn it into
energy more slowly than those with a so-called normal metabolic rate.
B. 'This is nonsense,' says Dr Susan Jebb from the Dunn Nutrition Unit at Cambridge in England. Despite the
persistence of this metabolism myth, science has known for several years that the exact opposite is in fact true.
Fat people have faster metabolisms than thin people. 'What is very clear,' says Dr Jebb, 'is that overweight people
actually burn off more energy. They have more cells, bigger hearts, bigger lungs and they all need more energy
just to keep going.'
C. It took only one night, spent in a sealed room at the Dunn Unit to disabuse one of their patients of the beliefs
of a lifetime: her metabolism was fast, not slow. By sealing the room and measuring the exact amount of oxygen
she used, researchers were able to show her that her metabolism was not the culprit. It wasn't the answer she
expected and probably not the one she wanted but she took the news philosophically.
D. Although the metabolism myth has been completely disproved, science has far from discounted our genes as
responsible for making us whatever weight we are, fat or thin. One of the world's leading obesity researchers,
geneticist Professor Stephen O'Rahilly, goes so far as to say we are on the threshold of a complete change in the
way we view not only morbid obesity, but also everyday overweight. Prof. O'Rahilly's groundbreaking work in
Cambridge has proven that obesity can be caused by our genes. 'These people are not weak- willed, slothful or
lazy,' says Prof. O'Rahilly, 'They have a medical condition due to a genetic defect and that causes them to be
obese.'
E. In Australia, the University of Sydney's Professor Ian Caterson says while major genetic defects may be rare,
many people probably have minor genetic variations that combine to dictate weight and are responsible for things
such as how much we eat, the amount of exercise we do and the amount of energy we need. When you add up
all these little variations, the result is that some people are genetically predisposed to putting on weight. He says
while the fast/slow metabolism debate may have been settled, that doesn't mean some other subtle change in
the metabolism gene won't be found in overweight people. He is confident that science will, eventually, be able
to 'cure' some forms of obesity but the only effective way for the vast majority of overweight and obese people
to lose weight is a change of diet and an increase in exercise.
F. Despite the $500 million a year Australians spend trying to lose weight and the $830 million it costs the
community in health care, obesity is at epidemic proportions here, as it is in all Western nations. Until recently,
research and treatment for obesity had concentrated on behaviour modification, drugs to decrease appetite and
surgery. How the drugs worked was often not understood and many caused severe side effects and even death
in some patients. Surgery for obesity has also claimed many lives.
G. It has long been known that a part of the brain called the hypothalamus is responsible for regulating hunger,
among other things. But it wasn't until 1994 that Professor Jeffery Friedman from Rockerfeller University in the
US sent science in a new direction by studying an obese mouse. Prof. Friedman found that unlike its thin brothers,
the fat mouse did not produce a hitherto unknown hormone called leptin. Manufactured by the fat cells, leptin
acts as a messenger, sending signals to the hypothalamus to turn off the appetite. Previously, the fat cells were
thought to be responsible simply for storing fat. Prof. Friedman gave the fat mouse leptin and it lost 30% of its
body weight in two weeks.
H. On the other side of the Atlantic, Prof. O'Rahilly read about this research with great excitement. For many
months two blood samples had lain in the bottom of his freezer, taken from two extremely obese young cousins.
He hired a doctor to develop a test for leptin in human blood, which eventually resulted in the discovery that
neither of the children's blood contained the hormone. When one cousin was given leptin, she lost a stone in
weight and Prof. O'Rahilly made medical history. Here was the first proof that a genetic defect could cause obesity
in humans. But leptin deficiency turned out to be an extremely rare condition and there is a lot more research to
be done before the 'magic' cure for obesity is ever found.
Questions 1-8: The Reading Passage has six paragraphs A-H. Choose the correct heading for each
paragraph from the list of headings below.
List of Headings
I Obesity in animals
Ii Hidden dangers
Iii Proof of the truth
Iv New perspective on the horizon
V No known treatment
Vi Rodent research leads the way
Vii Expert explains energy requirements of obese people
Viii A very uncommon complaint
Ix Nature or nurture
X Shifting the blame
Xi Lifestyle change required despite new findings

1 Paragraph A .......... 5 Paragraph E ..........

2 Paragraph B .......... 6 Paragraph F ..........
3 Paragraph C .......... 7 Paragraph G ..........
4 Paragraph D .......... 8 Paragraph H ..........
Questions 9-13: Complete the summary below using ONE WORD ONLY from the box for each answer.
weight exercise sleep mind body genetic less
behavior more physical use metal consume metabolism
They do this by seeking to blame their (9) ________________ for the fact that they are overweight and
erroneously believe that they use (10) ________________ energy than thin people to stay alive. However, recent
research has shown that a (11) ________________ problem can be responsible for obesity as some people seem
programmed to (12) ________________ more than others. The new research points to a shift from trying to
change people's (13) ________________ to seeking an answer to the problem in the laboratory.

Part 4: You are going to read four movie series reviews. For questions 47-56, choose from the
sections o f the article (A-D). The sections may be chosen more than once.
Which reviewer(s) …
47 states the film he liked least?
48 mentions the difficulty in following the story plot?
49 criticises how one of the directors managed the film production?
50 gives importance to how the characters respond to some tragic events?
51 supports a venue’s decision to run the film?
52 implies that the film will not appeal to a certain group of people?
53 liked the acting?
54 wouldn’t have noticed that the trilogy was meant for TV viewers?
55 suggests how some people may find it difficult to understand?
56 says one film is good thanks to the feelings of one of the characters?
Red Riding Trilogy
A
The “Red Riding” films all come across as great, gritty tales of police corruption and human failing, but it’s the first
film that has the most impact, mainly because the young reporter Dunford is such a mix of romantic notions —
he’s going to solve the crime and save the girl. Such optimism runs dead against reality in these films. Mix the best
episodes of the superb British crime series “Prime Suspect” with the current real-feel cinema (“Fish Tank”) coming
out of England and you’ve got a sense of what “Red Riding” is about. The key isn’t the murders; the key is the
reactions to the murders on a breadth of levels, and those reactions lay bare gray and grave souls. Each film works
well separately, although 1983 is necessarily dependent on 1974, but taken as one great sweep of a dark
hand, “Red Riding” stands as a wrenching tale of power abused and lives discarded. It is powerful stuff.
B
Red Riding is a challenge. The convoluted story is not easily summarized and it demands constant viewer attention.
A two-minute trip to the lavatory or snack bar can be deadly. For American audiences, there is an additional
problem: some of the accents are so thick that it can be difficult to decipher dialogue and entire passages may be
missed. I’m generally not in favor of subtitling English movies in English, but this is one occasion when such an
approach might have been helpful. There are times when the movie is slow going. Patience is rewarded not only
in the second half of this film, when the violence mounts and secrets are revealed, but during the subsequent
productions, when a degree of familiarity with the initial narrative bears fruit. Red Riding: 1974 is the weakest of
the three Red Riding films, but it is effective at setting the stage, introducing some of the characters, and capturing
the attention of those who love gritty, uncompromising dramas about police corruption and the dark side of human
nature.
C
There’s a good reason the indie-minded Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center has turned over its programming
for the next three weeks to the superb and ambitious “Red Riding” film trilogy: because “Red Riding” isn’t so much
a film series as it is a film event, and it deserves to be treated as such. Inspired by author David Peace’s neo-
noir “Red Riding Quartet” novels, it is ambitious, it is gripping and it is dark. It’s also entirely irresistible cinema, an
uncompromising and hard-to-turn-away-from nightmare in three acts. With its muted colours but unmuted
violence, the beautifully shot “Red Riding” is similar both tonally and texturally to David Fincher’s superb 2007
thriller “Zodiac” about another 1970s serial killer. It’s also just as disturbing. “Red Riding” is so richly produced, in
fact, and so cinematic, that it’s easy to forget it and its sister films were produced for British television, airing on
England’s Channel 4 last spring. This is movie that deserves to be seen in a theatre.
D
Buoyed by very strong performances and a deliberate, grim style, the first installment in the acclaimed Red Riding
Trilogy, Red Riding 1974 sets the tone for the movies to come and makes clear that these are not sunny days for
the faint of heart. These are gloomy times; films not merely about the seedy underbelly of society but the fact that
the seedy underbelly keeps things moving. They have been compared to Zodiac but they are more realistically grim
than David Fincher’s masterpiece. The film can be a bit too self-serious at times, director Julian Jarrold (Brideshead
Revisited) would have been wise to focus on the procedural a bit more than the lead’s dream sequences or moments
of reflection, and the film’s television roots show on a production level, but Red Riding 1974 is a well-made, expertly
performed mystery with the added bonus that there are two more films to watch when the first one’s over.
IV/ WORD FORM
Cricket Left-Handers

11. The number of people suffering from shopping addiction has . ________ (TAKE) the number of drug and drink
addicts combined.
12. She has never traced back her ___________ (line), but believes her grandparents were from Aberdeenshire.
13. A(n) ________ (reach) and comprehensive strategy, carefully integrated with broader plans for health care
reform, is required.
14. Taking that old lady for a ride is _____________. (CONSCIENCE)
15. To achieve the _____________ logic, you have to employ certain techniques of using connectives like ‘and’,
‘or’ in the right place within the sentence. (SENTENCE)
16. The act of _____________ should be prohibited under any circumstances. Everyone all has equal rights to
vote. (FRANCHISE)
17. Bacteria derived from __________ disease can be contagious among people having reciprocal contact.
(MENINGES)
18. The woman is getting older. She is now in the __________ year of her age. (LIGHT)
19. Children who grow up in peace tend to be more ____________ than those who grow up in war. (ADAPT)
20. She cast her eyes ____________ and saw a mysterious man looking at her. (STREET)
21. Scientists from Russia, America and Japan have recently filled the periodic table’s seventh row with four
____________ chemical elements. (HEAVE)
22. It is a misconception that _________ human blood is blue. (OXYGEN)
23. In this modern day, you have to keep yourself _____________ so as not to lag behind others. (DATE)
24. This book is ________. You can find information about the varieties of plants around the world here. (EMBRACE)
25.That word is such a(n) ________________. It is not easy to pronounce at all. (JAW)
V/ GAP FILLING
Passage A.
Few inventions have had more scorn and praise (1)________ upon them at the same time than television. And
few have done so much to unite the world (2)________ one vast audience for news, sport, information and
entertainment. Television must be rated (3)________ printing as one of the most significant inventions of all time
in the field of communications. In just a few decades it has (4)________virtually every home in the developed
world and an ever-increasing proportion of homes in developing countries. It took over half a century from the first
suggestion that television might be (5)________ before the first flickering (6)_______were produced in laboratories
in Britain and America. In 1926 John Logie Baird’s genius for publicity brought television to the (7)________ of a
British audience. It has since reached such (8)________ of success and (9)________ on such a pivotal function
that it is difficult to imagine a world (10)________ of this groundbreaking invention.
Passage B.
Concentration is good in exams, bad in orange juice. Concentration happens when you manage to focus on
one thing to the (1) ______ of all others, and concentrating on that one thing (2) ______ you to stop worrying
about a lot of other things. Sometimes, of course, your mind concentrates when you don’t want it to. Maybe you
can’t get something out of your head, such as a problem you have to (3) ______ up to, or an embarrassing situation
you’ve been in. That’s why collecting things as a hobby is popular; it (4) ______ your mind off other things. Indeed,
some people seem to prefer looking after and cataloguing their collections to actually (5) ______ anything with
them, because this is when the absorbing, single- minded concentration happens.
 The natural span for concentration is 45 minutes. That’s why half an hour for a television programme seems
too short whilst an hour seems too long. But many people's lives are (6) ______ of concentration. Modern culture
is served up in small, easily digestible chunks that require only a short (7) ______ span although young people can
concentrate on computer games for days at a (8) ______.
Sticking out the tongue can aid concentration. This is because you can’t (9) ______ yourself with talking at
the same time and other people won’t (10) ______ to interrupt your thoughts, because you look like an idiot!
Passage C.
Allergies
Put simply, an allergy is a disorder in which the body over-reacts to harmless substances which in normal
circumstances should not produce any reaction at all. An allergy can occur in almost 0 any part of your body, and
can 9 ________________ caused by just about anything. But mainly, allergies become evident on parts of the
body directly exposed 10 _________ the outside world. Certain allergies occur only at certain times of the year,
while 11 ____________ are there all the time. Those 12 _____________ occur all the year round and are
probably caused by something you come into contact 13 ______________ every day of your life, some seemingly
harmless object such as your deodorant or the pillow you lie on each night. Allergies can occur at any time during
your life, 14 ________________ usually do so before your fortieth birthday. Sometimes the symptoms
are 15 _____________ slight you do not even know you have an allergy, and it may take years for an allergy to
become noticeable. Sometimes it comes and 16 ________________ for no apparent reason and with no regularity.
VI/ CLOZE TEXTS
A success story — or is it?
Success, like beauty, lies in the 0 eye of the beholder. How one person chooses to define it can be very
different from how others perceive it. For some people, it’s earning a fortune, 1_______ for others it’s working in
a voluntary position helping those less fortunate. It’s also relative rather than 2_______ because the person
who 3_______ a new skill has achieved success in their terms just as much as the self-made millionaire.
Ironically, there may also be an underlying contradiction in the term. 4_______, an actress who has a
glamorous life and seems to have everything she wants may actually be troubled by the loss of her 5_______ life
as paparazzi invade her personal 6_______.
It also has something to do with the length of time success 7_______. Many young people are happy with
short-term fame but 8_______ it’s true that reaching that one goal might be comparatively straightforward,
maintaining that success is often much harder. And surely, it’s long-term success that is ultimately the most
satisfying and also the most enviable?
0 A eye B look C sight D view

1 A as B while C so D since

2 A total B whole C complete D absolute

3 A wins В earns C gets D masters

4 A After all В At first C At once D Apart from

5 A secret В private C individual D separate

6 A zone В area C space D place

7 A goes В holds C keeps D lasts

8 A despite B even C although D however

Mountain rescue in Scotland
Last year, over 200 climbers were rescued from the mountains of Scotland by local teams, who go out in all
weathers whenever disaster (0)_____ . Many of these people are volunteers, giving their time and energy freely
and, on (1)_____ putting themselves in danger. They will risk life and (2)_____ in an emergency when they
are (3)_____ on to rescue foolhardy or unlucky climbers. A whole (4)_____ of things can go wrong up in the
mountains, from sudden, violent storms with virtually zero visibility to unforeseen accidents, and many walkers and
climbers owe a huge (5)_____ of gratitude to the rescue teams!
While rescue teams often work for little or no pay, there are still considerable costs (6)_____ in maintaining an
efficient service. Equipment such as ropes and stretchers is of (7)_____ importance, as are vehicles and radio
communications devices. Although some of the costs are borne by the government, the rescue teams couldn’t
operate without (8)_____ from the public. Fortunately, these tend to be very generous.
0 A rises B strikes C arrives D hits

1 A situation B event C moment D occasion

2 A limb B blood C bone D flesh

3 A pulled B called C summoned D required

4 A scope B extent C host D scale

5 A recognition B liability C debt D claim

6 A implied B involved C featured D connected

7 A lively B main C essential D vital

8 A grants B allowances C donations D aids

VII/ SENTENCE TRANSFORMATION
1. Everybody knows that Beckham is the most highly paid footballer in Britain. (knowledge)
It……………………………………………………………………………………………..footballer in Britain.
2. The police are expecting trouble at the anti-nuclear demonstration. (will)
It is …………………………………………………………………………………………….. anti-nuclear demonstration.
3. John and I disagree on the subject of juvenile delinquency. (eye)
John and I ………………………………………………………………………………………..subject of juvenile delinquency.
4. We don’t know what the outcome of the vote will be. (remains)
It ……………………………………………………………………………………………..the outcome of the vote will be.
5. Janet seems to have taken on more than she can cope with in her new job. (bitten)
Janet seems to …………………………………………………………………………………………….. in her new job.
6. Their problems are all self-inflicted. (making)
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
7. The terrorists’ attack on the Capital Trade Center was very much like the 11-9 attack on the WTO building.
carbon.
That ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….… WTO building.
8. He gets very annoyed when you criticize him. bull
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
9. You have said exactly the right thing. nail
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
10. His shop has now stopped trading after making heavy losses. (business)
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
11. Knowledge without common sense is of little importance. counts
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
12. I could tell by the tone of his voice how serious the situation was. (home)
The tone of his …………………………………………………………………………………………………was.
13. If we accept that majority attribute of industrial societies is achievement, the laws of that society must apply
to everyone. Given
…………………………………………………………………………………………………… the laws of that society.
14. Don’t forget those who are at work on this lovely sunny day! Spare
…………………………………………………………………………………………………!
15. Martin’s habit of taking risks doesn’t fit in with his image as a family man. (compatible)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
----THE END----