Reading Practice Set 1

Agriculture, Iron, and the Bantu Peoples

1. There is evidence of agriculture in Africa prior to 3000 B.C. It may have developed
independently, but many scholars believe that the spread of agriculture and iron
throughout Africa linked it to the major centers of the Near East and Mediterranean
world. The drying up of what is now the Sahara desert had pushed many peoples to
the south into sub-Saharan Africa. These peoples settled at first in scattered hunting-
and-gathering bands, although in some places near lakes and rivers, people who
fished, with a more secure food supply, lived in larger population concentrations.
Agriculture seems to have reached these people from the Near East, since the first
domesticated crops were millets and sorghums whose origins are not African but West
Asian. Once the idea of planting diffused, Africans began to develop their own crops,
such as certain varieties of rice, and they demonstrated a continued receptiveness to
new imports. The proposed areas of the domestication of African crops lie in a band
that extends from Ethiopia across southern Sudan to West Africa. Subsequently, other
crops, such as bananas, were introduced from Southeast Asia.

2. Livestock also came from outside Africa. Cattle were introduced from Asia, as
probably were domestic sheep and goats. Horses were apparently introduced by the
Hyksos invaders of Egypt (1780–1560 B.C.) and then spread across the Sudan to
West Africa. Rock paintings in the Sahara indicate that horses and chariots were used
to traverse the desert and that by 300– 200 B.C., there were trade routes across the
Sahara. Horses were adopted by peoples of the West African savannah, and later their
powerful cavalry forces allowed them to carve out large empires. Finally, the camel was
introduced around the first century A.D. This was an important innovation, because the
camel’s ability to thrive in harsh desert conditions and to carry large loads cheaply
made it an effective and efficient means of transportation. The camel transformed the
desert from a barrier into a still difficult, but more accessible, route of trade and
communication.

3. Iron came from West Asia, although its routes of diffusion were somewhat different
than those of agriculture. Most of Africa presents a curious case in which societies
moved directly from a technology of stone to iron without passing through the
intermediate stage of copper or bronze metallurgy, although some early copper-
working sites have been found in West Africa. Knowledge of iron making penetrated
into the forests and savannahs of West Africa at roughly the same time that iron
making was reaching Europe. Evidence of iron making has been found in Nigeria,
Ghana, and Mali.

4. This technological shift caused profound changes in the complexity of African

societies. Iron represented power. In West Africa the blacksmith who made tools and
weapons had an important place in society, often with special religious powers and
functions. Iron hoes, which made the land more productive, and iron weapons, which
made the warrior more powerful, had symbolic meaning in a number of West African
societies. Those who knew the secrets of making iron gained ritual and sometimes
political power.
5. Unlike in the Americas, where metallurgy was a very late and limited development,
Africans had iron from a relatively early date, developing ingenious furnaces to produce
the high heat needed for production and to control the amount of air that reached the
carbon and iron ore necessary for making iron. Much of Africa moved right into the Iron
Age, taking the basic technology and adapting it to local conditions and resources.

6. The diffusion of agriculture and later of iron was accompanied by a great movement
of people who may have carried these innovations. These people probably originated
in eastern Nigeria. Their migration may have been set in motion by an increase in
population caused by a movement of peoples fleeing the desiccation, or drying up, of
the Sahara. They spoke a language, proto-Bantu (“bantu” means “the people”), which
is the parent tongue of a large number of Bantu languages still spoken throughout sub-
Saharan Africa. Why and how these people spread out into central and southern Africa
remains a mystery, but archaeologists believe that their iron weapons allowed them to
conquer their hunting-gathering opponents, who still used stone implements. Still, the
process is uncertain, and peaceful migration—or simply rapid demographic growth—
may have also caused the Bantu explosion.

Directions: Now answer the questions.

1. According to paragraph 1, why do researchers doubt that agriculture developed

independently in Africa?

(A) African lakes and rivers already provided enough food for people to survive without
agriculture.
(B) The earliest examples of cultivated plants discovered in Africa are native to Asia.
(C) Africa’s native plants are very difficult to domesticate.
(D) African communities were not large enough to support agriculture.

2. In paragraph 1, what does the author imply about changes in the African
environment during this time period?

(A) The climate was becoming milder, allowing for a greater variety of crops to be
grown.
(B) Although periods of drying forced people south, they returned once their food
supply was secure.
(C) Population growth along rivers and lakes was dramatically decreasing the
availability of fish.
(D) A region that had once supported many people was becoming a desert where few
could survive.

3. According to paragraph 2, camels were important because they

(A) were the first domesticated animal to be introduced to Africa

(B) allowed the people of the West African savannahs to carve out large empires
(C) helped African peoples defend themselves against Egyptian invaders
(D) made it cheaper and easier to cross the Sahara
4. The word “profound” in the passage is closest in meaning to

(A) fascinating
(B) far-reaching
(C) necessary
(D) temporary

5. The word “ritual” in the passage is closest in meaning to

(A) military
(B) physical
(C) ceremonial
(D) permanent

6. According to paragraph 4, all of the following were social effects of the new metal
technology in Africa EXCEPT:

(A) Access to metal tools and weapons created greater social equality.
(B) Metal weapons increased the power of warriors.
(C) Iron tools helped increase the food supply.
(D) Technical knowledge gave religious power to its holders.

7. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the
highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in
important ways or leave out essential information.

(A) While American iron makers developed the latest furnaces, African iron makers
continued using earlier techniques.
(B) Africans produced iron much earlier than Americans, inventing technologically
sophisticated heating systems.
(C) Iron making developed earlier in Africa than in the Americas because of the ready
availability of carbon and iron ore.
(D) Both Africa and the Americas developed the capacity for making iron early, but
African metallurgy developed at a slower rate.

8. Paragraph 6 mentions all of the following as possible causes of the “Bantu

explosion” EXCEPT

(A) superior weapons

(B) better hunting skills
(C) peaceful migration
(D) increased population

9. In the paragraph below, there is a missing sentence. Look at the paragraph and
indicate (A, B, C and D) where the following sentence could be added to the passage.

These people had a significant linguistic impact on the continent as well.

Where would the sentence best fit?

The diffusion of agriculture and later of iron was accompanied by a great movement of
people who may have carried these innovations. These people probably originated in
eastern Nigeria. (A) Their migration may have been set in motion by an increase in
population caused by a movement of peoples fleeing the desiccation, or drying up, of
the Sahara. (B) They spoke a language, proto-Bantu (“bantu” means “the people”),
which is the parent tongue of a large number of Bantu languages still spoken
throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Why and how these people spread out into central and
southern Africa remains a mystery, but archaeologists believe that their iron weapons
allowed them to conquer their hunting-gathering opponents, who still used stone
implements. (C) Still, the process is uncertain, and peaceful migration—or simply rapid
demographic growth—may have also caused the Bantu explosion. (D)

(A) Option A
(B) Option B
(C) Option C
(D) Option D

10. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided
below. Complete the summary by choosing the THREE answer choices that express
the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the
summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are
minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

Write your answer choices in the spaces where they belong. You can either write the
letter of your answer choice, or you can copy the sentence.

Agriculture and iron working probably spread to Africa from neighboring regions.




Answer Choices

(A) Once Africans developed their own native crops, they no longer borrowed from
other regions.
(B) The harshness of the African climate meant that agriculture could not develop until
after the introduction of iron tools.
(C) The use of livestock improved transportation and trade and allowed for new forms
of political control.
(D) As the Sahara expanded, the camel gained in importance, eventually coming to
have religious significance.
(E) The spread of iron working had far-reaching effects on social, economic, and
political organization in Africa.
(F) Today’s Bantu-speaking peoples are descended from a technologically advanced
people who spread throughout Africa
Reading Practice Set 2

Running Water on Mars?

1 Photographic evidence suggests that liquid water once existed in great quantity on
the surface of Mars. Two types of flow features are seen: runoff channels and outflow
channels. Runoff channels are found in the southern highlands. These flow features
are extensive systems—sometimes hundreds of kilometers in total length—of
interconnecting, twisting channels that seem to merge into larger, wider channels. They
bear a strong resemblance to river systems on Earth, and geologists think that they are
dried-up beds of long-gone rivers that once carried rainfall on Mars from the mountains
down into the valleys. Runoff channels on Mars speak of a time 4 billion years ago (the
age of the Martian highlands), when the atmosphere was thicker, the surface warmer,
and liquid water widespread.

2 Outflow channels are probably relics of catastrophic flooding on Mars long ago. They
appear only in equatorial regions and generally do not form extensive interconnected
networks. Instead, they are probably the paths taken by huge volumes of water
draining from the southern highlands into the northern plains. The onrushing water
arising from these flash floods likely also formed the odd teardrop-shaped “islands”
(resembling the miniature versions seen in the wet sand of our beaches at low tide)
that have been found on the plains close to the ends of the outflow channels. Judging
from the width and depth of the channels, the flow rates must have been truly
enormous—perhaps as much as a hundred times greater than the 105 tons per second
carried by the great Amazon river. Flooding shaped the outflow channels approximately
3 billion years ago, about the same time as the northern volcanic plains formed.

3 Some scientists speculate that Mars may have enjoyed an extended early period
during which rivers, lakes, and perhaps even oceans adorned its surface. A 2003 Mars
Global Surveyor image shows what mission specialists think may be a delta—a fan-
shaped network of channels and sediments where a river once flowed into a larger
body of water, in this case a lake filling a crater in the southern highlands. Other
researchers go even further, suggesting that the data provide evidence for large open
expanses of water on the early Martian surface. A computer-generated view of the
Martian north polar region shows the extent of what may have been an ancient ocean
covering much of the northern lowlands. The Hellas Basin, which measures some
3,000 kilometers across and has a floor that lies nearly 9 kilometers below the basin’s
rim, is another candidate for an ancient Martian sea.

4 These ideas remain controversial. Proponents point to features such as the terraced
“beaches” shown in one image, which could conceivably have been left behind as a
lake or ocean evaporated and the shoreline receded. But detractors maintain that the
terraces could also have been created by geological activity, perhaps related to the
geologic forces that depressed the Northern Hemisphere far below the level of the
south, in which case they have nothing whatever to do with Martian water.
Furthermore, Mars Global Surveyor data released in 2003 seem to indicate that the
Martian surface contains too few carbonate rock layers—layers containing compounds
of carbon and oxygen—that should have been formed in abundance in an ancient
ocean.
Their absence supports the picture of a cold, dry Mars that never experienced the
extended mild period required to form lakes and oceans. However, more recent data
imply that at least some parts of the planet did in fact experience long periods in the
past during which liquid water existed on the surface.

5 Aside from some small-scale gullies (channels) found since 2000, which are
inconclusive, astronomers have no direct evidence for liquid water anywhere on the
surface of Mars today, and the amount of water vapor in the Martian atmosphere is
tiny. Yet even setting aside the unproven hints of ancient oceans, the extent of the
outflow channels suggests that a huge total volume of water existed on Mars in the
past. Where did all the water go? The answer may be that virtually all the water on
Mars is now locked in the permafrost layer under the surface, with more contained in
the planet’s polar caps.

Directions: Now answer the questions.

11. The word “merge” in the passage is closest in meaning to

(A) expand
(B) separate
(C) straighten out
(D) combine

12. The word “relics” in the passage is closest in meaning to

(A) remains
(B) sites
(C) requirements
(D) sources

13. In paragraph 2, why does the author include the information that 105 tons of water
flow through the Amazon river per second?

(A) To emphasize the great size of the volume of water that seems to have flowed
through Mars’ outflow channels
(B) To indicate data used by scientists to estimate how long ago Mars’ outflow
channels were formed
(C) To argue that flash floods on Mars may have been powerful enough to cause tear-
shaped “islands” to form
(D) To argue that the force of flood waters on Mars was powerful enough to shape the
northern volcanic plains

14. According to paragraph 2, all of the following are true of the outflow channels on
Mars EXCEPT:

(A) They formed at around the same time that volcanic activity was occurring on the
northern plains.
(B) They are found only on certain parts of the Martian surface.
(C) They sometimes empty onto what appear to have once been the wet sands of tidal
beaches.
(D) They are thought to have carried water northward from the equatorial regions.
15. All of the following questions about geological features on Mars are answered in
paragraph 3 EXCEPT:

(A) What are some regions of Mars that may have once been covered with an ocean?
(B) Where do mission scientists believe that the river forming the delta emptied?
(C) Approximately how many craters on Mars do mission scientists believe may once
have been lakes filled with water?
(D) During what period of Mars’ history do some scientists think it may have had large
bodies of water?

16. According to paragraph 3, images of Mars’ surface have been interpreted as

support for the idea that

(A) the polar regions of Mars were once more extensive than they are now
(B) a large part of the northern lowlands may once have been under water
(C) deltas were once a common feature of the Martian landscape
(D) the shape of the Hellas Basin has changed considerably over time

17. What can be inferred from paragraph 3 about liquid water on Mars?

(A) Lakes on early Mars were likely as large as some on Earth’s surface today.
(B) If there is any liquid water at all on Mars’ surface today, its quantity is much smaller
than the amount that likely existed there in the past.
(C) Small-scale gullies on Mars provide convincing evidence that liquid water existed
on Mars in the recent past.
(D) The small amount of water vapor in the Martian atmosphere suggests that there
has never been liquid water on Mars.

18. According to paragraph 4, what do the 2003 Global Surveyor data suggest about
Mars?

(A) Ancient oceans on Mars contained only small amounts of carbon.

(B) The climate of Mars may not have been suitable for the formation of large bodies of
water.
(C) Liquid water may have existed on some parts of Mars’ surface for long periods of
time.
(D) The ancient oceans that formed on Mars dried up during periods of cold, dry
weather.

19. In the paragraph below, there is a missing sentence. Look at the paragraph and
indicate (A, B, C and D) where the following sentence could be added to the passage.

These landscape features differ from runoff channels in a number of ways.

Where would the sentence best fit?

Outflow channels are probably relics of catastrophic flooding on Mars long ago. (A)
They appear only in equatorial regions and generally do not form extensive
interconnected networks.
(B) Instead, they are probably the paths taken by huge volumes of water draining from
the southern highlands into the northern plains. (C) The onrushing water arising from
these flash floods likely also formed the odd teardrop-shaped “islands” (resembling the
miniature versions seen in the wet sand of our beaches at low tide) that have been
found on the plains close to the ends of the outflow channels. (D) Judging from the
width and depth of the channels, the flow rates must have been truly enormous—
perhaps as much as a hundred times greater than the 105 tons per second carried by
the great Amazon river. Flooding shaped the outflow channels approximately 3 billion
years ago, about the same time as the northern volcanic plains formed.

(A) Option A
(B) Option B
(C) Option C
(D) Option D

20. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided
below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express
the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the
summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are
minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

Write your answer choices in the spaces where they belong. You can either write the
letter of your answer choice, or you can copy the sentence.

There is much debate concerning whether Mars once had water.





Answer Choices

(A) Various types of images have been used to demonstrate that most of the Martian
surface contains evidence of flowing water.
(B) The runoff and outflow channels of Mars apparently carried a higher volume of
water and formed more extensive networks than do Earth’s river systems.
(C) Mars’ runoff and outflow channels are large-scale, distinctive features that suggest
that large quantities of liquid water once flowed on Mars.
(D) Although some researchers claim that Mars may once have had oceans, others
dispute this, pointing to an absence of evidence or offering alternative interpretations of
evidence.
(E) While numerous gullies have been discovered on Mars since 2000, many
astronomers dismiss them as evidence that Mars once had liquid water.
(F) There is very little evidence of liquid water on Mars today, and it is assumed that all
the water that once existed on the planet is frozen beneath its surface
Reading Practice Set 3

Ancient Rome and Greece

1 There is a quality of cohesiveness about the Roman world that applied neither to
Greece nor perhaps to any other civilization, ancient or modern. Like the stones of a
Roman wall, which were held together both by the regularity of the design and by that
peculiarly powerful Roman cement, so the various parts of the Roman realm were
bonded into a massive, monolithic entity by physical, organizational, and psychological
controls. The physical bonds included the network of military garrisons, which were
stationed in every province, and the network of stone-built roads that linked the
provinces with Rome. The organizational bonds were based on the common principles
of law and administration and on the universal army of officials who enforced common
standards of conduct. The psychological controls were built on fear and punishment—
on the absolute certainty that anyone or anything that threatened the authority of Rome
would be utterly destroyed.

2 The source of the Roman obsession with unity and cohesion may well have lain in
the pattern of Rome’s early development. Whereas Greece had grown from scores of
scattered cities, Rome grew from one single organism. While the Greek world had
expanded along the Mediterranean Sea lanes, the Roman world was assembled by
territorial conquest. Of course, the contrast is not quite so stark: in Alexander the Great
the Greeks had found the greatest territorial conqueror of all time; and the Romans,
once they moved outside Italy, did not fail to learn the lessons of sea power. Yet the
essential difference is undeniable. The key to the Greek world lay in its high-powered
ships; the key to Roman power lay in its marching legions. The Greeks were wedded to
the sea; the Romans, to the land. The Greek was a sailor at heart; the Roman, a
landsman.

3 Certainly, in trying to explain the Roman phenomenon, one would have to place great
emphasis on this almost animal instinct for the territorial imperative. Roman priorities
lay in the organization, exploitation, and defense of their territory. In all probability it
was the fertile plain of Latium, where the Latins who founded Rome originated, that
created the habits and skills of landed settlement, landed property, landed economy,
landed administration, and a land-based society. From this arose the Roman genius for
military organization and orderly government. In turn, a deep attachment to the land,
and to the stability which rural life engenders, fostered the Roman virtues: gravitas, a
sense of responsibility, peitas, a sense of devotion to family and country, and iustitia, a
sense of the natural order.

4 Modern attitudes to Roman civilization range from the infinitely impressed to the
thoroughly disgusted. As always, there are the power worshippers, especially among
historians, who are predisposed to admire whatever is strong, who feel more attracted
to the might of Rome than to the subtlety of Greece. At the same time, there is a solid
body of opinion that dislikes Rome. For many, Rome is at best the imitator and the
continuator of Greece on a larger scale. Greek civilization had quality; Rome, mere
quantity. Greece was original; Rome, derivative. Greece had style; Rome had money.
Greece was the inventor; Rome, the research and development division.
Such indeed was the opinion of some of the more intellectual Romans. “Had the
Greeks held novelty in such disdain as we,” asked Horace in his Epistles, “what work of
ancient date would now exist?”

5 Rome’s debt to Greece was enormous. The Romans adopted Greek religion and
moral philosophy. In literature, Greek writers were consciously used as models by their
Latin successors. It was absolutely accepted that an educated Roman should be fluent
in Greek. In speculative philosophy and the sciences, the Romans made virtually no
advance on early achievements.

6 Yet it would be wrong to suggest that Rome was somehow a junior partner in Greco-
Roman civilization. The Roman genius was projected into new spheres— especially
into those of law, military organization, administration, and engineering. Moreover, the
tensions that arose within the Roman state produced literary and artistic sensibilities of
the highest order. It was no accident that many leading Roman soldiers and statesmen
were writers of high caliber.

Directions: Now answer the questions.

21. According to paragraph 1, all of the following are controls that held together the
Roman world EXCEPT

(A) administrative and legal systems

(B) the presence of the military
(C) a common language
(D) transportation networks

22. According to paragraph 2, which of the following was NOT characteristic of Rome’s
early development?

(A) Expansion by sea invasion

(B) Territorial expansion
(C) Expansion from one original settlement
(D) Expansion through invading armies

23. Why does the author mention “Alexander the Great” in the passage?

(A) To acknowledge that Greek civilization also expanded by land conquest

(B) To compare Greek leaders to Roman leaders
(C) To give an example of a Greek leader whom Romans studied
(D) To indicate the superior organization of the Greek military

24. The word “fostered” in the passage is closest in meaning to

(A) accepted
(B) combined
(C) introduced
(D) encouraged
25. Paragraph 3 suggests which of the following about the people of Latium?

(A) Their economy was based on trade relations with other settlements.
(B) They held different values than the people of Rome.
(C) Agriculture played a significant role in their society.
(D) They possessed unusual knowledge of animal instincts.

26. Paragraph 4 indicates that some historians admire Roman civilization because of

(A) the diversity of cultures within Roman society

(B) its strength
(C) its innovative nature
(D) the large body of literature that it developed

27. According to paragraph 4, intellectual Romans such as Horace held which of the
following opinions about their civilization?

(A) Ancient works of Greece held little value in the Roman world.
(B) The Greek civilization had been surpassed by the Romans.
(C) Roman civilization produced little that was original or memorable.
(D) Romans valued certain types of innovations that had been ignored by ancient
Greeks.

28. Which of the following statements about leading Roman soldiers and statesmen is
supported by paragraphs 5 and 6?

(A) They could read and write the Greek language.

(B) They frequently wrote poetry and plays.
(C) They focused their writing on military matters.
(D) They wrote according to the philosophical laws of the Greeks.

29. In the paragraph below, there is a missing sentence. Look at the paragraph and
indicate (A, B, C and D) where the following sentence could be added to the passage.

They esteem symbols of Roman power, such as the massive Colosseum.

Where would the sentence best fit?

Modern attitudes to Roman civilization range from the infinitely impressed to the
thoroughly disgusted. (A) As always, there are the power worshippers, especially
among historians, who are predisposed to admire whatever is strong, who feel more
attracted to the might of Rome than to the subtlety of Greece. (B) At the same time,
there is a solid body of opinion that dislikes Rome. (C) For many, Rome is at best the
imitator and the continuator of Greece on a larger scale. (D) Greek civilization had
quality; Rome, mere quantity. Greece was original; Rome, derivative. Greece had style;
Rome had money. Greece was the inventor; Rome, the research and development
division. Such indeed was the opinion of some of the more intellectual Romans. “Had
the Greeks held novelty in such disdain as we,” asked Horace in his Epistles, “what
work of ancient date would now exist?”
(A) Option A
(B) Option B
(C) Option C
(D) Option D

30. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is

provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that
express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the
summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are
minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

Write your answer choices in the spaces where they belong. You can either write the
letter of your answer choice or you can copy the sentence.

The Roman world drew its strength from several important sources.




Answer Choices

(A) Numerous controls imposed by Roman rulers held its territory together.
(B) The Roman military was organized differently from older military organizations.
(C) Romans valued sea power as did the Latins, the original inhabitants of Rome.
(D) Roman values were rooted in a strong attachment to the land and the stability of
rural life.
(E) Rome combined aspects of ancient Greek civilization with its own contributions in
new areas.
(F) Educated Romans modeled their own literature and philosophy on the ancient
Greeks.

Reading Answer Key

Agriculture, Iron, and the Running Water on Mars Ancient Rome and Greece
Bantu Peoples
1B 11 D 21 C
2D 12 A 22 A
3D 13 A 23 A
4B 14 C 24 D
5C 15 C 25 C
6A 16 B 26 B
7B 17 B 27 C
8B 18 B 28 A
9B 19 A 29 B
10 C,E,F 20 C,D,F 30 A,D,E
Speaking Set 1

Online or Classroom

State whether you agree or disagree with the following statement. Then explain
your reasons, using specific details in your explanation.

Learning through online courses is more effective than learning in the traditional
classroom setting.

Preparation time: 15 seconds

Record time: 45 seconds

This is a high-level response.

Transcript: Learning through online courses more effect than learning the traditional
classroom setting because of three reasons. The first is that you can take the courses
wherever you are once you have the computer and uh internet and second is that a
discussion on the classes could be more easily for some students who are very shy to
discuss with the friends, classmates and professor face to face. They can talk
whatever they like if they face a computer. What’s more, it could be much easier for the
students to hand in their assignment. They just could uh…they could just send the
email to the professor and uh the professor can give the commen..uh commendator
[unintelligible] of assignments in the email so I believe learning thorough…

Overall, this speaker provides a full response. She states her opinion and provides
three different, welldeveloped reasons for it. For the most part, the speakers is clear
and easy to understand. The major weakness, which prevents the response from
scoring at the highest level, is the imprecise vocabulary and minor grammatical errors.
She makes several minor errors of word choice, word form, verb tense, prepositions,
and so on. However, these errors seldom obscure meaning for the listener. For
example, she said, “…they can talk whatever they like if they face a computer…” but
she should have said, “they can say whatever they like if they are facing a computer…”
In her last sentence, she struggled to communicate the idea that the professor “could
give comments on assignments by email.”

Speaking Set 2

Banning Bicycles

Read the article from a university newspaper. You will have 50 seconds to read the
article. Begin reading now.

University to Prohibit Bicycles on Campus

Beginning next semester, the University will not allow the use of bicycles on campus.
The campus sidewalks are intended for pedestrians and receive heavy pedestrian
traffic. Several minor accidents have resulted from people on bicycles colliding with
people walking, and although no one has been seriously hurt, University officials feel
that bicycles pose a safety risk.
Furthermore, the prohibition of bicycles will not be a problem for students, since the
university currently operates a convenient alternative: the free campus bus system,
which runs between all campus buildings.

Now listen to a conversation between two students.

Male Student Hey, Sue, did you see this article?

Female Student Yeah, I did. I don’t think that’s a very good idea.

Male Student Really? You don’t think it’s a safety hazard, like they said?

Female Student No—at least not during the day. I’m pretty sure both of those
accidents happened at night, when it’s harder to see cyclists. They didn’t say that in the
article.

Male Student Oh, that does make a difference.

Female Student Sure it does. Maybe at night, with low visibility, there’s a safety
hazard. But I don’t think there’s any danger in the daytime...which is when most people
need to move around and get to classes.

Male Student Yeah, that makes sense.

Female Student Besides, it’s such a big campus, if they do this, it’s going to be really
hard to get around.

Male Student Well, we can always take the bus I guess.

Female Student But the buses only run once an hour.

Male Student That’s true. They’re not very convenient.

Female Student No, not at all. If people have to take the bus, we’ll end up sitting
around waiting for the next one all the time. And we’re all too busy to waste our time
doing that.

The woman expresses her opinion of the proposed policy change. State her
opinion, and explain the reasons she gives for holding that opinion.

Preparation time: 30 seconds

Record time: 60 seconds

This is a mid-level response.

Transcript: Well, the newspaper uh notice that uh the students cannot use bicycles
because it is considered as a safe re…safe risk. But uh, the woman, the girl does not
agree with it uh…she thinks that first uh [pause] the bus uh the bus cause accident uh
mainly because when it’s night people cannot see each other clearly and uh during
daytime uh bike…a bicycle is very safe. And the second, she thinks that she thinks that
the campus is quite big and not using bicycles causes very causes very inconvenience
uh get to classes. And finally although she thinks although the uh campus support
provide bus but it’s not..is…

The speaker seems to have understood some of the key points from the reading and
the conversation. However, many important details are missing or incorrectly
expressed in his response. For example, he incorrectly says that “the bus cause
accident” but the reading suggested that accidents on sidewalks occurred when
bicycles ran into pedestrians. Numerous vocabulary and grammar errors sometimes
make it difficult to understand the speaker’s intended message. For example, it is not
clear what is meant by phrases such as “…very causes very inconvenience…”, or “…
campus support provide bus…” The speech is mostly clear and easy to understand,
although the speaker repeats “uh” throughout the responses, which is often distracting
to the listener.

Writing Set 1

Facts vs Concepts and Ideas

Directions: Read the question below. You have 30 minutes to plan, write and revise
your essay.

Typically an effective response will contain a minimum of 300 words.

Directions: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? It is more important
for students to understand ideas and concepts than it is for them to learn facts. Use
specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

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High response:

It is a well-known tradition for students to dislike dates. Therefore, it seems that

maybe they don't like learning facts, which seems harder than "just" understanding an
idea or concept.
Indeed, once you have understood the idea of something, theorically, it remains in
your mind, whereas facts are easily forgotten. You can then re use the concept you
have learned before, only because you understood how it worked, why it was
important, and so on. And, something very important for the students, if they don't
really remember the exact words their teacher used to explain the concept, they can
made up something of their own, which may still be accurate.
On the contrary, you cannot do the same withs facts. Facts, as it is implied, are
precise, occurred in special situations, and were followed by special consequences.
For example, you can explain to someone what is the concept of Epicure's philosophy,
even if you don't really remember all the aspects of it, eventually your explanation may
still be valuable for the other person. It is more complicated with facts; indeed, you
cannot imagine how Henry 8th left the Catholic Church to create the Church of
England, unless you know the facts, the dates, the consequences, and so on.
As far as I am concerned, I think that facts are as important as concepts or ideas.
Facts are needed to understand concepts, and concepts are needed to foresee facts'
consequences, for example.
Concepts may sometimes be too abstract for students, and the vocabulary generally
used to explain a "concept" is not really words that we use in everyday's life, and it may
be a problem for some students.

Here, facts can help the teacher (or the person explaining) making the ideas clearer for
the others.
To conclude, I would say that there is a very close relationship between
understanding ideas and learning facts; none is more important than the other, and
when you are sutdying, you need to do both to succeed.

Writing Set 2

Directions: Read the question below. You have 30 minutes to plan, write and revise
your essay.

Some parents forbid young children from owning smartphones (cell phones with
Internet access), while others disagree and believe that they are important tools for
keeping in touch. Which point of view do you think is better, and why?
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Sample response:

In my opinion, it is absolutely the wrong idea for parents to allow their children to
have smart phones. They are immensely distracting, expensive, and unhealthy. Cell
phones have the power to distract young students from school work. Rather than
paying attention in class, students try to sneak opportunities to play on their phones.
Instead of thinking about schoolwork, they obsessively text each other and try to
check sites like Facebook. This takes time away from valuable studying. This is a
problem both during school and afterwards, when youngsters should be working on
their homework.
At the same time, smart phones can be extremely costly. Many plans require parents
to pay abusively high monthly rates. At times, these rates can climb even higher if
children use too much data due to things like downloading songs on the Internet.
Rather than wasting money on a phone, parents should use the funds on better
causes, like tutors for their children, or a home computer on which supervised learning
can take place.
Finally, smart phones can be dangerous for young children. We are still unsure
medically what the long term effects of exposure to cell phones are, particularly on
vulnerable groups such as children. It would be better to be safe than sorry. The less
exposure children have to potential toxins, the better. At the same time, kids are
sometimes targeted on social media sites by dangerous strangers. If parents allow
young children to have smart phones, it might be difficult to protect them in the long
term from these kinds of threats.
While older children may sometimes need them to stay in touch with their parents
due to their many obligations outside of the house after school, there is little cause for
younger children to own them. Parents should encourage their children to read and
think in their spare time, developing their minds. Smartphones are unhelpful when it
comes to this goal.