Pathways Listening, Speaking, and Critical Thinking, 2e Level 4: Unit Test

Name: ________________________ Class: ___________________ Date: __________

UNIT 6: TRADITION AND PROGRESS

VOCABULARY: Lesson A
Write the correct word from the box to complete each short text. Two of the words will not be used.

accustomed to contradiction preservation principle

assemble isolated pursue transition

1. In the 1980s, almost nobody had a cell phone because they were large, inconvenient, and hard to use. As the
technology improved, however, these devices became much more common. And these days, when people
everywhere look at their phone hundreds of times a day, it’s clear that a major ________________ has taken place
in society.

2. Many people have a ________________ they try to follow in their everyday life. Some always try their best to
help those less fortunate than themselves, for example. Others focus on maintaining their physical or emotional
health.

3. My eldest daughter is very driven. Since she was a young girl, it has been her dream to study medicine and then
________________ a career as a doctor. Getting into medical school is going to be hard, of course, but I’m
confident she can do it.

4. One effect of globalization is that rural communities that would have felt ________________ even 20 or 30 years
ago now feel more connected to everywhere and everyone else in the world.

5. If you look at human progress over the last 200 or so years, there is a huge ________________ . On the one hand,
our technological abilities continue to improve. On the other hand, we have not been able to ensure that everyone
on the planet has enough to eat and drink.

6. The university decided to ________________ a team of people to look into how to attract more students from
overseas.

VOCABULARY: Lesson B
Read the text. Notice the bold words. Then choose the correct answer for each bold word.

When I told my parents that I wanted to undertake a graduate degree overseas, they did not give me their
consent at first. They were worried and wanted me to stay in my home country, but I really wanted to go
somewhere with more diversity. Ultimately I was able to persuade them. For the first few weeks after I moved
abroad, however, I experienced many temporary hardships, such as homesickness, stress, and financial issues.
Fortunately, I maintained a positive attitude during this difficult time, and soon I began to flourish and get
excellent grades in my classes.

7. The word undertake is closest in meaning to ____.

a. continue going
b. forget learning
c. like having
d. start doing

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Pathways Listening, Speaking, and Critical Thinking, 2e Level 4: Unit Test

Name: ________________________

8. The word consent is closest in meaning to ____.

a. condition
b. expectation
c. permission
d. transmission

9. The word diversity is closest in meaning to ____.

a. value
b. variety
c. victory
d. vision

10. The word ultimately is closest in meaning to ____.

a. originally
b. suddenly
c. finally
d. easily

11. The word hardships is closest in meaning to ____.

a. challenges
b. opportunities
c. statements
d. variations

12. The word flourish is closest in meaning to ____.

a. act quickly
b. do well
c. go often
d. see clearly

LISTENING FOR MAIN IDEAS

Listen to the interview and take notes on a piece of paper. Then choose the correct answer.
(U6 Track 1)

13. What do the two speakers mainly discuss?

a. How technology can affect society
b. The newest trends in technology
c. Who uses technology the most
d. Why children enjoy using technology

14. What point does the woman make about the world?
a. Change was less common in the past than now.
b. It’s impossible to stop progress and change.
c. The ways people communicate rarely change.
d. There was little useful technology in the past.

© 2018 National Geographic Learning, a Cengage Learning Company 2

Pathways Listening, Speaking, and Critical Thinking, 2e Level 4: Unit Test

Name: ________________________

LISTENING FOR DETAILS

Listen to part of the interview. Complete each statement with one or two words from the interview.
(U6 Track 2)

15. According to the woman, two examples of a disruptive technology are texting and ____________________.

16. A disruptive technology is a sudden innovation that replaces the ____________________ of doing things.

17. One century ago, the horse was the main form of ____________________ in cities.

18. The speaker says there is little point in teaching ____________________ to children because it is not a skill they
need.

19. The Greek philosopher Socrates thought that ____________________ was not a good invention.

LISTENING SKILL: Listening for a Correction

Listen to the excerpt from an interview. What information does the speaker correct in the excerpt?

20. What name did the man mean to say? (U6 Track 3)
a. Webber
b. Webster

21. What period did the woman mean to say? (U6 Track 4)
a. in a few decades
b. in a few years

22. What century did the woman mean to say? (U6 Track 5)
a. nineteenth century
b. twentieth century

PRONUNCIATION: Stress in Adjective-Noun Combinations

Listen to the sentence with adjective-noun combination. Choose the word that has the stress.

23. Have you been to the post office yet? (U6 Track 6)
a. post
b. office

24. If you have a smartphone, you can access our app. (U6 Track 7)
a. smart
b. phone

25. I’d like to buy a leather sofa for my home. (U6 Track 8)
a. leather
b. sofa

26. The laser printer at the library was out of order. (U6 Track 9)
a. laser
b. printer

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Pathways Listening, Speaking, and Critical Thinking, 2e Level 4: Unit Test

Name: ________________________

27. She chose a job with a high salary. (U6 Track 10)
a. high
b. salary

GRAMMAR FOR SPEAKING: Verb + Object + Infinitive

Write the words in parentheses in the correct order to complete each sentence with a verb + object +
infinitive. Use only the words in parentheses as shown in the example.

Example: This camera allows users to take (allows / take / to / users) excellent photos.

28. The problem with the heating system ______________________________________ (every / forced / leave /
student / to) the lecture room.

29. Should we ______________________________________ (attend / classmates / invite / to / your) the

end-of-semester party?

30. His academic advisor ______________________________________ (drop / him / not / persuaded / to) the class.

31. The professor ______________________________________ (her / students / work / permits / to) with others on
their assignments.

SPEAKING SKILL: Using Rhetorical Questions

What is the purpose of the rhetorical question in the excerpt? Choose the correct answer.

32. Professor: Computers were one of the most important inventions of the twentieth century. Just think about all the
uses we have for these incredible machines. Our lives would be very different if they had never been
invented, wouldn’t they? Let’s look at some examples.

a. To encourage people to think about something

b. To invite people to agree with what has been said
c. To introduce a question that is then answered

33. Lecturer: In 1962, Thomas Kuhn presented a theory about how science develops. What’s this theory? Kuhn
suggested something he called a paradigm shift. In simple terms, this idea . . .
a. To encourage people to think about something
b. To invite people to agree with what has been said
c. To introduce a question that is then answered

34. Instructor: Think of a few people who have had a significant impact on the history of your country. I’ll give you
a few seconds. If you’re like most people, all or most of the influential people you’re thinking of are
men. But why is that? Again I’ll give you a few seconds to consider.

a. To encourage people to think about something

b. To invite people to agree with what has been said
c. To introduce a question that is then answered

© 2018 National Geographic Learning, a Cengage Learning Company 4

Pathways Listening, Speaking, and Critical Thinking, 2e Level 4: Unit Test

Name: ________________________

SPEAKING TASK
Read the question. Spend one minute thinking about how to respond. Then speak for one to two minutes.

35. Talk about an important tradition in your country. Consider the following questions:

What is the tradition?

How do people follow the tradition?
Why is the tradition important?
Do you think that the tradition will continue or not? Explain.

Support your response with details.

© 2018 National Geographic Learning, a Cengage Learning Company 5

 ID: U

UNIT 6: TRADITION AND PROGRESS

Answer Section

1. ANS: transition

PTS: 2 REF: Lesson A TOP: Vocabulary MSC: AWL

2. ANS: principle

PTS: 2 REF: Lesson A TOP: Vocabulary MSC: AWL

3. ANS: pursue

PTS: 2 REF: Lesson A TOP: Vocabulary MSC: AWL

4. ANS: isolated

PTS: 2 REF: Lesson A TOP: Vocabulary MSC: AWL

5. ANS: contradiction

PTS: 2 REF: Lesson A TOP: Vocabulary MSC: AWL

6. ANS: assemble

PTS: 2 REF: Lesson A TOP: Vocabulary MSC: AWL

7. ANS: D PTS: 2 REF: Lesson B TOP: Vocabulary
MSC: AWL
8. ANS: C PTS: 2 REF: Lesson B TOP: Vocabulary
MSC: AWL
9. ANS: B PTS: 2 REF: Lesson B TOP: Vocabulary
MSC: AWL
10. ANS: C PTS: 2 REF: Lesson B TOP: Vocabulary
MSC: AWL
11. ANS: A PTS: 2 REF: Lesson B TOP: Vocabulary
12. ANS: B PTS: 2 REF: Lesson B TOP: Vocabulary
13. ANS: A PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A | Lesson B
TOP: Listening for Main Ideas MSC: TOEFL
14. ANS: B PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A | Lesson B
TOP: Listening for Main Ideas MSC: TOEFL
15. ANS:
mobile phones
cell phones

PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A | Lesson B TOP: Listening for Details

MSC: IELTS
16. ANS: old way

PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A | Lesson B TOP: Listening for Details

MSC: IELTS

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 ID: U

17. ANS: transportation

PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A | Lesson B TOP: Listening for Details

MSC: IELTS
18. ANS: handwriting

PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A | Lesson B TOP: Listening for Details

MSC: IELTS
19. ANS: writing

PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A | Lesson B TOP: Listening for Details

MSC: IELTS
20. ANS: A PTS: 3 REF: Lesson B TOP: Listening Skill
21. ANS: A PTS: 3 REF: Lesson B TOP: Listening Skill
22. ANS: B PTS: 3 REF: Lesson B TOP: Listening Skill
23. ANS: A PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A TOP: Pronunciation
24. ANS: A PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A TOP: Pronunciation
25. ANS: B PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A TOP: Pronunciation
26. ANS: A PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A TOP: Pronunciation
27. ANS: B PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A TOP: Pronunciation
28. ANS: forced every student to leave

PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A TOP: Grammar

29. ANS: invite your classmates to attend

PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A TOP: Grammar

30. ANS: persuaded him not to drop

PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A TOP: Grammar

31. ANS: permits her students to work

PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A TOP: Grammar

32. ANS: B PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A TOP: Speaking Skill
33. ANS: C PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A TOP: Speaking Skill
34. ANS: A PTS: 3 REF: Lesson A TOP: Speaking Skill
35. ANS:
Answers will vary.

PTS: 10 REF: Lesson A | Lesson B TOP: Speaking Task: Free Speaking

MSC: IELTS

© 2018 National Geographic Learning, a Cengage Learning Company 2