ENGLISH 12: PRACTICE TEST 9

LISTENING (50)
PART 1. A Japanese girl and a housing officer are talking about her
homestay family. The housing officer takes some details from the girl.
For questions 1-5, complete the following form with NO MORE THAN
THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer. (10 points)
PERSONAL DETAILS FOR HOMESTAY APPLICATION
First name 1. ______________________
Family name Yuichini
Gender Female
Age 28
Passport 2. ______________________
number
Nationality Japanese
Course enrolled 3. ______________________
Length of the 4. ______________________
course
Homestay time 5. ______________________

PART 2. You will hear an interview with a professional athlete called Ann
Brown.
For questions 6-10, choose the best answer (A, B or C). (10 points)

6. What does Ann say about her performance in the world championships?
A. She was disappointed not to win.
B. She wishes she'd been more prepared.
C. She did better than she'd been expecting to.
7. How does Ann feel about the place where she trains?
 A. She finds it quite boring.
B. She enjoys looking at the scenery.
C. She pays little attention to where she is.
8. What is Ann's attitude towards the other competitors in races?
A. She avoids close social contact with them.
B. She's made a few good friends amongst them.
C. She finds it easy to talk to them when she has to.
9. How does Ann feel about being recognized in public?
A. She's relaxed about it.
B. She finds the attention exciting.
C. She dislikes signing autographs.
10. When thinking about the future, Ann _______.
A. plans around five years in advance.
B. admits to worrying about getting injured.
C. remains focused on winning important races

PART 3. You will hear two neighbors, a woman, Natasha, and a man.
Colin, talking about running.
For question 11-15, decide if each sentence is correct or incorrect. If it is
correct, write T for True. If it is incorrect, write F for False. Write your
answer in the space given. (10 points)

11. Natasha has decided to take the day off work to go running.
___________
12. Colin found running to work was bad for his health.
___________
13. Natasha would like to wear her sports clothes at work.
___________
 14. Natasha will run in the big race because she hopes to win it.
___________
15. Colin and Natasha will prepare for the big race together.
___________

PART 4. You will hear a singer called Tim Tanner who sings with his twin
brother Sam Tanner, talking about their lives and career.
For questions 16-25, complete the sentences. (20 points)
Singing twins: Tim and Sam Tanner
The name of the talent competition which the twins won is
(16)______________________.
Tim is exactly (17)______________________ older than Sam.
The twins were born in the month of (18)______________________.
The main physical difference between Tim and Sam is their
(19)_____________________.
Tim has a less (20)______________________ personality than Sam.
At school, both Tim and Sam were good at (21)___________________.
Sam started taking (22)_______________ lessons when he was thirteen.
The fact that the twins share the same (23)_____________________
sometimes leads to arguments.
Tim says a key part of the twins' image is the
(24)___________________ they wear.
The title of the twins’ next album is (25)______________________.
 ENGLISH 12: PRACTICE TEST 9

SECTION I: LEXICO – GRAMMAR (50/150)

PART 1. Choose the best answer to each of the following questions. Write
your answer in the numbered boxes. (20 points)
1. The contemporary dialogue for me struck a slightly _______ note.
A. disembodied B. discordant C. dismissive
D. disconcerting
2. We decided to celebrate by going out and painting the town ________.
A. red B. purple C. gold D. brown
3. The series became so popular that it was moved to the ________ time spot
of 8 pm.
A. leading B. prime C. main D. major
4. The current economic _______ is very good for small businesses.
A. disposition B. whirlwind C. climate D. daze
5. He hit the other boy reluctantly as his friends __________ him on.
A. happened B. egged C. ground D. played
6. The actors gave a very ________ performance, and the critics expressed
their disapproval in their reports the following day.
A. pie-in-the-sky B. run-of-the-mill
C. good-for-nothing D. behind-the-scene
7. He was _________ devastated by the news.
A. utterly B. extremely C. deeply D.
immensely
8. The Red Cross is ________ an international aid organization.
A. intriguingly B. intrusively C. intrinsically D.
intrepidly
9. I know it’s got his name on the cover, but he used a ________.
A. correspondent B. model C. ghost writer D. fellow
10. Our lecturer _________ the importance of taking clear notes.
A. responded B. reiterated C. retained D. recruited
11. Suppose she _______ that outrageous story circulating around the office,
she’d be furious.
A. has heard B. would hear C. were heard D. had heard
12. People can make themselves walk on nails or through fire. It’s a question
of mind over ______.
A. body B. material C. matter D. facts
13. Our plan to start our own business seem ________to failure.
A. doomed B. fated C. compelled D.
designed
14. ________ my buying tuna if you detest eating fish.
A. Is it any good B. As well as
C. It’s not much use D. There is nothing good
 15. We welcome the new regulations, which become________ on the first of
next month.
A. effective B. efficient C. efficacious D. effete
16. The chemicals spilled over the road and left drivers ________ for breath.
A. suffocating B. inhaling C. gasping D.
wheezing
17. It is impossible to miss the ______ of the Generation X in America.
A. manifestation B. advancement
C. initiation D. acknowledgement
18. He has been trying to improve his grades but instead, they have
remained as ______ as possible.
A. static B. on coming C. parasitic D. virtual
19. They go to the seaside _____ they should be disturbed by the noise of the
city.
A. in order that B. for C. so that D. lest
20. I haven’t got the time to do my own work, ______ help you with yours.
A. leaving B. let alone C. apart D. aback
aside

PART 2. Identify and correct 10 errors in the passage. Write your answer
in the numbered boxes (10 points)
The first self-service stores open in America in the 1920s but they didn’t
catch up in Europe until later, when the French forged ahead with their massive
hypermarkets. Britain lagged behind. For the first self-service shop and the first
supermarket were opened in the early 1940s, it was thought that British
housewives did not particularly want proficiency and speed. Surveys showed
that while American shoppers complained most about delays in check-out
queues. British ones rejected to being pushed and shoved by other customers.
The essence of supermarket shopping is impersonality, with no meditating
salesman between seller and goods, only the ‘silent persuaders’ of packaging
and display. Besides, there is a current trend towards ‘boutiques’, with personal
service, within supermarkets – the butcher, the baker, the fishseller – and small
specialist shops and farmers’ markets are doing a comeback in Britain. In
France, where every self-respecting provincial town, ringed by supermarkets,
retains their specialist food shops and weekly street market, the traditional co-
exists with the ancient.

PART 3. Fill in the blanks with proper prepositions or adverbial particles.

Write your answer in the numbered boxes. (10 points)
Put the right prepositions into the gaps:
1. We met each other at the meeting ______ coincidence.
2. No one can function properly if he or she is deprived _______ adequate
sleep.
 3. The concert was given ______ the auspices of the Y.M.C.A.
4. When he suddenly brought ______ the subject of genetic engineering,
there was an embarrassed silence.
5. After she ate the chocolates, her face broke ______ in a rash.
6. The situation is very confusing in that country and calls _______
diplomacy.
7. No witness of the accident has come _______ yet.
8. You shouldn’t have sent Peter that Valentine’s card. I think you’ve scared
him ______.
9. The police are trying to crack _____ on drunken drivers.
10. He was very upset when the boss pushed him ______ and promoted a
new comer to the assistant’s job.

PART 4. Fill in each blank with the most suitable form of the word in
brackets. Write your answer in the numbered boxes. (10 points)
Rafflesia is a rare parasitic plant species found in Southeast Asia. Rafflesia
has been 1.(LIKE) to a fungus because it lacks chlorophyll and is incapable of
photosynthesis. Perhaps the only part of Rafflesia that is discernible as distinctly
plant-like is the flower, which is said to be the world’S largest.
Many 2.(BOTANY) have been keen to discover why the flower is so
large, so they recently conducted 3.(MOLECULE) analysis on the plant. This
resulted in the 4.(REVEAL) that it has evolved almost 80 times from its origin
as a tiny bud to today's seven-kilo mega-bloom. Although this 5.(ORDINARY)
transformation took tens of millions of years, such an 6.(EVOLUTION) spurt
is still one of the most dramatic size changes ever reported. Such growth rates in
humans would be 7.(COMPARE) to us being 146 metres tall today.
The plant is also unusual in another way. Its smell is extremely
8.(PLEASE) but this horrible trait attracts such 9.(POLLINATE) as flies. It is
thought that Rafflesia’s huge flower helps radiate the smell over long
10.(DISTANT).

SECTION II: READING COMPREHENSION (50/150)

PART 1: Read the passage below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D)
best fits each gap. Write your answer in the numbered boxes. (10 points)
In Europe, Midsummer Night's Eve, also known as St John's Eve, occurs
on June 23rd. It originates from the pagan celebrations of the summer solstice
which were held on June 21st. On that night throughout Europe bonfires were lit
along hillsides to (1)_____ the shortest night of the year. It must have looked as
if some kind of violent insurrection was taking place down the coast of Scotland
and England, but these signal fires in fact had a very important purpose. Bones
of farm animals (2)_____ the previous autumn were burned and, when the fires
had (3)_____, the remaining ash was put to good use: it was spread on the fields
to enrich the land and ensure a good harvest. The word 'bonfire' is (4)_____
from 'bone fire'.
In Brazil too St John's Eve means bonfires and fireworks. Another quaint
tradition involves the (5)_____ of small paper hot-air balloons, although they
are prohibited by law in the cities because of the fire (6)_____. Bonfires mark
the beginning of spring rather than the summer in Sweden and are lit on the last
night of April. In the Swedish Midsummer's Eve (7)_____, held on June 24th, a
large pole, decorated with flowers and leaves, is placed in the ground.
Thistles also have a significant role in the celebration of Midsummer's
Night in Europe. In the past they were thought to (8)_____ witches. The pretty,
prickly plant was nailed over barn doors and used in wreaths, the circular shape
being a symbol of the turning of the seasons. Wheels laced with straw and
soaked in pitch were lit from the bonfires and then rolled down hills.
There is less risk of fire in a (9)_____ tradition to many Slavic countries.
Young women and girls float little baskets of flowers and lighted candles down
streams. Local boys swim out to (10)_____ a basket, find the girl it belongs to
and claim a dance at the town's Midsummer's Eve Party.

1. A. celebrate B. honour C. commemorate D. commiserate

2. A. revised B. assassinated C. slaughtered D. sacrificed
3. A. doused B. extinguished C. smothered D. gone out
4. A. derived B. developed C. evolved D. decayed
5. A. landing B. launching C. propelling D. ejecting
6. A. certainty B. peril C. jeopardy D. hazard
7. A. tradition B. custom C. ceremony D. practice
8. A. deflect B. ward off C. attract D. avert
9. A. unique B. common C. mutual D. prevalent
10. A. salvage B. rescue C. set free D. liberate

PART 2. Read the text below and think of the word which best fits each
space. Use only ONE word in each space. (15 points)
Psychologists are interested in the reasons why some people like taking part
in risky sports. (1) ____ they studied people who were learning to jump from a
plane with a parachute, they found that parachutists’ bodies (2) ______ large
amounts of two hormones, adrenaline and nor adrenaline, just (3)_____they
made their jump.
These hormones help to prepare us for any sudden activity. Adrenaline
increases the (4)______ rate and provides more sugar for the muscles, while nor
adrenaline does make us react more quickly. (5)_____, nor adrenaline also
stimulates a part of the brain which controls feelings of pleasure. Some
psychologists (6)_____ concluded that it is a feeling of pleasure caused by this
hormone which makes (7)_____ people want to participate in dangerous sports.
 Another possible reason is the level of arousal (8)_____ part of the brain.
According to some psychologists, the brain tries to maintain a certain level of
arousal. They believe that people who normally have a low level of arousal
(9)____ for excitement and new experiences in order to stimulate themselves,
whereas people who usually have a high level of arousal try to avoid risks and
unfamiliar (10)_____ in order not to become overexcited. If the psychologists
are right, people with a low arousal are the ones who enjoy participating in
dangerous sports and activities.

PART 3. Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer A, B, C or
D. Write your answer in the space provided. (10 points)
There are only a few clues in the rock record about climate in the
Proterozoiccon. Much of our information about climate in the more recent
periods of geologic history comes from the fossil record, because we have a
reasonably good understanding of the types of environment in which many
fossil organisms flourished. The scarce fossils of the Proterozoic, mostly single-
celled bacteria, provide little evidence in this regard. However, the rocks
themselves do include the earliest evidence for glaciation, probably a global ice
age.
The inference that some types of sedimentary rocks are the result of glacial
activity is based on the principle of uniformitarianism, which posits that natural
processes now at work on and within the Earth operated in the same manner in
the distant past. The deposits associated with present-day glaciers have been
well studied, and some of their characteristics are quite distinctive. In 2.3-
billion-year-old rocks in Canada near Lake Huron (dating from the early part of
the Proterozoic age), there are thin laminae of fine-grained sediments that
resemble varves, the annual layers of sediment deposited in glacial lakes.
Typically, present-day varves show two-layered annual cycle, one layer
corresponding to the rapid ice melting and sediment transport of the summer
season, and the other, finer-grained, layer corresponding to slower winter
deposition. Although it is not easy to discern such details in the Proterozoic
examples, they are almost certainly glacial varves. These fine-grained, layered
sediments even contain occasional large pebbles or “dropstones,” a
characteristic feature of glacial environments where coarse material is
sometimes carried on floating ice and dropped far from its source, into
otherwise very fine grained sediment. Glacial sediments of about the same
age as those in Canada have been found in other parts of North America
and in Africa, India, and Europe. This indicates that the glaciation was
global, and that for a period of time in the early Proterozoic the Earth was
gripped in an ice age.
Following the early Proterozoic glaciation, however, the climate appears to
have been fairly benign for a very long time. There is no evidence for glaciation
for the next 1.5 billion years or so. Then, suddenly, the rock record indicates a
series of glacial episodes between about 850 and 600 million year ago, near the
end of the Proterozoiccon.

1. Which of the following does the passage mainly discuss?

A. How patterns in rock layers have been used to construct theories about the
climate of the Proterozoic age
B. What some rare fossils indicate about glacial conditions during the late
Proterozoic age
C. The varying characteristics of Proterozoic glacial varves in different parts of
the world
D. The number of glacial episodes that the Earth has experienced since the
Proterozoic age
2. According to the passage, the fossil record of the Proterozoic con is_______
A. highly regarded because it preserves the remains of many kinds of organisms
B. less informative than the fossil record of more recent periods
C. very difficult to interpret due to damage from bacteria
D. more useful to researchers than other aspects of the rock record
3. The word “scarce” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to______
A. ancient
B. tiny
C. available
D. rare
4. It can be inferred from the passage that the principle of uniformitarianism
indicates that______
A. similar conditions produce similar rock formations
B. rock layers in a given region remain undisturbed over time
C. different kinds of sedimentary rocks may
D. each continent has its own distinctive pattern of sediment layers
5. The word “resemble” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to_______
A. result from
B. penetrate
C. look like
D. replace have similar origins
6. According to the passage, the layers in varves are primarily formed
by________
A. fossilized bacteria
B. pieces of ancient dropstones
C. a combination of ancient and recent sediments
D. annual cycles of sediment transport and deposition
7. The phrase “the other” in paragraph 2 refers to another_______
A. annual cycle
B. glacial lake
C. layer of sediment
D. season
8. According to the passage, the presence of dropstones indicates that______
A. the glacial environment has been unusually server
B. the fine-grained sediment has built up very slowly
C. there has been a global ice age
D. coarse rock material has been carried great distances
9. Why does the author mention Canada, North America, Africa, India, and
Europe in bold lines?
A. To provide evidence for the theory that there was a global ice age in the early
Proterozoic eon
B. To demonstrate the global spread of dropstones
C. To explain the principles of varve formation
D. To illustrate the varied climatic changes of the Proterozoic con in different
parts of the globe
10. Which of the following terms is defined in the passage?
A. fossil record
B. laminae
C. varves
D. glacial episodes
PART 4. The reading passage below has SIX paragraphs, A-F. Reading the
passage and do the tasks below. (15 points)
Money Transfers by Mobile
A. The ping of a text message has never sounded so sweet. In what is being
touted as a world first, Kenya’s biggest mobile operator is allowing
subscribers to send cash to other phone users by SMS. Known as M-Pesa,
or mobile money, the service is expected to revolutionise banking in a
country where more than 80% of people are excluded from the formal
financial sector. Apart from transferring cash – a service much in demand
among urban Kenyans supporting relatives in rural areas – customers of
the Safaricom network will be able to keep up to 50,000 shillings (£370)
in a “virtual account” on their handsets.

B. Developed by Vodafone, which holds a 35% share in Safaricom, M-Pesa

was formally launched in Kenya two weeks ago. More than 10,000
people have signed up for the service, with around 8 million shillings
 transferred so far, mostly in tiny denominations. Safaricom’s executives
are confident that growth will be strong in Kenya, and later across Africa.
“We are effectively giving people ATM cards without them ever having
to open a real bank account,” said Michael Joseph, chief executive of
Safaricom, who called the money transfer concept the “next big thing” in
mobile telephony.

C. M-Pesa’s is simple. There is no need for a new handset or SIM card. To

send money, you hand over the cash to a registered agent – typically a
retailer – who credits your virtual account. You then send between 100
shillings (74p) and 35,000 shillings (£259) via text message to the desired
recipient – even someone on a different mobile network – who cashes it
at an agent by entering a secret code and showing ID. A commission of
up to 170 shillings (£1.25) is paid by the recipient but it compares
favourably with fees levied by the major banks, whose services are too
expensive for most of the population.

D. Mobile phone growth in Kenya, as in most of Africa, has been

remarkable, even among the rural poor. In June 1999, Kenya had 15,000
mobile subscribers. Today, it has nearly 8 million out of a population of
35 millions, and the two operators’ networks are as extensive as the
access to banks is limited. Safaricom says it is not so much competing
with financial services companies as filling a void. In time, M-Pesa will
allow people to borrow and repay money, and make purchases.
Companies will be able to pay salaries directly into workers’ phones –
something that has already attracted the interest of larger employers, such
as the tea companies, whose workers often have to be paid in cash as they
do not have bank accounts. There are concerns about security, but
Safaricom insists that even if someone’s phone is stolen, the PIN system
prevents unauthorised withdrawals. Mr. Joseph said the only danger is
sending cash to the wrong mobile number and the recipient redeeming it
straight away.

E. The project is being watched closely by mobile operators around the

world as a way of targeting the multibillion pound international cash
transfer industry long dominated by companies such as Western Union
and Moneygram. Remittances sent from nearly 200 million migrant
 workers to developing countries totaled £102 billion last year, according
to the World Bank. The GSM Association, which represents more than
700 mobile operators worldwide, believes this could quadruple by 2012 if
transfers by SMS become the norm. Vodafone has entered a partnership
with Citigroup that will soon allow Kenyans in the UK to send money
home via text message. The charge for sending £50 is expected to be
about £3, less than a third of what some traditional services charge.

The text has 5 paragraphs (A – E). Which paragraph contains each of

the following pieces of information?
1. A possible security problem
2. The cost of M-Pesa
3. An international service similar to M-Pesa
4. The fact that most Kenyans do not have a bank account

Complete the following sentences using NO MORE THAN THREE

WORDS from the text for each gap
5. Safaricom is the _________________ mobile phone company in Kenya.
6. An M-Pesa account needs to be credited by ______________.
7. Companies like Moneygram and Western Union have ______________
the international money transfer market.

Do the statements on the next page agree with the information given in
Reading Passage 1? write
TRUE if the information in the text agrees with the statement
FALSE if the information in the text contradicts the statement
NOT if there is no information on this
GIVEN

8. Most Kenyans working in urban areas have relatives in rural areas.

9. So far, most of the people using M-Pesa have used it to send small
amounts of money.
10. M-Pesa can only be used by people using one phone network.

SECTION III: WRITING (50/150)

PART 1. Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it means
exactly the same as the sentence printed before it. (10 points)
1. If the weather is fine, we may go camping at the weekend.
-> Weather ________________________________________________.
2. Brenda doesn’t get on well with her next-door neighbor any more.
-> Brenda has ______________________________________________.
 3. It would have been possible for Jane to take us in her car.
-> Jane ___________________________________________________.
4. Tim had no idea what he was letting himself in for.
-> Little __________________________________________________.
5. The plain clothes officer’s boots showed he was a policeman.
-> The plain clothes policeman’s real ____________________________.

PART 2. Rewrite the following sentences with the given word. The given
words can’t be changed. (10 points)
1. These rainy Monday morning make me feel miserable. (GET)
_________________________________________________________.
2. You have said exactly the right thing. (NAIL)
_________________________________________________________.
3. He maintained his position against his adversary. (GROUND)
_________________________________________________________.
4. Since she met that boy, she’s been thinking only about him. (WRAPPED)
_________________________________________________________.
5. My husband will be angry when I tell him. (ROOF)
_________________________________________________________.

PART 3. Writing a paragraph. (30 points)

“Teenagers should have part-time jobs in preparation for their future.”
Do you agree with this statement? Write a paragraph of 180-200 words
to state your viewpoint.
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THE END