English test B2 Level

CLA –UNIVERSITA’ DEGLI STUDI DI PALERMO

Docente Prof.ssa F. Machì

Sessione di NOVEMBRE 2019

SECTION 1: GENERAL GRAMMAR

1) Choose the correct alternative to complete the sentences :

1. My mother and…………… decided to go shopping in Milan this weekend.

a. me b. I c. my d. I’m

2. My teacher …………….the topic in great detail.

a. discuss b. discussed c. discussed about d. discussing

3. If somebody ……………………….me about the problem, I could have called the

maintenance crew immediately.

a. informed b. had informed c. has informed d. was informed

4. There was an accident ………………………..a bus and a truck in Avenida de Sun Yat Sen
this morning.

a. in-between b. including c. indicating d. involving

5. He insisted on quitting the project ……………………..advice.

a. although b. for reason c. in spite of d. ought to

6. Samantha couldn’t come to the meeting ……………..she was unwell.

a. as b. because of c. caused d. it’s because

7. He continued to read a newspaper …………………… .

a. by the time his guests arrived b. if his guests didn’t arrive c. unless his
guests arrived d. until his guests arrived

8………………….I know who you would like to speak to, please?’

a. May b. Must c. Should d. Would

9. It doesn’t matter when you start your homework …………….. you finish it by the deadline.

a. as far as b. as long as c. as soon as d. as well as

10. The latest…………………….from doctors is to limit your use of ‘screen related

entertainment’ during leisure time to 2 hours per day.

a. recommendation b. recommended c. recommending d. recommendment

2) Choose the sentence (A, B, C or D) which is closest in meaning to the first one.

1 I’m seeing the Craigs this evening.

A Just now, in the evening, I’m looking at the Craigs.
B This evening I’ll be watching a film called “The Craigs”.
C I’m looking out of the window this evening and I can see the Craigs.
D I’ve arranged to meet the Craigs later today in the evening.

2 Don’t mind Reg; he’s just being silly.

A Pay no attention to Reg; it’s in his nature to be silly.
B Don’t worry! Reg has just stopped acting in a silly way.
C Pay no attention to Reg; he’s acting in an uncharacteristically silly way.
D It’s not worth trying to look after someone who is as silly as Reg.

3 It’s easy to see that he’s having the time of his life.
A You can easily understand that he’s really enjoying himself just now.
B It’s not hard to understand that his life is passing very quickly.
C Anyone can work out that the time he has is very important to him.
D It’s very clear that he’s in serious danger.

4 I’m thinking of moving to Canada.

A My memories of when I moved to Canada are coming back to me just now.
B I may go abroad to live in Canada.
C In my thoughts just now are the things someone said about their decision to live in
Canada.
D I want to describe what it’s like to move to Canada, so that’s what I’m imagining.

5 I’d never have learnt to ski if it hadn’t been for Ruth.

A I showed Ruth how to ski.
B I learnt how to ski, in spite of Ruth.
C Ruth taught me how to ski.
D I never learnt to ski because of Ruth.
SECTION 2 : READING COMPREHENSION

The hardest language

People often ask which is the most difficult language to learn, and it is not easy to answer because
there are many factors to take into consideration. Firstly, in a first language the differences are
unimportant as people learn their mother tongue naturally, so the question of how hard a language is
to learn is only relevant when learning a second language. A native speaker of Spanish, for
example, will find Portuguese much easier to learn than a native speaker of Chinese, for example,
because Portuguese is very similar to Spanish, while Chinese is very different, so first language can
affect learning a second language. The greater the differences between the second language and our
first, the harder it will be for most people to learn. Many people answer that Chinese is the hardest
language to learn, possibly influenced by the thought of learning the Chinese writing system, and
the pronunciation of Chinese does appear to be very difficult for many foreign learners. However,
for Japanese speakers, who already use Chinese characters in their own language, learning writing
will be less difficult than for speakers of languages using the Roman alphabet.

Some people seem to learn languages readily, while others find it very difficult. Teachers and the
circumstances in which the language is learned also play an important role, as well as each learner's
motivation for learning. If people learn a language because they need to use it professionally, they
often learn it faster than people studying a language that has no direct use in their day to day life.

Apparently, British diplomats and other embassy staff have found that the second hardest language
is Japanese, which will probably come as no surprise to many, but the language that they have
found to be the most problematic is Hungarian, which has 35 cases (forms of a nouns according to
whether it is subject, object, genitive, etc). This does not mean that Hungarian is the hardest
language to learn for everyone, but it causes British diplomatic personnel, who are generally used to
learning languages, the most difficulty. However, Tabassaran, a Caucasian language has 48 cases,
so it might cause more difficulty if British diplomats had to learn it. Different cultures and
individuals from those cultures will find different languages more difficult. In the case of Hungarian
for British learners, it is not a question of the writing system, which uses a similar alphabet, but the
grammatical complexity, though native speakers of related languages may find it easier, while
struggling with languages that the British find relatively easy.

No language is easy to learn well, though languages which are related to our first language are
easier. Learning a completely different writing system is a huge challenge, but that does not
necessarily make a language more difficult than another. In the end, it is impossible to say that there
is one language that is the most difficult language in the world.

Decide which is correct :

1)The question of how hard a language is to learn is relevant to both first and second
language acquisition.

True

False

2)Portuguese is definitely easier than Chinese.

True
False

3)A Japanese speaker may well find the Chinese writing system easier than a speaker of a
European language.

True

False

4)The Hungarian alphabet causes problems for British speakers.

True

False

5)Hungarian is the hardest language in the world.

True

False

6) Hungarian has as many cases as Tabassaran.

True

False

7)Many British diplomats learn Tabassaran.

True

False

8)The writer thinks that learning new writing systems is easy.

True

False

SECTION 3 :USE OF ENGLISH

3) Complete the sentences putting the verb from the list below in the correct form ing or
to + infinitive:

STOP, BREAK, CALL, CONTRIBUITE, GO, GIVE, PASS, SEE

1 Even though it was obvious who had done it. Gail denied breaking the window

2 He refused ………………………….to bed when his parents.

 3 She congratulated him on ………………………….. his music exam with top marks.

4 I wanted her…………………………a taxi as it was too late to walk home.

5 The customer demanded …………………………….the manager because of the terrible

service.

6 At the awards ceremony, the director thanked everyone for……………………….to the

film.

7 The referee threatened …………………………………….the match because the players were

too violent

8 I persuaded my dad …………………………..me the money for the music festival tickets

4) For questions 1–12, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best
fits each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0).

(0) I drove into my hometown, I felt very strange. I hadn't been back (1) more than twenty years!
Many things had changed (2). I left, and I was wondering if our old house still existed (3) I turned
into my old road and saw that everything was exactly the same. Suddenly, I remembered how we
(4) play hide-and-seek and football and tag on this street. It seemed like our road was the centre of
the world! None of my family lived here anymore; my last relative to leave was cousin Jake, and
that was about five years (5) .
Poor Jake always (6) our town and wanted to leave as soon as he could but, for some strange
reason, we all left (7) him. Life is very strange sometimes. I stopped the car in front of our old
house and looked at our front door (8) a few moments. It (9) to be the busiest and noisiest house in
the street. The door (10) always open and (11) the end of each day, almost everyone on our street
(12) been in and out of our house at least once. Now, there was just silence.

0 A During B As C Until D Since

1 A before B by C for D while
2 A as B since C during D just
3 A until B during C afterwards D lately
4 A used B had C did D would
5 A before B since C ago D already
6 A hating B hates C hated D hate
7 A then B before C after D recently
8 A since B for C until D while
9 A had B would C use D used
10 A would B was C did D been
11 A until B by C for D since
12 A would B were C had D could
SECTION 4 : WRITING

Word Formation

If you're (O) interested in getting fit, then what you need is a training
programme. Although aimed at improving physical
(1)………………………………. , this programme can also be (2) 0) INTEREST
………………………………………… in such a way that It helps in 1) FIT
the (3) …………………………………………... of particular athletic 2) DESIGN
skills is. There is a range of different 3) DEVELOP
(4)…………………………………….. to choose from and a growing 4) ACTIVE
amount of scientific (5)………………………………………... . to 5) KNOW
explain the effects of each one. When you begin training, It is 6) GENTLE
important to start (6)…………………………………, raising the 7) INTENSE
(7)……….……………………. of the programme in a gradual way. 8) IMPRESS
Although it is important to work sufficiently hard to make an (8) 9) PAIN
……………………….………………..on your physical condition, the 10) WISE
activities shouldn't be (9) ……………..……………………… It is
(10)……………………………… , therefore, to ignore warning
symptoms such as sharp as persistent pain in particular muscles.