HCMC Department of Education and Training A SAMPLE OF PLACEMENT TEST

An Duong Vuong High School English 11 – Time allotted 60 minutes

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word whose underlined part differs from
the other three in pronunciation in each of the following questions.
1. A. stamp B. cramp C. advanced D. distance
2. A.post B. phone C. offer D. notify
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word that differs from the other three in
the position of primary stress in each of the following questions.
3. A. project B. support C. secure D. believe
4. A. mischievous B. decision C. hospital D. suitable
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the underlined part that needs correction in
each of the following questions.
5. It is (A) the night of 5th November that people (B) in Britain light bonfires and have (C) fireworks as a
(D) national tradition.
6. The woman(A) of whom the red car (B) is parked in(C) front of the bank is (D) a famous pop star.
7. I haven’t (A) seen Derek for years. – Neither (B) I have. It is interesting (C) to see how (D) he's changed
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the most suitable response to complete
each of the following exchanges.
8. Ben is talking to a waiter in a restaurant. - Ben: “Can I have the menu, please? - Waiter: “______”
A. But I don’t like it .B. No, I’ll think it over. C. Here you are, sir D. Enjoy your meal.
9. Laura and Mitchell are talking about online learning.
- Laura: “Online learning seems the best solution now”.
- Mitchell: “ _____. It helps students keep learning while schools are closed”.
A. I quite agree B. You must be kidding
C. I’m not so sure D. I don’t think that’s a good idea
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following
questions.
10.He is a __________boy who likes teasing and playing tricks on his classmates.
A. mischievous B. guilty C. anxious D. adventurous
11.My wife is always the first person _______up in the morning.
A. waking B. to wake C. wakes D. woken
12.The hobby of collecting ______of acquiring specific items based on a particular interest of the collector.
A. results B. finds C. consists D. includes
13.It was ________of you to leave to medicine where the children could get it.
A. care B. caring C. careful D. careless
14.She is known ___________ 2 years ago.
A. to give birth to a baby girl c. to have given birth to a baby girl
B. to giving birth to a baby girl d. to have been given birth to a baby girl
15.The man ______ to the hospital after the accident has recovered quickly.
A. sending B. having sent C. sent D. was sent
16.“Little Women”, _______, was published in 1868.
A. that is a famous novel B. is a famous novel
C. which a famous novel D. a famous novel
17.Students are usually _____ a lot of study pressure before the important examinations.
A. on B. under C. with D. beneath
18.It is not easy to ______ our beauty when we get older and older.
A. maintain B. develop C. gain D. collect
19.Fiction writere Zona Gale wrote about the small Wiscosin town ___she grew up, showing both its
positive and negative qualities.
A. in which B. in where C. which D. which in
20.Neither Tom nor his friends ___ready for the coming examination.
A. is B. has been C. are D. was
21.There is nothing for us to do, ______?
A. is there B. isn’t there C. is it D. isn’t it
22._________ number of attendants today are 100.
A. A B. the C. none D. an
23.The number 345 contains three ______________.
A. letters B. consonants C. digits D. vowels
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to
the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.
24.Most children need the security of a stable family life.
A. contribution B. safety C. depression D. challenge
25.Can you give me a hand with the exercise, John?
A. prepare B. assist C. precede D. believe
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the
underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.
26.She walked out of the room and the dog followed obediently at her heels.
A.securely B. stubbornly C. frankly D. generally
27.To become a good guitarist, you have to practice regularly.
A. often B. occasionally C. always D. frequently
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that is closest in meaning to
each of the following questions.
28.Sam speaks Chinese well and his Japanese is good too.
A. Not only Chinese but also Japanese Sam is good at.
B. Sam is good at either Chinese or Japanese.
C. Sam not only speaks Chinese well but also is good at Japanese.
D. Not only does Sam speak Chinese but also Japanese well.
29.I received 5 letters from Mark, and most of them were written in Greek.
A. Five letters I received from Mark were written in Greek.
B. Mark wrote all the letters to me in Greek.
C. I mostly received five letters which were written in Greek from Mark.
D. I received 5 letters from Mark, most of which were written in Greek.
30.People say that Carter was the best director of his time.
A. It was said that Carter was the best director of his time.
B. Carter is said to be the best director of his time.
C. Carter was said to have been the best director of his time.
D. Carter is said to have been the best director of his time.
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that best combines each pair of
sentences in the following questions.
31.John Smith is a farmer. I bought his land.
a. John Smith, whose land I bought, is a farmer. b. John Smith, who is a farmer, whose land I
bought.
c. John Smith, whom I bought his land, is a farmer. d. John Smith, a farmer, bought his land.
32.She wrote the text. She selected the illustration as well.
A. In order to select the illustration, she had to write the text.
B. The text she wrote was not as good as the illustration she selected.
C. If she had written the text, she would have selected the illustration.
D. She not only wrote the text but also selected the illustration.
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct
word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks .
The United States has many different types of families. While most American families are traditional,
(33)_____a father, mother and one or more children, 22 percent of all American families in 1998 were
headed by one parent, usually a woman. In a few families in the United States, there are no children.
These (34)_____couples may believe that they would not make good parents; they may want freedom from
the responsibilities of childbearing; or, perhaps they (35) _____ physically able to have children. Other
families in the United States have one adult (36) _____ a stepparent. A stepmother or stepfather is a person
who joins a family by marrying a father or mother
Americans tolerate and accept these different types of families. In the United States, people have
the right to privacy and Americans do not believe in telling other Americans what type of family group they
must belong to. They respect each other’s (37) _____ regarding family groups. Families are very important
to Americans.
33.A. consist of B. consisting of C. consisting D. including of
34.A. childish B. childlike C. childless D. childhood
35.A. are not B. can’t C. couldn’t D. weren’t
36.A. whom B. is C. which is D. who is
37.A. ideal B. chance C. choices D. feeling
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct
answer to each of the questions.
Marriage nowadays is a choice people make on their own, but this has not always been the case in society.
Thousands of years ago, the average lifespan was shorter than it is today. A man usually lived until he was
about 40 years old, while women died even sooner because of childbirth. There were many wars and
illnesses, and people had to protect themselves by having more children while they were still young. The
parents lived through their children.
Marriage was not so much a romantic love story but a business transaction, or deal. Most marriages were
arranged between parents while their children were still very young. It was the custom that the fathers
made the decision on whom their children were going to marry. The mothers had little say in it since they
rarely made any decisions outside the household. The fathers would meet to arrange the wedding date
and the money given for the bride on her wedding date. The more money and land a girl had, the more
chances she had to marry well. Therefore, it was important that her father choose the bridegroom very
well. Usually, it was someone who came from a good family or who was rich too. It was very unlikely that
people married outside their social class. A few well-off and rich merchants got to marry poorer
noblewomen and became King’s business advisors. In a way, poor peasants had an easier choice as it was
less important whom they married.
The practice of arranged marriage is still common in some countries in the Middle East, such as India or
Pakistan. Here, social classes are still strongly divided and very well-kept. Often however, arranged
marriages are a sign that people do not want to let go of the past, which gives them comfort and security
in an ever-changing world.
38.What does the passage mainly discuss?
A.Marriage as a business transaction today. C. Mothers' roles in their children's
marriage.
B.Marriage practices in modern society. D. The practice of arranged marriage.
39.The word "it" in paragraph 1 refers to ______.
A. marriage B. the average life span C. society D. a choice
40.According to paragraph 2, richer girls were more likely to ______.
A. become noblewomen B. succeed in business
C. marry peasants D. marry well
41.The author mentions all of the following in the passage EXCEPT ______.
A. People tended to marry outside their social class
C. Men made almost all decisions inside the family
B. Marriage used to be a deal between two families
D. The wedding date was decided by the fathers
42.The word "bridegroom" in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. bridesmaid B . bride C. daughter-in-law D. son-in-law
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the
correct answer to each of the questions
What is “extreme” weather? Why are people talking about it these days? “Extreme”weather is an unusual
weather event such as rainfall, a drought or a heat wave in the wrong place or at the wrong time. In
theory, they are very rare. But these days, our TV screens are constantly showing such extreme weather
events. Take just three news stories from 2010: 28 centimetres of rain fell on Rio de Janeiro in 24 hours,
Nashville, USA, had 33 centimetres of rain in two days and there was record rainfall in Pakistan.
The effects of this kind of rainfall are dramatic and lethal. In Rio de Janeiro, landslides followed,
burying hundreds of people. In Pakistan, the floods affected 20 million people. Meanwhile, other parts of
the world suffer devastating droughts. Australia, Russia and East Africa have been hit in the last ten years.
And then there are unexpected heat waves, such as in 2003 in Europe. That summer, 35,000 deaths were
said to be heat-related.
So, what is happening to our weather? Are these extreme events part of a natural cycle? Or are
they caused by human activity and its effects on the Earth‘s climate? Peter Miller says it‘s probably a
mixture of both of these things. On the one hand, the most important influences on weather events are
natural cycles in the climate. Two of the most famous weather cycles, El Niño and La Niña, originate in the
Pacific Ocean. The heat from the warm ocean rises high into the atmosphere and affects weather all
around the world. On the other hand, the temperature of the Earth‘s oceans is slowly but steadily going
up. And this is a result of human activity. We are producing greenhouse gases that trap heat in the Earth‘s
atmosphere. This heat warms up the atmosphere, land and oceans. Warmer oceans produce more water
vapour – think of heating a pan of water in your kitchen. Turn up the heat, it produces steam more quickly.
Satellite data tells us that the water vapour in the atmosphere has gone up by four percent in 25 years.
This warm, wet air turns into the rain, storms, hurricanes and typhoons that we are increasingly
experiencing. Climate scientist, Michael Oppenheimer, says that we need to face the reality of climate
change. And we also need to act now to save lives and money in the future.
(Source: © 2015 National Geographic Learning.www.ngllife.com/wild-weather)
43.It is stated in the passage that extreme weather is ______.
A. becoming more common B. not a natural occurrence
C. difficult for scientists to understand D. killing more people than ever before
44.The word ―lethal in the second paragraph probably means ______.
A. far-reaching B. long-lasting C. happening soon D. causing deaths
45.What caused thousands of deaths in 2003?
A. a period of hot weather B. floods after a bad summer
C. a long spell of heavy rain D. large-scale landslides
46.According to the passage, extreme weather is a problem because ______.
A. we can never predict it B. it only affects crowded places
C. it‘s often very destructive D. its causes are completely unknown
47.The word ―that in the third paragraph refers to ______.
A. Earth‘s oceans B. human activity C. greenhouse gases D. Earth‘s atmosphere
48.Extreme weather can be caused by ______.
A. satellites above the Earth B. water vapour in the atmosphere
C. very hot summers D. water pans in your kitchen
49.Satellites are used to ______.
A.change the direction of severe storms
B. trap greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
C. measure changes in atmospheric water vapour
D. prevent climate from changing quickly
50.Which statement is NOT supported by the information in the passage?
a. Extreme weather is substantially influenced by human activity.
b. Unusual weather events are part of natural cycles.
c. We can limit the bad effects of extreme weather.
d. Such extreme weather is hardly the consequence of human activity.
THE END