National English competition (mock test)

NATION CONTEST (MOCK TEST)
Subject: ENGLISH SCORE ASSESSMENT
Time alloted: 180 minutes (excluding the time for paper distribution) LISTENING: _____/ 50
LEXICO-GRAMMAR: _____/ 20
There are 12 pages in this paper. READING: _____/ 50 WRITING: _____/ 60
Full name: ______________________________
SPEAKING: _____/ 20 TOTAL SCORE: _____/200
Date: ______________________________
SECTION A. LISTENING (50 points)
Part 1. For questions 1-5, listen to the recording and decide whether the following statements are True
(T), False (F), or Not Given (NG) according to what you hear.
1. The land that is being mined for oil was once forest.
2. This part of Alberta is known as a nesting place for tropical birds.
3. About one-third of Alberta's bitumen is upgraded into SCO before being sold to downstream refineries.
4. One woman comments that there are more pipelines than people in Alberta now.
5. More CO2 is being released into the atmosphere because the peat bogs are now exposed.
Part 2. For questions 6-10, Listen to a part of news report about the boom and benefits in telemedicine
and answer the questions. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS taken from the recording for each answer.
6. According to the reporter, in addition to refilling prescriptions, what does telemedicine in the US mainly get calls for?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
7. What was the interview between the reporter and Dr. Fang about?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
8. What disease was Theresa diagnosed with eventually?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
9. What is Michael Novieli’s job?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
10. According to Michael, who advised him to go to the emergency department?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Part 3. For questions 11-15, listen to a radio interview with the mountaineer and explorer Tom Masefield
and choose the correct answer which fits best according to what you hear.
11. While kayaking, Tom and his group were surprised by the sight of ________.
A. the local people
B. an unusual animal
C. a school of dolphins D. a sunken ship
12. According to Tom, mountaineers ___________.
A. form close bonds with the surrounding environment B. often misunderstand each other's intentions
C. experience friction under extreme conditions
D. appreciate the importance of trust in the team Page 1 of 12 pages
13. Regarding the problem with frostbite on Everest, Tom is ________. A. indifferent
B. philosophical C. dismissive D. frustrated
14. The team's first attempt to climb Carstensz Pyramid failed due to______.
A. disagreements with their sponsors
B. disturbances caused by local dissidents
C. mechanical problems with their helicopter
D. a lack of sufficient time and funding
15. Tom's conquest of Carstensz Pyramid was special because it was ______.
A. the second time he had climbed it
B. the first time anyone had done this
C. a dream he had had since childhood
D. his second historic achievement for his country
Part 4. For questions 16-25. listen to a talk about the human nose and complete the following sentences.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS taken from the recording for each blank.
Our noses are composed of (16) ____________________________ rather than bone. Similar to our other
external organs, they evolved to contribute to our survival by assisting us in eating. Thanks to their proximity to
our mouth with (17) ____________________________, noses enable us to smell if something has rotted. In
addition, noses help infants by making sure that they don't (18) ____________________________ while being nursed.
Their outer part consists mainly of resilient tissue, which means they are softer and much less likely to (19)
____________________________ though they receive a lot of (20) ____________________________ throughout our life span.
The position of our jutting noses also helps to prevent a direct intrusion of rainwater or sweat. Many other animals
are not so (21) ____________________________. Take the (22) ____________________________ in Myanmar
as an example, its upward pointing nose makes it sneeze every time it rains, which is not good when the monkey
wants to hide from predators, attempting to live its best (23) ____________________________.
Plastic nose surgery, also known as (24) ____________________________, has been used by surgeons to
reconstruct the normal function and appearance of the noses damaged by syphilis since the 16th century and is now the most common one.
Odour memory is a human unique ability because the part of our brain dealing with our sense of smell is right next
to the area where memories are formed called the (25) ____________________________.
SECTION B. LEXICO-GRAMMAR (20 points)
Part 1. For questions 26-40, choose the correct answer A, B, C, or D to each of the following questions.
26. The cartoon _____ the politician for his outlandish behaviour with hysterical imagery. A. burlesqued B. hounded C. lampooned D. caricatured
27. She's going to read a few ______ from her much-hyped novel at tonight's event. A. periscope B. fragments C. exceptions D. excerpts
28. His threat to go to the press with unflattering information unless he got what he wanted amounted to ______. A. bandit B. breach C. slander D. blackmail
29. His Oscar win thrust him into the ______ and the film roles started pouring in. A. stature B. stardom C. limelight
D. illustriousness
30. She made a few films in her 20s, then faded into ______. A. exile B. obscurity C. expatriation D. banishment
31. Everything we know about the past is recorded in the ______ of history. A. annulments B. annuals C. annuities D. annals
32. Despite her stunning loss in the election, the politician ______ herself with poise and dignity. A. asseverated B. barred C. conducted D. asserted
33. When we make a mistake, it's often difficult to ______ our pride and admit to it. A. swallow B. vent C. exert D. allow
34. Mark had a feeling of _____ disaster, as if something terrible was going to happen A. offing B. bounding C. impending D. dooming
35. The subjects of the adverts they saw were very ______ in terms of their appeal.
A. bright and breezy B. hit and run C. hit-or-miss D. nice and cold Page 2 of 12 pages
36. The first banner ad appeared over twenty years ago. Since then, this form of marketing has come on _____
and they are now part and parcel of almost every website – commercial or otherwise.
A. in a beastly manner B. in eclipse
C. in all fairness
D. in leaps and bounds
37. Working ______ on a Sunday night to meet a Monday morning deadline is a lot more motivating when it’s your own company.
A. out of bounds B. against the clock C. out of gourd
D. against all risks
38. He’s got some kind of food poisoning – he must have _____ on holiday. A. picked it up B. took it in C. sucked it in D. sipped it at
39. You are ______ welcome to stay here: I can't offer five-star accommodation, that's all. A. terribly B. quite C. extremely D. pretty
40. If you spend any time ______, you're labelled as a criminal for the rest of your life. A. behind bars B. in cuffs C. off the cuff
D. behind closed doors
Part 2. For questions 41-45, write the correct form of each bracketed word in the space provided.
41. I've lectured on the importance of __________ skills, as all of my colleagues. (TEST)
42. When someone waves at you, a __________ gesture is to wave back. (RECIPROCATE)
43. Judging by how much the neighbours scream at each other, one can only imagine them to be quite a
__________ family. (FUNCTION)
44. If you don't set rules for your children, it won't be long before they exhibit __________ behaviour. (ERRANT)
45. Opponents of globalisation claim that it leads to countries becoming culturally __________. (GENOME)
SECTION C. READING (50 points)
Part 1. For questions 46-55, read the passage and fill each of the following numbered blanks with ONE suitable word.
One mismatched disease which affects approximately 55 million people in the US is osteoporosis. A disease (46)
__________ bone density, it is now regarded as a ‘silent epidemic’, as many people wil be unaware they are
sufferers until they experience a sudden fracture. Lieberman explains that humans have skeletons that require
physical activity to (47) __________ properly, and that it is between the ages of 20 and 30 that peak bone mass
is reached. It is therefore crucial to acquire as much bone mass as possible before then. Inactive pre-teens simply
won't develop enough bone mass to support a skeleton (48) __________ old age.
What about the rise in allergies? Lieberman explains that the (49) __________ system evolved to protect people
from external germs, and that it is still constantly ready looking for invaders to attack. However, since the invention
of antibiotics, many of those (50) __________ are no longer there, meaning that the immune system is less (51)
__________ demand and now sometimes functions inappropriately, attacking for example, cells or molecules
such as the proteins in peanuts or wheat-based products. To reinforce his hypothesis, Lieberman points out that
diseases such as diabetes and heart disease are virtually (52) __________ among societies which still hunt for
meat and gather edible (53) __________. The solution, he says, therefore lies in a change in the kind of high-
sugar, high-fat diet we now depend upon, and strenuous exercise.
The problem with exercise, Lieberman notes, is that our bodies are adapted to preserve energy whenever
possible; our (54) __________ would have rested and taken it easy whenever possible. For most people in the
21st century, unless they are coerced by their environment and circumstances, it is (55) __________ that they
will voluntarily sustain a regular exercise routine.
Part 2. For questions 56-68, read the following passage and do the tasks that follow. WHAT IS PERSONALITY? PARAGRAPH A
We are all familiar with the idea that different people have different personalities, but what does this actually
mean? It implies that different people behave in different ways, but it must be more than that. After all, different
people find themselves in different circumstances, and much of their behaviour follows from this fact. However,
our common experience reveals that different people respond in quite remarkably different ways even when faced
with roughly the same circumstances. Alan might be happy to live alone in a quiet and orderly cottage, go out
once a week, and stay in the same job for thirty years, whilst Beth likes nothing better than exotic travel and being
surrounded by vivacious friends and loud music. PARAGRAPH B
In cases like these, we feel that it cannot be just the situation which is producing the differences in behaviour.
Something about the way the person is „wired up‟ seems to be at work, determining how they react to situations,
and, more than that, the kind of situations they get themselves into in the first place. This is why personality seems Page 3 of 12 pages
to become stronger as we get older; when we are young, our situation reflects external factors such as the social
and family environment we were born into. As we grow older, we are more and more affected by the consequences
of our own choices (doing jobs that we were drawn to, surrounded by people like us whom we have sought out).
Thus, personality differences that might have been very slight at birth become dramatic in later adulthood. PARAGRAPH C
Personality, then, seems to be the set of enduring and stable dispositions that characterise a person. These
dispositions come partly from the expression of inherent features of the nervous system, and partly from learning.
Researchers sometimes distinguish between temperament, which refers exclusively to characteristics that are
inborn or directly caused by biological factors, and personality, which also includes social and cultural learning.
Nervousness, for example, might be a factor of temperament, but religious piety is an aspect of personality. PARAGRAPH D
The discovery that temperamental differences are real is one of the major findings of contemporary psychology.
It could easily have been the case that there were no intrinsic differences between people in temperament, so
that given the same learning history, the same dilemmas, they would all respond in much the same way. Yet we
now know that this is not the case. PARAGRAPH E
Personality measures turn out to be good predictors of your health, how happy you typically are – even your taste
in paintings. Personality is a much better predictor of these things than social class or age. The origin of these
differences is in part innate. That is to say, when people are adopted at birth and brought up by new families, their
personalities are more similar to those of their blood relatives than to the ones they grew up with. PARAGRAPH F
Personality differences tend to manifest themselves through the quick, gut-feeling, intuitive and emotional systems
of the human mind. The slower, rational, deliberate systems show less variation in output from person to person.
Deliberate rational strategies can be used to over-ride intuitive patterns of response, and this is how people
wishing to change their personalities or feelings have to go about it. As human beings, we have the unique ability
to look in at our personality from the outside and decide what we want to do with it. PARAGRAPH G
So what are the major ways personalities can differ? The dominant approach is to think of the space of possible
personalities as being defined by a number of dimensions. Each person can be given a location in the space by
their scores on all the different dimensions. Virtually all theories agree on two of the main dimensions, neuroticism
(or negative emotionality) and extroversion (or positive emotionality). However, they differ on how many additional
ones they recognise. Among the most influential proposals are openness, conscientiousness and agreeableness.
In the next section I shall examine these five dimensions.
Questions 56-62: There are seven paragraphs marked A-G in the passage. Choose the correct heading for
each paragraph from the list below. Write your answers in the corresponding space provided. List of Headings Your answers
i A degree of control 56. Paragraph A _____
ii Where research has been carried out into the effects of family on personality 57. Paragraph B _____
iii Categorising personality features according to their origin 58. Paragraph C _____
iv A variety of reactions in similar situations 59. Paragraph D _____
v A link between personality and aspects of our lives that aren’t chosen 60. Paragraph E _____
vi A possible theory that cannot be true 61. Paragraph F _____
vii Measuring personality
62. Paragraph G _____
viii Potentially harmful effects of emotions
ix How our lives can reinforce our personalities
x Differences between men’s and women’s personalities
For questions 63-68, Do the following statements reflect the claims of the writer? Choose the correct answer.
YES (Y) if the statement reflects the claims of the writer
NO (N) if the statement reflects the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN (NG) if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
63. Alan and Berth illustrate contrasting behaviour in similar situations. Page 4 of 12 pages
64. As we grow older, we become more able to analyse our personalities.
65. Nervousness is an example of a learned characteristic.
66. The discovery of differences in temperament has changed the course of psychological research.
67. Adopted children provide evidence that we inherit more of our personality than we acquire.
68. The rational behaviour of different people shows greater similarity than their emotional behaviour.
Part 3. In the passage below, seven paragraphs have been removed. For questions 69-75, read the
passage and choose from paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap. There is ONE extra paragraph
which you do not need to use. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided. Write A-H only. BORN BAD?
New research points to a biological role in criminality
The tattoo on the ex-corn’s beefy arm reads: BORN TO RAISE HELL. Much as it may defy the science of the
past, which blamed crime on social influences such as poverty and bad parenting, the outlaw may be onto
something. Though no one would deny that upbringing and environment play important parts in the making of a
criminal, scientists increasingly suspect that biology also plays a significant role. 69
After evaluating recent research on violence, a special panel gathered by the National Research Council (NRC)
in Washington published a lengthy report last fall noting that “even if two individuals could be exposed to identical
experiences, their potentials for violent behavior would differ because their nervous systems process information differently. 70
Another simple fact pointing to a biological basis for criminality is that in all societies, about 90% of violent criminals
are men – many of them young. The great majority of other crimes are also committed by men. Among animals,
too, the male is almost always more aggressive. This fact suggests that certain hormones, particularly androgens,
which characterize maleness, may help tip the balance from obeying to breaking the law. 71
Linking an individual’s temperament to criminality is, of course, a much more contentious matter. To search for
the roots of violence, the members of NRC panel asked several key questions. Why do some children show
patterns of unusually aggressive behavior – hitting, kicking, biting peers or parents, or being cruel to animals – at
an early age? Why do only a small percentage of those children commit violent crimes as adults? The panel
concluded: “Research strongly suggests that violence arises from interactions among individuals’ psychological
development, their neurological and hormonal differences, and social processes.” There is no basis, the
researchers added, for giving one of these elements more weight than another. 72
Research that may help resolve this nature-nurture question focuses mostly on three areas: biochemical
imbalances, genetic factors and physical damage such head injury around the time of birth. Some studies suggest
a link between criminal behavior – particularly the violent sort – and birth-related trauma, premature birth or low
birth weight. Similarly, a woman’s use of alcohol, cocaine, tobacco or other drugs during pregnancy also appears,
in some instances, to damage fetal development in a way that is related to later criminality. On a more positive
note, however, one recent study concluded that when children who’s had a traumatic birth grew up in a stable
family environment, they were no likelier than anyone else to develop into criminals. 73
Both animal experiments and cases of human head injury and brain damage have pinpointed areas of the brain
where impairment or seizure can trigger aggression. In monkeys, researchers can elicit “sham rage” by using
electrodes to stimulate the limbic system, a group of structures deep within the brain that influence emotions. A
rare condition called intermittent explosive disorder is linked to periodic seizures in the same brain area. 74
After collaborating with Dr. Tomas Bouchard, Jr., on famous studies of more than 55 pairs of identical twins
adopted separately at birth and reared apart, Dr. David Lykken, a psychologist at the University of Minnesota’s
Twin Research Center, says that “these traits correlate as strongly in twins who have been raised apart as in twins
who were raised together.” Moreover, the largest twin study of criminality ever conducted, published in Denmark Page 5 of 12 pages
in 1987, found that when a male identical twin* committed a crime, his twin was five times likelier than the average
Danish man to commit a crime as well; when a fraternal twin* committed a crime, his twin was three times likelier
than other Danish men to break the law.
* Twin developed from one fertilized ovum; twins loo very much alike
* Twin who developed from two fertilized ova; twins can look quite different from one another 75
Dr. Kagan’s research suggest that 35% to 40% of babies are born with a very relaxed approach to the world
around them. Many of the babies he studied react to stress with a low degree of excitability, as gauged by physical
indications such as heartbeat, blood pressure and adrenaline secretion. By the time these children are between
20 and 30 months old, they can frequently be described as extroverted and relatively fearless. (Of the faction who
warrant the description extremely fearless, 80% are boys.) Glenn Garelik
The missing paragraphs:
A. Childhood injury to brain tissue may also figure in late criminal behavior. Law professor Deborah Denno of
Fordham University in New York City, studied a group of nearly 500 boys from birth to age 23. She found that
lead poisoning, which is known to impair aspects of brain functioning, is the single best predictor of boys’
disciplinary problems in school; such problems in turn are strongly associated with later adult crime. Denno
had expected to find family factors most strongly implicated in delinquency and criminal behavior and was astonished by her results.
B. First and most obvious among the clues that biology plays a role in criminal behavior is the simple fact that
throughout history, crime has occurred in all cultures. One element in the universality of crime is the human
capacity for aggression. Nobel prize-winning ethologist Konrad Lorenz, author of On Aggression, argued that
just as people have an instinct for eating and drinking, nature evolved in them the impulse for aggression.
Though Lorenz thought it was peculiar to people and rats, aggression has now been observed in every
vertebrate species studied. In people, only a fine line separates aggression form violence – defined by
researchers as behavior intended to inflict harm on others. “Criminals are, on the whole, angry people,” says
Harvard psychologist Richard Hernstein. “That’s well substantiated.”
C. Convincing evidence from the field of behavioral genetics implies that certain biological predispositions to
criminal behavior are inherited. Like test pilots and mountain climbers, delinquents and criminals tend to be
born with relatively calm nervous systems that allow them to face risky situations with minimal stress. Other
personality traits, including aggressiveness and impulsivity, partly depend on genes.
D. While there’s no such thing as a “crime gene”, or indeed any single determinant that leads a person to break
the law, each child is born with a particular temperament, or characteristic pattern of psychological response.
As Wilson notes, “One is shy, the other bold; one sleeps through the night, the other is always awake; one is
curious and exploratory, the other passive. These observations are about differences that cannot be explained
wholly or even largely by environment.
E. Factors such as low intelligence, poor diet, impulsivity, and hyperactivity, hormones such as testosterone and
cortisol, and environmental pollutants may al affect a person’s biological propensity for criminal or antisocial
behavior. Emerging evidence about the correlates of these and related factors is helping to build a better
picture of the biological basis for human behavior.
F. One way or another, says Harvard psychologist Jerome Kagan, there’s no question that people inherit different
neurochemistries. He has categorized babies by their patterns of excitability and identified four basic types.
“Think of them as different breeds of puppies,” he says, “just as Pekingnese, for example, are naturally more irritable than beagles.”
G. Nonetheless, two camps have emerged to debate whether criminality is influenced more by nature (biology)
or nurture (environment). And this is no mere ivory tower question. Public interest mounts with the statistics:
Some 35 millions offenses against people or households, 20% of them violent, are reported in the U.S. every year.
H. Poverty and family problems, sex-role expectations, community standards – all may predispose individuals
towards crime. But many researchers now believe that the reason one individual commits a crime and another
person doesn’t may have as much to do with neurological differences as it does with differences in upbringing
or environment. After all, says Dr. James Q. Wilson, a professor of management and pubic policy at UCLA,
“it’s hard to find any form of behavior that doesn’t have some biological component.” Page 6 of 12 pages
Part 4. For questions 76-85, read the passage and choose the answer which fits best according to the text.
Medieval Europe abounded in castles. Germany alone had ten thousand and more, most of them now vanished;
all that a summer journey in the Rhineland and the south-west now can show are a handful of ruins and a few
nineteenth century restorations. Nevertheless, anyone journeying from Spain to the Dvina, from Calabria to Wales,
will find castles rearing up again and again to dominate the open landscape. There they still stand, in desolate
and uninhabited districts where the only visible forms of life are herdsmen and their flocks, with hawks circling the
battlements, far from the traffic and comfortably distant even from the nearest small town: these were the
strongholds of the European aristocracy.
The weight of aristocratic dominance was felt in Europe until well after the French Revolution; political and social
structure, the Church, the general tenor of thought and feeling were all influenced by it. Over the centuries,
consciously or unconsciously, the other classes of this older European society the clergy, the bourgeoisie and the
„common people' -adopted many of the outward characteristics of the aristocracy, who became their model, their
standard, their ideal. Aristocratic values and ambitions were adopted alongside aristocratic manners and fashions
of dress. Yet the aristocracy were the object of much contentious criticism and complaint; from the thirteenth
century onwards their military value and their political importance were both called in question. Nevertheless, their
opponents continued to be their principal imitators. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the reforming Papacy
and its clerical supporters, although opposed to the excessively aristocratic control of the Church (as is shown by
the Investiture Contest) nevertheless themselves first adopted and then strengthened the forms of this control.
Noblemen who became bishops or who founded new Orders helped to implant aristocratic principles and forms
of government deep within the structure and spiritual life of the Church. Again, in the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries the urban bourgeoisie, made prosperous and even rich by trade and industry, were rising to political
power as the servants and legal protégés of monarchy. These „patricians' were critical of the aristocracy and
hostile towards it. Yet they also imitated the aristocracy, and tried to gain admittance to the closed circle and to
achieve equality of status. Even the unarmed peasantry, who usually had to suffer more from the unrelieved
weight of aristocratic dominance, long remained tenaciously loyal to their lords, held to their allegiance by that
combination of love and fear, amor et timor, which was so characteristic of the medieval relationship between
lord and servant, between God and man.
The castles and strongholds of the aristocracy remind us of the reality of their power and superiority. Through the
long warring centuries when men went defenceless and insecure, the „house', the lord's fortified dwelling,
promised protection, security and peace to all whom it sheltered. From the ninth to the eleventh centuries, if not
later, Europe was in many way all too open. Attack came from the sea, in the Mediterranean from Saracens and
Vikings, the latter usually in their swift, dragon-prowed, easily manoeuvred longboats, manned by some sixteen
pairs of oarsmen and with a full complement of perhaps sixty men. There were periods when the British Isles and
the French coasts were being raided every year by Vikings and in the heart of the continent marauding Magyar
armies met invading bands of Saracens. The name of Pontresina, near St. Mortiz in Switzerland, is a memento
of the stormy tenth century; it means pons Saracenorum, the „fortified Saracen bridge', the place where plundering
expeditions halted on their way up from the Mediterranean.
It was recognised in theory that the Church and the monarchy were the principal powers and that they were bound
by the nature of their office to ensure peace and security and to do justice; but at this period they were too weak,
too torn by internal conflicts to fulfil their obligations. Thus more and more passed into the hands of warriors
invested by the monarchy and the Church with lands and rights of jurisdiction, who in return undertook to support
their overlords and to protect the unarmed peasantry.
Their first concern, however, was self-protection. It is almost impossible for us to realise how primitive the great
majority of these early medieval „castles' real y were. Until about 1150 the fortified houses of the Anglo-Norman
nobility were simple dwellings surrounded by a mound of earth and a wooden stockade. There were the motte
and bailey castles: the motte was the mound and its stockade, the bailey an open court lying below and also
stockaded. Both were protected, where possible, by yet another ditch filled with water, the moat. In the middle of
the motte there was a wooden tower, the keep or donjon, which only became a genuine stronghold at a later date
and in places where stone was readily available. The stone castles of the French and German nobility usually had
only a single communal room in which all activities too place.
In such straitened surroundings, where warmth, light and comfort were lacking, there was no way of creating an
air of privacy. It is easy enough to understand why the life of the landed nobility was often so unrestrained, so
filled with harshness, cruelty and brutality, even in later, more „chivalrous' periods. The barons' daily life was bare
and uneventful, punctuated by war, hunting (a rehearsal for war), and feasting. Boys were trained to fight from the
age of seven or eight, and their education in arms continued until they were twenty-one, although in some cases
they started to fight as early as fifteen. The peasants of the surrounding countryside, bound to their lords by a Page 7 of 12 pages
great variety of ties, produced the sparse fare which was all that the undeveloped agriculture of the early medieval
period could sustain. Hunting was a constant necessity, to make up for the lack of butcher's meat, and in England
and Germany in the eleventh and twelfth centuries even the kings had to progress from one crown estate to
another, from one bishop's palace to the next, to maintain themselves and their retinue.
76. Class conflict in the Middle Ages was kept in check by _____________.
A. the religious teachings of the church
B. the fact that most people belonged to the same class
C. tyrannical suppressions of rebellions by powerful monarchs
D. the fact that all other classes admired and attempted to emulate the aristocracy
77. The urban bourgeoisie was hostile to the aristocracy because ____________.
A. the bourgeoisie saw the aristocracy as their rivals
B. the aristocrats often deliberately antagonised the bourgeoisie
C. the bourgeoisie felt that the aristocracy was immoral
D. aristocrats often confiscated the wealth of the bourgeoisie
78. Castles were originally built ___________.
A. as status symbols
B. as strongholds against invaders
C. as simple places to live in
D. as luxurious chateaux
79. One of the groups that invaded central Europe during the Middle ages from the ninth century on was the ______________. A. Franks B. Magyars C. Celts D. Angles
80. The aristocracy was originally ___________.
A. slaves who had rebelled
B. members of the clergy
C. the great landowners
D. the king's warriors
81. The reform Popes eventually produced an aristocratic church because___________.
A. many aristocrats entered the structure of the church and impressed their values on it
B. they were defeated by aristocrats
C. they depended on the aristocracy for money.
D. they themselves were more interested in money than in religion
82. Hunting served the dual purpose of ______________.
A. learning how to ride and learning how to shoot
B. preparing for war and engaging in sport
C. testing horses and men
D. preparing for war and getting meat
83. The phrase "amor et timor" is used to describe _____________.
A. the peasant's loyalty to the aristocracy
B. the adaptation of aristocratic manners and dress
C. the rivalry between bourgeoisie and aristocracy
D. the payment of food in exchange for protection
84. Protection of the peasantry was implemented by ____________.
A. the King's warriors
B. the princes of the Church
C. the Magyar mercenaries
D. the ruling monarchy
85. The effectiveness of the Church and King was diminished by _____________.
A. peasant dissatisfaction
B. conflicts and weaknesses within the Church and Royal house
C. economic instability
D. ambition of the military
Part 5. The passage below consists of four paragraphs marked A, B, C and D. For questions 86-95, read
the article in which four people talk about taking photographs. For each question, choose the correct
person. The person may be chosen more than once. TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS A Lucy
I'm definitely guilty of taking too many photos myself. It's important not to get carried away, though, and just
constantly be taking snaps of everything you do. If you’re always documenting everything, there's a risk that you
won’t enjoy the moment, or even have any memory of it unless you see the photos later. And although al these
images can get a bit repetitive, it is nice to capture something special. And taking photographs is a great way of Page 8 of 12 pages
keeping people informed about what you’re doing, and of keeping up to date with friends. Lots of my family live
far away, and now when I see them I know exactly what they've been up to and the conversation flows, rather
than me just sitting there feeling tongue-tied. But I do worry that the use of social media could mean that one day
such pictures will be lost. People used to make photographic prints and treasure them, but so few of us do that
anymore, and things can disappear if they're just left on a computer. B Ben
It can get too much, people taking photographs all the time. It can feel as if everyone's more interested in showing
people what they're doing than actually enjoying themselves. And the number of images involved is simply mind-
boggling. It can be interesting to see what people are up to, but when a social media site is full of pictures of their
dinner, I think that's going into far too much detail. I select what I choose to show other people carefully. I think
there's a danger that taking photos and sharing them becomes essentially a way of promoting yourself, and your
life. It's like saying, ‘Hey look at me, I’m happy.' Selfies, pictures people take of themselves, aren't necessarily a
bad thing. It all depends on what you do with them, and your mentality. If you're constantly posting them on a
public platform, you can build an image of yourself that doesn't reflect reality. However, although all selfies are
looking for attention, they can be used as a good advertisement for either yourself, or a good cause. C Sarah
I'm definitely guilty of taking a lot of photographs, but after all, I'm not the only one. Everyone's absolutely obsessed
with it these days, it's something that's really taken hold. I found myself at an art gallery taking pictures of the art,
then taking pictures of people taking pictures of that art. If only I'd actually given myself the chance to appreciate
what I was seeing, or created some lasting memories. It’s ironic, because someone has created a piece of art,
and I'm trying to create art out of that. You’re wasting your own time taking pictures, but you’re showing other
people what you haven’t properly seen yourself. And then there are selfies. Let’s not deny it, everyone loves an
audience. You end up making your life look more glamorous - mine is nowhere near as exciting as it appears to
be on social media. And I do have the fear that the world as a whole is becoming more concerned with what
others think, rather than how they feel about themselves. D Kevin
It's true that people are a bit obsessed with taking pictures, and it takes the pleasure out of some really great
occasions. Psychologists say they are worried about the fact that many of us spend more time thinking about how
good the recording of an event will be, rather than the actual event. And yet, the most accurate way of
remembering a particular thing is always going to be by means of a visual record. The chance to freeze a certain
moment in time is a great thing. That moment will be there forever. Technology's constantly changing the way we
do things, how we learn, how we process information. Therefore the amount of photos now taken wil affect today’s
culture. Selfies are fun to take, but because of them everyone feels the need to look fun, unusual and exciting
nowadays. They can make people feel good about themselves, and that’s great, as long as it doesn't produce
unrealistic expectations, especially with all these editing apps that make everyone look flawless. Which person mentions
Your answers
people's approach to photography affects the impact of the photos they take? 86
they regret missing an opportunity? 87
photos help them avoid awkward situations? 88
software can give people a perfect appearance? 89
many photos are very similar to one another? 90
some photos give a great deal more information about people's lives than is desirable? 91
a behaviour has become well established? 92
people risk losing a permanent record of events? 93
photos create a lasting memory? 94
it's impossible to imagine how many photos are taken nowadays? 95 Page 9 of 12 pages
SECTION D. WRITING (60 points)
Part 1: Read the following article and use your own words to summarize it. Your summary should be
between 100 and 120 words long. You MUST NOT copy the original.
Wi-Fi has become an integral part of our fast-paced everyday lives. Thanks to Wi-Fi, we no longer have to be
tethered to the Internet with cables. But have you ever stopped to wonder how it works?
Wi-Fi uses radio waves to transmit information between your device and a router via frequencies. Two radio-wave
frequencies can be used, depending on the amount of data being sent: 2.4 gigahertz and 5 gigahertz. What does
that mean, though? Well, a hertz is just a measurement of frequency. For example, let’s say you’re sitting on a
beach, watching the waves crash to shore. If you measured the time between each wave crash, you’d be
measuring the frequency of the waves. One hertz is a frequency of one wave per second. One gigahertz, on the
other hand, is one bil ion waves per second. (Thank goodness beaches aren’t like that—it probably wouldn’t be
too relaxing.) The higher the frequency, the greater the amount of data transmitted per second.
The two Wi-Fi frequencies are split into multiple channels so as to prevent high traffic and interference. When it
comes to sharing the data across these channels, wel , that’s when the magic—er, computer science—happens.
The first step in the process is initiated by you (the user). When you access the Internet on your device, it converts
the information you’ve requested into binary code, the language of computers. Everything computers do is based
in binary code, a series of 1s and 0s. When you click on this article, your request is translated into a bunch of 1s
and 0s. If you’re using Wi-Fi, these 1s and 0s are translated into wave frequencies by the Wi-Fi chip embedded
in your device. The frequencies travel across the radio channels mentioned earlier and are received by the Wi-Fi
router that your device is connected to. The router then converts the frequencies back into binary code and
translates the code into the Internet traffic that you requested, and the router receives that data through a
hardwired Internet cable. The process repeats itself until you have loaded this article—or anything that requires
the Internet. All of this happens at an unbelievably fast rate; most routers operate at 54 Mbps (megabits per
second), meaning that when such routers translate and transmit binary data, 54 million 1s and 0s are taken in or sent out in a single second.
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Part 2. The chart and table below show customer satisfaction levels in the US with airlines and aspects of
air travel in 1999, 2000 and 2007.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
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Part 3. Write an essay of 350 words on the following topic.
In recent years, there has been growing interest in the relationship between equality and personal achievement.
Some people believe that individuals can achieve more in egalitarian societies. Others believe that high levels of
personal achievement are possible only if individuals are free to succeed or fail according to their individual merits.
What is your view of the relationship between equality and personal success? Page 11 of 12 pages
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SECTION E. SPEAKING (20 points)
Many governments think that economic progress is their most important goal. Some people, however,
think that other types of progress are equally important for a country.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
You have 5 minutes to prepare for your talk. Good luck! -THE END- Page 12 of 12 pages