EXAM PRACTICE TEST 1

READING TASK

Task7. (1 point per item). You are goittg lo read a newspaper article. Fi\,e sentences havebeen rcm.)yecl from the text- For questions 1-5 choose Ji'a the sentences A-F the onewhich bestfts each gap. mere is one extra sentence you do not need.

ALTERNATIVE MATERIAL FOR PAPER PRODUCTION

A Peopie care olly about profit and are indifferent to environlnental problen,s.B They also point out that marijuana is less toxic than alcobol and tobacco.C This alaming rate ofdestruction has serious consequences for the environment.D;: However, thero is a problem: hemp is illegal in many countries ofthe worldE If these paper products could be prcduced in some other l!ay, Canadian forests could be

presen'ed.F According to its proponents, four times as nuch paper can be produced from lard using

hemp rather than trees-

Every second, t hectare of the world's rainforest is destroyed. That's eqdivalent totwo foolball fields. An area the size ofNew York City is lost every day. In a year, that addsup to 31 million hectares more than the land arca of Poland. 1. Scientistsestimate, for example, that 137 species ofplant, insect or animal become extinct every daydue to logging. In British Columbia, where, sincc 1990, thirteen minforest valleys.havebeen clearcut, 142 species of salmon have already become extinct, and the habitats 01'grizzly bear-s, wolves and many other creatues are lhrcatened. Logging, however, providesjobs, profits, taxes for the govemment and cheap products of all kinds for consumers, so thegovemment is reluctant to restdct or controi it.I Much of Canada's forestry production goes towards making pulp and paper'

According to the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association, Canada supplies 34% of thervorld's wood pulp and 49% of its newsprint paper. 2. -. Recently, a possiblealtemativc way of producing paper has been suggested by agriculturalists andenvironmentalisls: a plant called hemp

Hemp has been cultivated by many cultures for thousands of years lt prodrces fibrewhich can be made into paper, fuel, oils, textilcs, food, a1ld rcpe For centunes, 1t llasessential to the economies of many countnes because it rvas used to make the ropes andcables used on sailing ships; colonial expansion and the establishment of a world-wjdetrading nef\&ork would not havc been leasible without hemp. Nowadays, ships' cables areusually made fiom wire or slnthetic fibres, but scientists are no\\' suggestin-q dral thecultivation of hemp should be revived for the production of paper ard pu1p. 3. -Many environmentalists belier e that the large-scale cuhi\ a:ion oa h3:x. .orid reduce the

aqnqdr 'c fn rF<t<

4. This plant, so usefu1 for llbre. rope. oli. luel and iertiles, is a species ofcannabis. related to rhe plant from *hich nariiua,'ra is produced- ln the late 1930s, amoYement to ban lhe drug marijuana began to gather force, resulting in the eventualbannilg of the culti\ arion not onll of ihe plam used to produce the dmg, but also of thecommercial fibre-producing hemp plant \lrhou,sh both George Washington and ThomasJefferson grerv hemp il large quantiries on their o*'n land, any Amedcan growing the ph:

today would soon find himself in prison - despite ihe fact that mariiuana cannot bep_roduced from the hemp plant, shce it contains alnost no THC (the activiingedient in thearug).

ln recent years, two major movements for legalization have been gathering strength.One gioup of activists believes that ALL cannabis should be legal - both the henp plantand the maxijuana plant * and that the use of the drug marijuana should not b€ ar offense.They argue that maxijusna is not dangerous or addictive, ard that it is used by largenumben ofpeople who are not criminals but prcductive membels of society.

5, _. The other legalization movement is concemed only rMith the hemp plartused to produce fibre; this group wants to make it legal to cultivate the plant and sell thefibre for paper and pulp production. This second goup has had a major triumph recently: in1997, Canada legalized the farming of hemp for fibre. For the first time since 1938,hundreds of farmers are planting this crop, and soon we can expect to see pulp and paperproduced ftom this new source.

(Adapted &om BBC NEWS)

5 ooi

Task2, (15 points, I point per item). For questiotxs 1-5 choose ftom headings A-F the onewhich best sumtfiarizes each paragraph. Thele is one extra heading you do not need to use.

ANTARCTICA LOSING ICE TO OCEANS

A Alarming dataB Scienrists have some hopesC AmbiguouscalculalionsD A theat to markindE Pionggring method ofresearchF A nevr method is welcome

t .Researchers used satellites to plot changes in the Earth's gravity in the Antarctic

during the pedod 2002-2005. Writing in the joumal Science, they conclude that thecontinent is losing 152 cubic kn of ice in the w€st. In recent years scieltists have foundevidence that West Antarctic ice is melting, which could conlribute to sea level rise. Theydescdbe the West Antarctic ice sheet as "a giant awakened".2 , _

The new study, conduct€d by scientists at the University of Colorado at Boulder,uses a tecbnique which has not been tried before: measuring gravity over Antarctica. Datacome from a pair of satellites together known as Grace which orbits the Eaxth in tandem,measuring changes in its gravitational field. "Their orbits have a very large inclination, of89 d€grees in fact, so you get very good coverage over the Antarctic," said IsabellaVelicogna, one ofthe Colorado team.

O"*"tt, Dt. %lt"ogna's group found an annual deqease in ice sheet mass of 152cubic hn. There is a clear loss in the west, whereas the mass of the East Antarctic sheetappeaxs to be constant. This loss of iae equales to ar annual rise in the global avemge sealevel of 0.4 mm; by contrast, the total rise, due mainly to themal expansion of seawater, isestimated at about 1.8 mru Der vear.

00

But there is another issue which needs rgsolving. Grace is unable to discriminatebetween ice and rock. And the rock surface ofAntarctica, below the ice sheet is rising. Thenew research paper attempts to correct for this by estimating the rate of the dse throughcomputers models of the Earth's interior. But uncertainties in the models produceuncertainties in the team's estimates of cha4ges to the ice: the aDnual loss could be as lowas 72 cubic km, or as high as 232 cubic lon.

"The best way would be to go to rock outcrops on Antarctica" put GPS receivers onthem and measwe how rapidly they're rising", D. Vaughm told the BBC News website."That is done at the moment in a few places, but not enougb, and a new program is beinglamched."

(Adapted fiom BBC NEWS)

(1 point per item). For questions 6-15 use the ihfomatiorr given in the ta.t to colrlplete these tences. Find in the text wolds which mean the same as the wderlined wods below.Ihere is an erample (00).

Scientists use differcnt devices to mark chanees on the m@s-Scientists use different devices lgpbjllkgLggtThe bad weather only 4llgd to our diffrculties.The bad weather only to our difrotlties-

7. They run business r ery successfully as they work t9p!bq-They run business very successfully as they work

8. The extent to which the news was p!9!9!l!9d shocked weqfuody-The news shocked everytody.

9. The situation in the comoaav has remained unchaneed sirce h Cfuismas-The situation in the comoanv has remained siEce last Christrnas.

10. The Presidert rnakes a speech in the parljament qq993-1q..r The President makes a(n) Aeech in the pati@st

11. People calculated that his income was about $15,000 a year.People _ his income to be about $ 1 5,000 a yea.

12. This plgblgE r€quires a prompt solution.This _ requires a prompt solution.

13. The authorities have to settle the problems immediately-The authorities have the problems immedial€ly.

14. He couldn't recoafze a distinction betwe€n the accid€dal md intaatioDrl crime-He couldn't between the eidf&l ad intentional crime.

15. A new campaign against poaching has been srdted rccatly-A new campaign against poaching has been recady-

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Task3. (l point per iterfi). You are going to read an article, For questions 7-5 choose thea swe8 (A, B, C or D) which best complete the sentences giver according to the text.

SHUTTLE HOPES FOR MORE FLIGHTS

1. The success of Shuttle depends onA. astronauts pilotiDg the spaceshipB, a new constructiol of Shuttle.C. the fuel to be filled in the tan}.D. imprcving insulation.

2, A deadly hazard happen€d becauseA, the fuel tank didn't wolk.B, the insulation was not checked.C. ice broke off and damaged the spaceship.D. a piece ftom insulation split.

3, The tests will be made to checkA. the capacity ofthe spaceship.B. the pressure in Shuttle.C. the possible dangerc while takitrg offD. th€ stength ofpr€ssurization lines aod cabl9 trays.

4. NASA soientists and engitee$ are working toA. design a new spaceship.B. reduce the size of possible chwrks.C. crcate the smallest piece of foan.D, use atrother t)?e ofenergy.

5. The main idea ofthe article is toA- increase rhe number of flighls.B. design more spaceships.C. enswe secure launches of Shuttle.D. build the Intemational Space Station.

The US space agency is growing optimistic ofresumiag space shuttle flights in Mayand perhaps squeezing in three missions this year. Hope rests on a new fuel tank due toarive at the launch site irl a couple of da]s. The key to the program's futllfe is how wellenginee$ have fixed the foam-shedding problem that led to the loss of Shuttle Columbia in2003.

Foam loss also reoccured in July 2005 on NASA'S fust, ard so far only, shuttlelaunch since the accident. "I remain optimistic that if we fly tlds surruner, we'll be able toget tbree flights off this calendar year. But time will tell," shuttle program manager WalareHale said al a press conference.

The primary safety upgrade has centered on the shuttle's 154ft (47 m) loug extemalfuei tank, which holds the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen consumed by the ship's threemain engines during climb to olbit. Insulatitrg foam on th€ tant, intended to prevent th€fomation of ice which could break off ard damage the orbiter, became a deadly debrishazard when a briefcase sized chunk btoke off during Columbia's launch and smashed intoits wing. The damage triggered the shutde's break-up over Texas 16 days later as Columbiaflew through the atrnoE)here in preparation for landing. Seven crew members aboard theshuttle died.

Managers put shuttle flights on hold and set about redesigning the tant again. Thetests, whlch will involve precise subscale models of the shuttle, as well as fulI-size piecesof some ta.nk components, are designed to assess how well the tank can withstand theaercdlmamic stresses of launch without the protective foam ramps shielding pressudzationiines and trays. In addition to clearing the tant for flight, engioeers are looking at severalother teclDical issues that could delay the launch.

NASA'S goal is to eliminate la.rge pieces of foam flying off the tant. Haleacknowledged that small pieces of foam, hopefully none bigger than a matchbox, will stillshed during launch. "I wanted to make sure everyone unde$tands we are trfng toelin'linate critical foam loss, but x'e expect to see foam coming off this next tank,,' Halesaid. "Our task ahead ofus is to guarantee that all ofthese very small pieces of foam, mostof them less than an ounce, will be of a size that they cannot have enough energy to dodamage ifthey strike the orbitet," Hale added. "We'11 continue to make itnprcvements sowe can eliminate even smaller pieces offoam loss."

Except for a possible servicing missioll to the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA isdevoting ail remaining shuttle flights to building the Intemational Space Station.

(Adapred ftomBBC NEWS)

5 Doints

USE OF ENGLISH

Trsk 1, (1 poifit per item). Use only one \Norcl which best fts each gap.

THE GOLDEN IIAWK

Each month we ask one of our expefis to tell us what rrildliG book - novel, guideor textbooh (1) mosl influenced him or her. Here, \{artha Holmes, mannebiologist, TV presenter and IiLn producer', reveals all.

r I'm a very kecn reader, (2) _ selecting the book uith a natural-historytheme which has influenced me most was some challenge, until I thou_qhr (3) tomy childhood.

\I4rere the book came fiom is a mystery, and I hare ne\ er nei ({) *.hohas heard of it. lt is R:tta Richie's The Golden Hawks o;f Genghis Kh a;;- I read :; * ben I rlasaborLt 10 years old and I remenrber {5) __ this day rhe effect ir had on me-

Set in 1218, it is a story of a rich boy (6) par.-n!s aje dead. He is sro\rinQ(|,_ in thc spterdid city ofSanarkand and has a fascinalicr .br ha\'.Lj- Ihere is ageat (8) _ ofmystery surrounding his past, but he (9) _ lei io beiie\'e thara band of Mongols killed his father to steal the rare (10) _.ribird the goldenhawk. Detemined to get these birds back, he runs (11) ion Samarkand andJoins a group ofpeople taveiling to the country cenrered on rhe cir] ofKarakorum, whereGenghis Khan (12) then based.

The book combines adventure, mystery', hooour. frieddship. suft-ering all seen (13)___ the eycs ofthe boy. 'lhe book gives the readet an idea ofthe vast open spaces ofcentrul Asia where (I4) are huge skies, aEd tro boundaries, The book gave me(15)._ than hax,ks, horses and a desire for \\ild places. Two years ago I fulfilled alife-long ambition and went riding in Mongolia's mountains. I was not disappointed.

(Adapted f iomReader 's Djgest , Iqoj I

Task 2. (1 poht per item). Read the text, a d for questiotts 1-20 complete the gaps with theaPpropf i at e vel b fo rnl.

A TROPICAL BROWN WIDOW SPIDER

A tropical "Brown Widow" spidet, new io the Los Angeles area, (1) - (to

capture) as part of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County"s ongoing Spider

SLrrvey. Ttre live, venomous spider, along with its egg sac containing up to 100 baby

spiders, is currently on public display in the Museum's Insect Zoo."This spider (2) - (not to lind) pteviously in the Los Angeles arca"' said

Bnin Jones, the cumtor of entomology. "The Brown Widow probably (3) - (to

originate) in Africa, but has b€en introduced into the hopics almost worldwide," he said'

.tcJording to Jones, one of the many ways the spider could (4) - (to make) it to

the Southland was though commercial imports ofplants, flowers, food or flrniture'The Brown Widow is so rale to the Los Angeles alea lhat this is the fiIst one out of

3,000 spiders so far (5) -- (to coltect) as pafi ofthe Museum's Spider Survey The

survey (6) - (to begin) last spring to discover which tlpes of spiders (7) -

1to t"a) in th" g.*t"r Los Angelqs basin "This is the most unusual specimen we've found

through the survey so far," Jones said.The program is desigllcd to introduce elemenlary school children to biodiveNity and

build environmintal awateness. Tbe children (8) - (to brie0 about spiders before

the field trip onto the school grounds. One student recoglized the spider as (9) -(to be) of particular interest aLld pointed it out to Beth Nordeen, a Museum outreach

educator.The scientific name for the Brown Widow is Lacfodectus geometicus There are

about 30 described widow species 00) - (to include) Black Widous, Red

Widows, and tle Brown Widows the Black Widow being the most co1nmon of the widow

family (11) - (to live) in the Los Aogeles area.

the lilack Widows, but they are vcry poisonous," Joncs said "Brown Widows $'ii1 not

attaclt ifthey (13) - (not to bother) or made to feel (14) - (to threaten) "

Uo.i "pii".,

in Sootttem Califomia are unable to puncture human skin and if they

see some threat they prefer (15) - (to stay) hidder rather than (16) - (to

attack). There are tfueg (17) - (to know) species in Los Angeles that pose a ihreat

to humans - the Black Widorv, Violin spider, and now the Brown Widow The Violin

spider, o{1en (18) - (to misidentify) as the Broun Recluse' is a fast 1ittle spider

measo.ing only u hutf-i""tt as an adult. In Southem California, it (19) - (orly to

fiud) in only a few arcas oflos Argeles County ard the Inland Empire lf(20) -(to bite) by any one ofthese spiden, seek m"ut"ut u*t.,uoli;uo,"u

ftom w\1,w.engi*h_zone.com)

''_'^ that Brown Widows arc not as aggresslve as'. I ne gooo nevs ( | z, _ \ru ur,

20 ooints

T^sk 3, (1 poi t per item). Re\)rite each sentence so that the meaning of yout se tence is

exactly ihe' sami as the fieantng of the origihal sentence ljse the h)ald gl:')en lrithout

changing its form. you may write .ftom two to Jire word$

1. The flowers will die ifyou do not water them.unlessThe flowers will die

2. Drivers go to the medical examination to check thek eyesight once a yeat'

checkedDrivers so to the medical examination and

3. It's three years since Alison had a holiday.forAlison has

4. It was not necessa.ry to pay the rent in advance.treedYou

orlce a year.

tlree years.

the rent in advance.

5, I wish I had taken a map.havingI a map.

6. "You damaged my computel', th€ teacher told Albert'ofThe teacher

7. Because it snowed heavily during the night the motorway is closed'

dueThe motorway is closed lhat there was heavy snow lhe night before

8. Did you manage to get in contact with the boss today?getting

in contact with the boss today?Did you

9. I don't care what you do.collcernedAs

10. That's the garage where I left my cax last rveek'

repairedThat's where I went

10 points

her computer.

you can do what You like.

last week.

Task 4, (l point per item). Fot questions 1-15 tead the te*t below and look ealefully at

each line'. iome if the lt es dre co/rect, and some have a woril which should not he there

If a line is coreit, put a tick (v). If a li e has a word which should not be there, ttite the

wotd on the line.

TIIE AMERICAN FLAG

1. Most Americalls have great rcspect fof their own flag2, ard every school day begins, on with tlle Pledge of3. Allegiance to the Staf,s and Stdp€s too. Written in4. 1892, this pledge is b€irg recited in schools before5. classes begin and it serves as a sign ofunity and6. id€ntity for the vadous gloups of some people who7. have come fiom too mally differcnt lands and culhres'

l0

8. The first version of the flag withjls all stars and9. stripes appeared in 1777, but had had only thirteen10. slars. As each new sl-ate joined the union. a new11. star was added. The last star to be added was in12. 1960 after the Hawaii became the fiftieth state.13, In the future if other states will join the Union,14, other stals will be added to the field ofthe blue.1 5, The number of stripes, however, never changes

and rcmains consistent.(Adapled ft om www.geocities.com)

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WRITING TASK

T^sk1. Write a letter on the topic belo$1.you ale ple ning a holi.lay with your cousin who has sent you a leafet with a hotel adrettRead the advertiseme t and the notes regarding the tnfotmation. Then write a lettet to thehotel manager asbing for iftformation.

PARADISE HOTELBig discounts on all sports facilities

At Paradise hotel we do every4hing toprovide our guests with luxury and convenience, with

a range of facilities to satisfy yourevery requirement.

We offer grcat discounts on riding, squashand g),rn.

Get one night free for a long stay,We guararlee olher free o fferings for lo)al clienrs.

Notes:How much are discounts?How many nights to stay to get one night fTee?Othel' sports facilities ?llhat are loyal clients?

Write a letter between 110-130 words in an appropdate stvle. Do not write anv addresses.

1 1

Please count the number ofwords in your message and \t rite it down at the bottomofthe page. All words, including articl€s and prqositions, should be counted.

T^sk2. Write a lettel' on the topic belorr.you saw an adverTisemenl Ior compuler repoirsvery displeased with the repair quality. Wite aadve and the notes you hdve madq

You took your laprop to the shop. but golletrer to lhe repair shop referring to the

HIGHLY EXPERIENCED COMPUTER SPECIALISTS & REPAIRSWe promise qt ick and p/ofessional service!

Delivery straight to your door.We provide a six month \)1flant.

Voucher holders will rcceive a

Notes:My rcpeit losted for three weel6No deliveryMy warrant is Ior J monlhI got only a voucher, not a gift

Write a letter between 110-130 words in an approoriate stvle Do not write any addresses.

Please count the numb€r of words in your message and write it down at the bottomofthe page. A1l words, including articles and prepositions, should be counted.

20 Doi

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