Practice Test 12
Practice Test 12
Practice Test 12
I. PHONOLOGY
Sort out the word with the underlined part pronounced differently from that of the others.
1. A. apposition B. alphabet C. actress D. ancient
2. A. democracy B. complete C. memory D. microwave
3. A. conserve B. diversity C. poisonous D. absolute
Pick out the one word with a different stress pattern from the others.
4. A. reservoir B. multilane C. preference D. symphony
5. A. vaccine B. teenage C. purchase D. technique
II. LEXICO-GRAMMAR
Part 1:
Questions 6 – 15: Choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D) to each of the following questions and
write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes.
6. The law proved so unpopular that it was _____ by the Government a year later.
A. repelled B. repulsed C. taken back D. repealed
7. Many countries have now succeeded in _____ the malarial mosquito.
A. eradicating B. abolishing C. obliterating D. demolishing
8. A half-savage mongrel went _____ the tramp as the man approached the farm.
A. at B. against C. upon D. for
9. The widely-publicized demonstration did not after all _____.
A. go off B. get on C. come off D. break out
10. What the treasurer said virtually ___________ to a confession.
A. amounted B. came C. stood D. embodied
11. Unsalted butter is best for this recipe, but _____ that, margarine will do.
A. except B. failing C. given D. for all of
12. I must confess I was _____ myself with rage.
A. above B. outside C. beside D. beyond
13. Most prices have been _____ in the final days of our clearance sale.
A. taken down B. diminished C. declined D. slashed
14. Making mistakes is all _____ of growing up.
A. chalk and cheese B. top and bottom
C. part and parcel D. odds and ends
15. This year will be difficult for this organization because_____.
A. they have less money and volunteers than they had last year
B. it has less money and fewer volunteers than it had last year
C. the last year it did not have as few and little volunteers and money
D. there are fewer and volunteers that in that last year there were
Part 2:
Questions 16- 25: Write the correct form of each bracketed word. Write your answers in the
corresponding numbered boxes.
16. Leisure habits won’t change much in the ____________ future. SEE
17. Going swimming every day can have very ____________ effects. BENEFIT
18. You’d better drive. I’m too ____________ for such traffic. EXPERIENCE
19. She sat in terrible ____________ on the hard chair for over an hour. COMFORTABLE
20. Geneticists discovered the law of ____________ a long time ago. INHERIT
21. These students ____________ spent their summer vacations helping the disadvantaged.
VOLUNTEER
22. The event had been planned with ____________ attention to detail. PAIN
23. We all went to the party, with the ____________ of Steve. EXCEPT
24. ____________ comes through experience. WISE
25. When was the latest ____________ of the dictionary published? EDIT
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Part 3:
For questions 26-35, complete each sentence with the correct form of one of the phrasal verbs below.
Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes. Each verb is used once only.
IV. READING
Part 1:
Questions 41-48: Choose the answer (A, B, C or D) that best fits each space. Write your answers
in the numbered space provided below the passage.
It is now generally recognised that stress is a major (41) ______ of heart disease, and
contributes to many other illnesses. Stress is increased by (42) ______ such as worry, overwork
and lack of exercise or relaxation. For it is just as important from a psychological point of (43)
______ to relax as it is to (44) ______ physical exercise. Relaxing does not necessarily mean just
lazing about and doing nothing. The benefits of a weekend away or the diversion of sporting
activities are considerable. If you are suffering from high stress (45) ______, or wish to (46)
______ after a trying day, it is generally advisable to have a change of (47) ______. Although
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there are some individuals who (48) ______on stress, for most of us, it can lead to exhaustion,
mood swings and even severe depression.
41. A. reason B. motive C. cause D. purpose
42. A. factors B. aspects C. elements D. items
43. A. fact B. departure C. view D. return
44. A. make B. have C. undergo D. take
45. A. rates B. layers C. ratios D. levels
46. A. hold up B. wind down C. draw back D. peter out
47. A. scene B. location C. sight D. place
48. A. bloom B. prosper C. thrive D. flourish
Part 2:
Questions 49- 78: Fill each of the numbered blanks in the following passage with ONE suitable
word. Write your answers in the numbered space provided below the passage.
One day Tom and Peter decided to climb down to explore some caves near the sea. They set off
early in the morning (49) ___________ a length of rope and (50) ___________ food for 24 hours.
Reaching the cliff they fastened the rope to a tree trunk and Peter began to lower (51) ___________
over the edge. Half-way down he noticed the first of the caves and stopped on a ledge in front of it.
When Tom joined him they (52) ___________ the cave together. Inside it was very dark and they
waited a moment for their eyes to become adjusted. Looking (53) __________, they gradually made
out some dim shapes at the back of the cave. Feeling excited and a little frightened, they carefully
moved forward. Approaching the first shape Tom stretched out his hand and touched it.
It was curiously soft, warm, but with something hard inside. So he realised (54) ___________ it
was and, with a cry of terror, jumped back. “Quick,” he shouted,“ Let’s get out of here before it’s (55)
___________ late.” They turned and ran as fast as they could to the rope (56) ___________ outside.
Grabbing it, Tom began to climb but almost immediately the rope broke and he fell back on to the
ledge (57) ___________ Peter.
They stared at each other in horror. They were trapped! At that moment they heard the sound of
the creature inside beginning to move slowly (58) ______ them.
Part 3:
Questions 59-65:
You are going to read an article about the making of an unusual television commercial. Seven
sentences have been removed from the article. Choose the most suitable sentence from the list A-
H for each part (59-65) of the article. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.
Write your answers in the numbered space provided below the passage.
Many of the most expensive commercials ever made are those in which an A-list celebrity flashes a
beautiful smile at the cameras. (59) __________.Their recent television advertisement, the most
expensive in British history, cost ten million pounds, and it features, not the rich and famous, but
villagers from the mountains of Argentina.
The advertisement features a game of dominoes. It begins in a darkened room where several thousand
ordinary dominoes are set up on a specially-designed table. (60) __________. Dominoes knock over
books, which in turn knock bigger household objects such as suitcases, tyres, pots of paint, oil drums
and even cars. The final piece in the chain reaction is a huge tower of books. These flutter open to
reveal a structure in the shape of a pint of Guinness.
The location chosen for the commercial was Iruya, a village high up in the mountains of north-west
Argentina. (61) __________. The journey there could take up to ten hours. Asked why this remote
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destination was chosen for the shoot, the director said that even though it was the most difficult
location they could have picked, it was perfect.
For one month, the village, population thousand, increased in size by almost thirty percent. One
hundred and forty crew members descended on the village. These included the world record holders in
domino toppling, Weijers Domino productions from the Netherlands. (62) __________.
Creating this film was no easy task. Preparations for filming took well over a month. Twenty six
truckloads of objects were brought in. (63) __________. They included 10,000 books, 400 tyres, 75
mirrors, 50 fridges, 45 wardrobes and 6 cars. Setting the objects up took skill and patience. They
needed to be arranged so they would fall over easily, and this involved balancing them on stones. Some
of the sequences had to be reshot 15 times and 24 hours of footage was captured. However, the
sequence in which six cars fell over was successfully shot in just one take.
Filming in this location was not without its difficulties. Firstly, being so isolated, it was hard to obtain
resources at short notice. The second problem was the high altitude. (64) __________. It was also hard
working with the villagers who had no experience of film-making. Finally, setting and resetting the
props caused a good deal of frustration.
These days when CGI is all the rage, it was surprising that so little of the work was done using
computer effects. The only sequence that used computer graphics was the one in which the tower of
books fluttered open to reveal a pint of Guinness. (65) __________.Even so, this was no simple matter.
They had to ensure that all the books in the tower had a different appearance.
Director Nicolai Fuglsig said about the project : ‘Despite all the challenges, the cast was fantastic and it
was a really amazing experience.’ Whether or not the effort put into the advert pays off is another
matter entirely.
A. Then the falling dominoes head out of the room into the streets, causing progressively larger objects
to tumble.
B. These were all chosen to suit the town and fit in with the people’s way of life.
C. Getting there involved driving along 48 kilometres of dirt roads and crossing twelve rivers.
D. Iruya is situated 3000 metres above sea level and the film crew was not used to working in such
conditions.
E. The prop department did construct a small version on site, but most of the work was done in a studio
in London.
F. Added to this was the total of one hundred and thirty 'actors' who were recruited from a five
neighbouring towns.
G. Setting up the dominoes on the table took a team of experts three days, but took just 14 seconds to
topple.
H. Not so with the famous Irish drink company Guinness.
Questions 66-70: Read the passage and choose the answer (A, B, C, D) which you think fits best.
Write your answers in the numbered space provided below the passage.
On February 3, 1956, Autherine Lucy became the first African-American student to attend the
University of Alabama, although the dean of women refused to allow Autherine to live in a university
dormitory. White students rioted in protest of her admission, and the federal government had to assume
command of the Alabama National Guard in order to protect her. Nonetheless, on her first day in class,
Autherine bravely took a seat in the front row. She remembers being surprised that the professor of the
class appeared not to notice she was even in class. Later, she would appreciate his seeming
indifference, as he was one of only a few professors to speak out in favor of her right to attend the
university.
For protection, Autherine was taken in and out of classroom buildings by the back door and
driven from class to class by an assistant to the university president. The students continued to riot, and
one day, the windshield of the car she was in was broken.University officials suspended her, saying it
was for her own safety. When her attorney issued a statement in her name protesting her suspension,
the university used it as grounds for expelling her for insubordination. Although she never finished her
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education at the University of Alabama,Autherine Lucy’s courage was an inspiration to African-
American students who followed her lead and desegregated universities all over the United States.
66. According to the passage, what did Autherine Lucy do on her first day at the University of
Alabama?
A. She moved into a dormitory.
B. She sat in the front row of her class.
C. She became terrified of the white rioters.
D. She was befriended by an assistant to the university president.
67. Based on the information in the passage, which of the following best describes Autherine Lucy?
A. quiet and shy
B. courageous and determined
C. clever and amusing
D. overly dramatic
68. When she began classes at the university, Autherine Lucy expected to
A. stand out from the other students.
B. have the support of the university faculty.
C. join an African-American organization for protection.
D. be ridiculed by the professors.
69. Autherine Lucy never graduated from the University of Alabama because she
A. moved to another state.
B. transferred to another university.
C. dropped out because of pressure from other students.
D. was expelled for insubordination.
70. According to the passage, which of the following is true?
A. The Alabama National Guard is normally under the command of the U.S. Army.
B. In 1956, the only segregated university in the United States was in Alabama.
C. Autherine Lucy was escorted to and from class by the university president’s assistant.
D. A few white students at the university were pleased that Autherine Lucy was a student there.
V. WRITING
PART 1: SENTENCE TRANSFORMATION
Use the word(s) given in brackets and make any necessary additions to complete a new
sentence in such a way that it is as similar as possible in meaning to the original sentence.
Do NOT change the form of the given word. You must use between THREE and EIGHT
words including the word given.
Look at the example in the box.
Example: Immediately after winning the race, Sandy began training for the next one.
(HAD)
No sooner had Sandy won the race than she began training for the next one.