PRACTICE TEST 21

SECTION A. LISTENING (50 points)

Part 1. You hear two people speaking about their friendship. Each given question has four options A, B, C
and D. Choose the best option for each question.
1. One speaker felt her watershed moment was when_____
A. she watched a film under a blanket.
B. she turned fifty.
C. she had an argument with a good friend.
D. she got married.
2. One speaker made a tongue-in-cheek comment about
A. The Tate.
B. the food they both like.
C. taking up knitting.
D. singing in a choir.
3. One speaker expressed the view that a quilt of fear
A. was ideal for daydreaming.
B. was great for keeping you warm in front of the television.
C. protected you from imaginary concerns.
D. made your wishes come true.
4. The speakers failed to agree about
A. the number of times they fell out.
B. where the quilt should be displayed.
C. the number of pieces the quilt should have.
D. the best age to form lasting friendships.
5. What conclusion did they put forward?
A. Friendships made in your teenage years reflect your aspirations.
B. Good friendships are hard to find.
C. The longer the friendship, the better it becomes.
D. It's best not to mix friends.
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Part 2. Listen to the recording and decide which of the following statements are True (F) and which ones
are False (F)?
1. The queen's personal income is primarily derived from her lucrative investment portfolio.
2. The Sovereign Grant is provided by the government to cover official duties and expenditures of the royal
family.
3. The Crown Estate and the Royal Collection Trust are both separate entities that hold valuable assets associated
with the royal family.
4. The monarchy's brand contributes over 1 billion to the national economy annually.
5. The Duchy of Cornwall serves as the primary source of income for the Duke of Lancaster.
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Part 3. Listen to the recording and fill in the gaps with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS and/or A
NUMBER
The Shinkansen Bullet Train in Japan faced a noise problem when it exited tunnels due to the (1)
_______________ it created. To address this issue, an engineering team used (2) ___________________ to
design a quieter and faster train.
The redesigned train took inspiration from birds such as owls, whose feathers influenced the design of the (3)
________________.
The pantograph's supporting shaft was redesigned based on the smooth body of the Adelie penguin to reduce
wind resistance and achieve a (4) _____________________.
The Kingfisher's beak served as a model for the train's nose design, which helped minimize noise by reducing
pressure waves and splashes, achieving the (5) ________________.

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The redesigned train, with its biomimetic components, achieved remarkable results, including being 10% faster
and using (6) ___________________.
However, people who shape the world often lack experience in biology. Consequently, they are (7)
___________________ when it comes to understanding the workings of the world.
Biomimicry has influenced various fields, including healthcare, where researchers have looked at shark skin to
develop bacteria-resistant surfaces for hospitals, mimicking the shark's (8) ________________________.
Mimicking natural processes, such as how ants communicate to efficiently find resources, has been applied in the
development of software, including the movement of autonomous cars in a (9) _____________________.
The idea of the (10) _______________________ promotes using materials in a way that eliminates waste by
continuously upcycling them, similar to how materials are reused and transformed in natural ecosystems.
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Part 4. Listen to a recording about Frederick, the duke of York and answer the following questions. Write
NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS and/or A NUMBER for each answer.
1. In what type of composition was Frederick, the duke, made famous?
_______________________________________________
2. Who did his battles end in total disaster against?
_______________________________________________
3. What is the derogatory term employed to depict a collective of individuals perceived as contemptible and
devoid of value?
_______________________________________________
4. When did the Duke of York find himself subjected to ridicule through satirical songs?
_______________________________________________
5. During his involvement in a scandalous affair, what specific position did the Duke hold?
_______________________________________________

SECTION B. GRAMMAR & VOCABULARY (30 points)

Part 1: Choose the answer A, B, C, or D that best completes each of the following sentences. Write your
answers in the corresponding numbered boxes. (20 points)
1. They regularly hold elections without a _____ of corruption or violence.
A. scent B. breath C. sniff D. whiff
2. The lyrics came to him in _____ during this and other catnaps.
A. few and far B. length and breadth C. bits and pieces D. leaps and bounds
3. Should the longevity link also apply to human beings, it could well lead to the development of drugs that
mimic the effects of calorie _____ while allowing people to maintain their normal diet.
A. constraint B. restriction C. prevention D. restraint
4. Right after I got married, I got a big promotion at work, so I'm really _____ at the moment!
A. on the fence B. on the crest of the wave
C. on cloud nine D. B&C are correct
5. Joe's been walking with a _____ ever since he found out he was getting a promotion.
A. feather in his cap B. spring in his step C. nail on his head D. chip on his shoulder
6. They would much sooner ____ than _____ by car.
A. walk/going B. walking/going C. walking/go D. walk/go
7. Both reporters cut their journalistic _____ on the same provincial newspaper.
A. tooth B. teeth C. foot D. feet
8. (NP) It’s _____ as bad as he said
A. more like B. much C. nothing like D. a great deal
9. The old bridge fell into _____ several years ago.
A. disuse B. misuse C. unuse D. abuse
10. (NP) Lest anyone _____ my story, I have brought documents to attest to its truth.
A. must doubt B. should doubt C. doubts D. doubted
11. Let me make a _____ concession at the start.
A. square B. triangle C. round D. cross

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12. (NP) There has been _____ increasing number of cases of _____ disease.
A. an/the B. an/Ø (zero article) C. the/a D. the/the
13. He announced he could see the _____ of recovery in the job market.
A. green shoots B. blue chip C. white goods D. golden hello
14. Colin's girlfriend dumped him weeks ago, but the poor guy's heart is still in his _____ .
A. shoes B. heels C. boots D. hoods
15. I chose to pursue a career in medical research so that I might someday _____ in the world with a
groundbreaking discovery.
A. make my grade B. make a move C. make my day D. make my mark
16. There is concern that overfishing could snuff _____ some species.
A. up B. out C. in D. about
17. This is a good exercise for toning ____ the thighs.
A. up B. out C. in D. at
18. (NP) __________ that it now carries nearly two million passenger each day.
A. So popular the system has become B. So popular has the system become
C. Such popular was the system D. Such was popular the system
19. (NP) I’ll see you on Saturday. What ____________ in the afternoon?
A. will you do B. will you be doing C. do you do D. are you doing
20. The company has changed __________ several times but is still on the verge of bankruptcy.
A. places B. tune C. subject D. hands
Your answers
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19.

Part 2: Give the correct form of each bracketed words. Write your answers in the corresponding
numbered boxes. (10 points)
1. He had a(n) _____ smile on his face when he saw me. (ENIGMA)
2. In Greek myth, love is _____ by the goddess Aphrodite. (PERSON)
3. I have only a _____ knowledge of Spanish history. (PATCH)
4. After several setbacks it's hard not to grow _____. (HEART)
5. The book is an _____ summary of issues in pensions, relying on quotes from and references to others.
(ORIGIN)
6. Pinga is _____ and begins to cry, to the extent of remaining against a wall. (CONSOLE)
7. The report contained conflicting evidence and plenty of _____. (CONSISTENT)
8. _____ by her own fears, she never left the house. (PRISON)
9. The inclusion of _____ explanations and justifications was by no means standard practice. (SOLICIT)
10. Given the observed difference between men and women as regards to psychological distress, all _____ were
conducted separately for men and women. (ANALYSE)
Your answers
1. 6.

2. 7.

3. 8.

4. 9.

5. 10.

SECTION C. READING (60 points)

Part 1: Read the text below and think of the word which best fits each space. Use only ONE word in each
space. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes. (15 points) “Extreme sports” is a broad
term to describe any action or adventure sports that include a high dosage of risk, height, speed, natural
challenges, and physical struggle. Most extreme sports are considered as an alternative (1) _TO____ mainstream

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sports with their adrenaline-rushing thrills. Extreme sports are popularized in (2) _THE____ 1990s with lots of
TV coverage and they keep on increasing their popularity every year. Bungee Jumping is a simple yet thrilling
recreational activity that involves head-first jumping from a tall structure (3) __WITH___ an elastic cord.
Bungee jump as we (4) _KNOW____ it was first practiced in 1979 but its different forms used to be a tribal
coming-of-age ritual in many cultures. Now, bungee jumping is one of the most popular and available extreme
sports in the world. Paragliding is an aerial extreme sport involving gliding through the air with a parachute that
is attached into your body. Participants descend from (5) _HIGH____ altitudes such as a mountain, cliff or an
aircraft. Abseiling is a recreational activity that involves sliding down through a rope in controlled conditions
from a mountain, cliff or a man made structure. In spring the weather is more welcoming and warmer for
abseiling and since the (6) ___SPORT__ is mostly taking place in nature; spring is the most convenient season
for it. Kitesurfing is riding and gliding across the water (7) __WHILE___ holding onto a large hand-controlled
kite that is powered by the wind. Mountain biking is an off-road bicycle racing sport that is set on rough terrain
like a mountain, desert, or rocks with specially (8) __DESIGNED___ mountain bikes. Most mountain bikers
like to ride on a dry terrain (9) _WITHOUT____ snow or rain. Skateboarding is an action-filled recreational
activity and a professional sport that involves performing tricks on a skateboard. Skateboarding has also created
its (10) _OWN____ subculture from its slang to music.
(Adapted from https://www.flypgs.com/en/extreme-sports )
Your answers
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Part 2. Read the following passage and choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which fits best according to the
text. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes. (10 points)
MARCO POLO
“Here begins the introduction of this book, which is called “The Description of the World”. Lords, Emperors,
and Kings, Dukes, and Marquesses, Counts, Knights, and Burgessess, and all people who wish to know the
different generations of men and the diversities of the different regions of the world, then take this book and
have it read and here you will fine all the greatest marvels and the great diversities…”
So begins Marco Polo’s book, “The Description of the World,” as presented in Arthur Christopher Moule’s
masterful English translation of a version of Marco Polo’s book known to scholars and the “F” text. The storied
Venetian trader escaped bandits, pirates, rampaging rivers and sandstorms on his epic eastbound journey. Sailing
the treacherous coasts of Southeast Asia and India, Marco Polo returned to Venicce in 1295, after 24 years, rich
in gems, and wild tales of unimagined lands. Shortly after his return to Venice, Marco Polo was captured at sea,
possibly by pirates. One tradition suggests he was imprisoned in Genoa’s Palazzo and that he devoted his prison
time to composing his book. On his deathbed in 1324, the legendary adventurer reflected that he had many
more stories to tell.
“The Description of the World,” the original product of Marco Polo’s collaboration with a romance writer
named Rustichello has been lost, and so scholars are left to sift through the some 150 versions known to exist,
no two exactly alike. Scholars divide the 150 versions into two groups, labeled “A”, and “B”. The “F” text,
which falls into the “A” group, is housed in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris. Considered one of the best and
very close to the original, it is written in a Franco-Italian language described by one scholars as “uncouth French
much mingled with Italian.” Some of these “A” texts are notorious for variations that show the biases, mistakes
and editorial judgments of their copiers. For example, when some translators were presented with the news that
three Magi were buried at Saveh in Persia rather than in Cologne, they inserted that the people of Saveh tell
many lies. As these books were translated from language to language, the opportunities for error multiplied; one
text from the early 16th century is a Tuscan translation of a Latin translation of an earlier Tuscan translation of
the original Franco-Italian language. Although we have no confirmation of the Marco-Rustichello collaboration
other than the book itself, Marco seems to have approved of at least some of its versions, for in 1307 he
presented a French translation of it to an envoy of Charles of Valois.
The second group of manuscripts, known as the “B” group, provides some provocative material not found in the
“A” texts. From this “B” group, for example, we learn that the people around Yarkand in western China suffer
from goiter – a problem for them even today. Until the 1930s the only examples of “B” texts were a few odd bits
of manuscript and a printed text by Giambattista Ramusio that appeared in 1559, two years after his death.
Ramusio tells his readers that his Italian version was produced with the help of different copies.” [A] The
foundation of his work appears to be a Latin text dating from before 1320, with influences from other

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identifiable versions. [B] What is distinctive about Ramusio’s work is that about twenty percent of it was, until
1932, considered unique. [C] That twenty percent is thought to have destroyed in a 1558 fire. [D]
A second version containing much of Ramusio’s original material surfaced in Toledo, Spain in 1932. Most of
this Latin manuscript agrees with the “F” manuscript, but it also contains some 200 passages not found in “F”.
About 120 of those, however, are found in Ramusio’s book. Because the remaining 80 offer valuable historical
and geographical material and even help to clarify some obscure passages of “F”, this manuscript is thought to
be a copy of something that was very close to an original.
In sorting this out, scholars have come to conclude that Marco Polo probably wrote two versions of his book.
The second version, presented by the “B” texts, may have been a revision and expansion done for a select group
of readers who had already made their way through the first book. It is unlikely that we will ever know exactly
what form the first book took, but the versions we have still make for a very good read.
(Adapted from CPE express book 2)
1. According to the introduction to the book, readers can expect to
A. learn about Marco Polo’s life. B. learn about differences among generations.
C. travel to far regions of the world. D. read descriptions of places.
2. According to the second paragraphs, stories about Marco Polo’s life
A. are well-supported B. are all imaginary
C. take place at sea D. are sometimes unreliable
3. What is the “F” text?
A. The authentic text written by Marco Polo and Rustichello.
B. The script with the greatest affinity to the original source.
C. Not one of the 150 versions of Marco’s original book.
D. A good version of the “B” texts written in Franco-Italian.
4. What is one of the main problems with the “A” texts?
A. All translators manipulated the truth.
B. Editing is now difficult and unreliable.
C. The early versions were remote from the original text.
D. Later translations distorted the original.
5. The “B” group of manuscripts
A. contained previously undocumented information.
B. were compilations of manuscripts printed by Ramusio.
C. dealt with health and culture in China.
D. were published two years after Ramusio’s death.
6. What was found in Spain in 1932?
A. A Latin version containing valuable information about Ramusio
B. A text which was very close to the “F” manuscript.
C. A manuscript of 200 passages that do not appear in the “F” text.
D. The original book written by Marco Polo.
7. In relation to the book, “The Description of the World”, the author suggests that
A. despite its uncertain origins, it is a fascinating piece of literature.
B. scholars should discover who the true author was.
C. Marco Polo wrote many versions of the same book.
D. Marco Polo intended his original book for an elite readership.
8. Which of the following statements is TRUE
A. Marco Polo was captured at sea by pirates for two years.
B. There are about 150 versions of the book “The Description of the World”.
C. “B” texts have more biases, mistakes and editorial judgments than “B” texts.
D. Texts by Ramusio were destroyed in a fire.
9. The word “envoy” in paragraph 4 refers to
A. a person B. a dynasty C. a department D. a country
10. Which of the following square brackets [A], [B], [C], or [D] best indicates where in the paragraph the
following sentence can be inserted?
In any event, the source has never been found.
A. [A] B. [B] C. [C] D. [D]
Your answers
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

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 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Part 3. Read the passage and do the tasks that follow. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered
boxes. (13points)
List of headings
i. How the study of body language has changed
ii. A possible business application of body language
iii. Using body language as a tool to deceive others
iv. Communicating a wide range of messages
v. A branch of an older academic field
vi. The need for skill when interpreting body language
vii. Recognising a positive attitude without realising it
viii. How power is linked with certain family roles
ix. A form of body language that can be misinterpreted
x. Imitating the chief person in a group
xi. Ignoring signals from other people

1. Paragraph A: _____
2. Paragraph B: _____
3. Paragraph C: _____
4. Paragraph D: _____
5. Paragraph E: _____
6. Paragraph F: _____
7. Paragraph G: _____
8. Paragraph H: _____

KINESICS
A. Psychology is a well-established subject, but one area of it, “kinesics”- the study of body language – was not
identified until 1952, and research only began in earnest in the 1960s. Kinesics is based on the behavioral
patterns of non-verbal communication. Clinical studies have revealed the extent to which body language can
actually contradict verbal communications. A classic example is the young woman who told her psychiatrist that
she loved her boyfriend very much while shaking her head from side to side in subconscious denial.
B. Body language also sheds light on the dynamics of interfamily relationships. A family sitting together can
give a revealing picture of itself simply by the way its members move their arms and legs. If the mother, for
example, crosses her legs first and the rest of the family then follows suit,
she has set the lead for the family action, though she, as well as the rest of the family may not be aware she is
doing it. In fact, her words may deny her leadership as she asks her husband or children for advice. But the
unspoken, follow-the-leader clue in the actions of the family members gives the family set-up away to someone
knowledgeable in kinesics.
C. Another kinesic signal is the unconscious widening of a person’s pupils when their eyes see something
pleasant. Experiments have shown that we become aware of how that person feels, although we are conscious
neither of seeing the signal nor of giving it meaning.
D. This kinesic principle has been used on a commercial level to detect the effect of a television advertisement.
While the ad is being shown to a selected audience, their eyes are photographed. Later, the film is carefully
studied to detect just when there is any widening of the eye; in other words, when there is any unconscious,
positive response to the advertisement.
E. Body language can include any volutionary or involutionary movement of a part or all the body, used by a
person to communicate an emotional message to the outside world. To understand this unspoken body language,
kinesics experts often have to take into consideration cultural and environmental differences. The average
person, unschooled in cultural nuances of body language, is often mistaken when decoding what he or she sees.
F. In addition to sending and receiving messages, body language can also serve to break through defences, if it is
used skillfully. Often the swiftest and most obvious type of body language is touch. The touch of a hand, or an
arm around someone’s shoulder, can spell a more vivid and direct message of friendliness than dozens of words.
But such a touch must come at the right moment and in the right context, or the other person may take it as an

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intrusion into his or her personal space. For every situation there must be two elements to body language: the
delivery of the message and the reception of the message.
G. However, some people are “touchers”, compulsive touchers, who seem completely impervious to all
messages they may get from friends and acquaintances. They are people who will touch others even though they
are bombarded with body-language requests not to. There are also people who avoid touching others altogether.
H. We act out our state of being with non-verbal body language. We lift one eyebrow for disbelief, shrug our
shoulders for indifference, tap our fingers for impatience. The gestures are numerous, and while some are
deliberate and others are almost deliberate, there are some, such as rubbing under our noses for puzzlement or
clasping our arms to protect ourselves, that are mostly unconscious. Kinesics is a study of the mixture of all
body movements, from the very deliberate to the completely unconscious, from those that apply only in one
culture to those that cut across all cultural barriers.

Questions 9-13. Do the following statements reflect the claims of the writer in the reading passage? Write
YES if the statement reflects the claims of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

9. Little work was done in the field of kinesics for the first few years after the subject had been identified.
10. Family leaders consistently show their dominance through speech and body language.
11. The use of kinesics in connection with television advertising has increased sales of products.
12. Touching may be regarded as an unwelcome gesture.

Question 13. Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D

The writer’s intention is
A. to present recent findings in kinesics to specialists.
B. to introduce kinesics to general readers.
C. to examine weaknesses in kinesics.
D. to identify the scientific basis of kinesics.
(Adapted from Cambridge Objective IELTS advanced)
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

11. 12. 13.

Part 4. You are going to read an extract from an article. Seven paragraphs have been removed from the
extract. Choose from the paragraphs A - H the one which fits each gap (1- 7). There is one extra
paragraph which you do not need to use. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes. (7
points)

OpenAI last week opened up access to ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot that interacts with users in an eerily
convincing and conversational way. Its ability to provide lengthy, thoughtful and thorough responses to
questions and prompts – even if inaccurate – has stunned users, including academics and some in the tech
industry.
1.

“There’s a certain feeling that happens when a new technology adjusts your thinking about computing. Google
did it. Firefox did it. AWS did it. iPhone did it. OpenAI is doing it with ChatGPT,” Levie said on Twitter. But as
with other AI-powered tools, it also poses possible concerns, including for how it could disrupt creative
industries, perpetuate biases and spread misinformation.
2.

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After signing up for ChatGPT, users can ask the AI system to field a range of questions, such as “Who was the
president of the United States in 1955,” or summarize difficult concepts into something a second grader could
understand. It’ll even tackle open-ended questions, such as “What’s the meaning of life?” or “What should I
wear if it’s 40 degrees out today?”
3.

But some users are getting very creative. One person asked the chatbot to rewrite the 90s hit song, “Baby Got
Back,” in the Style of “The Canterbury Tales;” another wrote a letter to remove a bad account from a credit
report (rather than using a credit repair lawyer). Other colorful examples including asking for fairy-tale inspired
home décor tips and giving it an AP English exam question (it responded with a 5 paragraph essay about
Wuthering Heights.)
4.

While ChatGPT successfully fielded a variety of questions submitted by CNN, some responses were noticeably
off. In fact, Stack Overflow – a Q&A platform for coders and programmers – temporarily banned users from
sharing information from ChatGPT, noting that it’s “substantially harmful to the site and to users who are asking
or looking for correct answers.”
5.

“While we’ve made efforts to make the model refuse inappropriate requests, it will sometimes respond to
harmful instructions or exhibit biased behavior,” Open AI said on its website. “We’re using the Moderation API
to warn or block certain types of unsafe content, but we expect it to have some false negatives and positives for
now. We’re eager to collect user feedback to aid our ongoing work to improve this system.”
6.

“It is very easy for the model to give plausible-sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers,” he said. “It
guessed when it was supposed to clarify and sometimes responded to harmful instructions or exhibited biased
behavior. It also lacks regional and country-specific understanding.”
7.

While the DALL-E tool is free, it does put a limit on the number of prompts a user can do before having to pay.
When Elon Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI, recently asked Altman on Twitter about the average cost per
ChatGPT chat, Altman said: “We will have to monetize it somehow at some point; the compute costs are eye-
watering.”
(Adapted from https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/05/tech/chatgpt-trnd/index.html)
A. “It depends on what activities you plan to do. If you plan to be outside, you should wear a light jacket or
sweater, long pants, and closed-toe shoes,” ChatGPT responded. “If you plan to be inside, you can wear a t-shirt
and jeans or other comfortable clothing.”
B. The tool quickly went viral. On Monday, Open AI’s co-founder Sam Altman, a prominent Silicon Valley
investor, said on Twitter that ChatGPT crossed one million users. It also captured the attention of some
prominent tech leaders, such as Box CEO Aaron Levie.
C. Still, Lian Jye Su, a research director at market research firm ABI Research, warns the chatbot is operating
“without a contextual understanding of the language.”
D. In a blog post last week, OpenAI said the “format makes it possible for the tool to answer follow-up
questions, admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect premises, and reject inappropriate requests.” As of Monday
morning, the page to try ChatGPT was down, citing “exceptionally high demand.” “Please hang tight as we
work on scaling our systems,” the message said. (It now appears to be back online).

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E. At the same time, however, it does provide a glimpse into how companies may be able to capitalize on
developing more robust virtual assistance, as well as patient and customer care solutions.
F. Beyond the issue of spreading incorrect information, the tool could also threaten some written professions, be
used to explain problematic concepts, and as with all AI tools, perpetuate biases based on the pool of data on
which it’s trained. Typing a prompt involving a CEO, for example, could prompt a response assuming that the
individual is white and male, for example.
G. Like ChatGPT, the new Google Search and Bard are built on a large language model. They are trained on
vast troves of data online in order to generate compelling responses to user prompts, but these tools are also
known to get responses wrong or “hallucinate” answers.
H. ChatGPT is a large language model trained on a massive trove of information online to create its responses. It
comes from the same company behind DALL-E, which generates a seemingly limitless range of images in
response to prompts from users. It’s also the next iteration of text generator GPT-3.
Your answers
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Part 5. For questions 1-10, select the travel writer (A-E) using the separate answer sheet. Each travel
writer may be selected more than once. (15 points)
GENETIC ENGINEERING- THE WAY OF THE FUTURE?
To examine the issue, we’ve asked the opinions of six experts
A. Dr Robert Rodriguez – bioethics lecturer
Is it so surprising that there is widespread public suspicion and mistrust? Incidentally, the public’s negative view
of GM cannot be attributed to ignorance because mistrust tends to increase with education on the topic. This is
despite an ever-growing body of research that can find no evidence of harm. Of course, this doesn’t mean there
isn’t any, even if we assume the best intentions of the people involved; it’s a subject that is not completely
understood. Anyway why should the public assume that best intentions are behind the research? Look at the
past. Look what happened with BSE, better known as mad cow disease. Agricultural practices did not protect the
public, it endangered them. Look back further to the pesticide DDT. We do not have a track record that
encourages public confidence.
B. Dr Lisa Khan – geographer
There is no doubt that people are starving today in many parts of the world. And with global population growth
projections – we seem set to add a billion people every twelve to fifteen years – there is absolutely no debate
that we will be unable to feed the population in the future unless things change fundamentally. Genetically
modifying crops is certainly one way to achieve this change. But it is not the only way, and it may not be the
most effective. Take, for comparison, the “green revolution” of the 1950s, which greatly increased productivity
by using new strains of crops, new mechanical tools and petrochemical pesticides and fertilizers; it has created
its own set of problems. People may starve because of lack of food, but the food is there; other things – social or
economic issues – stand in the way of it getting where it needs to be.
C. Dr Sylvia Johnson – doctor
I would like to point out that GM organisms have made very important contributions to medicine. I’m not
talking about GM foods; that is a separate issue. But if we consider insulin being produced in tobacco plants,
there is a tremendous benefit. A difficult to obtain substance is made available safely at a lower cost. The plants
are cultivated in a greenhouse, under controlled circumstances, the product they synthesise is purified in a
stringent process, and the modified plants are destroyed; there is very little risk involved. The potential for
creating a wide range of difficult- to- produce and life-saving proteins and pharmaceuticals, even vaccines, at
costs low enough for third world utilization should not be ignored.
D. Dr Gary Wilson – population geneticist
These days there is little question about gene flow. If you plant GM crops, the genes will end up in non-GM
crops, in wild weed populations, in soil bacteria; they cannot be contained. They will move; they have moved.
There are studies that prove it. In the early research, they were citing probabilities of pollination events or gene
transfer events that were miniscule; these studies were used to support the cause of GM. But if you have enough
chances, if you cultivate enough acres, the improbable will happen. And it has. And it will continue to. For a
population geneticist there is no surprise here. At the risk of being incendiary, I will say the conclusions drawn
from this early research could be considered an example of willful misinterpretation, of statistical probability.
Well, it has become a profitable industry.
E. Dr. Daphne Alexander – ecologist

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I would like to mention the monarch butterfly. This insect carries out a unique migration from the Northern US
and Canada all the way to Mexico, and is reliant on a range of environmental and temporal patterns throughout
this whole geographic area. It came out a while ago that one strain of GM corn that was engineered to contain a
toxin, originally from bacteria, to kill any insect that attempted to eat its leaves, also expressed this toxin in its
pollen. It was not supposed to do this, other strains did not. And this pollen was falling on the leaves of the
milkweed plants, on which the monarch larvae are dependent for a food source, killing or stunting the larvae.
This is an example of the kind of unintended consequence that is impossible to foresee.
F. Dr. Andrew Wright – lawyer
In the EU, by law, food products that contain GM ingredients must be labeled. But it is not quite as simple as
that. In fact, it is not simple at all; it is unbelievably convoluted. Tomato sauce made from GM tomatoes is
simple; but it must be labeled. But what about meat, milk, cheese, or eggs produced from animals fed GM corn
or soya in their feed? The feed must be labeled, but not the final product. And what about enzymes, like those
used to make cheese for example, that have been produced by GM microorganisms? Furthermore, there can
legally be up to 9 percent contamination with GM products, with no labeling required, as long as the producer
can prove it was accidental and unavoidable! I would urge everyone to read widely; there is no other way to
keep informed and a lot has already transpired, while most of us were unaware.
Which person gives each of the following opinions about genetic engineering?
1. _________ GM genes are already present in wild populations.
2. _________ Some people may have misled others when they did not interpret data correctly.
3. _________ Current research might not be correct.
4. _________ People haven’t been paying attention to developments.
5. _________ Even unlikely events happen.
6. _________ It is impossible to account for all the possible effects in advance.
7. _________ People have no reason to believe what the authorities say.
8. _________ Unintentional presence of GM items in food is not regulated.
9. _________ There is more than one way to solve a problem.
10. _________ In some cases the benefits clearly outweigh the risks.

Your answers
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

SECTION D. WRITING (60 points)

Part 1. Read the following text and use your own words to summarize it. Your summary should be about
100-120 words long. You MUST NOT copy the original. (15 points) Man is forever changing the face of
nature. He has been doing so since he first appeared on the earth. Yet, all that man has done is not always to the
ultimate advantage of the earth or himself. Man has, in fact, destroyed more than necessary.
In his struggle to live and extract the most out of life, man has destroyed many species of wildlife; directly by
sheer physical destruction, and indirectly by the destruction or alteration of habitats. Some species may be able
to withstand disruptions to their habitat while others may not be able to cope.
Take the simple act of farming. When a farmer tills a rough ground, he makes it unsuitable for the survival of
certain species. Every change in land use brings about a change in the types of plant and animals found on that
land.When man builds a new town, this means the total destruction of vast areas of farmland or woodland. Here,
you have the complete destruction of entire habitats and it is inevitable.
It follows therefore, that every form of human activity unavoidably upsets or changes the wildlife complex of
the area. Man has destroyed many forms of wildlife for no reasonable purpose. They have also made many great
blunders in land use, habitat destruction and the extermination of many forms of wildlife
Man's attitude towards animals depends on the degree to which his own survival is affected. He sets aside
protection for animals that he hunts for sport and wages a war on any other creature that may pose a danger or
inconvenience to him. This creates many problems and man has made irreversible, serious errors in his
destruction of predators. He has destroyed animals and birds which are useful to farmers as pest controllers. The
tragedy that emerges is that all the killing of predators did not in any way increase the number of game birds.
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Part 2. Report writing (15points)
The charts below show the numbers of people in different age groups who go sailing or play basketball in
Australia.
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 (30points)
It is said that the characteristics we are born with have much more influence on our personality and
development than any experiences we may have in our life. To what extent do you agree or disagree with that
idea?
Present your argumentation to highlight your opinion on this matter. Give reasons and specific examples to
support your opinion(s).
Write an essay (about 350 words) to express your opinion.
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