 Reading Comprehension

Each of the texts below is followed by 5 multiple-choice questions. Read the texts and answer the
questions.
Since the South of England was untouched by the latest Ice Ages of Northern Europe, its landscape shows
the impact of thousands- even tens of thousands-of years of human activity.

The most important memorials to the peoples who lived in Britain before the Iron Age are some impressive
monuments in earth and stone. The best known of these is the ring of enormous blocks of stone at
Stonehenge, erected probably between 1800 and 1400 BC. What its purpose was, and how these “primitive”
people- as they must have been- managed to transport and erect the enormous blocks, remains a much-
debated mystery. Of the other features of their culture we have only fragmentary, archaeological evidence.
We know nothing about the language of these early inhabitants, or whether they have left any identifiable
racial features in local populations today. It is at least a common popular belief that some typically dark,
short natives of Britain could stem from the pre-Celtic inhabitants of the country.

The first invaders in “historical” times, the Celts are of more immediate importance since they still form an
identifiable ethnic minority. The term “Celt” or “Celtic” is a simplification, compressing many different
tribes and centuries of development into one single component.

We may begin the story of the British Celts about 2500 years ago, at a time when various Celtic tribes
were expanding on the European continent, bringing their Iron Age culture and technology with them. Some
Celts were already in Britain when the so-called Belgic Celts invaded the island around 200 BC, and set up
local kingdoms in what is now Southern England. It is from these tribes that we have learned about the
features of the “typical” Celt: red-haired, warlike, charging into battle in chariots, fighting naked but painted
in a blue dye, armed with a long iron sword.

Per Halle, Introduction to British Civilization (1994)

1. The ring of stones at Stonehenge

A. Was erected by Belgic Celts
B. Is the best known monument of pre-Celtic civilization
C. Preserves traces of many pre-Celtic invasions.
D. All of the above.
2. Certain dark, short natives of Britain
A. Are believed to have set up local kingdoms in Southern England.
B. Are generally believed to still remember the language of the pre-Celtic inhabitants of
the country.
C. Mostly inhabit the region around Stonehenge.
D. None of the above.
3. According to the text,
A. some Celts still live in Britain today.

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 B. there were no Celts in Britain prior to 200 BC.
C. all Celts left Britain for Belgium some 2500 years ago.
D. various Celtic tribes are currently expanding on the European continent.
4. Popular imagination pictures the “typical” Celt as
A. A dark, short-haired individual.
B. A hospitable, peace-loving character.
C. An aggressive fighter storming into battle in a chariot.
D. A savage fighting in the nude, painted in red dye.
5. About 2500 years ago
A. Celtic tribes were expanding in Europe.
B. Celtic tribes were expanding in Britain
C. there were no Celts in Britain
D. some Celts lived in Britain

Section Two: JUMBLED PARAGRAPHS

Read the text below. Five paragraphs have been removed from the text. Choose from paragraphs A-
F the one which fits each gap. There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use.

Imagine you`re the passenger in a two-seater light aircraft at 2,500 feet. You have no previous flying
experience. Suddenly the pilot has a massive heart attack and dies at the controls. How do you react?
Kathryn Clayton and Alan Anderson, who faced these dilemmas for real, are just two of the everyday heroes
celebrated in Michael Buerk`s new book, 999 : Dramatic Stories of Real- Life Rescue. / 1 ……/ But, here
in print, the inherent drama and nail-biting suspense of these true stories comes across with even greater
impact. For the first time, you find yourself inside the minds of the victims and the rescuers, experiencing
their terror, sharing their sense of disbelief.
What soon becomes clear is that when life is on the line, human beings are capable of drawing on
amazing qualities deep inside themselves. / 2……./ Hayley was padding in a children`s swimming pool
when her long hair got sucked into one of the intake valves/3……./ In a flash of inspiration, John – himself
only a teenager – was able to improvise resuscit- ation techniques that kept her alive under water for well
over four minutes Given the cautionary nature of so many of these tales, 999 takes the opportunity to pass on
a series of simple practical tips which could help you deal with similar life-threatening situations. /4……../
The author behind this inspiring book is the acclaimed news reporter, Michael Buerk – in his own way a
lifesaver / 5……./ To a large extent, it was Michael who first alerted the world to the scale of that tragedy,
triggering massive international relief effort which eventually saved over a million lives.

A. Such tales of courage defy belief.

B. Take John Gething, saviour of 12-year-old Hayley Rogers.
C. You may have witnessed their acts of courage in the gripping BBC television series of the
same name.
D. For instance, Hayley`s story is followed by a clear explanation of the ABC of resuscitation –
Airway, Breathing and Circulation.
E. Who can forget his moving film reports from the scene of the Ethiopian famine in 1984?
F. The swirling water plaited her hair into what was, effectively, a thick rope, pulling her head
beneath the pool`s surface.

Section Three: Read the text. Each of the statements below is related to one part of the text. Choose A-E
and put them in the right place. You can put more than one in the same place.

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 1)…….Nicotine is as heroin and cocaine, and cigarettes should be regarded as nicotine-delivery systems
comparable to a needle and syringe, the Royal College of Physicians said yesterday.

2)……..An authority is needed to counter the marketing strategies of the tobacco companies and ensure
nicotine is subject to the same controls as any other drug, the college said. All doctors should recognize
nicotine addiction as a priority for treatment and the Government should ensure that there is universal access
to help people to give up the smoking habit, with cheap or free nicotine substitutes.

3)………Almost 40 years after the college identified smoking as the cause of lung cancer in a landmark
report in 1962, it called for nicotine addiction to become a “major health priority in Britain”. In a new report,
Nicotine Addiction in Britain, it says recognition of the central role played by the drug is crucial to helping
more smokers give up.

4)……….The report highlights the imbalance between the “unparalleled freedom” enjoyed by the tobacco
companies to market their products and the tight controls on nicotine replacements such as patches and gum,
which are treated as medicinal drugs and are subject to special regulation by the Medicines Control Agency.

5)………. One requirement for regulation was over the promotion of low-tar cigarettes as a healthier
alternative. Research shows that smokers compensate for the lower nicotine and tar and smoke more
cigarettes or inhale more deeply to get the same experience.

(The Independent , 9 February 2000)

A. The British Government should guarantee access to nicotine substitute for all who wish to give up
smoking.
B. Almost 40 years ago, the Royal College of Physicians proclaimed that lung cancer was closely linked to
smoking.
C. Medical research shows that low-tar cigarettes are not a healthier alternative for smokers.
D. According to the Royal College of Physicians, a special authority is needed to oppose the market-
oriented policy of tobacco companies.
E. Nicotine addiction has become an important issue in Britain.

 Use of English
Banked and Open Cloze Vocabulary

A. In the following text there are 10 missing words or phrases. From the list after the text select the
correct choice for each blank (1-10).

Psychologists say that when a person makes a moral choice, two things 1-------- : one is the act of choosing;
the other is the various feelings, impulses and 2---------- which his/ her psychological outfit presents the
person with, and which are the raw material of his/her choice. Now this raw material may be of two kinds.
3------------ it may be what we 4 ------------ normal: it 5----------- feelings that are common to all people; or
else it may consist of quite unnatural feelings 6--------- things that have gone wrong in the subconscious.
Thus, fear of things that are really dangerous would be an example of the first kind; an irrational fear of
7----------- things would be an example of the second. What psychoanalysis undertakes to do is 8 ------------
the abnormal feelings, that is, to give a person better raw material for his acts of choice; morality is
concerned with the acts of choice themselves.
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 Put it 9---------. Imagine two men go to war. One has the natural fear of danger which he 10----------
subdue by a moral effort and become a brave man. The other has exaggerated fears which no amount of
moral effort can do anything about.

1 A. had been B. are involved C. are evolved D. are revolved

involved
2 A. etc. B. go on C. other D. so on
3 A. neither B. suppose C. suggest D. either
4 A. must call B. would call C. need a call D. need not call
5 A. comprises B. consists from C. contains in D. consists of
6 A. due to B. thanking to C. thanks to D. thanks them
7 A. unharmed B. less harmed C. harmful D. harmless
8 A. move out B. move off C. to remove D. to move
9 A. right away B.this way C. no way D. away
10 A. is allowed to B. is capable of C. managed D. can

A. Fill in the gaps with the word that best completes the meaning.
How 1.________________ it is so difficult to find English food in England? In Greece you eat Greek food,
in France French food, in Italy Italian food, but in England, in 2. ________________ High Street in the land,
it is 3. __________________to find Indian and Chinese restaurants than English ones. In London you can
eat 4. __________, Portuguese, Turkish, Lebanese, Russian, Polish, Swiss, Swedish, Spanish, and Italian-
but where are the English restaurants?

It is not only in restaurants that foreign 5. __________________ are replacing traditional British food. In
every supermarket, sales of pasta, pizza and poppadoms are booming. Why has this happened? What is
wrong 6. _____________________the cooks of Britain that they prefer cooking pasta to potatoes? Why 7.
__________________ to eat lasagna instead of shepherd’s pie? Why do they now like 8. ___

_____________________ in wine and olive oil. But perhaps it is a good thing. 9. _________________, this
is the end of the 20th century and we can get ingredients from all over the world in just a few hours. Anyway,
wasn’t English food always 10. ______________________and tasteless?

Error Identification

Identify the error in each of the following sentences by choosing between A, B, C or D.

1. It was a comfortable fear, I could not help to think.
A B C D
2. It should be noted which such substantivized adjectives are very often
A B C
used with the definite article in its basic function.
D
3. When I have been a child, people used to read me out of a book of fairy
A B C
tales someone had given me for my birthday.

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 D
4. “Did you remember posting my letter on your way home?”
A
“I remember going to the post-office for some stamps, but even then
B C
I am afraid I forgot to post it.
D
5. On the last day he suggested that they to go rowing on the river and take
A B C D
a picnic lunch with them.

Word Formation

Use the words in brackets to form a word that fits into the space next to it.

Hawaii is one of the most _______________ (FASCINATE) places in the world to get a clear view of the
night sky. This is because of the island's ________________ (GEOGRAPHY) setting. Because it is
a____________________ (MOUNTAIN) area in the middle of the ocean, Hawaii is much less affected by
light_______________________ (POLLUTE) than other parts of the world.

__________________ (FORTUNE), tourists are allowed to go to the top of the volcano, known as Mauna
Kea, where the view is even more__________________ (IMPRESS). The volcano rises to
a_________________ (HIGH) of over 4000 metres and gives visitors
an____________________ (INTERRUPT) view of the night sky. It is also
the______________________ (LOCATE) for the world's most__________________________ (POWER)
telescopes.

Sentence Completition (Grammar)

1. Ben’s new watch was ______. It cost $2.00, and after two days it did not work anymore.

a) Large c) Expensive
b) Cheap d) Fast

2. I am _______________. I think I will go to sleep.

a) Angry c) Tired
b) Happy d) Old

3. Dogs like to chase __________________ .

a) Cats c) Lions
b) Mice d) Elephants

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 4. Birds ____________________ through the air.

a) Run c) Play
b) Dance d) Fly

5. I like music. I can ______________ violin, quitar, and piano.

a) Play c) Move
b) Touch d) Do

Transformation

Complete the second sentence so that it is similar in meaning to the first one.

1. I’m sure they bought a new car last month.

must They………………………………………………….. car last month.
2. It’s a year since I last wrote to him.
for I haven’t …………………………………………………….. a year.
3. I’m sure they didn’t catch the 5 am train.
can’t They………………………………………………………….the 5am train.
4. “Let’s meet at the train station,”said Jane.
suggested Jane………………………………………………………… train station.
5. I feel really awful because I didn’t call her back.
wish I …………………………………………………… her back.

Composition

Write a text of between 200 and 220 words on ONE of the topics below.

1. “Skinheads have more hair than brains” – Do you agree or disagree.t

2. “ Knowledge of the past can help us shape the future.”