Name: Nguyễn Trường Giang 8G VL

PRACTICE TEST 1
SECTION 1: LISTENING (20 points)
I. Listen and complete the table with NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each
blank. (10 points)
Borchester University
Example: Where to get food on campus
PLACE CAPACITY REGULAR MENU COST
- Main Refectory Hall 500 vegetarian, fish, (1) pasta,salad £1. 50 - £3
Open: (2) 11.30-2.30
- Arts Building Café 50 tea, coffee, hot chocolate, (3) £1. 15
Open: 9 - 6 sandwiches

- (4) Theater Bar tea, coffee, £1. 30

II. You will hear an interview with David McKinley, who recently opened “The Adventure Centre”, an
adventure sports center in Scotland. For questions 1- 5, choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D)
(10 points)
1. David was first inspired to set up “The Adventure Center” when _____.
A. he was working as a TV cameraman.
B. he was employed as a fitness instructor.
C. he was approached by an architect with the idea.
D. he analyzed the potential profitability of the project.
2. David left the film industry because he found it too _______.
A. insecure B. demanding C. competitive D. conventional
3. When asked to sum himself up, David describes himself as ______.
A. impulsive by nature B. over- critical of others
C. prone to making mistakes D. lacking a natural business instinct
4. David says that the most memorable period of his career involved______.
A. working on his own
B. shooting a particular film
C. watching something being built
D. establishing his commercial reputation
5. What does David think he will have difficulty with in the future?
A. retaining existing club members.
B. educating people about their health.
C. competing with other health and leisure clubs
D. encouraging more interest in adventure sports.
SECTION 2: PHONETICS (10 points)
III. Choose the word whose underlined part is pronounced differently from the rest by writing your
answers A, B, C, or D in the numbered box. (6 points)
1. A. exist B. exhaustion C. explorer D. exhibit
2. A. submarine B. doubtful C. climbing D. subtle
3. A. lyrical B. rhythm C. mythology D. lyre
IV. Choose the word whose stress pattern is different from that of the others by writing your answers A,
B, C, or D in the numbered box. (4 points)
4. A. com’placent B. ‘democrat C. ‘jeopardy D. ‘competence
5. A. ‘painstakingly B. con’dolence C. ‘communism D. ‘obstinacy
SECTION 3: LEXICO - GRAMMAR (70 points)
V. Choose the best answer to complete each of the following sentences by writing A, B, C or D in the
numbered box. (60 points)
1. Even under tremendous public pressure, the planning committee would not commit itself wholeheartedly
to the proposal and have only tentative approval to the ______ waterfront development plan.
A. ambiguous B. unnecessary C. provisional D. total
2. The series became so popular that it was moved to the ______ time spot of 8 pm.
A. leading B. prime C. main D. major
3. The Post-Modern architectural style is ______; it combines diverse elements, including classical columns,
Baroque ornamentation, and Palladian windows.
A. a diatribe B. a conjecture C. an anachronism D. an amalgam
4. I offer you my most ______ apologies for offending you as I did.
A. abject B. repentant C. servile D. candid
5. The current economic ______ is very good for small businesses.
A. disposition B. whirlwind C. climate D. daze
6. The launching of the Soviet Sputnik in 1957 ______ a subsequent space race with the US.
A. blew up B. finished off C. touched off D. wrapped up
7. He hit the other boy reluctantly as his friends ______ him on.
A. happened B. egged C. ground D. played
8. The poor old woman couldn’t ______ through after the operation and passed away.
A. muddle B. plough C. pull D. run
9. The building is ______. It’s been ruined and abandoned for years.
A. destabilized B. derelict C. defunct D. despondent
10. The actors gave a very ______ performance, and the critics expressed their disapproval in their reports
the following day.
A. pie-in-the-sky B. run-of-the-mill C. good-for-nothing D. behind-the-scene
11. The bank will ______ your account with any withdrawals made using your payment card.
A. castrate B. shear C. hydrate D. debit
12. Some scientific discoveries have been ______ to create weapons of destruction.
A. diverted B. changed C. perverted D. transformed
13. A hundred years ago, sundials were a vital time-keeping ______, essential for anyone who hoped to keep
their clocks working accurately.
A. device B. utensil C. piece D. item
14. 10. Picking up the book the other day for the first time in many years, I found myself torn between the
urge to race through the story and an ______ to linger on the visual detail.
A. impetus B. incentive C. impulse D. intuition
15. It’s a pity you don’t like my cooking. But ______ to their own, I suppose.
A. every B. each C. any D. none
16. They arrived on ______ Saturday as far as I can remember.
A. Ø B. a C. the D. either
17. He made______ that he had caught the huge fish himself.
A. believe B. to believe C. believing D. to be believing
18. If you don’t want to take part in the game you can ______ for now.
A. look on B. put on C. hold on D. get on
19. ‘John has looked tired recently, and I’ve started to wonder ______ his health.’
‘You’re right. And he doesn’t seem to care ______ the effect smoking has on him.’
A. at…for B. about…for C. about…about D. at…about
20. The young African boy was _____. He was nothing but skin and bones.
A. eulogy B. anathema C. emaciated D. amiable
21. No one could contemplate fame these days without knowing beforehand of its _____.
A. laissez-faire B. outburst C. insight D. downside
22. He’s regarded as the _____ favorite to win the prize.
A. warm B. hot C. ardent D. fiery
23. This evidence should prove _____ that he was telling the truth.
A. once and for all B. now and then C. over and above D. from time to time
24. My cousin was nervous about being interviewed on television, but she rose to the _____ wonderfully.
A. event B. performance C. incident D. occasion
25. I know it’s got his name on the cover, but he used a _____.
A. correspondent B. model C. ghostwriter D. fellow
26. A sharp frost _____ the beginning of winter.
A. advertised B. predicted C. heralded D. showed
27. She was said ______ her third novel before she was twenty.
A. to write B. to have written
C. to be writing D. to have been writing
28. The manual says that the computer ______ be disconnected from the mains.
A. should B. could C. may D. must
* Write your answer A, B, C or D in the numbered box to indicate the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to
the underlined word(s) in the following sentence.
29. Ralph Nader was the most prominent leader of the U. S consumer protection movement.
A. casual B. significant C. promiscuous D. aggressive
* Write your answer A, B, C or D in the numbered box to indicate the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to
the underlined word(s) in the following sentence.
30. There has been no discernible improvement in the noise levels since lorries were banned.
A. clear B. obvious C. thin D. insignificant
VI. Identify the mistake in each of the following sentences by writing your answers A, B, C, or D in the
numbered box. (10 points)
1. Mia, you’re always forgetting your car keys on your desk. I’m getting tired of telling you about that.
A B C D
2. The repayment period will be expanded from 20 years to 25 years.
A B C D
3. She gave me her insurance that she would sign the contract immediately.
A B C D
4. Excavations in several mounds and villages on the east bank of the Euphrates River have
A
revealed the city of Nebuchadnezzar, an ancient community that had been laying under later
B C D
reconstructions of the city of Babylon.
5. There are a number of updated entrances in the latest edition of the encyclopedia.
A B C D
SECTION 4: READING (60 points)
VII. Read the following passage and write your answers A, B, C, or D in the numbered box to indicate the
correct word for each of the blanks. (20 points)
Many parents believe that they should begin to teach their children to read when they are (1) ______
more than toddlers. This is fine if the child shows a real interest but forcing a child could be counter-
productive if he (she) isn’t ready. Wise parents will have a (2) ______ attitude and take the lead from their
child. What they should provide is a selection of (3) ______ toys, books and other activities. Nowadays there
is plenty of good (4) ______ available for young children, and of course, seeing plenty of books in use about
the house will also encourage them to read.
 Of course, books are no longer the only source of stories and information. There is also a huge range
of videos, which can (5) ______ and extend the pleasure a child finds in a book and are (6) ______ valuable
in helping to increase vocabulary and concentration. Television gets a bad press as far as children are
concerned, mainly because too many spend too much time watching programmes not intended for their age
group. Too many television programmes (7) ______ an incurious, uncritical attitude that is going to make
learning much more difficult. However, (8) ______ viewing of programmes designed for young children can
be useful. Just as adults enjoy reading a book after seeing it (9) ______ on television, so children will pounce
on books which extend their favourite television characters, and videos can add a new (10) ______ to a story
known from a book.
1. A. scarcely B. rarely C. slightly D. really
2. A. cheerful B. contented C. relaxed D. hopeful
3. A. stimulating B. provoking C. triggering D. motivating
4. A. sense B. material C. attraction D. amusement
5. A. uphold B. found C. reinforce D. assist
6. A. properly B. worthily C. perfectly D. equally
7. A. induce B. imply C. suggest D. impel
8. A. cautious B. selecting C. approved D. discriminating
9. A. transferred B. revised C. serialised D. visualized
10. A. revival B. dimension C. option D. existence
VIII. Read the following passage and write your answers A, B, C, or D in the numbered box to indicate
the correct answer to each of the questions. (20 points)
Composers today use a wider variety of sounds than ever before, including many that were once
considered undesirable noises. Composer Edgard Varese (1883-1965) called thus the "liberation of sound.
the right to make music with any and all sounds. " Electronic music, for example – made with the aid of
computers, synthesizers, and electronic instruments – may include sounds that in the past would not have
been considered musical. Environmental sounds, such as thunder, and electronically generated hisses and
blips can be recorded, manipulated, and then incorporated into a musical composition. But composers also
draw novel sounds from voices and non-electronic instruments. Singers may be asked to scream, laugh,
groan, sneeze, or to sing phonetic sounds rather than words. Wind and string players may lap or scrape their
instruments.
A brass or woodwind player may hum while playing, to produce two pitches at once; a pianist may
reach inside the piano to pluck a string and then run a metal blade along it. In the music of the Western
world, the greatest expansion and experimentation have involved percussion instruments, which outnumber
strings and winds in many recent compositions. Traditional percussion instruments are struck with new types
of beaters; and instruments that used to be couriered unconventional in Western music – tom-toms, bongos,
slapsticks, maracas – are widely used.
In the search for novel sounds, increased use has been made in Western music of Microtones. Non-
Western music typically divides and interval between two pitches more finely than Western music does,
thereby producing a greater number of distinct tones, or micro tones, within the same interval. Composers
such as Krzysztof Penderecki create sound that borders on electronic noise through tone clusters – closely
spaced tones played together and heard as a mass, block, or band of sound. The directional aspect of sound
has taken on new importance as well Loudspeakers or groups of instruments may be placed at opposite ends
of the stage, in the balcony, or at the back and sides of the auditorium. Because standard music notation
makes no provision for many of these innovations, recent music scores may contain graph-like diagrams,
new note shapes and symbols, and novel ways of arranging notation on the page.
1. What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. The use of nontraditional sounds in contemporary music
B. How sounds are produced electronically
C. How standard musical notation has beer, adapted for nontraditional sounds
D. Several composers who have experimented with the electronic production of sound
2. The word "wider" is closest in meaning to _____.
A. more impressive B. more distinctive C. more controversial D. more extensive
3. The passage suggests that Edgard Varese is an example of a composer who _____.
A. criticized electronic music as too noiselike
B. modified sonic of the electronic instruments he used in his music
C. believed that any sound could be used in music
D. wrote music with environmental themes
4. The word "it" refers to _____.
A. piano B. string C. blade D. music
5. According to the passage, which of the following types of instruments has played a role in much of the
innovation in Western music?
A. String B. Percussion C. Woodwind D. Brass
6. The word “unconventional” could be best replaced by _____.
A. nontraditional B. controversial C. illogical D. irregular
7. The word "thereby" is closest in meaning to _____.
A. in return for B. in spite of C. by the way D. by that means
8. According to the passage, Krzysztof Penderecki is known for which of the following practices?
A. Using tones that are clumped together
B. Combining traditional and nontraditional instruments
C. Seating musicians in unusual areas of an auditorium
D. Playing Western music for non-Western audiences
9. According to the passage, which of the following would be considered traditional elements of Western
music?
A. Microtones B. Tom-toms and bongos C. Pianos D. Hisses
10. In paragraph 3, the author mentions diagrams as an example of a new way to _____.
A. chart the history of innovation in musical notation B. explain the logic of standard musical notation
C. design and develop electronic instruments D. indicate how particular sounds should be
produced
IX. Read the passage below and fill each number blank with ONE suitable word. Write your answers in
the numbered box. (20 points)
Lovers of music who are a little rusty when it comes to history shouldn’t miss forthcoming issues of this
magazine. In our most ambitious series of articles to date, we aim to span the history of western music in (1)
its entirety. Obviously, (2) giving the lack of space at our disposal, we cannot be totally comprehensive but
we do feel we have a more than adequate overview of the socio-cultural context. If you are already feeling
put (3) off by the prospect of a rather dry (4) history lesson, then I must stress how unlike a lesson these
article will be. (5) Despite the extent to which you might be familiar with the historical background, you
must read these article for the (6) insight they give into the music itself.
In addition to this, the series will represent a guide for readers whose aim is to build an essential music
collection. Now (7) shold this strike you as yet another voyage through familiar territory, then you may be in
for some surprises, because our expert writers are (8) nothing if not unpredictable. In view of the reputation
of those (9) whose one thing is guaranteed – the music chosen to illustrate their histories will be (10) far
from run-of-the-mill.
SECTION 5: WRITING (40 points)
X. Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it means exactly the same as the sentence
printed before it. Write it in the space provided. (10 points)
1. What put me off the idea was simply how expensive it was going to be.
The sheer cost of it was what put me off the idea
2. Trudy was quite relieved when she found out the truth.
It was something of a relief to Trudy when she found out the truth
3. The brochure gives hardly any useful information.
Precious little useful information is given in the brochure
4. If you don’t pay on time, your booking will be cancelled.
Failure to pay on time will lead to the cancellation of your book
5. You’ll have to spend at least $ 500 to get that sort of camera.
You won’t be able to get that sort of camera for less than $500

XI. Complete the second sentence so that it has the same meaning as the first one, using the given word
in bold given without changing the given word. Write it in the space provided. (10 points)
1. My boss says I can use his car whenever I want to, so long as I’m careful. DISPOSAL
My boss put his car at my disposal so long as I’m careful.
2. The news was a shock to us. ABACK
We were taken aback by the news.
3. James realised that he could never be an architect. CUT
James realised that he weren’t cut out for being an architect.
4. What he told me made me very curious to hear the rest of the story. APPETITE
What he told me whetted my appetite for hearing the rest of the story.
5. I don’t mind staying in on a Saturday night if I have good company. AVERSE
I’m not averse to staying in on a Saturday night if I have good company.
XII. Paragraph writing: (20 points)
What should be done to keep traditional music?
Write a paragraph, about 150 words, to explain your own ideas.
The End!