Nec Mock Test 3
Nec Mock Test 3
Nec Mock Test 3
LISTENING: _____/ 50
Subject: ENGLISH
USE OF ENGLISH: _____/ 40
Time allotted: 180 minutes (excluding the time for paper distribution) READING: _____/ 50
There are 12 pages in this paper. WRITING: _____/ 60
___________________________
Full name: ______________________________ TOTAL SCORE: _____/200
Date: ______________________________
Part 1. For questions 1-5, listen to part of a news report about the Pokémania and answer the questions.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS taken from the recording for each answer.
1. What does the host describe Pokémon the movie, Pokémon the video game and Pokémon the trading card as?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What phrase is used to describe the craze among youngsters across the nation?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
3. At Warner Brothers, what place was inundated with calls for tickets for Pokémon the first movie?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
5. According to an interviewed parent, in order to budget for their recreational pursuit, kids have to learn to
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Part 2. For questions 6-10, listen to an interview with a pastry chef, Robert Higgins, and decide whether
the following statements are True (T) or False (F) according to what you hear.
7. Robert decided to attend the culinary course in order to realise a childhood ambition.
10. Robert gives the impression that he is very dedicated to his profession.
Page 1 of 12 pages
Part 3. For questions 11-15, listen to an interview with ethno-biologist Karl Court, who has spent most of
his career in the Amazon jingle and choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which fits best according to what
you hear.
11. In Karl's view, he is drawn to the jungle
A. for its natural beauty. B. because it gives him a sense of well-being.
C. because the more you go, more you love it. D. for reasons he cannot justify.
12. What annoys Karl about the world-traveler he meets is that he
A. insists on attaching himself the group. B. teases local natives with his stories.
C. seems happy to live off other people. D. runs from difficult situations.
13. What shocks Karl about Steve's case is that he had
A. been infected with the parasite for so long.
B. known about the parasite and done nothing.
C. not taken precautions against parasites at the time.
D. contracted the parasite in Peru.
14. What distinguishes 'ethno'-biologists from ordinary scientists
A. the aims of their research.
B. that they focus on particular types of illness.
C. that their concern is to educate indigenous peoples.
D. the starting point of their research.
15. During his time in Haiti, Karl
A. only confirmed previous Japanese research.
B. learned about a potentially important drug.
C. witnessed phenomena he could not explain.
D. identified for locals a potentially poisonous type of fish.
Part 4. For questions 16-25. listen to a talk on the Plesiosaur and fill in the missing information. Write NO
MORE THAN FIVE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER taken from the recording for each answer in the space
provided.
THE PLESIOSAUR
PLESIOSAURUS PLIOSAUR
(16) _________________ head short neck
large head
smooth sharp teeth
COMMON FEATURES
Plesiosaurs use (23) _____________________ to swim, which forms movement resembling a dragonfly’s.
Despite being marine reptiles, plesiosaurs were (24) _____________________ emerging to the surface for
oxygen before diving without gills. By 66 million years ago, these dominant predators went extinct but remain
(25) _____________________ up to these days.
Page 2 of 12 pages
SECTION B. USE OF ENGLISH (40 points)
Part 1. For questions 26-40, choose the correct answer A, B, C, or D to each of the following questions.
Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
26. The student’s rude interruption brought a sharp _____ from his teacher.
A. retort B. recoup C. repeat D. report
27. As soon as he read the letter, tears _____ in his eyes.
A. filled in B. soaked up C. welled up D. weighed down
28. I assure you that I _____ no hostile feelings towards you.
A. shelter B. harbour C. embrace D. cover
29. Enormous swells roused by ferocious winds made it impossible to _____ the ship to safety.
A. direct B. control C. steer D. drive
30. Don’t be so concerned; it’s only a(n) _____ wound.
A. skin B. shallow C. exterior D. flesh
31.Monsoon Wedding was described as a cinematic jewel when it hit the _____ screen.
A. silver B. gold C. ruby D. diamond
32. Brian is competing in the 110m ____ in the school’s sports tournament.
A. obstacles B. obstructions C. barriers D. hurdles
33. Angry MPs have accused Atkinson of sitting back and twiddling his _____.
A. hands B. fingers C. thumbs D. arms
34. One of the _____ benefits of Paula’s job was having access to the university’s superb library.
A. supporting B. secondary C. auxiliary D. fringe
35. My heart was _____ as I skimmed the examination results table looking for my name.
A. pounding B. skipping C. bursting D. shivering
36. They made _____ preparations in anticipation of the arrival of their celebrity guests.
A. degenerate B. decadent C. elaborate D. strenuous
37. The prices were _____ and there was little value for money to be had in any of the items on the menu.
A. oppressive B. exacting C. extortionate D. fraudulent
38. He has a(n) ______ collection of butterflies which he bought from the local Natural History museum.
A. reticent B. ponderous C. esoteric D. reciprocal
39. The inebriated driver drove straight into a tree, _______ a huge hole in the front of her car.
A. pining B. foraging C. gouging D. mincing
40. Hands _______, the dancers were circling to the right and left in an impressive manner.
A. held high B. were held highly C. high holding D. having highly held
Part 2. For questions 41-50, write the correct form of each word in capital in the space provided.
Page 3 of 12 pages
Part 3. For questions 51-65, fill each of the following numbered blanks with ONE suitable word. Write your
answers in the corresponding numbered space provided.
The Galapagos
Visitors to the Galapagos Islands could be forgiven for asking what all the fuss
is (51) _____________. Disaster workers and ecologists (52) _____________
outnumbered tourists, but there are few visible signs of a disaster. A wrecked
oil tanker, stranded on rocks a mile (53) _____________, is a blot on the
tropical landscapes. Simply keeping catastrophe at (54) _____________ was never going to satisfy an
environmental (55) _____________ that wants the Galapagos Islands to remain as they were when Darwin visited
in 1839, (56) _____________ since most of the credit for the narrow escape is thanks to the winds and currents
that carried the spill (57) _____________ to the sea.
About a third of the islands’ 600 or (58) _____________ native plant species are found only there.
(59) _____________ the 57 species of reptiles, land birds and mammals, more than 80 percent are found nowhere
else. Among these is the world’s (60) _____________ marine lizard, the only species of penguin found in the
tropics, a cormorant that has lived so long without predators that it has lost the (61) _____________ to fly, and
many rare species of tortoise. All are uniquely vulnerable, hence the unique concern.
The Galapagos Islands were (62) _____________ a national park in 1959, and developed an apparently model
ecotourism industry – groups are sent (63) _____________ hopping to designated sites and always with a guide.
The local conservationists appeared confident at the helm, and the international environmental groups were
pleased to have one (64) _____________ place to worry about until the rusting ship ran (65) _____________ and
leaked its cargo of oil.
SECTION C. READING (50 points)
Part 1. For questions 66-75, decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.
Page 4 of 12 pages
Part 2. For questions 76-88, read the following passage and do the tasks that follow.
Sales of crime fiction were surprisingly high at a recent London Book Fair. 76
Literary critics such as Sebastian Franklin think that crime fiction is overrated. 77
Most people know about Christie from films rather than books. 79
Christie enjoyed the wealth and fame she achieved through writing 81
For questions 82-84, choose the answer A, B, C or D which you think fits best according to the text.
83. What point does the writer make about Christie's writing style in the fifth paragraph?
A. Occasionally, the stories do not make sense.
B. Little happens compared to modern stories.
C. Important evidence is very easy to miss.
D. Some unnecessary details are included.
84. What does the writer conclude about Christie in the final paragraph?
A. Her influence is slowly beginning to decrease.
B. She is more influential today than ever before.
C. One book was more influential than the others.
D. She has only influenced writers in certain countries.
For questions 85-88, complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-F, below. Write your answers in
the numbered space provided.
Page 6 of 12 pages
Part 3. In the passage below, seven paragraphs have been removed. For questions 89-95, read the
passage and choose from the paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap. There is ONE extra paragraph
which you do not need to use. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
Who hasn’t told a lie? Even the most upstanding individual probably utters one occasionally to help the day to
run more smoothly. But, according to the experts, the extent to which people regularly tell serious untruths has
exploded. Lying has pervaded every aspect of our lives.
89
Research in California reveals that people lie up to 20 times a day, while in a poll last year, a quarter or
respondents admitted being untruthful on a daily basis. Only 8 per cent claimed they had never lied – although
there is always the chance, that even then they weren’t being honest. Many of these will be sweet little lies, the
type psychologists refer to as ‘false positives’ and the sort we are all guilty of committing when we want to appear
more enthusiastic about something than we really are.
90
Until recently it was thought that only manipulative and Machiavellian characters were prone to excessive
fabrication of this sort, but research has proved otherwise. According to experts, anyone under pressure or with
the being enough incentive is prepared to say something that isn’t true.
91
That figure rose to one in three among people with university qualifications. Apparently, this sort of background
gives people the vocabulary and the confidence to deceive. They are more sophisticated and plausible than you
might elsewhere in society.
92
The proliferation of lying in corporate culture means that there are huge profits to be gained by companies who
can weed out fraudsters before employing them. Numerous studies have been conducted, including using video
cameras, to analyse people who lie. There are two main methods of ousting liars, although one, the mechanical
lie detector or polygraph, requires subjects to be trussed up in electrodes, so it hardly lends itself to interviews.
That leaves body language and psychological testing.
93
However, sometimes the subconscious takes over. Liars often start blinking fast, a visual sight that the brain is
concentrating hard on the task in hand, and are likely to frequently touch their body and face with their hands.
Liars are also more likely to tap or swing a foot as they speak.
94
Everyone seems to agree that good liars don’t show non-verbal signals, so you need to know what to look for.
Lying takes a lot of effort, so often they will rely on past experience to see them through and reduce a cognitive
load.
95
Experts, however, agree that the one person you shouldn’t deceive is yourself – and that, once you begin to do
so, it is a sure sign that your untruthfulness is getting out of hand.
Page 7 of 12 pages
The missing paragraphs:
A. This makes detecting the charlatan who fibs his E. ‘We are experiencing an epidemic of lying’ says
way through a CV very difficult. In the film Liar, Professor Leo Damak, an expert in lie detection
Liar the comedian Jim Carrey played a smooth- at a leading university. ‘It has always been
talking lawyer and consummate liar who around, but we are much more aware of it now.’
specializes in dealing with untrustworthy clients In one study of collage students, 85 per cent of
whom no one else will take on. Only when his couples reported that one or both of them had
young son made a wish to see his father get lied about past relationships or recent events. In
through an entire day without lying was Carrey’s another, it was found that dating partners lie to
character forced to tell the truth. Mayhem each other in about a third of their conversations.
ensued. F. A recent study found that pathological liars are
B. Things like ‘That was delicious, thank you’, ’You just as likely to be self-confident, attractive and
look great in that dress’ and ‘Of course I want to popular as they are introverted and withdrawn. It
see you’. They are mostly considered harmless also seems that the better educated a person is,
social fabricants. But at the other end of the the higher level of deceit. It was found that
spectrum are compulsive liars who are falsehoods typically occurred in one fifth of all
effortlessly dishonest. ten-minute conversations they have.
C. Visual clues are not wholly reliable, as G. Obviously, many won’t stand for ambiguity any
experienced deceivers are aware of the more. By being more aware of how and why
common give-away signs and take calculated someone will tell a lie, they have more chance of
measures to avoid them. Shifty eyes, for catching him before he tells another and causes
instance, are traditionally thought to be a sure real harm.
way to tell whether someone is being dishonest, H. However, vocabulary and sounds are generally
but experienced fabricators will capitalise on considered more reliable indicators than body
this myth. movements. Liars tend to use fewer words, take
D. So, for instance, people who are lying about longer to start answering a question and a pause
where they have been may declare they were at a lot as if to mentally rehearse what they are
the cinema or the gym so that their untruths about to say. Their voices may adopt a high pitch
doesn’t take too much mental planning. It is and they are prone to repetition.
easier to make up story about something they
know well and have done many times.
Part 4. For questions 96-105, read the following passage and choose the answer A, B, C or D which you
think fits best according to the text.
96. Which of the square brackets [A], [B], [C], or [D] best indicates where in the first paragraph the sentence
“How much would be understood?” can be inserted?
A. [A] B. [B] C. [C] D. [D]
97. Why does the writer mention the Beethoven symphony in the second paragraph?
A. to illustrate that certain kinds of music do not make sense when heard in isolation
B. to emphasise the difference between a well-known piece of music and music that has never been heard before
C. to demonstrate that music needs to be related to the outside world in order to be appreciated
D. to speculate what it would sound like to a person with no previous experience of this kind of music
98. What preconception about musical thinking is now under question?
A. that music has to be heard in a suitable environment in order to be understood
B. that an understanding of music depends on the listener's cultural conditioning
C. that people lack the historical and cultural background to make sense of music
D. that our knowledge of music is essentially abstract and artificial
99. Biomusicology
A. is the study of how the brain understands and reacts to music.
B. examines the relationship between language and music.
C. is the study of how neurons react to language and music.
D. examines which regions of the brain respond to changes in intonation.
Page 9 of 12 pages
100. The word “contingencies” in the paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to
A. fortuities. B. serendipities. C. possibilities. D. flukes.
101. According to the writer, the patterns in a musical composition
A. illustrate the connection between philosophy and mathematics.
B. can only be understood in a mathematical context.
C. can be compared to the patterns studied in mathematics.
D. no longer express the range of human experience.
102. Research indicates
A. that the relationship between music and the mind is unexpectedly complex.
B. that several areas of the brain respond exclusively to music.
C. that when the listener is in motion, certain areas of the brain are activated.
D. that pitch, metre and harmony stimulate all parts of the brain.
103. The word “inadvertently” in the paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to
A. unwittingly. B. cautiously. C. steadfast. D. dubiously.
104. Studies have also shown that some people with brain damage
A. can tell the difference between notes and intonations in speech.
B. are unable to distinguish or identify specific tunes.
C. are unable to recognise notes played on certain instruments.
D. fail to notice when a musician strikes a wrong note.
105. In the last paragraph, the writer suggests that
A. music can only be successfully interpreted in a locked room.
B. ultimately music can be appreciated in any context.
C. we understand music in the same way that we approach mathematics.
D. the brain responds to music in the same way it responds to language.
Part 5. The passage below consists of six paragraphs marked A-F. For questions 106-115, read the
passage and do the task that follows. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes
provided.
B. Rafael Nadal
Nadal, like most Spaniards, grew up playing on the ubiquitous clay, so it is hardly surprising
that his style of play is best-suited to the surface, nor that he favoured the red soil in those
early days and produced his best performances on it, while, at the same time, struggling
initially to make any real impact on grass or hard courts. Nadal exhibited a level of humility
and determination rare in this sport of egos, and set about reinventing himself as an all-
rounder. And what a transformation it proved to be, one which must surely have surpassed
the expectations of even his most optimistic and faithful supporters, for adapt his game he
did, and so successfully that, by 2008, he was ready to do the unthinkable, beating a peak-
of-his-powers Federer on his favourite surface (grass) in a Wimbledon final lauded as the
greatest tennis match of all time, sending shockwaves through the sport. Nadal went on to dominate men's tennis
and his arch rival for the best part of the next three years. The world of tennis was suddenly forced into a swift
rethink; paper stats were brushed aside as it was soon clear that while no one could compete with Federer in the
talent stakes, Nadal had shown himself to be a superior match player and fighter. Still a young man, he could
potentially even surpass Federer's achievements on paper, but it remains to be seen if his career can have the
Page 10 of 12 pages
longevity of the Fed's, so demanding is his style of play on the body. And shock early-round losses at both the
2011 and 2012 Wimbledon championships remain serious blots on an otherwise stellar career to date.
C. Novak Djokovic
And so we come to the Serb, a player who, it seemed, was destined to play second
fiddle to Nadal and Federer's stars. For him, 2011 was a watershed year, and his
performances and the manner of his victories were so utterly emphatic that he was
instantly catapulted right to the top of the game, prevailing over the once invincible
Nadal in three consecutive slam finals. Tennis now had a new number one, and
Djokovic had prised the title of the most consistent, hard-hitting, counter-attacking
player on the circuit away from the Spaniard with shocking ease. 2012 also started
well for the new poster boy of tennis, but Djokovic's level has since dropped enough
to have enabled Nadal to enjoy success over him in their more recent slam- final tussles. His tally of six major
titles is not to be sniffed at, but the Serb has much yet to prove if he is to one day be considered the very best.
D. Andy Murray
By comparison to the achievements of the players already profiled, Murray's record looks
pretty ordinary indeed. And yet, were it not for the fact that he has had the misfortune of
playing the game at the same time as arguably the three greatest sportsmen to have ever
graced tennis, this talented all-rounder would already have amassed a considerable haul
of major titles of his own. And, consider this: unlike his three rivals, who faced debutants
when winning their first slam finals, Murray has had no such luck, and, in fact, on every
occasion he has made it to the last two, has faced the daunting prospect of having to
overcome one of the aforementioned trio. He has also had the weight of expectation of
an entire nation on his shoulders, and, wide though they are, this must surely have been a terrible cross for him
to bear. But, at long last, the mon- key is off his back. Andy Murray bounced back like a Trojan from his loss to
Federer in the 2012 Wimbledon final, claiming Olympic gold and his first Grand Slam the same year. The ghost
of his near-miss at Wimbledon was also banished in 2013, when, somehow, amid a nation's furore, he kept a cool
head and gave what must go down as one of the greatest performances by any athlete in history to beat Federer
in three straight sets to claim the holy grail of tennis. He may never reach the heights of success of his great rivals,
but this brave Scot has already made his mark on tennis history, and there will, no doubt, be more slams to come.
He was determined to make a transition that required him to come out of his comfort zone
106
and alter his style of play.
He held his nerve under a huge amount of external pressure to come back from a serious
107
setback and win a particular major title at the second time of asking.
Despite enjoying a hot streak of form during which he landed some major titles, he has yet
108
to convince the tennis world of the exact extent of his greatness.
He pushes himself physically to such a degree that his career may be cut short. 109
Page 11 of 12 pages
SECTION D. WRITING (60 points)
Part 1. Read the following extract and use your own words to summarize it. Your summary should be 100
to 120 words.
Marsupials are a group of mammals that are born alive after a very short gestation period. Since a marsupial
appears quite early in its life cycle, it must complete its embryonic development while nursing. In order to survive,
the young underdeveloped marsupial must crawl from the exit of the reproductive tract over its mother’s body to
attach itself to a nipple inside a fold of skin called the marsupium but better known as a pouch. During embryonic
development, which can be weeks or months, depending on the species, a marsupial nurses and grows inside the
pouch. Most marsupials do not form family groups. It is the female marsupial that cares for the offspring. The
young marsupial may stay with the mother for more than a year, climbing in and out of the pouch to nurse or sleep.
Although marsupials once ranged throughout North and South America, as well as in Antarctica, only a few
species now live outside of New Zealand and Australia where more than 250 species are still found. There is quite
a diversity of marsupials within these species, and they have adapted to a number of different habitats; however,
some characteristics are universal among them. Auditory and olfactory senses are very important to marsupials
because they are nocturnal creatures that depend on their ears and eyes to locate their food at night. Some
marsupials prefer plants, although others eat insects or meat. Like other mammals, marsupials are covered with
hair. Unlike their placental cousins, however, marsupials have additional bones that project from the pelvis, a
support that may strengthen the wall of the abdomen to reinforce the pouch that is their unique adaptation.
Part 2.
The diagram below shows information about carbon dioxide emissions for popular private jets.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where
relevant.
Some people believe that unpaid community service should be a compulsory part of high school
programs (for example, working for the charity, improving the neighborhood, or teaching sports to
younger children).
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Present argumentation to highlight your opinion on this matter. Give reasons and specific examples to support
your opinion(s).
-THE END-
Page 12 of 12 pages
ANSWER KEY
SECTION A. LISTENING (50 points)
Part 1
1. must-sees and must-haves 2. an undeniable obsession 3. the switchboard
4. violence 5. save their allowance
Part 2
6. TRUE 7. FALSE 8. TRUE 9. FALSE 10. TRUE
Part 3
11. D 12. C 13. A 14. D 15. B
Part 4
16. small, triangular 17. spanning half
18. 76/seventy-six distinct vertebrae 19. streamlined
20. 10/ten feet 21. 100,000/100 thousand pounds
22. 10/ten kilometers per hour/kmp/km/h 23. (all four of their) flippers
24. air(-)breathers 25. a point of fascination