EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

ENGLISH PREPARATORY SCHOOL

Sample Placement Test

Time allowed: 90 minutes

SECTION I – LISTENING

Part I
You will hear five sentences twice. Match what you hear with one of the answers. Put a circle
round the letter of the correct answer. Now, look at the example. You hear ‘It’s a dress, It’s
a dress.;’ The answer is (a).
Example:
a) b) c) d)

1.

2.
a) b) c) d)

3.
4.

5.

Part II

Listen to Andrew talking to Pete about a television programme. For questions 6-10, choose
the correct answer A, B or C. You will hear the conversation twice.

Example:

What’s the programme about?

a) travelling
b) sport
c) music

6. Which day of the week is the programme on?

a) Tuesday
b) Wednesday
c) Thursday

7. What time does the programme begin?

a) 4.30 p.m.
b) 4.45 p.m.
c) 5.15 p.m.

8. Which channel is the programme on?

a) 6
b) 8
c) 11

9. Which group will be on the next programme?

a) Bob’s seven
b) Charley down
c) Jed and Ted
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10. Where was the concert that you can see in the programme?
a) On a beach
b) In a park
c) At a stadium

Part III

You will hear a conversation between two friends. For questions 11 – 15, choose the best
answer A, B or C.

You will hear the conversation twice.

11. When did Verity get back from her trip?

a) three weeks ago
b) two weeks ago
c) a week ago

12. How did Verity learn Greek?

a) She lived there.
b) She had lessons.
c) She taught herself.

13. In Greece, Verity had expected to hear more________.

a) accents
b) unfamiliar words
c) English

14. How did Verity feel about her mistakes?

a) embarrassed
b) interested
c) angry

15. Verity sometimes got confused by her Greek friends’ ________.

a) jokes
b) ideas
c) gestures

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SECTION II – LANGUAGE IN USE

TASK A

Instructions: Choose the best alternative for each blank in the following text.

Selin is twenty-five years old. She is from İzmir, Turkey. Selin comes from a big family. She has
four (16) _______ and one brother. Her sisters’ names (17)____________Pembe, Suzan, Pelin
and Semra. They all (18)____________different jobs. Her brother, Tamer likes tennis a lot. He
plays tennis every day (19)____________ 7 o’clock. Tamer is married. (20) ____________wife’s
name is Jale. Jale is (21)____________ doctor. She works very hard. Jale and Tamer have two
little daughters. The girls are very (22)____________. I don’t see them a lot because they (23)
____________ in a different city. Selin is a/an (24) _______ at a primary school. She likes her
students very much. She is not married but she has a boyfriend. Her (25) _______ name is
Mehmet. He is a businessman in a big company.

16. a) sister b) sisters c) sister’s d) a sister

17. a) is b) are c) have d) has
18. a) have b) has c) is d) are
19. a) on b) in c) at d) to
20. a) His b) Her c) He d) Him
21. a) a b) an c) the d) _ _ _
22. a) tired b) old c) pretty d) handsome
23. a) want b) live c) need d) go
24. a) doctor b) engineer c) teacher d) mechanic
25. a) boyfriend b) boyfriend’s c) boyfriends d) boyfriends’

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Instructions: Choose the best alternative for each blank in the following texts.

TASK B

Sisters Kate and Helena talk about each other and how they (26) ____ together.
Kate: “Helena and I are very different. She is ambitious, but I’m more (27) ____ about life and
work.
Helena is very (28) ____. She is always sure that she is very good at everything she does. She
loves (29) ____ and spends her free time in the gym. I just walk to work and I find it more
interesting than the gym, and cheaper, too.
The best thing about Helena is her kindness. She always buys beautiful presents for everyone. We
(30) ____ much closer recently but we’re still (31) ____ different people.’
Helena: ‘Kate is very successful in her work and her life. She works for a TV company as a
researcher so she often works outside. She (32) ____ go to the office every day, like I do. She
doesn’t earn as much as I do, but I think she’s (33) ____.
Kate isn’t very interested (34) ____ looking smart. She usually wears jeans and a T-shirt - she can
wear anything she likes at work. She isn’t very fit, either. I like working out at the gym. She never
goes there. Kate is a great listener. If I have a problem I know I (35) ____ always talk to her. Kate
is very different from me, but she’s my sister and I love her.

26. a) give up b) look after c) get on d) think about

27. a) friendly b) generous c) relaxed d) intelligent

28. a) confident b) talkative c) serious d) modest

29. a) keep fit b) keeping fit c) keeps fit d) to keeping fit

30. a) have become b) become c) becoming d) are going to become

31. a) completely b) finally c) suddenly d) only

32. a) can’t b) mustn’t c) shouldn’t d) doesn’t have to

33. a) happiest b) happily c) happier d) happiness

34. a) on b) at c) in d) to

35. a) won’t b) do c) couldn’t d) can

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TASK C

Mike and his travelling company agreed that the archaeological dig had been an
unforgettable holiday. They had (36) ____ such a short time in Peru but by the end of just one month
they had (37) ____ out so much about Machu Picchu. They knew that the city (38) ____in 1911 but
they didn’t know that the huge number of tourists that had been visiting it (39) ____ decades were
also destroying it. The city was not in a good condition. So, it hadn’t been a comfortable holiday
for Mike and his company. They had camped in the mountains in the heat of summer and the smell
of sweat in the tents after a hard day’s work had been (40) ____. The food had been terrible, most
of it was (41) ____ and they had had no fresh fruit. The trip had also been (42) ____. One night a
man started talking to them. When he left they discovered he (43) ____ a camera. They had also
had problems with poisonous spiders and snakes that came out at night and could kill you. (44) ____
by the end of the trip they were all happy. They had helped repair some old walls and on the last
day Mike had discovered some valuable jewels. Everybody had said it was beginners luck but it had
made Mike realize that more than anything he wanted to become an archaeologist. If he hadn’t
joined this group he (45) ____ the idea of becoming an archaeologist.

36. a) passed b) wasted c) spent d) saved

37. a) found b) worked c) made d) tried

38. a) had discovered b) discovered c) have been discovered d) had been discovered

39. a) for b) during c) since d) in

40. a) awful b) pleasant c) satisfying d) scary

41. a) tasteful b) taste c) tasteless d) tasty

42. a) funny b) dangerous c) pleasure d) boring

43. a) has stolen b) was stealing c) stole d) had stolen

44. a) In addition b) Although c) However d) Consequently

45. a) hadn’t had b) shouldn’t have c) wouldn’t have had d) didn’t have

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SECTION III – READING

Instructions: Read text 1 and do the following task.

Text 1

Pilots have (eg.)__B__. They visit many places and (46) ____; English,
Turkish,

Chinese, etc. But is it an easy job? Alan Alder is a pilot. He usually flies

(47) ____ on Tuesdays. He gets up at 5.00 and he (48) ____the airport at

6.00. His flight is at 8 o’clock. Eleven hours later he’s in California. It is

11.00 a.m. in Los Angeles.

Normally, he doesn’t go out. He relaxes on (49) ____: he watches

television and goes to bed early. On Friday he flies back to London. Does

he like his job? ‘It’s very hard work,’ he says. ‘But the money is good and

I (50) ____ in different countries. Life in the sky is great!’

Instructions: Choose the correct word(s) or phrases A-H to complete each sentence in text 1.
There are two extra words or phrases. The first one is an example for you.

A. arrives at
B. interesting lives
C. Alan’s flight is
D. have good holidays
E. from London to Los Angeles
F. meet many people
G. easy jobs
H. the first day

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Instructions: Read Text 2 and do the task on the next page.

Text 2
MYTHBUSTERS

I. Jamie and Adam are engineers who test popular science myths to see if they are true - or
could be true. They spend their time doing experiments and building models so they can find out
if the science behind what people believe is correct or not.
II. They wanted to test James Bond’s exploding pen. Could a pen really make a big explosion
like in the film? They filled a pen with a small amount of explosive and threw it into the air. Guess
what? When it hit the ground, it made a big explosion. Obviously they didn’t use a real person to
throw the pen, but it did make a big hole - nearly two metres wide! Jamie said he was very
surprised.
III. They also decided to test some of the ‘science’ from the film Pirates of the Caribbean.
They tested if a man can go down a sail on a boat from the top to the bottom using a long knife.
They couldn’t do this in the laboratory so they had to use a real boat. Adam told me that it did not
work. The sail is too strong to cut easily. If you tried this, you would fall a long way!
IV. Next, they tried to find out about another idea used in the film. If you cover one eye before
you go into somewhere dark, can you see better? Jamie covered his eye, then tried to walk round
objects in a dark room. He said this worked well. He could see much better. So some of the science
in films is true - but not all of it!
V. I asked the team if they enjoyed their work. They said that they loved it! They have a lot
of fun, but they are serious scientists. They are all very good at Maths, Chemistry and Physics.
And they still have a lot of myths to bust! Adam said they would research robots next. ‘We want
to see how clever they really are!’ Instructions: Choose the best alternative according to the
information in Text 2.

51. What do Jamie and Adam like testing?

a) new ideas
b) things people believe
c) science from the past

52. What did they do to make the pen explode?

a) hit it
b) used it
c) threw it

53. Where did they test the knife in the sail?

a) on a boat
b) in the laboratory
c) in the Caribbean
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54. When could Jamie see more clearly?
a) with a cover over one eye
b) when there were objects in a room
c) after covering his eyes

55. Jamie and Adam want to find out if robots _____________.

a) can do science
b) are intelligent
c) can be trained to do work

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Instructions: Read Text 3 and do the following task.

Text 3

The Art of Travel

The old saying ‘It’s better to travel than to arrive’ is usually understood as an attack
on destinations rather than a positive statement about travel. Indeed, people are always
complaining about the horrors of travelling: crowded airport, overbooked flights, cancelled and
dirty trains. However, I believe there are some unusual pleasures in the journeys we make.
Take the aeroplane, for example. Few seconds in life are more exciting than those during
take-off. Waiting at the beginning of a runway, we see familiar locations out of the plane window:
grass, a road, and modern hotels - the Earth as we have always known it, where we make slow
progress even by car. Then suddenly, accompanied by the controlled noise of the engines, we rise
smoothly into the sky and a huge space opens up for us, where we can imagine new possibilities in
our lives.
Trains are another wonderful environment. I love the atmosphere of half-empty carriages
making their way across the countryside: enjoying the silence inside and the regular beat of the
wheels against the track outside. A train journey can be like a dream, where we become involved
in different thoughts and are able to recall distant memories. There’s nothing like a moving train to
encourage the mind to perform properly. Thinking can even improve when parts of the mind are
busy with other tasks, like listening to music or following a line of trees.
If we are attracted to air or train travel despite their disadvantages, it is perhaps because
we feel that these experiences provide an important alternative to the habits and limitations of our
ordinary world.

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Instructions: Choose the best alternative according to the information in Text 3.

56. What is the writer’s main purpose in writing the text?

a) to agree with an accepted saying
b) to complain about modern transport
c) to explain his ideas about travelling
d) to describe an unusual train journey

57. What does the writer say about travelling by air?

a) He finds the delay before take-off annoying.
b) He enjoys the feeling of freedom it gives.
c) He prefers it to driving, despite the time taken.
d) He wishes the engines were much quieter.

58. When the writer travels by train he likes to _____________.

a) spend much of the journey asleep
b) sit in a completely empty carriage
c) admire the countryside along the way
d) listen to the movement of the wheels

59. According to the writer, a train journey is good for us because it _____________.
a) encourages us to remember certain things
b) allows us to forget about our daily problems
c) lets our minds concentrate on a single idea
d) offers us the chance to be totally relaxed

60. Which of the following might the writer say?

a) If we travelled less often, we would have better memories of our visits.
b) Unless the destination is unusual, it is not worth the effort of getting there.
c) Although modern travel is fast and easy, there are too many disadvantages.
d) Although journeys can be uncomfortable, they are beneficial to our lives.

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SECTION IV - CONVERSATIONAL SKILLS
Instructions: Choose the best phrase to complete each conversation.

61. Do you work on Saturdays?

a. Yes, I work.
b. Yes, I do.
c. Yes, I am.

62. How old are you?

a. No, I’m not.
b. I’m 25.
c. I’m a teacher.

63. What does she do?

a. She’s an engineer.
b. She lives in London.
c. She’s single.

64. Who do you visit at weekends?

a. My hometown.
b. My school.
c. My grandparents.

65. Have a nice weekend, Tom.

a. Hello Sally!
b. Thanks, Sally. Same to you.
c. Oh, that’s good news.

66. I’m tired of walking everywhere.

a. OK. Let’s catch the bus.
b. Yes, I want to sleep, too.
c. Let’s walk home.

67. I think visiting old castles is fun.

a. Yes, they are funny!
b. Really? I think they’re boring.
c. When did you go?

68. I’m afraid of the dark.

a. Me too!
b. Yes, I like the dark.
c. That’s great.

69. I want to visit some pyramids one day.

a. No, I haven’t been.
b. Yes, they are old.
c. Good idea!
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70. What’s the date?
a. It’s Tuesday.
b. It’s in January.
c. It’s 14th November.

71. A: Did you buy some new trainers?

B: No, ______________________.

a. I might have forgotten

b. I didn’t have to because I found my old ones
c. I could have bought some expensive shoes

72. A: What’s the matter?

B: I am depressed. I have a ‘Math’ test tomorrow and it is so
difficult this semester.
A: Come on, you always get the highest mark in class.
_____________________

a. How dare you say that?

b. I bet you will fail.
c. I’m sure you’ll manage it.

73. A: I am going to Texas.

B: Really? How nice! ______________________.

a. If I were you, I would feel terrified

b. You must be looking forward to it
c. That’s ridiculous

74. A: You look gorgeous.

B: Thanks. __________________.

a. I won’t have anything

b. Don’t be silly
c. You look great too

75. A: Mum, There is a good concert in the Town Bar tonight, and my friend has got
two tickets. Do you mind if I go?
B: _____________________.

a. Yes, I will give you a hand

b. No, I don’t but you shouldn’t stay out late
c. No, it’s alright, thanks

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