Inside Out Full Placement Test

Name _______________________________________ Date _____________________

FULL PLACEMENT TEST

Section 1
Choose the best word or phrase (a, b, c or d) to fill each blank.
(1) My name is Juan and I _____ from Spain.
a) is
b) be
c) are
d) am

(2) Where _____?

a does he work
b he works
c he does work
d works he

(3) Who did _____ at the party?

a you saw
b you see
c saw you
d see

(4) ‘_____ to Australia, Ginny?’ ‘No, I haven’t.’

a) Did you ever go
b) Will you ever go
c) Are you ever going
d) Have you ever been

(5) Tokyo is _____ city I’ve ever lived in.

a) the most big
b) the bigger
c) the biggest
d) the more big

(6) Is she the woman _____ husband is a famous musician?

a) which
b) that
c) who
d) whose
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(7) The police wanted to know exactly how the money _____ stolen from the bank.
a) is
b) was
c) gets
d) did

(8) By the time Mary gets here, the movie _____.

a) will finish
b) is going to finish
c) will have finished
d) is finishing

(9) You _____ tell anyone about this, Sara. It’s our secret, OK?
a) couldn’t
b) wouldn’t
c) mustn’t
d) don’t have to

(10) I think you _____ leave now, it’s getting late.

a) can
b) would
c) will
d) should

(11) I wish I _____ in such a cold country!

a) didn’t live
b) haven’t lived
c) won’t live
d) am not living

(12) If Jack _____ music, he wouldn’t have become a concert pianist.

a) hadn’t studied
b) didn’t study
c) wouldn’t have studied
d) hasn’t studied

Section 2
Choose the best word or phrase (a, b, c or d) to fill each blank.
(13) I always go to the movies _____ Fridays.
a) on
b) in
c) at
d) by

(14) I will _____ you tomorrow.

Inside Out Full Placement Test

a shout
b cry
c call
d say

(15) Hannah’s a really _____ person. She’s always smiling.

a) sensible
b) interesting
c) talkative
d) cheerful

(16) I have no _____ what time the swimming pool opens.

a) belief
b) opinion
c) idea
d) feeling

(17) It was a beautiful day so we went on a boat _____ on the lake.

a) ride
b) travel
c) drive
d) sightseeing

(18) It was a great meal, but pretty expensive. Just look at the _____!
a) ticket
b) recipe
c) invoice
d) bill

(19) Laura rarely leaves the house without _____her make-up on.
a) doing
b) putting
c) having
d) getting

(20) Joel came back from his holiday in Brazil looking really _____.
a) tanned
b) sunned
c) coloured
d) darkened

Section 3
Read the text below. For questions 21 to 25, choose the best answer (a, b, c or d).
Inside Out Full Placement Test

‘Heavier than air flying machines are impossible,’ said the well-known scientist Lord
Kelvin in 1895. Thomas Watson, the chairman of IBM in 1943, was wrong too when he
said that he thought there would be a world market for only five or so computers.

Predictions can, of course, be wrong, and it is very difficult to predict what the world
will be like in 100, 50, or even 20 years from now. But this is something that scientists
and politicians often do. They do so because they invent things and make decisions that
shape the future of the world that we live in.

In the past they didn’t have to think too much about the impact that their decisions had
on the natural world. But that is now changing. An increasing number of people believe
that we should live within the rules set by nature. In other words, they think that in a
world of fixed and limited resources, what is used today will not be there for our
children. We must therefore look at each human activity and try to change it or create
alternatives if it is not sustainable. The rules for this are set by nature, not by man.

(21) How many predictions are mentioned in the text?

a) 1
b) 2
c) 3
d) 4

(22) According to the text, which of the following statements is TRUE?

a) Lord Kelvin and Thomas Watson were good friends.
b) The world does not have unlimited natural resources.
c) Our children will not make predictions about the future.
d) It is easy to predict what the world will be like 20 years from now.

(23) shape (line 6) is closest in meaning to:

a) do
b) create
c) look at
d) move

(24) The article suggests we should live in a _____ way.

a) selfish
b) sustainable
c) predictable
d) scientific

(25) Choose the best title for the article.

a) Predictions and more predictions!
b) Politicians and scientists
c) A sustainable future for our children
d) New inventions
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Section 4 (26 to 33)

In the space below, write a paragraph about yourself. Say where you come from,
where you live, and give a little bit of information about your family and friends as
well as your hobbies and interests. Finally, say where, when and how long you have
been learning English. Also say in what ways you would like to improve your
English. (8 points)

…………………………………………………………………………………………
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Section 5
Choose the best word or phrase (a, b, c or d) to fill each blank.
(34) I’m not very interested _____ sports.
a) for
b) about
c) in
d) to

(35) She likes _____ expensive clothes.

a to wearing
b wearing
c wear
d is wearing

(36) Harry _____ his father’s car when the accident happened.
a) was driving
b) drove
c) had driven
d) has been driving

(37) I was wondering _____ tell me when the next plane from Chicago arrives?
a) could you
b) can you
c) if you could
d) please

(38) If I _____ you had cancelled the meeting I wouldn’t have turned up!
a) knew
b) have known
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c) had known
d) know

(39) I like your hair. Where _____?

a) cut you it
b) did you have it cut
c) do you cut it
d) have it cut

(40) I think Joey must _____ late tonight. His office light is still on.
a) have worked
b) work
c) be working
d) to work

(41) John tells me Jack’s going out with Helen, _____ I find hard to believe.
a) that
b) who
c) whose
d) which

(42) We _____ to the new house by the end of the week, so we won’t be here next
Sunday.
a) will have moved
b) will be moving
c) will move
d) are moving

(43) What _____ this weekend, Lance?

a) will you do
b) are you doing
c) will you have done
d) do you do

(44) The weather has been awful. We’ve had very _____ sunshine this summer.
a) little
b) a little
c) few
d) a few

(45) Did you hear what happened to Kate? She _____.

a) is arrested
b) arrested
c) has been arrested
d) is being arrested
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Section 6
Choose the best word or phrase (a, b, c or d) to fill each blank.
(46) I often _____ football when I’m at the beach.
a) have
b) go
c) do
d) play

(47) My sister _____ the cooking in our house.

a does
b makes
c cooks
d takes

(48) Don’t forget to _____ the light when you go out.

a) turn up
b) turn in
c) turn off
d) turn over

(49) I hope this cut on my hand _____ quickly.

a) cures
b) heals
c) treats
d) restores

(50) She just burst into _____ when she heard the tragic news.
a) crying
b) tears
c) cries
d) break down

(51) He _____ that he hadn’t stolen the computer, but no one believed him.
a) reassured
b) informed
c) insisted
d) persuaded

(52) Could you _____ me that book for a couple of days, please?
a) lend
b) owe
c) borrow
d) rent

(53) Greg is _____ a lot of time at Yvonne’s house these days!

Inside Out Full Placement Test

a) taking
b) spending
c) having
d) doing

Section 7
Read the text below. For questions 54 to 58, choose the best answer (a, b, c or d).
Many hotel chains and tour operators say that they take their environmental
commitments seriously, but often they do not respect their social and economic
responsibilities to the local community. So is it possible for travellers to help improve the
lives of locals and still have a good holiday?

The charity, Tourism Concern, thinks so. It has pioneered the concept of the fair-trade
holiday. The philosophy behind fair-trade travel is to make sure that local people get a
fair share of the income from tourism. The objectives are simple: employing local people
wherever possible; offering fair wages and treatment; showing cultural respect; involving
communities in deciding how tourism is developed; and making sure that visitors have
minimal environmental impact.

Although there is currently no official fair-trade accreditation for holidays, the

Association of Independent Tour Operators has worked hard to produce responsible
tourism guidelines for its members. Some new companies, operated as much by
principles as profits, offer a fantastic range of holidays for responsible and adventurous
travellers.

(54) Tourism Concern…

a) helps tourists who have had bad holidays.
b) is a philosophy.
c) is a charity and fair-trade organisation.
d) has a chain of hotels.

(55) Which of the following is NOT one of Tourism Concern’s objectives?

a) Good pay for local people.
b) Showing respect for local cultures.
c) Saving tourists money.
d) Protecting the local environment.

(56) According to the text, fair-trade travel is all about…

a) making money for charity.
b) money from tourism going to local people.
c) travellers getting a good deal.
d) a great cultural experience.

(57) According to the text, there are _____ companies that are operated on principles
as well as profits.
Inside Out Full Placement Test

a) a few
b) no
c) some old
d) many

(58) Choose the most appropriate title for the article.

a) Holidays from heaven
b) Cheap adventure holidays
c) Fair-trade holidays
d) Great holiday deals

Section 8 (59 to 66)

Write a story titled A Perfect Day. In your narrative, include at least three of the
following linking words: as soon as, by the time, just as, during, while. You should
write 300–500 words. (8 points)

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Section 9
Choose the best word or phrase (a, b, c or d) to fill each blank.
(67) Who _____ in that house?
a) does he live
b) lives
c) did he live
d) he lives

(68) I will call you when I _____ home.

a) get
b) will get
c) got
d) getting

(69) If you _____ me, what would you do?

a) was
b) would be
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c) were
d) have been

(70) I don’t know where _____ last night.

a did he go
b he did go
c went he
d he went

(71) John and Betty are coming to visit us tomorrow but I wish _____.
a) they won’t
b) they hadn’t
c) they didn’t
d) they weren’t

(72) I’m so hungry! If only Bill _____ all the food in the fridge!
a) wasn’t eating
b) didn’t eat
c) hadn’t eaten
d) hasn’t eaten

(73) I regret _____ harder in school.

a) not studying
b) not to study
c) to not study
d) not have studied

(74) Surely Sue _____ you if she was unhappy with your work.
a) will tell
b) would have told
c) must have told
d) had told

(75) Our neighbours aren’t very polite, and _____ particularly quiet!
a) neither they aren’t
b) either they aren’t
c) nor are they
d) neither did they be

(76) We had expected that they _____ fluent English, but in fact they didn’t.
a) were speaking
b) would speak
c) had spoken
d) spoke

(77) I’d rather _____ next weekend, but I do!

Inside Out Full Placement Test

a) I don’t have to work

b) I didn’t have to work
c) not to work
d) no working

(78) Harriet is so knowledgeable. She can talk about _____ subject that comes up.
a) whatever
b) whenever
c) wherever
d) whoever

Section 10
Choose the best word or phrase (a, b, c or d) to fill each blank.
(79) I always _____ milk in my coffee.
a have
b eat
c cook
d make

(80) I _____ TV every evening.

a) watch
b) look at
c) see
d) hear

(81) Can you give me a _____ with my bag.

a) leg
b) back
c) hand
d) head

(82) Before you enter the triathlon, please bear in _____ that you’re not as young as
you used to be!
a) thought
b) question
c) mind
d) opinion

(83) The breath test showed he had consumed more than three times the legal limit of
alcohol, so the police arrested him for _____.
a) trespassing
b) mugging
c) speeding
d) drunk driving
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(84) The meeting was _____ and not very interesting.

a) time-wasting
b) time-consuming
c) time-using
d) out of time

(85) After the movie was released, the main _____ point was its excessive use of
violence.
a) discussion
b) speaking
c) conversation
d) talking

(86) There have been several big _____ against the use of GM foods recently.
a) campaigns
b) issues
c) boycotts
d) strikes

Section 11
Read the text below. For questions 87 to 92, choose the best answer (a, b, c or d).
Standards of spelling and grammar among an entire generation of English-speaking
university students are now so poor that there is ‘a degree of crisis’ in their written use of
the language, the publisher of a new dictionary has warned. Its research revealed that
students have only a limited grasp of the most basic rules of spelling, punctuation and
meaning, blamed in part on an increasing dependence on ‘automatic tools’ such as
computer spellcheckers and unprecedented access to rapid communication using e-mail
and the Internet. The problem is not confined to the US, but applies also to students in
Australia, Canada and Britain.
Students were regularly found to be producing incomplete or rambling, poorly connected
sentences, mixing metaphors ‘with gusto’ and overusing dull, devalued words such as
‘interesting’ and ‘good’. Overall they were unclear about appropriate punctuation,
especially the use of commas, and failed to understand the basic rules of subject/verb
agreement and the difference between ‘there’, ‘their’ and ‘they’re’.
Kathy Rooney, editor-in-chief of the dictionary, said, ‘We need to be very concerned at
the extent of the problems with basic spelling and usage that our research has revealed.
This has significant implications for the future, especially for young people. We thought
it would be useful to get in touch with teachers and academics to find out what problems
their students were having with their writing and what extra help they might need from a
dictionary. The results were quite shocking. We are sure that the use of computers has
played a part. People rely increasingly on automatic tools such as spellcheckers that are
much more passive than going to a dictionary and looking something up. That can lull
them into a false sense of security.’
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Beth Marshall, an English professor, said, ‘The type of student we’re getting now is very
different from what we were seeing 10 years ago and it is often worrying to find out how
little students know. There are as many as 800 commonly misspelled words, particularly
pairs of words that are pronounced similarly but spelled differently and that have
different meanings – for example, “faze” and “phase”, and “pray” and “prey”.’
(87) grasp (line 4) is closest in meaning to:
a) ability
b) use
c) understanding
d) skill

(88) We can infer from the style of the text that this article was printed in a…
a) newspaper.
b) dictionary.
c) novel.
d) guidebook.

(89) Kathy Rooney carried out research to see…

a) if students could spell certain words.
b) how widespread the use of computers is.
c) if academics were in touch with their students.
d) how dictionaries can help students.

(90) them (line 22) refers to:

a) spellcheckers
b) computers
c) people
d) dictionaries

(91) According to Beth Marshall, students today…

a) spell 800 words incorrectly on average.
b) like using spellcheckers.
c) mispronounce and misspell words.
d) are not as knowledgeable as they were in the past.

(92) Choose the best title for the article.

a) Standards of spelling and grammar
b) Dictionaries of the future
c) Students don’t know their ‘there’ from their ‘they’re’
d) Automatic tools

Section 12 (93 to 100)

Write a review of a film you have seen for a local English-language newspaper.
Include information about the plot, the acting, the cinematography and anything
else you think is relevant. You should write 300–500 words. (8 points)
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