SECTION TWO: LEXICO-GRAMMAR (3.

0 pts)
PART 1. For the questions 1-12, choose the best answer (marked A, B, C or D) to finish each of the
following sentences. Write your answers in the numbered boxes below.
(0) has been done as an example. (1.2 pts)
1. I _____ a student.
A. am B. is C. are D. be
1. It's silly of him to spend a lot of money buying _____.
A. a thick wooden old table B. a thick old wooden table
C. an old wooden thick table D. a wooden thick old table
2. The scientists are encountering the difficulties of _________of radioactive waste.
A. depleting B. preserving C. eliminating D. disposing
3. Let me try my _____ at cards. If I win, I promise to invite you to a restaurant.
A. fortune B. luck C. power D. chance
4. My decision to leave university after a year is the one I now_____ regret.
A. harshly B. keenly C. painfully D. heavily
5. _____ the time passes, _____ I feel! The deadline of my thesis is coming, but I have just finished half of it.
A. The faster / the nervous B. The more fast / the nervous
C. The fast / the more nervous D. The faster / the more nervous
6. _____ all the papers, Sarah put them back in the file.
A. To have photocopied B. Having been photocopied
C. Being photocopied D. Having photocopied
7. I read the contract again and again _____ avoiding making spelling mistakes.
A. in terms of B. by means of C. with a view to D. in view of
8. _____ to the town, they will have finished building a new bridge.
A. As soon as you were returning B. When you return
C. By the time you will return D. After you had return
9. If you don't have anything _____ to say, it's better to say nothing.
A. construct B. construction C. constructive D. constructor
10. "If no one can soon _____ a good solution, we're going to be in trouble.” the board chair warned.
A. come up with B. put up withC. catch up with D. check up on
11. Jack and Joe are discussing how to make salad for dinner.
Jack: “________________________.”
Joe: “How about putting some grapes in it, instead?”
A. We could fry some onions with it too. B. I'd rather just have some bread, thanks.
C. Let's put some pieces of apple in the salad. D. Good idea! I'll go and make one.
12. I won't buy that car because it has too much _____ on it.
A. wear and tear B. odds and ends C. ups and downs D. white lie
PART 2. Choose the word or phrase that is OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined part in each of the
following questions. Write your answers in the numbered boxes below.
(0) has been done as an example. (0.2 pt)
1. Primary education in the United States is compulsory.
A. optional B. required C. excellent D. easy
1. It seems that the deal was made behind close doors as no one had any clue about it.
A. secretly B. daily C. transparently D. privately
2. I’d go mad if I had to do a dead-end job like working on a supermarket checkout.
A. boring B. fascinating C. exhausting D. demanding
PART 3. Choose the word or phrase that is CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined part in each of the
following questions. Write your answers in the numbered boxes below.
(0) has been done as an example. (0.2 pt)
1. Primary education in the United States is compulsory.
 A. free of charge B. required C. excellent D. easy
1. Peter’s mother was really hot under the collar because of his rudeness to her guests.
A. unhappy B. worried C. curious D. embarrassed
2. Her courage not only inspired her followers but moved her rivals as well.
A. motivated B. depressed C. overlookedD. rejected
PART 4. Use the word given in the bracket to form a word that fits in the same numbered space in the
text. Write your answers in the numbered boxes below. (0) has been done as an example. (0.8 pt).
Lichens are a unique group of complex, (0. FLOWER)_____ plants growing on rocks and trees.
There are thousands of kinds of lichens, which come in a wide variety of colours. They are (1.
COMPOSE)_____ of algae and fungi which unite to satisfy the needs of the lichens. The autotrophic green
algae (2. PRODUCTION)_____ all their own food through a process called photosynthesis and provide
the lichen with nutritious elements. On the other hand, the heterotrophic (3. FUNGI)_____, which depends
on other elements to provide its food, not only (4. ABSORPTION)_____ and stores water for the plant but
also helps protect it. This union by which two (5. SIMILARITY)_______ organisms live together is called
“Symbiosis”. This (6. SHARE)_____ enables lichens to resist the most adverse environmental conditions
found on earth. They can be found in some very (7. LIKE)_____ places such as the polar ice caps as well
as in tropical zones, in dry areas as well as in wet ones, on mountain peaks and along (8.
COASTLINE)_____ areas.
PART 5. Read the following passage. There are SIX mistakes in the passage. Find the words that need
correction and correct them. Write your answer in the numbered boxes below.
(0) has been done as an example (0.6 pt).
1 Stress can affect the heart. It can increases the pulse rate, make the heart miss beats, and can cause
high blood pressure. Stress can affect the respiratory system. It can lead to asthma. It can cause a person
to breathe too fast, resulting from a loss of important carbon dioxide. Stress can affect the stomach. It
can cause stomach aches and problems digesting food. These are only a little examples of the wide range
5 of illnesses and symptoms resulting from stress.
Emotions are also easily affected by stress. People suffered from stress often feel anxious. They may
have panic attacks. They may feel tired all the time. When people are under stress, they often overreact
to little problems. For example, a normal gentle parent under a lot of stress at work may yell at a child
for dropping a glass of juice. Stress can make people angry, moody, or nervous.
10 Long-term stress can lead to a variety of serious mental illnesses. Depression, an extreme feeling of
sadness and hopefulness, can be the result of increasing stress. Alcoholism and other addictions often
develop as a result of overuse of alcohol or drugs to try to relieve stress. Eating disorders, such as
anorexia, are sometimes caused by stress and are often done worse by stress. If stress is allowed to
continue, then one's mental health is put at risk.
15
SECTION THREE: READING (2.5 pts)
PART 1. Read the text and choose the best answer (A, B, C or D) to each of the following questions.
Write your answers in the numbered boxes below. (0.5 pt)
Nature has always provided a stimulus for inventive minds. Early flying machines clearly were an
attempt to emulate the freedom of birds. Architects and engineers have often consciously modeled
buildings on forms found in nature. A more recent example of the inspiration given by nature is the
invention of Velcro. The inventor of this now common fastening device noticed that small burrs attached to
his dog's coat grasped the hairs by means of tiny hooks. This led him to invent a synthetic fabric whose
surfaces mimic the clasping properties of this natural seedpod.
Animals and plants have evolved solutions to the kinds of problems that often interest engineers and
designers. Much current research in material science is concerned with actively examining the natural
world, especially at the molecular level, for inspiration to develop materials with novel properties. This
relatively new field of study is sometimes known as biomimetic, since it consciously attempts to mimic
nature.
 Researchers have investigated several interesting areas. For example, they have studied how the
molecular structure of antler bone contributes to its amazing toughness, how the skin structure of a worm
contributes to its ability to crawl, how the sea cucumber softens its skeleton and changes shape so that it
can squeeze through tiny gaps in rocks, or what gives wood its high resistance to impact. These
investigations have led to several breakthroughs in the development of composite materials with
remarkable properties.
Predictions for future inventions that may be developed from these lines of research include so-called
smart structures that design and repair themselves in a similar way to a variety of processes in the natural
world. For example, engineers have envisaged bridges that would detect areas heavily stressed by vehicle
movement or wind. The bridge structure would then automatically add or move material to the weak areas
until the stress is reduced. The same principle might be used to repair damaged buildings. Other new
materials that have been imagined are substances that would copy photosynthesis in green plants in order to
create new energy sources. The potential impact of biomimetic research is so great that the twenty-first
century may come to be known as the "Age of Materials."
1. The passage is primarily concerned with _________.
A. future research into the uses of Velcro B. the effect of the Age of Materials on nature
C. the development of products based on nature D. problems that preoccupy designers and engineers
2. The word “emulate” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _________.
A. stimulate B. captivate C. imitate D. activate
3. Which of the following is true about Velcro?
A. It was first used to remove dog hair from the owner’s coat.
B. It exemplifies how a natural structure inspired a useful invention.
C. The inventor of Velcro was very famous before his invention.
D. It has set a trend for tiny hooks like structures in synthetic fabric.
4. Which of the following does the word “it” in paragraph 3 refer to?
A. sea cucumber B. skeleton C. shape D. worm
5. According to the passage, which of the following would NOT be a useful biomimetic product?
A. Tomatoes mimicking the structures that give sea cucumbers the ability to squeeze through cracks.
B. Bulletproof jackets mimicking the structures that give wood its resistance to impact.
C. Glass in windshields mimicking the structures that give antler bone its toughness.
D. Cables mimicking the structures that give spider webs their flexibility and tensile strength.
PART 2. Read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap.
Use ONLY ONE WORD in each gap. Write your answers in the numbered boxes below.
(0) has been done as an example. (1.0 pt)
DANGERS OF TECHNOLOGY
Much has been heard recently (0) about possible health hazards, including memory loss and brain tumours,
from the use of mobile phones. With the possible half a billion mobile phones in (1)_____ throughout the
world, in Britain today, one person in four owns one, (2) _____ is worrying enough, even if, so far, no
concrete evidence has come to (3)_____. One study by Dr. Alan Preece and his team at Bristol University
has shown, however, in a report in the International Journal of Radiation Biology, that tests on volunteers
demonstrated no effect on their short-term memory or attention span. Subjects (4)_____ exposed to
microwave radiation for up to thirty minutes, but the one noticeable effect was positive (5) _____ than
negative; the subject reacted more rapidly in one test (6) _____ a visual choice. One explanation of this is
that following the transmissions, a warming of the blood led to increased bloodflow. For the experiment,
places were chosen where the signal was good and the microwave dose light, and then where the signal
(7)_____ poor and the dose much higher. The subjects were tested for recall and mental alertness (8)_____
exposure to microwaves characteristic of analogue phones, digital phones or no phones at all, without
knowing (9)_____ they were exposed to. It is, of course, early days yet and the sample may not be large
(10)_____ to generalise from. More research needs to be done.
PART 3. Read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C, or D) best fits each numbered gap.
Write your answers in the numbered boxes below. (0 ) has been done as an example. (1.0 pt)
AS OLD AS YOU FEEL
It might after all be true that you are only as old (0)___ you feel. A British clinic is carrying out new
high-tech tests to calculate the “real” biological age of patients (1)____ on the rate of physical
deterioration. Information on every (2)____ of a patient’s health, fitness, lifestyle and family medical
history is (3)____ into a computer to work out whether they are older or younger than their calendar age
suggests.
The availability and increasing accuracy of the tests has (4)____ one leading British gerontologist
to call for biological age to be used to determine when workers should retire. He (5)____ that if an
employee’s biological or “real” age is shown, for example, to be 55 when he reaches his 65th birthday, he
should be (6)____ to work for another decade. Apparently most employers only take into (7)____ a
person’s calendar years, and the two may differ considerably. Some of those prepared to pay a substantial
sum of money for the examinations will be able to smugly walk away with medical (8)____ showing that
they really are as young as they feel, giving them the confidence to act and dress as if they were younger.
Dr. Lynette Yong, resident doctor at the clinic where the tests are offered claims that the purpose of these
tests will be to motivate people to (9)____ their health.
The concept of “real” age is set to become big (10)____ in the USA with books and websites
helping people work out whether their body is older or younger than their years. Others firmly believe that
looks will always be the best indicator of age.
0. A. than B. so C. as D. more
1. A. prospected B. arranged C. based D. established
2. A. attitude B. position C. decision D. aspect
3. A. brought B. provided C. supplied D. fed
4. A. prodded B. prompted C. projected D. provoked
5. A. argues B. discusses C. enquires D. debates
6. A. incited B. discouraged C. supported D. promoted
7. A. detail B. account C. interest D. importance
8. A. evidence B. treatment C. examination D. certificate
9. A. increase B. gain C. improve D. progress
10. A. pursuit B. definition C. experience D. business

SECTION FOUR: WRITING (2.5 pts)

PART 2. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first one, using the word
given in capital. DO NOT CHANGE THE WORD GIVEN. You must use between THREE and SIX
words, including the word given. (0) has been done as an example. (0.5 pt)

0. I haven’t seen my brother since he left for Australia. (LAST)

🖎 The last time I saw my brother was when he left for Australia.

1. You should consider the fact that Mary hasn’t spoken French for years. (ALLOWANCES)
🖎 You should ____________________________________________ speaking French for years.
2. Whatever happens, I will never trust him again. (EVER)
🖎Under _________________________________________________________ trust him again.
3. Everyone was shocked by the success of the novel.( SHOCK)
🖎The success of the novel ______________________________________________ everyone.
4. If I had been you, I would have punished him. (SHOES)
🖎Had ________________________________________________, I would have punished him.
5. “You are doing a great job, Rick!” – said his boss. (PRAISE)
🖎Rick's boss _____________________________________________________________ him.
PART 3. According to many researches, Covid-19 pandemic has adversely influenced education when
students cannot attend traditional classes. However, it has paved the way for positive shifts in students’
self-study and self-training.
How can students take advantage of this lockdown period in order to become better global citizens?
Write an essay (about 200 words) to answer the question. Support your points with examples and relevant
evidence. (1.5 pts)