Test 1

READING AND USE OF ENGLISH

Part 1

For questions 1—8, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.
There is an example at the beginning (O).
Mark your answers on the ​separate form created.

The camera never lies

Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the Sherlock Holmes stories, ​(O) ………. himself to be a rational
man, a scientist even. But in 1920, when he saw photographs of fairies taken in a garden ​(1)
………., he thought he was seeing scientific proof that these tiny creatures really existed. He
published the photographs alongside an article he wrote, ​(2) ………. fairies as supernatural
wonders. It was not until 1939 that the two ladies who took the photos admitted these were ​(3)
………. . They simply cut out pictures of fairies from a book and ​(4) ………. them among flowers.
The results are ​(5) ………. beautiful. But the simplicity of the trick ​(6) ………. a basic principle of
photography, that the camera cannot lie.

But it can, and always could. Today, we are used to computer software ​(7) ………. us to rework
our digital images and it is a ​(8) ………. that photography ever had a true age of innocence. From
the moment cameras began capturing reality, that reality was being altered.

1 A venue B setting C background D surrounding

2 A calling B naming C attributing D acknowledging

3 A false B faulty C fake D fictional

4 A arranged B spaced C settled D distributed

5 A categorically B unavoidably C substantially D undeniably

6 A weakens B undermines C demolishes D dismantles

7 A letting B supporting C enabling D empowering

8 A fantasy B legend C dream D myth

 Part 2

For questions 9—16, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use ​only
one word in each gap. There is an example at the beginning (O).

Write your answers IN CAPITAL LETTERS on ​the separate form created.

Online passwords – what everyone should know

When ​(O) ……… comes to online security, we all know what we ought to do: choose a different,
random set of letters and numbers for every email account, shopping site or bank account. But
hardly ​(9) ……… does this, because memorising them all is impossible. So we use the same
familiar words for every site, ​(10) ……… a pet’s name or, even worse, the word 'password',
occasionally remembering to replace the letter O with a zero, or choosing to ​(11) ……… use of a
capital letter.

Even if we opt (​12) ……… a random group of letters such as 'fpqzy', there is now software
available which can make a thousand guesses per second, enabling a hacker to get to your
password in just under four hours.

Interestingly, ​(13) ……… increasing your password to twenty random letters, you increase a
hacker's guessing time to 6.5 thousand trillion centuries. The problem is that you would ​(14)
……… no chance of ever remembering those 20 letters. The solution, apparently, is to come ​(15)
……… with three or four short, unrelated words and work ​(16) ……… a way to remember them.
Easy!
 Part 3

For questions 17—24, read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of some
of the lines to form a word that fits in the gap in the same line. There is an example at the
beginning (O).

Write your answers IN CAPITAL LETTERS on the ​separate form created.

Too many climbers on Mount Everest

Mount Everest in Nepal is becoming ​(O) …….. popular as a destination for INCREASE
adventure tourism. During the month of May, ​(17) …….. weather presents ​FAVOUR
a number of safe opportunities to make the climb. As a result, the sheer
number of climbers has brought an ​(18) …….. problem, potentially even ​EXPECT
more dangerous than low temperatures and changeable weather —
overcrowded conditions. The fact that there are so many climbers, many of
them complete ​(19) …….. , means that at times people are queuing for ​BEGIN
hours to reach the summit.

This hazard has led to calls for stricter assessments of new learner
climbers, as in their ​(20) …….. to reach the mountain's summit such DESPERATE
inexperienced climbers are sometimes ignoring the advice of their
Nepalese guides, which may ​(21)​ …….. everyone's lives. ​DANGER

Perhaps one ​(22) …….. would be to make the charges for climbing the ​SOLVE

mountain so high that only a few people could afford the climb. Or ​(23) ……..
ALTERNATE
, one could ban the use of artificial oxygen and local guides, leaving Everest

​MOUNTAIN
to the very best ​(24) …….. . Extreme, maybe, but it may just prove

necessary.

Part 4

For questions 25—30, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first
sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between three and
six words, including the word given. Here is an example (O).

Example:

O​ James would only speak to the head of department alone.

ON

James ……………………………………... to the head of department alone.

The gap can be filled with the words 'insisted on speaking', so you write:

O INSISTED ON SPEAKING

Example:

Write ​only​ the missing words ​IN CAPITAL LETTERS on the separate form created.

25​ 'You should stop your children watching so much television,' Mary's sister told her.

LET

Mary's sister advised her ……………………………………... so much television.

26 The local council wants to impose a ban on driving at more than 30 kilometres per hour
anywhere in this area.
ILLEGAL

The local council wants to ……………………………………... at more than 30 kilometres per hour
anywhere in this area.

27​ Tom missed his plane because he was late leaving for the airport.

TIME

If only ……………………………………... for the airport, he wouldn't have missed his plane.

28 ​The guidelines for the appointment of new staff need to be thoroughly revised.

THOROUGH

There needs ……………………………………... the guidelines for the appointment of new staff.

29 ​ The employment rate rose gradually as the economy began to recover.

GRADUAL

There ……………………………………... the employment rate as the economy began to recover.

30 ​ The change in the company's logo didn't make any difference to the majority of its customers.

CONSEQUENCE

The change in the company's logo ……………………………………... to the majority of its

customers.
 Part 5

You are going to read an article about a famous psychologist. For questions 31—36, choose the
answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text. Mark your answers on the
separate answer sheet. Mark you answers on the separate form created.

Jean Piaget

Jean Piaget, the pioneering Swiss philosopher and psychologist, became famous for his theories
on child development. A child prodigy, he became interested in the scientific study of nature at an
early age. He developed a special fascination for biology, having some of his work published
before graduating from high school. When, aged 10, his observations led to questions that could
be answered only by access to the university library, Piaget wrote and published some notes on
the sighting of an albino sparrow in the hope that this would persuade the librarian to stop
treating him like a child. It worked. Piaget was launched on a path that led to his doctorate in
zoology and a lifelong conviction that the way to understand anything is to know how it evolves.
Piaget went on to spend much of his professional life listening to and watching children, and
poring over reports of researchers who were doing the same. He found, to put it succinctly, that
children don't think like adults. After thousands of interactions with young people often barely old
enough to talk, Piaget began to suspect that behind their cute and seemingly illogical utterances
were thought processes that had their own kind of order and their own special logic. Albert
Einstein, the renowned physicist, deemed this a discovery 'so simple that only a genius could have
thought of it'.

Piaget's insight opened a new window into the inner workings of the mind. Several new fields of
science, among them developmental psychology and cognitive theory, came into being as a result
of his research. Although not an educational reformer, he championed a way of thinking about
children that provided the foundation for today's education reform movements. One might say
that Piaget was the first to take children's thinking seriously. Others who shared this respect for
children may have fought harder for immediate change in schools, but Piaget's influence on
education remains deeper and more pervasive.
Piaget has been revered by generations of teachers inspired by the belief that children are not
empty vessels to be filled with knowledge, as traditional academic thinking had it, but active
builders of knowledge — little scientists who are constantly creating and testing their own
theories of the world. And while he may not be as famous as Sigmund Freud, Piaget's contribution
to psychology may be longer lasting. As computers and the Internet give children greater
autonomy to explore ever larger digital worlds, the ideas he pioneered become ever more
relevant.
In the 1940s, working in Alfred Binet's child-psychology lab in Paris, Piaget noticed that children of
the same age, regardless of their background or gender, made comparable errors on true—false
intelligence tests. Back in Switzerland, the young scientist began watching children play,
scrupulously recording their words and actions as their minds raced to find reasons for why things
are the way they are. Piaget recognised that a five-year-old's beliefs, while not correct by any
adult criterion, are not 'incorrect' either. They are entirely sensible and coherent within the
framework of the child's 'way of knowing'. In Piaget's view, classifying them as 'true' or 'false'
misses the point and shows a lack of respect for the child. What Piaget was after was a theory that
could find coherence and ingenuity in the child's justification, and evidence of a kind of
explanatory principle that stands young children in very good stead when they don't know enough
or don't have enough skill to handle the kind of explanation that grown-ups prefer.
The core of Piaget's work is his belief that looking carefully at how children acquire knowledge
sheds light on how adults think and understand the world. Whether this has, in fact, led to deeper
understanding remains, like everything about Piaget, contentious. In recent years, Piaget has been
vigorously challenged by the current emphasis on viewing knowledge as an intrinsic property of
the brain. Ingenious experiments have demonstrated that newborn infants already have some of
the knowledge that Piaget believed children constructed. But for those of us who still see Piaget
as the giant in the field of cognitive theory, the disparity between what the baby brings and what
the adult has is so immense that the new discoveries do not significantly reduce the gap, only
increase the mystery.

31 In the first paragraph, the writer suggests that as a child Piaget

A was particularly eager to teach others about animals.
B was confident his research would help other children.
C was already certain about the career he would follow.
D was determined that nothing should hold back his progress.

32 In quoting Einstein, the writer is

A questioning the simplicity of Piaget's ideas.
B supporting the conclusion that Piaget reached.
C suggesting that Piaget's research methods were unprecedented.
D recommending a less complicated approach than Piaget's.

33 In the third paragraph, the writer puts forward the view that
 A Piaget's work with children was difficult to put to a practical use.
B Piaget's theories about children were less revolutionary than he thought.
C Piaget laid the basis for our current understanding of how children's minds work.
D Piaget was actually committed to radical change in the education system.

34 The phrase 'empty vessels' (paragraph 4) refers to

A why children should be encouraged to study more independently.
B what traditional academic theory said about children and learning.
C how teachers can increase children's motivation to learn.
D the kind of knowledge that children need to acquire.

35 The writer says Piaget was unwilling to categorise children's ideas as true or false because
A he realised that the reasoning behind a child's statement was more important.
B he knew that this could have long-term effects on a child.
C he felt that this did not reflect what happens in real life.
D he felt that children are easily influenced by what adults have told them.

36 What does the writer conclude about newer theories that have appeared?
A They completely undermine Piaget's ideas.
B They put greater emphasis on scientific evidence.
C They are an interesting addition to the body of knowledge.
D They are based on flawed research.