I.

LISTENING
Part 1: For questions 1 - 7, listen to a talk and choose the best answer A, B, C or D for each of
the following questions. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes.
1. Laura first became interested in poetry by ______.
A. reading it at home B. studying it at school
C. learning about it from her father D. enjoying it with other students
2. What made Laura decide to become a professional poet?
A. She met a famous poet. B. She did a poetry course.
C. She became a well-known poet. D. She won a poetry prize.
3. What is Laura’s new book about?
A. poems at a university B. various types of buildings
C. personal relationships D. climate change
4. Initially, she intended to write about ______ in her new book of poems.
A. global warming and the environment B. architecture - ancient and new
C. connections with people D. modern English
5. What does Laura say about reading poetry written a long time ago?
A. She finds resemblance of the words and style. B. She admires how well it’s written.
C. She finds it difficult to understand. D. She prefers to read modern poems.
6. How does Laura feel about her new job teaching at a university?
A. delighted by her students’ ability to learn B. pleased with her ability to do it well
C. grateful to have helpful colleagues D. surprised by the amount of work
7. What does Laura plan to do in the future?
A. find some ideas from hip hop and rap B. organize a poetry festival
C. take a break from writing poetry D. add music to some of her poetry
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Part 2: For questions 8 - 15, listen and decide whether the following statements are TRUE (T) or
FALSE (F). Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes.
8. There is no equivalence in higher education systems of some English-speaking countries.
9. Students who qualify for university always start their Bachelor’s Degrees at the age of 18.
10. Undergraduate period often lasts for three or four years.
11. After some discussions in seminars, students will attend lectures in large groups.
12. The role of a tutor is to give enquiries and involve his/her students in the subject.
13. Students finish their first degree will certainly go on to do a postgraduate course.
14. Master’s degree is not the only course for graduates.
15. A doctoral degree is considered the highest triumph in tertiary education.
Your answers:
8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

Part 3: For questions 16 - 25, listen and complete the following summary, write ONE WORD ONLY
taken from the recording in each blank. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered spaces.
Being a teenager is a period of discovery, learning, (16) ______ and intense change
including (17) ______ highs and lows where things can feel really tough, marked by rapid
development in (18) ______ and hormonal shifts. The teenage brain undergoes significant
changes as unused gray matter is pruned and white matter increases, improving efficiency. A
protein called Kizpeptin is produced in the hypothalamus where (19) ______ begins. It then
triggers the pituitary gland to unleash the (20) ______ testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone
that heighten emotional responses and (21) ______ behaviors, influenced by peer (22) ______
and social dynamics. Teens prioritize friendships over family due to a biological drive to step
outside their familial safety. (23) ______ and altered sleep patterns also contribute to emotional
volatility. Despite being (24) ______ robust, teens face increased risks of accidents and mental
health challenges. However, the teenage brain’s (25) ______ allows for rapid learning and
social growth, making this phase both challenging and rewarding.
Your answers:
16. 21.

17. 22.

18. 23.

19. 24.

20. 25.

II. GRAMMAR AND LEXICAL ITEMS

Part 1: Choose the word or phrase that best completes each sentence. Write your answer A, B, C
or D in the corresponding numbered boxes.
1. It is required that the teacher ______ an English Speaking Contest to choose candidates for the last round.
A. organize B. organizing C. organized D. organizes
2. The last known case of smallpox is announced ______ in 1978.
A. to isolate B. to be isolated C. to have isolated D. to have been isolated
3. - Tom: “________” - Mike: “I won’t say no!”
A. What’s the matter with you, Mike? B. Why don’t we hang out together this Sunday?
C. Why didn’t you register for the course, Mike? D. What’s your favorite, tea or coffee?
4. The bomb explosion has seriously ______ a local hospital near the embassy.
A. injured B. wounded C. hurt D. damaged
5. ______ at school yesterday when we were informed that there was no class due to a sudden power cut.
A. We have hardly arrived B. We had arrived hardly
C. Hardly we had arrived D. Hardly had we arrived
6. Environmentalists are earnestly trying to determine ______ of the ozone layer over the poles.
A. what is causing the deterioration B. what the cause of the deterioration
C. is causing the deterioration D. the deterioration is causing
7. The conference will be brought ______ to the end of this month due to the seriousness of the situation.
A. on B. forward C. down D. into
8. You aren’t allowed to ______ a word of this to anyone else. It’s highly confidential.
A. talk B. speak C. breathe D. reveal
9. Unfortunately, I missed my flight. I ______ an hour earlier.
A. must arrive B. can’t arrive C. should have arrived D. would have arrived
10. The people in his institution, ______, are very outgoing and helpful.
A. mostly exchange students B. almost exchange students
C. most of exchange students D. the most exchange students
11. ______ the serious nature of the issue, we decided to escalate it to the CEO.
A. On behalf of B. In light of C. In advance to D. With respect to
12. Alex was ______ enough on becoming a professional sportsman and he didn't want to listen to
anyone else's advice.
A. certain B. eager C. definite D. intent
13. Each of the bedrooms in our homestay has a small ______ bathroom.
A. walk-in B. open-plan C. en-suite D. three-piece
14. He spent his entire life ______ around the world, never settling down anywhere.
A. roaming B. scattering C. roaring D. vesting
15. The medical profession is currently under ______ as never before with a spate of high profile
malpractice cases.
A. cordon B. blockade C. closure D. siege

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Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
9. 10. 11. 12 13. 14. 15.

Part 2: Write the correct FORM of each capital word in the following passage in the
corresponding numbered boxes. Write your answers in the given box.
“Citizen Science” is a new term given to scientific research conducted with the collaboration of
public members and scientific experts. The type of research involved ranges from fairly passive
activities, such as downloading software for home computers’ scientific analysis, to more active
research such as recording (16. SEE) ______ of endangered species in your local area.
The term “Citizen Science” may be relatively recent, but the practice is centuries old. Amateur
scientists, particularly (17. NATURE) ______, have contributed to science for hundreds of years.
However, the internet has fundamentally changed the way in which enthusiasts can work
together and share their findings. One example of this is “Galaxy Zoo”, which called on
volunteers to (18. CLASS) ______ galaxies online. Within the first seven months of the project,
volunteers had analysed 900,000 galaxies - such a high rate of analysis that one would have
expected to be (19. ACHIEVE ) ______ before.
In addition to aiding researchers, citizen science projects also serve an educational purpose,
encouraging more people to become (20. ACT) ______ engaged in science.
Your answers:
16. 17. 18.
19. 20.
Part 3. Match the words in column A with their strongest collocates in column B and then use
the full phrases to fill the gaps in the sentences below, using the correct form of the matched
phrases. Write your answers in the numbered boxes.

under belief
within pressure
in reason
beyond a result
as the balance
21. We’d better work harder. The success of this project is _______.
22. I’ll do whatever you ask and go whenever you want, _______.
23. She developed asthma _______ of stress.
24. She has to put herself _______ to finish the project by the deadline.
25. With the right diet, the state of his health improved _______. We’re all amazed and delighted.
Your answers:
21. 24.
22. 25.
23.

III. READING
Part 1: Read the following passage and decide which answer A, B, C, or D best fits each gap.
Write your answers in the numbered boxes. (0) has been done as an example.
Example: 0. A
Coffee is (0) ______ of the world’s most favorite drinks. (1) ______ has it that it was
discovered in the 9th century by a shepherd when he noticed his (2) ______ of goats “dancing” after
eating some red berries from an unusual tree. Today, more than 500 billion cups of coffee are (3)
______ globally each year. In fact, coffee is the world’s (4) ______ most valuable traded product

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after oil. The coffee industry is worth 60 billion dollars (5) ______. The world’s largest coffee
producer is Brazil. The country has almost 4 billion coffee trees and produces about 30% of the
world’s (6) ______. Brazil’s coffee industry is (7) ______ significant to its economy that in 2001, it
started producing an international postage stamp which smelt (8) ______ coffee in order to promote
it! Coffee is drunk in virtually every country around the world. Often people (9) ______ their way
of drinking coffee to others’ just because different nations have very different favorites. In some
countries espresso is very fashionable. In others, instant coffee is popular. (10) ______ you drink it,
it is always an effective way to start your day.
0. A. one B. each C. many D. lots
1. A. Tale B. Story C. Fable D. Legend
2. A. flock B. herd C. ship D. school
3. A. spent B. consumed C. taken D. created
4. A. second B. twice C. two D. double
5. A. annually B. respectively C. manually D. relatively
6. A. stockpile B. resource C. supply D. reserve
7. A. too B. so C. such D. enough
8. A. same B. alike C. as D. like
9. A. enjoy B. choose C. prefer D. savor
10. A. Whatever B. Whenever C. However D. Moreover
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Part 2: Fill each blank with ONE suitable word. Write your answers in the numbered boxes. (0)
has been done as an example.
Example: 0. not
Modern art was born the moment an artist decided (0) ______ to simply try to copy (11) ______
they found in front of them. It may be no coincidence that the beginning of the end of
representational art followed hard on the (12) ______ of the invention of the camera. The first
photograph (13) ______ captured in the 1820s, and once the technology had developed sufficiently,
it must have been apparent (14) ______ artists that they could never match the machine’s accuracy.
The exact moment modernism came into being is of course extremely difficult or even (15) ______
to pin down, but two dates are often given great importance: the first milestone was in 1855, the
year (16) ______ Gustav Courbet exhibited The Artist’s studio. Édouard Manet’s controversial “Le
dejeuner sur I’herbe” scandalised the Paris art world, which made the second one in 1863. Both
dates came shortly (17) ______ photography had become widely practised among (18) ______ with
the knowledge and means. Necessity is (19) ______ mother of invention, after all, and it seems
plausible that painters, unable to compete with the mirror-like perfection of the photographic image,
(20) ______ the very sensible conclusion that it was time to move on to greener pastures.
Your answers:
11. 16.
12. 17.
13. 18.
14. 19.
15. 20.

Part 3: Read the following passage and choose the option A, B, C, or D that best answers the
questions. Write your answers in the numbered boxes.
Today’s travelers have a range of responsible holiday choices. With the increasing awareness
of global warming and the overuse of the Earth’s natural resources, it would seem that the travelling

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public has never been so conscious of the effects and impact that their holidays have, not just on the
environment but also on local communities the world over.
That said, Justin Francis, the co-founder of the website Responsible Travel, still feels there is a
long way to go so far as the public’s awareness of green travel issues is concerned. Francis believes
that although some consumers are now actively seeking out these types of holidays, the majority are
still not aware of the growing number of choices. “I wish that people were springing out of bed in
the mornings thinking that they must select a holiday that does a better job of protecting
environments and communities. Sadly, it does not happen, and the main factors are still the right
experience, the right price and convenient departure schedules,” says Francis.
Despite a major airline’s recent announcement that it plans to fly jets on fuel made from rubbish
to shrink their carbon footprint, most people are aware that air travel is a controversial issue in the
environmentally friendly travel debate. While many insist that the only truly green option is not to fly
or to stay at home, those who still want to get away have an increasing number of choices available to
help them lessen the environmental impact and give more to their host community.
The Green Traveler website promotes holidays that can be reached by land, as well as offering
plenty of tips about having a greener holiday wherever you decide to go. Its managing director,
Richard Hammond, agrees that interest in this kind of travel has grown. “Very few holidays are 100
per cent green, so it’s really about having a greener holiday. The most basic choice is looking at
low-pollution forms of transport, or, if you are going somewhere really distant, minimizing your
impact at the destination,” says Hammond.
While many of the properties it features already have certification from a growing range of
international and national schemes, Green Traveler’s team of writers also personally assess each
property and apply their own standards to the selection process, such as how waste is dealt with, to
what extent local agricultural products are used, and whether visitors are encouraged to arrive by rail.
Older-established tour operators have also realized that a growing number of clients are
beginning to include this new set of factors when making their decision on where to holiday. Last
year, First Choice added a Greener Holidays brochure into its program, and tour operators now
often list accommodation-only or activity-only prices so people can choose their own means of
transport, such as travelling by rail rather than by air.
Hotels are increasingly keen to talk up their ecological achievements. One of the biggest
criticisms of international hotel chains is their overuse of the Earth’s resources, and in response
many have implemented measures they claim will reduce this. While these are no doubt based on
good environmental principles, schemes like planting a tree for every five towels reused, for
instance, are unlikely to make much difference overall.
Francis believes that consumers are becoming more aware of such tokenism from hotels and
tour operators that may not have the best interests of the community or the planet true to their
hearts. “My real hope is that we get much more curious and more questioning, and there are
rebellious tourists who see through this and ask increasingly tough questions,” he says.
21. Which of the following could be the best title for the passage?
A. Leave Only Your Footprints
B. Increase Your Carbon Footprints
C. Make Sensible Choices for Your Favorite Holidays
D. Be Conscious to Donate the Local Community on Your Holidays
22. What does Justin Francis say about attitudes to holidays?
A. Everyone’s top priority these days is to have greener holidays.
B. Most people’s reasons for choosing holidays remain the same.
C. Tourists are only interested in finding the cheapest travel deals.
D. Nowadays, more people who travel know about global warming.
23. What does the writer say about going on holiday by plane?
A. A lot of people believe that it is harmful to the environment.
B. Few people realize there is discussion about the harm it may do.
C. There is no way of making it less harmful to the environment.
D. The public think that new technology is making it harmless.
24. The word “shrink” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______.

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 A. reduce B. offset C. surge D. wave
25. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as the example of The Green Traveler’s criterions to
choose a holiday?
A. Trash handling B. Consuming local goods
C. Types of transport D. New set of factors
26. What does Richard Hammond suggest to people going a long way for their holiday?
A. Take a train or a bus to get there instead of a plane.
B. Make sure your holiday there is completely green.
C. Look elsewhere for advice on greener holidays.
D. Do as little environmental damage as you can there.
27. What does “it” in paragraph 5 refers to ______?
A. the destination B. the team of writers C. the selection process D. the website
28. Some firms believe that people are now more likely to choose a holiday ______.
A. which includes the cost of travel in the price B. in a place that serves food from that area
C. somewhere that produces no waste material D. that is organized by a traditional travel company
29. What is meant by “tokenism” in paragraph 8?
A. taking steps with the result that the problem is solved
B. appearing to show concern but in practice doing very little
C. setting a good example which others are now following
D. doing as much as possible but without achieving success
30. Which of the following could be inferred from the passage?
A. For a greener holiday, traveling by air is not encouraged under any circumstances.
B. Tourists used to take fewer matters into consideration when choosing their favorite destinations.
C. International hotels all over the world have been taking measures to reduce the use of the Earth’s resources.
D. Most tour clients today have known that they really have such a number of choices for their holidays.
Your answers:
21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30.

Part 4: For questions 31-40, read the following passage and do the tasks that follow.
TIME OUT
It seems that embracing boredom and allowing ourselves to drift away could be good for us.
A. Consider any public place where people used to enjoy a spot of silent contemplation - from train
carriages and beauty spots to our local streets and these days you’ll see people plugged into their
seductive electronic sources of constant stimulation. All this information overload seems like a
terribly modern-day problem. But one unique thinker actually stumbled on a neat solution several
decades ago: radical boredom. In 1942, a German writer called Siegfried Karcauer wrote
despairingly of the massive over-stimulation of the modern city where people listening to the radio
were in a state of “permanent receptivity, constantly pregnant with London, the Eiffel Tower,
Berlin.” His answer was to suggest a period of total withdrawal from stimulation - to cut ourselves
off and experience “extraordinary, radical boredom”. “On a sunny afternoon when everyone is
outside, one would do best to hang about the train station,” he wrote. “Or better yet, stay at home,
draw the curtains and surrender oneself to one’s boredom on the sofa”
B. Karcauer believed that actively pursuing boredom in this way was a valuable means of unlocking
playful wild ideas far away from plain reality and, better still, achieve “a kind of bliss that is almost
unearthly”. It’s a beautiful theory and one that would definitely hold an allure for many people. Plus
modern research suggests that it might actually have a sound psychological basis. To test the
potential positives of boredom, psychologist Dr. Sandi Mann asked a group of 40 people to
complete a task designed to showcase their creativity. But before they got started on it, a subgroup
was asked to perform a suitably dull task - copying numbers from the telephone directory for 15
minutes. The data pointed to the group that had previously endured boredom displaying more
creative flair during the task than the control group. According to psychologists this is normal,
because when people become bored and start to daydream, their minds come up with different
processes and they work out more creative solutions to problems.
C. This would suggest perhaps, that by over stimulating our minds, we’re not just making ourselves

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more stressed, we’re also missing out on a chance to unhook our thoughts from the daily grind and
think more creatively. Having said that, psychologists also point out that despite its bad reputation,
boredom has a definite evolutionary purpose. Mann says “Without it, we’d be like toddlers in a
perpetual state of amazement. Just imagine it: “Wow - look at that fantastic cereal at the bottom of
my bowl!” It may be very stimulating, but we’d never get anything done.” That puts me in mind of
adults who are addicted to social media and smart phones - attention-seeking, scurrying around the
internet screaming “Look at this! Look at them! Look at me!” while the real world beyond the
electronic devices continues on untroubled and unexamined. Meanwhile, as Mann points out, we’re
incorrectly teaching our actual toddlers that boredom and lack of stimulation is something to be
feared rather than embraced.
D. So how do you learn to tactically embrace periods of radical boredom? The first step is realizing
that this is different from simply taking time to ponder what you’ve done since getting up that
morning. “Using boredom positively is about creating new opportunities when your mind isn’t
occupied and you can’t focus on anything else,” says Mann. This could be as simple as staring out
the window or watching the rain come down. Or heading off for a solitary walk with no fixed
destination in mind, or your smart phone in your pocket. Anything that gives your mind the rare
chance to drift off its moorings. “I can really recommend it,” says Mann. “It’s a great experience - like
taking a holiday from your brain.” I’m definitely sold. I’m trying to keep my phone turned off during
the weekends and allow myself the odd, dreamy wallow on the sofa during the week, time permitting.
And the best thing: it works. After taking a break and allowing my mind to roam, it returns refreshed
and revitalized, with a fresh take on the challenges that I face during the day. When my daughter gets
to an age when she’s ready to whine “I’m bored”, I’ll know exactly what to say!
Task 1: For questions 31-35, write your answers in the numbered boxes. (0) has been done as an example.
Example: 0. A
Which paragraph ______?
0. refers to an activity related to modern life taking place in various locations
31. remarks on the significance of boredom in the development of a human being
32. distinguishes between pale reflection and conscious avoidance of mental stimulation
33. outlines a positive consequence of distancing oneself from technology
34. explains that a particular finding supported existing knowledge
35. suggests that boredom as a way of dealing with a problem is not a new idea
Your answers:
31. 32. 33. 34. 35.
Task 2: Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?
For questions 36 - 40, choose:
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
Write your answers in the numbered box provided.
36. That boredom can promote one’s creativity in solving problems seems to be unexpected to
psychologists.
37. Failing to allow time for constant stimulation badly affects our mental health.
38. According to Mann’s finding, adults use social media and smart phones merely to seek for attention.
39. According to Sandi Mann, it is necessary to rectify the way we teach our children about
boredom and lack of stimulation.
40. Focusing is the first step to embrace periods of radical boredom.
Your answers:
36. 37. 38. 39. 40.

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 IV. WRITING
Part 1: Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it means exactly the same as
the sentence before it. Write your answers in the space provided.
1. I’d rather not wait in the queue to buy a ticket for the train.
→ I do not feel ___________________________________________________________________.
2. “Don’t tell anybody that you’ve seen me, please” the old man said to her.
→ The old man begged ____________________________________________________________.
3. The naughty child was about to cry when he was reproached by his mother.
→ The naughty child was on ________________________________________________________.
4. The scientist spent all her life doing research on vaccines.
→ The scientist devoted ___________________________________________________________.
5. We are all proud of our football team.
→ We all take ___________________________________________________________________.
Part 2: 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. Write your answers in the space provided.
6. The homestay has got everything except for a swimming pool. (LACKS)
→ The only _______________________________________________________ a swimming pool.
7. The boy doesn’t let anyone touch his car toys. (OBJECTS)
→ The boy ____________________________________________________________ his toy cars.
8. The old house is a third of the cost of this apartment. (MUCH)
→ This apartment costs _________________________________________________ the old house.
9. I resent the way that she clearly feels herself to be superior to me. (NOSE)
→ I resent the way that she ______________________________________________________ me.
10. Anna got up very early this morning. (CRACK)
→ Anna got up ________________________________________________________ this morning.

Part 3: ESSAY WRITING

Some people believe that moving to a new school positively impacts a teenager’s social life and
academic performance, while others think it has negative effects.
Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Write at least 250 words.
- The End -

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