proficiency consolidation paper

The committee members ……… for hours over the issue without coming to a conclusion.. The general was convinced that if his army could make the first ……… strike, they would be able to win

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

EDUCATIONAL EXAMINATION

EXAMINATION OF PROFICIENCY IN ENGLISH

CONSOLIDATION PAPER

Concerned Subject: ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Approximate Time: 250 minutes

Examination Date: …… / …… / ……

Student Name: Class: School:

 No further explanation may be asked or given

 Examinees are strictly forbidden to use other materials, including

dictionaries Violation of this rule may result in instantaneous

disqualification

MARK

SECTION ONE PHONETICS

Part 1 Choose the word whose underlined part is pronounced differently from the others of the same line Write your answers in the numbered box

Part 2 Choose the word whose main stressed syllable is different from the others of the same line Write your answers in the numbered box

Your answers

SECTION TWO LEXICO–GRAMMAR

Part 3 Choose the word that best substitutes for the underlined word or phrase in each sentence Write your answers in the numbered box

11 The ……… man refused to give his son a single cent to start his own business

12 After a day of hard work, the tired man ……… in music to relax

13 The committee members ……… for hours over the issue without coming to a conclusion

14 The general was convinced that if his army could make the first ……… strike, they would be able to win the battle

15 Phillips asked the teacher to ……… him from lessons that day as he was not feeling well

16 Her grandson was ……… in the armed forces at the age of eighteen

17 This cupboard has the ……… to topple over when too many heavy things are put on the top shelf

18 It is ……… of you to conclude that all swans are white because you have only seen white ones

19 Mother has never been ……… for being an excellent cook, so be prepared for the food you will get to taste

20 Abraham has a very low ……… of tolerance for noise, so please keep the volume of the radio down

21 She could not go on the overseas trip with her parents because she failed to renew her ……… passport

22 The answer is staring at you – it is so ………

23 To uphold his wholesome ………, the pop star refuses to appear in advertisements of cigarettes and liquor

24 The old professor can ……… for days before getting to any point at all

25 In him aroused an ……… feeling of homesickness

26 Only under certain circumstances of stress do some people ……… their hidden qualities

27 Last year, thousands of lives were ……… by earthquakes

28 Lobsters, which are available in abundance here, are considered a lavishing ……… in some cities

29 Had we ……… the suggested plan, we would not have failed so harshly

30 Do not try to mess with him today, he is in no ………

31 He had to ……… his back very hard to dig in the garden

32 Only after he had carefully ……… the figures did he make any comments

33 Northerly gales are experienced at intervals although the ……… winds are from the west

34 Ask her, she ought to be able to give you some ………

35 A unanimous ……… of Not Guilty was given by the Jury

36 The old lady ……… at them kindly when she saw them enter her shop

37 Parts of her letter were ……… as the ink had failed to withstand the test of time

38 Most of the time, translators have difficulties ……… the exact meaning of idioms in a foreign language

39 A taxi driver who was ……… the traffic lights caused the accident

40 Two trucks were ……… in the accident that blocked the highway

Your answers

Part 3 Match the verbs in column A with the appropriate prepositions in column B to fill in the blanks Note that there are two extra pairs of verbs and prepositions Make sure that the verbs are in the correct form Each word may be used only once There are two extra words in each column Write your answers in the numbered box

41 Even though she is unfamiliar with the scholastic programme, she is already ……… with her study

42 Seeing everybody going out of the shop with lots of shopping bags, you could ……… thinking that everyone has much money

43 The entire crew seems to have the work ……… for them since remaking the original series will certainly prove to be a challenge

44 You know, authors often ……… other names known as pen names

45 It was such a bad stomach ache that he ……… with pain during the conference

46 We decided to climb one side of the mountain and ……… on the other

47 The more the horses pulled, the deeper the wheels ……… the mud

48 If it had not been for her first success ……… her ……… to greater ones, she would not be so thriving now

49 As the police had been ……… about the robbery, they arrived on time to catch the criminals

50 The entire weekend was spent ……… the difficult problem

Your answers

Part 4 Fill in each blank with one suitable preposition or particle from the following box Each word can only be used once Write your answers in the numbered box

51 After a tremendous amount of attempts, she managed to prise Rick’s number ……… John

52 When she tried to tell them his secret, he shouted her ………

53 The police bound him ………, saying that if he ever dared to break the law again, he would have to appear in court

54 He blacked ……… after working non-stop for three entire days

55 When the new star decided to settle down in the area, inadvertently making it a central place, new services sprung ……… everywhere

56 I lied my way ……… the concert by claiming to be a journalist

57 “If I were to marry,” she said, “my husband’s and my career would go ……… parallel.”

58 Lack of finance resulted in the plans coming ……… grief

59 He does not think that his salary is ……… the par with his position in the company

60 All students ……… exception are to take the English examination

Your answers

Part 5 Supply the correct forms of the verbs given in brackets Write your answers in the numbered box

I (61 JUST COMPLETE) the first leg of my journey My legs (62 ACHE) but I persisted I had to keep my promise After another twenty minutes of convincing myself, I finally gave up and rested my head against a tree With the rays of the sun (63 BEAR) down on me,

I (64 TEMPT) to curl up behind a bush and sleep the afternoon away However, logic got the better of me and I looked longingly at the ground before (66 FORCE) myself to put another foot forward

The second leg of my journey proved to be more rewarding I (65 BARELY WALK) for another kilometre before I spotted two of the birds (66 PERCH) on a low tree I inched forward, (67 TAKE) my camera out Clumsily putting in the wide-angled lens, I only managed

to take two photographs before they became aware of my presence and flew off, (68 CAUSE) leaves and twigs to rain on me I was tempted to give up because the birds where shy creatures who (69 NEVER VENTURE) where they thought danger lurked After years of hunting, it was difficult to convince these once (70 TRUST) creatures that I meant no harm

I ploughed through the dry desert sand during the next leg of my adventure Unprepared for the change in terrain, the discomfort (71

BEGIN / SET) in barely five minutes later The hot sand reached into every corner of my feet, a (72 PIERCE) pain occurring whenever it

touched my toes Travelling to the next forest was not in my itinerary I cursed inwardly as I thought of my carelessness when (73

PHOTOGRAPH) the two birds later They (74 FRIGHTEN) if I (75 MAKE) the changes earlier

Your answers

Part 6 Fill in each blank with the most suitable form of the word in brackets Write your answers in the column on the right

Passage A

On holiday last year my two travelling (76 COMPANY) and I joined a day’s cookery course in a Mexican

restaurant There were eight participants, all keen to learn the secrets of the nation’s cuisine The students

ranged from people who already had some (77 EXPERT) in the kitchen, to totally (78 SKILL) people like

myself

Our teacher, Liana Cabrera, started with a short talk, then handed out some notes giving (79 EXPLAIN) of

terms we would be coming across Soon we were trying out a range of exotic ingredients, with (80

SURPRISE) good results Cabrera started giving cookery lessons five years ago, and has become quite a (81

CELEBRATE), with long waiting lists for her courses And because of her extensive knowledge of

almost-forgotten regional dishes she is also a regular (82 CONTRIBUTE) to cookery programmes on national

television

In the afternoon I joined the salsa-making team, with rather (83 DISASTER) results My colleagues

complained that my food was so (84 PAIN) hot it made their eyes water Their own efforts turned out (85

CONSIDER) better than mine

The communal meal at the end of the day was delicious, and I had not only learnt something about cooking

but also broadened my understanding of Mexican culture

76

77

78

79

80

81

82

83

84

85

Passage B

It is commonly believed that a break from everyday routine can only do you good Every summer, you can

spot prospective (86 HOLIDAY) at airports and waiting for car ferries They are (87 MISTAKE) – you can

tell them a mile away by their sun hats and hopeful expressions

For all their optimism, what often actually happens can be a rude (88 WAKE) from the blissful holiday

dreams of the rest of the year Sunburn, mosquitoes and (89 SEE) expenses can make you think twice about

how (90 BENEFIT) getting away from it all really is

86

87

88

89

The fact is, the (91 LIKELY) of something going wrong is maximised when you are abroad and, (92

FORTUNE), your ability to deal with crisis and catastrophe is often minimised This could be because of

language problems, (93 FAMILIAR) with the culture, or simply a different climate, all of which make

everything seem different and unreal

So, what is the answer? (94 DOUBT), an annual escape from normal working life is a positive thing

However, the (95 WISE) of seeking an exotic location is questionable when you think of all the things that

can go wrong

90

91

92

93

94

95

Part 7 The following passage contains 15 errors Underline and correct them in the numbered box

Beds play an important role on allowing a person to get a good night sleep Many different types of beds in the market today provide with

a source of comfort that are tailored to individual needs Most of them are soft enough to ensure that the bed follows the contours of a person’s body, yet allowing a person to feel comfortable when he is tossing and turning in bed There are mattresses filling with different types of materials and sewn with different types of clothes The need to farther improve the quantity of mattresses shows the importance of the bed as a peace of furniture in a home Whether it is reclining, sleep or even have a meal, people seek to buy the most comfortable beds for them

A latex foam bed is one such bed Latex is obtained from the rubber tree and it solidifies quickly and becomes rubbery and elastic These rubber particles are suspending by soap in water and the liquid will then whip into foam and poured into a mould Hundreds of heated pins pierced the mould to creating air chambers for natural ventilation The core of this mixture is then rinsed, washed and squeezed until it is damp The dampness is removed with a hot air oven and further frozen to cool it Latex foam mattresses therefore have a spring-like resilience that not only follow the contours of a person body when he is asleep but is also able to revert to the original shape without taking

on the body impression of anyone

Your answers

SECTION THREE READING

Part 8 Choose the word that best fits each of the blanks in the following passage Write your answers in the numbered box

UNIVERSAL WET WEEKEND The weather across much of the British Isles (111) ……… settled last week, with a good (112) ……… of sunshine On Saturday, the

lunchtime temperature at Bridlington in the northeast of England was 28.2oC, which compared favourably with Alicante in southern Spain

at 29oC The rest of the world, however, was (113) ……… with some extreme conditions A tropical storm, given the name Helen, hit Hong Kong on Saturday morning, though her presence had been (114) ……… in (115) ……… From noon on Friday, the showers and (116)

……… of rain became more and more frequent so that by midnight on Sunday, thirty-six hours later, there had been 333mm of rainfall, not

far off the (117) ……… for the month of August, at 367mm Even on Sunday there was a (118) ……… in Helen’s tail The town centre of Shanwei, near Hong Kong, was flooded when 468mm of rain fell in the sixty hours (119) ……… up to midday on Sunday, (120) ……… twice the normal August rainfall On the other (121) ……… of the globe, tropical storm Gabrielle moved across the Gulf of Mexico and overnight rain (122) ……… the usual rainfall for the (123) ……… month Although most of Europe enjoyed sun, the high temperatures were sufficient to set off some (124) ……… showers On Tuesday morning, a thunderstorm at Lyons in eastern France (125) ……… 99mm

of rain in just six hours

Part 9 Complete the following passage by filling in each blank with one suitable word Write your answers in the numbered box

THE SAHARA MARATHON

One of the most amazing marathon races in the world is the Marathon of the Sands It takes place every April in the Sahara Desert in the

south of Morocco, a part of the world (126) ……… temperatures can reach fifty degrees centigrade The standard length of a marathon is 42.5 kilometres but (127) ……… one is 240 kilometres long and takes seven days to complete It began in 1986 and now attracts about two hundred runners, the majority of (128) ……… ages range from seventeen to forty-seven About half of (129) ……… come from France and the rest from all over the world From Britain it costs £2,500 to enter, (130) ……… includes return air fares The race is rapidly (131)

……… more and more popular (132) ………, or perhaps because of, the harsh conditions that runners must endure They have to carry food and (133) ……… else they need (134) ……… seven days in a rucksack weighing no more than twelve kilograms In (135) ……… to this, they are given a litre and a half of water every ten kilometres Incredibly, nearly (136) ……… the runners finish the course (137)

……… man, Ibrahim El Journal, took part in every race from 1986 to 2004 Runners do suffer terrible physical hardships Sometimes they

lose toenails and skin peels (138) ……… their feet However, doctors are always on hand to deal (139) ……… minor injuries and to make sure that runners do not push (140) ……… too far

Your answers

Part 10 Read the following passage Choose from the list A–I the one that best summarises the associated paragraph to fill in each gap 141–148 There is one extra title which you do not need to use

A Avoiding human contact

B Forced to remain

C The loneliest place on Earth

D A choice of routine

E Freezing temperatures

F Alternative routes

G Looking ahead

H A varied community

I The need for human contact

DARK DAYS

141

The last ship of the season has left; the next will not be here until

December There will be eight months of isolation, cut off from the

rest of the world on the edge of the world's coldest, remotest

continent: Antarctica

142

The people who spend the winter at Davis Station in Antarctica

regard the departure of the last ship not with fear but with something

like a feeling of relief Gone are the busy days of summer, the

helicopters, and the crowd of people Now life starts again

143

There are more than 40 research projects being carried out in

Antarctica but many of the scientists have left by the time winter

arrives The station is home to physicists, biologists, weather

observers, mechanics, communications technicians, electricians,

carpenters, plumbers, a doctor and a chef There is also a station

leader whose job is to keep everyone happy and productive and to

look after all the paperwork When most of the team arrive each year

in December, the sun never sets By the beginning of the following

June it will never rise, so people have to get used to many dark days

144

It does not matter what hours people choose to walk so long as

the work gets done, so they can start and finish work at whatever

times suit them The first real meal of the day, a hot breakfast, is

served at 10 A.M There is a hot lunch and a hot supper but putting

on weight is a potential problem for many people The doctor is there

to advise on diet and exercise and a gym is available to help people

keep fit

145

Inevitably, small social groups develop within this isolated community There is usually a group of smokers, a group of video watchers, a group of people who sit and chat As people try to maintain contact with home so the cost of phone bills increases, but

in any case there is nothing else to spend money on

146

It is quite common for the sea to freeze during April and instead of waves lapping the beach, thick plates of ice lift and move with the tide Once the sea ice has been checked to see if it is strong enough to walk on, one can ski over and fish through the holes Eventually it becomes strong enough for vehicles to drive on it and the researchers can open up a new road system to enable them to drive around the coast in minutes, to huts which could only be reached after hours of walking in summer

147

Trips to the huts are the only means of physically escaping from life on the station Some trips are for science, others for recreation and a way of having some personal and private space Some trips can be made on foot or skis, but in winter they are usually

in vehicles

148

There are no animals as they all leave for the winter, but in spring seals and seabirds and penguins arrive Only humans stay in Antarctica for the full year, and although their lives are comfortable they are still isolated and imprisoned They have good food, comfortable buildings, telephones, entertainment, the internet, but for many months at a time no chance of leaving

Part 11 Read the text and then choose from the list A–I given below the best sentence to fit each gap (149–155) Question (0) has been done as an example

IN HOT WATER Rachel Mills is a scientist who spends as much time as she can at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean

Rachel Mills teaches and does research into marine geochemistry, which means she studies the chemical processes happening in the sea

(0) ……… When she is not teaching, she lowers herself into a steel vehicle, a vessel for underwater exploration the size of a small car, and

dives three kilometres down into the Atlantic Ocean to study underwater volcanoes

“Inside,” she says, “space is so limited that I can reach out and touch the two pilots.” (149) ……… A dive can last for 16 hours – three

hours to reach the ocean floor, ten hours gathering samples of rock and water and then three hours to get back up to the surface again “If anything happens, and you have a problem and have to get to the top quickly, you can hit a panic button.” The outside drops away leaving a small circular escape vessel that gets released, and it is like letting go of a ping-pong ball in the bath – it goes rapidly to the

surface (150) ………

“I didn’t know how I was going to react the first time I climbed into the vehicle It was on the deck of a ship and I got in with an

instructor (151) ……… They were testing me to see how I would react to being in such a small place.”

Now Rachel has made six dives Last year she dived with a Russian crew “We went to a site which was a five-day sail west of the

Canary Islands in the Atlantic (152) ……… It is where the Atlantic Ocean comes alive The Russian team were dropping off some

scientific equipment there to discover the effect of a multi-national programme that would make a hole 150 metres through a volcano.” When she is not at sea, Rachel is in her office at the Oceanography Centre, Southampton “Two thirds of my salary comes from teaching which I love, but I do it so I can get on with my research into the ‘black smokers’ This is just another name for underwater volcanoes –

water comes out of the rock and turns into what looks like black smoke (153) ………

The only time I have been frightened is when I first went down with the Americans We were towing equipment on a 50-metre rope when suddenly there was an explosion There was this immense bang as the shock waves hit our vehicle and I thought, ‘I am going to die.’ We

stared at each other in silence, waiting (154) ……… The relief was incredible – we were still alive!”

“It is such an adventure diving down to the deepest part of the ocean Every time I look out of the porthole and see those chimneys, there

is such a sense of wonder (155) ……… I had studied the black smokers for three years for my PhD When I got down there and saw them

for real, it was such an amazing feeling.”

A Here, on the ocean floor, is a huge area of underwater

volcanoes, their chimneys all blowing out black smoke

B Here I am on the bottom of the sea, and no one else

on this planet has ever before seen them

C “No one has tested it yet, but I do not think it would

be a very pleasant journey.”

D He then talked me through the emergency

procedures, including what to do if the pilot has a heart

attack!

E They are used to these conditions, which mean they cannot stand up or move, and they must stay inside until someone opens the door from the outside

F When it did not happen, we could not believe it

G This pours out at a rate of one metre per second and at a temperature of 350 degrees

H After that, as you get really deep, it is near freezing point so you need a sweater, thick socks, gloves and a woolly hat

I She is a lecturer at the Oceanography Centre at Southampton University

Your answers

Part 12 Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow

Joanne scanned the area around her, her small frame straining above the pile of wood She had to wriggle her way through the wood and rubble It did not matter where she tried, they were all the same The holes were too small and she used all her might to remove the obstacles, pushing and shoving them out of the way, the noise ringing into the night She was imprisoned The silence was a far cry from the explosion moments ago Afraid to be heard, she tried to be as quiet as possible It was an impossible and ludicrous task The destruction left behind by the men was far greater than their numbers Their goals had probably been achieved Those who did not escape were probably dead

Telephone lines had been cut and lights had been shut off moments before the much feared raids began Except for the cut-off in communication, there was nothing to indicate that the men would soon arrive Under the cover of darkness, the more fortunate ones had managed to escape Those near the border climbed through the holes in the fence, to seek refuge in the neighbouring country

For weeks, the government had warned of an impending attack by the group Initial apprehension turned to fear when the expected day

arrived However, when nothing happened, everyone thought that the government had made a mistake After all, how often within that past year had they failed to deliver what had been promised to the citizens First, the new lands promised to the farmers after the massive insect attacks were insufficient and each farmer had to contend with land that was one third their original size Then, there was the promise of opening the economy to the international community, allowing many to sell their handicraft overseas but this never materialised The people soon became angry as they were being deceived and complacency about the raids was abounding in the community

The environment was ripe for the triad attack No one noticed the men ambling into the town What made their attack even more shocking was that the multitude of people returning from work and sitting down to a meal did not even notice the seven men walking past their windows Military uniform had been a common sight in the town ever since the government’s warning was announced There was no need for these men to run or hide No one had seen them

Joanne inched her foot out of a gap and half crawled, half walked ahead Every step she took was painful Mounted up by the lack of

water for hours, the pain in her leg was excruciating and the more she walked, the more bodies she saw Arms and legs were sticking out

from under piles of rubble and sometimes a lifeless face could be seen among the debris Everyone she saw was dead Despite her situation, Joanne hoped that she would not be able to find any of her family members

Suddenly, she saw a movement among a pile of rubble She ran the short distance forward, glad for any sign of life in the place What she saw spurred her on and she pushed aside several pieces of wood and lifted an orange cloth, probably once a curtain Groping about, she

managed to locate the little body and using all her might, dragged it out The child could have been more than five years old He was covered in soot and his stomach heaved in and out in agony His eyes were shut and only his breathing told her that he was still alive

Joanne carried the child over her shoulder and squinted in the darkness, trying to locate her bearings Her only hope was the border

Moments ago, she had wanted to forgo everything, thinking that it was probably better to lie in the darkness until it eventually overcame her and the feelings of loneliness would disappear Now, she was encouraged to continue If she could reach the border, she would be able to get help Looking around, she ran in the direction of what looked like spots of bright yellow light

Answer the questions 156–165 by choosing A, B, C or D Write your answers in the numbered box

156 What was causing “the noise” in the first paragraph?

A Her small frame straining above the pile of wood B Her wriggling through the wood and rubble

C Her pushing and shoving the obstacles out of the way D The explosion heard moments ago

157 Why were the lights “shut off” in the second paragraph?

A It enabled the people to escape from the place B It led them to the neighbouring country

C It warned the people of the coming raids D It was shut inadvertently by the raiders

158 The word “apprehension” in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to ………

159 It can be inferred from the passage that ………

A the government had yet to fail the people B the strange men were dressed in military uniform

C the main target of the mentioned men were Joanne D there were numerous indications of the men’s arrival

160 What spurred Joanne to remove the wood and orange cloth?

A The child’s stomach which was moving B The short distance between her and the child

161 The word “excruciating” in the fifth paragraph can best be replaced by ………

162 What is not mentioned as a cause of the pain in Joanne’s walk?

C She walked in fear of the men approaching D She was in need of being hydrated

163 Which did not happen before the raids began?

A The people were cut off from the outside world B Militarily dressed men entered the town

C The small frames strained above the wood D The people saw massive insect attacks

164 The word “bearings” in the last paragraph can be substituted by the term ………

165 What particular feeling led Joanne to the desire to “forgo everything” as mentioned in the last paragraph?

C The fear that the men would come for her D An intense feeling of loneliness

For each of the following sentences 166–170, decide whether they are true (T), false (F), or not given in the passage (NG)

166 Joanne’s previous heavenly feelings were interrupted by the explosion

167 The government’s promise of opening the economy to the rest of the world did not come true

168 Even if the child had not come into her sight, Joanne would still want to survive

169 The time of the attack by the group was foreseen precisely by the government

170 Joanne fought her way through the layers of destroyed woods to their border

Your answers

SECTION FOUR WRITING

Part 13 Use the word given in bold and make any necessary additions to write a new sentence in such a way that it is as similar as possible in meaning to the original sentence Do not change the form of the given word

There is my two brothers

By a a job in London

It should the customer is always right

There time it will take to do this

When I make my complaint, I hope

Part 14 For Questions 176 – 200, write a composition of between 300 and 600 words on the following topic

Alexander Pope once said, "A man should never be ashamed to own he has been in the wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday." Do we learn more from finding out that we have made mistakes or from our successful actions? Explain why

THE END

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

EDUCATIONAL EXAMINATION

EXAMINATION OF PROFICIENCY IN ENGLISH

CONSOLIDATION PAPER

Concerned Subject: ENGLISH LANGUAGE

71 began to set 72 piercing 73 photographing 74 would have been frightened 75 had made

86 holidaymakers 87 unmistakable 88 awakening 89 unforeseen/unforeseeable 90 beneficial

91 likelihood 92 unfortunately 93 unfamiliarity 94 Undoubtedly/Doubtless 95 wisdom

96 a good night’s 97 provide with 98 that is tailored 99 body, hence allowing 100 mattresses filled

101 further improve 102 the quality of 103 as a piece 104 it is to recline 105 for themselves

106 are suspended by soap 107 then be whipped into 108 pierce the result 109 to create 110 not only follows the

131 becoming/getting 132 despite 133 anything/everything/whatever 134 for 135 addition

171 complete lack/absence of trust between | complete mistrust/distrust between

172 stroke of fortune, I found

173 be borne in mind (that)

174 is no telling how much

175 you will back me up

Part 14 For this part of the Paper, markers may refer to the following scheme of grading the composition:

Contents, Organisation and Cohesion (11 marks): The student possesses the ability to argue confidently and wholly Points are made

with both arguments and examples to support The composition has a positive effect on the reader

Command of Language (11 marks): The student employs a good range of vocabulary and a grammatical selection of appropriate

structures

Handwriting and Presentation (3 marks): The student’s handwriting is intelligible and space is cleverly used