Choose the best answers:

1.If you do not repay the money we will, as a last……………, take you to court.
A measure B attempt C act D resort
2.At the party conference, the Prime Minister…………….. backing for his new policies.
A won B got C had D held
3.Mary wanted to give Nigel a present that was a little bit out of the………………
A ordinary B normal C average D everyday
4.Most people would…………..at the chance of working for that company.
A dive B grab C seize D jump
5.All but two of the injured were ………………. from hospital within two hours.
A discharged B released C sent D allowed
6. We decided to…………….a coin to see who would go first.
A throw B pitch C roll D toss
7.If you want to know which companies to invest in, George can give you some……………….
A clues B hints C words D tips
8.He was awarded a medal in recognition of his ……………………. to the Queen.
A contribution B services C attribute D labour
9.The racing-driver climbed out of the wreckage completely………………….
A unwounded B intact C unscathed D well-preserved
10.The King showed his mercy by…………………………the rebels’ lives.
A saving B sparing C granting D accepting
11.The engine had been ………………..from the rest of the train.
A dismantled B disconnected C demolished " D uncoupled
12.These measures will increase the club’s ability to generate…………..
A income B revenue C earnings D profits
13.I don’t need to know the whole story, just give me the……………..
A gist B details C essence D summary
14.The company is suspected of breaking the trade …………………..
A embargo B.transaction C.dealing D.cease
15.The rocks in this area have been……………….into strange shapes by the wind and rain.
A broken B eroded C moulded D deteriorated
16.You must ……………..from drinking tea or coffee while taking this medicine.
A detain B.retain C.refrain D.obtain
17.William is an authority…………………………..medieval tapestries.
A on B with C about D in
18.Many of his best photographs of the conflict were taken when he was actually …………..fire.
A on B under C in D to
19.The witness …………….he was a friend of the suspects, but denied all knowledge of their illegal activities.
A.averred B.simulated C.redounced D.envisioned
20.She was…………………….with the results of the photo finish, which proved that she had come second in the race.
A. resentful B.mistrustful C.sceptical D. disappointed
21.It is doubtful whether the momentum of the peace movement can be……………….
A. sustained B.supplied C.supported D. subverted
22.You have to be rich to send a child to a private school because the fees are…………….
A. astrological B.aeronautical C.astronomical D. atmospherical
23.Many of the jobs which have been created in this area can be directly……………….to tourism.
A. supported B.dedicated C.attracted D.attributed
24.The organization has …………………the support of many famous people raising money to help homeless children.
A. recruited B.enrolled C.enlisted D. raised
25.The documentary showed an eye operation in ………………detail.
A. minute B.careful C.painstaking D. minuscule
(TEST YOURSELF FOR PROFICIENCY , Test 4)
Fill in the blanks with THREE words:
1.My mother was upset about his appearance here, not…………………………….………….felt it was invading her privacy.
2.……………………………………………………………….importance in human history, glass is now taken for granted.
3. Bush was proclaiming victory even before the last votes ………………………………………….……………………….
4. Our car broke down on the road, but as luck…………………………………., there was a garage nearby.
5. Poland’s power structure included neither more nor fewer Jews ……………….power structure in Romania or in Hungary.
6. You may borrow as many books as you like provided you show them ……………………..…………………..at the desk.
7. I was just getting off the bus when who should ………………………………………….my old school friends Pat!
8. He may……………………………………gotten down on his hands and knees and begged for it.
9. This allows the bidders more complete information …………………………….…………..........base their bids.
10. Computers that once took up entire room are now so …………………………………………put on desktops and into
wristwatches.
Least because she/for all it/had been counted/would have it/than did the /I see but/as well have/on which to /small
as to

Word forms:
1.I am not a (spend)……………….although sometimes if I see something on sale, I’ll get three because it’s a good deal.
2. He was fined for (person)…………………..a police officer.
3. Following (act)……………….of the law, new regulations were issued affecting imports and exports of crude oil.
4. We are (staff)……………and too reliant on contractors to provide us with personnel.
5. Some argue documentation and testing is (burden)……………………..or a violation of disabled people’s civil rights.
6. The thought of how much work she had to do (courage)……………….her.
7. The senator has been in the (light)………………..recently since the revelation of his tax frauds.
8. The university is seeking a (succeed)……………….to its vice chancellor , who retires this spring.
9. This unique body coupling in (human)……………………..may well have evolved by the virtue of selection for increased
brain power.
10. He had surgery to remove (fiber)………………scar tissue in his knee.
11. You place too much (rely)………………..on her ideas and expertise.
12. Psychological problems very often (lie)………………………apparently physical disorders.
Spendthrift/impersonating/enactment/understaffed/burdensomediscourarged
/spotlight/successor/hominids/reliance/fibrous/underlie/
Lexical text:
Art on TV
Why is it that television so consistently fails when it (1) .... to programmes about the visual arts? Painting and sculpture
should be (2).... subjects for the camera, which has the ability to show a whole work of art, then move in close to
examine the details. Yet I can think of few series on television that have managed to (3).... both the pleasure and
complexity of looking at them.
A good example of what goes wrong can be seen in Robert Hughes’s eight part survey of American art, American
Visions. Hughes is a critic you can trust, he has a personality that commands attention and he has been given nearly
eight hours in which to (4) .... British audiences to a school of art that British galleries have totally ignored. I had
expected the series to (5) .... on great works of art. What I got instead of was one about the way American history and
culture are (6)…….
In its art and architecture.

1 A applies B takes C addresses D comes

2 A natural B due C right D apparent

3 A convey B inflict C cast D emit

4 A acquaint B disclose C reveal D introduce

5 A target B focus C aim D cover
6 A borne B conferred C reflected D hinted
Dealing in Metals
For 20 years I worked as an international metals dealer and gained something of a reputation as a speculator. Metals are
(7) .... far less than other markets. With a bit of luck, a (8).... to take a risk and a good understanding of how the market
works, it’s possible to make a lot of money. Risk-taking is part and (9).... of the industry.The buccaneering culture (10)....
nicely with a free-market global economy. But now the free-trade economists who claimed the market itself would
maintain the price of scarce metals have found the opposite is happening. More minerals are being (11) ...., and the cost
of raw materials is decreasing.Taking inflation into account, the prices of most metals are about half of what they were
20 years ago. Recently, I was asked to look into (12).... made against one of the multinational conglomerates that benefit
from these cheap raw materials.

7 A Ruled B regulated C governed D legislated

8 A Talent B gift C willingness D propensity
9 A Portion B package C present D parcel
10 A Plays B joins C fits D suits
11 A Expelled B extracted C exhumed D expanded
12 A propositions B allegations C suggestions D insinuations
Extract from a Holiday Brochure
Abaco and its off-shore cays are part of the 700 islands of the Bahamas that stretch from Florida, past the Tropic of
Cancer, to Cuba. Each one has its own (13)...., each one has something to offer.
The key to getting anywhere in the islands and cays of Abaco is a boat. If you don’t get one (14) ....in with the room
don’t worry. Be happy. There are ferries (15) And water-taxis. Or, there are plenty of boats to rent if you prefer to go
under your own (16)……………..
But sailing is the most popular (17)…………….. of transport here. Abaco is nicknamed The Sailing Capital of the World’ for
good reason.
Those calm, naturally protected waters are also a paradise for fishing, diving, snorkelling and swimming. The cays and
their beaches stretch for 200 miles like a (18) ............. of pearls. It’s not only at sea that gems can be found. At night it’s
the lights of the restaurants and cafés of Hope Town and Green Turtle Clay that sparkle.

13 A trait B personality C type D distinction

14 A pushed B given C thrown D bought
15 A sundry B galore C legion D replete
16 A propulsion B means C momentum D steam
17 A mode B pattern C way D manner
18 A thread B filament C line D string
(CPE 3 Test 3)
Cloze text:
Communication
Throughout our lives, right from the moment when as infants we cry to express hunger, we are engaging in social
interaction of one form or (1)……………. Each and (2)……………..time we encounter fellow human beings, some kind of
social interaction will take place, (3)……………. it’s getting on a bus and paying the fare for the journey, or socialising with
friends. It goes without (4)…………….... , therefore, that we need the ability to communicate. Without some method of
transmitting intentions, we would be (5)……………………. a complete loss when it (6)………………….. to interacting socially.
Communication involves the exchange of information, which can be (7)………………….from a gesture to a friend signalling
boredom to the presentation of a university thesis which may (8)……………..ever be read by a handful of others, or it
could be something in (9)……………….the two.
Our highly developed languages set us (10)………………………….. from animals. (11) ……………………. for these languages, we
could not communicate sophisticated or abstract ideas. (12)………………………could we talk or write about people or
objects (13)……………..immediately present. (14)…………………….we restricted to discussing objects already present, we
would be (15)……………………..to make abstract generalizations about the world.
(CPE 3, Test 3)
Reading Comprehension:
Reading 1:
Ralph unlocked the door to his flat and as he entered the dark, motionless hall experienced that momentary qualm of
ownership which even after three years still lightly besieged him sometimes when he returned alone at the end of the
day. When he had first bought the flat, he used to come home in an eager, questioning mood - often as early as he could
- wondering what it had been doing during the hours he had been away. It had represented a form of welcome to him, a
region in which his focus was undisputed and reliable. He supposed that he should have worried about intruders or
burst drains in that moment of reunion, but his flat had always been sitting waiting for him with an expression of
independence or of neglect, depending on whether he’d left it tidy or not. In the end he had begun to regard it merely as
another cloistered annexe of himself, a space into which the stuffy chambers of his heart and head had gradually
overspilled their contents.
He had grown impatient with its inability to be transformed. There was, of course, the small, angular puddle of letters
which sometimes gathered by the door and the red eye of the answering machine which could occasionally be found
resuscitated and blinking with life when he returned. And he was grateful that the glassy eyes of his windows hadn’t
been smashed nor the contents ravished with violence, mind you, he wondered what the flat would look like afterwards.
From the dreary distance of his shabby third-floor office on the Holloway Road, Ralph often looked forward to his three
or four solitary evenings at home each week. Once he had fled the fabricated world of the office and felt the memory of
himself begin patchily to return on his bus journey home, he no longer needed to be on his own, a fact which seemed
continually to elude him in his social calculations. Sitting exposed at his desk he would crave isolation, unlimited time
alone amongst his possessions, but the relief of escape drained him and he would vainly wait for some sense of selfhood
to return. Instead, there was merely a resounding emptiness, which made him suspect during his long hours of
loneliness that the alien exercise of doing work which did not suit him had forced him to change, moving him further
and further from what he liked to think of as himself. He would often read or listen to music as the night deepened
outside, familiar habits which now, however, he would find himself asking for whom or what he did them. His points of
reference had grown dim, his signposts muddied: sensations and ideas would arrive and then get lost, circulating around
the junctions of his mind, unable to find a connection.
There had been a time, he supposed, when he had not felt this powerless, when, had he but perceived his own worth,
he might have escaped; but he had been so eager to fix himself up with something that he had been swept along by this
great desire for something, and he had followed the first course which presented itself as if it had been ordained that he
should do so.
He had tried, of course, after he left university, to formulate some plan for his own betterment, but it hadn’t really
surprised him to find, when he searched himself for ambition, merely the desire unobtrusively to survive. He had applied
for the types of jobs which had become familiar to him through the talk of his peers, had latched himself wearily on to
their futures and jogged behind as they rushed towards them, unable to imagine that he might be put to some use
which would manufacture as its by-product his own happiness.
He had attended his only interview gratefully, and in the fever of examination did not think to test the position - an
inexplicit editorial role on a free local newspaper - for its own merits. Relieved at having pulled off twenty minutes of
pleasant conversation with Neil, his boss, he had not considered the future of lengthy encounters by which he was now
daily assaulted. Neil had offered him the job there and then, telling him he was the only graduate who had applied; a
revelation which at the time Ralph had obscurely taken as a compliment.
1.What do we learn in the first paragraph about Ralph’s current attitude towards his flat?
A He resents the responsibilities ownership of it involves.
B He regrets that he cannot put more effort into its upkeep.
C He is aware that he has imposed his personality on it.
D He sees it as an area over which he has supreme authority.
2.What do we learn from Ralph’s thoughts about his answering machine?
A He takes some comfort from its presence. B He dislikes its intrusive nature.
C It increases his feelings of isolation. D It contributes to his sense of security.
3.According to the author, Ralph’s desire to be alone is
A self-indulgent. B conceited. C self-destructive. D misguided.
4.Ralph suspects that his work
A has restricted his other interests. B should be a more sociable experience.
C is too complex for his limited abilities. D has had a negative effect on his personality.
5.Ralph’s initial concern after university had been to
A improve his future prospects. B keep sight of his long-term goals.
C avoid any early mistakes. D follow his own interests.
6.What approach did Ralph take in looking for a job?
A He tried to apply faster than other applicants. B He unthinkingly adopted the ideas of others.
C He rehearsed for interviews with his friends. D He focused on areas in which he had some experience.
7.What do we learn about Ralph’s interview with Neil?
A Neil took pains to make Ralph feel relaxed. B Ralph failed to find out about the job concerned.
C It was much shorter than Ralph had expected. D The two men shared similar educational backgrounds.
(CPE 3, TEST 2)
The Nature of Genius
There has always been an interest in geniuses and prodigies. The word ‘genius’, from the Latin gens (= family) and the
term ‘genius’, meaning ‘begetter’, comes from the early Roman cult of a divinity as the head of the family. In its earliest
form, genius was concerned with the ability of the head of the family, the paterfamilias, to perpetuate himself.
Gradually, genius came to represent a person’s characteristics and thence an individual’s highest attributes derived from
his ‘genius’ or guiding spirit. Today, people still look to stars or genes, astrology or genetics, in the hope of finding the
source of exceptional abilities or personal characteristics.
The concept of genius and of gifts has become part of our folk culture, and attitudes are ambivalent towards them. We
envy the gifted and mistrust them. In the mythology of giftedness, it is popularly believed that if people are talented in
one area, they must be defective in another, that intellectuals are impractical, that prodigies burn too brightly too soon
and burn out, that gifted people are eccentric, that they are physical weaklings, that there’s a thin line between genius
and madness, that genius runs in families, that the gifted are so clever they don’t need special help, that giftedness is the
same as having a high IQ, that some races are more intelligent or musical or mathematical than others, that genius goes
unrecognised and unrewarded, that adversity makes men wise or that people with gifts have a responsibility to use
them. Language has been enriched with such terms as ‘highbrow’, ‘egghead’, ‘blue-stocking’, ‘wiseacre’, ‘know-all’,
‘boffin’ and, for many, ‘intellectual’ is a term of denigration.
The nineteenth century saw considerable interest in the nature of genius, and produced not a few studies of famous
prodigies. Perhaps for us today, two of the most significant aspects of most of these studies of genius are the frequency
with which early encouragement and teaching by parents and tutors had beneficial effects on the intellectual, artistic or
musical development of the children but caused great difficulties of adjustment later in their lives, and the frequency
with which abilities went unrecognised by teachers and schools. However, the difficulty with the evidence produced by
these studies, fascinating as they are in collecting together anecdotes and apparent similarities and exceptions, is that
they are not what we would today call norm-referenced. In other words, when, for instance, information is collated
about early illnesses, methods of upbringing, schooling, etc., we must also take into account information from other
historical sources about how common or exceptional these were at the time. For instance, infant mortality was high and
life expectancy much shorter than today, home tutoring was common in the families of the nobility and wealthy,
bullying and corporal punishment were common at the chools and, for the most part, the cases studied were members
of the privileged classes. It was only with the growth of paediatrics and psychology in the twentieth century that studies
could be carried out on a more objective, if still not always very scientific, basis.

Geniuses, however they are defined, are but the peaks which stand out through the mist of history and are visible to the
particular observer from his or her particular vantage point. Change the observers and the vantage points, clear away
some of the mist, and a different lot of peaks appear. Genius is a term we apply to those whom we recognise for their
outstanding achievements and who stand near the end of the continuum of human abilities which reaches back through
the mundane and mediocre to the incapable. There is still much truth in Dr Samuel Johnson’s observation, The true
genius is a mind of large general powers, accidentally determined to some particular direction’. We may disagree with
the ‘general’, for we doubt if all musicians of genius could have become scientists of genius or vice versa, but there is no
doubting the accidental determination which nurtured or triggered their gifts into those channels into which they have
poured their powers so successfully. Along the continuum of abilities are hundreds of thousands of gifted men and
women, boys and girls.
What we appreciate, enjoy or marvel at in the works of genius or the achievements of prodigies are the manifestations
of skills or abilities which are similar to, but so much superior to, our own. But that their minds are not different from
our own is demonstrated by the fact that the hard-won discoveries of scientists like Kepler or Einstein become the
commonplace knowledge of schoolchildren and the once outrageous shapes and colours of an artist like Paul Klee so
soon appear on the fabrics we wear. This does not minimise the supremacy of their achievements, which outstrip our
own as the sub-four-minute milers outstrip our jogging.
To think of geniuses and the gifted as having uniquely different brains is only reasonable if we accept that each human
brain is uniquely different. The purpose of instruction is to make us even more different from one another, and in the
process of being educated we can learn from the achievements of those more gifted than ourselves. But before we try
to emulate geniuses or encourage our children to do so we should note that some of the things we learn from them may
prove unpalatable. We may envy their achievements and fame, but we should also recognise the price they may have
paid in terms of perseverance, single-mindedness, dedication, restrictions on their personal lives, the demands upon
their energies and time, and how often they had to display great courage to preserve their integrity or to make their way
to the top.
Genius and giftedness are relative descriptive terms of no real substance. We may, at best, give them some precision by
defining them and placing them in a context but, whatever we do, we should never delude ourselves into believing that
gifted children or geniuses are different from the rest of humanity, save in the degree to which they have developed the
performance of their abilities.
Write the correct letters in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet.
NB Your answers may be given in any order.
Below are listed some popular beliefs about genius and giftedness.
Which FIVE of these beliefs are reported by the writer of the text?
A Truly gifted people are talented in all areas.
B The talents of geniuses are soon exhausted.
C Gifted people should use their gifts.
D A genius appears once in every generation.
E Genius can be easily destroyed by discouragement.
F Genius is inherited.
G Gifted people are very hard to live with.
HPeople never appreciate true genius.
IGeniuses are natural leaders.
J Gifted people develop their greatness through difficulties.
K Genius will always reveal itself.
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2?
In boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
1.Nineteenth-century studies of the nature of genius failed to take into account the uniqueness of the person’s
upbringing.
2.Nineteenth-century studies of genius lacked both objectivity and a proper scientific approach.
3.A true genius has general powers capable of excellence in any area.
4.The skills of ordinary individuals are in essence the same as the skills of prodigies.
5.The ease with which truly great ideas are accepted and taken for granted fails to lessen their significance.
6.Giftedness and genius deserve proper scientific research into their true nature so that all talent may be retained for
the human race.
7.Geniuses often pay a high price to achieve greatness.
8.To be a genius is worth the high personal cost.
(IELTS 8 AUTHENTIC TEST 3)