Placement Test A

LEA School of Economic Sciences

Department of Foreign Languages

Time: 120 minutes

Section 1

Structure

Time: 20 Minutes

25 Questions

Directions: This section measures your ability to recognize language appropriate for standard written English. One type

of question consists of incomplete sentences, with a blank showing where information is to be filled in. Choose the word

or phrase that most correctly completes the sentence. A second type of question consists of sentences with four underlined

words or phrases. For each sentence, choose the one underlined word or phrase that is incorrect in standard written

English. Mark the answer in your answer sheet.

1. A congressional committee has been appointed to

study a new procedure __________ to eliminate some

costly expenditures.

A. that is expected

B. what is expected

C. which expects

D. that expected

2. Some professors enjoy writing articles and A performing research, while anothers would be B C

more content to devote all their time to teaching. D

3. Some people send job applications even when they are

reasonably happy in their jobs, __________ improving

their position.

A. with hoping to

B. hoping that

C. with hopes of

D. hoping to

4. Swimming is a beneficial exercise, __________

aerobic activity and uses a number of muscle groups.

A. not only because it provides

B. because it both provides

C. for provision

D. as result of providing

5. Tests have been performed to determine whether A B

studying TOEFL questions will help students rise C D

their test scores.

6. The professor instructed the students__________ the

essay without preparing an outline first.

A. to not write

B. not to write

C. do not write

D. to no write

7. It is not clear when __________, although there are

many different theories.

A. dinosaurs becoming extinct

B. dinosaurs extinction

C. dinosaurs became extinct

D. did dinosaurs become extinct

8. The professor decided to allow the students to take the A B

examination a second time because the low scores. C D

9. If the driver’s own car __________ damaged, the

favorite probably would have won the race.

A. had not been

B. not

C. no had been

D. has no be

10. Having withdrawn from the race, the candidate A

decided supporting his opponent despite the B C

opponent’s representing the other political party. D

11. The soldiers were unable to determine where

__________.

A. the jeep had been left

B. had been leave the jeep

C. had the jeep been left

D. had the jeep left

12. The manager was angry because somebody

_________.

A. had allowed the photographers to enter the building

B. had let the photographers to enter the building

C. permitting the photographers enter the building

D. the photographers let into the building

13. The committee members resented __________ of the

meeting.

A. the president that he did not tell them

B. the president not to inform them

C. the president’s not informing them

D. that the president had failed informing themselves

14. __________ did Arthur realize that there was danger.

A. Upon entering the store

B. When he entered the store

C. After he had entered the store

D. Only after entering the store

15. The congressman, accompanied by secret agents and A

aides, are preparing to enter the convention hall within B C D

the next few minutes.

16. Because the torrential rains that had devastated the A B C

area, the governor sent the National Guard to assist in D

the clean-up operation.

17. Lack of sanitation in restaurants are a major A B

cause of disease in some areas of the country. C D

18. Had the committee members considered the A

alternatives more carefully, they would have realized B that the second was better as the first. C D

19. Malnutrition is a major cause of death in those A B

countries where the cultivation of rice have been C

impeded by recurrent drought. D

20. The decision to withdraw all support from the A B

activities of the athletes are causing an uproar among C D

the athletes’ fans.

21. Underutilized species of fish has been proposed A B as a solution to the famine in many underdeveloped C D

countries.

22. Because the residents had worked so diligent to

A B C

renovate the old building, the manager had a party. D

23. John’s wisdom teeth were troubling him, so he went A

to a dental surgeon to see about having them pull. B C D

24. Hardly __________ the office when he realized that

he had forgotten his wallet.

A. he had entered

B. had entered

C. entered

D. had he entered

25. Suzy had better to change her study habits if she A B

hopes to be admitted to a good university. C D

Section 2

Reading

Time: 45 Minutes

30 Questions

Directions: This section measures your ability to read and understand written English similar to that which one may

expect in a college or university setting. Read each passage and answer the questions based on what is stated or implied in

the passage. Circle or mark the correct answer on your answer sheet.

Passage 1 Collecting coins can be a good investment, but it

requires the study of popularity, availability, and grading

techniques. Some coins are more desirable than others,

their popularity being affected by the artists’ talent, the

subject of the design, the material from which the coin is

made, and the time period when the coin was created.

Availability is just as critical. Providing the coin is

otherwise interesting or pleasing to the eye, the number

of coins minted and available on the market seems to

have a direct relationship to the popularity.

The ability to grade coins is perhaps the most important

requirement of a collector. A coin that is popular and

scarce, which would normally make it valuable, may be

worth much less or nothing at all if it has a low grade.

Grading is standardized, and one can buy books and take

courses on how to do it. Grades are given letter

designations as well as numbers. The letters represent

general levels of the grade, while the numbers are more

detailed. For example, there are 11 number grades within

the letter grade for a mint state coin. A mint state coin is

uncirculated, which means it has never been used in

commerce. It is in the condition that it left the mint, the

place where a coin is created. The mint state letter

designation is MS, and the numbers range from 60

through 70. An absolutely perfect coin is MS-70. It takes

much training and a good eye to tell the difference

between

coins in this range. The things one considers include

whether the coin has contact marks, which are marks

obtained when coins bounce against each other in a coin

bag; hairlines, which are marks appearing on the face of

the coin from the minting process; luster, which is the

natural coloration; and eye appeal. For example, an MS-

70 is said to have no contact marks, no hairlines, very

attractive and fully original luster, and outstanding eye

appeal, while an MS-60 may have heavy contact marks,

noticeable hairlines, impaired luster, and poor eye

appeal.

Below the mint state coin, the letter designation and

number have the same meaning. That is, there are

generally no numbers within the range of letters. But

there are categories:

Coins that are About Uncirculated: Very

Choice About Uncirculated, known as AU-58;

Choice About Uncirculated, known as AU-55;

and About Uncirculated, known as AU-50.

Coins that are Fine: Choice Extremely Fine,

known as EF-45; Extremely Fine, known as EF-

40; Choice Very Fine, known as VF-30; Very

Fine, known as VF-20; and Fine, known as F-

12.

Coins that are Good: Very Good, known as

VG-8; Good, known as G-4; and About Good,

known as AG-3.

Thus, a circulated coin can have a number designation

between 3 and 58, with only the numbers shown above

available. That is, one cannot have a coin with a grade of

6, for example. It is either G-4 or VG-8. It is possible

for a coin labeled G-4 or even AG-3 to be extremely

valuable, but generally it will be a coin that is almost

unavailable in higher grades. Books and publications

monitor the coin market regularly, just like the stock

market is monitored, and they describe a coin’s type,

date, and grade, assigning a price to every one unless

that grade would have no value.

In general, coin collectors loathe cleaned coins, so

artificial cleaning by adding any chemical will detract

greatly from a coin’s value. A true coin collector will say

the dirt in the creases is a positive attribute and much

preferable to a cleaned coin.

1. A good title for this passage would be

A. The Financial Benefits of Coin Collecting.

B. How Popularity and Availability Affect Coin Value.

C. Coin Grading — One of the Most Important Skills in

Coin Collecting.

D. How to Grade Coins — A Detailed Study.

2. The word talent in the second sentence is closest in

meaning to

A. ability.

B. pay.

C. source.

D. money.

3. The author describes a coin’s popularity as involving

all the following except

A. grade.

B. how well the artist created the work.

C. the depiction on the coin.

D. the coin’s material.

4. The word scarce in the second paragraph is closest in

meaning to

A. popular.

B. old.

C. rare.

D. valuable.

5. The author implies that availability is primarily related

to

A. the popularity of a coin.

B. the material used to create a coin.

C. the age of a coin.

D. the number of coins of a given type and date that they

were minted.

6. The author implies that the most important feature of a

coin is its

A. grade.

B. date.

C. artist.

D. depiction.

7. Organize the following according to grade from the

highest to the lowest.

A. AU-58

B. MS-60

C. AG-3

D. VF-20

8. The one grading category that has the most numbered

grades within it is

A. Good.

B. Mint State.

C. Fine.

D. About Uncirculated.

9. According to the author, the phrase contact marks

means

A. marks on a coin caused by banging from other coins.

B. defects in the minting process.

C. connections among coin dealers.

D. defects caused by cleaning.

10. The word luster in the third paragraph

is closest in meaning to

A. value.

B. sheen.

C. marked.

D. material.

11. According to the passage, a Mint State coin with

which of the following characteristics would be graded

the highest?

A. One small contact mark, full luster, good eye appeal,

and no hairlines

B. One large hairline, diminished luster, good eye

appeal, and no contact marks

C. A small contact mark, a small hairline, foggy luster,

and fair eye appeal

D. No contact marks, luster affected by cleaning,

average eye appeal, and no hairlines

12. All of the following grades would be possible except

A. MS-64.

B. AU-56.

C. VF-30.

D. AG-3.

13. The author implies that

A. a low-grade coin never has value.

B. the only difference between an MS-60 and an AU-58

may be that the AU-58 has been in circulation.

C. cleaning a coin can increase its value.

D. one must be a professional in order to obtain

information on coin value.

Passage 2

Television Addiction

A. The term "TV addiction" is imprecise,

but it captures the essence of a very real

phenomenon. Psychologists formally

define addiction as a disorder

characterized by criteria that include

spending a great deal of time using the

thing; using it more often than one

intends; thinking about reducing use or

making repeated unsuccessful efforts

to reduce use; giving up important activities to use it;

and reporting withdrawal symptoms when one stops

using it.

B. All these criteria can apply to people who watch a lot

of television. That does not mean that watching

television, in itself, is problematic. Television can

teach and amuse; it can be highly artistic; it can

provide much needed distraction and escape. The

difficulty arises when people strongly sense that they

ought not to watch as much as they do and yet find

they are unable to reduce their viewing. Some

knowledge of how television becomes so addictive

may help heavy viewers gain better control over their

lives.

C. The amount of time people spend watching

television is astonishing. On average, individuals in

the industrialized world devote three hours a day to

the activity – fully half of their leisure time, and more

than on any single activity except work and sleep. At

this rate, someone who lives to 75 would spend nine

years in front of the television. Possibly, this devotion

means simply that people enjoy TV and make a

conscious decision to watch it. But if that is the whole

story, why do so many people worry about how much

they view? In surveys in 1992 and 1999, two out of

five adults and seven out of ten teenagers said they

spent too much time watching TV. Other surveys

have consistently shown that roughly ten per cent of

adults call themselves TV addicts.

D. to study people’s reactions to TV, researchers have

undertaken laboratory experiments in which they

have monitored the brain waves, skin resistance or

heart rate of people watching television. To study

behavior and emotion in the normal course of life, as

opposed to the artificial conditions of the laboratory,

we have used the Experience Sampling Method

(ESM). Participants carried a beeper*, and we

signaled them six to eight times a day, at random,

over the period of a week; whenever they heard the

beep, they wrote down what they were

doing and how they were feeling.

E. As one might expect, people who

were watching TV when we beeped them

reported feeling relaxed and passive. The

EEG studies similarly show less mental

stimulation, as measured by alpha brain-

wave production, during viewing than

during reading.

F. What is more surprising is that the sense of

relaxation ends when the set is turned off, but the

feelings of passivity and lowered alertness continue.

Survey participants commonly reflect that television

has somehow absorbed or sucked out their energy,

leaving them depleted. They say they have more

difficulty concentrating after viewing than before. In

contrast, they rarely indicate such difficulty after

reading. After playing sports or engaging in hobbies,

people report improvements in mood. After watching

TV, people's moods are about the same or worse than

before.

G. Within moments of sitting or lying down and

pushing the "power" button, viewers report feeling

more relaxed. Because the relaxation occurs quickly,

people are conditioned to associate viewing with rest

and lack of tension. The association is positively

reinforced because viewers remain relaxed

throughout viewing.

H. Thus, the irony of TV: people watch a great deal

longer than they plan to, even though prolonged

viewing is less rewarding. In our ESM studies the

longer people sat in front of the set, the less

satisfaction they said they derived from it. When

signaled, heavy viewers (those who consistently

watch more than four hours a day) tended to report on

their ESM sheets that they enjoy TV less than light

viewers did (less than two hours a day). For some, a

twinge of unease or guilt that they aren't doing

something more productive may also accompany and

depreciate the enjoyment of prolonged viewing.

Researchers in Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. have

found that this guilt occurs much more among

middle-class viewers than among less affluent ones.

Television addiction is no mere metaphor

I. The orienting response is an instinctive reaction to any sudden or new, such as movement or possible attack by a

predator. Typical orienting reactions include the following the arteries to the brain grow wider allowing more blood to

reach it, the heart slows down and arteries to the large muscles become narrower so as to reduce blood supply to them.

Brain waves are also interrupted for a few seconds. These changes allow the brain to focus its attention on gathering

more information and becoming more alert while the rest of the body becomes quieter.

Questions 14-16

The list below gives some characteristics of addiction.

Which THREE of the following are mentioned as

characteristics of addiction to television?

A harmful physical effects

B loss of control over time

C destruction of relationships

D reduced intellectual performance

E discomfort when attempting to give up

F dishonesty about the extent of the addiction

Do the following statements agree with the information

given in Reading Passage 2?

(T)TRUE if the statement agrees with the information.

(F) FALSE if the statement contradicts the information.

(NG) NOT if there is no information on this.

GIVEN

17. One purpose of the research is to help people

manage their lives better.

18. Watching television has reduced the amount of time

people spend sleeping.

19. People's brains show less activity while watching

television than when reading.

20. There is a relationship between the length of time

spent watching TV and economic status.

21. Pleasure increases in proportion to the length of

time spent watching TV.

Classify the following feelings or mental states as

generally occurring:

A before watching television.

B while watching television.

C after watching television.

D both while and after watching television.

22. reduced anxiety and stress.

23. increased fatigue.

24. higher levels of concentration.

25. less mental activity.

26. worry about time wasted.

Questions 27-30

Complete the labels on the diagram. Choose your

answers from the box below.

NB There are more words / phrase than spaces, so you will not use

them all.

A relaxed E reduced

B accelerated F stopped momentarily

C increased G widened

D lengthened H regulated

Section 3

Writing

Name: ____________________________________ I.D.: ______________ Major: ___________________

Time: 55 Minutes

2 Question

Directions: This section measures your ability to write in English, including your ability to organize ideas, create an essay

in standard written English, and support the thoughts with sufficient examples and evidence.

TASK 1

Time: 20 Minutes

The line graph below shows the number of annual visits to Australia by overseas residents. The table below gives

information on the country of origin where the visitors came from. Write a report for a university lecturer describing the

information given. You should write at least 150 words.

________________________________________

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A

TASK 2

Time: 35 Minutes

Write about the following topic:

In most countries multinational companies and their products are becoming more and more important. This trend

is seriously damaging our quality of life.

Do you agree or disagree?

You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant

evidence.

Write at least 250 words.