Play to start the exam.

SECTION 1

LISTENING COMPREHENSION

Time- approximately 35 minutes

(including the reading of the directions of each part)

In this section of the test, you will have an opportunity to demonstrate your ability to understand conversations and talks in English. There are three parts to this section. Answer all the questions on the basis of what is stated or implied by the speakers you hear. Do not take notes.

Part A

Directions: in Part A you will hear short conversations between two people. After each conversation, you will hear a question about the conversation. The conversations and questions will not be repeated. After you hear a question, read the four possible answers and choose the best answer.

Listen to an example.

On the recording, you hear:
 

That exam was just awful              (man)

Oh, it could have been worse    (woman)  

What does the woman mean?  (narrator) 

 

In your test, you read:          

(A) The exam was really awful

(B) It was the worst exam she had ever seen                                            

(C) It couldn’t have been more difficult

(D) It wasn’t that hard

 

You learn from the conversation that the man thought the exam was difficult and that the woman disagreed with the man. The best answer to the question “What does the woman mean?” is (D). “It wasn’t that hard.” Therefore, the correct choice is (D).

SECTION 1

LISTENING COMPREHENSION

Time- approximately 35 minutes

(including the reading of the directions of each part)

In this section of the test, you will have an opportunity to demonstrate your ability to understand conversations and talks in English. There are three parts to this section. Answer all the questions on the basis of what is stated or implied by the speakers you hear. Do not take notes.

Part A

Directions: in Part A you will hear short conversations between two people. After each conversation, you will hear a question about the conversation. The conversations and questions will not be repeated. After you hear a question, read the four possible answers and choose the best answer.

Listen to an example.

On the recording, you hear:
 

That exam was just awful              (man)

Oh, it could have been worse    (woman)  

What does the woman mean?  (narrator) 

 

In your test, you read:          

(A) The exam was really awful

(B) It was the worst exam she had ever seen                                            

(C) It couldn’t have been more difficult

(D) It wasn’t that hard

 

You learn from the conversation that the man thought the exam was difficult and that the woman disagreed with the man. The best answer to the question “What does the woman mean?” is (D). “It wasn’t that hard.” Therefore, the correct choice is (D).

Directions: In this part of the test, you will hear longer conversations. After each conversation, you will hear several questions. The conversations and questions will not be repeated.
After you hear a question, read the four possible answers and choose the best answer.
Remember, you are not allowed to take notes.

Directions: in this part of the test, you will hear several talks. After each talk, you will hear several questions. The conversations and questions will not be repeated. After you hear a question, read the four possible answers and choose the best answer.

Here is an example.
On the recording, you hear:

(narrator)

Listen to an instructor talk to his class about painting.

(man)

Artist Grant Wood was a guiding force in the school of painting known as American regionalist, a style reflecting the distinctive characteristics of art from rural areas of the United States. Wood began drawing animals on the family farm at the age of three, and when he was  thirty-eight one of his paintings received a remarkable amount of public notice and acclaim. This painting, called \"American Gothic\" is a starkly simple depiction or a serious couple staring directly out at the viewer.

Now listen to a sample question.

(narrator)	What style of painting is known as American regionalist?
In your test, you read:	(A) Art from America’s inner cities (B) Art from the central region of the United States (C) Art from various urban areas in the United States (D) Art from rural sections of America

The best answer to the question “What style of painting is known as American regionalist?” is (D). “Art from rural sections of America.” Therefore, the correct choice is (D).

Now listen to another sample question.

(narrator)	What is the name of Wood’s most successful painting?
In your test, you read:	(A)“American regionalist” (B) “The family farm in Iowa” (C) “American Gothic” (D) “A serious couple”

The best answer to the question “What is the name of Wood’s most successful painting? is (C). “American Gothic.” Therefore, the correct choice is (C).

Remember, you are not allowed to take notes.

This is the end of the Listening Diagnostic Pre-Test

STRUCTURE DIAGNOSTIC PRE-TEST

SECTION 2

STRUCTURE AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION

Time – 25 minutes

(including the Reading or the directions)

Now set your clock for 25 minutes

This section is designed to measure your ability to recognize language that is appropriate for standards written English. There are two types of questions in this section, with special directions for each type.

Directions: Questions 1-15 are incomplete sentences. Beneath each sentence you Will see four words or phrases, marked (A), (B), (C), and (D). Choose the one word or phrase that best completes the sentence.
Look at the following examples.

Example I
The president ______ the election by a landslide.

1. won
2. he won
3. yesterday
4. fortunately

The sentence should read, “The president won the election by a landslide.” Therefore, you should choose (A).


Example II
When _________ the conference?

1. the doctor attended
2. did the doctor attend
3. the doctor will attend
4. the doctor's attendance

The sentence should read, “When did the doctor attend the conference?” Therefore, you should choose (B).


Now begin work on the questions.

Written Expression

Directions: In questions 16-40, each sentence has four underlined words of phrases. The four underlined parts of the sentence are marked (A), (B), (C), and (D). Identify the one underlined word of phrase that must be changed in order for the sentence to be correct.
Look at the following examples.

 

Example I

(A)The four (B)string on a violin (C)are (D)tuned in fifths.

The sentence should read, “The four strings on a violin are tuned in fifths.” Therefore, you should choose (B).

 

Example II

The (A)research (B)for the book Roots (C)taking Alex Haley (D)twelve years.

The sentence should read, “The research for the book Roots took Alex Haley twelve years.” Therefore, you should choose (C).

Now begin work on the questions.

Time – 55 minutes

(including the Reading or the directions)

Now set your clock for 55 minutes

This section is designed to measure your ability to read and understand short passages similar in topic and style to those that students are likely to encounter in North American universities and colleges.

In this section you will read several passages. Each one is followed by a number of questions about it. You are to choose the best one answer, (A), (B), (C), or (D), to each question. Then, on your answer sheet, find the number of the question and fill in the space that corresponds to the letter of the answer you have chosen.

 

Answer all questions about the information in the passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in that passage.

 

Read the following passage:

 

                John Quincy Adams, who served as the sixth president of the United States from 1825
to 1829, is today recognized for his masterful statesmanship and diplomacy. He dedicated his
life to public service, both in the presidency and in the various other political offices that he
held. Throughout his political career he demonstrated his unswerving belief in freedom of
speech, the antislavery cause, and the right of Americans to be free from European and Asian domination.

 

Example I

To what did John Quincy Adams devote his life?

1. Improving his personal life
2. Serving the public
3. Increasing his fortune
4. Working on his private business

According to the passage, John Quincy Adams “dedicated his life to public service.” Therefore, you should choose (B).


Example II

In line 4 the word “unswerving” is closest in meaning to

1. moveable
2. insignificant
3. unchanging
4. diplomatic

The passage states that John Quincy Adams demonstrated his unswerving belief “throughout his career.” This implies that the belief did not change. Therefore, you should choose (C).

The hippopotamus is the third largest land animal, smaller only than the elephant and the
rhinoceros. Its name comes from two Greek words which mean “river horse”. The long name of this
animal is often shortened to the easier to handle term “hippo”.

The hippo has a natural affinity for the water. It does not float on top of the water; instead, it can
easily walk along the bottom of the body of water. The hippo commonly remains underwater for three (5)
to five minutes and has been known to stay under for up to half an hour before coming up for air.

In spite of its name, the hippo has relatively little in common with the horse and instead has a
number of interesting of similarities in common with the whale.  When a hippo comes up after a stay at
the bottom of a lake or river, it releases air through a blowhole, just like a whale. In addition, the
hippo resembles the whale in that they both have thick layers of bubbler for protection and they are (10)
almost completely hairless.

authorities on North American birds. Born in Les Cayes, Haití, in 1785. Audubon was raised in
France and studied art under French artist Jacques- Louis David. After settling on his father’s
Pennsylvania estate at the age of eighteen, he first began to study and paint birds.

tremendous amount of success; at various times during his life he was involved in a mercantile
business, a lumber and grist mill, a taxidermy business, and a school. His general mode of operating a
business was to leave it either unattended or in the hands of a partner and take of on excursions
through the wilds to paint the natural life that he saw. His business career came to end in 1819 when
he was jailed for debt and forced to file for bankruptcy. (10)

of his paintings of birds. For the next six years he painted birds in their natural habitat while his wife
worked as a teacher to support the family. His Birds of America, which included engravings of 435 of
his colorful and lifelike water colors, was published in parts during the period from 1826 to 1838 in
England. After the success of the English editions, American editions of his work were published in (15)
1839, and his fame and fortune were ensured.

Schizophrenia is one of the more common mental disorders, considerably more common than
multiple personality disorder. The term “schizophrenia” is composed of roots which mean “a splitting
of the mind,” but it does not refer to a division into separate and distinct personalities, as occurs in
multiple personality disorder. Instead, schizophrenic behavior is generally characterized by illogical (5)
thought patterns and withdrawal from reality. Schizophrenics often live in a fantasy world where they
hear voices that others cannot hear, often voices of famous people. Schizophrenics tend to withdraw
from families and friends and communicate mainly with the “voices” that they hear in their minds.

estimate the age of the oldest living trees on Earth, they often come up with the guesses in the
neighborhood of two or perhaps three hundred years. The real answer is considerably larger than
that, more than five thousand years.

This venerable pine predates wonders of the ancient world such as the pyramids of Egypt, the
hanging Gardens of Babylon, and the Colossus of Rhodes. It is not nearly as tall as the giant redwood
that is also found in California, and, in fact, it is actually not very tall compared with many other
trees, often little more than five meters in height. This relatively short height may be one of the
factors that aid the bristlecone pine in living to a ripe old age-high winds and inclement weather  (10)
cannot easily reach the shorter trees and cause damage. An additional factor that contributes to the
long life of the bristlecone pine is that this type of tree has a high percentage of resin, which prevents
rot from developing in the tree trunk and branches.

under quite a different name. Italian American A.P. Giannini established this bank on October 17,
1904, in a renovated saloon in San Francisco’s Italian community of North Beach under the name
Bank of Italy, with immigrants and first-time bank customers comprising the majority of his first
customers. During its development, Giannini’s bank survived major crisis in the form of a natural            (5)
disaster and a major economic upheaval that not all other banks were able to overcome.

struck San Francisco, followed by a raging fire that destroyed much of the city. Giannini obtained two
wagons and teams of horses, filled the wagons with banks reserves, mostly in the form of gold,
covered the reserves with craters of oranges, and escaped from the chaos of the city with his clients’    (10)
funds protected. In the aftermath of the disaster, Giannini’s bank was the first to resume operations.
Unable to install the bank in a proper office setting, Giannini opened up shop on the Washington
Street Wharf on a make shift desk created from the boards and barrels.

1918 there were twenty-four branches of the Bank of Italy, and by 1928 Giannini had acquired              (15)
numerous other banks, including a Bank of America located in New York City. In 1930 he
consolidated all the branches of the Bank of Italy, the Bank of America in New York City, and another
Bank of America that he had formed in California into the Bank of America National Trust and
Savings Association.

Giannini had already retired prior to the darkest days of the Depression, he became incensed when
his successor began selling off banks during the bad economic times. Giannini resumed leadership of
the bank at the age of sixty-two. Under Giannini’s leadership, the bank weathered the storm of the
Depression and subsequently moved into a phase of overseas development.