THE CORPORATION FOR FINANCING AND

PROMOTING TECHNOLOGY

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ENGLISH TEST

Time allowed: 60 minutes

50 questions

Part 1

For questions 1-15, read the text below and decide which word or phrase best fits each space. Choose your answers from the listed words at the bottom of the page and write them in boxes 1-15 on your answer sheet. There is an example at the beginning (0).

Intelligence Tests

School exams are, (0) generally speaking, the first kind of tests we take. They find out how much knowledge we have (1) …. . But do they really show how intelligent we are? After all, isn’t it a (2) …. that some people who are very successful academically don’t have any (3) …. sense?

Intelligence is the speed (4) …. which we can understand and (5) …. to new situation and it is usually tested by logic puzzles. Although scientists are now preparing (6) …. computer technology that will be able to ‘read’ our brains, (7) …. tests are still the most popular ways of measuring intelligence.

A person’s IQ is their intelligence (8) …. it is measured by a special test. The most common IQ tests are (9) …. by Mensa, an organization that was founded in England in 1946. By 1946 it (10) …. 1,300 members in Britain. Today there are 44,000 in Britain and 100,000 worldwide, (11) …. in the US.

People taking the tests are judged in (12) …. to an average score of 100, and those who score over 148 are entitled to join Mensa. This (13) …. at 2% of the population. Anyone from the age of six can take the tests. All the questions are straightforward and most people can answer them if (14) …. enough time. But that’s the problem- the whole (15) …. of the tests is that they’re against the clock.

Part 2

In most lines of the following text, there is either a spelling or a punctuation error. For each numbered line 16-31,write the correctly spelled word or show the correct punctuation in the box on your answer sheet. Some lines are correct. Indicate these lines on your answer sheet with a tick (ü) in the box. The exercise begins with three examples.

Part 3

Walk on the Dark Side

( Mike Thomson reports on a disturbing phenomenon- sleepwalking)

Dangerous as well as embarrassing, sleepwalking remains a mystery while its results can be both upsetting and unpredictable. Despite their popular image as zombie-like figures who stumble about with outstretched arms, sleepwalkers are often capable of performing complex acts. Dr. Peter Fenick, a consultant neuro-psychiatrist, says their capabilities are surprising. ‘I’ve known sleepwalkers who have got onto motorbikes, ridden horses, and driven cars.’

However, some sleep disorder experts believe that such behaviour occurs when the individual is suffering fromnocturnal blackouts or amnesia. These produce what is called the ‘fugue’ state. In this condition the individual enters a lighter state of sleep and can cope more easily with lengthier and more complicated tasks than the average sleepwalker, who is usually back in bed within 15 minutes.

Whatever the definition given, however, few people are as clear-thinking and articulate when they are asleep as Janet Brierley from London, who found that her phone bill had mysteriously trebled. She later discovered why. Friends would remark on lengthy late-night calls she had made to them (many of them international), none of which she remembered.                   She has since been forced to hide her telephone in a drawer at night.

It is estimated that as many as one in three children and one in 20 adults sleepwalk at some time. Experts believe the condition is most common among children and the elderly. Overall, men are more likely to sleepwalk than women, though the reason for this remains a mystery. What is now becoming clear is that sleepwalking tends to run in families. Stress or anxiety are believed to be major causes.

Sleepwalking is thought to start about 90 minutes after a person goes to sleep. It occurs at the transition point between deep sleep and the more alert form of dreaming sleep.

It leads to little more than a walk round the bedroom or the opening of a few drawers. Injuries most often occur when sleepwalkers believe they are somewhat they are not: windows, stairs and electrical appliances can lead to disaster.

Nancy Harrison from Wiltshire woke up shivering one night to find the bedroom window wide open and her husband Robert’s bed empty.                ‘I assumed Robert had gone to the bathroom. But when I went to close the window, I happened to look down and there was his body lying on the lawn. I was really scared. I couldn’t believe he could still be alive and I dashed downstairs. But when I bent down to check if he was still breathing, I discovered he was unhurt and still asleep.’

In another instance a Birmingham woman poured hot water over herself while she was sleepwalking. She was convinced that her house was filling up with ice.

Trying to find the root cause of the problem of why people sleepwalk is not straightforward. There are several sleep laboratories and clinics around the country, but most concentrate on treating more common complaints such as snoring or insomnia.

To see a specialist you will need to be referred by your own doctor, who may first try you on sleeping pills. These work by temporarily stopping the body entering the phase of sleep which accompanies sleepwalking, but their addictive nature means they are only a short-term solution.

I- Choose from the sentence A-H the one which best fits each gap 32-37 in the article. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use. An example is given.

A Others include severe tiredness or the consumption of excess alcohol.

B When she woke up five hours later, she was covered in red marks.

C She did not realize that anything was wrong at first.

D She does not look forward to turning the lights out at night.

E This often leaves those specializing in sleepwalking understaffed and underfunded.

F In the majority of cases the experience is quite uneventful.

G It turned out that she had been making them in her sleep.

H It may seem amazing but all these kinds of things are possible.

II- Read between the lines and answer the following questions

38. Where do many of Janet Brierley’s friends live?

A  Many of her friends live near Brierley’s house.

B  Many of her friends live abroad.

C  Many of her friends live in the countryside.

D  Many of her friends live in urban areas.

39. Can you think of any possible reason why men are more likely to sleepwalk than women?

A  More men than women are in stressful jobs.

B  Men tend to keep their worries to themselves.

C  Women are more likely to talk about their worries.

D  All the above reasons are possible.

40. When are sleepwalkers most likely to injure themselves?

A  When they are away from familiar surroundings.

B  When they are on holiday.

C  When they move to a new house.

D  When they are away from home.

III- Match the following words (printed bold in the text) and phrases with their meanings.

41    Stumble                                   a  become three times bigger

42 Nocturnal b most important

43 Treble  c process of change from one state to another

44 Overall d walk in an unsteady way

45 run in families e believe; suppose

46 transition f inability to sleep easily

47 assume g occur in members of the same family

48 root h speaking generally

49 straightforward i happening at night

50 insomnia j clear and uncomplicated