ENTRANCE TEST FOR NEW LEARNING ASSISTANTS

BIGMIND ENGLISH CENTER

I.

PRONUNCIATION
Task 1
I.1. What should a word end with so that when it is in (for a noun) plural form or (for a verb) third
person the S (or ES) ending is pronounced /s/, /z/ and /iz/?
/s/:________________________________________________________
/iz/:_______________________________________________________
/z/:________________________________________________________

I.2. What should a word end with so that when it is in past form the ED ending is pronounced /d/, /id/
and /t/?
/d/:_________________________________________________________
/id/:________________________________________________________
/t/:__________________________________________________________

Task 2
Choose the word with a different stress pattern:
1. A. apprehension

B. preferential

C. conventional

D. calculation

2. A. forgettable

B. philosophy

C. humanism

D. objectively

3. A. environmental

B. conservatively

C. approximately

D. considerable

4. A. collaboration

B. possibility

C. technological

D. probability

5. A. satisfactory

B. alternate

C. military

D. generously

II. GRAMMAR
Task 1
For each of the sentences below, rewrite two new sentences as similar as possible in meaning to the
original sentence, but using the words given in capital letters. These words must not be altered in any
way.

1. The embassy said it would not be necessary for me to get a visa.

NEED: ____________________________________________________________________
REQUIRED:________________________________________________________________
2. Im sure he missed the eleven oclock train.
MUST:____________________________________________________________________
CANT:____________________________________________________________________
3. It seems to be a foregone conclusion that Davis will win the gold medal.
CERTAIN:_________________________________________________________________
LIKELIHOOD:______________________________________________________________
4. Im annoyed with you for not phoning me to say youd be late.
MIGHT:___________________________________________________________________
EARTH:___________________________________________________________________
5. He stood no chance of passing his exam.
BOUND:___________________________________________________________________
INEVITABLE:______________________________________________________________

Task 2
Choose the answer that best completes the sentences.
1.
A.
B.
C.
D.
2.
A.
B.
C.
D.
3.

He _______ when the bus came to a sudden stop.

was almost hurt
was to hurt himself
was hurt himself
was hurting himself
The man didnt die _______ hunger but _______ eating too much.
of / from
from / of
of / of
from / from
The food she has prepared for the party is not enough, for there are ______ more people that she

A.
B.
C.
D.
4.
A.

expected.
much
many
too
so
So little ______ about mathematics that the lecture was completely beyond me.
I know

B.
C.
D.
5.
A.
B.
C.
D.
6.

I knew
do I know
did I know
He insisted that his method _______ correct.
should
were
be
was
The replacement of shops such as the groceries and chemists by cafes ________ the housewives with

insufficient facilities for shopping.

A. leave
B. have left
C. has left
D. to have left
7. ________ we have finished the course, we shall start doing more revision work.
A. For now
B. Now that
C. Ever since
D. By now
8. I would appreciate ________ it a secret.
A. your keeping
B. you to keep
C. that you keep
D. that you will keep
9. All ________ is a continuous supply of the basic necessities of life.
A. what is needed
B. for our needs
C. the thing needed
D. that is needed
10. I decided to go to the library as soon as I _______.
A. finish what I did
B. would finish what I did
C. finished what I did
D. finished what I was doing

I.

II. LISTENING
SECTION 1.
QUESTIONS 1-10
Questions 1-5
Complete the information below. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each
answer.
City Library
Head Librarian

Example: Mrs. Phillips

Hours

1._____ to 4:30

Books
Ground floor

2._____

Second floor

Adult collection

Third floor
Book carts

3._____

Brown cart

Books to re-shelve

Black cart

Books to 4._____

White cart

Books to 5._____

Questions 6-10
Complete the library schedule below. Write NO MORE THAN ONE WORD AND/ORA NUMBER for
each answer.
Activity

Location

Day and Time

Story time

Childrens Room

6._____ at 11:00

7.______

Reference Room

Saturday at 8._____

Lecture Series

9._____ Room

Friday at 10._____

SECTION 2.
QUESTIONS 11-20
Questions 11-13
Choose THREE letters, A-F. Which THREE things are the students required to submit to their professor?
A. a written summary

D. charts and graphs

. maps

E. a list of resources used

. a case study

F. a video

Questions 14 and 15
Answer the questions below. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
16. What two sources of information will the students use when preparing their presentation?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
17. What will the students show during their presentation?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Questions 16-20
Choose the correct letter, A, B, or C.
16. Only rescue birds that are
A.

all alone.

obviously hurt.

sitting on the ground.

17. Protect yourself by wearing

A.

gloves.

a hat.

protective glasses.

18. Put the bird in a

A.

cage.

box.

bag.

19. Keep the bird calm by

A.

petting it.

talking to it.

leaving it alone.

20. When transporting the bird,

A.

speak quietly.

play music.

drive very slowly.

SECTION 3.
QUESTIONS 21-30
Questions 21-23
Complete the information about the Great Barrier Reef.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
The Great Barrier Reef is made up of 3,000 21._____ and 600 22._____ . Over 400 kinds of 23._____ can
be found there.
Questions 24-28
Choose FIVE letters AI. Which FIVE f these kinds of animals inhabiting the Great Barrier Reef are
mentioned?
A. sharks

F. dolphins

. starfish

G. sea turtles

C. seahorses

H. crocodiles

D. clams

I. frog

E. whales

Questions 29 and 30
Answer the questions below. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
29. What causes coral bleaching?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
40. What has been one response to this problem?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
III.

IV. READING:
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 41-53

Irish Potato Famine

A.
In the ten years following the Irish potato famine of 1845, over 750,000 Irish people
died, including many of those who attempted to immigrate to countries such as the
United States and Canada. Prior to the potato blight, one of the main concerns in
Ireland was overpopulation. In the early 1500s, the country's population was
estimated at less than three million, but by 1840 this number had nearly tripled. The
bountiful potato crop, which contains almost all of the nutrients that a person needs
for survival, was largely to blame for the population growth. However, within five
years of the failed crop of 1845, the population of Ireland was reduced by a quarter. A
number of factors contributed to the plummet of the Irish population, namely the Irish
dependency on the potato crop, the British tenure system, and the inadequate relief
efforts of the English.
.
It is not known exactly how or when the potato was first introduced to Europe,
however, the general assumption is that it arrived on a Spanish ship sometime in the
1600s. For more than one hundred years, Europeans believed that potatoes belonged
to a botanical family of a poisonous breed. It was not until Marie Antoinette wore
potato blossoms in her hair in the mid-eighteenth century that potatoes became a
novelty. By the late 1700s, the dietary value of the potato had been discovered, and
the monarchs of Europe ordered the vegetable to be widely planted.
.
By 1800, the vast majority of the Irish population had become dependent on the
potato as its primary staple. It wasn't uncommon for an Irish potato farmer to
consume more than six pounds of potatoes a day. Families stored potatoes for the
winter and even fed potatoes to their livestock. Because of this dependency, the
unexpected potato blight of 1845 devastated the Irish. Investigators at first suggested
that the blight was caused by static energy, smoke from railroad trains, or vapors from
underground volcanoes; however, the root cause was later discovered as an airborne
fungus that traveled from Mexico. Not only did the disease destroy the potato crops, it
also infected all of the potatoes in storage at the time. Their families were dying from
famine, but weakened farmers had retained little of their agricultural skills to harvest
other crops. Those who did manage to grow things such as oats, wheat, and barley
relied on earnings from these exported crops to keep their rented homes.
D.
While the potato blight generated mass starvation among the Irish, the people were
held captive to their poverty by the British tenure system. Following the Napoleonic
Wars of 1815, the English had turned their focus to their colonial land holdings. British
landowners realized that the best way to profit from these holdings was to extract the
resources and exports and charge expensive rents and taxes for people to live on the
land. Under the tenure system, Protestant landlords owned 95 percent of the Irish
land, which was divided up into five-acre plots for the people to live and farm on. As
the population of Ireland grew, however, the plots were continuously subdivided into

smaller parcels. Living conditions declined dramatically, and families were forced to
move to less fertile land where almost nothing but the potato would grow.
E.
During this same period of colonization. The Penal Laws were also instituted as a
means of weakening the Irish spirit. Under the Penal Laws, Irish peasants were denied
basic human rights, such as the right to speak their own native language, seek certain
kinds of employment, practice their faith, receive education, and own land. Despite
the famine that was devastating Ireland, the landlords had little compassion or
sympathy for tenants unable to pay their rent. Approximately 500,000 Irish tenants
were evicted by their landlords between 1845 and 1847. Many of these people also
had their homes burned down and were put in jail for overdue rent.
F.
The majority of the British officials in the 1840s adopted the laissez-faire philosophy,
which supported a policy of nonintervention in the Irish plight. Prime Minister Sir
Robert Peel was an exception. He showed compassion toward the Irish by making a
move to repeal the Corn Laws, which had been put in place to protect British grain
producers from the competition of foreign markets. For this hasty decision, Peel
quickly lost the support of the British people and was forced to resign. The new Prime
Minister, Lord John Russell, allowed assistant Charles Trevelyan to take complete
control over all of the relief efforts in Ireland. Trevelyan believed that the Irish situation
should be left to Providence. Claiming that it would be dangerous to let the Irish
become dependent on other countries, he even took steps to close food depots that
were selling corn and to redirect shipments of com that were already on their way to
Ireland. A few relief programs were eventually implemented, such as soup kitchens
and ' workhouses; however, these were poorly run institutions that facilitated the
spread of disease, tore apart families, and offered inadequate food supplies
considering the extent of Ireland's shortages.
G.
Many of the effects of the Irish potato famine are still evident today. Descendants of
those who fled Ireland during the 1840s are dispersed all over the world. Some of the
homes that were evacuated by absentee landlords still sit abandoned in the Irish hills.
A number, of Irish dependents still carry animosity toward the British for not putting
people before politics. The potato blight itself still plagues the Irish people during
certain growing seasons when weather conditions are favorable for the fungus to
thrive.
Questions 41-45
The passage has seven paragraphs, A-G. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the
correct letter in boxes 41-45 on your Answer Sheet.
41.

the position of the British government towards the potato famine

42.

a description of the system of land ownership in Ireland '

43.

early European attitudes toward the potato

44.

explanation of the lack of legal protection for Irish peasants

45.

the importance of the potato in Irish society

Questions 45-53

Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-L from the box at the top of the next page. Write the
correct letter in boxes 21-28 on your Answer Sheet. There are more endings than sentences, so you won't
use them all.
46.

At first Europeans didn't eat potatoes

47.

European monarchs encouraged potato growing

48.

The potato blight was devastating to the Irish

49.

Farmers who grew oats, wheat, and barley didn't eat these crops

50.

Many Irish farmers lived on infertile plots

51.

Many Irish farmers were arrested

52.

Sir Robert Peel lost his position as prime minister

53.

Soup kitchens and workhouses didn't relieve the suffering

Sentence Endings

A.

because they couldn't pay the rent on their farms.

because railroad trains caused air pollution.

because potatoes were their main source of food.

D.

because Charles Trevelyan took over relief efforts.

E.

because they needed the profits to pay the rent.

F.

because they weren't well-managed.

G.

because there wasn't enough land for the increasing population.

H.

because his efforts to help the Irish were unpopular among the British.

I.

because they believed that potatoes were poisonous.

J.

because the British instituted penal laws.

because it was discovered that potatoes are full of nutrients.

L.

because Marie Antoinette used potato blossoms as decoration.