ESL C1 Level MCQ Test With Answers ADVANCED TEST 2

C1 MOCK EXAMINATION - Use of English and Reading Sections

SECTION 1

Choose the correct alternatives to complete the sentences.

I’m looking for a new job so I _____ out a lot of CVs.

The first European visitors to North America _____ the Vikings.

I had no idea you were still waiting; I ____ into your problem immediately.

I ____ some research but not nearly enough before the conference began.

If she hadn’t moved down to Nashville, she ____ a singing star today.

His teachers never guessed he ____ a Pulitzer prize-winning author.

Why is this television on? I ____ you ____ for your test tomorrow!

No sooner ____ than the telephone rang.

By the time we know the suspect’s name, he ____ the country.

If you ____ to India, the culture shock would be enormous.

SECTION 2

Choose the correct alternative to complete the sentences.

They ____ across the river; the currents were much too strong.

We’ll give you what you want as long as your demands are within ____.

Many people have risen to greatness ____ having physical handicaps.

I tried ___ him, but I was too late to catch him before he left.

Since he became president, serious work has ____ to showing off his new power.

We need to _____ that this never happens again.

His down-to-_____ manner made him popular with the common people throughout the country.

Has it ever _____ you that maybe they’re not telling the truth?

Terrence would be perfect as Hamlet! The role ____ him like a glove.

The _____ of prolonged space travel are still not known.

SECTION 5

(Please note: The following questions are related to a specific reading passage, which is available solely before the first question. Remember, it may be helpful to refer back to the reading text while answering the questions to ensure accuracy.)

Read the passage and choose the correct answers to each question.

Ministers want to turn Britain into a nation of readers - with the help of television. Soap operas such as EastEnders, Coronation Street and Brookside will be used to promote the idea that reading is both essential and fun.

Everyone, from nine-month-old babies to 80-year-old pensioners, will be invited to take part in the National Year of Reading, which David Blunkett, Secretary of State for Education, launched yesterday. He said, “This is a campaign for everyone. It aims to encourage children, parents, grandparents and friends to read and it is also about getting volunteers prepared to give a little time as teachers, both in and out of school.”

Mr Blunkett said his own interest in reading had begun with simple children’s stories that would be considered politically incorrect by today’s standards. He said he had enjoyed reading Jack London’s White Fang and Call of the Wild. “The books were inspirational. I loved the way the writer portrayed the best and most cruel elements of nature.” Mr Blunkett announced an extra £24m to pay for book tokens for every school. Nearly £60m will be spent on a new daily ‘literacy hour’ in primary schools. A £1.8m television advertising campaign to encourage adults to read to children has also begun.

The need for a National Year of Reading is obvious, say, ministers. In a recent survey, Britain came third from the bottom in a literacy table of eight industrialised nations. According to the Office for National Statistics, 8.4 million Britons of working age (22 per cent) are incapable of comparing two pieces of information and one in four adults has very poor literacy standards. Moreover, nearly 40 per cent of 11-year-olds are not reaching the expected standard in national tests in English. Particular efforts will be made to help boys, who lag behind girls in English throughout their school careers.

Parents will be able to obtain a free booklet of advice on how they can help their children to read by calling a free phone number. Every baby will get a free book as part of a £6m project funded by the supermarket Sainsbury’s, in partnership with the charity Book Trust. The company is giving away 1 million books in a new national Bookstart programme.

In a pilot project begun six years ago with 300 Birmingham families, babies were given free books at their nine-month health check. Their literacy had benefited by the time they started school. Two years after receiving the books they were three times more likely to be interested in reading than those who had not taken part in the project.

Other projects will aim at influencing young adults. One will promote cult novels for 16-to-25-year-olds. Estelle Morris, the school standards minister, said the improvement of literacy could not all be left to schools. “We need a culture change to make sure this country values reading in a way it has not done for many, many years.”

John Dunford, general secretary of the Secondary Heads Association, said the money was welcome and he expected schools would spend most of it on fiction for their libraries, which had been depleted by recent budget cuts. With discounts, that would mean about 200 new books for each school. “The challenge is to get children reading books in this age of computer games and wall-to-wall television. It would truly be a tragedy for Britain to lose the love of reading.”

Mr Blunkett said he would judge the success of the year by the change in attitudes to reading. This might be measured by the number of books borrowed from libraries or sold in shops. Book sales had already risen since the Government began to highlight literacy problems, he added.

The initiative to encourage reading will _____.

The initiative is aimed at _____.

Mr Blunkett’s interest in reading _____.

Primary schools will introduce _____.

Which statement is correct?

Which statement is correct?

The babies who were given free books _____.

Estelle Morris believes _____.

Which statement is correct?

The success of the programme will be judged on _____.