Diagnostic Quiz

1/24

Points: 14

Read this article about Anna Jones.

Six sentences have been removed from the article.

Arrange sentences A–G in the correct order so that they fit each gap (1-6). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.

Anna Jones, the famous mountain bike rider, learnt to ski at age seven and was competing internationally at the age of fourteen. But when she was eighteen, a close friend of hers had a serious skiing accident and this led to Anna giving up competitive skiing. Very soon she started missing her sport and decided to take up downhill mountain biking instead. She progressed rapidly up the ranks and is now one of the top five downhill racers in the country.

Her first race was a cross-country race in 1995, which wasn’t an amazing success. 1. __________ She continued competing and entered a few more cross-country races. When she was given a downhill bike to try by a local bike shop, she entered a downhill race. She fell off but did reasonably well in the end. And so she switched to downhill racing.

Undoubtedly the experience she gained from skiing, such as cornering and weight balance, was very helpful. Her good luck continued and she was chosen to ride for a famous British team which required her to compete almost every weekend from March through to September. 2. __________ She spends a lot of her time helping to set up tents inn muddy fields and doing all the other necessary jobs.

Last season she was selected to represent Great Britain at both the European and World Championships, but both events were completely different from the UK race scene. 3. __________ This was her first time in these conditions and the atmosphere was electric because she was racing against riders whom she had previously followed in magazines. She finish about the middle but was very proud of herself.

Mountain biking is a great sport to be in, but it is also very scary. Every time she races she scares herself silly but then when she finishes she is ready to do it all over again. She says that when she’s riding well, she is right on the edge, as close as she can be to being out of control. 4. __________ The secret however is to quickly learn how to fall so as not to injure yourself, and this is part of the learning process, as you have to push yourself to try new skills to improve.

Initially, downhill racing wasn’t taken seriously as a mountain-biking discipline. 5. __________ But this is changing and riders are now realising that they need to train just as hard for downhill racing as they would do for cross-country. The races are run over ground which is generally closer to vertical than horizontal, with jumps drop-offs, holes, corners and nasty rocks and trees to test your nerves as well as technical skill. At the end of a run, which is between two and three minutes long in this country, your legs hurt so much they burn. 6. ______________. In a race the riders are so excited that they switch off to the pain until the race finishes.

There is a common misconception that downhill mountain bike racing is an expensive sport. This is not the case. A reasonable beginner’s bike costs about £400 and the basic equipment, a cycle helmet, cycle shorts and gloves, costs around £150. As you improve you may want to upgrade your bike and get a full-face crash helmet which is a wise investment, since riders are now achieving speeds of up to 80km an hour.

F. She finished last, but that didn’t matter as she enjoyed the experience.
G. It would be wrong to think that it’s all stardom and glamour.
C. The courses were twice as long and the crowds were twice as big.
A. She’s fallen off more times than she would’ve liked.
E. People felt that sitting on a bike and rolling down a hill for a few minutes didn’t require much skill.
B. Most riders have to take a break during practice sessions.
D. She isn’t strong enough in the arms, so she’s been doing a lot of work in the gym.

1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
Unused:

2/24

Points: 1

This is the Listening test.

Make sure you have earphones or that your computer speaker’s volume is ON.

You will hear people talking in eight different situations.

For questions 1–8, choose the best answer, A, B or C.

You hear a teenager talking about a party: What disappointed her about it?

A – She didn't know many people there.
B – It finished too early in the evening.
C – There wasn't much to eat or drink.

3/24

Points: 1

You hear a news report on the radio. Where is the reporter speaking from?

A – a helicopter.
B – the top of a hill.
C – a tall building

4/24

Points: 1

You hear a man talking about taking his driving test. How did he feel at the end of the test?

A – relieved that the test had finished.
B – angry with himself for making a mistake.
C – anxious to know whether he had passed.

5/24

Points: 1

You hear a man talking on the radio. Who is he?

A – a police officer
B – an ambulance driver
C – a firefighter

6/24

Points: 1

You overhear two people talking about a school trip to the seaside. What did the man think of it?

A – it was badly organized.
B – the children did not enjoy it.
C – the parents had to pay too much.

7/24

Points: 1

You hear a radio weather forecast. What will the weather be like tomorrow?

A – warmer than today.
B – wetter than today.
C – windier than today.

8/24

Points: 1

You hear a man in a furniture shop talking about an item he bought. What does he want the shop assistant to do?

A – return all the money he paid for it.
B – replace it with a different item.
C – give him the written instructions.

9/24

Points: 1

You turn on the radio and hear part of a play. What is the woman doing?

A – suggesting what the man should do.
B – criticizing the man for something.
C – apologizing for something she did.

10/24

Points: 12

Read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap.

(0) is an example – SOMETIME

The Common Cold

It is likely that everybody in the world has at (0) sometime suffered from the common cold. We are all, unfortunately, familiar (1) coughing, sneezing, headache, sore throat and runny nose that tell us we have once again (2) with one of the most common of human diseases.

(3) average, adults have a cold two to four times a year, while over the (4) period children catch between three and eight colds. In this country alone, almost a million people have a cold on any one day. (5) , with about 30% of the population in employment, nearly 300,000 of them are off work with colds every day.

With (6) a huge number of working hours lost to the economy every day, quite (7) from the human suffering that colds cause, it is perhaps surprising that the medical science of the 21st century is still incapable (8) finding a cure. The wide range of medicines used to treat the common cold only manage to make us feel less awful, (9) to reduce the length of the illness.

One possible explanation for this is that colds eventually cure themselves; (10) is to say, the body’s natural defenses can deal with the disease. (11) reason is the fact that they can be caused by any one of 200 types of virus, the tiny living things responsible for infectious diseases. This makes it as difficult to cure the common cold (12) it would be to discover a single cure for hundreds of other diseases.

11/24

Points: 1

What time does the restaurant open? ________.

Thirty minutes after nine.
Half past nine o'clock.
Half past nine.
Nine plus thirty minutes.

12/24

Points: 1

I’m going to Tokyo ________ my Japanese friend.

to meet
for meet
for to meet
for meeting

13/24

Points: 1

What ________ for breakfast this morning?

you had
had you
you did have
did you have

14/24

Points: 1

When I saw him, he ________ dark blue jeans.

wore
was wearing
was used to wearing
used to wear

15/24

Points: 1

I ________ Alice since we were at university.

didn't see
haven't seen
don't see
am not seeing

16/24

Points: 1

________ over the weekend?

What time do you get up
Which time do you get up
What time are you getting up
Which time are you getting up

17/24

Points: 1

________ me to get you some water?

Do you like
You like
You would like
Would you like

18/24

Points: 1

I can’t help ________ angry when you behave this way!

to get
I get
getting
having to get

19/24

Points: 1

My father asked me ________ .

where are you going
where was I going
where I was going
where would I go

20/24

Points: 1

It’s getting late. It’s time we ________ .

left
are leaving
leave
should leave

21/24

Points: 1

I was completely taken ________ by that article. I didn’t realize it was all a joke!

in
into
off
on

22/24

Points: 1

You mentioned earlier that people aren’t willing to recycle, but I beg to ________ .

be in disagreement
be different
agree
differ

23/24

Points: 1

These bank notes are no longer in use, I’m afraid they’re ________ .

priceless
invaluable
worthless
valueless

24/24

Points: 1

They ________ the new road this week, but there have been some problems and it still isn’t finished.

were opening
would open
were to have opened
opened

Diagnostic Quiz

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Question 1

Read this article about Anna Jones.

Question 2

Question 3

Question 4

Question 5

Question 6

Question 7

Question 8

Question 9

Question 10

Question 11

Question 12

Question 13

Question 14

Question 15

Question 16

Question 17

Question 18

Question 19

Question 20

Question 21

Question 22

Question 23

Question 24