Practice test for University entrance exam

Practice test
I/ Choose the best option to complete the blank in each sentence:
1. The rulers of Viet Nam's last imperial line, the Nguyen Dynasty, all came from .............. family.
a. same b. the same c. different d. the other
2. When a body enters the earth's atmosphere, it travels ...............
a. very rapidly b. in a rapid manner c. fastly d. with great speed
3. Thank you for bringing me along. I never thought Shakespeare could be so............. fun.
a. many b. much c. few d. some
4. You should say ................ and do .................
a. many / few b. much / little c. few / many d. little / much
5. Very .............. people knew about it.
a. few b. less c. much d. little
6. He is a man of ............... words.
a. less b. little c. fewer d. few
7. In 1927 Charlie Chaplin received a public ................... from Hollywood in the form of a special
Oscar.
a. apologize b. apologise c. apology d. apologizer
8. . ................. heard about the book, but ............... read it.
a. Many / few b. Much / little c. Many / little d. Few / Fewer
9. "Do you know English?" "Just ..........................."
a. much b. many c. little d. less
10. She has very .................. knowledge of the matter.
a. few b. little c. some d. many
11. The forces were unequal, they were .............. we were ...............
a. many / few b. much / little c. few / much d. little / much
12. We have imported ...................... computers this year than last year.
a. few b. less c. fewer d. many
13. There has been .............. demand for computers this year than last year.
a. few b. little c. fewer d. more
14. Always make sure your luggage has ................. on it when you travel.
a. a card b. a cartel c. a label d. a traveling-bag

15. Last December the boss gave all his ................ a bonus.
a. employ b. employable c. employee d. employees
16. Are you sure we're going in the right .................?
a. direct b. directly c. direction d. directed
17. My new car is more .............. than the one I had before.
a. economy b. economical c. economic d. economics
18. He works as an ................. for a local firm.
a. electric b. electricity c. electrician d. electronic
19. I've been .................. since I must find work soon.
a. unemployed b. employed c. employable d. unemployable
20. She studied ................. at university.
a. economy b. economical c. economic d. economics
21. The price of ................. has gone up again.
a. electric b. electricity c. electrician d. electronic
22. Her ............... was so angry at her attitude that he fired her.
a. employ b. employer c. employers d. employing
23. She looked ................ at me as she said it.
a. direct b. directly c. direction d. directed
24. On my salary we have to live as ....................... as possible.
a. economy b. economical c. economically d. economic
25.Although I hadn't met Helen's brother before, ---------------------- .
A) he has been away at university for several years
B) he's getting engaged to an Italian next Saturday
C) he came back from doing his army service
D) I am going to their house for dinner on Friday
E) I recognised him instantly from the photograph
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26. -------------------- the number of members is growing.
A) Despite the sport club's very high prices
B) Owing to the inadequate publicity made by the management

C) If the joining fee were reduced dramatically
D) Due to the lack of new people joining
E) In spite of the popularity of the club
27.Even though the job vacancy was only advertised yesterday, ----------------
A) the salary is high and there are good benefits
B) we have already received several applications
C) we can't hold the interviews until next week
D) I really hope that James will apply for the job
E) there have been very few phone calls actually
28. ----------------- until you've worked here for one year.
A) You didn't really understand the job
B) You might have received a generous salary
C) The company failed to increase its profits
D) You've learned every aspect of the job
E) You won't be eligible for promotion
29. ------------------ yet some people still complained about the cold.
A) There was no record of such a cold winter in history
B) A lot of people have been missing work this year with colds and flu
C) It was the mildest winter most residents could remember
D) The weather forecast predicted a severe blizzard
E) Mediterranean people are known to be warm and hospitable
II/ Error identification:
30. After she had dressed and ate (A) breakfast, Lucky rushed off (B) to her (C) office for a
meeting with (D) her accountant.
31. The (A) teacher repeated the assignment again (B) for the students, since they (C) had
difficulty understanding what to do after he had explained (D) it the first time.
32. The company has (A) little (B) money that it (C) can’t hardly (D) operate anymore.
33. The professor is (A) thinking to go (B) to the conference on environment (C) next
month.(D)
34. The statement will be spoken (A) just one time; therefore, you must listen (B) very

careful (C) in order to understand what the speaker has said.(D)
III/ Reading: read the passages below, and then choose the best option
Passage 1:
A characteristic of American culture that has become almost a tradition is to respect the self-
made man — the man who has risen to the top through his own efforts, usually beginning by working
with his hands. While the leader in business or industry or the college professor occupies a higher
social position and commands greater respect in the community than the common laborer or even
the skilled factory worker, he may take pains to point out that his father started life in America as a
farmer or laborer of some sort.
This attitude toward manual labor is now still seen in many aspects of American life. One is
invited to dinner at a home that is not only comfortably but even luxuriously furnished and in which
there is every evidence of the fact that the family has been able to afford foreign travel, expensive
hobbies, and college education for the children; yet the hostess probably will cook the dinner herself,
will serve it herself and will wash dishes afterward, furthermore the dinner will not consist merely of
something quickly and easily assembled from contents of various cans and a cake or a pie bought at
the nearby bakery. On the contrary, the hostess usually takes pride in careful preparation of special
dishes. A professional man may talk about washing the car, digging in his flowerbeds, painting the
house. His wife may even help with these things, just as he often helps her with the dishwashing. The
son who is away at college may wait on table and wash dishes for his living, or during the summer
he may work with a construction gang on a highway in order to pay for his education.
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35. From paragraph 1, we can know that in America _________.
A. people tend to have a high opinion of the self-made man
B. people can always rise to the top through their won efforts
C. college professors win great respect from common workers
C. people feel painful to mention their fathers as labors.
36. According to the passage, the hostess cooks dinner herself mainly because _________.
A. servants in American are hard to get
B. she takes pride in what she can do herself
C. she can hardly afford servants

D. It is easy to prepare a meal with canned food
37. The expression “wait on table” in the second paragraph means “_________”.
A. work in a furniture shop B. keep accounts for a bar
C. wait to lay the table D. serve customers in a restaurant
38. Which of the following may serve as the best title of the passage?
A. A Respectable Self-made Family B. American Attitude toward Manual Labor
C. Characteristics of American Culture D. The Development of Manual Labor
Passage 2
A child who has once been pleased with a tale likes, as a rule, to have it retold in almost the same
words, but this should not lead parents to treat printed fairy stories as formal texts. It is always much
better to tell a story than read it out of a book, and, if a parent can produce what, in the actual
situation of the time and the child, is an improvement on the printed text, so much the better.
A charge made against fairy tales is that they harm the child by frightening him or making him
sad thinking. To prove the latter, one would have to show in a controlled experiment that children
who have read fairy stories were more often sorry for cruelty than those who had not. As to fears,
there are, I think, some cases of children being dangerously terrified by some fairy story. Often,
however, this arises from the child having heard the story once. Familiarity with the story by
repetition turns the pain of fear into the pleasure of a fear faced and mastered.
There are also people who object to fairy stories on the grounds that they are not objectively true,
that giants, witches, two-headed dragons, magic carpets, etc. do not exist; and that, instead of being
fond of the strange side in fairy tales, the child should be taught to learn the reality by studying
history. I find such people, I must say so peculiar that I do not know how to argue with them. If their
case were sound, the world should be full of mad men attempting to fly from New York to
Philadelphia on a stick or covering a telephone with kisses in the belief that it was their beloved girl-
friend.
No fairy story ever declared to be a description of the real world and no clever child has ever
believed that it was.
39. The author considers that a fairy story is more effective when it is _______.
A. repeated without any change B. treated as a joke
C. made some changes by the parent D. set in the present

40.According to the passage, great fear can take place in a child when the story is _______.
A. in a realistic setting B. heard for the first time
C. repeated too often D. told in a different way
41. The advantage claimed for repeating fairy stories to young children is that it _______.
A. makes them less fearful
B. develops their power of memory
C. makes them believe there is nothing to be afraid of
D. encourages them not to have strange beliefs
42. The author’s mention of sticks and telephones is meant to suggest that _______.
A. fairy stories are still being made up
B. there is some misunderstanding about fairy tales
C. people try to modernize old fairy stories
D. there is more concern for children's fears nowadays
43. One of the reasons why some people are not in favor of fairy tales is that _______.
A. they are full of imagination
B. they just make up the stories which are far from the truth
C. they are not interesting
D. they make teachers of history difficult to teach
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Passage 3
This passage is extracted (1) _____ the introduction to the Directory of Summer Jobs, a book
published every year to help students find temporary employment during the summer vacation.
You should try to apply as early as (2) ______. Don't write to only one (3) ______, but to
several others. You are more likely to have a chance to get a job. Before (4) ______ for a position,
check that you fulfill all the requirements as to period of work, age, and qualifications. Write an
application letter (5) ______ which position (6) _____________ you, why you think you are
suitable (7) ______ it and how many hours you can work a week. Remember to (8) __________
your curriculum vitae and a small photograph of your own.
When a job (9) ______ to you, check details of wages, hours and the conditions of work with the
employer. If you are offered (10) ______ one job, you should decide quickly.

1. a. at b. from c. in d. on
2. a. could b. possible c. you can d. b and c
3 a. employ b. employee c. employer d. employment
4 a. applying b. asking c. having d. working
5 a. talking b. explaining c. demanding d. booking
6. a. interest b. interests c. interested d. interesting
7 a. with b. on c. for d. in
8. a. delay b. get on c. put away d. enclose
9. a. had been offered
c. was offered
b. is offered
c. will have been offered
10 a. more than b. many than c. as so d. rather than
Passage 4
According to a (-0- example) survey, technology has influenced our lives in various ways.
_1_____ , more and more people have become “couch potatoes” ___2___ of spending more time
watching TV ___3___ being with their family or friends. A great number of people to use___4___
the Internet every day not only for professional reasons but also to keep in___5___ with friends
and relatives. ___6___ , the majority of the people who were interviewed do not believe that books
will eventually be ___7___ by the net. Some people claim that ___8___ changes technology has
brought are negative ___9___ it hasn’t managed to bring us closer. ___10___, others argue that
things may be different but not necessarily worse since change is part of life.
1. a. besides b. what is more c. all in all d. for example
2. a. due b. as a result c. in addition d. so that
3. a. than b. to c. from d. even
4. a. say b. are said c. said d. were said
5. a. contact b. connection c. touch d. pace
6. a. despite b. however c. although d. in spite
7. a. exchanged b. removed c. overtaken d. replaced

8. a. more b. the more c. most d. the most
9. a. but b. still c. as d. also
10. a. nevertheless b. regardless c. anyway d. similarly
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