E test 7

THE CORPORATION FOR FINANCING AND
PROMOTING TECHNOLOGY
---------------o0o---------------
ENGLISH TEST
Time allowed: 60 minutes
50 questions
Part 1
Read the following article and choose the best answers to questions 1-5.
S e c r e t s o f t h e F a c e
Is it really possible to judge someone’s character from their face? The Chinese seem to think so.
For over 2,000 years they have been practising Siang Mien, which is the art of judging character
and predicting fortune from an analysis of the face. It developed in the ancient imperial courts
of China and consisted of jealously guarded secrets that were hidden away in special books
which only a very few could look at.
These secrets cannot have been that well guarded and must have got out because practically all
Chinese practise some form of face analysis. Mothers tell their daughters that men with flat
noses and small ear lobes will make shy and rather dull husbands.
So how does this analysis work? Well, to start with, people’s faces can be classified according
to one of ten basic shapes, each of which has its own special name. A triangular face, for
example, is called a fire-face. One which is square is known as a wall-face, while one which is
diamond shaped is a jade-face. There are even bucket-faces!
Once the basic shape has been decided, then parts of the face such as the eyes, nose, chin and
mouth can be analyzed in their turn. People who have not got conventional or beautiful faces
should not worry, as ugly people tend to be lucky.
Anyway, let us see how Siang Mien works by using Princess Diana as a practical example. To
begin with, we can say that she has got a jade-face which means that she must be strong-willed.
This shape also belongs to people who are said to have had difficult chilhoods. As you may
know, the Princess’s parents were divorced when she was a child and this time must have been
a period of great unhappiness.
Turning to more specific features, we can see that one eye is a little larger than the other. It is a
known fact that people with eyes of different sizes are often brought up by stepparents. They

are also believed to be charming as well as being capable of great jealousy. We can see from
her photographs that the top of her ears goes above the line of her eyebrows. People who have
high ears such as hers are likely to become famous before the age of 30, while those who
combine this with eyes of different sizes will be lucky.
English test – B3
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1. Siang Mien
A was a secret art.
B was known by emperors.
C is quite recent.
D is generally practised.
2. Chinese mothers think men with
A big ears are exciting.
B small ear lobes are kind.
C flat noses are not interesting.
D small ear lobes and flat noses can’t be trusted.
3. A jade-face is best described as
A flat at the bottom and pointed at the top.
B pointed at the top and bottom.
C pointed at the bottom but flat at the top.
D oval.
4. People with eyes of different sizes
A often have stepparents.
B are usually unhappy.
C are often divorced.
D are supposed to be generous.
5. Princess Diana
A proves the truth of Siang Mian.
B has low ears.
C was over 30 when she became famous.

D has an ordinary face.
Part 2
Read the following text and then select from the answer choices at the bottom of the text the
word that best fills each blank.
If you ask most people to list what makes them like someone on first meeting, they will say
personality, intelligence, and sense of humor. But they are probably deceiving themselves. The
characteristic that impresses people the most (6)_____ meeting anyone, from a job applicant
(7)_____ a classmate, is apprearance. Unfair (8)_____ it may seem, attractive people are
frequently preferred (9)______ their less attractive peers. Research begun in the early 70s has
shown that (10)_____ only do good looks influence such things as choice of friends and lovers,
but they can also affect grades, selection for jobs, and (11)_____ the outcome of a trial. The
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very first research on this (12)_____ showed that the more attractive a person is, the more
positive (13)_____ people will attribute to him or her. Attractive people are viewed as
(14)______ happier, more sensitive, more interesting, and having better character than their less
attractive counterparts.
Related research has investigated (15)_____ attractiveness influences sex typing, the tendency
of people (16)_____ assign certain stereotypical qualities to each sex. Along with (17)_____ the
good qualities people associate (18)_____ good looks, attractive people tend to fit easily into
sexual stereotypes. For example, attractive women are often (19)_____ as being more feminine
and attractive men as more masculine.
Good looks can be a serious (20)_____ for some people. (21)_____ women, in work situations
that conflict with sexual stereotypes. For instance, attractive women might be (22)_____ a real
disadvantage (23)_____ they aspire to occupations in (24)_____ stereotypically male traits,
such as aggressiveness, are considered (25)_____ for success.
6. A. when B. for C. is D. important
7. A. for B. to C. as D. or
8. A. that B. advantage C. as D. because
9. A. than B. from C. by D. over

10. A. the B. not C. people D. appearance
11. A. intelligence B. to C. even D. get
12. A. has B. research C. phenomenon D. ease
13. A. impression B. the C. characteristics D. other
14. A. being B. the C. more D. if
15. A. that B. how C. about D. on
16. A. can B. to C. who D. and
17. A. research B. some C. this D. all
18. A. the B. that C. with D. also
19. A. tending B. perceived C. said D. consider
20. A. disadvantage B. advantage C. matter D. reason
21. A. moreover B. especially C. as D. for
22. A. at B. in C. having D. taken
23. A. than B. when C. that D. because
24. A. their B. which C. possessing D. some
25. A. more B. negative C. necessary D. as
English test – B3
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Part 3
In most lines of the letter below, there is one unnecessary word. It is either a spelling error or
does not fit in with the sense of the text. For each numbered line 26-35, find the unnecessary
word and then write the word in the space on your answer sheet. Some lines are correct.
Indicate these lines with a tick (

). The exercise begins with two examples (0) and (00).
0 a
00

0
00

26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
Dear Andy,
Thanks a lot for the lovely letter. It was a great news about your promotion. Well
done. I am really sorry for not having written earlier but life has been busy since
moving here. What’s more, I have just started a new job.
I’ve been taken on as a shop assisstant in a bookshop store. The other staff are nice
and friendly, and it’s quite well paid.
By the way, the other day I bumped into Anna Granger in a bookshop. Guess what!
She has just moved here too. She told me some awfully news though. You’ll be sad to
hear that Mr. Green, our old teacher, passed away last month. Poor Mr. Green. Still,
life goes on.
Incidentally, I’ve aranged to go to the theatre to see ‘Cats’ with Anna in a couple of
week time. Would you like to come too? You can stay at my place. Do let me know as
I’ll have to get tickets.
Anyway, I must sign off as I want to catch the post.
Hope to see you soon.
Lots of love,
Celia
Part 4
Complete the story with the correct tenses of the verbs in brackets. An example is given.
Five years ago I ___had to____ (have to) make a big decision. At the time I ___36____ (work)

for a small engineering company. However, things were not going very well for the company
and it ___37____ (lose) money. One day while we ___38____ (work) as normal, the boss told
us that the company ___39____ (be) bankrupt. We were all unemployed.
That lunch-time we went to the pub as usual. We were all very depressed. I ___40____ (work)
at the company for over fifteen years and some of the people ___41____ (be) there longer than
English test – B3
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that. Well, of course we ___42____ (talk) about the problem. Then the landlord of the pub
heard the news. He ___43____ (say): ‘Why don’t you buy the company?’ At first we all
laughed, but then we started to discuss it properly. We ___44____ (know) the problems. The
company ___45____ (lose) a lot of customers, because it ___46____ (not develop) new
products. But finally we ___47____ (decide) to go for it.
So we bought the company. The first few years ___48____ (be) very difficult. But we worked
hard and we ___49____ (have) a bit of luck. We finally turned the corner three years ago.
Since then we ___50____ (do) pretty well. Last year we took on four new people and so far
this year we have taken on another ten. It was a big gamble six years ago, but I haven’t
regretted it for a minute.
.

English test – B3
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