PLACEMENT EXAM

 Please select School, English Program and Schedule

STUDENT INFORMATION

PLACEMENT EXAM

 SECTION I

LISTENING

In this section of the test, you will hear conversations and answer some questions about them. For each conversation, first read the situation and the question or questions. Then listen to the conversation. Answer the questions after you hear the conversation.

David is talking with Tomomi when Monica comes into the room.

Ken and Nancy are at the restaurant.

Karen calls Jason's home. Jason's father answers the telephone.

A reporter is giving today's weather forecast.

Phil is talking with Susie about money.

Natalie and Chuck are talking about their experiences abroad.

Diana and Conrad are talking about their careers.

End of Session I: Listening

 SECTION II

READING

In this section of the test, you will read some short passages and answer question about them. Choose the word that best complete the sentence.  

Passage 1: What are you doing today?

BETTY CHAN: I usually stay home on Sundays and take it easy - read, clean the house, do stuff like that. But today I’m at the mall. I’m buying some things for my kids.

Passage 2: What do you do?

TONY PEREZ: I'm a flight attendant with a major airline. Flying isn't dangerous, but it can be streessful. when I'm up in the air working, I always have something to do, I like it because I meet a lot of interesting people.

Passage 3: A vacation postcard

Dear Sal,
Greetings from France - it's so good to be back here again! We left the kids with their grandparents in Chicago, and we're biking across the French countryside by ourselves. We brought a tent and sleeping bags, so we can camp out if we want to, but we're really enjoying the small hotels we find along the way.

Love,
Michael and Paula

Passage 4: The "zone"

You're deeply involved in a task and can ingnore everything around you- ringing telephones, your neighbor's TV, even your own hunger - and still do things in record time. This is similar to what athletes call the "zone": the power to concentrate so hard that you can ignore everything else. This ability can bring success in any field, but in athletes it can mean all the difference between winning and losing a game or event.

Passage 5: Henry Ford and the Model-T

Henry Ford became famous and rich because he found a better, faster wayto build cars. This is show ins history of the Model-T. When the Model-T was first introduced in 1908, it took 14 hours to build and cost $800. After Ford introduced into his own factory the mass-production technics that he saw in a meat-packing plant, the time for building a Model-T was reducedto less than two hours. As a result, Ford was able to drop the price of the car to $256. By 1957, he had sold over 15 million Model Ts.

Passage 6: it's a big country!

When it comes to body weight, Americans stand out. Most visitors to the United States, no matter where they go across this vas country, comment on the size of many Americans, In fact, these impressions are backed by numerous statistics. For example, the average 5'4" American weights 162 pounds, or 15 pounds more than the average person of the same height from Western Europe. Another comparison: At 150 pounds, the average 5'4" American woman is 24 pounds heavier than her Japanese counterpart.

Why are Americans so heavy? Some blame the American diet, Certainly it's true that Americans eat more high-fat foods - meat, dairy products, and processed food -  and fewer grains and vegetables than people in other countries. But fat isn't the whole story. Lifestyle factors - incluing the tendency for Americans to drive tarher than walk or ride a bicycle to work, to snack throughout the day, and to have so many labor-saving devices in the home - appear to contribute to the problem.

Passage 7: Small talk isn't so "small"

Small talk may not be about serious issues; nevertheless, researachers into the subject have concluded that it's important. That's because small talk keeps us connected to one another and can lead to bigger things, such as a job or a new friendship. Yet people who find themselves alone with another person often don't know what to say, Here are a few tips to help you start a conversation, and to keep the conversational ball rolling: 

• Start with the obvious. If you have something in commun with another person (your job, hobbies, a person you both know, etc.), begin with that. If you don't know the person, it's always acceptable to bring up a neutral topic such as the weather or a recent news event. It isn't necessary to be clever - all that's required is to show interest in the other person and to be willing to talk.

• Compliment when appropiate. If the other person has done something you like or is wearig something attractive, it's always appropiate to compliment. But avoid talking about the specifics of a person's physical appereance (people can't usually change how they look) and keep your compliments short and to the point ("What a great tie!" or "You look great tonight!") and continue with another topic.

• Talk about yourself - then turn to your partner. It's perfectly OK to talk about your own interests for a while, but keep your conversation from becoming a monolog. It's only polite, for example, that after talking abour your own children, you turn the conversation back to your partner by asking about his or cher children.

Passage 8: Headaches

Eveyone has experienced headaches, but only have medical researchers begun to to learn more specifically about the causes and possible treatment for different types of headache pain.

The most common type of headache is the simple tension headache. Tension headhaches are usually mild and short-lasting and can result from various factors, such as stress caused by worry or noise. Tension headaches are caused by a tighening of the neck or back muscles, wich slows the flow of blood and, therefore, oxygen to the brain. It is the lack of oxygen that causes the pain. Most headaches can be relieved by taking a mild analgesic such as aspirin. Analgesics expand the blod vessels and restore the normal flow of blood and oxygen to the brain.

A more seious type of headache is migraine. Migraine headaches are often extremely painful and can last for hours or days. Like tension headacahes, they can be the result of different factors, including stress, hormonal changes, and allergies. Unlike tension headaches, however, they are caused by an abnormal expansion or swelling (rather than a contraction) of the blood vessels within the head. Medicines that shrink swollen blood vessels can be used to treat migraine heaches.

A tiny minority of headaches can be linked to severe physical problems such as head injury or brain tumors. For these types of headaches, there are medicines to treat the symptoms, but there is no cure unless the underlying pronlem is removed.

End of Session II: Reading

SECTION III

LANGUAGE USE

In this section you will answer questions about the use of English. Choose the word or words that best complete the sentence.

End of Session III: Language Use

PLACEMENT ESSAY

Please write about ONE of the following topics.

Do not write about all three.

Write a well organized essay about the topic you choose.

When you finish your essay, read it over and correct any mistakes you find.

TOPIC 1: 
Describe a person that you know well. Why is that preson special to you?
 

TOPIC 2:
What foreign languages have you learned? Based on your experience, what advice would you give to someone who wants to learn a foreign language?

TOPIC 3: 
What are the advantages and disadvantages of marrying someone from another country?

 SPEAKING

Directions:

Please record yourself asnwering the following questions.

You have a maximum of 2 minutes of recording time per question.

END OF PLACEMENT EXAM