Reading Practice Test 1 [B2]

Part 1

– 8 questions –

Questions 1-8

Read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.

The Story of Gold

The story of gold is an adventure involving kings, queens, pirates, explorers, conquerors, and the native peoples they conquered. Throughout history, gold has woven a magic spell over those it touched. Gold is beautiful and rare; a soft shiny metal that can be moulded into many (1) … . It has been used for money, jewellery, and to decorate special buildings such (2) … palaces and places of worship. (3) … the precious metal was discovered, prospectors rushed to mine it, starting new cities and countries as they went. Gold and the people who love it have helped shape the world we live (4) … today. Gold is one of many elements, or substances that cannot be changed by normal chemical means, that are found in the Earth’s crust. Gold has a warm, sunny colour and (5) … it does not react (6) … air, water, and most chemicals, its shine never fades. In its natural (7) … , gold is soft and easily shaped. When heated to 1,062 Celsius it melts and can be poured into moulds to form coins, gold bars, and other objects. Stories have been told, movies (8) … and legends born about the discovery of the world’s great gold deposits. It is a saga of dreams, greed, ambition and exploration.

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Part 2

– 8 questions –

Questions 9-16

Read the following extract from a brochure giving advice on taking an examination. For questions 9-16, type the word which best fits in each space. Use only one word in each space. There is an example at the beginning:

Example (0) TO

Exam Tips

Part 3

– 8 questions –

Questions 17 – 24

Read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of some of the lines to form a word that fits in the gap in the same line.

About Fish and Aquariums

Part 4

-6 questions-

Questions 25-30

Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given.

Example:

0. A very friendly taxi driver drove us into town.

DRIVEN

We …………………………………………………… a very friendly taxi driver.

The gap can be filled by the words ‘were driven into town by’, so you write:

Write the missing words in CAPITAL LETTERS.

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Part 5

-6 questions-

Questions 31 – 36

Choose the answer which you think fits best according to the text.

Social networks

Business applications

Social networks connect people at low cost; this can be beneficial for entrepreneurs and small businesses looking to expand their contact base. These networks often act as a customer relationship management tool for companies selling products and services. Companies can also use social networks for advertising in the form of banners and text ads. Since businesses operate globally, social networks can make it easier to keep in touch with contacts around the world.

Medical applications

Social networks are beginning to be adopted by healthcare professionals as a means to manage institutional knowledge, disseminate peer to peer knowledge and to highlight individual physicians and institutions. The advantage of using a dedicated medical social networking site is that all the members are screened against the state licensing board list of practitioners. The role of social networks is especially of interest to pharmaceutical companies who spend approximately “32 percent of their marketing dollars” attempting to influence the opinion leaders of social networks.

Languages, nationalities and academia

Various social networking sites have sprung up catering to different languages and countries. The popular site Facebook has been cloned for various countries and languages and some specializing in connecting students and faculty.

Social networks for social good

Several websites are beginning to tap into the power of the social networking model for social good. Such models may be highly successful for connecting otherwise fragmented industries and small organizations without the resources to reach a broader audience with interested and passionate users. Users benefit by interacting with a like-minded community and finding a channel for their energy and giving.

Business model

Few social networks currently charge money for membership. In part, this may be because social networking is a relatively new service, and the value of using them has not been firmly established in customers’ minds. Companies such as MySpace and Facebook sell online advertising on their site. Hence, they are seeking large memberships, and charging for membership would be counter productive. Some believe that the deeper information that the sites have on each user will allow much better targeted advertising than any other site can currently provide. Sites are also seeking other ways to make money, such as by creating an online marketplace or by selling professional information and social connections to businesses.

Privacy issues

On large social networking services, there have been growing concerns about users giving out too much personal information and the threat of sexual predators. Users of these services need to be aware of data theft or viruses. However, large services, such as MySpace, often work with law enforcement to try to prevent such incidents. In addition, there is a perceived privacy threat in relation to placing too much personal information in the hands of large corporations or governmental bodies, allowing a profile to be produced on an individual’s behavior on which decisions, detrimental to an individual, may be taken.

Investigations

Social network services are increasingly being used in legal and criminal investigations. Information posted on sites such as MySpace and Facebook, has been used by police, probation, and university officials to prosecute users of said sites. In some situations, content posted on MySpace has been used in court.

Questions

31. According to the text, social networks …….

32. Why do advertisers like social nework sites?

33. What does the word ‘Few‘ at the beginning of paragraph 6 mean?

34. What should users not do on social networks?

35. Personal information on social network sites …….

36. Social networking is great for ……

Part 6

-6 questions-

Questions 37 – 42

You are going to read a magazine article about John Prince, a dancer, dance teacher and choreographer. Six sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A – G the one which fits each gap. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.

Part 7

-10 questions-

Questions 43 – 52

You are going to read an article in which four people comment on a book they have read recently. For each question, choose from the people (A-D). The people may be chosen more than once.