1 – Çankaya Üniversitesi Proficiency İngilizce Hazırlık Atlama için Özel Ders
2 – Çankaya Üniversitesi Proficiency İngilizce Hazırlık Atlama için 4 Kişilik Grup Dersi
PROFICIENCY EXAM SAMPLE QUESTIONS
STAGE 1
(50 POINTS)
PART I GRAMMAR (10 POINTS)
(Two grammar clozes consisting of 20 blanks, each 0.5 point)
Circle the correct alternative.
The history of molecular biology began in the 1930s with the convergence of various, previously distinct biological disciplines. With the hope of (1)_____ life at its most fundamental level, numerous physicists and chemists also (2)_____ an interest in what would become molecular biology.
In its modern sense, molecular biology attempts to explain the phenomena of life starting from the macromolecular properties that generate them. (3)_____, one definition of the scope of molecular biology is to characterize the structure, function and relationships between two of macromolecules.
In its earliest forms, molecular biology, (4)_____ name (5)_____ by Warren Weaver of the Rockefeller Foundation in 1938, was an ideal of physical and chemical explanations of life, rather than a coherent discipline. Following the advent of the Mendelian-chromosome theory of heredity in the 1910s and the maturation of atomic theory and quantum mechanics in the 1920s, such explanations (6)_____ within reach. Weaver and others encouraged and funded research at the intersection of biology, chemistry and physics, while prominent physicists (7)_____ Niels Bohr and Erwin Schrödinger turned their attention to biological speculation.
In 1940, George Beadle and Edward Tatum demonstrated the existence of a precise relationship between genes and proteins. In the course of their experiments connecting genetics with biochemistry, they switched from the genetics mainstay Drosophila to a/an (8)_____ model organism. In 1944, Oswald Avery, (9)_____ at the Rockefeller Institute of New York, demonstrated (10)_____ genes are made up of DNA.
1. A) to understand
B) understanding
C) understand
D) understood
2. A) have taken
B) take
C) took
D) were taken
3. A) Therefore
B) On the other hand
C) Meanwhile
D) In contrast
4. A) which
B) whom
C) whose
D) that
5. A) coined
B) coining
C) was coined
D) is coined
6. A) were seeming
B) seemed
C) seeming
D) had seemed
7. A) such as
B) except that
C) rather than
D) as well
8. A) less appropriately
B) more appropriate
C) least appropriate
D) as appropriately as
9. A) that worked
B) worked
C) works
D) working
10. A) what
B) wherever
C) that
D) whoever
PART II VOCABULARY (10 POINTS)
(Two vocabulary clozes consisting of 5 blanks, each 1 point)
Circle the correct alternative .
Until this century, the word “intelligence” has been used primarily by ordinary individuals in an effort to describe their own (1)_____ powers as well as those of other persons. (2)_____ with ordinary language usage, “intelligence” has been (3)_____ in anything but a precise manner. Forgetting about homonyms which (4)_____ the gathering of information, individuals living in the West were called “intelligent” if they were quick or powerful or (5)_____ smart or wise. In other cultures, the individual who was obedient, or well behaved, or quiet, or equipped with magical powers, may well have been referred to by terms which have been translated as “intelligent.”.
1. A) mental B) psychic C) irrational D) unreasonable
2. A) Insistent B) Consistent C) Denied D) Denounced
3. A) lost B) criticized C) positioned D) disintegrated
4. A) reject B) conceal C) hide D) indicate
5. A) science B) scientist C) scientific D) scientifically
PART III READING (30 POINTS)
(5 reading texts of 350-500 words / ±6 questions for each text
-4 comprehension, ±2 meaning/reference questions-)
High tech gadgets such as cell phones are bringing profound change to developing nations, and not just economic progress. Text messaging, the Internet and other innovations are having wide ranging social repercussions, from exposing human rights abuses by repressive governments to breaking traditional taboos governing courtship and other human relationships.
Young people in India, like everywhere else in the world, have embraced the cell phone, using it for everything from calling home to contacting members of the opposite sex. Indian sociologist Radhika Chopra says the cell phone and other technological innovations are having an impact on how some young people are courting each other these days, mainly because parents have less control. “The behavior of teenagers, and young adults in the public space was much more visible and regulated, you might say,” Chopra said. “You couldn’t express unwanted love, in a public space – and you still can’t, actually. But the Internet and the mobile phone have created a kind of subset of society of youngsters in the same age group, of the same kinds of backgrounds or even across class and social backgrounds. I think this has actually enabled them to be much more independent in their thinking about what kind of a marriage they would look for.”
Advances in communications via the Internet and cell phones are having similar impacts on other traditional societies such as Iran. They are helping to break down religious and other restrictions, according to Arthur Molella, director of the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation in Washington. “If you have a society that is very restrictive about public relationships between men and women, men and women still have to get together in some way, and these technologies provide a means of making appointments with one another that weren’t available before. So I think inevitably they have this kind of subversive effect on authority,” Molella said.
In China, the Internet has served as a way to organize opposition to the construction of chemical plants and other projects viewed as harmful to health and the environment. “Governments usually have to catch up if they want to stop something proliferating on the Internet. I think it’s this instant communication and talking back to authority, as it were, that is changing the political scene.”
Molella and others say the full magnitude of these technological innovations and their impact on societies have yet to play out.
A) the social relationships in developing countries
B) the social impact of technology on developing nations
C) the interaction of teenagers via the Internet
D) the significance of cell phones on developing nations
A) personal relationships
B) taboos
C) abuse of human rights
D) education
A) Their relationships could be monitored more strictly.
B) The diversity of their background could be exhibited more clearly
C) Teenagers became more free to express their preferences in terms of whom they want to flirt with
D) Parents became more involved in the process of choosing a person to marry their children
A) there are more impacts to come in the future
B) the effects mentioned in the text will be the only impacts of the developing technology
C) experts do not approve the influence of developing technology
D) experts are frightened by the political impacts of developing technology
A) spreading
B) decreasing
C) limiting
D) restraining
A) appointments
B) men and women
C) restrictions
D) these technologies
STAGE 2
(50 POINTS)
PART I LISTENING (15 POINTS)
(Two sections: 1. C onversation /Dialogue tasks 2. Lecture)
The recording will be played once .
SECTION 1 CONVERSATION (5 POINTS)
(± 10 exchanges with ±5 comprehension questions)
(Tapescript )
Ann : John, have you chosen any physical education class yet for this semester?
John : No. Why?
Ann : You’ve got to take rock-climbing. We just had the first class and it looks like it will be great.
John : You think I should take rock-climbing? You’ve got to be kidding. Besides, how can they teach rock-climbing when it’s completely flat around here?
Ann : That’s not important. You can’t just start climbing without any training. You need to get in shape, learn how to use the ropes, the belts, the buckles, there’s a lot of preparation first.
John : You don’t think it’s just a little bit dangerous?
Ann : Not if you know how to use the safety equipment, which is, by the way, pretty hi-tech. The ropes are made of elastic fabrics that stretch a little, and the shoes have special plastic. You have to learn how to use all these before you do any real climbing.
John : Well, what’s the appeal? We’ll spend the whole semester studying something we don’t actually get to do.
Ann : We will take a climbing trip during the spring break. But that’s not the point. Climbing is not the only goal. In preparing to climb you learn patience, mental discipline and you gain fantastic physical strength, especially in your hands. For the first few weeks we’re going to concentrate entirely on hand and upper body exercise.
John : All that in one sport? Maybe you are right. Since it’s not too late to join the class, maybe I will.
1. What is the woman trying to do?
A) convince the man to take a rock – climbing course with her
B) find a place to go rock climbing
C) find out if a rock climbing course will be offered
D) plan a rock – climbing trip over the spring break
2. What does the man imply about rock-climbing at their college?
A) There is no one to teach them how to do it.
B) Not very many students are interested in it.
C) The college doesn’t have any rock-climbing equipment.
D) There are no appropriate places for rock climbing nearby.
3. Why is the woman interested in rock-climbing?
A) Climbers develop skills useful in other activities.
B) Climbers have the opportunity to be outside and enjoy the scenery.
C) Climbing isn’t as expensive as other sports.
D) Learning to climb doesn’t take a very long time.
SECTION 2 LECTURE (10 POINTS)
( 2 lectures of 900-1000 words with ±10 comprehension questions)
Lecture 1: In a linguistics class, a professor talks about mnemonics. Listen to the lecture and answer the following questions accordingly. You have 2 minutes to read the questions before listening and two minutes to complete your answers after listening. The recording will be played once .
(Tapescript)
Good morning class. In today’s session we will be talking about the terms used with memory, the connection between memory and learning but basically we will concentrate on ways to improve memory. You should have already read the chapter since it was assigned to you two weeks ago. Any questions? All right!
Memory is basically the process by which people and other organisms encode, store, and retrieve information. Encoding refers to the initial perception and registration of information. Storage is the retention of encoded information over time. Retrieval refers to the processes involved in using stored information.
Okay! What about us-teachers and students? What’s the use of memory for us? According to the experts and researchers, memory and learning are closely related, and the terms often describe roughly the same processes. The term learning is often used to refer to processes involved in the initial acquisition or encoding of information, whereas the term memory more often refers to later storage and retrieval of information.
Because memory takes such an important part in teaching and learning, it is important to understand the techniques to improve our memories. Memory improvement techniques are called mnemonic devices or simply mnemonics. These have been used since the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans.
All mnemonic devices depend on two basic principles: (1) recoding of information into forms that are easy to remember, and (2) supplying oneself with excellent retrieval cues to recall the information when it is needed. For example, many schoolchildren learn the colors of the visible spectrum by learning the imaginary name ROY G. BIV, which stands for red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. This example illustrates the principle of recoding.
Psychologists have devised much more elaborate recoding and decoding schemes. Three of the most common mnemonic techniques are common among psychologists. Research has shown that mnemonic devices such as these provide greater recall than do strategies that people usually use, such as ordinary rehearsal that is repeating information to oneself.
One of the oldest mnemonics is the method of loci. This method involves forming vivid interactive images between specific locations and items to be remembered. The first step is to learn a set of places. For instance, you might familiarize yourself with various locations around your house: the front doorstep, the front door, and so on. Once you have permanently memorized the locations, you can then use them to recode experiences for later recall. You can then use this method to remember any set of information, such as a shopping list or points in a speech. The locations serve as retrieval cues for the desired information. Although this technique may seem far-fetched, with a little practice it can prove quite effective. In fact, the amount of information one can remember using this method is limited only by the number of locations one has memorized.
Another mnemonic that relies on the power of visual imagery is called the peg-word method. There are many variations of the peg-word method, but they are all based on the same general principle. People learn a series of words that serve as “pegs” on which memories can be “hung.” In one popular scheme, the peg-words rhyme with numbers to make the words easy to remember: One is a gun, two is a shoe, three is a tree etc. To learn the same grocery list, one might associate gun and bread by imagining the gun shooting the bread. When you need to remember the shopping list, you simply recall the peg-words associated with each number; the peg-words then serve as retrieval cues for the items in the list. Peg methods such as this one provide more flexible access to information than does the method of loci. For example, if you want to recite the items backwards for some reason, you can do so just as easily as in the forward direction. If you need to know the eighth item, you can say “eight is a plate” and mentally look at your image for the item on the plate.
The PQ4R method is a mnemonic technique used for remembering text material. If you are interested in better remembering a chapter from a textbook, you should first Preview the information by skimming quickly through the chapter and looking at the headings. The next step is to form Questions about the information. One way to do this is by simply changing headings to questions. The third step is to Read the text carefully trying to answer the questions. After reading, the next step is to Reflect on the material. One way would be to create your own examples of how the principles you are reading could be applied. The next step is to Recite the material after reading it. That is, put the book aside or look away and try to recall or to recite what you have just read. If you cannot bring it to mind now, you will have little chance later. The last step in PQ4R is to Review. After you have read the entire chapter, go through it again trying to recall and to summarize its main points. Tests of the PQ4R method of reading text material have shown its advantages over the way people normally read. However, PQ4R method slows reading considerably, so students do not prefer the technique, even though it is more effective. Most mnemonic devices involve additional work, but they are well worth the investment for improving memory.
1. Today’s session includes the following topics EXCEPT _____.
A) what to do to improve memory
B) importance of memory types
C) the relation between memory and learning
D) terms used with memory
2. According to the speaker, what is the difference between learning and memory?
A) Learning occurs in the later stages whereas memory occurs in the initial stage.
B) Learning is related to the retrieval of information whereas memory is related to encoding of information.
C) Learning involves the acquisition of information whereas memory is related to the later retrieval of it.
D) Learning is superior to memory because it includes both encoding and retrieval of information.
3. All of the following about mnemonics are true EXCEPT they _____.
A) are techniques used to improve memory
B) have been used for a long time
C) are based on recording information and retrieval cues
D) aren’t as efficient as ordinary rehearsal or repeating oneself
4. How does the speaker feel about the efficiency of the method of loci ?
A) pessimistic
B) optimistic
C) neutral
D) critical
5. Which of the following is not true for the peg word method?
A) It uses rhyming with numbers to make the words easy to remember.
B) It has a lot of variations which are based on different principles.
C) It uses the peg words as retrieval cues for different lists of items.
D) It is better than the method of loci in providing more access to information.
Lecture 2:
(Tapescript)
Have you had a headache recently? If your answer is yes, you are like many millions of people worldwide who experience pain in the head. The pain can be temporary, mild and cured by a simple painkiller like aspirin. Or, it can be severe.
The National Headache Foundation says more than forty five million people in the United States suffer chronic headaches. Such headaches cause severe pain that goes away but returns later.
Some headaches may prove difficult and require time to treat. But many experts today are working toward cures or major help for chronic headaches.
The US Headache Consortium is a group with seven member organizations. They are attempting to improve treatment of one kind of headache — the migraine. Some people experience this kind of pain as often as two weeks every month. The National Headache Foundation says about seventy percent of migraine sufferers are women.
Some people describe the pain as similar to a repeated beat. Others compare it to someone driving a sharp object into the head. Migraine headaches cause Americans to miss more than one hundred fifty million workdays each year. A migraine can be mild. But it also can be so severe that a person cannot live a normal life.
Some people take medicine every day to prevent or ease migraine headaches. Others use medicine to control pain already developed. Doctors treating migraine sufferers often order medicines from a group of drugs known as triptans.
Most migraines react at least partly to existing medicine. And most people can use existing medicine without experiencing bad effects. Doctors sometimes use caffeine to treat migraine headaches. Interestingly, caffeine also can cause some migraines.
Medical experts have long recognized the work of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. The Mayo Clinic says several foods are suspected of causing migraines. Cheese and alcoholic drinks are among them. Food additives like nitrates and monosodium glutamate also are suspected causes.
The Clinic tells patients to avoid strong smells that have seemingly started migraines in the past. Some people react badly to products like perfume, even if they have a pleasant smell.
The Clinic’s experts say aerobic exercise can help migraine sufferers. Aerobic exercise increases a person’s heart rate. It can include walking, swimming or riding a bicycle. But a sudden start to hard exercise can cause headaches. The experts advise that people should plan to exercise, eat and sleep at the same times each day.
The Clinic also says hypnotherapy might help suppress headaches. It says the method could reduce the number and severity of a patient’s headaches. In hypnotherapy, willing people are placed in a condition that lets them receive suggestions. They look like they are sleeping. The suggestions they receive may be able to direct their whole mental energy against pain.
The Clinic says the hypnotizer can never control the person under hypnosis. It also says the hypnotized person will remember what happened during the treatment.
More people suffer tension headaches than migraines. But most tension headaches are not as powerful.
Events that start tension headaches may include emotional pressure and the deeper than normal sadness called depression. Other tension headaches can start from something as simple as tiredness. Common changes in atmospheric conditions also can be responsible.
The Clinic says you may feel a tension headache as tightness in the skin around your eyes. Or, you may feel pressure around your head. Episodic tension headaches strike from time to time. Chronic tension headaches happen more often. A tension headache can last from a half hour to a whole week.
The Clinic says the pain may come very early in the day. Other signs can include pain in the neck or the lower part of the head. Scientists are not sure what causes tension headaches. For years, researchers blamed muscle tension from tightening in the face, neck and the skin on top of the head. They believed emotional tension caused these movements.
But that belief has been disputed. A test called an electromyogram shows that muscle tension does not increase in people with a tension headache. The test records electrical currents caused by muscle activity. Such research has caused the International Headache Society to re-name the tension headache. The group now calls it a tension-type headache.
Some scientists now believe that tension headaches may result from changes among brain chemicals such as serotonin. The changes may start sending pain messages to the brain. These changes may interfere with brain activity that suppresses pain.
Medicines for tension headache can be as simple as aspirin or other painkillers. But if your pain is too severe, you will need a doctor’s advice.
Another type of headache is cluster headache, which can be many times more intense than a migraine. They usually strike young people. Smokers and persons who drink alcohol often get these headaches. Men are about six times more likely than women to have them. The Clinic says this is especially true of younger men. Doctors say cluster headaches often strike during changes of season.
Cluster headache patients describe the pain as burning. The pain is almost always felt on one side of the face. It can last for up to ninety minutes. Then it stops. But it often starts again later the same day. Eighty to ninety percent of cluster headache patients have pain over a number of days to a whole year. Pain-free periods separate these periods.
The Clinic says the cause of cluster headaches is in a brain area known as a trigeminal-autonomic reflex pathway. When the nerve is made active, it starts pain linked to cluster headaches. The nerve starts a process that makes one eye watery and red.
Studies have shown that activation of the trigeminal nerve may come from a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. The Cleveland Clinic says injections of the drug sumatriptan can help. Many other drugs also could be used. For example, doctors say breathing oxygen also can help.
1. According to National Headache Foundation _______________.
A) it is impossible to cure migraine
B) 70 % of migraine sufferers are women
C) the pain migraine causes is similar to a repeated beat
D) chronic headaches never return after they occur
2. The purpose of The US Headache Consortium is to ______________.
A) gather patients who suffer from all kinds of headaches
B) improve the treatment of migraine headaches
C) focus on all chronic headaches
D) organize and inform doctors about the nature of chronic headaches
3. How does hypnotherapy help suppress headaches?
A) It lets patients sleep.
B) It reduces the number and severity of a patient’s headaches.
C) It helps patients receive suggestions about dealing with the pain
D) It increases their heart rate causing the pain decrease
4. The aim of the lecturer is to ___________.
A) inform people about the nature and the treatment options of various headaches
B) criticize the current methods used in treating different forms of headaches
C) warn people with headaches about the medications they should choose
D) explain the advantages of joining organizations concerned with the treatment of headaches
PART II WRITING (35 POINTS)
(Three sections: 1. Paragraph Organization 2. Sentence Structure
3. Paragraph Writing)
SECTION I PARAGRAPH ORGANIZATION (15 POINTS)
(Finding irrelevant sentence -5 questions, 1 point each
Ordering paragraphs-5 questions, 1 point each
Paragraph completion-5 questions, 1 point each)
*Read the following paragraph and mark the sentence which breaks the unity of the paragraph.
(I) When expectations are realistic, life feels more predictable and therefore more manageable. (II) There is much we can do to help patients by letting them know when their expectations are unrealistic. (III) There is an increased feeling of control because you can plan and prepare yourself (physically and psychologically). (IV) For example, if you know in advance when you have to work overtime or stay late, you will take it more easily than when it is dropped on you at the last minute.
A) I B ) II C)III D)IV
* Put the following sentences into a logical order to make a coherent paragraph.
(I) Traditional business subjects like business planning and finance, business communications, organizational behavior and marketing are therefore reconsidered in the business world with attention to the features of art business.
(II) Such changes in the attitudes of people from both fields promote the business of art which is a vital element of the creative industries sector of the economy.
(III) The business of art means combining business theories and practices with art-related issues.
(IV) Similarly, the key people in the field of art like artists, dealers, critics, art historians and collectors become interested in business concepts such as production, distribution and consumption.
A) I-IV-III-II B) III-I-II-IV C) I-III-IV-II D) III-I-IV-II
* Read the following paragraph and mark the alternative which best completes the paragraph.
The festivals in Ecuador provide tourists with a unique opportunity to learn about the Ecuadorian culture. However, they also shut the Ecuadorian nation down because banks and governmental offices close and popular tourist destinations become overcrowded during these festivals. _____. Knowing when these celebrations occur, finding out where most people are going during these celebrations, deciding where you want to be accordingly, and planning your transportation and accommodation in advance are the keys to enjoying the best celebrations and festivals that Ecuador has to offer.
A) As a result, most people visit Ecuador in winter to avoid such troubles
B) Therefore, to get the most from these celebrations and ceremonies, you should plan your visit well
C) Some tourists are clever enough not to go to Ecuador because of the possible dangers
D) In fact, you don’t need to be very careful when planning the details because it is time to relax
SECTION II SENTENCE STRUCTURE (10 POINTS)
(Paraphrasing- 5 questions, 1 point each
Sentence completion-5 questions, 1 point each)
* Mark the alternative with the closest meaning to the sentence below.
“The results of the experiment may shed light on at least one reason that up to a third of frog species around the world are threatened with extinction.”
A) Every third frog among the world’s frog species population may be facing death because of the experiment results.
B) The experiment results showed that one third of the frog species in the world have disappeared.
C) Why one third of the world’s frog species are about to die out will probably be explained after the
experiment.
D) After the experiment scientists may be alarmed to find out that one third of the world’s frog species are endangered.
* Choose the correct alternative to complete the following sentence.
1. You Tube’s Web site, ____________, has turned to be the ground for a Turkey versus Greece video war.
A) millions of people watch videos every day
B) where millions of videos are watched every day
C) who watch millions of videos every day
D) watching millions of videos every day
SECTION III PARAGRAPH WRITING (10 POINTS)
(An opinion based paragraph of ±200 words)
humanity?”