ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES

EXERCISE for MID-TERM TEST

Name:

Student Number:

I. STRUCTURE (25 points)

A. Complete the sentences with the given words in brackets. Some are active and
some are passive. (10 points)

Vitamins, taken in tiny doses, are a major group of organic compounds that
(regulate) 1. ........................... the mechanism by which the body converts food into
energy. They (should not, confuse) 2. ............................................... with minerals,
which are inorganic with their makeup. Although in general the naming of vitamins
followed the alphabetical order of their identification, the nomenclature of individual
substance may appear to be somewhat random and disorganized. Among the 13
vitamins known today, five (produce) 3. ..................................... in the body. Because
the body produces sufficient quantities of some but not all vitamins, they (must,
supplement) 4. ................................................ in the daily diet. Although each vitamin
(have) 5. ................................ its specific designation and cannot be replaced by another
compound, a lack of vitamin can interfere with the processing of another. When a lack
of even one vitamin in a diet (be) 6. ....................... continual, a vitamin deficiency may
result.
The best way for an individual to ensure a necessary supply of vitamins is to
maintain a balanced diet that (include) 7. .............................. a variety of foods and
provides adequate quantities of all the compounds. Some people take vitamin
supplements, predominantly in the form of tablets. The vitamins in such supplements
(be) 8. ................................ equivalent to those in food, but an adult who maintains a
balanced diet does not need

a daily supplement.

The ingestion of supplements

(recommend) 9. ................................ only to correct

an existing deficiency due to

unbalanced diet, to provide vitamins known to be lacking in a restricted diet, or to act as

a therapeutic measure in medical treatment. Specifically, caution must be exercised with
fat-soluble substances, such as vitamins A and D, because, taken in gigantic doses, they
(may, present) 10. ...................................... a serious health hazard over a period of
time.

B. Combine the following sentences using the appropriate coordinators or

subordinators. (15 points)
1.

Sound must have some material to pass through. It cannot travel through a vacuum.
(1 point)
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2.

Life expectancy in Japan is now over 80. It is several years lower in the UK. (1
point)
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3.

There were no laws to protect dodo birds. Dodo birds become extinct. (1 point)
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4.

The Taj Mahal is one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. The Taj Mahal
immortalizes the love of emperor Shah Jehan for his beloved wife. (1 point)
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5.

Television programs change frequently in the United States. The tastes of TV

viewers change constantly. (1 point)
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6.

Many Americans use their microwave to make popcorn. The Iroquois Indian used
heated sand to pop theirs. (1 point)
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7.

Credit cards are dangerous. They encourage people to buy things. There are things
that people do not really need. (2 points)
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8.

The first typewriter was invented in 1714 by Henry Mill. The first typewriter was
not very practical. Henry Mill lived in England. (2 points)

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9.

One language experiment used colored plastic shape as substitutes for spoken
words. One language experiment succeeded in teaching a chimpanzee to
communicate with the trainers. The chimpanzee was named Sarah. (2 points)
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10. The WHO reports this. Tobacco smoking is the leading preventable cause of death.
Nicotine addiction has historically been one of the hardest addictions to break. Still,
the government states that tobacco is legal. (3 points)
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II. READING AND VOCABULARY (35 points)

A. Read the following passages carefully, and then answer the questions (20 points)
Passage 1
We often think of insects as our enemies, and we try to keep them as far away as
possible. The screens on our windows keep out some insects. We use sprays and poisons
to keep others out. We also think that by washing ourselves well have insect-free bodies,
too. No amount of hot water and soap can keep mites off us, though. These tiny insects
are so small you cannot see them with the human eye, and no human is without them.
Some areas of the body, like knees and shoulders, may have few mites. In other areas,
especially the face, there may be millions of them. You may not like the ideas of insects
crawling all over you, but there is no need to worry about them. They are completely
harmless, and you cannot feel them anyway. In fact, some scientists think that mites may
help clean our skin, though how they could do that is still a mystery.
1. What is the main idea of the paragraph? 2 points
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2. What does these in line 4 refer to?
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Passage 2
In many European countries, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, a caf
was an important gathering place. People went there to read the newspaper, to meet
friends, to discuss politics and arts, or just to have a good cup of coffee. For much of the
twentieth century, people had less time and interest in sitting and talking. They also
seemed to lose interest in good coffee. As a result, the caf lost its importance as a
meeting place. Toward the end of the twentieth century, however, it began to come back
into fashion, so now there are many cafes in most cities. Some of the classic old cafes are
popular once again, and there are also many new cafes. Some, like Starbucks or Peets, are
part of American chains of cafes that all look alike and sell the same kind of coffee. Other
cafes are designed in different styles, from ultramodern to old-fashioned in bookstores
and department stores. Whatever their style or location, they all offer you a chance to sit
down, relax, and enjoy a cup of coffee.
3. What is the main idea of the paragraph? 2 points
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4. Why did the caf lose its importance as a meeting place in the early twentieth
century? 2 points
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5. How does the writer describe the new cafes? 2 points
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Passage 3
Until quite recently, most Americans knew very little about wolves. The people
who did know something about them were the Native Americans. They knew, for
example, that wolves rarely kill people. Wolves will only attack if they feel they are in
danger. Some Americans, especially hunters, believed that wolves killed many deers and
other large animals, so that there were fewer left for the hunters. Native Americans knew
that this belief, too, was not true. Wolves only kill other animals when they need food.
Even then, they usually kill old or weak animals that will soon die anyway. Finally, the
Native Americans knew a lot about the lives and habits of wolves. They knew that in
some ways wolves were a lot like humans. In fact, wolves live in family groups and help
each other hunt for food and take care of their young.
6. What is the passage about? 2 points
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7. According to the passage, when do wolves kill other animals? 2 points

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8. The word They in 8 refers to ____________________________________________
Passage 4
A new Northwestern University meta-analysis, an integration of a large number of
studies addressing the same question, shows that leadership continues to be viewed as
culturally masculine. The studies found that women experience two primary forms of
prejudice: They are viewed as less qualified or natural than men in most leadership roles,
and when women do adopt culturally masculine behaviors often required by these roles,
they may be viewed as presumptuous. When generalizing about any population
segment, especially such large and diverse segments as male and female leaders, there is
bound to be a degree of inaccuracy and stereotyping. Still, research finds that
predominantly communal qualities, such as being nice or compassionate, are more
associated with women; and predominantly agentic qualities, such as being assertive or
competitive, are more associated with men.
9. What are the two primary forms of prejudice women experience? 2 points
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10.

According to the passage, what are the qualities women and men associated with? 2 points
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11. What does presumptuous probably mean? 2 points

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B. Use the context clues in the sentences to define the italicized words (5 points)

1. The assistant was fast becoming an indispensable member of the department, so they
had no choice but to offer him a higher salary to stay on.

indispensable probably means __________________________________________

2. The attorney wanted to expedite the process, because her client was becoming
impatient.

expedite probably means _______________________________________________

3. The editor of the newspaper needed to be sure the article presented the right
information, so his review was meticulous.

meticulous probably means _____________________________________________

4. Mr. Tritt never allowed himself to become angry with customers. Like a parent with
spoiled children, he always listened indulgently to their complaints.

indulgently probably means ____________________________________________

5. John wanted to hit Brian in the nose, but he restrained himself because he knew that
violence would not help him get his money back.

restrained probably means _____________________________________________

C. Fill in the blanks in the passage below with suitable words from the word list.
Use each word only once. (10 points)

settled

journalism

sought

circulation

sensation

immensely

will

emigrated

unscrupulous

sensationalism

elected

accidentally

Joseph Pulitzer (April 10, 1847 October 29, 1911) was a Hungarian-American
publisher best known for posthumously establishing the Pulitzer Prizes and (along with
William Randolph Hearst) for originating yellow _____________1.
Pulitzer was born in Mak, Hungary. He _________2 a military career, but was turned
down by the Austrian army for frail health and poor eyesight. He _________3 to the
United States in 1864 to serve in the American Civil War. After the war he __________ 4
in St. Louis, Missouri, where in 1868 he began working for a German-language daily
newspaper, the Westliche Post. He joined the Republican Party and was _________ 5 to
the Missouri State Assembly in 1869. In 1872, Pulitzer purchased the Post for $3,000. In
1882 Pulitzer, by then a wealthy man, purchased the New York World, a newspaper that
had been losing $40,000 a year, for $346,000 from Jay Gould. Pulitzer shifted its focus to
human-interest stories, scandal, and ______________ 6. In 1895 the World introduced the
____________

popular The Yellow Kid comic by Richard F. Outcault, the first

newspaper comic printed with color. Under Pulitzer's leadership ____________

from 15,000 to 600,000, making it the largest newspaper in the country.

grew

In 1892, Pulitzer offered Columbia University's president, Seth Low, money to set up the
world's first school of journalism. The university initially turned down the money,
evidently unimpressed by Pulitzer's ___________ 9 character. In 1902, Columbia's new
president Nicholas Murray Butler was more receptive to the plan for a school and prizes,
but it would not be until after Pulitzer's death that this dream would be fulfilled. Pulitzer
left the university $2 million in his _________ 10, which led to the creation in 1912 of the
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism that remains one of the most
prestigious in the world.
Joseph Pulitzer died aboard in his yacht in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina in
1911. In 1917, the first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded, in accordance with Pulitzer's
wishes.

III. WRITING
A. Write a topic sentence in the space provided for the following paragraph. (3 points)
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There is a rigorous training split to be followed each and every day, where you must strive to
break, or at least meet, the weight and reps from the last day. You have a demanding
supplement program which must be followed very faithfully, and then there is a meal plan,
which is designed to replenish all the lost nutrients by counting every gram of protein, fat,
and carbohydrate that we ingest. In short, building your body is a serious and monotonous
effort.

B. Identify the sentence that does not fit in the paragraph by underlining it. (1 point)
It was called "happy slapping" and proved to be anything but. It spread across Europe,
morphing into school ground violence that was captured on camera phones and disseminated
on the Web. The term was then used to cover any form of violence or sexual misdemeanour
that was captured on video. The ease and general availability of video cameras in mobile
phones means that such attacks need not be planned carefully beforehand. Now, those who
film the action are held culpable and punished, while those who host the videos can also be
held responsible for their actions.

C. Write a suitable concluding sentence for this paragraph in the space provided. (3
points)
Due to increase in oil prices, several industries are experiencing an increase in the cost of
their operation. Due to higher oil prices, food prices have increased and manufacturing costs
are at an all time high. Items which were once cheaper to manufacture outside the country
have become extremely expensive and as a result, it has become more cost effective for
companies to start manufacturing within the United States. Continued increase will also
affect the auto industry and customers are known to postpone the purchase of a new car when

the cost of gas is high. Auto industries are doing well for the time being, but once the cost of
oil increases further, auto companies fear that it will affect them too, in a negative way. ____
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D. Write a supporting sentence that fits in the paragraph below. (3 points)
The Japanese have a strong aesthetic sense: they beautify, embellish, adorn and decorate
the food they touch. A sandwich in Japan is not just a sandwich; it is a work of art. It is cut
into an artistic shape it can be circular, octagonal or star shaped and given a color scheme
with carefully placed bits of tomato, coleslaw and pickles. There is, as a rule, a flag or some
other decoration hoisted on top. The same treatment definitely also applied to sushi, the
traditional Japanese food. _____________________________________________________
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Whether it is as humble as sandwich or as pompous as sushi, for the Japanese, every dish is
aimed at the eye as well as the palate.
E. Write a paragraph of about 810 sentences or approximately 150 words about one
of the following topics (15 points). Remember to start your paragraph with a topic
sentence and end it with a conclusion.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

Why do you like certain kind of sports?

How to promote anti-plagiarism among university students
The influence of the Korean pop culture in Indonesia
How to avoid sexual harassment on public transportation
The advantages of having a working mother

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IV. LISTENING (15 points)

A. Listen to this conversation and mark the statements T (true) or F (false). Read the
statements first before you listen. (6 points)
1. ___

They can pick you up when you are tired.

2. ___

They are good for colds.

3. ___

They are full of natural ingredients and vitamins.

4. ___

They help athletes to perform better.

5. ___ ___

You need a doctors prescription.

6. ___

They are full of caffeine and sugar.

B. Listen to this conversation between the interviewer and Marcos, and answer the
following questions (9 points).
1. How long had Marcos lived in the United States before he moved back in 1991?

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2. Why it is important for North Americans to have eye contact? (2 points)

3. What has Marcos noticed about his eye contact?

4. What is the difference between Brazilians and Americans when it comes to their hand
movements? (2 points)

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5. What did his wife do with her hands when they once were in a party?

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6. Why does Marcos think that the gesture incident in the party is funny? (2 points)

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