FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT
SAMPLE PROFICIENCY EXAM
ANSWER KEY
PART I. LISTENING
Points: 35 pts
Total:________
A. You will listen to a short news three times and answer the questions below.
Please respond all the questions with your own sentences and DO NOT try to
copy the same sentences from the listening and please write your own sentences
in full sentences. (18 points)
Questions
1. Who is Chesly B. Sullenberger III? What is his job? (2 points)
Chesly B. Sullenberger III is a pilot and he flies commercial airplanes.
2. What is Sullenberger’s role in this event? What did he do? (2 points)
He landed the plane safely in the Hudson River and saved everyone. He made
sure everyone got off the plane alive before he got off.
3. How many people are there on the airplane other than the pilot? (2 points)
There were 154 people on the plane.
4. What happened to these people at the end of the incident? (2 points)
Everyone got off the plane alive. They escaped from the crash unhurt.
5. Please tell us about Sullenberger’s educational background. (2 points)
He is an Airforce Academy graduate and has two master degrees. Besides, he has
flown everything except the space shuttle. He has flown 19000 hours during his
40 years as a pilot.
6. What is this news about? Please write in detail about what you have understood from
the news. (8-10 sentences) (8 points)
(ANSWERS MAY VARY)
B. You will listen to a short news report three times and answer the questions below
according to the news. Please respond all the questions with your own sentences
and DO NOT try to copy the same sentences from the listening and please write
your own sentences in full sentences. (17 pts)
Questions
1. Where does this incident take place? (2 points)
It takes place at Sabiha Gökçen airport.
2. What is the name of the woman and how old is she? (2 points)
Her name is Dinara A who is 22 years old.
3. What was the woman trying to do? (2 points)
She was trying to sell her baby at the airport for 1000 TL.
4. How did the authorities notice what the women were trying to do? (2 points)
The German couple realized that they couldn’t take the baby through passport
control and called the police to report an abandoned baby. The authorities
caught Denara with security cameras.
5. How many people are there in this incident and what are their nationalities? (2 points)
There are 5 people in this incident and they are Denara A., her mother, Denara’s
baby and the German couple.
6. How was the problem resolved? (2 points)
Denara, her mother and the baby were deported back to Turkmenistan. The
German couple was released after having been questioned.
7. Please summarize the news in your own sentences. Please provide details as much as
you can. (8-10 sentences) (5 points)
(ANSWERS MAY VARY)
PART II. READING
Points: 33 pts
Total:________
A. You will read the text 1 and answer the following questions according to the text 1.
Please do not copy and paste from the text. Create your own sentences based on what
you have understood from the text 1. (17 points)
Questions
1. According to the text, what are some factors that are useful for choosing a brand name? (3
points)
Firstly, it should be easy for people from different countries to pronounce the brand
name and brand names should be simple and descriptive words. Even though they sound
good, they should not have any other bad meaning in other languages.
2. What are some of the problems of finding a good product name? Please describe the problems
in your own sentences. (3 points)
The name may be hard to pronounce and have a bad or unfortunate meaning in other
languages. Lastly, the name must not be already taken.
3. How does the naming process work step by step? Please explain each step in details. (4 points)
Firstly creative people gather and brainstorm a list of ideas and then they ask consumers
which names they have liked the most. After that, they must research the winning names
to see if they have any other meanings or are already taken in other countries.
4. What does the example of the brand name “Exxon”, which was invented by Esso Oil
Company, show? (3 points)
They spend a lot of money researching the name, it sometimes still doesn’t work. For
instance; Exxon is pronounced “Eksi-kon”, which means “loss of profit” in Japanese.
5. What is the main idea of this text? Please write in your own sentences. (4 points)
The main idea of the text is to show how complicated choosing a brand name can be.
Since English has become a global language, and the world has more globalized,
companies must try hard to find a suitable brand name that sounds good and have a
good meaning in all languages.
B. You will read the text 2 and answer the following questions according to the text 2.
Please do not copy and paste from the text. Create your own sentences based on what
you have understood from the text 2. (16 points)
Questions
1. What is the issue that is dicsussed in this text? (3 points)
In this text, the main issue is ienquality in education, especially higher education.
2. What is the main idea of this text? (3 points)
The main idea is that there are simple programs that can help “close the gap” on
education inequality. In other words, these programs can help poorer students get to
college.
3. Please explain the concept of ‘summer melt’ in your own sentences. (3 points)
“Summer Melt” is when students who were planning to go to college fail to apply to
college in summer after high school. Bureaucratic obstacles such as application
forms and deadlines overwhelm the students and they give up applying to college.
4. Please give some information about the program conducted by Professor Castleman and
Professor Page? What is it about? What is the result? (4 points)
These professors created two texting programs to help undepriveleged students. The
first program sends students texts reminding them of important application
deadlines with links to the necessary forms as well as live counselors, the second
program encourages students to stay in college. Both of these programs increased
the percentage of students who enrolled and stayed in college. The first one
increased enrollment from 63% to 70%. The second one increased the percentage of
students who reached their sophomore year from 54% to 68%.
5. Please write a short summary of the text? (3 points)
(ANSWERS MAY VARY)