International Summer Programme
English Language Placement Test
For applications for Short Summer Courses
Please complete this if you do not have an official English Language score such as IELTS or TOEFL.
Your details
Surname/Family name:
First names:
Course applied for:
I confirm that I did this test without any help.
I understand that I will be re-tested with a new placement test on arrival at Oxford Brookes University. The result
of this new test will be used to place me in a suitable class.
Applicant signature:
Date:
Instructions for completing the test
Spend ONE HOUR ONLY on the test with NO DICTIONARY and NO HELP.
There are four passages which range in difficulty. The first three passages test your knowledge of grammar and
vocabulary and the last is a reading comprehension. The instructions for each passage are written at the
beginning.

Before you start each passage, read it through to get an idea of what it is about.

Go back to the beginning and work through the passage filling in each blank space with a suitable word from
the options after, or by thinking of the word yourself.

When you have finished, read through the passage to make sure it makes sense.
Your completed test should be sent to:
International Summer School Administrator, Oxford Brookes International,
International Centre, Headington Campus, Oxford Brookes University, Gipsy Lane, Oxford, OX3 0BP, UK
Tel: + 44 (0) 1865 483874
Fax: + 44 (0) 1865 484377
Email: pathways@brookes.ac.uk
For office use only
Score:
Level:
1
Passage 1: Studying Abroad (multiple choice)
Choose a word from the list on the following page from the options available and write it in the space.
There are 4 options for each number.
Studying in a foreign country can be a great experience- 1__________ you plan to stay for a few weeks, months
or even years. You will need to do some research to 2____________ the right course and country for you and
there are lots of websites which can help. Speaking to someone 3____________ has experience of that country
can also be useful. Studying abroad gives you the 4____________ of a different kind of education and can
develop language skills. It can also be valuable in terms of life experience but you 5____________ remember that
that it can be difficult in a new culture.
You may find 6____________ are cultural differences in the classroom. Some people experience a
7____________ style of learning which requires students to speak more. 8____________ the number of students
in a class can be surprising, especially if a student comes 9____________ a country with large class sizes to a
country with smaller groups. The 10____________ way to prepare for differences is to keep an open mind.
Many people who 11____________ abroad discuss the benefits of a different classroom experience. You can
12____________ friends with different people in the new country and learn about a new culture. In fact
13____________ people can benefit from this friendship and sometimes this can lead to 14____________
exchange, where the home student stays with the visiting student once they return to their country.
Studying abroad 15____________ more popular with students. In the past, many students 16____________ to
the UK to learn English, 17____________ now English students are also studying abroad to learn a language and
for the experience. As technology improves, the situation 18____________ the future may change.
19____________ students can study online in virtual classrooms, they will 20____________ a lot of money by not
travelling to another country.
Studying abroad can be 21____________ good experience for students. Speak to lots of people 22____________
advice and remember 23____________ the country you plan to visit. After you 24____________ this, you can
start to get 25____________ and look forward to learning in a new country.
2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Whether
Know
Who
Help
Could
There
Complete different
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Usually
Into
Better
Have studied
Have
Either
A
Becomes
Came
Until
On
Whether
Lose
Such a
For getting
Research
Did
Excite
While
Find
Whom
Benefit
Ought
Their
Completely
different
Sometimes
To
Good
Has studied
Make
Neither
An
Becoming
Come
But
At
Until
Earn
A lot of
To get
Researching
Done
Excitement
Because
Learn
Whose
Assistance
Would
They’re
Completely
Although
Look
Which
Allowance
Should
They
Difference
Always
From
Best
Had study
Do
Both
The
Are becoming
Has come
So
In
If
Save
So
Getting
To research
Have done
Excited
Never
Back
Much better
Is studying
Get
Every
--Is becoming
Is coming
Still
By
Although
Get
So many
Get
For research
Had done
Exciting
(25 marks)
3
Passage 2: Staying Healthy (open cloze)
Complete the following article by writing the missing word next to each number. You will need to think of
the whole sentence to make sure the grammar of the sentence is accurate. There is only ONE word
missing in each case.
Staying healthy in the modern world can be a challenge, particularly as 1__________ are fast food restaurants in
every city centre, unlimited entertainment options 2_________ encourage inactivity, and medicines to treat most
conditions. 3__________ a result it can be difficult to feel motivated to take responsibility for health. Making wise
health choices can help someone 4__________ feel good on a daily basis and even prevent serious diseases.
5__________ first step for maintaining good health is eating right and getting enough exercise. It is often easier to
understand this 6__________ do anything about. Making healthy food choices on a daily basis can be difficult and
finding time to exercise can also 7__________ challenging. Exercise is not necessarily a priority when there is
work to 8__________ done, children to care for and other chores to prioritise. 9__________ a person wants to
stay healthy and happy, they must work hard to try to fit exercise into their routine 10__________ least three to
five times each week.
Another part of a healthy life is keeping stress levels 11__________ control. There 12__________ many factors
which contribute to stress and exercising will help, 13__________ only up to a point. To control everyday stress,
14__________ has long-term effects on health, time 15__________ needed to relax on a regular basis. A great
way to prevent bad stress is to be surrounded 16__________ positive people. This will help with someone’s own
mood and provide a place for support 17__________ things are particularly tough.
A final method for staying healthy for a lifetime is to practise prevention. 18__________ of waiting until you
become sick and then searching for a cure, 19___________ the advice given above to prevent ever facing illness.
You must keep your body strong 20__________ that you can resist sickness and disease, and avoid a number of
illnesses which would otherwise 21__________ a problem.
So the message is clear- have a healthy attitude, get plenty 22__________ rest and fresh air, and follow the steps
mentioned to prevent minor illness and serious diseases. A long and healthy life will 23__________ the reward,
4
and it is possible to save time, money and a 24__________ deal of pain by adopting 25__________ preventative
attitude towards health.
(25 marks)
Passage 3: The Internet (multiple choice)
Choose a word from the list on the following page from the options available and write it in the space.
There are 4 options for each number.
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks 1____________ billions of users worldwide.
It is a network which 2____________ of millions of private, public, academic, business and government networks,
which 3____________ by various electronic, wireless and optical technologies. Most traditional communications
media including telephone, music, film and television 4____________ reshaped or redefined by 5____________
Internet, creating a new range of services.
The Internet allows greater 6____________ in working hours and location, especially with the spread of free highspeed connections. It can be accessed almost 7____________ by numerous means, including through mobile
phones. 8____________ the small screens may cause limitations, the services of the Internet, including email and
the web, may be available. Service providers may 9____________ the services which are offered and mobile data
charges may be 10____________ higher than other access methods.
The low cost and nearly instantaneous sharing of ideas, knowledge, and skills 11____________ working with
other people dramatically easier. 12____________ can a group cheaply communicate and share ideas but the
wide reach of the Internet allows groups to more 13____________ form. A social networking website allows
colleagues to stay 14____________ in a very convenient way 15____________ working at their computers during
the day.
Advancement in Internet technology has 16 ____________ concerns about computer security. 17____________
the Internet allows computer users to remotely access other computers and information stores easily, then it is
18____________ that secure measures are put in place. A 19____________ of different methods have been used
to protect the transfer of data, including encryption, which is the process of encoding messages in such a way that
hackers cannot read but 20____________ parties can.
5
Overall Internet usage has seen 21____________ growth and by 2010, 22% of the world’s population had access
to computers. The 22____________ language for communication on the Internet has been English which may be
a result of the 23____________ of the Internet, as well as the language’s role as a Lingua Franca. Although the
Internet is 24____________functional in terms of its use, some critics argue that it can have negative effects on
individuals, 25 ____________ interfering with concentration and deep thinking which leads to creativity.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Attaching
Contains
Are linked
Be
A
Flexible
Somewhere
Although
Restricted
Significant
Making
If only
Easily
By contact
While
Brought forward
Whereas
Severe
Range
Appointed
Tremendous
Habitual
Birth
UniIncludes
Linking
Consists
Is linked
Being
An
Flexibility
Anywhere
Despite
Restricting
Considerable
Made
Only
Easy
Contact
During
Brought about
If
Vital
Group
Enabled
Extending
Rife
Origin
SemiIncluding
Tying
Keeps
Link
Are being
--Flexibly
Elsewhere
In spite of
Had restricted
Significantly
Is made
Not only
Ease
By touch
As
Carried out
When
Essentially
Collection
Authorised
Formidable
Prevalent
Source
MultiEncompass
Fastening
Controls
Linking
Is being
The
Inflexible
Nowhere
But
Restrict
sizeable
Have made
This
Easiness
In touch
By
Carried forward
Despite
Serious
Cluster
Unauthorised
Marvelous
Outstanding
Establishment
MonoEncompassing
(25 marks)
6
Passage 4: An awfully big adventure (Reading Comprehension)
Read the following newspaper article about an expedition and answer the 5 questions which follow. There
is ONE correct answer for each question.
The Taklamakan Desert in western China is one of the last unexplored places on earth. It is also one of the most
dangerous. Charles Blackmore crossed it, and lived to tell the tale.
There are very few big adventures left and very few heroes. Children’s stories used to specialise in themcourageous explorers with sunburnt, leathery skin and eyes narrowed by straining to see into far horizons on their
journeys into the unknown. These days you no longer find such people in fiction, let alone in real life. Or so I
thought until I met Charles Blackmore.
Blackmore’s great adventure consisted of leading an expedition across one of the last unexplored places
on earth, the Taklamakan Desert in western China. Its name means ‘once entered you never come out’, but local
people call it the Desert of Death. He recalled the dangers and the exhilaration of that amazing trek, in the calm
atmosphere of his family home.
The team he led was composed of four Britons (one of them the party’s medical officer), an American
photographer, four Chinese (all experts on the area), 30 camels and six camel handlers. It later turned out that the
camel handlers had never worked with camels before, but were long-distant lorry drivers: a misunderstanding that
could have cost everyone their lives and certainly jeopardised the expedition’s success. The mixed bunch set out
to cross 1,200 kilometres of the world’s least hospitable desert and Charles Blackmore has written a mesmerising
account of their journey.
At the time, he was about to leave the Army after 14 happy years. He launched the expedition for fun, to fill
a gap in his life, to prove something. ‘I had always assumed I’d spend my whole life in the Army. I had been
offered promotion but suddenly I felt I wanted to see who Charles Blackmore really was, outside all that. It was a
tremendous gamble. Tina, my wife, was very worried that I wouldn’t come back as nobody had ever done that
route; we went into it blind. In the event, it took 59 days to cross from west to east, and the desert was very kind to
us.
Anyone reading his extraordinary account of that crossing will wonder at the use of the word ‘kind’. The
team suffered unspeakable hardships: dysentery; extremes of temperature; severe thirst and dehydration; the loss
of part of their precious water supply. ‘But’, Blackmore explains, ‘when we were at the limits of our own endurance
and the camels had gone without water for seven days, we managed to find some. We didn’t experience the
Taklamakan’s legendary sandstorms. And we never hit the raw, biting desert cold that would have totally
immobilised us. That’s not to say that we weren’t fighting against hurdles the whole time. The fine sand got into
everything, especially blisters and wounds. The high dunes were torture to climb, for us and for the heavily laden
camels, which often rolled over onto us’.
‘I knew I had the mental stamina for the trip but I was very scared of my physical ability to do it. I remember
one day- we sat at the edge of the desert and it was such an inferno that you couldn’t breathe. I thought, “We’ve
got to do it now!” At that moment I was a very scared man.
If it was like that at the beginning, how did they feel towards the end? ‘When you’ve walked for 1,000
kilometers you’re not going to duck out. You’ve endured so much; you’ve got so much behind you. We were very
thin, but very muscular and sinewy despite our physical exhaustion. My body was well-toned and my legs were like
pistons. I could walk over anything’.
So now that the expedition is over, and having endured the challenges presented by such an inhospitable
place, has Charles Blackmore found peace? ‘I yearn for the challenge- for the open spaces- the resolve of it all.
We were buoyed up by the sense of purpose. I find it difficult now to be part of the uniformity of modern life’.
(Adapted from CAE past examination papers 5)
7
Choose ONE answer (A,B,C or D) for each question.
(There are 5 marks for each question)
1. Meeting Charles Blackmore changed the writer’s opinion about:
A the nature of children’s fiction.
B the nature of desert exploration.
C the existence of traditional heroes.
D the activities of explorers.
1. ANSWER: ________
2. When the expedition members set off, some of the group
A posed an unexpected risk.
B disagreed with each other.
C were doubtful of success.
D went on ahead of the others.
2. ANSWER: ________
3. Blackmore had decided to set up the expedition because
A he was certain he could complete it.
B he wanted to write a book.
C his aims in life had changed.
D his self- confidence was low.
3. ANSWER: ________
4. Which of the following best describes the team’s experience of the desert?
A They were not able to have enough rest.
B It presented continual difficulties.
C They sometimes could not make any progress at all.
D It was worse than they had expected.
4. ANSWER: ________
5. How does Blackmore feel now that the expedition is over?
A tired but pleased to be home
B regretful about his family’s distress
C unsure of his ability to repeat it
D unsettled by the experience
5. ANSWER: ________
(25 marks)
END OF TEST
Total mark for paper: 100 marks
8