Part 1 Use of English
Section A
Word formation
Complete the text using a word formed from the word in brackets. The first one is given as an
example.
For many people, the phrase from Exodus which best captures its theme, and which is in all
the main (0) translations (translate), is Let my people go. It has been
(1) _______________ (repeat) used in recent times when a repressed (2) _______________
(minor) group is struggling to obtain freedom. It achieved modern fame as the title of a
William Faulkner novel and as the refrain of the Negro Spiritual ‘Go Down Moses’, sung by Paul
Robeson and later also by Louis Armstrong. The (3) _______________ (lie) message is very
serious, so it tends to be adapted only when issues of freedom, rights, access and
(4) _______________ (such) arise. Let my software go was one such appeal. Let my children
go was another. In 2008, slogans supporting a movement to free an Egyptian blogger jailed
for (5) _______________ (voice) dissent included Let my blogger go.
Section B
Sentence transformation
For each question, complete the second sentence so that it means the same as the first
sentence. You should use the word given in bold, and not more than seven words, including
the word given.
Example
Do you mind waiting outside for a few minutes?
kind
Would you _________________________ wait outside for a few minutes?
Would you be so kind as to wait outside for a few minutes?
1
Perhaps the damage was greater than we initially thought.
may
The damage _________________________ greater than we initially thought.
2
There weren’t nearly as many people at the match as I had expected.
far
There were _________________________ I had expected.
3
Unless I’m mistaken I left the keys on the kitchen table.
rightly
If _________________________ I left the keys on the kitchen table.
4
I’m sceptical about my chances of getting onto the course.
doubt
I _________________________ much of a chance of getting onto the course.
5
This document needs to be stamped if you ever want to get paid.
never
You _________________________ is stamped.
Section C
Vocabulary in context
Complete the text by supplying suitable words. More than one word may be suitable but you
should use only one word per gap.
I am afraid I showed my surprise rather plainly. Mrs Cavendish, who had married John’s father
when he was a widower with two sons, had been a handsome woman of middle age as I
remembered her. She certainly could not be a day (0) less than seventy now. I recalled her as
an energetic, autocratic (1) _______________, somewhat inclined to charitable and social
notoriety, with a fondness for opening bazaars and playing the Lady Bountiful. She was a most
generous woman, and possessed a (2) _______________ fortune of her own.
Their country-place, Styles Court, had been purchased by Mr Cavendish early in their married
life. He had been (3) _______________ under his wife’s ascendancy, so
(4) _______________ so that, on dying, he left the place to her for her lifetime, as well as the
larger part of his income; an arrangement that was distinctly unfair to his two sons.
Lawrence, the younger, had been a delicate (5) _______________. He had qualified as a
doctor but early relinquished the profession of medicine, and lived at home while pursuing
literary (6) _______________, though his verses never had any marked success.
John (7) _______________ for some time as a barrister, but had finally
(8) _______________ down to the more congenial life of a country squire. He had married
two years ago, and had brought his wife to live at Styles, though I entertained a shrewd
(9) _______________ that he would have preferred his mother to (10) _______________ his
allowance, which would have enabled him to have a home of his own.
Section D
Text structure
Complete the text by supplying suitable words. More than one word may be suitable but you
should use only one word per gap. Do not alter the punctuation in any way.
Reform of British universities has introduced the notion that universities, (0) rather than
collaborating in their common task, should compete with one another, and with private
providers, to sell their services in a market, (1) _______________ students are seen not as
partners in a joint enterprise of learning, (2) _______________ as ‘consumers’, seeking the
cheapest deals. (3) _______________ a contrast with the medieval idea that knowledge was a
divine gift from God, (4) _______________ was not to be sold for money, but should be freely
imparted! (5) _______________ with the 19th-century German concept of the university
devoted to the higher learning; or with the English tradition of putting education to the service
of society. How fortunate I was to have entered academic life in the early 1950s, and
(6) _______________ to have experienced several decades of academic freedom.
(7) _______________, there were fewer universities in those days, and only a minority of
students had access to them. (8) _______________ there are so many universities today,
there are fewer resources to go around. (9) _______________ a result, the environment in
which today’s students and academic work has sharply deteriorated. (10) _______________ I
contrast it with the freedom I enjoyed as a young man, I am not surprised so few students opt
for academic careers.
Part 2
Reading to Writing
Read the report and look at the graph. Then, in your own words, write an article (between 220
and 280 words) for an educational publication:
1 summarizing the information about trends in early years education in the UK, and
2 giving your opinion about the advantages or disadvantages of early education.
Early years education
For an increasing number of people, their experience of formal education is no longer confined
to their years at school. Early years education has become more common since the 1970s and
is seen as being vital in building important foundations for future learning in schools. There has
also been an expansion in further and higher education since the 1970s as more people in the
UK continue in full-time education beyond school-leaving age. Qualifications attained at school
are increasingly supplemented by further education and training to equip people with the skills
required by a modern labour market and to keep these skills current.
In England the pattern of participation in early years education varies by region. In
January 2009, the participation of children aged under five in maintained nursery and primary
schools as a proportion of the population aged three and four was highest in the North East
(80 per cent) compared with 42 per cent in both the South East and South West. However, a
higher proportion of children aged three and four were enrolled with private and voluntary
providers in the south of England than in other English regions (53 per cent in the South East
and 58 per cent in the South West).
Research has been carried out to assess the value of early years education for very
young children (under three years of age). One source of such research is the British Social
Attitudes Survey, which in 2008 asked adults in Great Britain what advantage, if any, they
thought attending an early years educational setting for about three sessions per week had for
very young children. Although over a fifth of respondents (22 per cent) considered that a
child's educational development was the main advantage of early years education, a higher
proportion (38 per cent) agreed that the main advantage was that it enabled children to
interact and socialise with other children. A higher proportion of women (42 per cent) than
men (35 per cent) thought this to be the main advantage although it was the most common
advantage suggested by both sexes. However, the other main perceived advantage, agreed by
almost one in five (19 per cent) of respondents was that early years education for very young
children allowed parents to work. This possibly reflects the other findings mentioned above
regarding the demand by parents for longer hours of care.
Part 3
Critical Writing
‘Poetry is what gets lost in translation.’ (attrib. Robert Frost)
Write an essay (220-280 words) in which you highlight the difficulties facing the translator, the
strategies which he or she may adopt, and the frustrations and/or satisfactions which the task
may bring. You should draw on real-life experiences (including your own, if appropriate) to
support your arguments.