Public English Test System (PETS) Level3
Section I Listening Comprehension
(25 minutes)
Directions:
This section is designed to test your ability to understand spoken English. You will hear a selection of recorded materials and you must answer the questions that accompany them. There are two parts in this section, Part A and Part B.
Remember, while you are doing the test, you should first put down your answers in your test booklet. At the end of the listening comprehension section, you will have 3 minutes to transfer your answers from your test booklet onto your ANSWER SHEET I.
If you have any questions, you may raise your hand NOW as you will not be allowed to speak once the test has started.
Now look at Part A in your test booklet.
Part A
You will hear 10 short dialogues. For each dialogue, there is one question and four possible answers. Choose the correct answer-A, B, C or D, and mark it in your test booklet. You will have 15seconds to answer the question and you will hear each dialogue ONLY ONCE.
Example:
You will hear:
W: Could you please tell me if the Beijing flight will be arriving on time?
M:Yes, Madam. It should be arriving in about ten minutes.
You will read:
Who do you think the woman is talking to?
[A] A bus conductor.
[B]A clerk at the airport.
[ C] A taxi driver.
[D]A clerk at the station.
From the dialogue, we know that only a clerk at the airport is most likely to know
the arrival time of a flight, so you should choose answer [ B ] and mark it in your test
booklet.
Sample Answer: [A] [B] [C] [D]
Now look at question 1.
1. What does the man want to do?
[A] Borrow the typewriter. [B] Visit the woman.
[C] Go home soon. [D] Read the woman's paper.
2. Who is the man?
[A]A dentist. [B]A dietician.
[C]A cook. [D]A tailor.
3. What does the man want to know?
[A] If she is in good health.
[B] If she has corresponded with her relatives recently.
[ C] If she is about to write to her friends.
[ D] If she still receives a lot of letters.
4. What does the man say about Jone?
[A] She will stop teaching law.
[ B] She has no plans for her life after school.
[C] She might not complete law degree.
[D] She has doubts about becoming a policewoman.
5. Where does this conversation most likely take place?
[A] In the library. [B] In the college bookstore.
[C] At a newsstand. [D] At a department store.
6. What does the man mean?
[A] Steve doesn't need a scholarship.
[ B ] Steve doesn ' t have much money.
[C] Steve doesn't know how to apply.
[ D] Steve isn' t applying for a scholarship.
7. What does the man mean?
[A] She should call the taxi herself. [ B] The taxi driver is a friend of his.
[C] He's taking the same bus she is. [D] He' II drive her to the bus station.
8. What are the man and the woman hoping to do?
[A] Repair the other door. [B] Visit some ruins.
[C] Have an outdoor party. [D] Catch the Sunday train.
9. What does the woman mean?
[A] The same team always wins. [B] The game began some time ago.
[ C] They had better see who is winning. [ D] Now is a good time to start playing.
10. What does the woman suggest?
[A] He shouldn't put on his shoes. [B] He should go to a movie.
[C] He ought to work on his paper. [D] He shouldn't write about the movie.
Part B
You are going to hear four conversations. Before listening to each conversation, you will have 5 seconds to read each of the questions which accompany it. After listening, you will have time to answer each question by choosing A, B, C or D. You will hear each passage or conversation ONLY ONCE.
Mark your answers in your test booklet.
Questions 11-13 are based on the following conversation. You now have 15 seconds to read the questions 11-13.
11. What is the main topic of the conversation?
[A] How lightning is produced.
[ B ] The loudness of thunder.
[ C ] The relationship between lightning and thunder.
[ D] How to determine the location of a lightning flash.
12. What led to the conversation?
[A] A recent local storm. [B]A recent radio program.
[C] A course the speaker is taking. [ D] Research done by one of the speakers.
13. According to the conversation, where does thunder occur?
[A] Where cool air hits mountains. [B] Where lightning occurs.
[C] Near electrical wires. [D] Underneath the clouds.
You now have 40 seconds to check your answers to questions 11-13.
Questions 14 -17 are based on the following conversation. You now have 20 seconds to read the questions 14 -17.
14. Where did the woman find out about the university station?
[A] From a friend. [B] From the town newspaper.
[C] From the bulletin board. [D] From the school newspaper.
15. When will the station begin operation?
[A] Today. [B] In April.
[C] Next semester. [D] No one knows for sure.
16. What doesn' t the man like about the university town?
[A] Its size.. [B] Its newspaper.
[C] Its radio station. [D] Its weather.
17. What will be the university station' s programming policy?
[A] It will try to please all its listeners.
[B] It wants to appeal to only the sophisticated students.
[C] It will play only country and western music.
[D] It plans to present mostly talk shows.
You now have 40 seconds to check your answers to questions 14 - 17.
Questions 18-21 are based on the following conversation. You now have 20 seconds to read the questions 18 -21.
18. When does this conversation most probably take place?
[A] At the beginning of the semester. [B] At the middle of the semester.
[C] At the end of the semester. [D] During vacation.
19. What does the woman suggest that the man do?
[A] Study hard. [B] Try to take every exam.
[ C] Take his mind off his test. [ D] Go to get his tennis bats.
20. What are both speakers planning?
[A] Togo swimming. [B] To discuss the test.
[C] To play tennis. [D] To play table tennis.
21. What is the result of their last game?
[A] The woman won. [Bj The man won.
[C] The man lost his ball. [D] The woman is a beginner.
You now have 40 seconds to check your answers to questions 18 -21.
Questions 22 ~ 25 are based on the following conversation. You now have 20 seconds to read the questions 22 -25.
22. Who is the woman?
[A] A recording artist. [B] A French teacher.
[C]A student. [D] An engineer.
23. Why is the man talking to the woman?
[ A] He is explaining the language laboratory. [ B] He wants to know where the tapes are.
[C] He's showing her a new tape recorder. [D] He's recording her voice on a tape.
24. What is the man's opinion of the language laboratory?
[A] It needs to have more French lesson tapes.
[B] It needs to have its controls repaired.
[C] It is different from all the other laboratories.
[D] It can be operated rather easily.
25. What will the woman do right now?
[A] Change her class schedule. [B] Fill out a job application.
[C] Organize tapes on the shelves. [D] Work on the French lessons.
You now have 40 seconds to check your answers to questions 22 -25.
Now you have 3 minutes to transfer your answers from your test booklet to the ANSWER SHEET 1.
That is the end of the listening comprehension section.
Section Ⅱ Use of English
(15 minutes)
Directions:
Read the following text. Choose the best word or phrase for each numbered blank and mark A, B,
C, or Don your ANSWER SHEET 1.
Text
Customs officers at a London airport yesterday found $500,000 worth of drugs which were being smuggled (走私) into Britain in boxes marked "Urgent Medical Supplies". The 26 might have suspected for some time 27 drugs were being brought into the country in this way. The 28 is believed to be the work of a 29 international group. Four men were arrested at 30 airport and held for questioning, 31 it is unlikely that they are organizers. In 32 they declared that they were 33 of what the boxes contained and 34 acted in good faith in bringing 35 into Britain. This is the third time 36 six months that attempts have been made to smuggle 37 goods through Customs by declaring them to 38 medical supplies. They are frequently 39 in special containers and a 40 is given that they may be 41 if they are not handled with care. 42 are determined to put a 43 to this practice, said one of the Customs officers today. 44 is no way these people are going to get away 45 this any longer. We have the full cooperation of the International Police who are as anxious as we are to track down the main source of supply.
26. [A] authorities [B] commanders [C] leaders [D] directors
27. [A] what [B] that [C] although [D] when
28. [A] operation [B] behaviour [C] movement [D] development
29.[A]well-constructed [B] well-designed [C] well-composed [D] well-organized
30. [A]an [B] some [C] the [D]one
31. [A] but [B] so [C] because [D] as
32. [A] turn [B] return [C] case [D] fact
33. [A] unconscious [B] unaware [C] unfamiliar [D] unknown
34. [A] were [B] had [C] have [D] being
35. [A] all [B] it [C] them [D] such
36. [A] of [B] for [C] by [D] in
37. [A]immoral [B]criminal [C]illegal [D]irregular
38. [A]get [B]be [C]become [D]sell
39. [A]parked [B]picked [C]passed [D]packed
40. [A]warning [B]note [C]symbol [D]signature
41. [A]harmed [B]injured [C]damaged [D]hurt
42. [A]Some [B]We [C]They [D]Those
43. [A]stop [B]hold [C]stay [D]step
44. [A]It [B]This [C]There [D]That
45. [A]off [B]in [C]for [D]with
Section in Reading Comprehension
(40 minutes)
Part A
Directions:
Read the following three texts. Answer the questions on each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET by drawing a thick line across the corresponding letter in the brackets.
Text I
The number killed in the Bradford City football ground disaster has risen to 52; more than 70 police and spectators have also been detained in hospital. The match was being recorded by York shire TV when the fire began. When it first broke out, a few tongues of flame could be seen under the wooden seats in the G block of the stand. Some of the spectators walked away casually from the smoke. Then suddenly the fire spread with terrifying speed, and within minutes the whole stand was in flames. Most of the spectators rushed forwards onto the pits to avoid the blaze. In the panic, several spectators were crushed, and police and other fans ran back to the stands to help them. The rescuers' clothes and hair could be seen bursting into flames in the intense heat.
Most of the dead were found piled up at the back of the stand, where they had run to escape from the fire. However, the gates at the back of the stand had been locked before the start of the match. This had been done to prevent people from entering without paying. Eyewitnesses spoke of fans being crushed beneath the turnstile in a desperate attempt to escape.
Throughout the day, weeping relatives trailed into hospitals and police stations looking for missing members of their families. The police are faced with the problem of identifying the victims and dental records and jewelry are being collected to help with the task.
The alarmingly quick spread of the fire was of serious concern to police and fire-brigade investigators last night. They believe that paper and other rubbish that had accumulated over the years beneath the wooden stands provided ready-made fuel for the fire.
Police think that the blaze was started by a dropped cigarette. They also found out that fire extinguishers had been removed from the stands because they had been used in the past by fans as missiles.
The tragedy is the worst in football history since 66 fans died when part of stadium collapsed in Scotland in 1971.
46. What might be the title of the passage?
[A] Tragedy in Human History.
[B] Locked Gates and Timber Stand Create Death-trap.
[C] Fire in the Bradford Theatre.
[ D ] Football Causes Great Disaster
47. Why did some of the spectators walk away casually from the smoke?
[ A] They were afraid to be trapped in the fire.
[ B] They did not want to rescue those piled up at the back of the stand.
[ C ] They did not realize that a fire broke out.
[ D] They wanted to escape from the fire as soon as possible.
48. Some of the dead at the back of the stand would have escaped from the fate if
[A] the organizers had not locked the gates at the back of the stand
[ B ] they had not been in such a panic
[ C ] they had not thrown paper and rubbish beneath the wooden stands
[ D ] they had not dropped cigarettes
49. The loss of the disaster could be reduced if ________.
[ A ] the rescuers had reacted more quickly
[ B ] eyewitnesses had all helped the rescue work
[ C ] the fans in the past had not been so ignorant of the fire precaution rule
[ D ] the fire-brigade had come earlier
50. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
[ A ] The police knew very soon who most of the victims were.
[ B] More people died at Bradford than at the stadium in Scotland.
[ C ] The fire spread so fast probably because of the people ' s clothes and hair
[D] There was nothing in the stands to put the fire out with when it started.
Text 2
Are you always sure you know what people mean when they try to describe their feelings to you? We use both words and gestures to express our feelings, but the problem is that these words and gestures can be interpreted in different ways. It is true that a smile means the same thing in any language. So does laughter or crying. There are also a number of striking similarities in the way different animals show the same feeling. Dogs, tigers and humans, for example, often show their teeth when they are angry. This is probably because such behaviour patterns are inherited rather than learned.
Fear is another emotion that is shown in much the same way all over the world. In Chinese and in English fiction, a phrase like he went pale and began to tremble suggests that the man is either very afraid or has just had a very nasty shock. However, "he opened his eyes wide" is used to suggest anger in Chinese whereas in English it conveys surprise. In Chinese surprise can be described in a phrase like "they stretched out their tongues". Sticking out your tongue in English is an insulting gesture or expresses disgust.
Even in the same culture, people differ in their ability to interpret and express feelings. Experiments in America have shown that women are usually better than men at recognizing fear, anger, love and happiness on people's faces. Disgust, contempt and suffering seem to be the most difficult emotions for people everywhere either to recognize or to express. Other studies have shown that older people usually find it easier to interpret body language ( the way people stand or move etc. ) than younger people do. And psychologists such as E. G. Beicr have also shown that some people frequently give completely the wrong impression of how they feel. For instance, they try to show affection but in fact communicate dislike. Or when they want to show interest, they give the impression that they don ' t care. This can happen even among close friends and members of the same family. In other words, what we think we are communicating through language, voice, face and body movements may be the exact opposite of what other people understand.
51. What might be the reason for the behaviour patterns of animals and humans?
[A] They learn them from their parents.
[ B ] They develop the patterns as they grow older.
[C] They are born with them.
[D] They are taught about them by their elders.
52. Which of the following emotions is NOT shown in the same way in different cultures?
[AJ Happiness. [B] Surprise.
[C] Sadness. [D] Terror.
53. What kind of people are better at recognizing the expression of horror?
[A] Men. [B] Children.
[C] Old people. [D] Women.
54. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
[A] Two close friends won't make mistakes in expressing and interpreting each other's
feelings.
[B] Stretching out one's tongue conveys an unfavourable expression in English.
[C] It is easy for people to recognize and express the strong feeling of dislike.
[D] Older people are not better than young people in understanding body language.
55. We can generalize from the passage that _________.
[A] we express our feelings in much the same way
[B] men differ from women in their ability to express and interpret feelings
[ C j our feelings are not so easy to express and interpret
[ D ] different cultures have different ways in expressing and interpreting feelings
Text 3
Are the British people Europeans? This may seem a strange question to Africans and Asians, who tend to think of all white men as Europeans. But the British, when they are in Britain, do not regard themselves as Europeans. The Europeans, to them, are those rather excitable foreigners from the other side of the English Channel, who have never learnt how to speak English. Europe is " the Continent" : a place full of interest for British tourists, but also the source of almost all the wars in which Britain has ever been involved. Thus, although geographically speaking Britain is a part of Europe, yet the fact that it is a separate island that has made its people feel very, very insular. They feel, and in many ways are, different from the rest of Europe and they sometimes annoy continental nations by failing to support them, or even to understand them, in time of need.
Where did the British people come from? This is an extraordinary interesting question, since they are a mixture of many different races, and all these races invaded Britain at various times from Europe. Nobody knows very much about Britain before the Romans came during the first century B. C. , but there had been at least three invasions before that. The first of these was by a dark-haired Mediterranean race called the Iberians. The other two were by Celtic tribes; first the Gaels, whose descendants are the modern Scots and Irish, some of whom still speak the Gaelic language; and secondly the Britons, who gave their name to the whole island of Britain. These were the people whom the Romans conquered. The Romans gave the Britons a good deal of their civilization, but they never settled in Britain in very large numbers, so the British race survived until the overthrow of the Roman Empire by the "barbarians", i. e. the numerous Germanic tribes which overran the whole of Western Europe.
56. The purpose of the passage is to _________.
[ A ] talk about Europeans
[ B ] discuss the origin of British people
[ C ] argue for the superiority of British people
[ D ] compare the Europeans with Africans and Asians
57. It can be known from the passage that _________.
[ A ] most people think white people are Europeans
[ B ] there are many Africans and Asians living in Europe
[ C ] white men are Europeans in the eyes of Africans and Asians
[ D ] the British people think of themselves as Europeans
58. It can be inferred from the passage that_________.
[ A] Europeans are those who are unable to speak English
[ B ] those who invaded Britain coming from the other side of the English Channel
[ C ] Britain is a place full of interest for those excitable foreigners
[ D ] Britain is the source of almost all the wars in Europe
59. Why do the British people feel very insular?
[ A ] They are different from those people in the continent.
[ B] They sometimes fail to support the continental countries in time of need.
[C] They are separated geographically from the continent.
[D] They are considered very difficult to understand.
60. Which of the following might be discussed after this passage?
[A] The Germanic tribes which invaded Britain.
[ B ] The civilization the Romans gave Britain.
[C] The Romans who did not settle in Britain.
[ D] The survival of the British people in the first century B. C.
Part B
Directions:
Read the following article in which five people talk about their ideas of dieting. For questions 61 to 65 , -match name of each speaker to one of the statements (A to C ) given below. Mark your answers on your ANSWER SHEET.
Abbey
You can always recognize dieters from the sour expression on their faces. They spend most of their time turning their noses up at food. They are forever consulting calorie charts, gazing at themselves in mirrors, and leaping on to weighing-machines in the bathroom. They spend a lifetime fighting a losing battle against spreading hips, protruding tummies and double chins. What a miserable lot dieters are!
Marlin
I began making some dietary and lifestyle changes during my second year of college and have been eating this way ever since. I like the way I feel when I don't eat animal foods so much more than the pleasure I used to get from eating them. I have much more energy; I need less sleep; I feel calmer; I can maintain an ideal body weight without worrying about how much I eat, and I can think more clearly.
Maggie
During my first year of college, I gained forty pounds when I began throwing the javelin. For the next twenty years, I carried all of this extra weight and kidded myself that I was in good shape since that's what I weighed in college. Now that I' ve lost all that extra weight, I feel great! People say all the time, "Well, how do you live without eating cheeseburgers or this or that?" and I say, "You just don't. It' s not even an option. It' s not that hard once you get on it. "
Belinda
If you are on a diet, you' re always hungry. You can't be hungry and happy at the same time.
All the horrible concoctions you eat instead of food leave you permanently dissatisfied. A complete food it may be, but not quite as complete as juicy steak. So at least three times a day you will be exposed to temptation. How miserable to watch others tucking into piles of mouth-watering food while you munch a water biscuit and sip unsweetened lemon juice! And if hunger just proves too much for you, in the end you will lash out and devour five huge guilt-inducing cream cakes at a sitting. Then things will turn out to be even worse.
Wood
I went on diet when my doctor told me that my blood pressure tended to be high. Only at that time did I realize the danger of being overweight. Since I began making dietary changes in 1982, eating this way has become increasingly accepted. I don ' t feel I ' ve lost something after dieting. Instead, I’ ve got something valuable. That is good health.
Now match each of the persons to the appropriate statement.
Note: there are two extra statements.
Statements
61. Abbey [A] Being on a diet is a torture.
62. Marlin [ B] I feel better with vegetarian food.
63. Maggie [C] I lost weight after dieting.
[ D] I began dieting for the sake of health.
64. Belinda [E] Dieting enables people to enjoy life more.
65. Wood [F] Dieting simply causes endless worries.
[ G] Dieting does more harm than good to one' s health.
Section IV Writing
(40 minutes)
You should write your responses to both parts on ANSWER SHEET 2.
Part A
66. Suppose you have a foreign friend, Frank Harrison, who invited you to his house for a dinner party yesterday. Write a letter of thanks to Mr. Frank Harrison, telling him about:
1 ) your thanks for his dinner party and his kindness;
2 ) your gladness of acquainting yourself with new friends at the dinner party;
3) your enjoyment of the dinner party.
Part B
67. Read carefully the information below about Canada. Write a description of Canada on the
flowing points:
I ) location;
2) size and physical background;
3 ) climatic features;
4) population and language.
Canada
Capital: Ottawa
Total area: 9,976,139 sq. km.
Land area: 5% arable ("T@), 46% forest, 41% mountain area
Climate: temperate in the southern part, mostly cold
Annual rainfall: 80cm
Population: 26,992,000 (1994)
Density: less than 3 per sq. km.
Language : English and French
Location @ north of North America, north of USA