exams cpe entry test

Mark Harrison

2

Oxford

Entry TestCPE

© Oxford University Press

CPE ENTRY TEST: AN OVERVIEW

Timing: 1 hour 30 minutes

Part Task Type Number of Number of Test Format Similar tasks in and Focus questions marks revised CPE

1 Open cloze 15 15 A modified cloze text Use of Englishcontaining 15 gaps. Part 1

Grammatical /lexico-grammatical

2 Word formation 10 10 A text containing ten gaps. Use of EnglishEach gap corresponds to Part 2

Lexical a word. The ‘stems’ of the missing words are given beside the text and must be transformed to provide the missing word.

3 Four-option multiple- 12 12 Two modified cloze texts, Reading Part 1choice lexical cloze from a range of sources.

Each text contains six gapsIdioms, collocations, and is followed by six four-fixed phrases, option multiple-choicecomplementation, questions.phrasal verbs, semantic precision

4 Gapped text 7 14 One text from which Reading Part 3paragraphs have been

Cohesion, coherence, removed and placed in text structure, jumbled order after the text.global meaning Candidates must decide

from where in the text theparagraphs have beenremoved.

5 Four-option 6 12 One text with six four-option Reading Part 4multiple choice multiple-choice questions.

Content / detail, opinion, attitude, tone, purpose, main idea, implication,text organisationfeatures (exemplification,comparison, reference)

Reproduced by permission of the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate

© Oxford University Press

CONTENTS

Entry Test Overview 2

Part 1 4

Part 2 5

Part 3 6

Part 4 8

Part 5 10

Answer Sheets 12

Answer Key 14

Oxford CPE Entry Test Part 1 Photocopiable© Oxford University Press

Radical honesty therapy, (0) ………… it is known in the US, is the latest thing to be

held up as the key to happiness and success. It involves telling the truth

(1) ………… the time, with no exceptions for hurt feelings. But this is not as easy as it

(2) ………… sound. Altruistic lies, (3) ………… than the conniving, self-aggrandising variety, are

an essential part of polite society.

‘We all lie (4) ………… mad. It wears us (5) ………… . It is the major source of all human stress,’

says Brad Blanton, psychotherapist and founder of the Centre for Radical Honesty. He has become

a household (6) ………… in the US, where he spreads his message via day-time television talk

shows. He certainly has his work cut out (7) ………… him. In a recent survey of Americans, 93

per cent (8) ………… to lying ‘regularly and habitually’ in the workplace. Dr Blanton is typically

blunt about the consequences of (9) ………… deceitful. ‘Lying kills people,’ he says.

Dr Blanton is adamant that minor inconveniences are (10) ………… at all compared with the

huge benefits of truth telling. ‘Telling the truth, especially after hiding it for a long time,

(11) ………… guts. It isn’t easy. But it is better than the alternative.’ (12) ………… , he believes,

is the stress of living ‘in the prison of the mind,’ which (13) ………… in depression and ill health.

‘Your body stays tied up (14) ………… knots and is susceptible to illness,’ he says. ‘Allergies, high

blood pressure and insomnia are all (15) ………… worse by lying. Good relationship skills,

parenting skills and management skills are also dependent on telling the truth.’

as

PART 1

For questions 1–15, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each space. Use only one word in each space. There is an example at the beginning (0). Write your answers in CAPITAL LETTERS on the separate answer sheet.

Example: 0 A S

Is Honesty The Best Policy?

Photocopiable Oxford CPE Entry Test Part 2© Oxford University Press

PART 2

For questions 16–25, read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of some of the linesto form a word that fits in the space in the same line. There is an example at the beginning (0). Write youranswers in CAPITAL LETTERS on the separate answer sheet.

Example: 0 R E F E R E N C E

The DICTIONARY of NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY

Just over one hundred years ago, the last volume of a tremendous work of (0) ………… entitled The Dictionary of National Biography rolled off the printing presses. (16) ………… , this 21-volume shelf-filler may not immediately sound like the most thrilling read in the world. As entertainment, you might imagine it ranks some way below a (17) ………… autobiography. But you would be very, very wrong.

The DNB, like the Oxford English Dictionary, is one of the great monuments toBritish culture and also a hugely enjoyable work in its own right. It is, quite simply,an (18) ………… dictionary of potted biographies of all the notable men andwomen who had lived in Britain since the year dot. It was produced between1885 and 1900, and it remains (19) ………… an achievement of the Victorianperiod, richly redolent of 19th century confidence and (20) ………… , energyand optimism. It is also a monument to the enormous variety of the Britishnational character, and the dictionary is immeasurably (21) ………… by thisaspect. There are not only great statesmen, generals, writers, but also hundredsof wonderfully (22) ………… characters, who you can discover only by leafingidly through a volume of the DNB on a wet afternoon down at your local library.

The way in which the DNB was produced was very British too: on a shoestring,out of sheer dedication, and with no state (23) ………… whatsoever. It was theprivate endeavour of a group of (24) ………… , scholars and freelancejournalists, as (25) ………… to, for instance, the Austrian equivalent, producedunder the oppressive auspices of the Imperial Academy of Vienna.

REFERADMIT

POLITICS

ALPHABET

EMPHASISCAPABLE

RICH

COLOUR

INTERFEREENTHUSEOPPOSE

reference


PART 3

For questions 26–37, read the two texts below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits eachgap. Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

Al Gross – Inventor

AL GROSS, WHO DIED IN 2001 IN ARIZONA, US, aged 82, was the inventor of the walkie-talkie

and the telephone pager, and devised the essential technology used in cordless and mobile

telephones. Another of his inventions, the lightweight ground-to-air transmitter, was used to great

(26) ………… by Allied troops during the Second World War. (27) ………… another, the two-way

wrist-watch transmitter, (28) ………… the eye of the cartoonist Chester Gould, who gave it to Dick

Tracy. In 1948, the comic strip detective began his career as a crime fighter with the help of a two-

way wrist radio.

But Gross himself was too far (29) ………… his time to make much money from his electronic

inventions. When, in 1949, he suggested that his pager could be of great assistance to the medical

profession, doctors (30) ………… that the beeping devices would upset their patients, and might

interrupt their (31) ………… of golf. Today, there are more than 300 million pagers in use around

the world.

26 A service B effect C outcome D consequence

27 A Besides B Even C Quite D Yet

28 A grasped B hooked C caught D seized

29 A beyond B in front of C ahead of D prior to

30 A protested B resisted C dissented D opposed

31 A laps B rounds C circuits D courses

Photocopiable Oxford CPE Entry Test Part 3© Oxford University Press

Intelligent Chickens

Although chickens might not (32) ………… most people’s list of clever animals,

their particular abilities can sometimes be surprisingly impressive. For example,

they can (33) ………… to a challenge. Readers may be impressed by the chicken

that learnt to peck a key to (34) ………… access to a perch suspended over a tank of

water. It then crossed the perch, pulled a string three times to unlock a door, turned right

at a T-junction, and jumped across water to reach a nestbox.

However, this is a crude anthropomorphic example of animal intelligence. In fact most

animals can be trained to perform (35) ………… complex tasks with the promise of a

food reward. Dr Christine Nicol of the University of Bristol trained the performing chicken

to (36) ………… just this point. She says that it is not possible to measure intelligence

on a single scale. However, what has impressed her most about chickens is how they

can teach and learn. Hens, it seems, recognise when their chicks eat the wrong thing,

and intensely peck and scratch at better foods to demonstrate correct conduct. They are

also, she says, ‘rather good at (37) ………… new behaviours by watching each other’.

32 A lead B cap C mount D top

33 A meet B rise C equal D handle

34 A take B gain C land D hold

35 A presentably B suggestively C seemingly D externally

36 A prove B clinch C stamp D bear

37 A bringing off B picking up C catching on D making out


PART 4

You are going to read an extract from a novel. Seven paragraphs have been removed from the extract.Choose from the paragraphs A–H the one which fits each gap (38–44). There is one extra paragraphwhich you do not need to use. Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

Trip to Tonbridge

Lisa was frantic to come up with someone shecould visit. A girl called Buzz she had once met wasthe only person she could think of. She had had aletter from Buzz some months before, saying shewas living alone in a Volkswagen van in a fieldoutside Tonbridge. She had invited Lisa to visit. ‘Justturn up. Any time.’ Lisa searched frantically for theletter. It contained a list of directions.

Lisa felt confident the right one would reveal itselfto her.The train journey might jog it into place. Shegave up on her search for the letter and preparedto be away for up to a week. She packed a bag andleft a note for her mother. The train to Tonbridgetook just under an hour. Lisa spent the entirejourney matching buses with numbers until shebegan to feel sick with the effort. She decided thatonce she had got off the train, everything wouldcome back to her.

But when Lisa handed in her ticket and went outinto the station forecourt, there was nothing in sightthat looked even remotely familiar. She stooddolefully on the concrete strip of pavement andwondered which way she should go.There wasn’t abus in sight.The people who had travelled with herdisappeared into taxis and waiting cars and weresped away.

Lisa turned away from it and continued to walkdown the hill, which soon evened out into a straighthigh street of shops, all closed up for the night. In thedistance, she could see that the road twisted awayout of sight.

But when she reached the point where the roadcurved, she found she had to cross a woodenbridge over a wide and noisy river, and on the otherside, around the corner, there wasn’t in fact a busstop at all, but the ruins of a dimly lit medieval castlethat no one, no one at all, could forget to mention.Lisa turned abruptly and began to walk back theway she’d come. She kept walking until she hadwalked right out through the other side of the town.She walked past a church and then the road slopedup a hill.

Despite this doubt, she carried on, until there wereno more street lights. The hill, with its overgrownhedges, now lay shrouded in an eerie night. So shetraced her way back towards the church.There wasa pub near it with warm, orange light seepingthrough its windows.

Lisa went over and peered through a window.Theglass was frosted and gave nothing away. She wasabout to edge her way through the doors when acontingent of bikers roared to a halt in the car parkand began to dismount. Lisa flattened herself againstthe wall of the porch and, as they got off their bikes,she slipped away around the side of the pub. Onceon the safety of the road, she resumed her walkback into the town centre.

The more she thought about it, the more convincedshe became that that was true. And she knew whatit was going to be. She would meet someone on thetrain. Someone with whom she could mark this dayas the beginning of the rest of her life. Someone tofall in love with.

44

43

42

41

40

39

38

© Oxford University Press Photocopiable Oxford CPE Entry Test Part 4

A She imagined Buzz sitting inside with a drinkand a table covered with packets of cheese-and-onion crisps. She longed to see hersmiling, freckled face, and her twinkling eyesclogged almost shut with mascara. Sheimagined her at a table of men all vying forattention.

B Lisa had to accept that it was unlikely nowanything was going to occur to change thisday from the failure that it was. She kept herhead down as she wandered out. She wasashamed to be back there again so soon.

C And then she felt sure she remembered. ‘Getoff the train, go down a hill, round a cornerand there will be a bus stop.’ She repeatedthis to herself over and over as she walkedon, frightened that these valuable directionswould slip away now that she’d finally got ahold of them.

D Lisa asked someone the way to the centre oftown, and was pointed wordlessly down thesharp slope of a hill where almostimmediately she came upon a bus stop. Herheart leapt as she scanned the timetable, butthere were so many buses listed and withsuch foreign-sounding destinations that shefelt sure it couldn’t be the right stop.

E She started to convince herself that she hadmade this journey before. That she wouldknow her way to the tobacconist and thesweetshop and the park in the centre oftown, like a man in a film she had once seen.The man, who had lost his memory duringthe war, was astounded to find he knew hisway around a sleepy, sepia-coloured village.It emerged that it was the village he had beenborn in.

F It was almost utterly deserted now. Shestared wistfully into the faces of theoccasional passers-by. Mostly youngcouples wandering aimlessly hand in hand.There was no one scruffy or wild enough tolook as if they were a friend of Buzz’s. Lisaclutched the return ticket lying deep in thebottom of her pocket, and headed for thestation. The last train to London didn’t leaveuntil ten to ten and she sat down on a benchto wait. ‘Something good has to happen,’she told herself.

G Get a train from Charing Cross, it began. Sheremembered that. She could remember therhythm of the directions but not the actualwords. Get a train from Charing Cross, getoff at Tonbridge, walk into the tum te tum –the town centre? the bus station? Get thenumber something bus, up a hill, get off,climb over a gate and there’s a field. Get thenumber 9 bus? The number 19 bus? The 92?

H It was possible this might have been the oneBuzz had meant in her letter, but if it was theone with the field off it, then why would shehave told her to catch a bus when there wasno bus or bus stop?


PART 5

You are going to read a magazine article. For questions 45–50, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) whichyou think fits best according to the text. Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

SIMPLE – it’s all in the mind

TONY BUZAN IS HIS OWN BEST ADVERTISEMENTwhen he claims that his latest book can teach you not onlyhow to be brilliant with words, but also to be fitter, livelonger and be happier. He has transformed himself from apromising but not outstanding schoolboy into a man withan IQ at genius level, who has contributed to more than 80books on the brain and is consulted by universities,business organisations and governments. Some 250million people worldwide have already benefited from hisMind Maps, a diagrammatic learning tool that helps thebrain to store and recall information.

In his latest book, Head First, subtitled, ‘10 ways to tap intoyour natural genius’, he redefines intelligence to includenot only the familiar verbal, numerical and spatialbenchmarks measured by IQ tests, but other skills such ascreative, social, spiritual and physical intelligence, towhich he gives equal weight. Developing these, he claims,will bring confidence, self-awareness and personalfulfilment. And with this transformation will comephysical benefits – less stress, a stronger immune systemand even a longer life. It is estimated that we use aroundone per cent of our brain, so there is plenty of scope forimprovement. ‘I have fallen into the usual traps ofthinking that IQ was the be-all and end-all, that beingacademic was better than being artistic and that art andmusic were unteachable gifts,’ admits Buzan, 58. ‘Bit by bit,I have come to know better. This book is a compact historyof my revelations.’

The first moment of truth came when Buzan was atprimary school. After scoring 100 per cent in a nature test,he found himself top of the A-stream. His best friendknew far more about ecology than Buzan, but was bottomof the D-stream. ‘That started me wondering. Later, Ibecame aware that many of the so-called intelligent peopleI knew did not seem very bright at all. They were brilliantat words and numbers, but not particularly interesting tobe with, or happy with themselves or even successful. Ibegan working with children and found that many werelike my best friend. They were amazing, but they were notable to express their brilliance at school. For instance, Ispoke to a boy of eight who had been marked down in an‘intelligence test’ for ticking a picture of the earth whenasked which image was the odd one out – sun, moon,lemon or earth. When I asked him why he had done this,he looked at me as if I were an idiot and said: ‘Because the

earth is the only one that is blue.’ At that point I wonderedwho was the fool – the eight-year-old ‘slow learner’ or theuniversity lecturer. If we had measured the process bywhich the child had reached his answer – instead of theexpected response – we would have realised the beautiful,sophisticated intelligence behind it.’

Identifying and developing this kind of undervaluedintelligence is Buzan’s mission. His starting point is that allpeople have the potential to excel if they can only ridthemselves of the barriers placed in their way byupbringing, education and society’s belief systems andexpectations. The first obstacle to overcome is lack of self-belief. Buzan describes how his marks in maths soared atsecondary school after he was told he was in the top oneper cent of the population in the subject. ‘I realised thatwhat I thought about my ability in a subject affected howwell I did.’ The second hurdle is the conviction most of ushave that certain skills – art, music and numerical ability –are gifts from heaven, conferred only on the naturallytalented few. Buzan disputes this, claiming that all we haveto do is learn the appropriate ‘alphabet’. If we can learn tocopy, he insists, we can learn to draw. ‘It is the same withmusic. The most sophisticated musical instrument is thehuman voice. Many people think they cannot sing. Buteverybody sings without realising it. It’s called talking.Listen to somebody speaking a foreign language of whichyou know no vocabulary; it is pure music.’ Buzan’s thirdlesson is the recognition that we are all intelligent;otherwise, we could not survive. ‘There is only one trueintelligence test,’ he says, ‘and that is life on planet Earth.Sitting in a room answering questions is not as difficult assurvival. Every day, we are confronted with new problemsthat we learn to handle.’

Head First offers a template for each of the 10 kinds ofintelligence, including a definition, an outline of itsbenefits and lots of exercises. ‘Think of each of yourmultiple intelligences as a finger on a pair of wonderfullyadept and agile piano-playing hands. You can play life’smusic with just two fingers, but if you use all 10 you canplay a concerto where each one supplements and enhancesthe others. The Moonlight Sonata will sound OK with twofingers. But it sounds much better with 10.’

© Oxford University Press Photocopiable Oxford CPE Entry Test Part 5

45 What is implied about Tony Buzan in the first paragraph?

A His views have caused a certain amount of controversy.B Some of the claims he makes are rather exaggerated.C It is hard to understand why he has been so successful.D His theories are supported by his own life story.

46 What is said about the book Head First in the second paragraph?

A Buzan accepts that some people may disagree with some of the views expressed in it.

B In it Buzan argues against beliefs he previously held.C It suggests that IQ tests are of no real value.D Its main focus is on the relationship between intelligence and

physical condition.

47 Buzan uses the boy who ticked a picture of the earth as an example of

A people who are more interesting than many people considered to be intelligent.

B people whose intelligence is not allowed to develop fully.C people with an attitude that prevents them from being considered

intelligent.D people whose intelligence is likely to develop later in life.

48 Buzan thinks that one thing that prevents people from excelling is

A their habit of focusing too much on trivial aspects of everyday life.B their belief that too much effort is required to acquire certain skills.C their failure to realize how much natural intelligence they have.D their tendency to be easily discouraged by the comments of others.

49 Buzan uses the Moonlight Sonata to illustrate his belief that

A his book can benefit everyone who reads it.B some things are not as difficult to learn as they may seem.C it is desirable but not essential for people to develop their

intelligence.D his definitions of intelligence are simple enough for everyone to

understand.

50 Which of the following best summarises the view expressed by Tony Buzan in the article as a whole?

A Too much emphasis in life is placed on how intelligent people are.B Most people are inclined to underestimate their own intelligence. C Intelligence is something that it is unwise to generalise about.D Conventional views on what constitutes intelligence are inaccurate.

Oxford CPE Entry Test Photocopiable© Oxford University Press

ANSWER KEY

Part 1

1 all2 might / may3 rather4 like5 out / down6 name7 for8 admitted / confessed9 being

10 nothing11 takes / needs / requires12 This / That / Worse13 results / culminates14 in15 made

Part 2

16 Admittedly17 politician’s18 alphabetical19 emphatically20 capability21 enriched22 colourful23 interference24 enthusiasts25 opposed

Part 3

26 B27 D28 C29 C30 A31 B32 D33 B34 B35 C36 A37 B

Part 4

38 G39 E40 D41 C42 H43 A44 F

Part 5

45 D46 B47 A48 C49 C50 D

© Oxford University Press Oxford CPE Entry Test

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

From December 2002, candidates entering for the Certificate of Proficiency in English examination needto fulfil certain entry requirements. The entry requirements include the option of an Entry Test, but CPEcandidates are only obliged to take the Entry Test if they do not have one of the other Cambridge EFLqualifying results:

• FCE Grade A or B (not grade C) or

• CAE Grade A, B or C or

• CPE Grade D or

• IELTS Band score of 6.5 and above or

for those candidates who have not obtained one of the above qualifying results:

• Band 2 or Band 3 in the CPE Entry Test.

Entry Test and IELTS results are valid for two years only. There is no time-limit on the validity of the otherqualifying results mentioned above.

RESULTS

Candidates receive a score in one of three bands:

Band 3 Qualifies for entry to CPE at the next session.

Band 2 Qualifies for entry to CPE at the next session, but recommended toundertake at least one year’s further study.

Band 1 Does not qualify for entry to CPE.

To gain a Band 3, candidates need to achieve a score of approximately 40 marks.

To gain a Band 2, candidates need to achieve a score of approximately 25 marks.

Candidates achieving a score of less than approximately 25 marks are awarded a Band 1.

(Note that one mark is awarded for each correct answer in Parts 1, 2 and 3; two marks are awarded for each correct answer in Parts 4 and 5.)

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