English Language Proficiency
Test for New Students (Undergrad)
Guidelines | About the Test | Specimen Questions
Grammar
1. Instructions:
Parts of the passage below are underlined and numbered 1(a) to 1(t). Some contain errors; some do not.
Read the passage and examine the underlined parts for errors. For each underlined item there are four alternative responses, marked A - D, set out below the passage. Choose the correct response from each list:
Where there is an error, choose one of the options presented in A - C.
Where there is no error, choose option D.
For each answer, circle the letter selected ( A,B,C or D) .
Researchers have found that television have a very large impact [1(a)] on the minds of our youth in society. It makes they minds warp [1(b - c)] and they are less able to reason clearly.
1(a).
A. television had a very large impact
B television has a very large impact
C television did have a very large impact
D No error
1(b - c).
A. It makes there mind warped
B It makes they minds warped
C It makes their minds warped
D No error
2. Correct the errors in the following sentences:
(a) Except for you and I, everyone brought a present to the party.
(b) He has been laying in bed all day.
3. Complete the following to produce acceptable sentences.
The rules required that .............................................................
Meaning
4. Can you detect any differences in meaning between the following pair of sentences? Explain in the space below.
(a) The books which are on the floor in the corner of the room are mine.
(b) The books, which are on the floor in the corner of the room, are mine.
5. The following sentences are ambiguous. Rewrite each sentence in two ways in order to bring out the different possible interpretations. (You may expand or rearrange the sentence in order to illustrate the various meanings.
(a) The missionaries were cooking.
(b) She didn't like his playing cards.
6. Translate the following idiomatic expressions into plain, concise English so that a foreigner could understand them:
(a) The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
(b) She has an axe to grind.
Reading
7. Read the passage below carefully. At the end of the passage are four statements labelled (A), (B), (C) and (D) are given. Select the statement which best summarizes the passage.
What we perceive also depends on our past experience in terms of how 'educated' our eyes are. Take the case of two people who are watching a football game. One person, who has very little understanding of football, sees merely a bunch of grown men hitting each other for no apparent reason. The other person who loves football sees complex play patterns, daring coaching strategies, effective blocking and coaching techniques, and zone defences with 'seams' that the receivers are trying to 'split'. Both people have their eyes glued to the same event, but they are perceiving two entirely different situations. The perceptions differ because each person is actively selecting, organising and interpreting the available stimuli in different ways.
(A) Educated people perceive more clearly than those who are uneducated.
(B) The greater our understanding of an issue, the more likely we are to analyse it correctly.
(C) Two people watching football may analyse the game in very different ways.
(D) Our perception is influenced by the level of exposure which we have previously had.
Writing
8. On the paper provided below, write a composition of 300 words in length on ONE of the following topics:
(a) The effects of divorce on family life
(b) The influence of U.S. culture on Caribbean society.
(c) Students should have to pay for tertiary education. Support or refute.
(d) How to choose a college major.
