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Part I: Reading Comprehension
Read the following text and answer the relevant questions:
A) In certain stressful situations, the body’s responses can improve our performance in a way we become more energetic, more alert and better able to take effective action. But when stress is encountered continually, the body’s reactions are more likely to be harmful than helpful to us. The continual speeding up of bodily reactions and the production of stress-related hormones seem to make people more susceptible to heart disease. Additionally, stress reactions can reduce the disease-fighting effectiveness of the body’s immune system, thereby increasing susceptibility to illness ranging from colds to cancer. Other diseases that can result at least in part from stress include arthritis, asthma, migraine headaches, and ulcers. Workers who experience the greatest degree of job pressures have been found to be especially likely to suffer from a large number of illnesses. Moreover, many studies have shown that people who have experienced major changes in their lives are at an unusually high risk for a variety of illness.
B) As an example of stress-induced illness, take the case of stomach ulcers, small lesions in the stomach wall that afflict one out of twenty people at some point in their lives. Ulcers are a common disorder among people who work in occupations that make heavy psychological demands, from assembly-line workers to air-traffic controllers. In many cases, stress is the culprit as it leads to increased secretion of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. Hydrochloric acid normally helps to break down food during digestion, but in excess amounts it can eat away at the stomach lining, producing ulcers.
C) One of the least understood diseases, and, partly for that reason, one of the most feared is cancer, which is the second leading cause of death in the USA. Medical researchers are still trying to understand the biological mechanisms of cell behavior that underlie the onset and development of cancer. However, studies suggest that there may be links between emotions and cancer. These links involve the functioning of the body’s immune system, a collection of billions of cells that travel through the bloodstream and defend the body against invasion by foreign agents, including bacteria and viruses, and against cells that become cancerous. It is believed that small cancers form frequently in everyone, but our immune system usually rejects them. Prolonged stress may lead to elevated levels of corticosteroids, which makes it harder for the immune system to reject cancer cells.
D) Stress may contribute to disease in less direct ways, by influencing moods and behavior. People under stress may become anxious or depressed and, as a result, may eat too much or too little, have sleep difficulties, or fail to exercise. These behavioral changes may harm their mental health. Also, when under stress, people are more likely to pay attention to certain bodily sensations, such as aches and pains. Some researchers have suggested that assuming the role of a “sick person” is one way in which certain people try to cope with stress. After all, it is more acceptable in our society to be sick and seek medical help than to admit that one cannot muddle through the stresses of life.
1. The thesis statement of this text is:
a. In most stressful situations, the body’s responses can improve our performance
b. When stress is encountered continually, the body’s reactions are more likely to be harmful than helpful to us
c. An example of stress-induced illness is stomach ulcers
d. It is often more acceptable in our society to be sick and seek medical help than it is to admit that one cannot cope with the stresses of life
2. In this text, the author’s tone is best described as:
a. Argumentative and thought-provoking
b. Critical and ironic
c. Investigative and analytical
d. Neutral and informative
3. The underlined item ‘disease-fighting’ in paragraph (A) is:
a. A present participle form functioning as a part of the verb phrase
b. A present-participle derived adjective
c. A past-participle adverb
d. A compound adjective
4. In paragraph (A), the word ‘susceptible to ’ is close in meaning to:
a. Subject to
b. Vulnerable to
c. Responsible for
d. Inclined to
5. According to the text, which of the following is false about ‘stress’:
a. Stress is the culprit in many household problems including displacement, divorce and abject poverty
b. In certain situations, stress may improve our performance by motivating our bodies to become more energetic
c. More often than not, stress can be a major obstacle to food digestion
d. Excessive stress undermines our immune system and leads to the deterioration of our physical as well as behavioral body functions
6. Among the illnesses that are NOT mentioned in the article as an output of sustained tension:
a. Heart diseases
b. Mental disorders
c. Respiratory diseases
d. Dental diseases
7. Observing the importance of ‘cohesion and coherence’, choose the best structure that links paragraph (C) with paragraph (D):
a. Stress may also contribute to disease in less direct ways, by influencing moods and behavior.
b. Nonetheless, it is believed that stress contributes to disease in less direct ways, by influencing moods and behavior.
c. Eventually, stress may contribute to disease in less direct ways, by influencing moods and behavior.
d. Another example of stress-induced illnesses can be seen in the indirect influence of stress on moods and behavior.
8. In paragraph (D), the phrasal verb ‘muddle through’ means:
a. Manage to mix up with
b. Overcome successfully
c. Manage to deal with
d. Survive with difficulty
9. A better alternative structure to start with paragraph (C) is:
a. One of the least understood and, eventually, most feared diseases is cancer
b. One of the least understood diseases is cancer, which is also one of the most feared diseases
c. One of the least as well as most feared diseases is cancer
d. One of the least understood and, therefore, most feared diseases is cancer
10. In paragraph (C), the use of the comma after ‘the body’s immune system, a collection of …’ is:
a. Essential with the function of providing necessary information
b. Parenthetical with the function of providing extra information which is not one of the main constituents of the sentence
c. Superfluous with the function of adding semantic content which is indispensable to the semantic unity of the whole structure
d. Logical with the function of separating two independent clauses
11. Choose the best cohesive device to start the following sentence in paragraph (C), ‘prolonged stress may lead to elevated levels …’:
a. Strangely enough
b. Additionally
c. Nonetheless
d. Despite that
12. In paragraph (B), why are ulcers common among people who work in occupations with heavy psychological demands?
a. Because of stress which leads to excessive discharge of hydrochloric acid in the stomach, thus eating away at the stomach lining, producing ulcers.
b. Because stress leads to a decrease in hydrochloric acid that normally helps to break down foods during digestion
c. Because stress and ulcers are common disorders among people who work relentlessly
d. Because of the role of stress in attacking the immune system
13. In paragraph (D), the lexical item ‘after all’ is:
a. An adverb which is used to express contrast between two sentences
b. An adverb which is semantically equivalent to “subsequent to”
c. An adverb with the function of ‘emphasizing something to be considered’
d. An adverb which implies the meaning of “in conclusion”
14. In paragraph (C), the underlined item ‘which’ in ‘which makes it harder for the immune system to reject cancer cells’ is:
a. A relative pronoun that refers back to ‘prolonged stress’
b. A relative pronoun that refers back to the whole preceding sentence
c. A pronoun that refers back to ‘elevated levels of corticosteroids’
d. A relative pronoun that functions to link the two sentences together and can be replaced with the relative pronoun ‘that’
15. In Paragraph (D), the expression ‘assuming the role of’ means:
a. Adopting the position of
b. Presuming that
c. Simulating the actions of
d. Acting as
Part II: Translation
Read the following text, and choose the best translation of the underlined items:
فقر وإقصاء الأطفال في المدن
تتسم الحياة في المدينة بالنسبة للبلايين من الناس بالفقر والإقصاء16. ومع ذلك فإن جمع البيانات وتحليلها لا يعكس المدى الكامل لهاتين المشكلتين17. إذ غالباً ما تهمل الدراسات سكان المدن الذين تكون منازلهم أو نشاطاتهم المهنية غير رسمية، وهم بالتحديد الأفراد الأكثر عرضة للفقر18 أو التمييز. وعلاوة على ذلك، فإن التعاريف الرسمية للفقر نادراً ما تأخذ بعين الاعتبار تكلفة الاحتياجات غير الغذائية. وبالتالي، فإن حدود الفقر المطبقة على سكان الحضر19 تضع قيماً غير كافية لتغطية تكاليف الخدمات العامة.
في المناطق الحضرية، تعكس صعوبة الظروف المعيشية عوامل مثل عدم المشروعية وعدم المشاركة في صنع القرار20، والافتقار إلى الثروة والحماية القانونية، وتتفاقم بفعل تلك العوامل. وغالباً ما يتعزز هذا الإقصاء بسبب التمييز على أساس النوع الاجتماعي أو العرق أو الإعاقة21. إضافةً إلى ذلك، فإن المدن قد تتوسع بما يتجاوز قدرة السلطات على توفير البنية التحتية والخدمات اللازمة لضمان صحة الناس ورفاهيتهم. حيث تسجَّل نسبةٌ كبيرةٌ من النمو السكاني الحضري في المناطق الأكثر حرماناً وعشوائيةً22.
إنّ القرب المادي من الخدمة لا يضمن الحصول عليها. فمعظم سكان المدن يعيشون على مقربة من المدارس أو المستشفيات، غير أنّ فرصتهم في الاستفادة من هذه الخدمات ضئيلة للغاية23. وحتى عندما لا تشكل الرسوم عائقاً للدخول، فإنّ الأشخاص ذوي الدخل المحدود قد لا يكون لديهم الشعور بالاستحقاق والتمكين اللازمين لطلب الخدمات24 من مؤسسات ينظرون إليها على أنها خاصة بطبقات اجتماعية أو اقتصادية أعلى من طبقتهم.
يعرّض عدم الحصول على مياه الشرب المأمونة وخدمات الصرف الصحي الأطفال للمرض وسوء التغذية والموت25.وحتى عندما تكون الخدمات قريبة فإن أطفال المناطق الفقيرة يواجهون مخاطر صحية هامة تفوق تلك المنتشرة في المناطق الريفية.
16. a. Life in the city for billions is characterized by poverty and distancing
b. In cities, the life of billions is poor and disqualified
c. For billions of people, life in cities is one of poverty and exclusion
d. Billions of people in the city live a poor and isolated life
17. a. Collecting and investigating datas does not reflect the full potential of these two problems
b. Collecting data and analyzing them doesnot mirror the full extent of these two problems
c. Gathering and analyzing data does not show the complete range of these two problems
d. Collecting and analyzing data does not reflect the full scope of these two problems
18. a. The individuals who are most exposed to poverty
b. The most exposed individuals to poverty
c. The individuals who are most vulnerable to poverty
d. The individuals who are most liable to poverty
19. a. Poverty limits applied to city people
b. Poverty thresholds applied to urban populations
c. The poverty limits of urban inhabitants
d. The borders of poverty applied to the inhabitants of cities
20. a. The difficulty of life circumstances reflect factors like illegality and the lack of contribution in making decisions
b. The difficult life conditions reflect issues such as illegality and the lack of sharing in making decisions
c. Difficult living conditions are reflected by factors exemplified by illegality and limited participation in making decision
d. Difficult living conditions reflect factors such as illegality and the lack of participation in decision-making
21. a. Discrimination on the grounds of gender, ethnicity, or disability
b. Prejudice based on social kind, race, or disability
c. Distinction based on sexual orientation, ethnic origin or handicap
d. Discrimination due to social category, ethnicity or disability
22. a. The most disadvantaged and jumbled areas
b. The most deprived and unplanned areas
c. The most destitute and arbitrary areas
d. The most denied and random areas
23. a. Most city residents live near schools or hospitals, but their opportunity in benefiting from these services is very slight
b. Most city dwellers live by schools or hospitals, but they have a very slight chance to benefit from these services
c. Most city inhabitants live close to schools or hospitals but have little chance of using these services
d. Most city dwellers live near schools or hospitals, but their chance to access these services is mitigated
24. a. The feeling of deserving and ability to ask for services
b. The sense of entitlement and empowerment needed to ask for services
c. The sense of power and empowerment to demand services
d. That they are capable and worthy enough to ask for services
25. a. Lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation services puts children at the increased risk of illness, malnutrition and death
b. The lack of safe drinking water and sewage services exposes children to illness, starvation and death
c. Children’s inability to access guaranteed drinking water and hygiene system makes them the victim of disease, famine and death
d. The lack of secure drinking water and sewage service exposes children to illness, food shortage and death
Part III Grammar, Vocabulary and Structure
First: Choose A, B, C, or D which Reflects a mistake
26. I wrote well in the exam! Not only it was easy, but also interspersing!
27. Nobody says he has seen something unusual!
28. I love that really nice blue antique car that always parked opposite to the internet café
29. Could you, please, explain what is the state of education in developing countries?
30. a. I wouldn’t dream of challenging my supervisor if I had been in your shoes
Second: Choose the answer that best completes the sentences:
31. We do not plan to attack the government for not spending more on public services. There is nothing to be gained from…
a. Starting a fruitless argument
b. Pulling in your horns
c. Leading with your chins
d. Dragging others through the mud
32. Some European nations have been cautiously ....….on visits to Vietnam and talking of upgrading relations.
a. Testing the water
b. Pouring warm water on
c. Gaining ground
d. Searching high and low
33. There are those who are concerned that the decision to allow women to become priests……. the Church of England
a. Enriches
b. Sows the seeds of discontent at
c. Sounds the death knell of
d. Spikes the guns of
34. She simply doesn’t…; so it’s sometimes difficult to know what she is feeling.
a. Wear her heart on her sleeves
b. Wear herself to a frazzle
c. Mind her p’s and q’s
d. Wear her clothes inside out
35. It was late afternoon and I searched for hours but I had to ..….when darkness fell
a. Call time on it
b. Call the tune
c. Call the shots
d. Call it a day
Third: Choose the item closest in meaning to the underlined parts:
36. That the Vikings may have got to America five hundred years earlier is simply neither here nor there. The Critical factor in the development of modern world was the arrival of Europeans in the Americas exactly at a time when they were best prepared to make the most of it.
a. Inaccurate
b. Irrelevant
c. Not true at all
d. Not close to this place or that
37. Government pension provisions will keep the wolf from the door, but for a comfortable old age you need to make maximum use of the financial choices now open to you.
a. To avoid poverty
b. To leave the financial policies intact
c. To provide you with enough money to live on
d. To introduce radical changes to the effective financial policy
38. In the last two years, the summer clientele has deteriorated. These days, they have been letting in every Tom, Dick and Harry
a. An idiom meaning ‘everybody’
b. A metaphor referring informally to ordinary people who do not have any special skills or qualities
c. An idiomatic expression referring informally to all people who share specific characteristics
d. A phrase referring to clients who don’t have enough money
39. You would not believe the red tape involved in getting the required permits to start a business
a. A red ribbon which is cut in inaugurating a business
b. Insurmountable challenges
c. Excessive bureaucracy or adherence to rules and formalities
d. Extreme financial risks
40. The two sides of the conflict decided to bury the hatchet and put their differences aside
a. Bury the bodies of dead soldiers
b. Bury the lead
c. Dig deep to look for their common interests
d. Make peace
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