Inside Out Full Placement Test

Section 1

Choose the best word or phrase to fill each blank.

Roberta __________ from The United States.

What’s __________ name?

My friend __________ in London.

Where __________?

I ­__________ coffee.

-- "__________ to Australia, Ginny?"

-- "Yes, two years ago."

Tokyo is __________ city I’ve ever lived in.

A vegetarian is someone __________ doesn’t eat meat.

__________ these days.

I __________ watch TV tonight.

I wish I __________ more money!

__________ be famous one day?

Section 2

Choose the best word or phrase to fill each blank.

It’s my birthday __________ Friday.

I __________ eighteen years old.

I __________ a headache.

Do you __________ a uniform at your school?

-- What time is it?

-- I have no __________.

The meal was very expensive. Look at the __________!

How many __________ of trousers have you got?

Joel came back from his holiday in Brazil looking really __________.

Section 3

(Please note: The following questions are related to a specific reading passage, which is available solely before the first question. Remember, it may be helpful to refer back to the reading text while answering the questions to ensure accuracy.)

Read the text below. Choose the best answer.

"Heavier than air flying machines are impossible," said the well-known scientist Lord Kelvin in 1895. Thomas Watson, the chairman of IBM in 1943, was wrong too when he said that he thought there would be a world market for only five or so computers.

Predictions can, of course, be wrong, and it is very difficult to predict what the world will be like in 100, 50, or even 20 years from now. But this is something that scientists and politicians often do. They do so because they invent things and make decisions that shape the future of the world that we live in.

In the past, they didn’t have to think too much about the impact that their decisions had on the natural world. But that is now changing. An increasing number of people believe that we should live within the rules set by nature. In other words, they think that in a world of fixed and limited resources, what is used today will not be there for our children. We must therefore look at each human activity and try to change it or create alternatives if it is not sustainable. The rules for this are set by nature, not by man.

What was Lord Kelvin suggesting?

According to the text, which of the following statements is TRUE?

"shape" is closest in meaning to:

The article suggests we should live in a _____ way.

Choose the best title for the article.

Section 5

Choose the best word or phrase to fill each blank.

Harry can __________ English.

I’m not interested __________ sports.

She likes __________ expensive clothes.

Harry __________ his father’s car when the accident happened.

I was wondering __________ tell me when the next plane from Chicago arrives?

If I __________ him, I would have spoken to him, wouldn't I?

I like your hair. Where __________?

I think Joey must __________ late tonight. His office light is still on.

John tells me Jack’s going out with Helen, __________ I find hard to believe.

What __________ this weekend, Lance?

The weather has been awful. We’ve had very __________ sunshine this summer.

Did you hear what happened to Kate? She __________.

Section 6

Choose the best word or phrase to fill each blank.

I usually __________ up at about 7.30.

I __________ football every week.

My sister __________ the cooking in our house.

Don’t forget to __________ the light when you leave the room.

She was in __________ when she heard the tragic news.

He __________ that he hadn’t stolen the computer, but no one believed him.

Could you __________ me that book for a couple of days, please?

Greg is __________ a lot of time at Yvonne’s house these days!

Section 7

(Please note: The following questions are related to a specific reading passage, which is available solely before the first question. Remember, it may be helpful to refer back to the reading text while answering the questions to ensure accuracy.)

Read the text below. Choose the best answer.

Many hotel chains and tour operators say that they take their environmental commitments seriously, but often they do not respect their social and economic responsibilities to the local community. So is it possible for travellers to help improve the lives of locals and still have a good holiday?

The charity, Tourism Concern, thinks so. It has pioneered the concept of the fair-trade holiday. The philosophy behind fair-trade travel is to make sure that local people get a fair share of the income from tourism. The objectives are simple: employing local people wherever possible; offering fair wages and treatment; showing cultural respect; involving communities in deciding how tourism is developed; and making sure that visitors have a minimal environmental impact.

Although there is currently no official fair-trade accreditation for holidays, the Association of Independent Tour Operators has worked hard to produce responsible tourism guidelines for its members. Some new companies, operated as much by principles as profits, offer a fantastic range of holidays for responsible and adventurous travellers.

Tourism Concern _____.

Which of the following is NOT one of Tourism Concern’s objectives?

According to the text, fair-trade travel is all about _____.

According to the text, there are _____ companies that are operated on principles as well as profits.

Choose the most appropriate title for the article.

Who __________ in that house?

I’ll call you when I __________ home.

If you __________ me, what would you do?

I don’t know where __________ last night.

John and Betty are coming to visit us tomorrow but I wish __________.

I’m so hungry! If only Bill __________ all the food in the fridge!

I regret __________ harder in school.

Surely Sue __________ you if she was unhappy with your work.

Our neighbours aren’t very polite, and __________ particularly quiet!

We had expected that they __________ fluent English, but in fact they didn’t.

I’d rather __________ next weekend, but I do!

Harriet is so knowledgeable. She can talk about __________ subject that comes up.

Section 10

Choose the best word or phrase to fill each blank.

I always __________ milk in my coffee.

I __________ TV every evening.

Can you give me a __________ with my bag.

Before you enter the triathlon, please bear in __________ that you’re not as young as you used to be!

The breath test showed he had consumed more than three times the legal limit of alcohol, so the police arrested him for __________.

The meeting was __________ and not very interesting.

After the movie was released, the main __________ point was its excessive use of violence.

There have been several big __________ against the use of GM foods recently.

Section 11

(Please note: The following questions are related to a specific reading passage, which is available solely before the first question. Remember, it may be helpful to refer back to the reading text while answering the questions to ensure accuracy.)

Read the text below. Choose the best answer.

Standards of spelling and grammar among an entire generation of English-speaking university students are now so poor that there is "a degree of crisis" in their written use of the language, the publisher of a new dictionary has warned. Its research revealed that students have only a limited grasp of the most basic rules of spelling, punctuation and meaning, blamed in part on an increasing dependence on "automatic tools" such as computer spellcheckers and unprecedented access to rapid communication using e-mail and the Internet. The problem is not confined to the US but applies also to students in Australia, Canada and Britain.

Students were regularly found to be producing incomplete or rambling, poorly connected sentences, mixing metaphors ‘with gusto’ and overusing dull, devalued words such as ‘interesting’ and ‘good’. Overall they were unclear about appropriate punctuation, especially the use of commas, and failed to understand the basic rules of subject-verb agreement and the difference between "there", "their" and "they’re". Kathy Rooney, editor-in-chief of the dictionary, said, ‘We need to be very concerned at the extent of the problems with basic spelling and usage that our research has revealed.

This has significant implications for the future, especially for young people. We thought it would be useful to get in touch with teachers and academics to find out what problems their students were having with their writing and what extra help they might need from a dictionary. The results were quite shocking. We are sure that the use of computers has played a part. People rely increasingly on automatic tools such as spellcheckers which are much more passive than going to a dictionary and looking something up. That can lull them into a false sense of security.’

Beth Marshall, an English professor, said, ‘The type of student we’re getting now is very different from what we were seeing 10 years ago and it is often worrying to find out how little students know. There are as many as 800 commonly misspelt words, particularly pairs of words that are pronounced similarly but spelt differently and that have different meanings – for example, “faze” and “phase”, and “pray” and “prey”.’

"grasp" is closest in meaning to:

We can infer from the style of the text that this article was printed in a _____.

Kathy Rooney carried out research to see _____.

"them" refers to:

According to Beth Marshall, students today _____.

Choose the best title for the article.