Post graduate entrance exam preparation

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HO CHI MINE CITY UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH POST GRADUATE ENTRANCE EXAM PREPARATION

(For internal use)

Contents

GRAMMAR 1

1 How much ? How many ? 1

2 Some and Any 1

3 Adjectives 1

4 Adverbs 3

PART 1 VOCABULARY 9

Practice 1 9

Practice 2 10

Practice 3 12

Practice 4 13

Practice 5 15

Practice 6 16

Practice 7 18

Practice 8 20

Practice 9 21

Practice 10 23

PART 2 READING COMPREHENSION 25

Practice 1 25

Practice 2 26

Practice 3 27

Practice 4 28

Practice 5 30

Practice 6 31

Practice 7 32

Practice 8 34

Practice 9 35

Practice 10 36

PART 3 GUIDED CLOZE 37

Exercise 1 37

Exercise 2 39

Exercise 3 40

Exercise 4 41

Exercise 5 42

Exercise 6 43

Exercise 7 44

Exercise 8 45

Exercise 9 46

Exercise 10 47

PART 4 SENTENCE BUILDING 49

Practice 1 49

Practice 2 50

Practice 3 52

Practice 4 53

Practice 5 55

Practice 6 55

Practice 7 55

Practice 8 56

Practice 9 56

Practice 10 56

PART 5 WRITING 57

SAMPLE TEST 57

GRAMMAR 1 How much ? How many ?

We ask How much ? with uncountable nouns (e.g shopping, water, money)

We ask How many ? with countable nouns (e.g books, classes, pens)

Exercise: Fill in the blank with How much or How many and answer these questions

A chocolate do you buy every week?

B magazines do you get each month?

C money do you spend on sweets?

D CDs do you have?

E T-shirts did you buy last summer?

2 Some and Any

Look at these sentences

1 I'd like some pool shoes

2 I'd like some information

3 Have you got any more things to order?

4 We don't have any left in small sizes.

5 Can you give me some prices?

Complete rules A-E with Some and Any and match them to 1-5

A We use some with uncountable nouns in affirmative sentence?

B We always use _ in negative sentences

C We use _ with countable nouns in affirmative sentences

D We use _ for a request

E We usually use _ in questions

3.1 The order of Adjectives

- When you use two or more adjective, the usual order is: size, quality, color,origin, substance

A small

Green

- Adjectives of quality sometimes come before adjectives of size.

beautiful long hair

elegant short hair

- But adjectives of size always come before adjectives of color

beautiful long black hair

elegant short red hair

3.2 Adjective phrases

Phrases can be used like single adjectives to describe nouns and pronouns

Phrases that are used in this way are called adjective phrases

- Most adjective phrases come after the word they describe

Who is the girl with long hair?

My friend lives in the house across the street.

- Some adjective phrases come before the word they describe The words in thesephrases are often joined with hyphens

She writes neatly

- Adverbs phrases are groups of words that functions as single adverbs to describethe action of the verb

Are you sitting in a comfortable chair?

He draw cartoons like a real cartoonist

Sam is behaving like a baby.

1.2 Adverbs of Time

Some adverbs and adverb phrases answer the question "When?" They are calledadverbs of time

It rained heavily last night

We're going on a trip in a few day's time

1.3 Adverbs of Place

Some adverbs and adverb phrases answer the question "Where?" They are calledadverbs of place

It's very sunny but cold outside

Flowers like these grow in the park

1.4 Adverbs of Frequency

Some adverbs and adverb phrases answer the question "How often?" They arecalled adverbs of frequency

We've been to Disneyland twice

Adverbs of frequency come:

- before most verbs: He always goes to the festival.

- after the verb be: lam usually late for dinner.

- Sometimes can also be places at the beginning or at the end of the sentence:

Sometimes I am late for school.

I am late for school sometimes

1.5 Adverbs of Duration

Some adverbs and adverb phrases answer the question "How long?" They arecalled adverbs of duration

We're staying in a hotel overnight

I haven't seen my sister for two years

1.6 Adverb of Emphasis

We have seen that most adverbs describe verbs but remember that some adverbsalso describe adjectives or other adverbs They are usually used to add emphasis.Anna can run really fast

That's a very good drawing

Your excuses are completely unbelievable

5 Auxiliary verbs

Auxiliary verbs are used before infinitives to add a different meaning

Auxiliary verbs are can, could, would, should, ought to, will, shall, may,

might and must.

Can and could

- Use can and could to say that someone is able to do something

She can draw really good pictures

Our teacher said that we could go home early

- You many also use can and could to say that someone is allowed to do something

My mum says you can come to our house for dinner

The big sign on the gate said PRIVATE, so we couldn't go in

- Can and could are also used for asking for information or help, for offeringsomething and for suggesting something

Could you show me where the accident happened?

Your sister could come with us, if she wanted to

You can ask your dad to help us

Will and would

- Use will and would when you are asking someone to do something

Will you please stop making that noise?

Would you pass me that book, please?

- You can also use will and would to offer something or to suggest something

Will I hold this end of the rope?

Would you like another drink?

Shall and should

- You can use shall and should to ask for advice, offer something and suggestsomething

Should I bring waterproof clothes?

Shall we go home now?

- Use must to talk about things that you have to do

You must speak louder I can't hear you

May and might

- Use may to ask if you are allowed to do something and to tell someone that theyare allowed to do something

May I go out?

- Use may and might to talk about things that are possible or likely

Take an umbrella It might rain.

You may not have time to go swimming tonight

6 Conjunctions

Conjunctions are words used to link words, phrases or clauses Some commonconjunctions are and, but and or

Conjunctions linking words

- Use and to link words that are similar

We buy fruit and vegetables at the grocery store

The President visit towns and cities across the country

- Use but to link words that are different and do not normally go together He worksquickly but neatly

The teacher is firm but fair with children

- Use or to talk about choices

You can have a soda or lemonade

Who’s cooking dinner, Mum or Dad?

Conjunction And

- After a verb we usually put and between the last two nouns, adjectives or verbs in

a list and commas (,) between the other things

I like horses, cows, dogs and cats

- And is less common with adjectives before a noun We normally just use acomma

a big, yellow fish

- When we use and we often miss out words instead or repeating them

Nicole goes shopping and swimming at the weekend, (not Nicole goes shopping andshe goes swimming at the weekend)

Exercise: Here are some errors that candidate have made with and in the KETexam Correct the sentences

1 I saw a nice and colourful parrot at the zoo

2 Yesterday we went to the zoo and yesterday we went to the museum

3 Susanna went out yesterday and Susanna took her dog for a Wlk

4 There are many cats, dogs, horses at the farm

5 The dolphins were near the boat and the birds were near the boat

Conjunctions linking phrases

Use and, but and or to link phrases

We like going shopping and visiting museums

I tell my parents and my best friends all my secrets

Conjunctions that join sentences.

Use and, but and or to join two sentences to make them one

Mom is working in the garden and Dad is busy in the kitchen

I switched on the TV, but there were no interesting programs on

Other words for And

There are other words for and that also join two sentences

Dad not only washed the car, but he also polished it

Sam not only baked the cake, but she decorated it as well

They visited Sydney, as well as Hong Kong and Tokyo

Sam ran faster than both Kim and David

Other words for But

There are other words for but that also join two sentences

Although / even though / though grandpa is old, he is very fit

While the bus is slower than the train, it's cheaper

Other words for Or

There are other words for or that name choices or join two sentences

You can do your homework either now or after dinner

We could walk, or else take a taxi

7 Determiners

Determiners, or noun signals are special adjectives used before nouns There aredifferent kinds of determiners

The Articles

The words a, an and the are called the articles A and an are indefinite articles.

They are used with singular nouns Use a before nouns that begin with &consonant Use an before nouns that begin with a vowel

John is reading a book

Would you like a peach?

- Some vowels begin with a consonant sound Use a with these vowels

Is there a university in your town?

Does every child in the school wear a uniform?

- Some words begin with a silent H Use an with norms that begin with a silent h:We've been waiting here for an hour

The word the is called the definite article Use the before a noun when you are

talking to someone who already know which person or thing you mean

Dad is sitting in the garden

Turn the television off now

Demonstrative determiners

Use this and these to talk about things and people that are near you.

Use that and those to talk about things and people that are farther away from you Quantifying Determiners

Words such as many, much and several tell about quantity without giving an exactnumber They are called quantifying determiners

Some quantifying determiners are used only with plural nouns They are few, a

few, fewer; many, several and both.

Few people have been to the moon

Both brothers have dark hair

Some quantifying determiners can be used with plural nouns and uncountable

nouns They are all, half, some, enough, a lot of, lots of, plenty of, more,

most and other.

We've eaten all the food in the fridge

Do you have enough books to read?

Most lemonade contains sugar

He likes playing with other children

Some determiners can be used only with uncountable nouns They are little

(meaning not much, a little (meaning some) and much.

There's a little rice left

I haven't got much information for you

Some quantifying determiners can only be used with singular nouns They are

another, every and each.

I need another pencil

He likes every child in the class

Each house is painted a different color

Some quantifying determiners are used with singular, plural and uncountable

nouns They are any, no, no other and the other.

Any dog will bite if it's afraid

Are there any good books in the library?

There wasn't any space in the cupboard

There is no other way of solving the problem

She has no other friends

We have no other food in the fridge

Interrogative determiners

The words what, which and whose are used before nouns to ask questions.Interrogative determiners appear just before nouns.

What time is it?

Which boy is your brother?

Whose pen is this?

Possessive determiners

The words my, your, his, her, its, our and their are used before nouns to show

ownership

Numbers

Numbers are determiners, too Numbers are often used before nouns

Our family has two dogs

Using determiners together

You can use quantifying determiners with each other and with numbers

Some people like winter but many more people prefer summer

There are five fewer children in my class than in your class

Use of between a quantifying determiner and another kind of determiner.

I don't like any of these drinks

Each of the boys answered the questions correctly

The quantifying determiner all may be used with or without of.

We ate all of the food in the fridge

or We ate all the food in the fridge

10 If you require any more … about the holiday, please telephony us.

D will have completed

3 I … put your keys in the drawer they cannot get lost

6 The Titanic … the Atlantic when it … an iceberg

A crossed / had struck

B was crossing / struck

C is crossing / strikes

D had crossed / was striking

7 My father hasn’t seen his older brother … at least thirty years

10 Steve is a … man He enjoys being at home with his wife and children.

2 I saw him hiding something in a … bag

A plastic small black

B small plastic black

C black small plastic

D small black plastic

3 Laura said she had worked on the assignment since

A the day before

B yesterday

C two days ago

D the next day

4 John asked me … that film the night before

6 “How does the washing machine work?”

D nursery the event

9 The expansion of … education at college and university should be a powerfulforce for change

A further

B higher

C extra

D extended

10 The A-level (short for Advanced Level) is a General Certificate of Education set

of exams … in the UK

B When you read

C Unless you read

D Read

3 After more than a decade of Doi Moi or economic …, the Vietnamese Communistgovernment has achieved diplomatic and economic links with numerous foreignpartners

9 How well you are playing! - …

A Say it again I like to hear your words

B I think so I am proud of myself

C Thank you too much

D Many thanks That is a nice compliment

10 She asked me … my holidays

A where I spent / the previous year

B where I had spent / the previous year

C where I spent / last year

D where did I spend / last year

C had been running

D have been running

6 when my mother is busy preparing dinner, my father often gives a hand …tidying the living room

A on

B for

C with

D about

7 Some researchers have just … a survey of young people’s points of view oncontractual marriage.

C not less than

D nor less than

9 … in Rome than he

A No sooner he had arrived / was being kidnapped

B Had he no sooner arrived / kidnapped

C No sooner had he arrived / was kidnapped

D No sooner was he arriving / had been kidnapped

10 I think that everything … ready for the project procedure by the end of nextmonth

1 “Let’s have a pizza.”-“…”

A It’s a good idea

B Not really

C Not again

D It doesn’t matter

2 Our teacher … to take the exam

A gave another chance each of us

B was given each of us by another chance

C was given each of us another chance,

D gave each of us another chance,

3 … that most students studying abroad have to encounter

A Suppose, with several certain difficulties

B But, several certain difficulties

C However, there are several certain difficulties

D Moreover, there are several certain difficulties for them

4 A letter of … is sometimes really necessary for you in a job interview

B however you want

C therefore you want

D but as you want

8 His house is … mine

A twice as big as

B as twice big as

C as big as twice

D as two times big as

9 Billy hasn’t been working; he won’t … his examinations

A get off

B get through

C keep up

D keep off

10 If the score is tied at the end of regulation play, two … periods of three minuteseach are played.

A who should have written it and publishes in 1952

B it was written in Cuba in 1951 and it was published in 1952

C which must have written and published in 1952

D written in Cuba in 1951 and published in 1952

3 If you … a book, you have a brief look at it without reading or studying itseriously

B keenly

C keenness

D keener

6 After his operation, Tom tried to lead … possible

A a very normal life

D would have regretted

8 Some animals have a remarkable ability to … themselves to changingenvironments

B Had Peter driven

C Unless Peter had driven

D If had Peter driven

7 Let’s begin our discussion now, …?

A shall we

B will we

C don’t we

D won’t we

8 …, we tried our best to complete it

A Thanks to the difficult homework

B Despite the homework was difficult

C Difficult as the homework was

D As though the homework was difficult

9 A new … satellite has just been launched into the earth’s orbit to take somenecessary photographs

Read the text below and choose the correct answer.

New books this month The Long Night

This is David Reilly's first book David became a writer after teaching English forseveral years Maha is a nurse in northern Australia, where she works in a smallhospital One day a baby is so ill that Maha has to drive all night to get her to thenearest big city They have a lot of problems getting there and

Hard Work

This exciting story is Joanna Jones's twentieth Hard Work is about Sombat, whoworks with his father, a carpenter, in Thailand They work long, hard hours makingtables and chairs but they do not have any money Then one day a man dressed all

in black buys the most beautiful table in the shop

Hospital or Cinema?

Marcie Jacome, who studies English in London, wrote this story earlier this year.Tina is a young Brazilian woman whose dream is to become a doctor She goes toLondon to study English and medicine but one day she meets a man who asks her

to go to the USA with him to become a film star What will Tina do?

1 Which book is by somebody who has written a lot of books?

A The long night

3 which book is about somebody who would like to work in a hospital?

A the long night

B hospital or cinema?

C hard work

4 which book is by somebody who worked in a school?

A The long night

6 which book is about a man and his son?

A the long night

B hospital or cinema?

C hard work

7 which book is by a student?

A The long night

B hard work

C hospital or cinema?

Practice 2

Read the text below and choose the correct answer

THE HISTORY OF THE LONDON POLICE

Today there are policemen everywhere; but in 1700 London had no policemen

at all A few old men used to protect the city streets at night and they were notpaid very much About 300 years ago, London was starting to get bigger The citywas very dirty and many people were poor There were so many thieves who stolemoney in the streets that people stayed in their homes as much as possible

In 1750, Henry Fielding started to pay a group of people to stop thieves Theywere like policemen and were called "Bow Street Runners' because they workednear Bow Street Fifty years later, there were 120 Bow Street Runners but Londonhad become Very bid and needed more policemen So in 1892, the firstMetropolitan (or London) Police Force was started with 3000 officers Most of menworked on foot but a few rode horses Until 1920 all the police in London were men.Today London police are quite well paid and for the few police officers who still ridehorses, the pay is even better than for the others.

1 In 1700, the men who protected the streets were paid

A a lot

B a little

C nothing

2 300 years ago, many people

A came to live in London

B wanted to leave London

C had big houses in London

3 People did not leave their houses because

A they city was not clean

B they had no money

C they were afraid

4 The Bow Street Runners

A stole money

B stopped people stealing

C paid people to steal

5 In 1800, there were

A enough policemen

B not enough policemen

C too many policemen

6 Of the first 3000 Metropolitan policemen

A all of them rode horses

B some of them rode horses

C most of them rode horses

7 Today, police officers who work with horses are paid

A more than their colleagues

B the same as their colleagues

C half as much as their colleagues

I have just been to England for six weeks to work on a radio program aboutthe English language and also to talk about the book I've just written Most writersdon't like doing this, they don't like traveling around the country, selling their book.

I don't mind it I like visiting new places and meeting lots of people It's verydifferent from the life I have in the united states when I'm writing In Englandpeople drove me around in big cars and I stayed in expensive hotels It was goodbecause i didn't have to pay any bills Everyone was kind to me and it was fun

1 Bill has written about a country he has visited

6 Bill has traveled to many different places in the United States

"I've always liked all kinds of sports, especially skiing and it seemed natural tostart snowboarding, it doesn't take long to learn and you can become really good in

a few months

We asked her if she had to do a lot of practice "Well in winter I snowboard inthe mountain every day from 8.30 am to 4 pm I also run and go biking, but i justlove doing it all! I like the competition and being in the mountain, it's so beautiful,but free-riding, that's doing what you want when you're not in a competition, is thebest thing in the world for me."

We asked her what is important when you're learning "You can learn quicklybut you need lessons, it's also important to have the right clothes so you don't getwet because, to begin with, you spend a lot of time falling down."

1 Victoria was visiting Switzerland for a competition

Bill says: "My problem is that I cannot find skilled workers Young people allseem to prefer to work with computers these days We will lose the necessary skillssoon because there are fewer and fewer shoemakers nowadays I'm 45 and now Iwant to teach young people everything I know about making shoes It's a good job,and a lot of people want to buy beautiful shoes especially made for them.'

He started his business 19 years ago and now he employs three other people Hiscustomers pay about $500 for their first pair of shoes He says: 'Our customers

come because they want comfortable shoes with exactly the right size.' Extra pairs

of shoes cost between $320 and $450, as it takes one employee a whole week tomake just one shoe

1 What is the writer trying to do in the text?

A describe where Mr Bird finds his staff

B encourage people to wear comfortable shoes

C advertise a job selling expensive shoes

D show Mr Bird's worries about his trade

2 What can readers find out from the text?

A how many customers Mr Bird has

B how to make shoes like Mr Bird

C how to get to Mr Bird's London shop

D how much Mr Bird's shoes cost

3 What is Mr Bird's opinion of young people?

A they want too much money

B they are difficult to train

C they prefer other jobs

D they don't work hard enough

4 Customers choose Mr Bird because his shoes

A are the most fashionable

B fit perfectly

C look very unusual

D are traditional in design

5 Which advertisement would Mr Bird put in a newspaper?

A Wanted - experienced shoemaker to work in large shoe company in London.Good rates of pay

B Wanted - young people to train as shoemakers Must be able to use computers

C Wanted - young people to train as shoemakers Good job with small company

D Wanted - country workshop needs people for unskilled jobs working with shoes

Practice 6

Read the text below and choose the correct answer

Beverly Hills High

A school for stars

This is the school from television show Beverly Hills 90210 Most of the studentscome from rich families and some of them have famous parents People fromHollywood sometimes go to Beverly Hills High to look for future stars.

School life

There are lots of good things about going to this school: there are two theaters, atelevision studio and a radio studio The students make TV programs and films intheir drama classes The biggest event of the school year is the school dance, or

"prom" Everyone at Beverly Hills High travels to the prom in a limousine

Traveling to school

In California, children can learn to drive three months before their sixteenthbirthday Lots of students at Beverly Hills High have their own cars but they have topay a lot of money to park their cars in the school car park

What the kids think

Most kids enjoy going to Beverly Hills High because it is fun and there is lots to do.But some kids don't like the school if their parents don't have enough money to buythem a fast car and expensive clothes

1 The students are usually

3 In drama classes students

A make radio programs

5 In California, children can learn to drive

A when they are 16

B before they are 16

C after they are 16

6 At Beverly Hills High, car parking

The New Voice of Soul Music

When Macy Gray at school, the other children made fun of her strange voice

"Every time I opened my mouth, the kids laughed at me," she says

Things have changed for the 30-year-old American, who today has soldmillions of records around the world I asked Macy how this change happened "Iwrote some song lyrics for friends of mine who were musicians One day, whenthey wanted to record a song, their singer didn't arrive I sang for them and weekslater I was asked to sing for a jazz band," Macy couldn't believe that people likedher voice but then Atlantic Records invited her to join them She was 24 In 1997she was asked to record an album "I still wasn't sure that I was doing the rightthing, but I thought I'd try music just one more time." her first album sold threemillion copies She also won an award for Best Female Singer Macy has becomethe new voice of soul music but she plans to stop singing after she has made herfourth album "Nothing last forever," she says

"I want to stop then I'm on top, and write books all day."

1 Macy stated singing when she was at school