International Training Programme 50

Intermediate Group: Writing Test (Final)

Date: 27th August 2015

Time: 2 hours

Full Marks: 60

Name:

I.

Read the following paragraph and fill in the gaps with either a pronoun, or the
definite article the or .

(1.5X12= 18 marks)

Mrs. Knowles and her three sons were driving from (1) Perth to Adelaide in the
early hours one morning in 2008. The lady slowed down when (2) saw a light
flashing on the road ahead, and thought it was a traffic signal. Suddenly, some strange lights on
top of (3) car started blinking. Feeling terrified and out of control, the family also
noticed a black powder flowing inside (4) car and it smelt horrible. In a state of
shock, Mrs. Knowles drove to (5) nearest town and reported the incident to the
police. Thinking that the woman must have been so tired that she was dreaming, the police gave
(6) a cup of tea hoping to calm her down. Finally, the police agreed to inspect the
car and when (7) did, they saw the dust, smelt the smell, and also noticed some
small dents in the roof of the car. Meanwhile, a local lorry driver, Mr. Perry, following
(8) same route as Mrs. Knowles confirmed that (9) had also seen the
strange lights in the distance, but luckily (10) car was safe. (11) story
was quickly taken up by the local people as a proof of the presence of .. (12) aliens on
earth.

II.

Read the following two paragraphs and fill in the gaps with the most appropriate
linkers. Some examples of the types of linkers that you can use to fill in the blanks are
given in the table below. But these linkers may not necessarily be the correct answers
for all the blanks.
Additive

and
also
in addition

(2X14=28 marks)
Adversative

but
however
in contrast (to)

Causal
because
so
in order to

Temporal
Numeral
Non-numeral
first
as soon as
second
before
last
then

I hope to be a successful artist someday soon. I have been painting since I was a young child
. (1) all my family said I had great talent. (2) I cannot get a job as an
artist or make enough money selling my art as a novice. I really want to be a professional
artist; .(3) I need to make some changes to achieve my dream. As a
(4) step, I plan to study for a graduate degree in Fine Art (5) learn more about
color and make my paintings more original. The second step will be to develop more
confidence about trying to sell my work. .. (6) I am going to design a website to
show and sell my paintings. I believe that if you have dreams, you should not wait for fate.
You have to do something yourself to achieve your dreams. (7) going to school
to learn more or exploring different business opportunities are just two ways to change your
future.
.
The strangest experience in my life happened a year . (8) I graduated from my
high school. I was sixteen years old .. (9) my best friend Mark was fifteen. He
invited me to visit him during the summer. I went to stay with him in his farmhouse in the
middle of the countryside. I shared a room with Mark, and our beds were separated by a
table. Every morning, Marks mom brought us a cup of hot tea in bed (10) we
woke up. All through the day, we would play games and roam in the gardens. One night
2

.. (11) we were sleeping, I could feel my bed moving. (12) I

thought I was dreaming. The . (13) morning, Marks mother brought us hot tea as
usual. .(14) she turned on the lights, we saw that our beds were pushed together
and the table had moved. Mark said he didnt do it, and I didnt do it. We still dont know
how the beds moved! What do you think?

III. Write a short essay of about 250-300 words on the following topic:

Study tours as part of educational programmes have multiple benefits.

To write this essay you may use your experiences from the study tour you went for in the last
month to Delhi and Agra, two cities in North India. Do you think you gained knowledge from
the tour? If yes, then list the gains you experienced (e.g., cultural knowledge, knowledge about
weather/history of a country) and explain each of the ideas clearly. Write your essay in
paragraphs and use linkers to connect ideas.
(14 marks)