ACADEMIC

PRACTICE
TEST 2

1
 Academic Practice Test 2
Listening

Listening Section 1
Questions 1-10 Listening Section 2
Questions 11-15
Questions 1-5
Complete the notes below
Write NO MORE THAN ONE WORD AND/OR A Complete the notes below.
NUMBER for each answer. Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for
each answer.
Example Answer Chetwynd Nature Park

Flights per day 1 ................................. Park set up in 1927, one of 11 .........................

around the country
Cost of flight 2 .................................
Covers an area of 1500 hectares
Train changes at 3 .................................
Over one million visitors a year
Cheapest train ticket 4 ................................. 12 ......................... permanent employees plus
seasonal staff as needed
Earliest train 5 .................................
Rivers running through the park. Can cross via
Destination: Bournemouth 13 ........................ rope bridges.

Can walk through the 14 .................................

Often visited by birdwatchers,
Questions 6–10
A wide variety of wild animals and 15 .................
Complete the table below types of trees difficult to find elsewhere.

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR Questions 16-20

A NUMBER for each answer.
Complete the table below. Write NO MORE
THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
Hotel Facilities Additional Price (per
Name Information night)

The Globe Close to the £65 Park rule Reason for rule
Hotel 6 .............. 7 ................
Don't 16...................... Keep the park
17 .............................
Balcony Just
The £85
overlooking 8 ................ Ask the guide before Maintain a natural
Sunny Inn
the sea from the 18 .............................. habitat

beach Stay on the Avoid harming

19 ............................ 20.........................
Swimming Near to a 10. £........
Victoria pool and large for one
Hotel Stay together Avoid getting lost
two: shopping night
center
9 ...............

2
 Academic Practice Test 2
Listening

Listening Section 3
28. Ismael liked how
Questions 21-30
A. Different students focused on different skills.
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C. B. There was an opportunity to take part in
experiments.
C. Students could decide which skills they wanted to
21. The purpose of the meeting is to
focus on.
A. Decide whether or not to continue with the
course.
29. Jane found it useful to study time
B. Make the training better next time. management because
C. Discuss what was most enjoyable about the A. She has to attend a lot of lectures and other
course. classes.
B. She is not used to having so much free time.
22. Jane didn’t find it useful to study computer
skills because C. She has to write an essay every week.
A. She already knows how to use computers for
study. 30. Jane and Ismael learnt new reading skills,
such as
B. She prefers to study computer skills by herself at
home. A. How to read a whole book more quickly.
C. She doesn’t need computer skills for her course. B. How to read books more effectively.
C. How to find key words in a book.
23. Ismael enjoyed studying computer skills
because
A. He found it easy.
Listening Section 4
B. He learnt new techniques.
Questions 31-40
C. He learnt new words related to I.T.
Complete the notes below
24. Ismael wasn’t keen on studying presentation
skills because
Choose ONE WORD ONLY for each answer
A. He didn’t think it was very helpful.
B. None of the other students were willing to speak
out. A model for managing and developing people,
based on a relationship between an individual’s
C. He is comfortable with talking to an audience.
development level and the 31 ........................ style.
25. Jane disagreed with Ismael about studying
presentation skills because Development level: A combination of two
A. It improved a range of speaking skills. factors.
B. It taught her to speak more slowly. a. Individual 32 ....................... employee
C. Key points were repeated during the course. knowledge and skills
b. The level of commitment of the individual:
26. Jane felt that the essay writing stage was
employee confidence and 33 ..........................
unnecessary because
A. She thinks she will learn these skills through Employee development stages:
practice.
B. She feels confident enough in this area. 1. Excited beginner: low-skilled; high level of
interest
C. She doesn’t need these skills.
2. 34 ..................... learner: Improving skill; still
27. Ismael found the essay writing stage useful faces frequent difficulties
because
3. Careful performer: further improvement;
A. He learnt how to include more information in his
occasional loss of interest
essays.
B. He had to present his ideas to other students. 4. Independent 35 .......................: Highly-skilled;
C. He developed skills he hadn’t learnt before. high confidence

3
 Academic Practice Test 2
Reading

Guidance from management: two approaches better water management strategies today, the
world is headed for a crisis that will affect every
a. 36 ......................... :Organizing, giving feedback
aspect of life.
b. Supportive: Encouraging, listening
Already, 80 countries suffer from water shortages
Relationship between employee development that threaten health and economies while 40
level and manager behavior percent of the world—nearly 3 billion people—do
not have access to clean water or sanitation. In
some countries access to public water tanks is
Stage Effective manager behavior allowed only once every 45 days, often resulting
1 Tell employee what to do; check in rural conflicts over water. Though the effects of
water shortage are more severe in the developing
2 37 ................... employee to overcome world, the United States and Europe haven’t
challenges escaped unscathed. The public usually
3 Encourage employee to become associates water shortages with a lack of drinking
water. But global water scarcity has a critical
38 .....................
impact on food security. Water is the biggest
4 Employee doesn’t need too much limiting factor in the world’s ability to feed a
39 ............................... growing population and the link between food,
energy, climate, economic growth, and human
security challenges.
Criticism of theory
40 ......................... of employees is subjective.

Reading Passage 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on
questions 1-13 which are based on The
Reading Passage 1 below.

FRESH WATER

Of the vast amount

of water that
covers the blue
earth, 2.5 percent
is fresh water, and Roughly, a liter of water is required to produce
only about a third every calorie, so an adequate daily diet requires
of this resource more than 2,000 liters of water to produce enough
can be food for one person. Of this, 40 percent on global
economically average can come from irrigated agriculture. New
available for factors such as increasing world population and
human use. That is improved affluence will further strain water
a mere teaspoon in a full bathtub when compared resources. In addition, the uncertain effects of
to the total amount of water on earth. Now think climate change on drought, floods, and
about the competing demands on this finite agricultural productivity will exacerbate the
resource—drinking, hygiene, agriculture, energy, situation.
and industry in a world of 9 billion people by
2050. It quickly becomes clear that without

4

If we continue to apply current water
management practices, by 2050 the global
agricultural sector will need to double the amount
of water used to feed the world. With finite
freshwater resources on the one hand, and
increasing demand, both in quantity and variety of
uses. On the other hand, there is the need for
water resources protection and management has
never been greater. The question is how do we
meet this challenge without increasing fresh water
withdrawal to feed the world?
Our best option is to implement solutions that
have the potential of increasing the efficiency,
equity and sustainability of water use. This will
require a shift from the focus on pure “land
productivity” without concern for water use to
“water productivity.” That is, getting the highest
yield out of every drop of water used in
agriculture. Resource efficient methods and
technology will allow farmers to grow more food
with less water while protecting biodiversity.
In many parts of the world, mismanagement is
depleting freshwater resources—the blue water in
rivers, lakes and groundwater stores. These in
turn have threatened freshwater biodiversity and
permanently changed patterns of water flow.
Agriculture utilizes on average 70 percent of the
world’s available fresh water. But this is higher in
areas such as the Middle East and northern
Africa, where up to 90 percent of freshwater
withdrawals are used to irrigate crops. More
efficient ways to irrigate land will save
tremendous amounts of water.
Academic Practice Test 2
Reading
About 40 percent of water used in irrigation is
wasted through unsustainable practices such as
field flooding. Modern irrigation systems can
drastically reduce the amount of water used in
farming by efficiently delivering water directly to
plants. This reduces the amount of water lost
through surface evaporation by 30 to 70 percent
depending on crop and weather conditions.
Irrigation holds the most promise for increasing
food productivity and security, provided it is
managed efficiently. Steady irrigation combined
with optimum delivery of fertilizers, seed care,
crop enhancement and crop protection products
can make fields more productive, even with a
reliable supply of rain and is crucial to maintain
productivity in times of drought.
The second part of the equation comes from the
rainfall that infiltrates and remains in the soil,
called green water. This is the largest fresh water
resource and the basis of rain-fed agriculture.
While farmers cannot control how much it rains,
they can do a lot to retain rain in the soil. All rain-
fed agriculture depends on the soil’s capacity to
capture rain water. Heavy rain cannot penetrate
parched and crusted soil and just runs off the
surface.
Modest measures like conservation tillage
practices that improve soil structure by avoiding
plowing, mulching to prevent evaporation, and
small-scale water harvesting can increase rain
water infiltration by as much as 2-3 fold. However,
the yields from irrigated farms are often higher
than from solely rain-fed agriculture. Thus,
farmers must integrate a combination of rain-fed
and irrigated agricultural methods to optimize the
yields of crops for the water used.
To better manage the competing demands for
water, agricultural policies will have to make water
efficiency a priority. This will require investment in
research to develop innovative water-efficient
technologies in addition to drought tolerant seeds,
new crop protection products, and optimized
irrigation systems for specific crops. But the best
and most innovative technology is useless if
farmers cannot afford it, see no advantage to it, or
do not understand it.
5
 Academic Practice Test 2
Reading

Questions 1-4

Choose the appropriate letters A - D and write

7 The agriculture industry will have to increase its
them in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.
water usage by 50 percent by 2050.

1 Which parts of the world are most affected by the
lack of water?
A All countries except the U.S and Europe.
B The developing and the developed world.
C The developing world.
D. The U.S and Europe.
8 Land productivity is a sustainable way of using
water in agriculture (False) (paragraph 6)
Questions 9–13
The box below gives a list of responses A–P to
the questionnaire discussed in the reading
passage.

2 What will cause more problems with water A. need to be efficiently managed in order to
shortages in the future?
increase the yield.
A Food security.
B. evaporation prevents rainwater entering the
B Global warming.
soil.
C Crop irrigation.
C unsustainable irrigation by means of flooding
D Greater wealth.
the fields.
3 What is an efficient method which allows for D tilling the fields in order to increase the yield of
increased yield?
production.
A Wastewater irrigation.
E can adversely affect the amount of water used
B Well-controlled irrigation.
in farming
C Field flooding practices.
F the finite resource will soon disappear.
D Rain during a drought.
G the health and economy of 40 percent of the
4 What is the best way to keep water in the soil? world will suffer.
A Better land composition. H is nothing more than a lack of water for drinking
B Increased evaporation. and bathing.
C Better soil properties. I will only affect the developing nations.
D Increased seed usage. J will double the amount of water needed to
sustain the world.
Questions 5–8
K every person on Earth will be affected in every
Do the following statements agree with the
information given in the reading passage? situation.
L tilling enhance the retention of water and soil.
In boxes 5–8 on your answer sheet write:
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information M can function independently of rainfall.
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information N can seriously affect food production throughout
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
the world
5 Water shortages affect 40 percent of the world. O water harvesting uses more water than current

6 It is recommended that humans take in 2000 practices.

calories a day.
.

6

Answer the following questions by choosing the
correct responses A–P. Write your answers in
boxes 9–13 on your answer sheet.
9 Without better water management strategies
today................................
10 Water shortage...............................
11 An example of current water management
practice is................................
12 Modern irrigation systems................................
13 Modern conservation methods like………………
Reading Passage 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on
questions 14-26 which are based on The
Reading Passage 1 below.
DETECTING COMMUNICABLE DISEASE: CAN
HUMANS SMELL SICKNESS?
Prior to the 19th century, a
commonly held belief was
that communicable
diseases spread through
the air via an ill-defined
substance called miasma,
which originated from the
rotting of diseased matter.
According to the theory,
miasma, also known as “bad air” or “night air,” is
what caused the spread of communicable diseases.
Modern germ theory has completely dispelled the
notion of miasma, but was there some truth to our
ancestor’s logic? Is there such a thing as “bad air?”
According to modern day research, bad air is a
reality, but not in the same way that the science of
pre-19th century envisioned. Bad air comes in the
form of foul smells, a well-documented but only
recently focused on aspect of non-communicable
and communicable diseases. Myriad studies and
current practices state that smelling sickness isn’t
only possible, it is being achieved.
Academic Practice Test 2
Reading
According to a study, humans can more often than
not successfully smell the difference between a sick
and healthy person. In the study, the difference
between a healthy and sick person was defined by
the level of activity taking place in the immune
system. The study states that a copious amount of
scientific and anecdotal evidence already exists
regarding the detection of non-communicable and
communicable disease through smell. After all,
being able to detect communicable disease through
our noses alone would be an incredible evolutionary
advantage. It is hypothesized that some type of
biological marker may be present to allow this
detection to take place, explaining that there may be
early, possibly generic, biological markers for illness
in the form of volatile substances coming from the
body.
Sweat Communicable Disease
The hypothesis was tested by observing the ability
of participants to detect a heightened immune
response in other participants with only their nose.
Eight healthy people were selected to be injected
with either a simple saline solution or a toxic
substance that boosts immune responses in
humans. The participants injected with the
substance showed evidence of a heightened
immune response in the form of increased body
temperatures and a greater number of molecules
normally found in the immune system when sick.
For four hours the volunteers sweated into tight
fitting t-shirts. 40 new participants were asked to
smell the sweat samples gathered from the t-shirts.
Overall, the participants rated the ‘toxic substance”
group as having a far more intense and unpleasant
smell compared to the t-shirts of those injected with
saline.
Dog Smell Communicable Disease
It is likely that other mammals such as dogs have
the ability to smell illness. Consider what happens
when one dog meets another dog. They go right for
the butt. Smell is the first and most important sense
dogs use to exchange information with other dogs.
What researchers want to know is specifically what
type of information is being exchanged between
dogs and human ancestors, and could it lead to the
precise detection of communicable diseases?
7
 Academic Practice Test 2
Reading

This type of inquiry is very practical as the earlier we Who knows, maybe one day there will be an early
detect a communicable disease the quicker we are detection application on our smart phones, or a
able to alert others and stop the seemingly signpost on each road that changes color in the
inevitable spread. Luckily for us, this type of super presence of certain chemicals corresponding to
advanced detection is beginning to be widely used certain communicable diseases. Maybe one day,
for an array of non-communicable and communicable diseases will become, for all intents
communicable diseases alike. and purposes, non-communicable.

Many studies note distinctive odors as being a new

significant factor contributing to the detection of
illness. Lung cancer can be detected simply by the
way it makes breath smell. Apparently most of the
time a person has lung cancer their breath smells
like ammonia or fish.

In the same vein, urine smells like cheese during a

urinary tract infection, while the skin of a person with
melanoma usually smells like gasoline. While some
people are able to smell the difference, not
everyone’s sense of smell is strong enough.

The key to early detection is becoming informed

about how different diseases smell, and eventually
creating an all-in-one device that can analyze the
chemicals and bacteria being emitted from a
person’s body and conclude if they have any easily
detectable communicable diseases.
Communicable Disease Percentage
Questions 14-17
Choose the appropriate letters A - D and write
them in boxes 14-17 on your answer sheet.
14. What can humans detect through their noses
with regards to communicable diseases?

A A person with a communicable disease and

Perfecting the ability to detect disease, especially by
an active immune system.
using the nose alone, is an admirable objective.
Communicable diseases can be stopped in their B Unpleasant smells present in the air
tracks by simply stopping the mass spread of such C The foul smell of a decaying body.
diseases. Communicable diseases account for 55% D Diseases in the form of chemicals released
of all deaths in developing regions of the world, from the body.
compared to 14% in developed regions. Improved
medicinal practices are largely responsible for this
15. Why do people think that dogs smell each
dramatic difference in death rates, and detection
other?
methods are a major part of improved medicine.
A It's a form of greeting. .
Millions of lives can be saved through the advanced B It's how they stop the spread of disease..
detection of communicable disease. Early detection
is an indispensable tool in the global fight against C It's a way to detect disease
disease, death, and even poverty. For this reason, D It's how they form their bond with humans.
let us hope that this type of research continues to be
funded and supported by the global community.

8

16. Why can't everyone smell illnesses?
A Their breath smells like ammonia.
B Their sense of smell is not as good as dogs.
C They have an inferior sense of smell.
D They don't know the exact smell of diseases
17. Why is important to create a device that can
smell diseases?
A It can stop diseases from spreading.
B It can fight against poverty in the developing
regions.
C It can cure people of communicable disease.
D It can reduce death rates by 55 percent.
Questions 18-22
Using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the
passage, answer the following questions
Write your answers in boxes 18-22 on your answer
sheet.
Current research has found that 18................ is not
just possible, but also achievable. Experiments
found that participants can smell a 19............... in
the 20............... when ill. One solution to
21 ............... is creating a device that can smell a
person’s body odor and identify 22 ................ .
Questions 23–26
The box below gives a list of responses A–N to
the questionnaire discussed in the reading
passage.
Answer the following questions by choosing the
correct responses A–N.
Write your answers in boxes 23-26 on your answer
sheet.
23. It was once thought that................
24. Most humans..............
25. Smelling odours can be used to.............
26. Better detection methods................
Academic Practice Test 2
Reading
A detect illnesses early.
B are available on Smartphones
C diseases were airborne.
D can smell healthy people when sick.
E germ theory was totally false.
F our ancestors could smell disease.
G cannot differentiate between a healthy and
sick person.
H reduce mortality rates
I make people's breathe smell bad.
J communicate with other mammals.
K are found in developing countries.
L are able to differentiate between a healthy and
sick person.
Reading Passage 3
You should spend about 20 minutes on
questions 27-40 which are based on The
Reading Passage 1 below.
HOW BIRDS AND OTHER ANIMALS NAVIGATE
THEIR ENVIRONMENT WITH THE USE OF
EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD
Introduction to Migratory Flights of Birds
For many years, scientists have known that
migratory birds use Earth’s magnetic field to help
navigate on their long journeys. Scientists are still
unsure how birds sense this magnetic field, but in
more recent years researchers have done
experiments on migratory birds, in order to find out
how birds sense the magnetic field. Scientists have
come up with two theories. One is that birds are
able to sense the magnetic field because of a
magnetic receptor in their beaks; the other theory is
that the birds have special chemicals in their eyes
that allow them to actually see the magnetic field.
9

Magnetic Beaks
Researchers believe
some migratory birds
can sense the
magnetic field
through their upper
beak because there is
a magnetic receptor
there, which is made up
of iron-based magnetic crystals.
This senses the strength of the magnetic field,
which is strongest at the poles, and it measures the
angle of the field compared to the ground. The beak
is similar to a compass. According to an experiment
done, it was found that when they re-magnetized
the iron particles in the beaks of migratory birds like
robins and red warblers, it suggested that the beaks
do act as a type of compass or navigational device.
It partially allowed the birds to decide in what
direction to go in. The research shows that
migratory birds may have sensory systems linked to
their beaks that use iron to detect the Earth’s
magnetic field.
Magnetized Eyes
New and recent evidence now
claims that birds can actually
see the Earth’s magnetic field
and that is how many birds
navigate on their long
journeys. A study on the
brains of garden warblers
and their migratory habits was
performed. It was found that
there was a link between the
neurons in the eye and regions of the brain involved
in migration. In the experiment, researchers injected
a dye into the birds’ brains called, cluster N, which is
the region of their brain most associated with
migration. This got the birds into “a migratory mood”.
Then they injected another dye into the birds’ eyes
to show the path of the neurons. The dyes followed
the path of the neurons and ended up in the
thalamus (pit stop for visual information in the brain).
The data showed that birds could sense the
magnetic field due to receptors in the eye.
10
Academic Practice Test 2
Reading
Some scientists believe that the chemical that
allows for this to happen is cryptochrome because it
generates free electrons when it absorbs light.
When the Earth spins, this affects the free electrons,
which allows birds to detect the field. Researchers
believe that the birds see the North as a dark spot
and gradients of light as the other directions.
Spiny Lobsters
Much like birds, the Caribbean spiny lobsters
navigate their way using small variations of Earth’s
magnetic field. There is evidence that the spiny
lobsters can find their way home at night just by
using Earth’s magnetism. The spiny lobster is the
one of the few animals that demonstrates the
clearest example of true navigation. Even in
complete darkness, the lobsters are able to guide
themselves home by using the Earth’s magnetic
system. Numerous test and experiments show that
the lobsters could find their direction even in strange
places that they did not know and with their eyes
covered. There were no useful visual or chemical
cues, and regardless of that the spiny lobsters still
found their way. Not only do the lobsters have
directional or compass sense they use the Earth’s
magnetic field to find out where they are
geographically. This ability is called true navigation
which is much like the G.P.S. system. This true
navigation was unexpected in lobsters because
researchers and scientist never expected this
quality in invertebrates. These lobsters have this
ability due to magnets. This G.P.S. like ability is
most evident in spinal lobsters out of all the animals
that possess this unique quality.
 Academic Practice Test 2
Reading

Sea Turtles

Sea turtles are of the few animals that possess an

extraordinary navigation sense. They are among the
longest distance migratory animals. It is amazing the
distance they have to travel in order to reproduce in
their home areas. As hatchlings sea turtles have
never seen the ocean and yet they are able to find
their path to the ocean. These turtles follow a
migratory path which allows them to travel extensive
distances in the featureless oceans. These turtles
use their navigation senses to exploit the Earth’s
magnetic field to reach their navigational goals. Sea
turtles possess a positional or map sense and a
compass sense to determine their position.
Evidence from recent experiments proves that sea
turtles use the Earth’s magnetic field in order to
guide themselves. An incident was recorded in
which some turtle fishermen captured a few turtles
and because of a storm they had escaped from the
ship. Some months later the same fishermen went
to the same location in which they had initially
captured the turtles and they found out that the
turtles they caught were the same ones that had
escaped during the storm. The turtles had
successfully found their way home using their
navigation senses.
Questions 27-30
Choose the appropriate letters A - D and write
them in boxes 27-30 on your answer sheet.
29.Why do turtles travel long distances?
A To escape fishermen.
B To mate with each other.
C To hatch eggs.
D To find their offspring.
30. What did the fisherman discover?
A The turtles travelled back home.
B The turtles were still trapped in the storm.
C They could use turtles to navigate.
D They followed their ship.
Questions 31-35
Do the following statements agree with the
information given in the reading passage?
In boxes 31-35 on your answer sheet write:
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
31. The bird's eyes act as a compass.

27. Where the magnetic field the strongest? 32. Spiny Lobsters are blind.

A in the eyes. 33. Scientists never expected invertebrates to

B on the ground. navigate with a magnetic field.
C on their beaks. 34. Baby turtles can navigate the ocean.
D at the poles.
35. Lobsters navigate through the poles of the
magnetic field.
28. What do Spinny lobsters use to navigate?
A Their covered eyes.
B Planetary magnetism.
C Chemical detection.
D Their global positioning system.

11
 Academic Practice Test 2
Reading

Questions 36-40

Using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the

passage, answer the following questions

Write your answers in boxes 36-40 on your answer

sheet.

With their 36..............., researchers believe birds are

able to sense the magnetic field because of a
magnetic receptor. In their 37................, birds are
thought to have special chemicals that allow them to
sense the magnetic field. It is thought that spiny
lobsters can navigate home in complete darkness
with only 38................. . The Caribbean lobster is
the one of the few living creatures that has
39.................... Turtles are able to travel long
distances because they take advantage of
40.....................

12
 Academic Practice Test 2
Writing

Writing Task 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task

The chart compares the old and new work schedule for day shift doctors and night shift doctors at an
Australian hospital.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

On-duty Off-duty

Old Work Schedule New Work Schedule

Time Day- Night Time Day- Night

Time Day- Night Time Day- Night Shift -Shift Shift -Shift
Shift -Shift Shift -Shift
6-7pm 6-7am
6-7pm 6-7am
7-8pm 7-8am
7-8pm 7-8am
8-9pm 8-9am
8-9pm 8-9am
9-10pm 9-10am
9-10pm 9-10am
10-11pm 10-11am
10-11pm 10-11am
11-12pm 11-12pm
11-12pm 11-12pm
12-1am 12-1pm
12-1am 12-1pm
1-2am 1-2pm
1-2am 1-2pm
2-3am 2-3pm
2-3am 2-3pm
3-4am 3-4pm
3-4am 3-4pm
4-5am 4-5pm
4-5am 4-5pm
5-6am 5-6pm
5-6am 5-6pm

13
 Academic Practice Test 2
Writing
Write at least 150 words.

________________________________ ________________________________

________________________________ ________________________________

________________________________ ________________________________

________________________________ ________________________________

________________________________ ________________________________

________________________________ ________________________________

________________________________ ________________________________

Writing Task 2
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

People mainly type on keyboards nowadays rather than write things down by hand. As a result, handwriting
skills are getting worse.

Do you agree or disagree with this statement?

What are the benefits of writing by hand?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Write at least 250 words

________________________________ ________________________________

________________________________ ________________________________

________________________________ ________________________________

________________________________ ________________________________

________________________________ ________________________________

________________________________ ________________________________

________________________________ ________________________________

________________________________ ________________________________

________________________________ ________________________________

14
 Academic Practice Test 2
Speaking

Speaking PART 1
Initial questions about name, where you live, Speaking PART 3
work or study and other personal topics.

EATING TOGETHER
HELPING PEOPLE
- Do families in your country usually eat
together? (Why?) - Which jobs involve helping people?
- Is it important to eat with friends and family? - Are these jobs popular with young people?
(Why? Why not?) - How well-paid are jobs in the helping
- Why do some people prefer to eat alone? profession?
- What kind of food do people eat on special
occasions in your country? (Why?)
VOLUNTEERING
TOURISM
- What kind of volunteer work can people do
- What is the biggest tourist attraction in your where you live?
country? (Why?) - Why do people volunteer in their
- What time of year do most tourists visit your community?
country? (Why?) - How can volunteer groups attract more
- Is tourism an important part of your country’s members?
economy? (Why?)
- How will the tourism industry in your country
change in the future? (Why?) CHARITY ORGANISATIONS

- What are some of the major charity groups in

Speaking PART 2 your country?
- How do people raise money for charity in
your country?
- Do you think charity groups sometimes do
Talk about a person who has a job which helps more harm than good?
people.

You should talk about:

- Who the person is
- What they do
- How they got the job
and explain what he/she likes or dislikes about the
job.

You will be expected to talk about the topic for one

to two minutes. You will have one minute to think
about what you are going to say before you stop
talking. You can make some notes to help if you
wish,

15