Initial Evaluation

1.Read the text below and choose the option that best corresponds to the blank.

Edward the Conqueror

Louisa, holding a dishcloth in her hand, stepped out of the kitchen door at the back of the house into the cool October sunshine.

"Edward!" she called. "Ed-ward! Lunch is ready!"
She paused a moment, listening; then she strolled out on to the (0)_A_ and continued across it to the end of the garden towards her husband. (1)_______, she could easily have called again and made herself (2)________, but there was something about a first-class bonfire that impelled her (3)________ it, right up close so she could feel the heat and listen to it burn.
"Lunch," she said, approaching.
"Oh, hello. All right-yes. I'm coming. I've decided to clear this place right out," her husband said. "I'm (4)_______ of all these brambles." His long face was wet (5)_______ perspiration. There were small beads of it clinging all over his moustache like dew.
"(6)___________ be careful you don't overdo it, Edward."
"Louisa, I do wish (7)________ treating me as though I were eighty. A bit of exercise never did (8)________."
"Yes, dear, I know. Oh, Edward! Look! Look! The cat!"
Sitting on the ground, (9)________ close to the fire that the flames sometimes seemed actually (10)________ touching it, was a large cat of a most unusual colour. It stayed quite still, with its head on one side and its nose in the air, (11)__________ at the man and the woman with a cool yellow eye.
"It'll get burnt!" Louisa cried, and she dropped the dishcloth and darted swiftly in and grabbed it with both hands, whisking it away and putting it on the grass (12)_________ clear of the flames.
"You crazy cat," she said, dusting off her hands. "What's the matter with you?"
"(13)_________ know what they're doing," the husband said.
"Whose is it? Have you seen it before?"
"No, I never have. Damn peculiar colour."
Louisa bent down and stroked its head. "You must go home now," she said.
The man and wife started to stroll back towards the house. The cat got up and followed, leading the way, walking (14)_________ it owned the place, holding its tail straight up in the air, like a mast.
When they (15)________ the house, it came with them, and Louisa gave it some milk in the kitchen. During lunch, it hopped up to the spare chair between them and sat through the whole meal watching the proceedings with those dark-yellow eyes which kept moving from the woman to the man and back again.

0. a) lawn                               b) green                                  c) pitch                       d) turf

1. a) She had wanted             b) Did she want                c) Had she wanted     d) She wanted

2. a) hear                          b) heard                                  c) to hear                    d) to be heard

3. a) forward                          b) towards                              c) through                   d) against

4. a) sick and tired                 b) worn out                             c) up to my ears         d) bored

5. a) of                                   b) in                                        c) with                         d) by

6. a) You'd rather                   b) You ought                      c) You'd had               d) You'd better

7. a) you'll stop                       b) you'd stop                          c) you've stopped       d) you stop

8. a) anyone any harm        b) someone any harm  c) no one no harm      d) anyone no harm

9. a) very                                b) too                                      c) so                           d) as

10. a) that they were              b) be                                       c) that were                d) to be

11. a) staring                          b) watching                            c) observing               d) peeping

12. a) far                         b) right                                    c) well                                     d) wide

13. a) The cats                       b) A cat                                  c) The cat                   d) Cats

14. a) so that                          b) despite                               c) as though               d) although

15. a) arrive to                        b) drew                                   c) got at                      d) reached

2. For the following questions, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word(s) given. DO NOT CHANGE THE WORD(S) GIVEN.

0- Despite working very hard on his project, he didn’t get the grant.

ALTHOUGH

Although he worked very hard on his project, he didn’t get the grant.

1- I shut the door so that nobody would hear what I was saying.PREVENT

I shut the door_________________________________________________what I was saying.

2- I hadn’t seen such a wonderful painting before.NEVER

Never _________________________________________________ such a wonderful painting.

3- I’m sorry but we are unable to help.REGRET

I _________________________________________________ we are unable to help.

4. I lost my keys so I was late.IF

I _________________________________________________I hadn’t lost my keys.

5. The police thought he had been living in Canada.HAVE

He _________________________________________________ in Canada.

6. "Why don't we go out for a meal tonight?," Joe Asked.SUGGESTED

Joe_________________________________________________night.

7. My wallet contained over €100. It was found in the street by a schoolboy.FOUND

My wallet, _________________________________________________over €100.

8. Because the Managing Director was ill, he cancelled the meeting.CAUSED

The Managing Director's _________________________________________________the meeting.

9. When my grandmother was younger, she would clean the kitchen floor incessantly.  USED

My grandmother_________________________________________________was younger.

10. It will be good to see them again. LOOKING

I _________________________ them again.

3. For questions 1-10, complete the blanks with words FORMED from the words given.

Robin Hood: fact or fiction?

The (0) _DISCOVERY__ (DISCOVER) of a secret tunnel beneath a Nottingham museum could prove that one of history’s most famous and (1) __________________________ (STAND) legends was a flesh-and-blood (2) __________________________ (REAL). The tunnel may have been used by Robin Hood to escape from the Sheriff of Nottingham to the (3) __________________________ (SAFE) of Sherwood Forest.

For centuries (4) __________________________ (HISTORY) have questioned the (5) __________________________ (EXIST) of Robin, dismissing him as a romanticized figure who (6) __________________________ (SYMBOL) the hopes and (7) __________________________ (EXPECT) of the poor in their struggle against the rich. The (8) __________________________ (ACCIDENT) unearthing of the passage-way by archaeologistsexcavating some man-made caves may cause them to rethink their views. The tunnel is blocked so its exact length is (9) __________________________ (KNOW), though it could stretch for three miles, from St Mary’s Church to the city’s outskirts. According to medieval documents, Robin and his men (10) __________________________ (MYSTERY)disappeared from the church after being surrounded there by the Sheriff’s soldiers.

ANSWER KEY – INITIAL ASSESSMENT – C1 – 2018/2019

1. Read the text below and choose the option that best corresponds to the blank.

dishcloth: a cloth for washing dishes

tea towel: a small towel used for drying cups, plates, knives, etc. after they have been washed.

stroll: to walk somewhere in a slow relaxed way. People were strolling along the promenade.

promenade /ˌprɒməˈnɑːd/ a public place for walking, usually a wide path beside the sea. E.g. the promenade at Blackpool. They walked along the promenade.

0. a) lawn                               b) green                                  c) pitch                       d) turf

1. a) She had wanted         b) Did she want                      c) Had she wanted d) She wanted

2. a) hear                          b) heard                                 c) to hear                    d) to be heard

3. a) forward                          b) towards                            c) through                   d) against

impel: (impelling, impelled) if an idea or feeling impels you to do something, you feel as if you are forced to do it. E.g. impel somebody to do something He felt impelled to investigate further. Impel somebody (to something) There are various reasons that impel me to that conclusion.

4. a) sick and tired               b) worn out                          c) up to my ears         d) bored

be up to your ears in sth: to be very busy, or to have more of something than you can manage: I'm up to my ears in work. She's up to her ears in debt.

brambles: a wild bush with thorns on which blackberries grow. Sp. zarza.

5. a) of                                    b) in                                        c) with                        d) by

bead: a small drop of liquid. E.g. There were beads of sweat on his forehead.

cling, clung, clung: to hold on tightly to somebody/something. E.g. survivors clinging to a raft. Leaves still clung to the branches.

6. a) You'd rather                   b) You ought               c) You'd had               d) You'd better

7. a) you'll stop                       b) you'd stop            c) you've stopped       d) you stop

8. a) anyone any harm      b) someone any harm    c) no one no harm   d) anyone no harm

9. a) very                                b) too                                      c) so                           d) as

10. a) that they were  b) be                                       c) that were                d) to be

11. a) staring             b) watching                            c) observing               d) peeping

stare: to look at somebody/something for a long time. E.g. I screamed and everyone stared.

peep: to look quickly and secretly at something, especially through a small opening. E.g. We caught her peeping through the keyhole.

12. a) far                                b) right                                    c) well            d) wide

whisk somebody/something + adverb/preposition: to take somebody/something somewhere very quickly and suddenly. E.g. Jamie whisked her off to Paris for the weekend. The waiter whisked away the plates before we had finished.

13. a) The cats                       b) A cat                                  c) The cat                   d) Cats

Damn: a swear word that people use to emphasize what they are saying. E.g. damn good. We got out pretty damned fast! I'm damn sure she had no idea.

14. a) so that                          b) despite                               c) as though  d) although

15. a) arrive to                        b) drew                                 c) got at                      d) reached

2. SENTENCE TRANSFORMATION

1. I shut the door______ to prevent anybody from hearing ____what I was saying.

2. Never before had I seen___________ such a wonderful painting.

3. I __regret to say that______________ we are unable to help.

4. I ___wouldn’t have been late if_________ I hadn’t lost my keys.

5. He ____was thought to have been living____________ in Canada.

6. Joe_suggested going out that____ night .

7. My wallet,_which was found in the street by a school boy, contained__  over €100.

8. The Managing Director's _illness caused him to cancel____ the meeting

9. My grandmother _used to clean the kitchen floor incessantly when she____ was younger.

10. I _am looking forward to seeing__ them again.

3. WORD FORMATION

0.  discovery

1. outstanding

2.  reality

3.  safety

4.  historians

5. existence

6. symbolises/zes -sed/zed 

7. expectations 

8. accidental 

9. unknown 

10. mysteriously