Directions: You are expected to study this section in class. Don’t preview.

1. Word Pretest

For each italicized word or phrase, choose the best meaning below.
1. What is your assessment of this state of affairs?
　A. evaluation
　B. prediction
　C. position
2. He teaches a remedial class for first-graders.
　A. elementary
　B. advanced
　C. helping
3. We received a lift from his speech.
　A. a message
　B. an encouragement
　C. a disappointment
4. The ability to speak several languages was among his attainments.
　A. merits
　B. accomplishments
　C. virtues
5. He drove at a constant speed.
　A. unchanging
　B. various
　C. great
6. We made plans for a visit, but subsequent difficulties with the car prevented it.
　A. unexpected
　B. continuous
　C. later
7. The prospective member of parliament for our town will be introduced to the local party tonight.
　A. ambitious
　B. promising
　C. expected
8. I didn’t know anything about any of the books so my choice was quite arbitrary.
　A. based on facts
　B. based on reason
　C. based on chance or personal opinion

2 Text
2.1Cultural Background

TOEFL:
TOEFL（Test of English as a Foreign Language）是由美国教育考试服务处（Educational Testing Service）举办的为申请去美国或加拿大等国家上大学或入研究生院学习的非英语国家学生提供的一种英语水平考试。美国教育考试服务处由1965年开始承办此项考试的管理工作。仅1988～1989年度，全世界就有56万多人参加了T0FFL考试，全球170多个国家和地区共设立了1700多个T0FFL考试中心。
至今为止，美国和加拿大共有2300多所院校规定，凡是外国学生申请到该校入学学习的，必须提供T0FFL，GRE，GMAT或TSE的某一项或两项标准化考试证明，只有达到学校所要求成绩的报考者，才能取得入学和申请奖学金的资格。除了美国、加拿大等大部分国家的高等院校外，欧洲（如英国）、大洋洲（如澳大利亚、新西兰）以及东南亚一些国家和地区也都已承认T0EFL考试成绩。

IELTS:
IELTS考试的全称为：International English Language Testing System,中文 译为”雅思”.它是由University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate 、的 IDP Education Australia及The British Council 三家共同参与组织设计， 并由英国文化教育委员会（The British Council）负责在世界各地组织考试。设在中国的英国大使馆文化教育处专门设有考试部，负责IELTS考试工作。
此项考试是为非英语国家的人士赴英联邦国家高等教育机构就读和进修必须通过的语言测试。现在大多的英联邦国家对本国申请技术移民的人士也 采用这项考试做为申请人英语能力达标的认证。

GRE:
GRE由美国教育考试服务处(Educational Testing Service，简称ETS)主办，1937年首次由美国哈佛，耶鲁，哥伦比亚，普林斯顿四所大学联合举办，初期由卡耐基基金会Carnegic Foundation承办，1948年交由新成立的教育测试中心ETS负责。之后每年在世界许多地方举行。中国国外考试协调处负责中国归口管理和承办GRE等国外考试。
GRE是美加大学各类研究生院(除管理类学院，法学院)要求申请者所必须具备的一个考试成绩，也是教授对申请者是否授予奖学金所依据的最重要的标准。

TOEIC:
TOEIC - Test of English for International Communication（国际交流英语测评）。是针对在国际工作环境中使用英语交流的人们的英语能力的测评。每年在60多个国家有超过3百多万人次参加TOEIC考试，5000多家国际化的公司或机构承认并使用TOEIC考试成绩。因为TOEIC考试能对人们使用英语进行交流的能力做出公正客观的测量，所以它成为当今世界上顶级的职业英语能力测评。

PETS:
全国公共英语等级考试（Public English Test System，简称PETS）是教育部考试中心设计并负责的全国性英语水平考试体系，是面向社会，以全体公民为对象的非学历性英语证书考试，是测试应试者英语交际能力的水平考试。由教育部考试中心主办，各地教育考试院社会考试办公室负责具体实施。

MSE:
剑桥英语五级证书考试（简称MSE）是教育部考试中心和英国剑桥大学考试委员会合作，于1996年引进英语入门考试（简称KET）、初级英语考试（简称PET）和独立水平考试（简称FCE）。该系列考试是一种对考生的英语听、说、读、写能力进行考察的水平考试，对考试合格者由英语剑桥大学考试委员会颁发成绩合格证书，该证书由于其考试的科学性、稳定性、权威性，在世界各国获得承认MSE的语言水平，被用于入学、就业等各种用途。

其他：

剑桥商务英语（BEC）

——商务人员的求职准入证
BEC考试简介
1993年，国家教委考试中心和英国剑桥大学地方考试委员会合作，举办商务英语证书（The Business English Certificate）考试。该系列考试是一项水平考试，根据商务工作的实际需要，对考生在商务和一般生活环境下使用英语的能力从听、说、读、写四个方面进行全面考查，对成绩及格者提供由英国剑桥大学考试委员会颁发的标准统一的成绩证书。该证书由于其颁发机构的权威性，在英国、英联邦各国及欧洲大多数国家的商业、企业部门获得认可，作为确认证书持有者有英语能力的首选证明。
适合人群
BEC初级是面向初级和中下级英语水平人士，为需要在办公室工作中使用商务英语的雇员而设计，企业在招聘人员时使用BEC一级证书作为基本商务英语语言要求，可以准确评估应聘人员的真实商务英语运用水平；BEC中级是面向中、高级英语水平人士，适用于中级管理层的雇员，作为鉴定其是否具有中级商务英语水平的工具；BEC高级证书是面向具备较高级英语水平人士，证明了证书持有者拥有在广泛的专业领域使用商务英语的能力。

GMAT

——国外工商管理硕士MBA入学考试
GMAT考试简介
MAT考试是由美国经企管理专业研究入学考试委员会（GMAC）发起的。GMAC委员会由75所经济、商业、财政和管理研究生院派人参加，代表着美国几乎所有财经、商业和管理院校，因此GMAT是帮助各研究生院评价考生在管理科学方面入学资格的最权威考试。 由于GMAT试题设计较为科学合理，可以较真实地反映应试人的英文水平，因而成为录取经济、商业、财政、金融、管理和其他一些专业研究生的一项最基本标准，并作为评定奖学金的重要条件。目前，在全世界约有750多所研究生院要求申请者提供GMAT成绩。 凡是要申请赴美留学，攻读下列专业的工商管理学硕士、管理工程学和工商管理法学硕士、博士学位的我国学生都要求参加GMAT考试：普通管理项目、会计学、保险统计学、艺术管理、行为科学、图书管理学、经济学、财政金融学、信息管理系统、商业教育学、商业管理学、广告设计学、国际贸易和旅游经营学等。

思培 CELPIP

——加拿大英语考试
CELPIP考试简介
思培 CELPIP国际性英语考试是移民和留学加拿大的非英语国家人士必备的权威语言资格考试。它已被美国加利福尼亚州、加拿大的多所院校及香港大学接纳，作为入学英语水平资格考试。 作为官方认可的移民申请语言考试，如果申请者合格地通过思培考试，可免签证面试，其申请移民的时间将大大缩短。同时，思培考试也将逐步成为赴加拿大留学的权威语言考试。目前加拿大英属哥伦比亚等大学已对其成绩表示认可，而加拿大也有信心将其像雅思一样在英联邦国家的院校中推广开来。 思培考试最大的特点就是完全使用计算机进行。历时180分钟的考试，包括120分钟的阅读和写作、30分钟的听力、30分钟的口试全部在线进行。考生一般可于2-3周内收到加拿大寄出的考试成绩单。思培满分6分，一般移民或留学者至少要具备4分以上的成绩。 目前，加拿大已分别在北京、上海、广州、重庆、成都、厦门等城市建立思培考试中心。

LSAT

——法学院入学考试
LSAT考试简介
LSAT是Law School Admission Test（法学院入学考试）的缩写。是由位于美国宾西法尼亚州的法学院入学委员会（Law School Admission Council简称Law Services）负责主办的法学院入学资格考试。作为美国法学院申请入学的参考条件之一。简而言之，LSAT是为测试赴美加地区留学学生的英语能力，其成绩只是作为申请入法学院的评估条件之一。几乎所有的法学院都要求申请人参加LSAT考试。 LSAT考试每年举办4次，分别在2月、6月、10月及12月。LSAT考试满分为180分，最低分为120分，其计算方法是根据选择的正确的答案的数目来确定。选对25个左右，分数大概为130分；选对39个左右，分数大概为140分；选对55个，分数大概为150分；选对72个，分数为160；选
对87个，分数为170分；选对98个以上，分数为满分180分。一般好的学校要求的成绩都在160分以上。考试成绩一般在考后5周左右由主办机构寄出。

TSE

——英语口语水平考试
TSE考试简介
TSE（Test of Spoken English，即英语口语测试）是美国教育考试服务处为母语为非英语国家的学生提供的英语口语水平考试。该考试主要是测试考生的口语能力。TSE考试分 为TSE A和TSE B两种。凡是打算申请美国、加拿大大学助学金的申请者都应参加TSE（A）考试，申请其它类型奖学金者可以参加TSE（B）考试。 TSE考试同样由我国国外考试协调处负责承办。报名一般应该在考试日期的前两个月开始。各个考试中心根据各自不同的情况，按照中国国外考试协调处所规定的报名开始和截止日期办理考生报名工作。考生报名应该持有考试中心规定的有效的证件并交纳报名费。

SAT

——美国本科的敲门砖
SAT考试简介
美国没有国家统一的大学入学考试。由教育考试服务社（Educational Testing Service）主持的学术水平测验考试（Scholistic Assessment TestSAT）被多数大学用作比较不同地区、不同高中、不同评分制度的标准。
SAT（还有一个规模较小的ACT）是美国大学所能够得到的，惟一可以比较来自不同地区和学校的学生的成绩，所以它对录取与否的作用非常之大。尽管SAT被批语为设计得适应白人（或亚裔），对黑人和西班牙裔学生不公平等，而且美国的大学在公开场合一而再、再而三不厌其烦地告诉你SAT成绩在录取过程中所起的作用不大，最重要的是高中的成绩等，但你可千万别天真地信以为真。SAT考试一年考很多次。大部份学生在11年级高2的冬季或春季学期考试，还可在冬季学期重考。

WSK

——全国外语水平考试
WSK简介全国外语水平考试WSK是国家教育委员会举办的外语水平考试。最初只有英语水平考试EPT，专门用来鉴定赴英语国家留学人员的英语水平。

Types of Test

Placement
　　a placement test is designed to sort new students into teaching groups, so that they can start a course at approximately the same level as the other students in the class. It is concerned with the student’s present standing, and so relates to general ability rather than specific points of learning. As a rule the results are needed quickly so that teaching may begin. A variety of tests is necessary because a range of different activities is more likely to give an accurate overall picture of a student’s level than a single assessment.
　　Sometimes one member of staff sees each student individually before the final class allocation is made. This procedure has several advantages. It helps to complete the assessment for each individual student by disclosing factors which are not revealed by the written tests, either positive ones such as a friendly, outgoing character or a higher level of production than a writing test suggests, or negative ones such as a slight stammer or more than average shyness. Perhaps the greatest advantage of the interview is that there is now the opportunity to assess both oral production (the ability to make English sounds) and fluency (the ability to sound English I na social situation) at one and the same time.

Diagnostic
　　A diagnostic test (sometimes called a formative or progress test) checks on student’s progress in learning particular elements of the course. It is used for example at the end of a unit in the course book or after a lesson designed to teach one particular point. These tests can take the form of an extension of the lesson from a practice phase into an assessment phase. They can provide information about progress which may be used systematically for remedial work. The diagnostic test tries to answer the question “How well have the students learned this particular material?” If his learning has been successful, the results will give a considerable lift to the student’s moral and he is likely tro approach the next learning tasks with fresh enthusiasm. If he finds he has not mastered the point at issue, the test should give him clear indication sof how the falls short, so that he can do some useful revision.

Achievement
　　An achievement test (also called an attainment test) looks back over a longer period of learning than the diagnostic test, for example a year’s work, or a whole course, or even a variety of different courses. It is intended to show the standard which the students have now reached in relation to other students at the same stage. This standard may be established for a country, as with school-leaving certificates; or it may relate to an individual school or group of schools which issues certificates to students attending courses. But the important point which is common to all these situations I that the standard remains constant as far as possible from course to course and from year to year and is external to the individual class or textbook.

Proficiency
　　The aim of a proficiency test is to assess the student’s ability to apply in actual situations what he has learnt. It seeks to answer the question : “ Having learnt this much, what can the student do with it?” This type of test is not usually related to any particular course because it is concerned with the student’s current standing in relation to his future needs. Efforts must be made to use in the tests the kind of language which actually occurs in the situation the student will meet. For example, a test which sets out to assess the proficiency of a student hoping to follow a university course in an English-speaking country would need to take into account not only his level of skill in listening to lectures, but also his ability to take notes, to make full use of what gained from the lecture in his subsequent writing. An important element in proficiency testing is to assess in some way the student’s ability to repair breakdowns in communication, by asking for a repetition or an explanation, for example, or by rephrasing what he has just tried to say.
　　A rather typical example of a standardized proficiency test is the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). It is used by nearly 1 000 institutions higher education in the United States as an indicator of a prospective student’s ability to undertake academic work in English. The TOEFL consists of the following sections:
--- Listening Comprehension measures the ability to understand English as it is spoken in the United States.
--- Structure and Written Expression measures mastery of important structural and grammatical points in standard written English.
--- Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension tests the ability to understand the meanings and uses of words in written English as well as the ability to understand a variety of reading materials.
Proficiency tests sometimes add sections that involve free writing and/or oral production.

   　 This division of tests into separate categories is clearly rather arbitrary, and though it is convenient to say that the purpose of any test can be defined in this way, there are in practice several different purposes for every test. For example, it has been argued above that an achievement test assesses the learning that has gone before, and is therefore concerned with the past, but a student taking this kind of test usually does so because he needs the qualification to convince someone else of his future potential, either as a student in a more advanced course or as an employee. In the same way, although a proficiency test is not in theory concerned with how the student’s present stage of competence has been arrived at, he may well have prepared for it by taking a course designed ot help him to pass.

Total Words: 976
Total Reading Time: ____________

The text is based on A Language Testing Handbook by Andrew Harrison. London: Macmillan Press, 1983.

Reading Comprehension
Circle the letter of the best answer.
1. According to the author, placement test can provide information about students’ ________ .
　A. specific points of learning
　B. general ability
　C. progress learning in the course
2. The interview has the following advantages except _________ .
　A. disclosing factors which are not revealed by the written tests
　B. assessing both oral production and fluency at the same time
　C. reducing the workload of faculty members
3. A diagnostic test checks on students’ __________ .
　A. general language ability
　B. ability to communicate
　C. progress in learning particular elements of the course
4. It can be inferred that the diagnostic test is often _________ .
　A. a test for one course
　B. a test for a variety of courses
　C. external to the individual course or textbook
5. Which of the following tests can be regarded as an achievement test?
　A. Mid-term test.
　B. Test for school-leaving certificates.
　C. Test for admission.
6. A proficiency test _________ .
　A. is related to particular courses that the students have taken
　B. aims to assess students’ ability to apply in actual situation what they have learned
　C. focuses on one specific skill the students have acquired
7. The author chooses the TOEFL as an example of proficiency tests because _______ .
　A. the TOEFL is a well-known test
　B. the TOEFL includes free writing and oral production
　C. the TOEFL is designed to test students’ ability to conduct academic studies in English in the United States
8. With which of the following statements would the author most likely agree?
　A. An achievement test is only concerned with the past.
　B. An achievement can sometimes be regarded as a placement test.
　C. A proficiency test has only one purpose.

Key

Vocabulary Building
Definition
Define the following terms in your own words.
diagnostic test
achievement test
proficiency test
integrative test
communicative competence

Idioms
Complete the following sentences with the appropriate idiomatic expressions which are related to the idea of HARD WORK. Make sure it fits the blanks.
　　　　burn the midnight oil       hit the books
　　　　do back-breaking work     work lie a dog
　　　　fall down on the job       work one’s fingers to the bone
1. He ______. In other words, he studies hard.
2. Jane ______. In other words, she studies very late at night
3. Mike _______. In other words, he fails to do well.
4. Sally _______. In other words, she studies in a serious way.
5. He _______. In other words, he does very difficult physical work.
6. Tom _______. In other words, he works hard and seriously.

General Vocabulary Exercise
Choose the word that correctly completes the sentence.
1. The candidates who wish to _____ from the examination must notify the secretary immediately.
　A. resign       　B. remove
　C. suspend     D. withdraw
2. Gradually the balloon ______ out and rose into the air.
　A. swelled      　B. expanded
　C. stretched     D. enlarged
3. When you take medicine, be careful not to ______ that amount printed on the bottle.
　A. exceed      　B. substitute
　C. surpass      D. overcome
4. The current political ______ of our country is favorable for foreign investments.
　A. weather      　　B. climate
　C. temperature    　D. state
5. Our spokesman has ______ our position on this question.
　A. verified      B. certified
　C. testified      D. clarified
6. A teacher should give attention to each _______ student in his class.
　A. personal     B. private
　C. own        　D. individual
7. The population of Hong Kong is ______ Chinese.
　A. popularly    B. regularly
　C. commonly   D. predominantly
8. Children feel that their parents do not give enough _______ to the problems of young people.
　A. consent      B. appeal
　C. affection     D. recognition

Key

Analogies
Select the lettered pair that best expressed a relationship similar to that expressed in the original pair.
1. DEPORT: NATION:
　A. expel: school       B. boycott: store
　C. confine: prison     D. colonize: frontier
2. VESSEL: BLOOD:
　A. sewer: plumbing    B. tank: oil
　C. pipeline: gas       D. compressor: air
3. ITINERARY: TRIP
　A. lottery: chance     B. railroad: transportation
　C. agenda: meeting    D. university: education
4. TACT: OFFENSIVE:
　A. manners: sincere      B. money: poor
　C. speech: illiterate      D. wine: sober
5. EPIDERMIS: MAMMAL:
　A. blanket: bed         B. root: plant
　C. topsoil: farm         D. bark: conifer
6. SUBMISSION: OBEIDANCE:
　A. dilemma: frustration     B. fear: foreboding
　C. Boredom: listlessness    D. affection: embrace
7. CLINETELE: CUSTOMERS:
　A. army: civilians        B. boycott: merchants
　C. faculty: teachers       D. testimony: lawyers
8. LEAF: OAK:
　A. needle: pine         B. berry: fruit
　C. tree: forest          D. stem: flower

Key

Cloze
Read through the following passage and then decide which of the choice given below would correctly complete the passage if inserted in the corresponding blanks.
　　The cloze procedure originated I the 1950s as a means of assessing the difficulty of a reading text for native speakers, but within three years __1__ originator was suggesting that it could used for assessing the   2   of second and foreign language learners. The principle is that single words are taken out of a text at regular intervals,   3   gaps which students have to complete with appropriate “fillers,”   4   only for each gap. In order to do this the student has to   5   to the text on either side of the gap so that he can judge what an appropriate filler might be , taking into account   6   meaning and structure.
　　There are two types of gap: “ function” gaps (such as conjunctions, prepositions, articles)   7   have only one correct filler, and “semantic” gaps (such as nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs) that can be filled   8   any one of a number of alternatives.
　　The variation in acceptable fillers   9   to two main systems of marking: “exact” and acceptable.” The first of these means   10   only the original word is counted as correct, and   11   there is on ly one right answer, the marking is objective and can be done quickly. In “acceptable” marking, decisions must be   12   about whether a student’s offering is good enough to be counted as correct or not. It has been shown, however, that the two systems of marking produce very similar results, in the sense that the students are sorted into roughly the same rank order.

1.    A. their                  B. its                     C. that               　D. whose
2.    A. progress           B. score                C. success            D. intelligence
3.    A. leave                B. left                     C. leaving           　D. leaves
4.    A. one                  B. which                 C. each                 D. that
5.    A. look                  B. refer                  C. consult              D. examine
6.    A. either               B. together         　C. both              　D. with
7.    A. it                      B. what                   C. but                   D. which
8.    A. with                  B. at                      C. in                      D. for
9.    A. causes            B. comes                C. leads                D. begins
10.   A. this                 B. that                    C. which                D. where
11.   A. since              B. thought          　C. but                　D. while
12.   A. judged            B. brought          　C. made                D. decided

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