1. SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS
BUSINESS ENGLISH PROGRAM
LEVEL 3 MIDTERM EXAM
August 9th
, 2012
ORAL - LISTENING
Name: ___________________________________ I.D.: ___________________________
SCORE TABLE
Vocabulary Structure Reading Writing Listening Oral Total
___ / 15 ___ / 15 ___ / 10 ___ / 10 ___ / 25 ___ / 25 ___ / 100
GRADE
A. Fill the blanks according to the reading. Took it from
http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1207/120709-jordan.html ( 1 POINT EACH)
Jordan Politician Pulls Gun in TV Debate (9th July, 2012)
A Jordanian politician has taken a leaf ______________ the book of the Wild
______________way of ______________ pulling a gun on his opponent in a TV debate.
Mohammed Shawabka, a member of Jordan's parliament, ______________ in a fierce
discussion over the crisis in Syria with former lawmaker Mansur Murad on a televised
______________ show. Things ______________ heated and Mr Shawabka lost his cool.
______________, he threw his shoe at his adversary – this is considered a
______________ insult for Muslims; he followed this up by pulling a gun and aiming it at
Mr Murad. No shots were fired but the show's host immediately pounced on Shawabka.
Furniture went ______________ as the host tried to separate the two and the show was
______________ its producers.
The brawl has now gone viral on the Internet. Many have commented on the irony that a
______________ on violence in Syria itself ended in fighting. Things took a
______________the worse after Shawabka accused Murad of spying for Syria's
government. Murad responded by accusing Shawabka of being an Israeli spy who got into
power by buying votes. He followed this by cursing Shawabka's father. That
______________ the final straw as Shawabka, who snapped. ______________ to local
Jordanian media, Mr Murad is planning to file charges of attempted murder against Mr
Shawabka. Shawabkeh justified his actions by saying that Murad started attacking
members of the Jordanian government, ______________ "corrupt parasites."
LISTENING SECTION: It tests your ability to understand spoken English in a business context. (25
points) Taken from: www.english-test.net
2. B. According to the following product advertisement, answer the questions.
http://www.english-test.net/toeic/listening/product_advertisement.html
1). What is being advertised?
a) Physical fitness
b) A new health club
c) Fitness equipment
d) An instructional video
2). What does the speaker urge listeners to do?
a) Go to the Porta-Trainer store
b) Work out in their homes
c) Visit a website
d) Make a telephone call
3). How can listeners get a free gift?
a) By using their credit cards
b) By buying two Porta-Trainers
c) By redeeming a coupon
d) By acting quickly
3. READING SECTION. It tests your ability to understand written English in a business context. (10
points) Adapted from: http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1402/140220-renewable-energy.html
A. Read the following article related to Unit 4: Great Ideas.
Tech giant Google is investing $1billion in renewable energies to make its operations totally green.
The company hopes to exploit solar energy, wind farms and other forms of alternative energy to
power its data centres around the world. Rick Needham, Google's Director of Energy and
Sustainability, told reporters: "We've invested over a billion dollars in 15 projects that have the
capacity to produce two giga-watts of power around the world." Mr Needham added it was an
economic necessity for Google to invest in energy. He said: "Procuring power for ourselves and
investing in…renewable power plants…all make business sense. They make sense for us as a
company to do. We rely on power for our business."
Mr Needham said Google still has a long way to go before all of its operations are fuelled by
renewable energy. He said about 34 per cent of Google's power requirements are sourced from
renewables. Needham told reporters it wasn't always easy to meet this target in some parts of the
world, saying: "Our goal is to be 100 per cent renewable powered. There are lots of challenges in
getting there, not the least of which is operating in many jurisdictions that are in different parts of the
world." He added: "At Google we invest in innovative renewable energy projects that have the
potential to transform the energy landscape and help provide more clean power to businesses and
homes around the world."
1. TRUE / FALSE: Choose the correct answer and explain the false ones, to have a full
correct point. (1 point each)
a. Google says it is planning to compete with the big oil companies. T / F
b. Google wants to power all of its operations using renewable energy. T / F
4. c. A Google spokesman said it economically unnecessary to go green. T / F
d. The spokesman said it made business sense to invest in renewables. T / F
e. Over a third of Google's operations are fuelled by renewables. T / F
f. Some countries make it difficult for Google to be 100% green. T / F
g. Google said it isn't interested in changing the energy industry. T / F
h. Google isn't interested in providing power to homes and businesses. T / F
2. Match the following synonyms from the article. (0.2 each point)
1. Operations _________ a. depend
2 Exploit _________ b. cutting edge
3. Capacity _________ c. wisdom
4. Sense _________ d. use to good advantage
5. Rely _________ e. authorities
6. Fuelled _________ f. businesses
7. Requirements _________ g. change
8. Jurisdictions _________ h. power
9. Innovative _________ i. needs
10. Transform _________ j. powered
5. VOCABULARY SECTION. It tests your ability to use vocabulary in a business environment. (15
points)
A. Write the meaning of the following business related words. (3 POINTS EACH)
CHALLENGING
ACHIEVEMENT
SUBSIDIARY
TURNOVER
OVERWHELMED
A. Fill in the correct form of one the phrasal verbs from the box. (0.5 points each). Retrieved
from: http://www.english-grammar.at/online_exercises/phrasal_verbs/phrasal_verbs1.htm
1) I looked for my keys everywhere but I couldn’t _________________ where I put them
2) I _________________ you at the party but I couldn’t see you.
IV. GRAMMAR SECTION (15 POINTS)
This section evaluates your ability to use the correct grammar structures studied in the
second part of the course.
fall for - figure out - give in - go along with - look for - pay for - pull through -
put on - run into - show up - take off - talk down to
6. 3) Although he tried to eat less he _________________ some weight during the holidays
4) I _________________ Karen and her new boyfriend when I went shopping
5) Over a hundred people _________________ for the news conference
6) Our plane _________________ an hour late because of the fog.
7) My son drove me crazy about buying a new bike, so finally I _________________.
8) Erich is very sick at the moment but I am sure he’ll _________________
9) She _________________ him like that. You’re not his boss.
10) I understand you opinion but I have to _________________ Linda on this question.
B. Complete the sentences with the SIMPLE PAST or PRESENT PERFECT of the verb in
parentheses. Retrieved from: http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs6.htm (0.25
points each)
Since computers were first introduced to the public in the early 1980's, technology
_____________________(change) a great deal. The first computers _____________________ (be)
simple machines designed for basic tasks. They _____________________ (have, not) much memory
and they __________________ (be, not) very powerful. Early computers were often quite expensive
and customers often _____________________ (pay) thousands of dollars for machines which
actually _____________________ (do) very little. Most computers _____________________
_____________________ (be) separate, individual machines used mostly as expensive typewriters
or for playing games.
Times _____________________(change). Computers ____________________ (become) powerful
machines with very practical applications. Programmers _____________________ (create) a large
selection of useful programs which do everything from teaching foreign languages to bookkeeping.
We are still playing video games, but today's games _____________________ (become) faster,
more exciting interactive adventures. Many computer users ____________________(get, also) on
the Internet and _____________________ (begin) communicating with other computer users around
the world. We _____________________(start) to create international communities online. In short,
the simple, individual machines of the past _____________________ (evolve) into an international
World Wide Web of knowledge.
C. Using the words in parentheses, complete the text below with the appropriate tenses
(SIMPLE PAST or PAST PROGRESSIVE). (0.5 points each)
http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs3.htm
1. When I (walk) ___________________ into the busy office, the secretary (talk)
___________________ on the phone with a customer, several clerks (work, busily)
___________________ at their desks, and two managers (discuss, quietly)
___________________ methods to improve customer service.
7. 2. The doctor (say) ____________________ that Tom (be) ____________________ too sick to go
to work and that he (need) ____________________ to stay at home for a couple of days.
3. Samantha (live) ____________________ in Berlin for more than two years. In fact, she (live)
____________________ there when the Berlin Wall came down. In fact, she
(live) _________________ there when the Berlin Wall came down.
4. The firemen (rescue) ________________ the old woman who (be) ________________ trapped
on the third floor of the burning building.
WRITING SECTION: It tests your ability to use writing to communicate in a business environment.
(10 points)
Task: It has recently been announced that a large shopping center may be built in your
neighborhood. Do you support or oppose this plan? Why? Use specific reasons and details
to support your answer. 200 words. This topic is related to deal with stress.