Comprehension placement test

1. I ______ 25 years old.

2. My name ______ Robert.

3. Are you busy? Yes, ______.

4. I think Rome is ______ sity.

5. I’m 18 and my brother is 20, so he is ______ me.

6. I ______ to visit you yesterday, but you ______ at home.

7. It is already 9:30 PM and I ______ here for over an hour. If John does not ______ here in the next five minutes, I am going to leave.

8. I ______ really angry at John yesterday. By the time he finally arrived, I ______ for over an hour. I almost left without him.

9. Did you ______ that Ben was fired last month? He ______ for that import company for more than ten years and he ______ in almost every department. Nobody knew the company like he did.

10. Wait a minute, I ______ this box for you.

Mohammed Ali (11) ______ his first world title fight in 1960. After he (12) ______ an Olympic gold medal, he became a professional boxer. His religious beliefs (13) ______ change his name when he became a champion. If he (14) ______ lost his first fight with Sonny Liston, no one would have been surprised. He had travelled a lot (15) ______ as a boxer an as world-famous personality. He was very well known (16) ______ the world. Many people (17) ______ he was the greatest boxer of all time. To be the best (18) ______ the world is not easy. Like any top sportsman Ali (19) ______ train very hard. Even though he had lost his title, people (20) ______ always remember him as a champion.

11. a. has won b. won c. is winning

12. a. had won b. have won c. was winning

13. a. have made him b. made him to c. made him

14. a. has b. would have c. had

15. a. both b. and c. or

16. a. all in b. all over c. in all

17. a. is believing b. are believing c. believe

18. a. from b. in c. of

19. a. had to b. must c. should

20. a. would b. will c. did

Many teachers (21) ______ their students they should learn a foreign language. Learning a second language is not the same (22) ______ learning a first language. It takes (23) ______ to learn any language. It is said that Chinese is the world’s (24) ______ language to master. English is quite difficult because of all the exceptions (25) ______ have to be learnt. You can learn the basic structures of a language quite quickly, but only if you (26) ______ to make an effort. A lot of people aren’t used (27) ______ grammar in their language. Many adult students wish they (28) ______ their language studies earlier. In some countries, students have to spend a lot of time working (29) ______ their own. There aren’t (30) ______ easy ways of learning a foreign language in your own country.

21. a. say to b. say c. tell

22. a. as b. like c. than

23. a. long time b. long c. a long time

24. a. harder b. hardest c. more hard

25. a. who b. which c. what

26. a. are wanting b. will to c. willing

27. a. to the study b. to study c. to studying

28. a. would start b. would have started c. had started

29. a. on b. by c. in

30. a. no b. any c. some

I (31) ______ English for seven years now. But last year I (32) ______ hard enough for English, that's why my marks (33) ______ really that good then. As I (34) ______ my English exam successfully next year, I (35) ______ harder this term. During my last summer holidays, my parents (36) ______ me on a language course to London. It (37) ______ great and I (38) ______ I (39) ______ a lot. Before I (40) ______ to London, I (41) ______ learning English. But while I (42) ______ the language course, I (43) ______ lots of young peoplefrom all over the world. There I (44) ______ how important it (45) ______ to speak foreign languages nowadays. Now I (46) ______ much more fun learning English than I (47) ______ before the course. At the moment I (48) ______ English grammar. And I (49) ______ to read the texts in my English textbooks again. I (50) ______ I (51) ______ one unit every week. My exam (52) ______ on 15 May, so there (53) ______ any time to be lost. If I (54) ______ my exams successfully, I (55) ______ n apprenticeship in September. And after my apprenticeship, maybe I (56) ______ back to London to work there for a while.

31. a. had learned b. have been learning c. have learned

32. a. did not work b. was not working c. had not worked

33. a. were not b. are not c. was not

34. a. wanted to pass b. want to pass c. have been wanted to

35. a. study b. are studying c. am going to study

36. a. sent b. send c. have sent

37. a. were b. was c. is

38. a. thought b. am thinking c. think

39. a. have learned b. learned c. learn

40. a. go b. went c. was going

41. a. wasn’t enjoying b. do not enjoy c. did not enjoy

42. a. was doing b. did c. do

43. a. have met b. had met c. met

44. a. noticed b. notice c. notices

45. a. was b. will be c. is

46. a. am having b. have c. will have

47. a. am having b. have c. had

48. a. revise b. am revising c. will revise

49. a. have already begun b. am already beginning c. already began

50. a. thought b. am thinking c. think

51. a. do b. is doing c. will do

52. a. is going to be b. will be c. is

53. a. isn’t b. won’t be c. aren’t

54. a. passed b. pass c. will pass

55. a. start b. started c. will start

56. a. go b. is going c. will go

57. Janet gushed over the sculpture in the antique shop, but Kevin thought that the craftsmanship was merely run of the mill.

58. After Michael missed three shots in a row and passed the ball to a player on the other team, the boys were only up by two and they suspected that Michael would be the Achilles' heel of the team..

59. Lyle chose Marco for his partner, thinking that it would be fun to work with his best friend, but now that the project was due tomorrow and the boys had nothing done, Lyle realized that he should have hitched his horse to a different wagon.

60. The prosecutor knew that the councilman had stolen public funds, but she wanted to get all of her ducks in a row before she charged him with a crime.