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Saturday, May 31, 2014

ENGLISH TEST - UERN 2012

1. In formal language the sentence “Mind if I come in?” is
a) Had you minded if I came in?
b) Would you mind if I come in?
c) Should you mind if I come in?
d) Shouldn’t you mind if I came in?
2. According to the advertisement
a) one can learn English without cost.
b) one can learn English on-line.
c) one can learn English easily.
d) one can learn English at home.

Mooresville’s Shining Example (It’s Not Just About the Laptops)
MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Sixty educators from across the nation roamed the halls and ringed the rooms of East Mooresville Intermediate School, searching for the secret formula. They found it in Erin Holsinger’s fifth-grade math class.
There, a boy peering into his school-issued MacBook blitzed through fractions by himself, determined to reach sixth-grade work by winter. Three desks away, a girl was struggling with basic multiplication — only 29 percent right, her screen said — and Ms. Holsinger knelt beside her to assist.
Curiosity was fed and embarrassment avoided, as teacher connected with student through emotion far more than Wi-Fi.
As debate continues over whether schools invest wisely in technology — and whether it measurably improves student achievement — Mooresville, a modest community about 20 miles north of Charlotte best known as home to several Nascar teams and drivers, has quietly emerged as the de facto national model of the digital school.
The district’s graduation rate was 91 percent in 2011, up from 80 percent in 2008. On state tests in reading, math and science, an average of 88 percent of students across grades and subjects met proficiency standards, compared with 73 percent three years ago. Attendance is up, dropouts are down. Mooresville ranks 100th out of 115 districts in North Carolina in terms of dollars spent per student — $7,415.89 a year — but it is now third in test scores and second in graduation rates.
“Other districts are doing things, but what we see in Mooresville is the whole package: using the budget, innovating, using data, involvement with the community and leadership,” said Karen Cator, a former Apple executive who is director of educational technology for the United States Department of Education. “There are lessons to be learned.”
Start with math lessons: each student’s MacBook Air is leased from Apple for $215 a year, including warranty, for a total of $1 million; an additional $100,000 a year goes for software. Terry Haas, the district’s chief financial officer, said the money was freed up through “incredibly tough decisions.”
Sixty-five jobs were eliminated, including 37 teachers, which resulted in larger class sizes — in middle schools, it is 30 instead of 18 — but district officials say they can be more efficiently managed because of the technology. Some costly items had become obsolete (like computer labs), though getting rid of others tested the willingness of teachers to embrace the new day: who needs globes in the age of Google Earth?
Families pay $50 a year to subsidize computer repairs, though the fee is waived for those who cannot afford it, about 18 percent of them. Similarly, the district has negotiated a deal so that those without broadband Internet access can buy it for $9.99 a month. Mr. Edwards said the technology had helped close racial performance gaps in a district where 27 percent of the students are minorities and 40 percent are poor enough to receive free or reduced-price lunches.
                                                                            (The New York Times. February 13, 2012/adapted)

3. Mooresville educational success is due to the
a) amount of dollars spent with students a year.
b) investments from several private companies.
c) deep wish of minorities to show their potential.
d) set of financial, pedagogic and community actions.

4. In the text, one of the “incredibly tough decisions” referred to
a) fire teachers.
b) spend 1 million.
c) buy new globes.
d) control attendance.

5. The underlined word in the text refers to
a) formulas.
b) educators.
c) rooms.
d) halls.

“The kitchen table is more than a place for ____________, it’s a place where families meet. But was the ____________ it is made from harvested sustainably? Used to be hard to tell. Now ____________ can look for the Forest Stewardship Council ____________ to make sure wooden furniture is forest friendly.
We should ____________ that the world’s forests are ____________ responsibly so that people and wildlife can continue to exist in the future.”

6. Choose the sequence that completes the text.
a) meals / wood / shoppers / label / ensure / managed
b) fun / seed / buyers / license / prevent / cut
c) talk / peel / sellers / tag / avoid / made
d) argument / tree / representatives / plate / defend / sprayed

Introducing the perfect chemistry between a Green technology and a blue world
There is a formula for a healthy new world. That’s why Braskem invested millions in research to become the first company in the world to use Brazilian sugar cane as a natural plastic source, collaborating with the reduction of the GHG emissions. Its commitment to a sustainable development resulted in a benchmark eco-efficient process that stimulates the markets in which Braskem operates and generates new opportunities.
The world dreamed. Braskem made it happen.
Braskem.
New ways to look at the world
                                                                                     (Newsweek, Special Edition – Issues. February, 2012)
7. Braskem is
a) a Brazilian company using green technology.
b) an energy generator in emerging markets.
c) a former natural plastic source inventor.
d) helping the environment become cleaner.

8. The relative pronoun in “... benchmark eco-efficient process that stimulates the markets” substitutes
a) plastics.
b) markets.
c) process.
d) benchmark.
9. Choose the item to complete the answer:
a) They will go to
b) They have gone
c) They went to
d) They would go to

                                                                                                     The future looks bright
Balamurati Krishna Ambati
At age three, Balamurati Krishna Ambati was badly burned and spent several months in hospital. He decided then that he wanted to be a doctor. A few years later, he read in the Guinness Book of Records that the youngest doctor in the world was 18 years old. So he decided to become a doctor by the age of 17. Many people thought this was impossible, but at 11, Ambati was in college. He graduated from college at 14 and from medical school at 17. Now that he is a doctor, Ambati plans to go for advanced training in Boston.
Catherine Charlton
Catherine Charlton is studying engineering at Cornell University, but she has already achieved an important goal: She has worked for NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration). Charlton’s achievements aren’t only in engineering, however. She is also a successful pianist and composer. Charlton hopes to combine her talents for engineering and music someday. For example, she would like to design concert halls or manufacture pianos.
Jasmin Sethi
The Scholastic Aptitude Test is the test American students take to enter college; each year, only a few students get a perfect score. One of those students was Jasmin Sethi. Her achievement was especially remarkable because she is blind. To take the test, someone read the test questions to her, and she gave the answers. She even solved difficult math problems in her head. Sethi has been the editor of her school newspaper and has organized food collections. She wants to go to a top university next year. Sethi
would like to be a lawyer.
                                                                                    (New Interchange. Cambridge University Press, 1997)
10. Which fact do these texts have in common?
a) Three young people mastered university graduation courses.
b) Three young people have outstanding school performances.
c) Three young people will follow very unusual careers.
d) Three young people have some kind of physical disability.

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