APTIS TRAINING MATERIAL

Aptis Practice Materials

Reading
Mock Test

Level: B1 to C1
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Aptis Reading
(25 Questions 30 minutes)

Task 1
Choose one word (A, B or C) for each space and write the letter on the paper. The first one (0)
is done for you as an example with the answer A marked on your answer paper.

Dear Sir,

My son, Kevin, left 0) __A__ two months ago and now he is looking for his first 1)______. The

problem is that companies always 2)____ they want people with experience, but how can he

get experience if no one gives him a job? He reads the 3)________ in the paper every day, but

there is nothing for people like him. Today hes 4)________ some gardening for our

neighbours to 5)________ a bit of money, but he needs a real job.

Mr. G Carter

EXAMPLE 0 A school B home C me

1 A work B job C occupation
2 A say B tell C ask
3 A news B text C adverts
4 A making B having C doing
5 A earn B get C spend

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Task 2
Order the sentences (B-G) below to make a story. Write your answers on the answer paper
(Questions 6-11).

The first sentence of the story (A) is given for you on the answer paper as an example.

A Harland Sanders was born in the USA in 1890, but his childhood wasnt a happy one.
B That was when he first learned to cook.
C Over the next nine years Harland developed his secret chicken recipe that made him
famous.
D Sanders continued to work for KFC as a public spokesman and visited restaurants all
over the world until he died in 1980, aged 90.
E His father died when he was four and his mother had to find a job to support the
family, so Harland stayed at home to look after his younger brother and sister.
F In the 1950s he decided to close down his restaurant and sold the secret recipe to
other businesses one of which became Kentucky Fried Chicken.
G He left home when he was twelve and he had a number of different jobs, including
being a service station manager in Corbin, Kentucky, where he cooked for hungry
travellers.

0) A

6)

7)

8)

9)

10)

11)

(text adapted from http://www.ronford.net/ui/kfc3/townsquare/colonel/colhistory1.htm)

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Task 3
Read the text and match each space (12-18) with one word from the box below. Write the
letters (A-K) on the Answer Sheet. The answer to question 00 is given on your answer paper as
an example (L). You will not need to find five of the words.

A Hong Kong hotel has sold individual 00 to be used as homes. It's one of the ways 12 are
trying to cope with soaring housing prices, which are among the highest in the world. The
hotel suites are cheaper than apartments in Hong Kong. Hundreds of people 13 up for hours to
buy a unit at the Apex Horizon Hotel this week. It's not clear whether investors can legally live
in the suites but buyers are still eager. The hotel was able to sell all 360 of its suites in two
days - a sign there is a 14 for affordable housing. Hong Kong's low 15 rate has
attracted hordes of mainland Chinese investors. It pushed home prices to record highs last
year. Flats 16 an average of US$14,000 per square metre in central locations. Many residents
feel they can no longer 17 to buy apartments.
Hong Kong people cope by renting makeshift homes on rooftops, while others move into so-
called cage homes - hutches made from wire-mesh, stacked on top of each other in a tiny
room. The government's efforts to cool down 18 prices have not worked. So Hong Kong
residents have to be creative in finding space to live.

(text adapted from

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2013/02/130225_witn_hotel_home.shtml)

Your answers:
00 = L
A queued 12 =
B interest 13 =
C afford 14 =
D spend 15 =
E residents 16 =
F investors 17 =
G property 18 =
H save
I lined
J cost
K demand
L rooms

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Task 4
Read the text below. Match the headings A-H to the paragraphs 0-5 (Questions 19-23). Write
your answers (A-H) on the paper. There 3 headings you dont need.
The answer to Paragraph 0 is given on the answer paper as an example (J).

Your answers:
A Domestic specialties for the whole country 0) I
B The current pizza varieties 19)

C The reason why we cant take it home from the supermarket 20)

D No pizza is complete without cheese 21)

E You can be thankful for the poor 22)

F Where it comes from 23)

G Tasty for all the family

H Tribute to the First Lady

I Nothing compares to the original

0. There are not too many nations that can say their national dish has become an international
phenomenon. Italy has two such dishes, pasta and of course pizza. In America pizza usually
falls into two categories: thick and cheesy Chicago style or thin and traditional New York pizza.
In Italy pizza also falls into two distinct categories: Italian pizza and the rest of the world. It
might seem silly considering the basic ingredients, but one taste of a true Italian pizza and
that's it. You will never feel the same about this simple and delicious food again.

1. In its basic seasoned flatbread form, pizza has a long history in the Mediterranean.
Several cultures including the Greeks ate a flatbread made from flour and water. The dough
would be cooked by placing it on a hot stone and then seasoned with herbs. The Greeks called
this early pizza "plankuntos" and it was basically used as an edible plate when eating stews or
thick broth. It was not yet what we would call pizza today. These early pizzas were eaten from
Rome to Egypt to Babylon and were praised by the ancient historians Herodotus and Cato the
Elder.

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2. The introduction of tomatoes to Italian cuisine in the 18th and early 19th centuries
finally gave us the true modern Italian pizza. Even though tomatoes reached Italy by the 1530s
it was widely thought that they were poisonous and were grown only for decoration.
However, the innovative (and probably starving) peasants of Naples started using the
supposedly deadly fruit in many of their foods, including their early pizzas. Since that fateful
day when peasants first used tomatoes, the world of Italian cuisine would never be the same,
however, it took some time for the rest of society to accept this crude peasant food. Once
members of the local aristocracy tried pizza they couldn't get enough of it, which by this time
was being sold on the streets of Naples for every meal.

3. As pizza popularity increased, street vendors gave way to actual shops where people
could order a custom pizza with many different toppings. By 1830 the "Antica Pizzeria
Port'Alba" of Naples had become the first true pizzeria and this venerable institution is still
producing masterpieces. The popular pizza Margherita owes its name to Italy's Queen
Margherita who in 1889 visited the Pizzeria Brandi in Naples. The Pizzaioli (pizza maker) on
duty that day, created a pizza for the Queen that contained the three colours of the new
Italian flag. The red of tomato, white of the mozzarella and fresh green basil was a hit with the
Queen and the rest of the world. Neapolitan style pizza had now spread throughout Italy.

4. The Pizza Margherita may have set the standard, but there are numerous popular
varieties of pizza made in Italy today. Pizza from a pizzeria is the recognized round shape,
made to order and always cooked in a wool fired oven. Regional Italian varieties are always
worth trying such as Pizza Marinara, a traditional Neapolitan from the south of Italy is a pizza
that has oregano, anchovies and lots of garlic. Pizza Napoli: tomato mozzarella and anchovies.
Capricciosa: a topping of mushrooms, prosciutto, artichoke hearts, olives and a boiled egg.
Pizza Pugliese makes use of the local capers and olives of the area while Pizza Veronese from
the north of Italy has mushrooms and tender Prosciutto crudo. Pizzas from the Italian island of
Sicily can have numerous toppings ranging from green olives, seafood, hard-boiled eggs and
peas.

5. One thing to keep in mind when ordering pizza in an Italian pizzeria is that the product
is personal size. Each person at a table should order their own individual pizza - one bite will
explain why. In certain areas outside Italy, there are a few Piazzioli who keep to their
homeland traditions as best they can with the ingredients they have, but it really isn't the
same. In the end there is no going back once you try a real Italian pizza, no delivery or frozen
product will ever stimulate your taste buds the way a real Italian pizza will!

Adapted from the article of Justin Demetri, lifeinitaly.com, TELC Angol Vizsgafeladatok)

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