YDS English Reading practice test 1

1 - 6: For these questions, choose the best word or expression to fill the space.

1. The bare circular patches known as fairy circles, found in the grasslands of the Namib Desert, have long been a source of scientific ----, with both termites and competition for scarce water proposed as causes.

A) consensus

B) controversy

C) clarity

D) compliance

E) abundance

2. Because the drug is absorbed ---- when it is taken with dairy products, patients are advised to avoid milk and yoghurt for two hours before and after each dose.

A) rapidly

B) fully

C) evenly

D) poorly

E) safely

3. Archaeologists were long reluctant to ---- the theory that the ancient port had been abandoned after an earthquake, as no layer of collapsed buildings had been found beneath the later settlement.

A) undertake

B) convey

C) endorse

D) restrain

E) inhabit

4. Although early electric cars were ---- for short trips around town, their limited range and long charging times made them impractical for anyone who regularly drove between cities.

A) obsolete

B) hazardous

C) prohibitive

D) redundant

E) adequate

5. Many volunteers who join community gardening projects with great enthusiasm ---- within a few months, once they realise how much weekly watering and weeding the plots actually require.

A) drop out

B) sign up

C) catch on

D) take over

E) carry on

6. Taking short breaks during long study sessions is often recommended because it appears to improve ---- of the material, helping learners to recall it more accurately in later tests.

A) presentation

B) retention

C) selection

D) duplication

E) circulation

7 - 16: For these questions, choose the best word(s) or expression(s) to fill the space(s).

7. Over the past three decades, several countries ---- architect-designed rest stops along their scenic roads, and some of the public toilets there ---- by travellers as attractions in their own right.

A) commissioned / now regard

B) will commission / have now been regarding

C) have commissioned / are now regarded

D) had commissioned / were now regarding

E) are commissioning / had been regarded

8. Had the city archive been digitised a decade earlier, historians ---- the error in the census records long before the families affected ---- their formal complaint.

A) will notice / have filed

B) must have noticed / will file

C) would notice / are filing

D) would have noticed / filed

E) should have been noticing / file

9. Recordings of endangered languages, many of them ---- by linguists working closely with the last fluent speakers, now ---- researchers to reconstruct grammatical features that would otherwise have been lost.

A) making / allowing

B) made / allow

C) to make / are allowed

D) having made / allowed to

E) being made / allows

10. Urban beekeeping has grown in popularity ---- recent years, partly because hobbyists believe that rooftop hives can contribute ---- the recovery of local pollinator populations.

A) on / for

B) at / with

C) by / from

D) since / over

E) in / to

11. The caravan cities of Central Asia owed much of their wealth ---- their position along overland trade routes, which were, ---- most of their history, contested by rival rulers and merchant families.

A) with / by

B) to / for

C) from / at

D) of / since

E) on / under

12. ---- satellite images can reveal ground swelling weeks before an eruption, volcanologists still depend on instruments placed on the volcano itself to confirm what is happening underground.

A) Even though

B) Because

C) Unless

D) As soon as

E) In case

13. A sourdough starter kept in the refrigerator can remain active for several weeks ---- it is fed with fresh flour and water at least once a fortnight.

A) whereas

B) as though

C) provided that

D) even if

E) so that

14. ---- an invasive plant species has become established across a whole river valley, eradicating it is rarely possible, so conservation agencies concentrate their budgets on early detection.

A) Unless

B) Although

C) Before

D) Once

E) So that

15. Early mechanical clocks were ---- unreliable ---- the people responsible for town clocks often had to reset them each day according to the position of the sun at noon.

A) either / or

B) such / that

C) as / as

D) neither / nor

E) so / that

16. Many amateur astronomers now prefer to photograph the night sky from remote deserts ---- city rooftops, where light pollution washes out all but the brightest stars.

A) rather than

B) because of

C) in addition to

D) such as

E) on behalf of

17 - 21: For these questions, choose the best word or expression to fill the spaces in the passage.

(17)---- tap water is often regarded as a cheap, almost free resource, delivering it to urban households depends on an extensive and costly infrastructure of treatment plants, pumping stations and many kilometres of underground pipes. Every part of it must also be operated, monitored and eventually replaced. In many places, water utilities are expected to recover the full cost of running and maintaining the system (18)---- the tariffs their customers pay, rather than relying on general tax revenue. In recent years, rising energy, construction and maintenance costs have led many utilities (19)---- their tariffs, often after a public regulator or local authority has approved the change. Utilities typically (20)---- such increases by pointing to the need for long-term investment, for example renewing ageing pipes before they fail and adapting the network to drier summers. Critics, however, argue that steep increases place a disproportionate burden on low-income households (21)---- their limited ability to reduce consumption of a good that is essential for drinking, cooking and hygiene. Pricing, therefore, has to balance investment needs against affordability.

17. (17)

A) Because

B) Unless

C) Once

D) Although

E) As if

18. (18)

A) beyond

B) through

C) against

D) among

E) despite

19. (19)

A) raising

B) having raised

C) to have raised

D) being raised

E) to raise

20. (20)

A) justify

B) postpone

C) conceal

D) reverse

E) exaggerate

21. (21)

A) instead of

B) in spite of

C) due to

D) apart from

E) in terms of

22 - 26: For these questions, choose the best word or expression to fill the spaces in the passage.

Rare earth elements, a group of seventeen metals used in the magnets of electric motors, wind turbines and electronic devices, are not actually scarce in the Earth’s crust. However, they rarely occur in concentrated deposits and are usually found in small amounts mixed with other minerals, which makes them costly and chemically demanding to (22)---- from the surrounding rock and purify. As a result, refining capacity has become concentrated in only a handful of countries, largely (23)---- the high cost and considerable environmental damage of the process, which most other governments have been unwilling to accept. Industries in importing regions that rely on a small number of suppliers are therefore vulnerable (24)---- sudden disruptions, such as export restrictions, price surges or transport problems. In response, many manufacturers and governments have sought (25)---- their sources of supply, for example by opening new mines and refineries elsewhere or by signing agreements with several producing countries. Recovering these elements from old batteries, magnets and discarded electronics could eventually cover part of future demand, (26)---- collection and recycling systems remain far too limited to replace new mining for many years.

22. (22)

A) distinguish

B) withdraw

C) relieve

D) separate

E) exempt

23. (23)

A) in addition to

B) regardless of

C) on account of

D) in contrast to

E) at the expense of

24. (24)

A) at

B) with

C) over

D) from

E) to

25. (25)

A) to diversify

B) diversifying

C) having diversified

D) to be diversified

E) to have diversified

26. (26)

A) so that

B) even though

C) provided that

D) because

E) as if

27 - 36: For these questions, choose the best option to complete the given sentence.

27. Although regular physical activity is widely recommended as one of the best ways of preventing chronic illness, ----.

A) people who exercise several times a week tend to report better sleep and lower levels of stress

B) health authorities therefore encourage adults to walk or cycle instead of driving short distances

C) many adults still fail to meet even the minimum amount of weekly exercise that doctors advise

D) because moderate exercise strengthens the heart and improves blood circulation over the long term

E) it remains one of the cheapest and most effective means of protecting long-term health

28. Many coastal cities have begun restoring the wetlands along their shorelines ----.

A) even though storm surges have become stronger and more frequent in recent decades

B) unless the wetlands were drained for farmland and housing during the last century

C) so that wetlands had already disappeared from most urban coastlines by then

D) as if natural barriers offered no protection at all against rising sea levels

E) since healthy marshes can absorb much of the energy of incoming storm waves

29. ----, small family-run bookshops in many towns have managed to survive by hosting readings, workshops and other community events.

A) While online retailers can offer lower prices and much faster delivery than local shops

B) As long as online retailers continue to offer lower prices and free home delivery

C) Once local councils had raised business rates for shops in town centres

D) Even if the bookshops will close their doors within the next few years

E) So that customers can find rare titles which they cannot buy anywhere else

30. Astronomers can estimate the chemical composition of a distant star ----.

A) even though starlight reveals nothing about the elements that produce it

B) unless the star had been observed through a telescope over several centuries

C) so that its light would take thousands of years to reach the Earth

D) because each chemical element absorbs light at its own characteristic wavelengths

E) as soon as the star had burnt all of the hydrogen in its core

31. ----, the printing press did not immediately replace handwritten manuscripts, which continued to be copied for decades.

A) Since scribes had already stopped producing copies of religious and legal texts

B) Although it made books far cheaper and quicker to produce than ever before

C) Because printed books were cheaper and could be produced far more quickly

D) Unless wealthy collectors were willing to pay for richly decorated copies

E) Once it will be introduced into the major trading cities of Europe

32. Introducing a predator to control an invasive species can solve one ecological problem, ----.

A) so the invasive species will no longer face any natural enemies in its new habitat

B) as long as the predator had been tested under laboratory conditions beforehand

C) and this is why it is considered the safest method of protecting native plants

D) unless the invasive species was first brought into the region by human activity

E) but it may also create another if the predator begins attacking native wildlife

33. ----, the more likely they are to postpone the decision altogether, feeling unable to compare every alternative carefully.

A) The more options consumers are presented with when they shop for a single product

B) Consumers who are given a wider range of options usually feel more confident

C) Whenever shoppers compare only two or three similar products on a shelf

D) The fewer products a shop decides to display on its shelves at one time

E) As the prices of everyday goods continue to rise in most countries

34. Radiocarbon dating cannot be used to determine the age of stone tools directly ----.

A) although stone is one of the most durable materials found at ancient sites

B) so archaeologists date stone tools by measuring the carbon that they contain

C) because the method only measures carbon in materials that were once living organisms

D) provided that the tools were discovered close to the surface of an excavation

E) since it has become the most precise dating technique available to archaeologists

35. Linguists warn that a language can disappear within only a few generations ----.

A) even though it is still spoken every day by all members of its community

B) if parents stop speaking it to their children in everyday life at home

C) as soon as it had been recorded in a dictionary and a grammar book

D) so that its speakers could communicate more easily with neighbouring groups

E) because children usually learn their first language far more easily than adults

36. ----, many managers still worry that they cannot assess performance fairly without seeing their staff in person.

A) Because the productivity of remote employees has been measured more accurately

B) As long as employees agree to return to the office at least twice a week

C) Before video calls became an ordinary part of daily office life

D) Even though remote employees often complete their tasks on time and to standard

E) In order that staff can save both time and money on daily commuting

37 - 42: For these questions, choose the most accurate Turkish translation of the sentences in English, and the most accurate English translation of the sentences in Turkish.

37. Although the gut contains millions of nerve cells that communicate constantly with the brain, researchers caution that a so-called gut feeling should not be treated as a reliable substitute for careful reasoning.

A) Bağırsak, beyinle sürekli iletişim kuran milyonlarca sinir hücresi içerdiği için araştırmacılar, bağırsak hissi denilen şeyin dikkatli akıl yürütmenin güvenilir bir ikamesi olarak görülmemesi gerektiği konusunda uyarmaktadır

B) Bağırsak, beyinle zaman zaman iletişim kuran milyonlarca sinir hücresi içermesine rağmen araştırmacılar, bağırsak hissi denilen şeyin dikkatli akıl yürütmenin güvenilir bir ikamesi olarak görülmemesi gerektiği konusunda uyarmaktadır

C) Bağırsak, beyinle sürekli iletişim kuran milyonlarca sinir hücresi içermesine rağmen araştırmacıların çoğu, bağırsak hissi denilen şeyin dikkatli akıl yürütmenin güvenilir bir ikamesi olarak görülmemesi gerektiği konusunda uyarmaktadır

D) Bağırsak, beyinle sürekli iletişim kuran milyonlarca sinir hücresi içermesine rağmen araştırmacılar, bağırsak hissi denilen şeyin dikkatli akıl yürütmenin güvenilir bir ikamesi olarak görülmemesi gerektiği konusunda uyarmaktadır

E) Bağırsak, beyinle sürekli iletişim kuran milyonlarca sinir hücresi içermesine rağmen araştırmacılar, bağırsak hissi denilen şeyin dikkatli akıl yürütmenin güvenilir bir ikamesi olamayacağı konusunda uyarmaktadır

38. Cities that replaced asphalt car parks with tree-lined squares have reported cooler summer evenings, but planners warn that such benefits disappear unless the trees are watered regularly during their first few years.

A) Ağaçlıklı meydanları asfalt otoparklarla değiştiren şehirler daha serin yaz akşamları yaşandığını bildirmiştir ancak plancılar, ağaçlar ilk birkaç yıl boyunca düzenli olarak sulanmadığı takdirde bu tür faydaların ortadan kalktığı konusunda uyarmaktadır

B) Asfalt otoparkları ağaçlıklı meydanlarla değiştiren şehirler daha serin yaz akşamları yaşandığını bildirmiştir ancak plancılar, ağaçlar ilk birkaç yıl boyunca düzenli olarak sulanmadığı takdirde bu tür faydaların ortadan kalktığı konusunda uyarmaktadır

C) Asfalt otoparkları ağaçlıklı meydanlarla değiştiren şehirler daha serin yaz akşamları yaşandığını bildirmiştir ancak plancılar, ağaçlar ilk birkaç yıl boyunca düzenli olarak sulansa bile bu tür faydaların ortadan kalktığı konusunda uyarmaktadır

D) Asfalt otoparkları ağaçlıklı meydanlarla değiştiren şehirler daha serin yaz akşamları yaşandığını bildirmiştir ancak plancılar, ağaçlar ilk birkaç yılından sonra düzenli olarak sulanmadığı takdirde bu tür faydaların ortadan kalktığı konusunda uyarmaktadır

E) Asfalt otoparkları ağaçlıklı meydanlarla değiştiren şehirler daha serin yaz akşamları yaşanacağını öngörmektedir ancak plancılar, ağaçlar ilk birkaç yıl boyunca düzenli olarak sulanmadığı takdirde bu tür faydaların ortadan kalktığı konusunda uyarmaktadır

39. Historians long assumed that medieval sailors avoided the open sea, yet recently examined ship logs suggest that some crews deliberately crossed it whenever the winds made the journey shorter.

A) Tarihçiler hâlâ ortaçağ denizcilerinin açık denizden kaçındığını varsaymaktadır; ancak yakın zamanda incelenen gemi seyir defterleri, bazı mürettebatların rüzgârlar yolculuğu kısalttığında açık denizi bilinçli olarak geçtiğini düşündürmektedir

B) Tarihçiler uzun süre ortaçağ denizcilerinin açık denizden kaçındığını varsaymıştır; ancak yakın zamanda incelenen gemi seyir defterleri, mürettebatların çoğunun rüzgârlar yolculuğu kısalttığında açık denizi bilinçli olarak geçtiğini düşündürmektedir

C) Tarihçiler uzun süre ortaçağ denizcilerinin açık denizden kaçındığını varsaymıştır; ancak yakın zamanda incelenen gemi seyir defterleri, bazı mürettebatların rüzgârlar yolculuğu kısalttığında açık denizi geçmek zorunda kaldığını düşündürmektedir

D) Tarihçiler uzun süre ortaçağ denizcilerinin açık denizden kaçındığını varsaymıştır; ancak yakın zamanda incelenen gemi seyir defterleri, bazı mürettebatların rüzgârlar yolculuğu kısalttığında açık denizi bilinçli olarak geçtiğini kanıtlamaktadır

E) Tarihçiler uzun süre ortaçağ denizcilerinin açık denizden kaçındığını varsaymıştır; ancak yakın zamanda incelenen gemi seyir defterleri, bazı mürettebatların rüzgârlar yolculuğu kısalttığında açık denizi bilinçli olarak geçtiğini düşündürmektedir

40. Yetişkinlerin yeni bir dili çocuklar kadar kolay öğrenemediği sıklıkla iddia edilse de düzenli pratik yapan yetişkinler, kelime bilgisinde çoğu zaman çocuklardan daha hızlı ilerleme kaydedebilmektedir.

A) Although it is often claimed that adults cannot learn a new language as easily as children, adults who practise regularly can frequently make faster progress than children in vocabulary

B) Since it is often claimed that adults cannot learn a new language as easily as children, adults who practise regularly can frequently make faster progress than children in vocabulary

C) Although it is often claimed that adults cannot learn a new language as easily as children, adults can frequently make faster progress than children in vocabulary

D) Although it is often claimed that adults cannot learn a new language as easily as children, adults who practise regularly can frequently make faster progress than children in pronunciation

E) Although it is often claimed that adults cannot learn a new language as easily as children, children who practise regularly can frequently make faster progress than adults in vocabulary

41. Birçok kütüphane, nadir el yazmalarını dijital ortama aktararak araştırmacıların erişimini kolaylaştırmıştır ancak uzmanlar, dijital kopyaların kâğıdın dokusu ve mürekkebin rengi gibi bazı önemli ayrıntıları yansıtamayabileceğini vurgulamaktadır.

A) Many libraries have digitised rare manuscripts in order to make access easier for researchers, but experts emphasise that digital copies may fail to reflect some important details such as the texture of the paper and the colour of the ink

B) Experts have made access easier for researchers by digitising rare manuscripts, but many libraries emphasise that digital copies may fail to reflect some important details such as the texture of the paper and the colour of the ink

C) Many libraries have made access easier for researchers by digitising rare manuscripts, but experts emphasise that digital copies may fail to reflect some important details such as the texture of the paper and the colour of the ink

D) Many libraries have made access easier for researchers by digitising rare manuscripts, but experts emphasise that digital copies will inevitably fail to reflect some important details such as the texture of the paper and the colour of the ink

E) Many libraries will make access easier for researchers by digitising rare manuscripts, but experts emphasise that digital copies may fail to reflect some important details such as the texture of the paper and the colour of the ink

42. Kıyı bölgelerinde yaşayan toplulukların, deniz seviyesindeki yükselmeye uyum sağlamak için yalnızca set inşa etmekle yetinmeyip sulak alanları da korumaları gerektiği giderek daha fazla kabul görmektedir.

A) It is increasingly accepted that communities living in coastal areas should protect wetlands instead of building sea walls in order to adapt to rising sea levels

B) It is increasingly accepted that communities living in coastal areas should not only build sea walls but also protect wetlands in order to adapt to rising sea levels

C) It has long been accepted that communities living in coastal areas should not only build sea walls but also protect wetlands in order to adapt to rising sea levels

D) It is increasingly accepted that communities living in coastal areas have been protecting wetlands as well as building sea walls in order to adapt to rising sea levels

E) It is increasingly accepted that communities living in coastal areas should not only build sea walls but also protect wetlands so that the rise in sea levels can be slowed

43 - 46: Answer these questions according to the passage below.

In recent years, many cities have seen large demonstrations, often organised by young people, that remain peaceful for the most part but end with rioting by a small number of participants. How such events are reported matters greatly. Once windows are smashed and protesters clash with police, journalists turn to the damage and the confrontations, and the grievances behind the march slip out of view. In the coverage that dominates the following days, those who marched quietly and those who threw stones tend to blur into one scene of disorder. Youth-led movements coordinated largely through social media are particularly exposed to this blurring. Because they typically lack a formal structure and have no recognised spokespeople, nobody can speak with authority on the movement's behalf or draw a convincing public line between its supporters and the few who riot. The acts of a small minority are therefore attributed to everyone, and the cause itself is overshadowed. Yet the common view that violence simply drains a movement of support needs qualifying. Scholars of social movements describe a so-called radical flank effect, whereby a militant fringe can, under certain conditions, make moderate groups look more reasonable by comparison and open the door to negotiations for them. Moreover, when police use force that onlookers regard as excessive, particularly against peaceful participants, public sympathy may swing back towards the protesters. The consequences of a violent minority, then, follow no single rule; they seem to depend on, among other things, whether credible moderate voices exist and how the authorities choose to respond.

43. It is stated in the passage that when a largely peaceful protest is followed by rioting, news coverage ----.

A) tends to depend mainly on how many people took part rather than on what happened afterwards

B) tends to concentrate on the disorder, so that the demands of the peaceful majority receive less attention

C) usually separates the peaceful marchers from the rioters once organisers have condemned the violence

D) often gives the demands more prominence, since the unrest makes the movement more newsworthy

E) tends to rely on accounts posted by participants, so that the protesters' own view of events dominates

44. According to the passage, youth-led movements organised mainly through social media are especially vulnerable to having their cause overshadowed by violence because ----.

A) new participants can join without accepting the movement's commitment to non-violent action

B) messages spread so quickly that organisers cannot correct false reports about what happened

C) they lack recognised spokespeople who could credibly separate the movement from those who riot

D) rioters can easily present themselves online as part of the movement by adopting its slogans and hashtags

E) supporters themselves tend to share dramatic footage of clashes more widely than footage of the peaceful marches

45. It can be inferred from the passage that ----.

A) public opinion about a protest depends partly on how the police respond, not only on how the protesters behave

B) moderate groups may gain access to negotiations partly because the rioting draws wider attention to their demands

C) public opinion about a protest may be shaped partly by images shared online, not only by television coverage

D) governments may become less willing to negotiate with a movement when its rioting is widely reported

E) a peaceful movement can regain public sympathy when its later marches remain free of violence

46. Which of the following can be said about the author of the passage?

A) The author appears to think that youth movements organised online can generally distance themselves from rioters more easily than traditional organisations can

B) The author seems to believe that news coverage of disorder tends to be fairer to peaceful protesters than critics of the media often claim

C) The author appears to believe that whether violence weakens or helps a peaceful movement depends on factors such as credible moderate voices and the authorities' response

D) The author seems to suggest that public sympathy for a movement depends more on the content of its demands than on how its protests unfold

E) The author appears to think that moderate groups tend to lose influence over negotiations once a militant fringe becomes visible

47 - 50: Answer these questions according to the passage below.

Few weather hazards are as destructive, yet as little known to the public, as the downburst. It develops within minutes inside a storm cloud while the storm is still active. Falling rain, partly evaporating as it goes, chills a mass of air until it becomes denser and heavier than its surroundings. Made heavy by this cooling, the air plunges to the ground and spreads outwards in every direction, bringing torrential rain and hurricane-force winds to an area typically a few kilometres wide. Roofs torn from houses and battered commercial buildings were often wrongly blamed on tornadoes. Yet the two leave different signatures on the ground: downburst debris lies flattened in straight lines fanning out from a central area, whereas tornado debris tends to be twisted or drawn inwards. Damage is usually worst where the descending air first hits the ground, and it is the wind, not the rain, that does most structural harm. Because downbursts arise so suddenly, timely warnings are hard to issue. A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture and can fuel fiercer storms, so some meteorologists expect downbursts to strengthen as the climate warms. However, a downburst lasts only minutes, covers a small area and often slips between widely spaced weather stations; many, even some destructive ones, are never measured by instruments, and long-term records remain short and patchy. Fortunately, much damage starts at weak points, such as poorly fastened roofs, and simple measures, including metal straps anchoring roofs to walls, reinforced large doors and secured windows, can make homes and business premises far sturdier.

47. According to the passage, a downburst forms when ----.

A) falling hail drags a mass of air down with it, although that air stays as warm as the air around it

B) a rotating column of air descends from the base of a storm cloud and touches the ground

C) air inside a storm cloud is cooled, becomes heavier and falls rapidly before spreading out across the ground

D) the winds of two neighbouring thunderstorms collide and are forced downwards

E) cold air sinks out of a storm cloud only after the storm has broken up and stopped producing rain

48. It is stated in the passage that the damage left by downbursts ----.

A) has often been mistaken for flood damage because it comes together with heavy rain

B) can be distinguished from tornado damage by checking radar records from the time of the storm

C) has often been wrongly blamed on tornadoes, though it shows a different pattern on the ground

D) tends to be heaviest at the outer edges of the affected area, far from where the air first strikes

E) has been reduced in recent years as weather services have begun issuing earlier warnings

49. It can be inferred from the passage that ----.

A) climate change has already been shown to make downbursts more frequent and more violent

B) stronger buildings alone are unlikely to reduce downburst damage unless warning systems also improve

C) downbursts are likely to become more common mainly in regions that currently see few thunderstorms

D) existing observations may not be enough to confirm whether downbursts are becoming stronger

E) most of the downbursts that go unrecorded are probably too weak to cause significant damage

50. Which of the following describes the main purpose of the passage?

A) To argue that downbursts pose a greater threat to human life than tornadoes do

B) To criticise weather services for failing to warn the public about sudden storms

C) To examine whether climate change is likely to make downbursts more violent

D) To explain a little-known weather hazard and consider how its effects might be reduced

E) To describe the history of scientific research into one particularly destructive storm

51 - 54: Answer these questions according to the passage below.

Every autumn, commercial wellness conventions fill hotel ballrooms with visitors who have paid several hundred euros for a ticket. The organisers promise access to well-founded knowledge. The price itself is part of the persuasion. Consumer psychologists have long observed that people tend to read a high price as a sign of quality, so a ticket that costs as much as a short holiday makes whatever is said on stage appear more precious. Once inside, visitors find stalls offering supplements, devices and follow-up courses. The talks rely on familiar tools. Speakers borrow vocabulary from quantum physics or genetics, list doctorates and titles earned in unrelated fields, and move the audience with personal stories of recovery. Together, these elements lend their claims a veneer of scientific authority, yet behind the confident language there is rarely any evidence that would survive independent testing. Perhaps the most effective tool is a story about power. Mainstream medicine is portrayed as an establishment that suppresses cheap or natural cures because they threaten its profits. Speakers quote the objections of doctors and researchers, but only to present them as further proof that the truth is being hidden. Within this framework, a warning from outside can sound less like a correction than like one more piece of the story. Such methods work even on well-educated people, which is why mocking those who attend achieves little. The point here is not to pass judgement on every complementary practice but to examine how persuasion operates. Recognising these techniques is a far more useful defence than ridicule.

51. According to the passage, the high ticket prices charged at such events ----.

A) are largely needed to cover the fees of well-known speakers

B) can lead attendees to judge the content as more valuable

C) may keep sceptical visitors away from the talks

D) are justified by organisers as covering the cost of research

E) tend to be reduced for people who buy remedies on site

52. The underlined word ‘veneer’ is closest in meaning to ----.

A) foundation

B) criticism

C) source

D) facade

E) proof

53. It can be inferred from the passage that critical statements by medical experts ----.

A) are probably seldom read by most people who attend these conferences

B) have led some organisers to remove the most controversial speakers

C) tend to be passed over in silence by the speakers on stage

D) may rest on a misunderstanding of how the remedies work

E) may strengthen rather than weaken some attendees' trust in the speakers

54. Which of the following describes the main purpose of the passage?

A) To describe how alternative-health conferences have grown into a highly profitable industry

B) To argue that authorities should regulate ticket prices and product sales at health events

C) To explain the techniques by which commercial health events persuade audiences to trust unproven claims

D) To evaluate whether the remedies promoted at such conferences offer any real medical benefit

E) To compare the cost of attending wellness events with that of conventional medical treatment

55 - 58: Answer these questions according to the passage below.

For news organisations, tips from the public are among the most valuable sources of stories, yet a tip is never a story in itself. It is a lead, which reporters must confirm through their own work before publishing anything. An unsigned letter is judged on the substance of what it alleges; the missing name alone is no reason to throw it away. Likewise, the gravity of an accusation is a reason to examine it more closely, not to believe it more readily. Many tips come from people who have known the subject personally, such as former colleagues or relatives, and these writers frequently explain when and where events took place and how they came to learn of them. Checking itself largely means testing particular claims against documents and what other witnesses remember. Failures in handling tips are rarely dramatic. A common one begins with a message that contains allegations about a particular person. Out of politeness or simple habit, the staff member who opens it forwards it to the person named, and to no one else. The subject is informed, but the people whose job is to verify claims never learn that the message exists, and the allegations go unexamined. Because such lapses grow out of ordinary habits rather than bad intentions, later reviews tend to focus less on the individual who forwarded a message than on the routines that made forwarding seem the natural choice. They ask who opens incoming mail, which messages must be copied to the reporters responsible for checking, and how this is recorded.

55. According to the passage, a tip from a sender who does not give a name ----.

A) is checked on the basis of its content rather than set aside because its sender is unknown

B) can be reported as soon as a second source confirms its main claim

C) is passed to legal advisers before any reporter is allowed to look into it

D) is given lower priority than tips from senders who identify themselves

E) is kept on file until the sender makes contact again to confirm it

56. It is stated in the passage that a typical breakdown in the handling of tips occurs when ----.

A) reporters spend so long checking a claim that the story loses its value

B) senders refuse to provide any contact details for follow-up questions

C) a message reaches only the person it concerns instead of staff able to verify it

D) legal advisers hold back a story while they assess the risk of a defamation claim

E) a verification desk receives too many messages to read them all

57. It can be inferred from the passage that tips from people who know the subject personally ----.

A) tend to be more accurate than tips from strangers and so are checked less thoroughly

B) often supply specific details that give reporters a concrete place to begin their independent checks

C) are usually shown to the person concerned for comment before any checking begins

D) may be harder to verify because few other people witnessed what is described

E) may be reported only if the sender agrees to be named in the story

58. Which of the following describes the main purpose of the passage?

A) To argue that verification desks need more staff to cope with growing numbers of tips

B) To criticise journalists who forward allegations without reading them carefully

C) To compare how newsrooms and police forces deal with incoming complaints

D) To explain how errors in handling tips can arise from routine procedures

E) To warn public figures that allegations about them may reach them unchecked

59 - 62: Answer these questions according to the passage below.

For years, many people who bought from illegal online services assumed that paying in Bitcoin left no trace. They were badly mistaken. Every Bitcoin transaction is written into a shared ledger that anyone can inspect, and nothing entered there is ever deleted. What the ledger lacks is names: senders and recipients appear only as long strings of letters and numbers. The system is therefore pseudonymous rather than anonymous, and a pseudonym can be broken. Analysts begin by grouping addresses. When several addresses supply the funds for a single payment, they are probably controlled by the same wallet, so thousands of scattered addresses can be reduced to a handful of clusters. The decisive link to a real person, however, usually appears where cryptocurrency meets the regulated financial system. In many countries, exchanges that turn digital coins into ordinary money are obliged to check who their customers are, and investigators with legal authorisation can request these records. Time changes nothing here: a transaction made years ago remains exactly where it was entered. As soon as one address in a cluster is tied to an individual, every earlier transaction in that cluster becomes open to examination. Mixing services, which pool and redistribute coins, try to blur the trail, yet they leave distinctive patterns of their own, and some users have moved to privacy coins. None of this makes tracing infallible. Clustering rests on probabilities, and it can occasionally join addresses that belong to different people. For that reason, its findings should be supported by independent evidence before anyone is accused.

59. According to the passage, Bitcoin transactions ----.

A) are visible only to the exchanges that process them and to the authorities that supervise those exchanges

B) are permanently recorded in a ledger open to anyone, although the addresses involved carry no names

C) automatically reveal the identity of the sender once a payment is made to an illegal service

D) are removed from the public record after a set period unless investigators request that they be kept

E) can only be followed if the users involved have previously paid through a mixing service

60. It is stated in the passage that currency exchanges are important to investigators because ----.

A) they group thousands of separate addresses into clusters belonging to a single wallet

B) they can stop any suspicious payment before it is added to the ledger

C) in many countries they must verify the identity of customers who convert cryptocurrency into ordinary money

D) they regularly publish lists of addresses connected with illegal online services

E) they refuse to accept funds that have previously passed through a mixing service

61. It can be inferred from the passage that someone who paid an illegal online service in cryptocurrency several years ago ----.

A) is no longer traceable once that service has been shut down by the authorities

B) would already have been identified at the time the payment was made

C) could still be identified later if an address connected to them becomes known

D) can be traced only if they continue to use the same exchange today

E) is protected because the payment was made before clustering methods were developed

62. Which of the following describes the main purpose of the passage?

A) To argue that cryptocurrencies should be banned because they are widely used for illegal purposes

B) To explain why the belief that cryptocurrency payments cannot be traced has proved mistaken, while noting the limits of tracing methods

C) To describe how mixing services and privacy coins have made the tracing of illegal payments impossible

D) To compare the security features of Bitcoin with those of newer privacy coins

E) To warn investigators that the results of address clustering are too unreliable to be used as evidence

63 - 67: For these questions, choose the best option to complete the dialogue.

Leyla: Have you heard about that debut novel on the shortlist for the national fiction prize? It turns out most of it was drafted with an AI tool, and the publisher has withdrawn it from the shortlist. Owen: ---- Leyla: Detection software picked it up, apparently. But the publisher admits those programs often flag human writers by mistake, so it also compared the text with the author's earlier drafts. Owen: That seems much fairer than trusting the software on its own.

Nadia: Did you see the email? Management is thinking about trialling a four-day week this spring, with no reduction in pay. Tom: I'd be all for it, but clients will be annoyed if nobody picks up the phone on Fridays. Nadia: ---- Tom: A rota sounds sensible, as long as whoever works a Friday gets another day off that week.

Ece: Look at this: I've opened my language app every single day for six months. My streak is now over 180 days! Jack: ---- Ece: You're right that I can't hold a real conversation yet. That's why I'm joining a speaking club next month to practise with real people. Jack: Good idea. Talking to people should make all that vocabulary from the app far more useful.

Defne: Did you read that the city is going to turn two of the central car parks into small parks full of trees? Arthur: Why would they get rid of parking when the centre is already so crowded? Defne: ---- Arthur: So it's mainly about heat rather than discouraging drivers, then. I had no idea that paved areas made such a difference.

Student: For my research project, I'd like to use the posts residents shared online during last year's flood in our town. Teacher: That could be quite original. But many of those posts were passed around without anyone checking them. How will you handle that? Student: ---- Teacher: Comparing them with official records is a good start, although those records may have gaps of their own.

63. Choose the best option to complete the dialogue.

A) Surely the judges should have spotted something unusual about the style while they were reading the shortlist

B) Withdrawing a book seems harsh to me, since many writers already use software to check their grammar

C) That's surprising. How did anyone establish that a machine, rather than the author, had produced most of it?

D) I suppose the author will now have to return the prize money and apologise to the other shortlisted writers

E) Do you think publishers should simply ban AI tools, or is there a place for them in creative writing?

64. Choose the best option to complete the dialogue.

A) Clients rarely phone on Fridays anyway, so the problem may be much smaller than you expect

B) If productivity falls during the trial, management has said it will return to the five-day week

C) Most staff surveyed said they would use the extra day for childcare, study or rest

D) The trial will only apply to office staff at first, not to the warehouse team

E) That came up at the meeting: staff would take turns, so a small team covers Fridays each week

65. Choose the best option to complete the dialogue.

A) Which language are you learning? I've always wanted to try Japanese, but the writing system puts me off

B) Well done, but do those short exercises help you speak, or only recognise words on a screen?

C) Those apps are fine, but I think paying for a proper course with a teacher is better value

D) Be careful: some people get so anxious about losing their streak that learning stops being enjoyable

E) Six months is impressive. You must be close to fluent by now if you practise that regularly

66. Choose the best option to complete the dialogue.

A) The council hopes that fewer parking spaces will persuade more people to leave their cars at home

B) Apparently the land is worth so much that maintaining car parks there no longer makes financial sense

C) Local shop owners have objected, saying customers will go to out-of-town shopping centres instead

D) It seems paved areas absorb heat all day, and the trees would keep those streets cooler in summer

E) A residents' group collected signatures asking for more green space where children could play safely

67. Choose the best option to complete the dialogue.

A) I'll check each post against council reports and newspaper coverage from the same days before using it

B) I'll mainly use posts that received the most shares, since widely shared information is usually reliable

C) I'll interview some of the residents who posted, so they can explain what they actually saw

D) Accuracy matters less for me, because I'm studying how people felt rather than what really happened

E) Should I ask the people who wrote the posts for permission before I quote them in my project?

68 - 71: For these questions, choose the best rephrased form of the given sentence.

68. Because many family-owned manufacturers cannot find a suitable successor within the family, foreign investors are increasingly able to acquire firms that would otherwise have remained in private hands for generations.

A) As overseas buyers take over more and more family-run producers, numerous such companies are no longer able to find an appropriate heir among their relatives to run them

B) Overseas buyers would be in a position to take over far more family-run producers if these companies were unable to find an appropriate heir among their relatives

C) As numerous family-run producers lack an appropriate heir among their relatives, overseas buyers are more and more often in a position to take over companies that would otherwise have stayed under private ownership for generations

D) Overseas buyers have now taken over every family-run producer lacking an appropriate heir among its relatives, thus bringing generations of private ownership in the sector to an end

E) Although numerous family-run producers have found an appropriate heir among their relatives, overseas buyers can still take over companies that had stayed under private ownership for generations

69. Green roofs can lower indoor temperatures noticeably during summer heatwaves, but their benefits are limited in older buildings unless the roof structure is first reinforced to bear the extra weight of soil and water.

A) Given that planted roofs bring indoor temperatures down during periods of extreme summer heat, older buildings are required to have their roofs strengthened to carry the added load of soil and water

B) Planted roofs provide only modest gains in periods of extreme summer heat, since older buildings cannot carry the added load of soil and water even after their roofs have been strengthened

C) As soon as older buildings have had their roofs strengthened, planted roofs will invariably keep the temperature indoors low throughout periods of extreme summer heat

D) Planted roofs provide hardly any cooling indoors during periods of extreme summer heat except when they are placed on older buildings whose roofs have already been strengthened

E) Although planted roofs may considerably reduce indoor temperatures in periods of extreme summer heat, older buildings gain little from them if their roofs have not been strengthened beforehand to carry the added load of soil and water

70. Only after the volunteers had catalogued every fragment found at the site did the archaeologists begin to suspect that the settlement had been abandoned gradually rather than destroyed in a single attack.

A) The archaeologists started to suspect that the settlement had been deserted step by step, instead of being wiped out in one raid, only once the volunteers had finished recording all the pieces recovered from the site

B) The archaeologists already believed that the settlement had been deserted step by step, instead of being wiped out in one raid, before the volunteers started recording the pieces recovered from the site

C) Once the volunteers had finished recording all the pieces recovered from the site, the archaeologists were able to demonstrate that the settlement had been deserted step by step instead of being wiped out in one raid

D) It was only when the volunteers had finished recording all the pieces recovered from the site that the archaeologists started to think the settlement had been wiped out in one raid instead of being deserted step by step

E) The fact that the settlement had been deserted step by step instead of being wiped out in one raid is what made it possible for the volunteers to record all the pieces recovered from the site

71. Even though remote work has saved many employees a considerable amount of commuting time, there is little evidence that it has substantially reduced the total number of hours they devote to their jobs.

A) Since working from home has spared many staff a great deal of travel to the office, the overall time they spend on their jobs has fallen significantly

B) Working from home has spared few staff much travel to the office, which explains why the overall time they spend on their jobs has hardly fallen

C) Working from home has clearly lengthened the overall time staff spend on their jobs, even though it has spared them a good deal of travel to the office

D) Many staff spend considerably less time travelling to the office thanks to working from home; however, the evidence that the overall time they spend on their jobs has fallen significantly is limited

E) Working from home will only spare staff a great deal of travel to the office if it significantly cuts the overall time they spend on their jobs

72 - 75: For these questions, choose the best option to complete the missing part of the passage.

Discussions of aviation and climate usually focus on carbon dioxide, but a large share of the warming caused by flying comes from something far less obvious. Contrails, the thin clouds that appear when hot engine exhaust meets cold, humid air at cruising altitude, can linger for hours and trap heat that would otherwise escape into space. ---- Such small detours burn a little extra fuel, but the additional emissions are typically outweighed by the warming that is avoided. Route planning of this kind could therefore complement cleaner fuels rather than compete with them.

---- The reason is that going over the same pages again makes the material look increasingly familiar, and that sense of familiarity is easily mistaken for the ability to recall it without help. Trying to bring information back from memory, by answering questions or explaining a topic aloud with the book closed, works differently: it reveals what has not yet been learned and makes later recall more reliable. Revision time is therefore better spent closing the notebook and attempting to reconstruct its contents than reading it once more.

Few animals reshape their surroundings as thoroughly as the beaver. By building dams across streams, beavers slow the movement of water and push it out across the surrounding floodplain, so that after heavy rain the peak of a flood arrives later and lower downstream. The ponds that form behind these dams also act as natural reservoirs, holding water and releasing it slowly, which keeps streams flowing even through long, dry summers. Moreover, the animals maintain and repair the structures themselves, at no expense to the people living downstream. ----

For much of the history of archaeology, broken pottery was valued chiefly for what could be seen on its surface. Changes in the shape of vessels and in the patterns painted or carved on them allowed researchers to date layers of soil and to compare one settlement with another. ---- These traces soak into unglazed clay, where they can survive for thousands of years, and modern chemical analysis can identify them precisely enough to show whether a pot once held milk, meat or plant oils. Such evidence offers a rare, direct glimpse of what people actually ate.

72. Choose the sentence that best completes the missing part of the passage.

A) Sustainable fuels made from waste cooking oil can already be blended with conventional kerosene and used in existing engines

B) Contrails were long regarded as harmless, since most of them disappear within minutes of forming

C) Yet these heat-trapping trails form only in particular layers of air, which are often thin enough for an aircraft to avoid by flying slightly higher or lower

D) Passengers who wish to reduce their own footprint can also choose direct flights, which avoid the extra fuel burned during additional take-offs and landings

E) Airlines, for their part, are under growing pressure from regulators to report the full climate impact of their operations

73. Choose the sentence that best completes the missing part of the passage.

A) Many educators therefore advise students to read through their notes several times in the days before a test

B) Students who prepare for exams by rereading their notes often feel well prepared, yet this confidence is frequently misplaced

C) Some students prefer to revise in small groups, where they can compare notes and discuss difficult topics

D) Testing oneself, in contrast, can feel slow and frustrating, particularly in the early stages of revision

E) Handwritten notes are thought by some teachers to be easier to remember than notes typed on a laptop

74. Choose the sentence that best completes the missing part of the passage.

A) As a result, rivers where beavers are active tend to flood more often and more severely after long periods of heavy rain

B) Beavers were once hunted almost to extinction in many regions because their thick, waterproof fur was highly valued by traders

C) Some fish species, however, may find it difficult to swim upstream past a beaver dam in order to reach their spawning grounds

D) A single family of beavers can build a working dam from branches, stones and mud in just a few nights

E) For this reason, beavers are increasingly seen as a low-cost way of protecting landscapes against both floods and droughts

75. Choose the sentence that best completes the missing part of the passage.

A) Decorated vessels, in particular, were often reserved for ceremonies rather than everyday cooking

B) Some ancient potters also pressed personal marks into the wet clay to identify their work

C) Radiocarbon dating, by contrast, requires organic material such as bone, seeds or charcoal

D) More recently, however, researchers have turned their attention to the invisible remains of food that cooking left inside the vessels

E) Unglazed clay is porous, which is one reason it was cheaper and quicker to produce than glazed ware

76 - 80: For these questions, choose the irrelevant sentence in the passage.

(I) In parliamentary systems, a party that wins no majority at an election must negotiate a coalition agreement before it can govern. (II) Its bargaining power in these talks rests heavily on appearing united, since partners must judge whether the promises of its negotiators will be honoured by its members in parliament. (III) Coalition governments are far more frequent in countries where proportional representation makes outright majorities rare. (IV) That is why a prominent member who openly contradicts the leadership just before talks begin can do so much damage: partners start to doubt that the delegation can deliver the votes it offers. (V) Consequently, a divided party may have to accept weaker terms or offer extra guarantees, in effect paying at the negotiating table for its own internal quarrel.

(I) Desalination, the removal of salt from seawater, has become a major source of drinking water in many dry coastal regions, although it carries considerable costs. (II) Sailors in ancient times are said to have boiled seawater and collected the steam in sponges, although this yielded only tiny quantities. (III) Today the dominant method, reverse osmosis, forces water through fine membranes at high pressure and therefore consumes large amounts of energy. (IV) Moreover, the process leaves behind a brine far saltier than seawater, which is usually pumped back into the sea. (V) Where this dense liquid settles on the seabed, it can deprive bottom-dwelling organisms of oxygen, so engineers increasingly design outlets that dilute it rapidly.

(I) In many medieval European towns, craft guilds decided who was allowed to practise a particular trade. (II) A boy who entered a guild normally spent several years as an apprentice, living in his master's household and receiving training in return for his labour. (III) He then became a journeyman, paid by the day and often travelling from town to town to broaden his experience under different masters. (IV) Only after the senior members had approved a ‘masterpiece’ of his own making could he open a workshop and take on apprentices himself. (V) Guild halls, many of which still stand today, were frequently among the most richly decorated buildings in town.

(I) As mountain glaciers retreat, their meltwater often collects in lakes held back by loose ridges of rock and ice debris known as moraines. (II) Such natural dams are inherently unstable because, unlike engineered ones, they were never compacted or reinforced. (III) If an avalanche or a rockfall plunges into the lake, the wave it generates can spill over the moraine or cut straight through it. (IV) Glaciers also serve as natural reservoirs, releasing meltwater during dry seasons on which farmers in the lowlands depend. (V) The resulting flood can release enormous volumes of water within hours, sweeping away villages, roads and hydropower plants far downstream.

(I) Adults who emigrate and rarely use their first language may gradually experience what linguists call first-language attrition. (II) The earliest signs usually appear in vocabulary, as speakers hesitate over less common words or borrow terms from the language of their new country. (III) Learning a second language in adulthood is widely regarded as harder than in childhood, partly because pronunciation habits are already firmly established. (IV) Grammar, by contrast, tends to remain more stable, although some speakers begin to use sentence patterns borrowed from their second language. (V) Such losses seldom amount to complete forgetting, and much of the lost fluency tends to return quickly once the speaker spends time in the home country again.

76. Which sentence is irrelevant in the passage on party unity in coalition negotiations?

A) I

B) II

C) III

D) IV

E) V

77. Which sentence is irrelevant in the passage on seawater desalination?

A) I

B) II

C) III

D) IV

E) V

78. Which sentence is irrelevant in the passage on medieval craft guilds?

A) I

B) II

C) III

D) IV

E) V

79. Which sentence is irrelevant in the passage on glacial lake floods?

A) I

B) II

C) III

D) IV

E) V

80. Which sentence is irrelevant in the passage on first-language attrition?

A) I

B) II

C) III

D) IV

E) V