Exam Tips for English at Work

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Exam Tips forEnglish at Work

• Presented by
• Gao Chunli

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Outline
What is the final exam about? What skills are
tested?
1 Nature focus
2 Exam structure
How is it structured? What are the exam items?
3 Exam techniques
How can you fulfill the requirements of the exam?
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1 Nature Focus What is the exam about? What
skills are tested?
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1.1 Nature

• An achievement test as well as a proficiency test
• Intermediate difficulty level, equivalent to that
  of the textbook

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1.2 Skill and Focus
Skill Focus
Listening Listening/reading for general information topic, main idea, summarizing Listening/reading for specific information key vocabulary, details (attitude, feelings, point of view), ability to judge, inferring
Reading Listening/reading for general information topic, main idea, summarizing Listening/reading for specific information key vocabulary, details (attitude, feelings, point of view), ability to judge, inferring
Writing writing skills and theme-related vocabulary (description, exposition, or argumentation)
Speaking asking and answering questions about assigned topics
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2 Exam Structure How is it structured? What
are the exam items?
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2.1 Exam Structure written paper
Section I Section II Section III
Skill Listening Reading Writing
Time 30 min. 60min. 30 min.
Score 25 50 25
Content 3 listening pieces (2 conversations, 1 monologue) 5 reading texts (average 400 words each) Topic selected from the units (150-200 words)
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2.2 Exam Structure oral test
Pre-test Section 1 Section II
Skill (Info. processing) Conversation Conversation
Score NA 50 50
Time 10 min 5 min 5 min
Content Look at the topics and think alone. A asks initiates and B responds. B asks initiates and A responds.
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2.3 Exam Structure item types
Written test Listening Multiple-choice, True/False, Blank-filling (summary)
Written test Reading Table-filling/Blank-filling, Paragraph reordering, Matching, True/False/Not mentioned, Multiple-choice
Written test Writing Essay writing
Oral test Speaking Conversations
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3 Exam Techniques how can you fulfill the
requirements of the final exam?
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3 Exam Techniques

• 3.1 General strategies for
• listening
• reading
• essay writing
• oral test
• 3.2 Special items and their techniques

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3.1.1 General Strategies for Listening (1)

• Always read/listen to the instruction at the very
  beginning of each part carefully, which tells you
  not only the type of listening material but
  sometimes its topic/theme.
• e.g. (a) You are going to listen to a
  conversation between a businessman and a
  reporter.
• (b) You are going to listen to a monologue about
  Chinese cooking.
• (c) You are going to listen to a conversation
  about a British teacher's experience in a
  hospital.

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3.1.1 General Strategies for Listening (2)

• Such key information may make you guess
• What will a businessman talk about with a
  reporter? (line of business, daily work,
  achievement )
• What is Chinese cooking associated with?
  (cooking method, recipe, taste, nutrition)
• What aspects are usually involved in talking
  about ones experience in hospital? (medical
  members, treatment, prescription,
  units/wards/departments)

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3.1.1 General Strategies for Listening (3)

• Make effective use of the 30-second pause before
  each part to skim the questions, (and the choices
  offered if possible), the statements or the
  summary so as to narrow down your guess and focus
  on the information that will be likely needed to
  complete the part.

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3.1.1 General Strategies for Listening (4)

• Keep the following dos in mind when filling in
  the blanks
• Do get the spelling correct (0.5 point off for
  each misspelling).
• Do check if you have used the correct word forms.
• Do check if you have capitalized words when
  necessary.
• Do check the word number you are allowed to fill
  in each blank and get the grammar correct.

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3.1.1 General Strategies for Listening (5)
Second listening Listen for specific information
and details, being alert to the minor differences
among choices or ways of expressing ideas.
First listening Listen for general information
(5 Ws and 1 H)
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3.1.2 General Strategies for Reading

• Golden rules
• Skim through the questions before reading each
  passage.
• Underline/mark the information related to the
  questions.
• Double check your answer by finding evidence from
  the passage.
• Dont spend too much time on a single passage,
  especially when you feel it is a bit difficult
  watch your reading speed.

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3.1.3 General Strategies for Essay Writing

• Read the instructions carefully to fully
  understand the requirement on the topic, the
  type, the length, the audience (reader), the
  format, the words or phrases asked to use, etc.
• Wisely manage the time. Suggested allocation
• 2 min. to study the instruction
• 5 min. to brainstorm and form an outline
• 15-20 min. to write
• 5 min. to check grammar and spelling or to
  polish.
• Keep nice layout and neat handwriting.

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3.1.4 General Strategies for Oral Test

• Do focus your preparation on the two issues the
  information to include, and the key sentence
  structure and vocabulary to present (or ask
  about) the information.
• Dont be silent if your partner gets stuck say
  something to keep the conversation going or to
  invite your partners response. If you cant
  quite understand your partner, ask him/her to
  repeat or rephrase.
• Dont overdo your role, giving no chance to your
  partner.
• Dont ask the examiner(s) about your performance.
• Dont read from the exam paper.
• Be careful with your body language (gesture, eye
  contact, facial expressions)

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3.2 Special Items and Their Techniques

• table/blank filling (reading)
• paragraph reordering (reading)

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3.2.1 Table/blank Filling
Case study Passage 1, sample test
paper Questions 26-30 Complete the following
table according to the passage. Enter two or
three words for each blank and write your answers
on the Answer Sheet.
Who are mentioned in the passage? What do they do respectively?
(26) ____________, two large supermarket chains, set up (27) _______________ in order to offer financial services.

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3.2.1 Table/blank Filling (1)
To answer questions 26 and 27, you read the
following sentences in paragraph 3
Tesco and J Sainsbury have done both. Having
already bought foreign subsidiaries, both large
supermarket chains have set up their own banks in
order to offer customers financial services such
as personal loans, mortgages and savings
accounts.
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3.2.1 Table/blank Filling (2)
You should have found the underlined parts useful
Tesco and J Sainsbury have done both. Having
already bought foreign subsidiaries, both large
supermarket chains have set up their own banks in
order to offer customers financial services such
as personal loans, mortgages and savings
accounts.
By looking back at the first sentence, you
realize that the subject both large supermarket
chains in the second sentence refers to Tesco
and J Sainsbury.
Answer (26) Tesco and J Sainsbury
(27) their own banks
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3.2.1 Table/blank Filling (3)
Who are mentioned in the passage? What do they do respectively?
Many supermarkets encourage (30) ______________ by offering bonus points with every purchase.
To answer question 30, you read the following
sentences in the last paragraph
Loyalty schemes are another incentive for
customers. 'Most supermarkets now offer bonus
points with every purchase. These points add up
to free air miles or cash discounts, so it really
pays to stay loyal to the brand in all its
diversified forms,' says Austin.
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3.2.1 Table/blank Filling (4)
You should have found the underlined parts useful
Loyalty schemes are another incentive for
customers. 'Most supermarkets now offer bonus
points with every purchase. These points add up
to free air miles or cash discounts, so it really
pays to stay loyal to the brand in all its
diversified forms,' says Austin.
You can summarize this paragraph as Most
supermarkets employ incentive measures to retain
customers, and one of the measures is loyalty
scheme, i.e. to encourage customers to be loyal
to them.
Answer (30) loyalty
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Summary of Table/blank Filling

• Key words/phrases
• Using contextual cues to find out referents
  (????) of pronouns
• Paraphrasing
• Summarizing

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3.2.2 Paragraph Reordering
Case study Passage 2, sample test paper
Question 31-35 Paragraphs A-E are taken from a
news report but they have been put into random
order. Reorder them to form a logical and
coherent passage. Write your answers on the
Answer Sheet.
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3.2.2 Paragraph Reordering (1)
You should have no difficulty seeing the
category/style of this passage a news report on
a crime.
Then ask yourself what are the features of such
kind of writing ?
Feature(s) of news reports on crimes The
outcome comes in the first paragraph, while the
other descriptions are presented in sequence in
the following paragraphs. (Refer to Unit 4gt
Activity 3gtTask 5 6)
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3.2.2 Paragraph Reordering (2)
Paragraphs A and B both seem to be about the
outcome of the event
Paragraph A Scott C. Werner was arrested and
charged with criminal homicide Paragraph B A
man killed his estranged wife and drove off with
their daughter before being spotted The girl
was unharmed.
But which comes first, paragraph A or B?
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3.2.2 Paragraph Reordering (3)
By comparing these two paragraphs, you may
notice that in paragraph B the information
provided is general in that indefinite referents
A man his wife are employed while in
paragraph A the information is specific because
the name of the man (Scott C. Werner) and of the
wife (Edith Werner) are given, indicating who
these two persons are.
Therefore, paragraph B should be the first part
of the passage because in news reports, general
information is often presented before
specific/detailed information.
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3.2.2 Paragraph Reordering (4)
Then what is the sequential connection between
paragraphs C, D and E?
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3.2.2 Paragraph Reordering (4)

• You should have found the underlined parts useful
  in judging the sequence of the rest of the
  paragraphs
• para. C
• Edith Werner had obtained an emergency
  24-hour protection-from-abuse order against her
  husband last week, police said.
• providing information about the husband-wife
  relation before the occurrence of the crime
• para. D
• Residents in her quiet neighborhood 15
  miles northeast of Pittsburgh said she was a
  substitute bus driver. Scott Werner worked for a
  company that makes doors and was a former
  volunteer firefighter, they said.
• introducing occupations of these two people
• Para. E
• Her bound and gagged body was found
  Thursday in the basement of the family home in
  Cheswick after family members said they hadn't
  heard from her. Investigators said the woman had
  been stabbed. The daughter Marisa was missing,
  and police issued an Amber Alert with Werner's
  license plate number. About three hours later, a
  motorist spotted the pair in Werner's pickup on
  Interstate 80.
• - providing more information on the criminal act

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3.2.2 Paragraph Reordering (5)
You may easily come to the conclusion that
paragraph E should immediately follow paragraphs
B and A because it provides details on the
criminal act.
But what about paragraphs C and D? Both of
them are specific information about the suspect
and the victim, so which of them should be
presented first? Any clues to rely on?
You should have noticed that the her in
the beginning sentence of paragraph D Residents
in her quiet neighborhood refers to Edith,
and the last sentence of paragraph E does not
suggest the referent of her but the last part
of paragraph C (the only-one-sentence-paragraph)
does.
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3.2.2 Paragraph Reordering (6)
The correct sequence of this passage,
therefore, should be
B (general statement about what has happened)
A (specific information on who the suspect is
and who the victim)
C (more details husband-wife relation before
the occurrence of the crime)
E (details on the crime)
D (more details occupations of these two people
)
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Summary of Paragraph Reordering

• Be aware of the category/style of the passage and
  its feature(s).
• Pay special attention to the beginning and last
  sentence of each paragraph, trying to see the
  logical or sequential connection with other
  paragraphs.
• Find clues from the connecting devices when
  possible.
• Summarize the paragraph.

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Review

• To wrap up this introduction, make sure that you
  can now answer the following questions
• What is the final exam about? What skills are
  tested?
• How is the exam structured? What are the exam
  items?
• How can you fulfill the requirements of the exam?

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The end Wish you all success!