Clive Roberts,a director at ELS Educational Services,says English tests are changing greatly in response to the global growth in the use of English as _ -- the common language used among people with different native languages.For that reason,a lot of new tests are being developed while old tests are being improved to meet the needs of universities and employers worldwide. Changes in language testing "A lot of tests are now delivered online,all four skills are being tested,in some cases,by computer,in particular speaking and writing skills,which are the most difficult to assess on a computer environment,"says Mr.Roberts. Computer testing will reduce the length of time required for testing,because the tests adjust to the test-taker's ability.These computer-adaptive tests also increase accuracy in scoring.Computer-adaptive tests change depending on the test-taker's responses.They can become more or less difficult during the testing session.For this reason,the set of correct answers will be different for each test-taker. Cultural sensitivity Another change to language testing relates to cultural sensitivity.The term refers to material on a test that is based on a certain culture or is hard for test-takers from different cultures to understand. Mr.Roberts says test development companies are now hiring people with intercultural communication backgrounds to review test items.The companies want to make sure the test does not upset test-takers. Proficiency in language Changes to English proficiency tests make them better at measuring the learners' ability.However,Mr.Roberts says the changes may mean the tests are more difficult for some students. "The tests have become more proficiency-oriented.The items are being designed in such a way that they test real-world proficiency and not simply sort of an artificial environment or a specific set of skills that are taught in a classroom.So a lot of authentic texts,a lot of authentic listening passages are being used." The changes mean students have to be able to understand... Which words can best describe the new English tests? A) More accurate but easier. B) Less practical but harder. C) Better but harder. D) Less popular but easier.
C


(Question)
Bobby Moresco grew up in New York's Hell's Kitchen, a poor working-class neighborhood on Manhattan's West Side. But Hell's Kitchen lies right next door to Broadway, and the bright lights attracted Bobby from the time he was a teen. Being stage-struck was hardly what a street kid could admit to his partners. Fearing their making fun of him, he told no one, not even his girlfriend, when he started taking acting lessons at age 17. If you were a kid from the neighborhood, you became a cop, construction worker, longshoreman or criminal. Not an actor. Moresco struggled to make that long walk a few blocks east. He studied acting, turned out for all the cattle calls  -- and during the decade of the 1970s made a total of $2,000. "I wasn't a good actor, but I had a driving need to do something different with my life," he says. He moved to Hollywood, where he drove a cab and worked as a waiter. " My father said, 'Stop this craziness and get a job; you have a wife and daughter.' "But Moresco kept working at his chosen career. Then in 1983 his younger brother Thomas was murdered in a killing. Moresco moved back to his old neighborhood and started writing as a way to explore the pain of Hell's Kitchen. Half-Deserted Streets, based on his brother's killing, opened at a small Off-Broadway theater in 1988. A Hollywood producer saw it and asked him to work on a screenplay. His reputation grew, and he got enough assignments to move back to Hollywood. By 2003, he was again out of work and out of cash when he got a call from Paul Haggis, a director who had befriended him. Haggis wanted help writing a film about the country after September 11. The two worked on the writing Crash, but every studio in town turned it down. They kept trying. Studio executives, however, thought no one wanted to see hard lives in modern America. Crash slipped into the theaters in May 2005, and quietly became both a hit and a critical success. It was nominated for six Academy Awards and won three -- Best Picture, Best Film Editing and Best Writing... Why Bobby Moresco did not tell anyone that he started taking lessons at age 17? A) He wanted to give his girlfriend a surprise. B) His girlfriend did not allow him to do this. C) He was afraid of being laughed at. D) He had no talent for acting.
(Answer)
C


Ques: In earliest times, men considered lightning to be one of the great mysteries  of nature. Some ancient people believed that lightning and thunder were the weapons of the gods.      In reality, lightning is a flow of electricity formed high above the earth .A single flash of lightning 1.6 kilometers long has enough electricity to light one million light bulbs.      The American scientist and statesman, Benjamin Franklin, was the first to show the connection between electricity and lightning in 1752.In the same year he also built the first lightning rod . This device protects buildings from being damaged by lightning.   Modern science has discovered that one stroke of lightning has a voltage of more than 15 million volts .A flash of lightning between a cloud and the earth may be as long as 13 kilometers, and travel at a speed of 30 million meters per second .      Scientists judge that there are about 2, 000 million flashes of lightning per year. Lightning hits the Empire State Building in New York City 30 to 48 times a year. In the United States alone it kills an average of one person every day.   The safest place to be in case of an electrical storm is in a closed car.Outside, one should go to low ground and not get under trees.Also, one should stay out of water and away from metal fences.Inside a house, people should avoid open doorways and windows and not touch wires or metal things.      With lightning, it is better to be safe than sorry! Which of the following is NOT true? A) In the US about one person per day dies from lightning. B) The Empire State Building frequently gets hit by lightning. C) Swimming during a thunderstorm is a good idea. D) A closed car is the best place to be during an electrical storm.
Ans: C


Not all think laughter is the best medicine, but it seems to help.So scientists carried on a new study of diabetes   patients who were given a good dose of humor for a year to prove it. Researchers divide 20 high-risk diabetic patients into two groups.Both groups were given standard diabetes medicine.Group L viewed 30 minutes of humor of their choice, while Group C, the control group, did not.This went on for a year of treatments. By two months into the study, the patients in the laughter group had lower level of the hormones epinephrine  , considered to cause stress, which is known to be deadly.After the 12 months, _ rises 26 percent in Group L but only 3 percent in Group C.In another measure, C-reactive proteins, a maker of heart disease, drop 66 percent in the laughter group but only 26 percent in the control group. "The best doctors believe that there is a physical good brought about by the positive emotion, happy laughter," said study leader Lee Berk of Loma Linda University.And other research has found that humor makes us more hopeful.Still, more study is needed, Berk said.The research by Berk found that humor can bring about similar changes in body chemistry, which was proved in the new study.The research result will be presented this month at the meeting in the US.Research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine shows that laughter causes the inner lining of blood vessels to expand, increasing blood flow in a way thought to be healthy. "Lifestyle choices have an important effect on health and these are choices which we and patients should pay attention to, rather than prevention and treatment," Berk said in a statement this week. After 12 months into the study,   _  . A) C-reactive proteins increase 66 percent in Group C B) the level of the hormones epinephrine stays the same in both groups C) the level of the hormones epinephrine has dropped D) C-reactive proteins reduced 66 percent in Group L

D