practice test english I, Esercizi di Lingua Inglese

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   PRACTICE TEST - 7th / January 2019 1) For questions 1- 10, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only ONE word in each gap. The origin of our language Sir William Jones, born in 1746, was undoubtedly (1)_________ of the greatest linguists who ever lived. He had an amazing talent (2)________ languages and learnt several at a young age. (3)_______ the time of his death, he had a thorough knowledge of 13 languages and knowledge of a further 28. Apart (4)________ studying languages, he also studied law and became a judge in India. He was fascinated (5)_____ this vast subcontinent and wrote about Indian life. He also translated important works of Indian literature Jones noticed (6)______ Sanskrit, a classical Indian language, was similar to Greek and Latin in a number of ways. The resemblance (7)_______ not be a coincidence. Several other people (8) _________ also noted similarities, but Jones was (9)______ first to suggest that these three languages could be grouped together with other European and Asian languages into one family known (10)________ Indo-European languages, which included English.   2) You are going to read an article about why people put off doing things. For questions 1-6, choose the answer A,B,C or D which you think fits best according to the text. Don’t put it off, do it know! Procrastination – or avoid doing the jobs we know we should be doing – is a common problem. Why we spend so much of our time not doing the work we should be doing, or putting off minor tasks that have since piled up to create one enormous, insurmountable obstacle? Procrastinating, as putting things off like this is called, it is in our genetic make-up; we avoid dull or difficult jobs, opting to browse the internet instead, until it’s too late to do anything else. Some people, a fortunate and focused minority, seem born with the ability to just get on with things, but what about the rest of us? “We often putt things off despite knowing that it will make life harder and more stressful,” says Dr. Piers Steel, the author of a book on Procrastination and an authority on the science of motivation. “If these tasks were fun, we’d just do them now, but we put off what is difficult or unpleasant.” Such as the paperwork that needs doing before leaving the office or cleaning the bits of your home that people can’t see. “You can’t put off anything,” Dr. Steel continues. “But we know that we really should get on and do these things. The fact is, the less people procrastinate, the more money they have, the better relationships they have, and the healthier they are.” This is obvious when you look at the couples who don’t argue about whether anyone has cleaned the kitchen yet, the young go-getters who rise straight to the top at work, the health freaks who simply go for that run instead of endlessly rescheduling it in their own heads. And then, of course, there are the rest of us, who feel the chores piling up around us daily. “We’ve evolved to respond to the moment, and not to set our sights too far in an uncertain world,” Dr. Steel adds “We are not set up to appreciate long-term rewards, whether it’s the benefits of a four-year degree, or doing exercise or dieting. You feel the cost now and the reward comes much later. But humans value the short term.” Procrastination is often associated with unhappiness, so now is the time to unlearn your time-wasting techniques and work-avoidance tactics. “ You have two decision-making systems in your brain,” Dr. Steel says, “the limbic, which is responsible for the short term, and the prefrontal cortex, which deals with the future – it’s responsible for civilization. We bounce between long- term goals and short-term temptations, so we need goals that will translate our plans for the limbic system.” For example, take students writing dissertations: they set themselves targets and word counts per day. These are thus turned from seemingly endless tasks into something concrete with easily measured progress. Dr. Steel recommends such techniques, or “pre-commitments”, adding that engaging yourself and others a month or so before the “deadline” makes it more likely a task will be completed. The added benefit is that you will avoid the embarrassment of not following up on something people are expecting you to do – telling everyone you are going to take up jogging makes you more likely to do so. Overcoming procrastination ultimately comes down to planning, which, if you’re not careful, becomes procrastination in itself. But it’s worth making sure you have everything in place to change your strategies for the better – a separate computer log-on screen for work and for play, the former with a plain background, fewer applications and limited internet access. If you wish to check your personal emails, make sure they’re a log-out, rather than a click away, and remember every time you disengage, that it takes 15 minutes fully to re-immerse yourself in the task at hand “Successful people don’t pretend they don’t procrastinate,” Dr. Steel says “People who pretend they have willpower are less successful.” Instead, plan for procrastination: make your work environment a temple of productivity by cutting out all distractions, so you can really focus on moving forward.