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TEST 1 / LS _20/11/2017
Name: ______
Level of English Language Proficiency B1 B2 C1 C2 ______
ID number:______
Section: ______Παξ-Ω______
Academic Year: 2017-18______
Course: _ACADEMIC DISCOURSE______
EXAMPLEWrite in the space available one or two relevant connotations/implicature(s) which you can derive from the following utterance:
With so many Mexican items in stores across the US, you can make your own chili powder by grinding your own spices.
Implicature 1: Mexican items are greatly in demand in the US.
Implicature 2: Chili powder is a typical Mexican item.
Was the word in bold unknown to you, and as a result, createdcomprehension problems? Tick accordingly.
YES ___√___ NO _____
Provide the meaning of the word in bold (in case it is unknown, provide the meaning you retrieved with the aid of context).
_Grinding: breaking to pieces, smashing_____
Write in the space available one or two relevant connotations/implicature(s)which you can derive from the following utterances:
(1) A recorded video shows Tom Cruise attempting to leap from rigging onto the ledge of another building, while strapped into a safety harness; he falls short, however, and his body slams into the side of the structure.
Implicature 1______
Implicature 2______
Was the word in bold unknown to you, and as a result, created comprehension problems? Tick accordingly: YES ______NO _____
Provide the meaning of the word in bold (in case it is unknown, provide the meaning you retrieved with the aid of context).
______
(2) A six-and-a-half-tonnesteamroller goes head to head with a computer hard drive which contained the files of 10 unfinished novels by the late British author Sir Terry Pratchett, and in a battle of old and new technologies, rolls over it several times, as instructed in the novelist’s will.
Implicature 1______
Implicature 2______
Was the word in bold unknown to you, and as a result, created comprehension problems? Tick accordingly: YES ______NO _____
Provide the meaning of the word in bold (in case it is unknown, provide the meaning you retrieved with the aid of context).
______
(3) Officials in Pasco County, Florida confirmed that Former major league baseball player Roy Halladay died after his plane plummeted into the Gulf of Mexico - a premature end for one of the most dominant pitchers in recent history.
Implicature 1______
Implicature 2______
Was the word in bold unknown to you, and as a result, created comprehension problems? Tick accordingly: YES ______NO _____
Provide the meaning of the word in bold (in case it is unknown, provide the meaning you retrieved with the aid of context).
______
(4) Tom Cruise then starts limping heavily, before nearly collapsing in front of the other crew members, then pulled back to the rigging on his harness, where he’s then led away off camera, still limping heavily.
Implicature 1______
Implicature 2______
Was the word in bold unknown to you, and as a result, created comprehension problems? Tick accordingly: YES ______NO _____
Provide the meaning of the word in bold (in case it is unknown, provide the meaning you retrieved with the aid of context).
______
(5) ANigerian man who was allegedly found trying to rob someone’s house was being tied up to a lamp post and brutally thrashed by a mob, before he was taken to a police station in the Indian city of Delhi. (The Independent)
Implicature 1______
Implicature 2______
Was the word in bold unknown to you, and as a result, created comprehension problems? Tick accordingly: YES ______NO _____
Provide the meaning of the word in bold (in case it is unknown, provide the meaning you retrieved with the aid of context).
______
(6) The photographs of German soldiers posing with a human skullin Afghanistan provoked outrage in Germany while Franz Josef Jung, the Defense Minister, said the scenes aroused “repugnance and horror”. (The Guardian).
Implicature 1______
Implicature 2______
Was the word in bold unknown to you, and as a result, created comprehension problems? Tick accordingly: YES ______NO _____
Provide the meaning of the word in bold (in case it is unknown, provide the meaning you retrieved with the aid of context).
______
(7) The US embassy in Baghdad issued a warning that theMosul dam is crumblingand if itbursts, a 14 metre-high wall of water would be unleashed downstream that could drown over a million people and displace several million more.
Implicature 1______
Implicature 2______
Was the word in bold unknown to you, and as a result, created comprehension problems? Tick accordingly: YES ______NO _____
Provide the meaning of the word in bold (in case it is unknown, provide the meaning you retrieved with the aid of context).
______
(8) Conservationists had urged President Obama to designate 1.7 million acres of the Canyon watershed a national monument fearing its water could become contaminated by uranium due to nearby mining (The Independent)
Implicature 1______
Implicature 2______
Was the word in bold unknown to you, and as a result, created comprehension problems? Tick accordingly: YES ______NO _____
Provide the meaning of the word in bold (in case it is unknown, provide the meaning you retrieved with the aid of context).
______
(9) As your boat rises and falls on the rough waters of New York Harbor, you will see that the Statue of Liberty’s right foot is striding forward and around her feet are chains, broken, to symbolise the breaking of the chains of bondage and tyranny.
Implicature 1______
Implicature 2______
Was the word in bold unknown to you, and as a result, created comprehension problems? Tick accordingly: YES ______NO _____
Provide the meaning of the word in bold (in case it is unknown, provide the meaning you retrieved with the aid of context).
______
(10) A man survived a plunge of at least 180ft (55 metres) over Niagara Falls in an apparent suicide attempt on Monday – only the third person known to have lived after going over the falls without a safety device.
Implicature 1______
Implicature 2______
Was the word in bold unknown to you, and as a result, created comprehension problems? Tick accordingly: YES ______NO _____
Provide the meaning of the word in bold (in case it is unknown, provide the meaning you retrieved with the aid of context).
______
(11) Scientists ignitedthe RS-25 engine to measure its ability to withstand intense temperature and pressure conditions at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, and to eventually propel astronauts to places such as Mars (The Guardian)
Implicature 1______
Implicature 2______
Was the word in bold unknown to you, and as a result, created comprehension problems? Tick accordingly: YES ______NO _____
Provide the meaning of the word in bold (in case it is unknown, provide the meaning you retrieved with the aid of context).
______
(12) The City of Melbourne council has hired pest control contractors to help control the “rat plague” which has been unleashed on inner-Melbourne residents and workers as major underground tunnel works continue.
Implicature 1______
Implicature 2______
Was the word in bold unknown to you, and as a result, created comprehension problems? Tick accordingly: YES ______NO _____
Provide the meaning of the word in bold (in case it is unknown, provide the meaning you retrieved with the aid of context).
______
(13) Good news for journalists, musicians and celebrities, and those who want to embed snaps from their official accounts elsewhere: You can now includeInstagram photos and videos on websites (The Guardian).
Implicature 1______
Implicature 2______
Was the word in bold unknown to you, and as a result, created comprehension problems? Tick accordingly: YES ______NO _____
Provide the meaning of the word in bold (in case it is unknown, provide the meaning you retrieved with the aid of context).
______
(14) An analyst suggests that the pattern of the huge object observed speeding over Western Germany is typical of the annual event in which debris from Comet Encke’s orbit fall to Earth as spectacular fireballs.
Implicature 1______
Implicature 2______
Was the word in bold unknown to you, and as a result, created comprehension problems? Tick accordingly: YES ______NO _____
Provide the meaning of the word in bold (in case it is unknown, provide the meaning you retrieved with the aid of context).
______
(15)Parents afraid of losing their child in a crowd can rest easy thanks to a new wristband that can be tethered to a youngster’s wrist and emit a 95-decibel siren should they wander too far.(The Guardian)
Implicature 1______
Implicature 2______
Was the word in bold unknown to you, and as a result, created comprehension problems? Tick accordingly: YES ______NO _____
Provide the meaning of the word in bold (in case it is unknown, provide the meaning you retrieved with the aid of context).
______
(16) In winter snow buntings* are common, spotted in flocks all across the Alps for more than 40 years, around picnic spots, in all the high ski resorts but this year the snow bunting’s drift took them on the Somerset, the furthest south they ever get (The Guardian)*Arctic birds
Implicature 1______
Implicature 2______
Was the word in bold unknown to you, and as a result, created comprehension problems? Tick accordingly: YES ______NO _____
Provide the meaning of the word in bold (in case it is unknown, provide the meaning you retrieved with the aid of context).
______
(17) A witness said the bomber was on the outskirts of a wedding gathering in Nigeria when the dog attacked her on Sunday morning, grappling with her until the explosives detonated and killed them both.
Implicature 1______
Implicature 2______
Was the word in bold unknown to you, and as a result, created comprehension problems? Tick accordingly: YES ______NO _____
Provide the meaning of the word in bold (in case it is unknown, provide the meaning you retrieved with the aid of context).
______
(18) Banknotes and coins are a public utility and companies make no profit from their use, hence the drive for cashlessness; so hang on to your cash - this dash to digitise payments is dangerous (The Guardian).
Implicature 1______
Implicature 2______
Was the word in bold unknown to you, and as a result, created comprehension problems? Tick accordingly: YES ______NO _____
Provide the meaning of the word in bold (in case it is unknown, provide the meaning you retrieved with the aid of context).
______
(19)How can cancer remain a fatality in an era when our genetic code has been deciphered and can be manipulated to cure rare diseases; when AIDS is under control; when cars do not need drivers; and man is conquering space? (The Independent)
Implicature 1______
Implicature 2______
Was the word in bold unknown to you, and as a result, created comprehension problems? Tick accordingly: YES ______NO _____
Provide the meaning of the word in bold (in case it is unknown, provide the meaning you retrieved with the aid of context).
______
(20) If a ladder leans against a vertical wall and its middle rung has been painted a different colour on the side, so that we can see it when we look at the ladder from the side on, what shape does that middle rung trace out as the ladder falls to the floor? (sample math interview question to enter Oxford University, The Independent)
Implicature 1______
Implicature 2______
Was the word in bold unknown to you, and as a result, created comprehension problems? Tick accordingly: YES ______NO _____
Provide the meaning of the word in bold (in case it is unknown, provide the meaning you retrieved with the aid of context).
______
(21) Fifteen years after the US-born missionary was found in a ditch, blood still oozing from a gunshot wound to the back of his head, a lawyer is still struggling to get justice for the troublesome Catholic priestwho was a thorn in the side of the Kenyan government (The Independent)
Implicature 1______
Implicature 2______
Was the word in bold unknown to you, and as a result, created comprehension problems? Tick accordingly: YES ______NO _____
Provide the meaning of the word in bold (in case it is unknown, provide the meaning you retrieved with the aid of context).
______
(22) In Boston, Massachusetts, which is the state capital where the US was born, you can immerse yourself in the story of America’s 18th-century struggle for freedom from its British colonial overlords, or simply indulge in cuisine and culture (The Independent).
Implicature 1______
Implicature 2______
Was the word in bold unknown to you, and as a result, created comprehension problems? Tick accordingly: YES ______NO _____
Provide the meaning of the word in bold (in case it is unknown, provide the meaning you retrieved with the aid of context).
______
(23) A teenage boy opened an emergency door after his plane landed, slid down the wing and jumped on to the tarmac at San Francisco before shocked passengers could do anything to stop him, witnesses said (The Independent).
Implicature 1______
Implicature 2______
Was the word in bold unknown to you, and as a result, created comprehension problems? Tick accordingly: YES ______NO _____
Provide the meaning of the word in bold (in case it is unknown, provide the meaning you retrieved with the aid of context).
______
(24) It is so challenging to playthe Piano Quintet, full of intricate changes of tempo and meter, demanding the most precise co-ordination to achieve the impression of expressive suppleness and harmonic sleights of hand that the performer is seeking (The Guardian).
Implicature 1______
Implicature 2______
Was the word in bold unknown to you, and as a result, created comprehension problems? Tick accordingly: YES ______NO _____
Provide the meaning of the word in bold (in case it is unknown, provide the meaning you retrieved with the aid of context).
______