English Proficiency Assessment Sample Test and Essay QuestionsInstitutional CanTEST Sample Test Questions

ListeningTestDialogue

ListeningTestLecture

SkimmingandScanning

ReadingComprehension

ClozeTest

AnswerKey

Sheridan Writing Assessment

Sample Essay Questions

2Institutional CanTEST Sample Test Questions

Sample: Listening Test Dialogue

Below is an example of the kind of dialogue you might hear on the listening test. For this part of the test, the dialogue and the questions are recorded; they are NOT printed in your test booklet. Only the test answer choices will be printed in your test booklet.

Man: Hey,Margaret,doyouknowwhereDonis?Ihaventseenhimalldayandhehassomelab

reportsIneedinabighurry.

Woman: Oh,hiJack.Didntyouhear?Donisoffsick.Iwashopingtoseehimmyself,asamatteroffact,

totalkaboutthatnewprojectwerebothworkingon.

Man: WellIdontknowwhattodo.Hemusthavethosereportsathome.IwonderifIshoulddrive

overtohishouseandgetthem.Whatdoyouthink?

Woman: Oh,Idontthinkthatssuchagoodidea.Ifhessick,heshouldntbedisturbed.Cantyouwaitat

leastonemoreday?

Man: Isupposeyoureright.But,ifwehaventheardanythingbytomorrow,atlunchtime,Imgoingto

givehimacall,atleast.

Woman: Look,Donsaprettyresponsibleperson.Imsurehellfindawaytogetthosereportstoyouon

time.Dontworry.

Man: Okay,okay.Talktoyoulater.

Nowherearethequestions:

1. WhydoesthemanwanttoseeDon?

2. Themanwantstoknowifthewomanthinksheshould

3. WhatdoesthewomansayaboutDon?

4. Whatdoesthemandecideintheend?

3Listening Test Dialogue Questions

In your test booklet, you will find the following answer choices. You will mark your answers on a separate answer sheet. Sometimes you will also have to write a short answer.

1. a) Tofindouthowsickheis.

b) Toobtainsomelabreports.

c) Tostartworkonanewproject

2. a) goovertoDonshouse.

b) telephonedonrightaway.

c) completeDonsreports.

3. a) Hedoesnthavethereports.

b) Hehassentinthereports.

c) Heshouldntbedisturbed.

4. a) Towaituntilthenextday.

b) TocallDonbeforelunch.

c) TovisitDonafterlunch.

4Sample: Listening Test Lecture

On the test you will also hear a lecture or an interview similar to the one below. These passages are followed by 6 to 10 questions. Most questions are multiple-choice; there are sometimes short answer questions, too. For these longer passages, both the questions and the answer choices will be printed in your test booklet.

VitaminCisthewordfortodayandapopularsubjectofdiscussioneverywhere.Ofcoursewehavetostart

withthewordvitamin.Biochemistsgraduallyrealizedthatsomediseaseswerentcausedbygermsormicro-

organismsbutwerecausedbecausetherewassomethingmissinginthediet.Theyfoundthatifyoudidnt

includecertainfoodsinthediet,youwouldgetdiseaseslikescurvyorberi-beri,andifyouincludedthefoods,

thediseasewoulddisappear.Itwasasthoughthereweresomesubstanceswhichthebodycouldntmakefor

itself,butforwhichithadtodependonafoodsupply,anditneededthosesubstancesonlyintraces.Thiswas

firstactuallystatedjustaboutthetimeofnineteenhundredandoneorthereabouts.APolish-bornAmerican,

biochemistCasimirFunk,suggestedthatthesesubstances,requiredinverysmallquantities,becalled

vitaminesbecausethefirstsubstanceslocatedlookedasthoughtheyhadacertaingroupinthemolecule,

calledtheaminegroup.AndvitaisfromtheLatinwordforlife,sotheybecamelifeamines.Well,then,this

wasallverywellexceptthatasresearcherslearnedmoreandmoreaboutthesevitamines,itturnedoutthat

insomeofthem,therewasnoaminegroup,sotheydroppedtheeanditbecamevitamins.Avitaminisa

substance,neededbythebodyforlife,insmallquantitieswhichthebodycannotmakeforitself.

Well,aswediscoveredthevariousvitamins,wehadtonameeachone,andfirstwecouldntnamethem

becausewedidntknowwhattheywerechemically,sowedidntcommitourselves.Wespokeaboutvitamin

A,vitaminB,vitaminC,andsoon.Itwasmuchlaterbeforethetermascorbicacidwasintroduced.Vitamin

Citselfturnedouttobethevitaminthatpreventedscurvy.IfvitaminCwereabsentfromthediet,you

gotscurvy.Ifyourestoredittothediet,youcuredscurvy.Scurvytakesplaceonlywhenyoureonavery

monotonousdietthatdoesntincludefruits,vegetables,thingslikethat.Ifyoueatnothingbutdriedbiscuits

anddriedbeefyoulleventuallygetscurvybecausethesefoodsdontcontainvitaminC.

Andthatmeansonlongvoyages,youreriskingscurvy.Togobackalittleinhistory,scurvywasaserious

thinginthelate1700s.GreatBritaindependedonitsnavyanditsnavywasconstantlybeingknockedout

ofactionbyscurvy.TherewasaDoctorLindtwhofoundoutthatcertainfoodswouldpreventscurvyand

byexperimentationhejustdiscoveredthatlimeswereagoodwayofpreventingscurvy,andhepersuadedthe

navytomakeuseofthem.Ittookyearsandyearsandyearsinfactitwasonlywhenthenavywasupagainst

Napoleon,wherevictorywasreallyimportant,thattheydecidedtotryouttheselimesandalltheBritish

sailorswereforcedtohavelimejuiceeveryday.Thelimescuredscurvy.And,asIsaid,eventuallyscientists

discoveredexactlywhatthechemicalwasanddiscovereditsstructure,andtheynameditascorbicacid.

AscorbicisfromtheLatinwordforscurvy,scorbutus,andtheaatthebeginningistheGreeknegative,so

ascorbicacidmeansnoscurvy.

5Listening Test Lecture Questions

1. Aroundtheyear1900,biochemistsbegantorealizethatsomediseaseswerecausedby

a) certainfoodsinthediet.

b) certainsubstancesinfood.

c) micro-organismsfoundinfood.

d) somethingmissinginthediet.

2. Whywastheedroppedfromtheoriginalwordvitamines?

a) Thewordvitaminiseasiertopronounce.

b) Notallvitaminshavetheaminegroup.

c) Peoplehadforgottentheoriginoftheterm.

d) Scientistshadlocatedmorerealvitamins.

3. ThevitaminswerenamedA,B,C,etc.,because

a) theywerediscoveredoneatatime.

b) theywereveryelementarysubstances.

c) theirchemicalcompositionwasnotknown.

d) theirfunctionwasnotfullydetermined.

4. WhatdidDr.Lindtdiscover?

a) Thefoundationsofmodernvitamintheory.

b) ThechemicalstructureofvitaminC.

c) Foodswhichwouldpreventscurvy.

d) Thatlongvoyagescausedscurvy.

5. TheBritishnavystartedtouselimes

a) assoonassailorsgotsick

b) duringthewaragainstNapoleon.

c) assoonastheireffectwasdiscovered.

d) longbeforethelate1700s.

6. Whatisthemaintopicofthispassage?

a) ThehistoryofvitaminC.

b) Thetreatmentofscurvy.

c) Thedifferentusesofvitamins.

d) Theoriginofmodernnutrition.

6Sample: Skimming and Scanning Questions

Below is an example from the Skimming and Scanning section of the reading test. In this section, the questions are quite easy but you have to find the answer very quickly. Rather than read through the passage, it is better to read the questions first and then try to find the answers in the passage. On the official test you will have 10 minutes to find the answers to two passages.

The questions below refer to the newspaper article which is printed on the next page.

1. Whatisthisarticleabout?

a) ThenumberofforeignstudentsstudyinginCanada

b) TheAssociationofUniversitiesandCollegesinCanada

c) UniversitystudentenrolmentacrossCanada.

2. Approximatelyhowmanyfull-timestudentsattendeduniversityinthe1989-90academicyear?

3-4. Nametwoprovinceswhichshowedadeclineinenrolmentin1988-89.

5. TrueorFalse:Therewasanincreaseinthenumberofforeignstudentsenrolledinfull-time

undergraduateprograms.

6. Whatwasthe%ofincreaseinenrolmentforfull-timestudentsin1989-90?

7. Whatisonereasonstatedinthetextforlastyearsdeclines?

8. HowmanyinstitutionsaremembersofAUCC?

7Skimming and Scanning Text

University student enrolment passes half-million mark

FORTHEFIRSTTIMEinhistory,thenumberoffull-timestudentsatCanadianuniversitieshaspassed

thehalf-millionmark,reportstheAssociationofUniversitiesandCollegesofCanada(AUCC).

Thissurvey,justcompleted,offallenrolmentsforthe1989-90academicyearwasconductedbytheAUCC

incooperationwiththeAssociationofAtlanticUniversities(AAU)andtheCouncilofOntarioUniversities

(COU).

Preliminaryfiguresshowanincreaseinthetotalnumberoffull-timestudentsof3.2%overthesameperiod

lastyear,making1989-90thetenthstraightrecordyearforfull-timeenrolments.Ironically,the1980swere

widelyexpectedtobeaperiodofdecliningenrolments.

Asinyearspast,mostofthisprojectedincreaseisduetosubstantialgrowthinfull-timeundergraduate

enrolments.Unlike1988-89,however,allprovincesshareinthegrowth:thetwoprovincesthatrecorded

declinesinlastyearssurvey,Saskatchewan(-2.4%)andAlberta(-1.5%),reportincreasesof1.8%and3.2%

respectively.Enrolmentquotas,limitedgrowthpoliciesandhigheradmissionstandardsatseveralofthese

provinceslargestuniversitiesledtolastyearsdeclines.Thesemeasuresarestillinplacebutwithsomechanges

inenrolmentceilingsandproceduresforapplyingquotas.

Similarly,thenumbersoffirstyearfull-timeundergraduatesarehigherinallprovincesthantheywereatthe

sametimelastyear.Inthiscategoryalso,AlbertaandSaskatchewanreportsignificantincreasesinthisyears

survey,comparedtoadecreaselastyear.

TheAUCCsurveyalsoshowsasmallincreaseinthenumberoffull-timeundergraduateforeignstudents

studyinginCanada.

TheAssociationofUniversitiesandCollegesofCanadahasasitsmembership88universitiesanduniversity-

levelcolleges.Itpromotescooperationamonginstitutionsofhighereducationandrepresentstheuniversity

communitytogovernmentsandtonationalandinternationalbodiesconcernedwithuniversityeducationand

research.

8Sample: Reading Comprehension Text

Thepermanentconversionoffarmlandtourbanandindustrialdevelopmentisamajorconcerntoday.

Accuratedataontherateofsuchlossesarenotavailable,butestimatesfortheareaoflandabsorbedforevery

increaseof1,000intheurbanpopulationvaryfromabout10to400hectares.Thehigherfigureincludes

urbanfringelandalienatedfromagriculturebylandspeculationandresultinghighprices.Ifanaveragefigure

of80hectaresofeveryincreaseof1,000intheurbanpopulationisused,theprojectedpermanentconversion

oflandtourbandevelopmentinQuebecandOntariois300,000hectaresand500,000hectaresrespectively.

Morethanhalfofthislandisgoodagriculturallandinclimacticallyfavourableareas.AroundMontreal,for

instance,8,700hectaresofthebestagriculturallandinQuebecisbeinglosttodevelopmenteachyear.Equally

seriousmaybethelossoffarmlandtolow-densityruralhousing,butnofirmdataareavailable.

ThereisasimilartrendinWesternCanada.About40,000hectaresoffarmlandwerelosttourban

developmentbetween1962and1972.InAlberta,over16,000hectaresofprimelandwereabsorbedinthe

courseofsevenyearsbythecitiesofEdmontonandCalgary,andthereisevidencethatsmallertownson

thePrairiesareconsumingfarmlandatuptotwicetherate,perunitpopulation,ofthebigcities.Theareas

mentionedmaynotseemimpressiveinrelationtothetotalareaoffarmlandinCanada,anditistruethatfew

statisticsareavailableontheratesoflossoffarmland.However,thepictureisclearenoughtoprovidethe

basisforrationalchoices.

ItmustberememberedthatonlytinyareasofCanada,lessthanonepercent,haveclimatesandsoilssuitable

fortheproductionofcornandsoftfruits.Mostofthesevaluableparcelsoflandareinthepathofrapidurban

andindustrialgrowth.Productivefarmlandclosetothecityisbasicinsuranceagainstfutureeventssuchas

foodshortagesandhighpricesthatwouldresultfrom:(a)adramaticincreaseintheworldspopulation;(b)

aclimaticshiftsuchasadecreaseofevenadegreeortwointhemeanannualtemperature;(c)aseriesofdry

years;or(d)increasinglyhightransportationcostsduetoenergyshortages.

Becauseofitsgreenbeltcharacter,farmlandisalsoofimmeasurableaestheticvalue.Citydwellerswill

oftendriveformilestoexperienceanorchardinblossomandenjoytheruralscene.Wildlifeecologistshave

persuadedusofthevalueofpreservingendangeredspecieslikethewhoopingcraneandofthenecessityof

selectingpipelineroutesthatwillnotdisturbmigratinganimalslikethecaribou.Surelyitisnottoomuchto

expectthatwerecognizethenecessityofpreservingforagriculturetheprimefarmlandclosetocitiessuchas

Montreal,TorontoandVancouver.

9Reading Comprehension Text Questions

1. ThemainideaofthispassageisthatinCanada

a) urbanandindustrialgrowthshouldbesloweddown.

b) lossesoffarmlandconstituteanimportantproblem.

c) accuratestatisticsonfarmlandconversionareneeded.

d) primefarmlandisscarceinareasofgoodclimate.

2. Whydoestimatesoftherateoffarmlandconversionvary?

a) Thereisnouniformdefinitionoffarmland.

b) Theurbanpopulationisgrowingatsucharapidrate.

c) Urbanfringelandisnotalwaysincludedinthefigures.

d) Expertshavenotdevotedenoughattentiontotheproblem.

3. Whatwouldproductivefarmlandnearcitiesdo?

a) Preventpossiblefoodshortages.

b) Keeppresentfoodpriceshigh.

c) Encourageevenmoreurbangrowth.

d) Increasethevalueofurbanfringeland.

4. InsmallertownsonthePrairies,farmlandisbeingconsumed

a) inproportiontoincreasedlandspeculation.

b) attherateof16,000hectaresevery7years.

c) principallybylow-densityruralhousing.

d) atafasterratethaninthebigcities.

5. Theamountofagriculturallandlostdoesnotseemimpressivebecause

a) thereissuchalargeamountoffarmlandinCanada.

b) theproblemonlyaffectsEasternCanada.

c) onlycropssuchascornandsoftfruitsareaffected.

d) peopledonotknowtherealextentoftheproblem.

6. Maintainingurbanfringelandforagriculturalusewillavoidproblemassociatedwith

a) ariseinthemeanannualtemperature.

b) soilunsuitableforproduction.

c) risingtransportationcosts.

d) anexcessiveamountofmoisture.

7. Theauthorconcludesbyaskingreaders

a) toproposesolutionstotheproblem.

b) tolearntoappreciatetheaestheticvalueoffarmland.

c) torefrainfromdisturbingtheanimalswhentheyvisitfarms.

d) tosupportthepreservationoffarmlandnearbigcities.

10

Sample: Cloze Test Passage

In the text below, words have been replaced with blanks numbered from 1 to 25. First read through the text to get the general meaning. Next, re-read the text, choosing for each blank the word on the next page that best fits both the grammar and the meaning.

The Conversation Class

ThemajorityofstudentslearningEnglishareprimarilyinterestedinspeakingthelanguage.Unfortunately,

inmostEnglishcourses,farmore________(1)ispaidtotheskillofwriting________(2)tospeech.Yet,

intheend,a________(3)knowledgeofEnglishwillbejudged________(4)theworldatlargenotonhis

________(5)towritethelanguagebut________(6)speakit.

Asfarastheteacher________(7)concerned,partofthedifficultycomes________(8)thefactthat

conversationlessonsare________(9)atalleasytoconduct.Each________(10)mustbecarefully

prepared,otherwisethe________(11)willobtainlittleornoresponse________(12)hisclass.Noteacher

wouldexpect________(13)studentstoattemptwrittencompositionbefore________(14)hadmastered

alargenumber________(15)basicsentencepatternsandlearned________(16)writesimple,compound

andcomplexsentences.________(17),manyteacherswilltrytostart________(18)discussionwitha

groupofstudents________(19)providingthestudentswithanypreparation________(20)all.During

mostclassesofthis________(21),thestudenthastostruggleto________(22)complexideasinEnglish.

Theteachermay________(23)hesitanttocorrecthimbecausethis________(24)interrupttheflow

ofconversation.Even________(25)hedoescorrecthim,thestudentwilllearnverylittle.Sometimesthe

wholeclassbreaksdownandtheteacherendsupdoingallthetalking.

11

Cloze Test Answer Choices

1. a) attention

b) importance

c) interest

d) time

2. a) instead

b) or

c) than

d) then

3. a) bilingual

b) overall

c) student

d) students

4. a) around

b) by

c) over

d) to

5. a) ability

b) method

c) skill

d) way

6. a) capacity

b) how

c) they

d) to

7. a) be

b) has

c) is

d) was

8. a) after

b) by

c) from

d) with

9. a) also

b) becoming

c) most

d) not

10. a) course

b) lesson

c) question

d) students

11. a) conversation

b) result

c) student

d) teacher

12. a) about

b) for

c) from

d) in

13. a) every

b) from

c) his

d) their

14. a) have

b) having

c) be

d) they

15. a) many

b) of

c) on

d) the

16. a) and

b) can

c) how

d) to

17. a) Consequently

b) Not

c) Therefore

d) Still

18. a) a

b) by

c) some

d) the

19. a) and

b) are

c) by

d) without

20. a) at

b) before

c) in

d) of

21. a) course

b) discussion

c) kind

d) session

22. a) express

b) have

c) learn

d) many

23. a) be

b) not

c) often

d) to

24. a) correction

b) have

c) might

d) student

25. a) if

b) that

c) then

d) time

12

Answer Key

Cloze Test

1. a

2. c

3. d

4. b

5. a

6. d

7. c

8. c

9. d

10. b

11. d

12. c

13. c

14. d

15. b

16. d

17. d

18. a

19. d

20. a

21. c

22. a

23. a

24. c

25. a

Listening Dialogue

1. b

2. a

3. c

4. a

Listening Lecture

1. d

2. b

3. c

4. c

5. b

6. a

Skim and Scan

1. c

2. overmillion

3-4. Alberta,Saskatchewan

5. True

6. 3.2%

7. Enrolmentquotas,orlimitedgrowthpolicies,or

highadmissionstandards(anyone)

8. 88

Reading

1. b

2. c

3. a

4. d

5. d

6. c

7. d

13

Sheridan Writing Assessment Sample Essay Questions

1. Peopleshouldnotuseanimalsfortheirownbenefitunlesstheanimalsdonotsufferinanyway.Doyou

agreeordisagreewiththisstatement?

Inyouressay,expressyouropinionandsupportitwitharguments.

2. Damagetotheenvironmentistheresultofworldwideimprovementsinthestandardofliving.Doyou

agreeordisagreewiththisstatement?

Inyouressay,expressyouropinionandsupportitwitharguments.

3. Peoplewillhaveseriousproblemsintheircareersandsociallifeiftheydonothaveanycomputerskills.Do

youagreeordisagreewiththisstatement?

Inyouressay,expressyouropinionandsupportitwitharguments.

4. Whenpeoplegetold,theyoftengotoliveinanursinghomewheretherearenursestolookafterthem.

Sometimesthegovernmenthastopayforthiscare.Whoshouldberesponsibleforouroldpeople?

Inyouressay,expressyouropinionandsupportitwitharguments.

Sheridan Assessment CentreDavis Campus

7899McLaughlinRoad

RoomB203

Brampton,ON

905-459-7533,ext.5088

Skills Training Centre407IroquoisShoreRoad

RoomA18

Oakville,ON

905-845-9430,ext.8100

web:http://assessment.sheridaninstitute.ca email:assessmentcentre@sheridaninstitute.ca