ETS Language Proficiency Tests 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Choose the correct sentence:
- She has been working here since five years.
- She has been working here for five years. (Correct answer)
- She is working here since five years.
- She is working here for five years.
Correct answer: She has been working here for five years.
In English grammar, 'for' is used to express a duration of time, indicating how long something has been happening (e.g., 'for five years,' 'for two months'). 'Since' is used to indicate a specific starting point in time (e.g., 'since 2018,' 'since last Monday'). Therefore, 'She has been working here for five years' correctly uses 'for' to denote the duration of her employment.
Question 2: What does the woman mean when she says, "I’ll pencil you in for 3 PM tomorrow"?
- She will finalize the meeting at 3 PM tomorrow.
- She will temporarily schedule the meeting at 3 PM tomorrow. (Correct answer)
- She will cancel the meeting scheduled for 3 PM tomorrow.
- She will confirm the meeting time later in the week.
Correct answer: She will temporarily schedule the meeting at 3 PM tomorrow.
The idiom 'to pencil someone in' or 'to pencil something in' means to make a tentative or provisional arrangement, often with the understanding that it might be changed or confirmed later. It implies a non-final booking, as if written lightly in pencil rather than permanently in ink. Therefore, the woman is temporarily scheduling the meeting at 3 PM tomorrow.
Question 3: In the sentence, "The archaeologists uncovered a plethora of artifacts during the excavation," what does the word plethora most likely mean?
- A small number
- A large amount (Correct answer)
- An unknown quantity
- A rare item
Correct answer: A large amount
The word 'plethora' means an excess or a large amount of something. In the context of archaeologists uncovering artifacts during an excavation, finding a 'plethora' suggests they discovered a great many items. This implies an abundance, not a small, unknown, or rare quantity.
Question 4: Complete the sentence: "Although the deadline was extended, the team __________ submit the report by Friday."
- must (Correct answer)
- should
- has to
- might
Correct answer: must
The sentence implies a strong obligation or necessity for the team to submit the report by Friday, despite the deadline extension. 'Must' conveys this strong sense of requirement or compulsion more definitively than 'should' (which suggests advice), 'has to' (which can imply external obligation), or 'might' (which indicates possibility). The 'although' clause highlights that the extension does not remove this firm requirement.
Question 5: Which of the following sentences best connects these two ideas? The company invested heavily in renewable energy. It saw a significant reduction in operating costs.
- Renewable energy can sometimes be costly to implement.
- As a result of the investment, operating costs decreased significantly. (Correct answer)
- Operating costs are one of the main expenses for many companies.
- The company’s profits have also grown steadily.
Correct answer: As a result of the investment, operating costs decreased significantly.
The two original ideas present a clear cause-and-effect relationship: the company's investment in renewable energy (cause) led to a significant reduction in operating costs (effect). Option B, 'As a result of the investment, operating costs decreased significantly,' clearly and concisely connects these ideas by explicitly stating the causal link. This makes it the best choice for combining the two statements.
ETS Language Proficiency Tests 1
Choose the correct sentence: