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BHUSD Secondary English Placement Test 01

Last updated over 5 years ago
83 questions
Note from the author:
This is an informal assessement for placement purposes until the remote Initial ELPAC is available.
This informal English Placement Test contains 76 questions:

Section Points
Grammar: 50 (30 minutes)
Reading: 15 (15 minutes)
Listening: 10 (15 minutes)
Writing: 40 (20-40 minutes)
Your score will tentatively determine your English language proficiency level, which will help BHHS place you in suitable classes for you based on your level.

***This test is an at independent test you take alone without any help from other people, electronic devices, or the internet.

***Make sure you only complete what you think you know. If you do not know an answer, do not take any guesses.

You will also take a formal English Proficiency test called the Initial ELPAC (English Language Proficiency Assessment for California) after school has begun if you have never taken it before.
1

A. Are you Joel Cohen?
B. Yes, I _____.

1

A. Is this the right place to pick up my textbooks?
B. Yes, it ____.

1

Roger is ____ from Switzerland.

1

A. Do you play soccer?
B. No, I _____.

1

Mrs. Miller works in Beverly Hills. ____ does your mother work?

1

How ____ do they play volleyball on the beach?

1

Are there _____messages for me?

1

I'm afraid I can't _____ the club meeting at three.

1

He _____ in when I called.

1

Henry _____ from school at 3 o'clock.

1

Mr. Paysinger and my counselor have offered ____ help with my scheduling problem.

1

How _____ vacation time do you get off from school from school in high school?

1

It's hotter today _____ yesterday.

1

None of the students ______ signed their syllabus yet.

1

Everyone visiting Tanzania and Kenya ____ to see a game preserve.

1

I _____ the report yet. I need a couple more hours.

1

Neither my aunts nor my uncle _____ in the city.

1

All of the curry ___ eaten quickly.

1

Social Studies _____ many interesting areas of study.

1

A. What's his father like?
B. He _____.

1

Fifty cents ____ the cost of one pencil these days.

1

Who _____ the first email?

1

There ______ only three flute players in the entire band right now.

1

It's the _____ meal I've ever eaten.

1

Each of these young people _________ visited the mission at San Miguel.

1

What kind of sentence is this?
Stay in your seat.

1

What kind of sentence is this?
Insects outnumber people by millions to one.

1

Is it true that 3,500,000 people _____ in the last five months?

1

My old friend _____ me that he was happy in his new school.

1

It cost me one hundred dollars. What a complete _____ of money!

1

We _____ less time traveling, if we worked from home.

1

Why type of sentence is this?
Our dog could run away through the open gate.

1

Why type of sentence is this?
Should we start class now, or should we wait for everyone?

1

In the following sentence, is the underlined clause Independent or Dependent?
I first met her in Paris where I lived as a child.

1

Why type of sentence is this?
According to the website Snopes.com, the story may or may not be true.

1

Which word is the preposition?
Over the years we have learned to study hard.

1

_____ ... I thought everyone knew.

1

Let's move _____ to the next point of our presentation.

1

Identify the prepositional phrase in the following sentence:
Mary ran around the corner to meet her friends.?

1

Is the underlined clause Independent or Dependent?
When I get to the beach, I'm going to jump right into the ocean.

1

I _____ from you.

1

Usually everyone in the family __________ these tomatoes in a salad.

1

Neither Christopher nor his brothers will buy _____ parents Christmas presents this year.

1

What part of speech is the underlined word?
He finished the course easily.

1

What part of speech is the underlined word?
Who asked you to give this to me?

1

What part of speech is the underlined word?
They wanted to hire him for the job, but he didn't want to work with them.

1

What kind of verb is the underlined word?
The racers ran toward the finish line.

1

What kind of verb is the underlined word?
None of these boxes seem full.

1

A movie, including all the previews, usually ______ about two hours to watch.

1

Is the underlined word a present or a past participle?
I have never been to New York.

Below are two readings with missing words. Read and choose a missing word from the four options provided. The third reading has reading comprehension questions.

Reading 1

It’s easy to (51) _____ an e-mail. You type it on to a computer screen, hit a button, and off (52)_____ goes. But the speed of the process is also a problem. It doesn’t encourage (53)_____ to think much about what we write. As a result, e-mail messages are (54)_____ grammatically incorrect, disorganized, and full of spelling and typing errors. Badly expressed ideas are more difficult to read. They can also cause misunderstandings. Professionals nowadays have to read enormous quantities of e-mails, and (55)_____ adds to the stress of their jobs.
1

(51) write / read / delete / see

1

he/ they / it / e-mail

1

him / us / her / we

1

always / never / every day / often

1

who / this / these / what

Reading 2

A hard sell is often seen as (56)______ in Japan. Japanese business people may think that you are trying to convince them (57)______ your product is no good. It is better to use a low-key sale pitch and give them objective information. The Japanese are not accustomed to aggressive American techniques that use a persuasive ‘winning’ argument. (58)____ you are not completely honest about your product, your credibility will be damaged and what you say will lose influence. Don’t say that yours is ‘the best on the (59)______’. It is better to say, ‘We sold more than two million units last year. As you know our closest competitor sold (60)_____ than a million.’
1

hard / good / offensive / polite

1

because / but / however / and

1

By / As / Unless / If

1

business / place / market / shop

1

cheaper / less / least / same

Reading 3

Ruins of a huge stone monument stand on
Salisbury Plain in southern England. Some of
the stones are about 18 feet (5.5 meters) tall and weigh over
20 tons. Many were likely brought to the site
from over 200 miles away. The stones form
broken rings in an area surrounded by a large
circular ditch. Known as Stonehenge, this
monument has existed for thousands of years—
since long before machines could have helped
create it. Who built it—and how and why?
Over the years, many people have tried to
explain Stonehenge. Some people wondered if
it was the work of the Romans. Others thought
the Druids, a group of ancient priests, built it.
Some even imagined that the legendary
magician Merlin had placed the stones.
Scientists have studied Stonehenge. Many
theorized that several groups of people
contributed to the structure at different times,
starting about 5,000 years ago. People have
made drawings of how Stonehenge may have
looked at different stages in history. At one
time, many more stones stood at the site.
Together with the stones still there, they likely
formed completed rings around two stone arcs.

Moving the large stones from their natural
homes into their places at Stonehenge would
have been difficult. Scientists have pondered
how the builders were able to do so without
modern tools. The builders may have rolled the
huge stones over a series of logs. They may
have used large sleds or rafts, and perhaps they
used animals. To test these possibilities, people
have tried to move similar blocks of stone in
several different ways.
Chances are that Stonehenge was an
important place for the people who worked on
and used it. But what did they use it for?
Some people have guessed that it was a place
where the injured or ill went for healing.
Others have said it was a shrine to the dead.
The entrance to Stonehenge aligns with the
path of the sun on the longest and shortest days
of the year. It's possible that the site served as
a type of calendar, helping people to keep track
of the seasons. Imagine trying to hang that
calendar on your wall!
1

What is the main idea of this story?

1

Where would you find Stonehenge?

1

What does theorized mean in this story?

1

Why was it probably difficult to build Stonehenge?

1

In the story the word align means _____________.

1

What might builders have used to build Stonehenge?

Reading #4
According to urban legend, the children's
song "Ring Around the Rosy" refers to an illness
called the plague. Specifically, people interpret
this song as depicting a disease that produces red
sores, "ring around the rosy," and results in many
deaths, "we all fall down." Though we are
uncertain of the true meaning of this song, it does
seem to describe some of the symptoms of the
plague.
The most characteristic symptom of the
plague is painful, swollen lymph glands. These
swollen glands are called buboes, which is why
the most common form of the plague is called the
bubonic plague. Plague sufferers also develop a
high fever, and red spots that eventually turn black
appear on the skin.
One of the most disastrous plague epidemics
ever documented began when a severe outbreak
of the plague occurred in China in the 1330s. The
disease subsequently spread along trade routes,
and soon it appeared in many parts of the world.
By 1347, the plague had made its way to Europe,
where in five years it killed 25 million people,
over one-quarter of the continent's population.
Due to the plague's symptoms and results, the
disease came to be known throughout Europe as
the Black Death.
The people of this time period lived in
constant fear of the plague. Because doctors
knew of no effective treatments, most of those
suffering from the plague died within a week of
displaying symptoms. Terrified friends and
family members often abandoned the ill for fear of
contracting the disease themselves. Deaths
occurred so frequently that many victims ended up
buried in mass graves. As no scientific explanation
existed for the plague, most people assumed
it was a punishment from God. Many
people, called flagellants, even resorted to
beating themselves with scourges in order to
obtain forgiveness. Unfortunately, flagellants
probably just encouraged the spread of the disease
as they traveled from town to town.
The plague had enormous social, economic,
religious, and psychological consequences.
Morose medieval art and literature demonstrate
the immense impact the plague had on the people
of this time period. Despite its costs, the plague
did improve the standard of living and social
structure. When the plague ended, a surplus of
goods reduced prices, and feudal lords lost power
as a lack of laborers provided peasants with a
greater selection of jobs at higher wages.
Now we have more accurate information
about the plague and its origin. Scientists have
discovered that a bacterium called Yersinia pestis
causes the plague. Infected fleas mainly transmit
the bacteria to rodents, but sometimes the fleas
carry the disease from rodents to humans.
Humans can spread the disease to one another by
close contact, which is how the plague
proliferated so rapidly during the 14th century.
The plague still poses a threat to humans, but
antibiotics have drastically diminished the
danger.
1

What is the main idea of this story?

1

What was the origin of the plague?

1

What does resorted mean in this story?

1

What does proliferated mean in this story?

1

Which example is an economic consequence of the plague?

1

How did the plague improve life for those who survived? (Do NOT copy and paste, or says the exact words of the author. Write in your own words.

Watch the video and answer the questions to the best of your ability. You may take notes as you watch it. Do Not to repeat it. If you don't know the answer leave it blank. We don't expect you to be able to answer everything in this test. LISTEN ONCE ONLY.
1

What is the Norman update?

1

What problems might freshmen have because they are new to the high school according to the video?

1

Who can help the freshmen?

1

What do students do if they have a driver's license and want to park at school?

1

Where do they get the parking pass application from?

1

How much does the parking pass cost?

1

Where is the ASB room located?

1

What is Mr. Mead excited about?

1

What would you do if you wanted to make a change to your schedule?

4

Write one paragraph about your favorite vacation from your own personal experience. Describe the place with detail and explain why it is your favorite place. Describe who you went with and what you did there.

This paragraph should have at least five sentences. Paragraphs have a beginning a middle and an end. Grammar, spelling, punctuation, and subject-verb agreement will be considered in scoring this paragraph. The box you are writing in will get bigger as you write. Don't worry about running out of space. DO NOT USE ANOTHER DEVICE OR THE INTERNET TO HELP YOU. THIS PLATFORM WILL RECOGNIZE THAT.

4

Your teacher is thinking about requiring students to complete an extensive project at the end of the semester instead of a final exam. Do you think that it is a good idea? Write a persuasive essay in support of your position to give to your teacher. Make sure you write at least two paragraphs and include your position and supporting reasons. The box you are writing in will get bigger as you write. Don't worry about running out of space.
DO NOT USE ANOTHER DEVICE OR THE INTERNET TO HELP YOU. THIS PLATFORM WILL RECOGNIZE THAT.

Thank you very much for taking the time to complete this placement test!