Academic English Test

Welcome to the Lexis Academic English Test. If you are thinking of studying Cambridge Preparation, IELTS Preparation or English for Medical Professionals, this is the ideal test to measure your level of English. If you are thinking of studying General English or one of our Teen Programs, you may want to try the General English Online Test >

Once you have complete the answers, submit the test to us and we will contact you within 24 hours with your level, and with our recommendations for study.
 

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Email(Required)
Nationality(Required)
Do you currently reside in Australia?(Required)

Part 1 - Writing Task

Choose one of the following. Write approximately 200 words.

A. You have been asked to write an article for a local travel magazine about your home town that will encourage people to visit.

In the article include:

  • • Information about your home town
  • • Important features of the town
  • • Tips to a tourist about things to do and places to visit

B. If you were able to travel back to any time and place in history, when and where would you choose?

Describe what you might experience and tell us why you would choose this particular time and place.

Part 2 - Grammar

Questions 1 – 5

Where can you see these notices? For questions 1-5, tick only one letter A, B, or C.

Question 1.(Required)
Day Trip Question
Question 2.(Required)
Day Trip Question
Question 3.(Required)
Meat, Vegetables, Shampoo
Question 4.(Required)
Fire Exit Sign
Question 5.(Required)
Platforms This Way

Questions 6 – 10

In this section you must choose the word which best fits each space in the text below. For questions 6-10, tick only one letter A, B or C.

The City of Sheffield

Sheffield is Britain’s fifth largest city with a population of more than half a million people. It is built on eight rivers and many hills. Sheffield is (6) ................... very green city. It has more parks and woods than (7) ................. other English city. Sheffield is a working city. (8) ....................... many years, its factories sent knives, forks and steel to countries all around the world. Since the 1980’s, many of the old factories (9) .................... closed, but new shops and offices are being opened every day. Sheffield has a lot to offer its visitors. Here you can see the world’s oldest football club. You can watch ice hockey, rugby and, in April, the World Snooker Championship. Sheffield is a friendly city. Many people who come here to work or study find that they do (10) .................. want to leave!

Question 6.(Required)
Question 7.(Required)
Question 8.(Required)
Question 9.(Required)
Question 10.(Required)

For questions 11 - 20

Tick one letter, A, B, C or D.

The Cat Family

Cats are popular pets (11) .................. Britain, but do you know that they are closely related to some of the biggest and (12) ..................... of all wild animals? Despite their differences in size, lions, tigers and cats have a lot in (13) ....................... . All cats, for instance, eat other animals and hunt for their food. A house cat is not likely to catch anything bigger (14) ............... a mouse or a bird, but it goes about catching it in much the same way as a lion or tiger (15) .................... its food.

Question 11.(Required)
Question 12.(Required)
Question 13.(Required)
Question 14.(Required)
Question 15.(Required)

Learning to make the perfect pizza

According to the European Pizza-Makers’ Association, making a good pizza is not a straightforward skill to learn. “In Italy, 70 percent of pizza makers could improve on their product, not to (16) .................. all the pizza makers who (17) ........................... inedible meals”, says Antonio Primiceri, the Association’s founder. He has now started a pizza school in an attempt to (18) ....................... the reputation of this traditional dish. As part of a short (19) ........................ course, the students of Mr Primiceri’s school are taught how to (20) ........................... common mistakes, produce a good basic mixture, add tasty topping and cook the pizza properly.

Question 16.(Required)
Question 17.(Required)
Question 18.(Required)
Question 19.(Required)
Question 20.(Required)

Questions 21 - 40

In this part you must choose the word or phrase that best completes each sentence. For questions 21-40, Tick one letter, A, B, C or D.

21. They bought their son a bike .................. a reward for working hard at school(Required)
22. I’m sending you a photograph of Carol .................. you’ll recognise her at the airport.(Required)
23. John’s father ordered .................. not to stay out late again.(Required)
24. It took Michael a long time to find a pair of shoes that .................. him.(Required)
25. Try to avoid .................. through the city centre, because of the traffic(Required)
26. The best athletes in the world .................. in the Olympic Games.(Required)
27. I wish I .................. to the concert with them, but there were no tickets left.(Required)
28. She is now taking a more positive .................. to her studies and should do well.(Required)
29. What .................. milk shake do you want - strawberry, chocolate or banana?(Required)
30. The argument with the water company completely .................. our evening.(Required)
31. You would be a fool not to take ................. of such a wonderful opportunity!(Required)
32. When she arrived at the party, Jane discovered she was wearing the same dress ................. her hostess(Required)
33. There’s no point ................. knocking on her door - she’s already gone out.(Required)
34. For the first few minutes she was leading the race, then she began to fall ................. .(Required)
35. The meeting room was rather cramped and had no ................. of natural light.(Required)
36. The success of the captain in the individual events ................. for the poor performance of the athletics team as a whole.(Required)
37. When she was a child, she ................. visit her grandparents every week.(Required)
38. Paul has ................. interest in politics.(Required)
39. The film lasted three hours with ................. of 15 minutes between part one and part two.(Required)
40. I went to another shop, but they didn’t have the book I wanted ................. .(Required)

Part 3 - Key Word Transformations

For questions 1-10, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given.

Example:

You must do exactly as the manager tells you. (carry)

You must .................. instructions exactly.

Answer:

You must carry out the manager’s instructions exactly.

Write the missing words in the space provided.

Question 1

Question: I’d rather you didn’t phone me at work. (prefer)

Answer: I’d ................................ me at work.

Question 2

Question: When Mary wanted a new car she had to save up for a year. (Mary)

Answer: It ................................ save up to buy a car.

Question 3

Question: They are letting John our of hospital next week. (released)

Answer: John ................................ hospital next week.

Question 4

Question: Did you leave a tip for the waiter, Sue? I asked. (she)

Answer: I asked Sue ................................ a tip for the waiter.

Question 5

Question: I have never seen a match as good as this before. (match)

Answer: This is the ................................ seen.

Question 6

Question: A very friendly taxi driver drove us into town. (driven)

Answer: We ................................ a very friendly taxi driver.

Question 7

Question: Nobody apart from my mother thought I would win the race. (person)

Answer: My mother ................................ thought I would win the race.

Question 8

Question: My aunt was determined to pay for our tickets. (insisted)

Answer: My aunt ................................ for our tickets.

Question 9

Question: They cancelled the match because of the bad weather. (called)

Answer: The match ................................ because of the bad weather.

Question 10

Question: I found it difficult to follow the instructions. (trouble)

Answer: I ................................ the instructions.