MOCK TEST

I Read the article ‘Holding on to the dotcom dream’ and answer the questions below.

Holding on to the dotcom dream

Outside Euroffice.co.uk’s offices in south London is a poster showing Martin Luther King saying: ‘I
have a dream’.
It was put there by George Karibian, founder of the company that calls itself the UK’s biggest online
office supplier. It’s an important message for his young, eager employees, with their designer jeans
and spiky hair. Most likely none of them expected their careers to involve selling dull items such as
pens, paper and other office supplies to small businesses. Even Mr Karibian admits he got there almost
by accident.
His company has thrived, even after the dotcom bubble burst and he spent more than a year struggling
to raise cash to keep it going. Partly that is because he sold a dream - to himself, his employees, his
suppliers, and his financial backers, which kept them all on his side. With overconfidence typical of
the dotcom era, he was convinced he was building not an office products supplier, but ‘the next
Google’.
To raise money, Mr Karibian was forced to surrender control of the business to a venture capital
company, Net Partners, which has provided £2m in funding. Other dotcom competitors who received
fortunes during the bubble years burned through the cash and went out of business. But the Wharton
graduate paid fanatical attention to detail. From day one, he scrutinised every aspect of cash
management, the value of his marketing expenditure, the functioning of his website and the efficiency
of an internet business.
Mr Karibian also set in place disciplines that he believes saved his business where others failed. The
first was marketing, crucial to an online business that can only survive if clients come to its site and
stay there. Euroffice tested 78 different marketing initiatives and hired a statistician to see which was
the cheapest way to get the most hits. Mr Karibian regularly profiles his clients to see who merits the
most attention. Repeat customers are given the fullest service, including loyalty programmes. Clients
making big purchases are sent gifts. ‘I hate gifts. But the numbers tell us they work,’ he says.
The company, he says, has grown at 65 per cent this year, but he remains insecure and believes it
needs to triple in size to ensure survival. He is considering broadening his small business supplies to
include insurance, for example.
His Google fantasy remains intact. ‘The dream we’re selling is growth,’ he says.

1 How would you describe Euroffice?

a) a successful online retailer b) a bricks and mortar retailer c) an online auction house

2 Mr Karibian’s dream is …

a) to expand to the size of Google

b) to switch from selling office supplies to other products

c) to be the UK’s biggest online office supplier

3 The people who work for Euroffice …

a) wear formal clothes b) are mature c) are enthusiastic

4 Who are the main customers?

 a) the general public b) small firms c) large corporations

5 When the dotcom bubble burst, Mr Karibian …

a) lost all the money that had been lent to him

b) lost hope

c) convinced everyone that the company would be successful

6 How did Mr Karibian raise funding for his business?

a) he borrowed from family and friends

b) he persuaded investors to put capital into his business

c) he got a bank loan

7 What happened to many of Mr Karibian’s dotcom competitors?

a) They spent too much and went bankrupt

b) They couldn’t raise much money

c) They were taken over by bigger companies

8 What is Mr Karibian’s approach to marketing?

a) advertise on the Net

b) retain the best customers by offering rewards

c) provide fun and entertainment

9 How does Mr Karibian feel about the future?

a) he feels the business is at risk unless it expands

b) he is confident of continued success

c) he doesn’t worry about the future

10 Who or what is the Wharton graduate (paragraph 4)?

a) Net Partners b) Mr Karibian c) a dotcom competitor

11 What do you think is the meaning of ‘scrutinise’ (paragraph 4)?

a) pay negligible attention b) disregard c) examine very thoroughly

II The underlined verbs all have the wrong prefix. Correct them.
1 I think you have upcharged us. The price was €49 not €53.

2 The project was badly undermanaged and fell behind schedule.

3 I wanted the merger to go ahead, but I was overvoted at the meeting.

4 All the economy class seats were full, so I was regraded to Business Class.

5 When drawing up the budget, we misestimated the cost of materials.

III Cross out the verb that can not be used in front of each noun.
1 play / spread / minimise / eliminate / the risk

2 surf / hit / search / browse on / the Net

3 arrange / secure / borrow / pay back / a loan

4 solve / resolve / deal with / avoid / conflict

5 reach / sign / break / share / an agreement

6 pay / charge / receive / carry / interest

III Complete the sentences with the best possible answer (circle one option):

1. This house is so old now. When it rains, the windows leak and the roof needs to be replaced
soon.______________, we love it and would never move to another.
a. nevertheless
b. although
c. though
d. despite

2. You can't ignore this problem any longer. You have to ________________ with it so we can go on
with the plan.
a. deal
b. do
c. solve
d. beat

3. I don't like watching soap operas and films on TV. I prefer documentaries
with ___________ people talking about their lives.
a. reality
b. real
c. authentic
d. genuine

4. Has someone moved the drinks ______________ the table while I was gone? I'm sure that
glass in front of Peter was mine.
a. off
b. along
c. around
d. on

5. We couldn't find the hotel and it was getting dark _____________ we got out a map and
studied it carefully.
a. so
b. and
c. but
d. if

6. Well, according to the timetable, a bus should be along in ___________ two minutes. But I
wouldn't be surprised if we had to wait another half an hour!
a. less
b. below
c. about
d. round

7. Martin Jones, _____________ as the Gentle Bank Robber during his three-year reign, was
jailed for 25 years today at the Central Court.
a. named
b. reputed
c. called
d. known

IV Present and Past Tenses: Present Simple, Present Continuous, Prsent Perfect, Past
Simple, Past Continuous, Past Perfect, Past Perfect Continuous

1. I __________________ (lose) my keys – can you help me look for them? 2. (You /
study) _________________________________ every night? 3. He
_______________________ (not / read) that book 4. She __________________
(play) hockey at school, but she _________________ (not / like) it. 5. While Aaron
(work)______________ in his room, his friends (swim)_______________ in the pool.
6. They (not / come) _________________________________ to the party tomorrow.
7. What _______________________ (you / buy) yesterday? 8. Yesterday, we (not /
cycle) ________________all day. 9. Sorry, I __________________ (miss) the bus, so
I’m going to be late. 10. . I __________________ (drink) seven cups of coffee
yesterday 11. We (not / sleep) _________________________________ now. 12. We
often (go) _________________________________ to the cinema. 13. She
__________________ (live) in London since 1994. 14. When I phoned my friends,
they (play)______________ monopoly. 15. . You (not / go)
 _________________________________ out later 16. She __________________
(live) in London when she was a child. 17. We (not / cycle)_______________ all day
on March 12. 18. __________________ (like) that blue shirt? 19. We
_________________ (not/ come) with you this afternoon. We have some plans. 20.
___________ (be) in the USA?

V Passive or Active

1. That car looks like it ______________ never _____________ (wash).

2. If I were you, I _________________________ (contact) a lawyer.
3. Have you __________________ (inform) yet about the new policy?
4. Unfortunately, the budget has __________________ (not/approve) yet.
5. A smile _______________________((appear) on her face.
6. We ______________________ (wait) for 30 minutes. Where is the bus?

VI Match a word to its definition:

Downsize a) to be greater in number

Outnumber b) to improve, to make more efficient

Oversell c) to reduce the number of employees and levels of ma

management that a company has

Undersell d) to say that a product or service is better

Underspend e) to sell goods at a much lower price than the

competition

Upgrade f) to spend less than you intended or than you are

allowed to

VII Complete the sentences with the appropriate word or phrase (collocations-linking
words):

1. After some teethin troubles they have a _______________ business with a huge
turnover.
 A smooth B thriving C fruitful
2. Our new product filled the gap in the market and _______________ as soon as it was
launched.
A overflowed B profilerated C took off
3. _____________ everybody is here, I suggest we get down to business.
A Due to B Since C Owing to
4. He band's second album didn't do well _________________ their video was
banned.

A owing to B as C so

VIII Write sentences while using the following words:

1. downsize/operations/competitive
__________________________________________________________
2. underspent/ budget/ reduced
__________________________________________________________
3. satisfactory/perks/staff
__________________________________________________________
4. opportunities/growth/development
__________________________________________________________