Section 2: Reading Comprehension
Read the passage carefully and answer Questions 21–30. The answers are not stated in exactly the same wording as the questions, so pay attention to meaning.
People often assume that public transport improves only when a city invests in dramatic expansion: new lines, larger stations, or ambitious redesigns of existing routes. Yet regular passengers sometimes judge a system by quieter standards. A bus network may not look impressive on paper, but if waiting times become more predictable and transfers less stressful, users often feel that the service has improved in meaningful ways. In daily life, reliability can shape public satisfaction more than scale does.
This is partly because commuters do not experience transport as a set of engineering achievements. They experience it as a repeated part of ordinary life. A five-minute delay may sound trivial in a formal report, yet when it happens several times a week, it begins to affect decisions about when to leave home, which route to take, and how much extra time must be built into the day. Over time, small uncertainties can become a source of persistent pressure, especially for those whose schedules are already tightly structured around work, school, or childcare.
For that reason, some planners have started paying more attention to what users describe in practical terms rather than relying exclusively on official performance indicators. They have found that casual remarks at bus stops and in online neighbourhood groups often reveal frustrations that are too minor or too specific to appear in large surveys. A service may technically meet its targets while still creating friction for the people who use it most frequently. Conversely, a modest change that reduces confusion or improves consistency may transform the experience of a route without attracting much public attention at first.
None of this suggests that large-scale investment is unimportant. Expansion remains essential in growing cities. But the lesson is that improvement should not be understood only in visible or dramatic terms. When a system becomes easier to predict, easier to navigate, and slightly less exhausting to depend on, people may begin to trust it differently. That change in trust can matter just as much as the opening of something new.
21. According to the passage, what is the writer’s overall view of small changes to a public service?
A) They are usually too minor for users to notice. B) They tend to make people more critical over time. C) They often create unrealistic expectations of perfection. D) They adapt slowly but can ultimately improve the experience.
22. Why does the writer mention casual conversations at bus stops?
A) To suggest that commuters exaggerate their problems. B) They often reveal small frustrations that formal surveys miss. C) To show that surveys should no longer be used. D) To argue that transport users mainly care about low ticket prices.
23. What can be inferred from the writer’s discussion of lateness and uncertainty?
A) Passengers care more about slow journeys than about anything else. B) Most complaints disappear when new routes are introduced. C) A service can function acceptably yet still create ongoing stress. D) Uncertainty matters only to people with strict schedules.
24. What is the point of comparing a delayed bus with one that arrives consistently every twelve minutes?
A) To show that modern passengers have become less patient than before. B) To argue that frequent services always solve commuter dissatisfaction. C) It shows that convenience depends on both speed and predictability. D) To suggest that short routes are easier to manage than long ones.
25. Which criticism of transport planners is most strongly implied?
A) focusing too much on long-distance passengers B) assuming complaints come only from impatient users C) rejecting all forms of digital monitoring D) introducing changes without public approval
26. What does the writer suggest about visible improvements in service?
A) They are usually the result of increased funding alone. B) They matter less than changes in public advertising. C) They can only happen after routes are fully redesigned. D) A sudden improvement may reflect accumulated small adjustments rather than one major change.
27. What does the passage imply about the broader impact of transport reliability?
A) It mainly affects those who work outside normal office hours. B) It is less important than cleanliness and customer service. C) More reliable service influences wider decisions about time and movement. D) Its effects are difficult to separate from weather conditions.
28. Why does the writer refer to repeated daily experiences rather than isolated incidents?
A) to show that passengers rarely remember exceptional problems B) to emphasize that official data often ignore severe disruptions C) to argue that transport staff should face stricter penalties D) minor inconveniences become more noticeable when repeated regularly
29. Which statement best describes the writer’s attitude toward practical-minded planners?
A) They are valuable because they frame efficiency in terms of users’ real daily lives. B) They are too cautious to support major innovation. C) They underestimate the symbolic value of public investment. D) They pay too much attention to complaints and too little to statistics.
30. Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?
A) Public transport should be judged mainly by speed and size of network. B) Commuters are often more resistant to change than planners expect. C) Formal reports tend to be more accurate than user experience. D) Practical reliability can matter as much as impressive expansion.
Section 3: Advanced Grammar, Vocabulary, and Usage
Choose the correct choice A, B, C, or D for Questions 31–50. This section moves from upper-intermediate to highly advanced English.
31. By the time the committee issued its final statement, the proposal had not been rejected outright; it had simply ______ until further financial evidence could be reviewed.
A) been postponed B) being postponed C) been postponing D) postponed
32. Her research notes were so ______ that even minor inconsistencies in witness accounts were carefully cross-referenced and dated.
A) casual B) tentative C) meticulous D) opaque
33. Choose the correct sentence:
A) No sooner the meeting had started than the fire alarm rang. B) No sooner had the meeting started than the fire alarm rang. C) No sooner did the meeting started than the fire alarm rang. D) No sooner had started the meeting than the fire alarm rang.
34. The new policy, ______ was introduced with very little consultation, created more confusion than clarity during its first month.
A) what B) which C) that one D) who
35. Choose the idiom closest in meaning to "very rarely":
A) once in a blue moon B) under the weather C) on the ball D) in hot water
36. The manager did not deliberately ignore the warning signs; rather, he seems to have ______ the seriousness of the issue until it became impossible to contain.
A) overruled B) outdone C) misjudged D) upheld
37. Choose the correctly spelled compound adjective:
A) far reaching B) far-reaching C) farreaching D) far_reaching
38. Only after the report was published ______ about the extent of the budget shortfall.
A) the residents were consulted B) were the residents consulted C) did consult the residents D) the residents had been consulted
39. Choose the phrasal verb closest in meaning to "fail to happen as planned":
A) fall through B) bring up C) put aside D) come across
40. ______ the evidence appeared compelling at first, several assumptions behind the conclusion turned out to be weak.
A) Despite B) In spite of C) Although D) Because of
41. Choose the correct spelling:
A) spacios B) spaciouse C) spacious D) spacius
42. Choose the most formal and correct sentence:
A) Under no circumstances confidential files should be shared. B) Under no circumstances should confidential files be shared. C) Confidential files under no circumstances should shared. D) Under no circumstances should be shared confidential files.
43. Choose the best sentence:
A) The proposal, ambitious though it sounded, lacked a realistic timetable. B) The proposal sounded ambitious, though lacked a realistic timetable. C) Ambitious though the proposal sounded it lacking a realistic timetable. D) Though ambitious sounding, the proposal was lacked a timetable.
44. Choose the expression closest in meaning to "disagree with or object to":
A) go in for B) take issue with C) come up with D) persue and objective
45. ______ his earlier objections, he eventually signed the agreement once the wording had been revised.
A) Nevertheless B) Notwithstanding C) Whereas D) Thereby
46. Choose the best sentence:
A) The consultant’s recommendations were too impractical that they were almost irrelevant. B) The consultant’s recommendations were so impractical that almost irrelevant. C) The consultant’s recommendations were impractical enough being irrelevant. D) The consultant’s recommendations were so impractical as to be almost irrelevant.
47. Choose the correct word: "Please be ______ when discussing the matter; not everyone in the office is aware of it yet."
A) discrete B) discreet C) discreting D) discretional
48. Hardly ______ the possibility of delay when the supplier informed them that the shipment would be a week late.
A) had the team anticipated B) the team had anticipated C) did the team anticipated D) the team anticipate had
49. The model is attractive not merely because it is efficient, but because it is sufficiently ______ to remain effective without constant external support.
A) self-sustained B) self-centered C) self-sufficient D) self-absorbed
50. Choose the best sentence:
A) The report was not only incomplete but misleading also in several crucial respects. B) The report not only was incomplete but also misleading in several crucial respects. C) Not only incomplete, the report also misleading in several crucial respects. D) The report was not only incomplete but also misleading in several crucial respects.
