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Foreign Students: Diagnostic Test and Registration

The Diagnostic Test for overseas students whose mother tongue is not English will take place on

Students can choose either date.

The test will thus have to be taken before students come to me for registration on Thursday 24 or Friday 25 September 2009, 9-5, in A46 Taylor Building.

Mercedes Durham
Department of English

Specimen two-hour Diagnostic Literature Test for overseas students whose mother tongue is not English:

You can download a copy of this test in Word format here.

The following passage is an extract (the opening and closing verses) of Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem Mariana . Write a critical analysis of it in at least 500 words, commenting on the way Tennyson uses language for literary effect. Your answer should be in the form of an essay, i.e. note form is not acceptable.

Alfred Lord Tennyson, Mariana (extract).


With blackest moss the flower-plots

Were thickly crusted, one and all:

The rusted nails fell from the knots

That held the pear to the gable wall.

The broken sheds looked sad and strange,

Unlifted was the clinking latch;

Weeded and worn the ancient thatch

Upon the lonely moated grange.

She only said, "My life is dreary,

He cometh not," she said.

She said, "I am aweary, aweary,

I would that I were dead!"

Her tears fell with the dews at even,

Her tears fell ere the dews were dried;

She could not look on the sweet heaven

Either at morn or eventide.

After the flitting of the bats,

When thickest dark did trance the sky,

She drew her casement-curtain by,

And glanced athwart the glooming flats.

She only said, "The night is dreary,

He cometh not," she said.

She said, "I am aweary, aweary,

I would that I were dead!"

All day within the dreamy house

The doors upon their hinges creaked;

The blue fly sung in the pane; the mouse

Behind the mouldering wainscot shrieked,

Or from the crevice peered about.

Old faces glimmered through the doors,

Old footsteps trod the upper floors,

Old voices called her from without.

She only said, "My life is dreary,

He cometh not," she said.

She said, "I am aweary, aweary,

I would that I were dead!"

The sparrow's chirrup on the roof,

The slow clock ticking, and the sound

Which to the wooing wind aloof

The poplar made, did all confound

Her sense; but most she loathed the hour

When the thick-moted sunbeam lay

Athwart the chambers, and the day

Was sloping toward his western bower.

Then said she, "I am very dreary,

He will not come," she said.

She wept, "I am aweary, aweary,

Oh God, that I were dead!"

NB : Depending on your browser settings, the extract may display with incorrect line breaks. A correct version may be downloaded here .

Specimen two-hour Diagnostic Language Test for overseas students whose mother tongue is not English:

This test is for students wishing to take language courses only at Level 3.
You have two hours to complete the test. You can download a copy of this test in Word format here.

PART 1
Complete the following article by writing each missing word on the answer sheet. Use only one word for each space.

Harry Houdini

Harry Houdini, who died 65 years ago, was the entertainment phenomenon of his era. He (1) . escape from chains, locks, ropes and sacks. They strapped him in and hung him upside (2) . from a high building and he somehow freed (3) . . They locked him in a packing case and sank him in Liverpool docks and minutes (4) . he surfaced smiling.
Houdini would usually (5) . his equipment to be examined by the audience. The chains, locks and packing cases all seemed fine, (6) . it was tempting to conclude that he possessed superhuman powers. However, there was (7) ... physically remarkable about Houdini (8) . for his bravery, dexterity and fitness. His nerve was so cool that he could relax when buried six feet underground (9) . they came to dig him up. His fingers were so strong that he (10) . undo a strap or manipulate keys through the canvas of a mail bag. He made (11) . comprehensive study of locks and was able to conceal tools about his person in a way (12) . fooled even the doctors who examined him.
As an entertainer, he combined (13) . this strength and ingenuity with a lot of trickery. His stage escapes took place behind a curtain with an orchestra playing to disguise (14) . banging and sawing. All Houdini's feats can easily be explained but he (15) . to that band of mythical supermen who, we (16) . to believe, were capable of miracles.

PART 2

Your local Tourist Information Centre is planning a brochure which will introduce the town or region where you live to English-speaking visitors. You have been assigned to write the section describing the physical features of the area, including the location, layout, geography and architectural features. You may wish to include some reference to the local history, but do not describe tourist facilities, hotels and restaurants, transport and the like (these will be dealt with by other contributors to the brochure). Try to make the place sound interesting and attractive and at the same time to give as much precise information as you can. The length of your essay should be about 350 words.
You will be marked on the quality of your written English (spelling, grammar, and composition) and your ability to write an interesting essay in an appropriate style.