Errors in the tests

[Yankee]

Hi Torsten

I mentioned here that this test could use some fine-tuning:
Why is 'execute' not appropriate?

Sentence 3 is awkwardly worded. It is indeed odd to refer to business meetings, trips and cocktail-parties as "emotions". Perhaps this would be an appropriate rewording:
- Since Alice retired, she has been deprived of some favorite diversions — business meetings, business trips and cocktail parties. The humdrum routine of her present life is literally killing her.

Sentence 4 needs the word 'the' and I would also add a comma:
- In the Middle Ages, bandits and criminals were publicly executed by hanging.

Sentence 5 could perhaps be reworded this way:
- The Mafia often kidnaps children of the rich, demands money for their safe return, and then murders them anyway.

Sentence 7 would be better with 'of' instead of 'against' (i.e. the trial of a person). The word 'against' could be used with 'case', however. In addition, the word 'adjourned' seems to have been misused. Normally a court case is 'dismissed' or 'lost' when there is a lack of evidence -- i.e. the trial ends permanently. The word 'adjourn' refers to a delay or a pause. A trial might be adjourned for lunch or until after a public holiday, for example. Here is my suggested rewording:
- Because of a lack of evidence, the judge dismissed the case against the man accused of assassinating the senator.

In sentence 9, it would be better to talk about people being massacred rather than villages. I'd also prefer "on the new continent", but "in the New World":
- A lot of American Indians were massacred after white men settled in the New World.

Sentence 10 again fails to capitalize the word Mafia, "gets well paid" is quite awkward to my ear, and "they the mafia itself" is either a typo or not punctuated properly. Here is a suggestion for a rewrite:
- Angela has been a Mafia informant for many years now. Knowing that the Mafia is fond of liquidating its enemies, she demands and is paid exorbitant amounts of money to do this dirty job.

I do think these sentences need improvement, so those are my suggestions -- for whatever they're worth. I tried to keep the sentences as similar as possible to the originals.

If you decide to use any of the reworded sentences, you may also have to change the "answer options" accordingly since the form of the target word has changed in some of my sentences.
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_________________
Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Torsten]

Hi Amy,

Thanks a lot for your great work -- I'll go through all your suggestions and make the changes.

Regards,
Torsten
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Yankee]

Here is another test that needs to be reviewed and edited:
http://www.english-test.net/esl/learn/english/grammar/ii216/esl-test.php

- Sentences 3, 5, 6 and 10 contain words that run together (i.e. they need spaces between them).
- The apostrophe in sentence 3 is incorrect, in my opinion. It should be either managers meeting or managers' meeting.
- Sentence 9 is a run-on sentence. The easiest fix would be to make "It was beautiful and picturesque!" a separate sentence.
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_________________
Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Slava]

Dear Amy,

Many thanks for your corrections: ESL test: Antonyms (2)

Slava

[Yankee]

Well, aside from the question about whether a boss can be a woman or not, this test could use a bit of punctuation clean-up:
http://www.english-test.net/esl/learn/english/grammar/ir023/esl-test.php
I've placed a red line (__) in the spots that I think need some sort of additional punctuation. Perhaps the test-writer can take it from there.

Sentence 2. Yes, that's right __ another dead mouse.

Sentence 4. You can always book seats in advance by paying on the Internet __ and when you get to the theatre, you can collect your cards (tickets).

Sentence 9. They were really excited and thought they'd bought a painting by Van Gogh __ but an expert pointed out that the signature had been imitated (forged).

Sentence 10. What about you __ do you have hunger (are you hungry) or have you eaten? (Making this two separate sentences would probably be best.)

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Sentence 7: "A good boss is someone who shows appreciation at Christmas time for all the work his employed (employees) have done throughout the year."
I wonder whether the author will address the he/she/their issue. In addition, 'Christmas time' is generally written as one word: Christmastime.

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EDIT:
Since this is a test in which the error in each sentence has to be found by the test-taker, I've underlined the errors and added the correct answers (i.e. the answers provided after the test is completed) in parentheses and in blue.
_________________
Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Mister Micawber]

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And (#7) is 'employed' the usual? I would have thought 'employees'.
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_________________
Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mister Micawber

[Yankee]

Hi MM

That was a test in which the test-taker has to find the error, and I copied the test sentences as they appear before the test has been completed (i.e. the errors are still there). I'll edit my last post and underline the errors, and add the correct answers (in blue and in parentheses).
_________________
Amy
.
ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Yankee]

By the way, while we're still on this particular test, I'd also like to mention that saying "changing cubicle" sounds just as wrong to me as "changing cabin" does. (Sentence 3 in the test.)

In the US, we generally refer to the place in a store where you can try clothes on as a "dressing room" -- possibly sometimes a "changing room". Calling it a "changing cubicle" sounds just plain wrong to my American ear.

This brings us back to a question that has not been addressed very well here, in my opinion:

Should this sort of sentence be left "as is" without any mention whatsoever that this particular usage of the word 'cubicle' is limited to British English? To me, the failure to mention such things is misleading for ESL students!

Torsten and Alan, why are you so darn reluctant to include or even acknowledge these sorts of differences?
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_________________
Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Yankee]

http://www.english-test.net/esl/learn/english/grammar/ii174/esl-test.php

Besides the fact that sentence 4 is rather peculiar as a stand-alone sentence, sentence 9 needs to have the comma removed before the word 'can'. The correct sentence should appear this way:

The intelligent dressing room can scan your measurements and display how a particular item of clothing will look on you on a projection screen.
_________________
Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Slava]

Dear Amy,

Can you please recheck these two tests:

Expressions and Gerunds

Dressing expressions

Many thanks for your corrections.

Slava

[Yankee]

Hi Slava

In this test http://www.english-test.net/esl/learn/english/grammar/ir023/esl-test.php , I've now noticed the following:

- Sentence 2 is unchanged. Is that intentional?
- Sentence 3 is also unchanged. In that sentence, entering the word 'rooms' (for example) rather than 'cubicles' results in the answer being incorrect. I strongly feel that if you are going to test for the expression "changing cubicles", there should be some sort of notation that the usage of this collocation is quite limited OR you should accept additional answers. As this sentence currently stands, it is not an appropriate test of the word 'cubicle', but instead apparently tests a single dialect or a local colloquialism. If you are going to test specific dialects (and intentionally exclude others), I think you ought to make the test-taker aware of that, and also mention which specific dialect is being tested. As I mentioned in my previous post, the expression changing cubicle is not something that anyone would ever use here. If you referred to a "changing cubicle" here (rather than a "dressing room"), it would basically sound just as strange as "changing cabin" -- which is considered to be the error in this sentence!

I believe it was Torsten who wrote that this site focuses on "international" English. To me, the use of "changing cubicle" is strictly local, and definitely not international.

- Sentence 7 still suggests that all bosses are men, but at least the spelling of Christmastime was repaired.

I see that someone has accepted my other suggestions.

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In this test http://www.english-test.net/esl/learn/english/grammar/ii174/esl-test.php , I've noticed the following:

- Sentence 4 is unchanged and still odd. As a stand-alone sentence, it might be more appropriate to say "My mother" rather than "My boss".
- Sentence 9 is better now. In addition, because sentence 3 of the other test used the odd expression "changing cubicle", I can't help but wonder whether the Brits also use the collocation "dressing room" -- or whether "dressing room" is primarily an American collocation.
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_________________
Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Mister Micawber]

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We have a simple problem with name disagreement here: "Sue's flight" - is correct?
.
_________________
Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mister Micawber

[Slava]

Dear Amy,

please post your correct sentences with answers and I'll make the essential changes in tests.

Test: http://www.english-test.net/esl/learn/english/grammar/ir023/esl-test.php

Sentence 2:
Do you know what the cat bought in for me today? Yes, that's right: another dead mouse.
answer(s) brought in

Sentence 3:
The advantage of this kind of store is that if you're not absolutely sure the clothing is the right size, you can try it on in one of the changing cabins.
answer(s) cubicles, rooms

Sentence 7:
A good boss is someone who shows appreciation at Christmastime for all the work their employed have done throughout the year.
answer(s) employees

Test: http://www.english-test.net/esl/learn/english/grammar/ii174/esl-test.php

Sentence 4:
My mother put on her ......... and made herself some coffee.
answer(s) dressing gown

Sentence 9:
The intelligent ......... can scan your measurements and display how a particular item of clothing will look on you on a projection screen.
answer(s) dressing room

Dear Charles,

please write a correct sentence for me.

Test: http://www.english-test.net/esl/learn/english/grammar/ii146/esl-test.php

Sentence 8:
Harry: What time does your flight leave?
Deb: Our departure is scheduled for 7:45 in the morning. Could you take me to the airport?
Harry: Sure. We'll have to leave the city at about 5 o'clock then.
Deb: Sounds good.
Question: What time does Sue's flight leave? ..........
answer(s) 7:45 am

Many thanks
Slava

[Mister Micawber]

.
Sentence 8:
Harry: What time does your flight leave?
Deb: Our departure is scheduled for 7:45 in the morning. Could you take me to the airport?
Harry: Sure. We'll have to leave the city at about 5 o'clock then.
Deb: Sounds good.
Question: What time does Deb's flight leave? ..........
answer(s) 7:45 am
.
_________________
Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mister Micawber

[Slava]

Thank you, Charles.