Eiken, English Proficiency Test

I took Eiken, English Proficiency Test, today. Mine was the first grade, which is considered as the most difficult level. I didn't take this test so seriously at all, partly because I got quite good score with TOEIC recently to verify my English level, and partly because I am convinced that after all you can show your English only in real conversation and that this kind of test can't correctly and accurately measure your communication skill. So I went to the examination place without any preparation for it nor any idea of what kind of test it is.

When I started the first part of the test, which was reading section, I was certain that I can easily pass it even with conviction that I could get perfect score! Two hours later, after I was finished with all the questions, which were finalized with listening section, my certainty was waning, and now I am a bit doubtful that I can make it. Cause of downfall? It lays with not my English, but with my personality. To put it bluntly, I got bored.

This is my problem. My concentration doesn't last for more than one hour. In case of TOEIC, the first half of the test is listening, which I got almost perfect scores. Then, my performance of the second half of reading section was just passable, definitely not satisfactory. Before I go to the English test, maybe I need to practice some kind of meditation to sharpen my concentration ability.

Again, I am pretty sure that these kind of evaluation can judge just some aspect of your English communication skill. And, I think that we should be always mindful that language is just a tool of communication, not the goal itself. But, at the same time, I paid 13,000 yen for taking this test, and I am now feeling some kind of defeat, now I have a resolution that I will revenge within this year!

The following is a couple of question in reading section. Have a try!

(1) Despite having been in the fiercest part of the fighting, the soldier emerged ( ).
1 incapacitated 2 deceased 3 embittered 4 unscathed

(2) Although officials deny it, rumors are ( ) that the elderly king is suffering from a life-threatening illness.
1 pallid 2 limp 3 rife 4 torrid

(3 )The new production of Shakespeare's Macbeth was ( ) by critics and, as a result, very few people went to see it.
1 beguiled 2 sanitized 3 conjured 4 lambasted

How was it?