These are four sample questions from Bryq’s English Independent assessment, a language test for hiring candidates who need to communicate confidently in English at work. The full assessment covers four skills: listening, reading, grammar, and vocabulary. Questions use recorded workplace conversations, longer reading passages, and sentence completion, each with four options and one correct answer.
Listening
Intermediate
Click to listen then answer the question.
“I’ve just heard back from the client. They’re happy with the proposal overall, but they’d like a few changes to the pricing section before they sign off. Do you think we can get that revised version to them by Thursday?”
Question
Which response best addresses the speaker’s request?
Select your answer
Sure, I’ll look at the pricing section today and make sure it’s ready by Thursday.
Sure, I’ll update the delivery timeline and send it over by Thursday.
Maybe we should just leave it and see if they sign anyway.
I don’t think the pricing needs to change at all.
WHY IS THIS THE CORECT ANSWER
The speaker needs the pricing section revised by Thursday. The best response commits to exactly that, showing the listener understood both the task and the deadline.
Reading
Intermediate
Read the passage below then answer the question.
NovaBridge Technologies recently launched an internal mentorship programme designed to support career development across the organisation. Employees who have been with the company for at least two years are eligible to become mentors. Each mentor is matched with a junior colleague based on their professional background and development goals. The programme runs for six months, with monthly one-to-one sessions and access to an online resource library. Participation is voluntary, but the HR team has encouraged all eligible staff to get involved. Early feedback suggests that both mentors and mentees have found the experience valuable.
Question
Who is eligible to become a mentor in the programme?
Select your answer
Employees who have worked at the company for at least two years.
Only senior managers and department heads.
Any employee who volunteers, regardless of experience.
Employees who have completed a leadership training course.
WHY IS THIS THE CORECT ANSWER
The passage states that employees with at least two years at the company are eligible. Participation is voluntary, but volunteering alone does not make someone eligible, which is why option A is a trap.
Grammar
Intermediate
Question
Choose the correct option to complete the sentence:
“Not only __________ the budget, but she also delivered the project ahead of schedule.”
Select your answer
did she exceed
has she exceeded
she exceeded
she has exceeded
WHY IS THIS THE CORECT ANSWER
When a sentence begins with ‘Not only’, the subject and auxiliary are inverted. The past tense ‘did she exceed’ also matches ‘delivered’ later in the sentence, while ‘has she exceeded’ inverts correctly but mixes tenses.
Vocabulary
Intermediate
Question
Choose the correct word to complete the sentence:
“The board agreed to __________ the launch until the legal review was complete.”
Select your answer
postpone
put away
carry out
call off
WHY IS THIS THE CORECT ANSWER
Until’ signals a temporary delay, so ‘postpone’ is correct. ‘Call off’ means to cancel entirely, which doesn’t fit a launch that will go ahead once the review is complete.
Intermediate
Question
Level
Select your answer
Level
Level
Level
Level
