TEST A

LISTENING COMPREHENSION

PART 1

DIRECTIONS:
You will hear a text twice. Before you listen to the recording, read the statements
below. As you listen to the recording for the first time, look at the statements, but
DO NOT take any notes! As you listen to the recording for the second time, you
are allowed to mark the statements as true or false (T / F).

1. …… Lissi looks after elderly people in London.

2. …… Lissi lives in a very small house of her own.
3. …… Part of Lissi's job is to do some housework.
4. …… Lissi has never been to London before.
5. …… She finds London quite an exciting city.
6. …… Lissi didn't find the agency she chose on the Internet.
7. …… To become an au pair, one is interviewed by an agency.
8. …… Lissi is pleased with and fond of the family she works for.
9. …… A girl Lissi knows had a much better family than hers.
10. …… You have to be fluent in English to start working as an au pair.
 TEST A
READING COMPREHENSION
PART 2 TASK 1
DIRECTIONS: Read the text below. Then, read the questions that follow it and circle
the letter of the correct answer (A, B, C or D).
I am sometimes amazed at my own children, the way they get angry if they
have to do the dishes twice in one week, the way they act over small bumps and
cuts. As a mum, I've had to teach myself to admire bloody baby teeth and clean
the dirt from scraped knees. However, in my mind, my mother's voice and that of
my grandmother still come into my head. "Oh for goodness sake, you aren't
hurt!" they used to say. For a moment, I want to tell this new generation about
my little brother calmly spitting out a handful of tooth pieces and going back in
to grab the biggest cow in the barn. I want to tell my children how tough I was,
falling asleep at the table with hands so sore that I couldn't hold a fork, or about
their grandmother, who cut off three of her fingers on a piece of farm equipment
but finished the job before she came in to get help. For a moment, I'm terrified I'll
make a mistake and tell them to get tough.
Like my parents and grandparents, I was born and trained to live on a farm.
I could rope horses and ride a tractor as well as my brother, but being female,
I also learned to bake bread and can vegetables, and keep my opinions to myself
when others were talking. When an unmarried neighbour asked me out when
I was fifteen, my parents were proud and hopeful. Though he was twelve years
older than I was, his other numbers were very promising. He and his father had
over fifteen hundred cows on 36,000 acres of land.
11) The text is probably...
A a newspaper advertisement. C an extract from a book.
B a television commercial. D a magazine article.
12) The author is thinking about her childhood because...
A she is comparing herself to her children.
B her children asked her about it.
C she misses her family members.
D she worries her children are weak.
13) From the text we know that the author...
A didn't like her childhood. C has not changed over the years.
B had a terrible mother and father. D had a difficult childhood.
14) "Oh for goodness sake, you aren't hurt!" is similar in meaning to...
A "I am happy you didn't hurt yourself."
B "You should have hurt yourself."
C "I regret you didn't hurt yourself."
D "You can't have hurt yourself."
 TEST A
READING PART 2
TASK 2
DIRECTIONS: Mark the following statements as true or false (T/F).
(15) ……The author gets angry with her children's behaviour.
(16) ……The author's brother is younger than she is.
(17) ……The mother worked hard when she was young.
(18) ……The author did both farm work and housework.
(19) ……The author did not speak when men were around.
(20) ……The man who wanted to date the author was poor.

USE OF ENGLISH
PART 3 TASK 1
WORD FORMATION
DIRECTIONS: Use the words in brackets to form words, which fit in the gaps.

21) It's the feeling of.........................................(FREE) that I enjoy most

when I go skiing.
22) I not only find reading science fiction .................................... (RELAX)
but I also get ideas for my compositions.
23) I've been playing with the band for a year now, and I get the same
feeling of ......................................... (EXCITE) every time we play.
24) Painting is something that gives me a lot of .......................... (PLEASE).
25) What a day! My.........................................(ASSIST) was off work and
the computers were down for 6 hours.
26) Language wasn't too big a problem because ......................... (AMAZE)
almost everyone spoke English.
27) The architecture of modern buildings is just so ....................... (BORE)
to look at.
28) There is more at Brown's than just fine food — our home .....................
(DELIVER) service is fast and efficient.
29) Don't just walk into the video store and choose the first DVD that
catches your eye; go on a friend's ............................... (RECOMMEND).
30) I hate it when the pilot starts the engines and suddenly everyone goes quiet in
....................................................... (ANTICIPATE).
 TEST A
PART 3 TASK 2
CLOZE TEST
DIRECTIONS: Read the text and for each gap circle the letter (A, B, C or D) of
the word or phrase that best suits each space.
Skiing is a sport like golf where practice alone is not enough. Whatever your
level, from complete beginner to potential World Cup star, you need expert
31)........ to progress. Throughout the winter, a growing 32)....... of specialist
courses in Europe and North America promise to correct bad technique by
providing a friendly alternative approach to conventional ski schools.
The nervous skier
The feeling of anxiety and a general 33)......... of control on skis are all too
often what holds people back. Small children whiz past, bigger snow-
boarders thunder by, and you sometimes feel like 34)....... and going home.
The Ski Company (not to be confused with the luxury tour operator of the
same name), holds courses for nervous skiers based in Courchevel, with its
gentle and beautifully 35)............ slopes. The teaching principle is based on
putting you in 36)............ of your skis so that you can decide where you
want to go and how fast.
Tip: Learning to relax is one of the key elements to 37)............ a better skier.
Dates: January 19th and January 26th, maximum eight skiers per group.
Level 1 is for people who are 38)............ on the nursery slopes and level 2 is
for those who can handle an easy 'black' run down the slope.
Holiday cost: £740 for seven nights, six-day lift pass, three hours of
39)............ and video analysis five days a week, flights and transfers.
Course only: £200 for three teaching hours on 40)............ of the five days.
Bookings: The Ski Company
Telephone #: 0870 12345678; Website: www.theskicompany.co.uk

31 A learning B coaching C studying D discovering

32 A amount B quantity C number D capacity
33 A famine B shortage C excess D lack
34 A surrendering B giving up C submitting D providing
35 A maintained B retained C destroyed D supported
36 A responsibility B duty C charge D obligation
37 A converting B growing C turning D becoming
38 A convinced B confident C persuaded D doubtful
39 A tuition B education C knowledge D awareness
40 A other B each C another D few
 TEST A
PART 3 TASK 3
SENTENCE COMPLETION
DIRECTIONS: Circle the answer (A, B, C or D) which best completes the
meaning of each sentence.
41) My daughter is not …….... to go to school on her own every morning.
A old enough C too old
B enough old D very old
42) Timothy ………. English at one of the best language schools in the country.
A used to teach C was used to teach
B would teaching D got used to teach
43) It is high time Daniel ……….. playing computer games every evening.
A stops C will stop
B stopped D has stopped
44) If you ……….. Jenny, tell her to phone her husband immediately.
A see C have seen
B will see D will be seeing
45) It is the first time my best friend Georgiana ……… plane.
A travelled C is travelling
B travels D has ever travelled
46) She asked herself if she ……….. New York and Washington DC again.
A will ever visit C would ever visit
B had ever visited D has ever been visiting
47) Both Kate and Jack are keen on ..… in the mountains in the winter months.
A to go ski C going skiing
B go to ski D go skiing
48) Unlike my mother, my father thinks that our country house needs ……….. .
A to be redecorated C to redecorate
B to have redecorated D to be redecorating
49) It was during the winter holidays …….... Alex visited Bansko in Bulgaria.
A that C where
B when D what
50) "What ……..… Jack? Look at your new T-shirt. It’s covered in mud."
A were you doing C will you have been doing
B have you been doing D had you been doing
 TEST A

WRITING
PART 4
DIRECTIONS:
Choose one of the tasks below and write your answer in about 100-120 words.
1. Read the extract from Amanda's letter. Write a reply telling her about
your hobby or hobbies and ask three questions about her best friend's party.
Remember the rules of letter writing.
I would love to know what you do in your spare time. Do you have
any hobbies? How often do you see your friends?
I must stop now, as I need to get ready for my best friend's birthday
party this evening. It will be great fun.
2. What is a typical Monday like for you? Write a composition in which
you include information about what you do in the morning, in the afternoon
and in the evening. You might find the following vocabulary useful:
• get up • have lunch
• have breakfast • do my homework
• leave home • eat dinner
• walk to school • spend the evening
• classes start/finish • go to bed etc.