Practice test №2

Task 1. Read the text below. For questions (1-5) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

School farms

More and more British schools are now running their own farms. There are now over 100, with another 100 more in the pipeline. One example is Hutton College in the north of England, which opened its farm in 2005. Here, students deal with all aspects of raising animals and growing vegetables. The working day starts at 7.30 am, two hours before lessons begin. Jake, 15, who used to hate waking up early for school, is now happy to do so. ‘I love looking after the animals even if I have to get up early.’ Jake also thinks the responsibility has made him a better student: ‘I don’t misbehave any more, and I find it easier to concentrate in class now.’

There are 1,200 pupils attending Hutton College. Sam Connolly, a science teacher, explains that although the school farm has helped improve the attitudes and behaviour of many of the students, overall it has also significantly improved results in subjects such as art, technology, maths and science. A number of school qualifications, including Agriculture Science and the Certificate in Animal Care, are now based on work done at the farm.

Mr Connolly emphasises that this is a real farm. It gives the school the opportunity to

examine areas which are vital to today’s food industry, including better awareness of where food comes from, animal welfare, the importance of a balanced diet and the need to reduce waste. Students are involved in growing fruit and vegetables which are on sale in the

college’s farm shop. ‘If I can get children to realise how farming works in reality and what it all means, from the farm to the dinner plate, I’ll be delighted,’ he says.

All those concerned agree that the main thing with food is knowing where it comes from, so students are urged to pick and eat produce grown in the college gardens. Eating vegetables picked fresh from the gardens is something new for students often more familiar with supermarket ready-meals. Everyone comments on the way the lettuces stay fresh a lot longer than pre-packaged supermarket versions.

Mr Connolly says he is often amazed at some students’ ignorance of farming. ‘Even

something as basic as growing a few peas and discovering how much effort you have to put in to get results can have a powerful impact on people,’ he says. Professor Alex Andrews of Hutton University agrees. His research shows farms can improve students’ self-confidence, educate them in the importance of eating well throughout their lives, and teach them about where their dinner originally comes from. As he says, ‘All schools should be able to use farms to support their educational processes, even if this involves just looking after some chickens or growing vegetables for the school kitchens.’

1.   Before he started work on the farm, Jake

A was always late for school.

B caused problems in his lessons.

C knew very little about farming.

D disliked having any responsibility.

2.   What does Sam Connolly think is the farm’s main achievement?

A It has made teachers’ lives easier in class.

B It has improved the students’ school attendance.

C It has boosted the school’s academic performance.

D It has helped increase the range of subjects studied.

3.   Mr Connolly’s ambition is for the farm to help students

A understand the whole process of food production.

B get employment in the food industry.

C appreciate the importance of the environment.

D know more about the business side of agriculture.

4.   Why are students encouraged to pick and eat vegetables?

A to provide a healthier diet than they get at home

B to teach them important new practical skills

C to reinforce a key piece of knowledge

D to demonstrate the poor quality of supermarket food

5.   Professor Andrews thinks school farms

A have changed children’s eating habits.

B can help schools save money.

C should be part of the curriculum.

D may have long-term health benefits.

Task 2. Choose the most suitable summary sentence from the list A-H for each part (6-11) of the article. There is one extra summary sentence which you do not need to use. There is an example (o).

A Free time is another opportunity for learning.

В Doing something different is a form of relaxation.

C It’s the friendship that really counts.

D Souls find meaning in the sounds.

E Health and fitness are the key.

F Time with relations is well spent.

G The star struck seek the screen

H There are two different aspects to this.

0 – G

Jemma and Julie are twins, both 16 last month. They’re good students at school and spend a lot of time studying, but they make sure they take time out for a little fun and entertainment The best choice for a free afternoon or evening for these girls is going to the cinema with

friends. Tm crazy about action movies,' says Jemma. 'They’re just so exciting!' Julie agrees and explains that going to the cinema is almost an addiction for them. ‘If I don’t see at least one movie at the weekend, I really feel I’ve missed something great.'

Charlie is 15 years old and has his own ideas on how to spend his leisure time. Never without his laptop during the week, Charlie abandons technology at the weekend in favour of his other hobby - bowling! Charlie's favourite way to unwind is to bowl for a few hours at the

local bowling alley. ‘We've got a nice league going, and it’s great fun. Bowling lets you escape from the pressures of school and just enjoy yourself for a while. It's great!'

Sean is 17 and his cousin Roger is 16. They both believe there’s only one proper leisure activity - sport! In particular, football. Sean and Roger are both players and fans. They play for the school team and attend as many of their local team's games as they can. When they can afford the trip, they love to travel to other cities to support their team in away games.

Faces painted in team colours, Sean and Roger are sure to be the ones jumping up and down in front of the camera when their team scores. 'There’s nothing more exciting than sport,’ says Sean. Roger adds that being a player goes hand in hand with being a fan of a

professional team. ‘I can’t imagine being one and not the other.' 8    

Jeffrey, 14, is also very passionate about his favourite pastime, music. 'Music means everything to me,' he explains. 'It expresses all my moods and feelings. It makes me feel like someone totally understands me.' When he’s not listening to music, he's out shopping for new CDs or DVDs with his friends. 'We talk about music all the time, what’s new, what's hot, you know. It's a very big part of our lives.'

9      

Valerie and Sue are both 17 and are not very specific about what they do in their free time, probably because they don't actually have any hobbies! They go window shopping, maybe sit for a drink or a quick bite to eat somewhere, and in general, just ‘hang out’. ‘It’s hard to say exactly what we do when we hang out, but it's important that we get together whenever we can. We're such good friends that we have loads of fun even if we’re just sitting in a fast food restaurant talking!'

10      

Fifteen-year-old Monica and her brother Freddy, 14, say that they don’t have much leisure time at all. In fact, almost all of their time away from school is spent doing homework and taking lessons. ‘It might sound sad, but in my free time I usually do something like practise the piano. I don’t mind because I’m getting really good. One day I'll be glad I put in the time to learn.' Freddy agrees and adds, ‘You don’t have to be fooling around or getting into trouble to have fun. I’m taking karate lessons on Saturdays with two of my schoolmates and we have a great time!'

11      

Simon is fifteen and comes from a very large family. With six brothers and sisters and twenty-four cousins, there are an awful lot of people around the house to spend time with. Td say most of my leisure time is spent with my family, just doing different things together.

There are so many of us coming and going from each other's houses all the time, it's like we're always having a party,' Simon says. 'Sure, my friends come round and we hang out sometimes, but usually I'm doing something with someone from my family. We're all really close to each other.'

Task 3. You are going to read an article about being a newspaper reporter. For questions 12- 16, choose from the people (A–D). You may need to use one letter twice.

Which person says:

12. they had a particular advantage when applying for one job?
13. time for research is often limited?
14. their present job is good training for their future career?
15. they find it difficult when they are not permitted to finish something?
16. it is important to take advantage of subject areas you know a lot about?

A Craig. As a reporter, you really have to be ready for anything. A story could come up on a subject you know nothing about and you may have just half an hour to read a report or past stories before you interview someone. I spend most of my time in the office, unfortunately. My advice for potential journalists is that you need to be able to speak to anyone in all walks

of life. A story could come up where the subject is close to your heart but you have to be unbiased and open to other people’s opinions, even if you do not agree with them. Every subject is useful – you need to know a little bit about everything.

B Beth. I would say about 60% of my time is spent inside the office. It is always better to visit someone in their house as it makes for a much better story, but due to time constraints unfortunately this is not always possible. The experience I’m gaining at a local newspaper will set me up for a job on a bigger newspaper. Local newspapers are a great source of news for national newspapers. The general agreement at my newspaper is that the story can be

passed on as long as it has appeared in our paper or on our website first. To be a journalist you must be outgoing and professional, and you also have to ensure accuracy in all stories. You will often find yourself in a situation where you have to generate a conversation with a complete stranger who may not want to speak to you!

C Andrew. My first job was with a regional paper. I think the editor was impressed by the fact that I come from the area and know about local issues. I now work from home on a freelance basis, writing features for the Sunday newspapers. You have to be very self-

motivated and able to generate ideas for new stories all the time. In a good week I’ll sell two or three features to magazines. Some weeks I’ll sell nothing. Journalism isn’t a profession where you progress upwards from one position to the next. I’ve made several moves already but it’s not clear whether they were upwards, downwards or sideways! You need to be prepared to work hard to get work experience, get a qualification and demonstrate your

commitment. If you’re a specialist in anything (sport, music, computer games), write about it.

D Deborah. I had no career plan at all when I graduated – I found work with a very small family-owned paper where I found myself doing all sorts of jobs. While there I decided to train as a journalist. I must be the only person in the universe to ‘fall into’ journalism! A crucial part of my job is building contacts locally. I attend a lot of council meetings to try to find out what is going on with the 15,000 employees and attend numerous other meetings.

Why do I do it? It’s certainly not for the money, which is very poor. I really enjoy seeing my words change things. The frustrations include leaving a story I’m enjoying working on because the editor wants something else.

Task 4. Read the text below. Choose from (A-H) the one which best fits each space (17 - 22). There are two choices you do not need to use.

Studying abroad

Have you always dreamed of traveling, meeting lots of different people, and maybe picking up a language or two? No matter (17)               , you can fly over the world’s highest waterfalls in Venezuela, learn world trade in Japan, study in France, or take dancing lessons in Ghana.

How? You could join a study program abroad, (18)           with a host family in a foreign country. Semester, summer, and year-long programs allow you to attend school, take

intensive language courses, or perform community service in another country. Read on to learn more about study abroad programs.

One of the reasons for studying abroad is (19)          . Christina studied in Caracas, Venezuela, a city of ten million people and a huge change from her hometown of 35,000! Christina says she learned how to be better at standing up for herself and her beliefs, and to express herself in another language.

Although many academic programs abroad have academic requirements, you do not necessarily have to have the highest grades or marks to be eligible and (20)               . Study programs abroad look for students who are independent, self-assured, enjoy having new experiences and meeting different types of people, and can handle challenges.

If you really hate change and don’t like the idea of figuring things out all on your own, then studying abroad may not be for you. It’s important to be honest with yourself and really think about what you expect. You could end up having a miserable time if you don’t! Of course,

(21)           , then studying abroad may be an ideal way to take the plunge.

Are you convinced that a year abroad is for you, but you’re worried that your parents will never go for it? Use some of the points of view (22)               to explain why you want to study overseas. Explain that studying abroad is a chance of a lifetime and that it offers great academic opportunities.

A what country you live in

B that you’ll become more self-assured

C where high-school and college students live

D if you want to change those things about yourself and don’t mind tackling them head on

E that sold you on the idea

F and most do not have language requirements

G what people might say

H dancing all nights at local clubs

Use of English

Task 5. Read the texts below. For questions (23-32) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

Planning an adventure trip

Researching your destination properly will make all aspects of your adventure trip easier, as well as helping you to (23)               the most out of the experience. Research will help you pick the best places to go but you’ll also learn what you need to pack, and also what cultural (and sometimes political) issues you should be (24)               of.

Climate and seasonal pricing are important (25)      in your decision about when to go. For adventure travel, bad weather or weather you’re not (26)               for can ruin the trip. While you can’t predict what the (27)               weather will be, find out as much as you can about the climate in advance.

Translaty

Translaty is a simple yet life-changing Japanese invention that helps you to overcome any obstacles (28)              by foreign languages, whether you (29)              in a business meeting with an international client or chilling somewhere on a Spanish beach.

This small but ingenious device is able to instantly recognize and translate over 40 different languages, making intercultural communication completely effortless! With Translaty you are able to communicate to almost anyone in the world in seconds!

Translaty (30)     to make your life easier as simply as possible - (31)     it's created using the latest technologies, you are not required to have any special knowledge to use this device.

Translaty has more than 40 languages pre-in- stalled so you're able to use it the minute you get it! It provides fast and accurate two-way communication and allows you (32)              some other languages that you might be missing.

KEYS:

1.  B

2.  C

3.  A

4.  C

5.  D

6.  B

7.  H

8.  D

9.  C

10. A

11. F

12. C

13. A

14. B

15. D

16. C

17. A

18. C

19. B

20. F

21. D

22. E

23. B

24. A

25. C

26. B

27. D

28. C

29. A

30. B

31. D

32.С