NAME_________________

DATE__________________
INITIAL TEST PAPER
9TH FORM ___

READING
1. Read the article and the questions below. For each question, mark the correct
letter a, b, c or d.

An Extreme Adventure: Visiting the South Pole

by Sally Jones

The South Pole is so cold that you can freeze to death if you aren’t careful. Most people
wouldn’t travel thousands of kilometres to spend time there. However, Simon Daglish is not just
anyone. He is a courageous and adventurous man. He and some friends decided to hike to the
South Pole along the same route that Captain Robert Falcon Scott followed in 1912. And to
make things even more interesting, they decided to use the same type of clothing, equipment and
food that the heroic British explorer had used. They did this knowing that these things hadn’t
protected Scott very well. In fact, Scott and four of his men died, but this didn’t stop Daglish and
his friends.

To get ready, Daglish and the three other men trained for 90 minutes a day.To get stronger,
they pulled old car tyres through London parks and to get used to freezing temperatures, they rode
exercise bikes in a friend’s walk-in freezer. The old-fashioned clothing was a challenge as well.
They used blankets to make old-style jackets and had boots made of reindeer skin. However,
Daglish admitted that he and his friends didn’t know how the sledge would perform.

The team wanted to raise money for medical research. They managed to get $100,000 from
Numis Securities, their main sponsor. The Mail on Sunday newspaper also gave them money for
their story. Unfortunately, their expedition didn’t start very well at all. They started pulling the
four-metre long sledge, but it wouldn’t move. ‘We couldn’t believe it’, Daglish remembers. He
said that everyone had the same look on their face. ‘We were all thinking the same thing: Which
one of you isn’t pulling?’ Finally, they got the sledge moving. They pulled it for two hours at a
time, eight hours a day, in -37 ºC weather.

Daglish and his friends were greeted by about fifty South Pole scientists as they crossed
the finishing line. Daglish describes one way they celebrated their arrival at the South Pole. ‘We
played this little trick where you stand right at the Pole and put your hand on the marker and walk
around it. You can actually walk around the world in eight steps. It was such good fun and the
scientists took a video of it!’ Not only was the journey successful, but it also made $640,000 for
research!
 NAME_________________
DATE__________________
INITIAL TEST PAPER
9TH FORM ___
1 What is Sally Jones doing in the article?
a explaining how dangerous it is to visit the South Pole
b encouraging more people to travel to the South Pole
c describing a fundraising expedition to the South Pole
d giving advice on how to reach the South Pole safely
2 What does Sally say about the preparations for the expedition?
a The team prepared well for every aspect of the expedition.
b The team didn’t have to train as hard as they did.
c The team used the same training methods as Captain Scott’s team.
d The team was embarrassed to train in strange clothes.
3 What was the team’s attitude towards their problems with the sledge?
a. They all thought that they needed to pull it longer.
b. They argued about who was going to pull it.
c. They encouraged each other to carry on pulling it.
d. They started blaming each other about not pulling it enough.
4 Why did Daglish and his men do that trick?
a. The South Pole scientists told them to do it.
b. They thought it was an entertaining way of ending their journey.
c. It’s a traditional way to celebrate reaching the South Pole.
d. It was another way of making more money for charity.
5 What might Daglish have written in his diary about the expedition?
a. I hope more people will follow Captain Scott’s example. This expedition wasn’t as tough
as I’d thought.
b. It would’ve been an easier expedition if I had a better team.
c. There were times I didn’t think we would succeed, but I’m glad we did.
d. I was really surprised to see the South Pole scientists greet us like that.

GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY

1. Complete the second sentences so that they have a similar meaning to the
first sentences, using the words given. You must use between two and five
words.
1. I finished the book while I was on the plane. HAD
___________________________ the book by the time I got off the plane.
2. Paula’s brother will paint her house. PAINTED
Paula by her brother.
3. ‘Don’t make so much noise!’ said Mrs Nichols. MAKE
Mrs Nichols told us ___ so much noise.
4. I think we have a test tomorrow, but I’m not sure. MIGHT
_____________________________a test tomorrow.
5. When we first moved to Egypt we found it very difficult to live there. USED
We could in Egypt when we first moved there.
6. Is the gallery open in the afternoon? KNOW
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DATE__________________
INITIAL TEST PAPER
9TH FORM ___
Do you open in the afternoon?
7. They have found the missing child. FOUND
The missing child .
8. Susan has an appointment with the dentist on Friday. SEEING
Susan the dentist on Friday.
9. That statue is so beautiful! SUCH
It is statue.
10. We didn’t ask questions in class so we didn’t understand the lesson. HAVE
If we had asked questions in class, we ___ the lesson.

2. Read the text below and choose the correct word for each space. For each question,
choose the correct letter a, b, c or d.

A Great Documentary

A couple of years ago I stopped (1) the cinema completely. I just couldn’t watch another love
story or comedy. Then one day, I read a review of a documentary about training guide dogs for the
blind called New Eyes. It sounded really interesting. It was a new (2) and I wanted to see it as
soon as possible.

I asked my friend Sarah to go with me, but she said it didn’t sound very (3) . She (4) a lot of
time reading movie star blogs and isn’t interested in documentaries at all.

The (5) of New Eyes decided to make a documentary about guide dogs after his sister helped
train one. These dogs go to live with a family when they are very young. The families know from the
beginning that they will have to (6) the dog after 12 months. Some of them have a very hard
time coping (7) this because they often get very attached to their pets.

In the documentary, the children in one family (8) their best not to cry when the dog is taken
away. It is a very emotional scene and because there was no (9) , all the words and actions
were totally natural. That’s one of the things that make documentaries like New Eyes (10)
satisfying to watch.

1 a to see b enjoying c to like d going

2 a research b script c release d gadget
3 a entertaining b boring c interactive d successful
4 a goes b does c spends d makes
5 a character b producer c musician d engineer
6 a give up b look over c make up d hand out
7 a on b in c about d with
8 a go b make c do d find
9 a music b scene c script d solution
10 a so b such c as d more
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INITIAL TEST PAPER
9TH FORM ___
3. Complete the sentences with the correct form of the words.

1. That movie wasn’t interesting at all. It was really _______________. BORE

2. Our teacher is always telling us to ___________________. CONCENTRATION
3. I don’t know what to do. I just can’t make a ___________________ . DECIDE
4. Most brides ____________________ wear a white wedding dress. TRADITION
5. My mom would love to get a new car.
Her first ____________________ would be a sports car. CHOOSE
6. I don’t feel sorry for her. In fact, I don’t _________________ with her at all . SYMPATHY
7. The new bakery is very popular. It has lots of _____________________ . CUSTOM
8. Snow leopards are on the list of ___________________ species. DANGER
9. Everybody should have the ____________________ to express themselves. FREE
10. What does ‘naturopath’ mean? Can you give me a ___________________ ? DEFINE

4. Choose the correct variant:

1. The children were very ………. about going to the fun park and had a great time there.
a. optimistic b. eager c. enthusiastic
2. The event was a complete disaster. I’m ………. a loss for words to explain why.
a. at b. in c. with
3. Do you know how much a human brain ……… ?
a. weigh b. weighs c. is weighing
4. I’ve got a lot of problems and I ……… more and more anxious.
a. am getting b. have got c. have been getting
5. I’m afraid we’re going to have to call ……… the trip. It’s just too expensive.
a. for b. back c. off
6. We might ……… space if we move the sofa to the corner next to the bookshelf.
a. keep b. get c. save
7. My sister ……… bring us back interesting gifts from foreign lands.
a. used b. would c. use to
8. ‘The children ……… a film about The Independence War in history class today.’
‘Was it interesting?’
a. were watching b. have watched c. watched
9. James felt ……… pressure when he was offered a role in a play.
a. under b. on c. at
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9TH FORM ___
10. ‘ ………. for long when the star quit?’
‘Yes, I believe so.’
a. Had they been filming b. Have they filmed c. Have they been filming
11. The band realised they …….. music for five years now.
a. have released b. released c. had been releasing
12. I’ve met people from all ……… of life. Everyone ……… an interesting story to tell.
a. walks / has b. ways / have c. works / are having
13. Many young couples dream of settling ……… in a country cottage.
a. out b. down c. with
14. After you …….. through the junction, you’ll see my house.
a. go b. will go c. are going
15. Until we …….. more money, we won’t be moving out of this horrible city.
a. have saved b. will have saved c. will save

5. Put the verbs in brackets in the correct tense.

If this story about parallel universes 1)……….....(be) correct, it 2)..…………(mean) that we’re
living in more than one universe at the same time. But if that 3)..………..(be) true - if I was doing
different things in different universes – I 4)...............(know). And if I 5)………....(not know) about it,
how could it be me doing these things ? If I 6).………....(win) the lottery last year in a parallel universe,
and decided to sail round the world, how is that me ? It doesn’t make any sense!

And another thing. If I do something, it 7)………....(have) consequences. For example, if I 8)

…………...(not study), I might not pass my exams. I can’t start thinking about different universes where
the consequences are different. If I just 9)……….....(think) about the universe I actually live in, then
I’m sure I 10)....…….(be) okay!