FIRST CERTIFICATE TEST total time : ( 2 ½ hour ) name :…………..

READING COMPREHENSION : (45 minutes )

You are going to read an article in which four people comment on a

book they have read recently. For questions 1-15, choose from the
people A-D. The people may be chosen more than once.
A

Sundance by Teresa Wilson

Kerry:

I really don't know why this book is so popular. I mean, I suppose it

is going to appeal to young girls who want danger and romance, but
I found this book really tedious. For a start, the characters were
really unconvincing. The author went out of her way to add lots of
details about the characters, but I found these details really
pointless. I thought that some of the facts she presented about the
main characters would become significant in some way later in the
novel, but they didn't. They were just worthless bits of information. I
also was disappointed that, although this book is meant to be about
kids at high school, the writer seems to have no recollection at all
about what it's like to be 17. The main character thought and acted
like a 32-year old. It just wasn't believable. I'm not saying Teresa
Wilson is a bad writer. She can obviously string words together and
come up with a story that is appealing to a large number of people,
but she lacks anything original. There is no flair. It just uses the
same sort of language as you can see in many other mediocre
novels.

Wild Ways by Margery Emerson

Liz:

I have to say that I won't forget this book for a long time. I was
hooked from the very first chapter. The devastating story affected
me so much that I don't know if I'll ever feel the same again. I was
close to tears on several occasions. I've got images in my brain now
that I don't think will ever leave me. It's incredibly well-researched
and, although it is fiction, is based on shocking real-life events. I
learned an awful lot about things that went on that I never knew
before. Margaret Emerson has a brilliant way with words and I really
felt real empathy towards the characters, although I was sometimes
irritated by the choices they made. However, the parallel story, the
part that is set in the present, is not quite so good. I found myself
just flicking through that part so that I could get back to 1940s Paris.

Orchid by Henry Rathbone

Imogen:

This is a delightful novel full of wonderful imagery, a paints a

remarkable picture of life in a distant time and a far-away place. If
you're looking to learn about Eastern culture in great detail, then this
is probably not the book for you, as the writer skims over most of the
more complicated aspects of the country's etiquette. The historical
aspects are also not covered in much depth. However, I wonder
whether this was the writer's intention. By doing this, he symbolise
the superficiality of the girl's life. She, like the book, is beautiful and
eager to please, but remains too distant from us, the readers, to
teach us much. Although I loved the book and read it in one sitting,
the ending was a bit of a disappointment. A story which involves so
much turmoil, in a place where the future is uncertain, should not
have a happy-ever-after fairy-tale ending.

High Hills by Mary Holland

Hannah:

I read this book for a literature class. I know it's a classic, and I did
try to like it, but I just didn't get into it. I kept persevering, hoping that
I'd start to enjoy it, but no such luck. The famous scene out on the
moors was definitely the best bit of the book, but even that I found
ridiculous when it is clearly supposed to be passionate. As I
approached the end of the book, I figured there must be some kind
of moral to the story, something that I would learn from the
experience of trudging through seven hundred long pages, but there
was nothing worthwhile. I don't know why the literary world sees this
book as such a masterpiece. The characters are portrayed as being
intelligent, but they do such stupid things! And as for it being
a love story - marrying someone you don't love and then being
abused by them - that doesn't spell love to me.

Which person read a book which...

1. was set in an Oriental country     

2. finished in an unrealistic way    

3. had characters that the reader could sympathise with   

 

4. is well-known and was written a long time ago    

5. contained two stories    

6. was not set in the past    

7. was historically accurate    

8. made the reader cry    

9. contained insignificant details    

10. has a well-known scene    

11. is written for teenagers    

12. had unbelievable characters    

13. is classed as romantic fiction    

14. contains nothing new in the way of writing    

15. has an attractive but shallow heroine    

2.- You are going to read an article about new types of university
courses. Seven sentences have been removed from the article.
Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap. There
is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.

A  We have local apocalypses in our world today, in the form of

earthquakes, hurricanes and terrorist attacks.

B  TV shows have long launched spin-off products in the form of

merchandise and video games.

C  If successful, the edutainment experiment could spawn a huge

range of other TV show/university hybrid courses.

D  Until now, online learning experiences have been able to deliver

great videos and quizzes, but student interaction was minimal and
the experience for learners has been impersonal.

E  Experts from the Centre for Education and Employment have

reservations about the value of such online courses where there is
no formal assessment or contact between the students and those
delivering the courses.

F  The course will consist of eight modules including a physics

module on ‘the science of decay’, a public health module on the
study of epidemics and a mathematics module on population
dynamics.

G  The University of California, which has a huge reputation to

uphold, said that there had been no dumbing down in the design of
the course.

H  Millions of students sign up for online education courses each

year.
The boundaries between education and entertainment are beginning
to blur, and a new type of learning, in which education merges with

entertainment, is emerging – ‘edutainment’.      But now

US television company AMC has teamed up with the University of
California to produce an online course based on the TV show, The
Walking Dead, which features apost-apocalyptic world ridden with
zombies.
With an audience of 10 million, student numbers for the course are

expected to be in the hundreds of thousands. 

Academics from the University of California say that the online
course will be a ‘legitimate educational experience’ and tackle
serious issues from the fields of science, public health, nutrition,

psychology and sociology.     However, students will gain

no formal qualifications or credits on successful completion of the
course.

 It insisted that all modules had been made as

academically rigorous as those taught on the university grounds. 
One lecturer in social science stated that the university already used
contemporary media examples to make theories more relevant to
students, and this course was merely taking this concept one step
further. ‘The curriculum is very real,’ says Josh Coates, head of

Infrastructure and designer of the online platform.   ‘The

fact that the context is this fictional world of an apocalypse is
incidental.  This course gives us the opportunity to educate people
about the science of disasters.’
The market for massive open online courses, or MOOCs, is rapidly

expanding.   However, millions fail to complete the

courses, suggesting that they pose a real challenge to online
learners. Part of this experiment is to find out whether the power of
television can reduce the high drop-out rate characteristic of
MOOCS.
The university is taking this opportunity to hone the way it delivers

online courses.  With the increasing demand for online

courses, these are issues that universities looking to invest in online
learning are increasingly having to face.
PAPER 2 WRITING :( 45 minutes)
3.- USE OF ENGLISH : ( 1 hour )
1.- READ THE TEXT BELOW AND DECIDE WHICH BEST ANSWER FITS
THE SPACE:

According to the European Pizza-Makers`Associatio, making a good

pizza isn`t a straightforward skill to (0) A ….. The ingredients eem
very ..(1)…………: flour,yeast, wáter and a bit of salt . But wáter and
flour can eassily ..(2)……………glue and anyone who has eaten a …(3)
…………………….quality pizza will know how bad it can make your
stomach …(4)……….
“In Italy, 70 % of pizza makers could improve on their producto, not
to …(5)…………..all the pizza makers around the world who …(6)
………….uneatable meal`s,” says Antonio Permicieri, the Associatioin
founder. He has now started a pizza school in an attempt to ..(7)
……..the reputation of this traditional dish .As part of an …(8)
…….course, the students at Mr Permicieri`s school are taught to ….
(9)………common mistakes, produce a good basic mixture , add a
tasty topping and cook the pizza properly. “Test the finished pizza
by breaking the crust ;”advises Mr Permicieri. “If the soft …(10)
……………inside the pizza is white, clean and dry, it`s a good pizza. It
it isn`t like this, the pizza will (11)………….your stomach.You will feel
…(12)…………..full and also thirsty.
In Italy alone , the pizza (13 ) ……..has an annual turnover of more
than $12 billion. Mr Permicieri..(14 ) ……….that there are 10,000
jobs in pizza restaurant waiting to be ..(15)…….by those with real
skill. “If you are a good pizza cook, you`ll never be without a job , “
he says.

1 A-SIMPLE B-PRIMARY C-REGULAR D- PURE

2 A-MIX B.CONSTRUCT C-MAKE D.-ASSEMBLE
3 A-SAD B-POOR C-SHORT D- WEAK
4 A-SENSE B-DO C-FEEL D- BE
5 A-STATE B-MENTION C- REMARK D-TELL
6 A-SUBMIT B-GIVE C-SERVE D-DEAL
7 A-SAVE B-PROVIDE C-DELIVER D-RETURN
8 A-EXTENSIVE B.EXTREME C-INTENSIVE D.INTENTIONAL
9 A-PASS B.-ESCAPE C-MISS D-AVOID
10 A-SPOT B-PART C-SIDE D-SLICE
11 A.-WORRY B-UPSET C-ACHE D-DEPRESS
12 A-HARDLY B-TIGHTLY C.UNCOMFORTABL D-HEAVILY
Y
13 A-ACTIVITY B-BODY C-INDUSTRY D-COMPANY
14 A-COMPUTES B-ESTIMATES C-ASSESS D-COUNTS
15 A-EMPLOYED B-FILLED C-COMPLETED D-COVERED

2.-OPEN CLOZE
Read the text below and think of the Word which best fits each
space. Use ONLY ONE WORD IN EACH SPACE .There is an example at
the beginning.

HOLLYWOOD
How was .(0).it… that Hollywood came to be the place everyone
associates with the American film industry.?It´s a strange story.
There was a little village in southern California called Cahuenga
Valley ..(1)……………….a Mr and Mrs Wilcox had their home. In 1887 ,
..(2)…………………..Mrs Wilcox was on a trip to the east coast, she got
into conversation …(3)…………………a stranger on a train. The
stranger had a home called Hollywood somewhere else in the
country , ..(4)…………………Mrs Wilcox liked the name ………(5)…………
much that she decided to give her home the same name. Because
the Wilcox home was the biggest in Cahuenga Valley, the village
soon became known …(6)………………Hollywood.
In normal circumstances most people. …(7)……………never have
heard of Hollywood . However, between 1908 and 1913 ….(8)
………….else happened. Many small independent film companies
began moving to southern California…(9)………two main reasons.
Firstly they were attracted by the sunny climate, which let them film
throughout the year..(10)…………………the need for expensive
lightning.Secondly, they were..(11)………………..problems with the
larger, more powerful studios in New York, and they wanted to get
away from there.
Only one studio actually set ..(12)………………….in Hollywood. Local
people were so angry when it appeared that …(13)………………law
was passed forbidding the building of any more studios.In fact,
Hollywood itself never had a film industry, surprisingly enough, ..
(14)………………the other studio that came to the area were all built
outside Hollywood. Nevertheless, by 1915 “Hollywood “, …(15)
…………become familiar as a term for the movie business as a whole.

3.-Sentences transformation
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to
the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word
given. You must use between two and five words , including the
Word given.

1.- So that John could go on holiday in the summer, he saved £ 10 a

week.

John saved £ 10 a week ……………………………………………………………able

to go on holiday in the summer. order

2.-It´s no worth asking the manager for the day off.

There ………………………………………………….in asking the manager for
the day off point

3.-We had to finish all the work before we coud leave.

We had to stay ………………………………………..all the work until

4.-Tim had not expected the concert to be so good.

The concert ……………………………………………………………….had expected
better

5.- If Cheryl doesn´t train harder, she´ll never ge tinto the swimming
team.
Chery will never ge tinto the swimming team
……………………………………………………………………..more training. Does.

6.-“Do you realice what the time is ,Steve.?” asked Chris .

Chris asked Steve …………………………………………………………it was
what

7.-The company decided to advertise the job in a national

newspaper.
The company decided to ……………………………………………………….the
job in a national newspaper. Put

8.-At the end of his speech, the winner thanked his parents.
The winner ………………………………………..his parents finished.

9.-I applied for the job a month ago.

It …………………………………………………..applied for the job month

10.-They received many letter of support after they had appeared

on TV
They received many letters of support …………………………………….on
TV following.

4.- Word formation

Use the word given in capital at the end of each line to form a word
that fits in the space in the same line.

At a meeting held in Oxwell last Thrusday evening a wide (vary )

…………………………………….of opinions were expressed on plans to
build a large supermarket in town. A (direct ) …………………….of the
supermarket group state that the supermarket would benefit the (
inhabit ) ………………………………..of Oxwell as it would give people
more (choose)………………………..when shopping and would lead to a (
grow ) …………………………………in the number of jobs available in the
town, which has a high rate of (employ ) ……………….. Although
there was ( agree ) ……………………on the need of new jobs , ( able )
……………………………to compete with supermarket prices, would be
forced to close. The final ( decide ) …………………not to build the
supermarket will be made next month.
LISTENING EXAM :
Part 1 You will hear people talking in eight different situations. For
questions 1 – 8, choose the best answer (A, B or C).

1 You hear a message on a telephone answering machine. Why is the

speaker calling?
A to confirm some arrangements
B to issue an invitation
C to persuade someone to do something

2 You hear two people talking about a water-sports centre. The man says
the centre should
A pay more attention to safety
. B offer activities for small children.
C provide all the equipment needed.

3 You hear a professional tennis player talking about her career. What
annoys her most about interviewers?
A their belief that she leads a glamorous life
B their assumption that she’s motivated by money
C their tendency to disturb her while she’s travelling

4 You hear a poet talking about his work. What is he doing?

A giving his reasons for starting to visit schools
B justifying the childlike nature of some of his recent poems
C explaining that his poems appeal to people of different ages
5 You hear two people talking about a programme they saw on TV. The
woman thinks the programme was
A irritating.
B sad.
C uninformative.
6 You hear two people talking about an ice-hockey game they’ve just
seen. How does the girl feel about it?
A pleased to have had the experience
B relieved that she’d dressed appropriately
C impressed by the performance of the team

7 You overhear two friends talking about a restaurant. What do they

both like about it?
A the presentation of the food
B the atmosphere of the place
C the originality of the cooking

8 You hear a man talking on the radio. What type of information is he

giving?
A a travel announcement
B a weather forecast
C an accident report
Part 2
You will hear a woman called Angela Thomas, who works for a wildlife
organisation, talking about the spectacled bear. For questions 9 – 18,
complete the sentences with a word or short phrase.

Spectacled Bears
Angela says that it was the (9)………. of the spectacled bear that first
interested her.
Angela mentions that the bear’s markings can be found on its (10) …….
…………………. as well as its eyes and cheeks.
Angela is pleased by evidence that spectacled bears have been seen in
(11)…………… areas of Argentina.
Angela says the bears usually live in (12) ………………… , though they can
also be found in other places.
Spectacled bears behave differently from other types of bear during (13)
………………. , which Angela finds surprising.
Angela is upset that (14)………………….. are the biggest danger to
spectacled bears.
Angela says that spectacled bears usually eat (15) ……………………………
and tree bark.
Bears climb trees and make a (16) ………………………….. , which
fascinated Angela.
When bears eat meat, they much prefer (17) ……………………….
although they do eat other creatures.
One man has produced an amusing (18) …………………….. about the time
he spent studying the bears.