Integrated Skills in English

Reading & Writing exam

Sample paper 1

Your full name:

(BLOCK CAPITALS)

Time allowed: 2 hours

Instructions to candidates
1. Write your name, candidate number and centre number on the front of this exam paper.
2. You must not open this exam paper until instructed to do so.
3. This exam paper has four tasks. Complete all tasks.
4. Use blue or black pen, not pencil.
5. Write your answers on the exam paper.
6. Do all rough work on the exam paper. Cross through any work you do not want marked.
7. You must not use a dictionary in this exam.
8. You must not use correction fluid on the exam paper.

Information for candidates

You are advised to spend about:
 20 minutes on Task 1
 20 minutes on Task 2
 40 minutes on Task 3
 40 minutes on Task 4
Integrated Skills in English III
Time allowed: 2 hours
This exam paper has four tasks. Complete all tasks.

Task 1 — Long reading

Read the following text about the development of advertising and answer the 15 questions on page 3.

Paragraph 1
It could be said that as long as there has been man, there has been some form of promotion. Signs
of this promotion have been found in the ruins of ancient cities such as Pompeii and Rome, yet the
very first ‘advertisement’ that we could reconcile with the contemporary definition of advertising can
be traced back to England in 1472. This was actually a book sale announcement in the form of a
sheet of paper stuck on to a shop door. There was no glitz, glamour, exciting colours or strategised
targeting, rather a black and white written notice. Advertising was relatively low key for the next four
hundred years, until suddenly colour and lights burst onto the scene in the 20th century when in
1917 the first electric advertisements were used in Times Square, New York and since then,
advertising has continued to grow and develop at a dizzying speed.
Paragraph 2
While the look and feel of advertising has changed along with the styles of the day, it has really evolved
in a much more fundamental way. The ideology of advertising is where the transformation truly lies.
Early advertisements were mainly concerned with giving information about products. Often the adverts
of today however, are about engaging and identifying with a brand rather than selling
a specific product. Now, and particularly since the growth of the internet, adverts are targeted,
personalised, and appealing to the conscious and subconscious wants and desires of a
particular demographic. The question we need to answer is: how did this occur?
Paragraph 3
The adverts of the 1700s were largely informational pieces, but even though these early adverts
had little design or colour about them, we can see the first seeds of marketing language within
them. A perfect example of this takes the form of enlistment adverts for the US army in the 1770s.
Here we can see the first persuasive advertisements, created by governments, which didn’t just
give information on how to sign up, but also appealed to young men in particular and their sense
of patriotism and desire to protect their land. These adverts relied on persuasive language
specifically to promote and sell products and ideals.
Paragraph 4
Over the next 150 years, these techniques developed and advertising agencies formed to attract
audiences for their clients’ products. At the start of the 20th century celebrities began to be used to
promote products. Even more importantly, the form of advertising changed at this time too, as
adverts moved away from print and on to road-side billboards. This was due to the mass-market
production of cars. This change was more than just a transformation in location. This is the point
where adverts moved from words to pictures, where ‘eye-catching’ overtook ‘informative’. Giant
roadside billboards meant that consumers could not avoid seeing advertisements. Thirty years later,
during what was known as the ‘Golden Age of Advertising’, the start of mass ownership of
televisions gave advertisers even greater access to consumers.
Paragraph 5
Such techniques are still in use today, and television is still a key advertising medium to seduce the
general public. However, today the internet is beginning to rival television as the new advertising giant.
The internet was the first to respond to an increasingly disinterested audience who were becoming used
to the traditional approach of adverts. In this new online format, the advertiser’s job was to engage their
audience through techniques such as personalisation and relevance. Have you ever noticed when
you’re browsing online that adverts appear displaying the very items you’ve been looking at? The
information the internet holds for advertisers is huge, and this is how they can now select the advert that
is pertinent to your wants and needs. In the earlier days of advertising, this would be considered too
invasive, but now this is not only an advertising standard, but an advertising necessity.

page 2 This exam paper has four tasks. Complete all tasks.
Questions 1–5
The text on page 2 has five paragraphs (1–5). Choose the best title for each paragraph from A–F
below and write the letter (A–F) on the lines below. There is one more title than you need.

1. Paragraph 1 A The power of words

2. Paragraph 2 B Appealing to the individual

C The birth of advertising
3. Paragraph 3
D The impact of television
4. Paragraph 4
E A deep-rooted shift in advertising
5. Paragraph 5
culture F The first captive audiences

Questions 6–10
Choose the five statements from A–H below that are TRUE according to the information given in the
text on page 2. Write the letters of the TRUE statements on the lines below (in any order).

6. A There were informational and emotive adverts in the 1700s.

7. B The internet is now the main medium for advertising.
8. C Celebrity endorsements began with the rise of television advertising.

9. D Billboards in Times Square caused the growth of advertising.

E Views have changed over tracking a person’s buying preferences.
10.
F The appearance of advertisements is not the key change in their evolution.
G Images took a new significance in the early 1900s.
H The very first advertisement took the form of a poster.

Questions 11–15
Complete sentences 11–15 with a word, phrase or number from the text (maximum three words).
Write the word, phrase or number on the lines below.
11. 1472 is seen as the first time an advert has matched
our of advertising.

12. Identifying with a brand is now more important than

sales.

13. Large scale changed the format of advertising away

from the written word.

14. When the internet started, the public had

become in traditional advertising.

15. The browsing data of the internet helps target adverts to a consumer’s
.

Turn over page page 3

Task 2 — Multi-text reading
In this section there are four short texts for you to read and some questions for you to answer.
Questions 16–20
Read questions 16–20 first and then read texts A, B, C and D below the questions.
As you read each text, decide which text each question refers to. Choose one letter — A, B, C or
D — and write it on the lines below. You can use any letter more than once.
Which text
16. tells us which technological innovation is popular nowadays?
17. mentions mind-controlled technology?
18. mentions problems with integrating different technologies?

19. talks about motion-controlled technology?

20. looks at how houses could aid health?

Text A

www.smartabode.com

SmartAbode
Delivering Smart Technology to your home, TODAY!
Do you want your home to work more for you? Here at SmartAbode we can make that
happen today! Our company implements cutting-edge technology to automate, secure and
entertain. Whatever your requirements, we’ll offer a solution.
➢ Home automation – Control your heating, cooling and entertainment systems via touch screen
interfaces. Programme them in advance or set them to activate with movement sensors.
➢ Home security – No need to worry about going away. Our occupancy simulator can open and close
curtains and blinds and turn lights on and off automatically to give your home that lived-in look.
➢ Home entertainment – If you want all your movies and music in every room, we can make it a
reality. We can install exclusive and non-intrusive audio-visual equipment for every room with
maximum access and minimum fuss.

Text B

Your views on smart homes > SMARTforum

Digiboy: I’ve already heard that everything in the home can be controllable by a mobile app. I
don’t know how well it works, or could work. The problem is incompatibility. We’ve all been in the
situation where one gadget won’t work with another or something needs an update. Imagine that
happening when it is all the crucial gadgets in your house? Not being able to turn the heating
on? No thanks!

Ellen276: Clever homes that can do everything for us sound like a dream, and I can’t wait for it. In
fact, I’ve already got an automated vacuum! My house vacuums itself! So much time is taken up with
housework. If anything can reduce that time and make life easier, then I’m all for it. I just hope they
start working more on more labour saving gadgets, rather than just entertainment gadgets.

Mr_J: I think it’s the next logical step. Homes are getting smarter already. One day I’m sure
we’ll be able to control our houses just by thinking. Hopefully, I’ll be able to just think of what I
want for dinner and it appears!

page 4 This exam paper has four tasks. Complete all tasks.
Text C

Home is where the SMART is

We’re at the start of a new era, the era of for in the latest technology, and what is on
the intelligent home. Although it could be offer for the buyer now? As Joey Cracknell,
argued this began with the most basic a smart home designer, told us, “The
automation brought by things such as gadget of the moment is glass that can turn
washing machines, there is now a full-scale opaque at the touch of the button, letting in
wave of technology that will make such light or creating privacy in an instant.” But
gadgets seem stone-age in appearance. this isn’t the only new trend we’ve seen in
the super rich. “One man I recently did a
A big switch job for had a swimming pool that converts
But, while there are many tech-savvy people into a rotating dance floor!”
comfortable with getting to grips with this kind The majority of homeowners though are
of future, there are many who just don’t want looking for security and practicality, rather
to contend with a home that offers fingerprint than these extravagances. Underfloor
recognition instead of the good old switch. heating, electronic gates, secure parking, and
At the moment, only a handful of people can CCTV are the areas on the mind of most
afford the newest technologies in which their consumers, and these, thankfully, are already
home appliances can be managed through a available technologies that are common in
mobile handset. What are these buyers looking the ‘smarter’ homes of today. ◼

Text D

The House of 2050

Bedroom
Bedding with smart Bathroom
fabrics regulate
Scales can analyse your
body temperature.
body to assess body
New clothes
condition and physical
automatically
problems.
ordered from the
smart wardrobe.
Kitchen
Fridges suggest recipes
from their contents
and re-order when low.
Surfaces warm and cool
according to what is
placed on them.

Living Room Security

Sights, sounds and other Keys no longer needed as homes recognise
senses in the form of ‘virtual their owners by fingerprints or voice recognition
reality’ replace television. and allow them to enter the house.

Turn over page page 5

Questions 21–25
Choose the five statements from A–H below that are TRUE according to the information given
in the texts above. Write the letters of the TRUE statements on the lines below (in any order).

21. A Controlling home gadgets remotely appeals to

consumers because it is so reliable.
22.
B Some people already use smart phones to control their
23. home technology.
24. C It is predicted that one day houses will be able to
identify their owners.
25.
D Consumers are confident that controlling their homes remotely
will be trouble-free.
E Some shopping will be done more intelligently within our homes.
F Technology can make houses appear as if people are at home.
G Consumers feel that practical technology isn’t developing as
fast as entertainment technology.
H Most people aren’t focused on enhanced entertainment
technology for their homes.

Questions 26–30
The summary notes below contain information from the texts on pages 4 and 5. Find a word
or phrase from texts A–D to complete the missing information in gaps 26–30.
Write your answers on the lines below.

Summary notes
Technology in homes

Past
• Inventions like (26.) helped complete domestic
tasks in the home.
• These were basic, now old-fashioned.

Now
• Home security has been upgraded by already (27.)
technologies like closed circuit TV and automated gates.

• (28.) can be installed throughout homes and

access all media.

• Some technology to reduce housework exists, eg

(29.) cleaners.

Future
• All rooms will have technology, eg kitchens will have smart fridges.
• (30.) will be replaced by other forms of entertainment.

page 6 This exam paper has four tasks. Complete all tasks.
Task 3 — Reading into writing
Use the information from the four texts you have read to write an essay (200–230 words) for
your teacher summarising how consumers are predicted to interact with their homes in the future
and the advantages and disadvantages of predicted smart home technologies.

You should plan your essay before you start writing. Think about what you want to say and
make some notes to help you in this box:

Planning notes

(No marks are given for these planning notes)

Now write your essay of 200–230 words on the lines below. Try to use your own words as far as
possible — don’t just copy sentences from the reading texts.

Turn over page page 7

page 8 This exam paper has four tasks. Complete all tasks.
When you have finished your essay, spend 2–3 minutes reading through what you have
written. Make sure you have answered the task completely. Remember to check how you
made use of the reading texts, as well as the language and organisation of your writing.

Turn over page page 9

Task 4 — Extended writing
Write an essay (200–230 words) giving your opinion on whether you agree with this statement:
‘When ambition ends, happiness begins.’ Give examples to justify your position.
You should plan your essay before you start writing. Think about what you want to say and
make some notes to help you in this box:

Planning notes

(No marks are given for these planning notes)

Now write your essay of 200–230 words on the lines below.

page 10 This exam paper has four tasks. Complete all tasks.
Turn over page page 11
When you have finished your essay, spend 2–3 minutes reading through what you have
written. Make sure you have answered the task completely. Remember to check how you
made use of the reading texts, as well as the language and organisation of your writing.

End of exam