REVIEW TEST 6

Name: Date:

READING (20 marks)

1 Read the article. Match the headings (A–E) to the paragraphs (1–5).
A Look at the sky
B Look down at the ground
C Learn from plants and animals
D Feel the wind
E A beautiful sky may be bad news

Predicting the weather

If we want to know what the weather will be like tomorrow, we check on the TV or the Internet. Modern weather
forecasting is done with satellites, aircraft, computers ships and balloons. But can we predict the weather ourselves?
Here are some suggestions of things that may help you predict the weather – they are not scientific.
1 W
 atch animals and plants. If you see birds flying high in the sky, they think it’s going to be good weather. If
they’re all on the ground or in low trees, a storm may be coming. Cows also usually lie down close together
before a rainstorm. You can even smell the weather sometimes: if you notice a strong plant smell in the air, it
means the plants are getting ready for rain. Flowers also smell better before it rains.
2 
If you see low, dark clouds, it’s going to rain soon. Long, thin clouds high in the sky can also tell you that it will rain
tomorrow or the day after, but probably not today. Also, if you see clouds moving in different directions, you can
expect bad weather. But clouds don’t always mean bad news: in winter, a cloudy evening means the morning will
be warmer.
3 
Sometimes the wind tells you what weather to expect. In many places, a wind from the east brings rainstorms,
while winds from the west bring good weather.
4 
Sometimes the sky looks red, because it is dry. If you see this in the evening, it means the dry air is in the west,
and you can expect some dry weather. If you see it in the morning, the dry air is in the east, and wet weather is
coming. However, in some places, weather moves from east to west, so a red sky has the opposite meaning. You
can also see how dry the sky is by looking at the moon. If it is a beautiful clear moon, it means it’ll probably rain
soon.
5 
One last thing. Look out for wet grass in the morning. It usually means it’ll be a dry day. Of course, it might also
simply mean it rained last night!

2 Circle five of these things that tell you that it is going to rain very soon.
1 There are many birds flying high in the sky.
2 There are cows lying down close to each other.
3 There is strong smell of flowers.
4 There are low, dark clouds.
5 There are long, thin clouds high in the sky.
6 There are low clouds on a winter’s evening.
7 The sky is red in the evening.
8 The sky is red in the morning.
9 The moon is very clear.
10 The grass is wet in the morning.

114   READING AND WRITING SKILLS 2 TEACHER’S BOOK photocopiable © Cambridge University Press 2014
3 Complete the sentences with the missing words. Write your answers in the crossword below.
1 Tornadoes and are examples of natural disasters.
2 You need to be very that you don’t step on a snake.
3 In my country, the year has four : spring, summer, autumn and winter.
4 We often see a flash of in the sky and then hear the thunder a few seconds later.
5 It is impossible to what will happen in the future.
6 We had a terrible last night, with strong winds and heavy rain.
7 Sometimes the wind is strong enough to people’s houses.
8 If you want to in the desert, you’ll need to find water.
9 Winter in my country around six months, and then we have six months of summer.
10 Don’t chase a tornado in your car – it’s very and you might have an accident.

10
↓
1 F
2 C
3 S
4 L
5 P
6 S
7 D
8 S
9 L

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT (10 marks)

COLLOCATIONS WITH TEMPERATURE
4 Look at the graph. Complete the description with words from the box.

30
25.6 25.1 24 21.1 22.8 23.8 24.2 25.2
18.9 19.4
16 16.7
20
decrease falls high increase low maximum
10 minimum reaches rises drops

0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

The graph shows the daytime temperature in Johannesburg, South Africa over a year. As you can see, we
have 1 temperatures in December and January (the summer), and 2
temperatures in June and July (our winter). After the winter, the temperature 3 to 19.4 °C in
August, and then there’s an 4 to 23.8 °C in October. The temperature 5 25.2
°C in December, and then the 6 temperature is 25.6 °C in January. After that, the
temperature 7 to 24 °C in March, and then there’s a 8 to 18.9 °C in May. The
9 temperature is in June when it 10 to 16 °C.

  READING AND WRITING SKILLS 2 TEACHER’S BOOK photocopiable © Cambridge University Press 2014 115
GRAMMAR FOR WRITING (10 marks)
COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES
5 Complete the sentences with the correct form of the adjective in brackets.
1 The place on earth is Death Valley in the USA. (hot)
2 Temperatures are usually in summer than in spring. (high)
3 This week is much than last week. (sunny)
4 The tornado in history was in Bangladesh in 1989. (dangerous)
5 The temperature ever recorded was -89.2 °C, in Antarctica. (low)
6 This summer is than last summer. (dry)
7 The place in the world is Mawsynram in India. (rainy)
8 I think the weather is getting (extreme) every year.
9 The Sahara Desert is the desert in the world. (big)
10 If you’re in the desert, stay in your car – you’ll be to see. (easy)

ACADEMIC WRITING SKILLS (10 marks)

INTRODUCTORY SENTENCES FOR DESCRIPTIVE PARAGRAPHS ABOUT A GRAPH
6 Complete the introductory sentence with words from the box.

over temperature in rainfall shows

The graph (1) the (2) in degrees centigrade and the (3)

in millimeters (4) a day (5) the Sahara desert.

USING DATA TO SUPPORT MAIN IDEAS

7 Match the main ideas (1–5) to the data (a–e).
1 The rainy season is from April to July.
2 It is one of the coldest places in South America.
3 The sunniest month is August.
4 This summer was much hotter than last summer.
5 It was the most dangerous tornado for many years.
a The average daily temperature was over 5 °C higher.
b Over 500 people lost their homes.
c During those months, there is an average rainfall of 20 mm per day.
d There are 7.2 hours of sunshine in that month.
e Temperatures drop to −30 °C.

TOTAL /50

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