Section 1: Vocabulary

1 Read the text and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.

There are a (1) __bewildering___ number of decisions to be made every day, from the moment we
wake up out of a deep sleep to the moment we fall asleep at the end of the day. Some people are
very good at making decisions and others find it almost impossible.

Take, for example, a simple meal out with my friend Barbara. She can never make her mind up
about what to (2) __opt___ for and will look at a menu for ages and ages before (3) __ sighing ___
loudly, almost incapacitated with indecision. It results in her voice becoming extremely (4) _
squeaky ____ the more frustrated she gets, and ugly red blotches erupting on her face. However, I
do admire the fact that she still tries to remain positive in such situations and she invariably (5) ___
expresses __ a desire to be more decisive like myself. I am (6) _ sensitive ____ to the acute
embarrassment I know she suffers at these times and suffer along with her. When it comes to food,
it’s easy for me, as I’ll know instantly what I fancy, and when it comes to desserts, I rarely have any
(7) ___ room __ left for them, so it’s easy for me to say I’ll have nothing. However, I fall down
abysmally with fashion decisions and, for some reason, Barbara has no problem there. She finds it
easy to decide what to wear and has an innate (8) _ sense ____ of style of which I’m extremely
envious. I can imagine her still looking (9) ___ youthful __ and stylish at 70, while at 22 I already
look like an elderly woman who doesn’t care about how she looks.

1 A charming B bustling C bewildering D strange

2 A choose B opt C select D pick
3 A shuddering B coughing C barking D sighing
4 A creaky B squeaky C catchy D noisy
5 A expresses B announces C states D exposes
6 A sensible B attentive C thoughtful D sensitive
7 A room B place C scope D area
8 A meaning B notion C sense D impression
9 A childlike B youthful C childish D juvenile
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Section 2: Grammar

2 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 three
and six words, including the word given.

1 They started building their house ten months ago.

HAVE
They have been building their house for ten months.

2 He thinks he might buy a new car.

OF
He is thinking of buying a new car.

3 The fire alarm went off just as we started work.

SOONER
No sooner had we started work than the fire alarm went off.

4 I spoke to a woman who had once been an astronaut.

TO
The woman to whom I spoke had once been an astronaut.

5 Some children’s verbal skills are very poor and it’s important to spend time with these children.
WHOSE
It’s important to spend more time with children whose verbal skills are very poor.

6 The children that did well had had more interaction with their parents in the early years.
THOSE
The children that did well were those who had had more interaction with their parents in the early
years.

7 She understands a lot about the kind of work we do here.

GOOD
She has got a good understanding of the kind of work we do here.

8 Expressing himself clearly is difficult for him.

FINDS
He finds it difficult to express himself clearly.

9 It upsets me when you shout at me!

STAND
I can’t stand it when you shout at me!

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Section 3: Listening

3 ► 01 You will hear four different speakers. Choose the answer (A, B or C) which fits
best according to what you hear. There are two questions for each speaker.

Speaker 1
1 How did the speaker feel during the move?
A He felt it might be impossible to downsize.
B He found the experience very exciting.
C He was relieved to get rid of so many things.
2 How does he feel about his new flat?
A He hates the uncluttered space.
B It can seem very enclosed and cramped.
C He enjoys spending time in it.
Speaker 2
3 How did the speaker feel about her dream home?
A She had nightmarish dreams about it.
B She was horrified by the size.
C It made her feel nervous at times.
4 What is the best thing about the house for the speaker?
A being able to accommodate some heirlooms
B being able to get rid of some of the larger furniture she owned
C having the room to store away larger possessions
Speaker 3
5 What is the speaker’s opinion about city centre living?
A It can be unexpectedly quiet.
B He loves the hustle and bustle.
C He can’t wait to escape from it.
6 What does he say about his partner?
A She feels trapped by the proximity of other buildings.
B She misses not having an outside space.
C She finds city living far too expensive.
Speaker 4
7 What does the speaker say about her home?
A It has very limited space.
B She spends a lot of time in the kitchen.
C It cost more than she planned.
8 What does she say about the local cafés?
A There are very few good ones.
B There are too many of them.
C It’s a good place to meet neighbours.
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Section 4: Reading

4 Read the text below and choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits
best according to the text.
1 The writer joined the course in order to
A develop an ability to talk about anything.
B learn about the history of the art of conversation.
C understand the skills required for conversation.
D see if people can learn how to converse more effectively.

2 The other course participants

A were attending for a variety of reasons.
B had similar reasons to the writer for attending.
C felt that technology had ruined their lives.
D needed to regain confidence when talking to other people.

3 How did the writer feel about the other participants?

A He thought their ambitions were seriously flawed.
B He thought their personal reasons were ridiculous.
C He was disappointed by their lack of ambition.
D He was uninterested in their personal relationships.

4 After the initial presentation by Cathy Haynes, the writer

A enjoyed the pairwork with another participant.
B told his partner that his conversations were somewhat sarcastic.
C had further informative discussions with other participants.
D was energised by the break from the presentation.

5 The writer found the ideas presented for improving conversation

A a little difficult to put into practice.
B involved more interesting ways to start conversations.
C were unlikely to work successfully in reality.
D were most effective during the group work.

6 What was the writer’s final verdict on the course?

A It would have been more useful if there had been fewer interruptions.
B It had not addressed fully enough most people’s aims.
C It should have focused more on human connections.
D Its theoretical approach helped to clarify problems encountered by participants.
/6

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How to have a conversation
Is conversation a dying art,struck down by text,
email and messaging? And do we really need to be
taught how to talk to each other? I enrolled in a
class at the School of Life, an academy of ‘self-help’,
to find out. The topic was ‘How to have a
conversation’.
The basics of this were first described by the Ancient
Roman writer Cicero, which can be summarised as
follows: speak clearly, do not interrupt, be courteous,
never criticise people behind their backs, stick to
subjects of general interest, do not talk about yourself
and, above all, never lose your temper.
I had arrived about twenty minutes early but the rest
of the class was already there. One woman kindly
invited me into her circle. She was finding it hard to
have meaningful relationships. Technology was
partly to blame: ‘Sometimes you feel the smartphone
is like a third person,’ she said. Another new
acquaintance agreed and described how immediate
access to Google had blocked off avenues of
conversation with her boyfriend. ‘Before we would
argue about this or that but now we just look it up on
Wikipedia,’ she said.
There was general unease about how email, instant
messaging and texting had crept into the space
formerly occupied by conversation. ‘What was the
point,’ asked a young man, ‘of asking how
someone’s day was when you’ve been emailing them
from the office?’
My classmates also spoke of more personal reasons
for their attendance. An IT worker in her fifties had
found that her conversations with her husband
‘wandered’ and wanted to learn ways to become a
better partner. A man in his late twenties said he
wanted to have fewer rows with his girlfriend.
These aims seemed disappointingly unambitious to
me. I had hopes of becoming a witty and intellectual
conversationalist. But none of my new friends shared
this desire. It was the simple act of talking and
listening and learning that my classmates sought.
Our discussion was interrupted by the arrival of our
teacher, Cathy Haynes. Haynes flicked to the first
slide in her PowerPoint presentation and we sat
attentively as she talked about how the nature of
conversation had changed over the past 300 years.
Then we were told to break off into pairs and
answer the question: Which three words describe
your conversations with (a) friends, (b) family and
(c) colleagues? My partner said banter, sarcastic and
sporadic were the words he would use to describe all
three types of conversation. Before I had a chance to
share my three words, it was time for a break.
After an enjoyable ten minutes spent chatting to my
classmates and discovering more about their motives
for joining the class, we were told to retake our seats.
Haynes continued her PowerPoint presentation,
asking us to reflect on a René Magritte painting, a
comedy sketch and a book about marriage. All of
these examples were meant to encourage us to stop
seeing conversations as a means to an end and to
avoid stereotyping the other person.
Some useful advice followed on the ‘six ways to
have a better conversation’. These, according to the
school, are: (1) Be curious about others. (2) Take off
your mask. (3) Empathise with others. (4) Get behind
the job title. (5) Use adventurous openings. (6) Have
courage.
Then it was time to put some of these ideas into
practice. In groups, we had to try out ideas for
unusual openings. A man in his early twenties, who
joked that he had thought of this before, suggested as
a chat-up line: ‘Tell me something I want to know.’
A more challenging opener came from another group
member: ‘If you were coming to the end of your life,
what would you have wanted to have achieved?’
After this enjoyable burst of role play Haynes put up
a slide that said: What conversation are you not
having? and then it was all over. Once the class
structure had been dismantled, conversation seemed
to dwindle.
Despite our excellent teacher, I suspect the class was
too abstract to be useful. Nearly three-quarters of the
session were spent listening to theories of
conversation. Genuine discussions were stopped in
mid-flow, with the class asked to return its attention
to the presentation. There was a touching eagerness
to share ideas but frustration grew as our time ran
out. What I suspect my classmates had hoped to find
was that most basic thing: human connection. But I
doubt the class had made this any more achievable.
5
Section 5: Writing

5 Complete the proposal to improve tourist facilities in a town with the phrases in the box.
by recommending could be increased go on to must be encouraged should be set up
the majority of them therefore suggest to be addressed will assess would seem to be

Introduction
In this proposal I (1) will assess the current facilities for tourists in our town,
then (2) go on to identify areas which can be improved and conclude
(3) by recommending some improvements.

Current situation
Feedback from visitors to our town indicates that (4) the majority of them feel there are
certain areas which are not attractive to them, and they would not recommend our town to their
friends. Most of their complaints seem to concern the lack of parking spaces and the high cost
of parking in the town centre. The second biggest problem (5) would seem to be that the quay
and harbour areas, which are our main selling points, are rather dilapidated with many empty
shops, which makes these areas highly unattractive to visitors. Visitors’ comments include the
lack of good cafés and restaurants, as well as the museum very often being closed and only
one gift shop with outdated and expensive souvenirs for sale.

Key points (6) to be addressed

The parking problems and the quay area are the two things which are having a negative effect
on our visitors and stopping them from returning or recommending our town to their friends.
These issues must be dealt with as soon as possible.

Recommendations
I would (7) therefore suggest the following to the Council Tourist Committee:
 A free out-of-town park-and-ride service (8) should be set up immediately to alleviate the
parking problems.

 More businesses (9) must be encouraged to open up in the quay area by offering
tax incentives.

 Ensure that the museum is open at all times, which may mean recruiting more staff.

 The number of visitors to key sites (10) could be increased by offering

discount tickets.

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Section 6: Speaking

6 Talk to your teacher about yourself. You should:

 say whether you prefer living in a small town or a large city and why.
 describe how you would feel if you had no telephone or internet connectivity.
 say how you think your life has changed over the past five years.
 say if you would like to live to be 100 or not and why.

Your teacher will mark your presentation using the score card below. The teacher circles 1
mark if a student includes the area and 2 marks for communicating it accurately and
effectively. There is a maximum of 8 marks.

The student:
said whether they prefer living in a small town or a large city and why. 1 2
described how they would feel without a telephone or internet connectivity. 1 2
said how they think their life has changed over the past five years. 1 2
said if they would like to live to be 100 or not and why. 1 2

/8
TOTAL: / 50