A. LISTENING Part 1: You will hear an English woman called Britta talking to an interviewer about her life in Berlin, the capital of Germany. For each question, circle the correct answer. (0.5 point) ⇱
Part 2: Listen to a talk and decide if these statements are True (T) or False (F). Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes. ⇱
1. Loans that are used to buy a home are known as mortgages.
2. A deposit can be worth about a tenth of the price of a home.
3. One of the mistakes banks made was they gave out loans to candidates with good credit report.
4. One result of the crisis is that a lot of mortgages went unpaid.
5. The speaker feels that banks alone are responsible for the crisis.
Part 3: You will hear a woman talking to a man about joining a drama club. Complete the note below with NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer. ⇱
MIDBURY DRAMA CLUB
! < Background
Example: Answer
Club started in __1957__
prize recently won by (11) ____________ section
usually performs (12) ____________ plays
Meetings
next auditions will be on Tuesday, (13) ____________
help is needed with publicity and (14) ____________
rehearsals take place in the (15) ____________hall
nearest car park for rehearsals in Ashburton Road opposite the (16) ____________
Costs
annual membership fee is £ (17) ____________
extra payment for (18) ____________
Contact
secretary’s name is Sarah (19) ____________
secretary’s phone number is (20) ____________
B . PHONETICS I. Choose the word which has the underlined part pronounced differently from that of the rest by writing your answer A, B, C or D in the numbered box. (0.6 point) ⇱
II. Choose the letter A, B, C or D next to the word whose main stress is placed differently from the others. (0.4 point) ⇱
C. VOCABULARY - GRAMMAR I. Choose A, B, C, or D to complete each of the following sentences. (7.0 points) ⇱
II. Identify the error in the following sentences by circling A, B, C, or D. (1.0 point) ⇱
1. There are too many people in Britain today who is ready to complain rather than enjoy their holidays.
A B C D
2. How do you differ the real painting from the fake one?
A B C D
3. The two children began to argue fierce about who had damaged the bicycle.
A B C D
4. Being successful, a business traveler must be able to maintain contact with the office, no matter what the time or place.
A B C D
5. Try the new system a few times and you’ll become familiar to it.
A B C D
D. READING I. Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D in the numbered box to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions. (0.5 point) ⇱
Teenagers have their own TV channels, websites and magazines. So what about books? Last year one publisher, Martins, started publishing a series called Waves. We spoke to the director Julia Smith. She explained, “Teenage fiction has been published since 1970s but publishers have never been particularly successful in getting teenagers to buy and read books. Now they’re realizing that teenagers aren’t just older children but they are not adults either and often aren’t interested in adult fiction. For this series we’re looking for new writers who write especially for teenagers.”
Athene Gorr’s novel was published in the series last year and is selling well. Its title is The Purple Ring. She says, “The important thing is to persuade teenagers to pick up your book. I’m a new writer so, although I’ve got an unusual name which people might remember, nobody knows it yet! But my book has a fantastic cover which makes people want to look inside. Then they realize what a brilliant story it is!”
And what do teenagers themselves think about the series? We talked to Sophie Clark, aged 15. She said, “I’ve read a few books in the Waves series. They say they are for 14 – 19 year olds and I agree with that. We’re not interested in the same things as people in their twenties and thirties. I like them and I think they look really good, too. The only thing is that because bookshops put them in the children’s section, lots of teenagers won’t find them so they may not do very well. And it’s a shame there’s no non-fiction in the series as I think lots of teenagers, especially boys, might buy that.”
in the series as I think lots of teenagers, especially boys, might buy that.”
II. Fill in each numbered blank with ONE suitable word. Write your answer in the numbered box. (2.0 points) ⇱
The story of blue jeans goes back a long way. Even (71) _________ Levi Strauss started manufacturing them in San Francisco in 1850, sixteenth-century sailors in Genoa were making trousers out (72) ______ a cloth which they named “gene”, after their city. Jeans were thought to be excellent work clothes, as the material didn't wear out easily and was strong (73) ______ to allow people to carry tools in their pockets. Then in the 1950s jeans took on a new image when teenagers started to wear (74) ¬______ as a fashion statement.
The jeans of today have changed very (75) ¬______ from their original design. Cotton is still used and most jeans are still blue, (76) ______ they were in the beginning when they were dyed using indigo. Back pockets have remained a common feature, too, as (77) ______ the metal pins used to strengthen the jeans at certain points.
The last decades, however, have seen variations in style. In the 1970s, wide-legged “bell-bottoms” were popular, and then more recently jeans with rips in the knees became fashionable. (78) ____ have also been times when it has been trendy for the colour of the jeans to look faded. Designer jeans have always been popular, but of course they tend to be expensive. Arguably, lesser-known brands can be (79) ____ as good quality and bought at (80) ______ more reasonable prices.
Write your answers here:
III. Read the following passage and decide which answer best fits each space given. Write your answer A, B, C or D in the numbered box. (2.0 points) ⇱
According to a recent study, personality could determine how likely you are to be ___(81)___ ______ in an accident. In fact, it could be the most important factor behind around a quarter of all mishaps.
The ___(82)___ ________ have found that there are three key personality traits that may make some people more accident prone than others. Firstly, ___(83)___________levels of aggressiveness or selfishness may ___(84)__________ people more at risk of having accidents as individuals with these characteristics are often highly competitive and therefore more likely to not follow instructions and to ___(85)___________ rules. It also seems that those who have very open personalities may also have more accidents as these ___(86)___________ of people can be dreamy and___(87)____________ concentration. Finally, people who aren't very dependable or ___(88)_________may also be more at risk. Not everyone, however, agrees with the study's ___(89)___ ______. A spokesperson for an accident prevention organisation said: "We must accept responsibility for our actions and educate people to prevent accidents ___(90)___ ______ blaming our personalities."