Exam mEnu
Reading: Paper 1, part 1
Listening: Paper 4, part 1
Use of English: Paper 3, part 5 Speaking: Paper 5, part 1
Writing: Paper 2, parts 1 and 2
Beginnings
1
Across
1 Officially make someone your leader with a special ceremony.
5 She ______ him whenever he forgets his lines in the play.
6 Pull this to make a loud noise – and start a sequence of events.
8 Blow the whistle – the game begins! 10 Make it, create it, and sell it.
11 Get it out on the water or out on the shelves.
12 Just give me a little to wake me up and get me going …
Down
1 Be the first to get something going … 2 Begin a journey, a new life, a career. 3 Do something to get a negative or
violent reaction.
4 Set it up and make it work.
7 Start something that begins to grow by its own power.
9 Set up and begin a new organisation.
Getting started
embark generate kick off prompts stimulate
establish inaugurate launch provoke trigger
found initiate produce
1 Complete the crossword using the clues provided and one of the words from the box below. 8 6 7 10 12 11 5 9 1 2 3 4
Reading: themed texts
1 Quickly scan the three texts that follow and decide which one contains:
a technical information for a specific purpose b fictional writing and dialogue
c factual information about a specific event
2 PaPER 1, PaRT 1 You are going to read three extracts which are all concerned in some way with the beginning of something new. For questions 1–6, choose the answer (a, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
The beginning of an idea
…
‘Mr Lyell is a genius,’ said Darwin sniffily. ‘He believes that the differences between two species of the same animal in two different regions cannot be superinduced during a length of time on account of the immutability of species.’
‘It all depends on how one defines a species,’ suggested FitzRoy. ‘Every animal varies more or less, in outward form and appearance, from its fellows that habit different surroundings. But to fancy that every kind of mouse which differs externally from the mouse of another country is a distinct species is to me as difficult to believe as that every variety of the human race is a distinct species. A mouse is a mouse. A human is a human, be he an Englishman or a Fuegian. A fox is a fox, whether it be a Falklands fox or one of the type that Philos spends his days hunting to extinction in Shropshire. But a mouse cannot transmute into a cat. A fox cannot transmute into a penguin. A monkey cannot transmute into a human.’
‘Philos is making a damned good job of extinguishing the race of Falklands foxes too, if you ask me,’ said Sullivan. ‘Expect to see it classified with the dodo soon.’
A chuckle ran round the room, and the hot breath of Darwin’s laughter momentarily flared the glowing peat in the grate. ‘I intend to make a special study of the tameness of the animal population before we leave’, he said. ‘To ascertain by experimentation how fast each species learns from danger – then, perhaps, to take specimens on board, and see if their offspring really can receive their parents’ newly acquired knowledge at birth.’
Extract from a novel
1 According to the text, the ‘zeroists’ A celebrated the millennium a year early. B were impatient to celebrate the millennium. C believed the 19th century ended with 1899. D refused to celebrate with everyone else.
2 In the hours leading up to the beginning of the 20th century A most people stayed at home or went to church. B some people didn’t speak until the clock struck midnight. C it was traditional to go swimming in a Yorkshire river. D everyone in Scotland was singing ‘Auld Lang Syne’.
The clock strikes twelve
The 20th century began with an argument. Britain could not make up its mind where the boundary between the two centuries lay. There were two schools of thought. The ‘zeroists’ were adamant that the new century started when 1899 gave way to 1900, but they were seen as a pedantic minority. Most people agreed that 1900 was the last year of the old century, and so Britons held their centennial celebrations on the eve of 1901. They could not know that their impatient descendants would take the opposite view and that the passing of the second millennium would be marked an incomplete 99 years hence.
Some people spent the last hours of the 19th century quietly at home. Others made their way to church or chapel, keeping the tradition of the night-watch service and listening in solemn silence for the first stroke of the midnight hour. In York, as the Minster bells struck, four revellers plunged into the icy waters of the River Ouse, determined to ‘swim the old year out and start the new century clean’. Outside St Paul’s Cathedral in London the excitement was more intense. ‘The Scotch element was, as usual, well to the fore, and the singing of “Auld Lang Syne” could be heard all over the City,’ reported the first 20th century edition of the Daily Mail.
Extract from a
history book
• Be aware of the thematic link between the texts as this will help you in moving from one text to the next. • Read the text and the questions carefully.
• Look at the options and decide which one is the closest in answering the question.
• Underline the part of the text which answers the question.
• If possible, identify the part of the text which eliminates one or more of the distractor options.
SPOTLIGHT CHECKLIST
PaPER 1, PaRT 1 Themed texts
Job Advertisement
SEQA – Scottish Environment Agency.
Assistant Hydrologist
Salary from £16,300 (fixed term for 6 months) Ref. ES0024
This post is part of a small team responsible for the hydrometric networks in the Spey, Lossie and Banffshire Coastal catchments. You will spend most of your day in the field travelling to and from sites throughout the area, undertaking environmental sampling, monitoring and assessment. Accountable for the data generated from your survey sampling and analysis, you will also be responsible for assisting with the maintenance of field survey and data logging equipment.
With the ability to operate as part of a small team and also able to cope with lone working in the field, you must be resourceful, flexible and able to solve problems as they arise. Sound knowledge of hydrometry is preferred but not essential. Knowledge of Health and Safety procedures would be useful, as would knowledge of the appropriate legal procedures. Experience of fieldwork, particularly involving hydrological parameters, is desirable with experience in the operation and maintenance of mechanical or electronic instrumentation being an advantage.
Closing date 7th April 2010
To apply or for specific details on this post, or other opportunities within SEQA please visit www.seqa.org.uk/vacancies
Please quote the relevant post reference in any correspondence. CVs will not be considered.
Successful applicants will be asked to provide a Basic Disclosure Scotland Certificate.
3 According to FitzRoy
A all animal species are a product of their location. B external variation alone can constitute a new species. C only animals that are closely related can diverge. D one species of animal cannot change into another. 4 Darwin hopes to show that
A all the native animals are unnaturally tame and reckless.
B some animals take longer to learn about danger than others.
C acquired knowledge can be passed from parents to young.
D the young of some animals can differ from their parents.
5 The position is seeking a person who will be mainly responsible for
A co-ordinating the other members of the assessment team.
B undertaking the transfer of data analysis from the field.
C providing and analysing information from the environment.
D looking after specialised equipment in the field 6 The person who applies for this post
A must have a good knowledge of hydrometry. B will have to work alone most of the time.
C will be tested on their knowledge of safety procedures. D ideally should know how to use the equipment.
3 underline the specific information in the text that provides the correct answers.
Where possible, underline the parts of the text which eliminate the distractors in a different colour.
4 Look back at the texts and find one expression with ‘make’ that means
to decide or to agree [text 1] _______________________ to go somewhere [text 1] __________________________ to find out detailed information about something [text 2] _________________________________________________
Language development: fixed
phrases – starting again
1 Complete the sentences below with a suitable phrase using the words in bold.
1 I realised that my plan was full of loopholes, so I decided to do it again from the beginning. I realised that my plan was full of loopholes, so I
decided to …
______________________________________ scratch
______________________________________ drawing
_______________________________________ square
2 I decided to forget about my past mistakes and start a new lifestyle.
I decided to forget about my past mistakes and … ________________________________________ fresh
_________________________________________ leaf
________________________________________ slate
make off make out make up
make off with make something up to make up for 1 They jumped in the car and headed towards the port. 2 I’m sorry for the way I behaved. Let me compensate
by taking you out to dinner.
3 There was too much background noise so I couldn’t hear what they were saying.
4 Gerry didn’t really go on the expedition – he invented that part of the story.
5 I trusted Jim so it came as a complete shock to me that he left and took with him the company funds.
6 Peter promised to work late all this week to compensate for the time he missed when he was ill.
2 Complete the sentences in a with the most appropriate clause in B.
A
1 ‘I stood on the table and shouted in order to 2 ‘Sometimes you just have to
3 ‘When she first set off on her solo voyage nobody knew if she would
4 ‘I explained it to you clearly so don’t
5 ‘I’m fed up with my job. I’ll need to find a new one.’ ‘That will
6 ‘I’d like a cheese sandwich please. No, in fact 7 ‘I don’t want to do my homework today but dad will 8 ‘I don’t know if the business will succeed, but I’ve
decided to try and
9 ‘It’s not much of a story but I expect it will
10 ‘I haven’t been to the shops yet so you’ll just have to B
a make like you don’t understand.’ b make that two.’
c make the evening papers.’
d make do with whatever’s in the fridge.’ e make two of us then.’
f make myself heard.’
g make the most of what you have.’ h make me do it.’
i make it.’ j make a go of it.’
3 Replace the underlined part of each sentence with one of the phrasal verbs below. make any grammatical changes necessary.
Grammar: past and present tenses
1 Complete the sentences below with the correct form of the verb in brackets.
1 It was the most beautiful sunset I _________________ (have / ever / see).
2 I _________________ (walk) for hours and my feet ached.
3 Jim _________________ (listen) to the radio when I called him.
4 I _________________ (never / be) abroad so I think I’ll go to France next year.
5 Pete said he _________________ (not / call) me yesterday because he was studying.
6 It _________________ (take) eight minutes for the light from the sun to reach Earth.
7 ‘David _________________ (go) into town. Do you want him to get anything?’
8 I _________________ (sit) in front of this computer all day. It’s time I took a break.
2 underline the correct word or phrase in each sentence.
1 The children ate / have eaten / have been eating the biscuits already. I only bought them an hour ago! 2 While I walked / was walking / have been walking into
town, I saw an accident.
3 Peter works / has worked / has been working on the project for a week now.
4 I broke / was breaking / have broken my leg in a skiing accident last May.
5 Julian chopped / was chopping / has been chopping the vegetables while I made the sauce.
6 I didn’t read / haven’t read / haven’t been reading the book yet because I’m so busy.
7 Lillian has / is having / has been having her piano lesson at the moment.
8 What did you do / were you doing / have you been
doing? You’re covered in mud.
3 Complete the sentences that follow in your own words.
1 Late last night I _________________ when _________________.
2 What _________________ this time next week? 3 Have you _________________ any time recently? 4 I had already _________________ when
_________________.
5 I’m _________________ if you’d like to come too.
4 Read the text and complete the gaps with the correct form of the verb in brackets.
I (1) _________________ (not / forget) the first
time our team played in a knock-out football tournament. No one (2) _________________ (expect) us to get as
far as we did – all the way to the final – as we were generally considered to be the outsiders, but knowing we might be up against the long standing champions, we
(3) _________________ (train) every day for months.
On the day of the match, I (4) _________________
(wake) to see that the sun (5) _________________
(shine). I (6) _________________ (put) on my
football kit and (7) _________________ (wait) eagerly
for Dad to announce it was time to go. When we
(8) _________________ (arrive) at the football pitch
I joined my team mates who (9) _________________
(already / do) warm ups and there was a definite sense of excitement and tension in the air. Our coach said, ‘Remember, you (10) _________________ (train) for the
past year for this moment. Give it all you’ve got!’
We (11) _________________ (march) out onto
the field, and after shaking hands with each other, the referee (12) _________________ (toss) his coin
and (13) _________________ (blow) his whistle. The
next 90 minutes (14) _________________ (pass) in
a blur, but I could hear kids from our school who
(15) _________________ (cheer) us on. The other team (16) _________________ (put) pressure on us the
whole time and there were some close shaves, until finally in the second half they managed to score. It
(17) _________________ (begin) to look bad for us;
with only five minutes left of the game we were one goal down. Suddenly I (18) _________________ (see) my
chance! Thanks to a straight pass from a team mate I
(19) _________________ (kick) the ball straight into the
net. The whistle blew. It (20) _________________ (be) a
draw, but then we went to penalties and beat them: five goals to four!
SPOTLIGHT Exam GuIDanCE
PaPER 4, PaRT 1 Short extracts
1 Read through the questions before you listen and think about what you are being asked to listen for.
2 Listen to the whole extract carefully once through before choosing an answer.
3 Do not assume too soon that you have heard the correct answer (because the two questions each have a different focus, information relevant to the answers could come from different parts of the recording).
4 Be wary of choosing an answer simply because it contains words and phrases heard on the recording.
5 Mark one answer to each question at the end of the first listening, even if you’re not sure it is correct. The second listening can then be used to confirm this answer or not.
Listening: short extracts
1 1.1 PaPER 4, PaRT 1 You will hear three different extracts. For questions 1–6, choose the answer (a, B or C) which fits best according to what you hear. There are two questions for each extract.
Extract One
You hear two people talking about their earliest memories.
1 The man recounts
A his first trip to an adventure park. B the day he lost a beloved toy.
C the first time his parents took him out. 2 The man says that to begin with he felt A too small to join in with the older children. B frightened of playing in a strange place. C nervous because there were so many children.
Extract Two
You hear a radio programme about a pop star.
3 Kathy’s first album was unusual in that A the songs had been written much earlier. B it seemed to be well thought out and refined. C it was unlike any other album around at the time. 4 Kathy felt that making an album
A was the most important thing for her to do. B was not as important as fame and fortune. C would teach her how to enjoy what she did.
Extract Three
You hear a woman being interviewed about her new line of work.
5 The woman says that the South American pouch slings A have complicated straps and attachments. B are attractive, natural and easy to wear. C are not as popular as the metal framed slings. 6 One important advantage of her slings is that A newborn babies get a sense of security in them. B more than one child can be carried in them at
a time.
C they have been designed with the father’s tastes in mind.
Use of English: key word
transformations
1 PaPER 3, PaRT 5 For questions 1–8, 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 Mum offered me another piece of pie, but I told her I was full.
HAD
I told Mum _____________________ when she offered me another piece.
2 John and Peter first met thirty years ago.
EACH
John and Peter _____________________ thirty years. 3 We haven’t had a night out in ages.
SINCE
It’s _____________________ had a night out. 4 They have been building their dream home for the
past ten years.
UNDER
Their dream home _____________________ the past ten years.
5 We didn’t like the holiday resort much but we decided to enjoy what we could.
MOST
We decided _____________________ the holiday resort even though we didn’t like it much. 6 I didn’t hear from Jane for another three years.
BEFORE
It _____________________ from Jane again.
7 Getting a place on the course was much harder than I thought it would be.
AS
It was _____________________ a place on the course as I thought it would be.
8 Greg has to work very hard to pay his bills.
ENDS
To _____________________ Greg has to work very hard.
SPOTLIGHT CHECKLIST
PaPER 3, PaRT 5 Similar meaning in
transformed sentences
Remember:
• The key word MUST be used in each answer. • It may NOT be changed in any way. • Your answer must NOT exceed six words. • Contractions count as two words.
Tips
• Make a note of any new expressions which have parallel or synonymous meanings. • Note also whether any phrasal verbs
can substitute particular vocabulary or if tenses can be expressed with a particular expression.
Speaking: spoken questions
Writing:
an article
1 Look at the following question.
You read the following announcement in a student magazine.
A recent survey has shown us that good teachers do more than just teach – they also inspire and motivate. We would like you, the readers, to submit articles describing the best teacher you have ever had and explaining how they inspired and motivated you. We will publish the most interesting articles.
2 ask yourself the following questions:
• What type of article am I being asked to write?
• Who is the target reader?
• Is description required?
• Is narrative required?
• Is a personal experience required?
• Does it need a title or headings?
• What register is required?
• Do I have enough experience or knowledge to answer the question?
3 Plan and write the above article. Follow the steps below.
1 Brainstorm: try to think of several ideas and choose
the best one.
2 Outline: what will you say in each part of your
composition.
1 Opening / introduction: ... 2 Main part: ...
3 Ending / conclusion: ...
3 Select vocabulary: you’re being asked to describe a
person. Think of colourful adjectives or interesting anecdotes that can ‘paint a picture’ of this person. 4 Writing: if you’ve planned your composition well it
shouldn’t take you so long to write. Make sure you allow enough time for both planning and writing both composition questions in the exam.
5 Checking: read what you’ve written. Look out for:
• grammatical errors (structures/tenses/syntax)
• inappropriate language/vocabulary
• spelling mistakes
• punctuation errors SPOTLIGHT CHECKLIST
PaPER 5, PaRT 1 Talking about new experiences
You may be asked one or two questions about yourself which lead into further questions about, for example, your leisure time, travel and holiday experiences, or your daily routine.
TIPS
• Look for opportunities to socialise with English speakers. • In pairs, role-play social occasions in which you meet new
people, e.g. parties, long train journeys, joining a new class, starting a new job.
SPOTLIGHT CHECKLIST
PaPER 2 Writing a descriptive or narrative article
Remember:
• You will have a much better chance of performing well in the task if you are familiar with the topic area or if it is suited to your interests or experience.
• When planning your writing, make sure you balance your answers so that one part does not dominate at the expense of another. It is important that you use effective paragraphing, and develop each of the required points in a separate paragraph.
• Try to make your descriptions lively and include some colourful use of language.
• Decide if a personal angle is required.
Did you have a happy childhood? What’s your earliest memory?
Do you remember your first day of school? Do you remember your first friend?
If you have any younger brothers or sisters, can you remember when they were born?
Do you remember the first time you got into trouble with your parents? Or a teacher?
1 Extra speaking practice. ask other people to talk about their childhoods. ask questions to help them give as many details as possible so they can talk for 2–3 minutes. use some of the questions below to help you. afterwards tell them about your childhood.
