A

cumulative test

Test 1–5
Grammar Vocabulary
1 Complete the sentences with the correct form of 3 Choose the correct answers.
the verbs in brackets.
1 I need a job with working hours.
1 I thought Archie A  tolerant   B  flexible   C  open-minded
(leave) but in fact he was in the cafeteria.
2 We need another of milk.
2 Who (expect) to win A  pint   B  pound   C  yard
the next election?
3 Most get moody from time to time.
3 The meeting (finish)
A  toddlers   B  OAPs   C  adolescents
by 4.30 so give me a ring then.
4 The exercises in the exam were easy.
4 The suspect
A  highly   B  bitterly   C  ridiculously
(interview) by the police when he fell ill.
5 The temperature in this building a lot.
5 The examiner asked me why I
(chose) to learn English. A  fluctuates   B  looms   C  boosts

6 How long (you want) 6 Employees who deal with clients directly need
to be an astronaut? to be extremely .
A  ruthless   B  courteous   C  flexible
7 The boy (not see)
since this morning. 7 It appears that the companies with
each other to keep prices high.
8 You (earn) a lot more
money this time next year. A  colluded   B  pledged   C  backed

Mark /8 8 his failure, he tried again the

following year and succeeded.
2 Choose the correct answers. A  Although   B  Much as   C  Despite

1 Gemma was very tired and took in a little / Mark /8

little of what the teacher said.
2 Assuming that / In case he doesn’t mind a 4 Complete the sentences with the prepositions in
small room, he’ll love the hotel. the box.
3 We expect my cousin to arrive / arriving just out   away   through   at   up   back   down
after 10.00.
4 While he’s been in hospital / the hospital, I’ve 1 I put his bad temper to the weather!
been looking after his dog. 2 Mum’s always getting me for not
5 The President is expected / known to be fond doing as well as my sister.
of Italian food. 3 We paid the nose for our new car.
6 Hardly / Just had we left the house when it 4 Let’s get to what we were talking
started to rain.
about before, shall we?
7 None / Any of the students could answer all
5 I’m going to set a meeting with all the
the questions correctly.
people involved.
Mark /7
6 What are you going to splash on with
the money you won?
7 You won’t get with writing less than
200 words for that essay!
Mark /7

Photocopiable © Oxford University Press  Matura Solutions Upper-Intermediate Tests      

 A
cumulative test

Test 1–5

Listening
5 ≤4.11  Listen to five people talking about A home of your own?
getting through difficult situations. Which A home of their own is what most people in the
speaker (A–E) talks about ... UK aspire to these days. However, more and more
1 managing on a small income?  Speaker of our older population are finding it difficult to
stay in their own homes as the health problems
2 not being deterred from taking another risk?
associated with increased age sometimes make
Speaker it impossible for them to cope in badly designed
3 refusing to accept the advice of others? houses.
Speaker The elderly cannot climb the stairs and if they use
4 accepting the situation?  Speaker wheelchairs, there are often problems getting from
one room to another because of narrow doorways,
5 getting something good from a bad situation?
let alone trying to manoeuvre their chairs up and
Speaker down outdoor steps. [1 ] All too often the
Mark /10 help that could allow them to remain in their own
homes at the end of their lives is not available and
these people are forced to move into care homes.
Reading Here, their needs are catered for but they often feel
6 Read the text. isolated and away from familiar surroundings and
their friends and family.
7 Complete the text with sentences A–F. There is In an effort to address this problem the UK
one sentence you do not need. government has announced plans that seem, on
A They want all new homes built in the UK from the surface, to be fairly dramatic. [2 ]
2011 onwards to conform to specifications There will be sixteen such specifications and they
that will make them elderly-friendly. include improvements that could significantly affect
life positively for the elderly. Stairs will have to be
B Safety for children will also be addressed.
wide enough to accommodate stair lifts should the
C It is feared that conforming to all the installation of one become necessary. [3 ]
specifications will push up the prices and put Electrical sockets and switches in walls must be at
new homes out of the reach of first-time buyers. a convenient height and all rooms must be large
D Adapting their houses to make life easier for enough for wheelchairs to turn in circles. These are
these people is a costly business and most only a few examples of what architects and builders
cannot afford the necessary changes. will have to take into consideration in the future.
E These plans have met with mixed reactions. [4 ] The general idea has been welcomed by
F There must be easy access for wheelchairs to many care groups but the practicalities are causing
the front door and through doorways. concern in many quarters. Not least among those
who are worried about the cost of providing new
Mark /10
housing.
[5 ] Members of the House Builders
Writing Association feel that the plans have not been
carefully thought through and that implementing
8 Write a story about a disastrous evening when such specifications, although theoretically laudable,
everything went wrong. Include these points. is simply not realistic.
• Describe how the evening started. It is also felt that people have different housing
• Write about at least three things that went wrong. needs at different stages of their lives and forcing
• Say how you felt and what you did. all new homes to be built with the elderly in mind
• Describe how the evening ended. is not going to be a popular move. Debate on the
Mark /10 subject will no doubt continue for a long time yet!

Total /60

Photocopiable © Oxford University Press  Matura Solutions Upper-Intermediate Tests