Skills Test 1A**

Listening Track 2
Track 1 3 Listen to a talk about a charity and
1 Listen to a talk about two people answer the questions.
and answer the questions. 1 What can’t children with a cleft lip
or palate do?
Nancy Li Fan
1 What was Nancy’s first story 2 What happens to many children
about? before they are one?

2 How many years did it take her to 3 What do the parents of some
write it? children do?

3 Who published it? 4 What is Kathy Magee’s job?

4 What is Nancy’s first language? 5 How many volunteers work for

Operation Smile?

Emily Kngwarreye 6 How many students usually travel

5 Did people know Emily before the with doctors and nurses from
art exhibition in 1989? other countries?

6 How many paintings did Emily 7 Can a child have a normal life
create in the next three years? after an operation?

8 How long were the Magees in the

___/6 marks Philippines?

9 In how many countries does the

2 Listen again. Are the sentences charity work?
true (T), false (F) or don’t know
(DK)? 10 Who does Operation Smile train?
1 Nancy finished writing her novel
when she was 11 years old.
2 She couldn’t speak English ___/10 marks
before she came to the USA.

3 Emily made one painting every Reading

day for eight years.
Text 1
4 She began painting when she
was 78. 4 Read the text and choose the
correct answers.
___/4 marks 1 What kind of text is this?
a a short story
b a review
c an email
d a magazine article
2 Jeanette and Ross made a beautiful stone house not far from a pretty village.
decision to move to the country They left London only two years ago, but they still
can’t believe how much their life has changed.
years ago. Back in the city, they were both successful business
a five people. They had a luxury flat, a Mercedes and two
b four smaller cars. They used to spend a lot of money on
c three fashionable clothes, the latest gadgets and holidays
d two in Europe, the Caribbean, Asia, Africa and South
America. They did all these things without thinking
3 They left London because . because they could afford them. But was it enough?
a they wanted to live in another
city ‘We made the decision to move five years ago,’
b they were unhappy with their says Jeanette. ‘I was driving home one day when I
life realised it was always dark when I left home and
dark when I left the office. I usually came home in
c they worked in a dark office a bad mood. And I used to work most weekends,
d they couldn’t set up a too.’
restaurant in London
4 What do they do in Devon? . ‘I was also getting fed up,’ says Ross. ‘I never had
a They work for a famous chef time for my hobbies – cooking and cycling – and
then one day Jeanette said: “Wouldn’t it be nice to
b They have their own business live off the grid?”’
c They are professional
gardeners It was time for a change. It took three years to
d Ross is a cook in a hotel and make the move, but the Waltons finally sold their
Jeanette is a waitress flat and businesses, found a house in the country,
and set up a small restaurant. ‘It’s perfect,’ says
Jeanette. ‘We grow all the fruit and vegetables for
___/4 marks the restaurant, Ross does the cooking and I love
talking to customers.’

5 Read the text again. Are the The Waltons still work hard, but the move has
sentences true (T), false (F) or don’t made a huge difference to their lives. ‘We don’t
know (DK)? live off the grid,’ laughs Ross, ‘but now we have
time to do all the things we like.’
1 The Waltons live in a small
village in Devon. Do they miss London? ‘We’ve given up that
2 The Waltons could afford to buy lifestyle,’ Jeanette replies. ‘We’re happy with
expensive things when they lived fewer things and in fact, we don’t think about
in London. London any more!’
3 Jeanette worked harder than
Ross when they lived in London.
Text 2
4 Ross was the one who
6 Read the text and answer the
suggested a change.
questions.
5 The Waltons paid a lot of money
1 How many years has David
for their house in the country.
Attenborough’s career in
television lasted?
6 They work fewer hours now.
2 When did he become interested
in the natural world?
___/6 marks
3 Why did he study geology and
zoology?
Country Living
Today, I’m visiting Jeanette and Ross Walton in
Devon, in the west of England. They live in a
4 What did he do when he left he changed all that and introduced programmes
university? about sport, business, music, the arts,
entertainment, science, natural history, etc. Two
years after becoming controller, he introduced
5 Why didn’t he stay at his editing colour television to Britain. In 1969 he was given
job? responsibility for the programmes on both BBC
channels. Then in 1972 he was offered the top job
6 Why didn’t he appear on at the BBC, but he didn’t want to take it. He was
more interested in making and presenting
television programmes when he programmes. So he left the BBC and made
first started work at the BBC? programmes. These were different from most other
documentaries at the time: they were serious, but
7 What happened in 1965? not boring and were instantly popular.

In his eighties, Attenborough continues to appear

8 In which year did he introduce on television and he has millions of fans all over
colour television to Britain? the world.

9 Why didn’t he accept the top job

at the BBC?
Writing
10 Why did people like his 7 Complete the sentences with the
programmes so much? words in the box.
also and but
___/10 marks however moreover
on the other hand too
1 I can drive a car. I can
A Life in Television drive a tractor.
He is one of the most famous television 2 He won a lot of money
personalities in Britain. His career in television has bought a huge
lasted for over 60 years and he has written and
presented some of the best natural history house.
documentaries ever made. His name? Sir David 3 They’re very talented.
Attenborough. , they’re kind and
generous.
David was born in 1926 in London, but grew up in 4 Mum and Dad have dark hair.
Leicester. He became interested in natural history
at an early age and loved collecting things like , I’m fair.
stones and fossils. He never lost this interest and 5 I love water sports like sailing. I
when he left school, he studied geology and like athletics, .
zoology at the University of Cambridge. 6 She’s an engineer,
she doesn’t like her job.
After graduating in 1947, he spent two years in the
navy and then worked for a short time editing 7 Living in a city has a lot of
science textbooks for children. However, he didn’t advantages. , there
like the work and in 1950 he applied for a job at the are a few disadvantages.
BBC. At the time, like most people in Britain, he
himself didn’t have a television set. He joined the
BBC in 1952 but at first, he didn’t appear on any
___/7 marks
programmes because Mary Adams, his boss,
thought his teeth were too big! This changed when
he made and helped to present a series called The
Pattern of Animals. After that, he made a number
of programmes on different subjects.

In 1965 Attenborough became Controller of BBC

Two. At the time, this channel was not popular, but
8 Complete the essay. Use one
word in each gap.
Is the countryside a good place to
live?
Many British people dream of living in
the country, 1 is country life
really better than life in a city? It is true
that the air is cleaner 2 there is
more space in the country. 3 ,
life is quieter and there is not much
crime. People are friendly and you get
to know your neighbours, 4 .
5
, many young people prefer
city life. There is more to do in a city
6
there are more opportunities
to make friends with different kinds of
people. It is 7 easier to find a job
in a city.

In conclusion, life in the country has a

lot of advantages, especially for older
people or people with young children.
8
the other hand, for teenagers
and young adults, the city is a better
environment and it is not surprising
that they prefer living in one.

___/8 marks

9 Write a ‘for and against’ essay.

Is the computer the most important
machine in our lives?

Paragraph 1
What do we use computers for?

Paragraph 2
What other things are important in our
lives?

Paragraph 3
Conclusion

___/15 marks

Total: ___/70 marks