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Read the article by a journalist about some ancient rock paintings that were found
in a cave in France, and then answer the following questions.
Ancient Cave Art
In December 1994, three climbers were climbing a cliff in southern France when they came
across a small opening. They made the opening wider, and then crawled along a narrow passage
into a large cave. To their amazement, they saw hundreds of beautiful images of animals on the
cave walls. As they walked through the cave, they realized they were stepping on animal bones.
Later tests showed that these were thousands of years old. The climbers told the local authorities
about the cave, and experts were sent to study it. The experts realized it was a very important
discovery. They identified more than 400 drawings and paintings of 15 different animal species.
Some were between 28000 and 31000 years old. The majority, however, dated back 35000 years.
Experts also worked out that there had been a 4000-year interval when no art was created in the
cave. They also concluded there had been a rock fall about 27000 years ago. The entrance
became blocked and remained so until 1994. The cave was therefore frozen in time, which
helped to preserve the images, and as a result, they look fresher than prehistoric cave paintings
found elsewhere. Exposing the rock paintings to normal air and people for any length of time
would damage them. So since the cave was discovered, very few people have been allowed
inside, and only for a limited time. Various studies have been carried out, however. Scientists
established that the walls had been cleaned before they were painted, meaning that the
background colour is lighter than in other caves. They also identified the materials the artists
used: pieces of iron, brushes created from horsehair and pointed stones for scratching lines.
Experts also noted that the images seem more alive than cave paintings anywhere else. Soon
after the cave was found, the authorities named it Chauvet. People often assume this is the name
of the local town, but in fact it’s the surname of one of its discoverers. In 2007, the French
government decided to show the world what Chauvet was like by building an exact copy of it a
few kilometres away from the real cave. This reconstruction, named Caverne du Pont D’Arc,
finally opened in 2015, and I visited it one summer’s day. The group I was with walked down a
concrete tunnel towards a large door. I knew it was a new building, but as I went through the
door, I had the sense of going into a genuine cave. The temperature was suddenly very cool, so I
was glad I had brought a jacket. Also, I immediately noticed that the atmosphere was damper
than outside. As we went further inside, our guide pointed out different features of the ‘cave’.
The images, exactly like the originals, include rhinos, panthers, hyenas, lions and birds, as well
as other now extinct species, and are stunning. The Chauvet cave paintings also show animals
like deer and bison, which humans hunted for food. However, unlike in other caves, many of the
Chauvet animals are much more aggressive. There are also some scenes of animals interacting –
something not found elsewhere. Like all the other images, the lions are beautifully painted, but
the thing that stood out for me was the fact that their faces are human-like. At one point during
the visit, I asked the guide why people didn’t feature in the paintings on the walls. She said this
wasn’t uncommon in ancient cave art and it revealed what the world was like when the artists
were alive: dominated by large and dangerous animals. Very different from today.

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1 What did the climbers notice on the floor of the

cave? .................................................................................................................................................... [1]

2 How many years ago was most of the art in the cave

made? .................................................................................................................................................... [1]

3 Why were people unable to enter the cave for thousands of

years? .................................................................................................................................................... [1]

4 What material did the cave artists use to make their

brushes? ....................................................................................................................................................

[1]

5 Why was the cave named

Chauvet? ....................................................................................................................................................

[1]

6 What gave the writer the impression that he was in a real cave when he entered the

Caverne du Pont D’Arc? Give two

details. .......................................................................................................................................................... .

................................................................................................................................................... [2]

7 What did the writer particularly admire about the lion

paintings? ....................................................................................................................................................

[1]

8 What images was the writer unable to see in the

cave? .................................................................................................................................................... [1]

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[Total: 9]

For questions 1 – 10, read the text below. Use the words given in capitals at the bottom of the page to

help you form a word that fits in the gap.

_________________________________________________________________________________

George Gershwin George Gershwin was a (0) famous composer and pianist who wrote both

popular and classical music. Singers and (1) ……....... from all over the world have recorded

Gershwin tunes. Gershwin was born in New York in 1898. His parents were (2) .............. . When

George was ten, they bought a piano for his older brother, but George was more (3) .............. in

playing it. George left school at fifteen and went to work for a firm of music publishers where

his job was to give public (4) .............. of the company’s music. He started his own (5) ..............

music and published his first song when he was seventeen. At twenty-one, he had his first hit, a

song called Swanee. He couldn’t stop composing: jazz pieces, musical comedies and music for

films. His most (6) .............. composition was the folk opera Porgy and Bess. The action in this

takes place in an all-black (7) .............. in the southern United States and audiences love it

because the music is (8) .............. and emotional. (9) .............. , George Gershwin died at the age

of just thirtynine but his music is still played and he is considered one of the most important and

(10) .............. American composers of the twentieth century.

(FAME- MUSIC- RUSSIA- INTEREST- PERFORM- ORIGIN –AMBITION- NEIGHBOUR- DRAMA- SAD- SUCCESS

Make sure that all the words are put orderly for example ( fame ) is for the first
gap , (music ) for the second gap and so on )

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For questions( 1 – 10) 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 two and five words,

including the word given.

Example: 0) You must do exactly what the manager tells you.

Carry

You must carry out the manager’s instructions exactly.

_________________________________________________________________________________

1.If I were you, I wouldn’t wear trainers to your job interview.

Ought

In my opinion, ………………………………… to your job interview wearing trainers.

2. With more sunshine, the strawberries would have ripened sooner last year.

there

The strawberries would have ripened sooner last year …………………………………more sunshine.

3. It was up to Melissa to decide where the family would go for their holiday.

Take

Melissa had ………………………………………… about where the family would go for their holiday.

4. Everyone said it had been my fault that we lost the match.

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Blamed

Everyone …………………………………………………… fact that we lost the match.

5. My uncle lives quite near the sea.

away

My uncle does ………………………………………………from the sea.

6. John only lost his way because he’d forgotten his map.

Lost

If John hadn’t forgotten his map, …………………………………………… his way.

7. They managed to climb the mountain although the weather was bad.

succeeded

Despite the …………………………………………………… climbing the mountain.

8. Chess was more complicated than the children had expected.

Such

The children had not expected chess to ………………………………......…………complicated game.

9. The last time I saw Tom was the day he got married in 2008.

Wedding

I haven’t ……………………………………………… day in 2008.

10. Patrick said he would not apologize to me and just walked away.

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refused

Patrick ……………………………………………… sorry to me and just walked away.

Writing
In your English class, you have been talking about school subjects. Your teacher has asked you to write

this essay: “Which do you think is more useful to learn at school, foreign languages or science? Why?”

Write your essay in 100 – 120 words in an appropriate style below.

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