Skill Test 6b

Name _________________________________________________ Class ________________________
Skills Test 6B Units 11-12

READING SKILLS
1 Read the text. Are the statements true (T) or false (F)?
1 The speakers were carefully selected for the interview. 
2 Paula is in London on business. 
3 Sam has plenty of time for the interviewer. 
4 Christine’s lifestyle in the States was better than in London. 
5 Amir moved to Britain as a child. 
/5
CHANGING PEOPLE, CHANGING TIMES
A Today Magazine special
‘Change is the only constant,’ said the writer Isaac Asimov, but exactly how much do we
change as we grow older? As part of our series of articles on modern Britain we asked a
random selection of people on London’s busy streets that very question last weekend.
Paula
Paula is smart, trendy and successful, every inch a confident and independent young professional.
A loans manager in a bank not far from Cork in the Republic of Ireland, much in her life seems
unchanged, but under the surface things are considerably different. ‘When I was younger I lived on
a small farm near Cork with my parents, and went to school close by. I still live there now, on the
same farm, still with my parents, but underneath little has stayed the same.’ While her address may
not have changed, she does not feel tied to one place in the way that her parents do, and she loves
that feeling of freedom. ‘Back then, people didn’t use to travel much. In fact, I didn’t leave my
village until I was a teenager, but now I travel quite a lot. I love visiting places – that’s why I’m in
London right now – and I try to go somewhere most weekends. I feel as much at home in New
York or London as I do in Ireland.’
© Pearson Central Europe Sp. z o.o. 2012 PHOTOCOPIABLE

Sam
With his jeans, t-shirt and jacket Sam looks like a typical Londoner travelling about town, and his
accent confirms his local origins. Formerly an electrician with a large construction firm and now
running his own one-man company, he tells us he’s not in a hurry and can spare a moment to talk
to us – but his frequent glances towards the bus stop tell a different story, as does his hurried
speech. ‘Well, I’ve got a family to support these days so that’s a worry,’ he says, and he sees the
parallels with his own childhood very clearly. ‘I remember when I was a kid back in the 1970s
things were quite tough, much more so than today, I think. We never had any money to spare and
my dad always seemed to be angry. My mum didn’t work, unlike my wife today. Now my father is
like a different person, so easygoing and calm about things. My kids love him and I try to be as
relaxed as he is, but it’s not easy, even though we don’t have the same kind of financial worries
today.’
Christine
American Christine’s extravagantly coloured clothes could mark her out as a student but, in fact,
she stands on the other side of the school desk. ‘The biggest change in my life is obviously that I
live in the UK now instead of the US!’ Her choice of career was not one she would have expected
in her youth. ‘You know, it’s funny but I never used to pay too much attention in school. I suppose
I might have liked it more than I realised at the time, though, because now here I am teaching and I
love it!’ In spite of the thousands of miles across the Atlantic she has travelled, Christine does not
feel her life has changed dramatically. ‘I went to school in New York and then studied there too
and a lot of things are similar here: in the States I travelled on the subway a lot, now it’s the Tube, I
lived quite near the centre of New York, now it’s the centre of London and I still go jogging in the
park and go to the theatre whenever I can, so I suppose I can say that most things in my life have
stayed the same. That’s good because I liked my lifestyle in the States, even though I think London
suits me better. I still ride my bike to work as well but one thing’s different and that’s where I ride.
I can’t get used to riding on the left and I don’t think I ever will, however long I spend here!’
Amir
Tall, slim of build and athletic, 25-year-old student Amir looks like he could be a professional
sportsman. A member of Britain’s sizeable Muslim community, Amir feels that relations have
changed between Britain’s different communities since his schooldays. ‘Back then it was difficult
being from an ethnic minority and having a different religion to most of the other kids in my class.
Most of them didn’t even know what a Muslim was and assumed I was from India – most of them
had never heard of Pakistan – even though my parents and I were all born in the same town as they
were. We’d never even been to France, let alone Asia! I used to hear comments about me that
weren’t very nice, about me not being English and so on, but I can’t remember the last time

somebody spoke like that to me so I suppose how people think about these things must have
changed a lot, and that’s good.’
2 Read the text again and choose the correct answers.
1 Paula says that

a her life is like it always was.
b her life has changed a great deal.
c she likes to travel occasionally.
d she has homes in several cities.
2 Sam is
a from London.
b unemployed.
c the only person working in his family.
d as worried about money as his father was.
3 Christine says that

a her life in London is quite similar to her life in New York.
b she does many things differently now.
c she is not surprised how her career turned out.
d she’s used to everything about living in London.
4 According to Amir,
a there was more intolerance in the past than today.
b there were things about his religion that people objected to.
c he travelled a lot as a child.
d there are still many problems with tolerance in the UK.
5 The four speakers

a are all immigrants to London.
b all feel their life today is better than before.
c are all working full-time.
d all mention their school days.
/5

LISTENING SKILLS
1 CD Track 7 Listen to the radio phone-in show about newspapers. Match opinions A–G to
callers 1–5. There are two extra opinions that you do not need.
1 Sally
2 Darren
3 Rob
4 John
5 Jane
A I like to pick and choose what to read from different sources.
B I read newspapers from the first to the last page.
C I read things that make me feel good.
D Less competition would mean better quality.
E People can buy the paper that matches their interests.
F I always read the same newspaper.
G People can read their paper in any way they want.

/5
2 CD Track 7 Listen again. Are the statements true (T), false (F) or is there no information
(NI)?
1 Sally thinks newspapers don’t have enough intelligent stories.
2 Darren doesn’t like the newspapers he reads.
3 Rob reads different papers every day.
4 John is very interested in politics.
5 Jane uses newspapers in a practical way and not just for fun.
/5

COMMUNICATION
1 Choose the correct answers.
Anybody / Nobody / Somebody looks very happy in the picture as far as I can see.
1 Any / None / Whole of the groups are satisfied with the decision.
2 The last idea, in / on / for contrast, has been very popular.
3 I’m afraid I can see several slips / pitfalls / crashes with this suggestion.
4 I don’t think we’re getting very far / long / fast with this, are we?
5 Let’s put / keep / leave that for now and come back to it later, shall we?
/5
TOTAL / 25

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Name _________________________________________________ Class ________________________

Skills Test 6B Units 11-12

1 The speakers were carefully selected for the interview. 

2 Paula is in London on business. 

3 Sam has plenty of time for the interviewer. 

4 Christine’s lifestyle in the States was better than in London. 

5 Amir moved to Britain as a child. 

CHANGING PEOPLE, CHANGING TIMES

A Today Magazine special

© Pearson Central Europe Sp. z o.o. 2012 PHOTOCOPIABLE

© Pearson Central Europe Sp. z o.o. 2012 PHOTOCOPIABLE

2 Read the text again and choose the correct answers.

1 Paula says that

3 Christine says that

5 The four speakers

© Pearson Central Europe Sp. z o.o. 2012 PHOTOCOPIABLE

A I like to pick and choose what to read from different sources.

B I read newspapers from the first to the last page.

C I read things that make me feel good.

D Less competition would mean better quality.

E People can buy the paper that matches their interests.

F I always read the same newspaper.

G People can read their paper in any way they want.

1 Sally thinks newspapers don’t have enough intelligent stories.

2 Darren doesn’t like the newspapers he reads.

3 Rob reads different papers every day.

4 John is very interested in politics.

© Pearson Central Europe Sp. z o.o. 2012 PHOTOCOPIABLE

1 Choose the correct answers.

2 The last idea, in / on / for contrast, has been very popular.

© Pearson Central Europe Sp. z o.o. 2012 PHOTOCOPIABLE

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Name _________________________ Class