EXAMEN 1 READING

This year I was thinking of going to North Africa for my summer holidays but, with the problems in Egypt and Tunisia, I think I will have to change my plans. Maybe, I will go to Galicia instead, principally because there will be no political problems there, or I hope not. Not only that, I think it will be cheaper because I won‟t have to change money or buy expensive air tickets and also the food is more to my taste. 1. The persons is thinking of going to Galicia because

John‟s father is a mechanic. He works for the local garage. He has worked there for the last 15 years and he enjoys his job very much. John has also decided to be a mechanic and his father has organized for him to train as an apprentice at the garage. 2. John’s father likes his job

This comfortable hotel is ideal for people who want a quiet holiday and it‟s only a short distance from the popular attractions. There are lovely views from every room. The atmosphere is friendly and nice. A holiday here is good value for money. You can eat at the hotel or at some local restaurants. 3. This text is part of

Hi Mike, We are having a great holiday here. We arrived in Caernarfon, Wales, four days ago and we are staying in a small hotel. Yesterday we went to see the castle, and tomorrow we are driving to Snowdonia National Park. Now we are sitting in a café in the city centre after spending a lot of money on shopping. In the afternoon, we are going to relax on the beach. The main language here is English but about a twenty per cent of the Welsh can speak both Welsh and English. 4. Mark the correct option

The best holidays that the Wilson family ever had were in Benidorm. They had never been abroad before so they were amazed by life in a foreign country. Everything was different for them. In fact, they liked their holidays so much that are planning to return there this summer. 5. Which sentence is true about the Wilson family?

Thomas and Jenny Jones, and their two children, Mike and Samantha, are an on-line family. Thomas works for a big company and he uses a computer at work. His wife, Jenny, is a researcher and surfs the internet to find information. Their two children spend many hours in front of the computer chatting to friends and sending e-mails. 6. Which sentence is true about the Jones?

I live in a flat in an old building. It‟s got four bedrooms, a sitting room, a kitchen and two bathrooms. It hasn‟t got a balcony or a terrace but it‟s got a big window and lots of light. I like the sitting room the most because it has a great view of the city centre. 7. Why does the person like the sitting room the most?

Luke Matthews has an amazing home. He doesn‟t live in a house but in a lighthouse. The lighthouse is, of course, near the sea and today you can hear the waves crashing onto the rocks below. “In fact you can hear the sea almost every day” says Luke. “It‟s not really a quiet place, it‟s often windy and there are many loud birds”. 8. Luke complains that his home is

Australia is the smallest of the world‟s continents as well as the flattest. There aren‟t many big mountains, and the highest of them is not much more than 2000 metres. Australia is also the driest continent. 9. Australia is

I flew to Pennsylvania last month for an exhibition and it was a terrible experience. The hotel was terrible. My room was cold and the lift was out of order. The food in the restaurant was always overcooked and cold. All the staff were rude. I told the manager and she said she would investigate but she did nothing. 10. One of the reasons why the person didn’t like the hotel was because

The beach is full of people and there are lots of sundbeds and umbrellas. The sea is also full of speedboats and noisy jet skis. There are fewer palm trees because there are more and more buildings such as hotels, holiday resorts, guest houses, restaurants and swimming pools. It is Riviera Island and it is no longer the paradise it once was. 11. According to the text, Riviera Island is

Basic training, or boot camp, is a soldier‟s initiation into the army. It is where new recruits learn the basics of military life and how to be soldiers. Boot camp generally lasts a total of ten weeks in the US Army and twelve in the UK. 12. Choose the correct sentence

Ernest Fessenden, a software engineer, thought he could do something for his brother Chris who was deployed to Afghanistan in 2007 and needed some amusement. So, he sent him a remote-controlled truck. The truck was a source of entertainment for Staff Sergeant Chris Fessenden and his fellow soldiers, but also a vehicle for inspection at checking points under carriages. It performed admirably. In August 2011, Chris loaned the truck to another patrol to inspect suspicious items along the roads. 13. The truck that Ernest sent his brother Chris

A revolution has been taking place in the music world in recent years. People have started buying their music online and building music libraries on their computers. The process is fairly uncomplicated: you use an internet browser to visit the online shop, find the track you like, download it to your computer and pay with a credit card or voucher. 14. According to the text, the process of downloading music is

Students over 15 can work for a maximum of eight hours on a Saturday or in the school holidays. But they can‟t work for more than 20 hours a week. Typical jobs include delivering newspapers, working in shops, or hotels. And then there‟s babysitting, cleaning or gardening. All teenagers must have a two- week break from any work in the school holidays. 15. Students can

Notice in a Language School Students should note the following rules: • It is forbidden to take mobile phones into the exam, even if they are switched off. • All students should have at least 2 HB pencils during the exam. • You can‟t have any food or drink in the exam room, this includes water. However, medicines are allowed. • Anybody who copies will automatically have their exam mark put as zero, and will be unable to take the exam again for a period of 2 years. 16. Which statement is true according to the rules of the school?

Icebergs move slowly in the sea and it sometimes takes years to melt. Ships can‟t identify them very clearly because most of the iceberg is below the water and only the top can be seen. Almost a hundred years ago, the largest passenger ship in the world hit an iceberg on its first voyage. The ship was called the Titanic, and when it sank, over a thousand people were killed. 17. An iceberg is dangerous to ships because

The ITC, the Independent Television Commission, regulates commercial television in the UK. They make rules for everything: the contents of programs and advertising, the appropriate time to transmit certain materials, the technical quality of transmissions, etc. if broadcasters don‟t follow ITC rules, they are penalized. The Independent Television Commission also investigates complaints from the audience and publishes the results regularly. 18. The ITC

Ann is wearing her grey suit today. She likes it and feels happy of having accepted her aunt‟s advice that told Ann that it was better to buy an expensive suit that could last than to buy cheap suits that looked very smart for just a few weeks. Her suit is a “classic”, which means that nobody would ever turn round in the street to look at it, but it would not let down according to the swings of fashion. 19. Which word most accurately describes Ann’s grey suit?

NASA scientists have discovered a massive crack across a glacier in Antarctica. It‟s huge: 19 miles long, 80 meters wide and 60 meters deep. It was found by scientists working in Antarctica and then a picture was taken from space by NASA‟s Terra spacecraft. The crack could extend all the way across the glacier and create a giant iceberg. 20. The crack in the glacier

Antibiotics help you fight infections that are caused by bacteria. Colds, coughs and sore throats cannot be cured by antibiotics because they are caused by viruses, so an antibiotic won‟t help. Bacteria find ways to survive the effects of an antibiotic. The more we use an antibiotic, the more resistant a bacteria will become. 21. Which sentence is true?

If you asked people to name their favorite Australian animal, the majority say the koala. The koala‟s image is that of a friendly and little animal that is completely harmless but this is absolutely wrong. Actually, koalas are dangerous animals that can harm human beings. 22. What is said about koalas?

The cashew is part of a fruit that grows in tropical regions called „a cashed apple‟. After harvesting, the cashew appel keeps for only 24 hours before the soft fruit deteriorates. The cashew apple is not commercially important since it spoils quickly, but local people love the fruit. 24. The cashew apple doesn’t sell well because

Three quarters of the world is covered with water, but most of it is salt water. A lot of the fresh water is frozen or underground. There is enough water for the world‟s needs but, unfortunately, it does not rain equally in different countries. for example, Iceland gets a lot of rain each year, but in Kuwait it hardly ever rains. 25. Choose the correct sentence

Zaida Peña, a Mexican singer, was murdered in hospital by gunmen, after being wounded in an earlier shooting. She is the second musician‟s murder in Matamoros, where drug gangs are fighting turf battles. 26. According to the text, Peña

Samuel Black, the son of the novelist Julie Black, is planning to change his name after his mother wrote a book that detailed his use of cannabis. Samuel left the family home when he was 17 because of his drug use. The Lost Child, his mother‟s recent novel based on her experience, has caused a storm. 27. According to the text, Samuel

A teenage boy was shot dead yesterday at his home in Hayes, west London, when an air riffle being used for target practice went off by mistake. Police and an air ambulance were called at 4.30 pm. The boy was declared dead at the scene. 28. The boy’s death

A study into the hygiene of supermarkets has found that shopping trolleys are dirtier than the store‟s toilets. They studied the handles of 85 trolleys in four American states. Human bacteria were found on the handles of 72% of them. That‟s more than you find in a supermarket‟s toilet. This is because stores use disinfecting cleaners in the toilets. Nobody seems to clean shopping trolleys. 29. Which sentence is correct?

The 2007 Berlin marathon for males over 55 was unusual in that the winner cheated. “Hank” skipped two checkpoints during the race. The electronic tracking chip that all runners must wear confirmed that Hank had run only 17 miles of the 26-mile-marathon. Instead of confessing, Hank let race organizers discover the facts by themselves and accepted the cheers and the trophy. He wasn‟t officially disqualified until the following day. Race organizers were angry that Hank, who was a well-known but retired politician in his native country, had accepted the winner‟s trophy. 30. According to the text, Hank