Gold Experience B1+ Progress test 2

Name Class

Grammar
1 Complete the conversation with the past simple or past continuous form of the verbs in
brackets.
Jo: 1) Did you see (you/see) that programme about the suitcase which is also a car?

Sue: When was it on?

Jo: At about four.

Sue: No, I 2) ________________ (play) video games with my brother all afternoon.

Jo: Well, this Chinese man 3) ________________ (invent) it. It has one wheel at the front and two
at the back. It runs on a battery and has handlebars to steer it!

Sue: And can you put all your things into it – like a real suitcase?

Jo: Yes! In the programme, it showed how he packed his things into the suitcase, got on and

4) ________________ (drive) off to the airport!

Sue: When my dad had to travel to Paris on business every week, he 5) ________________ (get) a
taxi to the airport every time. That suitcase-car would be perfect for him!

Jo: They even showed one scene where he 6) ________________ (carry) a passenger on the
suitcase as well!

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 2 Choose the correct answers.
1 My brother took a photo of him/himself on his mobile phone and texted it to me.
2 That inventor we saw on TV is a distant cousin of mine/me and I’ve never even met him!
3 My friends really enjoyed theirselves/themselves at the rock concert last night.
4 Jacky wouldn’t have/didn’t use to have a tablet, but her parents bought her one for her birthday.
5 She proved how practical and creative she is by doing the whole project on herself/by herself.
6 I didn’t know that Rebecca and Petrina are twins because they don’t look like
each other/one the other at all.
7 My dad would spend/was spending hours taking apart old radios and TVs.
8 What would you do/were you doing when I called you earlier?
9 I love your dress! Did you make it yourself/you?
10 William has a blue car, so that one outside must be himself/his.
11 Leah used to work/would work in a computer shop during her summer holidays.

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Vocabulary
3 Choose the correct answer (A, B or C).
1 I’ve forgotten my password so I can’t ____ my account.

A click B access C hack

2 It’s important to ____ your software regularly.

A update B delete C tweet

3 I just can’t ____ the solution to Question 4 – will you help me?

A turn off B follow up C work out

4 Don’t forget to ____ the battery on your mobile.

A charge B download C scroll

5 My wifi ____ is excellent – it’s really fast.

A website B connection C code

6 Can you ____ on the photo so we can see the details?

A log on B key in C zoom in

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 4 Complete the sentences with the correct form of the words in capitals.
1 I can’t find my mobile phone anywhere. It has just disappeared! APPEAR

2 Our teacher is going to ________ the recording so we can check our answers. PLAY

3 Carl’s tennis ________ says that he needs to practise more. INSTRUCT

4 Heather used to work for a good ________ who treated her with respect EMPLOY

and paid her well.

5 Julio never listens to his father and is always ________ his mother. OBEY

6 Your essay was a mess, Karen – you’ll have to ________ it. DO

Listening
5 Listen and complete the sentences with one or two words in each space.
1 Kelly used the ________ at home to work on her projects.

2 She found out about the science competition from a ________ .

3 Kelly’s idea involves using banana skins to make ________ .

4 The prize Kelly won was some ________ she wanted.

5 Kelly is grateful to ________ for their help and support.

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 Reading
6 Read the article and choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

Should everyone learn to code?

Nearly everyone today has access to a computer at home, at work or at school and knows how to use it.
Some of us can use a computer for very basic things, others for more challenging tasks, but there is no
question about it; today’s children are growing up in a world where it will be essential to have advanced
computer skills to find work or be part of the modern community. Already schools are preparing young
people at earlier and earlier ages to use technology. Many schools use computers in the classroom and it
is routine for students to do online research for projects and even submit homework online.
However, experts say that schools need to do more. Using a computer is not the same as understanding
how it works. And educationalists want all children to have classes in computer programming, or
coding, as it is called. In the past, the youngsters who coded were often male and had the reputation for
being obsessed with computers. This earned them the nickname of ‘nerd’ or ‘geek.’ Today coding is
becoming more popular and teenagers no longer care about such labels.
The main problem of giving coding lessons to every child is obviously related to having enough of the
right equipment. Eben Upton wanted to solve this problem. He realised that the number of students who
were applying to study IT at college was dropping and it was important to change this. So, he co-
designed and developed an amazing little computer called the Raspberry Pi for use in schools. This is a
tiny computer, the same size as a credit card. It can be connected to a computer monitor or TV screen
and works with a normal keyboard and mouse. The Pi is small, cheap and effective. It allows students in
classrooms to find out more about computers and how to code. Eben started selling the Pis in 2012 and
now, there are more than two million in use worldwide.
In spite of this progress, there are still not enough computers in classrooms. Amy Mathers is a very
clever fourteen-year-old from Manchester and she recently won first prize in the ‘Digital Girl of the
Year’ award. This award highlights the achievements of girls in Europe and hopes to encourage more
girls to become coders. However, Amy could not use a Raspberry Pi at school. She had to buy one (or
rather her mother did!) and she learned what she could do on it by herself and from organised free
events such as ‘Manchester Girl Geeks’ workshops and ‘Codecademy’. Amy thinks more students
should have the opportunities that she did.
When asked at what age children should start to learn coding, Amy said that anyone who could read and
type could learn to code! So, maybe we’ll soon see baby Raspberry Pis in toyshops?

1 What opinion does the writer express in the first paragraph?

A Everyone should develop advanced computer skills.
B Learning computer skills is very challenging.
C Students can learn computer skills when they are very young.
D Computer classes need to be a routine part of the school day.
2 Experts think that students
A should learn to make computers.
B needn’t worry about nicknames.
C require more instruction on writing computer programmes.
D have more chance of success with computers if they are male.
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 3 Eben Upton developed a computer
A to make it easier for school children to learn to code.
B to increase the number of students going to his university.
C to replace existing computers in schools.
D to build a business and make money.
4 Amy Mathers is well-known because
A she started a series of popular computer workshops.
B she won an international competition.
C she developed a better computer than the Pi.
D she gives advice to students who want to become coders.
5 Which sentence best summarises the article?
A The Raspberry Pi has solved the problem for schoolchildren learning to code.
B Education needs more investment to enable students to use computers well.
C Girls are progressing faster and faster with computing skills.
D Students need to learn code and they need to learn young.

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Writing
7 Read the writing task in Exercise 8. Which of these sentences would be suitable (S) and
which would be unsuitable (U) for the article?
1 In my opinion the invention of the computer in 1832 was the most important. ____
2 Do you have an iPad? How often do you use it? ____
3 It’s convenient and light to carry around. ____
4 It’s made a big difference to many people’s lives. ____
5 To be an inventor you have to have a lot of talent. I don’t have any talent. ____

Total: 50

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 Optional writing task
8 You see this notice on a website. Write your article in 140–190 words.
Technology is advancing very quickly. But what do YOU think has been the most important
technological invention in recent years? Write an article and send it to us. The three best articles
will be published on the website next month.

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