A
B
cumulative test
Test 1–5
Reading
1 Read the text.
2 Complete the text with sentences A–F. There is
one sentence you do not need.
A Adapting their houses to make life easier for
these people is a costly business and most
cannot afford the necessary changes.
B They want all new homes built in the UK from
2011 onwards to conform to specifications
that will make them elderly-friendly.
C Safety for children will also be addressed.
D These plans have met with mixed reactions.
E There must be easy access for wheelchairs to
the front door and through doorways.
F It is feared that conforming to all the
specifications will push up the prices and put
new homes out of the reach of first-time buyers.
Mark /10
Elderly-friendly homes?
A home of their own is what most people in the UK
aspire to these days. However, more and more of our
older population are finding it difficult to stay in their
own homes as the health problems associated with
increased age sometimes make it impossible for them
to cope in badly designed houses.
The elderly cannot climb the stairs and if they use
wheelchairs, there are often problems getting from one
room to another because of narrow doorways, let alone
trying to manoeuvre their chairs up and down outdoor
steps. [1 ] All too often the help that could
allow them to remain in their own homes at the end of
their lives is not available and these people are forced
to move into care homes. Here, their needs are catered
for but they often feel isolated and away from familiar
surroundings and their friends and family.
In an effort to address this problem the UK
government has announced plans that seem, on
the surface, to be fairly dramatic. [2 ] 7 Most
There will be sixteen such specifications and they
include improvements that could significantly affect
life positively for the elderly. Stairs will have to be
wide enough to accommodate stair lifts should the
installation of one become necessary. [3 ] Mark
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Electrical sockets and switches in walls must be at a
convenient height and all rooms must be large enough
for wheelchairs to turn in circles. These are only a few
examples of what architects and builders will have to
take into consideration in the future.
[4 ] The general idea has been welcomed by
many care groups but the practicalities are causing
concern in many quarters. Not least among those who
are worried about the cost of providing new housing.
[5 ] Members of the House Builders
Association feel that the plans have not been carefully
thought through and that implementing such
specifications, although theoretically laudable, is simply
not realistic.
It is also felt that people have different housing needs at
different stages of their lives and forcing all new homes
to be built with the elderly in mind is not going to be
a popular move. Debate on the subject will no doubt
continue for a long time yet!
Vocabulary
3 Choose the correct answers.
1 The temperature in this building a lot.
A  fluctuates   B  looms   C  boosts
2 Employees who deal with clients directly need
to be extremely .
A  ruthless   B  courteous   C  flexible
3 I need a job with working hours.
A  tolerant   B  flexible   C  open-minded
4 We need another of milk.
A  pint   B  pound   C  yard
5 It appears that the companies with
each other to keep prices high.
A  colluded   B  pledged   C  backed
6 his failure, he tried again the
following year and succeeded.
A  Although   B  Much as   C  Despite
get moody from time to time.
A  toddlers   B  OAPs   C  adolescents
8 The exercises in the exam were easy.
A  highly   B  bitterly   C  ridiculously
/8
 A
B
cumulative test

Test 1–5

4 Complete the sentences with the prepositions in 6 Choose the correct answers.
the box.
1 The President is expected / known to be fond
out   away   through   at   up   back   down of Italian food.
2 Gemma was very tired and took in a little /
1 I’m going to set a meeting with all the little of what the teacher said.
people involved. 3 Assuming that / In case he doesn’t mind a
2 I put his bad temper to the weather! small room, he’ll love the hotel.
3 Mum’s always getting me for not 4 We expect my cousin to arrive / arriving just
doing as well as my sister. after 10.00.

4 We paid the nose for our new car. 5 Hardly / Just had we left the house when it
started to rain.
5 What are you going to splash on with
6 None / Any of the students could answer all
the money you won?
the questions correctly.
6 You won’t get with writing less than 7 While he’s been in hospital / the hospital, I’ve
200 words for that essay! been looking after his dog.
7 Let’s get to what we were talking Mark /7
about before, shall we?
Mark /7
Listening
7 ≤4.11  Listen to five people talking about getting
Grammar through difficult situations. Which speaker (A–E)
5 Complete the sentences with the correct form of talks about ...
the verbs in brackets. 1 accepting the situation?  Speaker
1 The examiner asked me why I 2 managing on a small income?  Speaker
(chose) to learn English. 3 not being deterred from taking another risk?
2 How long (you want) Speaker
to be an astronaut? 4 getting something good from a bad situation?
3 I thought Archie Speaker
(leave) but in fact he was in the cafeteria. 5 refusing to accept the advice of others?
4 Who (expect) to win Speaker
the next election? Mark /10
5 The boy (not see)
since this morning.
Writing
6 You (earn) a lot more
money this time next year. 8 Write a story about a disastrous evening when
everything went wrong. Include these points.
7 The meeting (finish)
• Describe how the evening started.
by 4.30 so give me a ring then.
• Write about at least three things that went wrong.
8 The suspect • Say how you felt and what you did.
(interview) by the police when he fell ill. • Describe how the evening ended.
Mark /8 Mark /10

Total /60

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