Ready for First

Progress Test 3: Units 5–6

Reading and Use of English
Part 3 Word formation

For questions 1–8, read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end
of some of the lines to form a word that fits in the space in the same line. There
is an example at the beginning (0). Write your answers in CAPITAL LETTERS.

Example: 0 HIGHLY

House sharing

Sharing a house or flat while studying away from home is an experience

I would recommend to anyone. It teaches you (0) _____ important life HIGH

skills and can be great fun! But living together successfully is (1) _____ CHALLENGE

and it’s important that everyone does their fair share of the housework.

When I first shared a house with two friends, we loved the (2) _____ , DEPENDENT

but we were rather (3) _____ to begin with and didn’t really make any ORGANIZE

(4) _____ about who should tidy, clean or wash up. We were also very DECIDE

(5) _____ and had lots of friends round and parties whenever we felt SOCIETY

like it. However, the need to be (6) _____ hit us pretty soon. We then SENSE

sorted out a system whereby we took turns at cooking and cleaning,

even organizing our rubbish into different containers. Surprisingly, this

actually helped to (7) _____ the relationship between us. We became STRONG

more of a team and our house-sharing days were more (8) _____. ENJOY

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Reading and Use of English
Part 4 Transformations

For questions 1–6, 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. Write the
missing words in CAPITAL LETTERS. Here is an example (0).

Example:

0 It’s impossible to find someone to fix my bike today.

GET

I CAN’T GET ANYONE TO fix my bike today.

1 I hit a man’s car yesterday and he rang me about it this morning.

WHOSE

The man ______________________ rang me about it this morning.

2 Someone is cleaning our windows later today.

CLEANED

We ______________________ later today.

3 We had to stay behind after class today.

MADE

We ______________________ after class today.

4 They should have turned left at the last junction.

SUPPOSED

They ______________________ at the last junction.

5 My parents said I couldn’t go to the concert with my friends.

ALLOW

My parents ______________________ go to the concert with my friends.

6 I think we should tidy up before Mum gets home.

BETTER

We ______________________ before Mum gets home.

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Reading and Use of English
Part 5 Multiple choice
You are going to read an extract from a novel. For questions 1–6, choose the
answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
1 From the first paragraph, we believe 4 The writer believes that the classes
that the writer is are named after two birds because
A looking forward to doing sports at A the school wants to encourage
school. competition.
B concerned about appearing B the school wants to increase an
immature. awareness of nature.
C worried about learning new literacy C the school wants to show parents
skills. the different levels.
D excited about earning some extra D the school wants children to feel
pocket money. the same.
2 How does the writer feel on the first 5 The writer’s younger child
day of school? A profits from his brother’s absence.
A He can understand how the other B expects his brother to return soon.
parents are feeling. C enjoys special treats while his
B He is sure that his son will do well brother is away.
at school. D wants to be grown-up enough to go
C He is sad that he cannot stay. to school too.
D He is nervous about meeting the
6 When the older son returns from
other parents.
school he appears
3 What does the word ‘nostalgic’ in line A proud of his new knowledge.
19 refer to? B eager to share his day’s
A the fact that the writer’s son is experiences.
growing up C superior to the rest of the family.
B the way some first schools have D unchanged by the whole
changed experience.
C the writer’s memories of his own
first school
D the writer’s previous experience as
a teacher

My first day at school – too bad my son was there too

Everyone remembers their first day. For me, the whole summer holiday had been leading up
to it. I arranged and rearranged pencils in a pencil case. I worried about the selection of a
lunchbox. I liked one with little blue owls on it, but was it too babyish? Would it lead to
teasing? I approved of red gym shorts and white tops and, for the first time, I had plimsoll*
shoes so impressively specialized that they have no other use outside the school gymnasium.
I talked about the wonders of school endlessly. Reading, for goodness’ sake! And writing!
Imagine how one could live with a skill such as writing. One could earn, oh, maybe even

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 enough to buy plimsolls. Yes, I was so thrilled about going to big school that the summer
went by in a blur, and when the big day arrived, I was very, very excited.

I walked proudly through the school gate. All the other children and their mums and dads
were there, standing nervously in the playground. I was so proud to have got to this stage in
my life. I felt terrifically grown-up. I remember it as if it were yesterday – because it was. Oh,
and our eldest son came, too. As a matter of fact, they let him stay for the whole day. It was
a bit hard for me to be told I had to leave him in the Robins class and make my way home
alone. One of the mums put a sympathetic hand on my arm. ‘It’s OK,’ she said. ‘It’s perfectly
normal, of course you’re going to miss him.’

‘But you don’t understand,’ I said. ‘It isn’t the boy I miss; I see him all the time. No, it’s the
poster paints. It’s the glue pots, the brushes, the glitter. Oh, don’t tell me you’re not a little
19 nostalgic?’ She looked at me as if I was quite, quite mad but then again, she was a mum from
the Sparrows class, over which we Robins are naturally starting to develop a sense of
superiority. The school is completely fair, and I like to imagine they had chosen two birds of
roughly equal status to name the two classes for the new children.

Back home, I found our two-year-old mad with joy. For the first time in his little life, big
brother wasn’t there to take the praise for doing everything first. Junior was taking full
advantage, treating everyone to a performance of his physical skills and funny jokes, bathing
in the attention, like a dolphin in a marine show, and looked devastated and betrayed when
our older boy came home at the end of the day. I guess when we’d explained to the little
fellow that his brother was going to big school, we hadn’t thought to mention that he would
regularly come back.

Our older boy’s entrance was quite extraordinary. He solemnly hung his coat on the peg. And
that one gesture (he normally just throws it on the floor) indicated a level of maturity that
other people were unlikely ever to reach. He gazed at the rest of us with an expression close
to pity. He had been to big school. We had not. There were things, therefore, that we could
not possibly understand. There was a whole universe of triangles, gold stars and wall bars
that we simply knew nothing about.
So, go on, what did you do at school today? I asked eagerly. Our older boy gave a sigh and a
shrug. ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘you know. Nothing.’
*plimsoll: a light shoe made from strong cotton on the top and rubber on the bottom, used
for playing games and sports

Listening
Part 1 Multiple choice
You will hear people talking in eight different situations. For questions 1–8,
choose the best answer (A, B or C).

1 You hear two young people talking. 2 You hear a message on a telephone
What is the boy doing? answering machine.
A reminding the girl about something How is the woman feeling?
B offering to do something A She is sad.
C recommending something B She is angry.
C She is worried.

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3 You hear two people talking about a
parking problem.
Why did the boy’s father get a fine?
A He arrived back too late.
B He parked incorrectly.
C He didn’t display the ticket.
4 You hear a voicemail message.
Why is Tim phoning?
A to explain something that has
happened
B to apologize for doing something
C to describe something
5 You hear a woman talking on the
radio.
What does she say about being an
only child?
A She regrets it now that she is an
adult.
B She disliked it a lot when she was
younger.
C She used to be envious of her friends’
families
6 You hear two students talking on the
phone.
What does the boy think?
A The girl should get some help.
B The girl ought to have a break.
C The girl does not need to do so much
work.
7 You overhear two people talking on a
station platform.
What does the man point out?
A The woman was on the wrong train.
B The woman did something that was
not permitted.
C The woman spoke too loudly on
her phone.
8 You hear a shop supervisor talking to
some new staff.
What does he want them to do?
A make sure they keep to their working
times
B report any problems with customers
immediately
C choose smart clothes to wear every
day

Vocabulary
Complete the sentences with the correct words (A, B or C).

1 How long has Dave been going ______ with Tanya?

A on B out C at
2 I’ve never been very ______ when choosing a holiday. I usually go to the same places
again and again.
A excitable B mature C adventurous
3 My sister’s face was always ______ when she was little because she played in the sun
a lot.
A freckled B sensitive C expressive
4 The boss ______ us off today for spending too much time chatting in the office.
A said B told C crossed
5 What are you so ______ about today? Have you won some money?
A cheerful B sociable C moody

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6 Kate ______ a good living working as a manager in an IT company.
A gains B takes C earns
7 Many people were made ______ last month because of the drop in orders this year.
A flexible B redundant C resigned
8 I just need a reliable car that won’t keep ______ me down!
A putting B letting C making
9 Helena shouldn’t ______ up with the way Tom treats her. It’s ridiculous.
A put B take C accept
10 I’ve eaten so much I need to ______ my belt!
A widen B loosen C fatten
11 All the men in my dad’s family ______ bald before they were fifty years old.
A made B started C went
12 I feel like resigning because I just can’t get ______ with my boss.
A up B on C in
13 Can you finish the essay by the beginning ______ next week?
A of B on C for
14 It isn’t easy to bring ______ young children when you’re trying to do a job as well.
A off B over C up

Writing
Part 1 Essay
In your English class you have been talking about modern forms of
communication. Your English teacher has asked you to write an essay.

Write an essay using all the notes and give reasons for your point of view.

Essay question
Social networking is the best way to keep in touch with friends. Do you agree?
Notes
Write about:
1 convenience
2 types of friendships
3 ………………………………………… (your own idea)

Write your essay in 140–190 words. You must use grammatically correct
sentences with accurate spelling and punctuation in a style appropriate for the
situation.

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