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TASK 1

Examiner: Good morning! Take a seat, please.

How are you feeling at the moment?
How did you feel this morning when you woke up?
What will you miss most now that you’re leaving school?
Would you stay one more year? Why (not)?

Now I’m going to ask you a few questions. If you can’t understand me, I can repeat the
question once. Let’s get started.

A
When was the last time you went to a dentist?
The last time was two years ago. Before that I’d had an accident while riding my bike
and I’d lost two of my teeth. So the dentist made two plastic teeth for me. It was a little
bit frightening, but I got back my teeth, and that is what matters. I think I should see
the dentist again sometime soon.

What is the average age of people in your country?

It is a difficult question. I know that people are living longer, because we can cure more
diseases. I think the average age is between 30-40 years maybe. But nowadays
everybody says that fewer children are born each year, because it is more and more
expensive to raise kids and not everyone can afford it. So in the future this age will be
higher.

What do you think of cosmetic surgery? Do you know anyone who has had cosmetic
surgery?
I think it is waste of money. Honestly, I can’t understand these people, why they can’t
accept themselves. There are some situations when surgery is necessary, for example
after an accident, but if it’s just to make someone look better, I don’t think it’s a good
idea. I don’t know anybody who has had cosmetic surgery, and I think my friends accept
their appearance, so they won’t need surgery.

What do you do, if you can't get enough sleep?

First of all I start my day by drinking a big mug of coffee. After that I wash my face with
very cold water. And sometimes I do some exercise, so I try to wake my body up at
least. For breakfast, I usually just eat some fruits and then sometimes listen to music on
the way to school to make me feel better. If I can, I take a quick nap after school to
make up for the lack of sleep the previous night.

What is the health service like in your country?

It is a really difficult question in this country. Suddenly I can’t think of anything that can
be good in our health service unfortunately. I was in hospital for two days a couple years
ago when I had an accident, and it was terrible. Unfriendly staff, outdated equipment,
you’re told nothing about your condition. So I can’t really say anything good about it… 

I see. Now let’s move on to the next topic, which is memory.

B
Would you like to have a perfect memory? Why or why not?
No, I don’t think I would. I think there are some things that are better forgotten.
Having said that, I would like to remember my accident because I don’t know how it
happened. It would be good to know whether it was my mistake or not. I mean, it
wouldn’t change my life or anything, but maybe it could be a good lesson for me, and I
wouldn’t make this mistake again.

Who do you know who has the worst memory?

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My best friend I think. If she doesn’t write something down immediately, she is going to
forget it for sure. So she has this big day planner where she has all the things she needs
to do, and I think her phone also has a reminder function and she uses that a lot. I often
make fun of her and her terrible memory.

What's your earliest memory?

It is a bad memory, because my first memory is when I broke my left arm. I was 5
years old. My godfather came to stay with us and I was running towards him with my
big plastic shovel in my hand. But at the last minute, just before reaching him, I had
stepped on it so I fell onto my arm and unfortunately broke it.

Have you ever forgotten something important, like your keys or your phone?
Sometimes I leave my keys at home, because I never have to lock the door when I
leave, and then I have to call someone to let me inside. If I left both at home it would
be embarrassing because if I arrive at home at night, which I often do these days, I have
to wake up somebody from my family. Fortunately it hasn’t happened yet.

Have you ever forgotten an important date, like a birthday or an anniversary?

Yes, I have unfortunately. Two years ago I forgot my mother’s birthday. I was working
from morning until night and it was only in the evening that I realised that I hadn’t
bought anything for her. Luckily there is a florist’s on our corner that is open 24 hours a
day so I bought her a big bunch of flowers on the way home. So in the end my mother
was pleased.

Well, I see. Now, let’s change the topic. We’re going to talk about politics.

C
What type of political system does your country have?
It is a democracy, which means the power of the government is held directly or indirectly
by citizens. Democracy has different forms, for example representative, direct and
socialist. In Hungary we have representative democracy which I think is more properly
called a democratic republic.

What does an ambassador do? 

An ambassador represents her own country abroad. She needs to take care of the
diplomatic relationships of her country and the country she is working in, and she also
makes new contacts. The ambassadors of important countries are often asked to give
their opinion about certain things so sometimes they appear in the news, too.

How have your political views changed during your lifetime?

Well I’m just 18 years old so it hasn’t changed so much. I became interested in politics
in the last 2 years but I don’t have strong political views yet. To be honest, I think in
Hungary this whole system is wrong, because there are just two big parties who compete
with each other, and often it’s more about personal things than state matters, or at least
that’s how it seems to me.

Is voting an important responsibility of a citizen?

Yes of course! Organizing an election is a lot of money for the state and everybody
should take part in the election. I think if somebody doesn’t vote he doesn’t have the
right to complain about the leaders or the laws or anything. I’m voting for the first time
in 2010, and there is no way I’m going to miss it.

How are elections financed?

The elections are financed from citizens’ money, that is, from taxes. This is why it is so
important to take part in the elections. I’m not sure about campaigns, though. I think
every party gets some money that they can spend on their campaign, but I’ve heard
many times that all parties spend much more than they are allowed to.
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Thank you, that’s the end of the first part of the test.

TASK 2

Now look at this situation. You can study the sheet for half a minute. When you are
ready, start a conversation with me. I am your friend.

Your friend is planning to go camping. He/She can’t decide whether it is better to sleep
in a tent or in a caravan. Help him/her decide. Consider the following:

 price
 comfort
 where they want to go
 how long they want to stay

- So, I’ve heard that you are going to go camping. Have you decided yet whether
you’ll sleep in a tent or in a caravan?
- No, not yet.
- Where exactly are you going?
- Croatia, somewhere on the coast.
- I see. Well, I think you should think about money first. How much do you want
to spend on your holiday? I think you said earlier you want to save money for the
university?
- Yes, that’s right. So, I don’t want to spend too much.
- OK. What about comfort then? Because I think a caravan is much more
comfortable than a tent. But if you like adventures, then you should probably
choose the tent.
- Well, you know I’m adventurous.
- Yeah. How long do you want to stay in Croatia?
- About a week.
- Well, all in all I would recommend taking a tent then. It will be cheaper and more
of an adventure – so it’s ideal for you.
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- OK, thanks.
- No problem.

Thank you, that’s the end of the second part of the test.

TASK 3

In the last part of the test, you will compare and contrast some pictures. Now you
have half a minute to look at these pictures and the prompts below them. When you
are ready, you will have three minutes to talk.

The pictures below show different types of household chores. Compare and contrast
them, including the following points:
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 their importance
 how often these chores have to be done
 whether any of these are typical of men or women
 your personal preferences
It’s really difficult to decide which picture I like better because I’m not a great fan
of ironing or doing the dishes either. I mean I think if I had to choose, I’d probably go
for ironing, because sometimes I need to iron my clothes before I go out on a date, so at
least that is followed by something good, even if the thing itself is not great.
I guess you need to do the dishes once every day at least, maybe every second
day if you live alone and don’t eat your lunch at home. I think a dishwasher helps a lot,
and it is also more environmentally friendly, because you use less water that way, so I
would strongly recommend that to everyone, especially my mum. I guess people usually
do the ironing when they wash some clothes, so maybe one or two times a week.
I believe both of these chores are equally important, because eating things off
dirty plates or with dirty cutlery is probably unhealthy, and wearing crumpled clothes dos
not give a very good impression of you. Of course, if you have lots of casual clothes,
there is no need to iron them – although I have a friend whose mum irons his socks!
The pictures seem to suggest that ironing is a job for men and doing the dishes is
for women. I’m not sure… I mean, I don’t know many boys or men who like doing the
dishes and I do know some who sometimes do their own ironing. My dad always used to
say that a man should never do the washing up. Now he lives alone so he has no choice.
But in general, I suppose any kind of housework can be done by anyone.

Thank you, that’s the end of your test.