Name __________________________________________ Class ______________________________

Language Leader Intermediate Progress Test B – Units 10-

12
1 Read the text. In which paragraph can you find out:
0 The name of the actor who played Buffy. c
1 The director’s feelings towards TV and film companies. __________
2 How Buffy came to TV. __________
3 The future for Buffy. __________
4 What has happened to the other actors since Buffy. __________
5 How many series were made. __________

5 YEARS LATER ... WHERE’S BUFFY NOW?

a) In 2003, if you didn’t know who Buffy was, you obviously didn’t
live on this planet. All of us were loving or hating the most
surprising and, possibly, most financially successful series in TV
history.
b) A 1992 film, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (for those of you living on
that other planet, ‘vampires’ are dead people who drink the blood
of the living) was a failure so the creator, Joss Whedon took the
idea for a TV series and pitched it to Warner Bros. What did they
see? ‘Buffy’ was a mix of horror, soap opera and sitcom, directed
towards teenagers and twenty-somethings. It was a completely
untried new genre. Most people would have laughed but Warner
didn’t. They gave Whedon the chance and the rest is history.
c) This groundbreaking TV series ran for seven series with a total of
144 episodes. It would have gone to an eighth series if Sarah
Michelle Geller, who played Buffy, hadn’t decided she had had
enough. Was that the right career decision?
d) The truth is that actors and actresses have found out that life after
Buffy has not been as successful as they had expected. Ms Geller
has made a few films but nothing as big as Buffy. Two or three of
the other actors and actresses have been in films but have done
little. The only successful actor has been David Boreanaz, who
had his own successful TV series and is now starring in a
successful crime series called ‘Bones’. For everyone else it’s all
been a little disappointing.
e) Joss Whedon must have thought that he had a big future. It hasn’t
quite happened for him. The other series he did for Boreanaz,
‘Angel’ was quite successful but his next series ‘Firefly’ failed.
The critics loved it but the TV channels didn’t buy into the idea.
Since then, however, ‘Firefly’ has been turned into a film which
has been very successful. Nevertheless, Joss has felt that he is still

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 not properly understood by the big media companies.
f) However, although Buffy can no longer be seen on TV, she is still
very much alive. A comic book series is very successful. There are
still plans for films and a TV series connected to Buffy and the
DVDs still sell very well. The World of Buffy is still with us and
Joss Whedon is still very popular in TV land.

/5

2 Fill the gaps with a word to make phrasal verbs or word combinations.
0 This is a company with a long tradition. We’re over 150 years old you know.
1 My father and I have always had a close __________.
2 We must protect these insects before they die __________.
3 I hope the idea catches __________. He spent a lot of money on it.
4 Mr Eberhardt will take __________ as manager next week.
5 Scientists cannot find a genetic __________ between the two babies.
6 Leaving the company was a career __________.
7 You have to slow __________ or you’ll have a heart attack.
8 Children who fail at school often believe they can’t do well and so continue to fail. It’s a
vicious __________.

/7

3 Complete the text with one or two words in the gaps.

The witness started by giving her name and promising 0_to tell__ the truth. The prosecutor
asked the witness if 1__________ seen the man before. She said that she had. She thought it had
been two months 2__________. The prosecutor then asked the witness where. She told the
prosecutor she 3__________ met him at the party in the victim’s house. The prosecutor
suggested 4__________ at the suspect again. The prosecutor 5__________ know how she could
6
__________ sure he was the man. The witness replied that there had been a 7__________
people at the party but only one man had one eye. Also, 8__________ the other people at the
party wore glasses. She said if she had met another man in her life who had one eye and wore
glasses, she was sure she 9__________ remembered. At this point the lawyer for the defence
decided 10__________ protest but the judge advised the lawyer 11__________ quiet.

/11

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4 Listen to the dialogue and decide whether the sentences are true or false.
Track 4

0 Chloe didn’t enjoy her first week. _false____

1 Sales staff need to be just fashion specialists. __________
2 Sales staff don’t need to wear a uniform. __________
3 They picked up an idea at a Milan fashion show. __________
4 They didn’t take assistants to shows last year but will this year. __________
5 Chloe should put pressure on customers to make a decision. __________

/5

5 Underline the odd word or phrase.

0 attorney prosecutor suspect character
1 genre set hostage sequel
2 chapter novel character captor
3 offender fraud stabilise charge
4 documentary gripping groundbreaking incomparable
5 decline dub level off top out
6 pitch sitcom animation soap

/6

TOTAL / 35

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