ENGLISH DEC 2021

LEVEL: C2

Teacher: Ted
NAME:

USE OF ENGLISH
Part 1: Rewrite the sentences. Use the word in BOLD LETTERS (do not change the word) to write a
second sentence with a similar meaning. /20

1. I was in the habit of arriving late before I started this job.

prone
______________________________________________________________

2. I always feel comfortable around him.

ease
______________________________________________________________

3. They are on the verge of going bankrupt

about
_____________________________________________________________

4. Who knows what´s going to happen next year.

cards
______________________________________________________________

5. When it comes to fashion he always follows other people.

bandwagon
_____________________________________________________________

6. People say he was born in the early 14th century

said
______________________________________________________________

7. I need to pay someone to cut the lawn.

have
______________________________________________________________

8. Apparently, he´s in the best of moods today.

accounts
_______________________________________________________________

9. Me and Juanita slowly lost touch

drifted
_______________________________________________________________

10. He´s constantly texting his friends when I´m talking to him.
will
_______________________________________________________________
Part 2 VOCABULARY /20
Give definitions of 10 of the words/expressions

1. on cloud nine

2. egg someone on

3. keep someone at arm´s length

4. forthcoming

5. back and forth

6. hefty

7. out of your depth

8. touch and go

9. dread (v)

10. in the offing

11 settle down

12. time after time

13. get something off your chest

14 fall flat

Part 3 WORD FORMATION /10

For questions 1 to 10, use the word given in capitals at the end of the lines to form a word that
fits in the space in the same line.

Using language (0) effectively involves more than simply stringing EFFECT

together a series of words. The power of words lies in knowing how to us them

to create 1)_______ and meaning and communicate a clear point of view. SUBTLE

This means thinking about the 2) _________ of the words themselves and the SUIT

context they are used in. What´s called communicative 3) ________ COMPETENT

is speaking succinctly yet clearly enough to avoid being 4) _______ UNDERSTAND

What´s more, word power is also a skill you can use to your own advantage - if you

want your target audience sit up and think, one way of _________5) this is SURE

to force them to view reality from a slightly different and maybe ________ HUMOUR

perspective. This can be done through using words that are 7) __________ EXPECT

and so, make an impression.

The 8) ________ of more sophisticated vocabulary in your lexicon also INCLUDE

provides the potential for language use that is 9) _________ and creative PLAY

as opposed to being 10) _________ as is the case with some language IMAGINE

learners.
Part 4 LISTENING COMPREHENSION /25

You will hear two history of art students called Emily and Scott discussing the relevance of
museums today. For questions 1-5, choose the answer (A,B, C and D) which fits best according to
what you hear.

1) Emily interprets the statistical information she quotes as

A. an indication that museums are attracting people of all ages

B. evidence of the continuing appeal of permanent exhibitions
C. reflecting the particular appeal of travelling exhibitions
D being unrepresentative of museums outside big cities.

2) Scott points out that an impressive museum building

A. can distract attention from the exhibits

B. often presents exhibits in the best light
C. should reflect the historical period of the exhibits
D. encourages the people to spend longer viewing the exhibits

3) When asked about tour groups, Emily suggests that

A. people shouldn´t feel prejudiced against them

B. few of them give participants a good experience
C. they´re best avoided if you have a serious interest in art
D. it would be good to restrict them to designated time slots

4) What surprised Scott when he was doing research into why people visited a museum?

A. how reluctant people were to give him a reason.

B. how keen some people were on particular periods
C. how most people had few expectations before arriving
D. how differently people from other cultures viewed the visit.

5) Emily and Scott agree that virtual museums

A. are a good introduction to new art

B. are quite time-consuming to access
C. reduce the need for traditional ones
D can´t replicate the real-life experience
Part 5 READING COMPREHENSION /25

Choose the correct answer: A, B ,C, or D

A dancer´s lot

All across London they emerge from underground stations and buses; bags slung over shoulders
and taut stomachs beneath thick winter overcoats. Nobody recognises them as they head for
freezing upstairs rooms in tatty gymnasiums or slink into backstage theatre doors, even though they
appear regularly in sold-out musicals and favourite television shows. They earn precious little, even
those who perform live with famous singers, and have no real prospects, doing what they´re doing,
despite having hustled and sweated themselves to the heights of one of Britain´s most demanding
professions. But still they go, every morning, to their grim upstairs rooms in gyms and their
backstreet, backstage doors, to dance.

Most have left behind worried parents in faraway towns and villages; made repeated promises to
look after themselves and taken trains, in their late teenage years, for London. There´s much to
despise about the city. Where talent and a reptilian grade of resilience, although prerequisites,
provide no guarantee of success. Even auditions are becoming rare. Conscious of deadlines and
financial restraints, choreographers call in talent from the blessed pool of their own chosen. If you
aren´t the right height, don´t have the right face, hair or sartorial style, then don´t expect a look-in.
Although choreographers occasionally seek out the beautiful, they´re mostly instructed to hunt the
bland; those least likely to outshine the stars. And, as many dancers will tell you, it´s getting to the
point where mediocrity is acceptable; there´ll be someone over there out of sync, someone over
there who can´t hold her arm still.

And if they get the part, increasingly dancers are turning up for jobs where the choreographer just
stands there and works them endlessly, fingers clicking, “Again, again, again”. As one dancer,
Melanie Grace says, “You dance for the love and the passion, and keep your mouth shut because
you don´t want to get a reputation.” It´s not always easy though. You think the television shows
provide changing rooms? For dancers? Even the big budget ones have them disrobing in a corner of
the canteen – and the pay´s lousy. But you have to ignore it, keep your head down. You´re in
London now. You´re one of many, one of nothing. The sooner you accept that, the better you´ll get
on. Of the fleets of talented dancers who try, only a quarter make it, the rest simply can´t process
the ruthlessness – to dance in London is hard on the soul.

Yet most of the dancers have agents, who you might think would negotiate a better fee or
conditions for their dancers, but no. You´ll never meet a dancer who thinks their agent deserves
their twenty percent of the fee. Mostly you´ll just get a text or email notifying you of an audition
and a single agent might have as many as two hundred dancers on their books. As Melanie says,
“It´s catch-22, because you won´t hear about the auditions without one.” Here´s the job, take it or
leave it, and if you leave it, they´ll just hire someone straight out of college and pay them even less.

Oh, the annual churn of the colleges. The dancers hear it constantly, the sound of the machine in
the distance, its ceaselessly grinding gears that, with every coming year, push out hundreds of
young dancers, each one younger and hungrier and less jaded than you. And with every release of
fresh limbs in to the stew of the city, things get harder. The worst thing the kids can do is accept a
job for no pay. They do it all the time. One website has become notorious for television and pop-
video production companies scrounging for trained people to work for nothing but exposure. And if
the youngsters are fresh out of dance school, despairing of their blank CV and craving the love of
sparkle-eyed strangers, they´ll leap at the chance. It´s the reason things are getting harder. How to
describe the London dance scene today? The word Melanie chooses is ´savage´.
1. In the first paragraph, the writer paints a picture of dancers who are

A careful not to be recognised by fans on the street.

B deserving of the fame they have achieved.
C unlikely to be making further advances in their careers.
D hoping to find work on stage alongside established stars.

2 What do we learn about auditions in the second paragraph?

A Increasingly higher standards are expected of dancers.

B The best dancers do not necessarily get the jobs on offer.
C It´s difficult for dancers to find the time to attend very many.
D Dancers with family connections in the business get invited to more.

3. What is implied about choreographers in the third paragraph?

A They expect dancers to do as they are told.

B They dislike it when dancers criticise each other.
C They are intolerant of dancers who make mistakes.
D They are sensitive to the pressures that dancers are under.

4 What point is made about agents in the fourth paragraph?

A Dancers are largely satisfied with their services.

B Most dancers recognise that they are essential.
C They tend to represent only the less experienced dancers.
D They make every effort to get the best deal for dancers.

5 The writer uses the image of a machine in line 53 to underline

A the attitude of training instructors

B. the dubious activities of a website.
C the constant supply of new talent.
D the exploitation of young people.