Table of specifications

Contents
CEF Number
Skills Test items Marks
Topics Language competences of items

Team activities Collective nouns Linguistic • Identifying information 3 20

A – Listening • lexical
Extreme sports Present simple • Multiple choice
and present • grammatical
continuous • semantic • Correcting wrong 4 30
Friendship
B – Reading • orthographic information
(250-300 Past simple and
past continuous Pragmatic • Matching
words)
• functional
Modal verbs • discursive • Short answers (gap
filling; sentence 4 30
completion; rephrasing)
C – Language
• Short answers (text
comprehension)

D – Writing • Essay (60 words) 1 20

© ASA • Upgrade 8 • Isabel Filipe │ Maria Adelaide Rabaça │ Paula Simões | 1

A – LISTENING/VIEWING 20 marks

Listen to a girl called Emma talking about her best friend.

1. Identify the problem Emma mentions she had with her best friend. 4 marks

⃝ a. appearance ⃝ b. dating ⃝ c. depression ⃝ d. cyberbullying

2. Tick () the correct ending for each sentence. 8 marks (4 x 2 marks)

2.1. She first heard about this problem at the end of the…
⃝ a. 5th grade.
⃝ b. 6th grade.
⃝ c. 7th grade.
⃝ d. 8th grade.

2.2. She thought it meant people being mean to each other…

⃝ a. online or over the phone.
⃝ b. at school.
⃝ c. face to face.
⃝ d. on Facebook.

2.3. She remembers her friend saying she was…

⃝ a. a liar.
⃝ b. a cheat.
⃝ c. a violent person.
⃝ d. a horrible person.

2.4. Those things…

⃝ a. meant nothing to her.
⃝ b. made her cry.
⃝ c. made her laugh.
⃝ d. hurt her.

3. Listen to the second part and correct the wrong information in each sentence. 8 marks (4 x 2 marks)

a. Her friend wrote horrible things about her on Twitter. …………..……………………………………………………

b. It was always something mean like, “Oh, I love her!”. ………………………………………………………………..…
c. It was really alarming. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…..…
d. Emma didn’t want to write something like that because she knew it wasn’t wrong. ………………………

© ASA • Upgrade 8 • Isabel Filipe │ Maria Adelaide Rabaça │ Paula Simões | 2

 B – READING 30 marks

Read the text.

My best friend Ariel

My very best friend of all times was Ariel. We shared many

good times and I have great memories of her, from her being born
and given to me, to her growing up and us learning to respect one
another. The things we used to do together were great, like going
5 out for ice cream, travelling and camping. She was my best friend
and companion and no one and nothing can ever replace her.
In the year 2004, a very special dog was born. We shared
a lot of special times together. My four-legged friend was a brown
half poodle, half rat terrier. Ariel wasn't the prettiest dog in the
10 world, but she was the cutest to me. She lived to be ten years old.
Ariel was the best gift I had ever received. My sister, Cindy,
gave her to me. I remember one time when Ariel broke her leg.
At the time, she was six weeks old. My brother, Adam, was running
out the door to go play with some friends. When the door
15 slammed, Ariel, who was following him, had the door slam on her
leg. Since the poor babe couldn't walk very well, I carried her
around in a little basket.
Ariel was an extremely well-behaved dog. She would rarely leave the yard unless she was
on a leash or with my family or me. She would wait at the end of the drive for the school bus
20 each day, just to walk us to the house. Although she barked at the wind sometimes, she always
alerted us when we had company. We all felt safe just having her around.
Ariel was such a good listener. I would talk to her all the time. Most people probably
thought I was crazy. We would talk on long trips, like travelling between West Virginia, Ohio and
Texas. She was always my comforter. She knew what I felt, how I felt and was there when
25 I needed a shoulder. Yes, maybe she couldn't really understand, but I always believed she could.
When Ariel was around, I had someone to keep me company. Is there any better friend?

https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/87598.html
(abridged and adapted), accessed in September 2017

© ASA • Upgrade 8 • Isabel Filipe │ Maria Adelaide Rabaça │ Paula Simões | 3

1. Look at the short descriptions of the characters from the story and write who is being described
beside the appropriate description. 4 marks (4 x 1 mark)

a. The person who owned the dog …………………………………………….……

b. The author’s best friend …………………………………………….……
c. The person who gave the dog to the author …………………………………………….……
d. The person Ariel was chasing when she got hurt …………………………………………….……

2. Match the equivalents. One isn’t used. 8 marks (4 x 2 marks)

1. most adorable
great (l. 2) a.
2. present
replace (l. 6) b.
3. substitute
cutest (l. 10) c.
4. prettiest
gift (l. 11) d.
5. fantastic

3. Complete the sentences according to the text. 8 marks (4 x 2 marks)

3.1. The author’s best friend was… 3.3. The author has…
⃝ a. bought in a pet shop. ⃝ a. two sisters.
⃝ b. found in the woods. ⃝ b. a brother and a half-sister.
⃝ c. given to her. ⃝ c. a brother and a sister.

3.2. The author’s best friend, Ariel, was… 3.4. Ariel would rarely leave the house…
⃝ a. a pretty dog. ⃝ a. without either being on a leash
⃝ b. a sweet dog. or with a family member.
⃝ c. a nasty dog. ⃝ b. for long periods of time.
⃝ c. with strangers.

4. Answer the questions about the text. 10 marks (4 x 2,5 marks)

4.1. Did the author and Ariel have a complicated relationship? Justify.
………….……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………….……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

4.2. What breed was Ariel?

………….……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

4.3. When did Ariel die?

………….……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

4.4. What were some of Ariel’s best qualities?

………….……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………….……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
© ASA • Upgrade 8 • Isabel Filipe │ Maria Adelaide Rabaça │ Paula Simões | 4
C – LANGUAGE 30 marks

1. Complete the gaps with the correct collective noun from the box. One isn’t used. 4 marks (4 x 1 mark)

a. Adam plays the violin in the city ………….…………….……… choir

b. The ………….……………………… on any Portuguese airline companies is always very nice. team
c. Our national football ………….……………………… is the best. orchestra
d. The church ………….……………………… sang beautifully. platoon
crew
2. Correct the wrong verb tenses and tick () the right ones. 4 marks (4 x 1 mark)

⃝ a. Cindy is playing with Ariel late every afternoon. ………….…………….………………

⃝ b. Now Adam walks Ariel through the park. ………….…………….………………
⃝ c. On Saturdays he always goes to the cinema with his friends. ………….…………….………………
⃝ d. We are all making biscuits at the moment. ………….…………….………………

3. Fill in the blanks with the past simple or past continuous of the verbs in brackets. 16 marks (8 x 2 marks)

a. We ……………………….…………… (play) in our yard when it ……….………….……………… (start) to rain.

b. I ……………………….…………… (talk) to Ariel when I ……………………….…………… (see) someone through
the window.
c. I ………………………..….…..……… (meet) my favourite singer while I …………….……..…….…………… (shop)
at the mall.
d. Adam’s computer ……………………….…… (break) while he and his friends ……………………….………… (do)
research for a project.

4. Choose the correct modal verb to complete the gaps. 6 marks (6 x 1 mark)

4.1. You ……………….… eat more vegetables regularly. They are good for your health.
⃝ a. would ⃝ b. should ⃝ c. may

4.2. ……………….… I have a cup of tea, please?

⃝ a. Must ⃝ b. Should ⃝ c. May

4.3. ……………….… I have more jam on my toast, please?

⃝ a. Must ⃝ b. Would ⃝ c. Can

4.4. You ……………….… use mobile phones in the class. It’s forbidden.
⃝ a. mustn’t ⃝ b. wouldn’t ⃝ c. may

4.5. Dad ……………….… love to buy a bigger TV, but they are expensive.
⃝ a. would ⃝ b. could ⃝ c. may

4.6. We ……………….… go to the beach if it doesn’t rain. We don’t know for sure.
⃝ a. would ⃝ b. must ⃝ c. might

D – WRITING 20 marks

Write a few lines on the following. The questions will help you.
Describe your best friend: When did you become friends? Do you agree all the time?
Why do you consider him/her your BFF?

© ASA • Upgrade 8 • Isabel Filipe │ Maria Adelaide Rabaça │ Paula Simões | 5

ANSWER KEY

A – LISTENING C – LANGUAGE
Video: Emma's story: cyberbullied by a best friend
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA1TJjJgdz8 1.
a. orchestra
1. d b. crew
c. team
2.1. b
d. choir
2.2. a
2.3. d 2.
2.4. d a. plays
b. is walking
3.
c. 
a. Facebook
d. 
b. hate
c. embarrassing 3.
d. right a. were playing… started
b. was talking… saw
c. met… was shopping
B – READING d. broke… were doing

1. 4.1. b
a. the author 4.2. c
b. Ariel 4.3. c
c. Cindy 4.4. a
d. Adam 4.5. a
4.6. c
2.
a. 5
b. 3
D – WRITING
c. 1
d. 2 Personal answer.

3.1. c
3.2. b
3.3. c
3.4. a

4.1. No, they didn’t. They had a very friendly

relationship based on respect.
4.2. Ariel was half poodle, half rat terrier.
4.3. Ariel died in 2014. / Ariel was ten years old.
4.4. Ariel made all the family feel safe, was
extremely well behaved, was a good listener,
comforted the author and kept her company.

© ASA • Upgrade 8 • Isabel Filipe │ Maria Adelaide Rabaça │ Paula Simões | 6

 Correction criteria
Test items Criteria

• Correct/incorrect
• Identifying information − Sequencing items will only be given marks if the whole sequence
• Multiple choice is correct.
• Correcting wrong information − One mark off in true/false items for each incorrect quotation from
the text, when applicable.
• Matching
− One mark off in true/false items for each incorrect answer,
if quotation from the text is correct, when applicable.

• Short answers (gap filling; sentence • One mark less for each language mistake, up to a maximum of 3 marks.
completion; rephrasing) • Incomprehensible or decontextualised answers will be marked wrong.

• Short answers (text

• One mark less for language mistakes, up to a maximum of 3 marks.
comprehension)

17 to 20: The student shows excellent writing skills; fully respects the topic
or text type; presents his/her own ideas about the topic, contextualises and
develops them; uses appropriate and varied cohesive devices; organises the
text in a coherent manner; mistakes (structure or spelling) do not impede
understanding.

13 to 16: The student shows good writing skills; respects the topic or the
text type; presents some ideas about the topic and contextualises them;
uses simple cohesive devices, but not always successfully; choice of words is
good; makes few mistakes (structure or spelling) which hardly affect the
message.

9 to 12: The student shows adequate writing skills; respects the topic or the
text type; presents some ideas about the topic and tries to contextualise
them; uses some cohesive devices but the text is slightly disorganised;
choice of words is adequate; makes some mistakes (structure or spelling)
• Essay which sometimes make message slightly confusing.

5 to 8: The student shows poor writing skills; only partially respects the
topic or the text type; presents some ideas about the topic but the text is
slightly confused; uses few cohesive devices but the text is not well
organised; choice of words is poor; makes some mistakes (structure or
spelling) which sometimes impede understanding.

0 to 4: The student shows very poor writing skills; doesn’t fully respect the
topic or the text type; ideas are scarce and mostly decontextualised; uses
few cohesive devices and the text is disorganised; choice of words is very
poor; makes many mistakes (structure or spelling) which sometimes make
message incomprehensible or illegible.
Note: the student will get 0 marks if the topic or text type is not respected,
or if the whole text is incomprehensible or illegible.

© ASA • Upgrade 8 • Isabel Filipe │ Maria Adelaide Rabaça │ Paula Simões | 7

 A – Listening B – Reading C – Language D – Writing
Total Mark
1 2 3 Total 1 2 3 4 Total 1 2 3 4 Total 1 Total
No. Name 4 8 8 20 4 8 8 10 30 4 4 16 6 30 20 20 100
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
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15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30 © ASA • Upgrade 8 • Isabel Filipe │ Maria Adelaide Rabaça │ Paula Simões | 6