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CLASS: 8A ____ DATE: __________ YOUR NAME: _________________________________

LESSON 39

LISTENING
SECTION 3 QUESTIONS 21-30
Questions 21-25: Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
21. Clare and Grant must arrange a competition which will especially interest
A. school students. B. Open Day committee members. C. Open Day visitors.
22. What will the prize be?
A. an iPod B. an iPad C. an iPhone
23. Who will be responsible for buying the prize?
A. a university department B. Clare and Grant C. Rick Smith
24. What is the most important aspect for entrants in the competition?
A. fun B. guesswork C. ability
25. In the science fiction series on television, what is on the other side of the gateway?
A. a portal B. a new world of education
C. a different time period
Questions 26-27: Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
the public
26. Who will judge the competition? _________________________________________
engineering department graduates
27. Who will build the portal? ______________________________________________
Questions 28-30: Label the flow chart below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Step 1 Find ‘Portal (28) _____________________’
photo booth on campus on Open Day

Step 2 Be photographed stepping through the Portal

details
Step 3 Give contact (29) _____________________ (name & email address)

Step 4 Visit the University Facebook page and vote

10th August
Step 5 The picture with the most votes at 5 pm on (30) _____________________ wins
SECTION 4 QUESTIONS 31-40
Questions 31-40: Complete the notes below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
Agriculture and Environment
 (31) ____________________________
Food production = biggest problem in today’s world
 Agriculture is important for jobs, exports and foreign exchange
 ‘Agriculture’ means:
o growing crops ○ raising animals
o (32) ____________________________
fishing

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 forestry
o (33) ____________________________
 Agriculture must be sustainable: old methods, & new, chemical methods are all unsustainable
 (34) ____________________________
destruction of biodiversity
 Biotechnology  GM or GE  bio-prospecting (bio-piracy) i.e. large companies steal samples
genetic material
of native plants to use the (35) ____________________________ for their own crop
improvement
 climate change
(36) ____________________________ is responsible for less food and higher prices
 Farmers need to be educated but governments also need to pay attention to (37)
policy development
____________________________ in order to protect the environment and re-nourish the soil
 Experts from around the world could come together to form a (38)
global network
____________________________ to observe farm systems aiming to prevent pollution and
cost effective
erosion and encourage safe procedures that are also (39) ____________________________
 Creating the project’s (40) ____________________________
infrastructure would be very expensive and
more money would be needed for the monitoring system but it could solve the problem of food
shortages

READING
You are going to read an article about an astronomy club in the USA. For questions 31-36, choose
the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
A Special Astronomy Club
A group of US teenagers study the night sky.
The teenage members of the Earth to Sky Calculus Club live in and around Bishop, a mountain town
in the USA surrounded almost entirely by wilderness, to the east of the Sierra Nevada mountain
range. Over the last few years, this isolated group has launched over 50 balloons to the edge of
space, around 35 km above the Earth’s surface. It’s a long-running science project but with a bit of
a twist: it’s part astronomy experiment, part backcountry adventure, which is possibly why teenagers
get involved. I join them one weekend in late spring. They are about to release a high-altitude
balloon, hoping to record shooting stars. These occur when a rock or piece of metal travelling
through space enters the Earth’s atmosphere, producing a trail of light.
As it gets dark, the teenagers secure a soft insulated $5 lunch box to the bottom of the balloon.
Inside is a camera, an instrument to measure altitude and a thermometer to gauge the changes
along the ascent. Two GPS trackers are mounted on the outside of the lunch box to help the group
to find it later. A gas tank, donated by an enthusiast in a neighbouring state, is used to inflate the
balloon, which slowly grows to the size of a small car. An older boy had made a seven-hour round
trip to get hold of it. ‘I didn’t really mind,’ he says. Anyway, for kids in this club, that’s a given.
Finally, it’s time for lift-off. ‘Five, four, three, two, one,’ they chant, and the balloon begins its ascent.
Some of them run and track its path with powerful flashlights for as long as they are able, illuminating
the creamy orb in the moonless sky. There is quiet, and a palpable sense of collective wonder. Then
the balloon disappears into the night.
When the launch is over, most of the students go home, but a few stay to watch the shooting stars.
A boy climbs into a sleeping bag and promptly falls asleep. ‘We’re the only ones talking,’ says one
girl in hushed tones. ‘I know,’ whispers another. A meteor shoots across the middle of the sky.
As a balloon rises, the air pressure lessens and the balloon expands until it’s almost the size of a
house. Then it pops in a dramatic explosion. A parachute helps the equipment inside the lunch box
land safely back on Earth. The students will find it the following day, using the GPS trackers as a
guide. Getting it back isn’t straightforward, but that’s part of the appeal. There is little inhabited land

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around Bishop, so the lunch box almost always lands somewhere in the middle of nowhere. ‘To me,
recoveries are a huge part of the program,’ said the group’s leader, who notes they’ve lost only two
lunch boxes in 53 launches. ‘Part of the journey has been becoming more familiar with this
landscape in a way you never normally would.’ On this occasion, the lunch box had landed 84 km
west of Bishop, but to get to it, the recovery team would have to drive south of the Sierra and then
back up the western side of the mountain range. Then they’d have to agree whether driving or
walking would be preferable - things could turn treacherous if the lunch box was on a high peak,
or even worse, up a very tall tree. ‘It’s important to keep in mind that these students are native to
the Eastern Sierra,’ their leader says. ‘What may seem wild and perilous to some, is simply a way
of life to others.’
In the end, it took them 11 hours to find the lunch box. It was in a canyon, high on a flat rock, in the
middle of a cascading waterfall. The camera hadn’t recorded any shooting stars. Sure, it’s a bit of a
disappointment, but it’s one more tale of adventure to share with anyone who asks.
31. What does the writer say about the club in the first paragraph?
A. The combination of activities offered makes it unusual.
B. Its members have joined because there’s little else to do.
C. The projects it organises are over-ambitious.
D. Its aims remain rather unclear.
32. What does ‘it’ refer to in the second paragraph?
A. the lunch box B. the balloon C. the gas tank D. the car
33. How does the writer say the group feel when the balloon takes off?
A. disappointed to lose sight of it
B. amazed that it has risen so quickly
C. hopeful that they will recover it
D. moved by the experience of it
34. What view does the group’s leader express in the fifth paragraph?
A. The recovery operations can be inconvenient.
B. Learning so much about the area has been a bonus.
C. The long journeys they make are annoying but necessary.
D. Losing some lunch boxes has been a price worth paying.
35. What does ‘things could turn treacherous’ mean in the fifth paragraph?
A. The teenagers could appear irresponsible.
B. The situation could put people at risk.
C. The outcome could be unpredictable.
D. Their efforts could prove inadequate.
36. What point is made in the sixth paragraph?
A. People should respect the lifestyles of the inhabitants of an area.
B. People have to make difficult decisions at some stage in their lives.
C. People adopt attitudes that are affected by the environment they grow up in.
D. People should exercise more caution when in unfamiliar environments.

GRAMMAR

1. Replace each word or phrase underlined with a more formal word from the box.

abandoned / scrutinized / dismissed / beneficial / investigated /

commensurate / discrepancy / rudimentary / inopportune / lucrative

1. George was given the sack yesterday. ___dismissed___

rudimentary
2. lam afraid I have only a/an basic knowledge of physics. ______________

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 3. investigated
The whole matter is being looked into by the police. ______________
4. I’m looking for a job on a level with my abilities. ______________
commensurate
5. scrutinized
The actual voting is carefully watched over by special officers. ______________
6. abandoned
Terry was left somewhere by her parents when she was a baby. ______________
7. inopportune
I must apologize if I have arrived at a/an bad moment. ______________
8. There is a/an difference between the sum of money sent, and the sum received.
discrepancy
______________
9. Carol’s new catering business turned out to be very profitable. ______________
lucrative
10. I am sure that a month’s holiday would be good for you. ______________
beneficial

2. Complete each phrase in bold with one of the words from the box.

likelihood / choice / wonder / trace / matter /

knowing / means / concern / point / use

1. It’s unfortunate, but I’m afraid you give me no ____choice____.

trace
2. By the time the police arrived, there was no ______________ of the burglars.
3. It’s no ______________
use asking me the way, I’m only a visitor here.
4. If you will smoke so much it’s no ______________
wonder you have a bad cough.
5. You go home, there’s no ______________
point in both of us waiting.
concern
6. Mind your own business, it is no ______________ of yours.
means
7. As far as we know, the old man has no ______________ of support.
knowing
8. There is really no ______________ what Eric will do next.
matter
9. I couldn’t solve the puzzle, no ______________ how hard I tried.
likelihood
10. At the moment there is no ______________ of the Prime Minister resigning.

3. Match each sentence (1-10) with an explanation (a-j).

1. I never even thought of it. __b__ a. I always keep my head.
2. I avoid attracting attention. _____
j b. It never entered my head.
3. I made sure that something had to be decided. _____ c c. I brought matters to a head.
4. I’m not a practically minded person. _____d d. My head is in the clouds.
5. I’m involved so far that it’s out of my control. _____
f e. I can’t make head or tail of it.
6. I don’t understand it at all. _____
e f. I’m in way over my head.
7. I’ve gone mad. _____ h g. I could do it standing on my
8. I’ve let my feelings get out of control. _____
i head.
9. I never lose control of my emotions. _____a h. It’s completely gone to my head.
10. I find it really easy. _____
g i. I’m off my head.
j. I keep my head down.

4. Underline the most suitable option in each sentence.

1. I thought that Wendy’s action was rather out of personality / character / role.
2. Paul was easy to manage when he was crawling, but now he is a youngster / brat / toddler
it’s a little more difficult.
3. Tim has been visiting some distant relatives / family / parents in the country.
4. She’s not a teenager any more. She looks quite outgrown / overgrown / grown up now.

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5. I can’t understand Keith, he’s a strange figure / human / individual.
6. Good heavens, it’s you, Tom. You are the last person / personality / character I expected to
see here.
7. Mary later became a figure / being / character of some importance in the academic world.
8. With the end of childhood, and the onset of teenage / youth / adolescence young people
experience profound changes.
9. Do you think that masses / humans / beings will ever be able to live on other planets?
10. Jean has a very easy-going reputation / characteristic / personality which is why she is so
popular.

5. Complete each sentence with a word from the box.

impression / provision / sense / effort / time /

difference / inquiries / point / offer / way

1. Don’t be silly. What you are saying just doesn’t make __sense__.
2. effort
If you made more __________, you would succeed.
3. inquiries about the missing car, it was never found.
Although the police made __________
4. I don’t know how much I want. Why don’t you make me a/an __________? offer
5. point
What __________ are you trying to make, exactly?
6. difference to me.
You may not care one way or the other, but it makes a __________
7. provision for his family in his will.
Jack made ample __________
8. Well, it’s time we started making our __________
way home, I think.
9. I’m afraid the play didn’t make much of a/an __________
impression on me.
10. You may think you’re too busy to read, but you should make __________ time for it.

6. Rewrite each sentence so that it contains a compound word formed from the two words
in bold. Some changes can be made to the words. The word may or may not be
hyphenated.

1. A girl with fair hair answered the door.

____A fair-haired girl answered the door.____
2. When we set out on this project, you knew the risks.
You knew the risks at the outset of this project
_______________________________________________
3. Jack loses his temper after just a short time.
Jack is short-tempered.
_______________________________________________
4. I am not sure which point of view you are taking on this problem.
I am not sure what your viewpoint on this problem is.
_______________________________________________
5. You have to serve yourself in this restaurant.
This restaurant is self-service.
_______________________________________________
6. We have certainly had some trouble from our neighbours.
Our neighbours are certainly troublesome.
_______________________________________________
7. The people upstairs have a child who is five years old.
The people upstairs have a five-year-old child.
_______________________________________________
8. I stood on the step outside the door at the back of the house.
I stood there on the back doorstep
_______________________________________________

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 9. The sight of the waterfall took my breath away.
The sight of the waterfall was breathtaking.
_______________________________________________
10. Tony has contracted a disease which threatens his life.
Tony has contracted a life-threatening disease.
_______________________________________________

TOTAL LISTENING 20; READING 6; GRAMMAR 60