Skills Test Unit 5 Test A

Name: ___________________________________________

Phrases for expressing emphasis

1 Match the interviewer’s questions 1–5 to responses A–E. Then complete the responses with
the words and phrases below. There are two words or phrases you don’t need.
no wonder ever so by far no matter not just well and truly without doubt
1 What exactly is the sky whale? ___
2 Do you believe that the development of this aircraft will change air travel? ___
3 What concerns do you have with regards to the sky whale? ___
4 What new design features will it actually incorporate? ___
5 How likely is it that this plane will ever be built? ___

A It’s hard to say. Many concept planes get ___________________________ stuck on the
drawing board.
B Aside from micro-solar panels to charge the engines, and a self-healing skin over its body, the
plane will have active wings capable of moving ___________________________ slightly in
order to reduce turbulence.
C Absolutely. Should it ever leave the ground, the three-floor aircraft would be
___________________________ the world’s largest passenger plane, holding 755 passengers.
And this in itself will have huge repercussions for the industry.
D Well, ___________________________, its size and its many features will make construction
complex, so it’s only natural to reserve judgement on how reliable such a plane will be until it has
undergone all its trials.
E The brainchild of Spanish designer Oscar Viñals, it’s a concept plane which incorporates many
exciting features of modern technology. ___________________________ whether planes
normally interest you or not, this aircraft is just too large and too amazing to miss.

Mark: ___ / 5

1
Listening
2  Listen to two students talking about an assignment. Based on what they say, write M next
to the essay title Mark is likely to choose, and write P next to the essay title Polly is likely to
choose.
1 The Burke and Wills expedition: how two explorers helped shape the nation
2 Faultlessly planned yet ultimately fruitless: why the Burke and Wills expedition went wrong
3 The Burke and Wills expedition: its trials, tribulations and ultimate success
4 Exploring why Burke and Wills failed to survive their journey across Australia

Mark: ___ / 2

3  Listen again. Are the statements true (T) or false (F)?

1 Before deciding on the subject of their assignments, both Mark and Polly had thought of writing
about different explorers to Burke and Wills. ___
2 Both Mark and Polly have got round to completing the initial introductory sections of their
assignments. ___
3 Mark’s introduction gives us information about Burke and Wills’ historic journey north in 1860,
but not of their journey back south. ___
4 Polly takes a positive view of the way Mark has written his introduction, but questions the content
of his work as it currently stands. ___
5 In Polly’s description of the expedition, she points out that only one person who left Melbourne at
the start of the expedition in 1860 managed to get home alive. ___
6 Although critical of Burke and Wills for their incautious and rash behaviour, nineteenth-century
Australians were keen to honour the memory of Burke and Wills. ___
7 According to what Mark says, Wills refused to take on the role of leader of the expedition, which
is why Burke had to accept the leadership. ___
8 A key reason why Burke and Wills died was their failure to recognize the quicker of two possible
routes on their way back south to Melbourne. ___

Mark: ___ / 8

2
Reading
Is there a better way to go into space?
A In the 1960s, when cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space and astronaut Neil
Armstrong walked on the Moon for the first time, many experts predicted that by the early twenty-
first century we would have built bases on Mars and on the Moon, and that manned flights to the
innermost planets would be routine events. There have been significant achievements since those
early pioneering days, including a probe that has now travelled far enough to leave our galaxy, and a
space station orbiting Earth that is home all year round to a host of scientists from around the world.
Without doubt, however, the speed of our progress into space exploration would have left many of
the forecasters from the 1960s feeling let down.

B Notwithstanding their over-enthusiastic optimism, what those forecasters really failed to factor in
was that the sheer cost and waste involved in sending men and machinery into space would prove so
colossal that it would become impossible to justify it to politicians and tax payers. Today, despite the
fact that we live in a technological age which is light years away from the relatively primitive
technology of the 1960s, our appetite for space exploration is comparatively limited. What holds us
back is the cost, particularly the enormous expense of using rocket power to fire anything into space.
What we need is an alternative way of getting into space. Rockets aren’t the answer.

C As well as being wasteful, rockets are also both unreliable and extraordinarily complicated. Any
launch is at the mercy of misaligned switches or loose bolts, and any error can set back missions by
months, or, even, in the case of manned missions, lead to tragedy. As much as ninety per cent of a
rocket’s load is made up of fuel, almost all of which is used up before the rocket exits the Earth’s
atmosphere, leaving, in its wake, clouds of toxic smoke. Environmentally unsound, and
technologically out-dated, many predict the end of the road for this dinosaur of space flight.

D So, what next? Among many radical alternatives to using rockets, perhaps the notion of space
elevators leads the way. The idea is hardly new. First proposed by a Russian scientist over a century
ago, and later popularized by a raft of science-fiction writers, the concept of building a tower high
enough to reach space, and then putting a lift in it, seems temptingly simple. The overriding reason
why nobody has attempted to build one is because there are too many insurmountable obstacles
precluding its construction, notably the simple fact that the base of any tower couldn’t possibly hold
the weight of such an enormous and elongated lift. Indeed, what arouses the interest of those now
seriously speculating about the idea is the fact that there is simply no need to actually build a tower.
There is another way of making space elevators feasible.

E Current proposals for building a space elevator involve hanging a cable in space which is so long that
it stretches from the Earth’s surface to geo-stationary orbit, some 35,000 kilometres or more into
space. The cable would have to be so strong that it could counter the competing forces of gravity and
the centrifugal force of the Earth’s rotation, and it would have to bear the weight of an elevator,
which would hurtle up and down, carrying astronauts and scientists into space. It may all sound like
science fiction, but, according to the laws of physics, it is possible. The only drawbacks are that a
material strong enough to make the cable has yet to be developed, and a way of tethering the cable in
space is still subject to debate and speculation. A passing meteorite is one fanciful solution, although
it is much more likely that a way of building the place from which to hang the cable from scratch
would have to be found.
In the end, space elevators are a long way off, and may never come to pass. It’s exciting, however, to
think that experts are considering solutions to making space exploration viable that are so awe-
inspiringly wacky as to be barely conceivable.

3
4 Match the sentences below to paragraphs A–E that they most accurately summarize. There
is one sentence that does not match with any paragraph.
1 Using current technology, we can’t afford to make ambitious plans for exploring space. ___
2 No longer tenable due to its complexity, manifold failings and the polluting effects of its fuel
consumption, the days are numbered for history’s most regular way of launching men and
machines into space. ___
3 Problems involving distance, the strength of known substances, and the Earth’s pull, are among
those in the way of developing a rocket-free method of exploring space. ___
4 Some accomplishments notwithstanding, the current enthusiasm for finding out about space falls
short of what many in the early days of the space age would have expected. ___
5 The complexity of rocket manufacture is probably the most significant reason why its use in
space exploration is likely to draw to an end. ___
6 Innovative thinking has breathed new life into a concept once thought unfeasible. ___

Mark: ___ / 6

5 Circle the correct answers (a–d).

1 Which one of the following drawbacks of rocket technology is not mentioned?
a Lives are at risk because there are so many mechanical aspects that can fail.
b The amount of fuel required has both financial and environmental considerations.
c The size and scale of rockets can result in problems with construction or reliability.
d Delays are possible since the potential for minor problems to occur is significant.
2 Which one of the following problems facing current proposals for the construction of a space
elevator is considered most significant by the writer?
a Finding a way of securing the cable, from which it might hang in space.
b Constructing a base point for the cable on Earth strong enough to hold its weight.
c Designing a cable with the requisite length to enable it to reach Earth.
d Making an elevator light enough to go into space, but strong enough to carry passengers.

Mark: ___ / 4

4
Writing
6 Write a formal letter to complain about one of the situations below.
 Your flight was delayed by twelve hours. You were not given any advance warning and you had
to find your own food and accommodation at the airport. The airline’s support desk was closed.
Write to the airline.

 You have just returned from a trip to the UK, during which you stayed with a host family while
studying English. Your room was small, unheated and never cleaned. The family was rude and
generally ignored you. The accommodation was far from the school. Write to the company that
organized your trip.

 You booked two theatre tickets. When you got there, your view was restricted because of a
pillar, the lead actor was absent ill, and the play started late, which meant that you had to leave
early to catch your bus home. Write to the theatre.

Follow the plan:

Paragraph 1: State your reason for writing and outline your complaint.
Paragraph 2: Describe what you were expecting and contrast this with what you experienced.

Paragraph 3: Relate the most important events of your experience.

Paragraph 4: Rephrase your complaint in more detail and say what you expect the company to do.

Mark: ___ / 15
TOTAL MARKS: ___ / 40

5
Challenge!
7 Complete the text with the correct words (a–d).
The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run is an important 1________ event. Indeed, it is the world’s
longest-running motor event, and was first held in 1896. 2________ makes it special is that only cars
built before 1905 can take part. Of course, the manufacture of cars has come a long 3________ since
1905, so it’s exciting to see such ancient vehicles 4________ the road. Every year, on the first Sunday
in November, regardless of chilly temperatures and inclement weather – heavy 5________ are not
uncommon – as many as 400 veteran cars line up to drive the 54 miles from the capital to the seaside
town of Brighton. They 6________ rather slowly out of London and follow minor roads south,
avoiding busy main roads. 7________ do the cars have to stick to an average speed of 20 mph, but
they also have to avoid the urge to race. For the drivers, the 8________ purpose of taking part in the
veteran car run is to finish: any car that gets to Brighton before half past four in the afternoon gets a
medal!

1 a history b historic c historical d historian

2 a It b All c That d What
3 a way b path c road d track
4 a set b make c carry d hit
5 a backdrops b breakouts c downpours d outbreaks
6 a pull up b accelerate c hurtle d prowl
7 a Not only b Hardly c No matter d Seldom
8 a specific b gross c utter d sole