SATURDAY COURSES

TERM 18-3
PERSONAL BEST - PG 7 – MIDTERM MOCK

Name: __________________________________________Date: ________________

A. OPEN CLOZE (.5 pt. each = 5

pts.)
Read the text and complete it with ONE suitable word.

How to be lucky
Friday, 3 January, 2003, 02:25 GMT
Taken and adapted from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2622567.stm

It appears that people who tell you to "look on the bright side" are right - according to a
psychologist who says it makes (1)_____________ luckier in life.
Richard Wiseman has spent eight years investigating why some people appear to be
consistently lucky or unlucky. He said it is (2) _____________ intelligence or psychic
ability, but a person's approach to life that matters, and he has devised four principles of
luck. One is to expect good (3) _____________, which he says is often a self-fulfilling
prophecy. The others are:

 Maximise your chances of something good happening by creating, noticing and

acting on opportunities,
 (4) _____________ to "gut feelings" and act on "hunches" about people or

situations,
 Cope with bad luck and turn it around by imaging how things could have (5)
_____________ worse, or looking at what could be done about the problem.

Luck lessons
For the last year, Dr Wiseman, who runs a research unit at (6) _____________ University
of Hertfordshire, has run a "Luck School" to see if he could teach unlucky people to be
lucky using the four principles. He estimates he (7) _____________ been successful in
around 80% of cases. Around 70 people have been through the school so far. The
change in luck has continued after people (8) _____________ the month-long course. Dr
Wiseman, who has written a book outlining his principles, told BBC News Online: "Not
everything is under control. But a (9) _____________ more is about your way of thinking
and behaving."
He added: "I don't think there are any quick fixes. You can't just say 'cheer (10)
_____________'. The whole thing is about looking at living in different ways." And he
said: "If people do want to change their luck, now's a good time of year to do it."

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 SATURDAY COURSES
TERM 18-3
PERSONAL BEST - PG 7 – MIDTERM MOCK

B. LISTENING (6 pts.)
Listen to the text and answer exercises A and B.

LEARNING A LANGUAGE OVER EGGS AND TOAST

A. You will listen to an interview with Dr. Adams whose book “Learning a
Language over Eggs and Toast” is a best seller. Complete the sentences writing
no more than three words. (*Careful with grammar and spelling)
(1 pt. each = 4 pts.)

1. Dr. Charles Adams is considered an authority in the area of

_______________________ ___________________________ .
2. One of the secrets to language learning is to _________________ a
___________________ program.
3. Also, it is important to set __________________________________________
when taking up a new language.
4. The last piece of advice given by Dr. Adams is to know about
_________________________ ________________________ to boost
learning.

B. Listen again and underline the correct option. (.5 pt. each /=2 pts.)

5. Dr. Adams claims that succeeding in learning a foreign language depends on how
disciplined you are.
a) TRUE b) FALSE c) NOT MENTIONED
6. The best hour to grasp new vocabulary is morning time.
a) TRUE b) FALSE c) NOT MENTIONED
7. You can get native-like proficiency if you follow Dr. Adams’s tips.
a) TRUE b) FALSE c) NOT METIONED
8. A person’s preference regarding a given learning style can be determined by certain
factors such as personality or culture.
a) TRUE b) FALSE c) NOT METIONED

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 SATURDAY COURSES
TERM 18-3
PERSONAL BEST - PG 7 – MIDTERM MOCK

WRITING GUIDELINE FOR THE MIDTERM EXAM

TEXT TYPE: WRITING AN OPINION ESSAY

A. What elements will be taken into account when grading your writing?

1. TASK FULFILMENT:
 Overall achievement of the communicative aim: read the information and make
sure you understand what you are expected to write about.
 Awareness of the writer-reader relationship: pay attention to style and register.
 Topic coverage.
2. ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE
 Text organization: paragraphing (beginnings /endings)
 Presentation of ideas and arguments: clarity and coherence in the development.
3. LANGUAGE CONTROL
 Range and accuracy of grammar and vocabulary.
 Errors: if they occur, they should not interfere with communication.
 Mechanics: punctuation and spelling.

B. What is an opinion essay? How it is organized?

The essay should answer the question posted using the information given and the
writer’s (your) opinion. It should be well-organized into four (maybe five) paragraphs.
It should look like this:

TITLE
It should be interesting so that
someone would read it.

INTRODUCTION
State the topic clearly, say why it is important to write about it. DO NOT GIVE
YOUR OPINION at the beginning. Two or three lines make a good introductory
paragraph.

SECOND and THIRD PARAGRAPHS

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 SATURDAY COURSES
TERM 18-3
PERSONAL BEST - PG 7 – MIDTERM MOCK

Each paragraph has a main idea (the prompts given in the instructions) that is
your starting sentence. Include details to support your main idea: examples,
rhetorical questions or even statistics. Four or five lines per paragraph work
perfectly.

CONCLUSION
You state your opinion here and try to connect the title of your essay with the
conclusion. Three or four lines make a good conclusion.

C. TIPS TO BEAR IN MIND

 Use a neutral formal register; avoid the use of contracted forms, informal
vocabulary and/ or emoticons.
 Use linkers to organize your ideas and to guide your reader through your text.
 Check your grammar, spelling, punctuation and word count.

D. SOME USEFUL LINKERS

 To express personal opinions: In my opinion, I believe (that) / I feel (that) / it
seems to me / in my view /as I see it / I think / personally
 To show purpose: to / in order to / so as to / so that
 To list ideas: Firstly / secondly / finally / In the first place / Lastly
 To contrast ideas: However / although / in contrast / whereas / but /
nevertheless / in spite of / despite
 To describe a cause: Because / since / as / due to
 To show a sequence: First of all / then / after that / eventually / in the end / finally
 To add information: In addition / moreover / what is more / besides / too /
furthermore / and
 To describe a consequence: Consequently / as a result / therefore / so / thus / for
this reason / that is why
 To conclude the topic: In conclusion / to sum up / in short / all in all