B1 PRELIMINARY Test 5

Reading 45 minutes

Part 1

Questions 1 – 5

For each question, choose the correct answer.

1 To save money, you must travel

A no more than three times a week.

B every weekday.

C at least three times each week.

2 A Some history courses may be full by 25th

September.

B History courses will begin on 25th September.

C Students should choose their history courses on

25th September.

3 A You can freeze this fish for a maximum of three

months.

B You should eat this fish by the date on the

packet.

C You are advised to eat this fish within a day of

buying it.

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4 Nathan is telling Aria that

A she will have a different swimming teacher

this week.

B her class will take place on a different day.

C he wants to speak to her about the class.

5 A There is a special offer on museum

membership today only.

B Benefits are available to people who join any

of the city’s museums.

C Becoming a member means you can visit

several museums for free.

Reading 101

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Part 2

Questions 6 – 10

For each question, choose the correct answer.

The people below all want to buy a book.

On the opposite page there are eight book reviews.
Decide which book would be the most suitable for the people below.

6
Elsa has plenty of time to read, so she is looking for a long book.
As a change from fiction, she wants to read something that will
help her to understand any area of science.

7
Darren is a teenager who doesn’t often read. He thinks he might
enjoy reading a short novel, but it must be exciting, for example
a crime story.

8
Aurelia wants to write novels herself, so she’s interested in
reading one that is well written. She doesn’t much like romantic
stories, and would prefer a comedy.

9
Simon dislikes fiction. He enjoys stories about real people,
especially those who do something he can admire, such as
rescuing others. He is most interested in stories that are unusual.

10
Alice enjoys reading the work of writers who present serious
ideas in the form of a novel. She isn’t keen on thrillers or
romantic fiction, but likes books that make her think about
everyday issues.

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Our choice of the latest new books
A Meet Me at Noon
Cheryl Foster is probably one of the
best novelists of the present day, and
the sales of her books show that many
people would agree with that opinion.
Her latest is her twelfth thriller, and it’s
probably her best – and longest – for
several years.
C How Detectives Changed the
World
Charles Lu normally writes novels
for teenagers, but his latest book isn’t
fiction at all: it’s a long and detailed
account of detectives of the nineteenth
century and the crimes they tried to
solve. Sometimes they succeeded, and
sometimes they failed.
E The Day Started Well
You’ll probably be convinced Mark
Sadler’s latest book is fiction – the
events that he presents are almost
incredible. However, they really
happened. As you read this fairly long
but exciting book, you can only be
amazed by the courage of the people
who saved the lives of dozens of sailors.
G Kaboski’s Surprise
In Margaret Sawford’s latest brilliant
book about her hero, detective Zac
Kaboski, he has to discover who
killed a brilliant scientist. As usual
with Sawford’s books, at first you’re
surprised how few pages there are, but
you soon forget that, as the story takes
you from feeling amused to feeling
terrified, and continues that way right
to the end.
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B Towser
Polly Senter’s hero is based on her
father, but unlike Kevin Senter, a very
successful footballer, George Towser
fails in almost everything he does. It
isn’t easy to write fiction that keeps
the reader laughing from beginning to
end, but Senter achieves it in Towser,
and you can’t fail to admire her skill.
D Going Nowhere
Roy Al-Khalili is a popular writer of
fiction, but not one to turn to for a good
laugh. Rather, he aims to show us how
complicated ordinary life is, and the need
to consider our actions carefully before
we do anything important. In Going
Nowhere we see how difficult it is for his
characters to make the right decisions.
F Through Time
At well over a thousand pages, Rudolf
Bauer’s new book is one of the longest
novels of recent years, but it’s so well
written that it seems much shorter. It’s
a love story that continues through
several generations, with a background
of the social changes of the last
century.
H Building on the Past
Colin Roper writes in a way that
makes his subject easy to understand
and interesting. His latest book is an
introduction to recent developments in
chemistry and physics, and what they’re
teaching us about the world. But be
warned! Anyone who likes to read a
whole book in just a few hours should
avoid this one.
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Part 3

Questions 11 – 15

For each question, choose the correct answer.

My unusual hobby
Seth talks about his interest in studying insects

People think it’s strange that I’m so interested in insects. My job is in computers, so people
find it especially hard to understand why I like being outdoors and crawling around looking
for insects, sometimes in terrible weather. But I’ve loved doing this since I was a young boy.

During my school days, I used to collect insects and keep them in my bedroom, but my
parents stopped this after some escaped. Luckily, I was able to study some in the labs at
school as my biology teacher was really keen on helping students explore their interests. At
university, I studied data technology and didn’t have time to look for insects.

After I left university, I spent some time travelling and I decided to go to Australia as to see
the incredible insects there. I bought lots of books before I went so I knew where to go to
find the largest spiders and other insects. I stayed with a really nice family, but they were
anxious about the dangerous insects I went looking for and often tried to prevent me from
doing it.

I was very happy one day when I went into the bathroom and found something called
a mouse spider. The name makes it seem quite friendly, but, in fact, they are dangerous
to humans. I followed it around the wet floor and tried to catch it in a glass. Eventually, I
caught it and took it to show the family.

They were really frightened and made me take it into the garden right away, so I had no
opportunity to study it. Then, as I let it out of the glass, it bit me. I yelled in pain! It really
hurt, but I was also really worried that it would make me sick. The family came running out
to help me and drove me to a doctor. I felt ill for a while so had to stop chasing spiders.
Since then I’ve gone back to studying small, safe insects in my garden in the UK!

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11 Why do people think Seth’s hobby is strange?

A It involves so many challenges.

B It rarely gives him any pleasure.
C It is normally a hobby for children.
D It seems so different from his work.

12 Why did Seth spend time at school studying insects?

A He chose to do it as a biology project.

B He was encouraged to do so by a teacher.
C He knew he might have little time at university.
D He could use all the science equipment there.

13 How did the family Seth stayed with feel about his interest in insects?

A They were worried by it.

B They were impressed with it.
C They were amused by it.
D They were annoyed by it.

14 What does Seth say about the mouse spider?

A It is more dangerous than it sounds.

B It stops moving when attacked.
C It is not often found inside a house.
D It is the species he knew most about.

15 What would Seth write in a blog about his experiences?

A My mum and dad are pleased B I’m really pleased I managed

I’ve decided to limit my interest to keep calm when I first saw
to things I can keep at home the mouse spider – it was
now. terrifying!

C I’ve decided it’s time to focus D My job with computers is great

on animals that are closer to – I can find out everything I
home – and far less dangerous! need to know without having
to spend ages hunting for it
outside!

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Part 4

Questions 16 – 20

Five sentences have been removed from the text below.

For each question, choose the correct answer.
There are three extra sentences which you do not need to use.

My family house
In my country, it’s very common for people to build their own house. What we typically
do is buy some land with enough space for a house and a garden and then, when we get
enough money, we start to build it. 16 We spent a long time at the town hall
getting all the papers we needed to make a start.

Then we had to find workers to build it and put in electricity and water and so on.
17 But my brother Dan had some friends who said they knew how to build houses
and they would do this for us. It was a disaster! On the day we started the building, it rained
for two weeks. 18 They had studied building at college, but this was their first real
house. At first, every time they built something it wasn’t quite right and they had to do it
again. My parents started to get really anxious.

Of course, all our relatives in the village came round every week and offered lots of advice
but never any practical help! 19 A few months later both floors were completed
and we could move in. My parents rushed round shopping for new things to put in the
house and we had a big party when we could finally live in it. 20 The only thing
they hadn’t done was the garden. I’ve been trying to sort it out, but it’s a big job. I think
we’ve learnt that you should always hire professionals – you might have to wait for them to
start work, but it’s probably worth it!

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A Unfortunately, they were busy as all our neighbours were building houses too.

B Because of this, the house looked like every other house in the village.

C Dan’s friends were delighted with the result of their efforts.

D My father had drawn the plans himself, which created problems for Dan’s friends.

E To make matters worse, Dan’s friends were not experienced builders.

F That’s why it took longer than expected.

G My family started to do this last year.

H But eventually, the roof was on and it looked great.

Reading 107

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Part 5

Questions 21 – 26

For each question, choose the correct answer.

Disappearing flowers
Wild flowers that used to be very common are now disappearing from the countryside in

many European countries. The (21) ………… is that there are not only fewer flowers, but a

much more limited range of different species. In fact, in several years’ time, the only types

of flowers left in Europe may be the same across the (22) ………… continent. Having fewer

types of plants is damaging because this (23) ………… insect and pond life as well.

Wild flowers are usually very good at surviving, because they can grow in weather that is

very wet or very dry, and in places where the land is too (24) ………… to grow anything else.

Scientists say the main (25) ………… for losing wild flowers is modern farming methods.

Obviously, the food that farmers grow is important, but we need to do much more to

(26) ………… our wild plant life before it’s too late.

21 A product B end C result D finish

22 A whole B part C total D lot

23 A replaces B moves C varies D affects

24 A weak B poor C tiny D unwell

25 A reason B argument C case D issue

26 A collect B care C continue D protect

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Part 6

Questions 27 – 32

For each question, write the correct answer.

Write one word for each gap.

My favourite train
I love train travel and I’ve been on some fantastic trips across many countries. But my
favourite train (27) ………… called the Palace on Wheels. It’s a historical train – rulers in India
travelled on it in the past. For a while, no one was interested in it, but about forty years
(28) ………… the government decided to use the train again as a luxury type of transport.

Now the Palace on Wheels takes tourists around Rajasthan in north-western India. It’s got
several coaches, so you can book a private bedroom (29) ………… has its own bathroom.
(30) ………… is also a wonderful dining car and lounge area on the train.

I took a seven-day trip on the Palace on Wheels last year and it was amazing. We travelled
to a different city (31) ………… day of the trip, and, of course, we saw some amazing
landscapes as we travelled along. It was (32) ………… experience I’ll never forget.

Reading 109

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 B1 PRELIMINARY Test 5

Writing 45 minutes

Part 1

You must answer this question.

Write your answer in about 100 words on the answer sheet.

Question 1
Read this email from your college headteacher Mrs Simpson, and the notes you have made.

Write your email to Mrs Simpson using all the notes.

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Part 2

Choose one of these questions.

Write your answer in about 100 words on the answer sheet.

Question 2
You see this notice on an English-language website.

Write your article.

Question 3
Your English teacher has asked you to write a story.
Your story must begin with this sentence:

Alex heard a strange noise in the street and went to see what it was.

Write your story.

Writing 111

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Listening 35 minutes

Part 1

Questions 1 – 7

For each question, choose the correct answer.

1 Where is the woman’s new house?

A B C

2 What are the people having for dinner?

A B C

3 What did the man forget to bring to the picnic?

A B C

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4 Where did the friends go for a walk?

A B C

5 What kind of exercise is the man going to do this weekend?

A B C

6 Who does the woman have an appointment with tomorrow?

A B C

7 Where does the man think he has left his coat?

A B C

Listening 113

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Part 2

Questions 8 – 13

For each question, choose the correct answer.

8 You will hear a woman talking to a friend about a painting course she is doing.

What does she feel about the course?

A She wishes she’d chosen something different to paint.

B Other students on the course are better than her.
C The teacher is not helping her improve.

9 You will hear two friends talking about local transport.

What do they agree about it?

A Buses are not reliable.

B Trains are expensive.
C Taxis are hard to find.

10 You will hear a man talking about a special museum exhibition.

What does he say about the exhibition?

A It was organised well.

B The information was easy to understand.
C There was a lot to see in it.

11 You will hear two friends talking about doing exercise at a sports centre.

What is the woman doing?

A reminding the man to join a class

B asking to do a class with the man
C suggesting a class to the man

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12 You will hear a woman telling her friend about a holiday.

What does she say about her holiday?

A The hotel pool was busy.

B The hotel staff were friendly.
C The hotel food was interesting.

13 You will hear two friends talking about going to a café.

Why do they want to go to the Central Café?

A It has live music.

B It is very popular.
C There’s plenty of space.

Listening 115

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Part 3

Questions 14 – 19

For each question, write the correct answer in the gap.

Write one or two words or a number or a date or a time.

You will hear a man called Alex giving some information about a race to a small group of
runners.

Information about next month’s race

All runners need to register at the website (14) www. ……………….. .run.org

The entry cost for one adult is (15) £ ……………….. .

Runners must bring their (16) ……………….. with them on the day.

Runners can leave their bags in the (17) ……………….. .

The best place to watch the race is near the (18) ……………….. .

All runners will receive a (19) ……………….. .

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Part 4

Questions 20 – 25

For each question, choose the correct answer.

You will hear a radio interview with a scientist called Vanessa Hyde, who has worked in
the Arctic.

20 Vanessa was in the Arctic to study

A people.
B animals.
C plants.

21 What did she find most challenging?

A doing research on an unusual topic

B handling the effects of long periods of darkness
C communicating with scientists from different countries

22 Vanessa thinks the scientists all got to know each other better by

A sharing their research results.

B working in the same teams.
C eating together.

23 Which activity did Vanessa like doing in the evenings?

A reading books
B taking photographs
C playing computer games

24 How did Vanessa feel about the contact she had with her family?

A pleased about how long they could speak

B happy about the quality of the sound
C excited to share her experiences

25 What is Vanessa planning to do next?

A return to the Arctic

B study again at university
C give talks about her work
Listening 117

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 B1 PRELIMINARY Test 5

Speaking

Part 1  (2–3 minutes)

(a) Questions about you

Introduction

Examiner: Good morning / afternoon.

Can I have your mark sheets, please?

I’m ………. and this is ………. .

(To Student A) What’s your name? Where do you live?

(To Student B) And what’s your name? Where do you live?

Questions for Student B

Examiner: [Student B], do you work or are you a student? (Do you have a job? Do you study?)

What do you do / study? (What job do you do? What subject do you study?)

Thank you.

Questions for Student A

Examiner: And [Student A], do you work or are you a student? (Do you have a job? Do you
study?)

What do you do / study? (What job do you do? What subject do you study?)

Thank you.

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(b) Questions about your life

Questions for Student A

(Examiner asks one or more questions from this list)

Examiner: What sort of work would you like to do in the future? (Would you like to work
abroad in the future?)

How much do you use the internet every day? (Do use the internet a lot every day?
Why? / Why not?)

What do you enjoy doing at weekends with your family? (Do you like going to the
cinema with your family at weekends? Why? / Why not?)

Tell us about one of your friends. (Did you meet your friend a long time ago?)

Thank you.

Questions for Student B

(Examiner asks one or more questions from this list)

Examiner: What is your favourite time of year? (Do you prefer winter or summer?)

How important is it to you to spend lots of time at home? (Do you prefer being at
home or going out? Why?)

Do you like cooking? (What can you cook?)

Tell us about a TV programme you’ve seen recently. (Do you watch the news
regularly? Why? / Why not?)

Thank you.

Speaking 119

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Part 2  (2–3 minutes)

Talk about the pictures

Student A

Examiner: Now, I’d like each of you to talk on your own about something. I’m going to give
each of you a photograph and I’d like you to talk about it.

[Student A], here is your photograph. It shows people in the mountains.

[Student B], you just listen.

[Student A], please tell us what you can see in the photograph. (Talk about the
people. Talk about the place. Talk about the other things in the photograph.)

(Student A can talk for about 1 minute.)

Examiner: Thank you.

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Student B

Examiner: [Student B], here is your photograph. It shows people ice skating.

[Student A], you just listen.

[Student B], please tell us what you can see in the photograph. (Talk about the
people. Talk about the place. Talk about the other things in the photograph.)

(Student B can talk for about 1 minute.)

Examiner: Thank you.

Speaking 121

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Part 3  (2–3 minutes)

Picture options

Examiner: Now, in this part of the test you’re going to talk about something together for
about two minutes. I’m going to describe a situation to you.

(Examiner shows the pictures to students – see next page)

A 60-year-old couple are trying to choose a holiday. They can spend quite a lot of
money on the holiday, but they don’t want to do anything very tiring.

Here are some holidays they could choose.

Talk together about the different kinds of holiday and say which would be best for
them.

All right now talk together.

(Students talk)

Thank you.

Part 4  (2–3 minutes)

Discussion

(Examiner asks some of these questions)

Examiner: What type of holiday do you like? (Why?)

Do you prefer to go on holiday with family or friends? (Why?)

Do you think it’s important for people to have a holiday every year? (Why? / Why
not?)

Why do some people not take a holiday every year?

How long do you think a holiday should be? (Why?)

Thank you. That is the end of the test.

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Different kinds of holidays

Speaking 123

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