2 UNIT 2 TEST | Standard
Listening
1 UT Track 2  You will hear people talking in
five different situations. Listen and match
each sentence (1–5) with the response you
hear (a–e).
1 You’d actually be able to come in the sea with us
on holiday ...     
2 That’s the organisation that offers free online
training courses, isn’t it?      Grammar
3 It’s amazing!      3 Complete the sentences with the correct
4 You never know when you might need them.      form of the verbs in brackets.
5 I didn’t understand everything …      1 In general, children in the UK        (go)
a) Well, I’m not so sure.
b) Me neither.
c) I guess you’ve got a point there.
d) That’s true.
e) That’s right.
2 UT Track 2  Listen again and choose the
best answer (A, B or C).
1 You hear a girl and her father talking about
swimming lessons. What do they disagree about?
A The swimming lessons are aimed at middle-
aged people.
B The instructors are likely to be critical during
the lessons.
C The man would be able to spend time in the
sea on holiday.
2 You hear two friends talking about an online
course. What do they both agree about?
A There’s usually a charge for joining an online
course.
B Most of the courses on offer are not true
online courses.
C Universities probably benefit from offering
free online courses.
3 You hear a boy and his mother talking about a
smartphone app. What do they disagree about?
A She doesn’t think he’ll pass the English test.
B She doesn’t think he’s studying for his exam.
C He hasn’t made any notes to revise from.
4 You hear two teachers talking about a first aid
course. What does the woman say about the first
aid course?
A She agrees that she might learn something
useful.
B She doesn’t think she’ll learn anything useful.
C She doesn’t think she has time to sign up.
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B2
5 You hear two friends talking about a TV
documentary. What do they disagree about?
A the length of the programme
B the time it was on
C the difficulty of the topic
to school until they are around five years old.
2 Lorena        (get) home late last night so
she won’t get up early this morning.
3        Jonathan        (not tell)
you about the homework? We have to hand it in
tomorrow.
4 Wendy doesn’t find maths easy but she
always        (do) her best to answer the
questions.
5        you ever        (wonder) why
we have so many exams at school?
4 Complete the text with one word in
each gap.
Comenius
The history of modern language learning can be
traced back to the 17th century and an educator
called Comenius. Until that time, few people had
the chance to learn a language and if they did,
they (1)        study Latin and little else.
The general belief was that only a privileged few
(2)        capable of learning languages.
Comenius, however, (3)        see things
in this way. He believed that everyone had the
capacity to learn a language and set about
developing a theory of language education.
Amongst other things, Comenius argued that
students needed to study the spoken language
and get (4)        to hearing natural
speech in order to learn. Although language
learning has progressed since Comenius’ day,
these ideas (5)        still central to
language teaching today.
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 2 UNIT 2 TEST | Standard B2

5 Put the verbs into the correct tense:
present perfect simple, past simple or
past perfect simple.
1 Belinda was very upset when she realised that
she        (lose) her new smartphone.
2 He        (just send) me an email but I
haven’t had time to read it yet.
3        you        (see) that
documentary about the North Pole on TV last
night?
4 There        (not be) much interest in the
school trip so far. I hope it doesn’t get cancelled.
5 We        never        (experience)
such bad weather until those storms last
summer.
6 Choose the correct words.
1 Olga’s exams haven’t finished yet / already so
she’s still busy revising.
2 By the time / After we finished our survey, we’d
talked to more than 50 people.
3 We should try to be a bit quieter because Ben
has just been / gone to bed.
4 I’m a bit worried because it’s 10 o’clock now and
my brother still / just hasn’t called me.
5 Elisabeth started having music lessons last
year. So far / Up to that point she hadn’t been
interested in learning an instrument.

Reading

Critical Thinking
A Have you noticed how there’s so much talk about critical thinking skills these days? There are hundreds of
websites and books devoted to the topic and in some countries, you can even get a secondary school qualification
in critical thinking. So, what exactly is it and why is it generating so much interest?
B Critical thinking means different things to different people. For some, it’s about answering questions without
letting your own emotions and beliefs get in the way. For others, it’s about accepting that one question might have
different answers. However, if we put these differences to one side, most people would agree that critical thinking
describes the process of analysing and evaluating a situation in order to understand the truth. For this process to
work, critical thinkers have to be self-disciplined, careful in their analysis and open to new ideas.
C Surprisingly, critical thinking is not a new concept. In fact, it began in the teachings of the ancient Greek
philosophers more than two thousand years ago. They were concerned that ordinary citizens automatically believed
their leaders without asking themselves whether they were right or wrong. However, these philosophers thought it
was important for a society to know the truth, and that was only possible by asking the right questions. This belief
has been held by many of the brightest thinkers ever since. Without it, we might still think that the sun orbits the
Earth or that the Earth is flat.
D Despite the importance of critical thinking in human history, the situation changed in the 19th century with the
industrial revolution. More children than ever had access to education, but they studied subjects which were useful
for industrial society, like maths and English. Although students learnt in large groups, there were few opportunities
for critical thinking. Students were generally expected to be passive learners, learning facts and taking tests. They
would sit in rows and only speak if they were spoken to by the teacher.
E This way of teaching has endured for over 150 years and is still common today. However, a growing number
of people now believe that school leavers need different skills to overcome the challenges of the 21st century.
Among them is the ability to ask the right questions to achieve a better understanding of the world around us. This
means not just accepting that what you are told is the truth. It also means being able to work on your own to find
answers and solve problems. Not only that, but students should also be able to work with others by contributing to
arguments in a useful and meaningful way.
F As a result, teachers are now thinking about how they can promote critical thinking skills in teenagers. For
example, in many classrooms, students are no longer required to sit passively, memorising facts and figures.
Instead, they are asked to think carefully, share experiences and give opinions. In fact, even the classrooms
themselves are changing. Nowadays you’re more likely to find collaborative spaces where students sit in small
groups, use tablets and work on projects. It’s an exciting time in education and it will be interesting to see how the
next generation of thinkers turns out.

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 2 UNIT 2 TEST | Standard
7 Read the article and match paragraphs B–F
with headings 1–5.
1 The origins of critical thinking     
2 Skills for a new century     
3 Looking to the future     
4 Definitions of critical thinking      course is awarded a degree / certificate.
5 The end of critical thinking      3 If you want to pass your test, you should have
8 Read the article again. For questions 1–5,
choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you
think fits best according to the text.
1 What point is the writer trying to make in
paragraph B?
A Everyone agrees that critical thinkers are self-
disciplined.
B It’s not always important to understand the
truth.
C Critical thinking involves a search for truth.
D We should pay more attention to our emotions.
2 Early philosophers were
A worried that people weren’t well-informed.
B keen to believe everything their leaders said.
C annoyed because people didn’t want to know
the truth.
D surprised about the things the leaders said.
3 What was the advantage of the 19th century
school system?
A Lots of students were good at maths and
English.
B There weren’t many opportunities for critical
thinking.
C Students could take exams to show what they’d
learnt.
D Many students could study at the same time.
4 What is suggested about young people in
paragraph E?
A Traditional education won’t help them in
today’s world.
B They never accept what other people tell them.
C They are unable to understand the world
around us.
D They all want to make a difference to the
world.
5 The writer uses the expression ‘collaborative
spaces’ in the final paragraph to describe
A a new subject which students study at school
now.
B a classroom where students can work together.
C a way of remembering facts and figures.
D a classroom with the chairs organised in rows.
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B2
Vocabulary
9 Choose the correct words.
1 Once you’ve taken / passed this online level test,
we’ll contact you with the results.
2 Everyone who completes this two-week diving
lessons with a driving lecturer / instructor.
4 Most of my sister’s friends are graduates /
undergraduates. They expect to finish their
bachelor’s degrees next year.
5 If you want to study accountancy, you need to get
a maths licence / qualification.
10 Complete the sentences with the phrasal
verbs in the box in the correct form.
creep up behind | dig up | hurry up
look up | think up
1 We used to play a game where you
             your friends without
them seeing you.
2 Rosie needs to              or
she’ll be late for school again.
3 Tim spends too much time
             excuses for not
doing his homework. It would be quicker to
just do the work!
4 I              the meaning of the
word before the lesson but I couldn’t remember
it when the teacher asked me.
5 We’ve been researching our family history and
we              a lot of interesting
information.
11 Complete the sentences with one
preposition in each gap.
1 I don’t think I’ll ever get bored       
studying English. There’s so much to learn.
2 All of the instructors in our activity centres are
experienced        giving first aid.
3 Selena thought about taking a year off university
but she decided        it in the end.
4 It’s important that you pay attention       
this part of the talk because we’ll tell you how to
enrol on the course.
5 In my opinion, there’s nothing
wrong        staying in bed late at the
weekend.
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 2 UNIT 2 TEST | Standard B2

12 Choose the correct word or phrase 14 For each of the sentences (1–5), respond
(a, b or c) to fill each gap. with one or two sentences giving your
My sister’s university is taking a new approach to reasons and/or examples.
teaching called the flipped classroom. In Remember to:
traditional university classes, (1)     give • use phrases to show you agree, disagree or
classes to halls full of students. However, it can partly agree
be difficult to (2)     everything the lecturer
says and students often (3)     with notes that • be polite if you don’t agree and explain why
are lacking important information. In contrast, in 1 I’m not sure that many students like doing work
the flipped classroom approach, the lectures are experience because you’re just working for
recorded and students watch them on the nothing.
internet. They can pause, rewind and play them                         
as many times as they like. Universities often
(4)     websites as well with quizzes and                         
forums to help students understand the lecture.                         
Although some universities have been
(5)     following this approach, it’ll be 2 I think a lot of young people would like online
interesting to see if it works. courses because they’re more interactive and
engaging than traditional courses.
1 a) instructors b) coaches c) lecturers
                        
2 a) qualify as b) concentrate on c) succeed in
3 a) dig up b) look up c) end up                         
4 a) set up b) use up c) speak up                         
5 a) criticised b) interested c) paid 3 I’d imagine that most students like going on field
for in attention to trips because it gives them a chance to get out of
the classroom.
                        
                        
Speaking                         
13 Choose the correct words. 4 Students probably prefer working in groups
1 A: Young people can’t learn anything from because it’s really boring when you have to work
watching TV. alone.
B: But don’t you think / say there are some                         
educational programmes?
                        
2 A: We spend too much time doing exams, in my
opinion.                         
B: You’ve got a reason / point but I do think 5 Voluntary teaching is quite popular and I think
they’re important. it’s because students like the idea of helping
3 A: I never used to like sports lessons at school. younger ones.
B: Me neither / too. The teacher was always                         
really hard on us.
                        
4 A: I think the best way to learn is by doing it
yourself.                         
B: Absolutely / Really. Practice makes perfect!
5 A: I used to spend all my time in the library
when I was at school.
B: So / Neither did I. There was an amazing
selection of books in our library.

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 2 UNIT 2 TEST | Standard
Use of English
15 Write a form of the word in capitals in each
gap to complete the text.
Spelling Bees
The spelling bee is a type of
competition for young students
which has enjoyed success for the
last 90 years. In fact, they have
been so (1)        that they
have inspired three films and a
novel! The object of the game is
very simple; students are asked to
spell words which increase in
(2)        as the game goes
on. (3)        earn points
for the words they spell correctly
and lose points for misspelling
them. The winner is the person
with the most points and in some
competitions they can win a
substantial amount of money.
Consequently, many of the
participants will have spent
months studying and learning
new words, paying special
attention to the
(4)        between the
sound and spelling of words. In
national (5)        some of
the more challenging words have
included eudaemonic, which
means ‘producing happiness’,
and cymotrichous, which means
‘having wavy hair’.
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B2
16 Complete the second sentence so it has a
similar meaning to the first. Do not change
the word given. Use two to five words,
including the word given.
1 At first I found it strange living in the
countryside but it isn’t strange anymore.
USED
At first I found the countryside strange but
SUCCESS I                  there now.
2 It was too wet to go camping so in the end we
stayed in a hotel.
UP
DIFFICULT It was too wet to go camping so we
COMPETE                  in a hotel.
3 After several attempts, Dana managed to climb
the tree and get our ball back.
SUCCEEDED
After several attempts, Dana
                 the tree
and got our ball back.
4 We would never go to bed until we had had our
milk and biscuits.
USED
We                  to bed until
RELATION we had had our milk and biscuits.
5 They received criticism because they didn’t
CHAMPION
recycle their glass and plastic.
FOR
They                  their glass
and plastic.
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 2 UNIT 2 TEST | Standard B2

Writing
17 Read the essay question in the box. Imagine you have written your first paragraph, introducing
your essay and stating your opinion. Now rewrite sentences 1–5 using the word(s) given to
complete paragraph 2, explaining why shorter school days would be better for students.
Shorter school days would be better for both students and teachers. Do you agree?

1 Shorter school days would be better for students. They would have more time for after-school activities.
I WOULD ARGUE THAT … AS
                                                     
                                                     
2 Some after-school activities are important for teenagers’ development. Some examples of after-school
activities are volunteering and doing sports.
SUCH AS
                                                     
                                                     
3 Students would also benefit from a shorter school day. They would not get so tired.
BECAUSE
                                                     
                                                     
4 Many students are exhausted by the end of the day. They find it difficult to do their homework well.
THIS IS WHY
                                                     
                                                     
5 Young people do not spend enough time with their families. Shorter school days would also be good for
family life.
IN MY VIEW … SO
                                                     
                                                     

18 Now write a third paragraph, explaining why shorter school days would be better for teachers.
Use your own ideas.
Remember to:
• use phrases to show your opinions
• include reasons or examples to justify them
• check your spelling and grammar
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     

Total score

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