First Exam

Low Advanced
1. Complete the following non-defining relative clauses using who or
which:

Robert’s parents, ...who... are retired now, live in Spain.

Sydney, ...which .... has a population of more than 3 million, is Australian’s
largest city.
Peter’s sister, ..who.... goes to school with me, is a very nice person.
My uncle John, ..who... lives in London, is coming to visit me next
week.
I saw the film 'Casablanca', ..which.. won an Oscar in 1942.

2. Combine the following sentences using relative pronouns.

a) Al Gore gave a long and boring speech. He won the Nobel Prize.
Al gore who won the Nobel prize, gave a long and boring speech

b) Starbucks wants to open new stores in China. It does business all over the
world.
Starbucks which does business all over the world, want to open new stores in
china.

c) Social network sites will definitely change business. They are very popular.
Social network sites which are popular, will definitely change business

d) Scientists are working with stem cells. Stem cells will revolutionize medicine.
Scientists are working with stem cells that will revolutionize medicine.

e) Last week, Jim Taylor interviewed Sally Thomson. She is my neighbour.

Last week, Jim Taylor interviewed Sally Thomson. who is my neighbour.

f) Mr Brown has been invited to join our club. He enjoys going to the theatre.
 Mr brown who enjoys going to the theatre, has been invited to join our club

g) Whiting House is an important local monument. It was built in 1856.

Whiting House which was built in 1856 is an important local monument.
h) Bono signed autographs at Tower Records yesterday. He's a famous musician.
Bono who a famous musician signed autograpsh at tower records yesterday.
i) John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. He was president of the USA.
John F. kennedy who president of the USA, was assassinate in 1963
j) The Queen will open a new hospital. It is in Jarvis Street.
The queen will open a new hospital, that is in Jarvis street

3. Fill the gaps with a relative pronoun when needed.

a) The lady _who___ is sitting in the wheelchair is my grandmother.
b) I know an Italian restaurant _which_ serves excellent home-made pasta.
c) I know an Italian restaurant _where___ you can always get a table.
d) Uncle Tom earns a fortune, _which___ is why I´ve asked him to lend me
£1,000.
e) Sean is a child _who___ people immediately like.
f) My daughter, _whose_ ambition is to emigrate to Australia, has finally got her
visa.
g) I gave him a drink of water, which he drank thirstily.
h) The flight _who___ we wanted to get was fully booked.
i) My Auntie´s house is the place _that_ I feel most at home.
j) This is the smallest car _that_ has ever been made.
k) That´s the man __whose_ wife left him because he kept his pet snake in their
bedroom.
l) I love the things _whose___ you say to me.
m) I go shopping at the new shopping centre, where_ there´s always free
parking.
n) She told me she´d been married before, ___which____ I didn´t realize.
o) _which_ you do, don´t touch that button. The machine will explode.

4. In the following sentences, insert commas if there is a non-defining

relative clause. Cross out the pronoun, if possible, in the defining
relative clauses.
The thing that I most regret is not going to university.
My two daughters, who are 16 and 13 are both interested in dancing.
The town where I was born, has changed dramatically.
 I didn´t like the clothes, which were in the sale.
Salt that comes from, the sea is the best for cooking.
Salt whose qualities, have been known since prehistoric times is used to
season and preserve food.
The CD that I bought yesterday doesn´t work.
You know the book that you paid £20 for?, I just got it for £5.
The area of England where, I´d most like to live is Devon, in the West
Country.
Devon, where my mother´s family come from, is famous for its lovely
countryside and dramatic coastline.

5. Read the text and then choose from the list A-J the best phrase to fill each
gap 1-8. Two of the suggested answers do not fit at all.

The mystery of the Sphinx

One of the world’s most studied monuments is the Sphinx, 1) E the Great
Pyramid, sixteen kilometers from Cairo in Egypt. Carved in ancient times out of a
single piece of limestone over sixty metres long and twenty metres high, it weighs
hundreds of tons. This extraordinary monument consists solely of the head of a
man and the body of a crouching lion, a combination 2) A . strength and wisdom.
Over the years, some of its facial features have sustained damage.
The smile, 3) G. mysterious, is in fact the result of erosion rather than design, and
the nose, which has long since been broken away, was probably the unfortunate
victim of invading soldiers’ target practice. At one time there was a serpent on its
forehead and a royal beard, a fragment 4) B…. in a museum.
But who built this monument 5) …H…. guarding significant places, is not part of a
pair but stands alone? Most Egyptologists agree that it was built by Pharaoh
Khafre 5,000 years ago. However, some recent commentators have speculated
that it belonged to a much older civilization, 6) …C…. a legendary flood 7) …F….
everything in the world over 7,000 years ago. They have tried to demonstrate that
the weathering of the Sphinx was caused by water rather than wind and sand, and
one has even suggested 8) …D…. on a much older site about 12,500 years ago.
Whatever its origins there is no doubt that to the Egyptians, the Sphinx represents
the very essence of their country’s magnificent culture.
a. which suggests
b. of which exists
c. which disappeared in
d. that it might have been built
e. which is located close to
f. that is supposed to have destroyed
g. which some people describe
 h. which, unlike most of the others
i. that it fits in
j. that was clearly known

6. Complete the following passage with either the gerund or the infinitive
form of the verbs in brackets. (15 marks)

Dennis was in his first year at university, studying History. He was rather
a lazy student and he tended to avoid (1) __working_____ (work)
whenever he could. In the middle of the term, his history professor gave
out an assignment to be handed in within two weeks. The assignment
was quite a difficult one, so his professor advised them (2)
_starting_____ (start) earlier. Dennis intended (3)__to do_______ (do)
the assignment, but he postponed (4) _writing_________ (write) it for a
week. He had a bad habit of (5) ___delaying____________ (delay)
things. The following week, he forgot (6) _to do_______ (do) it totally.

The night before the assignment was due, he suddenly remembered it

and rushed to the library to find the books he needed. He tried (7) ___to
read___ (read) as much as possible on the topic, but there wasn't
enough time. Dennis considered (8) _asking_________ (ask) for more
time to do his paper, but his History professor was known to be very
tough on students, so he finally decided (9) ___to cheat_______
(cheat) and copy his paper from somewhere else. He found an old
article on the same topic and quickly typed it out. The next day, he
submitted the paper.
The following week, he was alarmed (10) ___to see_______ (see) his
professor approaching him, looking angry. "Is this your own work, or did
you copy it?" asked the professor. Dennis denied (11)
____copying_______ (copy) the paper. The professor was angry with
Dennis for not (12) ____told______ (tell) the truth. "If you expect me
(13) ___to believe______ (believe) that, you must be very stupid," said
 the professor. "Every word is taken from an article I wrote myself five
years ago. Did you really think I would forget (14) _writing___________
(write) it?" Dennis couldn’t help (15) _feeling__ (feel) sorry for telling
such a lie.

7. Choose the correct forms.

1 Tony wants going travelling before he goes to university.
2 He promised to buy her a diamond ring for their anniversary.
3 Have you ever considered studying abroad?
4 He agreed to buying the motorbike
for £2,000.
5 John has been a farmer for twenty years. He’s used to get up early.
6 It’s cold today. You shouldn’t go out without wearing your coat.

8. Complete the story with gerunds or infinitives.

A haunted house
When I was a child, I used to spend my holidays at my aunt and uncle’s old
country house. One summer I remember having (have) a strange
experience. It was a hot afternoon, and my cousins suggested 1…
playing…………… (play) hide-and-seek. But instead of 2…going……………
(go) outside, we decided 3…to play…………… (play) in the attic. After 4…
turning off…………… (turn off) all the lights, we all hid in different places. I
managed 5…to hide…………… (hide) behind an old sofa. Then something
odd happened. In the darkness we heard footsteps come into the room. The
footsteps seemed 6…to walk…………… (walk) towards the sofa. I wanted
7……………… (move), but I couldn’t. I expected something terrible 8…to
happen…………… (happen). Then suddenly the footsteps stopped, and the
door slammed shut. After 9……waiting………… (wait) for a few seconds, we
jumped up and ran downstairs without 10…to stopping…………… (stop).
We told my aunt and uncle, but they refused 11…to believe… (believe) us.
Mysteriously the house burned down a year later. The fire started in the
attic.

9. Prepare a video, talk about the influencers we have nowadays. Use relative
clauses.