CAMBRIDGE INSTITUTE

STUDENT: SIXTH YEAR DATE:

FIRST PROGRESS TEST

“FOCUS 4” Units 0 and 1

READING SECTION

The power of personality

‘He has a great personality!’ That’s how Bill, who later became my husband, was first described to me by
my best friend. What she was trying to tell me in those five innocent words was that the man I was about
to meet was less than attractive. And it’s true, you wouldn’t notice him in a crowd. But he really does have
a great personality. From the first time we talked I was attracted to him, and after a few short weeks
we fell madly in love.

Our idyllic life together was shattered a few years later when I almost lost Bill. In some sense I did lose
him. Bill was driving home from work when he lost control of his car and crashed, leading to months in
hospital. When he finally regained consciousness, the good-natured, affectionate Bill I used to know had
been replaced by a much more self-critical and insecure version.

As a psychology student, I’d studied theories on what makes us who we are, whether we are a product of
nature or nurture and how far we can choose our identity. I’d even read up on a few cases where people
had suffered catastrophic events and seemingly woken up with whole new personalities. It was only when
I witnessed it first-hand that I became fascinated.

The tendency to classify people into personality types goes way back, even as far as the Ancient Greeks.
They believed people could be categorised into four main humours, not dissimilar to the more modern
Myers-Briggs test which is based on a wider range of sixteen personality types. Another field of
thought, professed by Walter Mischel, was that behaviour was much more dependent on the situation a
person found themselves in, rather than something present from birth.

It’s now generally accepted that there are five main personality types. These are conscientiousness,
which is connected to your goals and how sensitive you are towards them. Agreeableness, whether a
person is insecure and seeks approval from others or trusts in their own abilities. Extraversion, whether
or not you enjoy socialising. Neuroticism, how you respond to threats, and finally openness, whether you
are daring when it comes to new experiences or prefer to keep things the way they are.

Of these five traits, the one that seems easiest to change is neuroticism. Research shows that over time,
everyone’s personality changes. It just happens so gradually that we don’t notice. Since neuroticism is
linked to poor health and a reduced lifespan, it’s the one that people are most likely to seek help for,
usually through therapy. When the right help is given, rather than a gradual change, such as the growth
of a plant or the erosion of a cliff, the changes in terms of neuroticism are far easier to identify.
Instead of thirty or forty years it can take as little as a month.

With that in mind, Bill and I have been on a mission to help him regain some of the identity he had before
his accident. Scientific papers state that one way to change the mechanisms of behaviour is to focus on
strengths and resources rather than problems, and finding ways these strengths can help you. Since Bill
has always been very athletic, we found ways for him to channel his anger through learning martial arts,
which he has gone on to compete in successfully. We still have a long way to go, but there are more and
more glimpses of the old Bill showing through, and I have no doubt that this will continue as we keep
working together.
 CAMBRIDGE INSTITUTE
STUDENT: SIXTH YEAR DATE:
1) Read the text. For questions 1–5, choose the correct answer, A, B, C or D. /5pts

a) The writer’s friend focussed on
personality because
A she didn’t know what he looked like.
B she believed it was his most attractive
quality.
C he had a similar personality to the writer.
D it was the easiest way to identify him in a
crowd.
b) The writer became really interested in
theories about personality when
A she was studying psychology.
B she read cases about people whose
personalities had changed.
C she noticed changes in Bill.
D she started working as a psychologist.
c) Walter Mischel suggested that
A behaviour is fixed from birth.
B there are sixteen different personality
types.
Bill’s C people have the power to change their
situations.
D the way people behave is deeply affected
by the circumstances around them.
d) Research shows that
A it’s impossible to notice changes in your
own personality.
B it takes up to forty years for personality
to change.
C neuroticism is the trait that people most
commonly want to work on.
D poor health is linked to having therapy for
personality disorders.
e) Bill is now
A slowly returning to his only self.
B as confident as he was before the
accident.
C focussing on his problems.
D returning to his hobby of martial arts.

GRAMMAR SECTION

1) Present Tenses ( Present Simple, Present continuous, Present Perfect Simple and Present
Perfect Continuous) : Choose the correct options. __/7pts

2) Ken doesn´t cook/ isn´t cooking every evening because sometimes he doesn´t get home until
9 p.m.
3) I’m tired because I’ve cleaned / been cleaning the house all day
4) Guess what! I´ve been becoming/ I´ve become a vegetarian since we last met.
5) Shelly and Nick don´t work / aren´t working today because they´ve both got food poisoning.
6) Excuse me, waiter. We´ve been waiting / we´ve waited for our desserts for half an hour
now.
7) Wow! What is that gorgeous smell? What have you cooked / have you been cooking?
8) I work / I’m working at Tuco’s bar during the summer break.

2) Past Tenses (Past Simple, Past Continuous and Past Perfect): Complete the sentences
with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. __/14pts

0. It was snowing (snow) heavily when the marathon began.

a) We got stuck in traffic on the way to the game and by the time we got there, out team
___________________(already/score) three baskets.
b) ___________________ (you/ remember) to take an extra racket for Tom yesterday?
c) ___________________ (you/ watch) when the rider fell off his horse? It looked pretty
painful.
 CAMBRIDGE INSTITUTE
STUDENT: SIXTH YEAR DATE:
d) The golfer who missed the vital shot _________________ (throw) his club into the lake.
e) We weren´t allowed in the pool because we _____________(forget) our swimming caps.
f) On the day of the match the sun _____________ (shine) and a light breeze
_____________ (blow).
g) Owen _________________ (score) two goals before the coach _________________
(decide) to substitute him.

3) PASSIVE VOICE: Rewrite the sentences into the passive voice. /14pts
a) Farmers have grown wheat in this part of the country for decades.
______________________________________________________________________
b) All the newspapers are reporting the scandal.
______________________________________________________________________
c) How did you make this delicious meal?
______________________________________________________________________
d) You should keep white wine at about 8°C.
______________________________________________________________________
e) Shop security will report all shoplifters to the police.
______________________________________________________________________
f) Hotel management asks all guests to check out before noon.
______________________________________________________________________
g) They were renovating the old museum when we walked by.
______________________________________________________________________

4) PRESENT AND PAST HABITS: Complete the sentences with will or would and the verbs
in the box./ 12pts

run complain go let do play

a) As a teenager, I ____________ never ____________ anyone into my room.

b) When she was little, she ____________ always ____________ about the food in the school
canteen.
c) He never does his homework in the afternoon. He ____________ games until late at night.
d) Before I got pregnant, I ____________ ten kilometres every day.
e) I’m not a big fan of sports but I ____________ always ____________ swimming if I can.
f) When I was in high school, normally I ____________ my homework right after school, but
that day I needed to go somewhere.

5) Mark sentences as correct (✓) or wrong (✗). If the sentence is wrong, write the correct
verb form in the space provided. /6pts
a) When I was a kid, I would love chocolate. ( ) __________
b) We used to go on holiday to Greece in the summer of 2002. ( ) __________
c) I used to be a big fan of this band. ( ) __________
d) We would usually visit our grandparents on Sundays. ( ) __________
 CAMBRIDGE INSTITUTE
STUDENT: SIXTH YEAR DATE:
e) I would believe in Santa Claus when I was little but now I don’t anymore. ( ) __________
f) We would move into this house three years ago. ( ) __________

6) Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Use the Present
Continuous or Past Continuous form to talk about annoying habits. /6pts
a) Your daughter _________________________ (always /disturb) other children. Please talk
to her about it.
b) Janet _________________________ (always / talk) about her current relationship. Really,
every time I see her.
c) I don’t like Ms Brown. She _______________________________ (always / yell) at us, even
if we’re quiet.
d) I used to hate going out to dinner with her. She _________________________ (always /
count) the calories.
e) I wasn’t very fond of their kids, they _________________________ (always / run) around,
screaming.
f) You _________________________ (always / pretend) it’s not your fault! And it always is!
7) VERB PATTERNS: Choose the correct option for each case. /9pts
a) I've decided taking /to take a year off school.
b) They don’t let us use /to use our phones in classrooms.
c) Try restarting /to restart the computer. If that doesn’t work, call the IT department.
d) I sometimes hear my neighbour practise / practising on the piano. He’s getting better each
day!
e) I don’t think either of us will ever forget having /to have this conversation.
f) We were walking around the park and then stopped looking /to look at the stars.
g) Will you remember picking /to pick me up from school early today?
h) Well, you can’t force her go /to go to college.
i) I spent most of my time in May revising /to revise for my final exams.

VOCABULARY SECTION

8) Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs in the box. There are two
extra verbs. /6pts

have get work enrol write attend make sit

a) I hope to __________ a degree after I finish school.

b) Last weekend, I __________ a lecture on the power of the mind.
c) She __________ a passion for sports so will probably train to be PE teacher.
d) We usually __________ our exams in the summer.
e) I’m really not looking forward to __________ my dissertation.
f) You can __________ on the course via their website.

9) Complete the sentences with the missing prepositions. /6pts

a) My father wants me to continue the family business and go ________ the farming industry.
b) Becoming a writer is very difficult but I’m not going to give ________ on my dream just yet.
c) I’m not sure what to major ________ next year.
d) I fell ________ with my studies when I was ill last year.
 CAMBRIDGE INSTITUTE
STUDENT: SIXTH YEAR DATE:
e) She’s never going to settle ________, she loves travelling too much.
f) Each year approximately fifty-five percent of our students go ________ to further study.