End of Year Test A
Listening
Task 1
You are going to listen to a woman, Nancy, talking
about her work as a travel blogger. Complete the
sentences with a word or short phrase.
Before going to university, Nancy had a (1)
which allowed her to go travelling. A problem for many
aspiring travel bloggers is they don’t think about who
their (2)            is going to be.
Many people read travel blogs in order to forget about
the (3)            in their day-to-day lives.
Travel bloggers have to communicate their (4)
in a way is easy to read.
Nancy earns a small income as a (5)            for
other people’s websites.
Nancy is provided with sponsorship in exchange for
making sure that certain (6)            are
mentioned or shown in her blog.
One of the most difficult parts of Nancy’s job is feeling
(7)            when she is away from her family.
Nancy thinks it is hard to appeal to readers if you are
not (8)            about travelling in your blog.
Nancy says that travel writers need to be (9)
in order to deal with the different tasks they have to do.
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GOLD Experience 2nd Ed
Task 2
You are going to listen to three extracts on
different topics. For questions 10–15, choose the
answer (A, B or C) which fits best according to
what you hear.
Extract 1
You hear a girl and her grandfather discussing
educational experiences.
10 The grandfather suggests that his granddaughter’s
learning experience is
A a waste of her time.
B more enjoyable than his.
C tougher than his.
11 Why does the girl think that using digital devices at
school can be useful?
A It’s more fun than traditional teaching methods.
B They can be used for playing games on.
C It’s good preparation for a modern career.
Extract 2
You hear a girl and a boy discussing a concept known
as ‘smart cities’.
12 What do the boy and girl agree on regarding the
problems related to population growth?
A They are unavoidable.
B They are a cause for concern.
C They are the result of exploitation.
13 The boy points out that new technologies can
A be used to solve various problems at once.
B only be used to identify problems in cities.
C have a negative impact on sustainability.
Extract 3
You hear a man and woman talking about what type of
holiday they would like to have.
14 How does the man feel about the holidays?
A He doesn’t appreciate going on cultural tours.
B He prefers going on weekend breaks.
C He would like to do something different.
15 The woman is concerned that if they go on a
camping holiday,
A they won’t have enough camping equipment.
B they will have to be more organised than usual.
C it won’t be as much fun as a package holiday.
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GOLD Experience 2nd Ed B2+ Tests © Pearson 2018 End of Year Test
Use of English
Task 1
Read the text and complete the gaps with one word only.

The Ice Bucket Challenge on social media a few years ago is reported (16)            have raised over £100
million for a worthy charity and was also great fun for all the participants. The unlikely sight and experience of being
doused in freezing cold water is (17)            has spawned a series of further challenges, with each new idea far
(18)            creative than the previous one. One amazing idea was the so-called Mannequin Challenge, which
went viral the year after the Ice Bucket Challenge (19)            proved so successful. It’s not certain, but it may
(20)            started in a High School in Jacksonville, USA. The challenge involves groups of people finding a
location and standing in an elaborate pose. The participants stand completely still, like mannequins, and hold the
positions long (21)            for a person to move among them, videoing the picture, the result of (22)
we can see online. Some of these videos are simply amazing! Check them out.

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Task 2
Use the word given in capitals at the end of some lines to form a word that fits in the gap in the same line.

When a five- year old girl was asked. ‘What lives in the oceans?’ her (23)            was RESPOND

‘plastics.’ Although it saddened her father, it proved to be an (24)            for him and he INSPIRE

invested in a business that found a use for discarded, single- use plastics. (25)            , he EXPECT

also found he was also helping the environment in another way. He came up with the idea after

visiting India and seeing how old plastics were used to fill in potholes in the roads before

resurfacing. He developed a technique that uses discarded plastics as an (26)            ALTERNATE

to bitumen, which is usually used to form road surfaces, the production of which uses

(27)            fossil fuels. This new type of road-surfacing material recycles over twenty RENEW

different ypes of plastics from local waste and is (28)            because the result is not only VALUE

a cheaper road surface, but one which is also better quality than what is (29)            on CURRENT

our roads. So far there are twenty ‘plastic’ roads in the UK and it is hoped that this number will

increase if councils decide to (30)            traditional types of road surfacing. CONTINUE

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GOLD Experience 2nd Ed B2+ Tests © Pearson 2018 End of Year Test
Reading
Task 1
You are going to read an article in which four experts discuss the importance of training for a career in the
arts. For questions 31–40, choose from the experts A–D. The experts may be chosen more than once.

Which expert(s):

31 warn about the hardships of a particular career?      

32 mention training courses that do not require physical attendance?      
33 discuss an art form that has not always been admired?      
34 suggest that the success of others gives them a goal?      
35 emphasise a need for repetition to achieve perfection?      
36 point out how a type of training can include actively helping to promote a career?      
37 cite a possible influence on the development of modern training techniques?      
38 point out a public misconception regarding an art form?      
39 praise training that prepares students for two possible career paths?      
40 describe how gender issues used to be significant for people choosing a particular career?      
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GOLD Experience 2nd Ed B2+ Tests © Pearson 2018 End of Year Test
You’d like to be a … what?
Four experts comment on the importance of training for a career in the arts.
A C
So, you’re a budding author and wondering just how to
write a best seller. You’ve seen the bookstores with
paperbacks which are stamped with declarations such
as ‘Number-One Bestseller’ and you know you could
write something just as good! How do you go about it?
There’s a school of thought that believes that a writer is
born and not made. A writer doesn’t need any form of
training, but simply inspiration. And it’s true that a large
number of bestsellers have been written by people
without any formal training. However, more and more
frequently, Creative Writing courses are springing up,
both residential and online, and the trainers insist that
although it isn’t possible to train writers with no talent,
what they can do is pass on techniques and skills that
will improve a talented writer’s chances. Great writers
in the past may not have had the benefit of these
courses, but, for them the writing came quite naturally
– indeed it is perhaps the work and skills of these
writers that have informed the training techniques of
modern-day tutors.
B there’s a reason for that.
Becoming a successful actor is certainly not an easy
task, and yet it is one that many young people aim for.
Perhaps they have performed in a school play and
loved the experience. Perhaps they’ve been told that
they have natural talent. Whatever the reason, those
who focus on acting as a career should be aware that
the route to success is a hard and potentially long one,
and even for those actors who reach the top, rarely is it
a secure way to earn a living. Having said that, there
are paths to follow that can ensure that a prospective
actor acquires the right skills and exposure to be given
suitable roles. Drama schools offer excellent training in
everything a future actor will need and this doesn’t only
focus on the techniques that a stage performance
requires, but takes into consideration the different skills
required for becoming a theatre performer or an actor
who goes into the TV or film industry. Attending one of
these schools gives actors discipline and through
regular performances, showcases their talents to
producers and agents, which is invaluable when
entering such a competitive profession.
GOLD Experience 2nd Ed
There was a time when if a child showed an interest in
dance, the main option was steady progress and
ending up, if they were very lucky and talented, with a
dance company that produced classical ballets such as
Swan Lake or Giselle. If you were a young girl at that
time and your parents were tall, you were dissuaded
from pursuing a ballet career because you would
potentially grow too tall to become a classic ballerina.
Female dancers who were taller than their male
counterparts when they were dancing on the tips of
their toes were unwanted. However, times have
changed and with the emergence and popularity of a
whole variety of modern dance genres, this is certainly
no longer the case. Latin styles of dancing and
ballroom are just two relatively new forms of dance that
have become popularised by TV shows. For all
dancers, some form of formal training is useful in that it
develops strength and technique. But most importantly,
whatever type of dance you are interested in requires
practice, practice and more practice. It is said that the
top dancers are as fit, if not fitter than athletes, and
D
It’s usually automatically assumed that artists learn
their craft by attending formal training courses where
they learn different techniques as well as more
practical things relating to how to mix paints, prepare
canvases and so on. However, most people would not
think that graffiti artists do the same. Once again, it is
assumed that this type of artist learns how to use spray
paint from fellow artists who use public buildings as
their canvases, most often illegally. Although many
such artists do in fact learn the essentials from each
other, there are courses in graffiti art which those who
seriously want to develop a skill in this form of painting
can attend. The question then arises as to what type of
career is it possible to have doing something which is
most often perceived as a crime. It might come as a
surprise to many people to learn that it has now
become a respected profession. Artists are sometimes
employed by councils to cover inappropriate graffiti
with work of a higher standard. And advertising
companies are using commissioned graffiti art in
campaigns aimed at young people.
B2+ Tests © Pearson 2018 End of Year Test
Task 2
Read the article and choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.

41 The writer starts the article with a question to

A make readers aware of their own inadequacies.
B introduce readers to a particular problem.
C focus readers on the nature of recognition.
D find out readers’ differing abilities.

42 In the second paragraph the writer makes the point that

A everyone has the ability to recognise someone they’ve seen before.
B some people are easier to recognise than others.
C we need to see people more than once to be able to recognise them.
D the ability to recognise differs from one person to the next.

43 What does the writer say is true about our ability to recognise people?
A It is the same for men and women.
B It is stressful to try to recognise unfamiliar people.
C It is affected by the gender of the person we are recognising.
D It is made easier if the subject is outgoing and sociable.

44 The writer gives the example of ‘twins’ to

A support the theory of inherited abilities.
B show how difficult they are to distinguish between.
C illustrate the condition of face blindness.
D show how they communicate recognition.

45 The writer uses the word ‘reassuring’ in paragraph six because super-recognisers
A can make our lives safer.
B are human and not machines.
C can teach police officers important skills.
D reduce our dependence on technology.
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GOLD Experience 2nd Ed B2+ Tests © Pearson 2018 End of Year Test
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GOLD Experience 2nd Ed B2+ Tests © Pearson 2018 End of Year Test
Never forget a face? You might be a ‘super recogniser’
How good are your face recognition skills? Like most
people, you probably take your ability to recognise
family and friends for granted. But it’s really not that
simple. Your recognition skills are supported by a
complex network of brain regions that rapidly develop
during infancy and childhood, finally peaking at the age
of thirty. You might also be surprised to know that this
peak is by no means identical in all people.
A broad spectrum of face recognition exists. At the
bottom extreme are those who cannot recognise faces
(a condition known as ‘prosopagnosia’ or ‘face
blindness’), which affects two percent of people,
whereas there are some at the top end who have an
extraordinary ability to recognise faces – even those
they have had little exposure to. Most people fall
between these two extremes, yet still vary substantially
in their face recognition ability. This is an innate ability
and one that we cannot acquire.
So what causes this variation? Some studies have
found that women are slightly better at face recognition
than men. What’s really interesting about this finding is
that both men and women are equally as good at the
recognition of male faces, yet women are better than
men at recognising female faces. Personality also has
an impact. More empathic people are better at face
recognition – a trait that has also been linked to
gender, being traditionally seen as more ‘feminine’.
Extroverted or gregarious people also have better face
recognition skills, as do those with lower levels of
anxiety.
My research has investigated the causes of
super-recognition, and found it to be a highly specific
skill. Many super recognisers are excellent only at
recalling faces – and not other types of object, or
scenes. They do not have an unusually high IQ or
superior vision. I’ve also found that super recognisers
spend more time focusing on the nose than typical
people, who tend to look more at someone’s eyes.
Central fixations on the nose may extract more
information relevant to facial identity, whereas the eyes
provide distracting information about a person’s
emotions and intentions.
I have also been working with a police force to
investigate more practical uses of super recognisers.
We have developed screening tests that can identify
officers who may be particularly good at face
recognition tasks. This may involve the matching of
faces that have been captured on CCTV, or spotting
missing or wanted faces in a crowd. Super recognisers
can even outperform current face recognition
technology. This finding is somewhat reassuring, as it
indicates that human face recognition is a highly
specialised and complex skill – one that’s very unlikely
to be replaced by robots in the near future. Indeed, the
opposite may be true: human super recognisers could
help unlock the mysteries of the brain and help
computer technology further develop.

While gender and personality have small influences on

face recognition skills, there is stronger evidence to
suggest that the ability is largely pre-dictated by
genetics. Face recognition ability is more similar in
pairs of identical than non-identical twins, and face
blindness is known to run in families. People with
extraordinarily good recognition do not report any
unusual circumstances during development, and are
more likely to simply be predisposed to it. Sometimes
referred to as ‘super recognisers’, these people report
incredible instances where they clock someone they
haven’t seen for many years, or have had little prior
exposure to. For example, one super recogniser
spotted a pre-school friend who he hadn’t seen for
twenty-five years – a face that had substantially
changed since early childhood. Other super
recognisers register faces they have only glimpsed
before. While this can be useful in some
circumstances, it can lead to embarrassing situations
when the other person doesn’t know the super
recogniser. Some have even found themselves
accused of stalking.

GOLD Experience 2nd Ed B2+ Tests © Pearson 2018 End of Year Test