1 UNIT 1 TEST | Standard
Listening
1 UT Track 1 Listen to a teenager called
Emma talking about Irish dancing, which
she does in her free time. Choose the
correct alternatives to complete the notes.
Irish dancing is most popular with (1) Chinese,
Russians and French / British and Americans.
Music is played on (2) traditional / modern
musical instruments.
Emma found the dancing (3) easy / difficult at
first.
Emma’s group is practising for a show (4) early /
late next year.
The group spends a lot of time (5) preparing for
shows / travelling around Europe.
2 UT Track 1 Listen again and complete the
sentences with a word or short phrase you
hear.
1 The first Irish dancing concert Emma saw was
in a             .
2 Emma didn’t expect her teachers to
be             .
3 After her first lessons, Emma had pains in
her             .
4 Emma’s group participated in a competition in
the              last year.
5 Emma thinks there are a number of
             to start doing
Irish dancing.
Grammar
3 Choose the correct words to complete the
sentences.
1 My mum’s annoyed because our dog slept on the
sofa and now there’s a hair / hair all over the
cushions.
2 If you’re having problems reading, you really
should get some new glass / glasses.
3 I came across some useful information /
informations about global warming on the
internet.
4 A lot of new book / books are also published in a
digital format which you can read on your tablet.
5 I’d be interested to know what leisure activity /
leisure activities there are in your town.
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B2
4 Find and underline the mistakes in the
sentences, then correct them.
1 We’ve been discussing fascinating film about a
trip down the Amazon river.       
2 All the furniture were antique.       
3 Juliet wants me to recommend an European city
for her to visit in the holidays.       
4 When I leave school, I’d like to get a job in fire
brigade.       
5 I think The Hunger Games was probably a last
good book that I read.       
5 Complete the sentences with the words in
the box. There are two extra words you do
not need.
all | both | every | few | little | many | much
1 A        of my classmates hadn’t done the
homework, so the teacher was disappointed.
2 Seville was a wonderful city but it
was        too hot when we went there.
3 Lorena has got two cats and        of them
are really cute.
4 We drove around looking for a hotel
but        one of them was completely full.
5 We get a lot of homework at school so it would be
great to have a        more free time.
6 Read the text below and choose the correct
word or phrase for each gap.
I want to tell you about what I’ve been doing in
my free time. If you read my last blog post, you’ll
know that (1)     of my friends wanted to
start a band. Well, they asked me to join them
so I’ve been doing (2)     band practice.
(3)     of us can play our instruments
amazingly well yet, but we’re getting there! As I
used to play the piano when I was younger, I’ve
got the job of keyboard player. I found it quite
hard the first (4)     times I played but I’m
getting better now. I don’t make too (5)    
mistakes and the others seem happy with my
playing. We’re not ready to put on a concert just
yet. I think we need another few months of
practice!
1 a) any b) some c) one
2 a) lots of b) a lot c) many
3 a) None b) Neither c) No
4 a) little b) some c) few
5 a) much b) many c) any
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 1 UNIT 1 TEST | Standard B2

Reading

Free time forecasters

A A quick internet search for ‘unusual hobbies’ turns up some interesting results. Collecting things has always been
a popular hobby and you will find a huge range of weird and wonderful collections. (1)     Hobbyists are now
investigating everything from plants to robotics and one in particular has a huge number of followers – meteorology.
B If you’re wondering what it is, meteorology is the study of weather patterns, and meteorologists are the people
who bring us our daily weather forecasts. We all know the professional weathermen and women on local and
national TV but there are another 200,000 amateur meteorologists in the United States alone who contribute to
making our forecasts as accurate as possible. (2)    
C One such meteorologist is Pierre Alan, who, at 15 years old, has been interested in the weather since he was
only six years old. (3)     ‘I still keep a record of my readings but nowadays I upload the information to my
weather website,’ says Pierre. ‘I’m also more interested in trying to predict the weather, so I publish my predictions
on the website.’
D The basic equipment for measuring the weather has really changed very little over the years; a thermometer for
measuring temperature, a barometer for measuring humidity, a rain gauge measuring rainfall and an anemometer,
which measures wind speed. (4)     The result is that there are thousands of weather hobbyists with highly
accurate equipment and the possibility of sharing their information with other meteorologists through the internet.
Pierre even has a webcam on his roof so that users of his website can see for themselves what the weather is like!
E One of the disadvantages of a hobby like this is that a lot of people don’t think it’s cool. ‘Some of my friends
have made fun of what I do and they don’t understand why I like it,’ explains Pierre. ‘They think you have to be
good at football or a great dancer to be interesting. I don’t agree with them though because I think you have to
do the things that interest you. That’s what will make you happy and might even make a difference to the world.’
(5)     In fact, Pierre has become famous for his often-accurate forecasts and he’s been invited to give the
weather forecast on several TV channels.

7 Read the article and choose the sentence 8 Read the article again. Choose from
(1–5) that best summarises each paragraph sentences A–F the one which fits each
(A–E). gap (1–5). There is one extra sentence you
1 Amateur meteorologists are increasingly posting do not need.
their weather information online.     A However, what has changed is that most serious
2 A large number of people are involved in meteorologists now take digital measurements
studying changes in the weather.     and for this you need to connect the equipment
to a computer.
3 Many people enjoy doing experiments and
making discoveries in their free time.     B These amateurs, who are fascinated by
meteorological events, give all their free time
4 One amateur meteorologist has been studying
to observing the weather from their homes and
the weather for many years.    
mobile weather stations.
5 Despite what some people think, studying the
C Fortunately, a lot of people agree with him and
weather can be a worthwhile hobby.    
some people do think that meteorology is cool.
D When he was starting out, he would measure the
rain and snow fall in his garden with plastic cups
and kept a diary of daily weather conditions.
E He decided to stop studying the weather because
the equipment was too expensive to maintain.
F However, another type of hobby which is
becoming more popular is that of amateur
scientist.

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 1 UNIT 1 TEST | Standard
Vocabulary
9 Complete the sentences with the words in
the box. There are some extra words you do
not need.
broadcast | cast | credits | flop | on demand
producer | satellite | viewers
1 I usually leave the cinema when
the        come on. I’d rather avoid the
crowds than know who all the actors are.
2 Bladerunner is one of the greatest sci-fi films
ever but it was actually a        when it
first appeared in cinemas.
3 Apparently, there were more than 30
million        for the last World Cup final.
4 The best thing about the internet is that you can
watch your favourite programmes       .
5 The film of Les Miserables had a        of
more than 50 actors and actresses.
10 Complete the sentences with one word in
each gap.
1 Dancing on Ice usually comes        before
the news, doesn’t it?
2 We had to act        one of the scenes
from Macbeth in our English class today.
3 Do you mind if I turn the TV       ?
There’s a documentary I want to watch on the
other channel.
4 My parents have bought a new widescreen TV
but it takes        too much space in the
living room.
5 Do you fancy hanging        in town
tomorrow morning? We could go to that new café.
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B2
11 Complete the sentences with the correct
form of do, have, take or make.
1 Helena        me a big favour and helped
me paint my bedroom.
2 If I hadn’t        something else to do, I
would have gone to the art exhibition.
3 India’s        part in the school play this
year so she’s busy rehearsing at the moment.
4 As long as you        your best, no one is
going to be unhappy with you.
5 The teacher was pleased because Brad
had        a lot of effort with his history
project.
12 Complete the text with one word in each
gap. The first letter is there to help you.
If you’re planning to stay in and
(1) d       n       special this
weekend, there are plenty of good programmes
to watch on TV. Firstly, fans of
(2) r       s       won’t want to
miss the final episode of The House. This week
we’ll find out who gets to keep the house
they’ve been living in for the last three months.
On the other hand, if you’d prefer some drama,
you should check out a new six-part
(3) s       called Hunting Porter. It’s based
on the award-winning novel by D S Grimshaw
and the (4) s       was written by
Grimshaw herself. With such great programmes,
it seems like the perfect weekend to
(5) c       o       in front of
the TV.
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 1 UNIT 1 TEST | Standard B2

Speaking Use of English

13 Complete the sentences (a–e) with the 15 Write a form of the word in capitals in each
words in the box. Then match them with gap to complete the text.
the questions (1–5). Human Towers
average | general | least | routine | times A free time activity which has
been increasing in
a) I usually go out with them at        once a (1)        in recent years POPULAR
week but more often if I can. is Castellers or ‘Human
b) In       , I spend most of my time with Towers’. As the name suggests,
my family. When I’m on my own I like reading or it consists of building towers
playing computer games. made out of people, with adults
and children standing one on
c) My usual        involves doing some
top of another. These
homework and then watching TV for the rest of
(2)        towers can IMPRESS
the evening.
consist of up to nine levels of
d) I do the washing up after every meal and I tidy people.
my bedroom two or three        a month.
Castellers were first recorded
e) In an        week, I spend two or three in the 18th century in Catalonia,
hours running and swimming. Spain, but the most famous
1 What do you normally do in the evenings?     groups have been in
2 How much sport or exercise do you do?     (3)        since the early EXIST
20th century. Many Catalan
3 How often do you see your friends outside of
towns have their own teams
school?    
which compete with other
4 What do you do to help your parents around the towns in the region to build the
house?     tallest towers.
5 Which activities do you prefer to do alone?     Despite being a particularly
Catalan tradition, groups of
Castellers have made
(4)        all over the APPEAR
14 Write your own answers to the questions world, from Paris to New York.
above. For each sentence, say how often This has raised international
you do the activity and use an appropriate awareness of this activity and
phrase. in 2010, UNESCO took the
(5)        to recognise DECIDE
1                         
the Castellers as an important
                         cultural event.
2                         
                        
3                          16 Write one word in each gap.
                         Calligraphy
4                          If you are looking (1)        a hobby which
                         is both creative and relaxing, you might like to
5                          try calligraphy – the art of writing beautifully.
This is a hobby which requires patience, and you
                        
get the best results if you just (2)       
your time. Many years ago, calligraphy was a
popular activity, but with (3)       
invention of the typewriter and the word
processor, it went out of fashion. However, with a
renewed interest in arts and crafts, calligraphy
(4)        started to become more
fashionable again. (5)        of the main
reasons for its popularity is that it is accessible to
almost everyone – all you need is a pen, some
paper and plenty of free time.

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 1 UNIT 1 TEST | Standard B2

Writing
17 Read the task below. Then read the sentences (1–5) from a student’s answer to the question.
Choose the best sentences (a or b) for an article.

Articles Wanted
We’re planning a special issue on days out for teenagers, and we want your articles. What days
out do you recommend in your area?
Tell us about it. Describe the day out and what it involves. Explain why you recommend it and
why you think other teenagers would enjoy it.
We’ll print the best articles in our special issue!

1 a) Are you looking for an interesting day out in the Bristol area?
b) There are many interesting days out in the Bristol area.
2 a) If you would like to know more, it is a good idea to read this article.
b) If you want to know more, make sure you read this article!
3 a) You should reserve a place before you arrive at the activity centre.
b) Book a place before you get to the activity centre.
4 a) You don’t need much special equipment, just some walking boots.
b) It’s not necessary to take any special equipment apart from walking boots.
5 a) Take my advice and give it a go!
b) I would strongly recommend that you try this activity.

18 Read the task again. Write the first and second paragraphs of your article with your own ideas.
Remember to:
• choose an appropriate style for an article.
• include all the information you were asked to.
• include a brief description and engage the reader.
• check your spelling and grammar.
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     

Total score

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