EFL Regional Competition for 8th Grade Primary School Students

21st April 2018

Student’s CODE : _______________________

Time limit: 60 minutes Total points: ______ /70

USE OF ENGLISH

I Read the text and decide which answer A, B, C or D fits each space. Circle the
correct answer.
Free time trends

(1) ....... people all over the world are working longer hours. We also have more leisure
time than ever before. After sleeping and working, watching TV is by far the most (2)
....... leisure activity the world over. The British watch more TV than any other nation in
Europe, but they read more too. The (3) ........ majority, eighty-five per cent, read
newspapers, and 54% regularly read books. Two thirds of modern European women
work full-time, but they still do the main (4) ...... of the housework too. Husbands help in
the household more than they did in former (5) ....... No wonder that many working
women say they are stressed and (6) ...... According to the latest (7) ..... by
supermarkets, the average British family spends just 11 minutes preparing for the main
evening meal. Almost half of all UK families in the UK eat together only once a month or
(8) ....... More than half of young people in the UK have a fulltime job (9) ....... the age of
19, but the (10) ....... of young Spanish and Italian people do not start full-time work until
they are 24. The average American fourteen year-old (11) ...... only half an hour a day
doing homework, and less than a fifth of them participate in sports, music or have other
hobbies. (12) ......., 65 % say they spend their time chatting on their mobiles and (13)
....... out with friends in shopping malls. In the UK, pensioners are almost twice as active
as teenagers, according to (14) ........ research. People over 65 spend nearly two hours a
day (15) ......... physical activities such as walking, cycling or gardening. However,
surprisingly, people who use the Internet (16) ........ do more sport than people who
never use it.
1. A) In general B) Although C) However D) Despite

2. A) joint B) common C) regular D) general

3. A) huge B) massive C) wide D) vast

4. A) cut B) role C) part D) piece

5. A) times B) ages C) periods D) dates

6. A) alert B) sleepy C) exhausted D) spent

7. A) inspections B) examinations C) explorations D) research

8. A) fewer B) less C) least D) smaller

9. A) with B) up to C) by D) under

10. A) majority B) most C) bulk D) mass

11. A) fills B) occupies C) uses D) spends

12. A) In spite of B) Nevertheless C) Despite D) Instead

13. A) falling B) hanging C) running D) dropping

14. A) recent B) newest C) latest D) last

15. A) exercising B) having C) making D) doing

16. A) evenly B) regularly C) completely D) wholly

________/ 16 points

II Read the letter and complete each gap with the correct form of the verbs in
present tenses.
Dear Bob,
I (1)_________________________ (write) to tell you about something really wonderful
that (2)________________________ (happen) to me! You (3)_______________ (know)
how much I love writing? Well, the school newspaper (4) ___________________ (ask)
me to be their new editor. I can’t believe it. I have been waiting for a chance like this for
ages. I (5) ________________________________ (already/ write) down lots of notes
about what kind of stories I (6) ________________________ (want) to include. While I
have been counting the days before I (7) ________________________ (attend) the first
 meeting of the newspaper staff, I must admit that I (8) ___________________ (become)
more and more nervous. I hope everything goes OK.
Well, that’s my news. (9) _____________________ (be/ not) you excited for me? I’ll let
you know what happens.
Bye for now,
Mark ________/ 9 points

III Complete the text with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Use past tenses.

I (1) (hear) a terrible explosion while I (2) ______________ (walk) into

my office on the 24th floor of the north tower, so I (3) (look) out of
the window. Lots of paper (4) (fall) from the sky. There was an
announcement to evacuate the building, so we (5) (start) walking
down the stairs. As we (6) (go) down, we (7) (see)
some fire-fighters who (8) (run) up the stairs. When we
(9) ________ _ (get) to the ground floor, we (10) ____ __ (run) as fast as
we could, and after 10 minutes we (11) _________ ___ (stop) to rest in a small
park. That's where we (12) _________ ____ (stand) when the second tower
(13) ___________ __(fall) down.
_____ / 13 points

IV Complete the text with verbs in Present Perfect or Past Simple.

Since computers were first introduced to the public in the early 1980's, technology (change) (1)
____________ a great deal. The first computers (be)(2) _______________ simple machines
designed for basic tasks. They (have, not)(3)__________________ much memory and they (be,
not)(4) _____________ very powerful. Early computers were often quite expensive and
customers often (pay)(5)_______________ thousands of dollars for machines which actually
(do)(6) ________________ very little. Most computers (be)(7)______________ separate,
individual machines used mostly as expensive typewriters or for playing games.

Times (change)(8) ________________. Computers (become) (9) ________________ powerful

machines with very practical applications. Programmers (create)(10) _________________ a
large selection of useful programs which do everything from teaching foreign languages to
bookkeeping. We are still playing video games, but today's games
(become)(11) ___________________faster, more exciting interactive adventures. Many
computer users (get, also) (12)_____________________ on the Internet and
(begin)(13) ______________ communicating with other computer users around the world. We
(start)(14) ___________________ to create international communities online. In short, the
simple, individual machines of the past (evolve) (15)____________________ into an
international World Wide Web of knowledge.

______/ 15 points

V Complete with the comparative or superlative of these words. Add other words if
necessary. You can use each adjective only once.

boring far hot ambitious bad spicy good

1) Mexican food is much ___________________________________ American food.

2) He looks much ____________________________________ with shorter hair.
3) I sat next to _____________________________________ person at the party!
4) I didn’t enjoy the film yesterday. It was ________________________ film I’ve ever
seen this year.
5) It’s _____________________________________ it was this time last year.
6) The beach was __________________________________ from the hotel than we
expected.
7) Sue works very hard. She is ____________________________ member of my
family.
______/ 7 points

VI Complete the second sentence so that it means the same as the first one. Use no more
than three words.
1. The last time Helen took a train was in 2004.

Helen _____________________________________________________ a train since 2004.

2. Susan couldn't swim as well as Betty.

Betty ___________________________________________________________ than Susan.

3. I last saw dolphins when I was a child.

I haven't ______________________________________________________ I was a child.

4. There was nobody on the beach when we arrived.

There wasn’t ________________________________________ beach when we arrived.

5. I've never been to this place before.

It's the _________________________________________ I have ever been to this place.

6. As a child, I went camping with my family every summer.

As a child, I ________________________________ go camping with my family every summer.

7. Ronald is fifteen. Alice is fifteen, too.

Ronald is ______________________________________________________ Alice is.

8. No one in the family is as happy as Richard today.

Richard ______________________________________________ one in the family today.

9. Has Jack found a new flat yet?

Is Jack ______________________________________________________ a new flat?

10. It’s a long time since I spoke to Jason.

I _______________________________________________________ Jason for a long time.

______/ 10 points