OFFICIAL 1ST SEMESTER TEST FOR B CLASS

NAME:_____________________________________________________ CLASS: __________

A. READING COMPREHENSION:
Hello everyone! I’m Yoko. I’m from Tokyo, the capital city of Japan. The customs of my country are
somewhat different from those of the countries of the West. For example, we bow to greet someone and
we don’t like standing too close to each other. If you say ‘Ohay gozaimasu’ to someone, you mean ‘Good
morning’, and we young people often say ‘Genki?’ which means ‘Are you well?’. Body language is very
important, too. If you shake your hand from side to side, you mean ‘no’ and pointing to your nose means
‘me’. You all know traditional Japanese dishes such as sushi, tempura and noodles and you probably know
that we use chopsticks to eat our meals. We eat sitting on mats on the floor, therefore, our floors have to
be very clean. To keep them clean, we always take off our shoes and change into special slippers when we
enter the house. Sports that are very popular in Japan include judo, kendo, karate and sumo wrestling, our
national sport, which has a history of more than 1,000 years! Young people also enjoy baseball, football,
volleyball and tennis. Finally, two forms of traditional Japanese theatre, Noh and Kabuki, continue
to thrive in my country today…

Choose the right answer according to the text….

1. Yoko has got:
a. different costumes from those of the other countries. b. the same traditions from other
western countries. c. different customs from other eastern
countries.
2. In Tokyo when people say hello….
a. they bow. b. they shake heads. c. they kiss each other.
3. When having lunch in Tokyo…..
a. they eat on benches. b . they eat on small carpets. c. they eat all together in
a huge dining room.
4. Kendo is…..
a. famous kind of song in Japan. b. a pair of chopsticks. c. a well-known sport.
5. Noh and Kabuki are very popular in Japan at the moment.
a. True b. False c. not mentioned
Answer the following questions:

6. Why do people take off their shoes in Japan?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
7. What are the most famous sports in Japan?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
8. Find a difference between the Japanese culture and the Greek culture and write it down.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
B. VOCABULARY:
1. Use the words given to fill in the sentences. One word is not used:

adaptation altitude surroundings

evolve insulation absorb region

a. Dry sand can ____________________________water.

b. Evolution occurs as a result of ___________________________ to new environments.
c. It’s important that buildings should fit in with their ____________________________.
d. We are now flying at an ______________________________ of 10,000 metres.
e. Plants and animals ______________________over millions of years to suit their environment.
f. Animals thick fur provides very good _______________________ against the arctic cold.
2. Match the adjectives in box A with the nouns in box B to make expressions:

3. Use the words in the boxes to fill in the blanks. There are extra words in each box:

support dome soil pillars distinctive marlbe

(1)……………………………………… are used to (2) ……………………………………….the roof or the (3)

…………………………………… of a building. They are often made of (4) ……………………………………………. or stone
and they give ancient Greek and Roman buildings their (5) ……………………………………………… look.

foundation installed worked monuments construction storeys

The (1) ……………………………………………. of the Colosseum was completed in AD 80 and it is one of Rome’s
most amazing (2) ………………………………………….. . It had four (3) …………………………………………. and it could
hold 50,000 spectators. Its floor has now fallen away and we can see the (4) ……………………………………………….
and the underground passages where cages had been (5) …………………………………………………. to keep the
animals until it was time for the Games.

stable lean columns attempts shallow awe - inspiring

Another (1) ………………………………………………….. structure is Stonehenge, in England, which is constructed of

many heavy stone (2) ………………………………………… . Although some stones have tumbled and fallen to the
ground and others (3) ……………………………………………….. against each other, the monument is very (4)
……………………………….. . Scientists have made many (5) ………………………………………… to understand how the
stone pillars came to be vertical.
C. GRAMMAR
1. Complete the sentences below with the correct form of the adjectives in brackets (Comparatives)
1. The Great Sphinx is …………………………. (old) and …………………………….. (short) than the Statue of Liberty.
2. The world’s ……………………………… (larger) and ……………………………….. (famous) statue of Jesus is in Rio de
Janeiro and is called ‘The Corcovado Christ’.
3. The Colossi of Memnon are not ……………………………………. (tall) as the Bamian Buddah.
4. Although ‘Mother Calls’ is ……………………………………… (tall) statue in the world today, it is not …………………
(famous) as others.
5. Which of these statues is …………………………………. (impressive) in your opinion?
6. Can you guess which of these statues was almost completely buried in the sand for ………………………
(many) than 4,000 years?
2. Put the verbs in brackets into the Simple Present or Present Continuous.
1. In some places, people ………………………. (live) in homes made of mud or logs. Some of the mud houses in
India…………………………………. (look) like palaces!
2. - What ……………………………………………………(you/look) at? - That Scottish man who …………………………
(wear) a kilt.
3. Buddhists ……………………………………….. (believe) that lots of money ……………………………………….. (not make)
people happy.
4.Eskimos ………………………………………… (like) frozen fish eyes but they ………………………… (think) that cheese is
horrible to eat.
5. More and more people ……………………………………..(move) from rural areas to big cities these days.
6. Arabs ………………………………………… (not/eat) with their left hands.
3. Expand the sentences. Use the time expressions in brackets.
1. They/not/visit/museums (usually).
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
2. He /go out/restaurants/? (often).
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
3. She/be/ rude (never)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
4. They / look / the paintings (now)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
5. She / look / wonderful (today)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
6. Maria /come / theatre/? (tonight)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
7. My friend / practise / judo (twice a week)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

GOOD LUCK !!!