Intermediate Skills Test 5B

Reading
1 Read the text. Answer the questions with the letter of the paragraph.

Tipping around the world

A In Germany it’s polite to give tips, although restaurant workers don’t depend on them.
It’s more usual to pay the bill in cash than by credit card, and the tip is normally the change –
or part of it. You’ll see waiters and waitresses carrying a big purse around because you’re
expected to pay them directly. You decide on a tip by rounding up the price on the bill. For
example, if the price is €23.45, you round it up to €25 and say, ‘twenty-five’ as you pay. It’s
quite usual to pay individually, in which case each person should round up their bill. Taxi
drivers don’t expect a tip, but you should always round up the fare.
B In the United States waiters and waitresses aren’t usually very well paid and often earn
as little as $2 an hour. This is because restaurant owners see tips as part of their workers’
wages. For this reason, customers are expected to leave a tip of at least 20% of the bill, which
generally goes directly to each worker. If the service is especially good, you might want to
leave more than that. To give the tip, you can either leave cash on the table or add the money
when you’re signing the receipt of your credit card. Taxi drivers, also quite badly paid, expect
to receive 20% of the price of the fare as a tip.
C In Sweden you should only leave a tip in a restaurant if the service has been especially
good. Waiters and waitresses are fully qualified professionals receiving a good salary so they
don’t expect a tip. However, if you are particularly pleased with the service, you can leave up
to 10% of the price of the bill. The money goes to the waiting staff in general, and it is shared
out between them all at the end of the evening. Taxi drivers don’t expect to receive a tip,
either. It’s more usual to pay the fare by credit card than with cash, but if you pay by cash, it’s
polite to round up the fare.

In which country
1 do customers calculate the tip themselves? ___
2 do customers rarely pay for taxis in cash? ___
3 do customers nearly always leave a lot more than the specified amount? ___
4 is it common to pay for your own meal? ___
5 is it normal not to leave a tip? ___

Mark: ___/10

Listening
2 16 Listen to a radio programme about the five most expensive paintings in the world. Complete the
notes.
Five most expensive paintings
1 Paul Gauguin When will you marry? $300 m

The __________ __________ in the picture are from Tahiti.

2 Paul Cézanne The Card Players $274 m

The men who modelled for the card players __________ on Cézanne’s farm.

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 3 Mark Rothko Nº 6 $186 m

Bought by a __________ __________ .

4 Pablo Picasso Les Femmes d’Alger $179.3 m

Number __________ in a series of paintings of Algerian women.

5 Jackson Pollock Nº 5, 1948 $165.4 m
A very large __________ and __________ painting.

Mark: ___/10

Use of English
3 Complete the text with the correct form of the words below.

art big install make move place sculpt success surround take

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One of the most __________ artworks in history was created by Richard Serra, an American sculptor who is renowned for
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creating some of the __________ structures in the world. This particular work was a massive curved piece of metal called
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Tilted Arc. Serra had the piece __________ in the Federal Plaza of Manhattan, New York in 1981. __________ directly
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across the middle of the square, the 3.5 metre high __________ caused problems from the start. Workers in the buildings
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__________ the plaza complained that the work prevented them from crossing the square. Instead, they had to walk all
the way around the art work, which ‘affected their daily lives’, they said. They suggested moving the artwork somewhere
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else, an idea that horrified the __________ , who claimed that the piece would be destroyed if it was __________ . The
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case eventually went to court and the judge took the side of the workers. In 1989, Tilted Arc was __________ away, cut
up into three parts and put into a warehouse for storage. Serra was extremely disappointed with the judge’s decision, but
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one thing remains clear: if the artwork hadn’t been so big in the first place, the workers wouldn’t have __________ a
complaint.

Mark: ___/10

Writing
4 Write an opinion essay (200–250 words) answering the question: Do you agree that lending money to
friends is dangerous? Include the information below.
• an introduction showing you understand the title
• your own opinion, with supporting statements and examples
• an opposing view, with supporting statements and opinions
• a conclusion summing up your views

Mark: ___/10

5 Write a review (200–250 words) of a TV series you have seen recently. Include the information below.
• the title, the setting and the type of TV series
• where it is set, the main characters and what happens
• why you like the TV series

Mark: ___/10

Total: ___/50

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