Nome: __________________________________________No.

___________ 11º:1 Data: ____/ 11/16

Classificação: ________________________ A Profª.: _________________O E.E.: _______________

ENGLISH TEST – Year 11- Class

A journey through Europe

I was watching out of the window for Europe. I still remember that first sight. The plane dropped
out of the clouds and there below me was this sudden magical tableau of small green fields and steepled
villages. The landscape had the ordered perfection of a model-railway layout. It was so green and minutely
cultivated, so compact, so tidy, so fetching, so... European. I was smitten. I still am.
5 Everything seemed so vivid and new. I felt like someone stepping out of doors for the first time. It
was all so different: the language, the money, the cars, the number plates on the cars, the bread, the food,
the newspapers, the parks, the people. I had never seen a zebra crossing before, never seen a tram, never
seen an unsliced loaf of bread (never even considered it as an option), never seen anyone wearing a beret
who expected to be taken seriously, never seen people go to a different shop for each item for dinner or
10 provide their own shopping bags, never seen unskinned rabbits hanging at a butcher's or a pig's head
smiling on a platter, never seen a packet of Gitanes.
One of the small marvels of my first trip to Europe was the discovery that the world was so full of
variety, that there were so many different ways of doing essentially identical things like eating and
drinking and buying cinema tickets. It fascinated me that Europeans could be at once so alike - that they
15 could be so universally bookish and cerebral, and drive small cars and live in little houses in ancient towns
and love soccer, and be relatively unmaterialistic and law-abiding and have cozy and inviting places to eat
and drink — and yet be so endlessly, unpredictably different from each other as well.
I wanted to be puzzled and charmed, to experience the endless variety of a continent where you can
board a train and an hour later be somewhere where the inhabitants speak a different language, eat different
20 foods, work different hours, live lives that are at once so different and yet so oddly familiar.
Sometimes a nation's little contrivances are so singular and clever that we associate them with that
country alone — double decker buses in Britain, windmills in Holland, sidewalk cafes in Paris. And yet
there are some things that most countries do without difficulty that others cannot get a grasp of at all.
The French, for instance, cannot get the hang of queuing. They try and try but it is beyond them.
25 Whenever you go to Paris you see orderly lines waiting at bus stops, but as soon as the bus pulls up the line
instantly disintegrates into something like a fire-drill at a lunatic asylum as everyone scrambles to be the first
aboard, quite unaware that this defeats the whole purpose of queuing.
The English, on the other hand, do not understand certain of the fundamentals of eating, as evidenced
by their instinct to consume hamburgers with a knife and fork. To my continuing amazement, many of them
30 also turn their forks upside down and balance the food on the back of it. I have lived in England for a decade
and a half and I still have to quell an impulse to go to strangers in pubs and restaurants and say, "Excuse me
sir, can I give you a tip that will help stop those peas bouncing all over the table?"
Germans are flummoxed by humour. The Swiss have no concept of fun, the Spanish think there is
nothing at all ridiculous about eating dinner at midnight, and the Italians should never, ever have been let in
35 on the invention of the motor car.
I loved the idea that you could never be sure of anything in Europe.
Bill Bryson, Neither Here Nor There

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I. Reading Comprehension – (100 pontos)
A. The text is divided into eight paragraphs, each dealing with a different idea. Identify the
paragraphs that are concerned with the following points. (24 pontos)
1. The many different ways within Europe of doing the simplest things.
2. A strange French habit.
3. The author’s first impressions of Europe.
4. Peculiarities of some European peoples.
5. The differences between the ways of doing everyday actions in Europe and in the author’s country.
6. Curious table manners.
7. The national creations which became the symbols of some countries.
8. How the author is fascinated by the variety in a small place like Europe.

B. Who/ what do these words refer to? (20 pontos)

1. It – 4. you –
2. their - 5. others –
3. my –

C. Explain the meaning of the expressions from the text: (36 pontos)
1. I wanted to be puzzled and charmed (line 18)
2. ... lives that are at once so different and yet so oddly familiar (line 20)
3. ….others cannot get a grasp of at all. (line 23)
4. The French cannot get the hang of queuing (line 24)

D. Find in the text synonyms for the following words (paragraphs 1 and 2): (20 pontos)
1. left 3. charmed 5. uncut
2. attractive 4. going out

E. Over to you (30 pontos)

When talking about the peculiarities mentioned above, the author exaggerates them, so as to make us
smile. If he wanted to include the Portuguese in his list, which of our own peculiarities do you think he
should/ could have picked? Write no more than 50 words.

II – Use of English (70 pontos)

A. Rewrite the following sentences, as suggested below. (30 pontos)
1. Bryson visited Britain and met his wife.
If …..

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 2. People say Germans are puzzled by humour.
It …..
3. Sometimes people associate some devices with just one country.
Some devices …..
4. Bill had difficulty in understanding some European habits because he didn’t travel much.
If …
5. People say the Swiss have no concept of fun.
The Swiss….
6. The British appointed Bryson as a Commissioner for English Heritage.
Bryson ………

B. Identify the verb tenses used in the sentences and explain why they are used. (20 pontos)
1. I was watching out of the window for Europe.
2. The plane dropped out of the clouds…
3. I had never seen a zebra crossing before…
4. ….where you can board a train and an hour later be somewhere where the inhabitants speak a
different language.

C. Complete the text with words from the box. 2 words do not apply. (20 pontos)

1. acclaimed 2. accompanying 3. America 4. Anglo-American

5. language 6. non-fiction 7. prominence 8. resident
9. served 10. travel 11. travelling 12. troublesome

William McGuire "Bill" Bryson (/ˈbraɪsən/; born December 8, 1951) is a best-selling (1) ___ author of
books on (2)______, the English (3)_______, science, and other (4) _____ topics. Born in the United
States, he has been a (5) ___________ of Britain for most of his adult life, returning to (6) ________
between 1995 and 2003. He (7) ______ as the chancellor of Durham University from 2005 to 2011.
Bryson came to (8) _______ in the United Kingdom with the publication of Notes from a Small Island
(1995), an exploration of Britain, and its (9) _____ television series. He received widespread recognition
again with the publication of A Short History of Nearly Everything (2003), a book widely (10)_________
for its accessible communication of science. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Bryson

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

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KEY
I. A. 4-6-1-8-2-7-5-3
B. 1. The landscape; 2. People’s; 3. The author’s, Bill Bryson’s; 4. Anyone; 5. countries
C. I wanted to be confused and enchanted, bewildered/ perplexed/ taken aback/ thrown off balance and
captivated/ delighted
2. Europeans live a life that is completely/ totally different but at the same time so extraordinary/
remarkably/ curiously/ peculiarly similar/ identical to the author’s own life
3. other people can understand nothing of
4. French people just don’t succeed/ learn how to line up/ form a line
D. 1. dropped out of; 2. fetching; 3. smitten; 4. stepping out; 5. Unsliced

E – “Technical as a Portuguese”, not being punctual, living life relaxed/ stress free

II.A.
1. If Bryson hadn’t visited Britain, he wouldn’t have met his wife.
2. It is said that Germans are puzzled by humour.
3. Some devices are sometimes associated with just one country.
4. If Bill had travelled more, he wouldn’t have difficulty in understanding some European habits.
5. The Swiss are said to have no concept of fun.
6. Bryson was appointed as a Commissioner for English Heritage by the British.

B. 1. Past Continuous – refers to an action happening in the past.

2. Simple Past – refers to a finished action in the past.
3. Past Perfect – refers to an action that finished in the past before another one started.
Something that started in the past and continued up to another action or time in the past. The past
perfect tells us 'how long', just like the present perfect, but this time the action continues up to a point
in the past rather than the present.
4. Infinitive must be used after a Modal verb; Simple Present as it refers to a true fact.

C. William McGuire "Bill" Bryson (/ˈbraɪsən/; born December 8, 1951) is a best-selling Anglo-
American author of books on travel, the English language, science, and other non-fiction topics.
Born in the United States, he has been a resident of Britain for most of his adult life, returning to
America between 1995 and 2003. He served as the chancellor of Durham University from 2005 to
2011.

Bryson came to prominence in the United Kingdom with the publication of Notes from a Small Island
(1995), an exploration of Britain, and its accompanying television series. He received widespread
recognition again with the publication of A Short History of Nearly Everything (2003), a book widely
acclaimed for its accessible communication of science.

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