Name : __________________________________ April 2009

Class : _________________

Please read my urgent plea to help save Maria Pastora and the other children of her village

Imagine an 11-year old child whose days are often spent

scrubbing clothes,raising a baby brother,struggling with heavy
farm chores.
Imagine a little girl who knows there will not be enough food
for dinner.Who can’t fill her stomach with water because it’s
contaminated.Who has watched life slip away from her father
and her little brother and sister because the family could not
afford a doctor.
Hard to believe? For Maria Pastora,these are the facts of life.
Maria would gladly walk miles to school,but her mother, now
alone,needs badly at home.Chances are Maria will grow illiterate
Her future? In many ways disastrous.
But for just 52 pennies a day,you can sponsor a child like Maria.Show her that somewhere,
someone cares about her plight.Through Save The Children,you can help Maria’s mother
get the tools and guidance she needs to turn their meager half-acre into a source of good
food,earn money she needs to buy clothing and school supplies for Maria.
To help Maria most,your money is combined with that of other sponsors,so hard working
people can help themselves.Build a school…a health facility…reclaim land…bring clean water.
This is what Save The Children has been about since 1932.
For you there are many rewards.The chance to correspond with your sponsored child.
Receive photographs,progress reports.Know you are reaching out to another human being.
Not with a hand out,but a hand up.That’s how Save The Children works.But without you,it
can’t work.Please take a moment now to fill the coupon below to help a child like Maria and
other children.It can make such a difference…in her life and yours.

For the children,

Mike Sanders.

I) Comprehension
1. The aim of the letter is to : a) persuade b) entertain c) inform
2. The letter is addressed to : a) children b) the general reader c) specialists
3. Answer the folowing questions according to the text.
1. When was Save The Children Federation founded ?
2. What is it concerned with ?
3. Find three reasons why Maria is in danger of falling ill ?
4. Find the reason Maria’s mother is alone ?
5. Does Maria go to school ?
4. In which paragraph are the actions taken by Save The Children mentioned ?

II) Vocabulary- Match the words in « A » with their synonyms in « B ».

A B
1. scrubbing a) dirty
2. chores b) serious problem
3. contaminated c) advantages
4. plight d) washing
5. sponsors e) people who provide money
6. rewards f) household tasks
III) Cloze passage- Fill in each gap with one word so that the text makes sense.

A charity is a voluntary organization____________ is set up in order to do good. Charities

aim not only to help and support people but also animals, the environment, etc. In size they
range from____________, local organizations which provide support on a local basis to large,
international organizations who have salaried professionals working____________ them as
well as a global network of volunteers. Such organizations provide support on an international
basis and deal____________ global problems.

IV) Grammar – Rewrite the following questions using reported speech.

1.a) "How much are they?" I asked the shopkeeper.
b) I asked the shopkeeper____________________________________
2. a) "Do you like swimming?" he asked her
b) He asked her ____________________________________________

V) Pronunciation – Cirle the silent letters in the following words

castle doubt knob autumn

VI) Writing – Write an interview

Imagine your are a journalist.You want to interview Maria Pastora to inform your readers about
her difficult life.Ask her questions about her social background,present situation,events in her
recent life,her future,etc…Use ideas from the text.
Exercise 1 : Complete this table of opposites.

Big towns and cities Village life and the countryside

…………………………………………………… quiet and peaceful
…………………………………………………… clean air
exciting …………………………………………………
stressful …………………………………………………
……………………………………………………. lots of open spaces
……………………………………………………. nothing to do in the evening
dangerous …………………………………………………

Exercise 2 :Organise the words in the box into three groups :things you usually find in
towns (in your country),things you usually find in the country,and things you often
find in both town and country.

fields factories car parks libraries tractors

suburbs villages traffic woods footpaths
pollution valleys night life shopping centres museum

Town Country Town and country

Exercise 2 :Complete the sentences using the correct form of the word on the right.
1. Some people feel that towns are too…………………..for them to live in. noise
2. Generally,the country side is less…………………………….than towns pollute
3. Living in cities can be very……………………………………..for some people. stress
4. The countryside is much less…………………………………..towns. crowd
5. Some people enjoy the countryside more because it’s…………………….. peace
6. I always feel…………………………in town than in the countryside. safe
7. However,life in towns is certainly more…………………………… excite
8. Some people believe it is more …………………………………to live in town. danger

Exercise 3 : Match the sentence halves.

1. There are only a) much better than in the countryside
2. There is a wide range b) very little to do in the countryside.
 3. At night there is c) a few shops in the countryside.
4. There are plenty of d) of shops in town.
5. There is a lot of e) things to do in town.
6. The countryside has f) pollution in town.
7. Living in town can be g) lots of open space.
8. The nightlife in the city is h) stressful and dangerous

6 Read the postcard and correct the sentences.

Dear Andrea,
I’m in London. I’m on holiday with my friend Juan. London is a very beautiful city
and the buildings are very old. London is very expensive but we like it. Our hotel is small
and cheap but the breakfast is very good! The Italian and Indian food is fantastic and it’s
cheap, too.The weather is very cold but it’s hot in the museums and galleries!
See you soon
Love,
Piero

1 London is very cheap.

London is very expensive.
2 The buildings are new.
3 The hotel is expensive.
4 The hotel is big.
5 The Italian food is expensive.
6 The museums are cold.

2.Do these words mean the same or not? Write same or opposite.
1 old new __o_p_p_o_si_te
2 marvellous wonderful ____________
3 generous mean ____________
4 brilliant stupid ____________
5 messy untidy ____________
6 polluted clean ____________
7 rude polite ____________
8 unhappy sad ____________
9 wealthy rich ____________
10 awful nice ____________
11 modern new ____________

2
Living in the city
Advantages: lots to do; fantastic shops; easy to meet friends
Disadvantages: expensive; polluted; crowded; expensive public transport;
crime

Living in the country

Advantages: beautiful countryside; quiet; friendly; not much crime
Disadvantages: not many facilities; not many buses; isolated/lonely; difficult
to see friends