Unit 8 Test | Group B

Name: _____________________ Class: ____

LISTENING
1 Track 08 Listen to an interview with a young entrepreneur and complete the summary with up to five
words in each gap.
Kyle Maroney has developed a successful business in selling skiing related equipment and clothing. His interest
in designing ski equipment started when his family 1 ___________________________ Swiss Alps at an early
age. Both his parents encouraged him in his business venture. His father had also started his own business
as a young man, 2 ___________________________ his mother at the time, but now Kyle was grateful for his
advice. Among Kyle’s initial concerns, trying 3 ___________________________ his shop was not as worrying as
paying back his bank loan. And when it came to 4 ___________________________, he received help from his
mother, herself a graphic designer. Kyle thinks that prospective entrepreneurs should take on the challenge but
should try to acquire 5 ___________________________ which can help them when they become successful.
___ / 5

VOCABULARY
2 Complete the sentences with the correct words, using the clues in brackets. The first letters are given.
1 He swallowed a huge chunk of cheese and nearly c_________________ on it. (blocked his airway)
2 There was a torrential downpour and we got d_________________. (completely wet)
3 He tried to use his pass to access the building, but it was i_________________. (not acceptable)
4 I don’t want to a_________________ anyone, but I’m very unhappy with the communication
we’ve had over the project. (make angry)
___ / 4

3 Complete the idioms and phrases in the sentences with the correct words.
1 Let’s go for the cheaper trip – it will still be fun and we won’t be out of ____________.
2 We’ll have to put this project on ____________ until we get more funding.
3 I can ____________ away hours playing video games!
4 I get a phone call from my cousin once in a ____________ moon.
5 These invoices are long ____________ – we must pay them today.
___ / 5

GRAMMAR
4 Rewrite as reported speech using the words in capitals.
1 ‘What’s the time?’ Marty said. WANTED
Marty ____________________________________________________________.
2 ‘The decision is up to me.’ The manager said. INSISTED
The manager ____________________________________________________________.
3 ‘What has happened to the report I asked for?’ Tim said. WONDERING
Tim ____________________________________________________________.
4 ‘I wish that I hadn’t sent in that complaint,’ Harvey said. REGRET
Harvey ____________________________________________________________ that complaint.
___ / 4

5 Complete the dialogue with the correct question tags or reply questions.
X: You really ought to volunteer to help at the charity event this weekend.
Y: 1 ____________? We pay taxes to help people in need, 2 ____________?
X: You’re not approaching this in the right way.
Y: 3 ____________? How should I approach this then?
X: We might all need some extra help in the future, 4 ____________? And what the government contributes
isn’t nearly enough to help all the people in need.
___ / 4

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USE OF ENGLISH
6 Complete the second sentence with up to five words so that it means the same as the first one.
Use the word in capitals.
1 ‘I’ve a feeling that this won’t work,’ Grant said. WHETHER
Grant _____________________________________________________ work.
2 ‘Don’t copy essays from the Internet because we run checks,’ the teacher said to us. NOT
The teacher _____________________________________________________ essays from the Internet
because they run checks.
3 Henry finally had no choice and asked his father for some money. ASKING
Henry finally _____________________________________________________ his father for money.
4 ‘The bank won’t extend your loan, Mr Turner,’ the man said. TO
The bank _____________________________________________________ Mr Turner’s loan.
5 They’ve had to delay the construction of the new block. PUT
The construction of the new block _____________________________________________________ hold.
___ / 5

READING
7 Read the article and choose the correct options.
Does poverty lead to creativity in the arts?
We’ve become used to the idea that good artists have to be starving, that writers only need a desk in an empty
room. But does this mean that creative people are more creative because they’re poor? Certainly, there are
many cases of creative people who lived on a low income and made great art. Perhaps the world was not ready
for their art, so they struggled on in obscurity until their works became worth a fortune. Perhaps they were
so dedicated to creating that nothing else mattered. However, the question in my title seeks to establish
whether there is a direct causal link between poverty and creativity, and I’ve come to the conclusion that
in most cases, there isn’t. Let’s begin by dispelling a couple of myths.
For many of us, Vincent van Gogh was a classic example of the struggling artist. However, we know he wrote
regular letters to his wealthy brother, Theo, asking him to send materials so that he could keep painting. In fact,
the artist was sent a generous monthly allowance by his brother for long periods of his life. Despite this, van
Gogh’s expenses were great because of the cost of materials, so it appears that he chose to use what money he
had to pay for paint, brushes and canvases rather than food. As is the case with many living artists, his work
was not commercially successful, and he sold very few paintings during his lifetime. So, having dedicated his life
to painting, he was absorbed into that world, appears to have been relatively uninterested in much outside
painting, and created some of the most famous works of art in history.
While he was in Paris, the writer Ernest Hemingway was barely getting by and would save money by going
without haircuts. He later described his time there as including periods where he was almost literally starving
and would choose his route through the city to avoid smelling the food that was being served outside cafés.
We know that his first apartment was bare and that he gave up his journalism work – and therefore his income
– for a while in order to concentrate on his writing. His first novel, The Sun Also Rises, was a commercial
success, so it is easy to draw the conclusion that it was helped by his being poor. Unlike van Gogh, Hemingway
continued to enjoy success, winning both the Nobel Prize and the Pulitzer Prize and owning two houses
for most of his life. When he died in 1961, he left over a million dollars.
For creative people like the two figures discussed above, it seems that periods of poverty didn’t hold them
back. However, the picture is not as straightforward as we like to imagine. Both van Gogh and Hemingway were
extreme characters. Both were driven, albeit in different ways, to lead lives which were not typical of their
time. Both suffered from mental health issues and both were clearly very talented pioneers in their field. It
would therefore be an oversimplification to say that poverty alone led to their creativity. For people without
the talent and characteristics of van Gogh or Hemingway, poverty might well shape their art and make them
creative, but the misery of hunger, running up debts they can’t repay and practically having to resort to begging
money off others in order to survive are just as likely to destroy any creative inclination as they are to fuel it.
1 How does the writer react to the title question in the first paragraph?

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 A He believes that it is impossible to answer.
B He asserts that the link between poverty and creativity is strong.
C He accepts that it is a general assumption by many people.
D He posits possible reasons for poor artists being very creative.
2 According to the writer, Vincent van Gogh
A spent less money on living than on materials for painting.
B enjoyed a good social life, which inspired him.
C unexpectedly achieved a measure of success during his lifetime.
D relied on no one for financial support.
3 The writer uses the phrase ‘almost literally starving’
A to give a romantic view of Hemingway’s living conditions.
B to imply Hemingway exaggerated his hunger for literary effect.
C to show how serious his lack of income was.
D to exemplify how Hemingway chose to live.
4 Van Gogh and Hemingway differed in that
A they had different attitudes to being poor.
B they achieved different levels of success while alive.
C one suffered from worse health than the other.
D being poor benefitted the creativity of one more than the other.
5 The writer concludes that
A being poor can do harm as well as good to the creative process.
B having exceptional artistic ability does not ensure success.
C living in poor conditions can affect artistic productivity.
D attempting to be creative without talent is likely to fail.
___ / 5

SPEAKING
8 Complete the text with phrases A–E.
This is one of my favourite pictures in the gallery, as is the one over here. They both 1 ___ in that they both
capture cloud formations beautifully. I 2 ___ the same artist painted them both, although they are anonymous,
and we can’t be sure. From 3 ___, I would say that they were painted in the same spot at different times
of the year. 4 ___? Perhaps they are by different artists entirely. And 5 ___ being exhibited alongside each
other, well that’s down to the ‘cloud’ topic, nothing else.
A but who knows
B get the impression that
C have a lot in common
D regarding the reason for them
E what we can see
___ / 5

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WRITING
9 Wiele osób uważa, że lepiej jest dłużej pracować w tej samej firmie niż często zmieniać pracę. Napisz
rozprawkę, w której przedstawisz swoją opinię na ten temat, uwzględniając argumenty odnoszące się do:
– bezpieczeństwa i stabilności zatrudnienia,
– ścieżki kariery.
Twoja wypowiedź powinna zawierać od 200 do 250 słów.

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___ / 13

TOTAL SCORE: ___ / 50

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