Test 6 (time: 50 minutes) 80 marks

 

Reading

 

Read the text. Then do Exercises A and B.

What happens when human beings are left all alone in a remote place far from everyone and everywhere else? What do they do? Do they behave in logical, polite ways, or does the ‘animal’ in them take over?

 

In 1954, British scientist William Golding wrote a novel, Lord of the Flies, to explore this topic. In his story, a group of English school boys of various ages are travelling somewhere in an aeroplane. There is a war going on at the time and the boys’ plane is shot down and crashes onto a desert island. The boys find themselves scattered around the island, not knowing where they are or how many have survived. Two of the boys emerge as natural leaders: Ralph, the oldest of the boys and a person with a good sense of logic and justice, and Jack, a violent, cruel person who attracts followers by offering them a chance to have power over the other boys. Another boy, called Piggy, was not popular back at school, but is the most intelligent boy on the island.

 

At first the boys work together to survive.  They accept Ralph as their leader and start a kind of peaceful society. Very soon, though, disagreements and a fight for power begin. Most of the boys join the cruel Jack, and Ralph becomes the enemy. In the end, the boys are rescued by a ship. They now have to go back to their everyday lives and face the world. But everything will be different for them because of the changes they went through while they were on the island. They will have to deal with the ugly parts of their characters which have come out. Only Ralph remained true to his sense of justice, fairness and goodness. But even he was changed by his experience on the island.

 

Recently, a similar idea has been the basis for some popular TV reality shows, such as Survivor. In Survivor, teams of people are put on a desert island with no food, tools or supplies except for the natural resources they find there. Contestants have to do certain tasks successfully in order to stay in the game. Each week, players vote for the person they want to be disqualified from the game. The person left at the end of the game is the winner.

 

Throughout the game, players try to win friends and try to avoid being voted out. Some flatter others, tell lies, try to turn one player against another, and even pretend to like other players, all just to be popular. As in Golding’s novel, many unpleasant characteristics of some player’s personalities come out during the game.

 

So, it seems that there is an ‘animal’ inside all of us. But whether we let it run wild or whether we ‘domesticate’ it is up to us.

 

A Write true (T), false (F) or not stated (NS) if the answer isn’t in the text. [5 points]

0 Humans behave worse than animals. NS

1 Lord of the Flies is a report of something that really happened. ____

2 The boys in Lord of the Flies are different ages. ____

3 All the characters in Golding’s novel behave like animals. ____

4 Contestants on Survivor know each other before they take part in the show. ____

5 People can control the worst parts of their character if they want to. ____

 

B Choose the correct answer. [5 points]

0 When the boys’ plane crashed on the island, they

a were on their way to school.

b didn’t know how many had survived.

c started fighting.

 

1 What does the phrase in bold in the second paragraph mean?

a fight to become the leaders of the group

b are seen as leaders by the group 

c want to be the leaders of the group

 

2 At first, what happens to the boys?

a They fight with Ralph.

b They fight with Jack.

c They work together.

 

3 Why will the boys be different when they return to their homes?

a They will have changed a lot, in a negative way.

b They will be hungry and tired.

c They will miss their life on the island.

 

4 What must players on Survivor do?

a find essentials like food and water

b make teams

c try to be unpleasant

 

5 According to the text, during the Survivor reality show players are often

a easy-going.

b dishonest.

c impatient.

 

 

Vocabulary

 

C Complete with these words. [6 points]

cheer me up, get on with, knocked him out, let me down, look after, put up with, told off

 

0 The boxer’s opponent knocked him out. He was on the ground for a minute.

1 I always ___________ Jane’s dog when she’s away.

2 Mum ___________ my brother for lying.

3 Jack ___________ when he insulted me. I thought he was a good friend.

4 Mindy called to ___________ . She knew I was in a bad mood.

5 I can’t ___________ people who gossip. They’re awful!

6 We ___________ our cousins very well. We’re like best friends.

 

D Choose the correct answer. [6 points]

0 She’s very ____ and always wants to win.

a secretive  b imaginative  c competitive

1 Jack never helps his parents – he’s very ____ .

a lazy  b wise  c nosy

2 I don’t trust her at all because she’s very ____ .

a charming  b cunning  c cheerful

3 Joe is very ____ , so he’ll never let you down.

a sociable  b critical  c reliable          

4 Don’t tell her your problems because she’s ____ and won’t understand.

a unsympathetic  b enthusiastic  c generous

5 Mark is very ____ , so I’m sure he’ll succeed.

a devoted  b determined  c jealous

6 Karen always makes me laugh because she’s so ____ .

a witty  b insecure  c faithful

 

E Complete with the correct form of the word in brackets. [7 points]

0 Cats don’t mind staying alone – they are more independent than dogs. (depend)

1 Bob is such a pleasant person – he’s _________ of getting angry. (capable)

2 Everyone loves our teacher because she is never _________ and explains things we don’t understand. (patient)

3 I wanted to enter my dog in a competition, but he was too _________ – he wouldn’t behave properly. (obedient)

4 My mum is very _________ of people who are dishonest. (tolerant)

5 It’s _________ not to love a cute little puppy! (possible)

6 Your pet is _________ to run away if you treat it well. (likely)

7 She’s very _________ – no one likes her. (popular)

 

F Choose the correct answer. [6 points]

0 Male / Female birds lay eggs.

1 Regina is very easy-going – she rarely loses / gets her temper.

2 I don’t want to swear / argue with you.

3 Joe was so angry that he smashed up / knocked out all the plates!

4 The dodo is nocturnal / extinct.

5 We found a stray / wild puppy in the park and took him home.

6 Please stop yelling / hitting at me – everyone will hear you.

 

G Complete with these words. [5 points]

big-headed, easy-going, good-natured, quick-tempered, self-confident, well-mannered

 

0 Everyone likes good-natured people. They’re always friendly and smiley.

1 Don’t make her angry because she’s very _________ .

2 Ralph really believes in himself; he’s very _________ .

3 Sarah is really _________ – she thinks she’s the best at everything.

4 It’s important to be _________ and always say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’.

5 Try to be more _________ . You’ll do better if you’re relaxed and patient.

 

Grammar

 

H Complete each second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word in brackets. [10 points]

0 I don’t think kittens are as cute as puppies. (than)

I think puppies are cuter than kittens.

1 Giraffes are taller than elephants. (as)

Elephants ____________________ giraffes.

2 Chimpanzees are smarter than other animals. (the)

Chimpanzees ____________________ in the world.

3 Tigers aren’t as fast as pumas. (than)

Pumas ____________________ tigers.

4 No other species is as dangerous as human beings. (most)

Human beings ____________________ of all.

5 Dogs are more intelligent than fish. (less)

Fish ____________________ dogs.

 

I Choose the correct answer. [5 points]

0 I’ve never seen so / such a beautiful baby!

1 Bob is so / such quick-tempered that no one likes him.

2 Jane is so / such a good friend – she never lets me down.

3 This is too many / too much cake for me!

4 Jim didn’t study hard enough / enough hard to pass the test.

5 This exercise is too / enough difficult.

 

J Complete with these words. [5 points]

much, a little, a lot, any, many, some

 

0 There was so much traffic that I got to work late.

1 Would you like _________ rice?

2 Do you know how _________ people will be at the party?

3 I’ve only got _________ time left to finish the test – I’d better hurry!

4 The gym has _________ of good equipment.

5 I don’t have _________ information about the accident.

 

Writing

 

K Is it a good thing to keep animals in zoos? Write a composition (120-150 words) discussing the topic. [20 points]

 

Remember to have four paragraphs:

• Introduction: State the topic.

• Paragraph 1: Give one or two reasons why it is good to keep animals in zoos. Be sure to give examples to support your ideas.
• Paragraph 2: Give one or two reasons why it is not good to keep animals in zoos. Be sure to give examples to support your ideas.
• Conclusion: Is it a good idea or not? Are both opinions right?

Try to use words and expressions for listing ideas (eg First, In addition, etc) and for contrasting ideas (eg Although, However, etc).