Test 8 (time: 50 minutes) 80 marks

Reading

Read the text. Then do Exercise A.

According to18^th century laws in Britain, families who did not have money were put into prisons or workhouses, and children were separated from their families and put into orphanages. Factory owners were paid money by the orphanage directors to take children and give them jobs. The children were forced to sign an agreement to work for the factory owner until they were 21 years of age. In return, the factory owner agreed to give them a place to live, to teach them how to do a job, and to pay them for their work.

The children lived together in overcrowded houses, were given small quantities of poor- quality food, and paid very little. Boys and girls started work at the age of 5 and worked 12- to 16-hour days under horrible conditions. Many worked in textile mills (factories where fabrics such as cotton and wool were made), while others worked in iron and coal mines, gas works, shipyards, doing construction work and chimney-sweeping. Most died before the age of 25.

In textile factories, young children had to do very dangerous jobs. Some, called scavengers, had to crawl around under the huge machines while they were working to pick up any pieces of cotton which may have fallen. Another group, called piecers, had to climb around on top of the machinery and bend down to tie together any threads which had broken. Many children had terrible accidents or were even killed. Accidents were particularly common in the morning, since children were often tired from the previous day’s hard work and hadn’t woken up properly.

Factories were badly lit and did not have any fresh air, so the air was always filled with dust and small pieces of cotton. In addition, the steam-powered machines created a constant temperature of about 30 degrees, which made it difficult for children to breathe and caused medical problems such as asthma and bronchitis. To make things worse, if someone was injured or became ill, they were not paid for any medical treatment or given any money to support themselves.

Children’s lives were very hard and cruel. If they were late for work, they would be punished and money would be taken from their pay. If they didn’t work fast enough, they were beaten with leather belts. If they were tired, they were turned upside down and their heads were dipped into a bucket of cold water. If they talked to other children, they were punished or beaten. If they ran away, they were put in prison. To prevent them from running away, they would be chained up like criminals.

One of the leading 19^th century critics of the system was the author Charles Dickens, who had personally experienced the hard life of a poor child when his father lost all the family’s money and they were sent to prison. At the age of 12, Dickens was sent to work putting labels on jars of boot polish in a factory. He earned very little money, but had to pay for his own accommodation, plus help support his family who were in prison. Dickens later brought the public’s attention to the problem of poor children through his books, including David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol and Bleak House.

A Answer the questions with a word or short phrase. [10 points]

0 What did children agree to when they were ‘bought’ by a factory owner?

to work for him until they were 21

1 At what time of day did most accidents in textile mills happen?

__________________________________________

2 Why did children who worked in factories often become ill?

__________________________________________

3 What happened to children who couldn’t work because they were ill or injured?

__________________________________________

4 For what two ‘crimes’ would children be beaten?

__________________________________________

5 Why did Dickens write David Copperfield?

__________________________________________

Vocabulary

B Complete with these words. [5 points]

accepted, admitted, contained, discovered, included, invented

0 My dad accepted the job because it didn’t involve a lot of travelling.

1 A free T-shirt of the group is _________ in the entrance fee.

2 Alexander Graham Bell _________ the telephone.

3 The fruit juice _________ so much sugar that it was unhealthy.

4 America was first _________ by the Vikings.

5 The shop assistant _________ that he had stolen a mobile phone.

C Choose the correct answer. [5 points]

0 At work, we make / take it in turns to answer the phone.

1 Ever since the new computer programmer / program started work, we haven’t had any problems.

2 My mum just got a job at the new hospital as a housewife / midwife.

3 Flight attendants / assistants are lucky – they travel all over the world.

4 I think working part-time as a shop assistant has been a worthwhile / worldwide experience.

5 That waiter is so pleasant – I’m going to give him a big tip / money.

D Choose the correct answer. [5 points]

I was looking for a 0) ____  job after school so I could make some pocket money. I thought it would be easy for me to find a job where I would be 1) ____ paid. The first job I applied for required a lot of 2) ____ work and they wouldn’t hire me because I wasn’t strong enough. Then I was interviewed for a job as a shop 3) ____ , but they wanted someone with experience. Wherever I went, I just didn’t seem to have the right skills or qualifications. However, I 4) ____ to give up, and I finally found a job as a supermarket  5) ____ .

0 a full-time  b part-time  c half-time

1 a good  b well  c much

2 a manual  b over  c paper

3 a attendant  b servant  c assistant

4 a retired  b denied  c refused

5 a waiter  b employee  c employer

E Choose the correct answer. [5 points]

0 A lot of teenagers ____ at cafés.

a hang out  b get away  c run out  d get down

1 We had just decided to leave without Frank when he ____ up.

a made  b turned  c came  d got

2 While we were at the outdoor market, we came ____ a beautiful antique clock.

a across  b up  c through  d out

3 Could you buy some sugar, please? We’ve just ____ out.

a hung  b got  c run  d turned

4 This team is ____ of players from many different countries.

a made up  b got up  c turned up  d came up

5 That song is very sad – it always gets me ____ .

a out  b away  c up  d down

F Complete with the correct form of the word in brackets. [10 points]

0 My aunt is a lecturer at Harvard University. (lecture)

1 The _________ of the telephone was a great technological advance. (invent)

2 The movie star got a lot of bad _________ when he was arrested for dangerous driving. (public)

3 An _________  is responsible for making sure there are no mistakes in a book. (edit)

4 That gym charges a _________ fee of €200 a month. (member)

5 The boss’ rude behaviour created a lot of _________ in the office. (tense)

6 What was your dad’s _________ when you were chosen for the Olympic swimming team? (react)

7 The _________ passed a new law to improve the education system. (govern)

8 I want to be a _________  for a well-known newspaper. (journal)

9 The thief _________ admitted that he had robbed the bank. (open)

10 My brother has an _________ with playing computer games – he doesn’t do anything else. (obsess)

Grammar

G Complete with so or so (that). [5 points]

0 It was too far to walk, so we took the bus.

1 I love basketball and _________ does my mum.

2 My sister is working part-time _________ she can buy a new laptop computer.

3 I think my employer is very fair and _________ do the other employees.

4 I was late for school, _________ my dad gave me a lift there.

5 Brian exercised regularly _________ he could join the school football team.

H Circle the correct answer. [5 points]

0 Your report must be / can be handed in on time or the teacher won’t accept it.

1 The chicken must be / can be fried or grilled – it doesn’t really matter.

2 The rules must be / can be followed or you’ll be disqualified.

3 Basketball might be / can be played on an indoor or outdoor court.

4 Safety helmets should be / might be worn by bike riders, but many of them don’t wear them.

5 In my opinion, hooligans should be / can be made to pay for the damage they do.

I Rewrite these sentences and questions in the passive. [10 points]

0 Employers should give pay rises to employees.

Employees should be given pay rises (by employers).

1 Someone broke the window in our classroom.

__________________________________________

2 Who played Harry Potter in the films?

__________________________________________

3 Mr Jones repaired our car.

__________________________________________

4 The national football team is going to visit the children’s hospital.

__________________________________________

5 Did anyone witness the robbery?

__________________________________________

Writing

J Read the results of a survey on teen employment below. Then write a report (120-150 words) on teen employment. Use the notes and/or your own ideas. [20 points]

Teentime Magazine: Survey on teen employment

Divide your report into sections with headings:

• Introduction (What is the purpose of the report?)
• Teenagers’ Part-time Jobs (What kinds of jobs do teens do?)
• Job Preferences (What kinds of jobs do girls enjoy, and what kinds do boys enjoy?)
• Working Hours and Pay (When / How long do teens usually work? What is their pay?)
• Conclusion (Summarise and give your opinion about whether it is worthwhile for teens to work part-time or not.)