Test 7 (time: 50 minutes) 80 marks

Reading

Read the text. Then do Exercises A and B.

St Petersburg, located in north-western Russia at the spot where the River Neva flows into the Gulf of Finland at the east end of the Baltic Sea, was founded by Tsar Peter the Great in 1703. 0) a

The city, which was the capital of the Russian empire for more than 200 years, is the second largest city in Russia and the fourth largest city in Europe. 1) ____  It is known as the ‘Venice of the North’ because of the architecture and style of its magnificent palaces and buildings, its many canals and bridges, its beautiful gardens and parks, and its impressive monuments.

The first structure in the city was a fortress built on a small island in the Neva to protect the city from enemy attacks. The city quickly grew. 2) ____  In order to make sure that builders and stonemasons would come to help build St Petersburg, Tsar Peter made a law that no stone buildings could be constructed in any other Russian city.

St Petersburg has been called the ‘City of Palaces’ because of the large number of superb palaces the tsars and other members of the aristocracy built there. Many of the palaces have survived, although some are now used for other purposes. The most famous of all is the Winter Palace, built between 1754-62. 3) ____  The Hermitage has about three million items in its collection, making it the world’s largest art collection. Artefacts date from the Stone Age to the modern era.

In addition to the palaces and museums, the city also has a large number of other historic buildings one can visit. There are a large number of churches in a variety of sizes and architectural styles. 4) ____  There is also the St Petersburg Mosque, which, when it was opened in 1913, was the largest mosque in Europe.

The city is also home to the world’s largest surviving 18^th century indoor shopping centre, the Merchants’ Court. 5) ____  Another historic indoor shopping centre is the Passage, which opened in 1848. It originally sold luxury items and was also a cultural and social centre – it had a concert hall, a theatre, coffee-houses, sweet shops, museums and even a small zoo. Today its shops feature women’s clothing and accessories.

A Match sentences a-f with the gaps in the text. [5 points]

a Peter made the city the new capital of Russia and was determined to make it as beautiful as any of the famous European capitals. 

b One of the most important is the Kazan Cathedral, which was modelled after St Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

c It is twice as big as New York City and 13 times bigger than Paris.

d The structure is about a kilometre long and has about 100 shops.

e Most of the work was difficult, and many workers died while the city was being built.

f This exquisite palace, with its remarkable architecture and luxurious decoration, now forms part of the Hermitage Museum.

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

0 St Petersburg is still the capital of Russia today. F

1 St Petersburg has many similarities with Venice. ____

2 Construction of the city was safe and easy. ____

3 It’s not possible to see everything in the Hermitage in one day. ____

4 Most people who live in St Petersburg go to church. ____

5 People don’t shop in the Passage anymore. ____

Vocabulary

C Choose the correct answer. [5 points]

0 Venice was so fantastic that it took my breath ____ .

a up  b in  c round  d away

1 That building can’t be safe – it was ____ up very quickly.

a brought  b put  c taken  d built

2 Bob said he would ____ round at about 7 o’clock.

a be  b go  c come  d visit

3 We ____ new kitchen cupboards in last week.

a built  b took  c brought  d put

4 Can you put me ____ at your summer house for a week?

a in  b out  c away  d up

5 My father was ____ up in Munich.

a brought  b came  c grown  d taken

D Choose the correct answer. [10 points]

0 There are some beautiful ____ statues in the museum.

a concrete  b brick  c marble

1 The ancient Chinese had a very ____ civilisation.

a advanced  b crowded  c sacred

2 The Eiffel Tower in Paris is a huge tourist ____ .

a fiction  b attraction  c admiration

3 The ancient city of Troy was ____ by a wall.

a surrounded  b abandoned  c symbolised

4 Only people under the age of 18 are ____ for the competition.    

a incredible   b unforgettable  c eligible

5 I live in a ____ with a garden on all four sides.

a terraced house  b detached house  c semi-detached house

6 We bought an old house in a village and we are ____ it.

a defending  b vanishing  c restoring

7 I’d like to work as a civil ____ one day.

a engineer  b architect  c archaeologist

8 We had ____ weather last night. There was lots of rain.

a misty   b stormy  c dry

9 Thousands of years ago, ____ societies hunted for their food.

a impressive  b attractive  c primitive

10 We’ve got a ____ with frogs in our garden.

a bay  b gulf  c pond  

E Circle the correct answer. [5 points]

0 A tour guide took us to see all the important constructions / sights in the city.

1 Which region / religion of the country is the wettest?

2 The Acropolis is Greece’s most famous archaeological monument / site.

3 I applied for my visa / souvenir a month ago and still haven’t got it.

4 I’ve studied temperature / literature and have read many different books.

5 Patience and kindness are values / virtues.

F Complete with these words. [10 points]

bright, canyon, forest, found, got, mountains, roughly, scorching, spectacular, volcano, waterfall

The first day of our trip was 0) bright  and sunny. We crossed some high 1) _________ – the peaks were covered in snow, even though it was summer. The view from there was 2) _________ .Then we drove through an endless 3) _________ of redwood trees and camped for the night beside an unusual lake. The water was warm because it is actually part of an underground 4) _________ . The next day we started our long trip down to the bottom of the 5) _________ . At first it was like walking through a desert – it was 6) _________ and there weren’t many trees or plants. It took us 7) _________ six hours to reach the bottom, but it was worth it – a 8) _________ poured water down into the canyon from high above, and we got ready to go whitewater rafting on the river below. I 9) _________ the whole trip very exciting, and I never 10) _________ bored once.

Grammar

G Put these sentences and questions into reported speech. [10 points]

0 ‘Please don’t tell Mum I lost her earrings,’ my sister begged.

My sister begged me not to tell Mum she’d lost her earrings.

1 ‘Where were you yesterday?’ asked the detective.

The detective asked the suspect ____________________ .

2 ‘I’m going to the Louvre tomorrow,’ Mindy said.

Mindy said that she ____________________ .

3 ‘I didn’t take your new CD,’ my brother answered.

My brother denied ____________________ .

4 ‘Have you seen my earrings?,’ asked Mum.

Mum asked me ____________________ .

5 ‘Why were you late for class today?’ the teacher asked Jack.

The teacher wanted to know ____________________ .

H Read the e-mail that Christina sent to Natasha and report what she said. [10 points]

Hi, Natasha!

I’m stuck in Zurich because it’s snowing. I hope this storm doesn’t last for long. We have to be in Rome at 8 o’clock or we’ll miss our flight home. Yesterday the weather was great and we took a boat trip on the river. Will you be at the airport to meet me? I can’t wait to see you!

Love, Christina

0 Christina said that she was stuck in Zurich because it was snowing .

1 She said that _____________________________________________ .

2 She said that _____________________________________________ .

3 She told Natasha that ______________________________________ .

4 She asked _______________________________________________ .

5 She said that _____________________________________________ .

Writing

I Write an information leaflet (120-150 words) describing one of the most important archaeological sites or historical monuments in your country. [20 points]

Include information about:

• where it is located

• why it is famous
• what you can see or do there
• what time of year is best to visit it
• other information you think is important/useful