TESTS ANSWER KEY

UNIT 1

1

1    do       3              has           5              was          7           Did 2    Is         4              didn’t       6              hasn’t      8           were 2
1    fell 2    had forgotten 3    hadn’t filled 3	4    broke 5    had been 6    were performing
1    was standing 2    opened 3    had given 4    were 5    reached 6    looked 4	7       was missing 8       had … gone 9       Had … dropped 10    turned 11    saw 12    was holding
1    a twin 2    Germany 3    travelling 5	4    a warehouse       7              French 5    separated            8              an engineer 6    Law
1          c   2      b 6	3          a   4          c    5          a      6 b
1    question 2    growing 3    allow 4    basic	5    interest 9              Opportunities 6    terms  10            time 7    evidence 8    research

UNIT 2

1

1    –         3              as 2    like      4              – 2	5    like      7              like 6    –         8              as
1    are meeting 2    don’t agree 3    usually go 4    do you need 3	5    are staying 6    fly 7    doesn’t believe 8    do you play
1    am writing 2    are driving 3    go 4    usually stay 5    are only staying	6       need 7       has 8       is waving 9       don’t know 10    are still enjoying

4

       1       d   2        e   3        f    4        g    5        a    6       b   7              c

5

1    with 2    by 3    with 6	4    about             7       about 5    about 6    in
1    depressing 2    disappointed 3    shocking 4    bored 5    confusing	6       annoying 7       shocked 8       exhausting 9       disappointing 10    pleased

1

1              thinking   3              won’t       5              meeting   7              of             2              have        4              going       6              might       8 to

2

1    Peter and I are thinking of watching a film later.

2    How is she going to explain this to Cathy?

3    What time do I have to get there?

4    We’ll probably see you later.

3

1    haven’t visited 2    went 3    haven’t seen 4    spent 5    poured 4	6       didn’t have 7       have bought 8       have ever heard 9       have decided 10    have dreamt
1    market 3              park 2    gallery 4              stalls 5	5     life
1    mosque               3           palace 2    gallery 4              lake	5    castle  7              ruins 6    market

6

       1        c   2        e   3        g    4        a   5        f    6       d   7              b

7

       1       b   2        d   3        e   4        c   5            a

1

1    used    3              get           5              that         7              quite

2    lot       4              hardly      6              like          8              all

2

1    has been staying, for

2    hasn’t been waiting, for

3    since, have been learning

4    have … been studying, since

5    have been sitting, for 3

1    have you had

2    did Dan spend

3    have you been warming

4    Has Shelley known

5    have you been supporting

6    Have you seen

7    did your grandfather live

8    Has Karen been playing

4

1          a   2      b 5	3          c   4      b	5          b   6 a
1          c   2      a 6	3          d   4      f	5          e   6 b
1    unfit 2    stiff 7	3    injury            3   recover	5    in 6    injured
1    catchy 2    depressing	3    bland 4    heavy	5    sentimental 6    uplifting

1

1    must, can’t 2    can’t, must 2	3    must, must          5              must, must 4    must, can’t
1    have to 2    aren’t allowed 3    can	4    allowed 5    can’t 6    supposed

3

1    We’re supposed to request  a day off in writing, but no one ever does.

2    You aren’t allowed to leave before five.

3    What types of food are we allowed to eat on this diet?

4    Trainees are supposed to complete and return the forms.

5    Employees are allowed to wear casual clothes on Fridays.

4

1    varied 2    well-paid 3    competitive 4    rewarding 5	5    stressful 6    demanding 7    dull 8    creative
1          b   2      c 6	3          a   4          e   5     d
1          c   2      b	3          c    4          b   5     a	6      c
7

1    I’ll never get used to living so far from home.

2    These days, I am used to getting up early.

3    Paul’s already (got) used to his new job.

4    It’s alright for Sue – she’s used to these long hours.

5    I’m slowly getting used to working here.

1

1    as        3              much       5              almost     7              bit

2    of        4              than         6              more       8              the

2

1    My new car cost almost twice as much as my old one.

2    I guess it’s a lot more difficult to use than other sites.

3    You’ll get slightly better reception with this than you would with the other one.

4    These are about three times the price of the older models.

5    You can store far more data than was once the case.

6    Some of the other headsets are a tiny bit more expensive than these.

7    Simon’s car is quite a lot more complicated to drive than Harry’s.

8    At almost twice the average price, it is the most expensive gadget on the market. 3

1                             I bought a lovely old watch with a chain in an antique shop.        2                             I’ve got two huge handmade vases in the loft upstairs.

3    I’ve hidden my girlfriend’s pink leather handbag under my bed.

4    At work, we have to wear a tasteless old-fashioned shirt with a pattern on Fridays.

5    I hung the ancient green mask made of wood on the wall in my bedroom.

4

1    a          3              b              5              c              7              a

2    c          4              a              6              b              8              c

1    b         3              g              5              a              7           d              9              f 2    i          4              h              6              j               8           c              10            e
6 1    magnet 2    wool 3    mask 4    wood 5    scarf 6    pot UNIT 7 1
1    have eaten          3           get 2    have cleaned       4           gets 2	5    reach 6    comes
1          b    2          d   3     f 3	4          c   5          e   6 a
1    will explode, don’t defuse 2    will / ’ll provide, don’t have 3    is, will / ’ll find 4    calls, ’ll let 4	5    will come, invite 6    won’t get, don’t finish 7    changes, ’ll go
1    I’m struggling 2    I’m keen 3    It’s demanding 4    It’s assessed 5	5    It‘s practical 6    It’s relevant 7    It’s encouraging
1    fees 2    reputation 3    requirements 4    problems 6	5    programme 6    school 7    facilities
1    expectations 2    improvement 3    analysis 4    knowledge 5    specialist	6       interpretation 7       definition 8       grade 9       difference 10    failure

5

UNIT 8

1

1    We tend to eat out three or four times a month.

2    Amy usually cooks organic food at the weekend.

3    We tend not to / don’t tend to go to restaurants very often.   4                              Some of the restaurants don’t normally open on Mondays.

5    Generally speaking, restaurants in this area offer good value for money.

6    Spicy food tends not to / doesn’t tend to be popular with younger people. 2

1    If we used more organic food, we’d protect the environment.

2    John would only eat vegetables, if the rest of his family didn’t like meat so much.

3    If I were a good cook, I would open a restaurant.

4    If I were you, I wouldn’t eat that cake.

5    The kids wouldn’t eat all of it if it didn’t taste good.

3

1    you switched 2    wouldn’t be 3    wouldn’t eat 4    donated 5    came

6       would improve 7       would you say 8       ate 9       would drive 10    would you do

4

1       d   2       c 5	3        a   4     f	5       b   6      e	7 g
1    filling 2    raw 3    juicy	4    bland 5    tender 6    spicy	7    greasy 8    tasty 9    sour

6

1             d              3              f               5              c              7              b              2              g              4              a              6              h               8              e

1

1    Sean has been working long hours this week.

2    Have you met Sarah before?

3    How long has Anita been waiting?

4    Which books have they already read?

5    Wendy hasn’t done any training courses yet.

6    How long has Tom been chatting on the phone?

2

1       have been looking

2       have finished

3       haven’t designed

4       have you been talking

5       has lost

6       have been travelling

7       has been looking

8       has left

9       have Emma and Joe been working

10    has seen

3

1              much                 2             fewer 3    more 4    before 5    so 4	6                     less 7                     as 8                     than                 9                in         10      used
1    garage 2    attic 3    central heating 4    garden	5    patio 6    basement 7    balcony 8    open fire

5

      1          c    2          d    3          b    4          a   5  e

6

1    mainly 3              due          5              to

2    of        4              because

7

       1          b    2          d   3          c    4          a   5           f      6              e

1

1    any 2    every 2	3    few 4    no	5    Most 6    much	7    lot 8    all
1      c	2          a   3      f	4          d    5 e	6 b

3

1    was going to play

2    were going to invite

3    were they going to get

4    was going to say

5    weren’t going to have

6   
was going to perform

4

1    would get            3              would come             5              would write

2    would lose          4              would hate              6              would be 5

1    classic  4              tragedy    7              costumes

2    soundtrack          5              landscape 8              portrait

3    plot     6              thriller

6

1    a          3              c              5              c              7              a              9              a

2    b         4              a              6              b              8              a              10            c

7

1              out          3              way          5              over         2              as             4              in             6              out

1

1    managed             5              could

2    had to  6              had to

3    couldn’t              7              managed

4    Did you manage to 8              had to 2

1    been   3              be            5              by            7              be

2    being   4              were        6              been        8              has

3

1    was imported      6              to be given

2    are being selected 7              had broken              3              resigned  8              will be held

4    is carried             9              have been made

5    may be seen        10            weren’t told

4

1    lying    3              buzzing     5              crawling

2    circling 4              leaping     6              racing

5

1    out      3              around     5              on

2    into     4              along        6              across

6

       1          d    2          a   3          e   4          c   5           f    6 b

7

       1          c    2          b   3          c    4          a    5          b   6 c

1

1    live 2    found 3    use 4    We’d

5    moved 6    Did you use 7    used to

2

1    Martha married Timothy in 1953. ✓

2    As a boy, I would go for long walks out into the countryside.

3    I used to be quite shy at school.

4    This old suitcase used to belong to my great-grandfather.

5    During the holidays, we played them at football  three times. ✓

6    I remember that we would go fishing together quite often.    7                              My uncle would come over from France each summer.              8                         The first man walked on the moon about fifty years ago. ✓         9                              In my teens, I used to know how to solve this puzzle.

3

1    I hadn’t asked her 4              I had brought

2    I had done some 5              they hadn’t left

3    we had known about

4

1      d 5	2          c   3      f	4      a	5          b   6 e
1      d 6	2           f    3      b	4      e	5          a   6 c
1    up 2    out	3    out 4    apart	5    in 6    into	7         on

7

1    dating  3              end          5              close

2    awkward             4              remain

UNIT 13

1

1    if         3              had          5              been        7              have

2    would  4              have         6              have        8              had

2

1    would have enjoyed, had seen

2    wouldn’t have gone, had known

3    would have given, had won

4    wouldn’t have failed, had revised

5    hadn’t sunk, wouldn’t have been

3

1    should have worn 5              should have caught

2    should have made 6              shouldn’t have spent

3    should have left   7              should have bought

4    shouldn’t have criticised       8              shouldn‘t have run 4

1    tyre     5              platform   9              carriage

2    bend   6              harbour    10            landing

3    desk    7              crossing

4    lights   8              security

5

1    off       3              in             5              in             7              around

2    down   4              down       6              out          8              back

6

1    hot      3              fascinating 5              good

2    angry   4              filthy        6              exhausted

1

1    a 2    the 3    the 2	4    the      7              The 5    a          8              a 6    the      9              the	10    X 11    a 12    X
1    breaking 2    to work 3	3    living 4    painting	5    to reserve 6    to meet
1    to open 2    Printing 3    boring 4	4    waiting 5    chatting 6    being	7    saying 8    sitting
1    plug 2    socket 3    cable 4    mouse 5    cursor 5	6    screen 7    menu 8    file 9    keyboard	10    external hard drive 11    printer 12    scanner
1    of 2    with 6	3    of 4    by	5    out 6    to
1          d    2 a	3           f   4          c	5          b      6 e

1

1    ✓ 2    quickly 3    ✓ 4    thoroughly 2	5    ✓ 6    late 7    wide 8    ✓	9       clearly 10    hard
1    doesn’t meet 2    enjoys 3    was tired		4    clean 5    was sitting 6    helps

3

1       was at work

2       had broken his leg

3       was watching TV

4       hadn’t had time to do his homework

5       was 70 years old

6       where I lived

7       if she lived abroad

8       how Stan had done in the exam

9       if she was leaving later

10    he felt awful

1    c          3              b 2    d         4              e 5		5    a          7              h 6    f          8              g
1    allergic 2    painful 3    modernise 4    irritation 5    infection 6		6       hopelessly 7       medical 8       consciousness 9       treatment 10    curable
1           a             2             c UNIT 16 1	3     b	4          b   5       a	6 b
1             b   2      e	3             d   4          a		5      c

4

2

       1        a   2        b   3       b    4       b    5        a    6       b   7              b

3

1    that     3              which       5              who         7              who

2    who     4              that          6              that

4

1    where 2    who / that 3    when 4    whose 5	5       who / that 6       that / which              7      which / that
1       c, h  2       f, i 6	3       b, k   4       e, g   5        a, j         6       d, l
1    scientist 2    dictator 7	3    doctor               5              activist 4    founder             6              artist
1          a   2      b	3          a   4          c   5          c     6 a

REVIEW TEST 1            Units   1-6

1

1    are      5              of             9              as

2    has      6              for           10            than

3    had     7              since

4    like     8              supposed

2

1    has loved             7              was exploring

2    went   8              was doing

3    was     9              are spending / are going 

4    has been travelling              to spend

5    hardly ever hear  10            will be

6    haven’t seen

3

1    a translator         5              a contract

2    a market             6              a law

3    a climb 7              a bracelet

4    a twin 8              a jumper

4

1    c         3              b              5              c              7              c              9              b              11            a

2    b         4              a              6              a              8              b              10            c              12            c

5

       1          b    2          b   3          c    4          d   5  b

7a

      1          F   2          F   3          F    4          T    5          T   6 F

7b

1    meet / talk to snake catchers, go on snake catching trips in the forest, find out about their culture

2    how to make a bow and arrow, shoot arrows from horseback, cook in the field, look after a horse

3    walk along the boardwalk, visit the funfair, surf, sunbathe

REVIEW TEST 2             Units  7-12

1

1    reach 2    should 3    were 4    haven’t finished 5    much 6    much 2	7       every 8       to visit 9       did you manage to 10    had to 11    didn’t use to 12    had told
1    don’t get 2    tend not / don’t tend 3    would give 4    has Sylvia been talking 3	5    would send 6    had broken 7    were being given 8    had worked
1          a    2          b   3     c	4          b    5          a   6 a

4

1    out      3              out          5              on

2    out      4              through   6              in

5

1             b              3              a              5              b              7              b              2              a              4              c              6              c               8              a

6

       1             b    2              a   3             b   4             d   5     c

8a

      1        T   2        F   3        T    4        F   5        F   6        T   7              T

8b

1    Buenos Aires and Legend

2    You might have to wait for a table, but it is well known for its brunches.

3    Africa and Legend

4    Africa and Coq au vin

REVIEW TEST 3              Units 13-16

1

1    had      6              a

2    have    7              since

3    should 8              of

4    a          9              for

5    finish   10            where

2

1    would have spent 6              quietly

2    coming 7              hard

3    having 8              had left

4    to get  9              to post

5    sitting  10            has / had

3

1    a          3              a              5              b              7              c

2    b         4              c              6              b              8              a

4

1              b              3              c              5              c              7              b              9              a              11            b              2              a              4 a              6              b              8              c              10            b              12            b

5

       1          a   2          c   3          c    4          b   5  a

7a

       1        F   2        T   3        F    4        F    5        T   6        T   7              F

7b possible answers

1     That you are going through a nervous breakdown, or finding the workplace too demanding.

2     She wanted to see life through the eyes of different people, and experience what it was like to hold down a job in an alien culture.

3     learning how to manage money in creative ways and under stress; dealing with difficult situations / crises

4     In any big company, you find yourself working with people from all over the world / A company’s products are manufactured in one country, marketed in another and sold almost everywhere.

MID-YEAR TEST            Units  1-9

1

1    a          3              a              5           b 2    c          4              b              6           b 2	7    b         9              a 8    a          10            c	11    a 12    b
1    do you live 2    were walking 3    had left 4    is working 5    will probably stay 6    are they thinking 7    have you been sitting 8    believe	9       have owned 10    to get 11    hurry 12    set 13    not to eat 14    had 15    wouldn’t have 16    have read

3

1                     Portuguese 2                     depressing                 3                confused               4 confidence 4	5    repetitive 6    competitive 7    responsibility 8    requirement	9       carved 10    encouraging
1    c          3              b 2    a          4              c 5	5    a     7              a 6    b     8              c	9       a        11          b 10    c        12          c
1          b   2      a	3          c   4 c	5       d

6a

        1     NG  2        T   3        T     4     NG  5        T   6        F   7              T

6b

1    They’re cooler / less formal than some other clothes, but more dressed up / smarter than things like tracksuit bottoms; they’re neither too smart nor too scruffy for most situations.

2    Because one of the most famous brands in the world was named after the man who invented jeans.

3    Because it was softer than the rough canvas he was using before that.

4    1873 is the year that Levi Strauss patented jeans and started producing them commercially / in large quantities.

END-OF-YEAR TEST 1             Units    1-16

1

1              c              3              b              5              a              7              b              9              c              11            b              2              c              4 c              6              b              8              c              10            c              12            b

2

       1      c    2      b   3      b   4      a    5      b   6      a   7      a     8           c

3

1    have you been waiting         6              has been closed

2    gets     7              had locked

3    are thinking         8              know / knew

4    have broken        9              losing / having lost

5    wouldn’t surprise 10            to pay

4

1              down       3              go            5              leg           7              down       9              off            2              park         4              for           6 out          8              in             10            for

5

1              pleasantly 5              expectations            2              disappointing           6              performance

3    sentimental         7              automatically

4    employment        8              beneficial

6

1              a              3              a              5              c              7              b              9              a              11            a              2              b              4 a              6              a              8              a              10            b              12            b

7

       1              c    2             d   3             b   4             b   5     c

9

1    T          3              NG           5              T              7              NG           9              T

2    T          4              T              6              F              8              F              10            NG

END-OF-YEAR TEST 2             Units    1-16

1

1    d         3              b              5              a              7              c              9              d              11            a

2    c          4              b              6              b              8              b              10            c              12            c

2

       1     b   2      c   3      b   4      a   5      c   6      a   7      a   8             a

3

1    is renting             6              be cooked

2    haven’t known     7              had bought

3    have sent            8              had asked 4              will finish 9              not to stay

                 5                        was destroyed               10            stealing

4

1    over    6              come

2    making 7              in

3    in        8              off

4    leg       9              up

5    out      10            ahead

5

1    shocking              5              failure

2    miserable            6              interpretation

3    stressful              7              boiling

4    living   8              modernise

6

1              b              3              c              5              b              7              c              9              b              11            a              2              c 4              a              6              a              8              a              10            b              12            b

7

       1          b    2          b   3          c    4          b   5  a

9

1    T          3              T              5              T              7              F              9              F

2    NG       4              T              6              T              8              T              10                            T

TESTS AUDIO SCRIPTS

REVIEW TEST 1        Units 1–6

P = presenter, D = Danny

P: Hello and welcome to People and Books. My guest today is eighteen-year-old Danny Baines, who, despite his young age, has already won numerous awards.

Welcome to the programme, Danny.

D: Hello.

P: So, have you been writing novels for very long?

D: Well, yes, for most of my teens, I guess. At thirteen, all I wanted to do was play football, then, a year later, I was suddenly into books, and it was then that I sat down and wrote and wrote. My first childish attempt at a novel was about two hundred pages long and pretty scary, if I remember. I think I was really into horror stories, at the time. It was quite depressing, too – not uplifting, at all. I don’t know where it came from.

P: So, did you try to get it published?

D: Well, my parents thought it was really good, and my dad was much keener than I was to see my name in print. He sent it to a friend of his who worked for a big publishing company, but they weren’t interested. P: Were you disappointed?

D: Oh no, not really. I was already writing my next novel by then. I’d spent six months writing it and I thought it was great. Of course, when I sent it to the publisher, it came back with lots and lots of suggested rewrites. I had to rewrite the story many times. All in all, I spent, well, a couple of years of my life on it, and, at times, it seemed like I did nothing much except write! But it was worth it because the publishers accepted it. I was only seventeen at the time. It was really amazing.

P: And that was The Only Child?

D: Yeah. That’s right.

P: Right. Tell me about your latest novel.

D: Yes, my second. Or, at least, the second one to be published. It’s called The Handmade Pot, and it’s a love story set in Italy. I wanted to do something a bit different from the adventure stories, or horror stories, I’ve written before. And I think it works well – I don’t think it’s dull or bland.  

P: It certainly isn’t. It’s a thrilling story. It must be exciting to be getting such good reviews.

D: Absolutely. I’m very lucky to be a published author at such a young age. It’s a rewarding and varied job, but what makes it worthwhile is when other people praise my work and buy my books.

REVIEW TEST 2        Units 7–12

M = Moira, E = Emma M: Hi Emma.

E: Oh, hi Moira.

M: How’s your course going?

E: Well, it’s really hard work, as you can probably imagine, but it’s going OK, I guess.

M: Hard work? Already? You’ve only just started, haven’t you? I thought they wouldn’t be all that demanding early on, you know, until you’d got the hang of things.

E: Oh, I wish. I know I’ve only been on the course for two weeks but the course work is really heavy! I’ve been given lots of homework and I have a presentation to prepare.

M: That does sound like a lot of work.

E: Believe me, it is. I have three essays to do before Christmas. I don’t know how I’m going to get it all done. In fact, I’m thinking of taking a few days off work just so that I can keep up. I don’t want to find myself struggling.

M: Well, no, but you can’t afford to miss too many days off work either, can you?

E: I suppose not. 

M: I guess you won’t have any free time this weekend then? I thought we might meet up.

E: Well, I reckon I have to prepare my presentation and I have to start working on the first essay. I guess that means I’ll be working all day on Saturday, but, hopefully, I’ll have some time off on Sunday. I was thinking of doing a bit of reading then, for the essay. Why don’t you pop round late Sunday afternoon for coffee?

M: OK. I’ll do that. It sounds like you’ve got things organised, at least.

E: Well, yes. Although there’s lots of coursework to do, thankfully,  I've been working in this field for years so it’s not as if I'm trying to learn something completely new. And I love it, of course. I’m really keen, my tutor’s really encouraging, and I know the qualification will be good for my CV once I get it.

M: Well, that’s good.

E: It’s the commute to college that I find hardest. It took me two hours to get back last night! I have two buses to catch to get there, and the same coming back. It’s exhausting.

M: I bet. I feel exhausted just listening to you!

REVIEW TEST 3        Units 13–16

P = Penny, G = Grant

P: I haven’t seen Karen all morning. Do you know where she’s gone?

G: Yeah. She’s gone into town to get a new laptop. Her old one keeps crashing, and it’s really slow. It’s about time she got a new one.

P: I guess so. So, which laptop is she going to buy?

G: Well, she’s spent ages online researching all sorts of different ones, and she’s even bought technical magazines. Now she’s going to ask for advice from the experts in the electrical shop. But, to be honest with you, I still don’t think she has any idea which one she wants.

P: Well, I’m not that surprised. Karen’s never been very good at making her mind up.

G: Yesterday, she was telling me she’d seen a couple of laptops she likes. They’re both KP computers. There’s the 740, which has a large screen and a lot of memory, and the 850, which has the same amount of memory and is smaller and slimmer and looks really cool. I thinks she prefers the 850 but it’s more expensive.

P: Has she thought about what she’s going to use it for? I mean, it’s important to choose a laptop to suit your needs.

TESTS AUDIO SCRIPTS

TESTS AUDIO SCRIPTS

G: Well, she’s into playing games online and spends ages on social media chatting to friends and uploading photos and videos, so that’s the main thing. She won’t really need it for work or study.

P: Really? I thought she was doing a design course.

Won’t she need it for that?

G: Well, she is, but she’s already got a really powerful desk computer which she uses to do all that.

P: Oh, OK. So, what do you reckon? Which laptop will she end up buying?

G: Well, she’s not that well off, and won’t want to spend too much, so I think she’ll buy the 740.

P: I think you’re right – she won’t buy anything horribly expensive. Actually, I suspect she won’t buy a laptop today at all. You know Karen – she loves window shopping – she prefers spending time looking at gadgets to actually buying them ...

MID-YEAR TEST        Units 1–9

T =  Tom, B = Bethany

T: OK, Bethany. Well, as you know, I’ve asked to interview you because you’re such a proficient linguist. You speak five languages pretty fluently, is that right?

B: Including English, five, yes.

T: To help me write my dissertation, I wanted to find out a little bit about your language learning history. Is that OK?

B: Sure. Fire away.

T: Can you tell me when you started learning each of your languages?

B: Well, I was brought up speaking English mostly, but, as my dad was Danish, and my grandparents didn’t really speak a word of English, I had a lot of exposure to this other language, Danish, which I kind of learned passively. As a small child, I knew what my Danish grandparents were saying, especially when they were talking about me.

T: Would you say you were bilingual then?

B: Well, not really.  As I said, it never occurred to me to speak Danish, because my parents and friends all got by in English. But I suppose I got used to the idea that not every language is pronounced in the same way that English is, and that’s been useful in learning other languages. Actually, I forgot Danish completely in my early teens and only learnt the language properly when I spent a year in Copenhagen after I left school. And I was eighteen then.

T: OK. And the other languages?

B: Well, I studied French all the way through school, starting when I was seven, and I did a degree in French and Spanish at university, and spent some time in Paris. I guess it was the trip to Paris when I was twenty that was the most important part of becoming good at French. As for Spanish, well I was dreaming in Spanish well before I got to university. Between the ages of twelve and sixteen, I lived in Madrid because my parents were working there,  and although I went to an international school  where the main language was English, I made Spanish-speaking friends and became, well,  very ‘Spanish’ for a time. 

T: Spanish?

B: Oh, yes. As a kid, I enjoyed the acting element of speaking Spanish. I could be a different person – cooler and more out-going, waving my arms around, that sort of thing. I loved being fiery and Spanish, and I still do. I’m a different person when I speak Spanish!

T: OK. Interesting. That makes four languages, I reckon.

What’s the fifth one?

B: Well, the fifth one is a bit of a cheat. My boyfriend comes from Norway, and I’ve been learning Norwegian off him for the past few months. I don’t know whether you know this, but Danish and Norwegian are pretty similar. The pronunciation is very different but the grammar’s the same, and a lot of the words are identical, so it’s probably been the easiest language to learn of all of them. Especially as my boyfriend is such a good teacher.

END-OF-YEAR TEST 1        Units 1–16

P = presenter, C = Dr Clark, E = Ed

P: Hello and welcome to Health Today, the weekly phone-in that aims to advise listeners on what to do about just about anything, from a nasty rash to a twisted ankle. Dr Deborah Clark is here with me. Give us a call on 0800 566 566.

How are you, doctor?

C: Me? Well, I’m fine right now. Bit tired, that’s all. I had a bit of a cold earlier this week, but it’s cleared up.

P: I’m glad to hear that. Our first caller is Ed on line 1.

Hello, Ed. What would you like to ask Dr Clark?

E: Hello. Yes, well, it’s about this persistent migraine I keep getting – an awful pain in my head. I’ve felt terrible since I got up this morning. I’ve taken pills but they don’t seem to help. What should I do?

C: Any adverse reactions to taking the pills?

E: Well, no. They just don’t work, that’s all.

C: OK. Well, cut out the pills until you’ve had the cause properly diagnosed. With headaches, the first thing, and the best thing to do, is drink lots of water, and eat something good and healthy. If that doesn’t help, lie in a dark room. You shouldn’t take things which could make the problem worse. What’s important is finding out why you have the problem in the first place. Do you work, Ed?

E: Yes. Yes, I do. I deal with customers’ complaints on the phone. For an online travel specialist. You know, if they’ve booked a holiday and had problems, they call me.

C: So, you spend time staring at a computer screen while you’re dealing with clients?

E: That’s right.

C: OK. Well, there’s your cause, or, at least, that might be the root cause. People develop severe headaches or migraines for all sorts of reasons, ranging from their diet to the way they heat their house. But a common cause is what we do at work. So, you may have a headache because you look at a screen all day, or it may be because you feel stressed by having to deal with problems. I’m guessing it’s the computer screen. Try to limit how much time you have to stare at the screen. If I were you, I’d talk to my supervisor and take more breaks.

E: Oh, OK. Well, thanks doctor.

P: Thanks for your call, Ed. Right. Our next caller is Martha. She’s on line 2.

END-OF-YEAR TEST 2        Units 1–16

P = presenter, T = Tony

P: In Britain, house prices continue to rise, particularly in London, and the number of people who are homeless is becoming ever greater. We are told that the problem lies in the fact that there is a shortage of properties. The number of people looking for new homes is growing faster than the speed at which houses are being built.

      But is there a solution out there? In today’s programme, we’re talking to Tony Donald, who believes that we can solve the housing crisis with a little bit of imagination and creativity.

      So, Tony, what’s your solution?

T: Well, I wouldn’t say that I have a solution. But I do think that we can make much better use of the space that we have in our crowded country. Why wait for developers to build new homes when we can create them ourselves?

P: So, you think we should be building our own houses?

T: Well, not build so much as create. New houses are being built in parts of the country where people don’t want to live. But not enough is being done to free up spaces in popular towns or cities, and to adapt places that already exist for housing.

P: For example?

T: Well, for example, we have lots of attractive rivers and canals going through our towns, but not that many people are living in boats. We could create whole communities of people living on canal boats, or in houses built on the river. There are lots of woods, too, and I see no reason why we couldn’t have tented villages in woods. Technology has been developed which allows us to make hard-wearing tents that you can suspend from trees. They’re light, strong and comfortable, and lots of young people would just love to live in a tree house.

P: OK. But wouldn’t that be a problem for other people who want to go for a walk in the woods or on a trip down a canal without seeing other people’s washing?

T: Well, I know what you mean, but I think the housing crisis is so great that we should stop seeing empty places as places to be protected and start seeing them as places to be shared. If people look after the places they live in, they’ll be attractive and interesting places for other people to visit.

P: OK. I suppose you’re saying that we should all share the space we have?

T: Yes. And there are so many opportunities to do that. We could create living spaces out of disused buses or caravans, or railway carriages, and we could turn basements into flats, roof terraces into cool penthouse apartments, and garages into cottages.  I really don’t see what’s stopping us.

TESTS AUDIO SCRIPTS