FINAL EXAM 2024

6TH ADULTS – Ready for First B2

LISTENING

A-You will hear a talk about the creation of a new system of road signs in Britain in the 1960s. For questions 9–18,
complete the sentences with a word or short phrase. (End of course. Test 2) (___/ 10p.)

The designing of road signs in Britain in the 1960s

Before working on road signs, the designers had produced the signs used in a large (1) __________ near London.

At the time when they created the signs, that type of work was called (2) ‘ __________ ’. The intention was that the
motorway signs would be part of a (3) __________ that Europe had for road signs.

The designers used (4) _________as the colour for their signs. For ordinary roads, the designers created a typeface
called (5) __________ Warnings, for example, of ice on roads, appear on (6) __________ signs. Other designers
praised their use of simple symbols such as (7) __________ for one-way streets.

The picture showing children crossing originally included a (8) __________ . The committee said that the person in
the pedestrian crossing sign looked like a (9) __________ coming out of water.

Some people joked that the man in the roadworks sign appeared to be using his (10) __________ .

USE OF ENGLISH
B- Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do
not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given.
(___/ 5p.)

0- He watched videos on his computer all afternoon. WHOLE

He spent THE WHOLE AFTERNOON WATCHING videos on his computer.
1- Can you tell me your decision as soon as possible, please? KNOW
Can you _________________________ your decision is as soon as possible, please?
2- I had never visited a city that was so big before. VISIT
It was my _________________________ big city.
3- Carl’s boss told him that the delay was his fault. RESPONSIBLE
Carl’s boss accused _________________________ the delay.
4- Because of the weather, I didn’t walk, I drove. INSTEAD
Because of the weather, I drove _________________________ foot.
5- Who suggested organising this fantastic event? IDEA
Who came _________________________ organising this fantastic event?

C- For questions 1–8, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in
each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0). Write your answers IN CAPITAL LETTERS. (___/ 8p.)

A different kind of CV

Recently, Jeff Scardino took a very novel approach (0) TO job hunting. He produced a totally honest CV that
highlighted (1) ____________ his successes, but rather all the failures in his career. He didn’t actually want a
new job but decided to write (2) ____________ he called the ‘Relevant Resume’ as an experiment. Using two
different names, he sent both a regular CV (3) ____________ the Relevant Resume to ten companies. The
results were astounding. He got one response and zero meeting requests from the regular CV. (4)
 ____________, he received eight responses and five meeting requests from the other CV. ‘People seem to like a
fresh approach,’ he explains.
(5) ____________ that mean that a good CV is now a negative CV? ‘Perhaps,’ says Janet Moran, founder of the
resume service, The CV House. ‘Ultimately, you want to write something (6) ____________ sets you apart.’ It is,
she admits, a risky approach, ‘but (7) ____________ the right person reads it, it could (8) ____________ you
seem confident, humorous and interesting.

D- Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs in brackets (___/ 5p)

1. I’ll never forget __________ (enter) the school dancing competition. It was amazing!
2. Petra her computer (repair) last week because it wasn’t working properly.
3. I recommend (try) the new café in the market square. They have delicious cakes there.
4. Luke (advise) by his parents to have his photo taken professionally for his new
passport.
5. My cousin (speak) fluent English by now if her family had moved to England
when she was younger.

VOCABULARY
E- For questions 1–8, read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of some of the lines to form a
word that fits in the gap in the same line. There is an example at the beginning (0). Write your answers IN
CAPITAL LETTERS. (___/ 8p.)

Watching TV seriously harms exam results

Watching television for long periods has a negative effect on exam results, (0) 0. ACCORD
ACCORDING to a recent study. The scientists stress that what they found was an 1. PROVE
association, not (1) _______________ of a causal link. However, they have ruled out 2. POOR
any influence of (2) _______________ or wealth, as the students (3) 3. CONCERN
_______________ came from a diverse range of social backgrounds.
Lead researcher Dr Kirsten Corder, from Cambridge University, explained: ‘Television,
computer games and internet use were all found to be (4) _______________ to 4. HARM
academic performance, but TV viewing was the most detrimental.’ The research was
part of a wider study looking at different factors affecting the (5) _______________ 5. MIND
health, well-being and academic achievement of teenagers as they make the journey
to (6) _______________ . The scientists measured activity levels of the (7) 6. ADULT
_______________ using heart rate and movement sensors attached to their bodies.
They also questioned the students about how much time they spent in front of the 7. PARTICIPATE
TV or computer screens, and how long they spent doing homework, or reading for (8)
_______________. 8. PLEASE

F- Choose the correct words to complete the sentences. (_ _/ 10p)

1. The manager insisted / encouraged the staff to participate.

2. Do you facy doing a tour / journey of the old part of the city tomorrow?
3. We got a real refund / bargain when we bought our new car.
4. I have no idea how they put up by / with each other at this point.
5. She decided to give up / in her job because she didn’t like her new boss.
6. If you have the receipt, you can take it up / back.
7. Have you ever shared a blog / video?
 8. I got out of the shower as well / soon as I heard the phone.
9. The hockey player passed / took the ball to her teammate.
10. I’d like to get a new job because it’s hard to get away / by on my salary.

READING
G- You are going to read a newspaper article about a series of children’s stories. For questions 1–6, choose the
answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text. (___/6p)

The continuing success of Thomas the Tank Engine

On December 25, 1942, a two-year-old boy named Christopher received a model steam locomotive. Handmade by
his father, the Rev Wilbert Awdry, the blue-painted train incorporated a sawn-off broomstick for the boiler, a tube of
metal for the chimney and flattened-out carpet pins for wheels. On its side, Awdry had inscribed a gold number 1
and the letters NW, a little joke to himself (the engine was not part of any railway company and the letters stood for
‘nowhere’). ‘I played with it for a while,’ recalls Christopher Awdry, now in his 70s, ‘and at some point, apparently, I
said, “Can you tell me a story about my engine?”’ His father, who had been inventing stories about steam engines to
keep Christopher amused during a recent bout of measles, said, ‘Yes, I can make up a story, but before I do, it has to
have a name. Why don’t we call it Thomas the Tank Engine?’

Two and a half years after that, the opening instalment in a collection of children’s books called The Railway Series
made its first appearance on British high streets. And over 70 years later, versions of that same train, now
manufactured in China on behalf of Mattel, the world’s second-largest toy company, sell in their millions everywhere
from Tokyo to Mexico City. In the UK alone, where Awdry wrote 26 Railway Series books before retiring in 1972,
there are now about 1,600 Thomas & Friends products – from lunchboxes and yoghurts to puzzles, duvet covers,
walkietalkies, potties and iPad apps. A toy engine of some description – whether it’s Thomas or one of his many
‘friends’, puffed-up Gordon, say, or the ‘dockside diesel’ Salty – is sold every two seconds somewhere in the world,
and the television series is currently broadcast to more than a billion households in 300 territories each week,
including Britain.

Yet if you ask parents what the appeal of the stories is, many will shake their heads in bewilderment. Compared with
other, more recent children’s creations, the Thomas & Friends books and television programmes seem hopelessly
anachronistic. The central characters are steam trains, after all, a form of transport that had its heyday in the
mid19th century. The fictitious Island of Sodor, where the stories are set, feels like a world untouched by modern
life, and the dialogue itself is repetitious, insufferably earnest and filled with outdated language. There are certainly
none of the subtle jokes and winking references for adults which abound in other programmes.

What’s more, Thomas doesn’t seem to relate to modern concepts of parenting. The Island of Sodor is a hierarchical
society, in which the Fat Controller (the father figure) rules unopposed and the engines (his ‘children’) are punished
whenever they step out of line. To many liberal parents, it seems to hark back to an age when children were seen
but not heard. But far from being an unfortunate hangover from the 1940s world in which Thomas was born, it is
this very unfashionableness that may be the key to its success.

‘There is something traditional about Thomas the Tank Engine,’ says Dr Aric Sigman, a psychologist who has
researched the impact of television on children and who has published several books including the parenting manual
The Spoilt Generation. ‘But whether that’s a bad thing or not is open to debate. I see a lot of young children and they
like rules. Not to be treated in an authoritarian way, not at all, but children feel comfortable when there are
boundaries. It makes them feel relaxed and it’s very important for child development.’

And what about the criticisms that it is moralistic and stuck in the past? Sigman points out that Sodor has many of
the elements children like to see within their own homes and communities. ‘It’s a relatively safe world where there
is camaraderie, natural justice, routine and structure. The trains go from A to B along a track. It’s a linear
progression, and although there are hindrances, they are always resolved. These are easy concepts for children to
understand.’

1- What do we learn about the engine Christopher received in 1942?

 A Christopher was not very interested in it at first.

B His father had not given it a name before Christopher received it.

C His father had had great difficulty in constructing it.

D Christopher had been expecting to receive it as a present.

2- What does the writer emphasise about the success of Awdry’s creation in the second paragraph?

A how big it is

B how unexpected it was

C how quickly it happened

D how lucky it is

3- In the third paragraph, the writer says that one reason why the continuing success of the stories is surprising is
that

A they are more complex than most modern stories for children.

B they do not contain elements that are intended to amuse parents.

C the characters in them are machines, not people.

D there is often more dialogue than action in them.

4- The writer says that some parents may regard the stories as

A having a bad influence on children.

B giving children a confusing view of adult behaviour.

C reflecting accurately their own behaviour as parents.

D presenting an unacceptable way of treating children.

5- Dr Aric Sigman says that the traditional nature of the stories

A causes some children to have difficulty following them.

B makes them particularly suitable for children’s television.

C provides children with something they need.

D might cause some children to become upset.

6- In response to criticism of the stories, Sigman says that

A their emphasis on morality is their most important characteristic.

B they describe the sort of problems children have in their everyday lives.

C the fact that they are set in a past world is not relevant.

D it indicates a misunderstanding of what the stories actually contain.

WRITING.
H- Write an answer to ONE of the questions in this part. Write your answer in 140–190 words in an appropriate
style. (____/18p)

1 You have seen this announcement on an English-language website.

The Longest Day

What was the longest day you’ve ever had? Describe what happened on that day and how you felt during it. We’ll
publish the best articles in a special section next month.

Write your article.

2 You have received this email from a member of your English class.

From: Max

Subject: Present for Sara

Some of us were talking today about getting a present for Sara when our course ends – she’s been a fantastic
teacher and helped all of us in so many ways. I’ve had a few suggestions for what we can get her but I’m asking you
as well since you weren’t at class today. Let me know what you think would be a good present from all of us.

Max

Write your email.