CAMBRIDGE IGCSE™ ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE: UNIT 9 TEST

Unit 9 test
Reading exercise
Read the article about a form of communication called ‘sfyria’, and then answer the questions.

Sfyria
Sfyria is the name of a very unusual form of communication. It’s unusual because rather than using the typical
sounds of speech, sfyria communication takes place through whistling. It’s found in only one place – a tiny village
called Antia, on a mountainside on the Greek island of Evia.
Sfyria is thought to have been in use for over 2500 years. There are various theories about its origins. Perhaps
it developed as a type of signal during a battle in 480 BCE, where soldiers passed information to each other
without revealing their location. This is because it is hard to work out which direction a whistle has come from.
Alternatively, it may have been used by local people as a secret way of sending important messages to warn of
possible threats from rival villages; only other sfyria users would be able to understand the meaning of them.
What’s more likely, however, is that the region itself led to the development of the language. A traditional
occupation there is sheep farming, and when working in the mountains, a whistle can be heard from a greater
distance – up to ten times further – than a shout. It is therefore a very practical way of sending messages.
Although sfyria is commonly referred to by most people as being a language, according to language experts,
it is actually what’s know as a ‘speech register’. This puts it into the same group as things like whispering and
shouting. Sfyria is actually a whistled version of modern Greek, where words and even individual letters are
given a particular whistle. Those of us who aren’t familiar with it have a hard time imagining how a language
consisting purely of whistles can express ideas. Basically, things like differences in the length and note of a
whistle – for example, higher or lower, longer or shorter – are used to represent the different letters, words
and syllables of modern Greek. In this way, sfyria users can produce and receive any message they want, no
matter how complex.
One of the most surprising things about sfyria is that, despite it having been spoken for centuries, it only came
to wider attention in 1969. This was when an aircraft crashed into the mountains near the village of Antia, and
local residents helped the crew to look for their missing pilot. During the crew’s search of the mountains, they
witnessed the locals exchanging messages across the valleys, and realised that what they had assumed was
birdsong was actually a form of communication between people.
Like so many of the world’s languages, sfyria is facing something of a crisis, with very few users remaining.
For one thing, it can only be passed on verbally, as it is not something you can learn from a book. Only a few
decades ago, the people of Antia were able to keep their language alive by teaching it to all children from the
age of around six. In the 1980s, everyone in the village could communicate using sfyria, and in fact, until 1997,
there was only one phone in Antia. When news came through, sfyria was used to pass it on to other interested
residents. Of course, most people nowadays use mobile phones, so this would no longer be the preferred
method of sharing information – at least in areas where there is a good signal available.
More recently, events have been organised to promote sfyria, such as a sfyria festival. Efforts such as this could
be the way to ensure that this fascinating communication system survives.

Cambridge IGCSE™ English as a Second Language – Carter, Carter, Fountain & Thomson © Cambridge University Press 2022 1
 CAMBRIDGE IGCSE™ ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE: UNIT 9 TEST

For each question, tick the correct answer, A, B or C.

1 In the second paragraph the writer gives us

A details of who first offered theories about the origins of sfyria.

B a logical reason for the development of a language.

C an account of how different groups successfully adapted the language.

[1]

2 What does them refer to in the second paragraph?

A rival villagers

B possible threats

C important messages
[1]

3 What do we understand from the third paragraph?

A The whistling language is based on a spoken language.

B There are limitations to the information that can be passed on through whistling.

C Experts disagree on how the whistling language should be classified.

[1]

4 What do we learn was the result of a plane accident in 1969?

A The crew of the plane told people outside the region about sfyria.

B Local people taught crew-members basic sfyria to help in a search.

C International experts came to the region to find out more about sfyria.
[1]

5 Which problem facing sfyria does the writer refer to?

A The technology to support learning it does not exist.

B It needs to be learnt from a young age.

C It needs to be learnt face to face.

[1]

Cambridge IGCSE™ English as a Second Language – Carter, Carter, Fountain & Thomson © Cambridge University Press 2022 2
 CAMBRIDGE IGCSE™ ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE: UNIT 9 TEST

6 Why has this article been written?

A to warn of the dangers facing some world languages

B to give some background to an interesting language

C to highlight the importance of various forms of communication

[1]
[Total: 6]

Cambridge IGCSE™ English as a Second Language – Carter, Carter, Fountain & Thomson © Cambridge University Press 2022 3
 CAMBRIDGE IGCSE™ ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE: UNIT 9 TEST

Writing exercise
In your English class, you have been talking about what different generations can learn from
each other. Now your teacher has asked you to write an article for homework.
In your article, discuss some of the things that different generations can learn from each other,
and say how important your class felt this kind of exchange of ideas was.
Here are some comments from students in your class:

It’s important to hear

the experiences of
older generations.

The skills we need in

today’s world are very
different to before.

My grandmother always
needs me to help her
with technology.
I don’t get much
opportunity to spend time
talking with older people.

Now write an article for your teacher.

The comments above may give you some ideas, and you should also use some ideas of your own.
Write about 120 to 160 words.
You will receive up to 6 marks for the content of your article and up to 9 marks for the language used.
[Total: 15]
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Cambridge IGCSE™ English as a Second Language – Carter, Carter, Fountain & Thomson © Cambridge University Press 2022 4
 CAMBRIDGE IGCSE™ ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE: UNIT 9 TEST

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Cambridge IGCSE™ English as a Second Language – Carter, Carter, Fountain & Thomson © Cambridge University Press 2022 5
 CAMBRIDGE IGCSE™ ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE: UNIT 9 TEST

09
Listening exercise
You will hear an interview with a man called Bosede Abioye, who is a TV reporter. For each question,
choose the correct answer, A, B or C, and put a tick (ü) in the appropriate box.
You will hear the interview twice.
Now look at questions 1–8.

1 When Bosede was working for the student newspaper, he

A learnt a lot from having someone correct his work.

B concentrated on reporting the stories he was most interested in.

C had problems getting his reports finished on time.

[1]

2 On his first reporting job, Bosede was

A frustrated by technical problems.

B amused by the people he had to interview.

C relieved he didn’t need to do any research.

[1]

3 When Bosede read the news every morning, he

A thought that he wasn’t suited to the role.

B started to feel a strong desire to travel.

C hated having to get up so early each morning.

[1]

4 Bosede liked his time in the United States because

A people were more willing to talk to reporters.

B it was an interesting time in the country’s history.

C the place felt familiar to him in some ways.

[1]

Cambridge IGCSE™ English as a Second Language – Carter, Carter, Fountain & Thomson © Cambridge University Press 2022 6
 CAMBRIDGE IGCSE™ ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE: UNIT 9 TEST

5 Bosede believes that reporters cannot avoid

A showing a lot of emotion sometimes.

B exaggerating the importance of their reporting.

C occasionally getting some important information wrong.

[1]

6 What does Bosede find difficult about interviewing famous people?

A getting them to be honest

B stopping them from talking too much

C thinking of questions they haven’t heard before

[1]

7 For Bosede, the most challenging thing about being a reporter is that

A it requires knowledge of different subjects.

B it can have a bad effect on family and social life.

C it is hard to keep up with rapidly changing situations.

[1]

8 What does Bosede feel about the fact that he has become famous?
A He dislikes all the attention he gets in public.

B He is pleased if it makes people follow the news.

C He thinks he hasn’t achieved anything to justify it.

[1]
[Total: 8]

Cambridge IGCSE™ English as a Second Language – Carter, Carter, Fountain & Thomson © Cambridge University Press 2022 7
 CAMBRIDGE IGCSE™ ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE: UNIT 9 TEST

Speaking exercise
If possible, record your response to this exercise.
Answer these questions.
• There is an opinion that people from older generations don’t understand people from younger
generations. What do you think?
• Do you think that, in the future, all communication between people will only happen online?
• Some people believe that expressing their feelings through art, like music and painting, is easier
than using words. What’s your opinion?
• In many countries nowadays, parents are too busy to have conversations with their children every
day. Do you think this is true in your country?
[Total: 10]
[Unit test total: 39]

Cambridge IGCSE™ English as a Second Language – Carter, Carter, Fountain & Thomson © Cambridge University Press 2022 8