Exam insight 3

Listening

1You are going to hear four people talking about dangerous sports. Tick the words below that you think you will hear. 

EXAM STRATEGY

• ■Read the exam task and identify the topic.

  ■Underline the key words in each sentence, so you have an idea what each person in the recording will talk about.

  ■Listen to the recording carefully because the words you hear won't be exactly the same as the words in the sentences.

lifejacket✓ 

wind✓ 

dressing-gown✓ 

fall✓ 

ropes✓ 

frightened✓ 

beach✓ 

boat✓ 

float✓ 

sofa✓ 

rescue✓ 

relax✓ 

hang-glider✓ 

snow✓ 

comfortably✓ 

2EXAM TASK Listen to four people talking about dangerous sports. Match the information 1–5 with the speakers A–D. One piece of information is not needed. Mark it '–'. 

• 1This person is giving safety instructions.ABCD-

• 2This person rescued a friend.ABCD-

• 3This person was frightened.ABCD-

• 4This person is a newsreader.ABCD-

• 5This person is talking about a journey.ABCD-

Reading

3Read the article about Felix Baumgartner. Are statements 1–6 True or False? 

EXAM STRATEGY

• ■Read the text quickly to find out what it's about.

  ■Read through the True / False sentences and make sure you understand them.

  ■Find the information in the text that matches each True / False statement.

  ■Decide if the information in the True / False statements is the same as or different to the information in the text.

FASTER THAN THE SPEED OF SOUND

Felix Baumgartner has become the first skydiver to go faster than the speed of sound. Jumping from a balloon thirty-nine kilometres above New Mexico, the forty-three-year-old Austrian took just under ten minutes to descend to earth.

Early in the dive, people were worried that Baumgartner was in trouble. He seemed to be falling end over end instead of coming down in a fixed position. However, he used his experience of more than 2,500 dives to control this dangerous situation. A lot of terrifying thoughts went through his head and he was afraid he might not succeed, fall to earth and be killed. After thirty-five dangerous seconds, he managed to correct his fall and get into the right position. He then opened his parachute for the last few thousand feet and landed safely.

Baumgartner was not aware of how fast he was travelling and he did not realize that the speed broke the sound barrier. When you go faster than the speed of sound there is a loud noise. "I didn't feel the sonic boom. I think it happens behind you," he said afterwards. He started to feel a lot of pressure in his head because he was travelling so fast.

With this jump, Baumgartner made the highest skydive ever and also became the first skydiver to break the speed of sound. Yet far from planning to break more records, he intends to give up dangerous sports and get married. He is crazy about his girlfriend Nicole and has promised her that he wants to settle down. They are going to live a quiet life together in Switzerland.

• 1He is very experienced at skydiving.TrueFalse

• 2He was not very frightened.TrueFalse

• 3He had a problem opening his parachute.TrueFalse

• 4He knew he was travelling faster than the speed of sound.TrueFalse

• 5He is planning more skydives.TrueFalse

• 6He plans to settle down with his girlfriend.TrueFalse

 Use of English

4Complete the sentences with the correct option. 

EXAM STRATEGY

• ■Read the text quickly to find out what it's about.

  ■Think about the types of words that could fit the gaps, e.g. prepositions, verbs, auxiliary verbs, articles, pronouns.

  ■When you've finished, read the text again to check the sentences make sense.

• 1She wants to go intoatup university, but she can't decide what subject she wants to study.

• 2I read a really interesting article aboutwithinby teaching children to read.

• 3She justalwaysyetalready has a gold medal for the 400 metres and now she's trying for the 800.

• 4He's achieved a lot duringwhensinceafter he started at his new school.

• 5If students have regular breaks, they have gotgotgetare getting better grades.

• 6The team set downoffaboutinto for Antarctica in October.

Use of English

5EXAM TASK Read the text about education. Complete the gaps with the missing words. Use one word in each gap. 

You need to use normal letters and capital letters correctly in this task.

Education around the world

Education for children 

¹

 

very important in today's world. Sadly, many children cannot go to school because 

²

 

war or lack of money. Through education, children have a fairer chance in life, and above all,

 

³

 

allows them to grow as a human being and to contribute to their families and to society. A recent United Nations report stated that

 

⁴

 

number of children

 

⁵

 

do not go to school

 

⁶

 

falling too slowly.

 

⁷

 

report said that 56 million children globally are not in education. Not as many girls have access to an education

 

⁸ 

 

boys. This is important because the children of women who

 

⁹

 

had an education are forty per cent more likely to live past the age of five. In other words, education not only increases your chances of getting a job, but it is

 

¹⁰

 

extremely good for your health.

SPEAKING EXAM STRATEGY When talking about a photo don't just say what you see. You can also guess what has just happened or what is going to happen.

EXAM TASK 6  Look at the photo and answer the questions. Give reasons for your answers. 1 Do you think the woman is in danger? Why / why not? 2 Would you like to be in this situation? Why / Why not? 3 Talk about an occasion when you were afraid of an animal. Speak for no longer than one minute.

1.  Select Record Audio to record yourself.
2.  If you want to add a note to your teacher, write it in the Comments box.
3.  Select Submit to dropbox to send the recording to your teacher.

Writing

7Rewrite the sentences using the linking words in brackets. 

You need to use normal letters and capital letters correctly in this task. You also need to use correct punctuation.

• 1I didn't win the race. I enjoyed it. (but)

• 2He was tired. He went to the gym. (although)

• 3She loves football. She can't stand basketball. (however)

• 4Lots of homework can help you improve. Too much can make you tired. (on the other hand)

• EXAM STRATEGY Read the task carefully and make notes of the points you want to make. Use contrast words to link ideas together, e.g. although, but, however, on the other hand. Organize your ideas into paragraphs.  EXAM TASK 8  What are the arguments for and against homework? Write an essay and include the following points: the reasons teachers give homework. the reasons students like / don't like doing homework. your opinion about how useful homework is.  Write your task in another program (e.g. Word).  Save the file to your computer.  Upload your file.  If you want to add a note to your teacher, write it in the Comments box.  Select Submit to Dropbox to send your work to your teacher.