Examination Specification Level B2 (Grade 11)

Part 1
Part 2
1		1
2		2
3		3
4		4
5		5

SECTION 3. Writing (40 minutes)
Media
A TV station is holding a competition for stories written by viewers. The rules of the competition state that you must start your story with the following words:


Danny had a lot of time to kill so he sat down and turned on the TV.

Write your story. Write between 120 and 180 words.

SECTION 4. Speaking (10 minutes)

4. What things do you do that are bad for you?



Sport Part 1
(Any three of these questions can be asked)

1. 
   Do you like to play sport or would you rather be a spectator?
   
2. 
   What sports do you like most?
   
3. 
   What sports do you do at school?
   
4. 
   Is it better to watch sport on TV or to go to a live match or event?
   
5. 
   What do you need to become a top athlete?
   
6. 
   Do you think boys think about sport differently to girls? How?
   

Part 2

1. 
   Describe a sporting event you have taken part in or watched as a spectator.
   

You can mention some of the following things:

• 
  what sport it was
  
• 
  where it was
  
• 
  who won
  
• 
  how long it lasted
  
• 
  what the atmosphere was like
  
• 
  if you would go again
  
• 
  anything you should / shouldn’t have done (eg I should have taken an umbrella / I shouldn’t have bought tickets at the back, etc)
  

2. 
   What are the benefits of playing a sport?
   
3. 
   Do you think the types of sport that are popular will change in the future?
   

Variant 10.

SECTION 1. Listening (15 minutes) Track 21

Travelling

Listen and decide if the following statements are true (T) or false (F).

1. 
   The people are talking after the summer.
   
2. 
   A lot of people are staying at home to save money.
   
3. 
   Tourists have to travel further to get good prices.
   
4. 
   Croatia is popular in the summer.
   
5. 
   Morocco and Tunisia are popular non-European destinations.
   

ANSWERS FOR THE LISTENING

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

SECTION 2. Reading (30 minutes)
Part 1. Entertainment

Read the text and answer

For me, becoming an actor was a painful process. I suppose you could say that my first performance was in the school play, at the age of 12. One of my teachers had told me (not asked me!) to play the leading role. I was given a script to take home for the weekend and told that rehearsals would begin on Monday. ‘All you have to do is learn the first ten pages,’ he told me. Well, I studied that script for hours but when Monday came, it soon became clear that I hadn’t actually learned anything. I had been reading the lines but they hadn’t stayed in my memory – not a word! So for that rehearsal, I did it with the script in my hand. My teacher was angry and I couldn’t convince him that I had really worked hard – it was just that nobody had ever taught me how to learn lines like that. In the end, the only way I was able to learn my part was by getting together after school with the other members of the cast. As hard as I tried, it was impossible to make any progress alone.
I can’t remember very much about the actual performance except that I liked doing it. I remember thinking that I had almost become the character that I was playing. While I was on stage, it was not me speaking – it was him. I had become, somehow, another person, and I liked it! The audience were really appreciative and people kept congratulating me afterwards. My teacher’s face was unforgettable. He was so happy. But despite all this, I never once thought it was because I was a good actor.
All I could think was that they were happy that I had remembered to speak in all the right places.
Later, I stopped being an amateur and I tried to make a living from acting. My first job as a professional was standing up on a stage and telling jokes. Night after night I went home miserable. I often thought of giving it all up, especially when I read the terrible things critics wrote in their reviews. The people who came to see me didn’t get my jokes and they didn’t find anything I said funny. In fact they hated me. I learned from those problems, however, and I progressed. Until the next job, which was even worse. That, however, is a story for another time!

1. 
   For the writer, acting in his first play was something that
   

2. 
   Learning his lines from a script was something that
   
3. 
   What did his teacher think at his first rehearsal?
   
4. 
   Who does him in line 3 of paragraph 2 refer to? _
   
5. 
   What did the writer think of his performance at school? _
   

Part 2. Technology and Science

Read the article and complete the sentences with a short phrase from the text.

Computers in the home and office are a relatively new phenomenon. Before 1980, there might have been a computer in the manager’s office, but other than that, computers were used for specialised jobs only. And it was not until the 1990s that having a PC at home started to become normal. It is, perhaps, a bit surprising then that we have already started talking about the death of the PC. Surely such a revolutionary invention can’t be out of date already?
The main reason people are saying that the PC, or desktop computer, is on the way out is that it is being replaced by more portable devices. In the workplace, just ten years ago, every desk had its own PC, keyboard and monitor. These days you are more likely to see laptops which often come in and leave with the staff due to the fact that many workers tend to take their work home with them. And of course, if your company provides you with a free laptop, you can use it at home and you don’t have to use your own home computer. It’s also more common for young people to be bought a laptop than a desktop, and in many families today, each member will have their own laptop. So the desktop computer gathers dust and is eventually thrown away.
The demand these days is for smaller and more powerful devices, so more and more processing power is being put into tablets and smartphones. In fact, never mind the desktop, people have already started talking about the death of the laptop. Why carry around a huge, heavy bag when you can have the same functions on a device that fits in your pocket?
But smaller is not always better. In reality, the desktop will probably not die out anytime soon. Some people who do a lot of typing find a full-size keyboard is more comfortable to use. And for those people who need a big screen, or more than one screen, the traditional desk set-up is probably going to keep the traditional

Read the article and find phrases that mean the same as the following.

1. 
   quite a recent development (paragraph 1)
   

2. 
   about to disappear (paragraph 2)
   

3. 
   work at home (paragraph 2)
   

4. 
   gives you (paragraph 2)
   

5. 
   stays unused (paragraph 2)
   

ANSWERS FOR THE READING