CERTACLES B1 ANGLÈS 1 CERTACLES B1 ENGLISH 2018-2019 SAMPLE EXAM QUESTIONS PAPER 1: Reading (25%) Time: 60 minutes • You have 60 minutes to answer all 3 reading tasks. • Write all your answers on the answer sheet. • Each correct answer is worth 1 mark. • Marks are not deducted for incorrect answers. Reading 1 Read the following text about Laura Dekker and answer the questions using a maximum of 5 words for each answer. Write all your answers on the answer sheet. There is an example (0). Dutch girl, 16, becomes youngest sailor to circumnavigate globe single-handed Laura Dekker, 16 years old, has become the youngest person ever to sail around the world single- handed. She is from the Netherlands, but she says she may never return to the country because the authorities there tried to stop her trip. Laura arrived on the Caribbean island of St Maarten on her 38-foot boat, Guppy, and said she was sometimes not sure why she had decided to go on the voyage. She also described her battles with the Dutch authorities as a frightening and shocking experience and said she was discussing with her parents the possibility of moving abroad, probably to New Zealand. When she sailed into harbour at the St Maarten Yacht Club, aged 16 years and 123 days, she was met by crowds of well-wishers. As she left the boat, she was accompanied by her mother, her father, her sister and her grandparents. “There were moments where I thought, ‘what am I doing out here?’ but I never wanted to stop,” she told reporters. She had experienced big waves and strong winds on the final 41-day part of her voyage, from Cape Town, South Africa. “It’s a dream, and I wanted to do it.” Courts in the Netherlands did not allow her to embark on the voyage when she was 14. She was put under the guardianship of Dutch protection agencies for the reason that she was too young to look after herself at sea. She finally won her battle with the courts in July 2010 and set sail from St Maarten on 20 January 2011.
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CERTACLES B1 ENGLISH 2018-2019 SAMPLE EXAM QUESTIONS PAPER 1: Reading (25%) Time: 60 minutes
• You have 60 minutes to answer all 3 reading tasks. • Write all your answers on the answer sheet. • Each correct answer is worth 1 mark. • Marks are not deducted for incorrect answers.
Reading 1 Read the following text about Laura Dekker and answer the questions using a maximum of 5 words for each answer. Write all your answers on the answer sheet. There is an example (0). Dutch girl, 16, becomes youngest sailor to circumnavigate globe single-handed Laura Dekker, 16 years old, has become the youngest person ever to sail around the world single-handed. She is from the Netherlands, but she says she may never return to the country because the authorities there tried to stop her trip. Laura arrived on the Caribbean island of St Maarten on her 38-foot boat, Guppy, and said she was sometimes not sure why she had decided to go on the voyage. She also described her battles with the Dutch authorities as a frightening and shocking experience and said she was discussing with her parents the possibility of moving abroad, probably to New Zealand. When she sailed into harbour at the St Maarten Yacht Club, aged 16 years and 123 days, she was met by crowds of well-wishers. As she left the boat, she was accompanied by her mother, her father, her sister and her grandparents. “There were moments where I thought, ‘what am I doing out here?’ but I never wanted to stop,” she told reporters. She had experienced big waves and strong winds on the final 41-day part of her voyage, from Cape Town, South Africa. “It’s a dream, and I wanted to do it.” Courts in the Netherlands did not allow her to embark on the voyage when she was 14. She was put under the guardianship of Dutch protection agencies for the reason that she was too young to look after herself at sea. She finally won her battle with the courts in July 2010 and set sail from St Maarten on 20 January 2011.
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When Laura was born, her parents were living on a boat near the coast of New Zealand and she first sailed solo at six years old. Friends have described her as intelligent, independent and disciplined. She has said her dream of crossing the globe began at the age of ten. She celebrated her 16th birthday during the trip, after spending time with her father and friends in Darwin, Australia. The journey included stops in the Canary Islands, Panama, the Galápagos Islands, Tonga, Fiji, Bora Bora and Australia. She told how her boat was drenched by a whale in South Africa and a flying fish hit her on the head in the Caribbean. “I became good friends with my boat,” she said. “I learned a lot about myself.”
The Guardian
(0) Who did Laura sail around the world with? She sailed alone.
1. What problems did Laura have with the Dutch authorities?
2. Why did Laura go on the trip?
3. Who met Laura at the end of her trip?
4. What was the weather like on the last part of her journey?
5. Where was Laura born?
6. When did she first sail alone?
Etc…
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Reading 2 Read the following text about Amelia Earhart, and choose the best answer (a, b or c). Write your answers on the answer sheet. There is an example (0).
Amelia Earhart (1897 – disappeared 1937)
Amelia Earhart was one of America's first female pilots and the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many other records, wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences and helped inspire others with her love of aviation.
A 10-minute flight in December 1920 would change her life completely and Amelia immediately decided she wanted to learn to fly. Her teacher was Anita "Neta" Snook, a pioneer female aviator and in May 1923, Earhart became the 16th woman to receive a pilot's license.
On 17th June 1928, Earhart became the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean by air. The plane took off from Newfoundland and landed in Wales twenty hours and forty minutes later. Although Amelia was only a passenger, the public didn’t care. Suddenly, she was famous.
In the last years of the 1920’s, hundreds of record flights were made, but no woman had flown across the Atlantic Ocean alone. A wealthy American, Amy Guest, decided she would try to do it. However, her family opposed the idea, so she looked for another woman to take her place and Amelia Earhart was proposed.
On 20th May 1932, Amelia took off from Newfoundland. Although weather conditions were difficult she finally landed 15 hours later in Ireland. She had become the first woman to fly solo non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean.
Amelia’s next challenge was to fly around the world, a distance of about 43,000 km. She knew the trip would be dangerous, so just before leaving; she gave a small American flag to her friend Jacqueline Cochran, another female pilot. Amelia had carried the flag on all her major flights.
On 1st June 1937, Amelia and her navigator, Fred Noonan, took off from Miami, Florida and headed south toward the equator. After stops in South America, Africa, the India and Southeast Asia, they arrived in New Guinea, on 29th June 1937 having completed about 35,000 km of the journey.
On 2nd July 1937 they left New Guinea. Their intended destination was Howland Island, 4,113 km away. About 1,300 km into the flight, Amelia sent a message saying that fuel was getting low and that they could not find Howland Island. The radio signals got weaker and weaker. Then there was silence.
Although American Navy ships and planes searched the area for fifteen days, they didn’t find anything. Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan were officially declared "lost at sea."
Many theories emerged after the disappearance of Earhart and Noonan. The two most probable theories are that the plane ran out of fuel and Earhart and Noonan crashed into the
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sea, or that they managed to land on the Phoenix Islands, but later died. However, no verifiable evidence has been found.
(0) Amelia Earhart is most famous for
a. writing books b. being the first woman pilot c. flying across the Atlantic alone 1. When did Amelia Earhart decide she wanted to become a pilot?
a. After reading a book about flying. b. After a short flight. c. After she met Anita Snook.
2. Why did Amelia become famous in June 1928?
a. Because she was the first woman to fly a plane across the Atlantic. b. Because she was the first woman to get her pilot’s licence. c. Because she was the first woman to cross the Atlantic ocean in an airplane.
3. When did Amelia make her first solo flight across the Atlantic?
a. 1920 b. 1928 c. 1932
4. Why didn’t Amy Guest try to fly around the world?
a. Because she didn’t have enough money. b. Her parents didn’t let her. c. She was too frightened.
5. Amelia attempted to fly around the world……
a. with Fred Noonan. b. on her own. c. non-stop.
6. When did they lose contact with Amelia on her final flight?
a. Near Howland Island. b. As soon as they took off from New Guinea. c. After they had arrived at the Phoenix Islands.
Etc…
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Reading 3 Read the four printer reviews. Match sentences 1 – 8 with the texts (A – D). You can use the texts (A-D) more than once. Write your answers on the answer sheet. There is an example (0). A. Epson EcoTank ET-3600 A huge portion of the ET-3600’s upfront cost comes from its enormous starting ink supply that runs to 11,000 pages. This isn’t actually a £400 printer; it’s a much more basic printer with a lot of ink. Given the price has now dropped to under £300, it looks like even better value. As a result, running costs are ludicrously low at just 1.04p per page for mono and 1.43p for colour. If cheap printing is your primary concern, this is a no-brainer. Print quality takes a bit of a back seat, as do extra features. It’s also a bit noisy, but if you’re just after basic printing that’s cheap in the long term, it’s a great choice. B. Canon Maxify MB2755 For users with bigger printing demands, the Canon Maxify MB2755 is an excellent choice. With a huge ink and paper capacity and decent print speeds, it’s a bit of an all-rounder. Advanced features include Wi-Fi connectivity, an ADF (although it’s only single-sided so you’ll have to manually flip sheets over) and twin paper sources so you can have two different paper stocks in play at any time. We tested this machine and found it could peak at around 20ppm on mono prints and 6.7ppm for colour; nowhere near as fast as Canon’s claims but good for the price. Print quality is also very good, with clear and sharp text and vibrant colours on documents and photos. Print costs were nice and low, but higher than Epson’s EcoTank range. C. Brother MFC-J4620DW This printer sits in Brother’s range of small office and home office printers and comes with all the features you’d expect for an office machine for a price that’s just over £100 at the moment. There’s a 20-page automatic document feeder as well as a flat scanner, and you can print directly from cloud storage service such as Dropbox using just the printer, which connects to the internet over Wi-Fi. It’s relatively fast, albeit not the quickest printer around with a mixed print speed of 7.3ppm in our tests. Things slow down substantially if you up the quality. Black text is very nicely presented, although colours printed on standard paper don’t look as good as they do on rival printers. Photos on photo paper look great, though, with good colours and lots of definition. One thing to note about this printer is that it’s noisy thanks to it’s “flutter” system to prevent jams. It works, but you definitely know about it. D. HP ColorLaserJet Prop M252dw This printer isn’t the cheapest colour laser around, but the HP Color LaserJet Pro M252dw has several advantages over its rivals, including running costs and duplex print. Pages will set you back 2.8p for black and 10.1p for colour, although we’d prefer a higher-capacity paper tray to the 15-sheet affair on offer. Print quality is generally excellent. Black text comes out crisp and dense, with no spatter, while solid colours are bright and don’t suffer any banding. Colour photos are well detailed, if a little on the dark side. The M252dw looks smart, too, and features a versatile wireless connection.
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Match sentences 1-8 with the printer reviews (A-D). You can use the texts (A-D) more than once. Write all your answers on the answer sheet. Write only 1 answer in each box. There is an example (0).
(0) This printer is the most expensive D
1 This printer is the best for photos.
2 What you need to do a lot of printing.
3 If the most important thing is the cost of the prints
4 Doesn’t have much room to store paper
5 This printer is noisy but for a reason.
6 Can hold a lot of ink.
Etc…
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25%
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ID number:
PAPER 2: Writing (25%) Time: 60 minutes
You must answer both task 1 and task 2. Task 1
You are going to London on a week’s holiday. You have never been to London before but you have an English friend who lives there and who wants to meet up with you. Write an email to your friend in London. In your email, you should:
• say when you are coming to London • ask when and where you can meet up • suggest what you can see and do together
Write 130 - 150 words in the appropriate style.
Task 2
You have seen this competition advertised in an English-language website called The Stage.
Have you seen a really good film at the cinema recently? What was it about? Which actors star in it? What did you like best about the film? Write a review, giving us your opinion. If we post your review in our website, you will receive 2 free cinema tickets!
Write 150 – 180 words in the appropriate style.
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ID number:
PAPER 3: Listening (25%) Time: 30 minutes
INSTRUCTIONS You will hear each recording twice. Write your answers on the question paper. You will have 3 minutes at the end of the test to copy your answers onto the answer sheet.
Watch a short video about languages at risk of disappearing. For questions 1 to 8, choose the best answer (a, b or c). There is an example (0).
(0) The researchers travel around the ……………B…………….., searching for languages at risk of being lost forever. (a) country (b) world (c) Australia 1. In Australia, they interview the ………………………………… of a language they thought was extinct. (a) last man (b) oldest man (c) tribal leader 2. There are …………………… known languages in the world. (a) 700 (b) 1700 (c) 7000 3. More than ………………………of the world’s languages will disappear in the near future. (a) 15% (b) 25% (c) 50% 4. A language disappears every ………………………… around the world. (a) week (b) 2 weeks (c) 3 weeks 5. The endurance of a language depends on …………. (a) the government (b) the youth (c) the older generation 6. The researchers leave the villagers ……………………… so they can continue to record and preserve their language. (a) a technology kit (b) some money (c) some advice Etc…
Listen to Ed, a university student, talk about his experience of studying abroad. Complete the sentences. Write a maximum of 5 words or numbers for each answer. There is an example (0).
(0) Ed’s surname is Flower.
1. Ed is studying …………………………………………………………………………………………………. at university.
2. On his year abroad he worked as a …………………………………………………………………………………….
3. ……………………………………………….. people were chosen to go to Quebec on their year abroad.
4. Ed did his project on ………………………………………………………………………………………………………...
5. He had to write …………………………………………………………………….words for his research essay.
6. He had to do an …………………………………………………….. when he got back to Exeter in October.
Watch a short video about a town in Norway. For questions 1 to 9, choose the best answer (a, b or c). There is an example (0).
(0) In the past, Rjukan ………….direct sunlight in the winter. (a) got little (b) never got (c) got 2 hours of 1. Rjukan now has the world’s ……………….solar mirrors. (a) longest (b) strongest (c) largest 2. The high valleys around Rjukan are good for providing …………… (a) drinking water (b) minerals (c) electricity 3. The sun is so low in winter, that the light didn’t reach the ……………. (a) houses (b) town (c) valley hills 4. The founder of the town built a cable car to …………. (a) take his family to the top of the mountain (b) make it easier for people to leave (c) let residents enjoy the sunlight during the winter 5. Karen believes that the sun makes people healthier and they work………………….. (a) more (b) less (c) better 6. Huge mirrors on the hillsides reflect the sunlight ………………. (a) in one part of the town (b) over the entire valley (c) all over the town Etc..
PAPER 4: Speaking (25%) Time: 14 minutes (in pairs) *21 minutes (group of 3)
Sport + weekend trip Part 1: Personal introduction + questions (individual) Tell the examiner a little bit about yourself. (Talk about your family / work / studies / hobbies / town / holidays, etc.). The examiner may ask you one or two questions about yourself.
Part 2: Photo description (individual)
The examiner will give you a photo each to describe and talk about, and then ask you a question related to your partner’s photos (individual).
Candidate A
Here is your photo it shows people doing sport. Please tell us about your picture.
Candidate B: How often do you go swimming?
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Candidate B Here is your photo which also shows people doing sport. Please tell us about your picture.
Candidate A: Do you enjoy team sports? Why / why not?
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Part 3: Discussion (in pairs)
The examiner will give you a diagram /photos and explain a situation which you have to discuss together:
I’m going to describe a situation to you. You want to go away for the weekend with your friends but you have very little money. Talk together about where you can go and which will be the best place and why. Here are some pictures with ideas to help you. Talk together.
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Part 4: Questions
The examiner will ask you 1 – 3 questions related to the topic you discussed in part three.
Example questions; Which country would you most like to visit? Why? Tell us about your best / worst journey. Where did you go and what did you do on you last holiday?
ANSWERS Reading Reading 1: Laura Dekker 1. They tried to stop her 2. She’s not sure/ she doesn’t know 3. well-wishers and family 4. big waves and strong winds / bad weather 5. on a boat / near New Zealand 6. when she was 6 Reading 2: Amelia Earhart 1. B 2. C 3. C 4. B 5. A 6. A Reading 3: Printer Reviews http://www.trustedreviews.com/guide/best-printers
1. C 2. B 3. A 4. D 5. C 6. A
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Listening Listening 1: Languages at risk of disappearing 1. A 2. C 3. C 4. B 5. B 6. A Listening 2: Studying Abroad 1. English and French 2. teacher 3. 30 4. local political subject 5. 3000 6. oral exam Listening 3: Seeing the light 1. C 2. C 3. B 4. C 5. C 6. A
