Listening
1 Recording 7 Listen and match speakers 1–6
with their memories a)–g). There is one extra
answer you do not need.
1 Matthew __a__
2 Lewis _____
3 Becky _____
4 Diane _____
5 Lily _____
6 Justin _____
a) --remembers a unique experience vividly--
b) has vivid food memories
c) associates a particular smell with memories
d) can’t remember anything, possibly due to
experiencing trauma at the time
e) has a distinct memory of a ferry trip
f) has a name on the tip of their tongue
g) has a clear memory of a life-changing
event. 2 Recording 7 Listen again and underline the
correct answer, a), b) or c).
1 Matthew _b_ the parachute jump.
a) compared other activities to
b) _was enthusiastic about doing_
c) remembers feeling terrified before doing
2 Lewis ____ school on his first day.
a) has no idea who walked him to
b) is convinced his neighbours took him to
c) is sure his mother didn’t walk him to
3 Becky ____ in Wales.
a) and her family rented a holiday cottage
b) stayed at a cottage directly on the beach
c) spent a lot of time playing on the beach
4 Diane admits to ____.
a) having a strong recollection of who she went on
holiday with
b) being unsentimental about the past
c) having enjoyed staying in a tent
5 Lily says that ____.
a) having to rely on her parents for lifts gets a bit
wearing after a while
b) gaining your driving licence is a step towards
becoming an adult
c) having the use of a car is essential
6 Justin remembers ____.
a) exactly what his teacher looked like
b) how lenient his teacher was with everyone
c) only his teacher’s face. 3 Recording 8 Listen and write true (T) or false
(F).
1 John thinks children have much more
freedom these days. _F_
2 Liz says fewer children play on the streets
now due to the amount of cars on the road. ____
3 She’s grateful for having had the chance
to play outside as a child. ____
4 John says he never played truant. ____
5 They often took a picnic with them to eat
in the tree house. ____
6 They both recall how people were promised
a shorter working week after the advent of
computers in the workplace. ____
. Grammar
4 Underline the correct answer, a) b) or c).
1 I was _c_ give up on my essay for the night,
when I had a flash of inspiration that gave me all
the ideas I needed to finish it.
a) due to b) would c) _about to_
2 While in Italy on our European tour, we ____
how to make pizza the traditional way as well as
see all the famous sights.
a) were to learn b) were learning c) ’ve learnt
3 Not ____ to appear cowardly, Nick
volunteered to climb up and rescue the cat stuck in
the tree.
a) to want b) wanting c) wanted
4 It was only when Bill ____ to turn up to work
that we started worrying about him.
a) fails b) failed c) failing
5 Our cruise was ____ us along the Norwegian
coast up to the Arctic Circle but it was cancelled
at the last minute.
a) to have taken b) taken c) taking
6 Fearing reprisal, the culprit ____ the scene in
the dead of night and was nowhere to found the
following day.
a) was fleeing b) had fled c) flees. 5 Complete the text with the words from the box.
There are two words you do not need.
_________________________________
changed had Excited given going
-Having- meant point to Tired was What
would
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1_Having_ been brought up in a small village, Clare
wanted to experience life in the big, wide world.
2 ____
she decided to do as a result 3 ____
take
a gap year after school. She had initially thought
about travelling with a friend and going
backpacking around South America but her parents
thought it was too dangerous and didn’t want her
4 ____
do anything quite so adventurous or
potentially dangerous. 5 ____
of all the arguing,
Clare was on the 6 ____
of giving up her travel
plans when, seemingly out of the blue, her mother
had a complete, and somewhat unexpected, change
of heart. The reason why she 7 ____
her mind
was that in thinking back to her own teenage years,
she’d seen her own spirit of adventure in her
daughter. Recalling that she herself had obeyed her
parents, who had wanted her to stay close to home,
and 8 ____
now not get the chance to live out her
own travel dreams until retirement, she saw why it
was important for her daughter to go travelling.
She’d always 9 ____
to travel the world but
somehow life had taken her on a different journey
and up to this point, she never 10 ____ . Clare,
fortunately for her, was 11 ____ to benefit from
her mother’s wisdom and erstwhile dreams of
adventure!
. 6 Correct one mistake in each sentence.
1 -Fallen- _Having fallen_ over in the street, Julia felt
really embarrassed.
2 It was Joseph he left you the message.
3 What I would really like to know is why wasn’t I
informed about this issue.
4 Dreamt of a romantic holiday in the sun, Julia
booked a sailing holiday around the Greek islands.
5 We are supposed to meet up with our cousins
yesterday but they cancelled at the last minute.
6 The thing she said she found the most challenging
was to get used to driving on the left side of the
road.
. Vocabulary
7 Complete the sentences with a verb from the
box and the correct preposition. There are two
words you do not need.
_________________________________
brought date deal let presume
set suffer switch take (x2) -was-
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1 He _was about _ to go home when she finally
arrived in a fluster.
2 We were told that the burglar alarm was incredibly
sensitive and would be by _______ a
barely discernible movement.
3 Some people have a tendency to _______
migraines when they are under stress.
4 You never know, perhaps going out with us
tonight would actually help _______ your mind
your personal problems.
5 Isn’t it about time you relaxed a little? You really
do need to _______ your hair and
unwind a bit for a change.
6 As a firefighter, Jack has to _______
potentially dangerous situations every day – it’s
all part and parcel of his job.
7 The Mayan site of Tikal is known to
to the pre-Columbian era.
8 Returning to her old school, this time as a teacher,
a lot of fond memories for Hayley.
9 She’s going to _______ time out _______
studying to celebrate her twenty-first birthday. 8 Complete the sentences. Use the correct form
of the word in brackets.
1 The old cottage was barely _habitable_ (habitation)
for the first three months of the renovation project.
2 Every season Arner’s has a _______ (clarity)
sale to get rid of old stock and make space for the
next season’s products.
3 The interviewer failed to get Boris, who is adept at
being _______ (evasion), to actually provide
real answers to the questions asked.
4 If we are to prevent the farm animals from
escaping, we have no option but to _______
(electricity) the fence around the field.
5 My daughter is completely (trust) so
I know nothing untoward will happen if I ask her
to babysit for the evening.
6 We soon discovered that the contract we had
signed was completely _______ (meaning)
and had been worth less than the paper it was
written on right from the moment we signed it. . 9 Complete the sentences with one word.
1 Kirsty, my flatmate, always asks me to keep our
supply of chocolate hidden from her as she firmly
believes in the proverb out of _sight_ , out of
mind when it comes to such obvious temptations.
2 After three days of searching in _______ in
atrocious conditions, the mountain rescue team
had no choice but to call off the search and return
to base camp.
3 We got to the station just in _______ to catch our
train – it was such a close call!
4 During our training session we were taught to only
ever _______ reasonable risks and to never put
anyone, including ourselves, in danger.
5 My father keeps a first aid kit in the boot of his car
because he believes it’s better to be safe than
.
6 When given the option of working either the early
or late _______ , Sylvia opted for the early one so
she could collect the children from school at the
end of the day.
7 Every time Jesse listens to his Rolling Stones
albums, vivid memories of his twenties _______
flooding back to him.
8 There’s no rush. We have all the time in the
, so just relax and take it easy. Function
10 Cross out the extra word in each sentence.
1 The point is that we need _against_ to take
immediate action or the situation will worsen.
2 Oh, come on surely, you can’t really believe that
what he said is true!
3 Suppose that’s the whole point! You need to get a
steady job and start behaving responsibly.
4 All I’m trying to say is absolutely that I need time
to decide what to do.
5 How surely you don’t think that I’m choosing not
to work! I’d love to have a job. It’s just not easy
finding one.
6 I just couldn’t think it’s too easy to blame
everything on poor parenting. There are other
factors that influence children’s behaviour.
. 11 Complete the conversations with phrases a)–
m) below. There are two options you do not
need.
1 A: Well, I think we’ve covered all the main
points. Does anyone have anything 1 _g_ ?
B: Yes, actually. I think that we should change the
nature of the advertising we do at our tills so
instead of handing out fast food vouchers to
customers we promote something healthier.
C: I’m 2 ____
actually. After all, it would promote
a better and more caring image for the company.
B: Exactly.
A: 3____
that though, we do need to commit to
the contract we’ve signed for the current
promotion.
2 A: Perhaps we should organise a staff day out to
celebrate the end of the peak season?
B: That’s 4____
. Alternatively, we could instead
organise an evening event in the main hall and ask
people to bring along their partners.
A: Mmm … That 5 ____
and would be easy to
organise. Good thinking.
3 A: So, we’ve booked the flights, reserved the
hotel, got some local currency and had the car
checked. Is 6 ____
missed?
B: No, I don’t think so. You’ve already checked
our passports are up-to-date, haven’t you?
A: Oh no! I hadn’t 7 ____!
4 A: Has anyone 8 ____
with other ideas for the
fundraiser?
B: We could always approach the local council
for sponsorship. 9 ____
, given the recent spending
cuts they’ve made I’m not sure how useful that
would be. I’m not sure there’s funding available.
C: That’s true but we 10 ____ this is a very
worthy cause.
5 A: So, can you 11 ____ about the proposed
development of the area?
B: Well, I’ve just had a call from the local
planning department so I’ll be following that up
later today …
a) could argue that
b) Mind you
c) managed to come up
d) with you there
e) an interesting idea
f) tell us more
g) -to add-
h) Looking at it another
i) thought of that
j) makes sense
k) Having said
l) the logic in that
m) there anything we’ve. Reading
12 Read the competition entry below. Underline
true (T), false (F) or not given (NG).
A chance encounter
I remember the day as clearly as if it were yesterday
even though the events I’m about to relate took
place fifteen years ago. A friend and I were driving
along those wonderful, winding English country
lanes on a crisp, winter’s afternoon. The sky was a
deep January blue and frost lingered on the bare
branches. We’d been on the road for a few days just
going wherever the mood took us, with no plan and
no deadlines. I was at a metaphorical crossroads in
my life and was looking for a new direction, so this
road trip had been arranged to help me clear my
head and show me the way forward.
As we approached a hidden turning in the road, I
spotted an old wooden sign with barely legible
writing on it. Intrigued, we decided to explore and
drove up the path to find ourselves in front of an
imposing old country house on a beautiful green
estate. We parked and got out, wondering whether
we were trespassing but curious to find out more. As
we were looking at the majestic façade we heard
some rustling behind us and we turned to see a
dishevelled old man with wild hair and staring eyes.
He asked if he could help us and in response we said
we were interested in finding out more about the
house. As the estate’s office was closed, we weren’t
able to pick up any information so he offered to take
us on a personal tour instead.
The house was cloaked in silence. We stepped
through the door and found ourselves in front of an
impressive sweeping staircase with beautiful, gilt
framed family portraits adorning the walls. We
followed our guide and discovered that the house
was used for residential workshops. It’s strange to
relate now, but I distinctly recall feeling as if I’d
lived there before. It all seemed so familiar and yet I
knew I’d never been there before. I felt a sense of
peace and knew that this place would somehow
feature in my life. Without thinking, I heard myself
utter the words, ‘I could really see myself living
here.’ ‘We’re always looking for people to work
here,’ was the immediate reply.
I contacted the estate’s office the next day with no
clear idea why I was calling, but was asked to send
in an email explaining what skills and experience I
had and what I felt I could offer them, which I duly
did. A few days later I was invited to stay at the
house for a probationary period, during which time I
helped out in the office, the kitchen and the grounds.
Having successfully completed my probationary
month, I was offered a permanent position as events
manager for the estate. Who could have predicted
that a chance encounter with the gardener would
lead to such a life-changing experience?
1 The author’s recollections of the day
in question are hazy at best. T/F/NG
2 It was sunny on this particular day. T/F/NG
3 They were following an itinerary. T/F/NG
4 The writing on the sign to the old
house was pretty much indiscernible. T/F/NG
5 Their sense of inquisitiveness far
exceeded any concerns they might
have about being on private property. T/F/NG
6 The house they came across had once
been a grand, impressive building. T/F/NG
7 The author and her friend were
approached by a man dressed in
flamboyant attire. T/F/NG
8 On entering the house the author felt
a sense of déjà vu. T/F/NG
9 The author felt as if the place
emanated serenity. T/F/NG
10 The author decided to ask whether
there happened to be any vacancies
at the house. T/F/NG
11 If the author hadn’t met the gardener,
she would be doing a very different
job now. . 13 Read the text again and choose the correct
answer, a), b) or c).
1 The author recalls _c_ .
a) how the hedgerows looked on that day
b) turning left at the crossroads
c) _her mission to get her life on course_
2 The author and her friend .
a) duped the old man into giving them access to
the property
b) were given brochures on the history of the
house
c) were able to explore the house
3 The hallway of the house ____.
a) fell short of their expectations
b) had a stately charm to it
c) was full of vulgar pretention
4 The author had a premonition that ____.
a) the house would have a bearing on her future
b) she’d seen the house in a dream
c) she’d end up working there
5 Within a matter of days she ____.
a) had been contacted by the estate manager
b) found herself returning to the house
c) had been invited for an interview
6 She believes that her life changed ____.
a) due to a road diversion
b) because of an incidental meeting
c) as a result of her proactivity. Writing
14 Put the words from the box in the correct
place in the sentences. There are three words
you do not need.
_________________________________
distinctly -earliest- enthusiastically
hazy howling ineffective
resourceful screeching unquenchable
earliest
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1 Lying in the grass in the sun is one of my ^
memories of school holidays.
2 Grace has always loved music and danced to the
live band at last night’s concert.
3 I have a recollection of spending time with my
mum’s parents when I was really little, but I can’t
remember them very clearly.
4 Martina has a(n) thirst for knowledge and is
always studying, even when we don’t have any
homework!
5 I remember the first time I travelled abroad on my
own. I went to France and was visiting a friend I
had there.
6 Witnesses described to the police how the
speeding car had come to a halt only a few
centimetres from the cliff edge.
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