Headway

NAME  CLASS  New

Skills test 3B Upper-Intermediate FOURTH EDITION

READING 1 Read an article about popular celebrity stories.

Tick (✓) five points that are mentioned.
I heard it on the grapevine 1 JFK didn’t call himself a jam doughnut.
2 The president was worried that his German accent
It’s never been easier to keep up to date with all the latest celebrity news,
and sometimes it can be hard to judge where the truth lies. Here is a sounded silly.
handful of stories, some are older than others, and only one is true. 3 It’s possible that some people were playing a joke
The story dates back to 1963, when then-President John F. Kennedy went to on Disney.
Germany to give a speech. Delivering his speech in German, in his strong
Bostonian accent, Kennedy famously said to the crowd: ‘Ich bin ein 4 Disney had secretly made enquiries into being frozen
Berliner’ which translates as ‘I am a citizen of Berlin’ But since a ‘Berliner’ after death.
also refers to a type of doughnut that was popular in Germany at the time,
it’s possible that the people might have inferred: ‘I am a jam doughnut.’ 5 Lloyd’s have written some policies to cover different
And indeed, sometime after the event, stories began to appear in the body parts.
press, claiming that JFK’s line had provoked spontaneous laughter and
ridicule during the speech because of this. When and where this story 6 The press weren’t explicitly told that Tom Jones had
originated isn’t known, but it has since been proven to be a myth. bought a policy.
Kennedy’s speech, including the famous phrase, had been translated and
checked scrupulously by his people, who denied that the jam-doughnut
7 Jackson and McCartney received royalties whenever a
interpretation had any truth in it at all; indeed, people in Berlin actually Beatles song was played in public.
refer to jam doughnuts as ‘Pfannkuchen’, not ‘Berliner’. The original
8 Paul McCartney owned a few of the publishing rights
transcript is stored at the National Archives and Records Administration in
Washington, D.C. to his own songs.
Walt Disney, it is widely held, paid to have his dead body frozen in the
hope that some time in the future, when medical technology was 1 point for each correct answer  5
sufficiently advanced, he could be miraculously brought back to life. It’s
not clear how this story came into being, but what is known is that Disney’s
remains were cremated when he died in 1966, and his ashes reside at the
2 Read the article again and circle the correct letter.
Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. It’s possible that the 1 It took a while before …
secrecy surrounding his funeral helped this rumour to gain popularity; and
in terms of its origins, some people suspect that a group of Disney a the press picked up on the ‘ich bin ein Berliner’
employees were having a laugh at their former boss’s expense. His story.
daughter dismissed the claims in 1972: ‘There is absolutely no truth in the
rumour that my father, Walt Disney, wished to be frozen. I doubt that my b JFK believed he had said something ridiculous.
father had heard of cryonics.’ c JFK understood what he had said about himself.
Lloyd’s of London is famous for being an insurance company who can offer
rather specialized coverage for its most valued clients. Over the years, 2 There were people …
Lloyd’s has insured everything from movie stars’ legs, and other body parts, a in the Kennedy administration who believed the
to a coffee taster’s tongue. However, in 2004 a slew of popular newspapers
covered a story which was claiming that the aging Welsh crooner Tom story.
Jones had approached the insurance company to insure his chest hair – for b at the National Archives and Records
an astonishing $7 million! It turned out that Lloyd’s had indeed written a
policy for someone, but it wasn't purchased. It’s unclear how the unnamed Administration who checked the speech.
person became Tom Jones, but was probably to do with the insurer c in the Kennedy administration who denied the story
insinuating something about hairy-chested celebrities, and then the press
drew their own conclusions! was true.
This story might sound a little strange, but is actually true. In 1985, the 3 Initially, Disney’s daughter …
publishing rights to most of the Beatles’ songs were sold to 80s pop
phenomenon Michael Jackson for the sizeable sum of $47.5 million. Paul a insisted that the rumours were not true.
McCartney admitted that he wasn’t crazy about the acquisition, which b kept quiet about the rumours.
numbered around 250 classics, including Yesterday and Let It Be. The ironic
thing is that McCartney had been the one to tell Jackson about the c told the press that her father had not been frozen.
profitability of song ownership. As a result of Jackson’s successful
acquisition, every time McCartney or anyone else wanted to use a Beatles 4 Walt Disney’s funeral …
song, Jackson received 50% of all royalties – the remaining Beatles received
the rest. Despite speculation that Jackson might sell off the Beatles’ a was a private affair.
catalogue in order to raise money when he hit hard times, he held onto it b took place at a public location in California.
until his death. But now, under the 1976 US Copyright Act, which states that
songs written prior to 1978 revert to the songwriter after 56 years, Sir Paul c was attended by a number of his employees.
might soon claim back the titles.

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NAME  CLASS  New
Skills test 3B  Continued
5 The insurer at Lloyd’s …
a had mentioned to the press that Tom Jones
was involved.
b had sold a policy worth $7 million.
c had written a policy concerning chest hair.
6 Jackson didn’t …
a sell the Beatles catalogue in order to pay off his • say how you travelled to get there, and who you went
mounting debts.
b get into financial difficulties.
c speak to McCartney again, although they used to
be friends.
7 There are existing regulations …
a which both Jackson and McCartney chose to ignore.
b to stop McCartney acquiring the publishing
rights again.
c concerning the publishing rights to particular songs.
2 points for each correct answer  14
3 Complete the sentences with the underlined words in
the text.
1 With just 30 seconds ________, United took the lead.
2 Income from manufacturing contributes a ________
proportion of the region’s income.
3 The quality of the goal produced ________ applause
from the home fans.
4 To the delight of her fans, the ________ world
champion has decided to come out of retirement.
5 It is such an absolutely ________ place – you must go
there one day.
6 It was a bit disappointing as only a ________ of people
came to the performance.
1 point for each correct answer  6
Reading total 25
Headway
Upper-Intermediate FOURTH EDITION
WRITING
1 You have decided to enter a short story competition.
The title is: ‘The worst holiday I have ever been on.’
Use the prompts to help you.
• include an introduction, saying how you came to
choose your destination, and what time of year you
decided to go
with, if anyone
• describe the place and the surrounding area, and what
there is to do there
• include a description of one particular event which
made your holiday bad, and which sums up your
negative feelings about it.
Write your text in 120–180 words.
Shorter writing task  10
2 Write a covering letter for a job at this company. Use the
prompts below to help you.
Visitor Coordinator, Wild Acre Forest
The role
Working as part of our Countryside Team, you will play a key
role in finding exciting new ways to get people of all ages and
backgrounds involved with the conservation work we’re doing
here. You will be responsible for assisting visitors at the visitor
centre and in the forest itself. You will ensure that the volunteers
you are responsible for deliver their work to an agreed standard.
Your skills
You’ll be enthusiastic and knowledgeable about conservation
issues, with excellent communication skills. You should be self-
motivated, and able to work well under pressure. In this role
you’ll be required to work regular weekends and Bank Holidays.
Apply
To find out how to apply, please visit our website.
Closing date: 13 September 2014.
• say what the post is you are applying for and where
you saw it advertised
• mention any relevant education history or
qualifications
• give some examples of other jobs or work experience
you have in this field
• give an indication of what type of person you are and
what you would bring to this job
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NAME  CLASS  New
Skills test 3B  Continued
• make sure you end the letter with a suitable sign off
Write your text in 150–200 words.
Longer writing task  15
Writing total
LISTENING
1 Listen to a radio interview with a lifestyle coach.
Tick (✓) five points she mentions.
1 List the things you want in your future to help you
visualize your dream.
2 Find a career that involves doing your favourite
pastimes.
3 You should always get advice from experts before
starting a new career.
4 Plan the smaller steps first before you move on to the
bigger things.
5 Make a logical plan to determine what you need to
do.
6 If you ever fail, learn your lesson and keep going.
7 Make your goals realistic so you can make sure you
will earn a living.
8 Live the life that you want others to remember you
by.
1 point for each correct answer  5
2 Listen again. Circle the correct letter.
1 With the help of a lifestyle coach, people can …
a realize their goals in life.
b plan a healthier way of life.
c prepare their career plans.
2 As they become adults, people don’t follow their
dreams …
a as they have already fulfilled their earlier ambitions.
b because they have to start earning money for living.
c when they recognize they would never have time to
achieve them.
3 Barbara says you should make your dream as vivid
as possible …
a otherwise in five or ten years you’ll forget all about it.
b as this will help you make it come true more easily.
c to make sure you don’t leave out the things you
Headway
Upper-Intermediate FOURTH EDITION
already have in your life.
4 The things you are really enthusiastic about …
a are not usually involved in the profession you want
to do.
b can never really help you earn a living.
25 c are things you are happy to do without getting paid.
5 What you need to do each day is to …
a spend some time on working towards your dream.
b make sure your hobbies don’t become your work.
c study a different subject so you get really good
at everything.
6 Barbara suggests making a plan starting …
a from the final step, then the one before, and so on.
b with the first step so you don’t get distracted.
c with the effort you’re going to devote to it every day.
7 According to Barbara, simplifying your life means …
a not setting goals that are not important to you.
b working on your dream and nothing else.
c concentrating on each step of your plan until you
move on to the next.
8 You should deal with any failures by …
a starting all over from the beginning each time.
b believing that you will eventually succeed anyway.
c pretending they didn’t really happen.
9 Barbara says you should live your life …
a without losing your focus on making your dreams
come true.
b so other people can learn from your mistakes.
c slowly so you can value even the smallest progress
you make.
10 In general, Barbara believes that …
a your dreams will come true if you believe in them.
b to find happiness, sometimes you have to go back
again to the start.
c if you work hard to achieve your dreams, you
will succeed.
2 points for each correct answer  20
Listening total 25
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 Headway
NAME  CLASS  New

Skills test 3B  Continued Upper-Intermediate FOURTH EDITION

SPEAKING 3 Discuss the statements. Do you agree or disagree?

1 ‘All school-leavers should be forced into training or
1 Ask and answer the questions with a partner. higher education before beginning their careers.’

1 When and where did your parents meet? Did they like 2 ‘There should be more tax on junk food to discourage
each other straightaway? people from eating it.’

2 What would be your dream job? Why? max. 5 points for each topic  10
3 Can you think of something which is particularly
Speaking total 25
harmful to your country’s environment right now?
What could be done now/in the future to solve Skills test 3B total 100
this problem?
4 What’s the most extraordinary thing you’ve seen on
TV or on the news recently? Why did it make an
impression on you?
5 If you found out that your best friend had been keeping
a secret from you, how would you react?

max. 1 point for each topic  5

2 Look at the photos. What do these people do for a

living? Discuss the pros and cons of the different types
of work. What skills and training are needed for
each one?

max. 10 points  10

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