Straightforward Upper Intermediate Progress test 2

Name _______________________ Score _____________

Language section
Vocabulary
A Complete the text with the words in the box. Be careful! There are four extra words.

anxiety blush bright cautious collection exhibition humiliating reasonable risks

unreasonable whenever

I’ve always had an (1) _______________ fear of not being liked. I’m quite a (2) _______________
person and I really don’t like to take too many (3) _______________. So, (4) _______________
people find out that I’m an artist they seem surprised. Recently I had an (5) _______________ of my
paintings in a big art gallery in New York. I was standing next to one of the pictures when I overheard
a man and a woman talking about it. The man said he thought it was a load of rubbish and I went (6)
_______________ red. The woman noticed and she came over and
asked me what was wrong. So, I told her that I was the painter and she started laughing, it was so
(7) _______________.

B Choose the correct word to complete the sentences.

(8) Don’t worry, he’s completely harmful / harmless. He wouldn’t hurt anybody.
(9) She’s such a courage / courageous person. She’s an inspiration to everyone.
(10) He always looks on the bright side of everything. He’s a real pessimist / optimist.
(11) Whatever / Whenever happens, please don’t worry.
(12) I think that everybody should get equal / equality treatment.
(13) Wait until you’ve heard the hole / whole story.
(14) Why do you think everything is perfect? Your idealism / realism is not based on any evidence.

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Grammar
C Choose the correct verb forms to complete the text.

In the last few years campaigners in the UK (15) tried / have been trying to get fox hunting banned.
Last week they (16) claimed / have claimed to have won the argument when the Prime Minister agreed
to include a Bill making hunting illegal in the next parliament. Anti-hunt protestors (17) were
celebrating / had celebrated what they see as a victory. However, local hunt organizers
(18) were arguing / have argued that if hunting is banned many people (19) will lose / had lost their
jobs. Two attempts have already (20) failed / been failing and hunt organizers were hoping that the
Bill would be dropped.

D Complete the text with the correct form of the verbs in brackets.

Grant Pullis (21) _______________ (start) his epic walk in 2004. He (22) _______________ (walk)
for almost three years.
‘One day I (23) _______________ (watch) a programme about great explorers and I
(24) _______________ (think) I could do that.’ Grant (25) _______________ (fly) to Santiago in
Chile and started walking north. After three months he (26) _______________ (walk) all the way
across Chile. ‘I felt tired, but great.’ said Pullis.

E Choose the correct ending for each sentence, a or b.

(27) If I were you I …

a) will do it. b) would do it.

(28) If she hadn’t voted for him, he …

a) wouldn’t have won. b) wouldn’t win.

(29) I _______ the book for a few hours when you called.
a) had read b) had been reading

(30) I wish I …
a) would have listened to you. b) had listened to you.

(31) You really _______ tried harder.

a) should b) should have

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(32) He won’t win the election …
a) if he’s very lucky. b) unless he’s very lucky.

(33) If he makes lots of promises he …

a) might win. b) might have won.

Functional language
F Complete the dialogue with the words and phrases in the box.

otherwise my point is that so that what are you suggesting I don’t follow basically you’re
saying that what I meant to say was that

Sandra: What’s wrong?

Joe: I’m scared of flying.
Sandra: What is it that you’re scared about?
Joe: Everything!
Sandra: What do you mean ‘everything’?
Joe: I’m scared there might be problems with the plane.
Sandra: Problems, (34) _______?
Joe: Well, there might be a technical problem.
Sandra: Look, they check the plane carefully (35) ______ they wouldn’t let us take off.
Joe: Yes, but there could be other problems.
Sandra: What other problems?
Joe: There might be too many passengers on board.
Sandra: Now you’re being ridiculous.
Joe: No I’m not. (36) _______ there are lots of things that can go wrong. And I’m scared
of other things as well.
Sandra: Like what?
Joe: Well, I’m also scared of enclosed spaces.
Sandra: So, (37) _______ you’re scared of flying and you’re claustrophobic.
Joe: Yes.
Sandra: OK, what do I need to do (38) _______ you’ll get on this plane?
Joe: Oh, I’ll get on the plane.
Sandra: What? (39) _______. I thought you were too scared to get on the plane.
Joe: No, (40) _______ I’m frightened so I’ll need to sit next to the window.
Sandra: OK – but aren’t you scared of heights?

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Joe: No, why would I be?
Sandra: Oh, I don’t know. Come on, let’s get on.

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Listening
Part 1

[Track 9] Listen to five short recordings. Choose the phrase for each sentence.

(1) Bob isn’t frightened of anything / is frightened of spiders.

(2) The painting is worth a fortune / absolutely worthless.
(3) The woman chose a book about / by Frida Kahlo.
(4) The man thinks women should / shouldn’t get involved in politics.
(5) John Prescott was visiting a school / factory when he shouted at a reporter.

Part 2

[Track 10] Listen to the radio programme about Steve Biko and correct the five
mistakes in the text.

On today’s programme we are looking at another person whose bravery was incredible. Steve Biko is
probably best known because of the film Cry Freedom by South African politician, Donald Woods.
Steve Biko was born in Cape Province on 18 December 1946, just a few months before the National
Party came to power in South Africa. He went to law school at the University of Natal in Durban, but
as a black student he could only study in the non-European section of the university. He became
involved in politics and was one of the founders of the South African Students’ Organization (SASO),
an all-student organization. He believed that black students should be ‘accepted on their own terms as
an integral part of the South African government’. In 1973 the government banned SASO and
restricted Biko’s freedom of politics and his movement. In 1977 Biko was arrested and taken to Port
Elizabeth, where he died in prison. He was only 31 when he died and may well have become as
important in South Africa as Nelson Mandela.

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Reading
Part 1

Read the letter page from a magazine below. Mark the sentences true (T), false (F) or
not given (NG).

(1) Joanne Kingsley suffers from demophobia.

(2) Identifying the causes of a panic attack is the cure for the problem.
(3) Among many things Anwad is scared of some pets.
(4) Yoga relaxes the body and therefore gets rid of all phobias.
(5) If Anwad’s wife doesn’t understand his problems he should leave her.

Dear Dr Sachs,
I think I might have a phobia, but I don’t know what of. Often when I’m walking down the street I will suddenly feel
anxious, my heart will start beating quickly and I will feel faint. The thing is I know I’m not frightened of open
spaces or of meeting people, so what could it be? It doesn’t happen all the time, but just in certain places.
Joanne Kingsley

Dear Joanne,
Yes, it does sound as though you might have a phobia. Certainly the symptoms are very common and it sounds
as though you suffer from mild panic attacks. It’s also quite frightening when you don’t know what causes them. In
fact, that might be part of the problem – if you knew what you were scared of it would be easier to confront it. I
think it’s worth you sitting down and trying to think what is around you when these things happen. It might be
demophobia (the fear of crowds), or possibly something like cyclophobia (the fear of bicycles). If you can find a
common factor that occurs when you feel anxious it might be easier to overcome your fear.
Dr Sachs

Dear Dr Sachs,
I know what I’m scared of, the list is very long. I’m scared of flying, of heights, of spiders and of cats. My wife
thinks I’m silly and she often tries to scare me by bringing in spiders from the garden or talking about going on
holiday by plane. The thing is, just thinking about these things makes me frightened. So, what can I do to help
myself?
Anwad Khan

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Dear Anwad,
Poor you. It sounds as though you are really having a hard time. I’m sure if you sat down with your wife and
talked to her she would try to help you. Another thing you can do is to try and relax more. It might be a good idea
to take up yoga or some other exercise like swimming. One problem we have when we become frightened is that
our body becomes tense, if you can relax then this will help.
Dr Sachs

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Part 2

Read the newspaper article and choose the correct ending to each sentence, a, b or c.

(6) Young people aren’t interested in politics because …

a) they don’t want to get involved.
b) they don’t listen to the politicans’ opinions.
c) the issues they are concerned about are not discussed.

(7) The British Youth Council …

a) is for youngsters who want to be politicians.
b) wants to bring the youth and politicians together.
c) is for politicians who care about the youth.

(8) At the concert organized by the BYC …

a) the politicians listened to the music of the 40s and 50s.
b) the politicians liked the music.
c) the politicians learnt about the young people’s feelings and ideas through their music.

(9) At the political event …

a) the politicians learnt about the young people’s ideas.
b) the politicians were assessed on five aspects.
c) the politicians persuaded the youngsters to vote for them.

(10) At the event …

a) all the politicians were embarrassed.
b) both the politicians and the organizers agreed that it was useful for raising awareness.
c) the youngsters took the politicians’ opinions seriously.

Politics and the young

In 2001 just 39% of people between the ages of 18 and 25 voted in the general election in the UK. Of course, for
most people this won’t come as surprise. ‘Young people just aren’t interested in politics.’ said one politician. Now,
on the one hand that might be true, but shouldn’t we be asking ourselves why that is? After all, it’s only through
getting involved in politics that one has the chance to affect the way the country is governed.

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‘One of the biggest problems isn’t young people, it’s the politicians,’ says Lynn Green, 19. ‘The thing is that they
just don’t listen to our opinions.’ But is that the only problem? One of the other reasons that young people aren’t
voting is that most of the issues that concern them aren’t discussed or debated. ‘There’s lots of talk about
pensions, buying a house and taxes, but these are not things that your average 20-year-old is worried about.’
said Graham Jewel, 20. ‘I’m far more concerned about the environment, how I can afford to go to university and
street crime.’

In the UK an organization called the British Youth Council actively tries to get youngsters involved in politics. It
sees the need to get politicians to listen and actually engage young people in discussion as the key to
overcoming the disinterest. Recently, the BYC organized an event where some of the leading politicians would
meet with a group of teenagers.

The event started off with a concert. It was interesting to see how the politicians, most of them in their 40s or 50s,
reacted to the music. But, it’s often through their music that young people express their politics and ideas. ‘It’s the
easiest way to make your point and let lots of people hear it,’ said Jay, a singer in one of the bands.

The next event was mini political interviews –‘it was really cool,’ said one teenager. ‘The politicians had to sit
down and we had three minutes to ask them as many questions as we wanted. They were told that they had to
answer honestly and that we would judge them on five aspects – how easy they were to talk to, whether they
listened, how aware they were of youth issues, their ability to answer specific questions and how likely they were
to get young people to vote for them.’

Surprisingly, at the end of the event most of the politicians agreed it had been a useful experience. ‘I was only
embarrassed once,’ said one female politician, but she wouldn’t say what had caused her to be embarrassed.

Now more of these events are planned with the idea of raising awareness on both sides. Firstly, it’s important to
make young people believe they can make a difference. And, it’s equally important that we get our politicians to
really listen to young people and take their opinions seriously, because it’s these young people who will go on to
become the politicians of the future.

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Writing
Choose a book that you like and write a short review. Think about the plot, the
characters, where and when it is set and why you liked it. Write between 200–250
words.

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