MID-LEVEL READING TEST

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READING 1
PREDICTING CONTENT USING VISUALS
1 Look at the photos in the article. Then read the statements below. Write T (true) or F (false) next to the
statements which will or will not be mentioned.
1 The article will discuss forest conservation.
2 The article will mention park design.
3 The article will focus on nature in small towns.
4 The article will talk about the importance of nature in our daily lives.
5 The article will talk about creating green spaces.

MICROPARKS
1 Cities seem to be growing bigger and more crowded every day.
Most cities have seen impressive increases in the construction
of new buildings. However, this growth also brings many
negative effects. Traffic congestion creates noise and air
pollution. Crowds cause stress and anger. A few cities around
the world, including Mexico City, Auckland and Los Angeles,
have an exciting solution: microparks.
2 Green spaces play a major role in the health of a city. Trees improve air
quality, create cooling shade and reduce noise. They also improve people's
mood. One study even suggests that trees can help to prevent crime.
Researchers in Chicago found that crime rates were lower in areas with
more trees, plants and flowers.
3 In large cities today, space for new parks is limited. That's where
microparks fit in. A micropark is simply a very, very small park. The first
micropark, or parklet, was built in a single San Francisco parking space in
2005. Members of an arts collective called Rebar recognized that there
was not enough green space downtown. So they took over a parking spot,
rolled out some grass and added a bench and a potted tree. The mini-park
was a success and soon people in other cities were trying similar ideas.
4 Microparks of the future may look to traditions of the past. For centuries,
meditation gardens have offered visitors places for peaceful reflection.
A city micropark might include features from those gardens, such as
carefully placed stones and water features.
5 Of course, microparks won't solve every city problem, but they offer an
Small stones and running water
interesting new way to make cities better places to live. They can improve could make microparks even
the appearance of an area in a city and the mental and physical health of more peaceful.
anyone who takes a minute or two to sit down and enjoy a tiny moment of
peace in a large city.

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READING FOR DETAIL
2 Read the article about microparks. Circle the correct answers.
1 According to the article, which is not an effect caused by trees?
a They make the air we breathe
healthier.
b They limit space in
parks.
c They help prevent
crime.
2 What is another word for 'micropark'?
a parking space
b green garden
c parklet
3 Where was the first micropark built?
a Mexico City
b Chicago
c San Francisco
4 What does the author predict will happen to microparks?
a The parks could be like meditation gardens.
b The parks could be in people's
gardens.
c The parks could be built to last
longer.
5 Which statement would the author most agree with?
a Microparks improve our physical and mental health.
b Microparks will lead to a decrease in city
crime.
c Microparks are a good chance to sit and connect with the
past.

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READING 2
READING FOR MAIN IDEAS IN ACADEMIC TEXTS
3 Read the article and number the main ideas (a–g) in the order they appear.
a Moving elephants presents a challenge.
b The organization has past experience of moving elephants.
c The animals must be taken to a safe place.
d The organization's work is valuable.
e The elephants must be caught.
f Elephants and humans can't live together easily.
g Specialists are needed to remove elephants.

How do you move an elephant?

1 Animals can cause many problems when they settle in areas populated by humans. For people living in Daloa,
a town in Cote d'Ivoire in Africa, the trouble begins when four elephants settle in the outskirts of their
village. Villagers there grow angry because the huge animals eat crops and destroy property. As a result, the
people of Daloa threaten to kill the elephants. If nothing is done, the situation will turn deadly. In order to
prevent this from happening, the International Fund for Animal Welfare sends a rescue team to Daloa. But
their task is a
big challenge. Once they find the animals, how can they safely move them?
2 The first step is to find the exact position of the animals. The team rides in a helicopter and searches from
the air. The first elephant they find is the largest of the four elephants. This male elephant weighs more than
1,800 kg. First they need to make the elephant sleep by giving it a special medicine. They manage to do this
from a distance with a kind of gun, so that nobody gets hurt. Then they tie the elephant's legs and a
machine lifts the elephant off the ground. The sleeping animal is completely upside-down as the machine
carries it onto a huge lorry. This vehicle is designed to carry heavy loads.
3 After the team makes sure the elephant is safely tied onto the lorry, they drive about 300 km to the final
destination. They release the elephant in Azagny National Park. In this protected land, the elephant will
be able to live freely without causing any problems to people. Once the male elephant is released, the
team returns to Daloa to find and transport the other elephants.
4 The International Fund for Animal Welfare previously organized similar rescue efforts to protect elephants
by moving them away from human populations in India and Malawi. During the Malawi project, the team
moved
83 elephants to a safe wildlife park.
5 Many people tend to give up when faced with big problems, and problems don't come any bigger than
elephants. The excellent work done by the International Fund for Animal Welfare shows that there are
often solutions to problems, which keep both human and animals safe.

IDENTIFYING PURPOSE AND AUDIENCE

4 Read the article again. Circle the correct answers.
1 Who is the intended audience for this article?
a general adult readers
b university professors
c environmental scientists
2 What is the author's main purpose in writing this article?
a to entertain the reader with an interesting story about wildlife organizations
b to inform the reader about the hard work of wildlife organizations
c to persuade the reader to contribute money to wildlife organizations

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MID-LEVEL LANGUAGE TEST
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PART A KEY VOCABULARY

1 Complete the paragraph with the words in the box.

atmosphere commuter common connect destination effect

expect formal generations greet outskirts rail

When I got my first job in the city, I didn't (1) to enjoy being a (2) . I live on the
(3)
of the city and I thought it would be exhausting to use the (4) system every
day. But actually, I've found that I love the (5) on my morning ride. I enjoy seeing a mix of
(6)
on the train every morning. Old and young, we're all heading to the same (7) in our
(8)
clothes. Since we have that in (9) , it feels to me like we're all part of one team.
This feeling actually has a really good (10) on my attitude when I get to work. Even if I don't
know these people, we still (11) with each other through our daily 'morning meeting'. Actually,
some of the people I see every morning on the train (12) me with a smile now, so in a way, we
are actually becoming friends.

PART B LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

VOCABULARY
2 Complete the collocations in bold in the sentences using the words in the box. One word is not used.

carbon groups lane plants rage natural restrictions rush

1 I drive to work every morning during hour. The traffic congestion is awful.
2 Did you know that trees help clean our air by taking out dioxide?
3 Oh no, I got another fine. There are so many parking in this part of the city.
4 Do you volunteer with any environmental ?
5 I was riding in the cycle yesterday and a car almost hit me. It was very scary.
6 What do you think is our most precious resource?
7 One of my friends has really bad road when he drives. He gets so angry.

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GRAMMAR
3 Rewrite each sentence using the words in brackets. Replace one word in each statement.
1 Some car parks in my city are now microparks. (certain)

2 I never spend time in nature during the week. (seldom)

3 The decision which we need to make is clear to me. (obvious)

4 People always feel better after some quiet time in nature. (tend to)

5 That group is going to try to create a micropark on my street. (attempt)

6 How can we get them to offer funding for our volunteer trip? (convince)

7 Climate change is having an effect on all of our planet's species. (many)

8 That power plant makes energy for hundreds of towns. (produces)

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MID-LEVEL WRITING TEST
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PART A GRAMMAR FOR WRITING

1 Put the words in the correct order to make sentences.
1 habitat / an important / is / The rainforest / for many species / .

2 North America / the tiger / Neither / is from / nor the cheetah / .

3 because / Some plant species / of / dying out / pesticides / are / .

4 wasn't / didn't get funding / because / their business plan / They / clear enough / .

5 is decreasing / of turtle / its population / is not / That species / endangered, / but / .

2 Match the sentence halves.

1 Tree squirrels live in trees,
2 The world's tropical rainforests are disappearing
3 If the city makes some microparks,
4 Fossil fuels will disappear
5 The hard work of that environmental
forms group
a more neighbourhoods will have green space.
b is leading to some species being saved.
c due to deforestation.
d whereas ground squirrels live underground.
e unless we start using more renewable
of energy.

PART B WRITING TASK

Write a summary and a personal response.

Write a summary paragraph about the article, Microparks, in Reading 1 at the beginning of this test. Then write a
response paragraph offering your opinion on whether microparks could be useful in your city or town. In your response,
connect the author's ideas to your town or city and give examples that agree and/or disagree with the author's point of
view.

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