8 UNIT 8 TEST | Higher B2

Listening
1 UT Track 8  You will hear five extracts
about local environmental campaigns.
Complete the notes with a word or short
phrase.
According to speaker 1, a new road would mean
extra lanes and many more
(1)              in the area
surrounding the village.
Speaker 2 argues that we should be trying to
create more
(2)              rather than
extracting gas and oil.
Speaker 3 is upset because if they widen the
roads near the supermarket, it will be more
dangerous for (3)              .
According to speaker 4, residents only get their
recycling collected
(4)              nowadays.
Speaker 5 says the council would rather make
sure that cars can move around than make cycle
lanes a (5)             .
2 UT Track 8 Listen again and choose from
A–H what each speaker says about their
campaign. There are three extra letters
you do not need.
A  I want to raise people’s awareness of the risks
involved in this activity.
B I’m not optimistic that our campaign will be
effective.
C Being environmentally friendly is not as easy as
it used to be.
D I wish I’d never got involved in this campaign.
E I’d rather this project took place somewhere else.
F I sympathise with the frustration of the other
people in our village.
G  It’s difficult to understand why people get so
angry about this.
H I f the roads were wider, they would be safer for
our children.
Speaker 1:      5 If they had told me about the concert, I would
Speaker 2:      have made sure I got tickets.
Grammar
3 Complete the sentences with the correct
form of the verbs in brackets.
1 If I hadn’t taken my little brother to the
playground, he              (get)
upset.
2        you        (behave) better in
class, we would not have cancelled the trip.
3 We could have made some tea if we
             (use up) all the milk.
4 If he was a little more careful, he
             (leave) his bag on
the bus this morning.
5 We’d still be waiting for the bus if your
dad              (give) us a lift.
4 Complete the second sentence so it has a
similar meaning to the first. Do not change
the word given. Use two to five words,
including the word given.
1 My parents moved house so I don’t live in
London anymore.
STILL
I                  in London if
my parents hadn’t moved house.
2 Seaside holidays are a lot of fun because I know
how to swim.
NOT
If I                  how to
swim, seaside holidays wouldn’t be much fun.
3 The car has broken down so it’s not possible to
give you a lift to the airport.
GIVE
We                  you a lift to
the airport if the car hadn’t broken down.
4 The fire brigade turned up quickly and they were
able to put the fire out.
MIGHT
If they hadn’t turned up so quickly, the fire
brigade                  able to
put the fire out.

Speaker 3:      BEEN

Speaker 4:                       the concert, I

would have made sure I got tickets.
Speaker 5:     

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5 Complete the dialogues with the correct 6 Complete the text with one word in
form of the verbs in brackets. each gap. There is one extra word you
1 A: Joey’s had his guitar for two years now. do not need.
B: I know and it’s high time he
             (learn) to play it had | high | suppose | were | what | would
properly!
I’ve always been concerned about the
2 A: Thank you! But I’d rather you environment and for many years I’ve done
             (buy) me a whatever I can to reduce my carbon footprint.
present. You don’t have much money. However, I only wish I (1)        known
B: I t doesn’t matter. It’s your birthday! before about the damage caused by computers.
3 A: I love coming to this forest. It’s so peaceful. Did you know, for example, that in some
countries, computers and the internet cause just
B: M
 e too. I just wish I              as much pollution as air travel?
(know) about it sooner. (2)        that information was common
4 A: Imagine you              (can knowledge. (3)        our lives be any
meet) anyone from history. Who would you different? I think so. And (4)        if
choose? everyone knew that toxic technology waste was
B: T
 hat’s a difficult question. Maybe Nelson the fastest growing type of waste? Would that
Mandela. change anything? I’m sure it would. The problem
5 A: Why weren’t you allowed to go on the trek? is that we don’t really think that the technology
we use is harmful. In fact, many people think the
B: T
 he teacher said we couldn’t take part unless opposite; they believe that computers are the key
we              (bring) the right to improving the environment. If you ask me, it’s
clothing. (5)        time governments and computer
companies told us the truth so that we can begin
to change our ways.

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 8 UNIT 8 TEST | Higher B2

Reading

Schools for the environment

Four teenagers tell us about what their schools did for World Environment Day.
A Alyssa Singh Although lack of food is a reality for many, in my school we’re fortunate that hunger is not
something we have to face. If anything, we should be more worried about what we put in our stomachs. My
personal opinion is that there’s a lack of education about the issues surrounding food and diet. We don’t think about
what we eat or where it’s come from, which is a problem for us and the environment. For that reason, we decided
to create a garden in the school grounds where we would plant organic fruit and vegetables. The idea was that all
the children from year 1 up to year 5 would be able to play a part in maintaining the garden. We thought that if we
did this, it would be the perfect way for students to find out about sustainable ways of growing food. They would
also learn about nutrition and get hands-on experience of producing healthy food. As a result of the project, our
students are healthier eaters and better gardeners.
B Cameron Riley In my school, we decided to do an audit of our waste, which means we sorted out and measured
the waste produced in our school. At first, I thought it was a waste of time because we all know how important
it is to recycle. However, it’s a good thing we did that audit because if we hadn’t, we wouldn’t have known just
how much waste we were creating. It was unbelievable. We were throwing away packaging, clean paper and even
pencils that had hardly been used. As you might expect, we realised we had to do something to solve this problem,
so we worked out an action plan to reduce our waste and recycle as much as possible. Our aim is to reduce our
waste by 75% by the next World Environment Day.
C Morgan Tamura We’re very lucky in that we have a lot of land surrounding our school. Someone put forward
the idea of using the land to benefit the environment. One boy suggested growing a wood. He explained that it
wouldn’t just happen overnight. It would be a long-term project to create new wood with flowers, birds and insects.
He also thought it would be good for the environment as a whole because even if we only planted a hundred trees,
it would help in the fight against climate change. I think we were all convinced by his argument, so we decided to
give it a go. We contacted some charities that provide young trees and we’ve just had our first hundred delivered. If
you come back in a few years, the place will be completely different!
D Nathan Davenport My classmates and I decided to focus on transport for World Environment Day. You only had
to stand outside the school gates in the morning to realise that our school transport was a problem. Pollution came
from the cars as parents dropped off pupils and from the school buses waiting with their engines running. It’s awful
for the environment and our students’ health. We therefore tried to encourage students to find alternative ways of
getting to school. As you might expect, many of them rode bikes, but some of them organised car shares and some
just came on foot instead. We also asked the bus drivers to switch off their engines when they were dropping
students off. All in all, I’d say our project was a success; there’s much less traffic outside the school and the air is
undoubtedly cleaner.

7 Read the article quickly. Match each person (A–D) with a summary (1–5). There is one extra
sentence you do not need.
1 Our project made us aware of a problem that we previously didn’t think existed.     
2 Our project was a response to complaints from a number of students.     
3 Our project will need time and attention in order for it to be a success.     
4 Our project was set up to help students improve various aspects of their lives.     
5 Our project was about convincing people to be more environmentally-friendly.     

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8 For each question, choose from the people
(A–D). The people may be chosen more
than once.
Which person …
1 was involved in taking environmental action as a
result of a study they had done?      may be               forever.
2 was persuaded to get involved in another
student’s project?     
3 felt that some people’s habits had to change in
order to improve the area surrounding their
school?     
4 thought that students of all ages would benefit
from taking responsibility for an environmental
project?     
5 believes that even a small contribution to
improving the environment could be
important?      2 Polar bears are among those animals
6 was not convinced by their project when it was
initially proposed to them?      3 Those solar panels were a complete
Vocabulary
9 Complete the sentences with one word
in each gap. The first letter is there to
help you.
1 The o       i       prevents some
of the sun’s harmful radiation getting to the
Earth.
2 If we are to avoid using up our natural resources,
we need clear s       d        goals.
3 Although some people deny that c        climate | run | toxic
c       is a problem, most scientists are in
no doubt that it is.
4 As a result of the g       e       ,
temperatures have risen in the last century.
5 T       w       from factories
is bad for our health as well as for the
environment.
10 Complete the sentences with one word
from each of the boxes in the correct form.
chop | die | do away (x2)
throw | wipe down | out (x2)
1 My dad’s worried the tree in the garden
might fall on our house so he’s decided
to        it       .
2 In my lifetime I think we’ll         responsible for environmental pollution across
       with vehicles that cause pollution.
3 Some species of fish in my local river have
              but nobody knows why.
4 Please make sure you        all your
rubbish        when you’ve finished.
5 If we don’t act soon, some species of elephant
11 Complete the sentences with the correct
form of the words in the box and a
preposition.
expose | harmful | protect | threaten | waste
1 The residents are worried that they have
been        dangerous levels of pollution.
       the loss of the polar ice caps.
       money. There’s never enough
sun here.
4 We managed to find a shelter so we
were        the worst of the weather.
5 People are worried that the new factory will
be        the local bird population.
12 Complete the text with one word from each
of the boxes in each gap. There is one word
in each box which you do not need.
affected | called | cleaned by | change | for
out | up | waste
Erin Brockovich was a film made in 2000, named
after a famous environmentalist. While working
in a lawyer’s office in the early 1990s, Erin
Brockovich noticed that a number of people had
become seriously ill from drinking the local
water. She realised that an energy company had
been allowing (1)        to get into the
water supply. Despite a lack of legal training,
Brockovich decided to represent the people who
had been (2)        the contamination of
the water supply. Her law firm took the case to
court and (3)        the company to pay
compensation to the victims. The judge agreed
and awarded them more than 300 million dollars.
Even though that was many years ago, the
contamination has still not been
(4)        completely. Brockovich herself
still hasn’t (5)        of work. To this day,
she continues to challenge companies
the United States.

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Speaking
13 Read the question and complete the student’s answer with one or two words in each gap.
Teacher: What are the environmental problems in your country?
Student: I think there are probably several environmental problems in my country. One of (1)       
important is climate change because this is a problem that affects the whole world. The bad
(2)        it is that people aren’t doing enough to stop it. For example, people drive their cars
everywhere and there are still lots of factories polluting the air. Having (3)        , some
people are aware of the problem and they are changing their habits. Apart (4)        , there
are still other problems, like wasting water, which no one seems to worry about. The reason I
(5)        is because I live in a hot country and we often have water shortages. However,
people still use it for their swimming pools and to wash their cars. If we keep consuming like this,
there won’t be enough water for everyone.

14 Read the discussion questions below. Write one or two sentences in response to each question.
1 What are the biggest environmental problems the world faces?
                                                     
                                                     
2 Why don’t people do more to protect the environment?
                                                     
                                                     
3 Is it a good idea for students to be taught about climate change?
                                                     
                                                     
4 What can young people do to reduce their carbon footprint?
                                                     
                                                     
5 Why do some people think it is important to protect endangered animals?
                                                     
                                                     

Use of English
15 Write a form of the word in capitals in each gap to complete the text.
Microbeads
Not so long ago, companies developed a new (1)        process where they would INDUSTRY
add microbeads to washing powder, toothpaste and other beauty products. These
microbeads are tiny round pieces of plastic that are meant to make the product more
effective. (2)       , natural alternatives like fruit stones or minerals would have TRADITION
been used but many companies decided to substitute them for artificial microbeads.
Recently, however, it has been found that microbeads are not as harmless and
(3)        as they might seem. The problem is that after they have been washed SIGNIFY
down the sink, these toxic particles end up in the water supply. (4)        , once FORTUNE
they are in our rivers and oceans, they are consumed by birds and fish and the
microbeads enter the food chain. However, in an (5)        move, several ORDINARY
multinational companies have announced that they will stop using microbeads. They
have accepted that microbeads can be harmful to the environment and have promised
an end to them.

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16 Write one word in each gap to complete the text.

The effects of deforestation
In some parts of the world, trees are being chopped (1)        at an alarming rate in a process known
as deforestation. No one knows exactly how many, but estimates suggest that it’s around four billion trees a
year. On the one hand, it’s contributing to global warming because if these trees (2)        still alive,
they would be helping to reduce greenhouse gases. On the other hand, it’s having a terrible effect on the
animals that live in the woods and forests. Among the animals affected (3)        deforestation are
birds, insects and even mammals like the Asian elephant. In some cases, these animals, which depend on
trees for food and shelter, are actually dying (4)       . To my mind, it’s absolutely unacceptable for
us to let this happen and it’s high (5)        that governments made it a priority to protect our woods
and forests.

Writing
17 Complete the text below with one word in each gap. The first letter is there to help you.
If you’re (1) a       like me, you worry about global warming. You probably ask yourself, ‘Will it stop?’
and, ‘What will happen if it doesn’t?’ One important (2) q       you should ask yourself is, ‘What can I
do to stop it?’
The first thing we should (3) c       is how we can use less energy. The problem is that people use too
much, so we need to use less. One good (4) w       to work out what you can cut down on is a carbon
calculator, which can calculate your carbon footprint. This can be very useful due to the (5) f       it
shows you exactly what you need to do less of.

18 Read the task below and write the first two paragraphs of your article.
You see this advert on an English-speaking website for teenagers.

ARTICLES WANTED
The average person uses several hundred litres of water a day. This is far too much! We want to help
people use less water. Send us your articles explaining two things ordinary people can do to use less
water. The best articles will appear on our website and win a prize!

                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     
                                                     

Total score

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