Gold Experience B1+ Mid-year test Units 1–6

Name Class

Grammar
1 Complete each space with one word only.

Extreme weather
Last night we had 1) the worst storm I 2) ________ ever experienced. I was staying with a friend of
3) ________ who lives in an isolated area in the countryside. It’s very beautiful but not sheltered at all!
I had 4) ________ gone to bed after a long day walking in the country when the wind started howling!
It was 5) ________ loud that I couldn’t sleep. I remember that there 6) ________ to be bad storms when
I lived in Scotland as a child, but nothing as wild as the one last night!

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 2 Rewrite the sentences using the words given. Use between two and five words, including
the word given.
1 People wearing bright colours usually behave more confidently.

WHO

People who wear bright colours usually behave more confidently.

2 Don’t stare at people all the time – it’s really rude!

ALWAYS

You ________________________________ people – it’s really rude!

3 Jason bought the car from a neighbour.

SOLD

A neighbour ________________________________ Jason.

4 I can’t remember who suggested the trip.

SUGGESTION

I can’t remember ________________________________ the trip was.

5 We’ll take off our muddy boots and then we’ll enter the house.

BEFORE

We’ll take off our muddy boots ________________________________ into the house.

6 I write more carefully than my sister does.

AS

My sister ________________________________ as I do.

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 Vocabulary
3 Complete the sentences with the correct form of the words in capitals.
1 I got a very mysterious phone call last night. MYSTERY

2 The cheering at the end of the concert was ________ . DEAF

3 ________ should choose to buy eco-friendly products. CONSUME

4 There’s some ________ advice at the end of the article. PRACTICE

5 I didn’t have enough ________ to lift the heavy suitcases. STRONG

6 This sofa is the most ________ in the shop. COMFORT

4 Choose the correct answer (A, B or C).

1 Please key ____ your username and password.

A out B in C on
2 Maths is difficult for me and it’s hard to keep ____ with the class.

A on B at C up

3 Why don’t you zoom ____ on the photo so you can see the faces more clearly?

A in B out C off

4 Kerry has come ____ with some great ideas for the school newspaper.

A out B up C across
5 I must go online and find ____ about trips to Italy in the summer.

A out B up C for

6 We’ll have to do ____ the car this weekend because it’s in the garage.

A out B down C without

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 Listening
5 Listen and complete the sentences with a word or short phrase in each space.
1 Simon’s grandmother wanted food to look good ________________ .

2 Simon thinks all his pictures should tell a ________________ .

3 Taking pictures of ________________ was what Simon disliked most.

4 His first big job was for a book of vegetarian ________________ .

5 Food Love inspired Simon with a sense of ________________ .

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Reading

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 6 Read the text and match the questions (1–5) with the people (A–C).

Unsuccessful learning experiences

Have you had an unsuccessful learning experience? Here are stories from three of our readers.
A Marios
As a young teenager, I could always pick up new things very quickly and I had an excellent memory. I
could look at a page of new words in my French class or a list of facts in history and remember them
easily. I sailed through tests and even now I can remember lots of useful things I learned at that age.
However, I got a part in the school play when I was fifteen and it was a big part with lots of lines. I
imagined it would be simple, but I was very wrong! I would spend hours every evening, reading,
memorising and practising the lines – with my brother’s help – but when I got to rehearsals the words
had completely disappeared! I wondered at the time whether it was something to do with nerves, but I
just don’t know. Anyway, in the end I had to admit defeat and give up. I felt depressed about it for ages.
B Julie
For my seventeenth birthday, my parents gave me driving lessons. I was very excited about getting into
a car and becoming independent. Two of my best friends had just passed their tests and said that it was
really straightforward so I was unprepared for how difficult it actually was! I had problems from the
beginning. I found it nearly impossible to focus on so many different things at the same time. One hand
is doing one thing while the other hand is doing something completely different! And your eyes have to
be everywhere. You need to look front, to the side, in your mirror and also check how fast you’re going.
My lessons were a nightmare and I never thought I’d get through the test. As it was, it took three
attempts – and a lot of my dad’s money!
C Christina
My family have always gone on holidays abroad so I’m quite used to learning phrases in foreign
languages. When I was little, my sister and I had competitions to see who had learned the most foreign
words and I usually won. Later I studied French and Spanish without any problems and although my
main interest was physics, I got though my language exams easily. Then last year my friend and I
decided to go to Moscow for a couple of weeks and I thought it would be a good idea to learn some
Russian before we went. What a disaster that was! I simply couldn’t do it! I had a teach yourself book
with a CD to listen to, but it was hopeless. I couldn’t even follow a simple conversation. I’m ashamed
to say that I gave up after a couple of weeks.

Which person:
1 had the wrong impression about how challenging the task might be? ____
2 wanted to learn something for a future experience? ____
3 was better than another family member at doing something? ____
4 benefited later from early achievements? ____
5 took a long time to achieve a goal? ____

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 10

Writing
7 Complete each sentence with one word only.
1 In the first ________ , I must say that I really enjoy studying history.

2 In my ________ , we can learn a lot from the mistakes people made in the past.

3 In ________ to this, we can understand why our country has developed in a certain way.

4 As a final ________ , I believe teachers should make history lessons interesting for children.

5 On ________ , I think that it is important to study history at school.

Total: 50

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 Optional writing task
8 Read the essay prompt and complete the task. Write your essay in 140–190 words.
It is not important for children to study history at school. What’s your opinion?
Write about:
 learning from the past.
 usefulness in a career.
 your own idea.

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