en ETS GINS =) ead the text and complete the tasks that follow. Choose 2 b, or priate answer. An example is done for you. c Put a circle round the most 2 AN AUTUMN GAME game traditionally played in September and October by children in Britain, the Republic rash colonies using the seeds of horsechestnut trees, The Naty conker is also used f Torse-chestnut tree is not native to Britain, however, BE Was ‘brought from the Bali ree ey planted unti the early 19th century. Previous, chilren played with snail = Conkers is a playground Ireland and some former seed and the tree itself. The the late 1éth century. It was not hazelnuts. “To prepare for the game, string, about 25cm long, secures the conker “The game is played ‘One player lets the con strike their opponent's. They whose conker remains intact gimlet, or small screwdriver. A pies hard conker using a nail, large knot at one or both ends of = ahole is drilled in a large, a shoelace is used. A ‘threaded through it. Often, swith a conker. They take turns hitting each other's conker us, ther Te eangle on the fll length ofthe string wile the other playa’ Sine their conker in an ee ona trying to strike each other's conker uns one breaks. "When this happens, & ins a point. This may be ether the attacking Player oF (more often) the defendins Anew conker isa none-er meaning that it has conquered none Yet fa none-er breaks another none-er then it ae of; ie was a one-er then It becomes 2 tv0-2F and So On, If the defeated conker had accumulated points 2 one ts, the winner takes the points of the defeated conker 3 well as gaining a point for winning that partic yee ample fa two-2r plays 2 three-er the surviving conker will become a sicer “The hardest conkers usually win, Hardening conkers is offen dove by keeping them for 2 year, baking them brs ing or boring them in vinegar Or paining them with Seat rail varnish, Such hardening is however usually oe ting, Another factor effecting the strength of 2 conker 2 the shape of the hole; a clean cylindrical hole ft has no notches that can begin a crack or spit. la 1965 the World Conker Championships were second Sunday of October every year In 2014, an from all over the world. between two people, each setup in Ashton, Northamptonshire, England, and stl as 6 “tudience of §,600 turned up to watch more than 500 comp ‘Example: What is NOT a conker? a) a kind of tree b}.a kind of seed [eba sat shel] 11. How is the conker kept on the string? 4, Winners may earn a) with 2 nail a) their opponent's conker. b) with 2 large knot by) one point in each game cc} with a shoelace c) different numbers of points. 5, What is NOT considered cheating? a) soaking the conker in vinegar 'b) driling @ hole in your conker ) baking the conker 2. The game requires a) two players and a conker. bb) two players and two conkers. ¢) any number of people and @ conker, 6. What is true of the game of conkers? a) It is still popular today. bj [tis costly. ¢} It is losing its popularity. 3. How do you win the game? a) You hit the other conker. bb) You break your conker. «¢) You brezk the other conker.Read the text and fill the gaps with sentences A-G. Write the letter of the missing sentence in the box in the correct gap. There is one extra sentence you will not need. The Tower Of London Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, and in the past as simply The Tower, is a historic monument in central London, England, on the north bank of the River Thames. It is located within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The term ‘Tower of London’ is often associated with the White Tower, the original stark square fortress section built by William the Conqueror in 1078. Some are preserved very well, even today. Throughout its history, it has served many different functions. The tower functioned pri- marily as a fortress, a royal palace and a prison. Hell —_| the future Queen Elizabeth I was one of the most famous of these. This use of the tower as a prison has led to the phrase "sent to the Tower. [EL the tower has also served as a place of execution and torture, an armoury, a treasury, a 200, the Royal Mint, a public records office and an observatory. It was also rumoured to be home to many ghosts. ] Today the Tower of London is principally a tourist attraction. The tower is manned by the ‘Yeomen Warders (known as Beefeaters), who act as tour guides and provide security. El} Every evening, the warders participate in the Ceremony of the Keys. In this ceremony, the Tower is secured for the night. HE | A. They have become a tourist attraction in their own right, However, the tower as a whole is a complex of several buildings. Since 1303, it has housed the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. The pr nN was used to house high class and royal criminals in particular. B, c. D. E. Many consider a trip to London incomplete without a visit to the Tower, This means “to be imprisoned”. G. This supposed Roman origin is a myth. Total: 6 marksTESOL - B2 Read the four texts below. There are eight questions about the texts. Decide which text (A, B, © tells you the answer to the question. The first one is done for you: A B. Our company, PlayTime, has been committed to Boundless Playgrounds is the first national enriching childhood through play since 1929. organisation dedicated to helping communitics ‘This requires more than just creating playground extraordinary barrier-free playgrounds where with and without disabilities, can develop pment; it requires havi fanding of wh: cquipment; it requires having an understanding of what PY in. for life as they learn together thro it takes to allow children to discover and develop, while at the same time having fun. Over the last 80 years, we || Amy Jaffe Barzach and her husband decid have firmly established ourselves as the global leader in | | create a playground where children with and commercial play equipment. disabilities could play and learn together. 4 Our mission is to continue to be an industry leader, playground opened in 1996, hundreds of pes using our rotational moulding expertise, creative design | | Wanted to know how they could set up the= Fa This led a passionate team of parents and ited employees , eee ae sionals to establish Boundless Playgrounds = and outstanding customer-focused service. c. Hi youl How are things? I'm writing to ask if D. ‘you would like to help out with a project in town. |_| In the words of our four-year-old: ‘Mummy, thi: We're recruiting volunteers ta help build a new Coot. She's right; the Glover playground really is = town playground in September. ‘The playground caters for all ages. On one si Last year more than 25 children were hurt park are toddler swings, a nice sandpit with sc because the playground is unsafe but now we've ger and a little climbing structure for the tod raised enough money for new equipment. We just need more people to help make this dream a reality In the centre you'll find a helicopter and a wo spinning circle kids can sit or lie on. There’ magnificent framework of climbing walls. | cas bly do this structure justice; youll just have to see it. Write back or call if you're available any day in ‘September to help out. Thank you so much! Which text: Which text provides the answers to the following ques: Example: is a review? 4, Where can you bring your toddler so that they have fun? 5. When does the town need volunteers? 1. is a request? 6. How long has the playgrounc-bulding company been aroun 2. is trying to promote something? 7. Where can you find a spinning piece of playground equi 3. is about a non-commercial orgarisation?READING Part 4 Read the article and answer the questions. Write a maximum of five words for each answer. An example is done for you. Science Games Daniel Kunkle spent most of his time in graduate school playing with a colourful puzzle called a Rubik's Cube. With clever computer programming, Kunkle figured out that any Rubik's Cube can be solved in 26 moves or fewer. The previous record was 27. Studying puzzles and games may sound like fun, and not like serious science, but the work might also eventually help scientists solve real-world problems. Each side of a Rubik's Cube is divided into nine squares, lke a tic-tac-toe board. When the puzzle is solved, all nine squares on each side are the same colour as one another. So, there's a red side, a green side, and so on. A series of random rotations mixes up the colours. To solve the puzzle, you have to make the right series of twists to group the same colours together again on each side. The Rubik's Cube can be arranged in about 43 uintilion possible ways. That's 43 with 18 zeros after it! By hand, it can take a long time to find a solution. ‘A computer can try every possible move and compare solutions to solve the problem much more quickly. But with so many potential arrangements even the world's fastest computer would take a few weeks to come up with a solution. But Kunkle came up with ways to shorten the process and eventually set a new record of 26 steps to solve the Rubik's Cube. Researchers suspect the absolute minimum could be just 20 moves, but they have yet to prove it, The strategies that Kunkle used to solve the cube can be applied to other complicated problems, especially ‘ones that require you to search through lots of possibilities. Scheduling airplane fights to carry millions of people to a variety of destinations as quickly as possible is one example. Jonathan Schaeffer of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, faced an even bigger challenge: win- ning at checkers. On a traditional checkerboard, each player starts with 12 pieces in his or her own back three rows. During each turn, players slide one piece a distance of one square toward their opponent's side. An enemy piece is captured by jumping your piece over it. The player that removes all enemy pieces wins. Schaeffer's computer programme considered all possible moves and countermoves in a game of checkers. In spite of his efforts to cut down time, the computers took 18 years to finish the problem. In the end, it con- cluded that if neither player makes a mistake, the game will always be a tie. Like the methods Kunkle devel- oped for the Rubik's Cube, Schaeffer's strategies are being applied to practical problems in scheduling. Indeed, it Just goes to show that playing games can sometimes turn into serious science! Example: Which two people are mentioned in this article? } 4. How does the computer solve a Rubik's Cube? Ki 5. How long would a very good computer take to solve a Rubik's 3 Cuber 2. What could studying puzzles and games lead to? 6. What realworid problem can be solved using Kuride's programme? 3. Hw long do people take to solve Rubie's Cube? Total: 7 marks 7 Total marks for Reading: 26