1.1/1.

2 TEST
Name ___________________________________________________ No. _______ Class: _________ Date ___________

LISTENING

1. Listen to Ellis Idris, a journalism student, talking about herself as a Citizen [track 6]
of the World. Choose the right ending to complete each sentence.
1.1 Ellis’s identity crises are mostly due to
a. having conflicts with other people.
b. not understanding where she truly belongs.
c. not considering herself a TCK (Third Culture Kid).
1.2 Both her parents were born in
a. Malaysia.
b. the Philippines.
c. Asia.
1.3 The first five countries where she has lived were
a. Algeria, Malaysia, England, Austria, the Philippines.
b. the Philippines, Algeria, Malaysia, Austria, England.
c. the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Austria, England.
1.4 Ellis lived in Malaysia longer than in other countries because
a. her parents wanted her to live in a settled place.
b. her father received an offer to work there.
c. she attended university there.
1.5 She attended an international school because her parents
a. wanted her to be fluent in English.
b. would like her to become a diplomat.
c. didn’t want her to experience a culture shock overseas.
1.6 Attending an international school allowed Ellis to
a. get to know a lot of cultures.
b. experience living like a Malaysian.
c. celebrate Malaysian holidays.
1.7 Although there are many challenges, being a TCK also has many advantages such as
a. speaking different languages, having a broad worldview, and being highly adaptive.
b. speaking different languages, having excellent interpersonal skills and an open mind.
c. speaking different languages, having the opportunity to build unique memories and to travel a
lot.
1.8 She has realised that
a. she doesn’t fit in anywhere on the planet.
b. she belongs everywhere.
c. she doesn’t belong to anyone and she has nowhere to call home.

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 READING

You are going to read a text written by Fatimah Alayafi, who grew up as a Third Culture Kid.
FASCINATING YET COMPLICATED: THE IDENTITY OF A THIRD CULTURE KID.
We’re from everywhere and nowhere.
Born in Mexico City, my mother is Mexican
of Lebanese descent, my father an Arab. I was
brought up in five different countries, seven
cities, and far too many apartments. 1. ________
5 Yet sadly, I never learned Arabic despite it being
most of my family’s mother tongue. As for my
religious and spiritual beliefs? That’s
a WHOLE other topic.
As a Third Culture Kid (or TCK) myself, I
10 mainly identify myself as Mexican, until people
start asking questions. These are usually
regarding my last names, my English, my
physical features, and next thing I know I'm giving them a pitch on my life story.
So, what is it like to be a Third Culture Kid?
15 2. _________ Most TCKs spend their years overseas at international schools, yet many are
enrolled at local institutions if there aren’t significant language or cultural barriers. You find yourself
studying at a huge public elementary school in tropical South-East Asia, 40-something kids per
classroom, and no air conditioning; then a year later you’re at a small international school in Europe
with central heating, a homey environment, and piles of snow outside. Despite being drastically
20 different scenarios, you learn to adapt to both, finding the best of each experience, and building
memories that are forever dear to you.
During those years, you eagerly look forward to celebrating Chinese New Year, Christmas, Diwali,
Eid Al-Fitr, Día de Los Muertos, and other holidays depending on where you’re at. Decades later, you
still take note of those dates and feel nostalgic. I still find myself hunting mooncakes down in Mexico
25 City’s Chinatown when Chinese New Year comes round.
3. _________ Influenced by all sorts of ideas, you develop a broad worldview from a young age.
However, this can also be confusing, and establishing your own identity becomes a challenge. On the
upside, by age 8 you’re a tiny world who is multicultural, open-minded, and highly respectful of
others. Able to comprehend the social rules of other places, you can instinctively adjust your
30 personality to blend in.
4. _________ As a teenager, being the new kid at school and having to make new friends becomes
quite daunting. It takes you longer to adjust, and when you’re finally feeling comfortable, it's time to
move again. Yet over the years, you've grown to be resilient, brave, and confident that despite the
initial culture shock, you’ll adapt to this new location.
35 5. ________ Yes, some people will treat you differently due to your ethnic background, religious
beliefs, or even skin colour. However, on other occasions, you break stereotypes, forming friendships
with individuals who in other circumstances would’ve conflicted with you over political or religious
issues.
As for family, it's basically just your parents and your siblings. Cousins, uncles, grandparents,
40 you’ll see them once a year tops, and in most cases never getting round to properly bonding with them.
6. __________ So upon being repatriated, you begin limiting yourself by not fully expressing who
you are and trying hard to fit in by masking this uniqueness which you believe makes you “weird”.

https://www.manystories.com (adapted, accessed in November 2021)

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1. Some sentences have been removed from the text. Match the numbers to the letters.
a. You’re constantly switching schools, having to make new friends, adapting to new
educational systems.

b. As for your peers back home, you might struggle to connect with them since you’re
perceived as an oddball, or worse, as a bragger.

c. I grew up bilingual, Spanish and English are interchangeable to me, and I can speak some
French.

d. However, as you grow older, moving gets harder.

e. Then there’s discrimination. It’s a touchy subject, doesn't happen to all TCKs, but
unfortunately, it did to me.

f. You also begin noticing how everyone in your environment has a different set of values
and beliefs.

2. Say who or what the following words highlighted in the text refer to.

a. it (line 5)

b. these (line 11)

c. them (line 13)

d. their (line 15)

3. Find evidence in the text for the following statements.

a. As a TCK you not only miss the typical food of the festivities of the countries you have been to,
and neither do you forget when those festivities are celebrated.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
b. Defining your own identity is very demanding once you have dealt with a multicultural
perspective of perceiving the world from an early age.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
c. Although you may experience a culture clash every time you move to a foreign place, you have
already developed characteristics that allow you to believe you will adjust again.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Bearing in mind what you have read/learned about TCKs, explain why they say “We’re
from everywhere and nowhere”.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________

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 USE OF LANGUAGE

1. Complete the text with words/expressions from the box. There are two extra words.

sensitive melting pot identity odd ethnically beliefs

traditions backgrounds racial progressive multicultural community

London is one of the most a. _____________ diverse cities in the world

with foreigners constituting about a third of its nine million inhabitants.
Living in a city with people from different ethnic and b. _____________
and economic c. _____________, one needs to be aware of and
d. _____________ to the cultural differences to navigate and maintain
healthy relations with neighbours, classmates or co-workers. The
e. _____________ population in London represents a modern
cosmopolitan city – a f. _____________, dynamic and tolerant space
where everyone can express themselves (as long as it’s legal). Although
London is full of strangers, you never really feel like a stranger. There’s
an g. _____________ comfort in knowing that you’re not the only one who’s new to the city and even
though we are all different, we’re all the same. Living in a city that can best be described as a h.
_____________ of cultures has a great influence on the construction of i. _____________. You won’t
be the same person after living in London for a few months or years. There are many stimuli that will
challenge your values, your j. _____________, your mind set.
https://www.ish.org.uk/ (adapted; accessed in November 2021)

2. Complete the paragraphs with the most suitable form of the verbs in brackets (present
simple, present continuous, be going to + infinitive, will + infinitive, past simple, past
continuous, past perfect).

A
TCKs love travelling and Ellis is no exception. She often a. __________ (spend) her summer
holiday in a different country. Last year she b. __________ (go) to Greece but this year
she c. __________ (go) to Italy. As she d. __________ (book) the hotel in Milan she e.
__________ (find) out that f. __________ (there to be) no flights available for that week.
So she g. __________ (have) to choose another city – Rome. Therefore, yesterday before
she h. __________ (contact) the hotel, she i. __________ (already / buy) the flight. She
leaves on 16th August and the plane j. __________ (take off) at 1 p.m.

B
Ellis’s sister k. __________ (live) in Oxford with her boyfriend Paul but she l. __________
(grow up) in Singapore. She m. __________ (meet) Paul at university while she
n. __________ (study) English Language and Culture. She o. __________ (now / look) for
a job. She thinks she p. __________ (find) a job as a teacher in a local school soon. Paul is
a doctor at the John Radcliffe hospital. They q. __________ (get) married next week and
after that they r. __________ (move) to a new house.

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3. Rewrite the following sentences using the linking words/expressions in brackets.
a. Although I grew up in Angola, I don’t feel Angolan or ethnically African. (despite) _____________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
b. TCKs tend to develop strong cross-cultural and social skills because they must constantly adapt
to their new surroundings. (as a result) _________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
c. In spite of facing a lot of challenges, the perks of being a TCK clearly outweigh the disadvantages.
(however) __________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
d. TCKs struggle to define their own identity since they have unusual backgrounds. (due to)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first one. Write
between three and five words.
a. When I moved to a country with a foreign language for the first time, I couldn’t say a word.
(nothing)
When I moved to a country with a foreign language for the first time, I ________________________
b. No one in class knows Paul better than me. (anyone)
I _____________________________________________________________________________in class.
c. She is always commenting on other people’s opinions. (something)
She always ______________________________________________ about other people’s opinions.
d. As teens, some TCKs feel that there is nowhere they belong. (anywhere)
As teens, some TCKs feel ______________________________________________________________

WRITING
You have just arrived in one of the most
multicultural cities in the world. It’s your
first day at an international school.
Tell us all about that day (feelings,
thoughts, people, events, places… ) and
write a narrative text of about 160 words.
Use at least one prepositional phrase.

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