THINK LEVEL 4 Standard

SKILLS TESTS ANSWER KEY

UNIT 1 UNIT 4
1 1
b3 c1 d5 e7 f2 g6 h4 1G 2A 3E 4J 5B 6D 7I 8C

2 2
1d 2g 3a 4e 5h 6c 7b 8f 1D 2F 3G 4A 5C 6E 7B

3 3
1 14/ fourteen 2 Portland 3 ski 4 shelter 5 freezing 1d 2c 3g 4e 5h 6f 7b 8a
6 midnight 7 alone
4
4 1A 2C 3B 4C 5A 6B 7B
1F 2T 3F 4F 5 DS 6F 7T 8 DS

UNIT 5
UNIT 2
1
1 1c 2g 3a 4e 5h 6b 7f 8d
A 45,000 B 18,000 C 200,000 D 13,000
E 70,000 F 12,000 G 55,000 2
1T 2 DS 3F 4T 5F 6F 7T
2
1 Homo erectus; Homo antecessor 2 Ethiopia 3
3 climate change 4 10,000 5 east 1T 2S 3M 4T 5M 6S 7S 8M
6 Asia; North America 7 America; France 8 agriculture
4
3 1 addicted 2 library 3 entertainment 4 turn off
1c 2a 3b 4f 5e 6g 7d 5 soap operas 6 board 7 healthier

4
1 climate 2 ice 3 compete 4 source UNIT 6
5 roads 6 nets 7 rubbish 8 diseases
1
1A 2C 3D 4B 5C 6A 7D 8B
UNIT 3
2
1 1T 2F 3F 4T 5 DS 6 DS 7 F
1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10
3
2 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10
1T 2F 3 DS 4F 5 DS 6T 7T 8F
4
3 1 30/thirty 2 nursery 3 photos 4 universities
A 1980-1995 B 2013- C Before 1928 D 1965-1979 5 dating 6 texted 7 restaurant 8 mother
E 1928-1938 F 1996-2012 G 1939-1964

4
1A 2C 3B 4B 5C 6A 7B 8A

Think Level 4 Skills Tests Standard ANSWER KEY page 1 of 11 PHOTOCOPIABLE © Cambridge University Press 2022
 UNIT 7 UNIT 10
1 1
1G 2E 3H 4A 5D 6C 7B 8F A 72% B 16% C 24% D 10%
E 85% F 50% G 69% H 27%
2
1A 2C 3C 4A 5B 6B 7A 2
1F 4T 5T 6 DS 7T
3
1D 2D 3S 4D 5S 6D 7S 8D 3
1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10
4
1 diary/journal 2 messages 3 list 4 trains 4
5 raining 6 concentrate 7 nightmare 1B 2A 3C 4A 5B 6B 7A 8C

UNIT 8 UNIT 11
1 1
b4 c1 d5 e8 f3 g7 h6 b3 c5 d1 e8 f6 g7 h4

2 2
a7 b3 c1 d8 e2 f4 g5 h6 a3 b2 c7 d5 e1 f8 g4 h6

3 3
1E 2C 3G 4B 5A 6D 7F 1e 2g 3a 4b 5h 6d 7c 8f

4 4
1 party 2 twice 3 two 4 physics 1 planet 2 ground 3 gas 4 robot
5 cinema 6 grandparents 7 boring 8 freezer 5 shapes 6 sea 7 light

UNIT 9 UNIT 12
1 1
a1 b5 c7 d2 e4 f3 g6 1G 2B 3F 4E 5A 6D 7C

2 2
1F 2F 3T 4T 5F 6 DS 7F 8 DS 1C 2A 3E 4G 5G 6D 7F 8B

3 3
1 children 2 degree 3 Spanish 44 1 Amazon 2 1925 3 Canada 4 1502
5 asparagus 6 guitar 7 shopping centre 8 screens 5 Australia 6 1861 7 Everest 8 1924

4 4
1C 2C 3A 4B 5B 6B 7C 1A 2B 3C 4B 5A 6A 7C

Think Level 4 Skills Tests Standard ANSWER KEY page 2 of 11 PHOTOCOPIABLE © Cambridge University Press 2022
 WRITING AND SPEAKING ASSESSMENT SCALES

The following Assessment Scales are taken from the Cambridge English Language Assessment Handbook for Cambridge English: First for
Schools. They are a useful tool for assessing your students’ performance in the Speaking and Writing sections of the Think Skills Tests.

SPEAKING
Marking
The Speaking section of each Think Skills Test should be marked out of a total of 20.

Students should be awarded a maximum of five points for each of the following four criteria:
• Grammar and Vocabulary • Discourse Management
B2 Grammar and Vocabulary
5 • Shows a good degree of control of
a range of simple and some complex
grammatical forms.
• Uses a range of appropriate vocabulary to
give and exchange views on a wide range
of familiar topics.
4 Performance shares features of Bands 3 and 5.
3 • Shows a good degree of control of simple
grammatical forms, and attempts some
complex grammatical forms.
• Uses a range of appropriate vocabulary
to give and exchange views on a range of
familiar topics.
2 Performance shares features of Bands 1 and 3.
1 • Shows a good degree of control of simple
grammatical forms.
• Uses a range of appropriate vocabulary
when talking about everyday situations.
0 Performance below Band 1.
• Pronunciation • Interactive Communication
Discourse Management
• Produces extended stretches of language with
very little hesitation.
• Contributions are relevant and there is a clear
organisation of ideas.
• Uses a range of cohesive devices and
discourse markers.
• Produces extended stretches of language
despite some hesitation.
• Contributions are relevant and there is very
little repetition.
• Uses a range of cohesive devices.
• Produces responses which are extended
beyond short phrases, despite hesitation.
• Contributions are mostly relevant, despite
some repetition.
• Uses basic cohesive devices.
Pronunciation
• Is intelligible.
• Intonation is appropriate.
• Sentence and word stress is
accurately placed.
• Individual sounds are articulated
clearly.
• Is intelligible.
• Intonation is generally appropriate.
• Sentence and word stress is
generally accurately placed.
• Individual sounds are generally
articulated clearly.
• Is mostly intelligible, and has some
control of phonological features at
both utterance and word levels.
Interactive Communication
• Initiates and responds
appropriately, linking contributions
to those of other speakers.
• Maintains and develops the
interaction and negotiates towards
an outcome.
• Initiates and responds
appropriately.
• Maintains and develops the
interaction and negotiates towards
an outcome with very little
support.
• Initiates and responds
appropriately.
• Keeps the interaction going with
very little prompting and support.

WRITING
Marking
The Writing sections of the Think Skills Tests should be marked out of a total of 20. Use the Assessment Scale to award a mark from
1 to 5 for each descriptor.

Students should be awarded a maximum of five points for each of the following four criteria:
• Content • Communicative Achievement • Organisation
B2 Content Communicative Achievement
5 • All content is relevant to the task. • Uses the conventions of the
• Target reader is fully informed. communicative task effectively
to hold the target reader’s
attention and communicate
straightforward and complex
ideas, as appropriate.
4 Performance shares features of Bands 3 and 5.
3 • Minor irrelevances and/or • Uses the conventions of the
omissions may be present. communicative task to hold the
• Target reader is on the whole target reader’s attention and
informed. communicate straightforward
ideas.
2 Performance shares features of Bands 1 and 3.
1 • Irrelevances and misinterpretation • Uses the conventions of
of task may be present. the communicative task in
• Target reader is minimally generally appropriate ways to
informed. communicate straightforward
ideas.
0 • Content is totally irrelevant. Performance below Band 1.
• Target reader is not informed.
• Language
Organisation
• Text is well organised and
coherent, using a variety
of cohesive devices and
organisational patterns to
generally good effect.
• Text is generally well
organised and coherent,
using a variety of linking
words and cohesive
devices.
• Text is connected and
coherent, using basic
linking words and a
limited number of
cohesive devices.
Language
• Uses a range of vocabulary, including less common lexis,
appropriately.
• Uses a range of simple and complex grammatical forms with
control and flexibility.
• Occasional errors may be present but do not impede
communication.
• Uses a range of everyday vocabulary appropriately, with
occasional inappropriate use of less common lexis.
• Uses a range of simple and some complex grammatical forms with
a good degree of control.
• Errors do not impede communication.
• Uses everyday vocabulary generally appropriately, while
occasionally overusing certain lexis.
• Uses simple grammatical forms with a good degree of control.
• While errors are noticeable, meaning can still be determined.

Think Level 4 Skills Tests Standard ASSESSMENT SCALES page 3 of 11 PHOTOCOPIABLE © Cambridge University Press 2022
 AUDIOSCRIPTS
SKILLS TEST 1
Track 01
Presenter Hi. Today, we’re talking about stories of
survival and we’re hearing stories from you,
our listeners.. Our first caller is Jenny. Hi,
Jenny.
Jenny Hello.
Presenter Thanks for calling us. Is this a story about
you?
Jenny No, it was in a blog that my friend told me
about. It’s about an American boy called Jake
Denham.
Presenter Hmm... OK. I haven’t heard about him. Tell
us all about it.
Jenny Right, he was skiing when…
Presenter Just one moment, Jenny! Can you give us
some background?
Jenny Sorry. OK. Jake was a fourteen year old
boy from Portland in Oregon in the north-
west of the USA. He went skiing with his
parents to Mount Bachelor. It’s south-east
of Portland but still in Oregon. I’m not sure
when it happened. He was skiing behind his
parents and was on his own. It was a part of
the mountain he didn’t know very well and,
as he was descending, he got lost and ended
up in some trees. He also lost a ski. It was late
in the afternoon and it soon started getting
dark and very cold.
Presenter Oh no! What happened next?
Jenny Well, what I like about this story is that he
managed to survive because he was a fan
of survival television shows and especially
Bear Grylls. He remembered watching a
programme about surviving in the snow
and refused to give up. First of all, he built a
shelter, which kept him a bit warmer because
it protected him from the wind. After three
hours, he saw some rescue helicopters but,
because he was in the forest, they couldn’t
see him.
Presenter Did he try to signal to them?
Jenny I’m not sure, to be honest. Anyway, he didn’t
want to stay on the mountain overnight.
The temperature was well below freezing.
The problem is that it is easy to get lost
on a mountain at night. You could fall
down a crevasse or something. Again, Jake
remembered something he had seen on
Think Level 4 Skills Tests Standard AUDIOSCRIPTS page 4 of 11
television. He decided to try to get back to
the slope so he staggered through the snow
until he managed to find some ski tracks
going down the mountain. He tried to follow
them in the dark but sometimes, he got lost
and had to crawl around in the dark until he
found them again so it took a long time.
Presenter Oh, my goodness!
Jenny Finally, he saw lights from a building in the
distance and, soon afterwards, met some
rescuers who were looking for him. By now
it was after midnight. I’m sure his parents
were feeling desperate by then and also
guilty about leaving him behind. Luckily,
when the rescuers brought him down to
the lights, he was OK and he learned some
important lessons. Firstly, never ski alone. I
think a mobile phone would also be useful
but I don’t think he owned one at the time.
He also recommended having a big meal
before you go skiing. I guess he didn’t have
any snacks in the pockets of his ski suit.
Presenter Probably not. That’s good advice for everyone
doing anything adventurous. Thank you very
much Jenny. A great start to the show.
SKILLS TEST 2
Track 02
Presenter Some animals travel incredible distances
each year to find food, warmer weather, or
a safe place to bring up their young. But
increasingly, this is changing. With me is
wildlife expert David Scarborough.
David Hello, Michaela. Yes, we’re starting to see
some big changes in the way animals migrate.
Presenter And is this all brought about by climate
change?
David Well, it does have a big impact. And in some
cases, it means animals are forced to move
away from their natural habitats – the places
where they usually live. For example, polar
bears, which live in the Arctic, are moving
south because the sea ice which they use
to hunt for seals is melting away. They have
nowhere else to go.
Presenter And they come into contact with humans?
David Sometimes, but more seriously, they run into
brown bears. The two types of bear start to
compete for the same food, which isn’t good
for either species.
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 Presenter I see. There must be many animals affected
by warmer temperatures.
David Yes. The Adélie penguin, for example, eats a
special type of sea creature called krill. But
this is disappearing as the sea gets warmer.
So, the Adélie penguin is having to travel
further to find a new source of krill.
Presenter So, many animals are migrating more
because they are losing their natural habitats,
or food sources. Are there any examples of
animals migrating less?
David Yes, there are. Over a million wildebeest
migrate each year in parts of East Africa. But,
as towns and cities increase in the region,
so do the number of roads. And of course,
these get in the way of the natural routes of
many animals, and stop them getting to food
or water sources. And it’s not just on land,
but in the seas, too.
Humpback whales, for example, can travel
up to 4,000 miles a year. But, increasingly,
they have to fight their way past man-made
problems. It’s easy for these whales to get
caught in enormous fishing nets, or even hit
big ships.
Presenter Are there any animals which actually benefit
from human activity?
David There is the stork – a large, beautiful bird
that typically flies across Europe to Africa
each year to find food. We now know that
many storks are not migrating to Africa any
more because they can find all the food they
need in Europe, all year round.
Presenter Why’s that?
David Well, humans – especially in Europe – are
throwing more food away, and leaving it
in enormous rubbish dumps. The storks
find this rubbish, which provides them with
enough food to last through the winter. This
means that they have no need to migrate
anywhere else.
Presenter I’m not sure that’s a good thing!
David Well, perhaps not. Other animals are also
benefiting from climate change. The tiger
mosquito is a good example. Because of
warmer temperatures all around the world,
it is spreading from its usual home in places
like Brazil, to the US. Unfortunately, it’s
bringing dangerous diseases like the Zika
virus along with it.
Presenter This is all very worrying.
David Yes, it’s certainly something we need to think
about.
Think Level 4 Skills Tests Standard AUDIOSCRIPTS page 5 of 11
SKILLS TEST 3
Track 03
Presenter In the past, there were two generations.
The younger generation and the older
generation. Once you started work, left
home and settled down with a family you
moved from one to the other. Now, it’s a
bit more complicated as my guest, Helen
Connor will tell us. Welcome, Helen.
Helen Thank you.
Presenter So, how many generations are there and
what’s the difference between them?
Helen Well, there are several, perhaps six or seven,
which most people agree about, although
there are differences of opinion about when
exactly each one starts and finishes. The
years are my ideas. And, of course, these are
stereotypes. Not everyone is the same.
Presenter Of course not.
Helen The oldest generation is sometimes called
the GI generation. A GI is an American
soldier. This is the generation that fought
in the Second World War. Not everyone,
of course, but a good deal of people.
The youngest member of this generation
was 18 in 1945 so born in 1927. The next
generation were born between 1928 and
the start of World War Two. Let’s call them
the Silent Generation. They are generally
very traditional and similar to the previous
generation. They grew up at a time when
women didn’t often go out to work and
divorce was seen as very bad. They were
followed by the Baby Boomers. These are
children who were born from 1939 to
about 1964. Many famous rock stars are
baby boomers. This was when the phrase
‘generation gap’ was first used because this
generation were completely different to
their parents. Some boys had long hair, girls
wore short skirts and they listened to loud
music.
Presenter That sounds like my parents!
Helen The next generation is called Generation
X who were born from the middle of
the 1960s and in the 1970s. We look at
Generation X as a selfish generation. But
there were some big charity events like Live
Aid at this time so maybe this isn’t really
true. MTV started and image became very
important. There were some very strange
haircuts and clothes. After Generation X, we
had Generation Y, also known as Millenials.
They were born from 1980 to about
1995. They are generally felt to be very
organised and less selfish than their parents.
Generation Y grew up with computers but,
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 despite this, they still can’t understand the
generation that followed them, Generation
Z. These are people born from about 1996
to 2012. Generation Y used computers for
work. Generation Z are the selfie generation,
the social media generation. The smartphone
generation.
Presenter Haha, well, I have two Generation Z children
and you are exactly right!
Helen Finally, we have a new generation. They were
born after 2012. Some aren’t even born yet.
At the moment, this generation is unnamed.
Perhaps they will be the virtual reality
generation.
Presenter Wonderful. Thank you very much.
SKILLS TEST 4
Track 04
Gary What are you reading?
Jo About how some companies are asking
unusual questions at job interviews to see
how well candidates can think outside the
box. Want to do one?
Gary Sure!
Jo OK. Here’s a problem. You have to discuss it
with me, and come up with as many ideas as
you can.
Gary Great.
Jo OK, well, the idea of this is to test how
practical you are. Imagine that you’re alone,
in a dark house, with a group of other
people. It’s winter, and it’s really cold. But
there’s a fireplace, and you know there is
some paper around the house, and wood
in the garden, which you can use to start a
fire. The problem is, you’ve only got one
match left. You’ve also got one lamp and
one candle. The question is which would you
light first?
Gary Hmm. Interesting question. OK, so there is
a group of us, and I have to look after them,
so it’s important to do the responsible thing.
Everyone needs to be warm during the
night, so I need to get the fireplace going.
Jo That’s true. So, you’re confident that you’d
start the fireplace first?
Gary Maybe, yes. Because then, I could use
the fire to light the candle and the lamp.
It wouldn’t be easy with one match, but
keeping people warm is the number-one
priority.
Jo Yes, but remember that it’s completely
dark. You’d find it very difficult to collect
the paper and wood, and get everything
together to make the fireplace work.
Think Level 4 Skills Tests Standard AUDIOSCRIPTS page 6 of 11
Gary Yes. I didn’t think of that. I would need to get
some light. OK. Well, it should be possible to
light the lamp or candle first. The question is,
which one?
Jo Remember you’ve got to collect the wood
and paper, which is in different places
around the house and garden.
Gary Well, yes, I need to go outside. My group
would have to stay in the dark inside, which
isn’t great. But, more seriously, if I have to go
outside, then it might be windy.
Jo Very good point.
Gary That means it wouldn’t be a very bright
idea to light the candle first. Unless I was
extremely cautious with it.
Jo Yes. Remember you’ve only got one match.
So, the lamp then?
Gary Yes, I think so. I would do that so I could get
some light. Then, I’d come back inside and put
it in the fireplace. I’d collect some paper, too,
which would make it easier to start the fire.
But I’d probably light the candle first, to give
me some more light inside the house. Then,
finally, I’d start the fireplace, using the candle,
and then get everyone warm. Right – I think
that’s the order I’d choose. I’m happy with that.
To me, it feels like the most decisive solution. I
think I organised that well. Am I right?
Jo Er … Well, no. All your stages seemed right,
except the first one. Actually, first of all,
you’d need to light the match!
Gary What? Well, yes but …!
Jo I said, you’ve got one match, a lamp, candle
and a fireplace. Which would you light first?
If you don’t start by lighting the match, then
you can’t do anything! Remember, the idea
of this was to test how practical you are!
SKILLS TEST 5
Track 05
Mum Hi, Jake, how was school today?
Boy Yeah, good. We talked about Screen Free
Week.
Mum What’s that?
Boy It’s a whole week when we all live without
looking at screens.
Mum You won’t want to do that! You’re addicted
to your phone.
Boy Actually, I’m quite excited by the idea. Our
teacher told us all about the week and how
it started. He also said that a lot of places in
town will be organising events. The library,
the art gallery and the museum will stay
open later in the evenings.
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 Mum Well, I’ll be interested to see how you get
on because it’s true that we need to take a
break from screens from time to time. But, it
won’t be easy.
Boy No, but…well, our teacher said we should
try to persuade our parents to take part,
too. It’s easier if everyone gives up at the
same time. I’ve got a letter for you here. No,
that isn’t it. That’s a form about the skiing
trip. Here it is. Mr Green wrote it because he
couldn’t get enough leaflets for everybody.
Mum I’m sorry, but I can’t give up screens! I have
work to do in the evenings.
Boy Don’t worry, you can still do your work
and I can still browse the Internet to do my
homework, we’re just not allowed to use
them for entertainment.
Mum Well, that’s OK. I’m not very excited about
smartphones or computers. I don’t use social
media or play games online. It would be
easy, I’d just watch television in the evenings.
Boy er, mum, don’t forget that TVs are screens,
too. In fact, Screen Free Week was originally
called TV Turn Off Week when it was
started in 1994.
Mum What, no TV? Well, that would be a
challenge. It’s good that we can watch the
shows online the following week. I wouldn’t
want to miss my favourite soap operas.
Boy Well, if you really have to...
Mum So what would we do in the evening?
Boy There are loads of things we could do. We
can read books, play board games, go for
walks or on bike rides. Things we should do
but often don’t because we’re too busy with
our screens.
Mum This letter is very interesting. It says here
that using screens can cause problems with
sleeping. That’s true for you. Every evening,
you are wide awake and can’t sleep then you
come to breakfast the next day exhausted
and bad-tempered. It also says that screens
can make you aggressive. Well, I don’t think
you have that problem….Oh, and cutting
down on screen use can help you do better
with school work and make you healthier.
OK, let’s do it.
Boy Great. How about playing a game now?
Mum I’d love to but MasterChef is starting soon.
It’s very exciting. I love watching it.
Boy Hmmm and you say I’m addicted.
Think Level 4 Skills Tests Standard AUDIOSCRIPTS page 7 of 11
SKILLS TEST 6
Track 06
One of the good things about the Internet is that it can
bring people together, and maybe even help people
fall in love. But for one couple, Amy Giberson and Justin
Pounders, the Internet managed to bring them together
after 30 years apart.
When they were both just three years old, Amy and Justin
had lived in the same small town in Florida in the US, and
had attended the same nursery school. Although they
didn’t have very clear memories of themselves so young,
they had appeared sitting together in school photos, and
teachers and parents remember them being the best of
friends.
But, as often happens, their parents moved to different
homes, so the two children forgot all about each other.
Although both Amy and Justin remained in Florida, they
both attended different universities, and got on with
completely different lives.
That is, until 30 years later, they both found themselves
single, and using the Internet to find someone to fall in
love with. They had both gone out with, and split up with,
other people, never having found their perfect match.
One day, Justin saw a picture of a woman on a dating
website, and was immediately struck by how beautiful
she was. He couldn’t explain why – among all the people
on the website – he was attracted to her. He felt as if he
must get in contact with her – and he did. What he didn’t
know was that this was Amy – the same girl he had been to
school with 30 years earlier.
Justin began sending messages to Amy, and to his surprise,
she replied. Before long, they were texting each other
every day, and planned to meet in a restaurant for what
they thought would be the first time.
When they did, Amy fell in love with Justin at first sight.
She immediately knew that this was the man she was going
to marry. They started going out, and a year later, were
thinking about getting engaged.
Surprisingly, it was only a year after they met in the
restaurant that they realised that they had already met –
30 years earlier.
They knew that they had both lived in the same area, but
it wasn’t until Justin’s mother found an old school photo,
with Justin and Amy together, that they were able to
discover the truth.
SKILLS TEST 7
Track 07
Sara With me is David Capaldi, who has invented
a new app. David, can you run through who
the app is for, and what it does?
David Yes, Sara, it’s called ‘Silver Linings Journal’
and it’s for people who want to be happier
and live more positive lives.
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 Sara I understand what ‘Silver Linings’ means, and
a journal is a kind of diary, but how does it
work? How would it make people happier?
David Well, basically, you get a message, on your
phone, five times a day, telling you to write
down something nice that has happened
to you. So, you get these messages and you
have to type in something that made you
feel good, or something nice that happened.
For example, ‘I slept very well’, or ‘someone
just smiled at me.’
Sara So it doesn’t have to be big things, it can be
the minor things that happen in life.
David Yes, I have to say that I didn’t think it would
work, but it really does. At the end of the
day, you get a list of all the things that
happened to you throughout the day. The
way this works is that even if you think you’re
having a horrible day, the app trains you to
think positively all the time, and to look for
the good things in life.
Sara I’d find it difficult to use this app. I wouldn’t
be able to come up with anything nice that
happened to me this morning.
David Well, that’s because you aren’t used to
thinking positively. Tell me one thing that
happened to you today.
Sara OK. I looked out of the window and I saw it
was raining.
David That means that as soon as you go out, you
can have fun splashing in all the puddles!
That’s a great way to spend time.
Sara I’m not four years old!
David You’re too negative! When the rain stops,
all the streets are going to be cleaner and
fresher.
Sara OK. The next thing I can remember is
stopping to buy a coffee on the way to work.
And the man in the café was rude to me
because I didn’t have coins – I only had a
large banknote, and the man said …
David Let me stop you there. You’re on the point
of saying something negative. Was the coffee
good?
Sara No. I walked away without buying one.
David So, concentrate on that. You saved some
money. Imagine yourself looking for a new
café in the future. By this time next week, you
will have found your dream café, and you’ll
be going there every morning, for a perfect
cup of coffee. Imagine that, instead of being
so negative!
Sara Wow, that is positive thinking …! How did
you get the idea for this app, David?
Think Level 4 Skills Tests Standard AUDIOSCRIPTS page 8 of 11
David I was always a negative person – complaining
about things, and my friends sometimes
pointed out how negative I was. I remember
being in a café with some friends. The coffee
I bought wasn’t nice. I had just bought some
expensive new shoes, and they were hurting
my feet. I got really worked up about it. So I
wanted to go online and update my status,
to complain about them. But the wi-fi in the
café was very slow. I just complained and
complained.
Sara I’ve known people like that. I usually ended
up avoiding them.
David Yes. I was a nightmare. I realised that if I
wanted to keep my friends, I’d need to have
a different way of thinking about life.
Sara Well, I’ll be trying your app over the next
week or two, and hopefully I’ll have become
a more positive person!
SKILLS TEST 8
Track 08
Anne Hi, Leo. What are you doing?
Leo Hey, Ann! I’m just running through a
shopping list. We’re going later to get some
food for my party.
Anne Why don’t you just go to the supermarket
and see what they’ve got?
Leo Because, if I went to the shops without a list,
I’d forget something. I always make shopping
lists.
Anne Hmmm, I don’t. I don’t see the point.
Leo And how often do you have to rush out
to the local shop in the evening for milk or
toilet paper and pay twice as much as you
would in the supermarket?
Anne Not very often! Did you make a list of guests,
too?
Leo I made two. One of school friends and one
of other people I know – from the music
club and friends who live near me.
Anne So, what other lists do you make?
Leo Well, the most important lists, I think, are
about school work and revision. If I didn’t
come up with lists, I know I would forget
something important.
Anne Yes, I suppose so. I made a timetable for our
last exams.
Leo Really? Great. Did it work?
Anne No, I kept putting off my physics revision
until it was too late.
Leo See? Lists are useful. Otherwise you can
become disorganised. My favourite lists are
advantages and disadvantages lists.
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 Anne What are they?
Leo Well, if I have to make a decision between
two options, like what to do at the weekend,
I write a list of advantages and disadvantages
of each and then decide. Last weekend, I
went to a party instead of the cinema. It
was cheaper, easier to get to and gave me a
chance to meet more people.
Anne I bet you make a list of New Year resolutions,
don’t you?
Leo No. I used to but I never kept to them, even
when I wrote them down. And it’s always
difficult to come up with new ideas every
year. But I always write present lists.
Anne Presents for other people?
Leo No, for me. I give my parents and
grandparents the list and I always get things I
want.
Anne Isn’t it a bit boring to know exactly what you
are going to get?
Leo No, it’s great! And they always buy me
something small which I don’t know about so
I do get a surprise.
Anne So, have you finished running through your
shopping list? Can we go to the shops now?
Leo OK. Oh, wait a minute. (Reading) ‘Clean
room’, done it, ‘take meat out of the freezer’
done it, ‘phone Colin’, yes, ‘switch off
computer’ .. hang on, I’ve got to switch my
computer off. It’s on my jobs list and I haven’t
done it yet.
SKILLS TEST 9
Track 09
Dad Morning, Mel. What are you reading? Looks
interesting!
Melanie Yes, it is! It’s an article about the advice you
would give your younger self.
Dad Sorry? What?
Melanie If you could go back in time to when you
were a teenager, knowing what you know
now and with the life experience that you
have had, what advice would you give
yourself?
Dad Oh right. There’s a lot of advice I would give.
First of all, don’t have children.
Melanie Dad!
Dad Ha, ha. Only joking! Well, I suppose I’d tell
myself to make up my own mind about what
to study at university. My parents persuaded
me to study economics because they
wanted me to get a steady job and earn a
good salary. I didn’t really enjoy the degree
Think Level 4 Skills Tests Standard AUDIOSCRIPTS page 9 of 11
course. I think I’d have been happier if I’d
studied French or Spanish.
Melanie Hmm, and what about less important
advice?
Dad Well, I’d say, when you’re at college and
someone offers you a ticket to see an
unknown American band called Nirvana, for
£4, say ‘Yes’. I stayed at home because I’d
never heard of them! Big mistake! Two years
later they were one of the biggest bands in
the world!
Melanie What about health? What advice would you
give yourself?
Dad Well, I was always very careful with food but
I think I’d tell myself that, actually, asparagus
is really tasty. I did a lot of sports at school
but I would tell myself not to worry so much
about winning and try to enjoy taking part.
The problem was that I used to get very
upset whenever I lost a race and I always
dwelled on the bad result.
Melanie OK, so is there anything you didn’t do that
you wish you had done?
Dad I’d like to have learned the guitar. I tried to
learn but I wasn’t patient enough. When we
go on holiday with your Uncle Tom, I always
get very jealous when he plays songs by the
campfire and everyone sings along.
Melanie Your singing is OK. Not as good as Uncle
Tom’s but you’re the best cook and you’re
just as good at putting a tent up as he is!
Dad Thanks! I know one more thing I would
advise my young self. Be more assertive
and don’t be scared to say ‘No’. I always
agreed to my friends’ ideas and, as a result,
I spent many boring Saturday afternoons
in the shopping centre when I would have
preferred to be somewhere else. I learned to
say ‘No’ at college.
Melanie What, when you said ‘No’ to the Nirvana
concert!
Dad Ha, ha, yes. So, do you know what a grown
up you would say to you right now?
Melanie No? What?
Dad Don’t spend so much time looking at
screens. That’s an interesting website but it’s
Saturday morning, the sun’s shining and you
should be outside. I’m going out and I don’t
want you sitting here all day.
Melanie Don’t worry. I’m meeting my friends soon.
I’ve just got to send a message to organise
where and when.
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 SKILLS TEST 10
Track 10
Jack Eva Graham is an expert on journalism, and
she’s here today to talk about how social
media is shaping the news, and how people
get news. Eva, you wrote an interesting
article recently about Japan, didn’t you?
Eva That’s right, Jack. I don’t know whether you
know, but Japan gets a lot of earthquakes,
and some of them are extremely serious
ones which can cause a lot of damage. Well,
at some point in August 2016, people
in the Tokyo area started getting official
messages on their mobile phones. The
messages warned that there would be a
huge earthquake. Now, there are 40 million
people living in that area, so of course, the
news spread very quickly on social media.
Jack So, what happened?
Eva Well, there was no earthquake. In fact, it
was a false alarm – a mistake. But, because
everyone was spreading the news on social
media, there was panic. Mobile phone
networks went down, trains stopped,
everything.
Jack That’s very interesting. So, social media
actually made the mistake worse.
Eva Much worse, yes. But this raises the
interesting question of how social media
can spread news very quickly – perhaps too
quickly – before anyone can tell whether the
news story is actually real or not. Information
spreads very fast these days.
Jack Do you have any other examples?
Eva One famous one was when the Twitter
account of a big news agency was hacked, a
few years ago. Some people broke into the
Twitter account and created a fake Tweet
that there had been an attack at the White
House in Washington, and the American
president was hurt.
Jack And did anyone take this seriously?
Eva Yes. It was retweeted and shared more than
3,000 times in just a few minutes. The US
economy even started to crash!
Jack So, social media can be very powerful.
Eva Yes. Often because people share news
stories or photos without really thinking
about whether they are true or not.
Jack Is this becoming more common?
Think Level 4 Skills Tests Standard AUDIOSCRIPTS page 10 of 11
Eva I think it is, especially now that politicians
and even governments are starting to use
social media more to control and influence
people. For example, it seems to be more
common for politicians to put out a message
that isn’t completely true. In fact, it may be
totally untrue. But, because of the speed
of social media, and because most people
aren’t really checking the information they
read, the lie can spread very quickly. The
politician can always apologise later and
admit that the information wasn’t correct, or
deny they actually said something, but the
damage will have already been done.
Jack I’ve heard that some governments are
employing people to put out false
information online.
Eva This might be true, although it’s difficult to
prove it. These people are called ‘trolls’. They
can create fake names for themselves, fake
Twitter accounts, and deliberately go online
to spread false information. You can often
find them posting in ‘Comments’ sections
under important news articles.
Jack It sounds like it’s going to be more difficult to
work out what’s true and what is a lie on the
Internet.
Eva You’re right. There’s so much information
online, and it’s so easy to reach. What we
have to learn to do as readers, is understand
who created the information, and what their
agenda was …
SKILLS TEST 11
Track 11
Hello everyone, today I’m going to talk a little bit about
the possibility of finding life on Mars. Mars is our closest
neighbour, and similar to our planet in many ways. But so
far, scientists have never discovered any kind of life on
Mars. Not even the smallest, simplest kind of life.
The bad news is that we’re still a very long way from really
finding out any answers. It is believed that there was once
a lot of water on Mars, which may have supported life.
However, that water is now very difficult to find, because it
exists only in the form of ice, or under the ground, where it
is difficult for us to look at it.
Scientists have recently discovered evidence of a gas
on Mars called methane, which appears and disappears
suddenly.
It is thought that bacteria – tiny life forms – may be
producing this. And this bacteria may be trapped in water
underneath the ground. Why do scientists think this? It’s
because most methane on the planet Earth is produced by
animals. So if it’s appearing on Mars, too, then that may be
a sign of life.
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 In 2019, we will have sent a new robot to Mars, which
might be able to answer lots of these questions, and
dig deep beneath the planet’s surface. Until then, some
interesting research is being done here on Earth.
About 30 years ago, a rock was found in Antarctica – a
place where no animals live except by the sea, and very
few plants can grow. This rock, it was thought, came from
Mars 17 million years ago, flying through space, and
landing on our planet. Scientists discovered that the rock
had tiny little shapes on it, which looked very similar to the
shapes that bacteria might make. Although scientists do
agree that the rock actually did come from Mars, no one
can agree on what the small shapes were caused by.
In North Yorkshire, in the UK, there is a very large
underground system, stretching for a thousand kilometres
under the land, to under the sea – about a kilometre
deep. It’s called the Boulby Mine, and it’s known that 250
million years ago, there was sea water in this underground
system.
However, this water disappeared, just like it has on planet
Mars. When the water went away, it created unusual
shapes in the rock – and again, we can see similar shapes in
the rocks on Mars.
Scientists have recently been spending time deep in the
Boulby Mine, searching for signs of life. Basically, nothing
much can live so deep underground, where there is little
oxygen, no light, no water and lots of salt. Only small
bacteria can survive – bacteria which has somehow lived
there for millions of years. But the important point is If it
can be found here, then it might exist on Mars, too, where
the environment is very similar.
In a few years, we may find out whether there really is life
on Mars. Until then, scientists will continue looking here on
Earth, for clues.
SKILLS TEST 12
Track 12
Today, we’re going to look at some explorers who you
might not have heard of. The thing they all have in
common is that they didn’t return from their journeys.
Let’s start with Colonel Percy Fawcett who was looking for
a lost city in the Amazon Jungle. He had already spent a lot
of time exploring in the area and had become obsessed
with the idea of the city. In 1925, he set off with his son
and another man and…they disappeared, completely.
Were they killed by natives? Were they eaten by a jaguar?
Did they get lost and starve or did they find the city and
live there, happily ever after? No-one knows and no-one
ever found any trace of them again.
Our second story concerns two brothers, Gaspar and
Miguel Corte-Real who were Portuguese. They were
sailing near Newfoundland an island off the coast of
Canada in 1501. Miguel returned to Portugal and thought
Gaspar would follow. He never did. The following year,
Miguel returned with three ships. Each explored a
different part of the coast and, when it was time to meet
up again, Miguel’s boat didn’t turn up. He was never seen
Think Level 4 Skills Tests Standard ACKNOWLEDGMENTS page 11 of 11
again. However, in 1918, messages were found, carved
into a rock which seemed to suggest that he survived
for at least another ten years and became leader of the
Indians. Did he really rule a tribe of Native Americans?
Burke and Willis were two explorers who actually reached
their destination. Unfortunately, they didn’t return. They
set out from Melbourne, in South Australia to find a route
to the north coast. They left Melbourne in August 1860
and arrived at the Gulf of Carpenteria about six months
later. They then only had enough food for five more
weeks. Local aborigines gave them food and water and
they also killed the camels they had taken with them but,
in 1861, they died near a place called Cooper’s Creek,
about halfway through their return journey.
Now, a piece of history. In 1953, when Elizabeth became
queen of England, on the same day, news reached the UK
of Edmund Hilary’s successful conquest of Mount Everest.
He was the first person to climb it, or was he? George
Mallory and Andrew Irvine set out to climb the mountain
in 1924 but they never returned. One of their ice axes
was later found just 300 metres from the summit of the
mountain and their bodies were discovered in 1999. Did
they reach the top? No-one knows but we do know that
they took a camera with themselves. Perhaps one day it
will be found and we will discover photos of the two men
standing proudly on top of the world.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors and publishers acknowledge the following
sources of copyright material and are grateful for the
permissions granted. While every effort has been made, it
has not always been possible to identify the sources of all
the material used, or to trace all copyright holders. If any
omissions are brought to our notice, we will be happy to
include the appropriate acknowledgements on reprinting
& in the next update to the digital edition, as applicable.
Writing and Speaking assessment scales reproduced with
permission of Cambridge English Language Assessment
©UCLES 2016.
Key: U = Unit, S = Speaking, L = Left, R = Right
All the photographs are sourced from GettyImages.
U2 S6 (L): NurPhoto; U2 S6 (R): Alex Segre/Moment
Mobile; U3 S6 (L): Beau Lark/Corbis/VCG; U3 S6 (R): Hero
Images; U5 S6 (L): Education Images/Universal Images
Group; U5 S6 (R): Alistair Berg/DigitalVision; U8 S6 (L):
shank_ali/E+; U8 S6 (R): Nick Ledger/AWL Images; U9
S6 (L): dolgachov/iStock/Getty Images Plus; U9 S6 (R):
monkeybusinessimages/iStock/Getty Images Plus; U12 S6
(L): s0ulsurfing - Jason Swain/Moment; U12 S6 (R): madsci/
iStock/Getty Images Plus.
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