Name _______________________________

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Listening
1 3.14 Listen to a principal talking about a reading festival to be held in a school. Complete the missing
information with a word or a short phrase.
You will hear the talk twice.

1 The principal particularly wishes to thank the ____________________ for their help with organizing
the festival.

2 The principal is worried that the children don’t see reading as something ____________________.

3 Some of the guest readers used to be ____________________ at Greenslade school.

4 The maximum number of children in a reading group will be ____________________.

5 Children can change groups at the end of a reading session if they want, so that they don’t become
____________________.

6 The reading periods for the younger children will be different because they may not be able to maintain
their ____________________ for a long period of time.

7 The principal didn’t expect to learn that Marion Patterson gets many of her ideas from ____________________.

8 The older and younger students will not eat at ________________________.

9 Smartphones, tablets, and electronic reading devices will be banned, as they may be a ___________________.

10 The children will have an opportunity to discuss their __________________________ before

they go home.

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 Exam practice test

Reading and Use of English

2 Read the text. Use the word given in CAPITALS to form a word that fits in the blank on the same line.

Example:
0 librarians

The Human Library

Libraries come in all shapes and sizes. In Mongolia, for example, 0 librarians LIBRARY

ride camels out to remote areas of the Gobi Desert to take books to children.

However, perhaps the most 1 ________________ library in the world is the USUAL

Human Library in Copenhagen. Instead of 2 ________________ a regular BORROW

book, you can 3 ________________ a “human book”, who will talk to you about CHOICE

their life. You can ask your human book questions and, unlike a normal book,

they will ask you questions about yourself in return. The 4 ________________ VARY

human books available include homeless people, blind people, soldiers,

5
________________, and the unemployed. REFUGE

By 6 __________________ people to share their experiences with people they ENCOURAGE

would otherwise never meet, the library hopes to give 7 ________________ VISIT

a much 8 ________________ understanding of the different elements of WIDE

society and, 9 __________________, to challenge prejudice and stereotyping. PARTICULAR

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 Exam practice test

3 You are going to read an article about an American steel mill owner. Choose the answer (a, b, c, or d)
which you think fits best according to the text.

The Benefits of Competition

Charles Schwab was a rich American industrialist in the early 1900s. He owned several steel mills, one of which
was not producing as much steel as the others. Wanting to find out why this was, Schwab visited the mill and
asked the manager if he had any idea why this particular mill was underperforming. The manager was worried
that Schwab would hold him responsible, but replied that he honestly didn’t know the reason. He claimed that he
had tried everything to persuade the men to work harder; he had praised their work, he had shouted at them —
he had even threatened to fire them if they didn’t increase their productivity. Nothing had worked and he was at
a loss to know what else he could do.

The mill operated 24 hours a day with two teams of workers: the day shift and the night shift. When Schwab
visited, it was towards the end of the day. The day shift workers were preparing to go home, and the night shift
workers were just about to arrive. Schwab turned to one of the workers and asked him how many heats they had
made that day. (A “heat” is all the steel that is produced in a single operation of the furnace.) The worker told him
that they had produced six heats. Schwab asked for a piece of chalk and used it to write a large figure 6 on the
floor of the mill. Then he left.

When the night shift workers arrived, they asked why there was a large 6 on the floor. The day shift workers told
them that Schwab had visited and had asked how many heats they had produced. When they had said six, he had
chalked the figure on the floor. When the day shift workers arrived the next morning, they found that the 6 had
been rubbed out and replaced with a large 7. Seeing this, the day shift workers decided that the night shift
workers had felt under pressure to work harder and were trying to show that they were better than them. The
day shift workers rose to the challenge. They worked extra hard all day, and when they left the mill that evening,
they left behind a large 10 on the floor.

In very little time, to everyone’s surprise, the mill was producing far more steel than any of Schwab’s other mills.
His method of increasing production was simple, cheap, and effective. By creating rivalry between the two shifts,
he had motivated everyone in the mill to work harder, in order to increase the status of their own shift. Today,
many companies follow Schwab’s example and publicly display their employees’ output figures. By making success
or failure visible to everyone, they encourage their workers to compete. The result is increased performance.

1 What is the writer’s purpose in the first paragraph?

a to question why the mill was underperforming
b to explain why Schwab visited this particular mill
c to give details about the mill manager’s character
d to describe how Schwab planned to increase the mill’s production

2 What does the writer suggest about the manager of the mill?
a He was responsible for the mill’s underperformance.
b He tried to blame the workers for the fact that the mill was underperforming.
c He hadn’t done anything to increase productivity at the mill.
d He was anxious that Schwab would blame him for the problem.
 Exam practice test

3 How did Schwab increase production in his mill?

a He threatened to fire the workers if they didn’t work harder.
b He took over the management of the mill himself.
c He encouraged the two teams of workers to compete with each other.
d He watched over the workers while they operated the furnace.

4 Why did the day shift workers produce more heats on the day after Schwab’s visit?
a They felt challenged by the increased productivity of the night shift.
b They were worried that they would lose their jobs if they didn’t produce more steel.
c They wanted Schwab to be pleased with their work.
d They were angered by what the night shift workers had done.

5 What do we learn about the two teams of workers at the mill?

a They disliked each other.
b They worked different hours and never spoke to each other.
c They took pride in their own team’s achievements.
d They didn’t like Charles Schwab or his manager.

6 What is the writer’s purpose in the last paragraph?

a to suggest that Schwab’s method of increasing production has implications for other employers
b to describe how Schwab succeeded in becoming a very rich industrialist
c to say why Schwab’s method of increasing production might not work for other companies
d to explain why people found it surprising that Schwab succeeded in increasing production

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 Exam practice test

Writing
4 In your English class you have been talking about competition between siblings (children of the same
parents). Now, your English teacher has asked you to write an essay for homework. Write your essay
using the information below, and giving reasons for your point of view.

Is competition between siblings healthy or harmful?

Write about:
1 the atmosphere in the family home
2 learning self-confidence
3 (your own idea)

Write 140–190 words.

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