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Level 6 Mock Paper 17

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A. Comprehension I
Read the following article and answer the questions in complete sentences.

Digital Pioneer

Bill Gates was born in Seattle in the USA on 28th October 1955. Although he would go on to be
an important figure in digital technology, this field was then in its infancy. At the age of 13, Bill was
lucky enough to go to Lakeside School, which owned one of the very first commercial computers. It
was this machine that started his love of computers and their possibilities. At that time, most schools
wouldn’t have dreamed of owning a computer.

It soon became clear that Bill had a lot of talent when it came to computers. In fact, he could
outsmart many adults with his knowledge of these machines, which were quickly becoming more and
more complex. He was also a good all-round student, and at the age of 18 was admitted to Harvard
University, one of the most prestigious universities in the world.

It was at Harvard that Bill and his friend from school Paul Allen started the project that would
eventually become Microsoft. Although Microsoft is one of the biggest companies in the world
nowadays, it was originally just the name for a little project which adapted existing technology made
by a company called MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems). Soon, though, Microsoft
became a company in its own right and was officially registered on 26th November 1976. Bill never
completed his studies at Harvard. After all, why continue studying when you already have a
successful company? What’s more, he was doing something completely new. The university couldn’t
teach him anything about it!

By 1985, the company has grown substantially through a partnership with computer
manufacturer IBM. It was in this year that it launched “Windows”, an operating system which quickly
began to dominate the personal computer market around the world. It does so to this day. By the year
2000, Microsoft became one of the most successful and famous companies in the world. In that same
year, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was launched by Bill and his wife, Melinda. To the
surprise of many people, Bill decided to devote his time fully to this charity. Having become the
richest person in the world, he wanted to give something back.

As well as having a wife, Melinda, Bill has three children and lives in a mansion near Seattle
(not very far from where he was born). The house alone cost US$63.2 million to build (now it is
worth double that) and is called “Xanadu 2.0”. This highly unusual name comes from the classic film
Citizen Kane, in which the main character Charles Foster Kane has an enormous house called
“Xanadu”. Needless to say, there is a swimming pool, a gym, and all the latest technology.

Bill Gates’s impact on the world has been huge. His innovations in computing have changed the
way that society works. The work of his charity has transformed the lives of millions. It is hard to
deny that he will go down in history as one of the most important people in the 20th and 21st
centuries.

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1. Which of the following is FALSE according to the text above?

a. Bill Gates’s love of computers began when he was a child.

b. Microsoft was only small to begin with.
c. 10 years after Microsoft was officially registered, “Windows” was launched.
d. Bill Gates’s house is worth over US$120 million.

2. Why was Lakeside School unusual?

3. What does “adapted” in paragraph 3 mean?

a. completely ignored
b. used for a new purpose
c. illegally stole
d. took care of

4. Give two reasons why Bill Gates did not finish studying at Harvard.

5. What does “It” in the 4th paragraph refer to?

6. Did Gates continue to lead Microsoft when it became famous and successful? Give evidence for your
answer.

7. What is the connection between Bill Gates and the film Citizen Kane?

8. If you were the richest person in the world, what would you do?

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B. Comprehension II
Give short answers to the following questions.

Jack and Sally are ordering food in a restaurant. Read the information and give short answers to the
questions.
GOLDEN PALACE RESTAURANT
Set Meals
Set A (Traditional Classics) Set B (Exotic Adventure)
Starters Starters
Tomato Soup with Bread Roll (V) Vegetable Samosas (V)
Caesar Salad (V) (add chicken for $20.00) Fish Tacos
Garlic Bread with Cheese (V) Red Caviar
Main Courses Main Courses
Spaghetti Bolognese Pad Thai
Fish & Chips Bean Burritos (V)
Mushroom Burger (V) Chicken Vindaloo
Desserts Desserts
Ice Cream Sundae Banoffee Pizza
Chocolate Cake (add cream for $10.00) Baklava

$300.00 per person $350.00 per person (V) = vegetarian

Each set includes a complimentary cup of regular tea or coffee. For a choice of speciality teas and
coffees (including herbal tea and cappuccino) there is an extra charge of $5.00. Please ask your waiter
if you would like to see our wine list. Under-18s and over-60s pay half-price (including any extra
charges).

1. What is Jack reading?

2. Jack is a vegetarian. Which set has a greater choice for him?

3. The word “ ” means “free of charge”.

4. How much would it cost for a 30-year-old to order Set A with all the extra charges?

5. If Jack does not eat meat, he should not order the or for his starter. If
Sally likes to try interesting new things, she should order Set .

6. Jack is 19 years old. Sally is 17 years old. They have both decided to order Set A. Sally is having the Caesar
Salad with chicken for her starter. They are both having the ice cream sundae for desert. Jack is having a
cappuccino, while Sally is having normal tea. The total cost will be .

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C. Prepositions
Fill in the blanks with the correct preposition.

Inspector Hartley was sitting (1) his office one morning when 1. __________
he got a call from a woman who was concerned (2) a crime. 2. __________
She mentioned (3) the inspector that someone had taken a 3. __________
necklace and a coat from her house, climbed (4) (5) the window 4. __________
and then run away.When she woke up and went to put (6) her 5. __________
clothes, the things were gone! The inspector felt very sorry (7) 6. __________
her. She then said she had seen the thief’s footprints on her 7. __________
floor, and that this could be the key (8) the mystery. (9) that 8. __________
exact moment, Hartley decided to take the case – this is why he 9. __________
had trained (10) a detective.
10._________

D. Tenses
Fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the given verbs.

The woman who (1. report) the crime to Inspector Hartley was 1. __________
(2. call) Catherine. Catherine was upset, so she (3. drive) to the 2. __________
police station, the necklace and the coat (4. be) very valuable 3. __________
because they (5. belong) to her mother. Before Catherine left 4. __________
for university, she (6. see) her mother wear the coat and 5. __________
necklace – she (7. know) they would be hers someday. She (8.
6. __________
drive) to the police station when she saw something very
7. __________
strange: she was certain that she (9. recognise) the coat that
8. __________
stranger (10. wear)!
9. __________
10._________

E. Suffixes
Change the words in brackets by adding a suffix.

Catherine ignored the stranger – he was probably just wearing a 1. _________________

coat like the one that got stolen. She remembered the (1. enjoy) 2. _________________
times she had worn the coat, like parties where she met (2. 3. _________________
people who act), (3. people who do politics) and a (4. person 4. _________________
who dances) who had shown her how to salsa. One night a 5. _________________
firework landed on the coat, Catherine was lucky that it wasn’t 6. _________________
(5. flame)! She was sad that it had been stolen, she was always 7. _________________
so (6. sense) about locking her house at night so thieves
couldn’t get it, and her windows weren’t (7. break) – how had
the thief got in?

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F. The Passive Voice
Fill in the blanks with the passive voice of the verbs in brackets.

When Catherine entered the police station, she (1. instruct) to 1. _________________
stand in a queue and wait while other people’s problems (2. 2. _________________
deal) with. When she got to the desk she (3. give) a form to fill 3. _________________
in with details of how she (4. rob) the previous night. She wrote 4. _________________
that her door (5. lock) and her windows (6. close). She wrote 5. _________________
that she (7. wake) by a sound in the night and that she (8. 6. _________________
scare), but she thought it was nothing. As well as the coat and 7. _________________
necklace, she wrote, there was a cake in the kitchen that (9. 8. _________________
take) by the thief. 9. _________________

G. Proofreading
There is one mistake on each line. Circle the mistakes and write your corrections in the blanks
underneath.

1. While Catherine finally met Inspector Hartley, he was very 1. ____________________

2. nice. He gave her some tea and said she can have as many 2. ____________________
3. as she liked while she told him to the robbery. He 3. ____________________
4. listening carefully to the details and when 4. ____________________
5. Catherine have finished he wrote down what 5. ____________________
6. he though. It was an interesting case, why had the 6. ____________________
7. necklace, the coat and the cake all been stealed? 7. ____________________
8. What an odd group of thing to take! To catch 8. ____________________
9. the thief Inspector Hartley will need all his skills so he 9. ____________________
10. said goodbye for Catherine and got to work. 10. ____________________

H. Gerunds and ‘ing’ forms

Form gerunds using the following verbs and fill in the blank.

unlock arrange search read

enter plan investigate

(1) through his notes, Inspector Hartley thought that (2) this 1. ______________
crime would be very difficult. In (3) the house without (4) the 2. ______________
door, the thief had been very clever. Inspector Hartley got to 3. ______________
work (5.) his investigation. He liked to start by (6) round the 4. ______________
victim’s house for clues. He called Catherine to arrange a time,
and started (7) his thoughts. 5. ______________
6. ______________
7. ______________

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I. Relative Pronouns
Choose the right relative pronoun from the list below to fit into the gaps in the story.

which who where whose

that whom

When he inspected Catherine’s house, Inspector Hartley 1. __________

collected some interesting evidence. The sock (1) he found near 2. __________
the back door was far too small to be Catherine’s, and there 3. __________
were fingerprints on the plate (2) the cake had been. The door, 4. __________
(3) had been locked all night, was now open and the Inspector 5. __________
saw the cat (4) belonged to Catherine walk in. The little girl (5) 6. __________
lived next door waved to Inspector Hartley, maybe she knew 7. __________
something (6) would help him find out who had robbed 8. __________
Catherine. He sighed, he had no ideas! The Inspector walked
back to the street (7) he had parked his car. The little girl, (8) he
had noticed earlier, waved again.

J. Conditional
Follow the verbs in brackets to fill in the blanks and make the story correct.

Inspector Hartley went back to the police station and tried to 1. ______________
find some answers. If he solved this case quickly, he _______
2. ______________
(1. get) a prize from the police because he was good at his job.
But if he ______ (2. do not find) the thief, he would feel bad for 3. ______________
Catherine: if he lost something he cared about, he _______ (3. 4. ______________
be) so upset. If he _____(4. catch) the thief tomorrow, he will 5. ______________
put him in prison for a long time, but if the thief _____ already 6. ______________
______ (5. leave) the country, the Inspector ____ (6. have) a 7. ______________
difficult job to do. The Inspector asked himself, ‘If I were a 8. ______________
thief, how _____ I _____ (7. get in) to the house? Inspector
Hartley thought that if the doors and windows were locked, the
thief _______ (8. not enter) the house. But wait! The Inspector
had an idea, and rushed to ask Catherine some questions.

K. Articles and Nouns

Fill in the blanks below with either ‘the’, ‘a’, ‘an’ or ‘x’ to make the story correct.

Inspector Hartley saw Catherine on (1) front steps of her house 1. __________
eating (2) ice cream cone. He said he had an idea about who 2. __________
stole (3) things from Catherine’s house! He asked her if, when 3. __________
she went to (4) bed, she shut her cat out of the house. She said 4. __________
his name was (5) Mittens, and she would never do that. She 5. __________
said he has (6) cat flap in (7) back door so he can come and go 6. __________
when he likes. (8) Inspector Hartley told her that (9) thief got in 7. __________
through the cat flap, because the door was locked. Catherine 8. __________
thought that it must have been (10) very small thief, but the
9. _________
Inspector said, ‘Follow me’ – he had almost solved the case!
10. _________

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L. Adjectives and Adverbs
Turn the words in brackets into an adjective or an adverb.

Inspector Hartley took Catherine round to the house next door. 1. _______________
She wondered why they were there, until the little girl (1. shy)
2. _______________
opened the door. When she recognised Catherine she burst into
tears suddenly and said, “I’m really sorry, but I took your coat 3. _______________
and your necklace! You looked so (2. beauty) when you wore
4. _______________
them, I really wanted them. I climbed (3. quiet) through the cat
flap but I lost my sock, and I couldn’t help taking some cake, I 5. _______________
have felt (4. guilt) ever since!”
6. _______________
“Stealing is wrong” said Inspector Hartley, “It is not at all
acceptable to take things from other people. You should give 7. _______________
the things back to Catherine (5. immediate) and apologise.” The
Inspector was happy to have solved the case, it had been very
(6. mystery). He wouldn’t put the girl in prison, but he was (7.
sure) she had learned her lesson.

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