Senior 9 term 3 use of english and reading

Senior 9 – Term 3
Name:__________ Use of English and Reading
Class:__________ 1h 15minutes
Remember to check your answers and, where necessary, ensure that they are
grammatically correct.
Part 1 (12 marks)
For questions 1-12, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each
space. Use only one word in each space.
Many ancient civilisations assumed the earth to (1) ……………. the centre of the universe,
and it was (2) ………… until 1610, with Galileo's invention of the telescope, that it was
possible to prove that, (3) ……………. to popular belief, the earth (4)……………… fact
revolved round the sun. Telescopes have improved greatly (5)…………… then, but the
exponential growth of cities in the last few decades has brought new difficulties in (6)
………… the flow from all the lights interferes with the very dim signals from the stars. To
(7)………… extent, a solution has been found by building observatories in places where this
interference can be cut (8)………… a minimum. Mauna Kea, the largest observatory in the
world, was built thousands of metres above sea level, in the crater of a dormant volcano in
Hawaii.
Although such strategically placed observatories were successful, leading astronomers
realised that, (9)…………… the science was to progress, even more radical steps (10)
……………… have to be taken, and this (11)……………. to the building of the Hubble Space
telescope in 1990. As Hubble operates in space, it is completely unaffected by light or
atmospheric pollution. It can detect galaxies that have never been seen, and can transmit
images of even the (12)………… distant stars at the very edge of the universe.
© The British Council, Madrid Young Learners 2008
The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.
Part 2 (10 marks)
For questions 13-22, read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of some
of the lines to form a word that fits in the space in the same line.
THE PROFESSIONAL TOURIST
Travel and tourism are addictive and their impact on our lives is

truly (13)…………… . Despite the fact that mass tourism set out
as a simple but harmless way of (14)…………… people to see the
world and broaden their horizons, our desire to (15)……………….
every travelling opportunity that presents itself has had a wholly
(16)…………… impact on our attitudes towards life in general and
on the world we live in. In no way could this impact have been
accurately predicted, even 30 years ago.
No matter how (17)…………… our miserable destination may be, or
how (18)……………. we are by the vagaries of transport systems;
no matter what trouble our (19)…………. of debts due to over-
ambitious holiday spending may lead us into, there is nothing
(20)………… about our desire to make our fantasies realities.
Millions of people like (21)…………… and property owners depend
on the tourist industry for their livelihood. A decrease in the
popularity of tourism would be nothing short of (22)……………… .
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MONUMENT
ABLE
MAXIMUM
FORESEE
INSPIRE
ILLUSION
PAY
AMATEUR
HOTEL
DISASTER
Part 3 (10 marks)
Choose FIVE of the questions below and complete the second sentence so that it has a
similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given.
You must use between three and eight words, including the word given. DO NOT ANSWER

MORE THAN FIVE OF THESE QUESTIONS
a) Although it's quite difficult living in such a congested city, I wouldn't move for
anything.
as
Difficult ………………………………………………………………. in such a
congested city, I wouldn't move for anything.
b) We were all a bit surprised when he told us of his marriage plans.
took
His marriage …………………………………………………………………… surprise.
c) Rebecca will have problems managing to pass her exams if she doesn't work
harder.
succeed
Unless Rebecca ………………………………………………………………. her
exams.
d) It wasn't long before the bus company increased their prices for a second time.
put
Hardly ……………………………………………………………………. before they
increased them again.
e) We are sorry your job application has not been successful.
regret
We ………………………………………………………. your job application has not
been successful.
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f) Everyone started complaining the moment the announcement was made.
sooner
No ……………………………………………………………… everyone started
complaining.
g) The demand for tickets is so high that the play has been extended by a month.
has
So ………………………………………………………………… the play has been

extended by a month.
h) The school is very proud of its new gym.
takes
The school ……………………………………… its new gym.
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Part 4 (8 marks)
Choose FOUR questions. Think of one word only, which can be used appropriately in all
three sentences. DO NOT ANSWER MORE THAN FOUR OF THESE QUESTIONS
a) It's not a _________________ of whether we want to go on holiday, but whether we can
afford it.
Amy's loyalty is not in ______________, since we have complete faith in her.
Apart from the obvious _______________ of space, do you think the club really needs
new premises?
b) The texture of this fabric is quite ______________ to the touch.
Many passengers were ill, since the sea was quite ____________ during the crossing.
The architect produced a ______________ sketch of his plans for the new houses.
c) This jacket's a bit __________________ in the sleeves; I think you should try another
one.
Try to avoid annoying Richard, because he's got a very _________ temper.
Lucy was rather ______________ of breath after climbing the 350 steps to the top of the
tower.
d) Dr. Saunders was completely overwhelmed by the ___________ of work she faced every
day.
If you turn the ________________ up any more, we'll get complaints from the neighbours.
The writer's second _____________ of short stories has been well received by critics,
though sales are disappointing.
e) Stuart is an excellent actor but he cannot _____________ criticism of any sort.
The insurers said the company would have to ____________ some of the costs of
repairing the damaged wall.
Both of the children ______________ a very strong resemblance to their grandfather.

f) I find it difficult to ___________ myself deadlines because I need some flexibility in my
work.
My brother _____________ up a new business last year, and it's really taken off.
My favourite poem has been ___________ to music and sounds beautiful as a song.
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End of exam
Total /40
Reading
Part 1 (12marks)
For questions 1 – 18, read the two texts below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.
Language
You and I belong to a species with a remarkable ability, we can shape events in each other’s brains with
exquisite precision. Language is so (1)__________ woven into human experience that it is scarcely possible to
imagine life without it. (2)__________ are that if you find two or more people together anywhere on earth, they
will soon be (3)__________ words. When there is no one to talk with, people talk to themselves, to their dogs,
even to their plants. I like to describe the skill of language as an “instinct”. This (4)__________ the idea that
people know how to talk in more or less the sense that spiders know how to spin webs. Web-spinning was not
invented by some unsung spider genius, and does not (5)__________ having had the right education or on
having an (6)__________ for architecture or the construction trades.
1. A rigidly B tightly C stiffly D tautly
2. A Chances B Probabilities C Reasons D Explanations
3. A sharing B reciprocating C exchanging D trading
4. A transmits B disseminates C transfers D conveys
5. A build on B depend on C count on D bank on
6. A aptitude B applicability C intuition D intelligence
Climate and Weather
Climate and weather, which are mainly created by the air around us, profoundly affect the lives and distribution
of animals and plants. Climate can be a dominating force on the character of landscapes. For example, warmth
and wetness all the year round allow the growth of tropical jungles, which are natural (7)__________ troves,
with an incredible diversity of species. (8)__________ cold windswept areas can muster only a scattered

selection of living things. The daily weather patterns that (9)__________ up in the long term to the climate are
caused by great masses of air rising and mixing, for the atmosphere is never still. Some of the motion is
(10)__________ the fact that the envelope of gases rests on a spinning globe; because air is thin it is not
dragged along at the same speed as the earth, but tends to (11)__________ behind. A more important
(12)__________ of turbulence, or air movement, however, is the sun.
7. A prize B treasure C fortune D trophy
8. A Subsequently B Conversely C Simultaneously D Eventually
9. A make B join C add D load
10. A along with B apart from C due to D given that
11. A lag B stray C delay D linger
12. A root B spring C font D source
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Part 2 (8 marks)
You are going to read two short texts about the world of the image. For questions 26 to 29, choose the answer
(A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
Screenplays
Anyone who knows how to play chess will understand how to write a screenplay for a film. Most chess players
stumble from beginning to end. We don’t know much, but we know enough to play. We move without really
knowing what’s going to happen further on in the game. Maybe we can see one or two moves ahead, and, if we
can, we’re pleased by our uncanny ability to see even that far ahead. Better than the days when we couldn’t see
ahead at all – when we were playing blindly.
Over time, as we learned more about playing chess, we made a startling revelation: chess depends more upon
long-term strategy than upon short-term tactics. Up till then, we’d been happy with a rather short-sighted
approach. Suddenly, we became aware of ‘the big picture’. We began to see the game as a whole, not just a
series of individual moves. And once we saw the game as a whole, we began to see patterns emerge in the
play. Gambits, they call them. And the patterns have names, such as openings, middle games and end games.
In chess, as in screenplay writing, the more often you play, the more aware you become of its complexities.
13. According to the writer, how do inexperienced chess players feel?
A delighted to be able to finish a game.
B encouraged by each improvement.

C amazed by how quickly they learn.
D pleased to be able to play with confidence.
14. The writer compares chess and screenplay writing in order to
A explain that we learn both by trial and error.
B emphasise the fixed nature of both processes.
C suggest that success depends on attention to detail.
D demonstrate the importance of having a plan.
Photography
Photography was invented by nineteenth century artists as an art form for their own purposes. These men were
seeking a lasting, literal record of their visual surroundings and they found it. The new combination of
illumination, lens, shutter, and flat surface coated with chemicals sensitive to light produced images more
lasting, more convincing in their reality, and more richly detailed than painters could produce manually in weeks
and months of effort. This alone was enough to throw consternation into the ranks of fellow artists; and, after
their first reaction of pleasure in a new kind of image, art critics rallied with the haughty charge that photography
was not, and could not be, art. The actual world in which we live had too strong a grip on photography, they
said, and pictures so dependent upon mechanical means could not be called acts of man’s creative imagination.
Despite the critics, photographers knew that they had found a new art form, a new mode of expression. They
used the new tools as other artists before and after them have used brush and pencil – to interpret the world, to
present a vision of nature and its structure as well as the things and the people in it.
15. What are we told about the artists who first used photography?
A They appreciated what photography could offer.
B They preferred taking photographs to painting pictures.
C They did not want to anyone else to benefit from photography.
D They thought painting pictures was too arduous.
16. Art critics disapproved of photography because they thought
A it needed too little effort to interpret it.
B the images were very visually displeasing.
C it used overly complicated equipment.
D it did not go beyond the literal
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Exam total /20