Tài liệu hướng dẫn ôn thi tiếng Anh B1 chuẩn châu Âu

mm
Romanian Ministry of the Interior and Administrative Reform
DIRECTORATE

Directorate General for Management and Human Resources

The English Testing Team










for
The B1 English Test
for the
Romanian Ministry of the Interior
and Administrative Reform



Candidates’ Handbook

Specifications and Sample Papers

– 2007 –

Coordinator: Esther Hay

Authors:
Ioana Bordeianu
Ileana Chersan
Cristina Dogărel
Iulia Ene
dr. Cătălina Harabagiu-Dimitrescu
Carmen Konrad
Oana Popescu
Emilia Stanciu




Descrierea CIP a Bibliotecii Naţionale a României

ESTHER, HAY

Testul de limba engleză : nivelul B1 pentru personalul MIRA /
Esther Hay, dr. Harabagiu Cătălina, Chersan Ileana. - Bucureşti : Editura
Ministerului Internelor şi Reformei Administrative, 2007
Bibliogr.
ISBN 978-973-745-052-4

I. Harabagiu, Cătălina
II. Chersan, Ileana

811.111:351






Contents



1. Preface
2. The CEF language testing system
3. Levels of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR)
4. Background
5. Reasons for taking the B1 English Test
6. Marking and Grading
7. Administration
8. B1 English Test: an overview
9. Aims and objectives
10. General English Topics

11. Language structures
12. Paper 1: Reading
13. Sample Paper 1
14. Paper 2: Listening
15. Sample Paper 2
16. Tapescript
17. Paper 3: Writing
18. Sample Paper 3
19. Sample Answer papers
20. Paper 4: Speaking
21. Sample Paper 4





Preface

This handbook is intended mainly for candidates preparing for the B1 English Test. There is
another handbook for teachers, test administrators, test designers and authorities. This
handbook has been translated into Romanian.




5
The CEF language testing system

The English Tests for the Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reform in Romania feature a series
of examinations with similar characteristics, spanning six levels linked to the levels of the Common

European Framework established by the Council of Europe.

Levels of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR)

UNDERSTANDING
Listening
UNDERSTANDING
Reading
SPEAKING
Spoken
interaction
SPEAKING
Spoken
Production
WRITING
Writing
A1

I can recognise familiar
words and very basic
phrases concerning
myself, my family and
immediate concrete
surroundings when people
speak slowly and clearly.
I can ask and answer
simple questions in areas
of immediate need or on
very familiar topics.

I can understand familiar
names, words and very
simple sentences, for
example on notices and
posters or in catalogues.

I can interact in a simple
way provided the other
person is prepared to
repeat or rephrase things
at a slower rate of speech
and help me formulate
what I’m trying to say.
I can use simple phrases
and sentences to describe
where I live and people I
know.

I can write a short,
simple
postcard, for example
sending holiday
greetings. I can fill in
forms with
personal details, for
example entering my
name, nationality and
address on a hotel
registration form.

A2
I can understand phrases
and the highest frequency
vocabulary related to
areas of most immediate
personal relevance (e.g.
very basic personal and
family information,
shopping, local area,
employment). I can catch
the main point in short,
clear, simple messages
and announcements.

I can read very short,
simple texts. I can find
specific, predictable
information in simple
everyday material such as
advertisements,
prospectuses, menus
and timetables and I
can understand short,
simple personal letters.

I can communicate in
simple and routine tasks
requiring a simple and
direct exchange of
information on familiar

topics and activities.
I can handle very short
social exchanges, even
though I can’t usually
understand enough to
keep the conversation
going myself. I can use a
series of phrases and
sentences to describe in
simple terms my family
and other people, living
conditions, my educational
background and my
present or most recent job.

I can write short, simple
notes and messages
relating to matters in
areas
of immediate need. I can
write a very simple
personal letter, for
example thanking
someone for
something.
B1
I can understand the main
points of clear standard
speech on familiar matters
regularly encountered in

work, school, leisure, etc.
I can understand the main
point of many radio or TV
programmes on current
affairs or topics of
personal or professional
interest when the delivery
is relatively slow and
clear.

I can understand texts
that consist mainly of
high-frequency everyday
or job-related language. I
can understand the
description of events,
feelings and wishes
in personal letters.
I can deal with most
situations likely to arise
whilst travelling in an area
where the language is
spoken. I can enter
unprepared into
conversation on topics
that are familiar, of
personal interest or
pertinent to everyday life
(e.g. family, hobbies,
work, travel and

current events).
I can connect phrases
in a
simple way in order to
describe experiences and
events, my dreams, hopes
and ambitions. I can
briefly give reasons and
explanations for opinions
and plans. I can narrate a
story or relate the plot of a
book or film and describe
my reactions.

I can write simple
connected text on topics
which are familiar or of
personal interest. I can
write personal letters
describing experiences
and impressions.

B2
I can understand
extended speech and
lectures and follow
even complex lines of
argument provided
the topic is reasonably
familiar. I can understand

most TV news and current
affairs programmes. I
can understand the
majority of films in
standard dialect.

I can read articles and
reports concerned with
contemporary problems in
which the writers adopt
particular attitudes or
viewpoints. I can
understand contemporary
literary
prose.
I can interact with a
degree of fluency and
spontaneity that makes
regular interaction with
native speakers quite
possible. I
can take an active part in
discussion in familiar
contexts, accounting for
and sustaining my point of
view.
I can present clear,
detailed descriptions on a
wide range of subjects
related to my field of

interest. I can explain a
viewpoint on a topical
issue giving the
advantages and
disadvantages of
various options.

I can write clear,
detailed text on a wide
range of
subjects related to my
interests. I can write an
essay or report, passing
on information or giving
reasons in support of or
against a particular point
of view. I can write
letters
views, highlighting the
personal significance of
events and experiences.
C1
I can understand extended
speech even when it is not
clearly structured and
when relationships are
only implied and not
signalled explicitly. I can
I can understand long and
complex factual and

literary texts, appreciating
distinctions of style. I can
understand specialised
articles and longer
I can express myself
fluently and
spontaneously
without much obvious
searching for expressions.
I can use language
I can formulate ideas
and opinions with
precision and relate my
contribution skilfully to
those of other speakers. I
can present clear, detailed
I can express myself in
clear, well-structured
text, expressing points of
view at some length. I
can
write about complex

6
understand television
programmes and films
without too much effort.
technical instructions,
even when they do not
relate to my field.

flexibly and effectively
for social and professional
purposes.
descriptions of complex
subjects integrating sub-
themes, developing
particular points and
rounding off with an
appropriate conclusion.
subjects in a letter, an
essay or a report,
underlining what I
consider to be the salient
issues. I can select style
appropriate to the
reader in mind.

C2
I have no difficulty in
understanding any kind of
spoken language, whether
live or broadcast, even
when delivered at fast
native speed, provided I
have some time to get
familiar with the accent.

I can read with ease
virtually all forms of
the written language,

including abstract,
structurally or
linguistically complex
texts such as manuals,
specialised articles and
literary works.

I can take part effortlessly
in any conversation or
discussion and have a
good familiarity with
idiomatic expressions and
colloquialisms.
I can express myself
fluently and convey finer
shades of meaning
precisely. If I do have a
problem I can backtrack
and restructure around
the difficulty so smoothly
that other people are
hardly aware of it. I can
present a clear, smoothly
flowing description or
argument in a style
appropriate to the context
and with an effective
logical structure which
helps the recipient to
notice and remember

significant points.

I can write clear,
smoothly flowing text in
an appropriate style. I
can write complex
letters,
reports or articles which
present a case with an
effective logical
structure which helps the
recipient
to notice and remember
significant points. I can
write summaries and
reviews of professional
or
literary works.

Background
B1 was introduced in 2007 and tests competence in Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. It is
based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching,
Assessment, published by the Council of Europe, the European Language Portfolio and Council of
Europe Threshold Level (1990) by van Ek and Trim.

Reasons for taking the B1 English Test
Candidates enter for a variety of reasons: personal reasons, promotion, to improve their future
employment prospects, to be selected for a mission abroad, to meet European language testing
standards, etc.

Marking and Grading
A candidate receives final marks for each individual papers. There is a passing grade (PASS) and a
failing grade (FAIL). “Pass’ corresponds to 75% accurate completion of Papers 1 and 2 and 100% of
Papers 3 and 4.
Administration

Candidates mark or write all their answers on the exam sheets.
B1 English Test: an overview

Paper Name Timing Content Test Focus
Paper 1 Reading 45 min.
Four parts which test a
range of reading skills
with a variety of
general English and
ESP texts
Assessment of candidates’ ability to
understand the meaning of written English
at word, phrase, sentence, paragraph and
whole text level.

7
Paper 2 Listening 30 min.
Four parts which test a
range of listening skills
with a variety of
general English and
ESP texts
Assessment of candidates’ ability to
understand dialogues and monologues in

both informal and neutral settings on a
range of everyday topics.
Paper 3 Writing 1 hour
Two parts which test a
range of writing skills
and functions
Assessment of candidates’ ability to
produce straightforward written English,
ranging from simple sentences to pieces
of continuous text.
Paper 4 Speaking 12 min.
Four parts which test
short and long turns
and interactive commu-
nication
Assessment of candidates’ ability to
express themselves in order to carry out
the functions for B1 level, to ask and
understand questions and make
appropriate responses and to talk freely on
matters of personal interest.

Aims and objectives
Candidates who pass B1 should be able to communicate satisfactorily in most everyday situations
with both non-native and native speakers of English.

Reading
Using the structures and topics listed further on, candidates can understand public notices
and signs, read short texts of a factual nature and show understanding of the content,
demonstrate understanding of the structure of the language as it is used to

express notions of relative time, space, possession etc., scan factual materials for
information in order to perform relevant tasks, disregarding redundant or irrelevant
material, read texts of an imaginative or emotional character and appreciate the central
sense of the text.
Listening
Candidates can understand and respond to announcements, show precise understanding
of short factual utterances and make identifications on the basis of these, extract
information of a factual nature (time, dates, names) from speech which will contain
redundancies and language outside the defined limits of B1, understand the sense of a
dialogue.
Writing
Candidates can give information, report events, describe people, places and objects as
well as convey reactions to situations, express hopes, regrets, pleasure etc. can also use
the words appropriately and accurately in different written contexts, and produce
variations on simple sentences.
Speaking
Candidates can express themselves in order to simulate authentic communication. They
can ask and understand questions and make appropriate responses and can talk freely in
order to express emotions, reactions, opinions etc.
TOPICS

General English Topics

1 personal identification
Name
Address
Telephone number
Date and place of birth
6 relations with other people
Relationship

Invitations
Correspondence
Club membership
Government and politics
War and peace

8
Age
Sex
Marital status
Nationality
Origin
Occupation
Family
Religion
Likes and dislikes
Character, disposition
Physical appearance

2 house and home, environment
Types of accommodation
Accommodation, rooms
Furniture, bedclothes
Cost
Services
Amenities
Region
Flora and fauna

3 daily life

At home
Income

4 free time, entertainment
Leisure
Hobbies and interests
Radio, TV etc.
Cinema, theatre
Exhibitions, museums, etc.
Intellectual pursuits
Sports
Press

5 travel
Public transport
Private transport
Traffic
Holidays
Accommodation
Luggage
Entering and leaving a country
Travel documents
Social affairs

7 health and body care
Parts of the body
Personal comfort
Hygiene
Ailments, accidents
Medical services

Insurance

8 shopping
Shopping facilities
Clothes, fashion
Prices
Smoking
Household articles

9 food and drink
Types of food and drink
Eating and drinking out

10 services
Post
Telephone
Bank
Diplomatic services
Hospital, surgery
Garage
Petrol station

11 places
Directions

12 language
Ability, understanding, expression

13 weather
Climate and weather

14 education
Schooling
Subjects
Qualification

Language structures

Word level
Nouns
Types of noun (proper, common denoting
uncountables)
Number (regular, irregular)
Genitive
Conjunctions
Co-ordinating
Subordonating

Phrase levels

Noun phrases


9

Pronouns
Types (demonstrative, personal, possessive, relative,
interrogative, reflexive, indefinite)
Gender

Determiners
Definite article
Indefinite article
Demonstrative, possessive, relative, interrogative,
quantitative, identifying,
Pre-determiners ad post-determiners
Numerals (cardinal, ordinal)

Adjectives
Participial
Attributive/predicative
Gradable/non-gradable
Comparison of gradable adjectives
Irregular comparatives
Complementising adjectives

Adverb
Functions (existential, of time, place, manner, degree,
direction, arrangement etc.)
Form
Types (indefinite, deictic etc.)
Comparison of gradable adverbs
Irregular comparatives

Preposition
Types (of position, distance, direction, origin, time
etc)

Verbs
Types (transitive, intransitive, causative etc)

Simple forms: regular (infinitive, participles, present,
past, gerund)
Simple forms: irregular
Modal auxiliary verbs
Compound forms (perfective, progressive, passive,
modal+simple infinitive)
Be, have and do
Indirect speech

Adjective phrases

Pronoun phrases

Verb phrases
Forms containing one main verb
Short answers

Adverbial phrases

Preposition phrases

Clause level

Clause types and functions
Main clauses
Subordinate clauses

Forms and functions of subordinate clauses
Noun clauses
Adjectival (relative) clauses

Adverbial clauses

Sentence level

Form
Simple sentences
Compound sentences
Complex sentences

Sentence types
Declarative
Interrogative
Imperative

Functions of sentence types
Affirmative sentences
Emphatic affirmative
Negative
Decision questions
Wh- questions
Imperative sentences


10
ESP Topics

Police
• Job-related personal details
• Routine work activities
• Present or more recent job

• Educational background and experience
• Police powers and duties
• Career plans
• Stolen property
• Missing persons
• Suspects/criminals
• Types of crimes
• Types of punishment
• Traffic control
• Police organization/system/ranks
• Police equipment (uniform, buildings, vehicles, weapons, tools)
• Traffic-related offences and incidents
And in addition

• Police procedures (gathering evidence, criminal investigations etc)
• Negotiations
• Stress at work
• Prevention (securing property, counter-terrorism, drugs, hooliganism, traffic, trafficking in human beings etc.)

Border Guard
• Immigration, refugees, asylum seekers
• Detaining
• Smuggling
• Transport inspection
International cooperation

11

Paper 1: Reading

Timing
45 minutes

Paper format
This paper contains 4 parts.

Number of questions
There are 20 questions, 5 for each part.

Task types
Matching, multiple choice, fill-in, short answer questions, information transfer.

Task focus
Each task covers one of the following reading sub-skills: Reading for specific information, Reading
for the general idea, Reading for the main ideas, Reading to identify vocabulary.

Topics
Two texts are in general English, the other two are job-related.

Sources

Authentic and adapted-authentic real world notices, newspapers and magazines, brochures and
leaflets, manuals, websites.

Marks
Each of the 20 questions carries one mark. A B1 pass has at least 15 items (75%) answered
correctly.

Sample Paper 1

1 Read the text below. Answer the questions in no more than 3 words. An example (0) is given.

The Royal Observatory

In 1675 King Charles II (1630 – 1685) ordered that the Royal Observatory be built at Greenwich to
study the problem of longitude with regard to navigation: the first astronomer, John Flamsteed
(1646 – 1719) moved in a tear later. He made a very precise 3000 star catalogue. Across the yard
there is a straight brass line running through the cobbles. This is the world Prim Meridian, longitude
zero. It runs from the North to South poles.

At the time the Observatory was built, zero longitude could be placed anywhere a map maker or
chart maker wished. This affected navigation and time (there was a difference of 15 minutes
between London and Plymouth). By the middle of the 1700s the Greenwich reading was being used
more and more, and finally, in 1884, it was chosen as the Prime Meridian longitude zero reading.

There lies the tombstone of Edmund Halley (1656 – 1742) and some members of his family. He
discovered that the comets have periodic orbits and identified one, which is named after him. He
calculated that it would appear every 76 years. In the Halley gallery one can see the living area
arranged as it would have looked in the 1700s.

12

(0) Who ordered a Royal Observatory to be built at Greenwich?
…………King Charles II ……………………………………………………………………..……
(1) Who was the first astronomer at the Royal Observatory?
……………………………………………………………………………………………….………
(2) How many stars did he describe in his catalogue?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
(3) What was the time difference between London and Plymouth?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
(4) When was Greenwich chosen as Prime Meridian zero?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
(5) Who discovered that comets have periodic orbits?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2 Read the text below. Match the titles (A-G) with the news stories (1 – 6). Write your answers
in the box. An example (0) is given. There is one letter you do not need to use.

(0) The Microsoft chairman, Bill Gates, receives 4m e-mails in his inbox every day, making him the
most spammed man in the world and focussing his mind on a problem that threatens the
internet.

(1) North Korea has agreed to return to Japan what are thought to be the remains of Megumi
Yokata 27 years after the 13-year-old girl was snatched off the streets of her home town in
Japan by North Korean spies.

(2) Margaret Hassan, the Care International director who was taken hostage by Iraqi insurgents in
October was murdered. The body of a woman, believed to be that of Irish born Hassan, 59, was
found in Falluja after a video emerged that showed masked men shooting a blindfolded
woman.

(3) The Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, apologized to President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt after

Israeli soldiers fired across the border at the southern end of the Gaza strip, killing three
Egyptian police officers. An investigation has been ordered.

(4) A plane crashed into a lake in northern China seconds after take-off, killing all 53 people on
aboard and one person on the ground.

(5) A Zimbabwean man has appeared in court for denigrating President Robert Mugabe by calling
him a dictator, the Herald paper said.

A Charge over insult
B Aid worker shot by kidnappers
C Government investigates shooting
D Girl’s reminds go home
E Spam, spam and more spam
F Female body found in Japan
G Air tragedy

0 1 2 3 4 5
E

13
3 Read the text below. Put the sentences (A-G) in the gaps (1-6). Write your answers in the
space provided. An example (0) is given. There is one extra letter you do not need to use.

Flexible Speeding Fines

Flexible speeding fines and a fresh crackdown on the use of mobile phones in cars are among new
road safety measures being unveiled on Tuesday. The proposed new laws would also allow courts
to force the worst drink drivers to retake their driving tests. Seriously poor drivers (0) ………. .
Minister wants to cut the number of people killed or seriously injured in road accidents by 40% and

by half for children, by 2010. The government says it is half way towards meeting the target,
(1) …………

On speeding, the government is also set to clarify which vehicles can exceed the speed limits in
emergency situations, (2) ………….. There will also be higher penalties for people driving
carelessly or inconsiderately. The moves against drink-driving will also include enabling police to
take evidence at the roadside. In order to detect uninsured drivers, police also promised help
(3)……….

The planned variable fines for speeding offences have been welcomed by motorists’ groups. The
RAC said it was important to distinguish between those travelling a couple of miles over the speed
limit in a non-residential area away from schools and other dangers, and those travelling
(4)…………..

The move is also being seen as an attempt to deflect anger about speed cameras. The Conservatives
have pledged to remove those speed cameras which they say only raise money rather than
(5)………….

A in using automatic number plate recognition
B such as those carrying donor organs
C could be retrained
D based on the average for the years 1994-1998
E match the punishment to the offences
F at high speed in sensitive areas
G improve road safety


4 Read the text below. Choose one word from the box for each space. An example (0) is given.
There is one word you do not need to use.

Gang Members Sue Over ‘Privacy Breach’

Teenage gang members responsible for “an epidemic of anti-social behaviour” (0) protested to the
High Court today after having their names and photographswidely publicised after anti-social
behaviour orders were made against them. Under the orders, they and five others were (1)
from an area of North London where local residentslived in fear of leaving their
houses because of the gang’s activities.

In the small area (2)
by the exclusion zone, there were more than 200 allegations
of robbery, burglary, criminal damage and vehicle crime by the gang between April 2002 and April
2003.

14
The orders were (3) against them last year by the Metropolitan Police and Brent
Council under the Crime and Disorder Act.

The three youths, who cannot be named and were (4) to in court as S, M, and
K, claimed that their “right to privacy” under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human
Rights was breached by the publicity.

Personal details and photographs of the three youths, aged 15, 16 and 18, were unnecessarily (5)
thousands of homes and even posted on the internet, leading to worldwide exposure,
Michael Fordham, their counsel said.



obtained excluded distributed covered

protested breached referred

See answers on page 16.


Paper 2: Listening

Timing
30 minutes

Paper format
This paper contains 4 parts.

Number of questions
There are 20 questions, 5 for each part.

Task types
Matching, multiple choice, fill-in, short answer questions, information transfer.

Task focus
Each task covers one of the following listening subskills: Listening for specific information,
Listening for the main message, Listening for the main ideas, Listening to identify vocabulary.

Topics
Two texts are in general English, the other two are job-related.

Sources
Authentic and adapted-authentic real world announcements, radio news, conversations.

Marks

Each of the 20 questions carries one mark. A B1 pass has at least 15 items (75%) answered
correctly.

15
Sample Paper 2

1 Listen and match the name of a celebrity (A-F) with their idea of the best date (1 – 6). There
is one extra number you do not need to use.
An example (0) is given.

A Drew Barrymore 0 Flower power

B Antonio Banderas 1 Film fans

C Gavin Rossdale 2 Beach babe

D Alicia Silverstone 3 Dog days

E Brittany Murphy 4 Hug therapy

F LL Cool J 5 Nature lover

6 Passion, please


A B C D E F
0


2 Listen and circle the letter of the correct answer. An example (o) is given.

(0) A Swedish police officer
A Caught a bank robber B Caught a thief
C Robbed a bank D Stole a new car

1 The 36 year old man was caught when

A He stole a car worth 30,000 dollars
B He used stolen money to buy a car
C Colleagues found the missing money
D He gave false information to the press

2 An American man

A Stole a lot of airplane parts and metal objects
B Kept lots of metal and rubbish outside his house
C Attacked his neighbours for taking things from his house
D Dumped rubbish in his neighbour’s garden

3 He claimed the sentence was unfair because

A He was an artist and needed the things for his work
B Nobody had complained before
C The things belonged to his wife
D He had had a lot of things stolen from his house

16
4 Malaysia is trying to

A Increase the wages for police officers
B Sack officers who take bribes
C Reduce corruption in the country
D Recruit more honest police officers

5 Officers will be given a cash reward if

A They arrest more than 20 criminals per month
B They ignore minor crimes
C They arrest anyone who tries to give them a bribe
D They report colleagues who take bribes


3 Listen and complete the missing information.
Write one word in each space. One example (0) is given.


The (0) ___singer___ Josephine Baker was in a bar. She was insulted by a white man

who made some remarks about her (1)___________. Ms Baker has lived in

(2) _________________ and couldn’t accept that kind of boorishness.

She reported the incident to the police who did nothing because they hadn’t

heard the (3)_______________. However, Mrs. Baker used the Los Angeles

Statute and (4) ______________ the man herself as a private citizen.

Then the police accused him of (5) _____________ and disturbing the peace.

4 Listen and complete the information in the notes.
Write no more than 4 words in each space. An example (0) is given



Human Rights Conference


Date (0) 19 – 21 March________________________________________

Location (1) ____________________________________________________

Arrival (2) ___________________________________Thursday 19 March

Departure 6.00 p.m. Saturday, 21 March
Contact reception for airport minibus transfer