Matura Solutions Upper-Intermediate Tests



Photocopiable

© Oxford University Press

A

Test 1–5

Grammar



Complete the sentences with the correct form of
the verbs in brackets.

1 I thought Archie

(leave) but in fact he was in the cafeteria.

2 Who

(expect) to win

the next election?

3 The meeting

(finish)

by 4.30 so give me a ring then.

4 The suspect

(interview) by the police when he fell ill.

5 The examiner asked me why I

(chose) to learn English.

6 How long

(you want)

to be an astronaut?

7 The boy

(not see)

since this morning.

8 You

(earn) a lot more

money this time next year.

Mark

/8

2

Choose the correct answers.

1 Gemma was very tired and took in a little /

little of what the teacher said.

2 Assuming that / In case he doesn’t mind a

small room, he’ll love the hotel.

3 We expect my cousin to arrive / arriving just

after 10.00.

4 While he’s been in hospital / the hospital, I’ve

been looking after his dog.

5 The President is expected / known to be fond

of Italian food.

6 Hardly / Just had we left the house when it

started to rain.

7 None / Any of the students could answer all

the questions correctly.

Mark

/7

Vocabulary

3

Choose the correct answers.

1 I need a job with

working hours.

A tolerant B flexible C open-minded

2 We need another

of milk.

A pint B pound C yard

3 Most

get moody from time to time.

A toddlers B OAPs C adolescents

4 The exercises in the exam were

easy.

A highly B bitterly C ridiculously

5 The temperature in this building

a lot.

A fluctuates B looms C boosts

6 Employees who deal with clients directly need

to be extremely

.

A ruthless B courteous C flexible

7 It appears that the companies

with

each other to keep prices high.

A colluded B pledged C backed

8

his failure, he tried again the

following year and succeeded.

A Although B Much as C Despite

Mark

/8

4

Complete the sentences with the prepositions in
the box.

out away through at up back down

1 I put his bad temper

to the weather!

2 Mum’s always getting

me for not

doing as well as my sister.

3 We paid

the nose for our new car.

4 Let’s get

to what we were talking

about before, shall we?

5 I’m going to set

a meeting with all the

people involved.

6 What are you going to splash

on with

the money you won?

7 You won’t get

with writing less than

200 words for that essay!

Mark

/7

cumulative test

Matura Solutions Upper-Intermediate Tests

2

Photocopiable

© Oxford University Press

A

Listening

5

≤

4.11

Listen to five people talking about

getting through difficult situations. Which
speaker (A–E) talks about ...

1 managing on a small income? Speaker

2 not being deterred from taking another risk?

Speaker

3 refusing to accept the advice of others?

Speaker

4 accepting the situation? Speaker

5 getting something good from a bad situation?

Speaker

Mark

/10

Reading

6

Read the text.

7

Complete the text with sentences A–F. There is
one sentence you do not need.

A They want all new homes built in the UK from

2011 onwards to conform to specifications
that will make them elderly-friendly.

B Safety for children will also be addressed.
C It is feared that conforming to all the

specifications will push up the prices and put
new homes out of the reach of first-time buyers.

D Adapting their houses to make life easier for

these people is a costly business and most
cannot afford the necessary changes.

E These plans have met with mixed reactions.
F There must be easy access for wheelchairs to

the front door and through doorways.

Mark

/10

Writing

8

Write a story about a disastrous evening when
everything went wrong. Include these points.
• Describe how the evening started.
• Write about at least three things that went wrong.
• Say how you felt and what you did.
• Describe how the evening ended.

Mark

/10

Total

/60

A home of your own?

A home of their own is what most people in the
UK aspire to these days. However, more and more
of our older population are finding it difficult to
stay in their own homes as the health problems
associated with increased age sometimes make
it impossible for them to cope in badly designed
houses.
The elderly cannot climb the stairs and if they use
wheelchairs, there are often problems getting from
one room to another because of narrow doorways,
let alone trying to manoeuvre their chairs up and
down outdoor steps. [

1

] All too often the

help that could allow them to remain in their own
homes at the end of their lives is not available and
these people are forced to move into care homes.
Here, their needs are catered for but they often feel
isolated and away from familiar surroundings and
their friends and family.
In an effort to address this problem the UK
government has announced plans that seem, on
the surface, to be fairly dramatic. [

2

]

There will be sixteen such specifications and they
include improvements that could significantly affect
life positively for the elderly. Stairs will have to be
wide enough to accommodate stair lifts should the
installation of one become necessary. [

3

]

Electrical sockets and switches in walls must be at
a convenient height and all rooms must be large
enough for wheelchairs to turn in circles. These are
only a few examples of what architects and builders
will have to take into consideration in the future.
[

4

] The general idea has been welcomed by

many care groups but the practicalities are causing
concern in many quarters. Not least among those
who are worried about the cost of providing new
housing.
[

5

] Members of the House Builders

Association feel that the plans have not been
carefully thought through and that implementing
such specifications, although theoretically laudable,
is simply not realistic.
It is also felt that people have different housing
needs at different stages of their lives and forcing
all new homes to be built with the elderly in mind
is not going to be a popular move. Debate on the
subject will no doubt continue for a long time yet!

cumulative test

Test 1–5