Skills Test 2A Units 3-4

READING SKILLS

1 Read the article and complete gaps 1-6 with sentences A-H. There are two extra sentences that you do not need.

A As a result, they often work in jobs such as nursing or social work which involve caring for others.

B In addition, being successful matters to them.

C This means people can manage their time and priorities.

D Although psychologists can measure this, they don't understand why it happens.

E But why do we all develop different qualities?

F In fact, low-scorers can be very intelligent and capable.

G People who are rude are usually bossy because of this.

H However, they are extremely good at analysing things and thinking.

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Personality: Why are you who you are?

What makes a person affectionate or decisive? Why is someone stubborn or shy? A dictionary defines personality as `a set of qualities that makes a person distinct from another and behave in a certain way'. ¹_ Most psychologists now agree that certain qualities are hereditary (we get them from our parents), but qualities based on our values and beliefs develop from socialisation (the society we live in and the way we are brought up) and the experiences we each have. The most recent research has shown that we can divide personality into five key areas: Extroversion, Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness and Openness. Personality tests can measure how high we score in each area. Psychologists can use the results to predict how we are likely to behave and even say what jobs we will be good at.

Extroversion is probably the most familiar concept. People who score highly are fun-loving and happy and they love being the centre of attention. ²_ This is why they are often hard-working and ambitious - they hate failing and will strive to fulfil their ambitions. However, they can get bored easily, take dangerous risks and can be immature or disloyal. People who score low in this area are not necessarily shy, they are simply less interested in and motivated by success, praise or pleasure.

Neuroticism has positive and negative aspects too. People who score highly in Neuroticism tend to be depressed, anxious and insecure. Because of this they easily get stressed. ³_ As a result, they often do well academically and make great scientists or mathematicians. People with low scores worry too little - they don't pay enough attention to detail and they can be careless.

People with high scores in Conscientiousness are good at setting goals and achieving them because they are disciplined, efficient and reliable. ⁴_ In many jobs, high Conscientiousness is an advantage. However, high-scorers can be unspontaneous and gloomy. They don't like changing their plans. People with low scores are easily distracted and unreliable.

Agreeableness measures how much we relate to others' feelings. People with high Agreeableness usually have strong social networks. They rarely have fights or get angry quickly, and they are good at helping people. ⁵_ However, high agreeableness can be a drawback - people are too soft-headed and they may stay in bad relationships because they don't want to hurt someone. People with low scores are self-centred and they use other people to get what they want.

Openness is all about imagination. High-scorers often enjoy poetry and the arts and they can be very creative thinkers. However, because of this, they can be impractical. Scoring low in this area doesn't mean people are stupid. ⁶_ They will focus on practical solutions rather than being imaginative.

2 Read the article again and choose the correct answers.

1 According to the text, psychologists think that

a the qualities we get from our parents are the most important in determining personality.

b our personalities are determined by socialisation, our experiences and the qualities we inherit from our parents.

c socialisation influences our personality less than our experiences.

d our experiences don't influence our personality.

2 People with high Extroversion scores

a are usually shy and unhappy.

b are only motivated by success.

c will always take a lot of risks.

d like having fun.

3 Someone who scores highly in Neuroticism

a is likely to be good at studying.

b doesn't usually suffer from stress.

c pays very little attention to detail.

d worries about being careless.

4 People with a high Agreeableness score

a never get angry.

b are thoughtful and care for other people's feelings.

c are very self-centred but affectionate.

d have too many friends.

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LISTENING SKILLS

1 Track 3 Listen to the news report and choose the correct answers.

1 Which is true about the robbery?

a It took place just after the bank had opened.

b The robbers stole millions of pounds.

c The robbers didn't use violence at all.

2 The students who wrote graffiti on a school

a had to pay a three-thousand pound fine.

b were all sixteen years old.

c will have to go to prison for seven days.

3 The drink driver

a won't go to jail but will lose his licence.

b will go to jail for seven months.

c will go to jail for fifteen years.

4 In a survey about anti-social behaviour, 71% of the people admitted

a shoplifting.

b writing graffiti.

c dropping litter.

5 How many of the mugger's victims said they would not meet him?

a Two

b Seven

c Nine

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2 Track 3 Listen again. Are the statements true (T) or false (F)?

1 There were no people present when the robbers arrived. *

2 One of the vandals chose a prison sentence as his punishment. *

3 The judge has decided to use electronic tagging for the drink-driving offender. *

4 Shoplifting was the second most common crime committed by young offenders. *

5 As a result of apologising to his victims, the mugger promised not to attack people in the future. *

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COMMUNICATION

1 Complete the mini dialogues with one word in each gap.

A Personally, I think that CDs are too expensive for young people to buy.

B Yeah, you're right!

1 A As far as I'm _______________, you shouldn't download films from the Internet.

B I agree, it's wrong.

2 A Dad, I was _______________ if I could stay out late tonight?

B Yes, you can, as _______________ as you're back by one o'clock. Is that fine?

3 A I think it's only _______________ that young people enjoy music.

B Yeah, if you _______________ about it, it's one of the most important things in most young people's lives, right?

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TOTAL				/ 25

PHOTOCOPIABLE New Matura Success Intermediate © 2011 Pearson Central Europe Sp. z o.o.

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Name _________________________________________________ Class ________________________

PHOTOCOPIABLE New Matura Success Intermediate © 2011 Pearson Central Europe Sp. z o.o.

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