Listening

1 Track 7 Listen to six recordings. Are statements1-6 true (T) or false (F)?

1 The woman never gets a paper during the week.   F   

2 The man watches the news every day.           

3 The boy doesn't have a television in his bedroom.           

4 The woman enjoys reading about the superstars.           

5 The man won some money on a quiz show.           

6 The woman gets out of bed in the mornings feeling groggy.           

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Pronunciation

2 Track 8 Listen and complete the sentences using contractions where applicable.

1 I would never   have bought   those shoes if   I'd known   how expensive they were.

2 We                 to the cinema if                 back in time.

3 Even if                 the truth I                 believed you.

4 He                 passed his driving test even if                 loads more lessons.

5 What would you                 if you                 at that meeting?

6 It                 easy for Jack to admit that he                 dishonest.

5

Vocabulary and Grammar

3 Complete the words.

1 I watched a really interesting d o c u m e n t a r y   about ancient Egypt yesterday.

2 Which newspaper has the highest

r                            in your country?

3 Big Brother was the first of the r                   shows on TV, wasn't it?

4 I only read the gardening and property

s                               in the Sunday paper.

5 There have been so many s                of Top Gear that I've lost count.

6 I can't understand why you watch that s               . It's not funny, it's awful!

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4 Correct the two mistakes in each sentence.

1 As soon as the   alarming   clock goes off, I'm wide   wake  .

  alarm     awake  

2 I must apologise on taking so long to put to a decision. I know you have been waiting for some time.

                                         

3 Rob refused borrowing my computer without to ask.

                                         

4 I had lent you the money if you have asked me sooner.

                                         

5 I've put Martin down so much times recently and he never offers to tidy up when he stays.

                                         

6 I feel light and breezy many of the time. But I find it hard to get up on cold mornings.

                                         

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5 Complete the second sentence so that it means the same as the first. Use the word in capitals.

1 `Let me buy you lunch, Hannah.' OFFERED

Jack   offered to buy lunch   for Hannah.

2 Unfortunately negotiations have failed once again. DOWN

Unfortunately,                                                            .

3 So what happened at the end of the film? TURN

So how                                                             ?

4 `I'm sorry I forgot Sam's birthday.' FOR

Paul                                                    Sam's birthday.

5 `I'm sure Phil has taken my mobile phone.' ACCUSED

Lucy                                                             .

6 I really don't like to stay at home all day when the weather's good. STAND

I                                                             .

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6 Underline the correct alternative.

1 What's the origin of the expression `once in a green /   blue   moon'?

2 I decided to cut the meeting short / down because we weren't getting anywhere.

3 I'd rather not going / go out this evening if you don't mind.

4 I'll make my decision after I've weighed up / on the pros and cons.

5 It turns out / on that Jack has known Julia for years!

6 I promise / insist to help you with your packing.

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7 Choose the correct answers to complete the text: a), b), c) or d).

People talk a lot about the effect of TV on kids, but what about the rest of us? If you ¹  a   to ask ²           people how much time they spend ³           television each week, I suspect you ⁴           be shocked. In ⁵           households, the television is on a good deal of the time, ⁶           often no one will be watching. Take my neighbours for example. As soon as they get up, they turn the television ⁷          . They'll watch the news over breakfast and perhaps one of the morning chat shows. In the afternoon it'll be time for a ⁸           opera or two, followed by an episode of the latest ⁹           show. They would never admit ¹⁰           being addicted but I wonder how they would manage ¹¹           someone took their television away for a few days. And to be honest, if someone took my TV away, so would I!

1 a)   were   b) will c) are d) have

2 a) few b) a most c) the most d) most

3 a) to watch b) watching

c) by watching d) for watching

4 a) will b) should c) would d) can

5 a) much b) few c) many d) lots

6 a) despite b) although c) however d) in spite

7 a) up b) down c) off d) on

8 a) soap b) soup c) soapy d) soppy

9 a) real b) current c) reality d) chatty

10 a) to b) on c) for d) with

11 a) when b) whether c) unless d) if

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Speaking

8 Complete the conversation. Use the prompts in brackets.

A: (you / got / minute) ¹  Have you got a minute   ?

B: Sorry?

A: (There / something / I / mean) ²                                                    to talk to you about.

B: (What / up) ³                                        ?

A: Well, look, (I / not want / you / get / wrong idea) ⁴                                                             but ...

B: But what?

A: (It / just) ⁵                               you always leave the kitchen dirty. It's quite selfish. Do you know what I mean?

B: Sorry. (I / not / think / it / be) ⁶                                                   so upsetting.

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9 Complete the conversation with the words in the box.

That's so way really (x2) one remind on thing did so

A: I'm ¹  so   upset that the concert has sold out. Why didn't you remind me to get tickets?

B: But I did ²                     you. I sent you a text.

A: Well that's not ³                     helpful, is it? You know I hardly ever use my mobile.

B: ⁴                     absolutely ridiculous! You're the ⁵                     who's always texting.

A: No I'm not!

B: How ⁶                     earth can you say that? Let's just take a look, shall we?

A: Ah … hmm … oh, I'm ⁷                     sorry. It seems you really ⁸                     send me a text after all.

B: Well, no harm done. The good ⁹                     is the band's doing an extra night and there are still tickets available. So there's no ¹⁰                     we're going to miss out.

A: Brilliant - that's ¹¹                     great news - so what are we waiting for? Let's go!

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Reading

10 Match gaps 1-6 in the text with a)-g) below. There is one extra sentence you do not need.

Hi Jude

I'm sorry I haven't been in touch for such a long time - I can't tell you what I've been through in the last few months. You might remember that I was thinking of applying to be on Big Brother (I can't imagine what possessed me!), well it all went ahead. ¹  a   I couldn't believe it. What had started out as a bit of a joke, turned out to be my worst nightmare. Before I knew where I was, it was too late to pull out.

As soon as I set foot in the Big Brother house, I knew that I'd made the biggest mistake of my life. ²           It was really difficult. You know how it is - the producers are really only interested in getting good viewing figures. They deliberately chose participants who were going to be controversial.

So there I was, a forty-year-old (normally sane) woman on national television, sharing her every waking moment with my new family and wishing I could be anywhere else. ³          . It was hard work, I can tell you. Some of them were very hard to like!

To be honest though, one of the worst things about the whole experience was sleep - or lack of it. ⁴          . As you know I'm never at my most alert late at night so I started to feel quite groggy after a few days of sleep deprivation.

To cut a long story short, I was voted out after the first week - probably because the viewers thought I was too boring. ⁵           I didn't say or do anything outrageous so what was the point of being there?

Do you know, I still have nightmares about it all and just hope things will get back to normal soon. Next time I have a crazy idea, please just do something to stop me! ⁶          . Perhaps there is something in me that does rather enjoy being the centre of attention after all!

Love

Clare

a) I sent in my application, went through various interview stages and to my surprise, I was accepted on to the show.

b) Well, I suppose I was.

c) Imagine being stuck in a house together with complete strangers for twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

d) Most of my fellow inmates were night owls and would stay up until the early hours just messing around.

e) Actually, I didn't even like any of the other participants.

f) However, I decided to give it a go and try to get on with everyone.

g) Meanwhile, I've been asked to write about my mad media week for the local paper.

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Writing

11 Underline the correct alternative.

1 Some people have no interest in current affairs however /   while   others love to learn.

2 While / Despite some readers enjoy sensationalist journalism, there are those who do not.

3 Although / However celebrity scandals can be damaging initially, most stars recover quite quickly.

4 I don't have time to read a daily paper. Despite / However, I do listen to the radio.

5 Jana refused to sell her story although / despite being offered a lot of money.

6 A lot of people would like to be famous however / although they know the drawbacks.

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12 Write an informal article: How to reduce the stress in your life. Write 120-180 words on a separate sheet of paper.

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Total:

100

Upper Intermediate Progress Test Units 7-8A

PHOTOCOPIABLE © 2011 Pearson Longman

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