Exam answer keys- make-up lesson 3 June

Following is the key to the practice test given last week and to two OTHER tests which are in the library for you to copy if you wish. On the 27th we talked about modal verbs  – you can do those practice exercises on line at this website or new practice exercises following these links modal verbs, phrasal verbs – explanation, practice quizzes .

Next week (Wed June 3rd), I will hold lessons at 13.30 and 15.30 which are “recuperi” – I will concentrate on responding to student questions from VINCE (so bring it) and on speaking.  The B2 exam will not have a “speaking” portion as the B1 exam did with Prof. Noto.  The speaking portion will almost exclusively be about the films, but I will give you the opportunity to practice talking about the films so that you feel comfortable talking about them, and I will be happy to answer questions about pronunciation and vocabulary regarding the film portion of the course, or explain any notes that you find difficult in English.

Test May 27th

The Secret of Happiness

1. F (have you ever dreamed), 2. C, 3. I, (all grown on the island)4. B, (some useful items are washed up) 5. G, 6. E, 7. H, 8. D (twin pillars)

Business calls the shots

1. E (increased overall income), 2. C (players-gains, administrators-cashed in, etc.)3.F, 4. D, 5. A (doesn’t talk about tv), 6. G

Vacation advice

9. planning, 10. stressful (better than stressing), 11. carefully, 12. decisionS, 13. energetic, 14. dangerous, 15. performances, 16. exhibitions, exhibits (don’t forget the plural), 17. European (E not e), 18. really, 19. guilty, 20. impossible

21. B, 22. C, 23. B, 24. B, 25. C, 26. B, 27. C, 28. B, 29. D, 30. B, 31. A, 32. D (it’s permanent- a bonus is a one-time thing. In the UK they do say “pay rise” but I think you have to have “pay” before “rise.”)

33. great, 34. ok, 35. the, 36. such, 37. they (two subjects), 38. one, 39. out, 40. becuase, 41. ok, 42. are, 43. OK, 44. them, 45 OK

Tiger claw

1. become, 2. ever, 3. but, 4. there, 5. type, source, kind, 6. course, 7. also, 8. others, 9. see/know, 10. where/when, 11. lighter, butt, 12. should, 13. paying, 14. that, 15. save

1. taken aback by, taken by surprise by,   2. an unforgettable, 3. is shorter than, 4. Never before, 5. I had studied more, 6. your dreams will come, you want will come, 7. accuses F of stealing, 8. whose the dog , whose dog it, who the dog’s owner 9. wedding is planned for, 10. last time I ATE (past simple, because the time is specific– the last time)

Early European dolls

1. A, 2. C, 3. B, 4. A, 5. C, 6. C, 7. B, 8. D, 9. A, 10. C, 11. D, 12. B, 13. B, 14. C, 15. D

Extra tests available for photocopying  in the library –

“test 1″

Filming the mysteries of the deep

1. G, 2. A, 3. B, 4. D, 5. E, 6. C

Work

7. T, 8. F, 9. F, 10. T, 11. F (according to the text, which is what matters), 12. T, 13. T, 14. T, 15. T (but this question is out of order and a bit vague), 16. F

Believe the eyes

17. B, 18. D, 19. C, 20. D, 21. A (goes with “of”), 22. C (you tell lies), 23. A, 24. B, 25. A, 26., D, 27. C, 28. B, 29. C (goes with “on”), 30. A, 31. B

Poems by mobile

32. annoying, 33. unnecessary, 34. patience, 35. badly, 36. pleasure, 37. reflection, 38. amusing, 39. easily, 40. ambitious, 41. variety

Leisure time

41. ok, 42. so, 43. as, 44. if, 45. it (2 subjects), 46. ok, 47. an, 48. end, 49. OK ,50  with, 51. ok, 52. so, 53. ok, 54. so, 55. about

56. be long before John has

57. whose nose was broken

58. have difficulty believing

59. to get used to driving (to get used to +ing, to be used to +ing)

60. I wonder if you could (indirect, polite question)

61. what he did was

62. with my own

63. any hope of us / hope of our/hope of us

64. brushing her hair is called

65. will already be playing

“test 2″

David Wiley (man in photo)

1. F, 2. C, 3. A, 4. E, 5. D

Supermarket secrets

6. F, 7. B, 8. D, 9. A, 10. G, 11. C

The best of friends

12. D (unexpected), 13. C , 14. C, 15. A, 16. B, 17. D, 18. C

What makes someone intelligent?

19. B, 20, D, 21. C, 22. C, 23. B, 24. A, 25. D, 26. B, 27. A, 28. B, 29. D, 30. A, 31. A, 32. C, 33. D

34. myself, 35. and, 36. was, 37. OK, 38. been, 39. have, 40. OK, 41. they, 42. these, 43. seem, 44. kind, 45. in, 46. any, 47. so, 48. the

B2 second practice exam- key

Answers for the practice exam given May 6, 2009 (copies still available)

Reading 1 (Zoo)

1. A, 2. H, 3. C, 4. D, 5. B, 6. F, 7. E

Reading 2 (Greenhouse)

1. T, 2. T, 3. F , 4. F, 5. T, 6. T, 7. T, 8. T, 9. F, 10. F

Multiple choice (Light pollution)

Always look carefully at the words BEFORE and AFTER your choices on this part.  The multiple choice sections test phrasal verbs, collocations, and the use of verbs + prepositions.

1. B, 2. D, 3. B, 4. C, 5. A, 6. D, 7. C, 8. A, 9. B, 10. A, 11. D, 12. A, 13. B, 14. C, 15. D

Gap fill(Ice Skating)

1. the, 2. few, 3. up, 4. a, 5. have, 6. up, 7. that, 8. well, 9. lot, 10. or, 11. because, 12. nothing, 13. course, 14. but, though, 15. of

Sentence transformation (not numbered)

for – …………for me to be like

sense- ……….makes no sense ——OR——–doesn’t make sense

let-……..didn’t let us eat/have—–OR—-wouldn’t let us eat/have

unless-……..unless you book (it) in advance

how ……….how many plants and animals

keep……….keep (on) trying

24. wish- ………….wish I weren’t (wasn’t) so short. ….wish I were taller.

25. is said to be

Multiple choice (Love of travelling)

26. A, 27. A, 28. B, 29. C, 30. B, 31. A, 32. A, 33. D, 34. D, 35. A, 36. B, 37.C, 38. C

Word Formation

39. quickly, 40. childhood, 41. alarmingly, 42. publisher, 43. narrators, 44. freedom, 45. unreasonable, 46. confrontation, 47. tricky

How to Study for the B2 exam

This post is a repeat from last year!
The next B2 exam (Lingua e Trad. II) is on the following dates:
(Just to be sure, please double check these with the University website!)

Written 23 June,2009 9.30
I oral 29 June,2009 9.30       II oral 13 July,2009 10.00

The B2 exam is modeled after the Cambridge FCE (First Certificate).

The exam lasts 4 hrs. The first 1.5 hrs  will be spent doing a Listening test (2 tasks) and  1 hr of grammar exercises (multiple choice vocabulary, error-correction in the style of FCE, word-formation in the style of FCE, multiple choice verb tense questions, etc.).

The second half of the exam will include a one-hour reading  test (2 articles with questions), plus 1 hr 30 minutes of writing: there will be 2 essays to write, one of which will be a choice of a letter or other type of essay (for the letter, be sure to study letter format) and the other essay will have to do with English in Film (the course taught by Serenella Zannotti).

If you pass the written portion of the exam, we will notify you to come to the Oral exam. At the oral exam you will speak both to me and to Prof. Zannotti, regarding the typical topics covered in our class, as well as the specific films covered in hers. Students who were in Erasmus or for another excused reason did not attend Prof. Zannotti’s course will not have to write OR discuss those specific films.

HOW TO STUDY

 -Come to the exam reviews noted on our class calendar (Wednesdays at 13.30 and 15.30)

 - Do your homework in Michael Vince’s book. This FCE Language Practice (the purple book with key). Correct your work with the key. Come to me with questions about why your answers were not correct.

-Use your Move CD to do additional listening practice (and see the websites listed below)

- Get additional practice on-line by visiting these and other websites:

FIRST CERTIFICATE EXAM PRACTICE ON LINE

Here is a link with the format for formal letters in different countries. It still seems to me that the British format for dates is 12 May 2008 (as opposed to 12th May 2008 as students have indicated) ……..but there is NO reason to stress out over this particular detail, because 1) surely even the British would not really care, and 2) it does not matter for the exam!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter

http://www.parapal-online.co.uk/ is a site with several FCE-style practice exercises.

http://www.english-online.org.uk/exam.htm
http://www.flo-joe.co.uk/fce/students/about/index.htm
http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/Use_of_English.htm (obviously, the general site is www.examenglish.com – tests for several levels of Cambridge and IELTS are covered)

http://www.englishjet.com/english_courses_files/test_cambridge_first_certificate.asp

www.examenglish.com/FCE/fcelistening.htm

http://www.selfaccess.com (this one costs money)
http://www.britishcouncil.org/professionals-exams-fce-listening-intro.htm
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/download/quizzes/word_building_1_quiz.pdf

New links added 12 May 2008

http://fceblog.blogspot.com/ (explains each section of the FCE in detail AND gives links to where you can practice each section on line (for example, listening portions from the British council)

http://corpus.wikispaces.com/ , click on “corpus” for a huge collection of sample letters, essays, etc. written by FCE students

http://del.icio.us/Neric82 a website full of links for self-study for FCE

GENERAL ENGLISH PRACTICE ON LINE (NOT AIMED AT FCE)

http://www.ego4u.com/

http://www.stuff.co.uk/wicked.htm (general language practice)

http://www.testyourenglish.net/

http://www.eslcafe.com/search/Quizzes/

And, of course,

www.www.cambridgeesol.org/ (look for FCE) You can also do a Google search for these key words: FCE practice, listening practice ESL, listening practice English, etc.

NB- this is NOT a Cambridge Exam! You will NOT receive a Cambridge certificate .

Good Luck- In bocca al lupo!!

Patti