Name _________________________________________________ Class ________________________
Skills Test 4A Units 7-8
READING SKILLS
1 Read the text and complete gaps 1–5 with sentences A–G. There are two extra sentences
that you do not need.
A The phones themselves were very limited in terms of what they could do as well.
B These were offered free of charge.
C In some countries people could even use their phones to pay for things like parking and
drinks.
D Other countries followed: the Scandinavian countries first, then the USA, Canada and
Mexico.
E These were expected to not be widely used.
F At the same time, it is longer than some think.
G The cost was a big problem.
/5
Mobile History
Talk to anyone, anywhere...
Many people today would find it hard to imagine life without the mobile phone, such is the impact
it has had on our lives. Yet the history of the mobile phone is short: it is only during this generation
that what most people would think of as mobile phones have existed, and only more recently still
have they stopped being exclusive gadgets for the elite. 1____ The very first ‘mobile’ telephones, in
cars and aircraft, go back more than half a century, to just after the Second World War.
The first networks
The first modern network, now called a first generation network, was set up in Japan in 1979.
Telephones were very big and heavy but, if you lived in Tokyo or, five years later, anywhere in
Japan, you could use the network. 2____ The UK’s first network was set up in 1985.
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New networks, new services
These first networks were very limited. The plastic phones of the time needed to carry a large
battery, which was one of the reasons that they were so big and heavy. 3____ It was possible to
make voice calls but no messaging and no file downloading was possible. This changed at the
beginning of the 1990s, when second generation networks were built. Now people could download
files (such as wallpapers or ringtones for their phones, for example), and there were other
possibilities as well. 4____ The most popular new possibility, however, was something that mobile
phone operators had not even planned: Short Message Service (SMS). The new networks could
handle more data than they needed to for voice calls and operators decided to include text
messages. 5____ In fact, operators thought they would be sent mainly by technical staff, like
memos in a company. Instead, they quickly became wildly popular. Today, an incredible number of
text messages are sent: nearly 200,000 messages every second. For many people, especially young
people, text messages are the main way mobile telephones are used.
Mobile phones today
Today’s mobile phones are smaller, lighter and more powerful than ever before, and there are more
of them. In some countries, such as Taiwan and Luxembourg, there are more mobile phones than
there are people, including children, and worldwide there are nearly 5 billion phones (and
approximately 7 billion people). Nowadays people use their phones for games, surfing the net,
watching films and television, writing documents and much more, and it seems plain that this trend
will continue and probably accelerate in the years to come.
2 Read the text again. Are the statements true (T), false (F) or is there no information (NI)?
1 The previous generation found it hard to live without mobile phones.
2 All Japanese people could use the mobile phone network in 1979.
3 The material that was used to make phones was very heavy.
4 Most text messages are sent by young people.
5 Many children today own mobile phones.
/5
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LISTENING SKILLS
1 CD Track 5 Listen to the interviews with people about street performers. Match
speakers 1–5 with opinions A–G. There are two extra opinions that you do not need.
1 Sue
2 Terry
3 Al
4 Don
5 Barbara
A When there are street performances the city looks ugly and messy.
B Street performers are good for the city’s economy.
C There are too many street performers in the city.
D Street performers make us think of happier, less stressful times.
E Street performers make the city brighter and nicer.
F Cities are safer when there are street performers.
G Street performers should organise their performances in places for concerts, not just
anywhere on the street.
/5
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2 CD Track 5 Listen again and choose the correct answers.
1 Sue doesn’t feel safe because
a street performers look at her aggressively.
b there are criminals in the crowds.
c she doesn’t like the way street performers look.
2 Terry likes
a the way that street performances make him feel relaxed.
b the way street performers smell.
c the bright colours of the street performers’ clothes.
3 Al says that
a he likes listening to buskers.
b his idea would make money for the city.
c it would be better for street performers if they performed inside.
4 Don
a thinks street performers’ audiences are a problem.
b doesn’t like how street performers look.
c blames street performers for the problem.
5 Barbara
a pays street performers for their performances.
b likes dancing troupes best.
c says street performers spend money in the town.
/5
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COMMUNICATION
1 Complete the sentences with one word from the box in each gap. There are two extra
words that you do not need.
estimated rise stay tendency steady whole generally tend
People have a tendency to exaggerate their opinions for effect.
1 ____________ speaking, I think there are too many special effects in films these days.
2 It is ____________ that there are more mobile phones than people in Taiwan.
3 Computers ____________ to double in power every two years.
4 There has been a ____________ fall in the number of people going to the theatre this year.
5 The price of petrol should ____________ the same this month.
/5
TOTAL / 25
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