Unit 8 Test: Higher
Name: __________________________________ Result: __/100
Vocabulary 3 Complete the text with the correct prepositions.
1 Complete the sentences with the words in the box.
There are three extra words which you do not need to
use.
•••
When I first went travelling, I didn’t really
avalanche blizzard downpour droughts epidemic
(1) think __________ places that were different from my
gale hail landslide tsunami own country. That all changed the first time I arrived in
1 The sudden _______________ meant the washing Bolivia. This was 20 years ago when you couldn’t
got wet again! (2) rely __________ the Internet if you got into trouble or
needed to find out information.
2 Some regions of this country have suffered
_______________ for several years leading to a lack While I was waiting for my bus at the airport in La Paz, I
of drinking water. looked around me. I (3) listened __________ the noise and
life all around me. I had never (4) dreamt __________ being
3 The earth from the _______________ took with it all somewhere so completely foreign to me.
the homes on the side of the mountain.
The first thing was that I was aware that I really had to
4 The discovery of a vaccination led to the end of the (5) protect myself __________ the sun. The people who
_______________. belonged to mountain communities could be seen with
5 A skier was found 24 hours after the bright red cheeks, unaware of the protection sun cream
_______________ had buried him. could give you.
6 _______________ the size of apples rained down. I had been warned about the altitude sickness you could
I’ve never seen anything like it! experience caused by the geographical height of the city. I
(6) depended __________ sweets and some medicine I’d
Score __/6
been given to overcome this.
2 Read the article below. Use the words given to form a Then there was the extreme poverty that I witnessed, which
word that fits in the gap. was on a different level to what I had seen in my own
country.
Despite the initial culture shock, I had an amazing time and
The heavy rainfall and severe gales in northern India found the people to be very kind. From that trip onwards, I
have had a (a) _______________ (devastate) effect on have tried never to (7) complain __________ things that
local residents. It is thought that as many as 20,000 aren’t really important in my own country.
(b) _______________ (evacuate) are currently in
temporary accommodation. Score __/7
One resident said that all she could do was watch as
the water was (c) _______________ (spread) through
the ground floor of her house.
Now the local government is considering the
(d) _______________ (destroy) of those properties
which have been the hardest hit. In fact, some have
already (e) _______________ (collapse) due to
structural damage and a number of
(f) _______________ (casual) have been taken to local
hospitals.
Relief workers are in the area delivering
(g) _______________ (supply) to those families worst
affected.
Score __/7
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Unit 8 Test: Higher
Grammar 6 Rewrite the sentences in the passive with say, know,
believe, etc. Use the words given to help you and
4 Complete the sentences with the correct passive
change the tense of the verbs if necessary.
form of the verbs in the box. There are three extra
verbs which you do not need to use. 1 ‘Residents in this area suffer from this illness more
frequently.’ (some people say)
bring in do employ give inspire listen question
train warn witness ___________________________________________
2 ‘Earthquakes could be predicted by cats.’ (a past
1 This person _______________ by the head teacher
claim)
last week to review the exam procedures.
___________________________________________
2 The politician _______________ about the scandal
as we speak. 3 ‘Younger people learn things more quickly than older
people.’ (present report)
3 These artists _______________ by women from the
19th century. ___________________________________________
4 The spectators _______________ the storm warning 4 ‘Teachers find their jobs motivating.’ (some people
before the event took place. say)
5 The students _______________ by a group of sports ___________________________________________
professionals at the competition next week. 5 ‘The recession will last for several years following the
6 The disaster could _______________ on televisions financial crash.’ (some people thought)
all around the world. ___________________________________________
7 How many people can _______________ by the 6 ‘The thief has been caught by special detectives.’
factory? There are a lot of people looking for work at (past report)
the moment.
___________________________________________
Score __/7
Score __/6
5 Rewrite the sentences in the passive form. Use the
words in bold as the subject. 7 Correct the mistake in each sentence.
1 They bring fresh flowers to the queen every week. 1 Japan is known have a hard-working workforce.
___________________________________________ ___________________________________________
2 We had told the teacher the story several times. 2 A second vote was not thought to have be necessary.
___________________________________________ ___________________________________________
3 They gave money for the trip to students from less 3 Emergency procedures are believe to be important in
wealthy families. the event of a disaster.
___________________________________________ ___________________________________________
4 The council will give local children the exciting 4 Some people is expected to have escaped.
opportunity. ___________________________________________
___________________________________________ 5 This is said that some people enjoy chasing forest
5 The magician taught the cool trick to the teenagers. fires.
___________________________________________ ___________________________________________
Score __/5 6 The treasure was reported to have been find.
___________________________________________
7 It known that elephants can’t jump.
___________________________________________
Score __/7
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Unit 8 Test: Higher
Use of English Listening
8 Read the text below and think of the word that best 9 XðListen to a talk by a mountain guide about
fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap. survival skills in a blizzard. Decide if the statements
are True (T), False (F) or Not Mentioned (NM).
Earthquakes in Japan
1 Bad weather in the mountains tends to spread faster
Earthquake drills at school are common in Japan. than forest fires. T / F / NM
The children (a) __________ instructed to go 2 There is a minimum recommended size for a snow
cave. T/ F / NM
under the desk as soon as one occurs. It may just
3 If you aren’t in wet weather, matches are useful to
be a small (b) __________, but it’s better to be
have. T / F / NM
safe than sorry. They have to wait (c) __________
4 It is important to consider the type of wood that you
the earthquake to be over before they can vacate
put on a fire. T / F / NM
the classrooms.
5 Search and rescue teams often ask people to leave a
path when they are in the mountains. T / F / NM
The actual school buildings play a special role in
big earthquakes. It was widely (d) __________ in 6 The difficulty with eating snow is that your body often
rejects it. T / F / NM
the newspapers after the Hanshin earthquake in
Score __/6
1995 that they acted as emergency shelters.
10 XðListen again and complete the sentences. Write
Nowadays, thanks to advances in technology, no more than three words in each gap.
people can rely (e) __________ many large
1 According to the mountain guide, you can never be
buildings to be earthquake-proof. Smaller _______________ when you are in the mountains.
buildings, however, are still at risk of
2 It often feels colder than it actually is due to the
(f) __________ and can cause serious injuries and _______________.
even death. 3 A fire is not only good for warmth, but also for
_______________.
It is thought (g) __________ there are as many as
4 The guide suggests removing _______________ if
1,500 earthquakes a year in Japan and since 1900, the outside of the wood is wet.
the whole population has been affected
5 Leaving a path of pieces of _______________ means
(h) __________ them at some point. you can be located by a search and rescue team.
6 If you are forced to eat snow, it’s important to
Score __/8 _______________.
Score __/6
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Unit 8 Test: Higher
Reading E ________
Despite all these stories, science doesn’t have concrete
evidence. In the 1970s, studies by the United States
Geological Survey were unable to uncover any
Does Nature Have a Head Start? concrete evidence to suggest that animals have a
special ability to sense danger before it arrives. It was
A ________ concluded that animals react to things such as
Many people believe that animals have some kind of defending their territories and being hungry. In fact,
sixth sense when it comes to natural disasters. Stories the list of what they react to could go on and on, and it
have been told about dogs and cats refusing to go isn’t restricted to natural disasters. Having said that,
outside and looking for a safe place to hide before science can explain some things. For example,
earthquakes. And this doesn’t appear to be limited to according to a 2011 study, it was suggested that
domestic animals. It has been reported that elephants because dogs have a much more sophisticated sense
and flamingos search for higher ground when they of smell than humans, they may be able to smell
sense that extreme weather is about to hit. Could the changes in the air. And if smell has got anything to do
answer be in their genetic make-up, or are we, as with earthquakes, they’ll be a step ahead of us.
humans, just missing the signs?
F ________
B ________
So, whether it’s a sixth sense, better hearing or a
Wildlife experts believe that animals’ extreme developed sense of smell, there’s no denying that
sensitivity can offer an explanation. Not only is their whether you believe in it or not, we could do worse
hearing known to be superior to humans, but also than look to animals. Next time my dog behaves in a
their other senses. They may be able to hear or feel way that is out of character, especially if I’m living in
the vibration of the Earth before something happens. an area which has earthquakes or which is close to a
The tsunami of 2004 is thought to have affected volcano, I’ll be sure to follow his lead!
230,000 people who lived in countries around the
Indian Ocean. The loss of human life was devastating.
On the other hand, the animal kingdom got away with
11 Read the article and match the headings (1–8) to
relatively few casualties.
paragraphs (A–F). There are two extra headings
C ________ which you do not need to use.
This concept is nothing new. Over the centuries, there 1 Why pets react to us ________
have been numerous similar stories. Animals’ ability to 2 Better safe than sorry ________
avoid disaster dates as far back as 373 BC. Then, it was
recorded that many snakes, rats and other small 3 Sea life imitates land animals ________
creatures escaped the Greek city of Helice days before 4 Our inability or their natural ability? ________
an earthquake caused mass destruction in the region.
5 The positive results of reading nature ________
In 1975, the observation of animal behaviour actually
led to the Chinese city of Haicheng being evacuated. In 6 A very human tragedy ________
spite of there being more than 2,000 victims of the 7 The last chance to help ________
earthquake that followed, it is believed that the
evacuation meant that animals protected a further 8 Science doesn’t have all the answers ________
150,000 people from death and injury. Score __/6
D ________
And the same sensitivity seems to be seen in a number
of marine animals. Back in 2001, when Storm Gabrielle
brought torrential rain and strong gusts of wind to the
state of Florida, a number of sharks, which had been
given electronic tags, swam into deeper water. The
fact that the same behaviour was said to have been
observed in 2004’s Hurricane Charley can’t have been
just good luck on the part of the sharks. Rather, the
change in water pressure that extreme weather brings
about is something that sharks are likely to be
sensitive to.
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Unit 8 Test: Higher
12 Read the text again. Choose the best answers (A, B, C
6 Which statement best matches the writer’s opinion?
or D).
A People should avoid living near volcanoes.
1 It is commonly thought that …
B It would be wise for people to learn from animals.
A humans have the same senses as animals, but
fail to read them. C His dog doesn’t have the ability of other animals.
B domestic animals are more in tune with their D No one should take the reaction of animals too
senses than wild animals. seriously.
C all animals travel to high places when disasters Score __/6
strike.
13 In your opinion, do you think we should use animals
D humans appear to be inferior to the animal
to predict natural disasters and extreme weather?
kingdom when it comes to predicting natural
Give three reasons for your answer.
disasters.
________________________________________________
2 According to the writer, what is true of the 2004
tsunami? ________________________________________________
A As many animals died as humans. ________________________________________________
B Humans suffered a far greater loss than animals. ________________________________________________
C Animals heard the movement of the Earth. ________________________________________________
D Humans failed to recognise the warning sound. ________________________________________________
3 When the earthquake struck Haicheng, … ________________________________________________
A the authorities had told people to leave because of ________________________________________________
animals’ reactions. ________________________________________________
B the authorities failed to consider animals’ ________________________________________________
reactions.
Score __/3
C 150,000 evacuees were injured as a result of the
earthquake.
D a large number of animals were saved by people.
4 The writer suggests that the sharks missed the
storms …
A just by chance.
B due to a natural skill.
C because they were given electronic tags.
D as the ocean currents forced them away from
land.
5 Scientific experiments …
A show without a doubt that animals have a sixth
sense.
B confirm all common beliefs about animals’ sixth
sense.
C confirm animals have superior skills in some
areas.
D suggest humans have the same abilities as
animals.
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Unit 8 Test: Higher
Writing Speaking
15 Read the task below. Write an essay in 150–200 16 Work in pairs. Do the tasks.
words.
Student A: Look at the graph below. It shows the amount
of carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels
'Some cities in the world are safer to live in than
between 1960 and 2019. Describe your graph to Student
others.’ Do you agree?
B.
Notes
Write about:
1 natural disasters
2 pollution
3 _______________ (your own idea)
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________ Student B: Look at the graph below. It shows the
________________________________________________ average monthly Arctic Sea ice cover each September
(the sea ice is at its minimum each September) between
________________________________________________ 1979 and 2020. Describe your graph to Student A.
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________ Score __/10
________________________________________________
Vocabulary __/20
________________________________________________
Grammar __/25
________________________________________________
Use of English __/8
________________________________________________
Listening __/12
________________________________________________
Reading __/15
________________________________________________ Writing __/10
________________________________________________ Speaking __/10
________________________________________________
Score __/10
TOTAL __/100
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