First

Reading and Use of English

Sample Test 1 D251/01

Time 1 hour 15 minutes

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES
Do not open this question paper until you are told to do so.
Write your name, centre number and candidate number on your answer sheet if they are
not already there.
Read the instructions for each part of the paper carefully.
Answer all the questions.
Read the instructions on the answer sheet.
Write your answers on the answer sheet. Use a pencil.
You must complete the answer sheet within the time limit.
At the end of the test, hand in both this question paper and your answer sheet.

INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES

There are 52 questions in this paper.
Questions 1 – 24 and 43 – 52 carry one mark.
Questions 25 – 30 carry up to two marks.
Questions 31 – 42 carry two marks.

* Copyright © Cambridge University Press & Assessment 2022

500/2705/ Cambridge English Level 1 Certificate in ESOL International
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Part 1

For questions 1 – 8, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits
each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0).

Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

Example:

0 A band B set C branch D series

0 A B C D

What is genealogy?

Genealogy is a (0) …..... of history. It concerns family history, (1) …..... than the national

or world history studied at school. It doesn’t merely involve drawing a family tree,

however – tracing your family history can also (2) …..... in learning about your roots and

your identity. The internet enables millions of people worldwide to (3) ...….. information

about their family history, without great (4) ...….. .

People who research their family history often (5) ...….. that it’s a fascinating hobby which

(6) …........ a lot about where they come from and whether they have famous ancestors.

According to a survey involving 900 people who had researched their family history, the

chances of discovering a celebrity in your past are one in ten. The survey also concluded

that the (7) …..... back you follow your family line, the more likely you are to find a

relation who was much wealthier than you are. However, the vast majority of people

who (8) …..... in the survey discovered they were better off than their ancestors.
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1 A instead B rather C except D sooner

2 A cause B mean C result D lead

3 A accomplish B access C approach D admit

4 A fee B price C charge D expense

5 A describe B define C remark D regard

6 A reveals B opens C begins D arises

7 A older B greater C higher D further

8 A attended B participated C included D associate

d

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Part 2

For questions 9 – 16, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap.
Use only
one word in each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0).

Write your answers IN CAPITAL LETTERS on the separate answer sheet.

Example: 0 A S

Motorbike stunt rider

I work (0) a motorbike stunt rider – that is, I do tricks on my motorbike at shows. The
Le Mans

race track in France was (9) …….. I first saw some guys doing motorbike stunts. I’d never

seen anyone riding a motorbike using just the back wheel before and I was (10) ……..

impressed I went straight home and taught (11) …….. to do the same. It wasn’t very long

before I began to earn my living at shows performing my own motorbike stunts.

I have a degree (12) …….. mechanical engineering; this helps me to look at the physics

(13) …….. lies behind each stunt. In addition to being responsible for design changes to

the motorbike, I have to work (14) …….. every stunt I do. People often think that my

work is very dangerous, but, apart

(15)...........some minor mechanical problem happening occasionally during a stunt, nothing

ever goes

wrong. I never feel in (16)......kind of danger because I’m very experienced.

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Part 3

For questions 17 – 24, read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of
some of the lines to form a word that fits in the gap in the same line. There is an example
at the beginning (0).

Write your answers IN CAPITAL LETTERS on the separate answer sheet.

Example: 0 C O MM O N L Y

An incredible vegetable

Garlic, a member of the Liliacaea family which also includes

onions, is
COMMON
(0).............used in cooking all around the world. China is currently
the PRODUCT

largest (17) …….... of garlic, which is particularly associated

with the dishes of northern Africa and southern Europe. It is

native to central Asia and has long had a history as a health- ILL

giving food, used both to prevent and cure (18) In Ancient

Egypt, workers building the

pyramids were given garlic to keep them strong, while

Olympic athletes in Greece ate it to increase their resistance

to infection. EFFECT

SCIENCE

The forefather of antibiotic medicine, Louis Pasteur, claimed

garlic was as (19) …….... as penicillin in treating infections. ADD

Modern-day PRESS

(20).............have proved that garlic can indeed kill bacteria and

even
ADVANTAGE
some viruses, so it can be very useful for people who have
SPICE
coughs and colds. In (21) …….... , some doctors believe that

garlic can reduce blood (22) …….... .

The only (23)............to this truly amazing food is that the strong
and
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rather (24)...........smell of garlic is not the most pleasant!

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Part 4

For questions 25 – 30, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to
the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use
between two and five words, including the word given. Here is an example (0).

Example:

0 A very friendly taxi driver drove us into town.

DRIVEN

We................................................................a very friendly taxi

driver.

The gap can be filled by the words ‘were driven into town by’, so you write:

Example: 0 WERE DRIVEN INTO TOWN BY

Write only the missing words IN CAPITAL LETTERS on the separate answer sheet.

25 Joan was in favour of visiting the museum.

IDEA

Joan thought it would be............................................................to the

museum.

26 Arthur has the talent to become a concert pianist.

THAT

Arthur is so..............................................................could become a concert

pianist.

27 ‘Do you know when the match starts, Sally?’ asked Mary.

IF

Mary asked Sally..............................................................time the match

started.
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28 I knocked for ages at Ruth’s door but I got no reply.

LONG

I................................................................knocking at Ruth’s door but I got no

reply.

29 Everyone says that the band is planning to go on a world tour next year.

SAID

The band...............................................................planning to go on a world tour next

year.

30 I’d prefer not to cancel the meeting.

CALL

I’d rather..............................................................the
meeting.
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Part 5

You are going to read an extract from a novel in which a young woman called Caitlin
talks about her life on an island. For questions 31 – 36, choose the answer (A, B, C or D)
which you think fits best according to the text.

Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

We live on the island of Hale. It's about four kilometres long and two kilometres wide at
its broadest point, and it's joined to the mainland by a causeway called the Stand - a
narrow road built across the mouth of the river which separates us from the rest of the
country. Most of the time you wouldn't know we're on an island because the river mouth
between us and the mainland is just a vast stretch of tall grasses and brown mud. But
when there's a high tide and the water rises a half a metre or so above the road and
nothing can pass until the tide goes out again a few hours later, then you know it's an
island.

We were on our way back from the mainland. My older brother, Dominic, had just finished
his first year at university in a town 150 km away. Dominic's train was due in at five and
he'd asked for a lift back from the station. Now, Dad normally hates being disturbed when
he's writing (which is just about all the time), and he also hates having to go anywhere, but
despite the typical sighs and moans – why can't he get a taxi? what's wrong with the bus?
– I could tell by the sparkle in his eyes that he was really looking forward to seeing
Dominic.

So, anyway, Dad and I had driven to the mainland and picked up Dominic from the
station. He had been talking non-stop from the moment he'd slung his rucksack in the
boot and got in the car.
University this, university that, writers, books, parties, people, money, gigs And when I
say talking, I
don't mean talking as in having a conversation, I mean talking as in jabbering like a
mad thing. I didn't like it the way he spoke and waved his hands around as if he was
some kind of intellectual or
something. It was embarrassing. It made me feel uncomfortable – that kind of discomfort
you feel when someone you like, someone close to you, suddenly starts acting like a
complete idiot. And I didn't like the way he was ignoring me, either. For all the attention I
was getting I might as well not have been there. I felt a stranger in my own car.

As we approached the island on that Friday afternoon, the tide was low and the Stand
welcomed us home, stretched out before us, clear and dry, beautifully hazy in the heat –
a raised strip of grey concrete bound by white railings and a low footpath on either side,
with rough cobbled banks leading down to the water. Beyond the railings, the water was
glinting with that wonderful silver light we sometimes get here in the late afternoon
line 31
which lazes through to the early evening.

We were about halfway across when I saw the boy. My first thought was how odd it was to
see someone walking on the Stand. You don't often see people walking around here.
Between Hale and Moulton (the nearest town about thirty kilometres away on the
mainland), there's nothing but small cottages, farmland, heathland and a couple of hills.
So islanders don't walk because of that. If they're going to Moulton they tend to take the
bus. So the only pedestrians you're likely to see around here are walkers or bird-watchers.
But even from a distance I could tell that the figure ahead didn't fit into either of these
categories. I wasn't sure how I knew, I just did.
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As we drew closer, he became clearer. He was actually a young man rather than a boy.
Although he was on the small side, he wasn't as slight as I'd first thought. He wasn't
exactly muscular, but he wasn't
weedy-looking either. It's hard to explain. There was a sense of strength about him, a
graceful strength that showed in his balance, the way he held himself, the way he
walked....
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31 In the first paragraph, what is Caitlin's main point about the island?

A It can be dangerous to try to cross from the mainland.

B It is much smaller than it looks from the mainland.
C It is only completely cut off at certain times.
D It can be a difficult place for people to live in.

32 What does Caitlin suggest about her father?

A His writing prevents him from doing things he wants to with his
family.
B His initial reaction to his son's request is different from usual.
C His true feelings are easily hidden from his daughter.
D His son's arrival is one event he will take time off for.

33 Caitlin emphasises her feelings of discomfort because she

A is embarrassed that she doesn't understand what her brother is

talking about.
B feels confused about why she can't relate to her brother any more.
C is upset by the unexpected change in her brother's behaviour.
D feels foolish that her brother's attention is so important to her.

34 In the fourth paragraph, what is Caitlin's purpose in describing the

island?
A to express her positive feelings about it
B to explain how the road was built
C to illustrate what kind of weather was usual
D to describe her journey home

35 In 'because of that' in line 31, 'that' refers to the fact that

A locals think it is odd to walk anywhere.

B it is easier for people to take the bus than walk.
C people have everything they need on the island.
D there is nowhere in particular to walk to from the island.

36 What do we learn about Caitlin's reactions to the boy?

A She felt his air of confidence contrasted with his physical

appearance.
B She was able to come up with a reason for him being there.
C She realised her first impression of him was inaccurate.
D She thought she had seen him somewhere before.
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Part 6

You are going to read a newspaper article in which a former ballet dancer talks about the
physical demands of the job. Six sentences have been removed from the article. Choose
from the sentences A – G the one which fits each gap (37 – 42). There is one extra
sentence which you do not need to use.
Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

Good preparation leads to success in ballet dancing

A former classical ballet dancer explains what ballet training actually involves.
What we ballet dancers do is instinctive, Those first classes I took were remarkably
but instinct learnt through a decade of similar to the last. In fact, taking into
training. A dancer’s life is hard to account the occasional new idea, ballet
understand, and easy to misinterpret. classes have changed little since 1820,
Many a poet and novelist has tried to do when the details of ballet technique were
so, but even they have chosen to interpret first written down, and are easily
all the hard work and physical discipline as recognised in any country. Starting with
obsessive. And so the idea persists that the left hand on 39 the barre, the routine
dancers unrolls over
spend every waking hour in pain, bodies some 75 minutes. Even the leading
at breaking point, their smiles a pretence. dancers have to
do it.

As a former dancer in the Royal Ballet These classes serve two distinct purposes:
Company here in Britain, I would beg they are the way we warm our bodies and
37 to question this. the mechanism by which we improve basic
With expert teaching and daily technique. In class after class, we prove
practice, its various demands are easily the old saying that ‘practice makes
within the capacity of the healthy human perfect’. 40
body. Contrary to popular belief, there is
And it is also this daily repetition which
no need to break bones or tear muscles to enables us to strengthen the muscles
achieve ballet positions. It is simply a required in jumping, spinning or lifting our
question of sufficient conditioning of the legs to angles impossible to the average
muscular system. person.

Over the course of my dancing life I

The human body is designed to adapt to
worked my way through at least 10,000
the demands we make of it, provided we
ballet classes. I took
make them
my first at a school of dance at the age of seven carefully and over time.41 In the same
and my last 36 years later at the Royal a ballet dancer in particular,
Opera House in London. In the years this lengthy period has to come before the
between, ballet class was the first thing I effects of adolescence set in, while maximum
did every day. It starts at an early age, flexibility can still be achieved.
this daily ritual, because it has to. But for
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way, all those years of classes add up
to a fit-for- purpose dancing machine.
This level of physical fluency doesn’t
hurt; it feels good.

But they should not be misled: 42

there is a difference between hard work
and hardship. Dancers have an
everyday familiarity with the first.
Hardship it isn’t.
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A Through endless tries at the usual E The principle is identical in the gym –
exercises and frequent failures, ballet pushing yourself to the limit, but not
dancers develop the neural pathways in beyond, will eventually bring the desired
the brain necessary to control accurate, result.
fast and smooth movement.

B The ballet shoe offers some support, but F No one avoids this: it is ballet’s great
the real strength is in the muscles, built democratiser, the well established
up through training. members of the company working
alongside the newest recruits.

C As technology takes away activity from G It takes at least a decade of high-quality,

the lives of many, perhaps the ballet regular practice to become an expert in
dancer’s physicality is ever more difficult any physical discipline.
for most people to imagine.

D Ballet technique is certainly extreme but

it is not, in itself, dangerous.

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Part 7

You are going to read a newspaper article about a young professional footballer. For
questions 43 – 52, choose from the sections (A – D). The sections may be chosen more
than once.

Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

Which paragraph

states how surprised the writer was at Duncan’s early difficulties? 43

says that Duncan sometimes seems much more mature than he really is? 44

describes the frustration felt by Duncan’s father? 45

says that Duncan is on course to reach a high point in his profession? 46

suggests that Duncan caught up with his team-mates in terms of physical 47

development?

explains how Duncan was a good all-round sportsperson? 48

gives an example of how Gavin reassured his son? 49

mentions Duncan’s current club’s low opinion of him at one time? 50

mentions a personal success despite a failure for the team? 51

explains how Duncan and his father are fulfilling a similar role? 52
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Rising Star
Margaret Garelly goes to meet Duncan Williams, who plays for Chelsea Football Club.

A It’s my first time driving to Chelsea’s C Duncan takes up the story: ‘The first half
training ground and I turn off slightly too of that season I played in the youth team.
early at the London University playing I got lucky – the first-team manager came
fields. Had he accepted football’s to watch us play QPR, and though we lost
rejections in his early teenage years, it is 3-1, I had a really good game. I moved up
exactly the sort of ground Duncan to the first team after that performance.’
Williams would have found himself running Gavin points out that it can be beneficial
around on at weekends. At his current age to be smaller and weaker when you are
of 18, he would have been a bright first- developing – it forces you to learn how to
year undergraduate mixing his academic keep the ball better, how to use ‘quick
studies with a bit of football, rugby and feet’ to get out of tight spaces. ‘A couple
cricket, given his early talent in all these of years ago, Duncan would run past an
sports. However, Duncan undoubtedly opponent as if he wasn’t there but then
took the right path. Instead of studying, the other guy would close in on him. I
he is sitting with his father Gavin in one of used to say to him, “Look, if you can do
the interview rooms at Chelsea’s training that now, imagine what you’ll be like when
base reflecting on Saturday’s match you’re 17, 18 and you’re big and quick
against Manchester City. Such has been and they won’t be able to get near you.” If
his rise to fame that it is with some you’re a smaller player, you have to use
disbelief that you listen to him describing your brain a lot more.’
how his career was nearly all over before
it began.

B Gavin, himself a fine footballer – a D Not every kid gets advice from an ex-
member of the national team in his time – England player over dinner, nor their own
and now a professional coach, sent private training sessions. Now Duncan is
Duncan to three professional clubs as a 14 following in Gavin’s footsteps. He has
year-old, but all three turned him down. ‘I joined a national scheme where people
worked with him a lot when he was around like him give advice to ambitious young
12, and it was clear he had fantastic teenagers who are hoping to become
technique and skill. But then the other professionals. He is an old head on young
boys shot up in height and he didn’t. But I shoulders. Yet he’s also like a young kid in
was still upset and surprised that no team his enthusiasm. And fame has clearly not
seemed to want him, that they couldn’t gone to his head; it would be hard to meet
see what he might develop into in time. a more likeable, humble young man. So
When Chelsea accepted him as a junior, it will he get to play for the national team?
was made clear to him that this was more ‘One day I’d love to, but when that is, is
of a last chance than a new beginning. for somebody else to decide.’ The way he
They told him he had a lot of hard work to is playing, that won’t be long.
do and wasn’t part of their plans.
Fortunately, that summer he just grew
and grew, and got much stronger as well.’
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