File Test 1
Reading and Writing A
READING
1 Read the article and tick () A, B, or C.
Business experts disagree about the benefits of working as a family. Some say that family
businesses are more likely to succeed. Others say that family businesses do not create new
ideas, and are likely to fail over time. Here, one family explains how it works for them.
Elena – mother
I was really pleased when my father asked for some help in his restaurant. The business
needs a reliable manager and I’m good with money. Unlike the rest of the family I’m quite
shy, so working in the office suits me very well. In fact, working here really suits us all.
Agustin welcomes the customers and organizes the tables. Mariana is an imaginative chef,
but perhaps a little too confident. She thinks she’s the leader, of course, but I disagree. My
father is planning to retire next year, but even when he has left the kitchen the restaurant will
still be his ‘baby’.
Vincente – grandfather
Elena is a great manager. She’s good with money and very patient, which is important when
there are creative people around. I’m the head chef and my eldest grandchild, Mariana,
works with me in the kitchen. We are very different personalities who share a love of food! I
don’t like to plan meals ahead of time. I go to the market early in the morning and see what is
good. Then I go back to the kitchen and decide the menu for the day. Mariana says I’m
disorganized and that our menu is too traditional, but I say this is the best way to cook. If
something is working, why change it?
Mariana – Elena’s oldest child
I love working with my grandfather. He knows everything about the traditional food from this
region of Spain. But he isn’t very interested in new ideas. Right now, I’m developing some
new meals which are low in salt and sugar. Grandad doesn’t think that’s a very good idea,
and I don’t want to upset him, so I try not to talk about it all the time. Agustin agrees with me,
though. He’s a great ‘maître d’ — he knows all about the menu, including the wine, and he is
so sociable and outgoing. It’s the perfect job for him!
Agustin – Elena’s youngest child
I was worried because my sister can be bossy, but actually we haven’t had any arguments.
Mariana has big plans for the restaurant and I know we will succeed. At the moment, our
customers are mostly people from our city. I know that because I talk a lot to them. But when
Mariana changes the menu, we will have customers from all over the region. The worst thing
about this business is the long days. We work until late and I stand up for hours and hours.
Sometimes I don’t want to smile anymore!
English File fourth edition Intermediate Photocopiable © Oxford University Press 2019
File Test 1
Reading and Writing A
Example: Some business experts think family businesses are unimaginative.
A True
B False C Doesn’t say
1 Elena doesn’t enjoy talking to people she doesn’t know well.
A True B False C Doesn’t say
2 Elena says that Agustin is the baby of the family.
A True B False C Doesn’t say
3 Vincente thinks his way of planning a menu is the correct way.
A True B False C Doesn’t say
4 Vincente sometimes asks Mariana to decide the menu for the day.
A True B False C Doesn’t say
5 Mariana is an ambitious chef.
A True B False C Doesn’t say
6 When she’s head chef, Mariana wants to stop using food from the market.
A True B False C Doesn’t say
7 Agustin doesn’t think the new menu will bring new customers.
A True B False C Doesn’t say
7
2 Write E for Elena, V for Vincente, M for Mariana, and A for Agustin.
Example: I was very happy to start working here. E
1 I want to cook more modern food. _____
2 My daughter doesn’t get angry when there are problems. _____
3 I enjoy being with the customers. _____
4 The leader of the business is my father. _____
5 I’m planning to leave the business next year. _____
6 I’m quite bossy but I’m learning to be sensitive. _____
7 I like to be imaginative without planning very much. _____
8 I agree with the plans to change the menu. _____
8
Reading total 15
WRITING
Write about two people in your family or extended family (140–180 words).
Answer the questions.
• What is he / she like?
• What does he / she like or not like doing?
• What is he / she doing at the moment?
• How do you get on?
Writing total 10
Reading and Writing total 25
English File fourth edition Intermediate Photocopiable © Oxford University Press 2019
