Reading 1.

1
 I FCE Practice T e sts

TEST 2 PAPER 1: READING Part 1 (questions 1-8)

Part 1

You are going to read an extract from a novel. For questions 1-8 choose the answer (А, В, С or D)
which you think fits best according to the text.

Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

Emily woke up before her alarm went off and knew instantly something wasn’t quite right in
the house. Bailey, her chocolate-coloured pet Labrador, should have been there at the
bedroom door demanding food but there was no sound of him. She decided to get up and
go and see where he was. It felt cold in the hall but she knew she had left the heating on
last night. As she walked down the stairs she heard a noise in the kitchen; the strange
feeling that something was wrong was getting stronger. What was going on? She got to the
bottom of the stairs and opened the door to the living room, which led to the kitchen. Why
was the door closed? She always left it open. Bailey was nowhere to be seen and his toys,
which were usually all over the living room floor, were in a neat pile in the corner next to his
basket. Had they been there when she had gone to bed last night? She couldn’t remember.
She walked into the kitchen and turned the light on, it didn’t work, nothing happened. She
stood very still and listened, nothing. There wasn’t a sound. That was really strange; she
lived in the middle of a busy city, there were always people around. She woke up to the
sound of traffic, car horns, police cars, her neighbours shouting in the house next door, how
could there be silence at 8 o’clock on a Friday morning? She went back into the living room
and turned the TV on, but again nothing happened. She went back into the kitchen and
looked out of the window; it was a bright clear day. The back door was shut but when she
tried the handle she realised it was unlocked. She walked out into the tiny back garden and
opened the back gate; still nothing, not a sound and no sign of Bailey. She called him but
he didn’t come. She went back into the house and did what she realised she should have
done as soon as she got up and called her mother. But there was no answer. She called her
boyfriend but his mobile was switched off and she got the answer phone message. She tried
a couple of other numbers but with equal success. She sat down on the sofa and thought
about what she could do. She couldn’t decide if she should stay at home or go out and find
someone. Just as she decided the best thing would be to stay at home and wait, there was
a loud banging on the front door. She jumped up and ran to the door. ‘Who is it?’ she
shouted through the door. ‘It’s me,’ came the reply. But she had no idea who ‘me’ was. She
didn’t want to open the door until she was sure she knew who it was, not with all the other
strange things that were happening this morning, and she didn’t want to shout through the
thick front door, so she walked back into the living room and tried to look through the front
window to see who was standing at the front door. It was a man but she couldn’t make out
who he was; he didn’t look familiar. He was tall and was wearing a big coat with a hood over
his head. Just as she was thinking of running out the back door she saw that the man had
Bailey with him, and Bailey seemed quite happy, which meant that the man had to be
line 35 someone he knew and liked; he would have been barking otherwise. She still wasn’t taking
any chances though; she put the safety latch on the door and opened it just enough to see
who was there. She was instantly relieved; it was her brother, who lived just a few streets
away. She opened the door all the way and let him in. As he walked through the door he
was almost knocked over by Bailey jumping up and looking more pleased than ever to see
her. ‘So what’s going on?’ she asked her brother. He looked at her as if she was stupid.
‘Haven’t you heard?’

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 FCE Practice T ests

TEST 2 PAPER 1: READING Part 1 (questions 1-8)

1 How did Emily know there was something wrong?

A Her alarm clock didn’t go off.
В Her dog wasn’t outside the bedroom door.
С Her dog was quieter than usual.
D She had woken up very early.

2 How did she feel when she opened the living room door?
A confused
В excited
С annoyed
D strong

3 Whal could she hear when she stood in the kitchen?

A traffic and everyday noises of the city
В silence
С the television
D something in the garden

4 Why did she go into the garden?

A to see what the weather was like
В to talk to her neighbours
С to look for Bailey
D to make a phone call

5 Who did she speak to on the telephone?

A her mother
В her boyfriend
С two friends
D no one

6 Why did she return to the living room after someone knocked on the front door?
A Because she didn’t want to leave the house.
В Because she wanted to try and see who was at the front door.
С Because she didn’t want to talk to the person at the front door.
D Because she wanted to sit down and think about what to do.

7 Why did she think she must know the man at the door?
A She recognised the clothes he was wearing.
В Bailey was barking at him.
С Bailey seemed relaxed with him.
D She recognised his voice.

8 What does the author mean in line 35 when it says that ‘she still wasn’t taking any chances
though’?
A She wasn’t feeling lucky.
В She was going to take advantage of the situation.
С She wasn’t going to waste the opportunity.
D She wasn’t going to take any risks.
 TEST 2 PAPER 1: READING Part 2 (questions 9-15)

Part 2

You are going to read an article in which stage manager Adam James talks about his work in
technical theatre. Seven sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences
A-H the one which fits each gap (9-15). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.

Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

Technical Theatre
When we go to the theatre we go to see the on tour was intense but really good fun. Atypical
actors and their performance; the stage is the Monday would see us arrive at about 8 o’clock in
central focus point; it is where everything the morning and open up the lorries. We would
happens, or at least everything that we the have some coffee and then when everyone had
audience are supposed to see. But there is so arrived we would spend the day building the
much more to putting on a performance than just show. In the afternoon the cast would arrive and
the acting cast. There is a whole team of people I would show them around so they knew where
who we never see but without whom no they could make quick costume changes and
production would be possible. We spoke to things like that. I 12 1 1 Once the show had
Adam James who has worked in technical started it was just a case of watching and
theatre since the age of 14 to find out what goes supervising and letting the show happen around
on behind the scenes and how he got involved. us. As stage manager I was always the first and
the last person on stage. Working on tour can be
I was 12 years old when I first saw a show in my stressful as you have to keep track of where
local leisure centre. I was fascinated by the fact everyone is for health and safety reasons and
that everything came in about ten lorries and monitor everything that goes on back stage and
they basically built a theatre from scratch. keep to time. Then once the show is over you
I 9 I 1 I got to know some of the people have to check everything and make a note of
working on the stage management team and everything that needs repairing or re-doing
they let me shadow them while they worked. I before the next performance.
met the stage manager and after watching the
team work and talking to him I decided that was After a couple of years touring I decided to return
what I wanted to do as a job. I didn’t know to London and go to college to study technical
anything about work in the theatre industry so I theatre. I studied for a year but I realised that it
started studying and learning about the job. wasn’t very useful to me. I had learnt a lot more
I 10 I l However, what I really wanted was to from my years working. 13 1 I I felt like I
get involved and start working as part of a stage was already established in the industry so I
management team. Once I was 14 I managed to decided to leave college and got a job in a
get some work experience and I started to miss theatre. When finding work in technical theatre
school sometimes and go to work at the theatre first hand experience is much more important
instead. than qualifications. I 14 I I did some more
freelance work in London for a while and now I
I left school when I was 16 and because I had work for a production company.
quite a lot of experience I was able to get a job
as an assistant stage manger in a theatre in You can have up to 20 people working on any
London. I worked there for about a year and then one performance so there’s a real team spirit.
did some freelance work in Cornwall and went There are people working in lighting, sound,
on tours around the country. I 11 I 1Working wardrobe, wigs, props, carpentry and stage

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 TEST 2 PAPER 1: READING Part 2 (questions 9-15)

management. Apart from the technical side we number of disadvantages; I don’t like the hours
also have to look after the actors. As stage and the disruption to my personal life that
manager it’s my job to meet and greet the cast working evenings can cause. I 15 I I But I
on their first day and make sure they know would highly recommend it to others; it’s very
where everything is and have everything they enjoyable and always different; you never have
need. The hardest thing I’ve ever had to do was the same day twice and there’s something very
try to control 2,500 primary school children. I exciting and beautiful about live theatre.
really like what I do. There are of course a

A It was a course for people who didn’t found it hugely exciting.

know anything about the theatre. Working in a large theatre is much
more difficult because there are so
В The more I found out about technical many more people to organise.
theatre the more interested I
became. The work was quite sporadic but the
money was good; in one month I
С Also there’s quite a lot of instability could earn enough to last me six
and insecurity to the job and the months.
money is not always good.
H Theatres are looking for people with
D ,While the cast were getting ready we proven ability and who know what
would get on with any necessary they are doing, and what interests
maintenance jobs. them the most on your CV is your
last job.
E I was very curious as I watched the
whole thing being put together and I

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Writing 1.1
TEST 2 PAPER 2: WRITING Part 1 (question 1)

Part 1

You must answer this question. Write your answer in 120-150 words in an appropriate style on the
opposite page.

1 You have just returned from a four-week trip organised by a company called Explorer. You
have lots of complaints about the holiday. The staff at the hotel told you there was nothing they
could do and that you would have to write to the head office. You have decided to write a letter
of complaint.

Read the advertisement for the holiday with your comments added. Write your letter of
complaint.

Aholiday of a lifetime The groups

were huge.

Exploration in small groups to experience local

Old
history and culture.
uncomfortable Fully equipped coaches, comfort guaranteed.
coaches.
Ours broke Evening lecture programme by experts.
down!
Five star luxury hotel with air-conditioned rooms,
en-suite facilities, phone and TV.
Not in my Dining excellence to m ake evenings an Service awful -
room! unforgettable experience. not enough
waiters
Swimming pools and sports facilities equal to none.
Pool had
no water!
All inclusive - no extras

Write your letter. You must use grammatically correct sentences with accurate spelling and
punctuation in a style appropriate for the situation.
TEST 2 PAPER 2: WRITING Part 2 (questions 2-5)

Part 2

Write an answer to one of the questions 2-5 in this part. Write your answer in 120-180 words in an
appropriate style on the opposite page. Put the question number in the box at the top of the page.

2 The teachers at your school have complained that many students are spending too much
time using the Internet to visit social networking sites and chat rooms. They have asked the
headteacher to disconnect the Internet from the school’s computer room as they feel it is not
an appropriate use of school equipment.
Write a report to the headteacher explaining why internet access should be available to the
students. Make some suggestions about ways in which internet access can be controlled.

Write your report.

3 You have decided to enter a short story competition. The rules of the competition say that
you must begin with the words:

John w oke up one morning to see a large hole in the wall where his
wardrobe used to be.

Write your story.

4 You had a class discussion about opportunities for practising English and your teacher has
now asked you to write a report for students of English giving them advice.

Write your report.

5 Answer one of the following two questions based on your reading of one of the set books.
Write the letter (a) or (b) as well as the number 5 in the question box on the opposite page.
j.

(a) Write a letter to a friend about the book explaining what you thought of the book and
why your friend might enjoy it or not.

(b) Write an essay comparing the book with another book. How are the books different
and in what ways are they similar? Is one of the books better than the other?