Term / Lesson / Book/Unit/Subject / Objective / Date
Summer / ENGLISH
MC /
A sample FCE exam which includes the topics and question types that 9th grades studied throughout the year
/ Students can read different types of texts that are asked in FCE exam, as well as revising grammar topics and vocabulary for Use of English and Vocabulary Section. / 17/06/2016
Name-Surname / Class: 9 A B C D / Number:
READING
Part I. You are going to read part of a magazine article about psychology. For questions 1-8, choose answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits according to the text.
FOCUS! IT'S THE KEY TO HAPPINESS
Many religious and philosophical traditions have spoken of the benefits of living in the present moment but, until recently, there has been no scientific evidence to support this advice. Now, a study by psychologists in the USA has shown that if we learn to live in the now we can be happier. According to the study, the problem is that we spend nearly half hour time thinking about something other than what we are doing.
How did the Harvard scientists arrive at this conclusion? Of course, it is not possible to measure happiness by simply observing people. When researchers want to look into a question such as this they have to rely on their subjects' ability to look at their thoughts and emotions and then be able to say what they are feeling. That would be relatively easy if you planned to study only on a small number of subjects but in a project like this involving several thousands, things become rather complicated.
To be able to reach as many people as possible, the psychologists designed a new mobile phone application that sent volunteers text messages at various times during the day. They were asked what they were doing and then they told to rate their happiness on a scale from zero to one hundred. They also has to say whether they were concentrating on what they were doing or daydreaming about something positive, negative or neutral. 'We never anticipated getting so many responses', says Matthew Killingsworth, one of the main researchers of the team. 'People are naturally concerned about this issue but I doubt that they would have been so keen to take part if we had tried to interview them on the street or sent our online questionnaires. The mobile phone application was the key.'
The study produced one surprising result. Although activities that demanded people's full attention like exercise and conversation make them happiest, even the most engaging tasks failed to hold their full attention. Volunteers admitted to thinking about something else at least thirty percent of the time even if they were doing something they enjoyed. People were least happy when working, resting or using a home computer because it was then their minds wandered more. In fact they reported being distracted for as much as forty-six percent of the time.
Julia Wilson, one of the volunteers who took part in the study, found it helpful. 'I had no idea just how much time I spent daydreaming. The first couple of days it seemed that whenever a message arrived, I was actually thinking about something else. One afternoon, I was playing tennis when a message came in. I had been missing even very easy shots and my serves kept going out. It was the message that woke me up and made me focus on the match instead of an overdue assignment I had in college.
The psychologists say the happiness was more affected by how people drifted off rather than by the activity they were doing at the time. But couldn't it be that we daydream so much because we are unhappy? The Harvard team say that this is not the case. Remembering, thinking ahead or imagining things tend to make people more miserable, even when they are thinking about something pleasant. This is what convinces the researchers that we become unhappy because we think too much and not the other way round.
So how can we overcome the problem? It seems that we might not want to. 'The unique human ability to focus on things that are not happening right now allows us to reflect on the past and learn from it. It also helps us anticipate and plan the future,' said Killingsworth. If we could not do this, we probably wouldn't survive. So our wandering minds benefit us some of the time. The trouble is we also let them make us happy.
1. What is important about American study?
A. It confirms the results of the previous studies.
B. It gives actual statistics to support its results.
C. It proves that most people are unhappy.
D. It identifies a major cause of unhappiness.
2. It is quite difficult to investigate happiness because
A. People do not really know how they feel
B. People may look happy when they are not.
C. People do not want to talk about their feelings.
D. People are reluctant to take part in scientific studies.
3. How did the researchers feel about the same way they conducted their survey?
A. Confident that their results were correct
B. Disappointed by the way people responded
C. Amazed that so many people agreed to take part
D. Uncertain about why their methods were successful
4. What surprised researchers when they examined the results of the study?
A. People didn't often concentrate even if they were enjoying themselves.
B. People spent more time daydreaming when they were working
C. Working and resting made people equally unhappy.
D. People were not thinking about what they were doing most of the time.
5. Why did Julia Wilson find taking part in the study helpful?
A. It taught her something she didn't know about herself
B. She started to feel happier.
C. It made her remember some important college work.
D. Her tennis skills improved.
6. What does this refer to ?
A. That what you are doing makes you unhappy.
B. That feeling sad makes you drift off into fantasy.
C. That thinking about the past makes you unhappy.
D. That people's minds wander all the time.
7. Changing the way our minds work may not be a good idea because
A. We enjoy daydreaming.
B. We find thinking about the present is boring.
C. We need the ability to think about the past and the future.
D. We think of it as one of our special human characteristics.
8. The purpose of the article is to
A. Describe how happy people think
B. Indicate the best way to conduct research
C. Encourage more people to take part in surveys
D. Show the connection between daydreaming and unhappiness.
Part II. You are going to read an article about a woman who got lost while she was on holiday. 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.
LOST IN PARADISE
On my second trip to Greece I had a very embarrassing experience. I had arrived Athens very early in the morning after a delayed flight from London on which I had barely slept a wink. My plan was to go to an island called Skopelos that a friend had recommended. It turned out that this involved a five-hour bus trip, at the end of which I had to catch a ferry to the island. By the time I got there, I had been travelling for twenty-four hours.
As soon as the ferry docked at the little port, the other tourists and I were surrounded by local people offering accommodation in their homes. I attached myself to a lovely woman called Nina and she led me up a winding path to her house, where she showed me to a pretty room with a little private bathroom. 9. After getting dressed, I went down to the kitchen.
There, Nina was sitting with a young woman called Anika, who spoke Greek and English. While we had coffee, Anita acted as an interpreter. It turned out that Nin's daughter Olga was studying abroad, so Anika was staying in her room. Nina had suggested she should show me around the town. 10.
We finished our coffee, said goodbye to Nina and headed out the door.
As we headed in the direction of the port, Anika pointed out various landmarks: a house with a blue door and a lemon tree in a pot, a little chapel with a small bench outside, a café on a corner where there was a friendly little dog. 11. I wondered if I should go back to the house and have an early night but decided that I would be better off having something to eat before retracing my steps.
By the time Anika and I reached the port, it was time for her to go to work. 12. Although I was very hungry, I decided to make sure I could find my way back to Nina's while there was still some light.
From the port, I walked up a narrow path I could have sworn was the same one Nina and I had followed earlier that day. There was a café on the corner but no friendly dog, a little chapel but the bench was nowhere to be seen and there were several houses with blue doors and lemon trees. I had no idea where I was. 13. I began to wonder if Nina and her house were just a figment of my imagination.
Eventually, I realised that the simplest thing to do was to go back to the port and ask the tourist police to help me. 14. The police laughed when I told them that. It turned out that there were twenty women called Nina who rented out rooms and ten of them had daughters called Olga who were studying abroad.
The police were very kind, nevertheless, and telephoned every one of those women until on the tenth call they managed to find 'my Nina'. She came just to get me and guided me back up to the house, chuckling to herself all the way. 15. The next day at breakfast I met an English couple who had had exactly the same experience.
A. I hadn't asked Nina to write down her address but at least I knew her name.
B. This meant that I was on my own, and the sun was beginning to set.
C. The harder I tried to remember exactly what Anika had said, the more lost I become.
D. Since it was late June, it would still be light for a couple of hours.
E. I had a much needed shower and unpacked.
F. I collapsed into bed as soon as we got there and slept for almost ten hours.
G. Surely he would know where Nina lived.
H. I tried to pay attention but my tiredness make it difficult to take it all in.
Part III. You are going to read some information about five musicians and the instruments they play. For questions 16-30, choose from the musicians (A-E). The musicians may be chosen more than once.
Which musician
Was inspired by seeing someone perform? 16. _____
Feels the instrument suits their personality? 17. _____
Stopped playing the instrument at one stage? 18. _____
Played an adapted version of the instrument? 19. _____
Says the instrument suits them physically? 20. _____
Still has the first instrument they played? 21. _____
Says they have a parent who is not a musician? 22. _____
Would like to play in an orchestra more often? 23. _____
Feels their instrument is sometimes a nuisance? 24. _____
Is one of several generations of musicians? 25. _____
Had never seriously considered playing the instrument at first? 26. _____
Did not make the decision to play an instrument? 27. _____
Did not find it difficult to learn the basics? 28. _____
Travels frequently? 29. _____
Plays an instrument that was previously owned by someone else? 30. _____
HEART STRINGS
A. The Guitarist
My father played the guitar and the banjo and had learnt both from my grandfather. All my uncles played too. By the time I came along, it was a well-established family tradition. There was just no question about whether I would learn to play an instrument or not and what instrument it would be. I got my first guitar when I was seven. My father bought me a second-hand instrument because they are easier to play and tune. Since that time, I have owned more than twenty guitars. I've sold some of them, lost one and had two stolen, but I've always managed to hang on to that original guitar. I've played it often and looked after it carefully over the years, so it is still in quite good condition. Perhaps one of my children will play it one day.
B. The Mandolin Player
My mother came home from work one day with a mandolin. I already knew how to play the guitar so it didn't take me long to work out how to play a few chords. I strummed it from time to time, showed it to all my friends, and then stuck it behind the sofa where it stayed for several years. In my second term at college, my parents phoned to say they were planning to come and visit me and asked me if there was anything in particular I would like them to bring home. I don't know why but suddenly I realised I badly wanted the mandolin. So they brought it with them and I've never looked back. Sadly my mother still hasn't learnt to play an instrument.
C. The Double Bass Player
Children didn't normally learn the double bass in the past. The instruments were just too big for tiny fingers and little arms. As a result, most of my friends who play started playing the violin but my teacher managed to get me an instrument especially designed for children. It was a tenth the normal size and very cute. Size is always a problem though. We play abroad quite a lot and getting my instrument through security is a real headache. Even getting round town is not easy. Despite all the inconvenience, I love my bass. It's a perfect instrument for someone like me who is rather shy and not really interested in being centre stage. I'd much rather make music with other people.