III. Writing

You are going to write a letter (50-60 words) to your English pen-friend about your last holiday which you spent at the seaside with some of your classmates. The holiday was spoiled by several things. Write about them:

• poor weather

• problems with accommodation, such as noise, dirty rooms and unfriendly staff

• arguments over what to do, such as sightseeing or sunbathing

Examination Card #15

Read the text and choose the best answer (A-H) to complete the choices (1-6)

There are two choices you do not need to use.

LIVING WITHOUT ENERGY

Most houses use energy – lost of it. We use energy for heating, lighting, for running our household appliances – TV’s, washing machines, fridges, and so on . In winter time, most houses use dozens of kilowatts of electricity every day, or the equivalent in gas.

The eco-house, on the other hand, uses virtually nothing: most of the energy that it uses comes straight from the sun, the wind or the ground. This is an experimental house at the University of Nottingham, and it could be the kind of house (1) ________.

During the daytime, (2) __________, even in rooms without windows, Sunlight, or daylight, is “piped” through the house, into each room, through special high-reflection aluminums tubes. You can see how well they reflect light, by looking at the reflection of the faces in the picture!

At night, of course, energy is necessary – but most of this comes from the sun or the wind. The house is fitted with photovoltaic solar panels (3) _____ , and a wind turbine power generator too; electricity from these can be used directly, or else stored in batteries, and used when it is needed.

For heating, (4) ________, or geothermal energy. This takes low-level heat out of the ground, and uses a heat-pump to convert it into high-level heat for use in radiators – the same principle as a refrigerator, but in reverse.

As for water, most daily needs are provided for by the house’s own supply; (5) _______, filtered, and used for all toilets, baths, and showers.

If, one day, most people in developed countries live in houses like this one, (6) _______, and global warming may be a problem of the past.

A that we must use less energy

B that most people are living in fifty years from now

C that generate electricity during the daytime

D it is rarely necessary to turn on an electric light

E where the energy cannot be collected

F the house uses direct solar energy

G rainwater is collected on the roof

H most of today’s pollution will have disappeared

II. Use of language

Choose the correct item (A-B) to fill in the gaps (1 – 6).

TREASURE

It was a warm and sunny autumn day: a perfect time to spend the last half of the lunch hour on the playground. Many of the students at Troll Knoll School (1) ______ recess. (2) ______ were still in the cafeteria. Trogmire Troll and his friends were among those who were enjoying play time. Troubled Troll was “it” in a friendly game of Simon Screams. “Simon screams,” he screamed, “eat dirt!”

They all pretended (3) _____ dirt. They were ( 4) _____ from lunch to really eat any dirt.

“Simon screams, “Troubled continued with a wicked grin, “Trogmire has a girlfriend!”

(5) _____ a lot of laughter. Trogmire Troll was not laughing, however.

“I quit this stupid game!” Trogmire announced. He stalked away, heading toward the school. At that very moment, Treasure Troll walked out of the building. She was with her friends, Trivia Troll and Truffle Troll, but her eyes (6) _____ only on Trogmire

	A	B
1	were enjoying	enjoyed
2	another	Others
3	to eat	eating
4	stuffed too	too stuffed
5	there was	there were
6	were focused	focused