Reading Comprehension: Sample Cloze

If you feel you still need to get familiar with the format of the Reading Comprehension test, you may want to do this sample Cloze at home. Here's a piece of advice:

- Try to set a time limit, just as in the real test. 1 hour and 15 minutes should be enough.
- DO NOT use a dictionary. You won't be allowed to use one in the real test.
- DO NOT PANIC if you have problems with some of the items in this cloze. This is supposed to be an End of the Year test, so some of the contents have not been seen in class yet. Just try, luck also matters!

Remember: this is just a part of the Reading Comprehension test. There will be more parts in the final test, as seen in the description I posted below.

I will add the answers to this Cloze in a few days.

And, that's it, ladies and gentlemen. Good luck!

Year 3 February/June Exams: Format & Assessment Criteria

Here's a link to the format of the exams that we'll be doing in February and June. Have a look at it in order to get familiar with it in advance.

I have also included a link to the assessment criteria that we will apply for the different skills, that is, reading, listening, writing and speaking.

Unit 4. Grammar - Question Tags (Extra Practice)

1. You should learn Japanese, ..................................?

2. Jim has been waiting long, ...................................?

3. You won’t send money to your parents, ..............................?

4. You are not doing what I told you, .....................................?

5. Answer the phone for me, ..........................................?*

6. George can’t play tennis, ........................................?

7. You have to study a lot, ......................................?

9. You’ve got to leave now, .......................................?*

10. Pam and Tim got married last year, .............................?

11. John is not very friendly, .................................?

12. David is bringing some wine, ..................................?

13. You’ll be home before midnight, ..................................?

14. Harry was working in Bristol, .............................?

15. You don’t need me any more, .......................................?

16. The ticket to London doesn’t cost a lot, .................................?

17. Let’s invite the Smiths from next door, ......................................?*

18. You aren’t too busy to talk, .......................................?

19. Jean owns a restaurant, .......................................?

20. You’ve learnt a lot, ......................................?*

21. You had to buy some flowers, ...........................?*

22. Pam shouldn’t study that much, ..................................?

23. You’re coming to the party, ..................................?

24. Please, open the door, .............................................?*

25. She looks very tired, ..........................................?

26. Give your grandmother a kiss, ...............................?*

27. You couldn’t find my address, ............................?*

28. I’m not so ugly, ...................................?

29. She had taken a taxi, ..........................................?*

30. I’m sure it is gold, .................................?

* NOTE: The sentences marked with * are more difficult than the ones that appear in the book. Please refer to your Teacher's notes in class.

Unit 4. Grammar - Phrasal Verbs

As you know, we've been doing some exercises on phrasal verbs in different units. Nevertheless, I have made a big compilation of the most common Phrasal Verbs in English and I've put them into one single document for you to download.

This is a quite complete list, which includes sample sentences of the phrasal verbs in context. You DO NOT NEED to study ALL OF THEM, but I strongly recommend you to read the document a few times and try to memorize as many of them as possible.

I've also included another document with some exercises. Please note that the phrasal verbs shown on the Exercise sheet are easier, so you should really memorize them.

Unit 3. Extra Exercises and Film Bank Script

In case you are interesting in doing some extra activities for Unit 3 at home, I have included some links below where you can download stuff:

Warmer
Grammar 1
Grammar 2
Grammar 3
Follow-up

Also, I have included the script for the Film Bank 3 that we saw in class on Tuesday 16th.

Unit 3 - City or country

SPEAKER ONE: Ajay:

I live in a house in Leeds. Er, Leeds is where I’m at university
right now. I’m studying English. The house I live in is in a place
called Hyde Park which is about a ten minute drive from
Headingley Stadium and it’s about a ten minute drive from the
university as well, and also from the city centre. So, it’s in a
really good location. I’m really happy with the people I’m living
with.

The main thing I like about living in Leeds is easy access to a lot
of things such as cinemas, restaurants, bars, clubs, music
venues. Everything that would appeal to a student is there in
Leeds. Like there’s lots of everything. And it’s … it can be quite
overwhelming at first, but when you adjust to living in the city,
then you realise that everything’s at your fingertips and it can be
a lot of fun and you can go on big nights out wherever you want.
Yeah, it’s a very, very good place to live, very exciting.

I don’t think I’m always going to live in Leeds because it’s the
kind of city that really appeals to students, so when I graduate I
can’t see myself enjoying it as much as I do right now.

That’s why I think I’ll possibly move somewhere like London
which has a much more diverse population, or maybe even go to
the country where I’d enjoy a quieter life and it’d be a nice
contrast to the life I’m living right now.

SPEAKER TWO: Emlyn:

I live in a small, rural village in a sixteenth century thatched
cottage - that’s er … a cottage with a straw roof, that overlooks
the village cricket green, so it’s er … a very idyllic setting. The
best thing about living in the country is the wildlife. It’s …er…
great looking out the window and seeing all these wonderful
birds and mammals trotting round the place, or flying by … it’s …er… lovely.

I think the main disadvantage is that you have to drive
everywhere …um… because we are quite rural. If you want to go
to the cinema for instance, the nearest cinema’s about five or six
miles away. So you have to plan everything. It’s not one of those
things that you can do on the spur of the moment so much.

I hope I would always live in the country….umm I can’t see
myself living in the city again having lived in the country for a
number of years. I’ve got used to the, the pace of life if you like,
and when I now go to cities everything seems very fast, and I
prefer it a bit slower now.

SPEAKER THREE: Jennifer:

I live in a small flat in the outside of the city, and it’s the lower
half of a house that’s been converted into two flats. Umm… I live
with my cat and I have a small garden that she goes into and
there are trains that run by …umm… nearby my flat, so they
make a lot of noise during the day and also at night
unfortunately.

The best thing about living in the city is that there is so much to
do and there’s access to so many things because there’s so
many people there are …um …lots of things for those people to
do. There are …y’know …lots of um movie theatres and lots of
…um… cafes, and places where people can get together. There’s
just lots of nice things to do and to see. And you don’t find that
out, out in the country.

I don’t really take advantage of the museums and the theatres
as much as I used to when I was younger, and even as I get
older I think that I’ll be more interested in, y’know … living out
from the city. I think that I’ll always want to go into a city and
have access to a city but I think that I won’t live there forever
…no.


SPEAKER FOUR: Sarah:

I live on top of a hill at the edge of a village just outside a town
called Saffron Walden. And surrounded by lots of fields, and
horses …it’s lovely. I love the freedom and fresh air and no
noise. There’s not very many roads around where we are - main
roads. And we … sort of quite a way off …err… from the village,
so you don’t hear anything, it’s lovely, really lovely. I think the
best thing about living in the country is probably …umm… the
relaxation of it all, and driving home from work, and stress free,
being able to walk where you like …umm… and just generally the
freedom.

I’m always going to live in the country, it’s very relaxing and I
can’t see myself going back to a town.