ASOCIACIÓN ROSARINA DE CULTURA INGLESA

ADULTS 4

Progress Test 1 (FILES 1-2-3)

I) READING COMPREHENSION.

A RADICAL TRANSPORT SYSTEM

I- As one of the world’s fastest growing economies, there has been a huge increase in
China’s urban population. With so many more people also able to afford cars, China’s
cities now suffer from traffic congestion and produce more pollution than any other
country in the world.

II- But one Chinese engineer, Youzhou Song, has designed an exciting solution: the
straddling bus (a bus which goes across and above part of the road, like a moving bridge).
This bus, which looks like a train, holds passengers on the top level while cars can
continue to drive beneath. The bus, travelling at about 40 kilometres an hour, will not
move as fast as a car, but it will never have the problems of traffic jams. It is as wide as
two lanes of the road, but it won’t slow down the traffic. It can carry 1,400 passengers –
the maximum seat capacity for each vehicle, and replace up to 40 conventional buses,
saving 860 tons of fuel and 2,640 tons of carbon emissions per year. As it also runs on a
combination of electricity and solar power, it offers a much greener, cleaner, quieter and
more economical form of transport. It is also three times faster and ten times cheaper to
build than the same length of underground railway. Designed with a huge window at the
top of the bus, it is also a lighter and more cheerful way to travel!

III- Youzhou Song has thought of everything. The bus will follow fixed routes and
passengers will board the bus from stations above the ground. These stations will also
recharge the bus with electricity. If you’re worried about the bus crashing into other
vehicles, don’t be. A system of lights and alarms will stop this from happening. Youzhou
Song has even designed escape doors which open at the side in an emergency, just like on
an aeroplane.

IV- If tests on the new technology go well, Song’s company is talking about building over
180 kilometres of bus route. Los Angeles is also interested in this idea for solving traffic
problems and, who knows? We may all be looking forward to a new era of elevated bus
travel!

A) Choose the correct alternative: a), b), or c).

1- The text suggests that travel congestion is the result of...

a) the development of the Chinese economy.
b) the fact that there are more cars on the roads.
c) the fact that every person owns their own car.
d) the inexistence of other efficient transport facilities.

2- The new bus

a) travels more slowly than a car.

b) is faster than a train.
c) is as fast as a car.
d) is more expensive to build than the underground.
3- The straddling bus
a) will be a bit dark inside.
b) will help cut down pollution.
c) will not be as safe as underground transport.
d) will only depend on solar energy

4 - The bus will...

a) have five different escape doors. a predetermined path.
b) not be well-prepared in case of an emergency.
c) stop wherever people asks
d) have a predetermined path.

5- The bus will get electricity from

a) the ground
b) the routes
c) the stations
d) the wind

B) Read the following text about Aaron Levie, an unusual multi-millionaire, and complete the
gaps (1-5) with a sentence A-G. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.
Aaron Levie loves to eat tinned spaghetti, drives a six-year-old car, and has business meetings at
a takeaway. He lives in an ordinary apartment, doesn’t take holidays and, at the age of 27, says
his biggest luxury is his smartphone. 6)___. However, as co-founder and CEO of Box, a
successful IT company, he is worth about $100 million. And he works very hard for his money:
most days, he does not leave the office until after midnight. ‘I work so many hours because I
love what I do. I’m incredibly excited about the business,’ says Levie.
When Levie and his childhood friend Dylan Smith started their company in 2005, they had not
even finished their university degrees. Box grew fast because it offered a better way of storing
data, and soon they had contracts with many of the biggest companies in the USA. Like most
new businesses, Box did not bring in much income at the start. Levie paid himself a salary of
only $500 a month, and lived off tinned spaghetti and instant noodles. 7)___. Sometimes he
even slept there too.
When Box began, Levie and Smith looked for funding. 8)___. For that reason, nobody wanted
to risk lending them money. They wrote letter after letter but could not find any investors.
Eventually, a well-known entrepreneur called Mark Cuban agreed to put money into Box. Once
he had decided to do that, others followed and the business grew quickly.
 That was eight years ago. Now, Box has grown a lot and so have its profits, making Levie a
multi-millionaire. 9)___ But Levie says that it doesn’t interest him. ‘I’m certainly not into
money. I don’t live in the office – now I have an apartment six minutes’ drive away – but there
is no enormous house in the hills.’ 10)___ Otherwise, he has lunch meetings in burger bars.
‘And I still really like tinned spaghetti. I’d be happy if I had it every day!’

A) Back in 2005, cloud storage was quite a new idea.

B) His success in business has brought him an enormous amount of money.
C) He only goes to expensive restaurants if an important customer wants to eat there.
D) For two and a half years, he spent nearly all his time at his office.
E) If you met him, you probably wouldn’t realise that he is a multi-millionaire.
F) Cloud storage is one of the faster-growing areas of business.

II) CHOOSE THE CORRECT WORDS: A), B), C) OR D) TO FILL IN THE BLANKS IN THIS PASSAGE.

A HOLIDAY THAT CHANGED MY LIFE

In 2015, Victoria Smith was working as a manager at a British chain store when
she went on a working holiday to Borneo to study orang-utans in the wild. ‘I’ve
always been interested in apes,'' says Victoria, ‘so I thought it would be fun.’
The holiday was absolutely (11) __________, and when Victoria came home she
found it very difficult to return to her old life. ‘To be (12) __________, the
problems in the store suddenly seemed so silly!’ Although everybody laughed
(13) __________ her, she decided to go back to (14) __________ university and study biology.
Four years later she became a chimpanzee keeper.

(15) __________ the last two years Victoria has been working at Monkey World, a centre in
south-west England which looks after injured apes rescued from laboratories and circuses all over
the world. She works long hours, and doesn’t (16) __________ much, but she loves it.

‘I’m much happier now. I feel that I’m something important, not just wasting my life.’

11- a) delighted b) good c) interesting d) amazing

12- a) honest b) hard-working c) reliable d) sensible
13- a) about b) to c) at d) of
14- a) a b) the c) --- d) an
15- a) Since b) For c) After d) Until
16- a) earn b) charge c) save d) borrow

III) COMPLETE EACH GAP IN THE TEXT WITH ONE.

Olympic Hopes

Yesterday Eleanor Preston won (17) __________ international competition for girls under
sixteen. She swam faster (18) __________ girls from ten other countries. This sounds even better
when you learn that Eleanor is only thirteen. To enter the competition, she (19) __________ to
get special permission, because normally competitors are fourteen or older.
Eleanor has (20) __________ keen on swimming for a long time – in fact, (21) __________ she
was only three!
 Her aim is to swim at the Olympics. After yesterday’s performance, I think she will get there!

IV) REPHRASE THESE SENTENCES USING THE WORD GIVEN. YOU MUST USE BETWEEN 2 AND 5 WORDS,
INCLUDING THE WORD GIVEN, WHICH MUST NOT BE CHANGED.

22- Shall we go to the new Thai restaurant tonight? ABOUT

How_____________________________ the new Thai restaurant tonight?

23- Steve came back home a few minutes ago. JUST

Steve _____________________________ home.

24- Planes are more expensive than trains. AS

Trains _____________________________ planes.

25- You should eat less fast food. CUT

You should _____________________________ fast food.
V) WRITING.

Task 1

Write about 100 words.

Read this letter from your English-speaking friend Chris and the notes you have made. Write your letter
using all the notes.
Hi

Sorry it’s taken me so long to write back. I’ve had lots of things
to do – how about you?
Tell Chris
It’s great to hear that you can come to the new sports centre
with me. I’ll be free all next weekend. Let me know the best
time for you.
Say when It’s got both an indoor pool and an outdoor one with a café.
Which would you prefer to go to?

Should we do anything else? There’s an athletics track and also Explain

tennis, badminton and squash, or there’s a cinema next door.
Suggest
Bye for now,
Chris

Task 2
Write 100 words:

Articles wanted!
BEING HEALTHY
Write an article about young people and healthy living. Is it
important for young people to do sport and to keep fit? Why?
What are some fun ways to stay healthy?

The best articles answering these questions will be published next month.