ENGLISH FINAL EXAM B1
NAME:
DATE:
SCORE:
Read the following text about the life of Elvis Presley. For questions 1-5
below, decide which of the options (a, b, or c) is true and write the
answers in the appropriate box. The first question (0) is an example.
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American
singer and actor. A cultural icon, he is commonly known by the single name
Elvis. One of the most popular musicians of the 20th century, he is often
referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or "the King".
Born in Tupelo, Mississippi, Presley moved to Memphis, Tennessee, with his
family at the age of 13. He began his career there in 1954, working with Sun
Records owner Sam Phillips, who wanted to bring the sound of African-
American music to a wider audience. Accompanied by guitarist Scotty Moore
and bassist Bill Black, Presley was the most important popularizer of rockabilly.
RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker,
who went on to manage the singer for over two decades. Presley's first RCA
single, "Heartbreak Hotel”, released in January 1956, was a number-one hit. He
became the leading figure of the newly popular sound of rock and roll with a
series of network television appearances and chart-topping records. His
energized interpretations of songs, many from African-American sources, and
his uninhibited performance style made him enormously popular—and
controversial. In November 1956, he made his film debut in Love Me Tender.
Drafted into military service in 1958, Presley relaunched his recording career
two years later with some of his most commercially successful work. He staged
few concerts however, and, guided by Parker, proceeded to devote much of the
1960s to making Hollywood movies and soundtrack albums, most of them
critically derided.
Presley's only child, Lisa Marie, was born on February 1, 1968, during a period
when he had grown deeply unhappy with his career. In 1968, after seven years
away from the stage, he returned to live performance in a celebrated comeback
television.
Recorded in late June in Burbank, California, the special, called simply Elvis,
aired on December 3, 1968. Later known as the '68 Comeback Special, the
show featured studio productions as well as songs performed with a band in
front of a small audience—Presley's first live performances since 1961. The live
segments saw Presley clad in tight black leather, singing and playing guitar in a
style reminiscent of his early rock-and-roll days. In 1973 Presley staged the first
concert broadcast globally via satellite, Aloha from Hawaii.
Presley's divorce took effect on October 9, 1973. He was now becoming
increasingly unwell. Twice during the year he overdosed on barbiturates,
spending three days in a coma in his hotel suite after the first incident. Toward
the end of 1973, he was hospitalized, because of the effects of Demerol
addiction. Prescription drug abuse severely deteriorated his health, and he died
suddenly in 1977 at the age of 42.
Presley's funeral was held at Graceland, on Thursday, August 18.
Approximately 80,000 people lined the processional route to Forest Hill
Cemetery, where Presley was buried next to his mother. Within a few days,
"Way Down" topped the country and UK pop charts.
Presley is regarded as one of the most important figures of 20th-century popular
culture. He had a versatile voice and unusually wide success encompassing
many genres, including country, pop ballads, gospel, and blues. He is the best-
selling solo artist in the history of popular music. Nominated for 14 competitive
Grammys, he won three, and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement
Award at age 36. He has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame.
1. Elvis Aaron Presley
a) was an American singer born in Memphis, Tennessee.
b) was an American singer and actor known as the ‘King of Rock and Roll’.
c) began his career in Tupelo, Mississippi.
2. Elvis’ manager was
a) Sun Records owner Sam Phillips.
b) Colonel Tom Parker.
c) guitarist Scotty Moore.
3. When Lisa Marie Presley was born
a) Elvis Presley was extremely happy with his career.
b) Elvis Presley staged a lot of concerts.
c) was the year when Elvis Presley recorded ‘The Comeback Special’.
4. Aloha from Hawaii
a) was not a successful concert.
b) was broadcast worldwide.
c) was only aired in the USA.
5. In 1973, his health was deteriorated because of
a) his divorce from Priscilla Presley.
b) the amount of concerts in that year.
c) the effects of Demerol addiction.
6. Elvis Presley
a) only played ‘Rock and Roll’ along his career.
b) encompassed many genres including gospel and blues.
c) won 14 Grammys.
Read the following text about the ‘Social Networks’. Put the phrases (B-H)
in the right place. There are 2 EXTRA PHRASES that you do NOT need to
use. Write your answers in the spaces provided. The first statement (0) is
an example.
SOCIAL NETWORKS
Do you use any of the social networking websites (0)____________________,
the places where you can connect up with friends and relatives and meet
people (1)____________________? If you’re younger you may use MySpace,
young adults are more likely to be found on Facebook and busy professionals
may prefer something like LinkedIn.
But at least two of these sites (2)____________________: apart from being
social spaces where you can meet and chat to people, share photos and other
things, they (3)____________________to the language in the past couple of
years. Let’s take a look at some examples. You can Facebook your holiday
photos (upload them to your Facebook page), Facebook someone to see who
they are (look him up on Facebook), Facebook someone about a party (contact
someone through their Facebook page) and ask permission to Facebook
someone (add them as a Facebook friend).
As you can see, ‘Facebook’ is a pretty versatile word, and you could say the
same about ‘MySpace’, which you will find being used in much the same way all
over the Net.
LinkedIn (being a more adult, professional community) (4)________________.
While you’re ‘Facebooking’ or ‘MySpacing’ you may also find yourself
‘commenting’ (writing a comment on someone’s wall on Facebook or MySpace
page), as in this example: ‘I commented Mary (5)____________________ and
she commented me that she couldn’t because she was going away for the
weekend’.
a) which are so popular these days 0
b) has not been used in the same way 4
c) have all added new verbs and nouns 3
d) have one thing in common 2
e) have proved to be extremely negative with regard
f) that she should come to the pub on Saturday 5
g) who share the same interests as you 1
h) that she was very pretty in the photo
