End-of-term Exam 2010 (Advanced)
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READING
A changing city
1 For centuries Beijing has been the promised land of China. Originally a walled bastion for emperors and officials, it remains a majestic political and arquitectural marvel. Today, people from the countryside still flock to the city in search of the elusive pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The government encourages them to go home, but the lure of the capital proves too enticing. Meanwhile, down the road by the Friendship Store, smartly dressed customers clutching mobile phones head for the nearest banquet or disco.
2 Perhaps nowhere else in China more than in Beijing is the generation gap more visible. Appalled by the current drive to �modernise�, many older people still wax euphoric about Chairman Mao and the years of sacrifice for the socialist revolution. But most youngsters disdain socialist sacrifice and are more interested -like youngsters everywhere - in money, motorbikes, fashion, video games and rock music (though not necessarily in that order).
3 Foreigners seem to enjoy Beijing since the city offers so much to see and do. Things have changed drastically in the last ten years or so. The Beijing of today is a�forest of construction cranes, bulldozers and 24-hour work crews scrambling to build the new China. Plush shopping malls and five-star hotels rise from the rubble. A good number of the road signs and advertising billboards are now in English. Whatever one says about Beijing today, it probably won't be true tomorrow. The city is changing so rapidly it makes you dizzy. Travelers of the 1980s remember Beijing as a city of narrow lanes with single-story homes built around courtyards. These have given way to the high-rise housing estates of the 1990s. TV sets and washing machines - unimaginable luxuries in the 1980s - are now commonplace. Whereas bicycles and ox carts were the main form of transport a decade ago, both are prohibited on the new freeways and toll roads that now encompass the city. Whereas not so long ago every one wore the Chairman Mao suit, now jeans and T-shirts, leather jackets and suits are the norm.
4 Whatever impression you come away with, Beijing is one of the most fascinating places in China. It may be something of a showcase, but which capital city isn�t? Within its environs you will find some of China�s most stunning sights -the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace and the Great Wall, to name just a few. The city itself offers so much of interest that the main complaint of most visitors is that they simply run out of time before seeing it all.
1. Read the text and�tick the�statements which REFLECT�the author�s view. ( do not tick the�ones which do not�reflect the author's view)�
a)��� Beijing has the same attraction today that it has always had for the people of China.
b)��� These days, people in Beijing have the same aspirations as people anywhere else.
c)� It�s hard to keep up with the pace of change in modem Beijing. d)� Beijing has been completely ruined by modernisation.
e)�� Life in Beijing is more comfortable materially than it was in the 1980s.
2. Read the text again and say if these statements are true or false. Then correct the false ones by writing them in the spaces provided below each statement.
1. Beijing�s government cannot stop people from Chine to come to the city in search of a better life. TrueFalse
VOCABULARY
3. Match the words with their definitions
1. not damaged in character or atmosphere abcde
a. the heart
2. peaceful abcde
b. vast
3. energetic and noisy, full of life abcde
c. unspoilt
4. the centre abcde
d. bustling
5. extremely large abcde
e. tranquil
4. Complete the sentences with one word
1. The shops are all side by along the main street.
2. Most of the buildings in the centre are really old and falling apart. It�s very .
3. The bus was jammed with people, absolutely .
4. �So is it easy to find?� �No, it�s way off the track in the countryside.�
5. You can see right across the bay from the house. The views are .
GRAMMAR
5. Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb in brackets
1. �What are you doing this weekend?� �I�m thinking of �(go) to Barcelona.�
2. How can you afford �(buy) the tickets?
3. I bought the tickets on the Internet. I can�t imagine �(go) to a travel agent now.
4. I want to try and avoid �(travel) on Friday evening when there�s loads of traffic.
5. I can�t stand �(be) stuck in traffic.
6. I adore� �(go) to the park in the spring.
7. I must insist on �(pay) for the meal.
6. Correct the mistake in each sentence by typing in the correct version in the space privided below each statement
1. I was trying persuading Jane to come, but she says she can�t.
5. I�m really looking forward to have a break.
7. Complete the sentences with one word
1. What would you to do, go to the cinema or to the theatre?
2. I�d go to the cinema than see a play.
3. It�s nothing as expensive as it looks.
4. That restaurant�s nowhere as nice as it used to be.
5. Don�t you think it�s �easier to get the bus than the underground?
6. The more you see of the city, the you�ll like it.
8. Complete the second sentences so that they have a similar meaning to the first
1. I thought he would be a little taller.
He�s not as tall as I had imagined him to be.
2. I would prefer to walk than get the bus.
I�d sooner walk get the bus.
3. There really isn�t any difference between them.
They�re the same.
4. I advise you to finish your homework now.
I think you�re better finishing your homework now.
5. Instead of ordering the fish, why don�t you try the salad?
than ordering the fish, why don�t you try the salad?
