Myenglishtutorhk.Com Level 6 Mock Paper 23 (Answers)

MyEnglishTutorHK.com Level 6 Mock Paper 23 (Answers)

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Section 1 Comprehension I

Read the following article and answer the questions in complete sentences.

The Fastest Man in the World In 2008, the world watched in amazement as the world record for the 100m sprint was shattered at the Beijing Olympic Games by Usain Bolt. Not only was his shoelace untied, but he actually slowed down before he reached the finish line in order to celebrate because he was so far ahead of the other runners. In that moment, everyone knew that a new sporting superstar had arrived on the world stage. How did Bolt arrive at this incredible moment? The sprinter was born in Jamaica on 21st August 1986. He spent much more time playing football and cricket than doing his schoolwork. His talent was spotted early on, and he was coached by former Olympic sprinter Pablo McNeil. Although Bolt’s playful personality was occasionally frustrating to McNeil, the two worked well together. By the time of the World Junior Championships in 2002, Bolt was fifteen years old and nearly two metres tall. He won the 200m race and soon started to become a celebrity in his native Jamaica. However, fame had a price. Bolt began to neglect his training, deciding instead to eat, drink and party. His natural talent kept him going, but he was not reaching his potential. In 2005, however, a new coach, Glen Mills, helped to get Bolt on the road to success. Mills worked hard to make his student more disciplined and committed to the sport, as well as to improve his technique, and sure enough Bolt began to do better than ever before. After years of steady improvement, Bolt first broke the 100m world record in New York in May 2008, helped slightly by a tail wind. It seemed like things could not get any better, but just a few months later, at the Beijing Olympics, Bolt did it again, completing the race in 9.69 seconds with no tail wind at all and instantly becoming an international celebrity superstar. Since the 2008 Olympics, Bolt has gone on to break more records, but it will be this performance in Beijing that will go down in history as the most crucial moment of his career. He remains the fastest man in the world, and is perhaps the most characterful person ever to hold this title.

1. In what TWO ways does the first paragraph suggest that Bolt’s success at the Beijing Olympic Games was surprising?

It was surprising because his shoelace was untied and he slowed down before he reached the finish

line.

2. What does the word “shattered” in line 1 mean? a. lost b. broken c. measured d. won

3. Did Bolt work hard at his academic studies? Give one reason to support your answer.

No, he didn’t work hard at his academic studies. This is because he spent more time playing

football and cricket.

4. What does “the two” in line 9 refer to?

“The two” in line 9 refers to Usain Bolt and Pablo McNeil.

5. Which phrase suggests that there was a negative side to Bolt’s celebrity status?

“However, fame had a price.”

6. Give TWO consequences of Bolt hiring Glen Mills as his coach.

He made Bolt become more committed to the sport and improved his technique.

(more disciplined / began to do better than ever before.)

7. Which of the following statements is FALSE? a. Usain Bolt was always deeply committed to his sport. b. Bolt achieved fame in his homeland and then around the world. c. Glen Mills was coaching Bolt at the height of his success. d. Bolt broke a world record twice in 2008.

Section 2 Comprehension II

Confession by Bruce Lansky

I have a brief confession that I would like to make. If I don’t get it off my chest I’m sure my heart will break. I didn’t do my reading. I watched TV instead— while munching cookies, cakes, and chips and cinnamon raisin bread. I didn’t wash the dishes. I didn’t clean the mess. Now there are roaches eating crumbs— a million, more or less. I didn’t turn the TV off. I didn’t shut off the light. Just think of all the energy I wasted through the night. I feel so very guilty. I did a lousy job. I hope my students don’t find out that I am such a slob.

Give short answers to the following questions. 1. Why has the speaker chosen to 'confess'?

He feels guilty.

2. Name three things that the speaker confesses to.

Not doing his reading, not doing the dishes and leaving the light on.

3. True or false: each stanza is the same length in lines.

True.

4. What is surprising about the end of the poem?

We find out it’s a teacher speaking

5. 'I feel so very guilty' means:

He feels bad for what has done.

6. Section 3 Prepositions

Fill in the blanks with the correct preposition. (10%)

Life is dangerous (1) an astronaut, but Nick had dreamed about 1. for going into space ever since he was little. At school, he loved the lessons about space, and he used to point (2) all the different 2. out stars to his parents. One day, someone mentioned (3) him that 3. to he should go to astronaut school, and so he took the entrance test and passed! All (4) his childhood he had always wanted to 4. through sit (5) the pilot’s seat on a spaceship, to slip the space helmet 5. in (6) his head, and now he had a chance. He even felt that being an astronaut was the key (7) his happiness. He put (8) his best 6. over clothes for the first day at the school, and when he arrived he 7. to

was greeted by Stephen, the man in charge, who provided him 8. on (9) an ID card. 9. with

Section 4 Tenses

Fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the given verbs. (10%)

First of all, Nick (1. lead) into the main hall by the man in 1. was led charge, whose name was Stephen. There, he (2. sit) with all the other new recruits. Earlier, Nick (3. give) a leaflet, so he read it 2. sat

while he waited. It was full of information about space, and 3. had been given how people (4. use to think) that it was impossible to get into space, but now it happened all the time! Apparently, Nick read, 4. need to think soon tourists (5. go) into space on special aircraft. Nick felt 5. would go disappointed that he wasn’t a tourist, but also glad that he (6. train) as a pilot for many years. ‘Now I (7. to fly) through 6. had been trained

space!’ Nick said to himself. The man next to him turned round 7. will fly and (8. ask) Nick ‘Are you new too?’ The man (9. shake) 8. asked Nick’s hand and said he (10. call) Henry. 9. shook 10. was called

Section 5 Suffixes

Change the words in brackets by adding a suffix to the base of the word. (8%)

From the moment they met, Nick knew that he was going to 1. lovable like Henry. He was a very (1. love) man, and always friendly. Nick and Henry found the first weeks of astronaut school very 2. flammable

difficult. They had to do safety exercises with (2. flame) 3. scientists material – if something caught fire in space it would be fatal! They also had to go to lots of classes with (3. people who do 4. engineers science) to understand chemicals, and with (4. people who do 5. commander engineering) to understand the spacecraft. They also listened to a talk by the (5. person who commands) of a space ship who 6. valuable had been in space before. Nick was excited to ask him 7. enjoyable questions, and the man had lots of (6. value) advice about living 8. sensible in space. Although it was hard, Nick and Henry found it (7. enjoy). They knew that they would do well at astronaut school as long as they were (8. sense).

Section 6 Vocabulary

Write the correct word from the definition given in the text. (8%)

After the first few weeks, Nick knew his way around the whole 1. wander school. It was quite a big building. He liked to (1) through the corridors, walking aimlessly until he found someone to talk to. 2. pianist Usually, he walked with Henry, who was his best friend. Henry 3. orchestra said that he never thought about becoming an astronaut until recently, he had always wanted to be a (2), because he was 4. conductor

talented at the piano. He had been part of an (3) once, playing 5. musician along with all the other instruments, but the (4), the person who directed all the musicians, wasn’t a nice man and Henry thought 6. enjoyable he was too strict because he made him play the piano for hours. 7. furniture Nick thought he would be a good (5), but he didn’t know what 8. visible instrument he would play. Besides, going into space sounded much more (6), a really fun activity. He told Henry how all the (7) on space ships, the tables and chairs, had to be secured to the floor, or they might float away! Every day, he saw the space ship that was (8) from the window, you could see it from the school. Nick wished he could go into space right away.

Section 7 The Passive Voice

Change the infinitive verbs to the passive voice. (9%)

As Nick got further towards completing their training, he 1. faced (1.face) harder and harder challenges. To check that Nick (2.not crush) by enormous forces when he went into space, he (3.put) 2. would not be crushed

in a huge machine where he (4.spin around) really fast. 3. was put Afterwards, Nick felt very sick, but he had passed the test. When he had visited theme parks as a child, he (5.not scare) by 4. was spun around any of the roller coasters, but the huge machine was a bit too 5. had not been scared much! Nick also had to do lots of exercise. He (6.wake up) by 6. was woken up the team leader at 5am every morning and then he (7.leave) in the cold morning air to complete circuits of an assault course 7. was left until 8am. Although it was tough, Nick got through the 8. will be made challenge by saying to himself, ‘I (8.make) stronger by this experience eventually’ and focused on his goal to get into 9. had been told space. When he had asked how much more training there was to do, he (9.tell) that he would be able to fly a simulated shuttle within a month!

Section 8 Proofreading There is one mistake on each line. Circle the mistakes and write your corrections in the blanks underneath. (10%)

1. The next few months went pass very quickly, and Nick was calling his 1. past 2. parents to say ‘I and Henry will be flying into space on the next mission’. 2. Henry and I 3. His parents were very happy, and told to him that they were very proud. 3. to 4. Before he flew off in the space ship, Nick wanted to go to home to 4. to 5. say goodbye to his families because he would not see them for a very 5. family 6. long time. His mum was quite upsad about it; she didn’t want him 6. upset 7. to leave. When the day came, Nick put on his space suit, which had a ‘N’ 7. an 8. for Nick on the front. The ship filled with fuel by technicians. 8. was ^ 9. Henry very looked nervous, but Nick was full of excitement. He had 9. looked very been waiting his whole life for this moment.

Section 9 Gerunds and Infinitive forms

Fill in the blanks with the gerund or infinitive form of the words below. (10%)

die see cheer calm take cry read encourage go tremble

When Nick, Henry and the other astronauts walked into the 1. cheering spaceship, the (1) was very loud. The technicians and the teachers from the school were happy for Nick and Henry. They 2. seeing loved (2) their pupils go into space. Nick’s mother had (3) with 3. to cry pride, and his father apologised for not (4) him more. Henry could not stop (5), so Nick asked if he was alright. Henry said 4. encouraging he was very nervous, but excited at the same time. He 5. trembling remembered (6) about people who had died in space because it was very dangerous, and he didn’t want (7)! Nick kept (8) him 6. reading down by reminding him of all the training they had done, and 7. to die how much they looked forward to (9) into space. Henry had 8. calming (10) some very deep breaths. 9. going

10. to take

Section 10 Relative Pronouns

Choose the right relative pronoun from the list below to fit into the gaps in the story. (9%)

At the time (1) the spaceship was ready to take off, the fear (2) Nick had been feeling melted away. He held on to the controls 1. when and pressed the right buttons, without (3) they would not be 2. which able to take off, and before long they were in the air! As they got higher and higher, faster and faster, Nick realised why he 3. which had been put in the spinning machine (4) had made him feel so 4. which sick. They were now twenty miles above the surface of the Earth, (5) was higher than Nick or Henry had ever been before, 5. which and they kept on getting higher. After a long time they stopped 6. whose getting higher. The astronaut in charge, (6) name was Peter, spoke to the people on the surface, telling them the exact time 7. when (7) they left the earth’s atmosphere. The emotion that Nick felt 8. where was indescribable — they were in space, a place (8) he had 9. whom been dreaming to go to! Henry, (9) Nick had not heard a word from, finally said ‘that was amazing!’

Section 11 Conditional

Follow the verbs in brackets to fill in the blanks and make the story correct. (8%)

1. If Nick had been too scared, he ______(not go) into space. 1. would not have gone 2. If were Nick, I ______(feel) terrified. 2. would feel 3. If you work hard, you ______(be able) to achieve your dream, just like Nick. 3. will be able to 4. If I ______(have) more courage, I would be an astronaut. 4. had 5. Nick’s mother ______(cry) if he does not come home 5. will cry from space. 6. If Nick ______(not complete) the training at astronaut 6. had not completed school, he would not have been able to go into space. 7. would have been 7. It ______(be) a shame if Nick had not gone into space. 8. Peter said, ‘If you want to explore the spaceship, you 8. will have to ask ______(have to ask) me first.

Section 12 Articles and Nouns

Fill in the blanks below with either ‘the’, ‘a’, ‘an’ or ‘X’ to make the story correct. (10%)

1. the Nick flew the spaceship with (1) Earth below him. Peter, who was (2) most experienced astronaut on the ship, had seen the 2. the

planet from (3) space a lot of times, but he said that it was 3. X always (4) amazing experience. Nick, Henry and the rest of the astronauts on the ship were going to stay for (5) two months on 4. an (6) International Space Station so they could do (7) experiments 5. X in space. Nick was (8) real astronaut now, and although he would miss (9) home, he was starting (10) new adventure. 6. the 7. X 8. a 9. X 10. a

Section 13 Adjectives and Adverbs

Turn the words in brackets into an adjective or an adverb. (8%)

As they approached the space station, Nick (1. careful) slowed 1. carefully his ship so it could be attached (2. proper), and the astronauts could go (3. safe) into the space station. The space station was 2. properly quite small, smaller than Nick thought it would be, and Peter 3. safely said there were only five people living there, and even then it felt (4. crowd)! When Nick stepped inside, he saw lots of (5. 4. crowded shine) equipment and (6. new) cleaned floors. Peter explained 5. shining that the space station needed to be very clean – if someone got ill in space, it was difficult to cure. Nick was (7. nerve) about 6. newly living in space, but he was also excited. He wondered what (8. 7. nervous amaze) adventures he would have! 8. amazing