June 2018
THAMES EXAMINATIONS
LEVEL SEVEN
SECTION A : READING 2 Parts (20 marks)
SECTION B : WRITING 2 Parts (20 marks)
SECTION C : ENGLISH USAGE 2 Parts (20 marks)
2.5 HOURS
Please answer ALL the questions
Please use CAPITAL LETTERS
Family name
First name
Date of birth
Candidate number Town
DO NOT START UNTIL THE INVIGILATOR TELLS YOU TO
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THAMES EXAMINATIONS Level Seven 2018 Page 1
SECTION A: READING
Part 1
10 marks
LEONARDO THE BEETLE
A newly discovered type of beetle has been named after Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio. Leonardo has always been interested in protecting the environment, so in recognition of his support, members of a scientific expedition to Malaysia called the new species of beetle ‘Grouvellinus leonardodicaprioi’. The trip to Malaysia was funded by the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, which is a charity set up twenty years ago by the movie star. The Leonardo beetle was discovered at the bottom of a waterfall in Maliau Basin, which is a huge nature reserve in one of the world’s oldest rainforests. According to Dr Iva Njunjic, a member of the expedition team, ‘Grouvellinus leonardodicaprioi’ is tiny and black. Unlike Leonardo it will not win any prizes for personality or good looks. However, in terms of wildlife documentation and conservation, the discovery of any new animal is both exciting and significant. Leonardo clearly approves of the beetle being named after him because he changed his Facebook profile photo to one of the beetle. Interestingly, a new type of moth, which is an insect similar to a butterfly, was named after Donald Trump, the President of the USA. This was because the moth has long yellow hairs on its head, which scientists thought looked like those of the famous businessman and politician. Leonardo DiCaprio and Donald Trump are not the only famous people to have insects named after them. A small water fly, found in Puerto Rico, was named after the singer and actress Jennifer Lopez. Scientists decided to honour her in this way because her songs cheered them up when they were working in difficult conditions. Other celebrities who have animals named after them are Beyoncé Knowles and Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II’s son. The former had a type of fly named after her, while the latter gave his name to a species of frog.
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THAMES EXAMINATIONS Level Seven 2018 Page 2
Decide if these 10 sentences are TRUE or FALSE, according to the text. The first one is an example.
TRUE FALSE 0 The text is about movies.
1 DiCaprio recently became interested in environmental protection.
2 ‘Grouvellinus leonardodicaprioi’ was discovered in Malaysia.
3 The expedition to Malaysia was paid for by scientists.
4 ‘Grouvellinus leonardodicaprioi’ was found in a rainforest.
5 The new type of beetle is large.
6 Dr Iva Njunjic suggests that ‘Grouvellinus leonardodicaprioi’ is not good looking.
7 The discovery of the new beetle is of little importance.
8 Donald Trump named a moth after himself.
9 Scientists named flies after Beyoncé Knowles and Jennifer Lopez.
10 A frog was named after Queen Elizabeth II.
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THAMES EXAMINATIONS Level Seven 2018 Page 3
SECTION A: READING
Part 2
10 marks
CATS WITH JOBS
Cats are usually regarded as pets who spend most of their time eating and sleeping. However, some cats in the UK and other parts of Europe have been known to have jobs and even a uniform. In 1868, for example, three cats were employed by a London post office to catch some particularly destructive mice. The cats were paid one shilling (€0.05) a week and performed their job so well that the use of cats spread to other post offices in the UK. According to the National Postal Museum, the most popular post office cat ever was called Tibs. He was born in November 1950 and weighed 10.4 kilos. Tibs lived on the ground floor of the main post office in Central London and during his fourteen-year employment, he ensured that no mice were in the building. In the 1870s, the Belgian postal service experimented with giving cats the job of delivering mail. It was thought that they would be good at delivering post as cats generally have a well-developed sense of direction. The Belgian cats were taken from villages around the city of Liège and a bag containing mail was tied to each of them. Although all the cats eventually returned, the postal service in Belgium concluded that using them to deliver mail was unwise as the majority took a long time to do their work while some got lost. Working dogs have long been used by police forces, but not cats. This changed in 2016, however, when the police service in Durham, in Northern England, employed a cat called Mittens. He lived at a police station, where his job was to make the police officers happy. Since then, two more cats, called Oscar and Smokey, have been given jobs at police stations in the towns of Huddersfield and Skegness. A spokesperson for Skegness police station says, “being a police officer can be fast-paced and stressful, so when we take a break, we relax for a few minutes with Smokey”.
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THAMES EXAMINATIONS Level Seven 2018 Page 4
Choose the best answer (A, B or C), according to the text. Then put your answers in the box at the bottom of the page. The first one is an example.
0. Which is correct? A. The text is about horses. B. The text is about dogs. C. The text is about cats.
1. Which is correct? A. The three London post office cats were destructive. B. The three London post office cats were unpaid. C. The three London post office cats were good workers.
2. Which is correct? A. Tibs lived and worked at the National Postal Museum. B. Tibs was paid one shilling (€0.05) a week. C. Tibs worked for 14 years at the main post office in Central London.
3. Which is correct? A. The Belgian postal service successfully used cats. B. The Belgian postal service cats were mostly ineffective. C. Most of the Belgian postal service cats were never seen again.
4. Which is correct? A. The Durham police service used working cats before 2016. B. Mittens was employed to make police officers happy. C. Mittens lived at a police station in Skegness.
5. Which is correct? A. Smokey works at Skegness police station. B. Oscar and Smokey were employed before 2016. C. Working with the police can be stressful for cats.
0 1 2 3 4 5 C
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THAMES EXAMINATIONS Level Seven 2018 Page 5
SECTION B: WRITING
Part 1
10 marks
Choose ONE of the composition titles below and write about 200 words.
1. You have decided to enter a short story competition organised by an online magazine for young people. The competition rules state that your story must begin or end with the following words:
I was sure that I had seen them somewhere before.
2. Your class has recently had a discussion about travelling abroad. Your teacher has now asked you to write an essay on the advantages and disadvantages of travelling to other countries.
3. At school, you recently studied the topic of teenage problems. Write an article for an international student website in which you discuss some of the problems experienced by teenagers and suggest possible solutions.
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THAMES EXAMINATIONS Level Seven 2018 Page 6
Write the question number in the box:
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THAMES EXAMINATIONS Level Seven 2018 Page 7
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THAMES EXAMINATIONS Level Seven 2018 Page 8
SECTION B: WRITING
Part 2
10 marks
You see this advert on an English language website for young people:
WIN A NEW LAPTOP COMPUTER!
We are giving away five new laptop computers.
Send a letter of about 150 words to the address below, in which you introduce yourself and explain why you would like to have a new laptop computer.
The Editor English International PO Box 100 London WC1A 4WW United Kingdom
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THAMES EXAMINATIONS Level Seven 2018 Page 9
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THAMES EXAMINATIONS Level Seven 2018 Page 10
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THAMES EXAMINATIONS Level Seven 2018 Page 11
SECTION C: ENGLISH USAGE
Part 1
10 marks
Complete each sentence, using the words given, so that it has the same meaning as the original sentence. The first one is an example.
0. Linda likes coffee, but she doesn’t like tea. Linda likes coffee. However, she doesn’t like tea.
1. “I should have worked harder at school”, said John. John regretted
2. Jane came first in both Maths and Physics. Not only
3. We hired a rental car for our holiday, but we didn’t need to. We needn’t
4. The hair salon in the town centre cut Maria’s hair. Maria had
5. “I’ll post the letter for you tomorrow”, said Tony. Tony offered
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THAMES EXAMINATIONS Level Seven 2018 Page 12
SECTION C: ENGLISH USAGE
Part 2
10 marks
Complete the text below using the correct form of the word in brackets. Write your answers in the box. The first one is an example.
SIMONE BILES
Simone Biles is a young and famous (0) _____ (America) sports star. She was the (1) ______(win) of the most (2) ______(individuality) gold medals at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Having won a total of nineteen Olympic and World (3) ______(champion) medals, Biles is the most successful (4) _____ (gymnastics) from the USA. Simone was born in Columbus, Ohio, on 14th March 1997. As both of her parents were drug and alcohol (5) ______(addiction), Simone was raised by her grandparents. At the age of six, Simone started doing gymnastics. She was so (6) ______(talent) that her coach wrote a letter to her grandparents encouraging them to let Simone have extra gymnastics lessons. Simone was so full of (7) ______(determine) that she (8) ______(quick) made progress. After performing extremely well at (9) ______(nation) level, she started (10) ______(compete) overseas.
Answers:
0 American 1 6 2 7 3 8 4 9 5 10
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