June 2012
THAMES EXAMINATIONS
LEVEL FIVE SECTION A : READING
2 Parts (20 marks)
SECTION B : WRITING
2 Parts (20 marks)
SECTION C : ENGLISH USAGE
2 Parts (20 marks)
2 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 Five 2012
Page 1
SECTION A: READING Part 1 10 marks SWEET AS HONEY Honey has formed part of the human diet for nearly 10,000 years. Until the discovery of sugar, it was the only thing that could be used to make food taste sweeter. According to the United Kingdom Honey Association, British people buy over thirty million kilograms of honey every year. However, only ten per cent of it is produced in the United Kingdom. In 2010, twenty-eight million kilograms of honey were imported into the country, most of which came from outside the European Union. According to Patrick Robinson, a spokesperson for the United Kingdom’s largest honey packaging company, Rowse Ltd, “Argentina, Brazil, Australia, Mexico, Thailand and New Zealand are all big producers of honey. The biggest, however, is China.” Although Chinese honey is very cheap, it is not always of the best quality. The most expensive honey is called Manuka, which comes from the flowers that grow on wild Manuka trees in New Zealand. Manuka honey contains many important vitamins and is considered to be a ‘super food’ as it helps the body to repair itself. Because of this and the fact that it is quite rare, it is very expensive. A jar of Manuka honey may cost over twenty Euros. Patrick Robinson says, “Manuka honey is expensive because it only comes from one source – a tree, which only grows in a particular part of one country. Even though some honeys are expensive and others are cheap, there is no such thing as bad honey. It just has a different colour, texture and flavour.”
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THAMES EXAMINATIONS
Level Five 2012
Page 2
Decide if these 10 sentences are TRUE or FALSE, according to the text. The first one is an example.
TRUE
0 The text is about honey. 1 People have eaten honey for almost ten thousand years.
2 Each year, British people buy more than 30 million kilograms of honey.
3 People in the United Kingdom buy most of their honey from the European Union.
4 Rowse Ltd is a big producer of honey. 5 China is the world’s largest producer of honey. 6 Chinese honey is always of a high quality. 7 Manuka honey is not very expensive. 8 Manuka trees grow in New Zealand. 9 Manuka honey is thought to help the body to repair itself.
10 Patrick Robinson thinks that some honeys are bad.
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FALSE
THAMES EXAMINATIONS
Level Five 2012
Page 3
SECTION A: READING Part 2 10 marks LIVES OF THE SUPER RICH Last year, Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan of the Abu Dhabi royal family decided to have his name cut into the ground on his private island. If you were to fly over the small island of Al Futaisi, in the Arabian Gulf, you would see the name ‘Hamad’ in large capital letters. The super rich Sheikh paid almost fourteen million pounds for the five letters, which are over five kilometres wide and one kilometre high. According to the American business magazine Forbes, there are now a record 1,210 billionaires worldwide. The richest person in the world is Carlos Slim Helú, a Mexican who has a personal wealth of over forty-six billion dollars. However, unlike Mr Slim, many of these billionaires are spending enormous amounts of money on themselves rather than sharing it with the less fortunate. Russian businessman, Andrey Melnichenko, recently spent two hundred million pounds on a gigantic yacht. It has many rooms, including several bathrooms with solid gold taps costing £25,000 each. Another Russian, Roman Abramovich, who is the owner of Chelsea Football Club, also has a yacht. His, however, is the largest in the world. Named Eclipse, it is reported to have cost one billion pounds. Dacher Keltner, who is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, says that, “over the last thirty years, we have become more selfish. A study we did recently showed that, on average, the rich give away 2.7 per cent of their income, while those with less money give away 4.2 per cent.” Keltner also claims that the more money a person gives away, the happier and healthier they are and the longer they might live: “Just imagine how long they could live if they gave away a few billion pounds!”
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THAMES EXAMINATIONS
Level Five 2012
Page 4
Choose the best answer (A, B or C), according to the text. Then put your answers in the box below. The first one is an example.
0. Which of the following statements is correct? A. The text is about very rich people. B. The text is about islands. C. The text is about yachts.
√
1. Which of the following statements is correct? A. Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan owns the Arabian Gulf. B. Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan has a private island. C. Al Futaisi is five kilometres long and one kilometre high. 2. Which of the following statements is correct? A. There are 1,210 millionaires in the world. B. Carlos Slim Helú is from America. C. Carlos Slim Helú is the world’s wealthiest person. 3. Which of the following statements is correct? A. Andrey Melnichenko owns a yacht called Eclipse. B. Roman Abramovich owns Chelsea Football Club. C. Andrey Melnichenko’s yacht cost £25,000. 4. Which of the following statements is correct? A. According to Dacher Keltner, people have become less generous. B. According to Dacher Keltner, rich people give away the most money. C. Dacher Keltner did a study on rich people, which lasted thirty years. 5. Which of the following statements is correct? A. Keltner says that more generous people could live longer. B. Keltner says that rich people tend to be happier and healthier. C. Keltner says that we should all give away a few billion pounds. ANSWERS:
0 A
1
2
3
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4
5
THAMES EXAMINATIONS
Level Five 2012
Page 5
SECTION B: WRITING Part 1 10 marks Choose ONE of the composition titles below and write 120-150 words.
1. Write about what you would do if you won â‚Ź 100,000.
2. Describe a television programme that you often watch.
3. Write about someone you know who has done something special. For example, they may have won a prize, appeared in a newspaper or on television, or represented your country.
4. Describe some of the ways in which your school could help its pupils and teachers to become fitter and healthier.
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THAMES EXAMINATIONS
Level Five 2012
Write the number of your composition here:
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THAMES EXAMINATIONS
Level Five 2012
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THAMES EXAMINATIONS
Level Five 2012
Page 8
SECTION B: WRITING Part 2 10 marks You have just received the email below from your British keypal. Write a reply using 120-150 words.
Hi ……………….. Thanks for your recent email and the photos of the concert that you went to last month. I hope you won’t mind answering some questions that I have about it: � � � � � � � �
Who is the singer in your photos? Is this person very famous in your country? Why do you like this person? When and where did the concert take place? How did you get there? Who did you go with? What did you do while you were there? Would you like to be a famous singer? Why/why not?
Well, hope to hear from you soon. Best wishes to you and your family. Sam
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THAMES EXAMINATIONS
Level Five 2012
Write your reply here:
Hi Sam Thanks for your email.
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THAMES EXAMINATIONS
Level Five 2012
Continued……
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THAMES EXAMINATIONS
Level Five 2012
Page 11
SECTION C: ENGLISH USAGE Part 1 10 marks Choose the BEST answer to complete each sentence. Put your answers in the box below. The first one is an example.
0. By the end of this year,
here for five years.
A. I live
C. I’ll be living
B. I’m living
D. I’ll have been living 1.
enough money to repay my brother by the end
of next month. A. I’ll earn
B. I’ll have earned
C. I’ll earning
D. I’ll have earning 2. Daniella asked me whether she A. could borrow
my car.
B. borrows
C. can to borrow
D. will borrowing 3. The electricity A. switched
back on later today. B. will be switch
C. will switching
D. will be switched 4. It was obvious that Tony
too hard.
A. was been working
C. had been working
B. had working
D. working
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THAMES EXAMINATIONS
Level Five 2012
5. This time next week, A. I’ll flying
to Canada.
B. I’ll be fly
C. I am fly
6. The robber still A. hasn’t caught
D. I’ll be flying
by the police. B. hasn’t been caught
7. I promise A. not tell
Page 12
C. wasn’t caught
D. caught
anyone your secret. B. not to telling
C. not to tell
D. not telling
8. If I had heard him saying bad things about me, I him to my party. A. wouldn’t have invited
B. wouldn’t inviting
C. not invite
D. won’t have inviting 9. We’re looking forward A. to visit
Italy later this year.
B. visiting
C. visit
D. to visiting
10. Our teacher told us she A. looks
for a new job.
B. looking
C. will looking
Answers: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
D
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D. was looking
THAMES EXAMINATIONS
Level Five 2012
Page 13
SECTION C: ENGLISH USAGE Part 2 10 marks Complete the text below using the most suitable form of the verb in brackets. Write your answers in the box below. The first one is an example. THE 2012 LONDON OLYMPIC GAMES
(award) On 6th July 2005, the International Olympic Committee (0) London the right to host the Games of the Thirtieth Olympiad in 2012. Paris, Madrid, Moscow and New York City also competed, but London (win). In late July 2012, London (2) (become) the (1) (hold) first city ever to host the Games three times. London (3) previous Games in 1908 and 1948. (be) Hosting the Games is expensive. In 2005, the total cost (4) (say) that it around £2 billion. More recently, many people (5) (be) closer to £9 billion. (6) In late July 2012, all of the athletics events, as well as the opening and (take place) in the new Olympic Stadium. closing ceremonies, (7) th Since 15 March 2011, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic (sell) almost eight million tickets. The average price Games (8) (be) £40, which (10) (include) free travel on (9) London’s public transport system for a day. Answers:
0 1 2 3 4 5
awarded
6 7 8 9 10
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