IGCSE 0510

English As a Second Language

Revision Test
Reading: 30 marks
Writing: 15
Total: 45 marks

Exercise 1

Read the article about a dinosaur expert called Paul Kearney, and then answer the following
questions.A dinosaur expert
Journalist Dee Nicholson meets dinosaur expert Paul Kearney

According to Paul Kearney, he and other dinosaur experts tend to agree

that it’s about 65 million years since what is known as the Age of the
Dinosaurs ended. It started around 215 million years ago, which means it
lasted approximately 150 million years. The end came when a huge
asteroid crashed into Earth and caused a series of natural disasters,
which then led to massive environmental destruction and the
disappearance of most dinosaur species.

Kearney is keen to tell people about the latest thinking on dinosaurs. ‘At
school, I was taught that they were all enormous. That was what everyone used to think. I was also
told they were all stupid,’ he said. ‘But recent studies show something very different. Some were
giants, but many were very small, and lots had large brains.’

I arranged to meet Kearney in a valley in the countryside, where he and two colleagues were
searching for fossils – the remains of dinosaur bones. ‘Most days when we go fossil-hunting, we get
really extreme weather. You’re lucky today,’ he smiled. ‘It’s beautiful.’ He was right, the sky was blue
and the sun warm. ‘Also, the ground here’s quite flat, but we normally go to very rocky locations,’ he
explained.

Kearney has discovered a total of 13 new dinosaur species in the last 20 years. ‘When I first started
fossil-hunting,’ he said, ‘only about 5 previously unknown dinosaur species were found per year, but
it’s around 50 these days. The thing is, fossil-hunting has become much more popular around the
world.’

I asked Kearney if he’d seen the Jurassic Park films. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘I love them, though they’re not
always very accurate. The dinosaurs are all green or brown – and that’s actually what people once
assumed they were like. However, scientists have discovered that many dinosaurs had bright
colours. Also, the Jurassic Park dinosaurs have scaly skin, like crocodiles, because experts used to
think all dinosaurs had skin like that. But the truth is that many were covered in feathers, like birds.
Anyway, the films are excellent entertainment. And the best thing for me is that they inspire many
people to study dinosaurs.’

Kearney told me how scientists are using new technology to make significant advances in dinosaur
studies. ‘Scientists used to think that dinosaurs changed relatively quickly over time,’ he said.
‘However, data shows the opposite was true – dinosaur species changed very little over millions of
years.’ Kearney himself was in charge of a team which used some new evidence to work out how
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certain types of dinosaur interacted with each other. ‘That study finished last year,’ he said, ‘but
we’re beginning a new project next month looking at how dinosaurs moved. And before long, I’ll
also be joining a team which is studying the food that different species ate. There’s so much going
on.’

Kearney thinks the future for dinosaur studies is very bright. ‘I give talks in schools and young
people are very interested in dinosaurs,’ Kearney told me. ‘Many of them learn a lot about
dinosaurs by visiting museums, though I always tell them to learn computer programming if they
are serious about developing their interest into a career as it’s so essential in research.’

A year ago, Kearney decided to write an up-to-date book about dinosaurs. ‘I didn’t want to write a
kids’ book – there are plenty of them already,’ he said. As a parent myself, I knew this to be true.
What I hadn’t expected him to tell me, though, is that hardly any are written for adults. Kearney’s
recently published book, The Story of the Dinosaurs, should help to fill the gap.
1 When did the Age of the Dinosaurs begin?

..................................................................................................................................................... [1]

2 What conditions does Kearney generally work in when he’s looking for dinosaur remains? Give
two details.

..........................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................... [2]

3 How many new species of dinosaur are now discovered each year?

..................................................................................................................................................... [1]

4 What does Kearney like most about the Jurassic Park films?

..................................................................................................................................................... [1]

5 Which two areas of research will Kearney soon start working on? Give two details.

..........................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................... [2]

6 What advice does Kearney give to students who want to become dinosaur experts?

..................................................................................................................................................... [1]

7 What was the writer surprised to find out about dinosaur books?

..................................................................................................................................................... [1]

[Total: 9]
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Exercise 2

Read the article about three people (A–C) who studied journalism at university. Then answer
Question 8 (a)–(h).

Studying journalism
A Ines
When I was considering what to study at university, my parents encouraged me to choose law. They
didn’t think journalism was a good idea, but the mix of practical and academic activities attracted
me. I admit that early in the course I missed a few classes. Some were first thing in the morning,
and some were in the evening, which I found strange because it was very different from school. My
attendance improved, however, and I loved being at university in general. During the course, I was
able to visit parts of the city near the university to interview residents, take photos and write news
stories, and gradually I became an expert on the place – those are some of my best memories.
Since graduating, I’ve worked as a radio producer, a communications manager and now a
marketing manager for a software company. So, I’m not a journalist, but the excellent teachers we
had helped me develop skills that have been very relevant to what I’ve done since then.

B Marta
Maybe I didn’t work as much as some other students during my journalism degree, but I did what
was necessary and I had some great lecturers. We were given projects which involved doing what
real reporters do: investigating and writing about crime, sports and business. I remember one
evening in the university library watching other students writing long essays; I was writing questions
to ask the star player of the biggest football club in the town the following morning. I thought to
myself: ‘It almost seems unfair that I’m doing something so exciting while everyone else is having
such a tough time.’ One of my early plans was to become a sports reporter, then I thought about
doing travel writing. I struggled to make up my mind about what to do, but I eventually became a
media officer for a company that makes sports equipment. I’m responsible for dealing with
newspapers, magazines, TV and radio – and social media of course. It’s challenging, but my degree
gave me the confidence to do it.

C Jess
Since I graduated from university, I’ve worked as a writer for three different magazines. So although
I’ve moved around, I’ve essentially been doing the same job. Much of my success is due to the
degree course I did, which involved not only writing newspaper articles, but also producing,
presenting and editing high-quality film and radio broadcasts. I was lucky enough to study in a
department where many of the staff had experience of exactly this type of work, so they really knew
what they were talking about. The only thing I didn’t enjoy was media law. In fact, I often avoided
going to those classes. Looking back, I now wish I hadn’t, because it’s something I need to know
about as a journalist. But otherwise, I’d say that the course as a whole was really interesting.
However, anyone who wants to study the media from an academic point of view – for example,
looking at how the media influences the way people think – should choose another subject,
probably sociology.

8 For each question, write the correct letter A, B or C on the line.

Which person …

(a) regrets not working harder on one part of the course? .......... [1]

(b) is glad that they had the opportunity to get to know the local area well? .......... [1]
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(c) feels fortunate that their teachers had previously worked in the media? .......... [1]

(d) says that the course timetable was hard to get used to at first? .......... [1]

(e) mentions finding it difficult to decide what career to go into? .......... [1]

(f) refers to learning things that have been useful in a variety of professions? .......... [1]

(g) suggests that a journalism degree would not be suitable for everyone? .......... [1]

(h) suggests that they felt guilty at some point during their course? .......... [1]

[Total: 8]

Exercise 3

Read the article about a teacher who started keeping bees at her school, and then complete the
notes.

Keeping bees at school

Three years ago, Maria Sterling set up what she named the Bee Project at Abbey High, the
secondary school in London where she teaches geography. Now, beekeeping is one of the most
popular activities at the school. ‘We’re very proud of our Bee Project,’ says Head Teacher Nadia
Malan. ‘It’s great tasting the honey!’ says 12-year-old student Luke Davies. ‘I really enjoy watching
the bees,’ agrees Sara, a student in Year 11. ‘But the Bee Project is not just about enjoyment,’
Maria explains. ‘Keeping bees and getting honey from them helps to teach students what it means
to be responsible for something.’

The bees are kept in hives – large wooden boxes – at one end of the school sports field. Each one
contains thousands of bees. ‘The hives are made by some of our students in their technology
classes,’ Maria says. ‘Knowing how to make things with wood is really useful, and it’s thanks to the
Bee Project that they can do this.’

Maria admits that setting up the Bee Project wasn’t as straightforward as she’d hoped it would be.
‘Persuading parents that it’s safe wasn’t easy at first,’ she says, ‘which is understandable. But it
helped when I explained that I remembered being amazed at how gentle bees were when I put my
hand inside a hive for the first time.’ The other initial problem was the cost of the equipment,
especially the protective clothing. ‘That’s often an issue,’ Maria says. ‘I didn’t have to pay anything
for the bees, though.’

Maria has been involved in beekeeping since she was 15, when her father acquired a hive and
some bees and asked her to help him. ‘Before Dad got the bees, I hadn’t realised that bees can do
well in a big city. In our area of London, there are lots of trees and flowers. Something else I hadn’t
expected was that looking after bees can be really relaxing.’
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Maria had considered introducing bees into the school where she worked before moving to Abbey
High. ‘But I was only there for a year and I never got round to setting up a project. It takes up a lot
of time,’ she says. ‘Also, finding a suitable location for the hives can be challenging. I was lucky
here because there’s some land nearby that isn’t built on and there are lots of wild plants that I
know bees
like.’

The Bee Project has influenced what happens in classes at Abbey High. In science lessons,
students find out why bees are important for the environment. ‘In geography,’ Maria says, ‘my
students do research into the ways people around the world use bees. It’s more meaningful for the
students because they can relate the results of their research to our school bees.’ And the honey
produced at the school doesn’t go to waste. In cookery lessons, students discover how to use
honey to make some delicious dishes.

Maria is convinced that more schools would benefit from setting up their own beekeeping projects.
‘There’s plenty of information available about how to do it,’ Maria points out. ‘And if someone’s
really interested, they should contact local beekeepers. My dad and I couldn’t believe how helpful
other beekeepers were when we were beginners.’

You are going to give a talk about beekeeping to your class at school. Prepare some notes to use as
the basis for your talk.

Make short notes under each heading.

9 What students at Abbey High school learn from keeping bees:

Example: what it means to be responsible for something

• ...............................................................................................................................................

• .......................................................................................................................................... [2]

10
What can be difficult about introducing beekeeping in a school:

• ...............................................................................................................................................

• ...............................................................................................................................................

• .......................................................................................................................................... [3]

11
What surprised Maria when she first started beekeeping:

• ...............................................................................................................................................

• .......................................................................................................................................... [2]

[Total: 7]

Exercise 4

12 Read the article about learning how to snowboard. Answer the questions.
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Learning how to snowboard

Alice Pardew asks an expert for advice on learning how to snowboard

In a month’s time, I’m going on a snowboarding holiday with a friend. The

trouble is that I’ve never been snowboarding before, and I don’t know if I’ll
be able to learn. I contacted snowboarding instructor Ross Gardner for
advice.

‘Snowboarding is great fun and you’ll probably love it,’ Ross said. ‘But
beginners make plenty of mistakes. The first is that they think it’s going to
be easy.’ As I told Ross, I definitely didn’t think that. He then told me that
many beginners don’t bother with lessons, which isn’t very wise. I’m sure
Ross is right, so I’m definitely going to book a place on a course.

‘Before anyone tries snowboarding, they should do exercises to make their legs stronger,’ Ross
said. ‘New snowboarders often ignore that advice.’ By now, I was taking notes of everything Ross
said. ‘Also, you’d be amazed at how many first-timers don’t buy suitable clothing,’ he said. ‘And
they often end up very cold and wet.’

What about when they get onto the snow?

‘Something that a new snowboarder often gets wrong is trying to attach the snowboard to their feet
when standing up – they nearly always fall over as a result,’ Ross said. ‘They should sit down
instead.’ I wrote this in my notes.

Ross said that most beginners fall over a lot when they start moving, but he doesn’t think of that as
a mistake – it’s part of learning. ‘The problem comes when they put their hands out to protect
themselves as they’re falling. It can cause wrist injuries.’

But how can you avoid falling?

‘Bending your knees helps, but many people don’t do that,’ Ross explained. I tried to stand in what I
imagined the correct position was. ‘That’s quite good,’ Ross nodded. ‘But you’re looking down at
the snowboard, which is another common problem. It’s important for snowboarders to look in the
direction they want to go.’

I thanked Ross, and left feeling much more confident about how I should prepare for my holiday.
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Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

1. Why did Alice contact Ross Gardner?

A. To find out the best snowboarding destinations
B. To get tips for her snowboarding holiday
C. To learn how to make her snowboard faster
D. To arrange an interview for a magazine

2. According to Ross, what mistake do many beginners make before starting

snowboarding?
A. They choose the wrong equipment.
B. They don’t wear helmets.
C. They assume it will be simple.
D. They don’t book flights early.

3. Why does Alice decide to join a course?

A. She wants to meet new people.
B. Ross advises that lessons are helpful.
C. Her friend is already taking lessons.
D. She wants to learn advanced techniques.

4. What does Ross say about physical preparation for snowboarding?

A. Beginners should walk long distances.
B. Exercising the legs beforehand is helpful.
C. It is only necessary for professionals.
D. Beginners usually train too much.

5. What happens to new snowboarders who don’t wear suitable clothes?

A. They get sunburned.
B. They become cold and wet.
C. Their clothes get damaged.
D. They fall over more often.

6. What mistake do beginners make when attaching the snowboard?

A. They use the wrong type of snowboard.
B. They try to attach it while standing.
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C. They forget to tighten the straps.

D. They face the wrong direction.

Exercise 5

14 You recently visited a new shopping centre in your town. You have decided to write a review of the
new shopping centre for your school magazine.

Here are some comments from other young people about the new shopping centre:

It’s easy to get to. Everything seems

quite expensive.

It’s a good place

to meet friends. We couldn’t find a
good sports shop.

Write a review of the new shopping centre for your school magazine, giving your views.

The comments above may give you some ideas, and you can also use some ideas of your own.

Your review should be between 100 and 150 words long.

You will receive up to 6 marks for the content of your review, and up to 6 marks for the language
used.

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