Life, Upper Intermediate, Unit 11 Test
Grammar
1 Complete the sentences with the past forms of the verbs.
1 He ___________ (could / understand) difficult maths problems easily.
2 The students ___________ (succeed / complete) their project in time.
3 Carol ___________ (not manage / pass) her history exam first time.
4 The boys ___________ (able / find) the solution after a lot of work.
5 Bill ___________ (could / not / do) his homework last night.
6 The girls all ___________ (manage / finish) their course with high marks.
7 Jake ___________ (not / able / solve) the difficult task the tutor had set.
8 My sister ___________ (not / succeed / get) her university degree.
(16 points)
2 Underline the correct form of the verb in these future in the past sentences.
1 I would / was going to call you, but my mobile didn’t work.
2 Paul said he would play / would have played in the match, but then he didn’t come.
3 Jane would / was supposed to tell them about it, but then she forgot.
4 The girls were going / would have come, but the snow prevented them.
5 He would / was about to leave when the phone rang.
6 What would you do / would you have done in that situation yesterday?
7 Were they supposed to / Would they come to tea yesterday afternoon?
(14 points)
Vocabulary
3 Circle the correct verb to complete the sentences.
1 It is the teacher who has to _______ the students.
a absorb b acquire c motivate
2 Students need to _______ the ideas that are presented to them.
a inspire b grasp c motivate
3 If students are to _______ a foreign language, they need to hear it spoken lots.
a inspire b motivate c acquire
4 Students won’t understand the game if they _______ the rules.
a are ignorant of b don’t connect with c don’t engage with
5 Good teachers _______ their students to study hard.
a acquire b inspire c understand
6 I find it easy to _______ the interesting facts the teacher tells us.
a absorb b inspire c connect with
(6 points)
4 Match the expressions 1–8 with the definitions a–h.
1 to learn the tricks of the trade a to find out you were wrong
2 to learn to walk before you can run b to memorise something
3 to learn one’s lesson c to have many problems while you learn
4 to learn to live with a situation d to get better through making errors
5 to learn from one’s mistakes e to learn how professionals do things
6 to learn something by heart f to learn how to do something as you do it
7 to learn something as you go along g to accept things without making complaints
8 to learn something the hard way h to learn to do the simple things first
(16 points)
5 Match one of the phrases in the box to each description of types of learning.
to learn by trial and error to learn by authority
to learn by observation to learn by reasoning
1 I learnt from the lectures of our professors at university. They had all done a lot of research and
written many important books. ______________
2 I thought about all the different information I had, and examined it carefully from all possible sides
before I came to my conclusion. ______________
3 At teacher training college we spent hours watching teachers teach in their own classrooms, and
studying films of teachers in different situations. ______________
4 In the laboratory we tested our theories in practical ways. We tried things out and if they didn’t work,
we tried again in a different way. ______________
(8 points)
Functions
6 Complete the extract from the conversation with the phrases in the box.
you explain do you mean you speak up
catch that Hang on
B: I’d like some information about your Spanish course.
A: Are you a beginner or do you have some experience?
B: What (1)______________by beginner? I did some Spanish at school.
A: It’s probably best if you join the intermediate group then.
B: Sorry. Can (2)______________a bit, please?
A: I said you should probably join the intermediate group.
It starts on 12th September at 7.30 in Room 501, and if you ….
B: (3)______________ a second. Could (4)______________ what we will do in the course first, please?
A: The website has all the details. It’s www.weston/Spanish/intermediate.com.
B: I’m afraid I didn’t (5)______________. Can you spell it, please?
(10 points)
7a Underline the five linking phrases in this letter about an evening course.
Dear Sir/Madam
I started a course in Spanish at the college on 12th September. The person I spoke to at
registration suggested I went into the intermediate group, but in fact I find that everyone is much
better than me. Despite the fact that the teacher is very helpful, I find that I don’t understand
much. I think it would be better if I moved down into the beginner’s group.
While I like the teacher and what he says is interesting, I cannot grasp some of the things that the
class talks about, whereas I know from someone in the beginner’s group that they are talking at
my level. The teacher says he is sure I will pick things up if I stay a bit longer, but on the contrary, I
think the situation will just get worse.
I would be very pleased if you could arrange for me to attend the beginner’s class from next week.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully
John Giles
(5 points)
8 Now write a similar letter to Weston College using this information:
You enrolled in the Tuesday Italian Cookery course
After three weeks, you find your basic cooking skills aren’t good enough for this class, and your
cooking hasn’t been very successful
You like the teacher and the classes are fun
You want to change to General Cooking Skills on Thursdays with the same teacher
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
(15 points)
Speaking
9 Talk about a course or workshop that you attended. What was good and bad about it? What was the tutor
like? What did you learn from it?
(10 points)
