A2 KET Test #20 - Reading & Writing

Three teenage boys talk about buying presents on a holiday

Louis James

I went on a beach holiday with my parents, and I wanted to buy a present for my little sister. On the first morning, I found a beautiful pink sweater in a small shop near our hotel. It cost a lot of money, but I knew she would really love it. I didn't buy any toys for her because she has a lot at home. The sweater was very light. This made it easy to carry in my bag.

Matthew Phillips

I spent five days in the mountains, and I wanted to find a present for my best friend. I visited a busy street market in the town, where I bought him a large wooden cup. It was quite cheap. Because of this, I still had enough money for an ice cream! He doesn't care about fashion, so I didn't look at any clothes. I didn't wait until the last day, because the market was closed then.

Sebastian Scott

I visited a beautiful old city with my family, but I almost forgot to get a gift for my grandparents! Luckily, on the last day, I found a nice box of local sweets. We were waiting at the railway station to go home, so I quickly bought it there. The sweets weren't very expensive. Also, the box was very light to carry. My grandparents loved the food, which made me feel really happy.

My first weekend job
By Ben Carter, age 14

I started my first weekend job last month, and I’d like to tell you about it. My uncle has a small café in the town centre, and he asked me to help him on Saturdays and Sundays. My friends thought it would be boring, but I wanted to earn some money. I felt a bit worried because I had never had a job before.

On my first morning, my uncle was too busy to help me because the café was already full. So Nina, who has worked there for three years, showed me where everything is and taught me how to use the coffee machine. She is very patient, and now we work together every weekend.

Making coffee is not as easy as it looks. There are many different drinks, like lattes and cappuccinos, and each one needs different milk and a different cup. My first coffees tasted terrible, but the customers were kind and drank them anyway!

At first, it was hard to talk to the customers because I don’t usually speak much to people I don’t know. My uncle told me to smile and ask them about their day. It worked, and now I really enjoy chatting to them.

The worst thing is remembering the orders. When four people ask for different drinks, I forget who wants what. Now I write everything on a small piece of paper, but my writing is not very clear! Nina says it will get easier with practice, so I’ll keep trying.

The Great Wall of China is one of the most famous places in the world. Millions of tourists go to China every year to 19.1visitarrivefollow this amazing wall. Many years ago, people began to 19.2builddesigninvent it to keep their country safe from danger. Thousands of workers used heavy stones and earth to make the wall very strong. It was hard work, but they did not 19.3mindstopfail working for many hundreds of years.

Some people believe you can see the wall from the moon, but that is not 19.4righttrueclear. The wall is very long, but it is too thin to see from space without special cameras. Today, visitors can walk along the top and 19.5maketakedo beautiful pictures of the mountains. Because the wall is very old, workers must often 19.6repairreturnrepeat the stones to keep it safe for the future.