A2 KET Test #32 - Reading & Writing

Mia Taylor, 14

I went to the beach with my parents and my cousin last month. We slept in a big tent near the sea, which was really fun. It was sunny but quite windy, so we didn't swim much. Instead, I spent a lot of time walking on the sand, and I found some beautiful shells. I brought them home to put in my bedroom. We usually cooked fresh fish outside for dinner.

Noah Evans, 15

My family and I drove to a quiet lake in the mountains, and we stayed in a nice wooden house. It rained almost every day, so I was quite sad because I wanted to go cycling. Luckily, my parents brought some great board games, so we played them inside. When the rain stopped on our last day, we quickly climbed the nearest hill. The view was amazing, and Dad took lots of great photos.

Lily Brown, 13

I didn't travel with my family this summer because I went to a famous city with my classmates. We stayed in a large hotel in the centre. It was extremely hot, but we visited two interesting museums to learn about the country's history. On the final day, I bought a beautiful scarf for my mother, as her birthday is next week. We ate in nice restaurants every evening, which I really enjoyed.

Sharing a Room

By Ravi, age 12

Until last summer, we lived in a big house with a garden. I had my own room, and my little brother Dev had a small room next to mine. In July, Dad changed his job, so we moved to a flat near his new office. It has only two bedrooms, so Dev and I have to share. I told Mum, "I need a room of my own!" but she said there was nothing we could do.

The first weeks were hard. Dev’s toys were all over the floor, and I could not find my things. He played online games and talked to his friends on the phone until very late at night. I could not sleep well, and then I was too tired to focus at school. One morning, I shouted, "I can’t live like this!"

That evening, Mum and Dad called a family meeting. I said, "Dev’s things are everywhere, he is very noisy, and I can’t sleep." Dev said, "I miss our old house and my friends. I feel sad at night, so I play online games and talk to them."

Together, we agreed on some rules. Dev puts his toys away after playing, and he plays games and calls his friends only at weekends. We finish our homework by nine o’clock and then read for a while. At quarter past nine, Dev turns off the light, and we talk until half past nine.

Now things are much better. Last week, Dad said we could look for a bigger flat. I thought for a minute and answered, "Maybe next year. I like our evening talks."

Leonardo da Vinci was a brilliant Italian artist who was born in 1452. As a young man, he 19.1leftforgotwent his small village to work for a painter in Florence. He quickly became great at painting and made famous pictures like the Mona Lisa.

However, Leonardo was also interested in many 19.2sameavailabledifferent subjects, especially science. He spent hours watching birds because he wanted to fly in the 19.3weatherskyworld. Although he never built a real flying machine, his ideas were very useful. He 19.4filledbuiltjoined thousands of pages in his notebooks with clever drawings of new inventions. Leonardo wrote from right to left, so you need a mirror to 19.5lookseeread his words. His ideas changed the world, and we will always 19.6rememberguessbelieve this great thinker.