PET Practice Test 8 - Reading

4/7/2020 10:12:57 PM

Choose the correct answer that goes with this text.

  • lf you find rubbish in the picnic area, tell the manager.
  • You should not leave any rubbish in the picnic area.
  • You must clean the picnic area before using it.

Choose the correct answer that goes with this text.

What does Amanda want the manager to do?

  • Change her room booking.
  • Give her a cheaper room.
  • Return some money to her.

Choose the correct answer that goes with this text.

  • Visitors can help feed the monkeys at 9.00 a.m.
  • Visitors should never try to feed the monkeys before 9.00 a.m.
  • Visitors can see how the monkeys are fed at 9.00 a.m.

Choose the correct answer that goes with this text.

  • When you buy two large cakes, we charge you for only one of them.
  • We give you a small free cake with every large cake you buy.
  • If you pay for two large cakes, we give you a small one as a present.

Choose the correct answer that goes with this text.

  • George has to telephone his boss.
  • Pam wants to meet George soon.
  • George should see some customers today.

The people below all want to buy a novel. There are descriptions of eight novels. Decide which novel would be the most suitable for the following people.

Phil wants to read a thriller. He doesn't travel much, but he wants to read about interesting cities in the world. He is a fast reader, so he wants a long book rather than a short one.

Celia only reads novels by well-known authors. She usually likes detective stories, but now she wants to read a romantic novel that will make her cry. She has no patience with long books.

Curios is a science teacher who likes to read novels about dangerous journeys of the past. He loves books that are based on facts but also have a funny side. He wants a book that has pictures.

Thomas is a history student, but he wants to read science fiction in his free time. He wants to buy a well-written novel with an unexpected ending.

Maria is a primary school teacher and she wants to buy a novel to read on holiday. She would like novel that describes how children lived in the past.


THIS MONTH'S BESTSELLING NOVELS

A. Difficult Times
Written by a new writer who will one day be famous, this novel tells the story of a 19th-century couple and their small sons. We follow them in their daily activities from the day when Neil, the father, loses his job. To enjoy it fully, read it when you have lots of time.

B. Tour of Fear
A young musician is on a tour of Europe when he finds that detectives are following him. Full of danger and excitement, this novel also has wonderful descriptions of the towns where the action takes place. It may take days to read its five-hundred pages, but every minute is enjoyable.

C. No Return
This book is about a man who goes to sleep on a train and wakes up to find himself on another planet. When he meets some strange people, he realizes he can't escape. An interesting story, though you know from the beginning that the story will have a sad ending.

D. Love ln the Air
Two women meet on a long bus journey and they start talking. They discover that they have a common childhood friend who is now a well-known writer and decide to go and visit him. What follows is a long romantic story that will make you laugh from beginning to end.

E. A Long Journey
This story takes place in the year 2100. A scientist travels almost a century into the future in a time machine and finds a world where five-year-old children leave home and go to university. You will not be able to guess how it all finishes until the final page!

F. The Mysterious Door
This is another book by the now famous creator of the Detective Brown stories. All the action takes place in a large hotel where the detective is staying. A guest is murdered and everyone is a suspect, including the victim's two grown-up children. The story is sometimes difficult to follow but very enjoyable.

G. All Alone
This thrilling novel takes us back to the eighteenth century. It is the real story of a young man's voyage across the Atlantic in a small ship. This book, which is illustrated with beautiful drawings, will sometimes frighten you and sometimes make you laugh.

H. The Big Adventure
A young woman leaves her home town in search of a better life. This clever love story, which will bring tears to your eyes, is by one of America's most widely-read novelists. Written in a simple style, it can be read in a day but will stay in your memory for a long time.

(Adapted from Pet Test builder)

Decide which novel would be the most suitable for the people.

  • Phil
  • Celia
  • Curios
  • Thomas
  • Maria

Read the text and questions below. For each question, choose the correct answer.

Our school newspaper

By Michael Williams

Some years ago, our headteacher, Mrs. Waters, decided to start a school newspaper, and get as many students as possible to take on the job of producing it - and parents, too. She felt the newspaper would help them learn more about school life, through articles on things like sports achievements and arts projects, which not all students know about if they’re not taking part. Students took the whole thing very seriously and we now have a prize-winning newspaper.

Some of my friends joined the newspaper team immediately and enjoyed it. I'd always loved creative writing and drawing cartoons, which I thought would be perfect in the newspaper, so I signed up. My dad, who's a journalist, was pleased - he thought that even though I wasn't keen on a job like his, the newspaper would be a great opportunity for me. And he was right - I loved it! Dad often came along to give advice, which was popular with the students. It was difficult sometimes if he was busy, but he learned a lot about the school that way.

My first job was writing a report about a sports event - a writing style I'd never attempted before. But Dad reminded me it was similar in some ways to write a story - get information in the right order. Once I'd understood that there was no stopping me - and after my first efforts, I developed quite a professional style, which was brilliant. Sometimes the team couldn't use what I'd written, or my cartoons, for whatever reason, but I didn't mind. And sometimes it was hard to finish stuff on time but I usually got there.

I'm now one of the editors - we decide what goes into the newspaper, so our names no longer appear in print. And it's stressful sometimes as we don't have much time, but we try to manage that properly. We also correct mistakes in people's articles, which we all had to get used to, but we were soon doing it without thinking and in our own schoolwork, too. I still put off calling people outside the school for comments on stuff, but I guess it's all good experience - at least, that's what Dad says!

(Adapted from Pet for school trainer 1 for revised exam from 2020)

Michael's head teacher wanted to start a student newspaper to _____.

  • make students feel more confident about taking part in something
  • give students the experience of being responsible for something
  • keep students better informed about what was happening at school
  • provide an activity for students not interested in sport or art

Michael decided to join the newspaper because _____.

  • he had ideas about some work he could do for it
  • he was considering a career in journalism
  • his friends had encouraged him to do so
  • he liked the idea of being part of a team
What would Michael's dad say about the newspaper?
  • I was surprised at how keen Michael was to get involved - he’s never shown that much interest in writing before.
  • I occasionally had problems finding the time to help out at Michael’s school, but the students really seemed to like my suggestions.
  • Michael would never admit it, but I know he’s proud to see his name in the newspaper these days and I am, too!
  • It’s been great to finally find out about life at the school through reading the newspaper. I didn’t really know much about it before.

When Michael first started working on the newspaper, he was _____.

  • disappointed when his stories sometimes weren't used.
  • delighted at the way his writing skills improved.
  • pleased to find he could make use of his art skills.
  • worried he'd be late completing some of his writing.
What does Michael say about his role in the newspaper now?
  • He feels uncomfortable about correcting other students' work.
  • He still needs to improve the way he manages his time.
  • He's happier to handle making telephone calls to others.
  • He becomes better at making articles more accurate.

You are going to read an article about the effects of the internet. Six sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A-G the one which fits each gap. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.

A. It is sometimes unbelievable to think that the person we are writing to maybe thousands of miles away, living in a completely different culture and climate with a way of life that is nothing like our own.

B. It is even possible, with something called a webcam, to see and hear them at the same time.

C. However, many families still do not have a computer and internet connection at home.

D. As a result, we might start to reject what our own country and culture offer us.

E. This information and communication are necessary for our life.

F. This has also helped to bring down cultural barriers as we are able to hear all the different kinds of music that exist all over the world.

G. We can find out the latest news or what the weather is going to be like.

H. The news about the weather is easy to find out.

The Incredible Shrinking World 

As we know, approximately 60 years ago television was introduced, making the world smaller by bringing images from all four corners of the world into our homes. Over the last 20 years or so, a breakthrough in technology has come into our lives which is making the world even smaller: the internet. With a PC and a telephone line, we are now connected to the whole world in a matter of seconds. It is now possible to speak to relatives and friends anywhere in the world cheaply and quickly. It was not that long ago when the only way to communicate with family members who were far away was by letter, which would take days or sometimes weeks to reach its destination.

The internet also allows us to access a world of facts, figures and knowledge. If we have a question on any subject at all from history to mathematics or philosophy to geography, it can be discovered on the net. Many subjects that required the reading of books and were once only available to a few people are now available to everybody. The internet not only means that we can communicate with loved ones but also with complete strangers. By using "chat" services, it is possible to meet and exchange ideas with people from all over the world. Of course, to be able to do this we must speak the same language and most communication on the internet takes place in English.

Other services are also available through the internet. One of these which provides hours of pleasure for many people (and saves them a lot of money) is the ability to download songs and music from other people. This helps us to understand other cultures better and makes us familiar with what used to be regarded as completely foreign and strange to us. There are also those who claim that the internet is another modern development that will slowly lead to the loss of culture for smaller countries. As we see images from all over the world, we become confused about what we want, perhaps finding characteristics of another country more attractive. Communication with people in other parts of the world means that we are also discovering different ways of thinking and looking at the world we live in.

Despite the criticisms by some and the fears of others, the internet seems to have changed our world for the better. The internet has created a new world of more information and more communication. This information and communication bring knowledge. With knowledge comes understanding and with understanding comes peace.

CLIMATE and CHARACTER

Does the climate of a country really (0) affect the behaviour of the people who live in it and help to create its culture? Have you ever heard of people from hot countries being described "warm and friendly" while those from places with low temperatures and grey climates are sometimes called "cold and distant"?

The people who live in colder climates tend spend much more time at home television or wondering what colour to paint the living room. As a result of their being "shut in" at home for most of their lives, perhaps they also develop personalities to match. Maybe they tend to be expressive in their everyday lives.

In , we see that people who live in warm and sunny countries spend much more time outdoors. In squares all over southern Europe, for example, we can see hundreds of people during the day drinking coffee in cafés and chatting. It certainly seems as if climate affects behaviour, you have to be careful not to generalise too much.

Read the text and write the missing words. Write one word on each blank.

Plane travel and the environment

Are you used to flying? Most people are these days. They turn up at the airport, get on a plane and don’t think about it at all. But what many people don’t into account when they fly is the damage that the plane doing to the environment. Planes pollute the Earth’s atmosphere and many scientists blame air travel for helping to create warming.

So, how should we deal this problem? Some people now insist on using other transport, rather than planes. They refuse to fly and instead go by train or bus. This is all right for short distances, but unfortunately, it’s only planes that are capable of getting you from London to New York in only a few hours! A hundred years ago, politicians, for example, would spend two weeks traveling on a ship to get from the UK to the USA. If you as a politician today, there’s no way you can do that. You have to fly.

Some people accuse the airline companies of not doing enough to look the environment. They complain of planes flying that are almost empty, and planes that burn a lot of fuel. Perhaps in the future, we’ll have cleaner planes. Until then, perhaps this is the best solution. If you know someone who’s thinking of flying, bring up the subject of global warming remind them about the damage that planes cause, and ask them if they really have that flight.