A1- A2 Practical Writing email

Directions: Write an email to your friend about a new house you just bought. Include a
description of the houses location, size, shape, etc. Try to write at least 10 sentences.

Example: Hi Niko,
I just bought a new house! It is great. It is the house I have always wanted, and now I finally have it. It is in Oak Park right beside the river. It is 2500 square feet. It has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It has a long driveway and trees covering the front yard. I love it! Well, I hope you are doing great. Talk to you later. Your friend, Jaime

B1- B2 Practical Writing An Article

We invite you, our readers to submit an article on new technology and how it affects your life. Your article should outline the impact of new technology on your life now. You should also explain what further changes are likely to take place in the near future and how these could affect you. To answer this question you will need to make a few notes. First, think of examples of new technology. One or two ideas will be enough. What effect have these had? examples of new technology: - Smart phones /social networking sites (constant contact with friends/family/news) - MP3 players, music downloads (all music available, portable). Then you need to think about future developments. Again, only one or two will be necessary, or you risk writing too much. Further changes - e-readers (books, magazines) - TV, film on demand Plan how you will divide the article into paragraphs. Make sure that these are clearly indicated by indentation (leaving a space from the margin) if you are writing by hand. Paragraph 1 introduction Paragraph 2 phones / networks Paragraph 3 music Paragraph 4 e-readers (and, if I have words left, TV/film on demand)

Here is an example.

New Technology and Me Im writing this at the end of a decade in which technology has made enormous leaps. My daily life has been transformed by a number of new breakthroughs, so that what is normal to me now would have been unimaginable just a few years ago. To begin with, consider the whole area of mobile phones and social networking. In my pocket as I speak I have a little device which enables me to speak to my friends while I am on the move, send them messages, and surf the internet. In addition, I can take photos and send them around the world at the push of a button. Thanks to the spread of social networking sites I can send and receive information from my friends, read what they have posted to their profiles and comment on their activities. Or take music. If my father wanted to listen to a song, he would have had to save up enough money to buy the record, go to a shop and hope to find it. I, on the other hand, simply navigate to a website with my mobile phone and the song is mine with a click. I can carry around my entire music collection in my pocket. As for the future, I imagine that the next frontier will be that of the written word. In all probability, in the next few years I will be able to find, download and read any book I want on a portable device. This will mean it will no longer be necessary for me to carry bags of books to and from college. What a relief that will be!

B1- B2 Reading Comprehension

Read the text below and choose the right variant:

Subject: HELP!!!! Gail, The new show opens on Friday and I need to begin hanging the paintings today. However, Im having trouble accommodating all of the artists demands. As you know, we have six works from four different artists, and we are hanging the paintings next to each other along the long wall in positions 1-6. Position 1 is all the way to the left, next to the entrance. The other spaces continue in numerical order down the wall, with position 6 at the far end. Jacob Rabb wrote to me the other day insisting that he is the most well-known painter in the show and that his piece should be the first one that visitors see when they enter the room, so his painting has to be in position 1, all the way to the left. However, Julian Ledezma gave us three paintings (the other artists only submitted one each), but he insisted that they not be displayed next to one another. What should I do? These artists are driving me crazy! Thankfully the other two artists are more accommodating. Annie Seabolt has only made one demand. She is a strict vegetarian and asked that no meat be served at the reception. I spoke to the caterers and this should not be a problem. David Garcia has not asked anything of us, thankfully. I think that everything else should be taken care of. I just need to figure out how to hang these paintings!

Questions 1) Based on information in the passage, it can be inferred that which artists work will hang in position 2? A. David Garcia B. Julian Ledezma C. Jacob Rabb D. Annie Seabolt E. Not enough information is provided to answer this question. 2) Given the constraints outlined in the passage, it can be inferred that Annie Seabolts painting could hang in I. position 3 II. position 5 III. position 6 A. I only B. II only C. I and II only D. II and III only E. I, II, and III 3) Gail and Johannas working relationship can best be described as A. suspicious and tentative B. respectful and tolerant C. casual yet productive D. unprofessional and dependent E. collaborative yet formal 4) If the author changed the subject line of the email, which of the following would be the most appropriate choice? A. Artists Demands for Friday Reception B. Jacob Rabb Is So Arrogant! C. Fridays ReceptionPictures and Places D. Where to Hang the Paintings? E. Almost Done!

Answers and Explanations 1) B In paragraph 1, the author writes that there are four artists with work in the show. One of the artists, Julian Ledezma, has three paintings in the show, while the others have only one each. The passage tells us that Jacob Rabbs painting must be in position 1 and Julian Ledezmas three paintings cannot hang next to one another. Using this information, it can be inferred that the only possible places where Julian Ledezmas paintings can hang and not be next to each other are positions 2, 4, and 6. This means that one of Julian Ledezmas paintings will hang in position 2. Therefore (B) is correct. The passage does not provide information to support choices (A), (C), (D), and (E). Therefore they are incorrect. 2) C In paragraph 1, the author writes that there are four artists with paintings in the show. One of the artists, Julian Ledezma, has three paintings in the show, while the others have only one each. The reader knows that Jacob Rabbs painting must be in position 1 and Julian Ledezmas three paintings cannot hang next to one another. So the only possible places where Julian Ledezmas paintings can go are positions 2, 4, and 6. This means there are two possible positions left for Annie Seabolts painting. It could hang in position 3. This supports option (I). Based on the information above, Annie Seabolts painting could also hang in position 5. This supports option (II). Based on the information above, one of Julian Ledezmas paintings must hang in position 6. This eliminates option (III). Therefore (C) is correct. 3) C Johannas email to Gail has a casual tone. This tone is evident in the use of unconventional punctuation, such as multiple exclamation points in the subject line, and the use of colloquial expressions, such as These artists are driving me crazy! at the end of paragraph 1. While the tone is casual, it does appear that Johanna is doing her work diligently and being productive. As she notes in paragraph 2, she has already called the caterer to take care of Annie Seabolts demand, and she is working to ensure that the paintings are hung correctly by the established deadline. Also, since Johanna is enlisting Gails help, we can infer that they will likely work together to produce a solution to the dilemma. This means that their working relationship can best be described as casual yet productive. Therefore (C) is correct. There is no suspicion expressed in the passage, so (A) is incorrect. While Johanna does seem to respect Gail, the email here is focused on productivity rather than the expression of admiration. Also, there is nothing in the passage to suggest whether Johanna and Gail are tolerant or intolerant of one another, so (B) is incorrect. We might be inclined to label Johannas email unprofessional since it does not follow the formal guidelines of business communication, but email is a less formal medium by default. Colleagues often use a casual tone when writing emails to those with whom they have a close working relationship. If this email were sent to a CEO with whom Johanna has infrequent contact, it might be unprofessional, but the familiar tone of the message here implies that Johanna and Gail have a close working relationship. This means it is too extreme to characterize their relationship as unprofessional. Similarly, although Johanna is asking Gail for help, it is too extreme to label their relationship as dependent. Colleagues often enlist one other to solve problems. Therefore (D) is incorrect. Though the two women do seem to have a collaborative relationship based on the fact that Johanna is asking Gail for help, the relationship does not seem particularly formal. Johannas email features numerous asides and informal language that suggests familiarity, not formality. Therefore (E) is incorrect.

4) A Similar to the title of an essay or the headline of a news article, an email subject line should communicate the main topic of the message. Since business emails often require a response, however, ideally they should also communicate the time frame in which the author expects that response. Artists Demands for Friday Reception does both of these things. Before she even reads the message, Gail knows that Johanna is attempting to deal with the artists demands, and she knows that the reception is on Friday, so she needs to take action soon. Therefore (A) is correct. Jacob Rabb Is So Arrogant! communicates only one of the topics of the message, and also it is unprofessional to call a colleague arrogant. Therefore (B) is incorrect. Fridays ReceptionPictures and Places informs the Gail about the deadline Fridaybut Pictures and Places only addresses one of the messages topics. In addition to where to put the pictures, the email also includes information about Annie Seabolts demand for vegetarian food at the reception. This means (C) is incorrect. Where to Hang the Paintings? communicates the most important topic of the email, but it does not mention which paintings or when action needs to be taken. It also does not address Annie Seabolts demand for vegetarian food, so (D) is incorrect. Almost Done! is not only too vague, but it also makes it seem as though Johanna does not need any help when in fact she needs Gail to reply soon. Therefore (E) is incorrect.

A1- A2 Reading Comprehension

Scottish Independence
The majority of people in Scotland are in favour breaking away from the rest of the UK and becoming independent, according to a poll taken just before the 300th anniversary of the Act of Union, which united Scotland and England. A pair of Acts of Parliament, passed in 1706 and 1707 that came into effect on May 1, 1707, created Great Britain. The parliaments of both countries were dissolved, and replaced by a new Parliament of Great Britain in Westminster, London. The poll showed support for independence for Scotland is running at 51%. This is the first time since 1998 that support for separation has passed 50%, and the first time since devolution gave power to the country in 1999. Six months before elections for the Scottish Parliament, these poll results come as good news to the Scottish Nationalist Party, who are hoping to make progress against Labour and further the cause of an independent Scotland. Many people have become disillusioned with devolution, and believe that the Scottish Parliament has failed to deliver what they had hoped it would; only a tenth have no opinion. In fact, only 39% of those polled want to keep things as they are.

Questions
Q1 - Scotland and England

have always been united. want to break up the union. have been united for a long time. were united by war. Q2 - Great Britain was formed by an Act of Parliament in 1706. was formed by two Acts of Parliament in 1707. was formed by an Act of Parliament that came into effect on May 1st 1707. was formed by Acts of Parliament that came into effect on May 1st 1707. Q3 - People who want indepence for Scotland are the vast majority. are in the minority. are the slight majority. have decreased in number since devolution. Q4 - The majority of people wanted independence for the first time before devolution. in 1999. after devolution. before and after independence. Q5 - The results of the poll are good news for Labour. for both parties. for the Scottish Nationalist Party. for devolution. Q6 - Most people's opinions of devolution have gone up. have gone down. are the same. make progress against Labour. Q7 - The number of people who want to keep things as they are is greater than those that don't know. is smaller than those that don't know. is increasing. is the majority.

B1- B2 Listening Comprehension http://esl.about.com/library/listening/bllis_interview.ht m A1- A2 Listening Comprehension http://esl.about.com/library/listening/blufo1.htm