Reading Part 1
Read the following text, then read the five statements. Some of these statements are true according to the text, some are false. Write T for True or F for False under each statement.

The visitor that day was a well-set man with sturdy hands to grip his horse’s reins and legs like trunks, which bulged in his garters as he dismounted from his mare, one of the expensive and well-known greys from Bickington stables. She had a broad brow and muzzle and wore a long bit between her teeth to give him firm control. I took her reins and tethered her to the post above the water trough. Her neck and upper body were damp with sweat. He must have pushed her hard along the lanes.

When she was drinking thirstily from the water, the gentleman brushed past me into the house and I took a moment to admire his magnificent clothing: a velvet doublet with star-shaped slashings, after the European fashion; a cape round his shoulders and a peaked cap, like one of those exotic pineapples traded from the spice merchants’ ships. Perhaps my brother Pip’s. He was the most magnificent bird in the roost and his serving man was similarly attired in the finest livery. He glared at me as they entered the hall and I turned to dodge his gaze and loosen the tackle on their animals. Something worthy of note was now afoot.

My Lord met the gentleman and his equerry, in the curtained chamber set off from the Barton’s great hall. They stayed there in discussion all afternoon until Alford and I had to serve them supper in the evening. Then they descended the stone stairs from the garret and arranged themselves around the long elm table. I couldn’t help but overhear their discourse. It seemed to me my Lord’s face was truly grave.

‘… which confirms that war is on the point of breaking out with France,’ the gentleman was saying, gulping down a mouthful of wine and wiping at his whiskers with a napkin. It seemed to be going down agreeably enough with him, although the news they were discussing wasn’t so well-received by my Lord.

1. The horse showed signs of extreme exertion.

2. The writer’s brother worked on space ships.

3. The writer had no idea that the visitor was on important business.

4. At least one part of the discussion took place in private.

5. The visitor’s appetite was unaffected by the discussion.

Reading Part 2
Read the text and fill the gaps with the correct sentences A-H. Select the letter of the missing letter in the drop down box. There are two extra sentences you will not need. 

How your brain benefits from speaking languages

It’s well known that being bilingual has cognitive benefits: switching between two languages has been compared to mental gymnastics. 1……… It essentially rewires it to work differently to the brains of those who only speak one language.

“Bilinguals are really a model of cognitive control,” Pennsylvania State University cognitive scientist Judith F. Kroll says, citing bilinguals’ ability to both hold two languages in their head and expertly switch between them at the right times. 2…….. At the meeting she explained that if you speak two languages and have ever found this task to be difficult – choosing the “right” tongue based on the context you’re in – it’s because both languages are always “on” in the brains of bilinguals. 3……..

The mental struggle of selecting and switching between two languages actually helps reshape the brain’s networks, according to Kroll. 4…….. It found that, as they grew older, infants who were exposed to both Spanish and Catalan started looking at speakers’ mouths instead of their eyes when listening to someone talk. 5……..

This study is a great example of how being bilingual can improve speakers’ cognitive abilities. Babies who are listening to two languages become attuned to those two languages right away. 6……..

This rewiring doesn’t happen the same way in every bilingual brain – it’s different for each person, just as each person has their own language experience. But Kroll’s research demonstrates that no matter how effortlessly other bilinguals may seem to switch between their two tongues, there’s a lot going on in their head.

A. That should come as a small relief for anyone attempting to pick up a new language.

B. Kroll presented her work at the American Association for the advancement of science meeting held in Washington, DC.

C. The monolingual infants, however, only looked at mouths more than eyes when they were listening to someone speak their native tongue.

D. In other words, the brain is continually processing information in both languages.

E. The unexpected finding helps to explain how bilinguals and monolinguals differ in language acquisition.

F. It’s not confusing them or messing them up developmentally – the opposite is true.

G. One study looked at four-month old, eight-month old and one-year old infants. 60 of whom were bilingual and 60 monolingual.

H. But now, research suggests that mastering two languages can fundamentally alter the structure of your brain.

Reading Part 3
Read the four texts below. There are eight questions about the texts. Decide which text (A, B, C or D) tells you the answer to the question. The first one is done for you. 

A. When the good people at Visit Cardiff asked me along to the opening day of Cardiff International Food & Drink Festival, I jumped at the chance. I’m happy to say that the festival was overwhelmingly good. Firstly, the backdrop of Cardiff Bay was beautiful; a picturesque spot next to still, sparkling water, completed by traders spaciously arranged around a central bandstand that had pleasant live music playing throughout the day. Then, behind the bandstand, was a fantastic bar where you could relax and sit away from the main hustle and bustle and soak up the atmosphere.

I was most impressed by the entrepreneurial attitude from all of the traders, and inspired by their very differing back stories as to how they started their companies. Next time you’re at an event, don’t forget to have a bit of a chat, as you’ll be amazed at how interesting their tales are.

B. Rather than the usual highly organised, spectacular, controlled by exhibition specialists, the Abergavenny food festival is run by lovely volunteers with the kind of gentle bonkersness that sums up the event. The whole thing seems almost impossibly untouched by large-scale commercial food companies – there must be a self-selecting moratorium on anyone attending who actually makes a three-figure profit.

The audience is a rich mixture; some had travelled halfway across the UK to rub shoulders with other high-profile foodistas, some were local food fanciers, some were the kind of festival professionals that would turn up anywhere there was cider and a stand for weaving dreamcatchers; one bloke cycled from Cardiff for a day out. Much of the event is unticketed meaning that everyone meanders around the streets almost literally rubbing shoulders. But this mix brings up some interesting clashes of culture.

C. Hi! Last week I went to the New York City Vegetarian Food Festival for the first time ever. I felt awestruck and overwhelmed with that feeling you get as a vegan when you know everything in the room is safe to eat. Then I realised there was a second floor. It was at the top that I saw Lucy, a beagle. Lucy was just one of 120 beagles representing a group that helps rescued beagles find homes after a life of animal experimentation.

Suddenly my own little vegan world became grounded once more. Seeing Lucy reminded me, in the flash of a second, why I am vegan, and made me feel that perhaps there should be more, or even just a little more, of this side of veganism at the festival. Sadly, there was only one presentation throughout the whole weekend connected to the ethical side of veganism.

D. I’ve wanted to write this blog post for a while now. Ironically I’ve simply not had the time. I wanted to go through Vegan Street Food with a mindset of only having fifteen minutes to cook something. And then I could highlight some of the best recipes for those hungry times that I want something nice to eat, and quickly, that’s not toast. I’ve ceased to count the number of times that I have been trying to juggle several tasks and then realise I’m really hungry and that lunch or dinner is well overdue.

We are sometimes put off making the most of our cookery books because of our busy lives. But it definitely shouldn’t get in the way of making something delicious to eat. There are many times I do enjoy cooking from a long and complex recipe, as I like the way that more complex cooking slows me down from my usual frantic pace. But equally, there are times where ease and simplicity are far more important.

Example: say that he responded to an invitation?
A

In which text does the writer

1. feel happy at the type of food available?

2. mention that eccentricity intrinsic to this event?

3. mention the need to relax away from the crowds?

Which text is saying the following?

4. Making money seems not to be the main objective.

5. There should be more emphasis on other aspects.

6. Saving time is of the essence.

7. An electric assortment of visitors is characteristic.

Reading Part 4
Read the article and answer the questions. Write a maximum of five words for each answer. An example is done for you. 

Deforestation: Pulling in different directions?

Forests are complex ecosystems that affect almost every species on the planet. When they are degraded, it can set off a devastating chain of events both locally and around the world. Forests not only absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere but produce oxygen for us to breathe. In addition, seventy percent of the world’s plants and animals live in forests and are losing their habitats to runaway deforestation, which can lead to species extinction. Add to this the negative consequences for medicinal research and local populations who rely on the animals and plants in the forests for hunting and medicine, and it is not hard to understand the need to keep the delicate balance at all costs, because short-term economic gain pales in comparison to the long-term global consequences of losing our forests.

Until recently, Brazil, the country blessed with the lungs of the world’ stood out as a hopeful outlier in the plague of deforestation. Between 1990 and 2017, clearing of tropical forests increased 62 percent worldwide, but in Brazil, such destruction plummeted from 2004 to 2011, in part because of tough environmental regulations including a ban on the sale of soybeans grown on rainforest-cleared land. Since August 2016, however, tree cutting more than doubled in the country compared with the same period a year earlier.

The report may signal a new round of challenges facing the world’s largest rainforest. Most of the land cleared will serve as cattle pasture, spurred by higher global prices for beef. Cutting the forest for ranches is the largest driver of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, accounting for nearly 70 percent of clearing Forest cut down for timber and turned into pasture for livestock grazing, along with soya and palm oil production are putting pressure on the Amazon as Brazil seeks to maintain its position as the world’s second-largest producer of soya beans and a leading exporter of food.

Deforestation is spreading to more remote and unpopulated areas of the Amazon, where there is a weaker government presence, and is therefore harder to detect and more expensive to control, indicating that the agricultural frontier is still expanding and new areas are being opened up.

And to make a bad situation even worse, Brazil’s recently re-elected president has called for several new hydroelectric dams and a major highway that, if built, will slice through the pristine heart of the Amazon. The administration also supports legislation that weakens environmental protections and offers amnesty to those who illegally cut down trees, citing the need for economic growth.

A 2016 study by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research found that deforestation, especially extensive cutting along the southern edge of Amazonia, has decreased the movement of atmospheric moisture to the south. Climate scientists at the institute say the change is a possible factor in a severe drought that has necessitated rationing of water in Brazil’s largest metropolis, São Paulo.

Tree loss in the Amazon reverberates beyond Brazil’s boundaries. It reshuffles the climate deck for the entire western hemisphere: the rainforest pumps 20 billion tons of water vapour daily into the atmosphere through lea transpiration, an influx that has ripple effects on weather systems a continent away. The Amazon is currently nearly 20 percent deforested, which may be close to a ‘tipping point in terms of its ability to maintain the climate system and rains that it helps to support. A storm of deforestation, fire and climate change could potentially transform vast swathes of the southern and eastern Amazon into savanna.

One 2015 study, for example, predicts that a fully deforested Amazon would mean 50 percent less annual snowfall in California’s Sierra Nevada, quashing spring runoff vital to the region’s agriculture. To avoid further damage, many players will need to come together, but Brazil now appears to be moving in the opposite direction. 

Example: Where can the effects of degrading forests be felt?
Around the world

1. Who suffers directly as a result of deforestation?

2. How did Brazil reduce deforestation for a seven year period?

By…

3. What global forces are encouraging deforestation in Brazil?

4. What is there a lack of in remote areas of Brazil?

5. What is the main problem facing Brazil’s major city?

6. What is the rainforest responsible for maintaining?

7. What could cause a lot of the Amazon to become barren land?

8. Which weather pattern does California’s Sierra Nevada rely on?

Writing Part 1

Crescent Summer School for foreign learners provides the opportunity for international students to develop English language skills through lessons and practice on a daily basis, whilst encouraging self-motivation and freedom through exciting activities and sports. Write an article for an educational journal giving your opinion on the benefits and drawbacks of sending a child to this school. Write between 150 and 200 words. 

Writing Part 2

Your English teacher has asked you to write an essay about a problem that you have had. Explain how you solved the problem. What did you learn from this experience and how can you use this knowledge in the future? Write between 250 and 300 words.