Grammar

1 Correct the mistakes in the sentences. 3 Choose the best answer (A, B, C or D) to
complete the text.
1 The news of the earthquake is reported on the six
o’clock news programme yesterday. An interesting science programme (1) ……………………… on
Channel 3 last night. It was about the improvements that
………..……..………..……..………..……..………..……..………..……..………..
have been made in tsunami warnings since the devastating
2 Rescue workers from the UK are being sent to help the tsunami of 2004. It appears that precise predictions of the
people look for survivors. They should be arrived later height and timing of a tsunami can now (2) ………………………
this evening. to areas in danger within minutes of an earthquake
happening at sea. The money that has been put into
………..……..………..……..………..……..………..……..………..……..………..
developing the technology to enable scientists to do this
3 Many people have evacuated from their houses in the has been considerable and (3) ……………………… estimated
last few hours because of the flooding. that thousands of lives have been saved in recent years

………..……..………..……..………..……..………..……..………..……..………..
because of this. Having said that, the scientists on the
programme insist that there is still a lot of work
4 The forest fire is spread very quickly at the moment. (4) ……………………… in this field and that it is hoped further
………..……..………..……..………..……..………..……..………..……..……….. financial support will help them (5) ……………………… the
necessary technology even further.
5 The need for more money to develop sea defences
would be discussed at the council meeting tomorrow. 1 A showed B is shown C was shown D shows
2 A send B is sent C sending D be sent
………..……..………..……..………..……..………..……..………..……..……….. 3 A they were B it is C is D is being
4 A to be done B is doing C doing D can be done
/5
5 A developing B to develop C developed D to be
developed
2 Complete the text with the correct form of the
/5
verbs given.

Construction workers on a major underground railway 4 Complete the text with one word in each gap.
project in London have uncovered a burial site that
(1) ……………………… (expect) to provide important information Organisers of last night’s charity concert in aid of hurricane

about the plague or ‘Black Death’. The discovery victims announced today that they (1) ………………………

(2) ……………………… (make) during excavation for the eastern already raised over six million pounds. (2) ……………………… is

entrance of the new railway. A headstone marked ‘1665’, estimated that more than 300,000 people have been left

the year when the epidemic was at its height, homeless as a result of the disaster, which happened on

(3) ……………………… (find) nearby. Archeologists say that the Thursday night, and many more will struggle to rebuild their

individuals appear to (4) ……………………… (bury) on the same houses without assistance. Some of the money from the

day. The remains will (5) ……………………… (analyse) by concert (3) ……………………… be spent on tents and blankets

experts at the Museum of London Archeology, who hope to help with the immediate situation. The rest is

that their research will provide an opportunity to learn more (4) ……………………… set aside for rebuilding projects.

about the disease. Speaking on television this morning a charity spokesman

said that he had (5) ……………………… amazed at people’s
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generosity at a time of economic hardship.

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 Vocabulary 7 Complete the text with the correct form of these
words.
5 Complete the text with these words. There are
two extra words. destroy • erupt • land • survive • volcano

burst • collapse • damage • droughts Following the unexpected (1) ……………………… of the Pacific
hurricanes • spent • torrential island volcano last Tuesday, more people living close by
have been forced to move because of (2) ………………………
While some parts of the world haven’t seen any rain for
that are threatening to cut off several local towns and
several months, causing prolonged (1) ……………………… in
villages. Hundreds of (3) ……………………… of the original
many countries, other places have been badly affected by
disaster are still living in temporary shelters and it is
the opposite problem – floods. Too much rain has caused
expected to be some time before experts will be able to
rivers across Europe to (2) ……………………… their banks,
properly assess the (4) ……………………… in the area.
causing widespread (3) ……………………… in many areas.
Meanwhile, flights are being diverted because of a cloud of
Barriers set up to protect residents from the rising waters
(5) ……………………… ash that is making it difficult for pilots to
have proved inadequate, leaving many people to complain
navigate in the region.
that not enough money has been (4) ……………………… on
flood defences, despite many warnings. And worse is yet /5

to come, with weather forecasters predicting more

8 Choose the best answer (A, B, C or D) to
(5) ……………………… rain over the next few days. complete the text.
/5 Most people would want to avoid a natural disaster but,
strangely, many people head to the cinema to watch
6 Choose the correct alternatives to complete the fictional representations of such events. At certain times,
text. disaster movies perform extremely well at the (1) …………… .

Some parts of the world are particularly vulnerable to They usually have fairly predictable (2) ……………, but people

natural disasters. The so-called Ring of Fire in the Pacific like to watch terrifying events on a grand scale and scenes

Ocean is a string of volcanoes and an area of intense of mass (3) …………… – as long as the right people save the

seismic activity where almost 90 percent of the world’s day in the end! Some experts think that these films provide

(1) earthquakes/hurricanes occur. When this happens psychological relief, especially at times when we feel

under the sea, one side of the ocean suddenly drops insecure in the world. When we watch people running to

resulting in a (2) tsunami/avalanche. A rush of water away escape the wave as a (4) …………… approaches, we realise

from the coastline may be a sign that the (3) wave/mud is that our own life isn’t that bad! For the film studios, these

coming, but many of these natural disasters occur without high-earning (5) …………… are good news. They are easy to

warning. So why live in such places? Some countries, such export because the images can be understood in any

as Iceland and New Zealand, use such geothermal activity language. And the special effects just get better and better!

to generate electricity. Volcanoes also attract millions of 1 A box office C marketplace

tourists and many people (4) wait for/depend on the jobs B feedback D turnout
and income that tourism provides. And (5) lava/tremor 2 A plots C lyrics
contains valuable minerals which can be mined once it B soundtracks D acting
cools down. 3 A aftershock C panic
B epidemic D damage
/5
4 A drought C tsunami
B forest fire D avalanche
5 A page-turners C live streams
B gigs D blockbusters

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Total / 20

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 Reading
9 Read the article about flooding. 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.

Flooding: the new danger

Areas in certain parts of the world have recently been hit by disastrous floods and others by a sequence of earthquakes.
(1) ………………………
F Away from earthquake zones, one of the most worrying problems these days is flooding and it is predicted
that as a result of the changes in climate, this type of disaster will occur with greater frequency in the future, affecting
the lives of millions of people.

D
There are many victims of flooding. (2) ……………………… Every time it rains for longer than a day or two, they ask, ‘Will it be us
this time? Will it be our house that is flooded?’ After the fear, comes the reality; tons of water spilling over the river
banks, into roads, houses and over fields. People become trapped in their own homes when the road becomes a river
and need to be rescued by ill-prepared rescue services. And people die in floods. (3) ………………………
A Then we have the
emotional and financial cost of flooding. Lifelong possessions are lost, security disappears and there is the worry over
restoration. How will we pay for it? Some insurance companies refuse to cover properties in certain areas because of the
high risk of flooding. (4) ………………………
G

Rescue services regularly carry out flood simulation emergency practice where they get vital, realistic practice of what to
do if the real thing should happen. (5) ………………………
E However, this is like a doctor treating the symptoms and not the cause
of a problem. What we really need to deal with is preventing the flooding in the first place. It is accepted that we cannot
reverse climate change, but we can certainly spend money on strengthening sea and river walls. (6) ………………………
B The
problem is that, as always, these things cost a lot of money. However, surely it is worth investing this money now, if it will
prevent even greater monetary loss later. It is something that the government needs to take seriously because it’s a
problem that is not going to go away.

Indeed, if anything, the situation is likely to get worse. Many experts believe that those responsible will need to look at a
range of measures, not just flood defences, but also land management schemes and even how we design our homes so
that floods do less damage to property when they do occur and houses can be lived in again soon after the waters
recede. It seems that our approach to flooding needs a complete rethink.

A They drown, trapped in cars or swept away by E This is welcome and will no doubt mean that they will
fast-moving rivers. be able to evacuate and save more people in the event
B There are also many ways in which people can improve of a massive flood.
defences to their own homes. F Most of us know someone who has been caught up in
C Unscrupulous builders develop low-lying land that is in the devastation caused by these events.
great danger of flooding. G Therefore, some people may not have sufficient
D Firstly, there are those (one in five people in Britain) insurance to carry out the repairs to their flood
who live in constant fear of heavy rainfall. damaged houses; others may have none.

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10 Read the article again and choose the best answers, A, B, C or D.
1 Incidences of flooding are 6 Experts believe we need to
A caused by earthquakes. A build more flood defences.
B likely to increase. B improve flood management.
C responsible for climate change. C redesign flooded houses.
D unpredictable. D consider a variety of solutions.
2 Rescue services are usually
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A too slowly.
B ready for anything.
C inadequate. 11 Find words in the text which mean the same as
D incompetent. these phrases.
3 The cost of flooding is 1 Paragraph 1: To affect something badly.
A purely financial. worry
………………………
B difficult to assess.
2 Paragraph 2: Something that you own or that you carry
C covered by insurance.
D also psychological. with you at any time. ………………………
4 Practising for flood emergencies doesn’t 3 Paragraph 3: A model of something that can be used
A deal with the root of the problem. to teach someone how to do something or the process
B provide realistic training. of making such a model. ………………………
C happen often enough.
4 Paragraph 3: To change a situation or change the
D include medical professionals.
order of things so that it becomes the opposite.
5 Investment in flood defences now is
………………………
A too expensive.
B worth it in the long run. /4
C unlikely to help.
D not a serious proposition. Total / 16

Use of English
12 Complete the second sentence so it means the same as the first, using the word given. Do not change the
word given. Use between two and five words.
1 People say that animals can predict a natural disaster. 6 People need protection from flooding.
ABLE BE
Animals ……………………… to predict a natural disaster. People ……………………… from flooding.
2 They believe that a cigarette started the fire. 7 Our teacher gave us an essay about pollution.
BEEN WERE
The fire ……………………… started by a cigarette. We ……………………… about pollution by our teacher.
3 They don’t know when the area will flood again. 8 My tutor often praises my work and I like that.
KNOWN BY
It ……………………… the area will flood again. I like ……………………… for my work.
4 They expect that the firefighters will arrive soon. 9 The advice was not to sit in the sun for too long.
TO WERE
The firefighters ……………………… soon. We ……………………… in the sun for too long.
5 People think that the climate will change a great deal 10 The government has promised to help the survivors.
over the next 20 years. HAVE
IS The survivors……………………… the government.
It ……………………… will change a great deal over the next
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20 years.

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 Listening
13 Listen to an extract from a radio phone-in 14 Listen again and complete the sentences with
programme. Are these statements True (T), False two or three words in each gap.
(F), or is the information Not Mentioned (NM)? news
1 The family hadn’t listened ……………………… so they
1 Martin’s holiday to Spain was a last-minute weren’t aware of the ash cloud until they got to the
decision to celebrate his exam results. T/F/NM
airport.
2 The first Martin’s family knew about the ash
cloud problem was when they got to the 2 Martin’s father was unable to get information online
airport. T/F/NM because the airline’s ………………………
crashed .
3 Martin’s family were given beds to sleep 3 The seats were all full so they had to sleep
on at the airport. T/F/NM ………………………
floor on their coats.
4 The airlines weren’t being properly advised 4 spending 2 nights
In total they ended up ……………………… at the airport.
by the aviation authority. T/F/NM
5 They might try to rebook the holiday later because they
5 They flew to Spain on the third day. T/F/NM
compensation from the airline.
got ………………………
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Total / 10

Writing
15 At school, you have been talking about natural disasters. Now your English teacher has asked you to write
an essay. Look at the notes and write your essay.

What can be done to help people affected by natural disasters?

Write about:
1 governments
2 charities
3 ……………………….……………… (your own idea)

Write 190–220 words.

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 Speaking
16 Look at the bar chart which shows the number of natural disasters in 2014 and the line graph which shows
the number of natural disasters over the period 1994–2014. Compare and contrast the information in the
graphs.

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Total / 100

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