B2 Practice Test 1
KGL Contest in English
B2
Listening, Reading and Writing
Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Instructions
Read each part carefully.
To answer a question click on the answer. To change your answer click on another answer.
To go to the next part click Next. To go back click Back.
You can go back to check you work until the end of the test.
Listening
There are two parts to the test. Each part is heard twice. There is a pause for you to read the questions at the start of each part. There is a pause for you to check your work at the end of part two. When you hear THIS IS THE END OF THE LISTENING TEST you can then move on to the next part.
Writing
Click in the blank page on the right side of the screen and type your answer. You can delete and retype any part of your answer.
There is a word count at the bottom of the screen.
The writing task in the practice test is for practice purposes and does not provide a score for the writing section
Clicking on Exit ends the test.
You must answer all questions.
To start the test click on the button below.
Part 1 - Listening
Listening Part 1
Questions 1–5
You will hear people taking in different situations.
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Part 2 - Listening
Listening Part 2
Questions 6–10
You will hear part of a radio talk about the first train driver.
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Part 3 - Reading
Questions 11–20
Click on the gap and choose the correct word
Brain Power
Dave Farrow appears in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the world’s greatest memory. As a student, Dave had a learning disability called dyslexia.
(11) his struggles with subjects like reading and writing, Dave found ways to improve his memory in order to do (12) in school. In 2008, he set a world record by memorising the (13) of 59 decks of playing cards in two days. How did his brain store all of this information? According to Dave, anybody’s brain can do it, but it helps to understand how memory works.
Your brain is (14) taking in information through your senses. The information enters your sensory memory, which has the capacity to hold lots of information, but only for a few seconds. If you (15) the information, your brain will discard it. However, if you pay attention to it, the information goes into your short-term memory. This is why learning to pay attention is an important first (16) to improving your ability to recall what you learn.
Your short-term memory can only hold information from 15 seconds to a few minutes, so people like Dave have to rely on different tricks to remember long lists.
One trick is to look at the first letter of every word you want to memorize. Then,
(17) your own word, phrase or sentence using all of those letters. This is called an acronym. For example, if you want to remember all the colours in a rainbow, try remembering the name Roy G. Biv. Each letter in this name matches the first letter of a colour in the rainbow.
Another trick is to organise information into chunks or pieces. For example, when you try to remember a telephone number, your brain usually remembers it in chunks. You remember the area code as one chunk, the next three numbers as another chunk, and the last four numbers as another chunk. This way, your brain only has to remember three things; (18) ten. Whenever you learn a new word, study words that share the same meaning. Such words are called synonyms. For example, synonyms for the word big are huge, enormous, gigantic, large and massive.
If you don’t keep using the information, your brain throws it away. If you keep reviewing the information, it will go into your long-term memory. The more you practice
(19) the information, the better you will be at remembering it. Try these tips the next time you are (20) to remember a phone number, a new word or something for school.
Part 4 - Reading
Questions 21–30
Caesar, Alfred and Zak talk about the positive effects of having a dog.
Read and answer the questions. Choose A, B, C or D
The Positive Effects of Owning a Dog
Caesar
My son’s best friend is Tip. Tip and he are inseparable. They teach each other things and they look after each other. Tip has helped him become more responsible, more caring, and a better friend. My son, James, is a nine-year-old boy, and Tip is a ten-year-old dog. James and Tip are a living example of how owning a dog can have a positive effect on a child's development. Having a dog develops a child's sense of responsibility, broadens his capacity for empathy, and teaches the nature of friendship. Having a dog helps a child learn how to act responsibly. As a dog owner, my son must take care of the animal's daily needs. The dog must be fed and exercised every day. A dog is completely dependent on its owner for all its needs, including the need for good health and a safe environment. Therefore, being responsible for a dog also means taking care of the dog so that it stays healthy. Furthermore, the owner must take responsibility for the safety of the dog and the safety of the people it comes into contact with. Of course, we as a family help take care of Tip by taking him to the vet and making sure he is healthy, but James knows that the rest is up to him. |
Alfred
I fully agree. If a child forgets any of these duties and responsibilities, or ignores any of the dog's needs, the dog will suffer. This teaches the child that his responsibility to the dog is more important than his desire to play with his toys, talk on the phone, or watch TV. This is true not only for the care of a dog, but also for the care of yourself, another person, or school work. Another lesson that a child can learn from having a dog is how to have empathy. Empathy is the ability to put yourself in another person's shoes, or in this case, another animal’s situation. This means being able to imagine that person's, or animal’s feelings or problems. A dog cannot express itself with speech, so its owner must learn how to interpret its behaviour. We must learn to understand what the dog's behaviour means. This includes understanding things like when the dog is frightened, aggressive, or sick etc. We need to understand what’s going on in the dog's mind. By learning how to have empathy with a dog, a person also learns how to empathise with other people. |
Zak Being considerate and caring are important characteristics we look for in a good friend. One of the most significant benefits of owning a dog is the example of true friendship that a dog provides. A dog gives unconditional love to its owner. A dog will not stop loving its owner because of a little anger, indifference, or neglect. The dog will wait patiently for its owner to pat its head and say a few kind words. This acceptance of the negative qualities and appreciation for the positive qualities of its owner provide a wonderful model of how to be a good friend. A child soon realises that his dog will always listen to him, will always be ready to play with him, will always protect him, and will always forgive him. A child who has learned to be even half as good a friend to others as his dog is to him will have learned one of the most valuable lessons in life. |
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Part 5 - Reading
Questions 31–40
For questions 31-35 choose the word(s) closest in meaning to the underlined word(s).
For questions 36- 40 choose A, B, C or D
The Mongolian Death Worm. Fact or Fiction?
Sensing its prey it moves through the shifting sands. Unseen, the eyeless monstrosity moves closer and closer. The prey realises something is wrong but it’s already too late. Suddenly it bursts from the ground, spraying acid to blind its prey before
(31) unleashing a deadly blast of electricity, electrocuting its prey. Then the Allghoi Khorkhoi begins the slow process of devouring its latest kill.
No, this is not something from the latest thriller movie. This is a description of an attack by a Mongolian Death Worm. The Mongolian Death Worm is a mysterious creature that is said to live in the sands of the Gobi Desert. According to various accounts, these terrifying creatures grow up to one metre in length, are dark red in colour, and have spike-like projections at either end. It has a bite that supposedly (32) pierces metal instantly and it can also kill by either spitting a deadly venom or electrocuting its prey from a distance.
You might be wondering why you have never seen one of these in your biology textbooks. The reason is that one has never been photographed before. In fact, the Mongolian Death Worm is largely believed to be a myth. Believed that is, by people who do not live in Mongolia. Stories and sightings of the beast are (33) rife in the region. The belief in these creatures is so strong that descriptions of the creature don’t vary and many people claim to have seen, and promptly avoided one.
So, is it real or just some folktale? The answer can best be summed up as ‘both’. It cannot really be a worm as the environment is too (34) inhospitable for a soft fleshy creature like that to survive. However, it might be some form of snake or legless lizard. A worm lizard, as such creatures are called, lives underground and can grow up to several feet in length. Also, while there are species of snakes and lizards that can spit venom and cause blindness, none have metal piercing ability or the power to electrocute prey.
It is possible that the apparent sightings of the Mongolian Death Worm may just be some misidentified snake or lizard, but it is also possible that the creature is a complete and utter myth.
Of course, there is always the (35) slim but terrifying possibility that these worms are, in fact, real. Perhaps thousands of them live under the sands and have merely avoided capture to date. Maybe someday science will finally be able to tell us if this is a mythological cryptid, a misidentified snake, or a very real monster living deep in the Gobi Desert.
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Part 6 - Writing
Writing
One morning you awake to the sound of police cars and people shouting. During the night the animals from the visiting circus escaped and they are now all over town. Write the story of what happened. Remember to mention how it happened, how different people reacted, if any people were hurt and how the problem was resolved. Explain what happened afterwards and what kind of action was taken against the circus owners to ensure it would not happen again.
You should try to introduce an element of surprise into your story.
Write between 230 and 250 words only