NAME... LAAS LANGUAGE ATTAINMENT ASSESSMENT SYSTEM Level A2 ENGLISH LANGUAGE EXAMINATIONS Certificate Recognised by ICC MAY 2007 INSTRUCTIONS Be sure you have written your name at the top of this page. Do not open this booklet until the exam starts. The order of the exam papers is: PART A Listening, PART B Reading & Usage, PART C Writing. Time allowed for all three parts: 120 minutes
PALSO LAAS MAY 2006A 2007 A2 A2 LISTENING PAGE 1 Α LISTENING (25 points) Time: approximately 20 minutes As you listen to the recording, mark your answers in this booklet. Answer all the questions. Give only one answer for each question. After the end of the recording, you will have 3 minutes to transfer your answers onto Answer Sheet A. Mark them in 2H or HB pencil. LISTENING EXERCISE 1: Numbers 1 to 10 TANGO! SAMBA! SALSA! Dances From South America Decide whether statements 1 to 10 are true or not. Write A for True or B for False in the space next to the number. A EX. South American dances have become popular here. Tango - Argentina The answer is A True 1. The tango was started by rich people. 2. The tango is new in Greece. 3. The tango shows strong feelings. 4. The tango looks easy to do. Salsa - Cuba 5. Salsa music uses African instruments. 6. People who went to find work took salsa to the USA. 7. Sometimes people dance salsa to win prizes. 8. The samba comes from Argentina. 9. In the samba, each dancer can do what he or she wants. 10. You can learn these dances in dance schools. Samba - Brazil
LAAS MAY 2007 A2 LISTENING PAGE 2 LISTENING EXERCISE 2: Numbers 11 to 20 THE RECYCLING CENTRE! Choose a word or phrase to complete each sentence, 11 to 16. Circle its letter, A, B or C. 11. Joe and Shari take things to the recycling centre. A. on foot B. by car C. by bus 12. At first, Shari thinks the centre is. A. pretty B. ugly C. plain 13. Joe likes this centre because it takes. A. different types of rubbish B. only newspapers C. only heavy things 14. One problem with this centre is that. A. the bags are too small to fit the holes B. it doesn't take plastic and glass C. the holes are too small for some things 15. The aluminium Shari has brought includes. A. drinks cans and pizzeria dishes B. drinks cans and pet food tins C. just drinks cans 16. Joe and Shari will take their large plastic bottles to. A. the supermarket near their home B. another recycling bin C. the other side of this centre The Three R's Reduce! Reuse! Recycle! Decide if statements 17 to 20 are true or not. Write A for True or B for False in the space next to each number. 17. The recycling centre takes old mobile phones. 18. Shari has bought only one mobile phone. 19. Joe says the Three R's will help create less rubbish. 20. Shari thinks she'll buy fewer phones in the future.
LAAS MAY 2007 A2 READING & USAGE PAGE 3 B READING & USAGE (50 points) You are advised to spend about 1 hour on this part of the test. You may mark your answers on this booklet while you are working on them. Answer all the questions. Give only one answer for each question. When you have finished, mark your answers on Answer Sheet B using a 2H or HB pencil. READING & USAGE EXERCISE 1: Numbers 1 to 10 Read this letter from Max to his grandson, Peter. Then do the exercises on page 4. Dear Peter, Well, I have been having a lot of fun... as usual. Your grandmother and I had planned to go to Venice, Italy, this year, to see the Carnival. A month before our trip, Grandma Mary broke her ankle. She couldn't walk very far, so she decided to stay at home. She was disappointed, but she insisted that I should still go by myself. I didn't want to, at first, but now I'm glad I went. Venice was wonderful! The streets were full of tourists and local people. Many of them wore costumes, and some were really fantastic. I especially liked one I saw in bright colours red, green, blue and yellow with a huge hat which had a big ball hanging from one of its points. Another man was dressed like an Indian prince in a round blue hat with a red feather. And I was right there with them, all dressed up in a long red cape and a red and gold hat. I brought the coat and hat home with me and your grandmother took my picture in our living room. People in Venice are famous for the masks that they wear for Carnival. No one can tell who you are until you take off your mask. I liked wearing a mask! Of course, not everyone does that. I took a picture of a young woman who had painted her face instead. While I was in Venice, I did all the other things tourists do. Venice has canals rivers that run from one part of town to the other. There are bridges over the canals, and small streets go into the neighbourhoods and squares. Nowadays, there are also roads in the newer parts of the city, but in the old town people still travel around by boat. Of course, I did that, too. So, I'm sending you a picture I took while I was in the boat. The city is beautiful with many large, old buildings, and you can see a lot of them from the boat. I got tired walking around, but I had such a good time that I didn't care. Next time, I'm taking you with me, Peter! And Grandma Mary, of course! Love, Grandpa Max
LAAS MAY 2007 A2 READING & USAGE PAGE 4 Choose the correct phrase to fill each gap. Mark its letter, A, B or C, on Answer Sheet B. 1. Grandma Mary didn't go to Venice because. A. it was too far away B. she wasn't well C. she doesn't like Italy 2. Grandpa Max Venice alone. A. is sorry he went to B. didn't like being in C. enjoyed himself in 3. in Venice wore costumes for Carnival. A. Both tourists and local people B. Only tourists C. Only local people A B 4. In Venice, you. A. must travel everywhere by boat B. can drive a car everywhere C. can travel by boat and car 5. Grandpa Max to Venice again. A. does not want to go B. will take Peter when he goes C. will not take Mary if he goes C Choose the correct picture to match each phrase. Mark its letter, A to F, on Answer Sheet B. This is the photo Grandpa Max sent to Peter of: D 6. someone dressed like a man from India 7. a woman who wasn't wearing a mask 8. someone in a canal boat 9. a bridge and some buildings in Venice E 10. Grandpa Max in his costume F
LAAS MAY 2007 A2 READING & USAGE PAGE 5 READING & USAGE EXERCISE 2: Numbers 11 to 20 Read this article about roofs made with plants. Choose the correct word or phrase to fill each gap. Mark its letter, A, B or C, on Answer Sheet B. GREEN ROOFS KEEP BUILDINGS COMFORTABLE! Green roofs _(11)_ around for thousands of years. Of course, when people lived in caves, the top _(12)_ the cave was a natural roof. After that, people made roofs of _(13)_ they had nearby. Some cut long grass and tied it _(14)_ to make a thick roof, called 'thatch'. In England, where the weather is wet, little plants grew in the grass roof. In drier places, people dug up the grass and_(15)_ the squares of grass and dirt on the roof. These are called 'sod' roofs. In some parts of the world, they _(16)_ do this today. In the past 100 years, roofs have been _(17)_ of many things, including wood, cement, and metal. These roofs get hot in the summer and let heat out in the winter. So, people have become interested _(18)_ 'green' roofs again. They fix the roof so water can't get in, and then plant grass or even trees there. But companies are also looking for new ways to make planting _(19)_, and they're testing the ideas on their own buildings. Some of these ideas are expensive, _(20)_ they can save a lot of electricity while they keep the building comfortable! GREEN ROOF 11. A. have been B. are C. to be 12. A. in B. up C. of 13. A. nothing B. things C. thing 14. A. near B. beside C. together 15. A. to put B. put C. putting 16. A. still B. already C. yet 17. A. make B. making C. made 18. A. about B. in C. for 19. A. easier B. easiest C. more easily 20. A. but B. so C. if READING & USAGE EXERCISE 3: Numbers 21 to 25 PLACES Match a reply from the box with each question on the left. Mark its letter, A to F, on Answer Sheet B. You will use only five of the letters. 21. Mum, have you seen my jacket? 22. And my shoes, what did I do with them? 23. Oh, no! It's not raining again, is it? 24. Will you be here when I get home for lunch? 25. Well, who's going to cook my lunch? A. No, I'll be at the dentist's with Sally. B. If you hung it up, it's in your wardrobe. C. I'll leave it in the fridge for you. D. Well, they're usually under your bed. E. Don't worry. You won't get lost. F. Yes, you'd better take your umbrella.
LAAS MAY 2007 A2 READING & USAGE PAGE 6 READING & USAGE EXERCISE 4: Numbers 26 to 30 THE CINEMA Choose the correct word to fill each gap. Mark its letter, A, B or C, on Answer Sheet B. 26. Sara really likes horses, so her favourite films are. A. comedies B. westerns C. thrillers 27. Francis couldn't act very well, but he became a great. A. director B. scene C. play 28. Some films, such as The Piano, are about people and their musical. A. organs B. players C. instruments 29. Harry Potter was so popular that we had to stand in a long. A. audience B. queue C. time 30. The is important on the theatre stage, but, in the cinema, it's hardly ever used. A. seat B. ticket C. curtain READING & USAGE EXERCISE 5: Numbers 31 to 35 ARE YOU GOING TO THE MATCH? Here s some advice about going to an important football match. Put the sentences in the correct order. Mark the letter of each sentence, A to G, on Answer Sheet B. You will use only five of the letters. The first one is done for you. EX. Sentence 1 The answer is A. If you want to go to an important 'cup' match, you'd better buy your ticket early! EX. Sentence 1 A 31. Sentence 2 32. Sentence 3 33. Sentence 4 34. Sentence 5 35. Sentence 6 A. If you want to go to an important 'cup' match, you'd better buy your ticket early! B. Look through the programme for the series of matches and decide which one you all want to see. C. On the day of the match, go right to your gate and then find your seats. You won't have to stand in line. Just enjoy the fun! D. Why? Well, it may be very crowded on the day of the match, and you may not be able to find a seat. So, here's what I suggest. E. Remember, football fans sometimes cause problems! F. To begin with, ask your friends if they want to go, too. It will be more fun if you all sit together. G. Then go to the stadium, about a month before the match, and buy tickets for everyone.
LAAS MAY 2007 A2 READING & USAGE PAGE 7 READING & USAGE EXERCISE 6: Numbers 36 to 45 A OWNING A PET Match a picture with each of the statements. Mark its letter, A to E, on Answer Sheet B. You will use some letters more than once. 36. "When I'm not home, my neighbour comes to feed my two 'boys'. They get a bit worried when it's time to eat and they're always happy to see him." 37. "My parrot, Jasper, came to me when he was a baby. Now he's almost 25 years old. His colours are beautiful and his tail is almost a metre long." 38. "I don't know why I like Sheila so much. Most people are afraid of her. But a snake like this is a good pet and it only has to eat about once a week." 39. "Cats don't have to 'go out for a walk', but Cowboy does. Every night, I take him out. I suppose it could be dangerous, but not with Cowboy there to protect me!" 40. "I named the first one Smudge because he looked like a dark mark on white paper. Then the young one, I named Q. He was so smart and he liked to watch the computer screen." 41. "Maybe it's unusual for a young man to have a furry, little white pet. But since I moved from home to Athens to go to university, Roubini really keeps me company. It was my mum's idea." 42. "I couldn't find anyone to feed my parrot when I went on holiday, so I left him at the pet shop. The other birds tried to cheer him up, but he was really sad." 43. "When my friends come to visit, he runs down the stairs and walks back up with them. If they don't pet him and talk to him, he gets all upset and starts to bark." 44. "The pet shop told me to put a mouse in his cage every week or so. I really couldn't do that. So, now I give him an egg. He swallows it whole, and he's quite happy. Thank goodness!" 45. "If I forget to let her out for a run, she scratches her plastic cage and makes a lot of noise. If I do let her out, she eats my plants." B C D E
LAAS MAY 2007 A2 WRITING PAGE 8 C WRITING (25 points) You are advised to spend about 40 minutes on this part of the test. You may use a blank sheet of paper as a draft. Write your task in the space provided on Answer Sheet C in blue or black pen. You have ONE writing task to do. Choose either Topic A or Topic B. Write your task in about 120 words on Answer Sheet C. Choose ONE of these two topics. Do the task in about 120 words. TOPIC A: There are bins in your town where you can take old bottles, plastic, newspapers and drinks cans. But there aren't any near your home, and they don't accept all the things you want to recycle. Write a letter to the mayor, Mrs. Pappas. Tell her what you think would improve the situation. more recycling bins bins that are easier to use information about where to find the bins OR TOPIC B: What did you do at Carnival this year? Write a story about your Carnival celebration. Did you join or watch a parade in the city? Did you celebrate Carnival in a village? Did you go to any parties? Did you wear a costume? Did you have a good time?
1 [A2 LISTENING TEST 07A] Scripts 1 POPULAR DANCES FROM SOUTH AMERICA 2 THE RECYCLING CENTRE LAAS Listening Test, May 2007. Copyright, Panhellenic Federation of Foreign Language Centre Owners, Athens, Greece. [intro music] Hello, students. This is your A2 Listening test. Before we start, please make sure that your name and code number are on the front of your Test Booklet. [5 sec]
2 [A2-1 POPULAR DANCES FROM SOUTH AMERICA] [15 sec] [music] NARR Now, open your Test Booklet. As you listen, write your answers in this Test Booklet. At the end of the test, you will have time to mark your answers on the computerised Answer Sheet, A. Now, let's go on. Look at Listening Exercise ONE. In this exercise, you'll hear a talk about three popular dances from South America. Before you listen, take a short time to look at Listening Exercise ONE in your Test Booklet. Good. Now, as you listen to the talk, decide if statements 1 to 10 are true or not. Write A for True or B for False in your Test Booklet. Now here is the talk. Are you ready? Although they've been here before, South American dances are becoming popular again in Greece. Some people simply like watching the performances, but a growing number are taking lessons and enjoy going out for an evening of dancing. The tango is probably the best known. The tango started in Argentina back in the 1890's, in small clubs and bars in poor neighbourhoods. It spread all over Europe and even to Greece before the First World War, but was never as popular in Greece as it is now. The tango is always done by two people, a man and a woman, who seem to be falling in love or... falling out of love. So, it's always serious, although it can be either very slow or fast and exciting. When it's very fast, the dancers step quickly between and around the feet of their partner. It's amazing that they don't fall down! Salsa, a fairly fast, lively dance, is a mix of several dances from the island of Cuba. The music often includes drums from Africa. Although it is mainly done by a man and woman, there is also one style in which many pairs dance in a circle. Like the tango, salsa has gone around the world. It travelled to the United States, between 1940 and 1970, when people from Cuba moved there to find jobs. The salsa became very popular again after it was shown in the film 'The Mambo Kings.' There are large competitions to choose the best salsa dancers. We've seen it for years here in Greece, but most people don't know what it's called... It's the samba, the dance from Brazil that everyone does in the big Carnival parades! That style of samba comes from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the most famous Carnival city in the world. It's a lively dance that is usually done alone, instead of with a partner. And it can be danced to some rock and jazz songs as well as the usual South American music. That's what makes it so perfect for parades... each dancer can do what they like as the parade moves down the street. Samba is a fun dance that almost anyone can do.
3 These three dances are just a few of the many from South America. If you want to try them, look for adverts for dance schools, or for special club nights, usually called 'milongas' [fade] where you can dance with other people who like them... Take a short time to look at your answers. Then you will hear the talk again. [15 sec] Now here is the talk again.. [repeat Although they've been here. to. usually called 'milongas.] That is the end of the first exercise. Take a short time to finish your answers. [15 sec]
4 [A2-2 THE RECYCLING CENTRE] [15 sec] In this exercise, you will hear two young people who are taking rubbish to a special place. Before you listen to the conversation, take a short time to look at Listening Exercise TWO. Good. Now, let s look at the questions. As you listen to the conversation, choose the correct word or phrase to complete each sentence, 11 to 16. Circle its letter, A, B or C, in your Test Booklet. Then decide if statements 17 to 20 are true or not. Write A for True or B for False in the space beside each number. Now, here is the conversation. Are you ready? [house noise? bags, bottles clinking, plastic crackling] Have you got everything, Shari? Yes, I think so, Joe. One bag of plastic and glass. One bag of aluminium. And this [groan] heavy one of old newspapers. Too bad the centre isn't down the street by the bus stop! Nevermind! Here, I'll carry the papers to the car. [car stopping, car door slams... recycling 'spitaki' music fades in] Oh, look at that! What a lovely little house! It doesn't look like a bin! Yes, it IS a lot better than those big, ugly bins they used to have for recycling. Recycling? What we're doing now, Shari. We don't throw things in the dust bin. We bring them here so people can make them into something useful. Oh, right. Well, this is pretty with its bright colours. And the music, I like the music. What I like is that it takes everything, not just paper like the old recycling bins. Now, let's see. Let's start with the newspapers. Yeah, good idea. They're the heaviest. Up we go... (grunt) Nnnrrrr. Oh, dear, the bag won't fit in the hole. Okay, we'll have to put them in one at a time. [rustling thunk rustling thunk] Don't you think they know people will bring a bag full. It would be easier if you could just throw the whole bag in.
5 Yeah, no one's going to run down to the bin with just one newspaper. Okay, that's it for the newspapers. Now, where's the hole for plastic and glass? I don't see it, but this little round hole is for aluminium. Oh, look it counts how many drinks cans you put in. Isn't that clever? [aluminium plunk, plunk] This is fun! Well, yes, but what if you've smashed them flat? Does it still count them? And what are we going to do with the other aluminium? That's right. I've got all these aluminium dishes from the pizzeria. They won't fit! Oh, here's the one for plastic, over here on the other side. But it's got the same problem. It doesn't look big enough for some of these bottles. Well, just put in what you can, and we'll take the big ones home. I know another bin in the city centre where you can put large things. We can go there next. Let's see, I'm going to walk around to the other side and see if there's a hole for glass. (complaining) Take your time! I'll still be here trying to push this bottle in. Hey, come around to this side. I put the glass in and look what I found right beside it! Oh, a place to put old mobile phones! Now that's a good idea! Right! It seems with new ones coming out everyday, people don't know what to do with their old ones. Yeah, I really hate to just throw them in the rubbish. I know I've got 4 or 5 old ones at home! Five?! You know, you really should learn about the 'Three R's'! Three R's? Yeah... Reduce That means use less! Re-use. Like when I use bags from the supermarket to put my rubbish in? Yeah, and then Recycle -- bring it here -- if you can't use it again. Reduce! Reuse! Recycle! That way there won't be so much rubbish! Three R's. Clever idea! I think I'll stop buying so many mobile phones. Well, yes, [fade> you might want to think about that...
6 Now take a short time to look at your answers. Then you will hear the conversation again. [15 sec] Now, here is the conversation again. Are you ready? [repeat Have you got everything?... to... think about that... ] That's the end of the second exercise. Take a short time to finish your answers. [15 sec] That's the end of the listening test. You now have a short time to mark your answers on the computerized Answer Sheet, A. Mark them in pencil. Thank you. [exit music]
ΕΞΕΤΑΣΕΙΣ LAAS - ΜΑΙΟΣ 2007 ΛΥΣΕΙΣ ΑΓΓΛΙΚΩΝ A2- BASIC Part A Part B 1B 1B 2B 2C 3A 3A 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7A 7D 8B 8F 9A 9E 10 A 10 A 11 B 11 A 12 A 12 C 13 A 13 B 14 C 14 C 15 A 15 B 16 B 16 A 17 A 17 C 18 B 18 B 19 A 19 A 20 A 20 A 21 B 22 D 23 F 24 A 25 C 26 B 27 A 28 C 29 B 30 C 31 D 32 F 33 B 34 G 35 C 36 B 37 C 38 D 39 A 40 B 41 E 42 C 43 A 44 D 45 E