Student Name

CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH EMPOWER

B1 + READING / USE OF ENGLISH COMPETENCY TEST

End of Course Test

Time 30 minutes

INSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS
Do not open this question paper until you are told to do so.
Write your name on this question paper.
Read the instructions for each part of the paper carefully.
Answer all the questions.
Write your answers on the question paper.

INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS

There are five parts to this test.
Each question carries one mark.

© UCLES 2015
 Part 1

Questions 1 – 5

Look at the text in each question.

What does it say?
For each question, circle the correct letter A, B, or C.
_________________________________________________________________________________

1 Mum tells Andrew to

Hi Andrew
A shop for her dinner.
I’m working at the shop late - so
won’t be home to cook dinner.
B help himself to food.
There’s salad and cheese in the
fridge and noodles in the
cupboard. Have what you like. I’ll C save some food for her.
eat before I come back.

Mum D cook when she returns.

Members are A The gym is not available at the moment.

requested to B The gym has just been painted.

keep out of the
gym until it has C Only members are allowed to use the gym.

been painted.
D Members should ask for permission to use
the gym.

3 What is Chris doing now?

If Chris calls, tell A talking on the phone
him to hang on. I'll
be at the cinema in 10
minutes. The traffic's B driving a car
terrible! I've tried
calling but his phone
must be turned off. C watching a film
Thanks,
Abby.
D waiting for Abby

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A Philip’s spending the weekend in London.

Don't worry about picking
Jane up from the station.
B Philip and Jane are catching the same train.
Philip’s train from London
gets in at the same time
as hers, so he’s going C Jane has made arrangements for getting
home.
to give her a lift home.
D Jane’s worried about her journey home.

Diving can be dangerous! A All divers should move to a safe area.

Always check the water

B Only experienced divers are allowed here.
directly beneath for
swimmers.
C Before diving, make sure nobody is below.
Only dive when you are
sure it is safe.
D You can dive by yourself.

3 Turn over ►
 Part 2

Questions 6 – 10

Look at the sentences below about a food festival.

Read the text on the opposite page to decide if each sentence is correct or incorrect.
If it is correct, circle yes.
If it is not correct, circle no.

6 Kelly Parker has been to the festival every year since it Yes No
started.

7 Kelly regrets not having enough time to do everything at the Yes No

festival.

8 Kelly spent more money than she planned to at the festival. Yes No

9 Kelly was pleased with how much the festival supports the Yes No
environment.

10 Kelly thinks the festival is worth going to. Yes No

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 My review of ‘The Taste’ festival
by Kelly Parker

Now in its third year, ‘The Taste’ food and drink festival is becoming more and more popular but I
must admit I really didn’t know what to expect when I went to find out what it was all about this
summer. There was plenty of food and drink, of course, but also so much more. Cooking lessons,
music and dancing, to name but a few. If I’m honest, there was almost too much to do. Anyone hoping
to just sit and enjoy the beautiful location may have found themselves rushing from place to place like
me, trying without success to do all the activities. I’ll certainly plan my day better next time.

I stopped off at the bank on the way to the festival as I was sure I’d need to spend a lot of money. I
did, but the food and drink prices were lower than I had expected, which was a pleasant surprise.
Tickets were a similar price to other festivals, but it’s still quite an expensive day out. It’s supposed to
be an environmentally friendly festival, and it’s better than most, but I think they could provide more
places to recycle rubbish and not use quite so much plastic for the food. All profits do go to good
causes though, so I was happy to support the festival.

The festival’s located on a farm and it’s difficult to get there by public transport, but there was plenty of
parking and a great free bus to take to the festival site. What else can I say? You’ve missed it for this
year, but it’ll be back again next summer, and so will I. It’s not the most exciting festival I’ve ever
been to, but it was quite good fun and, for those who like good food and drink, it shouldn’t be missed.

5 Turn over ►
 Part 3

Questions 11 – 15

Read the text and questions below.

For each question, circle the correct letter A, B, C or D.

A different place to stay on holiday

If you think hotels aren’t very personal places to stay on holiday or you want to live like a local
rather than a tourist, then the Home From Home website is the place to look. You can stay in a real
home.

The ‘host’, who owns the home, posts a profile of their place on the website. People might think
hosts would say the place is nicer than it actually is. This doesn’t happen, however, because the
website also has descriptions by ‘guests’ who have stayed there. Hosts also give reviews of the
people who stay in their homes, so it’s a two-way process. Sometimes the host is present,
sometimes absent.

I stayed in a flat in Berlin and ate with my host, Dieter, every evening. This was good because the
nearby restaurants were expensive. My German was pretty poor compared to Dieter’s English, but
we managed to communicate! We discovered we both liked jazz and hung out listening to music!

It’s not always such a positive story, though. Yoko stayed at a villa in California while the hosts
were away. Although the place was clean and had a bigger swimming pool than Yoko expected, it
was miles from anywhere and there were no buses.

And the hosts? Andrew has a Home From Home cottage. He says he’s enjoyed meeting so many
people from different countries, though he’s not keen on all the washing and cleaning! His family
warned him that guests would steal from him, but they were wrong about that.

Louise says you need to trust people to treat your property like their own home. She checks other
host reviews of the guests on the website. When guests make a reservation, Louise thinks it’s
helpful to ask them why they are travelling. ‘It tells me something about them’, she says.

11 Why do ‘hosts’ tell the truth about their homes?

A It is illegal to tell a lie about your home.
B Only nice homes are chosen for the website.
C Reviews by previous visitors are also on the website.
D The website owners check the homes themselves.

12 What does the writer say about his stay in Berlin?

A He was surprised that the accommodation was so cheap.
B He and Dieter found out they had something in common.
C His German was much better than Dieter’s English.
D Sometimes Dieter and he shared a meal at a restaurant.

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13 What disappointed Yoko?
A It was hard to get around the area.
B the size of the swimming pool
C the condition of the villa
D The hosts were not there.

14 What’s Andrew’s opinion about being a host?

A Sometimes the guests are thieves.
B The guests upset his family.
C He dislikes the housework.
D Talking to lots of guests is hard.

15 Louise says it is a good thing to

A compare her home to those of other hosts.
B learn a little about the guests before they come.
C tell guests about other places to stay.
D discover how they are going to get about properly.

7 Turn over ►
 Part 4

Questions 16 – 20

Read the text below and choose the correct answer for each gap.

Bank Money Stolen

In breaking news, two men have stolen thousands of pounds from Brunel

Bank. Bank employees report that the two men (16) ………… up at the

bank just as it was opening. Although the men said they were customers,

the staff were worried about their behaviour and called the police. The

employees bravely (17) ………… their best but they couldn't stop the men

getting away with over £50,000 in cash.

The police arrived on the scene quickly but were unable to (18) …………

the men from getting away in a car that was waiting (19) ………… them

outside the bank. These men are dangerous and people are (20) …………

not to speak to them if they see them.

Local people are said to be shocked by the news. We’ll bring you more

reports as soon as we can.

16 A went B got C turned D arrived

17 A made B had C did D showed

18 A save B prevent C limit D protect

19 A for B at C by D with

20 A suggested B warned C refused D relied

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 Part 5
Questions 21 – 25

Read the text. Think of the word which best fits each gap.
Write ONE word for each gap.

From: Andrea

To: Jake

Hi Jake,

Well, I’ve finally moved into my new flat. I’m reasonably pleased but it’s (21) ………… quite
as nice as I remember. It was really dirty (22) ………… I got here, so I had to clean
everywhere! But once it has (23) ………… painted, it should look better – I’m going to ask
the owner to do that. There wasn’t quite enough space for my sofa, but my parents have
offered to buy me a smaller one.

But anyway, the flat’s far better (24) ………… the one I used to live in as a student. Do you
remember?! Anyway I promise I (25) ………… give you a call soon to arrange a visit.

Andrea

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