First certificate practice tests FCE 5 tests

Test Paper Reading lB· You are going to read an extract from a book For questions 7-14, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet They call Jamaica the 'Island in the Sun' ;md thlll is my memory of it Of ~unshine, wannth and abundant fruit growing everywhere, and of love I was born on April 1960 in St Andrews in Kingston Therc were two sisters ahead of me in lhe family, and though of course Ididn't know it, therc was e»ciled Ialk of emigration possibly to Canada but more usually to England,lhe land of opportunity I guess Ihat plans were already being made when I was bom for a year or so later my Dad left for London Two years arrer thu! when he had saved enough money my Mum went as well and my sisters and I were lefl in the care of my grandmolher I slllyed with her in her house near the centre of Kingston until I was seven years old My grandmother therefore shaped my life and I believe Iam al1the better for il This was all fairly nonnal Emigrating to better yourself was:a dream for most Jamaicans a dream many were detennincd 10 fulfil Families were close and grandmolhcrs were an important part of family life so when the mass emigmtions began it seemed perfectly right and natural for Ihem to lake over the running of the families left behind Afler all.lhey had the experience GrandmOlhers are often strict but they usually also spoil you At least that is the way it was with mine She ran lhe family like a military operation: each of us no matter how young had our tasks I remember Ihat we didn't have a tap in the house but used a communal lap from which we had 10 rill two barrels in our garden Every morning before we went to school we all had to take a bucket approprintc to our size and run a rclay from the communal tap IQ the barrels until Lhey were full In thc beginning whcn I was two or three Icouldn't reach the barrel- but Istill had to join in My sisters had 10 sweep the yard before thcy welllto school My grandmolher would give orders tllthe eldest and these were passed down -as I got older I found this particularly annoying! BUI Ican tell you no one avoided lheirduties My Dad came over from England to see how we were getting on I hadn't known him whcn he had left for Britain but when I saw him I !'omehow knew that he was my falher He I'llked to u aboutlhe nc\\ country about snow aboutlhe huge city, and we all wanted to know morc, to see what it was like He al~o told me thall now had a younger brother which made me feel excited and wonder what he could be like Ididn't know it at the time but he had eome to prepare us for the move to England Six months later my grandmother told me Ihatl wa going 10 join my parenrs and that she too was cmigrnling It was the end of my time in the Caribbean of the sheltered wuml family life that I had known there and the beginning of a new and exciting em London was strange and disappointing There was no gold on the pavement: a the stories in Jamaica had indicated Back home it had always been wann Everyone was friendly and said 'Hello' when you passed by on the street; in Kingston you knew everybody and they kncw you Here it wasn't Iikc that The roads were busy the buildings were grey and dull with many tall high-rise blocks It was totully IJnlike Jamaica the houses all small and packed close together In my grandmother's house I had a big bedroom: here I had 10 share Althm age it was a great disappointment Worse was to come because there followed a very cold wime-r, and I had never felt cold in my life before Then came the biggesl shock: snow White flakes came out of Ihe sky and Dad smiled pointed and said 'That's snow!' I rushed outside looked up and opened my mouth 10 let the flakes drop in The snow settled on my tongue and it was so cold that Icried My toes lost all feeling, and at the primary school that we anended I wasn't allowed to wear long lfousers at my age The teachers made us go out to play in the playground and Ijoined in with all the fun sliding around in the snow Ihrowingsnowballs, all the usuallhings Suddenly as my shoes and socks got soaking wel and frozen there came an excruciating pain and Icried with the intensity ofil.1 didn't k.now what was happening to me 10 15 20 25 30 35 Test The writer says that when he was very young, A he was upset because his parents left B he was very keen to go to England C his parents had decided to leave o his parents changed their plans According to the writer, many people from Jamaica at that time A wanted to be free from responsibility B had ambitions that were unrealistic C wanted to improve their standard of living o disliked the country they came from The writer says that when he lived with his grandmother A he was treated like the other children B he wanted to be like the other children C he tried to avoid doing certain duties o he found some of her rules strange Paper Reading 10 What does 'this' in line 18 refer to? A being told what to by his sisters B having to sweep the yard before school C having to duties he found difficult o being given orders by his grandmother 11 What happened when the writer's father came? A His father did not tell him why he had cam B He did not know how to react to his father C His father told him things that were untrue o He felt anxious about what his father told him 12 When the writer first went to London, he was disappointed because A it was smaller than he had expected B he had been given a false impression of it C he had to spend a lot of time on his own o his new surroundings frightened him 13 What does the writer say about snow? A He was not sure how to react when he saw it B He regretted coming into contact with it C He was embarrassed that it made him cry o He was not very keen to touch it 14 Which of the following would be the best title for this passage? A B C o Too Many Changes A Strange Childhood Hard Times From Sun To Snow Test Paper Reading You are going to read a magazine articli9 Eight sentences have been removed from the article Choose from the sentences A-I the one which fits each gap (15-21) There is one extra sentence which you not need to use There is an example at the beginning (0) Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet On camera \X!hen I saw the notice '\Vomen film extras wanted' in a local newspaper, I jumped at the chance As a child I had dreamt of being a film star []] { I The casting interview, held in a church hall with many budding actors in attendance, went well, and two days later I was told that had been chosen The production in question was revealed as Scottish Television's Dr Fiu/ay drama, which is set in the 1950s [}ID IExtras are often left in the dark for some time when it comes to being told which role they will play Finally, the narure of my role was revealed; I was asked to play a mental hospital patient [!ID IThen, barely a week later, the day of filming dawned All 13 of us extras, mainly housewives, were told to change into our costumes in the wardrobe department Then we were driven to the location, a hospital on the fringes of Glasgow It seems that it is commoo for old hospitals to be used in this way On arriving, we were given coffee and tea, which looked and tasred like cement Then we were rushed off to make-up My hair was pinned back and make-up was applied that gave me a pale appearance Then we were sent to the minibus for a few hours, as the cameras rolled elsewhere 10 After the second hour had passed was becoming bored.[jI] II had expected to be so busy that I hadn't come prepared for a long wait Many of the others had brought a book or knitting Three hours had now passed [}ID~_ A large room in the hospital had been transformed into a dayroom for that purpose Although I had expected the room to be warm because of the lighting equipment present, it was quite chilly When the director came in, we were instructed what to and where to stand Along with a few others, was told to sit at a table and weave baskets IJ!] IThe cane we had to use was very long On several occasions my basket fell apart in front of my very eyes On others I only succeeded in hitting a cameraman in the eye 20 Jean, who was barefoot, had to circle the floor Poor AJice was asked to pretend to bang her head against the wall Meanwhile, Veronica swept the floor Thankfully, after just a few attempts, the scenes were done [gIJ IAlthough I found the experience very interesting, my first screen role will almost certainly be my last Test A This was not an easy task S Life for the other extras was far from easy e So some things just aren't meant to happen, I suppose D Despite my disappoinnnent, I agreed to participate E And so my [lIst taste of this hopping 13 ... Snow Test Paper Reading You are going to read a magazine articli9 Eight sentences have been removed from the article Choose from the sentences A-I the one which fits each gap (1 5- 2 1) There is one... Paper Reading H Then at last we were called to our scenes Now at last I would get my chance 11 Test Paper Reading You are going to read an article about supermarkets For questions 2 2-3 5, choose... some The eye-calching di"play on the unit at the cnd of a row does not nece~sarily mean that lhe gooch are Ihe bargain of Ihe week a~ you ma) think Manufacturers -, ometi me" pay Ihe "up '-~ mmr"el