Tài liệu này bao gồm những nội dung cần thiết cho các nghiên cứu sinh để hoàn thành bài thi tiếng Anh B1. Đối với các nghiên cứu sinh hiện nay đều phải trải qua giai đoạn thi tiếng anh đầu vào (B1) và đầu ra (B2). Trước khi chỉ dẫn cho các bạn cách thi và kinh nghiệm thi, tôi chia sẻ với các bạn là không còn loại chứng trỉ tiếng Anh nào dễ hơn B1 và B2. Tài liệu này gồm đặc điểm của tiêu chuẩn tiếng Anh B1 và một số đề thi thử để các bạn rèn luyện. Chúc các bạn thi tốt ^^
mm Romanian Ministry of the Interior and Administrative Reform DIRECTORATE Directorate General for Management and Human Resources The English Testing Team for The B1 English Test for the Romanian Ministry of the Interior and Administrative Reform Candidates’ Handbook Specifications and Sample Papers – 2007 – Coordinator: Esther Hay Authors: Ioana Bordeianu Ileana Chersan Cristina Dogărel Iulia Ene dr. Cătălina Harabagiu-Dimitrescu Carmen Konrad Oana Popescu Emilia Stanciu Descrierea CIP a Bibliotecii Naţionale a României ESTHER, HAY Testul de limba engleză : nivelul B1 pentru personalul MIRA / Esther Hay, dr. Harabagiu Cătălina, Chersan Ileana. - Bucureşti : Editura Ministerului Internelor şi Reformei Administrative, 2007 Bibliogr. ISBN 978-973-745-052-4 I. Harabagiu, Cătălina II. Chersan, Ileana 811.111:351 Contents 1. Preface 2. The CEF language testing system 3. Levels of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) 4. Background 5. Reasons for taking the B1 English Test 6. Marking and Grading 7. Administration 8. B1 English Test: an overview 9. Aims and objectives 10. General English Topics 11. Language structures 12. Paper 1: Reading 13. Sample Paper 1 14. Paper 2: Listening 15. Sample Paper 2 16. Tapescript 17. Paper 3: Writing 18. Sample Paper 3 19. Sample Answer papers 20. Paper 4: Speaking 21. Sample Paper 4 Preface This handbook is intended mainly for candidates preparing for the B1 English Test. There is another handbook for teachers, test administrators, test designers and authorities. This handbook has been translated into Romanian. 5 The CEF language testing system The English Tests for the Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reform in Romania feature a series of examinations with similar characteristics, spanning six levels linked to the levels of the Common European Framework established by the Council of Europe. Levels of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) UNDERSTANDING Listening UNDERSTANDING Reading SPEAKING Spoken interaction SPEAKING Spoken Production WRITING Writing A1 I can recognise familiar words and very basic phrases concerning myself, my family and immediate concrete surroundings when people speak slowly and clearly. I can ask and answer simple questions in areas of immediate need or on very familiar topics. I can understand familiar names, words and very simple sentences, for example on notices and posters or in catalogues. I can interact in a simple way provided the other person is prepared to repeat or rephrase things at a slower rate of speech and help me formulate what I’m trying to say. I can use simple phrases and sentences to describe where I live and people I know. I can write a short, simple postcard, for example sending holiday greetings. I can fill in forms with personal details, for example entering my name, nationality and address on a hotel registration form. A2 I can understand phrases and the highest frequency vocabulary related to areas of most immediate personal relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local area, employment). I can catch the main point in short, clear, simple messages and announcements. I can read very short, simple texts. I can find specific, predictable information in simple everyday material such as advertisements, prospectuses, menus and timetables and I can understand short, simple personal letters. I can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar topics and activities. I can handle very short social exchanges, even though I can’t usually understand enough to keep the conversation going myself. I can use a series of phrases and sentences to describe in simple terms my family and other people, living conditions, my educational background and my present or most recent job. I can write short, simple notes and messages relating to matters in areas of immediate need. I can write a very simple personal letter, for example thanking someone for something. B1 I can understand the main points of clear standard speech on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. I can understand the main point of many radio or TV programmes on current affairs or topics of personal or professional interest when the delivery is relatively slow and clear. I can understand texts that consist mainly of high-frequency everyday or job-related language. I can understand the description of events, feelings and wishes in personal letters. I can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken. I can enter unprepared into conversation on topics that are familiar, of personal interest or pertinent to everyday life (e.g. family, hobbies, work, travel and current events). I can connect phrases in a simple way in order to describe experiences and events, my dreams, hopes and ambitions. I can briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans. I can narrate a story or relate the plot of a book or film and describe my reactions. I can write simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest. I can write personal letters describing experiences and impressions. B2 I can understand extended speech and lectures and follow even complex lines of argument provided the topic is reasonably familiar. I can understand most TV news and current affairs programmes. I can understand the majority of films in standard dialect. I can read articles and reports concerned with contemporary problems in which the writers adopt particular attitudes or viewpoints. I can understand contemporary literary prose. I can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible. I can take an active part in discussion in familiar contexts, accounting for and sustaining my point of view. I can present clear, detailed descriptions on a wide range of subjects related to my field of interest. I can explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options. I can write clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects related to my interests. I can write an essay or report, passing on information or giving reasons in support of or against a particular point of view. I can write letters views, highlighting the personal significance of events and experiences. C1 I can understand extended speech even when it is not clearly structured and when relationships are only implied and not signalled explicitly. I can I can understand long and complex factual and literary texts, appreciating distinctions of style. I can understand specialised articles and longer I can express myself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. I can use language I can formulate ideas and opinions with precision and relate my contribution skilfully to those of other speakers. I can present clear, detailed I can express myself in clear, well-structured text, expressing points of view at some length. I can write about complex 6 understand television programmes and films without too much effort. technical instructions, even when they do not relate to my field. flexibly and effectively for social and professional purposes. descriptions of complex subjects integrating sub- themes, developing particular points and rounding off with an appropriate conclusion. subjects in a letter, an essay or a report, underlining what I consider to be the salient issues. I can select style appropriate to the reader in mind. C2 I have no difficulty in understanding any kind of spoken language, whether live or broadcast, even when delivered at fast native speed, provided I have some time to get familiar with the accent. I can read with ease virtually all forms of the written language, including abstract, structurally or linguistically complex texts such as manuals, specialised articles and literary works. I can take part effortlessly in any conversation or discussion and have a good familiarity with idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms. I can express myself fluently and convey finer shades of meaning precisely. If I do have a problem I can backtrack and restructure around the difficulty so smoothly that other people are hardly aware of it. I can present a clear, smoothly flowing description or argument in a style appropriate to the context and with an effective logical structure which helps the recipient to notice and remember significant points. I can write clear, smoothly flowing text in an appropriate style. I can write complex letters, reports or articles which present a case with an effective logical structure which helps the recipient to notice and remember significant points. I can write summaries and reviews of professional or literary works. Background B1 was introduced in 2007 and tests competence in Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. It is based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment, published by the Council of Europe, the European Language Portfolio and Council of Europe Threshold Level (1990) by van Ek and Trim. Reasons for taking the B1 English Test Candidates enter for a variety of reasons: personal reasons, promotion, to improve their future employment prospects, to be selected for a mission abroad, to meet European language testing standards, etc. Marking and Grading A candidate receives final marks for each individual papers. There is a passing grade (PASS) and a failing grade (FAIL). “Pass’ corresponds to 75% accurate completion of Papers 1 and 2 and 100% of Papers 3 and 4. Administration Candidates mark or write all their answers on the exam sheets. B1 English Test: an overview Paper Name Timing Content Test Focus Paper 1 Reading 45 min. Four parts which test a range of reading skills with a variety of general English and ESP texts Assessment of candidates’ ability to understand the meaning of written English at word, phrase, sentence, paragraph and whole text level. 7 Paper 2 Listening 30 min. Four parts which test a range of listening skills with a variety of general English and ESP texts Assessment of candidates’ ability to understand dialogues and monologues in both informal and neutral settings on a range of everyday topics. Paper 3 Writing 1 hour Two parts which test a range of writing skills and functions Assessment of candidates’ ability to produce straightforward written English, ranging from simple sentences to pieces of continuous text. Paper 4 Speaking 12 min. Four parts which test short and long turns and interactive commu- nication Assessment of candidates’ ability to express themselves in order to carry out the functions for B1 level, to ask and understand questions and make appropriate responses and to talk freely on matters of personal interest. Aims and objectives Candidates who pass B1 should be able to communicate satisfactorily in most everyday situations with both non-native and native speakers of English. Reading Using the structures and topics listed further on, candidates can understand public notices and signs, read short texts of a factual nature and show understanding of the content, demonstrate understanding of the structure of the language as it is used to express notions of relative time, space, possession etc., scan factual materials for information in order to perform relevant tasks, disregarding redundant or irrelevant material, read texts of an imaginative or emotional character and appreciate the central sense of the text. Listening Candidates can understand and respond to announcements, show precise understanding of short factual utterances and make identifications on the basis of these, extract information of a factual nature (time, dates, names) from speech which will contain redundancies and language outside the defined limits of B1, understand the sense of a dialogue. Writing Candidates can give information, report events, describe people, places and objects as well as convey reactions to situations, express hopes, regrets, pleasure etc. can also use the words appropriately and accurately in different written contexts, and produce variations on simple sentences. Speaking Candidates can express themselves in order to simulate authentic communication. They can ask and understand questions and make appropriate responses and can talk freely in order to express emotions, reactions, opinions etc. TOPICS General English Topics 1 personal identification Name Address Telephone number Date and place of birth 6 relations with other people Relationship Invitations Correspondence Club membership Government and politics War and peace 8 Age Sex Marital status Nationality Origin Occupation Family Religion Likes and dislikes Character, disposition Physical appearance 2 house and home, environment Types of accommodation Accommodation, rooms Furniture, bedclothes Cost Services Amenities Region Flora and fauna 3 daily life At home Income 4 free time, entertainment Leisure Hobbies and interests Radio, TV etc. Cinema, theatre Exhibitions, museums, etc. Intellectual pursuits Sports Press 5 travel Public transport Private transport Traffic Holidays Accommodation Luggage Entering and leaving a country Travel documents Social affairs 7 health and body care Parts of the body Personal comfort Hygiene Ailments, accidents Medical services Insurance 8 shopping Shopping facilities Clothes, fashion Prices Smoking Household articles 9 food and drink Types of food and drink Eating and drinking out 10 services Post Telephone Bank Diplomatic services Hospital, surgery Garage Petrol station 11 places Directions 12 language Ability, understanding, expression 13 weather Climate and weather 14 education Schooling Subjects Qualification Language structures Word level Nouns Types of noun (proper, common denoting uncountables) Number (regular, irregular) Genitive Conjunctions Co-ordinating Subordonating Phrase levels Noun phrases 9 Pronouns Types (demonstrative, personal, possessive, relative, interrogative, reflexive, indefinite) Gender Determiners Definite article Indefinite article Demonstrative, possessive, relative, interrogative, quantitative, identifying, Pre-determiners ad post-determiners Numerals (cardinal, ordinal) Adjectives Participial Attributive/predicative Gradable/non-gradable Comparison of gradable adjectives Irregular comparatives Complementising adjectives Adverb Functions (existential, of time, place, manner, degree, direction, arrangement etc.) Form Types (indefinite, deictic etc.) Comparison of gradable adverbs Irregular comparatives Preposition Types (of position, distance, direction, origin, time etc) Verbs Types (transitive, intransitive, causative etc) Simple forms: regular (infinitive, participles, present, past, gerund) Simple forms: irregular Modal auxiliary verbs Compound forms (perfective, progressive, passive, modal+simple infinitive) Be, have and do Indirect speech Adjective phrases Pronoun phrases Verb phrases Forms containing one main verb Short answers Adverbial phrases Preposition phrases Clause level Clause types and functions Main clauses Subordinate clauses Forms and functions of subordinate clauses Noun clauses Adjectival (relative) clauses Adverbial clauses Sentence level Form Simple sentences Compound sentences Complex sentences Sentence types Declarative Interrogative Imperative Functions of sentence types Affirmative sentences Emphatic affirmative Negative Decision questions Wh- questions Imperative sentences 10 ESP Topics Police • Job-related personal details • Routine work activities • Present or more recent job • Educational background and experience • Police powers and duties • Career plans • Stolen property • Missing persons • Suspects/criminals • Types of crimes • Types of punishment • Traffic control • Police organization/system/ranks • Police equipment (uniform, buildings, vehicles, weapons, tools) • Traffic-related offences and incidents And in addition • Police procedures (gathering evidence, criminal investigations etc) • Negotiations • Stress at work • Prevention (securing property, counter-terrorism, drugs, hooliganism, traffic, trafficking in human beings etc.) Border Guard • Immigration, refugees, asylum seekers • Detaining • Smuggling • Transport inspection International cooperation 11 Paper 1: Reading Timing 45 minutes Paper format This paper contains 4 parts. Number of questions There are 20 questions, 5 for each part. Task types Matching, multiple choice, fill-in, short answer questions, information transfer. Task focus Each task covers one of the following reading sub-skills: Reading for specific information, Reading for the general idea, Reading for the main ideas, Reading to identify vocabulary. Topics Two texts are in general English, the other two are job-related. Sources Authentic and adapted-authentic real world notices, newspapers and magazines, brochures and leaflets, manuals, websites. Marks Each of the 20 questions carries one mark. A B1 pass has at least 15 items (75%) answered correctly. Sample Paper 1 1 Read the text below. Answer the questions in no more than 3 words. An example (0) is given. The Royal Observatory In 1675 King Charles II (1630 – 1685) ordered that the Royal Observatory be built at Greenwich to study the problem of longitude with regard to navigation: the first astronomer, John Flamsteed (1646 – 1719) moved in a tear later. He made a very precise 3000 star catalogue. Across the yard there is a straight brass line running through the cobbles. This is the world Prim Meridian, longitude zero. It runs from the North to South poles. At the time the Observatory was built, zero longitude could be placed anywhere a map maker or chart maker wished. This affected navigation and time (there was a difference of 15 minutes between London and Plymouth). By the middle of the 1700s the Greenwich reading was being used more and more, and finally, in 1884, it was chosen as the Prime Meridian longitude zero reading. There lies the tombstone of Edmund Halley (1656 – 1742) and some members of his family. He discovered that the comets have periodic orbits and identified one, which is named after him. He calculated that it would appear every 76 years. In the Halley gallery one can see the living area arranged as it would have looked in the 1700s. [...]... happen such thing Jack Task 2 – B1 Task 2 – B1 below standard 1 About burglary In area where I work these crimes are the most common crimes, because there are more old buildings (flats-buildings) where lives people who works every day from eight o’clock till sisteen o’clock so the most flats are empty For thiefs is an easy thing As established during our last meeting in Bucharest, I write to you this report... rubbish outside his house Attacked his neighbours for taking things from his house Dumped rubbish in his neighbour’s garden 3 He claimed the sentence was unfair because A B C D He was an artist and needed the things for his work Nobody had complained before The things belonged to his wife He had had a lot of things stolen from his house B D Caught a thief Stole a new car 15 F 4 Malaysia is trying to A B... field and my date picked some wild flowers and gave them to me It was just so pure and romantic.’ Antonio Banderas ‘One of our best dates was this incredible walk on the beach at sunset I can still see the look on Melanie’s face as the sun was going down and she had this happy smile on her face.’ Gavin Rossdale 17 ‘ Gwen and I have had the best date nights in our own house We just sit on the couch close... at the adjoining table was a representative This sort of insult is too commonly accepted in embarrassed silence for an unsatisfactory recourse But Ms Baker has lived for many years in Europe She is not accustomed to that kind of boorishness and she took action She called the police who informed her that since they hadn’t heard the remarks, they could do nothing But they pointed out to Ms Baker that... must be completed Each task is assessed separately according to the assessment scale: task fulfilment, coherence/cohesion, grammar and vocabulary, according to the B1 assessment scale All criteria must be fulfilled for each task to pass B1 Sample Paper 3 Task 1 You have been asked to write a report for the British advisor about the two most common crimes / offences in the area in which you work Explain... had an unusual experience (funny / frightening) which you want to share with your penfriend Write an e-mail describing what happened Write between 80-100 words Sample answer papers Task 1 – B1 below standard Task 1 – B1 Dear friend, Dear Ann, You will be astonished when you read about what happened to me a week ago It was Friday afternoon, I was returning from my work when I stopped at the red colour... Workshop topics Social Event (4) Child Labour , Asylum Seekers, Sex Discrimination (5 ) Friday Evening _ in the ballroom Listening Paper Tapescript Rubric This is the B1 Listening English Test, year 2007 There are four parts to the test You will hear each part once For each part of the test there will be time for you to look through the questions and time for... in which a person changes The impatients and the drinkers provoke the signatures or documents to hide something most accidents… illegal, e.g to start a tender without having money for the contract These crimes are committed because of greed and lack of money; better salaries may be the answer to this problem TO: Mr John Smith FROM: B.G., Legal Advisor for Legal Dept MIRA SUBJECT: Report on the most... have you attended lately? What new thing would you like to learn? What hobbies do you have? What kind of music do you like? Box B How long have you been working in your current post? (When did you start working in your current position?) What do you like best about your job? Why did you want to be a policeman/policewoman/gendarme/firefighter? (Why did you choose this job?) When did you join the police?... 1 Prefaţă 2 Sistemul de testare conform Cadrului Comun European de Referinţă 3 Nivelele Cadrului Comun European de Referinţă (CEFR) 4 Istoric 5 Motivaţia examinării la B1 6 Evaluarea şi acordarea punctajelor 7 Administrare 8 Testul B1 de limbă engleză: privire generală 9 Scop şi obiective 10 Teme de engleză generală 11 Structuri lingvistice 12 Lucrarea 1: Înţelegerea textului scris 13 Model Lucrarea . for taking the B1 English Test 6. Marking and Grading 7. Administration 8. B1 English Test: an overview 9. Aims and objectives 10. General English Topics. Directorate General for Management and Human Resources The English Testing Team for The B1 English Test for the Romanian Ministry of the Interior and Administrative