NAME... ENGLISH LANGUAGE EXAMINATIONS LAAS LANGUAGE ATTAINMENT ASSESSMENT SYSTEM Level A2 Certificate Recognised by ICC MAY 2015 INSTRUCTIONS 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: 90 minutes
LAAS MAY 2015 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 your Answer Sheet. Mark them in 2H or HB pencil. LISTENING EXERCISE 1: Numbers 1 to 8 ESCAPE FROM A SMALL BEACH Choose the correct word or phrase to complete each statement, 1 to 8. Circle its letter, A, B or C. The Danger 1. Anna went for a walk in the. A. spring B. autumn C. winter 2. Anna decided to go back home when. A. she got tired B. the water got deep C. it began to get dark 3. It was difficult for Anna to climb the cliff, because. A. she wasn t very strong B. the rock broke easily C. the cliff was too high 4. When Anna got to the top of the cliff, she felt. A. very frightened B. really lucky C. a bit angry The Three Mistakes 5. Anna didn t tell anyone where she. A. was going B. lived C. went to school Suzi says that 6. Anna didn t pay attention to. A. her mother B. the time C. what was happening 7. Anna didn t plan a. A. shorter trip B. meal C. way to get back Many thanks to Sierra Club http://www.sierraclub.org More Information 8. Bill says people can learn more. A. on a website B. in a magazine C. on his next programme
LAAS MAY 2015 A2 LISTENING PAGE 2 LISTENING EXERCISE 2: Numbers 9 to 15 SPORTS CENTRE REPORT Choose a number from the box to complete each sentence, 9 to 15. Write its letter, A to H, in the space in each sentence. You will use only seven of the letters. 9. Belleview is about km from the city. 10. About people have come to watch the matches. 11. The town needs to paint the sports centre. 12. Each player paid at least to join a team. 13. One boy who collected the most gave to the centre. 14. There are teams playing against each other. 15. It will take days for all the teams to play all the matches. A. 1 B. 10 C. 12 D. 20 E. 100 F. 500 G. 1000 H. 5000 The Belleview Sports Centre gym needs painting. And these teenagers came out to help the town collect money for the paint!
LAAS MAY 2015 A2 READING & USAGE PAGE 3 B READING & USAGE (50 points) You are advised to spend about 40 minutes 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 your Answer Sheet using a 2H or HB pencil. READING & USAGE EXERCISE 1: Numbers 16 to 25 Read the text below about the game of golf. Then do the exercises on page 4. GOLF: A VERY OLD GAME THAT S STILL POPULAR Golf was invented in a field near St. Andrews, Scotland. From there, the game went south to England, then to other European countries, Canada and the US. Now, it s a popular sport around the world. In golf, the idea is to hit a small, hard ball with a long metal stick and to make it fall into a small hole. If you can do that with just one hit, you have a score of one. If you have to hit it twice, the score is two. So, the lowest score is the best score. This isn t easy, because the starting place called the tee is far away from the green, where the hole is. And there s a long area called a fairway between the tee and the green. The fairway has high grass, sand, bushes or water. Players try to hit the ball off the tee and through the air so that it falls right into the hole. That s called a hole in one. If a ball falls into some sand or bushes along the fairway, the player may try several times to get it onto the green. Each time, the score gets worse. There used to be nine holes in a simple golf match, so the best score was nine. No one ever played that well! And they still don t. Now people usually play a match of 18 holes, which is what golf champions play. The average player s score for 18 holes is about 100 in total or about five for each hole. Champions do better they use about three hits per hole. Many people go to watch champions like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy play. They follow the players to each hole and stand there quietly. The matches are also on TV and players can win a lot of money. Golf is popular because it s a slow game. Players walk, talk and relax, outdoors in nature. So, old people can play, but many boys and girls now have golf lessons. There are also matches for children and teenagers. Skylar Kew, from Canada, who s 9 years old, is already a champion.
LAAS MAY 2015 A2 READING & USAGE PAGE 4 Choose the correct word or phrase to complete each sentence. Mark its letter, A, B or C, on your Answer Sheet. A 16. The game of golf started in. A. Scotland B. England C. Canada 17. The hole in a golf course is. A. on the fairway B. near the tee C. in middle of the green 18. One place a player tries not to go is the. A. green B. sand C. tee B 19. Most people play in each match. A. one hole B. nine holes C. 18 holes 20. have a score of about three for each hole. A. Champions B. Most people C. Average players C 21. Golf is a good game for people. A. who like to stay indoors B. who prefer fast action C. of almost any age Match a picture with each statement, 22 to 25. Mark its letter, A to E, on your Answer Sheet. You will use only four of the letters. D 22. Scotland is in the northern part of the UK. 23. Boys and girls can become golf champions. 24. You can play golf or just watch a match. 25. If the ball falls into sand, it can be hard to get out. E
LAAS MAY 2015 A2 READING & USAGE PAGE 5 READING & USAGE EXERCISE 2: Numbers 26 to 35 Read this text about Lin s job description. Choose the correct word or phrase to fill each gap. Mark its letter, A, B or C, on your Answer Sheet. Lin s Job Description Lin, the new secretary in the headmaster s office, sat at her desk. It was her first day at _(26)_ and she was reading her Job Description. The headmaster had told her _(27)_ it when she had finished. Lin had never seen _(28)_ before, but it seemed like a good idea. The job description said _(29)_ she had to do: answer the phone, type letters and keep the list of students and _(30)_ marks. Each day, she had to arrive at 8 a.m. and work _(31)_ 4 p.m. She had one hour each day for lunch and her _(32)_ was 11,000 a year. Everything looked okay, so Lin signed it. When Lin gave the paper back to the headmaster, she asked why he _(33)_ it. The headmaster said he and the teachers _(34)_ had job descriptions. They each knew what they had to do. If someone didn t _(35)_ a good job, he could tell them how to improve. So, the job description helped everyone. 26. A. working B. work C. works 27. A. to sign B. signing C. signs 28. A. some B. other C. one 29. A. where B. what C. this 30. A. they B. their C. them 31. A. until B. under C. before 32. A. money B. price C. salary 33. A. to need B. needing C. needed 34. A. also B. every C. and 35. A. take B. do C. give
LAAS MAY 2015 A2 READING & USAGE PAGE 6 READING & USAGE EXERCISE 3: Numbers 36 to 40 PHONE CALL: GETTING TO THE THEATRE Match one of Pat s replies from the box with each thing Dru says on the left. Mark its letter, A to F, on your Answer Sheet. You will use only five of the letters. Dru: Hi, Pat. About the play at the theatre tonight. Pat: (36) Dru: By car. My dad said he d drive us there. Pat: (37) Dru: Well, the play starts at half past eight. Pat: (38) Dru: Earlier, I think. We have to buy our tickets. Pat: (39) Dru: That sounds good. We can pick you up at 7. Pat: (40) Dru: Okay, 6:30, then. And if Dad can t leave so early, we can get a taxi. A. Good! What time should we leave? B. Right. We haven t got them yet. And there may be a queue. So, 7:30 then? C. Then, we should be there by a quarter past eight, shouldn t we? D. Maybe 6:30 is best, in case there s a lot of traffic. E. My dad wanted to be an actor when he was young. F. Oh, the play. I almost forgot about it. So, how do you want to go? READING & USAGE EXERCISE 4: Numbers 41 to 45 THEODORA S DANCE VIDEO Put the parts of the story in the correct order. Mark the letter of each part, A to G, on your Answer Sheet. You will use only five of the letters. The first one is done for you. EX. Part 1 The answer is A. They were in their shop... Dear Betz, I know you ll like this video I took tonight. I was on my way home and I stopped to say hello to my neighbours, Alex and Diana. EX. Part 1 41. Part 2 42. Part 3 43. Part 4 44. Part 5 45. Part 6 A A. They were in their shop on the corner with a friend, and they had their little granddaughter there, too. B. While Diana stood next to Theodora, Alex was playing a little hand drum and singing an old Greek song. C. Their granddaughter s name is Theodora and she s their first grandchild. She s about 18 months old now. D. At this age, she s big enough to stand by herself. E. A modern drum is very expensive, so not everyone can buy one. F. And Theodora was dancing to Alex s music. She was so cute! I had to take the video! G. Tonight, Theodora was standing on the desk in the shop. Diana was holding out her arms to make sure Theodora didn t fall. I sent it by email to Theodora s parents, and now I m sending it to a few friends who I know will enjoy it. I hope you do!
LAAS MAY 2015 A2 READING & USAGE PAGE 7 READING & USAGE EXERCISE 5: Numbers 46 to 50 Match a person on the right with each of the jobs on the left. Mark its letter, A to F, on your Answer Sheet. You will use only five of the letters. Choose People To Lead the School Travel Club The Travel Club is a new group at Upton School. The members must decide who they want to lead the group. They ve looked at a website about clubs to learn more. However, in the website text, the jobs have names they don t know. So they ve looked at the description of each job. Now they have to decide who can best do each job. Can you help? 46. The Chairperson leads the group. They run the meetings and make sure everyone gets a chance to speak and give ideas. They help the group decide things together. 47. The Secretary takes notes at the club s meetings. They write down everything the club decides and then send the notes to all the members. 48. The Treasurer keeps the money for the club. They may keep it at home or put it in a bank. They also write down what the club collects and spends. 49. The Events Planner plans the group s trips and activities. They have to think of the details: When will it start? How much will it cost? Will it also be fun for all? 50. The Advisor is usually an adult. They must be friendly but serious. They can t panic if there s a problem, because they have to decide what to do about it. A George wants to be a writer when he grows up. He talks to lots of people. Then he writes stories, saves them on his computer and sends them to his friends by email. C Jane has taught at the school for five years. All the students like her and her geography lessons. People can depend on her to be calm if something goes wrong. E Everybody loves Harry. He always has great ideas about things to do and places to go. He knows how to get there. And he gets everyone there on time. B Abby is very good with numbers. She does well in maths tests and she loves to count money. She always writes down what she spends in a little notebook. D Ben likes to run things and he doesn t always listen to other people. He gets angry if no one agrees with him. His ideas are often silly, but he thinks they re great. F Anna is intelligent and polite, so people always listen to her ideas. But, she likes to hear what others think, too. She thinks things go better if everyone works together.
LAAS MAY 2015 A2 WRITING TOPICS PAGE 8 C WRITING (25 points) You are advised to spend about 30 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 the back of your Answer Sheet in pencil or pen. You have ONE writing task to do. Choose either Topic A or Topic B. Write your task in about 120 words on your Answer Sheet. TOPIC A: Your aunt sent you some money for your birthday and told you to spend it any way you wanted. Write an email to your aunt to thank her for the gift. Be sure to: thank her say how much money she gave you and what you did with it tell her why you decided to do that TOPIC B: Write a story that begins like this: One day, at the beach, I found 100 in a bag that someone had left. Your story can be funny or serious.
1 [A2 LISTENING TEST 15A] Scripts 1 BEACH ESCAPE 2 SPORTS CENTRE REPORT LAAS Listening Test, May 2015. 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 BEACH ESCAPE] 417 wds [20 sec] 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. Now, let's go on. Look at Listening Exercise ONE. In this exercise you will hear a radio programme about how to stay safe when you re out in nature. First, take a short time to look at Listening Exercise ONE in your Test Booklet. Good. You will hear Bill Coyle, the host of a radio show about nature. As you listen, choose the correct word or phrase to complete statements 1 to 8. Circle it s letter, A, B, or C, in your Test Booklet. Now, here is the radio talk. Are you ready? BILL [3 sec] Bill Coyle here for the Nature Show. I was looking at websites on the internet this morning and found one I think you ll like. This is from Sierra Club, with some advice about how to stay safe when you go out to enjoy nature. It was written by a young woman, Anna Threlfall, who took a walk and almost got in trouble. Here s what Anna wrote: Early in the spring, I decided to go for a walk to a little beach I d found. The beach was narrow and there was a high cliff all around it. I walked along on the sand and stepped on some rocks at the edge of the water. Then I sat on a large rock and thought about how pretty it was. It started to get dark and I decided to go back home. That s when I noticed the water had come up. The rocks I had stepped on earlier were now under water. That water was really cold! And NO one knew where I was! Anna goes on: I started to climb the cliff, but the rock broke easily and I couldn t hold on very well. At one point, I couldn t go any higher, and I had to climb back down. The water was higher and the beach was smaller. I was really afraid but I looked and found another way to get up the cliff. Somehow, I made it to the top. I was very lucky! That s where Anna s note stops. Sierra Club s expert gives her some good advice. First, if you re going out alone, always tell someone where you re going. Then, when you re out, pay attention to the things around you. Make sure you know what s happening. And third, as you go along, always plan the way you ll get back. These three simple things may keep you out of serious danger. Sierra Club is one of the biggest organizations in the world for people who enjoy the outdoors and nature. Their website has a lot of information and more short stories about staying safe. You can find them on the Internet at w-w-w-dot-sierraclub-dotorg. [fade] Have a look! That s it for today.
3 Now take a short time to look at your answers. Then you will hear the talk again. [15 sec] Now, here is the talk again. Are you ready? [repeat Bill Coyle here... to... That s it for today.'] That's the end of the first exercise. Take a short time to finish your answers. [15 sec]
4 [A2-2 SPORTS CENTRE REPORT] 458 wds [20 sec] [] In this exercise, you will hear a radio programme about some matches at a sports centre. Before you listen, take a short time to look at Listening Exercise TWO in your Test Booklet. Good. Lorraine, at the radio station, and Jim, the reporter at the sports centre, are talking about some basketball matches there. As you listen to the conversation, choose a number from the box to complete each sentence, 9 to 15. Write its letter, A to H, in the space in the sentence in your Test Booklet. You will use only seven of the letters. Now, here is the programme. Are you ready? We re going to hear from Jim Hines, who s reporting from the sports centre in Belleview. Belleview s a small town about 20 kilometres outside the city. Jim, it sounds like there s a lot of activity over there. There certainly is, Lorraine! There must be more than one thousand people here for the first day of the young people s basketball matches. So, Jim, why are they having this event? Lorraine, the gym here at the sports centre is not in good condition. The walls and ceiling really need painting. But the town doesn t have enough money to do the repairs. Yes, we ve heard this is an area where a lot of people have lost their jobs. That s right. And the government doesn t have money either. They need about five thousand euros to repair everything. So, the basketball coach suggested this event. And the town hopes to make enough money for the paint, right? How are they doing so far? Well, a lot of teenagers wanted to play. The centre asked each one to give what they could. Some kids only had one euro and that s what they paid. But some went out and asked their neighbors to help them. Most collected about 20 euros and one boy brought in 100 euros! That s great! And do the people who come to watch also have to pay? Yes. But again, they pay whatever they can, a little or a lot. That s good. I mean, besides the money for the repairs, isn t the important thing, that everyone in the town does his or her part? That way everyone feels good about the results. I quite agree, and I think everyone here today would say the same thing. This is really an effort of the whole town. Everyone is doing what they can. So, how long will the event go on? Is it just for today? Or can we come out tomorrow to watch?
5 [2 sec] [15 sec] Well, it s amazing. There are 12 teams, and they all have to play against each other. You mean, no one stops playing if they lose a match? That s right. So, the team with the highest total score at the end will be the winners. That sounds like it may take several days. Will they play again next week? Next week and several more after that. In total, there are ten days of matches. That will take at least four more weekends. Wow! Well, it sounds like great fun for a very good cause. I hope they have new paint at the sports centre very soon. Jim, thanks for the report. And now, let s have a short break for some advertisements. Then we ll be back with other local news. Now take a short time to look at your answers. Then you will hear the programme again. Now, here is the programme again. Are you ready? [repeat from We re going to hear... to... other local news ] [15 sec] [exit music] That's the end of the second exercise. Take a short time to finish your answers. That's the end of the listening test. You now have a short time to mark your answers on the computerized Answer Sheet. Mark them in pencil. Thank you.
ΕΞΕΤΑΣΕΙΣ LAAS - ΜΑΙΟΣ 2015 ΛΥΣΕΙΣ ΑΓΓΛΙΚΩΝ A2 Parts A & B 1 A 41 C 2 C 42 D 3 B 43 G 4 B 44 B 5 A 45 F 6 C 46 F 7 C 47 A 8 A 48 B 9 D 49 E 10 G 50 C 11 H 12 A 13 E 14 C 15 B 16 A 17 C 18 B 19 C 20 A 21 C 22 A 23 E 24 D 25 C 26 B 27 A 28 C 29 B 30 B 31 A 32 C 33 C 34 A 35 B 36 F 37 A 38 C 39 B 40 D