PRACTICE TEST 5

TEST 1
Look at the sentences below about collecting postcards. Read the text on the opposite page to decide if each sentence is
correct or incorrect. If it is correct, mark A on your answer sheet. If it is not correct, mark B on your answer sheet.

Collecting postcards is generally Collecting Picture Postcards

1 believed to be more popular than
It is thought to be second only to stamp collecting as a collector’s interest,
collecting stamps.
and each year in August the biggest show of its kind worldwide takes place
Visitors will be able to buy in London. Collecting postcards is a growing market, with fans all around the
postcards from 120 different world, thousands of whom will be in England for this year’s Picture Postcard
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traders at the Picture Postcard Show. There will be exhibitions of a wide range of postcards and many will
Show. be on sale from the 120 UK and international traders who will also be there.
Harry Taylor has helped to run the ‘Postcard collecting is growing very fast,’ says Harry Taylor, who collects
3 Picture Postcard Show for ten postcards of ships and, as chairman of the Postcard Traders’ Association, has
years. been one of the organisers of the London show for the last ten years. The
price is one of the reasons why collectors are attracted to postcards. Although
People choose to collect postcards
4 the special cards cost more, you can spend anything between 5p and £30 for
partly because they are affordable.
the typical cards on the market. ‘This means you can put a wonderful
Collectors expect to pay a collection together for very little,’ he says.
5 maximum of £30 for an unusual
Sports, transport, buildings and animals are the most popular, but there are
postcard.
other less well-known subjects as well. One American collector recently
Collectors are particularly started a website showing his collection of postcards on the early history of
6 interested in postcards that were cotton. The site has already had more than 1,000 visitors. Postcards that
printed between 1900 and 1918. appeared between 1900 and 1918 are the ones that attract the most attention.
It was possible to receive mail ‘At that time, the cost of sending a letter or postcard was less than a penny.
7 seven times a day in London They emptied the boxes every hour in London and the post would sometimes
between 1900 and 1918. be delivered seven times a day,’ says Paul Marshall, who works at Asquith’s
Auctioneers, which holds three postcard sales a year.
Before 1902, the Post Office only
accepted postcards with senders’ Picture postcards, as opposed to blank cards, came to Britain from other
8
messages written next to the European countries, but it was not Until the 1890s that they were accepted by
picture. the Post Office. In 1902, Mr Marshall says, the rules were changed again,
allowing both message and address to be put on the same side. Before that,
Postcards of popular seaside towns
the message had to be written beside the picture.
9 that were printed In the early 1900s
are valuable. Just because a postcard is old it does not mean it is valuable. For example,
seaside views produced in large quantities at the beginning of the last century
A card without a message Is worth
are not likely to be worth very much. Whatever the subject of the postcard,
10 more than the same card with
the condition is very important. The value of the postcard also increases if
writing on it.
there is a message, which then gives it more social or historical value.

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TEST 2
Look at the sentences below about a trip to East Africa. Read the text on the opposite page to decide if each sentence is
correct or incorrect. If it is correct, mark A on your answer sheet. If it is not correct, mark B on your answer sheet.

You can see animals from The Trip of a Lifetime

1
the air on this trip.
Take a trip to East Africa. You begin this trip by visiting the wonderful wildlife parks.
You can spend a fortnight As well as travel by coach, there is also an opportunity to take a short trip in a hot-air
2 balloon over the parks to get a better view of the wildlife.
at the beach.
It is possible to see large After visiting the wildlife parks you have the choice of either spending the rest of your
3 numbers of birds on Lake holiday (7 nights) climbing Mount Kilimanjaro - the highest mountain in Africa - or,
Manyara at sunset. for the not so adventurous, sunbathing on the beautiful white sand beside the Indian
Ocean. (It is also possible to stay an extra week at the coast.)
Some animals are
Day One: Fly from London Heathrow to Nairobi, Kenya.
4 frightened when visitors
use cameras. Day Two: Drive to the National Park at Lake Manyara. This park is famous for the
large variety of birds, which you can see there early in the morning.
You are sure to see all the
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animals you want. Day Three: Leave Manyara for the Serengeti National Park, where you may see
elephants, lions and giraffes.
You can go windsurfing
6 from the Indian Ocean Days Four to Nine: Spend these days travelling by coach around the park. All visitors
Hotel. have a window seat on the coach with a clear view for photographs of the park and
animals.
The hotel tennis courts are
7 closed at certain times of Although the animals are not worried by tourists taking photos, we ask visitors to
the year. speak quietly so as not to disturb them too much.
Accommodation in tents is normal in the parks. All have private washing facilities.
Some training is provided
The tents have plenty of space, are very comfortable and have a solid floor. The
8 if you decide to climb
guides are highly experienced, but there is always the possibility that you may be very
Mount Kilimanjaro. unlucky and not see certain animals.
The smallest number of Day Ten: Departure for the mountain trek or to the Indian Ocean.
9 people required on some
tours is two. The Indian Ocean Hotel is on the beach and all rooms have air-conditioning and sea
views. All water sports are available and there are tennis courts, which you can use
free of charge except during high season, when there is a small booking fee.
Children can join the No special skills are needed to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, but if you choose this trip
Mount Kilimanjaro trip you must already be fit and healthy and ready to accept some very basic
from the age of ten. accommodation in mountain huts.
10 Most tours and safaris can only operate with a minimum number of passengers. If this
number is not reached, we might cancel the tour. If this happens, we will make a
decision at least 8 weeks before departure and will try to arrange a different holiday.
Minimum numbers can be from 2 to 15 according to the tour.
For practical reasons, children under the age of 8 (under 12 on climbing holidays) may
not be accepted on certain tours.