Page 7 - Layout

Test 1

Reading and Use of English Part 5 FCE for Schools

You are going to read an extract from a novel about a teacher. For questions 31-36, 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.

In 2010, Alison Graham completed her BSc in Geography at Sheffield University. After several
weeks of deliberation she decided to do teacher training in the same city, and by September 2011
had started working as a teacher in geography and history at a school in Harrogate. On a whim,
she started to keep a diary, so that in later years she would be able to look back at the first weeks
31
of her first job. She also decided to write in detail, as seen in the following entry from Friday 7th
October 2011:

07.30: Arrived at school, checked emails over a coffee. Prepared for the day’s teaching, marking
a set of books, doing some last-minute photocopying, sorting out my slides, and making sure I
had enough pens.

08.40: Staff meeting. I voiced a couple of questions about review day. Paul reminded us how
important it was to congratulate all the students who went on the museum trip, which in terms
of school outings was top drawer – the students all enjoyed themselves and their behaviour was
exemplary – ‘a credit to the school’ were his words. I grabbed another coffee before going off to
32
registration.

08.50 Registration. The students came in slowly, locked in deep conversations or just staring out
the window. After several minutes I had managed to persuade them to take off their coats and sit
down. I’m pleasantly surprised to discover that we had 100% attendance this week – and this from
33
a class that had one of the lowest rates in the summer term. An excuse for a little inner celebration.

09.05: Year 9 geography. My hardest class first up on Friday. As usual, it took 20 minutes to get
them in the room and seated, ready for class. Then it emerged that none of them had a pen,
so I handed them out. I collected the homework – most of them had done it, to my relief. Then
34
line 22 I showed them the slides on the Mediterranean climate, and they were surprisingly interested –
many of them had been to a sun-drenched beach in Spain, Portugal or Greece over the summer, 35
and they were intrigued to discover why they hadn’t seen a drop of rain. Suddenly Wayne asked,
“Why should I bother to study the climate of somewhere I’ll never go to on holiday? Can’t we
study the weather of Scarborough instead?” Fortunately the bell went before the laughter had died
down, which meant they all left happy.

10.05: Year 8 history. I managed to get the Elizabethan music playing as the class came in. Melanie
asked, ‘Why are all queens called Elizabeth?’, which of course caused uproar. We were diverted
with talking generally about the names of kings and queens, and concluded that Elizabeth was a
great name for a queen. This led easily to a discussion of why Elizabeth I is often considered to
be the greatest of Britain’s monarchs, and finally, with just 10 minutes left of class, I managed to
introduce the subject of the Spanish Armada. So we had a ten-minute lesson. 36

10