TEXT 1 – THE END OF TV?

I keep reading articles that argue the TV is dead. According to this view, people are spending far more time using the Internet for their entertainment and for information. As a result, they argue the TV is becoming less and less important in our lives. The time we spend watching videos online is certainly increasing but I don't think this is a reason to believe we should be saying goodbye to the television.

The TV is still a very popular way a lot of us get our entertainment at home. It offers us the chance to see top musical artists, great films and documentaries and sometimes, thanks to important live events, it has the power to bring the whole country and all ages together in a way the Internet never could. How often do thousands or even millions of friends or families sit down at the same time to watch something together online?

Some people argue that the TV offers a poor quality of programmes on the many channels we now have. It is certainly true that many of the channels do nothing more than repeat old shows or offer cheap, low quality programmes. However, I would argue that a lot of content on the Internet isn't particularly great. At least TV shows have professional people checking the quality of shows, which a lot of content on the web doesn't.

I agree that it is easy to keep up-to-date with the latest news on the Internet, even though much of it is not true or certainly can't be trusted. I enjoy sitting down to the news on TV in the evening, knowing that I am more likely to believe the information than the things I read online. Anybody can post information on the Internet and a lot of it is opinion rather than fact.

So I don't think we should be so quick to say goodbye to the TV. In fact, I think it has many more years left in it! I certainly won't be swapping my TV for the latest laptop and will continue to enjoy relaxing in front of it in the evenings.

https://www.flo-joe.co.uk/

1. READING COMPREHENSION. (2 POINTS) (0.5 points for each correct answer). Add TRUE or FALSE and copy the evidence from the text to support your answer. No marks are given for only TRUE or FALSE. No marks are given for T or F.

1. The writer agrees with the idea that the internet is replacing TV.
2. TV can attract huge audiences for live events.
3. The author thinks TV news is more reliable than online news.
4. TV will disappear soon.

TEXT 1 LEXICON. (1 POINT) (0.25 points for each correct answer). Find words or phrases in the text that mean the same as these given.

1. Debate, discuss:
2. Growing, rising:
3. Believed:
4. Exchanging, substituting:

TEXT 1 PHONETICS. (1 POINT) (0.25 points for each correct answer).

1. How is the “e” pronounced in “result”? /e/, /i:/, or /ɪ/?
2. Is the final “-s” pronounced /s/, /z/ or /ɪz/ in “thanks”?
3. How is the “ou” pronounced in “country”, /æ/, /ʌ/ or /ə/?
4. How is the “th” pronounced in “nothing” /ð/ or /θ/?

TEXT 2 – LIFE AS A YOUTUBER

Do funny or interesting things happen to you a lot? Do you think hundreds of thousands of people will want to listen to you tell stories about your life? That's what life is like for YouTube star, Jessii Vee. More than 150 million people watch her videos of funny stories about herself, and subscribers to her channel grow every day.

Twenty-three-year-old Jessii from Ontario, Canada, turns her life into her work, six days a week. 'I spend all of Sunday having ideas for videos to film that week,' says Jessii. 'Then, on Monday, I wake up early to start making the videos. Usually, a video takes just over an hour to make. I try to make around five, so it takes most of my day. Then, from Tuesday to Friday, I edit them.'

Jessii also spends a few hours a week writing to her fans. Sometimes she meets fans because people recognise her when she goes out. 'The other day I went to buy coffee,' she says, 'and the girl serving me almost dropped my coffee when she saw it was me. She left the coffee shop to meet me outside to take pictures. It always makes me happy to see my fans are happy.'

Online life isn't all good. In the past, Jessii felt bad when people said negative things about her. 'Some people online are so quick to write hate comments,' she says. Some people said that she has really big cheeks and a really thin mouth. It made her feel bad until she found a different way to think. 'People were negative about things that I can't change. So I decided to love those things and I became more confident in myself. Only people who don't feel good about themselves make hate comments.'

If you want to start a YouTube channel, there are some things to think about. One thing you might want to do is turn off the comments. Then you won't get any negative ones. Being safe is very important, so don't show your face or real name and don't tell people where you live. One of the most famous YouTubers, DanTDM, a 26-year-old English man, didn't use to show his face in the beginning and now, we can see him in his videos which have over 10 billion views.

Jessii has some advice about what kind of videos to make. 'Be yourself. Don't change to try to make people like you. In my old videos, I don't look comfortable because I'm not being myself. But in my videos now, you can see that I'm 100 per cent myself. I'm crazy and strange, and I don't care what people think.'

Jessii also says you should make your channel about something you really care about because that will inspire people. People know when you're not being the real you because you just want to be popular. 'Make videos about something you love and your channel will grow much faster, believe me!'

https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org

1. READING COMPREHENSION. (2 POINTS) (0.5 points for each correct answer).

1. Jessii Vee works every day of the week.
2. Online life has always been fantastic for Jessii Vee.
3. DanTDM avoided to show his face when he began being a youtuber.
4. Nowadays Jessii Vee pretends to be somebody else in her videos.

TEXT 2 LEXICON. (1 POINT) (0.25 points for each correct answer). Find words or phrases in the text that mean the same as these given.

1. Regular readers:
2. Increase:
3. Slim, slender:
4. Self-assured, sure:

TEXT 2 PHONETICS. (1 POINT) (0.25 points for each correct answer).

1. How is the “a” pronounced in “became”? /eɪ/, /æ/, or /ʌ/?
2. How is the “s” pronounced in “views”, /s/, /z/ or /ɪz/?
3. How is the “c” pronounced in “cent”, /s/ or /ʃ/ ?
4. Write a word from the text that includes the same diphthong sound as “pay” /eɪ/.

PART II. USE OF ENGLISH. (3 POINTS) (0.5 points for each correct answer).

Choose SIX of these sentences and rewrite them starting with the words given. Only the first six will be corrected. No points will be given for the extra ones. Clearly identify the sentences you choose using the numbers here.

1. The barber cut my hair yesterday. → I
2. We haven´t tasted this kind of food before. → It
3. You must send these letters this afternoon. → These letters
4. “When will you be travelling to London?”, Jane asked me. → Jane asked
5. The exhibition was so nice that I visited it three times. → It was
6. You won´t pass the exam unless you work harder. → If
7. It´s four years since you came to live here. → You have
8. The house has just been rebuilt. My grandparents used to live there. → The house
9. “I am very sorry I was not very helpful yesterday”, he said to me. → He apologized
10. Somebody promised us two tickets for the concert. → We
11. He is not allowed to smoke on the underground. → He
12. Jane studied medicine. Her son goes to the same school as mine. → Jane,

PART III. WRITING. (3 POINTS). Write ONE of these two compositions. If you write two, no points will be given to the second one. Your composition must have at least 125 words.

• OPTION 1: Could you live without internet? Give your opinion.
• OPTION 2: The advantages and disadvantages of being a youtuber.