Progress Test Unit 2

Listen to five people talking about extreme sports. Match the speakers (1–5) with the statements. There is one extra statement.

Read the text. Choose the correct answers.

Climb every mountain

Stephen Venables’ love of mountains began at nine years old on a skiing trip to the Alps. ‘I was thrilled,’ he remembers. ‘It was actually far more impressive and exciting than seeing the Himalayas for the first time, because when you’re nine it’s all new and you don’t know what to expect.’

From that moment, Stephen knew that he wanted to climb mountains, but he didn’t realise then that one day he would be the first British man to climb Everest without oxygen. However, his record-breaking expedition in 1988 was not an easy one. ¹___ After years of climbing, he was prepared for this and he knew that the best thing he could do was wait for the weather to change.

‘At first I tried sitting on a rock because rock is warmer than snow, but it wasn’t completely flat. I really wanted to lie down so I decided to cut a ledge in the snow. I did sleep a bit,’ he says. ‘They always say you should stay awake but I was totally exhausted.’ Fortunately, the storm passed, and Stephen managed to climb back down to his camp and enter the record books.

The Everest expedition wasn’t Stephen’s only difficult climb. ²___ ‘It was very unlucky that it happened, but I was lucky that there were five of us.’ The group included Chris Bonnington and Stephen’s good friend Harish Kapadia. It took them twelve hours to make camp in a safe place. Then two of the team went for help.

‘I think that was one of the most wonderful moments of my life – finally being in the tent and realising that I could just lie back in my sleeping bag.’ ³___ By that time, there was almost no food left. ‘On the last day we had a boiled sweet and we used the last tea bag so many times that it wasn’t actually changing the colour of the water.’ But luckily, the team managed to keep going until help arrived.

What happened to Stephen Venables when he was nine years old?

Read the text. Choose the correct answers.

Climb every mountain

Stephen Venables’ love of mountains began at nine years old on a skiing trip to the Alps. ‘I was thrilled,’ he remembers. ‘It was actually far more impressive and exciting than seeing the Himalayas for the first time, because when you’re nine it’s all new and you don’t know what to expect.’

From that moment, Stephen knew that he wanted to climb mountains, but he didn’t realise then that one day he would be the first British man to climb Everest without oxygen. However, his record-breaking expedition in 1988 was not an easy one. ¹___ After years of climbing, he was prepared for this and he knew that the best thing he could do was wait for the weather to change.

‘At first I tried sitting on a rock because rock is warmer than snow, but it wasn’t completely flat. I really wanted to lie down so I decided to cut a ledge in the snow. I did sleep a bit,’ he says. ‘They always say you should stay awake but I was totally exhausted.’ Fortunately, the storm passed, and Stephen managed to climb back down to his camp and enter the record books.

The Everest expedition wasn’t Stephen’s only difficult climb. ²___ ‘It was very unlucky that it happened, but I was lucky that there were five of us.’ The group included Chris Bonnington and Stephen’s good friend Harish Kapadia. It took them twelve hours to make camp in a safe place. Then two of the team went for help.

‘I think that was one of the most wonderful moments of my life – finally being in the tent and realising that I could just lie back in my sleeping bag.’ ³___ By that time, there was almost no food left. ‘On the last day we had a boiled sweet and we used the last tea bag so many times that it wasn’t actually changing the colour of the water.’ But luckily, the team managed to keep going until help arrived.

What is the writer’s purpose in this article?

Read the text again. Match sentences A–Д with gaps 1–3. There are two extra sentences.

Climb every mountain

Stephen Venables’ love of mountains began at nine years old on a skiing trip to the Alps. ‘I was thrilled,’ he remembers. ‘It was actually far more impressive and exciting than seeing the Himalayas for the first time, because when you’re nine it’s all new and you don’t know what to expect.’

From that moment, Stephen knew that he wanted to climb mountains, but he didn’t realise then that one day he would be the first British man to climb Everest without oxygen. However, his record-breaking expedition in 1988 was not an easy one. ¹___ After years of climbing, he was prepared for this and he knew that the best thing he could do was wait for the weather to change.

‘At first I tried sitting on a rock because rock is warmer than snow, but it wasn’t completely flat. I really wanted to lie down so I decided to cut a ledge in the snow. I did sleep a bit,’ he says. ‘They always say you should stay awake but I was totally exhausted.’ Fortunately, the storm passed, and Stephen managed to climb back down to his camp and enter the record books.

The Everest expedition wasn’t Stephen’s only difficult climb. ²___ ‘It was very unlucky that it happened, but I was lucky that there were five of us.’ The group included Chris Bonnington and Stephen’s good friend Harish Kapadia. It took them twelve hours to make camp in a safe place. Then two of the team went for help.

‘I think that was one of the most wonderful moments of my life – finally being in the tent and realising that I could just lie back in my sleeping bag.’ ³___ By that time, there was almost no food left. ‘On the last day we had a boiled sweet and we used the last tea bag so many times that it wasn’t actually changing the colour of the water.’ But luckily, the team managed to keep going until help arrived.

Complete the sentences. Use the past simple or past continuous form of the verbs in brackets. Write full verb forms, separate them with a comma.

The boy _____________________ (sit) on a bench in the park _____________________ (read) a book.

Complete the sentences. Use the past simple or past continuous form of the verbs in brackets. Write full verb forms, separate them with a comma.

The policeman _____________________ (notice) the blood on the floor when he first _____________________ (enter) the room.

Complete the sentences. Use the past simple or past continuous form of the verbs in brackets. Write full verb forms, separate them with a comma.

I _______________________ (try) to sleep when the doorbell _______________________ (ring).

Complete the sentences. Use the past simple or past continuous form of the verbs in brackets. Write full verb forms, separate them with a comma.

The accident happened because the man _____________________ (drive) and _____________________ (talk) on his mobile phone at the same time.

Complete the sentences. Use the past simple or past continuous form of the verbs in brackets. Write full verb forms, separate them with a comma.

When I _____________________ (reach) the other side of the lake, I _____________________ (feel) safe.

Complete the sentences. Use the past simple or past continuous form of the verbs in brackets. Write full verb forms, separate them with a comma.

While I _____________________ (do) my English exam, I _____________________ (decide) to ask for a drink.

Complete the sentences. Use the past simple or past continuous form of the verbs in brackets. Write full verb forms, separate them with a comma.

I _____________________ (see) the money on the ground as I _____________________ (walk) to school.

Complete the sentences. Use the past simple or past continuous form of the verbs in brackets. Write full verb forms, separate them with a comma.

They _____________________ (start) climbing very early in the morning because they _____________________ (want) to reach the top by midday.

Complete the sentences. Use the past simple or past continuous form of the verbs in brackets. Write full verb forms, separate them with a comma.

I _____________________ (sprain) my ankle while I _____________________ (play) basketball.

Complete the sentences with the correct words. The first letter of each word has been given. Write full words.

Nauru is a small rock island in the Pacific O_____, almost 4,000 km from Australia.

Complete the sentences with the correct words. The first letter of each word has been given. Write full words.

It was a bright day in July, but inside the Son Doong C____ it was very dark and cold.

Complete the sentences with the correct words. The first letter of each word has been given. Write full words.

When Mount Vesuvius – the v_______ – erupted in 79 ad, it destroyed the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Complete the sentences with the correct words. The first letter of each word has been given. Write full words.

It's a s_____ climb to the top of Ben Nevis in the Scottish Highlands, but the view is worth it.

Complete the sentences with the correct words. The first letter of each word has been given. Write full words.

Some of the trees in the Black F______ are very old.

Complete the sentences with the correct words. The first letter of each word has been given. Write full words.

Parliament Street in the city of Exeter, England, is so n_______ that two people can’t walk together at the same time.

Complete the sentences with the correct words. The first letter of each word has been given. Write full words.

During the day, the temperature in the Sahara d_______ can reach 50°C, but at night it sometimes falls to below 0°C.

Complete the sentences with the correct words. The first letter of each word has been given. Write full words.

Loch Ness in Scotland is a very d_____ lake – it’s over 226 m from the surface to the bottom!

Complete the sentences with the correct words. The first letter of each word has been given. Write full words.

The Nile is 6,853 km long, but only 2.8 km w_____ , from shore to shore.

Complete the sentences with the correct words. The first letter of each word has been given. Write full words.

The edges of Lake Como in Italy are s_________ , but it’s quite deep in the middle.

Complete the sentences with the words below. There are two extra words.

Replace the simple adjectives in brackets with extreme adjectives. The first letter of each extreme adjective has been given. Write full words.

Breaking my leg while crossing that river was a__________________ (very bad).

Replace the simple adjectives in brackets with extreme adjectives. The first letter of each extreme adjective has been given. Write full words.

After swimming across the lake, I was e__________________ (very tired).

Replace the simple adjectives in brackets with extreme adjectives. The first letter of each extreme adjective has been given. Write full words.

The hill we had to climb looked h__________________ (very big).

Replace the simple adjectives in brackets with extreme adjectives. The first letter of each extreme adjective has been given. Write full words.

The countryside we were walking through was s__________________ (very beautiful).

Replace the simple adjectives in brackets with extreme adjectives. The first letter of each extreme adjective has been given. Write full words.

After we had walked 50 km across the desert, I was s__________________ (very hungry).

Replace the simple adjectives in brackets with extreme adjectives. The first letter of each extreme adjective has been given. Write full words.

That helmet doesn’t fit me – it’s t__________________ (very small).

Replace the simple adjectives in brackets with extreme adjectives. The first letter of each extreme adjective has been given. Write full words.

Doing a bungee jump was t__________________ (very frightening).

Replace the simple adjectives in brackets with extreme adjectives. The first letter of each extreme adjective has been given. Write full words.

Watching the BASE jumpers land safely in the valley was f__________________ (very good).

Replace the simple adjectives in brackets with extreme adjectives. The first letter of each extreme adjective has been given. Write full words.

The place where we stayed when we were hiking was f__________________ (very dirty).

Replace the simple adjectives in brackets with extreme adjectives. The first letter of each extreme adjective has been given. Write full words.

That meal we had at the Chinese restaurant last night was d__________________ (very tasty).

Read the text and complete gaps 1–10. Choose the correct answer.

¹___    [At, On, In]the centre of the photo there is a row of eight red kayaks on a river, with a teenager in each one wearing a yellow helmet. It ²___         [shows, expects, looks] like an adventure holiday and they’re ³___          [a bit, probably, quite]feeling excited about doing something on the water. There is a boy ⁴___     [on, at, in]the left of the photo who is standing up with one foot in one kayak, and another foot in the next kayak. It ⁵___         [shows, looks, expects]as if he’s trying to walk across the line of boats. I ⁶___        [expect, judge, say]he’s feeling quite nervous about falling in the water. ⁷___    [In, At, On]the foreground there’s a woman who is standing on the bank of the river. She ⁸___       [shows, seems, looks]to be the instructor. ⁹___         [Looking, Showing, Judging]by her expression, she’s feeling quite calm. This is probably because they are all wearing life jackets. ¹⁰___    [In, On, At]the bottom of the photo, I can see the end of a paddle. It must belong to another team.