EPE Übungsprüfung 3

Read the text about a family holiday. First decide whether the statements (1-10) are true (T) or false (F) and put a cross in the correct box on the answer sheet. Then identify the sentence in the text which supports your decision. Write the first 4 words of this sentence in the space provided. There may be more than one correct answer; write down only one. The first one (0) has been done for you.

Going on a “safari” in Britain

“It’s a kingfisher!” Ed’s boy swung round and leaned forward, his arm following a wavelike motion, the bird soaring above the water at Cannop Ponds in the Forest of Dean. We leaned with him, scanning the sky. “There it is, there it is.” Ed Drewitt, our guide, had spotted its landing perch in a pine around 400m away. “Wow, I’d love to be able to do that,” my daughter whispered. Ed got his binoculars out so we could glimpse the orange belly of the bird, the first kingfisher he’d seen this year, he told us excitedly. Ed, a passionate zoologist, was taking us on an “animal safari”, offered to guests staying at the Tudor Farmhouse in the heart of the Forest of Dean. The “safari” is perfect for animal lovers, including my daughter Sophie, 20, studying animal management, and my 16-year-old son Toby. We’d arrived the afternoon before and, thanks to the hotel’s map of wild swimming spots, headed straight out to the River Usk, half an hour away, sinking into the water from a tiny island beach in the centre of a bend in the river. After a slow journey on clogged motorways, it was a refreshing and magical way to start our forest adventure. Back at the hotel, we enjoyed cocktails in the garden, before stepping across a wooden bridge over a tiny stream that led inside to dinner. I was impressed by the variety on the menu, particularly for someone like me who is gluten- and dairy-free, and by the fact that much of it was locally sourced – and tucked into delicately flavoured beetroot and cured salmon, followed by pork belly with roast onion. The next morning, it was a short drive to Puzzlewood, the inspiration for Tolkien’s Middle-earth, an area of woodland where moss carpets a landscape of rocks and trees. We ambled up paths and across bridges, trying to spot the precise locations for scenes from Star Wars and Doctor Who, both of which were filmed here. Following a lazy afternoon at the hotel – me on the terrace drinking in the views, Sophie and Toby in front of the TV – we set off for a picnic at Wenchford, before Ed collected us from the hotel. Stopping at the ponds, he was soon in raptures at the sight of wagtails, mandarin ducks, coots, gold finches, chaffinches and, of course, that kingfisher.

What we were itching to see were wild boars, the pigs which were once native here, before being hunted to extinction. But then, 10-15 years ago, they were reintroduced by an anonymous breeder who released a few into the woods. As prolific breeders with no natural predators, the boars quickly multiplied and today there are an impressive 1,500 of them. Deep into the forest Ed led us, encouraging us to inhale the hop-like scent of flowering horse chestnuts and the freshness of wild mint, as the words and rhythm of Michael Rosen’s We’re Going on a Bear Hunt played in my head. Suddenly we heard snuffling and grunting and the sound of twigs snapping under trotters. We stood still, peering into the trees, slightly scared by the prospect of the untamed beasts we could hear, but wanting to see them, too. Minutes passed. The sound died away. We marched on.

0. The family hesitated to pay attention to what the guide’s son was showing them.
1. The tour the family took is available to everyone in the area.
2. Online research helped the family access the surrounding area.
3. The author liked where the products at the Tudor Farmhouse came from.
4. The family went on a walk looking for places relevant in popular culture.
5. The family’s top priority was to go bird-watching.
6. One animal species swiftly re-established itself in the area.
7. The tour concentrates on encounters with animals only.
8. The noises in the forest caused the family to have mixed feelings.
9. The animals the family hoped to find were brought back by someone whose name was never made public.
10. The family first became aware of the boars by catching sight of movement between the trees.

Datenquelle: Bundesministerium für Bildung (BMB), CC BY 4.0

Read the texts about six people who moved to a completely different kind of place to live. Find out which statement is true for which person and put a cross below the right person. Just use one cross for each line. The first one (0) has been done for you. (10p.)

Find out whose…

0. moved to a much smaller settlement after struggling with a long daily commute → A — Elin

People who moved to a very different kind of place to live

A — Elin

I'm Elin, and three years ago my partner and I left the capital for a small coastal town of around four thousand people. The decision came after a particularly bad winter of two-hour daily commutes and a flat so small we could barely fit a dining table. Now I work remotely three days a week. For the first six months I missed being able to get takeaway food delivered after ten at night; here, everything closes by eight. What surprised me is how quickly people learned who I was: within a few weeks, the woman at the bakery knew my order before I asked. My partner has taken up sea swimming, and he does it most mornings, whatever the weather. Old friends have visited and said they couldn't live somewhere this quiet.

B — Rasheed

My name is Rasheed, and I grew up in a village of around six hundred people where everyone knew everyone. I moved to the capital eighteen months ago for a job in finance. The first few weeks were overwhelming; I got lost repeatedly on the metro, and I remember standing on a crowded platform at rush hour feeling more alone than I ever did in the quietest parts of home. What's hardest isn't the pace, it's the anonymity: I could disappear for a week and my neighbours, whose names I still don't know, wouldn't register it. On the other hand, I joined a five-a-side football league with people from four different countries. My parents call every Sunday, worried I'm not eating properly.

C — Marta

I'm Marta. Two years ago, once both our children had moved out, my husband and I sold the house we'd lived in for twenty-six years and moved into a two-bedroom apartment in the city centre. The garden had become more chore than pleasure, and the stairs were starting to bother my husband's knees. I cried packing up the kitchen more than I did at either of my children's graduations. Now we can walk to almost everything, including a small cinema we go to most Fridays. My children were oddly more upset about the move than we were. What I didn't expect is how much less time we spend on maintenance, which has left room for the pottery class I started six months ago.

D — Tomasz

I'm Tomasz. Last spring I sold my semi-detached house on the edge of town and bought a narrowboat, which is now my only home. It is about two metres wide, so most of my books went to a charity shop. The rules on the canal say I have to move to a new mooring every two weeks, so I've lived in a dozen neighbourhoods this year without ever changing my address on paper. I fill the water tank at a tap by the lock and watch the battery closely on cloudy days. People on the towpath stop to chat far more than my old neighbours ever did, and an older couple on the next boat taught me how to work the locks on my first morning. My sister thinks I've lost my mind.

E — Priya

My name is Priya. I grew up in a city of more than ten million people, and two years ago I took a job at a marine research station on a northern island with fewer than three hundred residents. There is one shop, and if the ferry is cancelled, the shelves are half empty by Thursday. In winter the sun is up for barely five hours, and that first December I slept badly and felt low until a colleague lent me a lamp that imitates daylight. Everyone depends on everyone else: when my boiler broke, three people turned up within the hour, and one of them stayed for dinner. I now help run the monthly film night in the village hall. I sometimes miss street food at midnight more than my old friends.

F — Ingrid

I'm Ingrid, and I'm seventy-one. For forty years I lived on a farm three kilometres from the nearest neighbour, and last autumn I moved into a flat on the eleventh floor of a tower block in the city, near my son. The lift took some getting used to, and during the first week I walked down all eleven flights because I didn't trust it. The noise was the other shock: doors, buses and music at all hours. My neighbours speak at least six languages between them, and the family across the corridor brings me a plate of whatever they've cooked most Fridays. I grow tomatoes in pots on the balcony. My grandchildren now come by after school twice a week.

1. may not stay in one spot for longer than a fortnight at a time
2. felt more isolated in a packed crowd early on than in the emptiest corners of the place where they grew up
3. got through a gloomy first winter thanks to a gadget from a workmate
4. shed more tears over emptying one part of a home than at two big family ceremonies
5. at first refused to use a machine meant to save effort, out of distrust
6. was shown a practical skill by people living nearby on the very first day
7. plays a regular game alongside people from several nations
8. had someone who came round about a breakdown stay on to eat
9. now has hours for a craft that looking after a property used to eat up
10. usual purchase was memorised by a shop worker within weeks of arriving

Read the text about Marta's semester studying in Prague. Fill in the missing gaps, one letter per underscore. Type either the missing letters or the full word into each gap; both are accepted (in the exam itself, the full word goes into the grid). The first one (0) has been done for you. (10p.)

Learning Czech by Living It

Marta decided to spend a semester studying in Prague as part of her university's exchange programme. She had studied Czech for two years already, but she knew that living in the country would be completely different from sitting in a classroom.

During her first week, she stru_____ (0) to follow ordinary conversations at the sha___ (1) kitchen in her dormitory, even though her grammar was reaso_____ (2) strong on paper. Her flat_____ (3) spoke quickly and used expressions that never appe____ (4) in her textbooks, which left her feeling embarr_____ (5) whenever she asked them to repeat something. Gradually, she started writing down unfa______ (6) phrases in a small notebook she carried everywhere, revi_____ (7) them each evening before falling asleep. Her professors at the local university encou_____ (8) students to attend lectures in Czech rather than rel____ (9) on translated materials, insi_____ (10) that real progress needs genuine expo____ (11) to the language. Marta found the lectures exha______ (12) at first, since she had to concen_____ (13) far harder than her classmates who were native speakers. She also joi___ (14) a conversation group that met weekly in a small café, where international students prac_____ (15) speaking with local volunteers. Within a couple of months, she noticed that she was begi_____ (16) to think in Czech during ordinary daily tasks, rather than transl_____ (17) everything from her native language first. Her pronunci_____ (18) slowly improved too, especially once a patient volunteer corre____ (19) the sounds she consistently mispronoun___ (20). By the end of the semester, Marta could hold a proper conversation without pausing to search for words, proud of how far she had come since that first confusing week.

Read the text about public versus private transport. Some words are missing. Choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D) for each gap (1-10). Put a cross in the correct box on the answer sheet. The first one (0) has been done for you.

Car beats bus

We are always told that we should leave the car at home and use public transport to get to work. We are all (0) ___ the advantages for the environment of using public rather than private transport. However, there are many disadvantages to public transport. The fact of the matter is that public transport is in general inconvenient, (1) ___, uncomfortable and expensive. Public transport (2) ___ suitable for those who can travel at off-peak times, who do not have to change bus, train or tram to reach their final (3) ___ and who live and work close to the
(4) ___ stops or stations. Public transport may even be the cheaper option for these people if they travel regularly at least five days a week all year round. But how many of us actually (5) ___ this category? Let us look at the reality of a typical weekday trip to work on the bus. (6) ___ there is the walk to the stop, (7) ___ is no joke on a cold, dark winter morning. Smart office shoes are rarely suitable for tramping through rain and snow, so one is obliged to carry them along with all the other things one needs for work. Then there is the wait, hoping that the number 34 bus will actually turn up when it (8) ___. Most workers have to travel during the rush hours. In the morning this may mean competing for a seat on the bus with crowds of school children. There is little chance of being able to sit in comfort! Having held on to the strap on the bus for fifteen minutes, swaying and staggering and being stood on by small children, one gets off to change to the number 15, only to see it disappearing round the corner. (9) ___ this to a warm, comfortable private car. Is it any wonder that people cannot be persuaded to leave the car at home and use public transport instead, (10) ___ it may cost a little more?

0. (A) aware of (B) involved in (C) confident about (D) motivated by
1. (A) unlikely (B) unexpected (C) unfortunate (D) unreliable
2. (A) is to be (B) may be (C) has been (D) is being
3. (A) destination (B) location (C) position (D) goal
4. (A) most (B) beside (C) immediate (D) nearest
5. (A) are among (B) respond to (C) fall into (D) take part in
6. (A) Then (B) First (C) As (D) Because
7. (A) what (B) whichever (C) which (D) whatever
8. (A) is told to (B) may (C) should (D) is said
9. (A) Like (B) Compare (C) Link (D) Check
10. (A) only if (B) as if (C) even if (D) what if

Datenquelle: Bundesministerium für Bildung (BMB), CC BY 4.0

Read the text about how to prepare yourself for a career working in a zoo. Some words are missing. Change the word in brackets to form the missing word for each gap (1-15). Write your answers in the spaces provided on the answer sheet. The first one (0) has been done for you.

Becoming a zookeeper

You may wonder why we would recommend that you study domestic or farm animals when your passion lies with wildlife. While courses (0) ___ (focus) exclusively on wildlife are few and far between, it’s not just a case of signing up for the next best thing. Much of what you’ll learn applies (1) ___ (direct) to wild animals as well. A giraffe has the same number of bones in its neck as a dog or a horse; they’re just (2) ___ (big). A kangaroo has extra stomachs to digest its food, just like a cow, and the (3) ___ (similarity) between a house cat and a tiger are obvious even to the untrained (4) ___ (observe). Everything you learn will give you a better understanding of the animal (5) ___ (king) so that when you go on to learn the specifics of the animals you’re most (6) ___ (interest) in, you’ll have a deeper understanding of how they relate to the world around them. If you’re still in school, or not ready to get started on building some qualifications just yet, why not take learning into your own hands and buy some zookeeping books that will start building your (7) ___ (know) now. How do I choose the right course for me? There are several things to consider, such as your (8) ___ (finance) situation and your geographic location. If the zoo of your (9) ___ (choose) recommends specific courses (though they (10) ___ (usual) don’t) this may also influence you.

Ultimately it’s a personal (11) ___ (decide) only you can make, but here’s some (12) ___ (advise) from a zoo employee: “This is what I tell high school kids and (13) ___ (volunteer) when they ask: pick something that gives you some flexibility in your career path. Sometimes you need to be (14) ___ (patience) while you’re waiting for that zookeeper vacancy to come up, so choose a course that also helps you get another job in the meantime. With any luck it’ll be a job that gives you experience with animals too, (15) ___ (make) your resume look even better for that keeper job.” – Adele (zookeeper, 5 years).

Datenquelle: Bundesministerium für Bildung (BMB), CC BY 4.0

Blog Comment Task

Read the blog post below, then write a blog comment responding to it.

"I Quit My Hobby and Nobody Noticed"

by Ben Nowak ("benno.offline"); 02/11/2024; 09:15 a.m.

Two years ago I joined a running club. I posted every race, every medal, every sunrise training photo. Then, three months ago, I quietly stopped. No announcement, no farewell post. Just... gone.

Here's the strange part: almost nobody asked where I went. And when I was honest with myself, I realised the running had slowly turned into content — I was chasing the photo more than the finish line. Once I stopped posting about it, I stopped wanting to do it at all.

Do we still do things for ourselves, or only for the version of ourselves we show online?

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You have decided to comment on the blog post above. In your blog comment you should:

1. summarize Ben's point about hobbies and social media in one sentence and comment on it.
2. discuss reasons why people often give up hobbies they were once excited about.
3. suggest how someone could keep a hobby just for themselves, without needing an audience.

Include a range of interactive elements to engage your readers.

Write 250 words (+/- 10%: texts that grossly fail to meet the word limit will be penalized).

Start your text with the following information (not included in the word count), each on its own line, exactly as shown:

User name … (your own username)

Date … (today's date)