ENGLISH ASSESSEMENT TEST

11th Form

Read this text carefully in order to accomplish the following tasks:

In the first few years of this century alone, floods, storms and heat
waves have shown just how vulnerable we are to extreme weather. In August
2004, a 9ft wall of water swept through villages in Cornwall*, washing 75 cars,
six buildings and several boats out to sea. Between June 25 and 26 this year,
three people lost their lives in floods in the north of England. In 2003 a heat
wave killed 27,000 people in north west Europe. Extreme weather events such
as these become more frequent and more deadly with climate change. The
effects will be unbearable... and inescapable.
By 2020, well within most of our lifetimes, the number of days in London
hotter than 25C will have doubled. Fast-forward to 2050, and we'll experience
up to five times as many hot days. In central London, the urban heat island
effect can add a further 6 to the highest temperatures elsewhere, making a hot
day in the suburbs an absolutely unbearable day at Charing Cross. The number
of really hot days (higher than 30) is also expected to increase.
Escaping the heat won't be easy. Public transport is one of the first
casualties of climate change. Hotter days mean slower trains: safety fears dictate that you can't travel at high
speed on hot, possibly buckled, tracks. And don't think going subterranean will help keep you cool:
temperatures on the Underground can be 10C higher than they are at street level.
Air-conditioning units are likely to top most wish fists in the near future. As demand for electricity would be
concentrated in the summer months, less than half could be met by existing UK power plants, meaning a huge
number of new ones would have to be built. And if, as seems likely, they would generate electricity by burning
fossil! fuels, the plants responsible for powering the units that provide us with chilled air would, ironically,
actually be exacerbating global warming.
But it isn't just Britain's human population that will suffer as a result of climate change. The natural
ecosystem is expected to change almost beyond recognition, too. What does this mean? Well, the demise of
our national dish, fish 'n' chips, for one thing: Atlantic cod, along with other fish species, are already moving
away from the British Isles as ocean waters approach the lethal temperature for their eggs. And as fish
populations decline, the WWF has warned, so the grey seals and fin whales that prey on them will disappear.
Climate change will prove fatal for some, uncomfortable for many, and extremely expensive for
everyone. But if you think we've got it bad, other parts of the world will fare much worse: the effects of global
warming could decimate much of the developing world as small islands and coastal areas become
uninhabitable, whole regions are plunged into long-term drought, agricultural productivity drops dramatically
and the spread of infectious diseases increases exponentially. Environmental refugees, forced to flee their
homes by the effects of climate change, already number in the tens of millions worldwide. By 2050, that
number could reach 150 million.
The UK along with the rest of the developed world will face the costs of absorbing and providing for
the forthcoming tidal wave of environmentally-driven immigrants from parts of Africa and Southern Asia. In
addition, the financial burden will include more money spent on humanitarian aid, higher prices 1br tropical
products (tea and coffee for starters) and a drop in profits for UK businesses based abroad.
When it comes to climate change, no man is an island.

"Cornwall - a picturesque county at the south-west tip of England

by Laura Snook, MSN UK News Editor
(abridged and adapted)
A1. Reread the first five paragraphs and quote from the text to prove that:

1. Thousands of people died from spells of high temperature.

2. We will fin d it difficult to endure the consequences of ever-increasing irregular climate,
3. In the subway it might get much warmer than outside.
4. People's needs will worsen the release of greenhouse gases.
5. Some animal species won't be able to reproduce in warmer waters.

A2. Match column A and B to build sentences that reflect the information in the rest of the text.

A B
1. People will die as a consequence of climate A. However, it will be much harder for poorer
change. nations.
2. Developed countries will suffer the B. due to adverse climatic conditions.
consequences of climate change.
3. Poorer regions will suffer the consequences of C. They will also have to continue helping poorer
climate change nations in other ways.
4. In poorer regions less food will be produced D. In the future, their numbers will greatly increase.

5. In poorer countries many people are trying to E. as many people will be killed when the sea level
escape environmental crises. rises.
6. Developed countries will have to spend a lot of F. Besides, a lot of money will be spent on it
money on environmental refugees.

A3. Scan the last two paragraphs of the text and find words or phrases that, in the context, have a similar
meaning to:

1. (to) kill; annihilate

2. by the sea
3. expansion; proliferation
4. at a very high rate
5. (to) add up to

A4. Answer the following questions on the text, using your own words as far as possible.

1. Identify two different ways in which climate change will affect the environment and refer to the changes
that are likely to occur.

2. Explain how climate change will affect the balance between developed and developing countries.
B. Read and complete the text below by choosing words from the box. Use a different word for each gap.

environment focus hunting conservation sustainable wider

network headquarters unless needs resources

WWF - World Wide Fund for Nature

WWF was officially founded on 11 September 1961 amid fears that habitat
destruction and____1____would soon bring about the extinction of much of Africa's
wildlife.
The organisation's international______ 2______ were established in
Switzerland, and WWF offices were set up in many countries, starting with the UK.
By the end of the 1970s, the _____ 3 _____of WWF's work had broadened to encompass not only the
conservation of wildlife and habitats, but also the ______ 4______implications of man's activities on the
environment In 1980 WWFs World Conservation Strategy warned that humanity had no future _____5 ____
nature and the world's natural_____ 6_____ were conserved.
It also introduced the concept of limits of _______7_____development - living within the limits of the
natural ______8______ without compromising the _____9_____ of future generations- which has been
central do WWWs thinking ever since.
WWW is the worlds largest and most experienced independent ____10____ organisation and a truly global
_____11___ , working in more than 90 countries.

C1. Rewrite the sentences by replacing a suitable modal verb:

1. We really need to change the way we waste our natural resources.

2. If s advisable that you think of some solutions to help the environment
3. It's strictly forbidden to dump litter in this place,
4. I'm not sure some measures taken by corporations are effective.
5. They weren't able to clean up the beach before summer.

C2. Report what was said beginning as suggested:

1." Did British people do anything to help the local villagers? How did they help them?"
Some youngsters asked the reporter,.........................

2. "Don't waste any resources unnecessarily"

The reporter told them...
 3. Those were Prince. Charles's words on his visit to Cornwall: "My thoughts are with these brave local
villagers and with the visitors to this beautiful place who have all come through such a dramatic
experience. I am absolutely horrified to witness this tragedy."
Prince Charles said...

C3. Complete the sentences with a word related to the one given in brackets:

1. The exponential______of the population is a major problem, (grow)

2. It's hard to give up the comforts of modern life, (please)
3. People's______to extreme weather events is evident, (vulnerable)
4. Long periods of drought______the livelihood of farmers and their families, (threat)
5. It will take them a long time to recover______. (finance)

D. Environmental awareness
(Write about 150 words)

Imagine that you have been invited to participate in a conference to discuss the environmental situation. Write
the speech you would make to impress the audience.