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11/15 SENIOR FOUR FINAL EXAM Paper 1 (L) Time allowed: 2hs SECTION A: Reading Comprehension

Read the text below and mark the statements true(T) or false(F).

Why is popcorn so popular?

According to the website TheNibble.com, every year Americans eat enough popcorn to fill the Empire State Building 18 times over. In fact, they eat more popcorn than any other country. So, why’s it so popular? And just how healthy is it?

Popcorn has had a long history. Experts believe that corn was cultivated by the Aztecs and Mayans around 7,000 BC – more than 9,000 years ago. The earliest evidence for popcorn dates from around 4,700 BC in Peru, according to Washington’s Natural History Museum. In 1948, 4,000-year old ears of popcorn were discovered in a cave in New Mexico.

No one is exactly sure when popcorn was introduced to the US. According to randomhistory.com, sailors from America brought it back to New England from Chile as early as 1820. In 1848, the word “popcorn” was popular enough to be listed in John Russell Bartlett’s Dictionary of Americanisms. One of the biggest events in popcorn history took place around 1893 when Charles Cretors patented the first popcorn-popping machine.

So, is popcorn a healthy snack? Popcorn is high in antioxidants and fibre; and air-popped popcorn only has about 31 calories per cup, which is quite low compared to most other snack foods. However, the problem with popcorn is that it’s often covered in butter, caramel or salt, which increases the levels of fat, sugar and sodium.

So, why is popcorn so popular? There are lots of reasons: the delicious buttery smell, the way it’s so light, crunchy and fluffy, how it “melts” in your mouth, and the fact that you don’t feel full even after eating a lot of it. Scientists have even found that the carbohydrates in popcorn help bring amino acids into your brain, where they are used to produce serotonin – a chemical that literally makes you feel good.

Whatever the attraction, we’ve been eating popcorn for thousands of years, and we’ll probably go on enjoying it for many more.

Adapted from Hot English Magazine Glossary Ear: the part of the plant that contains the grain 1) The United States is the largest consumer of popcorn in the world.___

2) The earliest historical evidence of popcorn was found in Peru.___

3) Popcorn may have been introduced into the United States by Chilean sailors. ___

4) Popcorn would be a healthy snack if it wasn’t covered in butter, caramel or salt.___

5) There is scientific evidence to explain why people love eating popcorn.___

SECTION B: Language in use.

I - Choose the most suitable alternative and write it in the blanks, as in the example.

e.g. His new book has been a great ___b____. It sold over a million copies in the first month. a) failure b) success c) compliment

1. I can’t _______ to buy a mansion with a tennis court. a) avoid b) afford c) help

2. This time next month we ________ on a sunny beach in Brazil. a) will lie b) are lying c) will be lying

3. A: “I’ve lost my mobile phone” B: “Keep calm. I’m sure it ________ somewhere in your room.

a) must be b) can’t be c) mustn’t be 4. The day before the job interview, go to the hairdresser’s and_______.

a) cut your hair b) have cut your hair c) have your hair cut

5. I should _______enough money for a taxi. There is no bus service from the station to the hotel. a) to bring b) brought c) have brought

AACI USE ONLY Sections 1st 2nd 3rd

A B C D

Total Corrector

II- Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Make any necessary changes.

On the Atlantic again!

I’ve been pretty busy out on the water recently and (1) ______________ (do) a lot of sailing with the Tall Ships Youth

Club. This has been a great experience which (2) ______________ (teach) me a lot about sailing big boats. This

last weekend was certainly very exciting! On Thursday evening, I (3) _____________ (invite) by the Air League to go

and fly one of the British Airways 747 simulators at Heathrow airport. It was an amazing opportunity because as you

know I also have a passion for flying. I (4) _____________ (spend) 2 hours in the simulator with 45 minutes at the

controls. The time flew by, but I managed to learn a lot. The next day, John, Will and I (5)_____________ (take) part

in the annual Tall Ships Regatta. This year was the 10th anniversary of the regatta and an impressive number of

yachts were entered. We started (6) ______________ (race) on Saturday and the forecast was pretty wet and wild. I

was particularly careful to avoid getting into any risky situations. On the first race we were in the lead right until the

finish line when we (7) _____________ (beat) by another boat. In the second race of the day, we once again had a

good start. Eventually we finished fourth. I am very proud of the team for our efforts! Moving on… I

(8)_____________ (fly) out to Las Palmas in a couple of days to start preparing for the ARC competition. I will be

sailing on Challenger 4, which is a 72ft yacht with16 crew on board. I’m terrifically excited about this crossing, as it

will be totally different from any of the other ocean crossings I (9)_______________ (make) so far. With so many

people on board, there (10) ______________ (be) many different challenges to face while we are going across the

Atlantic and I’m looking forward to it! We set off on November 23rd and you can follow us using the tracker on the

ARC website. That’s all for now, wish us good winds going across!

Mike (Adapted from http://www.mikeperham.co.uk)

III - Complete each of the following sentences in such a way that it means the same as the original sentence.

1. When Emma was a child, she played with her Barbie dolls for hours. USED

When Emma was a child, __________________________________________________________.

2. People have watched Charlie’s videos more than 250 million times. BEEN

Charlie’s videos __________________________________________________________________.

3. “I’ll ring the fire brigade now!” John said. SAID

John __________________________________________________________________________.

4. Camp Nou is the largest football stadium in Europe. It has been the home of Barcelona football club. WHICH

Camp Nou, _____________________________________________________________________.

5. Mike felt tired on Monday because he went to bed late on Sunday. WOULDN’T

If Mike had gone to bed early on Sunday, _____________________________________________.

6. I’m quite sure people will stop reading paperback books. LIKELY

People ________________________________________________________________________.

7. “Can I take the day off tomorrow?” asked Claire. IF

Claire asked ___________________________________________________________ the next day.

8. “I did check the lock before I went home,” the security guard said. REMEMBERED

The security guard ________________________________________________________________.

9. John started eating burgers at 5.00pm. It’s 8.00pm and he’s still eating them. SINCE

John ____________________________________________________________________ 5.00 pm.

10. That restaurant is never crowded. It’s not necessary for us to make a reservation. HAVE

That restaurant is never crowded. We ________________________________________________.

SECTION C: Writing

Write between 100 -120 words on ONE of the following:

a) You have decided to enter a short story competition. The competition rules say that the story must begin or end with the following words:

It was the most exciting adventure he had ever had.

Write your story.

b) The local newspaper has organized a writing contest which you decided to enter. Write an article about the following.

“Twenty years from now every family will have a robot in the home.”

Do you agree or disagree? Give reasons to support your opinion.

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