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Skills Test Unit 6 Test A Name: ___________________________________________

Everyday English 1

Complete the dialogue with the words below. might

say

wouldn’t

is

ticks

Dawn

Which newspaper 1__________ it going to be, then? We have to make a decision.

Phil

Well, we need to write a review of one of them and this one 2__________ a lot of boxes. It’s controversial and always entertaining.

Dawn

Oh, I 3__________ pick that one. It’s far too politically biased.

Phil

You can 4__________ that again! It’s a great thing to mention in the report.

Dawn

Yeah, that’s a good point. We 5__________ as well go with it, then.

Phil

Great. Let’s get started.

Mark: ___ / 5

1

Listening 2

 Listen to two friends talking about online news and newspapers. Are the sentences true (T) or false (F)? 1 John isn’t doing any work at the moment. ___ 2

John only tends to read the titles of the articles. ___

3

Helen regards newspaper journalism as more reliable. ___

4

Helen doesn’t think it’s easy to make complaints about the content of newspapers. ___

5

John thinks readers of online news stories realize that they’re often not true. ___

6

Helen recently went to an exhibition at a museum about the media. ___

7

John believes he is not unique in enjoying both kinds of news. ___

8

Helen thinks young people still read a lot of newspapers. ___

9

There is a limit to how much news John wants to read. ___

10 Helen found life less stressful in the past. ___ Mark: ___ / 10

2

Reading The history of newspapers The history of newspapers is probably longer than you think. Although it wouldn’t be accurate to consider government reports in Ancient China and Rome to be newspapers, they are at least the distant relatives of the print media we know today. It’s very easy to forget what life must have been like without modern technology. These days, we receive the latest stories from people in the limelight, know which politicians are out of favour with the public and hear about what’s making headlines all over the world in real time. Obviously, centuries ago, there wouldn’t have been any of this. As a matter of fact, the first newspapers were handwritten, which immediately restricted their circulation. It’s also safe to say that the majority of people were illiterate, so a newspaper would have been out of reach for most. Many people regard the first newspaper as the Relation aller Fürnemmen und gedenckwürdigen Historien, published in Germany in 1605. It is probably more accurate to call this a news booklet, given its dimensions, which were a fraction of the size of the newspapers we are familiar with today. It summarized the news over a total of eight pages. Not until almost 100 years later did England see its first daily. Elizabeth Mallet was responsible for the production of the Daily Courant and she prided herself on reporting with impartiality as far as politics was concerned. There wasn’t any delving into the lives of the rich and famous; however, interestingly, she did try to focus on a global perspective rather than a local one. When Elizabeth Mallet sold her publication to Samuel Buckley, he relocated the business to Fleet Street in London. Buckley’s name often appears in the history books when talking about early newspapers, but undoubtedly, it is Mallet who played an even bigger role. Her impartiality was actually well before its time, with most journalists in the 18th century making their feelings clearly known. This was bound to cause tension between journalists and politicians if the former had written something negative about government policies. By the 19th century, the number of literate people was on the increase, and this led to a desire to know what was going on both locally and overseas. Newspapers were in their element with this fresh demand for news, and they became more politically powerful as a result. It was also at this time that newspaper advertising became more prominent. In modern day terminology, the 20th century was the period when reading newspapers ‘went viral’. The activity was a daily habit for most. The power journalists had to influence policy and manipulate the opinions of their readers was at its height. More attention was paid to layout and design as well. In the current century, however, newspapers are starting to feel somewhat out of their depth. With TV, radio and especially the internet, all reporting on the same stories, newspapers are being left behind. Young people growing up today are the first in many generations that won’t regularly buy a newspaper, opting in favour of the many alternative ways of receiving the news instantly. Having said that, you can’t teach old dogs new tricks – and it’s surprising how many old dogs there are who still like to read a newspaper!

3

3

Read the text. Circle the correct answers (a–d). 1 According to the writer, it’s hard to imagine

2

3

4

5

a

the practical problems early newspapers would have had.

b

that handwritten newspapers were very popular in the 17th century.

c

how quickly news stories spread all over the world centuries ago.

d

that newspapers were used to teach many people how to read.

The first German newspaper was a

an in-depth study of the news.

b

similar to current newspapers.

c

smaller than newspapers are now.

d

a book with more than 100 pages.

According to the writer, Elizabeth Mallet a

filled the Daily Courant with celebrity gossip.

b

used the newspaper to communicate her political views.

c

gave herself a man’s name so she could be taken seriously.

d

made an important contribution to the development of the newspaper.

In paragraph 6, what does ‘went viral’ mean? a

went bad

b

got expensive

c

became popular

d

started to be stressful

The writer believes that newspapers will a

disappear before too long.

b

be as popular as they ever were.

c

remain popular with some people.

d

keep up with internet and TV news.

Mark: ___ / 10

4

Writing 4

Write an opinion article in response to the statement below. Newspapers should be subject to controls and censorship which govern what they can write about and print. Remember to state the topic clearly and use emphasis to underline your main ideas. Follow the plan: Paragraph 1: State the topic and the main reason for your article. Outline your main ideas. Paragraph 2: Present your first point. Paragraph 3: Present your second point. Paragraph 4: Restate the main points you have covered. Mark: ___ / 15 TOTAL MARKS: ___ / 40

5

Challenge! 5

Complete the text with the correct words (a–d).

I often wonder what the point of twenty-four-hour news coverage is. 1________ , if you like finding out about up-to-the-minute stories that expose corruption among politicians, or that 2________ rumours about well-known celebrities, I might recommend it. The thing is, breaking news is rarely that. A little strip of text giving the news appears at the bottom of the screen and you get a sudden adrenaline rush. In 3________ , though, it is little more than the passing of an obscure bill in parliament which nobody knows anything about. As a matter of fact, people in the UK spend an average of twenty-eight hours a week watching TV, but only nine minutes of that time watching rolling news. Undoubtedly, this is entirely understandable when the stories 4________ headlines are summarized into fifteen-minute bulletins. There are those who say these channels lack 5________ , too. Surely it 6________ be possible to cover serious news issues in a quarter-of-an-hour slot. The people I feel sorry for are the newsreaders. They are 7________ to have to repeat the same story numerous times, trying to look as if they are still interested! I’ll go out on a limb and say that if a job on a proper news programme came up, they’d be 8________ their element. 1

a Worryingly b Presumably c Admittedly d Probably

2

a cover b spread c share d fall for

3

a true b actual c certainty d reality

4

a making b doing c creating d writing

5

a belief b credibility c trust d confidence

6

a can b must c ought d can’t

7

a surely b certainly c probably d bound

8

a on b in c out of d for

6