FACOLTA’ DI STUDI UMANISTICI

PROVA SCRITTA LINGUA INGLESE 1

CDL Lingue e Comunicazione –Tutti i CdL vecchio ordinamento

NAME ______________________________________ MAT. NO. ______________

1st Year Exam – JULY 2015(KEY) 55 MINUTES

Reading Comprehension – Transformation questions – Word formation

A. Reading Comprehension
Read the text below. For each question choose the best answer

Maria Mutola, Former 800 metres Olympic champion

In 1988, Maria Mutola was playing football as the only girl in an all-boys team in a local competition in
Mozambique. 'We won,' she said. 'At first no one thought it was a problem that I was a girl. But then the
team we beat complained.'

The story appeared in a local newspaper and Jose Craveirinha, who had encouraged other African
athletes, learnt about Maria. He went to meet her and found her kicking a ball around outside the football
club. He realised immediately that she was fast. 'He talked to me about athletics. I had no idea what he
meant. The only sport I knew about was football. Then he bought me running shoes and took me training.
It was such hard work and my legs really ached.' But Jose visited her parents and persuaded them she
could be successful and this would help end their poverty. They agreed to let him take her away to train.

In 1991, she finally accepted an invitation to train in the United States. She had refused previously
because she knew she would miss her family. Her background was unlike those of the girls she met in the
US. She explains, 'They were good athletes but, while I worried about my parents having enough to eat,
they worried about dresses and make-up. They knew very little about me and even less about my
problems. But I knew I was lucky to be there. The trainers were brilliant and I learnt a lot.'

Today, Maria still runs and for most of the year she lives happily in South Africa with her mother.

1. What is the writer trying to do in the text?

A persuade more Africans to take up athletics.
B describe how Maria became a top athlete.
C give information about moving to America.

2 Jose Craveirinha found out about Maria when

A he went to watch a local football competition.
B people complained about another member of her football team.
C he saw an article about her role in a football match.

3 When Jose first introduced Maria to athletics, she

A didn't know what was involved.

B was worried about being injured.
C was keen to learn everything he knew.

4 What does Maria say about the girls she met in the United States?

A They used too much make- up.

B They did not show enough respect for the trainers.
C Their experiences of life were very different from hers. /6

5. In your own words, what kinds of differences do you think you would find if you went to live in America.
Write from 50 to 80 words.
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………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………. /4

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SENTENCE TRANSFORMATIONS
Write the second sentence so that it has the same meaning as the first.

1. Training facilities in America are better than the ones in Africa.

Training facilities in Africa are not …as/so good as…..the ones in America.
2. Maria started training 5 years ago.
Maria……has been training/ has trained………………..……………………….. for 5 years
3. A lot of people came to the match in spite of the rain.
Even though it…was raining………. a lot of people came to the match.
4. In 1990, Maria said “ I haven’t been to America before”
In 1990, she said that she …had never been ………to America before.
5. Millions of people saw her in the Olympics.
She…was seen by………. millions of people, in the Olympics.

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VERB TENSES
1. When the train (1).…arrived…(arrive) in the station yesterday morning , only 3 passengers ..got off (get
off)
2. If she …doesn’t win…………………(not win) the race tomorrow, she …will be………………….(be) very
disappointed.
3. So, today is the big day! How long …have you been waiting/ have you waited……( wait) for this
moment?
4. ……Did you see………………..…………….(see) the swimming event on Sky Sports last night?
5. I …am going…………………………..(go) to bed now. I …will/might? see…………………….(see) you tomorrow.
6. It was really nice to see her again last Summer . I …had not seen…………………………….(not see) since our
high school days.
7. …Would you buy………………………..(buy ) a Ferrari, if you won the National Lottery?
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WORD FORMATION

Athletics is a collection of events that involve 1. competitive sports . The most common 1. compete
types of athletics competitions are in track and field . The 2. simplicity of the competitions, 2.simple
and the lack of a need for expensive 3. equipment, makes athletics one of the most 3. equip
commonly competed sports in the world. Athletics is 4. mostly an individual sport, with the 4. most
5. exception of competitions in which athletes combine their scores to achieve a team 5. except
score.
The modern Olympic Games are the leading international sporting event in which
thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a 6. variety of competitions. 6. vary
These games are 7. highly popular and people are willing to pay huge sums of money to 7. high
procure tickets in order to see the best athletes achieving their best 8. performances. 8. perform

Tickets to the Olympic Games opening ceremony can be difficult to find and expensive .
However, spectators usually enjoy a very 9. impressive spectacle, with displays from the
9. impress
participating countries.
Athletes with a physical 10. disability compete at the Paralympics , which takes place 10. able
immediately after the main Olympic Games.

1 …………………………………………………………….. 6……………………………………………………………….
2…………………………………………………………… 7……………………………………………………………
3……………………………………………………………. 8……………………………………………………………
4……………………………………………………………… 9……………………………………………………………
5……………………………………………………………….. 10…………………………………………………………. /10