Escola Secundria do Lumiar 9th Form level V English Written Test October 2009 Teacher: Mercedes Silveira

Globalization friend or enemy?

We are living in a Global Village and as the Internet grows, more and more people are becoming aware of this. It is possible to talk regularly with friends and family all over the world. A cousin in New Zealand or a friend in Brazil. Its easy to stay in touch, and its cheap! Email spins across the planet in seconds. Only ten years ago things were very different. Letters took days or weeks to arrive. You would get a letter or a card from a friend from far away just once a year maybe at Christmas or for your birthday. English is more and more important in this smaller world. Because of communication becoming easier and cheaper, it is also possible to do other things. Many companies now have Virtual Call Centres. Last week I called a help line because of a problem with my computer. The person I talked to was from India. She wasnt an Indian living in my country... she was living in India my phone call was answered in India! Why? Because the workers are cheaper to employ, they have the technical knowledge, and of course... they speak English! Its good for the Indian economy, but then the jobs are disappearing from Europe and America. This is one reason why some people worry about globalization.

A.

Decide wheter the sentences are true or false. Justify your answer by

quoting from the text.

1 2 3 4 Communication is easier now than it was in the past. Ten years ago people sent letters to their family every week. Communication is very expensive. Some companies use call centres in countries far away from their

clients.

Globalization can cause unemployment.

B. Answer the following questions according to the text. 1 2 3 What is easy to do now that was more difficult in the past? Why do some companies use call centres in countries like India? Why are some people worried about globalization?

C. Match the words on the left with the ones on the right that mean the same.
discovering 1. maintain contact 2. give a job to someone 3. to be concerned about
4. A. worry B. becoming aware of C. stay in touch D. employ

II A. Complete the sentences by putting the verb into the Past Simple. 1 2 3 4 5 (you / receive) my email last week? Antnio (not / go) on the school trip to Seville last month. The train from Paris (arrive) late. (Suzanne / visit) her aunt in England last summer? The English teacher (not / be) at school yesterday.

B. Choose the correct verb form. Past Continuous or Past Simple? 1 nail. 2 3 While I ate / was eating my breakfast, a friend phoned / was phone to find out David missed / was missing the bus to school because he watched / was what our homework was. watching a film on his mp4 player. While Mrio played / was playing the guitar, he broke / was breaking a finger

4 5

What did your mother say / was your mother saying when you arrived / were What did Tiago read / was Tiago reading when you saw / were seeing him at

arriving home late last night? lunch time? C. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct form (Past Simple / Past Continuous). 1. I (begin) to study English when I (be) 9 years old. 2. My brother (revise) for his maths test when I (arrive) home last night at 1 oclock in the morning. 3. Francisco (not / listen) to his mothers warning yesterday, so he (not / know) that there would be snow today. 4. (Joana / meet) Andrew at the airport on Thursday morning? 5. No, it (not / rain) yesterday when you called.

D. Complete the table with the missing leading forms. awake be become begin blow
III

Put the words from the box into the correct spaces.

Jonathan is a very 1. person. Almost everyone likes him. Hes great to be with. He 2. his friends opinions and helps with their problems. Jonathan comes from Rugby, in England. His 3. is English, but he can also speak French, Portuguese and Spanish. He lived most of his life 4. . He only lived in Britain for a few years when he was very young. Thats because his parents lived in the Middle East. When he is in Britain he still feels like he is a 5. . You should see his 6. ! Its full of stamps from all the places he has visited. He travels a lot. He has a lot of friends who are 7. because of all the times he

travelled on the same 8. .

Write an email to your best friends telling them about your holiday last year. Tell them where you went, what you did, what your favourite pastime was, what languages you spoke. Write between 50-75 words. _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________