First assessment exam(units 6 and 7)
Read the following text carefully and answer all the questions that follow. Your answers should be based on the text.
A few years ago, as many as 1,000 schools across the USA started making school years longer by adding up to ten extra days to the school year or by making each school day longer by half an hour. This was because it was found that secondary school students in the USA and the UK were spending the least time at school, with an average school year of 187 days. The typical Jordanian school year is longer than this. However, none of these are nearly as long as the school years in countries like Japan and South Korea. South Koreans attend school for 220 days per year, and in Japan, the school year numbers 243 days. According to a study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), students in Japan, Indonesia and South Korea spend the most time studying in the world. They want to learn as much as they can to ensure excellent exam grades. They go to school for about nine hours, although this includes optional after-school tuition and activities. They also spend about three hours on homework every day, which is three times as much as many other countries. Their high academic achievements do suggest that the longer you study, the better you do in final exams. In Finland, however, students are usually given less than half an hour of homework per night, and they attend school for fewer and shorter days than 85% of other developed nations. Despite this, they achieve top marks in subjects like Maths and Science. In addition, most students also speak at least two, and often three, languages fluently. The contradictory views of the study suggest 35 that the number and length of school days is not the only factor in determining whether students will succeed at school or not.
1. - According to the text, what distinguishes studying in Finland?
2. What does the underlined word ' contradictory ' mean?
3. Write down the sentence which indicates that Jordanian students spend more time at school than American and British students.
4. According to the text, why did American schools start making school years longer? How did they manage to achieve this change? 5. What does the underlined pronoun " this " last line refer to?
6. According to Finland’s views of study, the number and the length of school days is not the only factor in determining whether students will succeed at school or not. Suggest three factors that would result in better grades for most students.
7. Most countries have a minimum school-leaving age for their students as there are consequences of having different leaving ages. Think of this statement and in two sentences write down your point of view.
1. Although students in Finland attend school for fewer and shorter days than 85% of other developed nations, they achieve top marks in subjects like Maths and science. Moreover, they speak at least two or three languages fluently.
2. Contradictory means: on different sides of the argument/ completely different and thus unable to be true.
3. "The typical Jordanian school year is longer than this."
4. because it was found that secondary school students in the USA and the UK were spending the least time at school, with an average school year of 187 days. They managed to do this by adding up to ten extra days to the school year or by making each school day longer by half an hour.
5. 'this' refers to the time students in Japan, Indonesia and South Korea spend at school every day. (about nine hours a day)
6. Suggested answers:
- Qualified teachers
- Doing a variety of activities that relate learning to real-life
- students' willingness to learn
- having revision classes before exams
7. Suggested answers:
In my opinion, I think that having a minimum school leaving age for students is a good decision because this will allow students to get the education needed to be ready for college and university. Moreover, this will make education possible for everyone which is part of children's right to study.
Choose the suitable item from those given in the box to complete each of the following sentences.
Proficiency - compulsory - circulation - hospitable - enrol - Linguistics
1. Language …………………….. is becoming increasingly important in any job.
2. I love to study language in an analytical way, this is why I decided to study ----------------.
3. Jordanians are known for being -------------------- to their guests.
4. Math in our schools is -------------------. You have to do it.
5. Our universities ---------------- more than 25.000 students from different countries.
Answers:
1. Proficiency
2. Linguistics
3. hospitable
4. compulsory
5. enrol
Study the following sentence and then answer the question that follows.
It's a good idea to speak to someone about what bothers you. It helps to put your back into it.
Replace the underlined body idiom with the correct one from the given options.
- get cold feet
- get it off your chest
- play it by ear
- have a head for numbers
Choose the correct option from A, B, C, or D to complete the following sentence.
Some parts of the report needed …………………..
- correct
- correctly
- correction
- incorrect
Choose the correct option from A, B, C, or D to complete the following sentence.
A ………….. usually advises his students and helps them to solve their problems.
- tuition
- tutorial
- tutor
- tutoring
Complete each of the following items so that the new item has a similar meaning to the one before it.
1. Does the lesson start at six?
Do you know ....................................?
2. Please help me in revising for the exam.
Do you mind ..........................................?
3. There is less space in my room than yours
There isn't as ......................................
4. Experts have proved that nuclear power stations are dangerous.
Nuclear power stations ........................................................
1. Does the lesson start at six?
Do you know if the lesson starts at six?
2. Please help me in revising for the exam.
Do you mind helping me to revise for the exam?
3. There is less space in my room than yours
There isn't as much space in my room as yours.
4. Experts have proved that nuclear power stations are dangerous.
Nuclear power stations have been proved to be dangerous.
Imagine you are an editor in the Jordan Times. You are asked to edit the following lines that have four mistakes. Find the four mistakes and correct them.
Learning a foriegn language can improve your ability to use your mother tongue more efectively? As you become more aware of the way that language work, you begin to apply it to the language you use every day.
Learning a foriegn language can improve your ability to use your mother tongue more efectively ? As you become more aware of the way that language work, you begin to apply it to the language you use every day.
1. foreign
2. effectively
3. . (full stop)
4. works