32
Variant 4.
SECTION 1. Listening (15 minutes)
Listen to five people talking about social media. Listen and write T for true, F
for false or NG for not given.
1. Amy: Social media is an essential part of everyone's life. ____
2. Brian: Brian believes that putting too many pictures online is sensible. ____
3. Carol: Carol believes that social media will remain the main form of
communication due to its current popularity. ____
4. David: David thinks people are more truthful about their opinions on social
media than in person. ____
5. Emma: Emma uses social media primarily to connect
with her friends for sport-
related activities. ____
ANSWERS FOR THE LISTENING
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
SECTION 2. Reading (30 minutes)
Part 1.
Read the conversation between two friends, Maria and Ben, about being
famous. Decide if the sentences are true (T) or false (F).
Maria: Hi Ben, did you hear about that actor yesterday who went…
Ben: No, Maria:, I didn’t, and to be honest, I don’t want to.
Maria: OK, OK. But why not? It’s only natural to be interested in other people’s
lives.
33
Ben: Maybe, but I don’t understand why everybody wants to talk about people they
don’t even know. I think that’s strange!
Maria: I really don’t agree. In my opinion, famous people are just like everybody
else. I mean, a lot of the difficulties they have in
life are different, but they’re still
humans. They need to eat, sleep, they get bored sometimes, they need friends…
Ben: Yeah, but that still doesn’t explain why some people seem to be as interested
in celebrities they’ve never met as they are in their own friends!
Maria: Well yes, maybe you’re right, it is a bit strange. But I suppose you can find
out lots of things
about them on the internet, so you can begin to feel that you actually
know them.
Ben: Yes, but all that information about them online doesn’t mean you know what
they’re really like. It’s just an image.
Maria: That’s true, but on social media you can find lots
of conversations between
stars and their fans. The stars answer questions and are often very honest, I think.
Ben: I’m not sure… I think they’re very careful about what they say.
Maria: But don’t you think that when we see all the great things they’ve done, it
makes us want to do better ourselves? I really believe it makes people aim higher in
life! Or even just do things they wouldn’t think of trying if they didn’t see celebrities
doing them.
Ben: Perhaps
some people feel like that, but I think your friends, your family, your
teachers are the people who should help you decide what to do in life, don’t you?
Maria: Of course! But celebrities have an effect too. They need to behave well in
public – I mean they have responsibilities because so
many people watch what they
do, especially young kids. They always need to think about that.
Ben: Well if you have a lot of fans, yes, you do need to remember that there will
always
be someone watching you, wherever you are. That must be difficult. I’d hate
not to be able to go out without people taking my photograph, or wanting to talk to
me.
Maria: But it’s not all bad, is it? I wouldn’t mind people knowing about me because
I’d
done something really special, or was really good at something. I’d feel proud.
And I’d enjoy the good things about it, like meeting interesting people, travelling all
over the world. It would be great to have so many opportunities.
Ben: Yeah, I’m sure you’re right. But I still don’t understand why people are so
interested in them. I love watching films, but I don’t need to know all about the
actors’ personal lives…
1. Maria says that celebrities’ problems are the same as everybody else’s. T / F
2. Ben believes that there is too much information about celebrities online. T / F
34
3. Maria thinks that knowing about celebrities encourages people to achieve more.
T / F
4. Ben says that celebrities should behave in a more professional way. T / F
5. Maria believes that there are advantages to being famous. T / F
