UNIT 6 READING TEST

Name: ______________________________ Date: ___________________

PART A KEY SKILL

SCANNING TO FIND INFORMATION
1 Scan the article to find the underlined words. Then answer the questions.
1 Which two resources are mentioned in the introduction?
________________________________________________________________________________
2 How many people can’t get clean drinking water?
________________________________________________________________________________
3 What parts of the body are affected by carrying water ?
________________________________________________________________________________
4 What are two diseases that come from water?
________________________________________________________________________________
5 Which university did the idea for Soccket Ball come from?
________________________________________________________________________________

Simple solutions
There is no doubt that we need smart inventions to help with some of the world’s problems. But many inventions
are not essential or helpful to people in some countries because they are too expensive or they need power. A
three-dimensional food printer and an electronic toilet that cleans itself are great if you have resources, like
electricity or water, but many countries don’t. However, there are a number of simple inventions that are making
lives better.
The Q Drum
There are 750 million people in the world that can’t get clean drinking water. And those who can get water often
have to travel a long way to collect it – and they are usually women and children. Carrying water, usually on the
head, can damage the body, especially the neck and back. This is where a piece of equipment called the Q Drum
can help. It’s in the shape of a wheel, so the person collecting water can pull it with a piece of material that goes
through a hole in the middle. A traditional water drum can only hold 15 litres; the Q Drum can hold as much as 50
litres.
LifeStraw
A lot of water isn’t clean, but thanks to the LifeStraw, this is no longer a problem. The LifeStraw is small and light,
and works just like a normal straw (a thin plastic tube you put in your drinks), but it cleans the water while you
drink it and stops you getting harmful illnesses. These straws can be carried around and used like a normal straw.
In addition, you can use them more than once – they last for up to five years. There are also larger models, which
you can put on a tap. This invention has helped to reduce diseases that come from water, like cholera and
typhoid.
Soccket Ball
In many parts of the world, people don’t have access to electricity, but students at Harvard University had an
interesting idea and invented the Soccket Ball. The Soccket Ball is like a normal football, except that when people
kick it, the ball makes electricity. If people play with the ball for 30 minutes, they will get three hours of electricity.
The idea is quite simple: people can connect the ball directly to a special lamp and this gives them enough light for
around three hours. In places without much electricity, this helps both children and adults to read or study at
night. They now use the ball in countries such as Tanzania in Africa, and El Salvador in Latin America.

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PART B ADDITIONAL SKILLS
ANNOTATING
2 Read the article and annotate the text. Follow the instructions below.
1 Box a synonym for useful used in paragraph 1.
2 Underline the topic sentences in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4.
3 Circle two adjectives used to describe the LifeStraw in paragraph 3.
4 Box a synonym for join used in paragraph 4.
5 Circle a country in Africa mentioned in paragraph 4.

READING FOR DETAIL

3 Read the article again. Circle the correct answers.
1 Why does the author say that many inventions are of little use to most people?
a Because they aren’t cheap or they need power.
b Because without access to water, they won’t work.
2 How many litres can the Q Drum hold?
a 15 litres
b 50 litres
3 How do people use the Q Drum?
a They pull it.
b They carry it.
4 How long can you use the LifeStraw?
a For up to five years.
b Only once.
5 How long do you have to kick a Soccket Ball to get three hours of electricity?
a three minutes
b half an hour

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UNIT 6 LANGUAGE TEST

Name: ______________________________ Date: ___________________

PART A KEY VOCABULARY

1 Complete the sentences with the correct form of the words in the box.

break down electronic helpful illustrate object personal three-dimensional unlimited

1 Our teacher tried to____________ how we might travel in the future.

2 I use a(n) ____________ ticket when I travel by train nowadays – they are much better than paper ones.
3 The architect made a(n) ____________ computer model of the house.
4 Our car ____________, and we didn’t have a mobile to call for help!
5 What is the most ____________ invention in your opinion?
6 This new technology has almost ____________ possibilities.
7 This laptop is for ____________ use only; I use a different one for work.
8 Some microscopes can see ____________ that are a million times smaller than a single hair!

2 Match the sentence halves.

1 I have a lot of computer _______ a will prevent serious injuries in a car crash.
2 We had to follow the instructor’s _______ b the most harmful inventions of the 20th century.
3 Government support will be essential _______ c complicated but beautiful pattern on the screen.
4 The computer created a very _______ d often translates documents from English into French.
5 The atom bomb is one of _______ e sweeteners to make their coffee sweeter.
6 The seatbelt _______ f movements in the gym class.
7 Many people use artificial _______ g if the project has any chance of succeeding.
8 She works for an international company and _______ h equipment at home that I never use.

PART B LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

MAKING PREDICTIONS WITH MODALS AND ADVERBS OF CERTAINTY
3 Read the sentences and look at the phrases in bold. Write the correct percentage from the box.

0% 20% 50% 90% 100%

1 We could possibly live on Mars in the next 50 years. ____________

2 Artificial intelligence will probably become more common. ____________
3 We definitely won’t be able to time travel in the future. ____________
4 We probably won’t see self-driving cars on our roads this year. ____________
5 There will definitely be flying cars in the future. ____________

PREFIXES
4 Complete the sentences with the prefixes in the box.

de- en- pre- re- un-

1 We had to _______build the top floor of the building after the fire.
2 This money will _______able me to buy a new laptop.
3 This laboratory is _______safe – you should clean up all the liquid from the floor.
4 We got a _______view of the new mobile phone they plan to release next month.
5 There was a _______crease in violent crime in the city last month.

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UNIT 6 WRITING TEST

Name: ______________________________ Date: ___________________

PART A GRAMMAR FOR WRITING

RELATIVE CLAUSES
1 Join the sentences using a relative clause. Use who, which or that. Add commas and extra words if necessary.
1 The self-driving car broke down during a test. They invented the self-driving car in the 1930s.
________________________________________________________________________________
2 Sir Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin. He called it ‘mould juice’.
________________________________________________________________________________
3 Fred went to see his daughter. His daughter lives in Colombia.
________________________________________________________________________________
4 Scientists discovered a new medicine for the common cold. The cure will soon be on sale.
________________________________________________________________________________
5 Marie Curie was a woman. Marie Curie discovered radium.
________________________________________________________________________________

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES WITH ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

2 Complete the sentences with the prepositions in the box.

about against of (x2) with

1 The problem ____________ the new medicine is that it hasn’t been tested on humans yet.
2 One point ____________ having robots in the workplace is that they are unable to handle unexpected situations.
3 The main advantage in favour ____________ using robots is that they are cost efficient.
4 One of the main worries ____________ genetic engineering is that it will lead to further population problems.
5 A real benefit ____________ 3D printing is that it’s surprisingly cheap.

UNIT 6 WRITING TEST Unlock Reading, Writing & Critical Thinking 3 © Cambridge University Press 2020 Photocopiable
 PART B WRITING TASK
Think about using robots in places where people work and discuss the
advantages and disadvantages.

1 Write an explanatory essay about the advantages and disadvantages of using robots in places where people work. First, use
the table below to organize your ideas.

robots at work
advantages disadvantages

2 Now use the outline below to plan your explanatory essay.

Introductory paragraph
Hook:
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
Background information:
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
Thesis statement:
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

Body paragraph 1
Supporting argument:
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
Details:
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

Body paragraph 2
Supporting argument:
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
Details:
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

Concluding paragraph
Repeat thesis statement:
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
Your prediction:
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

3 Write your explanatory essay. Write 200–300 words.

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