English evaluation test

Texts
2 Some Carnivals

Passage A
The Notting Hill Carnival is one of the world's largest street festivals. It is held in the Notting Hill
area of West London. Over one million people attend the carnival, which takes place over three
days every August. The event started in 1966 as a celebration of Caribbean culture, with people
from the West Indies, who had immigrated to London, organizing the festival. Nowadays, the
event is very multi-cultural and people from all the different communities of London come
together at the festival. However, the music, costumes, floats and food still have a strong
Caribbean influence.

Passage B

The Rio de Janiero Carnival is the biggest and most famous street festival in the world. It is held
annually in the Brazilian city, over six days before the Christian festival of Lent. On each day, over
two million people come out on to the streets of Rio to dance and play music. There are
competitions between the different samba schools, with each school trying to have the best
float, costume and music, as well as to be the best at samba dancing. These days, some of the
main events are ticketed and held in stadiums.

3 The water bag method Passage A

Some advocates claim that the flies recognize the liquid as the surface of a body of water while
others- ludicrously-insist the insect flies away because it is frightened by its own magnified
reflection. The most credible explanation, however, concerns the refraction of light.

Light rays travel in a straight line. Refraction is what happens when something like a clear object
such as a piece of glass or a bag of water -gets in the way. Hitting the object changes the ray's
velocity and direction, bending, or refracting, it. Refracted rays of light can cause optical illusions,
including such things as mirages that even confuse human eyes.

A fly's head consists primarily of a pair of large complex eyes, each composed of 3,000 to 6,000
simple eyes. This physiology allows the fly to see in multiple directions at once. Even though
these eyes cannot move or focus on objects like human eyes, they grant the fly a mosaic view of
its surroundings, and each simple eye provides one small piece of the puzzle. A housefly bases its
sense of direction on the direction sunlight comes from, so when these complex, sensitive eyes
experience refracted light, the fly becomes confused and flies away.

Although this explanation is persuasive and plausible, research conducted to replicate the results
on fly-plagued poultry farms has been inconclusive.
 English evaluation test

Passage B

While the water-bag method of fly repellent has many supporters, it has at least as many
detractors. Advocates claim that refracted light in water baffles the flies' compound eyes. This
theory seems quite plausible, but critics classify it as a kind of coincidence masquerading as
cause and effect. They say that hanging water bags may seem to work due to the placebo effect.
In medicine this is a treatment without therapeutic value, which is administered as if it were a
therapy.The "medicine" makes people feel better due to psychological effects rather than due to
its curative values. The same effect is likely to occur when people think they are treating a pest
problem, and thus notice that the problem seems to diminish.

But what if the placebo even increases the problem? Recently, scientists conducted an
experiment over the course of thirteen weeks on two egg farms to measure fly activity and
encountered just such a situation. They installed commercial, water-based optical fly repellents
and concluded that the areas equipped with water bags actually attracted more of these
irritating creatures.

Since there are reasonable explanations that support the water- bag method and significant
evidence that argues against it, it's up to you whether you keep hanging up water-filled bags
around your home or not.

4 Laruna Hotel

This is a wonderful resort if you're looking to get away for a week or two. This large hotel has over
400 rooms, many with a view of the ocean. If you want golden sand and fun in the sea then this is
the resort for you. The hotel price includes Jet Skiing, waterskiing and swimming. You can even
try sailing (additional costs apply).

Other than water sports, there is plenty to do. There is a tennis court with a gym next to it in the
local village. The city is only 10 miles away, where you can go shopping. In addition, the hotel can
organize a day trip into the mountains. If you just want to relax, there is a massage room.

A breakfast buffet is served by the swimming pool every morning. For lunch and dinner, the hotel
has a great restaurant that looks out over the sea. In the evening they serve freshly grilled
seafood. The prices are expensive but the quality is very good. The menu is mostly seafood but
they do have other options.

Two nights a week there is live music after dinner. The hotel has a schedule of local bands who
play dance music and even offer samba and rhumba lessons for hotel guests. Many visitors say
this is a favorite feature of their hotel stay.

This hotel offers free transfer from the airport.

5
My dear friends,
Thank you SO much for coming to my birthday party yesterday! I had such a good time
with you all. Patrick, thanks for being the grill master - the meat was delicious. And thanks
to Nikki for preparing all those salads. They were so tasty - especially the green salad with
grilled vegetables. And Tom and Claire, thanks for lending us your inflatable swimming
pool - the children loved it, especially because it was such a hot day.

I also love all of my gifts. The hat is perfect; I love the color. And the earrings are gorgeous.
I will wear them tonight at the restaurant. I'm sure my mum will love them, too.

And by the way, Peter, you forgot your sunglasses at my house, but don't worry, I'll bring
them to the office tomorrow.

Thanks again to all of you! Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

Lots of love,

Helen