Student’s Name: ________________
Grade: 10__
Subject: ESL
Teacher’s Name Aibek Akhmetkaliyev
Midterm Exam
Spring Semester
Academic Year 2024-2025
Instructions:
1. The length of the exam is 80 minutes
2. The exam consists of 24 questions
3. The number of mark points designated for each question is shown next to
each task the following way - [x]
4. Total marks: 33
You are NOT allowed to:
1. Access the bags or any unauthorized aids, such as a dictionary, notes, etc,;
2. Use prohibited electronic devices, such as mobile phones, tablets, laptops,
smart watches, earphones, etc.;
3. Communicate in any way with other students;
4. Exchange any items with other students;
5. Make noise that disturbs other students; and leave the classroom;
6. Continue working on your exam after the allocated exam time.
If you access or use an unauthorized aid or any prohibited electronic devices, fail
to follow exam instructions, or create a disturbance, you will be dismissed, and
your exam will be cancelled.
I have read the instructions and agree to follow them.
Signature: _________
Listening [10 pts]
Listen to the recording and complete the sentences.
Reading [13 pts]
Read the article about education in Britain and answer the questions.
Unfair Education
In a country where government and families alike are tightening their belts and trying to make do
with less, you could be pardoned for thinking that private education would be in a bit of a jam
right now. And yet, although fees at independent schools in Britain have approximately doubled
over the last two and a half decades, pupil numbers are the highest since records started in 1974.
Although there are numerous reasons why parents might choose to fork out an average of
£12,500 per year on their child’s education, there is one which stands out more than any other:
their reputation for getting their students into elite universities, such as the American Ivy League
colleges and Britain’s most prestigious universities: Oxford and Cambridge.
Private schools with experience in these admissions processes run like well-oiled machines.
Their informed careers advisers have in-depth tactical knowledge of which colleges would best
suit each candidate, and help them to edit their personal statements to reflect the qualities that
elite universities are looking for. Interview training sessions guide young applicants through an
interview system which has been described as being ‘more reminiscent of an old-boy network
than justice for society’. Those with family members and teachers who have successfully gone
through the admissions process are at a considerable advantage to those who are the first to apply
among their social group.
Consequently, the social mix of students at the top universities remains sadly biased towards the
rich and privately educated – although thanks to increasing numbers of bursaries providing free
private school education to academically gifted youngsters, it is possible to be one without the
other. Even so, the fact is that 7% of British children go to private schools, while more than 40%
of the intake at Oxford and Cambridge is privately educated, and this statistic depicts a
worryingly skewed trend.
The proportion matters because, although there are obviously plenty of other universities
offering excellent study programmes, an Oxbridge or Ivy-League degree undoubtedly enhances
employability in the ruling professions. According to recent studies by the UK educational
charity The Sutton Trust, over 30% of leading professionals in the United Kingdom, including
almost 80% of lawyers, 47% of highflyers in financial services and 41% of top journalists
attended Oxford or Cambridge. Every university-educated Prime Minister since 1937 except one,
Gordon Brown, is an alumnus of one or the other, as are approximately two-thirds of the current
government cabinet.
This bias is bad news not only for the clever but underprivileged students who have to settle for a
less renowned university; it is bad news for Britain, as decisions that affect the whole nation are
made by a select group with a narrow pool of experience, rather than one that is representative of
society as a whole.
This disproportion was brought to public attention in 2000, when politician Gordon Brown
launched an attack on the selection processes at Oxford University. He publicised the story of
Laura Spence, a gifted students who had the “best A-level qualifications you can have”, but
nevertheless was turned down by Magdalen College, Oxford. Later, Member of Parliament
David Lammy used the freedom of information act to examine admissions data at Oxford and
Cambridge Universities, and found that almost 90% of the student body at both universities was
drawn from the upper and middle classes, that in 2009 Oxford accepted only one British black
Caribbean undergraduate, and it focused its attentions on admissions events at private schools
such as Kate Middleton’s school, Marlborough College, and Prince William’s alma mater, Eton.
Since then, universities have been forced to up their game welcoming the less privileged among
their students. Quotas have been put into place to ensure that the colleges admit a larger
proportion of less privileged students. These targets are not often met, however, and they have
brought about a new practice in which parents privately educate their children up to the age of
16, giving them a sound academic background, then put them in state education for their two
final years, to better improve their chances of being accepted at a top university as part of their
‘less privileged’ quota.
Even so, Oxford now spends $4 million a year on student outreach, a $1.6 million increase since
2006–07. Much of this is spent on school visits and teacher-training programmes aimed at
supporting poor and minority students who wish to apply to the university. The university has
also launched a summer school, which allows around 500 academically talented, state-school
students a chance to experience studying at Oxford for a week.
And yet these strategies depend on state schools being able to educate students to the same level
as private schools; where stringent selection processes, partnered with high budgets, parental
support and top-class facilities allow schools to spew out students of an impressively high
academic calibre. State schools have much less opportunity to do this.
Or have they? One commentator argues that the success of private schools is not in their money,
but in their organisation. State schools fail their pupils because, under government control, they
lack options. But if head teachers at state schools were given the same freedom as those at
private schools, namely to sack poor teachers and pay more to good ones, parents would not
need to send their children to private schools any more.
Select True, False, or Not given
1. Numbers of pupils at private schools have doubled since 1975.
2. On average, the cost of tuition at a private school in the UK is £12,500 per child, per year.
3. The interview process at elite universities gives private and state-educated students an equal
chance of success.
4. All students at private schools in Britain come from rich families.
5. Most leading politicians and judges in the UK were educated at Oxford or Cambridge
University.
6. Former prime minister Gordon Brown was educated at to Oxford University.
7. Both Kate Middleton and Prince William applied to Oxford University.
Complete the spaces with up to 4 words from the text.
1.One study found that nearly nine tenths of students entering Oxford and Cambridge
universities came from the _________________________.
2. Universities must now adhere to __________________ to ensure that they admit a socio-
economic mix of students.
3. This has led to parents choosing to educate their children in ____________________ to
increase their chances of getting into an elite university.
4. Oxford’s _____________ programme has been expanded to attract the less privileged.
5.However, private schools can educate students to a higher standard because they have more
money and they employ strict ________________________________________.
6. However, one commentator believes that state schools would do better if their head teachers
were allowed more _________________________________.
WRITING [10pts] – Write at least 250 words.
Some people think that governments should invest mainly in making public
transportation faster while other think there are more important priorities (cost,
the environment). Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
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Writing Descriptors
Criteria Excellent (10- Good (8-7 pts) Fair (6-5 pts) Needs
9 pts) Improvement (4-
0 pts)
Clarity & Clearly stated Mostly clear, Somewhat clear, Unclear or lacks
Focus ideas, strong minor lapses in but ideas are focus.
focus focus. unfocused or
throughout. scattered.
Organization Logical Mostly well- Some Poorly organized,
structure, organized, some organization but difficult to follow.
smooth rough transitions. lacks clear flow.
transitions.
Detail & Strong, Good details, but Some details, but Minimal or
Development relevant details some areas need lacks depth or irrelevant details.
fully develop more support.
the topic. development.
Grammar & Virtually no Few minor errors, Noticeable errors Frequent errors
Mechanics errors, polished not distracting. that affect that make
writing. readability. understanding
difficult.
