Exam practice

Standard Level
Paper 1 Writing
Complete one task. Use an appropriate text type from the options below the
task you choose. Write 250–400 words.

1 You notice that your community is not very well equipped for people with
physical disabilities: the pavements are too uneven for wheelchairs to move
about, there are no lift facilities in train stations, the traffic lights changes too
quickly, etc. Write a text to express your opinion about lack of facilities for
wheelchair users and visually impaired people.

Letter Proposal Editorial

2 You have recently travelled around your country and re-discovered the
beauty of its culture and nature. You would like to let people know of the
less discovered beauty of your country. Write a text in which you describe
the positive cultural aspects of your country.

Blog Speech Diary entry

3 You and your friend have invented an app that helps you study. Although
there are many similar apps in the market, your app is proven to be very
effective. Write a text to promote your app and to provide advice on effective
learning.

Guidelines Email Journal

English B for the IB Diploma © McGowan, Owen and Deupree 2019 1

Paper 2 Listening comprehension
Text A
You will hear a phone conversation between a hotel client and a receptionist.

Answer the following questions.

1 What room is the client calling from?

2 What is the problem with the AC in the room?

3 What is the problem with the shower in the room?

4 Why is the client unable to open the windows?

5 How much does the client have to pay for her room service?

English B for the IB Diploma © McGowan, Owen and Deupree 2019 2

Text B
You will hear two friends’ conversation about their holiday experience.

Tick the correct answer.

6 When Tom broke his ankle, Tom and Stacy…

a were on a raft.

b were hiking a hill.

c were swimming in a river.

7 Why is Stacy not happy with the travel insurance company?

a They were useless.

b They did not respond to their call.

c It took too long for them to sort things out.

8 The flight got cancelled due to…

a the extreme weather conditions.

b the delay in the hospital.

c the chaos at the airport.

9 Why is Stacy not happy with the airline?

a Because they didn’t have any information about the
weather.

b Because they didn’t provide accommodation for the

passengers whose fights got cancelled.

c Because they didn’t tell the truth about the situation.

English B for the IB Diploma © McGowan, Owen and Deupree 2019 3

10 Stacy is…

a very happy with the holiday package.

b never going back to Turkey.

c worried about their future holidays.

11 Look at the statements. Five of them are true. Write the letters in the boxes
provided.

A Tom and Stacy had an all-inclusive holiday package in Turkey.

B Tom and Stacy thought the holiday package was too expensive.
C The hotel provided entertainment for their customers.
D Stacy did not need help with carrying Tom down the hill.
E Lauren does not value insurance companies.
F Tom had to stay at the hospital over a week.
G The hospital staff members were useless.
H There were plenty of people waiting to re-book their flights.
I Stacy thinks the airline was incompetent in dealing with the unexpected
situation.
J Tom and Stacy had to wait at the airport until they re-booked their return
tickets.

English B for the IB Diploma © McGowan, Owen and Deupree 2019 4

Text C
You will hear two friends’ conversation about work uniforms.
Answer the following questions.
12 Why is Laura not heading to the gym today?

13 What is Laura wearing today?

14 Why does Laura wish she wore a work uniform?

15 Why did Dylan not like wearing a uniform when he first started to wear it?

16 According to Laura, why do companies provide free uniforms for their

employees?

Tick one correct option for each of the following statements.

Laura Dylan Laura
and
Dylan
17 The dress code that requires women to wear
high heels is impractical.
18 We spend too much money on work clothes if
there is no work uniform.
19 Companies waste a lot of money to provide
free uniforms for their employees.
20 It is boring to wear the work uniform every day.
21 Work uniforms create a clear boundary

English B for the IB Diploma © McGowan, Owen and Deupree 2019 5

 between work and life.

Paper 2 Reading comprehension

Text A

Easy Sustainable Packing Tips for Travellers

August 23, 2018
Single-use plastic is the bane of ecologists everywhere. As we’ve seen from the
devastating images on Blue Planet, the problem is huge. Faced with such
overwhelming odds, what difference can one traveller make?
Quite a big difference, actually, with a few surprisingly small and easy changes. All
it takes is a little more planning and you’ll be able to revolutionise your suitcase and
do your bit for the planet. You’ll even find these tips make packing cheaper and
more efficient, as well as sustainable.
All you need to do is incorporate our top swaps and you’ll be well on your way to
reducing your plastic when you travel.
[5]
This is probably the simplest and most helpful of all. Swap single-use plastic water
bottles for one good quality reusable one and you’ll immediately reduce your plastic
footprint. Plus, getting a good quality bottle will keep your water cool in hot
weather, it’s less likely to leak and if you’re travelling in a country where the tap
water isn’t safe to drink, it’s easier than ever before to sterilise your water yourself,
and you’ll save money into the bargain. No brainer.
[6]
We’ve gotten used to using our canvas bags at home since the introduction of the 5p
carrier bag charge, so why not do the same when we’re travelling? Take a canvas
bag with you when you’re out and about or planning to do some shopping and refuse
the plastic bags. Other options include a collapsible bag, or buying a handicraft bag
at a local market – particularly easy in destinations like Peru or Morocco – which
makes a brilliant souvenir too.
[7]
Travel sized toiletries are very useful. They save weight and space, and are handy for
when you’re just travelling with hand luggage. But there’s absolutely no need to buy
new ones every time you travel. These tiny plastic bottles are not only bad value for
money, they create so much waste – buy your own set of bottles, and decant from
your normal-sized shampoo and shower gels. Better still, consider making the switch
to packaging free shampoo bars, available from stores like Lush.

English B for the IB Diploma © McGowan, Owen and Deupree 2019 6

 [8]
Headed for Asia? Disposable chopsticks are the norm in many countries, but taking
your own cutlery is an easy way to avoid all that waste. You don’t even need to take
it with you – buying a set of chopsticks on arrival means you’ll stay plastic free
throughout your travels, and have a lovely souvenir to take home with you too.
[9]
If you’re a slave to the caffeine, bring your coffee-to-go cup from home on your
travels with you. It’s an ideal way to get your daily brew on the go without
contributing to plastic waste. Alternatively – you’re on holiday, why not take the
time to sit back and relax in a café and watch the world go by?
[10]
Exodus is to have taken the Travellers Against Plastic pledge! As proud supporters
of Travellers Against Plastic (TAP) we're doing all we can to prevent the use of
single use plastic on all our tours. As of 2018, we’re proud to say that 99% of
Exodus group trips offer an alternative to purchasing single use plastic mineral water
bottles. As a result, we’ve eliminated the use of 1,314,485 bottles in the last twelve
months. If you were to add up all that plastic, it would weigh the same as three adult
elephants, or 4 and a half hippos.

Easy Sustainable Packing Tips for Travels, Exodus Travels (exodus.co.uk), August 2018
www.exodus.co.uk/insights/easy-sustainable-packing-tips-travellers

Answer the following questions.

1 What is the biggest environmental issue worldwide?

2 List three benefits these packing tips will bring to travellers.

3 What is the simplest and most helpful tip of all?

4 List one item that you can buy which helps you avoid single-use plastic as
well as makes a good souvenir.

English B for the IB Diploma © McGowan, Owen and Deupree 2019 7

Choose the best subheading to insert in the text at the points labelled [5] to[10]
and write the letter on the line. Note there are two more than you need.

A Refuse Plastic Bags E Packaging Free Shampoo

Bars
B Reusable Travel Toiletries Set
F Reusable Canvas Tote Bag
C Travellers Against Plastic
G Reusable Water Bottle
D Take Your Own Chopsticks
H Reusable Cup

5 6

7 8

9 10

11 Look at the statements. Four of them are true. Write the letters in the boxes
provided.

A Blue Planet raised awareness of the devastating effect of single-use plastic.

B Reducing your plastic when you travel requires huge changes to your
planning.
C The trouble with a reusable water bottle is that it is likely to leak.
D It is easy to buy a handicraft bag at a local market in Peru or Morocco.
E Travel sized toiletries are good value for money.
F Lush is the only place where you can buy packaging free shampoo bars.
G Disposable chopsticks are hardly used in Asia.
H It is advised that you drink coffee in a café rather than get a take-away
coffee.
I Exodus has reduced a significant amount of single-use plastic bottles by
taking the Travellers Against Plastic pledge.
J Exodus saved three adult elephants by preventing the use of single use
plastic on all their tours.

English B for the IB Diploma © McGowan, Owen and Deupree 2019 8

Text B

Time to Change's mission to end stigma and discrimination

In spite of great progress, there are still many myths and preconceptions about
mental illness. Ten years ago Rethink Mental Illness together with Mind set up Time
to Change, our anti-stigma campaign. In this blog, Jo Loughran, Director of Time to
Change, looks at how Time to Change has captured the public's attention, and how
we still need your help to challenge the public discussion on mental illness.
In the last ten years we have seen some incredible progress in the fight against
mental health stigma and discrimination, but we still have a long way to go. Time to
Change, a growing social movement run by Rethink Mental Illness and Mind, is
working to change the way we all think and act about mental health problems. Since
we’ve been running we’ve reached millions of people and begun to improve
attitudes and behaviour.
But conditions like schizophrenia and personality disorders are still widely
misunderstood, and deeply damaging myths persist. Last year, Rethink Mental
Illness found that 26% of people believe that schizophrenia definitely makes you
violent, when in fact this is untrue, and people with the illness are more likely to be a
victim of crime than a perpetrator.
These misconceptions can make it harder for people to find employment, build
relationships and access help – ultimately it can exasperate their condition and has
the potential to be life threatening. Despite the progress we’ve made, we know that
many people still don’t consider mental health relevant to them. They don’t believe
mental health problems are likely to affect them or people they know.
But the reality is that mental health can affect anyone, in fact 1 in 4 of us will fight a
mental health problem in any given year and suicide is the biggest killer of men aged
under the age of 40.
That’s why the work of Time to Change is so important. With the right support from
those around them, people can recover and have equal opportunities in all areas of
life. Encouraging people to open up to mental health – to talk and to listen – is the
first step.
As a social movement our voice gets stronger and louder as we grow in numbers.
We have thousands of champions across the country who are campaigning in their
communities, our network of hubs bring local organisations together to change
attitudes in their area while our pledged employers and schools focus on their
employees and young people creating places where people can open up about mental
health.
Together they are sharing their stories and showing people that it’s good to talk
about mental health – in fact it’s healthy. Join our growing social movement and
play your part in making stigma and discrimination a thing of the past.

Time to Change's mission to end stigma and discrimination, Rethink Mental Illness
www.rethink.org/news-views/2018/05/end-stigma-and-discrimination

English B for the IB Diploma © McGowan, Owen and Deupree 2019 9

Find the words that complete the following sentences. Answer using words as
they appear in the first three paragraphs.

12 Time to Change is an anti-stigma campaign that aims to improve people’s

attitudes and behaviour about

13 Jo Loughran is

14 Time to Change is a campaign run by

15 A misconception about schizophrenia is that

16 People with schizophrenia are likely to

Mark the following statements as true (T) or false (F) according to the previous
text. Justify your answer by quoting an appropriate phrase from the text.
17 The fight against mental health, stigma and discrimination
has made little progress over the past ten years.

Justifying quote:

18 Due to the misconceptions about mental illness, people with

the condition find it hard to get employed.

Justifying quote:

19 The biggest cause of deaths of men under the age of 40 is

suicide.

Justifying quote:

20 The first step to end stigma and discrimination about mental

illness is to encourage people to read about it.

Justifying quote:

21 One of the efforts employers are making is to provide safe

places for people to discuss mental health.

English B for the IB Diploma © McGowan, Owen and Deupree 2019 10

Justifying quote:

English B for the IB Diploma © McGowan, Owen and Deupree 2019 11