The International Academy and Boarding School of Denmark.

English

The Text

Exercise 1

Question 1

What do the boy and girl decide to do in the afternoon?

M: male, teenager. F: female, teenager

M: Mum and Dad said we can do what we like after lunch.

F: Well, if it was up to me, I’d go to the hotel pool …

M: How about walking up the hill behind the hotel – I’d like to take some photos up there.

F: That’s not a bad idea! The view will be great.

M: Or, we could have a go at surfing?

F: Let’s do that another day along with a bike ride by the river.

Question 2

Where does the man think he lost his wallet?

M: husband, forties, Australian accent. F: wife, forties

F: How was your day?

M: Fine, except that I’ve lost my wallet … I know I had it this morning, because I filled up the car with petrol first thing. And I definitely put it in my pocket when I left the office. It must’ve fallen out while I was on the train, because when I stopped at the supermarket to get a few things on the way home, I realised it wasn’t there ...

Question 3

Who will give the first talk at the school?

F: female teacher, thirties, US accent.

F: I want to remind you about our series of careers talks on Wednesdays. We’ve invited several people to come and talk about their work, including a journalist, who studied at this school several years ago, and a chef who works in an award-winning restaurant. But before either of those, we’ve managed to get a doctor to come in next week. His talk will follow a short one by an artist – so an interesting mix.

Question 4

Which photo did the boy enter in the competition?

M: male, friend, teenager. F: female, friend, teenager

F: Did you enter the photography competition?

M: Yeah! I took loads of pictures of a really old tree, and it took me ages to choose my favourite. Here, they’re on my phone … I can’t believe how big that tree is … This one, with my brother standing beside it, really shows its size. And I love the one of my family holding hands around it!

F: Was that the one you chose?

M: I went for this one – where my brother is sitting under the tree looking up at it.

F: Cool!

Question 5

What did the woman do on her day trip?

M: male, colleague, forties F: female, colleague, forties, US accent

M: How was your day trip?

F: Great, thanks – it’s a lovely town to visit. I’d been planning to go to the museum, as everyone’s recommended it, though the weather was so nice I didn’t want to be indoors. I thought I’d go on a guided tour, to see the sights – then discovered you have to book in advance. So I ended up going to the local market – I spent ages there! I’d like to go back to explore the shops – they’re much better than what we’ve got here …

Question 6

How will the boy get to school tomorrow?

M: male, teenager F: mother

M: Mum, I’m going to start cycling to school this week. I’m fed up with getting the bus – it’s always late!

F: Well, you’ll have to do that for one more day cos you need to buy some lights for your bike first.

M: Ah okay, I’ll walk to the shops right away.

F: They’ll be closed now, but I can pick you up after school tomorrow and drive you to the bike shop. How does that sound?

M: Great, thanks Mum.

Question 7

What is the woman planning to wear to her friend’s wedding?

F: female, twenties

F: Hi, Jane. It’s me. Listen, I’m going to a friend’s wedding tomorrow and I need a favour. You know the jacket you showed me yesterday – do you think I could borrow it for the day? In return, I can lend you that top you like, not the plain one, the one with the flowers. I really couldn’t decide whether I should wear my flower skirt to the wedding so in the end, I’ve picked the dress with the same pattern. I hope I’ll look OK. Anyway, call me back when you get this message.

Question 8

Why did the boy go to the doctor’s yesterday?

M: male, twenties, US accent F: female, twenties, US accent

F: Hey, I didn’t see you at the soccer practice yesterday.

M: Yes, I had to see a doctor.

F: It wasn’t your knee again, was it?

M: That’s not so bad and the elbow injury seems to be getting better too. But I’ve done something to my back.

F: Did the doctor give you something for it?

M: Yes, she did. Yesterday wasn’t a great day though – my father was driving me to the doctor’s and got such a headache on the way there. But we’re both feeling much better today.

F: Oh, good.

Exercise 2

Question 9-10

M: male, mid-teens F: female, mid-teens

F: I can’t wait to finish the book we’re studying in English at the moment. I thought I’d enjoy it, because we sometimes go on holiday to the town where the story takes place, but not much happens in the book. I wouldn’t mind meeting some of the people in it, though – they seem nice, even though their lives are a bit dull.

M: I know, and I’ve never been a great fan of scary stories, like some students in our class, but I’m sure everyone would enjoy reading a novel about detectives trying to find out who was robbing banks.

F: Yeah, or biographies of famous people.

M: I’m not sure how much we’d learn from them, though.

Question 11-12

F: female, thirties

F: OK, listen everyone! I’ve got some information about tomorrow morning’s trip to the recycling centre. When we arrive, before we have a look around the centre, we’ll start off with a session in their education room, exploring why it’s essential to use waste again rather than just throwing it away. After that, they’ll tell us all about staying safe during our visit. We’ll be back at school in time for lunch. They’re kindly providing us with a snack, along with handouts and booklets so don’t worry about taking a notebook or anything. You’ll need coats, though, as quite a bit of the centre’s outdoors and the forecast isn’t great.

Question 13-14

M: male, mid-teens, US accent F: female, mid-teens, US accent

F: I’ve found a great music website, called groove.com.

M: Hey, I use that too! Was it suggested by someone you know?

F: Well, my sister’s into music and watches all kinds of stuff online but she’d never even heard of it. I was actually looking for sites where I could buy a guitar when I saw the link and just clicked on it.

M: I love the opinions their journalists give about new music.

F: They’re so clearly written, and accurate too. I enjoy the videos on the site.

M: There are some fantastic ones but a few I’m not so interested in. I’ve actually won some concert tickets on the website.

F: Cool! Some of the music downloads you can win aren’t that good though.

M: True!

Question 15-16

F: female, twenties, voicemail message

F: Hi Maria – I can’t believe you missed the final episode last night! I won’t tell you what happened, so you can watch it yourself later. You won’t feel let down – it was as good as we’d expected all the way through. I’m still not totally sure if I understood how it finished though! Oh also, I heard an interview this morning with Mel Park, the woman who wrote the series. I didn’t realise that she’s Korean. Apparently, she’s been making programmes since she was in her twenties. Everyone wants to know what her current project is, but that’s the one thing she wouldn’t answer!

Question 17-18

M: male, thirties F: female, thirties, Australian accent

F: You’re living permanently here in Australia now, I believe.

M: That’s right. My wife got a job at a university out here a year ago and moved here with the kids. And as soon as my work situation allowed, I came to join them. There are as many film and theatre jobs here as back home, but I’m still getting used to how much more relaxed things are here.

F: So tell us about your new film.

M: Well, up to now, I’ve always appeared in big action films that are popular in most countries and take billions of dollars worldwide. This one’s unlikely to appear on as many screens, though, as it’s aimed at fans of more serious films.

Exercise 3

Question 19-26

M: male, mid-twenties

M: Hi everyone! My name’s Matthew Wilkins and my talk today is about crocodiles, creatures I’ve been studying for several years.

Crocodiles belong to a group of animals called reptiles. There are fourteen species of crocodile, some of which are quite common, while others are in danger of disappearing altogether. They range in size, but each one is very sensitive to low temperatures. Like other reptiles, they have no internal system for keeping warm, which is why they are found in tropical areas.

The species that I study is the Nile crocodile. The average Nile crocodile can expect to live for around 55 years, but the luckier ones make it to 75 years, which is close to the 80 years that humans live, in my country at least.

Nile crocodiles are dark brown on their backs, and have yellowish stomachs, although mud can hide their actual colour. They don’t normally live in water that is salty. And those found in rivers where the water flows quickly are generally paler than other species of crocodiles.

Crocodiles tend to be meat eaters, but I was amazed to learn that some will also occasionally add other food to their diets. Crocodiles aren’t adapted to eating grass, of course, but they’ll happily take fruit that falls into the water, while ignoring any leaves that may have dropped onto the surface from nearby trees.

Crocodiles’ teeth are fascinating. Depending on the species and age, they can have anything between 60 and 110 in their mouths at any one time. When they fall out, new ones grow in their place, a cycle that’s repeated on perhaps 50 occasions throughout their lifetime.

Crocodiles’ jaws are extremely powerful. They bite at a pressure of around 350 bars, which means 350 times greater than atmospheric pressure. You’d perhaps expect a shark to match that, but even the largest ones manage only 35 bars, making crocodiles’ jaws ten times more powerful. Even a lion’s bite is around 8 times weaker than a crocodile’s, and a bear’s jaw can produce around 85 bars, so crocodile’s bites are over four times stronger.

Crocodiles are also extremely fast and strong swimmers, capable of reaching 35 kilometres per hour. Their tails provide the power, and when they need to turn, they rely on their feet. Their heads remain relatively still so they can check what’s going on around them.

The crocodiles I study spend lots of time sleeping. Occasionally, they’ll sleep without closing their eyes, or just leave one eye open, in case of danger. They tend to lie with their mouths open, which is one way they manage to keep cool, and they usually catch up on some sleep while doing this. Sometimes they sleep while floating on the water too. Now, does anyone have any questions?

Exercise 4

Questions 27-32

Speaker 1

F: female, mid-teens

F: I started going to my drama club five months ago. I haven’t missed a single session yet and I’ve met lots of interesting new people there. I really wanted to improve my acting skills, and thought it would be a good way of doing that. I’m not convinced I’ve achieved my aim yet because the sessions are only once a week, whereas I’d be happy to go two or even three times. It’s obviously a popular club, though, as new people seem to start almost every session.

Speaker 2

M: male, mid-teens, US accent

M: I can’t always get to all of my sailing club sessions these days because I get so much homework from school, but there’s no pressure to go every week anyway. I went there initially because I’d just moved into the area and I thought it’d be a great way to get to know people my own age. I wasn’t disappointed, so I’d really recommend joining a club to anyone wanting to do something similar.

Speaker 3

F: female, mid-teens, US accent

F: I’ve been a school film club member for ages. We meet every Wednesday after school, which suits me fine. We basically just watch a film our drama teacher’s chosen. That’s OK, but I can’t help thinking it’d be more fun if we discussed the film afterwards, and researched how it was made and things like that. Anyway, I’ve no plans to give up going there just yet.

Speaker 4

M: male, mid-teens

M: I go to a computer gaming club every weekend. Lots of my friends were already members so I decided to join too. It’s the best decision I’ve ever made cos we have so much fun. In fact, if I can’t go one week cos I’m going away with my family or something, I get in a really bad mood. We only do one thing – play games – which the majority of people would probably find really dull, but that’s ideal for me.

Speaker 5 F: female, mid-teens, Australian accent

F: The diving club I belong to is amazing. Quite a few of my mates are members too since I kept going on about how good it was! Although I don’t enjoy the sessions in the pool as much as those in the sea, the teacher says the activities we do in both are important. I love seeing marine life, so I can’t see myself ever stopping going to the club.

Speaker 6

M: male, mid-teens

M: I’ve always loved horses so go horse-riding every week with a local club. Some members have their own horses and go out four or five times a week so they’ve developed their skills really quickly. It’d be good to see a few fresh faces there though, especially people my age I could make friends with. Maybe I’ll try convincing some of my mates to join but none of them seem to share my passion.

Exercise 5

M: male, 40 years old F: female, 40 years old

M: With us today in the studio is travel documentary-maker Gillian Harrison. Gillian, did your upbringing prepare you for what you do now?

F: Not really. The most adventurous I got in terms of a career at the time was wanting to become a hairdresser. I was a very independent child, though, because mum and dad were just so busy working in the family business. I’d have loved to have spent more time with them, like my friends who went on family holidays to the coast or to other countries.

M: And what was school life like for you?

F: Well, I left school as soon as I possibly could, so ended up with very few qualifications to show for the eleven years I’d spent there. Most kids seemed to handle the pressure and discipline of being at school reasonably well, but I found it really tough, right from the start.

M: So did you go straight from school into work?

F: Pretty much, yes. I was stuck in an office photocopying which hardly helped my self-belief. My parents were probably hoping for a bit of help towards the cost of food, but my salary barely covered my travel expenses. Anyway, if I learned one thing from it, it was that I should do something in life that I actually enjoyed.

M: So how did you get into making documentaries for TV?

F: Well, I got this guidebook that listed the most interesting places to visit around where I lived. I started going to some of them in my free time, and I’d film myself commenting on them as I walked around them. I uploaded these and they soon became pretty popular. A well-known TV producer saw them and thought I had potential so she asked me to make a programme with her.

M: So what was that first programme about?

F: The first programme was on Greenland, which I knew to be a vast and largely frozen place – I wasn’t wrong! When I’d seen other travel documentaries on TV, I’d assumed that everything would be really well-planned behind the scenes. In reality, instead of spending the scheduled ten hours a day filming, we’d often be waiting for the local guides to appear because the production team had got the time or day wrong.

M: So how do your family react to you being away?

F: Well, my husband’s a cameraman so he’s often away filming too, on different projects to me, though. Neither of us thinks it’d be a good idea to work and travel together. Maybe if we had children, we’d only take on work that didn’t involve such lengthy times abroad but it works fine at the moment. And because he’s involved in similar work, he knows how exhausting it can be.

M: Are there any special qualities someone in your line of work needs?

F: Well, if you have no natural tendency to want to learn more about the people and culture of where you’re visiting, you’ll never be successful, no matter how determined you are to do well. Other things are useful, like being able to face potentially dangerous situations, but you’re always working in a team so others can get you through if your courage disappears.

M: And finally, I hear you’ve been doing some live speaking events lately. How have they been?

F: Well, I must point out that I’ve chosen to do them – they’re not something that’s been forced upon me. Having said that, I could never have guessed how terrified I’d be walking onto that stage, because I really have no idea what the audience’s reaction will be or what they’ll want to know in the question and answer session at the end.

M: Thanks, Gillian.

END OF TEXT

Questions

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Qualified teachers, classes based on levels, and academically motivated students is the key to our great study environment. We have room for everyone and collaborate to achieve both collective and individual academic goals.

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IGCSE is recognized internationally and can be found in thousands of schools in more than 140 countries around the world. All schools use the same Cambridge curriculum and this makes you able to easily transfer from one system to another without major difficulties. 

Cambridge IGCSE at a boarding school

At The International we’ve been a certified Cambridge school and examination center since we opened in 2016. All classes are taught in English, and because the teachers have relevant educational, work-related and personal experiences in international settings, they are highly qualified to teach in our IGCSE program. 

At The International we offer Cambridge IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) for students 14-17 years old. The curriculum varies within each subject, but is generally equivalent to 10th grade studies in Denmark. We offer 8 different academic subjects at a high academic level, preparing students for further education.