ZADANIE 1 STR. 51

[przykładowy dialog; A – uczeń, B – egzaminator]

A: Well, our biology project needs to be done by Friday. On Saturday and Friday, there’s the school fair, so we won’t have time to do it then. And our group will be the first to give their presentation on Monday. Why don’t we meet after school on Friday, say, around 5 p.m.?

B: Sounds great for me. What are we going to include in our project?

A: Well, we need to present different ways of protecting our natural environment. Let’s talk about air pollution in big cities and using non-renewable natural resources. What do you say?

B: OK. I think this is a good idea, but it is very hard to stop it, isn’t it? How can we stop using natural resources?

A: Of course, we can do it. This situation won’t improve overnight, but by using renewable resources such as water and wind energy more and more often, we’ll be able to breathe clean air. We should also use public transport instead of cars; we could cycle more.

B: Your ideas are fine. Let’s present them. How are we going to do it?

A: How about a PowerPoint presentation? People like photographs. We could show several interesting slides.

B: Don’t you think that a speech would be more convincing, more dramatic? And it would take less time to prepare it.

A: Well, I don’t agree with you; I’m afraid of public speaking, but we could discuss it on Thursday with the rest of our team when we all meet.

B: Okay.

ZADANIE 2 STR. 51

[przykładowa wypowiedź, przykładowe pytania egzaminatora]

In the picture, I can see a small group of children and a woman, probably in a museum. This must be the section about ancient Greece or Rome. In the background, there are sculptures that look ancient, like ancient rulers or philosophers. The kids may be ten or eleven years old. The woman is talking to them, probably explaining what the figures are. Most likely, those kids are on a school trip, and now they’re visiting a museum. They all have colourful backpacks and seem to be interested in what the guide is telling them. Or maybe when they come back to school, they’ll have to make a presentation or a project about the paintings or sculptures they’ve seen in the museum.

1. How many museums or galleries, do you think, you have visited in your life? What are your memories of those visits?

Hmm, it’s hard to tell, maybe 20 or 30 museums and galleries. I generally like visiting museums and art galleries. I’m really into modern art, and there are two museums in my town which exhibit modern sculptures and paintings. And there’re new exhibitions only once or twice a year. When I visit a museum, I try to focus on one or two paintings, and I tell myself stories about the paintings. Who are the people in the painting? What was their life like? What did they do for a living? I also like looking closely at all the details in the paintings I choose.

2. When it comes to visual arts, do you prefer paintings or sculptures? Why?

I prefer paintings. In my opinion, there’s more depth in a painting than in a sculpture. Plus, paintings are usually more colourful and display a historical scene or a battle. Sculptures have no life in them. Well, most of them.

3. Tell us about a situation when you particularly liked or disliked a piece of art. Tell us about you past experience with works of art.

Well, let me think. I once saw some figures made by Magdalena Abakanowicz. They’re called abakans. They are headless iron figures. I saw quite a few of them. You know, they are popular almost all over the world. I was wondering why. I don’t know, really. I think that people can identify with the figures, like put their heads on them. I spent like half an hour watching the figures and felt nothing.

ZADANIE 3 STR. 51

[przykładowa wypowiedź, przykładowe pytania egzaminatora]

In my free time, I really enjoy reading books. My favourite genres are fantasy and science fiction. The best season to read books is autumn. It’s an amazing feeling to sit in a park and read a book when the weather is fine, of course. I like long novels with a complex plot and new worlds created by the authors. Interestingly, these worlds resemble our world in many ways, yet they’re different, somewhat better. Books are fun, but you can also gain a new perspective on your life.

I’d reject picture number two, because hanging out with friends is definitely not my favourite pastime. After a tiring day at school, I like to go home and have a quiet, peaceful evening. I sometimes meet with my friends, but I don’t consider it a hobby, really.

I enjoy going to the theatre once every two or three months, when there’s a new interesting play, but I wouldn’t say it’s my favourite way of spending free time. I just watch the play and enjoy it or not.

1. What are the most popular ways of spending free time among teenagers?

In general, teenagers like hanging out with their friends; some of them like playing sports, such as football or basketball. Some go window shopping and hang out in the shopping malls. Quite a lot of them, I think, like staying at home, watching series on Netflix or HBO.

2. Why do you think so few people like opera or theatre nowadays? Do you think it makes sense to encourage them to go and see theatrical plays or opera performances? Why? Why not?

I do like theatre, but I think nowadays rather few people aged 15–25 go to the opera or theatre more or less regularly. I don’t know why. Some plays or opera performances are quite good. There’s a lot going on the stage, actors have beautiful costumes, stories are interesting. In some theatres, there are even special effects.

3. Which benefit of reading books do you value the most: gaining knowledge, exercising your brain, improving your memory or entertaining yourself? Why? Why not?

I like the books that are entertaining. I just want to find myself in a different world. I know there’s a lot of information in books, but I prefer to search for information online. I like sitting with a book and forgetting about the world.

4. Tell us about your hobby. What hobby would you take up if you had more time? What would you need to start it?

When I was a child I used to play basketball with my siblings a few times a week. It was our favourite pastime. Now I don’t have enough time to play. If I had more time, I’d start playing basketball again. It’s a team game, so you need to cooperate with other people. You also need to keep fit to play basketball. All you need to play the game is a sports costume and a pair of good trainers, and a ball of course. It is not really an expensive hobby.