Adult Literacy Level 2 - Exemplar 1

To answer the questions click on the appropriate radio button under the question. Alternatively, print out the page and tick the answers you think are correct. Try not to use a dictionary if possible.

Try to do the test in 15 minutes. There are 9 questions. Read each question carefully and try to answer all of them.

Questions

Questions 1 and 2 are based on the four statements in the box below.

1. Can you point me to the nearest hotel?
2. Soccer teams have eleven players.
3. It is everyone’s duty to help those less fortunate than themselves.
4. Follow me, if you wish to get to the concert on time.

1. Which of the four sentences 1-4 is best described as a fact?

A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4

2. Which of the four sentences 1-4 is best described as an opinion?
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4

Read the sentences in the box below. Only one sentence is spelled correctly.

1. She arrived on the first Tuesday in Febuary.
2. Daffodils are beautifull and plentifull at this time of year.
3. The orders were delivered to the library on schedule.
4. We can see them tommorrow, if necessary.

3. The sentence in the box that is spelled correctly is
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4

4. Which sentence below uses to, too or two correctly?
A. I’m going to see too of my favourite films.
B. If you walk to work, you will be to late.
C. I have a cold and Sue has one too.
D. Joe took two pies too work today.

Questions 5-8 are based on the following extract.

The Impact of Poor Basic Skills
Without good communication and numeracy skills people are severely disadvantaged. People with poor basic skills are disadvantaged in employment. Many suffer from a sense of frustration and failure; some feel a real sense of stigma. For some, lack of literacy and numeracy skills is a prime cause of their feelings of exclusion; for others it's merely a symptom.

There are a number of compelling reasons why helping adults to improve basic skills should be a priority. Changes in employment make good basic skills essential. These changes include:

the need for a better skilled and more flexible workforce;
an increase in the number of people working in small and medium-size companies;
'flatter' management structures;
an increased reliance on technology;
a decline in unskilled jobs;
an increase in part-time work and self-employment.

The impact of poor basic skills is not just at work, however. Research indicates that whereas only two in a hundred children in the lowest reading group at age 10 had parents who had good literacy skills, more than six in ten had parents who had poor literacy skills.

5. According to the extract, the lack of which basic skill(s) makes some people feel excluded?
A. Good interview technique
B. Work experience skills
C. Information technology skills
D. Literacy and Numeracy skills

6. Basic skills enable you to
A. rely on technology
B. do unskilled jobs
C. become more employable
D. spend long periods without work

7. Which changes in employment have made good basic skills essential?
A. a decline in part-time workers
B. an increase in the number of unskilled jobs
C. the need for a better skilled workforce
D. an increase in larger companies

8. Which word can best be substituted for the underlined word 'stigma' at the end of the third sentence?
A. hopelessness
B. danger
C. resistance
D. inferiority

School Expenditure - 2003
Item of expenditure	Amount	% of whole
Teaching staff	Ł3.0m	75%
Support staff	Ł0.4m	10%
Supplies and services	Ł0.4m	10%
Premises	Ł0.2m	5%

9. The MOST appropriate way to show in diagrammatic form how this school budget has been divided up is a
A. bar chart
B. distribution curve
C. pie chart
D. scatter graph