Sample test (B 2 ) reading part 1

 
 

It’s easy to keep in touch with people here. 

My room is not very well-furnished.
 
 
This is the only place where I can afford to live. 

I save money by doing my own cooking.

 
 

There are good recreational facilities nearby. 

 
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6 
 
 
A Matthew Wren 
 
C Becky Martin 
I live in what’s called a hall of residence where I 
get full board as well as a room. It’s not exactly 
what you call cheap, though, I pay £87 per week 
for my single room and three meals a day. This 
also includes the use of a washing machine and 
ironing board. But I can’t complain because my 
room has just been re-carpeted, the furniture’s 
new and the cleaner comes in daily. The main 
drawback is sharing the bathroom with nine other 
students and we don’t have any kitchen facilities. 
The first thing I did when I arrived was buy 
myself a mini-fridge, so I could have cool drinks 
whenever I wanted. But, we’re on the university 
network, so I have access to the Internet and free 
e-mail from my room, and we get room phones 
so I can ring friends around the campus for 
nothing. 
I
live in a college-owned self-catering block. There’s 
not much luxury, but I get value for money. For my
£38 per week rent, I get a reasonably-sized room with 
an old wardrobe, a tiny desk, one shelf, a rather 
stained carpet and a sink. When I first moved in, I 
probably spent more on decoration than I did on 
food. My only real complaint, though, was that I had 
to buy a new pillow because the one I was provided 
with felt like a plastic bag full of old towels. I share 
the kitchen and bathroom with six other girls. One of 
them has a TV in her room, but she is a bit possessive 
about it. The fridge is not huge, so you’re always 
trying to squeeze your food into the last remaining 
inch of space. I twice set off the fire alarm by 
burning my dinner, so tended to give up on cooking 
after that. We eat a lot of take-aways. In the next 
block there’s a games room where we hang out
which has things like table football and satellite TV 
 if you need a break from studying.