Tài liệu Bồi dưỡng học sinh giỏi tiếng anh thpt chuyên đề assesment and testing in efl class at high school

ASSESMENT AND TESTING IN EFL CLASS AT HIGH SCHOOL VŨ THỊ KIM THANH Asking students to demonstrate their understanding of the lessons learned is of great importance to the learning process; it is essential to evaluate whether the educational goals and standards of the lessons are being met. Assessment and testing are an integral part of instruction, as it determines whether or not the goals of education are being met. Assessment affects decisions about grades, placement, advancement, instructional needs, curriculum, etc. Testing and assessment inspire us to ask these hard questions: "Are we teaching what we think we are teaching?" "Are students learning what they are supposed to be learning?" "Is there a way to teach the subject better, thereby promoting better learning?" Today's students need to know not only the basic reading and arithmetic skills, but also skills that will allow them to face a world that is continually changing. They must be able to think critically, to analyze, and to make inferences. These new learning goals change the relationship between assessment,testing and instruction. Teachers need to take an active role in making decisions about the purpose of assessment and the content that is being tested. Assessment and testing in EFL class at high school cover broad categories, but due to the scope and the limitation of time this paper presents the following sections: Overview of assessment and testing Application of innovation in assessment and testing, namely the design of reading test SECTION I. OVERVIEW OF ASSESSMENT AND TESTING 1. What is a test? A test is used to examine someone's knowledge of something to determine what he or she knows or has learned. +A Test measures the level of skill or knowledge that has been reached. 2.What is assessment? Assessment :In an educational context, assessment is the process of describing, collecting, recording, scoring, and interpreting information about learning 3.What is evaluation? Evaluation is the process of making judgments based on criteria and evidence. In general, testing is a sample while assessment is a process. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TESTING AND ASSESSMENT Testing and assessment are two different terms that are often used interchangeably and wrongly confused to believe that both have the same definition as tests. However, they are different from each other. Testing is actually one of the ways to assess something. What is the relationship between them ? Testing Assessment Evaluation The purposes of testing and assessment are: + To identify Ss’ progress in learning EL + To identify what they have learned + To plan the next lesson + To give feedback on the performance of Ss. + To diagnose problems and strengths Ss have in a skill. Classification of Tests 1.Using test purposes 1.Placement To place students at appropriate level of instruction within a program 2. Diagnostic To identify students’ strengths and weaknesses 3. Progress To provide information about the progress the Ss are making towards course objectives 4. Achievement To evaluate students’ attainment of course outcomes at end of course To measure students’ proficiency using international 5. Standardized standards 2. Regarding construction approach  Direct Testing: requires the test taker to perform precisely the skill we wish to measure.  Indirect testing: makes an attempt to measure the sub-skills which we are interested.  Discrete Point Testing  Integrative Testing underlying the skills in 3. Using test-scoring procedure  Subjective Testing  Judgment is required on the part of the scorer.  Different degrees of Subjectivity in scoring  Objective Testing  No judgment is required on the part of the scorer COMPARISON BETWEEN TRADITIONAL AND ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT The characteristics of Traditional and Alternative Assessment Traditional  One-shot standardized exams Alternative  Đánh giá trong thời hạn dài liên tiếp Kiểm tra theo chuẩn một lần duy nhất  Timed, multiple-choice format Dạng thức đa lựa chọn có thời gian  Scores suffice for feedback Điểm là đủ để đánh giá    Focus on the “right” answer  Oriented to the product  Non-interactive performance  Fosters extrinsic motivation  Formal, indirect, traditional  Objective Untimed, free-response format Dạng thức trả lời tự do không có thời gian gới hạn  Interactive feedback ý kiến tương tác Norm-referenced scores Tham chiếu thao chuẩn Continuous long-term assessment  Criterion-referenced scores Điểm tham chiếu trên các tiêu chí  Focus on high-level thinking  Oriented to process  Interactive performanc  Fosters intrinsic motivation  Informal, direct, authentic  Subjective INNOVATION IN TESTING AND ASSESSMENT Bloom’s Taxonomy has been introduced in EFL assessment and testing What do you know about Bloom’s taxonomy? Bloom’s Taxonomy provides an important framework for teachers to use to focus on higher order thinking. How many levels does it have?/ what are they? BLOOM’S TAXONOMY Bloom’s taxonomy is divided into 6 levels Level 1: KNOWLEDGE Level 2: COMPREHENSION Level 3: APPLICATION Level 4: ANALYSIS Level 5: SYNTHESIS Level 6: EVALUATION As this paper deals with testing reading comprehension skills, another taxonomy made by Barette has been used to design a reading test. BARRET’S TAXONOMY Barret’s taxonomy is divided into 5 levels Level 1: LITERAL COMPREHENSION (LC) Level 2: REORGANIZATION (RO) Level 3: INFERENTIAL COMPREHENSION (IC) Level 4: EVALUATION (EVA) Level 5: APPRECIATION (APPR) SECTION II. APPLICATION OF INNOVATION IN ASSESSING AND TESTING READING SKILLS AT HIGH GIFTED SCHOOLS Background We are working in a high secondary school for fast-track or excellent students. The main task of the school is as defined by the province and MOET: …..to look for and to develop talents for the province, the country; and to make the school to become a high quality education center that gives impact on the development of the province. This gifted school aims to educate and prepare students to pass many important and challenging national examinations such as the examinations for gifted students, college and university entrance examinations. Of all the exams and tests, reading skill with its sub skills is an indispensable part, therefore the question raised here is how to test and assess it. Current English syllabus used As mentioned above, gifted students of English follow a special syllabus to prepare them to enter different universities or study overseas. For reading skill, at the end of Grade 12, students are required to be able to read and understand a text of about 350 to 450 words of standard English on one of the topics they have learned in Grade 10, 11 and 12 of their high school years. The topics, reading subskills and levels focused in the reading test for the Yearly Provincial Examinations for gifted students of English are summarised in the table below: GRADE TOPICS SUBSKILLS                   Inferring meaning  Literal from contextual comprehension clues  Reorganization  Identifying facts  Inferential and details comprehension  Identifying causes  Evaluation and effects School activities People's backgrounds Special education Technology 10 Life in the community Nature conservation Entertainment The World Cup Famous places Friendship and personal experiences Parties and celebrations Volunteer work Population and illiteracy 11 Nature and sources of energy Competitions and games Hobbies and entertainments Wonders of the world and well-known places  Cultural diversity  School/ Higher education  Future jobs and Future life  Books and Youth  Economic reforms 12  Endangered species  Sports and Games  Women in society  ASEAN and International organizations Here are the sample of a reading test designed LEVELS  Identifying sequence of events  Comparing contrasting and  Identifying inference coherence  Predicting outcome  Expressing opinions/attitude/ views on personality/ character of a person. In this paper we present the table of specifications in which all the sub- skills, text types, materials, curriculum and syllabus, question levels (Based on Bloom’s Taxonomy to test the knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation, Barrete's taxonomy has been used to test the levels of reading comprehension questions namely: Literal comprehension, Re- organization, Inferential comprehension, Evaluation and Appreciation), question types ( MCQ with 4 options, structured or WH- questions) are included. Especially, the table of specifications show which questions belong to which levels, so that the test designers and testmakers are clear of what levels of reading skills are being tested, and how much of reading skill the students have achieved, which are the best and which are weaker? . 2. Table of Test Specifications Type of Examination: Norm-referenced Name of Examination: Provincial Reading Comprehension English Examination for Gifted Students - Grade 11 and 12 Language sub-skills Q.2 Identifying sequence of events Q.3 Identifying sequence of events Q.4 Predicting outcome Q.5 Predicting outcome Q.6 Inferring references Q.7 Inferring references Q.8 Inferring references Q.9 Inferring references Q.10 Inferring references Part/ Language sub-skills Text types/ Cur. No. of Mark items alloc. Time alloc. APPR Identifying facts and details EVA (400 words) Q.1 IC (Q. 1-10) Question levels (Barret's) Q. types RO A personal recount The Specialized Syllabus for High School Gifted Students of English in Viet Nam PART I Text types/ Cur. Materials/ Specs. Situations LC Part/ Section/ Q. no. 15 min. 1 MCQ 1 1 ( 4 options) 1 1 3 1 1 4 1 1 5 1 1 2 6 Structured 1 1 7 (WHquestion) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8 Structured 9 Structured 10 Question levels Q. types No. of Mark Time Identifying sequence of events Q.12 Identifying sequence of events Q.13 Identifying cause and effects Q.14 Identifying cause and effects Q.15 Identifying sequence of events Q.16 Identifying sequence of events Q.17 Identifying facts and details Q.18 Identifying sequence of events Q.19 Identifying sequence of events Q.20 Identifying sequence of events PART III A story with a picture (Q. 21-30) Q.21 Identifying cause and effects Q.22 Inferring meaning from contextual clues minPart/ Language sub-skills (800 words) Text types/ Cur. alloc. alloc. APPR Q.11 EVA (Q. 11-20) IC An article (450 words) items RO PART II Specs. LC Materials/ Situations The Specialized Syllabus for High School Gifted Students of English in Viet Nam Section/ Q. no. True / False or Doesn't say (T/F/D) 15 min. 11 1 1 12 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 18 1 1 19 1 1 20 1 1 13 14 15 16 17 30 min. 21 1 1 22 1 1 Question levels Q. types No. of Mark Time Q.25 Identifying facts and details Q.26 Inferring meaning from contextual clues Q.27 Predicting outcome Q.28 Inferring meaning from contextual clues Q.29 Predicting outcome Q.30 Predicting outcome PART IV An article with 4 pictures (850 words) (Q. 31-45) Q.31 Identifying sequence of events Q.32 Identifying facts and details Q.33 Identifying sequence of events Q.34 Identifying cause and effects Q.35 Identifying facts and details Q.36 Identifying cause and effects minPart/ Language sub-skills Text types/ Cur. MCQ 1 1 (4 options) 1 1 25 1 1 26 1 2 27 1 2 1 2 29 Structured (WHquestion) 1 2 30 Structured 1 2 23 24 28 alloc. APPR Compare and contrast alloc. EVA Q.24 items IC Inferring meaning from contextual clues The Specialized Syllabus for High School Gifted Students of English in Viet Nam Q.23 Spec s. RO Materials/ Situations LC Section/ Q. no. 30 min. 31 MCQ 1 1 32 (4 options) 1 1 33 1 1 34 1 1 35 1 1 36 1 1 Question levels Q. types No. of Mark Time Q.39 Identifying facts and details Q.40 Identifying cause and effects Q.41 Identifying facts and details Q.42 Compare and contrast Q.43 Identifying facts and details Q.44 Identifying cause and effects Q.45 Identifying facts and details TOTAL items alloc. alloc. APPR Identifying sequence of events EVA Q.38 IC Identifying facts and details The Specialized Syllabus for High School Gifted Students of English in Viet Nam Q.37 Specs. RO Materials/ Situations LC Section/ Q. no. 37 MCQ 1 1 38 (4 options) 1 1 39 1 1 40 1 1 41 1 1 42 1 1 43 1 1 44 1 1 45 50 45 4 7 32 2 1h30 m 3. Reading Test Paper Index No. EXAMINATION FOR HIGH SCHOOL GIFTED STUDENTS READING TEST OF ENGLISH Total time: 90 minutes INTRODUCTION TO CANDIDATES      Do not turn over the page until you are asked to do so. Read the questions carefully. Answer all the questions in the space provided. There are five parts in the paper: Follow all instructions carefully. TOTAL SCORE Name:___________________________ Class: ___________________________ Date: ____________________________ 50 PART I. Read the passage and answer questions 1 to 10 MAKING FRIENDS IN A NEW CITY 1 5 I graduated from college recently and moved to San Francisco by myself. While I was in college, it was really easy to meet new people. I met them in class, through friends, at parties, and at the library all the time. But "out of the real world," I was finding it really hard. I live in a big city, and it seems like everyone around me is busy or already has all the friends they want. I was feeling so discouraged and didn't know what to do, so I called my sister for some advice. My sister is four years older than I am, so she's been through all this already. She's been helping me with my problems all my life. When I explained my problem, she understood completely. She said, "Why don't you try meeting people online?" 10 "Online? Are you kidding?" I asked. A friend of mine chatted with a guy online, and when she finally met him face to face, he was nothing like he said he was." My sister laughed. "You don't have to look for dates online," she said. "But you can find other people like you - people who have just move to town and want to make some new friends. When I first moved to New York after college, I found a book club and a softball team online. I met a lot of people that way." 15 "But you don't even like softball!" I said. "I know," she replied". "But that didn't matter. I still had a lot of fun. You played volleyball in college. Why don't you look for a volleyball team to join? Or an art class? You haven't painted since college." "Yeah! Oh, and I saw a website about volunteering the other day." I said. "I could volunteer for an organization here in San Francisco. I bet I could meet lot of really nice people that way." 20 "That's a great idea!" my sister answered enthusiastically. "Hey, you might even meet the perfect guy." "OK, now you are starting to sound like Mom," I said. "Thanks a lot for the advice. I'm going to go online right now and start searching for volleyball teams, art classes, and volunteer organizations. I'll let you know what happens. Will you be home tonight?" 25 "No, but I'll be here all day tomorrow, so give me a call then," my sister replied. "Good luck!" A. For each question from 1 to 5, four options are given. One of them is the correct answer. Make your choice (A, B, C or D) and write your answer on the Answer Sheet. (5 marks) 1. What's the writer's problem? A. She couldn't meet people at her new college. B. She couldn't meet people in her new city. C. She didn't want to meet people online. D. She didn't like to play softball anymore. 2. When she was in college, the writer met people ____________________. A. at volleyball games B. at parties and at the library C. online and in classes D. through friends and through her book club 3. The writer's sister ____________________. A. had the same problems when she finished college B. didn't go to college, but understands the writer problem C. lives in the same city as the writer D. doesn't have any advice for the writer 4. The writer probably ____________________. A. doesn't like to bother her sister with problems B. has a boyfriend C. doesn't have a computer D. calls her sister for advice often 5. The writer is probably going to ____________________. A. join a softball team B. call her sister later tonight C. call her sister tomorrow D. join a book club like her sister did B. For each question from 6 to 10, write the word, phrase or sentence for your answer on the Answer Sheet. (5 marks) 6. What does "them" in line 2 refer to? 7. What does "that way" in line 15 refer to? 8. What does "that" in line 17 refer to? 9. What does "that way" in line 22 refer to? 10. What does "then" in line 28 refer to? PART II. Read the following article and decide whether the statements followed are true (T) or false (F), or if the text doesn't say (D). (10 marks) Seven billion and counting 1 If you have been following the news you will know that the world’s population recently reached seven billion – probably on 31st October. 5 The statistics concerning human population growth are astonishing. It was only 12 years ago, in 1999, that the world’s population reached six billion. In 1969 there were 3.5 billion people on the planet, which is to say our numbers have doubled in only 42 years. A century ago, in 1911, there were only 1.8 billion of us: 26% of today’s total. Scientists who try to estimate the number of people who have ever lived, in the tens of thousands of years since our ape-like ancestors evolved into what we would recognise as human beings, usually come up with figures between 100 and 110 billion. If 100 billion were correct, we could say that 7% of all the humans ever born are alive today. 10 As for future population growth, it seems there will probably be eight billion people by 2030 and nine billion by around 2050. After that, predictions vary: many experts think the total will rise more slowly, perhaps reaching ten billion by the end of the century; but a few believe the fast rise might continue, leading to a global population of as many as 15 billion by 2100. 15 20 25 There are big differences between rates of population growth around the world. The fastest rates are generally in the world’s poorer countries, including those in subSaharan Africa, while the populations of rich countries are mostly growing much more slowly, or even shrinking in a few cases. (Germany and Japan, for example, will have smaller populations in 2050 than they do now.) This fact explains another interesting statistic: in 1900 Europe contained around 25% of the world’s people, but in 2050 it will have less than 10%. There are many reasons for fast population growth, but the most significant include medical advances and generally improved standards of living in poor countries, which mean fewer deaths from diseases or from malnutrition. Indeed, average life expectancy across the world has risen 20 years since the 1950s, from 48 to 68, and the biggest rises have been in poor countries. Some people already talk of a crisis of overpopulation, expecting there to be wars over access to natural resources and warning that, because those resources are finite, it is impossible for seven billion people (let alone nine or ten) to have the kind of highconsumption lifestyles that people in the world’s richer countries currently enjoy. Others, however, believe the planet can accommodate another two or three billion humans without a social or environmental catastrophe. We can only hope the optimists will be proved right. 30 35 Write T, F or D for questions 11 to 20 on the Answer Sheet. 11. One hundred years ago the world’s population was 2.5 billion. 12. Everyone agrees about how the global population will probably grow after 2050. 13. Medical advances have had a big effect on population growth. 14. There does not seem to be a connection between a country’s rate of population growth and how rich the country is. 15. Europe now has around 15% of the world’s population. 16. No one believes the world’s population will be above 12 billion at the end of this century. 17. There are countries in Africa with fast rates of population growth. 18. The population of the United States will grow slowly between now and 2050. 19. The world’s population will probably grow by another billion between now and 2030. 20. In some poor countries there have been rises in life expectancy since the 1950s. PART III. Read the story and answer the questions followed. READY FOR ANYTHING 1 5 Justin was always prepared. His motto was "Never throw anything out, you never know when it might come in handy." His bedroom was so full of flat bicycle tires, bent tennis rackets, deflated basketballs, and games with missing pieces that you could barely get in the door. His parents pleaded with him to clean out his room. "What use is a fish tank with a hole in the bottom?" his father asked. But Justin simply smiled and repeated his motto, "Never throw anything out, you never know when it might come in handy." 10 When Justin was away from home, he always carried his blue backpack. He liked to think of it as a smaller version of his bedroom—a place to store the many objects that he collected. It was so worn and stretched that it hardly resembled a backpack anymore. It was full of the kind of things that seemed unimportant, but when used with a little imagination, might come in handy. 15 Justin had earned a reputation for figuring things out and getting people out of otherwise hopeless situations. Many of his classmates and neighbors sought him out when they needed help with a problem. On the first day of school, his friend Kenny, came looking for Justin. 20 25 "Do you think you have something in your bag that could help me remember my locker combination?" he asked. "I lost the scrap of paper it was written on. I have science class in two minutes and if I’m late on the first day it’ll make me look bad for the rest of the year." Kenny looked genuinely worried. "Relax," Justin said, taking his backpack off and unzipping the top. "Remember how you borrowed my notebook in homeroom to write the combination down? Well, I know how we can recover what you wrote." He took the notebook and a soft lead pencil out of his bag. The page that Kenny had written on had left faint indentations on another page in the notebook. Justin held the pencil on its side and rubbed it lightly over the indentations. Slowly but surely the numbers of the locker combination appeared in white, set off by the gray pencil rubbings. 30 "That’s amazing!" Kenny said. "I owe you one." And he dashed off to open his locker. During science class, Mr. Tran was lecturing on the structure of the solar system using a model. He made a sudden gesture and the model fell apart. Planets and rings and connector rods went everywhere, rolling and clattering and disappearing under desks. The students scrambled around on the floor for ten minutes and were finally able to recover every piece except one - a connector rod that was lodged in a crack between two lab stations. "If we had a magnet," said Mr. Tran, "we could easily coax it out that way. But I loaned all of the magnet kits to the elementary school yesterday." 40 Justin was already searching through his backpack. "I have some materials that will work just as well, I think," he told Mr. Tran. He pulled out a battery, an iron nail, and some electrical wire and tape, while Mr. Tran and the other students looked on in amazement. "Why do you have all of that stuff?" Louise Baxter asked. Justin just smiled and repeated his motto. "Never throw anything out, you never know when it might come in handy." By wrapping the wire around the nail and taping each end to a battery terminal, he was able to make a magnet strong enough to lift the rod out of the crack. 45 "Bravo!" said Mr. Tran. "No problem," said Justin. 50 55 After school, Justin rode the bus to the mall where he worked at a music store. His boss, Gail, was taking inventory of all of the CDs and tapes in the classical music section. As he helped a customer at the register, Justin heard her exclaim, "Oh, no! I forgot my glasses! There’s no way I can read this list without them." Justin sighed, picked up his backpack, and walked over to Gail. "I think I can help you out," he said, unzipping the bag. While Gail watched in surprise, he pulled out a jar of petroleum jelly, a washer, a glass slide, and a small bottle of water. He put the jelly on the bottom of the washer, placed it securely, jelly-side down, on the glass slide, and then put a drop of water in the center of the washer. He put the contraption on top of the inventory list and said to his boss, "See what happens when you look through the water droplet." Gail looked and her eyes widened with delight. "Wow!" she cried. "It enlarges the print that I’m looking at, just like a magnifying glass!" She patted Justin on the back. "I’m all set now," she said. "Thanks." Justin smiled. "No problem," he said, returning to the register. It was just another day in the life of the boy whose motto was "Never throw anything out, you never know when it might come in handy." A. For each question from 21 to 27, four options are given. One of them is the correct answer. Make your choice (A, B, C or D) and write your answer on the Answer Sheet. (Question 21 to 25: 5 marks/ Question 26 to 27: 4 marks) 60 21. Why is Justin's room such a mess? A. He always forget to clean. B. He never throws anything away. C. He has no time to clean. D. He shares a room with his brother. 22. What does "motto" in line 1 mean? A. rule B. symbol C. response D. advice 23. Which word is a synonym for "pleaded" in line 5? A. ignored B. asked C. pushed D. begged 24. In what way is Justin's backpack a smaller vision of his bedroom? A. He uses it as a place to store objects. B. He used it to carry his books and sports equipment. C. He parents tell him to clean it all the time. D. He's had for as long as he can remember. 25. How does Justin help his friends? A. He offers them advice. B. He loans them his backpack C. He listens to his problems. D. He uses the objects in his backpack. 26. What does "reputation" in line 15 mean? A. one's personality B. an award C. how one is thought of by others D. the support of others 27. How do most of the characters in the story feel toward Justin? A. annoyed B. grateful C. disinterested D. angry B. For each question from 28 to 30, write your answers in complete sentences on the Answer Sheet. (6 marks) 28. What did Justin's father mean when he asked him the following question in line 7: "What use is a fish tank with a hole in the bottom?". 29. What kind of a person is Justin? How do you know this? 30. Is the author's purpose in writing this story to inform, to entertain, or both? How does the author achieve this purpose? PART IV. Read the article below about various birds in Britain. (15 marks) Winged winners and losers Birds in Britain come under scrutiny in a massive new study, Birds Britannica. A record of the avian community in the 21st century, it reveals a continually evolving pattern. Mark Cocker, the principle author of the tome, select some cases A. Red Kite 1 5 The Red Kite's recent rise from a mere handful to several thousands is among the great stories of modern conservation. Testimony to its flagship status is a recent Royal Society for the Protection of Birds poll which ranked it with the golden eagle and song thrush in the nation's list of favorite birds. 10 The dramatic spread has hinged on a reintroduction scheme at six sites in England and Scotland using kites originally taken from Spain and Sweden. The English releases began in the Chilterns in 1989 and when these had achieved a healthy population, subsequent introductions were made in Nothamptonshire and Yorkshire using mainly English birds. The Scottish releases in the 1980s and 1990s have resulted in populations totaling more than 50 pairs. Altogether there are now about 3,000 kites in Britain. The information of a 'Kite committee' by members of the British Ornithologists Club in 1903 was central to the bid's recovery. It endured for 90 years and has been described as being 'without parallel in the annals of bird protection in the world'. B Dartford Warbler 15 20 This highly-attractive bird is confined to just five Western European countries as well as the north African littoral, and has the smallest world range of any of our breeding birds. It is so a highly-sedentary bird and a major course of decline is its great susceptibility to the cold. The worst case occurred in the two successive hard winters of 1961 and 1962 when the number fell from 450 pairs to just 10. Memories of this calamitous decrease, coupled with the bird's own tiny size and seeming delicacy, have demented our sense of an overarching vulnerability. It is one of the best British examples where a species' local rarity has been assumed to equal almost constitutional weakness. Typical of our pessimism was a 1960s prediction that its breeding range would be virtually restricted to the New Forest 'in the new foreseeable future'. There was a similar anxiety in the proposal to trap last numbers ahead of severe winter weather so that they could be safely released the following spring. All the caution is perfectly understandable as an expression of our protective instincts towards a much-loved bird. Yet it sits oddly with the warbler's continuing rise and expansion to a population of 1,925 pairs by the year 2000. It has undoubtedly been helped by mild winters as well as intensive management and protection of England's lowland health. Yet the Dartford Wabler recent history illustrate how easy it is to underestimate the resilience of a small rare bird. C White-tailed Eagle It is difficult to judge which is more exciting conservation achievement - the reintroduction of this magnificent birds or of red kites. By wingspan and weight, this is the largest eagle in Europe 35 40 45 50 and one of the biggest of all birds in Britain. However, if the species itself is on a grand scale, the size of reintroduced population is tiny and the pace of increase agonizingly slow. Almost 30 years after the species was first released, there are just 23 pairs holding territory, and from 17 occupied eyries in 2001, no more than 11 young fledged. The project involved a remarkable team effort by various UK environmental groups, as well as the Norwegian conservationists who organized the capture of the donated birds. Between 1975 and 1985, they released 83 eagles (39 males and 43 females) from a special holding area on the Inner Hebridean island of Rhum. Eight were later recovered dead, but in 1983 came the first breeding attempt. Two years later, a pair of white-tailed eagles produced the first British-born chick in 69 years and every subsequent breeding season has seen a small incremental improvement. There is now an established breeding nucleus spread between the islands of Skye and Mull as well as the adjacent mainland, and their recent history suggests that the white-tailed eagle's increase will continue throughout north-west Scotland. D Spotted Flycatcher Even the greatest fans of this lovely bird, with its mouse-grey upper parts and whitish breast and belly, would have to admit that it is rather drab. They have no more than a thin, squeaky, small song. However, spotted flys compensate with enormous character. 55 60 The birds are instantly recognizable because of their large-headed, top-heavy shape that is distinctive even in silhouette, by the habit of returning to the same perch after their agile, twisting, aerial sallies for insects. They are adept at catching large species such as day-flying moths, butterflies, bees and wasps, whose stings they remove by thrashing the victim against the perch. Their specialized diet means that they are among the latest spring migrants to return and are now in serious decline because of half a century of pesticide use. In the past 25 years, their numbers have declined by almost 80 per cent, but they are still sufficiently numerous (155,000 pairs) to be familiar and are often birds of large gardens, churchyards or around farm buildings. For questions 31 to 45, choose from the birds (A-D). The birds may be chosen more than once.Write your answers on the answer sheet. Of which bird are the following stated? 31. On a number of occasions, fears concerning it have been expressed. 32. some birds that were introduced did not survived. 33. Further attempt to increase its numbers were made once initial attempts had proved successful. 34. Its population growth is a reflection of how tough it is. 35. It is known for following routine. 36. Its situation was improved by an initiative that has been referred to as unique. 37. There is statistical evidence to support the view that it is a very popular bird. 38. There was a particular period when its population plummeted. 39. A criticism could be made of its physical appearance. 40. It can be easily be defined by its outline. 41. A common perception of it has proved inaccurate. 42. Growth in its numbers has been much more gradual than desired. 43. There reason to believe that its progress in a particular region will be maintained. 44. Measures taken in the running of a certain type of countryside have assisted in the growth of its population. 45. Even though its population has fallen, it can frequently be seen in various particular locations.