Biographies

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English Test – Level B1  

Theme: Biographies – Famous People in History  

Grammar Focus: Simple Past Tense  

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Part 1 – Vocabulary (10 points)


A. Match the words (1–5) with the definitions (a–e). (5 points) 


1. inventor  

2. leader  

3. revolution  

4. Nobel Prize  

5. explorer  


a. A big change in a country’s political or social system.  

b. A person who discovers new places.  

c. A famous international award for great work in science, peace, or literature.  

d. A person who creates something new, like a machine or device.  

e. A person who guides or controls a group or country.  


Write your answers:  

1 – __ 2 – __ 3 – __ 4 – __ 5 – __  



B. Complete the sentences with the words from exercise A. (5 points)


inventor – leader – revolution – Nobel Prize – explorer  


1. Marie Curie won the __________ for Physics in 1903.  

2. Nelson Mandela was a very important __________ in South Africa.  

3. Thomas Edison was an __________. He created many useful machines.  

4. Christopher Columbus was an __________ who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean.  

5. The French __________ in 1789 changed the country completely.  


Part 2 – Grammar: Simple Past (20 points)


A. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct simple past form. (10 points)


Example: He (be) **was** born in 1879.  


1. Leonardo da Vinci __________ (be) born in Italy in 1452.  

2. He __________ (work) as a painter, inventor and scientist.  

3. He __________ (paint) the Mona Lisa.  

4. He __________ (study) the human body carefully.  

5. Leonardo __________ (die) in France in 1519.  

6. Marie Curie __________ (discover) two new elements, polonium and radium.  

7. She __________ (win) two Nobel Prizes.  

8. She __________ (move) from Poland to France in 1891.  

9. She __________ (marry) Pierre Curie in 1895.  

10. She __________ (live) in Paris for many years.  



B. Make questions in the simple past. Use the words in brackets. (5 points)


Example: (When / he / die?)  

→ When did he die?


1. (Where / she / be / born?)  

   ____________________________________________?  


2. (What / he / discover?)  

   ____________________________________________?  


3. (When / they / get / married?)  

   ____________________________________________?  


4. (Where / he / live?)  

   ____________________________________________?  


5. (Did / she / win / any prizes?)  

   ____________________________________________?  



C. Choose the correct answer (a, b, or c). (5 points)


1. Marie Curie ________ in Poland.  

   a) is born  

   b) was born  

   c) born  


2. They ________ the telephone in the 19th century.  

   a) invent  

   b) invented  

   c) invents  


3. He ________ to America in 1492.  

   a) sailed  

   b) sail  

   c) was sail  


4. She ________ a famous book about her life.  

   a) write  

   b) writes  

   c) wrote  


5. He ________ in London for ten years.  

   a) lived  

   b) live  

   c) was live  


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Part 3 – Reading Comprehension (20 points)


Read the text and answer the questions.


Malala Yousafzai


Malala Yousafzai was born in 1997 in Mingora, Pakistan. She grew up in a family that loved learning. Her father was a teacher and owned a school for girls. When Malala was a child, she enjoyed going to school and dreamed of becoming a doctor.  


However, when she was a young teenager, the Taliban, a violent group, controlled her town. They said that girls could not go to school. Malala did not accept this. She spoke on the radio and wrote a blog about her life and about education for girls. She became famous in her country.  


In 2012, when she was only 15 years old, a man from the Taliban shot her on a school bus. Malala was seriously hurt, but she survived. She went to England for medical treatment. After her recovery, she continued her fight for girls’ education. In 2014, at the age of 17, she won the Nobel Peace Prize. She was the youngest person ever to receive this prize. Today, Malala works with her foundation to help girls all over the world go to school.  



A. Are these sentences True (T) or False (F)? (5 points)


1. Malala was born in England. _____  

2. Her father was a teacher. _____  

3. Malala accepted the Taliban’s rules about girls’ education. _____  

4. She was shot when she was 15 years old. _____  

5. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. _____  



B. Answer the questions in full sentences. (10 points)


1. When and where was Malala born?  

   ____________________________________________________________  


2. What was her father’s job?  

   ____________________________________________________________  


3. What did the Taliban say about girls?  

   ____________________________________________________________  


4. How did Malala share her ideas? (Name two ways.)  

   ____________________________________________________________  


5. What does she do now?  

   ____________________________________________________________  



C. Choose the best title for the text. (1 point)  


a) A Girl Who Loved Sports  

b) The Youngest Nobel Prize Winner  

c) Life in England  


Answer: _______  



D. Find a synonym in the text for each word. (4 points)  


1. very badly (line 3) → ____________________  

2. continue (paragraph 3) → ____________________  

3. violent (paragraph 2) → ____________________  

4. got (a prize) (paragraph 3) → ____________________  



Part 4 – Writing (20 points)


Choose ONE task. Write 80–100 words.


Task A:  

Write a short biography of a famous person from your country (for example: a writer, a scientist, a leader, an artist, or a sportsperson). Use the simple past tense. Include:  

- when and where they were born  

- their family or early life  

- their important work or actions  

- why they are famous  


or


Task B:

Write about a famous historical person you admire (for example: Martin Luther King Jr., Marie Curie, Nelson Mandela, etc.). Use the simple past tense. Include:  

- basic facts about their life  

- what they did  

- why you admire them  



Part 5 – Speaking (for classroom use) (20 points)


Teacher: use these prompts for a short B1 speaking test.


A. Personal biography (about 2–3 minutes)  


Student answers:  

1. Where were you born?  

2. What did you like doing when you were a child?  

3. Which subjects did you enjoy at school? Why?  

4. Who was an important person in your life when you were young?  


B. Famous person (about 2–3 minutes)


Student talks about:  

- a famous person from history  

- when and where they were born  

- what they did  

- why they are important  



Answer Key (Parts 1–3, suggested)


Part 1 


A. 1–d, 2–e, 3–a, 4–c, 5–b  


B. 1. Nobel Prize  

   2. leader  

   3. inventor  

   4. explorer  

   5. revolution  


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Part 2


A. 1. was  

   2. worked  

   3. painted  

   4. studied  

   5. died  

   6. discovered  

   7. won  

   8. moved  

   9. married  

   10. lived  


B. (Many possible correct questions; examples:)  

1. Where was she born?  

2. What did he discover?  

3. When did they get married?  

4. Where did he live?  

5. Did she win any prizes?  


C. 1–b, 2–b, 3–a, 4–c, 5–a  



Part 3


A. 1–F, 2–T, 3–F, 4–T, 5–T  


B. Sample answers:  

1. She was born in 1997 in Mingora, Pakistan.  

2. He was a teacher and owned a school for girls.  

3. They said that girls could not go to school.  

4. She spoke on the radio and wrote a blog.  

5. She works with her foundation to help girls go to school.  


C. b  


D. 1. seriously  

   2. continued  

   3. violent → already in text (accept “violent group”)  

   4. received  


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