We've been doing practice tests at home -- sets of 24 questions -- and I've been consistently passing with 20 or 21 correct, while Andy, the British citizen in the household, has been consistently failing, getting only 15 or 16 correct.
It's all down to studying the book. I wouldn't guess many people could pass this test without reading the book, even if they'd lived their whole life in the UK.
It includes questions like this:
How many young people are there in the UK?
a. 9 million
b. 12 million
c. 15 million
d. 22 million
Now you could probably get by in your daily life without that specific piece of information. Tell me if I'm wrong.
I don't mean to complain. I'm quite happy to take the test, pay the £34.00 and have a day off in Edinburgh. And I usually do well when detailed, short-term memory is required. But really, how does this standardized computerized test actually assess what I know about life in the UK?
Living here for three years has taught me a lot more than the fact that children under 14 are not allowed to work or that you can be arrested if you refuse a breathalyzer test (thanks, Lyndsey!).
I won't even begin to summarize what I have learned about living in the UK -- suffice it to say that it is an ongoing process of cultural readjustment and a more-or-less enjoyable state of 'outsiderness'.
I look forward to a lifetime of insider/outsider status wherever I go. If I ever move back to the States I'll certainly take certain attitudes and experiences with me (ahem, National Health Service).
So, in honor (or should I say 'in honour') of my upcoming test, I thought I'd let you join in the fun with a little quiz of British vocabulary.
Get your flat caps on and get ready to define some... British adjectives! There will be prizes. The words are entirely of my own choosing and may or may not include Scottish regionalisms.
See you all here tomorrow with your pencils at the ready.
Oh this sounds fun ... I hope you do well on your test. Probably a lot like drivers license tests in that you have to know a bunch of arcane facts but it's all in the book ...
ReplyDeleteI can really identify with your phrase, "a lifetime of insider/outsider status wherever I go." I'm living that and it's not always enjoyable or easy. But I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!
Hahahahaha can't wait!
ReplyDeleteOh, here's another little bit of free advice. One of the questions is 'what do you do if you knock someone's pint over' - the correct answer is NOT 'glass them' as the Husband said ;)
Let's do it!
ReplyDeleteOh, that sounds fun! I do love British movies, TV and books so hopefully I won't embarrass myself.
ReplyDeleteLaura, Definitely, arcane. I'm intrigued about your experience as an insider/outsider. I know you lived in the UK for a while!
ReplyDeleteLyndsey - Thanks again for the tips. I think that they mix up the questions so I probably won't have the exact same ones... I'm studying the book this weekend.
J* - Yay!
Karen - Not possible to embarrass yourself. The answers won't be public and besides, you automatically get points if you make me laugh.
Good luck on the test, Marieke! It's the same here in the Netherlands. Most locals would be deported if they ever had to do the test!
ReplyDeleteI think the test actually tests the following: you can read and write, and you are not too stupid to remember a few facts. That qualifies you as an English resident!
I helped a work mate to study for that test a few years ago and agree that there were a lot of questions most life long residents wouldn't know. Good luck with the test.
ReplyDeleteThanks, leeswammes and Jackie. It definitely tests your ability to read the book!
ReplyDeleteShould I be disturbed that I know the answer to your sample question off-hand?
ReplyDeleteOh, and I'm trying to get my favorite adjectives in my response as well [brilliant, gorgeous (for food), pissed, mad, twee, naff, buggered, wonky, and ----- ack!, I can't remember my favorite UKism).
ReplyDeleteSS -- I will email you my complete list of hellish questions from the practice tests. Your adjectives are great -- but you could have done a quiz of your own! Love 'naff.'
ReplyDelete