B1 Preliminary (PET) Practice Paper 34

alice: Hi, I'm interested in signing up for your weekly vegetable box scheme. How does it work? george: You pay a fixed amount at the start of each season, and then receive a box of seasonal vegetables every week. alice: How much does a season cost, roughly? george: A twelve-week season costs one hundred and twenty pounds, so that's ten pounds a week. alice: That sounds reasonable. Can I choose what goes into the box? george: Not exactly — the box contains whatever is ready to harvest that week, though we do try to include variety. alice: I see. What happens if I go on holiday and can't collect my box? george: You can either arrange for a friend to collect it, or let us know in advance and skip that week. alice: That's helpful. Where do I collect the box each week? george: There's a collection point at the community centre every Friday between four and seven in the evening.

Community-supported agriculture, a system where consumers pay farmers directly at the start of a growing season in exchange for a regular share of produce throughout the year, has grown considerably in popularity as people seek more direct connections to their food sources. For Helena, joining such a scheme two years ago fundamentally changed her relationship with cooking and eating. Unlike shopping at a supermarket, where Helena could choose exactly what she wanted, the weekly vegetable box arrives with whatever happens to be ready for harvest that particular week, occasionally including unfamiliar vegetables she had never cooked with before. This unpredictability initially frustrated her, particularly during weeks when she received large quantities of a single vegetable she found difficult to use creatively. Over time, however, Helena developed what she describes as genuinely improved cooking skills, since the arrangement forced her to research new recipes and experiment with ingredients she would never have deliberately chosen at a shop. She also gained a much deeper appreciation for seasonal eating patterns, noticing how her diet naturally shifted with the changing seasons in ways that year-round supermarket availability had previously obscured entirely. Helena acknowledges the financial arrangement carries genuine risk, since farmers using this model share both the successes and failures of a growing season with subscribers, meaning a poor harvest year could mean receiving considerably less produce than expected. Despite this uncertainty, she considers the direct relationship with local farmers, whom she now recognises personally at the weekly collection point, worth the trade-off compared to the impersonal convenience of conventional grocery shopping.

Community-supported agriculture schemes ___1___ increasingly popular among consumers wanting a closer connection to their food. When my neighbour, Sonia, ___2___ to join one such scheme last year, she was uncertain whether the unpredictable produce would suit her cooking habits. In her first few weeks, she ___3___ several vegetables she had never previously purchased, including some she initially had no idea how to prepare. A more experienced subscriber ___4___ her some simple recipes suited to seasonal produce, which helped enormously. Sonia ___5___ that her weekly grocery routine had become considerably more interesting since joining the scheme. She ___6___ far more vegetables now than she used to buy from the supermarket, partly because she feels obligated to use everything in her box. Occasionally, when a particular vegetable arrives in large quantities, Sonia ___7___ extra portions to freeze for later use. She ___8___ that she will continue the scheme for the foreseeable future, despite occasionally missing the convenience of choosing exactly what she wants.