Read the text and decide which answer best fits each gap.
Market
In practically any country in the world, you are to find a market somewhere. Markets have been with us since times and arose wherever people needed to exchange the goods they produced. For example, a farmer might have exchanged a cow for tools. But just as times have changed, so have market practices. So, in early times the main activity with markets would have been 'bartering' - in other words exchanging goods - today most stall-holders wouldn't be too keen on accepting potatoes as payment, for instance, instead of cash.
In contrast, what might be a common in a modern market in some countries is a certain amount of 'haggling', where customer and seller eventually on a price, after what can sometimes be quite a heated debate. However, behaviour which is in a market in One country may not be acceptable in another. Even within one country, there may be some markets where you could haggle quite easily and others where it would be not to try!
Read the text and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only ONE word in each gap.
Problems for actors
Many actors do not like working with children or animals. This is probably they are afraid that the audience may become interested in the children and animals than in them.
Actors can have problems a different kind when they are required to eat or drink on stage. If they have much food in their mouths, the words they say may not be clear, and they may even end up coughing or choking.
Other problems can occur with food when films are being made. In a recent film, during a family was waiting to have a meal, one of the actors entered with a large roast chicken on a tray and started cutting some meat from it while he was speaking. Having cut off a whole chicken leg he completely forgot his next words were. The scene had to be filmed again. This would not really have mattered there had been another roast chicken in the studio, but there was not. At , nobody knew what to do, but eventually the problem was solved by putting a nail in the leg and attaching it back onto the chicken.
Read the text and use the word given in capitals at each gap to form a word that fits in each gap.
ISLAND IN THE SUN
With its tropical sunshine, clear, blue water and the warm welcome you will receive, this island is hard to beat as a holiday destination. The island has something for everyone, but the (DELIGHT) west coast is the perfect (CHOOSE) for people who love water sports, such as water-skiing and windsurfing. For those who prefer a more relaxing holiday, there are beaches of fine, white sand, facing the calm Caribbean Sea and also an impressive selection of restaurants, where the local seafood is (HIGH) recommended.
Among many other (ATTRACTIVE) on the island are trips in a submarine, which allow you to explore the island's fascinating coral reefs and Caribbean dancing and a jazz festival held (ANNUAL), early in January. It is also worth travelling along the wild east coast, where, because it faces the Atlantic Ocean, the weather is often (STORM). Sadly, this makes the coast rather (SUIT) for swimming, in contrast to the calmer beaches on the west coast. Getting round the island is not difficult, as car and bicycle hire is easily arranged, and there is an excellent road system, with a very (RELY) bus service.
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given.
Mary didn't find it difficult to pass her driving test. (DIFFICULTY)
=> Mary had her driving test.
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given.
Antonio only lost the 100-metre race because he fell. (NOT)
=> If Antonio had won the 100-metre race.
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given.
'What is the width of this cupboard?' Rebecca asked her sister. (WIDE)
=> Rebecca asked her sister was.
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given.
They are demolishing the old town hall on Friday. (PULLED)
=> The old town hall is to on Friday.
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given.
Chess was more complicated than the children had expected. (SUCH)
=> The children had not expected chess to complicated game.
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given.
My parents met for the first time thirty years ago. (THAT)
=> It my parents first met.
You are going to read an article in which a film critic talks about his work. Choose the answer which you think fits best according to the text.
Film Critic
Mark Adams looks back over the last ten years of his work as a film critic for a newspaper called The Front Page.
Writing articles about films for The Front Page was my first proper job. Before then I had done bits of reviewing novels for other newspapers, films for a magazine and anything I was asked to do for the radio. That was how I met Tom Seaton, the first arts editor of The Front Page, who had also written for radio and television. He hired me, but Tom was not primarily a journalist, or he would certainly have been more careful in choosing his staff.
At first, his idea was that a team of critics should take care of the art forms that didn't require specialised knowledge: books, TV, theatre, film and radio. There would be a weekly lunch at which we would make our choices from the artistic material that Tom had decided we should cover, though there would also be guests to make the atmosphere sociable.
It all felt like a bit of a dream at that time: a new newspaper, and I was one of the team. It seemed so unlikely that a paper could be introduced into a crowded market. It seemed just as likely that a millionaire wanted to help me personally, and was pretending to employ me. Such was my lack of self-confidence. In fact, the first time I saw someone reading the newspaper on the London Underground, then turning to a page on which one of my reviews appeared, I didn't know where to look.
Tom's original scheme for a team of critics for the arts never took off. It was a good idea, but we didn't get together as planned and so everything was done by phone. It turned out, too, that the general public out there preferred to associate a reviewer with a single subject area, and so I chose film. Without Tom's initial push, though, we would hardly have come up with the present arrangement, by which I write an extended weekly piece, usually on one film.
The luxury of this way of working suits me well. I wouldn't have been interested in the more standard film critic's role, which involves considering every film that comes out. That's a routine that would make me stale in no time at all. I would soon be sinking into my seat on a Monday morning with the sigh, 'What insulting rubbish must I sit through now?' - a style of sigh that can often be heard in screening rooms around the world.
The space I am given allows me to broaden my argument - or forces me, in an uninteresting week, to make something out of nothing. But what is my role in the public arena? I assume that people choose what films to go to on the basis of the stars, the publicity or the director. There is also such a thing as loyalty to 'type' or its opposite. It can only rarely happen that someone who hates westerns buys a ticket for one after reading a review, or a love story addict avoids a romantic film because of what the papers say.
So if a film review isn't really a consumer guide, what is it? I certainly don't feel I have a responsibility to be 'right' about a movie. Nor do I think there should be a certain number of 'great' and 'bad' films each year. All I have to do is put forward an argument. I'm not a judge, and nor would I want to be.
What do we learn about Tom Seaton in the first paragraph?
The weekly lunches were planned in order to ____.
When Mark first started working for The Front Page, he _____.
What does Mark mean when he says that Tom's scheme 'never took off'?
In Mark's opinion, his articles _____.
Which of the following best describes what Mark says about his work?
You are going to read a newspaper article about people who make films about wild animals in Africa. Six sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A - G the one which fits each gap. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.
A. Even while this film of one or Africa's shyest cats was being shown, the pair were already back where they belong - this time trailing that equally shy animal, the jackal.
B. It can be a rough existence, but the appeal or being alone in such remote areas is that we can get close enough to the animals to become part of their lives.
C. Neither of them regard themselves as the leader, and he says that one of the reasons why they get on so well with each other is that they both see the animals in a similar way.
D. Since then, they have learned to set aside four months on location to gather sufficient material for each half-hour film.
E. In Africa, however, they are seldom sighted at all as they scour the vast Serengeti Plain, their two vehicles packed with cameras, drinking water, camping gear and food.
F. The rest of the Newman-Barrett daily diet consists of pre-packed meals heated and dished out by whoever is at hand at the time.
G. Newman explained that they had to invest in an expensive piece or equipment so that whenever one of their vehicles gets stuck in the mud, Amanda can pull him back to safety.
IN THEIR NATURAL HABITAT
What keeps film-makers Amanda Barrett and Owen Newman away from their home comforts for months on end? The search for the perfect shot.
Of all the creatures to be found in the jungles and plains or East Africa, two of the hardest to track down must surely be producer Amanda Barrett and cameraman Owen Newman.
Their present habitat, the Ngorongoro Crater, has been lashed by six months of almost continuous rain, giving rise to a number of unforeseen problems. His working partnership with the talented producer has created some of TV's finest wildlife films, such as their amazing and well-received film on leopards.
But this is nothing unusual in television partnerships. Travelling film-makers have been constantly circling the globe, in order to point cameras at exotic wildlife ever since the birth of television.
I spoke to Newman about their partnership while he was making one of his rare and unpredictable reunions with other members of the human race at a safari lodge. 'We do have occasional arguments but we tend to get over them fairly quickly; he says of his colleague.
'When we are on the move, we have to put up our tents each night. But this time we are operating much more of a fixed camp, and as we set out at 5 a.m. each morning, we tend to make the tea the night before and keep it warm in a vacuum flask.' 'It's not unusual for us to be out and about for up to eight weeks at a time, so catering does cause the odd panic,' says Newmam.
'I remember once we were filming a family of lions and there was one lioness who would regularly go off on her own. Whenever she returned, she would go round and greet all the other members of the pride, and after a while she made a point of greeting our car as part or her round.'
It was back in 1988 that Newman first worked with Barrett on a film called 'The Great Rift', and two more years before they set off as a team to film Arctic foxes. And before they get the green light, they have to submit a script for approval.
'Amanda and I struck up a good working relationship from the start,' says Newman, 'because it was obvious that we shared the same ideas and overall vision. What we are always seeking to achieve is a film that is rich in atmosphere, that brings to life the true spirit of the place and animals, and that will touch people's hearts. I believe if you can evoke an emotional response from people, that is far better than if you appeal only to their heads.'
You are going to read a magazine article in which various people talk about their jobs. Choose the section that contains the information in each question. The sections may be chosen more than once.
My line of work
Four people talk about their jobs.
A. Lisa - Exhibition Programmes, Organiser, Science Museum
I'm responsible for putting temporary exhibitions together. This includes planning and designing the exhibition and promoting it. I have to read up about the subject of the exhibition beforehand and then talk to important people in the area so that I can establish the main themes and aims of the exhibition, and plan what objects and pictures should be displayed. I have to make sure the public can understand the thinking behind the exhibition, which means planning interactive displays, workshops and theatre. I also have to bring in engineers and electricians to make sure the final display is not dangerous to visitors. Before the exhibition opens, I help design and write the brochures and leaflets that we'll use to tell people about it.
B. Janet - Teacher of London Taxi Drivers
The first thing I do when I get here at 7.30 a.m. is checking the accounts. Then I see what new maps and documents need to be produced in order to learn the 'runs' or routes necessary to pass the London taxi-driver test. By midday, about 50 students are in school, working out how to make the journeys. They work out the most direct route, using the correct one-way streets, and right- and left-hand turns. I get involved when there's a difference of opinion - like whether you can do a right turn at a particular junction. When they're close to the test, I'll give them a simple route and no matter what way they say they'll go, I'll tell them they have to use another route because the road is closed. The next student will have to find a third route and again I'll come up with a reason why they can't go that way. It's just to make them think.
C. Sarah - Marine Conservationist
I live by the coast and work from home. This involves responding to telephone enquiries, producing educational resources and setting up training courses. Occasionally, I go into our main office but generally I am on the coast. I also work with schools and study centres and run courses for coastal managers and those involved in making decisions about the fate of the seas. I do things like take them out to sea in a boat in an attempt to make them think more about the life underneath them. This often changes their views as it is very different from making decisions using a computer screen. I am extremely lucky because conservation is my hobby, so the job has many highs for me. The downside of the job is that I work for a charity, so there is a constant need for more money. This means I'm always looking for more resources and I'm not able to achieve everything want.
D. Chris - Map and Atlas Publisher
My work is pretty varied. I have to make sure that the publishing programme matches market requirements and ensure that we keep stocks of 300 or so of the books that we publish. We have very high standards of information and content. We receive many letters from readers on issues such as the representation of international boundaries and these in particular require a careful response. I discuss future projects and current sales with co-publishers. I work as part of an enthusiastic group which makes the job that much more enjoyable. The negative side, as with many jobs, is that there is far too much administration to deal with, which leaves less time to work on the more interesting tasks such as product development and design.
Which person says their job involves large amounts of paperwork?
Which person says their job involves accepting certain financial limitations?
Which person says their job involves encouraging visitor participation?
Which person says their job involves listening to disagreements?
Which person says their job involves introducing problems that require solutions?
Which person says their job involves producing advertising literature?
Which person says their job involves organising trips designed to increase people's awareness?
Which person says their job involves constant updating of their own materials?
Which person says their job involves working in an area that has personal meaning for them?
Which person says their job involves working with a team of colleagues?