A2 KET Test #45 - Reading & Writing

Picture Perfect by Anna Jones

Anna Jones wrote a lot of books about art, but this one is about taking great photographs. Before becoming famous, she worked as a teacher in a big school. In this book, she shows that you don't need an expensive camera. A modern smartphone is enough. There are no online videos, but readers will love the beautiful pictures of Anna's own children and parents.

The Short Film by David Smith

David Smith was still a university student when he made his first movie. Last year, this excellent guide to making films won a national prize. You must have a real camera to follow the instructions. A mobile phone won't work. The book has some great photos of young actors, which look fantastic. It is usually quite cheap to buy, so it is perfect for teenagers with little pocket money.

Drawing Faces by Elena Rossi

Elena Rossi is a fantastic artist, and this guide to drawing faces is the first book she ever wrote. Although the printed copy is quite expensive, many people think it is worth the money. The book also has an online copy at a lower price, but it doesn't include the beautiful pictures that Elena drew in her career, and some of the instructions are missing. Elena hopes the book will win a prize next year! Now, she is planning to write another guide about painting animals.

A museum full of keys

Our class visited a small mountain town last month. In the train station there is a café. Its walls are covered with keys. People in the town call it the Key Museum.

The museum began with Mr Bell, who used to sell train tickets at the station. On his last day at work, an old friend gave him a key to remember her. Mr Bell put it on the café wall and wrote a short message next to it. People waiting for trains liked the idea and began to leave their own keys on the wall.

Today anyone can leave a key. The staff give each visitor a card and a pen. Visitors write their name, age and address on the card. Then they put the key and the card together in an empty place. The staff look after every key.

There is also a prize. Twice a year, the staff read the cards and choose the three most interesting keys. They write to the three winners and invite them to stay one night at the hotel next to the station in the summer. The night is free.

Now the museum has about 20,000 keys, and it has been on television twice. The café is busy all year. Its walls are full, so the staff use a corner of the old ticket office next to the café for the newest keys. Some people travel to this station just to see the first key which is in a little box by the café door, with a small sign.

For a long time, washing dirty clothes was a very difficult and slow job. People had to clean everything by hand. In 1851, an American 19.1discoveredrepairedinvented the first machine to wash clothes. However, it was still hard to use because people had to turn it by hand.

Everything changed in the 20th century when companies started to use electricity. In 1908, a famous machine 19.2calledsaiddescribed "The Thor" saved people a lot of time. Later, companies 19.3explainedcompletedimproved the design so machines could wash and dry clothes faster.

Today, you can easily find a 19.4famousmodernstrange washing machine in almost every home. These new machines 19.5lethelpmake to save water, which is good for the environment. Washing dirty clothes is now an easy job that takes only a few 19.6minutesdaysweeks.