Test 1

Task 1

Read the text below. Mach choices (A - H) to (1 – 5). There are three choices you do not need to use.

(1) _________

Man has added extraneous substances to his food since prehistoric times. Salt and spices are the oldest food additives we know of, used by prehistoric man to preserve his meat and fish, and to make the taste more interesting. Today, the substances, natural and synthetic, added to food run into thousands. Most of the foods we buy contain one or more additives.

(2) _________

In most developing countries, two-thirds or more of the people live in rural areas, with few, if any, of the services the city-dweller takes for granted. Water taps in houses, for example, are almost unknown. At best, there may be a village well. Often the only source of water is a lake or a stream, perhaps several kilometers away. The drudgery of water-carrying can take up the better part of every day.

(3) _________

It is not necessary to emphasize the enormous restrictions that blindness imposes upon the ordinary procedures of earning a living: we’re only too well aware that we’re in general more dependent on sight than on smell, touch of hearing. But it’s worth pointing out that sight affects the knowledge of the world we receive through our other senses.

(4) _________

Mankind is always searching for a better life. One way of improving it is to plan work so that it corresponds to the capacities and needs of the worker. Ergonomics is concerned with fitting work to man. It doesn’t limit its goal to the elimination of physical hazards to health, but aims at making the work more satisfying to the worker.

(5) _________

People need to be made far more aware of safety in ordinary everyday situations — a classic example, of course, is the child reaching for the bottle of tablets Mum forgot to lock away — and it seems to me that the cinema would be the ideal place in which to get the message across. A film about safety tucked at the end of the forthcoming attractions and advertisements would then be seen by a large section of the population.

Task 2

Read the text below. For questions (6 – 11) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

HALF-TRUTHS

Beware of those who use the truth to deceive. When someone tells you something that is true, but leaves out important information that should be included, he can create a false impression.

For example, someone might say, «I just won a hundred dollars on the lottery. It was great. I took that dollar ticket back to the store and turned it in for one hundred dollars!»

This guy’s a winner, right? Maybe, maybe not. We then discover that he bought two hundred tickets, and only one was a winner. He’s really a big loser!

He didn’t say anything that was false, but he deliberately omitted important information. That’s called a half-truth. Half-truths are not technically lies, but they are just as dishonest.

Untrustworthy candidates in political campaigns often use this tactic. Let’s say that during Governor Smith’s last term, her state lost one million jobs and gained three million jobs. Then she seeks another term. One of her opponents runs an ad saying, «During Governor Smith’s term, the state lost one million jobs!» That’s true. However an honest statement would have been, «During Governor Smith’s term, the state had a net gain of two million jobs».

Advertisers will sometimes use half-truths. It’s against the law to make false claims so they try to mislead you with the truth. An ad might boast, «Nine out of ten doctors recommend Yucky Pills to cure nose pimples». It fails to mention that they only asked ten doctors and nine of them work for the Yucky Corporation.

This kind of deception happens too often. It’s a sad fact of life: Lies are lies, and sometimes the truth can lie as well.

Task 3

Read the text below. Mach choices (A - H) to (12 – 16). There are two choices you do not need to use.

(12)_________  David wants to buy a Christmas present for a very special person, his mother. David’s father gives him $5.00 a week pocket money and David puts $2.00 a week into his bank account. After three months David takes $20.00 out of his bank account and goes to the shopping mall. He looks and looks for a perfect gift. Suddenly he sees a beautiful brooch in the shape of his favourite pet. He says to himself, «My mother loves jewelry, and the brooch costs only $17.00.». He buys the brooch and takes it home. He wraps the present in Christmas paper and places it under the tree. He is very excited and he is looking forward to Christmas morning to see the joy on his mother’s face.

But when his mother opens the present she screams with fright because she sees a spider.

(13)_________

I want to tell you... I just gave birth to 5 babies last weekend. Isn’t that exciting? Oh, you don’t believe me? Okay then, I stole some money from a bank on Saturday night. Now do you believe me? (Actually, I hope you don’t.) This holiday started in the sixteenth century in Europe. Before that time, New Year’s Day was celebrated on April 1st. Then a new calendar was introduced called the Gregorian calendar. January 1st became the first day of the year, but many people did not know about it. So those who continued to celebrate New Year’s Day on April 1st were teased. They were called fools. Nowadays we play jokes on people on this day.

(14)_________

A ground hog is a small animal that digs and lives under the ground. It is also called the woodchuck. There is a legend that says that the ground hog wakes up from his hibernation on February 2. (February 2 is half way between winter and spring.) If he comes up from his hole and it is sunny, he will see his shadow and be frightened. If he sees his shadow, there will be 6 more weeks of winter weather. But if he comes up and the sky is cloudy, he will not see his shadow and will not be frightened. Then spring weather will come very soon. Some people believe this legend and they watch the sky on February 2.

(15)_________

This holiday falls on October 31st each year in North America and other parts of the world. The tradition of this holiday was carried to America by the immigrating Europeans. It is primarily a fun day for children. Children dress up in costumes like people did a thousand years ago. But instead of worrying about evil spirits, they go from house to house. They knock on doors and say «trick or treat». The owner of each house gives candy or something special to each trick or treater.

(16)_________

The United States has at least one holiday in every month except August. On the third Monday of February, Americans celebrate the birthday of two former presidents. They are George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. You may have heard of them. They were both famous U.S. presidents and they both have birthdays in February. Even though they are different days, we celebrate both of them on the same day.

Task 4

Read the text below. Choose from (A - H) the one which best fits each space (17-22).There are three choices you do not need to use.                     

THE MAN WHO LOVED WOMEN

Grady was rich, but he was 78 and on his deathbed. (17) __________. In his youth, Grady had been a major skirt-chaser. No woman was safe from his charm. He used to juggle three or four girlfriends at a time.

He’d often accidentally call them by the wrong names. The first time that happened to a new girlfriend , she would get upset. Instead of lying, (18) __________ «But», he would quickly add, «you are my number one. You’ll always be my number one».

Somehow, this little white lie often worked. Sometimes his various girlfriends would even end up meeting each other and become fast friends.

Any attractive woman (was a target for Grady. He would walk right up to her and say, «You’re very attractive. Are you single and unattached?» If she said yes, (19)________ right then and there. If she said yes, but she didn’t have time just then for coffee, he’d get her phone number and ask for a rain check. If she said no, he’d ask her if she had a twin sister who was single and unattached. This often made the woman smile or laugh. Sometimes she would change her no to a yes.

Grady was a wonderful dancer. He was just average-looking, but (20)______________ and had a ready smile and a pleasant laugh. He was well-read, he knew a thousand jokes, and he had no bad habits. Perhaps most important, (21) __________, according to many of his girlfriends.

Even in his old age, Grady hadn’t slowed down. Tending to his dying needs were Didi and Mimi, (22)________ that Grady had finally «settled down» with.

Task 5

Read the text below. For questions (23 – 34) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

HOW TELEVISION HAS CHANGED

You really have to get very old before you realize you’re old. I’m in my middle fifties and I don’t feel old yet. However, sometimes I look back at my childhood and (23)________ things to the way life is for today’s kids. Some things have (24)________ changed.

One area of change is television. Some changes have been improvements. Some changes, on the other hand, have been (25)________.

When I started school, most people didn’t have a television; TV was just beginning to get (26)________. My father decided to go all out and buy a 16 inch black and white Motorola set. I still remember watching the Lone Ranger (27)________ people from the bad guys on that awesome electronic machine. That was (28)________ !

Now, televisions have larger pictures in (29) _________ color. The pictures are clearer and the sound is much more realistic. The new high definition sets are made to (30) ________ movie screens.The variety and quantity of programming has (31)________ greatly. There are hundreds of channels and more shows than one person could ever watch. There are many fine (32) ________ and educational shows. There’s also a lot of garbage, stuff that most parents don’t want their kids to be exposed to. Overall, we have more (33)________, and that is good.

I wonder what television will be like when today’s kids are my (34) _______.

Task 6

Read the text below. For questions (35 – 46) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

UNDERGROUND MUSIC

Waiting for the Metro in Paris is a lot more pleasant nowadays, thanks to a project orchestrated by transit officials.

As Jim Bittermann reports, it brings a whole new concept to the term «underground music».

It may be rush hour in the Paris underground, but these days down here there are good reasons to slow down a little when commuting is more than just getting from A to B, when the transit can be too rapid.

Increasingly, the underground tunnels Parisians know as the Metro echo with music worth (35) ____________ late for. That wasn’t, and even today, isn’t always the case. There’s never a shortage of those risking starvation by attempting to sing for their supper, and there’s always someone (36)___________ an artist struggling.

In the past, without(37)__________ success, authorities periodically have tried to eject the would-be musicians who inflict themselves on the traveling public. But with their numbers continually growing, the situation seemed (38)___________ out to of hand.

Transit officials came to the conclusion that if they could not beat the musicians at their game, perhaps they should perhaps (39)____________ them, or at least organize it a little better. So just over a year ago, they set up auditions to select the 300-or-so performers who (40)___________ the official underground musicians of Paris.

And it is now an ongoing process. Every six months, all the officially sanctioned musicians, minus those who (41)__________ real work and plus those looking for an underground gig, must appear at a Metro audition.

Antione Nazo, a one-time guitar plucker himself, video tapes them all for approval by a music committee.

«We do not have the pretension that we are selecting music virtuosos», Nazo says. «We just put ourselves in the shoes of the riders. We want good quality music, not too aggressive, and as (42)___________ possible».

Diversification (43) ____________ a problem in Paris. A city which, as a current exhibition on street musicians plainly illustrates, has more than two centuries of encouraging the artists who work its boulevard.

For those selected to be the Metro’s officially sanctioned performers, there’s a badge which ensures they can work (44)__________ by transit authority police, and which often guarantees as well a good well travelled spot in a busy metro station, which some musicians, when the mood of the travelling public is right, can mean (45)_________ 600 euros a day in income.

Of course, that does not happen every day to everyone. But many down here are not looking for a fortune.

Paul Suzan said , that «the people who play here play because they first of all, love the music. But it keeps you in shape and gives you some pocket money».

After a year in operation, Metro authorities believe their official musicians have (46)__________ the quality of underground performances and the mood of the travelling public, and prove that there’s more than one way an underground can move people.

Writing 

 You are going to travel to a new city for a while. You know some people who live there. Ask them for help finding where to live, what to sightsee there and how to spend time together.

• explain what makes you ask them for a favor;
• tell where you would like to live and ask for help finding accommodation for three days;
• tell them what you would like to see there and why;
• describe the activities you would like to have together.

Write a letter of at least 100 words. Do not write any dates and addresses.

Start your letter with

Dear Friend, ...