Reading Part 1
Read the texts. Choose the correct answer to complete each text.
1. Health Centre – Appointments
Wednesday 7 December
Patient: F. Keates
Doctor: M. Jameson
——– : 09B
Time: 09:00 am
To contact please phone 09153 776654
a) Enquiries
b) Room
c) Name
2. Guest Feedback Questionnaire
Please take a few minutes to complete this questionnaire.
We hope you have enjoyed your stay with us ……… we look forward
to seeing you again in the future.
a) but
b) although
c) and
3. Gill
Thanks for looking after my pet cats while I’m on holiday.
They don’t need much attention but please don’t forget to
give ………. some food and water every day!
Love
Julie
a) them
b) their
c) all
4. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Performances daily 1 to 24 December
Buy tickets at the theatre box office.
Reduced …………. for children, pensioners and
students in full-time education.
a) prices
b) dates
c) ages
5. Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney became a worldwide star as one
of the four Beatles: John, Paul, George and Ringo.
In fact, his real first name was James but ……………
knows him as Paul today.
a) nobody
b) everybody
c) somebody
Reading Part 2
Read the text. Use the sentences to complete the text. Choose the correct sentence for each gap. There is one extra sentence you will not need.
An overnight success
A remarkable change took place in Sweden in early autumn 1967. To be precise, between the hours of one and six in the morning of September 3rd. Before that date, traffic in Sweden drove on the left. In almost all countries traffic drove on the right. Britain of course was- and still is- an exception. (1)
Sweden decided it was time for a change. Or, rather, the Swedish government decided this. (2) In fact, 83% voted to continue to drive on the left. Once the decision was made, however, everyone accepted it and helped to make the change happen. Sweden had a relatively small population and public information was good. (3) Another was that the change took place at the weekend when there was not much traffic on the roads.
People were afraid that traffic accidents would increase when traffic changed sides of the road. (4) In fact, on the following Monday, there were only 125 accidents compared with the previous average of around 150. This trend continued for two more years. (5) It’s also possible that both drivers and pedestrians took extra care when using the road.
Will Britain ever follow the example of Sweden and finally start to drive on the right? It may happen one day. (6)
A These were among the reasons why the change was so easy.
B The Swedish experience has at least shown that it is not impossible.
C This made driving difficult for visitors from most other countries.
D Of course, the reason may be that not so many people used the roads after the change.
E This improvement therefore continued for a lot longer than anyone expected.
F Most people in the country were actually against the idea.G Fortunately, this did not happen.
Reading Part 3
Read the four texts. Which text gives you the answer to each question? Choose the correct text (A-D) for each question.
A
OAKS regrets to announce that due to an increase in rent and rates, this shop will close on November 7th. Before we stop trading, we will be holding a closing down sale with all items, including our own brand of sports clothes, reduced by at least 50%. We would like to thank you for your custom over the last twenty years and invite you to continue to shop at our Burnton branch.
B
You won’t believe this! OAKS is closing! Where am I going to get my sports clothes and tennis balls and things now? It’s always been there. Remember we always used to call in on the way home from school, just window shopping and pretending we were world champions! 19 High Street will now be an empty space. Hope your news is better than mine.
C
Please note that there will be an emergency meeting at the Village Hall on 19 October to discuss the plan to close OAKS. This shop is a central part of village life and offers work as well as services to local people. If we work together we can help the shop’s owners keep OAKS open for many years to come. We need you and your ideas, so please be there.
Which text:
1. is aimed at customers?
2. is an article in a newspaper?
Which text gives you the answers to the following questions?
3. Where exactly in the village can you find OAKS?
4. Where can people still buy sports clothes?
5. Where can people go to talk about the future of OAKS?
6. Do the shop’s owners think the plan to save this branch of OAKS will succeed?
7. Why is the shop important to all local people?
Reading Part 4
Read the text and answer the questions. Use a maximum of three words for each answer.
Ten Famous Ghost Ships
We usually think of ghosts in old houses, but Ten Famous Ghost Ships tells ghost stories of the sea. The book is beautifully illustrated: not with photographs but with paintings of the ships.
Most of the ten ‘famous’ ghost ships will be new to many readers because only the two at the beginning of the book are already famous. The Flying Dutchman, a sailing ship from the Netherlands, sank in the 1700s off the coast of Africa, but after the sinking it has been seen by sea travellers many times; reliable witnesses are sure they have seen the distinctive northern European vessel.
The second chapter is about the story of the Mary Celeste. In early December 1872, the ship was found halfway between the USA, where her voyage began a month earlier, and Italy. Nobody was on board. There was food and drink on the table but the captain and the ten other people who sailed on the Mary Celeste had vanished.
The next chapter is that of the Lady Lovibond: not just a ghost story, but a tragic love story. I won’t tell you how it ends here but you should read it yourself. If you want to actually see the ghost of the Lady Lovibond, legend says that she has sailed off the coast of England twice every hundred years starting on the fiftieth anniversary of the day she sank in the 18th century.
Many people have suggested explanations for the mysteries of the Mary Celeste and several other ghost ships. The book doesn’t try to give reasons for any of them, it just tells their stories. The writing style itself is interesting too. There isn’t just a single author but one for each of the famous ghost ships, making each account different.
The company who published the book, Mistery, advises against waiting for the film of the book to come out in a year or two. The authors have insisted that these stories will only ever be available in book form.
- Which continent was the Flying Dutchman near when she sank?
- In which month did the Mary Celeste start her journey?
- How many people altogether set off on the Mary Celeste’s voyage?
- Which chapter tells the story of the Lady Lovibond?
- Which of the mysteries does the book try to explain?
- How many authors wrote the book?
- What’s the name of the publisher of Ten Famous Ghost Ships?
- When can we expect to see a film of Ten Famous Ghost Ships?
