lunes, 12 de noviembre de 2012

Reading: part 2

Downhill racer
Anna Jones tells of her move from skiing to downhill mountain biking and her rapid rise up the ranks to her current position as one of the top five downhill racers in the country.

At the age of seven I had learnt to ski and by fourteen I was competing internationally.
When I was eighteen a close friend was injured in a ski race, and as a result, I gave up competitive skiing. To fill the gap that skiing  had left I decided to swap two planks of wood for  two wheels with big tyres.
    My first race was a cross-country race in 1995. It wasn’t an amazing success. 9 __________  After entering a few more cross-country races, a local bike shop gave me a downhill bike to try. I  entered a downhill race, fell off, but did reasonably well in the end, so I switched to downhill racing.
   I think my skiing helped a lot as I was able to transfer several skills such as cornering and weight-balance to mountain biking. This year I’m riding for a famous British team and there are races almost every weekend from March through to September. 10__________  In fact, there’s quite a  lot of putting up tents in muddy fields.
   Last season I was selected to represent Great  Britain at both the European and World Championships. Both events were completely  different from the UK race scene. 11__________  I was totally in awe, racing with the riders I had  been following in magazines. The atmosphere  was electric and I finished about mid-pack.
       Mountain biking is a great sport to be in. People ask me if downhill racing is really scary. I say,  ‘Yes it is, and I love it.’ Every time I race I scare  myself silly and then say, ‘Yeah let’s do it again.’
      When you’re riding well, you are right on the  edge, as close as you can be to being out of  control. 12 __________ However, you quickly learn  how to do it so as not to injure yourself. And it’s  part of the learning process as you have to push yourself and try new skills to improve.
Initially, downhill racing wasn’t taken seriously as a  mountain-biking discipline. 13 __________ But things are changing and riders are now realising that  they need to train just as hard for downhill racing as they would do for cross-country.
    The races are run over ground which is generally closer to vertical than horizontal, with jumps, drop-offs, holes, corners and nasty rocks and  trees to test your nerves as well as technical skill. At the end of a run, which is between two  and three minutes in this country your legs hurt so much they burn. 14 __________  But in a race,you’re so excited that you switch off to the pain until you’ve finished.  
    A lot of people think that you need to spend thousands of pounds to give downhill mountain biking a go.
15 __________ A reasonable beginner’s downhill bike will cost you around £400 and the basic equipment, of a cycle helmet, cycle shorts  and gloves, around £150. Later on you may  want to upgrade your bike and get a full-face  crash helmet, since riders are now achieving speeds of up to 80 kilometres per hour.

A. I’ve fallen off more times than I care to remember.
B. I usually have to stop during practice  sessions.
C. The courses were twice as long and the crowds were twice as big.
D. I’m not strong enough in my arms, so I’ve been doing a lot of upper-body training
this year.
E. The attitude was: how much skill do you need to sit on a saddle and point a bike
in the same direction for a few minutes?
F.I finished last, but it didn’t matter as I really enjoyed it.
G.Nothing could be further from the truth.
H. It’s not all stardom and glamour, though.

Reading: part 1

Part 1
You are going to read an extract from a novel. For questions 1 – 8, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.
I shifted uncomfortably inside my best suit and eased a finger inside the tight white
collar. It was hot in the little bus and I had taken a seat on the wrong side where the
summer sun beat on the windows. It was a strange outfit for the weather, but a few
miles ahead my future employer might be waiting for me and I had to make a good
impression.
   There was a lot depending on this interview. Many friends who had qualified with
me were unemployed or working in shops or as labourers in the shipyards. So many
that I had almost given up hope of any future for myself as a veterinary surgeon.
There were usually two or three jobs advertised in the Veterinary Record each
week and an average of eighty applicants for each one. It hadn’t seemed possible when
the letter came from Darrowby in Yorkshire. Mr S. Farnon would like to see me on the
Friday afternoon; I was to come to tea and, if we were suited to each other, I could stay
on as his assistant. Most young people emerging from the colleges after five years of
hard work were faced by a world unimpressed by their enthusiasm and bursting
line 15 knowledge. So I had grabbed the lifeline unbelievingly.
    The driver crashed his gears again as we went into another steep bend. We had
been climbing steadily now for the last fifteen miles or so, moving closer to the distant
blue of the Pennine Hills. I had never been in Yorkshire before, but the name had
always raised a picture of a region as heavy and unromantic as the pudding of the same
name; I was prepared for solid respectability, dullness and a total lack of charm. But as
the bus made its way higher, I began to wonder. There were high grassy hills and wide
valleys. In the valley bottoms, rivers twisted among the trees and solid grey stone
farmhouses lay among islands of cultivated land which pushed up the wild, dark
hillsides.
     Suddenly, I realised the bus was clattering along a narrow street which opened
onto a square where we stopped. Above the window of a small grocer’s shop I read
‘Darrowby Co-operative Society’. We had arrived. I got out and stood beside my
battered suitcase, looking about me. There was something unusual and I didn’t know
what it was at first. Then it came to me. The other passengers had dispersed, the driver
had switched off the engine and there was not a sound or a movement anywhere. The
only visible sign of life was a group of old men sitting round the clock tower in the
centre of the square, but they might have been carved of stone.
     Darrowby didn’t get much space in the guidebooks, but where it was mentioned it
was described as a grey little town on the River Arrow with a market place and little of
interest except its two ancient bridges. But when you looked at it, its setting was
beautiful. Everywhere from the windows of houses in Darrowby you could see the
hills. There was a clearness in the air, a sense of space and airiness that made me feel I had left something behind. The pressure of the city, the noise, the smoke – already
they seemed to be falling away from me.
     Trengate Street was a quiet road leading off the square and from there I had my
first sight of Skeldale House. I knew it was the right place before I was near enough to
read S. Farnon, Veterinary Surgeon on the old-fashioned brass nameplate. I knew by
the ivy which grew untidily over the red brick, climbing up to the topmost windows. It
was what the letter had said – the only house with ivy; and this could be where I would
work for the first time as a veterinary surgeon. I rang the doorbell.



1 As he travelled, the writer regretted his choice of
A seat.
B clothes.
C career.
D means of transport.
2 What had surprised the writer about the job?
A There had been no advertisement.
B He had been contacted by letter.
C There was an invitation to tea.
D He had been selected for interview.
3 The writer uses the phrase ‘I had grabbed the lifeline’ (line 15) to show that he felt
A confident of his ability.
B ready to consider any offer.
C cautious about accepting the invitation.
D forced to make a decision unwillingly.
4 What impression had the writer previously had of Yorkshire?
A It was a beautiful place.
B It was a boring place.
C It was a charming place.
D It was an unhappy place.
5 What did the writer find unusual about Darrowby?
A the location of the bus stop
B the small number of shops
C the design of the square
D the lack of activity
6 What did the writer feel the guidebooks had missed about Darrowby?
A the beauty of the houses
B the importance of the bridges
C the lovely views from the town
D the impressive public spaces
7 How did the writer recognise Skeldale House?
A The name was on the door.
B It had red bricks.
C There was a certain plant outside.
D It stood alone.
8 How did the writer’s attitude change during the passage?
A He began to feel he might like living in Darrowby.
B He became less enthusiastic about the job.
C He realised his journey was likely to have been a waste of time.
D He started to look forward to having the interview.

domingo, 11 de noviembre de 2012

Use of English 1 Part Three

'Key' Word Transformation

For questions 1-10, 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. Example:
I haven't seen you for years.
ages
It's (been ages since I) saw you.

1. This is a 'no smoking' office.
allowed
You ........................................ in this office.

2. Maria didn't listen carefully to the news broadcast.
attention
Maria didn't ........................................ the news broadcast.

3. Sally decided not to do her homework and went to a nightclub.
instead
Sally went to a nightclub ........................................ homework.

4. I expect you were completely exhausted by the end of the evening!
must
By the end of the evening ........................................ exhausted!

5. `Is cleaning the room now really necessary?´
have
"Does this room ....................................... now?

6. Lisa's grandfather is teaching her Chinese.
taught
Lisa ........................................ her grandfather.

7. It's too cold for swimming today.
if
We could go swimming ........................................ cold today.

8. If you're not travelling more than 10 kilometres from the city centre, you can use this ticket.
within
If you're travelling ........................................ the city centre, you can use this ticket.

9. Did you mean to hit him or did it happen accidentally?
purpose
Did you hit him ........................................ an accident?

10. 'I'm sorry I forgot your birthday,' Harry told Mary.
for
Harry apologised ...................................... her birthday.

jueves, 8 de noviembre de 2012

Believe or not: Rephrasing 8

1. The film was less exciting than I’d expected.
The film wasn´t ………………………………………. I´d expected.
2. How about going to the cinema?
Why ………………………………………. go to the cinema?
3. How much were the cinema tickets?
How much ………………………………………. for the cinema tickets?
4. You mustn’t smoke in the cinema.
Smoking ………………………………………. in the cinema.
5. Curro lives near to the station.
Curro doesn´t  live ………………………………………. the station.
6. I´ve never met such a handsome boy.
He is ……………………………………….boy I´ve ever met.
7. Peter’s father wrote the novel, Dire Straits.
The novel, Dire Straits ………………………………………. Peter’s father.
8. Keith started working at the bank two years ago.
Keith ………………………………………. at the bank for two years.
9. Anthony will come out with us tomorrow unless she has to work late.
Anthony will come out with us tomorrow , if she ………………………………………. to work late.
10. Are these trainers Mary’s?
Do these trainers ………………………………………. Mary?
11. `What did you think of the plot, Luis?’ asked John
John asked Luis ………………………………………. of the plot.

FCE Use of English 2

Part Two: Open Cloze

For Questions 1-15, read the text below and think of the
word which best fits each space. Use only one word in each space.
Example: (0) doing
Department Stores
In 1846 an Irish immigrant in New York named Alexander
Stewart opened a business called the Marble Dry-Goods
Palace
. By (0) ... so, he gave the world something completely
new - the department store. Before this, no-one (1) ... tried to
bring together such a wide range of goods (2) ... a single roof.
The business did very (3) ... . It expanded rapidly and soon had
(4) ... staff of two thousand. For Stewart even that was not
enough, (5) ... . In 1862 he moved to an eight-storey building
nearby, (6) ... he renamed A.T. Stewart's Cast Iron Palace. It
was, (7) ... for many years would remain, the largest shop in the
world.
Others followed Stewart's example and soon there were stores
(8) ... his in many major cities in the United States. We don't
(9) ... when people started calling them department stores. The
expression wasn't used in print (10) ... 1893, when it appeared
in Harper's Magazine, but the way that it is used there (11) ... it
clear that it was already widely understood.
(12) ... is certain is that department stores completely changed
the shopping experience for millions of people. They offered not
only an enormous range of goods, (13) ... also levels of comfort,
luxury and excitement previously unknown to customers.
Almost from the start they had restaurants, toilets and many
(14) ... facilities, so (15) ... was no need to go elsewhere for
anything.

KET.Reading and Writing Part 9

1.    Writing 
You must meet your friend,Joel, by tomorrow evening.
You want to borrow his English book.
Write a note to Joel.

Say:
-          Why you want to meet him.
-          When you want to meet him
-          Where you want to meet him.


Write 25-35 words.

2. Writing

Read this note from your pen friend,Mark.




Dear Nick,
    I’m really excited to hear you’re coming to stay with me in England for a few days.       Tell me when you are coming, how long you will stay and some things you want to do.



Write a postcard to tell him what he wants to know.
Write 25-35 words.
Write your postcard on the answer sheet.

miércoles, 7 de noviembre de 2012

Rephrasing 7

1. My friends couldn´t afford to buy much at the shopping centre.
My friends didn't ............................................. to buy much at the shopping centre.
2. I haven't been to Cardiff for three years.
I ............................................ Cardiff three years ago.
3. The park has many beautiful flowers.
............................................. many beautiful flowers in the park.
4. She thought I should go on a diet.
She wanted ............................................. on a diet.
5. The bishop opened the new church last year.
The new church .......................................... the bishop.
6. Shall we visit La Alcazaba this Friday?
Why .................................... visit La Alcazaba this Firday?
7. She likes Almería more than Granada.
She ............................................. to Granada.
8. I'd never been to that park before.
It ............................................. time I went to that park.
9. My brother borrowed money from me to buy the latest Muse album.
I ............................................. some money to buy the latest Muse album.
10. Almería has got some good shops.
In Almería ................................................. some good shops.
11. Watching TV isn´t as exciting as reading.
Watching TV is ..............................................  reading.
12. It was so cold that we didn´t go hiking.
It was too .............................................. hiking.