1 READING COMPREHENSION 1.

Unscrambling Paragraphs
Put the following paragraphs (A G) into the correct order. The first paragraph is given to you. The Schoolgirl Model When 15-year-old Kira Langer is not flying off to wonderful locations and appearing on the covers of magazines, youll probably find her studying for her school exams. Jane Laidlaw finds out more A. As a busy model though, her social life is now less than it was. The Select agency can ring at any time and tell her that she is wanted for a job the next day. If my friends are going out together, I cant say Ill come, because I dont know what Im doing the next day. I cant really make plans, and if I do they sometimes get broken, but my friends are good about it. They dont say, Oh, youre always going off modeling now, you never have time for us. B. But when the winner of the Looks magazine supermodel competition walked in, she was smiling, relaxed and sorry -- and with her mother. Kira was not dressed in expensive looking designer clothes but in a simple black dress and trainers. There was no sign of a selfish attitude; she was just a very friendly, very tall, very pretty girl. All models under the age of 16 must take an adult with them whenever they work, she explained, and apart from looking incredibly young, her mother was a normal mum -- and very proud of her successful daughter. C. Im afraid Kira will be a little late, the receptionist at the agency told me. Oh, fine, I said, no problem. I had been trying to convince myself that all the bad things I had read about models were rubbish, but the words difficult, egotistical and unintelligent kept coming into my head. And now she was going to be late. How late? An hour? Three hours? Maybe she wouldnt come at all. What if she had decided a visit to the hairdressers would be more fun than talking to me? If she was late, she would be in a hurry. She could be in a terrible mood and decide not to answer my questions. D. Kira gives the impression of being slightly puzzled by her newfound fame, which is understandable since it was completely unplanned. It was her older sister who decided that she should take part in the model competition. She saw the competition and said I should go for it, Kira remembers. I said no, but she sent some photos in anyway. When the call came to tell her that she was a finalist, she was at school.

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E. Kira has the looks, ability and support to have a fabulous career ahead of her. And not many people can say that before they even sit their school-leaving exams. I am about to finish the interview with the girl who has it all, and I ask what she would like to do as a career if she didnt have the incredible beauty that seems certain to take her to the top of the profession. She pauses and replies: Id like to do what youre doing. F. Kira now finds that one of the hardest things she has to do is to manage her two separate lives. But her friends and teachers now enjoy having a star among them. Theyre really proud of me, she says. However, a few unkind people at her school are rude about her success. They say I have too high an opinion of myself. This kind of remark must be hard for Kira to deal with, since there cant be many people as successful as her who are less self-important. But she says, They think that because Ive suddenly become a model, I cant stay the same. But the only thing thats changed is Ive become more confident -- not in a horrible way, but Im able to stand up for myself more. G. The achievement of being selected for the final gave Kira the confidence to go through with it and she performed perfectly. She won easily and the Select model agency in London immediately offered her work.

Solution: C, B, D, G, F, A, E
Text adapted from Cambridge First Certificate in English Past Papers 5

3 2. Gap Filling
Read the following text and then choose the best sentence to fill each of the spaces 1-9 from the list A-I given below. Each sentence can be used only once. Flags During the World Cup in 2006 many English people started to fly the English flag. There were flags from car windows, from the top of houses and in the street. English flags were everywhere. Some people thought it was great because it made everyone feel happy. Other people thought it was terrible. (1) However, during World Cup month England was a sea of red and white! Before 1996 English people usually waved the British flag during football matches, but now they wave the English flag. This is because during the 1996 European Football Championship England played against Scotland. English football supporters didnt want to wave the Union Jack (the national flag of the United Kingdom) because it includes the Scottish flag. However, the Union Jack was flying at the World Cup, but not for England. (2) Sweden, who was in group B with England, has a different opinion of their flag. (3) In private gardens, in public parks and in town the blue and gold Swedish flag is seen all the time, not just during the World Cup. (4) Well, they included the only two flags which have writing on them that can be easily seen: the flags of Saudi Arabia and Brazil. The former is in Arabic, and the latter is in Portuguese. In fact, because of the religious words on the Saudi Arabian flag it cant be used on T-shirts, etc. The flagpole is on the left of the flag so that the writing can be read from left to right. In addition, theres a sword on this flag. (5) The Angolan flag includes a machete a large heavy knife. However, the only country with a modern weapon on it wasnt in the competition: Mozambiques flag includes a Kalashnikov. Only two national flags are square and one of those was flying in the World Cup in 2006: the flag of Switzerland. Symbols for the ICRC include a red cross on a white background (the opposite of the Swiss flag) a red crescent and, since 2005, a red crystal. (6) The oldest tricolour, the flag of the Netherlands, was flying as well as the French tricolour. The latter influenced the flag designs of Costa Rica, Italy and Mexico all seen flying in the World Cup in 2006. (7) But one tricolour flag will not be seen again after the World Cup. Just before the competition Serbia and Montenegro decided to become independent states. (8) And Paraguays red, white and blue may have the most common colours, but its unique among national flags. This is because its got two different sides. On one side is the national coat of arms but on the other side theres a different symbol. (9) Thats because the Nepalese are much more interested in cricket than football!

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A. But it wasnt the only flag in the competition with a weapon on it. B. But my favourite flag, the only one with 5 sides, wasnt in any German stadium. C. In addition there were more than ten other countries which had flags of three different coloured bands, either horizontal or vertical. D. Its in the Australian flag. E. Only one country was flying the Islamic crescent: Tunisia. F. So their football team represented a country that no longer existed G. They fly it all year round. H. They said flags from car windows were dangerous, and flags on houses didnt look good. I. What about other flags that were flying in the World Cup in 2006?

Solution: 1H, 2D, 3G, 4I, 5A, 6E, 7C, 8F, 9B

Source: http://www.onestopenglish.com/Skills/Reading/Archive/index.htm

3. Page Headings (Easy Readers)

Decide which headings from the list 1-12 would best describe the events that happen on each page. There is one extra heading which you do not need to use. An example is given to you. p. 24 _4_ p. 25 ___ p. 26 ___ p. 27 ___ p. 28 ___ p. 29 ___ p. 30 ___ p. 31 ___ p. 32 ___ p. 33 ___ P. 34 ___ 1. Public Humiliation 2. All Alone 3. The Censorship of New Worlds 4. An Unusual and Unusually Good Teacher 5. Changing Color 6. Abandonment 7. The Problem of Identity 8. Mixed Race 9. Street School & Strange Homework 10. An Old Friend 11. Separation through a Childs Eyes 12. Books and New Beginnings

Solution: 4 / 9 / 1 / 6 / 2 / 12 / 3 / 11 / 5 / 8 / 7
Source: Richard Wright, Black Boy (Klett Easy Reader, Level B, ISBN: 3-12-535241-X)

4. Statement Correction (Easy Readers) Correct the following false statements. 1. Aunt Addie is a very good teacher who is very fair, gentle and an expert in child psychology. She is happy that Richard is in her class, and that is why Richards first day at religious school is a huge success. 2. Richard likes to fight. Several times he fights people for the joy of it. 3. Richard has many important plans for his story about the Indian girl. Hes convinced that he has a lot of talent for writing. 4. Richard does not tell the others about his home because hes ashamed that hes fatherless. 5. Richard never eats lunch because he never feels like it. 6. Richard doesnt go home immediately after school because hes afraid of his family.

Source: Richard Wright, Black Boy, pp. 53-62 (Klett Easy Reader, Level B, ISBN: 3-12-535241-X)

5. Commenting on Quotations (Easy Readers) Give the context of the following sentences. Who says what to whom? Why is it said and what does it really mean about the characters or their situation? 1. (p. 24) Dont you know how to count?

2. (p. 25) Now, wash until that word is gone.

3. (p. 28) I dont want to stay here.

4. (p. 30) You stop that, you bad girl!

5. (p. 31) Then why does she live with us colored folks?

6. (p. 34) Do you mind Mr. Wright?

Source: Richard Wright, Black Boy, pp. 24-34 (Klett Easy Reader, Level B, ISBN: 3-12-535241-X)

6. Final Discussion (Easy Readers) 1. What does Richard Wright have to say about the attitudes and values of American society (black and white, Southern and Northern) in the first half of the twentieth century? Give examples from the story. 2. Rank the following persons from most likeable to least likeable. Give reasons for your preferences. Richard Wright Mrs. Wright, Richards mother Mrs. Wilson, Richards grandmother Aunt Maggie Uncle Hoskins, Aunt Maggies husband Mr. Wright, Richards father Aunt Addie, Grannys daughter Uncle Clark, Grannys son Griggs Reynolds and Peas Mr. Crane Mrs. Moss Bess, Mrs. Mosss daughter Mr. Olin Harrison Mr. Falk Mrs. & Mr. Hoffman

Source: Richard Wright, Black Boy, pp. 24-34 (Klett Easy Reader, Level B, ISBN: 3-12-535241-X)