Name

3rd year English exam

Feb. 2010

No. Matric .

CdL in Lingue e Cultura Straniera

Carefully read the passage below and answer the following questions (N.B. answer using complete
sentences.)
As I saw when I got on deck, the ship was doing about 18 knots. A number of elderly Greeks, black-dressed
women with varicose veins and men in straw hats and baggy grey trousers, had taken control of the deck
space like an occupying army. One woman was shouting at her husband with unbelievable volume. She
sounded like someone opening a rusty old door an inch at a time.
We were passing through the Cyclades and my map showed me a number of islands Id never heard of:
Sifnos, Sikinos, Tinos and Anafi. Were they tourist traps in the summer? I studied them through my old
Leitz binoculars. At least I couldnt see any of those terrible plastic beach huts which the French seem to
export everywhere. Id even encountered them in remote mountain resorts in Iraqi Kurdistan. Perhaps some
Greek islands remained inviolate.
The islands lay in the bright sunshine, bare rock surfaces soaking up the heat. This is the sort of landscape
you see from Spain to Afganistan, from Croatia to Yemen. The colours of the rocks vary as the light changes
and, on summer nights, the moonlight can give the illusion of snow. I wish I werent conditioned to
associate this landscape with other memories: fighter planes skimming over hills and along valleys,
bombing or rocketing, leaving behind death, destruction and refugees.
In the hot afternoon, I went down to my cabin and slept. When I awoke, I was no longer alone. Two men,
one big and fat, the other small and muscular, both very hairy, occupied two of the other beds. The cabin
was as humid as a Turkish bath and the air was thick with a bittersweet odour of feet and armpits. I escaped
back up on to the deck and into the cool, clean air of the evening.
The ship had anchored about three hundred metres from the stone quayside in the port at Mikonos.
Passengers who wanted to disembark were gathering to go down to the small boats which would take them
ashore. I, though, joined a number of my fellow passengers who had decided that the time was right to head
for the dining room. I found myself at the same table as a dark chubby man who, over lamb and salad, told
me about himself. He was a ships barman who was going to start a new job on a ship waiting in Kos,
almost touching Turkey.
Adapted from Slow Boats to China by Gavin Young
(40)
1) How did the narrator succeed in getting a good look at the islands?..............................................................
.............................................................................................................................................................................
2) What was the weather like?.............................................................................................................................
.
3) Who was sharing the narrators cabin?...........................................................................................................
.
4) What did the landscape make the narrator remember?....................................................................................
.
5) Where was the narrators dining companion going to?...................................................................................
.
6) Which part of the world was the ship travelling through?..............................................................................

7) Where was the ship when the narrator returned on deck after his sleep? ..
.
8) What did the cabin smell of?..........................................................................................................................
.
9) How were the elderly Greeks dressed?............................................................................................................
.
10) What was the narrator pleased not to see on the islands?.............................................................................
.

Name

No. Matric .

Complete the following passage by putting appropriate words into the spaces:Icebergs in the Desert
Chile is planning to icebergs from the Antarctic to the tropics to fresh .
for cities in the waterless Atacama desert. The first city to be is expected to be
Antofagasta, a port just . of the Tropic of Capricorn. Although the . would
lose half of their volume on the .north, they .. still provide the freshest and
softest water in the . at a of the of water produced
through desalination, the next best .
Once the icebergs were in at sea near Antofagasta, they would
be with plastic sheets to .. the fresh water
with the salt water of the ocean.
At the.., Antofagasta, a city of 75,000 , survives on water which
is.. by pipelines from the snow-covered Andes, but the is not
sufficient and is at the mercy of atmospheric conditions.
(20)
Write at least 350 words on ONE of the following:1) Imagine a British travel company wants to organise 14-day holidays in Calabria for tourists who want to
see the natural and human beauty of the area.
Prepare a report making some suggestions. You should explain the reasoning behind your ideas while
also trying to attract people to Calabria.
2) You read an advertisement on internet for a summer job accompanying Italian tourists on tours
around major European cities. Unfortunately, the only information given is that they are looking
for young people with some knowledge of foreign languages.
Write a letter in which you ask for all of the information you would require while also
explaining why you think that you are an ideal candidate for the job.
3) Hon. R. Brunetta recently suggested that all Italians should be made to leave home when they
reach the age of 18. Why did he say this? Do you agree with him? Why do many Italians stay with their
parents until they are so old?
(40)

Name

No. Matric .

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