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Reading and Use of English

Part 2 Open cloze

For questions 18, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use
only one word in each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0).

Write your answers IN CAPITAL LETTERS.

Example: 0 BEEN

How the smell of freshly baked bread influences behaviour

Its ability to sell a house has long (0) _________ an old wives tale, but now scientists believe the
smell of freshly baked bread (1) _________ people display greater kindness towards strangers.
Researchers have found that people (2) _________ be more likely to help passers-by if the aroma
was in (3) _________ nostrils.

The scientists wanted to test the long-held view that behaviour could perhaps be altered
(4) _________ smell. They recruited eight volunteers and asked half to stand outside a bakery and
half to stand outside a clothes shop. The participants rummaged (5) _________ their bags before
dropping a glove in front of a stranger. The researchers, observing from around 60ft away, found
that 77 per cent stopped to help recover the lost item where the smell of fresh bread was strong,
while only 52 per cent (6) _________ so outside the clothes shop.

They said that their results, published in the Journal of Social Psychology, show that, in fact,
spontaneous help is offered (7) _________ in areas where pleasant ambient smells are spread. This
experiment confirms the effect ambient food odours have
(8) _________ altruistic behaviour.

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Reading and Use of English

Part 4 Key word transformation
For questions 16, 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 three and six words, including the word given. Here is an example (0).
0 Staying up studying until 3am was a mistake, because I was too tired to do the exam well.

HADNT
I __________________________ until 3am, because I was too tired to do the exam well.

The gap can be filled with the words wish I hadnt stayed up, so you write:
Example: 0 WISH I HADNT STAYED UP

Write only the missing words IN CAPITAL LETTERS.

1 I learnt a lot about time management from my ex-boss.
FOR
Had __________________________ my ex-boss, I wouldnt know so much about time
management.

2 It was impossible not to laugh when the lecturer started talking about the wrong slide.
HELP
I __________________________ when the lecturer started talking about the wrong slide.

3 After all the work Ive put in, its hard not to feel annoyed about Anna getting the
promotion.
GRUDGE
Considering all the work Ive put in, its hard __________________________ for getting the
promotion.

4 I cant believe how quickly you have reached the top position in the company.
RANKS
Its incredible how fast you __________________________ of the company.

5 John never hesitates when it comes to helping less experienced members of staff.
WILLINGNESS
John always __________________________ less experienced members of staff.

6 I didnt have enough time, so I made a lot of mistakes in the report.

PRESSED
I wouldnt have made so many mistakes in the report if I ______________________ time.

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Reading and Use of English
Part 7 Gapped text
You are going to read an extract from a newspaper article about a different choice of
lifestyle. Six paragraphs have been removed from the extract. Choose from the paragraphs
AG the one which fits each gap (16). There is one extra paragraph which you do not
need to use.
My (very) early retirement at 33
Cast your eyes over your workplace. You
might see 100 or so people. Statistically, five of
your busying or bone-idle brethren will have
departed this world before they reach
retirement age. Could be you. Could be me, I
thought. So at the age of 33, I decided to retire.
Last August, I gave up my job as a journalist,
rented out my London flat and moved to the
south-west of France with my girlfriend. Hectic
city life and economic blues were swapped for
country walks and fireside chats.
Even the Office for National Statistics backs up
this notion. The healthy life-expectancy of the
average UK male is 74. This is very close to
the recently-hiked state pensionable age.
Besides, in these times of austerity who knows
how long we may be forced to work. The
solution seemed obvious, if a little risky: retire
now and work later. Youth is wasted on the
young, they say but surely retirement is
wasted on the old.
These are not work-shy layabouts or
trustafarians, either. They are ambitious
professionals in the prime of their life. As for
me, I have worked hard. I started as a
journalist at 17 and had not stopped since.
Early shifts, night shifts, weekends, Bank
Holidays and Christmases: check.
Any doubts, fortunately, were allayed when it
transpired that with careful budgeting and
income from my flat, a simple, stress-free life
in France was a realistic possibility. Simple
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Progress Test 2
being the operative word. With a tight budget,
the customary trappings of London life would
have to be forgotten. We found a cosy farm
house near Toulouse and travelled down in
our beaten-up VW camper. Stress has been
reduced to a minimum. Last winter was spent
indulging in the local produce, walking and
reading books by the wood burner. Now the
summer promises the chance to perfect my
game of bowls with the locals in the village
square, to lounge by the pool and take leisurely
suppers on sun-baked terraces.
Certainly those who have also opted out share
that view. Yvonne and Iain Morton live in the
next village and gave up their jobs as IT
consultants in the City for the French life. They
began an ambitious building project in 2003,
converting disused tractor sheds into a home.
In 2009, when Yvonne, 43, took redundancy,
they moved here full-time. Iain stopped work
18 months ago when he was 43.
Its relatively cheap to live here. We have an
income from rental flats in London so we dont
need to work. Iain takes on contract work now
and then to keep his hand in or if its an
opportunity to work with people he really
likes. And I know I can always do the same. I
am not as fortunate. For us there are still risks.
Work is certainly not guaranteed if I decide to
return to London
Still, for the moment it is surely worth it for the
sweltering Monday afternoons when I can sit
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by the pool with a glass of chilled sparkling slumped at a desk, listening to the hack and
water in hand, listening to the rustle of hazy whirl of the coffee machine. Now honestly,
vineyards. Normally at that time I would be which would you prefer?

A Such plans arent something older generations understand, though. When I told my dad, I
think he just couldnt understand why I wanted to do it at this time of my life. Hes worked in
the same office for his entire career and couldnt understand the concept of this break.

B Working in the City had been full-on, constantly being on call and seeing more of Heathrow
than home. The time had come to jack it all in. Now life for them consists of growing vegetables,
skiing in winter or swimming every day in the summer.

C There is also a question mark about successful repatriation. If a post is found, how to
overcome the daily grind of self-doubt, to tolerate the early mornings and put up with the old
drudgery once more?

D Fear and yes, OK, a tinge of weariness was the catalyst. I worried that I was wasting the best
years of my life blinking at a computer screen. And that when eventually I did pack up work, I would
have hours to kill but only aching, weary joints to strike a feeble blow.

E And what was it all for? I got halfway up the ladder and realized Im afraid of heights or to
be precise, professional responsibility and the attendant drudgery. At this point I went through a
good few sleepless nights considering a lifestyle change. However, I was determined to relish
temporary freedom.

F Not everyone goes along with this and many will think us foolhardy, as did some of our
friends and family, not to mention bosses. But Ive discovered were not the only ones whove
chosen to live like pensioners, decades before our time. Having been in France for six months,
weve met others like ourselves and received news of friends back home whove likewise ditched
high-powered positions.

G Our friends joke about this saying we are a bit young to be living like pensioners, but we
counter that by telling them the daily grind seems a generation away.

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Listening
Part 1 Multiple choice
You will hear three different extracts. For questions 16, choose the answer (A, B or C)
which fits best according to what you hear. There are two questions for each extract.
Extract One
You hear part of a radio discussion in which two young people discuss their experience of
learning a minority language.
1 The girl says that not knowing Spanish
A made her feel envious of her parents.
B helped her to pick up Catalan more quickly.
C made it hard for her to communicate with the locals.
2 The boy says that he
A regrets not studying another language.
B was too shy to learn the local language.
C should have devoted more time to learning Catalan grammar.

Extract Two
You overhear two employees discussing a method used to reduce stress in their company.
3 The woman says the meditation room
A has led to fewer employees taking sick leave.
B did not cost anything to install.
C has improved the atmosphere at work.
4 How does the man feel about the meditation room?
A unsure about its effectiveness
B open to the idea of trying it out himself
C concerned about the amount of time employees spend there

Extract Three
You hear two university professors talking about students using modern technology to cheat.
5 According to the woman, the students
A were surprised when they saw their exam results.
B copied each other while they were in the laboratory.
C realized the teacher had changed all the experiments.
6 Both speakers agree that
A the university needs to implement tougher punishments for students caught cheating.
B individual teachers need to keep up to date with methods which can be used to cheat.
C there needs to be more discussion on the issue of cheating in university exams.

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