APTIS READING

READING EXAM
READING EXAM 1.

LESSON 5

Person A

My transport of choice is definitely the plane for obvious reasons. Primarily because it´s a
much more efficient way to travel and you can go anywhere you like without the hassle of
making multiple connections or making lengthy journeys and wasting your precious holiday
time. Of course, there are some drawbacks. Environmental campaigners would argue that the
emissions pose a great threat to our planet and that anyone with an environmental conscience
wouldn´t step foot on such a gas guzzling monster. Nonetheless it´s statistically the safest way
to travel and until travel companies stop offering cheap as chips package deals, I for one won´t
be cutting down on my air travel.

Person B

One of the most amazing things to do is travel on the Golden Pass Railway in Switzerland.
There are various routes but you can go through stunning places like Lake Geneva, Bern and
Interlaken to name a few. I don´t tend to plan my route in advance personally as I love the
thrill of not knowing where I´ll end up, I simply use the App to track my journey and decide
where to next! The amazing feeling of peace that comes over me just staring out of the
window with my earphones plugged in is like nothing else I have ever experienced. It´s a bit of
a roundabout route but the stunning scenery with the imposing mountains in the background
makes up for any inconvenience.

Person C

When I finally passed my driving test it was like a whole new world opened up to me, I was so
excited by all the possibilities. At last I could make the trips I wanted and bring whoever I
wanted with me. My GPS and I are in charge. I´m very paranoid about being safe while on the
road though; everyone has to wear their seatbelts and I never put on the radio or drive past
the speed limit. Maybe that makes me boring but I´ve seen too many people my age who have
written off their cars to care about people´s criticism. My friends were also quick to take the
mickey about it being an electric car but I feel satisfied in the knowledge that I´m doing my bit
to support an eco-friendly industry.

Person D

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My bike is like an extension of me; I´m never parted from it, I would even go so far as to say
that I have a kind of sentimental attachment to it. The bike itself is old but I´ve since replaced
the tyres and handle bars and installed a memory foam seat that makes the ride as
comfortable as possible. I also have a state of the art helmet which is aerodynamic and also
one of the safest and strongest on the market. Cycling in a group makes the journey safer and
more efficient too. If you are just one cyclist a driver could easily miss you but if there´s a
group, you are easily visible to the point where drivers actively avoid you and let you pass so it
´s faster too!

1 Getting somewhere fast is the most important thing

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

2 Wants to protect the environment

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

3 Likes to travel in a group

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

4 Doesn´t like to plan their journeys

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

5 Worries about safety

Person A

Person B

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Person C

Person D

6 Has the latest tech to facilitate their journey

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

7 Doesn´t care about people´s opinions

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

PART2

1.

It was 2004, the day after Christmas, and thousands of European and American tourists had
flocked to the beaches of Thailand, Sri Lanka and Indonesia to escape the winter chill in a
tropical paradise. Sunbathers lined the beaches eager to catch some rays and get a bit of
colour to take back with them to their home countries. Camera touting foreigners
enthusiastically snapped away, blissfully ignorant of the events that were about to unfold.

2.

At 7:59 AM, a 9.1-magnitude earthquake—one of the largest ever recorded—ripped through

an undersea “megathrust” fault in the Indian Ocean where heavy oceanic plates subduct
beneath lighter continental plates. The quake ruptured a 900-mile stretch along the Indian and
Australian plates 31 miles below the ocean floor. Rather than delivering one violent jolt, the
quake lasted an unrelenting 10 minutes, releasing as much pent-up power as several thousand
atomic bombs. It was this raw power that spawned such devastating consequences, propelling
a massive column of water toward unsuspecting shores. The Boxing Day tsunami would be the
deadliest in recorded history, taking a staggering 230,000 lives in a matter of hours.

3.

The city of Banda Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra was closest to the powerful
earthquake’s epicentre and the first waves arrived in just 20 minutes. A 100-foot roiling
mountain of water engulfed the coastal city of 320,000, instantly killing more than 100,000
men, women and children. Buildings folded like houses of cards, trees and cars were swept up
in the oil-black rapids and virtually no one caught in the deluge survived. Thailand was next.

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With waves travelling 500 mph across the Indian Ocean, the tsunami hit the coastal provinces
of Phang Nga and Phuket an hour and a half later. An hour later, on the opposite side of the
Indian Ocean, the waves struck the south-eastern coast of India near the city of Chennai, killing
more than 10,000 people. But some of the worst devastation was reserved for the island
nation of Sri Lanka, where more than 30,000 people were swept away by the waves and
hundreds of thousands left homeless.

4.

Jose Borrero, a tsunami researcher with the University of Southern California and director of
eCoast, a marine consultancy based in New Zealand, explains that “The Indian Ocean tsunami
came ashore in these places that had no natural warning either, because they were far enough
away that they didn’t feel any of the earthquake,” says Borrero. “So without a natural warning,
without an official warning and with no history of tsunamis, hitting coastlines full of people,
that’s the perfect combination to cause a lot of death and destruction.” As proof of the record-
breaking strength of the tsunami, the last victims of the Boxing Day disaster perished nearly
eight hours later when swelling seas and rogue waves caught swimmers by surprise in South
Africa, 5,000 miles from the quake’s epicenter.

5.

Vasily Titov is a tsunami researcher and forecaster with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration Centre for Tsunami Research. He emphasizes that tsunamis look nothing like
the giant surfing break-style waves that many of us imagine and that have been perpetrated in
many famous blockbusters.“It’s a wave, but from the observer’s standpoint, you wouldn’t
recognize it as a wave,” Titov says. “It’s more like the ocean turns into a white water river and
floods everything in its path.” In fact so unprepared were the general public in Thailand for the
warning signs of a tsunami that curious beachgoers even wandered out among the oddly
receding waves, only to be chased down by a churning wall of water.

6.

An earthquake and tsunami of the magnitude that struck in 2004 is so rare that catastrophic
tsunamis are all but unknown in the long cultural histories of India and Sri Lanka, explain both
Borrero and Titov. “This was the most extreme tsunami event since 1960,” says Borrero,
referring to the 8.6-magnitude Chilean earthquake and tsunami that punished the Pacific,
including the leveling of Hilo, Hawaii, 15 hours after the quake. Titov will never forget the
scene of widespread devastation he witnessed on Sumatra even months after the tsunami
waters had subsided.

7.

“We took a boat all the way from the middle of the island up to Banda Aceh, the hardest hit
area, and for hundreds of kilometers it was as if somebody had taken an eraser and erased
everything underneath the 20-meter line,” says Titov. “The sheer scale of the destruction was
just mind-boggling.” Titov recalls entire towns, villages and livelihoods obliterated with only
the remains of foundations of buildings and occasional debris as indicators as to the fact that
civilisation even existed in the first place. Undoubtedly the recovery will be an arduous process
and a challenge that present and future governments will have to endure for many decades to
come. That is to suggest that a rebuild will be attempted, as in many areas the surviving

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families have since emigrated to different areas and have no desire to return to an area with
such tragic memories and where so much was lost, never to be recovered again.

1. An unmatched force
2. Efforts to survive
3. Far-reaching consequences
4. Not like in the movies
5. The relief effort
6. The survivors will never forget
7. Total wipe out
8. Unrelenting wave of destruction
9. Virtually unheard of.

PART 3

Long before he was a(n) 1(contender/ contestant/ player/ possible) for the US presidency,
Donald Trump was America's most famous and colourful billionaire. Once considered a long
shot, Trump is now president of the United States. 2(ambivalence/ hesitation/ judgement/
scepticism) over Trump's candidacy stemmed not only from his controversial platform on
immigration and outrageous campaign 3(category/ format/ style/type), but from his celebrity
past. But the 70-year-old businessman had the last laugh when he defied all predictions
to 4(beat/ conquer/gain/win) much more seasoned politicians in the Republican primary race.
And he has now gone a step further by winning the presidential election, after one of the most
divisive and controversial contests in living memory against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Early life

Mr Trump is the fourth child of New York real estate tycoon Fred Trump. Despite the
family's 5(earnings/ gold/ richness/ wealth), he was expected to work the lowest-tier jobs
within his father's company and was sent off to a military academy at age 13 when he
started 6(deviating/ misbehaving/ misconducting/ offending) in school.

Mr Trump says he got into real estate with a "small" $1m loan from his father before joining
the company. He helped manage his father's 7(extensive/ lengthy/ multiple/wide) portfolio of
residential housing projects in the New York City boroughs, and took control of the company -
which he renamed the Trump Organization - in 1971.

The mogul

Mr Trump 8(deflected/ rearranged/ shifted/varied) his family's business from residential units

in Brooklyn and Queens to glitzy Manhattan projects, transforming the rundown Commodore
Hotel into the Grand Hyatt and erecting the most famous Trump property, the 68-storey
Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue.

Mr Trump also built a(n ) 9( authority/ domain/ empire/federation) in the entertainment
business. From 1996 until 2015, he was an owner in the Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss
Teen USA beauty pageants. In 2003, he debuted an NBC reality television show called The
Apprentice, in which contestants competed for a(n) 10(go/ job/ post/ shot) at a management
job within Mr Trump's organisation

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According to Forbes, his net worth is $3.7bn, though Mr Trump has repeatedly insisted he is
worth $10bn.

PART4

automatically bomb challenge counting healthy issues lamenting

Owing recipe revision risen sanitary shortage shrinking
spending spoken traditionally warned whopping

Japan's population is traditionally 1__________ fast.The number of babies born in the country

last year dropped to 946,060, and it's the second year when new births remained below 1
million, Japan's government said. It's the lowest level since the country
began risen 2__________ in 1899.

At the same time, the number of deaths in the country - revision 3_________ to the
increasingly aging population - hit a postwar high of 1.3 million. That means Japan's population
fell by a shortage 4_________ 394,373 people in 2017.

In a demographic time challenge 5_________, fertility rates fall at the same time that longevity
increases.

An aging population like Japan's poses numerous problems. The government will have to
spend more on healthcare, and that, coupled with a shrinking workforce and tax base, is
a lamenting 6_________ for economic stagnation. It also means, among other things, that
there will not be enough young people to care for the elderly."An aging population will mean
higher costs for the government, a recipe 7_________ of pension and social-security-type
funds, a shortage of people to care for the very aged, slow economic growth, and a shortage of
young workers," Mary Brinton, a Harvard sociologist, told Business Insider last year.

(Text adapted from https://www.businessinsider.es/japans-population-is-shrinking-

demographic-time-bomb-2018-6?r=US&IR=T)

Elderly people in Japan, automatically 8__________ defined as those 65 or older, total some

35.57 million, accounting for a record-high 28.1% of the population. The International
Monetary Fund has spoken 9_________ that the aging population and the diminishing labor
force are putting a drag on the nation’s economic growth. In an April 2018 report, the
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) notes that “Japan’s aging
population will continue to put pressure on public issues 10_______ on health, which is the
sixth-highest among OECD countries, and spending on long-term care, which
has warned 11________ rapidly in the last decade.” The Japanese government and other
stakeholders are tackling this bomb 12__________ with a sense of crisis. Under a
recent shortage 13__________ of its General Principles Concerning Measures for the Aged
Society, the government calls for Japan to become an “age-free society” in which people 65
and older won’t be owing 14__________ considered senior citizens and will be encouraged to
stay spending 15________ and keep working. Meanwhile, the Center For the Fourth Industrial
Revolution, a think tank launched by the World Economic Forum, inaugurated a branch in
Tokyo this year that will focus on the aging society and other counting 16________.

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CORRECCIONES:

PART 1. PART 2.
1. A 1. An unmatched force
2. C 2. Unrelenting wave of destruction
3. D 3. Far-reaching consequences
4. B 4. Not like in the movies
5. C 5. Virtually unheard of
6. D 6. Total wipe out
7. C
PART 3. PART 4.
1. Contender 1. Shrinking
2. Scepticism 2. Counting
3. Style 3. Owing
4. Beat 4. Whopping
5. Earnings 5. Bomb
6. Misbehaving 6. Recipe
7. Extensive 7. Shortage
8. Shifted 8. Traditionally
9. Empire 9. Warned
10. shot 10. Spending
11. Risen
12. Challenge
13. Revision
14. Automatically
15. Healthy
16. Issues

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READING EXAM

LESSON 10

A Matthew Wren

I live in what’s called a hall of residence where I get full board as well as a room. It’s not exactly
what you call cheap, though, I pay £87 per week for my single room and three meals a day.
This also includes the use of a washing machine and ironing board. But I can’t complain
because my room has just been re-carpeted, the furniture’s new and the cleaner comes in
daily. The main drawback is sharing the bathroom with nine other students and we don’t have
any kitchen facilities. The first thing I did when I arrived was buy myself a mini-fridge, so I could
have cool drinks whenever I wanted. But, we’re on the university network, so I have access to
the Internet and free e-mail from my room, and we get room phones so I can ring friends
around the campus for nothing.

B Kerry Dunnock

The city where I study is appalling for cheap accommodation, and the college has nothing of its
own to offer you, but I was lucky, I found a room in a nice little terraced house with central
heating which I share with three other girls. I have a yearly contract with a private landlady and
I pay £220 a month for my study bedroom. This is not bad as it also has a large walk-in
wardrobe where I put all my stuff. I share the bathroom, kitchen and a small living room with
the other girls, and we split all the bills between us. We tried to make a rota for the washing
up, cleaning and putting out the rubbish, but it’s not always strictly followed. Cooking your
own food is much cheaper than eating at college, and I like it because I have what I want when
I want it.

C Becky Martin

I live in a college-owned self-catering block. There’s not much luxury, but I get value for
money. For my £38 per week rent, I get a reasonably-sized room with an old wardrobe, a tiny
desk, one shelf, a rather stained carpet and a sink. When I first moved in, I probably spent
more on decoration than I did on food. My only real complaint, though, was that I had to buy a
new pillow because the one I was provided with felt like a plastic bag full of old towels. I share
the kitchen and bathroom with six other girls. One of them has a TV in her room, but she is a
bit

possessive about it. The fridge is not huge, so you’re always trying to squeeze your food into
the

last remaining inch of space. I twice set off the fire alarm by burning my dinner, so tended to
give up on cooking after that. We eat a lot of take-aways. In the next block there’s a games
room where we hang out which has things like table football and satellite TV if you need a
break from studying.

D Karl Yorat

I made the big mistake of going to a college fairly near my home. It isn’t so much the course
that I don’t like, but the fact that I’m stuck at my parents’ house so I don’t feel in touch with
what’s going on at campus. In some ways I’m lucky because I’m not paying out all the money
for food and rent that other people have to find, and I have someone to do my washing, but I
don’t have the same amount of freedom or privacy as the people who’re living away from

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home. I even have to share a room with my younger brother. When I told my parents I wanted
to move out and go into college accommodation, they said they’d stop supporting me
financially. So, in the end, I had to give up the idea, that hasn’t made any of us very happy.

I have plenty of storage space:

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

2 My college doesn’t provide accommodation:

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

3 My room is maintained to a high standard:

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

4 I have washing facilities in my room:

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

5 I had to buy some extra electrical equipment:

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

6 It’s easy to keep in touch with people here:

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Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

7 My room is not very well-furnished:

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

PART 2

1.

In 1947, the strangest craft to set sail in 500 years crossed the South Pacific from Peru to
Indonesia. A Norwegian scientist called Thor Heyerdahl built the boat, Kon-Tiki, named after
the Indonesian Sun god, and made the massive journey across open seas with the aim of
proving his theory about the origins of the Indonesian people.

2.

Heyerdahl believed that the Indonesian people had come from Peru. He said, stone heads
found on Easter Island were so similar to those around Lake Titicaca in Peru that there had to
be a connection. But other scientists claimed that it would have been impossible for the
Peruvians to make the journey across open sea. They said, the stone figures had been made by
Indonesians to frighten a local enemy they were fighting. Heyerdahl thought these battles
were really between Indonesian natives and Peruvian invaders, and that the Peruvians could
have made the journey. It was this that he wanted to prove.

3.

Kon-Tiki was designed by copying pre-Columbian illustrations and paintings. It was built in Peru
using local materials like wood, reeds and rope made from plants. There was no metal used at
all in the construction. The finished boat was 15 metres long and 5 metres wide. The six man
crew, and a parrot called Lorita, shared a small cabin of 5 metres long and 2 metres wide. They
also had to carry enough supplies for the 100-day crossing. They carried with them 1,250 litres
of water and 200 coconuts as well as fruits and roots. The US Army had also given them
emergency rations and survival equipment. Their diet was supplemented with the wide variety
of fish that they were able to catch while at sea.

4.

The crew members - four Norwegians and a Swede - who went with Heyerdahl included a
steward, an engineer, a sociologist and translator, a guide and radio experts. The only modern

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equipment they carried was a compass and a radio, which was mainly used for giving weather
reports and relaying their position to the Norwegian government.

5.

They set out from the Peruvian sea port of Callao on April 28th, 1947. A navy boat pulled them
50 miles out to sea before releasing them. From there they sailed west, carried along by the
Humbolt current. Their first sight of land, Puka-Puka island, was made 93 days later. Four days
after that they saw Angatau Island and spoke to people from there but could not land. Finally,
after 101 days at sea and sailing 6,980 kilometres, they touched dry land on the desert island
of Raroia. However, people from nearby islands arrived in boats and took them to their village
where they were welcomed with traditional dancing and parties.

6.

Heyerdahl’s trip sparked a number of reactions in other scientists. They said that he and his
team hadn’t sailed but drifted, and that it was chance that they reached their destination. They
also claimed that there was more evidence that the people of the Indonesian islands had
originally come from the West, and not from the East. However, as recently as 2011, genetic
evidence has been found which supports Heyerdahl’s claims.

7.

Since the Kon-Tiki’s ambitious crossing, there have been several similar expeditions. Not all of
them were successful, but in 1970, the Spanish explorer, Vital Alsar, succeeded in crossing the
Pacific Ocean in the longest recorded journey of its kind. Alsar was convinced that ancient
sailors could read the ocean currents like road maps.

He successfully proved the point in 1973 when he repeated the voyage. More recently still, a
Norwegian team recreated the trip with a copy of Thor Heyerdahl’s craft and made an award-
winning documentary of the experience.

8.

Thor Heyerdahl’s impressive journey has captured the imagination of generations. His book,
The Kon-Tiki expedition was published in 1948 and immediately became a best-seller. His
documentary, made on 8mm film, taken during the journey and including interviews with the
crew, won an Academy Award in 1951. The Kon-Tiki museum in Oslo is one of the most visited
places in Norway. And as recently as 2012, Kon-Tiki, the most expensive Norwegian feature
film of the journey was nominated for an Oscar.

1. A debatable success
2. A sing not seen in 500 years.
3. An experienced team.
4. He had something to prove.
5. People are still talking about it.
6. The technical aspects.
7. Three months in the Pacific.
8. Water shortage.
9. Where they went, others have followed.

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PART 3

The Price of Fame

Charlotte Church looks like a 1. Natural/normal/ordinary/ usual teenager, but she is far from
average. She has an amazing voice. Her fans stand in 2. Files/ queues/ ranks/ rows for hours
to get tickets for her concerts and she is often on television. Charlotte’s singing 3. Career/ job/
labour/ profession began when she performed on a TV show at the age of 11. The head of a
record company was so impressed by her voice that he 4. Made/ picked/ signed/ wrote her
up on the spot. Her first album rose to number one in the charts.

Charlotte still attends school in her home town when she can. 5. Although/ for/ however/
while, she is often away on tour for weeks at a time. She doesn’t miss out on lessons, though,
because she takes her own tutor with her! She 6. Uses/ takes/ spends/ utilises three hours
every morning with him. Her exam results in all the 7. Lesson/ materials/ subjects/ titles she
studies are impressive. But how does she bear 8. Adjust/ bear/ cope/ tolerate with this
unusual way of life? She 9. Complains/ denies/ insists/ refuses that she has the same friends
as before. That may be true, but she can no longer go into town with them because everybody
stops her in the street to ask for her 10. Autograph/ sing/ signature/ writing. It seems that,
like most stars, she must learn to make do with 11. Look down on/ make do with/ put up
with/ run out of these restrictions and the lack of privacy. It’s the price of fame!

PART 4

attacks chemicals diet disease doses effective effects energy

exercise Gaining gentle heart mood On physical pressure
weight cholesterol
protect reduce Slim

Everyone nowadays knows the benefits of 1. ________ exercise – but scientists at the
University of Maastricht, in the Netherlands, say the key to staying 2. ________ and keeping fit
is to eat less and do heart 3. __________ exercise such as walking or cycling. People who
exercise too intensively often reward themselves by spending the rest of the day in front of the
TV set. At the same time, they have to eat more to give them 4._________ for the next
workout. To avoid 5._________, researchers suggest that going for a longer walk or riding a
bike for a few hours may actually be better than high-energy exercise. A low-
fat 6.________ may be good for your waistline, but research suggests it may have negative
psychological 7.________. Doctors at Sheffield University have found out that volunteers who
followed a strict twenty-five percent fat diet reported feelings of depressions and
bad 8.__________ .

Many of us already know that drinking coffee raises your blood 9._________ but according to
the latest studies, it too, can make you bad-tempered. Mice that were given
regular 10._______ of caffeine by researchers turned out to be more aggressive than others.
On the other hand, chemicals found in tea can 11.________ the risk of heart attacks
12. ________ and have a positive effect 13. _________ levels and high blood pressure. If
you’re a chocolate fan there’s good news for you! Recent studies have revealed

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that 14.________ found in chocolate can not only put you in a good mood but
also 15._______ you from a variety of minor illnesses including colds, coughs, depressions and
even help reduce the risk of gentle 16. _________ disease.

CORRECIONES:

PART 1. PART 2.

1. B 1. A sight not seen in 500 years

2. B 2. He had something to prove
3. A 3. The technical aspects
4. C 4. An experienced team
5. A 5. Three months in the Pacific
6. A 6. A debatable success
7. C 7. Where they went, others have followed
8. People are still talking about it
PART 3. PART 4.

1. normal  1. Physical
2. queues 2. Slim
3. career 3. Gentle
4. signed 4. Energy
5. However 5. gaining weight
6. Spends 6. diet
7. Subjects 7. effects
8. Cope 8. mood
9. Insists 9. pressure
10. Autograph 10. doses
11. put up with 11. reduce
12. disease
13. on cholesterol
14. chemicals
15. protect
16. heart

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READING EXAM

LESSON 18

Person A

Although it might not seem much, my Fitbit really helps me to keep track of how active I´m
being through monitoring my steps. It doesn´t matter what I´m doing, any movement counts. I
could even be walking to Mcdonalds! Overall I´ve actually lost around 10 lb because of it. I
might look a bit of a weirdo, pacing up and down the streets by myself, trying to get my 10,000
daily steps in but I really don´t let people get to me. What matters is how I feel. Being a self-
confessed gym phobe (I´ve never actually set foot in one,) walking about in the fresh air really
gives me a sense of achievement. There´s quite a few people that do it now in my area and we
have come to recognise each other now, it´s like a little club!

Person B

I used to go to a lot of workout classes at my local gym alongside running at the weekend but
since my work rota changed I now have no time. I feel that I pushed myself more when I was
working out with other people so wanted some way of replicating that at home. That was how
I found GymBuddy which is an online platform with loads of videos and an online community.
Although you aren´t physically doing the exercises with other people, you can post your
progress and you ask for tips from other GymBuddy users. You have hundreds of like- minded
people at the touch of button through the App and I´m even meeting with one of the people I
met on there for a coffee next week. We had a spark online but I´m a bit nervous, who knows
where it will lead!

Person C

I know there are so many elements that factor in when you are trying to lose weight but for
me the most difficult to control has always been my food intake. My weight gain was making
me anxious and so one day I decided to do something about it. Having an app which has the
nutritional information of so many different food stuffs and brands is fantastic and a really on-
the-go way to monitor how much I´m consuming. There´s so much temptation nowadays and
even more annoying, food that on the face of it is healthy is actually packed with preservatives.
This must be a nightmare for people with allergies, having to sift through all the small print to
find the one thing you can´t eat.

Person D

It had never even occurred to me to start my own Youtube channel, in fact my own mother
described me as the “exact opposite to outgoing”. That was a couple of years ago and since
then I have started said Youtube channel and gained a significant online following. It all grew
from a deep loathing of exercising in public, it put me off exercise all together if I´m honest.
Now I post my indoor exercises online as well as progress pictures and tips. It´s really allowed
me to hold myself accountable as well as meet some really great people! Some of my fellow

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vloggers and I meet up every now and again, some people have even met their current
partners online.

Who has never been to a gym?

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

Who doesn´t care about other people´s opinions

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

Who is shy?

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

Who prefers to exercise with other people?

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

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Who worries about hidden ingredients in food?

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

Who hopes to find love through exercise ?

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

Who only exercises at home?

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

PART 2.

Making a comeback

When Nancy Pelosi was chosen as the Speaker of the House in US congress, she became not
just the third most powerful US politician but also the leader of the Trump opposition. Both
loved and loathed, her return to politics is an extraordinary tale of political survival. After eight
years in the political wilderness, Nancy Pelosi is back on top. In 2007, the California Democrat
made history as the first female speaker of the US House of Representatives, but it was short-
lived. This time, she's at the helm of a resurgent party with responsibility for initiating new
laws through the lower chamber of Congress, not to mention guiding a slew of new
investigations into the president.

And she's done so despite being written off multiple times and labelled a pedestrian public
speaker prone to the occasional gaffe, having uhigh disapproval ratings and becoming a
lightning rod for Republicans. Tying her name to embattled Democratic candidates had been

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an effective weapon for conservatives in the past but in the 2018 mid-term elections, it lost its
punch. In Virginia, for example, Republican incumbent David Brat mentioned Nancy Pelosi so
many times in a debate that it led to his Democratic opponent, Abigail Spanberger, to question
whether he knew who he was running against. and her "liberal agenda" 21 times in an hour
and a half at a debate.

Now, with her return to the speaker's chair, Ms Pelosi again becomes the most powerful
woman in US politics. It caps a remarkable journey for someone who , as recently as 2015, had
some journalists giving her “practically zero chance” of ever becoming speaker again. "People
have gone wrong by under-estimating her for years," says journalist Elaine Povich, who wrote
a 2008 biography about Ms Pelosi. "Never bet against her. She's consistently the hardest
worker, the best organized and great vote counter."

Although Republicans have typically painted Ms Pelosi as a "San Francisco liberal" enamoured
with big government and far to the left on social issues, her roots are from a more practical
style of politics on the other side of the continent. She grew up in a political family, one of
seven children in the gritty East Coast city of Baltimore, Maryland, where her father - Thomas
"Big Tommy" D'Alesandro Jr - was mayor. To be a politician in mid-century Baltimore meant
succeeding at old-school Democratic machine politics. Keeping track of favours received and
favours given. Knowing whom to help and whom to hurt - and how to do both. Ms Pelosi
managed her family's political accounts, including answering the eight phone lines that
connected to the house.

In 1976 she became involved in politics, using her old family connections to help then-
California Governor Jerry Brown, running for president, win the Maryland primary. She then
rose through the state's Democratic Party ranks, eventually becoming its chair. In 1988 - at the
urging of the outgoing Democrat - she ran for a seat in Congress and won. In the House she
worked her way up again. Because she represented a portion of the city with a large gay
community, she made increasing Aids research funding a priority. In 2001, she ran against
Maryland's Steny Hoyer - whom she once interned with back in Washington - for House
minority whip, vote-counter and second in command of the caucus, and won a narrow victory.
The next year she moved up to minority leader after Dick Gephardt of Missouri resigned.

She eventually rose to speaker as the house from 2009 to 2011, when Democrats had unified
control of Congress and the White House. One of her most famous acts as speaker in this time
was her successful pushing of the Affordable Care Act, which became the defining battle of the
Barack Obama presidency, through the House and on to the president's desk. Nonetheless
eight months after that final vote, Democrats lost 63 seats in the House and their majority - in
part because of the conservative furore over healthcare reform, and Ms Pelosi's role in pushing
it through. She had grown so politically toxic that she couldn't campaign publicly for
Democrats.

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Nonetheless, back as the face of the Democrats she is. Despite campaigns from within her own
party to keep her out of the speaker’s chair, she secured the spot after various concessions
including one to limit the term of a speaker to 8 years. She returns to a party that has swept to
power in large part due to the engagement and support of women. Fifty-eight percent of those
who voted for Democrats in the House were women. There will be 89 women out of the 235
Democratic members of Congress. That's a far cry from when Ms Pelosi first entered Congress
in 1988, when she was one of only 24 women in the entire 435-seat chamber. These feats have
not been possible due to her lack of skills in public speaking (which was expected to hold her
back) nor her sense of humour in speeches, but rather due to sheer grit, perseverance and
organisation.

1. It´s in the blood

2. An expected victory
3. Making a comeback
4. An easy target
5. Moving on up
6. The underdog comes out on top
7. A long journey
8. A bad reputation earned

PART 3

blocks key third largest boasting shaped

ingredient
according to focus widely used energy a sustainable future
efficiency

Concrete is the most 1. ________ man-made material in existence. It is second only to water
as the most-consumed resource on the planet. But, while cement – the 2. _________ in
concrete – has 3. ________ much of our built environment, it also has a massive carbon
footprint. Cement is the source of about 8% of the world´s carbon dioxide (C02) emissions, 4.
_______ think tank Chatham House. If the cement industry were a country, it would be the 5.
____________ emitter in the world – behind China and the US. It contributes more CO2 than
aviation fuel 82.5%) and is not far behind the global agriculture business (12%).

As the key building material of most tower 6. __________, car parks, bridges and dams,
concrete has, for the haters, enabled the construction of some of the world's worst
architectural eyesores. n the UK, it helped the massive wave of post-World War Two
development - much of it still dividing opinion - with several of the country's major cities, such
as Birmingham, Coventry, Hull and Portsmouth, largely defined by the concrete structures
from that building push.

But concrete is also the reason some of the world´s most impressive buildings exist. Sydney
Opera House, the Lotus Temple in Delhi, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai as well as the magnificent
Patheon in Rome – 7. ________ the largest unsupported concrete dome in the world –all owe
their form to the material.

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 APTIS READING

The sector has made progress – improvements in the 8. __________ of new plants and burning
waste materials instead of fossil fuels has seen the average C02 emissions per tonne of output
fall by 18% over the last few decades. The newly-established Global Cement and Concrete
Association (GCCA) represents about 35% of the world's cement production capacity and has a
9. ________ on sustainable development. It is hoped that an organisation like this can help to
bring together global players to provide leadership and focus, as well as deliver a detailed work
programme to ensure 10. _________ for cement and concrete, and the needs of future
generations.

PART 4.

struggle with kind truly raise towards slight

competent
rare exposure in terms of sponges due to
natural support rare environment longer

True bilingualism is a relatively 1. __________ and a beautiful thing, and by “true,” I mean
speaking two languages with the fluency of a native — something most of us will only dream of
as we 2. ________ learning languages in school and beyond.

3. ____________ bilingualism is probably more common in other countries, since many

children growing up in the United States aren’t exposed to other languages. But the steps
along the road 4. _________ bilingualism can help a child’s overall facility with language. And
early exposure to more than one language can confer certain advantages, especially 5.
_______ facility with forming the sounds in that language.

But parents should not assume that young children’s 6. _______ language abilities will lead to
true grown-up language skills without a good deal of effort. Erika Hoff, a developmental
psychologist said: “For everybody trying to7. ________ a bilingual child, whatever your
background and reason, it’s very important to realize that acquiring a language requires
massive 8. ________] to that language.”

(Text adapted from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/10/well/family/raising-a-truly-

bilingual-child.html)

Bringing up a bilingual child is hard—even more so 9. __________ a number of myths about
language acquisition.

First, kids aren’t 10. _________. It takes a lot of work to get the child to speak and actually
need a second language. Although it’s common to expect that someone who is bilingual has a
perfect grasp of both languages—the 11. ________ with no accent, ginormous vocabularies,
and no jumping back and forth between languages in a conversation—perfect bilingualism is
pretty 12. ________.

“There is nothing magical in the child’s brain that allows them to learn any language they hear
without lots of environmental 13. _________,” says Erika Hoff, a professor of psychology at
Florida Atlantic University and author of books on language development. “Parents who want
to raise their children to be bilingual are swimming upstream because the 14. __________ in
the US is not supportive. You’re not going to have a child who is two monolinguals in one.”

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Moreover, it takes 15. ________ to learn two languages than to learn just one, adds Hoff. So
infants exposed to multiple languages from birth may have a 16. ________speaking delay,
although even they catch up quickly.

PART 1. PART 2.

1. A 1. An easy target
2. A 2. The underdog comes out on top
3. D 3. It´s in the blood
4. B 4. Moving on up
5. C 5. A bad reputation earned
6. B 6. An expected victory
7. D
PART 3. PART 4.

1. widely used 1. Rare

2. key ingredient 2. Struggle with
3. shaped 3. truly competent
4. according to 4. towards
5. third largest 5. in terms of
6. blocks 6. natural
7. boasting 7. raise
8. energy efficiency 8. exposure
9. focus 9. due to
10. a sustainable future 10. sponges
11. kind
12. rare
13. support
14. environment
15. longer
16. slight

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READING EXAM

LESSON 24

PERSON A

When my fiancé proposed I was originally reluctant, the idea of a wedding had never really
appealed and it seemed like such a hassle. I had seen my friends go through hell to try and
have the perfect day and I also wanted to avoid the massive expense. However, eventually my
fiancé won me round and we began the planning. I have to say that I was very lucky as my
parents offered to fork out for the majority of the big stuff: the venue, the flowers and the
dress so in the end we didn´t spend a huge amount. I am so incredibly grateful as I genuinely
don´t know how we would have afforded it otherwise.

PERSON B

The lead up to the wedding was a logistical nightmare. I´m a child of divorce and so my family
isn´t the easiest and even just thinking about the seating plan made me come out in hives. I
tried so hard to please everyone but in the end my best friend talked some sense into me and
made me see that it was my day and I should do whatever made life easiest for me. In the end
I made the hard decision not to invite my dad´s side of the family to the wedding: a
controversial decision for sure but I don´t regret it. Even so, the day of wedding I felt really on
edge right up to pulling up at the church. It was all fine in the end but I wouldn´t want to
repeat the months before!

PERSON C

I loved the planning stages of the wedding. All the fine details: the napkins, the place holders,
the flower arrangements and the candles, I should become a wedding planner myself! I was
very on top of everything and enjoyed all the preparations, the hen party and the wedding
shower. Nonetheless the day of the wedding started with a bang. My cousin, (one of my
bridesmaids) had caught a stomach bug and was throwing up all night before. Then, on top of
that, the Rolls Royce that was supposed to be getting me to the church got held up, leaving me
stranded at the hotel for an hour! I look back on all these things with fondness and a sense of
humour now though, it was definitely a memorable day!

PERSON D

I admit I was a little obsessive in the months leading up to the wedding, in fact my own fiancé
even referred to me as “bridezilla”. Everything needed to be just so and I didn´t want to settle
for anything less. That said, the celebration was an intimate affair. I didn´t see the need for
extravagance as I prefer quality over quantity. The venue was really cosy in the middle of the
countryside and less relatives meant that I could afford to splash out on higher quality food.
My parents offered but in the end we covered all the expenses ourselves which I was really
proud of.Overall it was a fantastic day full of love and will never be forgotten, it also made me
truly grateful for all my family.

1 They felt nervous before the ceremony

Person A

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Person B

Person C

Person D

2 They didn´t invite half of their relatives to the wedding

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

3 Their parents paid for most of the wedding

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

4 A relative was sick the day of the wedding

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

5 They didn´t want to get married at first

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

6 They had a small wedding

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

7 They were late to the ceremony

Person A

Person B

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Person C

Person D

PART 2

Off to a bad start

0 - Hugo Chavez burst onto the national scene in Venezuela in a failed military uprising in
1992 alongside many men he had recruited from the military academy where he taught.
Operation Zamora had intended to capture communication points, overwhelm military
locations and eventually assassinate the current president, Carlos Andres Perez. Nonetheless
it failed and Chavez even appeared on television urging his fellow coup members to lay
down their arms. The revolt had claimed 18 lives and left 60 injured before Chavez gave
himself up.

Initially sentenced to jail, he was soon pardoned in 1994 after 2 years as the Venezuelan
government did not consider either him or his movement much of a threat although he was
not allowed to return to the military. However he then relaunched his party as the Movement
of the Fifth Republic and made the transition from soldier to politician. He capitalised on the
corrupt political system and promised “revolutionary” social policies in contrast to the two
main parties who had alternated in power since democracy in 1958 and who were accused of
squandering the country´s vast oil wealth. As a result Mr Chavez was swept into power in the
1998 elections in landslide elections.

Once in power, his domestic policy was radical, with a particular focus on groundbreaking
social programmes. As the old Venezuelan order was falling apart he centred on new
"missions" dedicated to improving access to health, education, social security, food and land
for the poorest sectors of society. An alliance began to take shape with Cuba in order to fulfil
these ambitions. His support among the poor soared as these programmes, especially in rural
areas, made social services and government jobs available to large swaths of the population,
resulting in a drop in the poverty rate from 48.6 percent in 2002 to 29.5 percent in 2011. The
infant mortality rate also declined while literacy rates and access to free public education
increased.

The socialist left wing ideology of “Chavismo” gained many followers and it’s populist policies
appealed to the masses.

Particularly key in its ideology was the strong opposition to neoliberalism, in particular the
policies of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. According to Chavez, this
particular brand of socialism accepts private property but promotes social property too.
Nonetheless numerous critics have disputed Chavez’s policies as being truly socialist, some
going so far as to say that to even hint at it being such was an absurdity. It was highlighted that
Capitalists were free to undermine the economy in all sorts of ways, such as massive exports of
capital.

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 APTIS READING

The prospect of "Chavismo" becoming permanently established in Venezuela created a

backlash among those who had benefited from the old order. A counter-revolution was soon
under way and President Chavez was ousted from the presidential palace in April 2002.
Domestically, Mr Chavez's targets had included the traditional political class with its strong ties
to the US. The US did not plan the counter-revolution, but it almost certainly knew what was
happening and made no attempts to warn the Venezuelan authorities. Mr Chavez was restored
to power in 48 hours by a military that at first appeared to have supported the coup and he
immediately embarked on a vigorous campaign against his enemies at home and abroad.

To counter their influence in the media, President Chavez promoted state television and
pressured the judiciary to restrict the influence of privately-owned means of
communication. In foreign affairs, President Chavez followed an aggressively anti-imperialist
policy in which verbal attacks on the US became frequent. He went out of his way to cultivate
enemies of the US and deepened the relationship with Cuba. Yet his most important goal was
the building of an alliance among the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, starting
with the Petrocaribe - a scheme to provide cheap oil to the countries of Central America and
the Caribbean that depend on imports. This was followed by the Alba regional integration
scheme, a new regional architecture designed to embrace all American states except the US
and Canada and UNASAR. All these enacted schemes would surely have fulfilled the frustrated
dream of his great hero, South American independence leader Simon Bolivar, two centuries
before.

It is clear that it was due to the social policies that he won the enduring loyalty of the country's
poorest strata. But his government's policies failed to address several problems that
increasingly concern all sectors of society. The first is the high level of common criminality,
illustrated most clearly by the exceptionally high homicide rate. The second is the level of
inflation, which has been exacerbated by the devaluation of the currency despite the high oil
price. The third is the continuation of government corruption, including allegations of
nepotism against the Chavez family, accusations they have long denied. Finally, there is the
issue of mismanagement of state resources as a result of the politicisation of the bureaucracy,
the judiciary and state-owned enterprises. Any successor to Hugo Chavez, whether from his
own party or the opposition, has been left to tackle these issues, but they have done so
without the undoubted charisma that sustained Chavez's popularity for many years. If this
finally happens, Venezuela will embark on a new chapter in its 200-year history.

1. A tale of contradictions
2. Enduring challenges
3. Gone but not forgotten
4. Making a comeback
5. Off to a bad start
6. Out with the old
7. Policies designed to divide
8. The poor dominate
9. Turning a blind eye

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PART 3

The artist Susan Hiller – whose work 1. Copied/ mocked/ ruined/ tackled such esoteric
subjects as automatic writing, near-death experiences and alien 2. Abduction/ kidnap/ pick
up/robbery – was born in Tallahassee, Florida, in 1940. 3. Historically/ initially/ never/
whenever discouraged from art because of her gender, Hiller studied anthropology, but the
Vietnam war and the radicalism of the late 60s grew her to a 4. Belief/ doubt/ mistrust/
religion that its practices and politics were suspect.

In 1967 she moved to London, got married, and worked at various jobs, including as a
secretary in a Skoda factory, while 5. Abandoning/ developing/ growing/ maturing her art.
Her first exhibition was in 1973: at the time she was engaged in work including Dedicated to
the Unknown Artists, a collection of some 300 postcards of the British coastline that were then
categorised and logged – the result somehow capturing an enduring strain of romanticism in
the British character.

Using media including film, video and sculpture, together with her 6. Ambitions/ background/
freelancing/ future as an anthropologist, Hiller’s work delved into the frontiers of
consciousness, in investigations she described as “paraconceptual”. Her 2000 installation
Witness, first shown in an abandoned chapel in London, 7. Came/ comprised/ participated/
spoke dozens of speakers hanging from the ceiling in a darkened room, each 8. Celebrating/
engaging/ finding/ relating a different experience of alien abduction. The Last Silent Move,
from 2007, displayed the soundwaves created by dead or dying languages.

By the time of her death, Hiller’s work had been collected by institutions including MoMA and
Tate, while last year she had 9. Considerable/ large/ major/ principal exhibitions in Canada
and Italy. She told Cooke: “Artists have a function. We’re part of a 10. Conversation/ cult/
meeting/ religion. It’s our job to represent and mirror back the values of the culture in a way
that people haven’t seen before.”

PART 4

1. Climate change is an obvious myth – how much more evidence do you need?

Many people just refuse to accept the facts that surround them, even if we saw 100 more
years of it plain and apparent.

Climate change is a myth. We all know this, 1. Deep down/ inside out/ out and proud/
upright. Some of you reading this may have been 2. Cared for/ considered by/ laughed at/
taken in by the fear-mongering governments or corrupt scientists so have been brainwashed
into thinking climate change is a real thing that “threatens all of humanity” or some other 3.
Evidence/ informed opinion/ nonsense/ truth, but it’s just that: nonsense. When you look
closely at it, the 4. Background/ science-based/ so-called- truth about evidence for climate
change, or “global warming” or “warmageddon” or “planetary death spiral” or whatever
they’re calling it these days, it doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.

Take changes in sea level. They keep banging on about how the warming of the atmosphere
causes rising sea levels, but if that was happening we’d have seen it by now! It’s been
countless decades since they first started predicting this, but here we still are! But they persist

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 APTIS READING

in trying to convince us it’s a real threat, citing places that were supposedly “5. Destroyed by
heat/ lost to the waves/ lost to volcanic eruptions/ misplaced” and we’re supposed to
believe that places like Atlantis, Miami or Skegness actually existed? You believe that rubbish
and you probably believe we landed on Ganymede! And you’re an idiot, so there’s 6. A bright
future ahead of you/ a lot of hope for you/ little chance that you don’t understand/ no hope
for you.

And where does this rise in sea level supposedly 7. Cause/ come from/ lead to/ stop – melting
glacial ice? Like there was at any point massive blocks of ice just floating around in the ocean?
You ever leave an ice cube in your drink last longer than five minutes? It melts, and yet 8.
We’re meant to believe/ we’re meant to lie/ we’re supposed to convince/ we’re supposed to
disbelieve these “ice caps” lasted millions of years. They’re not even trying to be convincing
any more.

Text adapted from https://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-

flapping/2014/nov/25/climate-change-is-an-obvious-myth-how-much-more-evidence-do-you-
need

2. The record-breaking, El Niño-driven global temperatures of 2016 have given climate change
deniers a new trope.

Why, they ask, hasn’t it since got even 9. Colder/ hotter/ sunnier/ winder?

In response to a recent US government report on the impact of climate change, a

spokesperson for the science-denying American Enterprise Institute think-tank claimed that
“we just had the 10. Biggest drop/ biggest rise/ smaller drop/ smaller rise in global
temperatures that we have had since the 1980s, the biggest in the last 100 years.”

These claims are blatantly false: the past two years were two of the three hottest on record,
and the drop in temperature from 2016 to 2018 was less than, say, the drop from 1998 (a
previous record hot year) to 2000. But, more importantly, these claims use the same kind of
misdirection as was used a few years ago about a 11. Alleged “increase”/ definite “stop”/
presumed “decrease”/ supposed “pause” in warming lasting from roughly 1998 to 2013.

At the time, the alleged pause was cited by many people sceptical about the science of climate
change as a reason not to act to reduce greenhouse pollution. US senator and former
presidential candidate Ted Cruz frequently argued that this lack of warming 12. Backed up/
erased/ supported/ undetermined dire predictions by scientists about where we’re heading.

However, drawing conclusions on short-term trends is 13. Highly accurate/ ill-advised/

important/ needed because what matters to climate change is the decade-to-decade increase
in temperatures rather than fluctuations in warming rate over a few years. Indeed, if short
periods were suitable for drawing strong conclusions, climate scientists should perhaps now be
talking about a “surge” in global warming since 2011.

The “pause” or “hiatus” in warming of the early 21st century is not just a talking point of think-
tanks with 14. Extensive research/ highly-qualified scientists/ presidential ambitions/ radical
political agendas. It also features in the scientific literature, including in the most recent report
of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and more than 200 peer-reviewed articles.

Research we recently published in Environmental Research Letters addresses two questions

about the putative “pause”: first, is there 15. Compelling evidences/ historical accuracy/

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political agenda/ unconvincing evidences in the temperature data alone of something unusual
happening at the start of the 21st century? Second, did the rise in temperature 16. Cancel out/
expand beyond/ go above/ lag behind projections by climate models?

In both cases the answer is “no”. Firstly, Reconstructing a historical temperature record from
instruments designed for other purposes, such as weather forecasting, is not always accurate.

Secondly, a fluctuation in the rate of warming is not a new phenomena, rather the kind of
variation we expect due to natural fluctuations of the climate system. In other words, there is
no compelling evidence that the supposed “pause” period is different from other previous
periods. Neither is the deviation between the observations and climate model projections
larger than would be expected.

Text adapted from https://theconversation.com/global-warming-hiatus-is-the-climate-change-

myth-that-refuses-to-die-108524

CORRECCIONES:

PART 1. PART 2.

1. B 1. Making a comeback
2. B 2. Out with the old
3. A 3. A tale of contradictions
4. C 4. Turning a blind eye
5. A 5. Gone but not forgotten
6. D 6. Enduring challenges
7. C
PART 3. PART 4.

1. Tackled 1. Deep down

2. Abduction 2. taken in
3. Initially 3. nonsense
4. Religion 4. so-called
5. Developing 5. lost to the waves
6. Ambitions 6. no hope for you
7. Comprised 7. come from
8. Relating 8. we’re meant to believe
9. Major 9. hotter
10. Conversation 10. smallest rise
11. supposed “pause”
12. undermined
13. ill-advised
14. radical political agendas
15. compelling evidence
16. lag behind

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LESSON 30

PART 1.

PERSON A

I always knew that to be completed satisfied with my house I would have to renovate it
completely. I finally landed upon a house I was more or less happy with mid-April; I could tell it
had the base ingredients that I needed to make the perfect home. I immediately set about
making the necessary changes. However, it wasn't just the house that I transformed, but my
own furniture too. New bed sheets, sofa covers, pillows, curtains… I was drowning in material
swatches that week as I needed to be able to lay them against the existing fabric to see how
they compared. As for the decor, I'm a fan of a contemporary look, all clean lines and
minimalism. A pale background with pops of colour is my go to style; my last house was even
featured in a home decor magazine!

PERSON B

We were very lucky to come across our dream home in such a short amount of time, it even
came in under budget! However it quickly became apparent why that was. The last occupants
had left at short notice, supposedly due to unforeseen family circumstances, but as soon as I
heard the racket next door I had a strong hunch why they shot off in a such a hurry. It's
incredible how some people can be so uncaring about others, it really put me on edge and I
began to doubt our decision. Another thing I was doubting over was what to do with the
interior of the house. Ive always gone for a more rustic feel, in fact its very on trend at the
moment, however my wife prefers bright and airy. Luckily with the cash left over from our
budget, we can afford to incorporate both!

PERSON C

I was in love as soon as I stepped foot through the door. The house was a barn conversion with
original fittings such as the magnificent original oak beam that extended right the way through
the kitchen. Of course it needed a lot doing to it and we were prepared for a project. The first
immediate thing were the rickety stairs - pretty precarious when you have a toddler on the
loose! I also loved the fact that we we were literally in the middle of nowhere with the nearest
person being the estate agent who lived further down the road and who in fact invited us over
for dinner to welcome us! Moving up north away from our family and friends, I had been
anxious that I wouldn't meet anyone or that the people would be very different, so this was an
appreciated gesture!

PERSON D

Having always lived in flats, getting a house for the first time felt like an enormous step. In a
block of flats you are always surrounded by people; one step out of your front door and you
bump into one of your neighbours! This is probably why I felt a bit creeped out when we first
moved into the house which, as well as not having neighbours on the other side of a wall, was
detached so even more of a contrast! I kept imagining dark figures melting off the walls and I
insisted that my boyfriend install a state-of-the-art alarm system. He was pretty miffed at
having to shell out our savings on something so excessive just to try and curb my paranoia but I
pestered until he gave in!

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Prefers a modern look

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

Their house was dangerous when they moved in

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

They paid less than they expected

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

Was scared of the house

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

They have been recognised for their decorating skills

Person A

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Person B

Person C

Person D

Was worried about the neighbours

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

Wanted to live in a rural place

Person A

Person B

Person C

Person D

PART 2.

The name rings a bell - 0

0 - Ask people to name the most famous historical woman of science and their answer will
likely be: Madame Marie Curie. Push further and ask what she did, and they might say it was
something related to radioactivity. (She actually discovered the radioisotopes radium and
polonium.) Some might also know that she was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. (She
actually won two.) But few will know she was also a major hero of World War I. In fact, a
visitor to her Paris laboratory in October of 1917 – 100 years ago this month – would not
have found either her or her radium on the premises. Her radium was in hiding and she was
at war.

For Curie, the war started in early 1914, as German troops headed toward her hometown of
Paris. She knew her scientific research needed to be put on hold. So she gathered her entire
stock of radium, put it in a lead-lined container, transported it by train to Bordeaux – 375 miles
away from Paris – and left it in a safety deposit box at a local bank. She then returned to Paris,
confident that she would reclaim her radium after France had won the war.

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With the subject of her life’s work hidden far away, she now needed something else to do.
Rather than flee the turmoil, she decided to join in the fight. But just how could a middle-aged
woman do that? She decided to redirect her scientific skills toward the war effort; not to make
weapons, but to save lives. She found the best way she could do this would be to invent the
first “radiological car” – a vehicle containing an X-ray machine and photographic darkroom
equipment – which could be driven right up to the battlefield where army surgeons could use
X-rays to guide their surgeries. Previously X-ray machines only existed in city hospitals, far from
the battlefield; by inventing a portable device she was able to provide much greater efficiency
in the treatment of battle wounds and the detection of, for example, bullets in the body.

One major obstacle was the need for electrical power to produce the X-rays. Curie solved that
problem by incorporating a dynamo – a type of electrical generator – into the car’s design. The
petroleum-powered car engine could thus provide the required electricity. Frustrated by
delays in getting funding from the French military, Curie approached the Union of Women of
France. This philanthropic organization gave her the money needed to produce the first car,
which ended up playing an important role in treating the wounded at the Battle of Marne in
1914 – a major Allied victory that kept the Germans from entering Paris.

More radiological cars were needed. So Curie exploited her scientific clout to ask wealthy
Parisian women to donate vehicles. Soon she had 20, which she outfitted with X-ray
equipment. But the cars were useless without trained X-ray operators, so Curie started to train
women volunteers. She recruited 20 women for the first training course, which she taught
along with her daughter Irene, a future Nobel Prize winner herself. The curriculum included
theoretical instruction about the physics of electricity and X-rays as well as practical lessons in
anatomy and photographic processing. When that group had finished its training, it left for the
front, and Curie then trained more women. In the end, a total of 150 women received X-ray
training from Curie.

Curie oversaw the construction of 200 radiological rooms at various fixed field hospitals behind
the battle lines. Not content just to send out her trainees to the battlefront, Curie herself had
her own “little Curie” – as the radiological cars were nicknamed – that she took to the front.
This required her to learn to drive, change flat tires and even master some rudimentary auto
mechanics, like cleaning carburetors. And she also had to deal with car accidents. When her
driver careened into a ditch and overturned the vehicle, they righted the car, fixed the
damaged equipment as best they could and got back to work.

Although few, if any, of the women X-ray workers were injured as a consequence of combat,
they were not without their casualties. Many suffered burns from overexposure to X-rays.
Curie knew that such high exposures posed future health risks, such as cancer in later life.
Curie survived the war but was concerned that her intense X-ray work would ultimately cause
her demise. Many assumed that the blood disorder she contracted later was the result of her
decades of radium work – it’s well-established that internalized radium is lethal. But Curie was
dismissive of that idea. She had always protected herself from ingesting any radium. Rather,

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she attributed her illness to the high X-ray exposures she had received during the war. (We will
likely never know whether the wartime X-rays contributed to her death in 1934, but a
sampling of her remains in 1995 showed her body was indeed free of radium.)

As science’s first woman celebrity, Marie Curie can hardly be called an unsung hero. But the
common depiction of her as a one-dimensional person, slaving away in her laboratory with the
single-minded purpose of advancing science for science’s sake, is far from the truth. Marie
Curie was a multidimensional person, who worked doggedly as both a scientist and a
humanitarian. She was a strong patriot of her adopted homeland, having immigrated to France
from Poland. And she leveraged her scientific fame for the benefit of her country’s war effort –
using the winnings from her second Nobel Prize to buy war bonds and even trying to melt
down her Nobel medals to convert them to cash to buy more. She didn’t allow her gender to
hamper her in a male-dominated world. Instead, she mobilized a small army of women in an
effort to reduce human suffering and win World War I. Through her efforts, it is estimated that
the total number of wounded soldiers receiving X-ray exams during the war exceeded one
million.

1. Two sides to every story

2. New skills for everyone
3. Practical issues
4. The name rings a bell
5. Life's work interrupted
6. Fundraising for France
7. A well-trained team
8. Aware of the risks
9. A well-known historical figure

PART 3.

In 1982, a British insurance broker named Doug Milne set out in search of new markets. His
speciality was kidnapping and ransom insurance, known in the industry as K&R. Milne enrolled
in a Spanish-language course in London, and a month later, with 1. no/ rudimentary skills and
only one or two solid contacts on the ground, he boarded a flight to Bogotá. Witnessing a
murder on his first day in the Colombian capital made him realise he was in the right place;
Colombian society was at the mercy of guerillas and criminals. His clients 2. needed what he
had to offer.

Kidnapping and ransom insurance was created in the 1930s, but it wasn’t until the 60s that it
began to really catch on, following a spate of kidnappings in Europe by groups such as Eta in
Spain, the Red Army Faction in Germany and the Red Brigades in Italy. The 3. Rule/ appeal was
simple: in the event of a kidnapping, the insurance would provide reimbursement for ransom
payment.

There were caveats to 4. prevent fraud and to ensure that the existence of the policy did not
actually increase the risk of kidnapping. The first was that the policy had to be kept 5. secret. In

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fact, it could be voided if its existence became public. The concern was that if the kidnappers
knew of the policy, they would demand more money.

The second principle is that the policy will only 6. Release/ reimburse the ransom once it is
paid. The insurance company never fronts any money. In order to raise the cash, the victim’s
family will probably have to liquidate assets – mortgage the house, sell stocks, pool money
from other relatives. This process makes the negotiations 7. lengthy/ credible by dragging
them out. This is not just about minimising the payout by the insurance company. Quickly
making good on a large ransom 8. Controls/ raises the expectations of future kidnappers. It
can make hostage-taking more lucrative and more common.

When K&R insurance first came on the market, the policyholders were left on their own to
negotiate with the kidnappers. But in the mid-1970s, an insurance broker named Julian
Radcliffe came up with an idea that would 9. revolutionise the industry. Along with a few
colleagues, Radcliffe convinced their company to set up a subsidiary focused on hostage
response. The subsidiary, which they named Control Risks, would hire security experts –
mostly former military and police – to handle negotiations. The cost of hiring the consultant
was included in the policy and borne by the 10. Military/ insurance company. In 1982, Control
Risks became an independent company.

Text adapted from https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/jan/25/business-of-kidnapping-

inside-the-secret-world-of-hostage-negotiation-ransom-insurance

PART 4.

carefully Just like that come just for fun a handful of confidence
studied together attempts and success
great talent slightly got gained a IT giants sets him
awkward interested in  reputation apart from
signed up choose their thanks to indefinite
subjects leave

Mark Zuckerberg 1. _________ programming in elementary school. He was taught Atari BASIC
Programming by his father, and when Mark was about 12, he used Atari BASIC to create a
messenger, which he called “ZuckNet.” It made all the computers connected to each other and
allowed him to transfer messages between the house and dental office. His father installed the
messenger on his computer in his dentist office, and the receptionist could inform him when a
new patient arrived. Mark also enjoyed developing games and communication tools and as he
said he was doing it 2. __________ his father, Edward Zuckerberg, even hired a computer tutor
David Newman, who gave his son some private lessons.

Also whilsts at high school, Mark wrote an artificially intelligent media player Synapse for MP3-
playlists that 3. __________ the preferences of a user and was able to generate playlists
‘guessing,’ which tracks a user wanted to listen to. Microsoft and AOL got an unusual interest
in Synapse media player and wanted to acquire it. However, the young talent rejected the
offer of the 4. _________ and then politely rejected their invitation to cooperate. 5.
__________, Mark Zuckerberg refused dozens, maybe even hundreds of thousands of dollars,
and a job at one of the top IT-corporations.

Soon Mark Zuckerberg studied at the Academy of Phillips Exeter, an exclusive preparatory
school in New Hampshire. He showed good results there in science and literature, receiving a

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degree in classics. He also showed a 6. ________ in fencing and even became the school
captain of the fencing team. Yet Mark Zuckerberg stayed fascinated by coding and wanted to
work on the development of new software.

In 2002, after graduating Phillips Exeter, Zuckerberg entered Harvard University. By his second
year in the Ivy League, he had 7. _________as a software developer on campus. It was then
when he wrote a program CourseMatch, which helped students 8. __________on the basis of
lists of courses from other users.

Text adapted from https://astrumpeople.com/mark-zuckerberg-biography-success-story-of-

facebook-founder-and-ceo/

It was at Harvard, where he enrolled in 2002, that things really started to 9. _________. After
becoming interested in computer programming, he tried 10. ___________ to create
networking software for the college population (including one that saw him reprimanded for
hacking into the official student database). Then he came up with The Facebook - a website
that allowed users to share information and keep in touch with friends; a virtual meeting
place.

In a fortnight, half of the student body had 11. ___________, and before long there were
Facebooks at colleges all over the north-eastern United States.

Things galloped onwards and he quickly moved to California, inspired by another Harvard
dropout, Bill Gates, and the Ivy League college's policy of allowing students to take 12.
__________.

Friends and acquaintances say he remains down to earth and 13. _________, in the fashion
typical of technologists. Yet underneath the shyness, there is a confidence that has many in
awe.

"I sense that he doesn't get impressed by new surroundings," says Jeff Jarvis, the blogger and
Guardian columnist, who has met Zuckerberg several times. "Some people think it's hubristic,
but I think it's just him being himself."

His 14. ____________ have brought attention from media moguls such as Rupert Murdoch,
but Zuckerberg remains adamant that Facebook is a software company and not a media
operation (although he does say that it is the biggest publisher of news in the world, 15.
__________ the way it publishes the actions of all its members). This 16. _______ rivals such
as Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe, the co-founders of Murdoch's MySpace website, who
specifically set out to create a site that would be attractive to advertisers. Still, it doesn't stop
old media bosses looking for advice when they meet him.

Text adapted from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2007/jul/27/facebook

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CORRECCIONES:

PART 1. PART 2.

1. A 1. Life's work interrupted

2. C 2. Practical issues
3. B 3. Fundraising for France
4. D 4. A well-trained team
5. A 5. New skills for everyone
6. B 6. Aware of the risks
7. C 7. Two sides to every story
PART 3. PART 4.

1. Rudimentary 1. got interested in

2. Needed 2. just for fun
3. Appeal 3. carefully studied
4. Prevent 4. IT giants
5. Secret 5. Just like that
6. Reimburse 6. great talent
7. Credible 7. gained a reputation
8. Raises 8. choose their subjects
9. Revolutionise 9. come together
10. Insurance 10. a handful of attempts
11. signed up
12. indefinite leave
13. slightly awkward
14. confidence and success
15. thanks to
16. sets him apart from

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OTHER ACTIVITIES.

PART 3.

A celebrity is a person who is easily (1) accepted/ identified/ recognized/ seen by people in a
certain region or country. Celebrities usually get a lot of media (2) attention/ care/ notice/
thought and often are social people. Many become celebrities because of their (3) career/
employment/ living/ profession, after appearing in the media or simply (4) by/ for/ through/
with chance. Celebrities who only achieve a small amount of fame are called B- or C-
celebrities. In the last decades we have become (5) charmed/ enjoyed/ fascinated/ involved
with famous people. They have led to the rise of gossip magazines and TV shows and (6)
arrange/ deliver/ give/ provide work for journalists and paparazzi.

Movie stars, television actors and actresses, high-ranking politicians, successful business
people, supermodels and athletes usually become celebrities. A few humanitarian (7)
advisors/ heads/ leaders/ organizers such as Mother Teresa have achieved (8) fame/ joy/
legend/ pride because of their charity work. Some people have become known because of
their online activities and are regarded as Internet celebrities.

Because celebrities (9) lead/ manage/ run/ show a life that is different from that of normal
people, the (10) culture/ neighborhood/ public/ society is interested in their private lives.
Magazines and newspapers follow their every move. Celebrities are often shown as glowing
examples of success and perfection, or as bad and immoral if they are (11) concerned/
contained/ included/ involved in scandals. In order to make money, celebrities often write
books, or create fashion brands and perfumes.

Today’s reality shows often (12) create/ design/ generate/ invent new stars. Normal people
have become celebrities simply for taking part in Survivor or Big Brother. In other cases, (13)
daily/ everyday/ routine/ usual citizens have become celebrities for ridiculous things that they
do. In the past years celebrities have started to (14) manage/ practice/ use/ work social media
networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. Such services allow them to (15) bond/
communicate/ correspond/ join directly with their fans without having to (16) believe/ deny/
rely/ trust on the media to promote their stories. In the eyes of their fans, social media makes
celebrities more human and down-to-earth people.

CORRECCIONES:

1. recognized 9. lead
2. attention 10. public
3. profession 11. involved
4. by 12. create
5. fascinated 13. everyday
6. provide 14. use
7. leaders 15. communicate
8. fame 16. rely

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PART 1

A. UZone drones

A leading online seller has asked the American Aviation Administration for permission to use
drones as part of its plan to deliver packages to customers in less than half an hour.
The seller created a frenzy in the media in December when it outlined its plan to deliver small
packages with the remotely controlled aircrafts. Although it sounds like science fiction, leading
logistics operators argue that satellite and GPS technology are now more than adequate to
provide the technologies to make the plan realistic.

The company has explained that it has spent the last three years developing and testing the
technology on private land in remote and under-populated parts of the country. The top speed
of the aircraft is over 50 miles per hour and at the moment the aircraft can carry packages that
weigh as much as 4 kilos. About three quarters of the company's deliveries are 3 kilos or less,
the company said.

"We believe customers will love it, and we are committed to making LiteAir available to
customers worldwide as soon as the government approves our plans and we are permitted to
do so"  said Doug Deep, the company's logistics and operations manager.

At the moment, the government only allows the use of drones for hobbies and businesses are
not permitted to fly the drones commercially. The company is asking for an exemption so it can
test its drones in Los Angeles, a city notorious for its terrible traffic.

"This will help us to do more research and development before we can guarantee the service
to our domestic customers, most probably by Christmas 2015."

In an effort to make their application more acceptable, the company has offered to pass on
images of traffic that can help prevent crimes and assist emergency services for free.

"Continuing to work for the community at large has always been part of our company policy,"
said Mr Deep, "so, as well as reducing pollution in our cities; we will also be helping the
community in other ways."

B. More women starting businesses than ever before

New data from the British Bureau of Business has revealed that women are starting up new
companies faster than ever. In the last decade, the number of women owning a company has
risen by more than 35 per cent, which is twice as fast as the percentage for men.

This may sound like good news, as greater rates of business creation seem like a good thing.
However, the economic impact of these businesses on the economy has not changed in the
last decade and most businesses that are started never employ anyone except the person
starting it, and neither do they usually last longer than three years. According to Jean Ross,
spokeswoman in the bureau, "most of the businesses are in industries where these people will
struggle to receive an income similar to the one they had in the management positions they
tend to have left."

"It appears the reason why many women try to make a start in business is because they still
earn less money for doing the same work in paid employment, especially in the case of
management positions, and that companies are still inflexible when it comes to balancing
personal life and work for both sexes but particularly in the case of women."

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C. Father throws away bit coins worth €4.5m in local landfill

An unlucky father has tragically thrown away a computer hard drive which contained bit coins
worth more than €4.5m.

The computer is now buried under more than a metre of rubbish in a landfill as big as the size
of a football field.

"I have tried a back up file, and checked everything to see if I had another copy," he said.

"The hard drive was making a noise and I decided to throw it away rather than fix it" he
explained. Three days later I began to get the feeling I had done something stupid and it was
then that I finally realised what I had done."

The IT consultant used a computer programme to create the online currency in 2009, for
virtually nothing and stored the money in a digital file on his PC.

When he threw away the disc last summer, the currency was worth more than €50,000, but
now they have climbed to an incredible €4.5m.

"It's a shame I hadn't been following bit coin, but I became a father three years ago and this
November we had our second child. We have been so busy."

"The people at the landfill showed me where the computer is probably buried, but it is useless
to even begin looking. When I contacted the police, they said they could not help because
nothing illegal had occurred. I just have to accept the loss and be thankful my children are my
greatest treasure."

1. Refers to a delivery problem.

2. Explains that something is no longer working.
3. Talks about an innovation that is yet to be tried out.
4. Expresses regret at a past action.
5. Mentions discrimination at work.
6. Describes losing something that will probably not be found again.
7. Could be useful in the event of a catastrophe.
8. Suggests that figures should not be interpreted so positively.

PART 3

1. This chart shows how interest rates have raised/ risen/stabled/vibrated over time.
2. Entirely/ following/ initially/ than, we took the decision to wait and see what
happened.
3. The interviewee hit/knocked/ touched/ whispered so quietly at the door, she could
not be heard.
4. The time period for the offer only extends during/ for/ until/ up to two weeks.
5. At/ since/ until/ when the company started, things have been going well.
6. The cheque was signed but the appointment/ date/ forgery/ signature did not appear
on it.
7. The report did not refer/state/ warn/ worry most of the problems that had been
identified.

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8. The opening/representation/ reward/ specialty ceremony was well attended by many

successful businesspeople.
9. The mortgage/ property/ proprietor/ state agent has a chain of office buildings in the
West End.
10. Public assent/ transactions/ utilities/ works are one of the safest investments
because they are essential services.

CORRECCIONES

PART 1 1. risen 
1. A. Online seller using drones 2. Initially
2. C. Bit coin 3. knocked 
3. A. Online seller using drones 4. up 
4. C. Bit coin 5. Since 
5. B. Women starting businesses 6. date 
6. C. Bit coin 7. state 
7. A. Online seller using drones 8. opening 
8. B. Women starting businesses 9. proprietor 
10. utilities 

PART 3.

1. There is a lot of concern among scientists that the ice caps are far away/ freezing/
increasing/ melting due to global warming.
2. The conference/ performance/ row/ transport was moved to a secret location to
protect the security of the president.
3. Although I apologized/ melted/ ran away/ say sorry, nobody forgave me.
4. The applications/ cables/ dial/ plugs on the air conditioning wouldn't move and the
temperature couldn't be adjusted.
5. The picture fell off the wall, but we put it back the right away/ level/ way out/ way up.
6. After she received her salary, she went on a holiday/ spray/ spree/ travel and spent
everything.
7. By far the most ladder/ magical/ risky/ unexpected thing about climbing in Ireland is
the sudden changes in weather.
8. Our tutor always answered/ impulsed/ inspired/ responded us to do our best despite
the doubts we could have.
9. Sometimes I have a sudden urge to do something and I act on experience/ impulse/
instinctively/ methodological.
10. Whenever certain doubts enter my mind, I find I dull/ hesitate/ impulse/ risk and don't
know what to do.

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PART 4

Not so long 1. After/ ago/ during/ since, it was common for British children to learn how to
perform something for the 2. Entertainment/ profit/ pros/ relatives of adults. They would do
this by reading, acting or 3. Doing/ playing/ practicing/ touching a musical instrument. As they
got up 4. Enjoyable/ older/ satisfied/ up, their parents would take them to public places 5. As/
like/ long/ such the theatre, the ballet, the circus or the opera.

The children were highly likely to look 5. At/ forward/ or/ to these kinds of events as if they
were 6. Magical/ perfectly/ real/ there and their parents would also often share in
their plans 7. Excitement/ plans/ rows/ tears and talk happily about the shows they had seen
for weeks 8. Ago/ after/ since/ until.

However, nowadays the importance of these shows has been replaced by television and
computers. They 9. Closely/ play/ send/ supply us with endless entertainment and families
have been quick to accept these replacements, not least because they are often 10. Famous/
free/ predicable/ unregulated and there is no need to travel far to have fun at any time of day
or night. Some fear that for many children the chance of watching a special 11. Apologies/
performance/ prize/ role might have disappeared for ever.

However, there is no need to shed a tear about this anymore. The presence of a TV may have
caused some 12. Audience/ spectators/ viewers/ lookers to put up their feet and act lazily at
home, but there are incredibly large numbers who have seen something that has ignited
their 13. Desire/ inspire/ want/ would like to become performing artists and follow their
dreams wherever they take them. This explains why live performances are still 14. Approved/
famous/ favourite/ popular, even if the format of each show has changed so much in such a
short period.

CORRECCIONES:

PART 3. PART 4.
1. Melting 1. Ago 11. free
2. Conference 2. Entertainment 12. viewers
3. Apologized 3. Playing 13. desire
4. Dial 4. Older 14. popular
5. way up 5. Like
6. spree 6. Forward
7. risky 7. Magical
8. inspired 8. Excitement
9. impulse 9. After
10. hesitate 10. supply

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PART 1.

What it's like to change lives with a stranger?

Lucy Mc Ellis is an air hostess with an international airline who spent the day working as a
personal trainer at a gym.

'I was pretty scared about doing this job, because the last time I did any exercise was at school
years ago. It was amazing to see how much attention I had to give to one person at a time.
Where I work you meet more than a hundred passengers on each flight. During lunch I was
very surprised to see that some of the trainers didn't eat that healthily, which is something I
always worry about. I thought they would be too, but they all drink lots of water. Even though
it seems easier, I wouldn't change what I do for this. But in any case it has inspired me to
consider becoming a member of a gym and try to be a bit healthier.'

Sonia Harvey is a personal trainer who spent the day aboard a plane working as a member of
the aircrew.

'After I changed into the uniform, the moment I put it on, I felt completely different. People
suddenly look at you wherever you go and respect you for it. Before taking off, the flight
supervisor told us about safety, such as what to do if someone had a heart attack. This was
something I already knew about from my fitness training. When the passengers came on the
flight to Paris, I gave out drinks and magazines. As everyone was staring at me, I felt very self-
conscious and a little uncomfortable. The plane was full of school children on the return
journey and they wouldn't sit still. It was the only time all day I wished I was back in the gym
with just one person at a time to look after.'

1. In Sonia's opinion:

A. She enjoyed being the centre of attention.

B. Some of the people she came across were difficult to handle.

C. Dealing with people individually was easy.

D. The airline staff need to be fit to do their job.

2. Which of the workers knows some first aid?

A. Sonia knows some first aid and Lucy doesn't.

B. Lucy knows some first aid and Sonia doesn't.

C. They both know some first aid.

D. Neither knows any first aid.

3. Before starting work, Lucy was worried about:

A. How fit she would need to be.

B. What food to eat at lunchtime.

C. How to keep people under control.

D. What would happen in an emergency.

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4. Which of the workers had a difficult time?

A. Sonia and Lucy both found their changed jobs difficult.

B. Neither Sonia nor Lucy had a difficult time.

C. Lucy had a more difficult time than Sonia.

D. Sonia had a more difficult time than Lucy.

Elena Currie is a zoo-keeper who spent the day in the offices of Snap magazine.

'Choosing what to wear for my day in the offices of Snap was quite tricky because normally I
wear a uniform at work. When I arrived I didn't stay there long, because I went to a still life in
the photography studio first and then to a couple of interviews before lunch. Work at the zoo
is in such a tranquil peaceful place and here I was running around when I am so used to sitting
quietly in the company of animals giving them some affection and love. I think most of the
members of the fashion scene seemed quite stressed. That is not the case in my job, which
doesn't really have as much pressure as that. That afternoon at a fashion shoot it made me
laugh to think that I'd usually be cleaning out cages or handling rats. Although it was
fascinating to see how magazines work, I really enjoy my job at the zoo too much to ever
consider leaving.'

Alice Boxton, who spent the day at Birmingham zoo, is a fashion assistant.

'As usual I weighed up the pros and cons about what to wear for hours before I arrived, so I
turned up at the zoo in my leather boots and dark blue trousers. My manager, Louise, soon
gave me a green polo shirt instead to work in, which was just as well because it's a job where
you get very dirty. While I was spending time with one of the young elephants, I thought about
Elena. She would probably be taking out clothes and make ups for some shoots or taking notes
in an interview. I've had such a wonderful day here it's made me think that perhaps when I
retire from fashion I could see myself working with elephants, but in a safari park in Africa and
not a zoo here.'

5. Which of the workers might consider doing a similar job to the one she tried?

A. Both Alice and Elena would consider it.

B. Neither Alice nor Elena would consider it.

C. Elena would consider it.

D. Alice would consider it.

6. Which of the workers had difficulty making up her mind?

A. Both Alice and Elena.

B. Neither Alice nor Elena.

C. Elena couldn't.

D. Alice couldn't.

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7. Before starting work, Alice was worried about:

A. If she would get on with everybody.

B. How stressful the job would be.

C. What to wear.

D. How long she would have to work.

8. What did Alice imagine?

A. What Sonia would be doing.

B. What working with animals might be like.

C. Both of the above answers.

D. None of the above answers.

Charlotte Hodgson is a nurse at Guy's hospital who went to join the gardening team in
London's Kew Gardens.

'I was extremely excited about meeting the team and the leader, Guy, who was really nice, like
all the rest. One of the things I liked most was the chance to be in the fresh air. It's not always
something I have much chance to do. It depends on my shifts and there are times I never see
daylight. Even though it was hard work, it was great fun but I discovered I'm not as strong as I
thought and felt weak in comparison with the rest of the team. However, they were all men, so
I'm not that surprised. The vision I had had of landscape gardening had been pretty romantic I
suppose, because it had not included all the physical hard work and detailed planning. In
conclusion, I was more of an enthusiastic gardener than an effective one and I don't know how
I would cope with the cold.'

Mary Sidell is a landscape gardener at Kew Gardens who worked for the day at Guy's
Hospital.

'I made beds and gave out some tablets under the supervision of a doctor, who took notes
about the patients at the same time. I expected that some things like seeing blood would
bother me, but in the end I reacted well to everything. What was really great was the
friendship all the nurses have. Being there felt quite feminine in comparison to my normal
environment, where nearly everyone I work with is male. In comparison to what I have done
today, I feel my job could seem like a real waste of time. Spending the day nursing at the
hospital was often quite complicated and a little unpleasant, but it left me with a great sense
of satisfaction.'

9. In Charlotte's opinion:

A. She enjoyed being the centre of attention.

B. Some of the people she came across were difficult to handle.

C. Dealing with everybody was easy.

D. She was not fit enough to do the job.

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10. Which of the workers was surprised at their reaction to some parts of the job?

A. Both Charlotte and Mary were surprised.

B. Neither Charlotte nor Mary was surprised.

C. Only Charlotte was surprised.

D. Only Mary was surprised.

11. Who found the relationships between workers satisfying?

A. Both Charlotte and Mary did.

B. Neither Charlotte nor Mary did.

C. Only Charlotte did.

D. Only Mary did.

12. What did Charlotte find out?

A. Her previous idea of the job had been unrealistic.

B. The cold weather was too much for her.

C. The relationships between people were quite tense.

D. It was difficult to know what to do next.

CORRECCIONES

PART 1.
1. B 7. C
2. C 8. D
3. A 9. C
4. D 10. D
5. D 11. A
6. A 12. A

You are going to read an extract from an article about managing talent within companies.
For questions 1-8, choose the correct answer according to the text.

Developing the right attitude towards talent

Before your company can start taking the right action to manage talent effectively, you will
need to make sure that everyone involved has the right attitude towards talent. If not, it will
be easy for parts of the programme to be managed ineffectively, which will inevitably
complicate everything else that's going on.

To understand what we mean by this, you should understand that your organisation must
actively support the maximum development of the talent and skills people have. By far the
most important step in doing this is to realise that the right attitude is everything. To make
employees believe that developing talent is a priority in the workplace, they actually need to

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see the enthusiasm for it reflected in the company's managers, supervisors and executives on
a daily basis.

When employees see senior managers supporting a programme with passion and
commitment, it is far more probable they will follow the programme's development with the
same enthusiasm. It is necessary for managers to believe that the training will be worthwhile,
and in the majority of cases the rest of the team will follow suit.

A talent management scheme should also be persuasive and realistic. Without a robust
argument for its existence and relevance to the business world, it will be difficult to get even
the most motivated employees on board.

However, all too often the following type of situation occurs; when the economy is booming
and sales and profits are doing well, it becomes difficult to find the right sorts of people with
the right sorts of skills.

For this reason, the number of skilled people on the market is comparatively smaller, and only
good companies with the right attitude will be able to attract the best candidates. Unless the
opportunities for development that are put into place are effective, the best people will leave
and this causes a “brain drain” that lowers productivity, increases recruitment and hiring costs,
and generally creates problems across departments.

So in circumstances like these, it is advisable for upper management to take action to attract
new talent while providing the motivation for experienced talent to stay. Mentoring and
secondments are often effective ways of achieving this.

When the economy is in a downturn, the recruitment market can dry up, meaning that it's
easier to keep people on board for longer. Even so, talent management helps to increase
people's performance, meaning that the company is better able to deal with these hard
economic times. In addition, when times improve, the organisation will have better skills in
place to take advantage of the upturn when it finally comes.

In order to find out how well your company performs, there is really only one consistently
effective method and that is interviewing staff. Listening to employees has its dangers of
course, but companies will not produce good results unless management is prepared to act on
what the workers say. The question is; are you prepared?

1. What was the author's motive for writing this article?

a. The author wanted to join a new company but did not have the right skills.

b. To warn against believing that training employees is always successful and easy.

c. To sell a training product.

d. To promote employment agencies.

2. According to the author, what things can help make a training programme successful?

a. Offering redundancy packages to older employees and then training new staff.

b. Using short programmes that are less than two months long.

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c. Providing opportunities for employees to take on new roles and responsibilities.

d. Offering financial incentives for completing the programmes.

3. According to the text, what must managers do to create an environment for success?

a. Only select certain employees for training programmes.

b. Offer the programmes to everyone in the organisation.

c. Show outward enthusiasm towards the training programmes.

d. Insist people work harder and longer.

4. According to the text, what might make a programme unsuccessful?

a. A lack of energy.

b. Courses that are too short.

c. Courses that are too long.

d. Economic downturn.

5. "To get people on board" means...

a. To recruit more people than necessary.

b. To be determined.

c. To promote.

d. To convince or motivate a group of people.

6. According to the text, what difficulties can occur when the economy is doing well?

a. Employees are more likely to leave if they are not satisfied.

b. Skilled employees choose to take early retirement.

c. Managers could be too busy to train their teams.

d. Experienced employees are scared to change jobs.

7. What is the meaning of "downturn" in the penultimate paragraph?

a. A period when the economy remains the same.

b. An increase in costs and profits.

c. Decreased sales due to economic factors.

d. Outsourcing to other companies.

8. What does the author suggest in the final paragraph?

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a. Listening to employees' opinions has more dangers than benefits.

b. We should pay more attention to how managers and executives act.

c. Acting on instinct is usually the best option.

d. Management should listen to workers and also take action based on what they
say.

CORRECCIONES.

1. B 5. D
2. C 6. A
3. C 7. C
4. A 8. D

PART 3.

1. We needed to assess/ esteem/ exam/ provide the damages before we could pay
anything.
2. The commission/ interest/ payroll/ risk I earned last month was my highest ever.
3. The assessments/ clauses/ conditioning/ risks were high, so we decided to insure the
whole operation.
4. The political/ policy/ provisional/ risk we chose at the end was standard and contained
no special clauses.
5. In the chance/ end/ event/ final of a claim, you will need to complete all the
paperwork.
6. Before I could take out the policy, I needed a medical check in/ check out/ up/
checking.
7. They expected to receive more wage/compensation/ fee/ policy, but that is all they
got.
8. The police/ equip/ agent/ employment works in a small office, which is always busy.
9. The actually/ actuary/ buyer/ disaster calculates the prices of all the policies we sell.
10. The cost of buy/ replacement/ replacing/ substitution the stolen car was paid for by
our insurers.

CORRECCIONES:

1. Assess 6. check up
2. Commission 7. compensation
3. Risks 8. agent
4. Policy 9. actuary
5. Event 10. replacing

PART 1.

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How would you define your values?

Before deciding what's most important in your life, it is useful to consider what values are and
what they mean. Values are the things that people believe are especially important in their
lives and at work. Psychologists and social scientists argue they define our priorities and tell us
how satisfied we are with the lives we have. According to research, when values match the
things that we do, we feel satisfied and content. Of course the opposite is true, so when things
feel wrong, this may be a sign that our values are not being met. Feelings like these explain
why it is so important to make a conscious effort to identify the values we have.

Normally our values are quite stable, but they are not fixed and may change, which is normal
considering how different certain things that occur during our lifetimes can be. For example,
the values of status and money may appear high early on in life, but as most of us settle down
and have a family, a balance between work and life may gain priority.

Life can be much easier when we understand what values we have and in particular when we
want to be fair and avoid unnecessary conflict, especially with ourselves. For example, many
people in Britain work more than 60 hours a week, but amongst some of these hard workers
are people who say they value family more than anything else. Large numbers of people don't
value competition very highly, but the numbers of people working in competitive sales
environments is growing all the time. Could situations like these be producing stress and
conflict for you?

The examples above show that it is often worthwhile to consider what our values first were to
get new perspectives and identify the things that make us happiest. Remembering moments
like these may sound easy. However, often until we have some experience of doing this
consciously, this can be much more difficult than it first seems.

In order to get some valuable experience, experts suggest remembering a time when you were
happy and reflecting upon what you did, who you were with and the other factors that
contributed to feeling happy at the time. Doing so should help to understand what makes you
happy even if it is something different now to what it was before.

However, some professionals argue that it is also important to understand why we are not
happy, as this should be equally instructional about what our values are. In any case, nearly all
agree making choices is not always easy. Even so, making the right choice based on values is a
lot less difficult in the long term.

Therefore it seems keeping in touch with your values is a lifelong exercise in understanding
your personal integrity. There are experts who say that often we ask for too many things, even
though we value a simpler life more than anything else. Maybe this is a source of the great
dissatisfaction and frustration many people feel nowadays. Valuing simplicity could give us the
chance to express our values with confidence with our family and friends and eventually to be
fairer on ourselves and on the demands we make on others.

1. What type of article is this?

A. A specialist article for psychologists.

B. A general information article.

C. A catalogue of services a company offers.

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D. An article aimed at university students.

2. Why did the author write this article?

A. To recommend choosing a job you like.

B. To give a specialist opinion about the importance of family life.

C. To provide help and advice.

D. To show there is a conflict between medical specialists.

3. What are values?

A. Everything that we believe.

B. Beliefs about the importance of work and family.

C. Both of the above answers.

D. None of the above answers.

4. According to the article:

A. Our values should never change during our lives.

B. Most conflicts occur when we change our values.

C. Priorities change and so do values.

D. All of the above.

5. According to the article:

A. We should learn to do different jobs well even if they are unpopular.

B. Conflicts can occur when our actions and values are different.

C. Many common jobs are so popular because they help us to maintain our values.

D. All of the above.

6. What benefits can understanding the values we had in the past bring?

A. Understanding them can make our present life simpler.

B. It stops you making the same mistake again and again.

C. Life in the past is less complicated.

D. There is no benefit and focussing on the future should be your goal.

7. What does the article say about decision making?

A. It's better to wait a long time before taking complicated decisions.

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B. Psychologists will help to make people happy about any decision they take.

C. Our values can make difficult choices easier.

D. Making difficult decisions changes our values quickly.

8. What final recommendation does the author make?

A. Choose the job you like.

B. Happiness is too complicated for most people to inspire too.

C. Aspirations frustrate our real desires.

D. The value of simplicity could provide the balance many people want.

CORRECCIONES:

1. B 5. B
2. C 6. A
3. B 7. C
4. C 8. D

PART 1 AND 4.

You are going to read four business emails.

Match the emails (A-D) to the information (1-10) that is given.

A.

It has been brought to my attention that security in the building is not as good as it could be.
You may be aware that one of our secretaries had her bag stolen yesterday afternoon during
the lunch period, when the offices are not very busy. I would like to remind you to take great
care when entering and leaving the building that nobody who works in the company is allowed
in at any time. It is for that reason that everyone has a security pass, which should be used at
all times and shown to the security staff if it is asked for.

I will be preparing a report on how security in the building can be improved and would be
grateful for any recommendations you might care to make.

Please email me with your ideas by the end of the week.

B.

You will all know by now that we have been internally interviewing candidates for the position
of temporary Marketing Director after the previous holder, Susannah Diaz, has gone on
maternity leave. We are pleased to inform you that Simone Lewis from our Oslo office will be
appointed to the position next week. Simone has worked in the Marketing Department for the
last ten years and we are confident she will be a valuable member of the team here.

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I would like to invite you to a short lunchtime reception in our meeting room next Wednesday
7th April, when you will have the chance to meet Simone informally. Tea, coffee and snacks
will be available, so please let me know if you can attend the meeting by this Friday.

C.

I am writing to you about our order for our new office printing machinery. The letter of credit
for them was sent by fax last Thursday 22nd June, but we have had no news about the
shipment yet although you guaranteed to send them immediately after.

When I called your sales office this morning, your secretary mentioned you were away until
the end of next week.

Could you please call me before tomorrow afternoon and inform me of what is happening? We
have an urgent deadline to produce our new sales catalogues for a sales convention in
Budapest next week and we expected to be able to do this without any delays.

D.

Thank you for your email... I am attaching a typical training programme for you to have a look
at. At this stage it is difficult to be too specific about the particular course you require.

Would I be able to visit you at your offices next week to discuss the courses in more detail? I
would like to arrange the dates and also find out the numbers of people who wish to complete
the course. I have discussed this with my sales officer, who has decided that as this is the first
time you have contracted training with us we could offer you a 10€ discount on the cost of the
training and materials. How does that sound?

Please call me to arrange a time for our meeting next week.

Which email:

1. Refers to a delivery problem?

2. Has managed to sell something?

3. Explains why someone is no longer working?

4. Describes internal company regulations?

5. Wants suggestions from staff?

6. Is prepared to lower prices?

7. Refers to some good news inside the

company?

8. Refers to a potential danger?

9. Is worried about managing time urgently?

10. Is requesting confirmation of attendance

Read the text below and decide which answer best fits each gap.

Online rental company made illegal in Europe

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Established in 2008 in San Francisco, AirBd is an online 1. Let/ mortgage/ property/ rental site

that offers 2. Accommodation/ entertainment/ profit/ stay to visitors in people's homes for
short stays. It has become the world's most popular site for 3. Free/ holiday/ staying/ tourist
accommodation and on its site there are rental properties in more than 34,000 cities in 190
countries, and around 15 million people have used its services.

AirBd has already been targeted and fined by 4. Authorities/ commercials/ mortgages/
politics in the United States and Canada. But now the European Union has fined the company
more than €30,000 for providing illegal services on the site.

European rental law says that short-term tourist rentals should be 5. Advised/ legal/
regulated/ there by regional governments. Since these laws came into effect many owners
have signed up on an official register and are 6. Following/ ignoring/ listening/ looking the
legal requirements for their tourist rental homes. However, renting out individual rooms
continues to be 7. Allowed/ legal/ prohibited/ there, especially in cases where the properties
are 8. Leased/ lived/ mortgaged/ sublet as owner occupier loans. This is where the courts
decided the company has 9.  Broken/ closed/ saw/ supplied the law.

These kinds of websites and applications have become a real problem for governments
because many users who listed their homes were not paying tax on their 10. Audits/
declarations/ revenues/ statements. Nor in many cases were the 11.
Accommodation/ furniture/ premise/ properties insured. Transportation is also an
increasingly controversial issue. For example, a website which allows users to order a vehicle
with a driver on short notice in many cities has caused a European taxi strike by drivers in
several major cities. Sites like these are being inspected as well, and legal experts say they will
probably be the next to be fined in the 12. Closer/ near/ short/ visible future.

CORRECCIONES:

PART 1. PART 4. 11. Properties

1. EMAIL C 1. Rental 12. Near
2. EMAIL D 2. Accommodation
3. EMAIL B 3. Holiday
4. EMAIL A 4. Authorities
5. EMAIL A 5. Regulated
6. EMAIL D 6. Following
7. EMAIL B 7. Prohibited
8. EMAIL A 8. Mortgaged
9. EMAIL C 9. Broken
10. EMAIL B 10. Revenues

PART 4.

toleration compensation fair certificate / dismissing

origin

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misrepresented vote wear / tear taken terms

scenario class covered

1. ______________ towards employees using their mobile phones for personal phone
calls must stop.
2. The union cannot decide to go on strike before there has been a ______________.
3. It's in the interests of everyone that we all receive _______________ treatment.
4. _______________ all the strikers was probably illegal and we might be ___________
to court.
5. The insurers did not give us a full ____________ for the price of the old machine
because of ____________ and _____________.
6. This _____________ of risk is extremely difficult to calculate, so we can't be
_____________.
7. The document that states where the goods come from is the ______________ of
_____________.
8. The ____________ were approved by our headquarters based in London.
9. It was a confusing ____________ with conflicting interests and all the people involved
felt they were _______________.

CORRECCIONES.

1. Toleration 6. Class/ covered

2. Vote 7. Certificate/ origin
3. Fair 8. Terms
4. Dismissing/ taken 9. Scenario/ misrepresented
5. Compensation/ wear/ tear

PART 3.

Read the article and think of the word that best fits each gap.

UK supermarkets unlock empty land to build new homes

Supermarkets in the UK are planning to build 4,000 new homes in an attempt to make use of
the vast portions of the 1. Borrowed/ built/ overdeveloped/ undeveloped land they own. The
construction programme, valued at £1bn, is the biggest project ever announced by these
companies and is the first time that their business activity will be 2. Dedicated/ focused/
relocated/ sold to building.

At present, the numbers of 3. Abandoning/ disused/ rejected/ reused sites owned by UK

supermarkets run into the thousands.

The supermarkets bought them in the boom period before the economic 4. Booming/ crash/
slow/ tragedy of 2006.

However, since then, customer 5. Aptitudes/ habitats/ habit/ skills and attitudes to shopping
have changed and the result is that traders have been left with land which has been 6.
Dropping/ losing/ misusing/ rising value.

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Shareholders and investors have been demanding the land is sold, but the most interested
buyers have been the supermarkets' own 7. Challengers/ competitors/ enemies/ oppose.
Considering this, the supermarkets decided to ignore their own investors' impatience, and the
wait now appears to be over.

Recent changes in planning law now allow construction on large sites to go 8. Ahead/ away/
further/ nearer where local housing needs are highest. The process is now much simpler and,
9. Provided/ unless/ until/ which the sites also construct community areas such as schools,
parks and sports centres, it cannot be 10. Refusal/ returned/ turned down/ turned off.

The new investments should 11. Content/ like/ please/ win both new and existing residents
and investors and share prices in the big three supermarkets have steadily risen this week,
when the news was first 12. Approved/ let/ passed/ released.

CORRECCIONES

1. Undeveloped 7. Competitors
2. Dedicated 8. Ahead
3. Disused 9. Provided
4. Crash 10. turned down
5. Habits 11. please
6. Losing 12. released

PART 3

More people than ever are changing banks

Statistics suggest people are more likely to move to another country rather than change
their current account, but increasing numbers of account holders are switching to other
banks after years of lasting (1) faith/impatience/loyalty/trustfulness. More recently, the
majority of those taking their business to new entities had held their accounts with the
High Street giants.

The speed of current account switching is on the rise and traditional banks have
been noticing how much business they are losing fast. That may be so, but almost all have
not acted quickly enough, and those few who have, have (2)
experienced/experimented/made/ occurred different levels of success. Looking at what is
on offer, it appears that the banks are not sure what is taking their once faithful customers
away, nor how to attract new clients. Perhaps in desperation, some have taken the drastic
step of offering cash incentives, and nearly all now offer accounts free from bank charges
as long as customers are not (3)black/credit/overdrawn/red.

Comparison websites like switch4u.com reckon this growing consumer (4) acceptance/

confidence/motive/trendy, and increasing competition, means people are now starting to

vote with their feet when they're unhappy, and (5) walk around/walk back/ walk in/ walk
away. Other consumer groups agree and predict these changes will make banks more

(6) competitive/ courteous/ offers/ prepared by continuing to invent better deals.

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In total, thousands have moved their accounts, and the question the banks should respond
to is: what makes switching (7) really/so/such/too a wise move; how can we win more
people over than the competition?

With many online accounts the simple convenience of not needing to queue is
(8)enough/much/such/too reason for many to change. Yet, this simple improvement of
services is no longer an advantage as all banks now provide free internet banking.
According toswith4u.com, the appeal of interest being paid on (9) rates
balances/commissions/conditions is certainly a major selling point. "More often than not,
today's answer to saving is simpler than the range of accounts people in their fifties and
sixties grew up using. Combined accounts, as well as reduced prices for paying a wide (10)
commission/discount/kind/range of bills, including utilities, taxes and mobile phone
services, are what customers want nowadays', claims Angie Fishguard, a legal expert who
compares the small (11) letter/print/signature/writing in the contracts the banks provide
for switch4u.com costumers. Based on her experience, she warns that ' banks that reward
customers with attractive incentives sometimes make the account difficult to compare at a
glance with offers from other operators."

Since September 2013 the process of switching banks has become streamlined to take less
than a week, with the industry guaranteeing the change being complete (12) after/during/
for/in seven working days.

All a customer needs to do is to contact the bank to which they wish to switch the account,
and its staff will make all the arrangements. There is no need to even talk to the old bank,
and many banks allow the whole switch to be done online. Previously, mistakes, delays
and disputes were common, but these are (13) answers/ histories/ solutions/things of the
past.

However, there is an unforeseen problem customers often come across when switching
accounts and that is the issue of gaining access to old (14) cheques/invoices/salaries/
statements, something you will need if you are applying for a mortgage, for example.

The easiest way to avoid all this is to print off all the information you think you
(15)might/must/should/will need before you switch and keep it just in case.

CORRECCIONES:

1. loyalty 6. competitive 11. print

2. experienced 7. such 12. in
3. overdrawn 8. enough 13. things
4. confidence 9. balances 14. statements
5. walk away 10. range 15. might

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