I. Read the following text and choose the right answer.

Return to River Town

In 1996, Peace Corps volunteer Peter Hessler arrived in Fuling, a quiet town on the Yangtze, to
teach English. He went back recently to find the landscape and his former students transformed.
I am in the White Crane Ridge Underwater Museum near the city of Fuling. The museum is the
strangest sight here – it’s under 40 metres of water on the side of the Three Gorges Dam*. I’ve
known the museum director, Huang Dejian, since before the museum existed. The last time I saw
him, the Three Gorges Dam was still under construction 450 kilometres down the river. Fuling is
at the junction of the Yangtze and the Wu Rivers. In the mid-1990s it felt sleepy and isolated.
There was no main road or railway line. The Yangtze ferries took seven hours to reach Chongqing,
the nearest large city. Foreigners were rare – if I ate my lunch in the town centre, a crowd often
came to watch me. The city had one escalator, one nightclub, and no traffic lights. I didn’t know
anybody with a car. From 1996 to 1998, I worked at Fuling Teachers College. My students came
from rural homes and they wanted to be English teachers. My students taught me many things.
They helped me to understand people’s experiences of moving from the countryside to big cities.
They also taught me about the complexities of poverty in China. My students didn’t have much
money, but they were optimistic and they had opportunities. During my return visit, about 15
students come back to Fuling to meet me. They tell me about their classmates who have left
Fuling. One is a Communist Party official in Tibet, another started a taxi company and became a
millionaire. One woman presented a radio show for years. My old students are interested in
analysing their society. One, who gave himself the English name of Mo Money says, ‘Life is
competitive. I think this is a special stage for China. In the past we criticised capitalist America.
But now we are in a similar situation.’ Another, Emily, tells me about her cousin, who has become
richer, but not happier. My last meeting on this visit is with fishermen, Huang Zongming and his
brother Zongguo. I was here when they moved out of their homes in June 2003, when the first
stage of the dam was completed. Now I am surprised to discover that everything is almost the
same for them. They are still fishermen. The fishing on the river is still good. The dam has not
changed everything in Fuling. *The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River stretches for nearly
2.5 kilometres and is the largest concrete structure on Earth. It’s five times as wide as the Hoover
Dam in the United States and is the world’s biggest power station.

1 The town of Fuling …

a is near the Three Gorges Dam.
b is now under the water of the Three Gorges Dam.
c was built at the same time as the Three Gorges Dam.

2 Peter Hessler describes …

a his job at the Fuling Teacher’s College.
b the changes he sees in the Fuling region.
c the Three Gorges Dam project.

3 How is Fuling different today?

a It’s quieter than before.
b Lots of people speak English.
c People are richer.
4 Huang Dejian and Peter Hessler …
a have not seen each other for several years.
b have recently met.
c were students together years ago.
5 Fuling …
a used to be a busy town.
b used to be difficult to get to.
c used to have lot of foreign visitors.

6 Peter’s students …
a wanted to work in rural parts of China.
b mostly came from the city.
c were training to become teachers.

7 Peter’s students …
a found they didn’t have enough money for city life.
b were poor but felt positive about the future.
c were unhappy because they were poor.

8 After Peter’s students left college …

a some of them did surprising jobs.
b they returned home to teach.
c they stayed in Fuling city to work.

- Read the text and answer the questions:

9 What does Peter say about his old students?

They came from rural houses and wanted to be English teachers. They taught him many things.
They helped him understand the experiences of people moving from the countryside to big
cities. He also taught her about the complexities of poverty in China. That his students didn't
have a lot of money, but they were optimistic and had opportunities.

10 What does Peter say about the two fishermen?

That everything is almost the same for them. They are still fishermen.

II. The writer of the text sometimes uses the present or present perfect tense to
describe his visit to Fuling. Read this paragraph again and change the verbs in
bold to the past simple or past perfect simple form.

During my return visit, about 15 students come back to Fuling to meet me. They tell
me about their classmates who have left Fuling. One is a Communist Party official
in Tibet, another started a taxi company and became a millionaire. One woman
presented a radio show for years. My old students are interested in analysing their
society. One, who gave himself the English name of Mo Money says, ‘Life is
competitive. I think this is a special stage for China. In the past we criticised capitalist
America. But now we are in a similar situation.’ Another, Emily, tells me about her
cousin who has become richer, but not happier.

During my return visit, about 15 students had come back to Fuling to meet me. They
told me about their classmates who had left Fuling. One is a Communist Party
official in Tibet, another started a taxi company and became a millionaire. One
woman presented a radio show for years. My old students was interested in analysing
their society. One, who gave himself the English name of Mo Money had say, ‘Life
is competitive. I think this is a special stage for China. In the past we criticised
capitalist America. But now we are in a similar situation.’ Another, Emily, had told
me about her cousin who had become richer, but not happier.