18.

ONE JOKE TOO MANY

My boyfriend Peter is a real joker. He is always playing tricks on me and usually I find them
funny, if a bit much annoying. But his most recent trick involved so many of other people
and made me look so silly that I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive him. Last month, I
was lucky enough to reach up the finals of a karaoke competition. Then a few more days
later, 1 received a letter from a big television company, saying that one of their staff it had
seen me perform and that they wanted me to appear on a future television show. I was so
thrilled that 1 rang to all my friends with the news. Pete didn’t seem very interested in,
however, and although I thought fills was strange, I imagined he was just shocked, as what
I was, or possibly even jealous. Then 1 noticed an identical copy of the letter sitting on the
back seat of his car and when I realised that Pete had actually typed the letter himself and
it was all from a joke! What kind a fool I had been? The letter wasn't even written on
company notepaper. And then, of course, I had for to ring all my friends back and tell them
the truth, which was really embarrassing.

19. LOVE GOD

He has sold out 20 million records. His last album outsold U2 and he has sung duets with
Tina Turner. But the English speaking world doesn’t seem to be much aware of Eros
Ramazzotti.
The lovingly named Eros, a former footballer whose tours . sellout in stadiums across
Europe, he has come up against a small problem with his native mother tongue.
The Italian may be the language of love, but apparently it has a bigger appeal in the opera
house than in the record store has. Eros, . though, is determined not to go down the same
way as Julio Ingỉesias, lisping his way sweetly around vowels and consonants not designed
for his southern European lips. He will still continue to sing in Italian. Eros is fully booked to
play London’s Wembley Arena on 11 November. He can be certain that there will be there
at least some members in the crowd able to sing along to all the chorus. London based
footballers'Roberto di Matteo and Glaniuca Vialli are big fans. Who knows that, maybe
some of Eros’s lyrics, which his fans claim are worthy of a poet, will find themselves their
way onto the terraces.

AN UNEXPECTED ACCIDENT
We had just arrived in a village on the way to meet some friends who we were going hiking
With when we had had a flat tyre. We got out of the car and walked towards a shop so that we
could have
ask if there was a someone who could change the flat tyre. The 2.
shop-owner agreed that to help US by sending a boy to fetch a 3.
man to look at the tyre. He explained that it would cost a lot of 4.
money because the materials for doing such jobs were expensive 5. and difficult to get
them. All we could do was to sit around and 6.
wait for the job to be done. While we were waiting we decided to 7.
Spend some time playing a game of our football. However, as It was 8. the middle of
summer it soon became SO hot that we had to stop. 9.
We sat on some chairs and ordered a cold drink and had looked 10.
at the view; When the man finally he came, we asked him to 11.
finish quickly because we were in a hurry to meet our friends. Even 12.
though he worked quickly it still took a few of hours for him 13.
to be finish. We could only hope that our friends had not set off 14.
without us. We would have to drive quickly to make it up for lost time. 15.

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 21. STUDYING ABROAD
There are two reasons why 1 had wanted to study in Paris. I wanted to be in a place which
it was at the centre of Europe, close to it other countries such as England and Germany.
The other reason was that I had been found it very difficult to find a place to study of
medicine in my own country, where there were only three medical schools. I had spent my
last two school years at a boarding school, where I was made a lot of friends and learned to
look after myself. I was nineteen when I just left and I knew that 1 could deal with a student
life. First of all, I had to learn the language of the country I would be living in there for quite
a while. I leamt with the language quickly because I stayed with a family, which was a great
deal help. I was expected to speak only their language and not mine. After that, I looked
around for an apartment to rent. I found one very close to the university so I went on the
foot every day. I was able to exercise a lot and therefore be fit al! year round. My studies
went very much well and I graduated at the top of the class with full honours.
After four years of backbreaking training and also preparation, the Singapore Mt Everest
Expedition Team is ready to mount the summit of the world's most highest peak in the next few
weeks.
In 1353, the Sir 3ohn Hunt expedition has put two climbers on the summit. But on this
expedition, they mounted the summit through the South Col route. The Singapore team will
attempt to retrace the exactly same route as they begin their ascent.

22. ON TO EVEREST

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 The idea is to cfimb Everest was first brought up in 1990. 6
The Singapore Mountaineering Federation, was being established
p- ,$ách t .HyỄn Thi Đ.Í

in 1 3 and a permit for the climb was finally given in May 1994.
The Singapore Everest team, which comprises of eight
climbers and a support team, left for Katmandu in early March: a
relatively very young team with the average age of members being at
about 30 years old and whose members come from all the walks of life.
The journey will be gruelling I and members are fully aware of that
they may not succeed,
or more worse, survive. Our hopes and prayers will follow
them.
23. FLOOD AND DROUGHT
If the experts could not agree on it the reason for the worst
0
it.
floods of the century in northern Europe, they are no wiser
00
z
about the drought which it is taking place in the south. The
1
people are looking forward at the sky for the rain clouds which
2
never come. A lot of people think it might bè such a good idea if
3
the planes do not fly over their areas so they do not frighten of
4
the clouds away. In some areas the drought that has been going 5...........................
on for five long years. Swimming pools in resort areas lie empty 6.............................
because of residents have to put up with daily water cuts up
7
to 16 hours. On the other hand, in the northern part of Europe,
8
thousands of residents have been left without some homes and
9
have had to stay in other people’s homes. Many farmers have lost a
10..................................................................................................................................................
lot of money because their crops which were destroyed and could 11.......................
not be sold. Although some farmers tried to get back to their
12
farms they were not allowed to by the police. Besides from the
13
£
beautiful flowers, fruit and vegetables were also, so badly hit that
14. ^.....
nothing could have be saved. Everyone in both the northern and
15...2.Ù..........................................................................................................................................
southern part of the continent will be relieved when it is all over.

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24. ETICKET 6
The idea of ticketless travel has been around US for a long time.
Frequent flyers, especially those clever enough to be able to travel
with the hand-luggage only, have been looking forward to the era of
the E (for Electronic) ticket that it replaces messy pieces bits of paper
with a swipe of a credit card and a touch of a screen. Now the time
has come. Aberdeen airport was the only first British Airways base to
use of tile new electronic ticketing system, closely be followed by
other UK airports. BA has now been installed IBM developed
electronic ticketing kiosks across its entire domestic network. Already
one traveller in ten

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 is using E-tickets to travel on BA domestic flights. Customers with hand baggage who can book
over the phone and check in at a kiosk, using a BA Executive Club card for identification.
The traveller may only needs to touch the screen to confirm or change their seat before being
issued a boarding card. On someday travellers can also check in for the return flight. Its not as
totally hassle-free yet, but it’s pretty close.

25. RACE AGAINST TIME

Soon a rather low sound was being heard and the float plane appeared, flying towards us. It
landed gently on the lake, turned and then came slowly up along the landing stage. We loaded
equipment while Jim was been talking with the pilot, wanting to know how about the weather
was ahead of US. The pilot said that the conditions in the valiey were all right at the moment for
landing and taking it off, but that the weather was rapidly getting more worse and. we would
have to get away as quickly as possible. We all worked silently for quite a while, because of we
did not want to waste time. Finally the plane was being ready. Jim he also boarded rt so that
there was one less person to take on the next trip. The plane moved over the surface of the
water and rose into the air. The plane came back on the time and it was Chris’ turn to go, with
the rest of the film gear. Unless the plane was not back in time, we would be in trouble. The
clouds were getting so thicker and blacker. We began to be anxious about our safety and
whether file plane would be back to pick US up.

26. SPACE: FAR OUT FOOD

The world may not need another recipe book, but that’s not to say there isn’t no room for one
on other planets. Scientists at New York’s Cornell University are being developing 100 recipes
for astronauts dining on the Moon or the Mars.
The recipes which will be based on fresh produce that can be grown up inside sealed
greenhouses (also under the development at Cornell). These bio-regenerative life-support
systems will grow crops such as the soya, rice, tofu, carrots and basil, and will also support
plants and algae that can be recycle bodily wastes inside the so sealed ecosystem. These new
recipes will surely make up life on other planets

27
5
r rnrshZtoThiD.iH
easier ìnce astronauts will no any longer have to WOE y about their daily diets. This still
remains an very open market?

27. A DREAM
As I am a university student I study hard and each night when 0...........z
I will finish my studies I put away my books and put on 00 will. ..
my training shoes. My sister, who lives in another town, she 1..................
brought them back my training shoes from Europe as a birthday 2.....................................
present. They are just right for jogging around the track. 3..................
After jogging for the first lap I push myself so harder 4..................
and harder for the second lap. My running style soon becomes 5........................................
comfortable and effective for the rest of the whole way. I 6.
hope that to improve my style so that I do not feel any 7..................
tightness in the leg muscles. I am really looking forward much 8..........................................
to taking part in my first University Games where I will be 9..................
representing my year. If all goes well then I can expect to 10................
achieve at a good time which will help me to be chosen for the 11................
Olympic Games. It will be a moment full of excitement feelings 12................
for me. I plan on to continue my studies as well as my training 13................
until my dream is being achieved. My free time will be limited 14................
but it will be worth it in the end. 15................

28. AFRICAN MODELS

Talent scouts are looking for the next generation of supermodels have 0 are.....
realised Africa’s potential. Lyndsey McIntyre, a former model herself, recently 00.............z..„.
opened one agency's first African office. “African women are being graceful 1. AL..L..°
and serene” she says. “These qualities could to make them do very well in z d,___________
this business." However, spotting supermodels is rarely easy, as well McIntyre 3...................
discovered when she visited the Orma tribe of remote north-eastern Kenya, 4.......................
whose the women are reported to be especially striking. “The tribal, leaders 5............
were a bit suspicious and I wasn’t allowed to be meet many of their girls,” 6............
she explains. Another problem is that reports aren’t always reliable. McIntyre 7.....................
discovered this when one of village’s "most beautiful girls” turned out to be 8__________r_
its heaviest ones. She had to explain that Western advertisers prefer to 9
far slimmer women. The Orma are not alone in believing fat it is beautiful. 10.........................
In a recent Africa-wide beauty contest, al! the Ugandan contestants were 11
disqualified for being a little much too large around the hips. “I don’t understand 12Í..............
why the fashion industry’s obsession with small hips,” said one judge for the 13.....................
contest “But because we want the girls to succeed in and to see African 14..........
models working internationally, we give the industry what it wants.” 15..........
29. HOLIDAY DESTINATIONS FOR VEGETARIANS
Thanks to cheap air travel, for so many people the world has 0.........so........
grown significantly smaller over the last decade, but to vegetarians the 00......z......
planet can still seem like frustratingly limited. For the millions of US 1.....................
who don't eat meat, getting the right food while on the holiday can 2. ............
be a key factor when choosing which our destination. On countless 3..................................................
trips abroad, after looking round at delightful cities such as Seville or 4.................................................
Prague, I have been obliged to eat omelette and chip?, for dinner as 5.
no any other vegetarian dishes were available. Some years ago I was 6...............................................
looking forward to my first visit to Cuba when some vegetarian friends 7...............................................
returned from there. They had really liked the country but told to 8.....................
me to expect two weeks of nothing but rice and beans. As a result, 9...................................................
I have cancelled my booking. Since then, countries with a meat-based 10............................................
food culture have been off my travel menu. Why pay for to go hungry? 11...........................................

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 On the other hand, food can also be encourage people to visit 12...................
certain places. India Is a fascinating country, and the fact that ninety 13...............................................
per cent of menus are vegetarian adds up to its attraction. Offering 14.................................................
a such wide range of delicious non-meat dishes, Italy is another 15...................
holiday destination where vegetarians can feel at home.

so. THE IMPORTANCE OF FATHERS

We can tend to think of poverty as the main cause of violent crime. 0............................................can.......
However, research from both sides of the Atlantic shows that fathers 00 z...
may be the most important factor in preventing to children from turning 1—
over to crime. In the United States, children from better-off families were 2...........................................
compared with ones who from famines with lower incomes. Children from 3.........................................
■ both groups that lived with their fathers also committed the same number 4..........................................—
of crimes. In the United Kingdom, a study was carried out of comparing 5............................................
a group of boys who had never been accused of not any crimes with 6.................................................
another group were living in a detention centre after committing crimes 7..............................................
such as assault and stealing vehicles. All the boys had difficulties at 8..................................................
the school and came from large families that didn’t earn a lot of money. 9............................................
The biggest difference between from the groups was that fifty-five 10.............
per cent of the ‘good boys’ lived with their fathers, while only four 11.............
per cent of the ‘bad boys’ did it Eighty per cent of the well-behaved 12. _...
boys said how they felt close to their fathers even if they didn’t live 13.............
in the same house. It seems that by having a father who takes an 14.............
interest in his children encourages youngsters not to break the law. 15.................................................

31. DISCOVERY OF STAINLESS STEEL

Stainless steel was discovered by an accident in 1913 by the British 0.....................an.....
metallurgist Harry Brearley. He was experimenting with steel alloys - oo z

27
7
combinations of metals - that they would be suitable for making gun barrels.. \ few months later he had
noticed that most of his rejected
; specimens had rusted although one was containing 14 per cent chromium had not. The
discovery led to the development of stainless steel. Or Unary steel goes rusts because it reacts
easily with oxygen in me air to produce crumbly red oxides. Other metals, such as aluminium,
nickel and chromium, also react in a much the same way but their oxides form an impermeable
surface layer, stopping oxygen to reacting with the metal underneath. With Brearie/S steel, the
chromium formed such as a film, protecting the metal from further attack, and the whole
success of stainless steel is based well on the fact that it has this one unique advantage. In
fact, a variety of stainless steels are now made. One of the commonest contains of 18 per cent
chromium and 8 per cent nickel and is used for kitchen sinks. Kitchen knives are made of steel
containing about 13 per cent chromium. A very more corrosion-resistant alloy is achieved by
adding up an incredibly small amount of the metal molybdenum - these steels are used as
cladding for buildings.

32. WANTED
“Wanted” ran a small ad in The Times. “Assistant for the famous cookery writer. Three-month
contract - £400.” The ad was answered by a young woman, recently widowed and with a small
baby, desperate for work of any kind. The hours were long and £400 seemed very little for three
months of employment But she was absolutely desperate and she got the job. It proved harder
than she had been anticipated, as the famous writer proved as tyrannical, ungrateful and a
slave driver. The first week of helping to him was almost more than the young woman felt she
could stand. Only did the thought of the bread that she was putting in her baby’s mouth
prevented her leaving from the job. At the end of the first week, she was given a lift at home by
the cookery writer's secretary. On the way she confided how desperately she had needed the
job and admitted just how welcome even the miserable £400 was mentioned in the
advertisement would be. The secretary gave her such an odd look that the young woman asked
what it the matter was. “I don’t think you quite understand," answered the secretary. “It’s you
who has to pay for him £400.” At first the young woman was silent. She was temporarily lost for
some words, but then she began to laugh, and she laughed until the tears poured down her
cheeks.

33. MY AVOURTE FILM

I’m really a keen on going to the cinema, so I’ve got lots of favourite films. But the best one as
I’ve seen lately Is called Pressure. In some ways, 1 suppose that you could regard it as a
detective film but it’s different from most films of that one kind because the characters are they
such unusual people. The detective in ft, for example, is a computer

1................
2 ......
3.................
4 ...........
5 ... ........
..

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expert who solves crimes on her computer using information given to 6. her by her assistants, who go out
and interview to people. The case ỉn 7. the film concerns about tile wife of a millionaire, who has gone
missing. 8. Sometimes the plot gets a bit complicated but it isn’t too hard to keep 9.
up with it. There are a lot of strange characters in it, such as a man 10.
who always wears.two hats on, and some of the scenes really made me 11. laugh. Also, there is a big
surprise at the end but I won’t say you what 12.
that is in the case you gõ to see it. It’s very well acted ạnd ! also like 13.
the music in.it. But what do I really like most about the film is that 14.
it’s so.original — I’ve certainly ever seen another film quite like that. 15.

34. IS THERE TOO MUCH MONEY IN SPORT?

It is certainly true that in recent times.money has become so more and 1.
more important in sport. I think that In some ways this is not a good 2.
thing. People seem to be Involved themselves in some sports just to 3.
make money and not because of they really care about the sport. For 4. example, some
footballers get being paid an enormous amount of money 5. but sometimes they don’t seem
to care about the team they are playing 6. for, which this makes the fens very angry. And
sometimes it looks as if 7. some sports are run so that television companies, the people who
own 8. cfubs and the companies that provide sponsorship can make a big profit; 9. the public
who watch these sports don’t seem like to matter at all. On 10. the other hand, you could say
that in these days sport has become a 11. global business, and so it is not surprising that
money plays such an 12.
important part in it. Also, it could right be argued that the top players 13.
are so famous and be under so much pressure both from fens and the 14.
media that they deserve for the enormous amounts of money they earn 15.

35. THE MOTOR CAR

Many of the developments of the 20th century have changed the way .1. _____________
we live enormously, but a few of them have had the impact of the 2................
motor car. In the most parts of today’s world, It is very difficult for 3................
most of people to imagine life without It - getting to work, going on 4...............
holiday, visiting family and friends would not be possible for a lot of 5. ..............
people. Some of families have more than one car. However, despite all 6. :......................
of the advantages the car gives us, it also has a several disadvantages. 7........................
In lots of cities there is so much congestion that none of the traffic 8.............. *
can move during the busiest periods. And much of the pollution that 9., .............................
affects many places is caused by the motor car, Many of people think that 10..................
motorists should give á little bit of thought to these problems and 11..............
make a little effort to resoive them, perhaps by using.their cars less. 12..............’
With a bit of co-operation, progress could be made, they say. 13.............

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36. SHAKESPEARE
Among all of writers in history, Shakespeare is perhaps the most well-known. Many of the
plays he wrote are still performed regularly in many of countries in the world. Over the years
there has been a lot of disagreement among scholars and experts about the meanings of
Shakespeare's plays; some of the books about him even suggest that he didn't really write
all the plays that have his name. There has been a lot of research into his life and work but
few of the theories about him can be proved. A few people have even said that Shakespeare
was really a woman but there is little of support for this theory!
Many visitors go to Shakespeare’s birthplace in Stratford in England and a lot of them go to
see ạ [May at the Royal Shakespeare Theater there. A few of tourists find It difficult to
understand the play because the language is old. Because they don’t understand much it
they either leave after a short time or are asleep all the evening! However, with a little of
effort it is possible to enjoy the plays even if don’t have much of knowledge about them. The
productions are always entertaining and few of people have difficulty in following what is
happening.

37. FORTHCOMING EVENTS

There are a number of interesting events coming up in this city. Tomorrow 1.
evening the Central Orchestra it will be giving a performance at the Town 2.
Hall - their concert last year that was very well received. For fans of another 3.
kind of music, it will be great to see Tony Andrews appearing here again. 4.
Tickets for his show at the Apollo these went on sale yesterday and by 5.
the time the box office opened there were people queuing for miles! it will be 6. interesting
for Tony’s fans to hear what his new material is like and there will 7. be five thousand of
them at the show, so it should be a memorable occasion. 8.

38. ELVIS PRESLEY

Although Elvis Presley was died in 1977, he is probably just as famous today as he ever
Finally, the Ramp Band will be appearing tonight at the Golden Club, It’s 9...........
great this that they're still playing after so many years together as a band. 10.........
was. He became famous in the 1950s, and he was the first rock ‘n’ roll star
in the world. He was working as a truck driver when he had started singing
and making recordings. Soon, his records were extremely successful and
when his first appearances on television caused a sensation because
parents disapproved of the way that he danced while he was singing.
Teenagers all over the world thought so that he was wonderful, as though,
and rock *n’ roll soon became their

28
0
 favourite kind of the music. Next, Elvis spent two years in Germany in 9...............
the US Army, after which he appeared in more than 30 films. In 1969, 10.............
he started giving concerts again, at mostly in Las-Vegas. His records 11..........................
f and concerts now consisted of love songs quite more than rock ‘n’ roll. 12........................jxf.....
He lived for much time of his life in a huge house called Graceland, 13............
and since his death fans have continued to visit the house. To them, 14...........................
he is known as “The King" - some even think he is still being alive! 15............

39. ALFRED HITCHCOCK

Alfred Hitchcock was an English director who he was best known for the 1...............
thrillers and horror films that he made during his long career. In toe 1930s 2................
he became very famous in Britain where his most successful films they were 3. .
The Thirty-Nine Steps and The Lady Vances, which were both based on 4...............
novels. In 1940, he moved to toe US, where he had even more success there. 5........................
Perhaps his best-known film is Psycho, which it is about a man who owns a 6............................
hotel and who he kills all his visiting guests. One scene in the film, 7.....................
which shows this man, whose name is Norman Bates, killing a woman in a 8................
shower, considered to be one of the most frightening scenes that has ever 9 .1............
appeared In a film. Psycho, which he made it in 1963, is still regarded as 10.--------------
one of toe best films of its kind ever made, other famous films which he 11..............
directed Include North by Northwest, which has a very famous scene in a field 12..............
of crops, where the main character is being chased by people in an aeroplane 13

there, and The Birds, which is about people being attacked large groups of birds. 14...

40. SIGHTSEEING IN LONDON

Last weekend all of the students in my class went on a trip to London to do
some of sightseeing. We left very early in the morning so that we would be
able to see as much places as possible. After getting off the coach
somewhere which in the centre, the first place that we visited it was
Buckingham Palace. As everyone knows, that is the place where the Queen
lives in. Despite the fact that there were loads of tourists taking photographs
there, I enjoyed seeing this famous building. Next we went to the Houses of
Parliament, which is another one impressive place. Unfortunately, visitors
couldn’t go to inside that day. After that, we saw Downing Street, where the
Prime Minister’s house is. Then we sat and had our lunch in a very nice park
at nearby. Then it was time to visit an art gallery called the Tate, and which
had modern art in it. When we came out of there, our coach was waiting to
take US back. I was tired by then because London is a rather noisy place.
But I want to go back - there are lots of other famous places for to see there.
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