ADVANCED 5 – BRITANICO GOLD – READING TASK – NOV 2023

You are going to read a magazine article. For questions 31-35, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which
you think fits best according to the text.

Now we’re getting the message 31. According to the first paragraph,
modern technology has...
When computers first started to be used on a wide scale, some people A. made us stop talking to other
foresaw that we would spend so long staring at computer screens that we people.
would end up forgetting how to talk to one another. But in fact, the rapid B. allowed us to meet more people.
expansion of electronic communication in the 21st century has had the C. had a detrimental effect on us.
opposite effect. Rather than retreating into themselves, people are using D. always been liked by everyone.
new technology, in particular email and text messaging, to find more and
more ways to expand their network of friends.
32. We can imply that Alice
Alice Thompson, 23, is known as the Text Queen to her friends because Thompson says that texting
she sends out so many messages. ‘When we go out, my friends and I text someone
other friends saying, “We’re in this club and it’s really good. Come and A. gives her a better idea of others’
meet us.”’. Decisions can be made on the spot, and friends can be feelings.
gathered together at a moment’s notice. Alice has found text messaging B. is the same as calling him or her.
has other advantages, too. ‘If there is a guy I like, I find it easier to send C. can be a good way to socialise
text messages initially rather than phone him up,’ she says. She finds that with others.
she feels less nervous that way. ‘There is one guy, a friend of a friend, D. might be confusing when
who I don’t know that well, but we’ve started to text message each other making arrangements.
and that’s how we communicate. I would never have phoned him up but
this way it feels OK.’
33. We understand that Alice
Text messaging and email also help Alice keep in touch with old Thompson does not usually
schoolmates. She can send them a message saying ‘Hi, how’s it going?’ A. use her mobile at work.
much more easily than sitting down to write a long letter. And she finds B. contact old friends.
it’s a great tool for relieving boredom in the office where she works, by C. send trivial things to her friends.
sharing secret messages and passing on jokes. D. write letters to her friends.

It seems these forms of communication have filled a gap, offering

something that face-to-face conversations do not. Professor Pam Briggs, 34. Anabelle Rose came to the
a psychologist at the University of Northumbria, believes that people enjoy conclusion that students
sending text messages and emails because they can take their time A. are unwilling to communicate
planning their message, and they can be a bit more playful, inserting with their teacher.
jokes, pictures and bits of video clips. Through such additions, she says, B. do not mind interrupting their
they have the chance to present themselves to others in the way they teacher.
want to. C. make phone calls if they are
asked to.
The fact that text messages are so quick and easy is a big part of the D. prefer to communicate using
attraction. Many people also find text messaging more informal than text messages.
making a phone call or writing a letter, and therefore simpler to use.
Annabelle Rose, who teaches at a London sixth form college, encourages
her students to text her when they have queries. ‘They don’t find it so 35. We can infer that Anabelle Rose
difficult to keep in touch that way,’ she says. ‘I think they feel that a phone does not feel very happy when her
call might be more of an interruption. I’ve always given my number out to students
students and told them to call me if they have any problems. But no one A. use too many abbreviations.
ever did before text messaging really started taking off. B. thank her after receiving a
message.
So, is it all good? Annabelle has identified one negative result of text C. do not spell words correctly in
messaging. ‘My students have developed their own way of writing as well, their messages.
which can cause a few difficulties as they have started using these D. write to her when she is busy.
abbreviations in their normal writing. For example, they might write
“tomoro” for “tomorrow,”’ she says. ‘But they are never rude. If I text them
back answering their queries they always send another message saying
“Thx”, even though it’s not really necessary.’