FACE 2 FACE UPPER-INTERMEDIATE 2
Reading Life in the fast lane
Henrietta Lake talks to a remarkable 14-year-old entrepreneur who is certainly going
places.
Between studying for nine GCSEs, including business
studies, 14 year old. Dominic McVey has set up his own
company, Scooters UK. The business which imports
motorized scooters and skateboards from the United
States, has already made a profit of over 5, 000 on
sales of the equipment.
Dominic needed 3,000 to set up his business and pay
for the initial stock. He used savings from birthday and
Christmas money and cashed in some investments that
his father had when Dominic was born. The young
entrepreneur had also invested in shares on the stock
market. “I had to do the deals in my dad´s in my dad´s
name because I was too young,” he says, “but he
doesn´t know anything about the market, so I told him
what to buy and sell.”
“I realized the potential for the business when I noticed
that a lot of inner-city streets were being closed to cars
or they were chock-a-block with traffic,” he explains. “I
thought there would be a great market for these
scooters and skateboards, particularly now that more
restrictions on cars in town centres have been
introduced.”
“You can take a smaller one with you on a train in a
back pack and then unfold it and use it when you get
into town. Men in suits are riding them up and down
Wall Street in the US it is my aim to get them to the
same in this country. I approach the American
manufacturer and after doing some research into their
company and the scooters, I was allowed to become
their UK distributor.
The motorized, which sell for 499 and can travel at up
to 22 mph, are not classified as motor vehicles and do
not need a licence or tax. He also sells unmotorized
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skateboards for 129. They have special high-speed
wheels and are capable of reaching 10 mph.
“I ride them around town in busy areas and usually end
up with a crowd of people running down the street
wanting to know where to buy them, or winding down
their car windows at traffic lights,” he says. Recently he
went with his mother on a sales trip to Paris. “The
scooters are really popular there because the centre of
the city is pedestrianized at the weekend. I went out
with 500 leaflets and came back with none.”
In the early stages Dominic had to overcome one or
two obstacles. When he tried to open a business
account at his bank, he made an appointment to see
the manager. However, the bank thought it was a joke,
and when he arrived there they had not set up any
time for the meeting. “This really upset me,” says
Dominic, “but I managed to get a good rate of interest
on the account because they were so embarrassed. I
think people should take children more seriously.
Now that he succeeded in setting up the business
Dominic wants to expand it. At the moment, the
company is still importing scooters in small numbers.
“But business is picking up and so I am ordering a big
container of 106 scooters in the New Year.” Dominic is
aiming to sell 500 scooters over the next 12 months. “I
think it is worth taking the risk when you are young: if
the worst happens, I have my parents ‘support and I
am still at school.”
He also plans to open a showroom for his scooters in
the city of London, “right by some traffic lights so
people stop and look.” His idea would then be to sell
the business and look for further opportunities to
make money. “I’d like to be able to retire before I’m
40,” he tells me.
Choose the answer (a, b, c or d) which you think fits best according to the text.
1 How did Dominic raise the necessary
money to set up his company?
A he invested all his savings on the stock
market.
B he borrowed it from his father.
C he used money from a variety of sources.
D it was for a birthday present.
2 What does Dominic mean when he says
that streets were “chock-a-block with
traffic” in paragraph 3?
A cars were not allowed to enter them.
B they were full of vehicles.
C traffic prevented scooters from entering
them.
D they had street markets in them.
3 What type of people does he want to buy
his scooters?
A fashionable people
B Americans
C business men
D people who do not own a car
4 The motorized scooters that Dominic sells
A require no special driving skills.
B cannot legally be ridden on the road.
C have special designed wheels.
D cannot travel very long distances.
5 Why did Dominic go to Paris?
A he went shopping with his mother.
B he wanted to see the new pedestrian
precinct.
C he took some scooters to sell there.
D he wanted to distribute information about
his scooters.
6 Dominic believes that being young
A prevents him taking himself too seriously.
B means that things are more likely to go
wrong.
C is a good time to be adventurous.
D is a source of concern to his parents.
7 What upset Dominic about his visit to the
bank?
A the manager laughed at him.
B the manager refused to see him.
C the meeting with the manager was very
short.
D the manager did not expect him to turn up.
8 In the future, Dominic intends to
A work beyond normal retirement age.
B find an alternative way to earn a living.
C hold and exhibition of scooters.
D bring in partners to help him run his
business
9 The adjective “entrepreneur” describing
Dominic means…
A) A person who works for a company.
B) A person who strives for success.
C) A person who always takes risks.
D) A lazy person with talent.
Grammar
10 What did Dominic do to become UK´s scooter
distributor?
A) He approached the U.K. manufacturer.
B) He travelled to the U.K. to meet the
manufacturer
C) He researched into the American company
D) He researched into wall Street´s workers.

1. Choose the correct future verb form. Remember letter A is for the first option and B is for the
second option in your answer sheet. /10

1. I ´ll help/ ´m helping you later, if you like.

2. I can´t come this afternoon- I ´ll meet/ ´m meeting my sister at 4.30.

3. Oh, is Jonathan back from his holiday? Then I ´ll invite/´m inviting him to the party.

4. He hasn´t been studying at all, so he doesn´t pass/ isn´t going to pass his test.

5. This time next year we ´re living/´ll be living in Australia.

6. Wait a minute. I ´ll carry/´m carrying that suitcase upstairs for you.

7. We don´t eat/ won´t be eating in that restaurant again. It´s so expensive.

8. We ´ll definitely finish/ ´re definitely finishing the project on time.

9. I think England will win/ are winning the next world cup.

10. This time tomorrow we ´ll be swimming/´ll swim in the sea in the south of France.

2. Match the numbers with the letters. Use carefully the different ways of comparing. /10

1 more and more- 2 any- 3 fewer- 4 deal- 5 bit- 6 twice- 7 nearly- 8 slightly- 9 less- 10 better

8
a. My mother is 160 cm tall and I’m _________ taller – I´m 162 cm.
7
b. That tulip isn´t _______ as beautiful as this one.
C. He earns __________
9 money now that he´s only working part-time.
4
d. This film is a great ________ more exciting than the one we saw last night.
3
e. I think there are __________ wild animals in the forest now due to hunting.
5
f. Let´s buy this mobile phone. It´s a ____________ cheaper than the other ones.
6
g. Your cat is enormous! It´s ____________ as big as my little one.
10
h. come today – the sooner, the _______.
 1
i. People are getting _________ wasteful. They throw away a lot more than they used to.
j. The food in this restaurant isn´t ___________
2 better than it was last week.

3. Write “C” for the correct sentences and “I” for the incorrect sentences, then rewrite the
sentence with the correction. ___/8

1. I might taking my nieces to the beach.

i might take nieces to the beach
__ __________________________________________

2. He went to the football match despite to feel very ill.

he went to the footbal match despite feeling ill
___ ___________________________________________
3. You´re bound to pass the exam- you´ve studied so hard for it.
___ ________________________________________________

4. He tries to avoid to talk to people about his job.

he tries to avoid talking to people about his job
___ _______________________________________
5. Apart from cleaning the kitchen, I’ve got nothing to do.
___ ___________________________________________
6. He´s unlikely changing his job. He´s really enjoying it.
hes unlikely to change his job
___ __________________________________________
7. People travelling by train in England don´t often talk to each other.
___ ____________________________________________________
8. He couldn´t make out what was written on the envelope.
___ ______________________________________________

4. Write in front of each definition a state verb. The first letters have been written for you. /5

a) acceptable for a particular person or situation: s_________

b) understand a situation sometimes suddenly: r_________
ecognise
c) believe that somebody is honest and will not cheat or harm you: t_________
rust
d) wish that you had somebody else´s abilities, possessions, lifestyle, etc.: e_________
motion
e) think or believe that something is true or probable: ense
s_________

5. Choose the correct verb form of present perfect or present perfect continuous. Remember A
is for the first option and B is for the second option in your answer sheet. /9

1. Alan ´s been breaking/´s broken the window.

2. They ´ve been visiting/´ve visited New Zealand several times.

3. Robin and I have been knowing /have known each other for years.

4. She’s been playing/´s played tennis since 8.30.

5. Graham ´s been finding/´s found his car keys.

6. We´ve just been returning/ returned from holiday.

7. I´ve been sorting out/´ve sorted out my tax all day. I should finish it tomorrow.

8. Since Sue retired her life has been becoming/has become much more interesting.

9. Ian ´s read/´s been reading five James Bond books.

6. Fill in the gaps with the correct form of these verbs. /10

Go- not watch- sell- check- not increase- spend- drink- not eat- book- help

a. I wish we _________ to see him yesterday.

b. I wish I hadnt
__________
eaten all those sweets before lunch.

booked
c. We should have ___________ some tickets last week. The flight is full now.

had checked his email last night.

d. If only John ___________

couldve helped you with it.

e. If we had known about the problem sooner, we ______________

would´ve sold
f. My parents wish they ___________________ their big old house years ago.

hadnt watched
g. I wish I ___________________ that terrible film last night.

h. If only the government _____________ so much last year.

had spend
i. Do you wish you _______________ more time with your kids when they were young?
dranked
j. I shouldn’t have ___________________ so much coffee today.

VOCABULARY

1. Fill in the gaps with the phrases with take on the right. /5

1. I usually ___
b to do my homework. A) Take for granted
take seriously
2. You never listen to my advice. I just don´t think you __me __. B) Take a long time
sides
3. I nevertake
__ my parents __ I think they are amazing. C) Take seriously

a when her children argue with each other.

4. Rachel never __ D) Take any notice

5. That student has never __

d of what his teachers tell him to do. E) Take sides

2 Write “T” true or “F” false for the next definitions. /6

a) Self-conscious people are only interested in themselves and their own activities. T F
b) Laid-back people are relaxed and appear not to be worried about anything. T F
c) Open- minded people don´t want to accept new ideas or opinions that are different from their
own. T F
d) Self-centred people are shy and easily embarrassed because they think that everybody is
looking at them and judging them. T F
e) Easy-going people aren´t easily upset, worried or annoyed by problems or other people actions.
T F
f) Narrow-minded people are happy to accept ideas and ways of life that different from their own.
T F

3 Match the prefixes with a word then complete the sentences with the correct new word. /6

Ex-/multi/self-/mis/over/ non- Understood/ smoker/ qualified/ colleagues/ national/ defence

overqualified
1 I think you´re _____ for this job. We don´t need a graduate.
misunderstood
2 he _____ the directions and ended up getting lost.
3 my brother feels much healthier since he became a _____.non smoker
ex colleagues
4 after I left the company I had a party for all my _____.
multinational
5 I don´t think I ´d ever like to work for a _____ organisation.
selfdefence
6 a lot of people learn _____ because they want to be safe in the city.

Listening (FCE track 2.29) /10

You will hear part of a radio interview with Grace, a singer who suffers from an eye disease. For
questions 1- 10 complete the sentences.

one year old 1

Grace has been partially sighted since she was about __________________________ .
one 2
She is only able to see out of her _______________ eye.
worse but any3 better
She says that her eyesight will not get _______________ .
During a check-up, Grace was found to have ____________ 4 vision.
5
When she was younger, Grace wanted to go to a ______________
normal school.
named 6
At school she was ___________ and bullied by other children.
became her friends
She says that many of this children ___________ 7
. get a job for the guitar
After she left school, Grace´s father persuaded her to ___________8 .
going on tour 9 .
She enjoys her career, particularly ____________
shines
She says her experiences at school helped her overcome her _____________ 10
.

Writing /20

Write an article for a magazine comparing life in the past and the present and how do you think
it will be in the future. Remember to use different ways of comparing. 120- 150 words. Write
your answer on the answer sheet.