TESTS FOR READING

Task 1
Read the text below. Choose from (A-H) the one which best suits each of (1-6). There are two choices you do
not need to use.
CHANGE IN THE AIR AS PASSENGERS ALLOWED TO USE MOBILES
By David Robertson
One of the last refuges from incessantly ringing mobile phones is about to disappear as Emirates plans to allow passengers to

them on aircraft from January. The sound of people telling friends and relatives that they are "over Greenland" (1_________)
the wail of babies.
The airline has spent $14 million developing technology that will allow passengers to use their mobiles in the air without the
phones interfering with cockpit systems. Phones are currently banned on all flights as soon as the engines are started because
sssign signal surges that (2 ________ )
Emirates delieves that it will get approval from European air-safety regulators by January to become the first airline to offer
the servіce. The calls (3._________) with airlines taking percentage to cover its investment. Using a phone in flight will cost
about $2 a minute or 60p for a text message.
Emirates hopes to add a Black Berry service and laptop internet access later in the year. The company, based in Duba believes
that its passengers 4. ( ______ ), pointing to the number that rush to switch on their mobile phones that after landing.
Emirates says that the average of 13passengers a flight use the credit –card operated phones that are already
installed 5. (_____)
But whether passengers want to listen to their neighbours discussing the view at 40,000 ft is doubtful according to resent
surveys. In one US study, only 11 per cent of the 50,000 passengers asked wanted to make calls while on a flight. Many said
that they enjoyed being uncountable, and business-class passengers in particular were eager 6 (_______). Emirates says it
will counter these objections by allowing air crew to switch off system at night.

A. despite their inconvenience and high prices

B.will be charged at regular international roaming rules
C.can interfere with navigation and communication systems
D.to catch up on sleep rather than use their phones
E. to use mobiles cheaply and without a lot of fuss
F. will now be added to the drone of engines
G. despite regulations banning them
H. will want to use the service

Task 2

Read the text. Choose from (A-H) the one which best fits each space (l-6).There are two choices you do not
need to use.
Travellers' Tales
The pilot turned and shouted above the noise of the engine. "If those animals start to cross the runway we'll need to
abort the landing." My husband Ludo and I could only agree - "the animals" were bigger than our tiny plane. This lwas our
introduction to Ruaha, a little - known
national park in Tansania. We landed on the mud airstrip (1._________________). Ruaha' normally bone
dry. had received its annual rain fall in just a month. The rain had brought new life to the bush - newborn impala, baby
giraffe and tiny vervet monkeys (2.____________). But it also meant that with food and water everywhere the game had
dispersed.
Just before we went off for a bike ride in Kruger National Park I met a man whospoke
Elephant. We were on a game drive, parked at the side of a dusty track (3.____________) browse the
sweeping banks of the Olifants River. All very idyllic, until one large bull elephant took exception to us and made as if to
charge. We were nervous and wondered why our guide didn't start the engine - but at this point he leaned out of the
window, cupped his hands to his mouth and made a strange hissing noise (4._______). The guide repeated the noise and
the creature backed away.
I'm not sure what woke me but I think it was the horses tethered in the valley below. I lay still in my sleeping bag
for a while, (5.__________) and reminding myself where I was: halfway through a trekking holiday in Jordan, sleeping on
a rock ledge somewhere near Wadi Rum. (6.__________ ), I sat up in time to see the sun start to appear over the
mountains. Even the horses fell quiet, as if they too were overcome by the desert dawn.
A. Taking most of my court with me;
B. Watching a vast range of animals;
C. Clinging to their mothers;
 D. Pulling my knees towards me ;
E. Going about their daily business unconcerned by a human audience;
F. Watching the sky lighten;
G. Coasting past the herd of feeding elephants;
H. Bringing the running beast to a halt;

Task 3

Read the text. Choose from (A-H) the one which best fits each space (l-6).There are two choices you do not
need to use.

Pensioners Accused of Kidnapping

Four pensioners have appeared in court, accused of kidnapping their financial advisor and holding him for four days.
The pensioners had invested millions of euros in the US property market but lost it during the recent financial crisis.
This report is from Steve Rosenberg: in Germany, * you think your financial advisor has been giving you bad advice
(1.____________) you can complain to the regulators, you can go to the police. But in Bavaria, one group of pensioners stands
accused of employing a much more direct method of (2._______). They're on trial for kidnapping their financial advisor and

him hostage.
Four senior citizens, aged between 63 and 79, had invested nearly three and a half million dollars in the US property
market and lost it all in (3._________). They'd concluded that the man who'd handled the investment should now
reimburse them.
According to prosecutors, last summer the pensioner posse plus one accomplice abducted the financial advisor outside
his house, tied him, gagged him, put him in a box and transported him in the boot of a car 450 kilometres to a lakeside
retreat. He (4._______) four days locked in the cellar there and to have been tortured. After "the agreeing to their
demands, the prisoner was allowed to send a fax to Switzerland arranging payment. He concealed the phrase 'call the
Police'. in the text and the alarm was raised. Soon after (5.___________) came to the rescue.
On the opening day of the trial, the 74 year old alleged ringleader of the gang avoided usin the word 'kidnap'. He said he
and his co-defendants had only wanted to (6.________) days holiday in Bavaria.

A. accused of committing the crime

B. a crack team of commandos
C. and messing up your investment
D. registering their dissatisfactions
E. treat their guest to a couple of
F. the sub-prime mortgage meltdown
G. claims to have spent
H. making it known how unhappy

Task 4

Read the text below. Choose from (A-H) the one which best suits each of (1-6). There are two choices you do not need
to use.

Esperanto
1887, Polish physician L.L. Zamenhof published a book under his pseudonym called Doctor Esperanto's International
Language and Complete Landbook. This initial text, which was both a tutorial and the manifesto for a new social
movement, spread the word of a new international language known as Esperanto. (1.__ _ ) Many of these artifice
languages were like Esperanto in the fact that they were created to be an auxiliary language, that is, a second language for
people around the word in order to allow for improved global communication. Of all of the artificial languages, it is
Esperanto which caught on the best.
Though today there are only between a few hundred thousand and a few million speakers of Esperanto around the word,
those devoted to advancing the goal of the international language are as dedicated as ever. (2.___________)The Internet has
helped to spread the word of Esperanto and to help many better understand the need for an international languag (as not
everyone speaks English on the Wet. (3. ) Some students of language can become quite familiar with it through
home study over a matter of a few weeks or months. According to supporters, Esperanto even helps students learn other
languages easier. (4. )
From the base Qf 15 000 to 20,000 root words - once can combine roots and suffixes to form over 150,000 words in
Esperanto. Since 1905, Esperantists from around the world (and the more than 70 national Esperanto societies) have come
together for an annual World Esperanto Congress.
Despite initial French resistance (France wanted the French language to continue to be the official diplomatic language), in
1924 A. League of Nations put its stamp of approval on Esperanto by recommending that member states implement it as
Uary langua^ In 1954 Esperanto gained additional success as the United Nations Educa ions, Seento and JCultural
Organization (UNESCO) recognized Esperanto as a viable possibility for an axillary language so established official
relations with the Universala Asperanto-Asocio (UEA).
(5. ) Some Asian universities offer courses in Esperanto. An undergraduate degree in Esperanto has
actually been available at a Hungarian university since 1967. (6. ) Although the number of Esperanto speakers
worldwide is small, its likely that the artificial language will continue to gain followers with our increasingly global
connections.

A. As a potential vehicle for international understanding, Esperanto attracted the suspicion

of many totalitarian states.
.
B. The Esperanto movement is becoming quite active in Asia, especially in Japan and
China.
C . Esperanto is based on roots commonly found in European languages and the grammar is very simple.
D. Esperanto is popular because it is easy to learn.
E. There are over 100 newspapers, magazines, and journals printed in Esperanto and many books are written in or
translated into the language by devotees of the language and its movement.
F.At the time, there had been dozens of international languages already created.
G.As a constructed language, Esperanto is not genealogically related to any ethnic language.
H.Esperanto speakers can be found today in Brazil, Japan, Iran, Madagascar, Bulgaria, and Cuba.
Key: IF, 2C, 3B, 4H, 5A, 6D.

Key: 1G, 2C, 3B, 4H, 5F, 6D

Key: 1C, 2D, 3F, 4G, 5B, 6E

Key: IF, 2E, 3D, 4C, 5B, 6H