For questions 1-8, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best, according to the text.
EX 1: THE CONVENIENT SOCIETY
The other day I took my younger children to a Burger King for lunch and there was a line of about a dozen cars at the drive-through window. Now, a drive-through window is
not a window you drive through, but a window you drive up to and collect your food from, having placed your order over a speakerphone along the way; the idea is to provide
quick takeaway food for those in a hurry. We parked, went in, ordered and ate and came out again, all in about ten minutes. As we departed, I noticed that a white pickup truck
that had been last in the queue when we arrived was still four or five cars back from collecting its food. It would have been much quicker if the driver had parked like us and
gone in and got his food himself, but he would never have thought that way because the drive-through window is supposed to be speedier and more convenient. Americans have
become so attached to the idea of convenience that they will put up with almost any inconvenience to achieve it. The things that are supposed to speed up and simplify our lives
more often than not have the opposite effect and I started wondering why this should be. Americans have always looked for ways to increase comfort. It is an interesting fact
that nearly all the everyday inventions that take the difficulties out of life - escalators, automatic doors, passenger lifts, refrigerators, washing machines, frozen food, fast food
were invented in America, or at least first widely used here. Americans grew so used to seeing a constant stream of labour-saving devices, in fact, that by the sixties they had
come to expect machines to do almost everything for them. The moment I first realized that this was not necessarily a good idea was at Christmas of 1961 or '62, when my
father was given an electric carving knife. It was an early model and not as light as the ones you can buy today. Perhaps my memory is playing tricks on me, but I have a clear
impression of him putting on goggles and heavy rubber gloves before plugging it in. What is certainly true is that when he sank it into the turkey it sent pieces flying everywhere
and then the blade hit the plate with a shower of blue sparks and the whole thing flew out of his hands and shot across the table and out of the room, like a creature from a
Gremlins movie.
My father was always buying gadgets that proved to be disastrous - clothes steamers that failed to take the wrinkles out of suits but caused wallpaper to fall off the walls in
whole sheets, or an electric pencil sharpener that could consume an entire pencil (including the tips of your fingers if you weren't quick) in less than a second. But all of this was
nothing compared with the situation today. Americans are now surrounded with items that do things for them to an almost absurd degree – automatic cat-food dispensers,
refrigerators that make their own ice cubes, automatic car windows, disposable toothbrushes that come with their own ration of toothpaste. People are so addicted to
convenience that they have become trapped in a vicious circle: the more labour-saving devices they buy, the harder they need to work; the harder they work, the more laboursaving appliances they feel they need. When we moved into our house in New Hampshire it was full of gadgets installed by earlier owners, all of them designed to make life a
little easier. Most, however, were completely useless. One of our rooms, for instance, came equipped with automatic curtains. You flicked a switch on the wall and four pairs of
curtains effortlessly opened or closed. That, at least, was the idea. In practice what happened was that one opened, one closed, one opened and closed repeatedly and one did
nothing at all for five minutes and then started to produce smoke. We didn’t go anywhere near them after the first week. Automatic curtains, electric cat-food dispensers and
clothes steamers only seem to make life easier. In fact, all they do is add expense and complication to your existence.
1 What is the author’s opinion of everyday inventions?
A On the whole they make life easier. B Some people do not know how to use them very well. C They cause more problems than they solve.
D He likes them now more than he used to.
2 What point is the author making with the story of his experience at Burger King?
A Fast food restaurants are not very fast. B Some aspects of modern life are not always as convenient as they are intended to be.
C The driver of the pickup truck had parked in the wrong place. D The queues at the drive-through windows are usually very long.
3 What does the author tell us about everyday inventions in America?
A They were all invented there. B They make life less exciting. C People assumed they would make life more comfortable.
D There aren't as many now as there used to be.
4 What does the author mean by 'Perhaps my memory is playing tricks on me' (underlined)?
A He is sometimes very forgetful. B He cannot remember all the details. C What he says might not be completely true. D He remembers having fun.
5 What does 'the whole thing' (underlined) refer to?
A the turkey B the plate C the rubber gloves D the carving knife
6 What does the author say about labour-saving devices today?
A People cannot stop buying them. B People try to do ridiculous things with them. C They are better than the ones in the sixties. D They help people to do more work.
7 What are we told about the automatic curtains?
A They had been brought from a previous house. B Some of them worked as they were supposed to.
C The room where they were fitted was never used. D The author and his family decided not to use them.
EX 2: DOWNSHIFTING
As you move around your home take a good hard look at its contents. It’s likely that your living room will have a television set and a video, and your kitchen a washing machine
and tumble drier, maybe also a microwave oven and electric toaster. Your bedroom drawers will be stuffed with almost three times as many clothes as you need. You almost
certainly own a car and possibly a home computer, holiday abroad at least once a year and eat out at least once a week. If you could see the volume of rubbish in your dustbin
over a year, you would be horrified.
Now, perhaps, more than ever before, people are wondering what life is all about, what it’s for. The single-minded pursuit of material success is beginning to trouble large
numbers of people around the world. They feel the long-hours work culture to make more money to buy more things is eating up their lives, leaving them precious little time or
energy for family or leisure. Many are turning to alternative ways of living and downshifting is one of them.
According to a national consulting group, this new approach to work coincides with radical changes in the employment market, where a job is no longer guaranteed and lifetime
employment can only be achieved by taking personal responsibility for your career.
Six per cent of workers in Britain took the decision to downshift last year, swapping their highly pressured, stressful positions for less demanding, less time-consuming work
which they believe gives them a better balanced life.
One couple who downshifted is Daniel and Liz. They used to work in central London. He was a journalist and she used to work for an international bank. They would commute
everyday from their large house in the suburbs, leaving their two children with a nanny. Most evenings Daniel wouldn’t get home until eight or nine o’clock, and nearly twice a
month he would have to fly to New York for meetings. They both earned a large amount of money but began to feel that life was passing them by.
Nowadays, they run a farm in the mountains of Wales. ‘I always wanted to have a farm here,’ says Daniel, ‘and we took almost a year to make the decision to downshift. It’s
taken some getting used to, but it’s been worth it. We have to think twice now about spending money on car repairs and we no longer have any holidays. However, I think it’s
made us stronger as a family, and the children are a lot happier.’
Liz, however, is not totally convinced. ‘I used to enjoy my job, even though it was hard work and long hours. I’m not really a country girl, but I suppose I’m gradually getting
used to looking after the animals. One thing I do like though is being able to see more of my children. My tip for other people wanting to do the same is not to think about it too
much or you might not do it at all.’
1 According to the writer, people are beginning to rethink their lives because
A) they feel too dependent on their possessions.
B) they are worried about the amount of rubbish they throw away.
C) they want to spend time doing other things. D) their families object to their working so hard.
2 What does the writer say about the employment market?
A) There aren’t many jobs nowadays. B) It’s difficult to keep a company job for life.
C) You have to look hard to find a job yourself. D) It’s changing all the time.
3 When Daniel was a journalist he used to
A) live in central London. B) dislike his job. C) miss his children D) be highly paid.
4 Daniel and Liz both agree that the move
A) was difficult to organise. B) has improved family life. C) to a farm was expensive.
D) has been a total success.
5 What does the word “tip” (underlined) mean?
A) a good idea B) a clue C) a word of advice D) a warning
6 What does ‘it’ (underlined) refer to?
A) her tip B) her job C) having animals D) downshifting
7 Why was this text written?
A) To warn people of the problems of downshifting. B) To tell people how to downshift.
C) To make people aware of a new social trend.
D) To prove that having a good job doesn’t make you happy.
EX 3: ALONE TO THE NORTH POLE
Photographer Christina Franco wants to become the first woman to reach the Geographic North Pole solo and on foot. She tells Emma Smith about it.
Sixty days walking over ice and snow in temperatures as low as -45ºC, with nothing to keep you company except the occasional polar bear. This is no small
achievement. Only a few people have ever walked to the North Pole unassisted, and if Christina succeeds, she will have earned a place in the history books and met
one of the few remaining challenges of exploration left to women.
Her 480-mile journey will begin in northern Canada, dragging a sledge that weights as much as she does. At the end of each day’s waking or skiing, she will pitch
her tent in sub-zero temperatures, get into a sleeping bag filled with ice, and attempt to sleep to the unsettling background sounds of howling wind and cracking ice,
which may or may not signal the approach of one of those polar bears. “I’ll carry a pistol to scare any bears away”, says Franco, 42. “The bears that live far north
won’t have had contact with humans, fortunately, so they won’t associate me with food, but they will be curious and that’s dangerous. If it uses a paw to see what
you are, it could damage your tent –or your arm. I imagine I’ll have quite a few sleepless nights”.
Many of the early polar explorers suffered from disease and injuries, and while modern technology (lightweight materials, satellite phones, planes on stand-by to
carry out rescue missions) has lessened the dangers, it can never make such an inhospitable landscape anything approaching safe. It can take just five minutes for any
uncovered skin to become frostbitten and, once the sun has risen, Franco will only be able to remove her sunglasses inside her tent, otherwise the intensity of the
sunlight reflecting off the snow would cause snow blindness. Just to heighten the danger, the cold will slow down her brain functions, so it will be more difficult to
make split-second decisions in the event of a sudden crisis.
She will use about 8.000 calories a day, losing nearly half a kilogram every 24 hours. “The problem is the human body can only take on about 5.500 calories a day”,
she says. “So you have to fatten up before you set off or you’ll run out of energy”. Franco is currently trying to put on 19 kilos. She may complain about not fitting
into any of her dresses, but when Franco weighs herself in front of the me and finds she’s lost one kilo rather than gained two, as she’d expected, she’s very upset. “I
hope my scales are wrong because, if not, I’ve lost weight”, she says, reaching for one of many bars of chocolate lying around her kitchen.
Born in Italy, Franco moved to New York and then to London. She has become well known locally, thanks to a training routine that involves dragging a tractor tyre
around the streets, fastened by a rope around her waist. When I meet her she is about to head out along the canal near her home. “I get a lot of comments,” she says
laughing. “Cars stop and people take pictures. They think it’s really funny. Occasionally people sit on it when I’m not looking, or pull on it, to make it more
difficult.”
Franco who hopes her walk will raise money to fund research into motor neurone disease, has long been fascinated by exploring. “I remember, as a child, learning
about the Italian Arctic explorer Umberto Nobile”, she explains. “There are certain things that catch your imagination. The idea of people getting into frozen sleeping
bags. It was remarkable to me, the idea of pushing the body like that and you just die. These things get hold of you, and if one day the opportunity comes your way,
you can’t help yourself. Now, when I think how horrible it’s going to be, I know I’ve only got myself to blame!”.
And if she gets there, will she celebrate? “Yes, my mum’s going to come in the plane to pick me up. She’s very worried and she hates the cold, but she’s going to
conquer her fears to come and celebrate with me… If I make it”.
1. What does the writer say about the history of exploration?
A) Walking to the North Pole used to be considered easier than other journeys.
B) No woman has ever competed the journey to the geographic North Pole.
C) Female explorers have already done most of the world’s difficult journeys. D) Christina is already an important historical figure for her previous journeys.
2. Unsettling (underlined) means:
A) Comforting. B) Worrying. C) Exciting. D) Surprising.
3. What does Christina say about the danger from polar bears?
A) They could injure her without meaning to. B) If they are hungry, they might attack her.
C) In that part of the Arctic they are harmless. D) She will have to shoot any that attack her.
4. Which of these is a real risk to Christina during her walk?
A) She won’t be able to think very quickly in emergencies.
B) Sunlight reflected by the snow could quickly burn her skin.
C) She will need to protect her eyes, even during the night. D) If she’s ill or has an accident, there will be no medical care.
5. Why, when she is talking to the writer, does Christina want to eat chocolate?
A) She feels that she has little energy at the moment. B) She’s just found out her weight has gone down.
C) She knows that her weight is actually going up.
D) She always eats chocolate when she is upset.
6. Some people are amused when they
A) Realise that she trains next to the canal.
B) Hear the funny remarks she often makes.
C) Learn that she intends to walk to the North Pole. D) See her pulling a heavy object behind her.
7. She decided to walk to the North Pole when she
A) Managed to survive a night in freezing conditions.
B) Was at last able to do something she felt she had to do.
C) Realised she was ill and she needed to pay for her treatment. D) First heard about a famous explorer from her country.
8. What impression do we get of Christina’s attitude towards the walk?
A) She now regrets deciding to go. B) She wants to do it, but not alone. C) She knows how tough it will be. D) She’s sure she will reach the Pole.
KEYS: EX 1: 1 B – 2 D – 3 A – 4 C – 5 D – 6 B – 7 A – 8 D || EX 2: 1 C 2 B 3 D 4 B 5 C 6 D 7 C || EX 3: 1 C 2 B 3 D 4 C 5 B 6 D 7 A 8 D