You are going to read a magazine article in which a father describes his relationship with his son. For questions 1-8, choose the answer А-D which you think fits best according to the text.
Gary and Me
The restaurant owner John Moore writes about his relationship with his son Gary, the famous TV chef.
I believe everyone's given a chance in life. My son, Gary, was given his chance with cooking, and my chance was to run a restaurant. When I heard about the opportunity, I rushed over to look at the place. It was in a really bad state. It was perfect for what l had in mind.
Coming into this business made me recall my childhood. I can remember my mother going out to work in a factory and me being so upset because I was left alone. With that in mind, I thought, 'We want time for family life.' My wife dedicated herself to looking after the children and did all my accounts, while I ran the business. We lived over the restaurant in those days, and we always put a lot of emphasis on having meals together. It's paid dividends with our children. Gary and Joe. They're both very confident. Also, from a very early age they would come down and talk to our regular customers. It's given both of them a great start in life.
Gary was quite a lively child when he was really small. We had a corner bath, and when he was about seven he thought he'd jump into it like a swimming pool, and he knocked himself out. When he was older he had to work for pocket money. He started off doing odd jobs and by the age of about ten he was in the kitchen every weekend, so he always had loads of money at school. He had discipline. He used to be up even before me in the morning. If you run a family business, it's for the family, and it was nice to see him helping out.
Gary wasn't very academic, but he shone so much in the kitchen. By the age of 15 he was as good as any of the men working there, and sometimes he was even left in charge. He would produce over a hundred meals, and from then I knew he'd go into catering because he had that flair. So when he came to me and said, 'Dad. I've got to do work experience as part of my course at school,' I sent him to a friend of mine who's got a restaurant.
Gary recently took up playing the drums and now he has his own band. Goodness knows what will happen to the cooking if the music takes off. My advice to Gary would be: if you start chasing two hares, you end up catching neither, so chase the hare you know you're going to catch. He understood when I said to him: 'Gary, if you're going to get anywhere in life, you've got to do it by the age of 30. If you haven't done it by then, it's too late.'
Gary went to catering college at the age of 17, and on his first day he and the other new students - they're normally complete beginners - were given what's supposed to be a morning's work. But within an hour Gary had chopped all his vegetables, sliced all his meats. He'd prepared everything. That's my son for you! In the end, he was helping other people out.
None of us can believe how successful Gary's TV cookery series has become. I'm extremely proud of him. I've always tried to tell him that if you want something, you've got to work jolly hard for it, because no one gives you anything. He's seen the opportunity he's been given and grabbed hold of it with both hands. You know, you talk to your children as they grow up, and if they only take in ten per cent of what you've told them, you've got to be happy with that. The things Gary says, the things he does, I think, well, lie must have listened sometimes.
1 How did the writer react to his own big chance?
A
He worried about the problems.
B
Не saw what could be done.
C
Не thought the family would suffer.
D
He wondered if he should take it.
2 How did the writer's childhood influence his own family life?
A
He realised that the pattern was repeating itself.
B
Не encouraged his children to talk to him.
C
Не made sure there was plenty of personal contact.
D
He asked his wife to stay at home.
3 What does the writer mean by 'paid dividends' in paragraph 2?
A
brought financial reward
B
produced benefits
C
was worth the suffering
D
allowed money to be saved
4 As a young boy, Gary
A
showed how determined he could be.
B
was always in trouble.
C
was motivated by money.
D
demonstrated a variety of talents.
5 What is Gary's father's attitude to Gary playing in a band?
A
pleased that he has a hobby he enjoys
B
interested in how he can introduce music into the restaurant
C
concerned that music may interfere with his career
D
doubtful whether he will have time to improve his technique
6 What does 'done it' refer to in paragraph 5?
A
chosen a profession
B
achieved success
C
caught a hare
D
lived your life
7 According to his father, what was typical about Gary's behaviour on his first day at college?
A
He helped other people.
B
Не impressed those in charge.
C
Не tried to make his father proud.
D
He performed the task efficiently.
8 How does his father regard Gary's upbringing?
A
His encouragement has caused Gary's success.
B
The family influence on Gary was too strong.
C
Gary has forgotten important lessons.
D
Gary has learnt some essential things.
YOUR ANSWER TASK 1
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TASK 2
You are going to read an extract from a magazine article about underwater exploration. Seven sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (9-15). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.
A
Here, on the ocean floor, is a huge area of underwater volcanoes, their chimneys all blowing out black smoke.
B
Here I am on the bottom of the sea, and no one else on this planet has ever before seen them.
C
'No one's tested it yet, but I don't think it would be a very pleasant journey.'
D
He then talked me through the emergency procedures, including what to do if the pilot had a heart attack!
E
They are used to these conditions, which mean they can't stand up or move, and they must stay inside until someone opens the door from the outside.
F
When it didn't happen, we couldn't believe it.
G
This pours out at a rate of one metre per second and at a temperature of 350 degrees.
H
After that, as you get really deep, it's near freezing point so you need a sweater, thick socks, gloves and a woolly hat.
IN HOT WATER Rachel Mills is a scientist who spends as much time as she can at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
Rachel Mills teaches and does research into marine geochemistry, which means she studies the chemical processes happening in the sea. She is a lecturer at the Oceanography Centre at Southampton University. When she isn't teach¬ing, she lowers herself into a steel vehicle, a vessel for underwater exploration the size of a small car, and dives three kilometres down into the Atlantic Ocean to study underwater volcanoes.
'Inside,' she says, 'space is so limited that I can reach out and touch the two pilots.'9_____ A dive can last for 16 hours - three hours to reach the ocean floor, ten hours gathering samples of rock and water and then three hours to get back up to the surface again.
'If anything happens, and you have a problem and have to get to the top quickly, you can hit a panic button.' The outside drops away leaving a small circular escape vessel that gets released, and it's like letting go of a ping-pong ball in the bath - it goes rapidly to the surface.10_____
'I didn't know how I was going to react the first time I climbed into the vehicle. It was on the deck of a ship and I got in with an instructor. 11_____ They were testing me to see how I would react to being in such a small place.'
Now Rachel has made six dives. Last year she dived with a Russian crew. 'We went to a site which was a five-day sail west of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic.12_____ It is where the Atlantic Ocean comes alive. The Russian team were dropping off some scientific equipment there to discover the effect of a multi-national programme that would make a hole 150 metres through a volcano.'
When she isn't at sea, Rachel is in her office at the Oceanography Centre, Southampton. 'Two thirds of my salary comes from teaching, which I love, but I do it so I can get on with my research into the "black smokers".' This is just another name for underwater volcanoes -water comes out of the rock and turns into what looks like black smoke.13_____
'The only time I've been frightened is when I first went down with the Americans. We were towing equipment on a 50-metre rope when suddenly there was an explosion. There was this immense bang as the shock waves hit our vehicle and I thought, "I'm going to die." We stared at each other in silence, waiting. 14_____ The relief was incredible - we were still alive!'
'It's such an adventure diving down to the deepest part of the ocean. Every time I look out of the porthole and see those chimneys, there is such a sense of wonder.15_____ I had studied the black smokers for three years for my PhD. When I got down there and saw them for real, it was such an amazing feeling.'
YOUR ANSWER TASK 2
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TASK 3
You are going to read an article about the effect of advertising on children. For questions 16-30, choose the sections of the article A-F. The section may be chosen more than once.
Which section of the article mentions
16
the kind of shop in which TV advertising expects to see results?
17
the influence a parent has had over their child's views?
18
the fact that children do not understand why their parents refuse their demands?
19
a parent who understands why children make demands?
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a family who rarely argue while shopping?
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someone who feels children ought to find out for themselves how to make decisions about what to buy?
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the fact that parents can be mistaken about what food is good for you?
23
an unexpected benefit for shops?
24
a parent who regrets buying what their children have asked for
25
Ia parent who has different rules for themselves and their children?
26
a parent who feels annoyed even before the children ask for anything?
27
the fact that parents blame the advertisers for the difficult situation they find themselves in?
28
the regularity of children's demands?
29
the need for parents to discuss food with their children?
30
a TV advertising rule which has little effect?
Young Shoppers
A
Supermarket shopping with children, one mother says, is absolute murder: 'They want everything they see. If it's not the latest sugar-coated breakfast cereal, it's a Disney video or a comic. Usually all three. I can't afford all this stuff and, anyway, if I agree to their demands I feel I've been persuaded against my better judgement and I feel guilty about buying and feeding them rubbish. Yet I hate myself for saying no all the time, and I get cross and defensive in anticipation as we leave home. I do my best to avoid taking them shopping but then I worry that I'm not allowing them to have the experience they need in order to make their own choices. I can't win.'
B
Research has found that children taken on a supermarket trip make a purchase request every two minutes. More than SI50 million a year is now spent on advertising directly to children, most of it on television. That figure is likely to increase and it is in the supermarket aisles that the investment is most likely to be successful. For children, the reasons behind their parents' decisions about what they can and cannot afford are often unclear, and arguments about how bad sugar is for your teeth are unconvincing when compared with the attractive and emotionally persuasive advertising campaigns.
C
According to Susan Dibb of the National Food Alliance, 'Most parents are concerned about what they give their children to eat and have ideas about what food is healthy - although those ideas are not always accurate. Obviously, such a dialogue between parents and children is a good thing, because if the only information children are getting about products is from TV advertising, they are getting a very one-sided view. Parents resent the fact that they are competing with the advertising industry and are forced into the position of repeatedly disappointing their children.' The Independent Television Commission, which regulates TV advertising, prohibits advertisers from telling children to ask their parents to buy products. But, as Dibb points out, 'The whole purpose of advertising is to persuade the viewer to buy something. So even if they cannot say, "Tell your mum to buy this product," the intended effect is precisely that.'
D
A major source of stress for some parents shopping with children is the mental energy required to decide which demands should be agreed to and which should be refused. One mother says she has patience when it comes to discussing food with her children, but she still feels unhappy about the way she manages their shopping demands: 'My son does pay attention to advertisements but he is critical of them. We talk a lot about different products and spend time looking at labels. I've talked about it so much that I've brainwashed him into thinking all adverts are rubbish. We have very little conflict in the supermarket now because the children don't ask for things I won't want to buy.'
E
Parents also admit they are inconsistent, even hypocritical, in their responses to their children's purchasing requests. Mike, father of a son of seven and a daughter of three, says, 'We refuse to buy him the sweets he wants on the grounds that it's bad for him while we are busy loading the trolley with double cream and chocolate for ourselves. It's enjoyable to buy nice things, and it's quite reasonable that children should want to share that, I suppose. But I still find myself being irritated by their demands. It partly depends on how I feel. If I'm feeling generous and things are going well in my life, I'm more likely to say yes. It's hard to be consistent.'
F
Supermarkets themselves could do a lot more to ease parent-child conflict by removing sweets from checkout areas or even by providing supervised play areas. Although parents might spend less because their children are not with them, the thought of shopping without your six-year-old's demands would surely attract enough extra customers to more than make up the difference
YOUR ANSWER TASK 3
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TASK 4
For questions 31-42, read the text below and decide which answer А-D best fits each gap.
A good start to a holiday
I had never been to Denmark before, and when I set out to catch the ferry in early May, I little (31)_____ that by the end of the trip I'd have made such lasting friendships.
I wanted to (32)_____ my time well, so I had planned a route which would (33)_____ several small islands and various parts of the countryside. I arrived at Esbjerg, a (34)_____ port for a cyclist's arrival, where tourist information can be obtained and money changed. A cycle track (35)_____ out of town and down to Ribe, where I spent my first night.
In my (36)_____ a person travelling alone sometimes meets with unexpected hospitality, and this trip was no (37)_____ In Ribe, I got into conversation with a cheerful man who turned (38)_____ to be the local baker. He insisted that I should (39)_____ his family for lunch, and, while we were eating, he contacted his daughter in Odense. Within minutes, he had (40)_____ for me to visit her and her family. Then I was (41)_____ on my way with a fresh loaf of bread to keep me (42)_____ and the feeling that this would turn out to be a wonderful holiday.
