You are going to read an article about the actress Harriet Walter. For questions 1-8, choose the answer А-D which you think fits best according to the text.
Acting minus the drama
Harriet Walter has written a fascinating book about her profession. Benedicte Page reports.
It is not often that an experienced actor with a high public profile will sit down to answer in depth the ordinary theatregoer's questions: how do you put together a character which isn't your own?; what is it like to perform the same play night after night?; or simply, why do you do it? Harriet Walter was prompted to write Other People's Shoes: Thoughts on Acting by a sense that many people's interest in theatre extended beyond the scope of entertainment chit-chat. 'I was asked very intelligent, probing questions by people who weren't in the profession, from taxi drivers to dinner-party hosts to people in shopping queues. It made me realise that people have an interest in what we do which goes beyond show business gossip,' she says.
Other People s Shoes avoids insider gossip and, mostly, autobiography: 'If events in my life had had a huge direct influence, I would have put them in, but they didn't,' Harriet says, though she does explain how her parents' divorce was a factor in her career. But the focus of the book is to share - remarkably openly -the inside experience of the stage and the rehearsal room, aiming to replace the false sense of mystery with a more realistic understanding and respect for the profession.
'There's a certain double edge to the publicity an actor can get in the newspapers: it gives you attention but, by giving it to you, simultaneously criticises you,' Harriet says. 'People ask you to talk about yourself and then say, "Oh, actors are so self-centred." And the "sound-bite" variety of journalism, which touches on many things but never allows you to go into them in depth, leaves you with a sort of shorthand which reinforces prejudices and myths.'
Harriet's career began in the 1970s and has included theatre performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company and television and film roles. She writes wittily about the embarras¬sments of the rehearsal room, as actors try out their half-formed ideas. And she is at pains to demystify the theatre: the question 'How do you do the same play every night?' is answered by a simple comparison with the familiar car journey you take every day, which presents a slightly different challenge each time. 'I was trying to get everyone to understand it isn't this line SO extraordinary mystery and you're not visited by some spiritual inspiration every night.'
Harriet's own acting style is to build up a character piece by piece. She says that this process is not widely understood: 'There's no intelligent vocabulary out there for discussing the craft of building characters. Reviews of an actor's performance which appear in the newspapers are generally based on whether the reviewer likes the actors or not. It's not about whether they are being skilful or not, or how intelligent their choices are.'
There remains something mysterious about slipping into 'other people's shoes': 'It's something like falling in love,' Harriet says. 'When you're in love with someone, you go in and out of separateness and togetherness. It's similar with acting and you can slip in and out of a character. Once a character has been built, it remains with you, at the end of a phone line, as it were, waiting for your call.'
Harriet includes her early work in Other People s Shoes - 'I wanted to separate myself from those who say, "What an idiot I was, what a load of nonsense we all talked in those days!"; it wasn't all rubbish, and it has affected how I approach my work and my audiences.' And she retains from those days her belief in the vital role of the theatre
1 Harriet Walter decided to write her book because she
A
was tired of answering people's questions about acting.
B
knew people liked to read about show business gossip.
C
wanted to entertain people through her writing.
D
wanted to satisfy people's curiosity about acting in the theatre.
2 In paragraph two, we learn that Harriet's book aims to
A
correct some of the impressions people have of the theatre.
B
relate important details about her own life story.
C
analyse the difficulties of a career in the theatre.
D
tell the truth about some of the actors she has worked with.
3 What problem do actors have with newspaper publicity?
A
It never focuses on the actors who deserve it.
B
It often does more harm than good.
C
It never reports what actors have actually said.
D
It often makes mistakes when reporting facts.
4 Harriet uses the example of the car journey to show that
A
acting can be boring as well as rewarding.
B
actors do not find it easy to try new ideas.
C
actors do not deserve the praise they receive.
D
acting shares characteristics with other repetitive activities.
5 What does 'it' refer to in paragraph 4?
A
facing a different challenge
B
taking a familiar car journey
C
acting in the same play every night
D
working with fellow actors
6 Harriet criticises theatre reviewers because they
A
do not give enough recognition to the art of character acting.
B
do not realise that some parts are more difficult to act than others.
C
choose the wrong kinds of plays to review.
D
suggest that certain actors have an easy job.
7 Harriet says that after actors have played a particular character, they.
A
may be asked to play other similar characters.
B
may become a bit like the character.
C
will never want to play the part again.
D
will never forget how to play the part.
8 What does Harriet say about her early work?
A
It has been a valuable influence on the work she has done since.
B
It was completely different from the kind of work she does now.
C
She finds it embarrassing to recall that period of her life.
D
She is annoyed when people criticise the work she did then.
YOUR ANSWER TASK 1
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TASK 2
You are going to read a magazine article about a girl and the job she does. 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
At around 3 p.m., the cleaning work done, Sarah then prepares tea for the new guests.
B
Sarah enjoys cooking and, after leaving school, supported herself during holidays by working as a cook.
C
'There's nothing worse than coming in to a messy kitchen the next morning.'
D
As soon as the guests are gone, Sarah starts cleaning madly.
E
'On a good day we can be up there until 4.30 p.m.'
F
'A frightful day,' she says, 'when you certainly don't want to be cooking breakfast feeling exhausted.'
G
She gets up at 7 a.m. to walk the mile or so to the chalet, which sleeps up to 18 guests each week.
H
It is soon time for dinner duty again and perhaps a chat with friends, but not always.
Keeping the holiday-makers happy A chalet girl's work is never done, Sarah Sutherland-Pilch tells Veronica Lee - in between making beds and delicious dinners.
This is the second year as a chalet girl for Sarah Sutherland-Pilch, a 24-year-old from West Sussex. Known by her nickname, Pilch, Sarah works for a company in Val d'lsere, France, cooking and cleaning for visitors who come to ski and stay in the wooden houses, known as chalets, that are characteristic of the area. Sarah graduated in French and History of Art from Oxford Brookes University last summer. Being a chalet girl isn't a career, she says, but an enjoyable way to spend a year or two before settling down. 'It's a good way to make contacts. I meet successful people every week.'
Sarah does not "live in'. 9_____ She has her own breakfast before preparing that of the guests. 'They get the works -porridge, eggs, cereals, fruit and croissants.' When the last of the guests has had breakfast, by about 9.30 a.m., Sarah clears up and either makes the afternoon tea, which is left for the guests to help themselves to, or cleans the rooms - 'the worst part of the job,' she says.
By about 11 a.m. she is ready to go on the slopes herself. She skis as much as possible. 10_____ Sarah returns to the chalet in time to prepare dinner and takes a shower before doing so, but does not sleep. 'It's fatal if you do,' she says.
Dinner, a three-course affair, is served at 8 p.m. and coffee is usually on the table by 10 p.m. Sarah clears away the dinner things and fills the dishwasher. 11_____ Sometimes she will stay and chat with the guests, other times they are content to be left alone. 'Good guests can make a week brilliant - breakfast this morning was great fun - but some weeks, for whatever reason, don't go quite so well.'
Sarah meets her friends in the chalet where she lives - and they go out at about 11 p.m. 'We usually start off in Bananas, might go to G Jay's and perhaps Dick's T-Bar at the end of the evening,' she says. But Sarah never stays out too late on Saturday night as Sunday is her busiest time of the week. 12_____
Work begins earlier than usual on Sunday, since breakfast for guests who are leaving has to be on the table by 7 a.m. 13_____ 'We just blitz the place - clear the breakfast, strip the beds, get everything ready' If she hasn't already done the week's shop on Saturday, Sarah does it now.
14_____ 'They get here at around 4.30 p.m. Sometimes they are disorientated and full of questions. I'm sure it's the mountain air that does something to them.'
Between tea and dinner, Sarah takes any guests needing boots or skis down to the ski shop and then gets a lift back to the chalet from one of the ski shop staff. 15_____ 'Sometimes I'm so tired I just have an early night,' she says.
YOUR ANSWER TASK 2
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A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
9
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11
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14
15
TASK 3
You are going to read an article about people who changed their jobs. For questions 16-30, choose the people A-D. The people may be chosen more than once.
Which person mentions
16
enjoying their pastime more than the job they used to do?
17
enjoying being in charge of their own life?
18
being surprised by suddenly losing their previous job?
19
not having other people depending on them financially?
20
missing working with other people?
21
undergoing training in order to take up their new job?
22
a contact being useful in promoting their new business?
23
not being interested in possible promotion in their old job?
24
disliking the amount of time they used to have to work?
25
surprising someone else by the decision they made?
26
a prediction that hasn't come true?
27
consulting other people about their businesses?
28
the similarities between their new job and their old one?
29
working to a strict timetable?
30
needing time to choose a new career?
A New Life
A The Farmer Matt Froggatt used to be an insurance agent in the City of London but now runs a sheep farm.
'After 14 years in business, I found that the City had gone from a place which was exciting to work in to a grind - no one was having fun any more. But I hadn't planned to leave for another five or ten years when I was made redundant. It came out of the blue. I didn't get a particularly good pay-off but it was enough to set up the farm with. My break came when I got to know the head chef of a local hotel with one of the top 20 hotel restaurants in the country. Through supplying them, my reputation spread and now I also supply meat through mail order. I'm glad I'm no longer stuck in the office but it's astonishing how little things have changed for me: the same 80- to 90-hour week and still selling a product.'
B The Painter Ron Ablewhite was a manager in advertising but now makes a living as an artist.
'My painting began as a hobby but I realised I was getting far more excitement out of it than out of working. The decision to take redundancy and to become an artist seemed logical. The career counsellor I talked to was very helpful. I think I was the first person who had ever told him, "I don't want to go back to where I've been." He was astonished because the majority of people in their mid-forties need to get back to work immediately - they need the money. But we had married young and our children didn't need our support. It was a leap into the unknown. We went to the north of England, where we didn't know a soul. It meant leaving all our friends, but we've been lucky in that our friendships have survived the distance - plenty of them come up and visit us now.'
C The Hatmaker After working for five years as a company lawyer, Katherine Goodison set up her own business in her London flat, making hats for private clients.
'My job as a lawyer was fun. It was stimulating and I earned a lot of money, but the hours were terrible. I realised I didn't want to become a senior partner in the company, working more and more hours, so I left. A lot of people said I'd get bored, but that has never happened. The secret is to have deadlines. Since it's a fashion-related business, you have the collections, next year's shapes, the season -there's always too much to do, so you have to run a very regimented diary. I feel happier now, and definitely less stressed. There are things I really long for, though, like the social interaction with colleagues. What I love about this job is that I'm totally responsible for the product. If I do a rubbish job, then I'm the one who takes the blame. Of course, you care when you're working for a company, but when your name is all over the promotional material, you care that little bit more.'
D The Masseur Paul Drinkwater worked in finance for 16years before becoming a masseur at the Life Centre in London.
'I had been in financial markets from the age of 22, setting up deals. I liked the adrenaline but I never found the work rewarding. I was nearly made redundant in 1989, but I escaped by resigning and travelling for a year. I spent that yeartrying to work out what I wanted to do. I was interested in health, so I visited some of the world's best gymnasiums and talked to the owners about how they started up. I knewthatto change career I had to get qualifications so I did various courses in massage. Then I was offered part-time work atthe Life Centre. I have no regrets. I never used to feel in control, but now I have peace of mind and control of my destiny. That's best of all.'
YOUR ANSWER TASK 3
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A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
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TASK 4
For questions 31-42, read the text below and decide which answer А-D best fits each gap.
Mountain climbing
One of the most difficult but rewarding of pastimes is mountain climbing. The modern climber must (31)_____ many different skills. Rock climbing (32)_____ a combination of gymnastic ability, imagination and observation, but perhaps the most necessary skill is being able to (33)_____ out how much weight a particular rock will (34)_____ Mountaineers climb in groups of three or four, each climber at a distance of approximately six metres from the next. Usually one person climbs while the other climbers (35)_____ hold of the rope. The most experienced climber goes first and (36)_____ the other climbers which way to go, making the rope secure so that it is (37)_____ for the others to follow.
With much mountain climbing, snow skills (38)_____ a very important part. Ice axes are used for (39)_____ steps into the snow and for testing the ground. Climbers always tie themselves together so that, if the leader falls, he or she can be held by the others and (40)_____ back to safety. The number of dangers (41)_____ by climbers is almost endless. And the (42)_____ of oxygen at high altitudes makes life even more difficult for mountaineers.
