READING
I. Read a magazine article. Six paragraphs have been removed from the extract. Choose from the paragraphs A – G the
one which fits each gap (1 – 6). There is one EXTRA paragraph which you do not need to use.
My dream job
Preethi Nair tells the story of how she broke into the world of publishing with the help of her publicist, Pru Menon
It all began about five years ago. At that point I'd never even (A) I thought about asking a friend to do it – after all,
heard of Pru Menon, and nor had anybody else. Frustrated with I couldn't really phone journalists and say 'Hi, I'm
life in general and with my job as a management consultant, I Preethi Nair, and I have a fantastic book you must
started writing a story on my train journey to the office. It was read...it's by Preethi Nair!' But it was a lot to ask of a
about a young woman who wanted to follow her dreams but friend. Then suddenly I got the idea of doing the job
didn't dare to. Then, in one of those insane moments when the myself. I'd have to change my name, and be much
mouth engages without involving the brain, I told my boss I was more confident and pushy than my usual shy persona,
resigning and why. 'To finish a novel?' she asked with disbelief. but it could work.
1___________________________________________
Once it was complete, I enthusiastically sent off my manuscript (B) I didn't tell anyone quite how much I stood to
to various publishers, imagining the day when I'd be signing lose, though, because I didn't want friends or family
copies of my bestseller for admiring fans. Then came the first of saying it was a crazy idea. Instead, I told everyone I'd
“thanks, but no thank you” letters. Being rejected felt awful. So, found some freelance work, and did some research
in a moment of sheer madness I decided to spend all my savings into how publishing really worked.
on self-publishing my book. I'd come this far, I wanted to see it
through. (C) Nobody said anything and I was relieved. But
2___________________________________________ after all her hard work, I realized that my publicist
My main discovery was that printing the book wasn't the biggest should get some recognition. Thanking her, however,
problem; the publicity would be the hardest thing to arrange. I'd would only have drawn attention to the fact that my
need a publicist who knew the business to get me book reviews pushy publicist was actually me – she was my alter-
and press coverage, otherwise I'd never succeed. But I didn't ego.
have any budget. It seemed like yet another setback.
3___________________________________________ (D) So somehow I made it through even the trickiest
So I installed two phone lines in my spare bedroom and created situations. And having secured a reasonable amount
of press coverage, I thought the rest would be easier.
a competent, extrovert alter-ego, by the name of Pru Menon. So
nervous that my hands were shaking, I made my first call. As Then the first boxes of books arrived from the
soon as the journalist answered, my voice faltered and, sensing printers, all with page 179 missing. With the press
my angst and inexperience, she practically hung up on the spot. waiting for review copies, I had to spend days and
I had my head in my hands. What had I been thinking? But then nights gluing the pages in myself.
I thought about the money I stood to lose.
(E) There was a pause in which I could have retracted
4___________________________________________ what I'd said. But I didn't. I'd always seen handing in
As the weeks passed, I was amazed at how confident and my notice as the hardest step. I had this naive notion
professional I became in role as my pushy alter-ego. She was that the rest would follow effortlessly because I'd
the woman I'd always wanted to be. While Pru secured
taken a leap of faith. But it wasn't quite as simple as
interviews, I was busy doing them. If people said we sounded that.
alike, I'd have a comeback ready: 'That's what happens when
you work so closely with someone.' (F) So I told two close friends about my secret. I
5___________________________________________ needed them to stand in for me as directors of my
My next logistical headache was making sure there were copies publishing and PR company at the event I planned to
of the book in the shops. I had to go to every bookstore in launch the book. It was a great success, and when
London and plead with them to stock the title. By this stage, the people asked for my publicist, they were told that she
stress of it all was getting too much. had gone down with flu.
6___________________________________________
I still didn't get a deal with a big publisher, but when I thought (G) To prevent this happening again, I planned out
about all the work I'd done, I knew I had to keep trying. Being everything a confident extrovert would say, took a
Pru had made me stronger in ways I could never have imagined, deep breath and started again. After about 20 phone
and I'd learnt to cope with rejection. What's more, my second calls I got into my stride – chatting to media people as
novel poured out of me in six weeks and was sold as part of though I'd known them for years – and learnt to be
three-book deal to a publisher. Pru is finally in retirement, but I unfazed by rejection.
still maintain that dreams do come true if you really make them
happen.
SCORE OUT OF 6_________
II. Read the text below. Circle the answer (A, B, C or D) that best fits each gap. There is an example at
the beginning.
Happy to be Average
At a dinner party I was at recently conversation was (0).... fever pitch. A group of very boring parents
were (1) ….... about just how exceptional their children were. 'Little Rosie was walking almost before she
was born,' said one. 'That's nothing! Little Bobby was using conditional tenses at thirteen months and was
even (2)…...... his mother,' said another.
Then came the (3)…...... of a woman who had, until then, chosen to (4)…...... silent. What (5)…........
was her child bringing into the world? The table hushed as she spoke. 'Well, Theo's entirely average,' she
said. 'But I love him.'
How brave she was to value the average, thereby elevating it to the extraordinary. The ironic thing,
(6)…......., was that the rest of the dinner guests then started to compete all over again, saying that actually
their child was (7)…........... more average than hers because, etc., etc. It made me (8)…........ that being
confident enough to say you are entirely average (9)…........ that you are actually anything but.
The world is full of superlatives. We have become (10)…......... to everything being new, brilliant,
fabulous, the latest or the best ever. So much so that we too (11)…........ talking like the advertisers who
are always telling us that things are glamorous, fairy-tale, glittering and wonderful. I'm sure that I'm not
(12)…........ in feeling very tired of it all.
Circle ONE LETTER in each line:
0 A reaching B raising C getting D making
1 A applauding B praising C boasting D complimenting
2 A altering B correcting C amending D revising
3 A attempt B go C turn D try
4 A remain B repose C rest D resist
5 A gifts B donations C presents D contributions
6 A therefore B even though C nonetheless D of course
7 A effectively B considerably C eventually D constructively
8 A perceive B imagine C realise D suppose
9 A means B tells C speaks D points
10 A acknowledged B accepted C accustomed D acquainted
11 A fall back B come down C get round D end up
12 A individual B unique C single D lonely
SCORE OUT OF 12_________
III. Think of ONE word only which can be used appropriately in ALL THREE sentences. Write it at the
beginning, as it is shown in the example (0):
(0)….EASY.. Naomi is very approachable woman and people find her .....to talk to. / My grandmother
thinks that I have a very …...life compared to her experience of being a teenager. / It's…...to see why so
many people support the local team who have done so well in recent seasons.
(1)….............................: As sales continued to decline, Patrick had no.......but to close down the business.
/ At the new shopping center, customers will find a wide ….....of goods on display. / Although Sally
Green would have been Paul's .....for the job, other members of the interview panel had different ideas.
(2)…............................: So did you ..........any conclusions once you'd completed your research on the
issue? / People don't need to learn how to...........these days as most designs can be created on a computer.
/ To decide who had won first prize, the organizers of the competition decided to...........the names out of a
hat.
(3)…............................: Tom's story about the dog was boring and failed to …......the group's attention. /
We didn't take the car on holiday as the boot wasn't large enough to.........all our luggage. / Clarice went
on to .......a number of responsible positions in the company before her retirement in 2009.
(4)…............................: My clothes feel very ........since I lost weight. / I had to pay for the cup of coffee
with a $ 20 note because I didn't have any ….....change. / The little girl had had a.........tooth for some
weeks, and on Friday evening it finally came out.
(5)…............................: Your keyboards needs to stand on a.........surface a comfortable distance away
from the screen. / Whichever type of car you hire, with this deal you pay a .........rate of $ 30 per day. /
The landscape to the south of the resort is rather …........and uninteresting compared to the hilly area to
the north.
(6)…............................: It is.........to find a shop that gives a truly personal service these days. / One CD
by that group is no longer available in the shops and was classed as........in one online auction. / I have
joined and organization that is dedicated to helping preserve.......species of butterfly.
(7)…............................: Rules about the use of kitebuggies on the beach only.........during the tourist
season. / If you want to get good results at the end of the year, you need to..........yourself to your studies. /
Anyone interested in the job is invited to..........before the last day in June.
SCORE OUT OF 7_________
IV. Read the text. Fill in the gaps. Use only ONE word for each gap.
What Science is All About
Science is not logical. (0) ….If...it were, scientists would be out of a job because it would be possible
to explain everything (1)...............reference to a few basic ideas or laws. In (2)...............words, there
would be (3)...............need for experimentation and hypothesis. But that sort of science would be boring,
because almost (4)...............the excitement of science comes from the unexpected nature of findings
thrown (5)...............by experimentation. If we can predict the outcome of each experiment, then
(6)...............bother to do it?
What scientists do (7)...............to observe and measure the world around them, and attempt to
(8)...............sense of it all. They do this by creating simple models that explain and predict the behavior of
small parts of the world, be (9)...............the working of the heart or the Earth's weather systems. They use
(10)...............is called a reductionist approach, in (11)...............they break the problem down
(12)...............its simplest components, and try to explain how and why each component behaves in the
way it does.
The activities of scientists have led to an ever-increasing knowledge of our world. This knowledge
has the potential for good and bad, and scientists are responsible for trying to maximise the
(13)...............at the expense of the latter. For the (14)...............part, scientists want their discoveries to be
used for the benefit of humankind, but they don't have all the answers and perhaps (15)...............will.
SCORE OUT OF 15_________
TOTAL SCORE ….............OUT OF 40