Reading comprehension exercises ( Dạng bài tập đọc hiểu Luyện thi thpt quốc gia môn tiếng anh )

Reading, 45 January 23, 2007 You are going to read some information about Star Signs.. Christy Martin shuts mouths and opens eyes.” Reading, 43 January 23, 2007 You are going to read so

Reading, 45

January 23, 2007

You are going to read some information about Star Signs For questions 22 –

35, choose from the list of Star Signs A – G Some of the Star Signs may be chosen more than once When more than one answer is required, these may

be given in any order There is an example at the beginning (0)

People of which si9n(s):

will win a competition? 0:_A_

will receive an invitation? 22: _

will meet new people? 23: _

may travel? 24: _ 25: _

are making plans for college? 26: 25: 26:

may change house? 29: _

are advised to be sincere? 30: _

will have to look after younger brothers or sisters? 31: _

may run short of money? 32: 33:

will reorganise their place? 34:

are advised not to hurry in love matters? 35:

Star Signs

A ARIES

Expect more than one heart-to-heart with dad or a teacher about school plans New neighbours arrive and you think that it’s cool that they have the same interests as you do If you are involved in sports, make room on the trophy shelf; victory is yours for the asking You’ll have many late-night phone conversations with a friend about straightening out the world

B TAURUS Letters of loan approvals, scholarships and grants for college are

in the mail Don’t panic if you overhear your folks talk about moving They won’t get the house on the market till spring Towards the end of the month that gorgeous guy you met last summer will touch base with you By the 25th, a friend will confide in you about a relationship that’s on the rocks

C GEMINI

If you are in your last year of high school, you will spend all your free time hunting for a college Check with your local libraries for available scholarships

If you are not ready for college yet, focus on college-prep classes With Saturn

in Aries, you and your friends will be accepted into the same programmes Mum may be busy this month, so you’ll have to help take care of the siblings

D CAPRICORN

Romance is on the upswing, but don’t microwave the affair; let love simmer With Neptune in Capricorn, your ideals will be very important when Romeo comes along Unexpected expenses leave your wallet light, and you may have

to borrow from a friend Communication is very important to you, so waiting for news may be frustrating

E LEO

Check your wardrobe for a great outfit You’ll probably be invited to a concert

or a play by someone special Money may be a little tight after the holidays Your wallet may seem like a revolving door Saturn in Aries will inspire you

to volunteer for a trip connected to school or work You will finally hear from the college of your choice this month:hooray! A last minute maths quiz will take you by surprise Offer to tutor someone struggling with the subject

F VIRGO

You will have time to spare at work, so take your homework along Review your paycheque; there could be an error in your favour Someone a bit younger than you will express his affection Let him down gently Love is in the air, but honesty is the best policy Tell him that you are interested but want a monogamous relationship The sun in Capricorn has you rearranging your bedroom furniture While you’re at it, why not paint something artistic

on the walls?

G LIBRA

Friends will want to hang out at your house and study with you There will be

a flurry of last-minute get-togethers this month Is one a surprise party for your mum? The changes you make at the beginning of the month will bring results by the 23rd Look under the bed for that lost treasure With Jupiter and Mars in Aquarius, plan on an unexpected trip with friends You’ll have a blastl

Reading, 44

January 23, 2007

You are going to read an article about a female boxer Seven sentences have been removed from the article Choose from the sentences A – H the one which fits each gap 16 – 21 There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use There is an example at the beginning (0)

A Millions saw Tyson, but now the main event was over, the cameras were

switched off and the crowd was going home

B For the second time that night, Christy is left with only a handful of people

to impress

C As she prowls the ring, arms held high and punching the air, Christy Martin

looks like a woman on top of the world

D Women’s boxing has never been taken very seriously by the almost

exclusively male boxing crowd

E Christy might worry about her teeth getting knocked out

F Since signing with him two years ago, Christy’s left blows are now worth

thousands of dollars

G “Look,” she says, examining it closely, “I did break my nail.”

H “It does hurt my feelings that I work so hard and I don’t get mentioned,”

she says

The female Tyson

The crowd was jubilant Mike Tyson had just beaten Buster Mathis Junior in the third round in a cavernous stadium in Philadelphia, as everyone suspected

he would Fox Television had transmitted the fight coast to coast 0: _A_ This was a pity They missed the only surprise of the evening

Dressed in her baby-pink robe, with her greased face and hungry look, Christy Martin pounces into the ring later than scheduled The straying crowd heading for the exit lingers Within 144 seconds Christy has floored her opponent A seasoned ringside photographer shakes his head and says, “She’s something

else, isn’t she?” 16: _

Back in the dressing room, she brushes her long hair and worries about her

injury of the night 17: _

Christy is 27 and has been fighting for just five years, yet some consider her

to be the Tyson of women’s boxing And, like Tyson, she’s signed to the prince

of all promoters, Don King – the most powerful man in a multi-million dollar

sport 18: _ I “I’ve gone from fighting $25-a-round club shows to

fighting in the best and biggest rings in the boxing world We spoke to all the promoters, but none of them was interested in having a woman fighter Now I’m glad because we were available when Don King had time to talk to us King gives people opportunities and I’m glad he gave me a chance.”

At the press conference after the fight, Christy waits respectfully as Mike

Tyson talks to the press But as soon as he’s finished, they are off 19:

_ From the stage Don King booms, “Where are you all going? What’s the matter with you guys – are you discriminating?”

Like any professional woman struggling to make it in male territory, Christy

gets overlooked 20: _ “The other day, Don King was raving about me

at a press conference, saying it was the fight of the night He even gave me

a bonus for it But the next day, there was not one line in the papers to say I’d fought Journalists are afraid to write about it, but as soon as one of them says, ‘Yes, we rate Christy Martin’, then the rest follow suit.’ Almost on cue,

a radio boxing commentator interrupts to congratulate her on the fight

21: _ Until Christy came on the scene and Don King got involved, it was

dismissed as ‘two women slapping each other about’ But in the cut-andthrust world of boxing, the only thing that counts is a fighter’s ability, and Christy has earned her respect Mention her name in the after-fight bar and everyone agrees “I used to say I didn’t want any women fighting in my ring, full stop,”

says match-maker Bobby Mitchell, “but I’ll never say it again Christy Martin shuts mouths and opens eyes.”

Reading, 43

January 23, 2007

You are going to read some information about the remote control For questions 8 – 15, choose the answer A, B, C or D which you think fits best according to the text

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE REMOTE CONTROL

Oh sure, it’s easy being a couch potato now Wondrous advances in technology, particularly during the 1990s, have made it easy and fun to ‘surf’ the television channels from the comfort of your armchair Remote controls offer everything from picture-within-a-picture technology, to on-screen programming that doesn’t even require you to look at the remote control

As we rush towards ever greater technological advances, let us not forget the difficulties experienced by the millions who have come before us For years they struggled with remote controls that changed channels or muted the volume unpredictably Though proclaimed as technological marvels in their day, today those devices look extremely funny

So come with us as we flash back to the 1950s The decade may have been the Golden Age of television, but in the evolution of the remote control, it was the Stone Age

The most primitive of the remotes was developed in 1950 by Zenith Electronics which decades later would win an Emmy for its pioneering work

in remotecontrol technology Zenith’s first creative idea was the clever ‘Lazy Bones’, a control with a cable that connected the television to the device Just

by pushing buttons on the remote, viewers could turn the television on and off and change channels

‘Prest-o! Chanqe-o!’ cried a magazine ad introducing the product ‘Just press

a button … to change a station!’ The problem? ‘Trip-o! Fall-o!’ Customers complained that the cable, besides being unsightly as it snaked across the living room floor, tripped many an unsuspecting passerby

In 1955 Zenith came up with a wireless remote Zenith engineers invented the Flashmatic, which worked by firing a beam of light First-generation couch potatoes accepted the new technology eagerly, but there was a glaring problem It reacted to any kind of light, channels changed unpredictably and the sound mysteriously came and went “So if the sun set glaringly and came

through the living room window, it would hit the set and cause problems,”

says Zenith engineer Robert Adler Also, viewers who weren’t as technologically aware as they are today, had trouble remembering which button controlled which function

It was Adler, an Austrian born immigrant, who fathered the remote-control that would dominate the industry for the next quarter of a century Ironic when you consider that Adler, by his own admission, to this day watches no more than an hour of television a week

In 1955 Adler came up with the concept of a remote based on ultrasonics – that is, high-frequency sound beyond the range of human hearing Adler’s invention which Zenith introduced in 1956 and named the Space Commander

400, would react to any number of metallic noises similar to those produced

by the transmitter For example, the family dog could change channels just

by furiously scratching its back legs, thereby causing its dog tags to jingle A ringing telephone or jingling keys would have the same effect

Today, in the Golden Age of the remote control, some 99 percent of TV sets and all video cassette recorders sold in the United States come with remote controls So do many other electronic components, such as compact disc players, and satellite dishes ‘Universal’ remotes, which have been around since the mid-’80s, allow you to operate several products – say, for example, the TV, the VCR and CD player – with just one transmitter rather than three separate units Even common household functions – switchinq on a light or turning off a ceiling fan – can be performed today by remote control In an industry that is continuously introducing amazing new gadgetry, who knows where couch-potato technology will go from here?

8 Why is it easy to be a ‘couch potato’ nowadays?

A potato chips have been invented

B advances in technology have made it possible

C armchairs nowadays are very comfortable

D the climate is perfect for growing vegetables

9 What is the second paragraph about?

A the technological developments in remote controls

B the money spent on technology

C the problems of early remote controls

D the marvels of early remote control technology

10 What was the main problem with ‘Lazy Bones’?

A The cable tripped many people

B The cable was too long

C The control was difficult to use

D The control was too slow

11 What was the main problem of the ‘Flashmatic’?

A The channels changed even with other kinds of light

B It had a mysterious use

C Some sets did not react to its beams

D It broke loose easily

12 What was another problem with it?

A It was bad for someone’s memory

B It wasn’t technologically advanced

C It was technically complex for the time

D It didn’t have enough functions

13 What does ‘it‘ in line 33 refer to?

A the living room window

B the sun

C the remote control

D the beam fired by the Flashmatic

14 What was the problem with the remote based on ultrasonics?

A It reacted to other noises, too

B Even the family dog could use it

C You could not hear other sounds like the phone ringing

D It made too much noise

15 What does the writer call ‘universal’ remotes?

A The kind used allover the world

B The kind used for common household functions

C The kind which are very expensive

D The kind used to operate several appliances

Reading, 42

January 23, 2007

You are going to read a newspaper article on the latest developments concerning working women and their maternity rights Choose the most suitable heading from the list A – I for each part 1 – 7 of the article There is one extra heading which you do not need to use There is an example at the beginning (0)

A A shameful comparison

B Complexity and inefficiency

C The case at the moment

D Rights for both

E No protection

F An unsuccessful attempt

G A paradise for working mothers

Nothing in the law of a country is simple But it is a disgrace that British law,

on something so important as maternity leave for working women, should be

as complicated as it unfortunately is And if that was not bad enough, women

in the UK have the worst maternity pay rights in Europe

3 : _

Women in the UK are entitled to a minimum of six weeks maternity leave on

90 per cent of their salary and eight weeks thereafter on £57.70 That is very little when compared to the other 14 member states of the European Union Every EU member state has improved on the Pregnancy Directive’s minimum 14-week entitlement except Britain, where it is the only maternity leave insisted on by law Even countries outside the EU have a higher minimum standard for their women workers and executives than in Britain, as for instance Belarus, Norway and the Ukraine which offer 18 weeks on 100 per cent salary

4: _

Mothers get a raw deal in the UK, but fathers hardly get a deal at all Some

of the big corporations are starting to take fathers seriously but they are few and far between Some businesses may allow a man a few days off when his wife or partner has a baby, but for many fathers there is no legal entitlement

in their terms of employment Research has shown that only 31 per cent of workplaces employing men allow their employees paid paternity leave The general attitude is that childbirth is something to be left to a woman to get through on her own, even when she is not a single parent !

5: _

Since 1982 the EOC has been calling, without success, for a modest five day paternity leave for new fathers In 1993 when the Labour MP Greville Janner introduced a Private Member’s Bill to give spouses or partners of pregnant women the right to a maximum three months’ unpaid leave, John Major’s government blocked it

6: _

However, the tide now seems to be turning Early in April of this year, it was leaked to the press that Tony Blair’s Government was proposing to give working fathers one week’s paid paternity leave, though at the low level of

£57.20 The Minister was quoted as saying “We want to send a message to women that men should be by their side when they give birth.” Nothing came

of that suggested move and the Government has since issued a White Paper

‘Fairness at Work’ in which it promises to implement an EU directive on the whole subject of Parental Leave by the end of next year

7: _

So, again, Britain is behind its European partners Most of Europe already has that message In fact, many countries have gone beyond the concept of mere paternity leave for the father and have developed the idea of parental leave for whichever parent wants it For instance, in Belgium there is three to 12 months’ paid leave for up to a total of three years during anyone person’s working life, although this does not apply to senior managers In France and Germany, parental leave is available until a child is three and may be taken

by either parent or shared but, in France, it is only paid leave for the first child On the other hand, the Netherlands, Greece, Portugal and Spain all offer generous shared leave but only on an unpaid basis

Reading, 41

January 22, 2007

You are going to read some information about some companies For questions 22-34, choose from the companies (A-H) Some of the companies may be chosen more than once When more than one answer is required, these may

be given in any order There is an example at the beginning (0) For question

35, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text

Which company or companies:

is proud of their research programme? 0: F

deals with a precious metal? 22: _

deals with communication links? 23: _

is partly owned by management? 24: _

states it does not work in Europe? 25: _

states it is concerned with the whole family? 26: _

profit from natural resources? 27: _ 28: _

directly exchange money? 29: _ 30: _

mention how many people they employ? 31: _ 32: _

Choose which of the following reports you wish to have sent to you:

TVX Gold Inc – A

TVX Gold INC is a Canadian-based growth-oriented international mining

company with 1993 gold and gold equivalent production of a record 439,000 ounces at an average cash cost of $172 per ounce from its interests in six operating gold mines located in North and South America The strengths of TVX Gold include quality reserves, long mine life, low average cash costs and increase in production, and a new, experienced and aggressive management team

Statoil is organised in four business areas – Exploration and Production, Natural Gas, Oil Trading and Shipping, and Refining and Marketing From 1994 Statoil’s involvement in Petrochemicals has been transferred to Borealis, a new petrochemical company owned 50 per cent by Statoll and 50 per cent by Neste After the hive-off of its petrochemical operations in 1994, the group has about 12,000 employees

The Rabobank Group – C

With total assets of NLG 253.2 billion the Durch Rabobank Group ranks among the top 20 banks in Europe and the top 50 worldwide Over the past two decades, the bank has gradually expanded its international network to cover strategic geographic areas It comprises now 47 offices in the world’s major financial and commercial centres The Group’s ‘central bank’, Rabobank Nederland, operates as a wholesale house, specialising in serving major national and international corporations and in operations on the financial markets Besides dealing room and treasury activities, the bank offers corporate financial services (including consultancy on mergers, acquisitions

and participations) as well as a comprehensive package of international services through its international network

_

Roberts Pharmaceuticals – D

Roberts Pharmaceuticals (NASDAZ: RPCX) is fast realising its goal of becoming a major pharmaceutical company whose diverse products contribute to the health and wellbeing of all age groups Roberts has successfully combined an aggressive product development programme with strategic acquisitions, to create a profitable company with a well-balanced product portfolio concentrated in six major therapeutic categories

_

Telia – E

The Telia Group offers public and private networks for telephony data communications and mobile telephony Together with PTT Netherlands and Swiss PTT Telia is a co-owner of Unisource In 1993, the Telia Group’s revenues totalled USD $4.5 billion Return on capital employed was 14.5 per cent Telia invested a total of USD 910 million

_

Roche – F

Roche is a Swiss-based international health-care group employing 56,000 people worldwide It is a research-driven company with a leading position in biotechnology and activities covering the entire health spectrum of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease Roche has gained a high reputation for the quality of its innovative research and the original contributions it has made to the development of new drugs In addition to pharmaceuticals Roche is engaged in the fields of vitamins and fine chemicals, diagnostics, fragrances and flavours

_

BSS – G

BSS is a Swiss bank with all that this applies in terms of tradition, experience, security and confidentiality BSS is owned by the ‘Fondation de Famille

Sandoz’ and by key executives of the bank The bank focuses on asset management for private and institutional clients and offers a wide range of securities and banking services including global custody, forex and stock exchange operations

Saga Petroleum a.s – H

In 1993, Saga Petroleum had an operating profit of NOK 1694 million and a profit before taxes of NOK 1006 million The Group’s proved and probable oil and gas reserves total 1,474 million tonnes of oil equivalent, of which 44 per cent is oil In terms of reserves, Saga is among the largest independent upstream companies in the world It is Saga’s intention further to strengthen its position on the Norwegian shelf, and to utilise the company’s expertise and capacity gradually to develop its international activities

Saga’s objective is to give the company’s shareholders the highest possible return on their investment through efficient operations and strict requirements to the profitability of new products

Reading, 40

January 22, 2007

You are going to read a newspaper article about bats Seven sentences have been removed from the article Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (16-21) There is one extra sentence which you will not need to use There is an example at the beginning (0)

BATS ARE NOCTURNAL, BUT NOT AS BLACK AS PAINTED

By Anna Harrisson

Bats may play an essential part in horror films, but they suffer from an undeserved reputation Just as strange is the preference of some, but not all, bat species to hang upside-down when resting 0: H

Let’s start at the beginning; first things first Our friends the bats don’t wish

to get knotted up in our hair; they don’t suck blood; they don’t spread

disease! Most bats are gentle and kindly, more keen on helping farmers than biting the necks of young women dressed in their nightdresses

16:

In pre-historic times, the cavemen noticed bats hanging like bunches of grapes, from the roofs of caves Their first reactions were feelings of fear, which changed to respect when watching the tender care with which the mother looked after her baby bats, cleaning them and feeding them all

day 17: _

The classical Greeks, who were great naturalists, were the ones to give bats

their name, ‘chiroptera’ 18: _

While we humans are meat-eating, of the more than 1,000 kinds of bats on our planet, only one, the vampire bat from the Carpathian mountains, sucks

blood 19: _ I I Mosquitoes also suck blood and people are much less

afraid of them, although they may be much more dangerous, spreading the disease malaria The tiger mosquito in Central America spreads encephalitis

Bats in Europe are 100 per cent insect eaters In Greece, at the beginning of this century, there were great communities of bats living around the plains

of Thessaly 20: _ Then they would clean up the insects, many of which

were harmful to the farmers’ crops, acting like ‘flying vacuum cleaners’ Now things are changing fast, and not all for the better!

Bats have been living on our planet for about 40 million years, and they move from place to place, living sometimes in caves, forests, old buildings, and

every once in a while in a church bell tower 21: _

A This means ‘hands with wings’

B But unless we’ve been introduced and got to know someone, how can we

love them – isn’t this the case with bears, wolves and street dogs?

C In the evenings and nights, they would fly over the wet ditches and the

wheat fields

D How is it that just one out of more than one thousand species can give all

bats such a bad name, considering that there are many, such as fruit bats and flying-foxes, which are completely vegetarian?

E Fools are described as ‘batty’ or have ‘bats in the belfry’

F All the ancient civilisations were sympathetic towards bats, respected them

and considered them to have magic powers

G Needless to say, we have a great responsibility towards them

H Hopefully this is not too confusing!

he got out he opened all the car doors very slightly after he had switched off the parking lights

He walked up the road until he guessed he was opposite the house and then climbed over the low dry-stone wall The moon was full, making the house look almost as if it were all lit up Treading slowly and determinedly he moved down the slope towards the house, across the drive and over to the front door It was in deep shadow and he shone the torch on the lock as he gently pushed in the key It turned easily and when he moved the handle he felt a soft rush of cold air as the door opened He left the door slightly open and he shone the torch around the big square hall

The stairs made a lot of noise despite his keeping well against the wall, but nobody stirred The bedroom facing the top of the stairs was locked, and he tried several keys in the lock The third one unlocked it and he opened the door slowly There was a smell of stale smoke, and he guessed it was not used as a bedroom He shaded the torch with his hand and saw that the room was unoccupied He found the switch, turned on the light and closed the door

There were two long tables in the centre of the room The kind that decorators use They were piled with papers and books, with a space cleared for a portable typewriter Against the far wall was a projection screen on a metal stand A slide projector and a 16mm sound projector were on a metal stand

at the side of metal shelves There were three worn armchairs and on an otherwise empty bookshelf was a small portable radio

8 Why did Boyd wait to park his car?

A to let the others go to bed

B to make sure his car was facing the right way

C to get the ropes and torch ready

D to let the moon go behind a cloud

9 Why did Boyd turn the car around?

A He wanted to be able to leave quickly and easily

B He was worried that he might have problems with the car

C He wanted to park just past the entrance to the driveway

D He couldn’t see well because the lights had gone out

10 How did he feel as he got near the house?

A guilty and fearful

B disappointed and determined

C nervous and frightened

D confident and calm

11 What does ‘it’ in line 12 refer to?

A the low dry-stone wall

B the moon

C the house

13 While going up the stairs, he thought that

A he should keep away from the wall

B he might be heard

C he must have lost his keys

D he was the only one in the house

14 What do we learn about the bedroom facing the top of the stairs?

A It had just been decorated

B It was unlocked

C It had been used by smokers

D It had been used as a cinema

15 What would be the most suitable title for this extract?

You are going to read an advertisement for a theatre club Choose from the list A-I the heading which best summarises each part (1-7) of the advertisement There is one extra heading which you do not need to use There is an example at the beginning (0)

A See excellent actors and actresses

B How to join the Theatre Club

C A choice of three

D Listen to an expert

E How to book a seat

F A show for the holiday season

G For those with a sweet tooth

H Performances held in different cities

I The Sunday Times: The Theatre Club

YOUR TICKET TO THE BEST SEATS

2: _

This week’s offers reflect the club’s wide range of activities There’s a chance

to meet one of the country’s leading producers, go on a Chocoholic Theatre Weekend, or go to a special family ballet matinee

_

3: _

Call ahead to book seats for any of these shows at the Theatre Club’s own booking service on 0171-413 1412, which is available 24 hours a day, or call the number given with each show during box-office hours

_

4: _

Send a cheque for £12.50, made payable to The Theatre Club, together with your name, address and telephone number to: The Theatre Club, PO Box 2, Owen Road, Diss, Norfolk, IP22 3HH If you need more information, please telephone 0171-3879673

5: _

LONDO : English National Ballet performs The Nutcracker at the Royal

Festival Hall

New Year’s Day matinee 2.30 pm

Tchaikovsky’s magical ballet features flying cooks, a Christmas tree that grows and grows, a magic Santa’s sleigh and dolls that come to life Members are offered a special tea party after the matinee performance The cost is just

£30 a ticket for adults and half price for children

Meet the producer, Bill Kenwright, before a performance of Sir Peter Hall’s

production of An Ideal Husband Bill Kenwright is one of the five most prolific

producers in the country He currently has five shows in the West End and produces at two regional theatres Members have the chance to learn at first hand the producer’s role in the theatre Tickets are available to members at

£26, which includes a pre-theatre buffet and top price seats for the show Telephone 0171-240 1690

in the best seats in the theatre for The Wizard of Oz Later, a cup of hot

chocolate before bed finishes off the evening, which is followed the next day

by a tempting trip to Cadbury World Tickets for the weekend cost £62.75 for adults (based on two people sharing a room), £26.75 for children under 14, and £4.50 for children under five, staying in their parents’ room (babysitters are available) The price includes bed and breakfast, theatre tickets and the trip to Cadbury World

Telephone 0121-236 2302 for details and to book ahead

Reading, 37

January 21, 2007

You are going to read a travel guide to eight romantic destinations For questions 22 – 35, choose from the list of places A-H Some of the places may be chosen more than once When more than one answer is required, these may be given in any order There is an example at the beginning (0)

Which romantic destinations would you recommend for someone who:

likes ice cream? 0: B

enjoys the view from above? 22: 23: 24:

wants to be alone with their loved one? 25: _

likes to make an early start to the day? 27: 28:

likes ancient places? 29:

is interested in 20th century decoration? 30: _

has a particular interest in wildlife? 31: _

likes the sea? 32: 33: 34: _ 35: _

A ROMANTIC ADVENTUROUS GETAWAY

It has to be admitted that some travel experiences will excite the traveller more than others So here is our guide to a few offbeat or at least less-travelled romantic adventures which might make your heart beat a bit faster

A Gebel Musa

Stroll up the mountain of Moses, from St Catherine’s monastery on the Sinai Peninsula in the very early hours to experience dawn at the summit with Exodus written large on the peach-coloured landscape below It’s a deeply moving experience; many people (and yes, I am afraid you will find a few fellow travellers beside you at the top) choose to share the experience with their beloved covered up under a blanket Good idea Best for the physically fit

B Merida

The university town of Merida in the Venezuelan Andes is famous for two things: its ice cream shop boasts the most flavours in the world (avoid the garlic and spinach flavours-that’s not romantic), but more importantly, it is the source of the longest and highest cable car on the planet Watch the city fall away behind you as the cable car climbs to an astonishing 16,000 ft summit then step out and feel your head spin at the wonder of the landscape (not to mention the lack of oxygen)

C Caribbean

Romantics have always revelled in sailing the Seven Seas, even while turning green and reaching for the nearest empty paper bag One of the greatest cruising experiences of our time involves lying side-by-side hanging over the

sea on the fourmasted schooners, Star Flyer and Star Clipper, under 36,000

ft2 of sail, watching dolphins frolic in the foaming Caribbean waves

D Miami

Learn to skate together in Miami – not like Torville and Dean, it doesn’t get quite that cold on South Beach In-line skating is all the rage in the art deco district, gliding hand-in-hand through candy-coloured buildings on one side, the ocean on the other You can hire the skates and all the equipment at several shops nearby

E Masai Mara

Early morning is the best time to share a hot-air balloon gliding over the Masai Mara with a bottle of bubbly, admiring the zebras, giraffes, monkeys, wildebeest and a rather worrying, mysterious dark shape which you eventually identify as your own balloon’s shadow

H Fiji

The staff on Yasawa Island resort in Fiji are not keen on crowding guests Say the word and they will abandon you on one-and-a-half mile long Champagne Beach for the day with little more than an enormous shade, a vast picnic,

plenty of cold drinks, books, games, your swimsuit and snorkel gear to explore the spectacularly colourful marine world

Reading, 36

January 21, 2007

You are going to read an article about Grigory Efimovich Rasputin Seven extracts have been removed from the article Choose from the extracts A· H the one which fits each gap 16·21 There is one extra extract which you do not need to use There is an example at the beginning (0)

A An American might have gone from log cabin to White House; but no

Siberian before Rasputin, and none since, until Boris Yeltsin, achieved Rasputin’s fame

B Years later, the niece of one of the Tsar’s doctors remembered him teaching

her to ‘pray with the most wonderful words’ and explaining quietly why she should never tear up flowers, because it was cruel to take life by force

C In truth, Rasputin was neither mad, nor a monk He was pious and lustful,

intelligent, charismatic, outrageous and utterly amoral He was also strikingly modern His skills as a spiritual leader and manipulator of souls match those

of any modern-day guru

D These holy men, with a special grace from God, were known as staretsy,

‘elders’ Dostoevsky described the guru-like skills of a starets in his novelThe Brothers Karamazov

E The church could not give them the religious comfort they craved, but

Rasputin’s skills as a starets ‘almost always brought elevation, interest, and,

to an unhappy soul, cheerfulness, hope, comfort, and even joy,’ an official investigation said

F By 1916, he had engineered the appointments of the two most powerful

and corrupt officials in Russia He is said to have had a hypnotic power over the Tsar, to have been a German agent, and to have seduced the Empress and her daughters

G There were many claims that Rasputin used hypnosis Rasputin himself

always denied this; the secret police who followed him 24 hours a day, in

shifts, logged a single visit to a hypnotist, and noted that he showed no more interest in the subject

H “Can’t stand it any more,” he complained “So many folks have

come Received them since morning and they still keep coming.”

RASPUTIN: an alternative viewpoint

Grigory Efimovich Rasputin was a much misunderstood man; he was neither mad nor a monk There was actually plenty to admire in the

peasant who became guru to the Romanovs

History has been no kinder to Rasputin than the conspirators who shot and beat him to death in the basement of a St Petersburg palace in 1916 His followers believed he was a saint; but the reputation that survives is the one given to him by his many enemies They named him the ‘Mad Monk’, the

incarnation of evil, the cartoon devil in Fox’s Anastasia with leering and

hypnotic eyes 0: C

His rise to power has a fairy tale quality Born in a cabin on the banks of a Siberian river, he made his way to St Petersburg, the distant capital of a great empire, and there won the trust and affection of Tsar Nicholas and Empress Alexandra He had a gift for healing He enslaved the royal couple by saving the life of their haemophiliac son, Tsarevich Alexis; as a result, his influence grew

16: _

The fact that Rasputin had a reputation at all was evident in his character He was born in 1869 in the Siberian village of Pokrovsokoye, the son of a carpenter The place was not well known; no reigning Tsar had ever visited his land beyond the Urals 17: _

Life for villagers was an eternal deadend of illiteracy, boring tasks, and drinking Young Rasputin brawled, drank and thieved, but Siberia gave him the exceptional qualities necessary to leave it He was fearless and ambitious When he was 20, he spent three months at the monastery of Verkhoturye, in the eastern foothills of the Urals Hermits lived in huts in the surrounding forests in simplicity and self-denial, on black bread and water 18: _

It is said that Rasputin only reached the heights he did because he was able

to ease the sufferings of the haemophiliac Tsarevich, Nicholas and Alexandra’s son But evidently Rasputin was an accident waiting to happen; the haemophilia merely confirmed his role Well-born women were the core

of his clientele 19:

Rasputin was introduced to Alexandra at court by the spiritualist daughters

of the corrupt King of Montenegro Rasputin established himself rapidly at the palace He had a natural way with children; he had three of his own, and was

a fond and much-loved father He attracted the attention of the young Romanovs with stories of his experiences 20:

He had an undeniable power of healing As a young boy in Siberia, he had been a horsewhisperer, curing livestock of ailments, and there are many later examples of his ability to ease suffering He exhausted himself, too, with his generosity to those who sought out his help 21: _

But, even when he had not slept after a night’s drinking, he would appear at ten, bow low, look at the crowd, and say: “You’ve all come to ask me for help I’ll help you all.”

Check your answers here

Reading, 35

January 21, 2007

You are going to read an article about the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb For questions 8 – 15, choose the answer A, B, C or D which you think fits best according to the text

A GRAVE MISTAKE?

On 12 February 1924, Howard Carter, amateur archaeologist, watched a pulley winch open a sarcophagus He was about to witness a sight unseen for thousands of years: the face of a Pharaoh of Egypt

The story of how the tomb with its riches and the mummified body of Tutankhamen was discovered is well known and there is no doubt that without Carter’s enthusiasm and determination the most exclusive cemetery in the world would not have been discovered What is more debatable, however, is the truth surrounding the supposed Curse of Tutankhamen

After discovering the tomb, Carter refused to enter it until his patron Lord Carnarvon was by his side It was, after all, Carnarvon’s generosity which had allowed Carter to carry out his ambition of finding an unplundered tomb They were awestruck at the contents of the chamber and in the dead of night, returned to the tomb to observe the wonders that the chamber held It was this secret entry that supposedly caused the anger of the Pharaoh Tutankhamen

A few days after the official opening ofthe burial chamber, Lord Carnarvon accidentally cut a mosquito bite on his cheek while shaving It became septic, and Lord Carnarvon came down with a fever A couple of weeks later he died

of pneumonia As he breathed his last breath, it is said that all the lights across Cairo flickered and went out Bizarrely, at the same moment back in England, his beloved dog howled, then dropped dead It was immediately claimed by the newspapers that Lord Carnarvon had been the victim of a curse Rumours of even more mysterious circumstances began to circulate

It was said that on the day of the discovery, Carter’s pet canary had been eaten by a cobra, the same serpent which is portrayed on the brow of a Pharaoh spitting poison

It was also claimed that a mysterious inscription had been found near the

tomb, warning that ‘Death will come on swift wings to whosoever touches the tomb of the Pharaoh’, although it was acknowledged that these words had

strangely vanished The death of anyone associated with the opening of Tutankhamen’s tomb was used as proof of the Curse

To a public raised on the exotic novels of Rider Haggard and Wilkie Collins this was very exciting But, in reality, if the Pharaoh was seeking revenge on those who had desecrated his tomb, then he was very selective Above all,

he seems to have spared the life of the most obvious candidate for his revenge – Howard Carter himself Even scientific attempts to argue that the Curse was true – for instance, theories that there were deadly microbes in the tomb, or poisonous fungi – must founder on that one conclusive fact It

is no wonder that Carter himself was so contemptuous when asked about the Curse – “The answer”, he would reply, “is spherical and in the plural” Instead

of dying in premature and mysterious circumstances, Carter in fact lived for

17 years after his incredible discovery Yet one great mystery, which Carter himself was powerless to solve, continues to exist There was barely any evidence found which could shed light on Tutankhamen himself His reign remains a mystery; his character even more so Although there have been numerous autopsies on his mummy, we cannot even be certain what caused his death – it has been suggested that he was murdered or killed in battle

As Carter was forced to confess, “the mystery of his life eludes us – the shadows move, but the dark is never quite dispersed”

All we can be certain of is that Tutankhamen, like any Egyptian, would have craved the remembrance which it was believed gave a spirit true life after death Forgotten for over three thousand years, the boy king’s name is now famous allover the world Thanks to the efforts of Howard Carter, Tutankhamen has true immortality at last

8.-Why did Carter refuse to enter the tomb after discovering it?

A He was afraid of dying

B He didn’t want to do it alone

C He wanted to go in with Lord Carnarvon

D He wanted to wait for the daylight

9.-How did Lord Carnarvon die?

A of a mosquito bite

B shaving himself

C of pneumonia

D of high fever

10.-It was claimed by the newspapers that Lord Carnarvon

A had been the victim of a murder

B had died because of a curse

C had been eaten by a cobra

D had been poisoned

11.-What was the Curse associated with?

A spitting poison

B giant cobras

13.-What does the writer imply about the Curse?

A If it were true, Carter was the one who should have died

B It was all invented by R Haggard & W Collins to sell their novels

C It was true since a lot of people who opened the tomb died

D The Pharaoh chose who would die

14.-What did Carter believe?

A He believed in the Curse

B He believed the true mystery was Tutankhamen himself

C He believed he was lucky not to have died of the Curse

D He believed that there was some scientific truth in the Curse

15.-What did the ancient Egyptians believe?

A Remembering a dead person made him/her immortal

B A spirit should be left in peace after death

C True immortality comes after thousands of years

D A dead person should be buried and forgotten

Reading, 34

January 21, 2007

You are going to read an article about the popularity of snacks Choose the most suitable heading from the list A – I for each part 1 – 7 of the article There is one extra heading which you do not need to use There is an example

at the beginning (0)

A The great-grandfather of snacks

B Different nations like different flavors

C An effort to produce and sell even more

D The ‘good-for-you-snack’ trend

E Snacking: past and present

F Eating snacks while watchin sports

G Varieties of potato chips

H Snacks have to look good

I Success is not the same for all

SNACKOLOGY

Once they were just potato chips Now they’re a ‘fourth meal occasion.’ And apparently, when it comes to the universe of snacks, there is no ‘final frontier.’

If that sounds like the same old thing, you can be sure that it’s not While millions of hands are moving between bowl and mouth, snack industry scientists are working endlessly to create more irresistible snacks to make those hands move faster

2: _

Potato chips today, for example, come in ridged or regular; flavored or plain; baked, fried or crisped; in a bag or stacked in a tube Chips now come in flavors from the most exotic to the most ordinary, satisfying tastes that vary with the person and the region Salt-and-vinegar chips, for example, failed in Ohio but were a great success in New England and eastern Canada, and the English love them

3: _

The Swedes prefer onion as a flavor for their chips, the Germans paprika, the Norwegians salt and pepper Barbecue dominates in the United States, but the American liking for novelty and variety includes everything from the ketchup flavored potato chips introduced by Herr Foods of Nottingham, Pennsylvania, to the chocolate-covered potato chips of Nelson’s Confectionery in Perham, Minnesota

4: _

Snacks in the United States will never get as wild as snacks in other parts of the world, although perhaps that is merely a subjective judgment American shoppers would never choose the snack known as Mopani, found in Uganda: white grubs served in cans or plastic bags In fact, we in the United States won’t even try some of the more conventional flavors popular in other countries

‘Those flavors wouldn’t cut it here,’ says Bernie Pacyniak, editor of Snack Food and Wholesale Bakery magazine ‘You couldn’t sell a seafood flavored Cheeto in the United States Some people even find the mustard flavored pretzels really strange.’

5: _

Crunchy snacks have been popular since the days of ancient Greece, when theater audiences ate roasted barleycorn during performances, crunching

loudly when they were bored Tragemata, they called their snacks, which

translates roughly as ‘munchies.’

be given in any order There is an example at the beginning (0) For questions

34 and 35, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text

Which star sign:

is warned that others envy them? 0: L _

is told it is time for an addition? 22:

is advised to make full use of time spent asleep? 23:

is told love is waiting for them? 24:

is told to put money matters first? 25: 26:

is advised to control strong feelings? 27:

is reminded to be grateful? 28:

is tired of a temporary relationship? 29: _

is warned about something terrible? 30: 31:

is told their past will help them? 32: _

is told to complete their work? 33:

34 Where has this text come from?

A a newspaper report

B an advertisement

C a magazine

D a school textbook

35 What is the main aim of this text?

A to offer advice to people with problems

B to inform people about what may happen in the future

C to recommend that people be careful

D to encourage people to write to Richard Starr

YOUR HOROSCOPE THIS WEEK

by Richard Starr

Aries A

Your family is going through the turmoil of many difficult changes Not everyone is cooperating with these changes, which is resulting in feelings being hurt and relationships being threatened A family crisis can be stopped

if you unexpectedly change your mind See if you can’t be more understanding and lend a sympathetic ear to the members of your family who need it most

Taurus B

It may be time to start thinking about starting or adding to the family But don’t panic! Things will fall into place if you are calm and plan out your moves carefully A bigger family will bring you the peace, joy and satisfaction that will fill that space within you which has been empty as of late

Gemini C

You are facing an overwhelmingly big job and you are feeling very distressed Calm down! Why not invite in a group of friends or colleagues to assist you? Together you can tackle the job and enjoy yourselves along the way Watch that you don’t antagonise anyone, though – remember to say ‘thank you’ to all those who rally to support you

Cancer D

You are on an emotional roller coaster You do not know if you are coming or going, and may consider turning to unsavoury companions for advice Instead, look to your childhood for the answers Happy memories will give you the moral strength to face what is to come, and even unhappy memories may comfort you in difficult moments

Leo E

Your passionate nature is going to get you into trouble You like to let your emotions run free, but caution might be the better route to follow this week Put the brake on and slow down Do not get upset Be especially watchful late

in the week for incidents which will trigger misunderstandings in the future

Virgo F

You have always had a strong dream life, full of vivid colours and activities Now it is time for you to put those dreams to good use Write down your dreams and use them to come to an understanding of the inner workings of your mind Your subconscious may help you solve problems in real-life situations

Libra G

You may be more interested in romance than in business, but an impressive business deal keeps dogging you Do not ignore it Cut down on romantic involvements and concentrate on business deals You will have plenty of time

for love, so now it is more productive to focus on finding the money with which to entertain your future romantic escapades!

Capricorn J

A lucky week for you! You have long wanted to become romantically involved with someone, and the time is right for you to be brave Approach that person Tell that person how long you have wanted to get better acquainted Say how much you would like to become a part of that person’s life The outcome will pleasantly surprise you, and you will wish that you had spoken

up sooner

Aquarius K

You will be expected to make a firm commitment, like marriage, and there will be tears if you do not Although you are afraid of such a commitment, you also want something more permanent Deal with this situation carefully,

in order to avoid hurt feelings

Pisces L

Do not worry so much about what anyone else thinks Follow what you think

is the best course of action in the situation at hand You are shining lately, and other people are jealous of your achievements Do not listen to them, but rather follow your heart In the end, this will payoff handsomely

Reading, 32

January 20, 2007

You are going to read a letter from someone to her sister’s family Eight sentences have been removed from the letter Choose from the sentences A-

I the one which fits each gap (15-21) There is one extra sentence which you

do not need to use There is an example at the beginning (0)

April 22 1994

Dear Kathy John Gigi

Well hello everybody!! 0: _I _

How’s school, Gigi? I hear you’ve been studying hard Have you made any earrings lately? Do you need any more jewellery backs, etc.? What are your plans for the summer? 15:

Brittany and Brendyn are doing well They have so many friends here There are kids all over the place at Whyte Ridge Brittany knows some of her friends’ phone numbers and sometimes calls them up and just invites them over And Brendyn’s latest is to ask any kid walking by if he/she wants to come to his house to spend the night Either for that or for supper …

to the lake as p0ssible with our caravan, and maybe to the Mall of America We’ll see

Nick’s back is slowly getting better; he sort of takes it easy, and uses the exercise bike all the time, as he says it helps his back 18:

We love our house Everything has turned out beautifully 19: _ We just bought a lovely new purple sofa made in Italy (Natuzzi) for our lounge We have not taken any pictures yet

Well, Brittany and Brendyn can both ride two-wheelers now and can both whistle! How are both your Mom and Dad feeling, John? Do they get out to Kanalia much?

I know they love their village 20: _

Love,

JoAnn, Nick, Brittany, Brendyn

P.S Bonnie and Phil had a girl – Tessa 21:

A Then we brought her back here for awhile

B And Patti is pregnant with her third!

C Black and white is the theme throughout

D When can you convince your Mom and Dad to bring you here again?!

E I had it in mind while writing this letter, but my response may have been

too late Sorry about that!

F It was very painful and he thought he might need surgery

G Got to go – so much to do as Nick and I are going out to supper tonight!

H Speaking of Whyte Ridge, there’s a dalmatian dog who is the most popular

dog in the neighbourhood; we have very nice neighbours, too!

I Sorry it’s been so long but we’ve been getting settled in our new home

Reading, 31

January 20, 2007

You are going to read an extract from an autobiography For questions 7-14, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text

The war was the most peaceful period of my life The window of my bedroom faced southeast My mother had curtained it, but that had small effect I always woke with the first light and, with all the responsibilities of the

previous day melted, feeling myself rather like the sun, ready to shine and feel joy Life never seemed so simple and clear and full of possibilities as then I put my feet out from under the clothes – I called them Mrs Left and Mrs Right – and invented dramatic situations for them in which they discussed the problems of the day At least Mrs Right did; she easily showed her feelings, but I hadn’t the same control of Mrs Left, so she mostly contented herself with nodding agreement

They discussed what Mother and I should do during the day, what Santa Claus should give a fellow for Christmas, and what steps should be taken to brighten the home There was that little matter of the baby, for instance Mother and

I could never agree about that Ours was the only house in the neighbourhood without a new baby, and Mother said we couldn’t afford one till Father came back from the war because they cost seventeen and six That showed how foolish she was The Geneys up the road had a baby, and everyone knew they couldn’t afford seventeen and six It was probably a cheap baby, and Mother wanted something really good, but I felt she was too hard to please The Geneys’ baby would have done us fine

Having settled my plans for the day, I got up, put a chair under my window, and lifted the frame high enough to stick out my head The window overlooked the front gardens of the homes behind ours, and beyond these it looked over a deep valley to the tall, red-brick houses up the opposite hillside, which were all still in shadow, while those at our side of the valley were all lit

up, though with long strange shadows that made them seem unfamiliar; stiff and painted

After that I went into Mother’s room and climbed into the big bed She woke and I began to tell her of my schemes By this time, though I never seem to have noticed it, I was freezing in my nightshirt, and I warmed up as I talked until, the last frost melted, I fell asleep beside her and woke again only when

I heard her below in the kitchen, making the breakfast

7 The time the author spent as a child during the war was

A sad and frightening

B happy and calm

C peaceful and puzzling

D violent and shocking

8 When he woke up in the morning, he

A would call on Mrs Left and Mrs Right

B would open up the curtains

C would play with his feet

D would agree with Mrs Left

9 How did the writer and his mother feel about having a baby?

A They weren’t able to agree

B They sometimes agreed

C They often agreed

D They always agreed

10 Why was the writer upset with his mother?

A He could not understand her

B She was poor

C She was not very intelligent

D She did not love him enough

11 The writer believed

A that Santa Claus really existed

B that his father would never come home from the war

C that they were poorer than the Geneys

D that one could buy a baby

12 The houses on his side of the valley were lit up because

A they were facing the sun

B they were still all in shadow

C they had all turned their lights on

D they had odd shadows that made them look strange

13 What was his mother’s bed like?

A freezing

B uncomfortable

C small

D warm

14 What did the writer feel then that he does not feel now?

A That everything is possible

B That war is ugly

C That his mother loves him deeply

D That life is complicated

Reading, 30

January 19, 2007

You are going to read about five men with strong wives For questions 22 –

35, choose from the list of men A-E Some of them may be chosen more than once When more than one answer is required, these may be given in any order There is an example at the beginning (0)

Which husband:

eventually took the role of influencing his wife? 0: A

harmed his wife’s career? 22: _

was much older than his wife? 23: _

was of a much lower social status than his wife? 24: _