Yb~ are going to read an extract from a novel.

For questions 1-8, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which

you think fits best according to the text.

I had never been married before so there was nothing in my past experience to go by but it was
beginning to dawn on me that I was very nicely fixed. I am talking, of course, of material things. It
would have been enough for me or anybody else to be paired with a beautiful girl whom I love and
who loved me. I hadn't reckoned on the other aspects.

This business of studying my bomfort, for instance. I thought such things had gone out of fashion, but
not so with Helen. It was brought home to me again as I walked into breakfast this morning. We had
at last a,cquired a table - I had bought it at a farm sale and brought it home in triumpli tied to the
roof of my car - and now Helen had vacated the chair on which she used to sit anhe bench and had
taken over the high stool. She was perched away up there now, transpoiting her food from far below,
while I was expected to sitcomfortably in the chair. I don't think I'm a selfish swine but there was
nothing I could do about it.

And there were other little things. The neat pile of clothing laid out for me each morning; the clean,
folded shirt and handkerchief and socks so different from the jumble of my bachelor days. Andwhen
I was late for meals, which was often, she served me with my food but instead of going off and doing
something else she would down tools and sit watching me while I ate. It made me feel like a sultan.

It was this last trait which gave me a clueto her behaviour. I suddenly remembered that I had seen
her sitting by Mr Alderson while he had a late meal; sitting in the same pose, one arm on the table,
quietly watching him. And I realisea I was reaping the benefit of her lifetime attitude to her father.
Mild little man thoug~ he was she had catered gladly to his every wish in the happy acceptance that
line 20 the man of the house was number one; and the whole pattern was rubbing off on me now.

In fact it set me thinking about the big question of how girls might be expected to behave after
marriage. One old farmer giving advice about choosing a wife once said: 'Have 'a blooming good look
'.'at the mother. first, lad', and I'm sure he had a point. But if I may throw in my own little word of
counsel it would have to be, to have a p,assing glance at how she acts towards her father.

Watching her now as she got down and started to serve my breakfast the warm knowledge flowed
through me as it did so often that my wife was the sort who just like,d looking after a man and that I
was so very lucky.

And I was certainly blooming under the treatment. A bit too much, in fact, and I was aware I
'sliouldn't be attacking this plateful of porridge and cream; especially with all that material sizzling in
the frying pan. Helen had brought with her to Skelton House a delicious dowry of fish, and these
hung from the beams of the barn in an impressive array of cold-smoked kippers; a constant
temptation. Some samples were in the pan now, and though I had never been one for large breakfasts
I did not object when she threw in a couple of large brown eggs for company.

6
 Practice Test 1

1 After his marriage, the writer started to realise

A ..how badly prepared he was for marriage. • Read the text quickly to get a general
idea of what it is about.
B that there were more benefits to it than he expected.
• Look at the first part of the question,
C that he had made a mistake. and underline key words. Don't read
D how deeply he loved his wife. the options A-D yet. Find the part of
the text the question refers to.
2 What was the writer reminded of at breakfast that morning? • Go through the choices and underline
A He could now afford new furniture. the key words.
B He no longer had to do anything for himself. • Choose the answer that best fits.
C He had no control over his wife's behaviour. Keep in mind that the information
- D His wife always considered his comfort before her own. may be rephrased.
• Even if you think you know the
correct answer, always check that the
3 The writer suggests to us that, as an unmarried man, he
others are not appropriate.
A often missed meals.
• Check your answer against the text.
B had fewer clothes.
C was more untidy.
D usually ate alone.

4 What did the writer realise about Helen's relationship with her father?
A She often worried about him.
B She was very close to him.
C She was afraid of him.
D She respected him deeply.

5 What does the writer mean by 'and the whole pattern was rubbing otT on me' in line 20?
A He was beginning to understand his wife's behaviour.
- B Helen was now treating him as she had treated her father.
C He was becoming like his father-in-law.
D His wife's behaviour was beginning to annoy him.

6 How did the writer feel about the old farmer's advice?
- A He partly agreed with it.
B It was unappreciated.
C He thought it was incorrect.
D He thought it was outdated.

7 What was Helen cooking?

~ A fish and eggs
B porridge and cream
C smoked meat
D a full English breakfast
b'+t'tJC~
8 All in aU; what is the writer's attitude towards Helen?
-A He is grateful for what she has brought into his life.
B He believes that she is changing his character for the better.
C He feels that he doesn't deserve her.
D He wishes she was less like her father.

7
 Practice Test 1

PART 2
You are going to read an article about the world of advertising. 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.

The perfect world

We take a look at some of the 'tricks of the trade ' employed by the world of advertising in the battle for our
hearts, our minds and, most importantly, our cash.

A few years ago, a company called Space the film? Well, look carefully at the make of car
Marketing came up with a plan to send a mile-long your favourite actor is driving. And what about his
advertisement into space. Using light reflected watch? Can you see what brand it is? Chances are,
from the sun, it would beam out a message as large you can, and the company that owns the brand is
as the moon that could be seen by every single likely to have paid thousands for it to appear in the
person on the planet as it orbited the Earth. film.
Needless to say, this would have been one Whilst products are most often 'placed' in this
advert that couldn't have been thrown out with the way in movies and TV series, they also sometimes
junk mail or switched off by remote control. appear in music videos, video games, plays and
110 Advertising standards agencies even books. lEI 0 You may not realise you
eventually decided not to allow Space Marketing to are being influenced by a technique that sounds so
go ahead with their plans and they were forced to simple, but advertisers consider product placement
abandon them, but not before several major to be a highly effective form of advertising. After
companies had made serious enquiries about all, they would not be willing to spend as much
launching their logos into space. money as they do on it if they didn't truly believe it
Space may indeed be the final frontier for worked.
advertisers, because on Earth we are already In fact, associating products with cool, exciting
surrounded by advertising wherever we are and lives seems to be one of the most common forms of
whatever we are doing. lID 0 There are the advertising. liD
promises of health and vitality on the cereal packet And let's not forget the power of pure
we ate from this morning, for example, and the ad
that we saw on the side of the bus we caught to
entertainment! 110 If the consumers are
looking forward to the next 'episode' of an ad, once
work. And what about the logos we see on the again the product has become associated with
clothing of the people we walk past in the streets? something 'cool' and is therefore likely to see a
Most of the time, we are probably not even considerable rise in popularity.
aware of these less obvious advertising tactics, but So, whether Space Marketing eventually
that doesn't mean that they aren't effective. succeeds in launching ads into space or not is
IIID You are in a packed cinema, watching perhaps a less important issue than it might seem.
the latest Hollywood blockbuster. T!Iere are
adverts before the film, there may even be adverts
II D Our everyday lives are already strongly
influenced by advertising, whether we realise it or
during a break in the film , but are there any during -' not.
8
 Practice Test 1

-.
A The hope is to convince people to believe - E To a certain extent, this would not change a
that if they can have the products, then they thing.
can have the cool, happy lifestyles of their
heroes, too. F To advertising executives and agencies, it
would have been 'a dream come true'.
B Apart from the obvious adverts that we see
every day on TV, on billboards and in G Take 'product placement', for example.
newspapers and magazines, there is a whole
'other world' of advertising messages fighting H Some advertising companies even employ
for our attention. 'cool hunters' or marketing professionals to
find out for them exactly what young people
C However, this is a truly inescapable form of find cool.
advertising.

D Nowadays, many TV adverts have become

more like soap operas with a series of
humorous adventures complete with their
own cast.

• Read the text through and think of what kind of information is missing.
• Read the list of missing sentences.
• Fit the sentences into the gaps .
• Remember to look for clues such as reference words (he, it, that, this, etc).
• Check your answers and read the text through to see if it makes sense. Remember that there is one
sentence you do not need to use.

9
 Practice Test 1

PART 3
You are going to read a magazine article about people who go to music festivals. For questions 16-30,
choose from the people (A-D). The people may be chosen more than once.

Read the questions and underline the key words. Read the texts and find which part each question
refers to. The information might be paraphrased.

Which person

has had their opinion about a festival altered? _0

doesn't leave as soon as the festival ends? _0
appreciates the diversity of performers at the festival? _0
is relieved at not having to stay overnight at the festival? _CJ ~

finds a particular wayan audience responds exciting? _0

enjoys an event in which festival-goers take part, too? _0
cannot buy festival tickets in advance? _0
was impressed by an outstanding performance at a festival? _D
does not need to buy a ticket to attend the festival? _D
once didn't attend a festival event due to illness? _0
has to make arrangements a long time ahead of the festival? BO
first attended the festival by chance? _0
is sometimes forced to miss the festival? BO -
boasts about a family member's performance skills?
aD
particularly likes the fact that the festival is a sociable event? _0
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 Practice Test 1

Summer Music Festivals

Nick Hendon has been going to the Cambridge Graham Crosby is a dedicated classical music
Folk Festival for over twenty years. "Our house enthusiast. Every year he tries to get to as
is barely a stone's throw from Cherry Hinton many concerts as possible during the eight-
Hall, where the festival is held, so I don't have week Proms festival season. "You have to
to put up with staying in a mud-filled tent for queue up on the day of the concert to get a
the weekend, British summers often being ticket, which can be a bit time-consuming if it's
rather damp," he jokes. At first, he used to go for one of the more popular concerts."
with friends from university but now that he is The Proms is the largest classical music festival
married with two children, it has become an in the world and by the beginning of summer
annual family event. "Both Sarah and I are Graham is really looking forward to joining the
avid folk music fans and the kids really enjoy other festival-goers under the vast dome of the
the party atmosphere of the festival and the Royal Albert Hall. Although there is seating at
fact that they can run wild," he explains. the concerts, the most popular tickets are for
The festival isn't just strictly folk music though, the standing area in front of the orchestra.
and a wide variety of artists perform. Nick likes , "The atmosphere is much more relaxed than at
to think that the word 'folk' actually refers to other classical concerts, especially at the Last
the people who attend the festival more than . - Night at the Proms. In fact, the audience
anything else. His favourite festival area is the sometimes behave more like rock fans, jumping
Club Tent where, as well as the invited artists, up and down to the music, which is really
members of the audience can get up and exhilarating. I've only missed the last night
perform. "Sarah usually takes part. She has a once in forty years, and that was only because
beautiful singing voice and isn't the least bit of a bout of the flu."
shy about showing it off," he says proudly.

I Joan Mitchell does her best to get to The

International Eisteddfod, a dance and music
: ( Debby Harris says she would never have started festival which takes place every July in Wales.
going to the Glastonbury Festival if her friend "Work or the demands of family have meant
who runs a food stall hadn't needed a hand a I've had to skip it some years, so it's a real treat
few years back. "I thought it would just be all when I do make it." Whenever possible she
mud, noise and chaos, so I'd never fancied it." makes it part of her summer holiday, staying at
Now she claims she would actually pay her one of the town's hotels. "I have to book
friend for the privilege of working on her stall! months in advance to stand even a slim chance
"The tickets sell like hot cakes as soon as they're of getting a room," she explains.
on sale, so it's the best way of making sure I can For five days, thousands of dancers, singers
get to the festival," she points out. . and musicians from all over the globe descend
Debby says it's not just the rock music that on the Welsh town of Llangollen to take part
makes the festival so special. "There are more in the festival. Joan loves the wide range of
than a hundred thousand people there and ~ performers: "It's a real privilege to experience
everyone is incredibly friendly. I've met some such an incredible variety of music and dance
wonderful people." When the festival's over all in one place!" The festival is also famous for
she stays on for a couple of days to help the the final Sunday Evening Gala concert which
organisers clean up the site. "I just love the usually has some of the biggest names in opera
atmosphere of the place and don't want it to as guest performers. "I've seen Dame Kiri Te
end," she explains. Kanawa and Montserrat Caballe, but no one
could ever match up to Pavarotti. He was
absolutely breathtaking!"

11