1. READING COMPREHENSION-PART 1
Read the five texts 1–5. Then read the headlines a-j. Decide which headline goes best with which text.
1. British film The King’s Speech has been crowned best picture at the Oscars, with star Colin Firth named best actor. Tom Hooper was named best director for the film, which also won for best original screenplay at the ceremony. Its best picture rival, The Social Network, won for adapted screenplay, film editing and score. Natalie Portman won best actress for Black Swan. Briton Christian Bale and Melissa Leo won supporting acting awards for boxing drama The Fighter.
2. A Canadian national is missing in Afghanistan, Canadian officials have said. A spokeswoman for the department of foreign affairs in Ottawa said the man – named as Colin Rutherford – had travelled to Afghanistan as a tourist. The confirmation followed a statement by the Taliban saying they had captured someone from Canada.
3. A bomb blast in Rangoon in Burma has injured four people, officials say. A man suspected of carrying the bomb was among those wounded by Sunday evening’s blast in the city’s northern suburbs, the unnamed officials said. They said the device appeared to have been detonated accidentally when a man carrying the bomb caused it to explode when he put the bag containing the device down at a stall, AFP reported.
4. Microsoft has revealed that 1 in 10 users who tried to install a software update on their Windows mobile experienced problems. The company had previously said that only a “small number” of handsets were affected. Owners have reported a range of issues following the download, from phones crashing, to becoming completely unusable. Microsoft pulled the update soon after the problem came to light.
5. Oscar winning actress Julia Roberts was a surprise guest at the Oscar Wilde awards in Los Angeles, held annually to celebrate Irish cinema talent. The Eat Pray Love star presented Hollywood actor Paul Rudd with an ‘honorary Irishman’ award on Thursday night. Ros and John Hubbard, who cast The Commitments, and 19-year-old Tudors star Sarah Bolger were also honoured.
a. Canadian minister captured by Afghan forces
b. Microsoft has revealed its new software update
c. The King’s Speech nominated for best film
d. Julia Roberts was surprised
e. Canadian ‘tourist’ missing in Afghanistan
f. Microsoft says phone update failed 1 in 10 users
g. The King’s Speech reigns
h. Honorary Irishman award presented by Julia Roberts
i. Rangoon bomber detonated himself
j. Rangoon bomb blast injures four
2. READING COMPREHENSION PART 2
Read the following text, then choose the answers to questions 6-10 and mark your answer a, b or c on the answer sheet.
Researchers say jogging alone is unhealthy.
A newly published report indicates that jogging could have adverse health effects, especially for those who do it alone. A team of researchers from Harvard University has suggested that going for a run on your own is not as healthy as previously believed and is nowhere near as beneficial as jogging as part of a group. They suggested it could actually be detrimental to one’s health. Experiments conducted on rats indicated that running alone raises stress levels and stifles brain cell regeneration. Professor Elizabeth Gould, who led the research, said: “These results suggest that, in the absence of social interaction, a normally beneficial experience can exert a potentially deleterious influence on the brain.”
The researchers monitored two groups of rats on exercise wheels. One group exercised alone, the other as part of a rodent jogging team. After two weeks, the scientists conducted tests to ascertain the rate of brain cell growth in all of the test animals. The results revealed that the communal joggers had double the amount of new brain cells as the solo runners. Professor Gould concluded that: “When experienced in a group setting, running stimulates neurogenesis (brain cell growth). However, when running occurs in social isolation, these positive effects are suppressed.” Joggers around the world should perhaps take the research with a pinch of salt and remember that jogging is healthier than the rat race.
6. Some Harvard researchers claim that jogging alone
a. is not healthy.
b. is as healthy as it was thought.
c. is not as healthy as it was thought.
7 . Jogging alone
a. increases the production of brain cells.
b. increases the size of the brain.
c. reduces the production of brain cells.
8. The research was done for
a. people
b. mice
c. rats
9. Communal joggers are
a. joggers who run alone
b. joggers who run in groups
c. joggers who run in isolation
10. The report suggests that if you decide to go jogging
a. you should do it on your own.
b. you should do it with someone else.
c. you should do it when your brain tells you.
3. READING COMPREHENSION- PART3
Read the situations 11-20 and then read the sentences a-l.
Decide which sentence goes with which situation!
11. You are in the liquor store.
12. You are in a pet shop.
13. You want to go to a restaurant.
14. You should have done your homework.
15. You have never been to China.
16. You are at a petrol station.
17. You are being lazy.
18. You want to help someone.
19. You need to be at home.
20. You should buy something.
a, I’d like to go somewhere fancy. It’s our anniversary.
b, I have to go now.
c, I have always wanted to go there.
d, No thanks, my windscreen wiper just does the same.
e, Can I give you a lift?
f, I need a bottle of your best wine.
g, No, nothing like that.
h, What happened? You are usually diligent.
i, There is no milk in the fridge.
j, Of course, we can do that.
k, What a cutie !
l, I’m sorry it’s a minus.
4. LANGUAGE ELEMENTS PART 1
Read the following text and decide which word or phrase a, b or c is missing in items 21-30
Mark your answers on the answer sheet.
Mr Jones …21… early one morning, before the sun …22… risen. It was a beautiful morning, so he went to the window and looked out. He was surprised to see a neatly dressed, middle-aged professor, …23… worked in the university just up the road from Mr Jones’s house, coming from the direction of the town. He had grey hair and thick glasses, and …24… carrying an umbrella, a morning newspaper and a bag. Mr Jones thought that he must have arrived …25… the night train and decided to walk to the university instead of taking a taxi.
Mr Jones had a big tree in his garden, and the children had tied a long rope to one of its branches, so that they could swing on it.
Mr Jones was surprised …26… see the professor stop when he saw the rope, and look carefully up and down the road. When he saw that there was nobody in sight, he stepped into the garden (there was no fence), put his umbrella, newspaper, bag and hat neatly on the grass and took hold of the rope. He pulled it hard to see whether it was strong …27… to take his weight, then ran as fast …28… he could and swung into the air on the end of the rope, his grey hair blowing all around his face. Backwards and forwards he swung, occasionally taking …29…more running steps on the grass when the rope began to swing too slowly for him.
At last the professor stopped, straightened his tie, combed his hair carefully, put on his hat, picked up his umbrella, newspaper and bag, and continued on his …30… to the university, looking as quiet and correct and respectable as one would expect a professor to be.
21.
a, woke
b, wake
c, woken 22.
a, have
b, had
c, has 23.
a, whom
b, which
c, who 24.
a, were
b, was
c, has been 25.
a, in
b, with
c, by
26.
a, he
b, by
c, to 27.
a, enough
b, quite
c, quiet 28.
a, as
b, then
c, than 29.
a, few
b, a few
c, little 30.
a, move
b, road
c, way
5. LANGUAGE ELEMENTS PART 2
Read the following text and decide which word or phrase a-o is missing in items 31-40. Mark your answers on the answer sheet.
George had stolen some money, but the police had caught him and he had been put in prison. Now his trial was …31… to begin, and he felt …32…that he would be found guilty and sent to prison for a long time.
Then he …33…that an old friend of his was one of the members of the jury at the trial. Of course, he did not tell…34…, but he managed to see his friend secretly one day. He said to him, “Jim, I know that the jury will find me guilty of having stolen the money. I cannot hope to be found not guilty of taking it –that would be too …35…to expect. But I should be grateful to you for the rest of my life if you could persuade the other members of the jury to add a strong recommendation for mercy to their statement that they consider me guilty.”
“Well, George,” …36…Jim, “I shall certainly try to do what I can for you as an old friend, but of course I cannot promise…37…. The other eleven people on the jury look terribly strong-minded to me.”
George said that he would …38…understand if Jim was not able to do anything for him, and thanked him warmly for agreeing to help.
The …39…went on, and at last the time came for the jury to decide whether George was guilty or not. It took them five hours, but in the end they found George guilty, with a strong recommendation for mercy.
Of course, George was very pleased, but he did not have a chance to see Jim for some time after the trial. At last, however, Jim visited him in prison, and George thanked him warmly and asked him how he had managed to persuade the other members of the jury to recommend mercy.
“Well, George,” Jim answered, “as I…40…, those eleven men were very difficult to persuade, but I managed it in the end by tiring them out. Do you know, those fools had all wanted to find you not guilty!”
a. discovered
b. answered
c. thought
d. anybody
e. much
f. sure
g. trial
h. anything
i. many
j. quite
k. quiet
l. something
m. somebody
n.in
o.about
6. LETTER WRITING
Write a letter to your friend about your last visit at the dentist’s.
Include your pain and suffering, if you had any. Write down what happened and how did you feel before and after the treatment.
M E G O L D Á S
