The narrator sees the development of

А) new unknown diseases.

B) new methods in education.

C) new technologies in medicine.

D) new creative ways of thinking.

 

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The Slob’s Holiday   My husband and I went to Reno for our holiday last year. “Isn’t that place where people go to get a quickie divorce?”asked my second son? ‘Yes’, I said, trying to look enigmatic and interesting. ‘You are not getting divorced, are you?’ he asked bluntly. ‘No,’ I said, ’we are going to an outdoor pursuit trade fair. The children sighed with relief and slouched away, muttering things like ‘boring’. I call them children, but they are all grown up. My eldest son has started to develop fine lines around his eyes – fledgling crow’s feet. A terrible sight for any parent to see. Anyway, the piece isn’t about children. It’s about holidays. The first thing to be said about holidays is that anybody who can afford one should be grateful. The second thing is that planning holidays can be hard work. In our household it starts with somebody muttering, ’I suppose we ought to think about a holiday.’ This remark is usually made in July and is received glumly, as if the person making it has said ‘I suppose we ought to think about the Bolivian balance of payment problems.’ Nothing much happens for a week and then the potential holiday-makers are rounded up and made to consult their diaries. Hospital appointments are taken into consideration, as are important things to do with work. But other highlights on the domestic calendar, such as the cat’s birthday, are swept aside and eventually two weeks are found. The next decision is the most painful: where? We travel abroad to work quite a lot but we return tired and weary, so the holiday we are planning is a slob’s holiday: collapse on a sunbed, read a book until the sun goes down, stagger back to hotel room, shower, change into glad rags, eat well, wave good-bye to teenagers, have a last drink on hotel terrace, go to bed and then lie awake and wait for hotel waiters to bring the teenagers from the disco. I never want to be guided around another monument, as long as I live. I do not want to be told how many bricks it took to build it. I have a short attention span for such details. I do not want to attend a ‘folk evening’ ever, ever again. The kind where men with their trousers tucked into their socks wave handkerchiefs in the direction of women wearing puff-sleeved blouses, long skirts and headscarves. I also want to live dangerously and get brown. I want my doughy English skin change from white sliced to wheat germ. I like the simple pleasure of removing my watch strap and gazing at the patch of virgin skin beneath. I don’t want to make new friends – on holidays or in general; I can’t manage the ones I have at home. I do not want to mix with the locals and I have no wish to go into their homes. I do not welcome tourists who come to Leicester into my home. Why should the poor locals in Holidayland be expected to? It’s bad enough that we monopolize their beaches, clog their pavements and spend an hour in a shop choosing a sunhat that costs the equivalent of 75 pence. So, the slob’s holiday has several essential requirements: a hotel on a sunny beach, good food, a warm sea, nightlife for the teenagers, a big crowd to get lost in, and the absence of mosquitoes. As I write, we are at the planning stage. We have looked through all the holiday brochures, but they are full of references to ‘hospitable locals’, ‘folk nights’, ‘deserted beaches’, and ‘interesting historical sights’. Not our cup of tea, or glass of sangria, at all. The parents’ choice of holiday destination made the narrator’s children feel

1) jealous.   2) excited.   3) alarmed.   4) indifferent.

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The narrator’s words ‘A terrible sight for any parent to see’ refer to

1) the way children behave.   2) the fact that children are aging.   3) the way children change their image.   4) the fact there is a generation gap.

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When the need for holiday planning is first announced in the narrator’ family, it

1) is regarded as an important political issue.   2) is met with enthusiasm by all the family.   3) seems like an impossible task.   4) is openly ignored.

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To find a two-week slot for a holiday potential holiday-makers have to

1) negotiate the optimum period for travel.   2) cancel prior business appointments.   3) re-schedule individual summer plans.   4) make a list of the things to be taken into account.

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The slob’s holiday is the type of holiday for people, who

1) do not want to go on holiday abroad.   2) go on holiday with teenagers.   3) do not like public life.   4) prefer peaceful relaxing holidays.

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When the narrator says ‘I also want to live dangerously’, she means

1) getting lost in the crowd.   2) going sightseeing without a guide.   3) choosing herself the parties to go to.   4) lying long hours in the sun on the beach.

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The main reason the narrator doesn’t want to mix up with locals is because she

1) doesn’t let tourists to her house at Leicester.   2) doesn’t want to add to their inconveniencies.   3) is afraid to make friends with local people.   4) values her own privacy above all.

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REUNION The last time I saw my father was in Grand Central Station. I was going from my grandmother's in the Adirondacks to a cottage on the Cape that my mother had rented, and I wrote my father that I would be in New York between trains for an hour and a half, and asked if we could have lunch together. His secretary wrote to say that he would meet me at the information booth at noon, and at twelve o'clock sharp I saw him coming through the crowd. He was a stranger to me – my mother divorced him three years ago and I hadn't been with him since – but as soon as I saw him I felt that he was my father, my flesh and blood, my future and my doom. I knew that when I was grown I would be something like him; I would have to plan my campaigns within his limitations. He was a big, good-looking man, and I was terribly happy to see him again. He struck me on the back and shook my hand. "Hi, Charlie," he said. "Hi, boy. I'd like to take you up to my club, but it's in the Sixties, and if you have to catch an early train I guess we'd better get something to eat around here." He put his arm around me, and I smelled my father the way my mother sniffs a rose. It was a rich compound of whiskey, after-shave lotion, shoe polish, woollens, and the rankness of a mature male. I hoped that someone would see us together. I wished that we could be photographed. I wanted some record of our having been together. We went out of the station and up a side street to a restaurant. It was still early, and the place was empty. The bartender was quarrelling with a delivery boy, and there was one very old waiter in a red coat down by the kitchen door. We sat down, and my father hailed the waiter in a loud voice. "Kellner!" he shouted. "Garcon! You!" His boisterousness in the empty restaurant seemed out of place. "Could we have a little service here!" he shouted. Then he clapped his hands. This caught the waiter's attention, and he shuffled over to our table. "Were you clapping your hands at me?" he asked. "Calm down, calm down," my father said. "It isn't too much to ask of you – if it wouldn't be too much above and beyond the call of duty, we would like a couple of Beefeater Gibsons." "I don't like to be clapped at," the waiter said. "I should have brought my whistle," my father said. "I have a whistle that is audible only to the ears of old waiters. Now, take out your little pad and your little pencil and see if you can get this straight: two Beefeater Gibsons. Repeat after me: two Beefeater Gibsons." "I think you'd better go somewhere else," the waiter said quietly. "That," said my father, "is one of the most brilliant suggestions I have ever heard. Come on, Charlie." I followed my father out of that restaurant into another. He was not so boisterous this time. Our drinks came, and he cross-questioned me about the baseball season. He then struck the edge of his empty glass with his knife and began shouting again. "Garcon! You! Could we trouble you to bring us two more of the same." "How old is the boy?" the waiter asked. "That," my father said, "is none of your business." "I’m sorry, sir," the waiter said, "but I won’t serve the boy another drink." "Well, I have some news for you," my father said. "I have some very interesting news for you. This doesn’t happen to be the only restaurant in New York. They’ve opened another on the corner. Come on, Charlie." He paid the bill, and I followed him out of that restaurant into another … The narrator was looking forward to meeting with his father because he

1) expected to get a valuable present from him.   2) missed the feeling of being with him.   3) wanted to stay with him in New York.   4) hoped that his parents would get back together.

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The narrator’s request to meet was accepted by his father

1) with great pleasure.   2) unwillingly.   3) in business-like manner.   4) with much hope and expectation.

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The narrator wanted to be photographed with his father because

1) he was proud of his father’s good looks.   2) he wished to remember their moments together.   3) it was the happiest time of his life.   4) he wanted to boast of his father to his friends.

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The father did not invite his son to his club because

1) the son was pressed for time to catch a train.   2) it was a closed club with no children allowed.   3) the man feared that his son would not behave properly.   4) it was necessary to book in advance to enter the club.

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The father’s behaviour in the first restaurant was inappropriate as he

1) was too boisterous in an empty restaurant.   2) tried to boast of his knowledge of foreign languages.   3) could not afford to pay the bill.   4) treated the waiter in a rude manner.

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The waiter in the next restaurant refused to bring them more drinks as

1) the restaurant was closing soon.   2) the son looked pale and faint.   3) the boy was too young to drink alcohol.   4) the waiter got angry with the son.

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The title of the story “Reunion” actually implies that the

1) son found his lost father after decades of separation.   2) son now would be living together with his father.   3) “father – son” relations is what both sides feel the need for.   4) son made an attempt to re-establish relations with his father.

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I arrived at the cloud forest in Ecuador ten days ago. I was one of a group of twelve volunteers that wanted to save the rainforest. My reasons for going on this trip were twofold: firstly, I wanted to collect and bring back alive some of the fascinating animals, birds and reptiles that inhabit this region; secondly, I had long cherished a dream to see South America: not the inhabited South America with its macadam roads, its cocktail bars, its express trains roaring through a landscape denuded of its flora and fauna by the beneficial influences of civilization. I wanted to see one of those few remaining parts of the continent that had escaped this fate and remained more or less as it was when America was first discovered: I wanted to see its rainforests, its vast lands of untouched, pure, natural wildlife. We were working together with local people and scientists and we were learning and seeing new things every day. Our lodge was comfortable, had breathtaking views and was in the middle of the rainforest. It was a two-hour walk from the nearest road, and it was even further to the nearest village. The rainforest is truly an astonishing place. There are thousands of species of plants here and more than 700 species of birds. There are millions of insects and scientists think there may be around forty mammal species that haven’t even been discovered. But what I was really amazed at how everything depends on everything else for survival. Every tree in the rainforest is covered in a species of another kind. The black wasp uses the tarantula as a nest for its eggs, plants need monkeys for seed dispersal, and the clouds are necessary for the survival of the whole rainforest. This is because they provide moisture. The problem is, climate change is causing the clouds to rise by 1-2 meters every year. What will happen to the plants that need this moisture? What will happen to the animals that need those plants? Our job was to watch this changing ecosystem. One of my favourite projects was the bird survey. Every day a group of us set out at around five o’clock with a local scientist. At this time of the morning the air was filled with the sound of bird song. We had to identify the birds we hear and see and write down our findings. Later, we entered all our information into a computer at the lodge. We also set up cameras to record pumas, spectacled bears and other large mammals. It was always exciting to see pumas because it meant there were other animals around that they would normally hunt. We fixed the cameras to trees around the reserve, and every day a team of volunteers collected the cameras memory cards. There was a lot to do in the rainforest, but at least I felt like we were making a difference. However, soon I started collecting some animals and insects. I realized that as soon as the hunting got under way and the collection increased, most of my time would be taken up in looking after the animals, and I should not be able to wander far from camp. So I was eager to get into the forest while I had the chance. Nevertheless, I should mention the fact that without the help of the natives you would stand little chance of catching the animals you want, for they know the forest, having been born in it. Once the animal is caught, however, it is your job to keep it alive and well. If you left this part of it to the natives you would get precious little back alive. Which reason for the trip to the rainforest was NOT mentioned?

1) Gathering a collection.   2) Thirst for adventures.   3) Saving rainforests.   4) Dream of visiting South America.

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Who did NOT take part in the work in rainforests?

1) People living in the area.   2) Researchers.   3) Zoo keepers.   4) Volunteers.

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According to the narrator scientists believe that

1) there is a number of unknown types of animals in the rainforest.   2) they should study animals without catching them.   3) plants in the rainforest do not need so much water.   4) it’s impossible to control the animals and birds in the forest.

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What type of work did the volunteers have to do?

1) Observe the changes in the wildlife.   2) List the types of plants in the rainforest.   3) Study the birds’ singing.   4) Search for pumas and bears.

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The phrase “we were making difference” in paragraph 6 means

1) they made life in the forest more diverse.   2) their job would help in saving the forest.   3) they were improving fauna of the rainforest.   4) they were changing the ecosystem of the place.

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Why did the narrator go to the forest any time he had a chance to?

1) He wouldn’t have enough time for that later.   2) He had to feed animals that he had caught.   3) He didn’t have chance to do any other work.   4) He liked hunting with local people.

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According to the narrator he worked with local people because they

1) protected the animals.   2) knew animals better.   3) saved his life.   4) were familiar with the place.

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Lily and I had planned a movie marathon weekend. I was exhausted from work and she was stressed out from her classes, so we’d promised to spend the whole weekend parked on her couch and subsist solely on pizza and crisps. No healthy food. No diet Coke. And absolutely no strict, official clothes. Even though we talked all the time, we hadn’t spent any real time together since I’d moved to the city. We’d been friends since the eighth grade, when I first saw Lily crying alone at a cafeteria table. She’d just moved in with her grandmother and started at our school in Avon, after it became clear that her parents weren’t coming home any time soon. The day I found her crying alone in the cafeteria was the day her grandmother had forced her to chop off her dirty dreadlocks and wear a dress, and Lily was not very happy about it. Something about the way she talked, the way she said, “That’s so nice of you,” and “Let’s just forget about it”, charmed me, and we immediately became friends. We’d been inseparable through the rest of high school, and lived in the same room for all four years at Brown College. Lily hadn’t yet decided whether she preferred girlish dresses or rough leather jackets, but we complemented each other well. And I missed her. Because with her first year as a graduate student and my exhausting work, we hadn’t seen a whole lot of each other lately. Lily was studying for her Ph.D. in Russian Literature at Columbia University and working odd jobs every free second she wasn’t studying. Her grandmother barely had enough money to support herself, and Lily had to pay for the studies on her own. However, she seemed to be fond of such a way of life. She loved Russian culture ever since her eighth-grade teacher told her that Lily looked how he had always pictured Lolita, with her round face and curly black hair. She went directly home and read Nabokov’s “Lolita”, and then read everything else Nabokov wrote. And Tolstoy. And Gogol. And Chekhov. By the time we finished school, she was applying to Brown College to work with a specific professor who had a degree in Russian Literature. On interviewing a seventeen-year-old Lily the professor declared her one of the most well-read and passionate students of Russian literature he’d ever met. She still loved it, still studied Russian grammar and could read anything in its original. I couldn’t wait for the weekend. My fourteen-hour workdays were registering in my feet, my upper arms, and my lower back. Glasses had replaced the contacts I’d worn for a decade because my eyes were too dry and tired to accept them anymore. I’d begun losing weight already as I never had time to eat properly, although I was drinking an enormous amount of coffee. I’d already weathered a flue infection and had paled significantly, and it had been only four weeks. I was only twenty-three years old. And my boss hadn’t even been in the office yet. I knew I deserved a weekend. Saturday afternoon found us particularly motivated, and we managed to saunter round the city center for a few hours. We each bought some new clothes for the upcoming New Year’s party and had a mug of hot chocolate from a sidewalk café. By the time we made it back to her apartment, we were exhausted and happy and spent the rest of the night watching old movies and eating pizza. What did the girls hope to do that weekend?

1) Have a quiet weekend in.   2) Go to the cinema.   3) Have some more studies that weekend.   4) Talk all the weekend.

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When the girl first met her friend, Lily

1) lived with her parents.   2) visited her grandmother.   3) just came to live in Avon.   4) had just lost her parents.

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Lily was crying when the girl first met her because

1) her grandmother had cut her hair short.   2) she missed her parents.   3) her grandmother didn’t like the way she talked.   4) she had to wear clothes she didn’t like.

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Why did the girl become friends with Lily?

1) She wanted to comfort her.   2) She liked Lily’s dress.   3) She became fascinated with her.   4) They had common problems.

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“We complemented each other well” in paragraph 2 means that they

1) found а common language.   2) were a perfect match.   3) supported each other.   4) liked the same things.

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Why did Lily have to do some occasional jobs?

1) She had to pay for her studies.   2) She had to support her grandmother.   3) She spent a lot on her clothes.   4) She liked to change jobs.

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The girl “couldn’t wait for the weekend” because she

1) wanted to eat properly at last.   2) wanted Lily to have a break from her studies.   3) needed a rest from her job.   4) needed to get well after a flue infection.

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Scarcely had we settled into the Strawberry-pink Villa before my mother decided that I was running wild, and that it was necessary for me to have some sort of education. As usual when a problem arose, the entire family flung itself with enthusiasm into the task of solving it. Each member had his or her own idea of what was best for me. Sitting under the open window in the twilight, I had listened with interest, not unmixed with indignation, to the family discussion of my fate. Finally my mother decided that George would be a good teacher for me. Now it was settled, I wondered vaguely who George was, and why it was so necessary for me to have lessons. But the dusk was thick with flower-scents, and the olive-groves were dark, mysterious, and fascinating. I forgot about the imminent danger of being educated, and went off with Roger to hunt for glow-worms in the sprawling brambles. Later I discovered that George was my brother’s friend and he had come to Corfu to write. There was nothing very unusual about this, for all Larry’s acquaintances in those days were either authors, poets, or painters. My new teacher came over to the villa to discuss my education with Mother, and we were introduced. We regarded each other with suspicion. George was a very tall and extremely thin man with a brown beard and a pair of large spectacles. He had a deep, melancholy voice, a dry and sarcastic sense of humor. However, he was not upset by the fact that there were no school-books available on the island; he simply looked through his own library and appeared on the appointed day armed with his own selection of books. He patiently taught me Geography from the maps in the back of an ancient copy of Pears Encyclopedia, English from books that ranged from Wilde to Gibbon, French from the book called “Le Petit Larousse”, and mathematics from memory. From my point of view the most important thing was that we devoted some of our time to natural history, and George carefully taught me how to observe and how to note down observations in a diary. At once my enthusiastic interest in nature became focused, for I found that by writing things down I could learn and remember much more. The only morning that I was ever on time for my lessons were those which were given up to natural history. Every morning at nine George would come into the little dining-room of the villa, sit at the table methodically arranging the books. He would droop over the exercise-book pensively, pulling at his beard. Then in his large, clear writing he would set the task for me to solve. “If it took two caterpillars a week to eat eight leaves, how long would four caterpillars take to eat the same number? Now, apply yourself to that”. While I was struggling with the apparently insoluble problem of the caterpillar appetites, George was practicing some dancing moves in the hall as at that time he was engaged in learning some of the local dances, for which he had a passion. Through all this I would be watching him, fascinated, the exercise-book lying forgotten in front of me. Mathematics was not one of our successful subjects. In geography we made better progress, for George was able to give a more zoological tinge to the lesson. We drew giant maps and then filled in the various places of interest, together with drawings of the most exciting animals and birds to be found there.   In paragraph 1 “I was running wild” means that the boy

1) had an unhealthy lifestyle.   2) led an uncontrolled life.   3) became very angry.   4) hardly spent any time at home.

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How did the boy’s family react to the problem of his education?

1) Actively discussed the situation.   2) Showed no desire in solving it.   3) Avoided any disputes on this topic.   4) Felt indifferent.

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George was

1) a teacher.   2) a dancer.   3) a writer.   4) a mathematician.

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How did the boy and George feel when they first met?

1) They didn’t trust each other.   2) They liked each other very much.   3) They were upset about their studies.   4) They treated the situation with humor.

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Why did the boy enjoy his lessons of natural history?

1) He finally learnt how to write.   2) He got very interested in the subject.   3) He remembered much more from those lessons.   4) He learned how to focus on the lesson.

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The boy couldn’t solve the mathematics problem because he

1) didn’t like to make any effort.   2) was not interested in caterpillars.   3) refused to do mathematics in general.   4) was distracted by his teacher’s dances.

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The geography lessons were more successful because

1) the boy was fond of drawing maps of the continents.   2) the boy knew lots of interesting places already.   3) George knew geography better than mathematics.   4) George also managed to involve the boy’s interest in fauna.

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Hazlitt’s Hotel   I took a cab to Hazlitt’s Hotel on Frith Street. I like Hazlitt’s because it’s intentionally obscure — it doesn’t have a sign or a plaque or anything at all to betray its purpose — which puts you in a rare position of strength with your cab driver. Let me say right now that London cab drivers are without question the finest in the world. They are trustworthy, safe and honest, generally friendly and always polite. They keep their vehicles spotless inside and out, and they will put themselves to the most extraordinary inconvenience to drop you at the front entrance of your destination. There are really only a couple of odd things about them. One is that they cannot drive more than two hundred feet in a straight line. I’ve never understood this, but no matter where you are or what the driving conditions, every two hundred feet a little bell goes off in their heads and they abruptly lunge down a side street. And when you get to your hotel or railway station or wherever it is you are going, they like to drive you all the way around it so that you can see it from all angles before alighting. The other distinctive thing about them, and the reason I like to go to Hazlitt’s, is that they cannot bear to admit that they don’t know the location of something they feel they ought to know, like a hotel, which I think is rather sweet. To become a London cab driver you have to master something titled The Knowledge—in effect, learn every street, hospital, hotel, police station, cricket ground, cemetery and other notable landmarks in this amazingly vast and confusing city. It takes years and the cabbies are justifiably proud of their achievement. It would kill them to admit that there could exist in central London a hotel that they have never heard of. So what the cabbie does is probe. He drives in no particular direction for a block or two, then glances at you in the mirror and in an overcasual voice says, “Hazlitt’s —that’s the one on Curzon Street, innit, guv? Opposite the Blue Lion?” But the instant he sees a knowing smile of demurral forming on your lips, he hastily says, “No, hang on a minute, I’m thinking of the Hazelbury. Yeah, the Hazelbury. You want Hazlitt’s, right?” He’ll drive on a bit in a fairly random direction. “That’s this side of Shepherd’s Bush, innit?” he’ll suggest speculatively. When you tell him that it’s on Frith Street, he says. “Yeah, that the one. Course it is. I know it – modern place, lots of glass”. “Actually, it’s an eighteenth-century brick building.” “Course it is. I know it.” And he immediately executes a dramatic U-turn, causing a passing cyclist to steer into a lamppost (but that’s all right because he has on cycle clips and one of those geeky slip stream helmets that all but invite you to knock him over). “Yeah, you had me thinking of the Hazelbury” the driver adds, chuckling as if to say it’s a lucky thing he sorted that one out for you, and then lunges down a little side street off the Strand called Running Sore Lane or Sphincter Passage, which, like so much else in London, you had never noticed was there before. The narrator said that he liked London cab drivers because they

1) know all the hotels and streets in the city.   2) can be trusted and nice to deal with.   3) can drive in a straight line.   4) make friends easily.

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Which of the following statements about London cab drivers is true according to the narrator?

1) They have little bells in their cars.   2) They let you see your hotel from all angles.   3) They prefer side streets to main streets.   4) They prefer driving in a straight line.

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A reason why the narrator liked to go to Hazlitt’s was that

1) it was in the center of the city.   2) cab drivers didn’t know where it was.   3) cab drivers liked driving there.   4) it was an old brick building.

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According to the narrator, to be a London cab driver, one has to

1) know all streets and places in London.   2) be proud of the city.   3) be knowledgeable.   4) be ready to study the city for years.

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According to the narrator, if the cab driver did not know a hotel in London he would

1) panic.   2) ask the passenger.   3) never admit it.   4) use a map.

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According to the narrator, when the driver finally knows where to go, he would

1) speed up.   2) turn the car in the opposite direction.   3) admit he was confused at first.   4) say you are lucky he knew the place.

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What is the narrator’s general attitude towards London cab drivers?

1) Ironic.   2) Critical.   3) Aсcusatory.   4) Supportive.

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Llandudno Llandudno is truly a fine and handsome place, built on a generously pro­portioned bay and lined along its broad front with a huddle of prim but gracious nineteenth-century hotels that reminded me in the fading light of a lineup of Victorian nannies. Llandudno was purpose-built as a resort in the mid-1800s, and it cultivates a nice old-fashioned air. I don’t suppose that Lewis Carroll, who famously strolled this front with little Alice Liddell in the 1860s, would notice a great deal of change today. To my consternation, the town was packed with weekending pensioners. Buses from all over were parked along the side streets, every hotel I called at was full, and in every dining room I could see crowds – veritable oceans – of nodding white heads spooning soup and conversing happily. Goodness knows what had brought them to the Welsh seaside at this bleak time of year. Farther on along the front there stood a clutch of guesthouses, large and virtually indistinguishable, and a few of them had vacancy signs in their windows. I had eight or ten to choose from, which always puts me in a mild fret because I have an unerring instinct for choosing badly. My wife can survey a row of guesthouses and instantly identify the one run by a white-haired widow with a fondness for children, and sparkling bathroom facilities, whereas I can generally count on choosing the one run by a guy with a grasping manner, and the sort of cough that makes you wonder where he puts the phlegm. Such, I felt, would be the case tonight. All the guesthouses had boards out front listing their many amen­ities –COLOUR TV, HOSPITALITY TRAYS, FULL CENTRAL HEATING, and the coyly euphemistic EN SUITE ALL ROOMS, meaning private bathrooms. One place offered satellite TV and a trouser press, and another boasted CURRENT FIRE CERTIFICATE – something I had never thought to look for in a B&B. All this heightened my sense of unease and doom. How could I possibly choose intelligently among such a variety of options? I selected a place that looked reasonable enough from the outside – its board promised a color TV and coffee making facilities, about all I require these days for a Saturday night – but from the moment I set foot in the door I knew it was a bad choice. I was about to turn and flee when the owner emerged from a back room and stopped my retreat with an unenthusiastic "Yes?" A short conversation revealed that a single room with breakfast was for ?19.50. It was entirely out of the question that I would stay the night in such a dismal place at such an exorbitant price, so I said, "That sounds fine," and signed in. Well, it’s so hard to say no. My room was everything I expected it to be – cold and cheerless with laminated furniture, grubbily matted carpet, and those mysterious ceiling stains that bring to mind a neglected corpse in the room above. There was a tray of coffee things but the cups were disgusting, and the spoon was stuck to the tray. The bathroom, faintly illuminated by a distant light activated by a length of string, had curling floor tiles and years of accumulated dirt packed into every corner. I peered at the yellowy tile around the bath and sink and realized what the landlord did with his phlegm. A bath was out of the question, so I threw some cold water on my face, dried it with a towel that had the texture of shredded wheat, and gladly took my leave. Llandudno is described as a

1) beautiful growing resort.   2) place famous for its comfortable hotels.   3) fashionable 19th century resort.   4) place where Lewis Carroll lived.

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The phrase “veritable oceans” in paragraph 2 refers to

1) old people dining in cafes.   2) hotel dining rooms.   3) hotel guests wearing white hats.   4) buses crowded with old Welsh people.

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When choosing a guesthouse the narrator was worried because he

1) did not know what to look for.   2) missed his wife for help.   3) could not find a place run by a kind old widow.   4) wasn’t good at making the right choice.

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The narrator thought that the choice of a guesthouse used to be easier because

1) there were fewer options on offer.   2) there were fewer guest houses.   3) all hotels had a private bathroom.   4) they were all of B&B type.

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Why did the narrator agree to the room?

1) There was a TV and a coffee maker.   2) He felt sorry for the landlord.   3) It was really cheap.   4) He could not refuse the offer.

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Why was the bath out of the question?

1) There was no hot water.   2) There was no light.   3) The bathtub was dirty.   4) The water was too cold.

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What is the narrator’s attitude towards the room he stayed in?

1) Indifferent.   2) Critical.   3) Surprised.   4) Positive.

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For almost 125 years, the secrecy surrounding the recipe for Coca-Cola has been one of the world’s great marketing tricks. As the story goes, the fizzy drink’s famous ‘7X’ formula has remained unchanged since it was developed in 1886. Today, the recipe is entrusted only to two Coke executives, neither of whom can travel on the same plane for fear the secret would go down with them. Now, one of America’s most celebrated radio broadcasters claims to have discovered the Coke secret. Ira Glass, presenter of the public radio institution This American Life, says he has tracked down a copy of the recipe, the original of which is still supposedly held in a burglar-proof vault at the Sun Trust Bank in Atlanta, Georgia. The formula was created by John Pemberton, an Atlanta chemist and former Confederate army officer who crafted cough medicines in his spare time. In 1887, he sold the recipe to a businessman, Asa Griggs, who immediately placed it for safekeeping in the Georgia Trust Bank. Glass came across a recipe that he believes is the secret formula in a back issue of Pemberton’s local paper, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, while he was researching an entirely different story. Tucked away on an inside page of the 8 February 1979 edition, he stumbled on an article that claimed to have uncovered the closely guarded 7X formula. The column was based on information found in an old leather-bound notebook that belonged to Pemberton’s best friend and fellow Atlanta chemist, RR Evans. Glass was intrigued and, after some digging, found that the notebook had been handed down over generations until it reached a chemist in Georgia called Everett Beal, whose widow still possesses it. The rediscovered recipe includes extract of coca leaves, caffeine, plenty of sugar (it specifies 30 unidentified units thought to be pounds), lime juice, vanilla and caramel. Into that syrup, the all-important 7X ingredients are added: alcohol and six oils – orange, lemon, nutmeg, coriander, neroli and cinnamon. The formula is very similar to the recipe worked out by Mark Pendergrast who wrote a history of the drink in 1993 called For God, Country & Coca-Cola. Coke’s secret recipe is, in fact, partly a myth. The soda has changed substantially over time. Cocaine, a legal stimulant in Pemberton’s day, was removed from the drink in 1904 after mounting public unease about the drug. Extract of coca leaves is still used but only after the cocaine has been removed. In 1980, the company replaced sugar, squeezed from beet and cane, with the cheaper corn sweetener that is often found in American food and drink. Coke fans were not impressed. Despite such occasional controversies, one element has remained constant: Coke’s commitment to keeping its own secret. Speculation about the recipe has been a popular talking point for more than a century, proving good for business. The company has reacted to the This American Life story in a way that has been typical of its commercial strategy since the 19th century. “Many third parties have tried to crack our secret formula. Try as they might, they’ve been unsuccessful,” Coca-Cola’s Kerry Tressler said.   The best title reflecting the message of the story probably is

1) The History of Coca-Cola company.   2) Coca-Cola secret recipe revealed?   3) Tracking down the famous recipe.   4) The secret recipe is a fraud.

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Who is supposed to know the Coke secret recipe nowadays?

1) Certain Coca-Cola executives.   2) A broadcaster.   3) The director of Atlanta Sun Trust Bank.   4) RR Evans.

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How did Ira Glass learn about the recipe?

1) Talking to a relative of John Pemberton.   2) Working in Atlanta archives.   3) Accidentally reading an article in an old Atlanta paper.   4) Studying an old notebook that belonged to Pemberton.

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Which of the following does NOT belong to the famous 7X ingredients?

1) Orange oil.   2) Caffeine.   3) Nutmeg oil.   4) Alcohol.

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Why might the secret recipe be considered a myth?

1) The recipe has never existed.   2) It has never been a secret.   3) The company has been regularly changing the ingredients.   4) The quality of the ingredients has been changing.

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What disappointed Coca-Cola fans in 1980?

1) Sugar was removed from the drink.   2) The price of the drink went up with the price of sugar.   3) Beet and cane sugar was replaced with the corn one.   4) The recipe of the drink was revealed.

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The phrase “proving good for business” in the last paragraph means that the rumors about the recipe …

1) provided unnecessary problems for the company.   2) helped the company’s sales.   3) were supported by the company.   4) helped to keep the recipe in secret.

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Family Fortune In 1840, times were hard for Bentley Harcourt. He had a farm in Yorkshire, but it didn’t make money. He wanted to marry but decided to wait until better times came along. Better times did not come along. One day, he saw a newspaper article about the American West. It sounded like the land of milk and honey. He thought about it. He had no family. Nobody cared if he lived or died. Why not make a new life in the New World? He sold his farm and immigrated to America. After a year of drifting he found himself in Texas. He loved it. He loved the fact that you could travel for days and not meet another soul. He used his savings to buy some land. That year he died. In 1910, an oil company moved on to his land and found oil. They took millions of barrels of oil out of the ground, all the profits due to the owner of the land were paid into a bank account in Houston, where they waited for a relative to claim them. The money sat in the bank for years. By 1975, the amount stood at two billion dollars. In 1975, in Bradford, England, a man called David Kingsley took up a new hobby – tracing his family tree. He studied church records, visited museums, checked every reference to families called Kingsley. He also checked on his mother’s family. They were called Harcourt. He discovered one day that his mother’s great-great uncle, a man with the splendid name of Bentley Harcourt, had sailed from Liverpool to America. In the same year, shortly after learning about his great-great uncle, Kingsley read a magazine article about a fortune that lay unclaimed in a Texas bank. This article told the story of a lonely immigrant called Bentley Harcourt, and about how he had died shortly after buying his dream ranch in Texas. The magazine promised to pay the legal expenses of anyone who could claim to be a descendant and who might be entitled to the fortune. Kingsley read the story with mounting excitement. Surely, this must be the same Bentley Harcourt that he had come across during his research into his family tree! He talked the matter over with his wife and then wrote to the magazine. As it turned out, Kingsley was not the only one who claimed to be a descendant. By the end of 1977, over 60 people were claiming they were entitled to the fortune. The arguments, the quarrels, and the court cases went on, and on, and on. In the end, Kingsley did not get the money, but, funnily enough, he didn’t mind. He had found something much more important. He had a great-great uncle named Bentley Harcourt, there was no doubt about that. But, amazingly, it was a different Bentley Harcourt. It seemed impossible that there could be two people with such an unusual name, but it was true. This Bentley Harcourt had settled in Orange Country, California, and had made his fortune in fish canning. He married a hardworking Swedish girl, and they had thirteen children. David Kingsley had found a different treasure: a branch of his family across the Atlantic. The two families wrote to each other. Later, they visited each other. They became the best of friends. And the fortune of the other Bentley Harcourt? It is still unclaimed. As I write this, the sum stands at 2.3 billion dollars. This may be a good moment to start tracing your family tree!   What did Bentley Harcourt think about the American West when he read the newspaper article?

1) He thought it was a land with a lot of free food.   2) He thought he might find himself a wife there.   3) He thought it was a land where life was easy and wonderful.   4) He thought he could hide himself there from people.

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Why did the oil company decide to send part of the profits to the bank?

1) The money belonged to the owner of the land.   2) It was required by the owner of the land.   3) They wanted to hide it from the owner of the land.   4) They wanted to buy the land out for that money.

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How did David Kingsley learn about the unclaimed money in the Texas bank?

1) He found the information in church records.   2) His great-great uncle wrote to him about it.   3) He learned it from his mother’s relatives.   4) He found the story in a magazine.

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David Kingsley thought that the owner of the Texas ranch was

1) of no relation to him.   2) related to his mother.   3) related to his father.   4) related to the Harcourt from Orange Country.

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Why was David Kingsley surprised to find another Bentley Harcourt who had left for America?

1) Bentley Harcourt had not many close relatives and descendants.   2) The name was too unusual for there being two of them.   3) He didn’t come across him in the family tree.   4) Harcourt’s relatives had never contacted him.

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David Kingsley never got Bentley Harcourt’s money because he

1) didn’t want to quarrel with other candidates.   2) didn’t prove in court that its owner was his relative.   3) decided that the other descendants deserved it more.   4) thought that that money was not important.

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Why does the narrator advise the readers to study their family trees?

1) They may find relatives who would turn into best friends.   2) Some of them might still be Bentley Harcourt’s relatives.   3) There is a chance to find some rich relatives.   4) This study may become a very profitable hobby.

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Chronic lack of sleep affects one in three British workers One in three British workers suffers from poor sleep, research shows, with stress, computers and taking work home blamed for the lack of quality sleep. Some employees get fewer than five hours sleep a night, only one in seven feels completely refreshed when they wake and more women have poor shut-eye than men. The alarming findings emerged from a study of self-assessments completed by 38,784 staff working in the UK for firms such as telecoms firm, O2, drugs developer, Quintiles and medical technology manufacturer, Medtronic. A third were dissatisfied with the amount and quality of their sleep, with 8.4% saying they were "very unhappy" with it, and another 24.4% describing themselves as "unhappy". When asked how they felt 30 minutes after getting up, only 15.5% said "refreshed". Of the others, 3.3% said they were "exhausted", 24% said "unrefreshed" and 57.2% were still "a little tired". While experts say that everyone should ideally get seven to eight hours sleep a night, only 38.5% of the 38,784 respondents did so. More had between five and seven hours (45%), only a lucky 10% reported sleeping for eight to nine hours and one in 100 enjoyed more than nine hours. When researchers combined those results to give each respondent an overall "sleep score" out of 100, some 33.8% got a mark of less than 30 — the lowest category. That means someone either has, or is at high risk of developing, a sleeping problem. "This research is telling us that a large number of working adults, one in three in the UK, has a sleeping problem," said Dr Tony Massey, medical director of Vielife, the health and productivity firm that carried out the assessments between 2009 and 2011. "A very concerning number of British workers get too little sleep." Britain is near the top of an international league table for lack of sleep. A Vielife study of 116,452 staff in America found that 23.4% scored poorly for sleep. The extent of inadequate rest has prompted fears that many people are too tired to do their jobs properly, with some so sleep-deprived their brains are as confused as if they had consumed too much alcohol. "Too few people practice sleep hygiene," said Massey. "That involves little things that people can do without professional help, like ensuring your room is dark and quiet, getting to bed at the same time every night — just like a two-year-old — reading a book, which is a proven relaxant, and not looking at bright screens, such as the TV or computer, for an hour before you go to bed as that will disturb your sleep." The growing tendency for employees to do extra work in the evenings and at weekends, which may have risen in the recession, also seems to be linked to poor sleep. "More people are scrunching the golden hour before they go to sleep, and they are paying the price in that their sleep isn't refreshing and they end up in a vicious cycle of fatigue, poor productivity and then feeling that they have to do the same again the next day to compensate," said Massey. The best guarantee of good quality shut-eye is to work five days a week and sleep seven to eight hours a night. Five-days-a-week staff had the best sleep score, while those getting seven to eight hours a night scored 72.7. "These are very worrying findings because lack of sleep is a risk factor for a whole range of serious health problems, such as stroke and heart disease," said Massey.   Which of the following is mentioned among the reasons for poorer sleep?

1) Work for telecom firms.   2) Consumption of drugs.   3) Work done at home.   4) Lack of communication.

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According to the research, just about … percent of people have the recommended number of sleeping hours.

1) forty   2) twenty   3) thirty   4) ten

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Paragraph 4 stresses that …

1) the “sleep score” in Britain is relatively low.   2) many people in Britain are unaware of sleeping disorders.   3) the number of Britons who don’t get enough sleep is alarming.   4) British workers get more sleep than American ones.

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The inadequate nighttime rest of employees might result in …

1) brain damage.   2) inefficiency at work.   3) lack of job satisfaction.   4) problems with alcohol.

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What does “sleep hygiene” NOT involve?

1) Professional help.   2) A darkened room.   3) A relaxing book.   4) Regular bedtime.

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The phrase “vicious cycle” in paragraph 7 means …

1) a sudden wave of tiredness.   2) a course of everyday events.   3) a large amount of extra work.   4) a repetitive cycle of poor sleep consequences.

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What, according to the article, is important for good quality sleep?

1) Higher productivity at work.   2) A five-day working week.   3) Five to seven hours of nighttime sleep.   4) Absence of health problems.

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Do you believe in climate change? This may seem like an odd question for a climate scientist to ask, but it is one I am constantly asked now. The typical discussion starts: "I know that the climate is changing, but hasn't it always changed through natural cycles?" Then they will often give an example, such as the medieval warm period to prove their point. Those asking the question include a wide range of people I meet in the pub, friends, politicians and, increasingly, even some of those active in sustainable development and the renewable energy businesses. What I find interesting is that I have known many of these people for a long time and they never asked me this before. Recent studies show that public acceptance of the scientific evidence for man-made climate change has decreased. However, the change is not that great. The difference I find in talking to people is that they feel better able to express their doubts. This is very hard for scientists to understand. The scientific evidence that humanity is having an effect on the climate is overwhelming and increasing every year. Yet public perception of this is confused. People modify their beliefs about uncomfortable truth, they may have become bored of constantly hearing about climate change; or external factors such as the financial crisis may have played a role. Around three years ago, I raised the issue of the way that science can be misused. In some cases scare stories in the media were over-hyping climate change, and I think we are paying the price for this now with a reaction the other way. I was concerned then that science is not always presented objectively by the media. What I don't think any of us appreciated at the time was the depth of disconnect between the scientific process and the public. Which brings me to the question, should you believe in climate change? The first point to make is that it's not something you should believe or not believe in – this is a matter of science and therefore of evidence – and there's a lot of it out there. On an issue this important, I think people should look at that evidence and make their own mind up. We are often very influenced by our own personal experience. After a couple of cold winters in the UK, the common question was: "Has climate change stopped?" despite that fact that many other regions of the world were experiencing record warm temperatures. And 2010 was one of the warmest years on record. For real evidence of climate change, we have to look at the bigger picture. You can see research by the Met Office that shows the evidence of man-made warming is even stronger than it was when the last report was published. A whole range of different datasets and independent analyses show the world is warming. There is a broad consensus that over the last half-century, warming has been rapid, and man-made greenhouse gas emissions are very likely to be the cause. Ultimately, as the planet continues to warm, the issue of whether you believe in climate change will become more and more irrelevant. We will all experience the impacts of climate change in some way, so the evidence will be there in plain sight. The more appropriate questions for today are how will our climate change and how can we prepare for those changes? That's why it's important that climate scientists continue their work, and continue sharing their evidence and research so people can stay up to date – and make up their own minds.   Paragraph 1 says that people …

1) think that the climate is not changing.   2) doubt that climate change is man-made.   3) believe that in medieval times climate was harsh.   4) tend to ask strange questions about climate change.

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According to recent studies of public attitude to climate change, more and more people …

1) refuse to accept the scientific proof of warming.   2) know that there is no clear evidence of climate change.   3) think that scientists are wrong about climate warming.   4) have stopped trusting climate science.

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What is meant by “uncomfortable truth” in paragraph 4?

1) Scientific reports on climate.   2) Evidence of man-made climate change.   3) World financial crisis.   4) People’s personal beliefs.

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What does “this” in paragraph 5 refer to?

1) Scientific evidence of climate change.   2) Negative public attitude to climate change.   3) The way the climate change used to be presented.   4) The historical impact of climate change.

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The author gives the example of cold winters in the UK to point out that …

1) the weather in Britain has always been unpredictable.   2) the Met Office doesn’t make public the evidence it collected.   3) there is evidence that the climate change has stopped finally.   4) people draw conclusions based on their own experience rather than scientific evidence.

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How does the author feel about the evidence of climate change?

1) It’s not enough yet.   2) It’s not very convincing.   3) It soon would become conclusive.   4) It’s irrelevant so far.

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The author wants climate scientists to continue their work because …

1) they have not shared their findings with the public.   2) people need to know how to get ready for changes.   3) society demands more research in this field.   4) people don’t want to make up their own minds.

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Women and the maths problem   Women's underachievement in maths may not be due to their poor self-image in the subject, a new report suggests. Researcher Dr. Gijsbert Stoet at the University of Leeds says that the so-called "stereotype threat" theory – which holds that women perform worse than men because they expect to do badly – "does not stand up to scrutiny". Earlier research had serious flaws, he says, with improper use of statistical techniques and methodology. Clearly, those who carried out this research need to review their own competence in maths. Stoet believes the gender gap may simply be that men and women have different interests from an early age, and says the answer to getting more women into maths and engineering is probably a matter of motivation. According to last year's results, even though girls perform as well as boys in their maths GCSEs, 60% of A-levels in the subject are taken by boys, who achieve 60% of grade As. I am an engineer, who has worked in the chemical industry for most of my working career. When I graduated in the 80, I assumed we were at the start of a new era for women in science: I studied alongside intelligent and motivated women, opportunities seemed aplenty, in-roads had been made. But 20 years down the line, only 8.7% of British engineers are women, the lowest proportion in Europe, compared with 25% in Sweden. So what has happened? One of the main problems is that careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (known as Stem) are not sufficiently promoted in schools, with fewer children taking up these subjects at GCSE and A-level. Year in, year out, we are told that Britain has a skills shortage. The general lack of interest among schoolchildren in maths and science subjects, together with the underlying social conditioning that still remains – that science subjects "aren't really for girls" – has led to a double-whammy effect, reducing female entrants even further. Over the past few years, I have been involved in Stemnet, an organization dedicated to promoting these careers by getting people who work in jobs from biologists to builders to talk to schoolchildren about what they do. It's an attempt to debunk the myth that maths and sciences are too difficult or too boring. I was amazed to see hundreds of schoolboys and girls at a recent event at the Science Museum, presenting a range of experiments and projects they had prepared. And the ones prepares by girls were equally challenging and sophisticated. I agree with the new study that rather than focusing on the problems of stereotyping, we should devote more time to encouraging girls into science and technology: they clearly respond. But encouraging schoolgirls into university and careers is not all. As is typical in most sectors, I see a number of female engineers at the entry and mid-levels of companies, but precious few at the top. This is a huge waste of talent. It also raises the issue of certain professional inequality and a biased attitude towards women. The report has done well to challenge the myths behind women's underachievement in schools, but more work still needs to be done to address the problem of women's lack of achievement in the workplace. At least in the spheres closely related to science and engineering.   Dr. Gijbert Stoet claims that women do worse than men at maths because they …

1) are not encouraged to do the subject.   2) do not believe in their own competence.   3) use improper methods in problem-solving.   4) employ wrong stereotypical techniques.

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Last year’s A-levels maths results show that …

1) more girls take the subject.   2) girls do better than boys.   3) boys get more A grades.   4) boys are more likely to fail.

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Which of the following statements is NOT true, according to paragraphs 5 and 6?

1) The author has worked in engineering for over 20 years.   2) The prospects for women in science are best in Sweden.   3) The author’s expectations about women in science have not come true.   4) Britain has fewer women engineers than other European countries.

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According to the author, social conditioning taking place in Britain implies that …

1) boys are smarter than girls.   2) science could be interesting.   3) science is for boys.   4) math is an optional skill.

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“They” in “to talk to schoolchildren about what they do” (paragraph 7) may refer to …

1) scientists.   2) schoolchildren.   3) careers.   4) experiments.

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According to the final paragraphs, which of the factors discouraging girls from careers in science appears to be most important?

1) Lack of opportunities in career growth.   2) Academic underachievement.   3) Social stereotypes.   4) Lack of encouragement.

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The author’s attitude to the problem may be called …

1) impartial.   2) biased.   3) negative.   4) interested.

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The Difference Engine: No more addresses REMEMBER the panic over the “millennium bug”, when computers everywhere were expected to go haywire on January 1st, 2000, thanks to the way a lot of old software used just two digits to represent the year instead of four? Doomsters predicted all sorts of errors in calculations involving dates when the clocks rolled over from 99 to 00. In the event, the millennium dawned without incident. That may have been because of the draconian preparations undertaken beforehand. Or perhaps, as many suspected, the problem was grossly exaggerated in the first place, as it often happens. Certainly, the computer industry made a packet out of all the panic-buying of new hardware and software in the months leading up to the new millennium. And who would blame them for this? Business is business. Well, something similar is about to happen in the months ahead. This time, the issue concerns the exhaustion of Internet addresses – those four numbers ranging from 0 to 255 separated by dots that uniquely identify every device attached to the Internet. According to Hurricane Electric, an Internet backbone and services provider based in Fremont, California, the Internet will run out of bulk IP addresses sometime next week – given the rate addresses are currently being gobbled up. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) will then have doled out all its so-called "slash-eight" blocks of addresses to the five regional Internet registries around the world. In turn, the registries are expected to have allocated all their remaining addresses to local network operators by October at the latest. After that, any organization applying for new addresses will be told, “Sorry, none left”. The issue is real and has been a long time in the making. The Economist first warned about it ten years ago. The problem concerns the address space of the existing version of the Internet protocol (IPv4), which is only 32 bits wide. The total number of binary addresses possible with such an arrangement is 4.3 billion. Back in the 1980s, when the Internet connected just a couple of dozen research institutes in America, that seemed like a huge number. Besides, the Internet was thought at the time to be just a temporary network anyway. But with the invention of the Web in 1990 came an explosion in popular demand. It was soon clear that it was only a matter of time before the Internet would exhaust its supply of addresses. Work on a replacement for IPv4 began in the early 1990s, with IPv6 finally being made available around 1998. By giving the new internet version an address space of 128 bits, the designers pretty well guaranteed that it would not run out of unique identifiers for decades, or even centuries, to come. Two raised to the 128th power is an astronomical number. That will come in handy when the "Internet of things" becomes a reality. Already, some two billion people have access to the Internet. Add all the televisions, phones, cars and household appliances that are currently being given Internet access – plus, eventually, every book, pill case and item of inventory as well – and a world or two of addresses could easily be accounted for. And yet, the solution of any problem begins with its verbalization. We are forewarned and it means – forearmed.   The fears of the users about the “millennium bug” were …

1) justified.   2) unrealistic.   3) overestimated.   4) suppressed.

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Which of the following was NOT the reason why the “millennium bug” didn’t work?

1) The users took necessary precautions.   2) The manufacturers had improved software.   3) The new hardware had been installed.   4) The problem never existed.

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The number of available IP addresses is limited by …

1) address space of the Internet protocol.   2) the Internet protocol version.   3) the number of organizations applying.   4) the number of computers connected to the Internet.

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The solution of the problem with the lack of IP addresses is to …

1) restrict the number of users.   2) improve the current Internet protocol.   3) add a temporary network.   4) speed up research.

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The existing version of the protocol was believed appropriate because …

1) the net was not popular.   2) the addresses were not permanent.   3) no one expected the demand to grow.   4) another network was being developed.

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The phrase “Internet of things” refers to …

1) personal computers of the users.   2) appliances with access to the Web.   3) things ordered through the Internet.   4) a new network replacing the current Internet.

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Speaking of the future of the world-wide web, the author appears to be …

1) doubtful.   2) hopeful.   3) overexcited.   4) pessimistic.

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Why I sent Oxford a rejection letter A little over a month ago, I sent Oxford a rejection email that parodied the thousands that they send each year. Much to my surprise, it has become a bit of an Internet hit, and has provoked reactions of both horror and amusement. In my letter I wrote: "I have now considered your establishment as a place to read Law (Jurisprudence). I very much regret to inform you that I will be withdrawing my application. I realize you may be disappointed by this decision, but you were in competition with many fantastic universities and following your interview, I am afraid you do not quite meet the standard of the universities I will be considering." I sent the email after returning from my interview at Magdalen College, Oxford, to prove to a couple of my friends that Oxbridge did not need to be held in awe. One of them subsequently shared it on Facebook because he found it funny. I certainly did not expect the email to spread as far as it has. Varying between offers of TV interviews and hundreds of enthusiastic Facebook messages, it has certainly been far-reaching. Many of my friends and undoubtedly many strangers were unable to comprehend that I'd sent such an email to this bastion of prestige and privilege. Why was I not afraid of damaging my future prospects as a lawyer? Didn't I think this might hurt my chances with other universities? For me, such questions paint a picture of a very cynical society. I do not want to study law because I want to be rich, or wear an uncomfortable wig and cloak. Perhaps optimistically, I want to study law because I am interested in justice. To me, withdrawing my application to an institution that is a symbol of unfairness in both our education and the legal system (which is so dominated by Oxbridge graduates) makes perfect sense, and I am reluctant to be part of a system so heavily dominated by such a narrow group of self-selecting elites. So, why did I apply in the first place? If you're achieving high grades at A-level (or equivalent), you can feel quite a lot of pressure to "prove yourself" by getting an Oxbridge offer. Coupled with the fact that I grew up on benefits in council estates throughout Bristol – not a type of heritage often associated with an Oxbridge interview – I decided to give it a try. It was only at the interview that I started to question what exactly I was trying to prove. I was well aware that fantastic candidates are often turned down, and I did not believe that this was a true reflection of their academic potential. Although I share concern that not going to Oxbridge gives you a "chip on your shoulder", I did not write to Oxford to avoid the risk of being labeled as an "Oxbridge reject": I already am one. Last year I made an (admittedly weak) application to Cambridge and was inevitably rejected post-interview. A year ago, I was in awe of the beautiful buildings of Oxbridge, but today I am in awe of the sheer number of people who, like me, have managed to not take it so seriously. Ultimately, I am not harming Oxford by laughing at it, and it is an amazing feeling to realize that so many people are enjoying my email. Actually, I was amazed to know how many people of different ages bothered to read it and even to leave their comments about it in Facebook. I had fun reading some of them, too.   The email letter the author sent to Oxford was meant to be …

1) respectful.   2) mocking.   3) regretful.   4) desperate.

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The letter caused so much response because people …

1) fully agreed with the message.   2) were outraged with the letter.   3) wanted to defend Oxbridge.   4) found the topic very interesting.

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The author accuses society of cynicism because …

1) people supported Oxbridge.   2) lawyers do their job for high incomes.   3) universities are very selective.   4) people seem to be more worried about reputations.

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Judging by paragraph 7, the author comes from a family which is …

1) big.   2) aristocratic.   3) not very rich.   4) educated.

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The author believes that the selection to Oxbridge …

1) is unfair.   2) reveals candidates’ abilities.   3) is hard to understand   4) needs improvement.

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The expression “chip on your shoulder” in paragraph 9 means …

1) record of achievements.   2) below-average performance.   3) reflection of one’s potential.   4) feelings of unfair treatment.

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“It” in ‘have managed to not take it so seriously’ in the last paragraph refers to …

1) university interview.   2) university studies.   3) Oxbridge rejection.   4) Oxford.

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Meat eaters – you are daredevils or dumb. Or both. I am a vegetarian as well as my parents and all my family members. I’ve been a vegetarian for as long as I can remember. There have been times during my years of vegetarianism when I've wondered if I may indeed grow out of it. I've wondered if there might come a day when I'll put aside my childish aversion to the thought of dead stuff travelling through my intestines, like a corpse on a raft ride. However, it could never happen, and not because I'm so enlightened, sensitive or any of the other euphemisms for "whining hippie" usually dumped on vegetarians. My conversion to flesh-eating couldn't happen because, frankly, I'm not stupid enough. As in, I can read. Analysis of more than 6,000 pancreatic cancer cases published in the British Journal of Cancer says that eating just 50g of processed meat a day (one sausage or a couple of slices of bacon) raises the likelihood of pancreatic cancer by a fifth. 100g a day (the equivalent of a medium burger) raises it by 38%, 150g by 57%. Men are worst hit, as they tend to eat the most processed meat. And while pancreatic cancer is not the most common of cancers, it's frequently diagnosed late, with four-fifths of sufferers dying within a year of diagnosis. It should be pointed out that this is about processed meat. However, many past studies have stated a probable link between too much meat and all manner of cancers and heart problems, as well as links to other conditions, from diabetes and high blood pressure to obesity and Alzheimer's. If, by now, you're thinking that I'm out to shock you, then you couldn't be more wrong. I'd be shocked if any of this was considered new enough to shock anyone. This information has popped up regularly for years in all forms of popular media – newspapers and numerous TV and radio programs, to say nothing of the Internet. Indeed, in this era of info overload, if you've never come across the "burgers and kebabs are unhealthy" revelation, one would have to presume you've been lying in a coma. Sympathy is in short supply these days. You can't move for people being blamed for their own miserable situations: smokers who "burden" the NHS; alcoholics who don't "deserve" liver transplants; obese people who "should" pay more for flights. By this logic, people who've been regularly informed of the dangers of meat, particularly the cheap processed variety, but who continue to wolf it down should be held just as accountable. Yet if these meat eaters are mentioned at all, it's in general poor lifestyle terms, as an afterthought to drinking, smoking, and lack of exercise. You just don't get people making emotional pronouncements about bacon lovers not deserving cancer treatment or kebab fans burdening the NHS. It's not as if they haven't been warned countless times about the dangers – how willfully ill-informed can people be? Or maybe they're just hard. In fact, when I say I'm not dumb enough to eat meat, I should probably add brave enough. With so much frightening information, so readily available for so long, the modern committed carnivore must have nerves of steel. And yet, we should admit it, meat eaters still predominate and even grow in number. Must all of them be deaf and blind, and immune to a general sense of self-safety?   Speaking about her vegetarianism, the author admits that …

1) it was provoked by the sight of corpses.   2) there were times when she thought she might abandon it.   3) it is the result of her childhood experiences.   4) she became a vegetarian out of fashion.

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According to the author, how much of processed meat a day is enough to raise the chance of pancreatic cancer by more than a half?

1) Less than 50 g.   2) 50–100 g.   3) 100–150 g.   4) From 150 g.

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“This” in paragraph 4 stands for …

1) information.   2) pancreatic cancer.   3) diagnosis.   4) death.

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Why does the author think that her information can’t be shocking?

1) It’s not proven.   2) It’s not news.   3) It’s outdated.   4) It’s too popular.

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Saying “sympathy is in short supply these days”, the author means that …

1) meat eaters do not deserve her sympathy.   2) overweight people should pay more.   3) people tend to blame sick people in their sickness.   4) society neglects people who have problems.

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The author is disappointed that eating meat is not …

1) considered as bad as drinking and smoking.   2) officially prohibited.   3) related to a poor lifestyle.   4) recognized as a major life-risking habit.

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The author believes that meat eaters are very …

1) pessimistic.   2) ill-informed.   3) aggressive.   4) irresponsible.

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Shape it up: tips you can follow for a healthier campus diet Rushing up and down the streets, I often have days when I wonder how I will find the time to eat. This is when it becomes easy for students to turn to fast food. Once you stop living close by or have awkward time gaps between classes, fast food is available at almost every on-campus eatery. There’s no doubt that the university tries to make healthier food readily available. Some cafes have organic foods ready to go and Greenhouse allows students to make almost any kind of fresh salad they can think of. But I have to wonder, why is there so much fast food available? For many students, it’s difficult to choose an expensive salad from Greenhouse over a meal from Taco Bell. To solve the problem of finding healthy food on campus without having to eat salad daily, I do three things: take advantage of meal options I previously disregarded, completely ignore any fast food place and get creative in the dining halls. First, I take advantage of meal options I had previously disregarded at on-campus restaurants. Being both a vegetarian and interested in a fair-trade diet has made it somewhat challenging to arrange an eating plan while living on campus. With limited options, food gets old fast. I looked closely at menus to see what options I overlooked. On campus, I eat oatmeal and fresh fruit instead of getting smoothies. I try the soup at Greenhouse instead of salad. If I have time in the morning I use an extra swipe and pack a lunch. By including this, I now have something new to eat each day, and I can go an entire school week without repeating a lunch. As I create a pattern of eateries to maintain a healthy diet without losing interest in the food, it is clear I cannot include every on-campus restaurant in my plan. This is where my second solution comes in. I have learned to completely ignore fast food. If I linger in front of Panda Express or Sbarro too long, temptation takes over. I started ignoring these places in the middle of fall quarter, and now I can walk by them without a thought. The only way I know to accomplish this is willpower. Of course, that does not mean in any way that you should never allow yourself the occasional visit to these restaurants. Everyone deserves a treat sometimes. I know I can never give up animal-style fries completely. Finally, I have learned to get creative in dining halls. This can’t easily be done outside a dining hall, so it isn’t exactly an “on-the-go” solution to eating on campus. Just the same, it can help make meals less boring. I often take a veggie patty and make a wrap out of it, and I use the salad bar to throw on any other toppings I want. I use the microwave to heat up whatever I want in it. If you are a meat lover, you can put the bacon bits from the salad bar or slice a grilled chicken breast to put in soup or pasta. When living on a college campus, it can be difficult to find a way to eat what you like and what’s good for you while trying to avoid a repetitive diet. There are a limited number of options available and the dominance of fast food can be hard to ignore. But if you try out as many places as you can, use willpower and turn on your creativity, you can certainly design your own healthy meal plan that won’t feel as if you eat the same thing every day.   According to the author students turn to fast food when …

1) they are short of time.   2) they have no willpower.   3) their schedule is well adjusted.   4) they live close to the campus.

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What does the author think about eating opportunities on campus?

1) She thinks they do a great job providing salads at a reasonable price.   2) She can’t understand why they offer so many fast food choices.   3) She believes they need to provide more organic food.   4) She thinks that meals from Taco Bell are too expensive.

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What is the author’s method of maintaining a healthy diet?

1) Trying new dishes on the menu.   2) Carefully choosing an on-campus restaurant.   3) Eating less.   4) Changing a restaurant daily.

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What is NOT characteristic of the author’s eating habits?

1) She studies the menus attentively.   2) She tries to vary the food she eats.   3) She misses lunches.   4) She avoids eating meat.

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What is, according to the author, the best way to stop eating fast food?

1) Not to walk near fast food restaurants.   2) To stick to the decision not to eat it.   3) To replace it with the animal-style fries.   4) Visit fast food restaurants not more than once a year.

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What does “it” in paragraph 7 refer to (“Just the same, it can help…”)?

1) Creativity in a dining hall.   2) Cooking your own meals.   3) Finding a perfect solution to eating on campus.   4) Eating outside of dining halls.

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What is the purpose of the article?

1) To convince the reader that eating the same food every day is unhealthy.   2) To classify on-campus eateries.   3) To prove that daily consumption of fast food is harmful.   4) To give advice on eating healthy food on campus.

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Start of college life: how I coped with fear For the last two years I’ve been working really hard to pass all my exams successfully and to get accepted to college. And yet college seemed to be the scariest thing that I could think of. Whenever I thought about it, my stomach would immediately begin to spin in circles. Although I was ready to go off and be by myself and meet new people, I was scared to death at the same time. I pictured hard classes that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with, people that wouldn’t like me, long hikes to get to my classes, and horrible food. I couldn’t imagine leaving the security of my own room, my own stuff where I want it, my friends that I’ve spent practically my whole life with, my family who put up with all my little quirks. Everyone else that I talked to, however, didn’t seem to have this problem. They all were thrilled at the thought of being on their own and not having to worry about their parents telling them what to do or not to do all the time. And, sure, the thought was extremely exciting to me as well, but how would I survive without my family and friends and the things that had taken me eighteen years to get used to? The summer before I came to college was probably the most fun my friends and I ever had. We all knew that in September things would never be the same again and we had to make the most of it while we still could. As the end of August rolled around we knew that it was time to say goodbye and be on our way to our own independence. I packed up the memories of the last eighteen years of my life into about five suitcases and was ready to go. I still didn’t feel like I was just as mature as my older college friends and I thought that I still looked like I was twelve years old. We finally made it to the doors and began unloading my clothes and the eight million bags of food that my mom had packed for me. I still was unsure about sharing my room and not being able to have the privacy that I had back home. I was worried that the little habits that I had might annoy my roommate and that my roommate might have just as many annoying little habits that I might not be able to handle as well. After I had all my things unpacked and put exactly where I wanted, my roommate and I decided to go around our hall and see whom we would be living with for the next two semesters. As we went around to different rooms and met different people my nervousness seemed to diminish. I began to realize that not everyone here knew everyone else and most were just as anxious and nervous about being here as I was. It worked. I started to feel better and was actually kind of excited about living here all by myself. I still miss the security of living at home (and I wonder who would blame me for this feeling) and, most of all, home-cooked meals that are nonexistent here and the friends that I grew up with. But I know that we’ve all changed and those memories are just that – memories, no matter how pleasant they might be. And when times get too tough, my mom is just a phone call away. But I’m not too quick to call her and have her solve my problems. I’ve learned that I can usually work things out by myself. I’m glad that I’ve gone through these changes in myself and it makes me realize that I don’t need to fear change, that it’s just a part of life that everyone has to go through sometime.   How did the author feel about the beginning of her college life?

1) Insecure.   2) Confident.   3) Disgusted.   4) Ready for new life.

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The main problem for the author was that …

1) her parents wouldn’t help her with advice.   2) nobody seemed to understand her feelings.   3) she would miss her family and friends a lot.   4) she was not ready for the classes.

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Why was the summer before college such a fun time for the author?

1) Her old friends were very funny.   2) She made fun of her friends’ fears.   3) She and her friends made a point of enjoying each other’s company.   4) She was feeling like a very young child.

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The author was worried about having to …

1) eat too much food.   2) live with a stranger.   3) phone her mother too often.   4) change her habits.

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Upon arrival on campus the author found out that …

1) she did not have enough place for all her things.   2) her roommate was a very nice person.   3) she knew most of the people there.   4) other students felt a similar way.

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What does the word ‘nonexistent’ refer to in the last paragraph?

1) Memories.   2) Home meals.   3) College security.   4) Old friends.

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How has becoming a college student changed the author?

1) She has got used to eating out.   2) She has learned how to make new friends.   3) She has become more attached to her mother.   4) She has become more independent.

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Avoidance activity I am in Birmingham, sitting in a cafe opposite a hairdresser’s. I’m trying to find the courage to go in and book an appointment. I’ve been here three quarters of an hour and I am on my second large cappuccino. The table I’m sitting at has a wobble, so I’ve spilt some of the first cup and most of the second down the white trousers I was so proud of as I swanked in front of the mirror in my hotel room this morning. I can see the hairdressers or stylists as they prefer to be called, as they work. There is a man with a ponytail who is perambulating around the salon, stopping now and then to frown and grab a bank of customer’s hair. There are two girl stylists: one has had her white blonde hair shaved and then allowed it explode into hundreds of hedgehog’s quills; the other has hair any self-respecting woman would scalp for: thick and lustrous. All three are dressed in severe black. Even undertakers allow themselves to wear a little white on the neck and cuffs, but undertakers don’t take their work half as seriously, and there lies the problem. I am afraid of hairdressers. When I sit in front of the salon mirror stuttering and blushing, and saying that I don’t know what I want, I know I am the client from hell. Nobody is going to win Stylist of the year with me as a model. ‘Madam’s hair is very th …’,they begin to say ‘thin’, think better of it and change it for ‘fine’—ultimately, coming out with the hybrid word ‘thine’. I have been told my hair is ‘thine’ many times. Are they taught to use it at college? Along with other conversational openings, depending on the season: ‘Done your Christmas shopping?’ ‘Going away for Easter?’ ‘Booked your summer holiday?’ ‘You are brown, been way?’ ‘Nights are drawing in, aren’t they?’ ‘Going away for Christmas?’ I am hopeless at small talk (and big talk). I’m also averse to looking at my face in a mirror for an hour and a half. I behave as though I am a prisoner on the run. I’ve looked at wigs in stores, but I am too shy to try them on, and I still remember the horror of watching a bewigged man jump into a swimming pool and then seeing what looked like a medium sized rodent break the surface and float on the water. He snatched at his wig, thrust it anyhow on top of his head and left the pool. I didn’t see him for the rest of the holiday. There is a behavior trait that a lot of writers share—it is called avoidance activity. They will do anything to avoid starting to write: clean a drain, phone their mentally confused uncle in Peru, change the cat’s litter tray. I’m prone to this myself, in summer I deadhead flowers, even lobelia. In winter I’ll keep a fire going stick by stick, anything to put off the moment of scratching marks on virgin paper. I am indulging an avoidance activity now. I’ve just ordered another cappuccino, I’ve given myself a sever talking: For God’s sake, woman! You are forty-seven years of age. Just cross the road, push the salon door open, and ask for an appointment! It didn’t work. I’m now in my room, and I have just given myself a do-it-yourself hairdo, which consisted of a shampoo, condition and trim, with scissors on my Swiss army knife. I can’t wait to get back to the Toni & Guy salon in Leicester. The staff there haven’t once called my hair ‘thine’ and they can do wonders with the savagery caused by Swiss army knife scissors. The narrator was afraid to enter the hairdresser’s because she

1) had spilt coffee on her white trousers.   2) doubted the qualification of local stylists.   3) was strangely self-conscious.   4) was pressed for time.

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Watching the stylists, the narrator concluded that they

1) were too impulsive.   2) had hair anyone would envy.   3) had strange hair-dos themselves.   4) attached too much importance to their ‘craft’.

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The narrator calls herself ‘the client from hell’ mainly because she

1) doesn't like to look at herself in the mirror.   2) never knows what she wants.   3) is too impatient to sit still.   4) is too demanding.

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The narrator doesn’t like stylists as they

1) are too predictable in their conversation.   2) have once suggested that she should try a wig.   3) are too insensitive to clients wishes.   4) are too talkative.

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According to the narrator the avoidance activity is

1) common to all writers.   2) mostly performed in winter.   3) talking to oneself.   4) a trick to postpone the beginning of work.

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The narrator finally

1) talked herself into going and fixing an appointment.   2) got her hair done at a hotel.   3) cut her hair after shampooing it.   4) spoilt her hair completely.

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The last paragraph means that the Toni &Guy salon in Leicester is the

1) only hairdresser’s she has ever risked going to.   2) salon she trusts and is not afraid to go to.   3) place where she is a special client.   4) the first place she has ever tried.

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Honey as medicine When I get a sore throat, I always find a cup of tea with some honey very soothing. But I always assumed that the restorative power of honey was in my head. Historically, honey has been prescribed as a folk remedy for millennia. So I’ve been content to accept that honey is a tasty placebo or a silly substitute for real medicine. Now, my convictions are being challenged, as researchers are getting new evidence of honey’s medical benefits making honey a surprisingly effective cure-all. Honey’s main effects come primarily from its antimicrobial properties. Most bacteria cannot grow in honey. I found this quite surprising, because bacteria love sugar. Honey contains around 40% fructose and 30% glucose making it a great treat for microbes. However, honey is also acidic and acids prevent the growth of bacteria. Although honey contains a fair amount of water, it’s supersaturated with sugar and does not provide support for bacterial growth. Honey also contains a substance called glucose oxidase. When combined with water and oxygen, glucose oxidase forms gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide. In other words, diluted honey can serve as an excellent antiseptic, while being far less likely than ordinary hydrogen peroxide to harm already-damaged tissue. In practical terms, this means that honey applied on a wound promotes healing just as well as, or in many cases better than, conventional ointments and dressings. So, it not only prevents infection, but it also functions as an anti-inflammatory agent, reducing both swelling and pain and even scarring. So, honey has been shown to be extraordinarily effective in the treatment of wounds, burns, and surgical incisions. Honey can be used not only outside of the body. It can help with many internal problems too. Thanks to its antimicrobial action, it soothes sore throats and kills the bacteria that sometimes cause them. There’s also the suggestion that it can reduce tooth decay. Moving down the esophagus and through the digestive tract, honey can help to heal ulcers and upset stomachs. It also regulates intestinal functions, alleviating both constipation and diarrhea. Honey also contains a variety of antioxidants, which may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Now that we’ve looked into the gleeful frenzy over the miraculous properties of honey, I want to temper your enthusiasm a bit. The bad news, if you can call it that, is that not all honey is created equal. The chemical composition of honey to a great extent depends on the source that makes the basis of honey. For example, honey from manuka, a bush in New Zealand, contains an antibacterial component, which is even more useful than ordinary honey in combating infections. Honeys vary not only in color and flavor, but in their medicinal properties, with some varieties being much more potent than others. But, because it’s impossible to regulate the comings and goings of millions of bees, there’s no way to guarantee that honey from any location will be chemically the same from year to year or free of contamination from pollutants the bees may have found their way into. But it is important not to feed honey to a child under one year of age because honey sometimes contains botulinum spores. By the time of a child’s first birthday, there are usually enough beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract to make it be eaten safely. But anyway, honey supplies must be tested thoroughly and regularly.   The author’s skeptical attitude towards honey was based on the …

1) excessive public attention paid to it.   2) lack of reliable information about it.   3) poor results of treatment with it.   4) position of official medicine.

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The author was surprised about antibacterial properties of honey because …

1) it contains a lot of sugar.   2) he didn’t know about its acidic nature.   3) he thought it contained too much water.   4) he thought it was ideal for growing bacteria.

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According to the text, diluted honey has the chemical qualities that …

1) don’t reveal themselves under the direct sun light.   2) don’t make it possible to use it in ointments.   3) help to cure skin problems.   4) make it compete with traditional skin remedies.

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Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a problem honey can help to heal?

1) Heart diseases.   2) Tooth cavities.   3) Joint pain.   4) Stomach illness.

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The healing properties of honey greatly depend on …

1) the health of bees.   2) proper maintenance of beehives.   3) the plants from which bees produce it.   4) weather conditions and humidity.

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It can be implied that the healing qualities of honey from certain location …

1) depend on its colour.   2) are difficult to predict.   3) are related to its flavour.   4) may be regulated.

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When speaking about honey and children the author underlines that …

1) newborn children should not be given honey.   2) honey helps to grow useful bacteria in children.   3) honey is the best present for a child’s first birthday.   4) children should be fed honey under medical guidance.

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The lure of the screen I used to tell my parents that the first cell phone I will allow my own children to have will be a flip phone, incapable of Internet access and certainly without the ability to use “apps.” I argued that their first phones would have only the capabilities of my first phone – texting and calling – used primarily to contact their parents, and once in a while classmates to ask about homework. Isn’t it primarily what we think kids need phones for? It took me a while to realize how impractical this was because if the first piece of a given technology that I possessed had been the same as my parents’, I would have been walking around with a cassette player in a world of iPods (incidentally, I loved my Sony Walkman CD player). So maybe it was a little ridiculous for me to suggest this, but I think my point was (and is) valid. I look at young kids today and see that they’re as attached to mobile devices as their adult counterparts. It has come to the point where kids would rather sit inside and play games on their parents’ (or their own) iPads than go outside and play hide-and-seek, or catch, well, do anything. And while I recall my parents telling me to drop the Legos or even the PlayStation controller and head outside, I, unlike these children, often actually did it, and when I didn’t, at least I was capable of breaking away to utter a response. Today, however, youngsters are becoming so attached to technology at such a young age, as young as 3 or 4, that they are forgetting – if they ever learned in the first place – how to have fun without an iPad – literally. In April, The Telegraph quoted North Ireland teacher Colin Kinney, who said his colleagues, “have concerns over the increasing numbers of young pupils who can swipe a screen but have little or no manipulative skills to play with building blocks or the like, or the pupils who cannot socialize with other pupils but whose parents talk proudly of their ability to use a tablet or smartphone.” Kinney goes on to say that the “brilliant computer skills” these children possess is “outweighed by their deteriorating skills in pen and paper exams because they rely on instant support of the computer and are often unable to apply what they should have learned from their textbooks.” It is true that we are moving into a world in which the ability to understand the language of computer coding is more important than the ability to read and write cursive. This, however, is not an excuse for the extent to which young children have become as addicted (or more so) to their mobile devices as their parents. LeapFrog, the popular children’s brand is set to unveil a product called the Leap Band; the first wearable tech catered specifically toward children. And although the wristwatch-like product is designed to get kids up and moving, it raises a question for me: How young is too young? I read that Google is considering allowing online accounts for children under the age of 13 (though giving their parents control over how the service is used). Because of this cross-generational addiction, this week has been designated as “Screen Free Week” in schools around the country. The week is aimed at getting every member of the family away from computer and device use for just one week and head outside. For parents, technology is now a dilemma: Give it to their kids at a young age so they are in line with their classmates in terms of computer prowess or withhold it and allow them the gift of social skills … only time will tell, but I fear the former is gaining ground.   What kind of a phone does the author want her children to have first?

1) An old-type phone.   2) A modern phone.   3) Something like her parents’ phone.   4) Something like her “old” phone.

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Which of the following statements reflects the author’s views?

1) Parents shouldn’t allow their children to play games on iPads.   2) Children are more attached to technology than adults.   3) Children now prefer their gadgets to outdoor games.   4) It’s hard to imagine the modern life without mobile devices.

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What does the author remember about her childhood?

1) She didn’t like to play outside.   2) She enjoyed PlayStation more than Lego.   3) She went for a walk outside whenever her parents told her.   4) She preferred to ignore her parents when she played.

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Teacher Kinney is worried about children’s …

1) communicative skills.   2) computer skills.   3) parents’ attitudes.   4) writing skills.

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“This” in paragraph 8 (This, however, is not an excuse …) refers to …

1) addiction to technology.   2) computer language.   3) importance of computers.   4) literacy skills.

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What does the author imply by asking “How young is too young”?

1) Leap Band is inappropriate for young children.   2) Technology may enter children’s life too early.   3) Leap Band products suit any child.   4) Wristwatch-like products are for older children.

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How, according to the author, will the parents solve the technological dilemma?

1) In favour of communication skills.   2) In favour of both the computer and communication skills.   3) They will try to refrain from making the decision.   4) In favour of the computer skills.

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Experience: I founded my own country My father wasn’t a king, he was a taxi driver, but I am a prince – Prince Renato II, of the country Pontinha, an island fort on Funchal harbour. It’s in Madeira, Portugal, where I grew up. It was discovered in 1419; Captain James Cook was here, and there are paintings of his visit. In 1903, the Portuguese government didn’t have enough money to build a harbour port, so the king sold the land to a wealthy British family, the Blandys, who make Madeira wine. Fourteen years ago the family decided to sell it for just ?25,000 (£19,500). It was of no use to them. But nobody else wanted to buy it either. I met Blandy at a party, and he told me about Pontinha. He asked if I’d like to buy the island. Of course I said yes, but I have no money – I am just an art teacher. I tried to find some business partners, but they all thought I was crazy to want to buy what is essentially a large rock: it has a small cave, a platform on top, and no electricity or running water. So I sold some of my possessions, put my savings together and bought it. Of course, my wife, my family, my friends – they all thought I was mad. When the King of Portugal originally sold the island in 1903, he and all the governors signed a document, selling all the “possessions and the dominions” of the island. It means I can do what I want with it – I could start a restaurant, or a cinema, but nobody thought that someone would want to start a country. So that’s what I did. When I bought it, I went to speak to the governor of Madeira. I introduced myself and explained that I was a Madeiran citizen and was also now the ruler of his neighbour state. He immediately asked to buy my island. Of course, I said no. He said that unless I sold it back to the state, he wouldn’t let me connect to any electricity. So now, as long as I don’t cause any trouble (for instance, trying to charge cruise ships that dock here) they will leave me alone. I have a solar panel and a small windmill, and maybe in the future I’ll be able to generate power from the ocean around Pontinha. I am a pacifist, and I don’t need any money. I have both a Portuguese passport and a passport for Pontinha (where my passport number is 0001). There are four citizens: me, my wife, my son and my daughter. I am the police, the gardener, everything. I am whatever I want to be – that’s the dream, isn’t it? Of course, my power is only absolute here, where I am the true sovereign. The Portuguese gastronomic specialty is bacalhau. But we are running out of cod in our oceans now, and we buy it from another country. So my country’s specialty is takeaway. I don’t live in my country full time, but I am often there. My family sometimes drops by, and other people come every day because the country is free for tourists to visit; I never close for bad weather. Sometimes I am alone, on the days I feel more troubled by the excessive power of the Portuguese state. Sometimes I come here when I’m feeling lively. Madeira is surrounded by water, but for some reason we all have to pay to swim in the ocean now, at the swimming spots. How did that happen? Still, I have my island, which means I can come swimming whenever I want – it’s as if someone has given me the key to the waters. Our lives are gone in a flash. My son is 27 and if I were his age, I would probably sell the island and buy a Ferrari. But I am 56 years old, and I want to enjoy everything I have. Pontinha means “a point”. All change in the world begins with something very small, and this is my country – just a little point.   What do we learn about Renato’s origin?

1) He is a James Cook descendant.   2) He comes from a royal family.   3) His parents worked for the Portuguese government.   4) He comes from a simple family.

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How did Renato get the money for the island?

1) He sold some of his belongings.   2) He found business partners.   3) His friends helped him.   4) He borrowed from Blandy.

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How does Renato explain his decision to found a country?

1) He followed the advice from the governor of Madeira.   2) He didn’t see any formal objections to it.   3) He obeyed the order of the King of Portugal.   4) He thought of it as a way to avoid starting a restaurant.

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How may the reaction of the governor of Madeira to the news of Renato’s decision be described?

1) Indifference.   2) Anger.   3) Worry.   4) Disbelief.

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We may conclude that bacalhau …

1) is Renato’s favourite food.   2) is made with fish.   3) is imported from Pontinha.   4) was invented by Renato

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What does Renato say about his attitude towards tourists?

1) They are always welcome on his island.   2) He prefers to stay alone.   3) He doesn’t like it when they come in bad weather.   4) He treats them as his own family.

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What are Renato’s plans about his island?

1) He wants to pass it to his son.   2) He wants to sell it.   3) He wants to die on the island.   4) He wants to keep it.

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Driverless cars Driverless cars are expected to be rolling into the streets within the next 20 years. In fact, they’ve legally been on the roads for the past years, approved for testing purposes. It is predicted that driverless vehicles will be commercially available at a high cost within 7 years, but it may take another 8 years for prices to drop enough to spur mass consumption. Today, the discussions focus primarily on the shifting of accident liability to manufacturers and all the goodness that comes along with reducing accidents. A truly driverless road would not be accident-free as there would still be a number of accidents caused by mechanical or computer errors, weather conditions, pedestrians and sheer random chance. But it would make the now-routine loss of life on the roads far rarer. The concept of a “driver” will be replaced with that of an “operator”, who simply programs the vehicle’s GPS to arrive at the desired destination and pushes the “Start” button to begin the trip. Since judgment will no longer be required of the operator, they won’t need a driver’s license. Theoretically, a 10-year-old child could independently take the car to school in the morning. Computer-operated cars will eventually reshape the car design as things like windshields will become less necessary. Drivers will be able to sit wherever they’d like in their cars. There will be no need for gas and brake pedals as speed will be automatically controlled by the computer. The steering wheel and the turn signal arm can also be eliminated once the public gets used to reliability of these vehicles. Each passenger will have a personal video display informing about a current location, the distance to your destination, speed and personal entertainment selections. The concept of ‘distracted driving’ will disappear as there will be no reason to pay attention to where you are going. Vehicle owners will no longer buy collision insurance since manufacturers will be solely responsible for damage. Owners will only need theft insurance and coverage for hail, falling objects or floods. To take this one step further, personal vehicle ownership may dramatically diminish. Car dealers will have lots full of vehicles for hire on a daily or hourly basis instead of vehicles for sale. When you need a car, you’ll summon one using your mobile phone. The closest unmanned vehicle will be dispatched to your home to take you where you need to go. When done, you’ll simply push the button for the unmanned vehicle to drive itself back to the rental lot. The social and cultural impact of driverless cars could cause far more upheaval than any of us could imagine. Perhaps, it would be even greater than the impact the Internet had on commerce and communication. Obviously, the picture being painted is the one that assumes total adoption, which is far from realistic. You will always have transitional delays caused by the lack of free cars, the longevity of today’s vehicles and cultural resistance. This resembles the historical factors that affected the transition from horse to the automobile. At the moment, the driverless car seems like a novelty. However, it will open up new prospects. The prospect of flying cars may soon become a reality. With computer-controlled vehicles that strictly follow traffic rules, three-dimensional roads become far less scary and more a matter of simply solving the technological challenge. Where we’re going, we may not need roads at all.   According to the author driverless cars will become cheap enough for most people to buy within the following …

1) 7 years.   2) 8 years.   3) 15 years.   4) 20 years.

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Which of the following statements is TRUE, according to the text?

1) The driverless cars will be voice-activated.   2) The age required to operate a driverless car is likely to rise.   3) Driverless cars may increase the number of road accidents.   4) A driverless car operator won’t be responsible for accidents.

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To operate a driverless car, their owners will be required to …

1) have a special license.   2) set the destination on the GPS.   3) obtain a collision insurance.   4) have experience in programming.

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Which of the following, according to the author, will a driverless car have?

1) Video displays.   2) A steering wheel.   3) Gas and brake pedals.   4) A turn signal arm.

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The author claims that with the introduction of driverless cars …

1) the number of vehicles on the roads will diminish.   2) personal vehicle ownership will increase.   3) people will rent vehicles instead of buying them.   4) vehicle owners will spend more money on insurance.

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According to the author, driverless cars will be …

1) enthusiastically accepted by the people.   2) operated without transitional delays.   3) as important socially as the Internet.   4) used by people with caution at first.

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The attitude of the author towards the driverless cars may be described as …

1) optimistic.   2) indifferent.   3) negative.   4) unsure.

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The truth about bananas When I was in college, I had a professor who had some strange habits. Every now and then, this professor came to class with the sticker from a banana on his shirt. One day a student asked him what was with the stickers. He replied, solemnly, “Oh. Yeah. Well, whenever I have a banana for breakfast that has a sticker on it, I put the sticker on my shirt to remind me of the suffering of the banana pickers in Latin America, who sometimes earn just 50c for a 12-hour day of work in grueling conditions. I wear it to show my solidarity with them, as a silent protest for better treatment.” From that day on, we saw the professor in a completely new light and we started thinking about bananas differently too. As I was later to discover, almost nothing about bananas is as it seems. On a trip to Costa Rica, the major exporters of bananas, I saw endless banana plantations and visited a botanical garden where a botanist shared some fascinating details about banana trees. He said there are about 300 varieties of banana, but only a small fraction is cultivated commercially. The edible type of banana grown in Costa Rica is a hybrid that is larger and sweeter than its naturally occurring ancestors. Among the other interesting tidbits we learned was that banana “trees” are not even trees – they’re the world’s largest perennial herbs. The distinction is not merely academic; the stems, which may appear to be solid trunks, are simply multiple layers of very large leaves that could be cut through with a regular knife. In fact, the stems often break under the weight of the bananas and need to be supported with poles. Bananas also have an unusual life cycle. Normally, the primary reason for a plant to bear any sort of fruit in the first place is to propagate itself, since the fruit contains the seed. Modern, commercial strains of banana don’t have seeds. Seedless fruit-bearing plants normally propagate only with human help, because the plant has no natural way to regenerate when it dies. Each banana plant produces just one bunch of fruit over its lifetime of about a year and then dies or at least appears to. But the stem above ground is just a portion of the plant, the so-called pseudostem. There is also an underground stem, called a rhizome, which produces new shoots at the base of the visible stem. These begin growing into new, flowering stems just as the old one is dying. The new plant, then, really isn’t new at all, and is genetically identical to its predecessor. These peculiarities aside, bananas are simply tasty. They are also an excellent source of potassium and are extremely good for keeping scoops of ice cream aligned in a dish. Bananas have been referred to as “the world’s most popular fruit,” “the world’s most popular tropical fruit,” “America’s most popular fruit,” and a variety of other designations in the upper strata of fruit stardom, based on different metrics for assessing popularity. In any case, Americans, and much of the rest of the world, certainly consume immense quantities of bananas. But what about banana pickers? I’m sorry to say it’s true. The life of the average banana picker is still rather bleak. But if the producers paid their workers a living wage, bananas would become so expensive that few people would buy them, thus reducing demand, and so on. For my part, I wear banana stickers just as my professor did, not because I think it will have any tangible impact, but to remind myself of the real price of bananas.   The professor wore the banana stickers on his shirt to …

1) protest against his life conditions.   2) express his support for banana pickers.   3) remind himself to buy some bananas.   4) make his students curious.

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We learn that banana trees …

1) are actually not trees.   2) are grown on special herbs.   3) live a year only.   4) first were found in Costa Rica.

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According to the text, we mostly consume the bananas which …

1) were grown in botanical gardens.   2) were picked on plantations in Costa Rica.   3) ripe naturally on banana trees.   4) are specially cultivated.

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The stems of bananas trees need support because …

1) they grow too tall and thin.   2) there are not enough branches.   3) their structure is fragile.   4) they bear too many bananas.

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Bananas life cycle is unusual because …

1) it’s too short.   2) the plants produce just one fruit in a lifetime.   3) they don’t propagate themselves with seeds.   4) they multiply underground.

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Which of the following is NOT a reason for the popularity of bananas, according to the text?

1) Their good taste.   2) The long expiry term.   3) Presence of nutritional elements.   4) Their culinary features.

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According to the author, one of the reasons that banana pickers are underpaid is …

1) the need to keep the price of bananas low.   2) the greediness of banana producers.   3) the low level of the support for them.   4) the low demand for bananas in the market.

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Russian and American cuisines Within the first few weeks of living in Russia, I lost about 10 pounds (4.5 Kilos). It did not take me long to gain all of it back, when I returned home … now I am on a diet (typical American cycle). No, this article is not going to talk about why Americans are so obese, but I merely wanted to use my scenario as an illustration for what I rediscovered about American food when I came home. It’s a contradictory statement, but American food is probably some of the best food in the world, as well as some of the worst food in the world. How can this be, you ask? Don’t worry, I will elaborate on this in full detail. First of all, let me clear up one misconception about Americans and our cuisine. We do not only eat food from McDonald’s and Burger King. In fact, the last time I was in a McDonald’s was in Russia. Yes, we have a lot of fast food and chain restaurants to accommodate our busy lifestyles, but a lot of Americans (myself included), choose not to poison our bodies by eating at them on a regular basis. Fast food restaurants are one example of why American cuisine is some of the worst in the world, not only because they sell unhealthy food, but also because, here in the States, they are driven by the livestock and corn industries – powerful lobbies that are poisoning our foods and wreaking havoc on the environment. You see, the biggest difference between American cuisine and Russian food can be summed up in one simple truth: we don’t make anything from scratch. Everything we eat or cook at home comes in packages, and they are loaded with ingredients whose names I cannot even pronounce. Fortunately, many Americans are beginning to catch on to the fact that the food industry and science have been poisoning our food for years and many of us are becoming vegetarian, eating organic and avoiding foods with GMO’s. The market is finally beginning to shift to accommodate a healthier diet. So then how is American food some of the best food in the world? It’s simple really. We are one of those countries that has been blessed with a diverse ethnic population and we get the benefit of adopting all of their cuisines. Russia also has this advantage, but there still remains a distinct “Russian” cuisine. Nothing we eat is truly “American” (okay, maybe hamburgers and Coca Cola). We’ve got every cuisine you could possibly imagine and we get to experiment with them all and see how they will taste with a new American twist – in fact, we’ve coined this cuisine American Nouveau. We’ve also developed very strong regional cuisines. America is big and food varies as you travel from state to state. I grew up in Maine, a coastal state known for its lobster. The southern states are known for having heavy, fattening foods that taste delicious. Louisiana has a heritage of French and Creole cuisine that is out-of-this-world and loaded with flavor. The New York tri-state area is a smorgasbord of ethnic and reinvented cuisines – it is the culinary capital of our country. Texans like barbeque, Chicago cuisine has a lot of Polish influence, and California produces amazing seafood. In a small nutshell, real American cuisine has strong regional and cultural ties and is always open to experimentation. American cuisine vs. Russian cuisine … sorry, but I’m going to root for my own country on this one, mostly because we have a larger variety. Nevertheless, I will always have a place in my heart for Russian cuisine, as it was all a part of the cultural learning experience.   The author speaks about her losing and gaining weight to show that …

1) a lot of Americans need to go on a diet.   2) obesity is a serious problem in the USA.   3) American food is too fattening.   4) she has changed her opinion of American food.

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“This” in paragraph 1 (“… I will elaborate on this in full detail.”) refers to …

1) weight problems in the USA.   2) contrasts in American food.   3) difference between Russian and American food.   4) the author’s eating experience in Russia.

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According to the author, American fast food …

1) is more popular in Russia.   2) is a common part of everyday diet.   3) suits American lifestyle.   4) breaks stereotypes of the US culture.

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What is the major difference between American and Russian food, according to the author?

1) There are more vegetarians in the USA.   2) American food contains less GMO’s.   3) Pre-made food is less popular in Russia.   4) Americans rarely cook at home.

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It can be inferred that the biggest advantage of American cuisine is its …

1) innovative character.   2) lack of cultural identity.   3) typical American character.   4) good quality.

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Which is NOT true about the regional varieties of American food?

1) Food in most American regions is high calorie.   2) New York is the center of food experiments.   3) European influence is noticeable in some regions.   4) Geography determines food preferences.

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What conclusion does the author come to?

1) Russian cuisine is more diverse.   2) It is hard to compare the two cuisines.   3) Russian cuisine has deep cultural roots.   4) She prefers American cuisine.

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Lazy summer days vs. landscapers Whether you’re a first grader proud of the fact you survived your first year of full-day education or a grad student desperate for a study break, summer vacation means one thing to everybody: sleeping in on weekday mornings. There is no alarm to hit at 6:30 and no bus to chase after. And while days might be filled with summer jobs and day camp, those never seem to start quite as early. So why is there a conspiracy working against students the minute the final bell rings and the last exam is turned in? And the culprit is visible in any given apartment complex, condo community or public park: landscapers. I have lived in many towns and in homes of different shapes and sizes in my short, 23 years on Earth. And yet, no matter where I call home, I am faced with the same hardship: trying to sleep in on lazy, summer mornings while the lawn mowers are hard at work on public and private yards. The townhouse neighborhood I called home when I was a little girl was a jam-packed street. We had more than 250 houses on my block alone. One of the things my mom loved about that house was its tiny yard. My mother does not have a green bone in her body. She has killed every herb garden my sister and I have ever given her. So my mother was thrilled that our front yard was the size of a postage stamp. It, like every other yard on the block, only needed to be trimmed once a month to look good. And yet, every Monday and Thursday at 7:30 a.m., the city-contracted landscaping team would drive down our street and unload two or three industrial mowers and go to work on the little patches of public grass around mail boxes and trees. Later, when I moved to Michigan, my family and I lived in a condominium complex our first year. As part of the deal, every yard was landscaped with big bushes and tulip patches. But to keep the yards all looking nice and healthy, the owners had full-time landscapers keep up with the maintenance. My mother was thrilled to have a full garden without worrying about killing each plant one by one. Never having to before, I was thrilled I didn’t have to mow this new yard that was 100 times bigger than the postage stamp one we had before. But I was not so thrilled when the mowers showed up on Saturday mornings. Saturdays! Were they serious? Mowing every yard on the street starting at 7 a.m. on a Saturday. As an adult out on my own, I like that apartments don’t come with yards I have to maintain. I am just getting the hang of remembering to buy groceries and having my own mailbox to check. If I had to add watering flowers to my to-do list, I would forget. But what I’m not so thrilled about is that Friday mornings is my building’s scheduled mowing day. I live on the first floor of my building, with no way to muffle the roar of the mower against the side of the building when it is directly outside my window. No sleep for me. I am not so selfish that I don’t understand why mowers work in the morning. Landscapers have multiple customers to serve on any given day, and the earlier they start the earlier they can be done. Plus, it is cooler in the morning, and preferable, rather than at noon when the sun is high in the sky. But students work hard all year and look forward to a break from books, tests and alarm clocks. So, in order to find a common ground between landscapers and students, I send this challenge out into the universe: whoever can build a silent lawn mower will get my undying gratitude, love and affection and whatever else they want, I promise!   What does the author like about summer holidays?

1) She сan have a summer job.   2) She has no school.   3) She does not have to get up early.   4) She works at a day camp.

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What is the author complaining about mentioning the landscapers?

1) The noise they make.   2) The quality of their work.   3) The size of the yards.   4) The plants they tend to.

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The phrase “does not have a green bone in her body” in paragraph 5 (“My mother does not have a green bone in her body”) is closest in meaning to …

1) hates planting flowers.   2) is not good at gardening.   3) does not eat greens.   4) does not look after her garden.

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Which is NOT true about the author’s place in Michigan?

1) Owners had to hire landscapers.   2) Their yard was much more spacious.   3) Her mother did not like the garden.   4) The mowers worked on weekend mornings.

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What does the author say about her independent adult life?

1) She forgets about checking her mailbox.   2) She misses her Michigan big yard.   3) She is glad to be living without a yard.   4) She suffers from the lack of sleep.

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Landscapers start their work early because …

1) it feels more comfortable.   2) they have a very packed schedule.   3) it’s a customers’ requirement.   4) it is better for watering the flowers.

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What would be the best solution to the problem, according to the author?

1) Houses without yards.   2) Special agreement with landscapers.   3) Student protests.   4) Invention of a soundless mower.

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Sarah Hagan has a passion for math, and the pi-shaped pendant to prove it The 25-year-old teaches at Drumright High School in Oklahoma. The faded oil town is easy to miss. Fewer than 3,000 people live there, and the highway humps right around it. There are no stoplights, no movie theater and no bowling alley anymore. Just a clutch of small houses and hearty businesses such as a funeral home. That makes it hard enough to attract good teachers, says Judd Matthes, Hagan’s principal. But it gets worse. “We don’t pay a lot in Oklahoma for beginning teachers,” he says, laughing. Matthes wonders why a National Merit Scholar who had gotten a full ride to the top-notch university would want to start her teaching life in a place like that. Hagan, now in her third year at Drumright High, hadn’t planned on working in such a poor, rural district and was shocked when she arrived. “The first time I saw my classroom,” she says, “it was the most depressing thing I’d ever seen. There was no dry-erase board or bulletin boards.” And the floorboards squealed. They still do, but the rest of her room is now an unrecognizable riot of color. Decorations hang wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling. A poster of Albert Einstein. Paper pompoms. This is the first key to understanding Sarah Hagan: She’s a visual person. Hagan is also remarkably self-assured. When she arrived, the school had ordered new math textbooks, but Hagan had already decided – as a student-teacher – that she wasn’t going to use textbooks. “I don’t want to be stifled by that. I mean, I teach a lot of things in a totally different order than a textbook would,” she says. She simply left the new books in their boxes. Instead, in a standard lesson, she uses everything in the classroom but a textbook: a flower pot, a garbage can, a roll of tape, loose spaghetti. It's all part of Hagan’s do-it-yourself approach to teaching and learning. As for the textbooks they make, her students begin with blank composition notebooks. Each day, Hagan hands out a lesson she has written herself or open-sourced from other teachers. It’s usually printed on colored paper and requires some kind of hands-on work: drawing, coloring, cutting. Students then glue the results into their notebooks. Eventually, the books look like dog-eared, bulging relics from an Indiana Jones movie. Hagan argues that if students are allowed to be creative, they’re more likely to remember what they've learned. That afternoon, in Algebra II, Hagan comes up with a creative way to get her students to memorize the quadratic formula. She sings it. “She really tricks us into learning,” says sophomore Jake Williams. “There’s so much fun involved in the classroom that we actually understand it and grasp it.” “You do puzzles and all kinds of stuff,” says senior Krissy Hitch. “So it doesn’t even really seem like you’re learning. But then, when you take the test, you realize: “Wait, when did I even learn all this stuff?” Making it fun matters. Algebra is high-stakes. A student who can’t pass the state test can’t graduate. Her colleagues worry that the young math teacher could burn out. Hagan admits – sometimes – the work wears her down: “Yeah, there’re days when I complain. And the people I complain to think I’m insane because I haven’t left this place. But these kids deserve better.” And so she stays, at least for now. Even in her scant free time, Sarah Hagan doesn’t really leave the classroom. She writes a blog about teaching called “Math Equals Love.”     The place Sarah Hagan works in can be best described as …

1) crowded.   2) promising.   3) uninhabited.   4) unfrequented.

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What does Sarah Hagan’s principal think about her starting work at Drumright?

1) He is skeptical.   2) He is surprised.   3) He is worried.   4) He is critical.

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What did Sarah Hagan do to improve her classroom space?

1) She put textbooks away.   2) She hung colorful posters.   3) She fixed the floors.   4) She bought bulletin boards.

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Sarah Hagan doesn’t use the textbooks because …

1) they are too complicated.   2) she is a student-teacher.   3) they limit her academic freedom.   4) she uses other teachers’ notes.

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The verb “burn out” in paragraph 11 (“Her colleagues worry that the young math teacher could burn out”) is closest in meaning to …

1) get exhausted.   2) leave a job.   3) become ill.   4) change her mind.

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What do Sarah Hagan’s students say about her math lessons?

1) They play too much.   2) They feel disappointed.   3) They find the class engaging.   4) They do not learn enough.

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The name Sarah Hagan chose for her teaching blog characterizes her as …

1) an enthusiast.   2) a dreamer.   3) a fascinating person.   4) a true professional.

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Just how golden is silence? For the British, it’s a well known social law that in several, if not most, public spaces, silence is key. Those who dare speak in a London tube carriage, particularly during rush hours, are condemned to receive dirty looks from other passengers for the duration of their journey. Waiting for a bus? No, now is simply not the time to discuss last night’s soap opera. And beware, the poor, poor individual who fails to stifle his or her sneeze in an art gallery. Yet in recent years, it would appear that the ascent of the portable electronic devices has meant that the world is no longer merely our oyster, but also our … office. We’re able to reply to e-mails, finish our essays and fill out tax returns just about anywhere. As a result of this modernization, we find ourselves placing excess value on the level of quiet. As students, I’m sure we’ve all been there. Ever tried to study in a coffee shop and found yourself infuriated by the precise details of your neighbour’s health? Today’s smartphones, tablets and lightweight laptops allow us to blur the boundary between work and play, which in many respects is fantastic. However, this ease of use sometimes prevents us from being our natural, social selves at times when this is required. Just ask Alex Haigh, the Australian founder of the humorous website stopphubbing.com. This site campaigns against the ‘phubbing’ phenomena – a term coined by Haigh which hybridises ‘phone snubbing’. Whatever happened to the beauty of mundane conversation? You know, of the glorious ‘Would you look at the weather!’ or the ‘How’s your dog?’ variety? I for one have sat through many an awkward mid-tutorial break, twiddling my thumbs as those around me reach for their iPhones. Eventually, I cave, too. Clearly everyone in the room is extremely sociable – if this can be judged by a sky-high score in video messaging applications. Yet through some unfortunate twist of fate, it just so happens that the exact individuals my pupils absolutely must speak to are anywhere but our current classroom. Spontaneous phone-enthusiasm is most definitely a 21st century malady. And it’s one we’ve prescribed ourselves to avoid our dreaded fear of awkward silences. Of course, conversation with near-strangers (or even friends) can be difficult. When asked how I am, I often struggle to think of a more varied answer than merely ‘fine’. Sometimes, I am not fine, and instead concerned with various job applications, endless seminar reading and a formidable pile of washing up in my kitchen. However, actually managing to expand on my current state of mind usually leads to a conversation I don’t regret having. Chit-chat is rather like going to the gym – arduous at first, but afterwards you’re pleased you made the effort. However, a sudden and excessive interest in any technology we have on our person gives those around us the impression that it’s them we want to avoid, not the ‘er …’ that may result from wondering what to say next. Of course, being quiet is entirely appropriate in a number of situations. However, the small talk which develops into a great conversation is at risk of being phased out by easily accessible 3G. After all, it is the opportunity to totally relax and engage with our peers, as well as the exciting possibilities that just might arise from a polite ‘How are you?’, that should remain truly golden.   At the beginning of the article the author says that it used to be polite in Britain to …

1) avoid looking at people.   2) keep silence in public places.   3) talk while travelling.   4) sneeze in public places.

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What did portable electronic devices change in our lives, according to the author?

1) We now need silence more than ever.   2) We work mostly outside an office.   3) We do school tasks in a hurry.   4) We are getting angry with people around.

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“Phone snubbing” in paragraph 3 (“…a term coined by Haigh which hybridises �phone snubbing�”) is synonymous with …

1) making jokes.   2) using phone.   3) campaigning.   4) being rude.

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When everybody around uses phones during mid-tutorial breaks, the author …

1) starts sending video messages.   2) begins to talk about the weather.   3) follows their example.   4) tries to speak to her pupils.

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According to the author, ‘phone-enthusiasm’ is the result of …

1) talking with strangers.   2) feeling embarrassed.   3) exchanging awkward greetings.   4) a stressful lifestyle.

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Chatting is compared to a physical exercise because the author thinks it is …

1) a rewarding experience.   2) enhanced by technology.   3) impressive for people around.   4) an exercise for your brain.

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What is the author’s message, as stated in the last paragraph?

1) Spend more time with friends.   2) Try not to make noise.   3) Find good 3G connection.   4) Do not be afraid of small talk.

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Do different languages confer different personalities? The advantages of bilingualism include better performance at tasks which involve the brain’s ability to plan and prioritize, better defense against dementia in old age and the ability to speak a second language. One advantage wasn’t mentioned, though. Many multilinguals report different personalities, or even different worldviews, when they speak their different languages. It’s an exciting notion, the idea that one’s very self could be broadened by the mastery of two or more languages. In obvious ways (exposure to new friends, literature, etc.) the self really is broadened. Yet it’s different to claim to have a different personality when using a different language. So what’s going on here? Benjamin Lee Whorf, an American linguist, held that each language encodes a worldview that significantly influences its speakers. This idea has its sceptics but there are still good reasons to believe language shapes thought. This influence isn’t necessarily linked to the vocabulary or grammar of a second language. Most people aren’t symmetrically bilingual. Many have learned one language at home from parents, and another later in life, usually at school. So bilinguals usually have different strengths and weaknesses in their different languages – and they aren’t always best in their first language. For example, when tested in a foreign language, people are less likely to fall into a cognitive trap (answering a test question with an obvious-seeming but wrong answer) than when tested in their native language. In part this is because working in a second language slows down the thinking. No wonder people feel different when speaking them. And no wonder they feel looser, more spontaneous, perhaps more assertive or funnier or blunter, in the language they were reared in from childhood. What of bilinguals raised in two languages? Even they don’t usually have perfectly symmetrical competence. But even for a speaker whose two languages are very nearly the same in ability, there’s another big reason that person will feel different in the two languages. This is because there is an important distinction between bilingualism and biculturalism. Many bilinguals are not bicultural. But some are. And of those bicultural bilinguals, we should be little surprised that they feel different in their two languages. Experiments in psychology have shown the power of ‘priming’ – small unnoticed factors that can affect behavior in big ways. Asking people to tell a happy story will put them in a better mood. The choice between two languages is a huge prime. Speaking Spanish rather than English, for a bilingual and bicultural Puerto Rican in New York, might conjure feelings of family and home. Switching to English might prime the same person to think of school and work. We are still left with a third kind of argument. People seem to enjoy telling tales about their languages’ inherent properties. A group of French intellectuals once proposed that French be the sole legal language of the EU, because of its unmatchable rigour and precision. Some Germans believe that frequently putting the verb at the end of a sentence makes the language especially logical. But language myths aren’t always self-flattering: many speakers think their languages are unusually illogical or difficult – “Only in English do you park on a driveway and drive on a parkway; English must be the craziest language in the world!” What such pop-Whorfian stories share is a tendency to exoticize languages. We also see some unsurprising overlap with national stereotypes and self-stereotypes: French, rigorous; German, logical; English, playful. Neo-Whorfians continue to offer evidence and analysis that aims to prove that different languages push speakers to think differently. But strong Whorfian arguments don’t need to be valid for people to feel differently in their different languages.   Introducing the idea that speaking a second language gives one a different personality the author appears to be …

1) interested.   2) skeptical.   3) concerned.   4) persuasive.

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In paragraph 4 the author claims that bilinguals …

1) usually master both languages equally.   2) do tests in their first language more efficiently.   3) think faster when using their first language.   4) improve their second language at school.

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“This” in “This is because there is an important distinction …” (paragraph 5) refers to …

1) a new language to be acquired.   2) general competence of a person.   3) ability to learn a second language.   4) variations in feelings of a bilingual person.

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Bicultural bilinguals feel different in their languages because …

1) their knowledge of the languages is not equal.   2) languages are associated with different social situations.   3) their upbringing affects their behavior and speech.   4) they are happier at home than at school or at work.

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According to the article, the choice between languages for a bilingual person …

1) is not important in communication.   2) may influence his/her mood.   3) is of primary importance.   4) may be very problematic.

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According to the author, the inherent properties of the languages are …

1) imaginary.   2) funny.   3) obvious.   4) complicated.

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The author concludes that there is evidence that …

1) a second language will turn you into a different person.   2) a second language improves your chances to socialize.   3) one’s world outlook depends on one’s native language.   4) people may feel differently working in different languages.

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Game theory An 11-year-old boy taps furiously on a laptop, blasting enemies as he goes through a maze. They wipe him out before he can reach the end – game over. Frustrated, he opens the game’s programming window, changes the gravity setting, and this time beats the baddies. Victory! This could be the future of American education, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The Quest to Learn school opened last September in Manhattan, welcoming the first class of sixth-graders who will learn almost entirely through videogame-inspired activities, an educational strategy designed to keep kids engaged and prepare them for high-tech careers. Ever since Pong, videogames have outperformed teachers in one key way: They command attention for hours. “Games are exceptionally good at engaging kids,” says Quest’s main designer Katie Salen, a game designer and technology professor at the New School University. “They drop kids into complex problems where they fail and fail, but they try again and again.” She knew, though, that when kids face tough problems in school, they sometimes just give up, which is partly why only a third of eighth-graders earn ‘proficient’ math scores on national assessment tests. With this in mind, three years ago Salen started the Institute of Play, a nonprofit collaboration of game designers and learning experts who create games to teach school material. After successful tests in city classrooms, the group worked with the New York City Department of Education to open Quest to Learn. This year’s 72-student class is split into four groups that rotate through five courses during the day: Codeworlds (math/English), Being, Space and Place (social studies/English), The Way Things Work (math/science), Sports for the Mind (game design), and wellness (health/PE). Instead of slogging through problem sets, students learn collaboratively in group projects that require an understanding of subjects in the New York State curriculum. The school’s model draws on 30 years of research showing that people learn best when they’re in a social context that puts new knowledge to use. Kids learn more by, say, pretending to be Spartan spies gathering intel on Athens than by memorizing facts about ancient Greece. Most sixth-graders don’t expect to ever need to identify integers, but at Quest, it’s the key to a code-breaking game. In another class, when creatures called Troggles needed help moving heavy objects the class made a video instructing how long a ramp they should build to minimize the force they needed to apply. “They’re picking concepts up as well as, if not better than, at other schools,” says Quest’s math and science teacher Ameer Mourad. Beyond make-believe, Quest is the first middle school to teach videogame design. Salen says building games teaches students about complex systems, which will prepare them for growing fields such as bioinformatics. The plan is for this class to attend Quest through high school, adding more sixth-graders every year. Although students must pass the annual standardized tests that all public students do to keep a school open, educators so far are impressed. Salen has pilot studies to back up that risk; however, she won’t know if the school prepares kids for real-world success until the first class graduates. But Quest has already proved itself in one area: The kids love it. “It’s fun,” says student Nadine Clements. Her least favourite part of school? “Dismissal.”   Quest to Learn school is unusual because the students there …

1) learn to play videogames professionally.   2) learn who videogames were designed by.   3) play videogames instead of learning.   4) learn through videogame-based tasks.

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According to the text, videogames outperform teachers at …

1) giving students challenging tasks.   2) keeping students’ attention.   3) preparing students for standardized tests.   4) entertaining students.

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The word they in “They drop kids into complex problems …” (paragraph 3) refers to …

1) teachers.   2) tests.   3) students.   4) games.

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Which of the following statements about studying at Quest to Learn is NOT true, according to paragraph 5?

1) Its curriculum is based on the New York State curriculum.   2) At Quest to Learn students study four main subjects.   3) Students learn by putting new knowledge into practice.   4) Group work is one of the main forms of learning.

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In paragraph 5, the task to gather information on Athens (“Kids learn more …”) is probably an example of how students study …

1) maths.   2) English.   3) game design.   4) history.

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According to Katie Salen, learning to design videogames …

1) prepares students for their future careers.   2) teaches students to use their imagination.   3) motivates students to study bioinformatics.   4) helps students to make video instructions.

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According to the writer, how well Quest to Learn prepares students for the real life will be known …

1) when new students start the school.   2) after students pass their end-of-the-year tests.   3) after the graduation of the first class of students.   4) when educators and government have approved it.

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What I learned about Russians People’s first question when they hear that I’ve just returned from a winter in Moscow is usually: “What on earth drove you to go there?” The answer is not an easy one. I landed at Sheremetyevo Airport in January with dreams of balalaikas, samovars and golden domed churches. It did not take me long to realize that living in Moscow was less about folklore and literary romanticisms and more about surviving a harsh climate and an arduous routine. When I, looking for work, contacted Dasha, our family friend, she instantly wrote back saying that her family would love to take me on as an au pair. An au pair is someone, usually a young woman, who lives with a family in a foreign country and helps with the children and housework in exchange for the opportunity to learn the language. So for 3,000 rubles a week, I was to care for Dasha’s children, Sonya, 3, and Lyova, 2, and teach her husband Valera English. The family lived in a small apartment in Zheleznodorozhny, an industrial town 21 kilometers east of Moscow. The apartment was also home to Dasha’s elder brother and a dog and a rabbit. The place was never quiet, and there’s certainly no room for secrets. With so many families wanting their children to learn English, native English teachers are very much in demand and are paid handsomely. Subsequently, I soon found myself braving the commuter trains into the Moscow outskirts to teach a group of Dasha’s colleagues. But for a young family living off a modest salary in Zheleznodorozhny, employing an English girl was a real innovation. Au pairing was a novelty for me, too. My attitude toward children has never been particularly positive, but Sonya and Lyova were adorable. I instantly fell for their miniature hands, infectious laughter and funny little walks. The arrival of an English nanny in the area did not go unnoticed. People’s reactions at my lack of comprehension were mixed. Some were impatient, others were kind and helpful. Indeed, the language barrier was an obstacle for some time. This irritation, however, did not exist with the children. They accepted me, with my funny accent and tea-and-milk quirks, for what I was: their nanny. They didn’t care if it took me 10 minutes to read them a sentence from their favorite storybook. Nor did they particularly mind if I gave them sausages when they’d asked for ice cream. On the surface, living with a Russian family was quite different from living with an English one. Together, we celebrated the spring festival of Maslenitsa and other national holidays such as Women’s Day. I ate copious amounts of pelmeni, caviar and blini. My Russian family interacted like any other family. They had their arguments and conflicts and squabbles. But they also loved each other unconditionally and worked tirelessly to provide and protect. It was such a privilege to be welcomed into such a lovely and generous family. I left them in April in heavy tears and with promises to join them next summer. Through them, I was able to experience the real Moscow region, not the shiny version of Moscow that most people see within the limits of the Garden Ring. I witnessed the daily hardships that normal people endure with indifference. Most important, I had the chance to separate stereotype from reality. I concluded that Russia has its share of absurdities but that the typical Russian is not that different. He’s just a little stronger.   When the author told people about her Russian experience, they …

1) got interested in the Russian culture.   2) asked about the transport she used.   3) were rather indifferent.   4) expressed great surprise.

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The town where the author stayed in Russia is described as …

1) comfortable.   2) manufacturing.   3) exciting.   4) peaceful.

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The apartment where the author stayed is described as …

1) overpopulated.   2) comfortable.   3) peaceful.   4) spacious.

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The author considered the language barrier to be …

1) impossible to overcome.   2) irrelevant when dealing with the children.   3) irritating during her whole stay.   4) completely unnoticed.

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The word “braving” in paragraph 4 (“… I soon found myself braving the commuter trains …”) is closest in meaning to …

1) trying.   2) missing.   3) having to deal with.   4) avoiding.

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Which of the following is NOT true about the author’s host family?

1) They were overprotective of the author.   2) They introduced the author to the local culture.   3) They quarreled from time to time.   4) They did their best to earn a living.

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What conclusion does the author come to?

1) Russians are mostly indifferent.   2) She had a lot of stereotypes about Russia.   3) Moscow region is very beautiful.   4) She had a glimpse of the true Russia.

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Time to get off the phone Last week, while I was trying to enjoy my manicure, I watched in horror as the two women across from me talked on their phones the entire time they were getting their nails done. They employed their head nods, eyebrow raises, and finger-pointing to instruct the manicurists on things like nail length and polish choices. I really couldn’t believe it. I’ve had my nails done by the same two women for ten years. I know their names, their children’s names, and many of their stories. They know my name, my children’s names, and many of my stories. When I finally made a comment about the women on their cell phones, they both quickly averted their eyes. Finally, in a whisper, the manicurist said, “They don’t know. Most of them don’t think of us as people.” On my way home, I stopped at Barnes & Noble to pick up a magazine. The woman ahead of me in line bought two books, applied for a new “reader card”, and asked to get one book gift-wrapped without getting off her cell phone. She plowed through the entire exchange without making eye contact or directly speaking to the young woman working at the counter. She never acknowledged the presence of the human being across from her. After leaving Barnes & Noble, I went to a drive-through fast food restaurant to buy a Diet Coke. Right as I pulled up to the window, my cell phone rang. I wasn’t quite sure, but I thought it might be my son’s school calling, so I answered it. It wasn’t the school – it was someone calling to confirm an appointment. In the short time it took me to say, “Yes, I’ll be at my appointment,” the woman and I had finished our soda-for-money transaction. I apologized to her the second I got off the phone. I must have surprised her because she got huge tears in her eyes and said, “Thank you so much. You have no idea how humiliating it is sometimes. They don’t even see us.” I don’t know how it feels for her, but I do know how it feels to be an invisible member of the service industry. I worked my way through undergrad and some of graduate school by waiting tables and bartending. I worked in a very nice restaurant that was close to campus and a hot spot for wealthy college kids and their parents. When the customers were kind and respectful, it was OK, but one ‘waiter as object’ moment could tear me apart. Unfortunately, I now see those moments happening all the time. I see adults who don’t even look at their waiters when they speak to them. I see parents who let their young children talk down to store clerks. I see people rage and scream at receptionists, then treat the bosses/doctors/bankers with the utmost respect. When we treat people as objects, we dehumanize them. We do something really terrible to their souls and to our own. Martin Buber, an Austrian-born philosopher, wrote about the differences between an I-it relationship and an I-you relationship. We create an I-it relationship when we treat people like objects – people who are simply there to serve us or complete a task. I-you relationships are characterized by human connection and empathy. I’m not suggesting that we engage in a deep, meaningful relationship with the man who works at the cleaners or the woman who works at the drive-through, but I’m suggesting that we stop dehumanizing people and start looking them in the eye when we speak to them. If we don’t have the energy or time to do that, we should stay at home.   The author watched the two women on their cell phones in horror because they …

1) ignored their manicurists.   2) talked on their phones too loudly.   3) talked to their manicurists rudely.   4) didn’t know their manicurists’ names.

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The word exchange in paragraph 3 means the …

1) interaction between the woman and the cashier.   2) money that the cashier gave back to the woman.   3) conversation the woman had on her cell phone.   4) process of choosing purchases at the shop.

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The phrase human being in paragraph 3 refers to the …

1) author.   2) woman working at the counter.   3) woman talking on her cell phone.   4) next person in the queue.

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The author answered her cell phone while she was at the fast-food restaurant because she …

1) always answers her cell phone.   2) thought it was an important phone call.   3) knew it would be a short phone call.   4) didn’t think it could be impolite.

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The woman at the fast-food restaurant got tears in her eyes because she was …

1) insulted.   2) worried.   3) grateful to the author.   4) unhappy about her job.

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Which of the following statements is TRUE about Martin Buber’s teaching?

1) There are two ways people communicate with each other.   2) We choose between two types of relationships depending on who we think we are.   3) There can only be I-it relationships between customers and service staff.   4) I-you relationships are more difficult than I-it relationships.

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The main message of the article is that …

1) talking on the cell phone in public is always impolite and irresponsible.   2) we should treat people with respect regardless of their social status.   3) it’s important to stand up for shop assistants who are mistreated by customers.   4) all people are equal regardless of their jobs and how well they do them.

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Mind over mass media New forms of media have always caused moral panic: the printing press, newspapers, and television were all once denounced as threats to their consumers’ brainpower and moral fiber. So too with electronic technologies. PowerPoint, we’re told, is reducing discourse to bullet points. Search engines lower our intelligence, encouraging us to skim on the surface of knowledge rather than dive to its depths. Twitter is shrinking our attention spans. But such panic often fails basic reality checks. When comic books were accused of turning juveniles into criminals in the 1950s, crime was falling to record lows. The decades of television, transistor radios and rock videos were also decades in which I.Q. scores rose continuously. For a reality check today, take the state of science, which demands high levels of brainwork. These days scientists are never far from their e-mail, rarely touch paper and cannot lecture without PowerPoint. If electronic media were hazardous to intelligence, the quality of science would be plummeting. Yet discoveries are multiplying like fruit flies, and progress is dizzying. Critics of new media sometimes use science itself to press their case, citing research that shows how “experience can change the brain”. But cognitive neuroscientists roll their eyes at such talk. Experience does not remake the basic information-processing capacities of the brain. Speed-reading programs have long claimed to do just that, but the verdict was rendered by Woody Allen after he read “War and Peace” in one sitting: “It was about Russia.” Moreover, the effects of experience are highly specific to the experiences themselves. If you train people to do one thing, they get better at doing that thing, but almost nothing else. Music doesn’t make you better at math. Accomplished people immerse themselves in their fields. Novelists read lots of novels, scientists read lots of science. The effects of consuming electronic media are also likely to be far more limited than the panic implies. Media critics write as if the brain takes on the qualities of whatever it consumes, the informational equivalent of “you are what you eat”. As with primitive peoples who believe that eating fierce animals will make them fierce, they assume that reading Twitter postings turns your thoughts into Twitter postings. Yes, the continual arrival of information packets can be distracting or addictive. But distraction is not a new phenomenon. The solution is to develop strategies of self-control. Turn off Twitter when you work and put away your smartphone at dinner time. And to encourage intellectual depth, don’t rail at PowerPoint or Google. It’s not as if habits of deep reflection or thorough research ever came naturally to people. They must be acquired in universities, and maintained with constant analysis, criticism and debate. They are not granted by propping a heavy encyclopedia on your lap, nor are they taken away by efficient access to information on the Internet. The new media have caught on for a reason. Knowledge is increasing exponentially; human brainpower and waking hours are not. Fortunately, the Internet and information technologies are helping us manage and search our collective intellectual output at different scales, from Twitter to e-books and online encyclopedias. Far from making us stupid, these technologies are the only things that will keep us smart.   At the beginning of the article the author reminds that the new media technologies …

1) could make people less intelligent.   2) turn our attention off morals.   3) used to frighten the majority of people.   4) improve human brainpower.

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What has life proved about electronic technologies according to the author?

1) They don’t disrupt brainwork.   2) They could increase the crime level.   3) Television influences intelligence.   4) Scientists can’t do without them.

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According to the author, the arguments of the critics of new media make neuroscientists feel …

1) surprised.   2) confused.   3) annoyed.   4) amused.

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What does the example of Woody Allen’s reading of “War and Peace” illustrate?

1) Speed-reading programs improve information-processing.   2) Scientific research of brain supports critics of new media.   3) Experience with technology is significant for intellectual abilities.   4) Technology hardly influences the way brain deals with information.

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The phrasal verb “takes on” in “Media critics write as if the brain takes on the qualities …” (paragraph 6) is closest in meaning to …

1) changes.   2) acquires.   3) adapts.   4) rejects.

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Which negative effect of information flood does the author recognise?

1) Shallow mindedness.   2) Inefficient access to data.   3) Lack of self-control.   4) Continuous distraction.

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What idea is expressed in the last paragraph?

1) Human knowledge is developing too fast.   2) New media help us keep up with life.   3) New media are the result of collective brainwork.   4) There are different ways to manage knowledge.

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How a Paris abbey became a science museum A trip to Europe without visiting museums would be like a trip to Fiji without visiting a beach. It just seems wrong to ignore such an embarrassment of riches. So when I was in France last year, I dutifully walked through museums, but I soon noticed a strange phenomenon. Every time I think about going to a museum, it seems like a fascinating way to spend an afternoon, but once I get there, I almost always find myself getting very sleepy by the time I get to the second gallery. I try to be enthusiastic … but usually I’m no match for the long halls of display cases. There is an exception to this rule, though: science museums. I love inventions and gadgets, getting to know how things work and how people went about solving very difficult problems. I can stay awake in a good science museum indefinitely. So while in Paris, I visited the Conservatory of Arts and Trades. Part of this centuries-old institution is a museum that’s open to the public, and it contains a fascinating variety of objects and exhibits including the original Foucault’s Pendulum. The Conservatory is off the beaten path; most English guidebooks don’t even mention it. It does, however, attract a certain number of pilgrims who were fascinated by Umberto Eco’s novel Foucault’s Pendulum, part of which takes place there. In the novel, a secret passage under the floor of the nave connects with the Paris sewers. That isn’t the case in reality, but truth is perhaps more interesting than fiction. There is something under the floor of the nave, a curious part of the building’s long and strange history. The foundation for the abbey church of St. Martin of the Fields was laid around 1059, about the time of the Norman conquest. Over the next centuries, numerous additions and renovations were undertaken. All that changed in the French Revolution when under the name of Conservatory of Arts and Trades, it became a depository for machines, models, tools, drawings, descriptions and books in all the areas of the arts and trades. It officially opened in 1802. The museum closed for a renovation in 1993, and as part of the process, archaeological excavations were undertaken beneath the floor of the nave. For the entire history of the church, there had been stories that the site on which it stood was once a Merovingian funerary basilica, but this had never been proven. What archaeologists discovered was a large necropolis dating from the 6th or 7th century with about 100 plaster coffins inside. The tales were indeed true. When the museum reopened a few years later, it was a typical shiny and up-to-date science museum. But it was decided that their thousands of additional articles should be made available to scholars even when they’re not on exhibit. So they opened a satellite facility in the nearby town of Saint-Denis, where by appointment only qualified researchers can go to examine the rest of the museum’s collection. I’ve been to the Conservatory in 2000 and in 2003. As a science museum I found it a sheer delight. The former abbey is only a portion of the museum, and the museum is only a portion of the Conservatory. But all the history of the building and the institution seems to be concentrated in the large nave with its bones beneath and gadgets above. The odd contrast of centuries of monastic simplicity with centuries of technological progress tickles me in a way I can’t easily describe. Perhaps the Pendulum says it best: as a scientific wonder that’s also meditatively simple, it symbolically bridges the illusory divide between technology and spirituality.   According to the author, visiting museums in Europe is considered to …

1) become more and more popular.   2) be an integral part of any journey.   3) show the level of one’s education.   4) be the evidence of general curiosity.

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What does the author think about museums?

1) The European museums are the best.   2) He finds most of them to be boring.   3) There should be only science museums.   4) He thinks they are a waste of money.

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Which of the following does NOT explain the author’s love for science museums?

1) He loves history of gadgets.   2) There is a chance to see how mechanisms work.   3) It’s possible to touch the things that he likes.   4) The author likes stories of inventions.

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According to the author, the Conservatory is popular with the …

1) local people.   2) fans of a famous book.   3) English guides.   4) scholars.

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The reason the archaeological excavations started was the need to …

1) find Merovingian treasures.   2) solve some construction problems.   3) strengthen the basement.   4) prove the story of the site.

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“A satellite facility” in phrase “… they opened a satellite facility” (paragraph 6) refers to …

1) a minor educational site.   2) a research area.   3) a place for additional exhibits.   4) the museum’s laboratory.

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Visiting the museum the author is impressed by …

1) its size, history and facilities.   2) the number of technological exhibits.   3) the mixture of material and immaterial in its environment.   4) the symbols he finds there.

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Tablets out, imagination in In the heart of Silicon Valley is a nine-classroom school where employees of tech giants Google, Apple and Yahoo send their children. But despite its location in America’s digital centre, there is not an iPad, smartphone or screen in sight. The fact that parents working for the biggest technology companies are questioning the value of computers in education begs the question – is the futuristic dream of high-tech classrooms really in the best interests of the next generation? A global report by the OECD organisation suggests that there is no link between excessive use of computers and high results for reading, maths and science. What is more, those students who use tablets and computers often tend to do worse than students who use them less frequently. Beverly Amico from the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America explains that their teachers encourage students to learn subjects by expressing themselves through artistic activities such as painting and drawing, rather than consuming information downloaded onto a tablet. The idea is to get rid of the distraction of electronic media and to encourage stronger communication between teacher and pupil during lessons. Amico claims one of the reasons parents who work in the digital industry are choosing a low-tech, no-tech education for their children is that it teaches students innovative thinking skills. And these are what many employers desire. She adds that students weaned on technology often lack the ability to think outside the box and solve problems. Sarah Thorne, head of the London Acorn school, also questions the belief that limiting or removing the use of technology in class will make the students less competitive on the job market. Students under the age of 12 at the school in Morden, London, are banned from using smartphones and computers, and watching TV or films at all times, including during holidays. The school’s students are allowed to watch TV once they reach 12 years old and then only documentaries that have been previously vetted by parents. They cannot watch films until they are 14. The Internet is banned completely for everyone under 16, both at home and at school. And computers are only to be used as part of the school curriculum for students who are at least 14. It may sound draconian, but Thorne believes taking a more considered approach to the use of technology in class allows teachers to help students develop core skills such as leadership, decision making and creativity. Besides, much of the technology which is cutting edge today is likely to appear primitive in tomorrow’s world. Thorne claims feedback from students about the restrictions has been positive. Younger pupils relish the chance to play and even teenagers who have come from a typical school admit they are happier. Restricting the use of technology is also a challenge for the 21st century teachers, who are used to the easy accessibility of resources and information, thanks to interactive whiteboards and computers. “It is hard work,” admits Ian Young, a class teacher. “You definitely have to be a lot more creative in how you deliver a lesson,” he says. “You have to work with your voice more, whether it is loud or quiet, to give them incentive. You need to make sure you keep them interested in what’s coming next.” He adds: “I don’t think we are doing children any favours by teaching them through machines at that young age.” What question does the author pose in the first paragraph?

1) What will education be like in the future?   2) Is high-tech really very useful in education?   3) How will the parents from technology companies educate their children?   4) Should the hi-tech gadgets be allowed in the classroom?

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What does the OECD report suggest?

1) Students should not use computers in their studies.   2) The more the students use the computers the worse their results could be.   3) Superabundant use of computers doesn’t influence students’ achievements.   4) Results in Reading, Maths and Science benefit from use of computers.

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Both Beverly Amico and Sarah Thorne think that limiting technology in the classroom will ...

1) help students concentrate better.   2) boost students’ creativity.   3) develop students’ communication skills.   4) better prepare students for the job market.

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At the age of fourteen the students of Morden are allowed to …

1) watch films.   2) use the Internet.   3) watch TV.   4) use smartphones.

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The word “relish” in paragraph 8 “… younger pupils relish the opportunity …” means ...

1) enjoy.   2) ignore.   3) envy.   4) inspire.

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The word “they” in paragraph 8 “… admit they are happier” refers to ...

1) younger pupils.   2) restrictions.   3) teenagers.   4) teachers.

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Ian Young believes that the 21st century demands that a teacher becomes more …

1) creative.   2) hardworking.   3) entertaining.   4) informative.

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A year without social media: lessons learned I have been on an extended vacation from millennial life: I deleted my primary social media accounts – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – last December and spent the past year essentially disconnected from the social media world. It happened on a family trip to Florida in December 2014, when I was more excited about the fresh photos and videos I would post instead of the actual vacation. Finally, on the last night of our trip, one of my videos did not upload correctly, and I reached my breaking point. I was frustrated with the pressures of maintaining a double life and afraid of how a device consumed and controlled me. I was annoyed and defeated, from chasing this perfect life online when I was facing so many struggles in real life. I was feeling anxious and depressed and worthless and inadequate. I was far from OK, but on social media I was forced to say I was OK. I had reached the bottom of my suffering, and as a result, no action seemed too drastic. Getting off social media seemed like the easiest way to get a fresh start. Even though my former self, an eighth-grader who had begged her father for a Facebook profile, would have been astonished and angry. At first, it was a little confusing. Suddenly I did not have Twitter or Instagram to rely on during times of boredom or awkward situations. I continued to constantly and desperately check my phone despite the lack of notifications. By quitting mainstream social media, I was also more open to other “drastic” lifestyle choices. I graduated a semester early from high school, and although it had a positive impact on my life, I certainly would have regretted it or wavered on my decision had I been active on social media. I also began practicing yoga and started a new job working with children, both monumental for my healing. Without social media, they became things I did for me, not for the showing off or the photo opportunities. My lifestyle without social media was enlightening, peaceful and uncomplicated because I had basically created a safe bubble for myself. I did not judge new friends based on their online profiles, and vice versa. I did not experience significant events through the lens of my camera. I did not rely on likes and favorites for self-validation and gratification. At the time, escaping the online world was a necessary step to find peace and healing; however, I am ready to return to it. Life without social media is simple, but it is safe. In the past year, I disassociated myself with the negative aspects of social media, but I also missed out on the benefits. I lost the creativity it takes to entertain an audience in 140 characters. I lost the need to capture important moments. I lost a subtle, but very significant social bond that ties us together. I recently re-entered the public sphere, and it feels a lot like starting my life over from scratch. I am back to consuming news about my peers, back to wishing people “Happy Birthday” because Facebook said to do so, and back to collecting the Likes. But most importantly, I am back. Maybe I just have to learn to accept those flaws. I used to view social media as this fake, easy solution to the difficulties of real life, but perhaps avoiding social media altogether was the easy way out. Living in a bubble was easier, and while I will miss the quiet, I know it does not reflect the real world. The real world is loud and messy and complicated, and sometimes we need a break from it to fully appreciate the beauty of chaos. Which is NOT mentioned among the reasons for giving up social media in paragraph 2?

1) Feeling scared that her device had too much power over her.   2) Realizing that real life was more enjoyable than the online one.   3) Having to pretend online that she was leading an ideal life.   4) Becoming more interested in social media than in real life.

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The word “drastic” in “no action seemed too drastic” (paragraph 3) is synonymous to …

1) helpful.   2) effective.   3) positive.   4) extreme.

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The author claims that her former self of the eighth grade would … her decision to quit social media.

1) be against   2) understand   3) support   4) be indifferent to

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The author says that in the beginning her life without social media was …

1) not what she had expected it to be.   2) really simple and enjoyable.   3) strange, but easily acceptable.   4) quite difficult to get used to.

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The author believes that if she had not quit social media, her decision to graduate early would have been …

1) supported by others.   2) different.   3) harder to make.   4) made sooner.

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The author describes her life without social media as …

1) the best time of her life.   2) extremely boring.   3) quite enjoyable.   4) a creative one.

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Judging by the last paragraph, the author now believes that staying away from social media means …

1) living a harder life.   2) avoiding the real world.   3) seeing the beauty of the world.   4) having more difficulties.

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Coffee decaffeination processes Every day it seems that medical researchers come out with a new study about coffee, how it is extremely unhealthy for you and/or full of amazing benefits. The focus of most of these studies is more particularly about the effects of caffeine on human health. As caffeine, coffee’s most potent element, is a stimulant, it can produce both positive and negative effects. It can wake you up in the morning, but it can also lead to sleeplessness, a racing heartbeat, and anxiety. It is therefore no surprise that many people have decided to cut caffeine out of their diets. As for me, I have grown to like the taste of coffee, but to me the main purpose of drinking it is to get an extra jolt of energy. That is why I will admit to a certain prejudice against decaf, perhaps prompted by bad experiences with weak and tasteless brew, because it is true that the actual process of removing caffeine from coffee can degrade the taste beyond repair. Early decaffeination attempts involved soaking the green beans in water and then using various solvents to separate the caffeine in the resulting water solution. The beans were then re-introduced to the caffeine-free solution in order to absorb some of the flavor they had lost. Solvents used included benzene, chloroform, and trichloroethylene, all of which were later found to have toxic effects. In the 1970s, dichloromethane came into use to replace the earlier solvents before it too was deemed possibly carcinogenic. In response to these concerns about solvents, some coffee companies began to run the water solution through charcoal filters as a means of removing the caffeine. The so-called Swiss Water Process, developed in Switzerland in the 1930s, goes one step further. After a batch of coffee beans has been steeped in hot water, that water is filtered, and then is used to soak the next batch of beans to be processed. In this way, the beans lose caffeine as they soak, but lose less of their flavor. Yet another method that aims to safely remove caffeine from coffee beans involves a fascinating compound procedure. The solvent used in this method is neither water nor one of the earlier toxic solvents. Instead, caffeine in the coffee beans is dissolved by means of carbon dioxide. In order to accomplish this, the carbon dioxide must become a supercritical fluid, created when it is compressed and heated to the point that it has the same density in liquid and gaseous forms. As this supercritical CO2 is passed through the beans, it can penetrate them because of its gaseous properties, and yet is able to dissolve the caffeine they contain because of its liquid properties. In 2004, Brazilian scientists identified a new strain of coffee beans with a naturally low level of caffeine. They found three coffee plants from Ethiopia that contain almost no caffeine as they seem lack an enzyme necessary to caffeine production. If these plants can be crossed with commercial strains of coffee plants, we may one day see more coffee on the market that is naturally low in caffeine. With these advances, and the current methods of decaffeination, decaf junkies are sure to be able to get their fix of coffee that not only tastes great, but won’t keep them up half the night. As for me, I do want to stay up half the night, so I’ll stick to my full-strength brew.   According to the text (paragraph 1), the effects of caffeine …

1) have not been studied well enough.   2) can be of opposite character.   3) are very dangerous.   4) are not strong.

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The author believes that caffeine in coffee …

1) is part of a healthy diet.   2) is quite low.   3) can’t be removed completely.   4) may determine its taste.

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We learn that the early decaffeination processes …

1) were too complicated.   2) improved the taste of coffee.   3) were not effective.   4) could be dangerous for health.

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The Swiss Water Process is described as …

1) a cheaper method of decaffeination.   2) a way to avoid using charcoal.   3) a method to save coffee’s flavour.   4) the easiest method of decaffeination.

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The pronoun “its” in “… its liquid properties” (paragraph 6) refers to …

1) caffeine.   2) carbon dioxide.   3) coffee.   4) coffee bean.

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It can be implied that at present the beans from low-caffeine plants …

1) cannot be used for big-scale sales.   2) taste poorly.   3) are very vulnerable.   4) lack necessary properties.

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Even though decaffeinated coffee has been improved, the author …

1) is for the ban of decaffeination.   2) believes that it’s bad for health.   3) still prefers the regular one.   4) doesn’t like its taste.

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Turning As an Obstacle When I first read about a sport called parkour, I thought it was about fluid, elegant, and graceful motions. But in practice, parkour is considered an “extreme” sport; as its participants dash around a city, they may vault over fences, run up walls, and even jump from rooftop to rooftop. So you won’t see senior citizens doing it in the park on Sunday mornings, but if you do witness it, you may think you’re watching a stunt person on a movie set. Le parkour is a French term, related to the verb parcourir, “to run over or through”. It was created by David Belle, Sebastien Foucan, and a group of their friends when they were teenagers living in the Paris suburb in the late 1980s. Belle’s father had been a soldier in Vietnam, and his preparatory programme included navigating obstacle courses. Belle picked up many of the moves from his father and, along with his friends, developed them into an art form. Parkour combines elements of running, gymnastics, dance, and martial arts into a breathtaking way of moving from place to place. The general idea is to move quickly and gracefully, treating buildings, walls, handrails, rocks, and whatever objects you come across as elements in an obstacle course. The only real rule is that you should not move backwards and that you should do it with as much efficiency and style as possible. The only equipment required for parkour is a good pair of shoes. Participants, who call themselves traceurs, wear no protective gear but typically invest a great deal of time in training and preparation in order to execute the necessary moves safely. The first thing any participant learns is how to cushion the impact of a jump by rolling. Although parkour is ultimately about clever improvisation rather than choreographed moves, there are a couple dozen or so standard maneuvers that almost all traceurs learn, including several methods for getting over tall walls. Some traceurs participate merely for the fun or the challenge, but others treat parkour as a more serious art, similar to some martial arts. As a philosophy, the movements metaphorically represent becoming one with your environment, learning how to overcome obstacles without effort, and finding creative paths – all things with practical value outside the sport. Even though parkour has reached international popularity, there is already an offshoot sport that has led to a great deal of bitterness and division among parkour proponents. Co-founder Sebastien Foucan, in a 2003 BBC documentary called “Jump London,” referred to the sport as “free-running” and that term caught on in the media. However, parkour purists feel that the direction in which Foucan has taken the activity is entirely different from what he and Belle had originally developed. The biggest difference has to do with theatrics. Free-running involves a lot of trick moves, particularly mid-air flips and spins. Because these moves are merely showy, not economical, they’re considered contrary to the nature of parkour. A free-runner may also move backwards in order to make a move as flashy as possible. But it’s not simply a matter of differing styles. Manufacturers are capitalizing on the growing interest in parkour and free-running by introducing special shoes, designer clothing, and so on; free-running competitions are also beginning to appear.   The author claims that parkour …

1) represents an elite sport.   2) requires a lot of effort.   3) is very affordable.   4) has been popularized by the media.

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The origins of parkour moves could be found in …

1) a military training programme.   2) European art.   3) the games of Paris teenagers.   4) the Vietnamese culture.

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According to the author, the rules of parkour are …

1) very complicated.   2) difficult to follow.   3) not defined.   4) limited to one only.

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According to the author, a parkour participant begins with …

1) buying a pair of shoes.   2) acquiring protection gear.   3) learning how to fall safely.   4) taking choreography lessons.

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According to the author, for some participants parkour expresses …

1) the power of creativity.   2) an effortless life.   3) the beauty of movement.   4) unity with nature.

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According to the text, the introduction of free-running …

1) is widely supported by enthusiasts.   2) will ultimately replace parkour.   3) has had little impact on traditional parkour.   4) is not accepted by some parkour fans.

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Comparing parkour and free-running, the author claims that …

1) free-running is more showy.   2) parkour is more popular.   3) their rules don’t differ.   4) free-running is more competitive.

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Edible Gold I like to think of myself as an open-minded person, someone who is tolerant to those with different beliefs, however wacky they may seem to me. Every rule has its exceptions, though. A few years ago while traveling in England, I met a woman who asked me if I’d heard of edible gold. I replied that I had, as I’d seen a TV show about chefs using gold leaves as a decorative but edible garnish on dishes. I assumed that’s what she was talking about. But she seemed very surprised and in a hushed, conspiratorial tone, began excitedly talking about how the ancient Egyptians had discovered that by eating powdered gold, one could become immortal. Very clearly, she believed this too. OK. I felt that all my good intentions of open-mindedness went out the window – that was just way too strange for me. Later, when I consulted Google to see if I could learn more about this outrageous claim, I was shocked and dismayed to find thousands of Web pages describing, with great seriousness, a miraculous substance usually referred to as white powder gold. Even though I can’t claim the slightest expertise in this esoteric field, I thought I’d make an attempt to distil the essence of these claims for your consideration. Let’s begin with culinary gold. If you walk into your nearest gourmet supply store, you can probably find, for about US$20, a box of gold leaf manufactured expressly to enable you to impress your friends at your next dinner party. These unbelievably thin pieces of nearly pure gold add an impressive touch to chocolates, soups, sushi, or just about anything else you can think of. Because the quantity of gold is so small, the price is reasonable; yet these gold highlights make a meal appear to be extravagant and give restaurants an excuse to charge exorbitant prices. Some purveyors of mineral supplements sell a gold colloid: a suspension of extremely tiny particles of metallic gold in water. In a gold colloid, each particle contains nine atoms of gold. Its daily dose is enough to provide a wide range of health benefits. Here, at least, there is some research behind it. A few studies found the product to be effective in managing rheumatoid arthritis and also, intriguingly, increasing I.Q. scores. These claims are at least plausible. Our next step is one decidedly outside the realm of scientific certainty. David Hudson, a farmer living in Arizona, was trying to extract gold and silver from the tailings of an abandoned mine in the mid-1970s. In the process, he found a mysterious substance that defied analysis, despite years of experimentation by reputable laboratories, undertaken at great personal expense. Hudson eventually concluded the white powder was gold in a monatomic state and it has some amazing properties: when heated it can levitate and has a long list of incredible health benefits. Hudson even received patents in Britain and Australia, though not in the USA. I should interject that the awarding of a patent does not mean that a government agency has successfully reproduced the invention in question, or even that they have validated it as being scientifically sound. Interested in alchemy Hudson became convinced that his white powder gold was the stuff of many legends. He equated it with “the philosopher’s stone”, and “the food of the gods”, among other things. Hudson believed he had rediscovered an ancient alchemical formula. And, naturally, numerous companies sell solid or liquid forms of “white powder gold” supposedly created using variants of Hudson’s recipe.   The author describes the meeting with the woman as …

1) the funniest event in his life.   2) a challenge to his open-mindedness.   3) a source of his knowledge of edible gold.   4) a very mysterious event.

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The phrase “… make an attempt to distil” in “… make an attempt to distil the essence of some of these claims” (paragraph 3) means to …

1) try to explain.   2) stress.   3) find the origin.   4) try to analyze.

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Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a reason why restaurants use culinary gold?

1) It can be used on various dishes.   2) It appears to be an exotic decoration.   3) It adds a particular flavour to meals.   4) It allows them to raise prices.

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The author tends to trust the information about gold colloid because …

1) the number of atoms in particles is known.   2) it helped with his rheumatoid arthritis.   3) he’s a specialist in colloids.   4) it’s backed by some research.

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The author refers to the substance found by David Hudson as “mysterious” because …

1) it has unusual properties.   2) its health benefits are magnificent.   3) it was discovered by chance.   4) it can be used for any human need.

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David Hudson thinks that the substance he discovered …

1) is not gold.   2) is the thing mentioned in legends.   3) doesn’t need a patent.   4) is not for distribution in the USA.

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From the last paragraph it can be implied that …

1) it’s very difficult to get a patent in the USA.   2) Hudson made alchemy popular again.   3) Hudson’s discovery wasn’t scientifically validated.   4) Britain and Australia have similar scientific traditions.

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