a new life - yourenglishlessons.files.wordpress.com€¦ · web viewlistening comprehension....

NIVEL AVANZADO 1 - PRUEBA F.I.S. FEBRERO CURSO 2009-2010

LISTENING COMPREHENSIONLISTENING 1: You will hear five people talking about their favourite holiday destinations. Match each speaker 1-5 with what they say about the place A-G. There are two extra letters you won’t need to use.You’ll hear the recording twice. (5 marks)

A. It is their own property.

B. They are careful to preserve its environment.

C. The journey there is not an easy one.

D. It has always been popular with the British.

E. They would like to live there permanently.

F. They always choose places off the beaten track.

G. It is easy to make friends with the locals.

Speaker 1 __b__

Speaker 2 __e__

Speaker 3 __c_

Speaker 4 __g__

Speaker 5 __a__

1.For the last 2 years, we’ve flown out to Africa and gone off on safari. We camp and walk and drive in small trucks with a company called Kalahari Safari, all without leaving any trace of ourselves behind to spoil it for others. We have local guides, which is great, and walk in the bush at dawn and sleep around the campfire. I don’t worry bout anything for two weeks and arrive home completely relaxed.

2.the best family holidays we’ve had have been in Queensland, Australia. In fact, our ambition is to make our home out there- run a pineapple farm or something similar, that’d be our idea of heaven. I reckon that wihtin ten years, British people will be going to that part of Austarlia in the same number that they’re already going to the US, Florida.

3.we stay in Britain and go off to this remote spot on the west coast of Scotland. It’s all totally unspoilt. It’s a hard place to get to- lots of narrow, single-track roads. There’s nowhere to stay so you have to take your own tent. We love the emptiness – we walk and picnic and fish. We go in April and May when there’s a good chance of sunshine – though sometimes we hit a bad year- makes you realize what it must be like to live there all the time.

4.We adore the small villages and landscapes of the southern part of France. There are still areas that aren’t visited much by tourists – we like that because it means you can really get to know the people who live there. And regional parks have been set up to protect the countryside from development, so the scenery and villages that’ve been painted by so many well-known artists still look much the same.

5.well, I must admit, our favourite holiday spot is our private island in the Caribbean. The only buildings are the main house, a staff house and two cottages. Then there’s a swimming-pool, of course, and tennis courts, but apart from that the island remains more or less untouched. It’s quite a distance to our nearest neighbours, so we get absolute peace and quiet.


LISTENING 2: You will hear people talking in eight different situations. For questions 1-8, choose the correct answer and fill in the grid below with A. B or C.

1 You hear a young man talking. Why did he go back to college? A He needed a better job.B He needed an evening activity. C He needed new skills. 1.I’d been thinking of starting on a course at college for a while. It’s not easy to study when you are working full time ...and my only free time was after 6pm ...Then the company where I work gave me a promotion, and my new job involved managing staff, which I had no experience of. That’s why I chose this subject. My degree is in engineering, you see. I still wasn’t too sure I wanted to give up the only part of the day when I did absolutely nothing, but I’m actually enjoying going to college after work!

2 You hear a man talking on the radio. What is he?A an inventor B a company employee C a writer 2.I’m fighting in the courts to make it easier for people like me to protect their ideas. If you’re a writer or a songwriter you own your own creation without paying a penny, but people who create mechanical objects have to fight for their rights and pay for them. That’s fundamentally unfair. And I’m not doing this just to benefit myself – I’m doing it so that other individuals like me who work alone won’t be disadvantaged by large companies with large budgets.

3 You hear someone talking on the radio about an artist. How does the artist feel about his work? A He would like to exhibit it in an art gallery. B He wants to make his creations last longer. C He is happy to see his work destroyed. 3.Gennaro Naddeo is an unusual sort of artist. For a start his creations rarely survive more than a few weeks, and sometimes as little as a few hours. They either go stale, or they melt, or else they are devoured by the very people who most admire and appreciate them. Not surprising really, since his materials of choice are butter, chocolate, cake and sugar. With the help of a freezer his work would find itself in an art gallery. But Naddeo has very modest ambitions and the highest compliment he can hope to be paid is to have his works sliced up and swallowed.

4 You hear a woman talking to her son. Why is she talking to him? A to give him a warning B to refuse permission C to make a suggestion4.I know you really want to go on this climbing holiday, but will there be anyone with you who is a qualified climber, a guide? You hear of so many people getting into difficulties and on TV they’re always warning people not to go alone into the mountains. Contact the mountain guide service, tell them where you’re going and ask for information about the region. Get as much information as you can and then talk to me about it again.

5 You hear part of a lecture about the role of retired people in the economy. What is the lecturer describing?


A reasons why something is changingB errors in statistical information C disagreements between researchers 5.Well, basically, in Western countries the retired population is split. There’s a significant minority who are really quite well off, and so they have consumer power, and we now see businesses like holiday companies, for example, targeting this group. But even the significant majority who are living off their pensions or savings and trying to make ends meet, are collectively powerful because there are so many of them, and they are demanding more specialized products from manufacturers who are having to design more of their products for people of this age range.

6 You hear a chef being interviewed on the radio. Why did he decide to become a chef? A to follow a family tradition B to develop a natural talent C to pursue his love of cooking 6. Int:Was there a particular moment in your life when you thought – this is the job for me?Chef:Well not really. My mother used to put these meals on the table that were inedible. Pastry that you couldn’t cut through … rice that came out of a pan in a lump.Int:So it was a case of having to!Chef:If we wanted to eat, yes. Of course, I realized eventually,‘Hey,I could do this’. I knew how to make things taste good. And that’s what I wanted to build on when I went to college. Even though at the time, I found it a bit of a chore, you know, getting home from school you just wanted to go out with your mates.

7 You hear a teenager talking about the sport she plays. How does she feel while she is playing the sport?A uncomfortable B embarrassed C confident 7.For girls, it’s never a case of going down the road to the nearest club, you have to find a club and travel to it. There aren’t many so you have to make the effort. When people ask, ‘Are you sporty?’ I don’t always admit to playing football. Somehow I feel awkward. Some females say, ‘I can’t understand why you do it, you’ll get all dirty.’ I started playing competitively when I was nine years old. There were some negative responses at first, but when people saw me play, they realized that once I’m on the field, I know exactly what I’m doing.

8 You hear an explorer talking about a journey he is making. How will he travel once he is across the river? A by motor vehicle B on horseback C on foot8. The engine’s full of water at the moment, it’s very doubtful if any of the trucks can get across the river in this weather. The alternative is to carry all the stuff across using the old footbridge, which is perfectly possible … just rather a slow business … and then use horses rather than trucks for the rest of the trip; all the way instead of just the last 10 or 15 kilometers as was our original intention. We can always pick up the vehicles again on the way back down. They’ll be safe enough here.


READING 1:

Which person mentions...

enjoying their pastime more than the job they used to do? 0. B

enjoying being in charge of their own life? 1. D

being surprised by suddenly losing their previous job? 2. A

not having other people depending on them financially? 3. B

missing working with other people? 4. C

undergoing training in order to take up their new job? 5. D

a contact being useful in promoting their new business? 6. A

not being interested in possible promotion in their old job? 7. C

disliking the amount of time they used to have to work? 8. C

surprising someone else by the decision they made? 9. B

a prediction that hasn’t come true? 10. C

consulting other people about their businesses? 11. D

the similarities between their new job and their old one? 12. A

working to a strict timetable? 13. D


A. The FarmerMatt Froggatt used to be an insurance agent in the City of London but now runs a sheep farm.

‘After 14 years in business, I found that the City had gone from a place which was exciting to work in to a grind- no one was having fun anymore. But I hadn’t planned to leave for another 5 or 10 years when I was made redundant. It came out of the blue(2), but it made me take a careful look at my life. I didn’t get a particularly good pay-off but it was enough to set up the farm with. My break came when I got to know the head chef of a local hotel with one of the top 20 hotel restaurants in the country. Through supplying them, my reputation spread(6) and now I also supply meat through mail order. I’m glad I’m no longer stuck in the office but it’s astonishing how little things have changed for me: the same 80- to 90-hour week and still selling a product.(12)

C. The HatmakerAfter working for 5 years as a company lawyer, Katherine Goodison set up her own business in her London flat, making hats for private clients.

‘My job as a lawyer was fun. It was stimulating and I earned a lot of money, but the hours were terrible(8). I realised I didn’t want to become a senior partner in the company, working more and more hours, so I left.(7) A lot of people said I’d get bored, but that has never happened(10). The secret is to have deadlines. Since it’s a fashion-related business, you have the collections, next year’s shapes, the season – there’s always too much to do, so you have to run a very regimented diary. I feel happier now, and definitely less stressed. There are things I really long for, though, like the social interaction with colleagues.(4) What I love about this job is that I’m totally responsible for the product. If I do a rubbish job, then I’m the one who takes the blame. Of course, you care when you’re working for a company, but when your name is all over the promotional material, you care that little bit more.’

B. The PainterRon Ablewhite was a manager in advertising but now makes a living as an artist

‘My painting began as a hobby but I realised I was getting far more excitement out of it than out of working. The decision to take redundancy and to become an artist seemed logical. The career counsellor I talked to was very helpful. I think I was the first person who had ever told him, “I don’t want to go back where I’ve been.” He was astonished(9) because the majority of people in their mid-40s need to get back to work immediately- they need the money. But we had married young and our children didn’t need our support.(3) It was a leap into the unknown. We went to the north of England, where we didn’t know a soul. It meant leaving without friends, but we’ve been lucky in that our friendships have survived the distance- plenty of them come up and visit us now.’

D. The MasseurPaul Drinkwater worked in finance for 16 years before becoming a masseur at the Life Centre in London.

‘I had been in financial markets from the age of 22, setting up deals. I liked the adrenaline but I never found the work rewarding. I was nearly made redundant in 1989, but I escaped by resigning and travelling for a year. I spent that year trying to work out what I wanted to do. I was interested in health, so I visited some of the world’s best gymnasiums and talked to the owners about how they started up(11). I knew that to change career I had to get qualifications so I did various courses in massage(5). Then I was offered part-time work(13) at the Life Centre. I have no regrets. I never used to feel in control, but now I have peace of mind and control of my destiny(1). That’s best of all.’


READING 2: Read through the texts and answer questions 1-10. Fill in the grid below once you are sure of your answers.

Reality Television

Reality television is a genre of television programming which, it is claimed, presents unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and features ordinary people rather than professional actors. It could be described as a form of artificial or "heightened" documentary.(1) Although the genre has existed in some form or another since the early years of television, the current explosion of popularity dates from around 2000.(2)

Reality television covers a wide range of television programming formats, from game or quiz shows which resemble the frantic, often demeaning programmes produced in Japan in the 1980s and 1990s(3) (a modern example is Gaki no tsukai), to surveillance- or voyeurism- focused productions such as Big Brother.

Critics say that the term "reality television" is somewhat unsuitable (4)and that such shows frequently portray a modified and highly influenced form of reality, with participants put in exotic locations or abnormal situations, sometimes coached to act in certain ways by off-screen handlers, and with events on screen manipulated through editing and other post-production techniques.

Part of reality television's appeal is due to its ability to place ordinary people in extraordinary situations(5). For example, on the ABC show, The Bachelor, an eligible male dates a dozen women simultaneously, travelling on extraordinary dates to scenic locales. Reality television apparently has the potential to turn its participants into national celebrities in talent and performance programs such as Pop Idol, though frequently Survivor and Big Brother participants also reach some degree of celebrity(6).

Some commentators have said that the name "reality television" is an inaccurate description for several styles of program included in the genre. In competition-based programs such as Big Brother and Survivor, and other special-living-environment shows(7) like The Real World, the producers design the format of the show and control the day-to-day activities and the environment, creating a completely fabricated world in which the competition plays out. Producers specifically select the participants, and use carefully designed scenarios, challenges, events, and settings to encourage particular behaviours and conflicts(8). Mark Burnett, creator of Survivor and other reality shows, has agreed with this assessment, and avoids the word "reality" to describe his shows(9); he has said, "I tell good stories. It really is not reality TV. It really is unscripted drama."(10)


1. Reality is a form of

A. Fake documentaryB. Scripted dramaC. Professional acting trainingD. News events programme

2. Reality television has

A. always been this popular.B. has been popular since well before 2000.C. has only been popular since 2000.D. has been popular since approximately

2000.

3. Japan

A. is the only place to produce demeaning TV shows.B. has produced demeaning TV shows copied elsewhere.C. produced Big Brother.D. invented surveillance focused productions.

4. People have criticized reality television because

A. it is humiliating.B. it uses exotic locations.C. the name is inaccurate.D. it shows reality.

5. Reality TV appeals to some because

A. it shows eligible males dating women.B. it uses exotic locations.C. it shows average people in exceptional circumstances.D. it can turn ordinary people into celebrities.

6. Pop Idol

A. turns all its participants into celebrities.B. is more likely to turn its participants into celebrities than Big Brother.C. is less likely to turn its participants into celebrities than Big Brother.D. is a dating show.

7. The term 'reality television' is inaccurate

A. for all programs.A. B. just for Big Brother and SurvivorB. C. for talent and performance programs.C. D. for special-living-environment programs.

8. Producers choose the participants

A. on the ground of talent.B. only for special-living-environment shows.C. to create conflict among other things.D. to make a fabricated world.

9. Mark Burnett

A. was a participant on Survivor.B. is a critic of reality TV.C. thinks the term 'reality television' is inaccurate.D. writes the script for Survivor.

10. Shows like Survivor

A. are definitely reality TV.B. are scripted.C. have good narratives.D. are theatre.


A.WRITING

WRITING 1: You saved up to go on the promised holiday of a lifetime with your partner. However, everything that could go wrong, actually did. Now you write a post in a travellers’ Internet forum warning future travellers of the Bora Bora Beach Hotel by describing your experiences. (100-130 words)

Wake up to the sound of waves gently lapping on the shore. Scroll down a Beach of White powdery sand just as the sun is riding. Breakfast on fresh tropical fruits. Then spend the rest of the day sailing, snorkling, scuba diving, water skiing or playing an invigorating game of golf on a manicured 18-hole course overlooking the sea. Of course, you could just laze the day away until a

cooling breeze whispers the approach of nightfall. The spectacular sunset is best viewed with a piña colada or some other intriguing cocktail, followed by a seafood or barbeque feast by torchlight. And to cap your perfect day, mingle with the friendly crowds at an open air bamboo bar or Dance to a happy disco bar under a canopy of twinkling stars. At Bora Bora beach hotel, you will find what makes Boracay the most beautiful tropical isle.

Experience it once, and you will remember it for a lifetime

YOUR WRITING SHOULD HAVE INCLUDED:Comparisons: information in the ad vs plain truthAmenities/ facilities of the hotelPast tenses to describe a past experienceExtreme adjectivesPiece of advice


WRITING 2: ....

A life changing journey

We live in a time when you could travel anywhere in the world, but the inner journey to self-discovery is still the greatest adventure of all. Are you ready to embark on your spiritual journey? Is it time to awaken your soul, redefine who you are, and believe in yourself again? Are you seeking a stress reducing vacation that offers personal growth, emotional healing and joyful transformation? If so, you have already been led by Spirit to the right place!

We only accept customers on application so if you are interested in a stay in our life affirming residence you need to write to us explaining why you are a suitable candidate for a life changing experience.

In your application letter state in approximately 200-250 words the lifestyle you lead and why you want to change it. Describe what you expect to achieve in this retreat.

We have many applicants and regrettably we are unable to offer places to everyone.

YOUR WRITING SHOULD HAVE INCLUDED:

Formal letter formatFormal register: no contractions, formal English formulae, connectors,etcComparisons: what your life has been like vs what you’d like it to be likeStressful lifestyle vs quiet lifestyle


INTERACTION: You are going to take part in a conversation with the other candidate. You have different information about a common imaginary situation.In order to complete the task successfully, you will have to use the information given below and try to reach an agreement. Remember this is a conversation, so try to avoid short answers and to keep the conversation going. Use structures and vocabulary expected at this level.

SITUATION 1 STUDENT A

You and your partner have recently retired and have no longer family responsibilities. Your dream for retirement had always been to change your lifestyle and sell your flat to live a quiet life on a boat in the nearby river, fishing and reading, or maybe venturing down the river for day trips…

SITUATION 1 STUDENT B

You and your partner have recently retired and have no longer family responsibilities. Your dream for retirement had always been to change your lifestyle and sell your flat and go travelling round the world, taking time to visit other continents at a leisurely pace and discovering different ways of life.

YOU SHOULD HAVE INCLUDED:What your past life has been like till now vs new lifestyleComparison: past/present responsibilitiesDifferent lifestylesSuggestions Travelling advantages/disadvantagesLiving on a boat advantages/disadvantages



SITUATION 2 STUDENT A

Your best friend wants you to join a town initiative for growing your own vegetables in council land. Though you think the idea is good, you have a new job with loads of responsibilities and have virtually no free time. And, honestly, you’d rather spend it down the pub or in front of the telly.

SITUATION 2 STUDENT B

You have just found out about a new town initiative for growing your own vegetables in council land. You love natural, ecological living and would love to do it but you need a friend to join you to share the cost of the land rental. Also it is much fun between two. Your best friend is hyper stressed at work and you believe this will be a great and rewarding distraction.

YOU SHOULD HAVE INCLUDED:Comparisons. Stressful work vs relaxing lifestyle City/country lifestyle Health



SITUATION 3 STUDENT AYou love technology and you buy every gizmo that comes out. You have a great set of international friends who share your enthusiasm and play exciting games each from its country. They really make your entertainment challenging and exciting. It is by far your best hobby and you look forward to it.You stayed awake most of last night playing…

SITUATION 3 STUDENT BYou are quite concerned about your friend. He does not go out with you anymore; he is always playing his computer games, he has no social life and has become irritable and bad tempered. You suspect he has developed an addiction. You decide to confront him with your worries and suggest some outdoor alternatives for his free time. He used to be sporty. A new sports centre has been recently opened nearby, so maybe…

YOU SHOULD HAVE INCLUDED:Comparisons. Present situation vs past situation Healthy/unhealthy lifestyle - Active/sedentary life Personality adjectives Hobbies Advice

a new life - yourenglishlessons.files.wordpress.com€¦ · web viewlistening comprehension....

Documents