READING

Task 1.

Read the text and match the correct heading (A-F) with each paragraph (1-4). There are two extra headings that you do not need to use.

1. _

A generation gap exists. Teenage children demand more freedom and pocket money, while their parents try to remain in control by not allowing them to do a lot of things they want. Studies show that the main reason for conflict is that parents and teenagers have different expectations. Surprisingly, it is not the teenagers’ need for more independence or financial demands which usually drives their parents mad, it’s their rooms.

2. _

One argument happens because parents and teenagers have a completely different definition of what ‘clean’ should mean. While most parents are reasonable enough not to make their teens tidy their room every day, perhaps, apart from making the bed, they insist on a regular cleaning schedule. In most cases, this should take place at least once a week. Their teenage children, however, often like to avoid this, or, at least, do the job as rarely and as quickly as possible.

3. _

The survey has also indicated that lots of parents find it hard to accept the way their teenagers’ rooms are decorated. Arguments may start even before a the teenager moves into his room over the choice of furniture or the colour of the walls. And it doesn’t get any easier for the parents later on. Most of them do not approve of the posters, which often show controversial images, not to mention such ideas as graffiti or hand-painted scenes on the walls or ceiling.

4. _

Parents and teenagers also disagree over privacy issues. It is true that most parents recognise the need for their teens to have some degree of privacy and, therefore, allow them to keep their room door closed. But they also admit that although they try to remember to knock on their child’s door, they often enter while still knocking which is almost the same as coming in with no warning at all. Not surprisingly, teenagers react to this with anger.

Task 2.

Read the following three texts. For each question choose the answer (A, B or C) which you think fits best according to the text.

Text 1.

I parked the car in the hospital car park, grabbed the bag and walked into the hospital building. I quickly glanced at my watch to check the time, as I was in a hurry. But it was only a few minutes after 10 am. For a moment, I considered visiting the doctor and asking about John’s illness, but I gave up this idea. ‘Well, if he’s busy or in a bad mood, he doesn’t really have to talk to me at all’, I thought. I knew that the hospital staff did not want to discuss information about their patients to anyone except members of their closest family, and, despite being a relative, I couldn’t be counted among them.

1. The writer decides not to talk to the doctor because

Text 2.

Just a really quick line to say that the operation went well and everything is looking good. The doctors are pleased with me, so you mustn’t worry – although I know you will! I should be back on my feet in a few days and with luck I’ll be back home by the weekend. It’s been a painful couple of days since the accident but it was my own fault! Sorry I missed your call earlier. I’d left my phone in my bag. I’ll give you a ring after dinner this evening. I hope you’re feeling better too – you had a terrible cough last time we spoke. See you very soon.

2. The writer of the email wants

Text 3.

Doctors are very busy people these days and it isn’t always easy to get an appointment when you have a problem. For this reason some surgeries are asking their patients to email their doctor when they are worried about their health. This means that doctors can deal with more problems quickly and will be able to decide which patients need to come physically to the surgery. Of course, not everyone welcomes this way of diagnosing health issues but it seems a positive step forward in this technological age.

3. The article is about

Task 3.

Read the text. For each question choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.

The morning started worse than usual. True, I only got up a couple of minutes later than on most days, but, on the other hand, I enjoyed a smooth drive to the office, as I was still some time ahead of the morning rush hour. But I was only about two blocks from my office when I remembered some documents that needed posting. Even though it only took me about 10 minutes at the post office, I knew that I was going to be late. When I arrived at the company car park, of course, my parking

space was already taken, but I spotted another space, and, a minute later, I was rushing up the stairs to the second floor.

‘What’s keeping me here?’ I asked myself, as I did every morning when I arrived for work. ‘With my qualifications, I’d find something better within a week’, and I felt frustrated as I approached my desk.

‘What’s going on here?’ I thought when I saw the mess on my desk. The computer was already on, and the piles of paper. It looked as if someone was already working there.

‘I’ve been fired and someone’s already working at my place’ was my first thought. But, then, I saw Mr Benson, the Managing Director, walking around the place, accompanied by Mr Tanner, the head of our department. Suddenly, I understood. Someone didn’t want the boss to know I was late, so they’d made it look as if I was already there.

‘But who?!’ I was amazed as you could hardly call me popular with the rest of our staff. It wasn’t because I was rude or anything like that. I’d just never managed to make friends with any of the people in the department.

After Mr Benson had left Mr Tanner came over to my desk. ‘Sorry about the mess on your desk’, he said. ‘I heard this morning that Mr Benson was going to visit our department. I saw you were late, so I played that ‘small trick’, his eyes were smiling.

‘Thank you, sir. I’m sorry..., uhm, I had to go to the post office and...’

‘No problem’ he said. ‘I couldn’t really count on anyone else to think of it, and I didn’t want you to get in trouble. After all, it’s not easy to find good staff these days’.

1. The writer was late to work because

The morning started worse than usual. True, I only got up a couple of minutes later than on most days, but, on the other hand, I enjoyed a smooth drive to the office, as I was still some time ahead of the morning rush hour. But I was only about two blocks from my office when I remembered some documents that needed posting. Even though it only took me about 10 minutes at the post office, I knew that I was going to be late. When I arrived at the company car park, of course, my parking

space was already taken, but I spotted another space, and, a minute later, I was rushing up the stairs to the second floor.

‘What’s keeping me here?’ I asked myself, as I did every morning when I arrived for work. ‘With my qualifications, I’d find something better within a week’, and I felt frustrated as I approached my desk.

‘What’s going on here?’ I thought when I saw the mess on my desk. The computer was already on, and the piles of paper. It looked as if someone was already working there.

‘I’ve been fired and someone’s already working at my place’ was my first thought. But, then, I saw Mr Benson, the Managing Director, walking around the place, accompanied by Mr Tanner, the head of our department. Suddenly, I understood. Someone didn’t want the boss to know I was late, so they’d made it look as if I was already there.

‘But who?!’ I was amazed as you could hardly call me popular with the rest of our staff. It wasn’t because I was rude or anything like that. I’d just never managed to make friends with any of the people in the department.

After Mr Benson had left Mr Tanner came over to my desk. ‘Sorry about the mess on your desk’, he said. ‘I heard this morning that Mr Benson was going to visit our department. I saw you were late, so I played that ‘small trick’, his eyes were smiling.

‘Thank you, sir. I’m sorry..., uhm, I had to go to the post office and...’

‘No problem’ he said. ‘I couldn’t really count on anyone else to think of it, and I didn’t want you to get in trouble. After all, it’s not easy to find good staff these days’.

2. When he arrived at his desk, the writer

The morning started worse than usual. True, I only got up a couple of minutes later than on most days, but, on the other hand, I enjoyed a smooth drive to the office, as I was still some time ahead of the morning rush hour. But I was only about two blocks from my office when I remembered some documents that needed posting. Even though it only took me about 10 minutes at the post office, I knew that I was going to be late. When I arrived at the company car park, of course, my parking

space was already taken, but I spotted another space, and, a minute later, I was rushing up the stairs to the second floor.

‘What’s keeping me here?’ I asked myself, as I did every morning when I arrived for work. ‘With my qualifications, I’d find something better within a week’, and I felt frustrated as I approached my desk.

‘What’s going on here?’ I thought when I saw the mess on my desk. The computer was already on, and the piles of paper. It looked as if someone was already working there.

‘I’ve been fired and someone’s already working at my place’ was my first thought. But, then, I saw Mr Benson, the Managing Director, walking around the place, accompanied by Mr Tanner, the head of our department. Suddenly, I understood. Someone didn’t want the boss to know I was late, so they’d made it look as if I was already there.

‘But who?!’ I was amazed as you could hardly call me popular with the rest of our staff. It wasn’t because I was rude or anything like that. I’d just never managed to make friends with any of the people in the department.

After Mr Benson had left Mr Tanner came over to my desk. ‘Sorry about the mess on your desk’, he said. ‘I heard this morning that Mr Benson was going to visit our department. I saw you were late, so I played that ‘small trick’, his eyes were smiling.

‘Thank you, sir. I’m sorry..., uhm, I had to go to the post office and...’

‘No problem’ he said. ‘I couldn’t really count on anyone else to think of it, and I didn’t want you to get in trouble. After all, it’s not easy to find good staff these days’.

3. The writer was surprised by the situation because he

The morning started worse than usual. True, I only got up a couple of minutes later than on most days, but, on the other hand, I enjoyed a smooth drive to the office, as I was still some time ahead of the morning rush hour. But I was only about two blocks from my office when I remembered some documents that needed posting. Even though it only took me about 10 minutes at the post office, I knew that I was going to be late. When I arrived at the company car park, of course, my parking

space was already taken, but I spotted another space, and, a minute later, I was rushing up the stairs to the second floor.

‘What’s keeping me here?’ I asked myself, as I did every morning when I arrived for work. ‘With my qualifications, I’d find something better within a week’, and I felt frustrated as I approached my desk.

‘What’s going on here?’ I thought when I saw the mess on my desk. The computer was already on, and the piles of paper. It looked as if someone was already working there.

‘I’ve been fired and someone’s already working at my place’ was my first thought. But, then, I saw Mr Benson, the Managing Director, walking around the place, accompanied by Mr Tanner, the head of our department. Suddenly, I understood. Someone didn’t want the boss to know I was late, so they’d made it look as if I was already there.

‘But who?!’ I was amazed as you could hardly call me popular with the rest of our staff. It wasn’t because I was rude or anything like that. I’d just never managed to make friends with any of the people in the department.

After Mr Benson had left Mr Tanner came over to my desk. ‘Sorry about the mess on your desk’, he said. ‘I heard this morning that Mr Benson was going to visit our department. I saw you were late, so I played that ‘small trick’, his eyes were smiling.

‘Thank you, sir. I’m sorry..., uhm, I had to go to the post office and...’

‘No problem’ he said. ‘I couldn’t really count on anyone else to think of it, and I didn’t want you to get in trouble. After all, it’s not easy to find good staff these days’.

4. Mr Tanner had made the mess on the writer’s desk because

The morning started worse than usual. True, I only got up a couple of minutes later than on most days, but, on the other hand, I enjoyed a smooth drive to the office, as I was still some time ahead of the morning rush hour. But I was only about two blocks from my office when I remembered some documents that needed posting. Even though it only took me about 10 minutes at the post office, I knew that I was going to be late. When I arrived at the company car park, of course, my parking

space was already taken, but I spotted another space, and, a minute later, I was rushing up the stairs to the second floor.

‘What’s keeping me here?’ I asked myself, as I did every morning when I arrived for work. ‘With my qualifications, I’d find something better within a week’, and I felt frustrated as I approached my desk.

‘What’s going on here?’ I thought when I saw the mess on my desk. The computer was already on, and the piles of paper. It looked as if someone was already working there.

‘I’ve been fired and someone’s already working at my place’ was my first thought. But, then, I saw Mr Benson, the Managing Director, walking around the place, accompanied by Mr Tanner, the head of our department. Suddenly, I understood. Someone didn’t want the boss to know I was late, so they’d made it look as if I was already there.

‘But who?!’ I was amazed as you could hardly call me popular with the rest of our staff. It wasn’t because I was rude or anything like that. I’d just never managed to make friends with any of the people in the department.

After Mr Benson had left Mr Tanner came over to my desk. ‘Sorry about the mess on your desk’, he said. ‘I heard this morning that Mr Benson was going to visit our department. I saw you were late, so I played that ‘small trick’, his eyes were smiling.

‘Thank you, sir. I’m sorry..., uhm, I had to go to the post office and...’

‘No problem’ he said. ‘I couldn’t really count on anyone else to think of it, and I didn’t want you to get in trouble. After all, it’s not easy to find good staff these days’.

5. Which of the following statements is true about the writer’s opinion of his job?

Task 4.

Read the following text. Three sentences have been removed from the text. Choose from the sentences (A-E) the one which fits each gap (1-3) to obtain a logical and grammatically correct text. There are two extra sentences that you do not need to use.

Most of us like to tell or hear jokes. People who are good at telling jokes are usually the centre of attention, and make welcome guests at a party. 1. __________ Most people like other people who have a good sense of humour and are likely to be friendly towards them. This is also because the ability to make witty comments is believed to be a quality of smart people.

If you are intelligent enough to be able to produce a funny comment on the spot, be careful, however, not to show off your sense of humour at the cost of others. 2. __________ It will actually be considered impolite or simply rude. The same is true about jokes which use bad language or are in some way offensive.

But, apart from being an important social skill, jokes can also do you a lot of good if you happen to need to relax. 3. ____________ That’s why, perhaps, so many people like to read jokes online while having their morning coffee.

1. _________ Most people like other people who have a good sense of humour and are likely to be friendly towards them.

Most of us like to tell or hear jokes. People who are good at telling jokes are usually the centre of attention, and make welcome guests at a party. 1. __________ Most people like other people who have a good sense of humour and are likely to be friendly towards them. This is also because the ability to make witty comments is believed to be a quality of smart people.

If you are intelligent enough to be able to produce a funny comment on the spot, be careful, however, not to show off your sense of humour at the cost of others. 2. __________ It will actually be considered impolite or simply rude. The same is true about jokes which use bad language or are in some way offensive.

But, apart from being an important social skill, jokes can also do you a lot of good if you happen to need to relax. 3. ____________ That’s why, perhaps, so many people like to read jokes online while having their morning coffee.

2. __________ It will actually be considered impolite or simply rude.

Most of us like to tell or hear jokes. People who are good at telling jokes are usually the centre of attention, and make welcome guests at a party. 1. __________ Most people like other people who have a good sense of humour and are likely to be friendly towards them. This is also because the ability to make witty comments is believed to be a quality of smart people.

If you are intelligent enough to be able to produce a funny comment on the spot, be careful, however, not to show off your sense of humour at the cost of others. 2. __________ It will actually be considered impolite or simply rude. The same is true about jokes which use bad language or are in some way offensive.

But, apart from being an important social skill, jokes can also do you a lot of good if you happen to need to relax. 3. ____________ That’s why, perhaps, so many people like to read jokes online while having their morning coffee.

3. ___________ That’s why, perhaps, so many people like to read jokes online while having their morning coffee.