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Reading (45 minutes / 25 marks)

Part 1 (12.5 marks) Read the text below. The end of each paragraph has been removed. Your task is to put the
endings back to its place. There are three extra endings not needed.
Nintendos New World of Games: Three Dimensions, Zero Glasses
1 Nintendos new 3DS device is quite literally like nothing you have seen before. Have you ever watched fullmotion 3-D video without wearing those annoying special glasses? Didnt think so. l). (1)
2 In the guise of a hand-held game machine that costs about $250, Nintendo has produced a most astonishing
entertainment device. In an age of technical wonders, Nintendos only competition h) (2)
3 Though the DS has sold substantially more units than the iPhone (about 145 million DSs worldwide by the
end of last year, to about 90 million iPhones), it generally eludes the attention of the technology and media elite
(3)
4 That will change very quickly now. Just about every child in America who likes video games is going to want
a 3DS; the clamor will reach a fever pitch this weekend and will continue straight through the summer and into
the holiday season. And millions of adults, who previously paid little attention to their kids game machines,
i). (4)
5 The 3DS (and 3-D television) simply feels different from 3-D movies. In a movie theater the 3-D effect often
brings the sensation that things on the screen are coming at you. Like many viewers, a). (5)
6 On the 3DS and in 3-D television, the effect is more that of depth, as if the screen were a window into a reality
where your eyes could perceive the depth and relative position of objects. The big difference, of course, is that
with 3-D television, as at the movies, you have to wear special glasses, e) (6)
7 Nintendo has engineered a way for the screen essentially to beam out those separate images for each eye
without the viewers needing any special eyewear or headgear. You look into the 3-D top screen on the DS, and
its like watching a moving hologram that is under your control. f).. (7)
8 You dont have to watch in 3-D in fact, Nintendo warns that children under 7 should not use the threedimensional effects because their optical systems may not be sufficiently developed. There is a slider beside the
3-D screen j).. (8)
9 The catch is that for the 3-D effect to work, you have to hold the device (which is roughly five inches wide)
fairly straight in front of your face. If you look at the screen from an odd angle or from off to the side, it doesnt
work properly. But thats O.K., because most people hold an electronic device m). (9)
10 This is why similar technology has not been used in normal home televisions: most people dont watch TV
straight-on. Instead they sprawl out on couches and chairs at all different angles from the screen. And heres
where it gets really interesting: in addition to games, the 3DS can play 3-D movies and streaming video from
the Internet. Nintendo hasnt announced specific deals yet, b).. (10)
a) I often find that distracting and unnatural.
b) but the company demonstrated 3DS versions of films from Disney, DreamWorks Animation and Warner
Brothers last year.
c) in certain games based on your physical activity.
d) exchange avatars with other users without even turning your 3DS on.
e) which no one really wants to do for hours on end.
f) It is simply magical.
g) You can also configure the 3DS to connect automatically with other 3DS units other people are carrying
around you say, on a school bus or commuter train.
h) in innovating personal electronics is Apple.
i) are going to look at it just once and say, Wow.
j) because so many of its users are children.
k) that adjusts the intensity of the 3-D effect or turns it off altogether.
l) With the 3DS, set to makes its debut on Sunday, you will.
m) like this straight in front of them anyway.
Read the text below, then finish the sentences with no more than 5 words.
Spin row over potholes fund
Drivers face years of pothole damage because of cuts to councils roads budget, despite the 100 million repair
fund announced in the Budget.
The Coalition faced accusations of spin after motoring groups discovered much of the pothole fund will be
needed to make good reductions introduced by the Coalition as part of its austerity drive. Any cash is welcome
but the future is bleak, said Prof Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation.
The Government gives with one hand but takes with another as local authority transport budgets are set to be
slashed by around a third over the next four years. Drivers had better get used to dodging potholes as this is one
blight which wont be going away.
In 2010-11, local authorities were allocated 871 million to cover road maintenance. However they face annual
cuts throughout the Parliament, with the repair budget falling to 707 million by 2014-15.
One council, in Huddersfield, West York decided to save money in one repair project by only restoring the

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Reading (45 minutes / 25 marks)

middle of the road. The Local Government Association said the cuts amount to 164 million over the life of the
Parliament.
The 100 million announced in the Budget to repair potholes, brought the total fund for the work up to 200
million in recent months. But this, local councils say, is inadequate to tackle a backlog of repair which is now
over 9 billion.
"Councils have been dealt the toughest spending cuts in living memory and face a 19 per cent cut in the
Highways Maintenance Budget they receive from Government over the next four years, said a spokesman for
the Local Government Association.
"It would be cheaper in the long run to replace and resurface roads when they wear out rather than patch them
up when potholes appear, but councils are unable to do this without the money to pay for it."
The AA also called for extra cash to be spent on repairs. Sensible asset management should not require
emergency funding handouts when bad weather exposes structural decay our roads should be able to
withstand the worst of the weather.
Local authority funding cutbacks over the coming years will unfortunately make councils more reliant on
emergency handouts, to prevent accidents and vehicle damage, rather than being able to deliver a properly
funded programme of renewal.
John Woodcock, a Labour transport spokesman, said the Coalition would be spending 432 million less on local
road maintenance than would have been the case if it stuck to the budget it inherited. The money announced in
the budget doesn't come close to plugging that gap, he added.
Norman Baker, the local transport minister, defended the Coalition's record on potholes. The last Labour
Government left us on the brink of bankruptcy with the biggest budget deficit in this countrys peacetime
history," he said.
"Despite this we have protected this years funding for local road maintenance and are providing 3 billion to
councils for road maintenance over the next four years. Even though we have had to make savings to cut
Labours deficit, we will still be spending more on road maintenance this parliament than Labour did last
parliament.
On top of this we are providing an extra 200m to repair potholes on the local road network following the
severe winter weather at the end of last year. This is more than double the amount that the Labour Government
provided after similar weather the previous year. It, however, remains the responsibility of local councils to plan
and manage their road maintenance programmes throughout the year, including appropriate winter resilience
measures.
1 There will be more potholes on British roads because of .. .
2 The reason for the reductions is the decision.. of the Government.
3 In four years, about the third.. of the present sum will be taken away.
4 The consequences include that drivers will have to get used to dodging potholes..
because there will be no enough money to maintain roads.
5 In Huddersfield, money is saved by..the council of the city..
6. At present 9 billion would be needed to pay the repair costs
7. In the long run it is cheaper to resurface old roads. than patch up roads.
8. AA says that emergency funding shouldnt be used.. in repairs.
9. Emergency handouts are for to prevent accident and damages..
10. The local councils.. are responsible for maintaining local road network.
Writing Part 1 (90 minutes / 25 marks) (12.5 marks)
Write an essay of about 300 words on how households can lower their energy needs
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write your essay
with reference to the following points:

why it is important to save energy

how we can save energy by changing our customs

the importance of purchasing up-to-date labour savers

alternative energy sources in households

Part 2 (12.5 marks)

A friend of yours, who is a member of Greenpeace, has written a letter in which he / she strongly opposes
nuclear power plants. Answer him/her and point out your views on the subject
why nuclear power plants are built
how much energy they can produce
what other alternative sources of energy can be used and why they are (not) popular
how the safety of these plants could be strengthened