Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Part 1
For questions 1 – 8, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap. There is
an example at the beginning (0).
Example:
0 A dream B wish C hope D plan
0 A B C D
Grand Canyon
In 1999, the stuntman Robbie Knievel fulfilled his father’s (0) . He soared across the Grand
Millions watched on television as Knievel, son of the (2) daredevil Evel Knievel, roared up a ramp at
145 kilometres per hour and (3) himself into the air, sailing 70 metres over a gorge to break his own world
He had been planning to (4) a go at the same jump the previous month but it was cancelled at the last
(5) because of wind and cold. ‘It’s a jump my father always wanted to do but never got the (6) ,’ he
said. His father, who died in 2007, was full of (7) for his son. ‘Robbie is the true (8) to the Knievel
name. He cannot only jump better than me but he does it with no hands on the handlebars.’
Example: 0 W H A T
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Team building
Many companies are now organising (0) are called team-building weekends for their staff. Employees get
together somewhere well (9) from their usual workplace and engage in leisure activities that (10)
for teamwork and co-operation. The idea is that this will improve their working relationships back in the office.
The success of these events, however, can depend on (11) suitable the activity chosen is for the
individuals involved. Abseiling and paintballing are unlikely to appeal to all employees equally, and some people
may resent (12) to take part in activities which they regard (13) too physically challenging.
Another potential issue is that managers may feel uncomfortable with the idea of competitive activities in
(14) they might be defeated by more junior members of staff. By the same token, junior members
of staff may be unsure exactly what is expected of them. Should they (15) all out to impress their
superiors by doing their best to win, or should they hold back (16) that their superiors don’t lose face?
Example: 0 A C C O R D I N G
Example:
0 You should try to think only about your own work and not bother about mine.
ON
You should try to you need to do and not bother about my work.
The gap can be filled with the words ‘not in the mood for’, so you write:
Write only the missing words IN CAPITAL LETTERS on the separate answer sheet.
29 Tim didn’t object when I took over responsibility for the project.
RAISED
Tim taking over responsibility for the project.
33 What point does the writer make about her schooling in Spain?
A She was very unsuccessful at school.
B She developed artistic skills.
C She felt uncomfortable at school there.
D She was good and bad in unexpected areas.
34 Why did the writer’s parents experience dismay when they read her schoolwork?
A What she wrote was uninteresting.
B She seemed to be learning little at school.
C She exaggerated her family’s importance.
D Her handwriting was very poor.
35 The writer’s initial feeling about boarding school can best be summed up as
A extremely angry.
B very cold.
C desperately unhappy.
D rather ill.
36 How did the writer’s parents respond to the letter described in the last paragraph?
A They ignored her pleas.
B They refused her request.
C They told her that she’d learn to survive.
D They were too busy to reply to her.
has a similar view to B on the extent to which photographs will help future historians? 37
has a different opinion from C on whether looking at photographs alters our existing
memories? 38
has a different view from all the others on how often people look at the photographs
they have taken? 40
The fact that so many people have access to cameras nowadays has resulted in vast numbers of
photographs lingering on memory cards for years. I suspect that few of these have ever been transferred
to computers, printed, or even viewed more than once. This does not mean, however, that their impact is
negligible. On the contrary, I would assert that people are increasingly using their cameras as a substitute
for actively attempting to remember what they see. After all, why make the mental effort when a camera
can do the job for us? Furthermore, when people do actually look back at photographs they, or others, have
taken, there is convincing evidence that these pictures eventually replace genuine memories of an event.
Rewriting personal histories in this way is not necessarily harmful. Nevertheless, research may show that
we should, as a society, be more concerned about this than we currently are.
Over future decades, historians will doubtless thank us as a society for taking so many millions of photographs.
As an archive to delve into for a true representation of our times, what could be more welcome? There
are those who say that our personal memories of the things we have done or seen is distorted by the fact
that so many visual records of these are now available to us. In my opinion, however, there is little to prove
that this is the case; despite taking and storing photographs in vast numbers, I believe that people rarely
actually retrieve them and examine them in any detail. It would therefore be surprising if these pictures had
anything but a minimal effect on perceptions of past events. Similarly, claims that we are becoming too lazy
to create memories, relying instead on cameras to do this for us, are equally tenuous.
People everywhere seem to be taking photographs almost all the time, and inevitably, this has changed
both the way people lead their lives and the ways in which they look back on them. One major finding, backed
up by reliable research, is that every time we look at a photograph, our recollection of the circumstances
in which it was taken is adversely affected. And given that my own research suggests that people treasure
and regularly revisit their photographs, be they on paper, on a hard drive, or online, this amounts to a
significant collective effect on human memory. It might seem obvious that this large amount of information
about our everyday lives will prove to be a great gift for future historians. I would dispute this, though, as
so little of it will last in any useful physical form. CDs crumble, computer files are deleted, unlike the photo
albums our grandparents treasured and we can still enjoy.
As so many photographs are taken every day, the people who take them rarely have the time to study and
enjoy them. This should come as no surprise, and yet I believe that taking all the photographs we do has
a great influence on our brains nonetheless. Humanity has depended for millennia on being able to store
our experiences accurately in our minds for future retrieval. Being able to use a camera instead somehow
permits us not to even attempt this. This is potentially a great loss, but it is hard to see how the trend can
be reversed. I console myself with the thought that all future studies of our current era will benefit from
the wealth of material we are accumulating and will leave behind us for analysis. We would be delighted to
have a comparable insight into the fifteenth century!
D
Costa Rica is known as a surfer’s paradise,
but is little known as a kitesurfing destination.
The geography of its western coast makes the
bay at Bahia Salinas the only suitable place to
kitesurf. The curve of the coast means that a
strong, constant wind blows towards the shore
at Bahia Salinas, making it safe for kitesurfing.
Sometimes extra employees are needed to help people get into crowded trains. 49
B D
Moscow Mexico City
Passengers carried per day: 6.6m Passengers carried per day: 5m
Cost of ticket: 28 rubles (0.70 euros) Cost of ticket: 3 pesos (0.15 euros) flat fare
Length: 301 kilometres Length: 451 kilometres
Lines: 12 Lines: 11
Stations: 182 Stations: 175
The first tunneling for the Moscow Metropolitan Fast, relatively safe, and very cheap, Mexico City’s
started in 1932. Three years later, the trains started underground is an oasis of order and efficiency
running. They haven’t stopped since – every 90 under the chaos above. The Mexican capital’s
seconds or two minutes during rush hour, every five underground system is the biggest in the continent
minutes the rest of the time, from 6 a.m. till 1 a.m. and one of the most subsidized networks in the
There may be a crush but there is seldom a wait. world. Built in the 1960s, it boasts rubber-tyred
The trains take you through a parade of marbled, carriages and connecting walkways that recall
stuccoed, spacious, spotless stations. For tourists the Paris Metro. An army of vendors wind their
it’s a major draw: from Russian art deco to neo- way through the cars selling everything from
classical, the Metro stations are not to be missed. In briefcases to potato peelers. The first trains leave
short, the Metro was a central, perhaps the central, the terminuses at 5 a.m. and the last after midnight
element in the building frenzy of the 1930s that as the masses move from the outskirts of the 20
changed the face of Moscow forever. million-strong megacity. Mexico City’s Metro also
attracts a sizeable contingent of passengers who
are unwilling to spend hours in choking traffic jams.
Without the Metro, the city would grind to a halt,
but expansion is desperately needed to relieve the
crowding. At peak times, two carriages on each
train may be reserved for women and children only.
There is a master plan to build new lines and extend
existing ones, but financial constraints complicated
by the fact that the system runs through different
jurisdictions mean progress is slow.
1 Your class has attended a panel discussion about what kind of mass transportation would be best in the city
centre. You have made the notes below:
• cycling
• metro trains
• walking Some opinions expressed in the discussion:
Write an essay discussing two of the modes of transportation in your notes. You should explain which mode of
transport you think should be encouraged in the city centre and provide reasons to support your opinion.
You may, if you wish, make use of the opinions expressed in the discussion, but you should use your own words
as far as possible.
Extract One
You hear a woman telling her friend about a dance class she has been attending.
Extract Two
3 What does he think has been his most important achievement this season?
A winning more matches than in the previous season
B introducing young players into the team
C improving the attitude of staff at the club
You hear part of a radio discussion in which two people are reviewing a new computer game.
The submarine Coleen went in had a length of 2.5 metres and a width of (9) .
Coleen found it difficult to know exactly where the submarine would touch down because of the
(11) .
Coleen was particularly impressed by the large numbers of shrimps and (13)
Coleen says the only sound in the ocean during her dive was that made by the
(14) .
15 Frank was chosen to present the television series about archaeology because of
A his experience of difficult environments.
B his knowledge of the subject.
C his ability to communicate.
D his research background.
16 What does Frank say about the way subjects for his programmes are selected?
A He thinks too much attention is paid to the way things look.
B He would like to contribute more to the decision-making.
C He feels that topics are sometimes chosen too quickly.
D He approves of the variety of people involved.
17 What has been the most difficult thing for Frank in making his programmes?
A Keeping fit enough to cope with the type of work he does.
B Learning about a different subject for each programme.
C Writing the book that goes with the television series.
D Travelling long distances on a regular basis.
18 The main difference between Frank’s projects and conventional archaeological research is that they
A have a limited time scale.
B have less scientific value.
C produce definitive answers.
D avoid dealing with difficult ideas.
For questions 21 – 25, choose from the list A – H, what For questions 26 – 30, choose from the list A – H, what each
led each speaker to do their particular work placement. speaker gained most from the experience.
Speaker 3 23 Speaker 3 28
E responding to an advertisement E a lucrative job offer
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