READING SKILLS (8)

1 Read the three adverts. Match the texts (A-C) to the questions (1-7).

Which advert

   1 talks about things you can eat? 

   2 doesn’t write about a boat trip? 

   3 says you are going to travel at night? 

   4 says you spend a week in one place? 

   5 says that you are not going to sleep in a bed? 

   6 offers four different kinds of transport? 

   7 says you can climb a high building? 

A Magical Egypt

We fly from London to Cairo. For the first three nights, we stay in Cairo. You’re going to love the old city streets, the markets and the local foods. You can visit the Pyramids and ride a camel if you want! On the second night, there’s going to be a surprise party so bring some smart clothes. We then travel from Cairo to Luxor by train. We take the night train and arrive in Luxor early in the morning. After breakfast, there is a tour of local temples. From Luxor, we travel by boat for three days to Aswan. We have three more nights in Aswan, visiting temples, and we go on a coach trip to the amazing Abu Simbel. From Aswan, we fly back to Cairo and from there to London.

B African adventure

This is our newest tour so it’s going to be exciting for all of us. We fly to Johannesburg in South Africa and then we are going to drive through Africa for two months and fly home from Nairobi in Kenya. We’re going to camp so you need to bring a sleeping bag. On the journey, we hope to see the Victoria Falls, the Kalahari Desert, Mount Kilimanjaro and, of course, the national parks where we can see wonderful, wild animals. Don’t worry, we’re not going to camp anywhere dangerous! We are also going to have three nights on the exciting island of Zanzibar.

C Coast to coast

Our most popular tour is our coach tour to the USA. We fly to New York on October 6th and you have a week there for sightseeing. There are tours to the Statue of Liberty and you can see Central Park, shop on Fifth Avenue or look at the views from the top of the Empire State Building. We also go for the famous ‘circle line’ boat ride around Manhattan Island – a great chance to take photographs. After New York, we get on our special coach and travel all over the country, from Miami to San Francisco. Don’t worry, you’re not going to sleep on the coach! We stop at motels and have lots of time for sightseeing.

2. Complete the sentences with the correct forms of the verbs in brackets: Present Simple or Present Continuous.

0 Do you like (you/like) her?

1 He ___________________ (not/play) the drums regularly.

2 No, I don’t like that band now. I ____________________ (listen) to Muse these days. Do you know them?

3 He’s so boring! He usually _______________ (talk) about his favourite sports team and I’m not interested in it!

4 My girlfriend ______________________ (not/understand) why I like heavy metal.

5 Look, he ____________________________ (fall) asleep again! I can’t believe it!

6 _________________________ (he/read) anything at the moment?

7 His father _______________ (prefer) detective stories.

8 ___________________________________ (her husband/come) from Wales?

3 Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs in brackets: Past Simple or Past Continuous.

0 When I _was watching_ (watch) television, my brother ___broke__ (break) my computer.

1 What ______________________________ (your son/do) yesterday at 8 p.m., Mrs Walker?

2 It ______________________________ (rain) and the sun ______________________________ (not/shine).

3 What ______________________________ (you/read) before you ______________________________ (fall) asleep?

4 While she ______________________________ (complain) about the noise, he ______________________________ (switch) on the television.

5 Finally he ______________________________ (finish) writing and called it The Cat Waltz.

Reading Skills (11)

1 Read the article about a film. For questions 1-3, circle the correct answer. For questions 4-6 write T (true) or F (false).

Breaking the ties

What is the greatest ‘generation gap’ film ever? There are probably hundreds of Hollywood movies about teenagers whose parents just don’t understand them. In England, the golden age for such films was the early 1960’s with the ‘kitchen sink dramas’ featuring angry young men trying to break free of their grim, northern industrial homes but often failing.

I am going to look at a film that, whilst it could be included with the other kitchen sink dramas in many respects, differs in that it is, above all, a comedy. Billy Liar, made in 1963 and starring Tom Courtenay, is a marvellous story about a young man who, not only finds himself struggling with a generation gap but also has problems understanding his role in life. Stuck in a town he despises, with friends who don’t understand him and two fiancées, neither of whom he has any intention of marrying, he is desperate to leave his work and town but doesn’t know how to go about it.

The film starts with Billy asleep. He is soon rudely awoken by his mother calling him for breakfast. Late for work, and dressed in an old coat instead of a dressing gown, he anticipates his fathers words of criticism, muttering them, perfectly, under his breath before his father has said them.

At a café, Billy and his friend meet one of Billy’s fiancées. She and the other fiancée are, without knowing it, sharing one ring and the story of having it resized, which Billy used as an excuse for taking it away from her to give to the other girl, is no longer working. Billy dreads the day, which he knows will come, when the two find out about each other and demand that he chooses one of them.

The only person who is on the same wavelength as Billy is the beautiful Lizzie, played by Julie Christie who comes and goes as she pleases giving Billy an exciting glimpse of what his life could be like if only he were braver. When Billy hears that Lizzie is back in town he tells her about his dreams. Unlike everyone else, Lizzie understands him completely and tells him how easy it is to break the ties binding him to his town, family and friends. Lizzie convinces him to run away to London with her on the midnight train. At last Billy seems to believe her and, at midnight, he is at the station, suitcase in hand, ready to go. He even gets on the train but, at the last moment, decides to get some milk and, as he leaves the train, his bravery leaves him and he is unable to return to the platform. As the train leaves, there, on the platform, is his suitcase, and, looking out of the window with a forgiving smile, is Lizzie.

Billy marches back home through the deserted streets, lost in his dreams, hating his life but unable to break away yet.. Who knows what will happen the next time Lizzie returns? 

1 In the article, the greatest generation gap film ever made

a) was Billy Liar.

b) was a kitchen sink drama.

c) isn’t stated.

d) was a Hollywood film.

2 The main difference between Billy Liar and other kitchen sink dramas is that

a) it stars Tom Courtenay.

b) it is funny.

c) no one gets pregnant.

d) it was made in 1963.

3 The start of the film takes place

a) early in the morning.

b) in the afternoon.

c) in the evening.

d) at an unknown time of day.

4 Billy has got problems because his fiancées have found out about each other. 

5 Billy asks Lizzie if he can come to London with her. 

6 Lizzie goes to London without Billy. 

2. Complete the sentences with the correct forms of the verbs in brackets: the Past Perfect or the Past Perfect Continuous.

0 Before going out, she ____had had____ (have) two sandwiches for breakfast.

1 By 2003, she _____________________ (star) in three Hollywood films.

2 They ________________________ (prepare) for eight months before they set off.

3 After lightning ______________________ (strike) him for the sixth time, his name was put in the Guinness Book of World Records. 

4 When we met, she ________________________ (write) books for 5 years.