Cat CDZ

Choose the correct alternative.

Read the job adverts. For questions 1-10, choose from the texts (A-D). The texts may be chosen more than once.

Read the text and choose the right options to complete the sentences.

Read the text and choose the right options to complete the sentences.

Read the text. For questions 1-5 choose the correct answer.

Read the text and do the tasks.

Read the text and choose the right item. What volunteering taught me Today I am a member of the UN Global Education First Youth Advocacy Group. Many young people have come to me to ask how I got to be in such an initiative. It has always been a pleasure for me to share my volunteer experiences, and it is because of these experiences that I was selected out of 500 applications to serve in this group. It all started when I was in secondary school. I was engaged in student affairs as the president of the UNESCO club, a school platform that brings students together to discuss school matters and the pressing current issues concerning them. After secondary school, I started volunteering within non-governmental organizations. It was at this moment that I began to understand a lot about community development. I was involved in projects and activities relating to peace, human rights and the environment. It was a great pleasure for me to contribute to the development of my community through volunteering because the impact was visible. I had many obstacles while volunteering because people don’t value volunteer work. In Cameroon and especially in my community, people consider volunteering as a waste of time and resources. They cannot conceive the fact that someone can work without remuneration or a salary. My friends and family advised me on several occasions to stop volunteering. I felt very discouraged at some point, but I could not stop because I loved doing it. Volunteering was the top priority in my life. I decided not to pay attention to their advice but to concentrate on my work. By spending time with host families in various regions I got used to cultural differences, which was really helpful during the projects. I learned a lot about what belonged to the norms and values of the local people. For example, how to dress appropriately, eat and even how to shower and go to the bathroom the local way. Most of the things are totally different than in my area, so it took some time to adapt. In Nigeria, I taught English conversation, 3 times a day. I had the opportunity to come up with my own ideas for the classes and tried to be as creative as possible making my lessons not only informative but also fun. Apart from having conversations, we also cooked food, listened to English music and painted. Having a lot of conversations in English on different topics, I understood how to look at things from a different perspective. It also made me think in a more creative way, out of the box, one can say. I think this will help me in the future, looking at things through different glasses. One day, a group of young people came to me and said they had something to say. I was very surprised. They said they were all grateful for the changes I brought into their lives through peer education. I was so happy to hear this that it aroused joy in my heart. This experience made me understand that only volunteer work can have such a profound impact on people’s lives. There are three elements that permitted me to succeed in a life dedicated to volunteering: passion, determination and patience. Volunteering helped me become a job creator, not a job seeker. My advice to my peers is that we cannot succeed in life overnight. We have to work hard to enjoy the fruits of our labour. Even if you have a diploma from the best school in the world, it is not enough because what matters most is your skills, your talent. The best way to discover who you are in order to integrate yourself into society is to volunteer. Volunteering not only allows you to offer your services but to learn and discover new things and improve your skills. One secret in volunteer work is to avoid thinking about money because that is where the problem is. Young people expect to be paid as they are volunteering.

Read the text and fill in the gaps.

A Scottish summer camp Summer camps are becoming more and more popular with young people, but what are they like? Last month, junior reporter Sally Henshaw travelled to Loch Lomond, Scotland, to find out. ‘I’ve been travelling for ten hours,’ I thought, when the minibus finally drove past a sign saying ‘Welcome to Camp Lomond’. It was dark, and I just wanted to go indoors and jump into a nice, soft bed. But the camp leaders had other ideas. We all had a barbecue, then we sat around a campfire and talked (or fell asleep). Finally, one of the leaders divided us into groups of three and gave us the really bad news. ‘Now it’s time to put up your tents,’ he said. I don’t know how three of us managed to sleep in a tent the size of a single bed, but somehow we did. When we woke up the next day, my new friend Ingrid opened the front of the tent, and we all looked out. There, shining silver between the trees, was Loch Lomond. ‘Loch’ means ‘lake’ in Scottish, and Loch Lomond is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen! That morning after breakfast, we went horse riding around the lake. I’ve never ridden in such an amazing place. In the next few days, I went BMX biking, tried rock climbing and played volleyball every day until I couldn’t stand up! It was great! The camp organises different activities every day. Most sports activities are in the afternoon, and in the morning you can choose lessons like drawing, chess, drama and cookery. I’ve never been very good at art or board games − and I’m not a great actor − so I went along to the cookery class. I love food, but I didn’t know how to cook anything before I went to Scotland. Since I’ve been home, I’ve been baking cakes for my parents! (And they haven’t been to hospital with food poisoning yet, so I must be quite good at it!) You have to work hard on a summer camp. Everybody has to do chores, and you do activities all day, too − you can’t just sit around and hang out. But I really had a great time. The best thing about the camp was making new friends. Since I came home, Ingrid and I have been texting every day. The activities are great, but the people are even better. Have you ever wondered what it’s like to go on a summer camp? I’ll tell you the answer in two words: exhausting and fun! 2. The next morning, Sally ...

A Scottish summer camp Summer camps are becoming more and more popular with young people, but what are they like? Last month, junior reporter Sally Henshaw travelled to Loch Lomond, Scotland, to find out. ‘I’ve been travelling for ten hours,’ I thought, when the minibus finally drove past a sign saying ‘Welcome to Camp Lomond’. It was dark, and I just wanted to go indoors and jump into a nice, soft bed. But the camp leaders had other ideas. We all had a barbecue, then we sat around a campfire and talked (or fell asleep). Finally, one of the leaders divided us into groups of three and gave us the really bad news. ‘Now it’s time to put up your tents,’ he said. I don’t know how three of us managed to sleep in a tent the size of a single bed, but somehow we did. When we woke up the next day, my new friend Ingrid opened the front of the tent, and we all looked out. There, shining silver between the trees, was Loch Lomond. ‘Loch’ means ‘lake’ in Scottish, and Loch Lomond is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen! That morning after breakfast, we went horse riding around the lake. I’ve never ridden in such an amazing place. In the next few days, I went BMX biking, tried rock climbing and played volleyball every day until I couldn’t stand up! It was great! The camp organises different activities every day. Most sports activities are in the afternoon, and in the morning you can choose lessons like drawing, chess, drama and cookery. I’ve never been very good at art or board games − and I’m not a great actor − so I went along to the cookery class. I love food, but I didn’t know how to cook anything before I went to Scotland. Since I’ve been home, I’ve been baking cakes for my parents! (And they haven’t been to hospital with food poisoning yet, so I must be quite good at it!) You have to work hard on a summer camp. Everybody has to do chores, and you do activities all day, too − you can’t just sit around and hang out. But I really had a great time. The best thing about the camp was making new friends. Since I came home, Ingrid and I have been texting every day. The activities are great, but the people are even better. Have you ever wondered what it’s like to go on a summer camp? I’ll tell you the answer in two words: exhausting and fun! 5. Overall, how does Sally feel about Camp Lomond?

Choose the correct word in the Past Simple.

Read the text and for questions 1-5 choose the correct answers A-E. The Pingxi Sky Lantern festival of Taiwan is one of the most colourful of the many lantern festivals, and this year my friends and I have been lucky enough to go along too. Originally, the lanterns were released by people working and living far from home in the countryside, to let their families know that they were safe and well. But now, the custom is used to bring peace and good fortune. The festival takes place over the Chinese New Year. It brings thousands of people together in the rural district of Pingxi to release their hopes and dreams high into the skies. We arrived and bought kits to make our own lanterns. Coloured rice paper, thin bamboo strips and wire were all that was needed. Stalls provided pens for us to write our wishes on the lanterns. I had to think very hard about what I wanted to write on my lantern and was really looking forward to letting it go. People all around us were carefully adding their messages onto lanterns. Some people were wishing for a happy marriage, some for career success and others for a year of good health and happiness. It was great to see so many people getting excited about releasing the lanterns. Families were laughing and smiling and the children were adding their messages to the paper: some wishing for good grades, others drawing small pictures to decorate the lamp. Then we released them and thousands of glowing paper lanterns lit up the sky. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. The little flames lifted them high over the treetops and towards the mountains. Some people cheered as their lantern climbed higher into the night sky. Everyone watched them floating up, getting smaller and smaller until some of them disappeared into the darkness. It was a wonderful experience and I will be talking about it for years to come!

Read the text and choose the correct gap to complete the statement. Good rest is very important for our health. Doctors advise to get rest at regular intervals – a 3-5 minutes breaks every 90 minutes and a good sleep each night. A person should have one day of rest each seven days and two weeks every year. We are living creatures, not machines. Rest is important to the health of our body, mind, and spirit. Sleep is an absolute necessity of life. The problem is that now we are a sleep-sick society. Sleep has a surprisingly powerful effect on our health, from our immune system to our psychological well-being. Sleep loss and sleep lack are dangerous. If you are having trouble sleeping, try to follow this advice: • go to bed and get up at the same time every day • your bedroom should be quiet, dark and comfortable, neither too hot nor too cold • eat earlier in the evening • listen to relaxing music or have a hot bath before going to bed • try to get problems and worries out of your head • eat proper meals • do exercises If a person has trouble sleeping __________ .

Read the text and choose the correct gap to complete the statement. Good rest is very important for our health. Doctors advise to get rest at regular intervals – a 3-5 minutes breaks every 90 minutes and a good sleep each night. A person should have one day of rest each seven days and two weeks every year. We are living creatures, not machines. Rest is important to the health of our body, mind, and spirit. Sleep is an absolute necessity of life. The problem is that now we are a sleep-sick society. Sleep has a surprisingly powerful effect on our health, from our immune system to our psychological well-being. Sleep loss and sleep lack are dangerous. If you are having trouble sleeping, try to follow this advice: • go to bed and get up at the same time every day • your bedroom should be quiet, dark and comfortable, neither too hot nor too cold • eat earlier in the evening • listen to relaxing music or have a hot bath before going to bed • try to get problems and worries out of your head • eat proper meals • do exercises It's not good __________ .

Read the text and match the correct answer. If you’ve ever been a member of a book club, you know that choosing the titles to read can be very difficult. Finding books that teens like and, at the same time, that are good for discussion is even more difficult. The Reader’s Club Team wants to make your job easier by highlighting a few of the titles that have caused interesting discussions in our own teen book clubs, specifically those in grades 6-9. Reading a book is useful for mental and emotional health. A good book is a good way to travel in different places, meet the characters, understand their feelings, learn something new and get an amazing experience. Unfortunately, nowadays it’s tough to get a teen or preteen to read or join a book club. Still, there are some brave souls who are interested in getting these young minds into a beneficial environment of reading. Are you willing to? If yes, this is definitely the article you are looking for.

Match the headings to the texts. There is one extra heading.

Read the text and match the headings to the paragraphs. There is one that you do not need to use. Lending a helping hand Most teens hang out with their friends or watch TV after school, but fifteen-year-old Richard Evans is different. He helps out at a local animal shelter.

Read and choose the correct answer.

Read the text and mark the sentences True, False or Not stated. Investing in Memories My uncle had a moustache, a good job in the Civil Service and used to smoke forty cigarettes a day. But when he organized day trips for our family he used to behave like a boy. Today, seventy years later, we still talk about the wonderful trips to the sea our uncle used to organize when we were children. He organized the trips very carefully. He used to buy the railway tickets and write special programmes long before the day arrived so we began to look forward to the trip. On the cover of the programme there was the name of the place we were visiting and a humorous drawing of everyone in the family. There was even a lucky number on each programme and the winner didn’t have to carry the bags on the way home. All through the day he organized games and competitions. In his view, all the games had to be slightly anti-social. So if the programme said “4pm: Annual Ladies v Gentlemen match”, the match would always take place, even if the beach was very crowded. He organized treasure hunts, modelling competitions with seaweed, shells and bits of wood from the beach, and other events. There would be a special prize for the winner of every competition, usually an old sporting cup from a local junk shop. He made sure that there were as many people on the top as possible, and invited neighbours and their children as well to join the family for the day. The fun started as soon as we left home. Even the walk down to the station in the morning used to involve a game (‘the first person to see a policeman gets a point’). One game we used to play in the car was called “I know that lady”. One of us would choose someone walking along the street, and as we approached, the driver sounded the car horn, and everybody waved. The woman wouldn’t understand why we were waving at her and would look puzzled. He never thought the money spent on a well-organized outing was wasted. When his wife complained about the cost of a family day out, he said, “Look, it’s not wasting money, it’s investing in memories.”

Read the text. Choose the best title for each paragraph.

Advanced level Read the text and choose the correct option. Work–life Balance Ronan I work in a fairly traditional office environment doing a typical nine-to-five job. I like my job, but it’s annoying that my commute to work takes an hour and a half each way and most of my work could really be done online from home. But my boss doesn’t seem to trust that we will get any work done if left to our own devices, and everyone in the company has to clock in and out every day. It’s frustrating that they feel the need to monitor what we do so closely instead of judging us based on our task performance, like most companies do these days. Jo I used to do a typical five-day week, but after I came out of my maternity leave, I decided that I wanted to spend more time with my children before they start school. After negotiating with my boss, we decided to cut my working week down to a three-day work week. This of course meant a significant cut in my pay too, as I’m paid on a pro rata basis. I’ve since noticed, though, that my workload hasn’t decreased in the slightest! I’m now doing five days’ worth of work in three days, but getting paid much less for it! I find myself having to take work home just so that I can meet the deadlines. It’s wearing me out trying to juggle work with looking after my children and my family, but I don’t dare to bring this up with my boss because I think he feels as if he’s made a huge concession letting me come in only three days a week. Marcus I work for a global IT company, but because their headquarters is in the States, I do all my work online from home. That means that I don’t waste time commuting or making idle chit-chat with colleagues. I work on a project basis, and this flexibility is very valuable to me because it means that I can easily take some time off when my children need me to go to their school performances or if I need to schedule an appointment with the dentist. The downside is that without clear office hours, I tend to work well into the evening, sometimes skipping dinner to finish a task. It can also get quite lonely working on my own, and I sometimes miss sharing ideas with colleagues. Lily I’m a freelancer and work for myself. This is great because I am in control of what I do and how I spend my time. At first, I was working from home, but I found it really hard to concentrate. There were just too many distractions around: housework that needed doing, another cup of tea, my family members wanting my attention for various things. So I started to go to a nearby café to work, but the Wi-Fi connection wasn’t ideal and I found myself drinking too much coffee. In the end, I decided to rent a desk in a co-working space with five other freelancers like myself. I liked getting dressed to go to work in the morning and being able to focus in an office environment. The other freelancers do similar kinds of web-based work to me and so it’s nice to have workmates to bounce ideas off as well.

Medium level Read the text and choose the correct option. Work–life Balance Ronan I work in a fairly traditional office environment doing a typical nine-to-five job. I like my job, but it’s annoying that my commute to work takes an hour and a half each way and most of my work could really be done online from home. But my boss doesn’t seem to trust that we will get any work done if left to our own devices, and everyone in the company has to clock in and out every day. It’s frustrating that they feel the need to monitor what we do so closely instead of judging us based on our task performance, like most companies do these days. Jo I used to do a typical five-day week, but after I came out of my maternity leave, I decided that I wanted to spend more time with my children before they start school. After negotiating with my boss, we decided to cut my working week down to a three-day work week. This of course meant a significant cut in my pay too, as I’m paid on a pro rata basis. I’ve since noticed, though, that my workload hasn’t decreased in the slightest! I’m now doing five days’ worth of work in three days, but getting paid much less for it! I find myself having to take work home just so that I can meet the deadlines. It’s wearing me out trying to juggle work with looking after my children and my family, but I don’t dare to bring this up with my boss because I think he feels as if he’s made a huge concession letting me come in only three days a week. Marcus I work for a global IT company, but because their headquarters is in the States, I do all my work online from home. That means that I don’t waste time commuting or making idle chit-chat with colleagues. I work on a project basis, and this flexibility is very valuable to me because it means that I can easily take some time off when my children need me to go to their school performances or if I need to schedule an appointment with the dentist. The downside is that without clear office hours, I tend to work well into the evening, sometimes skipping dinner to finish a task. It can also get quite lonely working on my own, and I sometimes miss sharing ideas with colleagues. Lily I’m a freelancer and work for myself. This is great because I am in control of what I do and how I spend my time. At first, I was working from home, but I found it really hard to concentrate. There were just too many distractions around: housework that needed doing, another cup of tea, my family members wanting my attention for various things. So I started to go to a nearby café to work, but the Wi-Fi connection wasn’t ideal and I found myself drinking too much coffee. In the end, I decided to rent a desk in a co-working space with five other freelancers like myself. I liked getting dressed to go to work in the morning and being able to focus in an office environment. The other freelancers do similar kinds of web-based work to me and so it’s nice to have workmates to bounce ideas off as well.

Advanced level Read the text and choose the correct option. When I Grow Up When I was in kindergarten, my class was asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Colorful crayons danced across sheets of paper to illustrate our dream occupations and cherished jobs. Our drawings were hung in the school hallway for our parents to see at Back to School Night. I remember looking down the line and seeing pictures of pretty ballerinas dancing, brave firefighters putting out a blaze, and fearless astronauts leaping across the moon – admirable careers that were seen as typical dreams of five-year-old kids. My picture showed a stick figure with brown disheveled hair holding a carton of orange juice over a large rectangle that was supposed to be a counter. Underneath was my barely legible handwriting: “When I grow up, I want to work at the Market Basket because it would be fun to swipe orange juice across the scanner and talk to customers.” To this day my parents won’t let me forget that out of everything I could have aspired to be, my five-year-old self wished to work at the local grocery store. When we are young, questions of what we want to be when we grow up are common. Yet we are not expected to respond with an answer that is likely to come true. However, when we become teenagers, we are asked the very same question twice as often. The difference is, now we are supposed to answer with confidence. Teenagers are expected to know exactly what they want to be and how they are going to achieve that goal. Not all of us can be so sure at this age. Even though I am in high school, I cannot answer convincingly. But I don’t consider that a bad thing. How am I supposed to know what I will want to spend my time doing at the age of thirty or forty? When I think about the future, I definitely don’t see myself working at the counter of the Market Basket, but in reality, if that was what would make me happy, I would do it. So, the next time someone asks me what I want to be when I grow up, I will simply say, “I want to be happy.” And it is hope that drives us in this direction. “Hope is not a grain of sand,” the Gambian poet, Lenrie Peters, echoes, but no matter how tiny it is, it would still be sufficient to keep the youth alive and sane in most extreme circumstances. It is hope that spurs the youth on, to be up and doing. It is hope that keeps the youth going no matter how hard it is. Nelson Mandela as a youth hoped against all hope for the liberation of his people and he actually lived to see his hope being fulfilled. Robinson Crusoe, cast away on an uninhabited island, hoped against all hope for survival and this propelled him to start from scratch and build a compound and large farm single-handedly. Far away in “Another Country: the Land of Literature,” Sister Eileen Sweeney sums up through her writings that Hope is the anchor that keeps “the ship” called “youth” steadfastly held together no matter the high and stormy sea of passion, pain, distress or tribulation that batter against it. Happiness is a destination for everyone. We may want to walk different paths in life, narrow or wide, crooked or straight, but we all want to be happy wherever we end up. Choose your path, but don’t worry too much about choosing wisely. Make a mistake or two and try new things. But always remember, if you’re not happy, you’re not at the end of your journey yet.

Read the text and choose the correct options. The In-front-of-the-camera job, Behind-the-scenes Work ... Have you ever dreamed of a varied job which would involve presenting the Olympics on TV or interviewing celebrity figures like Paris Hilton or Jude Law? You do? Then why not become a TV or radio presenter? As a presenter, you’ll be working on a wide variety of projects. You may be interviewing guests on chat shows, hosting quiz and game shows, introducing sports or music programs, or presenting specialist programs like travel or gardening. If you prefer the serious stuff, you can specialize in current affairs or make documentaries. Although a presenter’s main job is done in front of the cameras, there’s a lot to do behind the scenes as well. You’ll be expected to plan each show with the producer or director, do research and rehearse the script. You may get to write your own material, and you’ll probably be involved in online broadcasting, too. Personality is important in this profession. You’ve got to be confident and outgoing and be able to interact with the audience. Ambition and motivation are very important too, along with excellent presentation skills and a good voice. Problems are bound to arise while you’re on air and quick decisions will be called for. You’ll need to think on your feet and stay calm under pressure. Life as a presenter can have its downsides. If you’re on a short contract, as is normal, you’ll be in and out of work quite frequently. Hours are sometimes unsociable, too. Getting up at 4 a.m. is tough, as is working late at night while your friends are out partying! And working conditions can be trying at times: while most TV studios are comfortable, working outside often involves spending time in all kinds of weather and situations. But these are minor worries, according to presenter Emma Johnson. "I host a radio breakfast show and it’s really exciting", she says. "I never know what to expect. I leave for work with my day planned out, but often something big will have happened by the time I get to the studio. I just say, Ok, I’ll change my plan and report on that instead. There are some nerve-racking situations but it’s what I like best about the job". She meets plenty of celebrities, too. "I’m interviewing a top boy band later today and this time tomorrow I’ll be flying to Hollywood to meet actor Russel Crowe," she explains. Although Emma loves her job, her big ambition is to work in TV. "My present contract runs out next month," she says. I’m going to have a holiday, and then I’ll be knocking on the door of my local TV company". Emma got into presenting through her acting background, but there is no set route into the profession. Some presenters have university qualifications, while music show hosts have often been performers themselves, or may have worked as DJs in clubs. For entertainment shows, presenters often have an acting background and audition to present the show. Competition is stiff in this field, so if you’re starting out and you want to get noticed ahead of other applicants, proof of practical work experience is essential. Producing a student newspaper is one way to get experience, as is volunteer work on a hospital or student radio station. Specializing in a certain area, like sport or music, can be useful, too. It looks good on your CV and marks you from the rest of the crowd. Want to know more? GetFamous.com is running a one-day TV presenter course next month. Experts will teach you all about the world of TV presenting while you try out your skills in front of the cameras.

Advanced level Read the text and choose the correct option.

Are you good with money? Read the text to find out about British teenagers and their cash! Then choose if the statements below are true or false.

Read the text and choose the correct items.

Choose the right option. I'm looking for ___ job.

Choose the right option. I must go to ___ bank to get some money.

Choose the right option. We had ___ lunch in a very good restaurant.

Choose the right option. Ken went to ___ prison to visit his brother.

Choose the right option. ___ rich should pay more taxes.

Choose the right option. Metro is ___ means of transport.

Choose the right option. I bought ___ paper to read.

Choose the right option. Be careful of ___ dog!

Choose the right option. It's time to go to ___ bed now.

Choose the right option. ___ French are famous for their food.

Read the text. Then choose the correct options. Gulliver's Travel My master, finding how profitable I was likely to be, decided to carry me to the most important cities of the kingdom. Having therefore provided himself with all things necessary for a long journey, and settled his affairs at home, he took leave of his wife, and on 17th August, about two months after my arrival, we set out for the metropolis, situated near the middle of that empire, and about three thousand miles distance from our house. My master made his daughter, Glumdalclitch, ride behind him. She kept me on her lap, in a box tied about her waist. The girl had lined it on all sides with the softest cloth she could get, well quilted underneath, furnished it with her baby's bed, provided me with linen and other necessaries, and made everything as convenient as she could. We had no other company but a boy of the house, who rode after us with the luggage. My master's plan was to show me in all the towns on the way and to step out of the road for fifty or a hundred miles, to any village, or person of quality's house, where he might expect custom. We made easy journeys, of not above seven or eight miles a day; for Glumdalclitch, not wanting to exhaust me, complained she was tired with the trotting of the horse. She often took me out of my box, at my own desire, to give me air, and show me the country, but always held me by a leading string. We passed over five or six rivers, much broader and deeper than the Nile or the Ganges: and there was hardly a stream so small as the Thames at London Bridge. We were ten weeks into our journey, and I was shown in eighteen large towns, besides many villages, and private families. On the 26th day of October, we arrived at the metropolis, called in their language LORBRULGRUD, or Pride of the Universe. My master took a lodging in the principal street of the city, not far from the Royal Palace, and put out bills in the usual form, containing an exact description of my person and parts. He hired a large room between three and four hundred feet wide. He provided a table sixty feet in diameter, upon which I was to act my part. I was shown ten times a day, to the wonder and satisfaction of all people. I could now speak the language tolerably well, and perfectly understood every word, that was spoken to me. Besides, I had learnt their alphabet and could make an attempt to explain a sentence here and there; for Glumdalclitch had been my instructor while we were at home, and leisure hours during our journey. She carried a little book in her pocket, not much larger than a Sanson's Atlas; it was a common treatise for the use of young girls, giving a short account of their religion: out of this she taught me my letters, and interpreted the words.