Task 1
Reading Task 1: matching, questions 1-12.
You are going to read an article in which people talk about hobbies. For each question (1-12), choose one person from A-F. There is an example at the beginning (0→D).
A Ali
No two fishing trips are alike, although there’s always the battle between you and the fish. I’m a busy guy and, honestly, I find it the perfect contrast to constant social interaction. I wouldn’t say it’s particularly strenuous, though it can be tricky keeping your balance up to your waist in a river in a strong current! It’s important to keep up with the latest equipment, too, and that can be expensive. Truth be told, I get anxious because my wife complains I’m out fishing come rain or shine, but on the occasions I bring home a nice trout, she’s all smiles.
B Bernice
A daily run is my thing; it’s such a simple activity, you don’t have to spend a penny on it and you can keep on doing it no matter what the weather may bring: showers, snow, you name it! For me, it’s all about doing my personal best: I’m really not into measuring myself against others. I don’t vary from the same route, as that way I can time myself better. I’m constantly monitoring my stats and timings. I suppose you learn to recognise the other regular runners, and you can always give them a nod as you pass by.
C Cameron
I try to go caving every Saturday, unless there’s been heavy rain in the days before. You do have to remember that there could be literally hair-raising hazards, and any false sense of security could be dashed in the blink of an eye. But it’s absolutely magic in caves, apart from going through submerged passages. I can’t stand that. You never go caving alone. Down there, teamwork is crucial for safety and survival – there’s no room for ego and you always have each other’s back, but once we’re back on the surface, we tend to go our separate ways.
D Desirée
I always thought canoeing looked fun, but I just stumbled upon it. It was when I was living abroad for a few years. There were so many mountains and fast-flowing rivers it was something that everybody seemed to be doing. I can enjoy canoeing anywhere, but whitewater action is the ultimate challenge. Navigating yourself through fast-flowing rapids is no laughing matter: maintaining control of the canoe is vital, and every sense is heightened; afterwards, though, I’m in such a better place. As each weekend approaches, I’m always stressing about whether there’ll be time to fit in some canoeing.
E Elijah
It was on the curriculum when I was a student so I had to take it. But orienteering is surprisingly popular, and now I truly appreciate the added networking benefits. I find it great exercise, too, though it can be more difficult when the weather is bad. But there’s the mental side as well: your map-reading skills mean you have the ability to master the situation, and I relish that. Is it too expensive? OK, some people shell out a lot on gear, but I don’t feel the need to wear designer kit. The one downside is that I can’t stand it when I get beaten.
F Fiona
I feel so lucky to have begun doing hang gliding. You can learn the basics in an afternoon and I love the simplicity of the control bar: to speed up, you pull it towards you and to slow down, away. Everything else is achieved by shifting your weight, to change direction. A lot of people do it, although it’s not cheap; however, the experience more than recompenses the expenditure. How can I describe it? As the security of the ground is left behind, it’s always just you in the air, as free as a bird, and that is invariably soothing.
Task 2
Reading Task 2: multiple choice, questions 13-18.
Read the text below. For each question (13-18), choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).
Ramen – The Perfect Soup
When I took my first slurp of ramen, my senses were struck with stimuli previously unfamiliar to me. This experience was genuinely momentous. I cannot pinpoint what was so fascinating about this bowl of noodle soup but I know it practically felt like a big, long hug. Maybe I was in awe of its rich, umami flavour and noodles that melted in my mouth or by the meticulously crafted combination of the various ingredients. This was probably intensified by the restaurant’s cosy atmosphere and the beaming faces of people around me. That was the moment when my journey began.
I started a quest for the best ramen recipe as I wanted to recreate it at home. Unfortunately, with every attempt it seemed like I was regressing. It looked like it would be enough to blindly follow the guidelines. Some chefs suggested repeating the process numerous times. Others proposed immersion into unconventional cooking methods and ordering key ingredients from Japan. Little did I know I had to read between the lines and look beyond the essence of the actual words.
In a while I found myself spellbound by Japanese culture and history. Although a number of accounts suggest ramen is a 19th-century Japanese invention, others contend that it has Chinese origins. One theory credits the birth of ramen to a Chinese Confucian scholar who may have brought the ramen recipe to Japan in the 1660s. Other attempts to trace the emergence of ramen in Japan point towards the period after the first Sino-Japanese war, which saw a surge of Chinese immigrants to Japan. A ramen researcher and scholar dates the birth of ramen to the establishment of the restaurant Rai-Rai Ken in Tokyo in 1910.
The Japanese take great pride in their cuisine and it is not a big surprise that one can find ramen in countless manga, anime, films and books. There are also several museums devoted to ramen. A famous one is a miniature historical theme park, Ramen Town, a recreation of a bustling urban neighbourhood in 1958. The convenient part for some visitors is a gift shop where you can buy fresh noodles and soup to prepare ramen at home. The highlight of the experience is learning how to stretch, knead, cut and taste homemade ramen noodles. At the Noodle Drama Theatre an entertaining animation will school you on how a clever inventor transformed a humble bowl of soup into a portable meal slurped all around the world.
Another great example of the celebration of ramen is the movie ‘Lampodo’, a unique film that is a love letter to food as an aspect of Japanese culture. It is the story of one ramen shop but also a picturesque journey through all of food. It covers appreciation for food in several aspects. Essentially, it is an intriguing film because it draws a parallel between one’s approaches to cuisine and to existence. Interestingly, ‘Lampodo’ revolutionised the Japanese film industry as it was the first movie to involve a food stylist.
Ultimately, the beauty of Japanese food is in the ‘Kodawari’, which means the pursuit of perfection. It achieves refinement even in the simplest of dishes, as well as passion, persistence, commitment, and attention to detail. But it is so much more than that. The key to ‘Kodawari’ is that it is personal in nature. It springs from pride, but not the petty kind. It is the kind of personal pride that you feel when you are conscious of your abilities and can assess your achievements positively. I have learned that in order to make good ramen you need culinary talent, ingenuity, perseverance and a great love of Japanese cuisine and culture.
Task 3
Reading Task 3: sentence completion, questions 19-24.
Read the text below. For each question (19-24), choose the sentence (A-H) that best fits the gap. There are two sentences that you do not need. There is an example at the beginning (0→I).
Making Decisions – How Hard Can It Be?
Each and every day, life presents us with numerous situations in which we need to make decisions and face the consequences, both good and bad. (0) _. From the trivial picking of what to watch on Netflix to a life-altering career change – it is a struggle without compare.
The ability to make decisions effectively and confidently is not a personality trait or a genetic gift. It is a skill that can be developed and improved. The best way to build it is to recognise that feelings of anxiety, uncertainty and fear of making mistakes, along with the inability to control everything, are entirely normal experiences. (19) _. Engaging in decision-making plays a crucial role in fostering self-confidence and maturity, whereas avoiding this process leads to more harm than good in the long term.
Among the few common causes that can prevent a person from making decisions effectively, fear of uncertainty is the most prevalent one. From an evolutionary point of view, our ancestors had a good chance of survival in a familiar environment. (20) _. It is a mistake, though, to view this uncertainty as anything more than a common occurrence. Threatening as it might seem, it happens to everybody and as a species, we are strong enough to survive it.
Uncertainty makes us feel anxious. Both our body and brain strive to eliminate that feeling and obtaining confirmation is one of the most common methods of achieving this. (21) _. Thereby, we positively counteract crippling anxiety since we shift away from ourselves a significant part of the responsibility for not making the best decisions. Initially, this move might calm us down. (22) _. We send ourselves an undermining message that we are incapable and dependent and that anxiety itself is very dangerous. Anxiety, however, is a common occurrence, not a threat!
“What if I fail and make a mistake?” – often looms in our minds prior to finally deciding on something important. People sometimes dread mistakes because they might have been unfairly punished for them or they might have strived to be flawless throughout their lives. (23) _. Undoubtedly though, most mistakes only lead to minor discomforts or learning opportunities, which are, truth be told, not so terrible to experience. So, we need to explode the myth that every mistake is ‘expensive’, dangerous, and terrifying. Instead, they should be accepted as common tools for better judgement.
If we want to improve our decision-making skills, we need to develop a tolerance for the feelings of helplessness and lack of control that come with the process. Though being in charge is generally beneficial, not all things and events in life are under our control. (24) _. In reality, though, by obsessing over them, we undermine our self-confidence. An indecisive person will spend hours, days, maybe even weeks deciding on something, wrongly thinking that by brooding over it, they might gain more control. A confident decision-maker accepts the fact that they are helpless in certain situations and directs their energy towards making the right decision and creating the circumstances they can influence.
Task 4
Reading Task 4: completion, questions 25-32.
Read the text below. For each question (25-32), choose the answer (A, B, C or D) that best completes the sentence. There is an example at the beginning (0→B).
A Stroke of Genius
Alan has always been exceptional. He began to show an (0) _ talent for drawing and painting at an early age, proving himself to be a person who possesses extraordinary skills not exhibited by most people. A renowned international artist said that the spontaneous drawings Alan (25) _ by the age of 12 were unique and was ‘thunderstruck ’ by Alan’s precision and vision.
That’s an incredible résumé for anyone – but especially for Alan, who was diagnosed with a form of autism called autistic savant. This condition, in which persons with some mental disabilities have some ‘stroke of genius’, can be inborn or can be (26) _ later in childhood. The special skills are always accompanied by prodigious memory, as well. (27) _, no one knows why or how savant abilities emerge since it has been proven that there is only 1 per cent of the general population with such skills. Amazing, isn’t it?
Alan’s special talent seems to (28) _ timeless beauty and outstanding composition that can be seen in some world-famous works. His notable pieces are exhibited in museums around the world, leaving an everlasting impression on people. They look at his influential masterpieces, amazed by the beauty of his work, (29) _ gives them an insight into his experiences and responses to the world around him. Alan has created works to further establish himself as an (30) _ artist and he hasn’t stopped expanding the collection yet. He is even taking part in various courses with a view to (31) _ children’s creativity, problem-solving, and imaginative thinking. These lessons emphasise art because it is an important part of childhood development. There, children are allowed to explore a (32) _ of popular artistic projects, inspired by both past and present names in art. Alan, though, is undoubtedly soaring high above them all!
Task 5
Reading Task 5: sentence completion, questions 33-40.
Getting in Shape
For many years, I ignored any advice about eating (0) _ and consumed what I wanted, when I wanted. I had little patience and even less discipline. I would treat myself (33) _ an ice cream at the drop of a hat. When casting my eye over a menu, I would actively seek out the dishes with cream, red meat, and butter. However, all that changed when my waist began to fill (34) _, my weight rocketed and I regularly became short of breath when climbing the stairs.
At the Slimtastic Clinic, they (35) _ encouraged me to end my bad habits, take a long hard look at myself (in an actual mirror!) and generally get (36) _ the programme!
Working (37) _ my physique has become better with every passing week, and now I cannot wait to see my personal trainer, Jayden, who (38) _ me that hard work would yield results, if I only (39) _ the will to keep with the schedule he set for me.
They have (40) _ that I do not have to forgo the opportunity to feel healthy.