READING 1: MAKING IT (first certificate first 64)

She is the Queen of Green and one of the better known businesswomen in Britain. He is the man that the
investment community recognises as the real force behind the global retailing phenomenon known as The Body
Shop. Together they are the Roddicks, and cash, or the ability to raise it, is something the two of them are not
short of, since their shareholding in The Body Shop is worth around 100 million pounds.

He grew up in a household burdened with hard times. 0 … Both parents were victims of a tragic automobile
accident that left Bobby, aged seven, and his three sisters, orphans. Through a trust fund wisely set up by his
businessman dad, young Roddick was educated at Merchiston Castle, Edinburgh.

But times there became rougher than even a tough lad like Bobby could handle. 15 … "Prefects used to beat us.
The cold water was there after your hands were beaten, but you could not open a door for two days". Escape
wasn't easy. After leaving school Roddick passed a slow year on a potato farm outside Annan, a move which
later inspired him to try a stint at the Royal Agriculture College, Cirencester, "where I learned to enjoy myself,
make friends and behave badly" he says. 16 …

So he spent a year on a sheep farm owned by the godfather of Kerry Packer, the Australian media tycoon and
fearless gambler, and a spell in a tin mine. These provided the funds for bad behaviour in King's Cross, which is
to Sydney what Soho is to London.

17 … "I made heaps of dough and with a friend and two girls, took a Greek boat to Panama". 18 …

Time spent in hospital with a compendium of tropical ailments didn't daunt Bobby. Three months' time saw him
fur-trading in Africa, tin-mining in Sri Lanka, and praying at the foot of 1000year old Buddhas dotting the
humid plains of India and points East. After escapades with cobras and turban headed swamis, Roddick, now an
experienced adventurer, reluctantly returned to Britain.

19 … "I flogged a short story to Good Housekeeping and wrote a strip, Aku the Zulu, for Bunty, a DC Thomson
comic. I sought to be Tolstoy, but aged 25 I still felt I had nothing to say."

But an unexpected turn changed the course of Robert Roddick's life forever. He was considering a return to the
good times of Australia, when he travelled from Edinburgh to Littlehampton, Sussex; where he visited one of
his sisters. 20 …

There he found more than a congenial drinking spot. "She was warm, humorous and liked me because I drank a
lot. I went frequently and got to know all the particulars - her business, her family, the works. 21 …

They finally met and two weeks later he moved in with her. They have been together ever since. It goes to show
you what a body can do when the time is right.

A She told me she had a daughter who was travelling back from Zambia who I would like a lot.

B "But I wanted to get away, be as far away from England and the evil eye of 'relations as humanly
possible."

C His father, a grain merchant and one time president of the Liverpool Corn
Exchange, was 52 when Roddick was born in Annan, near Carlisle.

D In search of refreshment, he frequented a bar run by his future bride's mother.

E "It was a hateful place. I could not wait to get out" he remembers.

F "I learned more in those three years in Australia than I have ever learned since" he claims.

G His adventures included six months in the Amazon, "paddling 1,200 miles in a canoe with a crazy
Argentinian guy".

H "I wanted to be a writer but I was probably pretty useless" he admits.

I "I had been unemployed for six months and I needed the job".

KEYS
0C 15 E 16 B 17 F 18 G 19 H 20 D 21 A
READING 2
You are going to read a newspaper article in which people talk about where they played as children. For
questions 27-28, choose from the people (A-G), and for questions 27-35, choose which person's play area (A-G)
is referred to. The people and play areas may be chosen more than once. When more than one answer is
required, these may be given in any order. There is an example at the beginning (8). Mark your answers on the
separate answer sheet
Which person
developed sporting skills? 0 B
mentions not going straight home from school? 21
still retains a sense of wonder at something seen in childhood? 22
enjoyed a game that could only be played with a specially shaped object? 23
enjoyed both being alone and with friends? 24
played with a family member? 25
now realises how lucky they were? 26
Whose play area(s)
were neglected? 27 28
is no longer the same? 29
seemed similar to a jail? 30
are described as a contrast to the home environment? 31 32
were made to substitute for something else? 33 34
was in a forbidden area? 35
A Place to Play
We asked various people to tell us about where they played as children, and here's what they said ...
A Simon
The playground was quite small. The floor was covered with flat bricks and there were many that were cracked
or broken or missing, and a few weeds struggled through. It was totally enclosed on one side by the school and
on the other by high brick walls. It was more like a prison yard - on top of the walls was a layer of cement into
which pieces of broken glass had been stuck. After school was finished my friends and I would climb a
lamppost outside the school and sit on top of the wall, slowly breaking off the bits of glass. We never thought of
ourselves as vandals.
B Peter
My favourite childhood play area was the back garden. Back in the days when I was growing up on a large
housing estate, the “goals” would be a pair of garage doors or two jackets laid out in the garden. I would spend
hours kicking a ball about with my dad, learning how to control, dribble or kick it.
C Alan
I come from an area of terraced houses, pavements and streets. There were no gardens. My first school was
Prince's Street Primary and the room in which I received my first lessons had large, folding glass doors that
opened onto a small playground that had grass, bushes and flowers. My amazement at seeing these items, which
are normal to most of the world, has stayed with me all my life.
D Nigel
My favourite play area was - it still is - called Roundhead Wood, although it has fewer trees and more barbed
wire now. Here four or five of us roared around, building camps, climbing trees and riding bikes around the
little chalk pit in the middle. It stood for every woodland, every jungle and even the surface of other planets.
E Patricia
One of my earliest playground memories is of the railed playground in front of the school I attended. Our
favourite game was hopscotch, which was played by marking out a rectangle divided into squares and kicking a
flat, rounded stone from square to square. It was important to find a stone of precisely the right size and weight.
Our playground at weekends was more exciting: the banks and paths which surrounded Ludlow Castle and the
water meadows that stretched down to the river. I doubt whether I fully appreciated how fortunate we were.
F Nick
I was strictly banned from the obvious playground, a long, overgrown ditch running through waste ground,
mainly built to take away the rain. It was irresistible to us local schoolchildren. Its charm, compared with the
surrounding tennis courts, football pitches and farmland, was purely because it was out of bounds. Thai area was
truly where I grew up, more than in the rest of the little town's correct and neat suburbia, where my house was.
G Julie
Until I was twelve I was brought up on air force camps and each camp had a small playground in the middle of
the houses. Il was always a great meeting place and I remember sitting with my friends on the swings many
evenings until dark. You would often go out and swing for hours until someone else came out. I always liked
swinging.

KEYS
21 A 22 C 23 E 24 G 25 B 26 E 27 A/F 28 A/F 29 D 30 A 31 C/F
32 C/F 33 B/D 34 B/D 35 F
READING 3
You are going to read an extract from a book about a man's experiences of climbing in Wales. Seven paragraphs
have been removed from the extract. Choose from the paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap (15-20).
There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use.

Welsh Mountains
'Taking in! The words floated down from on high to be swiftly followed by the tightening of the climbing rope
by my feet. I shouted automatically, “That's me!”
14
It all seemed very familiar, but for many years my climbing rope had hung frustratingly at the foot of my stairs,
and I was now sixty. John, my old climbing partner on so many climbs, had suggested that we might climb
again together,
15
John and I had shared so many memorable climbs. My mind went back to the last long climb that we had
enjoyed together, which was on Lliwedd mountain during a June heatwave. The streams had dried up and all the
grasses were burnt yellow by the sun. As we neared the cliff and stopped for a rest, John suddenly disappeared
to return some considerable time later clutching a small plastic bag filled with the coolest, clearest water that
you could imagine.
16
We climbed in the shadow of a great cliff. We finally arrived at the top of the climb on the west summit. To our
amazement, we saw that storm clouds were tumbling over me Nantlle hills like a huge waterfall, their progress
slow, but threatening.
17
We collected the rope and hurried down to our camp, racing against nature. John cooked our dinner as the first
rumbles of distant thunder sent us hurrying into the tent.
18
We no longer needed a plastic bag to catch the water. The rain came down in sheets, drumming on the tent, but
we were dry in our man-made cavern, fascinated by the power and the majesty of the storm around us.
19
Then suddenly I felt a gentle tug on the rope, followed by a more urgent one, suggesting that I make a move.
'Climbing!' I shouted, and started up the steep slab above. When I neared the top, I could see John's feet
dangling in space. He had obviously found somewhere comfortable to sit and look at the view.
20
1 can still share the wild hills with the wind and the rain. They are my mountains of longing; when I am not
there my only wish is to return, for they have been my friends for so long.

A Finally, it died away like the outgoing tide and, in the deepening silence, sleep drifted into the tent. The
next day would bring another adventure.
B I took no persuading, and so here I was. The legs didn't bend so easily now, but the spirit was more
than willing. The thrill of climbing was still the same, and conquering the next few feet of rock was just as
exciting as always.
C As I got closer, he peered down, grinning from ear to ear. 'Daydreaming?' he enquired. Nothing had
changed. Time had marched on and my limbs were a little stiffer, but the hills were the same.
D It was heaven. I had wondered what was taking so long; he had found some trickling over mosses and
with great patience had captured half a cupful in the plastic bag. We took it in turns to have a sip until it had
gone and then plodded across me hillside to our chosen route.
E A storm in the hills is an experience not to be missed. We completed our meal, and crept into our
sleeping bags. Thunder echoed around the hills and lightning lit the landscape. Sleep would not come and we
lay there marvelling at the power of nature.
F I needn't have worried: he was up in no time and it was all that I could do to take the rope in fast
enough. We set off down the mountains as fast as we dared in the conditions.
G We ignored their presence and relaxed in the evening sunlight, watching their relentless progress out of
the corner of our eyes for some considerable time, until the truth suddenly dawned upon us: our heatwave was
coming to a sudden end.
H What was I saying and what was I doing standing on a thin rock ledge, tied to a spike of rock with
space below my feet and the mountains of Snowdonia spread out before me?

KEYS
15 B 16 D 17 G 18 E 19 A 20 C
READING 4
(first certificate first 62)
ACTION WILL BE TAKEN
Probably one of the strangest interludes in my life was the time I spent as an employee in Alfred Wunsiedel's
factory. By nature I am inclined more to pensiveness and inactivity than to work, but now and again prolonged
financial difficulties compel me to take on a so-called job. Finding myself once again at a low ebb of this kind, I
put myself in the hands of the employment office and was sent with seven other fellow-sufferers to Wunsiedel's
factory, where we were to undergo an aptitude test. The exterior of the factory was enough to arouse my
suspicions: the factory was built entirely of glass brick, and my aversion to well-lit buildings and well-lit rooms
is as strong as my aversion to work. I became even more suspicious when we were immediately served
breakfast in the cheerful coffee shop. Pretty waitresses brought us eggs, coffee and toast. The waitresses were so
cheerful that they appeared to be bursting with good cheer. Only a strong effort of will - so it seemed to me -
restrained them from singing away all day long. They were as crammed with unsung songs as chickens with
unlaid eggs. Right away I realised something that my fellow-sufferers evidently failed to see: that this breakfast
was already part of the test. I did something which normally no power on earth can make me do: I left the coffee
and egg untouched, got up, and paced up and down in the coffee shop, pregnant with action.
As a result I was the first to be ushered into the room where the questionnaires were. The room appeared to be
empty, and yet I was so sure of being observed that I behaved as someone pregnant with action behaves when
being observed: I ripped my pen impatiently from my pocket, unscrewed the top, sat down, and pulled the
questionnaire toward me, the way irritable customers snatch at the bill in a restaurant.
Question No 1: Do you consider it right for a human being to possess only two arms, two legs, eyes, and ears?
Here for the first time I reaped the harvest of my pensive nature and wrote without hesitation: `Even four arms,
legs and ears would not be adequate for my driving energy. Human beings are very poorly equipped.'
Question No 2: How many telephones can you handle at one time?
Here again the answer was as easy as simple arithmetic: `When there are only seven telephones,' I wrote, `I get
impatient; there have to be nine before I feel I am working to capacity.'
Question No 3: How do you spend your free time?
My answer: `I no longer acknowledge the term free time. On my fifteenth birthday I eliminated it from my
vocabulary, for in the beginning was the act.'
I got the job. Even with nine telephones I really didn't feel I was working to capacity. I shouted into the
mouthpiece: `Take immediate action!' or: `Do something! - We must have some action - Action will be taken -
Action has been taken - Action should be taken.' But as a rule - for I felt this was in keeping with the tone of the
place - I used the imperative.
Wunsiedel himself was one of those people who every morning, as they open their eyes, make up their minds to
act. With Wunsiedel, the most trivial activity looked like action: the way he put on his hat, the way - quivering
with energy - he buttoned up his overcoat, the kiss he gave his wife, everything was action. When he arrived at
his office he greeted his secretary with a cry of `Let's have some action!' And in ringing tones she would call
back: `Action will be taken!' Wunsiedel then went from department to department, calling out his cheerful:
`Let's have some action!' Everyone would answer: `Action will be taken!' And I would call out to him too, with
a radiant smile, when he looked into my office: `Action will be taken!' "
Within a week I had increased the number of telephones on my desk to eleven, and every morning on the
streetcar I enjoyed thinking up new imperatives, or chasing the words take action through various tenses and
modulations.
8 Why did the writer want a job ?
A He was a very energetic person.
B He was short of money and he needed it.
C He was a very pensive person.
D He needed a more profitable job than his previous one.

9 What was the first thing he didn't like?

A The design of the building.
B The interior of the building was dark.
C There was too much light.
D They were immediately served breakfast.

10 What was his impression at breakfast time?

A Everything looked too good to be true.
B The waitresses were unhappy and couldn't sing.
C He didn't like what he was served.
D Breakfast was marvellous.
11 Why didn't he finish his breakfast ?
A He didn't like eggs and coffee.
B He was called in the room first.
C He was nervous about the test.
D He knew he was being observed.

12 ..."and pulled the questionnaire toward me, the way irritable customers snatch at the bill in a restaurant"

What does the writer mean by comparing these two situations?

A The questionnaire was as difficult as the bill was high.
B The questionnaire had been long-expected, like the bill.
C The questionnaire was presented in an irritating way, like the bill.
D The questionnaire was unwanted and unpleasant, like the bill.

13 What do you understand by the way he answered the questions?

A He wanted to show he was a very energetic man.
B He was a very busy man.
C He thought human beings are by nature imperfect.
D He wanted to work in a big company with at least nine phones.

14. What impression do you get about the situation in the factory?
A Everyone was really busy.
B There was a cheerful atmosphere.
C Only the writer and Wunsiedel were busy.
D There was no real action taken.

KEY
8B 9C 10 A 11 D 12 B 13 A 14 D

READING 5 (multiple matching) (old Gold progress test1-5)

THE GREAT OUTDOORS
We spoke to four people whose jobs are connected with travel to exciting parts of the world
A
ALAN WALKER: ADVENTURE TRAVEL GUIDE. After qualifying as a geography teacher, Alan taught
for several years at a school in north London. Then, one day, he decided to leave and do something different. He
got a job with a small adventure travel company driving loads of tourists overland from London to places like
North Africa and Kathmandu. In 1991, after the company closed down, he and three colleagues decided to set
up one of their own. They wanted to continue the idea of accompanying small groups of adventure tourists to
unusual places. Alan told us that one aspect of the work that he really enjoys is training new tour leaders. 'It
feels like being back in the classroom,' he says. 'I also enjoy dealing with the public, particularly giving video
presentations to groups of people who are thinking of coming on our tours. It's good to meet people face-to-face
and find out what they want out of a tour, rather than treating them as a list of names on a sheet of paper. 'Alan
regrets not travelling as much as he used to. 'I'm usually desk-bound these days, organising travel for others'.
B
BRIAN OLDMAN: VULCANOLOGIST. Brian's passion for volcanoes was kindled during a geology degree
at Liverpool University. Since then, he has always worked as close to volcanoes as possible. His main project at
the moment is monitoring an active volcano on an island in the Caribbean. The job of his team is to give daily
reports on the movements of steam and ash and warn of any risk to the island's 6000 inhabitants. 'The best part,'
he told us, 'is being out in the field and involved in the processes of active volcanoes. The only part I don't like
is when the volcano is covered in cloud and you can't see what's going on.' Back in the UK, Brian is involved in
the development of a task force, a group of people ready to react rapidly to volcanic eruptions around the world.
The aim is to get scientists to the scene to give expert advice as soon as possible, wherever the eruption may be.
C
CLIVE WREN: OUTDOOR EQUIPMENT SPECIALIST. After leaving engineering school in Zimbabwe,
Clive went to work as a trainee product developer in a large outdoor equipment factory in South Africa. A series
of senior positions in product development soon came his way, taking him all over the world to research
manufacturing techniques. In 1992, he was offered his current job as footwear product manager with an outdoor
equipment company based in Britain. Clive says that he likes being involved in developing a range of products
and getting a good response from customers at the end of it. 'I also enjoy reading outdoor-related magazines.' he
says, 'which often contain important information on products'.
Fortunately Clive is keen on outdoor pursuits himself. 'At the weekends, I often go walking in all weathers with
a different boot on each foot to test them out, much to the embarrassment of my young son. And I'm getting into
rock climbing as we are developing products for that at the moment.
D
DENNIS LOWE: MAP PUBLISHER. Dennis studied cartography, the science of mapmaking, at college in
Oxford and has worked for a number of years as a professional cartographer with a company that publishes
atlases and high-quality maps. As the years have progressed, he's gradually moved away from the actual
drawing of maps towards the publishing side of the business and is now in charge of a series of detailed maps
aimed at walkers and those involved in adventure travel expeditions. 'We only maintain stocks of around 300 of
each map that we publish and so I have to ensure that revised editions and reprints appear on time. Although we
maintain very high standards of information and content, we still receive many letters from the public related to
the accuracy of our maps and I have to make a careful response. I still get quite a buzz, though, when I walk into
a bookshop and see someone choosing one of our publications over the other publisher's products.'

A Alan Walker
B Brian Otoman
C Clive Wren
D Dennis Lowe
Which person ...
was part of a group which started a new business? 0 A
aims to introduce a new service in the future? 1
enjoys getting positive reports from customers? 2
feels that he spends too long in one place? 3
feels satisfied when people choose his products? 4
gave up a previous career by choice? 5
finds his work is affected by the weather? 6
is responsible for telling people of possible dangers? 7
is glad not to be working in an office? 8
is responsible for dealing with complaints from customers? 9
is concerned to avoid delays in his area of work? 10
keeps in touch with what his clients are reading? 11
likes to provide a personal service to people? 12
makes use of skills learnt in a previous career? 13
uses his foe time to do research related to his work? 14
was trained in an industrial company? 15

KEY: Reading (multiple matching)

1B 2C 3A 4D 5A 6B 7B 8B 9D 10 D 11 C
12 A 13 A 14 C 15 C