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I. LISTENING
Part 1. You are going to hear a talk which gives information about the congestion charging scheme. While you listen, complete the notes below using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Your answers
Part 2: Listen to a lecture about population growth. For questions 1 – 5, decide whether these statements are TRUE (T) or FALSE (F).
1. Birth rate is the average number of children born in a year, per thousand people.
2. Fertility rate in UK was first reported to have been so high in 2008.
3. Fertility rate in the UK is higher than it was twenty years ago because a higher proportion of women are having children.
4. 25% of women in their mid-forties do not have children nowadays.
5. Fertility rates are low partly because parents do not have time to have children.
Your answers
Part 3: You will hear an interview with someone who has started a magazine for children. For questions 1-5, choose the best answer(A, B, or C). You will hear the recording twice.
1. When talking about her job as a primary school teacher, Kate emphasizes_________
A. how much effort the job required.
B. how good she was as a teacher.
C. how difficult the children could be.
2. Kate decided to start her own magazine for children_________
A. because both children and parents suggested the idea.
B. when she was working in publishing for children.
C. after considering what was available for children.
3. What does Kate say about enthusiasm?
A. Children respond positively to it.
B. Children cannot maintain it for long.
C. Children experience it more than adults.
4. Kate says that the age range for the magazine_________
A. may change to some extent in the future.
B. may not be exactly what it is stated to be.
C. has been decided after asking parents.
5. Kate says that one of her aims for the magazine is to_________
A. include subjects that children don’t normally read about.
B. create an interest in subjects some children consider boring.
C. encourage children to choose what they want as a career.
Your answers
Part 4: You will hear a part of an interview with a man called Ewan Richardson , who is trying to persuade people to use less paper. For questions 1-10, complete the sentences with NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each gap. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes.
Every year, the average UK citizen uses about _________________________ of paper.
Most of the world’s paper comes from very_________________________ forests.
The production of paper causes terrible _________________________ in some places.
The destruction of the forests is a much bigger cause of global warming than ________________________.
Ewan says that there are already paper recycling bins in many_________________________.
You can use less paper by avoiding unnecessary _________________________when you are studying or working.
You can often reuse_________________________ that you have received.
To receive less junk mail, don’t ask for_________________________ when you buy something.
Stop receiving any magazines you don’t always read, or_________________________ them with others.
Most_________________________ published in Britain are now printed on recycled paper.
Your answers:
II. LEXICO-GRAMMAR
Part 1: Choose the word or phrase that best completes each sentence. Write your answers A, B, C or D in the numbered boxes.
1. In one year’s time, she ________ in this company for 15 years.
A. will be working B. has worked C. will have worked D. will work
2. I’m incredibly sorry that I broke your valuable vase; is there anything that I can do to ____ amends?
A. have B. take C. do D. make
3. I don’t believe there’s a ________ of evidence that could be held against him.
A. grain B. shred C. strain D. drop
4. Most armies around the world use satellite technology to ________ orders.
A. emit B. impart C. release D. relay
5. I think that it is important for him to be financially independent ________?
A. isn’t it B. is it C. doesn’t he D. do I
6. Tom is talking to John in a café.
Tom: You should never have shouted at your mother! John: “________”.
A. Famous last words B. Well, you live and learn
C. It’s a small word D. You can’t win them all
7. Although she had been told quite ________ to pull herself together, she simply couldn’t stop crying.
A. rigidly B. sternly C. unrelentingly D. unsympathetically
8. ________ the government fall, the stock market will crash.
A. Provided B. In case C. Had D. Should
9. After several hours on the road they became ________ to the fact that they would never reach the hotel by nightfall.
A. dejected B. resigned C. depressed D. disillusioned
10. Richard, my neighbour, ________ in World War II.
A. says to fight B. says to have fought
C. is said to fight D. is said to have fought
11. I was sitting on the bus when I heard this odd ________ of conversation.
A. lumps B. air C. snatch D. stab
12. The clinic experienced an ________ of support from the community when they were threatened with closure.
A. outpouring B. outbreak C. overflowing D. outbursting
13. We were ________ of our lives when the lightening struck the trees beside us.
A. out of thin air B. over the edge C. under a cloud D. within an inch
14. Tara and I had a lot of arguments last year, but it’s all water under the ________ now.
A. boat B. canoe C. bridge D. harbour
15. The weather here can be compared with ________.
A. one in Laos B. that in Laos C. Laos D. those of Laos
16. Jack’s commitment to work waxed and ________ throughout the year.
A. waned B. wept C. faxed D. waved
17. I think the new underground railway is a ________ elephant. The city already has a very efficient bus and tram system.
A. blue B. brown C. black D. white
18. ________ invisible to the unaided eye, ultraviolet light can be detected in a number of ways.
A. Although is B. Despite C. Even though it D. Although
19. Don’t call Pam just now. Something has gone wrong with the computer; she’s ________ because she can’t get the data she needs.
A. in a stew B. out of a rut C. in the swim D. under the sink
20. For ________ of anything better to do, I watched television for a while.
A. need B. absence C. want D. shortage
Your answers:
Part 2: Complete the following sentences with one preposition/particle for each blank. Write your answers in the numbered boxes.
1. We all have to follow the rules, and none of us is _______ the law.
2. She spent twenty years studying the history of London. She knows it _______ out.
3. The teacher has obliged Robert to take ______ the offensive remarks he made to Julia.
4. You have to set the advantages of the scheme _______ the disadvantages.
5. Mr. Deacon next door had a very serious operation. Apparently it’s a miracle he pulled _______ .
6. We have been really busy, but things are starting to slacken _______ now.
7. Sally is a lawyer _______ profession, but she’s pretty good writer, too.
8. It is said that Isaac Newton worked _______ the law of gravity after he’d been hit on the head by an apple!
9. I’m trying to arrange an interview with the editor but it’s difficult to pin him _______ to an exact time.
10. If a joke or funny story has you _______ stitches, it makes you laugh uncontrollably.
Your answers:
Part 3: Write the correct FORM of each bracketed word in the numbered boxes below.
The wild animals we love most
(1)_______(PRESENT) of wild animals, such as elephants, tigers and pandas, are everywhere in movies, books and toy stores. But research suggests that this (2)_______ (POPULAR) may have a (3) _______(PROBLEM) effect on public (4)_______(PERCEIVE) of how much at risk these animals are in nature, in a survey carried out by French ecologists, people were asked which animals they considered most (5)______(CHARISMA). The top ten were: lions, elephants, giraffes, leopards, pandas, cheetahs, polar bears, wolves and gorillas. (6)______ (IRONY), the biggest fans of these animals knew very little about their (7)_______(SURVIVE) prospects – the sad truth being that many of them face possible extinction in the coming decades.
The researchers suggest that the (8)______(WIDE) presence of these animals in popular culture makes people think their populations in the wild are strong, and this may lead to (9) ________(COMPLACENT). One of the researchers has said that ‘companies using giraffes, cheetahs or polar bears for marketing may be contributing (10)_______(INTENTION) to the false idea that animal populations in the wild are secure and not in need of conservation.
Your answers:
Part 4: Choose the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions. Write your answers in the numbered boxes.
1. Scientists warn of the impending extinction of many species of plants and animals.
A. imminent B. irrefutable C. formidable D. absolute
2. Reading a good mystery only whets my appetite for more books by the same author.
A. waits B. cajoles C. sharpens D. resolves
3. Their opposition to slavery is borne out in Richard Poplin’s studies of eighteenth-century racism.
A. created B. confirmed C. imagined D. bewildered
Your answers:
Part 5: Choose the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the word(s) that is OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions. Write your answers in the numbered boxes.
1. Teachers are still getting used to the latest upheaval in the education system.
A. alternation B. stagnation C. oscillation D. innovation
2. The novel’s complex, imaginative style does not lend itself to translation.
A. inapplicable B. untamable C. unsuitable D. inconvinceible
3. Nancy and her boss worked so well together. She concurred with him about the new direction the company was taking.
A. disagreed B. agreed C. surrendered D. confessed
Your answers:
Part 6: Choose the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the underlined part that needs correction in each of the following questions. Write your answers in the numbered boxes.
1. His career i n the elicited drug trade ended with the police raid this morning.
A B C D
2. There's evidence to suggest that child abuse is not just a recent phenomena.
A B C D
3. His claim to be an important and unjustly neglectful painter is sheer self-deception - he's no good at all.
A B C D
4. A dolphin locates underwater objects in its path by doing a series of clicking and whistling sounds.
A B C D
Your answers:
III. READING
Part 1: Read the following passage and decide which answer (A, B, C, or D) best fits each gap. Write your answer in the numbered boxes.
SHADES OF MEANING
When we decide to choose a colour for anything-whether it’s a T-shirt or a cover for a mobile phone – our brains have to work really hard. In order for us to (1)______ a choice that feels right, the brain has to (2)_____ various bits of information.
There are various (3) _____ which make each of us like or dislike certain colours. Firstly, our brains consider past associations. These are completely (4) ______ and are a result of our individual experiences. Particular colours call to (5)_____ certain memories which may be connected to a place, a person or an experience. For example, we may associate red with the (6) ______ of a fire or a favourite childhood sweater. Blue and green may (7) _____us of holidays and peaceful weekends in the country.
Secondly, there is evidence to show that different colours affects our nervous system in different ways. Red can actually (8)_______ the level of adrenaline in our body. This is why enegetic people are drawn to red and also why sports cars are (9)_______this colour. On the other hand, blues and greens are passive colours which have a relaxing (10) ______ on the nervous system and attract people who comepletly at ease.
1. A. make B. keep C. set D. do
2. A. run B. manufature C. process D. produce
3. A. aspects B. factors C. ways D. methods
4. A. hidden B. private C. secret D. personal
5. A. feeling B. heart C. thought D. mind
6. A. warmth B. temperature C. heater D. burning
7. A. recall B. remind C. remember D. regret
8. A. lift B. rise C. raise D. hold
9. A. traditionally B. knowingly C. fashionably D. recognisably
10. A. message B. result C. effect D. note
Your answers:
Part 2: Fill each of the following numbered blanks with ONE suitable word. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes.
The World Cup
Lionel Messi and Argentina are three games away (1)_______ winning the World Cup, but against the Netherlands they will face their toughest test of the tournament so (2)_______. Friday’s quarterfinal at the Lusail Stadium is a compelling match-up, not least (3)_______ of the World Cup history between the two teams. They (4)_______ met in the semifinals eight years ago – a goalless game that Argentina ultimately won on penalties – and prior to that have contested two (5)_______ knockout games: a quarterfinal in 1998 – best remembered for Dennis Bergkamp’s sensational winning goal – and the final in 1978 when Argentina (6)_______ the World Cup for the first time. Several key protagonists remain from the 2014 encounter. For the Netherlands, Louis van Gaal has returned (7)______ manager and veteran Daley Blind is still a key part of the national team, while Messi remains Argentina’s talisman and most potent attacking threat. (8)________ of the spotlight, as ever, will be on the 35-year-old Messi, (9)_______ has been central to Argentina’s best moments of the tournament until now. Belal Ahmed has traveled to Doha, Qatar, to watch Lionel Messi play for the first time. Fans around the world flock to watch Lionel Messi play at Qatar 2022. With three goals – including a superb strike against Mexico (10)_______ a well-worked move against Australia – and one assist from four games, Messi is the heartbeat of this Argentina team, even in the twilight of his career.
Your answers:
Part 3: Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, or D) for each question. Write your answers in the numbered boxes.
‘If you’ve finished your exams and have absolutely no idea what to do next, you’re not alone’, says Sheridan Hughes, an occupational psychologist at Career Analysts, a career counseling service. ‘At 18, it can be very difficult to know what you want to do because you don’t really know what you’re interested in.’ Careers guidance, adds Alexis Halliam, one of her colleagues, is generally poor and ‘people can end up in the wrong job and stay there for years because they’re good at something without actually enjoying it’.
To discover what people are good at, and more fundamentally, what they will enjoy doing, Career Analysts give their clients a battery of personality profile questionnaires and psychometric tests. An in-depth interview follows, in which the test results are discussed and different career paths and options are explored with the aid of an occupational psychologist. Career Analysts offers guidance to everyone, from teenagers to retirees looking for a new focus in life. The service sounded just what I need. Dividing my time as I do between teaching and freelance journalism, I definitely need advice about consolidating my career. Being too ancient for Career Analysts’ students career option guidance and not, unfortunately, at the executive level yet, I opted for the career management package. This is aimed at people who are established in their jobs and who either want a change or some advice about planning the next step in their careers.
Having filled in a multitude of personality indicator questionnaires at home, I then spent a rather gruelling morning being aptitude-tested at Career Analysts’ offices. The tests consisted of logical seasoning followed by verbal, mechanical and spatial aptitude papers. Logical seasoning required me to pick out the next shape in a sequence of triangles, squares and oblongs. I tried my best but knew that it was really a lost cause. I fared rather better when it came to verbal aptitude – finding the odd one out in a series of words couldn’t be simpler. My complacency was short-lived, however, when I was confronted with images of levers and pulleys for the mechanical aptitude papers. My mind went blank. I had no idea what would happen to wheel X when string Y was pulled.
At home, filling questionnaires, I had been asked to give my instinctive reaction ( not an over-considered one) to statements like: ‘It bothers me if people think I’m being odd or unconventional’ or ‘I like to do my planning alone without interruptions from others. I was asked to agree or disagree on scale of one to five with ‘I often take on impossible odd’, or ‘ it is impossible for me to believe that the chance or luck plays an important role in my life’. I was told to indicate how important I consider status to be in a job, and how important money and material benefits.
The questions attempt to construct a picture of the complete individual. Using aptitude tests alongside personality profiling, occupational psychologists will, the theory goes, be able to guide a client towards a rewarding, fulfilling career. Some questions are as straightforward as indicating whether or not you would enjoy a particular job. Designing aircraft runways? Preparing legal documents? Playing a musical instrument? Every career going makes an appearance and as I was shown later, the responses tend to form a coherent pattern.
Having completed my personality and aptitude tests, I sat down with Sheridan Hughes, who asked me fairly searching personal and professional questions. What do my parents and siblings do for a living? Why had I chosen to do an English degree? ‘I need to get a picture of you as a person and how you’ve come to be who you are’, she explained. ‘What we do works because it’s a mixture of science and counseling. We use objective psychometric measures to discover our clients’ natural strengths and abilities and then we talk to them about what they want from life’.
There were no real surprises in my own test results, nor in the interview that followed it. ‘We’re interested in patterns’, Mrs. Hughes explained’, and the pattern for you is strongly verbal and communicative’. This was putting it rather kindly. I had come out as average on the verbal skills test and below average in logic, numerical, perceptual and mechanical seasoning. My spatial visualization was so bad it was almost off scale. ‘A career in cartography, navigation, tiling or architecture would not be playing to your strengths’, she said delicately.
Mrs. Hughes encouraged me to expand the writing side of my career and gave me honest, practical suggestions as to how I could go about it. ‘Widen the scopes of your articles’, she said. ‘You could develop an interest in medical and psychological fields. ‘These latter, she said, would sit comfortably with an interest in human behaviour indicated on my personality – profiling questionnaires. She suggested that I consider writing e-learning content for online courses, an avenue that would never occurred to me.
1. What does this passage mainly discuss?
A. Finding our client’s natural strengths and abilities B. What are the best questionnaires for jobs
C. What are the most popular jobs D. Finding the career that fits your personality
2. Which of the following is mentioned in the first paragraph?
A. People accepting inappropriate advice B. People underestimating their own abilities
C. People being unwilling to take risks D. People constantly changing their minds
3. What does the writer say about Career Analysts in the second paragraph?
A. It is about to offer a service for people at executive level.
B. She was initially doubtful that it could be useful to her.
C. Only one of its services was relevant to her.
D. The range of services it offers is unique.
4. The word "multitude" in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to ______.
A. rarity B. paucity C. dearth D. host
5. What does the writer say about the statements on the questionnaires?
A. One of them focused on her attitude situation only.
B. One of them focused on her attitude to risks.
C. She found some of them rather strange.
D. She thought about them for longer than she was supposed to.
6. In the fifth paragraph, the word "straightforward" is closest in meaning to ______.
A. simple B. skeptical C. objective D. dominated
7. The writer says that the idea behind the questionnaires is that_____.
A. they will encourage people to have new ideas about possible careers.
B. people will find some of the questions quite hard to answer.
C. they will give me a more accurate picture of people than the aptitude tests.
D. the answers to them and the aptitude tests will provide all the necessary information.
8. The word "they" in paragraph 6 refers to ______.
A. measures B. strengths C. clients D. abilities
9. Some of the questions Sheridan Hughes asked concerned the writer’s_______.
A. progress through life B. opinions of the tests and questionnaires
C. main regrets D. relationships with family members
10. The advice Mrs. Hughes gave to the writer included the suggestion that she should_______.
A. concentrate only on writing and not on any other kind of work.
B. increase the number of subjects she writes about.
C. think about taking a course on writing.
D. do something she had previously considered unappealing.
Your answers:
Part 4: Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, or D) for each question. Write your answer in the numbered boxes.
Mutual harm
A. In forests and fields all over the world, plants are engaged in a deadly chemical war to suppress other plants and create conditions for their own success. But what if we could learn the secrets of these plants and use them for our own purposes? Would it be possible to use their strategies and weapons to help us improve agriculture by preventing weeds from germinating and encouraging growth in crops? This possibility is leading agricultural researchers to explore the effects plants have on other plants with the aim of applying their findings to farming.
B. The phenomenon by which an organism produces one or more chemicals that influence the growth, survival and reproduction of other organisms is called allelopathy. These chemicals are a subset of chemicals produced by organisms called secondary metabolites. A plant's primary metabolites are associated with growth and development. Allelochemicals, however, are part of a plant's defence system and have a secondary function in the life of the organism. The term allelopathy comes from the Greek: allelo and pathy meaning 'mutual harm'. The term was first used by the Austrian scientist Hans Molisch in 1937, but people have been noting the negative effects that one plant can have on another for a long time. In 300 BC, the Greek philosopher Theophrastus noticed that pigweed had a negative effect on alfalfa plants. In China, around the first century AD, the author of Shennong Ben Cao Jing described 267 plants that have the ability to kill pests.
C. Allelopathy can be observed in many aspects of plant ecology. It can affect where certain species of plants grow, the fertility of competitor plants, the natural change of plant communities over time, which plant species are able to dominate a particular area, and the diversity of plants in an area. Plants can release allelopathic chemicals in several ways: their roots can release chemicals directly into the soil, and their bark and leaves can release chemicals into the soil as they rot. Initially, scientists were interested in the negative effects of allelopathic chemicals. Observations of the phenomenon included poor growth of some forest trees, damage to crops, changes in vegetation patterns and, interestingly, the occurrence of weed-free areas. It was also realised that some species could have beneficial effects on agricultural crop plants and the possible application of allelopathy became the subject of research.
D. Today research is focused on the effects of weeds on crops, the effects of crops on weeds, and how certain crops affect other crops. Agricultural scientists are exploring the use of allelochemicals to regulate growth and to act as natural herbicides, thereby promoting sustainable agriculture by using these natural chemicals as an alternative to man-made chemicals. For example, a small fast-growing tree found in Central America, sometimes called the 'miracle tree', contains a poison that slows the growth of other trees but does not affect its own seeds. Chemicals produced by this tree have been shown to improve the production of rice. Similarly, box elder - another tree - stimulates the growth of bluestem grass, which is a tall prairie grass found in the mid-western United States. Many weeds may use allelopathy to become ecologically successful; a study in China found that 25 out of 33 highly poisonous weeds had significant allelopathic properties.
E. There may be at least three applications of allelopathy to agriculture. Firstly, the allelopathic properties of wild or cultivated plants may be bred into crop plants through genetic modification or traditional breeding methods to improve the release of desired allelochemicals and thus improve crop yield. Secondly, a plant with strong allelopathic properties could be used to control weeds by planting it in rotation with an agricultural crop and then leaving it to rot and become part of the soil in order to inhibit the growth of weeds. Finally, naturally occurring allelopathic chemicals could be used in combination with man-made chemicals. Boosting the efficiency of man-made herbicides could lead to a reduction in the amount of herbicides used in agriculture, which is better for the environment.
F. Despite the promising uses of allelopathic chemicals, agricultural scientists are still cautious. Firstly, allelopathic chemicals may break down and disappear in the soil more easily than artificial chemicals. Secondly, allelopathic chemicals may be harmful to plants other than weeds. Thirdly, allelopathic chemicals could persist in the soil for a long time and may affect crops grown in the same field as the allelopathic plants at a later date. Because the effects of allelopathic chemicals are not yet fully known, agricultural scientists will need to continue to study the biological war between plants.
Choose the correct heading for paragraphs B-F from the list of headings below. Write the correct number, i-ix in the numbered boxes.
List of Headings
i. What are metabolites?
ii. The negative effects of allelopathy
iii. Biological warfare in the plant world
iv. Why we cannot use allelopathic chemicals at present
v. What is allelopathy?
vi. The reasons why plants compete with other plants
vii. The effects of allelopathy and realisation of its possible uses
viii. How could we use allelopathic chemicals in farming?
ix. Specific examples of allelopathic plants
Example Answer
Paragraph A iii
1. Paragraph B
2. Paragraph C
3. Paragraph D
4. Paragraph E
5. Paragraph F
Your answers:
Questions 6-10: Complete the summary below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer. Write your answer in the numbered boxes.
Scientists can see three potential uses of allelopathic chemicals in farming. Firstly, the ability to produce allelopathic chemicals could be (6) ______ into agricultural crops; secondly, allelopathic plants could be planted in rotation with the (7) ______; finally, naturally produced chemicals could be combined with (8) ______ herbicides. However, agriculturalists are still (9)______ as allelopathic plants may have negative effects on plants which are not the intended target and the chemicals could remain in the ground for a(n) (10) ______, even after the plants themselves have died.
Your answers:
Part 5: You are going to read an article about yoga, For questions 1-10, choose from the sections (A - D). The sections may be chosen more than once. Write your answers in the numbered boxes.
The rise of yoga
Yoga has become a big business in certain parts of the world. Australian journalist Maggie Curran reports on her own experiences of ancient discipline.
A. A decade ago, I was commissioned to interview an up-and-coming yoga entrepreneur whose particular brand of yoga involved 26 poses in a humid, heated room with mirrors and carpets. When I visited the man’s studio and caught the stench and the robotic instructions from a mic’d-up teacher, I thought: ‘This will never take off’, I had been doing a relatively gentle form of yoga for several years, but had never managed to get beyond beginners’ level. I had come to assume that was all I was capable of, but somehow had never stopped completely. Halfway through the interview, the yoga businessman looked at me and said: ‘You’re overweight. You should join my classes. It would transform your life’ ‘What? was all I could splutter in response to this breach in interview etiquette. For years after that interview, I would walk past that man’s expanding chain of studios and think: ‘How could someone like that become so successful?’ At the same time, I wondered if he’d had a point – was it possible to completely change your body shape by doing his yoga? And should this even be an aspiration?
B. These days, yoga has morphed from being an exercise you might do once a week in a gym to a way of life, and a physical and spiritual ideal to aspire to. About 40 million people are estimated to practise yoga in the US and the global yoga market is worth over $80bn. It’s not just the studios; yoga mats and clothing have become must-have items in certain places. In my area of Sydney, upmarket yogis have colonised the high street. Most people seem to have stopped wearing proper clothes. Unless you are around the bus stops in time for the morning commute, you see people dressed almost exclusively in exercise gear – yoga pants, vest top and hoodies, flip-flops in the summer, trainers in winter. Rich targets for satirists, these ‘devotees’ cycle around the neighborhood, with rolled-up yoga mats on their backs, in search of organic fruit and vegetables. Ludicrous as they are in some ways, though, it would be dishonest not to disclose that I once secretly yearned to be one of them and to have what they had.
C. In many respects, yoga is the perfect pastime for our age – the meditative elements give us the opportunity to find peace and stillness in a time of increasingly hectic and crowded information, the instructional bits give us moral lessons, while the stretchy, bendy, sweaty physical stuff is a great way of countering hours a day spent hunched over a computer. Early last year, putting to the back of my mind and any qualms I had about the ethics of how a 5,000-year-old spiritual discipline has been turned into a profit-making machine, I left my old class and joined an intensive programme to become ‘a modern yogi’. This meant attending classes six times a week, meditating daily, keeping a journal and taking part in weekly meetings that are part tutorial on mindfulness and part group therapy. I stuck with it and found things started to shift. My body felt looser, more pliable. Physically it was tough, and it took a month to really get my fitness level moving, but gradually I was able to keep up with the most athletic classes and my skin and hair seemed to glow.
D. I then started thinking about what I was doing – about the nature of yoga and how so many people pour energy into their bodies when perhaps they should be trying to pour energy into the people and politics around them. Self-care is great – but what if there’s no energy left to care about anyone else? I wrote in my journal, I went to the Monday night tutorials, I meditated, I drank juices, I did all the right things to become a modern yogi. I was on the way to joining the ranks of the chilled-out people. I saw everyday around me. I was almost there before I started wondering – is this really what I wanted to be? The answer was, of course, no, I kept at it for about two months before the narcissism of the whole enterprise got to me. There were other things, it turned out, that I had to do.
In which section does the writer
IV. WRITING
Part 1: Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it means exactly the same as the sentence before it.
Part 2: Use the word given in brackets and make any necessary additions to write a new sentence in such a way that it is as similar as possible in meaning to the original sentence. Do NOT change the form of the given word. You must use between three and six words, including the word given. (0) has been done as an example.
0. Jane regretted speaking so rudely to the old lady (more)
→ Jane ________ wishes she had spoken more ______ politely to the old lady.
Part 3: Write an essay of about 250 words on the following topic:
Some believe that younger family members should be legally responsible for supporting older family members when they become physically, mentally and financially unable to look after themselves.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?