Breaking down the language barrier?

You are going to read an article about Esperanto. For questions 31-36, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.

 

Breaking down the language barrier?

A look at Esperanto

 

We are supposed to live in a 'globalised' world, or so we are increasingly taught in school. Many of us share elements of a globalised culture, at least, perhaps watching Japanese movies, listening to K-pop, or eating Indian food. Why is it, then, that so many of us tussle with the basics of global communication in this age of instant messaging, email and video conferencing? English may certainly be the (self-appointed) lingua franca of the globalised world, with millions of students struggling daily to learn its phrasal verbs and idioms. But English is the mother tongue of only a relatively small percentage of the global population, so wouldn't it be easier if we all spoke a simpler language? Perhaps what is needed is an international language.

 

What is interesting is that, over a hundred years ago, a Dr Ludwig Zamenhof published a book about a new language that he had developed, with the intention of providing an appropriate international means of communication. He called this language 'Esperanto', and it is said that hundreds of thousands of people have learned to speak it, with about one thousand today even using it as their first language. It is claimed to be easy to master and, more significantly, as an artificial language, it is appreciated as being devoid of any of the ideological or political connotations that accompany languages of former colonial powers, such as English. It is said to be learnt much faster than English, with a one[1]symbol-one-sound writing system (making spelling easier) and a grammar with a limited number of rules. Vocabulary even borrows a number of words that are already shared internationally, such as telefono (telephone) and matematiko (mathematics). In short, Esperanto may well be the answer that second-language learners have been seeking.

 

The problem is that it is likely that, before reading this article, you might never have heard of Esperanto, and you would almost certainly not be alone on that point. The main criticism of Esperanto is that, despite its lofty ideals, the language never really caught on among the global population in the way its creator intended. Whether there was a vested interest in preventing the language from spreading is hard to say. The key factor is that the language does, in fact, look rather similar to Romance languages such as French, Spanish or Italian, at the expense of other popular languages such as Arabic or Mandarin. As such, the 'international' language is perhaps not international enough, and may even be considered as maintaining a primarily Western point of view, something the creator of Esperanto initially set out to mitigate.

 

As mentioned, Esperanto is what is known as an 'artificial language'. Those involved with the development of its vocabulary and structures were well aware that the language they were creating had few ties with languages of the past, and so one of the basic features of any other language - that of a cultural heritage - can be considered missing for speakers of Esperanto. However, advocates of Esperanto would counter this criticism by claiming that all languages can be considered as artificial, in the sense that the creators of any language were human. What Esperanto lacks in culture, it makes up for in efficiency, and as language learners in the busy modern world are constantly under pressure of time, it is possible that, for some, it is worth developing communicative efficiency at the expense of a certain prestige. In addition, as Esperanto itself is now a over a century old, one might argue that this language, too, has built up a history of its own, one shared by the thousands who speak it and use it as an international means of communication.

 

Whether we consider the Esperanto experiment a success or failure, one thing is for certain: an international language should reflect all aspects of global society, while at the same time be easy to learn, free from ambiguity, and neutral in terms of ideology. Critics of Esperanto claim its failure in each of these aspects, while proponents of the language assert that it has succeeded in areas where English might have failed. While there may not be enough global uptake of Esperanto to eventually topple English from its perch, there is no doubt that it has provoked increased interest in the debate on language in the shadow of globalisation, and this debate is far from over.

 

31.- What is the main point the writer is making in the first paragraph?

A) English has difficult features, but can still be an effective global language.

B) Schools tend to exaggerate the extent of globalisation in the world today.

C) Global communication is less straightforward than it should be.

D) World culture continues to become increasingly globalised.

 

32.- What does the writer suggest is the main reason why Esperanto appeals to learners?

A) Its spelling accurately reflects its pronunciation.

B) its grammar and vocabulary are relatively simple.

C) It is becoming increasingly widely spoken.

D) It lacks associations with a specific culture.

 

33.- How does the writer explain the fact that Esperanto has been less successful than initially hoped?

A) Esperanto is too closely associated with European languages.

B) Many learners find English more interesting than Esperanto.

C) Speakers of Arabic and Chinese find Esperanto difficult.

D) Esperanto has not been promoted widely enough.

 

34.- How does the writer suggest that Esperanto is now changing?

A) It can no longer be considered artificial.

B) It is developing its own culture.

C) Its vocabulary is rapidly expanding.

D) Its prestige is beginning to increase.

 

35.- The writer concludes that...

A) Esperanto is in some ways superior to English.

B) Esperanto meets all the criteria for an international language.

C) it is hard to predict what the future fate of Esperanto will be.

D) Esperanto has prompted useful discussions about language.

 

36.- What does 'it' in the last sentence of the last paragraph refer to?

A) Esperanto

B) uptake

C) perch

D) English

 

O’Dell, Felicity (2015) Reading and Use of English Test 1 Part 5. 2^nd edition. Cambridge University Press: Dubai. Pages 27 and 28.

Spectacular skull discovery in Georgia.

 Spectacular skull discovery in Georgia.

 

The spectacular fossilized skull of an ancient human ancestor that died nearly two million years ago has forced scientists to rethink the story of early human evolution. Anthropologist, scientists who study human development, unearthed the skull at a site in Dmanisi, in southern Georgia in the west of Asia, where other remains of human ancestors, simple stone tools and long-extinct animals have been dated to 1.8 million years old. Experts believe the skull is one of the most important fossil finds to date, but it has proved as controversial as it is amazing Analysis of the skull and other remains at Dmanisi suggests that in the past scientists may have been too ready to give different names to species of human ancestors who were discovered at different places in Africa. Many of those names may now have to be wiped from the textbooks.

 

The latest fossil is the only complete skull ever found of a human ancestor that lived at the time when our predecessors first walked out of Africa. The skull adds to a collection of bones recovered from Dmanisi that belong to five individuals, most likely an elderly male, two other adult males, a young female and a juvenile of unknown sex.

 

The site was a busy watering hole that human ancestors shared with giant extinct cheetah-like animals, sabre-toothed cars and other beasts. The carcasses of the individuals were found in collapsed dens where carnivores had apparently dragged them to eat. They are thought to have died within a few hundred years of one another. ‘Nobody has ever seen such a well-preserved skull from this period,’ said Christoph Zollikofer, a professor at Zurich University’s Anthropological Institute, who worked on the remains. ‘This is the first complete skull of an adult early Homo. They simply did not exist before, ‘ he said’. Homo as a species emerged around 2.4m years ago and includes modern humans.

 

But while the skull itself is spectacular, it is the implications of the discovery that have caused scientists in the field to pause for thought. Over decades excavating sites in Africa, researchers have named half a dozen different species of early human ancestor, but most, if not all, are now on shaky ground. The most recently unearthed individual had a long face, big teeth, and a very small braincase.

 

The remains at Dmanisi are thought to be early forms of Homo erectus, the first of our relatives to have body proportions like a modern human. The species arose in Africa around 1.8m years ago and may have been the first to harness fire and cook food. The Dmanisi fossils show that Homo erectus migrated as far as Asia soon after appearing to Africa.

 

The latest skull discovered in Dmanisi probably belonged to an adult male and was the largest of the collection. I had a long face and big teeth. But just under 550 cubic centimetres, it also had the smallest braincase of all the individuals found at the site. The odd dimensions of the fossil prompted the team to look at normal skull variation, both in modern humans and chimps, to see how they compared. They found that while Dmanisi skulls looked different from one another, the variations were no greater than those seen among modern people and among chimps.

 

The scientists went on to compare the Dmanisi remains with those of supposedly different species of human ancestors that lived in Africa at the time. They concluded that the variation among them was no greater than that seen at Dmanisi. Rather than being separate species, the human ancestors found in Africa from the same period may simply be formal forms of Homo erectus.

 

‘Everything that lived at the time of the Dmanisi remains was probably just Homo erectus’, said Professor Zollikofer. ‘We are not saying that scientists did things wrong in Africa, but they didn’t have the reference points we have. Part of the community will like it, but for another part I will be shocking news.’

 

David Lordkipanidze at the Georgian National Museum, who lead the Dmanisi excavations, said ‘If you found the Dmanisi skulls at isolated sites in Africa, some people would give them different species names. But one population can have all the variation. Five or six names are being used, but they could all be from one family.’

ESL Doctors Reading Comprehension

 

ESL Doctors Reading Comprehension Passage

When most people are ill with a non-life threatening condition they will most often see a General Practitioner, a GP, also called a Family Doctor. These doctors generally work in the local community in surgeries rather than in hospitals, so they are convenient for people to see for a consultation. However, other GPs can work in a very wide range of areas, such as in hospitals, in education and for insurance companies.

As the name suggests, GPs are doctors that do not have a specialty, such as a brain surgeon or cancer specialist: they are able to diagnose and treat all the possible diseases and problem that one of their patients might have. They can treat and manage most illnesses and perform some minor surgeries in their practice. Then for more serious cases they will refer the patient to a specialist that will work in a hospital.

If you are ill and need to see a GP you will normally need to make an appointment. Sometimes you can just walk into the surgery and see a doctor, but that is not very likely as GPs are normally very busy and all their appointment times will be fully booked. Often you have to wait several hours if not at least one of two days before you can get an appointment with a GP. If you are too ill to wait you have to go to a hospital and visit the accident and emergency department. 

GPs also make house-calls. These are when the GP comes to your house to treat you or see a patient. Most often a GP has to make house-calls to see elderly people who cannot get to the surgery easily. They might be ill and need to doctor to give them medicine or it could be that the GP just want to check on them and make sure that they are ok.

If you are ill, the doctor will normally prescribe you some medicine and tell you to go away for a few days before you go back and visit them again if you have not started to get better. The GP will also explain how you can have a better lifestyle that could prevent you from becoming ill in the first place. They will normally recommend that you stop smoking cigarettes (if you do), not to drink too much alcohol and to get exercise. Once you have your prescription you will need to visit a pharmacy to get the medicine the doctor prescribed you.

Four reviews of a book about habits.

Four reviews of a book about habits. 

A.- This book contains many obvious ideas, but if you are analyzing human behaviour, this is almost inevitable. However, it provides a useful framework which enables us to see ourselves more clearly. Rather than choosing to concentrate on peculiar habits, or acting as an all-knowing adviser, the author has assembled a collection of experiments which are relevant to real life. Non-experts should easily grasp the book’s central ideas, but rather than reading it from cover to cover, I would suggest picking it up for ten minutes every day because this will enable you to consider everything carefully, and allow you gradually to build up a picture of why you do what you do and give you ideas about how you might change your behaviour. This book will have a greater impact than some others because it focuses on ordinary habits and avoids dealing with more sensational behaviour.

 

B.- I almost didn’t get as far as the practical ideas in this book because of basic errors in the introductory comments about the significance of habits. As I was reading, it occurred to me that many of the types of behaviour that the author referred to as habits were not habits in the accepted sense of the word. He also said that habits are not conscious – something that is only partially true. I almost gave up reading, but then the author quoted research on ways in which intentions can be put into practice, and from then on the book improved. He had come across studies which I found interesting and informative. Unfortunately, insufficient detail on these studies was included, which meant that it was impossible for me to assess their significance. To conclude, I would say that the new research quoted in the chapter on intentions makes up for some of the book’s flaws.

 

C.- In addition to wanting more specific examples, I found myself wishing the author had expanded on his practical advice. This book would also have benefited from some interactive material, which I had presumed it would include. An attractive feature of other recent works on similar subjects is the frequent opportunities readers have to test and measure themselves with a variety of simple but highly informative psychological diagnostic tools. Ironically, these weaknesses derive from one of this author’s major strengths:  namely, his modesty. He does not try to promote his favourite theories or push his own habit cures. Commendably, he allows readers to make their own decisions and implement their own change regimes. For my part, I took away a new found enthusiasm for some long-forgotten techniques and a resolution to avoid sugar in the new year. The book gains by focusing on normal rather than abnormal behaviour.

 

D.- When I bought this book, I imagined it was going to be a sort of guide to giving up bad habits, such as smoking or gambling. I soon realized that it was no such thing, but a very interesting study of human psychology. We are presented with a description of how habits work that is accessible to non-specialists. We find out how and why habits develop, why some habits are necessary – and what can go wrong when our habits get out of control. He considers ways in which we benefit from habits and urges us to work out which habits have a positive influence on our lives and which are negative. It is important to point out that you don’t need a degree in psychology to find this book enjoyable. As a non-scientist with a limited knowledge of the subject, I found it was written and easy to follow.

The Rise of Citizen Journalism

 

1.5.- Reading and Use of English Exam Task Part 7: Gapped text.- You are going to read an extract from an article. Six paragraphs have been removed from the extract. Choose from the paragraphs A – G the one which fits each gap (1 – 6) writing it CAPITALS. There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use.

 

The rise of ‘citizen journalism’	1.5.4.-
Journalists lecture the rest of the would about the importance of change in everything from foreign policy to food labelling. Yet the same journalists dislike change as much as anyone else; their extensive experience of recommending change does not help them to accept it themselves. The fact is that journalists react to digital technology’s disruption of their industry with the same anger as any groups of professionals required to rethink what they do.	The attempt to get at the truth may fail or may fail to be credible. It may involve opinion and analysis as well as reportage so that the truth is understood in depth and significance. It will involve judgements under pressure about truth and public interest. We call this inexact science ‘editing’. Anyone looking at the history of journalism will also notice that the organisations that do it are regularly turned upside down. Two forces do this: first, frustrated journalists who find the habits and the conventions of journalism block all attempts to get at the truth.
1.5.1.-	1.5.5.-
‘Journalism’ came into existence when reliable information was scarce. As newspaper publishing and distribution grew, editors had to satisfy demands for accuracy, as well as entertainment. The effort to be trusted came to be the distinguishing mark of journalism. But printing technology made journalism powerful: a few people gathered, sorted and distributed news and hoped that many people would buy it.	Journalists still gather the basic news, but must also meet the need to give it meaning and context. We analyse news in the context of global conversations that can involve a handful of people or millions. Believers in citizen journalism argue that enforced ‘democratisation’ of media reduces the need for, and therefore the power of the conventional media. The forces of change may bring down media empires that fail to adapt, but they do not destroy the idea of journalism.
1.5.2.-	1.5.6.-
Anyone can now publish their thoughts and their books for free to a global audience. Old fashioned print publishing by the few to the many sits uneasily next to successful ‘peer – to – peer’ networks.	Also the way people sample and use news and opinion is changing: they dip in and out of news al day. But the business of getting accurate basic data to consumers, of building platforms that people trust remains valuable work despite the changing background. Some ‘citizen journalists’ make a real contribution to this; some don’t. It depends who they are. In other words, we’re back where we started: making judgements about accuracy and honesty. The most important question consumers of news and opinion will ask themselves is question they have always asked: do I trust this source to tell me something true and useful?
1.5.3.-
Citizens, helped by democratic technology, can at last bypass and expose these tricks but ‘citizen journalism’ can also simply mean a wider range of sources. Big events that leave media organisations rushing to get to the right spots are now covered by volunteer witnesses who send instant photos and videos from their mobile phones. Where established reporter fears to go – war zones being the obvious example – the voice of the ordinary citizen journalist may be the only believable news source.

 

A.- Against this background, ‘citizenn journalism’ means different things to different citizens. As a movement in media politics, citizen journalists would like to replace ‘conventional media’, arguing that the claims made by journalists for the trustworthiness of their work are a trick, hiding agendas which may belong to big business or government.	D.- It may not be in majority in my line of work, but I like the current technology – driven chaos precisely because journalists have to go back to first principles. Let’s look at the history.
B.- Bloggers have increased the transparency of the established media by exposing errors, and acting as gossip platforms for opinion that would otherwise not circulate so far so fast. These are not all citizens, in the sense of being outside media organisations; many are journalists and many of their sources are journalists.	E.- The need to know the accuracy of what you are reading does not disappear because you have a lot of new ways of finding facts and other points of view. The nature of the news and opinion people now consume is changing: more varied, less formal, often like an everyday conversation.
C.- However, three changes turned this shortage of public information into today’s glut: the invention of radio and television, digital technology such as email, and finally the internet. Digital communications not only increased the amount of easily – reached information but weakened the power of traditional publishing.	F.- The second revolutionary force is technology. Radio and television gave journalism the vivid immediacy it lacked. The blend of wireless telephony, the World Wide Web, and the miniaturization of personal technology has helped to create a glut of news.
	G.- But if is the case that anyone can be a journalist, what is journalism? Whatever the era and technology, it must surely involve an organized attempt to show what is happening, to reduce or eliminate doubt about what is true.

 

Starter table of contents

Table of contents
1.- Greetings
2.- Introducing yourself
3.- The Alphabet
4.- Daily use things.
5.- The numbers
6.- Countries and Nationalities.
7.- The Adjectives
8.- The house
9.- The colours
10.- Food and drink
11.- Present simple

Part 7.- Gapped text

You are going to read a newspaper article about clothes and the environment. Six paragraphs have been removed from the article. Choose from the paragraphs A-G the one which fits each gap (41-46). There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use.

Is it possible to be green and fashionable?

Despite the huge numbers of people who car about the environment and love clothes, there is a basic contradiction about being green and being fashionable. This is because the fashion industry depends on constant stream of ever-changing trends, which means you have to keep consuming. However, buying a lot of things that you don’t need, in this case new clothes, is harmful to the environment.

1.   41.- ____

Firstly, develop your own unique style, so, rather than basing your choice of clothes on whatever the fashion industry says you should, choose your own look. If you do this, you’ll look a lot more like an individual, and probably more genuinely stylish. It does not require any sense of style to copy the looks in glossy magazines. It does require some to develop your own. You’ll find that because your clothes aren’t going in and out of fashion every week, you’ll buy fewer and this helps the environment.

42.- _____

The problem with buying every changing fashion is that it looks out of date within a few weeks. If you buy a white T-shirt with a slogan because that is the thing right now, in just a few months, it will look silly. The trend might come round again, but probably not in the same form. On the other hand, if you buy a white T-shirt, it will look fine until it wears out. Opt for simple designs, especially with larger items such as coats.

43.- _____

A variation on this is to organize clothes swaps with friends or neighbours. This way, everybody gets new clothes without actually consuming any more resources. You can feel pleased with yourself because you’ll have earned a reputation for being green.

44.- _____

While we’re on the subject of the materials, here is a word of warning. Try to avoid buying clothes made from animal products, especially fur. Not only will this have the effect of reducing animal suffering, it will also reduce your environmental footprint; animal products have a larger impact than plant products because they consume more resources.

45.- _____

So, let’s imagine you have taken our advice and gone for simple second-hand, organic clothes, but you still want to enjoy passing trends. The gentlest way to do this is to go for small things like jewellery, bags and shoes which use up fewer resources than an entire new wardrobe every month.

46.- _____

In the end, what you wear is your choice and on-one would suggest that this should not be a free choice. But we hope that, having read this, you will be fully aware of the impact your choices may have on the health of our planet.

A.- If plain-looking clothes don’t appeal to you, an alternative eco-friendly option is to buy second-hand clothes. The environmental impact is practically zero as nothing new is being made. If your image of shops which sell second-hand clothes is piles of shabby pullovers and jeans, think again. Find the right shops, and you’ll discover a lot of very attractive clothes, often for a lot less than you’d pay for new.

B.- On the other hand, your clothes habit is probably not the biggest part of your carbon footprint. If being fashionable is important to you, compromise where can to make the habit a bit greener, and concentrate your planet-saving activities elsewhere. There are a number of simple actions you can take.

C.- Part of the growing eco-friendly lifestyle includes being mindful not only of what we eat and how we recycle, but also being more aware of what goes into the clothes we buy.

D.- Remember, too that these are the sort of items widely available from independent producers, meaning that you can support small businesses rather than massive, planet-damaging multinationals. And, if you have any skill with crafts yourself, you could even note the latest tend and make your own version.

E.- Some people think that another way of achieving this is to buy only natural fabrics, like cotton. But actually the production of some plant-based fabrics involves the use of enormous quantities of pesticides. In fact, cotton is an especially dirty crop, with methods used in its cultivation which can wreck the local environment. If you want to avoid adding to soil and water pollution In this manner, simply opt for organic fabrics.

F.- This also applies to leather clothing production, which supports the not-very-environmentally-friendly cattle farming industry. However, since leather is a practical material rather that simply a fashion fabric like fur, we’ll allow an exception for coats, shoes and boots.

G.- You can achieve the same effect by buying higher quality clothes because these will not need to be replaced as frequently as a greater number of cheap clothes. This is not only better for the environment, it also means you’ll have simpler, more attractive clothes even if they are less obviously stylish.

Part 6.- Cross-matching.

You are going to read four reviews of a book about habits. For the questions below, choose from the reviews A-D. The review may be chosen more than one

A

This book contains many obvious ideas, but if you are analyzing human behaviour, this is almost inevitable. However, it provides a useful framework which enables us to see ourselves more clearly. Rather than choosing to concentrate on particular habits, or acting as an all-knowing adviser, the author has assembled a collection of experiments which are relevant to real life. Non-experts should easily grasp the book’s central ideas, but rather than reading it from cover to cover, it would suggest picking it up to for ten minutes every day because this will enable you to consider everything carefully, and allow you gradually to build up a picture of why you do what you do and give you ideas about how you might change your behaviour. This book will have a greater impact than some others because it focuses on ordinary habits and avoids dealing with more sensational behaviour.

B

I almost didn’t get as far as the practical ideas in this book because of basic errors in the introductory comments about the significance of habits. As I was reading, it occurred to me that many of the types of behaviour that the author referred to as habits were not habits in the accepted sense of the word. He also said that habits are not conscious – something that is only partially true. I almost gave up reading, but then the author quoted research on ways in which intentions can be put into practice, and from then on the book improved. He had some across studies which I found interesting and informative. Unfortunately, insufficient detail on these studies was included, which meant that it was impossible for me to assess their significance. To conclude, I would say the new research quoted in the chapter on intentions makes up for some of the book’s flaws.

C

In addition to wanting more specific examples, I found myself wishing the author had expanded on his practical advice. The book would also have benefited from some interactive material, which I had presumed it would include. An attractive feature of other recent works on similar subjects is the frequent opportunities readers have to test and measure themselves in a variety of simple but highly informative psychological diagnostic tools. Ironically, these weaknesses derive from one of the author’s major strengths: namely, his modesty. He doesn’t try to promote his favourite theories or push his own habit cures. Commendably, he allows readers to make their own decisions and implement their own change regimes. For my part, I took away a new found enthusiasm for some long-forgotten techniques and a resolution to avoid sugar in the new year. The book gains by focusing on normal rather than abnormal behaviour.

D

When I bought this book, I imagined it was going to be a sort of guide to giving up bad habits, such as smoking or gambling. I soon realized that it was no such thing, but a very interesting study of human psychology. We are presented with a description of how habits work that is accessible to non-specialists. We find out how and why habits develop, why some habits are necessary – and what can go wrong when our habits get out of control. He considers ways in which we benefit from habits and urges us to work out which habits have a positive influence on our lives and which are negative. It is important to point out that you don’t need a degree in psychology to find this book enjoyable. As a non-scientist with a limited knowledge of the subject, I found it well written and easy to follow.

Which reviewer shares reviewer A’s opinion about the main focus of attention in the book?

Speaker A

Speaker B

Speaker C

Speaker D

Which reviewer like reviewer C, approached the book, with expectations that were not met?

Speaker A

Speaker B

Speaker C

Speaker D

Which reviewer agrees with reviewer D about the kind of readers the book is aimed at?

Speaker A

Speaker B

Speaker C

Speaker D

Which reviewer expresses a different view from the others about the writer’s definition of the book’s subject matter?

Speaker A

Speaker B

Speaker C

Speaker D

First Marathons

Part 8.- Multiple matching.

You are going to read a magazine article in which five people talk about their decision to run their first marathon. For questions 1-10, choose from the five runners (A-E). Their runners may be chosen more than once.

First Marathons

A.- Susie Gordon

Susie enjoyed cycling as part of her daily routine. Then one year she went to support some friends who took part in a marathon, and was inspired. “I found it really moving to see all those people doing this amazing thing”, she says. “They had trained for so long and this was their day. I wanted to experience that.” She began a six-month training schedule. “The programme is designed to take you from a standing start to being able to run a marathon,” says Susie. “The aim was to get you to have enough fitness and stamina to run a marathon with minimum risk of injury”. Susie’s healthy lifestyle and fitness were a good basis for the demanding training routine. Week one involved alternating short bursts of running with walking. “I was expecting the training to be awful, but it wasn’t,” says Susie.

B.- Ben Harrier

Looking back, the reasons I finally decided to ‘take the plunge’ and run a marathon are unclear. It was a snap decision really – I certainly didn’t debate the pros and cons for long. There were many factors that led to my sudden decision. I’d always had some interest in running as a way to stay in shape, but every time I did too much too soon, I injured myself and did not want to continue. When I reached my mid-forties, I decided I had to get my act together – mentally and physically. I started walking, then inserted running intervals as a few hundred metres, then gradually extended the runs and reduced the walks until I was running two or three miles without a rest. I found this healthy and therapeutic, and something I was fairly good at.

C.- Vicky Lawrence

I started training for my first marathon in May after being inspired by a marathon in my home city. Witnessing all those people crossing the finish line made me want to sign up for a similar event. Initially, it was just one more thing on my list of “things to do”. I’d run one and then I’d be finished. I wanted to set a goal for myself and achieve it and didn’t care how long it took. I just wanted to finish. So, I trained for months, running shorter routes during the week, and going on epic jaunts at weekends. Every Saturday was new personal best in terms of distance achieved. My longest run was twenty miles. I tested out my race day clothes to make sure they were comfortable, and tried pre-race meals of oatmeal, peanut butter and a banana.

D Jon Carter

Having torn a muscle at the beginning of the year, I thought I would never run again. To pick myself up after that was difficult and to hear people around me talking about the runs they were doing made me more miserable. Out of frustration, I signed up for a half marathon scheduled four months later. Amazingly, I managed to complete my first half marathon within the qualifying time, I was motivated. When it came the time to register for the November marathon, my husband said he wanted to do the full marathon. It coincided with our first wedding anniversary and he said that he would run for us. I thought, “Why not?” I would complete a full marathon for us, too.

E.- Sally Woods

The sixteen weeks before the race seemed to go really slowly at first. Then the weeks flew by. My weekly mileage started climbing and I continued to be injury free. But the work got harder as the runs got longer and more like marathon training. I began to tell people that I was planning to run a marathon. ‘Where?’ They’d ask. ‘No’, I said, ‘so I have no idea what I’m in for, which is just the way I want it. ‘I prepared myself as best I could. I formulated a nutrition plan, I determined I was going to run as long as I could, as I have knee problems when I start running again after a walk.

1.- Which runner decided not to be put off running because of a previous experience?

2.- Which runner expected the preparation for running the marathon to be worse than it was?

3.- Which runner found that the training programme seemed to go more quickly?

4.- Which runner imagined that a previous injury would prevent them from competing?

5.- Which runner intended to avoid walking as this might lead to a physical problem?

6.- Which runner made the decision to run without weighing up the advantages and disadvantages?

7.- Which runner simply wanted to complete a race however much time it took?

8.- Which runner thought of the marathon as being a way of celebrating an important event?

9.- Which runner was in good physical condition prior to starting their marathon preparation?

10.- Which runner was motivated to run after watching the end of a marathon?

Who owns the networked future of reading?

Part 5.- Multiple-choice

You are going to read a magazine article. For questions 17-22, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.

Who owns the networked future of reading?

Some years ago, I came across a battered copy of the Science of the Lambs in a train carriage. It was during one of those lonely chunks of life when reading takes on a new importance, and I found a quite unexpected friend in that rather dark and worrying tale. The anonymous former owner had done little drawings and written notes in the margins of the book before inexplicably leaving it on public transport. Amusing, insightful and often unrelated to the actual text the previous reader’s commentary entirely changed my reading of Thomas Harris’s story of a serial murderer and obsessive police procedure.

My anonymous guide was a university student, most likely a young woman, studying the book from a feminist point of view. Harris’s novel is a superior police procedural, but still guilty of that genre’s casual sexism, picked apart by my guide with glee.

I’ve often wished that I could talk to that anonymous commentator. Today, if they were using an e-reader, I might be able to my using Readmill, an e-reading app that, on the surface at least, will be familiar to anyone who has read a book on their smartphone or tablet. But what makes this particular app a potential best-seller is how it helps readers and writers – talk to each other.

One of the word’s most popular e-readers Amazon’s kindle, let’s readers see which sections of a text have been underlined most frequently by other readers: a frustrating feature given what could be achieved. Amazon also provides a social network app for readers, but shows no sign of integrating it into its books. And it seems that the Kindle is unlike to ever truly embrace the power of networks.

The app Readmill aims to fulfil the potential of networked reading. Readers can underline and comment on a text as much as they like, then open up those comments for discussion among a growing community of passionate readers. It’s a simple but powerful feature that could be a serious threat to kindle technology.

But this is only the leading edge of the networked reading revolution. Readmill allows authors to claim ownership of their books and interact with readers in the margins of the text. So not only could I and my anonymous commentator debate the feminist critique of The Silence of the Lambs but, should he feel so inspired, Thomas Harris himself could respond, in a conversation directly related to the text itself.

To understand what a fully realized network reading experience might mean, imagine reading a book published in 2013 in the year 2063. In the 50 years between those dates, dozens of critical texts, hundreds of articles, thousands of reviews and hundreds of thousands of comments will have been made on the text. In a fully networked reading experience, all of those will be available to the reader of the book from within the text.

Authors are able to shape the discussion or their books; they can maintain a relationship with all the readers who have enjoyed their books, whether that is a few dozen or a few hundred million. And perhaps most interesting of all, readers can find each other through the books they read. In a world of seven billion people, the ability to find like minds has real value.

Of course, at a time when data privacy is a serious social issue the question is who owns the networked future of reading? Publishers might assume they do, but their failure to lead these innovations puts them at risk of becoming redundant. Amazon and the technology giants seem unstoppable. If that’s true, we face a future where every book and every comment about it is owned and profited from, by a handful or major corporations.

Readmill and other developers might yet deliver the future of reading back into the hands of readers and writers. But if this ideal is to become a reality, we’re going to have to rethink what it means to own a book, or any kind of information, even if you created it. Perhaps the networked future of reading belongs to no one, and therefore to everyone.

1.- In the first paragraph, the writer says he did not understand….

A) why everyone had made notes in the book he found.

B) how his friend could have read such an alarming story.

C) why someone had left the book on the train.

D) how the previous reader’s notes related to the story.

2.- The writer assumes that the reader who wrote the notes…

A) was very critical of the novel.

B) thoroughly enjoyed the novel.

C) was a great fan of crime fiction.

D) was impressed by the writer’s informal style.

3.- In the writer’s opinion, Readmill is likely to be particularly successful because it allows readers to…

A) comment on books they are reading.

B) communicate with other readers.

C) discuss other readers’ comments.

D) underlines passages of text.

4.- The additional feature of Readmill highlighted in the sixth paragraph allows…

A) a book’s author to change what he or she had written.

B) the writer of a book to join the readers’ debate.

C) readers to ask an author questions.

D) readers to comment without giving their name.

5.- What future development of network reading interests the writer most?

A) Authors will be able to find out why readers like their books.

B) Readers will have access to a wide range of book reviews.

C) Authors will be able to keep in touch with some of their readers.

D) Readers will be able to contact people with similar ideas.

6.- The writer hopes that Readmill and similar apps will…

A) make possession of books a more positive experience.

B) make book publishing more profitable.

C) strengthen the influence of major publishers.

D) change how people read and write books.

Is classical music still relevant today?

Part 1.- Multiple-cloze

For questions 1-8, read the text below and decided which answers (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap. There is an example at the beginning.

0)   A) defend  B) protest   C) argue    D) preserve

Is classical music still relevant today?

Having listened to this music for more than three decades, I have often had to (0) _A_ DEFEND_ my devotion to classical music against the kind of people who have a very practical (1)___ to life, I have to admit that I have often been faced with legitimate questions and arguments that made me (2)____ my ideas. Over the years, I have been lucky enough to live in different (3)____ of the world. Because of this, I have come to the (4)____ that I belong to a small group of people who believe in artistic principles that have nothing to do with humanity’s desire for success or a more comfortable (5)____. Quite a few people (6)____ that this music belongs to the museum and is of (7)____ only to those who have a particular reason to find out what music was like in the past. In some (8)____ places I have visited, people simply called it western music and dismissed any possible interest for anybody outside Europe.

     1)   A) method             B) means            C) way                 D) attitude

     2)   A) reorder             B) rearrange       C) reorganize       D) reconsider

     3)   A) places              B) parts               C) communities   D) societies 

     4)   A) conclusion       B) assumption     C) decision          D) deduction

     5)   A) presence         B) lifestyle            C) being              D) survival

     6)   A) discuss            B) differ                C) argue             D) disagree

     7)   A) attention          B) attraction         C) influence        D) interest

     8)   A) remote             B) far                   C) apart              D) separate

Social Media Influencers

It is estimated that about 40 per cent of the world’s population use social media, and many of these billions of social media users look up to influencers to help them decide what to buy and what trends to follow.

So what is an influencer and how do we become one?

An influencer is a person who can influence the decisions of their followers because of their relationship with their audience and their knowledge and expertise in a particular area, e.g. fashion, travel or technology.

Influencers often have a large following of people who pay close attention to their views. They have the power to persuade people to buy things, and influencers are now seen by many companies as a direct way to customers’ hearts. Brands are now asking powerful influencers to market their products. With some influencers charging up to $25,000 for one social media post, it is no surprise that more and more people are keen to become influencers too. If you are one of them, then here are five tips on how to do it.

1. Choose your niche

What is the area that you know most about? What do you feel most excited talking about? Find the specific area that you’re most interested in and develop it.

2. Choose your medium and write an interesting bio

Most influencers these days are bloggers and micro-bloggers. Decide which medium – such as your own online blog, Instagram or Snapchat – is the best way to connect with your followers and chat about your niche area. When you have done that, write an attention-grabbing bio that describes you and your speciality area in an interesting and unique way. Make sure that people who read your bio will want to follow you.

3. Post regularly and consistently

Many influencers post daily on their social media accounts. The more you post, the more likely people will follow you. Also, ensure that your posts are consistent and possibly follow a theme.

4. Tell an interesting story

Whether it is a photo or a comment that you are posting, use it to tell a story that will catch the attention of your followers and help them connect with you.

5. Make sure people can easily find your content

Publicise your posts on a variety of social media, use hashtags and catchy titles and make sure that they can be easily found. There is no point writing the most exciting blogposts or posting the most attractive photographs if no one is going to see them.

Most importantly, if you want to become a social media influencer, you need to have patience. Keep posting and your following will gradually increase. Good luck!