HS2 2019 unit5 p90 act2

Reading 1

Read the texts below. Match choices (A-H) to (1-5). There are three choices you do not need to use.

A Politics

B Private Life

C Science

D Health

E Catastrophes

F Weather

G Cinema

H Shopping

1 Blistering heat caused four more deaths in Spain on Tuesday as Europe baked in relentless weather that has disrupted travel and cooked the Mediterranean enough for one scientist to warn of a proliferation of jellyfish.   [A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H]

2 British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell is framed by two of the largest fires burning in province, in August. Crews battling 'breath-taking forest fires in the parched mountains held their own against the fames on Tuesday but kept a nervous eye on the sky for forecast thunderstorms and lightning strikes.   [A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H]

3 Fiji's prime minister expanded the Cabinet on Wednesday to add ministers from the ethnic Indian-dominated opposition, following a Supreme Court order aimed at enforcing a balance in the government of this ethnically divided Pacific island nation.   [A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H]

4 Mars is getting ready for its close-up, with the red planet coming as near to Earth this month as it has in almost 60,000 years.   [A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H]

5 The Army is telling troops to take precautions as it tries to figure out the cause of pneumonia cases, including two deaths, among forces in the Afghan and Iraqi campaigns.   [A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H]

Reading 2

Read the text below. For each of the empty spaces choose the correct answer.

THE POPULAR WAY TO LEARN ENGLISH IN JAPAN

The speeches of the new United States President Barack Obama are proving to be a popular aid to learning English in Japan. A special compilation (6)          [go, went, has gone, going] on sale lately, quickly becoming a national bestseller.

It's been described by its publishers as a huge hit in Japan - a compilation of the speeches of Barak Obama has been sold in the number of over 400,000 copies, and students at an English class in Tokyo are even memorising the new (7)             [President, President’s, Presidents, Presidents'] words to improve their own pronunciation and understanding.

Barak Obama's message of change has been well received in Japan where politics is often (8)                 [characterise, characterised, characterising, characterises] by grey figures and backroom deals. The clear language of the speeches makes them an obvious choice for teaching material. But the new President's words are said to hold particular appeal.

First of all it's from his personality, and also, his technique, as his rhythms in English sound beautiful to the Japanese people (9)        [who, whose, what, when] may not understand English well but still find his English as something they want to learn from.

And so, in shops across Japan the face of the new American President is a fixture on the book-shelves, (10)               [as well as, is well as, as better as, as good as] on the bookstalls. And for students, the question of whether they (11)              [succeed, will succeed, succeeded, have succeed] in improving their English can be answered - «Yes, we will».

Reading 3

Read and complete the text below. For each of the empty spaces (23-34) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

MAXWELL'S JOB INTERVIEW

Maxwell had not had a steady job for almost two years. Today was a big day, because he was going to a job (23)             [dialogue, conference, interview, examination] that he felt good about. The secretary he had talked to on the phone sounded friendly and encouraging.

Maxwell was a typist. His fingers danced on the (24)             [keyboard, blackboard, smartboard, processor]. However, his social skills were not nearly as good as his typing skills. Sometimes his mouth got in the way of his employment. At his last steady (25)            [trade, profession, career, job], his boss had told him to start making coffee every morning. Maxwell laughed. I'm not making coffee», he said. «It's not part of my job description».

«Read the employee manual again», his boss said. Your job description is anything I say it is».

«That's a woman's job», said Maxwell. «Do it yourself».

His boss was still yelling as Maxwell walked (26)      [out, in, on, away]of the building. He felt great about telling off the boss. A few days later, the reality of not having a job hit home. He had to (27)         [expend, pay, take, buy]the rent and utility bills, and he had to eat. What was he going to do?

He thought about (28)                [sorry, forgiveness, apologising, express regret]and asking for his job back. But how would that look? Then again, who cares how it looks when you're almost broke? After thinking about it for another week, he finally called his boss and apologised. His boss accepted his apology, but said that he had already hired a replacement.

Maxwell (29)                   [get in touch with, contacted, reached, spoke to] a temporary job agency, which provided him enough occasional work to pay his bills. But none of the companies that he was sent to were hiring. So Maxwell was excited about finally getting an interview for a steady job.

Maxwell's drive to the interview was (30)               [reasonable, suitable, appointing, disappointing]. The traffic was congested and the neighbourhood looked rough. It took him 45 minutes to get there. The building was covered with graffiti.

The interview started 30 minutes (31)       [lost, last, late, later]. Without bothering to apologise, the manager lit a cigarette and took a (32)          [sip, drop, taste, mouthful]from his coffee cup. He leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on his desk. He asked Maxwell a lot of questions. Maxwell thought that each question was more ridiculous than the (33)            [next, former, preceding, following]one. The final question was, «Where would you like to be 10 years from now?»

What does that have to do with typing?» Maxwell (34)           [rambled, meandered, wandered, wondered]. «Silly questions from a rude man in a lousy neighbourhood! Where would he like to be 10 years from now?»

«Anywhere but this dump!» Maxwell said angrily, as he stood up and walked out.