Reading Test Form 7

Read the extract from a novel. Choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think best fits according to the text.

A VOLUNTEER ABROAD

It was eight o’clock in the morning and I was wide awake. The other people in the hostel room were all asleep and I got dressed quietly because I didn’t want to wake them up. I don’t know why. I would never see them again. Half an hour later, after a quick coffee and roll in a baker’s near the hostel, I was at the volunteer worker office with three other hopeful volunteers. We sat there, silently, looking at each other, knowing we were in competition for the same jobs.

My turn for an interview came and I answered a few questions. The three interviewers looked carefully at my clothes and hair to see what kind of worker I might be. Back outside, I waited while more backpackers arrived. Finally, three hours later, they called five of us back in to the room. They told us we could start work on a farm immediately. They gave us some maps and instructions for a bus, although not tickets, and we left. The other four were two couples, one from Australia and the other from New Zealand. They soon got to know each other and talked together like old friends while I stood alone. On the bus, there were four seats together for them and one for me six rows behind them. I sat next to a local returning from a day’s shopping.

I sat and watched the landscape through the window. There were green fields and fruit trees at first but, as we travelled south, the land grew drier. It wasn’t very pretty, with brown hills, no trees and rubbish by the side of the road, but I loved it. It was fascinating because it was nothing like the landscape back home.

It was dark when we arrived on the farm. A group of farmers welcomed us and decided who should work with whom. A man called Kostas took the Australian girl, Josie, and me. He spoke almost no English but we understood that we should follow him to our volunteer home. We entered a small, white house and Kostas opened the first door on the right. It was empty except for two small mattresses on the floor, each with a thin sheet and blanket. Josie went in and I waited outside ready to see if my room was any better. Impatiently, Kostas, indicated that this was also my room. Josie and I looked at each other in shock. A room together? I knew what she was thinking. Her partner, Gavin, was somewhere else in the village sharing a similar room with another, unknown volunteer.

With more sign language and broken English, Kostas told us that work would begin at 5 a.m. the next day. He told me to drive his tractor to the fields. He didn’t ask if we had driving licences. I was a man and, in his opinion, I could drive. Driving was the man’s job and, we guessed, there would be similar differences in duties to come.

1 In the morning, the writer______________

A VOLUNTEER ABROAD

It was eight o’clock in the morning and I was wide awake. The other people in the hostel room were all asleep and I got dressed quietly because I didn’t want to wake them up. I don’t know why. I would never see them again. Half an hour later, after a quick coffee and roll in a baker’s near the hostel, I was at the volunteer worker office with three other hopeful volunteers. We sat there, silently, looking at each other, knowing we were in competition for the same jobs.

My turn for an interview came and I answered a few questions. The three interviewers looked carefully at my clothes and hair to see what kind of worker I might be. Back outside, I waited while more backpackers arrived. Finally, three hours later, they called five of us back in to the room. They told us we could start work on a farm immediately. They gave us some maps and instructions for a bus, although not tickets, and we left. The other four were two couples, one from Australia and the other from New Zealand. They soon got to know each other and talked together like old friends while I stood alone. On the bus, there were four seats together for them and one for me six rows behind them. I sat next to a local returning from a day’s shopping.

I sat and watched the landscape through the window. There were green fields and fruit trees at first but, as we travelled south, the land grew drier. It wasn’t very pretty, with brown hills, no trees and rubbish by the side of the road, but I loved it. It was fascinating because it was nothing like the landscape back home.

It was dark when we arrived on the farm. A group of farmers welcomed us and decided who should work with whom. A man called Kostas took the Australian girl, Josie, and me. He spoke almost no English but we understood that we should follow him to our volunteer home. We entered a small, white house and Kostas opened the first door on the right. It was empty except for two small mattresses on the floor, each with a thin sheet and blanket. Josie went in and I waited outside ready to see if my room was any better. Impatiently, Kostas, indicated that this was also my room. Josie and I looked at each other in shock. A room together? I knew what she was thinking. Her partner, Gavin, was somewhere else in the village sharing a similar room with another, unknown volunteer.

With more sign language and broken English, Kostas told us that work would begin at 5 a.m. the next day. He told me to drive his tractor to the fields. He didn’t ask if we had driving licences. I was a man and, in his opinion, I could drive. Driving was the man’s job and, we guessed, there would be similar differences in duties to come.

1. Which sentence is true?

A VOLUNTEER ABROAD

It was eight o’clock in the morning and I was wide awake. The other people in the hostel room were all asleep and I got dressed quietly because I didn’t want to wake them up. I don’t know why. I would never see them again. Half an hour later, after a quick coffee and roll in a baker’s near the hostel, I was at the volunteer worker office with three other hopeful volunteers. We sat there, silently, looking at each other, knowing we were in competition for the same jobs.

My turn for an interview came and I answered a few questions. The three interviewers looked carefully at my clothes and hair to see what kind of worker I might be. Back outside, I waited while more backpackers arrived. Finally, three hours later, they called five of us back in to the room. They told us we could start work on a farm immediately. They gave us some maps and instructions for a bus, although not tickets, and we left. The other four were two couples, one from Australia and the other from New Zealand. They soon got to know each other and talked together like old friends while I stood alone. On the bus, there were four seats together for them and one for me six rows behind them. I sat next to a local returning from a day’s shopping.

I sat and watched the landscape through the window. There were green fields and fruit trees at first but, as we travelled south, the land grew drier. It wasn’t very pretty, with brown hills, no trees and rubbish by the side of the road, but I loved it. It was fascinating because it was nothing like the landscape back home.

It was dark when we arrived on the farm. A group of farmers welcomed us and decided who should work with whom. A man called Kostas took the Australian girl, Josie, and me. He spoke almost no English but we understood that we should follow him to our volunteer home. We entered a small, white house and Kostas opened the first door on the right. It was empty except for two small mattresses on the floor, each with a thin sheet and blanket. Josie went in and I waited outside ready to see if my room was any better. Impatiently, Kostas, indicated that this was also my room. Josie and I looked at each other in shock. A room together? I knew what she was thinking. Her partner, Gavin, was somewhere else in the village sharing a similar room with another, unknown volunteer.

With more sign language and broken English, Kostas told us that work would begin at 5 a.m. the next day. He told me to drive his tractor to the fields. He didn’t ask if we had driving licences. I was a man and, in his opinion, I could drive. Driving was the man’s job and, we guessed, there would be similar differences in duties to come.

1. The writer says that the landscape was ______________