Reading . Use of English 8

Read the text and match the correct heading (A-F) with each paragraph (1-4). There are two extra headings that you do not need to use.

Are you one of THEM? Read on to find out.·

1   [A, B, C, D, E, F]____ Imagine the situation. You’re walking down the crowded high street and suddenly a complete stranger stops you and says, ‘Hi! You were on the beach in the south of Spain six years ago. How are you doing?’ This stranger isn’t necessarily mad. He or she might be a ‘super recogniser’. These are people who have the unusual ability to recognise people they have seen only once - a long time ago, maybe in a crowd.

2   [A, B, C, D, E, F]___ It doesn’t matter what the person looks like now. People change, get different hairstyles, dye their hair or go grey. Wrinkles, new scars and tattoos give them new appearance, but the ‘super recognisers’ can still recognise them.

3   [A, B, C, D, E, F]___ Although scientists have known for a long time that about 2% of people suffer from face-blindness, which means that they have huge problems recognising faces, they are only now realising that some people are the complete opposite. Tests have shown that a ‘super-recogniser’ can identify people that they only saw for a brief moment - and this is not an ability that we can acquire, it’s something we are born with.

4   [A, B, C, D]____ The police are starting to use ‘super recognisers’ to spot criminal faces in videos of crowds. They look for people with a specific build and facial features like beards and moustaches but they can even recognise quite nondescript people, with no distinguishing features at all. As well as surprising our holidaymaker in Spain six years later, this ability can be used for a very practical purpose indeed.

A A great help

B An inborn skill

C A rare experience

D Whatever the differences in appearances

E Fear of upsetting criminals

F A common skill

Read the text and the questions below. For each question, choose the correct letter A, B, C or D.

A hotel under the sea

Want to sleep under the sea? The company Planet Ocean has plans for an exciting underwater hotel, which they hope to build in locations all over the world.

The hotel won’t be large, with only 12 guest rooms, plus a restaurant. Guests will get to the hotel in a lift – so no diving or getting wet! The hotel will float 10 metres under the ocean, although it will be attached to the sea bed to prevent it from moving too far. Because it won’t be very deep under the water, the sun will shine down and provide light. Guests will get great close-up views of the fish and other sea creatures, which won’t be bothered by the hotel and so won’t make any effort to avoid it.

The hotel’s design, with walls made of clear plastic, means that when you are in your room, you will see the sea in front of you, behind you, above and below you. You will almost get the feeling that you are swimming in the ocean. The luxury rooms will have excellent facilities, including a shower, TV and even the Internet. The restaurant will serve high quality meals. However, Planet Ocean want to encourage people to eat less fish, so you won’t find any on the menu. The atmosphere will be completely silent though, so you will have to imagine the sound of the ocean around you.

The hotel won’t be cheap to build, and it won’t be cheap to stay in. But the designers are especially proud of the fact that it will be environmentally friendly. It will use electricity, of course, but it will produce its own, and won’t disturb ocean life at all. In fact, the designers hope some sea creatures will build their homes on parts of the building, which will bring real benefits to the underwater world.

1. What is the writer doing in this text?   [A, B, C, D]

A advertising a new kind of luxury hotel

B warning people about environmental problems in the ocean

C giving information about an underwater hotel

D giving advice to travellers on which hotels to choose

2. What do we learn about the hotel?   [A, B, C, D]

A Guests will have to swim down to get to it.

B Its lights will shine into the sea so guests can see the fish.

C It will only have a small number of rooms.

D Fish and other sea creatures will be scared of it.

3. What can guests do in the hotel?   [A, B, C, D]

A swim out into the ocean

B watch the ocean life near the hotel

C enjoy a meal of freshly caught fish

D hear the ocean as they go to sleep

4. What is the best thing about the hotel, according to the designers?   [A, B, C, D]

A It won’t cost much to build.

B It won’t use much electricity.

C It won’t cause any damage to the environment.

D Fish and other sea creatures won’t come very close to it.

5. What might a guest in this hotel say?   [A, B, C, D]

A It’s very expensive, but the facilities are quite basic and the windows are too small to see outside.

B It’s great to stay in such a beautiful hotel that is also good for the planet.

C Seeing the fish up close is amazing, but it’s a shame that the hotel disturbs sea life.

D It’s a great idea, and I love the fact that it can move around and travel to different locations.

Read the text below and choose the correct word for each space. For each question, choose the correct letter A, B, C or D.

Travelling in the Glasgow area

The city of Glasgow has a modern underground rail network and (1)        [many, plenty, most, enough]................... of buses and trains. It also has a (2)          [few, lot, lots of, a number]................... other forms of transport. The ferry across the river Clyde between Yoker (3)      [for, to, into, and]................... Renfrew is popular with tourists. There has been a ferry in service here (4)        [since, before, for, until]................... around 500 years. The (5)           [trip, travel, transport, route]................... takes about half an hour, and it’s an interesting way to see this part of the city. For a (6)        [bigger, longer, taller, higher]................... boat ride, you could try one of the cruises on the Clyde. The cruises (7)        [leave, depart, start, open]................... at the Riverside Museum and sail down the river past some interesting historical parts of the city. If you (8)       [fancy, want, hope, plan]................... trying something more adventurous, you could travel from Glasgow to the island of Mull on a seaplane. The (9)         [costs, fees, fares, charges]................... are quite expensive, but it’s an experience you won’t forget. Also in the air, why not try a helicopter flight? It’s not cheap, but you get an amazing (10)            [scene, scenery, landscape, view]................... of the city.