Cpe Reading
Cpe Reading
PA P E R 1 R E A D I N G Sources
Books (fiction and non-fiction), non-specialist articles from
General Description journals, magazines and newspapers, promotional and
informational materials (e.g. advertisements, guide books,
manuals).
Paper Format
The paper contains four parts.
Answer Format
For all parts of this paper, candidates indicate their answers
Timing
by shading the correct lozenges on an answer sheet.
1 hour 30 minutes. Candidates should use a soft pencil (B or HB) and mark their
answers firmly. Candidates should use an eraser to rub out
any answer they wish to change.
Length of Texts
Approximately 3,000 words in total.
Marks
Questions in Part 1 carry one mark. Questions in Parts 2, 3
Number of Questions
and 4 carry two marks.
40.
Task Types
Lexical cloze, gapped text, multiple choice.
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P R E PA R I N G F O R T H E R E A D I N G PA P E R In preparation, candidates should be encouraged to learn
whole phrases (rather than just individual words) together
with their appropriate usage. Vocabulary practice which
Introduction
studies the difference in meaning and usage between words
The Reading paper consists of four parts and a total of nine with similar meanings will also help candidates prepare for
texts. The range of texts and task types which appears on the this part of the paper.
Reading paper is intended to encourage familiarity with texts
from a range of sources, written for different purposes and
presented in different formats. The sources for texts in the Part 2
Reading paper are mainly contemporary. The paper includes Part 2 consists of four short texts with two multiple-choice
material from fiction, non-fiction books and journalism. Such questions on each which test comprehension of text content.
sources as marketing materials and correspondence may be Questions may test understanding of the whole short text or
used in Parts 1 and 2. The Reading paper aims to test of text organisation and some questions will focus on the
comprehension at word, phrase, sentence, paragraph and detail in sections of the text. The texts share a broad theme
whole text level. and the linking theme is stated in the instructions. Being
aware of the thematic link between the texts should help
Essential preparation for the Reading paper is exposure to, candidates in moving from one text to the next. Preparation
and engagement with, a substantial and varied range of for this part of the Reading paper could usefully include
written English. The most successful CPE candidates are topic-based activities.
likely to be those for whom reading in English is a leisure
activity as well as an educational requirement. All candidates The texts come from a variety of sources and candidates
should be encouraged to read extensively as well as should familiarise themselves with a wide range of sources,
intensively. This enables them to become familiar with a registers, topics and lexical fields. Candidates should focus
wide range of language and is also helpful when they are on texts in preparation for multiple-choice questions as
working on the longer texts in Parts 3 and 4. suggested for Part 4 below.
Part 1
The way in which a text has been gapped may require the
Part 1 consists of three unrelated short texts, each with six reader to consider large sections or even the organisation of
gaps. Candidates must choose one word or phrase from a set the whole of a text, in order to reconstitute a particular part
of four to fill the gaps. This involves choosing the answer that of the text. Candidates should be trained to consider the
correctly fits the meaning within a phrase or sentence, and development of the text as a whole, and not to focus on each
candidates may also have to take into account the broader gap separately. Sometimes candidates will need to choose
context of the previous or following sentences or the whole carefully between two extracts as possible answers and will
text. This part of the paper tests idioms, collocations, fixed need to make decisions about which is the most logical
phrases, complementation, phrasal verbs and semantic extract to fill the particular gap. Practice is needed in
precision. recognition of a wide range of linguistic devices which mark
the logical and cohesive development of a text, e.g. words
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and phrases indicating sequence of events, cause and effect,
premise and conclusion. Exercises which involve analysing
the global organisation of a text and understanding how this
affects meaning would also be helpful.
Part 4
Part 4 consists of one longer text with seven multiple-choice
questions which test detailed understanding of a text,
including opinions and attitudes expressed in it. Candidates
need to read the text closely in order to distinguish between,
for example, apparently similar viewpoints, outcomes or
reasons. The questions are presented in the same order as the
information in the text and the final question may depend on
interpretation of the text as a whole, e.g. the writer’s purpose,
attitude or opinion. Candidates should read each question
very carefully, as well as the four possible answers. The
questions can be answered correctly only by close reference
to the text. Candidates should be encouraged to read the text
before reading the multiple-choice questions.
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R E A D I N G S A M P L E PA P E R ( 1 )
Additional materials:
Answer sheet
Soft clean eraser
Soft pencil (type B or HB is recommended)
INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES
Do not open this booklet until you are told to do so.
Write your name, Centre number and candidate number on the answer sheet in the spaces provided
unless this has already been done for you.
There are forty questions in this paper.
Answer all questions.
Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet. Use a soft pencil.
You may write on the question paper, but you must transfer your answers to the separate answer
sheet within the time limit.
At the end of the examination, you should hand in both the question paper and the answer sheet.
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2 3
Part 1
Mrs Murgatroyd
For questions 1-18, read the three texts below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each
‘And there’s another thing,’ said Mrs Murgatroyd. Beside her in the taxi her husband concealed a small
gap. Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.
sigh. With Mrs Murgatroyd there was always another thing. No matter how well things were (13)….,
Jerome Flynn – Actor Turned Singer Edna Murgatroyd went through life to the accompaniment of a running commentary of complaints, an
After a variety of jobs, Jerome Flynn became (1)…. successful with fellow actor Robson Green in the TV endless litany of dissatisfaction. In short, she (14)…. without cease.
series Soldier, Soldier, and then when they (2)…. up as singers in 1995, they had three number one hits.
In the seat beside the driver, Higgins, the young executive from head office, who had been selected for
‘It was a whirlwind, fantasy time,’ says Jerome. ‘We made the records because we quite (3)…. the
the week’s vacation at the (15)…. of the bank on the grounds of being ‘most (16)…. newcomer’ of the
money, and it paid off. It was a lot of fun, but you can become (4)…. in the pop world. It’s addictive, and
year, sat silent. He was in foreign exchange, an eager young man whom they had only met at London
once you’re a pop star, people tend to (5)…. you on a pedestal. It was so mad we had to get out while
airport twelve hours earlier and whose natural enthusiasm had gradually (17)…. away before the
the going was good. Now money doesn’t mean so much, although it (6)…. me to leave my career
onslaught of Mrs Murgatroyd. The driver, full of smiles when they selected his taxi for the run to the
behind for a while. But Robson wanted to go back to acting and has made quite a success of it. I’d like
hotel a few minutes earlier, had also caught the mood, and he too had (18)…. into silence.
to work with him again one day.’
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Part 2 How important is design?
You are going to read four extracts which are all concerned in some way with products. For questions
19-26, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text. All toasters are not exactly the same under the skin but they are as
Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet. near as makes no difference. They are boxes which neatly grill the
bread, waffles or whatever between little electric fires and eject
them just before they start to burn: an easy, well-proven
Advertisement for a Video technology whether it is purely mechanical or microchip-controlled.
The last fundamental innovation in toaster design was in 1927,
· You want to improve the quality of life, without using drugs or stimulants when the Sunbeam company of America marketed the first pop-up
· you are ready to start the journey back to health and fitness, however short model. Since then, there has been little to do design-wise except
or long it may be to alter the styling according to the tastes of the times.
· you would prefer to use stress to your advantage rather than be its victim line 4
· you are prepared to take charge of your own destiny and benefit from your Designers try to give toasters the equivalent of sunroofs and anti-
own well-being lock brakes – wider slots, double slots, ‘cool wall’ designs and the
like – but cannot get away from the fact that you need only two
· you would like to get back the shape nature intended you to have
line 8
controls: a push-down lever and a timer. Upgrades merely dress
· you like to understand the principles behind concepts before taking action up a timeless concept and are anyway almost all adopted
· you want to enhance your mental powers and your ability to focus on the immediately by other manufacturers.
task in hand
· short-term fixes, be they through patches or pills, gimmicks or gizmos, hold line 11 So what you buy is styling, which can be a dirty word among ‘pure’
no appeal designers, since it is really just packaging, little different from the
· you are prepared to take a step at a time, build upon your success and take box the toaster comes in. ‘Real’ design, it is said, is more
fundamental. This is arguable: one of the greatest designers of
pleasure in the results the 20th century, the French-born, America-based Raymond
· you have the temperament and strength of character to endure the journey line 15
Loewy, was principally a stylist, and who can argue with the power
to physical, mental and spiritual health of his famous creation, the Coca Cola bottle, which is functionally
far less efficient than a standard beer or wine bottle?
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Part 3
You are going to read an extract from a short story. Seven paragraphs have been removed from the
extract. Choose from the paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap (27-33) There is one extra
paragraph which you do not need to use. Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.
Just at that turning between Market Road and of passers-by. And he knew exactly at what hour A Rama prepared a limited quantity of E They gloated over it. ‘Five rupees
the lane leading to the chemist’s shop he had he would see the wrestler’s arm searching for snacks for sale, but even then he had to invested in the morning has produced
his ‘establishment’. At eight in the evening you the perfect duck’s egg. His custom was drawn carry back remnants. He consumed another five…’ They ruminated on the
would not see him, and again at ten you would from the population swarming the pavement: the some of it himself, and the rest he exquisite mystery of this multiplication.
see nothing, but between those times he arrived, boot polish boys, for instance, who wandered to warmed up and brought out for sale Then it was put back for further
sold his goods and departed. Those who saw and fro with brush and polish in a bag, endlessly again the next day. investment on the morrow and the gains
him remarked thus, ‘Lucky fellow! He has hardly soliciting ‘Polish, sir, polish!’ Rama had a soft carefully separated and put away in a
an hour’s work a day and he pockets ten rupees spot for them. little wooden box.
– even graduates are unable to earn that! Three B All the coppers that men and women of
hundred rupees a month!’ He felt irritated when 30 this part of the universe earned through
he heard such glib remarks and said, ‘What their miscellaneous jobs ultimately came F But he was a kindly man in private. ‘How
It rent his heart to see their hungry, hollow eyes. to him at the end of the day. He put all the customers survive the food, I can’t
these folk do not see is that I sit before the oven
It pained him to see the rags they wore. And it this money into a little cloth bag dangling understand. I suppose people build up a
practically all day frying all this…’
made him very unhappy to see the tremendous from his neck under his shirt, and carried sort of immunity to such poisons, with all
27 eagerness with which they came to him. But it home, soon after the night show had that dust blowing on it and the gutter
what could he do? He could not run a charity started at the theatre. behind…’
At about 8:15 in the evening he arrived with a show, that was impossible. He measured out
load of stuff. He looked as if he had four arms, their half-glass of coffee correct to the fraction of
so many things he carried about him. His an inch, but they could cling to the glass as long C No one could walk past his display G He got up when the cock in the next
equipment was the big tray balanced on his as they liked. without throwing a look at it. A heap of house crowed. Sometimes it had a habit
head, with its assortment of edibles, a stool bondas, which seemed puffed and big of waking up at three in the morning and
stuck in the crook of his arm, a lamp in another 31
but melted in one’s mouth; dosais, white, letting out a shriek. ‘Why has the cock
hand and a couple of portable legs for mounting round, and limp, looking like layers of lost its normal sleep?’ Rama wondered
He lived in the second lane behind the market.
his tray. He lit the lamp, a lantern which muslin; chappatis so thin that you could as he awoke, but it was a signal he could
His wife opened the door, throwing into the night
consumed six pies’ worth of kerosene every day, lift fifty of them on a little finger; duck’s not miss. Whether it was three o’clock or
air the scent of burnt oil which perpetually hung
and kept it near at hand, since he had to guard a eggs, hard-boiled, resembling a heap of four, it was all the same to him. He had
about their home. She snatched from his hand
lot of loose cash and a variety of miscellaneous ivory balls; and perpetually boiling coffee to get up and start his day.
all the encumbrances and counted the cash
articles. on a stove. He had a separate aluminium
immediately.
pot in which he kept chutney, which went
28
32 gratis with almost every item. H When he saw some customer haggling,
He always arrived in time to catch the cinema he felt like shouting, ‘Give the poor fellow
After dinner, he tucked a betel leaf and tobacco a little more. Don’t begrudge it. If you pay
crowd coming out after the evening show. A
in his cheek and slept. He had dreams of traffic D His customers liked him. They said in an anna more he can have a dosai and a
pretender to the throne, a young scraggy fellow,
constables bullying him to move on and health admiration, ‘Is there another place where chappati.’
sat on his spot until he arrived and did business,
inspectors saying he was spreading all kinds of you can get six pies and four chappatis
but he did not let that bother him unduly. In fact,
disease and depopulating the city. But for one anna?’ They sat around his tray,
he felt generous enough to say, ‘Let the poor rat
fortunately in actual life no one bothered him taking what they wanted. A dozen hands
do his business when I am not there.’ This
very seriously. The health officer no doubt came hovered about it every minute, because
sentiment was amply respected, and the
and said, ‘You must put all this under a glass lid, his customers were entitled to pick up,
pretender moved off a minute before the arrival
otherwise I shall destroy it some day… Take examine, and accept their stuff after
of the prince among caterers.
care!’ proper scrutiny.
29
33
Though so much probing was going on, he knew
Rama no doubt violated all the well-accepted
exactly who was taking what. He knew by an
canons of cleanliness and sanitation, but still his
extraordinary sense which of the jukta drivers
customers not only survived his fare but seemed
was picking up chappatis at a given moment –
actually to flourish on it, having consumed it for
he could even mention the licence number. He
years without showing signs of being any the
knew that the stained hand nervously coming up
worse for it.
was that of a youngster who polished the shoes
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Part 4
34 What does the writer say about newspapers in the first paragraph?
You are going to read the introduction from a book on sports. For questions 34-40, choose the answer
(A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text. Mark your answers on the separate A They tend not to include articles readers will find very challenging.
answer sheet.
B Articles in them do not reflect the way many people really speak.
C They are more concerned with profit than with quality of writing.
SPORTSWRITING
D They fail to realise what kind of writing would appeal to readers.
Offices and bars are often full of casual obscenity, but most British newspapers are …. well, not
necessarily careful about language, but careful about bad words anyway. The phrase ‘family newspaper’ 35 What does the writer imply in the second paragraph?
is an ineluctable part of our lives. Newspapers are not in the business of giving gratuitous offence. It is a
limitation of newspaper writing, and one everybody in the business, whether writing or reading, A GQ magazine contains articles that are well worth reading.
understands and accepts. There are many other necessary limitations, and most of these concern time and B Some of the more recent men’s magazines are unlikely to survive.
space. C The standard of sportswriting in newspapers has improved in recent times.
Newspapers have dominated sportswriting in Britain for years, and have produced their own totem D He is in a position to give an objective view of sportswriting in magazines.
figures and doyens. But ten years ago, a new player entered the game. This was the phenomenon of
men’s magazines; monthly magazines for men that had actual words in them – words for actually reading. 36 Why were sportswriters for GQ given new freedoms?
GQ was the pioneer and, in my totally unbiased opinion as the long-term author of the magazine’s sports
column, it leads the way still, leaving the rest panting distantly in its wake. A The restrictions of newspaper writing do not apply to writing for GQ.
Sport is, of course, a blindingly obvious subject for a men’s magazine – but it could not be tackled B The magazine’s initial plans for its sports articles proved unrealistic.
in a blindingly obvious way. Certainly, one of the first things GQ was able to offer was a new way of C Notions about what made good sports journalism were changing.
writing about sport, but this was not so much a cunning plan as a necessity. The magazine was doomed,
D The writers that it wanted to employ demanded greater freedom.
as it were, to offer a whole new range of freedoms to its sportswriters. Heady and rather alarming
freedoms. Freedom of vocabulary was simply the most obvious one and, inevitably, it appealed to the 37 What does the writer say about the amount of time allowed for producing articles?
schoolboy within us. But space and time were the others, and these possibilities meant that the craft of
sportswriting had to be reinvented. A The best articles are often produced under great pressure of time.
Unlike newspapers, a magazine can offer a decent length of time to research and to write. These
B Having a long time to produce an article encourages laziness.
are, you would think, luxuries – especially to those of us who are often required to read an 800-word
match report over the telephone the instant the final whistle has gone. Such a discipline is nerve-racking, C Writers are seldom satisfied by articles produced in a hurry.
but as long as you can get it done at all, you have done a good job. No one expects a masterpiece under D Having very little time to produce an article can be an advantage.
such circumstances. In some ways the ferocious restrictions make the job easier. But a long magazine
deadline gives you the disconcerting and agoraphobic freedom to research, to write, to think. 38 Why can’t writers for GQ use the same methods as writers for newspapers?
To write a piece for a newspaper, at about a quarter of the massive GQ length, you require a single
thought. The best method is to find a really good idea, and then to pursue it remorselessly to the end, A Articles in GQ are not allowed to consist mainly of interviews.
where ideally you make a nice joke and bale out stylishly. If it is an interview piece, you look for a few B They want to be considered better than writers for newspapers.
good quotes, and if you get them, that’s your piece written for you. For a longer piece, you must seek the C Writers for newspapers do not have so much space to fill.
non-obvious. This is a good quality in the best of newspaper writing, but an absolute essential for any D They have been told to avoid the conventions of newspaper writing.
writer who hopes to complete the terrifying amount of words that GQ requires. If you write for GQ, you
are condemned to try and join the best. There is no other way. 39 What does the writer say in the penultimate paragraph about certain pieces in GQ?
GQ is not restricted by the same conventions of reader expectation as a newspaper. You need not
worry about offending people or alienating them; the whole ethos of the magazine is that readers are there A They will create enormous controversy.
to be challenged. There will be readers who would find some of its pieces offensive or even impossible B They unintentionally upset some readers.
in a newspaper, or even in a different magazine. But the same readers will read the piece in GQ and find
C They are a response to demand from readers.
it enthralling.
That is because the magazine is always slightly uncomfortable to be with. It is not like a cosy D They match readers’ expectations.
member of the family, nor even like a friend. It is the strong, self-opinionated person that you can never
40 The writer likens GQ magazine to a person who
quite make up your mind whether you like or not. You admire him, but you are slightly uneasy with him.
The people around him might not altogether approve of everything he says; some might not care for him
A says things you wish you had said yourself.
at all. But they feel compelled to listen. The self-confidence is too compelling. And just when you think
he is beginning to become rather a bore, he surprises you with his genuine intelligence. He makes a broad B frequently changes his point of view.
joke, and then suddenly he is demanding you follow him in the turning of an intellectual somersault. C forces you to pay attention to him.
D wants to be considered entertaining.
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R E A D I N G S A M P L E PA P E R ( 2 )
Additional materials:
Answer sheet
Soft clean eraser
Soft pencil (type B or HB is recommended)
INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES
Do not open this booklet until you are told to do so.
Write your name, Centre number and candidate number on the answer sheet in the spaces provided
unless this has already been done for you.
There are forty questions in this paper.
Answer all questions.
Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet. Use a soft pencil.
You may write on the question paper, but you must transfer your answers to the separate answer
sheet within the time limit.
At the end of the examination, you should hand in both the question paper and the answer sheet.
[Turn over
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2 3
Part 1
For questions 1-18, read the three texts below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each
gap. Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet. How economists think
Karri Country Economists are starting to abandon their assumption that humans behave rationally, and instead are
We took the coast road to our destination, Albany. Albany is at the southernmost point of Western finally (13) …. to grips with the crazy, mixed-up creatures we really are. ‘Are economists human?’ is
Australia and from there the oceans (1) …. away to the Antarctic and the South Pole. But Western not a question that occurs to many practitioners of that dismal science, but it is one that (14) …. to the
Australia is a land of (2) …. contrasts. Our journey from Perth took us through rolling wheatlands minds of many non-economists exposed to conventional economic explanations.
dotted with small settlements and solitary homesteads many kilometres from their nearest Economists have typically described the thought processes of man as strictly logical, (15) …. on a
neighbours. clearly defined goal and (16) …. from unsteady influences of emotion or irrationality – rather than the
The (3) …. eventually began to change, vast forests canopied the road to Walpole. We were uncertain, error-prone groping with which most of us are familiar. Of course, some human behaviour
entering Karri country. Raised as I was in a country manicured and miniature by (4) …. , this seemed does (17) …. the rational pattern so beloved of economists. But they should remember that the rest
The Karri tree belongs to the Eucalyptus family and is one of the tallest hardwoods in the world. The These days even economists are (18) …. up to this fact. A wind of change is blowing some human
(5) …. named ‘Valley of the Giants’ is truly breathtaking. A metal walkway (6) …. to the highest spirit back into the dusty universities where economic theory is made.
branches of the Karri trees takes you on a swaying journey of discovery. Far below lies the dense
13 A bringing B getting C taking D setting
lush valley floor whilst all around the forest reaches out to the blue, misty horizon, silent and majestic!
14 A springs B jumps C pops D strikes
1 A spread B reach C expand D stretch 15 A sited B laid C centred D placed
2 A bright B utter C stark D sheer 16 A absent B free C devoid D lacking
3 A ground B terrain C domain D territory 17 A B C D
conform accept meet fit
4 A distinction B resemblance C comparison D similarity
18 A sitting B standing C waking D coming
5 A aptly B correctly C properly D relevantly
6 A merged B attached C combined D added
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Part 2 Punk
Page 22
You are going to read four extracts which are all concerned in some way with music. For questions
19-26, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text. Punk was a heterogeneous style, comprising a complex mix of ingredients
Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet. and orientations, spread across a spectrum of artists. The music was
The Enigma of Music generally driven by a frantic, eighth-note pulse carried by the entire
ensemble. Words were spewed forth by vocalists unconstrained by
In spite of its widespread diffusion, music remains an enigma. previous notions of pitch or melody. The majority of lyrics reflected
Music for those who live with it is so important that to be feelings toward a disintegrating and corrupt society and the plight of
deprived of it would constitute a cruel and unusual
subcultural compatriots. The music and lyrics were embedded in a
punishment. Moreover, the perception of music as a central
confrontational stance that reflected varying degrees of anger, performance
part of life is not confined to professionals or even to gifted
amateurs. It is true that those who have studied the techniques technique, artistic exploration of shock value, and intent to bypass the
of musical composition can more thoroughly appreciate the usual music-production institutions.
structure of a musical work than those who have not. But even
listeners who cannot read musical notation and who have never line 9 David Bowie (born David Jones) was one of punk’s most influential
attempted to learn an instrument may be so deeply affected ancestors. Bowie, whose schooling and training included art, theatre, mime
that, for them, any day which passes without being seriously
and music, was a master at creating stories and characters that both
involved with music in one way or another is a day wasted. line 12
In the context of contemporary culture, this is puzzling. symbolised and became reality. Bowie’s incarnation as Ziggy Stardust in
Many people assume that music is a luxury rather than a the film and album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From
necessity, and that words or pictures are the only means by Mars embodied the struggle to succeed in the music business and society.
which influence can be exerted on the human mind. Those line 16 Bowie’s expressions of alienation worked at two different, sometimes
who do not appreciate music think that it has no significance competing levels; his costumed personae were sometimes symbolic,
other than providing ephemeral pleasure. They consider it a
shocking statements, while his feelings were taken as a realistic expression
gloss upon the surface of life; a harmless indulgence rather
than a necessity. This, no doubt, is why our society seldom
of alienation. This duality of pretence and reality side-by-side also came to
accords music a prominent place in education. Today, when exist in punk.
education is becoming increasingly utilitarian, music is likely
to be treated as an ‘extra’ in the school curriculum which only line 23
affluent parents can afford, and which need not be provided for 21 Which word in the first paragraph conveys the idea that punk was sympathetic towards those it
pupils who are not obviously ‘musical’ by nature.
addressed?
19 In the text as a whole, what does the writer find enigmatic about music? A frantic
B spewed
A that it can be appreciated by anybody regardless of their musical ability C plight
B that a thing so widely loved does not play a more significant role in our society D embedded
C that so many people who adore music do not indulge their pleasure more often
D that our education systems undervalue music as a professional career option 22 What does the writer say about David Bowie?
20 Which phrase in the text conveys criticism by the writer? A His Ziggy Stardust film/album has different layers of meaning.
B He was surprised at how other people interpreted the character of Ziggy Stardust.
A who have never attempted (lines 9-10) C He saw himself in competition with punk.
B a day wasted (line 12) D His path towards fame required him to overcome many obstacles.
C influence can be exerted (line 16)
D treated as an ‘extra’ (line 23)
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A deceptively fragile at first sight. B It can heighten our appreciation of the beauty of the music.
B rather disappointing compared to the Cresta 1s. C It means we can feel more of Bach’s personality in the music.
C better quality than they really are. D It reveals the inaccuracy of certain interpretations of his music.
24 Through the example of Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’, the writer shows that the Cresta 2
A he was a meticulous perfectionist.
A is not perfect but good value for money. B he could be distracted by other ideas.
B is especially well-suited to playing classical music. C he sometimes regretted making changes to his manuscripts.
C might be bought by some people as a status symbol. D he sometimes made deliberate mistakes to surprise the listener.
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Part 3
Page 24
You are going to read a newspaper article about a wildlife photographer. Seven paragraphs have
been removed from the article. Choose from the paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap
(27-33). There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use.
Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.
A uniquely human bird’s-eye view A Other, less stark images balance E It’s a photographic device which
Not all animal photography is absurdly cute or noble. extreme intimacy with an almost cool conjures up the idea of an eye
detachment and distance. Looking at a scanning the scene. The whole image
Animal photography dwells near the bottom of figuratively, if not literally – in a series of small bird preparing to drink from a is full of a sense of flux and movement.
the fine-art totem pole, and for good reason. quietly disconcerting photographs made with a puddle, you feel you have intruded on a This is so even when the featured
Most of it ends up as material for wildlife bifocal lens. This lens renders the foreground private moment, yet somehow the bird creature is shown in a static pose.
calendars and magazines. Depicting animals and background in crisp detail, but creates a still seems utterly foreign, defying our
as either contemptibly cute or absurdly noble, flickering blur across the middle of the picture. anthropomorphic impulses. F Mylayne transforms this vapid genre
such photography inevitably veers between into a source of subtle and often
childlike fantasy and starstruck homage to 31
B For, in spite of their snapshot aesthetic, startling imagery. Devoid of any trace
nature. The work of the French photographer In place of the fixed perspective of a classical each of Mylayne’s pictures is the result of sentimentality, his best avian
Jean-Luc Mylayne, however, is an exception to ‘bird’s-eye view’, Mylayne’s camera anchors of months of planning. After selecting a portraits achieve an idiosyncratic, off-
this rule. us in a ground-level process of seeing. In one particular type of bird and studying its kilter beauty as elusive as the subjects
27 memorable photo that is so out of focus it behaviour and habitat, the artist spends he pursues.
borders on abstraction, the artist transforms weeks getting to know his individual
His first UK exhibition offers viewers a mini what might have been a mundane picture of a subjects. He then calculates in G This fluid field of vision in this print is
retrospective of variously-sized colour prints bird in a tree into a mysterious maze of colour advance every component of the perhaps akin to the way birds in flight
from the past 20 years. A quick glance and form. After a moment of adjusting, our picture, from lighting to composition, perceive their environment. Or it could
immediately reveals that Mylayne has no eyes start to pick out the blurry details: before settling down and patiently just be an enticing game of
interest in depicting the inhabitants of pristine feathers appear as a wet splash, branches and awaiting the chance arrival of his avian photographic hide-and-seek. In either
wilderness areas or creating definitive leaves form interlacing pools of brown and actor. case, Mylayne’s image seductively
mugshots of rare creatures. Sticking to the green, perforated by a few soft drops of blue draws us into another way of seeing.
agricultural areas and rural suburbs of France, sky. C His total dedication gives his
he generally photographs common local endeavour the air of a conceptual H This results in images which not only
species, the familiar starlings, robins, and 32 project where art and life meet. To preserve a sense of their winged
sparrows that the average bird-watcher Looking, of course, takes time, and the shifting some extent, this inadvertently plays to subjects’ relative size, but also convey
wouldn’t look twice at. depths of field effectively suggest alternate a tendency to celebrate process over something of the precariousness of
temporal zones. They also allude to the product, to value an artist’s pursuit of avian existence – the majority of birds
28 an idea, or the rigour and purity of his in the wild do not live past their first
underlying contradiction of photographic time –
Occasionally they are obscured by foliage, or the way a still image transforms a fraction of a practice, over the end result. birthday. By blurring the outlines of
they may be partially out of focus, appearing second into an eternal moment. The titles – their tiny bodies so that they assume a
only as a blurred blush of colour, usually (but No. 25 July-August 1980, No. 60 January- D Although Mylayne says that he ghostly transparency, Mylayne’s
not always) because they have actually been February 1987 – highlight another disparity: envisions the bird as an ‘actor’ to his portraits eloquently hint at the febrile
photographed in flight. that between the brief minutes we spend ‘director’, he never frames his subjects mortality of hearts that beat at twice the
looking at these images, and the lengthy in glamorous close-up. Eschewing the rate of ours.
29 research that the artist engages in before use of telephoto lenses, he instead
aiming his camera. presents them as small details in a
These are not blatantly ‘poetic’ pictures, larger landscape. In many of these
however. Indeed, a few verge on the 33 pictures, the birds’ presence is almost
grotesque, including a flashlit photo of a bird incidental: they tend to haunt the edges
feeding worms to its two newborn chicks, both Needless to say, it is a time-consuming way of and corners of his compositions.
of which look as if they could be auditioning for taking pictures. As a result, the self-taught
the next horror movie. Mylayne has produced fewer than 150
photographs in his career. His chosen subject
30 and working method demand a nomadic
Mylayne, it turns out, is not exclusively lifestyle, for much like the migrating birds he
interested in depicting avian character and tracks and observes, Mylayne maintains no
behaviour. His central concerns have to do permanent address.
with vision and time. This is clearest –
[Turn over
10 11
Part 4
34 As a child, how did the writer feel about his home town?
You are going to read part of the introduction to a book. For questions 34-40, choose the answer
A He was saddened by its decline.
(A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text. Mark your answers on the separate
answer sheet. B He was enchanted by its atmosphere.
C He wished it had more to offer.
Leslie Norris – a poet talks D He cared little about its history.
I was born in Merthyr Tydfil, a small town in Wales and a marvellous place in
which to grow up. It was probably the first town of the Industrial Revolution in the 35 One of the strengths of the writer’s teacher was that he taught his pupils to
19th century, sprouting out of nowhere as people poured in to work in the new steel
mills and coal mines. But when I was small, all the great factories were closed and A view the world with precision.
the town was one of the poorest in Europe, although that didn’t seem to be very B express their feelings in poetry.
important to me then. The gaunt ruins of the great mills were as romantic and
imposing as those of any castle, the open mountains were within reach of any boy C describe objects in detail.
who could walk for fifteen minutes. D create imaginary worlds.
The first school I went to was a red-brick building on the edge of town, in the
district of Georgetown. We had a splendid teacher and he taught us, about sixty
36 In discussing the technique behind The Ballad of Billy Rose, the writer emphasises
small boys, for the four years I was in the school, between the ages of seven and
eleven. He was not only fond of words himself, but he could use them to tell jokes,
A the structure he chose for the poem.
to sing aloud, to explain things so vividly to us that we could see, almost, what he
described. And he educated our senses, too, he made us look at everything so B the drama of the situation he created.
firmly, to know the textures of things with our skins, to hear the particular noises C the care with which he chose his words.
that exist in the world all around us. So real were our experiences that we began to
D the emotional impact he wanted.
look for the words necessary to recreate those experiences. That is how I began to
write poetry.
I can’t say that poetry was my greatest enthusiasm at that time. I loved football 37 What is implied about the poem Gardening Gloves?
most of all, and after that boxing. I would travel miles just to kick a football. I
knew all the great boxers of our town. When I was about ten years old I saw the A It was particularly difficult to write.
fight I wrote about in The Ballad of Billy Rose. And years later, in Bristol, I saw B It is less interesting than his other work.
the same man, old now, and very frail. His name, however, was really Tommy
C It overstretched his imagination.
Rose, and in the first version of my poem I called him that. When I finished it, I
read it aloud, and I knew that something was wrong. I was forced to change it to D It is not an obvious subject for a poem.
Billy, so that the balance was right, so that there was a satisfying correspondence
between the word ‘ballad’ and the word ‘Billy’. Much the same thing happened 38 The writer’s interest in successful humorous poems was useful because
when I wrote about his last great fight. I wanted my readers to hear for themselves
the sounds of the fight, and how the words which end in ‘s’ are really the shoes of A they demonstrated good writing practice.
the boxers as they slither on the resin. What I’m saying is that in my poems I try
B he wanted to write funny poems himself.
not so much to describe things as actually to make them, with words.
My friend Ted Walker, a very fine poet himself, and I, used to set each other C they made up for the bad poetry he read.
weekly poetry writing challenges, he choosing a title one week and I the next. In D they used a wide variety of techniques.
this way I came to write Gardening Gloves. The poem is an example of how
necessary it is for the poet to observe well, so that an old pair of gloves can reveal
all that there is to know about them, and for imagination to begin to build a little 39 In taking Edward Thomas’s work as a model, the writer could see the potential danger of
world around them.
Poetry is a craft as well as an art. We owe very great responsibility to the A becoming too sombre in his own work.
poem; if we do not write well enough the poem fails. Like any other craft, B restricting himself to a narrow range of subjects.
although some people are more naturally gifted than others, we can all learn the C attracting unflattering comparisons with Thomas.
skills. I learned by reading the work of other poets. I read everything, good
poems, bad poems, learning as I read. I was very fond of funny poems, and that D oversimplifying the ideas that went into his own poems.
was valuable for me since, to be successful, funny poems have to be extremely well
made. But as I grew more experienced and severe, as my taste developed, I needed 40 From the text as a whole we understand that the writer’s approach to poetry
better examples. I found them in the work of Edward Thomas, a poet who was
killed in the First World War. From him I learned how to write quietly and simply, A has changed to reflect the times in which he has lived.
without, I hope, losing any strength or true complexity of thought I might possess. B has benefited from the reactions of others to his work.
A Glass Window is in part my tribute to this man, dead years before I was born,
who, among many others, taught me what poetry can be, how to listen to it. How C is heavily influenced by the landscape where he grew up.
to write it. D is still in tune with what he was taught at school.
Page 25
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Candidate Name Centre No.
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in CAPITALS and complete the
Candidate No. grid (in pencil).
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R E A D I N G PA P E R A N S W E R K E Y ( 2 )
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