0SJS Reading Fiction 1
1 Complete the missing words in the sentences below.
Example: We went on a package tour to Greece last year.
1 After a traumatic event people often b…………………….. memories to avoid being hurt.
2 Those white, sandy Caribbean beaches seem a d…………………….. memory now!
3 I have a v…………………….. childhood memory of falling down the stairs on my birthday.
4 It’s strange how old songs can e…………………….. memories of both sad and happy times.
5 I keep some old photographs of my grandmother in that box which bring back c……………………..
memories of the wonderful times we had together.
6 Experts say that memories of very bad experiences will f…………………….. over time.
2 Complete the sentences using the prepositional phrases listed below.
1 The judge closed the club ……….………………….. that there was too much noise being made.
2 The paintings were given to the state by the millionaire ……….………………….. taxes.
3 The class were ……….………………….. the morning before they took the test.
4 The local council believe the new development isn’t ……….………………….. the rest of the town.
5 The journalist reported that the city was ……….………………….. a crisis.
6 My brother has always been ……….………………….. the Labour party, never at the centre.
7 The staff pay rise was ……….………………….. 3%.
8 Tom looked ……….………………….. for the photos he had put away in the attic.
on the grounds in vain in lieu of in the region of in keeping with
on the fringe of on the brink of on edge
3 Complete the sentences below with the correct adjective. You are given the prefix.
1 The decision to award the prize to two poets was un……………………... It had never been done
before.
2 The new actor is in…………………….. of playing a Shakespearean lead. He simply doesn’t have
enough experience or stamina.
3 In the race to sell the most albums this year, the band King has built up an un……………………..
lead. There is no way any other singer can catch them up now.
4 Much of this review is ir……………………... It has nothing to do with the performance!
5 When Dickens was growing up there were many people who were still il……………………..
and therefore could not read his work.
6 Many of his difficulties stem from his un…………………….. home life as a child when he had
a number of different foster families.
0SJS Reading Fiction 2
4 Choose the correct alternative to complete the dialogue.
A: Did you like the photos of the pavement art I sent you last week?
B: Thanks. They are brilliant! I’d never seen any of Mueller’s work before. (1) That/What/Which he
can do with pastels on a pavement is incredible! Have you ever seen any of his paintings in a real
street and not just in photos?
A: Unfortunately not. And I could kick myself – I’ve stayed in Berlin several times, close to where they
have a huge street art festival he helps organize and never once (2) I went/have I gone/did I go
along.
B: I think they’d be wonderful to see.
A: Yes, but actually a lot of street artists say that it’s not the painting (3) what/that/who is the end-
product, it’s the photo that captures it and that gives life to the painting, especially these amazing
three-dimensional paintings of Mueller’s.
B: Those are so clever. (4) Who’s/What’s/It’s the depth of the illusion that is so incredible. What he
does is (5) make/made/making you feel that you could actually step into the picture! The one I like
best is of a flooded street. You feel that you could touch the water. Never (6) have I seen/what I’ve
seen/which I’ve seen such realistic paintings!
A: But apparently (7) on only/in only/only in the photograph can you see the real illusion. It’s
painted in a special way so that you have to look at it from a particular angle to get the right effect.
B: I wish I knew a bit more about this type of art. I love it. (8) That/All/Whole I know really is what
you’ve told me!
A: I don’t know that much, but (9) all what/what/which I can do is lend you the book I’ve got on it.
What I do love about it (10) is/be/was that it brings art out of the galleries and into the community.
That’s got to be a good thing.
0SJS Reading Fiction 3
PART 5: Read an article about history below. For questions 1–6, choose the answer (A, B, C, or D)
which you think fits best according to the text.
NEW WAYS OF LOOKING AT HISTORY
Though few modern readers are familiar with LP aimed at. Also, the problem with time-travellers’
Hartley’s novel The Go-Between, many will know guides is that they often say more about the people
the novel’s often quoted opening line: ‘The past is who wrote them than about the people they describe.
a foreign country: they do things differently there.’ Mortimer’s avowal that ‘climate change is another
In Hartley’s novel, published in 1953, the remark factor affecting the landscape’ in 14th-century England
indicates the distance that separates an elderly reflects concerns more modern that medieval. While
narrator from the dramatic events of his youth. Matyszak’s assertion that ‘it is a common
But the phrase has since been gleefully adopted misconception among visitors that the Acropolis is
by historians hoping to dramatise the gulf between the Parthenon’ sounds more like a complaint
present and bygone ages. This remoteness makes about the ignorance of today’s tourists.
the past both alluring and incomprehensible. It is
the natural hurdle all historians must overcome ‘Understanding the past is a matter of experience
to shed lights on earlier times. Since the days as well as knowledge,’ Mortimer declares. This may
of Herodotus, the father of history who lived 2500 well be the manifesto for those who, not satisfied
years ago, it has had them scrambling for new ways with virtual tours of history, take history into their own
to acquaint today’s audiences with yesterday’s events. hands. Historical re-enactors – yes, those individuals
whose idea of fun is to dress up and stage mock battles
Amid the current mass of works of popular historical – provide the most literal interpretation of history
non-fiction, the question of how to bring history to life as experience. Humorist Tim Moore set out to explore
seems more pressing than ever. The historian Ian this world in his book I Believe in Yesterday. In Berne,
Mortimer takes a literal approach: if the past is Switzerland, he suffers in the name of ‘utter
a foreign country, then a foreigner’s guidebook might authenticity’ during the restaged siege of Grandson,
help. His book The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval circa 1474. In the US he endures a stint of ‘relentless
England is exactly that, offering ‘an investigation and uncompromising immersion with re-enactment’s
into the sensations of being alive in different times’. seasoned elite,’ revisiting 1864’s battle of Red River
The resulting portrait of the era is as lively during the American Civil War.
and entertaining as it is informative. Yet it is worth
considering his claims about his own approach. Moore’s quest for ‘my inner ancient’ is fuelled by his
‘In traditional history, what we can say about the past anxieties about our modern inability to deploy
is dictated by the selection and interpretation the skills that came naturally to our ancestors. More
of evidence.’ It would be foolish, however, to suppose often, he finds, it is a ‘refreshingly simple impulse
that Mortimer’s own text has not relied on precisely to get away from it all’ that gets people into period
this kind of selection. Mortimer presents events attire. Many civil war re-enactors seek redress:
as if they were unfolding, putting the facts ‘History is written by the winners but re-enactment
in the present tense. Yet the illusion of first-hand gives the losers a belated chance to scribble
historical experience is shattered the moment we are in the margins.’ For others it’s ‘a simple and truly
thrown 50 years backwards or forwards in order heart-warming quest for gregarious community’.
to provide context. Mortimer’s refusal to commit Perhaps re-enactment is the closest we can get
to a temporal point of view undermines the immediacy to Mortimer’s ideal of what history should be:
he attempts to convey. ‘A striving to make spiritual, emotional poetic,
Unlike Mortimer, Philip Matyszak, author of Ancient dramatic and inspirational connections with our
Rome on Five Denarii a Day, does not claim to tread forebears’. Interestingly, Mortimer quotes the poet
new historiographical ground. His aim is to inform WH Auden, who remarked that to understand your
and amuse, and in this he succeeds. The light-hearted own country it helps to have lived in at least two
approach pays off, though it occasionally descends others. Perhaps the same applies to historical eras.
into juvenile and anachronistic humour: Oedipus is The central question, for popular historians
referred to as ‘he of the complex’. This raises and historical re-enactors alike, is not how to animate
the question of what readership the book is really the past but how to make it cast light on us today.
0SJS Reading Fiction 4
1 For the writer, a well-known quote from a novel
A explains the strange attitude of some historians.
B has been somewhat misinterpreted by historians.
C epitomises what historians have always tried to do.
D indicates the problems in trying to popularise history.
2 The writer refers to being ‘thrown 50 years backwards or forwards’ as an example of Mortimer
A doing what he claims he is not doing.
B choosing to ignore certain evidence.
C sticking closely to historical fact.
D succeeding in doing something different.
3 In the fourth paragraph, the writer implies that
A Matyszak’s defence of his book is rather overstating the case.
B Matyszak and Mortimer have more in common than they acknowledge.
C Matyszak’s own opinions could have been more to the fore in the book.
D Matyszak’s book may actually have little appeal for those interested in history.
4 With regard to historical re-enactors, the writer shares with author Tim Moore
A a desire to see at first hand what motivates them.
B a sense of scepticism about what they are doing.
C doubts about the historical authenticity of their actions.
D concerns that the battles they choose are given undue prominence.
5 What does Tim Moore say is the appeal of historical re-enactment for some?
A imagining that they are famous historical figures
B the possibility of proving something to themselves
C investigating what life would be like if history could be changed
D the chance to pretend that they’re influencing historical outcomes
6 The writer concludes that history as Mortimer, Matyszak and the historical re-enactors see it
A has more in common with literary writing.
B is a new development that will have a limited life.
C can help us learn things about modern society.
D may well be the way forward for historians in general.
0SJS Reading Fiction 5
PART 7: Read the article about dietary trends below. For questions 1–10, choose from the sections
(A–F). The sections may be chosen more than once.
A through a balanced diet as well as exercise, they’re
going for disordered eating – outside the norm,
We didn't need an in-depth research project in other words. They're spending their money
into students’ eating habits to tell us that a fair on dietary supplements such as protein powders
percentage of the student population eat too few and amino acids.’ Any food to go with that? ‘They tend
vegetables. Fortunately, the UK's first study to go for a lot of high-protein, low-fat meat, such
of the dietary changes brought about by going as chicken or turkey breast from the economy
to university delves into more wide-ranging issues. or frozen ranges. Fish and chips are also one
And it has already unearthed a less predictable trend. of the fast-food options for students who aren’t
Male students are particularly prone to what in the habit of cooking healthy food. Oh yes, and egg
Dr Ricardo Costa from Coventry University calls whites, without the yolks.’ Fruit and veg? ‘Very little.’
‘disordered eating patterns’. Not to be confused This may, of course, be a phase that many of these
with eating disorders. ‘We're not talking young men will grow out of. But if it continues,
about bulimia, anorexia and other psychological the consequences for their health could be serious.
conditions,’ he stresses. ‘That's not my field.’ ‘The liver and kidneys eventually struggle to break
B down an excess of protein,’ Costa warns, ‘so liver
and kidney failure is a distinct possibility in the long
Dr Farzad Amirabdollahian, whose field is dietetics term. We’ve already seen that phenomenon
and human nutrition, and one of his colleagues have among body builders. They’re also going to have
so far carried out around 130 in-depth interviews a deficiency in good-quality fats. That can ultimately
with undergraduates of both sexes. Between now lead to cardiac problems. And don’t forget the mental
and next April they hope to talk to another 270. ‘That issues that will arise for those who fail to meet this
400 will give us a really strong idea of the trends in one idealized body image.’ He would dearly love to involve
university,’ says Costa. ‘From there, we hope to apply psychologists as the project expands and spreads.
for a grant and expand the study to two more.’ Not only to work with young men worried about their
lack of muscle, but also to find new ways of spreading
C
the healthy-eating message across campuses. ‘Posters
One university likely to be chosen for the study is don’t seem to work,’ he says.
Hertfordshire, where Amirabdollahian used to work;
E
the other is in North Wales, where Costa did research
while also working as a dietician elsewhere. ‘The more The research, still in its early stages, already indicates
I looked into the obesity epidemic, the more it became a disinclination to buy what Costa calls ‘proper food’.
clear that there was a lot of evidence about the dietary With the exception of mature students, cooking skills
habits of children and adults, but very little are low and consumption of ready meals
in between,’ he explains. ‘I knew that my diet changed and takeaways high. Very few respondents are eating
when I first went to university and colleagues had told anywhere near the ‘five-a-day’ fruit and vegetable
me that it was the same for them. I thought it was time intake recommended,’ he says. ‘Females were better
we looked at what living the student life is doing than males in that regard and students in the health
to your body.’ professions were well above average. But even among
them, the average was only four portions a day.’
D
Admittedly we are talking about flats, bedsits and halls
As many as 50% of male students who have taken part of residence in Coventry rather than a Cambridge
in the survey seem to share with contemporaries college. But the trend seems to be common
from all walks of life a susceptibility to students of all social backgrounds. ‘Another finding
to the blandishments of men’s magazines. ‘They’re from the early stages of our work is that parents’
very focused on their body image and not just to meet income and education have no apparent influence
sporting needs,’ says Costa. Does he mean that they on students’ dietary choices,’ says Costa. ‘No matter if
want to get rid of the burgeoning paunch and put you’re rich or poor, university is a level playing field.’
on muscle to look good for women? ‘Yes, that's what Well, when it comes to nutritional standards, anyway.
the trend suggests. But instead of trying to achieve it
0SJS Reading Fiction 6
In which section are the following mentioned?
1 a noticeable gap in existing research
2 extrinsic motivation
3 the unimportance of social status
4 the unwelcome results of a certain dietary regime
5 a tendency to splash out on things other than food
6 a potential means of financing further research
7 a reluctance to take heed of advice given
8 a sector of the student population with increased awareness of healthy eating
9 an anecdote about former student days
10 a discovery which has revealed an unforeseen tendency
0SJS Reading Fiction 7
Read and analyse the text below. Focus on its genre, style, narrator, figures of speech, slang, etc.
Mark features that make the text distinctive and think about their meaning. Look up any
unfamiliar words.
A doctor took pictures of my lungs. They were full of snow flurries.
When I walked out the office all the people in the waiting room looked grateful they weren’t
me. Certain things you can see in a person’s face.
I’d felt something was wrong because days before I had chased a guy up two flights of stairs and
I’d had trouble breathing, like there was a barbell on my chest. I’d been drinking pretty hard
for a couple weeks, but I knew it was more than that. I’d gotten so angry about the sudden pain that
I broke the man’s hand. He spat teeth and complained to Stan that he thought it was excessive.
But that’s why they’ve always given me work. Because I’m excessive.
I told Stan about the chest pains and he sent me to a doctor who was into him for forty large.
Outside the doctor’s office now I took the cigarettes from my jacket and started to crush the
pack in my hands, but I decided this was no time to quit. I lit one up there on the sidewalk but it didn’t
taste good and the smoke made me think of cotton fibers weaving through my chest. Buses and cars
cruised slow and daylight flashed off their glass and chrome. Behind my sunglasses it was kind of like
I was at the bottom of the sea and the vehicles were fish. I imagined a much darker, cooler place,
and the fish became shadows.
A horn jolted me awake. I’d started to step off the curb. I flagged down a taxi.
I was thinking about Loraine, a girl I’d once dated, and how one night I’d stayed up talking
with her till dawn on a beach in Galveston, from a spot where we could watch the plump white exhaust
from oil refineries unroll in the distance like a road into the sun. That would have been ten, eleven
years ago. She was always too young for me, I guess.
Even before the X-rays I was already foul with anger because the woman I had thought of as my
girlfriend, Carmen, had started sleeping with my boss, Stan Ptitko. I was on my way to meet him at his
bar. Not much point today. But you don’t stop being who you are just because there’s a blizzard
of soap chips in your chest.
There’s no getting out alive, but you hope to avoid a deadline. I wasn’t going to tell Stan
or Angelo or Lou about my lungs. I didn’t want them hanging out at the bar, talking about me when
I wasn’t there. Laughing.
Fingerprints smudged the cab’s window, and uptown approached outside of it. Some places
open themselves for you, but there was nothing gatelike about New Orleans. The city was a sunken
anvil that sustained its own atmosphere. The sun flared between buildings and oak trees and I felt
the light on my face and then the shade, like a strobe. I thought about Carmen’s ass, and the way she
smiled at me over her shoulder. I still thought about Carmen, and it didn’t make sense because I knew
she was a whore and totally heartless. She’d been with Angelo Medeiras when we started up. I guess
I took her from him, more or less. Now she was with Stan. Angelo worked for him, too. It cooled my
sense of insult to assume she was balling a few guys behind Stan’s back.
0SJS Reading Fiction 8
I was trying to think of who I could tell about my lungs, because I wanted to tell someone. You
have to admit that’s a bullshit piece of news to get when you’ve got business to attend.
The bar was called Stan’s Place, brick and tin-roofed, with barred windows and a dented metal
door.
Lou Theriot, Jay Meires, and a couple people I didn’t know sat inside, old guys. The bartender’s
name was George. His left ear was packed with white gauze. I asked him where Stan was and he
nodded toward a set of stairs running up the wall to the office. The door was closed, so I sat on a stool
and ordered a beer. Then I remembered that I was dying and changed the order to a Johnnie Walker
Blue. Lou and Jay were talking about a problem with one of the bookmaking franchises. I could tell
because I’d run book for a few years in my early twenties and knew the language. They stopped talking
and looked up at me because I was listening. I didn’t smile or anything and they went back to talking,
but much softer now, with their heads turned down so I couldn’t hear. They never cared much for me.
They knew Carmen as a waitress here, before she hooked up with Stan, and I think they had some ill
will toward me on her behalf.
They also didn’t like me because I never really fit in around this crew. Stan inherited me from his
former boss, Sam Gino, who inherited me from Harper Robicheaux, and it’s mainly my fault that
I wasn’t ever fully accepted by these guys. They kept dago ideas about fashion—tracksuits or shirts
with French cuffs, slicked hair—but I wear jeans and black T-shirts with a jacket and cowboy boots, like
I always have, and I keep the back of my hair long and I won’t shave my beard. My name’s Roy Cady,
but Gino started everyone calling me Big Country, and they still do, without affection. I’m from East
Texas, the Golden Triangle, and these boys have always thought of me as trash, which is fine because
they’re also scared of me.
It’s not like I had any desire to climb the corporational ladder.
I’d always gotten along fine with Angelo, though. Before the stuff with Carmen.
The office door opened then and Carmen stepped out, flattening her skirt and teasing her hair
a bit, and right away she saw me and kind of froze. But Stan came out behind her and she walked down
the stairs with him following, tucking his shirt at the back. Their footsteps made the stairs groan
and Carmen lit a cigarette before she reached the bottom. She took it to the other end of the bar
and ordered a greyhound.
I thought of a smart-ass remark to make to her, but I had to keep it to myself.
The main thing I was angry about was that she’d ruined my solitude. I’d been on my own
for a long time.
