II. You are going to read an article in which four crime writers talk about other authors they like. For questions 1–10, choose from the crime writers (A–D). The writers may be chosen more than once.

A.  John Harvey on Peter Temple

I started reading Temple’s books about 10 years ago, and at the time it was fairly straightforward crime fiction set in Australia, a lot of it with a horse-racing background. The books were OK, but not exceptional. Then suddenly with The Broken Shore, he just hit something quite different and moved up a level. He is writing the kind of books I‘ve spent 20 years trying to write, and writing them better than I do. He’s using crime fiction not just to tell a story, but to say something about today’s society. He really gets the connections between politics, the police and the media right. I love the writing – it‘s really taut and a lesson in how to say a lot without being too wordy.

B.  Sara Paretsky on Liza Cody

There is a lot of good, stylish writing out there that puts me off because it’s unfelt. I’m looking for someone who has a gift for storytelling, and who is willing to do the hard work of digging into the emotional aspect of life. Liza Cody does that, and she takes a lot of risks. She doesn’t just do the easy thing to be recognized in the marketplace; she goes where the story and emotion takes her. For instance, she had to self-publish her most recent book, Ballad of A Dead Nobody, because no one in the industry was willing to. These days, you’re told you have to create a brand or a series, with a recognizable link. She is willing to turn her back on that and focus on what her inner voice is telling her.

C.  Mark Billingham on Michael Connelly

The first Connelly book I read was The Poet, his first standalone novel and a big breakthrough for him. By then, he had written four books in his Harry Bosch series, which I went back to read. He has maintained a level of quality through a long-running series – an incredibly difficult thing to achieve. People talk about how you create suspense, tricks such as cliffhangers and reveals, but actually the real secret is to create characters the readers care about. Bosch, a detective in the Los Angeles Police Department, is a character who has grown and changed, who you come to know and care about. All that aside, he is a fantastic storyteller, probably the best in modern mystery fiction. I think his days as a journalist – he was a crime reporter on the Los Angeles Times – stood him in good stead because he never forgets the story.

D.  Ann Cleeves on Johan Theorin

I read Theorin’s first novel, Echoes from the Dead, after my Swedish editor had said: ‘There’s this Swedish author writing four books set on an island in the Baltic – I wonder if he stole the idea from you?’ because I’ve written novels set in the Shetlands. I was a bit annoyed – although I’m sure it was coincidental – so I wasn’t prepared to like it. But I really loved it. He has this interesting detective who is elderly and lives in a sheltered housing complex, so he can’t be out there doing car chases. One of the books is about this crumbling house by the shore and you’re not sure if there’s a supernatural element. It has the most wonderful climax. Theorin is prepared to take his time over the telling of the story, which is unusual these days. If you look at the bestsellers, they usually move quite rapidly. There is nothing wrong with that, but Theorin writes in a much deeper, literary way.

III. You are going to read a magazine article about children performing in musical shows in theatres. For questions  1-15, choose from the people (A – D). The people may be chosen more than once. Write your answers in ‘Your answers’ part.

Kids on stage

Children are performing in popular musicals in many London theatres. We talked to
various people about the phenomenon of children on stage.

­­­­­

A. THE DIRECTOR

Andrew Tyler chooses children to appear in stage musicals

I’m not only looking for children who can sing, dance and act, they also have to have lively
personalities and a lot of confidence - it’s essential that they grab the audience’s attention and if they can’t do that, I don’t choose them. When I’m working on a show, I start by contacting agents and telling them what I need, and then I hold auditions for as many children as I can. When the children have been chosen, I draw up the contracts for them and the schedule for performances - there are usually three teams of children for each show and they perform according to a rota system. No child is in a show for more than six months. Being in a show is tiring for the children because they have to combine it with going to school, but they have a great time and they learn an enormous amount about discipline, teamwork and concentration, as well as special skills such as choreography and singing.

B. THE YOUNG PERFORMER

Emily Gould is currently appearing in a popular London show

I love musicals and I’m thrilled to be in this one. I’ve got quite a big part and have to sing a song all by myself in one scene. I’m always pretty nervous during each performance because I’m worried that I might make a mistake. But at the same time I’m excited about doing it and I feel quite proud of myself when I’m on the stage. I’m one of the youngest children in the show - the age range is five to thirteen. The older children are good to me - they remind me about what I have to do next and encourage me a lot. I don’t have time to be in any of the sports teams at school, which is a shame because I’d like to do that too, but acting and singing are great. I want to keep on performing in musicals for the next few years at least, though I’m not sure I want it to be my career.

C. THE STAGE MOTHER

Anita Benfield’s son Tom is currently appearing in a popular musical in London

Tom started going to a local drama school when he was five. Last year, the head of the school suggested that he was good enough to audition for this musical. I took him to a series of four auditions and he got the part. We’d had no experience of the audition process and although he got the part, I thought it was horrible. The vast majority of the children get rejected. At the end of each audition, dozens of children burst into tears when they were told that they hadn’t been successful - they were absolutely devastated. When Tom got chosen, we were given the schedule for the ten weeks of rehearsals - I hadn’t realized how much time would be taken up. It’s all rather exhausting - for the parents as much as the children. When the performances start, you get a timetable of the performances the child will be appearing in. But he also has to be available at short notice to replace a child who is ill, and this makes it hard to plan anything. Because of that, we can't book a holiday and recently we weren’t able to attend a family wedding.

D. THE EX-CHILD STAR

Ian Miller was a child star in the 1980s

My parents were very keen for me to be on the stage and I showed a lot of talent for it when I was a child. By the time I was ten, I’d been in a number of stage musicals and also appeared in various TV series. When I went to secondary school, I stopped performing because I developed other interests and lost my enthusiasm for it - I didn’t want to give up so much time to do it, I wanted to do what my friends were doing. I enjoyed my time as a child performer but I didn’t miss it when I stopped. Lots of child performers don’t go on to become successful adult performers even if they want to. People in the business tend to think that they aren’t capable of developing into good adult performers and they aren’t taken seriously when they’re older. I don’t want my own children to do it - I think performing can be very stressful for children and I think it’s much better for children to concentrate on getting a good education and then train to be a performer when they’re older, if they want to.

• Read the texts about five people working with animals and the questions below. For each question choose the correct person. The people may be chosen more than once.

A. Veterinary surgeon – Seb Prior

Seb sees a huge variety of creatures in his role as a veterinary surgeon. He says, “Anything can come through the door; you just wouldn’t believe it. We do general pet care and, because the clinic’s so close to a road, I spend lots of time dealing with animals who’ve been hit by cars. I spend half my day in the clinic and a half doing operations, which is a nice mix. I like being able to get out and reach people – being able to talk to them and answer their questions is a huge part of the job. You can be the best surgeon in the world but if you can’t talk to the clients, that’s a huge problem. You need patience and understanding for the people and the animals.”

B. Wildlife assistant – Wendy Burrows

Wendy sees all sorts of animals, from garden birds to tiny hedgehogs and fully-grown swans and every day is different, but Wendy’s wildlife center is particularly busy during the summer months. She looks after up to 500 hedgehogs and their young, who have to reach a certain weight before they can be let go into the wild. Wendy says, “It’s always a lovely moment when this happens, one of the most satisfying parts of the job”, but if this isn’t achieved by September, the hedgehogs have to be kept at the center over the winter period.”

C. Animal care assistant – Anna Lindley

Anna Lindley cares for a wide range of animals, from dogs and cats to birds and mice and it is these smaller animals that give her the greatest satisfaction. “Ever since I was a child, I’ve loved animals and I hate it that we often don’t pay attention to the small ones.” Caring for such a range of animals provides an interesting challenge and plenty of work! “With so much to do, I find myself rushing from job to job and never quite keeping up. I love the fact that you never know what you’re going to get, although unfortunately, that does mean I sometimes have to deal with a snake, which I find a bit scary!”

D. Inspector – Justin Stubbs 

“Becoming an animal inspector was something I’d always wanted – along with being a policeman. At first, I had no idea what it involved but actually, the job is better than I ever imagined. There’s never a day when I don’t want to go to work. The job is a lot harder than people realize and it can get me down at times. Over the years I’ve had to learn to put it to the back of my mind when I leave at the end of the day, but that’s easier said than done and it’s true to say that a bit of the job always comes home with me. It’s the nature of the job.”

E. Vet nurse – Naomi Killingsworth 

Naomi works with people as much as animals but not everyone who comes through the hospital doors is as grateful as you might think, as Naomi explains: “Sometimes I wish more people appreciated what we do. We work hard here, but not everyone realizes that. Of course, there are also many people who couldn’t be more grateful for what we’ve done to help their animals – they make it all worthwhile.”

^{+ QUESTIONS:}

1, Which person is pleased with their schedule at work? ___________

2, Which person says their job was a childhood ambition? ___________

3, Which person does a job in which the amount of work varies?  ___________

4, Which person always looks forward to going to work? ___________

5, Which person says communication is an essential skill for their work? ___________

6, Which person is disappointed by some people’s opinion of their work? ___________

7, Which person prefers working with a certain kind of animal? ____________

Read the following passage on transport, and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 38 to 42.

(1) Interest is the sum charged for borrowing money for a fixed period of time. Principal is the term used for the money that is borrowed, and the rate of interest is the percent per year of the principal charged for its use. Most of the profits for a bank are derived from the interest that they charge for the use of their own or their depositor’s money.

(2) All problems in interest may be solved by using one general equation that may be stated as follows:

Interest = Principal X Rate X Time

(3) Any one of the four quantities – that is, interest, principal, rate, or time – may be found when the other three are known. The time is expressed in years. The rate is expressed as a decimal fraction. Thus, 6 percent interest means six cents charged for the use of $1 of principal borrowed for one year. Although the time may be less than, equal to, or greater than one year, most applications for loans are for periods of less than one year. For purpose of computing interest for short periods, the commercial year or 360 days is commonly used, but when large sums of money are involved, exact interest is computed on the basis of 365 days.

At 4 percent interest for the use of $1 principal, how much would one pay?

A. Six cents per year                

B. Twenty-five cents per year

C. Four cents per year              

D. One cent per year

Read the following passage on transport, and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 36 to 42.

(1) Interest is the sum charged for borrowing money for a fixed period of time. Principal is the term used for the money that is borrowed, and the rate of interest is the percent per year of the principal charged for its use. Most of the profits for a bank are derived from the interest that they charge for the use of their own or their depositor’s money.

(2) All problems in interest may be solved by using one general equation that may be stated as follows:

Interest = Principal X Rate X Time

(3) Any one of the four quantities – that is, interest, principal, rate, or time – may be found when the other three are known. The time is expressed in years. The rate is expressed as a decimal fraction. Thus, 6 percent interest means six cents charged for the use of $1 of principal borrowed for one year. Although the time may be less than, equal to, or greater than one year, most applications for loans are for periods of less than one year. For purpose of computing interest for short periods, the commercial year or 360 days is commonly used, but when large sums of money are involved, exact interest is computed on the basis of 365 days.

At 4 percent interest for the use of $1 principal, how much would one pay?

(A) Six cents per year

(B) Twenty-five cents per year

(C) Four cents per year

(D) One cent per year

Read the following passage on transport, and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 38 to 42.

(1) Interest is the sum charged for borrowing money for a fixed period of time. Principal is the term used for the money that is borrowed, and the rate of interest is the percent per year of the principal charged for its use. Most of the profits for a bank are derived from the interest that they charge for the use of their own or their depositor’s money.

(2) All problems in interest may be solved by using one general equation that may be stated as follows:

Interest = Principal X Rate X Time

(3) Any one of the four quantities – that is, interest, principal, rate, or time – may be found when the other three are known. The time is expressed in years. The rate is expressed as a decimal fraction. Thus, 6 percent interest means six cents charged for the use of $1 of principal borrowed for one year. Although the time may be less than, equal to, or greater than one year, most applications for loans are for periods of less than one year. For purpose of computing interest for short periods, the commercial year or 360 days is commonly used, but when large sums of money are involved, exact interest is computed on the basis of 365 days.

The word “fixed” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to

A. Definite

B. short       

C. repeated 

D. trial

Read the following passage on transport, and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 36 to 42.

(1) Interest is the sum charged for borrowing money for a fixed period of time. Principal is the term used for the money that is borrowed, and the rate of interest is the percent per year of the principal charged for its use. Most of the profits for a bank are derived from the interest that they charge for the use of their own or their depositor’s money.

(2) All problems in interest may be solved by using one general equation that may be stated as follows:

Interest = Principal X Rate X Time

(3) Any one of the four quantities – that is, interest, principal, rate, or time – may be found when the other three are known. The time is expressed in years. The rate is expressed as a decimal fraction. Thus, 6 percent interest means six cents charged for the use of $1 of principal borrowed for one year. Although the time may be less than, equal to, or greater than one year, most applications for loans are for periods of less than one year. For purpose of computing interest for short periods, the commercial year or 360 days is commonly used, but when large sums of money are involved, exact interest is computed on the basis of 365 days.

The word “fixed” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to

(A) Definite

(B) short

(C) repeated

(D) trial

Read the following passage on transport, and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 36 to 42.

(1) Interest is the sum charged for borrowing money for a fixed period of time. Principal is the term used for the money that is borrowed, and the rate of interest is the percent per year of the principal charged for its use. Most of the profits for a bank are derived from the interest that they charge for the use of their own or their depositor’s money.

(2) All problems in interest may be solved by using one general equation that may be stated as follows:

Interest = Principal X Rate X Time

(3) Any one of the four quantities – that is, interest, principal, rate, or time – may be found when the other three are known. The time is expressed in years. The rate is expressed as a decimal fraction. Thus, 6 percent interest means six cents charged for the use of $1 of principal borrowed for one year. Although the time may be less than, equal to, or greater than one year, most applications for loans are for periods of less than one year. For purpose of computing interest for short periods, the commercial year or 360 days is commonly used, but when large sums of money are involved, exact interest is computed on the basis of 365 days.

The word “periods” in paragraph 3 refers to

(A) time

(B) loans

(C) applications

(D) interest

Read the following passage on transport, and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 36 to 42.

(1) Interest is the sum charged for borrowing money for a fixed period of time. Principal is the term used for the money that is borrowed, and the rate of interest is the percent per year of the principal charged for its use. Most of the profits for a bank are derived from the interest that they charge for the use of their own or their depositor’s money.

(2) All problems in interest may be solved by using one general equation that may be stated as follows:

Interest = Principal X Rate X Time

(3) Any one of the four quantities – that is, interest, principal, rate, or time – may be found when the other three are known. The time is expressed in years. The rate is expressed as a decimal fraction. Thus, 6 percent interest means six cents charged for the use of $1 of principal borrowed for one year. Although the time may be less than, equal to, or greater than one year, most applications for loans are for periods of less than one year. For purpose of computing interest for short periods, the commercial year or 360 days is commonly used, but when large sums of money are involved, exact interest is computed on the basis of 365 days.

Which of the following would be a correct expression of an interest rate as stated in the equation for computing interest?

(A) Four

(B) 04

(C) 4

(D) 4/100

Read the following passage on transport, and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 38 to 42.

(1) Interest is the sum charged for borrowing money for a fixed period of time. Principal is the term used for the money that is borrowed, and the rate of interest is the percent per year of the principal charged for its use. Most of the profits for a bank are derived from the interest that they charge for the use of their own or their depositor’s money.

(2) All problems in interest may be solved by using one general equation that may be stated as follows:

Interest = Principal X Rate X Time

(3) Any one of the four quantities – that is, interest, principal, rate, or time – may be found when the other three are known. The time is expressed in years. The rate is expressed as a decimal fraction. Thus, 6 percent interest means six cents charged for the use of $1 of principal borrowed for one year. Although the time may be less than, equal to, or greater than one year, most applications for loans are for periods of less than one year. For purpose of computing interest for short periods, the commercial year or 360 days is commonly used, but when large sums of money are involved, exact interest is computed on the basis of 365 days.

Which of the following would be a correct expression of an interest rate as stated in the equation for computing interest?

A. Four      

B. 04           

C. 4   

D. 4/100