<rubric><![CDATA[You are going to read an extract from a novel. For questions <b>1-8</b>, choose the answer (<b>A, B, C</b> or <b>D</b>) which you think fits best according to the text.]]></rubric>
<title></title>
<text><![CDATA[In the previous year Christian Thrale, who was then in his twenties, unexpectedly had an evening free from his weekend work at a government office. Looking back it seemed to have been an evening free, also, of himself. He did not often go alone to a concert or other cultural events. On your own, you were at the mercy of your responses. Accompanied, on the other hand, you remained in control. You could also share your opinion, seldom favourable, while walking home. The concert, on that particular evening, was too easy to get into. Passing in light rain, he saw posters and bought a seat on the aisle.<p></p><br>He was scarcely in his seat when he had to stand up again to let two women into the row. He lifted the folded raincoat, hat, and damp umbrella he had dumped on the empty seat alongside; and the younger woman, having stood back for the elder, now sat there. He had noticed her large-eyed good looks at once when she glanced up saying sorry. But as the struggling out of coats went on, and the drawing off of stubborn gloves, he lost interest.<p></p><br>It was the other woman he next became aware of.<p></p><br>The older woman was small and dark and wore a red felt hat on her head, trimmed with navy ribbon. Around her shoulders there was a shawl of little furs. That she was in some way related to the girl, though not of an age to be her mother, was evident from their manner together. It was hard to summarise, even in guesses, even in his mind, the relation of girl to woman. Until, as the musicians started to appear and more arrivals pushed along the rows, the phrase came to him: she is in her power.<p></p><br>The older woman had been <b>coaxed</b> into an outing, in the desperation of an interminable Sunday. That she expected nothing of the music was apparent from her turning this way and that, providing her own commentary. 'The way people dress! Will you just look at that one. I ask you. They might have smartened the place up a bit by now. Wouldn't you think?' The girl sat quietly, <b>something</b> she would not be allowed to get away with. 'You're cheery I must say. First you tell me I'm depressed, and then you don't have a solitary word to say for yourself.'<p></p><br>The lights lowered. Throughout the first work Christian was aware of the woman simmering there, a boiling pan turned low. The girl between them was impassive, hands lightly clasped, slim knees aligned under dark skirt. At the interval the little woman, murmuring to the girl, got up and went out to the ladies.<p></p><br>She was no sooner down the aisle than Christian spoke. He had never done such a thing in his life, but knew there was no time to lose. They got swiftly through some chit-chat about the music, and by the time the woman returned Christian had written a phone number and suggested Saturday. All this, which should have seemed extraordinary to him, appeared inevitable and entirely right.<p></p><br>He got to his feet, and Grace said, 'Dora, this is Mr Thrale.' He saw Dora's face flash with the realisation that they had stolen a march on her, and with an impulse to spoil things. Dora saw a sandy man, quite tall, who could easily present a threat. Christian had discovered they were half-sisters and from Australia. When the concert was over, he hailed a taxi for them.<p></p><br>He did not, during that week, tell himself that he must have been love-struck, even though love-struck was one of his expressions. He knew that something out of the ordinary had been set in motion. But he did wonder if it would survive a second meeting with Grace, whose attraction could well decline in another setting. One would then be faced with the process of coming to one's senses. To do him justice, Christian feared rather than hoped for this.]]></text>
<question number="1" correct="2">
<text><![CDATA[<b>What was unusual about Christian's decision to go to the concert?</b>]]></text>
<choice>He was not particularly keen on cultural events.</choice>
<choice>He had nobody to discuss the experience with.</choice>
<choice>He had heard negative opinions about it.</choice>
<choice>He normally spent his free time outdoors.</choice>
</question>
<question number="2" correct="4">
<text><![CDATA[<b>In the second paragraph, what do we learn about Christian's reaction to the younger woman?</b>]]></text>
<choice>He was annoyed she took a long time to settle down.</choice>
<choice>He wished she had sat somewhere else in the hall.</choice>
<choice>He feared she might have noticed his interest in her.</choice>
<choice>He didn't pay a great deal of attention to her initially.</choice>
</question>
<question number="3" correct="3">
<text><![CDATA[<b>What made Christian think the two women might be related?</b>]]></text>
<choice>Their physical appearance.</choice>
<choice>The age difference between them.</choice>
<choice>The way they were behaving.</choice>
<choice>The similarity of their voices.</choice>
</question>
<question number="4" correct="2">
<text><![CDATA[<b>What does 'coaxed' in line 27 mean?</b>]]></text>
<choice>invited</choice>
<choice>persuaded</choice>
<choice>forced</choice>
<choice>called</choice>
</question>
<question number="5" correct="1">
<text><![CDATA[<b>What does 'something' refer to in line 33?</b>]]></text>
<choice>a lack of response</choice>
<choice>a type of comment</choice>
<choice>a way of dressing</choice>
<choice>an old-fashioned style</choice>
</question>
<question number="6" correct="3">
<text><![CDATA[<b>How did Christian feel when he spoke to the younger woman?</b>]]></text>
<choice>concerned about the older woman's reaction</choice>
<choice>amazed by his own level of courage</choice>
<choice>confident it was the correct thing to do</choice>
<choice>worried about making the wrong impression</choice>
</question>
<question number="7" correct="4">
<text><![CDATA[<b>The look on Dora's face indicated to Christian that she was</b>]]></text>
<choice>moved.</choice>
<choice>embarrassed.</choice>
<choice>amused.</choice>
<choice>angry.</choice>
</question>
<question number="8" correct="2">
<text><![CDATA[<b>What did Christian fear might happen when he met Grace again?</b>]]></text>
<choice>She might show regret at having met him.</choice>
<choice>He might no longer think so highly of her.</choice>
<choice>He might feel uncomfortable with her.</choice>
<choice>She might realise he was not attractive.</choice>
<rubric><![CDATA[You are going to read an article about a wildlife experience on two small islands of New Zealand.<p></p>Seven sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences <b>A-H</b> the one<br />which fits each gap (<b>9-15</b>). ]]></rubric>
<text><![CDATA[ New Zealand is renowned for its fascinating selection of unusual birds. Thanks to the island's seventy million years of isolation, and the fact that there were few mammals to hunt and eat them, its birds have developed to be quite different from those found in the rest of the world. Nowhere are these better observed than in the very special island nature reserves of Tiritiri Matangi (Tiri for short) and Ulva.<p></p><p></p>Though the two islands are more than 1,500 km apart and thus represent extremes of New Zealand's climate and habitat, they have each played a key role in the implementation of bird protection policies. <b>9 </b><gap type='dropdown'>9</gap> That's why these reserves, managed by New Zealand's Department of Conservation, are freely accessible to the public.<p></p><p></p>Tiri had been farmed for more than a century before it was converted into a nature reserve. A ten-year restoration programme saw volunteers replant 280,000 native trees and exterminate the rats which had been introduced by 19th-century settlers. As a result, birds began to return in droves. <b>10 </b><gap type='dropdown'>10</gap> To help them adapt, fruit-bearing trees were planted, small ponds were dug to provide water supplies and feeders were installed to ensure survival during the winter.<p></p><p></p>Sunny and warm, Tiri invites the visitor to take a quiet contemplative walk along its forest footpaths. In early spring, the island explodes in golden cascades of <i>kowhai</i>, New Zealand's national flower. On calm summer evenings, the bellbird melodies take on orchestral proportions. <b>11 </b><gap type='dropdown'>11</gap> If visitors take even a short stroll around Tiri, the chances are that they will see a family of <i>takahe</i> grazing along the footpath. <b>12 </b><gap type='dropdown'>12</gap> Up in the trees, they may well see a pair of <i>kokakos</i> or organbirds and hear the beautiful clear notes of their song.<p></p><p></p>Ulva is an altogether more primitive setting, cooler, wetter and more densely forested, with dark storm clouds passing low overhead. <b>13 </b><gap type='dropdown'>13</gap> Beneath the towering canopy of huge trees, visitors can feel the dark, cool atmosphere that gives this island such a mysterious air. The flora is fascinating and, like Tiri, Ulva is sheltered from the worst of the Southern Ocean storms by a nearby larger landmass.<p></p><p></p> <b>14 </b><gap type='dropdown'>14</gap> The prettiest of them all are perhaps the <i>Wekas</i>, small flightless birds, sometimes mistaken for <i>kiwi</i>, which will run fearlessly across the paths. Visitors will also be able to admire <i>kakarikis</i>, red-crowned and yellow-crowned parakeets often seen scratching about in the leaf-litter in search of seeds, and the rarer South Island <i>yellowheads</i>.<p></p><p></p>Few places in the world can provide such easy and intimate wildlife encounters with some of the rarest and most beautiful bird species as do the Tiritiri and Ulva islands. <b>15 </b><gap type='dropdown'>15</gap> This makes walking very easy for the increasing numbers of nature lovers who visit these wonderful islands.]]></text>
<ReferencePoints>
<point>
<id><![CDATA[<b>A</b>]]></id>
<text><![CDATA[The strange call of the <i>kiwi</i> ΓÇô a half whistling, half screaming song ΓÇô ripping through the darkness makes the night an equally fascinating time.]]></text>
</point>
<point>
<id><![CDATA[<b>B</b>]]></id>
<text><![CDATA[However, the introduction of predators such as rats was not the only reason why birds had become extinct.]]></text>
</point>
<point>
<id><![CDATA[<b>C</b>]]></id>
<text><![CDATA[It had lost much less of its original forest and therefore required far less restoration.]]></text>
</point>
<point>
<id><![CDATA[<b>D</b>]]></id>
<text><![CDATA[There is no need to sweat or struggle while trying to spot the birds, either, because there are excellent paths in both.]]></text>
</point>
<point>
<id><![CDATA[<b>E</b>]]></id>
<text><![CDATA[Some, such as the nectar-eating <i>tuis</i> and <i>bellbirds</i>, found their way on their own, while many more had to be re-established by releasing specimens bred in captivity.]]></text>
</point>
<point>
<id><![CDATA[<b>F</b>]]></id>
<text><![CDATA[Believed extinct for a hundred years, this enormous, flightless bird was only rediscovered fifty years ago and its numbers have gradually increased to the current total of more than two hundred.]]></text>
</point>
<point>
<id><![CDATA[<b>G</b>]]></id>
<text><![CDATA[Another similarity is that here, too, the extermination of rats has brought on an explosion of bird life, though of different species.]]></text>
</point>
<point>
<id><![CDATA[<b>H</b>]]></id>
<text><![CDATA[As well as being spectacular conservation successes, they share the unusual status of being 'open sanctuaries'.]]></text>
<rubric><![CDATA[You are going to read a magazine article in which four creative people talk about their work. For questions <b>16-30</b>, select the letter (<b>A-D</b>) in the gap. The people may be chosen more than once.]]></rubric>
<textTitle textAlign="left"><![CDATA[<b>What's the big idea?</b><p></p><p></p>Where do people get their inspiration for work? <b>Kate Mikhail</b> talks to four gifted individuals...<p></p><p></p><b>A Corinne Day Photographer</b><p></p>I get my ideas for photographs anywhere, at any time; I don't have to be specifically doing anything. I keep a diary at home and write down any thoughts I have, and then when a job comes up, I see if there is anything in it that applies. It's almost impossible for me to switch off. When I was abroad recently, I wanted to get away from taking photographs, so I didn't take my camera with me. But I could still see pictures all the time and wished I had brought it.<p></p>People can be inspiring. When I was twelve, my grandmother knew a painter who was friends with Picasso. I used to be painted by her and she would talk to me about art. I picked up my first camera at nineteen and quickly developed a very distinctive taste for the things I like to photograph. I've always known what I've liked and I've always gone in the opposite direction from everyone else in the profession.<p></p><p></p><b>B Jan Kaplicky Architect</b><p></p>Success in my job depends on the people you have around you and how good they are. There are engineers, model-makers, photographers - architecture is not a one-man product. I come into the office every day. I like to arrive at 8am, as this is a very peaceful period when I can think about things before the usual routine starts and other people arrive.<p></p>The initial idea for a job comes to me just like that sometimes, and if that first idea is good, then I am on the right track. Having lots of ideas for one problem is not a sign that you are creative, that's just a waste of energy. I also don't think you have to go anywhere in particular to get ideas; people just use that as an excuse. But I do think a lot of creativity depends on your relationships with other people. Your happiness or unhappiness comes out in your work.<p></p><p></p><b>C J. G. Ballard Novelist</b><p></p>I think the enemy of creativity in the world today is that so much thinking is done for you. The environment is so full of television, you hardly need to do anything - you scarcely need to go and read a novel. Children make you see what reality is all about. Mine were a huge inspiration for me. Watching them creating their separate worlds was a very enriching experience.<p></p>I've always been a very disciplined writer, because that's the only way you ever get anything done. Usually when I am writing a novel, I set myself 1,000 words a day. I stick to it even if it means stopping in the middle of a sentence. As for learning to be creative, I think there's a lot of skills that you need to be born with. I wrote from a pretty early age, eight or nine, and I've always had a very vivid imagination. I have a walk every day and a good think about things - all these ideas occur to me then.<p></p><p></p><b>D Peter Molyneux Computer Game Creator</b><p></p>Perhaps the greatest difference between people who are creative and people who are not is that the former always think their idea will work, they never think 'that's not going to work, that's a stupid idea'. But a lot of the time I don't know where my ideas come from.<p></p>At school I wasn't happy, I had serious problems with reading and spelling. But I can remember incredibly clearly the time I saw my first computer game, in a shop window. From that moment on it was as if I'd found my aim in life.<p></p>I find the computer game is very creative. It brings together many different disciplines: the logic of programming, mathematics, storytelling... I have a vast number of little notebooks for work, full of sketches and things. The general idea for a game is easy, the real challenge always comes about six months later when you have to design all the parts of the game, and consider things like how many pieces of information players can take before they'll get confused.]]></textTitle>
<text><![CDATA[Which person...<p></p><p></p>is unhappy about the effect of the media on people's ability to think? <b>16 </b> <gap type='dropdown'>C</gap><p></p>looks back at their notes in the hope of finding useful ideas for work? <b>17 </b><gap type='dropdown'>A</gap><p></p>mentions the variety of subjects involved in their work? <b>18 </b><gap type='dropdown'>D</gap><p></p><p></p>likes having a quiet time before the start of a working day? <b>19 </b><gap type='dropdown'>B</gap><p></p>admits their work requires the contribution of others? <b>20 </b><gap type='dropdown'>B</gap><p></p><p></p>feels that the process of developing an idea in detail is the most<p></p>difficult? <b>21 </b><gap type='dropdown'>D</gap><p></p><p></p>finds it difficult not to think of work when having a break? <b>22 </b><gap type='dropdown'>A</gap><p></p><p></p>recognises the influence of very young people on their work? <b>23 </b><gap type='dropdown'>C</gap><p></p>is satisfied with having just a single good idea for their work? <b>24 </b><gap type='dropdown'>B</gap><p></p>is aware that their work differs greatly from that of other people? <b>25 </b><gap type='dropdown'>A</gap><p></p>mentions an important influence from their childhood? <b>26 </b><gap type='dropdown'>A</gap><p></p><p></p>follows a strict procedure when organising their work? <b>27 </b><gap type='dropdown'>C</gap><p></p><p></p>mentions the effect of personal feelings and moods on their work? <b>28 </b><gap type='dropdown'>B</gap><p></p>believes that creative people have a lot of self-confidence? <b>29 </b><gap type='dropdown'>D</gap><p></p>believes it is not possible to learn to be creative? <b>30 </b><gap type='dropdown'>C</gap><p></p> ]]></text>
