RESTS Paper 1: Reading (1hour) PART1. You are going to read an extract from a novel. For questions 1-8, choose the answer (A, B, C or) which you think fits best according to the text Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet. fiemoon, Mattie!” Mr Eckler called from the bow of his | boat. ‘Got a new one. Brand-new. Ist come in Ry 4 Mrs Wharton House of Mirth, its called. I tucked it in behind the coffee beans, under W. You'll see it? “Thank you, Mr Ecker!" I said, excited at the prospect of a new book. ‘Did you read it?” whole’ ‘Can't hardly say. Some flighty city girl. Don’t know why it’s called House of Mirth. It ain't funny in the least? The Fulton Chain Floating Library is only a tiny room, a closet really, below decks in Charlie Eckler’s pickle boat. Its nothing like the proper library they have in Old Forge, but it has its | own element of surprise. Mr Eckler uses the room to store his wares, and when he finally gets around to moving a chest of tea or a sack of cornmeal, you never know what ‘you might find. And once in a While, the main library in Herkimer | sends up a new book or two. It’s nice to get your hands on anew book before everyone else docs. While the pages are stll clean and white and the spine hasn’t been snapped. I stepped onto the boat and went below decks. The House of Mirth ‘was under W, like Mr Eckler said it would be, only it was wedged next | to Mrs Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch. Mr Eckler sometimes gets authors 26 FCE PRACTICE TESTS PAPER 1: READING and titles confused. I signed it out in a ledger he kept on top of ‘a molasses barrel, then rooted around behind a crate of eggs, a Jar of marbles and a box of dried dates but found nothing I hadn't already read. I remembered to get the bag of commeal we needed. wished I could buy oatmeal or white flour instead, but commeal cost less and went further. Iwas to get a ten-pound bag. The fifty- pound bag cost more to buy but was cheaper per pound and I'd told Pa so, but he said only rich people can afford to be thrifty. Just as Tas about to climb back upstairs, something caught my eye - a box of composition books. Real pretty ones with hard covers on them, and swirly paint designs, and a ribbon to mark your place. I put the commeal down, ‘and Mrs Wharton too, and picked ‘one up. Its pages were smooth and white. I thought it would be a fine thing to write on paper that nice. ‘The pages in my old composition book were rough and had bluny blue lines printed on them, and were made with so litle care that there were slivers of wood visible in them, Thanded Mr Eckler fifty cents of my father’s money for the commeal. ‘How much is this?” 1 asked, holding up one of the pretty composition books. I had sixty cents from all the fiddleheads Weaver and I had sold to the Eagle Bay Hotel. It was money I knew I should have given to my pa. Td meant to, really. I just hadn't gotten around to it “Those notebooks? They're expensive, Mattie, Italians made them, I've got to get forty-five cents apiece; he said. ‘I've got some others coming in for fifteen cents in a week or so if you can wait! Forty-five cents was a good deal of money, but I didn’t want the ones for fifteen cents, not after Pd seen the others. I had ideas. Tons of them. For stories and poems. I chewed the inside of my cheek, deliberating. I knew I would have to write a lot when I ‘went to Bamard College- if went to Bamard College - and it might bbe a good idea to get a head start. Weaver had said I should be using my words, not just collecting them, and I knew they would just glide across this beautiful paper, and ‘when I was done writing them, could close them safely inside the covers. Just like a real book. Guilt gnawed at my insides. | took the money from my pocket and gave it to Mr Eckler quickly, so the thing was done and I couldn't change my mind. Then I watched breathlessly as he wrapped my purchase in brown paper and tied it with string. I thanked him as he handed me the package, but he didn't hear me because Mr Pulling, the station-master, was asking him the price of oranges.When Mr Eckler told Mattie about the new book, ‘A. Mattie felt that it sounded familiar to her. B he said that he thought its title was inappropriate. Che said that it was a book Mattie would enjoy. D_ Mattie suspected that he hadn't really read it. What does Mattie say about the library in Mr Eckler’s boat? ‘A New books are frequently added to it. B_Allthe books in it are in excellent condition. It contains books that are hidden from view. D_ MrEckler doesn't know exactly what is init. When Mattie found the new book, she ‘A. discovered that there were other new books nearby. B saw that it had been put in the wrong place. followed Wir Ecklers system tor borrowing books. D_ had to move something so that she could find it What was the situation concerning the cornmeal? ‘A Her father was unable to save money by buying the bigger bag. B_ Her father could not see the point of buying the bigger bag, Her father felt that cornmeal was better than oatmeal or white flour. D Her father had decided to stop buying what he usually bought. One reason why Mattie liked the look of the composition buuks was that A the covers were shiny. B the pages were completely clear. the pages were thicker than in her old book. D they had better ribbons than her old book. When Mattie asked Mr Eckler how much the composition books cost, he said that A. they werent really worth the money. B_ they were not the books he had been expecting to receive, Che did not expect many people to buy Une. D_ he had no choice about how much to charge for them, While she was buying one of the books, Mattie thought about ‘A how she could use it for making lists of words. B_ what the experience of writing in it would be like, what people at Barnard College would think of it. D_ whether she would have enough ideas to fil the whole book. What do we learn about Mattia in the text as a whole? ‘A. She always thought carefully before making any decisions. B_ She was very keen to impress other people. She was often criticized by people who were close to her. D_ She had an enormous interest in both literature and language. FCE PRACTICE TESTS PAPER 1: READING 27PART 2 You are going to read an article about an activity in Spain. Seven sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (3-15). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use. ‘Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet. | The Tower and the Glory Chris Wilson starts at the bottom when he joins a Spanish team making competitive human pyramids ‘A large man jams his foot in my ear and jumps on to my shoulders. He is quickly followed by another only slightly smaller gentleman who grabs my belt and shimmies | up me like a pole. Another follows, My face contorts with pain as the fourth tier mounts on to my back and I begin to sway dangerously. 8 “Castelling’ (making human castles) is a family sport in Catalonia. Groups normally consist of everyone from tiny children, through awkward adolescents and ‘wiry women, to well-built men at the bottom. 10___T had also heard that being overweight ‘and unfit would not count against me, Sure enought, when I turned up for my first training session, could sense that, for the first time in years, my ever-expanding physique was being appreciatively looked at. Castelling began almost 200 years ago near Tarragona, Just south of Barcelona, Out | of nowhere, it seems that people suddenly began forming themselves into human towers. Since then the sport, if you can call it that, has become an expression of Catalan identity, with groups ‘competing to build ever higher and more elegant structures. 11____Once or twice it thas managed a six-tier tower. The top teams regularly manage eight or nine. It was my intention to add a little British beef to the group to help them reach the next level in time for the competitions to be held tomorrow in Barcelona on the National Day of Catalonia ‘At first I had thought that I might like to go on top to bask in the glory, but the club's president soon put me straight. He indicated a spindly little girl who looked as though she had been raised entirely on broccoli, and not much of it at that. It is she who has pride of place on top of the pyramid. 12. ___ For my first try-out Twas given the role of segones mans (second hands), which'meant that I supported the wrists of the man who supported the buttocks of the first rank of the pyramid. Once I had assumed my position, people began to scramble up me and on to the tower without warning. 13 Stil, my hard work must have been appreciated because I was quickly promoted 10 be primeres mans and support the bottoms of the first level of the pyramid that we were making under the watchful eye of the artistic director. My performance in the ‘hands’ section had obviously been satisfactory because at the third training session I was called forward and given the very great honour ot the President's Belt. 14. Being offered this belt, still warm from the very waist of the President, was @ clear gesture that me and my bulk had been accepted. Finally, I had made it to the bottom of the pile. Being a pillar in a castell is, ‘much like being a bass player in a band. You know that everyone in the crowd is cheering for the singer or the lead guitarist, no matter how important the rhythm section. ‘When we take the stage tomorrow, no one in the crowd will know ‘who I am, or even be able to see me down at the bottom. All their cheering will be for the little gir! on top. 15. Te felt great. 28 FCEPRACTICE TESTS PAPER 1: READINGThe best | could hope for was to be at the bottom, but even that honour has to be earned. Sol knew that everyone at the training session that night would have cheered with good- natured delight if had done that. But that memorable night in Figueres, despite the incredible strain, | held steady and the ‘applause was all for me, | had been attracted to castelling because | had been told that it requires almost no skill or co-ordination. Within seconds | had assisted in the formation of a three-tier tower without really noticing what was happening, Its not easy being the bottom man of a human pyramid. Each casteller is wound into a large strip of material worn around the waist to support the back and to help the other castellers grip when they climb, The group | had joined in Figueres, near the French border, is very much a second-division outfit. FCE PRACTICE TESTS PAPER‘:READING 29TEST2 PART 3 You are going to read a magazine article about the history of the bicycle. For questions 16-30, choose from the sections of the article (A~D). The sections may be chosen more than once. ‘Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet. In which section of the article are the following mentioned? features that were not added because they were considered problematic a design that is exactly the same as that of current products ‘a product that became popular despite its price in comparison with an existing product a dramatic reaction to a particular sight a design feature that it was felt would not appeal to men ‘a warning that affected the appeal of a certain product 4 design thet required more than one person to operate the vehicle an attempt to get publicity the possibility of injury because of where the rider sat products that were introduced to compensate for a disadvantage of another product an aspect of design that limited the number of people who could use a certain product a design that some manufacturers felt would not become popular people riding a certain product in order to impress others the motivation of one set of people for changing bicycle design an account of a remarkable achievement 30. FCE PRACTICE TESTS PAPER 1: READING BHeee & Beobebee BBWheels that changed the world ‘A The bityLle was an absolutely extraordinary creation. Inventors had first begun to wrestle with. the challenge of coming up with a human-powered vehicle in the 17th century. In 1696, a French doctor used his manservant to power a pedal-driven carriage while the master sat up front and steered. The beginnings of the modem bicycle emerged in 1818 when Kar! von Drais, ‘an eccentric German baron, invented what we now know as the hobbyhorse. It was bicycle shaped with wooden wheels but had no pedals: the rider hhad to push it forward with his feet. At £8 - equivalent today to ££500 ~ the hobbyhwrse would be afforded only by true gentlemen, and it soon became a much sought-after status symbol, But the craze died out after a year following a statement from the London College of Surgeons, which said darkly that the iobbyhorse could cause ‘internal injuries’ B Brilliant minds continued to wrestle with the mechanical horse but made slow progress. Even Britain's top engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, could come up with nothing better than a hobbyhorse that ran on railway tracks, Finally, in 1887)a Parisian blacksmith called Piette Michaux added a pair of pedals to a hobbyhorse, and the bicyele was born. The Michaux bicycle had pedals fixed directly to the front wheel, just like a child's tricycle today. Made largely of iron, it weighed as much as a fridge but was easy to ride and took a man up to five rileo with the effort he would ‘use to walk only one, Michaux’s first newspaper advertisement inMay 1867 offered ‘pedal vvelocipedes’ for 250 francs. At this price only the wealthy could afford one and a group (of 20 young men spent their days showing off their ‘steeds’ before fascinated crowds in the Bois de Boulogne. Michaux was soon producing 20 bieyeles @ day, and decided to organize a ‘women’s race as.a stunt to boost his sales further. A racecourse in Bordeaux was roped off, but ‘when the four lady racers made ‘their appearance in short skirts, the crowd of 3,000 burst through ‘the barrcra, Nevertheless, the ladies raced off A contemporary report recorded that Miss Louise took an early lead, but Miss Julie made a ‘superhuman effort’ passing her on the home straight and winning by a nose. Within a year, there were 50,000-bicyeles in-France, Not to be outdone by their French counterparts, British, engineers set about improving Dioycle design with wire-spoked ‘wheels and solid rubber tyres. "The weight was reduced to a ‘mere 4lb, only twice the weight ofa bike today. Gears and chains ‘were still thought too heavy and complex to be fitted to a bicycle, so designers could increase top speed only by increasing the size of the front wheel. Eventually front wheels grew until they were sft and the penny farthing was born: Speeds of 20 mph were now possible; but the rider's seat was directly above the front wheel, which made riding in-a skirt impossible, so women were effectively barred from bicycles. ‘To make up for it, manufacturers developed tricycles with low seats. The penny farthing’s biggest drawback was its danger the high seat was difficult to climb into, and once up there the driver had a long way to fall D In 1885, John Starley launched the Rover Safety Bicycle, the first model to adopt what we now think of as the ‘traditional design. The bicycle industry was unimpressed, as it had a chain-driven rear wheel, which added weight, and alow seat, which made male riders look a bit ridiculous. Butit ttumed ont to be faster than a penny farthing because it ‘was more aerodynamic. More importantly, the Rover could be ridden in a skirt. At £22, it was more expensive than a penny farthing, but its practicality was just what the public wanted Soon there were half a million bicycles in the UK. Between 1890 and 1900, the bicycle was refined until the basic design became very similar to the featherweigitts that modern champions ride in the Tour de France, Lightweight steel tubing, the diamond-shaped frame, gears and pneuinatic tyres with separate inner tubes all became. ‘common. Top speeds of 25 mph could now be reached. At last the cyclist could outrun a galloping horse. The bicycle was found in every walk of life: policemen and postmen had them and several European armies issued them to their soldiers. FCE PRACTICE TESTS PAPER1:READING 34 2isai