READING EXERCISE

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits
each of the numbered blanks.
A MORE COMMERCIAL TUNE
Roger Press, 40, has changed his career. After spending five years (1) ____ a concert pianist he has gone
into business, recently (2) ____ up his own company. "After leaving university I decided to (3) ____ myself to a
career in music. I loved performing but it was very hard (4) ____. I played at concerts in Europe and America,
made recordings and got good (5) ____. But after a while I felt I had gone as (6) ____ as I could. Unless you are
one of the world's top pianists, it's difficult to earn a good (7) ____ and I wasn't one of the greatest.
When I (8) ____ up my performing career, people around me were more sad and disappointed than I was.
But I felt free and (9) ____ I knew I was getting serious about life. After getting a (10) ____ in business
administration I joined the recording company EMI and started their classical video division, producing programs
about famous artists. A year ago I left EMI and formed a new company, New Media System, which (11) ____ in
multimedia programs.
Now that I run my own business I'm in control of my life and I feel proud of my achievements. Although
the stress is high and I work (12) ____ hours, the stress involved in piano playing was much worse. It took
physical, emotional and mental skills. I prefer the pressures I live with now.'
1. A. like B. working C. how D. as
2. A. giving B. setting C. forming D. bringing
3. A. devote B. take C. assign D. employ
4. A. job B. effort C. work D. career
5. A. reviews B. critics C. reports D. praise
6. A. soon B. often C. far D. much
7. A. life B. living C. money D. payment
8. A. took B. brought C. gave D. put
9. A. lastly B. at last C. at the end D. lately
10. A. qualification B. title C. graduate D. grade
11. A. specializes B. focuses C. concentrates D. dedicates
12. A. overtime B. large C. long D. bonus
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the
questions.
LINDA GREENLAW: SWORDFISH FISHERMAN
Not only does Linda Greenlaw do one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, but also does it extremely
well. She has been described as ‘one of the best captains on the entire East Coast’ and that, in one of the leading
countries in the fishing industry, is praise indeed.
Linda was born and brought up on Isle au Haut, a tiny island ten kilometers off the coast of Maine, USA.
She fell in love with fishing as a child, and she worked on fishing boats during her summer breaks from college.
Her first opportunity to go on a deep-sea fishing trip came when she was nineteen. Alden Leeman, a man she'd
never met before, hired her for thirty days on his sword-fishing boat. The trip was a success and eventually Alden
offered Linda her first boat to captain in 1986, which probably made her the only woman ever to captain a sword-
fishing boat.
So, why did she take up swordfishing in the first place? Linda says that not only does she like the way she
feels on a boat, but she also gets passionate about catching a fish. More than anything, she's proud of being a
fisherman, even more so than she is of being a best-selling author.
Linda has published four books to date, the first of which, The Hungry Ocean, was top of the New York
bestseller list for three months. In it, Linda tells the story of one fishing trip and narrates the adventures she
experienced on board with her five-man crew, including bad weather, sickness, mechanical problems and, of
course, the fish.
But the world of fish and fishing is a man's world and it's not easy to find a word to describe Linda
Greenlaw. In her own words, she says: 'I am a woman. I am a fisherman. I am not a "fisherwoman”, “fisherlady",
or "fishergirl”.’
13. Linda is ____.
A. American B. British C. Canadian D. Greek
14. Her first deep-sea fishing trip was ____.
A. when she was thirty B. when she was a child C. before she was twenty D. in 1986
15. Linda took up swordfishing because ____.
A. she needed to earn some money B. she wanted to become a best-selling author
C. all her family are fishermen D. she loves boats and catching fish
16. On the boat described in The Hungry Ocean ____.
A. there were five people B. there were six people
C. there were four people D. there were three people
17. Linda prefers to be described as ____.
A. a fisherwoman B. a fisherlady C. a fisherman D. a fishergirl
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the
questions.
A WRITER'S LIFE: G P TAYLOR
J. K. Rowling may be responsible for the revival of fantasy fiction. But her contemporary rivals, many of
whom have benefited from her success, seem reluctant to give her credit for starting a trend. Philip Pullman, for
example, points out that Northern Lights, the first volume in his trilogy His Dark Materials, was published a year
before Harry Potter's adventures began. So it comes as a surprise when G P Taylor concedes that he only wrote a
novel because of the enormous popularity of Harry Potter.
Taylor is the Yorkshire vicar who sold his motorbike to self-publish 2,000 copies of his first novel,
Shadowmancer, a book that was subsequently picked up by publishers Faber and got to number one in the New
York Times bestseller list. His novels conjure up dark, chilling worlds in which the super natural threatens to take
over, yet he describes his life as a writer in flatly functional terms. For example, he is able to name the exact day
that he became a novelist: March 21, 2002. 'It was one of those seminal moments in my life. Harry Potter was
becoming very popular. And I thought, “This woman's written a book. I might write one." ’
 ‘I got a copy of Harry Potter, counted the number of words that were on the page, measured the width of
the margin, counted the number of chapters in the book, how many pages were in the book and set my computer
screen up so that it would have 468 Words on the page. My chapters were the same length as the Harry Potter
chapters; I thought, “This must be how you write the book.”
The Harry Potter formula has its faults, of course. Stephen King was once asked what he thought of
Rowling's novels. Were they thought-provoking'? King thought not. But did that matter, he wondered, in a
'fantasy-adventure aimed primarily at children and published in the heart of the summer vacation'? His conclusion
was unequivocal: ‘Of course not. What kids on summer vacation want - and probably deserve - is simple,
uncomplicated fun.'
Shadowmancer is a simple and uncomplicated fantasy - and Taylor, who is his own most effective critic,
makes few further claims for the novel. 'It's a great story, but if I'd written it now, it would be a completely
different book. In many ways, it's a clumsy classic. There are a lot of things in there that I would get rid of. And
yet, I think that's the big attraction. It's because it's an incredible adventure story, written by a non-writer, just a
storyteller.
Taylor returns to this distinction between writing and storytelling a number of times, distancing himself
from grand and lofty ideas of the novelist's purpose. He describes himself as a 'fairly uneducated, council-house
kid' who ran away to London as a teenager, ‘a bit of a chancer, with ideas above his station’. He read Dickens,
lots of Orwell - 'they were trendy books to read' - and Kerouac. But he is uncomfortable talking at any length
about favorite novels or influences beyond Rowling: 'I have not read all that many books. I'm not, you know, a
very literate person.'
Taylor was a rock-music promoter in his twenties and remains a showman, happiest in front of a crowd.
He describes the talks he gives in schools and at book festivals, dressed up as a sea captain or as an 18 th-century
highwayman in a long black coat. ‘You're using your face, you're using your body, you're acting out what you're
doing.’ The business of putting his thoughts in writing can be problematic in comparison. As a storyteller, in order
to demonstrate shock or alarm to an audience he will "pause between sentences and showed a wide-eyed, staring
face. But to describe that in English ...’
This impatience with the limitation of language can be a positive asset: in Tersia, Taylor's new fantasy, the
speed of the narrative and the scale of the events that overwhelm the characters mean there is no time for the
story to get bogged down. That said, it is unusual to hear a writer speak in such a dismissive way of his craft.
Shadowmancer has been taken on by Universal Pictures, and Taylor does nothing to hide the fact that he thinks
'the movie's more exciting than the book’.
18. The writer says that many fantasy fiction writers would not agree that ____.
A. they have copies their ideas from J. K. Rowling
B. J. K. Rowling's success has contributed to their own
C. Fantasy fiction will remain fashionable for many years
D. J. K. Rowling is a writer of fantasy fiction in the true sense
19. The writer is surprised by ____.
A. the success of Taylor's books B. the short time Taylor has been a writer
C. the number of books Taylor has published D. Taylor's reasons for writing his first book
20. What aspect of the Harry Potter books does Taylor admit to imitating?
A. the writing style B. the storylines C. the layout D. the cover design
21. What does that in paragraph 4 refer to?
A. the Harry Potter formula B. the novels' target audience
C. the timing of the novels' publication D. the novels' failure to make people think
22. What does Taylor say about Shadowmancer?
A. He is aware of its limitations. B. He did not write all of it himself.
C. He is going to write a revised edition. D. It does not deserve the praise it receives.
23. What opinion does Taylor have of himself?
A. He is very proud of his achievement as a writer.
B. He thinks he is a better writer than J. K. Rowling.
C. He does not regard himself as a serious novelist.
D. He feels he deserves greater recognition.
24. What do we learn about the talks Taylor gives?
A. He enjoys them more than being a promoter. B. He couldn't do them without dressing up.
C. He finds them easier than writing. D. He likes shocking people.
25. What does the writer mean by there is no time for the story to get bogged down (the last paragraph)?
A. The story moves on too quickly.
B. The plot is never prevented from developing.
C. Emotions are not dealt with in sufficient detail.
D. The story is not always as exciting as it could be.