Reading test: Paris canal is officially clean enough to swim in this summer

This week's reading test is taken fron The Independent article Paris canal is officially clean enough to swim in this summer.

Read this text and choose the best sentence (A - J) for each gap. Two of the sentences do not correspond to any of the blanks. 0 is as an example.

A - after test results confirmed the water is clean enough for swimming – 0 Example
B - if it is considered a success
C - pollution has reduced by 25 per cent
D - that means many residents escape the city
E - the much-loved Paris Plages programme gets new water feature
F - the third is reserved for swimmers with a depth of 2 metres
G - to clean up its waterways for years
H - where people were allowed to swim in the Bassin
I - which has been running for 15 years
J - which links the Canal St Martin and the Canal de l'Ourq in the north east of the city


Paris canal is officially clean enough to swim in this summer

This summer Parisians will be able to cool off in the city’s canal (0) … . The city council had already voted in favour of canal swimming last year but the final go ahead hinged on the health tests results. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo tweeted the good news on Sunday with a message that read: "We promised! From this summer for Paris Plages, you will be able to swim in the Bassin de La Villette."

But water lovers will not have to negotiate the canal without assistance. Three swimming pools will be built bankside along the Bassin de la Villette, (1) … , at a cost of £1.1 million. Water for the pools will come directly from the canals. The Bassin sits along the south side of the Quai de la Loire in the 19th arrondissement. The temporary pool structures will be 90 metres in length and 16 metres across with varying depths. The smallest of the three pools will be reserved for children at 40cm deep. A pool for loungers will be up to 120cm deep and (2) … . 

The Bassin is one of the locations of the Paris Plages summer beach festival, (3) … . Paris traditionally sees an August exodus due to the combination of uncomfortable heat and tourists. In 2002, then mayor Bertrand Delanoë set up the first beach on the Rive Droite, bringing in sand and deckchairs to provide a haven for overheated city-dwellers. The scheme has been a huge hit and last year there was a popular one-off “open day” event (4) …, preparing the way for the pools.

Paris has been taking proactive steps (5) … . Celia Blauel from the City Council said: “The results show 15 to 20 traces of bacteria per millilitre, while the top limit is 100 per millilitre. We have been taking action for five years and the water is of a high quality.”

The city of lights has also been trying to improve all aspects of life around the river. Last autumn City Hall banned cars and motorbikes from the banks of the Seine, renovated pedestrianised areas and created a 10-hectare park known as the Rives de Seine filled with green spaces and sports pitches. Since traffic was banned (6) … .

The pools are scheduled to open on 15 July and will be accessible until the end of the summer, with the city estimating up to 1,000 visitors a day. They hope to repeat the scheme in 2018 (7) … .

KEY: 
1J 2F 3I 4H 5G 6C 7B

Reading test: Russian explorers find 'swamp' of Soviet money

Read the BBC article Russian explorers find 'swamp' of Soviet money and choose the option A, B or C which best completes each gap. 0 is an example.

A group of explorers in Russia have found around a billion roubles in old Soviet money at an abandoned mine, but it's all completely (0) … .

The group from Saint Petersburg, who publish a blog on abandoned sites across Russia, (1) … the money after following rumours that large quantities of cash (2) … in old missile silos near Moscow after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Komsomolskaya Pravda news website reports. After travelling for several hours across rough terrain in Russia's Vladimir region, they found the mine literally overflowing with cash.

The site contains an estimated one billion roubles ($18m; £13.5m at current exchange rates, or $33.3m at the "official" Soviet rate in 1991) in Soviet Union banknotes of various denominations issued between 1961 and 1991, all (3) … legal tender in the Russian Federation. The mine (4) … in recent years, leaving what was essentially a swamp of banknotes bearing the face of Vladimir Lenin, the explorers' YouTube channel shows.

According to their (5) … of events, elderly locals told the team about the mine, but said that nobody (6) … go near the place because it was linked to the Soviet Union's ballistic missile programme, and contaminated with radiation. (7) …, Geiger counters showed that this was not the case.

Team member Olga Bogdanova said that the sight of such "riches" was difficult to convey in words. "There's delight and some sadness, (8) … you realise that this is a bygone era which will never return, that all this money would have been more than enough for anybody," she said. Just 100 roubles would have been a very good salary back in Soviet times.

Fellow explorers Anton Alekseev and Sergey Volkov were (9) … interviewed on Rossiya1 television, where the presenter noted that the (10) … was dumped following a government decision at the end of the Soviet Union, and that this might be one of at least three such sites across Russia.

The video has caught the imagination of social media users, many of whom wish that the money was (11) … legal tender. "I would dive in there like Scrooge McDuck," says one user, while another exclaimed, "I wish I (12) … have a time machine, return with a pack of those banknotes and buy myself a controlling stake in Google, Gazprom, Rosneft, and never work again."

0 Example:
A. priceless
B. valuable
C. worthless

1
A. came across
B. came round
C. came up to

2
A. had been dumped
B. have been dumped
C. have dumped

3
A. any longer
B. any more
C. no longer

4
A. drowned
B. flooded
C. inundated

5
A. account
B. narrative
C. tale

6
A. could
B. dared
C. tried

7
A. Although
B. Despite
C. However

8
A. because
B. even though
C. so

9
A. additionally
B. incidentally
C. subsequently

10
A. bucks
B. cash
C. currency

11
A. already
B. still
C. yet

12
A. can
B. could
C. will

Photo: BBC

KEY: 
1A 2A 3C 4B 5A 6B 7C 8A 9A 10B 11B 12B

Reading test: The ridiculous story of airline food and why so much ends up in landfill

In this week's reading test we are going to practise the multiple choice reading comprehension type of task. To do so, we are goint to use The Guardian's article The ridiculous story of airline food and why so much ends up in landfill.

Read the text and choose the option A, B or C which best completes each sentence.

The ridiculous story of airline food and why so much ends up in landfill

You probably know about the waste problem in our oceans. But how about the one in our skies? Airline passengers generated 5.2m tonnes of waste in 2016, most of which went to landfill or incineration, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates. That’s the weight of about 2.6m cars. And it’s a figure set to double over the next 15 years. Toilet waste is included in that statistic. But so are miniature wine bottles, half-eaten lunch trays, unused toothbrushes and other hallmarks of air travel.
The airline industry has taken criticsm for its growing greenhouse gas emissions as passenger numbers rise. But could its massive waste footprint be solved without affecting the sector’s growth? A Spanish project launched last autumn by a group of companies including Iberia Airlines and Ferrovial Services is taking up this challenge. The scheme aims to recover 80% of cabin waste coming into Madrid’s Barajas airport by mid-2020 through simple measures such as using trolleys designed for waste separation, says Juan Hermira, Iberia’s lead for the project. About 2,500 cabin crew members will be trained in the basics of waste separation as part of the push, he says.
It’s one of a handful of initiatives that suggest parts of the industry are waking up to waste. Last year, Gatwick opened an on-site waste-to-energy plant, reducing the need for lorries to transport waste elsewhere. The power produced currently goes back into the plant, but Gatwick hopes the facility will eventually help to heat the north terminal. Like Heathrow, it is also targeting a 70% recycling rate by 2020.
America’s United Airlines has switched to compostable paper cups and last year began donating unused amenity kits to homeless and women’s shelters – it expects to divert more than 27 tonnes-worth by the end of the first year. Virgin, meanwhile, has set up a system for recycling all parts of its headsets, including ear sponges, which are used as flooring for equestrian centres.
Despite actions like these, the mountains of airline waste continue to grow. So what more can be done? For Michael Gill, IATA’s head of environment, regulation is key. At the moment EU animal health legislation, drawn up as a reaction to diseases like foot and mouth, dictates that all catering waste arriving from outside EU borders be treated as high-risk and incinerated or buried in deep landfill. A coffee cup from the US, for example, will be treated as hazardous waste because it might have had milk in it. Donating uneaten food to charity is impossible. A more rational approach is needed, Gill says, one which identifies elements of cabin waste that actually pose a risk to health and takes into account the stringent hygiene standards airlines are already subject to. He points to a forthcoming IATA-commissioned report which concludes that dairy and honey in airline waste pose a negligible threat to animals.
Better procedures on the ground would also help ease the classification problem, says Magda Golebiewska, group environment manager at TUI Airlines. East Midlands and Gatwick airports have started tagging rubbish bags with their origin but elsewhere it’s common practice for waste from inside and outside the EU to get thrown together and processed collectively as international catering waste, she says.
Most important, however, is getting the cabin crew’s buy-in, says Golebiewska. This can be a challenge since the crew is already busy meeting on-board sales targets and looking after passengers, she says, but it is crucial: “How well the [waste] segregation is done really depends on how much effort they put into it.”
The environment is not the only concern on the minds of Golebiewska and others. Cabin waste costs the industry $500m (£400m) per year, according to IATA, a figure that it says is rising faster than waste volumes thanks to growing disposal costs. Bringing this down will require airlines to take a different approach to procurement, says Matt Rance. If they can be persuaded to focus on a product’s full life cost, rather than unit price, then investing in more durable headsets or blankets and ditching disposables starts to make sense, he says.


1. The waste airlines produce
A. does not only refer to food.
B. is all burnt.
C. is twice as much as it used to be 15 years ago.

2. The Spanish project launched last autumn
A. contemplates the separation of waste without any human intervention.
B. intends to separate waste on board.
C. is trying to reduce the airlines waste by limiting the sector’s growth.

3. In Britain
A. Gatwick Airport is planning to open a plant to recycle waste.
B. Heathrow Airport currently produces 70% of its power through recycled waste.
C. they are reducing road transportation of waste in some of the main airports.

4. In US
A. United Airlines cups can be used as fertilizers.
B. United Airlines donates uneaten food to homeless and women’s shelters.
C. Virgin recycles all parts of its headsets to make floors.

5. For Michael Gill,
A. dairy and honey from airlines could well be used to feed animals.
B. donating food is a sensible solution.
C. waste from airplanes should be incinerated or buried.

6. According to Magda Golebiewska, in EU
A. all waste is processed equally, no matter what its origin is.
B. airports mark waste bags with their origin.
C. the waste from inside and outside the EU is separated.

7. For Magda Golebiewska
A. airlines’ ground staff have a crucial role in waste segregation.
B. flight attendants are already doing a lot of work.
C. pilots should be responsible for waste segregation.

8. In the last paragraph, it is said that
A. not using disposable products would be a good solution.
B. the price of getting rid of waste is not going up.
C. waste volumes are being successfully controlled.

KEY: 
1A 2B 3C 4A 5A 6A 7B 8A

Reading test: Seven top tips for driving long distances with children

In this week's reading test we are going to use The Guardian article Seven top tips for driving long distances with children to practise the heading-matching kind of task.

Read the article and choose the heading A-I which best suits each of the extracts. There are two headings you do not need to use.

A - Asking the wrong question
B - Disconnect to connect
C - Divide the day in well-defined stages
D - Don’t say you’ll do something you may not be able to do
E - Get together with other travellers
F - In-transit activities
G - Leave early, go slow
H - Set great destinations
I - The great distractor

My wife and I had just bought an old motorhome online so  40,000km, 30 countries and one year later by trial and error and with many tears, often mine, we discovered the best ways to have a great family road trip.

1
After a week of solid driving north through the Norwegian fjords towards the Arctic Circle, my family staged a revolution by way of a sit-in, demanding a no-drive day. Revelling in this break, from then on we slowed down, ensuring we were stationary for at least one day in every three. On particularly long driving days, we left early, ensuring everybody was fresh, and arrived before the kids’ witching hour. We stopped regularly at parks or playgrounds, where, unlatched from their seatbelts, the kids ran free like puppies off leashes. This child-friendly pace of dawdling tea stops and long, lazy lunches created as much entertainment as the awesome destinations.

2
Armed with colouring and reading books and paper, and with no mobile internet, the kids started entertaining themselves. We sang silly songs, told stories, and sometimes they slept. Occasionally, we counted cows, castles or yellow cars through the windows. At these times I tried not to be game-competitive – there’s little dignity in screaming “I won!” at a two-year-old.

3
Being with my children 24/7 for an extended period, I discovered how food constantly simmered in their little minds. Promising it, making it, drawing it, from anticipation to devouring, food was the thing that stopped them from paying attention and focusing. Just murmuring the word gelato could produce well-behaved discipline an army sergeant would yearn for. We also maintained a spare crisp packet in the glovebox of the vehicle at all times, cracked open like a glass-fronted fire alarm, only in emergencies, which seemed to occur quite often.

4
Promises of climbing castles, eating food and petting zoo animals could tame even the surliest child. But the great parental trap, the ill-thought-out promise, was to be avoided. When I found there was no gelato in the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco and no Ice Hotel in Sweden (it melts in summer), the disappointment blowback was extreme.

5
 “Has everybody been to the toilet?” seemed like a reasonable question at the start of each drive. Invariably, the kids said yes. Within five minutes of being on the road, however, the toilet concept sunk in, forcing an emergency pullover. We stopped mentioning it.

6
Driving for weeks towards the north pole became a pumped-up adventure once the kids knew they would visit Lapland’s Santa Claus and feed his reindeers. Turkey? Easy – underground cities. Oxford? The grand hall of Hogwarts. Involved in the upcoming stages of our journey, the children would chirp like excited squirrels, making the journey that much better.

7
No TV, internet, tablets or phones – it seemed like a good idea to reclaim “old-fashioned” family time and let the kids’ imaginations run wild. And it was – for a week. Soon we began to crave a hit of Google. But immersed in the rarefied air of each other’s company and discovering a new level of mutual attentiveness, we played games, lit fires, counted the bonging of church bells and connected as a family as never before.

KEY: 
1G 2F 3I 4D 5A 6H 7B

Reading test: The economics of beard popularity in the US

In this week's reading test we are going to practise the insert-the-word kind of task.

In the Vox article The economics of beard popularity in the US, a number of words and phrases have been taken out. Insert the word A-M in the corresponding blank. There are three words/phrases you do not need to use. 0 is an example.

The economics of beard popularity in the US

You (0) … think people grow beards (1) … their fashionability or warmth, but author and professor Stephen Mihm says there might be (2) … reason. In a New York Times piece, he claims that in Western countries, trends in beard popularity often closely follow (3) … in capitalism.

(4) … the mid-19th century, communists and labour radicals grew thick Karl Marx–style beards as a form of protest. Members of the business community viewed these movements (5) … scary and threatening to the establishment, and as a result, beards became not allowed in general society. But (6) … these protests ended and capitalist enterprises could safely show their supremacy again, beards came back into fashion, and titans of the business world began to put on impressive displays of facial hair as a means of showing an image of strength and masculine individuality.
In the early 20th century, beards again began to be associated with anti-capitalist movements, and for (7) … a century they were nowhere to be seen in corporate boardrooms and many parts of society.

Then along came the tech boom, (8) … made many untidy computer geeks in Silicon Valley rich and powerful members of the capitalist landscape. People like Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and Jack Dorsey redefined (9) … we view powerful business heads and have helped bring in a new period of beard acceptance and popularity.


A - another
B - as
C - because
D - because of
E - during
F - how
G - like
H - may 0 Example
I - nearly
J - once
K - other
L - trends
M - which

KEY: 
1D 2A 3L 4E 5B 6J 7I 8M 9F

Reading test: Lent 2017

In this week's reading test we are going to practise the insert-the-sentence type of task. To do so, we are going to use The Telegraph article Lent 2017 starts today, here's everything you need to know about Ash Wednesday.

Read this text and choose the best sentence (A - K) for each gap. TWO of the sentences do not correspond to any of the blanks. 0 is an example.

A - angered some traditionalists
B - as a reflection of Jesus's sacrifice in the Judean desert
C - fall on the same date each year
D - for prayer and penance
E - it can fall on any Sunday
F - it is determined by when Easter falls
G - to give up a particular vice
H - to use up rich, indulgent foods like eggs and milk
I - which comes before Easter in the Christian calendar
J - which marks the start of Lent in the Christian calendar – 0 Example
K - which means 'spring'

When is Ash Wednesday 2017?
Ash Wednesday, (0) … , has been observed by Britons for centuries. Its exact date changes every year, because (1) … . But it is always the day after Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day, and it always falls in February or March. This year, it is on Wednesday, March 1.
In January last year, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, suggested that Easter should (2) … . The plan, which would schedule the Christian festival on the same Sunday each year, was welcomed by parents and schools but (3) … .
At present, Easter falls on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox around March 21. This means (4) … between March 22 and April 25. Archbishop Welby said that Easter should most likely be fixed for the second or third Sunday of April.


What is Lent?
Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent, a period of 40 days (excluding Sundays) (5) … .
Christians who observe Lent use it as a time (6) … . By observing Lent, Christians are remembering the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who withdrew into the wilderness and fasted for 40 days before his crucifixion.
Traditionally, pancakes are eaten on the day before Ash Wednesday (7) … before the 40-day fasting season of Lent begins.
This year, Easter falls on Sunday, April 16. The English word Lent is a shortened form of the Old English word 'lenten', (8) … .

 Photo: Wikipedia

KEY: 
1F 2C 3A 4E 5I 6D 7H 8K

Reading test: A criminal gang reportedly stole £2 million worth of rare books

In this week's reading test we are going to practise the grammar and vocabulary multiple choice task. To do so, we are going to read the Business Insider article A criminal gang reportedly stole £2 million worth of rare books.

Read the article and choose the option A, B or C which best completes each of the blanks. 0 is an example.

A criminal gang reportedly stole £2 million worth of rare books

A gang of thieves has reportedly stolen over £2 million (0) … of rare books from a warehouse near Heathrow airport in a "Mission Impossible"-style heist, The Mail on Sunday reports. The newspaper reports that over 160 rare books were (1) …, including works by Galileo, Isaac Newton, and Leonardo da Vinci.

Thieves reportedly (2) … the warehouse in Feltham, Middlesex by climbing onto the roof, cutting holes through the reinforced skylights, and then abseiling down into the building. The heist, (3) … took place on the evening of January 29, was captured on the warehouse's CCTV cameras, The Mail on Sunday reports.

Thieves were observed ignoring all other items stored in the warehouse, instead targeting four containers that stored rare books. A source (4) … The Mail on Sunday that the gang of criminals checked the contents of the containers against a list, "throwing (5) … they didn't want away." The books were being stored in the warehouse temporarily as they made their way to the California Book Fair.

The gang then placed the rare books into holdalls and pulled them onto the roof of the building using ropes. The bags were (6) … placed into a van and driven away.

The Mail on Sunday reports that the thieves likely stole the books to order, as it would be difficult to resell the titles. The newspaper says that scientific works of the type stolen in the raid, "are particularly in demand." It speculates that a wealthy collector known as "the Astronomer" (7) … have ordered gangs to steal books for him.

The most valuable book stolen in the raid is a 1566 edition of "De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium" by Copernicus. The book, (8) … as "On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres," set out Copernicus' theory that the Sun is at the centre of the universe, not the Earth.

The owner of the rare Copernicus book stolen in the raid, identified only as a dealer from Padua in Italy, thinks “it was clearly a robbery done to order. It was a specialised gang. They took only books, (9) … ."

The International League of Antiquarian Booksellers has published two separate lists detailing every book believed to have been stolen in the heist. It lists two dealers (10) … have had stock stolen from them: Librario Bado e Mart s.a.s. di Bado R. e C. from Padua, Italy, and Michael Kühn from Berlin, Germany.

(11) … book that is believed to have been stolen is a 1656 Galileo book titled "Opere di Galileo Galilei," another early scientific work about the universe.

A copy of "Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica" by Isaac Newton was (12) … stolen in the raid. The book was a landmark work covering physics and mathematics.

0 Example:
a) priced
b) value
c) worth

1
a) caught
b) robbed
c) stolen

2
a) entered
b) entered on to
c) entered to

3
a) that
b) what
c) which

4
a) informed to
b) said
c) told

5
a) some
b) the ones
c) whichever

6
a) after
b) first
c) then

7
a) had to
b) may
c) should

8
a) described
b) known
c) translated

9
a) just those
b) nothing else
c) nothing more

10
a) what
b) which
c) who

11
a) Another
b) One
c) Other

12
a) also
b) as well
c) too

KEY:
1C 2A 3C 4C 5B 6C 7B 8C 9B 10C 11A 12A

Reading test: Happiness depends on health and friends, not money, says new study

For this week's reading test we are going to use The Guardian article Happiness depends on health and friends, not money, says new study, by by Phillip Inman.

Read the article and choose the option A, B or C which best completes each sentence.

Happiness depends on health and friends, not money, says new study

Most human misery can be blamed on failed relationships and physical and mental illness rather than money problems and poverty, according to a landmark study by a team of researchers at the London School of Economics (LSE).

Eliminating depression and anxiety would reduce misery by 20% compared to just 5% if policymakers focused on eliminating poverty, the report found.

Lord Richard Layard, who led the report, said on average people have become no happier in the last 50 years, despite average incomes more than doubling.

The economist and former adviser to Tony Blair and Gordon Brown said the study, called Origins of Happiness, showed that measuring people’s satisfaction with their lives should be a priority for every government. The researchers analysed data from four countries including the US and Germany.

Extra spending on reducing mental illness would be self-financing, the researchers added, because it would be recovered by the government through higher employment and increased tax receipts together with a reduction in NHS costs from fewer GP visits and hospital A&E admissions.

“Tackling depression and anxiety would be four times as effective as tackling poverty. It would also pay for itself,” he said. The report supports the arguments put forward by Layard over several decades that social and psychological factors are more important to the wellbeing of individuals than income levels. “Having a partner is as good for you as being made unemployed is bad for you,” he said. The report claims that state-run organisations, including schools, must become more focused on tackling anxiety and mental health issues.

“This evidence demands a new role for the state – not ‘wealth creation’ but ‘wellbeing creation’,” Layard said. “In the past, the state has successively taken on poverty, unemployment, education and physical health. But equally important now are domestic violence, alcoholism, depression and anxiety conditions, alienated youth, exam mania and much else. These should become centre stage.”

The economist said it was a curse on children that they were judged by society solely on their educational attainment. The report adds: “The strongest factor predicting a happy adult life is not children’s qualifications but their emotional health. There is also powerful evidence that schools have a big impact on children’s emotional health, and which school a child goes to will affect their emotional wellbeing as much as it affects their exam performance.”

Layard rejected accusations that he was arguing against closing income inequalities but said improvements in mental health services would have a greater impact.

The health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has pledged to increase funding for mental health services. In September he said the care offered to children and young people was the service’s biggest weakness.

But the Department of Health admitted last month that the number of mental health nurses working in the NHS in England has dropped by almost a sixth since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, from 45,384 in England to 38,774 in July this year.

The report will be presented to a conference in London on Monday that has been organised by the LSE and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

1 According to a team of researchers at the London School of Economics
A. eliminating depression and anxiety would make people four times happier.
B. failed relationships is at the root of human unhappiness.
C. money problems don’t bring unhappiness.

2 In the last 50 years
A. our income has stayed the same.
B. our level of happiness has not changed.
C. people have become poorer.

3 In Lord Richard Layard’s opinion, the money spent on reducing mental illness
A. might bring more unemployment.
B. would lead to an increase in taxes.
C. would pay for itself in the long run.

4 The study Origins of Happiness claims that
A. citizens’ mental condition should be prioritized.
B. income levels are not really important to citizens.
C. it is convenient for people to have a partner.

5 The study says that so far the state has failed to deal with
A. domestic violence, alcoholism, depression and anxiety conditions, alienated youth, exam mania.
B. poverty, unemployment, education and physical health.
C. both A and B.

6 The study also emphasizes that
A. exam results should be given priority.
B. exam results should not be a key factor in a child’s development.
C. the choice of school is of no importance for a child’s development.

7 At the end of the article it is said that
A. income inequalities are not being taken into consideration anymore.
B. the money spent on mental health services has been increased.
C. there has been a reduction in the mental health staff.

Photo: Perth Now

KEY: 
1B 2B 3C 4A 5A 6B 7C

Reading test: Travelling rules I’ve completely broken

This is part of Adi's blog post on Love the Search, Traveling Rules I’ve Broken Along The Way.

Read the paragraphs below and match them to their corresponding heading A-I. There are two headings you do not need to use. 0 is an example.

A - I ate street food and drink tap water
B - I wear skimpy clothes
C - I went to places tagged with adverse travel warnings
D - I’ve climbed mountains and hiked trails solo
E - I’ve gone to strange new countries unprepared
F - I’ve gotten too drunk to remember anything
G - I’ve travelled without ANY insurance – 0 Example
H - I’ve trusted strangers with my valuables (and my life)
I - I’ve walked alone at night many times

Traveling rules I’ve broken along the way

0
This is a big no-no! They say that if you can’t afford travel insurance then you can’t really afford to travel at all. I want it, but I haven’t really found a company that has convinced me. I’m willing to sacrifice a chunk of my hard earned savings for security. But I’m not completely sold whenever I read the fine print. For example, did you know that you’ll need to file a proper incident and police report to claim for theft or robbery? But what if you didn’t have the time for that? Also, they won't reimburse your medical bills if you’ve been found driving a motorbike without a proper licence and helmet. But the reality is, no one really cares in Indonesia where people start driving at the age of 9.

1
While traveling across Southeast Asia and Latin America solo, I’ve started to cross borders without a guidebook nor a hostel booking. Backpackers usually just show up to a place, walk around to find a hostel, which is what I did in Koh Chang. Unfortunately, it was Chinese New Year that weekend and everything was fully booked. I remember walking around the island with other travellers who arrived late on the ferry with me that night. Even the camping spots were bursting with tents and hammocks. After about a couple of hours of desperately searching, we found bungalows that were three times our budget, but at 1:00 am, we had to give in.

2
Thank goodness I’ve never had any problems with my stomach, even after traveling India where my friends remembered to brush their teeth with bottled water, yet still got the Delhi belly. I guess my digestive system is a little stronger than most. I grew up in a third world country where I eat any kind of food and drink ice from running water. Some people I’ve travelled with are so careful, they don’t even order salad because they’re not sure of the quality of water the vegetables have been washed with. So some of them just end up ordering boiled rice. Yum. I don’t know how they can pass up a delicious plate of gado-gado or a halo-halo!

3
Because of food of course. And because sometimes you really don’t have a choice. In Puerto Viejo, all the taxis are unmarked, dodgy looking cars. You wonder, “Which is safer? Walking in the dark by myself or taking an unmarked cab with an unidentified driver?” I don’t know! My advice, try to walk with other travellers or worst case scenario, walk really fast and try not to look like a tourist. Let the receptionist or someone in your hostel know what time you’re supposed to be back at the hostel.

4
It was the Yi-Peng (lantern) Festival in Chiang Mai and the whole town was in a celebratory mood. We walked to 7-11 and bought a big bottle of Chang, a brand of beer with higher alcohol percentage than what I was used to. Let’s just say, I made very bad choices that night. Never ever get too wasted to know your way home, even if you’re with friends you trust completely!

5
It was scorching hot in Cartagena, Colombia early in January. 32°C to be exact. So I wore my shortest shorts, my yoga top and of course, was catcalled by the locals the whole time. I tried to ignore each comment “Hola, chinita! Guapa! Vamos a mi cama!” as I tried to appreciate the colonial surroundings. But at the end of the day, I walked back to my hostel, sick to my stomach because of all the bad energy I absorbed. In these situations, either you die of heat wearing conservative attire, or just completely ignore everyone’s comments. It’s really your choice.

6
Hitching rides on the back of motorbikes is probably the biggest gamble I do on a regular basis. I’ve gotten in a few accidents, all in Indonesia. The worst one landed me in the ER with scrapes all over my body and a head concussion from riding with a drunk driver. I’ve learned to take my bicycle everywhere with me instead!

  Photo: Adi on Love the Search

KEY:
1E 2A 3I 4F 5B 6H

Reading test: Austria village churches hire bouncers to block tourists

Read the BBC article Austria village churches hire bouncers to block tourists and choose the word or phrase A-N that best fits into each of the gaps in the text. There are three words or phrases you do not need to use. 0 is an example.

Austria village churches hire bouncers to block tourists

A (0) … Austrian village has brought in "bouncers" at its churches (1) … stop tourists disturbing services, it's reported.

Visitors from all over the world (2) … to the lakeside village of Hallstatt, a Unesco World Heritage Site, and it's particularly popular with tour groups from Asia. But some have been (3) … the locals with their eagerness to document church proceedings, even whipping out cameras and selfie sticks (4) .. funerals and photographing the mourners, the Heute website reports.

In response, the village's two churches have started to (5) … their doors before services begin or put someone at the entrance to block tourists. "Bouncers" are also posted to the local cemetery when funerals are being conducted, the meinBezirk news portal says. Church leaders stress that visitors are (6) … welcome at other times.

Parish council head Reinhard Kerschbaumer adds a touch of self-criticism when explaining the problem. "We should sometimes (7) … more moral courage and have the heart to (8) … something and not just grumble after the fact," he tells meinBezirk, adding that the tourist barrier might then not be needed.

Hallstatt's appeal is far-reaching: in 2012, a replica of the village was unveiled in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong. Mayor Alexander Scheutz overcame initial (9) … to fly to China for the opening ceremony, telling the BBC that locals found it amusing that their little village was "important (10) … to get a copy".


A - already
B - annoying
C - do
D - doubts
E - during
F - enough
G - flock
H - in order to
I - lock
J - make
K - picturesque 0 Example
L - show 
M - still
N – when

Photo: Nick Csakany/Wikimedia

KEY: 
1H 2G 3B 4E 5I 6M 7L 8C 9D 10F

Reading test: Lark or owl, working nine-to-five will make you tired

Read The Guardian article Lark or owl, working nine-to-five will make you tired on the way our natural circadian rhythms doesn’t agree with the typical working day. Choose the best sentence (A - J) for each gap. There are two sentences you do not need to use. 0 is an example.

A - a stressful commute to reach a fixed point
B - and embracing flexible working
C - individuals have very different sleep-wake patterns – 0 Example
D - many expect workplace flexibility in the workplace
E - to beat their wings to a different rhythm
F - to fit the workplace around the worker
G - to reach peak alertness at around noon
H - what if that commute were simply eliminated?
I - when we experience jetlag, or a lack of sleep
J - which isn’t possible under a fixed structure

Lark or owl, working nine-to-five will make you tired

Every day, 21.18 million people in the UK work nine to five. This may seem intuitive – we all know people tend to work best during daylight hours. But even within these parameters, (0) … .

Our internal body clock is a natural process governed by circadian rhythms that regulate levels of energy and alertness throughout the day. So (1) …, this interferes with our ability to think.

Much research has been done on when we work best, but little of that knowledge has filtered through to the workplace. The average employee will take a few hours after arriving at work (2) … . This peak then subsides until around 3pm. After this low, alertness tends to increase again until a second peak at 6pm. Then it’s a steady decline until the ultimate low at 3.30am. Finally, alertness climbs again and the cycle repeats.

This, however, is the average cycle with people deviating hugely. Some fall into early morning achievers (larks), while others work better in the evening (owls).

Consider the typical working day: a 7.30am start; (3) … before 9am; an hour for lunch often spent at the desk; and a tiring commute home leaving work at 5pm each day.

The notion of the nine-to-five working day was established in Victorian times, not an age much aware of worker welfare, and it is easy to see the conflict between this fixed structure and our natural circadian rhythms. So how can businesses adapt? Already numerous companies are rejecting this outdated idea of a fixed working routine (4) … .

With the early evening peak of alertness occurring precisely when a vast majority of workers are wrestling with motorways or public transport on their commute home, (5) … . It’s won’t work for everyone, but there are a large percentage of professionals travelling unnecessarily to a fixed location.

Solutions are available today. Businesses of every size and in every sector are consuming flexible workspace and a new pattern is emerging which aims (6) …, rather than vice versa. Business leaders are listening to workers struggling with the daily cost and frustration of commuting. And they are embracing flexible working to attract the best employees.

Whether employers are quite ready to allow individuals to nap during the day during low-energy spells is a debatable point. But there is certainly receptiveness for improved workplace wellbeing and for trusting employees to maximise their productivity on their own terms.

Giving a little scientific thought to the process of productivity – and allowing owls and larks (7) …– works best for everyone.

Photo: University of Nebraska - Lincoln

KEY: 
1I 2G 3A 4B 5H 6F 7E

Reading test: What we hate about Christmas

Read the text about irritating modern-day Christmas traditions and choose the option A, B or C which best completes each gap. 0 is an example.


The interminable build-up
It used to be December before the distant sound of sleigh bells and ringing tills (0) ___ your ears. Classy families even waited to put up their trees until Christmas Eve. Now the festive season starts directly after Halloween. (1) ___  it’s actually Christmas, I’m bored of Christmas.

Mulled wine
Ever (2) ___ a nice glass of red wine and thought: “This would be much better if it was hot and full of woody shrapnel?” Me neither.

Christmas jumpers
Five years ago, novelty knitwear became a “thing”. Primark started selling monstrosities with snowflakes, reindeers and unfunny slogans on them. People now believe Christmas jumpers are soooo ironically kitsch. They’re not. They’re itchy and make you (3) ___ a child.

Christmas cards
The keeping-in-touch element (4) ___ by social media now, leaving Christmas cards as just a pain in the posterior. And you, of course, will offend someone by leaving them out.

Coffee chains loving Christmas
Red cups? Pumpkin spice lattes? Christmas sandwiches and “Crimble Crumble”? Just (5) ___ my coffee and misspell my name like usual.

Travel hell
Ah, the one time of year when you need to get around: going shopping, attending parties, getting to your family, getting away from them again. So obviously, railways are closed, flights are (6) ___ , roads are jammed and it’s impossible to (7) ___ a cab.

Work lunches
If you’re on one, they’re a torture chamber of forced jollity. If you’re not on one, you can’t enter a pub or restaurant without seeing a long tableful of depressed-looking people in paper hats pretending to like (8) ___ . And you can’t get to the bar because it’s two-deep with amateur once-a-year drinkers who don’t know how to order properly.

Christmas trees on social media
Everybody shares. Nobody (9) ___. I hate to sound tree-ist, but they all look the same.

Secret Santa
Why bother giving a hastily-wrapped gift to a colleague you barely know? Then forcing out a hollow laugh, pretending to like (10) ___ they bought you? Get everyone to chip into a drinks kitty instead. Boozy Santa beats Secret Santa every time.

Feeling like death for a month with so much drinking and eating
Hangovers give you a cold. Work stress (11) ___ your tiredness. The weather worsens your manflu. By Christmas Eve, you’re in danger of total physical collapse.

Finding the end of the sellotape
I’ve calculated how long you’ll spend doing this during your lifetime. I’ll (12) ___ you the answer just as soon as I’ve found the end of this Sellotape. Damn, I thought I had it then. It must’ve been the light or a hair.

Parcel delivery
“We rang the doorbell but you were out”. No, I was in. You just didn’t ring the doorbell. “We’ve left it in a safe place”. Where it’ll get wet/muddy/nicked. “Please book a redelivery.”

0 Example:
A. arrived
B. got
C. reached

1
A. By the time
B. For when
C. After

2
A. blown
B. sipped
C. sucked

3
A. look as
B. look like
C. to feel as

4
A. has been replaced
B. has changed
C. has replaced

5
A. cook
B. do
C. make

6
A. broken
B. grounded
C. stopped

7
A. call
B. hail
C. stop

8
A. each other
B. them
C. themselves

9
A. cares
B. matters
C. minds

10
A. that
B. the thing
C. what

11
A. adds to
B. brings
C. gives

12
A. inform
B. say
C. tell

KEY: 
1A 2B 3B 4A 5C 6B 7B 8A 9A 10C 11A 12C

Reading test: The death of saving

For this week's reading test we are going to practice the multiple choice task. Read The Daily Mail article The death of saving: With pitiful interest rates, a third of us are not longer putting a penny aside and choose the option A, B or C which best completes each sentence. 0 is an example.

Britain is no longer a nation of savers – with a third us not putting aside a single penny at the end of each month. A report into social mobility in the UK warns that families can no longer afford to put money aside for a rainy day or to save for a holiday or home. Some 31 per cent have nothing left to put in the bank when the month is over, while 4 per cent save less than £10. Overall, half of the population save £100 or less. Only 23 per cent save £200 or more.
The Social Mobility Commission, which will today launch its annual State of the Nation report, said Britain was now a country of ‘haves and have nots’. People have also been given less incentive to save by rock bottom interest rates in recent years.
In addition, banks and building societies have been accused of exploiting savers by slashing hundreds of savings rates since the Bank of England cut the official interest rate in August from 0.5 per cent to 0.25 per cent. Some accounts have been chopped to zero, or to 0.01 per cent. Britons are currently saving only 5.1 per cent of their disposable income. This compares to 7.4 per cent only two years ago, according to official figures.
The Social Mobility Commission findings are also a damning criticism of successive governments – led by the Tony Blair regime – which have failed to improve social mobility. In 2004, the then Labour prime minister promised to make the spread of greater social mobility the cornerstone of his third term. Gordon Brown and David Cameron also promised to do more to improve the life chances of the less well-off. Yet, the public remains deeply pessimistic, despite hundreds of millions of pounds being spent and a number of high-profile initiatives being launched. 
Nearly half of people – 45 per cent – believe that, in Britain today, where you end up in society is mainly determined by your background and who your parents were, according to a YouGov poll of 1,655 adults carried out for the commission.  In contrast, only 29 per cent feel that Britain is a country where everyone has a fair chance to go as far as their talent and their hard work will take them. A majority of adults – 55 per cent – believe that children from privileged backgrounds are more likely to secure a place at university than those from less well-off backgrounds. Exactly half say they are also given more opportunities to get a foot in the workplace by securing work experience or unpaid internships.
Social mobility tsar Alan Milburn, a former Labour Cabinet minister, said: ‘Britain has a deep social mobility problem and the growing sense that we have become an “us and them” society – where a few unfairly have power and wealth – is deeply corrosive of our cohesion as a nation. ‘It is no surprise that populism of Right and of Left is on the march when a growing number of people feel like they are losing out unfairly.’
The study found the most sought-after professions have become even less representative than the most selective universities. Only 4 per cent of doctors, 6 per cent of barristers and 12 per cent of solicitors have working-class origins.
In July, Mrs May pledged in Downing Street: ‘If you’re from an ordinary working class family, life is much harder than many people in Westminster realise… The government I lead will be driven not by the interests of the privileged few, but by yours.’


0 Example:
According to a report into social mobility
A. around 25% of the population can save at least £200.
B. families can’t go on holiday any more.
C. families spend all their money before the end of the month.

1 The Social Mobility Commission has said
A. the country is divided between those with economic means and those without.
B. people are being encouraged to save.
C. interest rates are getting higher.

2 Britons
A. are not saving at all.
B. are saving well over 5% of their income.
C. sometimes get no interest on their accounts.

3 The Social Mobility Commission has also concluded
A. people not having so much money improved their standard of living with David Cameron.
B. popular campaigns to improve the living conditions have failed.
C. Tony Blair’s governments fulfilled his promises.

4 In today’s Britain
A. half of the population believes talent is a key factor for a person’s future.
B. hard work has no use to improve in life.
C. the social position determines a person’s future.

5 The YouGov poll also found
A. only the rich manage to secure a place at university.
B. people from privileged backgrounds find work easily.
C. work experience will get you a better chance of getting a job.

6 In Alan Milburn’s opinion
A. British society is getting more and more extremist.
B. populist political parties are taking control.
C. power and wealth corrupt people.

7 The study also found
A. British universities are more democratic than it was thought.
B. selective universities are offering less popular degrees.
C. the social class divide is obvious in some professions.

KEY: 
1A 2C 3B 4C 5C 6A 7C

Reading test: Does travel really broaden the mind?

In this week's reading test we are going to practise the 'insert the word' kind of task. To do so, we are going to use The Independent article Does travel really broaden the mind?

Read the text and choose the word or phrase below which best fits into the corresponding gap 1 to 12. Three of the words are not needed. 0 has been completed as an example.

Does travel really broaden the mind?

Mark Twain wrote: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”

Perhaps, with the summer holidays upon us, and Brexit-based discussions about tolerance, immigration and our relationship with foreigners ringing in our (0) ears, it’s worth examining Twain’s quote. Does travel really broaden the mind, or does it tend to reinforce existing (1) …?
Parts of the travel industry have long been (2) … creating a “home away from home”, with English bars and familiar pizza restaurants to comfort Brits that their holiday experience will be different, but not that different. It’s perfectly possible to stay within the (3) … and have limited contact with “the locals”.
At the other end of the spectrum, parts of the industry offering more “immersive” experiences in distant places are (4) … marketing slogans such as “come back different” or “life-changing travel” – an indication that they see their holidays as transformative, (5) … is not always true.
For some people meeting (6) …, often with different languages and ways of life is very exciting, and the essence of travel, for others it’s quite naturally a little (7) … . How the tourist chooses to manage this - whether you are an experienced traveller, like me, heading to Kenya to be hosted by the Maasai on safari, or a young family on your way to Spain for the first time – is more important than how much (8) … they have or what they book.
Despite the type of holiday we choose or can afford, as Westerners we often have the habit of thinking we know (9) …, that our ways of doing things are universal. We learn little travelling this way. Travellers who, instead, develop the habit of asking questions, being (10) …, curious and respectful find their holiday is enriched.
Of course, many tourism businesses have understood this and help (11) … mutually beneficial encounters with local people, by designing trips “responsibly” with good local benefits, a (12) … welcome and open door to learn about and experience different ways of life. Perhaps it’s time to review our approach to strangers at home and on holiday.

accused of
best
cold
ears  0 Example
facilitate
fond of
frightening
keen
money
open-minded
prejudices
resort
strangers
that
warm
which

 Photo:  inthespiritofwanderlust's Blog

KEY:
1 prejudices
2 accused of
3 resort
4 fond of
5 which
6 strangers
7 frightening
8 money
9 best
10 open-minded
11 facilitate
12 warm

Reading test: Phil Collins marks comeback with European tour

In this week's reading test we are going to practise the 'insert the sentence' kind of task. To do so, we are going to read the BBC article Phil Collins marks comeback with European tour.

Read this text and choose the best sentence (A - K) for each gap. Three of the sentences do not correspond to any of the blanks. Gap 0 is an example.

A - after 10 years – 0 Example
B - after nerve damage
C - at which Nicholas played drums
D - his other hits include One More Night and Another Day In Paradise.
E - that enjoyed more UK top 40 singles than any other artist of the 1980s
F - to go out on the road, do some new things
G - which included the hit single In the Air Tonight
H - whose hits include In The Air Tonight and Against All Odds
I - will happen
J - will take place
K - would fill in for his dad on tour

Rock veteran Phil Collins is coming out of retirement (0) … with dates in London, Paris and Cologne. The star, (1) … , will play a five-night residency at London's Royal Albert Hall next June. That will be followed by two dates in Paris and two in Cologne.
Collins announced his retirement in 2011, (2) … left him unable to play the drums, but revealed last year he planned to go on tour. Although he has recovered some dexterity, he said he was unlikely to sit behind the kit on the new tour.
The star, now 65, said he would practice the iconic drum riff to In The Air Tonight on "a drum kit in the garage" as that was "something I feel I should do”. However, he said his 15-year-old son, Nicholas, (3) … .
Collins made a tentative return to the stage at a one-off show for his Little Dreams Foundation last year, (4) … "and all the band were very impressed". The star also sang two of his hits at the opening of the US Open tennis in New York in August.
"I thought I would retire quietly," Collins said. "But thanks to the fans, my family and support from some extraordinary artists I have rediscovered my passion for music and performing. I changed my mind. I'm living with my young kids and they want me (5) … and there's no reason why not."
Collins first came to prominence as the drummer and then frontman of Genesis. He made his solo debut with his 1981 album Face Value, (6) … . But the star played down his image as a 1980s soft-rock balladeer.
The Royal Albert Hall concerts (7) … on 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9 June. The Cologne dates take place on 11 and 12 June with the Paris dates the following week. Tickets go on sale on 21 October. Collins's memoir Not Dead Yet: The Autobiography will be published later this week.

KEY: 
1H 2B 3K 4C 5F 6G 7J

Reading test: The best Dorset walks

In this week's reading test we are going to practise the heading-matching task. To do so, we are going to read part of The Guardian article 10 of the best Dorset walks.

Match each of the paragraphs below with its corresponding heading A-J. There are three headings you do not need to use.

A - A walk across farming fields and grassland
B - Be ready for rough weather
C - For lovers of the natural world
D - For those who are interested in minerals and rocks
E - It used to be a hotspot for criminals
F - Man settled in this area a long time ago
G - Many battles took place in this area
H - Not suitable if you are unfit
I - Perfect if you fancy going for a swim
J - The area inspired a famous novelist 

Brownsea Island
Located in the middle of Poole harbour, Brownsea is a dramatically located wildlife refuge with a rich history and great views of the surrounding area. The birthplace of the Scouting movement, it has plenty to divert families, with the Baden-Powell Outdoor Centre providing excursions and activities. The real star, however, is the wildlife, with red squirrels, deer, lizards, insects and birdlife all in residence. This short walk takes you through some of the best spots, but further wandering may result in its own wildlife-spotting rewards.

Burton Bradstock
This short circular walk along golden Burton Cliff takes in some spectacular clifftop views of the Jurassic coast. Hive beach below is part of the fascinating stony beach coastline around Lyme Bay. It was a key landing stage for smugglers, and folklore says that a local fisherman or smuggler could tell exactly where he was on the beach at night or in fog simply by looking at the size of the pebbles. You can enjoy the view with some fine fresh fish at the Hive Beach Café.

Corfe
There are few castles more evocative than Corfe Castle, an imposing ruin perched high on the hill, which is thought to be the inspiration for Kirrin Castle in Enid Blyton's Famous Five books. It's a formidable defensive, and the common around the castle has been shaped by human activity over thousands of years, leaving an interesting archaeological landscape. Cream teas for the tired walker await in the Bankes Arms Hotel or, for something stronger, the beer garden overlooking the castle at the Greyhound Inn is the perfect place to relax with a pint.

Godlingston Heath
The sand spit of Studland is the start point for the South West Coast Path, and is also home to some fantastic beaches, with barbecue spots and views across to Sandbanks (a short journey away on the chain ferry), Bournemouth, and the Isle of Wight. The wide open Shell Bay is a popular spot, with gently sloping waters backed by dunes, while for those who prefer slightly more freedom, the most popular naturist beach in Britain is nearby.

Marshwood
Dorset's countryside is scattered with forts, castles, gun emplacements and other fortifications. There are several recognisable ancient monuments in the county, including the two Iron Age hill forts featured in this walk. Lambert's Castle offers fine views of the surrounding area, with the coast visible on clear days. The medieval fishpond is also well worth a visit.

Melbury Downs
Inland Dorset is Thomas Hardy country, with landscapes right out of his novels. You can still visit his birthplace and his later home, Max Gate, but the essence of Hardy is found in the surrounding countryside that inspired his semi-fictional Wessex. This walk takes you through the Downs in which his novels of the Blackmore Vale are set, featuring far-reaching views and an ancient landscape. For a nearby pick me up, The Fontmell is a good, newly-refurbed country pub.

West Bexington
Following a short stretch of the South West Coast Path, this walk takes in the area around Chesil Beach, an 18-mile long "barrier beach" that shelters Weymouth from the erosion caused by the prevailing wind and waves. Fishermen are a common sight on the coastline. Further inland, the wide hedgerows offer excellent habitats for birds.

Melbury Downs, Dorset. Photograph: Alamy for The Guardian

KEY:
Brownsea Island – C
Burton Bradstock – E
Corfe – F
Godlingston Heath – I
Marshwood – G
Melbury Downs – J
West Bexington - B

Reading test: Spain home of the luxury espadrille

In this week's reading test we are going to practise the multiple choice grammar and vocabulary test. To do so, we are going to use El Pais article Spain: home of the luxury espadrille.

Read the text and choose the option A, B or C which best completes each blank. 0 is an example.

Spain: home of the luxury espadrille

Back in the 1970s, Isabel and Lorenzo Castañer, a Spanish couple with a small artisanal business (0) … espadrilles, or alpargatas as they are known in Spain, (1) … Yves Saint Laurent in Paris. When the fashion designer discovered what they did for a living, he asked if they would be able to make a wedge version of the traditional sandal.
“My father, (2) … was always looking for new challenges, accepted,” says Antonio Castañer, now CEO of the family firm that dates back six generations.
The offer to work with Yves Saint Laurent came at a time when Castañer was facing a(n) (3) …: its traditional market, made up of farmers and villagers, was getting smaller as rural Spaniards left the countryside for the cities in search of work and better opportunities, leaving their espadrilles behind.
Now, four decades on from that meeting in the French capital, tastes have changed and the time-honored simplicity of the original espadrille is (4) … . Around a third of Castañer’s production are designs for luxury (5)… .
The espadrille’s rustic (6) … has always had its admirers but an increasingly varied range of models are now available, making it an haute couture option. In 2011, Karl Lagerfeld took Chanel’s famous two-tone dress shoe and adapted it to the traditional espadrille. A year later, Valentino created a sensation by using delicate designs (7) … the usual strong canvas for the top part. Since then, both pret-à-porter luxury companies and high street (8) … have helped put the espadrille in the center of attention. There is something special and (9) … about it, says Antonio Castañer. “It’s a return to something natural, to something hand-made, Mediterranean.”
Barcelona-based company Naguisa, a newish firm that (10) … a name for itself by reviving traditional, hand-made espadrilles, brought out its SOC model in 2012 by copying the traditional model using unusual colours. “Eight years ago we (11) … to see a trend developing for home-grown, sustainable shoes using natural materials,” says Claudia Pérez Polo, the firm’s co-founder. Naguisa exports more than 70% of its (12) … to more than 25 countries. Its designs, many of which have been copied and recopied, are sold in US trendy women’s fashion chain Anthropologie.
“When we started out, the truth is that I (13) … espadrilles,” says Pérez. But conscious it needed to attract a younger clientele, Naguisa was able to combine tradition with local know-how to build a business that could establish an international presence. Since then, other Spanish fashion designers (14) … Paloma Barceló, Like Mimika, and Prism have begun making luxury espadrilles now found in the best-known stores around the world by combining Spanish tradition with cutting-edge design.

0 Example:
A constructing
B doing
C making

1
A bumped into
B came up with
C encountered

2
A that
B which
C who

3
A downturn
B improvement
C rise

4
A in fashion
B into the fashion
C out of fashion

5
A brands
B makes
C marks

6
A exterior
B layout
C look

7
A instead
B instead of
C rather

8
A customers
B retailers
C shoppers

9
A appalling
B appealing
C disgusting

10
A had made
B has made
C made

11
A begun
B had begun
C has begun

12
A output
B input
C handouts

13
A had never worn
B never wore
C would never have worn

14
A as
B like
C such

traditional espadrille

wedge espadrille

KEY:
1A 2C 3A 4A 5A 6C 7B 8B 9B 10B 11A 12A 13C 14B

Reading test: Bruce Springsteen, Born to Write

In this week's reading test, we are going to practise the traditional multiple-choice reading comprehension task. To do so, we are going to read The Guardian article Bruce Springsteen, Born to Write.

Read the text and choose the option A, B or C which best completes each sentence. 0 is an example.

Bruce Springsteen, Born to Write

Virtually all rock memoirs follow a similar pattern of rise and fall, before ending with acceptance – brought on by sobriety, spirituality, the death of peers, or just the plain realisation that it’s not worth hating your bandmates any more. Virtually all, too, are at their best in their early pages – covering the early years – when the passion for music still burns bright, when it’s all still fun, when the star is rising, rather than burning out.
Bruce Springsteen’s memoir, Born to Run, out at the end of September, looks as if it might be a little different. For a start, there’s his status: no bass player with a second-rate hair-metal band, he. It’s hard to imagine this will be full of changes, often one of the only selling points of lesser rock biogs. His status, too, is current: no one else has spent as long as Springsteen selling out stadiums, year after year, to ecstatic receptions. No one else of his stature seems to feel the need to commune with their flock with such frequency.
Then there are the precedents: among his generation (and his commercial and critical peers), both Bob Dylan and Neil Young have produced books that moved away from the traditional rock volume. Dylan told an irregular narrative that avoided many major events, telling the stories less told. Young’s focused heavily on his passions – audio fidelity, green motoring – while his relationship with Crosby, Stills and Nash was dismissed with startling brevity.
Less controversial than either of them – in his public image, at least – Springsteen is likely to offer his fans a more straightforward read. The introduction to Born to Run, which he released on his website recently, promises to answer the two questions that occupy the mind of anyone watching someone undeniably great working a stage: how do they do that, and why do they do that?
Why, after 50 years as a musician, after more than 40 playing the song that gives the book its name, does Springsteen still need to hear 90,000 people singing “Tramps like us, baby we were born to run!” back at him? The foreword offered some clues: “DNA, natural ability, study of craft, development of and devotion to an aesthetic philosophy, naked desire for … fame? … love? … admiration? … attention? … women?… sex? … and oh, yeah …. a buck. Then … if you want to take it all the way out to the end of the night, a furious fire in the hole that just … don’t … quit … burning.”
Springsteen has long appeared one of the most knowable of rock stars. So many of his songs, if not autobiographical, have appeared to give direct information on his childhood, his family, his town, his country. One album, Tunnel of Love, dealt with his disillusionment with his first marriage. Songs are songs: they are a truth, they are not the truth. But it’s not only in the songs: there are books compiling his many interviews. And this rock Charlemagne has his own Einhard, in the form of writer Dave Marsh, who has conveyed his thoughts to the world. Even while writing this book, he cooperated with Peter Ames Carlin on the really very decent biography, Bruce, published in 2012.
So, on the face of it, one really shouldn’t need this book. Don’t we all know about his dad, his struggles, his superstardom and so on? Yes, but we still only know the facts of the legends. Born to Run gives us the chance, at last, to know why Springsteen needed to build those legends.

0 Example:
Rock bands
A hate one another.
B play their best music towards the end of their careers.
C tend to have ups and downs.

1 Bruce Springsteen’s book will be different because
A his band is relatively unknown.
B he doesn’t play the bass.
C of his current position in the music world.

2 Other musicians of Springsteen’s generation
A avoided talking about their enthusiasms.
B discussed key events in their careers.
C published unconventional books.

3 Bruce Springsteen’s fans
A are expecting the book to answer very simple questions.
B are expecting the book to offer lots of anecdotes.
C can already read the book on the artist’s website.

4 Springsteen
A doesn’t feel the need to communicate with his public any more.
B has a song called Born to Run.
C has taken 50 years to write the book.

5 Springsteen’s songs
A always deal with personal problems.
B are anything but autobiographical.
C help us understand the person behind the artist.

6 Born to Run
A is a biography.
B was written by Bruce Springsteen himself.
C was written by Peter Ames Carlin.

7 The book will tell us
A how Springsteen managed to become famous.
B the most important facts of Springsteen’s life.
C what motivates Springsteen to do what he does.

KEY:
1C 2C 3A 4B 5C 6B 7C

Reading test: For the first time in a century wild tiger numbers go up

In this week's reading test we are going to practise the 'insert the word' kind of task. To do so, we are going to use the Huffington Post article For the first time in a century wild tiger numbers go up.

Read the text and choose the word (A to O) which best fits in gaps 1 to 10. Four of the words are not needed. 0 has been completed as an example.

For the first time in a century wild tiger numbers go up

For wild tigers, the numbers have not been kind.
In 1900, an (0) … 100,000 tigers wandered about free on our planet. Yet within a hundred years, that number gone down by more than 95 percent — the result of uncontrolled poaching and (1) … habitat loss.
But it seems the tide may finally be (2) … for the majestic cat. On Sunday, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) announced that wild tiger numbers were on the (3) … for the first time in over a century.
There are now about 3,890 tigers in the wild, up from about 3,200 in 2010, said WWF, citing national tiger survey numbers.
The increase could partly be attributed to growing tiger populations in India, Russia, Nepal and Bhutan as well as better protection of the (4) … species globally, the organization said. The improved count could also be the result of other factors, (5) … better survey methods.
(6) … still cautious, conservationists regarded the new global count as a positive (7) … forward for the world’s tigers.
“More important (8) … the absolute numbers is the trend, and we’re seeing the trend going in the right direction,” Ginette Hemley, WWF’s senior vice president of wildlife conservation, said.
Carter Roberts, president and CEO of WWF, added in a statement: “We’ve watched tigers (9) … for decades and have dreamed of bending that curve in the other direction. In a sea of bad news on the environment we are (10) … significant progress on one of the greatest comeback stories in conservation.”


A - as
B - decline
C - doing
D - endangered
E - estimated 0 Example
F - increase
G - like
H - making
I - rise
J - step
K - than
L - that
M - turning
N - while
O - widespread

Photo: AlexTurton via Getty Images

KEY:
1O 2M 3I 4D 5G 6N 7J 8K 9B 10H

Reading test: Big Basket building in Ohio to be sold

In this week's reading test we are going to practise the 'insert the sentence' kind of task. To do so, we are going to read the BBC article Big Basket building in Ohio to be sold.

Read the text and fill in the blanks with the corresponding sentence A-J. There are two sentences you do not need to use. 0 is an example.

Big Basket building in Ohio to be sold

An iconic building shaped (0) … in Newark, Ohio, home to a basket-making company, is to be sold. Nicknamed the "Big Basket," and belonging to the home decor Longaberger Company, the building is looking for a buyer. Employees (1) … the seven-storey basket building are being moved to another location in Ohio.
It opened in 1997 and once housed 500 employees of the company, the Columbus Dispatch reports. Now, the company is facing (2) … . The last employees working in the building are moving out this week.
"The Big Basket is like the St Louis Arch," Jim Klein, a former Longaberger president, told the newspaper.  He wants (3) … on the National Register of Historic Places. "It's a really important part of south-eastern Ohio history."
The building's shape was the company's founder's idea, the Dispatch reports. It cost $30 million (£22.5 million) to build. Dave Longaberger had a very specific idea for the building, the Dispatch reports, and would not settle on a design (4) … to make it look exactly like one of the company's baskets.
A Facebook group titled "Preserving the Longaberger 'Big Basket' as a National Treasure" has 1,683 members. Mr Klein keeps members updated on his mission to have the Big Basket registered on the National Register in the group. "Wish we could all donate enough $ to buy the big basket and turn it into a museum. I realise this isn't feasible at all, but (5) …," one member writes.
Not everyone at Longaberger is sad to be leaving the basket, though. Brenton Baker, director of marketing and communications for the company, told the Ohio Advocate that the office they are moving to is more convenient and they look forward to (6) … .
"It is not a sad thing we are leaving," Mr Baker told the newspaper. "People keep saying they feel sad for the employees. Don't feel sad for us. I cannot wait for next week. For me, next week (7) … . For the people on the outside, it's probably not that way."

A - be located in more modern premises
B - being closer to their colleagues
C - can't come fast enough
D - hard economic times
E - if it was possible
F - like a basket 0 Example
G - to get the building
H - until architects agreed
I - who work inside
J - wishful thinking

KEY:
1I 2D 3G 4H 5J 6B 7C