Mock Use of English and Reading 4

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Use of English Reading Mock Part 1

Use of English Reading Mock Part 2

Use of English Reading Mock Part 3

Use of English Reading Mock Part 4

Use of English Reading Mock Part 5

Use of English Reading Mock Part 6

Use of English Reading Mock Part 8

Use of English Reading Mock Part 1

Part 1

For questions 1-8, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0). Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

The Japanese Bobtail

Cats have been (0) ... of the lives of human beings for thousands of years. One interesting breed which fascinates scientists is the Japanese Bobtail - a domestic cat with an unusual 'bobbed' tail more 1 resembling the tail of a rabbit than that of other cats

The breed has been known in Japan for centuries, and it features 2 in folklore.

In many traditions, cats are frequently 3 of fear and mistrust but in Japanese stories

the Bobtail tends to be 4 as a

force for 5 The image of a Bobtail seated with one paw raised is considered a lucky charm.

But how did the Bobtail 6 its short tail? One legend tells of a sleeping cat

whose long tail 7 fire. In a panic, it tore through the town, spreading flames everywhere.

As a result, the then emperor declared that all cats should have their tails cut short as a 8 measure. Science, however, has a less 'romantic' explanation based on genetics.

1 A nearly

B similarly

C accurately

D closely

2 A prominently

B obviously

C appreciably

D significantly

3 A products

B articles

C objects

D elements

4 A assumed

B portrayed

C exposed

D disclosed

5 A right

B virtue

C good

D truth

6 A come by

B get at

C hit on

D go for

7 A took

B caught

C set

D seized

8 A defensive

B restrictive

C preventative

D corrective

Use of English Reading Mock Part 6

Part 6

You are going to read four extracts from online articles about childhood. For questions 37-40. choose from the extracts A-D. The extracts may be chosen more than once. Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

The Changing Face of Childhood in the USA

A Mary Granger Parents often complain that childhood today seems different to what it was when they were young - when a free day meant they ran care-tree out the door after breakfast and played until twilight. But they are somewhat hypocritical, because many of today's better-off children seem to have less time for such unstructured play as they face an unfortunate mass of parent-organised 'things-to-keep-kids-busy' that might include karate lessons, tutoring or ballet. Parents are increasingly unwilling to let their offspring play outside. As a result children are more protected than ever before. A generation ago children went cycling on their own, went on public transport alone, took responsibility for themselves. Some experts suggest that the whole nature of parenting was different; that it was much less hands-on and more trusting of the child.

B Max Poenbaum The interaction between the child and the natural environment provides an authentic learning experience based on sensory absorption and investigation, but it disappears with the passing of childhood. Then adult cognitive reasoning gradually takes over as the world is seen in a more objective or scientific way. At the transition between childhood and adulthood, young people can feel in danger of having nothing stable to hold on to, caught between the trapeze of childhood that has been let go of and the trapeze of growing up not yet within his or her grasp. Now parents must become a safety net at a time when the young person feels naturally anxious and insecure. But these days, parents are struggling against the slow creep of an increasingly commercial and sexualised culture and behaviour. That very culture, which is so rightly blamed for preventing younger children from being children also undermines the parenting of teenagers.

C John P. Ondorenko It is clear that young children have a special affinity for the great outdoors that is connected to their development and their ways of knowing and learning. This is a unique and unrepeatable ability that starts to fade during the teenage years. Even so, today's teenagers are under pressure to grow up before they are ready. Celebrity culture, adult-style clothes and music videos are all guilty of encouraging them to act older than they are. As a result they are adrift in a sea of disaffection. In particular they care less about school performance and social obedience than ever before. On the flip side, they are much more tolerant and aware of ethical issues and also more caring regarding the future of the planet. A common adolescent complaint is of ever-increasing boredom, and yet children today have no reason to be bored, partly as the number of formal, extra-curricular activities available to them is unprecedented.

D Steven Zafaria Once the pre-teen years are gone, parents have a more aloof adolescent who is more reluctant to be touched, who would rather spend time with friends, who feels too old to play with parents, who is embarrassed by their public company, who is more private and less forthcoming, and who seems to court their disapproval through deliberate resistance and opposition. The pattern is a standard one and always has been, as any psychologist will tell you. Teenagers may think they are fully independent, fiercely so in fact, but parents must be there for them, taking a back seat, intervening less than before, but ready to listen and guide when called upon. But parenting is becoming increasingly complex. The increasingly commercialised and sexualised world we live in means that children are missing out on a proper childhood. The solution is clearly not to keep children wholly innocent until they are adults, but we have surely reached the point where some regulatory protection is required.

Which expert

has a similar view to Poenbaum on how long people's instinctive relationship with nature lasts? 37

expresses a similar opinion to Zafaria on what the role of a parent should be regarding teenage children? 38

has a different view from the others on whether children are growing up too fast? 39

expresses a different opinion from Ondorenko on the value of planned activities for children? 40

Part 7

You are going to read an extract from a newspaper article about travelling in Poland. Six paragraphs have been removed from the extract. Choose from the paragraphs A-G the one which fits each gap (41-46). There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use. Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

A Peer to peer websites are common now, but turning the idea into a book back then was a challenge. Jim sent out hundreds of letters through his already extensive network of friends and placed small ads in various Polish publications.

B My new acquaintance has hazy memories of the people he met through the book, but says he enjoys the company of visitors, as they are curious and interested in others. He shows me old photos and speaks of how life has changed here.

C What follows is one of those surreal travel experiences, where one new friend introduces you to another and another. Before long we've set off on a tour of Krakow's artistic community

D That was easier said than done. Details were sparse; just contact details and a very short profile. live in Krakow and I am a man of Krakow,' read one rather unhelpful entry.

E Jim gave me an out-of-print edition at one of the open-house dinners he runs every Sunday at his Paris home. It was like opening a little time capsule and from that moment I knew what I had to do.

F The next morning is the occasion of my impromptu adventure with Jarek, an artist I found alter contacting various local galleries. He invites me for dinner and even finds the original typewritten letter Jim sent in 1989 to introduce the project.

G It is my first time in Poland, and the former is undeniably impressive. The picture-perfect main square is lined with Renaissance buildings, lively street cafe's and golf carts waiting to take tourists around town.

Before Google ... the alternative travel guide to Poland

Vicky Baker takes social networking back to its roots by resurrecting a travel project in Poland from the early 1990s.

'I am going to take you to my friend's studio. It's quite unusual,' says Jarek, my unofficial guide to Krakow, in one of the biggest understatements of the trip. He leads me to an old cottage. It looks abandoned, but then we are greeted by a man who, with his grey beard and sheepskin waistcoat, looks like an ageing pop star. Outside there's a two-metre-high carved totem pole and the remains of a bonfire are still burning.

As a couch surfer I am used to finding golden opportunities through strangers, but the unusua thing about this connection is that it came abort after I tried to reconstrsict a tourism project tha was, in many ways, the precursor to modern social networking. Back in the 1980s, US-born Jim Haynes, a renowned supporter of alternative arts, had an idea. Convinced that the best travel experiences come from the people you meet, he set himself a goal: he would match inquisitive travellers with gracious hosts by creating an alternative guidebook, in a country he loved. Poland: Peopk to People finally hit the bookshelves in 1991.

Eventually enough people came forward with their contact details and a willingness to participate in the scheme. Jim assembled all die names in what read like a personal address book. The cover price of £6 bough you the contact details of 1,000 strangers.

Intrigued by the idea of taking modern networking back to its roots, 1 wondered whether, many years a
later, Jim's hosts would still be willing to greet an I unknown visitor from overseas. Rut. first I would have to track them down.

At first I planned to communicate only by pos and sent several letters before realising I lacked the patience. Feeling a little guilty, I opted for the 21st-century solution: searching for the names on the Internet. Many were dead ends; others simply never responded. But gradually people did come forward and I received various slightly stunned replies. Before long I had meetings arranged in Krakow and Gdansk.

I skip he organised tours, though, and head off to meet NoVladek, a 50-year-old academic. We meet in a 19th-century cafe, where an ultra-polite waitress sets down a massive plate of Polish dumplings before us. It is too much for any tourist to eat.

I'm charmed by Krakow and reluctant to leave Wladek, who proves to be excellent company, and the cafe, but I already have my next meeting arranged a 10-hour train tide away. Gdansk, with its immaculately renovated buildings and little boutiques, is clearly a world away from the city it was in the 1990s. I have arranged to meet kite-surfing enthusiast Mariusz at a restaurant there. Poland: Paple to People lives on, it seems. I know Jim will be delighted.

Mock Use of English and Reading 4

Use of English Reading Mock Part 1

The Japanese Bobtail

Use of English Reading Mock Part 2

Work experience abroad

Use of English Reading Mock Part 3

The significance of hairstyles

Use of English Reading Mock Part 4

Use of English Reading Mock Part 5

Use of English Reading Mock Part 6

The Changing Face of Childhood in the USA

Before Google ... the alternative travel guide to Poland

Vicky Baker takes social networking back to its roots by resurrecting a travel project in Poland from the early 1990s.

Use of English Reading Mock Part 8

NATURE BOOKS