Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 35 to 42.

SHAYNE’S DREAMS COME TRUE - BUT WILL THEY BE SHATTERED?

  It is a week before The X Factor live tour when I meet the winner of the series, Shayne Ward. “It has been mental.” he says, referring to the past six months of his life. “I’ve just been talking to Louis Walsh on the phone. Louis Walsh!” Walsh, a top record producer and The X Factor judge, now manages Shayne’s career. “I was talking to Simon Cowell (a celebrity record producer) yesterday!” He shakes his head in amazement. And these people are telling me they’re excited about working with me. “I can’t get my head round it.”

  Shayne is about as natural as any pop star arriving in the public arena can be. “I just can’t accept where I am now” he says sincerely. “It doesn’t feel real. To me, this is just a job.” “What do you think being famous feels like?” I ask him. “I’m not sure, to be honest. Different from this?” he laughs, with only a hint of nerves. Since winning The X Factor, Shayne’s success has been phenomenal. His debut single took just three days to reach the number one spot. On tour, he’s going to play to audiences of 10,000 on average. He has already brought the house down at a gig in his home city. “I walked out after that performance and just thought, “I’m dreaming!”” Shayne is one of a family of seven children. Times were hard, but he has never wished or a different childhood. Although he thought about going to college, he ended up leaving school at sixteen, just to help his mother pay the rent. He set out on his reality show journey shortly afterwards. When he told he friends he had an audition for The X Factor, none of them really believed him. “I thought I’d go fot it because my family wanted me to, but I never really believed that I would win.”

  Naturally, Ward is a fan of reality TV talent shows. “They’re brilliant, because people who want recording contracts try for years and get nowhere. Then these competitions come along the people at home decide whether they like the singers or not. So it's not just a few people at a record company deciding who gets a chance.” But the previous winner of The X Factor only had one hit. He hasn’t been heard of since then. Is Shayne Ward going to be another talent show flop?

  A lot of people feel cynical about reality TV show winners and their chances of continuing success. Audiences usually lose interest in them as soon as the show has finished. In fact, contestants on shows like Big Brother are given severe warnings from the show’s producers beforehand, basically telling them “you will not be liked”. Talent shows like The X Factor have to offer contestants a kind of stardom though, and something they can think of as a career, months afterwards at least.

After leaving school at the age of sixteen, Shayne

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.

Alice’s eyes gleamed with pleasure when she saw the diamond ring in front of her.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 28 to 34.

FLASH MOBS -A NEW KIND OF EVENT

  In 2003, an unusually large number of customers arrived without warning in the carpet department of Macy’s Department store in New York. The assistants couldn’t see why all of them were so interested in buying exactly the same carpet. In 2006,4,000 people arrived with MP3 players and headsets at a London railway station and started dancing at a set time. As no music could be heard, this looked veiy strange. Police were even called to make sure that trains continued to run on time, but when they arrived the dancers had gone. In March 2013, more than 2,000 people gathered in Seoul, South Korea, complete with musical instruments, and started to dance. Many were students from Sungsin Girls’ High School - they joined other Earth Hour supporters and collected a staggering 150,000 signatures from local citizens in support of the campaign. In Korea, an estimated 12 million people participated in Earth Hour 2013. These are three samples of ‘flash mob’ events, when a crowd of people suddenly come together in a public place, perform an unusual action, and appear as quickly as they appear. They are organised using electronic media such as mobile phones or the internet.

  To their fans, flash mobs are simply a chance to have some lighthearted, if rather silly, fun. However, when just under 2,000 people got together in San Francisco for an enormous pillow fight, it ended up costing thousands of dollars. Unfortunately, a heavy rainstorm meant that the city was left covered with wet feathers, which caused streets, shops, and a restaurant to be flooded, and ruin the local fountain. It took several days to put the damage right. Norman Dito, head of the city’s Recreation and Park Department said, ‘In future, organizers of such events should apply for permission beforehand and pay the standard fee to cover security, insurance, and cleaning up afterwards. Sadly, I think this is unlikely to happen, since nobody knows who the organizers are, or when or where a flash mob will take place next.

  Crimes associated with flash mobs are rare, but occasionally make international headlines. Sometimes referred to as ‘flash robs’ by the media, these start with the intent to destroy, or lead to the destruction of private property or violence. Professor of Psychology Mark Leary explains that as social media adds the ability to recruit a large number of people, individuals who would not rob a store on their own feel freer to misbehave without being identified. In Germany, the authorities in some cities have taken things even further by strictly enforcing an already-existing law that says a special Permit must be obtained to use a public space for any event.

The word “staggering” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _____________

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 28 to 34.

FLASH MOBS -A NEW KIND OF EVENT

  In 2003, an unusually large number of customers arrived without warning in the carpet department of Macy’s Department store in New York. The assistants couldn’t see why all of them were so interested in buying exactly the same carpet. In 2006,4,000 people arrived with MP3 players and headsets at a London railway station and started dancing at a set time. As no music could be heard, this looked veiy strange. Police were even called to make sure that trains continued to run on time, but when they arrived the dancers had gone. In March 2013, more than 2,000 people gathered in Seoul, South Korea, complete with musical instruments, and started to dance. Many were students from Sungsin Girls’ High School - they joined other Earth Hour supporters and collected a staggering 150,000 signatures from local citizens in support of the campaign. In Korea, an estimated 12 million people participated in Earth Hour 2013. These are three samples of ‘flash mob’ events, when a crowd of people suddenly come together in a public place, perform an unusual action, and appear as quickly as they appear. They are organised using electronic media such as mobile phones or the internet.

  To their fans, flash mobs are simply a chance to have some lighthearted, if rather silly, fun. However, when just under 2,000 people got together in San Francisco for an enormous pillow fight, it ended up costing thousands of dollars. Unfortunately, a heavy rainstorm meant that the city was left covered with wet feathers, which caused streets, shops, and a restaurant to be flooded, and ruin the local fountain. It took several days to put the damage right. Norman Dito, head of the city’s Recreation and Park Department said, ‘In future, organizers of such events should apply for permission beforehand and pay the standard fee to cover security, insurance, and cleaning up afterwards. Sadly, I think this is unlikely to happen, since nobody knows who the organizers are, or when or where a flash mob will take place next.

  Crimes associated with flash mobs are rare, but occasionally make international headlines. Sometimes referred to as ‘flash robs’ by the media, these start with the intent to destroy, or lead to the destruction of private property or violence. Professor of Psychology Mark Leary explains that as social media adds the ability to recruit a large number of people, individuals who would not rob a store on their own feel freer to misbehave without being identified. In Germany, the authorities in some cities have taken things even further by strictly enforcing an already-existing law that says a special Permit must be obtained to use a public space for any event.

The shop assistants in Macy’s didn’t understand _____________ 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 23 to 27. Fill in the appropriate word in question 25

What make a good souvenir?

  On my desk at home, I have a collection of souvenirs; objects that remind me of places I’ve visited and important events in my life. These objects include a model boat that I saw being carved from a piece of wood on a Caribbean island, a piece of lava that emerged hot from a volcano in the year I was bom, and a shell (23) _____________ on my favourite childhood beach.

  Unlike everything else, from which memory and detail fades, it is as if the longer you hold on to certain objects, the (24)_____________  their associations with the past become, and the sharper the recollections that gather around them. They are, (25) _____________ , real souvenirs, encapsulations not only of the place, but of your time in the place. But these days, the term “real souvenirs” sounds like a contradiction in terms, and this is because the objects sold to tourists as souvenirs are often cheap mass-produced imports that have nothing to do with the place at all.

  It’s often the (26) _____________ that the best souvenirs, like my shell, are found rather than purchased, but browsing for souvenirs can also be a fun holiday activity. But if you are buying souvenirs on holiday this summer, make sure they (27) _____________  the reality test. A good souvenir is not just made in the area where it is bought, it also says something about the culture of that area. It is something made by local people using sustainable local materials, and because you are effectively supporting the local economy, it shouldn’t come too cheap, either.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the underlined part that needs correction in each of the following questions.

Linda refuse (A) taking the job (B) given to her (C) because the salary (D) was not good.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 28 to 34.

FLASH MOBS -A NEW KIND OF EVENT

  In 2003, an unusually large number of customers arrived without warning in the carpet department of Macy’s Department store in New York. The assistants couldn’t see why all of them were so interested in buying exactly the same carpet. In 2006,4,000 people arrived with MP3 players and headsets at a London railway station and started dancing at a set time. As no music could be heard, this looked veiy strange. Police were even called to make sure that trains continued to run on time, but when they arrived the dancers had gone. In March 2013, more than 2,000 people gathered in Seoul, South Korea, complete with musical instruments, and started to dance. Many were students from Sungsin Girls’ High School - they joined other Earth Hour supporters and collected a staggering 150,000 signatures from local citizens in support of the campaign. In Korea, an estimated 12 million people participated in Earth Hour 2013. These are three samples of ‘flash mob’ events, when a crowd of people suddenly come together in a public place, perform an unusual action, and appear as quickly as they appear. They are organised using electronic media such as mobile phones or the internet.

  To their fans, flash mobs are simply a chance to have some lighthearted, if rather silly, fun. However, when just under 2,000 people got together in San Francisco for an enormous pillow fight, it ended up costing thousands of dollars. Unfortunately, a heavy rainstorm meant that the city was left covered with wet feathers, which caused streets, shops, and a restaurant to be flooded, and ruin the local fountain. It took several days to put the damage right. Norman Dito, head of the city’s Recreation and Park Department said, ‘In future, organizers of such events should apply for permission beforehand and pay the standard fee to cover security, insurance, and cleaning up afterwards. Sadly, I think this is unlikely to happen, since nobody knows who the organizers are, or when or where a flash mob will take place next.

  Crimes associated with flash mobs are rare, but occasionally make international headlines. Sometimes referred to as ‘flash robs’ by the media, these start with the intent to destroy, or lead to the destruction of private property or violence. Professor of Psychology Mark Leary explains that as social media adds the ability to recruit a large number of people, individuals who would not rob a store on their own feel freer to misbehave without being identified. In Germany, the authorities in some cities have taken things even further by strictly enforcing an already-existing law that says a special Permit must be obtained to use a public space for any event.

The primary purpose of the passage is to _____________

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 23 to 27. Fill in the appropriate word in question 23

What make a good souvenir?

  On my desk at home, I have a collection of souvenirs; objects that remind me of places I’ve visited and important events in my life. These objects include a model boat that I saw being carved from a piece of wood on a Caribbean island, a piece of lava that emerged hot from a volcano in the year I was bom, and a shell (23) _____________ on my favourite childhood beach.

  Unlike everything else, from which memory and detail fades, it is as if the longer you hold on to certain objects, the (24)_____________  their associations with the past become, and the sharper the recollections that gather around them. They are, (25) _____________ , real souvenirs, encapsulations not only of the place, but of your time in the place. But these days, the term “real souvenirs” sounds like a contradiction in terms, and this is because the objects sold to tourists as souvenirs are often cheap mass-produced imports that have nothing to do with the place at all.

  It’s often the (26) _____________ that the best souvenirs, like my shell, are found rather than purchased, but browsing for souvenirs can also be a fun holiday activity. But if you are buying souvenirs on holiday this summer, make sure they (27) _____________  the reality test. A good souvenir is not just made in the area where it is bought, it also says something about the culture of that area. It is something made by local people using sustainable local materials, and because you are effectively supporting the local economy, it shouldn’t come too cheap, either.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions.

We booked a table for dinner. We _____________  a table as the restaurant was empty.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 28 to 34.

FLASH MOBS -A NEW KIND OF EVENT

  In 2003, an unusually large number of customers arrived without warning in the carpet department of Macy’s Department store in New York. The assistants couldn’t see why all of them were so interested in buying exactly the same carpet. In 2006,4,000 people arrived with MP3 players and headsets at a London railway station and started dancing at a set time. As no music could be heard, this looked veiy strange. Police were even called to make sure that trains continued to run on time, but when they arrived the dancers had gone. In March 2013, more than 2,000 people gathered in Seoul, South Korea, complete with musical instruments, and started to dance. Many were students from Sungsin Girls’ High School - they joined other Earth Hour supporters and collected a staggering 150,000 signatures from local citizens in support of the campaign. In Korea, an estimated 12 million people participated in Earth Hour 2013. These are three samples of ‘flash mob’ events, when a crowd of people suddenly come together in a public place, perform an unusual action, and appear as quickly as they appear. They are organised using electronic media such as mobile phones or the internet.

  To their fans, flash mobs are simply a chance to have some lighthearted, if rather silly, fun. However, when just under 2,000 people got together in San Francisco for an enormous pillow fight, it ended up costing thousands of dollars. Unfortunately, a heavy rainstorm meant that the city was left covered with wet feathers, which caused streets, shops, and a restaurant to be flooded, and ruin the local fountain. It took several days to put the damage right. Norman Dito, head of the city’s Recreation and Park Department said, ‘In future, organizers of such events should apply for permission beforehand and pay the standard fee to cover security, insurance, and cleaning up afterwards. Sadly, I think this is unlikely to happen, since nobody knows who the organizers are, or when or where a flash mob will take place next.

  Crimes associated with flash mobs are rare, but occasionally make international headlines. Sometimes referred to as ‘flash robs’ by the media, these start with the intent to destroy, or lead to the destruction of private property or violence. Professor of Psychology Mark Leary explains that as social media adds the ability to recruit a large number of people, individuals who would not rob a store on their own feel freer to misbehave without being identified. In Germany, the authorities in some cities have taken things even further by strictly enforcing an already-existing law that says a special Permit must be obtained to use a public space for any event.

All of the following are true about flash mobs events EXCEPT _____________

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.

They are launching a campaign to promote awareness of environmental issues.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 35 to 42.

SHAYNE’S DREAMS COME TRUE - BUT WILL THEY BE SHATTERED?

  It is a week before The X Factor live tour when I meet the winner of the series, Shayne Ward. “It has been mental.” he says, referring to the past six months of his life. “I’ve just been talking to Louis Walsh on the phone. Louis Walsh!” Walsh, a top record producer and The X Factor judge, now manages Shayne’s career. “I was talking to Simon Cowell (a celebrity record producer) yesterday!” He shakes his head in amazement. And these people are telling me they’re excited about working with me. “I can’t get my head round it.”

  Shayne is about as natural as any pop star arriving in the public arena can be. “I just can’t accept where I am now” he says sincerely. “It doesn’t feel real. To me, this is just a job.” “What do you think being famous feels like?” I ask him. “I’m not sure, to be honest. Different from this?” he laughs, with only a hint of nerves. Since winning The X Factor, Shayne’s success has been phenomenal. His debut single took just three days to reach the number one spot. On tour, he’s going to play to audiences of 10,000 on average. He has already brought the house down at a gig in his home city. “I walked out after that performance and just thought, “I’m dreaming!”” Shayne is one of a family of seven children. Times were hard, but he has never wished or a different childhood. Although he thought about going to college, he ended up leaving school at sixteen, just to help his mother pay the rent. He set out on his reality show journey shortly afterwards. When he told he friends he had an audition for The X Factor, none of them really believed him. “I thought I’d go fot it because my family wanted me to, but I never really believed that I would win.”

  Naturally, Ward is a fan of reality TV talent shows. “They’re brilliant, because people who want recording contracts try for years and get nowhere. Then these competitions come along the people at home decide whether they like the singers or not. So it's not just a few people at a record company deciding who gets a chance.” But the previous winner of The X Factor only had one hit. He hasn’t been heard of since then. Is Shayne Ward going to be another talent show flop?

  A lot of people feel cynical about reality TV show winners and their chances of continuing success. Audiences usually lose interest in them as soon as the show has finished. In fact, contestants on shows like Big Brother are given severe warnings from the show’s producers beforehand, basically telling them “you will not be liked”. Talent shows like The X Factor have to offer contestants a kind of stardom though, and something they can think of as a career, months afterwards at least.

The word “flop” in the passage is closest in meaning to

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 28 to 34.

FLASH MOBS -A NEW KIND OF EVENT

  In 2003, an unusually large number of customers arrived without warning in the carpet department of Macy’s Department store in New York. The assistants couldn’t see why all of them were so interested in buying exactly the same carpet. In 2006,4,000 people arrived with MP3 players and headsets at a London railway station and started dancing at a set time. As no music could be heard, this looked veiy strange. Police were even called to make sure that trains continued to run on time, but when they arrived the dancers had gone. In March 2013, more than 2,000 people gathered in Seoul, South Korea, complete with musical instruments, and started to dance. Many were students from Sungsin Girls’ High School - they joined other Earth Hour supporters and collected a staggering 150,000 signatures from local citizens in support of the campaign. In Korea, an estimated 12 million people participated in Earth Hour 2013. These are three samples of ‘flash mob’ events, when a crowd of people suddenly come together in a public place, perform an unusual action, and appear as quickly as they appear. They are organised using electronic media such as mobile phones or the internet.

  To their fans, flash mobs are simply a chance to have some lighthearted, if rather silly, fun. However, when just under 2,000 people got together in San Francisco for an enormous pillow fight, it ended up costing thousands of dollars. Unfortunately, a heavy rainstorm meant that the city was left covered with wet feathers, which caused streets, shops, and a restaurant to be flooded, and ruin the local fountain. It took several days to put the damage right. Norman Dito, head of the city’s Recreation and Park Department said, ‘In future, organizers of such events should apply for permission beforehand and pay the standard fee to cover security, insurance, and cleaning up afterwards. Sadly, I think this is unlikely to happen, since nobody knows who the organizers are, or when or where a flash mob will take place next.

  Crimes associated with flash mobs are rare, but occasionally make international headlines. Sometimes referred to as ‘flash robs’ by the media, these start with the intent to destroy, or lead to the destruction of private property or violence. Professor of Psychology Mark Leary explains that as social media adds the ability to recruit a large number of people, individuals who would not rob a store on their own feel freer to misbehave without being identified. In Germany, the authorities in some cities have taken things even further by strictly enforcing an already-existing law that says a special Permit must be obtained to use a public space for any event.

The police were called to the London railway station to _____________

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions.

This road is very narrow. It _____________ to be widened.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 23 to 27. Fill in the appropriate word in question 23

What make a good souvenir?

  On my desk at home, I have a collection of souvenirs; objects that remind me of places I’ve visited and important events in my life. These objects include a model boat that I saw being carved from a piece of wood on a Caribbean island, a piece of lava that emerged hot from a volcano in the year I was bom, and a shell (23) _____________ on my favourite childhood beach.

  Unlike everything else, from which memory and detail fades, it is as if the longer you hold on to certain objects, the (24)_____________  their associations with the past become, and the sharper the recollections that gather around them. They are, (25) _____________ , real souvenirs, encapsulations not only of the place, but of your time in the place. But these days, the term “real souvenirs” sounds like a contradiction in terms, and this is because the objects sold to tourists as souvenirs are often cheap mass-produced imports that have nothing to do with the place at all.

  It’s often the (26) _____________ that the best souvenirs, like my shell, are found rather than purchased, but browsing for souvenirs can also be a fun holiday activity. But if you are buying souvenirs on holiday this summer, make sure they (27) _____________  the reality test. A good souvenir is not just made in the area where it is bought, it also says something about the culture of that area. It is something made by local people using sustainable local materials, and because you are effectively supporting the local economy, it shouldn’t come too cheap, either.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions.

You can select what you want; it’s your _____________ .