PAU Tips for the exam

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TIPS FOR QUESTION 1

TIPS FOR QUESTION 2

TIPS FOR QUESTION 3

TIPS FOR QUESTION 4

TIPS FOR QUESTION 5

Can't decide which book to buy? Try the lucky dip

A Canadian bookshop has developed an intriguing new way of selling books.

Describing itself as “Toronto’s most idiosyncratic second-hand bookshop”, The Monkey’s Paw is living up to its reputation with the arrival of an ingenious new curiosity – a book-vending machine called the Biblio-mat.

Stephen Fowler, the bookshop's owner, had been searching for an innovative way to offload some of his languishing titles. The $1 bargain bin sitting dejectedly near the register would not do.

With help from Toronto animator Craig Small, the Biblio-mat was born. It is the first “antiquarian book randomiser” that dispenses books for the reasonable price of a Canadian two-dollar coin (about £1.20).

Readers who have a tough time deciding what to buy from the bookshop’s eclectic collection can now consult the Biblio-mat, although all the books are hidden so it essentially functions as a lucky dip.

Fowler originally envisaged “a skinny guy sitting in a cardboard box feeding out books”. He ended up with something more sophisticated: a beautiful chrome and mint-coloured vintage-style machine, operated electronically. On the front it reads: “Every book a surprise. No two alike. Collect all 112 million titles.”

The Biblio-mat has certainly attracted a lot of attention, with a video attracting 12,000 views on the night it was uploaded.

The bookshop’s younger aficionados, in particular, have been inspired. "One kid I can think of, a very intense, physical little boy, not what you would necessarily consider the bookish type, he got a weird, local history book about Hamilton, Ontario," says Fowler. "And apparently he's been carrying it around his house, you know, asking his mom, 'Did you see where I left my Hamilton book?'"

The machine strikes a chord with customers. "They’ll get a book and feel as though it was physically selected for them,” says Fowler.

Question 1. Indicate whether these sentences are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text.

      a) The Monkey’s Paw is a library.

      b) Fowler sold many books after putting them in a $1 bargain bin.

      c) Stephen Fowler had the idea of creating “Biblio-mat”

      d) The books that you buy from the Biblio-mat cannot be seen before.

Question 2. Answer the following questions in your own words.

a)       What is a Biblio-mat?

b)       For what type of readers does the author think the Biblio-mat is a good idea?

Question 3. Find a word or a phrase in the text that means the same as:

a)  to fulfil (par. 1)

b)  to give out (par. 3)

c)  to visualize (par. 5)

Question 4. Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning.

      a)       If he doesn’t get a good mark, his father won’t buy him a car.

Unless …………………
b)       Anna got divorced six months ago.

It’s …………………………………..……….

c)       They will deal with the claim and conduct a meeting afterwards.
The claim ………………………..

Question 5. Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic:

Do you think the Internet will make physical books disappear?

Hitchcock and Shakespeare

Children should be taught Hitchcock as well as Shakespeare, BFI chairman says

  

Film education should be part of the national curriculum, with Hitchcock given as much prominence in schools as Shakespeare, the chairman of the British Film Institute, Greg Dyke, 65, has claimed. He said it is “ridiculous” that schools are lagging behind in a world dominated by film and television.

The BFI is launching a £26 million film education programme which aims to reach every child in schools across Britain in four years.

“People at the BFI argue all the time, and I think they’re right: isn’t it weird that we learn Shakespeare but we don’t learn Hitchcock?” Mr. Dyke, the former director general of the BBC, said. “It seems ridiculous to us that in a world where the moving image is the major means of communication, schools seem a long way behind. Alongside the after school education programme, the institute is hoping to train teachers and has launched a boot camp for teenagers who aspire to be the next Danny Boyle. In the long term they want film to become a part of the national curriculum.”

However, he added that he finds it “hard to believe” that the changes will be brought in by the Coalition, saying: “I think it’s possible if there was another government.” 

Over the past two decades there has been an “explosion” in the use of video as a means of communication and information, as it is demonstrated by the popularity of sites such as YouTube, Mr Dyke, noted. Video is now much more accessible due to advances in modern technology, such as smartphones, which allow anyone to become an amateur filmmaker.

As well as hoping to inspire the next generation of filmgoers and cinematographers, the institute wants to change a film industry that is” disproportionately male, white and in London”, Mr Dyke said.

Question 1. Indicate whether these sentences are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text.

a) The film education programme is only meant for school children.

b) The chairman of the BFI has never had any important position outside the institute.

c) The government is already willing to introduce the programme.

d) They want to broaden the film industry horizon.

Question 2. Answer the following questions in your own words.

a) Why does the BFI want to teach Hitchcock in schools?

b) What are their plans to modernize the curriculum?

Question 3. Find a word or a phrase in the text that means the same as:

a. relevance, significance (par. 1)            b. strange (par. 3)          c. want, try (par. 3)

Question 4. Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning.

a) The BFI is launching a £26 million film education programme.

    A £ 26 million ______________________________________________________

b) “People at the BFI argue all the time, and I think they’re right” Mr. Dyke said

    Mr. Dyke said that __________________________________________________

c) Video is now much more accessible due to advances in modern technology.

    If there were ______________________________________________________

Question 5. Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic:

            Watching a film at home or going to the cinema. What do you prefer and why?

Independent bookshops fight back with tax campaign

Posters boasting 'We Pay Our Taxes!' aim to convince consumers to shop locally. 

Beleaguered independent booksellers have found a new way to hit back at retail giant Amazon.

Bright red posters with the words “We Pay Our Taxes!” have started to appear in book shop windows; a clear reference to recent allegations that the online bookseller has diverted hundreds of millions of pounds of profit to tax havens.

The Booksellers Association, who is behind the poster campaign, is keen to highlight the benefits of buying books from independent sellers, in the wake of the public finance committee questioning executives from Amazon, Starbucks and Google over their tax affairs.

Although the Booksellers Association has recognised that Amazon’s tax affairs are not illegal, they have pointed out that the company is being investigated for allegedly failing to pay corporation tax on more than £3.3 billion worth of earnings in the UK.

The Association's chief executive Tim Godfray commented: “Overseas-registered bookselling companies doing a lot of business in the UK, but paying little – or no – tax put our members who do pay taxes at a competitive disadvantage. In view of the public mood and interest we have produced two posters for those of our members that want to use them.”

Other slogans include: “Can pay, do pay! We pay our taxes” and “Your money, your bookshop, your community, we pay our taxes.”

Author Jeanette Winterson has also argued that a back tax on corporations could be used to fund public libraries. Speaking during the inaugural Reading Agency Lecture at the British Library on Monday evening, she said “Libraries cost about a billion a year to run right now. Make it two billion and charge Google, Amazon and Starbucks all that back tax on profit here.”

Amazon’s director of public policy Andrew Cecil failed to answer many of the MPs' questions last week on the company's financial structures, meaning another Amazon executive will appear to answer questions at a later date.

A company spokesman said: “Amazon pays all applicable taxes in every jurisdiction that it operates within.”

Question 1. Indicate whether these sentences are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text.

a)   Amazon is in favour of this “poster” campaign.

b)  The campaign started because booksellers want to pay less taxes.

c)  It has been proved that Amazon doesn’t pay all the taxes.

d) Andrew Cecil hasn’t successfully answered the government’s questions, and he won’t do it.

Question 2. Answer the following questions in your own words.

a) What was Jeanette Winterson’s suggestion to improve libraries?

b) Why have the posters been produced?

Question 3. Find a word or a phrase in the text that means the same as:

a) Refuge, shelter (paragraph 2)

b) Business, duty (paragraph 4)

c) Earnings, interest (paragraph 7)

Question 4. Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning.

a) Although the association has recognised it is not illegal, they think it is unfair for them.

     Despite...

b) They pointed out that the company is being investigated.

     They pointed out: “we....

c)  Public libraries can be improved, but they need that the government creates a new tax for some international corporations.

     If...

           

Question 5. Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic:

            Advantages and disadvantages of buying online.

Hitchcock and Shakespeare

KEY

Question 1

a) False. The BFI is launching a £26 million film education programme which aims to reach every child in schools across Britain in four years. …. Alongside the after school education programme, the institute is hoping to train teachers.

b) False. Mr Dyke, the former director general of the BBC,

c)False. However, he added that he finds it “hard to believe” that the changes will be brought in by the Coalition, saying: “I think it’s possible if there was another government.”

d) True. As well as hoping to inspire the next generation of filmgoers and cinematographers, the institute wants to change a film industry that is “disproportionately male, white and in London”,

Question 2

a) They see that British schools offer old-fashioned studies for their students, who, more than ever before, are exposed to audio-visual materials through all sorts of video facilities. By teaching about films and the film industry, they also want to give this a new and wider dimension.

b) They are starting a programme to teach film education in schools and plan to make it global in four years. This programme will continue in higher education and future teachers will be trained to become film directors, producers or screenwriters.

Question 3

a) prominence 

b) weird

c) aspire

Question 4

a) A £ 26 million film education programme is being launched by the BFI.

b)Mr Dyke said that people argued all the time and he thought they were right.

c)If there were no / not any advances in modern technology, video wouldn’t be so accessible now.

'Black Death' skeletons unearthed during Crossrail project

More than a dozen skeletons thought to be victims of The Black Death have been unearthed in the City of London during excavation work for the £14.8 billion Crossrail project.

So far the skeletons of 13 adults have been found under Charterhouse Square in Farringdon during excavation work for the £14.8 billion Crossrail project.

Archaeologists made the discovery 8ft (2.4m) below the road that surrounds the gardens in the centre of the square.

They believe there could be as many as 50,000 plague victims buried in the area.

Nick Elsden from Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) says that further discoveries are likely.

"The short answer is we don't know just how many skeletons are out there," he said.

Tests will be carried out on the skeletons but experts are linking the discovery with the Black Death as it is known that a burial ground for plague victims was opened in the Farringdon area.

Pottery dated up until 1350 found in the graves by the Crossrail team and the layout of the skeletons all point to them being plague victims.

Once analysis of the bones has been completed, the skeletons will be reburied on the site or at another cemetery.

Around 1.5 million Britons died in the Black Death - more than a third of the population - while about 25 million perished in Europe.

Rephrasing

1. So far the skeletons of 13 adults have been found under Charterhouse Square

So far they ………………………………………………….

2. They believe there could be as many as 50,000 plague victims buried in the area.

It is…………………………………………………………………………………

3. "The short answer is we don't know just how many skeletons are out there," he said.

He said that ……………………………………………………………………….

4. Tests will be carried out

They………………………………………………………….

5. It is known that a burial ground for plague victims was opened in the Farringdon area.

A burial ground………………………………………………………..

Read the text and say if the following sentences are TRUE or FALSE

1. All the skeletons found in the excavation died because of The Black Death.
2. They expect to find ………………………. Skeletons buried in the area.
3. They have found some other things apart from the bodies.
4. The number of Britons who died in The Black Death is a third of the dead in Europe.

Watch the video and answer the following questions.

1. What percentage of British people died in The Black Death? 
2. Where did The Black Death originate? 
3. What do they examine? 
4. Can they tell the age of the people they have found? 
5. What do they study? 

Rita Hosking's seven-song EP Little Boat is a little gem of classy Americana.

Rita Hosking's seven-song EP Little Boat is a little gem of classy Americana.

I admit I warm to Rita Hosking because of the way a history teacher — for 12 years in David, California, where she used old songs as a source in lessons — took the brave decision to become a full-time musician and fulfil her potential. You can tell from her music that a literate and thoughtful songwriter is at work.

Her new mini-album, Little Boat, is more understated than Burn (one of the delights of 2011) yet the seven songs are rich and sparkle with class.

Hosking has a powerful, expressive voice, and she is clearly enjoying performing on what is in many ways a very personal album — her husband Sean Feder plays dobro and banjo, and her daughter Kora (who co-wrote a song) plays clawhammer banjo. Producer Rich Brotherton, at whose Austin, Texas studio Little Boat was recorded, features on guitar, bass and most everything else apart from the kitchen sink. The result is beautifully textured and harmonious Americana.

Burn was filled with high temperature anger at injustices and there is some of that in the song Five Star Location, about a town that has lost lots of its jobs to China. However, Clean, a song about the life of a student working as a maid, makes its points in shrewd and subtle ways. Blow Northwest Wind is an affecting track — and provides the album's title in the line 'man and his little boat, thinking 'bout what he's got to show'.

The opening track, Parting Glass, is also lovely, and in itself shows why Hosking deserves to be far better known.

Question 1. Indicate whether these sentences are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text.

      a) The author admires Rita Hosking because she was brave.

      b) Rita Hosking has been a teacher for 12 years in David, California.       

      c) “Little Boat” gets its name from the song “Blow Northwest Wind”

      d) The author thinks Rita is very famous.

Question 2. Answer the following questions in your own words.

a)       What does the author like about Rita Hosking?

b)       Why does the author think this is a personal album?

Question 3. Find a word or a phrase in the text that means the same as:

a)  wrath (par. 4)

b)  female servant (par. 4)

c)  astute, artful (par. 4)

Question 4. Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning.

a)       I had to go to school although I had a temperature

Despite ………………………………

b)       “Why don’t we eat out tomorrow?”, he said

He suggested …………………………….

c)       People say that he was a very good footballer

He ………………………………………………

             

Question 5. Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic:

In your opinion, what makes a good album?

Would you like to listen to some of her songs? Try:

http://www.ritahosking.com/fr_home.cfm

Rephrasing

 Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning.

1. He asked her to write the report by midnight.

Will……………………………………………………………?

2. She suggested working on the report together.

Why don’t………………………………………………….…?

3. He advised her to sell her story.

If I ………………………………………………………

4. What’s the lesson this afternoon? He asked.

He wanted to know …………………………………………..

5. What a pity Mary didn’t remember to take the camera.

I wish Mary………………………………………………………………

6. ‘Please bring me another cup of coffee,’ I said to the waiter.

I asked ………………………………………………………………………………..

7. I’m sorry I can’t speak English perfectly.

I wish ………………………………………………………………………………...

8. I’m sorry I didn’t reply to your last letter, he said.

He apologised to me ………………………………………………………………..

9. They sell English books in that shop.

English books ………………………………………………………………...……..

10. Someone is repairing my car.

My car ………………………………………………………………………………..

11.   They took him to hospital.

He …………………………………………………………………………………….

12. People were watching the match on TV 

The match…………………………………………………………………………….

13. Although he was wealthy, he spent very little money.

Despite…………………………………………………………………………………………………

14. Despite the long journey, they stayed up until midnight.

Although…………………………………………………………………………………………………

15. If you don’t go on a diet, you won’t lose weight.

You should go on a diet…………………………………………………………………………………..

16. She won’t get better unless she takes physical exercise.

If she……………………………………………………………………………………………………

17. Last night we saw Patrick. His children go to the same school as our daughter.

Last night…………………………………………………………………………………………………

18. This is the plan. You have been talking about it for three hours.

This is ………………………………………………………………………………………………….

19.   She started drinking too much alcohol two years ago.

She has ……………………………………………………………….

20.   I don’t have a computer so I can’t type the essay on English grammar.

If ……………………………………………………………………………………

Independent bookshops fight back with tax campaign

Question 1.

a)  False.-  Beleaguered independent booksellers have found a new way to hit back at retail giant Amazon.

b)  False.-  A clear reference to recent allegations that the online booksellers has diverted hundreds of millions of pounds of profit to tax havens.

c)   False.-  the company is being investigated for allegedly falling to pay corporation tax.

d)  True .- Andrew Cecil failed to answer many of the MP’s questions last week on the company’s financial structures, meaning another Amazon executive will appear to answer questions at a later date.

Question 2.

a) If the big companies had to pay a back tax, the money could be used to improve the libraries.

b) To make people realize that if they buy things where taxes are paid, it helps the whole society.

Question 3.

a) Haven

b) Affairs

c) Profit

Question 4.

a) Despite having recognised it is not illegal, they think it is unfair for them.

b) They pointed out: “we are investigating the company”.

c)  If the government created a new tax for some international corporations, libraries could be improved.

Can't decide which book to buy?

      Question 1       

      a) False. Describing itself as “Toronto’s most idiosyncratic second-hand bookshop”, The Monkey’s Paw is living up to its reputation with the arrival of an ingenious new curiosity

      b) False. The $1 bargain bin sitting dejectedly near the register would not do

      c) False. With help from Toronto animator Craig Small, the Biblio-mat was born

      d) True. Although all the books are hidden so it essentially functions as a lucky dip.

Question 2

a)       It is a machine that sells books randomly

b)       For readers who can’t decide what book to buy

Question 3

a)       to live up to

b)       to dispense

c)       to envisage

Question 4

a)       Unless he gets a good mark, his father won’t buy him a car.

b)       It’s six months since Anna got divorced

c)       The claim will be dealt with and a meeting will be conducted afterwards.

Head warns over 'bunfight' for places at top schools

Parents are forcing their children to commute for up to 10 hours a week to get into the most sought-after private schools in Britain, a head teacher warned today.

Jane Grubb, headmistress of Bedales prep school in Hampshire, said children were being required to travel long distances – or drilled for months to pass entrance exams – when they should be spending time enjoying themselves.  Tutoring is increasingly popular in preparation for the 11-plus and Common Entrance – the traditional entry exams for state grammar schools and private senior schools.

One study last year suggested almost half of families in some parts of the country paid for private tutors to prepare sons and daughters for school entrance tests.

Mrs Grubb, the head of Dunhurst – the prep school attached to Bedales senior school – said that many parents were also prepared to send their children on lengthy commutes to secure places at some establishments.

Speaking to the Evening Standard, she said: “It starts when children are as young as eight. By the time they get to 10 they are spending two terms doing old exam papers to try to get into these places.  “Parents genuinely want them to be happy but they need to put their heads up and see what other life there is. The 10 hours they spend commuting could be spent getting more sleep or seeing their friends.”

Question 1. Indicate whether these sentences are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text.

a) Children are being obliged to travel long distances to certain schools.

b) Children are advised to have more time for themselves.

c) In some areas parents often pay for private lessons.

d) Parents are believed to be doing the right thing.

Question 2. Answer the following questions in your own words.

a) What are the children requested to do by their parents to attend some schools?

b) What is the opinion of the people who are against?

Question 3. Find a word or a phrase in the text that means the same as:

a) to travel par. 1

b) to train par. 2

c) to guarantee par. 4

Question 4. Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning.

a) Children were being required to travel long distances.

            Parents...

b) Parents send their children on lengthy commutes to secure places at some establishments.

            If parents...

c)  She said: “It starts when children are as young as eight”

            She said that..

Question 5. Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic:

            Are children nowadays doing too many extra curricular activities?