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E.O.I. SAN FERNANDO READING TEST

NAME:

4th Year September 2015

GROUP:

Read texts PART 1 and PART 2 and answer the questions about them

MARK: ____________

PART 1:

Read the article. For questions 1-5, choose the correct answer (A, B, C, or D).

Beach heroes There is no more welcome sight on beaches all over the world than a lifeguard. You can spot the lifeguards a mile off – which is, of course, half the point. Not only do they wear highly conspicuous red-and-yellow uniforms, but somehow they manage to look better than the rest of us too. ‘Last year, we only had to make five rescues,’ says head lifeguard Rod Terry, 22. ‘Another year, we helped 29 people in the space of three hours. You never know what you’re going to be called upon to do, which is why you need lifeguards who can cope with any situation.’ You’d think, of course, they’d all be keen to perform some public heroics, but Rod is quick to rebuff any such suggestions. ‘As far as we’re concerned, we’d far rather stop someone getting into trouble than have to get them out of it.’ One of the lifeguards in Rod’s team is 24-year-old Rebecca Surridge. She says, ‘One minute you can find yourself dealing with minor cuts and grazes, and the next with a situation where one group of people on the beach is annoying another group. You have to handle things sensitively too.’ Even if they do talk tough, the lifeguards have no legal authority with which to back up their words. ‘We can only advise,’ adds Rod. ‘If someone wants to ignore a red flag, they’re free to do so. ’A red flag is what the lifeguards put out when the sea’s too rough for swimming. Exactly when that moment is reached is something that Rod alone decides. A lifeguard since the age of 14, first as a volunteer, he’s now a paid member of the town council’s leisure services department. ‘You take into account a variety of things: you listen to the weather reports and forecasts and you assess the strength of the wind.’ Other factors to be considered, depending on location, of course, are he dangers that may be lurking in the water. The vast majority of swimmers take notice of a red flag, but there are always those who don’t, and long before they start really getting into trouble, lifeguards will be on their way out to them, dragging with them a ‘torpedo’ buoy, which is a long sausage-shaped inflatable on the end of a rope. This can help them bring in swimmers suffering from cramp, brought on by swimming too soon after a meal, or fatigue caused by swimming out too far. ‘Then you get the silly ones who jump off the harbour wall,’ sighs Rod. ‘Mostly, though, swimmers stick within our exclusion zone.’ This is a 100 m x 100 m patch of sea. The prime rule of the exclusion zone is that boats are forbidden to enter it – and humans forbidden to leave it. Even a rubber ring is pursued and retrieved. If found floating out at sea, it could set off a coastal-wide emergency search. At any one time, there are eight lifeguards on duty, either scanning the waves or patrolling the beach (lifebelts need checking, telephones need to be kept working in case of emergency calls). The team works five days a week, and constantly has to rotate tasks as this facilitates maximum degrees of attention. The other thing that keeps the lifeguards alert is the fact that they all get on well together. ‘It’s not as if we’re all sitting there in silence,’ says Lisa. ‘We’re always talking to each other, either in person or down the two-way radio.’ In fact, each summer season is something of an old friend’s reunion; this is the seventh year Pete

has worked here, while it’s the fifth for Rebecca. Come wintertime, they go off round the world – Pete’s been surfing in Mexico and Rebecca’s just back from Bali, Hawaii and New Zealand. It’s a case of not yet wanting to give up their seasonal, sunlit round of beaches. ‘There’s plenty of time for a proper job later,’ says Rebecca.

1 A B C D

According to Rod Terry, lifeguards need to be ... athletic. flexible. attentive. hardworking.

2 A B C D

Rebecca Surridge says that lifeguards ... operate in limited areas. have limited powers over people. are trained to deal with limited injuries. watch over a limited number of people.

3 A B C D

According to the text, which factor affects a lifeguard’s decision to put up a red flag? the presence of something dangerous in the sea the quality of the water in the sea the environmental conditions the number of swimmers

4 A B C D

In order to maintain their concentration levels, lifeguards ... sometimes ask their colleagues for feedback. regularly change the duties they perform. usually take several days off each week. often take long breaks during the day.

5 A B C D

It’s common for a group of lifeguards ... to have another job at the same time. to meet up when they’re not working. to work together in the same location. to go travelling together when the summer is over.

2 Match five of the UNDERLINED words / phrases to the definitions. Example: to bring or get something back retrieve 1 2 3 4 5

easily seen an unkind refusal of an offer or suggestion a sudden pain in your body when your muscles contract feeling of being extremely tired because of hard work or exercise the main or most important thing

PART 2: Read the article about television viewing habits. Five sentences have been removed. Choose from the sentences A–G the one which fits each gap (1–5). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.

A nation of TV addicts? The rise of the internet was predicted to kill off television. 0 G Television there is actually going from strength to strength. According to a report on modern TV viewing habits, one third of people in the UK admit to watching 50% more TV than five years ago. 1

Saturday-night favourites such as X Factor, for example, attract 17 million viewers each week.

Strictly Come Dancing and Doctor Who regularly have audiences of more than 12 million each. Although TV viewing was once seen as an anti-social activity, many people now say it helps them to develop their relationships and make them more sociable. 2

As well as that, nearly half of the people who took part in the survey

said that TV shows have helped them to make new friends. And each week, hundreds of thousands of X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing fans post their comments on the results on social media sites. The report by Dr Brian Young of the University of Exeter suggests that modern TV viewing habits are not creating a generation of ‘couch potatoes’, that is, lazy people. Far from it, in fact. Instead, TV is encouraging viewers to take up hobbies and visit new places. 3

And 85% say travel programmes have encouraged them to book a holiday to

somewhere they haven’t been before. Entertainment and travel are not the only areas to benefit, however. Around 80% of people taking part in the survey said they now cook more and increasingly entertain friends at home. 4

Programmes such as Come Dine with Me also

allow viewers the chance to see how home entertaining should, or in many cases should not, be done. The survey also found that parents are no longer as strict about how much TV their children can watch. 5

However,

although the amount of time may have increased, parents are still careful to recognize the 9 p.m. watershed – the time after which TV channels show programmes more suitable for adults. According to Dr Young, the television, once considered to be an electronic box in the corner of the room, is no longer a piece of furniture that the family gathers around a few times a year. Now, thanks to the digital age and greater channel choice, it is increasingly changing lives. Television in the 21st century is about improving friendships and encouraging people to have new adventures. And there’s nothing bad about that. A More than third of those interviewed admit to spending several hours a week discussing their favourite programmes. B The popularity of advice given by TV chefs is largely responsible for this. C Apparently, after watching a TV show, as many as four out of five people have become interested in new ways of relaxing. D Typically, young people nowadays spend up to three hours a day in front of the TV. E The report says that women are in charge of the remote control in more than half of houses. F This increase is due to a few popular programmes. G However, that doesn’t seem to be the case in the UK.

KEY READING 1 1 1 2 3 4 5

B B C B C

2 1 2 3 4 5

conspicuous rebuff cramp fatigue prime

KEY READING 2 1 2 3 4 5

F A C B D