I.

LISTENING (50 points)

Part 1: Listen to a conversation at a university guidance office. For questions 1-5, choose the correct answer A, B, C or D.
Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
1. Why is the woman speaking to the man?
A. She wants the results of her allergy test. C. She needs to set up an appointment.
B. She is supposed to receive an injection. D. She cannot decide which test to use.
2. Why must the man wait to give the woman instructions?
A. He cannot get in contact with her doctor. C. He hasn’t received her file yet.
B. She hasn’t been on her special diet long enough. D. He hasn’t observed her symptoms.
3. Why is the elimination test more difficult?
A. It must be performed at the student health center. C. It takes more time and effort.
B. There is more danger of a serious reaction. D. It requires injections.
4. When can the spot test described by the man be used?
A. When the elimination test did not produce results
B. When the symptoms are becoming worse over time
C. When the patient has too little time for the elimination test
D. When the doctor has some idea of the cause of the allergy
5. What will the woman do next?
A. Get her file from the student health center C. Tell the man what she has eaten lately
B. Tell the man when she can meet next D. Start the diet for the elimination test
Part 2: You will hear five short extracts in which people are talking about something currently in the news. While you
listen, you must complete BOTH tasks.
TASK 1: For questions 6-10, choose from the list (A-H) what the news story concerns.
6. Speaker 1: _______
7. Speaker 2: _______
8. Speaker 3: _______
9. Speaker 4: _______
10. Speaker 5: _______
A. a social issue
B. a scandal
C. a crime
D. an official announcement
E. a political development
F. a financial matter
G. a celebrity
H. a health issue
TASK 2: For questions 11-15, choose from the list (A-H) each speaker’s attitude towards the news story.
11. Speaker 1: _______
12. Speaker 2: _______
13. Speaker 3: _______
14. Speaker 4: _______
15. Speaker 5: _______
A. scepticism
B. amusement
C. disinterest
D. anger
E. enthusiasm
F. calmness
G. curiosity
H. alarm
Part 3: Listen to part of a news bulletin about the topic– Which countries have the best sex education? For questions 16-
25, give short answers to the questions. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS taken from the recording for each
answer in the space provided.
WHICH COUNTRIES HAVE THE BEST SEX EDUCATION?
Some have blamed the United States’ more (16)..................................... of sexual education for its highest
teenage birth rates amongst other industrialized nations.
Overall, according to the most recent World Bank data, which measures teen births from girls aged 15 to 19,
European countries tend to have less than 20 teen births per thousand. Among these countries, Europe has most
of the world’s lowest teen birth rates. (17)...........................countries like Italy, Germany, and Switzerland
reported rates below 4. Sweden, France, the Netherlands, Denmark and Belgium also had low rates – just 5 or 6.
Europe’s low teen birth rate has been (18).............................. to their progressive sexual education.
One researcher found that in the Netherlands, parents and teachers focus less on the “dangers of sex”, and more
on the normal, positive aspects; therefore, teenagers are less likely to be
(19)................................and .............................. about their first sexual experiences. Other northern European
countries in particular, hold that young people are still (20) “.................................,” and entitled to correct and
comprehensive sex education.
The US, by contrast, has one of the highest teenage birth rates of all the developed nations – around 30 teen
births per thousand. Many believe that this high rate has to do with their more (21).................. towards teen
sex. In southern states, they teach (22)……………………sexual education without key details about pregnancy and
diseases. United Nations reports have noted that this kind of education can (23)............................,
and………………………. to more risky sexual behavior.
The US also has a generally more negative attitude towards sex, highlighting the “dangers” and the risks
associated with it instead of the benefits of a healthy, intimate relationship.
There certainly seems to be a (24)................................between comprehensive sex education and low teen birth
rates. However, not all countries follow this pattern, and many scholars still disagree on the best method to
decrease teen births.
Some United Nations officials maintain that, although the rates of teen sex are unlikely to change, the safety of
teen sex can be significantly improved with sexual education. When it comes to Sex education, Germany is
(25)............................ of the United States.
II. LEXICO-GRAMMAR (20 points)
Part 1: For questions 26-39, choose the correct answer A, B, C, or D to each of the following questions and write your
answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
26. The old house was _____ furnished and we had to buy almost everything new.
A. thinly B. sparsely C. mildly D. rarely
27. I have been back to the doctor three times and he still hasn’t _____ the reason for all the pain I have been
suffering from recently.
A. indicated B. highlighted C. pinpointed D. looked up
28. The captain decided to _____ ship even though he thought there was no real danger of it sinking.
A. abandon B. evacuate C. desert D. evict
29. The accidental _____ of four listed buildings near the city center caused a huge outcry and the manager of
the building company was jailed for three months.
A. disruption B. demolition C. injuring D. squashing
30. That old house hasn’t been lived in for nearly thirty years, hence the fact that it looks so _____.
A. decrepit B. trashed C. rotten D. derelict
31. You can exercise your _____ to cancel the contract immediately, but you wouldn’t receive any money at that
point.
A. duty B. obligation C. right D. possibility
32. “Look, I don’t know the best solution,” he said _____ his shoulders and walking away from the table.
A. shaking B. shrouding C. shrugging D. bowing
33. Bill and Mary resolved their problems after her brother got them to sit down and have a(n) _____ talk
with each other.
A. candid B. overt C. servile D. piteous
34. After a month, I will _____ the ropes and won’t keep bothering you for help.
A. show B. learn C. get D. finish
35. Hubert _____ remembered locking the door and couldn’t understand how it was now standing wide open.
A. distinctly B. sharply C. totally D. utterly
36. I have tried every product on the market and still I can’t rid these curtains of the _____ of cigarette smoke.
A. fumes B. fragrance C. stench D. aroma
37. Granddad would spend hours talking to us youngsters around the dinner table _____ about his happy younger
days back east on the farm.
A. recalling B. reminiscing C. reminding D. memorising
38. The winning team were roundly criticised by the local media for the way in which they had _____ over the
losing team. It was considered very unsporting.
A. gloated B. relished C. showed up D. dominated
39. My responsibility is to keep a _____ rein on company expenses and try to see us in the black for the next
financial year. I know it won’t be easy!
A. shorter B. looser C. longer D. tighter
Part 2: For questions 40-45, write the correct form of each bracketed word in the corresponding numbered boxes
provided.
In 2011, Eric Leuthardt and his colleague Gerwin Schalk positioned electrodes over the language regions of four
fully (40) _____________ (CONSCIENTISE) people and were able to detect the phonemes “oo”,“ah”, “eh”
and“ee”. What they also discovered was that spoken phonemes activated both the language areas and themotor
cortex, while imagined speech – that inner voice – boosted the activity of neurons in Wernicke’s area.Leuthardt
had not (41) ____________ (EFFECT) read his subjects’ minds, “I would call it brain reading.” he says. Toarrive at
whole words, Leuthardt’s next step is to expand his library of sounds and to find out how theproduction of
phonemes translates across different languages.
For now, the research is primarily aimed at improving the lives of people with (42) ___________ (LOCK)
syndrome, but the ability to explore the brain’s language centres could (43) ______________ (REVOLUTION)
other fields. The consequences of these findings could ripple out to more general audiences who might like to use
extreme hands-free mobile communication technologies that can be manipulated by inner voice alone. For
linguists, it could provide previously (44) ______________ (OBTAIN) insight into the neural origins and structures
of language. Knowing what someone is thinking without needing words at all would be functionally
indistinguishable from
(45) ___________ (TELEPATHIC).
III. READING (50 points)
Part 1: For questions 46-54, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap. Write your
answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
JIBBITZ
The (46)_____ was a familiar one: rainy afternoon, bored children, Mum scrabbling around for ways toamuse
them. Sheri Schmeizer from Boulder, Colorado, (47)_____ through her sewing kit, found some silkapplique
flowers and beads, and started to tie, stick and glue them into the holes of her children’s Crocs,those ugly but
(48)_____ practical plastic shoes with holes punched in the top. The kids thought the ideawas really cool and
coined the named ‘Jibbitz’ for the seemingly pointless adornments.By the time Sheri’s husband, Richard, came
home from the office, the kids were happily (49)_____ overwho was to have which shapes and colours, and
arranging swaps. Seeing the kids so absorbed, Richard was quick to spot the business potential in the game that
his wife had (50)_____ invented. Next day, he (51)_____ for all the relevant patents, trademarks and copyrights.
In no time at all, with the children (52)_____ to secrecy, the couple had (53)_____ into their savings to setup a
company. Within three years, Jibbitz had become a global craze and the company was (54)_____ $20million.
46. A. scenario B. occasion C. backdrop D. setting
47. A. sifted B. rummaged C. flicked D. browsed
48. A. solely B. exclusively C. singly D. uniquely
49. A. bickering B. chattering C. spluttering D. wittering
50. A. unconsciously B. thoughtlessly C. unwittingly D. mindlessly
51. A. requested B. entered C. filed D. lodged
52. A. avowed B. sworn C. promised D. agreed
53. A. dipped B. delved C. reached D. scooped
54. A. appreciated B. wealthy C. valued D. worth
Part 2: For questions 55-64, fill each of the following numbered blanks with ONE suitable word and write your answers
in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
STOPPING URBAN SPRAWL
Icelandic capital – Reykjavík – plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2040 by reversing urban
sprawl and promoting walking, cycling and public transport.
Hermannsson is (55)_____ on a project to persuade residents to live in the city, not suburbs. “The Reykjavík area
is quite sprawled, like an American city, and that’s reflected in the private car choice,” he says. “We have to grow
inwards instead of (56)_____ and people living closer to work and shops will mean they move (57)_____.”
City surveys suggest young people are keen to live in the city, and public transport expert Jarrett Walker – who
ran (58)_____ workshops for the area last year – says the current sprawl is a real problem. “Carbon neutrality
always comes (59)_____ to urban form,” he says. “Outside the small historic centre Reykjavík is mostly (60)_____
sprawl: apartment blocks oriented (61)_____ motorways or fast streets rather than to (62)_____ infrastructure or
logical public transport paths. Many people in these towers can’t even walk to a convenience store.”
Developers are keen to exploit “brownfield” (63)_____. Þorvaldur Gissurarson, owner and chief executive of
ÞGverk and Arcus companies, is building a Hafnartorg (“harbour city”) development of retail, offices and 80
apartments in prime downtown. “Downtown hasn’t had that high density we see in many countries due to city
planning issues (64)_____ the number of apartments, and prices. The city [authority] needed to change.”

Part 3: Read the following passage and answer questions 65-69.

AIR RAGE
A. The first recorded case of an airline passenger turning seriously violent during a flight, a
phenomenonnow widely known as “air rage”, happened in 1947 on a flight from Havana to Miami. A
drunk man assaulted another passenger and bit a flight attendant. However, the man escaped
punishment becauseit was not then clear under whose legal control a crime committed on plane was,
the country where theplane was registered or the country where the crime was committed. In 1963, at
the Tokyo convention, it was decided that the laws of the country where the plane is registered take
precedence.
B. The frequency of air rage has expanded out of proportion to the growth of air travel. Until recently
fewstatistics were gathered about air rage, but those that have been indicate that passengers are
increasingly likely to cause trouble or engage in violent acts. For example, in 1998 there were 266 air
rage incidents out of approximately four million passengers, a 400% increase from 1995. In the
sameperiod American Airlines showed a 200% rise. Air travel is predicted to rise by 5% internationally
by2010 leading to increased airport congestion. This, coupled with the flying public’s
increasedaggression, means that air rage may become a major issue in coming years.
C. Aside from discomfort and disruption, air rage poses some very real dangers to flying. The most
extreme of these is when out of control passengers enter the cockpit. This has actually happened on a
number of occasions, the worst of which have resulted in the death and injury of pilots or the intruder
taking control of the plane, almost resulting in crashes. In addition, berserk passengers sometimes
attempt to open the emergency doors while in flight, putting the whole aircraft in danger. These are
extreme examples and cases of air rage more commonly result in physical assaults on fellow passengers
and crew such as throwing objects, punching, stabbing or scalding with hot coffee.
 D. The causes of air rage are not known for certain, but it is generally thought that factors include:
passenger behavior and personality, the physical environment and changes in society. A recent studyhas
identified the issues that start the incidents to be as follows.
Alcohol 25%
Seating 16%
Smoking 10%
Carry on luggage 9%
Flight attendants 8%
Food 5%
E. One of the major causes seems to be the passenger’s behavior or their personality. Fear of flying and
the feeling of powerlessness associated with flying can lead to irritable or aggressive passengers. Also,
alcohol consumed on a plane pressurized to 8,000 ft. affects the drinker more quickly and the effects are
stronger. Many people do not take account of this and drinking may increase any negative reaction to
the flying environment they have, which, combined with the lowering of their inhibitions, may cause air
rage. Smoking withdrawal, which some liken in severity to opiate withdrawal, is another major cause of
air rage incidents. Passengers caught smoking in the toilets occasionally assault flight attendants and
have been known to start fires. When conflicts occur in these conditions, they can escalate into major
incidents if the passenger has a violent personality or a fear of flying and because of the enclosed nature
of a plane offers no option of retreat as would be natural in a “fight or flight” reaction.
F. Some people feel that the physical environment of a plane can lead to air rage. Seats on most airlines
have become smaller in recent years as airlines try to increase profits. This leads to uncomfortable and
irritated passengers. Also, space for carry on luggage is often very small. Because up to 8% of checked
in luggage is lost, misdirected or stolen, passengers have been trying to fit larger carry on items into
these small storage areas and this can lead to disputes that can escalate into air rage. Airlines could also
be to blame by raising passengers’ expectations too high with their marketing and advertising. Many air
rage incidents start when disappointed passengers demand to be reseated. Finally, there is some
evidence to show that low oxygen levels can raise aggression level and make people feel more
desperate. Airlines have lowered oxygen levels to save money. Now the level of oxygen in the air that
the pilots breathe is ten times higher than in cabin class.
G. Another reason that has been suggested is that society is getting ruder and less patient. The increased
congestion at airports, longer queues and increased delays have only added to this. In addition, some
air rage incidents have been linked to the demanding nature of high achieving business people, who do
not like people telling them what to do and resent the power that the cabin staff have over them. For
them, a flight attendant is a waiter or waitress who should do what the passenger wants.
H. The strongest calls for action to control air rage have come from pilots and aircrew. The
InternationalTransport Workers’ Federation argues that there are too many loopholes that let people
escapepunishment and that the penalties are too light. They want to notify all passengers of the
penalties forair rage before taking off, rather than after the passenger begins to cause serious problems,
when it may be too late. The Civil Aviation Organisation has been organizing international cooperation
and penalties have increased in recent years. The most severe punishment so far has been a 51-month
jail sentence, a fine to pay for the jet fuel used and 200 hours community service for a man who
attempted to enter the cockpit and to open the emergency door of a domestic US flight.Various other
measures are being used to control air rage. Air crew are getting training on how to calm passengers
and how to predict where incidents might result in air rage and take action to prevent this. Other
measures include, strengthening doors to stop people entering the cockpit, training crew in the use of
plastic restraints to tie down unruly passengers and having pilots divert their planes if passengers cause
problems. Banning passengers who are guilty of air rage from flyinhas also beentried to a lesser extent.
For questions 65-73, choose the correct heading for paragraphs A-I. There are more headings than paragraphs, so you
do not have to use them all. Write your answers in the corresponding space provided.
List of headings
i. A decline in the tolerance of passengers
ii. Disproportionate growth
iii. Pilots and aircrew cooperate
iv. Additional action
v. Smaller seats are the norm
vi. Laying the blame with the airlines
vii. Origins
viii. A major threat to travel
ix. Demands for change
x. Business people fly more
xi. New research pinpoints the causes
xii. The pace of life
xiii. Passenger at the root of the problems
xiv. Personal experience
Your answers
65. Paragraph A:
66. Paragraph B:
67. Paragraph C:
68. Paragraph D:
69. Paragraph E:
70. Paragraph F:
71. Paragraph G:
72. Paragraph H:
73. Paragraph I:
For questions 64-69, do the following statements agree with the information in the reading text? In the corresponding
numbered spaces provided, write:
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information in the text.
FALSE if the statement does not agree with the information in the text.
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this in the text.
74. ____________ In the first case of air rage, one of the reasons the man was not punished was because the
plane was not registered.
75. ____________ The statistics on air rage were collected by private monitoring groups.
76. ____________ The second most common catalyst for incidents is problems with seating.
77. ____________ The environment in a plane makes disagreements more likely to become serious problems.
78. ____________ Airlines have been encouraging passengers to bring more items onboard as carry-on luggage.
Part 4: You are going to read an article. Seven paragraphs have been removed from the article.
For questions 79-85, choose from paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap. There is ONE extra paragraph which you
do not need to use. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
HELP GUIDE US THROUGH THE UNIVERSE
Sir Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, launches this year’s Young Science Writer competition.
If you ask scientists what they’re doing, the answer won’t be “Finding the origin of the universe”, “Seeking the
cure for cancer” or suchlike. It will involve something very specialised, a small piece of the jigsaw that builds up
the big picture.
79. _____
So, unless they are cranks or geniuses, scientists don’t shoot directly for a grand goal – they focus on bite-sized
problems that seem timely and tractable. But this strategy (though prudent) carries an occupational risk: they
may forget they’re wearing blinkers and fail to see their own work in its proper perspective.
80. _____
I would personally derive far less satisfaction from my research if it interested only a few other academics. But
presenting one’s work to non-specialists isn’t easy. We scientists often do it badly, although the experience helps
us to see our work in a broader context. Journalists can do it better, and their efforts can put a key discovery in
perspective, converting an arcane paper published in an obscure journal into a tale that can inspire others.
81. _____
On such occasions, people often raise general concerns about the way science is going and the impact it may
have; they wonder whether taxpayers get value for money from the research they support. More intellectual
audiences wonder about the basic nature of science: how objective can we be? And how creative? Is science
genuinely a progressive enterprise? What are its limits and are we anywhere near them? It is hard to explain,
insimple language, even a scientific concept that you understand well. My own (not always effective) attempts
havedeepened my respect for science reporters, who have to assimilate quickly, with a looming deadline, a topic
theymay be quite unfamiliar with.
82. _____
It’s unusual for science to earn newspaper headlines. Coverage that has to be restricted to crisp newsworthy
breakthroughs in any case distorts the way science develops. Scientific advances are usually gradual and
cumulative, and better suited to feature articles, or documentaries – or even books, for which the latent demand
is surprisingly strong. For example, millions bought A Brief History of Time, which caught the public imagination.
83. _____
Nevertheless, serious books do find a ready market. That’s the good news for anyone who wants to enter this
competition. But books on pyramidology, visitations by aliens, and suchlike do even better: a symptom of a
fascination with the paranormal and “New Age” concepts. It is depressing that these are often featured
uncritically in the media, distracting attention from more genuine advances.
84. _____
Most scientists are quite ordinary, and their lives unremarkable. But occasionally they exemplify the link between
genius and madness; these “eccentrics” are more enticing biographees.
85. _____
There seems, gratifyingly, to be no single “formula” for science writing – many themes are still under-exploited.
Turning out even 700 words seems a daunting task if you’re faced with a clean sheet of paper or a blank screen,
but less so if you have done enough reading and interviewing on a subject to become inspired. For research
students who enter the competition, science (and how you do it) is probably more interesting than personal
autobiography. But if, in later life, you become both brilliant and crazy, you can hope that someone else writes a
best-seller about you.
A. However, over-sensational claims are a hazard for them. Some researchers themselves “hype up” new
discoveries to attract press interest. Maybe it matters little what people believe about Darwinism or cosmology.
But we should be more concerned that misleading or overconfident claims on any topic of practical import don’t
gain wide currency. Hopes of miracle cures can be raised; risks can be either exaggerated, or else glossed over
for commercial pressures. Science popularisers – perhaps even those who enter this competition – have to be as
sceptical of some scientific claims as journalists routinely are of politicians.
B. Despite this, there’s a tendency in recent science writing to be chatty, laced with gossip and biographical
detail. But are scientists as interesting as their science? The lives of Albert Einstein and Richard Feyman are of
interest, but is that true of the routine practitioner?
C. Two mathematicians have been treated as such in recent books: Paul Erdos, the obsessive itinerant
Hungarian (who described himself as “a machine for turning coffee into theorems”) and John Nash, a pioneer of
game theory, who resurfaced in his sixties, after 30 years of insanity, to receive a Nobel prize.
D. For example, the American physicist Robert Wilson spent months carrying out meticulous measurements with
a microwave antenna which eventually revealed the “afterglow of creation” – the “echo” of the Big Bang with
which our universe began. Wilson was one of the rare scientists with the luck and talent to make a really great
discovery, but afterwards he acknowledged that its importance didn’t sink in until he read a “popular” description
of it in the New York Times.
E. More surprising was the commercial success of Sir Roger Penrose’s The Emperor’s New Mind. This is a
fascinating romp through Penrose’s eclectic enthusiasms – enjoyable and enlightening. But it was a surprising
best seller, as much of it is heavy going. The sales pitch “great scientist says mind is more than a mere machine”
was plainly alluring. Many who bought it must have got a nasty surprise when they opened it.
F. But if they have judged right, it won’t be a trivial problem – indeed it will be the most difficult that they are
likely to make progress on. The great zoologist Sir Peter Medawar famously described scientific work as “the art
of the soluble”. “Scientists,” he wrote, “get no credit for failing to solve a problem beyond their capacities. They
earn at best the kindly contempt reserved for utopian politicians.”
G. This may be because, for non-specialists, it is tricky to demarcate well-based ideas from flaky speculation. But
it’s crucially important not to blur this distinction when writing articles for a general readership. Otherwise
credulous readers may take too much on trust, whereas hard-nosed sceptics may reject all scientific claims,
without appreciating that some have firm empirical support.
H. Such a possibility is one reason why this competition to encourage young people to take up science writing is
so important and why I am helping to launch it today. Another is that popular science writing can address wider
issues. When I give talks about astronomy and cosmology, the questions that interest people most are the truly
“fundamental” ones that I can’t answer: “Is there life in space?”, “Is the universe infinite?” or “Why didn’t the Big
Bang happen sooner?”
Part 5: You are going to read an article about the attraction of buying and renovating old houses. For questions 86-95,
choose from the sections (A-D). The sections may be chose more than once. Write your answer in the corresponding
numbered space provided.
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
Why are people attracted to the idea of buying and renovating ruinous old houses?
A Years ago, glancing through the property pages of the newspaper one evening, I stumbled upon a tiny
photograph of a small ivy-clad stone house with a triangle of blue sea in the background. “For sale by auction” it
said, “guide price: £80,000.” Even if I’d been looking for a country house, and I wasn’t, I’d hardly have opted for
one in such a remote area, yet somehow that little image became lodged in my name
Desolate, was truly in the middle of nowhere and hadn’t been touched in half a century. Intrigued, I immediately
felt an urge to go and see it for myself. So, it was that the following weekend, after an inordinately long drive
down from London with the whole family in tow, I found myself edging up the seemingly interminable farm track
that led up to Desolate from the main road. It turned out to be two little houses joined by a stone archway. On
one side was a clapped out electricity generator; on the other, a couple of dingy rooms downstairs and a couple
more upstairs, all with rotten windows and peeling, brown wallpaper. But from the sitting-room window was a
view of a garden gate opening onto a field with the sea cliffs beyond. On seeing that, I was smitten.
B For more than 50 years, or so the story went, it had been home to a woman aviator called Miss Darker whose
wartime exploits had allegedly inspired Michael Ondaatje’s novel, The English Patient. In the film, she’s played by
Kristin Scott Thomas and meets a nasty end in the north African desert. The reallife
Miss Darker returned home and spent the rest of her life as a recluse at Desolate. All of this just added to my
conviction: I just had to have her house. I didn’t care that my children thought it the grottiest thing ever, pointing
out that despite the view there was no access to the sea, and it was miles to the nearest shop. My ears were
closed to such details. I was in love and would elope if need be. I spent the next two weeks gazing rapt at the
photos I’d taken and counting money.
C On the day of the auction, I drove down with an old friend. I took her to see Desolate first, showing it to her
with anxious pride as I would show her a man I was marrying. Yes, she said. She understood. The sale was being
held in a quiet local town, but as we arrived I sensed my plan was going awry. The car park was jammed with
large 4x4s and the room itself was full of braying Londoners: mostly women with expensively abundant hair, all
looking strained and excited. I took my place in the front row so I wouldn’t have to see the others crammed in
behind me. The bidding started at £50,000 and went up slowly. When it paused at £120,000, I was about to raise
a shaking hand, but it raced on up, far out of reach until Desolate eventually sold for the best part of half a
million. I couldn’t look at the man who’d bought it. I got into the car and wept. It was shameful for an
unsentimental, middle-aged woman to be brought so low by a heap of stone and a view. But I was desolate over
Desolate.
D The memory of that thwarted love affair came back to me recently when a friend called to tell me about a
house she’d seen that was far too expensive for her and suited her in no way. I could hear in her voice that it
was pointless trying to talk sense into her. I started to wonder what it is about these houses that can hold such
allure for people that they sell for many times their value. Internet message boards are testimony to the fact that
it’s by no means an uncommon scenario. Perhaps the real reason has little to do with bricks or mortar. You look
at a view and you think: “This will make my life different.” And of course, the houses we fall for most are those
that need us most – those where we can most easily make our mark and become part of their history. In the
end, we did buy a house; an ugly, cheap and practical one. But the sea is easily reached and through repeated
use I’ve grown fond of it. Yet in writing this article I’ve looked again at the photographs I took of Desolate all
those years ago and my heart still aches, just a bit.
In which section does the writer Your answers
accept that the location of the house called Desolate left a lot to be desired? 86. _____
admit to harbouring some regrets about a missed opportunity? 87. _____
attempt to rationalise her feelings about the house she wanted to buy? 88. _____
Draw an analogy to underline how seriously she took an idea? 89. _____
pinpoint the moment when she decided to go for something? 90. _____
mention feelings of curiosity arising out of a conversation? 91. _____
recount the story of another person who experienced similar feelings to her own? 92. _____
recall getting the first inkling that a dream wouldn’t be realised? 93. _____
remember ignoring sensible misgivings about a plan? 94. _____
suggest that her behaviour on one occasion was out of character? 95. _____
IV. WRITING (60 points)
Part 1: Read the two texts below and use your own words to summarise it. Your summary should be between 80 and 100
words long.
Fundamental questions about human nature
There can be no single, simple definition of human nature. Many inter-twining ideas in the history of philosophy
have helped us to form our understanding of ourselves. Ideas of human nature radically affect the kind of society
we live in and the kind we would like to live in. How far do we need society? Is it feasible to imagine living in
splendid isolation? Linked to this is the question as to whether we are all naturally only concerned for ourselves,
and only willing to cooperate with others when it is in our interests to do so. Are we, on the other hand, social
beings by nature, eager to cooperate with others for the common good?
The study of human nature
Ideas about human nature are of their essence philosophical. They are not simply the result of scientifically
established facts, but are general conceptions arrived at through rational argument. They are inevitably often
controversial, but the theories produced determine our vision of ourselves. Most writing on the subject is explicitly
philosophical. Since, though, philosophical assumptions about our nature lie at the root of any discipline
concerned with the activities of men and women, it is not surprising that some thinkers have written primarily
from the standpoint of another intellectual discipline. History, politics and social anthropology, to name only the
most obvious, all proceed with some views about human nature.

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Part 2:
International aid to poor nations from the governments of wealthy and developed countries has helped reduce global
poverty in recent years.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement? Give reasons for your answer and include any
relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience. Write at least 350 words .

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