UNIT 10.

LONGEVITY
I. Choose A, B, C or D that best fits each blank in the following sentences
1. Instead of gilding _______ the photographs added atmosphere - a sense of history.
A. the rose B. the lily  C. the daisy D. the jasmine
2. People _______ say that interest rates will have to rise again soon.
A. on the block B. in the bag C. on the level D. in the know
3. I can't think _______ of anyone who'd be able to help you.
A. on hand B. offhand C. in hand D. at hand
4. If the contract has not been signed by witnesses, it is considered _______.
A. null and void B. nook and cranny C. neck and neck D. nip and tuck
5. For that he was put to death and there was, in one respect, a _______ justice about it.
A. extreme B. rough C. severe D. tough
6. His future in the job is balanced on a _______.
A. cutting-edge B. razor-edge C. cliff-edge D. knife-edge
7. Take these to your stylist, safe in the _______ that your new look is going to suit you!
A. awareness B. recognition C. knowledge D. commitment
8. More spaces are needed at less cost not another _______ office block.
A. dark horse B. white elephant  C. red herring D. brown bear
9. She _______ a raw nerve when she mentioned that job he didn't get.
A. touched B. drilled C. pulled D. knocked
10. One wall was filled to _______ with books.
A. overstepping B. overlaying C. overflowing D. overfilling
11. Most teenagers go through a rebellious _______ for a few years but they soon grow out of it.
A. stint B. span C. duration D. phase
12. I bumped into John in Athens and he _______ me before I had time to speak first.
A. accosted B. ajar C. brawled D. jolted
13. She was so infuriated that she found it difficult to _______ her temper.
A. contain B. abstain C. retain D. detain
14. My uncle pulled a few _______ and got me a job in the company where he works.
A. ropes B. threads C. strings D. chords
15. The room was _______ decorated in gold and silver; it was quite simply over the top.
A. ostentatiously B. tantalizingly C. tactfully D. benevolently
16. The prices were _______ and there was little value for money to be had in any of the items on the menu.
A. oppressive B. exacting C. extortionate D. fraudulent
17. Mr. Parris said he’d like _______ by Monday, if that’s possible.
A. the report finished B. finished the report
C. the report will be finished D. have the report finished
18. I always get _______ in my stomach before visiting the dentist.
A. worms B. butterflies C. crabs D. hedgehogs
19. Nobody wanted to tell Richard he wasn’t invited, but I drew the short _______ so I had to do it.
A. straw B. stick C. pole D. rod
20. Living as a foreigner in such a(n) _______ place as this, it is hardly surprising that I get started at walking down the
street; I stand out like a sore thumb.
A. eminent B. convivial C. extraneous D. homogeneous
21. The president was eventually _______ by a military coup.
A. disposed B. despised C. deposed D. dispersed
22. The collapse of the silver market left him financially _______.
A. desolate B. dejected C. destitute D. derelict
23. He _______ so much harm on the nation during his regime that it has never fully recovered.
A. indicted B. inferred C. induced D. inflicted
24. Union leaders called for _______ between themselves and the government.
A. speeches B. elections C. debates D. consultations
25. It was clear from the beginning of the meeting that Jack was _______ on causing trouble.
A. inclined B. predisposed C. bent D. obsessed
26. The Internet has led to the faster and more effective _______ of information.
A. expansion B. coverage C. spread D. dissemination
27. This is the kind of crime that all decent people in society _______.
A. appall B. frown C. deplore D. disallow
28. For many young people, driving cars at high speed seems to _______ a rather fatal fascination.
A. contain B. comprise C. weave D. hold
29. On the news there was some dramatic _______ of the earthquake that had been captured by an amateur
cameraman.
A. shooting B. scenery C. clipping D. footage
30. I did not mean to offend her but she took my comments _______ and now will not talk to me.
A. amiss B. awry C. apart D. aside
31. After the earthquake, the entrance hall was turned into a _______ Casualty ward.
A. mainstay B. makeshift C. piecework D. wayside
32. A: “I’ve had a _______ pain in my side all day.” - B: “It’s probably indigestion.”
A. whimpering B. nagging C. moaning D. muttering
33. I know budgets are tight, but where safety is concerned I don’t think we should cut _______.
A. rounds B. ways C. corners D. lines
34. The real test of your relationship will come when you start to see your new boyfriend _______ and all.
A. warts B. spots C. moles D. faults
35. I’m opting out of the _______ race and going to live on a small farm in the countryside.
A. horse B. dog C. rat D. cat and mouse
36. Stella’s parents decided to _______ out on a reception for 500 people at her wedding.
A. crash B. smash C. thrash D. splash
37. Many diseases that used to be considered _______ of mankind are now easily treatable with antibiotics.
A. scourges B. tortures C. blights D. thorns
38. We’re going to have to _______ a lot of money next year to have the house repaired.
A. stock up B. knock off C. fork out D. put back
39. I’m not surprised people are arguing- they are at the _______ of their tether.
A. end B. limit C. finish D. termination
40. Materialism traps us _______ in a world of possessions hag-ridden by irrational fears of likely loss and lurking
dangers.
A. impromptu B. off the cuff C. on a whim D. unawares
41. The books in the attic are just _______ dust; perhaps we should get rid of them.
A. acquiring B. accessing C. accumulating D. aligning
42. As people grow older; they lose calcium and their bones become _______.
A. brittle B. crisp C. snappy D. fragile
43. The statue of the nymph had been _______ with garlands for the festival.
A. affiliated B. cascaded C. adorned D. bunched
44. The police have recently _______ down on motorists who drink and drive.
A. turned B. clamped C. put D. pulled
45. All the drains are _______ with dead leaves.
A. passed over B. stuck up C. singled out D. clogged up
46. We have a full _______ for this meeting, so any other business should be put off until next week.
A. timetable B. quota C. agenda D. house
47. The _______ of the mist made it impossible for us to find our way in the forest.
A. density B. displacement C. dispersal D. diversify
48. He was branded a juvenile _______ although all he'd done was to break a window.
A. minor B. convict C. delegate D. delinquent
49. In front of the explorers’ eyes is an undersea city with a ______ of buildings of different sizes and styles.
A. complication B. consolidation C. compilation D. conglomeration
50. He was _______ when I met him: homeless, and begging in the streets.
A. dormant B. despicable C. destitute D. devout
51. He was _______ by the amount of work he had been given, and afraid of failure.
A. daunted B. dissuaded C. consoled D. constrained
52. The teacher _______ the girl’s mobile phone until after school, as she was using it during lessons.
A. commissioned B. collected C. confiscated D. conceded
53. Shops are now equipped with machines which can tell if money is _______ or not.
A. artificial B. counterfeit C. fabricated D. sham
54. He felt that he had been _______ against when a younger, but unqualified, applicant got the job.
A. held B. turned C. reacted D. discriminated
55. The language became extinct on the _______ of its last surviving speaker.
A. demise B. wishes C. sayings D. intervention
56. Although he came to work the day before his retirement, everyone knew he was just _______.
A. going with the flow B. going through the motions
C. going against the grain D. going along with them
56. Her whole personality _______ a warmth which was very endearing.
A. germinated B. dazzled C. formulated D. generated
57. The child was really _______, and wanted to know what everything was.
A. inciting B. inquisitive C. grateful D. ham-fisted
58. Tap water often contains _______ so it's a good idea to use a filter.
A. debris B. impurities C. impediments D. moisture
59. Now that you have more money, you’ll be able to _______ a little; you have no excuses any more.
A. live it up B. make a break C. cut and run D. fly off the handle
60. I'll tell you the secret, since I know I can rely on your _______.
A. decision B. wits C. discretion D. confidence
II. Match the given phrases with the appropriate definition
post-operative consultation ● terminal illness ● infectious disease ● critical condition ● surgical procedure ● cardiac
arrest ● biological clock ● malignant tumour ● allergic reaction ● clinical trial ● congenital disorder ● general
anaesthetic ● digestive system ● Bipolar disorder
1. a mental condition characterised by extremes of happiness and sadness
2. a condition that will result in death no matter what
3. an extremely serious state of health that is immediately life threatening
4. a medical operation that involves making incisions into the body
5. a condition whereby the heart stops functioning
6. the part of the body that processes the food we eat
7. a drug administered to a patient which puts them to sleep
8. the progression of time in a woman from puberty to menopause
9. an illness which can be passed from one person to another
10. an aggressive form of cancer that will spread around the body when the immune system responds in
11. a harmful way to exposure to something
12. a way of testing a new form of medicine or treatment on human subjects
12. a health problem present at and from birth
13. a meeting with a doctor after having undergone surgery
Complete the passage using some of the above phrases
Coming to Terms with Cancer
The prognosis was not good; I may not have had a(n) (1) _____________________ but the cancer was at an
advanced stage and had spread to the lymph nodes. All this I learned at a rather intense (2) ___________________ I
had with my doctor following the excision of the lump on my throat for biopsy. The doctor had assured me the lump
was probably benign, so, as you can probably imagine, it came as quite a shock to learn that I had a(n) (3)
___________________ and that the cancer had already spread. As if that wasn’t traumatic enough, I then had to
prepare myself for another (4) ____________________ the doctor would perform the very next day - he said it could -
n’t wait. I would be put under (5) ____________________ again and would be out for about one hour. I would feel
very groggy for a good two hours after waking up. ‘Why not try chemo?’ I asked him. Turns out I have a history of (6)
____________________ to this form of treatment in my family - it nearly killed my uncle. Apparently, chemo would do
more harm than good where my body is concerned.
At the moment my head is all over the place. The last few days have been a lot to take in. And the situation is com-
plicated by the fact that my partner and I were planning to have a baby. That will have to be postponed indefinitely.
But, the thing is, I’m 33 now and my (7) ______________________ is ticking. Will I ever be able to have a child?
III. Give the correct forms of provided words to complete the sentences
1. The tests showed up an iron _____________________, so now I have to take supplements every morning.
DEFICIENT
2. His alcohol ____________________ is becoming a real issue which could potentially ruin his life. DEPEND
3. The patient’s ________________ heart valve was operated on successfully this morning. DEFECT
4. You have an enhanced ____________________ to this strain of the flu virus - there is no chance of you falling ill.
IMMUNE
5. __________________ injury this severe can often result in paralysis - you are a very lucky man. SPINE
6. Why is it that I can never seem to read the handwriting on the doctor’s _________________, but, when I hand it to
the pharmacist, she seems to understand perfectly. PRESCRIBE
7. The ____________________ benefits of gardening are widely acknowledged. THERAPY
8. I expect that I will get breast cancer sadly at some point in my life - it’s _________________, you see - my mother
and grandmother before me had it. HEREDITARINESS
9. I’m having _____________________ surgery to have the lesion removed. It’s a prudent step; in two or three years’
time, what’s to say it won’t have mutated into something far more deadly? ELECT
10. The cancer is in ____________________ thank goodness - though I haven’t got the all-clear just yet. REMIT
I I. The patient is ____________________ obese, which is severely impacting on his quality of life. MORBID
12. The ________________________ is good - as the disease was caught early I have an excellent chance of
recovery. PROGNOSE
13. The ________________________ of arthritis came as a shock to me - I’m only 32 for goodness’ sake. DIAGNOSE
14. A mouth ulcer that lasts more than three weeks may be __________________ of oral cancer. SYMPTOM
15. The accident left him with a permanent visual _________________________. IMPAIR
IV. Choose the correct word for each sentence
1. I think you are at the wrong registration desk; this is for those staying in the hospital overnight after surgery for
monitoring, but you are an outpatient / inpatient.
2. I have suffered on-and-off with the problem very occasionally for 20 years, but it hasn’t been a(n) chronic / acute
complaint until now - it used to go away in a matter of days.
3. The cast / sling is there to support your arm in the horizontal position temporarily until you get it set in plaster.
4. The spasms / seizures or 'fits’ as my doctor terms them are apparently a symptom of the brain tumour and will only
get worse as time goes on.
5. Please tell me the prognosis / diagnosis is good - I’m not ready to die.
6. The good news is it’s malign / benign; the bad news is it’s in a part of the body which is inoperable. All they can
do, they said, is help me manage the side-effects
7. My grandmother has senile dementia / amnesia, so it’s not like it used to be around her - she barely resembles the
person I remember from my childhood.
V. Give the correct forms of provided words to complete the passage
You might have imagined you could have expected sympathy. If the thought of returning to work after the Christmas
and New Year break left you feeling (1. overwhelm) __________________, anxious or even depressed; if you find
yourself harbouring feelings of anger, jealousy or (2. resent) _________________ towards your colleagues, you might
have felt (3. title) _________________ to a little understanding. But you would have reckoned without the burgeoning
stress (4. lash) _____________: the small but increasingly (5. voice) _____________ number of maverick
psychologists who argue that stress, the pre-eminent workplace problem of recent years, does not even exist.
The message of such (6. occupation) ___________________ psychologists is that feeling bad at work is normal, and
not necessarily even wrong - and now the only place where the concept of stress has any valid currency is in the
lucrative, and sometimes (7. damage) ________________, stress management industry.
More people are arguing that stress has become a trivial concept without a clear set of physical symptoms and we are
all so worried about the effect our jobs have on our mental health that we’re turning into a nation of emotional (8.
hypochondria) ___________________. Stress has been around since the 1950s and many now feel that it’s become
the modern (9. equivalence) _________________ of when people used to say they had “problems with their nerves”.
Stress is not (10. strict) ____________ a medical term but we know what someone complaining of feeling “stressed”
means. Generally, they are feeling anxious and/or depressed about some aspect of their lives that they having difficulty
confronting or controlling. They may develop specific noticeable symptoms or simply feel (11. good) ___________ or
(12. rest) ______________.
The symptoms of anxiety include (13. palpitate) _________________, sweating, irritability, loss of appetite and sleep
difficulties. Some people (14. conscious) __________________ suppress the emotional side and then may end up
with physical symptoms such as migraine, asthma and (15. digest) _________________. Depression is the other side
of stress and symptoms could include mood swings and low (16. esteem) _______________.
On the positive side, however, we need to come to realise that a certain amount of stress is an integral part of life: an
early warning system, alerting us to potentially (17. threat) ______________ situations. At exam time, for example, you
need a certain amount of adrenalin pumping to help keep you on the ball and with regard to conditions such as “exam
nerves”, you can at least console yourself with the fact that they are usually related to a well-defined time scale and
endpoint.

AN UNHEALTHY OBSESSION WITH DIET

In contemporary society we are (0. PRESS) ___________________ to conform to current ideas of what is considered
the ideal figure, and this is true for both sexes. According to notions (1. PREVAIL) __________________ in our
society, women should be svelte and men should be the (2. MUSCLE) ____________________ he-man type.
Obviously, not all people can conform to this ideal, perhaps because they are (3. GENE) _________________
incapable of doing so as they are big-boned or (4. DISPOSE) ____________________ to gaining weight.
Because of the power of advertising and the significance magazines attach to the 'body beautiful', many women, and
some even man, have fallen prey to the image makers. Such people fail to see that the (5. PERFECT)
____________________ of models have been air-brushed out in the creative process, and seek to achieve an ideal
which is (6. ATTAIN) _____________________.
Even the rich and famous succumb to pressure and become (7. ANOREXIA) __________________ or bulimic despite
their apparent success. Instead of being victims of our (8. OCCUPY) _______________________ with weight, we
should try to be less (9. RELENT) _________________ critical of our own appearance. This would increase our self-
confidence and self-esteem, whilst at the same time decreasing the (10. DEMONSTRATE)
________________________ harmful effect that advertising has had on our lifestyles.
VI. Choose A, B, C or D that best fits each blank in the passage
BEDTIME READING
Do you really want to leave your laptop on your bedside (1) ____? Can you see yourself logging off, switching off and
unplugging, before you turn off your light? Many people are saying that this is precisely what we will all be doing in a
few years’ time. They are prophesying the demise of the book. A new (2) ____ of life for the rainforests, they say,
another coup for technology. Time (3) ____ on. Don't look back. Good news for opticians, I say, as our eyesight (4)
____ rapidly because of constant staring at a computer screen. Computers are part of most people's work now, but
they have not been around long enough for experts to say (5) ____ what long-term effect they will have on our eyes.
Myself, I don't think there's much doubt. Anyway, I don’t believe any of it. No need for Gutenberg, the inventor of
printing, to (6) ____ in his grave yet.
1 A table B sideboard C wardrobe D commode
2 A treaty B contract C lease D mortgage
3 A strides B marches C strolls D walks
4 A deteriorates B debilitates C destroys D disintegrates
5 A solely B merely C just D only
6 A move B roll C turn D swivel

Mind Control
Over forty years ago, when the plug was (0) ____ on an infamous government-run project on mind control, there was a
collective (1) ____ of relief. Now, nearly half a century later, new research into (2) ____ people's minds is causing
concern that advanced mind-control techniques may be used for sinister purposes.
Though such fears may be warranted, there are simpler mind manipulation techniques that lie much (3) ____ to home.
One such technique involves offering an incentive in the form of cash or a (4) ____ of belonging. It is probably the
oldest (5) ____ in the book, but it can be just as effective as chemicals or brain implants. Another less sophisticated
way to (6) ____ influence requires the introduction of a stimulus into the environment when the desired beliefs are
being triggered. This method is particularly effective when the stimulus, such as a (7) ____ remark, seems natural.
The shutdown of one government project did not mark the end of mind control as it is part and (8) ____ of daily life.
However, with the new research being so promising, advanced techniques may be about to take manipulation to a
whole new level.
0. A. thrown B. pulled C. removed D. taken
1. A. breath B. sigh C. smile D. frown
2. A. getting to B. delving into C. looking into D. meddling with
3. A. nearer B. tighter C. closer D. shorter
4. A. perception B. sense C. feeling D. vision
5. A. deception B. fraud C. scam D. trick
6. A. exert B. administer C. enforce D. place
7. A. normal B. casual C. usual D. common
8. A. package B. portion C. packet D. parcel

CAUGHT NAPPING
Sleep, according to the Bard, “knits up the ravelled sleeve of care,” but not, it seems for narcoleptics. Narcolepsy is the
(1) ____ to fall asleep any time anywhere. First (2) ____ 120 years ago, it often goes undiagnosed, its (3) ____
labelled “laZy”. The condition is debilitating and surprisingly common, affecting approximately one in 1,000 (4) ____ of
the western world.
The three main symptoms of narcolepsy are all expressions of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. They (5) ____
cateplexy, a sudden loss of voluntary muscle control, common to 60% of narcoleptics; Sleep paralysis, which generally
occurs on waking or falling asleep; and excessive sleepiness throughout the day, with frequent naps and a struggle
against drowsiness. Paradoxically, many narcoleptics are insomniacs and (6) ____ little or no refreshment from sleep.
1 A trend B propensity C inclination D mode
2 A located B invented C notified D identified
3 A sufferers B subjects C practitioners D patients
4 A dwellers B inhabitants C residents D occupants
5 A comprise B compose C consist D contain
6 A desist B detect C detract D derive

GRUB IS THE DRUG

There is no mystery to healthy eating: (1) ____ on sugar and fat, and eat plenty of fibre. But wouldn’t it be easier if all
food was made healthy, so we could scoff as many hamburgers and as much chocolate as we want with a (2) ____
conscience? Functional foods are specially designed, the manufacturers insist, to benefit your health. The simplest,
most (3) ____ effective way to turn a conventional food into a functional one is to reduce or reduce its sugar or fat
content.
Sugar-free drinks contain (4) ____ sweeteners such as saccharin and aspartame. Both are hundreds of times sweeter,
gram for gram, than sugar, and are not used as an energy source by the body, so their calorie content is pretty
negligible. But there are no sugar-free cakes or biscuits because current sweeteners (5) ____ when heated. However,
food scientists are working on a type of sweetener that can (6) ____ baking, so low-cal cakes could soon be appearing
on supermarket shelves.
1 A cut up B cut off C cut out D cut down
2 A clear B light C empty D free
3 A cost B price C charge D budget
4 A fake B artificial C synthetic D man-made
5 A break apart B break away C break down D break in
6 A endure B resist C tolerate D withstand
 Organic Food
In many parts of the world large (1) ____ of the community share the view that organic food is not only more
environmentally friendly than inorganic but that it tastes better. There is certainly a(n) (2) ____ of truth in the former -
let us not forget the lessons of DDT - but I think we should keep things in (3) ____. A farmer friend of mine once
handed me two peaches with the words, “One was organically grown, one inorganically. See if you can tell which is
which.” So I cut a (4) ____ of each and I couldn’t discern a(n) (5) ____ of difference. I wonder what (6) ____ of the
general population could, either.
1. a. fractions b. sections c. aspects d. portions
2. a. proportion b. aspect c. fraction d. element
3. a. fraction b. proportion c. share d. portion
4. a. segment b. section c. proportion d. share
5. a. portion b. segment c. fraction d. element
6. a. aspect b. percentage c. segment d. share
VII. Fill in each blank with a suitable word to complete the passage
How Many Senses Are There?
The obvious answer is that five, there are five; but, (1) ________ most such answers, this one is wrong. In (2)
____________ to the generally recognised senses of vision, hearing, touch, smell and taste, human beings are known
to have a further one, called kinaesthesia, (3) ____________ we are aware of the relative position of our limbs, the
tensions in our muscles and so on.
Clearly, then, psychics and fortune tellers should talk about having ‘a seventh sense’ (4) _________ than a sixth!
There has been a lot of debate, most of which has been conducted outside scientific circles, about the possible
existence of (5) _______ a sense - or, to be more accurate, set of senses. We generally refer to them collectively as
ESP (Extra Sensory Perception), thereby embracing the supposed abilities of telepathy, clairvoyance and precognition.
But in so (6) _____________, we are probably — assuming that these abilities exist at (7) _________- mixing chalk
with cheese. Clairvoyance, for example, has (8) _______ little to do with precognition as vision has to do with touch.
The problem is that we do not as (9) _______ have any way of knowing for sure and, (10) ______ scientists reluctant
to address the subject, answers may be a long way off.

LONGEVITY
Every revolution has a turning point - a (1) _______ when the original impetus for change has (2) _______ its course.
History shows that this is often a vulnerable time. Opinion on where to go next is sharply (3) ___________. Indecision
prevails at precisely the moment (4) _______ decisive action is most essential. The longevity revolution is no (5)
_______________. We know where we’ve come from and why, but we don’t have a clear plan of where to go now.
Ours has been a revolution from - from the terrible waste of life (6) __________ by premature death - not a revolution
to. We are at our turning point now. The decisions we take in the (7) _______ few years will have far-reaching
consequences for the state of future society.
Two hundred years ago most people died (8) __________ their time. Well, we fixed that. (9) _________ has a
revolution succeeded so well. (10) ______ we now experience is the deaths associated with old age, with degenerative
conditions. Much of modern medicine is (11) ___________ with fighting these, pushing back the frontiers of survival
further and further. But suddenly we are not so (12) ________ about where we are going and why. Many are the news
stories trumpeting that we will soon all live to 130,200 or 400 years, (13) ______ what about the New Yorker cartoon
that showed one old man saying to another, ‘I hope I die before science makes me live to 150’.
The ambivalence of our attitudes reflects the confusion of rapid change. (14) ______ long ago the attainment of old
age was hailed as a success. Ageing today is widely seen as a failure, (15) _________ you are as extremely old as
Jeanne Calment. I remember being deeply struck by a remark from a former medical colleague (16) ________
research was on heart disease: ‘(17) ________ is nothing interesting about the ageing of the cardiovascular system,'
he exclaimed. ‘It just rots!’ What, I wondered, did he feel was the point of his work? What, for that (18) _________, is
the point of mine?
VIII. You are going to read an extract from a local newspaper. Seven paragraphs have been removed from the
extract. Choose from the paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap. There is one extra paragraph which you
do not need to use.
KEEPING FIT
It’s a cold, frosty morning in Marchton and all over town men and women of all ages and backgrounds are rising bright
and early, eagerly leaving behind their dream-filled slumber. No hitting the snooze button for them; no snuggling under
warm blankets begging in muffled drowsiness for "just five more minutes ..." These are people filled with a sense of
purpose, spurred on by a sense of loyalty to routine and in turn rewarded with a ready flow of endorphins.
(1) ________
Specifically, I’m referring to the ninety members of the new fitness club situated in central Marchton. Not only are these
participants given the opportunity to attend a wide variety of fitness classes or follow personal fitness programmes in
state-of-the-art weight rooms, but they also have at their disposal two heated swimming pools and four squash courts,
from which a choice can be made by even the most amateur of budding fitness hopefuls. So how do you join?
(2) ________
However, as beneficial and tempting as all this may sound, it's really no good if you have little or no staying power.
Getting back to the current members, I quite simply posed the following question: how does one manage to get fit and
then stay fit? What folk of mettle keep going and persevere throughout snowy January, drizzly April, and lazy
August...?
(3) ________
It almost seems unfair, doesn’t it, such a decision first thing in the morning! We may be faced with that early morning
state of drowsiness, but this is where the fight for fitness is either won or lost. It requires strength of mind long before
you concern yourself with matters of the body. For beware! As you awake, a little voice suggests to you from your
pillow that you don’t really have to get up early and go to the gym ... just five more minutes ...
(4) ________
Sally now adds that although it takes 30 days to make a habit, it takes just three to break it. Missing one workout
makes it all too easy to miss the next one ... and the one after that. Soon enough it seems acceptable to be going once
a week instead of three times and then you're just around the corner from joining the once-a-month crowd. Before you
know it you have reached the point of no return and daren’t show your face at that 'wretched place’.
(5) ________
Well, don’t lose heart. Do you realize that nobody in fact ever feels like working out? It doesn’t matter who you are,
those first five minutes on the treadmill are always a killer. It’s around the middle of your workout that you start to get
into the swing of things and maybe even enjoy it, and by the end you feel like you could conquer the world!
(6) ________
Needless to say, however, there are a few instances when you should miss a workout and it's very important to listen
to what your body is telling you. It is also seriously unwise to take up any form of strenuous physical activity without
first consulting your GP. Equally, you should provide your personal fitness trainer with details of your medical history so
you can be advised accordingly on a suitable fitness programme.
(7) ________
Whatever your age or health condition, however, the same message seems to be loud and clear; some form of
physical activity is essential if we are to lead productive, fulfilling, stress-free lives.

A. Marchton Sport Club boasts two types of annual membership that offer a wide range of facilities depending on
personal preference, making it the most versatile fitness membership in the southwest. Options are also available for
weekly or monthly passes, in addition to student and OAP concessions. There are also many specialised programmes
if you want to try out something more specific or trendy like yoga, weight-watchers or ‘parents and babies’. It sounds
attractive, doesn’t it?
B. The centre is our largest and newest facility, offering everything that a private club might provide including
cafeterias, a four-star restaurant and conference rooms. These amenities are well above the standard to which
provincial towns have previously been accustomed, and I would recommend taking up membership to anyone
interested in the wellbeing of Marchton.
C. The Director reassures us that, should someone feel distressed or unwell during a training session, this is promptly
communicated to a club representative, and that there are always qualified nursing staff on hand ready to administer
first aid if the need arises.
D. Now everybody knows that it's good to work out ... that we should work out. But who are these people who actually
partake in the ritual? How can they have so much energy, so little stress, and why don’t they look like super-models?
Well, they are in fact no more than normal, everyday people, to whom some refer as ‘the chosen ones' or to be more
precise 'the ones who have chosen’ - chosen to live a healthy balanced lifestyle by exercising on a regular basis.
E. But this is precisely the moment when you need to insist in no uncertain terms that such a suggestion is plainly
ridiculous, and has been so from the day on which you purchased that membership! Believe it or not, this is one battle
that is won in the bedroom and if you can just make it out of bed, (or out of the office or out of the house, depending on
what time of day you prefer...) you’re halfway there!
F. Says Sally, one such persevering member: “Well, to help you keep that new habit fresh, you need a frame of mind
that should help you to stay on track and discover a lifetime of fitness freedom. I think the key moment comes as soon
as the alarm goes off. This is when the decision is made, in those first seconds of early morning when the sub-
conscious is grinding its gears and facing the first challenge of the day: getting out of bed. You must be tough with
yourself."
G. There’s a reason for that which I’ve already mentioned, and they’re called ‘endorphins.’ They result from a chemical
reaction that takes place in your body after your workout and their main purpose is ... to make you feel good! This is a
hormone whose sole function is to create a feeling of well-being. In other words, it’s your body’s way of thanking you
for taking care of it.
H. "If you do miss one morning, don’t berate yourself, just go the next day," she says. “What you need to be telling
yourself is this: okay, this is it. I am choosing right now to have an active lifestyle." So, are we really up to it? We live
after all in a world of ease where physical activity is avoided, even shunned. Imagine the TV without the remote, going
any distance on foot or even carrying the supermarket shopping all the way home. Is there really anyone who wants to
work out that much?
IX. You are going to read an extract from an article about homeopathy. Seven paragraphs have been removed.
Choose from paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap (1-7). There is one extra paragraph you do not need
to use.
 A HOMEOPATHIC REMEDY
The history of homeopathy combines the high drama and intrigue commonly found in the best efforts of the silver
screen. The history of homeopathy actually begins with the discoveries of its founder Samuel Hahnemann, a German
physician. He first coined the word ‘homeopathy’ to refer to the pharmacological principle, the law of similars, that is its
basis; it was Hahnemann who codified the principle into a systematic medical science.
(1) _____
This account epitomises Hahnemann, and depicts him as both an avid experimenter and a respected chemist. He had
written a four volume set of books called The Pharmaceutical Lexicon, which was considered one of the standard
reference texts for chemists of his day. The account also reveals Hahnemann as an audacious rebel, who was
unafraid to speak his mind, even if it meant correcting the analysis of a very respected physician. He had the initiative
to seek his own alternative explanations.
(2) _____
Hahnemann was particularly disliked by the apothecaries or chemists of the time because he recommended the use of
only one medicine at a time and prescribing only limited doses of it, so the apothecaries could not charge much.
Because each medicine required careful preparation, the apothecaries did not always make them correctly or worse
still intentionally gave their patients different potions. As Hahnemann’s distrust of the apothecaries grew, he began to
dispense his own medicines, an illegal act at the time in Germany. The apothecaries reacted by accusing Hahnemann
of encroaching upon their territory and sought retribution through the existing legal system.
(3) _____
Despite opposition, homeopathy continued to gather support, not only from the high-ranking, because it offered both a
systematic approach to treating sick people, but also because orthodox medicine was ineffective and even dangerous.
There is general agreement among medical historians today that orthodox medicine of the 1700s and 1800s in
particular frequently caused more harm than good.
(4) _____
Homeopathy posed a serious threat to established medicine. Orthodox physicians criticised herbalists, midwives, and
various other 'non-regular' practitioners because they were not medically trained. Homeopaths, however, could not be
discredited as being unlearned, since many of the initial practitioners of homeopathy graduated from some of the most
prestigious medical schools of the day.
(5) _____
Inherent in the homeopathic approach was a sharp critique of the use of conventional medications, which aroused the
resentment of orthodox physicians and drug companies. Homeopaths were critical of these drugs because they
masked the patient's symptoms, creating deeper, more serious diseases, and making it more difficult for homeopaths
to find the correct medicine, since the person's idiosyncratic symptoms are the primary guide to the individual selection
of the medicine. Not all feelings of antipathy were related to the practice of healing, however; some had a decided
pecuniary basis.
(6) _____
Despite the continued antagonism from the orthodox medical profession, homeopathy survived and even thrived in the
1800s and early 1900s. By 1900 there were 22 homeopathic medical schools, more than 100 homeopathic hospitals,
over 60 orphans asylums and old people's homes, and over 1,000 homeopathic pharmacies in the U.S. These
impressive numbers alone do not provide an accurate perspective on the significant impact that homeopathy had on
early American life.
(7) _____
Homeopathy’s popularity among respected classes was also evident in Europe. Besides its patronage by Britain's
Royal Family dating from the 1830s, homeopathy could count among its supporters Charles Dickens, W.B. Yeats,
William Thackarey, Benjamin Disraeli, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, and Pope Pius X.

A. Perhaps the most important reason that conventional physicians disliked homeopathy was well expressed at a
meeting by one of the more respected orthodox physicians who admitted that homeopathy was never fought on
matters of principles, but rather because it came into the community and got the business. Although most physicians
are reluctant to admit it, economic issues play a major role in what is allowed to be practised. Hahnemann’s principles
therefore posed a philosophical, clinical, and economic threat to orthodox medicine.
B. Hahnemann's first comments about the general applicability of the law of similars were in 1789 when he translated a
book by William Cullen, a leading physician. Cullen ascribed the usefulness of Peruvian bark in treating malaria to its
bitter and astringent properties. Hahnemann disputed Cullen’s explanation. He took repeated doses of this herb until
his body responded to its toxic dose with symptoms similar to malaria. Hahnemann concluded that the reason this herb
was beneficial was because it caused symptoms similar to those of the disease it was treating.
C. An additional threat was issued against conventional medicine because homeopathy was underpinned by an
integrated, coherent, and methodical basis which mainstream medicine seemed to lack. It seemed to many people to
be more rather than less scientific than orthodox medicine.
D. Bloodletting and application of leeches were common practice through to the mid-1800s. One French doctor
bloodlet so much that some jokingly estimated that he spilled more blood in his medical practice than was spilled
throughout the entire Napoleonic Wars. As many as 41 million leeches were imported into France in 1833 alone.
Orthodox physicians also used drugs made from mercury, lead and arsenic to rid the body of disease.
E. After translating Cullen’s work, Hahnemann spent the next six years actively experimenting on himself, and others.
Coincidentally, in 1798 Edward Jenner discovered the value of giving small doses of cowpox to people in an effort to
immunise them against smallpox. Whereas Jenner’s work was generally accepted, Hahnemann’s work was not. In
fact, there was so much antagonism to Hahnemann that entire medical journals were created to denigrate
homeopathy.
F. Homeopathy attracted support from many of the most respected members of society. Its advocates Included Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow, Nathanial Hawthorne and Louisa May Alcott. William Cullen Bryant, the famous journalist, was
president of the New York Homeopathic' Society. John D Rockefeller referred to homeopathy as ‘a progressive and
aggressive step in medicine’.
G. Homeopathy began growing in the New World shortly after Hans Gram, a Dutch homeopath, emigrated to the
United States in 1825. It expanded so rapidly that the homeopaths decided to create a national medical society. In
1844 they organised the American Institute of Homeopathy, which became America’s first national medical society. In
1846, a rival medical group formed in response to this and called itself the American Medical Association.
H. Hahnemann was arrested in Leipzig in 1820, where he was found guilty and forced to move. He relocated to
Kothen, where he was granted special permission to practice and dispense his own medicines by Grand Duke
Ferdinand, one of the many European royalty who supported homeopathy.
X. You are going to read an extract from an article about mental health. Seven paragraphs have been removed
from the extract Choose from paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap
A PILL FOR EVERYTHING
The world of psychiatry is questioning conventional wisdom regarding mental health and society's reaction to people
who suffer from mental health problems. It is not, as you might expect, about the stigma attached to those with
impaired mental health, but about definitions, and the treatment of those who seek psychiatric help.
(1) ______
Diseases and illnesses are treated by giving the patient medication, but how can the same treatment be meted out to
those suffering from anxiety, depression and conflict? The mind is not the brain, and mental functions are not reducible
to brain functions. Likewise, mental diseases are not brain diseases; indeed, mental diseases are not diseases at all.
In the strictest terms, we cannot speak of the mind as becoming diseased.
(2) ______
Regardless of these difficulties, if pundits are to be believed, one in five American children have a 'diagnosable mental
illness', whilst more cautious government officials estimate that 9-13% of American children suffer ‘serious emotional
disturbance with substantial function impairment.’ The number of people in the USA being treated clinical depression
rose from 1.7 million in 1987 to 6.3 million a decade later. This number continues to rise.
(3) ______
Unsurprisingly, in the infamous school shootings, those who fired on their fellow pupils were found to have been
undergoing treatment taking mood-altering drugs at the time of their murder sprees. It is hard to say whether the drugs
contributed to the violence or whether the violence was committed in spite of the treatment.
(4) ______
Granted, other treatment options are available. Psychosurgery is a possibility in extreme cases, talk therapies have
often proved effective, and electric shock treatment has made a somewhat worrying return. But there's no doubt that
many of the powerful new psychiatric drugs do appear to alleviate depression, mood swings and a variety of other
conditions.
(5) ______
Today, we continue to try to find a way to make everyone 'normal'. Governments, foundations, professional guilds and
global pharmaceutical companies are convincing us that normal human emotions can be 'cured' and so should be
treated as diseases. Isn't this simply a variation on the zombie-making approach? We continue to try to make everyone
equally but artificially happy.
(6) ______
If we believe that normal emotional responses which are not pleasant should be eradicated, we are denying ourselves
opportunities for growth, learning and improving both the human and personal conditions. These are the long-term
benefits of pain and hardship, and we need not seek to eliminate them.
(7) ______
Of course, some serious mental disturbances have a biological cause and can be controlled by using medication. What
is dangerous in today's society is our somewhat surprising eagerness to label a natural urge or function and, having
labelled it, add it to the growing list of syndromes which are ‘recognised’ by the medical establishment as 'mental
illnesses. The number of abnormal mental conditions, as defined by a professional body, has mushroomed from 112 in
1952 to 375 at the beginning of this millennium. These include 'oppositional defiant disorder' (rebellion against
authority), 'caffeine use disorder' : (drinking too much coffee) and 'feeding disorder of infancy or early child hood' (fussy
eating). Because those with a mental 'illness' can claim diminished responsibility, we hear of people who claim 'the
voices in my head made me do it' and professional women who state that mental illness (albeit a temporary aberration)
caused them to shoplift designer label products. Surely it is time to stand back and reassess our thinking and beliefs
about what defines a mental disorder.
A. Equally, there are problems in defining the word diagnosis, which the dictionary defines as: 'the identification of a
disease by means of its symptoms; a formal determining description.' In the case of bodily illness, the clinical diagnosis
is a hypothesis which can be confirmed or disproved through an autopsy. However, it is not possible to die of a mental
'illness' or to find evidence of it in organs, tissues, cells or body fluids during an autopsy, so how can we ever hope to
be sure about a diagnosis?
B. Such incidents raise the question of cause and effect: which came first, the chicken or the egg? Can a chemi cal in
the brain cause a mental condition? Might the mood-altering drugs used to 'cure' the 'disease' cause the release of
chemicals in the brain triggering a real mental disorder which could last a lifetime and have damaging physical effects?
C. This, according to the health establishment and the media, proves that psychiatry has become a bona fide science,
which has shaken off its early roots in guesswork, shamanism and Inquisitorial cruelty.
D Some magazine accounts of 'clinical depression' begin, 'My husband died, my son had an accident which left him
paralysed...and then my doctor prescribed a new wonder drug.' Or, 'Jim's wife left him, he lost his job and he was
diagnosed with depression.' These situations are genuinely misery-inducing and crushing, but they can only be defined
as illnesses if we believe that anyone in the midst of such tragedies can be happy.
E. Pharmaceutical companies have a vested interest in fostering our belief that drugs can help us to feel better, but it's
time we realised that if we are numb, complacent, compliant zombies then we are not independent, think ing and
critical. They like it better when we are dependent on them and content with our lot. They want us to be happy in the
same way that Huxley's Soma-fed, tranquilized, corporate citizens of ‘Brave New World’ were happy; mere clones,
without critical faculties.
F. However, we can gain valuable insight into the implications of drug use if we look back to previous types of
'treatment'. Once, surgeons removed 'the stone of madness' from the heads of lunatics. In more recent times, frontal
lobotomies and electroconvulsive therapy (electric shock treatments) became the answers. Even after it was obvious
that lobotomy 'cured' people by turning them into zombies, it remained a worldwide tool for controlling unmanageable
children and political opponents.
G. The question of identifying and labelling is a serious one as, ultimately, it affects treatment. Is someone suffering
from a mental health problem suffering from a mental disorder or a mental illness (where 'disease' and 'illness' are
interchangeable)? The dictionary definition of 'disease' is: 'a condition of the body, or some part or organ of the body, in
which its functions are disturbed or deranged; a morbid physical condition'. Given this definition, shouldn't the term
'mental illness' be replaced by 'mental disorder'?
H. Such figures mean that psychiatric drugs which have been widely promoted have brought many more sufferers into
the medical fold. However, these drugs, touted as 'miracle cures', do little more than dull the senses and inhibit normal
brain function. At worst, they can cause crippling conditions like Parkinson's disease, 'helping' victims by giving them
real diseases which put them in wheelchairs. Less powerful drugs can cause emotional disorders as bad as those they
treat: jangled nerves, hallucinations, lethargy, depression, memory loss and paranoia.
XI. Read the text and complete two tasks below
For questions 1-9, answer by choosing from the list of places (A-E) below. Some of the choices may be required more
than once.
Which section(s) of the article mention(s)
1. a building specifically constructed for its present function? E
2. the cost of additional services? B
3. the ease with which a range of treatments can be booked? E
4. the intention to expand the range of facilities? A
5 + 6. the provision of outdoor activities? A D
7. the premises attracting different kinds of people? E
8 + 9. a particularly attractive setting for the buildings? C D

A. Henlow Grange B. Shrubland Hall C. Careys Manor D. Cliveden D. Springs Hydro

For questions 10-19, answer by choosing from the list of journalists (A-E) below. Some of the choices may be required
more than once.
Which journalist(s) state(s) that she/they
10. felt that the assignment came at a good time for her? A
11 + 12. exercised to counter the effects of the food? C D
13. could not stay awake during a particular treatment? E
14. was amazed at the range of food? D
15 + 16. received attention for a physical complaint? B C
17. was disconcerted by the term used to refer to the guests? B
18. did not view the quality of the food as an entirely good thing? E
19. felt unwell during her visit? B

A. Marcelle D’Argy Smith B. Liz Gregory C. Beverley D’Silva D. Kay Letch E. Eve Cameron

RETREAT, RELAX, RECHARGE

Health farms and country house hotels offering spa facilities report that business is booming. We asked five journalists
to check out some of the places that are available.
A. HENLOW GRANGE
I welcomed the opportunity to go to Henlow Grange for six days as I was tired and needed to relax. My room in the
main part of the huge 18th-century house was the most comfortable possible and I was instantly soothed.
On Day One I did nothing and slept lots. But from Day Two I started going to body conditioning and doing as many
classes as I could (stretch and tone, yoga, body alignment, to name but a few). All the instructors are highly trained. I
couldn't believe how supple I began to feel as the week progressed.
They have every possible treatment, including aromatherapy (I've never been so relaxed), seaweed baths, manicures,
and pedicures. The facial, which lasts for an hour, really does make you feel like a new person.
The staff in the treatment rooms deserve a bouquet. They couldn't have been friendlier, nicer or more professional.
The whole atmosphere is one of vitality and enthusiasm. Henlow are planning a major refurbishment this year, which
will include a half-size Olympic swimming pool and a Light Diet Room. Bicycles are available and you can ride around
the grounds. If you're not feeling energetic and the weather's on your side, grab a magazine or enjoy a peaceful walk in
the garden.
During my stay, my mood improved and so did my appetite. I left feeling wonderful and full of energy, which lasted for
ages. I'm definitely due another visit. This is the perfect break for the stressed working woman. Save Room 5 for me!
Marcelle D'Argy Smith
B. SHRUBLAND HALL
The calm and relaxing atmosphere of this stately home was evident from the moment I climbed the vast staircase into
the reception area. The Hall has an impressively decorated library, a charming conservatory and lots of space, so you
don't have to speak to anyone if you don't want to.
On arrival everybody is given a medical, which includes an examination and a check on weight and blood pressure.
We were all called patients, which I found a bit disquieting as I'm in good health. However, I was impressed that a
shoulder problem discovered in the examination was immediately passed on to the fitness instructor and we worked on
it in the group workshops and also in an extra session of individual instruction.
Each patient is given a specific diet to follow. Although I lost weight without fasting, I was still hungry enough to
develop a fierce headache on the second day. A typical daily menu for me was a breakfast of grapefruit and honey, hot
lemon and boiled water; a choice of salads for lunch; and a mixture of exotic fruit, yoghurt and a flask of hot broth for
supper. If you're not fasting or on a light diet, then you'll eat in the main dining hall, where the food is tasty and nicely
presented, so you needn't suffer too much! You have a massage or water therapy on alternate days. All extra
treatments are competitively priced.
Liz Gregory
C. CAREYS MANOR
Careys is not a health farm and doesn't pretend to be. It's a fine old manor farm with inviting log fires and a spacious
lounge. If you're counting calories, you’ll have to miss out on the gourmet food. Rich sauces and delightful creamy
confections are conjured up by the French chef. It's a good job the hotel has a fully-equipped gym and soft- water pool
so I could work off some of the tempting indulgences. (You can opt for a 'health-conscious' diet if you really want to
lose weight.) There is a spa bath, steam room, Swiss shower, sauna and treatment rooms. A big attraction is the
sports injury clinic. I got an expert opinion on an old, sometimes painful, shoulder injury. The physiotherapist
recommended good posture, remedial exercises and massage. Careys manages to be comfortable and luxurious, laid-
back and sedate. If you want to break out, there is great surrounding countryside to explore.
Beverley D'Silva
D. CLIVEDEN
Cliveden is a majestic country home and is also a five-star hotel that treats its guests like royalty. It offers health and
beauty treatments, a well-equipped gym, saunas, swimming pool, tennis, horse riding, and much more. There are
stunning woodland walks and gardens around the 376-acre National Trust estate.
And there’s Waldo's, a highly-acclaimed restaurant with dishes to make you clutch your stomach. In ecstasy. It took me
half an hour to read the dinner menu; the choice was staggering. The meal was wonderful, especially the sticky-toffee
pudding with banana ice-cream. I climbed into bed a happy woman!
Next morning I dutifully spent a few hours in the gym playing with exercise equipment to burn off a few calories in time
for my next meal. In the Pavilion I enjoyed a facial with gentle heat and essential oils. Then I had an aromatherapy
massage.
I thought of all the other reports my fellow journalists would make, about fitness assessments, workouts, and beauty
treatments to tone and firm the body. Cliveden has all these if you want to use them - before indulging yourself at
Waldo's.
Kay Letch
E. SPRINGS HYDRO
The best and the worst thing about Springs Hydro is the carrot cake. The best because it really is the most delicious
I've ever tasted. The worst, because it’s a huge slab of 360 calories, which sets you back if you want to lose weight.
You have been warned! The second best thing is the fabulous aromatherapy massage. I chose the relaxing oils blend,
dropped off to sleep twice during the massage, floated back to my room and had my most refreshing night's sleep in
years.
The premises are modern and purpose- built, efficiently run, with up-to-the-minute facilities and luxurious bedrooms.
There are plenty of therapists and beauty rooms so there's little difficulty in scheduling appointments. A variety of
treatments are on offer, from manicures and pedicures to deepcleansing facials and body treatments. The guests are
an eclectic mix - from entire football teams to mums and daughters, best friends and singles. Ideally, I would have a
break here about once a month.
Eve Cameron
XII. Read the text and complete the tasks below it
The secret of staying young
Pheidole dentata, a native ant of the south-eastern U.S., isn’t immortal. But scientists have found that it doesn’t seem
to show any signs of aging. Old worker ants can do everything just as well as the youngsters, and their brains appear
just as sharp. ‘We get a picture that these ants really don’t decline,’ says Ysabel Giraldo, who studied the ants for her
doctoral thesis at Boston University.
Such age-defying feats are rare in the animal kingdom. Naked mole rats can live for almost 30 years and stay fit for
nearly their entire lives. They can still reproduce even when old, and they never get cancer. But the vast majority of
animals deteriorate with age just like people do. Like the naked mole rat, ants are social creatures that usually live in
highly organised colonies. ‘It’s this social complexity that makes P. dentata useful for studying aging in people,’ says
Giraldo, now at the California Institute of Technology. Humans are also highly social, a trait that has been connected to
healthier aging. By contrast, most animal studies of aging use mice, worms or fruit flies, which all lead much more
isolated lives.
In the lab, P. dentata worker ants typically live for around 140 days. Giraldo focused on ants at four age ranges: 20 to
22 days, 45 to 47 days, 95 to 97 days and 120 to 122 days. Unlike all previous studies, which only estimated how old
the ants were, her work tracked the ants from the time the pupae became adults, so she knew their exact ages. Then
she put them through a range of tests.
Giraldo watched how well the ants took care of the young of the colony, recording how often each ant attended to,
carried and fed them. She compared how well 20-day-old and 95-day-old ants followed the telltale scent that the
insects usually leave to mark a trail to food. She tested how ants responded to light and also measured how active
they were by counting how often ants in a small dish walked across a line. And she experimented with how ants react
to live prey: a tethered fruit fly. Giraldo expected the older ants to perform poorly in all these tasks. But the elderly
insects were all good caretakers and trail-followers—the 95-day-old ants could track the scent even longer than their
younger counterparts. They all responded to light well, and the older ants were more active. And when it came to
reacting to prey, the older ants attacked the poor fruit fly just as aggressively as the young ones did, flaring their
mandibles or pulling at the fly’s legs.
Then Giraldo compared the brains of 20-day-old and 95-day-old ants, identifying any cells that were close to death.
She saw no major differences with age, nor was there any difference in the location of the dying cells, showing that
age didn’t seem to affect specific brain functions. Ants and other insects have structures in their brains called
mushroom bodies, which are important for processing information, learning and memory. She also wanted to see if
aging affects the density of synaptic complexes within these structures—regions where neurons come together. Again,
the answer was no. What was more, the old ants didn’t experience any drop in the levels of either serotonin or
dopamine—brain chemicals whose decline often coincides with aging. In humans, for example, a decrease in
serotonin has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
‘This is the first time anyone has looked at both behavioral and neural changes in these ants so thoroughly,’ says
Giraldo, who recently published the findings in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Scientists have looked at some
similar aspects in bees, but the results of recent bee studies were mixed—some studies showed age-related declines,
which biologists call senescence, and others didn’t. ‘For now, the study raises more questions than it answers,’ Giraldo
says, ‘including how P. dentata stays in such good shape.’
Also, if the ants don’t deteriorate with age, why do they die at all? Out in the wild, the ants probably don’t live for a full
140 days thanks to predators, disease and just being in an environment that’s much harsher than the comforts of the
lab. ‘The lucky ants that do live into old age may suffer a steep decline just before dying,’ Giraldo says, but she can’t
say for sure because her study wasn’t designed to follow an ant’s final moments.
‘It will be important to extend these findings to other species of social insects,’ says Gene E. Robinson, an
entomologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This ant might be unique, or it might represent a
broader pattern among other social bugs with possible clues to the science of aging in larger animals. Either way, it
seems that for these ants, age really doesn’t matter.
Questions 1-8: Complete the notes below. Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Ysabel Giraldo’s research
Focused on a total of 1. ______________ different age groups of ants, analysing
Behaviour:
• how well ants looked after their 2. _____________
• their ability to locate 3. _______________ using a scent trail
• the effect that 4. _______________ had on them
• how 5. ________________ they attacked prey
Brains:
• comparison between age and the 6. _______________ of dying cells in the brains of ants
• condition of synaptic complexes (areas in which 7. _______________ meet) in the brain’s ‘mushroom bodies’
in the brain associated with ageing
• level of two 8. ____________________

TRUE/ FALSE/ NOT GIVEN

9. Pheidole dentata ants are the only known animals which remain active for almost their whole lives.
10. Ysabel Giraldo was the first person to study Pheidole dentata ants using precise data about the insects’ ages.
11. The ants in Giraldo’s experiments behaved as she had predicted that they would.
12. The recent studies of bees used different methods of measuring age- related decline.
13. Pheidole dentata ants kept in laboratory conditions tend to live longer lives.
XIII. Read the text and complete tasks
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.
List of Headings
i     Not all doctors are persuaded
ii     Choosing the best offers
iii     Who is responsible for the increase in promotions?
iv     Fighting the drug companies
v     An example of what doctors expect from drug companies
vi     Gifts include financial incentives
vii     Research shows that promotion works
viii     The high costs of research
ix     The positive side of drugs promotion
x     Who really pays for doctors’ free gifts?
Doctoring sales
Pharmaceuticals is one of the most profitable industries in North America. But do the drugs industry's sales
and marketing strategies go too far?
A. _____
A few months ago Kim Schaefer, sales representative of a major global pharmaceutical company, walked into a
medical center in New York to bring information and free samples of her company's latest products. That day she was
lucky - a doctor was available to see her. ‘The last rep offered me a trip to Florida. What do you have?' the physician
asked. He was only half joking.
B. _____
What was on offer that day was a pair of tickets for a New York musical. But on any given day, what Schaefer can offer
is typical for today’s drugs rep - a car trunk full of promotional gifts and gadgets, a budget that could buy lunches and
dinners for a small country, hundreds of free drug samples and the freedom to give a physician $200 to prescribe her
new product to the next six patients who fit the drug's profile. And she also has a few $ 1,000 honoraria to offer in
exchange for doctors' attendance at her company's next educational lecture.
C. _____
Selling pharmaceuticals is a daily exercise in ethical judgement. Salespeople like Schaefer walk the line between the
common practice of buying a prospect’s time with a free meal, and bribing doctors to prescribe their drugs. They work
in an industry highly criticized for its sales and marketing practices, but find themselves in the middle of the age-old
chicken-or-egg question - businesses won’t use strategies that don't work, so are doctors to blame for the escalating
extravagance of pharmaceutical marketing? Or is it the industry’s responsibility to decide the boundaries?
D. _____
The explosion in the sheer number of salespeople in the field - and the amount of funding used to promote their
causes - forces close examination of the pressures, influences and relationships between drug reps and doctors.
Salespeople provide much-needed information and education to physicians. In many cases the glossy brochures,
article reprints and prescriptions they deliver are primary sources of drug education for healthcare givers. With the
huge investment the industry has placed in face-to-face selling, salespeople have essentially become specialists in
one drug or group of drugs - a tremendous advantage in getting the attention of busy doctors in  need of quick
information.
E. _____
But the sales push rarely stops in the office. The flashy brochures and pamphlets left by the sales reps are often
followed up with meals at expensive restaurants, meetings in warm and sunny places, and an inundation of
promotional gadgets. Rarely do patients watch a doctor write with a pen that isn’t emblazoned with a drug’s name, or
see a nurse use a tablet not bearing a pharmaceutical company’s logo. Millions of dollars are spent by pharmaceutical
companies on promotional products like coffee mugs, shirts, umbrellas, and golf balls. Money well spent? It’s hard to
tell. ‘I’ve been the recipient of golf balls from one company and I use them, but it doesn’t make me prescribe
their medicine,’ says one doctor. 'I tend to think I'm not influenced by what they give me.’ 
F. _____
Free samples of new and expensive drugs might be the single most effective way of getting doctors and patients to
become loyal to a product. Salespeople hand out hundreds of dollars’ worth of samples each week - $7.2 billion worth
of them in one year. Though few comprehensive studies have been conducted, one by the University of Washington
investigated how drug sample availability affected what physicians prescribe. A total of 131 doctors self-reported their
prescribing patterns - the conclusion was that the availability of samples led them to dispense and prescribe drugs that
differed from their preferred drug choice.
G. _____
The bottom line is that pharmaceutical companies as a whole invest more in marketing than they do in research and
development. And patients are the ones who pay - in the form of sky-rocketing prescription prices - for every pen that’s
handed out, every free theatre ticket, and every steak dinner eaten. In the end the fact remains that pharmaceutical
companies have every right to make a profit and will continue to find new ways to increase sales. But as the medical
world continues to grapple with what’s acceptable and what’s not, it is clear that companies must continue to be
heavily scrutinized for their sales and marketing strategies.

YES/ NO/ NOT GIVEN

8. Sales representatives like Kim Schaefer work to a very limited budget.
9. Kim Schaefer’s marketing technique may be open to criticism on moral grounds.
10. The information provided by drug companies is of little use to doctors.
11. Evidence of drug promotion is clearly visible in the healthcare environment.
12. The drug companies may give free drug samples to patients without doctors’ prescriptions.
13. It is legitimate for drug companies to make money.
XIV. Read the text and choose the correct answer A, B, C or D to the questions below it
A MODERN HEALTH PROBLEM
There is growing concern about the way we view food, which goes beyond the 'do we live to eat or eat to live' debate.
More and more children are leading inactive, sedentary lifestyles and are suffering from obesity. In the 1990s, tobacco-
related diseases were the problem, but aggressive anti-smoking campaigns caused the focus of concern to shift. In the
new millennium, obesity appears to be the major health concern, and not only among children, with far-reaching
repercussions. Obese children suffer taunts, jibes and bullying from their peers and this, instead of causing them to
rethink their eating habits, may perpetuate the vicious circle; in other words, these children turn to ‘comfort eating'
which adds to their weight problem.
Researchers have noted that some children are doing less than one or two minutes of 'moderate activity' in an hour,
which is an alarmingly lower amount than that recorded in previous studies. The problem seems to be worse in
teenage girls than in teenage boys, with older children getting much less exercise than younger ones.
Parents realise that their children are overweight, but do not know enough about nutrition to give their offspring the
support they need in order to help them change their lifestyles. Given time pressures from work and family, more and
more; people rely on pre-cooked convenience foods or quick fry- ; ups, thus exacerbating the problem.
There is some recognition of the problem, but it is not widely advertised. For example, there are 'Weight Loss Camps'
aimed at obese children where, along with their slightly less overweight peers, they learn to read food labels and
understand the nutritional content of food, or lack of it, eat healthily and do exercises. This experience can also restore
their self-confidence, as they are surrounded by youngsters with the same problem.
But by and large, it is not an issue which is taken very seriously. Schools are partly to blame for the worsening of the
problem, as they have marginalised physical education due to the pressures of the national curriculum. Also, they have
bowed to financial pressure and sold off playing fields, often in order to buy more up-to-date computers, which in turn
encourage sedentary lifestyles.
The food industry must also shoulder some of the responsibility, as their advertising campaigns promote foodstuffs
which are high in fat and sugar content. Such advertisements are often aimed at children, and frequently feature such
products as fizzy drinks, king-size chocolate bars and ever larger packets of crisps. Such foods are attractive to
families on low incomes because you now get more for the same price as the original, smaller portions. However,
children who have large bags of crisps or bars of chocolate in their school lunch-boxes don't save half for the next day;
they eat the whole thing. It would appear that fast food marketing people have seized upon children as being brand-
loyal from the cradle to the grave. They target small children with give-away toys, a worrying trend which, some
believe, warrants government action.
Experts want governments to begin to treat the fast food industry as they do the tobacco industry, insisting that such
food should carry a government health warning, especially on food with a high fat content. They would also like a ban
on vending machines in schools, as it is estimated that one- fifth of children get more than 20 per cent of their energy
from sugar, with 5 per cent of that coming from the consumption of fizzy drinks.
Of course, children are not the only ones to suffer from obesity. In one survey, only 40 per cent of adults claim to sit
down for a meal, which means that the majority are eating on the hoof. Only around 30 per cent say that they cook all
their own meals. It becomes reasonably obvious that this is so when you look around you in the street or in an under -
ground station. Walking and talking are interspersed with eating and drinking; people carry a can to swig from, and
clutch food to scoff.
We live in a culture which actively promotes fast food while simultaneously showing images of svelte models who are
supposedly the ultimate in 'beauty'. The majority of us will, never achieve this perfect look, given our sedentary lifestyle
and increasingly unhealthy diet. This, in turn, will give rise to both over-eating and its extreme opposite, anorexia.
It is obviously time for us to take a close look at our relationship to food. The ideal daily diet, or so the experts say,
would consist of 5 portions of fruit and vegetables, some protein (but not too much) and only a few carbohydrates. No
one would deny, however, that the occasional lapse would be acceptable. Remember the old adage: a little of what
you fancy does you good!
1. In the text as a whole, the writer's purpose is to
A. discuss the eating habits of those with eating disorders.
B. draw attention to the causes of obesity.
C. extol the benefits of healthy eating.
D. criticise those who encourage children to eat junk food.
2. The writer uses the example of Weight Loss Camps to show that
A. a number of people are aware of the problem of corpulence.
B. solutions to the problems of obesity are available.
C. a large percentage of children are obese.
D. programmes involving people who share a problem are effective.
3. Which phrase, in its context in the text, suggests exploitation?
A. turn to B. aimed at C. sold off D. seized upon
4. The writer states that a significant number of schools
A. have taken inappropriate decisions under duress.
B. are obliged to purchase state-of-the-art computers.
C. have exacerbated the problem of obesity by axing Physical Education.
D. are under pressure to report overweight children to a government agency.
5. What does the writer say about adults in the eighth paragraph?
A. Most of them sit down to eat. B. Eating is an important element of the daily routine.
C. Seventy percent eat in restaurant. D. Most of them eat on the run.
6. What is the writer's attitude to contemporary culture, as expressed in the penultimate paragraph?
A. Svelte models are extremely beautiful.
B. Citizens are encouraged to follow a healthy diet.
C. It promotes ideals which are virtually unattainable
D. We are fortunate to have a sedentary lifestyle.
7. In the final paragraph, the writer suggests that
A. we should eat what we like. B. we should change our eating habits.
C. most of us need to go on a diet. D. we should become vegetarian.
XVI. Fill in each blank with one of the idioms
against all odds ● in the offing ● status symbol ● once and for all ● short and sweet ● golden opportunity ● in public ●
throw a party ● take things to pieces ● grease sb’s palm ● out and out ● get the sack ● white elephant ● get the wrong
end of the stick ● out in the open
1. This new job is a _________________________ and far too good to turn down.
2 _________________________, sit down and be quiet or I’ll send you out!
3. I always find it embarrassing when people argue _________________________.
4. _________________________, he won the national song contest and became quite well-known.
5. What he promised was impossible - he was a(n) _________________________ liar.
6. Being a mechanic, my boyfriend loves _____________________________.
7. I’m afraid a war is _________________________.
8. Now that the scandal is _________________________, the Minister will have to resign.
9. When the traffic warden gave me a parking ticket, I tried to _________________________ which only got me into
more trouble.
10. It’s traditional to _________________________ when you move house.
11. John _________________________ when he was found to be spending company funds to buy things for himself.
12. If you think I’m criticising you, you’ve _________________________ I think you were perfectly right to do what you
did.
13. Even though it’s a bit of a _________________________, my mother keeps that clock for sentimental reasons.
14. I’m sure they bought that Rolls Royce as nothing but a _________________________; they certainly don’t need
such a big car.
15. Let’s keep this _________________________ - just tell me what you want and then get out.
XVII. Find ONE WORD that fits all the blanks in each set of sentences
1. Well, shall we brave the ________________ and go out for a drink?
The new musical took New York by ________________ when it opened on Broadway.
Anything I say produces a(n) ________________ of tears so I’ll leave you on your own for a while.
2. Thousands of bullets were ________________ when the rebels stormed the television station.
You knew you would be ________________ if you were late for work again.
My imagination was ________________ by a book on Antarctica I had when I was a child.
3. Poor old Toby has been through some ________________ patches recently.
Could you give me a(n) ________________ idea of the cost of replacing the wiring?
Our hotel is a bit ________________ and ready, but we’re not staying long so it’s all right.
4. The president gave the crowd a big ________________ from his balcony.
The city has been hit with another ________________ of violence.
Russell is on the crest of a(n) ________________ now that his third book has been published.
5. They fought ________________ and nail to keep their house, but had to sell it in the end.
These days they say a sportsman is long in the ________________ if he’s over thirty!
I’d be slim like you if I didn’t have a sweet ________________.
6. These new white shoes will ________________ every speck of dirt.
It would be wiser not to ________________ your hand until you find out what the boss has in mind.
Let’s ________________ willing and wash the car for dad.
7. Young Alex will be well in a few days if we just let nature take its ________________, Mrs Budd.
During the ________________ of the day I noticed that hardly anyone was working except me.
Maria Hart is on ________________ to win an Oscar for her role in this film.
8. Roger and I parted ________________ more than five years ago.
She went to the rugby dinner in the ________________ of her two brothers.
He has formed a new theatrical ________________ to perform plays in small towns and villages.
9. We were able to walk as far as the lighthouse because the ________________ was out.
With John’s help we turned the ________________ and now our new business is showing a profit.
I sympathise with your views but you’re swimming against the ________________ of popular opinion.
10. It was a marvellous trip but I came back to ________________ when the bills began to arrive.
Who on ________________ said you could borrow my car?
He promised me the ________________ and then left me with a mountain of debt.
11. I only have a vague ________________ where his house is.
Standing in the rain and watching men throwing a ball about is not my ________________ of fun.
I haven’t the slightest ________________ where he went.
12. I gave the girl at the box office a piece of my ________________ for trying to overcharge me.
He’s got too much on his ________________ at the moment to answer silly questions.
I’ve a good ________________ to take up flamenco dancing.
13. He expected to inherit his father’s money but he was _______________ off without a penny.
She loved him so much that she was very _______________ up when he left her.
Fiona had her work _______________ out for her looking after her sister’s kids as well as her own
14. His success was just a(n) _______________ in the pan and he was bankrupt within six months
A blinding _______________ of lightning was followed immediately by a crash of thunder.
The thief was in and out of the house in a(n) _______________, taking my new video camera with him.
15. When she screamed it nearly scared the _______________ out of me.
He lived by his _______________ before he settled down to a steady job.
You have to keep your _______________ about you in a big city.
16. Thomas is in _______________ for promotion to Assistant Manager.
There was a long _______________ of cars waiting to get into the car park.
Your health standards must be in _______________ with those of the other European member states.
17. It was a(n) _______________ in the dark when I gave the right answer to the question.
I’ve never played snooker before but I’ll have a(n) _______________ at it if you like.
I’d go to America like a(n) _______________ if I had the chance.
18. We teased Richard about his new pink suit but he took it in _______________ part.
He will be here all in _______________ time, so just be patient.
I’ve a(n) _______________ mind to resign and become a painter.
19. She’s _______________ the truth a little by saying the traffic made her late for work today.
While we were _______________ out leg on platform, our train pulled out!
There were lines of stationary cars _______________ as far as the eye could see.
20. We didn’t see a(n) _______________ lion, though we drove around the game reserve for hours.
I’m on the look-out for a rich, _______________ man who needs a wife.
We only bought _______________ tickets because we’re not sure when we’re coming back.
21. There was an emergency at the airport because an incoming aeroplane couldn’t get its landing _______________
down.
My car got stuck in second _______________ and I had to drive home at 15 mph.
We must start getting into _______________ for the exhibition next week.
22. In all countries, the capital city is the _______________ of government.
The Liberal Party gained one extra _______________ in last week’s local election.
if my family organises a holiday, I always take a back _______________ and let them get on with it.
23. The party now in _______________ has promised to investigate government corruption.
I would have done anything in my _______________ to help you if you’d only asked me.
Before the advent of trains, horse _______________ was the most common method of transport.
24. Our village is much quieter since they diverted the _______________ road to the south.
He took so long to get to his _______________ point that I lost the thread of the argument.
This sentence is not complete because you have no _______________ clause.