Test 2 Exam practice PAPER T Reading Part 1
Task information Read the text quickly.
Action plan
1 Look at the exam instructions below. What kind of
text (e.g. magazine article) is it?
Tip! Look at A-D after you read what the text says.
Otherwise you may be misled by the wrong answers.
'ou are going to read an extract from a novel. For questions 1-8 on page 68 choose the answer
A. B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
The sun was shining and Clare felt like doing
something active. She’d had enough for the moment
of living in the past. What she really wanted was some
skiing if she could get herself organised. She walked
into the ski school office and within ten minutes had
arranged a private class for the whole afternoon. One of
the ski teachers would meet her at the ski lift station at
the end of the village at midday. The ski hire shop next
door rented her some skis and boots and she carried
them back to the hotel. There she changed into some
more or less suitable clothes and took the hotel’s electric
taxi down to the lift station. She was a bit early and had
time to look around, and get nervous. She hadn’t skied
for about ten years, though she’d been quite good at that
time. Everyone said it was like riding a bike - you didn't
forget how to do it. She stood there looking up at the
mountains, trying to remember what to do.
‘Madame Newton?’
‘Yes,’ she said. And there was her ski teacher, looking
exactly like all the other ski teachers she remembered -
sun-tanned and totally self-confident.
Half an hour later all thoughts of Ulrich Grunwalder
and Edward Crowe had disappeared as she skied behind
Bruno and concentrated on staying on her feet.
‘Upper body still, make your legs do the work,
Madame,’ shouted Bruno over his shoulder.
‘Call me Clare, please,’ she said.
‘OK. Lean forward a bit more, Clare. That’s it. Good.
You are remembering now, eh?’
‘Yeah, l a m . . . slowly. It’s great. I’d forgotten what
31 an amazing buzz skiing gives you.’ They skied down
some different runs with Bruno being wonderfully
encouraging, and she really did begin to feel confident on
the skis. Going up in the lifts, Clare and Bruno chatted
—just the usual ‘where are you from, what do you do’
Reading Part 1
1 Where is it set?
2 Who are the two people? Why are they there?
3 What are the main events in the extract?
Follow the exam instructions, using the advice to
help you.
sort of chat, but it was pleasantly relaxing. In the middle
of the afternoon, they stopped at an old farmhouse for
coffee and apple cake. There were lots of other skiers,
some of them also chatting with their teachers, doing
the same. Clare felt as if she belonged - something about 40
being part of a group, all with a shared interest, she
supposed. It was a pleasant feeling she’d not had for a
long time.
Bruno said hello to a few people, and went over to
talk to one of the waiters. Clare took the opportunity to
study him a little. Up until now, she’d just been skiing
behind a man in a red ski suit, so it was interesting to see
that he was quite tall, with curly brown hair and eyes to
match. From the colour of his face he looked as if he’d
spent his whole life in the open air. She guessed he was
about forty.
‘Are you in Zermatt long, Clare?’ asked Bruno, after
he’d been sitting with her a few minutes.
‘Only a few days, probably. Just a short break to get
away from everything at home,’ replied Clare. She didn’t
feel like explaining the real reason. People looked at her
differently when they knew. ‘But I’d like to do some more
skiing. Would you be able to do anything tomorrow?’
‘I think so. But you’ll have to book it through the Ski
School office. I can’t arrange anything with you directly,’
said Bruno, putting on his gloves and standing up. ‘Come
on. Let’s do a bit more now.’
‘Great,’ replied Clare.
After another hour, Clare said, ‘Time to stop, I think.’
Bruno agreed. ‘You should have a sauna tonight. It’ll
help your body relax. Not so stiff tomorrow, you know.’
Clare didn’t care how stiff she was going to be
tomorrow. She hadn’t felt quite as good as this for
months - full of fresh air, physically tired but in her mind
- alive. Happy! Yes, that was how she felt!
Test 2 Exam practice I 67
jjp i Underline the key words in the stem. Then look for expressions in the text that
mean the same or the opposite.

1 At the ski lift station, Clare felt nervous because

A it was a long time since she had last gone skiing. 1 Quickly find the part o f the
B the ski instructor was late arriving for her lesson. first paragraph that mentions
she was nervous, and study it
C she was not appropriately dressed for skiing.
carefully.
D she had never really learnt how to ski properly.
2 Look for an expression that
2 After she had been skiing for 30 minutes, Clare means 'after 30 minutes' to find
out what happened.
A couldn’t stop thinking about two other people.
B got angry because Bruno was shouting at her. 3 This tests your ability to work
out meaning from context. What
C asked Bruno to address her less formally.
does ‘it's great’ tell you?
D knew she was in no danger of falling over.
4 This tests your ability to find
3 What is meant by ‘an amazing buzz’ in line 31? links within the text. Here, 'doing
the same' is a way o f avoiding
A an interesting topic of conversation repeating words. Which words?
B a low, continuous sound
C a sudden memory from long ago 5 Be careful with the location.
She found chatting with Bruno
D a strong feeling of excitement
'pleasantly relaxing', but did this
take place at the farmhouse?
4 What does ‘the same’ refer to in line 40?
6 What does she say about the
A talking to ski instructors reactions o fpeople in general?
B having something to eat and drink Can we assume this includes
C skiing on a number of slopes Bruno?
D taking ski lifts to the top of the Slope'S
7 What does she say about her
feelings in the last paragraph?
5 What did Clare find enjoyable at the farmhouse? What was most important to
A being with people she hadn’t met for a long time her?
B talking to someone all the time she was there 8 Think about the whole text.
C having something in common with other people What is bothering her at the
D thinking about the waiter’s appearance and age beginning? How does she deal
with this?
6 Why did Clare tell Bruno that she was there on holiday?
A She wanted a different ski instructor the next day.
B She thought he might react negatively to the truth.
C She didn’t want him to know she was leaving soon.
D She felt that he was looking at her rather strangely.

7 How did Clare feel when they finished skiing for the day?
A interested only in how she was at that time
B delighted to find out how good a skier she was
C sure that she would not be stiff the next day
D keen to start skiing again immediately

8 What does Clare succeed in doing during this extract?

A She thinks of a solution to the problem that brought her to Zermatt.
B She talks to somebody else about her problems for the first time.
C She realises that other people have similar problems to hers.
D She discovers a way of taking her mind off her problems.

68 I Test 2 Exam practice Reading Part 1