LMT 100

Exercise 1

Read the following text. Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate answer.
A Colourful Character – By Sue Raines

1 The rental application form taunted me. It was the only one on my desk and a
grim reminder that the apartment I was charged with renting on the northern beaches of
Sydney was still vacant. The market had slowed, which
was a typical winter situation. I would just have to advertise again.
2 Four weeks passed and there was still only one application. Sitting at my desk
one day, my attention was caught by a young man approaching me. “My application,
is it OK?” he asked. Finding myself looking into a beaming face and a pair of jet-black
eyes, I paused. “Ah, Mr…,” I started. “My friends call me Hiro,”
the man said, still smiling as he sat down opposite me.
3 I drew the application form towards me. It read: “Hiroyuki Kitamura, painter
employed by the Eastern Painting Company, Proprietor H. Kitamura.” Below there were
no references offered, only a Mr. Takahiro Ono listed as a friend in Australia. “Hiro, are
you a self-employed painter?” I asked, eyeing his paint-stained overalls. It seemed a
ridiculous question. “Yes, yes, very busy
painting,” he replied. “I like Australian people, lots of work.”
4 It was decision time and I took a deep breath. Then I said, “Hiro, I’ll have the
lease ready tomorrow for you to sign and move in.” Here I was taking a risk on a young
house painter with absolutely no references, who would only have been a resident in the
country a few weeks. But I decided to trust my judgement and years of experience
and the unit was let. As the weeks passed, I was
relieved to see that Hiro paid his rent well in advance.

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5 One afternoon he came in to pay his rent wearing paint-soaked shorts. Reds,
greens and pinks fought for space with yellows and browns, and all seemed to be
streaked with dashes of white and black. “The unit is nice now. I paint,” he greeted me.
I was shocked. “You’ve painted the apartment?” I asked, incredulous. Looking at Hiro’s
rainbow shorts, I did not dare imagine which of the
colours. Maybe it was all of them. He smiled and looked pleased.
6 I tried to explain, “Look, Hiro, you shouldn’t have painted the apartment without
permission…” He didn’t seem to understand. “You come and look,” he said. “Owner be
very happy with my clean paint.” “I’ll be there at 2 pm,” I replied, trying hard not to
sound anxious. When the time came, I sat nervously in my car, looking up at the
apartment block towards the third-floor unit. What would I find?
Green walls? Or maybe black?
7 When Hiro opened the door, he was immaculately dressed in pale yellow linen
slacks and an open-necked shirt. The painter had been replaced by a well- groomed
young man playing host. Still wearing a huge smile, he invited me into the hallway,
which had been painted off-white tone with a pure white ceiling. The bedrooms on either
side were sparsely furnished in Asian-style furnishings, all
very minimal, neat and clean. All the walls were off-white. So far so good.
8 Entering the lounge room, I automatically walked out onto the balcony and
looked at the magnificent view of the coastline with white sandy beach and beautiful
turquoise water. I could feel my apprehension melting away. “You like my painting?”
Hiro asked. “You have not seen my masterpiece.” As I turned to congratulate him, I
froze. The entire wall facing the double doors was a floor-to- ceiling mural. It was a
painting of a park scene with benches, people walking, fountains flowing, even a small
dog and a child playing. I was speechless. It was
magnificent, but what was it doing there?
9 “The lady owner, will she be pleased?” Hiro asked. Instead of smiling he was
now looking serious, as if it was expected that everyone seeing his work should be
pleased. “Hiro, honestly, I don’t know,” I replied. “It is beautiful, and it must have taken
you weeks to complete, but I don’t know if she would want it in
her apartment.”

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10 I congratulated him on a good painting job for the rest of the property and took
colour photos of the mural to send to the owner, but I felt very apprehensive. I explained
to Hiro that I would let him know what she thought as soon as I heard back. Having
phoned the owner, I again contacted Hiro that afternoon explaining I was sending my
photos and a letter to the owner showing how good the new paintwork looked throughout
the apartment. Hiro was obviously a professional tradesman and the mural did
improve the room. I
crossed my fingers.
11 Weeks passed before I finally received a reply from the owner. She said she
loved the mural and had reached Hiro directly and invited him to visit her at her
country home in Orange, in the central-west area of New South Wales. Hiro accepted
and was at that moment staying as her guest and painting a large mural on her sunroom
wall: her beloved beach at Curl Curl, from photos he had
taken back in Sydney.
12 “Now I can enjoy the best of both worlds, thanks to a master artist,” she wrote.
“We are friends and getting to know each other better every day.” I smiled as I read the
letter. Hiro was far from just a painter. He was an artist.

Source: Reader’s Digest, March 2014

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Section A

Match the words in Column A to their meanings in Column B as they are used in the passage.
Column A Column B

e.g. grim (paragraph 1) : gloomy coming closer to

1. vacant (paragraph 1) : _ gloomy

2. approaching (paragraph 2) : _ believe

3. trust (paragraph 4) : _ unoccupied

4. streaked (paragraph 5) : _ widely apart

5. sparsely (paragraph 7) : _ contacted

6. magnificent (paragraph 8) : _ series

7. complete (paragraph 9) : _ clearly

8. obviously (paragraph 10) : _ smeared

9. reached (paragraph 11) : _ finish

10. master (paragraph 12) : _ splendid

shopkeeper

very skilled

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Section B
State what the following words refer to in the text.
e.g. one (paragraph 1) : The rental application form

1. he (paragraph 2) : _

2. them (paragraph 5) : _

3. it (paragraph 8) : _

4. her (paragraph 9) : _

5. we (paragraph 12) : _

Section C
Circle the letter corresponding to the best answer, e.g A . if A is the answer.

1. Hiroyuki Kitamura’s first meeting with the writer shows that he

I. loves painting

II. is hardworking

III. worked with Mr. Takahiro Ono

IV. owns the Eastern Painting Company

A. I, II and III C. II, III and IV

B. I, II and IV D. All of the above

2. In the beginning, how did the writer feel about Hiro’s behaviour?

A. worried C. disappointed

B. displeased D. unconcerned

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3. The owner was grateful to Hiro because

A. he agreed to visit her.

B. he never showed any emotion.

C. he listened to her conversation.

D. he was producing a masterpiece for her house.

Section D

Answer the following questions.

1. What were the risks taken by the writer when she decided to rent out the apartment to Hiro?

i. _ _

ii. _

2. Why did the writer feel uneasy with what Hiro had done to the apartment?

_
_

3. What did the lady owner mean by: “Now I can enjoy the best of both worlds”?

_
_