Cpe exam http://www.flo-joe.co.uk/cpe/students/tests/ocltst1.htm

CPE Speaking Test: Key Facts

Duration: 19 minutes (28 minutes for groups of three at centres where there's an odd number of candidates).Participants: Candidates are interviewed in pairs. There are two examiners present: one who asks the questions, the other acts as assessor and doesn't speak during the interview. Format: The oral test consists of three parts.

Part 1 (Interview)

Tests ability to: use language for social purposes, such as in making introductions, answering questions, giving an opinion.

This first section of the CPE Speaking exam lasts about 3 minutes (4 minutes for groups of three). In this section the examiner will ask you at least three questions to give you the chance to introduce yourself and for you to give an opinion on a general topic to do with your life experiences, interests etc.

Example Questions

The interview will begin with the examiner saying something like:

Q: Hello. My name is ........ and this is my colleague ........ Q: And your names are?Q: Can I have your mark sheets please? ........ Thank you.Q: First of all we'd like to know something about you.(Source: CPE Handbook: www.cambridgeesol.org)

The examiner will then ask each of you a minimum of three questions. For example:

Q: Which place would you recommend a visitor to your country see?Q: How important is it to speak English in your country?Q: Do you think young people spend their leisure time usefully?

Tips!

You may well be asked questions that could be answered with a brief response. However, try to give full, relevant answers to these questions.

1) Offer more than the bare minimum in your answers. Q: Which place would you recommend a visitor to your country visit?A: If someone comes to the Czech Republic they'll obviously want to spend time in the capital, Prague but I'd also recommend visiting Brno. (Don't stop there!) It's in the heart of Moravia and it's full of cultural places of interest. There's a city centre and an old part of the town and they're both full of lovely cathedrals, museums and much more.Q: Do you think young people spend too much time using technology?A: Not really, no. It's true that people often say young people are always sitting in front of a computer screen or texting on their mobile phones. But that's how life is now, isn't it? Anyway, I have many friends who play lots of sport so it's wrong to generalise.

1

2) Offer examples to help you explain a statement.Q: How important is it to speak English in your country?A: Speaking English is very important. Children learn it from an early age and many jobs require you to have an English qualification or want evidence that you can communicate in English well. It's not just English though. In my company for example, for business reasons German is also very important.

Part 2: (Collaborative Task)

Tests ability to: use language to discuss and interpret, to agree, disagree or agree to disagree, negotiate and collaborate, to rank or classify, speculate, evaluate, make decisions etc.

There are two sections to Part 2 of the CPE Speaking test, which lasts about 4 minutes (6 minutes for groups of three). The examiner will ask you and your partner to talk about a set of visual prompts together.

Example Task

The examiner will say something on the lines of:

Q: Now in this part of the test you're going to do something together. Here are some pictures showing people in different situations.

Q: First, I'd like you to look at pictures A and C and talk together about why these photographs might have been taken. You have about 1 minute for this so don't worry if I interrupt you.

Then after approximately 1 minute:

Q: Thank you. Now look at all the pictures. I'd like you to imagine the following photographs have been collected together for a campaign to encourage healthy eating. Picture A was one of several pictures used in the campaign the previous year.

Q: Talk together about how each of the other pictures might be used as part of this year's campaign and choose one for the front cover of the campaign brochure.

Q: You have about 3 minutes to talk about this.

2

Notice there are TWO instructions. You are asked to talk about all the pictures first but also to reach a decision as to which one picture should be used for the campaign. This means you're required not only to discuss but also to show your ability to negotiate and collaborate with your partner. You don't have to reach agreement but you must at least work towards this.

Tips!

The discussion will proceed more productively if you work collaboratively on this task.

1. Ask your partner for his or her opinion rather than simply stating your own. Focus just as much on asking some 'What do you think ...' type questions rather than simply making 'I think ...' type statements.

3

2. When your partner is speaking listen carefully and 'actively'. Show interest in their opinions by responding to comments he or she makes. This might be by showing you agree or disagree with something they've said but could also be to ask them to expand or clarify a comment they've made. For example:'That's an interesting point.' 'So, when you say ........, do you mean ........?''Could you explain what you mean by .......?.'

3. When giving your opinion, accommodate your partner's views when appropriate. For example, depending upon whether you agree or disagree with something you could say:'You were saying …''You mentioned …''That’s a good point.''You’ve got a point there.''You’re absolutely correct.''Precisely!''I see what you mean but …''I see what you’re getting at but …''But don’t you think …'

Part 3 (Long Turn and Discussion)

Tests ability to: speak at length coherently, use language to develop a topic, describe, compare and contrast, hypothesise and comment.

Part 3 of the CPE Speaking test lasts about 12 minutes including 2 minutes for each long turn and 4 minutes for the final discussion. Candidate A is passed a card and has to speak about the topic without interruption, either from the examiner or their partner. When Candidate A has finished the examiner asks Candidate B a brief question about the topic. The roles are then reversed: Candidate B is given a different card and speaks for 2 minutes followed by Candidate A who answers a brief question about the topic. At the end of the long turns both candidates participate in a discussion with the examiner about the theme of the two topics.

Example Task

At this stage of the interview the examiner will say something on the lines of:

Q: Now in this part of the test you're each going to talk on your own for about 2 minutes. You need to listen while your partner is speaking because you'll be asked to comment afterwards.

Q: (Candidate A) I'm going to give you a card with a question written on it and I'd like you to tell us what you think. There are also some ideas on the card for you to use if you like.

Q: All right? Here is your card. Please let (Candidate B) see your card. Remember (Candidate A) you have about 2 minutes to talk before we join in.(Source: CPE Handbook: www.cambridgeesol.org)

Example (Candidate A Card)

4

Have our attitudes to food have changed over recent years?

Food productionWhat we choose to eatEating as a social activity

Example (Candidate B Card)

Does travel broaden the mind?

CultureMutual understanding Leisure opportunities

At the end of each long turn the examiner will ask the other candidate a question such as: 'What do you think?' or 'Is there anything you would like to add?'

Following this, the examiner will start the discussion stage and say something like:

Q: Now to finish the test we're going to talk about 'attitudes' in general.

Q: Is it usually simple to change people's attitudes?Q: How are people's attitudes often formed?Q: Do different generations find it easier to change their opinions about issues?Q: Do you find it difficult to change your attitude towards something?

Tips!

1. You will only be given a few seconds to collect your thoughts before being asked to make your long turn so you won't be able to plan your talk in detail. However, you will be able to structure it loosely around an introduction, main body and conclusion. Start by making the topic significant by relating it to a topical news story or with reference to an important event in your life. For example:Card A'Hardly a day goes by when we don't hear stories about how unhealthy our diets are these days ...''This is a really interesting topic and one that I can relate to .... 'Card B'This is an interesting question. Probably the most influential experience in my life and one that changed my attitude towards other nationalities was when I spent time travelling ...'

2. Signpost your talk to help the examiner and your partner follow your train of thought. For example: 'Take the way we produce food for example ...'.'Then there's/Turning to the kind of food we like to buy ...'Signpost the fact that you're coming to an end with expressions such as 'So ...', 'As you

5

can see ...', 'To sum up ..'.

3. Listen carefully to your partner's presentation and consider your attitude to one or two of the points made. Then, when the examiner asks for your opinion show you've been listening by answering on the lines of:'The point (Candidate A) made about ... was particularly interesting. In my experience ...''(Candidate A) raised some really interesting points. In my view ...'

4. During the discussion phase when your opinion is asked for, use expressions to allow yourself time to think. For example: 'That's a good question.''Well, let me think ...''It's funny you should ask ...''Well, to cut a long story short ...''Well, to be honest ...''It's difficult to say ...'

http://www.splendid-speaking.com/extras/english_speaking_practice.html

Just at that turning between Market Road and the lane leading to the chemist's shop he had his 'establishment'. At eight in the evening you would not see him, and again at ten you would see nothing, but between those times he arrived, sold his goods and departed. Those who saw him remarked thus, 'Lucky fellow! He has hardly an hour's work a day and he pockets ten rupees - even graduates are unable to earn that! Three hundred rupees a month!' He felt irritated when he heard such glib remarks and said, 'What these folks do not see is that I sit before the oven practically all day frying all this ...'

1  At about 8.15 in the evening he arrived with a load of stuff. He looked as if he had four arms, so many things he carried about him. His equipment was the big tray balanced on his head with its assortment of edibles, a stool stuck in the crook of his arm, a lamp in another hand and a couple of portable legs for mounting his tray. He lit the lamp, a lantern which consumed six pies' worth of kerosene every day, and kept it near at hand, since he had to guard a lot of loose cash and a variety of miscellaneous articles.

2  He always arrived in time to catch the cinema crowd coming out after the evening show. A pretender to the throne, a young scraggy fellow, sat on his spot until he arrived and did business, but he did not let that bother him unduly. In fact, he felt generous enough to say, 'Let the poor rat do his business when I am not there.' This sentiment was amply respected, and the pretender moved off a minute before the arrival of the prince among caterers.

3  Though so much probing was going on, he knew exactly who was taking what. He knew by an extaordinary sense which of the jukta drivers was picking up chappatis at a given moment - he could even mention the license number. He knew that the stained hand nervously coming up was that of a youngster who polished the shoes of passers-by. And he knew exactly at what hour he would see the wrestler's arm searching for the perfect duck's egg. His custom was drawn from the population swarming the pavement: the boot polish boys, for instance, who wandered to and fro with brush and polish in a bag, endlessly soliciting 'Polish, sir, polish!' Rama had a soft spot for them.

4  It rent his heart to see their hungry hollow eyes. It pained him to see the rags they wore. And it made him very unhappy to see the tremendous eagerness with which they came to him. But what could he do? He could not run a charity show, that was impossible. He measured out their

6

half-glass of coffee correct to a fraction of an inch, but they could cling to the glass for as long as they liked.

5  He lived in the second lane behind the market. His wife opened the door, throwing into the night air the scent of burnt oil which perpetually hung about their home. She snatched from his hand all the encumbrances and counted the cash immediately.

6  After dinner, he tucked a betel leaf and tobacco in his cheek and slept. He had dreams of traffic constables bullying him to move on and health inspectors saying he was spreading all kinds of disease and depopulating the city. But fortunately in actual life no one bothered him very seriously. The health officer no doubt came and said, 'You must put all this under a glass lid, otherwise I shall destroy it some day... Take care!'

7  A Rama prepared a limited quantity of snacks for sale, but even then he had to carry back remnants. He consumed some of it himself, and the rest he warmed up and brought out for sale the next day.

B All the coppers that men and women of this part of the universe earned through their miscellaneous jobs ultimately came to him at the end of the day. He put all his money into a little cloth bag dangling from his neck under his shirt, and carried it home, soon after the night show had started at the theatre.

C No one could walk past his display without throwing a look at it. A heap of bondas, which seemed puffed and big but melted in one's mouth; dosais, white, round, and limp, looking like layers of muslin; chappatis so thin you could lift fifty of them on a little finger; duck's eggs, hard-boiled, resembling a heap of ivory balls; and perpetually boiling coffee on a stove. He had a separate alluminium pot in which he kept chutney, which went gratis with almost every item.

D His customers liked him. They said in admiration, 'Is there another place where you can get six pies and four chappatis for one anna?' They sat around his tray, taking what they wanted. A dozen hands hovered about it every minute, because his customers were entitled to pick up, examine, and accept their stuff after proper scrutiny.

E They gloated over it. 'Five rupees invested in the morning has produced another five...' They ruminated on the exquisite mystery of this multiplication. Then it was put back for further investment on the morrow and the gains carefully separated and put away in a little wooden box.

F But he was a kindly man in private. 'How the customers survive the food, I can't understand. I suppose people build up a sort of immunity to such poisons, with all that dust blowing on it and the gutter behind.'

G He got up when the cock in the next house crowed. Sometimes it had a habit of waking up at three in the morning and letting out a shriek. 'Why has the cock lost his normal sleep?' Rama wondered as he awoke, but it was a signal he could not miss. Whether it three o'clock or four, it was all the same to him. He had to get up and start his day.

H When he saw some customer haggling, he felt like shouting, 'Give the poor fellow a little more. Don't begrudge it. If you pay an anna more he can have a dosai and a chappati.'

CPE Use of English   (Exit)7

Open Cloze InstructionsFor questions 1-15, read the text below and type the word which best fits in each space. Use only one word in each space.There is an example below:(0)    as

Global English

Global English exists (0) ... a political and cultural reality. Many misguided theories attempt to explain why the English language should have succeeded internationally, whilst (1) ... have not. Is it because there is (2) ... inherently logical or beautiful about the structure of English? Does its simple grammar (3) ... it easy to learn? Such ideas are misconceived. Latin was once a major international language, despite having a complicated grammatical structure, and English also presents learners (4) ... all manner of real difficulties, (5) ... least its spelling system. Ease (6) ... learning, therefore, has little to (7) ... with it. (8) ... all, children learn to speak their mother tongue in approximately the same period of time, (9) ... of their language.

English has spread not so (10) ... for linguistic reasons, but rather because it has often found (11) ... in the right place, at the right time. (12) ... the 1960s, two major developments have contributed to strengthening this global status. Firstly, in a number of countries, English is now used in addition to national or regional languages. As (13) ... as this, an electronic revolution has taken (14) ... . It is estimated that (15) ... the region of 80% of worldwide electronic communication is now in English.

For many people Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) is the

most (0) influencial figure in the history of western classical INFLUENCE music. His (1) ..... talent was already clearly evident as a ORDINARY young man, (2) ..... surviving a somewhat unconventional   MERCY (3) ..... during which his eccentric father would often forceBRING him to take music lessons in the middel of the night. The young Beethoven's ability won him the admiration of the leading contemporary musical figures. Throughout the 1790s he worked hard to secure the interest of wealthy patrons. Such patronage (4) ..... him to concentrate on becoming aABLE successful composer. Whatever his awe-inspiring musical (5) ....., however, hisACHIEVE personal life was something of a disaster. His day-to-day (6) ..... with people invariably turned out to be rather RELATE turbulent. Although he apparently fell in love with a numberof society women, the identity of the girl who lay closest tohis heart remains (7) ..... to this day.ELUDE However, just at the point when Beethoven was beginning to reap the rewards of his early endeavours, he had to come to terms with the crushing (8) ..... that his increasingREALISE deafness was (9)

8

..... . From that point on, his music CURE displayed a (10) ..... change in style, becoming both heavierSTRIKE in tone and larger in scale.

Gapped Sentences InstructionsFor questions 1-6, think of one word only which can be used appropriately in all three sentences. Here is an example:

Some of the tourists are hoping to get compensation for the poor state of the hotel, and I think they have a very ........ case.

There's no point in trying to wade across the river, the current is far too ........ .

If you're asking me which of the candidates should get the job, I'm afraid i don't have any ........ views either way.

Example: STRONG

Q1It is very difficult to fully ........ certain pieces of jazz music until you've heard them a good few times.

Although I'm always ready to lend a hand, Marta never really seems to ........ the things I do for her.

Given the market for decorative antiques, I'd say that the value of the beautiful vase is set to ........ considerably in the next few years.

Q2James is able to ........ an enormous amount of factual information in his head.

Although the old house has been completely renovated, care has been taken to ........ as many of the original features as possible.

When you're buying outdoor adventure clothing, the thing to look for is material that does not ........ a lot of moisture.

Q3With less than a minute of the football match to go, Phil managed to ........ the ball into the back of the net.

I think the best course of action would be to jump into the car and ........ for Bristol as soon as possible.

Louise has been asked to ........ an investigation into what went wrong on the night of the accident.

Q4Initially, few companies saw any potential in computers designed for the ........ rather than the office environment.

Although extremely independent, and well able to look after themselves, cats are generally classified as ........ animals.

Over the years the proportion of foreign stories in this newspaper has

9

declined as people have become more engrossed in ........ issues.

Q5The chess champion held off a serious ........ from his younger opponent in the last match of the tournament.

The chairman of the meeting seemed to regard questions from the audience as some kind of ........ to his authority.

You'll find some aspects of the job a real ........, but we're confident that you can cope.

Q6Melanie practised her lines each day after school, getting increasingly nervous as the date of her audition ........ even closer.

Although Tim had been in the lead for most of the race, as they reached the final bend, Graham ........ level and threatened to overtake him.

On an impulse, Laurie ........ all the money out of his bank account and went to London, intending to spend every last penny of it.InstructionsFor questions 1-10, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given.You must use between three and eight words, including the word given. Here is an example:

Mick will give you lots of excuses for being late but don't believe any of them.

many

No ......................................... Mick gives you for being late, don't believe any of them.

Example: MATTER HOW MANY EXCUSES

1. The mistake in the accounts was not noticed until the figures were re-checked.lightThe mistake in the accounts only ........................................ the figures were re-checked.

2. I had no problems at all during my trip to France.planEverything ........................................ during my trip to France.

3. The heavy downpour brought their picnic to an abrupt end.cutThey had to ........................................ because of the heavy downpour.

4. The reforms will not succeed unless they are carefully planned. crucialCareful ........................................ of the reforms.

10

5. They think that Helen's brother stole the money.suspectedHelen's brother ....................................... the money.

6. I feel completely exhausted when I've listened to Marion for half-an-hour.leavesHalf-an-hour ........................................ completely exhausted.

7. Karen's schoolwork definitely seems to be improving this term..signsKaren's schoolwork ........................................ this term.

8. The old railway station is now a museum.turnedThe old railway station ........................................ a museum.

For questions 1-5, read the following texts on speaking in public. For question 1-4 answer with a word or short phrase. You do not need to write complete sentences. For question 5, write a summary according to the instructions given.

Text 1Does the thought of making a presentation to a group of peers bring you out in a cold sweat? If so, you're not alone. The mere idea of having to 'stand and deliver' in front of others is enough to strike dread into the heart of the most experienced business person, let alone students. Yet effective spoken communication is an essential skill for career success in today's business and academic environments.

So what can people do to add sparkle to their speaking skills and overcome this understandable but unfounded fear of speaking in public? The bad news is that presentation nerves are quite normal and you will probably always suffer from them. The good news is that interesting speakers are made and not born. You can learn the techniques that will turn you into a calm and convincing speaker.

The first step is to persuade yourself you can do it. Just like an actor waiting in the wings, or an athlete warming up for the big race, you need to get yourself on a confidence high. Try focussing your thoughts on moments of particular success during your life to date. Remember that the physical symptoms of nerves are most obvious to you. The audience won't see your knees knocking or your hands trembling, so don't worry about it. Some of the worst presentations are those where the speaker clearly hasn't devoted enough time to it beforehand. Let's face it; a presenatation that's slung together half an hour before it's going to be delivered isn't going to impress anyone.

Text 2Inexperienced public speakers generally rely too heavily on words, so that they overlook other features which give a successful speaker impact.

Research has indicated that words account for only 7% of the speaker's impact on the audience. A massive 55% of the speaker's impact is visual, i.e. how he or she looks, facial expression, gestures, body language, posture etc., while 38% of impact comes from the voice; does the person sound trustworthy, is the voice varied and interesting to listen to?

This breakdown of the impact a speaker has may sound unlikely, but imagine a situation: you have returned a faulty item to a shop, and the shop assistant says,

11

'I'm sorry, I'll see what I can do.' If this is said in an uninteresting voice as the assistant leans on the counter about to resume a conversation with a colleague, you won't feel confident that very much will happen. But an assistant who is standing up straight and looking directly at you will create an entirely different impression with the same words.

Think of your favourite teacher from school. The person who comes to mind is probably someone who was enthusiastic and animated, someone with both vocal and visual impact. Try recalling phone calls with people you've never met. Invariably, we make judgements about people based on their voices and how they sound. They might say, 'he seemed ill at ease' or 'she looked very confident' and often these opinions are formed before the speaker has said one word.

1. In the first paragraph (Text 1), what image of public speaking does the writer create?

2. Explain in your own words why the writer has chosen to use the expression 'slung together' in line 17.

3. What exactly does the phrase 'this breakdown' describe?

4. Which two words in paragraph 4 (Text 2) echo the need for 'liveliness' mentioned in the first text?

5. In a paragraph of 50-70 words summarise in your own words as far as possible the reasons given in both texts for why people perform badly when speaking in public.

2. Multiple Choice Lexical Cloze InstructionsFor questions 1-18, read the three texts below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.

3. Jerome Flynn - Actor Turned SingerAfter a variety of jobs, Jerome Flynn became (1) ........ successful with fellow Robson Green in the TV series Soldier, Soldier, and then when they (2) ........ up as singers in 1995, they had three number one hits. 'It was a whirlwind, fantasy time,' says Jerome. 'We made the records because we quite (3) ........ the money, and it paid off. It was a lot of fun, but you can become (4) ........ in the pop world. It's addictive, and once you're a pop star, people tend to (5) ........ you on a pedestal. It was so mad we had to get out while the going was good. Now money doesn't seem so much, although it (6) ........ me to leave my career behind for a while. But Robson wanted to go back to acting and has made quite a success of it. I'd like to work with him again one day.'

1  A    greatly  B  largely  C  hugely D   grossly2  A    joined  B  teamed C  fixed D   grouped3  A    craved  B  longed C  yearned D   fancied4  A    laid up  B  seized up C  taken

up D   caught up 5  A   lift  B  have C  put D   hold6  A   enable

d  B  empowered C  entitled D   effected

4. The Sailing TripA few days ago, I was (7) ........ my new sailing gear ready for my first long trip, around the coast of Britain on the sailing ship Hirta. I watched a TV report of some fellow yachtsmen crossing the finishing (8) ........ off a place called Ushant to complete a record round-the-world voyage. The sea was

12

rough, the wind looked fierce and, although they were putting a brave (9) ........ on it, the winning yachtsmen looked exhausted. What I was seeing on the television screen was not my (10) ........ of yachting. I felt smug knowing I had this marvellous opportunity to drift gently round Britain learning to sail, and that I would be steering (11) ........ of the horrors of ocean sailing. Casually I looked up Ushant on the map. I went quite cold: Ushant was (12) ........ 32 kilometres further south than the starting point for my great journey on the Hirta.

1  A    going through  B  settled

down C  checking up D   passing

over 2  A    mark  B  strip C  line D   sign3  A    face  B  eye C  appearanc

e D   view4  A    thought  B  idea C  notion D   sense5  A   clean  B  straight C  short D   clear6  A   virtually  B  practicall

y C  simply D   barely

5. Mrs Murgatroyd'And there's another thing,' said Mrs Murgatroyd. Beside her in the taxi her husband concealed a small sigh. With Mrs Murgatroyd there was always another thing. No matter how well things were (13) ........, Edna Murgatroyd went through life to the accompaniment of a running commentary of complaints, an endless litany of dissatisfaction. In short, she (14) ........ without ease.In the seat beside the driver, Higgins, the young executive from head office, who had been selected for the week's vacation at the (15) ........ of the bank on the grounds of being 'most (16) ........ newcomer' of the year, sat silent. He was in foreign exchange, an eager young man whom they had only met in London airport twelve hours earlier and whose natural enthusiasm had gradually (17) ........ away before the onslaught of Mrs Murgatroyd. The driver, full of smiles when they selected his taxi for the run to the hotel a few minutes earlier, had also caught the mood, and he too had (18) ........ into silence.

1  A    doing  B  getting  C  going D   beingAdvertisement for a Video

You want to improve the quality of life, without using drugs or stimulants you are ready to start the journey back to health and fitness, however short

or long it may be you would prefer to use stress to your advantage rather than be its victim you are prepared to take charge of your own destiny and benefit from your

own well-being you would like to get back the shape nature intended you to have you like to understand the principles behind concepts before taking action you want to enhance your mental powers and your ability to focus on the

task in hand short-term fixes, be they through patches or pills, gimmicks or gizmos, hold

no appeal you are prepared to take a step at a time, build upon your success and take

pleasure in the results you have the temperament and strength of character to endure the journey

to physical, mental and spiritual health

This is the video for you!

13

How important is design?

All toasters are not exactly the same under the skin but they are as near as makes no difference. They are boxes which neatly grill the bread, waffles or whatever between little electric fires and eject them just before they start to burn: an easy, well-proven technology whether it is purely mechanical or microchip-controlled. The last fundamental innovation in toaster design was in 1927, when the Sunbeam company of America marketed the first pop-up model. Since then, there has been little to do design-wise except to alter the styling according to the tastes of the time.

Designers try to give toasters the equivalent of sunroofs and anti-lock brakes - wider slots, double slots, 'cool wall' designs and the like - but cannot get away from the fact that you need only two controls: a push-down lever and a timer. Upgrades merely dress up a timeless concept and are anyway almost all adopted immediately by other manufacturers.

So what you buy is styling, which can be a dirty word among 'pure' designers, since it is really just packaging, little different from the box the toaster comes in. 'Real' design, it is said, is more fundamental. This is arguable: one of the greatest designers of the 20th Century, the French-born, America-based Raymond Loewy, was principally a stylist, and who can argue with the power of his famous creation, the Coca-Cola bottle, which is functionally far less efficient than a standard beer or wine bottle?

Dream Cars

Daydreaming schoolchildren around the world love to doodle weird and wonderful cars. Most grow up to drive something much more visually mundane than those adolescent flights of fancy. But a few are actively encouraged to continue drawing extraordinary and largely unrealistic modes of transport when they are studying at college. They are the car designers of tomorrow, who will shape what we will drive in the next century.

On a visit to the Art Centre in Los Angeles, which runs a course for vehicle designers, I was shown some of the work in progress by Ronald Hill, head of transportation design. Its visual excitement contrasted starkly with the dull, practical silhouettes of many modern production cars.

So are such unrealistic shapes out of touch with the real world of cars, and does it really benefit students to continue their schoolday doodles, albeit in a more sophisticated manner? Hill insists that the exploratory designs are vital, and argues that more realistic considerations are, at least temporarily, irrelevant. 'This may be the only chance in the career of these students when they can take some risk, stretch their imaginations and really let fly. There's plenty of time later on for them to worry about constraints of legislation and practical issues. We call this the 'blue sky' period, when there really is no limit set on their design innovation.'

Catalogue Shopping in the USA

My favourite parts of the New York Times on Sunday are the peripheral bits - the parts that are so dull and obscure they exert a kind of hypnotic fascination. Above

14

all I like the advertising supplements, like the gift catalogue from the Zwingle Company of New York offering scores of products of the things-you-never-knew-you-needed variety - an umbrella with a transistor radio in the handle. What a great country!

Once in a deranged moment I bought something myself from one of those catalogues, knowing deep in my mind that it would end in heartbreak. It was a little reading light that you clipped onto your book so as not to disturb anyone sleeping in the same room. In this respect it was outstanding because it barely worked. The light it cast was absurdly feeble (in the catalogue it looked like the sort of thing you could signal ships with if you got lost at sea) and left all but the first two lines of a page in darkness. I have seen more luminous insects. After about four minutes its little beam fluttered and failed altogether, and it has never been used again. And the thing is that I knew all along that this was how it was going to end, that it would all be a bitter disappointment. On second thoughts, if I ever ran one of those companies I would just send people an empty box with a note in it saying 'We have decided not to send you the item you've ordered because, as you well know, it would never work properly and you would only be disappointed. So let this be a lesson to you for the future.'

Multiple Choice

Advertisement for a Video

  1 The advertised video is aimed at people whoare capable of perseverance

have been trying to change career

are too absorbed in their work

would like to change their personalities

  2 Which of the words in bold is used dismissively?stress

principles

patches

journey

How important is design?

  3 What does the writer say about developments in the design of toasters?They have spoilt the original design.

They are made to fool the public.

They are copied from other types of product.

They have only been superficial.

  4 The writer uses the Coca-Cola bottle as an example of

15

the advantages of using 'real' design.

the fact that success may not depend on good design.

the kind of thing that 'pure' designers approve of.

the unpredictability of public response to style.

Dream Cars

  5 What does the writer imply about trainee car designers?They will go on to design more conservative cars.

Their designs form the basis of those of production cars.

They often criticise the designs of existing cars.

The designs are restricted by what is possible.

  6 What does Ronald Hill say about car design?There are too many regulations about it.

Impractical designs play an important part in it.

Cost has too much influence on design.

Too much of it is dull and predictable.

Catalogue Shopping in the USA

  7 The writer says that when he bought a light from a cataloguehe had not thought about it carefully enough.

it taught him a lesson about misleading adverts.

it was something he had always wanted to do.

he was not surprised by the outcome.

  8 The writer thinks that the companies who produce such gift cataloguesare cynical towards their customers

should not be allowed to operate

are unique to the United States

never sell useful goods

Gapped Text InstructionsYou are going to read an extract from a short story. Seven paragraphs have been removed from the extract. Choose from the paragraphs A-H the one which best fits each gap (1-7). There is one extra paragraph that you do not need to use.

16

Just at that turning between Market Road and the lane leading to the chemist's shop he had his 'establishment'. At eight in the evening you would not see him, and again at ten you would see nothing, but between those times he arrived, sold his goods and departed. Those who saw him remarked thus, 'Lucky fellow! He has hardly an hour's work a day and he pockets ten rupees - even graduates are unable to earn that! Three hundred rupees a month!' He felt irritated when he heard such glib remarks and said, 'What these folks do not see is that I sit before the oven practically all day frying all this ...' 1  

At about 8.15 in the evening he arrived with a load of stuff. He looked as if he had four arms, so many things he carried about him. His equipment was the big tray balanced on his head with its assortment of edibles, a stool stuck in the crook of his arm, a lamp in another hand and a couple of portable legs for mounting his tray. He lit the lamp, a lantern which consumed six pies' worth of kerosene every day, and kept it near at hand, since he had to guard a lot of loose cash and a variety of miscellaneous articles. 2  

He always arrived in time to catch the cinema crowd coming out after the evening show. A pretender to the throne, a young scraggy fellow, sat on his spot until he arrived and did business, but he did not let that bother him unduly. In fact, he felt generous enough to say, 'Let the poor rat do his business when I am not there.' This sentiment was amply respected, and the pretender moved off a minute before the arrival of the prince among caterers.3  

Though so much probing was going on, he knew exactly who was taking what. He knew by an extaordinary sense which of the jukta drivers was picking up chappatis at a given moment - he could even mention the license number. He knew that the stained hand nervously coming up was that of a youngster who polished the shoes of passers-by. And he knew

A Rama prepared a limited quantity of snacks for sale, but even then he had to carry back remnants. He consumed some of it himself, and the rest he warmed up and brought out for sale the next day.

B All the coppers that men and women of this part of the universe earned through their miscellaneous jobs ultimately came to him at the end of the day. He put all his money into a little cloth bag dangling from his neck under his shirt, and carried it home, soon after the night show had started at the theatre.

C No one could walk past his display without throwing a look at it. A heap of bondas, which seemed puffed and big but melted in one's mouth; dosais, white, round, and limp, looking like layers of muslin; chappatis so thin you could lift fifty of them on a little finger; duck's eggs, hard-boiled, resembling a heap of ivory balls; and perpetually boiling coffee on a stove. He had a separate alluminium pot in which he kept chutney, which went gratis with almost every item.

D His customers liked him. They said in admiration, 'Is there another place where you can get six pies and four chappatis for one anna?' They sat around his tray, taking what they wanted. A dozen hands hovered about it every minute, because his customers were entitled to pick up, examine, and accept their stuff after proper scrutiny.

E They gloated over it. 'Five rupees invested in the morning has produced another five...' They ruminated on the exquisite mystery of this multiplication. Then it was put back for further investment on the morrow and the gains carefully separated and put away in a little wooden box.

F But he was a kindly man in private. 'How the customers survive the food, I can't understand. I suppose people build up a sort of immunity to such poisons, with all

17

exactly at what hour he would see the wrestler's arm searching for the perfect duck's egg. His custom was drawn from the population swarming the pavement: the boot polish boys, for instance, who wandered to and fro with brush and polish in a bag, endlessly soliciting 'Polish, sir, polish!' Rama had a soft spot for them.4  

It rent his heart to see their hungry hollow eyes. It pained him to see the rags they wore. And it made him very unhappy to see the tremendous eagerness with which they came to him. But what could he do? He could not run a charity show, that was impossible. He measured out their half-glass of coffee correct to a fraction of an inch, but they could cling to the glass for as long as they liked.5  

He lived in the second lane behind the market. His wife opened the door, throwing into the night air the scent of burnt oil which perpetually hung about their home. She snatched from his hand all the encumbrances and counted the cash immediately.6  

After dinner, he tucked a betel leaf and tobacco in his cheek and slept. He had dreams of traffic constables bullying him to move on and health inspectors saying he was spreading all kinds of disease and depopulating the city. But fortunately in actual life no one bothered him very seriously. The health officer no doubt came and said, 'You must put all this under a glass lid, otherwise I shall destroy it some day... Take care!'7  

Rama no doubt violated all the well-accepted canons of cleanliness and sanitation, but still his customers not only survived his fare but seemed actually to flourish on it, having consumed it for years without showing signs of being any the worse for it.

that dust blowing on it and the gutter behind.'

G He got up when the cock in the next house crowed. Sometimes it had a habit of waking up at three in the morning and letting out a shriek. 'Why has the cock lost his normal sleep?' Rama wondered as he awoke, but it was a signal he could not miss. Whether it three o'clock or four, it was all the same to him. He had to get up and start his day.

H When he saw some customer haggling, he felt like shouting, 'Give the poor fellow a little more. Don't begrudge it. If you pay an anna more he can have a dosai and a chappati.'

18

19

Multiple Choice (Page 1, 2)InstructionsYou are going to read the introduction from a book on sports. For question 1-7, choose the answer (A, B, C, or D) which you think fits best according to the text.

SPORTSWRITING

Offices and bars are full of casual obscenity, but most British newspapers are ... well, not necessarily careful about language, but careful about bad words anyway. The phrase 'family newspaper' is an ineluctable part of our lives. Newspapers are not in the business of giving gratuitous offence. It is a limitation of newspaper writing, and one everybody in the business, whether writing or reading, understands and accepts. There are many other necessary limitations, and most of these concern time and space.

Newspapers have dominated sportswriting in Britain for years, and have produced their own totem figures and doyens. But ten years ago, a new player entered the game. This was the phenomenon of men's magazines; monthly magazines for men that had actual words in them - words for actually reading. GQ was the pioneer and, in my totally unbiased opinion as the long-term author of the magazine's sports column, it leads the way still, leaving the rest panting distantly in its wake.

Sport, is of course, a blindingly obvious subject for a men's magazine - but it could not be tacked in a blindingly obvious way. Certainly, one of the first things GQ was able to offer was a new way of writing about sport, but this was not so much a cunning plan as a necessity. The magazine was doomed, as it were, to offer a whole new range of freedoms to its sportwriters. Heady and rather alarming freedoms. Freedom of vocabulary was simply the most obvious one and, inevitably, it appealed to the schoolboy within us. But space and time were the others, and these possibilities meant that the craft of sportswriting had to be reinvented.

Unlike newspapers, a magazine can offer a decent length of time to research and to write. These are, you would think, luxuries - especially to those of us who are often required to read an 800-word match report over the telephone the instant the final whistle has gone. Such a discipline is nerve-racking, but as long as you can get it done at all, you have done a good job. No one expects a masterpiece under such circumstances. In some ways the ferocious restrictions make the job easier. But a long magazine deadline gives you the disconcerting and agoraphobic freedom to research, to write, to think.

To write a piece for a newspaper, at about a quarter of the massive GQ length, you require a single thought. The best method is to find a really good idea, and then to pursue it remorselessly to the end, where ideally you make a nice joke and bale out stylishly. If it is an interview piece, you look for a few good quotes, and if you get them, that's your piece written for you. For a longer piece, you must seek the non-obvious. This is a good quality in the best of newspaper writing, but an absolute essential for any writer who hopes to complete the terrifying amount of words that GQ requires. If you write for GQ you are condemned to try and join the best. There is no other way.

GQ is not restricted by the same conventions of reader expectation as a newspaper. You need not worry about offending people or alienating them; the whole ethos of the magazine is that readers are there to be challenged. There will be readers who would find some of its pieces offensive or even impossible in a newspaper, or even in a different magazine. But the same readers will read the piece in GQ and find it enthralling.

20

That is because the magazine is always slightly uncomfortable to be with. It is not like a cosy member of the family, nor even like a friend. It is the strong, self-opinionated person that you can never quite make up your mind whether you like or not. You admire him, but you are slightly uneasy with him. The people around him might not altogether approve of everything he says; some might not care for him at all. But they feel compelled to listen. The self-confidence is too compelling. And just when you think he is beginning to become rather a bore, he surprises you with his genuine intelligence. He makes a broad joke, and then suddenly he is demanding you follow him in the turning of an intellectual somersault.

Multiple Choice (Page 1, 2)

  1 What does the writer say about newspapers in the first paragraph?A They tend not to include articles readers will find very challenging.B Articles in them do not reflect the way people really speak.C They are more concerned with profit than with quality of writing.D They fail to realise what kind of writing would appeal to readers.

  2 What does the writer imply in the second paragraph?A GQ magazine contains articles that are well worth reading.B Some of the more recent men's magazines are unlikely to survive.C The standard of sportswriting in newspapers has improved in recent times.D He is in a position to give an objective view of sportswriting in magazines.

  3 Why were sportswriters for GQ given new freedoms?A The restrictions of newspaper writing do not apply to writing for GQ.B The magazine's initial plans for its sports articles proved unrealistic.C Notions about what made good sports journalism were changing.D The writers that it wanted to employ demanded greater freedom.

  4 What does the writer say about the amount of time allowed for producing articles?A The best articles are often produced under great pressure of time.B Having a long time to produce an article encourages laziness.C Writers are seldom satisfied by articles produced in a hurry.D Having very little time to produce an article can be an advantage.

  5 Why can't writers for GQ use the same methods as writers for newspapers?A Articles in GQ are not allowed to consist mainly of interviews.B They want to be considered better than writers for newspapers.C Writers for newspapers do not have so much space to fill.D They've been told to avoid the conventions of newspaper writing.

  6 What does the writer say in the penultimate paragraph about certain pieces in GQ? A They will create enormous controversy.B They unintentionally upset some readers.

21

C They are a response to demand from readers.D They match readers' expectations.

  7 The writer likens GQ magazine to a person whoA says things you wish you had said yourself.B frequently changes his point of view.C forces you to pay attention to him.D wants to be considered entertaining.

22